Blog week ending 28th March

Today we celebrated the myriad of cultures, traditions and nationalities that make up our amazing and inclusive school community.  Across our school cohort, we have over 45 different languages spoken, reflecting the diversity and richness of our collective self.  Thank you to all our Student Leaders, A level media studies students, our Young Reporters society, staff and students who all contributed to make the day the joyous celebration it was! 

Our catering team served up a truly international menu this week offering themed daily specials as part of our Culture Day event.  Dishes included, sweet and sour chicken, veggie Jamaican patties, paprika chicken with patatas bravas, plantain and sweet potato fries and apple crumble and custard!

Introducing Mr Salt, teacher of History, who joined us at the start of this year, having relocated from the West Midlands. Mr Salt studied history at the University of Oxford, completed his PGCE teaching qualification through Warwick University and is in the early stages of his career here at WGSB.

Mr Salt is an outstanding practitioner with a passion for shaping students’ understanding of the past and relating it to the present world. He is particularly interested in the ways that film and music can be used in the classroom to enhance core learning. This interest will become especially useful for our Year 9s as they look at the history and culture of Weimar Germany (1919-33) next term.

In the lesson below, Mr Salt is working with his Year 11 class to prepare for their upcoming GCSE exams. They were looking at source questions on the topic of Elizabeth I and the challenges she faced in finding a ‘Middle Way’ between Catholicism and Protestantism. History is a subject that significantly improves students' writing ability, vocabulary and understanding of the current world.

Mr Salt recently led a trip to the Tower of London for our Year 7 students, to complement this year’s learning of the Norman Conquest of England and introduce topics such as the Suffragette Movement that students will encounter further up the school.

WGSB is part of the Wells hub of schools which delivers exciting lectures and interactive learning sessions to promote the educational, social and economic benefits of learning a language.  Our students had a fantastic time at the recent MFL Conference in Tonbridge School and participated fully asking questions and then approaching the speakers individually to get further insight.  WG6 students were particularly keen to get work experience with their hero of the day - Danilo McGarry and were not afraid to approach him about this!  Danilo is the world’s most practical speaker on Ai, tech and transformation having run of the largest and most respected Transformation, Ai, Data and Innovation programs in market leading blue-chip companies (such as Citigroup, UnitedHealth Group) in multiple countries and industries, presenting in a number of languages.

WG6 Year 13 Celebration Assembly.  Congratulations to all of our Year 13 students, this, their last group assembly ahead of their public exams gave us an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements, effort and community contribution of our Year 13 cohort.  Subject teachers and form tutors awarded specific accolades and sweet treat(!) to those students who have gone above and beyond in their studies and school contribution.  We wish you every success with your forthcoming exams – if you would like any further support beyond the scheduled revision sessions, please do let us know!

Our Springtime Community Afternoon Tea was a truly uplifting (and rather delicious!) event. Students welcomed over 75 retired and semi-retired members of our local community and surrounding areas for an afternoon of entertainment, savoury and sweet treats and great company!  Distinguished guests included the deputy mayor and mayoress, our Chair of Governors and members of our Local Governing Board. It was also fab to some familiar faces from our last event as well as new ones. Entertainment was provided by our amazing WG6 gospel choir, accomplished pianist Hayden S and skilled tabla player Akaash S as well as our Year 7 mime troupe. Year 9 students, members of the PTA and teachers hosted.

Guests each received a raffle ticket that automatically entered them into free raffle winning a range of Easter eggs, flowers, and café and restaurant vouchers, congratulations to all our winners!  A sincere thank you to all who supported and entertained during the event, and to the companies and establishments that donated amazing prizes towards our raffle... our winners were delighted!  Our next Afternoon Tea will be 15^th July – save the date! Please email in (office@wgsb.co.uk) or phone (01322 223090) to secure a place – it is first come, first served. We can’t wait for the next one and to see you there!

Mr Simmons, Teacher of Geography at Wilmington Grammar School for Girls is also a member and coach for local Cycling Club Team, Darenth Cycling Club.

“Our Club is extremely family friendly and a hugely fun way of gaining new skills, keeping healthy and socialising with friends and families from the local area.  We develop riding and bike-handling skills for children and young people and have a team of very experienced DBS-checked British Cycling trained coaches.  We meet every Saturday at 9:45am at Baldwyns Freeholders Association. The entrance is the driveway between 24 & 26 Baldwyns Park, Joydens Wood, Bexley DA5 2BA .. come and join us!” 

• All you need to join us is a mountain bike, helmet and gloves!  We do have a small number of bikes available for younger children.
• All abilities very welcome, but you just need to be able to ride a bike!
• We mostly cycle off-road on mountain bikes as we have so many great green spaces nearby!
• Qualified Cycle Coaches to guide riders as well as offer support to diagnose or fix any issues with your bikes  .. or recommend best place to go for new parts of further support.
• Summer Events – Regular Racing and Skills Competitions throughout the summer season. Gain points by improving your racing times and skills.   
• First two sessions completely FREE.  One-off membership of just £15, then £10 per month fees (£5 for every additional family member)

For further information and contact details please click here Team Darenth Cycling Club - Team Darenth Cycling Club 

PTA Update: We have had such a fantastic year so far with fundraising events and all money raised is given back to the school for various projects.  A new project which we have been asked to support is to look to replace the gym equipment and to completely re vamp the room with a modern and updated look.  The school would not be able to do such projects without your support and we would like to thank everyone who does assist with our fundraising activities.  If any parents or carers offer any match funding from their work or employers please do get in touch with us as we need to try and raise as much money as possible to assist with this fantastic cause  You can contact the PTA on pta@wgsb.co.uk. We also welcome any ideas for future fundraising ideas. 

Pizza making workshop: 23^rd April at Enzo’s Pizzeria in Sidcup – 6pm – 8pm.  Join us for a pizza making workshop where the children can make the pizzas while you enjoy a drink (or you can help join in the fun) and come to meet some other parents/carers too.  £30 for 2 pizzas and 2 drinks.  Additional people can join in too at an additional cost.  Please book your place on ParentPay now.

Summer Fair: 13^th July 11am – 2pm. We will be holding our annual summer fair with barbecue, stalls, entertainment, and games. We also hope to have the assault course that was such a success last year.  More details on this to follow.

Forthcoming Dates;

Last Day of Term 4 – Thursday 28^th March

First Day of Term 5 – Monday 15^th April

Year 12 Progress Exams begin – 15^th April

Year 10 Written Report home – 16^th April

Year 9 Vaccinations – 17^th April & 18^th April

DofE Bronze Practice Exhibition – 4th - 5th May

 

Best wishes,

Stuart Harrington

Head Teacher