Headteachers Letter – 14th October 2022
Good afternoon
There has been much to celebrate this week with plenty going on both in and out of school!
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Conference
Wednesday saw 11 of our students and our Academic Mentor, Mrs Sharkey, visit the Wellingborough School to take part in a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion conference with a number of other schools. Diversity, equity and inclusion are essential components to building a school where all people feel welcome and Wollaston is committed to not only maintaining our tradition of being a welcoming and inclusive school but also to ensuring that the educational experience for every child is unhindered. Therefore it has been really pleasing to see our students return enthused for develop our site to be more inclusive and with ideas of how we can enhance our work around diversity and equity. Topics covered in the conference were: discrimination and students’ understanding of it, cultural awareness, accessibility for students, identifying what each school does well in terms of DEI, what improvements need to be made and how can this be incorporated into school life without it just appearing to be a tick box exercise. One of our students Year 11 told me “I found it really insightful about how other schools run, and it made me realise what we can do to further elaborate on DEI.” Mrs Sharkey said: “all of our students did the school proud and were a pleasure to be with all day. They fully engaged in all of the activities and Samuel and Emmanuela were both nominated as presenters for their groups, to share their discussion points to the rest of the cohort, during the feedback session at the end of the day.”
The next steps for our students will be to feedback to the senior leadership team but also to take some of their ideas forward and bring them to fruition.
Projekt Planck- German Exchange
We welcomed students and staff from our partner school, Max-Planck-Gymnasium Europaschule, this week and by all accounts they have had a great week culminating in a trip to Oxford yesterday. Thank you to Mr Rockingham and the MFL department for their work this week to make the exchange such a great success. Thank you also to the students and host families without whose support the exchange would not be able to proceed. Our students have the return visit in February which I am sure will be an exciting trip! We will have an insight into the visit next week with some words from Mr Rockingham and some of our ‘Projekt Plankers’!
Sporting Success
Congratulations to Ruby Roberts in Year 10 who has made through the selection process to represent the England Schools Midlands Girls U15s. Next, she will be heading to Newcastle to play the North. We wish her well and look forward to seeing her don a lionesses jersey in the near future!
Additionally, Ashton Musgrave in Year 12 and Jake Morrisey in Year 13 have progressed forward in their attempts for representative honours and we wish them good luck as they begin this journey for England Schoolboys selection this season.
The Year 9 and Year 10 Sports leaders were exceptional at their lower school event and showed a wonderful level of enthusiasm and encouragement to the children in their groups. Mr Roberts commented on the wonderfully mature and outstanding levels of support and attention to their groups that the leaders displayed.
Our Year 9 boys rugby team played in the County 12-a-side tournament at Kettering Rugby Club on Wednesday. This featured schools from across the county including Sponne, Bishops Stopford and Wellingborough to name a few. The Wollaston boys tackled ferociously and managed to get all the way to the final. Even beating Wellingborough School in their group stage. Sadly they lost out in the final to a very well prepared Bishops Stopford School. Although the boys did not win, they showed a huge level of tenacity in their attempts to win the final game and they should be very proud of the way they represented the school.
Year 9 and Year 10 Netball teams
So far this term our Year 9 and Year 10 netball teams have had weekly fixtures against: Manor, Rushden, Weavers and Huxlow. Notably, both teams have obtained four out of four wins, which is a testament to their training and teamwork. Their final fixtures next week are against Sir Christopher Hatton and Ferrers, and we are striving to maintain our position of being district champions for the second year in a row.
Well done to those students who have represented Wollaston School so far this academic year and thank you to all of our wonderful students from Years 7 to 10 who attend netball club on a weekly basis.
Notices
SEND Information for North Northants
For parents/carers with children who have a SEND need, the Information Advice & Support Service (IASS) and Northants Parent Forum Group (NPFG) are hosting a meeting in Wellingborough at Castle Theatre on Thursday 17th November 2022, 10:00 – 12:00, to give parents and carers a chance to come along and meet the SEND Teams . There will be representatives from teams across education, health and social care.
Team members will give a brief overview of the services provided, giving parents a chance to build a comprehensive picture of what is available in each of the areas. They will however be unable to discuss specific cases. If you would like to pop along please use the following EventBrite link to book your place. http://ow.ly/9l2M50KPr20
Sixth Form Open Evening
For parents/Carers with children in Year 11, a reminder to save the date, Thursday November 3rd for the sixth form open evening. Please book a place on EventBrite. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/433567330557
Stay Connected Newsletter
The link below will take you to a newsletter that focuses on the work of partner agencies, the voluntary sector and social enterprises which support children, young people, and families. It gives information about key community events and initiatives going on across the county.
Best wishes for the week ahead.
Simon Anderson