Weekly Parent BulletinWeek of 27 January 2025 (WEEK B TIMETABLE)

Dear Parents and Carers, 

A super busy week at NFS this week, with Sixth Form Parent Meetings and Year 11 GCSE Information Evening on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Thanks to all those parents in attendance at these events. 

A couple of notices for you this week, aimed specifically at Key Stage 3 parents and carers. A reminder to always contact me if you have any specific information that you might find useful in this bulletin. I am always open to suggestions. 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Very best wishes,

Joel Tomasevic - Senior Leader for Communications and Parent Involvement

E: jtomasevic@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk

T: 0115 896 4949

If your child is attending the Walesby visit, please come along to our parent/carer information evening:

• Tuesday 25th February at 6pm
• Information evening for parents/carers of students attending Walesby on 27/28th March.
• The meeting will be approximately 30-45 minutes

Thank you, 

Miss Weston (Head of Year 7)

The English Department are trialling Sparx Reader for KS3 homework. 

What is Sparx Reader? 

• It is online reading platform designed to support students with their reading comprehension and accuracy. It encourages them to read carefully and with precision. There are over 400 books on the platform, ranging from classic novels to contemporary YA fiction. 

How does it work? 

• By Monday, all students will have completed a reading test on the platform and are recommended books suited to their level. Students read a section of the text before being presented with a comprehension check point. These questions have been written by the team at Sparx. Students then earn points for answering correctly. 

Can the settings be adapted to support accessible reading? 

• Yes! Students can change the background colour, font style and size and even add a reading ruler if they wish. This can be easily changed in the settings. Teachers will monitor accuracy and will support students where necessary. Class teachers may adapt the amount of points required for homework completion to support individual students. 

Anything else I need to know? 

• We recognise our amazing community of committed readers at NFS. Students who are already avid readers at home will be able to quickly unlock the 'Gold Reader Pass' which allows them to earn points by reading their own physical book.

More information for Parents can be found here: https://sparxreader.com/parents/

• Wednesday 29 January - Year 13 UCAS Final Application Deadline
• Friday 31 January - NFS Sixth Form Applications Deadline
• Monday 3 February - Year 11 and 13 Mock Exams (until 14 February)
• Tuesday 4 February - Year 10 SEND Drop Ins (3-6pm)
• Tuesday 11 February - Bronze DofE Parent Information Evening (5-6pm)
• Thursday 13 February - Yr8 SEND Bookable Reviews (4-6pm)
• Friday 14 February - SEND Parent Workshop (9-10am) 
• Friday 14 February - Last day of the half term!