Senior School Weekly Bulletin

Principal’s message

As the academic year draws to a close, this week has been a time of reflection as well as fun. Over the past year we have missed so much that we took to be normal and faced considerable loss as well. Of course one of the ways to cope with loss is to face up to it and acknowledge its pain, and to reflect on how best we can try to move forwards.

So this week, undoubtedly the hardest yet most moving moment was the memorial service in school for Naina, whom we lost last autumn, in the reflection garden that her closest friends have created in her memory. The pupils spoke poignantly and powerfully about their friend and worked with school to craft a service that was a testament to her beautiful and joyous character and her lasting impact on the lives of all who knew and loved her. We were able to mark the incredible fundraising achievements of those friends who have raised over £33,000 for the charity Educate the Kids that Naina’s family actively support, and acknowledge the combined efforts of GSAL and her former school, Bradford Grammar School (BGS), in this endeavour too. Next term, we will hold a non-uniform day to continue to grow this fund and establish an annual netball competition, hosted by GSAL and BGS alternately, in Naina’s memory.

Therefore, as we note the importance of looking forwards in every situation, even when it can be very painful, we have also tried to count our blessings this week. And although our children have missed their birthday parties over the past year, an absolute highlight was the BIG birthday party for everyone in early years on Wednesday. With balloons, bunting and gorgeous costumes, the playground was even more vibrant than usual and the party atmosphere stretched across the school. Today sees the end of a colourful Pride Week in senior school, with the Pride playlist accompanying the competitors along the home straight at senior school sports’ day. These uplifting events are just what we needed as we approach the end of term and they are an important reminder that every moment is precious, that we should promote joy and laughter whenever we can and treasure the bonds of friendship that are invaluable to our lives, at any and every age and stage.

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Sue Woodroofe
Principal

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Whole school notices

Robert Tebb Piano Competition results

We had some outstanding performances at the finals of the Robert Tebb Piano Competition last week, where ten students played for our adjudicator, Dr Roland Dee.

The winning prize was awarded to Uma Schuth, Y12 for her outstanding performance, with James Cai, Y12 highly commended and Anushree Joshi, Y10 and Gopika Narayan, Y9 commended.

Sound of the Summer

Wednesday 7 July at 5pm – CANCELLED

Unfortunately we have decided to cancel this concert due to the numbers of pupils self-isolating. We hope to include the highlights of this concert in our autumn concert programme.

School uniform pop-up shops

Monkhouse and 2Kit will be operating pop-shops during the summer holidays in the Year 7 common room area. Please note that you need to book separate appointments for each retailer.  https://www.gsal.org.uk/for-parents/uniform/

Pop-up shop appointment bookings – Monkhouse / 2Kit

Message from our Finance Team

Please would all pupils return their school books to their subject teacher before the end of term otherwise parents will be charged for items which are not returned or lost.

All padlock orders and library fines should be paid before Friday 9 July.

Please also check your child’s sQuid account to ensure that any catering and transport debts are cleared in full. If your child is in Year 13 and has any unused credit on their sQuid account and you would like this transferring to a sibling, please contact squid@gsal.org.uk. Alternatively, if you require a refund, please contact sQuid directly on customerservice@squidcard.com

COVID

Pupils should continue to do their lateral flow tests and let the school know (seniorabsence@gsal.org.uk) if they test positive so we can track those who need to self-isolate. Pupils should log their test results with NHS Test and Trace and use their school account to complete our notification form.

If a lateral flow test is positive, please book a PCR test and the household should self-isolate until the PCR test results are received, and then follow the advice given with the PCR test results.

If anyone in your household displays COVID symptoms they should isolate straight away, along with the rest of your household, and book a PCR test, even if the lateral flow test is negative.

Year 11 notices

GSAL Futures Conference

Monday 5 July, 9am-3pm

We are looking forward to welcoming Year 11 to the conference on Monday albeit virtually. This conference timetable with links to each session was sent to students’ school email on Wednesday together with guidance on how to access Zoom from their school laptops. We have over 30 speakers joining us from a wide range of sectors and careers plus two skills-based workshops so there really is something useful and interesting for every student.

Mrs Walker, Head of Careers, provides some useful guidance for  students attending the conference here. Please encourage your son or daughter to join as many of the live sessions as possible so they can ask our speakers questions. We will also share the recordings the following week. Thank you for your support.

Year 12 notices

GSAL Futures Conference

Monday 5 July, 9am-3pm

We are looking forward to welcoming Year 12 to the conference on Monday. This conference timetable with links to each virtual session was sent to their school email on Thursday. We have over 30 speakers joining us from a wide range of sectors and careers plus two skills-based workshops so there really something useful and interesting for every student.

Mrs Walker, Head of Careers, provides some useful guidance for students attending the conference here.

Year 13 notices

GSAL Futures Conference

Monday 5 July, 9am-3pm

We are looking forward to welcoming Year 13 to the conference on Monday albeit virtually. This conference timetable with links to each session was sent to their school email on Wednesday. We have over 30 speakers joining us from a wide range of sectors and careers plus two skills-based workshops so there really is something useful and interesting for every student.

Mrs Walker, Head of Careers, provides some useful guidance for  students attending the conference here. Please encourage your son or daughter to join as many of the live sessions as possible so they can ask our speakers questions. We will also share the recordings the following week. Thank you for your support.