16 December 2022
Dear Parent/Carer,
I write to you at the end of a very successful first Autumn term with a full complement of students and staff at CHS South. It has been a long road to this point, with many external complications to navigate, and I thank those of you who have offered your unswerving support be it attendance at a school event, supporting you child with their studies outside of school, or a kind and understanding word to a member of our staff.
We have so much to celebrate from the past term, from increased numbers of students joining CHS South in September (we now have a waiting list for places in all Year Groups and provisional numbers for September 2023 are an all-time high) through to national recognition for our achievements in Reading, Wellbeing, & Sports. The Autumn term also saw our founding students begin their transition to further education, employment, or training at our first Post 16 College event, alongside completing their first full set of College Entry exams in preparation for their final Summer exam series next year. Alongside academic achievement, enrichment remains central to the CHS South experience, with students and families engaging with Macmillan coffee morning events, our November Anti-Bullying campaign, our inaugural Culture night, and a whole host of arts and sports events, from our amazing production of 'Oliver!', to our trip to see the Lionesses at Wembley. As always, I remain incredibly proud of the achievements of our students, staff and families; we have worked hard to consolidate our efforts over the past four years and continue to go from strength to strength for our community. Our latest version of 'Spotlight on South' can be found here: https://www.chssouth.org.uk/parents/communication-with-home/spotlight-on-south and I hope you enjoy reflecting on our past term as much as we have enjoyed experiencing it.
We hope all of our families enjoy a happy and successful break with loved ones over the next two weeks, however we do know that some of our families face challenges, particularly at this time of year and when schools are closed. Families in receipt of free school meals will receive vouchers to support with food, and further support regarding cost of living and access to warm spaces can be found here: https://www.manchesterlco.org/winter and https://www.warmwelcome.uk.
MCRactive and Manchester City Council are also offering thousands of free places for children eligible for benefits-related free school meals over the winter break. Activities will range from sport and physical activities, arts and crafts and much more. In addition to the activities, booked places will include a free meal during the day. For more information & to book your child’s space you will need to sign up for an MCRactive Go account at https://www.mcractive.com. Once signed up, log into your account – Find Activities – Search by Category ‘MCR Holiday Activity’ and use code 26584 to book free eligible activities.
We return from the Winter break on Wednesday 4th January. The building will be open as usual from 8:00am, for students to enjoy a free breakfast, with the school day beginning at 8:30am. In order to set students up for success, please can we ask for your support with the following aspects of our Code of Conduct when they return in January:
• Ready - Please remind your child/children that for all students to feel a sense of belonging we all agree to wear the full school uniform with pride and to not wear any outdoor wear indoors.
• Respectful - We are asking all young people to 'Choose Kind' when speaking to each other in person and online. We ask for respectful language to be used at all times.
• Safe - Please remind your chid/children to walk calmy on the left so that all members of our school community can feel safe to move around our school building at all times.
Until then I wish you a joyful and peaceful festive season.
Yours faithfully,
David Prophet
Headteacher
