Welcome to this week's edition of the Wildern Weekly.

 

I am Sally Yates and I am the Office Manager. I have worked at Wildern for over 25 years and also been the Admission Officer for nearly 20 years. We have a large admin team, all with varying roles, giving support to Staff and Students.

Lorraine Male is Mrs Oakley’s PA, Jane Richards is our Office Co-ordinator, Lisa Nichols is responsible for Assessment, assisted by Kirsty Gregory, Tracey Palmer carries out the administration for trips and Carly Quirk works is our school pastoral support admin. Caroline Clilverd, exams officer is assisted by Aimee Swinborne. Sam Jefferies and Kate Stride are responsible for Cover and Annette Towgood is Clerk to the Governors.

 

On our busy reception, we have Kelly Boddy and Donna Clarke who share the role between them. Some of our team also cover First Aid and  Reception when needed. It is an extremely busy environment at Wildern; no two days are ever the same and we feel lucky to work with such a great team and your wonderful children.

  In this issue...  

Dates for your diary,       Communications,       Reminders,        90 years of Wildern,

Spotlight ( Education for Life this half term ),   Keeping safe ( Impact of social media  )

Hot food menu,       Sports fixtures,       Extra-Curricular,       E-Safety

This week’s Wildern Weekly is incredibly exciting because it launches our whole school trip to Paultons Park!

Students in Year 8 -10 will know that we ran this trip for the first time last year and it was such a success that we are going again this year on 12 July (Year 7 and 8) and 13 July (Year 9 and 10).

 

The most important piece of information is that the deadline for signing up and payment is Friday 16 June.

 

We cannot accept any additional students after this date so please make sure you contact us in advance if you have any problems or questions.

 

Please watch the short video below and then go to the communications section below to see further information.

There is an FAQ attached to the letter but if you have any additional questions please contact your child’s Tutor.

  All Years  

Paultons Park Trips for Years 7-10

  Year 7 & 8  
There are no letters for years 7 and 8

  Year  9  

2nd dose HPV Vaccination information and online consent letter

 - please complete this online consent form using school code SH136654

Belgium Euro-space trip passport request

Education for Life trip to BBC Earth Day & Natural History Museum (London)

Design Technology trip to Warner Brothers studio tour - the making of Harry Potter

  Year 10  

There are no letters for year 10

 

  Year 11  
End of Year arrangements letter

  All Years  

NEU Strike action school closure letter - Tuesday 2 May
Toilet update

 

  Year 7 
ICT trip to Bletchley Park
Parents evening date change

Science: Students will be completing a science assessment in class during the week beginning 8 May. Resources will be posted to aid revision on Google classroom, as well as students completing in class revision lessons.

  Year 8 
WINK: Chromebooks
Science: Students will be completing a science assessment in class during the week beginning 15 May. Resources will be posted to aid revision on Google classroom, as well as students completing in class revision lessons.

 

MFL plays: French, German and Spanish plays are taking place in the first week of May (4th, 5th & 11th May). More information here and sign up via ParentPay for £3.

 

Careers: Fareham College will be in for assembly next week to talk about T-Levels and what is involved in these new and exciting post-16 pathways!

 

  Year 9  
History trip - Imperial War Museum
Science: Students will be completing a science assessment in class during the week beginning 1 May. Resources to aid revision have been posted on Google classroom, as well as students completing in class revision lessons.

MFL plays: French, German and Spanish plays are taking place in the first week of May (4th, 5th & 11th May). More information here and sign up via ParentPay for £3.

 

Careers: Fareham College will be in for assembly next week to talk about T-Levels and what is involved in these new and exciting post-16 pathways!

 

  Year 10  

GCSE English support opportunities

Practice interviews

 

MFL plays: French, German and Spanish plays are taking place in the first week of May (4th, 5th & 11th May). More information here and sign up via ParentPay for £3.

 

Careers: Practice Interviews for all Y10 students will be taking place with our industry volunteers from 3-5 May. Each student will be given an appointment time via their tutor and directly to their email. Students should arrive at The WAVE 5 minutes before their appointment.

 

Animal Care: Please ensure students are aware when they need to be in on 2 May to work on their NEA.

 

  Year 11  

Prepare to perform newsletter

ESPs after Easter

Tuesday 2 May: English

Wednesday 3 May: Maths
Thursday 4 May: Invitation to individual subjects

 

English: If your child is looking for past papers to practise and revise with, there are still revision guides available from the English department for £1.50. These contain a wide variety of past papers for your son/daughter to complete.

On Wednesday 26 April we celebrated 90 years since Wildern School first opened its doors. This included the unveiling of a mosaic that art club have created to mark this occasion, music from the 1930s being played in the piazza and live musical performances by students at break and lunchtime.

 

If you were not able to join us for the 90th Birthday celebration concert, you can watch the superb performances here.

 

Share your memories and photos with us: 90thbirthday@wildern.org 

Education for Life this half term: 

This half term we are revisiting the theme of ‘Relationships’. This builds upon the previous units the students completed in the ‘Relationships’ theme that took place in the Autumn 2 half term.

 

All Year groups - Tutor Time

Students will be looking at a variety of whole school and national events that link into the theme of Relationships. These include:

• Feedback
• National Day of Innovation
• Prefect announcements
• Young Carers Action Day
• Thank a Teacher Day

Please see below for a brief outline of what each year group will be studying in their Education for Life lessons this half term:

 

Year 7:  Building Relationships

This unit gives students the opportunity to explore the key features of a healthy relationship. Within this we look at inappropriate behaviours and language both in face to situations and online and what the law says about these. We equip students with techniques and skills to deal with peer pressure and signpost where they can get further help if required. We also look at the value and importance of celebrating differences and allow students the chance to explore their ‘true selfie’

 

Year 8: Identity and Relationships

This unit explores some of the key terminology linked to sexuality and gender identity. It reminds students that at Wildern, as a rights respecting school, inappropriate comments related to these will not be tolerated and allows students an opportunity to understand why. We also look at consent and what this means in practice with a focus on dealing with some of the pressures young people face including online. The unit also begins a small part of the statutory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) framework by introducing students to what contraception is.

 

Year 9: Intimate Relationships

This unit is aimed to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need in order to make healthy and safe choices regarding sex and relationships and is a part of the statutory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) framework.  Students will explore the portrayal of sex and relationships in the media as well as issues relating to body image, sexting and pornography.  They will study the meaning of consent in detail including the right to withdraw consent, the law and how to avoid assumptions relating to consent.  They will also gain knowledge and understanding of different types of contraception along with any positives and negatives of each.  Finally, they will explore STIs, how to protect themselves and how to get tested, as well as a more in depth study on HIV.

 

Year 10: Practice Interviews and Experience of a Workplace - Living in the Wider World

In EL lessons, all students will be undertaking a virtual Work Experience program from REED Recruitment that will simulate a week of work experience within this company. Students will have the opportunity to ‘visit’ each department in the company whilst making resources targeted at the different roles before creating a presentation for the CEO. In the early summer term, students will be undertaking practice interviews with volunteers who will be coming in to ask students some questions in a practise interview setting. All students will be involved and our volunteers, who are very experienced, will offer some feedback on their answers and interview techniques! Students who are taking advantage of the Experience of a Workplace opportunity will also be completing some pre-visit checks to ensure that they are fully ready to go on their experience! 

 

Year 10 are completing a different theme to the rest of the school so that it prepares them for their practice interviews and work experience. They will revisit Relationships after May half term. 

 

Year 11: Life after Wildern

This bespoke unit explores how to deal with exam stress and how to look after your own mental health and wellbeing with the upcoming GCSE’s. Throughout the unit, a variety of tips and techniques are shared with students to help equip them now and for their future life after Wildern.

Impact of social media on our children and family life

A recently published video by financial times films gives an important insight to the impact of social media on our children and our family life. The video is well worth a watch. Please consider how you talk to your children about their social media use. If you would like any further guidance on having these conversations, please contact us.

National Stress Awareness Month: How Kooth supports students

April 2023 is National Stress Awareness Month, and a time when many students may be feeling pressure or stress with exam season coming up - whether it's mocks, GCSEs, or other end-of-year exams. This Stress Awareness Month, we are highlighting the work of one our locally commissioned services: Kooth

Kooth is a free online counselling and emotional wellbeing platform providing young people aged 11-25 years (up to 26th birthday) in Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight with a safe and secure means of accessing anonymous support, with no referral.  Kooth provides online chat sessions with qualified counsellors, articles and tips from other
young people, moderated discussion boards on specific topics and issues, and structured self-care activities. Young people can sign up online at kooth.com, independently or with the support of their teacher, tutor or parent. 

Young people can access 24/7 mental health support by text from SHOUT by texting HANTS to 85258

Last week our new Head Student, Senior Prefect and Prefect teams were congratulated for becoming part of the 2023-2024 teams!

 

Mrs Oakley, Mr Chance, Mrs Fearon and Mr Hinks congratulated each student individually with a personal “Well done!” and presented them with brand new prefect ties and official prefect badges. It is always a proud moment and an honour to be accepted onto the team and we love to recognise that publicly.

 

We are grateful they are onboard with us to help us keep growing a school community where every student matters and every moment counts.

Please remember, they can adapt the majority of meals to any dietary needs if they know in advance (your child can speak to them by visiting the kitchen before 8:30am that day). Main/grill vegetarian options are always available - just ask Dan and his team. 

After Easter, we launch our Summer term extra curricular activities including our new Summer PE menu. Please look at what is on offer to your child and discuss this over the holidays with them as their might be something more that they can get involved with.

If for any reason a club is cancelled, the Library is open until 5pm Monday-Wednesday, and until 4:30pm on Fridays.

What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Echo Chambers

 

Have you ever read something online that’s changed your perspective? Provided new information and made you look at an issue in a fresh light? Imagine if that kind of thing never happened: if everything you read on the internet just reinforced what you thought to begin with, and – what’s more – confirmed that pretty much everyone else out there in cyberspace felt the same way. 

 

Welcome to the world of online echo chambers, where one particular school of thought is constantly repeated and never challenged. This lack of impartiality can be damaging if the opinion is an extreme one – especially for younger people who are generally more inclined to believe it. Our guide has the essentials for parents and carers. 

This free online safety guide examine echo chambers – how they work; why they’re potentially harmful to impressionable young internet users; and what trusted adults need to know.

This is part of our Online Platforms category.