Newsletter, 1st April 2022

Good afternoon,

I hope that you and your family are well. Any of us thinking summer had come early last week will have thought again this week as winter has proved it has a sting in its tail! Despite the wintry weather, I know everyone at Westfield is very much looking forward to a good break over Easter. Of course, school will remain open over Easter for students in Years 10 and 11 who are preparing for exams that begin just four weeks after we return.

EASTER SCHOOL

Thank you to the large numbers of Year 10 and 11 students who have returned letters confirming their attendance at ‘Easter School’. Year 10 students who will be sitting GCSE English Literature this year have been invited to sessions with their teachers, and almost all Year 11 students have been invited to targeted revision sessions in a range of subjects. We are proud of the commitment our students in Year 10 and 11 continue to show to achieving exam success.

REVISION SUPPORT

In addition to attending some Easter School sessions, we know our students are planning to take the opportunity to revise for their exams over the next two weeks. On our website students and parents/carers can find guidance on how to revise effectively at home. In addition, in response to feedback from our Year 11 student leaders, each department has produced topic lists to support students to focus on revising the right content. We hope you will find these useful in planning revision.

YEAR 7 EASTER EGG COLLECTION

On Wednesday of this week the Easter eggs collected by our Year 7 students were picked up from school to begin their long journey to Ukraine where they will be distributed to children who have been forced to leave their homes and become refugees. Our Year 7 form reps were on hand to pass over the Easter eggs to Sam from UK Aid for Ukraine who came to collect them. Our form reps were interested to learn about the experiences of the children who will receive their kind donations. Thank you to everyone who donated an egg.

YEAR 8 PARENTS' EVENING

Thank you to the parents/carers of Year 8 students who joined in yesterday's online parents' evening. I hope the conversations with your child's teachers were useful and that you got lots of positive and productive feedback on their progress. Please complete that post-parents' evening survey so that we can continue to find ways to improve our school and our communications with parents. 

UKRAINE FUNDRAISING

It has been a pleasure to see our students arrive at school this morning wearing blue and yellow to show their support for the victims of the war in Ukraine. All monies raised today will be donated to the Red Cross. Thank you to Ms Hornby, our student leaders and form reps for their work to organise today’s fundraising. Congratulations to Owen in Year 7 who won the art competition with this beautiful piece:

Students from Years 7 & 8 recreate the Ukranian Flag.

 

ATTITUDE TO LEARNING REPORTS

Half Term 4 Attitude to Learning Reports are available for all parents/carers to view on Weduc. Please can you go through the report and complete the Student/Parent response page in your son/daughter's planner.

We are delighted that Attitudes to Learning continue to improve across the school!

END OF SCHOOL DAY – 14.30

From now on we will dismiss all students from lessons at 14.30 at the end of the school day, moving away from our approach of asking children in Years 7 & 8 to leave 5 minutes early at 14.25. This was a measure introduced as part of our response to COVID and is no longer necessary. Year 11 students will continue to access Period 6 lessons next half-term and therefore the school day for them will continue to end at 15.45.

RETURN TO SCHOOL

We will return to school on Tuesday 19^th April at the normal time. We would ask you to take note of the following reminders regarding uniform and equipment. Thank you for your support in making the start to the new term a positive one by ensuring your child is ready to learn:

• Please ensure your child is fully equipped with their planner, a pencil case and a scientific calculator.
• The black Westfield v neck is the only jumper allowed to be worn on site. All other jumpers/hoodies are not to be worn in lessons, on corridors or outside. The Westfield PE hoodie can only be worn in PE lessons.
• Black skirts and shorts can be worn if they are knee length. Shorts must be smart/tailored. 
• Leggings, Jeggings and Jeans are not part of the Westfield school uniform.
• Any student who arrives to school wearing items of clothing not meeting the school's uniform policy will be required to change at the Ready Room. If a student has a note from parents/carers then the student will not receive a comment, but will still be required to change in to spare uniform provided before they go to lessons.
• After the Easter holiday we will return to our policy of asking that outdoor coats are not worn in the school building. The only areas students will be allowed to wear coats are the Dining Hall and outside.
• Please be reminded that our rule on mobile phones remains that they should not be seen or heard on the school site – phones will be confiscated if seen or heard and we will contact parents to collect them at reception.
• Please ensure that any false nails are removed before the return to school.

With many thanks for your ongoing excellent support,

Joe Birkbeck

Head of Westfield School