This week has been a perfect snapshot of just how remarkable our Year 7 students are, as despite the warmer weather, they undoubtedly demonstrated enthusiasm, excitement and spirit. There has been a vibrant mix of students reflecting, looking forwards and challenging themselves in their own learning, which I am grateful to see shining across the year group.

On Tuesday, their competitiveness was unleashed as Mrs Hart-Mckee launched the Year 7's first-ever Sports Day at Rosebery. The students heard about why sports participation matters, as well as the invaluable skills you can learn from sports, such as resilience, teamwork and determination. The students are already encouraging full participation from one another as they decide who is representing their forms in the different activities.

‘Getting Year 8-ready’

The students reflected on their achievements, challenges and resilience during form time on Wednesday. They wrote a letter to their younger self which included insightful and mature advice such as how to best prepare for an assessment, how to navigate their friendships and the most important thing - how to have fun and enjoy life at Rosebery!

As we see the weekend through, their assessment window has officially ended. Assessments can be challenging, but Year 7 approached them with a positive can-do attitude which has been truly inspiring. As reports will soon come out, please reinforce that your daughter should keep believing in herself, because they all s just how capable and dedicated they are everyday!

⭐ STARS OF THE WEEK ⭐

7CX: Ameria N – for demonstrating excellent focus in lessons and presenting bravely in her STEMettes presentation.

7CY: Sarah B – for consistently displaying a positive and enthusiastic attitude in class and during form time.

7EX: Megan B – for her kind words of encouragement and advice in her letter to the new Year 7 cohort.

7EY: Jemima R – for maintaining zero demerits across the whole year which is truly deserved as she demonstrates active participation in all form activities!

7MX: Phoebe L – for being brave and courageous during Art lessons by sharing her work with her peers.

7MY: Bianca L – for volunteering multiple times to read aloud to the whole class during our literacy sessions – super brave of you!

7PX: Setareh S – for making excellent progress this half term, especially with her participation and engagement in lessons.

7PY: Evelyn H – for showing amazing resilience throughout the week both inside and outside of lessons.

This week, our Year 8 students set off on a trip to Walton Firs Activity Centre and had a great time! We had beautiful weather and students showed exceptional behaviour, enthusiasm, and teamwork from start to finish.

Students took part in a wide range of exciting and challenging activities, including climbing, buggy-building, orienteering, nightline, aeroball, crates, and the high-adrenaline leap of faith. Climbing, gladiator, and leap of faith really pushed students out of their comfort zones (Mr Boreham and Mrs Hatfield-Giraux had a go too!). Many overcame fears, showed great courage, and supported one another to have a go at the activities with cheers of encouragement which was lovely to see.

Nightline tested their communication and trust, while buggy-building brought out some fantastic creativity and cooperation! Aeroball and Crates offered a fun, competitive edge to the experience, while orienteering helped develop navigation and teamwork skills.

Staff were full of praise for the students, reporting exemplary behaviour, a positive attitude and excellent participation across the board. A massive well done to everyone who attended the trip.

This week we say a big THANK YOU to Mrs Waple, who has been the most incredible Deputy Head of Year over the past few months. Today marks her final day as Deputy Head of Year for Year 8, as she will be focusing on her work in Pastoral Support. Her positivity, empathy and wonderful sense of humour has been deeply appreciated by staff and students alike. On a personal note, she has helped me tremendously in the most challenging of circumstances, and I am so grateful for everything she has done.

Mrs HG having a go at climbing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FRsC20_Vw53WGmNMoyLa_QAZJK1OGMzF/view?usp=sharing - Mr Boreham showing his bravery in leap of faith.

⭐ STARS OF THE WEEK ⭐

8CX: India S, Caitlyn K - for being such a great team leader on the Year 8 outing.

8CY: Phoebe B - for showing resilience, bravery and leadership skills at Walton Firs.

8EX: Machaela L and Polly H - for being kind during the Year 8 Walton Firs trip.

8EY: Saanvi M, Sofia L-R and Sophie P - for keeping so positive during the Walton Firs trip.

8MX: Neive H - for her courage on the leap of faith and her ability to hide at Walton Firs.

8MY: Skylar C - for the teamwork she demonstrated at Walton Firs.

8PX: Lucy T - for her support and encouragement towards others on the Walton Firs trip.

8PY: Annabelle E, Neha P, Francesca, Olivia S, Raavi T, Megan W, Amelie G, Gracie G, Zainab H, Alesha M and Paulina M - for being corageous, determined, having belief in themselves, working in teams and supporting each other.

The assessment window for Year 9 is now over as of today! I am so pleased with how diligent and hardworking Year 9 have been, and this will put them in good stead for their GCSE studies. Of course, Year 9 will only be focused on the numerical scores that they receive at the end of their assessments, and I am mindful that learning is so much more than a score. Please do continue to have conversations with your daughter about the importance of effort and building on learning at this stage of their studies. No one is expected to be the finished article yet, learning is a journey that isn’t always linear!

I have been lucky enough this week to accompany my debate club of Year 9s to the GLF Debate Competition held at the Meridian School yesterday. In the lead up to the day, the competition was really fierce, with fourteen Year 9 students vying for just four spaces on the competition team. After a couple of rounds, Annabelle D 9MY, Jade V and Violet A 9CX and Isabelle L 9PX were selected to compete against the other GLF secondary schools. On the day, our team debated phenomenally about the dangers of AI in the classroom, and blew the competition away with their skill and rhetoric. Unfortunately, they were unlucky not to make the final on points, but very much deserved a chance to showcase their talents even further. I am incredibly happy with all my debate club members this year, but really must give a special mention to Jade, Annabelle, Isabelle and Violet for their courage, teamwork and dedication when it comes to the competition. I am very proud of you all.

Have a lovely weekend.

Just when I think I couldn’t be any prouder of Year 10, they go and have a week like this one. I don’t think it matters what age you are, you still remember sitting at an exam desk with the dread, fear, anxiety, panic and stress that this brings. We speak about these words a lot in education and how it actually is ‘good’ to feel this way at times, as long as we can control it and it is manageable. In the first Sports Hall exam this week, students walked in quietly and prepared, walking out describing the English exam as ‘superb’ and ‘brilliant’. When students look at you and then say "that was actually OK, I think I can do the rest now", you know they are safe and going to be just fine.

The etiquette of everyone in their approach to these mocks has been remarkable and, as I say, it makes me burst with pride. This weekend, I wish everyone well with revision ahead of a busy week of mocks, but a reminder that students also need to rest, recharge and look after themselves.

With morning exams from Monday to Thursday, punctuality is important to ensure the exams start on time and everyone has a break between them. A reminder that there is an early finish for Year 10 on Thursday 26 June from 12.30pm.

Finally, a last push on work experience placements being uploaded onto Unifrog please. If your child is taking part in a virtual work experience, please ensure that they have spoken to Mrs Keaveney to ensure this is logged properly.

They have done it! This week, Year 11 finally finished all their GCSE exams (well done to the Further Maths cohort, powering through right to the end)! As a result, this will be our final message from us as Head and Deputy Head of Year 11, but we wanted to end by sharing the joy of Leavers’ Day and Prom through a few photos.

From the dark days of Covid-19, to now, this year group have been the most extraordinary group of young people, and it is our privilege to work with them. They make us laugh every single day, and we are so proud of the mature, confident, funny young adults they are becoming. We are so glad to see that record numbers have chosen to stay for the Sixth Form, which means this is not goodbye, but see you soon!

We wish them all the most amazing summer, and look forward to celebrating with you all on Results Day. For all information on the logistics and timings of the day, including the procedure to follow if you cannot attend, please see your emails or contact the Exams team via the ‘Contact us’ page on the website.