26 April 2024

Dear Students, Parents and Carers

Welcome Back!

We welcomed back students and staff last week, following the Spring break. For Christian and Muslim families who celebrated Easter and Eid and to Jewish families who celebrated Passover this week, I hope you have all enjoyed time with family and friends during these important festivals.

What have we been up to?

Our year 11 students have been working hard to prepare for their forthcoming examinations and there have been a number of important practical exams since we returned, including Food, PE, Music, Textiles and Art. We had exceptional examination results last year and we are predicting our year 11s to do just as well this year.

This week’s events have included Stephen Lawrence day, ‘wear orange’, as well as assemblies and form time activities in memory of of Stephen and his legacy. We have discussed the impact of Stephen’s murder on the criminal justice system, institutional racism, the importance of not being a ‘bystander’ to injustice and our school value of integrity. We are encouraging students to consider not just what they want to be but who they want to be in the future. I know that our students are passionate about social justice and making the world a better place and I want them to feel confident in challenging others when they do not share these values.

Please see the links below for more information:

Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation: A Legacy For Change

Eid Party

Staff and students organised a wonderful Eid party on Tuesday so that we could join together to share food, music, songs and prayers.  Thank you to all students who performed and presented, as well as to Olive Dining and all staff who made cakes – the food was delicious!  A huge thank you to Ms Kazi and all those staff who helped to set up the Hall, organise gift bags etc. 

Parent meeting

Thank you to all those parents who attended our parent focus group before the holidays.  Our aims in meeting were as follows:

• To explore what effective parent/ carer and school relationships should look like
• Reduce complaints so that we 'get it right' the first time
• Develop a mutual understanding of difficulties faced by parents and teachers/ school staff
• To establish reasonable expectations of what schools can do

We had a very useful discussion about the pressures which schools face and reasons why, for example, leaders and Heads of Year cannot respond immediately, even when concerns are urgent and serious.  The parent group made some excellent suggestions which we will be discussing and will update you on in the coming weeks.

One immediate suggestion was about publicising our learning journeys.  These are in students’ books and on the website here: Walthamstow School for Girls - Subject Information (wsfg.waltham.sch.uk)  They provide an overview of what your child is studying and how they will be assessed in every unit and in every subject.  Simply click on the subject you want to see and scroll down.

If you would like to get involved in a future parent group, please let us know.

Attendance and lates to school – a plea

I wanted to remind you that school starts at 8:45am.  Our student gate opens from 8:15am.  Please remind your child/ren to take into account leaving home earlier for traffic. It is so important that we maximise students’ learning and they need to be in school on time for this to happen.

I also wanted to remind you that medical appointments should be booked out of school hours where possible.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend

Helen Marriott
Headteacher