17 July 2024
Dear Parents/Carers
I am sharing with you the plans for our September reopening for all students.
In September we will have our usual staggered start to the year. This is important to do this as we need to let our new Year 7 students settle into the building and gain confidence in their new surroundings as the class of 2029 begin their next step of their educational journey. We will also expect all of Year 11 students to return on the Wednesday as they enter their final year at the Academy.
Students will return as follows :
Wednesday 4th September at 8.15am – year 7 and year 11 only
Thursday 5th September at 8.15am – all year groups
Following the previous correspondence you will note that the academy day start time has now changed to 8.15am as this will be the new start time of the academy day from September for all students. Students should therefore arrive at the academy by 8.10am ready to start the day in their line up. The timings at the end of each day remain the same, as we have extended Friday break time to 25 minutes..
The students will have a slightly earlier finish time on the last day on Friday 19th July and will be dismissed from the academy at 12.15pm.
On another note, we would be most grateful should you be able to donate any academy uniform which is no longer required. This is used in emergency situations to lend or donate to students. Black shoes, ties, sports kit, shirts, skirts, trousers and blazers are all welcome. If you are able to assist us, please could your child bring these clean items (in a carrier bag) to student services or they can be left at reception.
Thank you again for your support and understanding over recent months. I wish you a safe and happy summer. A more detailed letter will arrive to you all in August in preparation for September.
Finally, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of our parents, carers and the entire TSLA community for your support this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Headteacher at The St Lawrence Academy and will leave with fond memories of my time here. As I move on to a new challenge of leading a British International school in Egypt, I know the Academy is in safe hands with an experienced Headteacher joining the Academy in September. Over the last few weeks, I have worked closely with Mr McCluskie to ensure a smooth handover is in place and know the Academy will continue to grow under his leadership.
As always we will use our communication channels to keep you continually updated. Our website https://tsla.co.uk/ is the best way to have access to all important information and contacts. Our Academy Facebook and Twitter accounts are also regularly updated.
Yours sincerely
Matt Hire
Headteacher
Thursday 11th July saw The St Lawrence Academy host the 2nd whole academy Celebration Evening at The Baths Hall. The evening is created and designed to celebrate the success of our students throughout the academic year across a range of disciplines.
This year we handed out over 160 awards. The awards include: 100% attendance, Subject Legends, Academy Treasures and Core Values Awards. The range of awards captures both the academic and personal successes of our young people, aligning with our Christian ethos and transformational vision.
Approximately 500 guests attended to celebrate the evening from the community, these included families, staff, local business owners, college providers, members of the St Lawrence Academies Trust and wider stakeholders of the academy. The event once again proved to be a special occasion, celebrating and reflecting upon the year together.
We would like to thank everyone that attended and supported the evening.
We look forward to hosting another wonderful evening to celebrate 2024/2025 next year.
Wishing you all a fantastic summer!
Mr Cretney, Mr Murray, Mrs Elston. Mr Stainton and Miss Walker.
This year the CCF has continued to go from strength to strength with a new recruitment intake bringing our numbers up to over 130 cadets and staff.
The Cadets have been given numerous opportunities this year from shooting to First Aid with our cadets over the age of 15 picking up their First Aid at Work qualification.
Our staff have also been busy working towards their basic instructor course with some staff picking up qualifications such as archery, First Aid instructors and Range supervisor qualifications. All of the TSLA CCF staff volunteer their time after school to ensure that the cadets have the best possible experience and it is thanks to them that the cadets have been able to have the experiences and opportunities that have allowed them to flourish over this past year.
Cadets have enjoyed numerous camps this year from our weekend at Queen Elizabeth Barracks Strensall to our Primrose Hill Scout Camp weekends where Cadets made smores around the camp fire.
50 of our cadets attended annual camp held in York where they learned skills from basic fieldcraft to waterborne skills with all having a great time.
The cadet year ends with our battle night where the cadets get to have a water fight against the staff and round of the year with an ice cream.
This coming year cadets at TSLA are looking forward to expanding the opportunities our cadets have by offering riding lessons and archery as well developing the cadets skills in their core training with STEM camp and field weekends running throughout the year. The Duke of Edinburgh expedition is on the horizon in October for our DofE cadets, this will be the final step in them acheiving their Bronze DofE award. A new intake of DofE cadets will be happening in November. Cadets will also have the opportunitie to gain their Emergency First Aid at Work and First Aid at Work qualifications through the coming academic year and to support their development and leadership skills. The main aim of TSLA cadets is to have fun and make friends and this year our cadets have certainly done that. We are all excited for the year ahead and the well earned rest over the summer holiday.
On Thursday 11th July The St Lawrence Academy hosted ‘We’re A Knockout’ to give our final Raising Aspirations Day a sense of belonging, teamwork, enjoyment and reward. Alongside paintballing, orienteering and STEM activities led by our CCF staff, we dedicated this ‘RAD’ to personal development and House identity. Students also participated in inter-house sports activities to promote that holistic sense of contribution and competition for our 5 houses- Gold, Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst and Turquoise.
The ‘We’re A Knockout’ event rightly takes most of the attention, over 600 students qualified for the event due to meeting a criteria considering behaviour, attendance and attitude towards learning. As you can see in the video montage, the event was a fun-filled way to conclude another excellent year at the academy. We hope to welcome back the WAKO team for more bubbles, bouncing, slipping and sliding next year!
Come and join us for our annual community summer fayre at the St Lawrence Academy. Lots of fun games, activities, and challenges led by our amazing student leaders for everyone to get involved in. Prizes to be won!!!! Music, food, drinks and entertainment too! All proceeds from the event will be used to support the fantastic Lindsey Lodge Hospice!
June 2024
House RAD We’re a Knockout Event
Dear Parent / Carer
On Tuesday 9th July 2024, the ‘House RAD- We’re a Knockout’ event will be taking place in the academy. Students in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be partaking in a series of activities on a rotational basis.
- We’re a Knockout inflatable course
- CCF outdoor activity
- Rounder’s sports tournament
The nature of these events is practical, therefore, students will need to arrive at the academy wearing their full academy PE kit.
The main event students will be participating in during the day is a ‘We’re a Knockout’ inflatable assault course where we are inviting an external organisation to provide our students with an exciting day of fun. On the consent form is a health and safety declaration that is required for all students to take part. If students have not had this consent declaration form completed by a parent/carer and the form submitted to the academy, then unfortunately they will not be able to participate in this part of the day. This should be completed by Wednesday 3rd July.
The purpose of this house event is rewarding students that have demonstrated good attitude to
learning from last half term. Students should meet a specific criteria which takes into account;
suspensions, demerits, detentions, attendance and internal isolation. If students have not met this criteria, they will be unable to take part in the ‘Were a Knockout’ event and will participate in alternative activities. Students and parents/ carers will be informed if they have not met this criteria and even if consent has previously been given, they will NOT be able to take part.
If you require any further information then please contact; [email protected]
Please complete this Consent declaration .
Kind regards,
Naomi Stainton
Turquoise House Leader
Teacher of Physical Education
Sports Day 2024
Dear Parent /Carer,
As part of our commitment to provide access to sporting opportunities, The St Lawrence Academy will be holding Sports Day on Monday 24th June. This year, it will take place at Quibell Park Stadium, weather permitting.
All students will be required to be at Quibell Park for the full day. They should arrive from 8.15 am for an 8.25am morning registration. Students in years 8 and 10, should go straight to the centre of the athletics track, students in years 7 and 9 should report to staff on the front field as they arrive at the venue. As students are at Quibell Park all day they will require a packed lunch. A lunch will be provided for students entitled to Free School Meals.
The format of the day will be split into two halves, with Year 8 and 10 students completing their sports day events in the morning and Year 7 and 9 students completing their sports day events in the afternoon. The other half of the day will be spent doing fun activities within house teams. Sports day is due to finish at the usual academy time of 3.45pm, upon completion of all events students will be dismissed from Quibell Park and will need to make their own plans to return home.
All students will be expected to take an active part in what we anticipate to be an enjoyable day to celebrate the sporting abilities of all our students. The students have already been choosing their athletics events, and will be competing as part of the academy’s established House system.
Your child is required to wear the correct St Lawrence Academy PE kit all day, and they are advised to bring their St Lawrence outdoor jackets (or plain black top & tracksuit bottoms) to keep them warm in between events. In addition suitable footwear should be worn for competing in athletics events. Students will also need to bring a bottle of water (and sunscreen/hat in hot weather). When students are not involved, they will be expected to support their fellow peers from the designated areas.
In the unfortunate event that there is unsuitable weather, parents will be informed via email or text before 8am on the day and students will be expected to attend the academy in normal uniform for their usual timetabled lessons. We will then plan for this event to commence on the reserve date of Monday 1st July.
Parents and Carers are welcome to attend Sports Day. Upon arrival all visitors must sign in at the gate entrance and they will be directed to a designated viewing area. Visitors will not be allowed into the students area.
If your child does not follow the academy expectation for Sports Day, they will be sent straight home immediately.
If you have any queries about the arrangements for the day please contact the academy on 01724 842447 or email [email protected] in advance of Monday 24th June 2024.
Yours faithfully
Mrs Lindsay Shutes
PE Curriculum Progress Leader
14th June 2024
Dear Parents/ Carers
RE: Changes to the Academy Day – 2024-2025
I trust this letter finds you well. As an Academy, we are constantly looking at ways to ensure we are delivering the best educational experience for our children. As part of this, we have been looking at our lunchtime provision for students. In an attempt to ensure we can run a broader range of extra-curricular activities, whilst also ensuring there is less movement around the Academy during lessons when we operate a multi-break and multi-lunch system, we have decided to move to one breaktime and one lunchtime from September 2024.
We are working very closely with our catering company, Aspens to ensure there is a speedy service at both break and lunchtime, as well as ensuring a broad range of options for our students to eat. We have also created an extra service ‘hatch’ to ensure all children can be served and have appropriate time to eat and then socialise. To support this further, we will also extend the lunch period from 30 to 40 minutes from September 2024. As I am sure you can appreciate, this means we must find an additional 10 minutes in the Academy day, without impacting on the time children are in lessons. With this in mind, we will be moving our start time Monday to Friday to 8.15am from 8.25am. The large majority of our students already arrive at the Academy for 8.15 each day as morning line-ups start from this time. However, the expectation from September 2024 is that all students arrive by 8.15am.
We will write to parents again during July with the new times of the Academy day. However, at this stage we are leaving a two-week window for parents to feedback on this new structure. If you do have any feedback, please email [email protected] by Friday 28th June 2024.
May I also take this opportunity to wish all of our families celebrating Eid this weekend a blessed Eid-al-Adha. As Eid falls on Sunday 16th June 2024, the Academy will be open on Monday 17th June 2024 and all students are expected at the Academy.
Yours sincerely
Mr M. Hire
Headteacher
6th June 2024
Dear Parents/Carers
As we continue our work around the expectations of our students and the behaviours we expect within the TSLA community, we are keen to ensure that our mobile phone policy is revisited and fully enforced as we end the summer term, and in line with the Department for Education advice released February 2024.
Mobile Phones – what our policy states:
Mobile phones are not permitted in the academy.
Should a member of staff see or hear a mobile phone it will be confiscated and taken to a Student Progress Leader or the Inclusion Manager and can be collected at the end of the day. A C1 sanction is issued and a log is added to Arbor by the member of staff, and parents are contacted to inform them of the use during the school day. .
Refusal to hand the mobile phone in for safekeeping until the end of the day leads to further behaviour sanctions such as isolation/same day Compass.
Should a student use their mobile phone to take images or video while on the academy site this leads to a Senior Leadership Team referral and a possible suspension. Should such images or video be uploaded to social media this could lead to a more significant suspension.
Not only is this a part of our approach to having high expectations but our commitment to make every minute of learning count, alongside keeping children safe. We understand that parents may want their child to have a mobile phone with them to and from school, however the expectation is that they are switched off and away throughout the school day and remain in their bags until they are off site. Please encourage your child to bring a bag to school daily to support this, alongside ensuring that they are equipped and ready to learn.
Students have been made aware of these expectations during assemblies this week. Should they need to make any contact home throughout the school day, they can be supported to do so via our student services or pastoral teams. We value the importance of the parent partnership and welcome ongoing liaison with you around your child’s needs and your concerns. Please ensure that you continue to communicate with us so that we can ensure your child’s needs are supported.
Once again, we thank you for your ongoing support with our behavioural initiatives, and look forward to updating you further with their future successes.
Kind regards
G Pattinson
Mrs G Pattinson
Deputy Headteacher
