Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope this update finds you and your families well. There is clearly something in the water this week as there has been an increase in positive logs, 3189 including over 140 Golden tickets. An absolutely remarkable feat and we are thrilled with those efforts and proud of each and every student who is consistently showing the character and culture we wish to instil, personal development and personal discipline. In addition, the number of negative logs has also reduced tipping balance even more significantly towards rewards. What is most remarkable about this is that our high expectations have not faltered on uniform, on equipment, on effort in class and you definitely had a hand in that in sending students to school with full equipment, on time every day and dressed appropriately, so thank you.
Our amazing community shows its strength, and its appreciation
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the sad loss to our community of Ernie Davis, one of our site team. A former Mascalls student and site staff member for over two decades, his work in the academy, its staff and students leaves a legacy that will endure. His contribution was honoured this week when his funeral procession entered the academy site to be greeted by 1400 students and staff in applause in a show of respect and gratitude for both Ernie and his family.
We are incredibly proud of the conduct and honour shown by our student body. The event was significantly powerful, unbelievably moving and was received wonderfully by Ernie’s family and friends. He will be sorely missed.
School Day Consultation
Many thanks to the parents and carers for your comments on the consultation regarding potential changes to the academy day. The overwhelming majority of comments have been positive and supportive of the proposed changes with naturally some areas for further thought, some of the repeating themes are included below:
Buses
Any changes to the academy day will also mean that bus times will change to accommodate, we will work with the local providers to ensure this is possible
Trains
We will be liaising with the local train station and south east trains which run a half hourly service from Paddock Wood
Other schools finish earlier
The proposed finish times are in line with a majority of local secondary schools:
Skinners: 3.35pm, SKA: 3.15pm, St Gregs: 3.30pm, Hillview: 3.15pm Fridays: 2pm, TWGGS: 3.40pm, Weald of Kent: 3.40pm, Uplands: 3.25pm, Bennett: 3.35pm, Knole: 3.30pm
Primary schools traditionally have an entirely different structure and timings to their day – ultimately, they are not comparable given the different needs and requirements of the phase of education.
Please do note that there is no decision to be made regarding the increase in hours, this is not a local decision. The decision itself has been made as part of the Government’s Education White Paper. If you wish to express your views, please do so on the link provided, the consultation closes at 5pm on 20th May.
Changes to time timings of the academy day 2022-23 – a consultation (parents/carers)
Non-Uniform Day
On the 20th May, students have the opportunity to have a non-uniform day in exchange for a donation to the charity World Wide Tribe via Scopay. Year 11 would still need to attend in uniform for their public examinations. World Wide Tribe was started in 2015 to support refugees globally through the creation of a community which works to raise awareness of the struggles faced by refugees, among them unaccompanied minors.
WWT has a strong connection to Mascalls Academy, since the work undertaken by the charity was inspired by our former student Mez. The motivation to bring awareness to this cause from a personal place; the adoption of Mez by the O’Hara family, inspired the founder of WWT and Mez’s adoptive sister Jaz O ‘Hara to become proactive in creating a network that gives a voice to children and adults that have shared Mez’s experiences.
Mez’s personal story is remarkable and one that demonstrates incredible strength of character; at 14, he made his journey across the world from Eritrea, alone. On his arrival in the UK, he was placed into the foster care of the O’Hara’s and was the first of now 4 new brothers to join Jaz’s family whose own journeys have brought them from Afghanistan, Sudan and most recently, a 13-year-old boy from Libya.
The Worldwide Tribe is the continuation of this global family and we want Mascalls Academy to further expand this culture through supporting the work of WWT in our Academy. We have been given a fantastic opportunity to develop our relationship through activities on the 20th May including an assembly at which Jaz and Mez will expand on the ethos of WWT & a series of art workshops for our excellence in Art students across KS3. We are so pleased to be able to offer our students a unique opportunity to develop their global citizenship and work with WWT in what we hope to develop into a long-standing collaboration.
Young Writers
On the last day of last term, Miss Groves and Miss Degotte gave some of our year 7s and 8s the opportunity to enter Young Writers, a national competition, where they were expected to write a 100 word saga on a Villain- but with a twist.
They submitted their entries and we have now heard back from Young Writers with a huge number of Mascalls students having been chosen for publication! We are super proud of their budding talents as writers and achieving national recognition for their work. Well done!
And finally, as ever our continuing thanks go to you, our wonderful parents and carers who are continuing to help drive our academy, our culture and our success forward through your tireless support either in writing or even at home. It is no secret that the role of the parent/carer has a significant impact on academic success when working alongside schools and we see the results of that work through our spectacular students.
Yours sincerely,
Mr W Monk
Principal
