Blog week ending 19th May

What an absolute pleasure it was for me and the rest of the senior leadership team to help host our first community event in what seems like a long time!  Our Year 8 students and Head of Year 8, Mr Hook laid on a splendid Coronation Tea Party welcoming our students’ grandparents, parents, carers and governors to share in our celebrations.  The event provided an opportunity for family members who do not normally get the chance to visit our school.  Students were impeccable hosts, waiting on tables, chatting with their guests and providing live music sessions as an accompaniment to the delicious spread of sandwiches and cakes on offer.  Our guests took part in a ‘Coronation Quiz’ as well as a very special raffle.  Our thanks to all Year 8 hosts and to the local businesses who kindly provided raffle prizes for the event; Dennis’s and Londis in Wilmington and Reynolds Gym and Spa, Greystone Pizzeria and Greek Taverna all in Bexley. It was a very enjoyable event; we are already looking at options for our next!

We were very proud to host the WG6 student leavers event here at WGSB.  Thank you to all staff who contributed to make it such a warm and celebratory morning.  Students joined staff for breakfast before performances by our magnificent WG6 musicians (who managed to get everyone singing along to Kasabian at 9am!)  Certificates were awarded for outstanding contributions to the WG6 community and in recognition of exceptional achievement.  Myself, Michelle Lawson and CEO Charlie Guthrie were all in attendance to wish all students the very best of luck during their exams and future adventures!  Year 7 students formed a ‘Guard of Honour’ to cheer (very loudly indeed!) as our WG6 students left the celebrations – and discovered the photos of their Year 7 selves!

Our Year 11 students also finished their final lessons last Friday ahead of their public exams which have started this week.  Mr Powell organised a breakfast with shirt-signing followed by a special assembly.  There was great atmosphere throughout the morning and it was thoroughly enjoyable to spend time with our Year 11s ahead of their study leave.  We are all incredibly proud of the dedication they have all shown in their studies and preparation for the exams - we wish them every success in their exams and hope they have a wonderful, well-earned summer break!

Mr Aimey’s Year 13 Chemists spent their final lesson checking the purity of the aspirin they had made in previous lessons.  Students checked the melting point and used TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography).  Good luck with your Chemistry A Levels and please do stay in touch!

We are delighted to announce tickets for the WGSB production of Oliver! are now on sale.  Tickets are available to purchase on ParentPay at a mere £5 for adults and £3 for students and concessions.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Mr Pope is hosting an eclectic round of inter-house competitions this week! – students are invited to try their hand at Joke Writing, a VT game (virtual reality) and a tug-of-war contest!  Students compete for House points .. and for the fun of taking part! 

There are plenty to choose from in the Joke contest already .. including;.

What’s the difference between chopped beef and pea soup? Everyone can chop beef, but not everyone can pea soup! submitted by Ani M

Why do scientists not trust atoms? They make everything up.  By Ayo O

Why can't bikes stand up by themselves? They are always tired.  By Ryan O

What is a runner's favourite subject? ‘Jog’raphy!  By Ryan S

Why did the scarecrow get the award of the year?  Because he was the best in his field. By Adekunmi A

Overall Brunel is currently in first position with 1,015 House Points!  But with over a term to go, it’s all to play for!

Year 10 Football Final.  Mr Hook’s Year 10 football side took part in the North Kent Cup final on Tuesdays evening. They faced a very strong Hurstmere side who will be performing in the National Cup final next week. Despite an excellent defensive effort throughout, Hurstmere scored in the second half and the game finished 1-0 to Hurstmere. We would like to thank Flamingo Park for hosting the game, the officials on the day and finally congratulate a very strong Hurstmere side on their victory. We wish them well in their National cup game. Mr Hook and the whole PE department we would like to congratulate all the boys who have represented the Year 10 football team and done so well to reach the final.

Boxing.  We are delighted to congratulate Year 9 student Kai W on winning the Nation Boxing Championship. This is the second time he has won this prestigious event. He has also recently been named Home Counties Champion, London Champion and Golden Glove winner. He is now the number 1 ranked boxer in the country. As a school and PE department we are extremely proud of his achievements. There is not much time for Kai to celebrate too much though. He has also been selected to represent England in the upcoming Tri-Nations event and will have the European championships after that! We wish him well in these upcoming events and would once again like to congratulate him on his amazing achievements.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and this year’s theme is anxiety.  We know that children and young people can often feel anxious for many reasons and that for some of our students currently sitting their public examinations, it can be a particularly difficult time.  Our Student Managers run wellbeing workshops and one-to-one sessions to provide positive mental health toolkits and work closely with the wider pastoral team of Form Tutors, SEN team and Heads of Year ensuring a cohesive ‘whole child’ approach to educational and pastoral support.  We hope you will find the below resources useful and encourage you to discuss the issues raised with your child at home.

Please click here Anxiety Guide for Parents Final (amh.org.uk)

Forthcoming dates;

• Year 12 Politics Trip to City Hall – Tuesday 23rd May
• Year 12 Geography Trip to Folkestone Harbour – Thursday 25th May
• Year 12 Mock Exam data sent home – Friday 26th May
• PTA Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Vegetarian Samosas Sale – Friday 26th May at Break time.
• Last Day of Term – Friday 26th May
• First Day of Term 6 – Monday 5th June
• The great Dartford Schools Litterpick – Friday 9th June
• Next PTA Meeting - Monday 12th June, 6.00-7.00pm (virtual)     
• Summer Fair and Barbecue - Saturday 15 July, 11am - 2pm

WGSB PTA Update.  The PTA urgently require a volunteer Secretary on the PTA, so please get in touch if you are able to help.

Does your organisation support match funding? - then please do contact pta@wgsb.co.uk  or the school office on 01322 223090. Match funding has great benefits for the organisation, the school and the individual! And it’s a great way to support your PTA.  What is Match funding? It is an informal, albeit corporate, arrangement between a company and their employee which maximises the fundraising efforts of individual PTA volunteers. Not all companies offer matched funding but those that do will pledge a sum of money relating to the amount their employee has raised for or donated to the charity of their choice.  If you work for a company that offers match funding, and you volunteer to work at one of the stalls at our PTA event and profit made by the stall is £100, your employer will then match this amount with a further £100. We would like to hear from you if your company supports match funding.

Monthly Raffle Draw winners - Congratulations to our winners for the months of April and May.

April 2023 Lottery No: 1005 - 7D – Amaury N       7 Darwin

May 2023 Lottery No: 1052 - 9N – Jonah R            9 Newton        

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts & Vegetarian Samosas Sale.  A gentle reminder . . . On Friday 26th May, the PTA will sell delicious Krispy Kreme doughnuts and vegetarian samosas during 1^st and 2^nd Break time (10:00 - 10:25 & 10:50 - 11:15).
 Please encourage your child to attend school on this date with cash to buy and enjoy their Krispy Kreme doughnut and/or samosa. Please contact pta@wgsb.co.uk if you can spare some time and are able to help out on the day or if you would like to pre-order a box of doughnuts at a discounted rate of £10.

Pre-Loved Uniform - Our next pre-loved uniform sale will be during our Summer Fair, on Saturday 15th July. Everything sportswear (PE/Rugby kits) will be on sale for any 4 sport items for £10. This offer does not include boot bag*. A great deal!  If you would like to donate your Year 11 uniform (especially ties, aprons, blazers) after their exams, can you please put these in a bag and drop off at the school office. Thank you for considering donating to our WGSB PTA uniform shop.

Are you getting ready to attend/help at PTA Summer Fair and Barbecue which will come up at the end of the STEAM week on Saturday, 15th July?  The Summer Fair is a fun event for the whole family so please save the date in your diary, if you have not done that already! The PTA are always looking for any help and support before, during and after the event.

• Do you have a flair for organising events?
• Can you help us distribute e-fliers on social media platforms or paper copies?
• Would you like to spare some time to help our school raise some funds?
• Or maybe you would like to run a stall at the summer fair?
• Would you be able to sponsor some part of the event (for instance we urgently require a barbecue stand) or donate prizes for the summer fair raffle draw?

No help is too small. Please contact pta@wgsb.co.uk  or the school office for more information on how you can support us. Thank you!

 

Best wishes,

 

Stuart Harrington

Head Teacher