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Parent Update – Friday 11th October
Dear Parent/Carer,
We have had an exceptionally busy week at Vale of York Academy with our Community Open Evening taking place on Wednesday 9th October. We were delighted to welcome so many of the community into the building to see what takes place in the school. Mr Orr, Director of Community, has offered some additional time for prospective families to see the school during the day too. Details of this are on our website.
Assemblies – Mental Health Awareness Week
Our assemblies this week have focused on Mental Health Awareness Week. This culminated in the ‘Hello Yellow’ event for Mental Health Awareness Day on Thursday 10th October where students were able to substitute part of their uniform for a yellow item of clothing. We are proud to be among thousands of schools, companies and communities celebrating ‘Hello Yellow’ to show young people they’re not alone with their mental health, reflecting our core values of kindness, respect and teamwork. If you would like to know more about supporting the mental health of young people, Young Minds have a section for parents on their website: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
Jewellery
Thank you for your support regarding jewellery from last week; we have seen a decrease in students wearing jewellery. Please can we continue to ask for your support to check that your son/daughter is only wearing one small ear stud per ear. All other jewellery (large or hoop earrings; nose studs; bracelets; necklaces; anklets, etc) are not to be worn to school. Thank you.
Current Vacancies
Key Dates:
17th October Reading trip to St Peters
18th October Flu Vaccinations
21st October Celebration and Reward Assemblies
21st October Year 7 Indoor Athletics
22nd October STEM Wind Turbine Day
23rd October Autumn Concert
24th October York Unlocked (Year 8)
24th October KS4 Revision Information Evening
11th November Year 11 Mock Exams 1
Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Ms Mills
Principal
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Parent Update – Friday 4th October
Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope this update finds you all well. This week, we have relaunched Reading Plus, Year 7 girls have taken part in their first football tournament and we held the first Year 11 Walking Talking mocks of the year for English. The conduct of the students has been exemplary on all of these occasions.
Assemblies – DofE Launch and Protected Characteristics
Our assemblies this week have included the launch of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme for Years 9/10 and Protected Characteristics as part of our core values of respect and teamwork. If you would like to know more about Protected Characteristics and the Equality Act 2010, please visit the following website: https://www.gov.uk/
Jewellery
We have seen an increase in students wearing jewellery on site this week. Students have removed jewellery when asked but we are concerned that expensive or jewellery with personal significance may be lost in the school environment. Please can we ask for your support to check that your son/daughter is only wearing one small ear stud per ear. All other jewellery (large or hoop earrings; nose studs; bracelets; necklaces; anklets, etc) are not to be worn to school. Thank you.
Year 10 Work Experience
Each year at Vale of York Academy, we offer the opportunity for our Year 10s to go on a one week work experience placement. This year the week will be the 12th-16th May. It is getting ever more difficult to find appropriate work places for our students. With this in mind, we are asking whether you, or someone you may know, would be able to offer an opportunity for one of our pupils. The students greatly appreciate the opportunity and it helps our community develop vital employability skills, helping them to succeed in their next steps. If you believe you would be able to offer a placement, please complete the google form https://forms.gle/
Current Vacancies
Casual Exam Invigilator
Key Dates:
Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Ms Mills
Principal
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Parent Update – Friday 20th September
Dear Parent/Carer,
Student leadership has been a key focus this week. The Head Students were appointed and a new Senior Prefect team established. The standard of the applications and interviews from the students was stunning. Student council members have met to have their photographs refreshed too.
Students from Years 7, 9 and 11 represented the academy when we were visited by the Director of Education for HSLT. The students were articulate, engaging and represented the academy well, embodying the core value of teamwork.
The after-school enrichment programme began in earnest this week and the Year 11 P6 revision programme will be launched next week. It is fantastic to see so many students taking part in the activities.
Please click on the link below to see details of our current vacancies
Key Dates:
26th/27th September: Y11 Post-16 Provider Sessions
9th October: Y5/6 Community Open Evening
10th October Y10 Work Experience Launch
Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Ms Mills
Principal
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Parent Update – Friday 13th September
Dear Parent/Carer,
We have continued the brilliant start to the academic year this week. Uniform, attendance and behaviour standards continue to improve and there have been lots of opportunities to praise and reward students throughout the week.
This week, we would like to introduce the Progress Leader Team to you:
Alice Appleyard, Progress Leader Year 7
Dion Rice, Progress Leader Year 8
Laura Duncalf, Progress Leader Year 9
Paul Foster, Progress Leader Year 10
Corin Belyeu, Progress Leader Year 11
As a reminder, the enrichment programme has now begun. Mr Rampling contacted parents/carers with a guide on how to book the different clubs last week. The enrichment prize draw for attending activities this term will be for 25 different Christmas presents made up of family/group games.
Please click on the links below to see details of our current vacancies
Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Ms Mills
Principal
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Dear Parent/Carer,
Thank you for all of your kind words and support during the first week of the academic year.
It has been a pleasure to welcome the new Year 7 students to the academy. Students from across the academy have embraced the core values of kindness, respect and teamwork with great enthusiasm. Students were collecting lots of reward stamps in their planners. The quality of work and pride in the presentation within books has been lovely to see.
We would like to introduce the Senior Leadership Team to you:
Gillian Mills, Principal
Heather Wright, Associate Principal
Liz Hardy, Vice Principal
Claire Hirst, AVP and Designated Safeguarding Lead
Rory Donaldson, AVP
Rob Orr, Associate SLT
Sarah Barnes, SENCO
Stacey Stump, Support Services Manager
Despite the short week, we have had a number of different events take place. Assemblies focused on standards, expectations and rewards. The week culminated in the draw for the attendance awards from last academic year with three students being selected for the big £250 voucher prizes. We will be sending out more information to you regarding the attendance competitions for the term in the near future.
The enrichment programme begins in earnest next week. Mr Rampling will be in touch with a guide on how to book the different clubs for parents/carers. The enrichment prize draw for attending activities this term will be for 25 different Christmas presents made up of family/group games.
Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Ms Mills
Principal
Dear Parent/Carer,
We welcome back all students to Vale of York Academy on Tuesday 3 September 2024. Please see below for details for the arrangements for the day.
Return to School Arrangements Tuesday 3 September 2024
Vale of York Academy will open to students from Tuesday 3 September 2024. There will be a staggered start for year groups as follows:
8.40 New Year 7 students to meet on the Courtyard
10.15 Year 11 to meet on the Courtyard
11.30 Years 8-10 to meet on the Astro Turf with Years 7 and 11. All year groups line up in their tutor groups on the Astro Turf.
The gates from Water Lane and Fairway will be open from 8.15am for the new Year 7 students. Fairway only will be open from 10am for Year 11. Water Lane and Fairway will be open from 11.15am for the remaining year groups.
Uniform Expectations
As you know, we expect our students to attend the academy fully meeting our uniform expectations. A summary guidance sheet of these expectations has been included with this letter, please take a few moments to read through it and check your child/children have the correct uniform for their return after the summer holidays.
If you need to purchase replacement uniform and are concerned about meeting the costs of this, please contact the school in the first instance to discuss what support there is available to you.
Behaviour Expectations
As you are aware, we implemented a new structure for issuing and recording behaviour during the last half term of the last academic year. As a result of this, it has allowed us to make some more amendments and you can now find an updated version of the behaviour policy with updated localised procedures for September 2024 onwards on the academy website. We would also encourage you to download the Edulink app so you are kept up to date with your child’s behaviour at the academy.
Attendance – New Guidance from August 2024
Changes to how schools record attendance are now being applied. This is following a published document issued by the Department for Education earlier in the year (https://assets.publishing.
One of the key implications of this is the way in which schools manage and record holidays taken during term time. Currently, parents inform the school of intended holidays and may seek permission for the holiday to be approved by the school. Under the new guidance this will not be possible as schools are no longer able to use an approved code enabling this. Consequently, it will mean that all holidays taken during term time will be recorded as unauthorised. We would still ask that you inform us of your intention to take your child on holiday during term time to aid with our safeguarding responsibilities within school. As always, we would also encourage parents to ensure that students do not take holidays during term time. Should you have any questions relating to this change please do not hesitate to contact us at the school.
Congratulations to Year 11 (Class of 2024)
We would like to congratulate the class of 2024 at Vale of York Academy. At Vale, we are very proud of what our students achieve, not least their academic outcomes. This summer’s results are a celebration of all that has been achieved by working hard and demonstrating personal resilience and determination.
We would like to thank the staff for their conscientious diligence with our students, not only the lessons, but the before school, after school and holiday revision sessions. Once again, we would like to thank the parents/carers and the wider community for their support during this time.
We wish all our students success in the future.
Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Ms Mills
Principal
