Teddington School Newsletter
Friday 10 November 2023
Headteacher's Message
Dear Families
I hope this newsletter finds you well and refreshed after the half term break. In school, we had a busy half term with the installation of more wall art in the main building and Sixth Form. We also welcomed the addition of 60 brand new Mac computers into the Music department. Mr Cragg and his team have been delighted to use these with the students during their music lessons. Additionally, our main school entrance off Broom Road will soon be adorned with the beauty of wildflowers, thanks to the hard work and expertise of our incredible PTA and Wild Thomas Gardens, who have dedicated their time over half term to bring this wonderful addition to our school. We look forward to seeing everything in bloom in the spring. Please see the video below from our green fingered PTA.
It's been an exciting first week back at school, and we're thrilled to share some recent highlights with you. Our Year 12 artists have kicked off the term by delving into the world of still life, each bringing their unique style to the canvas. The creativity and passion displayed by our budding artists are truly commendable. The art department is an exciting learning environment where students can explore their creative side.
A huge congratulations to Vincent in Year 10 for being re-selected to represent the Royal Yachting Association, London, at the Southeast Regional Topper training. Vincent has secured a spot among the elite 24 participants in the Invitational Training Camp scheduled for January 2024. Not to be outdone, Martha in Year 7 has been selected for the ITCA (International Topper Class Association). Her recent Winter Training Camp experience at WPNSA was filled with good winds and weather, making it a memorable start to her sailing journey. Well done, Martha! Finally, good luck to Henri in Year 11 who is a leading cadet at Twickenham Sea Cadet Unit and bugle player. Henri is taking part in the Lord Mayor's show this Saturday with the Sea Cadet London Area band. He will also be playing the Last Post at Teddington Memorial on Sunday and has been chosen to attend and is playing the Last Post at the remembrance service at the Department for Education next week. Amazing opportunities Henri, good luck and enjoy!
Looking to next week, our Sixth Form open mornings will run on Wednesday and Thursday, providing prospective students with the perfect opportunity to explore life at our Sixth Form. Please join us! Both mornings will start with a presentation by me, followed by a student-led tour of our sixth form building. It's a chance to meet our dedicated staff, interact with current students, and discover why we should be your first choice for post-16 studies.
Thank you for your ongoing support, and here's to a fantastic half term ahead. We look forward to welcoming students back into school on Monday for an 08:40 start.
Mr P Grills
Headteacher
PTA Wildflower Project
Weekly Highlights
Our Year 12 artists have been exploring still life as a starting point and working in their own unique styles! 🎨
"We've just started studying 'A Christmas Carol', and in today's lesson, after going over our learning journey, we did a question and answer activity to build up our contextual knowledge." ~ Bea & Annabelle, Year 10
🧪 In Chemistry our Year 12s have been preparing a standard solution and conducting a titration to find an unknown concentration 🕵🏽♀️
Our Year 7s have been completing problem solving questions for the first phase of the Bebras Computing Challenge, set by @oxford_uni 🖥️
"In music tech we're finishing Unit 13, which involves analysing effects in the mix such as EQ, compression, noise gate, reverb and delay, and the explaining the difference they make to the piece. The new MacBooks are much faster and the update of Logik has more features to work with too." ~ Liam, Year 13
Congratulations to our students of the week! ⭐
New Wall Arts
Over the half term we have had some brand-new wall art installed! These pieces are on our inclusion and SEND corridor, ICT rooms and all around our Sixth Form to match the wall art we installed over the summer.
We love the new look and hope our students are enjoying it too!
Teddington School proudly presents a production of Footloose!
Please either click on the image or scan the QR code to purchase your tickets to see this years school production of Footloose!
Over 45% of the tickets have already been sold, so act fast if you would like to reserve a seat!
We can't wait to see this years fantastic production! ⭐
Weekly Head of Year Message
I am so proud of the start that Year 8 have made to the academic year. It’s a pleasure to see everyone's engagement and enjoyment in their learning when in lessons, making them future ready.
This was also evident in our end of term assembly which was a real celebration of Year 8s success so far. The number of students achieving over 30 merits already and having 100% attendance, along with gaining certificates is fantastic and really reflects the hard-working attitude of the year group. This was further celebrated in our rewards breakfast, which was a lovely way to end the term. There will be plenty of opportunities for all students to achieve and be rewarded for this constant hard work again this half term.
Year 8 have really settled in and found their feet, and this is evident in how they have taken up so many of the extra-curricular opportunities that are available to them from the school production to science club, there is something for everyone to enjoy. (Perhaps just not enough days in the week). We will be running an extra-curricular challenge with prizes at the end of the term so if you haven’t already got involved it’s not too late.
In tutor time, students have been exploring careers builder which enables students to have discussions and start thinking about future pathways. They have also explored a lot to do with emotions in PHSE; specifically discussing topics such as anxiety, thoughts and feelings, and anger therefore developing their understanding of themselves and others around them making them global citizens.
They have also had assemblies on Black History month, acceptance, and the importance of learning languages aiding students to become excellent global citizens and being future ready.
I’m sure Year 8 will continue the year the way they have started which promises to be a really positive and successful year for all students with lots of exciting opportunities ahead.
Miss K Jenkinson
Head of Year 8
Student shoutout!
Huge shoutout to James in Year 8 who has been retained in the Surrey County Cricket Pathway for next season as an U13. This will be James' fifth year in the pathway.
This is an amazing achievement, James! Keep up the excellent work! 🏏
Happy Diwali for 12 November!
Flu Immunisations
Please if you haven't already, can families complete this consent form to indicate whether you consent or decline to your child receiving the flu immunisation. A form must be completed for each child you have in Teddington School.
Years 7 - 11 are being vaccinated in school on 13 December.
Update from the PTA
Please have a read of our latest update from our dedicated PTA team via the PDF below.
Upcoming Dates
13 - 15 November - Year 13 A Level Biology Residential Trip
16 November - 'The Woman in Black' Theatre Trip
28 Nov - 1 Dec - 'Footloose' performances
7 December - Year 7 'A Pop' Parents Evening
12 December - 'Peter Pan' Theatre Trip
12 December - Year 7 'B Pop' Parents Evening
13 December - Nasal Flu Immunisations
Broom Rd, Teddington TW11 9PJ