Blog week ending 4th March

As we read the news reports of the Russian invasion of Ukraine our thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people as they suffer the devastating consequences of conflict in their country.   Naturally, our students are asking questions to try to better understand the political and human situation which understandably can feel quite scary.  Across our school, form tutors, Heads of Year and our pastoral team are providing support and an opportunity to discuss any anxieties they may have surrounding the conflict.  With help from teachers across the school I prepared and delivered an assembly with the primary aim of providing facts and clarity for the students and to hopefully, provide reassurance.  As we know only too well, the internet is not always the most reliable source of information and misinformation or untrue reports can cause added anxiety.   The assembly presentation outlined the key historic and political factors that have resulted in the current situation and that based on our knowledge of past events, full-scale war is very unlikely.  Many famous and important Russians together with thousands of protestors are putting pressure on Putin and speaking out against the conflict.  We have had a lot of students and parents ask about what we can do to help those affected by the conflict and we are currently exploring ways that we can support, so watch this space.

Our Librarian, Miss Ogunkanmi has marked World Book Day with a whole host of competitions, special lessons and new books!  Our Year 7 students took part in a lawcourt style debate centred around the nursery rhyme The Three Little Pigs.  Students either took the role of the accused (the wolves!) or the victim (the little pigs!)  The case question was; was the wolf in The Three Little Pigs assaulted by the pigs or was it self-defence? If it was in fact assault, should the pigs have to pay the wolf?  Students stated their case eloquently and convincingly!

Students have been taking part in a national competition to design World Book Day bunting – with some really eye-catching and creative entries.

Bookbuzz: Thank you to our PTA who continue to support the Book Trust Bookbuzz scheme, funding a free book to all of our Year 7 students.  Students made their choice from a range of 17 titles all carefully selected to foster a love of reading for pleasure.

National Careers Week 2022.  Empowering Positive Change through Careers Education #NCW2022

The Gatsby Foundation has created a series of films that provide top tips for parents from parents about how to support children with their career decisions which can be viewed on their website by clicking here  

Laing O’Rourke – 10 of our WG6 students were offered work experience over February half term through our partnership with Laing O’Rourke. They were given the opportunity to spend time in different sectors of the business to experience a variety of career opportunities including HR, architecture and quantity surveying. The students were also given mock interviews for degree apprenticeship applications and bespoke career advice.

Forthcoming WG6 Events – Year 12 visit to Surry University on Tuesday 8^th March and Cambridge roadshow coming to WG6 on 23^rd March. 

Congratulations to Y12 students Izzy and Cameron who have both recently successfully completed the Foundation Level Award in badminton coaching.  They have both been selected to attend the prestigious Young Leader Academy run by Badminton England at the National Badminton Centre – a significant achievement!  Izzy and Cameron attend the Badminton sessions as part of the Electives Programme and plan to offer coaching to younger students via Badminton extra-curricular clubs.

Our WG6 Forensic Science students have been out on-site collecting soil, pollen and diatom samples before returning to the lab to prepare their ‘evidence’ ahead of testing and analysis work.

Year 8 PE students took part in an introduction to boxing session which proved to be extremely popular.  The emphasis was on safety and rules and the roles within the sport.  The group were each allocated a role including; competitors, judges, referee, and coach .. which they embraced with great enthusiasm!

Mrs Dobson invited students to take part in a Valentine’s themed baking competition during half term and was staggered by how many wonderful entries she received from across the school.  There’s no doubt about it, our students really were sharing the love with these delicious looking treats!  Prizes were awarded to the winning bakes.

Pictured, a selection of entries top row from left; Faria, Ruve (competition winner!), Olivia, Samantha, and Tess (runner up!).  Bottom row from left; Isioma, Georgia, Chloe, Larissa and Izzy.

Congratulations to Year 7 students Isla M, Darcey T, Fayokemi O and Amber W who play in the Dartford District football team and won their final league match at the weekend 5-0 after a successful first ever girls secondary district season.  The team finished runners up in the league and earned a semi-final place in the new National Champions Cup with wins over Bexley, Brighton and Poole.  What a brilliant season, well done! 

This weekend four WGSG girls attended the Follow Your Dreams National Dance Final in Esher, Surrey with their dance school Knights Academy of Dance.
Kaitlin H of 11H placed 3rd in her Jazz solo.
Eloise E of 11A placed 1st in her Jazz trio.
Darcy B of 7H received an honourable in her Street solo and two 3rd places in junior Jazz and Street group dances.  
Emily S of 10E placed 1st in her teen Tap solo.  
Eloise, Kaitlin and Emily also received honourable mentions for their Jazz group dance and 2nd place in their Contemporary group dance.  All four girls went on to take 1st place with their Street Crew team.  A brilliant team achievement!

Mrs Bexley, our Office Manager and PA staged an impromptu staff pancake flipping competition .. there were some impressively high flips (and only one ended up on the floor!)  Shrove Tuesday marks the start of Lent in the Christian calendar, traditionally a time of fasting or ‘giving something up’.  Instead of giving up chocolate, fizzy drinks or chips, many others use Lent as a period to help others. Hundreds of people take part in the Lenten Positive Acts Challenge as another way to show praise for God. Participants perform one positive act for each of the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. These acts can include calling up someone who is alone, donating to a worthy cause, clearing up after dinner and letting someone go ahead of you in a supermarket queue.

PFA Update.  Easyfundraising & Amazonsmile - By signing up and using the following link when you shop online with more than 3,300 well-known online stores such as Amazon, eBay, John Lewis will earn free donations for WGSG at no additional cost to you.  Please click here for further information and to sign up.  We would like to thank all our existing supporters who have helped us raise more than £2k in retailer donations via Easyfundraising and £500+ from AmazonSmile.

Forthcoming - Y7 Parents Eve – Thursday 10^th March

Best wishes,

Michelle Lawson

Head Teacher