 |  | Senior Boys Bulletin | | | Mr Wilding's words Lent week 5 |  | | Last week’s “Be the Light in the Darkness” neatly segued into this week’s theme, that of children and families’ wellbeing. Patron of Place2Be, the sponsoring charity is Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and her short video... | |
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| | | From the Office | A message from the Executive Head
Dear Parents and Guardians
When planning the reopening of a school, it helps to know which year groups will be attending!
During the first lockdown I vividly remember a conversation I had with Hugh Wilding about the first stage of getting children back to class. I confidently reassured him that in no way would the government select Reception or Year 1 in the first instance as there can be no expectation for children of that age to understand the concept of social distancing. Low and behold, Reception, Year 1 (and Year 6) headed back to school first, and I was left rather red-faced!
Nevertheless, it has taught me to expect the unexpected from the Department for Education (DfE). So what could happen on 8 March, the allocated return to school day?
Well, firstly, the date may get pushed back depending on the number of Covid-19 cases, Covid-19 associated deaths/numbers in hospitals, and regional variations. If March 8 is the starting date, it is highly likely that only certain Year groups will return, or they may choose for schools to use a rotational basis for having pupils in school. However, this can prove difficult for larger schools in regard to deep cleaning of areas and bubbling.
So which Year groups are considered, by the government, as priorities?
In my opinion, strong arguments can be made for every year group. Naturally, Reception and Year 1 pupils will find it most difficult to access online work without considerable support from parents, but then Year 11 and 13 are in the midst of their crucial national examinations. Year 7 have only got to know their new schools for a term...and now they are back home. And, what about Year 8 and 9 who it sometimes feels have been forgotten by the DfE. These children especially need those essential social interactions to support the creative areas of their brains, which can be valuable when responding to more resolution based tasks.
Year 10 and 12 have just started their relevant examination courses, Year 2 and 3 are seen as the vital age range for cementing the building blocks of learning they received in EYFS, and then Year 6 are in the final year of junior education and need support in making the transition to Year 7. Hang on, surely Year 4 and 5 is the children's first experience of gaining inference-based conceptual learning, isn’t that important, if not imperative?
Who knows! As you can see, all year groups have strong cases to return. What we can be sure of is this: we will continue to support you and your families no matter what actions emerge from the DfE, and when we are given the opportunity, we will have your children back in school as quickly, as happily, and most importantly, as safely as possible. We will keep you informed of details as they become clear.
Have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes
Justin Spanswick
Executive Head Teacher
ALL YEAR GROUPS:
Lateral Flow Testing Consent
With the Government announcement that it hopes schools reopen from 8 March, may we please ask you to complete the Lateral Flow Testing consent form as soon as possible, if you had not already completed it at the start of term. Many thanks.
CWV Form 22 February to 5 March
Please find the new Critical Worker and Vulnerable children form to complete if you require your son to come into school for his remote learning at all during the two week period after half term. Guidance about In-School remote learning provision at Senior Boys can be found here http://schl.cc/aV.
Common Task 2 for Lent term
We are continuing to run our Common Tasks this term, and these assessments take place in each subject, across both boys and girls, enabling us to check the progress of all children of the same age. They are marked and moderated according to an agreed mark scheme to ensure our academic provision continues to meet the standards we demand, and very much follow the work described in each year group’s curriculum statements. Teachers have adapted their assessments this term to suit our current online working. Please bear in mind these assessments form part of the composite end of term grade, together with the other formative assessments which will continue throughout the term, forming the body of work completed by each pupil as well as the year group as a whole.
DrugFAM Parent Talks - Tuesday 19 January
Elizabeth Burton-Phillips, founder of DrugFAM, recommends parents read the leaflet How to talk to your child about drugs (NHS) and further help and support can be found at Advice for the families of people who use drugs (NHS), which includes contact details for DrugFAM. Please find slides from the pupil presentation which include drawings done by her former pupils, who are now in prison as a result of their actions and consequences, illustrating the mental health damage caused by drugs and addiction.
Senior Head’s Open House MEET - Tuesdays 10am Weekly
Please feel free to drop in here (https://meet.google.com/tau-udad-gch) to speak with Mrs Rogers, Mr Richards and Mr Wilding from 10am to 10.30am every Tuesday morning.
YEAR 8 ONLY:
B8 HPV Immunisations
The Berkshire School Aged Immunisation Team will be providing the HPV vaccine to all Year 8 boys in the Sports Hall at Senior Boys on 3 March 2021. Please find the letter and consent form which must be completed by 7 February using the school’s code BK110153B, even if you decide you do not wish your child to receive this. Please note we cannot accept verbal or email consent directly. Appointments will be sent directly to parents by the Berkshire Immunisation Team. Parents will need to drive into school and wait in their car (approximately 30 minutes), and take their child home. If you have any queries regarding the vaccine itself, please contact the Berkshire Immunisation Team in the first instance and Mrs Levi, Lead Nurse, for all other enquiries (col@clairescourt.net).
YEAR 9 ONLY:
B9 Options Presentation Evening - Tuesday 2 February
Please find the live recording from the Options Information Evening, along with the presentation, GCSE Handbook and GCSE Options Form for completion by 26 February please.
YEAR 11 ONLY:
Year 11, 12 and 13 Parents Exams Briefing - Monday 22 February
Mr Wilding, Mr Richards and Mrs Rogers will be holding a presentation evening at 6pm on Monday 22 February to clarify matters on Mid-term assessments and Public exams. Please join them using this MEET link (https://meet.google.com/orw-yeos-xpa) with your camera and mic turned off.
SPORTS NEWS
Inspired Inter-School 3km Challenge
Over a week and a half period, Claires Court students from Senior Boys, Senior Girls and the Sixth Form, as well as staff and parents, took up a 3K challenge open to schools around the world. The final results have just been released and everyone who participated should be very proud of their efforts. Overall - ALL competitors - Claires Court finished 4th - a great effort! Notable results for:
- Year 8 Boys - Claires Court Senior Boys won the team event, with their three highest placed athletes. Congratulations to William Dart (2nd), Hugo Winter (3rd) and Will Slater (4th)
- Year 11 to 13 Boys - Senior Boys and Sixth Form had the most entries from a school, most overall points from a school and were winners of the team event for the three highest placed athletes. Particular congratulations to James Palmer (1st), Sam Mead (3rd) and Olly Spence (7th). Winner of the individual event is James Palmer by one second with a time of 9.47 minutes.
Fitness ‘Lockdown’ Challenge
We have now completed week three of this challenge, where boys and staff are encouraged to record the number of miles they walk, run, cycle or ergo each day and submit the results. With two weeks left of this event, 83 boys at Senior Boys are taking part, with a further 20 staff. Boys and staff can record their miles in the Fitness Lockdown Classroom and can join the event at any time! So if you have not taken part yet, there is time to join in before the competition finishes at half term.
Current Leaderboards
Senior Boys Pupils
1st Sam Walton (Year 11) 186.9 miles
2nd Matthew Creaser (Year 11) 168.7 miles
3rd Michael Colton (Year 7) 147.0 miles
4th Christian Buhrkohl (Year 8) 93.0 miles
5th Hugo Winter (Year 8) 91.3 miles
Senior Boys Staff
1st Mr S Cripps 340.5 miles
2nd Ms L Lowry 268.4 miles
3rd Mrs J Ging 158.0 miles
4th Mr C Ingham-Clark 156.9 miles
5th Mrs A Hewitt 154.5 miles
Senior Boys Pupils Overall 2,558.6 miles
Senior Boys Staff Overall 2,152.2 miles
OVERALL TOTAL 4,710.8 miles
House Leaderboard
1st Kelly 1,282.5 miles
2nd Ridgeway 1,137.7 miles
3rd St Lawrence 1,034.2 miles
4th Rowanhurst 961.3 miles
DEPARTMENTAL NOTICES
Linguists of the Week
Spanish linguists for their excellent online participation are:
- KS3: Max Skelton (7C), Luke Robertson (8C) and Freddie Duff (9B)
- KS4: Daniel Greenwood (10B), Maz Butt (11C) and Raphael Seigner (11B).
Historians of the Week
Historians who have done particularly well this week are:
- Tom Hadfield (Year 7)
- Oliver Ledgar (Year 10)
- Kashshaf Baig (Year 11).
Mathematicians of the Week
Congratulations to Kairav Ahuja, James Jeffs, Cameron Patel and Vito Horvat (Year 7), Seb Shaw (Year 8), Sam Warner (Year 9) and Luke Byng Maddick (Year 10).
Scientists of the Week
- Spike Stalham (Year 7) for the excellent method he wrote for the practical on friction
- Dylan Bassi (Year 7) for his superb videos showing how he carried out his practical on friction
- James Wojciechowicz (Year 8) for his continued excellent online engagement
- Billy Crossfield (Year 9) for excellent participation and work during lessons
- Dom Lyons (Year 10) for his excellent work on rates of reaction (part 1)
- Louis Young and Ollie Todd (Year 10) for their excellent participation and recall of DNA and genetics.
Book Recommendation of the Week
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| | | | | | Ray Mill Road East, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 8TE
Tel: 01628 327600 Email: seniorboys@clairescourt.comPlease note all our School privacy notices can be found here. Please ensure you keep you and your child's information up to date. You can login to the report portal to change any details or alternatively, please contact your school office. | | | | | | |
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