BSW Blog 1st April 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we approach the end of what has been a momentous half term there is much we can look back on and be proud of as well as looking towards a positive summer which will allow more transition towards normality.  In the past six weeks we have wrapped up a sustained period of home learning, as a community engaged in large scale mass testing and successfully welcomed back the community to onsite learning both in and outside the classroom.  Throughout we have been supportive of each other, recognising the variety of experience individuals have had without judgement and with a humanity that has enabled everybody to smoothly re-engage with the high standards and expectations that we hold.  It has of course not been without its hiccups for some, but by taking the view of trying to understand what has happened for them we have managed to offer empathetic support whilst readjustment takes place.

As well as school life I have been, like many, moved by the events in March focused on the sad death of Sarah Everard.  It is important that whilst acknowledging our emotional response we also reflect on what impact for good such events and feelings can have on our school.  As with previous significant issues such as black lives matter and climate change, that also were born out of tragic circumstances, we are taking a long hard look at what it means for us.

Conversations have begun with staff, students and parents around gender equality, the school experience for girls, the structure of our curriculum and its content, as well as wider key questions regarding our role in helping our society as a whole improve.  This will be an ongoing piece of work although already students in Y11 have already engaged in positive debate and shared experiences, we have celebrated International Women’s Week across the school and our media platforms and we have had some initial focus group conversations with girls from all year groups to get the ball rolling on areas of change we need to consider.  

The 21^st June currently represents the date when we hope the vast majority of social restrictions can end.  We will only achieve this if we gradually alter our behaviours in line with the guidance around the key milestone dates between then and now.  I was delighted to share with you yesterday the Wellbeing booklet put together by a combination of staff, parents and governors.  I hope it will offer useful advice for the coming weeks and longer term.  We need to continue with the lateral flow tests during the holiday to ensure we can return as safely as possible to school after Easter and most importantly continue to respect the physical distancing and personal hygiene practises that we know have the greatest impact on the virus.

Over the past year, everybody has had the opportunity to learn much about ourselves and evaluate the life we lead. Both the festival of Easter and Spring itself represent new life and we should all be looking forward optimistically to the holidays as a time when our own reflections on the past year, and the decline in restrictions allow us to potentially cement some positive longer term changes.  As part of this we will continue to nurture, support and encourage our students to be the best they can be. 

Best wishes

Adam Whitehead

Enjoy

After almost two months’ of closure to all but children of key workers and vulnerable students, we were really excited to welcome the majority of student back to school from Monday 8th March. We were delighted to welcome back BBC Education Editor, Branwen Jeffreys to Bohunt School Worthing for the BBC News at Six and News at Ten, to cover the story. Branwen spoke to Mr Whitehead, Ella and Lily in Y11 and visited our Testing Centre to see it in action.

March 4th was World Book Day, and while most of our students were still learning from home the English department nonetheless donned some excellent literary costumes and, along with the LRC, provided some great celebrations of books and learning.

We were really happy to see ERA Day make it’s return on 17th March with all students in school and able to partake in a range of enjoyable and challenging activities. From Macbeth performances to First Aid, our pupils engaged with workshops and tasks throughout the action-packed day. Year 7 took part in the Earthshot Prize, an important new initiative that celebrates achievement in environmental repair and protection. Pupils devised ways to protect the planet, using their skills in STEM to complete a series of challenges. Having recently been through their GCSE options process, Year 8 pupils explored career options as well as the opportunities that foreign language skills can open up. Year 9 looked at health and wellbeing, investigating the risks associated with substance abuse and gambling as well as learning vital First Aid Skills. Year 10 pupils viewed a recording of a brilliant modern interpretation of Macbeth before discussing and analysing the performances while Year 11 practiced their Maths skills to assist their upcoming assessment. Chief organiser Mr Cochlin commented on the excellent engagement from our students and the exciting variety of activities provided by staff.

We enjoyed meeting some of our Y6 parents and students for a virtual Q&A session on Thursday 25 March. We ran 3 sessions over zoom and were delighted to meet and welcome parents and students. We hope to and look forward to meeting our new cohort in person later in the summer term as part of the transition process of joining High School.

Some superb new displays of student artwork have brought some extra colour and vibrancy to the school corridors this term. GCSE pupils have been studying gestural painting as well as looking at the theme of ‘A View through the Window’ have created some amazing images.

Respect

Following on from our celebrations of Black History Month back in October and LGBT+ History Month in February, March saw us celebrating Women’s History Month. The month kicked off with a virtual assembly from Miss Palmer to mark International Women’s Day. Since then all subjects have delivered a series of teaching activities to celebrate the contributions women have made to society, culture and politics around the world, whilst also acknowledging there is still so much work that needs to be done before we can say true gender equality has been achieved. We also celebrated the amazing women who work at BSW, with a display featuring our female staff and their incredible life stories and achievements. Here is just one example – Mrs Newhouse our Admissions and Recruitment officer!

March 23 marked the anniversary of the UK’s first entry into lockdown. While all of us have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions, we know that we have both students and staff who have sadly lost loved ones to Covid-19 and so it was important we join the nation in mourning them. At 12pm we observed a one minute silence and we encouraged students to reflect on the last year during tutor time and in lessons.

Here at BSW we have a team of dedicated and brilliant Learning Support Assistants who make such a difference to the progress and enjoyment of our pupils every day. During lockdown many members of our LSA team worked in school supporting some of our vulnerable and key worker students. As a way of saying thank you to them, as well as our other key worker support staff, Rodda’s Cream generously supplied us with everything we needed to create the perfect Cornish cream tea! Delicious!

Achieve

In line with government guidance we have been conducting regular testing of both students and staff to support the national effort in reducing transmission of Covid 19. In a matter of days our incredible testing team was able to establish a base for testing students as they returned to school as well as facilitating home testing for staff and laterly students. It has been incredible to see what has been achieved. We were overwhelmed by the community spirit in our Covid Testing centre; parents, carers and staff came together to safely test students and staff over the last few weeks. On 18th March the testing centre finally packed up as we moved to a home testing model. Our amazing team managed 2550 over those weeks and even starred on BBC news! We are immensely grateful for their efforts.

A core part of our school’s ethos is the recognition of Game Changers in our community. We know that our students are capable of extraordinary things and they fill us with excitement about a future that will be in their hands. We also encourage our students to recognise the efforts that our staff put in to making their school experience so valuable. This term we asked our staff to nominate students as Game Changers and vice versa. Here are two inspiring nominations, the first by Ms Streeter-Staniford and the second by Lennon in Year 9.

“Millie you are my game changer! You really impressed me with your Blood Brothers performance and I know it took a lot of courage to get up on stage. You showed not only fab acting skills, but you pushed yourself beyond your comfort zone.  I am very proud of you and I hope you are too! Well done , Mille :-)”

“I have chosen Mr Cochin for my nomination because he has really changed my progress in school, he has persuaded me to be the best I can, meaning I’ve been able to achieve 300 ERA’s in Year 9.

Our amazing Year 7 Mandarin Excellence Program students have been studying the tricky topic of hobbies this term. To consolidate their knowledge of Mandarin so far, Ms Nai and the Mandarin teaching team decided to put a comic book competition in place. After a visit to our excellent LRC to get some inspiration from some graphic novels and comics, the students put together their own stories using images and Mandarin characters. Below is a fantastic example from Angela Pan.

We can’t wait to see the full return of organised sport and the opportunities for our students to compete against other schools in the Trust and local area. In the mean time we are happy to announce that Toby in Y8 competed in the Trampoline and DMT Virtual league (V-Tramp) for trampoline and DMT (Double Mini Trampoline). Toby filmed his routine at his home club just before lockdown three and these were then submitted and judged by a panel. Toby made it through to the final rounds in both disciplines, gaining a gold in DMT and fourth place in Trampolining. This competition included competitors from all around the world. 

School Office messages

As the weather has improved, our collection of unnamed winter coats has grown. If your child is missing a coat please suggest they look in the school office – and of course, this is a timely reminder to label all possessions and equipment!

Also please ensure your child comes into school with a water bottle everyday, if they need to refill it during the day they can use any one of the water station fountains around school.

Key Dates