Dear Parent/Carer,

 

We formally say farewell to our Year 11 cohort today following an intense period of revision and assessments to provide evidence for awarding teacher assessed grades for their GCSE and BTEC qualifications.  Staff and students have worked incredibly hard and we are pleased that we have been able to afford this year’s cohort with their rights of passage, celebrating their time at Belvoir through a leavers assembly filled with memories, photos and experiences shared over the last five years,  the traditional signing of shirts, inflatable activities on the school field, ice-cream van and a group picnic.  It was a fantastic way to end a pressured term and a difficult and worrying year for our Year 11 students and we will miss them greatly.  I extend a huge thank you on behalf of the students to Miss Jones – Head of Year who has led and supported the students throughout their time with us and also to the Year 11 form tutors who have also supported and cajoled them through to the end with incredible skill, patience and compassion.  We look forward to seeing them at the prom at the end of June, restrictions permitting and then at results day on the 12^th August!

 

This week we have also celebrated student achievements in the Peacock Pride awards across Keystage 3.  Students were invited to the Head’s breakfasts over the course of this week for pastries and juice to be congratulated and It has been inspiring to hear the wide range of activities and successes that they participate in both in and out of school, for their bronze or silver badges across the five strands of Physical, Responsibility, Inspiration, Drive and Engagement.  It is extremely encouraging that many students now have a the full set of bronze badges and now considering their presentation to a panel of people on a topic of personal interest to gain their Bronze Baccalaureate badge.  Please do speak to your child about how they have achieved their badges by participating in the life of the school.

 

Opportunity knocks for approximately 60 students across Years 7 – 10 who put themselves forward for the auditions for our production of Mary Poppins to be performed in February 2022.  This was a challenging and robust process requiring students to prepare a scene and act it on the stage, sing a song from the show and learn a dance routine. 30 students were called back who successfully secured individual parts and the standard of performance has been exceptionally high.  All of the students who auditioned demonstrated real skill, ambition, resilience and confidence and as a result are all involved in the show.  Mary Poppins promises to be another show stopper which is set to  rival our previous production Grease.  Students are eager to get started and there are now months of rehearsal, hard work and commitment ahead  in preparation for the opening night.  We will let you know when tickets will be on sale.

 

In other news, Leicestershire Local Authority are consulting on school term and holiday dates for the five years between Autumn 2022 and Summer 2027. The proposals are:

 

1.  Keeping the ‘traditional’ county term time pattern, which offers an earlier summer holiday but means a longer autumn term
2. Aligning the autumn and spring breaks in line with most other authorities, including Leicester City, but again means a longer autumn term
3. Introducing a two-week autumn half-term break. This would leave terms ‘more balanced’ across the whole year but would result in shorter Easter break

More detailed information on these proposals and a chance to have your say via a short questionnaire can be accessed here www.leicestershire.gov.uk/term-dates-consultationThe closing date for both consultations is midnight on Sunday, July 18.  

 

Finally, as the term draws to a close, please can I remind and encourage you to ensure that your child continues to test twice weekly through the holiday and before returning to school.  The lateral flow device test result should be reported online as positive, negative or void in line with the instructions which accompany the test kit.  Please can you or your child report the result to school via the link on the student SharePoint or by using the following link

The Priory Belvoir Academy Student - Home Lateral Flow Test - Reporting Results (office.com)

 

• Over the half-term break, students and parents/carers only need to inform the school of a positive case where symptoms have developed or have tested positive, within 48 hours of being at school.  We will continue to identify close contacts where individuals may have been infectious whilst at school.  Please email generalenquiries@belvoiracademy.co.uk
• Where  students or parents test positive for Covid-19 but have developed symptoms more than 48 hours since being in school, please follow contact tracing instructions  provided by NHS Test and Trace.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Mr L S Newton

Headteacher