From the Headmaster’s Study
As I type, the Beast from the East has certainly returned to Wellesley! I spoke in Assembly this morning (live from the playing fields of Wellesley with our multi-talented Deputy Head acting as cameraman, although truthfully, he looked more like Scott of the Antarctic than a cameraman) about how impressed our staff and I have been with the determination and enthusiasm that our pupils have shown towards Wellesley Online in this half of term – in many ways, the pupils have been great role models in positivity for us all. The teachers and form tutors are talking with such warmth about the efforts of all Welleslians and they all deserve a well earned pat on the back when half term arrives.
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
Calendar Update
Half term begins on Friday 12th February – 3pm for Pre-prep and 4.20pm for Years 4 to 8. Further information regarding term dates is available to view on the website.
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).
Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far. If you would still like to join in the fun please RSVP to marketing@wellesleyhouse.net by this Friday 12th 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!
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 Last Week
News from Pre-Prep
Last week all of Pre-prep enjoyed listening to the JH children perform their poems – a super effort by everyone. This week we are finding out about Chinese new year, having a go at acting out the story of how each year was named and anticipating a chinese feast on Friday!
As part of Mental Health week, we took time to discuss what makes us feel happy and ways in which we express ourselves. There are lots of lovely photos displayed in Junior House.
We are looking forward to seeing your pictures of pancakes and pancake making on Shrove Tuesday, which falls in the half term break. Do add your pictures to Tapestry.
Dates for the diary: This year World book day falls on Thursday March 4th and our theme for Pre-prep is Once upon a time. We would like all children in Pre-prep to choose their favourite fairy tale and dress up as a fairy tale character on this day.
Get Wellesley Fit
Do please check out (and have a go at?!) the most recent challenge in Get Wellesley Fit, which is to find 3 ways in which you can support your body without using your legs. Enter your scores by clicking here.
The theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week was Express Yourself.
Cooking
Last week, our Wellesley chefs were busy making some lovely apple tarts. We have a few twists on the recipe with gorgeous mini-roses and a yummy peach tart. It was not an easy deed as it takes time and a bit of elbow grease, but they did brilliantly! This week will be good old-fashioned cookies.
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Poetry Recitation Competition
Thank you for all of the fantastic video entries to this year’s Poetry Recital. If anyone has not yet submitted their videos (or performed them live) then please submit them to your English teacher as soon as possible. We are hoping to run the final from school later this term, if we cannot, then we will keep you posted on relevant updates and contingencies.
History
JL pupils have been studying the ‘heroic age’ of the Ancient Greeks. This has included the story of the Trojan War, with focus on the Judgement of Paris, Achilles and the Wooden Horse. The children were challenged to create their own ‘wooden horses’ and you can see some of the efforts they went to in the photos above. Well done JL!
Block 3 children have also been hard at work studying the Medieval period. A number of children earned themselves send-ups for their tours of a medieval town. Everything from buildings to toilet habits was included!
School This Week
Wellesley Community Fitness Challenge
Keep an eye out for a Wellesley Community Fitness Challenge taking place over the half term period. This will be setting a combined distance challenge for pupils and parents to complete: either walking, running or cycling.
For those who are on Strava, we have also set up a Wellesley Haddon Dene Club page. You are welcome to join it and see if you can feature on our leaderboard. If not, to join Strava (a free fitness app) you have to be 13 or older, but if pupils are walking, running or cycling with parents then they can be added to the description.
We look forward to sharing more information with you all via the PE classroom and social media.
Any problems, please email Mr Waldie. If you are not on Strava, you can still take part; we will record your efforts in a different way.
Block 2 Parent/Teacher Meetings
On Wednesday afternoon we will be holding the Block 2 parent/teacher meetings. Starting at 2pm, parents/guardians have been invited to book their appointments via the parent portal. Once appointments have been booked, an appointment schedule will be sent to parents/guardians which will also include the necessary links to join the meetings. Prior to Wednesday, 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).
Internet Safety Day
Tomorrow (9th February) is internet safety day. During the week the pupils will be invited to take part in a range of activities related to internet safety. Click here to have a go at the quiz.
Here is a useful link for parents who may wish for advice about how to keep children safe online at home.
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
Eastbourne College has sent details of their newly released film and booklet on all things Eastbourne. With an ethos very similar to Wellesley, for further information, please contact admissions@eastbourne-college.co.uk.
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 which includes an interview with the Headmaster, a tour of the school given by a Y9 boy, an explanation of the admissions process for parents, and a broader video about the school. For further information, please contact admissions@etoncollege.org.uk in order to book into a webcast.
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.