Head’s Newsletter – 7th July2023

Dear parents and carers

A bumper edition of the newsletter this week- testament to the full calendar of events we have this term! A reminder also about the opportunity to hear the story of holocaust survivor, Hannah Lewis MBE, on Wednesday 12^th July. Tickets are free and there are still a few available. To secure your ticket please book via Event Brite HERE

 

September dates

Friday 1^st September – Teacher Training Day

Monday 4^th September – Teacher Training Day

Tuesday 5^th September – School opens to all students

 

PE Update

Head of PE, Mr Bennett writes: “The PE department have been excelling in the past week with over 100 young leaders spread across several primary school sports days as Leaders and coaches. This has been a massive undertaking and the support and organisation from Mr Roberts in not only placing the leaders into the correct schools but also then in ensuring the successful support and organisation of the events. There has also been a huge cricket festival on the 29^th June that was run by the older cricket leaders of Wollaston and involved at least four primary schools with close to 100 participants.

On Monday 3^rd July, the Year 7 County Athletics competition took place pitting Year 7 athletes against each other from across Northamptonshire who had qualified from district events. The standard was very high and there were some great track performances by the Wollaston runners.

Monday also saw the Year 6 induction session, again led by our amazing sports leaders ably assisted by our 6^th form senior students, who led on a rotation of practical activities and challenges that our new cohort loved. This was a significant undertaking and so well run by the leaders and Mr Roberts.

The absolute highlight of the week has come in the Northamptonshire Schools Games competition that was held on Thursday 6^th July. The Year 7 and Year 8 newly formed Cheerleading Squad were not just at the event but were privileged to open the whole event in front of the competitors and support staff. They performed a superb routine, that was expertly put together by Miss Olechnowicz,  in front of a crowd of close to 1000 people. The Cheerleading Squad were superb and performed a great, high-energy routine that was loved by the crowd and was a brilliant way to open the whole event. Wollaston also had the boys and girls KS3 hockey teams at the school games, with both teams performing extremely well over a period of several games and were unlucky not to come out as county champions in both competitions. Mr Crook was delighted with the gameplay shown by the hockey players.  Thursday also had the Earls Barton sports day that included 30 young leaders and was a real success and super comments and feedback received from Earls Barton in particular.

There has been a huge level of involvement from the school students and staff who have had a significant impact on the local community. It has been a great week.”

 

House Championship

Deputy Headteacher, Mr Beeby writes: “The climax of the House Championship calendar saw each house go head-to-head in a 4x100m staff relay. The biggest worry was whether or not the sixteen staff would be fit for work on Monday as hamstrings were ready to ‘ping’ at any time.

With a bumper crowd the 4 Heads of House chose lanes, and the starter gun was ready!

Miss Olechnowicz put Drake into a commanding lead as she flew out of the blocks, Nightingale looked promising until Mr Mack took a fall on the 2^nd leg. Into leg 3 and it was clear that no-one was going to catch Drake with Austen lagging a long way behind. So, into the final straight it was Mr Crook who crossed the line first and the battle was between Nightingale (Mr Rees) and Churchill (Mr Bodicoat) for 2^nd place, some time later Austen did cross the line!!

Final places:

1^st Place               Drake   

2^nd Place              Nightingale

3^rd Place              Churchill

4^th Place              Austen

Thank you to everyone that took part and to all spectators. 

House Championship winners will be announced next week.”

 

Sports Day Information

Head of PE, Mr Bennett writes: “This year’s sports day will take place on Wednesday 12^th July.

Therefore, students will be required to attend school in their Wollaston PE kit and suitable trainers to be able to participate safely in the activities. Unfortunately, we are not able to host spectators and the event will be run just for the school community.

Please can we ask that the students are ready for the sports day event by coming to school with plenty of water, a sun hat/cap if required and sun cream that the students are able to apply themselves. The school will provide areas for relief from the weather if students become too hot and first aid and water is readily available also.

Year 9 and year 10 will participate in sports periods 1 and 2 and then attend their normal lessons periods 3 and 4. Year 7 and Year 8 will attend their normal lessons periods 1 and period 2 and will take part in their sports activities during periods 3 and 4.  The whole school will then spectate and compete in the track events in the afternoon and the school will then dismiss at normal school time.

If your child is unable to participate in the event due to medical issues, then please provide them with a brief note of explanation supporting their situation and or condition.  

If you have any specific enquiries, concerns over the event and participation then please contact me directly to discuss these.”  bennetta@wollaston-school.net

 

Is your child a young carer?

Assistant Headteacher, Mrs Walker writes: ‘Legislation defines a “young carer” as ‘a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for another person (of any age, except where that care is provided for payment, pursuant to a contract or as voluntary work)’. A young carer might look after someone because they’re sick, or have a disability or mental health issues. This may also be the case if a parent or family member has an alcohol or drug problem and may be unable to care for themselves or anyone else.’ (Children’s Society)

We are aware of a number of our young people who are young carers, however a recent communication demonstrated that there may be some of our students for whom the above definition applies yet we are not aware.

If you feel that your child should be classed as a young carer, please email their head of year to inform them so that we can ensure our information is up-to-date and to be able to support appropriately.”

 

Personal Development Day – Summer 2023

Assistant Headteacher, Mrs Walker writes: “On Thursday 29^th June all learners engaged in their final Personal Development Day of the year.

Often on personal development days there are a range of areas covered, however on this occasion there was a strong careers and next steps theme designed to encourage young people to develop skills and knowledge about the world of work and the pathways to achieve their goals. There were opportunities to be creative and also to  engage with providers from outside of school. As a school, we need to ensure we are meeting the Gatsby benchmarks and also make sure we are meeting the Baker clause and this day was a fantastic opportunity to deliver this to our young people.

 

Year 7: Calendar Challenge

Year 7 students had a wonderful day making their creations come to life! Students were tasked with imagining, creating and then finally pitching their perfect calendar for 2024.

All students involved were out of their comfort zone and asked to work with students that they may not have met before. Despite any initial worries, students took this in their stride and had professional style conversations to create their initial ideas. Over the course of the day, many students could be seen focused on the task but also making new friends in the process.

At the start of the day, students selected their groups and were asked to pick a role – the options were: team leader, researcher, designer, marketer and pitcher. Each role had its own unique responsibilities, so there was no sitting out of this one! By the end of their Dragon’s Den style pitches, all students had presented, defended and displayed their creative ideas, sharing how they thought these could be sold on a wider market.

We had 8 fabulous winners that will be commended in our final assembly of the year. It was a fantastic day, showcasing the wonderful creativity our students possess. 

Miss M Yeoman, Head of Year 7

 

Year 8: Take Your Child To Work Day

To support our young people with their careers experience and with regard to the Gatsby Benchmark we asked that parents of Year 8, where possible, take their children to work for the day in order for them to observe life in the workplace.  This is a great opportunity to get a greater understanding about the nature of work for their parents and colleagues and also discuss career aspirations.  Some of the places our students went to were primary school, garages and even working with the police. Our goal was to make this day worthwhile for every student, so pupils were also given reflection booklets (designed by Mr Myers) to complete to help guide them throughout the experience and hopefully keep the dialogue about their future aspirations going with both parents and back in school.

Mr H Atherton, Head of Year 8

 

Year 9: Humanutopia

Humanutopia programmes are aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of young people by empowering them to make positive changes in their life. The day was split into three sessions:

• Session 1 focussed on the Comfort Zone, in which students reflected on the past, helping them reflect on how they became the person they are. This session was somewhat of a roller coaster as students were roaring with laughter one minute and deep in reflection the next minute. The session also offered opportunities for students to discuss some of their choices and experiences with their peers.
• Session 2 saw students placed in the Stretch Zone. This is where the students got to consider how the present could be so different if each person behaved differently. During this session students were placed in situations out of their comfort zone where they interacted with others outside their normal friendship group.
• Session 3 zoned in on the Panic Zone, during which students imagined who they could be in the future, discussing dreams, hopes, goals and ambitions. The day concluded with every student identifying and committing to making three positive changes to improve their future.

As a year team and a school, mental health and wellbeing is of high priority to us. It was highly pleasing to see so many students engaging in such an opportunity to take ownership of their own mental health and wellbeing through reflection and forward-thinking activities. A special mention should be given to those students who were brave and mature enough to stand in front of 240 of their peers and share their experiences in a very powerful and moving way, which particularly highlighted their willingness to be an upstander within our year group and school community.

Mr J Logan, Head of Year 9

 

Year 10: Careers Day

It was lovely to see the Year 10 students so engaged and excited about the various elements of the above day last week. The Careers Fair in the morning attracted 37 organisations such as local colleges , universities from across the world , apprenticeship providers and employers. This was followed by workshops from apprenticeship providers , local colleges, and universities. The last section of the day featured a keynote presentation form Dr Martens staff about the wide array of opportunities offered by a global company.  

The Year 10 form representatives have produced some great reviews of the day and 98% of the Year 10 students used the anonymous survey to report that they found the day useful or very useful. Some of the feedback from local companies is shown below :

• Green River College , USA – ‘Definitely coming back. This event is perfect. DO not change anything !’
• Unilever staff – ‘Many thanks , it has been a great event with great student engagement!’
• T & L Hairdressers – ‘Fab morning , the students were excellent’.
• Soiltechnics –‘ really well organised ! Great how the teachers/Head of Years were about to help direct students over to us’
• We are grateful for the support of local organisations and look forward to another event in July 2024. Organisations who are interested in being represented should contact Mr Bernie Myers via myersb@wollaston-school.net.

Mr B Myers, Careers Leader

The Year 10 cohort thoroughly enjoyed the day and it provided them with an amazing chance to meet possible employers, ask questions surrounding their next steps and begin creating a future employment network. The students as ever were a credit to themselves and the school.

Mr M Jackson, Head of Year 10”

 

Best wishes for the week ahead!

 

Simon Anderson