- Home
- School Life
- Newsletters
- NEWSLETTER - 24 FEBRUARY
NEWSLETTER - 24 FEBRUARY
HIGHLIGHTS
The Music department's Chamber concert on Wednesday was a great success. It is wonderful to hear such great talent alongside seeing how individuals have developed in confidence to play in front of an audience.
Thank you to everyone who supported the Essential Parcels and the Turkey Syrian Earthquake appeals your generosity has, and will, make a real difference to families. Donations for the Essential Parcels quickly reached £3,353.75 and our Mufti day just before half-term raised almost £4,200 for the Turkey Syrian Earthquake.
NATIONAL SCHOOLS CUP
Year 10 Boys’ Football Team cup run is over. They had yet another away fixture and were defeated on the road. They have played very well indeed and their teamwork and resilience is clear to see for all. I know they are very disappointed but they did incredibly well to get to last eight teams in the country in their year group. Well done all.
SUMMER FESTIVAL 15 JULY
We will be hosting a Summer Festival to celebrate the school’s 65th birthday on Saturday 15 July from 11am to 3pm, and it will be a great opportunity for our wider community to come together after what has been a difficult couple of years.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are looking for volunteers to help, both in the run up to the event and during the day. We fully appreciate that we all work long hours and giving up a Saturday may be one step too far (!) but if you could give up just one hour of your time it would really help us create a memorable day.
We appreciate that July seems a long way away but if you would like to help, please contact our Marketing team so that we can begin planning our celebrations.
FESTIVAL MARKETPLACE
Applications are now open for stallholders who would like to be part of our Festival Marketplace.
Pitches are £40 and we are actively looking for an array of local businesses to make our marketplace a wonderful shopping experience. Maybe you are a consultant for Neal's Yard, have a sideline in making jewellery or run your own business crafting cards. Use the day as an opportunity to widen your exposure at our 65th celebration.
If you would like to be part of our marketplace, please complete and return this application form by 30 March and read our T&Cs.
NEWS
Click on the images below to read this week's news stories.
Japanese Artist & Calligrapher Visit
Join us in celebrating WBD 2023
Hear how two students will start this exciting programme
Bank of England economist Zaar Khan shares knowledge with our A Level Economics students
These are just some of the things that have taken place this week at Charters. Take a look through our social media using these buttons to discover many more.
NOTICES
COMMUNICATION WITH SCHOOL
I would like to remind our community of our communication expectations. We endeavour to respond to communications within three school days. It is important to note that staff are teaching lessons, running clubs or are in training after school so they cannot always respond quickly. Please click here to read our Communication Statement before contacting the school.
ARRANGEMENT FOR 2 MARCH REGIONAL STRIKE DAY NEU
Year 12 and Year 13
We will run a normal school day for Year 12 and Year 13. School transport will run as normal. Their staff who are in school will teach their normal lessons. If staff are not in school then students will need to bring work with them to complete in either their classroom , Common room or the Durning Room. Normal timetabled lessons in the Durning Room will run.
Year 11
We have moved the Year 11 PPE exams from this Thursday 23 February to the 2 March so all of year 11 will be expected to come into school. School transport will run as normal for them and they will be free leave after the last PPE at 1:30. If students do wish to stay on site until 3:00 then they will be able to do so but will need to bring work with them.
Year 7,8,9,10
Due to the number of staff who were on strike on the last strike day we will be unable to support these year groups being in school. I appreciate that this creates a great deal of inconvenience and I do apologises for the impact that this has on our families. Work will be set on class charts by staff who are not taking part in Strike Action.
We will assess the impact of this strike action before publishing plans for the two day action planned 15 and 16 March.
ASSEMBLIES AND TALKS HELP SPARK DISCUSSIONS
As you will be aware, all students had talks in the last two weeks of term on sexism and / or misogyny. These assemblies and talks are a great way to get students talking on these important topics. Following on from that we did a pulse survey to gain a sense of students understanding of key terms. During Monday’s whole school assembly, we went through this terminology with the students so that they were all aware of what these terms mean and to continue to promote messages that these behaviours are unacceptable.
As always, students can report issues via any teacher or by emailing worried@chartersschool.org.uk to access support around this topic and a range of other issues as well, whether this be safeguarding concerns, mental health, bullying or anything else that they may be concerned about.
A reminder of the staff within our Safeguarding Team, along with a range of helpful links to online resources can be found on the Safeguarding page of the website.
Please remember the team are here to help so please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us if you have any concerns on safeguarding@chartersschool.org.uk
PRIME DRINK
We have received information from other local schools that they have had incidences where they have discovered students selling a drink called ‘Prime’ in school, often for a sizeable amount of money. We are aware of the drink and its appeal to the students but we want to avoid this happening at Charters School. The drink itself does not appear to be an issue, but it does seem to be something very popular and hard to buy in most shops, hence its appeal. Please could we ask that you support us to make sure that if students are able to purchase the drink that it is for their own consumption, and not for resale in school.
NATIONAL ONLINE SAFETY
We continue to subscribe to National Online Safety and use their resources in school to support both parents and pupils.
Click here for a guide about the potential benefits of online gaming. Gaming, of course, is phenomenally popular with children and young people. In 2021, for instance, more than three quarters of teenager player online games. If enjoyed in moderation and supported by a healthy routine, gaming is actually found to be beneficial for a persons mental health. As long as we stay alert for potential risks, games can be much more than what we see on the service – they are a way to socialise, an avenue for creativity and a route to solving problems.
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.
UNIFORM
Periodically we have a push on uniform to make sure that our students are smart, well turned out and ready to learn. We are front footed about this but it is a much more successful process with the support of parents and carers. Uniform is positive at Charters School, and the greatest majority of students wear their uniform correctly, and with pride. However, we are not complacent, and we want to make sure that anything that starts to become a potential issue is recognised and challenged as a priority. Over the next few days/weeks senior staff and pastoral leaders will be visiting lessons to review student uniform and identify students who need to resolve issues where they exist. There is a comprehensive list of uniform requirements on the school website and on pages 35-37 of the Behaviour Policy. Please could we ask that parents and carers support students to ensure that they leave the house each morning in the correct uniform and work alongside the school where things need to improve.
Specific things that we have noticed for some students are: wearing trainers instead of shoes, skirts being rolled up and/or jumpers being tied around the back, jewellery, painted or acrylic nails, hoodies/quarter zip tops worn instead of coats and blazers not being worn. Of course there are rare occasions were there has been a ‘uniform emergency’ such as a broken shoe or ripped blazer. If this does happen, please send in a note with the student so that they can show their Tutor and not be challenged for incomplete uniform. Thank you for your support in this matter.
NATIONAL CAREERS WEEK IS COMING UP WB 6 MARCH
During National Careers Week, Charters is looking to give students an experience of a host of different Careers. Teachers will be talking to students about Careers linked to their own subject areas or for those where teaching is their second career, students will also get to find out what they did before.
We already have Guest Speakers from the fields of Science, the Armed Forces, Engineering, Nursing and Customer Support, plus a Director of Sales and Arsenal’s Head of Education coming to talk to students who will either be delivering careers linked to subjects in lesson time or at 2nd break.
All Year Groups will also be having a careers focussed assembly that week. Please click here for the schedule for the week.
Students will also be watching short videos during Tutor Time from Becoming X which includes careers such as Sport, Adventure, Stage and screen, Local heroes, Business and Politics, Science and Technology and the Military. These presentations explain to students how and why the featured people came into their careers and achieved the success they have.
Don’t forget students also all have access to Unifrog our online Careers package which provides information on Careers, University, Apprenticeships, advice on what to read, watch and listen to and so much more.
Thank you to all of our local community and Future First Alumni who are supporting us with making this week inspirational! If you would like to join us in supporting our students with their careers journey please either join our Future First Network or complete this Microsoft Forms letting us know how you might be able to support our Careers provision in a host of ways including guest speaking, work experience support, Interview preparation and many more.
QUIZ NIGHT
Come along to the our Quiz Night on Friday 21 April for an evening of fun! Tickets are £7.50 each (adults only). They can be purchased via the button below from 9.00am Monday 27 February until 9.00am Tuesday 18 April.
UNIFORM DONATIONS
Thank you for all the uniform that has already been donated. We have been inundated with PE kit so are glad to say we no longer need any more donations of PE kit, except for shorts! If you have PE shorts only, we'd be happy to still receive them.
Additionally, we only require blazers and ties as they are always in sort supply so if you have any to spare we would be grateful for them. We are fully stocked for all other uniform.
For PE shorts, blazers and ties only, please ask your child fto bring them to Mrs Welham's office which is ii the Sixth Form block. Go up the stairs and turn left. Many thanks.
WINTER ISN'T QUITE OVER YET...
There is some debate about a cold spell coming, and as such, we have some lovely items in Lost Property that need to find their original homes – please have a look at the items here.
If you recognise any of these belongings, please contact studentservices@chartersschool.org.uk or ask your son/daughter to come into us at Student Services to collect.
Many thanks
ASCOT RACECOURSE SCHOOL CASHBACK OFFER
Join the fun at Ascot Racecourse and earn funds for our school in the process. Book for the Spring Family Raceday on Sunday 2 April and we will receive a cashback donation of 25% for each ticket booked by using the online booking code CHARSCHOOL. Tickets can be booked up to the day before racing online and printed out at home.
COMMUNITY
Food Bank every Tuesday 12:00-1:00pm at Hope Church, Sunningdale High Street, Sunningdale, SL5 7LY (next to Nag’s Head Pub).
Tea/coffee/biscuits are available from 11:15am and during the food bank. Entrance tickets will be distributed just before the food bank opens at 12:00 noon. Come along early and have a cup of tea and a chat.
Ultimate Activity Camps provide outstanding Ofsted-registered activity day camps for children aged 4-14 during the school holidays. Children will enjoy a fantastic range of over 40 sports, games and art activities every week led by engaging staff at amazing locations. Running this Easter & Summer at LVS Ascot.
Book by Wednesday 1 March to save up £40 a week on all Easter & Summer dates!
W: http://www.ultimateactivity.co.uk/FSF T: 0330 111 7077 E: help@ultimateactivity.co.uk FB: https://www.facebook.com/UltimateActivityCamps
PLEASE CLICK IMAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
WELLINGTON COLLEGE EASTER REVISION COURSE
Wellington College will be running their annual Easter Revision Course during the Easter holidays from Sunday 2nd April to Thursday 6th April. Year 11 and year 13 students can choose to attend as a day student or a residential student and choose up to two GCSE subjects or one A-Level subject to immerse themselves in over the course of five full days. Class sizes are small with no more than 10 students in a lesson, students will receive 5-6 hours of tutored revision per day to review the selected core areas of their subject, covering the areas specifically requested by the students themselves. There will also be set-work, exam preparation including work on past papers, a study skills workshop and at the end a personal report highlighting areas of progression, improvement and what to focus on next.
For both GCSE and A-Level the cost for the residential option is £1195 and the cost to attend as a day student is £850. There is also the option for GCSE students only where they can choose one GCSE subject and attend as a day student at a cost of £500.
Please refer to Wellington College’s own website for more information or click here for a brochure.
USEFUL INFORMATION
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
We love sharing our student successes, out-of-the ordinary lessons, fantastic opportunities and much much more with our wider school community. So why not follow us on our Social Media platforms where you can find out about all the unusual, and not-so-unusual, events that happen here at Charters. Join us at:
PARENT CURRICULUM/SUPPORT INFORMATION
Disclaimer: Any websites or 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.