Dear Parents/Carers
I hope this letter finds you and your families well; a Friday update for you as we approach the end of the school year.
It has been an exciting week for us here in school following the arrival of our Chinese contingent on Monday morning. Kelmscott ‘buddies’ were thrilled to meet their Chinese counterparts and this was reciprocated. They spent time getting to know each other and our students were given gifts, before heading off to lessons. It was lovely to see our students interacting so well throughout the week, integrating into our classes and activities as well as at break times and lunchtimes. The visit has symbolised the importance of cultural exchange and the enduring connections that can be formed through education. Our Chinese guests have enriched our cultural tapestry bringing a unique perspective to our school community. Together, we hope that lasting memories and friendships have been created that transcend borders.
The Year 9 Graduation took place on Wednesday afternoon, which was a lovely event. Students were serenaded with music from Year 9 pianists Yan Lin Weng and Anton Mastrangelo. Students were then invited up to receive a certificate, either platinum, gold, silver or bronze, dependent on a number of factors including attendance, punctuality, work rate, engagement with co-curricular activities and rewards/consequences points. Year 9 now graduate to the upper school in September, where they will begin their GCSE studies. Work has been set for Year 9 on Google Classroom for students to complete this summer in readiness for this.
On Thursday, we enjoyed this year’s Cultural Day, an important celebration, fostering unity and appreciation for the diverse backgrounds of our students. It's a day where we honour our rich tapestry of cultures, promoting understanding and respect within our vibrant Kelmscott community.
It was lovely to see students taking part so enthusiastically in the Spanish workshop. A salsa dance lesson and some Spanish sweet treats were among the highlights.
The Kelmscott table tennis championship took place at the latter end of last week. Thirty eight students from all year groups competed, initially in groups, then into a knockout format. There were lots of close exciting matches. It was great to see all the students umpiring, scoring and competing whilst showing several STORM characteristics. Congratulations to Alex Velicu 8T, who triumphed over Mohamed Habibi 8E, in the final, with Tayyab Mohammad 8E, in third place.
Congratulations to all the students who took part in the tournament and showed such great sportsmanship.
Keeping on the theme of sportsmanship I wanted to share with you an extract from an email I received from the acting Headteacher, Emma-Jane Kelly at Barn Croft Primary School, in relation to our sports’ leaders contribution to their sports day.
“A huge thank you…., Kelmscott and your Sports’ Leaders for all your help at our sports day. We hugely appreciate the time taken to organise this and to also facilitate it on the day. Your sports’ leaders are an incredible testament to Kelmscott: they were focused on their tasks throughout, they nurtured the younger pupils, interacted so beautifully with all children regardless of needs, they cheered everyone on and provided assistance seamlessly. … Parents and staff commented on what a great addition they were to sports day and the children asked if they would be at Barn Croft more often.…we are grateful for their hard work and were incredibly impressed with their enthusiasm and positive attitude towards the event and the children.”
Well done to the students involved; I am immensely proud to receive such wonderful feedback.
Today, Year 10 students from the business and economics department, and some Year 7 students, visited the Houses of Parliament; vital for the effective functioning of the UK’s democracy and of huge significant historical and cultural importance. The day was such an enriching educational experience for all and especially relatable given our recent mock election.
We were delighted to welcome Time to Grow on Thursday. They led a workshop in school to help students develop their vision for our new school garden. Students identified they wanted a space for learning, growing food and reflection. Over the summer, we look forward to the arrival of raised beds before the planting starts proper on our return in September.
Today our Climate Ambassadors enjoyed all that Kew Gardens had to offer when they visited as the culmination to a fantastic year. They studied how climate change is impacting our ecosystem and how Mediterranean plant species may become more predominant with increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall. A well deserved treat after a phenomenal year of hard work.
An opportunity now for 15-17 year olds interested in what goes on behind the scenes in museums and what curators do. For more information please see here Young Curators Club: 3 days at UCL East End.
Finally, well done to Ruxandra Handiuc in 7S who topped the reward point charts for last week with thirty-seven. Well done to the following students too, who topped the charts for their respective year groups.
➪ Year 7 Ruxandra Handiuc with 37 points
➪ Year 8 Lucain Blaga with 28 points
➪ Year 9 Tazmin Jenkins-Meade 9E and Sercan Kucuk 9K with 30 points
➪ Year 10 Hirah Noor Azmat 10C with 16 points
With every good wish,
Mr Sam Jones
Headteacher
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