Joining Gillingham Additional Information for Admissions to Gillingham School Welcome to Gillingham School This booklet is designed for new admissions to Gillingham School. Organisation Students will be put in a teaching group when joining The School Day - Timings (Week 1 and Week 2) and will have a different teacher for each subject and 9:00-9:20am Registration/Assembly therefore, separate exercise books for each lesson. Space for these will be needed to keep them at home. 9:20-10:20am Period 1 It is a good idea for pupils to pack/unpack their bag 10:20-11:20am Period 2 every evening when arriving home, to then complete homework and re-pack it ready for the next day. 11:20-11:40am Breaktime 11:40-12:40pm Period 3 Pupils will receive their timetable on their first day which will explain where their lessons are and who 12:40-1:40pm Lunch their teacher will be. Parents and carers can also be sent a copy of the timetable - try to display it in a 1:40-2:40pm Period 4 visible place. 2:40-3:40pm Period 5 Students should also note that Core PE is a statutory requirement that is not optional during their time at Gillingham. School Homework Diary The homework diary will be used to: • Record important information about activities and events • Record homework set by teachers and due dates • Write in notes and personal reminders Tutors will monitor it once a week, sign it and countersign good notes or notes of concern. Parents will need to: • Monitor it for good notes and notes of concern written by teachers, we request that parents initial to show that they have seen them • Sign it once a week, preferably at a weekend. • Use it to help students organise themselves. • Use it to communicate with teachers At the back of the diary are the absence pages, which we ask parents to sign when pupils are absent from school due to illness. Essential Equipment Absences • Mathematical equipment (protractor, compass) We kindly request that parents leave a short message • A scientific calculator on our absence voicemail line (01747822222 and press • English Dictionary 1) on the first day of their child’s absence. We would • Pencil also ask that parents complete the absence page in • Colouring Pencils their child’s homework diary on return as a record for • Eraser their tutor. We request that all absences are supported • Ruler by written communication from parents. Only allow • Pens days at home for a genuine illness and try to avoid • Sharpener absences in school time. • Glue Stick Please do NOT take your son/daughter on holiday Picking Up and Dropping Off Students during school time. We are working under very strict For safety reasons, parents who bring their children guidelines over this matter and can only grant leave to school by car are requested NOT TO USE the of absence for exceptional circumstances. The cost of Hardings Lane approach to school. With 15 coaches holidays and booking holidays without checking term coming and going and usually several parked cars, dates are not exceptional circumstances and leave of Hardings Lane is potentially extremely dangerous and absence will not be given. We thank parents for their we wish to keep the road as clear as possible for the support in this very important area. prompt and safe movement of the coaches. We would be very grateful if parents would set down and pick up at the School Lane entrance. Between 8:25am and 3:40pm, there is a large number of pedestrians and staff vehicles using the school drive and extra traffic at these times. Joining Gillingham School Homework • Establish a routine of emptying your child’s bag early in the evening, checking their homework diary to see if they have any homework and prioritising this. • Make sure this routine becomes a habit at a certain time of the evening or between certain times. • Ensure your child has a break on coming home in order to play, read, listen to music or do a hobby. • Agree that homework will not be interrupted by television, calls, texting or use of technology unless it’s needed. • Ensure that your child has a quiet and comfortable place to do their homework. • Homework should last up to 1 hour per night in Year 7. • Homework is not set for the next day (unless unavoidable) to allow students to plan their time effectively whilst still being able to attend clubs and evening activities. • Don’t let your child struggle for too long; let them stop and note in the planner that a good amount of time has been spent completing it. • Your child will be able to go to a homework club in the Library and Resource Centre after school. A letter and permission slip can be obtained from their tutor. • A homework timetable will be issued during the first week of term.
Transport School transport is provided and run by County Councils. If you have any queries about the provision of transport or the day to day running of the buses, please contact your County Council department - Dorset 01305224545, Wiltshire 01225713455 or South West Coaches on 01935 475872. If you live in Wincanton, Templecombe, Horsington, Lydlinch, Stalbridge, Bruton, Bayford or Henstridge, please contact Mrs Felton on 01747 822222 or email [email protected]. Important Reminder Please be aware that the school buses provided by the County Council are only available for the students who live within the catchment area of the school or by special agreement with the County Council. Children who attend Gillingham School from outside the catchment area are not guaranteed a place on a bus or a free bus pass. Parents are advised to make their own arrangements for transport into and out of school unless they fall into the category above. Any children who go home for tea or sleepovers with friends are not allowed to travel with their friends on school transport. We are not permitted to give out temporary bus passes without direct agreement from the County. The school buses are only insured and allowed to transport those children who are eligible and have been issued with passes allowing them to travel on specified routes.
South Western Railway Scholars Educational Season tickets If you would like to know about the scheme for Educational Season tickets for the train, please email Mrs Clayton on [email protected] for details. Lost Property If students do lose something, staff will encourage them to look for it. The Lost Property Office is open everyday between 1pm and 2pm in Z2. The School Office receives an enormous amount of forgotten PE kit, lunches, design folders, money etc throughout the course of every school day. Pupils should be fully prepared for the school day - we would appreciate parents’ help to encourage this. Website The school’s website and our social media pages on Facebook and Twitter are good ways to access the latest information about school, such as recent events, snow closures and term dates. Website - https://www.gillingham-dorset.co.uk Twitter - @Gill_School Facebook - Gillingham School Printing and Purchasing Food A card is issued to each student to permit printing from the computers. A certain amount of money is allocated per student. Its use will be explained in ICT lessons.
Students will have the choice of either cash, card or the use of biometrics (fingerprint recognition technology) to buy food from the School Canteen. The card will need to be registered online and money can be topped up online. If the card is lost, there will be a replacement charge and a new one will be issued. Free School Meals will be automatically put on the card each day. This amount must be spent on the day and not be carried over. ParentMail We use Parent Mail as a paperless way of sending information home via email; for example, the school newsletter or year-group notices. You will be given information in early September about how to register for ParentMail and we would then expect to send home information using this system. In the unlikely event that parents do not have access to emails, paper copies can be sent home. We also have a Mobile App to pick up important messages and make school payments. If you have an Android smartphone, please go to your App Store and search for Gillingham School. If you are an Apple user, please note the branded app is not yet available – in the meantime, please download the ParentMail App by searching “ParentMail”. Pay+ for ParentMail has been launched. This online payment service is available through the app and will allow you to pay for school items quickly and easily on your smartphone, tablet or computer. We will inform you about items you need to pay through Parentmail, and you will be able to pay electronically using credit or debit cards as well as Paypal and PayPoint. If you do not wish to make payments online, you can of course continue to make cash and cheque payments. Please note, your bank statement will display either the school name or ParentMail, depending on your payment method. If you need any additional information or assistance, please use the help site: www.parentmail.co.uk/help/parenthelp or please contact Mrs Clayton in the school Finance Office - [email protected]. School Uniform Our local suppliers are the National Schoolwear Centre, Wine Street in Yeovil and Squires of Shaftesbury. However, as most items are of standard colour, they are all available from a variety of other retailers, e.g. ASDA. Ties and badges for blazers can also be bought from the School Library. Uniform can also be obtained from Marks and Spencer: Order online at www.mandsyourschooluniform.com then find your school. M&S will fund Gillingham School 10% of each purchase which is used by the School Council to purchase items for students. All pupils in Years 7-9 wear a navy blazer. In Years 10-11, parents purchase the special pullover or cardigan embroidered with the school crest. The policy of school uniform applies to all pupils until they reach the Sixth Form. We request that pupils do not wear hoodies, leggings or canvas shoes as part of their uniform. The school runs a uniform shop where surplus items donated by parents become available for re-sale. If families have financial hardship beyond the assistance available from the government family support, they can contact Tina Hull (07817957330) who runs the second hand uniform shop. Parents are able to call Tina directly between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
PE Kit can also be obtained from FlipAnt Clothing who operate out of Nourish on the High Street. All kit must be plain; a small logo is acceptable but absolutely no stripes. Long hair must be tied back, so pupils are reminded to bring a hair band. We recommend the use of gum shields for hockey/rugby. A full list of all the school uniform and PE kit which is needed for your time at Gillingham School can be found on the school website. Uniform - https://www.gillingham-dorset.co.uk/Documents/Uniform%20list.pdf PE Kit - https://www.gillingham-dorset.co.uk/Documents/School%20Uniform%20-%20PE%20Admissions.pdf We look forward to welcoming you to our school.