Weekly Bulletin – Week 10

There have been so many activities for Year 7 since we have returned from the half term break. However I would like to start my message by saying thank you to Year 7 and the Parents/Carers as I am delighted to announce that we raised £468 for Pink Day! This is the largest sum of money raised by Pink Day, well done all.

On Monday Year 7 were issued their chromebooks and we discussed with them the “code of conduct” that they must follow when using these devices. This information has been uploaded on the Tutor group google classroom should you wish to discuss this with your child.

On Tuesday we marked Armistice Day with a tutor time activity designed to help students understand and connect with Remembrance, service and the Armed Forces. The last post was played most beautifully by Fran in Year 8.

This week Year 7 were shown a very insightful presentation by our Anti-bullying ambassadors to mark anti-bullying week. There were lots of powerful messages that they shared and we will be doing some follow up activities during tutor time over the next couple of weeks.

As it was World Kindness day on Thursday, we asked Year 7 to think about one act of kindness that they could carry out on this day. As a dinner time discussion maybe ask your child what they did?

Finally well done to the Year 7/8 Football team who played their last 2 league games this week. See the Sports Fixtures section to read on about their successes!

Congratulations to Vanessa G and Divina N-U 7EHA who were elected to the Student Parliament before half-term. They join the other Year 7 representatives and we wish them all well in their roles this year. We would also like to congratulate Lou Lou R 7EHA for her performance for Team Richmond in the London Youth Games Cross Country event last Saturday. Within her race – the U13 Girls Race (combining Y7s and Y8s) – she came third of the 12 Richmond runners and 65th of all 227 runners competing across the London Boroughs. It was an extremely hilly course – up Parliament Hill – so a tough one!

Well done to the following tutor groups who are top 3 in the leaderboard; 1st 7PRE, 2nd 7FSM, 3rd 7SSN. Also congratulations to the following students who are top 3 on the leaderboard – 1st: Jemima P 7SSN, equal 2nd: Annabelle H 7PRE, Clarissa L 7PRE & Sophia S 7FSM, 3rd: Alice J 7FBO.

Keep earning the Epraise points and remember: Points Make Prizes!

Good luck to the Cross Country Team in the Richmond Schools’ Sports Partnership competition that takes place at Bushy Park next Friday.

Finally a reminder that Wednesday is an Inset Day and students are not required to be in school.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Bashford-Hynes, Head of Year 7

This week, the school came together to commemorate Remembrance Day on Tuesday with a solemn one-minute silence, following a moving student performance of The Last Post played outside the classrooms. During tutor time, students explored the significance of Remembrance services and reflected on the vital role of the Armed Forces, making meaningful connections to their work in the world today.

On Thursday, we turned our attention to compassion and community as we celebrated World Kindness Day. Students shared thoughtful moments of kindness within their forms and made personal pledges to bring more kindness into the world around them.

This week the Year 7/8 football team played two matches, read more in the Sports Fixtures section to see how they got on.

As we approach the final countdown to our Celebration Assembly Awards, Epraise points are rising fast! This week’s top three achievers are Kate C (8EHO), Eva M (8EHO), and Kayra U (8PCO) — congratulations to all of you for your fantastic efforts!

The competition for the top tutor group is heating up with PCO currently holding the lead. Will they stay on top or will another group rise to claim the crown before the end of term? The race is on!

Next week we have a staff training day on Wednesday so please remember to keep students at home. There are always a few tasks and lessons to finish off on their google classroom to keep students busy.

Have a great weekend!

Ms M Rook, Head of Year 8

We have had a very busy week again. On Tuesday we came together as a community for Armistice Day, we listened to the Last Post played by a Year 8 student and observed a 2 minute silence. Armistice Day marks the end of fighting in World War I at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. In respect of this event the theme of form time activities this week has been ‘Thank you. We have not forgotten, and we will not forget’ and some of our wonderful year group have been writing poems and sharing these. Below is one of these:

A country to Guard

There once was a world that was feeling so wrecked.
So we lay down some poppies to pay our respect.
To those who fought and taught and died,
Just so we could be here living our lives.
Now we’re in a modern world
with generational stories being unfurled.
We wear poppies, red and bright,
a symbol of peace, love and light.
At eleven we pause, the silence deep.
To honour the promise that they chose to keep.
Their courage echoes through the years,
in whispered prayers and fallen tears.

by Poppy and Amber 9PAH

Next week we have the Richmond Schools Cross Country Championships which will take place at Bushy Park and we have a strong team representing Year 9 – Goodluck Team! Just a reminder that Waldegrave Running Club takes place every Tuesday morning from 7.45am. It has been wonderful to see so many of our year group attending – all abilities welcome!

Calling all Year 9s who enjoy playing Chess or want to learn – there is a Chess Club on Thursday lunchtimes each week in S8 – It would be lovely to see Year 9 taking part.

Please remind your child that they can be awarded Epraise both in lessons and form times for: working collaboratively, great work and homework, supporting each other, engagement in class activities, helping in the classroom, and supporting the teacher/ tutor. Well done to Rose F 9STR, Kate H 9FLE, Eva E 9EDA who are leading the Epraise scoreboard this week!

As the darker evenings are upon us it is important that students are aware of their surroundings when walking to and from school and remember the importance of road safety. A reminder next week we have an INSET day on Wednesday when the school will be closed to all pupils.

Looking forward to another great week ahead!

Mrs N Lyddon

Year 10 have had another fantastic week. Our assembly this week was based around anti-bullying. We had some brilliant anti-bullying ambassadors Daisy, Tamira, Dakshina and Emilie from Year 10 who delivered the assembly to Years 7-10. A huge congratulations to them – they really showcased empowering leadership skills!

We had a great rotary chef competition which took place on Wednesday. Our students all demonstrated fantastic skills in the kitchen, each creating an incredible two course meal for two diners at a budget of only £18. At the end of a great contest, Mariya A 10FCO was judged the winner, followed by Eva H 10PWA – they will both go on to compete in the District Final at the end of January. Good luck to them and well done to everyone who took part.

As a school the focus this half term is on mobile phones. Please be reminded that our policy is ‘not seen and not heard’. We ask that you support us with this and speak to your child/ren about their phone use. In school, if a staff member does see a phone then they will confiscate it until the end of the day when the student can collect it from the Hub. It is very important for the safety of staff and students that phones are not used during school hours unless explicitly instructed by a member of staff for a specific reason. Many thanks in advance for your support with this.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs O Mortimer

This week Year 11 finished their first round of mock exams. This is a huge achievement and all students in the year group should feel incredibly proud of themselves. I was personally very impressed by the hard work and dedication that the students showed towards these exams and I hope that they now feel a bit more confident about the exam process and how it will work.

In the coming weeks teachers will start feeding back on these exams, which is the most important part of this process. Students are advised to listen carefully to this feedback and action it through doing redrafts/rewrites of their exams so that they can learn how to improve in the future.

Our exams officer will be catching up with students who have missed some mocks, setting time for them to complete these at other occasions. If our exams officer cannot find an alternative time, teachers will liaise with students as to the best time to catch up.

Again, a big well done to everyone!

Congratulations to 11 ERU for achieving 357 e-praise points so far. A fantastic number! Well done!!

Year 11 parents evening is coming up soon. This will allow parents and guardians to hear from your child’s subject teachers to hear what is going well and how students can improve.

Wishing you an enjoyable weekend,

Mrs H Porteous