Headmaster’s Letter 17th December

Dear Parent,

STOP PRESS: You will have heard the news about a staggered start to next term. [link] I will write to you by Wednesday 23 December to update you.

End of term report

We began the term with a sense of trepidation. The term’s assembly theme ‘to look fear in the face‘ was a pragmatic approach to the challenges we faced.  Despite many, many concerns about the new routines we had to adopt, we got on with it and did indeed look fear in the face. We’ve taken small steps and I believe we are all stronger, and possibly better, for our experiences.

I said to Year 9 in their end of term assembly yesterday that the lesson I would take away was that we had all adapted to the situation and had achieved more than we thought we ever could. Take Year 9’s charity drive. The forms’ lunchtime Christmas fairs raise around £400 for a local charity. This year, the replacement raffle and sponsored Santa Dash in last Thursday’s PE lesson raised in excess of £1,200 for mental health charities. An outstanding achievement based on the principle of ‘think different.’

The saddest part, of course, is that keeping year groups apart in their zones, has meant that the events that are a mainstay of the school calendar -and important to students’ well being – have not taken place: house events, Awards evenings, extra-curricular clubs, the school production and an Autumn and Christmas concert.  There is a film of the concert on the website [link]. In addition, there is a recording of Toby Barnett (Y13) signing the carol O Holy Night. The lyrics tell of hope for the future. You can listen to it here. [link]

Whatever your plans for the next fortnight, I trust you stay safe and have a positive start to 2021.

COVID tracing system

We will continue our COVID tracing service until Wednesday 23 December. If a student tests positive, please email enquiries, writing ‘COVID positive test’ in the address line. Please include the following:

1. the date on which your child started to display symptoms
2. who your child had close ‘social’ contact with in school on the two days prior to displaying symptoms
3. Your child’s date of birth
4. If applicable, include the bus on which the student travels and who they sat with.

We will then distribute letters via parents advising that students need to self-isolate for ten days from the date of close contact. ‘Close contact’ means being within one metre for one minute or two metres for 15 minutes. Wearing face masks does not exclude someone from the close contact definition. Please only contact School if you are making us aware of a student with a positive case. We do not need to know if you or your child is taking a test.

Merits winners

Last week, we celebrated the achievements of students in Year 7. On Monday and Wednesday, we celebrated the achievements of students in Years 8 and 9.

The winners are:

Year 9

Top 2 Merit winners for the Year 

Catherine Hargreaves & Ayla Jafri 

Merit draw winners 

Hugo Cullen & Lily Johnson 

Golden Ticket Merit Winners  

Daniel Albert Lammin, Caitlin Frost, Leanna Hy, James Ellis, Catherine Hargreaves & Ayla Jafri

Golden Ticket Winners for most improvement in effort based on recent assessments

Jayjom Bluku, Ethan Holmes-Barber, Maisy Watmough, Ibitayo Salawu, Emily Paskitt, Hattie Pai & Lucy Smith

Year 8

Merit Winners 

Libby Jackson & Evie Hough

Bradley Minall & Ella Chappell

Ever to Excel Winners (E2E)

Bradley Minall, Imogen Wright, Ryan Musthafa, Claire Tun, Matthew Uwechue & Alice Leahy

Monthly Quiz Winners

Ava May Steer, Imogen Wright, Luke Harriman, Alice Leahy & Charlie Wilkins

Caistor Goes Christmas update

Students and staff raised £728.52 for the Scunthorpe Foodbank in last Friday’s Caistor Goes Christmas.

Travelling abroad

Students who travel abroad during the Christmas break will need to self-isolate for ten days on their return if they are returning from a non-travel corridor country. You can access the list of countries here: [link] It is possible to get a private test to shorten the quarantine period from ten days to six. You can read more details about the scheme here. [link] If you intent to use this scheme to expedite your child’s return to school, we will need to see an ‘all clear’ certificate before your child can return to school. Please note that if you booked a holiday knowing that your child would need to self-isolate on their return, thereby missing school.

Be aware

We have updated the Be Aware page with more information and guidance from ‘ThinkUKnow’, a group advising parents about e-communication. You can read the information here. [link]

Snake Davis

Musician Snake Davis will be welcoming CGS students on his live streamed show on January 3. You can see the shows at www.youtube.com/user/snakedavistv  if you’re in need of a New Year treat before we head back to work!

Farewell

We wish Mr Nigel Bowler a happy retirement. He leaves us having taught Maths and Computing for a term to help us out as we transitioned from Mr Sunter retiring and Mr Frost becoming Assistant Head.

Congratulations

Tyla Harris (Y8) has won a coveted ‘0’ Junior TKM plate in the Rowrah ‘O’ plate event on the picturesque northern Lake District track in dreadful weather conditions. This means Tyla can use the plate throughout next season, which is a significant achievement for someone new to the sport.

Have a safe, happy and kind Christmas

Alistair Hopkins

Headmaster