St Thomas More School & Sixth Form College Website

A message from the Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

The end of November is always an exciting time as we enter the season of Advent. It is impossible to ignore that Christmas is coming even if the pressures of the season in the modern world can obscure the real meaning of the feast. However we do try in school to strike a balance between preparing well for the spiritual side of the occasion while keeping our attention on the fact that three full weeks remain in which much has to be achieved if the efforts of the previous weeks are to come to fruition.

This is particularly true for Year 11 who are preparing for their mock exams which begin on the afternoon of the 11 December with the first of two History papers. The first phase of the mentoring programme is now under way and teachers have been joined in this task by some Governors who are giving up time to come to school to offer the benefits of their experience to pupils.

The Parent Power evening for Year 11 parents went well and is an example of how we intend to help parents to play an even more effective role in ensuring that the pupils get the best out of school. The presentation contained interesting facts about how people internalise information and guidance about the impact of lots of consistent, frequent practice can have on improving skills and developing knowledge. A positive attitude plus lots of effort plus feedback on that effort (from anyone: parent, relative, friend, class mate teacher or mentor) is a powerful combination. It is pleasing to see increasing numbers attending the Year 10 and 11 After School Club and extra classes that are being put on.

And finally many thanks to you who are supporting the PTA raffle by purchasing tickets. Please accept my apologies for the confusion over the AGM which had to be moved to this Wednesday 4

A pleasant weekend to you all.

F Hickey

Headteacher