Headteacher Newsletter – December 2016
We have reached the end of yet another term, and what an eventful one it has been! Pupils
and students have all enjoyed the many varied Christmas events over the past couple of
weeks. I was impressed with the amount of support for our Christmas shows – it was really
great to see the pupils, students and staff rewarded for their efforts with such positive
feedback.
Christmas Events
There is always great excitement around the school at this time
and this year was no exception.
As well as the Christmas shows we also enjoyed the FoFS
Christmas Fayre as well as a visit from Steve Cave from Queen’s
Road Baptist Church who came into school to perform an
Interactive Nativity – this was followed by a whole school Carol
Concert.
Some of our pupils in the secondary departments have been to
the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury to see the pantomime ‘Dick
Whittington’. Obviously it was not possible to take all pupils and
students, therefore as an end of term treat we invited a theatre group, ‘Westend in Schools’
into the school to perform their own version of ‘Aladdin’.
Foreland Fields School
When we return from our Christmas break, it will only be just over 5 weeks
until we pack up and move to the new school site in Newlands Lane. Whilst
this is a very exciting time for our school community, it is also quite a daunting
task!
As I have stated many times before, whilst we will be leaving this site on Friday
10th February – this is a staff training day and pupils do not attend – the new
school will not open to pupils and students until 27th February following the extended half
term break (February 20th – 24th).
This week I have been informed that the grounds are being turfed and that they have
started a deep clean of some of the areas. Please take a look at the website for the latest
photographs.
We should be taking possession of the school in early February upon which time I will try to
organise visits to the new site for staff and pupils.
Illness
Many of our pupils and students are vulnerable to infections which can
spread quickly at this time of year. If your child is unwell, please do keep
them at home. Remember also that your child should be kept away from
school for 48 hours from the last period of sickness or diarrhoea.
New build - Playground update from Jeremy Edwards
As you will be aware the new school is being delivered
with a range of fantastic facilities, including an outdoor
multi-use games area as well as areas in front of every
class. We will also have access to large, secure grounds
which will be laid to grass. As we settle into the new site
we will plan for our post 16 pupils to play an important
role in developing some of these gardens as part of their
programmes of study.
Whilst all of the provision described above will meet the needs of many of our pupils, it was
always recognised that further play facilities would be required. This includes additional allweather areas with a range of play and sensory opportunities. We are pleased to be able to
report that substantial progress has been made in raising the funds necessary for the play
facilities at our new school. This means that we are able to proceed with directing a chosen
consultancy firm to initiate the first phase of the playground build, which will be the
provision for the Nursery and Infants.
I continue to work with our Fundraiser and FoFS to put together bids to a wide range of
charitable organisations. However, any help we can get is always appreciated. Any parents
or carers with links to charitable organisations who might be interested in supporting our
playground project should contact me via the school office.
Movember
A number of our staff (all male!) grew moustaches, some
more successfully than others, during November to raise
money for men’s cancer charities. The fund currently
stands at £603.00 with more money to come. A big thank
you to all participants and sponsors both here and outside
of school.
Cauliflower Cards
A very big thank you to all parents and carers who supported the school for a second year
with the ‘Cauliflower Cards’ venture. As a result of your participation, the school coffers
were increased by £100, all of which will directly benefit our pupils.
However, the biggest thank you goes to our students for their fabulous designs, which we all
agree were outstanding. Well done!
Staff
As is common at the end of term, we will be saying
goodbye to some of our staff. Two of our teachers,
Donna Lawrence and Jim Moran will both be moving
on to pastures new. We have two new teachers
starting with us after the Christmas break. Holly
Augustus will be starting in Donna’s Key Stage 3 class
and Kathy Steelandt will be taking over as teacher in
Jim’s class. A new member of the teaching staff,
Colette Gosden, will be starting in Kathy’s class in
January.
Angelika Biste, another of our Key Stage 3 teachers, has decided to take a sideways move
and will be providing cover for classes from January 2017 as our current cover support,
Sandy Blake, will be retiring at the end of the term. We will be welcoming a new teacher, Ian
Dimech, to replace Angelika from the beginning of term.
Sharon Ferris, who currently works in the Junior Department, will be leaving her Teaching
Assistant role early in January.
We would like to thank them all for the contribution they have made towards the school.
And finally …
Everyone at The Foreland School would like to wish all of our families and friends a very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to welcoming the pupils back on
Tuesday 3rd January 2017.