Term 4 - Spring Edition
Contents
Don't just say the values... live them... - Mr Ferguson
Welcome
Teaching and Learning
Strive for Success
World Book Day
Year 9 Options Evening
Sport Update
Rewarding 'What Great Looks Like'
Trips and Visits
How to Find Out More
Second Hand Uniform
Dates for the Diary - Term 5
Don't just say the values... live them...
Dear Parent/Carer,
Once again, I write this newsletter with immense pride; I love coming to work each and every day at our school. This is the most demanding role I have ever had in my career, but equally, I have never had so much fun before in a school. The Lenham School is a place full of smiles, joy, humour and optimism.
Making a Difference
Out of all the terms that have passed since I have been with you, this has been the one where I feel we are doing what we said were going to do the most. It is easy for schools to say ‘flashy buzzwords’, but is it making a difference and happening every day, on the ground in the school? This is the term when I can most confidently say yes, these things are happening in classrooms, at breaktime, in clubs, on the stage and in the sports facilities, each and every day.
Our Goals
We promised we would be committing to our three goal values:
1. Building a culture of Academia that goes beyond just learning what is needed just to pass exams.
2. Creating a school that creates Opportunities for everyone.
3. Transforming The Lenham School into a place where we all feel that sense of Belonging. It isn’t just somewhere you come to learn; it is a home from home.
I hope that as you read through this newsletter, you will see that as each day passes, The Lenham School continues to live and breathe these values more and more…
Mr Ferguson - Headteacher
welcome
As Easter approaches and there are fewer days spoilt by rain showers, it is a great opportunity to reflect on what has been a very successful term for TLS.
Teaching and Learning
During our INSET day on 23 February, the school welcomed educational specialist David Didau to share his thoughts on how teachers can fully help and support their students. David is a well-known and highly respected English specialist and has his own blog (www.learningspy.co.uk) and he shared his thoughts on how lessons and assessments can be structured to engage students and consolidate their learning. During his presentation, David conducted a live lesson with a group of volunteer students in Years 10 and 11. The day was very enlightening, and teachers have already been implementing many of the good ideas shared. We now look forward at seeing how our students continue to flourish in the classroom.
strive for success
Term 4 has been a very busy term for Year 11 students. Term started with the second wave of Pre-Public Mock Exams (PPEs). Students’ conduct was excellent and later in the term we celebrated their success when they received their results. The focus is now on final exam preparation and students have been able to attend a range of intervention sessions both during and out of school hours. Year 11 is an extremely stressful time for students (and their parents!), so we were very appreciative of Mr Errey who organised for Year 11 students to visit the Hollywood Bowl and enjoy some downtime.
World Book Day
World Book Day (7 March 2024) is a very important day for TLS. This is because reading is such a vital part of the school, and we truly believe that students appreciating the power of getting engrossed in a good book is beneficial in so many ways. This year (as has become tradition for the school) staff and students in Year 7 were able to come dressed as some of their favourite literary characters. We were very impressed with the trio of Miss Harsley, Mr Tyson and Mr Yu who magically transformed into characters from Harry Potter.
Year 9 Options evening
We really enjoy showing off our amazing school and had the perfect opportunity during our Year 9 Options Evening. It was great to see so many students and parents visit the school to find out about our GCSE and BTEC offer and take the opportunity to visit teachers to find out about their progress so far and seek advice on next steps. The evening had a real ‘buzz’ about it, and we are very excited about seeing our Year 9s continue to mature and develop as they turn their potential into reality.
Sport Update
Sport continues to be a real success for the school. Students in all year groups have participated in several tournaments and in a range of sports. Highlights have been hosting the inaugural VIAT Boys Football Tournament, and some stunning results for the boys’ football teams and girls’ football and netball teams. Although success is great, we are most proud of the enthusiasm that our young athletes want to represent their school with pride.
rewarding 'what great looks like'
The school has invested in its new reward system with the launch of ‘What Great Looks Like’. These are awarded to students who have demonstrated the key characteristics that we would expect to see from a student at TLS. We took the opportunity to issue the first ‘Bronze Award Badges’ to students in Year 8 during our ‘Year 8 Information Evening’. During the event, we welcomed guest speaker, Kit Messenger from Changing Chances, to speak about how families can support their children as they grow up.
There have been so many examples of ‘What Great Looks Like’ across the school this term. Year 11 Catering students showed off their culinary skills during their Food Practical Exam and a selection of students took part in a West End Workshop Day, where they participated in a range of singing, acting and dancing routines. The highlight of the term had to be the Year 7 STEAM Day where students were off timetable experiencing activities such as stone masonry, go kart design and a criminal investigation to find out which teacher stole the chocolate! Thank you to Mrs Batey for her help in organising the day.
Trips and Visits
Trips and visits continue to be a real strength of TLS and help to boost our students’ understanding of their learning. This term has seen a plethora of events including opportunities to visit the theatre, Apprenticeship Fairs, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the National History Museum. We are always incredibly impressed with the way students conduct themselves when they represent the school on these trips and grateful to the countless staff who give up their time to organise and run these trips.
How to Find Out More
Please feel free to join our Facebook Page The Lenham School | Maidstone | Facebook to keep up to date with all the exciting things that are happening both in and out of the classroom.
Second Hand Uniform
Details of how to access our second-hand uniform is available on our school website. With the continued rise in household costs, we hope this initiative can make a small difference by helping some of our families to access free uniform https://www.thelenham.viat.org.uk/1850/uniform.
We wish all our students a restful Easter break and look forward to welcoming them back on Monday 15 April.
.
Dates for the Diary
15 April Start of Term 5 & Y11 Group Photo
16 April Year 12 CCCU Event
17-18 April Y10 Food Practicals
17 April Y8 History Trip to Portsmouth
18 April Y11 Dance Practical Exam
22 April Y11 Graphics Exam/Outlook Expedition Assembly
23 April Y10 Geography Trip to Herne Bay
23-24 April Year 11 Art Exams
24 April Spring Music Concert
25-26 April Year 11 Art Exams
29 April-3 May Year 11 Speaking Exams
29 April Year 10 History Trip
30 April Y13 Performing Arts Practical
30 April Outlook Expedition Parent Webinar
3 May DofE Practice Expedition
6 May Bank Holiday - School
7 May Start of Year 11 Exams
8 May Year 6 Welcome Evening
9 May Year 10 CCCU Trip
15-16 May Year 7 Parents Consultation Evening
20 May Year 8 Careers Event
22 May Year 12 Kent University Trip
24-25 May DofE Expedition
24 May Last Day of Term 5