From the Headmaster’s Study
Thank you to those of you who have shared your feedback on Wellesley Online. If you have not yet had the chance to do so, it is not too late – please just click here and follow the instructions.
In this morning’s live Assembly, I had the pleasure of reflecting on such a wide range of areas in which our pupils have been involved so far this term, and my congratulations go to all pupils for their admirable determination and enthusiasm. I hope that some of our parents are managing to have a go at Mr Longdon’s “Get Wellesley Fit” challenges, too!
We are so sorry not to be celebrating Burns’ Night this week with our customary themed supper in the Dining Hall of haggis, neeps and tatties before following the Bagpiper through the school corridors to the Old Hall for the fun and frolics of some Scottish dancing (although I will not miss the humiliation of reciting “Address to a Haggis” in front of all pupils and staff in my appalling Scottish accent…) and it is moments like this when we really miss the physical connection between pupils and staff. Nevertheless, our staff continue to connect daily with our pupils through the lens of “google meet” and in the spirit of Burns’ Night, I have set a challenge to our pupils in JL and above to share with me a recording of the reciting a snippet from Robbie Burns’ famous poem! Gavin Franklin
Wellesley Online
Our teaching staff have worked hard to produce this reader friendly guide to our remote teaching and learning programme. The booklet contains several valuable hyperlinks for your information. Click on the image to view.
announcements
Six of the Best
“It was really difficult to choose a six of the best for this half term, not because we are currently in lockdown, but because of the range of brilliant work made last term across all age groups.
Therefore, after much deliberation, the first six of the best for 2021 goes to Tate Shephard. Tate’s brilliant watercolour painting is based on a surrealist inspired collage he had made earlier in the term. Throughout its making, Tate listened carefully to advice and time and again returned to the work to improve it, showing excellent resilience and perseverance.
I am really excited to see the work you make during this current time at home; I know lessons aren’t the same as being in the studio and DT room, but creativity is really important so find the time to get off your screens and make some art! Please remember to send pictures of your work through to me – via scp@wellesleyhouse.net.” Mr Parfitt
Parent/Teacher Meetings
We will be holding two parent/teacher meetings prior to half term:
Block 3 – Wednesday 3rd February (pm)
Block 2 – Wednesday 10th February (pm)
An invitation to book your google meet appointment will be sent to your parent portal account. The google meets will be hosted via your child’s Wellesley Haddon Dene email account and if you have any questions, please contact Mrs Baird via hmsecretary@wellesleyhouse.net.
Please note that the Block 1 meetings will take place after the mock exams (2nd – 5th March).
The theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is Express Yourself.
Expressing yourself is about finding ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas, through creativity. It is about finding a way to show who you are, and how you see the world, that can help you feel good about yourself.
As parents and carers, you play an important role in your child’s mental health. Check out our free resources below.
Click on this link to take you to the Place2Be Website, packed full of activities and ideas to try out during this year’s Mental Health Week.
Calendar Update
As detailed on page 4 in the Wellesley Online programme, please note that exeat and half term will start at the end of the school day – 3pm for Pre-prep and 4.20pm for Years 4 to 8.
Our first exeat is Friday 29th January and half term begins on Friday 12th February. Further information regarding term dates is available to view on the website.
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
Symptoms of COVID – children
School This Week
News from Pre-Prep
It’s been another busy week in the Pre-prep. The children have really enjoyed Mr Parfitt’s bird challenge and a super collection of wonderful birds have been displayed in the Junior House Rec room. There has been a lot of dinosaur activity in Nursery and Form JK and lots of expert dinosaur knowledge shared between staff and children. In JB the children have been reading The Queen’s Hat by Steve Antony and this has led them to write a letter to the Welsh Guards asking all sorts of interesting questions. This week we are looking forward to a PE session with Mr Longdon, a singing session and an online yoga session.
Friends of Wellesley – Virtual Quiz Night
We hope many of you will join us for the Virtual Quiz Night on Friday 19th March. Our very own Mr Jean Latteur will be quiz master and proceedings will begin at 8.00pm. Tickets are priced at £7 per adult. People can form their own teams up to a maximum of 6 households/computers (this is not exclusive to Wellesley, please do include your friends should you wish).
Please RSVP to marketing@wellesleyhouse.net before Friday 5th February with the details of your team members and who your nominated team leader is. If you do not have a team but would like to take part please sign up in the usual way and you will be allocated to a team!
Get Wellesley Fit
Mr Longdon (and his team of helpers) is sharing a number of physical challenges that are accessible to all people of all ages and all abilities. Do please encourage your children to have a go at these and feel free to take part yourselves! Scores can be recorded throughout lockdown and uploaded via the PE google classroom for pupils or via this link. Good luck and enjoy!
Cooking with Madame Laurans
We had our first live cooking session last Tuesday and it was a lot of fun making “Oreo cheesecake balls”. The cooking club format is slightly different this year. Children will be emailed the week’s recipe as well as the list of ingredients for the following week every Tuesday. They can also find all those information on the Activities Classroom, as well as the past recipes and the link to the live session. If you cannot join us for a live session, you can use the recipe to make it in your own time.
Burns’ Night
Click here to enjoy listening to some of our staff and pupils putting on their finest Scottish accents as we look back on photos of last year’s brilliant evening!
Whilst we are sorry not to be able to have our traditional Burns' Night celebrations at Wellesley this year, we hope you enjoy some memories of last year's great evening as you listen to some of Form 2 reciting the "Address to a Haggis" … Enjoy!! #BurnsNight pic.twitter.com/IGKonyL1xN
— Wellesley Haddon Dene (@WellesleySchool) January 25, 2021
Senior General Knowledge Quiz
During activities on Friday, teams from Block 1 and 2 will be taking part in a Set General Knowledge Quiz. Hosted by Mr Hallam, team members will be notified of the arrangements via email later this week. The following week, Block 3 and 4 will have their turn to put their knowledge to the test … good luck everyone!
Inspirational talks for pupils, families and staff
Wellington College continues with its programme of Fireside Talks …
Fireside Talk with Will Carling, Monday 25th January, 5pm
Fireside Talk with Annabel Croft, Monday 1st February, 5pm
If you would like to join a talk, please click on the appropriate link, you will then be admitted from the lobby prior to the talk beginning.
On Thursday 28th January at 7pm, Felsted is hosting How to Become a Professional Cricket Player – Jason Gallian, Head of Cricket at Felsted (Ex-England) and Carla Rudd, Head of Girls’ Cricket at Felsted and current SuperLeague champion with Southern Vipers will be hosting this live interactive event.
On Wednesday 27th January at 7pm, please join the Heads at Benenden and Tonbridge and the Education Editor of Tatler, Tori Cadogan, to learn more about today’s boarding choices. You can sign up for this event here.
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Lockdown Activities
Atom Learning has rolled-out a programme of supplementary learning workshops, available on-line. Aimed at children aged 7 to 11, subjects cover English, maths, reasoning and even creative writing, please click here for further information.
Senior School News
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.
The King’s School, Canterbury is holding a live virtual Open Morning on Saturday 6th March 2021 and you can register and request a Digital Information Pack by clicking here.
Eton College has introduced a 45-minute webcast that they hope will serve as some form of a virtual visit; it includes an interview with the Head Master, a tour of the school given by a Y9 boy, an explanation of our admissions process for parents, and a broader video about the school. These are broadcast at specific times via Zoom, and interested parties are asked to email admissions@etoncollege.org.uk in order to book into a webcast. Their prospectus has now been significantly condensed into what they hope is a rather more user-friendly document (and certainly more geared towards Y5 boys and their parents).
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.