April 2016
Dear Parent/Guardian,
I recently sent you a letter about transition arrangements taking place at FBS this term. These arrangements include a transition day, CATS tests and purchasing sports kit. We have also sent this information to your son’s primary school. I hope he is excited about joining us at The Fulham Boys School in September and that these activities help ease his transition; it is a momentous time in his young life.
With that in mind, I thought I would take this opportunity to give you important information for the beginning of term. Sending it now gives you plenty of time to prepare your son for becoming a ‘Fulham Boy’ and the opportunity for you to get in touch with us if you have any questions.
FIRST DAY AND FIRST WEEK
I have attached the arrangements for the first day and first week of term. If you are bringing your son to school we ask that you drop him off at the school gate by 8.25am.
You will see from the timetable for the first day that up until break boys will be in their year group, and after break they will be in their form groups. Form groups are a mixture of boys from Years 7, 8 and 9. There are three forms groups in each of the 4 school Houses: Brunel, Dickens, Liddell and Wilberforce, so your son might, for example, be in Brunel 3 or Wilberforce 1, alongside 9 other year 7 boys, 10 year 8s and 10 year 9s. Boys will find out their school house and form group at the end of assembly. They will then find out their teaching class and sets, and be given their timetable, in form.
The purpose of the first few days is to introduce and re-enforce the school’s ethos: ‘geared towards Boys, nurturing Enterprise and built upon the Christian faith’.
Below is a brief summary of what each activity on the timetable covers. Every activity is grounded in one of our three pillars – Boys, the Christian faith and Enterprise – and intended to make it clear what it means to be a Fulham boy
Biometrics – Boys’ fingerprints will be taken so that they can use the photocopier and the cashless payment system to buy snacks at breaktime easily and efficiently.
Photographs – Boys will have their photographs taken to put on our system.
The FBS Library – A visit and introduction to the library - when the library is open, what books are available, how to take a book out etc. Boys will be encouraged to go to the library; we want our boys to be in no doubt that ‘Real boys read’.
FBS Levels – An overview of how we measure their progress. FBS levels reflect the new GCSE levels and we want boys to be clear how we measure and track their progress.
Who’s who at FBS and what to do if... – In this session we want boys to know who people are at FBS and what they do – form teacher, head of house etc – and who to go to in different situations.
Sport at FBS – Sport is a big part of school life at FBS. We want boys to know all the sports that are on offer and help them to find at least one sport they can enjoy. We also want boys to understand the privilege of playing for the school team and their school house, and the expectations we have of them when they represent the school and school house.
Basic Standards (Behaviour and Appearance) – This session focuses on how we expect Fulham Boys to behave:
-In lessons
-In corridors
-At lunch and breaktimes
-In the dining hall
-To and from school
-During registration (morning and afternoon)
-In assemblies
-In Co-Curricular Clubs
-During Sport Afternoons
-The session will also re-enforce the high expectations we have of uniform and appearance and how the Conduct Card operates.
Basic Standards (Organisation and Presentation)
-Filling in and looking after their planner
-Baseline presentation in their books
-Always having the correct equipment in school.
Lessons Geared Towards Boys – What the boys can expect in lessons from their teachers and what their teachers and the other boys will expect from them so that teaching and learning is outstanding.
Music and Drama at FBS – Boys will go to the main school hall and be introduced to Music and Drama at FBS. They will find out what instruments they can learn, school plays they can be part of, LAMDA lessons they can have, concerts they can perform in, and other opportunities to perform. At FBS we aim to build up boys’ confidence, give them opportunities to perform, nurture talent and put on first class school productions. We want all our boys to develop a love and an appreciation of the Arts.
Student Leadership – Boy will find out about form council, subject council, house council and school council. We will also encourage them to apply to become prefects – sport, digital, chaplaincy, enterprise, library, music - corridor monitors and even house captains and vice captains. The application process and what is involved will all be explained.
Built on the Christian Faith – In this session boys learn about the Christian values the school is built upon and the Christian approach to every subject taught at the school.
Nurturing Enterprise – Boys will be introduced to:
-The FBS Enterprise Skills
-The FBS Enterprise Diploma
-The FBS Enterprise File
-Social Enterprise at FBS
-Business Enterprise at FBS
Co-Curriculum– Boys will receive their co-curricular clubs for the year and be given information about each club – when, where, kit to bring, expectations etc (also see below).
COMMUNICATION
From September our main way of communicating with home will be via email, your son’s Planner and his Conduct Card. If you have an issue or a question, please contact the school receptionist who will be able to direct you to the right person.
I will send out weekly bulletins via email to keep you informed of what is happening at FBS each week. I also write a weekly blog on the school website
and tweet @AlunEbenezer.
Your son will be issued with a planner on his first day and this will be where he records his homework. There will also be a place in the planner for his teachers to write messages for you and vice versa. He will also be issued with a Conduct Card which he has to have on his person at all times (apart from in PE). On this card teachers will record any behaviour infringements on one side and House points on the other. You will also be able to track your son’s progress by accessing the parent portal on the school’s Management Information System. More details will be provided on this by Mr Kellie, Deputy Headteacher.
STANDARDS
At FBS we insist on the highest standards of uniform, attendance, punctuality, manners and conduct. Every boy must wear full uniform correctly to school, during school and on the way home from school. Our uniform and appearance policy is on our website for more details. Below I highlight some important points from that policy:
-Blazers may be taken off in classroom at the teacher’s and/or Headmaster’s discretion.
-Blazers and/or pullovers may be taken off at certain times at the Headmaster’s discretion e.g. hot weather, summer term.
-Shirts should be tucked in, with the knot of the tie pulled up to the shirt collar, with the tie tail covering the shirt buttons. Shirts must be long sleeved. No short sleeved shirts.
-An outer jacket is permitted to be worn to and from school, it should be black or dark grey, with no emblems or logos visible, and should not be longer than thigh-length.
-Exterior blazer pockets should not be used for storing anything larger or heavier than a handkerchief or oyster card, and should not be used for resting hands inside.
-Hair – hair styles should be tidy and of a conventional nature, no extreme or ‘cult’ haircuts including sculpting, shaving or braiding are allowed. The maximum hair length is above the collar and the minimum hair length is a number 2 cut. Hair must be one natural colour. Parents are strongly advised to seek advice on the acceptability of hairstyles that may be considered ‘different’ before allowing their son to adopt such a style. School reserves the right to insist on re-styling if it considers the style inappropriate.
-No jewellery other than a wrist watch may be worn.
-No make-up is allowed.
-No visible tattoos.
-Black, leather, shoes that can be polished.
EQUIPMENT
Please provide your son with a pencil case including:
2 Pens, black or blue
1 Green pen
2 Pencils
1 Rubber
1 Sharpener
1 Ruler
1 Protractor
1 Glue stick
1 Scientific calculator
SPORTS AFTERNOON
On Tuesday afternoons the Year 7 boys will go to Hurlingham Park for Sport. We will leave school at 1.30 and they will have coaching sessions until 4pm.The boys do not need to return to school but will be dismissed from the Park at 4.15pm.
SECURITY
We appreciate that your son starting secondary school is a huge step. One of the issues parents worry about the most is safety. We are convinced that our firm approach to discipline and no nonsense approach to bullying and other anti-social behaviour will ensure your son feels happy and safe at school. Furthermore, our staff will be on duty at the school gate at the beginning and end of the school day and we will also have teachers on duty at the bus stop and tube station near the school.
MOBILE PHONES
Boys are permitted to bring mobile phones to school but they must be at the bottom of their bag and switched off during school unless they are being used for learning purposes and boys have been given permission by a member of staff to switch them on.. Any boy using his mobile phone without permission during lessons, breaks or lunchtime will have his phone confiscated and parents will be required to come into school to collect it. Boys are allowed to use their phones in the front yard at the end of the school day to contact their parents. We encourage boys to do this instead of getting their phones out of their bags after they have gone through the school gate.
SCHOOL MEALS
We believe nutrition is of huge importance and has a direct impact on boys’ behaviour and learning. It is compulsory that all boys eat our school meals, which are prepared with fresh local produce every day by our resident school chef. There is a choice of vegetarian/non vegetarian. Boys can bring healthy snacks (fruit) and juice or water to have at breaktimes and can buy healthy snacks (flap jacks etc) from the canteen.
We operate a cashless catering system which uses boys’ fingerprints to record transactions. To make this work, we need you to sign and return the biometrics letter you have received from us. If you haven’t received the biometrics letter or need another one, please let us know.
Our online payment systemallows parents to make most payments for school items in one, secure place. You will be able to pay for your son’s lunch, school trips, uniform and many other items in this way. You will be charged for school lunches in advance each half term. Details for setting up your account through sQuid online will be forwarded to you during the first week of term in September 2016.
HOME SCHOOL AGREEMENT
Your son will be given this year’s Home School Agreement on his first day at FBS. Please can you read, sign and ensure he returns to his form teacher by the end of the first week.
CO-CURRICULUM
Ms Johnson, DeputyHeadteacher, will contact you this term with information about all the co-curricular clubs on offer at FBS and information about how your son can choose which clubs he would like to join.
IT
Mr Kellie (Deputy Headteacher) will also contact you this term to invite you to a meeting to discuss electronic devices and our approach to IT and Computing at FBS. In this meeting he will also explain the school’s parent portal and how it works.
We will be inviting all new parents in to meet your son’s Head of House and tutor and other teachers on either the 19th, 20th, 21st or 22nd of September, depending on what School House your son is in. He will find this out on his first day. Meanwhile, I hope you find this information useful in preparing for the start of your son’s career at FBS. If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact the school via email at or by telephone on 020 7381 7100. Please bear in mind that the school breaks up for the summer on Friday 8th July.
Yours Faithfully,
Alun Ebenezer
Headmaster