Anglo European School
Bulletin - w/c 10th May 2021 (week 1)
Genomic Sequencing Programme at Anglo European
What a year we have had! We have continued to be educators in classrooms, provided on-line learning programmes, generated supplies of laptops and IT for students and teachers, ensured disadvantaged students had food programmes throughout every holiday, created three different in-house assessment programmes for awarding GCSEs, A Levels and IB grades to exam boards, become moderation and appeals centres for the same assessments, created a Lateral Flow Testing Centre, developed enhanced mental health provision with our own counsellor service on site, provided and created PPE, achieved Stonewall School Status, achieved the Artsmark Platinum Award and this week, we become a testing site for a genomic sequencing programme. The teaching profession is never dull!
PCR Testing for all Staff and Students 11th–14th May 2021
This week we will be participating in a testing programme as part of wider genomic sequencing programme, which is used to identify specific Covid-19 variants. This is a precautionary measure to enable Public Health England to track such variants in the population.
Anglo European has been selected because a previous case in our school has been identified as being an unusual variant, commonly known as the Brazilian variant. It is not thought that the individual contracted the variant at school or passed it on to anyone in the school community. The students’ close contacts isolated in line with government guidance and in addition, were given PCR tests to ensure there were no other cases. The testing programme this week is therefore a precautionary measure to check that no one else has the same variant. It is unlikely that further cases of people with the Covid-19 virus will be detected and, if they are, it is unlikely that they will be this variant.
We are working closely with DHSC (Department of Health & Social Care) to put a mobile testing facility in place between Tuesday 11th and Friday 14th May from 8am to 5pm in order that all staff and students can participate. The testing that will be done is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Unlike the lateral flow device tests, the results for PCR tests normally take 48 hours to become available. The result will be sent to the contact number and/or the email that you provide on the consent form.
If you have not done so already, it is vital that you complete the consent form, by following this link in order for the school to ensure as many staff and students can participate. Thank you to those of you who did this promptly – this really helped with our logistical planning.
Any child who is 11 years or younger, will need to have a parent present to have the test completed. We are aware that this affects 81 students in Year 7. If you consent to the test, and this is the case for your child, the school will provide you with an appointment time to attend the school and be with your child whilst they are tested.
Students will bring home a test card with a bar code on it. It is essential that they register the test before midnight on the day the test took place following gov.uk/register-your-test
The school will ensure that testing causes minimal disruption, and no assessments or examinations will be affected. Year 8, 9 and LAMDA assessments will go ahead as planned as will all preparatory work for examination year groups and extra-curricular activities.
Please can we take this opportunity to remind parents that your child should be home-testing twice a week and logging their results on Test Register. Our administrative staff are spending considerable time ringing parents to remind them to do this. This not only allows records of Anglo students to be accurate but ensures vital funds are returned to the school to cover Covid-19 expenditure.
The on-site programme is an additional test and should not replace normal testing practice. In addition, if your child displays any symptoms, they should not attend school and follow government advice.
Thank for your continued support for all infection control procedures at Anglo European; we hope this will be a further opportunity to reassure the school community of the effectiveness of these measures.
Moana Mania!
We were overwhelmed by the numbers of students who have auditioned for the school production. 200 students auditioned for the Disney musical Moana; the production will take place in December 2021. We were grateful for all the wonderful talent that arrived on the 3 days of auditions; we were sorry we couldn't award a major part to everyone. However, everyone who auditioned will be part of the adventure! Mr Rafiq recalls, "Our favourite reaction when casting the show was watching students finding their name published on the Drama room doors. Early on Tuesday morning, one KS3 student stood in front of the door to see if she had been awarded a main role. She looked closely at the door to see if her name was on the list. Her friend had been given a part; she congratulated him, but she couldn't see her name. Her reaction was to say, "Oh well, I'll try again next year." I opened the door and pointed to her name. She couldn't believe her eyes... she had been cast as one of the Moanas! This is exactly why we cast her in the role; her humble reaction epitomises the wonderful nature of our students at the Anglo!" Mrs Gee, Headteacher added, "It has been a real joy to listen to the first rehearsals take place this week. The site has been full of song, tapping feet and smiles! Taking part in arts events encourages self-expression, develops creativity and builds students' confidence. They are clearly thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to work collaboratively together again after such an extended period of isolation in lockdown."
We hope you can all join us to celebrate the magic of Moana in December: the story of an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. In the meantime, enjoy the first of our promotional videos where we aim to keep you up to date with the progress of this spectacular production it the making.
The Arts Team
Year 9 Enterprise Days
Our Year 9 students not only developed their initiative, creativity and motivation last week but other key employability skills when they competed in our annual Enterprise Days, organised and delivered by our Lower Sixth IBCP students as part of their personal professional skills module.
The Year 9 task was to create an ethical café / food outlet of their choice, producing and presenting a business plan including a budget & marketing strategy. We were really fortunate in having some virtual “expert” advice on setting up a business from AES alumni - Katherine Camps Kilgour of Bright Media & Marketing, Lory Zutautas of Peaberries Coffee shop and Jaymey McIvor of Capital Flowers – along with Ed Flack from Wizeup Financial Education, who was our resident virtual financial expert for the days, as well as judge for the final presentations. We were astounded by the creative and innovative ideas and all ended up feeling very hungry!!
Lateral Flow Testing
Test Register send a reminder for twice weekly testing, we ask that parents continue to record results with both Test Register and the NHS. It is vital that students test twice weekly in order to identify asymptomatic cases of coronavirus and prevent the spread of the virus. This will ensure we keep the school community safe.
National Chinese Speaking Competition
The national Chinese Speaking Competition final was hosted by the British Council, and held virtually on 5th of May.
Previously, in March, candidates from schools all around the country joined the first round of the Chinese Speaking Competition. Congratulations to Alex Morgan (10C) and Yan Morris (11C) who qualified for the final.
Both students were extremely impressive and we anticipate the final results from the British Council soon. Good luck to you both!
SIXTH FORM FOCUS
As we head into the last few weeks of the half term, we are approaching some important weeks for both year groups. The Upper Sixth will be heading into their final assessment week, shortly having had the chance to go back over assessment week one work, and to discuss how to improve their examination technique. As you are aware, a number of assessments have been reduced in size for the second week and therefore Upper Sixth students' last day will now be on Thursday 27th May, leaving after our special assembly during Period 3. We wish the whole cohort the best of luck with these final assessments.
The Lower Sixth will then commence their PPEs, starting on 7th June, which will be the first time that many of them have sat unseen formal assessments in examination conditions for quite some time. Our staff are mindful of this and are working with the students to make sure they are aware of the rubric and style of each examination. In addition, we are supporting the work of Mrs Lawrence from earlier in the year on revision, with a special assembly this week including guidance on established techniques at this level, as well as tips from the current Upper Sixth.
Both year groups are therefore heading into a very busy period, but should always keep in mind that the Sixth Form Team, including Form Tutors, are here to support them no matter the size of the issue, and should be encouraged to contact us as soon as possible if they feel they, or a peer, needs support. Good luck everyone.
On Monday 10th May 24 Lower Sixth Geography students took part in a fieldtrip to a local woodland to measure the carbon content of this ecosystem. The aim was to see if the trees offset the carbon footprint of the school. After such a long period with no offsite visits, it was great to finally run a visit that allowed the students to apply the knowledge and understanding they have been developing in the classroom to the real world.
OPPORTUNITIES
Our new Scholastic Book Club is up and running!
Please visit https://schools.scholastic.co.uk/angloeuropean/digital-book-club to browse the latest books and order online. For every £1 you spend on this month’s Book Club, our school will earn 20p in Scholastic Rewards.
Please place your order online by July 1st, 2021.
Unifrog Interactions
As you are aware, we are delighted that Unifrog is our partner on-line careers platform for which all AES students have access. We are now frequently posting interactions to students about careers insight opportunities outside of school hours. If parents have signed up for notifications of activity on their child’s Unifrog account you will only see a summary of the Interaction that's been set, you cannot click into the details of it. The idea is to encourage your child to get logged in and engage with the interaction themselves.
AESA Health and Wellness Sessions
Join the AESA for Online Health and Wellness Sessions. The AESA will be raising funds for the school, for our families, and to raise funds for the Anglo European Association. Several wonderful people have come forward to share their knowledge, experience and talents with you.
Sunday 16th May - 3.00pm -5.00pm – Make a dessert alongside Chef Izzy Bosano from “The Shard”
Izzy has been working at the Shard for the last 2 ½ years and if you prefer not to bake but to watch please do. A list of ingredients will be sent out 1 week beforehand.
Friday 21st May – 7.15pm – 40 mins Horticulture with Petra Holly
We will be making an upcycled Kokedama. It is a Japanese style house plant display. We will be talking all things Garden with lots of opportunities for Q&A, please send all questions in the booking form (link below) A list of materials will be sent out 1 week beforehand.
Friday 28th May – 7.15pm – 40 mins - Yoga with Kellie Jones www.kelliejones.me
You will need a Mat or Towel to join this session
The sessions are open to students, families, individuals, grandparents and anyone who would be interested in learning a new skill, having fun and just thinking about health and wellbeing. All sessions will be online in the comfort of your home via the online platforms Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Each session is £8.00 per family to attend
All payments will be taken online through Bacs, details can be found on the booking form.
Please use your Full name + HWS, as reference.
All Online links to the sessions will be sent out 1 week before each event, as well as the list of ingredients and materials.
Please complete the online booking form to register for your sessions: https://forms.office.com/r/JLai81gvea
Ingatestone Parish Council organise Litter Pick
The Ingatestone Parish Council are organising a village litter pick on the Saturday 22nd May from 9.30am-12.30pm meeting at the Community centre. Feel free to attend if you would like to help with this.
Parental Forum
We would like to invite parents to our next Parental Forum, which will take place on Wednesday 26th May at 4.30pm, on the topic of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The discussion will be based around a draft of the school's EDI policy to gather feedback from parents. As we will be conducting the meeting by zoom, there will be a limited amount of places available, but any parents that we are unable to accommodate this time we will look to include in future forums throughout the year. To register your interest in taking part please email enquiries@aesessex.co.uk with 'Parental Forum' in the title.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
KEY DATES
Thursday 27th May - Upper Sixth students' last day at Anglo
Friday 28th May - Year 11 students' last day at Anglo
TERM DATES 2021/22
Summer Term
Monday 12th April to Friday 16th July 2021
Half term: Monday 31st May to Friday 4th June 2021
Anglo Communication
Finance - finance@aesessex.co.uk
Attendance - attendance@aesessex.co.uk
Admissions - admissions@aesessex.co.uk
Email: enquiries@aesessex.co.uk
Website: aesessex.co.uk
Location: Anglo European School, CM4 0DJ, Willow Green, Ingatestone, UK
Phone: 01277 354018
Facebook: facebook.com/angloeuropeanschool
Twitter: @angloeuropean73