Senior School Weekly Bulletin

Principal’s message

Amidst the quiet veil that has fallen over much of the Alwoodley campus during exam week for many senior students, it was a refreshing Wednesday to see Year 7 taking a day out to rebalance the week, spending the day differently to restore energy levels and stretch the mind beyond exams and revision. Teaching our children a real sense of perspective and coping strategies to help them in the toughest weeks is an important lesson indeed.

That said, across the school, pupils from Rose Court to Sixth Form have been leading the way in their recently completed pupil surveys. Mr Parker has been analysing the results over recent weeks and it’s been encouraging to see the improvements in student views of school in every area since the last survey, three years ago. But the pupils are challenging us too, as they should be. They have highlighted several important issues that they want us to turn our focus to in the coming years, so our challenge will be to include these in our new development plan. To take a critical example, whilst we as a school are proud of our efforts to reflect the need to reduce our carbon footprint and to address environmental issues which impact on us all, nonetheless our pupils are urging us to do more, and more we shall do! Equally, pupils want us to continue to modernise our teaching methods through technology; to build upon our excellent pastoral provision and expertise to help them develop their resilience in the face of the pressures of the modern world; and to continue to provide ever better co-curricular opportunities for all across arts, sports and intellectual pursuits.

We all teach our children, in school and at home, to listen well and listen with respect, to learn from others. The pupil survey gives us the opportunity to model this and to listen to the pupils’ suggestions for developments in school – after all, they are full of ideas and they need to know that their opinions matter. We’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Sue Woodroofe 
Principal

Please note that to access the downloads in this bulletin you will need to be logged into the school intranet GSAL World. Should you have any difficulty logging in please visit the GSAL World home page and follow the instructions under Password Reset Request.

Whole school notices

GSAL presents a Night of Musical Theatre

Friday 28 June 2019 19:00 – 21:30 in the GSAL theatre

The talented student singers of GSAL perform highlights from the great musicals. Bar service provided. Proceeds will go to St Gemma’s Hospice. Ticket price £5.00

Courtyard Shakespeare coming soon. Don’t make an error by missing it!

Tuesday 18 June at 18:00, GSAL courtyard (outside main reception)

All are welcome to celebrate summer with our twelfth annual promenade Shakespeare performance, The Comedy of Errors, in the GSAL courtyard. Our actors are in Years 7, 8 and 9 and have been directed by a team of Year 10 students. No tickets are required, but please come prepared for an outdoor performance. If the weather is inclement, we will be performing in the theatre foyer.

School transport 2019-20

The 2019-20 bus routes and booking form are now available on the travel pages of our website. Please complete and submit your booking form by Friday 5 July to enable us to plan resources appropriately. Please note all bus users must complete a new form each year.

Charity update

The last Friday charity collection raised £164 for Candlelighters. Next week we will be collecting for PICU at LGI (paediatric care). Thank you to everyone for your continued support for the weekly charity collections.

Year 7 notices

Year 7 prize-giving

Thursday 4 July 09:00 to 10:00, assembly hall

Parents are warmly invited to the presentation of prizes, to include a summary of the year, a presentation of awards and musical and dramatic interludes by pupils in the year group. Refreshments will be available before and after the event in the theatre foyer.

Year 7 Yorkshire Water STEM trip

Wednesday 19 June, Headingley Water Treatment Works

We are delighted to offer 30 places for our Y7 girls to take part in a STEM week activity, which celebrates National Women in Engineering Day. The trip will include a guided tour of the water treatment works and an opportunity to learn from engineers about their chosen career paths and ask questions about the facility.

Full details can be found in the attached letter from Mr J Bagshaw, head of DT. Places on this trip are strictly limited and will be first come first served. The deadline has been extended to Wednesday 12 June. Please pay via sQuid to secure your child’s place

Year 8 notices

Year 8 prize-giving

Wednesday 3 July 09:00 to 10:00, assembly hall

Parents are warmly invited to the presentation of prizes, to include a summary of the year, a presentation of awards and musical and dramatic interludes by pupils in the year group. Refreshments will be available before and after the event in the theatre foyer.

HPV immunisation for Year 8 girls

Wednesday 12 June

The Leeds immunisation team will be at GSAL next week to administer the second dose of the human papillomavirus immunisation (HPV) for girls in Year 8. Your daughter will receive an appointment time from her form tutor nearer the time and a list will be displayed in the common room. To ease the process it would be helpful if your daughter could wear a short sleeved shirt under her blazer or take a PE top. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Year 9 notices

Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh

Current Year 9 pupils who are interested in enrolling for the bronze Duke of Edinburgh award, are requested to read the enrolment letter, which can be found here. There will be a pupil assembly on the Thursday 13 June, pupils are recommended to attend in order to receive further details.

Spanish Exchange 2019-2020

The Spanish department are organising a Spanish exchange visit with Mendebaldea School in Vitoria in the Basque Country. The exchange visit is being offered to next year’s Year 10 and Year 12 Hispanists and full details of this exchange can be found in the attached letter. Places are limited and therefore if your son/daughter would like to take part in this opportunity please complete and return the application form electronically by Friday 28 June 2019.

Year 9 prize-giving

Thursday 4 July 11:30 to 12:30, assembly hall

Parents are warmly invited to the presentation of prizes, to include a summary of the year, a presentation of awards and musical and dramatic interludes by pupils in the year group. Refreshments will be available before and after the event in the theatre foyer.

Year 10 notices

Year 10 Sixth Form Experience Day

Wednesday 19 June

All Year 10 students will participate in the Sixth Form Experience Day, which will replace normal timetabled lessons on that day. For full details of the day please see the attached letter.

Year 11 notices

Spanish Exchange 2019-2020

The Spanish department are organising a Spanish exchange visit with Mendebaldea School in Vitoria in the Basque Country. The exchange visit is being offered to next year’s Year 10 and Year 12 Hispanists and full details of this exchange can be found in the attached letter. Places are limited and therefore if your son/daughter would like to take part in this opportunity please complete and return the application form electronically by Friday 28 June 2019.

Lockers and padlocks

Please remind your son/daughter, that they need to clear their locker and take their padlock and sports bags home. If they are not returning to GSAL in September, they should hand their padlock to Mrs Smith. Anything left in lockers will be destroyed, clothes will go to charity.

Year 12 notices

Year 12 subject consultation evening

Wednesday 19 June, 17:00 – 20:00

There will be a Year 12 subject consultation evening later this month. For full details please see attached letter.

Year 13 notices

Year 13 post exam information

Please read the attached letter from Mr P Rushworth, director of sixth form, with important information for you and your child concerning A-level results and related matters.

Year 13 prize-giving ceremony & graduation ball

Saturday 29 June 2019, from 17:15

Please see attached letter from Mr P Rushworth, director of sixth form, for a reminder of the schedule for the evening and some important additional information.

Year 13 whole year photograph

Parents wishing to order a copy of the recent Year 13 photograph can do so by following the link to the Tempest website here. You will need to enter the password to access the photograph on the small white box half way down the page. The password required is 570345.