Dear families,
Thank you for your continuing support and sending your children to us prepared for learning each day. A reminder that our expectations for uniform are available at www.tgschool.net/uniform and that makeup should not be excessive.
Well done to all the dancers who took part in an amazing showcase this week and to our Active Travel Ambassadors who have secured additional grant funding to encourage more students to walk or wheel to school. Seeing our students present and perform in front of others is evidence of their continued drive for positivity and to develop their confidence.
The visual arts students have also continued to impress with their commitment in their exams, and we wish all year 11s well for their spoken language exams starting next week.
Y11 Co-curricular support continues and quiet study spaces at lunch and after school
We continue to provide a range of after school sessions tailored to students to help them continue their exam preparation. All students are welcome to attend and benefit from guided support, our revision support information is at www.tgschool.net/revision and we have attached our spring programme of after school sessions which continues form spring. PLease do also contact your child’s teachers or subject leaders if you have any specific questions on how best to support your child. We are also planning before exam sessions, with a breakfast, and time with subject teams to reassure students and warm them up from 8:15 on most exam days. We will share a full programme of these planned sessions next week. There are also quiet study spaces available at lunch in 219 and 202, and after school students are welcome to work together in small groups in school or the library up until 5pm.
Alumni link and supporting the Friends of TGS
As mentioned last week, to support our celebrations of 50+ years of Great Cornard Upper School and Thomas Gainsborough Schools we are interested in hearing from alumni, parents or local companies who would like to support our work and celebration planning. If you would like to be involved or keep up to date with plans please fill in this form: Friends of TGS, Alumni, Careers, Fundraising & 50+ Years of TGS/GCUS Interest Form
Survey from our Trust
We would also greatly value your feedback as our Academy Trust completes their annual survey of parents views on each school. We benefit greatly from the comparative information to other schools and know that there is often a silent majority whose views may be under-represented. The survey is very quick to complete, and closes on Monday 6 May, https://forms.office.com/e/4pdPsazsKL
Please remember that you can also contact us with any questions, at any time and we will do our best to respond promptly in line with our commitments to communication explained at www.tgschool.net/communicate - our website and Go4Schools also includes a wealth of information about what your child is learning and how we are supporting them.
Suffolk Parent Carer Forum
There is an open event on Wednesday 19 June, 10:30 - 1:30 in Stowmarket. This is an excellent chance to meet professionals in SEND & Mental Health from Suffolk Council, Health Services and the Voluntary Sector. You can find out more at www.tgschool.net/news/suffolk-parent-carer-forum-open-event-wednesday-19th-june
Competitions
We love seeing all our students shine, and details of these competitions have been emailed to students. Please encourage your child to all pick at least one to enter.
- Weekly Maths Challenge - emailed every Thursday by Mr Gault
- Design a Healthy Meal - design a meal for an GB Athlete for the Paris Olympics - entries to Mrs Mitson/Mrs Irwin by Monday 29th April
- Write your own Historical Fiction - National Competition - entries to Miss Darby by Friday 3rd May
- Wellbeing Poetry - write a poem on wellbeing or anxiety - what helps you destress? - Entries to students services by Monday 20th May
- Photography Competition - Photo to capture local nature - Entries to Miss Hilson by Monday 1st July
- Book of the term - "on your marks, get set, gold!" by Scott Allen or "The Magician Next door" by Rachel Chivers Khoo - copies in the library. Send your review to Miss Peacock by Friday 5th July
Theme of the Fortnight - World Laughter Day! Many of us know that laughter is enjoyable but often underestimate the significant impact this simple tool can have on our wellness and overall satisfaction in life. While laughter may not heal or resolve everything, it possesses the power to aid and alleviate numerous concerns.
World Laughter Day is an annual event celebrated worldwide to raise awareness about laughter and its many healing benefits. It takes place on the first Sunday in May every year and is the focus of assemblies next week and discussions in tutor time.
Sports successes
Tuesday this week saw the rearranged U14 girls rugby festival take place at Stowmarket Rugby Club. Our team made up of 1 year 9 and the rest Year 8 performed brilliantly, remaining undefeated throughout and being the only side to beat St Benedicts. A full report will follow in the next edition of the portrait but congratulations to all 10 who took part!
Safeguarding
As part of our ongoing work to ensure students are safe not only in school, but within the local and online community, we wanted to draw your attention to some free training for parents. Free radicalisation and extremism awareness raising sessions
These sessions are for parents and carers. They will assist in awareness and information about those young people susceptible to online radicalisation and extremism. The sessions will be run by a former reformed activist and mentor who now supports people to leave extremism and helps them build resilience for the future.
These sessions have been commissioned by Groundwork following a successful joint application by Suffolk County Council and Norfolk Community Safety Partnership to the Home Office Preventing Radicalisation Fund. Please click on the link for full details.
Careers
Next week on Thursday 2 May we have Bradie Clark visiting. Bradie is an ex-professional footballer who retrained to become a Physiotherapist and now runs his own practice Physio Motive in Sudbury. Students can sign up via their tutor, please encourage your students especially Years 10 and 11 to attend if interested in this area.
In June we will be running a series of after school subject specific career drop-in sessions for students interested in learning more about further, higher education and careers in English, Languages, Art, Science, PE, Geography and Business. See this week’s careers newsletter for dates along with revision tips, careers events, work experience etc.
We hope that you all have an enjoyable, and hopefully sunny, weekend.