Dear parents, Please find the end of term report enclosed with this
Transkript
Dear parents, Please find the end of term report enclosed with this
Headmaster: Patrick A. Lee Browne Email: headmaster@rydal-penrhos.com Dear parents, Please find the end of term report enclosed with this letter. As part of our development of the Assessment for Learning strategy, pupils have already discussed their reports with their tutors, so they should be aware of their individual strengths and weaknesses, and the areas and strategies for improvement that the reports contain. At the start of the term departments discussed and agreed a target grade for each pupil and this has been discussed by the pupils with their teachers and tutors as part of the review of grades and half term reports. The target grade is included in the report for exam yeargroups (Year 10 upwards) and remains a focus for discussion and review as the year develops towards public exams. You should have received by email a copy of the results of the parents’ survey that we conducted before half term. As I wrote in that email, the response rate was low, but I hope that everyone will contribute to a follow-up survey that we will undertake next term, so that we get a fuller understanding of your views. We have had a number of meetings with Teejac to resolve the issues regarding games kit: we have simplified the ordering and collection arrangements, so that all orders now go through the shop rather than via the Teejac website and are delivered to school; we have ensured that all items are available for sizing in the school shop; and we have agreed a timetable for opening over the summer that will allow parents to access the shop throughout the holidays. Could I please ask parents to ensure that pupils return in January with the appropriate kit for next term: girls should all now have the new sports top, which will be used for netball as well as hockey, and boys should by now all have the new rugby top, which they will also use in hockey fixtures. Could I also remind parents that pupils must have a gum guard and shin pads for hockey; those of you who have taken out the Denplan insurance cover should be aware that cover might be refused if a pupil is not wearing a gum guard when they sustain an injury. On the topic of uniform, could I encourage you to provide your sons and daughters with proper protection against the weather: although Colwyn Bay remains at the heart of the of the North Wales Riviera, it is also the Gateway to Snowdonia, and there are times when pupils need a decent coat (black in colour and plain in appearance) or an umbrella. A blazer lifted over the head in pouring rain doesn’t do the blazer any favours… We have had a really positive response to the Annual Fund, from parents as well as alumni, and we are delighted that after three months we have already raised over half of the target of £15,000. With nine months still to go, we are confident that we can achieve that target in the first year of running the scheme. The Friends of Rydal Penrhos School (FORPS) ball at the Deganwy Quay hotel on 30 November was a highly enjoyable evening. FORPS was reconstituted at the start of term, and now embraces parents in the senior as well as the Prep School. The committee has begun to organize a calendar of events for 2013, which will be published as and when they are finalized, and one of these will be a summer ball in the marquee on New Field on Saturday 25 May – the evening of Speech Day. The Upper Sixth will be having their own Leavers’ Ball at the Kinmel Manor hotel, but the New Field event has been very popular with parents in recent years, so we have decided to hold it as usual as a FORPS ball in conjunction with the Rydal Penrhos Society. We have raised over £1,700 this term for charity, which is a tremendous achievement. The individual charities to benefit are: Jeans for Genes £630.23; Amnesty International £239.32 (raised at the quiz night organised by the tireless Mrs Richardson); Anthony Nolan Trust £191.36 (many thanks to Osborn house for achieving this through fundraising on Osborn Day); and Children in Need £681.67. The RNLI carol service on the last night of term will have increased the total sum further. Our girls’ U18 and U16 hockey teams have once again reached the national finals, though the U14 Eryri qualifier had to be postponed until next term as a result of a frozen pitch. The mixed U12 and boys’ qualifying rounds begin next term, and we are hoping for strong performances from them to match the girls. Ellie Scarff and Tara Edwards have been selected for the U14 Eryri netball squad, Beth Mather has been selected at U18, and Hannah Cashell has been chosen for the Wales U16 squad. William Sissons has been selected for the Wales U12 cricket team, and Jack Sissons for the U14 team. In sailing, Gabriel Abed has gained a place in the Welsh National Topper dinghy squad. Eight of our swimmers have qualified for the Urdd National Swimming finals in Cardiff on 25 January, where they will be joined by a further eight swimmers from the Prep school. Two pairs of Fives players took part in the Midlands Eton Fives U14 Competition: Jack Sissons and Adam Sabri were runners up in the main competition, and Tom HamiltonPritchard and Tom McCloskey won the festival competition. The four of them won the trophy for the overall highest average number of points per game. We will be making a strong showing at the regional cross-country championships at Dolgellau in January, with the Year 7 boys’ and girls’, and the Senior boys’ teams all qualifying, as well as a number of individual runners. The Christmas concert was a very ambitious programme: the stage was packed with performers for the final item, Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols, and the variety, quality and consistency of the whole programme was a tribute to the pupils’ hard work in preparing for the concert and the energy and drive from the Music department in their planning and rehearsal – not forgetting the contribution from a healthy number of staff members, both playing and singing. It was a great occasion (there are some very atmospheric pictures accompanying the report on the website), and bodes very well for the future. The Drama department is well under way with its preparation for next term’s musical, The Little Shop of Horrors, so please make sure that you come and support that fantastic production in the Memorial Hall in March. At the tail end of the year, in drear-nighted December, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards gave us the opportunity to bask again in the wonderful achievements of the Olympic summer and be reminded one more time of the inspiration that those people offered, and the relentless training and preparation to which they committed themselves in their pursuit of success. Inspiration is an elusive ingredient – like a sense of humour, it can’t be taught or learnt – but it’s an essential quality in great teaching, and I would like to end by thanking on your behalf the teaching staff and support staff, who have in many different ways provided motivation and inspiration to our pupils. We have ended the term late, but everyone has maintained their efforts and energies right up to the last day, and I am very grateful for all that they have put into the last sixteen weeks. Please encourage and help your sons and daughters to spend time over the holidays preparing for exams in January if they have them, but at the same time, please enjoy a very happy and restful holiday with your family, and I look forward to seeing you again in the New Year, which begins with registration on Monday 7 January. With all best wishes for Christmas,