Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the Wildern Weekly. My name is Debbie Penney and I was a student at Wildern myself. I have worked at Wildern for fifteen years, and I have been part of the Science leadership team for the last six years, firstly as an Assistant Director of Learning and for the past two years, as Director of Learning.

 

We are a 23 strong Science team, including teachers, technicians and a core progress assistant. Our passion as a team is to ensure that students have a curiosity for Science, a desire for knowledge and an excitement for how the world works.

We strive to make our lessons engaging and demonstrate to the students how science really is all around them. We hope to inspire students to enter a whole range of careers from health care professionals to engineers and strive to ensure that students have the skills to enable them to do this. 

 

We make particular efforts within our department to enrich student’s culture by running a range of trips throughout the key stages. Members of our team have just returned from a trip to Belgium Euro Space Centre with 40 Year 9 students. We have also taken students to Winchester Science Centre and Marwell, with planned trips to Legoland and Kew Gardens. Students have also taken part in the Faraday competition and we have had the Astrodome visit to inspire students’ curiosity for our Universe.  

 

If you have any queries about your child’s progress or attainment in Science, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s Science teacher or myself and we will be more than happy to discuss this with you.

  In this issue...  

  All Years  

WINK (virtual) - Relationships Sex Education - Watch here

Please answer this 3 question survey after watching the WINK

 

WINK: Using Challenge to Learn (face to face) - 8 June

 

Paultons Park Trip: 

• For all years 7-10
• Deadline: 16 June
• Use Parent Pay to sign up and make payment
• If you have any problems with your account please contact Finance

Instrumental Lessons New Starters- If your child is interested in having instrumental/singing lessons with the Wildern Music Academy starting in September 2023, please use this link to a google form where you can find out more information and sign up. If you require any further information about lessons, please don’t hesitate to contact me on wma@wildern.org.

 

Instrumental Lesson: students who are currently learning- Please use the google form via this link to indicate whether your child wishes to continue their instrumental/vocal lessons with the Wildern Music Academy from September 2023-2024. The deadline for completing this form is 7 July.

 

All Food and Nutrition Students - Just a polite reminder to please supply your child with a suitable container for their practical lessons. This can be dropped off to your child’s Food classroom along with their ingredients at the beginning of the day.

  Year 7  

History trip: The Mary Rose Museum

 

MFL update re: inappropriate language on Memrise

 

Year 7 Parents evening: Thank you for joining us for parents' evening. We have emailed a feedback form out to all parents to gain information and suggestions based on your experience. We welcome your responses. 

  Year 8  

Chromebook Scheme: This is open to current Year 8 parents until Monday 5 June @ 10pm.

Chromebook Portal: https://edutechchoices.zone/employees

Whether you plan on providing your own Chromebook for the scheme, have placed an order through the portal or do not want to take part, please fill in this form.

If you have an issue with the ordering portal, you can request help by clicking here

 

Art club: There is no Art club on Tuesday 23 May Due to GCSE moderation 

  Year 9  

History trip - Imperial War Museum

 

Art club: There is no Art club on Tuesday 23 May Due to GCSE moderation 

 

Science: Booster sessions will be taking place during tutor time after half term. Letters are being sent home inviting students to these booster sessions in the next week. 

 

Geography Iceland trip October 23: Students attended a meeting on Tuesday 16 May Break 1. There will be a letter going home to all parents regarding this trip and next steps.

 

English: After half term, we will be offering a series of Year 9 study sessions to support students with their knowledge and understanding of their GCSE poetry component. Please see the outline of sessions and dates here.

  Year 10  

Science: Booster sessions will be taking place during tutor time after half term. Letters are being sent home inviting students to these booster sessions in the next week. 

 

Science: Year 10 students will complete a mini assessment in the week beginning 12 June. This will cover content from the C6 Rate and Extent of Chemical Change topic. The revision grid is on the Year 10 Science Google Classroom. Students have been made aware of this in their lessons this week. The idea of this test is to help students see what they know and boost their confidence in their ability in science. Students who have recently moved from separate to combined science will attend a confidence building session with Mrs Penney at the following times. More sessions to be confirmed for next term.

• M pop - Friday 19 May - Wave
• N pop - Wednesday 24 May - LRC
• P pop - Friday 26 May - Hall

  Year 11  

Year 11 Exam conduct expectations

 

Science - knowledge corridors will be taking place before the Science exams next week from 8am. 

Chemistry - Monday 22 May and Physics - Thursday 25 May. 

 

English May half term revision: We will be offering a revision session to all Year 11 students on Tuesday 29 May. There will be letters coming out shortly with more details and the times of sessions for your child to attend.

 

English Exam breakfasts: English Literature Paper Two (An Inspector Calls, Power and Conflict poetry, Unseen Poetry elements) is at 9am on Wednesday 24 May. We will be offering a breakfast drop in from 7:30am in room 914/915. All students welcome for some last minute advice and something to eat!

Allstar World Cheerleading Championships

A huge congratulations to 7 students who have just returned from 2 weeks in Orlando where they participated in the Allstar World Cheerleading Championships. The girls are all members of Dance and cheer a Cality club (DCA) and achieved a fantastic position of 23rd place out of 112 teams from all over the world in their category. They beat thousands of teams to get there and the competition was live streamed all over the world. They qualified for the championships last season at a competition where they came first, won grand champs and then the bid to go to the Worlds Championships! This was a massive achievement for their club DCA (Dance and cheer a Cality). We are very proud of you all!

Daisy B V, Mia C, Emily N, Natalya C, Amiya C, Lauren H and Imogen O-H 

World Bee Day

We all depend on the survival of bees

 

Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities. Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.

For centuries bees, among the hardest working creatures on the planet, have benefited people, plants and the environment. By carrying pollen from one flower to another, bees and other pollinators enable not only the production of an abundance of fruits, nuts and seeds, but also more variety and better quality, contributing to food security and nutrition.

 

Pollination has a positive impact on the environment in general, helping to maintain biodiversity and the vibrant ecosystems upon which agriculture and humanity depend. A wide variety of plants critical to human well-being and livelihoods require pollinators. In fact, bees and other pollinators provide the important ecosystem service of ensuring out-crossing (that is, crossing genes) and, thus, reproduction of many cultivated and wild plants.

 

To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day. 

 

The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries. We all depend on pollinators and it is, therefore, crucial to monitor their decline and halt the loss of biodiversity.

 

Why 20 May?

20 May coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention.

A day in the life of a beekeeper

 

To mark World Bee Day on 20 May, The National Trust have created this video, exploring the tradition of beekeeping at Hughenden in Buckinghamshire.

 

Learn about what goes on inside the hive and meet the people who care for the bees.

#mentalhelathawarenessweek

Back to Basics

Empowering parents and carers to support their child’s emotional wellbeing within the home

 

Looking after your family's wellbeing is very important. Families all need some help from time to time due to life changes or events. As a parent or carer, you can take small steps to help your child's wellbeing as well as your own. You can do this by starting with the basics.

 

Using the back to basics approach can empower you to take control of the 5 Ways to Wellbeing.

Consider one area at a time. Think about your home environment and what small changes you can make together as a family.

Think of it as building the foundations of a house, making sure your family has all the basics in place such as healthy eating, sleep, exercise, good routines and looking after yourselves and your child's wellbeing. If foundations are not in place, there is a risk of cracks appearing. 

 

The Back to Basics website talks about 5 steps to support your family's wellbeing. These are:

• Take notice
• Give
• Be active
• Keep learning
• Connect

There are short videos, posters, leaflets, and goal-setting resources on all these areas on the Back to Basics website. 

 

More help for children, young people and families

Kooth is a free, safe, anonymous online counselling and emotional wellbeing support service for 11-25-year-olds in Hampshire with no referral needed. Pupils can sign up this week and access community discussions, content, and moderated live forums all about anxiety and coping

ChatHealth free messaging service for parents and carers and children and young people aged 5-19 to text a School Nurse in Hampshire

SHOUT provides free, 24/7 mental health support by text. Text HANTS to 85258

Self Harm Support Hub provides information and peer support for parents/carers supporting a child or young person who self-harms

Find more local and national support on Mental Wellbeing Hampshire 

Book here

We are excited to welcome students on to campus for our Open Event on Thursday 15 June, (time at college depends on the time of the tour booked). Students can take a look around the college campus and explore our incredible resources on subject-specific tours! The tours will last roughly 45 minutes and your students will be shown around the facilities for their course area and meet our expert teaching teams. They will also have an opportunity to meet our friendly students and find out about all the things they need to support them in their studies such as transport, funding, careers, learning support and accommodation as well as Industry Placements.

 

To attend, students/parents will need to register for the event as soon as possible by visiting Experience Sparsholt - Sparsholt College Hampshire as our events do fill up quickly! At this event students will have a tour of the subject area they are interested in at a specific time which they will book in advance.

 

Also, it is not too late for year 11s to apply to Sparsholt College as applications are still open and students can apply by visiting the Sparsholt website or by using How to Apply - Sparsholt College and University Centre Sparsholt.

In 1974, the Art block was completed and forms the block now known as block 2. The black and white photo was taken from the middle of what is now the piazza and the colour photo was taken today. You can see the original lights are still in use although the trees planted in the mid seventies have now grown a lot!

 

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

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.

A free online safety guide on looking after your wellbeing online.

 

The online world and digital technology has become such a significant part of our lives – and integral to so many aspects of our daily routine – that we shouldn’t be surprised at the degree of influence it can wield over what we think and how we feel. Many experiences that young people have on the internet are hugely positive and uplifting … but sadly, that’s not always the case.

 

Negative incidents online – such as disagreements with other users, stumbling across upsetting content or feeling left out by friends – can be intensely damaging to a child’s emotional state. Our guide has some useful tips for young people and trusted adults on how even small, simple actions can help to protect our wellbeing when we’re on the internet.