A Message From Allison

I hope you are all managing to stay comfortable in the heat, I am writing in advance of the summer holidays with some key reminders.

The start of term

· Term starts for children on Monday the 12th of September. Children need to be in school for 8.10am at the latest ready for morning line up at 8.15am where they will be met by their form tutor.

· Breakfast club will not start until Wednesday 14th September. From this date students may either purchase breakfast items or free porridge is provided for all. On the Monday and Tuesday mornings children will be directed to the Brian Clarke playground before the start of school.

· Due to the lack of parking in the area surrounding the school, we ask that any parents dropping off or collecting their child by car do so at a safe distance without creating obstruction for other road users. Please do not use the bus lay-bys as they are for the Blue Coat school buses. Parents are not permitted onto the school site to pick up or drop off their child.

· Please can children bring a clear plastic bottle filled with water. They can fill this bottle up at break and lunch times in the restaurant. Fizzy drinks and energy drinks are not permitted.

Uniform

The Brian Clarke staff are very excited to see our founding cohort looking smart in their Brian Clarke uniform. Please can you ensure that you have read the uniform policy with your child. The policy is explicit around expectations for hair, jewellery and footwear. For clarity there is also a visual guide for parents at the end of the policy. A link to the policy is here.

Our uniform provider Monkhouse supply the vast majority of Oldham schools so please do book your appointments as soon as possible if you want to try items on.

Children will not need to bring their PE kits on the first day.

For this year only we will be gifting each child with a pair of Brian Clarke jogging bottoms. Whilst we are in the temporary accommodation students will be expected to come into school in their PE kits on the days they have PE. This will ensure we have as much curriculum time for lessons. During the summer holidays you will receive a form which asks you for your child’s waist size. We will be giving out the jogging bottoms on the first student day in September

The Family Handbook

Children received a ‘hard’ copy of the Family Handbook on transition day and an electronic link is here. The handbook contains all the essential information to help your child make the best possible start in September.

The Transition Reading Project

We can see that many children have already started this project and completed a number of the activities. There are six chapters of the Odyssey to read and associated quizzes. Please can we encourage you to support your child with this project as it links to their English curriculum and Form Time reading.

This project runs across the secondary schools in the Trust. Brian Clarke, Blue Coat and St Anne’s children are all reading the same text. Members of staff from across the Trust are reading six chapters aloud. A link will be emailed out to you at the start of each week for each chapter.

· Monday 25 July Chapter 1

· Monday 1st August Chapter 2

· Monday 8th August Chapter 3

· Monday 15th August Chapter 4

· Monday 22nd August Chapter 5

· Monday 5th September Chapter 6

The completed transition reading booklet needs to be handed in to Form Tutors by Tuesday 13th September.

ParentPay and MyChildAtSchool (MCAS)

As a cashless school ParentPay is the facility we use for parents/carers to pay for their child’s dinners and any proposed trips. MCAS is the facility that allows parents to view their child’s attendance, rewards, behaviour records and receive any school notices.

You will be receiving information about how to access your own ParentPay and MCAS accounts towards the end of the summer holidays.

The Temporary Accommodation and Permanent Site

If you follow us on social media you will have seen our most recent updates in relation to the temporary accommodation and the main building. Everything is progressing extremely well. We are now in the final stages of surfacing the area around the temporary accommodation and decorating the classrooms. The permanent building is on track for completion next spring.

The School Verse for the Year

Each year at Brian Clarke and across the schools in the Trust we collectively agree on a verse for the year to support us on our spiritual journey.

This year the verse is:

LOVE the Lord your God
with all your heart
with all your soul
with all your mind.
This is the first
and greatest commandment.
And the second
is like it:
‘LOVE your neighbour as yourself.’
Matthew 22:37-39

Finally

We are very excited for the start of term. Please do continue to check your emails for relevant updates from the school. I hope your child enjoys the remaining days of their primary school and that you all have a lovely, restful summer.

Share!