Blog week ending 4th September
As we begin the new academic year, we are excited to welcome you to Stone Lodge School! Whether you are joining us for the first time or are returning as part of our school community, a very warm welcome to you all! This week Year 7 students have taken part in a series of induction activities to support their transition to secondary school and familiarise themselves with our school’s facilities, and to get to know their peers and classroom teachers. Our new Year 7 students have made an exceptionally positive and pro-active start to their educational career at Stone Lodge!
Students in Years 8-13 have had two onboarding sessions that have explained new systems and protocols and revisited existing ones to help familiarise them after such a long summer break. We have also spent time focussing on that valuable skill of self-quizzing. Self-quizzing is a powerful study strategy to help embed knowledge in the long term memory. This year we are focussing on how students can learn and remember more and self-quizzing will become a key feature of both lessons and home learning.
To support you and your child as we embark on this new academic year, we are holding a series of Welcome Evenings for each year group.
These evenings provide an excellent opportunity for you to meet staff, hear about the year’s curriculum, and receive important information about your child’s academic and pastoral support. They are an important part of our commitment to fostering effective communication between school and home, and we strongly encourage all parents and carers to attend. We will be outlining specifically the changes in teaching groups and home learning both of which are designed to support students in reaching their full potential.
Please see the details of the Welcome Evening events below:
- Year 11: 8th September – 6:00-6:45pm – Head of Year, Miss Ho
- Year 9: 9th September – 6:00-6:45pm – Head of Year, Mr Proctor
- Year 8: 10th September – 6:00-6:45pm – Head of Year, Ms Anderson
- Year 10: 11th September – 6:00-6:45pm – Head of Year, Mr Bailey
- Year 13: 15th September – 6:00-6:45pm – Head SL6, Mrs Tiddy
- Year 7: 18th September – 4:30-7:30pm (includes Meet the Form Tutor) – Head of Year, Mr Alderman (pictured in the first photo)
For Year 7 parents and carers, please note that our Welcome Evening will run longer and will be in a different format to allow time for meetings with Form Tutors. This will be an opportunity to discuss your child’s transition into secondary school, as well as to ask any questions about their wellbeing and progress. Further information will be sent out shortly. These evenings will take place in the main school hall, and various staff members will be available to answer any questions you may have.
Finally, we are making some changes around attendance so that we can support your child’s learning more effectively:
- Unplanned absences: parents/carers must PHONE the school number and leave a message on the attendance option by 8.00am Please do not use the attendance email for unplanned absences. Please continue to send all requests of leave of absences i.e. urgent medical appointments etc. to the attendance email address. We ask that you give as much notice as possible – at least 3 working days.
- To improve our safeguarding systems further, we are introducing an internal form which must be signed by various colleagues prior to a student leaving. If you have a planned absence from school, please ensure you give us at least 3 working days notice so we can complete this important process. If you would like your child to be collected by someone other than parent, they will require photo ID as well as permission from parent/carer.
I look forward to seeing you there and working closely with you to support your child’s education this year. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
We also encourage parents and carers to read our fortnightly Blog, as it offers a window into school life, celebrates student achievements, shares important updates, and highlights upcoming events—helping you stay connected and informed throughout the year.
Forthcoming Dates:
Year 11 Welcome Event – 8 Sept 6-6.45pm
Year 9 Welcome Event – 9 Sept 6-6.45pm
Year 11 Careers Day – 9 Sept
Year 8 Welcome Event – 10 Sept 6-6.45pm
Year 10 Welcome Event – 11 Sept 6-6.45pm
Year 13 Welcome Event – 15 Sept 6-6.45pm
Year 11 Careers Day – 16 Sept
Year 7 Welcome Event (& ‘meet the tutor’) – 18 Sept 4.30-7.30pm
Year 11 Careers Day – 23 Sept
Culture Day – 26 Sept
Year 6 Open Morning (appt only – booking details will be announced in due course) – 13 Oct
Year 6 Open Morning (appt only) – 14 Oct
Year 6 Open Morning (appt only) – 15 Oct
Year 6 Open Evening (no appt necessary) – 16 Oct
Year 13 SL6 Apprenticeship Event – 17 Oct
Last Day of Term 1 – 17 Oct
First Day of Term 2 – Thursday 30 Oct
Year 11 Mock Exams – 31 Oct – 7 Nov
Best wishes,
Dr Cusick
Headteacher
