Newsletter, 9th September 2022

Good afternoon,

I hope that you and your family are well. A week that began with the hope, optimism and excitement of a new school year has ended in sadness at the death of the Queen. As we enter the 10-day period of mourning we will give thought together to how we can best remember the Queen as a school.

While the shock and sadness of our school community has been very tangible today, we can nonetheless reflect on a week in which our students can be very proud of the start that they have made to the academic year.

A Flying Start for Year 7!

Our Year 7 students have made an incredible start to their time at Westfield. They have quickly learnt the geography of the building and are working incredibly hard in lessons. On Monday they showed real enthusiasm when signing up for the many after-school enrichment activities available to them – including everything from sports teams, to chess club, to Dungeons and Dragons! We will publish our enrichment timetable for all year groups next week.

Thank You

Thank you to all parents and carers who have ensured that our students have looked exceptionally smart in their uniforms at the start of the new term. We understand that purchasing uniform can be expensive and we are committed to keeping our uniform policy under review to ensure it is affordable. I would again encourage any families who have pre-loved uniform that could be donated to school to do so via school reception. Similarly, any families facing difficulties in providing uniform should please contact school.

And an additional thank you for your support in ensuring students are at school by our new earlier start time of 08.30. A reminder that we will continue to open our gates from 08.00 and lock them at 08.30 each day as part of our safeguarding protocols. Students arriving at school late between 08.30 and 09.00 should report to the Sports Centre entrance – students who arrive late are issued a 10-minute lunch-time detention the following school day.

Year 6 Open Evening

Any families who have children currently in Year 6 will be interested to know that our Year 6 Open Evening will be held here at school on Thursday 22^nd September. In order to manage the large numbers of visitors we expect to welcome, we will ask those intending to attend to book a slot. Details of how to book a slot will be also be shared via primary schools and on our website in the coming days. In addition, existing Westfield students may be invited by their teachers to come into school to support the event – your child will bring home a letter with a consent slip next week if they have been invited.

Student Planners

Please accept our apologies for the delay in issuing our students with their planners this year. We’d encourage all parents/carers to continue to check their child’s planners on at least a weekly basis in order congratulate them on the ‘stamps’ they receive for showing a great Attitude to Learning in lessons, and also to address with them any comments from teachers regarding behavioural or procedural issues. Planners also contain lots of information and resources that students and families will find useful – this includes information about mental health and wellbeing, bullying, Attitudes to Learning and reading records.

With many thanks for your ongoing excellent support.

Joe Birkbeck

Head of Westfield School