July 2015
YEAR 7 2015-2016
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are pleased that transition week is going very smoothly so far and seems to be helping our new pupils settle and
become used to moving around the school. Thank you for your support so far; with your continued support, we are
sure that this year group will make the very most of all the opportunities here at Kelvin Hall over the next five years.
There are some key dates and items of information that all parents and carers need for next academic year:
Start of Term Arrangements
Pupils return to school on Tuesday 8th September 2015. Year 7 start at 8.40am prompt for Assembly. They will be
with their Tutor for the rest of the day.
School Day Timings 2015-2016
Start of the day:
8.40am
End of the day:
3pm.
Punctuality is crucial for success in school and pupils need to understand that every minute of every lesson is vital.
Please ensure that your child is in school by 8.40am at the very latest every day.
Dates for Your Diary
Tuesday, 8th September - Thursday, 22nd October 2015
Monday, 2nd November - Friday, 18thDecember 2015
Spring Term:
Tuesday 5 th January 2016 - Friday 12th February 2016
Monday, 22nd February - Thursday 24th March 2016
Summer Term:
Monday 11th April - Friday 27th May 2016
Monday 6th June - Friday 22nd July 2016
We will confirm Parents’ Evening dates at the start of next term.
Autumn Term:
Attendance
As parents and carers will understand, regular attendance at school is absolutely vital for pupils to make good
progress. We cannot authorise absence for holidays, other than in very exceptional circumstances. Parents/carers
who are requesting this will need to write to me asking that we exceptionally authorise the absence and explaining
their reasons for the request. For any queries regarding attendance, contact our Attendance Welfare Officer, Mrs
Turner or our Attendance Clerk, Mrs Drysdale, directly on 496730. Mrs Turner, Mrs Drysdale or your child’s Year
Leader will also be very happy to support or help you in any way they can to ensure your child achieves the best
possible attendance at secondary school.
School Meals
Pupils are not allowed off site at lunchtime; we provide a range of healthy, freshly prepared meals every day. The
price of a ‘meal deal’ is £2.10, for which pupils can have a main course, a drink and fruit or dessert. We operate a
cashless system in school and encourage all parents to use ‘Wisepay’, our on-line payment service. All major
credit and debit cards are accepted and all payments are highly secure. The service allows parents and carers to make
payments for meals, trips and music tuition without the need to send cash or cheques into school. Please see the
enclosed ‘flyer’ for further information. We will send a further letter with log on details towards the end of the
holidays.
Site Access
Please note that at the start of the new term there will be safety barriers in use across both of our car parks. Parents
will not be able to drive onto the site to drop off or pick up pupils other than when visiting for appointments or to
drop off or pick up pupils with mobility difficulties. In that case, we will contact these parents/carers directly with
further information regarding access to the front car park. There is an area where parents can drop off or pick up in
front of the school on Bricknell Avenue. Alternatively, if parents prefer, in the afternoons, the car park on our Pavilion
site accessed via Bishop Alcock Road will be open, where there will be plenty of parking. This is a 5 minute walk from
the main school site and will be much safer for pupils. The gates will be open each day from 2.45 onwards.
Uniform
We know that many parents/carers have already ordered school uniform. Thank you for this; as you know from the
induction meetings last week, we are strict about uniform as it is an important element in ensuring our pupils take
great pride in their school. Our uniform is smart and we have ensured it is as good value as possible. For future
reference and in case anyone still needs items of uniform, please find enclosed a guidance sheet and leaflets regarding
ordering uniform. Further details are available on our website.
Equipment for School
As parents and carers will know, it is vital for pupils to be properly equipped for school. At Kelvin Hall, all pupils must
bring: a blue or black pen for written work, a red and green pen for marking and feedback, a pencil, ruler and rubber
and a suitable bag for school every day. At the start of the term this year, the school will provide all pupils with a red
and green pen as this is a new requirement; subsequent replacements must be provided from home. All Year 7 pupils
will have responsibility for their own exercise books. Every pupil will have a locker and we will help and expect them
to use these effectively to organise themselves well for learning. Exercise books must be brought to every lesson as
needed and must be kept in excellent condition. We will provide book jackets to help with this.
Student Support
Years 7 pupils will have a dedicated tutor for lesson 6 every day. They will follow our literacy and numeracy
programmes under the supervision of their tutor and will also have assembly during this time each week. Further to
this, the tutor will monitor their progress and welfare in school. Your child’s Year Leader, Miss Lowthorpe and Mrs
Carrington, during Miss Lowthorpe’s maternity leave, will provide support and challenge for pupils each day. Mrs Cass
is also attached to the year group, as the Assistant Year Leader. Please contact Mrs Carrington directly if you have any
concerns or issues you would like to discuss.
I hope your children will be excited and looking forward to returning to Kelvin Hall in September; I also hope that any
worries or anxieties they may have had will have been eased during this transition week. I would like to wish you and
our new Year 7 pupils a very happy and peaceful holiday and we look forward to seeing them on Tuesday 8th
September.
Best wishes
Mrs S Smythe
Headteacher