As we celebrate the start of the holiday season and two well-earned weeks of relaxation, we also take pause to celebrate the remarkable achievements throughout the school this term.
Congratulations, of course, to those in receipt of hard won progress prizes, but also heartfelt congratulations to our entire community for supporting the tremendous effort of keeping Westbourne covid-safe throughout the year. As one of the very few schools in the UK that has avoided sending any class home due to an outbreak, our sincere thanks to parents, carers, colleagues and students for their support.
As we enjoy taking a look back throughout the last week of term and take a moment to wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas, we also now look forward, to the green shoots of a far brighter New Year and the advent of our 125th Anniversary.
In the meantime, happy holidays Westbourne!
The festive season is often a time for reflection and thanksgiving and we have seen some heartwarming examples of that this week across the school.
Year 6 have been busy creating an A – Z of gratitude, after considering all they have to be thankful for. In Westbourne Prep we have now seen the cutest video of the term, as Reception and Year 1 pupils give thanks to their teachers. From us, a huge thank you back to all our parents who helped create it! Click here to view.
Senior School art has seen the creation of beautiful festive themed pieces throughout the week. With Paul Klee providing the inspiration and Mrs Major the guidance, we’ve seen students exploring line, fragmentation and mark making with oil pastels.
Some very exciting work indeed!
Throughout the term, we have seen wonderful and frequent examples of students reaching out and thinking of others, including some excellent student led fundraising initiatives, such as last week’s Save the Children, which raised £238 for the cause.
This week, Year 6 used their English lesson to reach out to the local community, sending letters and Christmas messages to the residents of Ty Gwyn nursing home to show that they are in our thoughts at this time of year. Meanwhile, Year 2 wrote letters to NHS workers this week, thanking them for their hard work and wishing them a Happy Christmas.
This year necessitated a slightly different approach to the traditional Christmas concert, however, nothing was going to stand in the way of our younger students entertaining family and friends this festive season, so Zoom came to the rescue once more!
With two Nursery concerts performed live via Zoom to parents earlier in the week, we heard traditional tunes, Little Donkey, It Was a Starry Night and We Wish You a Merry Christmas fill homes across Cardiff and the Vale. For those with pupils in the Prep School, Thursday afternoon proved a treat with an all-action Christmas concert live-streamed via Facebook.
We may have seen our Senior students mainly through a Google Classroom screen this week, but that didn’t stand in the way of many of our local students taking advantage of local facilities to practise their skills.
Meanwhile, back in the gym, Year 2 showed some very impressive ball skills in PE with Mrs Allen.
Lyanna in Year 2 has shown an avid interest in fundraising and how charities work. She decided to create a colouring book in order to raise money for ‘School in a Bag’.
Her mum digitised the artwork produced by Lyanna and her classmates, but Lyanna was involved in all of the decisions in the printing process (paper finish, weight and final trim size).
She will be selling her colouring books for £2 each for everyone who would like to support the charity.
Christmas reading inspiration, thanks to Catrin in Year 4, who enjoyed her recent read ‘You are Awesome’ by Matthew Syed so much, that she bought it into school to share her passion for the story with her fellow classmates.
The story is all about how practice, hard work and the right mindset can help anyone achieve success. Thanks Catrin.
There has been outstanding progress throughout the year groups this Autumn term. We would like to recognise the following students in particular for their efforts and progress since September.
Keep up the great work everyone!
Nursery: Freya B
Following joining Little Westbourne, Freya has flourished in many areas including her number recognition, pencil control, Welsh speaking and her Makaton signing which she demonstrated amazingly during our Christmas concert. Freya’s confidence has grown considerably, which has enabled her to make lots of new friends too. Well done Freya!
Nursery: Hugo W
Since joining Little Westbourne Hugo has made incredible progress in all areas of learning. His confidence in the everyday life in nursery is amazing. Hugo brings so much enthusiasm in all that he does. Great job, Hugo!
Reception: Thomas J
Thomas joined Reception in September and has settled into school life well. Over this term, he has shown increased confidence and enthusiasm and has become much more independent with his tasks, demonstrating perseverance. He has made good progress in his knowledge of numbers and sounds due to his good effort. Well done, Thomas!
Year 1: Isabela B
Isabela has made great progress this term. She has worked so hard in all areas of the curriculum, particularly with her phonics and number work. Isabela has become more confident in her own ability. It has been a joy to see her progress academically and socially too with her new classmates. She demontrates kindness each day and loves to help others. Well done Isabela!
Year 2: Lilia N
Lilia has worked extremely hard this term. She has a very determined attitude and will complete all work to the best of her ability. As a result, Lilia has made excellent progress across the board. Well done Lilia – keep it up!
Year 3: Tomos M
After joining Westbourne earlier this year, Tomos has worked extremely hard to progress across the curriculum. Not only does he give each task in the classroom 100% effort, he also follows this up at home. Over October half term Tomos read 42 books in a spectacular effort to improve his reading skills. Well done, Tomos!
Year 4: Alexandre A C
Alex joined the school with very limited English. He has worked hard in order to improve both his written and oral English; the progress he has made in all areas is very impressive. The difference since the beginning of term is noticeable and I am so proud of him. Well done, Alex.
Year 5: Meher K
Meher is an academically strong pupil who always strives to do her best. At the end of last term, Meher requested information of areas of developments. Having given her them, this term she has built upon these and has improved on an already excellent level. Excellent commitment, Meher!
Year 6: Kelvin Z
Kelvin has put a tremendous level of effort into the work he produces, his contributions to class discussions and his commitment to improving his writing. It is clear that Kelvin is working hard to ensure he reaches the best of his potential by the end of Year 6. Keep this up Kelvin!
Year 7: George T
George has progressed tremendously this term in the context of his attitude towards learning. Whilst always being socially confident, he is now calmer, more focussed, and determined to achieve the highest level of understanding. He is showing an obvious new level of maturity.
Year 8: Zhenhao (Jerome) Y
Jerome has made good progress socially by interacting more with his classmates. Over the last couple of months, we have really seen him settle into the school and start to show his personality. Jerome has shown more willingness to get involved in classroom discussion and this will help him to progress academically as well as help him develop his language skills.
Year 9: Kaila W
Kaila has made excellent progress this term. She has overcome some difficulties to finish the year with excellent reports from her teachers. She has gone above and beyond what has been asked of her, especially in Maths Reasoning and in Latin, and has shown a determination to keep on top of her assignments. Kaila should be very proud of herself.
Year 9: Ella D
Ella has been on top form this term. She has been a calm and measured spokesperson for the class, and has made excellent academic progress. Ella has been a credit to herself, and I look forward to seeing what she will achieve next year!
Year 10: Uliana K
Uliana is a hard worker who has transitioned well into the life at Westbourne School. She puts in lots of effort in her classes. At the start of the year, she was adjusting to the changes of environment but has matured into a model student; keep it up!
Year 11: Isabella H
Isabella has shown determination and a desire to achieve as highly as possible in the recent exams and has achieved no lower than a level 6 in any subject. This is the result of steady effort and hard work over a long time.
Pre-IB: Alexandra S
I have take all aspects into account with Alexandra: her results in the mock exams were outstanding particularly given that she joined the form a bit later and is the youngest in the form. She has worked very hard this term, proved herself caring and thoughtful with everyone else in the form and has a fantastic attitude towards learning.
IB1: Trevina T
Trevina has made a seamless transition to the Westbourne Way of Life! Her academic progress has been excellent and she is well-respected by her teachers and peers alike. Always calm in the face of adversity, Trevina carries herself with dignity and a maturity beyond her years. It is a delight to be her tutor and look foward to seeing her develop as a person and and an academic over the coming months.
IB2: Dharani S
Dharani is a kind and caring member of the class. She is also a self-motived independent learner. Dharani has worked hard this term. She did a thorough preparation for the mock examinations and achieved good results. Dharani has made good and steady progress in both biology and mathematics this term. I hope that she continues to work hard and achieve her full potential.