Dear Parents and Carers,
It does not feel like long ago that I wrote to you to welcome everyone back to the new academic year at LAB. It has been an exciting and extremely busy return for all members of the community and we wanted to take this opportunity to share some highlights and updates with you all.
Airy students
Our year 7 students have made a fantastic start to their LAB journey. They have transitioned extremely well from primary school and have been demonstrating the LAB values in their day to day habits. They have shown phenomenal growth in the past seven and a half weeks and are fully integrated into the Airy community. Year 7 Airy students have topped the leaderboard for attendance with an impressive 97% attendance over this module. A special mention to 7F who have gained the most merits across LAB in Module 1 with a total of 889 merits.
Students across year 8 and 9 have been working hard to be positive role models to our year 7 students by supporting them to find their way around LAB and getting to know them at break time. They have also been excellent tour guides at our open events and many visitors have commented on how well they represented the Academy. A huge well done to Elena in 8C for gaining the most merits in the college this module with an impressive 58 positive points.
We continue to be impressed by our year 10 and 11 students, who have shown commitment and a mature approach to their GCSEs. It has been wonderful to see how positively students across both year groups have engaged with the challenge and dedication to their studies.
It is undeniably an important time for year 11s and we would like to thank parents and carers for their ongoing support and attendance at key events, as well as ensuring their child is engaging with interventions, MyTutor, library study sessions and all other provisions. Please engage with your child about the revision techniques that have been taught to them over the past week (including flash cards, self quizzing and Pomodoro!)
We are very proud of our Jack Petchey winners in Airy, who collected their awards at the ceremony held at Blackheath Halls earlier this month. They were a credit to the LAB community at the ceremony as well as the reward trip to the theatre. It has also been great to see so many in cultural dress and/or wearing red today to support the Black History month celebrations and raise
awareness for the charity Red Card to Racism. We’ve finished the module with an Airy breakfast to celebrate all of our students who have been nominated or who have won Student of the Week.
Please look out for details and photos of all of these activities in the Christmas Newsletter.
Attendance
Attendance across Airy college at the start of Module 1 continues to be higher than national averages, at 93%, We continue to be aspirational for all of our students to be over 95% at the end of the academic year.
A special mention to the following tutor groups that are already regularly over 95% attendance:
- 7C = 97%
- 7F = 97%
- 9F = 96%
- 9C = 95%
- 11F = 95%
Uniform
We are pleased to communicate that the vast majority of our students arrive at the Academy looking smart and ready to learn in their full uniform every day, However, as the weather changes and temperatures decrease, we felt it useful to remind you
about our expectations relating to uniform:
- Our navy blue blazer with academy crest;
- Steel grey classic trouser or pleated skirt;
- White button up shirt;
- Leigh Academy Blackheath college or founders tie;
- Plain navy or grey socks;
- Black leather shoes with plain laces (coloured laces are not permitted).
Students are not permitted to wear make up, jewellery (including hooped earrings) or trainers. A reminder that, on those days when they are timetabled to have PE, students should come to school wearing their PE kit. On days where your child does not have PE, your child is expected to wear the following as per the guidance available on our website.
Mobile Phones and Digital Safety
As you are aware, mobile phones are not permitted to be used on site. If seen, they will be removed, and parents or carers will be called to collect. Should a child need to contact home during the day due to an emergency, they should speak to one of the SSMs (Student Service Managers).
Following our previous letter, we continue to stress the importance of students using social media appropriately. Unfortunately, we have been made aware of some unkindness on year group Whatsapp groups, and other social media platforms, by some students. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the importance of families monitoring their child’s social media use. Whilst we are not directly responsible for your child’s interactions on social media, we are of course invested in their wellbeing. We would ask, therefore, that all parents/ carers continue to monitor their child’s use of social media and discourage any involvement in whatsapp groups. We would also remind parents and carers that, as of 2018, the minimum age of use for WhatsApp in the UK is 16 years old.
For more information on how to monitor your child’s use of social media, please visit: www.nationalonlinesafety.com/hub. Please contact your child’s tutor if you have any concerns.
Finally, we would like to wish our Airy students and their families a safe and restful half term. We are looking forward to welcoming you back on Monday 7th November for the start of Module 2.
Yours faithfully,
Ms C Lindars,
Head of Airy College, Vice Principal