Autumn Term – E news 03.09.21
Welcome Back Everybody!
It is so good to have the children back. The timetable is running smoothly – although we will not know until next Wednesday if it works! Lessons are buzzing and we have even had assemblies (The first since last March) , albeit spilt between the prep School and the Middles and Seniors…but to hear children singing again as a community and enjoying the sense of togetherness as a whole school. The thought for the week above echoes the message from assembly.
Two very productive training days with staff where the focus was firstly on updating all our Safeguarding training and getting to grips with the statutory changes but also with time to sit and discuss with colleagues the year ahead and how we are going to support the children coming out of this pandemic and going forward.
Targets for this academic year:
Maintain our ‘excellent’ pastoral provision.
Raise academic achievement from ‘good with elements of outstanding ’ to outstanding across the the whole school and for all pupils regardless of their ability.
Work on BiLT. Independence within the learning environment. Developing their resilience and self- help skills by having Bowbrook Independent Learning Time built into lessons.
And ‘Oliver’ … but more of that later in the Term!
Standards:
You will know by now we are having a drive to re-impose our high standards of manners, politeness and of presentation. Standards require effort and a unified approach so thank you in advance for your full support in this. There were very few issues at the start of term and most have already been corrected, some will take a little longer to grow out! If in doubt speak with your Form teacher or Class teacher…pupils have been known to give a slightly ‘skewed’ perspective of what was said or what is allowed!
If you missed the summer mailing where standards were highlighted, I have attached a copy for you as well as the uniform update that went out.
Communications:
There will be several additional emails over the next week with important information on: Parents’ evenings dates, staff emails etc. Please ensure that your email address is correct and that they have not gone into junk or spam. Thank you.
In other news…
News from the Prep School.
A very warm welcome back to the new academic year at Bowbrook to both our returning pupils and new pupils.
The Prep children have returned to school looking smart, keen and eager.
We also welcome to the department Miss Cox and Miss Tait our new Year 3 and 5 teachers.
You should by now have received communication from your form tutors who are your first port of call if you have any queries about school. Email is the best way to get in touch and we will endeavour to get back to you by the end of the school day.
We look forward to next week and completing a first full week at school.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs. Ridge
Art:
Don’t forget to have a go at the Summer Art competition (click on link to download details) it runs until next weekend!
Music enews:
Extra-Curricular: We are very excited to welcome our students back to the music department. There is much to look forward to this term as we begin to open up more of our extra-curricular activities and prepare for our celebrations in December. I know that many students are looking forward to taking part in our choirs again and I am delighted to share with you our timetable which has been attached. 2021 Music Ex-Curricular timetable PDF
Our music activities will begin on Monday 13th September beginning with Chamber Choir after school on the Monday from 4-5pm in the hall. As before, we would like to welcome any parents, staff or friends of the school who enjoy singing and would like to join in. Please send me an email of you are interested: helen.izod@bowbrookhouseschool.co.uk
Chamber Choir: We will be holding student auditions for Chamber Choir on Tuesday 7th and 14th September in the music room for J5 upwards. If your child would like to audition, we would ask that they prepare a short solo piece to sing which could be accompanied or unaccompanied. Existing Chamber Choir members do not need to audition again and we look forward to seeing them next Monday.
Ukulele Club: Our Ukulele Club will begin again on Friday 17th September for children in the prep school. Letters should soon be going home with the children. If your child is interested in joining for this term, please return the reply slip to myself or Mrs Hodgson in the main office as soon as possible.
Learning a new instrument: Please email me if your child would like to begin learning a new instrument in school and I shall ensure that a letter goes home. We currently offer tuition for the piano, violin, voice, drums, saxophone, clarinet, flute, fife, guitar, bass guitar and ukulele. Our teachers are also happy to offer a taster lesson.
Instrumental: Instrumental lessons will begin next week on Monday 6th September. The timetables have now been given out to our students; please let me know if your child has not received theirs. As always, the timetables are also up our notice boards for the children to refer to. Please could I ask for your support in checking that your child has entered the dates and times of their lesson each week into their planner. Children from J6 upwards are expected to make their own way to their lesson in the music pods are main hall.
If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate me.
Many thanks,
Mrs Izod
PE Department News:
Welcome back to a new and exciting term with the prospect of some thrilling sporting fixtures and events!
For those who are used to our routines, this is a gentle reminder. To those who have not yet experienced school sport at Bowbrook, this may help inform you of routines and what to expect in terms of school sports fixtures and events.
The PE staff are always happy and willing to help but your first point of call for information should be your child. In PE we will clearly outline our expectations and routines so that they are fully aware and prepared. We have discussed with them the importance of keeping their kit tidy and organised, the need to have all items of sports clothing named and initialled and the types of activities they will be experiencing.
Fixtures occur on a weekly basis and we try to spread the age groups playing, as well as balance the impact on other subject areas as fairly as possible but are also dictated somewhat by our opposition.
Fixture lists will be posted a week in advance on the PE notice board outside of the school hall for students and parents to view. The E-News will contain information regarding results, next weeks’ fixtures, pick up times and all other relevant information.
If a pick up time differs from the end of the school day or a fixture is off school premises, we ask that parents give written permission prior to the day of the match so that a) we are confident parents are aware of the timings, and b) that we are informed in good time if an individual is unable to play so that alternative arrangements can be made.
We are acutely aware of the desire of some students to participate in school fixtures and it is at times difficult to make decisions in terms of team selections when considering the balance between inclusion and performance. Rest assured, we will make selections based solely on merit and will consider the needs of all. A huge majority of students from year 3 onwards represent the school over the course of a year, so if they are not selected for one match, there will be future opportunities.
We are very excited about the coming year as there is clearly a good deal of talent out there! If parents or students have any questions regarding PE or school sport, then please approach either Mr Mills, Mrs Dove, Miss Partridge or Mr Draper and they will be more than happy to have a discussion.
There is a kit list attached with a pictorial guide to understand what students should have for PE and Games lessons.
