Dear Parents/Carers
I hope this letter finds you and your families well; a Friday update for you, as always.
Yesterday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Year 11 parents to our Year 11 Preparation for Excellence Information Evening. It was wonderful to see so many in attendance. We discussed what the final stages of their child’s five-year educational journey with us will look like, and what is needed for them to complete it successfully, maximising potential. Curriculum leaders of core subjects shared valuable insights into the most effective revision methods Year 11 students should be using. Students were also encouraged to begin actively researching their post-16 educational options. Another key focus of the evening was the importance of continuing the strong Parent-Student-School partnership that has been developed during their time at Kelmscott.
It was lovely to see so many of our students and staff wearing denim today for the Jeans for Genes charity, each donating £1 which will go directly to the charity, raising money and awareness for people and families affected by genetic disorders. Mr Eley’s assemblies this week have examined this important cause in more detail.
For our Year 7s their Freshers Fayre this week was extremely busy with students exploring the wide range of clubs on offer and registering their names for those they would like to attend. There was the opportunity to ask staff questions about the club/activity while some took the opportunity to challenge some of the older students from the chess club. Clubs are now up and running with the list available to view here.
For families that are experiencing barriers to their child attending school regularly and/or lacking confidence, ‘The Roots’ is an organisation working with the local authority and schools to provide information for parents whose child(ren) are struggling to attend school. ‘The Roots’ are offering free workshops for parents and carers where they can access help and advice, and the chance to speak to other families in similar situations. Please see here for more information.
We continue to observe Youth Mental Health Day, with this year's theme "Control Your Scroll," through a variety of activities and discussions across the school. The focus has been on raising awareness about the impact of social media on students' mental health and providing guidance on how to manage online comparisons effectively.
We know that student voice is important in developing the role of young people in a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing, with this in mind, students were asked to think about this theme when working on their speeches. Student Council speeches have been taking place in tutor time this week, with tutor groups then voting on who they would like to represent the tutor group on the School Council.
The Mental Health Support team from the local authority will be facilitating webinars this term and they are available for all schools, parents, carers and young people in Waltham Forest, please see here for more details.
Now we turn to our athletes and another very busy week with the Year 7s winning their first league game 6-2 on Tuesday against Lammas, with Mustafa Kabba in 7T scoring three goals. A very impressive game of football for their first match as a team. After an amazing turn out at our first girls’ football session, ten of our girls football team represented Kelmscott at the opening of the new Astro facility at Douglas Eyre by the Earl of Gloucester. The team played some amazing football, winning three games out of four. Congratulations to all those who participated.
Next week sees Kelmscott Netball team take to the court, the Year 9 team have been working hard to develop the skill they need to play the game, as this is a new venture for us. We look forward to Arwen Brown leading the team in our first two games.
On Friday 4th October from 3.30pm - 4.30pm, we have a London-based breaking news reporter for The Washington Post coming in to speak to girls about careers in journalism, tips for getting into the industry and how she got to where she is today. The talk will conclude with a Q&A led by a prefect where students will have the opportunity to ask questions. This event launches the feminist society's series of monthly talks and we are very excited. Any student wishing to participate should see Ms Ridler (based in W104 or AHOY office).
A group of thirty students from all year groups met with the architects leading the revitalisation of Vestry House in Walthamstow Village. The students thoroughly enjoyed engaging in an intellectual discussion on the concepts of what defines a museum and what constitutes good architecture. They were then given the opportunity to actively contribute their own ideas to the project, sharing with the architects what they would like to see in a museum. It was a thought-provoking exercise that fostered their creativity and collaboration.
Year 7 families would have received a message earlier today regarding the delay in processing student ID cards due to a faulty machine. I would like to highlight that this will also affect any midterm admissions and students waiting for replacement cards. We hope to have the issue resolved as soon as possible, thank you for your patience here.
A reminder to families of the late start for students next Thursday 26th September following our Open Evening the day before. Students should arrive at school for 10.40am
through the usual gates, please.
Well done to the following students who topped the reward point charts for last week, with a particular well done to Misbah Aryubi, 9M with 33 points who topped the charts for the entire school – keep up the good work.
Year 7 Daniel Brzezinski 7S, with 27 points
Year 8 Mabel Harris, 8S with 21 points
Year 9 Misbah Aryubi, 9M with 33 points
Year 10 Leah Higgins 10M, with 20 points
Year 11 Alexandra Cocos 11L with 18 points
With every good wish,
Mr Sam Jones
Headteacher