Principal’s Newsletter 10 January 2020    

Welcome back to everyone after what I hope has been a very relaxing and exciting opportunity to spend time with family and friends. It has been wonderful to see the children return this week with a desire to learn, be engaged by new knowledge, see their friends again and, as you’ll read below, meet new staff and renew acquaintance with those they know so well and who know them. 

You’ll read below that there have been plenty of inspiring activities taking place this week, with more set to come. I briefly introduce our new staff and provide a summary of some of the key findings from the recent Parents’ Survey. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to answer these questions, it really has proven very informative and insightful, reinforcing the direction we’re taking and highlighting key areas for us to focus on.  

Our oldest students will be engaging in Mock exams shortly, as the turn of the year into 2020 means that we can actually say their exams will be happening this year. We wish them all the best with these exams and this very important year in their academic lives. The year gives us cause to reflect on whether we really are seeing clearly with 20/20 vision, and how we might go about doing that. I have asked the students to reflect on what they know, what they can learn in order to know more, and how, whilst knowledge might be power, to see clearly means to be aware that knowledge only means something when it is applied. We’re all looking to apply our knowledge wisely this year. 

Welcome to our New Staff 

We are delighted to welcome the following new staff who join us this term. Many come to us with deep experience at other Schools, indeed Mr Boud and Mr Stolborg have been Heads of Department and Senior leaders at previous Schools and Mr Miller and Mr Tyrell join us as leaders having run very successful departments at their previous Schools in this country and abroad. We wish all of our new staff all the very best as they begin their Gosfield School career and we are sure that pupils and parents alike will join us in welcoming them and making them feel part of our family: 

Mr Boud - Humanities Teacher (part-time) 

Mr Floyd - Science Teacher and Second in Science Department 

Mr Miller - Head of PE  

Mrs Parker - Prep Teacher (part-time) 

Mr Stolborg - Maths and IT Teacher (part-time) 

Mr Tyrrell – Assistant Principal, Head of Science  

Ms Kelland - LSA  

Mr Green - Finance Assistant  

Mrs Griss– PA to Head of Prep 

Mr Hoodless - Driver  

Mr Pike - Peri Guitar Teacher  

Ms Cutler - Cleaner  

Miss Gostelow - LAMDA Teacher 

We also said goodbye to Miss Blackborrow who has left the School for personal reasons. 

Social Spaces Update 

We are delighted to share with you the opening of our newly decorated and furnished Social Spaces, very generously donated through the funding of the PTA. During last term, our Sixth Form leaders put together colour schemes for the Senior students to vote on, and they chose a fetching grey and pink combination for the furniture and the walls. The furniture was provided by Alan at Planscape who provided us with a great design service and a competitive price, including a free fabric upgrade! We are delighted that our students can now enjoy the upgraded environment and we look forward to our formal opening ceremony in due course.     

Parent Survey 

As you will recall, each academic year we send out a Parent survey so that we can collect information regarding what you consider the School does well and what you think we can improve. We conducted the last survey in November 2019, and we’d like to thank everyone who took part, we appreciate your time and honest opinion. The survey is a very useful tool which informs decisions we make to improve our School.  

Below are some of the most positive responses we received, in some key areas, all these figures combine responses from the Prep and Senior School survey: 

91% agree/strongly agree that their child is happy at Gosfield School 

96% agree/strongly agree that their child is safe at Gosfield School 

92% agree/strongly agree that their child is well looked after at Gosfield School 

And we also saw some dramatic increases in positive responses from the previous Parent survey in January 2019, including 

91% agree/strongly agree that they receive useful communications as a parent - up by 16% on January (and 32% on the January Senior school parental response) 

91% agree/strongly agree that their child benefits from Gosfield’s School grounds - up by 17% on January (and 32% on the January Senior school parental response) 

85% agree/strongly agree that Gosfield School provides enriching Extra-Curricular activities - up by 14% on January 

And when asked if parents would recommend the School to others only 8% said they wouldn’t. Obviously, we want that figure to be 0%! However, this is still very positive recognition of all the good works we seek to do for you and our children at the School. 

As we all know, there have been many changes at the School over the past couple of years, but it is wonderful to hear from parents that what we wish to retain as the heart of Gosfield School, our warm nurturing family friendly environment is so important, valued and clearly working for the vast majority of parents and pupils. It’s also been instructive to see how some of the changes we have brought in, such as ParentMail, Mr Edgar’s leadership of Activities and the greater use of the School grounds through our push on outdoor education are having a very positive impact, as well as others I haven’t mentioned above, such as the improved approval of the way we set appropriate homework through the use of Show My Homework. 

Of course, there are other areas which we want to improve on, many of which we were already aware of and already have actions in place to do so. The comments made in the survey have been helpful in reinforcing the direction we wish to take. I hope that we will be able to demonstrate progress in improving all areas of School life as we have in those where there already are successes to celebrate. 

Prep School News 

Now that we have Mrs Griss joining us as the Head of Prep’s PA, if you have a child in Prep School and they are going to miss registration, can you please now sign them in at Meadow Court. 

Reception Gymnastics 

Reception started their gymnastics lesson this week in PE. The theme was 'the moon'; after moving around like astronauts, making star shapes, hiding from aliens and flying rockets in space, the children made their own aliens using the equipment they had used in the lesson. 

Year 2 

Year 2 had their wow starter for their new topic 'Pirates' at the start of term. Pirate Pete, who is in our room, placed a letter in a treasure chest asking for the children's help. He set them a task to design a new ship and uniform for his pirate gang, as they have been made ship wrecked and their clothes are ruined. 

Year 3 

Year 3 had an exciting History lesson yesterday. Mrs Barlow and Mr Bird took the class into the School Cellar to learn about the history of the building and to see some of the artefacts in the archive. The children heard many stories about the Cellar and what it was previously used for. Mrs Daniels found an old game of Lotto with an envelope inside. The stamp had King George on it and the post mark read 1953. We are so lucky to have these resources within the School and aim to share these with the pupils as much as possible.  

Year 5 

The Year 5 children returned on Tuesday to see their new topic door. This term we're studying The Shang Dynasty of China. Pupils will be inspired by the entrance to the classroom and Chinese dragon keeping a watchful eye across the room.  

West End Youth 

This week a new activity started 'West End Youth'. The club is run by Mrs Flynn Haddon and very talented performing arts graduate Miss Kerruish. It is for Years 4-7 and aims to prepare pupils who may wish to audition for child roles in the West End such as Matilda, Mary Poppins, Les Miserables and Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat, although can be attended just for fun. This week we introduced some songs and monologues from the shows, and we had a FaceTime demonstration and question and answer session from a cast member from Matilda in the West End. 

LAMDA Speech and Drama Lessons 

We are very excited to announce that private LAMDA speech and drama lessons are now available for Years 1-13. Experienced tutors and Central School of Speech and Drama graduate Miss Gostelow will be offering graded exams, Acting, Verse and Prose as well as offering the introductory syllabus for those in the younger years at the Prep School. These exams are very rewarding, especially when it comes to confidence building and having the ability to communicate in a clear manner. To enquire about availability, please email hayleygostelowdrama@gmail.com by the 27th January 2020. Lessons will be charged at £20 per half hour session. 

ISA East Anglia Cross Country Championships 

Best of luck to all our children who are representing Gosfield at the upcoming ISA East Regional Championships, taking place at Finborough School on Friday 17 January. The top ten finishers in each category will be selected to run at the national event later in the year. 

We are still awaiting a few permission slips, could these be sent through as soon as possible. If parents have any further questions, then please email a member of the PE team.

Impressive Achievements 

Zak from Year 8 had a triumphant time at the Liverpool International Horse Show during the Christmas break. Zak and his horse Smokey won all three days at the event. He has now been asked to be a brand ambassador for GPA helmets. This is great news, congratulations, Zak! 

Wraparound Care  

We would like to remind you that we are providing an improved Wraparound Care provision. Please see below for more details of the new improved service and arrangements:  

Breakfast Club for all pupils from Reception upwards, based in the Dining Hall 

• £7.50 per session, 7.30 am – 8.25 am 

• Drop off from 7.30 am in old playground outside Dining Hall. 

• Continental breakfast provided.   

Late Club for all pupils from Reception upwards. Reception to Year 2 based in the Nursery and Year 3 pupils and upwards based in Meadow Court for supervised play or homework. 

• £9.50 per session, 4.50 pm – 6.00 pm, Monday to Thursday 

• £14.50 per session, 3.50 pm – 6.00 pm on Fridays.  

• Collection from Meadow Court, Main Reception. Additional charge for late collections after 6.00 pm. 

• Light tea provided. 

All bookings to be made via ParentMail 24 hours in advance. If you have any questions, please email: enquiries@gosfieldschool.org.uk. 

Stay Hydrated 

A key component of the nutritional standards in schools is that fresh, preferably chilled, drinking water must be freely available every day. This is provided here at Gosfield School and the students are encouraged to drink the water throughout the day. Drinking water and staying hydrated contributes to improved nutrition and good health, reduces the onset of headaches, and can also help to tackle tooth decay and assist in improving concentration levels. We are trying to reduce waste and prevent cross contamination wherever possible, therefore, we would be very grateful if you could ensure that your child has their own personal water bottle to bring to school every day.

Open Morning 

Please note that the next Open Morning will be taking place on Saturday 7 March. This event is a wonderful opportunity for all of us in School to celebrate what makes Gosfield School special and our visitors are always so impressed with the pupils as hosts and guides. As previously notified, this is a compulsory event for all pupils to attend, absences should be requested from Mr Martyn via principal@gosfieldschool.org.uk. As part of this event we would be extremely grateful for your support as parents. 

PTA 

James Clarke-Wright, Chair of the PTA writes....  

Just a quick note from me this week; Happy New Year to you all and welcome back to the new term. I hope you have all had a lovely, relaxing Christmas break and that everyone is refreshed for the term ahead. 

Many thanks to those who were able to attend the PTA coffee morning on Wednesday this week, it was great to see some new faces and get the creative juices flowing with fundraising ideas for the term and year ahead. 

We have our first formal meeting of 2020 on Tuesday 14 January at 7.30pm in the School Library so please do come along to meet the team, find out more about the PTA, and how you can get involved. Look forward to seeing you there if you can make it and have a lovely weekend in the meantime. 

Prep School Assembly Dates for Spring Term 

Prep assemblies continue on Wednesdays at 8.50 am. Please sign in at the front office on arrival.  

29 January - Year 6  

5 February - Year 2  

26 February - Year 1 

4 March - Reception  

23 March - Year 3, 4 and 5 Performance 

Prep Topic and Question for the Spring Term 

The Prep children start new topics this term and as always, we have a question linked to their topic to encourage thinking skills and curiosity. Maybe you’d like to ask these questions, or related ones at home to continue the exploration there? 

Year 1 - London - What's so special about London? 

Year 2 - Pirates - Who put the arghhhh in me hearties? 

Year 3 - Volcanoes - Why do volcanoes explode? 

Year 4 - Stone- Age - Can you set a trap for a woolly mammoth? 

Year 5 - Shang Dynasty - Where in the world do dragons originate? 

Year 6 - WW2 - Did the people of Germany want to go to war in 1939? 

Culinary Corner 

Fruit crumble baked by Henry from Year 7 photographed 

This week in Food Technology 7MFH learnt how to make a family favourite, fruit crumble. 8MAS made delicious sausage rolls which were very popular with the students. GCSE Year 10 made Italian chicken with focaccia bread. In Prep, Year 3 made cheesy bites and Year 5 made soda bread. 

Next week (also on SMHW) 
7CLS fruit crumble 
8LWS sausage rolls 
9HC & 9PB goats cheese and caramelised onion tarts 
Year 4 pitta pockets 
Year 6 toad in the hole 

Star of the Week 

Monday 13 January  

Mock Exams for Year 11 Start 

Mock Exams for Years 12-13 Start 

Tuesday 14 January 

U14 & U15 Girls netball v Finborough Away 

PTA Meeting, 7.30pm in School 

Thursday 16 January 

Reception to Year 2 Swimming Lessons 

Friday 17 January 

ISA East Cross Country at Finborough School (Years 4 to 11) - Good luck to all those taking part! 

And a reminder to everyone, next week is a Week 1 on our two-week timetable. Good luck to everyone with all their endeavours. As ever, my door is always open if you would like to book an appointment in advance via Mrs Bowles.           

Yours      

Guy Martyn     

PRINCIPAL | GOSFIELD SCHOOL