The Black History Month celebration across the school was a meeting with frenzied engagement. Lower primary enjoyed the savoury delight of bun and cheese – a popular Jamaican snack. Pupils enjoyed listening to poetry by Benjamin Zephaniah and completed work about his life. They investigated other key figures namely: Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela. Zephaniah class highlighted their work with a display board outside their class- room. Other classes enjoyed discussions around Mark Rashford, which proved popular in KS3 secondary too!

The Nest Class chose a creative activity where they used the alphabet to focus on the diversity of Black History Month. To this end, they created posters with pictures, symbols and drawings depicting maps, heroes and carnival to name a few. It was interesting to note how the pupils could use geographical themes like map work to extend their knowledge about how and where African Caribbean came from.

During guided reading, Farah class watched the BBC mini-bites about influential writers of Afro-Caribbean decent.  Pupils enjoyed personalising Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream Speech” and constructed a fun class display of dream bubbles.

The Humanities Department initiated Black History month in secondary. It was exciting that despite the Covid restriction, AN class visited a black owned chocolate business in Greenwich.

KS4 amalgamated Black History month topics alongside studying for their AQA Unit Award (The USA 19955-1968 Race Relation). Pupils demonstrated knowledge of the problems facing African Americans during this period, features of The Montgomery Bus Boycott accompanied with work of Martin Luther King and Malcom X. This work extended into discussions about BLM and considering whether things have changed for people of the black diaspora.

KS3 pupils completed work about black authors and writers in English. All classes watched a variety of films, however most pupils said Hidden Figures was their favourite! A display board about black famous scientists is in the Science class and pupils were inquisitive to learn about Garett Morgan – the inventor of traffic lights. In Art, pupils learnt about Olaudah Equiano and designed commemorative statues and holding discussions about the person they commemorated and why. Contrastingly, all pupils enjoyed making Jamaican patties in cooking.

Finally, it was positive to witness pupils connecting themes from Votes for School power point about BLM to the Transport for London Posters displayed in all secondary classrooms.

We visited Dark Sugars Cocoa House in Greenwich as part of Careers Day and Black History Month.  We were met by Fatima and Paul who founded the business 20 years ago and it has grown into 4 shops in London. We were given a tour and taster sessions of all the different types chocolates – chilli, ginger, orange, mango and vegan ones etc

We also tasted ice creams and hot beverages.

We got to touch a cocoa bean where chocolates are made from and learnt 70% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa and 30% from South America. Many of us would like to own our business one day and we were mentored into finding something we were passionate about, getting the correct qualifications and working hard. We learnt the importance of not spending all our money but to save a little to build up a sizable amount.

Here are the questions we asked:

1. What are the other names of your shop?
2. How did you get the money to start of your business?
3. What made you want to start your own business?
4. What qualifications do you need to get?
5. What is your country of heritage
6.  How did you find the locations to your shops?
7. Do you have any shops in different countries?
8. Where do you buy your supplies?
9. What is your annual income in the business?
10. How many people do you employ?
11. Do you have health and safety?
12. Do you sell online?

Edenred Parent/Carer User Guide

In the nurture class we began by watching videos and reading information about the Windrush. We then took part in a range of activities to help us relate to their experiences. First, we imagined that our family had told us that we would be moving to a new country. We had to write a postcard to our best friend to tell them the news. Next we had to think about what we would pack in our suitcase.

Next, we thought about how we would like to be treated when we arrived in our new country. We mind mapped ideas of how we would like to be welcomed by others. After that we did some role play. Miss Lye told us to imagine that we had a new child joining our class from another country. We had to write a postcard to them to welcome them.

Refugee Week

We began by watching videos and reading about what it means to be a refugee. We learned about a range of children’s experiences who are refugees. We then took part in the 8 simple acts challenge which involves completing 8 simple activities to help us understand the experiences of Refugees. One of the acts was to write a poem imagining a world that we would like.

NWS  pupils remembered Windrush day with great enthusiasm and motivation by completing various activities. It was a delight to see the range of work collated from this whole school effort. Nurture class employed an emphatic approach exploring the difficulties Caribbean people faced when deciding what to pack in their suitcases for their trip to England. Further they wrote about how they would care for a Caribbean child who was now part of their class.

Other work from KS2 pupils ranged from identifying flags of the Caribbean Islands to depicting the Windrush journey - demonstrating excellent map skills. However the outstanding drama production from Mr Diver's class, using the whiteboard displaying the Windrush boat as a backdrop, cleverly in-acted a pupil dressed as a reporter interviewing passengers disembarking from the ship (class pupils)

The exploration continued in KS3/4 where pupils cooked some tasty Caribbean dishes and in English wrote about why these brave people left their places of birth.

A message form Pinaki Ghoshal, Lewisham’s Executive Director for Children and Young People and Angela Scattergood, Director of Education.

The Mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan has published a statement on behalf of Lewisham Council in response to the killing of George Floyd in the United States. You can read the full statement here: https://lewisham.gov.uk/articles/news/black-lives-matter-in-lewisham

We believe that our schools and settings are key to tackling racism and other forms of discrimination. We will support all Lewisham schools and settings in their commitment to standing against racism and injustice, alongside and in solidarity with the local and global Black community.

New Woodlands School is a place where regardless of your race, sexuality, gender or religion you are welcomed and supported.  We are committed and believe in our core values for everyone – Achievement, Safety, Progress, Independence, and Education for all.

Here at New Woodlands we stand with our BAME community in condemning racism.

Lewisham Food Banks are closed due to COVID-19. However we can make a referral to the food bank organisation and they will arrange a food drop for you. if  you need some extra support please contact us at school and we will make a referral to Lewisham Food Bank for you.

Please do not hesitate to call the school for advice or answer any questions you may have. We are here to support you and your children at this difficult time.

We have no confirmed cases of the Coronavirus.

Own clothes to be worn which are fresh on – we recommend putting clothes straight in the washing machine once returning home from school to minimise and control the spread of infection.

Support Signposting
We realise that we are in a difficult time nationally and the current pandemic will effect some families more than others.
If your child or any member of your household needs support please contact a member of the Senior Leadership Team who can signpost you to further support and services.

This link could help support yourself and your child during this difficult time

Parent routine tick chart
 

COVID-19 Letters

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1506/sexting-understanding-the-risks.pdf

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1505/how-to-keep-your-child-safe-online.pdf

Video link 'What do we share'
https://player.vimeo.com/external/420332851.hd.mp4?s=81cbe7d8e55a6af3b187268e6dabbc20f223c159&profile_id=175

Video link 'Keeping safe on YouTube'
https://player.vimeo.com/external/420332851.hd.mp4?s=81cbe7d8e55a6af3b187268e6dabbc20f223c159&profile_id=175

Dear parents the 22nd May and the 1st June are normal school days for the children who are currently attending. There is no academic review day or inset day.

School will be closed to all pupils and staff on Friday 8^th May - Bank Holiday