Posted Dec 19 - 2024Headteacher's Newsletter
what's happening at Chesham Grammar
Posted on: March 6th 2020
Head's Blog
Dear Parent,
As I write this, preparations for the FOCGS Comedy Night this evening are well underway. I do hope those of you coming to this event have a fabulous evening and thank you for supporting the school and, of course, thank you to the FOCGS who have worked very hard to organise and prepare for it.
I will stay on the 'thank you' theme and express my gratitude to those parents who have supported our Aviva crowdfunding project which is raising money for recycling at CGS. The students who have organised this are delighted that over 30% of their target has already been raised and they have really appreciated the supportive comments as well as the donations. Our students are passionate about the environment and we want to make sure that the school community reduces single use plastics, amongst other things. The students are hoping to raise £5,000 so please do support them if you can. Details of the project, including a video the students have made, can be found here: https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/chesham-get-recycling Thank you.
On Wednesday evening, we held our University and Apprenticeship Evening and it was pleasing to see so many students and parents from across the school at the event. It was hugely successful and the feedback from the school community and the exhibitors was really positive. Of course an event like this takes a huge amount of time and effort to organise and I must pay tribute to Mrs Beck, our Careers Leader, who did a brilliant job and pulled the whole thing together. Well done! I would like to remind you that our Careers Department has a very active Twitter feed, @cgsinspiration, which is well worth following if you use Twitter. Lots of relevant information is posted as well as opportunities which may be of interest to students.
On Thursday evening, Year 10 parents and students had their first formal opportunity to discuss performance and progress in GCSE course so far at our Parents' Evening. With Year 10 exams scheduled for next month, I hope you found it useful. As always, if you have any questions, queries or concerns, please do get in touch.
CGS has a very active WE Club, led by Mrs Rasekh. WE is an international charity which operates collaborative programmes, both domestically and internationally. It aims to empower young people and to nurture compassion, giving them the tools to create transformative social change. Our WE Club held a cake sale last week and has also organised a Beauty Bank, collecting products ranging from deodorant to toothpaste for those who cannot afford to buy them. Each year, there is a WE Day which is an inspiring event celebrating young people making a difference in their local and global communities. They had an amazing day at this on Wednesday, held at the SSE Arena, Wembley. They heard from WE Clubs around the country and also from celebrities including Lewis Hamilton, Idris Elba, Jamie Oliver and Leona Lewis. Thank you to the students and staff involved in this for what they do to help and support others.
Well done to our Head Girl, Sofia, who has organised events during the week to mark International Women's Day. She is also organising a CGS Bake Off, the first round of which is on Monday. I wish those taking part good luck. Proceeds from the cake sale being held following the judging will go to Wycombe Women's Aid.
You will have received an email today about Franklin House's fundraising events next week for Sport Relief and The Julius Little Foundation. Please do encourage your child to support these events. Sport Relief is a well-known national charity which needs little explanation. The Julius Little Foundation is a charity close to our hearts. It was founded last year in memory of Julius Little, himself a Franklin House Captain. Julius left CGS in 2017. On the face of it, Julius was a talented, charismatic young man who had everything going for him. But he battled with depression and and in June 2019, towards the end of his first year at Central St Martin's School of Art, he took his own life. Julius's family is determined to raise money to provide young people in Bucks with access to free mental health services. They are determined to do all they can to prevent other young people falling between the cracks of the system as Julius did. Alongside the school-wide fund-raising, and following Mr Biddle's inspirational assembly this week on wellbeing, during which he talked about Julius, Isabella in Year 13 has decided to raise money for the JLF as part of her Endurance 80 event taking place tomorrow. Isabella will be in a team of five, walking 80km around the Chilterns in less than 24 hours. There is no stopping for sleep! I am most proud of her. Please do visit her JustGiving page if you would like to support her: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/isabella-inga
Happy birthday to Fiona, Niamh, Risheeth, William, Abby, Daniel and Martha in Year 7 who have recently turned 12.
Finally, please be aware that the Department for Education has set up a new helpline offering guidance to anyone with education related questions about the Coronavirus. This aims to complement the advice being provided by Public Health England and the regular updates being sent to all educational settings and is open from 8am to 6pm on weekdays. The contact details are: 0800 046 8687 or DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk. You will probably have seen the advice this week that schools stay open unless told to close by Public Health England which follows confusion amongst some Heads about what to do if cases of the virus are suspected. I want to reassure parents that we are monitoring the situation daily and will follow any advice given. With overseas visits scheduled to take place in the near future, we are mindful of the anxiety of parents, students and staff. Our overriding priority is the safety of our school community and we will of course keep parents informed as necessary. We are planning for the event of an enforced closure so that should this happen (and I dearly hope it will not), we are well prepared and can minimise disruption to learning. We also know that Ofqual, the exams regulator, is working with exam boards and the Department for Education on further contingency measures for the summer exams, in response to the Coronavirus, should these be necessary. Because of the Coronavirus, the Big Bang UK Fair which Year 8s were due to attend next week has been cancelled by the organisers. Refunds will be issued as soon as possible.
With best wishes for a relaxing weekend,
Annmarie McNaney
Headteachera
