Principal's update 8 December 2023
Published on 08/12/23
Dear Parents and Carers
An enormous well done to all those involved in our Festive Showcase on Tuesday evening! It was a wonderful night, showcasing the amazing talent we have here at HVC. Special thanks to Mrs Machan and Miss Starbuck for all their hard work putting the show together. Thank you to all those who attended, supported students, baked cakes and more! As always, thank you to our PTFA for providing refreshments.
Dinner Money Accounts
As a small school, we are continually managing our costs especially at the moment as we all struggle with the cost of living. Part of this ongoing management has revealed that we are currently owed over £1000 in school dinner money arrears – this is money that has been spent by children but not paid by parents/carers. If this is an oversight, could you please make arrangements to settle the account. We can put a daily limit on your child’s account if you email finance@hopevalley.chorustrust.org and you can also monitor your child’s purchased on Parent Pay. I know that times are tough at the moment but unfortunately, we cannot carry the cost of the arrears – please do get in touch if you need help financially especially if you have Free School Meals. I know you may have received a letter too. Thank you for cooperation – we are a community, and we are here to help but equally we need to make sure that we use our money wisely when educating our young people.
What’s going on in school:
- Our Young Hope Leaders arranged for us to take part in a Christmas Jumper Day in Aid of Save the Children on Thursday this week. As a school community, we raised over £300 for this fantastic cause.
- Thank you to everyone who donated food items for our Harvest Collection. Miss Reynolds took these to the Chesterfield Food Bank today and they weighed in at a fantastic 88kg of donations!
- Year 9 students are enjoying their Outdoor Activities on a Friday afternoon. After completing their climbing block, they have moved on to orienteering at Longshaw. So far, two groups have enjoyed this activity and have been fantastic!
- Year 8 took their turn in the Interhouse Table Tennis competition this week. Win Hill were the winners!
- Thank you to our Y10 and Y11 GCSE Music students who took the time to perform to day residents of Caroline Court Care Home on Wednesday 6 December. The residents thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment and were singing and dancing with us!
- Our Primary event last week was a huge success with Karate Zone coming in to deliver a fantastic session to primary schools. Our Sports Leaders helped with the event and also learnt a thing or two about self-defence whilst they were at it!
- Our Catering Team will be serving Christmas Dinner on Monday 18 December and we will have a slightly longer lunch break to allow for this. Our annual Christmas Bazaar will take place on the last day of term – tutor groups have been coming up with ideas for their stalls. This is an HVC tradition and is usually great fun! Our Key Stage Leaders will also be holding celebration assemblies with all year groups.
Y10 French and Spanish speaking mocks
The Y10 speaking mocks start next Monday 11 December and student's allocated time slots will be communicated to them by their teacher. This information can also be found on tutor notices and the exam noticeboard. The main Y10 mock period will commence Monday 15 January 2024 and more information can be found on our website Exams - Hope Valley College
Y11 Subject Evening
The Year 11 Subject Evening will take place in school on Monday 11 December. This is an opportunity to talk to teachers about progress, attainment and attitudes to learning. Please use the following link to log into the SchoolCloud booking system to make appointments with the relevant teachers: https://hopevalley.schoolcloud.co.uk/. If staff are unavailable because all appointments have been booked, please contact the member of staff directly to arrange feedback. The waiting list is to facilitate appointments should places on the evening become available.
Y11 report
The first assessment and progress report in Year 11 has been given to students today; it is also available on the Arbor parent portal and has been emailed to parents and students. There are some gaps in the FFT5 data on the reports. We will update these as soon as we can via the parent portal.
Hope Seniors Xmas Party - Y7 Choir Performance
We are very excited to be taking 30 members of our Y7 choir to Castleton YHA next Tuesday 12 December. Students will rehearse in music during P2 and P3 next Tuesday 12 and should register with their teachers before attending rehearsals. We will have an early lunch at 12:30pm and then meet in music at 12:55pm before walking to the YHA. Please practise Winter Wonderland, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Be the Best That You Can Be & Last Christmas in preparation for the event.
Hamilton Theatre Trip
On Wednesday 13 December, GCSE Music and Drama students are going to watch Hamilton at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. Students will have an early lunch at 11:45am and should bring a drink and snacks for later. We will leave school at 12:15pm and are due to return at 6:30pm/6:45pm.
Y7 Carol Concert
On Thursday 14 December, 30 members of our Y7 choir will be leading a Carol Concert at St Peter's Church, Hope. There will also be solo performances and readings by Y9 students. The event is free for anyone to attend and will run from 6-7pm. There will be festive refreshments after the concert. If your young person is performing at the Y7 Carol concert but not at the Hope Seniors Xmas party, they should also attend the rehearsal on Tuesday P2 and P3.
Job Vacancies
We are currently recruiting for a Data / MIS Officer on a permanent basis to start in January 2024. We are also recruiting for Exam Invigilators on a casual basis. For more information, please see our website: Vacancies - Hope Valley College (chorustrust.org)
Lost Property
If students have misplaced any belongings or items of clothing, please ask them to check at reception if they have been handed in. Any items that remain unclaimed at the end of term will be donated to charity.
DCC Holiday Clubs
Derbyshire County Council are running their Holiday and Food Programme, It’s About Me, from 27 December to 5 January. For more information, visit their website: It's about me | Welcome (itsaboutmederbyshire.co.uk)
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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
