Parent Update 19th November
Parent Update: Remember, Reset, Review
Monday 19 November 2018
Learning Cycle 1 – Week 9 (Super Teaching week)
Remember
November 11th 2018, 100 years since the end of the Great War. A war like none ever seen before or after due to the sheer loss of human life due to the changing nature of warfare. The WCSA History and Art Departments felt it was essential that this centenary was marked within school and in a permanent way, as a reminder to all students of the impact war has and the importance of it ending.
In the curriculum enrichment days in October, the History and Art Departments, armed with a team of Year 9 students, created a memorial which remembered those who died, survived and were touched by war. Students made poppies from wire to remember those who died and selected words to include in the memorial to remember those touched by war. These words were then burnt into the wood to make up a rising figure. This figure was positioned to be rising out of the poppies to represent those who survived the war regardless of the hardship and death they experienced.
I personally had the honour of unveiling the memorial on Monday November 12th, as part of the WCSA Remembrance ceremony. We had a number of Cadets from the Army, Air and Naval forces, as well as Guides and Scouts who paid their respects in our memorial and laid poppies of remembrance down, while Toby Lythgoe, Head Boy, and Sophie Adams, Deputy Head Girl, read In Flanders Field and My Boy Jack.
The History and Art Departments are exceptionally proud of what the students have created here at WCSA to mark the centenary ending of World War One, and feel it is a beautiful lasting memorial for future students to reflect upon.
Reset
Please can I remind parents of the importance of students being on time, well equipped and in uniform on a daily basis.
1. Equipment – form tutors check that all students have the correct equipment in form time. We are happy to provide missing equipment, but students are required to do a detention in return for this.
2. Uniform – as it gets colder, students are wearing a v-neck black jumper under blazers. This does not need to have a logo, but we would ask that sports jumpers are not worn. As usual, blazers need to be worn with a coat over the top as the temperatures drop.
3. Punctuality – as it gets colder and darker, we want to encourage you to leave the house in plenty of time. Traffic is busier and the roads are slower. Students are “late on the gate” if they arrive after 8.35 am. Please remember that we organise a reward trip in the summer term and we do take attendance and punctuality into consideration.
Review
One of our Year 11 students, Jago Harris, belongs to Young Carers and has been involved with this organisation for a number of years. Jago found out about a project looking for community groups to paint a wall in a graffiti style art at Air Hop in Bristol. This sparked his imagination and he passed the link to the coordinator of Young Carers, who set things in motion. Jago was then asked for an interview which was shown on the Points West evening news. He spoke eloquently about what it means to be a young carer.
As a school we are extremely proud of him and all our students who took part in the process. Please do spare a few minutes to have a look at this on BBC iPlayer if you can. A massive well done to all the WCSA students who produced a stunning piece of work, on show for ever more at Air Hop!
Finally, we would like you, the parents, to help us to review what has gone well and what we can improve, here at WCSA, as we near the end of Learning Cycle 1. Please do e-mail me if you can be part of a WCSA Parent Forum which we will organise to take place before Christmas.
