Dear parents/ carers,
As we come to the end of what has been a fantastic academic year I wanted to thank you for your continued support.
Ahead of the summer holidays, I wanted to share with you the arrangements for the start of the next academic year.
- The last day of term will be Wednesday 19 July and school will close at 1.30pm.
- Start of the new academic year:
- Y8, 9, 10, 11, 13 return on Thursday 31 August 2023
- Y7 start on Tuesday 05 September 2023
- Y12 start on Thursday 07 September 2023
Please find attached the term dates for academic years 2023/24 and 2024/25
Parents’ evenings
Thank you to those parents and carers who recently provided feedback on the current system of online parents’ evenings. Feedback was split regarding if parents wanted to continue with online parents’ evenings or move back to face-to-face parents’ evenings on site at LFCD. One aspect of the feedback was clear: parents and carers really appreciate the fact that during online evenings appointments run on time due to the five-minute cut off system.
After reflecting on that feedback, we have decided that all year groups will have two parents’ evenings, one parents’ evening on site and one which is online. The only exception to this will be Year 13; both of their parents’ evenings will remain online. The onsite parents’ evenings will give us the opportunity for families and young people to access additional advice, guidance and support, including careers advice, mental health support, support from the Individual Needs Team, and direct access to the College’s Executive Team. The onsite parents’ evenings will be carefully scheduled to be as effective as possible, for example there will be an in-person Year 8 parents’ evening before students make their GCSE pathway choices. We hope families will find this change helpful.
Leave of absence requests
This term we have received a significant number of requests for leave of absence that have been submitted at very short notice. While we understand that due to the global pandemic many families have not travelled abroad to see relatives for some time, we would ask that travel abroad for significant periods of time is kept to the school holidays. Requests for leave of absence must be submitted at least 4 weeks before the date of the request and a request for leave of absence can only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. Any absence from school has a detrimental impact on a young person’s academic progress, as well as their social development.
Culture Week
The last week of term will be Culture Week, an idea created by a group of our Year 11 students. The week will focus on celebrating the Landau community’s cultural identities and many exciting events will be taking place throughout the week, including themed meals in the Restaurant on Monday 17 July and a samosa sale and tuck shop on Tuesday 18 July.
On Wednesday 19 July, students can pay £1 to attend school in dress which best represents their cultural heritage or an outfit which best represents them. Money can be paid via ParentPay or in cash on the day. The money raised from the non-uniform day will go to the Landau Forte Enrichment Fund, which has funded the external visitors for Culture Week.
There will also be lots of special activities taking place including music and dance workshops, a Caribbean steel band performance, and an exciting dance/drama/music performance by students. At lunchtime there will be a range of food stalls from which students can purchase food including Caribbean dishes, south Indian dosas, Lebanese wraps, fish and chips, pizza, crepes, and galettes. The Restaurant will serve a full hot brunch menu during breakfast service and at lunchtime the Restaurant will sell sandwich ‘grab bags’ only. The free school meal allowance will be uploaded to students’ accounts from 8.15am on this day, ensuring students can purchase a hot meal at breakfast. We will also be issuing any students eligible for free school meals with a voucher to use at the lunchtime food stalls. The vouchers will be available to collect from reception at lunchtime.
Finally, thank you once again for your continued support this academic year. We are always so grateful for the support of the Landau community, which makes such a difference to our work every single day. If you have any feedback or questions on any issues raised in this letter please do contact me via Miss Walendziewski, [email protected]
We wish all our students and their families a restful and peaceful summer break.
Kind regards,
Alison Brannick