Welcome to latest news for Year 9.
WEEKLY BULLETIN
13 DECEMBER 2024
ENJOY - ACHIEVE - EMPOWER
HEADTEACHER’S MESSAGE
KEY SCHOOL DATES
Christmas definitely arrived at Waldegrave this week. On Tuesday the students made school feel very festive with a dazzling display of Christmas jumpers. Christmas lunch was served to students on Tuesday and Wednesday, with our senior staff serving the students. It was lovely to hear them
Year 10 Globe Players - A Christmas Carol - 17 December End of Term for Sixth Form - 3.15pm 18 December
A MESSAGE FROM OUR HEADTEACHER
End of Term for School - 12.30pm 19 December
singing Christmas songs together, sharing cracker jokes and enjoying their lunch together. After the success of last week’s Carol Concert I am very much looking forward to this evening’s Winter Festival, when even more of our talented performers will have an opportunity to shine. On Monday our A-level musicians went to the Barbican to see the Academy of St Martin in the fields perform the A-level set work: Haydn 104, ‘London’. Whilst on Tuesday our A-level Drama students had the opportunity to take part in a lighting workshop at Hampton School. This week we have held our termly Celebration Assemblies to recognise students who have modelled our values of enjoy, achieve and empower throughout this term. Well done to the winners and to all our pupils for working so hard this term. We will break up for the Christmas holiday on Thursday 19 December at 12.30pm and return to school on Monday 6 January. Next week we will be publishing our termly magazine, please have a read to see the pupils view of our events and activities during the Autumn Term. As this is the last bulletin of the term, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and wish you a peaceful festive break.
Hanukkah - 18-26 December Christmas Day - 25 December Kwanzaa - 26 December - 1 January New Year’s Eve - 31 December HOLIDAYS & NATIONAL DAYS
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Send us your achievement stories and photos to share by email to
~ Ms Tongue, Headteacher
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
info@waldegravesch.org STAY CONNECTED WITH US:
The Christmas holidays can be a time of great excitement and joy, where we can relax and reset after the hard work of the autumn term. However, for many it can become frought with stress. The Art of Brilliance Blog suggests these top tips for combating the stresses of the festive season: 1) Don’t overcommit yourself: Often, we say yes to everything and everyone but end up pleasing no one. Many people find themselves burnt out before Christmas Day, so be selective in what you say yes to. 2) Remember you don’t need an opinion about everything: Christmas can be filled with tension when families spend lots of time together. Take a breath. Sometimes the best thing to do is keep your opinion to yourself and let it go. 3) Find space within the busyness: Christmas is full on, with so many people to see it can be hard to carve out time for yourself. You need to find the space within the chaos. Find the moments of stillness in the day- to-day to take a breath and relax. For families who have experienced bereavement, Christmas can be especially hard. Cruse Bereavement Support have practical tips for managing grief over the festive season, including different ways of celebrating and remembering. They have a free helpline: 0808 808 1677.
A little help goes a long way... See page 6 to read about our Christmas Tree Fundraiser CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT
A MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF YEAR 9
The end of term is almost upon us and in Wednesday’s Year 9 Celebration Assembly we took time to reflect upon the past term and celebrate those students who have embodied the Waldegrave principles of ‘Enjoy, Achieve and Empower’ in subjects and in form time. The Christmas tree is up and the school’s festive events are truly in full swing! Last Friday we enjoyed our annual carol concert, which many students in Year 9 participated in. It was great to see how talented so many of our students are and it was a wonderful start to the festive season. On Tuesday we held our Christmas jumper day, where all members of the Waldegrave community were encouraged to wear a festive jumper. Students also thoroughly enjoyed their Christmas dinners and there was much merriment on display in the canteen on Tuesday. Donations for this are £1 which can be paid on Parent Pay. All proceeds go to the charity ‘Save the Children’. Congratulations to Ella R-J (9SSR) on topping the Epraise chart this term with a hugely impressive 66 points. 9EMU were the top placed form group and are the proud recipients of a tub of Christmas chocolates. We also took time to applaud 9POR for having the greatest number of students with 100% attendance in the year group. Good attendance goes arm-in-arm with academic progress and so this award is especially important. Tonight is our Winter Festival, this is always an enjoyable night to see so many talented Waldegrave students perform their pieces. We can also look forward to another Waldegrave Christmas tradition next week, as on the last day of term we staff present the school pantomime. School will finishes on Thursday 19th December at 12.30pm, with a return on Monday 6th January (week B). I am immensely proud of the great start all of Year 9 have made to this academic year and I look forward to welcoming them back into school next term. I hope the upcoming holidays provide all our students and fami- lies with an enjoyable and well deserved restful break. Merry Christmas!
MRS MORTIMER, HEAD OF YEAR 9
BOOK OF THE MONTH
‘The Song of Achilles’ - Madeline Miller
A retelling of the Trojan War of ancient Greece, following Achilles - a Greek demigod - and Patroclus. When Achilles is forced by his father to train as a soldier, he demands that Patroclus joins him as his companion. Over the years, the boys find themselves sharing a deep connection and are able to openly share their love due to the secluded manner of the mountain where they train. However, as they return to civilization, Achilles’ father is adamant that he find a wife. Soon the Trojan War demands the aid of Achilles to lead them to victory where he finds himself reuniting with Patroclus at camp. This book beautifully explores the complexity of unconservative romance through the heartbreaking manner of a Greek tragedy. - Isla S, Year 11
Please contact us with any queries or problems you may have. To get in touch with a member of staff from your child’s year group, you can: Please contact us with any queries or problems you may have. To get in touch with a member of staff from your child’s year group, you can: Send an email to KS3@waldegravesch.org Or you can contact the school via phone by calling: 02088943244 WALDEGRAVE SCHOOL Fifth Cross Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW2 5LH HOW TO CONTACT YEAR 9 HEAD OF YEAR AND TUTORS Send an email to KS3@waldegravesch.org Or you can contact the school via phone by calling: 02088943244 WALDEGRAVE SCHOOL Fifth Cross Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW2 5LH HOW TO CONTACT YEAR 7 HEAD OF YEAR AND TUTORS
UNIFORM REMINDER A reminder to all parents and carers to ensure pupils are following the school uniform policy on jewellery - a simple wristwatch (no smart watches), plain stud earrings and a thin chain necklace (hidden under their top) may be worn, any other jewellery will be confiscated for the duration of half a term. No make-up, false nails, eyelashes or dyed hair is permitted as part of this policy. Please below for the uniform options for school and PE below, full details of the uniform policy can be found on our website here.
WORD OF THE WEEK
CONTEXT
NOUN: The setting for an event, statement or idea It comes from Latin - con: meaning together and textere: meaning to weave
Who would use this word? Author, artist, playwrite, actor, compsoer, philosopher, theologist, journalist, academic Examples: “The quote taken out of context trivialises a terrible crime.” “In the wider context demetia services need to be considered.” “The historical context out of which the novel arose.” SYNONYMS: circumstances, conditrions, factors, backdrop, atmosphere, frame of reference, subject, theme, topic
ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR PARENTS
Every Thursday during term-time Waldegrave hosts free English lessons in school, for Waldegrave parents/carers who would like to practise/improve their English language skills. It is also a chance to network with other multilingual parents. If this is something of interest to you, please come to the school Reception at 2:10pm on Thursdays during term time, ready for the start of the lesson at 2:15pm.
Sessions are for 1 hour each week, finishing at 3:15pm. We look forward to welcoming you.
Starting Wednesday January 15th 2025
DESIGN A MURAL COMPETITON: 2025 Grantham Climate Art Prize The following items are not endorsed by Waldegrave School.
Students aged 11 – 25 are invited to enter the 2025 Grantham Climate Art Prize by designing a mural to draw attention to the climate crisis. Two murals will be unveiled in 2025 at Imperial College London. Designs for the first mural – at the South Kensington campus – are now being sought. Students from schools, colleges and universities across London can submit a design for the mural with the theme From Grey to Green – focusing on the importance of boosting nature and green innovation to allow us to have a more sustainable future, which will be better for the planet and for our physical and mental health. The winning design will be transformed into a large-scale (9.4m by 2m) mural by a professional artist while runner-up designs will be exhibited on the campus. The art prize is a biennial competition and previous themes have included British Biodiversity Loss (2021) and A Greener, Cleaner, Cooler World (2023), inspired by our 9 things you can do about climate change: www.imperial.ac.uk/stories/climate-action/. As well as the 12 murals across Great Britain – from Brighton to Glasgow – we ’ve had exhibitions of winning and runner-up designs at COP26, in museums, and on billboards in London’s transport hubs. The competition webpage is: www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/events/grantham-art-prize/ It is best to enter through the webpage. The deadline is 31 January 2025. If you prefer you can send a clear photograph of your landscape style design as a JPEG, PNG or GIF less than 20MB to granthamartprize@imperial.ac.uk with your name, email address, date of birth, age, title of your artwork and a brief description of the artwork . If sending multiple entries, please do that separately, or by www.wetransfer.com with the required info for each image. ENTER HERE ↓ QR SCAN
Y8-Y9 French and Drama Club
Do you want to improve your French and learn a little more about French culture?
On va à Paris!
Come along to a series of workshops on the theme of Paris: we will learn a classic song, play games to find our way around the city and take part in role-plays set on a bateau-mouche!
5 sessions on Tuesdays, from 3:20 – 4:20 (in L2): 7, 14 , 21, 28 January and 4 February
Places limited Cost: £60
Contact: Madame Dion-Jones dionjonesdanielle@gmail.com
The following items are not endorsed by Waldegrave School.
Xmas Holidays o December 18th - January 4th
Xmas Holidays o December 18th - January 4th
Free Art, Baking, Gaming, Music, Sports Activities and lots of Trips to go on
Free Art, Baking, Gaming, Music, Sports Activities and lots of Trips to go on
The White House Family Hub, The Avenue, Hampton, TW12 3YH
1 Britannia Lane, Whitton TW2 7JX
contact: justin.johnson@achievingforchildren.org.uk
contact: justin.johnson@achievingforchildren.org.uk
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