Headteacher: Mr Oli de Botton
Head of Middle School : Ms Anna Kyrk
Date For Your Diary
Thursday 20th September - Meet the Team - Parents' Evening
4:30pm - 6:30pm
NOTICES:
Safety of our Students: It is important for the safety of our students and local residents that all parents who drive to school in the mornings and afternoons are adhering to the road rules. We ask you all to consider the following: Do not speed on our surrounding roads as many families walk to and from
school and this compromises their safety.
Do not park on the zig zag lines at the front of the school as this impacts on our students safely crossing the road.
Do not park across the driveways of our neighbours, as this will disrupt access to their private property.As a school we suggest walking or catching public transport to school to where possible. If you have to drive, there is often ample parking spaces a little further away from the school, which may also alleviate the congestion and stress of the morning. We thank you for your cooperation on this matter and your consideration of our local community.
Equipment - Parents please ensure your child comes into school with all the equipment and food they will need for the day. The front office will not be responsible for taking things to classroom as this is disruptive to children's learning.Reminder to Parents No bicycles or scooters
are to be ridden in the school gates, this includes when coming to collect from after school clubs. No climbing is permitted on the bicycle racks.
To our Middle School Community, We have come to the end of our first week as a full school in the middle years at School 21 and what a great week it’s been! It has been wonderful to welcome the new Year 5 and Year 7 students and have our Year 6 and Year 8 cohorts return for another great year. We have been introducing our three commitments and building our culture of kindness and positivity using these. All members of our school community, including students, staff parents, family members and other visitors to our school are expected to uphold our commitments. The commitments are detailed below.
The three commitments are referred to consistently and regularly. Throughout the year, explicit teaching around each commitment happens in coaching sessions, and mirrored in all other lessons.Our expectations for conduct are detailed below.
Project Based LearningAll year groups have started their first projects this week, which have been very exciting for everyone!
Year 5 have started working with the Art Practitioners in the brand new Makerspace, as well as a Robotics project where they will design, code and test robots with Lego WeDo tasked to save the environment, developing their technology skills and their teamwork ability. Year 6 have been briefed by the company Now Press Play who provide a catalogue of immersive audio experiences which students listen and respond to through pink wireless headphones! The Year 6 students will be putting their writing and oracy skills to the test to write and record new experiences for the company focused on
exploration through history. Year 7 have also started working in our custom Makerspace, and have also started two other projects. On Tuesdays they are working on developing sensory experiences and spaces around the school to help develop mindfulness. On Thursday they are working on designing a ‘Tough Mudder’ obstacle course, tracking and developing their personal fitness, teamwork skills and endurance. On Monday Year 8 had a selection of projects ‘pitched’ to them and they were able to choose which two they would like to participate in. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have the following projects running:
- an historical fiction writing project, where students will publish a fiction book inspired by historical figures.
- the ‘Blackfish’ inspired project, where students will protest and raise awareness against marine animals in captivity.
- a global poverty project, where students will learn about the 17 Global Goals and how to become a Global Goalkeeper.
- the ‘Mile in our Shoes’ project where students investigate how the 4 Minute Mile can help us to leave a legacy to ourselves, our school and our community.
- the ‘Market Stall Showdown’ project, where groups engage in an enterprise activity; baking foods to sell, budgeting, advertising and designing a business.
- a Minibeast behavioural project, where students will research the lives and behaviours of insects and build a ‘bug motel’.
- a street art project, where students learn about street art origins and artists and create their own piece in the school.
- the ‘Playground Warriors’ project, where a group of students train to become mentors and design support programmes to help their peers in our school at lunch and break times. Meet the TeamNext Thursday evening from 4:30pm - 6:30pm Middle School is holding a ‘Meet the Team’ evening where families
can meet the staff working with their children. A letter will be coming home on Monday - please look out for this so that you can let us know if you’re attending. Middle School CoachesIf you have questions or concerns regarding your child, their coach (class teacher in the case of Year 5 and Year 6) is the first port
of call. A reminder of the coaches, classrooms and contact emails is below. Please ensure all communication with our staff is respectful and considerate.
TimingsFront gates open at 8:15am
Middle School / classroom doors open 8:25am
Gates close 8:30amAny student arriving after 8:30am must go to the front office and signed in and will be marked as late.The Middle School day ends at 3:15pm. Year 5 & 6 students leave from their classroom doors, Year 7 & 8 leave from the Middle School doors at the end of the Primary playground.
TimetablesWe have been making tweaks and finalising the timetables of the Year 7 and 8 students and we thank you for your patience during this week. Updated, finalised timetables will be distributed on Monday. PE Days
Year 5 & 6: PE lessons happen on a Tuesday for all classes except Machu Picchu, whose lessons happen on a Thursday instead. Please ensure your child is wearing the complete school kit: polo shirt with School 21 logo, black shorts or trousers and black trainers. Only black trainers are acceptable. Year 5 & 6 classes may wear their P.E. kit to school on their PE day for the day.
Year 7: PE lessons will be on Mondays for all coaching groups. The current project for Year 7 is also PE focused, so full kits are needed on both days which students will change into.Year 8: PE lessons will be on Wednesdays for all coaching groups. Students involved in the ‘A Mile in Our Shoes’ project on a Tuesday will also need to bring their kit. ParentPayAll clubs, trip costs and lunch costs (Y7 & 8 only) are paid for through ParentPay. ParentPay set up letters have been posted home and handed out to students in Year 7 this week. If you have not received a copy of this, or need support with setting up your account, please contact the finance team, finance@school21.org.uk Mobile phonesAll pupils who bring phones to school must remove headphones and put phones away at the front gate on arrival. They may be kept in their bags through the day but must not be used, checked or taken out at any time.
If a member of staff sees a student with a phone this will be confiscated and will have to be collected by parents at the front office.Uniform
It is compulsory to wear the full school uniform in Middle School including ties and blazers. During the hot weather, summer dresses are acceptable. Black school shoes are mandatory – not trainers. Pupils with incorrect uniforms will need to change into spares kept at school. Parents will be contacted if pupils are repeatedly wearing an incomplete or incorrect uniform.
Early Morning Activity SessionEarly Morning Club is available for children in Year 5 and 6 this half term! The session begins at 7:45am and costs £1.50 a session. Breakfast is not included but you can provide your child with a cold snack. Please contact Ms Coles (primaryclubs@school21.org.uk) to add your child to the register, ensuring you include the days you would like your child to attend the club.
After 6 successful years establishing the reputation of School 21 as a school that gets excellent results as well as developing the whole child - head, heart and hand - we have decided to form a bigger organisation so that we can have even more impact on the lives of young people. We are delighted that we have formally partnered with two other schools in a multi-academy trust: Surrey Square
Primary School in Southwark and the International Academy of Greenwich. We are also working in partnership with a number of interesting organisations who will enhance our curriculum and teaching methods. All our partners share our vision for an education that provides rich experiences and varied learning opportunities for all children. The new organisation will be called Big Education, as a recognition that we want bigger ambitions for our children. Our website can be found here. www.bigeducation.org By creating this bigger organisation we believe there will be direct benefits for pupils and teachers at School 21: More access to the best teaching and learning ideas in this country and around the world The chance to share expertise across the schools in key areas The chance for pupils and teachers
to work on exciting real world projects
Peter Hyman will now become Co-Director of this new organisation and Oli de Botton will take forward School 21 as headteacher in this important year when we have the full 4 to 18 cohort.
Next Week's Lunch Menu is Week 3
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