<p> Turner Road Tel: 023 9282 6514 Portsmouth [email protected] Hampshire www.arkdickensprimary.org PO1 4PN</p><p>8th January 2016</p><p>Dear Parents and Carers,</p><p>I am absolutely delighted to be writing to you as the Interim Headteacher of Ark Dickens Primary Academy. I am very grateful for the welcome I have had from the staff, the children and the parents I have so far been able to meet. The children have been delightful and most are rightly very proud of their school. I am looking forward to getting to know them all much better over the coming weeks as I am getting to know yourselves as parents, hearing what you have to say and asking your views on the improvements you would like to see at our school. </p><p>I thought in this my first letter to you, I would introduce myself to you properly, give you a little bit of my background and experience in education as well as sharing with you the things we need to do, quite quickly, in order to further improve our school.</p><p>I have worked in education since 1981, beginning my teaching career in Worthing. Between 1981 and 1993 I was a full-time teacher who taught children aged between 5 and 13 years in two schools in the Worthing area, which was also my home. In 1994 I became Deputy Headteacher at Barnham Primary School and was appointed to my first headship in 2000. Since that time I have worked as a senior school improvement officer in Hampshire, worked as an Independent Education Consultant, worked for a central government curriculum development agency and been an Executive Headteacher on two occasions. For the last 5 years I have been Headteacher at St Jude’s CE Primary, just across the city, also a two form entry Primary School. </p><p>Throughout my career thus far, the most important thing that I have tried to do is make a difference to the children in my care and to help others to do the same. Here at Ark Dickens, my aim will be just that; to make such a difference to the lives of each of the children that as they grow and develop as young people they will have as many choices open to them as possible. When I met the children on Wednesday I told them very clearly that I had four things I wanted them to do for me. I am sharing them with you so that you can encourage them at home whenever discussion about school arises. </p><p>1) Work really hard: This links directly with our value of EFFORT</p><p>2) Be kind to each other: Fitting with our value of RESPECT</p><p>3) If you are going to say you can’t do something, you have to say “I can’t” about something in school (e.g. reading, writing, speaking a foreign language) then you have to change it to say </p><p>“I can’t do that YET”. This fits with our value of RESILIENCE.</p><p>4) Help each other and support each other, fitting with our value of CHALLENGE. If we are there to support each other, even the toughest challenge is achievable. Turner Road Tel: 023 9282 6514 Portsmouth [email protected] Hampshire www.arkdickensprimary.org PO1 4PN</p><p>Contd/……. 2</p><p>I know there is a great deal to do here and there will be a need to make some changes quite quickly to the way things work. Please be assured I will keep you informed of all of these as the days progress and that I look forward to working with you over the coming few months.</p><p>With very best wishes</p><p>Joy Waelend</p><p>Interim Headteacher</p>