Parent Briefing 16/9/24

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Uniform & Equipment

We appreciate that the cost of living is extremely tricky at the moment, and as such, the school have purchased a significant amount of equipment for our children, free of charge.

This means that all children attend school every day, ready to learn.

We have provided the following free equipment, costing more than £20 per child:

An EGS water bottle
A Knowledge Organiser
A plastic wallet
A planner
A pencil case, containing all required equipment
Navy Lanyard, Lunch Card and EGSellence Card

Please support us in ensuring this equipment is brought to school every day.

Opportunity Knocks!

The Autumn Term is now well underway, and we have a number of exciting opportunities that are being presented to our children.

Our next school production, Grease, has been announced and rehearsals begin this week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for those with a desire to take part (‘sign up’ is through the Arbor Parent App).

For the first time this year, children representing our school in shows throughout the year will be awarded with Performance Awards for their dedication.

Following the launch of the EGS House System, students applied to become House Captains and House Vice-Captains.

There will now be a follow-up process before these are selected soon.

House Ambassadors have been selected following recruitment processes during Tutor Time last week. Our House Ambassadors will have a very important job in ensuring messages are communicated from their House Teams to their Tutor Groups and vice-versa.

This year, we will also recruit our very first Junior Leadership Team. Children will have an opportunity to apply for a number of roles within school. They will focus on improving student voice and working closely with staff and children to ensure the school is a purposeful and inclusive community for all.

The roles include:

Junior Leadership Team Ambassadors (All year groups)
Junior Principal (Y11 x 1)
Junior Vice Principal (Y10 or Y11 x 3)
Junior Assistant Principals (Y8, 9, 10 or 11 x 6)

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

Above and below are Year 8 and Year 11 enjoying cakes on Fabulous Friday – their reward for coming to school every day last week. Our Attendance Leaders from last week (shown below) were welcomed to school today with cakes for their tutor group.

This week our Fabulous Friday treat for those who attend every day is 50 Guilford Gold. There is a little treat on offer every Friday for those who attend every school day during that week. If your child attends every day in September, they will become a member of the 100 Club, guaranteeing them a ticket to the movies!

For a reminder of our Attendance procedures and how to contact the Attendance Team, please visit: Attendance – Ellis Guilford School.

SAFEGUARDING

It’s Not Okay

This week we will be delivering the “It’s Not Okay” promotion with every tutor group.

“It’s Not Okay” involves all children exploring the school value of equality, and displaying a statement which they feel strongly about in their tutor rooms.

Please see the following NSPCC resources for supporting our “It’s Not Okay” promotion.

If you have any Safeguarding concerns, please email: john.williams@ellisguilfordschool.org.uk

SCHOOL REMINDERS

Lunch Cards

All children must have their lunch cards on them every day. This must be topped up with funds via Arbor Payments or using cash at the machine in the canteen (if choosing this option, children should top-up their account between 8.15am and 8.35am).

If you are experiencing difficulties with Arbor Payments, please do contact Main Reception via phone, email or in-person and we will be happy to support.

Ellis Electives

Our extra-curricular clubs got off to a great start last week. You can find the full schedule here: Extra-curricular Activities – Ellis Guilford School

If your child would like to attend any of our after-school clubs, you will need to log in to your Arbor Parent Account to provide consent for them to attend. Children should not attend unless parental consent has been provided. To ‘sign up’, look for Clubs in the Activities section of the Arbor Dashboard.

Arbor Parent App

The Arbor Parent App is our main method of home-school communication as well as giving you access to Clubs, your child’s Guilford Gold, payments and personal data.

If you have not yet created your Arbor Parent Account, please do so as soon as possible. If you need any support with this, please ask at Main Reception. You can find out more here.

KEY DATES & EVENTS

If you know a parent/carer with a child in Year 6, please let them know about our Open Evening on Wednesday 25 September. Click on the image below to find out more!

Head to our Term Dates, Events & Activities page to view our new Key Events Calendar providing a month-by-month summary of key events. Also, if your child is successful in joining a PE team, we have included the PE Fixtures Calendar from September to December. Click on the images below to view the ‘live’ calendars, and click through the pages to find out what’s happening this month or next!