Academy Newsletter Edition 4, March 2012 FRIDAY 30th March 2012: ARRANGEMENTS FOR LAST DAY OF TERM Periods 1 -5: Normal Lessons 3.00pm Academy Closes
Welcome from the Academy Principal, Mr R Gilbert Dear Parents/Carers, At the time of writing this editorial we are sixteen full weeks away from the handover of our new building. It is very difficult to comprehend how quickly the time has gone, in relation to both our conversion to Academy status and the announcement of the funding being awarded to the Academy for its new build, and now that handover is nearly upon us. During the first phase of the whole construction period, we have been very fortunate in the weather being as good as it has been and the positive working relationships the Academy has developed with Willmott Dixon in a number of ways. This, I believe, has contributed hugely to the progress that we have seen on site and the confidence that I have in them maintaining this right through to the end of the construction programme early in 2013. The handover date of 9th July 2012 remains the milestone we are all looking forward to. In the final week of term for students, we will be planning a programme of orientation and familiarisation for students in Years 7 to 10 and the Sixth Form. Also around that time, I will be communicating with all parents/carers with regard to the arrangements for access to and from the new Academy site during the next phase of the development - Phase 2a. This will include student access, on foot and by bicycle, as well as vehicle access for visitors. We will also be looking at the potential to run a series of open mornings for all parents/carers to come and visit the new building, either at the end of Term 6 or in the beginning of the new academic year. In recent weeks we have been privileged to work more closely with Willmott Dixon and a number of students have had the opportunity for site visits as part of their studies or a longer work experience programme. Members of staff from Willmott Dixon have also been involved in working alongside students in Science, looking at the energy systems being required in the new build and the impact of that on the environment and sustainability. Again these have been well received and have contributed well to some of their studies in Key Stage 4. On Tuesday 20th March 2012 I was invited to London, with Jason Hunt the Site Manager, for an award ceremony, as part of the construction industry’s Considerate Contractors Scheme. At the awards ceremony, Willmott Dixon’s work on the Yate International Academy site received recognition under that scheme and was awarded an accolade in relation to the number of points achieved as part of the criteria for becoming a Considerate Contractor. This not only recognised the work they had done on site and with the Academy itself, but the work and relations that have been instrumental in its success with the immediate and wider neighbours to the Academy. On Wednesday 21st March 2012 we held a parents evening for the parents/carers of our incoming Year 7, in September 2012, who had recently received notification of their offer of a place at the Academy. It was very pleasing to see so many prospective parents/carers at that meeting and with Year 7 numbers entering the Academy being the highest they have been in my seven years as Head/Principal here,