7 February 2020

Windsor Girls’ School

Year 9 BFI Trip ‘On Wednesday, 5 February, a group of 12 Year 9 students went to the British Film Institute for a French Study Day ‘Cine-minis pour les jeunes’. Throughout the day we were given interactive activities which helped us to learn a lot of new French vocabulary to talk about cinematic effects and express opinions on films. Holly Lewis and Sinead Denwood volunteered to speak using their French speaking skills, including their recently gained knowledge on clothing, in front of everyone. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, which included seeing the London Eye and Big Ben up close. The day concluded with a French Film ‘L’Étudiante et Monsieur Henri’.’ - Rosie King, Melissa Tuomey & Holly Lewis - Year 9

Dear Parents and Carers This week, we were pleased to welcome parents and students to the Year 9 Options Evening. This important evening marks the beginning of the options process, and over the next few weeks staff will be supporting students as they finalise their choices. Subject Evening for Year 9 takes place on Thursday, 5 March and this will allow further opportunity for students and parents to ask specific questions relating to options and suitability for courses; there will also be a taster day on Wednesday, 4 March. Friends of Windsor Girls’ School held a brush party this week, and in school we have celebrated National Apprenticeship Week as part of our Careers provision. There has also been a Year 9 Options Workshop event, supporting students in making their choices and linking subjects to future career opportunities. Student assemblies have focused on the important issue of knife crime, led by PC Graham Slater. Also this week, we have continued to meet with students from Year 9 to understand more about their experience of Windsor Girls’ School so far. This is a valuable opportunity to gain an insight into what students enjoy about the school as well as enabling us to respond to any concerns students may have; we thank students for the mature and thoughtful contributions they have made within this process. Windsor Upper Schools’ Concert ‘Night at the Musicals’ has also taken place with impressive performances from a wide range of girls and boys in our school communities. Sixth Form interviews have been taking place, with senior staff meeting individually with Year 11 students as we continue to support students in making their choices. Year 11 reports will be available this week to guide students and parents in current progress and areas for development. As ever, students have been busy participating in extra-curricular activities on offer at Windsor Girls’ School. Year 9 students are preparing for the Mock Trial which will take place at Reading Crown Court on Saturday, 14 March as well as taking part in the annual BBC School Report. Our Student Leaders also continue to gain development opportunities. Eco-Committee continues and Big Questions club has met to discuss what we learned from the Holocaust. Year 13 Internal Examinations take place the week after half-term so we urge students to use the time available to carefully revise content and practise their examination technique. The focus of the fortnight is punctuality and during this time, we place additional focus on the importance of getting to school and lessons on time. We thank parents and carers for your support in reinforcing this message at home. Next week is the last week of this half-term, during which we will be hosting an event for those interested in training for a career in secondary teaching in Windsor - please do share the flyer contained within the newsletter with friends and family who may wish to attend. The event takes place on Monday, 10 February from 9:30 – 11:15am at Windsor Girls’ School. There will also be a Valentines Mufti Day on Friday, 14 February, with the proceeds going to the Sixth Form Interact Groups’ chosen charities, Ocean Clean Up Project and Young Minds. We hope you have a lovely weekend. Mr P Griffiths and Mrs E O’Carroll Co-Headteachers

Water Bottles in Examinations Please be advised that students are only permitted to take clear drinking bottles in to examinations. We encourage students to use reusable drinking bottles but coloured bottles, and those with writing and decoration, will not be permitted in line with JCQ regulations.

Year Information

Year 9 If any parents were unable to attend this week’s Options Evening, please contact your daughter’s form tutor, or Mr Arbi, who will be able to provide you with the relevant information. Students will have the opportunity to participate in Taster Sessions after half term to try out a range of optional subjects.

Year 10 DofE training sessions continue this week. If your daughter was unable to attend please ask them to contact Mr Andrews. Thank you to our Sixth Form Gold DofE Ambassadors who led the Trangia training this week.

Year 11 Sixth Form interviews continue next week. The purpose is to support students in their choices for Key Stage 5 and explore the different routes towards their goals. If any students missed their Sixth Form interviews, please contact Mrs Noctor so these can be rescheduled. We are meeting with all year 11 students to support them with post-16 options. The provisional date for the Year 11 Prom is Wednesday, 8 July, at Windsor Racecourse.

SIXTH FORM Parents are reminded to report student absence to the Sixth Form office if students are unable to attend school due to illness, medical appointments, etc. Year 12 students will be attending a UCAS Higher Education Exhibition at Brunel University on Wednesday, 11 March. All major universities will be in attendance so students will have an opportunity to find out more information about potential courses that they may wish to study. Permission slips and payments of £12 should be returned to the Sixth Form office by Friday, 13 February. Students are reminded that they should be registering with Mrs Holden-MacDonald for their Private Study lessons and they should be remaining in the library for the duration of these lessons in order to focus on revision. Internal Examinations for Year 13 take place the week beginning 24 February, the first week after half term. Therefore, the focus for half term will be revision. Students have been issued with their timetables this week. This week, the focus of our Year 13 assembly has been revision strategies. Please discuss with you daughter how she will be structuring her revision prior to the Internal Examinations. All students are encouraged to create a revision timetable.

This week is National Apprenticeship Week. Students have been exploring Apprenticeship opportunities in assembly, tutor time and class based activities. The Heathrow Apprenticeships and Careers Fair takes place on Tuesday, 31 March and Wednesday, 1 April at the Sofitel at Heathrow Terminal 5. The event is open to all members of the public after 5:00pm, if you would like to attend with your daughter. The event is free, however, tickets must be booked online, in advance. Term 3 ends on Friday, 14 February, at normal time. There will be a Mufti Day on Friday, 14 February. Students are asked to wear something red or pink and to make a donation of £2. Money raised will go to the Sixth Form Interact Group’s chosen charities. Term 4 begins on Monday, 24 February, which will be a week B. DofE Prize Evening takes place on Thursday, 13 February at 6:00pm in the Main Hall, for Year 11 & 12. Reply slips should be handed in to the Office.

Night at the Musicals

We had an amazing evening at the ‘Night at the Musicals’ on Monday, with some phenomenal performances in front of a 120 strong audience. Below is the list of performers.

Anders Callway - If I Were A Rich Man - Fiddler on the Roof Elliot Stephenson - Beauty School Dropout - Grease

Alice Gemmill - Times Are Hard For Dreamers - Amelie the Musical Robert Jansen-Spence - Be Prepared - The Lion King

Natasha Gibbons - Hopelessly Devoted To You – Grease Matthew Waddington - Music Of The Night - The Phantom of the Opera

Annie Highton – Hushaby Mountain – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Freddie Lawrence - Chim Chim Cher-ee - Mary Poppins

Naomi Parsons - God Help The Outcasts - The Hunchback of Notre Dame Antoni Perry - The Impossible Dream - Man of La Mancha

Elloise Backhouse – Tomorrow - Annie Ethan Tullett – Sailing – A New Brain

Lily Allen – I Dreamed A Dream – Les Miserables Nick Waddington – Till I Hear You Sing – Love Never Dies

Elena Rembges - All Is Found - Frozen 2 Matthew Waddington and Andreas Kratis – Evermore - Beauty and the Beast

Corinna Miller – Satisfied - Hamilton Andrei Dipper - Where Is The Life That Late I Led? - Kiss Me Kate

Olivia Burke – She Used To Be Mine - Waitress Katie Sylvester - Pretty Funny - Dogfight

Josh Eatough – For Forever – Dear Evan Hansen Oscar Walker – The Mason – Working Elliot Laver - Lonely Room - Oklahoma

Emma Gyngell – Somewhere That’s Green – Little Shop of Horrors Jamie Hutchinson - Never Getting Rid Of Me - Waitress

Thomas Bartoletti - Who I’d Be - Shrek The Musical Grace Pearson-Hall - Killer Instinct - Bring It On

Isaac Howard- Real – Gethsemane - Jesus Christ Superstar Stella Wadham - With You – Ghost

Ben Qureshi – Bui Doi – Miss Saigon

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Oliver! Cast List

We are delighted to announce the cast of our forthcoming production, Oliver! Congratulations to the many talented students who participated in the audition process.

Singing Parts

Oliver: Annie Higton Fagin: Fraser Jacobs

Artful Dodger: Jamie Hutchinson Bill Sikes: Andrei Dipper Nancy: Emma Gyngell Bet: Stella Woodham

Mr Bumble: Thomas Bartoletti Widow Corney: Gracie Whittall Mr Sowerberry: Ethan Tullett

Mrs Sowerberry: Amelie Maskell Governors: Archie Hocking & Freddie Lawrence

Workhouse Chairman: Matthew Waddington Gang Boy: Alice Gemmill Nipper: Elliot Stephenson

Rose Seller: Naomi Parsons Milkmaid: Lily Allen

Strawberry Seller: Bella Baron-Peat Knife Grinder: Katie Sylvester Mrs Bedwin: Celeste Fisher

Acting Parts

Mr Brownlow: Peter Denegri Charlotte: Bella Baron-Peat

Noah: Anders Callway Dr. Grimwig: Toni Perry

Matron: Olivia Burke Captain: GB

Old Sally: Maisie Ogston Charley: Arthur Jacobs

Pub Chairman: Andreas Kratsis Maid: Ella Ford

Runner Boy: Angus Padwick First Woman (Recapture): Olivia Burke

Second Woman (Recapture): Melissa Tuomey First Man (Recapture): Liberty Groves Second Man (Recapture): Isla Wilson

Lamplighter (London Bridge): Lily-Anna Terizakis Hussar (London Bridge): Andreas Kratsis

Girl (London Bridge): Elena Kratsis First Runner (London Bridge): Poppy Wallace First Woman (London Bridge): Jess Schofield

Second Runner (London Bridge): Elena Rembges First Man (London Bridge): Poppy Baynes

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Netball

On Monday, 3 February, the Year 10 netball team hosted Queen Anne's School for a friendly match. A brilliant effort by all the team resulted in an impressive 35-14 win for Windsor Girls’ School! We look forward to upcoming fixtures next term including more against Queen Anne's School, St. Mary's and the Berkshire Netball League fixtures.

Student Leadership ‘Our student leadership team consists of both Year 12 and 13 students and as ambassadors we thrive to try and improve aspects of Windsor Girls’ School; this can be physically or socially. To help us do this, within the group we have chosen four committees to all be a part of. These committees include: Wellbeing and Nurture, Community Communication, Leadership, and Charities. Wellbeing and Nurture is a new committee we have introduced within the last year to help students with any issues they may face at school, we believe this will be most beneficial for students managing their exam stress, but we are also available and approachable for a chat at any given time. The aim of these committees is to do our part for both the school and our local community in supporting where and when we can within all four areas. Please speak to any Year 12 or Year 13 students who are part of the Student Leadership team if you have any suggestions to continue to develop the committees.’ - Emily Murphy, Year 12

Knife Crime Assembly

This week, students have had an assembly on Knife Crime. PC Graham Slater, the Safer Schools Officer, shared with students recent news dominated by stories about young victims of knife crime. PC Slater shared the importance of preventing knife crime. He informed students why young people carry knives, what to do if you know someone who may be carrying a knife and where to find out more information on knife crime. Jona Veizaj, Year 9, said: “The assembly informed me about the facts of knife crime and I feel confident in knowing who to speak to if I have any questions or concerns about knife crime.”

Mindfulness

‘We had a full house (with 29 students in attendance) for our second Mindfulness lesson this week during break time on Thursday. We had a mix of students from Years 9, 10 and 11 and we learnt how training our minds is similar to training a puppy. Like training a puppy, training our minds can be very tricky as it will often do things you haven’t asked it to, or it will go somewhere you asked it not to, or can even sometimes make a mess! But with some patience, kindness and practice you can help train your mind, like a puppy, to be more on your side. This course is now full but if there is any more interest then we may look into running another session starting after half term. Please contact Mr Andrews as soon as possible if you have missed out so far but would be interested in learning about mindfulness.’

Year 9 - Learning to Work

Year 12 Work Experience Work Experience is taking place from Monday, 29 June to Friday, 3 July for all Year 12 students. If you have not already done so, please begin to start securing a Work Experience placement. Please download the app, ‘Workfinder’, and use the app to source Work Experience. One of the purposes of Work Experience is that it allows you to gain an insight into a career; you see the every day activity as well as the parts that you hear about in graduate recruitment presentations and read about on company websites and career guides. Please see Miss O’Neill if you have any questions regarding Work Experience.

On Monday, 3 February, all Year 9 students participated in a workshop delivered by Learning to Work. The aim of the one hour session was for all students in the year group to explore GCSE options with Level 6 Careers Guidance support. Students completed a series of activities to explore what their own learning style is and discuss what transferrable skills and qualities they each have. Students were encouraged to think about their GCSE options and to ensure that they choose the pathway that suits their learning style, skills and qualities best. The session was a great success with students.

Melissa Tuomey said, “I found the experience really useful and the session encouraged me to set personal targets and make plans for my future.”

Eco Committee

Eco Committee continues every Wednesday, break 1 in Room 25. All students are welcome to attend. The group are focused on how Windsor Girls’ School students can reduce single use plastic in particular water drinking bottles.

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Careers

Apprenticeships and Careers Show 2020: Team Heathrow The Apprenticeships and Careers Show 2020 is on Tuesday, 31 March and Wednesday, 1 April from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. It’s an event with a single-minded purpose: helping people from our communities to find sustainable employment and apprenticeships within Team Heathrow. The event showcases career and apprenticeship opportunities within some of the 413 companies that operate at Heathrow and work with the Heathrow Employment and Skills Academy. Entry to the event is free. Employers will be on-hand on both days of the event to meet visitors and offer the following information:

What opportunities they have on offer, including: work experience, internships, graduate roles and apprenticeships

What skills and qualifications you may need

Development opportunities and career progression

The next steps for building a successful career

Please see Miss O’Neill if you are interested in the Show and require more information or email oneil001@windsorgirls.net.

Coronavirus Advice

Department for Education

Coronavirus – Advice for all early years providers, schools and further education providers The government is closely monitoring the spread of the Coronavirus and is taking action at home and abroad. The overall risk of Coronavirus to the UK remains moderate. However we understand that people may be concerned where there are children, students or staff returning from or visiting China. Public Health England and the Foreign Office have issued advice for anyone travelling to the area. This can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-and-avian-flu-advice-for-travel-to-china

Latest information and advice can also be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Advice for parents/guardians You should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus. There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal. We recognise that some families or children may be planning to travel to China during the forthcoming half term period. If so, please refer to the FCO’s latest travel advice via the link above. What action you can take A UK wide campaign has been launched to provide clear advice on how to slow the spread of Coronavirus. Please help to support the campaign which promotes basic hygiene practices, such as regularly washing hands and always sneezing into a tissue, to stem the spread of viruses. For further advice, please follow the Department of Health & Social Care social media links:

https://twitter.com/DHSCgovuk/status/1223888531262726144

https://www.facebook.com/DHSCgovuk/videos/194227541968649/

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dhsc_coronavirus-coronavirusoutbreak-coronavirusuk-

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Year 11 Geography Revision Timetable PM Revision Sessions: 3:10 – 4:00pm (All Room 25)

Unit Date Topics Covered

Paper 2

Wednesday 12 February Urban Issues

February Half Term

Unit Date Topics Covered

Paper 2 Wednesday 26 February Urban Issues

Paper 1

Wednesday 4 March Ecosystems and tropical rainforest

Wednesday 11 March Ecosystems and tropical rainforest

Wednesday 18 March Ecosystems and tropical rainforest

Wednesday 25 March Coasts

Wednesday 1 April Coasts

Easter Holidays

Unit Date Topics Covered

Paper 1

Wednesday 22 April Rivers

Wednesday 29 April Rivers

Paper 3 Wednesday 6 May Fieldwork/Paper 3

Paper 1 Wednesday 13 May Paper 1 Case Studies

Paper 2 Wednesday 20 May Paper 2 Case Studies

May Half Term

GCSE MFL Revision French Foundation/Support sessions Foundation Foundation/Higher B2 Monday B2 Tuesday Higher ‘HITT’ (High Intensity Training!) Grammar Thursday After School 3:05 - 3:25/Friday B2 1:30 - 1:50:

Week

Commencing

Higher – Thursday Break 1 Foundation – Wednesday Break 2

10/02/2020 Translation skills Translating Eng to Ger

17/02/2020 As above As above

24/02/2020 TBC Using more complex language

09/03/2020 TBC As above

German Revision/Support Sessions

GCSE Science Revision The Science department will be holding weekly after school revision sessions for Year 11 students. They will be held in L32 between 3:05 and 4:05 pm. The timetable highlights the topic being covered, and the teacher holding the session. Please check the dates carefully as they will mainly be held on a Wednesday, but a few sessions will be on a Monday instead.

Date Subject Topic Teacher

12/02/20 Chemistry Energy changes Dr Haynes

FEBRUARY HALF TERM

26/02/20 Physics Forces Mrs McKinlay

04/03/20 Biology Nervous system and hormones Miss Edwards

09/03/20 Chemistry Rates of reaction Miss Zarzecka

18/03/20 Physics Waves Mr Lottering

25/03/20 Biology Reproduction and genetics Dr Guy

01/04/20 Chemistry Organic chemistry Dr Haynes

EASTER BREAK

22/04/20 Biology Adaptation and ecosystems Miss Edwards

29/04/20 Chemistry Chemical analysis Miss Zarzecka

06/05/20 Physics Electromagnetism Mr Lottering

13/05/20 Any science General skills Dr Haynes

20/05/20 Any science General skills Mrs McKinlay

MAY HALF TERM

GCSE History Revision Break 2 Monday Exam skills support

Miss Salter

Break 2 Wednesday Content support

Miss Salter

Break 2 Friday – Revision Support with

Mrs Peck

MONDAY Afterschool 3:15 - 4:00pm

REMINDER – USE the PixL App

Date Focus Teacher

10 Feb Germany USEFULNESS CSR

HALF TERM

24 Feb Big Picture of Trenches/ USEFULNESS CPK

2 March Big Picture of Medicine/ Explain CSR

9 March Trenches USEFULNESS CPK

16 March Big Picture Elizabeth / How far Q CSR

23 March Explain Q – Germany CPK

30 March How far Q- Medicine CRS

EASTER

20 April Narrative American West CPK

27 April Trenches USEFULNESS CSR

4 May How far Q- Germany CPK HALF TERM

REVISION DAY Times to be confirmed CRS

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