On Monday we said farewell to our year thirteen students and enjoyed a meal together as soon to be ex-students and staff. We wish all of our students success and happiness into the future.

We have a number of items for your attention this week in preparation for the new academic year.

Class charts

Whilst we are encouraged by the regularity and amount of information that parents receive, we still keep looking for ways to enhance the accessibility and ease by which parents can get to information that relates to their child.

We plan to extend the use of our Class charts system in school from the beginning of next year. This should mean easier access to information on attendance, achievement, timetable and behaviour as well as general notices that we send home. We will issue further details on this soon so that parents and students can download the app and have ready access to information. This is planned to replace our current use of WeDuc.

iPay

In addition, we are also moving our on line payment system to iPay. This means that both payments and any refunds can be made easily as well as keeping a close track of account details. Again, information on the transfer will be sent home shortly.

Uniform

Parents will know that we have continued with other option to wear PE kit in the last few weeks. This will again continue, but we also met with governors on Wednesday and amended our current uniform policy to include regulation school wear shorts as an option for the summer months. Parent governors recognised the impact we have made with this flexibility and I hope it proves to be a helpful option. In addition, we held our swap or shop event on Wednesday where a significant number of items were available for a reduced price or a free swap. We are pleased that so many parents found this a helpful provision. This will also run on our year six into seven induction evening on July 6th.

Household Support Fund Phase Four

Please follow the link for more information on the Household Support Fund Phase Four for our Free School Meal eligible families. For any support or for more information please contact householdsupportfund@nottscc.gov.uk

School field and dogs

We continue to have issues with PE lessons on our school field disrupted by staff having to clear dog mess from the grass and even the long jump pit before starting lessons. This week again we have unfortunately had students treading in it whilst out on PE lessons. Please can dog owners keep dogs to the public footpaths, ensure that dog waste bags are used and refrain from going on to the school fields.

Summer By The Lake! - Lakeside Arts events this summer - free activities

Festival of Archaeology 2023 - Saturday 29 July - Ages 7+

Families can step into the creative world of Roman crafts with opportunities to make a Roman bulla amulet necklace and a mini ‘Face-pot’ out of clay.

Enchanted Forest: Interactive Installation - Tuesday 8 August – Sunday 3 September

Digital artist Barret Hodgson has let his imagination run wild to create a fantastical woodland unlike one you've ever encountered in reality! Families can explore the forest and meet magical creatures and amazing plants. This exhibition is incredibly sensory, interactive and visitor led so is perfect for those children and young people with additional needs.

Family Theatre

Twelfth Night: Open Air Theatre - Sunday 9 & Saturday 15 July - Ages 7+

A perfect introduction to Shakespeare for all ages, set in an informal outdoor lakeside setting. Expect laughs, mixed-up identities and a whole lot of outdoor fun! 

Summer Schools

For parents struggling with childcare over the holidays, we have two summer schools running which provide a brilliant opportunity for children and young people to get creative and gain an insight into the worlds of theatre, art and science.

Make a Play in a Week - Tuesday 8 – Friday 11 August - Ages 11 -14

Science and Creativity Summer School - Monday 14- Friday 18 August - Ages 10-15

All of our summer programme can be found at lakesidearts.org.uk/Summer

Strike action

The strike action on 5th and 7th July will have an impact on the ability of the school to provide education on site for all. On Wednesday 5th we will have year nine and year twelve students on site and other year groups will need to remain at home and study online. On Friday 7th July we will have year seven, eight, ten and twelve students on site and year nine will need to remain at home and study online.