Dear Parents/Carers
I hope this letter finds you and your families well; a Friday update for you as always.
Our cricket team were in action again this week against Willowfield. Although rain prevented the team from playing outside, they adapted their plans to play an indoor match, with a reduced 8-a-side team and less overs in the Willowfield sports hall. The whole team played brilliantly with a special mention for Ozil Hussain, 8K for some phenomenal batting, leading to a win by three runs.
The Year 7 and 8 boys had a successful athletic meet this week, with Burt Williams 7O finishing third in the the 200m heats, and Terrell-James McArthur-Channer 8L placing first in the 200m. The Year 8 relay team finished high with a second place result. Sadly for the girls, their meet was cancelled due to the bad weather.
The Classics Department has had an eventful week, Clio’s Company were back in for another workshop with Year 9 students enthusiastically rehearsing and recording their portrayals of Roman life using still scenes and theatrical masks. The excitement builds as we approach the grand evening on Friday 14th June, featuring performances by students from Kelmscott and Our Lady's and St George's, along with an exhibition curated by our Year 9 students in collaboration with the Art Department. The evening will also include a talk by archaeologist Les Capon on 'The Past is All Around Us.' Join us in celebrating the remarkable work of our students and the timeless stories of ancient civilisations. For more information please see here.
Year 11 continue to conduct themselves very well through the exam period, they are rarely seen without a clutch of exam revision cards or similar. A reminder to families that students are expected in all of their lessons until after their leavers assembly. We do not release the date of the leavers assembly in advance but it is likely to take place in the week beginning the 10th June. After that assembly, students only need to attend for their remaining exams. Once an individual has completed all their exams they do not have to attend again – what a thought.
There has been a terrific response to the ticket request for our Year 11 Graduation event on Wednesday 26th June. Year 11 parents and carers, please continue to book your tickets using the link sent via MyEd, as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. The closing date for your ticket requests is Friday 7th June.
Year 10 exams begin towards the end of June. Miss Riaz, the Head of Year 10 has put together a very helpful guide on the topics that will be assessed in all subjects in those exams. These have been shared on Google Classroom with Year 10 students, as they begin their revision in earnest.
In support of our Eco-focus as a school, this week we celebrated Bee Day. We appreciate that Bees and other pollinators are essential for our existence, sustaining agriculture and biodiversity worldwide. World Bee Day 2024 highlights and celebrates the role of youth in beekeeping and pollinator conservation. This year’s theme ‘Bee engaged with youth’ aims to raise awareness and engage young individuals in protecting these vital species. For more information I have included a guide produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN here. In support of this, we have been taking part in 'No Mow May'. A healthy lawn or wilded area with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground. To register and take part in 'No Mow May' please see here. If you would like to know more, I have included a couple of articles that you may find of interest here and here.
I shared some information about the dangers of financially motivated sexual extortion a few weeks’ ago following some high-profile cases in the national press on the issue. The NCA have shared an update with more information about this and crucially, how to protect yourself. This letter can be found here.
A reminder that our Tutor Parent Day is scheduled for the first week back after the holidays; Thursday 6th June. Students should book an appointment time with their form tutor, for a meeting with themselves and a parent or parents. Discussion points will be the progress they have made this year, a review of rewards/consequences points, and engagement with our co-curricular programme, amongst other things. Students will be set some important careers work to do during the day, which must be completed please. We really value these meetings with families, as we continue to build strong relationships with you to support your children. As always, if any of our younger students require a space in school for the day, e.g. if both parents work, please let your Head of Year know, and we will be happy to organise this for you.
Congratulations to the following students who topped the reward point charts for last week with a special mention for Terrell-James McArthur-Channer with 41 points.
Year 7 Joe Rigby 7E with 34 points
Year 8 Terrell-James McArthur-Channer 8L with 41 points
Year 9 Deepmoy Pal with 30 points
Year 10 Kiril Kucalov 10L with 31 points
Year 11 Eric Henig Griffin 11S for the second week running, with 21 points
I hope you all enjoy a lovely half-term holiday. A mixture of revision and downtime for Year 11 please – that balance is important. We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday 3rd June at the usual time.
With every good wish,
Mr Sam Jones
Headteacher