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Freddie's Focus

For Parents & Carers

  • Issue 38
  • February 17, 2023

Freddie's Focus

For Parents & Carers

  • Issue 38
  • February 17, 2023

Things to celebrate

  • This week has been our Self Evaluation week where students have been asked to reflect upon their strengths and next steps in terms of attendance to school, attitude to learning and progress. Please ask your child to talk to you about their reflections.
  • This week, our Drama students have been involved with some exciting workshops and opportunities including a group of Year 8 students working with The Robert F Kennedy Human Rights foundation in creating a series of educational, animated films. These will be used to inform young people of the importance of human rights and the value of ‘speaking up’ for themselves and others. On Thursday, our Year 10 Drama students took part in a physical theatre workshop with Frantic Assembly.
  • It is fantastic to see how many of our students are taking part in the extra-curricular opportunities available to them at lunchtime and after school. Please encourage your child to get involved if they haven’t already done so. Please see our website for more information on all the extra-curricular opportunities that we offer.
  • Today, Form Tutors have distributed their BEST Award certificates to four students in their form who have demonstrated great strength of character this term. This is a wonderful achievement and if your child was one of our winners, you should receive a parent text tonight.

School Reminders

  • Half Term - Return to School

    Students will return to school after the half term on Monday 27th February. We wish all our students a happy half term.

  • Year 9 - Options

    The deadline for the Year 9 options forms to be handed in is Friday 3rd March.

  • Year 11 - Core Mock Examinations

    Year 11 core mock examinations will begin on our first week back after half term - week commencing 27th February.

  • Year 11 - Prom

    We would like to make all parents and carers of Year 11 students aware that invites to the prom will be released soon. There is clear criterion of which all students have been made aware. Please remind your child of this.

  • General Reminder

    Could we please ask all parents and carers to support us in ensuring that your child returns to school after the break without false eyelashes, false nails or fake tan. This helps us immensely to ensure a smooth start to the term.

Term Dates and Key Events
School Uniform Policy

School Reminders

  • Half Term - Return to School

    Students will return to school after the half term on Monday 27th February. We wish all our students a happy half term.

  • Year 9 - Options

    The deadline for the Year 9 options forms to be handed in is Friday 3rd March.

  • Year 11 - Core Mock Examinations

    Year 11 core mock examinations will begin on our first week back after half term - week commencing 27th February.

  • Year 11 - Prom

    We would like to make all parents and carers of Year 11 students aware that invites to the prom will be released soon. There is clear criterion of which all students have been made aware. Please remind your child of this.

  • General Reminder

    Could we please ask all parents and carers to support us in ensuring that your child returns to school after the break without false eyelashes, false nails or fake tan. This helps us immensely to ensure a smooth start to the term.

Term Dates and Key Events
School Uniform Policy

Homework and Self-directed study

To support all of our students with homework and organisation of self-directed study, we would like them to ask themselves the following questions:

  • What homework do I have this week? What’s in my Satchel?! and IF I haven’t got any homework, what can I do independently?
  • When will I focus on each piece of homework?
  • How will I complete it to the best of my ability and how do I need to submit it? (hand in or online submission?)

We encourage all of our parents and carers to also ask these questions at home.

Satchel:One

You can keep track of your child’s homework using Satchel:One. It is advisable to remind your child to get into the habit of checking their homework on Satchel:One regularly. Relying upon notifications is not the right approach and we advise students to turn off notifications so that they are not disturbed by them.

Homework Club

Please remind your child that homework club is available to all students Monday-Thursday in the Library (apart from Monday week B) where support and IT equipment is is available.

School Policies

We would like to remind parents about some of our school policies:

Mobile Phones

These are not allowed to be used in school. Our rule is ‘once through the school gates’ mobile phones must be switched off or on silent.

Make-up

Students are not allowed to wear any make-up. This is creeping into school and we ask for the support of parents with this. Students should not be bringing make-up to school

Hoodies/Tracksuit tops

School coats must be waterproof; our expectation is for students to wear coats not tracksuit tops or ‘hoodie’ style tops.

Students not following these policies will be spoken to and our policies on confiscation and detentions will follow if necessary.

Message from the Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to thank the vast majority of parents for your continued support for the school over the course of this last half term. We held our Options’ interviews this week and it has been a pleasure for my colleagues and I to discuss with parents and their children their subject choices for next year. Choosing options is an important milestone and it is always fantastic to see students approaching this is in such a positive, measured and mature way.
 
On another note, I have written to parents this week to give you advance notice of the next wave of strikes that will impact on the school after Half Term. This letter can be read here. I will also take the opportunity to remind Year 11 Parents that when we return on Monday 27th February, Year 11 will be involved in mock examinations all that week. Tuesday 28th February is one of the strike days. All of Year 11 will be expected to be in school on the strike day to complete exams in Science and English. Year 11 students should also be using some of their half term break for revision and exam preparation.

Please also find attached a useful resource you may wish to access which is designed to help you as parents support your child with the stresses of examinations. We hope you find it useful.
 

Regards,

Mr Davies.

MHST Parent and Carer Advice

How Yondr Works

Frequently Asked Questions

We want our students to be engaged in their learning. A child at high school should not really have a reason to contact a parent during the day; however, if there is a genuine reason e.g. they have forgotten their packed lunch, a phone call can be made home from the school office. If a parent needs to contact their child in an emergency, they should contact the school office. If you need to contact your child during the school day, contact the main office on 01942 883796.

In case of a school emergency, we direct our students to safety first, following our school emergency procedures.

 

Students are in possession of their phone - in their Yondr pouch - for the entire school day. We will advise students to store the pouch safely in their school bag or blazer pockets.

If a student damages their Pouch or is caught on their phone, we will confiscate the phone and issue a sanction which is likely to be a suspension.

Note: Damage consists of any signs that the physical integrity of the pouch has been compromised, whether intentional or unintentional, as determined by the school or Yondr staff.

Damaged pouches will be charged to parents at a cost of £20.

They will be searched and wanded with a handheld scanner by a member of SLT. If they are found to have their phone on their person they will be expected to place it in their pouch. Refusal will be met with suspension.

If a student forgets their Pouch, their phone will be confiscated.

As per our previous mobile phone policy;

  • Confiscated phones will be taken to reception where the phone will be secured in the school safe.
  • Parents will be alerted to the phone confiscation via the school office.

Parents will have the option to collect the phone at the end of the day. If parents do not collect the phone, the phone will remain in school until the end of the week or until the student has their pouch.

In Yondr’s experience, this almost never happens. All students funnel past the unlocking stations at the exits, they want their phones back and don’t forget to unlock their pouches. If they do arrive home with a phone in a pouch, they can either come back to school to unlock it, or have a phone free evening!

The unlocking process is quick and takes under a second per student. 

As a privilege, Year 11 will be able to unlock their phones as they go off site at lunchtime; however, they will be expected to put their phones back into their pouches when they return to school for period 5.

Yes. There is an adapted version of the pouch which uses a Velcro fastener instead of a magnetic lock. This means the student still follows the policy, but the adapted pouch gives them easy access to their phone when required. If the student abuses this, they will face a sanction. We are already aware of these students.

Your Office 365 account username is your school network account username followed by @flhs.wigan.sch.uk 
The password is the same password that you use in school to access computers.