Parent Briefing 30/9/24
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
It never rains but it pours…
You may be aware that the school was impacted last week by the extremely heavy rain that fell over the previous weekend. Unfortunately, this has meant that we’ve lost a significant number of classrooms due to the damage.
Staff have worked extremely hard to remove the water from the building. Fortunately, the damage has affected only one part of the Ellis building, which means that we’ve managed to restrict the area.
Children are now being taught in other spaces in the school until the damage can be corrected.
Family Dining
Please ensure that children who do not receive Free School Meals have money added to their Arbor Pay account. Children need this to be able to purchase school meals. You can find out how to do this here.
Children are expected to have their navy EGS lanyard on them every day. This is part of their expected equipment. If they forget it, and require lunch, they will need to collect a lunch slip from their Head of Year. This will allow them to purchase a meal at lunch time. You will be notified to top up your child’s account if there are insufficient funds and your child’s account is showing a deficit.
Uniform Support
If you are struggling with uniform requirements and your child is in Years 8-11, please do let us know by emailing: enquiries@ellisguilfordschool.org.uk.
We will always support in anyway we can, and now with our pre-loved uniform shop, we are certain that all children can have access to the required uniform.
A reminder for Years 8-11 that we are expecting the new uniform for September 2025 to be purchasable from February Half-Term from the Just Schoolwear website. Currently, all Year 7 uniform is purchased from Just Schoolwear, whilst uniform for other year groups can be purchased through the Arbor School Shop.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS
Students who attend school every day this week will receive an extra 50 Guilford Gold on Fabulous Friday. 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
Talking about Mental Health
At Ellis Guilford School, we recognise the challenges faced by young people, parents and carers when it comes to mental health.
To support World Mental Health Day 2024 (Thursday 10 October), we are planning a range of activities. This starts with staff training in identifying and supporting mental health issues in young people, and pupil training in seeking mental health support. The key message is for pupils to talk to each other, to parents and carers, or to school staff if they have a mental health concern.
We also promote the following mental health online support agencies who offer free, safe and confidential support. Click on the images to be taken to their websites.
The NSPCC has an excellent resource for recognising the signs that your child may be struggling with their mental health, which you can access below.
You can find further wellbeing support on our Safeguarding & Wellbeing page.
If you have any Safeguarding concerns, please email: john.williams@ellisguilfordschool.org.uk
SCHOOL REMINDERS
Ellis Electives
If your child would like to take part in our range of after-school clubs, please sign them up through the Arbor Parent App. You will find the full schedule along with details of how to sign up here: : Extra-curricular Activities – Ellis Guilford School
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
Head to our Term Dates, Events & Activities page to view our 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!
