25 March 2025
Dear parents and carers,
As we come towards the final fortnight of this Spring term, I have a few updates and reminders for all our families.
In this letter:
Paying for school dinners via SCOPAY
Staffing update
An invitation to hear about the upcoming site works
Advance notice of changes to school cloud-based applications
End of term reminders
Paying for school dinners via SCOPAY
As you know, we have had our new canteen contractors providing our school meals service since January 2025. At the time of changeover, we did notify parents that this company, Aspens, do not allow ‘lends’ to children whose dinner money accounts do not have credit. Whilst we have been lenient on this point for the past term as we all got used to the new system, we do now need to fully enforce this rule. Debts incurred by students at the canteen come directly out of the school’s budget. Therefore, students will not be allowed to take food from the canteen unless they have sufficient funds in their account to cover the full cost. Please support your child by ensuring their account is either topped up online or by your child paying cash into the payment machines in the small hall and servery area.
Staffing update
We are pleased this week to welcome Lisa White to the year 7 pastoral team. Ms White is covering for Ms Potter’s maternity leave and we are extremely pleased to have her on board.
Mrs Cole, our Year 11 pastoral year leader will be leaving us at the end of this month. We are grateful for all the work she has done here at Monkton Wood, firstly as a member of our Safe Hub team and latterly as PYL. Mrs Cole will be replaced by Mr Chandler Hallett, who starts with us straight after the Easter break.
Invitation to hear about the upcoming site works
We are pleased that the works to renovate three of our toilet blocks, four of our oldest science labs and to replace our outdated fire stopping and alarm systems will begin over the Easter holiday. I would like to invite families to hear about these works, and how we will manage them as they take place over many months with the school open as usual, at a Parent Forum on Thursday 27 March 2025. The first forum will be in person in the school library at 5.00pm. Parents attending the Year 9 parents’ evening that evening can come along, but any other parent that would like to come to an in-person meeting is also welcome. I will repeat the same information in an online meeting at 6.00pm which you can join on this link: Parent Forum Teams Link A further online meeting will be held on Monday 31 March at 5.00pm. Join via this link: Monday Teams Link
Whilst we are looking forward to these improvements to our school environment, we do need to prepare ourselves for disruption to the usual running of the school, including considerable re-rooming of Science lessons in particular. Please do join me to find out how we endeavour to maintain as much normality as possible for our children during this period. If you are unable to attend, we will record the presentation and supply it at your request. Please email us at [email protected]
Advance notice of changes to cloud-based applications
I would like to give you as much notice as possible of a longer-term plan to reduce the number of cloud-based applications (apps) that we use. Currently, we use Bromcom in school for registers and assessment information, Class Charts for conduct records and homework, and School Cloud for parents’ evening bookings. From September 2025 we will consolidate all of these functions into one product/app. Full details, including how to log in and where to find the information you are looking for, will follow in the summer term.
Reminder of end-of-term arrangements
The last day of this term is Friday 04 April 2025. The last day is a normal school day, with no early closure. We return on Tuesday 22 April 2025, which is the day after Easter Monday bank holiday. There is no staff training day; we are all back to lessons as usual on the Tuesday, and please note that we come back on a Week B.
With thanks for your continuing support,
Mrs H Jones
Principal
