Blog week ending 12th January

I do hope that you have all enjoyed a lovely Christmas and a good start to 2024. This is a particularly busy term despite being only five weeks long. I must first begin with a massive congratulations to one of our students, Binu Tennakoon, in Year 11 who was the soloist for the choir that featured as part of the King's Speech on Christmas Day. We are incredibly proud of her and her achievements, particularly as she also managed to pass her Grade 5 Singing exam the day after the recording, with distinction no less!  An excellent example of the wide range of exciting opportunities open to our students. Please do make sure you let us know about all the achievements for your child across the year, it is wonderful to be able to congratulate and celebrate with them.

To view a clip of Binu’s solo performance at Buckingham Palace which was later broadcasted with King Charles' Christmas speech Please click here

Our Music Department has an exciting range of lunchtime and afterschool clubs to broaden musical appreciation, gain new skills and importantly … have a great deal of fun!  Additionally, specialist teachers offer bespoke one-to-one lessons; including guitar and singing (pictured below)

Our current Music Deparment Clubs include the fabulous Brazilian Samba Club pictured below.  Our members have been ‘on tour’ around the school, having performed outside during lunch in the summer months as well as on stage during lunchtimes in the main hall … spreading the joy (and gaining members) across the school!

Our Music Department’s current programme of clubs and activities is as below – please do encourage your children to come along and join in!

Our EI (Epistemic Insight) approach has been embedded across our curriculum, encouraging our students to see the links between subject areas and to provide the tools for solving complex problems.  By using knowledge from across the sectors to inform thinking and to add context and insight we are able to reach informed and considered conclusions.  Put simply, EI maximises learned knowledge and inspires critical thinking.  Each term across KS3 we respond to a ‘Big Question’ to help understand the relationships between areas of knowledge, prompting curiosity and engagement across the curriculum.  For Term 2 for Year 7 for example, we asked “Does the concept of cause and effect vary between disciplines”.  Mr Fuller (pictured), who leads the project commented “students are approaching topics with clarity and intelligence, using skills and an approach beneficial to their studies here at WGSG and beyond”.  The Term 3 content for Years 7, 8 and 9 will be sent out over the next week to parents/carers and students will then begin to be questioned on their thoughts!

Below, Year 8 Computer Science students have started a new topic, web development.  In the below lesson students are researching the three main ‘languages’ that are used to build websites.  As they progress through the term their work will culminate in them creating their own websites!  As part of this topic, students will be discussing the question “Does Human Character always impact decisions? as part of the wider EI programme.

 

Our Year 10 GCSE Physical Education students have been studying the structure and function of the cardiovascular system.  In this practical lesson students ‘acted out’ the path of the blood though the heart, lungs and blood vessels.  A fun exercise to recap and demonstrate learning!

Year 11 GCSE and Year 10 students visited Cyclopark in Gravesend to undertake a Cycling course, where they learned and practised a variety of skills on a road bike. Whilst the students had ridden bikes before, it was great to see the students learning new skills such as chain gaining. The students were determined and showcased their skills fantastically in the final race. Many of them will now submit a Cycling grade as part of their GCSE Physical Education exam and we are hoping some of them will continue to cycle outside of school as they showed a tremendous amount of progress.

Our PE department offer a brilliant range of sports and activities via their lunchtime and after school clubs. New seasonal clubs are added as they become available including Rugby!  We are lucky enough to have links with Dartfordians Rugby club and they are running rugby training sessions on a Wednesday 2:45 -4pm in the sports hall.  All students are welcome regardless of their rugby experience!  Come along and give it a try(!)

Careers at WGSG.  In KS4, the focus of the career guidance is to help students make informed choices about their next step after completing their GCSEs. Students are exposed to a wide range of progression routes and receive unbiased guidance and information regarding Post 16 opportunities; to ensure that students know the range of options available and understand them.

To build on this support, all Year 11 students will be invited to a meeting with a senior member of staff which focuses on student aspirations and their hopes for the future; reflecting upon what it takes to become successful and what they need to do to achieve their ambitions. This complements the resources on Unifrog and ongoing referrals to discuss their plans with a careers professional.

The Parents’ Guide to What’s Next is a free guide you can download that provides a summary of all options Post 16 and Post 18, so you’ll know what choices they have and what to bear in mind when making those decisions Free resources | The Parents' Guide (theparentsguideto.co.uk)

Careers Programme – North Kent Schools Apprenticeship Event.  On Thursday 8th February 4pm – 6pm Wilmington Grammar School for Boys has an amazing opportunity for students to engage with local and national employers and universities as they are hosting the North Kent Schools Apprentice Event in conjunction with The Education People, Careers and Enterprise Company, supported by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation. 

The event has local and national employers from construction, healthcare, accounting, business consultancy and finance, media and events, banking, retail, transport and armed forces. There will also be representation from local training providers, local colleges, and universities such as Ravensbourne University, TEDI London Engineering and Design Institute and London South Bank university.  

Our Year 13 students will have access to this event and the employers in school time between 2pm and 3.30pm.  

We welcome all other students,  parents/carers and other interested parties to attend after 4pm and please sign up using this booking form link: Pre-Registration Form: North Kent Apprenticeship Event (office.com) 

This is an excellent opportunity for students to investigate a future career pathway or to start securing an apprenticeship place for September 2024.

Additionally, there is a vast range of university, apprenticeship, career and study guides available in the library to support and inspire decision making (small sample pictured below).  To view a selection of guides currently available click here.  Mrs Smith, our librarian is on hand to assist with any student future pathways research queries.

A huge ‘thank you’ to our PFA who donated £200 for new books … our Librarian and students are delighted!

FREE ACCESS to newspapers and magazines - please take a moment to read

This resource is AMAZING and FREE!!

Access to over 7,000 newspapers and magazines.  Login using a local library membership.  If you don't have a library card, they're available online for free.  Bexley and Dartford borough cards definitely work (Mrs Smith has both and has tested both) - you don't have to be a Bexley or Dartford resident to apply.  

There is something for everyone and it covers all subject areas.  See below.  Library Card Sign In – PressReader Care

The Kent Teacher of the Year Awards 2024 are now open for nominations.  Social Enterprise Kent, who manage the awards are inviting us to get involved… who do you think deserves a Kent Teacher of the Year Award?

“Everyone working in our education system plays a vital role in shaping the future of our children. From the dedicated teachers who ignite passion, to the behind-the-scenes heroes making everything tick along smoothly, we appreciate the hard work and dedication of each and every person shaping the future of our children.

That's why we're excited to invite you to nominate a member of your school community for a prestigious Kent Teacher of the Year Award!

Whether it's a teacher going the extra mile for students, a member of support staff with a perpetual smile, or a volunteer leaving a lasting impact, SEK wants to hear their incredible stories! Hurry, the deadline for nominations is fast approaching, so seize the moment and make your nominations now! Let's give credit where it's due and celebrate those who make our educational journey truly exceptional!”  To make a nomination CLICK HERE

PFA Update.  Thank you to all parents and carers who made a £5 one-off donation to our fund – which contributed toward the purchase of a state-of-the-art new school hall projector and audio system. 

We are a relatively small, friendly group but we do need more people. If you are able to spare some time, we urge you to become more involved in the PFA – and help make a difference. You could choose to be either a regular member (as part of the PFA committee), or a volunteer and help out occasionally at events. There are no minimum time commitments!  Please email Jayne wgsgpfa@gmail.com for more information

Quiz Night – calling all quizzers!  We are currently finalising plans for a Quiz Night in February – watch this space for more details.

Congratulations to our December & January Prize Draw winners; (your cheques can be collected from Reception from Monday 14^th January)

December 1^st prize – £100 – Kavitha T, 2^nd prize £50 – Julie Anne S & 3^rd prize £20 – Ben A

January 1^st & 2^nd £30 & £15 prizes were both won by Helene V

‘Nearly New’ School Uniform Shop – We have a range of ‘pre-loved’ uniform in excellent condition for sale at very reasonable prices and any donations of surplus school uniform are most gratefully received.  For details & price list or to make a uniform donation, please contact wgsgpfa@gmail.com

Finally, a thank you to parents and carers for working with the school in terms of attendance, when this is a real challenge nationally, I am very grateful for the positive way that parents support high attendance across the school. In particular working with Form Tutors and Heads of Year where there are concerns. This has helped to ensure that the right support is available, and students can access the help they need and learn the techniques and strategies to cope with managing their physical and mental health. We are rightly proud of our students and their determination, focus and resilience and that is a real credit to you our families in supporting that development. I look forward to seeing all the exciting things that this term brings and sharing them in the Blog.

Forthcoming Dates;

Year 11 Written Reports home – Friday 12^th January

WG6 Y12 Geography field trip (London) – Wednesday 17^th January

WG6 Politics Y12 Trip, City Hall – Thursday 18^th January

Year 9 Options Evening – Thursday 25^th January

WG6 A Level Art Trip, National & National Portrait Galleries – Monday 29^th January

WG6 UCAS Deadline – Wednesday 31^st January

Intermediate Maths Challenge - Wednesday 31^st January

Maximising Success Workshops Y10 and Y11 – Thursday 1^st February

North Kent Schools Careers Event Years 9 & 11 – Thursday 8^th February 2pm-3.30pm

Year 13 Grades home – Friday 9^th February

Last Day of Term 3 – Friday 9^th February

New York Cultural Trip – Saturday 10^th February – Tuesday 15^th February

Years 7 & 8 Grades home – Monday 19^th February

First Day of Term 4 – Monday 19^th February

 

Best wishes,

 

Michelle Lawson

Head Teacher