Well done to the Year 10 students who were nominated by their teachers for our rewards breakfast today. Riana, Danillo, J’Adore, Hollie, Jonathan, Daishon, Nadia, Hassan, Laurelle and Natasha have made a fantastic start to their GCSEs. As well as enjoying croissants and hot chocolate, they shared their thoughts on further improvements to the school and gave their thanks to our teaching staff, one child commenting that ‘there are so many great teachers here’. I couldn’t agree more.

In Year 11, Liam has been mentioned by his maths and French teachers who are very impressed with his work ethic. Hope has been working exceptionally hard in photography and Madison continues to impress us with her art work. I also want to praise every student in Year 7 for their stellar performance in choir this week. More broadly, their attitude to learning and their interactions with staff are exemplary. Thank you for being a joy to teach.

Ms Ongley held our Year 11 Prefect interviews this week (which may be her highlight of 2022…) and the following students have been appointed:

• Head Prefects: Diana and Braden
• Deputy Head Prefect: Israel 
• Senior Prefects: Sophie, Alicia, Abi and Liam

They will be excellent leaders and role models in our school community.

Sparx homework has commenced this week. Thanks to our maths department and the brilliant attitude of our students, Orchard Park consistently ranked in the top 15 schools in the country for Sparx completion and took the top spot in our Trust. This year, Mr Shah wants this to go even further. Sparx clubs are available on Tuesdays after school and Wednesday lunchtimes should your child need help. We appreciate your support in ensuring your child meets the 2.00pm Wednesday deadline. 

A warm welcome to our new Parent Governor Kate Mulroney. Kate is a parent to two children at our school and is experienced in working with young people. I am sure she will bring many helpful insights to Orchard Park. 

Our Year 6 Open Evening is on Thursday 29th September. We will need to dismiss our students at lunchtime in order to ensure the site is ready for the event. All students will therefore leave by 1.30pm on that day.

Finally, we ask students to walk to Tower View where our own bus, solely for our students, begins its route, or to walk to Shirley High Street. Both locations are supervised by the senior team and younger students can walk with SLT if they need to. Any carers who would like to help with the ‘walking bus’ route from our school to Shirley library are very welcome. Please get in touch with us on admin@orchardparkhigh.net. We do not want students getting on the bus at Glade Gardens because the pavement is very narrow so is less safe for large groups of people.

A reminder that Monday 19th September is a bank holiday.

Ms C. Moran, Headteacher