Dear Parents/Carers
Welcome back.
Our inaugural "September Issue" Newsletter is designed as a reminder of the basics around school rules and procedures so that everyone is clear on what is expected.
Here's to a successful and productive Autumn Term.
Mr Woods
Headteacher
At USH, we wear our uniform with pride. Thank you to all parents for their support in ensuring that our students have returned looking smart. While all other uniform expectations stay the same, there is one change to the previous guidelines. Students are now able to wear a single stud earring in each ear. This stud must be metal.
If parents would like to check the rules regarding uniform, please visit our wesbite and click on the "Whole School Letters" tab: http://uppershirleyhigh.org/letters_and_forms
Mrs Floyd
Deputy Headteacher
Reporting an absence
If your child is going to be absent from school, it is important, for safeguarding reasons, that you contact school before 9am to explain the reason for the absence.
You can report an absence in the following way;
Telephone – 023 80522721/023 80325333
Text message – 07860 005066
Email – Alison.Small@ushschool.org
Medical appointments
If your child has a medical appointment during the school day, please notify the school prior to the appointment and provide a copy of the appointment card/letter for our records. Whenever possible, please arrange appointments out of school hours.
School contact:
First Aid Provision at the School:
Administering Medicine:
General Advice:
Asthma:
Anaphylaxis:
To help you understand more about the finance function at USH we thought it would be useful to share some important information and some frequently asked questions.
Finance Team
This consists of Karen Hartley (Finance & Payroll Officer) and Harrison Payne (Finance Assistant). They can be contacted on the finance email address: finance@ushschool.org. The Finance Team are always happy to answer any questions and queries you may have.
What you can buy in School?
The Finance Office sell stationery items, school ties and revision guides for a range of subjects.
Making payments to the School
Payments to the school (via the Finance Office) can be made in three ways:
How to set up an online account?
With an increasing offer of school trips and an extremely popular canteen service more and more parents are using our online payments facility. Parents can set up an online account through Tucasi. The Finance Team will provide a link code to enable you to set up your new account or link existing or siblings accounts to allow you to use one log in. If you would like to set this up, please contact us and we can talk you through the process. A presentation for parents and information leaflets are available on request.
Using Online Payments
Online payments are currently being used for the following purposes:
Benefits of using Online Payments
We thought it would be useful to share some of the key benefits of using our online payments system:
Cashless Catering
Upper Shirley High operates a Cashless Catering system. This means no cash is accepted in the school canteen for the purchase of snacks, lunches and drinks. All items are paid for via individual student cashless catering accounts.
How to top up a catering account
There are two ways:
Please note: Unfortunately the Finance Office cannot change notes for students and if given a £10 note from parents the full amount would have to be put onto the account.
Lend Facility in the Canteen
The school offers a ‘lend’ facility at lunchtime to enable students to have a meal if they have either forgotten their packed lunch for their lunch money.
We thought it would be useful to remind you about our lend procedure so everyone is clear on how it works:
Financial Assistance for Uniforms
These are the key headlines regarding the support available to parents for the purchase of uniform items:
Other important information for you to be aware of
The Library exists to inspire and support the learning of the whole school community, and actively supports and promotes reading for pleasure and for information. The Library is a comfortable and welcoming space, with a wide range of resources, including fiction and non-fiction books, reference books, DVDs, magazines, newspapers and networked computers.
The Library is run by Dr Mount and Dr Dutton, both qualified Librarians, and is open and staffed from 8am until 3pm, except when the Librarians are supporting learning elsewhere in the school. Students may use the Library before school, during break and lunch, and after school. Students may also visit during lesson times with permission from their class teacher. The Library is frequently used as a classroom space, particularly for Reading Lessons. The Librarians are available to help students with choosing a book or finding information in print or online, and are assisted by a team of student Library Monitors.
All students and staff automatically become a member of the School Library from their first day at USH. Students are able to borrow up to four books and one DVD. A fine is charged for DVDs that are returned late.
The Library is a quiet and calm place, where many students come to read and do homework. Users of the Library are expected to respect the space in which they are working and to be considerate of other users. Food, drink, and mobile phones are not allowed in the Library.