Headlines By James Saunders 12th February 2021
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What has happened to snow days? Well, we made it to the halfway checkpoint. A well deserved break is here. And what has felt like the longest half term ever, is over. I spoke about hope earlier this term and I think that when we return those things we are hoping for will be on our horizon. Thank you for updating me every time you know someone who has been vaccinated. I have now heard about over 100 people connected to our community. I am sure that it is even higher than that. We enter the week with still a few unknowns. We have pencilled in the 8th March as a key date of change but as of yet we don’t know what to expect. If the previous form is anything to go by there will most likely be some information announced over the break and much speculation and misinterpretation of it. Instinct tells me that we will most likely be staggering the return of learners with perhaps C11 or C10 the first to come back. I think that Primary schools may be the first to return. But it's all anyone's guess really. The key announcement is planned for 22nd February when we return. The other uncertainty is what is happening to C11s and exams. I expect more concrete plans imminently which will help us to shape the C11 experience for the remainder of the year. As soon as we know more we will communicate with you. I was filled with melancholy this week at the thought that the snow day in its traditional sense is no more. Lockdown learning has brought with it some unintentional side effects. It is clear that the snow day will be a thing of the past as learning will be able to continue uninterrupted across the country. However, that might mean that they are more common and it becomes easier to make and
justify the call to close temporarily - who knows. We probably have at least another year to wait until the next one. I hope that the week has not caused you too much disruption. I would like to thank our site team for their efforts to clear and secure the site this week. I wish you a safe and restful half term. James Saunders Thanks We have been busy running our lateral flow testing centre in school for a few weeks now which would not have been possible without the support of our community. I would like to thank the parents who have been volunteering to help us out. Our staff and learners are very grateful. Learner Leadership At the beginning of January we launched the recruitment process to C10 for our next Learner Leadership Team. Our current team has done an outstanding job in the face of the pandemic, still demonstrating exceptional leadership skills and working behind the scenes on projects for the school community including the support of Year 6 to Year 7, fundraising and work on our school site. This week we face the difficult task of evaluating the applications we have received from C10 learners for the leadership roles. The standard again this year is exceptional and the learners will shortly be informed whether they have progressed to the next round, an interview to a panel with a presentation. Our current Lead Learners will remain in post until after Easter when they will then step down to focus solely on their final term at the school. We will celebrate their tenure later this year.