Post on 22-Jan-2022
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Wingate School Tenerife KS3 & 4 Newsletter - October 2020
‘The New Normal’ Yet again the students of Wingate School have amazed us with their maturity and acceptance for change. In these very difficult times, our students have adapted to the new COVID systems, supporting their peers and teachers alike to settle into school. All staff recognise the student’s continued focus on learning and support for each other; I was delighted with their Progress Reports, especially seeing the overall outstanding effort levels across the curriculum - Well done! Mrs Hopewell and I are really enjoying greeting the students in the morning and I wanted to thank parents for their continued support - we could not do this without you. The start and end of day, which I had envisioned to be chaotic, appears to be running smoothly at the North entrance - thank you again for your patience. As a school, we deemed it necessary to continue teaching through to the Christmas break - I know that this is a very long term but we really need the extra teaching hours to fill some of the educational gaps lost during lockdown. I know that subject teachers have planned some inspirational lessons to keep the students focused. Last but by no means least, I want to extend a huge welcome to the new students and their families. It has been fantastic to see them settle into the
THE NEW MERIT SYSTEM ‘STARS OF THE WEEK’
Mrs Hopewell has designed a new ‘Student Merit System’ allowing us all to celebrate, encourage and reward outstanding behaviour and academic progress. Teachers across the curriculum award merits to students who go above and beyond what is expected - whether that be academically or socially (It is as important to recognise community awareness and helpfulness as well as effort and academic achievement). Every Friday, the names of students from the different year groups are posted on a ‘Star of the Week’ poster at the North gate - we will also be sending personal e-certificates to parents so that you can also reward them. Students with the most merits at the end of half term will appear in the newsletter - then at the end of the year, the ‘Students of the Year’ will receive a prize. This new reward system has been eagerly received by all students, even the Year 11’s - it is fantastic to witness the pride in a child’s face when their teachers award them a merit. Jumping for joy at gaining the most merits!!
Klim, Milo, Stanley, Katie, Brimming with pride - our Year 9 Merit Winners! Aleksei, Poppy and Millie
‘Wingate Way’, making friends and progressing so well in their studies. Well done! Mrs Colette Tolfrey Head of Seniors colette.tolfrey@wingateschool.com School in a Pandemic Before pupils began back at Wingate, over the holidays and during the first few weeks of September, teachers spent a long time getting the Covid-19 protocols in place. We were all very worried about how the pupils would react to these changes and how we could enforce these rules. We need not have worried about how our amazing pupils were going to react - they have been fantastic! Pupils understand the necessity of these rules and regulations and although many of them do not like to wear their mask all day or clean their hands repeatedly or sit far from their friends, they all do it without argument and with (I can only assume because they are always wearing their masks) a smile on their faces! The new students who have joined us this year have also had a really positive impact on their year group and have shown excellent attitude and commitment to their studies. The Year 7s who have moved into the Big Senior School have, alongside the guidance of Mrs Colegrove, settled in well and are exceeding our expectations. Some pupils have struggled a little with everything that is going on in the world, but Mrs Finnie, our new Wellness Coordinator and the pupils form tutors, have been working with these students to try to ease their anxiety and discuss any issues they are
Proud but slightly embarrassed or Year 10 & 11 Merit Winners
Bhavik, Lapo, Adi and Milena: Aleksei (Year 9) showing off some of the work he produced that earned him merits!
Welcoming our new students! All the new pupils who have joined Wingate this academic year have made such a positive impact on the school. Below are some pictures of them with their new friends, along with some quotes about Wingate Life: Emiliya (Year 7) Wingate is really good. It is the best school I have ever been to!
experiencing. Although a difficult half term so far, the lessons we are learning together as a school about community, looking out for others and asking for help are invaluable and will teach the pupils a lot allowing them to cope with other possible strife in the future. Thank you to parents also for your support during this difficult time, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me to discuss any issues or questions you may have about KS3 (Years 7-9). Mrs Hopewell Head of Key Stage 3 jane.hopewell@wingateschool.com
Wingate Prefect Team
2020/21 Once again our Prefect team has excelled themselves, going the extra mile to support teachers and students alike. They have taken on their new roles with maturity; supporting new students and teachers alike. I know that Ms Colegrove is very pleased with Chirag and Bhavik who continue to give up their lunch time to sit and chat to the year 7 students.
Kareena - Head Girl Nina - Deputy Head
James, Gemma, Lev, Milena &
Paris
Alicia (Year 8) I am really enjoying the sports lessons. The new virus rules help me to feel safe. Carys (Year 8) Wingate is very welcoming and I have made lots of friends.
Daniel (Year 7) Wingate is a beautiful school and I am learning a lot.
Bhavik, Michelle, Lexi, Antons,
Maria & Chirag
Simon - who missed the photo
call. Thank you to the Team.
Spanish Awards
Snr Barrio has been getting into the Halloween Spirit - classroom is a fantastic backdrop for our year 11 Spanish students of the term Bhavik and Michelle - you have been recognised for your continued hard work and such positive attitude to your studies. Well Done!
‘Harvest Festival’ It was with regret that we could not celebrate ‘Harvest Festival’ as normal this year, however, that did not stop the Wingate Family opening its arms to the wider community. Pastor Bill and his team were overjoyed with the generosity shown - A huge thankyou to all those parents who donated food - It really will make a difference.
In Year 8 RE lessons, pupils have also been learning about the reason why it is important to give to the needy for Harvest Festival, below are the posters Poppy and Mathilda made to celebrate the Harvest Festival:
Year 7’s - Senior School Life Emiliya: At first when I came to the school I felt nervous but now I feel better because I have more friends. I really like senior school, I don’t have any problems with the homework or any lessons. I have made new friends and I really like my form. I like all the subjects but my favourite subject is
Wingate Art Gallery Miss Healey is so impressed with her Year 10 & 11 IGCSE Art students. It is a great shame that we were unable to display our artist’s work in the hall for parents to enjoy - I know that is one of the highlights of ‘Open Day’ - Not to disappoint, I thought I would share with you some of our masterpieces: Below is just a taster of Year 10’s ‘Still Life’ Project
Well Done April, Olivia & Donatile (Yr 10)
Science because we do practicals. I also really like Geography too because we do projects.
Aaron The day I woke up and knew that I was going to be a part of Senior
School, I was very excited and couldn’t wait to get there! Overall, it
has been an amazing feeling. I am treated like I am much older than I
really am, I’m liking it much more than I would’ve ever thought. I’ve
made a few new friends like Daniel, Sorin, Katie, Zofia and Isha. My
form is the best. I feel that I’m lucky that my class is small so we can
all be in the same form. The work which we have been doing was harder
than I thought, for the first week the work felt too hard but after
that, I’ve been doing pretty well in every subject. Year 8’s - School and Coronavirus By Daisy School this year has been hard, we all came back this year
expecting everything to be
completely different and to be
honest, it is! Although some
people dislike the change I
somehow find it quite good! Let
me tell you why… The masks and
gel are keeping me and everyone
around me safe - Coronavirus is
serious and I don't want me or
my family catching it so we have
to put up with these masks!
Disinfecting our hands and the
tables is stopping germs being
transferred so less people are
getting any illnesses which is
Our Year 11 artists continue to impress with their interpretation on fashion - such detailed, delicate work from Marissa, Milena, India and Lexi - Well Done!
great.
I really like the changes, however, we do have shorter lunches
and breaks which is not great, we also have to social distance and
I miss hugging my friends. It is inconvenient but I know it is for
the greater good.
Class work Now we are back in school, the pupils have been working harder than ever and producing some amazing results! See some of the examples from around the school below: In History Year 9 pupils are focussing on World War I and have been writing letters home from the Western front. These letters have been well-researched and are very moving. Please read below ones from two members of our year 9 community: By Nicolas: Dear Mother and Father, Life in France is horrible. I was appointed to a frontline trench near the Somme at Amiens in late October of last year, equipped with only a Lee Enfield rifle and an ammunition box. Since then, I’ve swapped between frontline and reserve a dozen times, and each time you’re transferred, you get the feeling of relief or extreme fear, depending on which side you come from and where you go. To begin with there was much fighting, but I didn’t see it, as most happened before I arrived in November. By the time I got there, men were digging a long line of trenches up to the horizon either side, and we were to join in. No one thought it would last more than a couple of months, and our trenches were hastily dug out with little care or engineering precision. We were later to learn that this would be a very long war, and the enemy seemed to know it, as their trenches were well built and equipped.
At the start there were several breakthroughs up and down the line, but here, there was nothing. Not a single shot was fired in two weeks. The lingering feeling of death and boredom made it all the more unbearable. To pass the time, we would play football with the giant rats, play cards, smoked and chatted, or picked lice, in the intervals between battles. The winter was horrible to us. Our poorly built trenches did notwithstand the torrential rain of late November, and then the frost and snow of the early winter. The floor of our trench froze in a slippery, sludgy, muddy mass, and for weeks we were all knee deep, often more, in freezing muddy slush.
But when the combat comes, it’s gruesome. Nobody ever knows when, how and if it’ll come.
POPPY DAY APPEAL
Next week we will begin our annual Poppy Day Appeal. Please allow students to bring in some money to donate to the appeal, with it they can buy poppies, bracelets etc. The money raised will be donated to the poppy appeal which helps support War Veterans and their families.
Dates for your Diary:
Next week we will begin our annual Poppy Day Appeal. Please allow students to bring in some money to donate to the appeal, with it they can buy poppies, bracelets etc. The money raised will be donated to the poppy appeal which helps support War Veterans and their families. Fiesta Days - Monday & Tuesday 7th - 8th December
At any time, often at night, I’ll try to get any sleep I can, and someone will shout ‘Incoming!’ or we’d hear it ourselves. And with a terrible roar, the enemy charges into no mans’ land, the space between our trenches, shells and machine gun fire rain down on our trench, and the intolerable noise of death, bullets and glorious shouts. Our men take position on the fire step, a wooden board on which we sleep and take aim at the enemy, and gun them down. The few that manage to break through are faced off by our soldiers, often hand to hand, with the bayonet on our rifles. Then, to make the score even, we charge at the enemy in return, and we, too, get shot down and faced off in hand to hand combat. There has not been one successful invasion of a trench here yet. And the aftermath of any such unsuccessful battle is equally as gruesome. Retreating back to our trench, I’d stumble upon a corpse of a former comrades. The stench is appalling too. The smell of dirty men, rotting bodies, mud and gas is so strong that some have passed out because of it. Rats the size of cats roam the trenches, gnawing on the dead bodies that lay scattered across the battlefield. I don’t know when I’ll get out of here. Life is grim. They tell us we’re going nowhere until the war is over or unless we’re injured. Hope to see you again. By Eliana: Dear Elizabeth, I cannot bear life in the trenches for much longer. Followed by the triggering sound of bullets being fired, I’m often awoken to the excruciatingly painful sound of men wailing out in pain; accompanied by the echo of mice the size of footballs scurrying through the trenches in waves. It works almost as an alarm system; constantly reminding you of the gravity of the situation you were deceived into. It’s impossible to stay sane. I wake up every morning to the odour of ripe flesh, supplemented by the ghastly stench of thick, moist mud. The smell itself could kill a man. Everyday, come nightfall, more and more soldiers are sacrificed for the greater good of our country. Usually, my fellow troops and I, can identify the remains as our closest friends or acquaintances. This reminds us to never expect our closest allies in the trenches to be alive tomorrow. You are always going to end up alone. No one is safe in the trenches. I’m barely surviving here. It is unbearable. The conditions aren’t human enough to live. I am forced to ration stew and tinned beef which often tastes expired and our water tastes purely of chlorine. As well as that, as if the dawning fear of being slaughtered isn’t enough, us men are consistently avoiding diseases such as: trench foot, pneumonia and tuberculosis. All our men have been infected by lice, all over our bodies. Nothing beats the itchiness of the blood-sucking demons. It’s impossible to stay clean.We can’t even use the ‘toilet’, for the risk of getting shot. Day after day, I sit in anticipation, waiting for some action for the sole purpose of entertainment, although it would mean risking my fellow soldiers' lives. I have some acquaintances here in trenches, but I don’t suppose they’ll be around for long, so I’m attempting to not get too close to anyone. A majority of the time, we play cards and smoke.
Wednesday 16th December - Year 11, 12 & 13 progress reports will be sent home ‘Because of COVID constraints there will be no formal Open Day, but parents will be contacted and ‘Google Meets’ will be set up for those students who we feel are under pressure or finding aspects of the curriculum challenging.’ Friday 18th December - School finishes at 12.35 Thursday 7th January 2021 - Return to School.
It can’t help but get boring but at least it’s company. Occasionally we pop our lice together. Due to the unbroken boredom of life in the trenches, fights often break out between soldiers. Us men have developed a game in which we kick around the mice here for they are big enough to be used as footballs, and cannot move. This has become a regular pastime. The most daunting thing about life in the trenches, is going over the parapet. Peering over no-man's land, anything could happen. Ascending the Firestep, nothing but fear crosses your mind. All you want to do is freeze, but the consequence would be death. You are trapped in the trenches. We are constantly attempting to conquer more of no-man’s land, to make trenches closer to the axis powers. When going over the top, you need to be prepared for death, after a series of machine-gun bullets. You must be equipped with a Lee Enfields Rifle and once you have run out of bullets, you resort to using your bayonet (a large knife at the end of your rifle). I would do anything to be back home with you. Life is hell in the trenches. SIncerely, John In English - Year 9 pupils have been reading the novel ´Animal Farm´. They have created some amazing posters to accompany the book, below are some highlights from Pietro, Helene, Eduardo, Sohanna, Adriana, Millie W and Lev
In Science - Year 7 pupils have been making models of cells. See pictures of their amazing models below:
By Fee
By Ivan
In Spanish - Year 9 pupils have been making leaflets to promote good mental health, teach about discrimination and suicude prevention: Adriana and Alejandra Ixchel and Lucrezia
Lev and Aleksei
In Art Year 8 pupils have been working on a portraits project learning how to shade facial features: Kirsten made a portrait of the singer Adele
Bhavya also excelled in the portraits project:
Year 7 pupils were asked to illustrate their names with their personalities and interests:
Students of the half term in Spanish. Every half term the Spanish department discusses which pupils are excelling in Spanish. This half term the accolade for years 7-8 goes to José, Alicia and Boris - well done!
For Years 9&10 Helene, Olivia, Valentina and Agust earned the top awards!