Dear Parent/Carer and new Year 7 students
I hope this letter finds you and your family safe and well having had an enjoyable Easter break.
We are currently planning in earnest for the transition to secondary school of Year 6 students and would like to update you, share dates of upcoming events and signpost you to key documentation that must be completed.
As a school we work very closely with our primary colleagues to ensure we are aware of each and every child, not just their academic ability but their personalities, needs, social groupings and any other information that will help us to understand each and every child ensuring a smooth transition to St Benedict’s.
In the coming weeks (as lockdown restrictions ease) I will be visiting every student in their primary setting, the purpose of this is to tell them a little bit about life at secondary school but most importantly answer any questions they may have (there are usually many!!).
Our ‘Annual Taster Day’ which always takes place the first Wednesday in July and coincides with other local schools taster days will take place this year on Wednesday, 7th July. Students will have the opportunity to experience a day as a Year 7 student, meet key staff and most importantly have the opportunity to walk around the building, get a feel for the school, our expectations and routines. We are hoping that the roadmap out of lockdown allows this event to take place but we will keep you updated of any changes to these arrangements.
We would usually host a parents event later in the evening on the same day, we are not in a position as yet to confirm if this can take place at this moment in time but will send out information as and when we have it.
It is very important we have up to date contact details and in order for us to begin to plan for the students to be part of our school community, could I ask you to complete a set of online forms; please click here to complete these forms. It is important we receive these forms back by Friday, 11th June and remember to click submit at the end.
The student passport can be completed by parents and students together and is an opportunity for you to share any information with us that you think may help us get to know you better and allow us to plan any additional transition support we may need to in the coming weeks. In order to support us in our tutor group allocation we would like you to state in this form any friends you would like us to consider placing you in a tutor group with, we will try our best to group them together but at this point, we cannot make any promises.
We have a transition section on our website and we will update this regularly with relevant information to support you through this process, there is also a contact button if you have any concerns/questions you would like answered. Please click here to access this page.
We have a provisional date of Saturday, 3rd July for our uniform company to be in school, at present we are hoping this pop up shop can go ahead adhering to social distancing guidelines, any updates/amendments to this will be posted on our website.
We understand that the transition process from primary to secondary can be daunting but I want to reassure you that we will assist you in any way we can to ensure that all students arrive, excited and fully informed about the next chapter in their education.
I am looking forward to meeting you all very soon.
Yours faithfully
Kay Woodcock
Transition Manager
