Blog Week Ending 5th December
Our House Competition for Year 9 Art students this term was a photography competition. In lessons, students have been working on an architecture project, so for the competition they were asked to do some architecture photography, with an open brief to respond in whatever way they wish. Mrs Wisdom applauded all student entries for the high calibre of image and interpretation of the brief. The Winners can be seen below, each has secured valuable points for their respective Houses.
Year 8 Musicians have been practising a new song on the ukelele featuring newly learned G cord. Students played together following the chord diagrams and practising different strumming patterns. Miss Dillon was incredibly impressed by how well they are progressing .. and sound as an ensemble!
Mr Olufade’s Year 8 Scientists have been considering Captain Scott’s trek to Antarctica with a view to suggesting an easier way to transport food and supplies on the sledge. Using their physics knowledge they took part in a practical lesson to investigate the pulling force and the load on the sledge.
Year 7 Religious Studies. Students have been exploring the concept Resurrection and what it means for Christians to believe in the Resurrection of Jesus. Students have produced some excellent work and evaluation to support their knowledge. Now moving on to explore the concept of the Trinity and what it means for Christians to believe in one God that exists in three parts (or persons). To prompt class discussion and aid understanding Mrs Lasoye asked students to consider ‘who am I?’ students talked about their own identity and that they are different things to different people, including sons, grandsons, students, brothers and nephews.
Our Year 9 House Competition for Drama took place this week with students showcasing their pieces in front of a live audience. Students performed their Theatre in Education pieces with the aim to educate the Year 7 audience on a topic which they felt was relevant and import for them. The Year 9 students had to research these topics and then create their own scenes and dialogue to bring the story to life for their audience in an interesting and memorable way. Our Year 7 audience provided valuable observations and feedback to help student groups refine and improve their finished pieces. Well done everyone!
Our Drama Club students received some amazing and actionable feed-back following their performance in the recent Shakespeare festival. An excerpt of which is below.
WG6 Year 12 Art Students visited the “Drawn to Blue” Exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of Art London. The group spent the day researching, analysing and making practical observed drawings from the Drawn to Blue Exhibition currently held in the Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery at the Courtauld Gallery of Art. Students were learning about the selection of mainly figurative drawings on blue paper from The Courtauld’s collection. Blue paper provided a nuanced mid-tone which allowed the creation of strong light and dark contrasts, an effect much sought after by draughtsmen. Students made first hand observations from drawings with three main tonal values working directly from works such as “Studies of arms and drapery” (1746) Black and White Chalk by Artist Allan Ramsay. In additon, students participated in a critical and contextual art history workshop in the afternoon run by the Courtauld’s Education Team of which they excelled. Work in Progress sketches below from Harvin D.
On Thursday 14th November, members of WG6, accompanied by Dr Harris went on a trip to Poland to visit Auschwitz as part of a visit run by the Holocaust Education Trust. After leaving Gatwick at 6.30am, our group travelled, along with 170 students and educators from across the Southeast by coach from Krakow airport to Auschwitz. The first place that the group visited was Auschwitz 1, where a tour guide showed us around the site and we learned about the history of the location and the events which took place there. Following this, we visited Auschwitz II-Birkenau, where there was a memorial service, which two of our students, Frankie and Genevieve took part in.
This was a very long day, but certainly an unforgettable one for all those involved. It is certainly hard to put into words the experience, but it undoubtedly left a profound impact on all those involved.
Our visit was filmed by the BBC, whose Newsround were present for a piece that will go out in late January, at the time of Holocaust Memorial Day, which is also the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camps.
WG6 Art Elective students have created a wonderful range of hand-made cards that will be presented to all guests of our senior citizen afternoon tea at WGSB on 13th December. I’m sure they will be delighted with your designs – a thoughtful and kind gesture, thank you! A small range are pictured below. All WG6 students take part in the Elective Programme which promotes and enhances skills needed for everyday life and provides opportunities to explore new interests, learn new skills and support academic aspirations. Activities range from debating society, academic research, peer mentoring … and Art Club.
PTA Update: It’s been a very busy month for the PTA! Fundraising events have included our Christmas Fair which we are thrilled to share raised an incredible £5,110. This fantastic achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing support of you all, whether those that helped in the preparations, purchased raffle tickets, bid in our auction or simply came along to show your support. Your generosity and enthusiasm made the day truly special. This success reflects the strength and spirit of our community, and we’re so grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for making this event such a memorable and meaningful one, this is the most money ever raised at a fair!
Our Mayor Councillor Andy Lloyd and his wife Diane also attended the event and joined in with several of the activities on offer. We would like to thank all our stallholders and for the parents and carers who donated chocolates, gifts and beverages for the Tombola as well as the businesses that donated gifts for this and Particularly Ghaz Stott-Everett our PTA Treasurer who donated two very high-ticket items.
2 x VIP tickets to Mama Mia the Party at the O2 (Raised £310)
Afternoon Tea for 2 at the Ritz ( Raised £150)
This was raised via our online auction which is a new addition to the PTA events website, this is only our second auction, and it raised £868.
Special thanks also to our Premises Manager, Mr Bassett who single-handedly organised the logistics of the entire event and for those teachers who helped on the day; Miss Price, Mrs Cross, Mr Darwin and Mrs Wisdom as well as the reception staff who helped with all our communication needs.
We held our wreath making event this week, it is a great opportunity to meet other parents/carers and the PTA Team and is incredibly popular. Thank you to Alexandra Carnegie for running the event this year. We all had so much fun and loved the end results.
Christmas tree sales exceeded expectations and thank you to Pat Delaney from our PTA Committee for running the pick-up in the freezing cold.
Christmas puddings are back on ParentPay but with limited stock available. Please support the school by purchasing one of these amazing artisan Christmas puddings.
If you would like to consider joining the PTA please email us directly [email protected] You can also visit our PTA website to keep up to date with future events, projects we fund around the school and track our fundraising profits. https://www.pta-events.co.uk/wgsb/index.cfm?event=shop
Forthcoming Dates;
Years 7-11 Flu vaccinations – 6 December
Year 7 Christmas Church Service – 11 December
Christmas Concert at St Michael’s Church – 12 December (6-8pm)
Senior Citizen’s Afternoon Tea – 13 December (2.30-3.45pm)
PTA Doughnut & Samosa Sale – KS3 & 4 Break – 16 December
Year 11 mock results home – 16 December
KS3 Christmas Lunch & Jumper Day – 17 December
Year 7 (Forms B, J & K) Panto trip to Orchard Theatre – 17 December
KS 4/5 Christmas Lunch & Jumper Day – 18 December
Year 7 (Forms A, M & T) Panto trip to Orchard Theatre – 18 December
A Level Drinks Reception (for last year’s Year 13 students) – 18 December 4-5pm at WGSG
Last Day of Term 2 – 20 December 12noon
First Day of Term 3 – Monday 6 January
Year 13 Mocks commence – 6 January – 17 January
Year 11 Written Report home – 17 January
Best wishes,
Stuart Harrington
Headteacher
