Wellesley HD Weekly 6th February 2023

School Last Week

Big Read Day at WHD

On Monday 30th January, our lower, middle and upper school children took part in our first WHD Big Read. Classes were paired up and met for 30 minutes to share stories and discuss characters and plots. The older children picked out some appropriate books to read to individuals or small groups, whilst the younger children listened and participated in the storytelling with comments or questions. It was a fabulous atmosphere and many were keen that this would be repeated again soon.

WHD Hosts Two Major Netball Tournaments

We are very proud to have hosted two major netball tournaments last week, the IAPS Kent Netball Festival (Years 7 and 8) and the ISC South East Regional Netball Championships (Year 6). We welcomed over 20 schools from across the South East to take part in multiple games and whilst we didn’t win either tournament, it was clear that the girls developed increasing confidence, team spirit and resilience. Thank you to Mrs Crompton, Mrs Murray and Ms Elliott for organising these prestigious competitions.

Ski Trip

Year Six jetted off to Bardonecchia, Italy during the early hours of Sunday morning where they will spend the week on the slopes honing their skiing technique. In addition to daily ski sessions, they will also take part in different activities such as tobogganing, skidoo rides and bowling. They are joined by several other Alpha Schools so this will be a brilliant opportunity to make new friends alongside developing a range of new skills. We will keep you updated throughout the week on our social media channels.

School This Week

Mark Reading

Our first Mark Reading of the academic year was announced in Assembly on Monday morning. All children in Years 4 to 8 were given “industry” grades by their teachers based on their efforts and attitude in the classroom and with preps.
Well done to the following children who achieved the top average in their respective year groups:

Pearl Dunbar-Brunton (Year 4)

Nicholas Chhabra and Theo Alifrangis (Year 5)
Ava Harris and Olivia Dilkes (Year 6)
Freya Ralph (Year 7)
Grace Fowers (Year 8)
The highest scoring form groups were Year 8 Laurans.
The overall aggregate House standings, including good and improvement marks are as follows:

1st – Stone
2nd – Joss
3rd – Viking
4th – Kingsgate

The reports are now ready to view on the parent portal. The portal has been upgraded and will look a bit different. Use the left hand menu to click on the appropriate child under ‘My Children’ and then click on ‘Assessment Reports’ to see the latest report as you can see from the posted image.

Ready for lessons – Correct equipment/uniform

One of our school rules is ‘Be Ready’ which transcends to being ready with the right equipment to learn. We have noticed that an increasing number of children are asking for handwriting pens or pencils and in senior maths lessons, children are asking for protractors and rulers. Please can you ensure that your child comes to school with the following equipment:

• Blue Handwriting pen
• Pencils, sharpener and rubber
• Ruler
• In Years 6,7 and 8, children will need a trigonometry set for maths
• Named Dictionary and thesaurus (recommended not essential)
• Named refillable water bottle

Basic stationery items will be available to purchase from the school office should your child need a replacement. This will be charged to School Money.
Please can all parents ensure children are wearing the correct school uniform. We have noticed a number of children wearing non-school uniform coats/hats and hoodies for sports. Please visit www.ambitionsport.com to purchase the correct uniform required. It is really important that all school uniform and PE kits are labelled clearly with your child’s name so that lost items can be tracked down easily.

Mobile Phones

Please could we remind parents that pupils are not permitted to bring mobile phones to school. There have been a number of reports of pupils using phones in school or on school transport to fixtures. There are a handful of pupils who use the train, and understandably parents may wish to give these children a phone for safety, however, these phones MUST be handed in at the office as soon as they arrive at school and may not be retrieved until they leave. If parents could remind children of this rule we would be very grateful.

Cricket Tour to Cape Town

Following the success of a previous cricket tour to South Africa, 3 years ago, our senior cricketers will enjoy an action-packed 9 days in Cape Town. Aside from having a training session immediately after landing, they will enjoy 5 competitive fixtures against schools in the Cape Town and Stellenbosch area. There will also be the opportunity to go up Table Mountain, have a tour of Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned), visit the world-famous beach at Camps Bay and head to a Game Reserve in search of the Big 5. We wish our boys and girls all the very best on tour and hope that they enjoy the wonderful experiences – cricketing and cultural.

Children’s Mental Health Week

This year’s theme is Let’s Connect. People thrive in communities, and this connection is vital for our wellbeing. When we have healthy connections – to family, friends and others – this can support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing. We will be supporting children in class this week to reflect on how they improve their connections around them.

Safer Internet Day

 This week, we will be joining schools and youth organisations across the UK in celebrating Safer Internet Day 2023. Safer Internet Day is a global campaign to promote the safe and responsible use of technology, which calls on children and young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers and more, to help to create a better internet.
Using the internet safely and positively is a key message that we promote in school and celebrating Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for us to re-emphasise the online safety messages we deliver throughout the year. We would be delighted if you could join us in celebrating the day by continuing the conversation at home.

To help you with this, the UK Safer Internet Centre has created some free activities and information for parents and carers which are available at: saferinternet.org.uk/SID-parents.Whether you have 5 minutes to start a conversation or hours to spare, there are top tips, quizzes and films which you can use at home with your child.

If you have any concerns or questions about keeping your child safe online, please do get in touch with your child’s class teacher/myself or Mr Spencer, our Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Pre-Prep Show

We are looking forward to welcoming families from nursery through to Year 2 to watch our Pre-Prep School Show – Flutterpillar on Thursday 9th February. Nursery parents are welcome to watch the first performance at 1pm in the Main Hall. We will then invite parents from Reception upwards to watch the second performance at 1.45pm. We cannot wait to see our little stars shine.

Pre-Prep Values Awards

Values Awards

Mr Boyne Channel Swim

I will be swimming the channel as a part of a 6-man relay team this July. Each swimmer will take it in turns, swimming an hour at a time in an attempt to battle through to France. The obstacles standing in our way include the busiest shipping lane in the world, strong currents, jellyfish, fatigue, cold and seasickness. All of that aside, I am super excited to take on the challenge and have been busy training.
Having seen the support that Aspire has given to those with spinal injuries, I am so proud to be contributing towards such an incredible charity. Whilst I can never imagine the full extent to what people with spinal injuries have to deal with on a daily basis, I have had a small insight into paralysis. After suffering an extradural haematoma in 2010 whilst playing hockey in France, I woke with paralysis of my right side and difficulty with my speech. I was fortunate enough to have regained control after a short period of time, and can only imagine the difficulties faced by those less fortunate. Aspire is such an incredible charity, who support people suffering from spinal cord injuries throughout the entirety of their journeys. If you can spare a few pounds to donate to such a worthy cause, it would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Thanks very much!
Mr Boyne

School Calendar

Please click here and scroll through for the most up to date calendar of events for the term.

Menus

This week the kitchen will be serving menu week 2

On Social Media