Letter to Parents/Carers (14/07/2021)

Dear parents, carers and families,

As we approach the end of the school year on Friday, we are writing to you with some updates and useful information.  Thank you for all of your support in what has been a very challenging year for everyone.

End of Term Arrangements

As per the MCAS message and email earlier this term, the students will finish for the summer on Friday 16^th July between 12 and 12.15pm.  Free School Meal allowance can be spent on a range of brunch snacks during morning break time.

Covid-19 Updates

We have had some further positive Covid-19 cases reported to us this week, where students were already isolating at home due to bubble closures or family members having tested positive.  One further positive case today has seen a small bubble in Year 9 have to isolate, as per government guidance. Thank you for your support with the bubble closures and remote working for students at home.  We are currently working on a new Risk Assessment for the new school year based on the updated government guidance and we will publish this on our website over the summer.  Home testing does not need to continue throughout the summer, unless students are enrolled on our Summer School programme.  However it will recommence in the new school year, starting with on site testing at the start of term for all students where we previously obtained consent.  Further information will be sent out regarding this in due course. 

Summer School

A summer school programme will be running in August for our Year 7 and 8 students who have signed up to attend.  We are very excited about the programme which includes a wide range of exciting activities on and off site. If you have any questions about summer school then please direct them to Miss Laurie at rlaurie@havelockacademy.co.uk .

Uniform, Equipment and More

From September we will be returning to our previous routine with regards to PE and Dance lessons – where students bring their kit to school with them and get changed at the start and end of the lesson.  All students should be coming to school in full uniform, every day, from September.  We also encourage students to continue to bring a coat as breaks will continue to be outside. 

In terms of equipment, students should always have with them a pen, pencil, ruler, scientific calculator (Casio models preferred), protractor, mini-whiteboard with pen and knowledge organiser.  All of this equipment can be purchased at Student Services.  All students will be provided with a new knowledge organiser, mini-whiteboard and pen, free of charge, on the first day of the new term.  They will be expected to replace these themselves if they are lost or damaged. Students should carry all of their equipment in an official academy bag (rucksack or messenger bag), available to purchase from the academy reception.

We are pleased to be able to share the news that break time brunch snacks will be on sale again from September for students who wish to purchase them.  In addition, our lunchtime food offer will return to a full offer, including a selection of hot meals, salad bar, sandwich station, and takeaway station (pizza, jacket potatoes and more).

Changes for September

You may have heard that “bubbles” will no longer be used in schools in the new academic year, so allowing children to mix across different year groups.  We are going to keep some of our staggered arrangements within the school day to allow for a more efficient service at breaks and lunchtimes, but we are pleased that students will be able to mix during social time if they wish to do so, as well as for enrichment and after school activities.  We intend to keep many of the extra safety measures in place as this will benefit all of us. We will await further guidance from the government over the summer with regards to things like face coverings.  Students and staff will be welcome to wear face coverings if they wish to do so.  If rates are high in our area at the start of the new year, it may be that they remain compulsory, but we will update you about this nearer to the time.

We say goodbye to six of our colleagues this week and wish them every success.  Three of our colleagues are retiring, after well over fifty years at the school between them!  We say a sad farewell to our Head of Food Technology and Transition, Mrs Dollery, who has been at Havelock for 37 years.  We also say farewell to Mrs Denholm, Head of Travel and Tourism, and Mrs Burley, our Student Services Officer.  These three ladies are all looking forward to a long and happy retirement.  We also say goodbye to our Assistant Principal, Mr Cooke, who leaves us to take up the Head of School position at Edward Heneage Primary Academy.  Mr Cooke will be greatly missed, particularly in the music department.  We wish Mrs Aitken, History Teacher, well with her promotion to Head of Faculty at another local school, as well as passing all of our good wishes to Mrs Shores, Art Teacher, for her next venture.  Havelock won’t be quite the same without these colleagues, but we are pleased to update you with the news that we are fully staffed for September, with a number of new colleagues joining us.

Full details of our staffing and arrangements can be found in our Student Guide to Havelock, which can be located on our website at: https://www.havelockacademy.co.uk/docs/parent_information/Student_Guide_2021-22.pdf .

Our exam results days will take place on Tuesday 10^th August at 10am for Year 13 and Thursday 12^th August from 10am for Year 11.  Time slots have been given, based on surnames, for Year 11, so please check the website for full details.

As always, our website continues to be a really good source of information so please do visit this over the summer at www.havelockacademy.co.uk .

Our return arrangements are currently being finalised, to allow us to include plans for Covid testing, as directed by the government.  We will publish full details on the website, but at present this is the outline plan:

The academy is closed for much of the summer period, but we have a rota in place for dealing with email enquiries, so please get in touch on enquiries@havelockacademy.co.uk if you have any questions or concerns whilst we are closed.

Thank you once again for all of your support this year.  We are very proud of our young people and the work that they continue to do in and out of the classrooms.

Have a safe and enjoyable summer and we look forward to welcoming our students back in September.

Very best wishes,

 Emma Marshall & all at #TeamHavelock
Principal