July 2016 NEWSLETTER
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July 2016 NEWSLETTER Staff News From the Headteacher As we near the end of another busy school year, I must firstly congratulate pupils on their success in the end of year We say goodbye to a number of colleagues at the end of this examinations. I have term: enjoyed reading the girls’ school reports which reflect Mr Collins who has been of great support in the a large amount of hard Geography Department work and dedication on Mrs Gregson our Teaching Assistant, who is moving on the part of both pupils and to a new position at another school staff. Mr Painter retires from the Maths Department after 7 years at the school There have also been many other activities taking place in this summer term which add so much to the learning opportunities Mrs Burnham retires as our Home Tutor after 13½ that the girls have at BSG. Just in the last month we have had years at the school. My particular thanks goes to her our Art Exhibition, the Shakespeare Day for year 8, the HG for all she has done to support pupils who are ill or in Walker Debating Competition final, our year 10 and 12 need of extra support pupils returned from work experience and many girls Mr Travis, Head of Curie House retires after 16 undertook their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition, years’ service to the school. and of course last week we all enjoyed Sports Day. You can I would wish to pay particular tribute to our Senior read reports of these and many other activities in this Receptionist, Mrs Street, whose contribution to the school has newsletter. been enormous. She has been at the school for 34 years My thanks go to the PSA for organising the year 11 Prom, having previously been a pupil here. As the welcoming face another successful visit to Thorpe Park for 340 pupils and also of BSG I am sure that all parents and pupils will join me in supporting our outstanding summer concert. We are fortunate wishing her all the very best in her retirement. to have such an active PSA who really make a difference to To all colleagues leaving my warmest thanks and best wishes the life of our school by their fundraising and social activities. as they move on to new adventures. We are delighted that they have decided to fund the equipping of one of our Design Technology rooms with computers over the summer. New helpers and committee members are always welcomed. Details of meetings and events will be sent out in September. Do get involved! We also welcome the following colleagues in September: Over the summer we will also be creating two new Mrs James Chemistry Technician laboratories and making major improvements to our heating system which is now showing its age! Mrs Thurgur Cover Supervisor Mrs Watson Teacher of Mathematics Such a successful school year would not have been possible Miss Wedge Teacher of Religious Studies without the help and support of so many groups associated with the life of the school: pupils, staff, parents, governors and The following internal appointments have also been made or the PSA. My thanks to you all and best wishes for a restful confirmed: summer break. Mrs Choy Receptionist Alistair Brien Miss Cooper Head of Curie House Mrs Horton-Hill Pastoral Support Worker In this my first year as Chair of Governors it has been a real privilege to lead the school’s governing body. It never ceases to amaze me the sheer range of talents that our pupils have, together with the dedication and commitment of our school’s staff. Behind the scenes we have a dedicated governing body which always seeks to do the best for the pupils and staff in its care. This has been a very busy year for the governing body. We have been reviewing the way that we work in our committees. With a new committee structure in place, together with regular visits to school we want to ensure that we really know our school and are able to offer effective challenge and support to our school leaders. A working group of governors has also been meeting to make plans for a new sports facility, which would be a fitting recognition of our school’s centenary in 2018. Such a project is likely to cost around £2million! We are therefore looking at grants that we may access as well as applying for government funding. If any parents have any expertise in such matters we would be delighted to hear from you. This year we say goodbye to governors Dr O’Connor and Mr Hicks and Mr Davies ,our current support staff governor , comes to the end of his term of office. Our thanks go to all of them for their support for the governing body. We are currently awaiting the outcome of the government’s White Paper on education and how it sees the future of school governance. It is important that parents as well as representatives of the wider local community are represented on the governing body. We now await to hear how parents are to be appointed to governing bodies in the future. When we have clear advice we will of course be consulting with parents as to the way forward. May I wish all members of the BSG a restful and well deserved summer break. Jane Stichbury Chair of Governors The year 10 girls have just completed their work experience for 2016. We had 220 placements this year and we introduced more than 70 new companies. Some of our students went to schools or pre-schools. These placements were very successful. Employers said ‘K is a born teacher, she is missed already’, ‘it was a pleasure to have C with us. She has been so productive and positive with a lovely gentle manner with all the children’, ‘R showed continuous intuition, enthusiasm and professionalism, well done!’ This year 5% of our girls went to design companies. These proved to be very successful placements with the girls designing; posters and letterheads, using 3D printers and learning about coding. One employer said ‘she is an absolute credit to her school and we have loved having her in the office. What she has achieved in such a short space of time is incredible and we would welcome her back anytime.’ Many of our girls had placements at Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth University, The College, veterinary practices, doctors’ surgeries, accountants, lawyers, retailers, dance academies and architects. A couple of girls had a look at the TV and film industry and had a go at editing and also research & development for TV shows (and absolutely no tea making!) Girls also went to RAF Odiham, Royal School of Signals, Cobham Mission, RNLI, Bournemouth Helicopters and Bournemouth Airport. There I believe they stripped engines, flew in helicopters and joined in with fire fighters hosing down a blaze: I think it is fair to say that they have all had a memorable experience. With many thanks to all our very supportive staff who visited and called as many girls as was humanly possible and of course to all those wonderful employers who gave our girls such amazing opportunities. So looking forward to next year if any parents would like to offer work experience placements we would be very pleased to hear from you! Please e-mail Mrs Lewis: [email protected]. Term begins for all pupils on Monday 5th September. Pupils should come in at the following times: Year 7 09.30 Year 11 13.25 Year 8 13.25 Year 12 10.00 Year 9 13.25 Year 13 08.35 Year 10 13.25 As parents go out and buy new uniform and school shoes for September, may I again remind you of the uniform code which can be found on the website. Please do not be persuaded to buy items other than on the uniform list. This will avoid any unnecessary embarrassment at the start of the new term. Pupils incorrectly dressed will be asked to return home to change. We would like to clarify a few key points: Skirts The skirt length should be no more than 8 cm above the knee (measured from the middle of the knee). The design of the skirt should not be modified in any way. Jackets Jackets are compulsory. If it is warm, girls should wear their jacket rather than their jumper. Jewellery The only jewellery permitted is ONE pair of plain ear studs; decorative studs are not allowed. NO other piercings are allowed. Again, please do not be persuaded otherwise by your daughter. Shoes Girls need to wear sturdy plain black shoes, as specified in their planner. We have been concerned at the number of girls wearing flimsy shoes; the backs of these readily break down, resulting in unsafe footwear. This route will continue to be operated by Yellow Buses, on a commercial basis from the start of school term in September 2016. Walk-on cash tickets up to the age of 19 will be priced at £2.20 single and £3.20 day return. Longer term tickets such as the 7-day and 30-day Glo network tickets – currently priced at £13.00 and £40.00 respectively will also be valid for travel on these services, and on other Yellow Buses routes during their validity. To the following pupils who have all received Headteacher's Commendations for achieving eighty merits: Florence Harris (7A), Olivia Minnock (7A), Amy O'Brien (7A), Leyna Parker (7A), Joey Johnson-Purdy (7A), Maaja Sorokina (7A), Annabelle Storey (7A), Sophie Wallis (7A), Eva Wigham (7A), Elanor Budge (7C), Daisy Elliott (7C), Abigail Locke (7C), Daisy Lowe (7C), Lucyna Witakowska-Bebel (8F), Jeanette Antwi (7F), Tess Donnelly (7F), Hannah Francis (7F), Matilda Marsh (7F), Andrea Shibu (7F), Keira Squire (7F), Ella Windsor (7F), Kirsty Zeineh (7F), Freya Pretty (9P), Amy Travers (9P), Jessica Williams (9P), Maisie Doucy (7P), Amelia Duguid (7P), Katie John (7P), Isabelle Topp (7P), Ella Tekeli (7R), Emily Roughton (8S), Tara Barker (7S), Amaia Echebarrieta (7S), Louisa Goodman