October 2019
We have had a fantastic start to the school year and we are very proud of the hard work and commitment to learning our young people have demonstrated so far this year. It has been a very busy half term with many exciting opportunities for all. Please follow us on Twitter to receive regular updates on what is happening within the academy.
Our Parent Forum meetings will continue this year. The meetings are held once per half term, in the Conference Centre. Please find below the dates and themes for this academic year, we hope you are able to attend.
A special thank you to all who attended the ‘Meet the Principal’ event in September. It was lovely to receive such a warm welcome and to get to meet you on an individual basis; for those of you who were unable to attend please see our website for further opportunities to come into the academy and meet us. I look forward to continuing to work with you all as we shape your child’s future.
Parent Forums
At George Spencer Academy we understand the importance of listening to the views of our pupil’s parents. Consequently, this year we will be running a series of Parent Forums on the dates listed below.
- Wednesday 6 November 2019 – Pupil development and keeping pupils safe at GSA
- Thursday 30 January 2020 – Supporting pupils with their futures
- Wednesday 25 March 2020 – Curriculum and preparing for learning/homework
- Wednesday 3 June 2020 – Literacy and reading
The first Parent Forum will start at 6pm on Wednesday 6 November in the conference centre. At this forum, we would like to hear parent’s views on pupil development (including trips/visits, extra-curricular activities, form time learning, challenge days etc) and keeping children safe (including national safeguarding issues). If you are interested in attending this forum, please send an email to the following address under the subject of ‘GSA Parent Forum’; info@george-spencer.notts.sch.uk
Please respond by Tuesday 5 November if you are interested in attending.
Winter Routine
Half term 2 will begin on Monday 4 November and this will see the start of our Winter Routine which means that all students are confined to hard surfaces only and should keep off all grass areas. We provide outdoor spaces for those who wish to play ball games as well as indoor spaces for those who would prefer to keep out of the cold. As you start to consider winter outerwear please may we remind you to refer to our Uniform Expectations which can be found on our website or in the Student Planner.
Pre-Public Examinations
Our Year 11 learners will be sitting their first Pre-Public Examinations from Monday 4 November to Friday 22 November 2019. This is a very important time for our Years 11 and we ask all other students to be respectful of this by moving quietly around the exam allocated areas.
Prize Giving
We are excited about our up and coming annual Prize Giving which will be held at East Midlands Conference Centre on Monday 9 December 2019 to celebrate together with parents and carers the achievements of our learners from all year groups. Letters to prize winners will be sent out early next half term.
Library Books
Please could you help us in retrieving some of the more overdue, or ‘lost’, library books by having a look at home over the half-term holidays. All of our library stock will have a George Spencer barcode inside and will be stamped with our address somewhere inside or on the book spine. If you do find any, they can be returned to the library or main school reception on the Upper Site. Thank you for your support with this.
All students should now have been given their login details for the library management system, Libresoft Librarian. They can log-in at any time to check which books they have on loan and when they need to be returned, renew or reserve books, search the library catalogue and rate/review books they have been reading. If students have any problems logging-on or using the system, they can see Miss Stevens in the Library for assistance. Students can find the link to Libresoft Librarian and a user guide on the library website: https://sites.google.com/george-spencer.notts.sch.uk/library/libresoft-librarian