Woodlands School

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for all the feedback on the format on our new Smore newsletter. We have been thinking for some time that we need to showcase better some of the amazing things that go on weekly at Woodlands and I think the first one has clearly set the tone for future correspondence. With nearly three thousand reads we were very happy with a positive start.

Apologies again for all who were unable to log on to our RSHE consultation last week as we had technical difficulties that we were not able to resolve. The new date for this consultation is Thursday 13th March at 5.00pm, you will be sent an email with the YouTube link.

Well done to all our hair and beauty youngsters who completed their practical element of their course this week. It is all beginning to get a little real for Year 11 what with this and the drama practical exams last week. Great work also from our Year 10 architecture youngsters who took part in their practical exam as well this week. Really impressive focus by all.

Our Year 10 caterers visited Crondon Park Golf Course on Wednesday to see catering of larger events in action, from beginning to end. As you know the hospitality industry is huge in our country, and it is important for our youngsters who are studying this area to see all that goes on.

Prefect interviews have been taking place this week following letters at the back end of last week informing who was selected for interview and who wasn’t. The letter does state that if unsuccessful please do see Mrs Heseltine for feedback. It is never a great feeling having not been selected for the next part of the process. I am afraid that we have all been there many times, so it is important to ask why. I was never chosen to be a prefect at school, it did upset me, and I was never given an explanation, so I encourage our youngsters to do go and get some answers.

We have had three extra governors added to our board in recent weeks, one parent governor, Lucy Hutchins, who brings with her extensive experience in the field of logistics and community work and will be a real champion for our Woodlands. Barrie Druitt-Barlow will also be joining us. Barrie and his ex-husband were Britain’s first gay dads and he was blown away by what he saw in the classrooms and the opportunities we offer. As a dyslexic, self-made millionaire who grew up on a council estate, he clearly embodies one of our key values of Aspiration. Adele Brown, Deputy Leader of Basildon Council will also be joining our governing body and wants to support our 6th form bid as she agrees that there isn’t a good enough post-16 academic offer in Basildon. Hugely experienced and another who knows the area very well.

Great to meet so many of our Year 7 parents and carers yesterday evening at Parents’ Evening. Without knowing how your child is getting on you won’t know where to say how proud you are and where to say let’s work together on these areas to do even better. Some feedback was that there is a lot of home learning. I agree, and the reason for this is to allow all to build up some resilience and independence rather than leave it to all being in Years 10 and 11 when it comes as a huge shock. Those in the upper school always say to us it would have been far more beneficial for them if home learning was given in a much more structure way with there simply being more of it further down the school to prepare them. Not that they ever ask for more, but they can see the benefit of getting into good habits early.

At Woodlands School we pride ourselves in having high expectations of behaviour and work ethic and this is reflected in equally high expectations of our youngsters appearance in terms of uniform.

With the weather warming up a little it is always worth a reminder of some of the basic expectations as for some reason once the sun comes out it is wrongly believed that our uniform policy changes for some reason:

• Where skirts are worn, they are to be to the knee and with the Woodlands logo on, we won’t have this issue next academic year as skirts will no longer be allowed under our new policy.
• Trousers should be plain black, formal, tailored (no cords, skinny trousers, leggings, studded pockets or zips, jeans, or shorts). When wearing trousers that should not be hanging down so that underwear is exposed. Trousers are traditionally worn from the waist down; our expectations are no different here.
• Shirts are to be tucked in and ties on and clipped over the top button which needs to be done up.
• Shoes are to actually be shoes and not trainers. On occasion I have discussions about what constitutes a shoe and get told that these ones were in the shoe section at Asda. That may be, but we set our own uniform policy and not Asda.
• Socks are to be plain black or white and below the knee. Nothing branded with logos such as Nike or Adidas for example.
• No bows are allowed in the hair, we are not Disneyland, if there are to be Alice bands or hair bobbles, they should be plain black or grey.
• Hairstyles should be tidy, clean and sensible and within the range of a natural colour. No shorter than a grade one and tramlines or other shaved patterns.
• One plain stud in each ear lobe from an earring point of view. So, no piercings anywhere else which includes the nose.

There are other elements of uniform which can be found on our website but the above are the ones that bizarrely begin to change with the weather.

During their visit to Crondon Park Golf Club our Year 10 hospitality and catering pupils were set to work having to complete two activities, accompanied by Mr Williams, Mrs Williams, Mrs Murton and Miss Wilkes.

The first activity was to set tables for a three course meal for a wedding that was due to take place later this week. They worked together in team to look at the seating plans and work out how many guests to a table and correctly set the table, their teamwork and communication was impeccable.

The second task was to look at the site accommodation rooms to see what facilities they have within their rooms and they they had to compare it to a room that was missing some elements, they then had to work together to identify the missing objects and put them right.

We also had the opportunity to look around the complex to see what other facilities they also have on site. The Events Team and Sous Chef then gave talks to our youngsters about their roles and this gave our youngsters the chance to ask questions before they enjoyed a 2 course meal.

Woodlands School Sustainability Club are currently involved in a pilot with Essex County Council called the ClimACTivist scheme.

As part of this pupils were given the fantastic opportunity to design the new badges, as the scheme will eventually be rolled out to other schools in the the area. This was a great privilege to be asked and exciting to know that youngsters all over the county will one day be sporting a badge designed by a pupil from Woodlands School for years to come.

Congrulations to Tayla M, Year 8 who won with runners up Ema K, Year 8, 2nd place and Sophia P, Year 7 in 3rd place.

We have now had the final design back from the graphic design company and they look amazing! I'm so excited to start handing these out to my ClimACTtivists who have been working hard to complete activities and collect evidence to earn their badges.

The theme of this week's assemblies has been Women's History Month led by Miss White and with a particular focus on Internal Women's Day celebrated globally on 8th March. The assembly aimed to note the increasing amount of rights women have gained in Britain over the past 100 years, whilst also highlighting the work that still needs to be done to achieve gender equality. Given that the World Economic Forum predicts that full gender parity will not be achieved until 2158, the assembly concluded by focusing on the theme of this year's International Women's Day, #Accelerate Action, and the importance of having increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.

Below are some of the highlights that Year 7 have achieved since they joined Woodlands School in September 2024, well done and keep up the good work!

This week's DEAR time is:-

Friday 14th March - Period 2

Friday 21st March - Period 3

Friday 21st March - Period 4

Prefect Interviews

Well done to all pupils who took part in the Prefect Interviews this week. This showed great personal strength and determination, and has also made the selection of pupils for places even harder to make!

All pupils who had an interview will be informed via a letter on Friday the 14th March during tutor time. At this point, successful pupil will also be invited to apply for the position of Head pupil.

Its never too late to sign up to one of our extra-curricular clubs, please click on the link below for our Spring schedule:

Extra-Curricular Clubs Timetable (Spring)

We are always looking for new leaders in the school, why not look at one of the 25 Pupil Leadership Roles available and join and team:

Pupil Leadership Roles

The pupils below received the most AROE ePraise point last week:

Aspiration

Yusra Z - Year 8

Reece G - Year 8

Harry C - Year 7

Nisar Z - Year 7

Kayleigh B - Year 7

Excellence

Kaznie S - Year 11

Chloe C - Year 10

Alice-Mabel W - Year 8

Thomas F - Year 8

Oliver J - Year 7

Opportunity

Dammy O - Year 8

Harry C - Year 7

James F - Year 7

Ire A - Year 7

Eeshika C - Year 7

Resilience

Ronald B - Year 11

Daisy F - Year 8

Pippa F - Year 8

Hazel B - Year 7

Summer H - Year 7

Thursday 13th March

16 Year 11 Pupils Taking Part in GCSE Rock Climbing, Thriftwood Scout Campsite, Brentwood

Friday 14th March

Prefects Announced - All pupils who interviewed for the position of Prefect will be informed if they have been successful or not in gaining a position.

Appliation for Head Girl and Boy opens - The applications proces for the new Head Girl and Boy opens.

8 Year 10 Pupils Taking Part in the AMSP Maths Feast Competition, James Hornsby School

Monday 17th March

Drop-in sesions for Head Girl and Boy Applications - Drop-in sessions offered covering the use of the STAR method for all Prefects wishing to apply for Head Girl and Boy.

Thursday 20th March

Deadline for Head Girl and Boy Applications - All applications for the position must be handed in to Mr Wright by the end of the school day.

Aspirations One Plan Event from 3.30pm to 6.00pm

80 Year 11 Pupils Watching Macbeth, Globe Theatre, London

Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th March

Interviews for the Head Girl and Boy positions - Successful applications will be interviewed for the position.

Thursday 27th March

Year 8 Options choices confirmed to pupils and parent/carers.

Year 11 Parents Evening from 4.15pm to 7.00pm

Wednesday 2nd April

Year 10 Hospitality and Catering Pupils Taking Part in the Royal Navy Workshop

Year 9 Parents Evening from 4.15pm to 7.00pm

Thursday 3rd April

Prefect Celebration Monring - All parents and carers are invited in to celebrate with our new Prefects and hear the announcement of Head Girl and Boy and Deputies.

Friday 4th April to Monday 7th April

Year 8 and 9 Rugby Tour

Friday 4th April

Last Day of Term - School Finishes at 12.30pm

Tuesday 22nd April

Start of Summer Term

Year 11 GCSE Home Languages Exams

Year 10 PPEs - from Monday 22nd April to Wednesday 30th April

Monday 28th April

Year 11 GCSE MFL Exams

Thank you to all the staff who joined in with World Book Day yesterday, ably led by Miss Handford our Literacy Lead.

Miss Handford said that she will fully fund a round the world trip if you can guess each character!

Following on from the news this week that four in five school leaders have suffered some kind of abuse from parents and carers in the last year, either in person or online I felt it important to remind all that engagement with all our stakeholders is key to us being able to move forward in the right way. We greatly appreciate your attendance at our school events and rely on your feedback to make sure that we remain reflective and responsive as a school. We are always grateful when this is done in the right way, so we are able to keep pushing forward and providing the best educational experience possible.

Thank you to the overwhelming majority of you who value what we are trying to do and are working with us in the right way for the best possible school experience. I have said on many occasions that we are not perfect, and mistakes will be made, we are only human. The only reason we all work here at Woodlands is to change lives. Please do continue to work with us and together we will produce young people that can and will go on to change the world for the better.

Best wishes.

David Wright

Head Teacher