The Week Ahead weekly newsletter

Growing Lives that Bear Fruit

This week...

Quick Stop Notices

New School bank details

As a school we have decided to close our HSBC bank account, and have opened a new account with the Cooperative Bank.

The new account details are as follows:

Bradford Christian School

Sort code 08-92-99

Account no 63154896

As our HSBC account will be permanently closed in January, we would be grateful if you would arrange to change your fee payment to the new account as soon as possible.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Dental places for under 16s

A local NHS dentist in the BD4 area are looking to register children under the age of 16, they are reaching out to local schools with a view to taking children who do not have a dentist at present.

"We take children’s oral health very seriously in our practice and as I’m sure you are aware the younger the children are seen and treated the better the outcome for them in adulthood."

Contact them regarding registration for you children. They cannot advise how long they will be registering so it would be advisable to contact them as soon as possible on 01274 688600.

Dentistry@BD4

134 Holme Lane,BD4 0PU

Building Project / Parking [UPDATE]

The New Classrooms are FINISHED and being used by staff and students.

Thank you for your patience with the building work and access to school and for being flexible with routes around school and respectful parking so as to keep good relations with our neighbours.

Please still remember to park sensitively. A campaign to have yellow lines added to the streets around school is underway, which is an extreme response and one we hope to avoid. Please make sure you do not block a drive, do not block a corner and do not mount a kerb when you park your car. The council have instructed neighbours to photograph any cars parked badly and to report them to the police and to the council. It would be great if there was nothing to report.

Political actions on VAT policy - take action

From the ICS:

All schools should be in touch with local politicians to make them aware of the impact of Labour’s tax proposals. We encourage you to focus on the impact on your parents, local state schooling, and your school operations. Stress whenever possible your school’s public benefit work, and existing links to the local community – as well as any specialised provision. While we still expect to see the tax proposals in the next Labour manifesto, our combined efforts are necessary to provide the best possible basis for conversations with Labour if they form the next government.

The ISC and associations are working at a national level to engage with the Labour VAT/charitable tax policy – but schools also have a vital role to play as local advocates. We are speaking to political parties, education groups, and unions – making them aware of the unintended consequences of the policy, but also the hugely positive role independent schools play in UK education. We are also highlighting the diversity of independent schools, the specialisms schools provide, and myth-busting about the true nature of our sector.

Chromebooks for School and home

You may be aware that school has now provided each student from year 5 to 11 with a Chromebook to use in school. These are allocated to individual students, who are responsible for looking after them, recharging them at the end of the day, and transporting them between lessons. In Year 5 all students receive a brand new machine.

Most schools charge a significant deposit for use of Chromebooks or alternative technology. We have decided against this, recognising it is an additional cost at a time when money is tight.

Most of our students are careful and responsible with Chromebooks, and they make it through their middle school and upper school years without a problem.

However, recently we are noticing a small number of students who are not taking appropriate care of their Chromebook. We can not afford to replace them when they are dropped, get wet, or get lost. A new screen is almost the cost of a new Chromebook. We are now expecting students to carry their Chromebooks in their bags to and from lessons.

From now on, we plan to make a charge to families if a student damages their Chromebook. This will be a flat £100 toward the cost of a replacement.

We do recognise that not all damage is the student's responsibility, and we will work hard to understand the cause of any damage before charging you. We understand that there may be wear and tear from daily use.

Thinking of getting your child a Chromebook for home? Check out our recommendation in this short article. Which Chromebook?

Google Classroom Clarification

If you are used to checking your child's google classroom summary of homework, all staff will use HOMEWORK in capitals as a prefix before the task. All other posts will refer to work undertaken in class.

Parent Prayers

Second use uniform

Parent WhatApp Group

Missed last weeks Week Ahead?

Go to our Parent Zone page to view the archive.

Parent Zone

Next Week ➡️

Monday 15th January

15:30 - Primary Drama Workshops

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

👇🏻Dates for your diary👇🏻

18h January - Year 11 career interviews
9th February - School closes for Half Term
19th February
- BCS re-opens
- Year 11 mock exams start
26th February - Year 9/10 trip to Barcelona
7th March - Year 11 residential
13th March - Staff Training day - school closed to students
22nd March - School CLOSES for Easter break

⭐️Stars & Students of the week⭐️

Primary School

Love Class

Rosa for being able to write her name independently.
Samuel for always making fantastic choices and writing some amazing sentences.

Peace Class

Mimi for always being very kind to children and staff and being extremely thoughtful.
Penelope for having great leadership skills and making sure everyone is included.

Kindness Class

Oscar for a super first week.
Ruth for working hard and always trying her best.

Bronze awards
Leia

Helpful Links

Online Safety

Parent Resources

Prevent Stratergy

Fundraising

It's free to sign up to and start supporting us with Give as you Live. Send our unique campaign links to friends and family so they can support us for free too!

We can win upto £1500 free if 5 new people signup to our Give as you Live campaign before the 17th December!

giveasyoulive-asset-christmas-shopping-twitter-post

Regular campaign link - https://www.giveasyoulive.com/charity/bradford-christian-school

£15 raised so far!

To say it's only been a short time we've been apart of the Stikins campaign, this is an incredible achievement. Please continue to engage with this campaign. Thank you!

Headteacher's Message

Our Mission

To provide a holistic Christian education for all and to inspire discipleship.

Our Vision

To be a Christian community in which everyone grows in character, faith, knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

I am writing to you all from a beautiful hotel in Ware, Hertfordshire, where I am being taught about Independent School Inspection (a bit back to front as we had our visit in November)

It's been a full on day, with lots of networking, and meeting heads from other schools around the UK. I have had times of reflection throughout the day and feel truly blessed to work with our staff and families - we really do have something special at BCS. Of course, we can always do things better and we do strive to improve, but we also do a lot well.

The Bible says that that being spiritually connected means: We're built like a building. "In Christ you are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God" (Ephesians 2:22 NRSV). We are meant to fit together like bricks in a new building.

Today there has been quite a focus on well being for staff and students, something we have been addressing this year as a school. Of course, this is all rooted in prayer - our staff pray for each other and our families, and there are also student led prayer groups and parent led prayer groups in school. God makes a significant difference to our well being.

Mrs Walker is our amazing mental wellbeing lead, and she is kept busy throughout the week meeting with those needing additional support - either short term, longer term, or a one off chat. She is well trained and experienced, and I am very grateful for her.

We also have a staff wellbeing team who work to support our staff team, led by Miss Rowe who works in the AP. She has a team of eight volunteers regularly checking in with people.

The main take away from today for most people was 'When people are well and connected, teaching and learning can be much more effective'.
I am always sad when I hear statements like that, as there is a bit missing. It's true, but only part of the story. There is so much in the Bible about the need for fellowship of believers, God knew this was a good idea long before ISA started teaching about it.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Jane Prothero