October 2014 half term letter to parents v2

15th October 2014 Dear Parent/Guardian, Thank you for the support you have shown your child and your Academy over this first half term. It has been a long, but very successful one.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a number of our expectations and inform you of some forthcoming developments at the Academy. This will mean that you remain up to date with the day-to-day running of the Academy and may hopefully avoid situations where choices you make in good faith over the holiday period, result in having a negative effect for your child when they return on 3rd November.

Uniform: As the winter takes a firm hold of our weather there are a number of expectations that students and parents should be reminded of. These expectations can be found on our website but I would like to draw your attention to the following: •

Skirts – should be worn at the knee. If this is not the case, please purchase your daughter a new one for the start of next half term.

•

Socks – Plain black or grey (boys). Black (girls) ankle or knee length.

Tights must not be worn underneath socks.

•

Tights - Plain black tights only please. Patterned tights are not permitted.

•

Shoes – Plain, traditional, polishable and black with a maximum heel height of 5cm and a maximum sole thickness of 2cm (the heel height is measured from the ground to the welt up the back of the heel).

Kitten heels, stiletto heels, sling-back shoes, canvas shoes and trainers are not permitted. Please refer to the enclosed guidance regarding footwear for all seasons.

Paying specific regard to wet weather, we would ask for your co-operation and support in achieving the following:

Footwear •

Whilst we appreciate that students who walk to and from school may wish to wear waterproof footwear in periods of poor weather eg. snow, we must insist on them changing into footwear that is in line with the Academy uniform policy when they are on the Academy site.

Coats, hats, scarves and gloves •

Coats should be plain, sensible and weatherproof to protect your child from the elements, with no stripes, designs, patterns, slogans or noticeable branding.

• •

No hoodies, cardigans or sweatshirts should be worn.

Winter hats (only worn in extreme weather), scarves and gloves should be plain black or navy and not worn in the Academy buildings.

We would strongly suggest that all coats purchased for school should be as per the requirements above, as we do not want you to purchase clothing that we will not allow your child to wear in the Academy.

Included with this letter is a ‘Dressing for Success’ document that reinforces the above. It can also be found on the website under the ‘Parent’ section.

Can I please also draw your attention to the information on trousers, make-up and hair. Just to clarify, there should be no evidence of dye or tints applied to the hair, and it should be an appropriate style and length. Make up, jewellery or piercings should not be worn. Pupils will be requested to remove piercings and we ask you support the Academy by not allowing your children to have them done during term time.

After eight weeks of the year having already passed, student uniform should now be of the highest standard, and in most cases it is. We look forward to working with you further to maintain and improve the expected high standards of uniform at The ACE Academy.

Lunches and purchasing of food: In order to provide a better service to our students in what is a short space of time I would like to wish you all a safe and enjoyable half term holiday and once again thank you for your continued support

Yours sincerely

Mr Robin Grover Head teacher