A very big welcome back to this academic year.  This week has been lovely to see our newest Nursery pupils begin their formal education and to welcome a new cohort of Year 7 pupils to the Avanti family. I also want to welcome the new staff who have joined us this year. Through learning walks this week, it has been wonderful to see clear expectations being set and a strong start to learning taking place.

I want to take this opportunity to celebrate Avanti Fields first set of Reception and GCSE results. On all key measures, Avanti Fields is above the national average, and within some secondary departments, are likely to be some of the best in the country.

One third of all grades achieved were grades 7 or above, with over a quarter of students achieving 5 or more grades between 9-7, and 67% of students achieving 5 or more grades between 9-4.

We are delighted to see students achieving exceptional grades (grades 9-7) in Chemistry (96%), Biology (92%) and Physic (88%). Additionally, 71% of students in Drama achieved grades 9-5, with 70% in History and 65% in Mathematics.

I want to wish our pupils the best of luck for the future and know that they will be successful in moving onto the next stages of learning at colleges and sixth forms across Leicester and the county.

Parking

It has been slightly disappointing to see the congestion around Colin Grundy Drive and Furrow View, mainly caused by some of our secondary parents. We kindly ask that ALL secondary parents use a park and stride from Tesco when dropping off and collecting their pupils (if they do not walk/cycle on their own). Please see below a number of reasons why considerate travel to school is important:

• The school has 1059 pupils and limited drop off/collection parking bays
• Onsite parking bays should prioritise the safe travel to school for our youngest learners in Nursery, Reception and Year 1
• Congestion is not pleasant to sit in, whereas parking at Tesco won’t generate any road rage
• Parking at Tesco means that you can drop of 10 minutes earlier and collect 10 minutes later than our start times, as students will need that time to walk to school, allowing working parents more time to travel to/from work
• Emergency vehicles are not able to access our site when traffic is at a standstill, as the road is not wide enough for 3 vehicles (one parked, one coming in and one going out)
• Early morning congestion delays staff arrival to school and impacts on the safety of children at the start of the day (pupil-teacher ratio)

For parents of secondary children with any additional needs, who are not able to walk from Tesco, please complete this form to request a parking pass for this academic year. Parking passes issued from last academic year will be allowed until a new pass is issued, however a new request must be submitted.

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/afs-onsite-parking-request/

School Photographs

A reminder that we have organised for the school to come on Monday 4th September for individual and sibling photographs. Should you wish for your children to be photographed together for a sibling shot, please complete this form by Sunday evening, 6pm.

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/afs-sibling-photographs/

Calendar

Starting next week, we have a number of parent information sessions and workshops. Following each event, parents will be provided with key information for the start of the year, including a parent handbook. The parent handbook is a new initiative we are launching this year, which gives parents a one-stop-shop for key information, such as how to request an absence, staff contact details and common school procedures. Any parents not able to attend the events will receive the follow-up emails.

• Tuesday 5th September 5:00pm – 6:00pm – Year 7 Parent Information Evening
• Tuesday 5th September 6:30pm – 7:30pm – Year 8 Parent Information Evening
• Friday 8th September 2:50pm – 3:20pm – Reception Reading Workshop
• Tuesday 12th September 5:00pm – 6:00pm – Year 9 Parent Information Evening
• Tuesday 12th September 6:30pm – 7:30pm – Year 10 Parent Information Evening

Reminder – The school is closed on Thursday 7th September (Janmashtami)

SSC Member Vacancy

Our SSC (School Stakeholder Committee) currently has a vacancy for for two elected parent members.

The SSC works together with the Principal and senior leadership team to achieve the best for our pupils. Each member brings with them a depth of knowledge from their own professional and personal lives which contributes to the growth of our school.

If you are interested in finding out more about becoming an SSC member, please email the SSC Chair, Dipak Patel; [email protected]

To complete an expression of interest for the position of a Parent SSC Member, please read SSC Eligibility Criteria, SSC Vacancy – Invitation of Applications – Sept 2023 and complete the expression of interest form SSC Expression of Interest.

Volunteers

This year, we are seeking to expand our provision within the library and careers education. We are seeking volunteers who are able to support between 1 to 3 days per week, with flexible hours to suit your circumstances. We have an exceptional careers provision, however, we want to continue to grow this offer, with an aim of recruiting a part-time careers administrator for the 2024-25 academic year. If you are interested in this opportunity, please register via our recruitment pool: https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/afs-recruitment-pool/

Adult Literacy Programme

We are working in partnership to host a community adult literacy programme. Please register at http://inclusivity.education/aspire

Secondary Calendar

• Monday 4th September: Individual Photographs
• Tuesday 5th September: Avanti Way Visit
• Tuesday 5th September: Y7 Parents Information Evening
• Tuesday 5th September: Y8 Parents Information Evening
• Thursday 7th September:   Janamasthami (School Closed)
• Friday 8th September: Y11 1:1 Careers Guidance
• Tuesday 12th September: EIP Visit
• Tuesday 12th September: Y9 Parents Information Evening
• Tuesday 12th September: Y10 Parents Information Evening
• Friday 15th September: Y11 1:1 Careers Guidance

Primary Calendar

• Monday 4th September: Individual Photographs
• Thursday 7th September: Janamashtami (School Closed)
• Friday 8th September: Reception: Reading Parent Workshop

Welcome to the first newsletter of the term! We have had a positive start to the Autumn term with lots of opportunities for pupils to build their confidence, make friends and learn new things with their new teachers.

To hear more about your child’s learning do not forget to follow us on Twitter: @AFSPrimary

Reception reading workshop:

At Avanti Fields school we strive for all pupils to be fluent readers, mastering early reading skills in Reception are essential. We would therefore like to invite all Reception parents to our reading workshop on the 8th September 2.50pm- 3.20pm to learn more about how we can work together to support your child’s reading journey. If you would like to attend, please go to the school office at 2.50pm on the day of the workshop.

Year 1 Parent Phonic workshop:

All Year 1 pupils will take a Government Phonics Check in the summer term. To support and learn more about the phonic screening check, all parents are invited to attend an afterschool workshop on the 26th September 3.00pm-3.30pm. If you would like to attend, please go to the school office at 3.00pm on the day of the workshop.

Parents evening:

We like to hold our first Parents Evenings quite early in the year to support communication between home and school. Parents evenings will take place on the 3rd and 5th of October.

We have decided to have our parents’ evenings face to face so that you can see your child’s learning environment and some of their pieces of work.

Each parents meeting will last no longer than 10 minutes to ensure everyone gets the same amount of time. The parents evening meeting will cover the following-
How has your child has progressed since the last meeting?
What have we noticed they are excelling in?
What are your child’s next steps and how you can support this at home?

Please click on the following relevant link below to book in a slot by 21st September.

Nursery Parents evening:

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/m1sl4fqd07fd2ty/

Reception Parents evening:

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/m1sykhf51ssaxj5/

Year 1 Parents evening:

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/mx78ek30mdgdky/

Athena STEM Winners

Well done and Congratulation to all Athena STEM winners!

https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2023/august/athena-stem-residential/

Students:

Krishna H (Year 11)

Vrishti M (Year 11)

Tiya M (Year 11)

Anmol R (Year 11)

Kshamta R (Year 11)

PTFA

Avanti Fields PTFA (Parent, Teacher, Friends Association) is a registered charity and consist of volunteer parents who work together to arrange these types of events to raise money for the school and provide fun opportunities for the school and wider community to get together. If you would like to join us or find out more about what we do, please email [email protected].

We are also looking for sponsors for events to keep our cost down so if you would like to contribute individually or through a company then please get in touch.

We look forward to seeing you all soon.

BHAJANS WITH BHAVIK – Saturday 23^rd September

He’s back! After a hugely successful musical weekend in March, which featured the renowned singer and musician, Bhavik Haria, performing live at our school auditorium, we’re pleased to announce that Bhavik is coming back for another special concert – this time even more interactive with the audience.  Tickets are on sale now, his shows last year sold out and tickets are selling fast – Click here to book

GARBA CLASSES (Authentic & traditional dance with a Local Tutor) & ACCREDITED CORSE WITH INDIA’S GARBA KING, JIGAR SONI

If you take a keen interest in Garba, Gujarati music and dance, then you will surely have heard of Jigar Soni, the king of Garba, co founder of Soni School of Authentic Garba Dance. The talented dancer and choreographer is coming to us all the way from Mumbai to get us ready and up to date with the latest and best Garba/Dandiya moves to impress the crowds this Navratri.

PTFA will be offering a Weekly Class – with a local tutor, Urvi Modha, who will teach you authentic garba dance moves.  £7.50 per class or all 4 classes for £25 (Friday evenings 8^TH Sep to 29^th Sep, 7.30pm – 9pm

And then on Sunday 1^st October, the PTFA is proud to host:

Grade 1 intensive 4-hour course 12pm – 4pm, (Accredited with a Certificate) with Jigar Soni himself. Book early to secure your place! Over 12s only. The prices are:

£30 for Jigar’s Accredited Course Only

£32 Course + 1 Weekly Class

£38 Course + 2 Weekly Classes

£43 Course + 3 Weekly Classes

£46 Course + 4 Weekly Classes

£50 Course, 4 Classes + Interactive Garba Session

Plus Interactive 1.5 hr Garba Session on 1^st October (4.14pm – 5.45pm) WITH JIGAR SONI £7.50 Adults / £5 Children (under 12)

Limited Availability on the above Garba sessions so book asap to confirm your place! Click Here to Book

Garba Workshop, Course & Interactive Session

PTFA

NAVRATRI – October 20, 21 & 22 (Oct Half Term)

Watch out for details about our Navratri events, which we’re bringing you bigger and better than ever before!

FOUR events of full-on celebration and dancing, with something for everyone!

Friday 20^th Oct – Daytime 1.30pm – 5pm – Children’s special session with live music by Jungle Band from India

Friday 20^th Oct – Evening Disco Dandiya Nite (7pm – late) with Live DJ – don’t forget your glowsticks!

Saturday 21^st Oct – Daytime Navratri event 1.30pm – 5pm with live music by Jungle Band from India

Sunday 22^nd October – Daytime Navratri event 1.30pm – 5pm with live music by Jungle Band from India

Tickets are £5 each for all Navratri events and a limited number of package deals for Fri Evening, Sat & Sun at £12 for all three. Navratri at the school is extremely popular, and we expect to sell out to capacity very quickly.

Click Here to Book Tickets

Navratri2023_fridaydisco

PTFA

For the first time ever, the PTFA is proud to bring you a special Diwali Bazaar at the school. There’ll be a wide variety of stalls selling Diwali-related items such as gifts, sweets, snacks, arts and crafts, rangoli, fashion, etc.  There’ll also be special demos and workshops on the day. Free entry!  If you’d like to have a stall at the Bazaar, please get in touch with the PTFA on [email protected].

We will also be arranging our popular HANUMAN CHALISA after the Diwali Bazaar on the 5^th November, more details will follow soon. As you can see, we have been extremely busy arranging the above events, we strongly urge you to book asap as we expect all of the to sell out.

Communications – Wherever possible please use the contact form on our website to get in touch. This is detailed on the website at https://avanti.org.uk/avantifields/contact-us/. The appropriate member of staff will pick up the message and get back to you as soon as possible.

Absence

To report an absence to the school, parents should contact us by 8:00am (primary) and 8.30am (secondary) 

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0116 326 6813 (Option 1 to leave a voicemail) 

Please remember to state your child’s full name, tutor group and reason for absence. If your child is unwell, please could you give a brief description of the symptoms. 

All education research highlights how crucial it is to a child’s academic progress and wellbeing they attend school , on time, all of the time. Therefore, a reminder that it is important that families organise events or holidays outside of school time to ensure that their child is at school as often as possible.   

The school works closely with the Education Welfare Officer at LCC, and we do seek to ensure that any requests for authorised absence are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, in a sensitive manner. However, the school can never authorise a family holiday or a trip abroad to visit family members during term time.   

This academic year, families will have two weeks at the October half-term, three weeks at Christmas and two weeks at Easter for extended family holidays. Please do ensure that if booking holidays, they fall within the holiday periods.