Senior School Weekly Bulletin

Principal’s message

The positive mood in school during the week before Open Morning is almost infectious! The pupils become increasingly excited at the prospect of ‘showing off’ their beloved school so that the streams of visitors coming through the doors can feel the enthusiasm, the sense of common purpose, the care and the ambition evident within.

Tomorrow, we are expecting record numbers of visitors, not least because people are getting ready for the move of Rose Court next September and want to see a new nursery classroom being showcased. For current primary parents, there will be an opportunity later in the academic year to see a model KS2 classroom, so that you can walk through the building and have a more detailed understanding of the refurbishments, as well as the curricular and co-curricular plans for the future. A unified Primary School all feels very real now and we are delighted to be able to begin to share that on the Alwoodley campus from tomorrow.

On a practical note, however, the car park will be particularly busy in the morning – although it is busy every day. Can I also make a plea to parents to drive through the campus as safely and slowly as possible, and to navigate the car park carefully. We have been concerned in recent weeks at the casual behaviour of some of our pupils in and around the car park, sometimes being dropped off in inappropriate places and sometimes simply having fun after school whilst they await collection, but too often we have witnessed them behaving in a way that could be very dangerous indeed. As we talk to the pupils about this, can I ask for your support to reinforce the message at home to make this part of school as safe as possible for our precious children.

Sue Woodroofe
Principal

Please note that to access the downloads in this bulletin you will need to be logged into the school intranet GSAL World. Should you have any difficulty logging in please visit the GSAL World home page and follow the instructions under Password Reset Request.

Whole school notices

School policy regarding sickness

As we approach the season of winter sickness bugs, we remind parents that in line with the Public Health Agency’s recommendations, a pupil must be kept off school for 48 hours following the last episode of sickness and diarrhoea. Thank you for your cooperation.

Charity update

Thank you to all who supported our charities last Friday. The Macmillan coffee morning raised over £700, which added to the previous Friday’s collection means we have raised around £1,200 for Macmillan Cancer Support. The non-uniform day raised £1,650 for WWF and Cancer Research, which will be carried forward to the total raised during the prefects’ charity week later this term.

Today’s collection was in support of Parkinson’s UK, and next Friday we will be collecting for Oxfam. Thank you for your continued support.

Lost property

Please ensure that your child’s school uniform, PE kit and all equipment are clearly named so that we can notify pupils or their form tutor when items reach lost property.

All lost property will be displayed in the pupil reception from Monday 14 to Friday 18 October for parents and students to look through. After this date all unnamed clothing will be sent to 2Kit or charity shops or donated to the Malawi project. In the meantime a number of winter jackets from last term await collection in a large blue box at the front of pupil reception.

Please contact hazel.ramsay@gsal.org.uk with any queries relating to lost property

Music performances

Our talented musicians give performances throughout the year and we invite you to join the audience and lend your support. Please refer to the GSAL Music Performance Diary for a full listing. The main school events this term are:

Sunday 10 November at 10:30 – Remembrance Service

Thursday 12 December at 19:00 – Winter Concert

Sunday 15 December at 18:30 – Nine Lessons and Carols

GSAL park run

Saturday 9 November at 09:00

Thanks to all who took part in the first fun run of the year, please note the date for the next run will be the first Saturday after half term.

Year 7 notices

Speech Day – school closure for Y7

Friday 22 November

School will be closed for pupils in Y7, Y8 and Y9 for the whole day. All Senior School teaching staff and students in Y10 and above will be present at Speech Day in Leeds Town Hall.

Year 8 notices

Speech Day – school closure for Y8

Friday 22 November

School will be closed for pupils in Y7, Y8 and Y9 for the whole day. All Senior School teaching staff and students in Y10 and above will be present at Speech Day in Leeds Town Hall.

Year 9 notices

Speech Day – school closure for Y9

Friday 22 November

School will be closed for pupils in Y7, Y8 and Y9 for the whole day. All Senior School teaching staff and students in Y10 and above will be present at Speech Day in Leeds Town Hall.

Year 10 notices

Speech Day

Friday 22 November at 13:15 in Leeds Town Hall

All students in Y10, Y11, Y12 and Y13 will attend Speech Day, along with all Senior School teaching staff. We will provide transport to the Town Hall and lunch will be available for all students. On this date school will be closed for all students in Y7, Y8 and Y9.

The ceremony is expected to finish at 15:30, after which time students may be collected from the Town Hall or make their own way home from the centre of Leeds. Alternatively we will provide coaches for students to return to Alwoodley Gates for collection or to catch the late bus service, which will depart at approximately 16:30.

At Speech Day prizes will be awarded for the academic year 2018-19 and we will announce the prize-winners before half term. On the day, prize-winners will rehearse at Leeds Town Hall from mid-morning. We will provide transport there and a packed lunch.

Details for parents to apply for Speech Day tickets will follow once the prizes have been announced.

Please email your child’s form tutor or year group administrator with any queries.

Year 11 notices

Message from head of Y11

Please see the attached letter from Mr J Veitch, head of Y11, concerning the support and guidance offered to students ahead of the upcoming examinations.

Sixth Form information evening

Thursday 17 October from 17:00 to 20:00

We invite you and your son/daughter to our Sixth Form information evening to find out what is on offer when he/she progresses to Sixth Form next year. You will be able to talk to subject teachers about their A-level courses, meet the higher education team and learn about our wide range of co-curricular opportunities.

Please read the attached letter for further details of the event and register your attendance online.

Speech Day

Friday 22 November at 13:15 in Leeds Town Hall

All students in Y10, Y11, Y12 and Y13 will attend Speech Day, along with all Senior School teaching staff. We will provide transport to the Town Hall and lunch will be available for all students. On this date school will be closed for all students in Y7, Y8 and Y9.

The ceremony is expected to finish at 15:30, after which time students may be collected from the Town Hall or make their own way home from the centre of Leeds. Alternatively we will provide coaches for students to return to Alwoodley Gates for collection or to catch the late bus service, which will depart at approximately 16:30.

At Speech Day prizes will be awarded for the academic year 2018-19 and we will announce the prize-winners before half term. On the day, prize-winners will rehearse at Leeds Town Hall from mid-morning. We will provide transport there and a packed lunch.

Details for parents to apply for Speech Day tickets will follow once the prizes have been announced.

Please email your child’s form tutor or year group administrator with any queries.

Year 12 notices

Speech Day

Friday 22 November at 13:15 in Leeds Town Hall

All students in Y10, Y11, Y12 and Y13 will attend Speech Day, along with all Senior School teaching staff. We will provide transport to the Town Hall and lunch will be available for all students. On this date school will be closed for all students in Y7, Y8 and Y9.

The ceremony is expected to finish at 15:30, after which time students may be collected from the Town Hall or make their own way home from the centre of Leeds. Alternatively we will provide coaches for students to return to Alwoodley Gates for collection or to catch the late bus service, which will depart at approximately 16:30.

At Speech Day prizes will be awarded for the academic year 2018-19 and we will announce the prize-winners before half term. On the day, prize-winners will rehearse at Leeds Town Hall from mid-morning. We will provide transport there and a packed lunch.

Details for parents to apply for Speech Day tickets will follow once the prizes have been announced.

Please email your child’s form tutor or year group administrator with any queries.

Year 13 notices

Speech Day

Friday 22 November at 13:15 in Leeds Town Hall

All students in Y10, Y11, Y12 and Y13 will attend Speech Day, along with all Senior School teaching staff. We will provide transport to the Town Hall and lunch will be available for all students. On this date school will be closed for all students in Y7, Y8 and Y9.

The ceremony is expected to finish at 15:30, after which time students may be collected from the Town Hall or make their own way home from the centre of Leeds. Alternatively we will provide coaches for students to return to Alwoodley Gates for collection or to catch the late bus service, which will depart at approximately 16:30.

At Speech Day prizes will be awarded for the academic year 2018-19 and we will announce the prize-winners before half term. On the day, prize-winners will rehearse at Leeds Town Hall from mid-morning. We will provide transport there and a packed lunch.

Details for parents to apply for Speech Day tickets will follow once the prizes have been announced.

Please email your child’s form tutor or year group administrator with any queries.