It has been another busy year and as we come to the last week of term, we look forward to embarking on our two experience days. I would like to remind students and parents that exemplary behaviour and conduct is required during these two days, especially pupils who are representing our college when on trips. 

Last week we welcomed the newest members of our SJP community when our Year 7 2023 class came to spend the day with us. In the same week, we said goodbye to the oldest members of our SJP community at the Year 13 Leavers Dinner. 

School will close for the summer on Tuesday 18th July at 12 noon. Brunch will be available for all pupils on the day. Please be aware that school buses will not be available in the afternoon. 

There is so much to celebrate this year and we look forward to sharing everything with you in our end of term Newsletter.

I would like to share with you some key information below:

Results Days

A level results day is Thursday 17th August 2023. Students can collect their results from the College between 08:00 and 10:00.

GCSE results day is Thursday 24th August 2023. Students can collect their results from the College between 09:00 and 11:00. Following receipt of results, students who are returning to SJP Sixth Form will receive notification via letter, on ParentMail, if they have achieved the grades required to study their chosen L3 subjects. Should there be a concern; a member of the Sixth Form team will also contact you directly.

September 2023 - Return to school 

We are starting the new school year with a staff development day on Monday 4th September 2023 (A day on which only staff attend). 

Tuesday 5th September

Year 7, 12 and 13 will return at 08:30 and remain in school.

Wednesday 6th September

Year 8 & 9 will return at 08:30

Year 10 will arrive at school at 09:40

Year 11 will arrive at school at 11:00

We begin by inviting Year 7 initially to allow them to have some time in school before the other year groups join them.

Attendance 

Attendance has the greatest impact on achievement. If your child is absent through illness, please notify the school on the first day of absence by telephoning school early in the morning. I must remind you that holidays should not be taken during term time. Taking children out of school during term time could result in an Education Penalty Notice being issued. The government has identified attendance as a key focus for schools following the pandemic. It is therefore vital that students have high levels of attendance and good punctuality to both school and lessons. Failure to do this may result in an Education Penalty Notice being issued. 

More information can be found here and here. 

Uniform

Students should return in full uniform in September. The uniform also clearly outlines expectations on footwear, which must be plain black shoes of a material that can be polished and with no sports logos. A reminder of our uniform list and PE kit list can be found here. Our uniform policy also clearly states that there should be no false nails, no false eyelashes, facial piercings or earrings. School skirts are designed to be worn knee length. 

Thank you for your support in ensuring that our high standards of uniform and appearance are maintained and allow us to remove barriers to learning. Should your child wish to have a piercing we would ask this be done in time before they return to school so that they are able to remove it during the school day. Any children who do not have the correct uniform on the first day back will require a parental meeting. Should you have any concerns about uniform please contact your child’s Head of Learning. 

In It To Win It

I am delighted that there has been some improvements in behaviour across the College. However, this is still not at the level I want it to be. I would like to remind pupils and parents that we have high expectations and will continue with our interim behaviour policy next year. It has been heartening to see those pupils who have been continuously working hard receiving recognition for the positive attitudes that they show in school.

As part of our behaviour policy, this year we launched our 'In It To Win It’ campaign. Our draw for this term takes place next Tuesday. Every time a pupil receives a positive, they are entered into a termly draw for some fantastic prizes. We would like to ask for sponsors/business or maybe some employers that you work for who would like to contribute to the school. Any contributions will be used to further enhance our educational programs, support extracurricular activities that will benefit current and future students. This may be cinema tickets, games, sports equipment to name a few. 

The generosity of any donor will make a significant difference in the lives of our students, allowing us to continue to provide them with a holistic and enriching education. If you know of anyone who may wish to contribute please ask them to contact Mrs Lock via schooloffice@stjohnplessington.com. We sincerely appreciate any amount or contribution that could be used as a prize in our “In It To Win It’ positive recognition competition. Every contribution, big or small, will be immensely valuable to our school community.

Summer School

In order to support a successful transition for the newest members of our college community, we run a transition summer school for our new Y7 students from 21st August until 25th August. 

Summer schools play an important role in supporting young people’s learning, building new relationships and supporting young people’s wellbeing. Our summer school has a clear focus on literacy, numeracy, wellbeing and fun! We hope that every child makes many happy memories and enjoys new experiences. We have had a fantastic uptake, with over 200 pupils registering their interest to attend and we are looking forward to welcoming them into our community during the summer. I am delighted that we will have a number of Sixth Form pupils supporting the running of our summer school, who will work with our younger pupils to ease their transition.

Staff Departures

The end of the school year we are seeing some incredibly valued staff members leaving SJP to pursue the next step of their careers. I am sure you join me in thanking staff for their service to our SJP community and in wishing them well as they move on. 

Parent Teacher Association

I am very keen in September to look at the creation of a PTA. If you are interested please email schooloffice@stjohnplessington.com with your details and we will get together in September. 

I am extremely excited for September and to share with you the many exciting opportunities that we have planned for 2023/24. 

Finally, thank you again for your support this year. Please look out for our newsletter, have a great summer and stay safe!

Mr P McLoughlin

Headteacher