Dear Families,
We close for half term at the end of Wednesday 10th February and return to school for the second half of the spring term on Monday 22nd February.
The beginning of term, after Christmas, brought the snow, which caused havoc everywhere and of course really badly affected schools. The very heavy snowfall caused us to be closed for one day in the first wintery week and the following Wednesday, when Bradford and Leeds hit the national news for icy road conditions, we were forced to close because we had more than fifty staff unable to get to school. In fact on that day, we had five members of staff involved in road traffic accidents on their way to school. I realise how disruptive this time was for families and I am sorry that we were closed on those two occasions. Overall, we did manage much better than other schools, some of which were closed for six and seven days. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has written to schools explaining to Headteachers how to record absence because of the terrible weather conditions and so we hope that attendance records of students will not suffer. I do want to emphasise however, that attendance at school is absolutely crucial to maximise achievement for all students and so I urge families to ensure that their children attend every single day.
I said in my last letter that we would have news of the Year 11 examinations at this time. I’m pleased to able to report to our families (and especially to parents/carers of Year 11 students) that 39% of our young people have now passed their English Language GCSE at grade C or higher. This is a great achievement and will allow these students to concentrate on their maths grades to achieve the same in this very important subject. English and maths teachers and extra one-to-one tutors are busy organising special revision sessions, workshops and individual tuition for all students in Year 11. Please encourage your child to attend in order that they benefit from this special provision. May I take this opportunity to thank parents of Year 11 students for supporting our students in this and for attending the recent parents’ consultation evening.
Can I also remind you about our e-safety practices in school? Through tutorials we have been teaching students about how to use the internet safely and currently we are working on countering ‘cyberbullying’. On the rare occasions that this happens we are urging students to report this immediately, so that we can tackle the issue and punish any perpetrators. On our website you will see the Ceop (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) button. If parents and/or families access this website you will be able to see lots of information about e-safety. We recommend this to all our families. Please also see e-safety fact sheet below.
Tong High School, as a Specialist Sports College has very strong links with our partners, Bradford Bulls RLFC. I am pleased to be able to tell you that the Bulls are moving in to a part of the old school building on the old site. The building has been refurbished and the Bulls are bringing their first team, their scholars and their admin staff on to Tong High School campus to train and work. This presents superb opportunities for our students (especially if they are studying sport) to rub shoulders with elite athletes and professional sports people. There will be a grand opening of the new Bulls facilities in the Spring and the media will certainly be covering the story, so look out for some good news in the press.
Finally, when we have vacancies for associate and teaching staff at the school the details of jobs are on the website www.tongschool.co.uk
Here are some important dates for your diary.
2010
Thursday 11th February School closed to students
Friday 12th February School closed to students and half term starts
Monday 22nd February School re-opens after half term
Thursday 25th March Y12 & Y13 Curriculum Evening for parents
Wednesday 31st March Sport & Performance Presentation Evening
Thursday 1st April School closes for Easter
Monday 19th April School re-opens after Easter
Monday 3rd May School closed for May Day
Thursday 27th May Y10 Curriculum Evening for parents
Friday 28th May School closes for half term
Monday 7th June School opens after half term
With thanks for your continued support.
Yours sincerely,
L. M. O’Reilly (Mrs)
Headteacher
