Dear Parents / Carers,

In line with the changes announced by the Department for Education regarding relationships and sex education, we are reviewing our RSE Policy.

As part of this review process we would welcome your feedback on our amended policy via [email protected], by Friday 6th November.

Following the great success of our Year 11 Master Classes so far, we will be continuing these throughout the next half term.

They will continue to run Monday to Thursday evenings from 3.30pm – 4.15pm in the main hall. Students can sign up for these via the Google Classroom and recordings of the sessions will also be available to pupils.

For further information please see Mrs Lennox.

This year we are providing an additional opportunity for parents of Year 11 and Year 13 students to discuss your child’s progress. Given the current Public Health situation this will be a remote opportunity, via telephone conversation with any relevant subject teachers.

If you would like to request a conversation with any of your child’s teachers, please complete the Google Form below, by Tuesday 6th October 2020:

Year 11 and 13 Parents Evening – Google Form

Please outline where indicated on the form, which subject teachers you would like to speak to and the nature of any concerns you may have, alongside any times you may be unavailable.
Following this, our staff will contact you to discuss your child’s progress during the week beginning the 12th October.

A series of Master Classes for Year 11 students will begin tonight (Monday 28th September 2020). They will run every Monday – Thursday from 4pm – 5pm. Students can sign up for these sessions via the Google Classroom. If students are isolating they are able to view the live stream via Google Meet. For further information please see Mrs Lennox.

For many years now we have developed a system that allows pupils to take ownership of their targets, based on the notion that if pupils own their targets they will be more motivated to achieve them. Whilst staff do have progress grades, based on their prior attainment, we will never use these with pupils. Instead we will talk to pupils about the aspirations they have for themselves.

Typically we would structure our target setting process in a session with pupils and parents, explaining our key principles, the process and next steps. Unfortunately we are not able to do this at present. We therefore hope that this information pack provides you with all the information you need.

Year 10 Target Setting 2020
Year 12 Target Setting 2020

Thank you for all your support so far. After this morning we will be making several small tweaks to our systems. Therefore p1 tomorrow will be an additional pastoral session for all pupils.

Please note that to aid consistency the following must apply in the morning:

• Year 11, 12 & 13 go directly to their pastoral class & sit in their allocated seat
• Year 7, 8, 9 & 10 wait on their allocated yard until they are given permission to enter the building

We now have pupils from Years 10 and 12 in school for the second week running and we are really impressed with their attitude and engagement. It is lovely to have some human contact with them! As you will have seen in the news, we are awaiting further details from the government with how we might proceed in September and I will look forward to sharing our plans with you as soon as is reasonably possible after we have had guidance from the Department for Education. – View our full Easter newsletter using the link below:

15th July Newsletter
8th July Newsletter
1st July Newsletter
24th June Newsletter
17th June Newsletter
10th June Newsletter
3rd June Newsletter
20th May Newsletter
13th May Newsletter
6th May Newsletter
29th April Newsletter
22nd April Newsletter
8th April Newsletter
1st April Newsletter
25th March Newsletter

Race and Equality
Mr Parkinson and myself sat down to talk about racism, where we’ve seen it, how little we actually know and how we can do better to fight it. This conversation is honest and vulnerable. We are far from experts and are far from getting it right, but we want to do better. So that is where we are starting. We invite you to join us. – Cody

Year 10 & 12 St Bernadette Timetable
Year 10 & 12 St Catherine Laboure Timetable
Year 10 & 12 St John Fisher Timetable
Year 10 & 12 St Therese Timetable

At this stage we have been instructed to ascertain numbers of pupils in Year 10 & 12 that intend to access face to face provision. This data will help us with our planning if we do invite pupils on site following guidance from the Government.

Year 7, 8, 9 Key Worker Childcare
Year 10 & 12 Return to School

Please complete this form should you need any support for Google or Google Classroom. Please put as much detail as you can about your issue so that we can better support you. (Please note that should your issue be related to content within Google Classroom, this will be forwarded to the teacher of that subject)

Due to the current restrictions and social distancing measures both of our Uniform Suppliers have extended their online services, and we encourage you to order all uniform items online where possible. Our suppliers Emblematic and Salto UK have provided the following updates.

Statement from Emblematic – www.emblematic.co.uk
I would like to thank you for your continued support in this period of uncertainty. Our embroidery facility is currently open, with a reduced staff following all Government Guidance, therefore we are able to complete all Leavers hoodies and online orders. We are currently also taking school orders via email as normal. [email protected] After Sunday’s government update, I am pleased to say that we will be offering the following options to parents this summer:

1. Free delivery on all orders placed until the 1st July 2020.
2. After that, you can either pay for delivery to home or use our “Click and Collect” option (starting date to be decided). You will not be able to order with “Delivery to School” as an option.
3. We have a supply of paper tape measures for new starters please see enclosed.
4. We have put measuring videos on our website, which you can use to purchase the correct size, using measurements you have taken at home.
5. We currently offer a free returns system, where you can use our website to return items, you must then make a new order for the correct size (i.e. this is not an exchange service, as garments must be safely stored (Covid-19) before going back into stock).
6. We are also offering a “Click and collect” option in the future from our Benton shop only (date and times to be decided), but plan to stop this mid-August, so we don’t have the final rush of the summer with long queues (that we feel will be unsafe).

Statement from Salto UK – www.saltouk.com
Firstly, and most importantly, we hope you are all safe and well and looking after each other. We would like to update you on our plans to ensure you are able to receive the school uniform required for when the children return to school. Please see below the ways you can order. As the situation changes, we will notify you via our Facebook page and on our website, so please check in now and again to stay updated.
1. ONLINE – We are currently processing all uniform orders from our website www.saltouk.com. When you order online, you will have 2 delivery options:
i) Home delivery – where your child can try for size at home and this gives you time to exchange if required. We will endeavour to process and dispatch orders as quickly as possible, but as we are working with a smaller team, please allow extra time for delivery.
ii) Free ‘collect from store’ option – your order will be processed and will be available from our collection point in Prudhoe as soon as non-essential shops can open once again – hopefully, early June.
Exchanges can be made by contacting us via email or Facebook and we will have your preferred size ready to exchange once our collection point is open. Any items that are returned are dated and hung untouched for 72 hours before they are returned to stock.
2. BY POST – If you do not want to buy online, please contact us via email and we will provide an order form for you to print, complete and post/deliver to our shop in Prudhoe. Orders cannot be processed unless full payment is enclosed.
3. SHOP – We will open our collection point as soon as non-essential shops can reopen, as we will be able to adhere to the social distancing measures through a queuing system outside our shop. However, we will only open our main shop when we feel it is safe for you, your child and our staff, as we must provide a risk-free, Covid secure environment. There is still uncertainty as to whether children will be allowed to try on communal clothes, therefore we are encouraging everyone to order online as the ‘try before you buy’ in our shop may not be an option.
4. QUERIES – We will add measuring videos on our Facebook page and our website to help you make the correct choice. If you have any queries please contact us via our Facebook page or email us at [email protected]
5. GUARANTEED UNIFORM FOR SEPTEMBER – We urge you to order as soon as possible as it will allow you time to exchange if necessary. When our shop does reopen, we will be observing strict rules in accordance with the Health and Safety Executive, therefore queues may be likely as we expect only 2 customers (plus one child per adult) in at a time.
As you know, this situation is ever changing, and we are monitoring it daily. We are committed to keeping our loyal customers updated and providing the best service we can under difficult circumstances, so please remember, as your local supplier, we are here for you.

St Thomas More Catholic School leavers hoodies are now available for purchase, please use the link below.

Description:
Hoodie embroidered left breast with our crest and printed back with our unique 20 design. Your name can be added above the 20 print on the back at no extra cost.

Leavers Hoodies