E-Newsletter 28th May 2021

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Friday 28th May 2021
Update from the Principal
Dear parents, families and carers,
 
Firstly, I’d like to say how grateful I’ve been over this half term for the welcome and support I’ve received from the Farnborough community. I’ve met and spoken with many sets of parents, and I know that we are looking forward to building our Academy community together. This week, we held two parent events, and it’s been good to start getting feedback and meeting parents face to face. I have always enjoyed doing this as Principal and we will have more opportunities to work together as we start getting our lives back to normal.
 
Please note the slightly amended timings of the school day from Monday 7th June. These can be found here. These day changes are necessary to support our response to the current COVID pandemic. We are exploring ways that we can support our young people to return to a more “normal” school experience, and are currently planning to return to a model where students move around the school from June 21st. I will send more details out about this as soon as we can confirm.
 
I am pleased to say that COVID rates in Clifton continue to be very low. However, we will keep this under review moving forward.  To support us in keeping everyone in our community safe, please make sure your child tests themselves twice a week 3-5 days apart, in the morning before school if possible and, if not, the evening before. Testing kits have already been sent home with your child. This does not replace testing for those with symptoms. If you have symptoms you must self-isolate immediately, book a PCR test and follow national guidelines. It is really important that results of test are reported online straight away, even if your child’s result is negative or void. It’s easy to do at www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result. Results can also be reported via telephone by calling 119 (free from mobiles and landlines). Lines are open every day, 7am to 11pm. It is important to keep a note of your child’s results and share with the academy as well. Please submit results to the Academy here: https://forms.gle/89659dGFXf2xCYxh9
 
The change in school name to Farnborough Spencer Academy has now been confirmed, and some FAQs from the Spencer Academies Trust can be found here. I have been made aware of a number of concerns around school uniform, including some very strange rumours (!). Please note that there are NO planned changes to the school uniform, other than a request that new students purchase uniform with the new logo. All current students can continue to wear their current blazers and PE kits until it is time to replace them.
 
Today, we said goodbye to our year 11. I am aware that I do not know this year group very well, having only been here since Easter. However, they have shown a rare commitment to our school, genuine appreciation for our wonderful staff team, and I know that they will be missed. We will look forward to hearing of their many successes in the future.
 
Have a wonderful half term
 
Graeme Smith
Principal
News

Goodbye Year 11
It was lovely saying goodbye to our wonderful Y11s today. They have all been so grateful of the support given to them over the past 5 years and it was an emotional end to their time at Farnborough. We wish them all well and look forward to seeing them for celebrations and their results day.




Year 11 Cupcakes
Some of our Year 11 Hospitality and Catering students made a 'thank you' cake for every member of staff this week. They wanted to recognise the 'team' effort they have received, in terms of support, over their 5 years with us. Thank you to those students, they were delicious!!




Afterschool Cupcake Masterclass
Our newly launched, after school, cupcake masterclass has been a huge success! One of the themes was bees and beehives - we were very impressed by their creativity skills! 



Duke of Edinburgh
Two teams of Year 10 Bronze Duke of Edinburgh participants completed two training days in Leicestershire this half term. They spent time around Bradgate Park, tuning up their navigation skills & developing their teamwork. The two days were challenging but the groups did themselves & the academy proud. 



Year 7 Zoom with Tom Rogers, Author 
This week our Year 7 pupils were very excited to meet Tom Rogers,  author of Eleven, which they have been studying this term in English. He also shared that he had even written for Disney! The students were very impressed. It was lovely to see them ask questions and really engage with what he was saying. He offered some really useful advice on writing and how to become a writer. 

Tom said 'The kids were fantastic and had great questions. And how brilliant that some of them want to be writers! I'm so delighted we were able to connect, and we absolutely must do it again next year.' 
 
Important Dates
  • Please click here to view our future term dates. 

Please click here for a copy of the Autism Team Parent Newsletter Summer 2

Meet the Principal Events
This week we held two Meet the Principal Events on Wednesday and Thursday. Parents and carers were able to speak to Mr Smith and ask questions about the Academy. Mr Smith also discussed the importance of working in partnership with our community. 

Academy name change FAQs
 As you will be aware, we will be changing our name to Farnborough Spencer Academy from September 2021 as we show that we are a part of the Spencer Academies Trust family of schools. The trust consultation raised a number of questions and considerations which can be found in the FAQ document here.

Spencer Superstars Charitable Foundation
Further planning has taken place for the launch of our Charitable Foundation, to benefit children and young people in the Trust. We will shortly be forming our Board of Trustees and engaging volunteers to support the work of the Fundraising and Gifting Committees. We hope to have the Foundation website established by the end of July and will formally commence early fundraising activities, with the launch of the Foundation taking place during spring term 2022. We have been delighted by the overwhelming interest and support for the initiative and look forward to updates and stories of interest being part of our regular communications to you.
 


Wellbeing

CAHMS Parent Support Classes
The Farnborough Academy and CAHMS would like to invite you to attend two virtual parent support sessions on supporting your child with low mood on 9th June and helping to rebuild your relationship with your teen on 23rd June. Please let us know which sessions you would like to attend - click here to complete registration form. The sessions will be held on Teams and a link will be sent to you closer to the time.



CAMHS Visit - Wellbeing Champions 
This week CAMHS came to visit our Year 7 well-being champions. We discussed how to support others as well as how we look after our own mental health. Thanks to CAMHS we have a wealth of information on available support services and had fun discussing how we all destress too!
 
Careers



Positive Empowerment Project
Year 10 are taking part in a 'positive empowerment' project delivered by Baasit Siddiqui of the TV show Gogglebox fame. The project is designed to inspire the pupils through Baasit's own experiences and encourage them to think about their own dreams and aspirations for the future.



Capital One Workshop
This term Year 8 took part in a live Capital One workshop. The workshop gave the pupils the opportunity to learn about jobs at Capital One and ask current employees questions regarding their own career pathways. The pupils also engaged in several employability tasks.
 




Year 8 Ambition Group
Our year 8 'Ambition' group took part in a workshop delivered by University of Nottingham. The workshop focussed on identifying skills and qualities and how you can evidence these when applying for jobs or university.



Year 9 Ambition Group
Our year 9, University of Nottingham, 'Ambition' group took part in a workshop which challenged their entrepreneurial skills. They were tasked to come up with an idea for a new restaurant in the Student Union using a range of skills including, research, design, communication, and presentation skills.
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28th May 2021
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