Latest News
Posted on August 30th 2019
Year 6 to 7 - Transition Letter and Booklet
Dear Parent/Carer,
It was a pleasure to meet you and your daughter at the end of the Summer Term and we hope that the end of Primary School and the Summer Holidays have been positive for her. We thought we’d summarise some important information to ensure that both you and your daughter feel ready for starting at Harris Girls’ Academy East Dulwich. Also be aware that all key information and recent news can be found on our website along with all our policies which can be referred to at any time. The KEY INFORMATION section of the website has details regarding uniform, term dates and the subjects your daughter will be studying and the HOW WE LEARN section also has information which the parents of Year 7 students may find useful.
Download a copy of our Year 6-7 Transition Booklet 2019.
Arriving at the Academy
Every day the school gates open at 7.30am and close at 8.37am. Lessons start at 8.40am. Students that come to school early can go to the library or get morning snacks in the canteen. We have a staggered start for Year 7s which means that Wednesday 4th September it will just be the new Year 7 students attending the academy. They will be told their timetables and have the chance to explore the different areas of the school and the structure of the school day with no other students around! All other students will start back on Thursday 5th September.
What to bring to school each day
Please make sure that your daughter is in full school uniform on her first day. A reminder of the details of the uniform and our suppliers, Whitehall Clothiers, can be found on the website. Your daughter should have a pencil case with her with the minimum equipment of some blue/black pens, pencils, sharpener, rubber and a ruler. She will also need to have a scientific calculator but she will be able to buy this from the Maths department on arrival if necessary. She will not need to bring her PE kit with her on Wednesday 4th September, but please check her timetable that evening so you’re aware when she will need this with her. She will be given her timetable on her first day and this will be written in her PLANNER. The planner is designed for your daughter to be well organised and be able to plan the completion of homework tasks, but it also serves a means of communication between home and school as there is a section for messages which you can write in for the attention of her coach or a particular teacher. Please check her planner at the end of each week and SIGN IT to confirm that you’ve seen it. The planner also has reminders/key information for reference.
Holiday Homework
All students should’ve received a 16 page “Year 6-7 Transition School Subject Booklet” when you came in for the parent meeting. This has information about the different subjects she will be studying, details of those she can expect to have homework for from September and a range of projects to choose from to complete over the Summer. Please ensure that she brings the completed booklet (2nd page) and her project pieces with her on Wednesday 4th September. If you don’t have one of these booklets, please find this document on our website or email me to send one through to you.
Food and Drink
Please ensure that your daughter has breakfast before she comes to school. She WILL have the opportunity to buy snacks at breaktime (10.40am) but lunch is not until 1.30pm so she will need to have had a good breakfast in the morning. A reminder that if your daughter currently receives Free School Meals you must still reapply as this entitlement is not transferred over from Primary to Secondary School. Do also apply if you think you might eligible but do not currently receive FSMs. Applying for free school meals is straightforward. We use the website www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/harrisfederation/ There is an APPLY button on this website. Once you have applied, your application will be checked and we will be notified in about 24 hours as to whether you have been approved for the benefit.
Once your daughter has her ID card she will always pay for food using that rather than cash. You can either “top up” using parent pay or your daughter can bring in cash to upload via one of the machines in school. She will hopefully have her card on the first day, but this can sometimes take a little longer to programme, so please bear with us if they are not ready/fully functioning immediately. Due to this, on the first day (Wednesday 4th September) lunch/snacks will be provided by us free of charge to all students. Students CAN bring snacks with them from home, but please remind her that she can’t eat within the school buildings (outside, picnic areas or canteen only). Only WATER can be brought to school. It’s a great idea for students to have their own reusable bottles with them which they can refill through the day from the taps/fountains. This is much cheaper than buying water in the canteen and helps to cut down on the use of plastic disposable cups.
Residential Trip 2020
We have confirmed our places with the Outward Bound Trust (please see their website “Aberdovey Centre” for more information) for the last week in February. This is a 5 night residential which is of great benefit to all year 7s in terms of getting to know each other, experiencing a different way of learning outside of the classroom, building key skills such as team work and communication and building their confidence/resilience. We will provide more information in September and arrange payment plans for those families signing up for the trip, but this is advance confirmation that the COST is £299 (not the £350 initially stated as we’ve been fortunate to receive some additional funding towards this trip) with a reduced rate of £99 for students receiving Free School Meals. Please think about this over the Summer Holiday so that you are ready to secure a place in September as places are limited!
Parent Pay
Many of you will be familiar with Parent Pay from Primary School but this is the online method of making payments for things such as trips and topping up your daughter’s lunch card. You will not have a HGAED Parent Pay account until 31st August so details of accessing this account will be given to your daughter on Wednesday 4th September.
Parents’ Evening
We hold a parents evening for Year 7 early in the academic year. This year it will be on Thursday 17th October which is approaching the end of your daughter’s first half term with us. Although it’s unlikely you will be able to see ALL of her teachers (as she’s likely to have a minimum of 13!) this is a great chance for you to meet some of her teachers and discuss how she’s settling into life at secondary school.
Hopefully you feel that you have all the necessary information for a smooth start in September. Do check our website/app/twitter for information and if you have specific questions then please do email me on transition@harrisdulwichgirls.org.uk. These emails will be checked and responded to weekly during the month of August. In the meantime, we hope that you enjoy the Summer Holidays and look forward to seeing your daughter on Wednesday 4th September.
Yours Sincerely
Ellie Carding
(Assistant Principal)
