A wish for all…

Yesterday we said good bye to both students and staff, and rested and refreshed will return in September.

Thank you to all those who are leaving – you are all stars! You have all truly put your shoulders to the wheel, and together we are moving Westfield to where we all want it to be, an outstanding school and environment.

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A wish for all:

Comfort on difficult days

Rainbows to follow the clouds

Smiles when sadness intrudes

Laughter to kiss your lips

Sunsets to warm your heart

Hugs when spirits sag

Friendships to to brighten your being

Beauty for your eye to see

Faith so that you can believe

Confidence for when you doubt

Patience to accept the truth

Courage to know yourself

Love to complete your life.

Teach Meet: Open the door

Our hearts bring us in to this profession, to do some good, and hopefully change lives. This is the WHY we teach. Our TeachMeet this week aimed to highlight strategies that can equip us for the HOW.

Westfield staff, and our neighbours, took up the challenge of raising achievement and promoting progress with a fantastic range of strategies, underpinned by beliefs and values that still stand – to open the door for all students:

• Brad Allen from Westfield SEN introduced our Read Write software, to support all learners across the school.
• Jodie Vincent highlighted how organising classroom displays can engage and raise achievement, and needn’t exhaust us.
• Dan Borg and Roland Bennett from presented on Chessbrook’s literacy and numeracy initiatives.
• Chloe Sefton and Chris Black took us through their walking Talking Mock initiative for exam underachievers.
• The prodigal Olivia Lucas returned to tell us of Wembley Ark’s back-to-basics Daily Prep, that provided a supportive place to study.
• Jen Hunt informed on the Humanities writing frames and templates that support structure and organisation.
• Priya Kara from St loan of Arc explained how a competitive learning environment with ability seating challenged and engaged her students in Geography.
• Dan Finill, our Inclusion Lead, spoke of the value of mentoring, and how it and building good relationships are the foundations of achievement.
• Nicola Fury from Laurence Haines introduced their Nurturing School award strategies, and its’ impact on both students and staff.
• Sam Cole and Jayna Patel from Creative arts showed us the power of the environment in involving and inspiring their students.

Imagine a school where all of these strategies were in place!

I was lucky enough to see La Boheme in London on Saturday. It’s an absolute tear-jerker, full of flawed characters with real lives. One of them, Marcello, is tormented by his love for Musetta, and cannot resist her, singing of his love for her.

‘If you knocked at my door, my heart would say come in’

 

 

To all of these TeachMeet strategies, let’s open the door!