Message from the Headmaster
LOWER SCHOOL
WHOLE SCHOOL
- Reports:
- End of term reports will be posted on the parent portal for all year groups (except for Lower Sixth) over the weekend.
- Weather – snow:
- Parents are reminded that, should we have to close for day pupils, we aim to send a text message and an email to parents by 6.45am. However, we would expect to have been able to advise of the possibility of any disruption the day before. There would also be messages on the front page of the website.
- The school will remain open for boarders. Therefore day pupil parents who need their child/ren to be supervised can send them into school to the Library (with laptop and headphones), assuming it is safe to do so and they are confident that they can be picked up safely. Please email me ([email protected]) for each day that your child is attending.
- Work will be put on pupils’ Firefly accounts for the lessons they would usually have on that day. Should disruption continue for more than a day, we would expect to move to a ‘remote learning’ model (e.g. lessons on Zoom) starting on day 2 of the disruption.
- Parents can check the status of the Joint Bus Service here. Updates, including disruption on specific routes or changes to afternoon bus departures, will be sent by text message and by email to parents directly from Vectare.
- Late Collection of Students
If students miss the JBS or their parents are delayed when collecting, please be advised that students should make their way to Park Lodge Reception. You should note that this reception closes at 6pm. If parents arrive after this time, the student will be sent to the sports centre and will require collection in person. Note that the gates across Roysse’s Alley are closed at this time so you will need to park in the coach park next to Faringdon Lodge and walk to the sports centre via the pedestrian gate. - School Uniform. Parents are asked to ensure their children leave home in the correct School Uniform:
- Coats, plain navy blue or black, and the same length of longer than the blazer, and should not carry conspicuous logos or colours
- Jumpers, blue v-neck pullover, not roundneck, though sixth form may wear monochrome v-neck or quarter-zip pullover of sober colour
- Black plain shoes, not trainers. Sixth formers may wear brown shoes.
- Shirts: need to be sufficiently large, so that top buttons are done up and ties worn correctly.
- From the Drama Department:
- Joint Senior Production (St Helen and St Katharine): The Visit – Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 January 2023, 7pm, YPH. Tickets are available to book here to see this darkly comic play. The Visit tells the story of an immensely wealthy and glamorous woman returning to her impoverished hometown after 45-years, to exact revenge on Anton Shill who betrayed her at 18. Recommended age: Year 9 and above.
- Joint Senior Production: Abingdon and St Helen’s present: Grease – Wednesday 1, Thursday 2 & Friday 3 February 2023, 7pm. After a whirlwind summer romance, leather-clad greaser Danny and girl-next-door Sandy are unexpectedly reunited when she transfers to Rydell High for senior year. But can they survive the trials and tribulations of teenage life and find true love once more? Bursting with hits including Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin’, Hopelessly Devoted to You and You’re the One That I Want, a talented cast from Abingdon and St Helen’s transport you back to the 1950’s for this classic hit musical!
- Music:
- Next Term’s Music Calendar. Please use this link to view next term’s Lent Music calendar.
- Senior Rugby Tour 2023 Dinner. Our 2023 Senior Rugby Tour heads off to South Africa this summer. As part of the fundraising efforts we are holding a Fundraising Dinner at school on Friday 3 February. Jason Robinson OBE, is our guest speaker. This dinner is open to all our Abingdon families. Please find sign-up link via the attached flyer.
- Holiday Reading
- The Library and the English department are encouraging students to find time for reading over the holiday period. Christmas is an ideal time to rediscover the pleasure of a great story and all of the associated benefits that reading brings.
- To help students select from what can be a bewildering blizzard of choice, we’ve recommended twelve books for each year group, which are on the Christmas “cards” attached. Do encourage your child to take a look; we’re confident that at least one of them will appeal!
- Last but not least, we’ve created a Christmas card with book recommendations for adults. We hope it will inspire you.
- From the ASPA Chair, Richard Stone:
- I hope you have all had a good first term of the school year. ASPA has been busy this term hosting three successful cheese & wine evenings for the Lower School, 3rd and 4th Year parents. Over 100 parents attended across the three evenings, with new connections made and experiences shared. Looking forward, ASPA has a quiz evening planned for the Friday 3 March and a summer event on the Saturday 20 May. Please mark the dates in your diaries and more details will follow after the Christmas break. I hope you all have an enjoyable time over the festive period and wish you all the best for 2023.
- OX14 Learning Partnership Upcoming Events
- News from the week
- School Calendar. Any amendments to Lent Term 2023 events made after today will be indicated clearly on the entry in School Calendar. Parents may wish to consult the term dates page to remind themselves of the beginnings and ends of terms and half-terms.
- Box Office:
- Next Term. Term begins on Tuesday 10 January 2023 at 8.35am with tutor time, followed by lessons from 9am. It will be week B timetable.
- Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
