Windsor Girls’ School

1 July 2016

Telegraph Festival of Education

On Friday 24 June, thirty-five Year 10 Windsor Girls’ School students attended the Telegraph Festival of Education held at Wellington College. The Telegraph Festival of Education brings together the very best of education’s most forward thinking advocates, practitioners of change and policy makers. The festival has become a leading forum for thought leadership, CPD and debate in the Education sector and for students, the forum aims to prepare students for the next stage in a fun and relaxed environment. Events and lectures that day included ‘52 Small Steps to Happiness for Teenagers’, ‘The Everyday Jedi: Developing future leaders and 21st century citizens’, ‘The Art of Being a Brilliant Teenager’ and ‘Creative Entrepreneurship for students torn between Career Options’. The speakers and activities are intended to challenge, entertain, inspire and above all equip students with knowledge and information to use in the years ahead.

Dear Parents and Carers This week we have celebrated two big whole school events: Sports Day and Prize Evening. Sports Day was held on Tuesday 28 June at Thames Valley Athletics Club in Eton. We are very lucky to have access to this facility and to give the students a real life experience of a professional level track. All students attended to compete or support and the standard was very high. The staff also joined in to compete in the 4 x 100m relay. It was particularly pleasing to see students and staff in their house colours as there has been a focus on the house system over the last few years and the sense of competition and comradery was high. Prize Evening on Thursday 30 June was another great event with almost 200 prize winners and further student performances throughout the evening. Artwork, displays and all of the canapes were produced by our talented students. Our speaker was Rukayyah Yusuf, an outgoing Year 13 student with a fascinating story. We were also delighted to welcome members of the governing body and the Trust as well as specially invited guests including Linda Bennett, founder of L. K. Bennett. There will be a full write up in next week’s newsletter. In addition to these events we have also welcomed Year 11 students to the Induction Morning where they had the opportunity to attend Sixth Form lessons and to collect summer work. We look forward to celebrating the end of their examinations on Tuesday 5 July at their prom. On Friday students in Year 10 visited Adobe in Maidenhead to focus on ‘Girls in Technology’, an event which aimed to demystify the idea of the technology industry. Next week we look forward to the school production of Peter Pan which involves a wide range of students and a large cast. We hope you will all come and enjoy the show. Mrs Labrum

Year Information

Sixth Form

Students in Year 12 will be undertaking the Acorn Challenge on Tuesday 5 July. The Challenge involves students devising a business idea and competing to raise as much money as possible for charity. Students have to present to a panel of business representatives to explain their idea. Any outstanding payments for the Enrichment Week should be brought in as soon as possible. The week involves visiting speakers exploring options post Sixth Form and a visit to a university campus.

The school production of Peter Pan runs from 6 – 8 July. Tickets are still available via the following link: http://www.positickets.co.uk/eventdetails.php?EventID=2208#.V1_H7leTVR1 You are advised to book quickly to avoid disappointment. There will be a dress rehearsal on Monday 4 July throughout the day. There will be a further technical rehearsal which will be performed on Wednesday 6 July for students from local first schools. Middle School students will be visiting Windsor Girls’ School to take part in an Olympic Festival on Thursday 7 July. The New Parents Evening for parents of Year 8 students will take place on Tuesday 5 July.

You may have seen on the news that the NUT have balloted their members for strike action on 5 July. We are currently assessing the situation and will be in touch regarding any impact. Year 9 Representatives from Centrica will be visiting school on 6 July to lead sessions on employability skills. The sessions will be interactive and encourage students to think about future career pathways. Miss Kaba’s Science class will be taking part in a digital session focusing on new technology in science on Wednesday 6 July. Any remaining payments for Activities Week should be brought to the Cashier as soon as possible. Year 10 Ten Year 10 students will be visiting the Mars offices in Slough on Monday 11 July as part of the Step into STEM programme. Year 11 The Year 11 Prom takes place on Tuesday 5 July at the Legoland Hotel from 7.00pm -11.00pm. The students are excited and many have been planning their outfits for some time. We look forward to seeing them and celebrating the end of their GCSE examinations.