Friday 25th November 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

Week 12 - Headteacher’s Letter

It was brilliant seeing so many of you at our first SNS Awards Evening celebrating the fantastic achievements of our young people. Their efforts reflected our school values of ambition and excellence. Well done all and a big thank you to staff and parent/carers for all their support.

World Cup and Theme of the Week – Ms Anna Gluckstein, Equality Lead

In Personal, Political and Philosophical Study lessons this week, the complicated issues around the World Cup were explored, with raising awareness on some of the worrying aspects of what is happening in Qatar itself, but also looking at other countries with poor human rights records which have hosted large sporting events.

This week’s assemblies celebrate the contribution of Muslims to modern society, through culture and science. The assemblies are being run by Muslim children and their allies.

Parent/Carer Mental Health Support Forum Monday 28th November – Mr Michael Collins, Assistant Headteacher

On Monday, we are hosting our Parent/Carer Mental Health Support Forum. This will take place in our Performing Arts Studio (by the foyer/main entrance) from 6-7pm. I will be giving an overview of how the school supports mental health and the services we work with, but the bulk of the session will be led by Fintan McCullough, an Educational Psychologist who works for Hackney. He will be discussing CAMHS services, outlining common mental health stressors on teenagers and giving some tips for how to communicate with teenagers about mental health. It would be great to see as many parents there as possible. If you would like to attend, please sign using this link.

Friends of SNS PTFA Meeting – Monday 28th November 7.30pm

The first Friends of SNS, our Parent, Teacher and Friends Association (PTFA) meeting will be held on Monday 28th November at 7.30pm via Zoom. All parent/carers are invited to attend. An email has been sent with the Zoom link and further information regarding fund raising and future Friends of SNS events.

Mixed Heritage Week – Monday 5th December – Ms Anna Gluckstein, Equality Lead

In December we will be again celebrating Dual Heritage week with our tutor groups. If there are any parents/carers who would like to be filmed explaining why their Dual heritage is important to them, please contact me via Ann.Glu@sns.hackney.sch.uk

Progress Review Day – Wednesday 7th December 2022

We will be holding our Progress Review Day on Wednesday 7th December. The purpose of the day is to offer an opportunity for you and your child to discuss their Autumn progress check, identifying opportunities to help support further achievement and attainment. There will be no lessons for the day, but mock exams will continue. An email with further information will be sent today, and the link to book appointments will be sent early next week.

Year 12 Student Social Event – Monday 12th November

Reminder that Year 12 have a Social Bowling Night at Rowan’s Bowl on the Monday 12th December after school. Please help us sign up as many students as possible to make it a fun night. The deadline for securing a place is this Friday 25th November. You will find the link for payment on your ParentPay account.

You will also find a link there for contributions for the year 12 Social Fund which will allow all students to take part in enrichment activities and give a budget for students to plan their own activities in the future.

Winter Showcase and Christmas Market – Thursday 8th December – Mr Amar Bailey, Assistant Headteacher

This year, SNS will be hosting our Winter Showcase and Christmas Market. The event will celebrate essential values such as love, generosity, family, and community. Market stalls will offer ethical and sustainable food, beverages and craft items manufactured by students. The outdoor event will begin at 06:00pm and finish at 08:00pm with music ensembles throughout the evening. We look forward to welcoming you on Thursday 8th of December 2022. Students in years 7 and 8 are to be accompanied by a parent or carer. To attend, please reserve your free tickets here.

SNS Showcase - Sister Act! – from Tuesday 13th December – Ms Amy Foden, Head of Music

We are very excited to announce that tickets are now on sale via ParentPay for our whole school production of Sister Act: using this link. . They are likely to sell out, so get yours fast!

Tickets are £8 or £5 for under 18s/over 65s, and the show dates are Tuesday 13th, Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th December at 7pm. Our students and music and drama staff have been putting in so much time and effort to make this an incredible show, so please come along to support us and to see our young people be absolute superstars!

Communities Empowerment Network (CEN) Parent/Carer Forums

CEN is an inclusive education support charity, has created the Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) Programme. PEP Forums are inclusive, supportive spaces for parents/carers to come together, learn from guest speakers or parents with similar experience, and share knowledge, advice, and information to empower one another. These events are free to attend and completely independent of the school.

The next Father’s Forum is on Thursday 1st December at 6.30pm on Zoom. Please click here to register for the event.

The next CEN Coffee Morning will be held on Wednesday 30th November at 10.30am on Zoom. Please click here to register for the event.

Please click here to register for PEP’s Coffee Morning session on Friday 28th October at 10.30am.

Key dates and Local Cultural Events

Please see a link to our key dates here for this term on our school calendar that include Information Evenings, Forums, and Parents’ Evenings.

You can also find our webpage which is regularly updated, promoting local cultural events for November using this link.

I wish all Year 11 and Year 13 students the best of luck as they sit their Mock Exams next week.

Wishing you all a restful weekend.

With best wishes,

Zehra Jaffer