*** REMINDER: School is closed on Friday 25 November ***

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the Wildern Weekly. I am Mr Bateman and I am one of Wildern’s Pastoral Senior Lead Practitioners. Last week you may remember that Mrs Cooper introduced herself and the student services team, I work very closely with this team to support our students' pastoral development.  My main areas of responsibility are inclusion and attendance and as a part of this I support the Directors of Progress and Achievement in their day-to-day roles. 

I am also one of the Science teachers here at Wildern and take an active part in the running and delivery of our Duke of Edinburgh's award scheme.  DofE is a fantastic opportunity for our young people which we are now offering in Y9 and Y10.  The skills which can be learnt outside of the classroom are just as valuable and important as the ones we teach inside the classroom and I have witnessed first hand the transformative effect DofE can have.  Please do keep your eye out for communications from the school around this or there is more information on our website.

I have now worked at Wildern in various roles since 2014 and some of you may recall that I was a  Director of Progress and Achievement myself for many years before I took on my current role.  This means there are very few pastoral situations that I do not have experience with, or can offer advice on.  My top tip would be to get in touch if you have any problems or concerns, no matter how big and small.  It's only through working together as a team that we can support our young people in their pastoral development in what is an ever changing and challenging world.

  In this issue...        **see new quick links**

Cost of living

It seems timely to say to you all that it is not lost on us as a school, despite the buzz of a World Cup or sense of positivity that a festive holiday often brings, that the struggles and worries in this challenging economic period have not disappeared. The cost of living crisis, with rising prices and colder months ahead, presents real challenges for many families.  If you are worried or facing challenges, please get in contact with us and we will endeavour to support, reassure and advise you the best we can. The message from Wildern School is - if we know we can help. I appreciate it may be difficult to talk about but please do feel free to contact us on wildern@wildern.org or request a call back. 

You may also find this link helpful – it draws together in one place all of the support that is available from the Autumn Budget, agencies and companies/charities.  It is a comprehensive and accessible read. 

Sustainability

Water is one of the most precious resources on the planet and in the UK we rely on it to carry out our daily lives. In other parts of the world, they are less fortunate than ourselves. We therefore need to preserve this natural resource for the future. On average a person in the UK uses 142 litres of water per day and this demand is set to increase (especially if you have teenagers in the house!!) One added benefit to saving water is that it can also save us money on our water bills especially if you are on a meter. 

Jubilee tree planting

As part of the celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, The Woodland Trust have given us a number of trees to plant in our school grounds as part of their free trees for schools project. This was organised through our Eco focus group and students met last week to plant the saplings in the space between the Tennis courts and the Astro. 

Student Leadership

 It has been a busy time over the last few weeks for student leadership:

•  We have our newly appointed Anti Bullying Ambassadors getting underway with whole school initiatives
• The Eco Focus Group have been planting trees for the Queen's Jubilee
• The Diversity group have been busy with the new boards in the block 3 corridor
• Our head students attended the remembrance parade on the 13th November; it was an honour to represent the school at this event

Behaviour in the community & road awareness

On the whole, Wildern students do us proud and are mature and sensible in the way they conduct themselves in the local area. 

Unfortunately, we have been contacted by a couple of local shops and cafes to report that a very small number of Wildern students have been involved with incidents of theft and vandalism. We are working with these shop owners and the Police to identify students involved so that further action can be taken.

Wildern lane is a busy road and we have reminded students about safely walking to and from school. As the light is drawing in and it is getting darker earlier, please remind your child to take care as they cross the road and to consider how easily they can be seen in the dim light. Whilst they may not be fashionable, reflective or hi-visibility clothing can help road uses see children before they cross and therefore save lives.

Dan and his catering team can adapt the majority of meals to any dietary needs including gluten free, halal and dairy free if they know in advance (your child can speak to them by visiting the kitchen before 8:30am that day). 

Our new extra-curricular sports programme for the winter season begins on Monday 28 November and will run until Friday 27 January. The idea around changing our extra-curricular activities on a seasonal basis is to give our students a greater breadth in the choice of activities we can offer. It also accounts for the diminishing light and the winter conditions which restrict the activities we are able to offer outside. We strongly encourage your child to get involved with as many activities as possible. #TeamWildern

What Parents Need to Know about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

The Call of Duty (CoD) series is a worldwide gaming phenomenon, with millions of copies sold every year. While 2021’s release, Vanguard, wasn’t quite as well received, this latest entry – Modern Warfare II – is proving to be hugely popular. A sequel to the recent Modern Warfare reboot (and not to be confused with the original Modern Warfare 2, from back in 2009), the game is an online shooter which features – unsurprisingly – extreme violence, rendered in realistic graphics. Amid the explosions and potential political nature of the plot, there’s much for parents to be aware of. In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as offensive chat/messaging, in-game purchases and addiction.