The Christmas countdown has begun and it’s that time of year where amongst the hive of Westbourne activity; the mock exams, field trips, STEM days, FAB School adventures…and of course, the tinsel that has started creep in, we importantly, also turn our thoughts to those most in need at this time of year.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported Children in Need last week, an impressive £380 was raised by Westbourne students. Funds go directly towards supporting young people in need across the UK.
For those looking for an active way to raise funds, IB1 students Matt and Jakub are looking for volunteers, having taken on leadership roles in organising the 24 Hour Race, Wales. The race is the largest student run global movement to end slavery, with over £1million pounds raised thus far. We very much look forward to following their progress in future Westbourne Weekly editions.
On a more local note, we continue to support The Big Wrap, a Vale of Glamorgan initiative supporting vulnerable children across the area and ensuring that every child awakes to a gift on Christmas Day. Families wishing to donate directly can do so via this link.
A huge thank you to our whole community for their fundraising support, as well as the excellent messages seen across the school this week in support of Anti-Bullying Week.
With the university application process fully underway for IB2 we have been delighted to see an early flood of interview invites coming through from the world’s top universities, with more anticipated in the coming weeks.
Congratulations go out to Kanv for securing a Harvard interview, Dharani for securing a Cambridge interview and Kinga for securing an Imperial interview.
Wishing them the very best of luck in a highly competitive landscape where even being invited to interview is an incredible accomplishment.
Language acquisition forms a key part of the IB Diploma, with all students learning a further language as part of their studies. French ab inito (from the beginning) has been a popular choice this year, with many of Mrs Jessop’s hands on learning tasks keeping it so.
This week our IB1 students took ‘pen to beaker’ in order to draw and describe multi layered ‘cup people’, helping reinforce the recent vocabulary learned as part of a large identity topic within the syllabus.
Aberthaw seashore played host to Year 8 this week as part of their Biology field trip. Blue skies were greatly appreciated as students investigated limpet population numbers and studied seashore life. Edible crabs, sea anemones and porcelain crabs were amongst the many creatures found sharing the shoreline.
We could not have put it any better, a huge well done to Year 3 and Year 4 for their thoughtful consideration and great posters marking #antibullyingweek.
A national campaign, running throughout the week, it was hard not to be touched by the responses of our students when asked “what does kindness mean to you?”
A hearty congratulations to Ana in Reception for the hard work and determination which has enabled her to be awarded her British Gymnastics Level 7. Bravo!
Hot on the heels of Halloween, Year 3 have aptly been studying the human skeleton!
Science took a creative turn as students drew what they understood a skeleton to look like, followed by cutting out the bones and assembling them.
The wind caused a few giggles with the occasional bone flying across the yard resulting in some hilarious looking arrangements, however perseverance paid dividend in the end!
Big smiles this week as Nursery took their turn attending our hugely popular FAB School (Forest & Beach).
Starting with the seasonal story “It was a cold dark night” a tale of a hedgehog without a home, the children swiftly moved on to making homes for the hedgehogs crafted from the wealth of natural material abundant in the forest, followed by making their own hedgehogs! A wonderful blend of nature and learning.
As well as exploring the great outdoors, nursery pupils have also been exploring the depths of the night sky.
Exploring constellations and creating star inspired pictures of their own, we have seen some incredible shapes being formed…trees, crabs and even sharks!
Congratulations all our Prep School stars this week….particularly Year 5, an entire class of Stars!
Reception: ⭐ Matilda for excellent work and being kind to others! Congratulations Matilda!
Year 1: ⭐ Sia for excellent knowledge and understanding of 2D shapes. Counting the number of sides on the shape confidently and accurately. Well done Sia!
Year 2: ⭐ Sofia for her imaginative story about a kitten in her room, using lots of adjectives.
Year 3: ⭐ Huw for his amazing effort with writing this week.
Year 4: ⭐ Rania for her extended writing during the ‘Big Write’ The standard was truly amazing!
Year 5:⭐ ALL YEAR 5 – for showing such mature understanding and empathy discussing the quote …”In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”.