From the Headmaster’s Study
The recent variable weather has not been able to dampen the spirits of Welleslians, who have been busy with a plethora of activities both in and out of our school grounds. Amongst other things, Block 3 had a brilliant educational trip to Wildwood; the pre-prep had much fun with their pyjamarama day; senior pupils have been visiting senior schools for assessment days; and our boarders enjoyed an action-packed weekend whilst dodging the showers at Wellesley. With last week being mental health week, the emphasis that we place on a healthy body / healthy mind approach could not be better demonstrated through our broad and inspiring weekly programme at Wellesley Haddon Dene.
I hope that Block 4 parents found Saturday morning’s conference to be both productive and enjoyable. As ever, your feedback on how we operate such events is welcome (via the office). In other news, with the Government’s progression to stage 3 of the roadmap, we are delighted to be able to welcome parents on site to watch fixtures. We must, however, remain cautious, and ask that you follow our guidance that is outlined below in this edition of the Wellesley Weekly. I look forward to seeing many of you on the boundary edge soon.
Gavin Franklin
announcements
Update on school fixtures and spectators
With the government’s announcement to progress to stage 3 of the roadmap, we are delighted to be able to allow spectators for our fixtures at Wellesley. We still need to be cautious, however, and remind parents not to come into the main school building. Toilets will be available in the sports hall. I’m sorry that we won’t be offering sharing platters for match teas at this stage but will have a self-service tea and coffee station under the gazebo outside of the dining hall. In order for us to ascertain numbers of spectators, we will be asking you to complete a google form stating your intention to attend the fixture. Spectators at away fixtures are determined by the host school – all schools are operating to their own risk assessment. If away schools are accepting Wellesley spectators, you will have the option to complete your information on our google form – if you don’t have the option, it is because that school is not accepting spectators at this time. The form will be shared with parents tomorrow (Tuesday). It is our hope that this is a straightforward process (!) – thank you.
SAVE THE DATE – SATURDAY 26TH JUNE
The Friends of Wellesley’s Summer Party is on Saturday 26th June in the Dining Hall at Wellesley. The cost of a ticket is £60 to include a 3 course meal, cheese and biscuits, coffee and petit fours. The Friends of Wellesley will generously offer welcome drinks on arrival. Wine for each table can be pre-ordered in advance. Raffle tickets will be on sale on the night for some fabulous prizes from Afternoon tea at Felicity’s Cafe at Quex Park to burning it all off in a private HITT personal training session on the beach, tickets to premier league football matches and T20 blasts to fine dining at Broadstairs very own Stark restaurant and much more! A game of Heads and Tails will precede the dinner so plenty of cash is needed! We are very much looking forward to getting as many of our community together to raise some funds for the school but most importantly to enjoy a fun evening together.
Swimming
This term, we are pleased to be able to offer private swimming lessons (for both pre-prep and prep age groups), on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.
£14 (per child) for a half hour, group lesson (max of 4 children)
£28 (per child) for a 1-2-1 half hour lesson
£40 (per child) for a one hour private lesson
If you are interested in booking lessons, please contact Geraldine via hmsecretary@wellesleyhouse.net
COVID-19
We thought that it would be valuable to share with parents our COVID-19 flow charts, which map out the necessary course of action, dependent on the situation for pupils and staff who are displaying COVID-19 symptoms in school.
Staff
Positive cases – children
Positive cases – boarders
Symptoms of COVID – children
School Last Week
Pre-Prep
On Friday the staff and children in Pre-prep all came to school in their pyjamas for Pyjamarama 2021! It was a fab PJ day raising funds and awareness for the wonderful Book Trust, which transforms lives by getting children and families reading. We welcomed some young visitors to our Friday Stay and Play session too! Unfortunately the first U9 cricket match was cancelled but the children continue to develop their ball skills and teamwork and eagerly await their first match. The focus for our Pre-prep assembly was kindness and the children in JH demonstrated ways to colour our lives with kindness.
Standings for set good marks in Pre-prep this week are:
1st Vikings
2nd Danes
3rd Saxons
4th Romans
Boarders
This Sunday the Boarders were treated to a giant bouncy assault course. Great fun was had by all the children, and staff, racing over the various inflatable obstacles. Also, there was karaoke! The grounds of Wellesley reverberated to the sounds of popular songs performed by an even wider range of our resident singing talent.
School This Week
Mark Reading
The first marks of term have been given and the standings are as follows:
1st Danes
2nd Saxons
3rd Romans
4th Vikings
Special mention goes to the following pupils who have achieved the highest set of marks for their year: Tillie Spanton, Freya Ralph, Grace Flowers, Max Miller, Stanislav Shatokhin and Bonnie Dong. The highest scoring tutor group was a tie between JL and Form 2.
Team Photos – Wednesday
As team photos will be taken during Wednesday morning break, could we please ask that day pupils (Year 4 and above) come to school dressed in their cricket whites – thank you.
Team of the Week
Congratulations to the U13 girl cricketers for their superb performance at Northbourne on Wednesday. Aside from winning the game, they played with grace, flair and skill throughout. They will enjoy squash and cookies with the Headmaster during a break time this week.
Block 1 HPV Vaccinations
The school vaccination nurses will be visiting Wellesley Haddon Dene this Friday morning, 21st May, to administer the second dose of the HPV vaccine. The first dose of the HPV vaccine will be given to those pupils who had given consent but were absent from school in October.
Atom Nucleus
Atom Nucleus provides unlimited access to personalised learning at home from Years 3-8, combining high-quality teacher-written content with an adaptive algorithm tailored to your child. Click here to see how it works. Parents will gain access to:
Course areas across English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning (and soon Science).
Unlimited mock tests that closely mirror key senior school entry assessments.
Granular performance insight on strengths and areas to work on.
Live and on-demand video tutorials for supplementary support.
We have a discount code which will give you 20% off your first month if you would like to try it out: WwcsvSyg (This code is valid until 31st July 2021.)
If you would like any further information on this please email Mrs Sabin-Dawson (ksd@wellesleyhouse.net).
Stay and Play
We look forward to hosting our Stay and Play session on Friday afternoon. Younger visitors will be able to take full advantage of our Outdoor Classroom whilst parents have the opportunity to meet with our lovely Pre-prep team and see for themselves all Wellesley has to offer. As we are limiting numbers, we ask parents to pre-book. Held on Friday afternoons from 2pm to 3.15pm, we have a few places available for our final session on 11th June. If you, friends or family have children under 5 and would like to book a place please contact admissions@wellesleyhouse.net.
Gap students
Please do get in touch with the school office if you know of any enthusiastic 18 year olds that may be interested in working at Wellesley Haddon Dene during the Michaelmas term. We are able to offer accommodation and meals if needed.
Menu
This week the kitchen will be serving Menu 2.
Senior School News
For boys seeking entry to Tonbridge School in 2024 an ’in person’ Open Morning is being held on Saturday 26th June. For further information please contact admissions@tonbridge-school.org
Uppingham is inviting families with children for 2021 and 2022 entry to contact them to book visits (admissions@uppingham.co.uk). Whilst observing Covid protocols, tours of houses are also available. Year 6s (with pre-tests next term) are encouraged to explore Uppingtham via their programme of Virtual Visiting Days – 22nd May at 10.30am and 12th June at 10.30am.
Benenden is hosting a series of online Prospective Parent Open Mornings, please click here for dates and further information.
Wellington College very much hopes to be able to welcome visitors soon, however, in the interim please view their Virtual Visitors Day via this link.
Ashford School is hosting a virtual Open Day on Saturday 22nd May, please click here to register.
Inspirational talks for pupils, families and staff
Wellington College continues with its programme of Fireside Talks …
Mon 17th May 8pm: Natalie Haynes ‘Pandora’s Jar’
Please click here to join the talk
Matches This Week
Please always refer to the website calendar as it is the most up-to-date place to check for fixture changes and locations.
Please complete the google form here if you will be attending any home fixtures.
Wednesday 19th May
Cricket v Dover College: 1st XI (h)
Cricket v Kent College: Colts A (h)
Cricket v Kent College: Colts B (a)
Girls’ Cricket v Northbourne: U11 (a)
Girls’ Cricket v JKS: U13A & B (a)
Saturday 22nd May
Cricket v JKS: 1st XI (h)
Cricket v JKS: Colts A (h)
Cricket v JKS: Colts C (a)
Girls Cricket v JKS U11 (a)
Cricket v Northbourne: Colts B (a)
Girls’ Incrediball Cricket v Northbourne: U13A (h)
If your child has been selected for a fixture, we will email you each Tuesday morning with information regarding the recommended pick up time from Wellesley.
Matches Last Week
| Fixture | Result |
Cricket v Northbourne: 1st XI | Won by 33 runs |
Cricket v Northbourne: Colts A | Won by 41 runs |
Girls’ Incrediball Cricket v Northbourne: U13A | Won by 18 runs |