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Newsletter, 5th December 2021

Published on 05/12/21

Good afternoon,

I hope that you and your family are well and that this week's snow was not too disruptive for you. Thank you so much to all our students and parents/carers who were so supportive when we took the difficult decision to delay opening on Monday owing to the snow and ice. The two-hour delay enabled all of our teachers to be in school and allowed time for snow and ice to be cleared from paths and our car park. We were very pleased that so many students were able to make it safely into school for a 10.45 start. 

FACE COVERINGS 

Please be reminded that students are once more expected to wear face coverings in communal areas of the school building following revised guidance from the government. Many of our students brought and wore face coverings last week, however compliance with this request was not as comprehensive as it has been previously. In addition, school issued well over one thousand single-use masks last week to students who forgot to bring one to school - at a significant financial and environmental cost. Please remind your child to bring and wear a face covering next week. 

YEAR 10 MOCK EXAMS

Students in Year 10 will sit mock exams in the week commencing 17th January. These exams will be important in assessing the progress made by students in their GCSE courses to date. The exams will cover content taught so far, and teachers will use the results to ensure areas of strength are built upon and any knowledge/skills gaps are addressed in lessons. Between now and the exams, teachers of Year 10 will be supporting students by teaching them revision techniques that they will be able to use at home.

YEAR 11 AND YEAR 9 PARENTS' EVENINGS 

We have taken the decision to continue to run parents' evenings online for the forthcoming Year 11 and Year 9 parents' evenings. We have now run a number of these evenings online, and overall feedback from parents/carers has been very positive about the 5-minute video appointments that are bookable using our online system. Moreover, given the current caution relating to the new variant of COVID, we felt it appropriate to take a decision now so that we can begin the booking process. Parents/carers of students in Years 11 and 9 will soon receive specific details of how they can book appointments. With mock exam results to discuss for Year 11 students and with Year 9 students about to choose their options, these are two very important evenings, and we look forward to seeing lots of parents/carers signing up for appointments. 

FLU VACCINE CATCH-UP

For any student who was unable to have the flu vaccine in school, additional community dates have been arranged at drop in clinics listed below:

Sheffield Children’s Out Patients Department – S10 2TH - 7th December 2021,  5:30- 8:00pm

Sharrow Community Forum, S7 1DB – 9th December 2021, 4:00-7:00pm

Sheffield Children’s Out Patients Department – S10 2TH - 13th December 2021,  5:30- 8:00pm

Sharrow Community Forum, S7 1DB – 15th December 2021, 4:00-6:30pm 

If you would prefer to make an appointment, or discuss anything with the team, please call 01143053230 or email our team at scn-tr.sheffielddutysn.vacandimm@nhs.net

With many thanks for your continued excellent support,

Joe Birkbeck

Head of Westfield School