Blog week ending 14th January

Each of our Year 11 students will have a ‘next steps’ interview with one of our senior leadership team.  The meetings provide the students and their parents/carers (joining via the power of Teams!) with an opportunity to have meaningful one-to-one discussions about our students’ aspirations for their post-16 studies and longer-term career goals.  Despite the occasional ‘challenges’ of having a meeting in person and on Teams simultaneously, the format has allowed us to have some positive and really useful conversations in relation to how we can best support our students as they make their next-steps decisions. 

Year 11 students will have individual careers interviews and these will be followed up with further meetings throughout the term to provide guidance and advice. The careers meetings are scheduled outside of normal timetable to ensure students do not miss lessons and are run in conjunction with talks and a drop-in service at school. To support their decisions students have also access to Morrisby Online and Unifrog.

On the 25^th January will stage a ‘Subjects Fair’ which includes external exhibitors including ASK Apprenticeships, NCS, University of Kent as well as student subject ambassadors sharing their experiences of specific subjects offered here at WG6.  Our WG6 Curriculum booklet can be viewed by clicking here

Pictured, a one-to-one Y11 Next Steps meeting, her parents attending via Teams

Careers support and guidance is being offered to our Year 9 Students as they explore their GCSE Option Choices.  A dedicated Options Meeting, Options Booklet and careers newsletter as well as a Morrisby aspirations online questionnaire will be provided to support the decision-making process.  Lunch time Careers talks, the careers newsletter and the drop-in service will begin for Year 9 students soon.

Year 12 careers interviews have started this month and continue until Easter. These will be delivered by Mrs Martin our external careers adviser and Philly from Shaw Trust/Prospects as our external adviser. Students already have access to Unifrog to help them to research their next step and career ambitions.

Careers Events.  We encourage our WG6 Alumni to maintain an active interest in our school, attending events and offering an insight into a range of careers via talks.  These visits are valued by students as they offer first-hand experience and can relate to our students and the sometimes difficult decisions they face.

Are you able to record a presentation for current students about your career or come into school to deliver a presentation? Can you offer work experience to a year 12 student in July 2022? We are seeking your help to inspire our students about their future careers and the skills needed in the workplace. Please email dmartin@wgsg.co.uk

One such Alumni is Jodie Beck who was Head Girl in 2018 and left Wilmington Grammar with A levels in Sociology, History, Philosophy & Ethics. She moved on to study law at University of Kent and graduated with First class honours in Law LLB (Hons) in 2021. Jodie is currently working as a Paralegal/Legal Assistant for MTA Solicitors LLP and is busy organising her move to Melbourne in April 2022 to take up a new role there.  Congratulations to Jodie on her new exciting role .. sadly, Jodie will only be able to join us on Teams for the foreseeable future!

National Apprenticeship week runs from 7^th-13^th February – our Careers Adviser Mrs Martin will be sharing information from the event with students.

Year 9 Historians are currently studying world civilisations prior to European colonialisation.  In this lesson students are researching and analysing African Kingdoms and Empires in terms of their politics, trading and defining talents.  Students will go on to explore the Mali Empire and its cultural advancements, particularly in architecture and the amazing artworks of the Benin Empire.

Pictured below, the Great Mosqueof Djenne, built around the 13^th century

Mr Dawson’s lunchtime Science Club features a new scientific challenge for students every week!  In a recent session, students were challenging their knowledge of gravity and air resistance with a parachute egg drop experiment!  The object of the challenge was to get their egg to ground unscathed!  Congratulations to the team that successfully landed their egg intact and crack-free.  It was a really fun scientific challenge … next week we are exploring volcanoes.

Our Nurture Garden Wellbeing Club have been making and decorating windchimes, birdfeeders and seed pots ahead of our new garden being established.  Next week, weather willing, WG6 students will join us to start work on the marking out and digging of our flower beds.  If any students would like to get involved please see Mrs Pritchard.  As you can see from the below photo one of the completed birdfeeders is already proving popular – especially with one robin who seems to know exactly when the seeds have been replenished!

Can you help?  Our PE department are looking to expand our Outdoor and Adventurous Activities (OAA) provision and would love your help if possible.  Research indicates that OAA activities, offers learners opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in ways that add value to their everyday experiences in the classroom.  We are keen to create more OAA opportunities, primarily during PE lessons and extra-curricular clubs

We are currently looking for any of the following items;

- Tyres

- Drain Pipes

- Buckets

- Rope

- Hula Hoops

If you have any of these items that you feel you would be able to donate, we would be extremely grateful. Any donations of smaller items can be taken to the main school office; for larger items please contact Liles@wgsg.co.uk to arrange delivery.

 

Best wishes,

Michelle Lawson