Principal's update 12 May 2023
Published on 12/05/23
Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you have enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekends and there has been the opportunity to spend time with friends and family. We were pleased to welcome everyone back to school this week after the coronation weekend. The last month has brought disruption to our school week through teacher strikes and extra bank holidays. Some of you have shared your concerns about the ongoing disruption after the difficulties of the school closure in the Pandemic. This is why we continue to talk to the students about the importance of attending school and how much we value their presence as an investment in their future. By the end of this week, we have been in school for 139 days, someone with 90% attendance has therefore missed almost 14 days or 3 weeks of school.
We have shared the current attendance of your children and young people with you as parents and carers and will continue to do this each term. We are keen to work together to identify barriers to attendance and to help to remove these barriers where we can. We are here to help and to work together as a community to make sure that our children are in school every day to learn and be safe. Please contact our Pastoral team through the attendance email if you would like to discuss this further.
We spoke to Y11 in assembly today to wish them luck as the daily exams begin on Monday. We have reiterated the rules and our continued support. Please make sure that your young person attends school in their uniform (leavers hoodies are included) so that the invigilators can identify them as HVC students. All Y11 teachers will be here and expecting their class when not in an exam – we would encourage Y11 to take the opportunity to access the support. Official study leave begins on 5 June but Y11 teachers will still be following a normal timetable until the end of the exam season. Our leavers assembly is on the afternoon of Friday 26 May 2023.
Democracy in Action
This week our assemblies have focused on democracy. Robert Largan, MP for High Peak, visited school today and met with representatives from our student council for a Q & A session. He also took questions from our Y10 students in assembly and Y11 GCSE Citizenship students. The students were well prepared and asked very relevant and pertinent questions – we were immensely proud of their mature approach – well done KS4.
What’s going on in school:
- A group of our Y8 students successfully and independently walked the Outside Hope Valley Round 20 mile route on Sunday. They have currently raised £2300 for Edale Mountain Rescue! The link to donate will be open for another week. Well done to Ruby, Fintan, Esther, Flo, Anwen, Monty, Ruben, Freddie, Erin, Fry, Rex, Ethan and Danny. Fundraising walk for Edale Mountain Rescue Team - JustGiving
- Thank you to our PTFA who donated tulip bulbs in the school colours, which were planted by Ms Daniel, our Pastoral Manager for KS4 and some of our students. They look lovely in front of school.
- Well done to Jude in Y7 who recently competed in a Horse show and achieved 3rd place on her horse, Rio.
- For the first time in 15 years, our KS4 boys football team travelled to Lady Manners for a competitive fixture. A fitting finale to the Y11s football career at HVC saw them narrowly defeated in a highly entertaining game. A bag of chips from Bradwell on the way home finished off a great day. Well done to all involved.
- Choir starts again next Thursday 18 May 12:40pm-1:00pm. Everyone is welcome to attend. Our next event will be Music and Mayhem on Saturday 24 June at 3pm in the school hall.
Y8 Subject Evening - Tuesday 23 May, 4.30 - 7.00 pm
Parents and children in Y8 are invited to this subject evening taking place in school. To book appointments please go to the link below. Please note: Should a subject be full at your time of booking, please add you name to the waiting list, you will then be contacted after the event with an update. SchoolCloud - Hope Valley College
Y11 Exam Pencil cases
Exam pencil cases are available to buy from reception and contain all necessary equipment, apart from a calculator. They cost £2.30 and payment can be made either via ParentPay or by cash.
Notification of catering price increases
We understand that the cost of living has risen for all of our families, and as a school we have seen significant price increases in utilities and food costs. We have worked hard to limit the exposure that these increases have had, and we have managed to absorb supplier price increases wherever possible. Our in-house catering team pride themselves on offering freshly made food cooked on site and in order to maintain the level of quality and service for our students, we have unfortunately got to pass on some of the increased food costs.
As a result of this, from Monday 15 May our catering prices will increase and an updated price list & menus can be found on our website www.hopevalley-chorustrust.org/catering - Our hot & cold lunch time meal deals will still be available at the price of £2.85 each day. Access to free drinking water is available throughout the school day, and students are encouraged to bring a re-fillable water bottle into school. We currently have re-fillable water bottles for sale on Reception for £1.50 – these can be purchased via parent pay.
Free School Meals
Free school meal allowances will increase to £2.85 per day from Monday 15 May 2023.
Checking your eligibility for free school meals is straight forward and can be done online using the link below and you will receive an instant result notification.
If anyone has any questions, or would like any further information please contact school on enquiries@hopevalley.chorustrust.org
Extra-Curricular Activities
Attached is the timetable for Extra-Curricular Activities – these are clubs and activities which students can take part in either at lunchtime or before or after school. Students should speak to the relevant member of staff if they need any more information.
Music & Mayhem – Saturday 24 June, 2-6pm
Please ask your young person to speak to Mrs Machan if you would like to perform at this event.
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Thank you for reading our communication. Here are some helpful email addresses, should you need to contact us:
Kind regards |
Gaynor Jones, Principal
Hope Valley College
T: 01433 620555
