Dear Parents and Carers
I have been bowled over by our pupils' hard work and enthusiasm over the course of the first week of this half-term: they have returned from the February break with a spring in their step - entirely readying themselves for the challenges over the second half of the year. Thank you for your support.
Recruitment: As the school is again on the verge of expanding by another year group we continue to welcome many potential visitors to the school. Without exception they comment on the politeness, gratitude and enthusiasm of the pupils and, as a result, unlike many schools, we continue to recruit exceptional teachers. I am delighted that we are now half way to filling our teaching vacancies for September.
National Offers Day for secondary schools is tomorrow. For those with children in Year 6 I wish you every success in securing a place at your preferred secondary school. For those interested in joining Soane I will be hosting an information evening on Thursday and Friday. Full details can be found on the school website.
Ramadan Mubarak: The school wishes "Ramadan Mubarak" to all those in our community who are celebrating. If your child is marking Ramadan then please support them to plan ahead to ensure that they remain well-rested, that they eat well before and after the fast and that they sustain 100% school attendance and punctuality during this time.
If your child's intention to fast changes during Ramadan then please let us know by Wednesday so that we can cater effectively and ensure correct billing for the following week. All of our families are invited - whether celebrating Ramadan or not - to join for our communal multi-faith Iftar on Thursday 13th March. Please hold the date.
I wish you an enjoyable remainder of the weekend and look forward to seeing all pupils by 8.25 tomorrow.
This Week's Highlights
Yousef, Mo, and Olly (year 9) spent their half term break representing Soane superbly on and off the pitch at the Ark football residential trip, and Mr Chippendale was really impressed by their professionalism in training. Well done boys! The year 8 footballers also had an excellent week, clinching a win against West London Free School, with the man of the match going to Yacine.
The pupils also produced some incredible extension work over the break. Remas and Maisa (7 Cleopatra) impressed Mr Melwani by bringing in 20 pages of extension, Rufaida (7 Augustus) turned 12 pages of maths revision in to Mr Raine, and Arfa (9 Augustus) impressed Mr Morgan by bringing in extension work before he even started teaching her!
There was great energy in Chess club this week as the 7 Ramesses boys showed up in numbers, and the year 10 artists impressed Ms Back by producing some detailed title pages to kick off their new projects with a bang! Seen below is Refal and Malvina's work.
Notices
SEND Team coffee morning
On Friday 21st March from 8:50-10:00, Mr Tse (SENCO) and the SEND team will be hosting a coffee morning where you will get the chance to hear more about how we are supporting our pupils with SEND, see some lessons and speak to the SEND team. If you would like to attend, please register here by the 14th March.
PE Lessons during Ramadan
All pupils should bring their PE kit over the coming weeks, even if fasting.
Lessons have been adapted and fasting pupils are encouraged to avoid excessively strenuous athletic activity during the fast. If
Poetry by Heart
This week, Ark Soane is excited to launch a fantastic new opportunity open to all students - a national spoken word poetry competition called ‘Poetry by Heart’. Students who want to improve their confidence, practice their performing and public speaking skills, boost their memory and enjoy new poems are encouraged to sign up. Students will commit to learning a new poem by heart, record themselves giving a performance of that poem, and submit it to the judging panel. Any finalists chosen by Poetry by Heart will be invited to a grand finale that takes place in July at Shakespeare’s Globe where they will compete to be named the national champion of their key stage. We will also have our very own Soane winners and showcase, so watch this space to hear more about upcoming performances! This competition will require 3 afterschool sessions taking place on Friday 14th, Friday 21st and Friday 28th March, which will finish at 4:40PM.
Bag searches
Random bag and blazer searches are regularly carried out at the academy in line with government guidance - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation. This is to keep students safe from prohibited items being brought onto the site, and to ensure the academy remains gum-free and phone-free.
RSHE consultation – Mon 3rd March, 5PM-5:30PM
|
As a part of your child’s education at Ark Soane, we promote personal wellbeing and development through a comprehensive Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education programme. PSHE education is the curriculum subject that gives young people the knowledge to live safe, healthy lives. As part of this, schools have a statutory obligation to teach students relationships and sex education. This is to prepare students for relationships of all kinds in the modern world. As a school community, we are committed to working in partnership with parents and are required to consult on the curriculum. We will be hosting a meeting in-school as part of this consultation from 17:00 – 17:30 on Monday 3rd March. If you would be interested in attending this meeting, please complete the MS Form here no later than 12PM on Monday: https://forms.office.com/e/GtRDP6387i. |
Ealing Parenting support
Ealing Parenting Service will be running the attached parenting workshops in the second half of the Spring term. The sessions are online and held via Microsoft Teams from 10am-12pm.
Details of how to register are on the flyers.
Contact Us
If you need face-to-face assistance then the school office is open during term-time from 8am-4pm. So that we can deal with email enquiries promptly please see the school email addresses below:
- General Enquiries – info@arksoane.org
- Attendance - absence@arksoane.org
- Free School Meals - fsm@arksoane.org