Dear parents and carers

We are looking forward to showcasing the school on Thursday night for the Year 6 Open Evening, thank you in advance to everyone who will help on that evening and of course to parents who will invariably support through the parental taxi services! It is always a great night and a fantastic demonstration of the school’s community mindedness.

With that in mind- I have a last call for student ambassadors for this year. The student ambassador programme is a unique feature of our school and allows students to participate in big decisions and development for the school and of course to develop their leadership skills. We have our first Ambassador Conference coming up on October 23^rd and I am looking forward to spending time talking to students and hearing all their ideas for how we can make the school even better. Further information about the programme can be found here.

We are also looking ahead to Remembrance commemorations in November and will be having a whole school activity around marking the contributions family members, friends and members of the community who have served or continue to serve in the armed forces. If this applies to your context it may be helpful in preparation for this to talk about this before next half term and discuss the role family, friends and members of the community have contributed or continue to in the upholding democracy.

Our building work has been progressing and next week we will officially receive the new studio in performing arts for use in lessons and extra-curricular sessions. The second phase of the project will start during half term and will see refurbishment of the performing arts area with new facilities such as another food outlet and seating area for use at break and lunchtime as well as new toilets and changing rooms. The work is expected to take us up to Christmas and during this time there will be some changes to the way students access the performing arts spaces. We will update you and students nearer the time – but needless to say we are excited for this investment and development of our site. Half-term should also see ground broken on the build of our new FIFA Standard 3G pitch, pavilion, and car park. Construction work is due to last until approximately Easter, but we look forward to an official opening in the summer term. This is an ambitious project that will have huge benefits for our football and multisport offer at Wollaston but also for the local community.

Family Engagement Strategy 2024-25

Below is a list of our formal parents’ evenings / events over the course of the year. You will note that subject specific parents’ evenings will remain online / virtual. However, every year group has at least one event where families will be invited into school.

In reaching this approach, we have taken on board the feedback families about their preferences over how we conduct our subject specific parents’ evening. We have balanced this against our desire to ensure we offer families at least one formal opportunity to come into school and meet staff during the academic year.

We also know that many of our parents/carers really value the contributions of subjects and departments in providing opportunities for families to come in and celebrate the work / performances our students have produced. Please keep an eye on the coming additions of this newsletter to find out when these opportunities are happening.

Notices

Head of Geography, Mr Andrews writes: ‘Ever wanted to go to Antarctica? Me too! We can’t quite do that, but we can do the next best thing! The UK Polar Network hosts an annual competition which students can enter which allows them to design a flag which will be sent to Antarctica to represent Wollaston. Your child will be hearing more about this opportunity in their lessons over the next fortnight, so please do ask them about this and encourage them to take part. For more information, please contact Mr Andrews through [email protected]‘

Head of Drama, Mrs Paltridge writes: ‘The three school theatre companies are up and running and working towards public performances.  The Year 7 & 8 Foundation Theatre company will be starting off the performance season with ‘A Night of Shakespeare’ in November, followed by the Year 9 Junior Theatre Company and their production ‘Why is John Lennon wearing a skirt?’ in December.  The Senior company are once again participating in the National Theatre Connections Festival and will be performing at Wollaston School and The Royal and Derngate Theatre early in 2025! Tickets for these performances will be available in the weeks leading up to the performances.’

Head of English, Miss Engler writes: ‘We have had 62 entries for the poetry competitions that were mentioned last week. Miss Bradshaw is counting the entries as we speak. We look forward to reading all of the wonderful entries! The deadline for entries is the 25^th of October. Students can receive a £50 voucher and a trophy, and they could also get their work published!  All entries will receive a bookmark! For more information, please click here.’

Key Dates

Thursday 17^th October Year 6 Open Evening

Thursday 24^th October Year 11 Parents’ Evening

Friday 25^th October End of half term

Best wishes for the week ahead.

Simon Anderson