Castle Hill Castle Hill Blog, 15.10.2021
A message from our Chair of Governors
'You may remember School informing you that we would be recruiting a new headteacher this term, with the aim of having a headteacher in post for January 2022. The role was advertised nationally at the end of August, and we interviewed several candidates a couple of weeks ago. The Governing Board has always believed that Castle Hill needs a very special headteacher and unfortunately, following the interviewing process, the decision was made by the interviewing panel that none of the candidates were quite what we were looking for at this time.
The Interviewing Panel and Governing Board have agreed therefore to put the recruitment process on hold and have asked Mr Thomas to continue as Acting Headteacher from now until Easter 2022. Ms Nicholas will be Acting Deputy Headteacher during this period. This hopefully gives students, parents and staff a period of stability under a strong senior leadership team and allows the school as a whole to focus all its efforts on the education and wellbeing of your child.
The recruitment process will hopefully begin again in January 2022, and I will keep you informed of any further developments.'
Bevon Blackwood, Chair of Governors
Nasal flu vaccination
Your child will be bringing home a letter about the nasal flu vaccination today. Please complete the consent form and return it to the school office by Friday 22nd October, fill in the green form if you give consent and the red form if you do not. Your child will only receive the vaccine if you give consent.
Covid update
The Covid situation at the moment can be a little confusing, so here's a few answers to some questions we are frequently asked:
What should I do if my child has Covid symptoms?
Keep them at home and book a PCR test.
What should I do if my child tests positive on a lateral flow test at home?
Keep them at home and book a PCR test. Let school know.
What should I do if my child tests positive on a PCR test?
Follow the self-isolation instructions given by Test and Trace. Let school know your child’s return date.
What should I do if someone else at home has Covid symptoms?
So long as your child has no symptoms, they can come to school.
What should I do if someone at home has tested positive for Covid?
So long as your child has no symptoms, they can come to school
If my child has Covid does everyone else at home have to self-isolate?
So long as they have no symptoms, anyone who is under-18 or has been double vaccinated does not have to self-isolate.
How can I book a PCR test?
Use this link: https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test
Show racism the red card
Next Friday we’ll be taking part in 'Wear Red Day', which is organised by the anti-racism charity ‘Show Racism the Red Card’. For a donation of £1 students will be able to wear non-uniform clothes for the day, but we ask that they wear at least one item of clothing which is red (don’t worry, if they’re a City fan, it could just be a pair of red socks!). In this way we'll be showing that at Castle Hill we believe that racism is unacceptable. You can find out more about the work of 'Show Racism the Red Card' here: https://www.theredcard.org/.
Money raised will be shared between 'Show Racism the Red Card' and our School Fund, which helps to fund our whole school reward system.
Squid Game
We've ben asked by Stockport Safeguarding Team to pass on the following message regrading the Netflix show Squid Game.
Squid Game is currently one of the most popular shows on Netflix and has a rating of age 15 and above. The programme centres around a series of children’s games that have deadly consequence, and is very violent in nature. We understand that there is other adult content and despite its initial appearance it is not suitable for younger children. The BBFC have awarded Squid Game a 15 rating in the UK for “sexual violence references, injury detail, crude humour, sex, suicide, sexual images, violence. This is very different from the 12a rating which allows younger viewers if they are supported by a parent or other guardian. The 15 rating states that the material is “suitable only for 15 years and over” with no concession for accompanying adults.” Parents may not have realised the age certification of the programme and you may wish to alert them. Parents can also apply parental controls to Netflix if they wish by setting up a Netflix children’s profile, this limits viewing to TV shows and movies which have been carefully selected for children.
To do this:
- Go to Netflix.com/account.
- Scroll to 'Profile & Parental Controls 'and click on the profile you want to manage.
- Click 'Change' next to the Viewing Restrictions setting.
- Enter your Netflix password.
- Set the maturity rating for the programmes and films you want to allow in that profile.
If you don’t already follow us on Twitter, you’re missing a treat! Just download Twitter on your phone or computer and follow us @CastleHillHigh. It’s worth doing just to see the amazing keyboard skills of one of our Year 9 students here: https://twitter.com/CastleHillHigh/status/1448214941912158211
Have a great weekend (dry on Saturday, drizzle on Sunday.... but don't quote me on that!).
