Our Ref: DK/jh/gltr/dec 24

9th December 2024

Dear Parent/Carer

I hope you and your family are well and you find December’s update letter of help to you. The focus of the final monthly update letter of 2024 is on:

• The upcoming Parents’ Evenings and Curriculum Review meetings in December and January
• Key details on the end of the Autumn term/start of the Spring term in January 2025
• Our Charity Week and cultural celebrations in the final week of term along with information, support and advice on the cost of living from Birmingham City Council and Sandwell Council.

Parents’ Evenings and Curriculum Review Meetings in December/January
With many year groups having completed their first set of assessments of the year in the Autumn term, we have some important Subject Parents’ Evenings coming up either side of the holidays, as well as Curriculum Review meetings where teachers will be working together to make adaptations to lessons and the curriculum.

Parents/carers of students in Y11/13 will be receiving their child’s first set of Academic Profiles before the Christmas holidays with those for students in Y7/8/10 being sent out in January. The key dates to look out for with Parents’
Evenings and the Curriculum Review meeting are below:

• Year 13 Subject Parents’ Evening - Thursday 19th December (4-6pm)
  • Parents/carers will be able to book their appointments for the evening with subject teachers from this week via Arbor as normal, and we look forward to continuing to work together to best support your child through this highly important year in their education.
• There is a KS3 Curriculum Review meeting on Tuesday 14th January with students finishing at the end of Period 3 at 1.10pm. Students eligible for Free School Meals will be able to collect lunch before they leave.
• There is a Year 11 Subject Parents’ Evening on Thursday 23rd January from 4-7pm.

End of Autumn term / Start of Spring term arrangements
We break up for the holidays on Friday 20th December at 12 noon. Students will attend Periods 1 and 2 as normal and those students who are eligible for Free School Meals will be able to collect lunch before leaving on the day.

Students will be returning to school after the holidays on Tuesday 7th January for an 11:30am start as teaching staff will be holding the Year 11/13 Curriculum Review meetings in the morning before the return of the students. There will be a Y12 BTEC Applied Science external examination that morning, so all students involved will be expected to arrive in school well in advance of the 9.30am start time.

Cost of living support and guidance
As we did at this time last year, we wanted to highlight the information that is available from Birmingham City Council and Sandwell Council which provide links to advice and support on a range of topics including Benefits and Money Advice, Energy Efficiency and Food Support amongst others.  

For families living in Birmingham, please check out the Cost of Living Support section of the Birmingham City Council website that also includes the Help In Brum leaflet (this is available in 11 different languages on the website) which provides links to specific agencies and charities that provide practical support. For families living in our neighbouring area of Sandwell, please see the Supporting Sandwell section of the council’s website for further information. 

Cultural celebrations and Charity Week: Monday 16th to Friday 20th December
The final couple of weeks of the term will see a range of activities designed to provide the school community with the opportunity to share celebrations and be able to express their identity and culture, whilst also working together to support local charities, causes and the wider community with our annual theme of ‘Kindness and Community’.  

This connects to our annual Food Drive that is once again being led by Miss Khatun and the Humanities Faculty in association with the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Trussell Trust. We are asking for donations of any items of non-perishable food or drink as well as hygiene products and toiletries, if staff, families and students wish to and are able to. Donations can be made at the school reception or to the Humanities Faculty and the collection will end on Wednesday 18th December with all proceeds then being distributed at the Food Bank run by the Wesleyan Methodist Church to support families in our own community.

Running alongside the Food Drive has been the first Clothing Drive to provide items of clothing to those in most need at this time of the year. This has already proved to be very successful so far, and if you have any donations of items please could they be brought into school by Friday 20th December.

The school’s Charity Committee will also be working to raise money alongside the other CRST schools again this year for our nominated charity which is Birmingham Children's Hospital, with a target of raising £15,000 together.

Other events running through the week from Monday 16th - Friday 20th December:

• Food - The traditional Christmas Meal will be served during lunch on Wednesday 18th December.
• Music - We will be having staff and student volunteers singing Christmas carols during break time, and we will release the Holyhead Christmas Single via Arbor and social media too.
• Dress code - Cultural dress/Christmas jumpers are optional for students and staff on Friday 20th December.  There will be no leisurewear items accepted as cultural dress, so these must not be worn to school. Students who do not wish to, or cannot attend in cultural dress should attend in normal school uniform.

I thank you again for your time in reading this letter and ask you to look out for the Autumn Term Pulse Magazine and the Holyhead Christmas Single for 2024 which will be released to you soon. In the meantime please allow me on behalf of everyone at Holyhead to wish you and your families well over the next few weeks, and wish those celebrating a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Yours faithfully,

Mr D Knox
Principal