Shoplifting
We have received complaints from The Superdrug store in Bangor that groups of Friars pupils have been engaging in shoplifting. These children are wearing the school’s uniform and are damaging the reputation of the school.
I have asked Superdrug to send me any still photos or CCTV images so that any future culprits can be identified. Such pupils will immediately be excluded. The other alternative is that all Friars pupils will be banned from the store. This is not an avenue either the shop or the school wants to go down as it disadvantages the innocent as well as the guilty. However, as a last resort it will be considered.
I would be grateful for your co-operation in stopping this problem.
We have also had a problem during the lunch hour at the Kwik Save store on Caernarfon road where three pupils were caught and subsequently detained by the police for shoplifting. We have also received complaints from residents in Coed Mawr about problems of litter left by children returning from Kwik Save. Warnings have been given to pupils in assemblies about the latter problem. As a result, I am placing Kwik Save out of bounds at lunch time.
Parking
I have been asked again by the police to remind parents about the problems of illegal and/or inconsiderate parking when collecting pupils exiting the school via Penrhos Avenue on to Penrhos Road.
The police will report or penalise drivers caught parking illegally or causing obstructions and I have been asked to draw this again to your attention in the hope that this can be avoided.
Curriculum Information
We have been sent a fairly small stock of booklets for parents giving details of the National curriculum and its related assessment arrangements. These might be of particular interest to parents of pupils in year 9. Any parent wishing to receive a copy should ask their son/daughter to request one from reception.
MSN and Internet Chat Rooms
We are becoming increasingly concerned at the extent to which modern technology is being used as a tool to assist bullying. During the evenings, pupils are increasingly using internet technology to talk to each other on line and some of the talk is completely inappropriate and a small part of it threatening. We can control pupils’ access to chat rooms and web sites in school time with the software we have on the system. However, the messages are not usually sent in school time but the disputes which arise from them sometimes do spill over into school.
We would be grateful if you could try and monitor as far as possible how such messaging programmes and chat rooms are used. Some of the conversations (in terms of language and content) are appalling and I am sure that many parents would be horrified at the thought that such material was being generated from a PC in their homes.
Neil Foden
Headteacher