Dear Students, Parents and Carers
Welcome to my weekly messages to finish the week. As ever, it has been a busy week.

Covid 19
I am pleased that as a school we remain case free in terms of Covid 19 at the moment. I don’t want to tempt fate, but whatever our immediate school community is doing, is working to a large degree, so please keep doing it.

This does not, of course, mean that Weymouth is case free. Indeed, many members of our wider community have been affected by this dreadful disease and our hearts and prayers go out to those who are struggling with illness and, sadly, bereavement.

Please do continue to keep safe – HANDS, FACE, SPACE is key and ensuring that students wear masks and remain in their designated zones really is important.

Should we have a case, we are prepared and ready for all of the contact tracing that would be involved. We would aim to keep as many students in school as possible and work closely with the Local Health Protection Team, the DFE and Public Health England. National guidance for parents can be found here: Covid 19 Guidance for Parents

Sources of help and support
We recognise that this latest lockdown has had a significant impact on a number of families. Dorset Council has a specialist service that can offer families additional support. This can be accessed here https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/emergencies-severe-weather/emergencies/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-19.aspx

I am also aware that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the well-being of our pupils and their families. I would recommend the following site as an excellent resource to help you have positive mental health discussions with your child at home: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/difficult-feelings-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic/

Children in Need
I am delighted to let you know that we raised over £600 for Children in Need today. We have had Pudseys, Baby Sharks and lots of spots on site as students have taken part in a really well spirited day.

Site Developments
In addition to the works that I announced last week (all of our playgrounds will be resurfaced this year), I am working hard with Ambitions Academies Trust to release further funding to improve our toilet facilities. These are outdated at the moment and need upgrading. In the meantime, please ask students to look after what we have and report any issues promptly.

Year 11 Mock Exams
These begin next week for our upper year group and we look forward to seeing how they progress. GCSEs are still set to go ahead in England this year, so it is essential that students produce their best on the day, safe in the knowledge that they will have another attempt later in the academic year. There is a letter on our website about these exams. Please can I ask all other year groups to maintain quiet in and around the hall whilst exams are on

Other News
I am pleased to have taken so much feedback from Year 11 Parents and Carers as part of our first online consultation evening. Next week I will write to all other year groups with details of the evenings for your children now we have a working model. We will offer two nights, rather than the usual one, so that parents have some flexibility around appointment booking

Also, please do read the letter about online safety on our website. We have an information evening coming up soon and would love to see as many there as possible.

Finally
Thank you for all of your ongoing support. Whilst we cannot have visitors to site in the normal way at the moment, I am so pleased that schools have remained open this time around – it is a privilege to work with each and every one of your children.

Wishing you a restful weekend

Kid Regards
John Cornish
Principal