Author: Natalie McGillivary

Ski trip – kit list

Natalie McGillivary

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Thank you for supporting the Chill Factore trips at such short notice. The students had a great time, even if some spent a little more time on the floor than on their skis!

I will be in touch after the half-term with a date for when we can meet to discuss the finer details of the Ski trip. I am still waiting on flight times but these will not be released until after the final payment. As a reminder, your final payment date is 10/11/2023. 

Please find some guidance on passports below and a kit list attached (sent directly from the ski tour coordinator):

Please note, UK passport validity:

  • Everyone’s passport should be valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)
  • If you renewed a 10-year adult passport before it expired, extra months may have been added to your passport’s expiry date. These extra months will not count.

Please check current information on the government website here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/passport-rules-for-travel-to-europe

Kind regards,

Miss Crowder

Paper Colour Policy

Natalie McGillivary

I am writing to you as a reminder of our buff paper policy in school.

As a school we are committed to ensuring that all of our students are supported and provided for with all aspects of their needs. We have a number of students who, due to a wide range of different needs, have difficulties reading black ink on white paper. We have been advised by the advanced Orthoptist Kathryn Whitfield – Lead of Visual Processing Difficulties, Orthoptic Service at Warrington and Halton Hospitals – that the colour of paper is not as important as the fact that it’s not white paper with black ink, and for that reason, we have an all buff/cream paper policy in school. This includes lesson resources, exam papers and exercise books for those students who require them. Buff books will be provided by class teachers.

We think this is important for a number of reasons including:

  • This is an inclusive system that means no student will be made to feel different in lessons or in exams by having paper that is a different colour to their peers.
  • Students who may yet to be diagnosed with reading difficulties will benefit from not having to read black ink on white paper.
  • Students will still have the flexibility of having a coloured overlay of their choice if they so wish – as outlined in many reports for Visual Processing, Visual Distress and other Opthalmology reports. These can be collected from the SEND department.
  • Students who do have difficulties will never be in a position were a teacher/cover teacher may have forgotten to provide a resource on the correct paper.

The depth of the cream colour of the paper has been trialled with a range of students who currently require coloured paper in order for us to ensure that we have chosen a shade that allows all students to read comfortably and effectively.

Kathryn Whitfield has agreed to hold a forum with any parents/carers who have concerns about this and any specific issues for their child. Please email the SEND department if you would like to attend this session so that we can confirm a time and date. The email is: send@lymmhigh.org.uk.

You are also invited to email Kathryn directly for further advice: kathryn.whitfield1@nhs.net.

We are confident that this policy will help to support the greatest number of students. Thank you in advance for your support.

Yours faithfully,

Ms K Yates
SENCo

DofE 2023-24 cohorts

Natalie McGillivary

If you’ve signed your child up for Duke of Edinburgh in any of the following year groups: Year 9 (Bronze), Year 10 (Silver) and Year 12 (Gold), we have started to purchase their registration packs and usernames will be issued shortly afterwards via Form tutors. They will be given a username by their Form tutor and they need this to register on the electronic DofE system called eDofE, which is web- and app-based. All the instructions and a help sheet are available by clicking here. Any problems, please ask them to speak to their Form tutor in the first instance; after that they can go and see Mrs Riley, our DofE administrator. Once they have set up their account on eDofE and chosen their activities, we will approve them and then they can start actually doing the things they’ve chosen. Please click here for the list of things they can choose in each section.