Posted May 3 - 2024Headteacher's Newsletter
what's happening at Chesham Grammar
Posted on: May 15th 2020
Head's Blog
Dear Parent,
I hope you and your family are keeping well.
A wider opening of CGS?
As you know, last Sunday, the Prime Minister spoke to us all about plans for easing the lockdown and this included reference to a wider opening of schools than is the case at present. In relation to secondary schools, he said, "Our ambition is that secondary pupils facing exams next year will get at least some time with their teachers before the holidays." The detailed guidance released on Monday said that from June 1st at the earliest, schools are being asked to "begin some face to face support with year 10 and 12 pupils" although it also said "we do not expect these pupils to return on a full-time basis at this stage". As you can imagine, I have spent a good deal of time this week discussing this with the Senior Leadership Team and we have modelled a range of scenarios. The key priority has to be the safety of students and staff and we have weighed up the risks versus the benefits of these various scenarios. We do hope to be able to get to a stage before the end of this term when we can have groups of Year 10 and 12 students in school but this will not be straight after half term. We will move when we feel the time is right to do so and, having discussed this with Headteacher colleagues locally as well as with all Buckinghamshire secondary Heads this morning, I know my feelings are shared by others in my position.
Next half term
We will be looking at ways of identifying students in need of some additional support and also at ways of further increasing the number of 'live' lessons after half term. Further details of this will follow and we will be asking once again for feedback from students and parents next week so that we can use this to gauge where we are and to plan for the half term ahead. Although the PM made no mention of Year 7 - 9 students, by omission, he told us that they are sadly not going to be back in school this term. Now that we know for certain that the current situation is a medium rather than a short term one, we will take stock of where we are and use the feedback from our surveys to plan for next half term. There has been a huge amount of press coverage about the reopening of schools during the week, mainly in relation to primary schools. Much of this has been quite simplistic and very saddening, as a teacher. I would like nothing more than to fling open the school gates and welcome students and staff back but the reality is that this is some way off. We will also be in touch with parents of Years 10 and 12 students separately as there are things we need to know in order to make decisions about what we do with these two year groups next half term. My own professional association, ASCL, has been hugely supportive and helpful to school leaders at this time and the ASCL webinar this week covered the issue of Year 10 and 12 in relation to the amount of time they will have missed of their GCSE and A level courses. We were assured that this is a 'hugely live issue' and detailed information is expected in the next few weeks from Ofqual. When I hear anything about this, I will of course let everyone know. I know that this is an anxious time for those in the first year of GCSE or A level courses but please bear in mind what I have said before, that every Year 10 and every Year 12 student in the country is not in school at present. Ofqual will move to ensure that students are not disadvantaged in the same way that arrangements have been made for Years 11 and 13 students this year so please do try not to worry about this too much.
Thank you - again!
I would like to thank you all again for the support you are giving your child. I know that this is not an easy time and that many of you are working at home while also trying to support your child's learning. Please remember what I have said several times, that we do not expect you to try to replace your child's teachers. I know that the number of online lessons is increasing and all students have access to their teachers and have different ways in which to contact them. They can use email, Microsoft Teams or Canvas. If they are stuck, they will quickly get help and I know that some subjects are running virtual lunchtime help sessions as they do at school and we expect these to increase. Some of us as teachers sometimes find it hard to gauge how long things will take at home but if you let us know when we are not getting this quite right, we can do something about it. We are hugely impressed by what the students are doing, not just in terms of their learning but also in relation to other activities they are undertaking. I am sure that in years to come 'what did you do during coronavirus lockdown?' may become a standard interview question and I would encourage the students to think about how to use this time. I know that a good number are learning a new skill or a new language while others are taking advantage of the time to take up a new sport or to read. Some older students have volunteered to help younger ones in their tutor group and all of this is so encouraging to hear. Well done! All of these activities will help to ensure that not too much time is being spent in front of a computer and that there is a focus on more than school work. Our mental health is a huge priority and I make no apology for reiterating this.
FOCGS raffle
You will have seen a ParentMail this week from the Friends of CGS who are running their raffle this term. Lockdown has curtailed the FOCGS fundraising activities and opportunities and we are hoping that parents will support the raffle as well as always. The tickets can be purchased on Parent Pay and the draw will take place on Friday, July 10th. Thank you for your support.
CGS staff making PPE
I am very proud to announce that our Engineering staff are continuing to produce PPE equipment and today delivered a further 190 headbands and 150 visors. I must mention Mrs Spaargaren, one of our parents, who is also heavily involved in the production of these items. A number of parents have asked about contributing to the cost of this and so we are setting up the option to do so on Parent Pay. I would also like to thank Mrs Batsman who is knitting mask comforters for NHS and other key workers to attach to their masks so that they are more comfortable to wear. Mrs Batsman tells me that these are very simple to knit and that they take around 15 minutes to create so anyone who knows how to knit can make them. If you would like these instructions, they can be found on the @CGSScience Twitter feed. Thank you and well done to Mrs Batsman.
Thank you to our site team
I would like to thank our Site Team, Simon Fryer, Nick Stone and Craig Richardson, who are taking advantage of an empty school to undertake a huge amount of redecoration. So far, the Curtis Centre, the D block, some of the T rooms and the upstairs main corridor have been repainted and they will continue working their way around the school until it is no longer empty. Thank you!
Well done to Amelia
Amelia in Year 9 is an avid football fan and a talented player herself and her recreations of famous Premier League goals have been screened on BBC's Football Focus which is running a 'goals at home' feature at the moment. You can see one of them here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/52249454
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Your best Henry #GoalsAtHome wonder strikes Football Focus asked you to recreate Thierry Henry's stunning goal for Arsenal against Manchester United in 2000 - Match of the Day's Steve Wilson runs the rule over your best efforts. www.bbc.co.uk |
Well done to her!
Vaccinations
Year 8 parents and parents of Year 9 girls will have received information this week about vaccinations which are taking place in June. Please be assured that all necessary safety measures are taken into account in this process so do try to ensure that your child receives this vaccine. Our own school nurse will be on site when the vaccinations take place and there will be other school staff around to ensure it runs smoothly and to support the students.
Cancer Research fundraising link
Last week, the link included to the Kelly girls' Cancer Research funding page was wrong: apologies. This is the correct one I hope. https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/kellys-165-challenge
Stop press
As I come to sign off for this week, the news has just come through that the British Medical Association agrees with the teaching unions that it is too soon to reopen schools and that the infection 'R' rate has crept up. This further confirms that the decision I have taken and have outlined above is the right one, at least for now.
With best wishes for a relaxing weekend,
Annmarie McNaney
Headteacher
