Year 7 Parents’ Evening Letter 1st April 2022

1st April 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

Year 7 Parents’ Evening, Thursday 21st April 2022 4pm – 8pm

We are holding a Year 7 Parents’ Evening on Thursday 21st April 2022. Subject teachers will spend the afternoon and evening conducting online interviews with students and their parents/carers.

The primary purpose of this parents’ evening will be to help subject teachers develop a closer working relationship with parents/carers and strengthen the partnership between home and school. Teachers will work with students to identify areas where they are working well and what needs to happen to make good progress during the rest of this academic year and moving into year 8. 

Our year 7s now feel very settled into Biddenham International School and continue to follow our core values. This has been illustrated with many of our students being chosen to be sports leaders or by raising awareness of their social actions in PBL to working hard in assessments in many of their subjects. We have also seen an uptake in attendance to extra curricular clubs after school and during lunchtimes.  These clubs range from chess club to mindfulness, netball to dodgeball. We are always encouraged to see the enthusiasm the year group continues to have. 

The parents evening interviews are a good opportunity for subject teachers to identify what has gone well, and what needs to be worked on together. This will involve looking at your child’s current report which you will receive before Parents’ Evening, and negotiating a set of individual targets which will enable your child to build on their achievements so far. It is important that the students are involved in these conversations so they feel empowered by the targets, rather than disconnected to them if they feel they do not fit their learning. We want students to feel they can ask for help, where necessary. 

We are continuing to use the online booking system for making appointments. Please follow the link https://biddenham.schoolcloud.co.uk/ and you will be taken directly to the login page. Enter your details and your child’s details as required on the login screen. You will need to use your child’s preferred first name, preferred surname, and their date of birth. Bookings are now open, and will close at midday on Thursday 21st April.

If there are any problems with booking please contact Monika Skrzypacz on 01234 342521 or email monika.skrzypacz@biddenham.beds.sch.uk. 

Due to the success and convenience of online Parents’ Evenings with other year groups the appointments will not take place in school, but will be by video, and are accessible through most smartphones, tablets or laptops. Your child’s school Chromebook can also be used to access the appointments. Please click on the following link for a guide – how to attend your appointments over video

Should you require a telephone appointment please contact the school.

If you have any questions or messages in general about school we recommend that you write these in your child’s planner. If you would prefer to email us, here are the contact details for Year 7 tutors:

7ANH – Ms Neeley Hayes ali.neeley-hayes@mybiddenham.com

7CAM – Ms Mason kate.mason@mybiddenham.com 

7GT – Mr Thomas glen.thomas@mybiddenham.com 

7LR – Ms Roberts liberty.roberts@mybiddenham.com 

7GJ – Ms Johnstone gail.johnstone@mybiddenham.com 

7OB – Mr Barnes olly.barnes@mybiddenham.com 

7OF – Mr Owen Forde owen.forde@mybiddenham.com 

7SJ – Mrs Jhalli shanise.jhalli@mybiddenham.com 

7GFP – Mr Page george.page@mybiddenham.com 

7LCK – Ms Kearny lauren.kearny@mybiddenham.com 

7ER – Ms Ruddy emma.ruddy@mybiddenham.com 

Assistant Head of Year – Mr Mitchell jamie.mitchell@mybiddenham.com 

Head of Year – Mrs Speight abigail.speight@mybiddenham.com 

We expect year 7s to return to school after the Easter holidays looking very smart and ready to learn. To ensure students are ready to learn, please ensure your child has the correct equipment, a fully charged chromebook and they are in the correct uniform for school. Some of our students may have lost their school tie or outgrown their uniform and school shoes. The next two weeks are a good opportunity to order any new items and these can be ordered from Sportswear International –   www.swischoolwear.co.uk. If I could please ask that you do not purchase black trainers instead of shoes. For details of the school’s uniform policy and requirements, please see our website or consult your child’s planner. In addition to this, here is a reminder of the timings of the school day. Please encourage your child to be on time and to attend school every day unless they are too unwell to be in school. 

On behalf of the Year 7 pastoral team, we continue to appreciate your support and engagement and we look forward to working with your child and yourselves over the coming term. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or queries. 

Yours sincerely,

Mrs A J Speight 

Head of Year 7