The Marsh Academy

Message from the Principal

Monday 5 January 2009

Dear Parents & Carers,

At the end of term we say goodbye to Ms Jeffries, Mrs Harding, Ms Washford, Mrs Cavalier, Mr Clayson and Mrs Vallintine. Mrs Harding is leaving to set up her own consultancy business, Mrs Cavalier is retiring, but will return to work part-time as Special Educational Needs Coordinator, Ms Jeffries leaves to take up a new post in Ashford, Ms Washford is returning to university, Mr Clayson returns to his own business and Mrs Vallintine is relocating. They will be greatly missed and we wish them all the best for the future.

When we return in January we will welcome two new Assistant Principals: Mrs Clarke who will lead on Vocational Issues, Attendance and Post 16 and Mr Bristow who will lead on Student Well-being. We also welcome Mr Davies who will head up our Motor Cycle Engineering facility at Mountfield Road, Ms Marshall an instructor of hairdressing, Mr Hamilton a Science teacher and other staff will join later in January.

There will also be new post holders in place in each of the Mini Schools as we have added additional posts to ensure a more personal service for students and parents:

Mrs Whitewood also takes over as Senior Inclusion Leader. Her task will include liaison with Social Services and outside agencies to ensure the best possible provision for students in difficulty.

In January we begin the task of developing the detailed designs for the new building, ready for contractors coming on site later in the year. We also continue planning for the temporary buildings we will need, to ensure that there is minimal disruption to our children's education during the period of the new build. Our Finance and Resources Director, Mr Norman, has already visited a grammar school in the North of the county where 'state of the art' temporary Science facilities are in place. He was delighted to report that they are excellent and will represent an improvement on our existing facilities rather than any diminution in service.