HEAD'S HIGHLIGHTS 

The Winter Concert and Sixth Form Carol singers at Ascot Grange are the highlights this week.  These events have brought great joy to the school and the wider community.  The Winter Concert saw many talented vocalists and musicians working together to perform various music genres, from classical orchestral work to jazz and rock.  In addition to this, there were some excellent solo performances for the socially distanced audiences to enjoy.  

Earlier in the day, Senior Choir members from the Sixth Form with Mr Metson helping out, went to Ascot Grange to sing Christmas carols to the residents.  I know that the residents appreciated their singing and the time they gave up to perform and practice.

Mrs Mitchell, the School Business Manager, met with the Schools Eco Society this week to discuss some of their initiatives to help reduce our carbon footprint.  The group had thoroughly thought about their ideas and are very committed to Charters reducing its carbon footprint as much as possible.  They discussed small projects that all could take part in alongside large school projects requiring significant investment.  This meeting has coincided with the school starting to plant the trees we have been given as part of the Queens Green Canopy project. 

WEBSITE'S 'NEWS' SECTION

There is a constant stream of events and initiatives taking place at Charters and we have decided to report on them as they happen instead of waiting until the end of the week. This will allow us to write in a little more detail about school-life and we hope that our News section will become a go-to location for parents and carers.

Our weekly Newsletter will still be published on Fridays detailing my Highlights, Notices, Community events and a round-up of the News items that have been reported throughout the week.

VIRTUAL CHRISTMAS DRAW

There’s only a few days left to purchase tickets for our Virtual Christmas Draw.

Prizes include a case of fizz, an indulgence hamper, champagne afternoon tea for two at the 16^th century Great Fosters hotel in Egham and a Boxing Day hamper.

This year we are hoping to raise £3600 to replace our stage lights with the same ones that we hired for the Legally Blonde production, and we have already sold over £2,500 worth of tickets!

You will not be issued with a ticket, but your name will be entered into the draw for each £5 spent. 

Payments can be made from Friday 3 December until midnight on Tuesday 14 December.

Tickets will be drawn at 10am Wednesday 15 December and the winners notified later in the day.

This draw has been registered with RBWM as a Small Society Lottery – SL0174 

LIBRARY FESTIVITIES

We are celebrating all things FESTIVE in The Library! There's a saying that 'Winter Was Made For Warm Blankets and Large Books' and we couldn't agree more. Check out our suggested reading lists for the holidays here: https://www.chartersschool.org.uk/477/library

NEWS ROUND-UP 

CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY

Today we supported Christmas Jumper Day which is organised each year by Save The Children UK. Students in years 7 and 8, 12 and 13 wore their festive jumpers and donated funds to this worthwhile charity. Should you wish to donate, you can do so here:https://bit.ly/3IznUgi

We will let you know how much we raised by posting an article on our News page next week.

QUEEN'S GREEN CANOPY

Today, students from each key stage helped to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’ in the school’s beautiful grounds.

The trees will form part of the Queen’s Green Canopy, a tree planting initiative which is being coordinated to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee next year. Read more here.

ASCOT RACECOURSE SCHOOLS CHRISTMAS POEM COMPETITION

Year 9 student, Lottie, has won the 11 - 14 category of the Local Schools Poetry Competition which is organised annually by Ascot Racecourse. Read more here.

SIXTH FORM CAROLS AT CARE HOME

Some of our Sixth Form students spread a little Christmas cheer when they sang socially distanced carols to residents in a local care home. Read more here.

NOTICES

CAROL SERVICE - 13 DECEMBER - CANCELLED

Regretfully, due to Wednesday evening’s announcement by the Government of a move to ‘Plan B’, we have reluctantly taken the decision to cancel this event to safeguard the wellbeing of students, staff and families. Although we are not aware of any local cases of Omicron,  infection rates are increasing across the borough and therefore we are opting to do what we can to keep our school and wider community safe.  Hopefully this will allow everyone to have an illness-free Christmas. We aim to record students participating in the various carols and readings they have been rehearsing, with the intention of streaming a revised service on the website as soon as possible. Thank you for understanding our decision.

MONDAY 13 DECEMBER - CHRISTMAS LUNCH, STREET KITCHEN OR PACKED LUNCH

A reminder to parents that it is Christmas lunch day on Monday for those who have opted for this meal.

Students who have not purchased a lunch will still be able to buy cold food from The Street Kitchen or bring in a packed lunch.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY TECHNICIAN NEEDED

We are looking for a technician to support preparation of resources for the practical projects in Design Technology. Do you know anyone who is hands on and willing to help? Whether it's a few hours or 5 days a week, we'd love to hear from you! Please contact j.bennie@chartersschool.org.uk for more information.

PLASTIC CONTAINERS

Our Food Department would be most grateful for donations of large plastic (not tin) sweet/chocolate containers.  If you have any to spare, please ask your child to bring them to the Food Department at any time and they will be much appreciated.

NATIONAL ONLINE SAFETY

It has been a while since we mentioned our online platform for Online Safety, National Online Safety. They are a company which run courses and create resources for teachers and parents in supporting their child(ren) to stay safe online.

If you have not yet created an account you can sign up here: http://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/charters-school

Simply fill in the requested information, check and accept the terms and conditions and click register. It will then ask you to identify that you are a parent by simply clicking a button. It may talk a few days until you are able to access the Watch List.

Standing Feature: Parents Course Ages 11-14 and Parents Course Ages 15-18 These courses provide a brief introduction to the main issues likely to be faced as a parent and a teenager and are extremely well reviewed. They are split into small chunks so you do not have to do the content all at once.

This Week’s New Content: What Parents Need to Know about Age Appropriate Content. This document gives information and tips on a number of potential risks such as social media, gaming and adverts.

As always if you have any concerns with your child’s e-safety then please contact their tutor or head of year to access advice and support.

FREE WEBINARS FOR PARENTS/CARERS 

The following companies are offering free webinars to parents and carers.

Eedi is a diagnostic questions toolkit for teachers, students and parents. With the new year approaching, setting goals is important as it helps to give students motivation and vision. It focuses their mind, and helps them to organise their time and resources so that they can achieve great things. 

In the session, Rachel will discuss hot topics such as intrinsic motivation, whether we should use rewards and sanctions, habit stacking and the dreaded question “When will I ever need this in real life…”

The free webinar is on Top Tips On Motivation and Goal Setting with your Child:  15 December at 7.30 pm

Please use this link to register:  Sign up link
 

An opportunity to discuss the varying career options in the visual media industry, from digital, corporate video, documentaries and events.   Please click here for more details.

 

COMMUNITY

INSPIRE GIRLS FOOTBALL

Inspire Girls Football are hosting 1-2-1 sessions, buddy sessions and team training sessions during the Christmas and New Year holidays. 

PRICES PER HOUR:

1-2-1 (1 player) £30 
Buddy (2 players) £40
Group (3-18 players) £50

Surrey Dates: 27/12, 28/12, 29/12, 30/12, 31/12, 02/01, 05/01, 06/01, 07/01, 08/01, 09/01

Essex Dates: 03/01, 04/01

Please email us if you would like more information or to book a session.

Haven't booked for our Christmas football camp yet? Please click on the link below for further details & to book

IGF CHRISTMAS CAMP: https://inspiregirlsfootball.class4kids.co.uk/camps 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARENT CURRICULUM INFORMATION

Disclaimer: Any websites and apps mentioned in the Weekly Newsletter are not endorsed by the School and are used at your own discretion.  Any views or opinions expressed within the website or app are not necessarily those of Charters School.