A Guide for New Year 7 Parents/Carers 2020-2021 - OUR SCHOOL OUR FUTURE - WELCOME TO - Fearnhill ...

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WELCOME TO

     Growing Excellence Every Day

  A Guide for New
Year 7 Parents/Carers
     2020-2021
        OUR SCHOOL
        OUR FUTURE
Contents Page

Title                                     Page Number
Welcome                                   Page 3
Timetable for the Virtual Evening & Day   Page 3
Attendance                                Page 4
School Uniform                            Page 5
PE Kit                                    Page 6
Term Dates                                Page 7
Schoolgateway Letter                      Page 8
Timings of the School Day                 Page 9
School Communication                      Page 10
Contact Details                           Page 10

                                                        2
Welcome to the Year 7 Parents’ Information Evening
We are delighted that you have chosen Fearnhill for your child’s secondary education.

We recognise that the transition from primary to secondary school is a vital step in a child's education. It can be a
challenging time for students and parents. We do our utmost to ensure that the experience is an enjoyable one.

Some primary students have already been involved in some of our exciting taster sessions in music, PE, lan-
guages, science, and maths, which have been organised by both staff and students at Fearnhill. This should have
already begun to put your children’s minds at ease as they take this big step forwards.

In addition, the Year 7 team has liaised with all of the primary feeder schools and spoken via telephone with the
Year 6 students individually. Our current Year 7 students are on hand to give advice and support and answer any
questions. They understand the process better than anyone having been through it themselves!

We hope you have enjoyed the many ways that you have been introduced to school staff (virtually). Even though
we haven't been able to meet face to face we strongly encourage you to get in touch if you have an concerns or
questions whatsoever.

We achieve greater success and make better progress when students, staff and parents work together in close
partnership.

We hope you will always feel welcome at Fearnhill School and I look forward to working with you throughout the
years ahead.

Mr Turner
Head of Key Stage 3

Timetable for the Virtual Evening & Day
 Wednesday 8th July
 Virtual Induction Evening – 6pm on the Fearnhill Transition YouTube channel
 This evening will show you more about the school helping you feel prepared for Sep-
 tember. You will have the opportunity to see some, now, familiar faces; be updated
 with some important information and start to learn your way around with a virtual
 tour. You will also find out who your form tutor is for September.

 Thursday 9th July
 Virtual Transition Day – 9am-3pm
 You will have 5 lessons on this day, all set online. We will let you know where to find
 these different lessons ready for Transition Day and more will be explained during the
 induction evening. These lessons will also leave you with an extended piece of work to
 complete over the holidays ready for your first lesson back in September. A wonderful
 opportunity to do your best and make a great first impression.

                                                                                                                        3
Attendance Matters
Your child should be encouraged to attend school every day. Should they be away for any reason, a telephone
call or text on the first day of absence, and every subsequent day, is required. A written request for leave of ab-
sence for dental, hospital or doctor’s appointments should be made well in advance and not on the day of the
actual appointment, except in cases of emergency. Where possible, these should be made outside of school
hours. Your child must sign out at reception before leaving school for an appointment and sign back in again
when he/she returns.

Any absence from school can affect your child’s academic progress. Students are therefore not expected to take
holidays during term time. The school will not be able to authorise absence for time out of school for reasons
other than illness, except in wholly exceptional or unavoidable circumstances. Should requests be made which
do not fulfil these criteria, any resulting absences will be unauthorised and appear as such on the student’s rec-
ord. If your child’s attendance is a concern, then the Attendance Improvement Officer will be informed.

Attendance Monitoring Flow Chart

  Attendance below 96%                                   A school letter can be sent asking for medical
                                                          evidence for the absence

                       

  If no medical evidence is forthcoming and              Penalty Notice warning will be sent
  the student has 6 or more unauthorised
  sessions (where a session is half a day)

                       

  If the number of unauthorised sessions                 Fixed Penalty Notice will be processed
  reach 15 (each day is 2 sessions, so 15 ses-            (£60 for each parent with parental responsibility)
  sions is 7.5 days)

                                                                                                                      4
School Uniform for Fearnhill School – Years 7-11
Uniform is worn throughout Years 7 to 11. We are aware of the high cost of uniform and have attempted to make
the requirements as simple and practical as possible. We ask parents to ensure students take a proper pride in
their personal appearance.

   Fearnhill blazer*
   Fearnhill jumper* (optional)
   White button neck shirt (long or short sleeved)
   Fearnhill tie (green)*
   Fearnhill skirt* or black trousers
   Socks – black or grey with trousers, white socks may be worn with a skirt
   Tights – black or natural
   Black leather / leather look shoes

  We work closely with the uniform providers - The Uniform Monkeys

   *These items must only be purchased must be bought from either of the above
   Trousers must be a polyester / polyester mix, they must NOT be denim, cotton or wool. Trousers must
    NOT be skin tight, skinny fit or have a split in the trouser leg. No additions to the trousers such as
    decorated belts, buckles, lacing or labels are allowed.
   Shoes must be leather / leather look and you must be able to polish them. NO trainers, canvas shoes,
    plimsolls or boots are allowed.
   Uniform can be ordered via www.theuniformmonkeys.co.uk
   The Uniform Monkeys have a new shop located in Letchworth town centre and also offer online ordering
    with free delivery and a personal local service for fittings and exchanges.

 UNIFORM STANDARDS
    No haircuts shorter than a Grade 2.
    No tramlines, designs, or extreme hairstyles.
    No unusual colouring, dyeing or highlighting.
    Hair should be tidy, of sensible length and safe for school type activities.
    Make-up should be minimal and discreet.
    Ear piercing – one stud earring per ear.
    No facial piercings will be permitted.
    No body piercings are permitted.
    No tattoos, temporary or permanent are permitted.
    No ear expanders will be permitted.
    No jewellery other than that of religious significance is permitted. This must be removed for PE lessons on
      safety grounds.
    Skirts must be regulation length to the knee.
    All items of clothing MUST be clearly marked with the student name, so that lost property can be quickly
      returned to owners.

                                                                                                                   5
PE Kit for Fearnhill School – Years 7-11

                                                                 Boys                        Girls
 PE Kit Items                                          Compulsory       Optional     Compulsory      Optional
                      1
 Fearnhill polo shirt (fitted or unisex)                                               
 Fearnhill PE shorts2                                                                   
 Fearnhill PE skorts2                                                                                   
 Fearnhill reversible outdoor top 2                         
 Fearnhill hooded sweatshirt1                                                           
 (may be asked to remove for contact sport)
 Long black PE socks2 *                                                                 
 Outdoor Trainers/Astro Trainers*                                                       
 Indoor Trainers                                                                        
 Football Boots                                                                                        
 Gum shield                                                                             
 Shin pads                                                                              
 Plain black tracksuit bottoms or leggings (GIRLS)                                      
 Black base Layer                                                                                      
 Plain black woolly hat                                                                                

 1These items carry the Fearnhill logo and must be bought from The Uniform Monkeys
  2
 These items are in the Fearnhill colours and must be bought from The Uniform Monkeys
* It is recommended that girls have Astro Trainers as outdoor footwear if not purchasing football boots
* Black socks are compulsory for Year 7, all other year groups may continue to wear green socks until

                             ALL KIT MUST BE CLEARLY NAMED
                           It is recommended that kit is embroidered with initials

                                                                                                                6
Fearnhill School Term Dates

 Autumn Term 2020
 Inset Days                         Wednesday 2nd, Thursday 3rd September 2020
 School opens for Autumn Term       Friday 4th September 2020
 (Years 7 and 12 only)
 School opens for all Year groups   Monday 7th September 2020
 Half Term                          Monday 26th - Friday 30th October 2020
 Return to school                   Monday 2nd November 2020
 Inset Day                          Friday 27th November 2020
 Occasional Day                     Friday 30th November 2020
 End of Term (early closure)        Friday 18th December 2020

 Spring Term 2021
 Spring Term begins for students    Monday 4th January 2021
 Half Term                          Monday 15th - Friday 19th February 2021
 Return to school                   Monday 22nd February 2021
 End of Term (early closure)        Friday 26th March 2021
 Good Friday                        Friday 2nd April 2021
 Easter Monday                      Monday 5th April 2021

 Summer Term 2021
 Summer term begins for students    Monday 12th April 2021
 May Bank Holiday                   Monday 3rd May 2021
 Half Term                          Monday 31st May - Friday 4th June 2021
 Return to school                   Monday 7th June 2021
 Inset Day                          Monday 5th July 2021
 End of Term (early closure)        Wednesday 21st July 2021
 Inset Day                          Thursday 22nd July 2021

                                                                                 7
School Gateway

June 2020

Dear Parents/Carers

School Gateway
Improved text messaging system

From time to time, we send information to parents via text message (called Schoolcomms) to your mobile
phone. A new, free, smartphone app for parents is now available for download called ‘School Gateway’ for
Apple (iPhone 3GS or later, iPad, iPod Touch) and Android (2.3/Gingerbread or later) devices.

Please could you download this new app to your phone (it’s free) as it will help us improve communication
with parents.

The set-up process is simple and will take no more than a couple of minutes:

 Search for ‘School Gateway’ in the Apple App Store/Google Play or on your phone go to
  www.schoolgateway.com/apple (Apple) or www.schoolgateway.com/android (Android).

 Install the app and if you are asked then say yes to ‘Allow Push Notifications’.

 When you launch School Gateway for the first time, please select ‘New User’ and enter the email address
  and mobile telephone number you have registered with the school.

 The system will send a PIN code to your phone; please enter this PIN code and the app will be activated for
  you. As soon as you’ve got the system set-up, all of the text messages we send you will appear in the app;
  you’ll receive notifications/alerts as normal.

If you’ve recently changed your email address or mobile telephone number, please let us know so we can
update our records.

Yours faithfully

School Office

                                                                                                                8
Timings of the School Day

             Monday – Friday
             8.30 – 8:50       Long Registration

             8.50 – 9.50       Period 1
             9.50 – 10.50      Period 2

             10.50 – 11.10     BREAK

             11.10 – 12.10     Period 3
             12.10 – 1.10      Period 4

             1.10 – 1.55       LUNCH

             1.55 – 2.00       Registration

             2.00 – 3.00       Period 5

                                                   9
School Communication
We try to ensure that communication between the school and parents is as prompt and effective as possible.
The school uses an email service allowing us to send letters and messages direct to parents and carers by email
using Schoolcomms. Over the summer holiday, we will register all parents using the email addresses provided
on the data collection sheet. If you do not have access to the internet or email, please be assured that we will
continue to communicate with you by paper or other appropriate means.

Other means of communications that we use are the school website and our fortnightly newsletter ‘Fearnfile’.

 Contact Details

        Fearnhill School
        Icknield Way
        Letchworth Garden City
        Herts
        SG6 4BA

        Tel No: 01462 621200

        email: admin@fearnhill.herts.sch.uk
        website: www.fearnhill.herts.sch.uk
        Facebook: follow us @fearnhillschool
        Twitter: follow us @fearnhillschool

                     School Office opening times
                     8.00am – 4.30pm Monday to Thursday
                     8.00am – 4.00pm Friday
                                (except in holiday periods)
                                An answerphone service is available at all other times

                                                                                                               10
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