Newsletters

GHS Connect #15 Monday 19 December

Mia's notes

Well, we really are on countdown now and I want to say thank you to everyone for keeping going for so long, and for what has been an excellent term in so many ways. I’ll attempt to do a brief round up of the term on our final day, but it really is a challenge to capture everything that everyone does day in day out, so I will almost certainly miss a whole host of things! 

I hope that every single person in the school is able to reflect on their own contribution to making Greenford such a special place - everyone plays a key role! Most importantly, it’s the daily routines and the basics that make us great - the meets and greets, the outstanding teaching and learning, the marking, the pastoral conversations, the recording of things on SIMS, the listening to an upset child, the supporting of a colleague, the admin support, the answering of the phone, the greeting of visitors. It’s all of these things that really make a difference, along with the things that go above and beyond - the sports fixtures, the clubs and activities, the trips and visits, the after-school academic support, the coffee mornings for parents and the parents’ evenings. And, all of those other things that you do to make us such a wonderful community.

So, thank you to everyone.

Have a wonderful, well deserved Christmas break. Please do take a proper rest. We’re not back until Thursday 5th January, which will obviously feel like a very short week. I’m hoping that will help us to come back in January feeling fully refreshed and ready for the Spring term.

Have a great holiday,

Mia

The week ahead

Monday
Normal day.

Tuesday
Christmas Jumper day - money raised for Save the Children.
Year 11 and Post-16 final day (normal 3pm finish for them).
Meeting: Department time 3.15pm - 4.30pm.
Winter Concert - Main hall 5pm - 6pm

Wednesday 
Final day - details on Google Drive here.

Thursday
Christmas holidays!

End of term arrangements

As with last year, we will be operating a staggered departure for students Wednesday 21st December. All students will have tutor time and assembly.

It is really important that everyone reads the plans for the day very carefully. They set out what will be happening on the final day for each year group.

Community Connect parent newsletter

This term's Community Connect parent newsletter went out on Friday. It's a great reminder of all the fantastic work, trips, events and more that have taken place over the last few weeks - including former student Raheem Rashid presenting the ITV Central lunchtime news! 

You can open the newsletter here. 

Learning and teaching: Spotted!

A round up of some of the great learning and teaching strategies we’ve noticed being used around school recently... 

Teaching and Learning: Thank you!

A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in the development of learning and teaching at GHS this term. Whether you have been attending seminars as a part of the Teach First or ECT programmes; working on your own action research with your classes; supporting another teacher through coaching and mentoring or running subject-specific training in your departments, all of these efforts are appreciated! Have a wonderful Christmas break!

The Learning and Teaching Team

Bright Spots

This week’s bright spots go to Fuad Mohamed and Richard Lewis. 

Firstly, I want to put Fuad forward for a bright spot for his amazing coffee morning which he organised for some of our Somali parents last Thursday. It was very well attended and was a lovely event, full of smiles, conversation, tips from staff to parents and useful feedback for us from the parents. Well done Fuad - an outstanding event! Mia

The second bright spot goes to Richard Lewis. Richard has been nominated by Christabel for for simply being amazing at making people feel valued and appreciated. In Christabel’s words: “I feel like it’s important to celebrate the people that do the celebrating.” Well done Richard and thank you to Christabel!

Inclusion Heroes!

This week’s Inclusion Hero Award goes to everyone for simply getting through the term – a huge thank you from Pastoral and Inclusion for everything you have done for all our students over the last 15 weeks. Have a brilliant break and see you all in 2023!

Lou

Mental health at Christmas

There is a lot of joy and happiness associated with the festive season, but for some, it may not always be a positive time. The shorter days, colder temperatures, and the pressures associated with this time of year can impact many people.
 
Here are some resources to help boost winter well-being.
 
Saying no – advice for setting boundaries
Good advice from educationsupport.org.uk on how teachers and education staff can say no.
 
Breathing exercises for beating stress and creating calm
Try these breathing exercises for beating stress and creating calm from educationsupport.org.uk.
 
Managing anxiety
This final link looks at how teachers and education staff can effectively manage anxiety (educationsupport.org.uk).
 
If you need more direct support, you can call the Education Support helpline on 08000 562 561. Education Support is a charity supporting the mental health and well-being of teachers and education staff in schools and colleges.
 
Should you find yourself in crisis or requiring immediate support please contact your GP, ring 111 for advice or go straight to A&E. If you feel that talking your feelings out will help, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 at any time. To access information and advice on Mental health you can visit the Mind website, www.mind.org.uk or call 0300 123 393.

• NHS Volunteer Responders -  0808 196 3646
• NSPCC - 0808 800 5000 
• Childline - 0800 1111 
• Samaritans - 116 123
• Shout – Text 85258
• Mind  -  0300 123 3393
• No Panic  -  0300 7729844
• Campaign Against Living Miserably  -  0800 58 58 58
• Drinkline - 0300 123 1110
• Talk to Frank - 0300 123 6600
• National Debtline  -  0808 808 4000

Many thanks and I hope you have a lovely Christmas.

Niloo