Dear Families

There have been so many wonderful things happening both in and out of school this week that I would like to share with you.

Football

We had a group of our girls who represented us at the Middlesex Football Tournament this week and a group of boys who represented us at the Under 14 South London Special League. Both groups not only acquitted themselves well, they showed excellent fair play, integrity and spirit.

Harry Potter Day

Wands, scarves, scars, glasses, capes and hats were out in force this week as pupils and staff celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  Many pupils choose to be a muggle (like me!) and wear their own clothes, but they still participated in the range of fun activities that Mrs Sugden and the English Faculty provided. 

Assembly

This week we learned about World Hijab Day which is celebrated every year on the 1st of February.  This was founded by Nazma Khan in 2013 to "to encourage women of all religions and backgrounds to wear and experience the hijab for a day and to educate and spread awareness on why hijab is worn."  Nazma's experience of racism and discrimination as a hijabi prompted her to want to find a way to not only support women who wear hijab, but also to educate others about why hijab is worn.

We learned about the different forms of head coverings that women from different regions and traditions wear.  We looked at how women adapt their head covering according to their profession.  This included Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers, Police Officers, Army Officers, Soldiers and Teachers.  We also looked at sports women and how they have adapted clothing to allow them to continue enjoying and competing at sport.

Several of our pupils who wear hijab found me after assembly to thank me for talking about something that is very important to them and helping others to understand why they wear hijab.

Crunchy Munchy

Our in house pupil team that plan, shop, cook and sell food in school are continuing to excel themselves. This week we enjoyed a delicious leek and potato soup with an optional baguette.  Mrs Fabisch, their teacher, is putting together a recipe book which will include lots of successful recipes that our pupils have cooked in a very accessible format.  Look out for when it goes on sale, so you don't miss out on your copy!

Build Update

The very last part of the original school was demolished this week. The team is now steaming ahead to finish not only the refurbishment of our 1996 DT, Art and Science rooms, but are already deep into the foundations (pun intended!) for our new changing rooms and sports hall.  We hope to move back into the 1996 building around Easter time and be able to start using the sports hall in September.

Very best wishes to you on this wet and windy day.

Mrs J Rigby
Headteacher