Dear Parent/ Carer
As we head towards the end of September I wanted to take the opportunity to write to you and update you on a number of items in and around school.
Firstly, I am very pleased that a solution to the 268 Callands bus issue has been found so quickly with support from the bus company and the local authority and that the timetable has been amended to ensure students arrive before school starts.
This week departments are busily preparing for open evening on 3rdOctober and our student ambassadors are looking forward to welcoming Year 6 students and their parents to Great Sankey. In addition, Mr Masher has been getting ready to formally launch the Sims App to parents at the Year 7 tutor event on 26th September.
Governors have picked up concerns from residents around how students on bikes leave the site once the school day ends. They visited this week and noted how exceptionally busy Barrow Hall Lane was and raised concern at how few students had bike helmets and wanted me to remind parents and students of the significant benefit of wearing a bike
helmet. PCSOs have also been on duty and have been reminding parents not to park on the yellow zig-zags when waiting to pick up children after school. In addition, I will ensure that the Headship Team provide a more visible presence on Barrow Hall Lane to ensure a safe exit from school. To further improve safety at the end of the school day we are reviewing how and where bikes are stored in school and whether we are able to create a separate bike entrance.
I have been informed that the catering issues have been significantly reduced but we continue to respond to individual concerns. I would like to make parents aware that a WisePay App is now available which will facilitate immediate top-ups. The App can be downloaded from Android and Apple App stores and the WisePay App organisation code is 68671163
On a separate issue governors have recently shared with me feedback from parents regarding the school uniform. They are planning to undertake a review and will be seeking the thoughts of students and parents as part of this process over the coming weeks
With regards to the on-going building work, handover of the new Sportshall is pencilled in to be before October half term and the PE department are extremely keen to get in and begin using this fantastic addition to school.
Finally, I am delighted to announce that our amazing STEM club began again on 25th September and we have a myriad of activities and clubs from Dungeons and Dragons to Coding Club and the array of sport, music, performing arts and academic work shops you have come to expect from Great Sankey.
Having been here for only four weeks I can already confidently say that the extra-curricular and enrichment provision at Great Sankey is one of the best I have seen in my teaching career.
Yours faithfully
John Shannon
Headteacher