Headteacher's Corner
Dear Parents/Carers
You have had to read several lengthy communications from me over the past fortnight, so I will endeavour to keep this brief!
As we make the final preparations for next week, I would like to take a moment to thank publicly some of the unsung heroes of the hour. Since the start of term, when the lockdown was announced, school has remained open to children of critical workers and others who are vulnerable. We have looked after around 70 students, from all year groups, in school over this time. They themselves have been absolutely fantastic, engaging with their online learning in school, whilst their peers were at home. This has not been school ‘as normal’ for them, and they have taken the constant changes and challenges in their stride. It has been a pleasure to support them and their families throughout this time.
However, this would not have been possible without another key group of unsung heroes: our classroom support staff. So that teachers could focus on teaching their online lessons, all of the supervision of students in school has been done by our LSAs, librarians and technicians. They have helped the students in school to access the online learning and looked after their various needs with true commitment. On top of this, the same team of staff have trained to become Covid testers for our Asymptomatic Testing Site in school and have administered tests for the staff and students in school. It is this same team, with further ‘all hands to the pump’ support from our admin staff, that has now stepped up to the challenge of scaling up the operation in order to conduct next week’s mammoth mass testing programme. Under the expert leadership of Mrs Magee, this team has gone above and beyond on behalf of our students. We are so fortunate to have such willing and wonderful colleagues.
Over the next few weeks, it will be essential that we all continue to play our part in minimising transmission. It is right that schools are the first part of society to reopen, but doing so will mean that we need to be even more vigilant in other areas. Of particular importance is the need to continue to follow self-isolation guidance if any member of your household has symptoms of Covid-19. Please do not send your child into school with symptoms thinking that the testing in school will pick up if they have the virus. The testing in school is to pick up cases where there are no symptoms and is intended as an additional layer of protection not as a substitute for self-isolation.
We are very much looking forward to seeing the parents and carers of our year 11 students next Tuesday. This will be a very valuable opportunity for teachers to look to the future with the year 11s and discuss how we can make the most of the limited time we have left.
Finally, included below is the video we have played to students in assemblies this week, in which I summarise what students should expect about the week ahead. If you or your child has not yet watched it, please do. Alternatively, for something a little less serious, there is always this week’s episode of DOPMaster instead…!
Thank you all for your ongoing support.
Chris Vaudin - Headteacher
We have a full calendar of events throughout the year. Click the link below to view them.
Exam Success
Kasia (Y9) and Magda (Y11) have been attending Polish school in their own time over the last two years and have been working incredibly hard alongside their studies at Frogmore. They recently took their GCSE in Polish and both girls achieved a grade 9, which is outstanding! Congratulations!
Kudos Points Update
Student Leadership Team
Tuckwell Charity Day
This year we were unable to do our charity days as normal. Instead, on Friday 12th February, the Student Leadership Team ran a Kahoot quiz, a mixture of general knowledge and information about Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, to raise money for the hospice.
In total, £279 was raised and donated to Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice. This was an outstanding amount, considering we couldn’t have a non-uniform day or run events in school. It is especially important that we support our local charities during this time, particularly as, recently, one of Phyllis Tuckwell’s vans was stolen and set alight. The money raised will help them to purchase a new van so that they can continue to collect donated items sold at their shop and to move stock.
The winner of the quiz, Owen Whittall, achieved a fantastic score of 15/15 (15,253 points). He was rewarded with a £25 Adidas voucher, kindly donated by the netcompany.com.
Well done to everyone who participated!
Student Leadership Team- Isobel Dougan and Abby Metcalf
Message from the Child and Family Support Worker & Welfare Officer
We are really looking forward to welcoming all our students back next week. However, we understand that for some students this could be an anxious time. We'd like to reassure you that we are here to support this transition as best we can. Parents, please feel free to phone or email school if you have concerns you would like to discuss and students, please remember you can speak to your tutor, ADOP or DOP about any worries.
There is also a lot of useful information on the website below;
https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/looking-after-yourself/coronavirus-and-mental-health/
Testing For Parents
Immunisation Update
Medication
As the hayfever season is upon us, please can we remind you that, should your child need to take anti-histamine tablets, they should do so before coming into school. If they are likely to need medication during the day, you will need to follow the procedure as outlined below. Please note we do not hold stock of spare anti-histamine tablets. Thank you for your support with this matter.
Please may we remind you that students are not allowed to carry their own medication with them during school time. If your child needs to take any medication whilst in school, a parent/carer needs to sign a form and provide the medication in its original packaging, which should be clearly marked with the child's details. The medication should be handed into reception and it can then be administered and subsequently recorded.
The only exceptions to this are epipens and asthma inhalers. Any child who requires an epipen has to provide two whilst in school. One of these will be kept safely in the medical room and the other must be kept on the student at all times. With regard to inhalers, they must be clearly marked with the child's name and need to be kept on them at all times. On no occasion should students ever share their medication.
Food Bank Donations
At school there is a donation box outside reception to make it easier for any parents/carers to make a donation to our local food bank. This will be available from 8:30am-4pm Monday to Friday. Current shortages are: custard, rice pudding, jam sponge pudding, tinned potatoes, instant mash, UHT milk, deodorants and soap.
You can also donate at various venues in the Hart area, which are listed on the link below:
Library News
To celebrate World Book Day, National Book Tokens are running a competition to win tokens for students and their school.
One lucky winner’s design will be made into a real life National Book Tokens gift card and distributed across bookshops nationwide in time for Christmas! And there are National Book Tokens galore to be won too – just imagine all those beautiful new books for your school’s bookshelves...
To take part, the students simply have to design a brand new National Book Tokens gift card. A panel of judges will select a winner and runner-up in each of three age categories: up to 8 years, 9-12 years and 13-16 years.
FIRST PRIZE in each age range wins:
· £250 National Book Tokens for the school
· £100 National Book Tokens for the pupil
SECOND PRIZE in each age range wins:
· £150 National Book Tokens for the school
· £50 National Book Tokens for the pupil
All entries should be produced on A4 paper using the template link button below. Please ensure you provide the child’s name and age, and your contact details, on the second page of the form.
Entries should be sent to:
World Book Day Design a National Book Token Competition, Book Tokens Ltd, 6 Bell Yard, London, WC2A 2JR
If you’re unable to post your entry, complete the online entry form for the relevant age category: up to 8 years, 9-12 years, or 13-16 years. The closing date is Friday 2nd April 2021. Visit; https://www.worldbookday.com/competitions/design-a-national-book-token-2021/for the template and for more details.
#turnonthesubtitles
It’s so simple that why hasn’t it been thought of before? A new campaign is gaining momentum just in time for World Book day this week: www.turnonthesubtitles.org
In a nutshell it’s this – turning on the subtitles while watching a programme can double the chances of a child becoming good at reading.
Stephen Fry presents an informative video on the benefits here; https://youtu.be/I-zISnJ-oao
So the next time your child is watching TV or the tablet, there could actually be an opportunity to improve their reading skills at the same time! In fact, research has shown that it can double the chance of your child leaving school as a proficient reader. You can turn them on for the whole family or most streaming services will now allow you to do it just for individual children if you like.
Free online Microsoft workshops for kids.
Microsoft are running free online workshops for children via their website on a number of subjects; you need to go to the Microsoft store, search for workshops, training and events, scroll down to the Students tab then register for whichever workshop you’d like to attend. Subjects include Space Jam – A new legacy, digital photography and a Minecraft coding workshop. There are sessions such as ‘Girls in Business 100: a youth influencer chat with Mikuila Ulmer’ and for older students there are workshops on building a CV and how to conduct yourself in an interview.
Well Ahead is an online platform from the National Literacy Trust in partnership with Bupa Foundation to help young people look after their mental wellbeing, especially in these extraordinary times. Take a look at their tips and activities to support students in expressing their emotions and processing the events of the world outside while they study at home.
The Write Space
The Write Space is full of creative writing activities that will have a positive impact on mindset. They’ll be sharing videos from three authors to help students use writing as a way to improve their wellbeing. The authors will discuss their own experiences with using writing for wellbeing and set fun tasks to help students come to terms with how they are feeling.
Workshop one - Jasmine Cooray. To kick off the six-week series, poet, arts facilitator and psychotherapist Jasmine Cooray shares videos exploring freewriting and an exercise on tuning into the present moment. Keep an eye on the Well Ahead homepage for new The Write Space activities every week: https://wordsforlife.org.uk/zone-in/well-ahead/
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Easyfundraising: Did you know you could be raising a free donation for Frogmore Community College every time you shop at retailers such as Amazon, John Lewis and Sainsbury's who will donate a percentage of the amount you spend? It's really simple, and it doesn't cost you anything.
We have now raised over £1519.78 since joining this scheme.
Please sign up and help us raise even more.
All you have to do is:
1. Go to http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/frogmorecomcoll
2. Sign up for free.
3. Get shopping. Donations will be collected and automatically sent to us, it couldn't be easier.
There are no hidden catches or charges and we would be really grateful for your donation.
Thank you for your support.
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Created with an image by blende12 - "tulips daffodils flowers"