Dear SIA Community,
I would like to start my letter today by writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for all the lovely moments that myself and my Senior Leadership Team (SLT) have experienced while standing at the front of the school in the mornings. Your positive conversations, simple good mornings, smiles on the faces of our learners, and even the occasional hug, truly make our day and serve as a testament to what a wonderful community we have.
As a school, we are committed to walking the talk of our Values, Attitudes, and Attributes. We believe that these principles are not just words on a page, but values that we must live and breathe every day. Your warm and welcoming interactions with us and with each other are a clear indication that these values are being lived out in our community. We are honoured to serve as the leaders of such a supportive and caring community. Your kindness and positivity have a significant impact on our learners and staff. Your simple acts of kindness demonstrate to our learners what it means to be a compassionate and empathetic member of society.
Let us see who put ‘The I in Kind’ this week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZUksBOYBxc
In FS and lower Primary this week we have been going into phonics lessons and hearing our learners blend and segment. They are using ‘Fred in your head’ and ‘Fred fingers’ to help sound out words that are new to them. Our learners are reading confidently and with pride, there is a love for reading throughout EYFS and Primary. Our buddy reading system takes place with every foundation class, older learners listen to our younger learners and support them on their reading journey. Our learners are excited to share their phonics knowledge with their parents during their home learning activities as well. Ms. Heather and Ms. Daisy are running phonics workshops every Tuesday morning 8-9 am to showcase different ways in which you can support your child at home with tier phonics. Please do come along as Ms Heather will also talk through HPL and it is always a pleasure to have our parents in school.
The increasing proficiency of collaboration between learners when visiting classrooms has been phenomenal to see; the learners are able to increasingly articulate their ideas clearly and listen to the ideas of others and even change what they may have originally thought based on what their peers may say. These are all important life skills that will serve them well as they progress through school and have the opportunity to investigate and discuss more complex topics and ideas.
Our IGCSE learners have started their exams with English, Science, and Maths. It has been a great start to the exams and the learners have been feeling good about how their papers have been. They have been working hard all year long and it’s great to see their effort paying off. Also, our Under 14 and Under 16 girls took part in the EISSA basketball competition on Thursday, we are really proud of the girls who continue to represent the school with pride. It has been fantastic to hear all the amazing stories from our learners who travelled to Bear Grylls Survivor Camp last week for their residential trip. It sounds like a lot of fantastic memories have been made to last a lifetime and lots of new skills learned by our amazing learners. Many of them already cannot wait for next year’s trip.
#bethebestyoucanbe #proudprincipal
Take care
James Batts
Principal