The Lister Weekly Update #15

It's the Year of the Reading at Lister and what better way to celebrate than diving into World Book Day? The big day is tomorrow, the 7th of March. Teachers will be dressed in costumes inspired by their favourite characters and students will be voting for the best (or worst?) dressed teachers. We will also be running a short story competition - we believe that great readers make great writers - but the highlight of the day will be a 7 chapter mystery (one chapter of the mystery will be delivered in each lesson) for all students to solve. Students will not be dressing in costumes - they need to wear normal uniform - as we are still working towards excellence in uniform standards.

You might ask why we invest so much time and effort on emphasising reading. Research from the Reading Agency tells us that: “Reading for pleasure is more important for children's cognitive development than their parents' level of education and is a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background.” We are always aiming for excellence with our students and the best route for them to achieve excellence is to read every day. Please make sure you encourage them to be a reader.

As we approach the start of Ramadan, we are looking at new ways to support our students who wish to fast.

Students who are fasting and would normally receive a Free School Meal may receive a meal pack ( containing a drink, muffin or cake and a piece of fruit) that they can collect during lunchtime prayer, and use to break their fast at home at the appropriate time. This option can also be made available to students who do not receive Free School Meals, for the standard meal price of £2.30.

For those students that do not observe Ramadan, the school canteen will be open as usual for breakfast club, break and lunch service.

So that we can have the appropriate number of meal packs ready, we would appreciate your completing the form below (we will only be able to guarantee meal packs for those whose parents or carers have completed the form below).

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeencNtDjuMFTLJD2E7LCe2_lt5IPrDBFs5x9OxZC_cmH9Caw/viewform

A reminder that tomorrow, on Thursday 7th March, we will be holding our half termly parent workshop followed by the headteacher drop in. The theme of the workshop will be Safeguarding including E-safety and Mental Health.

We are happy to share with you a free parenting workshop being provided by the detached youth work team in association with In The Know. Sessions will be run once a month starting from 22/03/2024. Please see the poster attached for more information and sign up QR code. This programme is aimed at supporting parents with teenagers on a number of different topics from talking to them about sexual health to understanding signs of your child being exploited and much more all for free. Please feel free to share this poster with any parents you feel would benefit from this programme.

Please note that it is year 10 Parents' Evening tonight. All of your child's teachers will be available for a short discussion about progress and behaviour. This is the first year of KS4, leading to your child's GCSEs. It is very important to make sure they are meeting their potential. Please note targets for improvement and aim to achieve these in the year ahead.

Each week we want to celebrate particular students who have won the most praises in their house and in their year group. The numbers are lower than in the last update as we have reset the competition after last half term. Well done to Shelley for their victory! Keep and eye out for you child aiming for excellence and having their name highlighted here!

Our Thought of the Week, this week, is related to the theme of World Book Day. Please discuss the thought with your child.