Headteacher Update
June 2023
What a week it has been! We have had students at Durham University, preparations for the Year 7 residential to Ford Castle numerous sports trips and events and to top it all, 2 absolutely stunning performances of The Lion King…and it is only Thursday! Please do follow us on Twitter to see all the news @JohnSpenceCHS.
The Lion King was truly remarkable, from the costumes to the make up, the lighting, the singing and the dancing. Two packed houses witnessed some amazing individual and ensemble performances, all ably directed by Mrs Patrick and Mr McGuire, there was laughter and tears, but at the end is was simply a celebration of the talent and the commitment of all those involved. Look out for the newsletter in a couple of weeks for more details and some amazing images of the show.
As we head towards the summer break, we have a number of activities planned including an elite sports day, a zone activity day and the annual Challenge Walk. More details will be shared with students next week, but do look out for messages with details around uniform and timings. The school will break up for the summer at 1.15pm on Friday 21st July.
I mentioned in my update last week about the challenges of industrial action next week. We will remain open for all students, but there will be some disruption to some lessons. I fully expect the industrial action to continue into the autumn term with the potential for widespread disruption to education as all the unions fight for better funding for schools and fairer pay for staff.
Finally, we had a communication from the LA Safeguarding Team around Omegle. We have been made aware of a spike in numbers on the chatroom Omegle. This chatroom and other similar forums are not new, however, the interest in these spaces rises as a new generation becomes aware of them.
Omegle’s own advertising strapline is –
Chat with random strangers online – it’s fun, it’s a new experience every time. Use Omegle now!
This chat can be either video or text based.
Please find below some links below with more information.
https://ineqe.com/2021/02/18/safeguarding-alert-dangerous-chat-rooms/
https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/news-blogs/what-is-omegle-what-parents-need-to-know/
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/omegle
Best wishes
Jonathan