Message from the Headteacher, Mr C Richards:
We were pleased to welcome the Leader (Peter Mason) and Deputy Leader (Deirdre Costigan) of Ealing Council to officially launch our new school street on Monday. They observed our students taking part in the Rollapuluza cycling challenge and were impressed with the enthusiasm of our Villiers TFL pioneers and all the work that has gone into them achieving their Silver award for the school. We know a few families did drive through Boyd Avenue and Villiers Road on Monday and Tuesday between 8.10 and 8.50 but I am reassured that you will have received a warning notice this time and no fine. To be clear, we do not administer the fines so you would need to refer to the council on this if you receive one.
We held our year 12 parents’ evening on Thursday and it was a good opportunity for the year team to meet with families of our current year 12s at an early enough stage to prepare them for the big year ahead including (not exhaustively) UCAS, BTECs and A levels.
I write to you on International Women’s Day. This year the message is #inspireinclusion. They imagine a gender equal world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive where difference is valued and celebrated. I can’t think of a message more aligned with the Villiers’ values and challenge you to Inspire Inclusion in all your dealings. For those observing Ramadan next week, Ramadan Mubarak.
Rewards Month at Villiers
Our first Rewards Month at Villiers has begun. This is an opportunity for us to focus on all of the brilliant learning, activities and conduct that we see every day in school. Staff are ready to reward pupils who are using the values of the school, working hard in lessons, are on time to school everyday and for contributing positively to the life of the school.
More rewards news to follow next week!
National London Spelling Bee Competition and Outstanding Commitment to Languages awards
Huge congratulations to Ramadan R ( 7R ) for coming 4th in the Year 7 London Spelling Bee Final for French on Tuesday. He will now go on to compete in the National Spelling Bee Competition at Cambridge University on 2nd July.
Congratulations, also, to Rida R ( 10H ) for winning a special award for Outstanding Commitment to Languages. This is a new award, and Rida is the first person to win it! As a former winner of both the National Spelling Bee and the Translation Bee, Rida has been an inspiration to younger students. She is a firm believer in the importance of languages in developing cultural understanding, celebrating diversity & building a more inclusive world. This led her to choose GCSE Spanish in addition to the languages which she already speaks. The vocabulary and skills which she has learned through preparing for the languages competitions have really helped her to excel at GCSE. As she is keen to pass on these skills Rida has been in to teach Y7 languages classes and supported Y7-Y9 students at languages club. She has plans to run the Spelling Bee competition at Villiers in the future as well as visiting Primary schools as part of her Languages Leader award. Go Rida!
Come & practise for this year’s Translation bee competition with Rida in N11 on Tuesday at lunchtimes.
Kick starting Science Week at Villiers
On Wednesday, sixty young scientists from Beaconsfield Primary School worked in the science department to gain insights into the process of digestion. The students successfully replicated the intricate process of food processing within the digestive system, closely observing and mimicking the behavior of various organs involved. Congratulations to all the young scientists who actively participated and demonstrated excellent engagement in the learning process!
Science Competition
The Science department have a competition running where students are encouraged to create a sand timer that measures 1 minute. Once you have designed your timer, please hand it in to your science teacher before 18th March. Good Luck!
Easter Camp
Easter camp is taking place across various venues in Ealing. Children are encouraged to take part where they will be able to enjoy many different activities. If you are interested please take a look at the poster above for more information on how to fill out the application form.
‘Be Her Lead’
Well done to our two Yr 9 students who have written this poem emphasising the importance of inclusion.
Festival of reading
We are delighted to announce the launch of our inaugural Book Fest, a month-long celebration of reading aimed at promoting literacy and a lifelong love of books among students. The Book Fest features a variety of events and activities throughout the month of March to spark students’ interest in reading, including a guest author visit, a book cover design contest, and rewards for students who meet reading goals. The festivities will be underpinned by a school-wide reading month. Our goal is for students to walk away from the Book Fest with a renewed passion for reading and vivid memories of events that will inspire them to pick up books for years to come.
Year 11 End of Year Celebration
A letter has been given to students regarding our Year 11 End of Year Celebration 2nd July. The deadline to get permission slips back is 14th March; please read the letter to understand the full details of the event. We hope we can gather as many of our Year 11 students together before they continue onto their future endeavors.
Home performance of Windrush Generation, commissioned by the National Theatre!
On 13th and 14th March at 6:30pm, we will see our Upper school students take part in their home performance of Windrush Generation, a play commissioned by the National Theatre as a part of their connections festival. This is a play that is quite mature in content and discusses harder topics like colonialism, race and migration written by the amazing Mojisola Adebayo. Due the nature of the play we ask that the audience are year 9 or above or no younger than 14, so if you are thinking of bringing younger children, please find alternative arrangements as there are scenes that are not suitable for them. Tickets are now available on parent pay.
Year 8 revision booklets
In preparation for the upcoming March assessments, Year 8 students are provided with a comprehensive revision booklet. This resource offers detailed subject-specific guidance empowering students to approach their assessments with confidence and self-assurance. Additionally, it facilitates the identification of individual strengths, enabling students to strategically focus their efforts. Recognising the potential for stress during assessment periods, we remain committed to providing support to our Year 8 pupils. We are confident that their dedication and diligent efforts will be reflected in exceptional outcomes.
Top tips for staying secure online from the National Cyber Security Centre
Combine three random words to create a password that’s ‘long enough and strong enough’.
Weak passwords can be cracked in seconds. The longer and more unusual your password is, the harder it is for a cyber criminal to crack. A good way to make your password difficult to crack is by combining three random words to create a password (for example applenemobiro). Or you could use a password manager, which can create strong passwords for you (and remember them). Avoid the most common passwords that criminals can easily guess (like ‘password’). You should also avoid creating passwords from significant dates (like your birthday, or a loved one’s), or from your favourite sports team, or by using family and pet names. Most of these details can be found within your social media profile. If you’re thinking of changing certain characters in your password (so swapping the letter ‘o’ with a zero, for example), you should know that cyber criminals know these tricks as well. So your password won’t be significantly stronger, but it will be harder for you to remember.
Why does the NCSC recommend using ‘three random words’ as a way to create passwords?By using a password that’s made up of three random words, you’re creating a password that will be ‘strong enough’ to keep the criminals out, but easy enough for you to remember. Longstanding advice around making your passwords very complex (which suggests we should create passwords full of random characters, symbols and numbers) is not helpful. This is because most of us have lots of passwords, and memorising lots of complex passwords is almost impossible. Passwords generated from three random words is a good way to create unique passwords that are ‘long enough’ and ‘strong enough’ for most purposes, but which can also be remembered much more easily. If you want to write your password down, that’s also OK, provided you keep it somewhere safe.
If you want to find out more about why the ‘three random words’ technique works, you can read this blog by one of the NCSC’s technical experts that further explains our thinking.
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/top-tips-for-staying-secure-online/three-random-words
Ealing Junior Chess Tournament
Ealing Junior Chess Tournament will be held at the Dominion Centre and Southall Library. Prizes and points awarded to all players. All registration information is on the flyer below:
Calling all young poets: Poetry Competition
Ealing Book Festival 2024 is running a young people’s poetry competition on the topic of ‘Where Do I Live?’
To enter you need to compose a poem in response to the question: ‘Where do I live?’ The poem can take any form you like so long as it is no longer than one side of A4. Please click on the link below for further information.
https://www.egfl.org.uk/news/2024/02/calling-all-young-poets
Homework Review
We would like your feedback on homework. Your responses will help to shape the new policy for the next academic year. Please complete this survey by Monday 4th March 2024.
https://forms.gle/Xf6yA8Cncy5YGi6m8
Vape Awareness Letter
Help with the Cost of Living
If you are worried about your finances, or struggling with bills, have a look at the leaflet below for some steps you can take.
Behaviour Systems
Our behaviour systems have been further developed so that they are clear and transparent for everyone. Please see our new behaviour pyramid below. The pastoral team has explained this to all the children. Since Monday 19th February, there have been posters up in classrooms and other areas of the school as a visual reminder. As always, we appreciate your support and any feedback is welcome.
Recovering a hacked account
A step by step guide to recovering online accounts.
Whether it’s your email, a social media account, or your online bank, losing access to a digital account can be stressful. This guidance explains what you can do to minimize the damage, and how you can regain access to your accounts.
Online gaming for families and Individuals advice
Read the guidance from the NCSC to learn how to enjoy online gaming securely by following just a few tips.
Year 10: Non-A level progression to Sixth form
The Ealing Learning Partnership are running a “Progressions to level 2” careers event targeted at families of current year 10 students who may not want to or be able to choose to study A-Levels at sixth form level. Please read the attached for more information.
Medical needs & allergies
We would like to ensure that our school records accurately reflect your child’s medical needs including information on any allergies. Please keep us informed of any changes to your child’s medical allergies to ensure information is accurate and up to date on our school system. In the case that a student has been prescribed an Epi-Pen by the doctor, they should bring two Epi-Pens to school, one to carry on their person and the other to be provided to the Welfare Office, as a spare in case of an emergency. Please encourage your child to check with the canteen staff for any food allergies and to read the food labels before making purchases. If you have any questions, you can contact the welfare officer directly via email- welfare@villiers.ealing.sch.uk or call reception. For food related questions, you can contact the canteen directly via email- cparameswaran@villiers.ealing.sch.uk
Backing up your data
Please download and read the attached poster for more information regarding the importance of backing up your data.
Rise in measles
In the last month, there has been an increase in the number of cases of measles in north-west London, including a few among Ealing children. Please take the time to read the attached letter. The following weblink regarding information about measles can be translated: https://www.ealingfamiliesdirectory.org.uk/kb5/ealing/directory/site.page?id=4945pIGmcs4
School Streets
We are delighted to announce that, following the consultation, the council has approved our school for a school street which will be launched 4th March. Further details in the attached document.
Year 11 & 13 intervention schedule: spring 2024
Please find attached the new Year 11 and Year 13 intervention schedule for the Spring term. It is imperative that students attend the sessions they have been invited to as this will allow teachers to provide them with targeted support in preparation for the mock exams which will take place in February/ March 2024.
Cash payments
We are a cashless school and families can pay for school meals, stationery, trips and clubs via ParentPay. You can top up your ParentPay account from a bank account or by using a debit/credit card. If you do not have a valid bank account or debit/credit card, please email info@villiers.ealing.sch.uk. We will set up a PayPoint account, so you can make payments using cash.
Villiers Diner
Please click through each slide to view this week’s canteen menu.
Spring enrichment timetable
Safeguarding and well-being spotlight
There is a lot of advice and guidance available to help and support parents and carers when you have any worries or concerns about your child. Please click this link for the NSPCC website which offers advice on some different issues.
Key forthcoming dates
For our major events, please check here
| 13/03/24 | National Theatre Home Performance GCSE Music Ensemble Recordings |
| 14/03/24 | National Theatre Home Performance GCSE Music Ensemble Recordings School Council meeting 2.30 – 3.30pm |
| 19/03/24 | Year 7 Road Safety Workshop 1 Community Forum 5pm – 6pm Villiers Theatre |
| 20/03/24 | Onatti French Theatre Company visit Year 7 Road Safety Workshop 2 |
| 21/03/24 | Year 11 Mock Results Assembly Selected Year 11 Parent Meetings |
| 22/03/24 | Year 7 Road Safety Workshop 3 Year 13 Mock Results Assembly |
| Term finishes 12.15 – 12.30pm, Thursday 28th March 29/03/24 – 15/04/24 – Spring Holiday School starts back Monday 15/04/24. Pupils to be through gate 6 by 8.27am to arrive in tutor groups by 8.30am. Breakfast club from 7.45am. If pupils take extended holidays for any reason beyond these dates, they will be recorded as unauthorised and you may be fined. For all other key dates in our calendar, please go to our website. | |
Get in Touch
If you have any suggestions on how to improve the school further or any concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch via email: info@villiers.ealing.sch.uk