Spring Half Term Update

Dear Parents/Pupils

Spring Half-Term Update

Staffing News
Hopefully most of you will have met our new members of staff who joined the school in January. Mr Mike Patey is our new K1 tutor; Mr Patey joins us from Lenham Primary School.

From Australia, where they left 30+ degrees of sunshine, are Miss Teagan Barr and Miss Jessica Ryan our Gap year students for 2010.

As expected, Mrs Lilleyman will be leaving us and K2 at Easter as she joins her husband on his posting to Australia for the next two years. Mrs Lucy Holgate will be taking over as K2’s Form Tutor at the start of the second half of the Summer term. Mrs Holgate is a graduate of Warwick University and joins us from Hillcrest Grammar School, Stockport. In the meantime, Ms Mcpherson will oversee the teaching of K2 in the interim few weeks, between the departure of Mrs Lilleyman and the arrival of Mrs Holgate.

Longfield Wools
A number of parents in recent months have complained of experiencing difficulties in sourcing items of uniform from Longfield Wools. Some parents have also reported unconfirmed rumours that Longfield Wools were having financial difficulties and may be closing down.

The school has attempted to contact Mr Ian Fletcher, proprietor of Longfield Wools, prior to Christmas to establish the situation and to determine whether Longfield Wools still wishes to remain a supplier of uniform for Gad’s Hill School. However, Longfield Wools have not replied to our efforts to make contact and as a result the school has informed Longfield Wools that it is no longer one of our preferred suppliers of Gad’s Hill School uniform. Consequently, parents are advised that our uniform supplier is: -

The Sewing Shop
4 Echo Square
Gravesend
Kent DA12 1NP
Tel: 01474 536700
Web: www.the-sewing-shop.co.uk

Longfield Wools therefore is no longer a school stockist.

Parents Access into the School
In line with safeguarding children procedures the school cannot allow parents un-supervised access into school buildings and other parts of the site.

Parents of some Junior pupils in particular, have developed the habit of entering the Junior School lobby to visit classrooms or the children’s coat peg area. This cannot happen. I must ask that Junior parents remain outside the lobby area. Please do not enter the Junior School at the beginning or at the end of the school day or indeed at any other time. The Junior children are all extremely capable of looking after their own belongings and we must ensure that they do this independently.

If any parent wishes to meet with one of the teaching staff then please make an appointment via the school office. This can be done by calling in at the school office or by telephone, e-mail or write it in your child’s diary as these are checked daily. If you do have an appointment to see a member of staff please report to the school office at the agreed time, where you must sign in the visitors register and collect a visitors pass. The office staff will then contact the member of staff concerned who will then collect you. Please do not, as some parents have done lately, go directly to a teacher’s classroom without having signed in at the office first.

If a parent wishes to discuss an ad-hoc matter with a child’s form tutor at the end of the school day during handover, either in the Kindergarten play-area or outside of the Junior lobby then that is fine. If the discussion is likely to take some time and necessitates the use of an office or classroom then the parents will need to “sign-in” at the office. We are required to be aware of who is on-site at all times and also if a person is on the premises and who has not been vetted by the school’s child protection procedures they must be accompanied by a member of school staff.

In a similar way we cannot allow parents unfettered access to all parts of the school grounds. From 3.20pm parents/visitors may have access to the car-park, rear lawn, the approach road to, and the jungle gym area. However, parents must not visit the orchard (senior school bag-racks) nor may they or younger siblings use the toilet facilities in the Pavilion. These are for Senior pupils only and may not be used by younger children (Juniors or Kindergarten) or adults.

I am sorry if what I write seems rather draconian. Gad’s Hill is fairly unique in having a welcoming and open community. However, we are operating in an increasingly restrictive child protection orientated society and there are regulations which we must adhere to in order to comply with these regulations and to protect our children.

Music & Drama
Joseph Production
May I take this opportunity to congratulate the whole of the Junior school for their stunning performance of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dream-coat at the Britannia Theatre in Chatham Maritime. Thanks also to Mr Best (Director), Mr Stone (Musical Director), Ms Garratt (Producer) and all of our teaching and non-teaching colleagues who played a role in helping it to be the success that it was. We are all now looking forward to our 2011 production which we hope to announce soon.

There are a number of drama and musical events happening to keep you entertained over the next few weeks.

On Friday, 12th March Kindergarten Mums will be clutching their handkerchiefs as the Kindergarten children perform in their traditional “Mothers Day Service” at St John’s Church Higham.

Wednesday, 31st March is the traditional Spring Music Festival, to be held at the Royal Dockyard Church, which will see many of those students who are learning musical instruments, together with the choirs, perform in this annual competition.

Congratulations to
Cross country team wins:-
U13 Granville League Competition
U 13 Boys 2nd place, U13 Girls Champions!

ISA London (South) Championships
U11 Boys 3rd place, U13 Girls 3rd place (team competitions)
Individuals rankings:
Lewis Drysdale 11th out of 84 runners, Isabelle Lane 5th, Rebecca Daly 7th. Both Rebecca and Isabelle have been selected to run in national finals.

U13 Boys Team Competition Champions! (Team consisted of (+individual places) Zak Warwood 1st, Jack Baldwin 5th, Lewis Lovell 7th)
U13 Girls - Team (Piper Hudson 4th, Brigitte Schweitzer 8th, Sophie Green 12th)
U15 Boys - Jordan Smith 10th
Under 15 Girls – Individual places Holly Black 6th, Leonnie Wallace 10th, Zoe Clarke 12th, and Kitty Bennett-Gibbon 13th

Under 19 Boys Adam Brown 9th
Under 19 Girls Team Champions! (+individual places) (Rebecca Johnson 2nd, Priya Whaid 4th, Felicity Sparks 5th, Georgina Jay 6th, Shanelle Mattu 8th)

All those that came in the top 10 will represent London (South) in the National Finals in Rugby on the 26th February.

We also ran against Bronte & Kings at U11 level and won comfortably.

A lot of rugby and Hockey has been cancelled due to snow. However, we have beaten Cobham Hall, Dover College and King's this term in Girls Hockey. We beat Bethany School and Ashford School in Netball. The girls also took part in the Kent Netball Tournament. The boys rugby have played in emerging schools' matches.

Congratulations to all those children who have represented the school in a huge variety of sports and have done so well!

Events for the Diary
Friday, 26th February, 11am-3pm Open Day
Saturday, 27th February 9am-1pm Taster Assessment Day for prospective Year 6 pupils (for further information please contact Mrs Fitzgerald, Admissions Secretary, s.fitzgerald@gadshillschool.org)
Wednesday, 10th March CCF Field day (L4, U4 +L5+U5)
Friday, 12th March 2pm KG Mothers Day Service,
St John’s Church, Higham
Monday, 15th – Fri 19th March French Trip to Le Mans (L5/U5)
Monday, 22nd March, 7pm Governors Meeting
Wednesday, 24th March CCF Field Day, Hythe (L4+ U4 + L5+U5)
Wednesday, 24th March Years 10/11 An Evening of Entertainment
Friday, 26th March 7.30pm for 8pm Friends Quiz Night, School Hall
Wednesday, 31st March 9.30am KN/KR Spring Assembly, School Hall
Wednesday, 31st March 2.30pm K1/K2 Spring Assembly, School Hall
Wednesday, 31st March, 7pm Spring Music Festival, Royal Dockyard Church
Thursday, 1st April 3pm Friends Easter Egg Hunt
Thursday, 1st April, 3.40pm Juniors Eggs-travagansa
Thursday, 1st April, 4pm End of Spring Term
Monday, 12th – Friday, 23rd April Dickens Den Holiday Club
Monday, 26th April Summer Term commences

Yours sincerely