Weekly Parent BulletinWeek of Monday 17 March (Week B)

Dear Parents and Carers, 

We are delighted to announce that we have received an award for our inclusive approach to attendance (KITE MARK Award - see picture below of Mrs Gray, Mrs Seymour, Mrs Mills and me being presented with the award).  We are the first school in Nottingham City to receive this award. This accolade is testament to the amazing relationships we have with our students and parents/carers. The focus of our approach is centred around that every child in our school feels they belong to Nottingham Free School and that every child has a champion.  Our students regularly speak about the support they receive from staff in school and that they love their learning. 

Not being in school means they miss the amazing opportunities that take place in our building and beyond.  We will continue to work hard to ensure your child attends every day for the remainder of the academic year. By continuing to work in partnership, your child will hugely increase their chances of reaching their potential. 

Furthermore, we had a very successful Year 9 Options event on Tuesday. It was wonderful to see so many parents/carers and children discussing GCSE options with our staff. We hope you found it very useful.  Our whole school community is very grateful to our sixth form student leaders for this support on this evening, in running the prayer room and refreshments for those families observing Ramadan. A wonderful example of our students leading by example. 

I hope you find the following bulletin messages useful and have a great weekend. 

Yours faithfully, 

Dr J Simpson

• Mon 17 Mar: Year 7 PSHE Workshop with 'Equation'
• Mon 17 Mar: Bronze DofE Parent Information Evening (4:30-5:30) with Mr Garnham
• Tue 18 Mar: Year 13 Geography Residential Field Visit (until Fri 21 Mar)
• Wed 19 Mar: Year 9 Parent-Teacher Meetings (4-7pm)
• Thu 20 Mar: Maths Challenges (Year 9 and 10) organised by Miss Wignall
• Tue 25 Mar: Year 11 Parent-Teacher Meetings (4-7pm)
• Thu 27 Mar: Year 7 Walesby Educational Visit (residential) with Mr Tomasevic
• Thu 27 Mar: Year 11 SEND Drop-Ins
• Fri 28 Mar: Year 7 Walesby Educational Visit (residential) with Mr Tomasevic 
• Mon 31 Mar: Year 8 PSHE Workshop with 'Equation'
• Tue 1 Apr: Parent Internet Safety Workshop (4-5pm) with Mrs Gray
• Wed 2 April: Year 9 Options deadline
• Thu 3 April: Year 9 Ambition Educational Visit with Miss Cockayne
• Fri 4 April: SEND Coffee Drop In Morning

• A huge thank you to all the families that donated cakes, chocolates and sweets for the COMIC RELIEF bake sale. 
• We raised £118 in two 15 minutes break times. 
• A big thanks to our sixth form, Year 7 and Year 8 student leaders for helping run the bake sale. 
• As you can see, there was very little stock left by the time all remaining treats were left in the staff room! Staff donations will further add to our total, with all money going to Comic Relief. 

The Youth Power Awards:

Nottingham City are urging all professionals, teachers, community leaders, parents, coaches, adults to nominate a young person aged between 7-18 years old who lives or goes to school in Nottingham City or Nottinghamshire County, who has: Done something inspirational, Helped others, Led by example, Raised money for charity, Overcome a challenge, Turned their life around, Has an amazing talent or  Anything else worthy of recognition. Click Here for more information - including categories and the nomination form. The closing date is Wednesday 26th March at 12:00pm.

If your child has done something inspirational for the community, please get in touch with Mrs Gray.

Ethos of Excellence:

• Equipment - please can parents/carers check equipment each weekend to ensure that children are ready to learn at the start of each week.

• Following attendance letters being sent out to all parents (via MCAS) informing of their child's attendance which includes the number of days absence, conversations will be taking place with all students over the next couple of weeks to see how we can support students in understanding the importance of:

1. Attending everyday until the end of the academic year - looking at upcoming events/lessons which they should not be missing.
2. Not missing learning opportunities and how they feel when they can't catch up on the learning.
3. Telling staff when they are worried and then how we can support.

Please can we ask all parents to check their MCAS app to make sure you are able to see your child's attendance register and to look at how many days absent they have had this academic year.  If you have NOT downloaded the MCAS app then please contact your child's Head of Year who will be able to support you.