Our Turkey/Receptionist Mrs Hawgood welcomed students and staff into school this morning in this amazing outfit and brought a smile to everyone's face.

Such a lovely festive atmosphere in school today fundraising for Save the Children.

How amazing do our wonderful staff look in their Christmas Jumpers?!

Mrs Hawgood has been handing out some sweet treats to all those who have got involved in Christmas Jumper Day today. So wonderful to see our School community come together for fundraising events. Thank you to Mrs Hawgood for organising this event and for always creating so much joy and fun in our School. 

Dear parents/carers,

Group A strep cases – advice for parents

You may be aware from the media that the UK is seeing a high number of Group A strep cases this year. The bacteria usually cause a mild infection which can lead to sore (strep) throats, impetigo or scarlet fever, that can be easily treated with antibiotics.

Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, but it is very infectious. Symptoms to look out for include a sore throat, headache, and fever, along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel. On darker skin, the rash can be more difficult to detect visually but will have a sandpapery feel.

Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you suspect your child has scarlet fever, because early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications. If your child has scarlet fever, keep them at home until at least 24 hours after the start of antibiotic treatment to avoid spreading the infection to others.

In very rare circumstances, these bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause serious illness – called invasive Group A strep (iGAS). This is still uncommon.

As a parent, if you feel that your child seems seriously unwell, you should trust your own judgement. Contact NHS 111 or your GP if:

• your child is getting worse
• your child is feeding or eating much less than normal
• your child has had a dry nappy for 12 hours or more or shows other signs of dehydration
• your baby is under 3 months and has a temperature of 38°C, or is older than 3 months and has a temperature of 39°C or higher
• your baby feels hotter than usual when you touch their back or chest, or feels sweaty
• your child is very tired or irritable

Call 999 or go to A&E if:

• your child is having difficulty breathing – you may notice grunting noises or their tummy sucking under their ribs
• there are pauses when your child breathes
• your child’s skin, tongue or lips are blue
• your child is floppy and will not wake up or stay awake

Good hand and respiratory hygiene are important for stopping the spread of many bugs. By teaching your child how to wash their hands properly with soap for 20 seconds, using a tissue to catch coughs and sneezes, and keeping away from others when feeling unwell, they will be able to reduce the risk of picking up or spreading infections.

• UKHSA update on scarlet fever and invasive Group A strep https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-scarlet-fever-and-invasive-group-a-strep
• 5 ways to protect your under 5s this winter https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2022/10/25/5-ways-to-protect-your-under-5s-this-winter/

Guidance for professionals

• Group A streptococcal infections: guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/group-a-streptococcal-infections-guidance-and-data 
• Health protection in children and young people settings, including educationhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities

Regards,

Mr T Lawrence

Head of School

On Thursday 24th November 2022 we welcomed staff, students and parents/carers into school for our Key Stage 4&5 Prize Giving to celebrate a very successful year.

A summary of this success can be captured in our 2022 results - our best ever results: 87% of our Year 11 students achieving passes in English and Maths, with 30% of all GCSE entries achieving grades 7-9; 90% of our Year 13 students have secured places at University, more than ever before to Oxbridge and Russell Group, whilst the majority of the remaining students have secured high-quality apprenticeships. 

The purpose of Prize Giving is to pause and take note or a milestone in life. Each of the students that received commendations have their own unique stories of difficulty, hard work, set backs and triumph. 

A huge thank you to our special guest speaker, Charles Alexis who awarded prizes and also spoke at the event. Charles Alexis is a software developer, entrepreneur and musician. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he left school with no formal qualifications. His tech career began at 17, when he developed an interest in coding and began many projects and created a number of businesses with his younger brother. As a result of his enthusiasm and fast learning, he became a sought-after developer and is now currently employed as a Senior Software Developer for an international marketing company. He is a regular motivational speaker and keynote speaker at schools & careers events. 

Well done to our students who performed at the event. The two musical pieces 'Oh when the Saints' and 'Cave Man' were simply amazing. Well done to Jermira and Callum who performed the drama piece 'Two weeks with the Queen' by Morris Gleitzman. We are so privileged to have such talented students at our school. 

Thank you to Mr Tom Lawrence our Head of School, Ms Sylvia Perrins our Chair of Trustees and Councillor Mr L Fletcher - The Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich for awarding prizes at the event.

A wonderful evening had by all, another fantastic Prize Giving to celebrate our the achievements of our students. Thank you to everyone involved in the event and everyone who attended, your support is greatly appreciated.

Wednesday 30th November 2022 - 2.40-4.30pm

Our next event in the PolyMAT Presents series will focus on the importance of active, rather than passive, classroom activity as an essential ingredient in the learning process. We will hear from Dr. Craig Blewett, author of Activated Classroom Teaching or (ACT), a pedagogy designed to help move learning from passive to active supported by new technologies. We will also hear from a number of Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts, including Catherine Coleman, who will discuss the 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD) pedagogy, and Cameron Kaljouw who will show how this can be put into practice using tools such as Minecraft.

Click here for further information about the event and the webinar link

All our speakers will be focussed on the active classroom/ active learning topic.

We look forward to you joining us for this virtual mini-conference either live, or afterwards when these are posted to YouTube. 

You can watch our other 5 series of PolyMAT presents on our YouTube channel here