Sic itur ad astra... a tous venaunts

02

Headteacher’s Message

Introduction

In this lockdown edition of Take Me Home, we have included some stories about the positive contributions that the school, staff and students are making to our community. In the first weeks of the closure, we provided hundreds of pairs of safety specs and goggles from our Science and Technology Faculties to local GP surgeries, hospitals and Community Health teams. We were also able to deliver thousands of disposable gloves and a set of plastic chairs for the GP surgeries in Thame to help them set up their infection control systems.

In addition to the fantastic work of Jordan Marsh and Ian Ridgway in producing PPE for the NHS using our 3D printers, which you can read about on page 4, I also know that many staff and parents have joined the NHS Volunteer Army. Lord Williams’s staff, parents and students, both past and present, are playing significant roles in the local support networks to ensure that the most vulnerable in our community and beyond, are getting the assistance they need. Your impact is not limited to this country, as you will see from the report on the excellent response to our request for contributions to support our friends in The Gambia on page 10.

There is so much that we are not able to do during the closure and I know that students are missing their friends and being able to do things together. Despite the obvious challenges, Jane Twyford has worked with the Upper School Ensemble to put together a performance that I hope you’ll enjoy. The students recorded their own versions at home and Jane then mixed their tracks, adding accompaniment from Judy Thompson on the piano and James Evans on the violin. Victoria Timms has added visuals to complement the audio. There are more details on page 5.

Happy News

I am delighted to pass on the news of the births of Lily to Mrs Bhogal and Albie to Miss Lowe and Miss Keith. Mothers and babies are all thriving and we send them our love and congratulations! I am sure they are looking forward to the lifting of lockdown so that the new babies can meet their wider families and friends.

Live-stream video teaching and learning at home

We are working on improving the experience for students learning at home and I hope that this is having a positive effect. Teachers are incorporating more video clips in lessons and are adding commentaries to PowerPoints where possible. We have also started to increase the times that students are instructed to submit the work that they have completed, so that teachers can provide some feedback.

Tutors are making contact with parents/carers to check in and find out how students are getting on; they will also be able to find out about any specific issues and feed these back to other colleagues. The Pastoral and SEN teams have also been in more regular contact with a number of students and their parents/carers.

We are not currently live-streaming lessons. I have had some emails from parents asking about this, so feel it would be helpful to explain our reasoning:

We are concerned that many families have more than one student in the school, and that the children, and perhaps parents too, are reliant on one PC or laptop at home. Live lessons would cause significant difficulties for these families at an already stressful time. We are concerned that learning would therefore not be accessible to all students.

Live video teaching can be effective for lecturing and for 1:1 or very small group tuition. None of these is our normal way of working. Inter-active class teaching with groups of 25-30 students is much more difficult to translate to the virtual learning environment.

Many of our teachers have small children that they are supervising during the day, following the closure of some child-care provision or the need to isolate grandparents/vulnerable relatives, who would normally provide child-care. Teachers in this difficult situation are setting work via Show My Homework once their children are asleep, but could not run live video lessons during the day.

We have a number of colleagues who are unwell. Their departmental faculty colleagues are currently setting work for their lessons, but could not live-teach their lessons for them.

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Headteacher’s Message continued... We also remain concerned about safeguarding when connecting staff and students, in their homes,

via unmonitored video.

As we continue to learn about on-line teaching, we will continue to review what we are able to do and how we can improve our provision for students learning at home. We have already issued the laptops that we have in school to support students and have signed up to the Government’s scheme for providing more devices. This scheme prioritises care leavers, students with a social worker and students in Year 10 and Year 12. We have 630 students in these categories, though obviously many of those students already have what they need. We have been allocated 9 laptops by the Government, which should be delivered at the end of May at the earliest. I am grateful for this initiative but it clearly will not solve every issue. In the meantime, we are looking at ways of increasing the provision of laptops from a variety of sources.

Sad news

During the period of closure and since our last Take Me Home, we have received sad news about the deaths of former colleagues David Kenningham, Malcolm Davies and Anne Kirtland, as well as the tragic loss of Melissa Lancashire.

David Kenningham was Headteacher from 1985 to 1997, having previously been Head at Cheney School in Oxford. David was a very wise and inspirational Headteacher and a wonderfully warm, generous and funny man. He made an impact on everyone he met and was known to all simply as DK. David was responsible for appointing several of the current staff and his passion for education was infectious. The principles he espoused remain strong in the DNA of the school to this day.

Malcolm Davies taught Design Technology at Lord Williams’s having worked at The Wenman School before the merger with The Grammar School. As a proper ‘old school’ Technology teacher, he would prefer we remembered him for teaching Woodwork, Metalwork and Technical Drawing! He was a highly engaging teacher and is remembered very fondly by all those he taught. He was a fine sportsman, having played rugby at a high level in South Wales. In his later years, he graced the staff cricket team and became an enthusiastic golfer.

Anne Kirtland taught Business Studies here in the 1980s and 1990s. She was utterly professional, kind and generous in all her dealings with her students and her colleagues. Anne had very high expectations of her students and gently supported them in achieving those standards. She was a leading player in the introduction of GCSE and BTEC Business Studies and is fondly remembered by all who had the good fortune to work with her.

Melissa Lancashire was an outstanding History and Humanities teacher, who made the lives of everyone she met richer and happier. She was loved by her tutor group, her students and her colleagues and will be missed more than I can express. Melissa had been seriously ill for some time but remained positive and full of enthusiasm for life and learning. Her impact lives on in all those she touched in school and the community but most importantly in her husband Robin and their children.

We have also received the very sad news of the deaths of current Year 9 student Eva Vink and former students Gary White, Sean Glover and Beth Bowen-Jones. We send our commiserations to their families, whose grieving is made that much more difficult by the current situation.

Victory in Europe (VE) Day: Friday 8th May

The May Bank Holiday this year has moved to Friday to commemorate VE Day, the end of the Second World War in Europe. Mrs Scott has put a task on Show My Homework, giving some information about the History of VE Day and some ideas about how students could learn about it and join in with the national commemoration. You can also find this information on page 7.

Finally

I do hope we are able to welcome students and staff back to school in the near future. We await guidance from the Government and will do our best to keep you informed of the plans. In the meantime, thank you for all you are each doing to support the students, the school and the wider community.

Design Technology – 3D Printing PPE Initiative

Helping to Protect those

in our Community

When the school closed due to Coronavirus there was much concern raised both by parents in our own commu-nity and in the media over the lack of PPE equipment for care workers in the front line. At the same time, there were a number of organisations around the world looking at ways of addressing some of the immediate needs.

We wanted to help meet some of the local demand and so we raided our stores for safety goggles and then decided to look into how we could start manufacturing PPE equipment with the resources we had. Our Design Technology technician, Mr Jordan Marsh looked into what the school could produce. He soon identified a face shield based on a proven Swedish design and started 3D printing them four at a time, using both his own machine and one from school. We soon had four 3D printers up and running and started

providing face shields to those who have a connection with the school or are working in the local community. So far we have donated 110 to the The White-leaf Centre (Oxford Health NHS Trust), 50 to local pharmacies, 40 to Abbeyfield Care Home in Haddenham, 50 to the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in London, 150 to Barnet Hospital in London (via a former Lord Williams’s student) and 200 to Wokingham Borough Council. Alongside this we provided some to 3D Printworld in Aylesbury who are also run-ning a successful local initiative, supporting many care organisations working on the front line.

At the last count we had made over 900 face shields to help protect care workers in their battle with the Covid-19 virus. Who would have believed that the equipment purchased for our students from donations made by parents/carers and the local community would now be used to help contribute to the saving of lives and protecting the health of those working in our communities! A big thank you to all those who have supported the school in making such equipment available to our students in recent years.

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Rainbow Ensemble Even though we are on lockdown, singing teacher Jane Twyford, has continued ‘virtual lessons’ with some of our students. She assembled a small virtual ensemble choir, where students individually record-ed parts of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and Jane combined them together. The students were accompanied by piano music from Judy Thompson and James Evans on violin.

The students recorded their parts on their own, in various rooms and houses around Thame, whilst listening to Judy’s part in headphones sent via email. Their determination to record in such circumstances underlined how much they value collaborating with each other; it makes the finished product all the more poignant.

It truly is a wonderful piece - please take a listen by watching the video on our website (click on the image below). We have included some old school photos along with the song - a reminder to stay positive during this difficult time.

‘Over The Rainbow’ by Harold Arlen and E.Y Harburg, arranged by Molly Jones Performed by the Upper School Ensemble:

Piano - Judy Thompson Violin - James Evans Vocals - Gemma Ratcliffe / Maria Karteris / Holly Chapman / Poppy Hemmings / Emma Whayman / Samara Chan

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Cycling Challenge

To keep active during lockdown, Seb Kean in 8JCt has been set the challenge by his parents to virtually cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats (874 miles). So far he has cycled an incredible 674 miles! This is an amazing achievement - well done Seb!

We’d love to hear if any other students have taken on a fitness challenge or if Seb has inspired you to start!

Twitter can be an excellent lens into the human heart and one tweet that really entertained the nation

this Easter season said, “I wasn’t expecting to give quite this much up for Lent” and it is true that Lent

for me signifies a time of ‘giving something up’ in an attempt to reflect on the sacrifice Jesus makes in

taking up the cross. But, Covid-19 has emphasised another aspect of Lent: my need for hope. For

Christians around the world, Easter is the most important event in the calendar. It is the turning point in

history, for those who believe the tomb was empty and Jesus rose from the dead. It is both a turning

away from fear - fear death represents for our human mortality - and a turning towards hope. It is the

hope in eternal life because of Jesus’ victory over death and hope for renewed relationship with God.

Even if we have no faith, the UK recognises Easter with a Bank Holiday and, for many, it is a chance

to draw close to family, to rest in the company of loved ones and to slow down. Again, for many, Covid

-19 has emphasised the importance of family; we feel a need for the company of others and the

benefit that can be had in slowing down. I love that Jesus’ time spent on earth was normally in the

company of others, frequently around food and always without hurry. For me, Easter should be the

high-definition version of what my human heart aches for most: the unhurried company of others, the

closeness of family time, and, ultimately, hope.

Miss Wells, Teacher of Religious Studies

What do Lent and Easter mean to me?

Friday 8th May is an important day for our country – it is the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe and is known as Victory in Europe (VE) Day. It brought an end to nearly six years of war that cost the lives of millions. On 8th May 1945 millions of people celebrated and held street parties, singing and dancing.

It would be wonderful, if you could take a few moments on Friday to remember this historical milestone; these are some suggestions that you and your family might like to take part in:

10.55am BBC 1 TV programme ‘The Nation Remembers’

11.00am A two-minutes silence for a national moment of remembrance

11.15am Join the Royal British Legion VE Day Livestream

3.00pm A national toast to the Heroes of World War Two from the safety of our homes. You can join in with your family by cheering and clapping on your doorsteps and offering a tribute; The official toast is: “To those who gave so much, we thank you.”

9.00pm The Queen will send a message to the nation on BBC One, the same time her father, King George VI, gave a radio address in 1945. Followed by a national sing along of Dame Vera Lynn's ‘We'll Meet Again’ while opening your doors and joining in with this national moment of celebration.

These websites are well worth visiting to find out more. They also include some creative ways to remember and celebrate this important event.

Imperial War Museum - What you need to know about VE Day Royal British Legion - VE Day Learning Resources https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/ve-day/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4TrqYDyf4PMdLypxzyTwGDg/great-british-bunting

We hope you enjoy the Bank Holiday but also take some time, along with your family, to reflect on and take strength from the courage and sacrifices of past and present generations.

Thank you.

The History Department

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School Amazon Alexa Skill Available

Mr Lovell has created a skill on Amazon Alexa that will read out news and updates from the school.

It will run on Amazon Echo devices or Amazon Alexa apps on mobile phones.

The skill can be found by searching 'Lord Bills Briefing' on the Amazon Skills Store in the Alexa app.

Once enabled, parents/carers can hear the latest updates from school by asking Alexa: 'Alexa, play my

flash briefing', 'Alexa, play my news', or 'Alexa, open Lord Bills Briefing'. The announcement may be

stopped by saying 'Alexa, stop'.

At present, Alexa is reading out Mr Ryder's weekly update - this is another way that parents/carers can

receive updates from the school in these difficult times.

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Alexa… Open Lord Bill’s Briefing

Astro-Pi is the school club where students

created code to run on the International

Space Station. Many students were able to

submit their code in March and their

computer programs are running on the

International Space Station during May.

Those students that took part will receive

their certificates in June and a special gift of

a BBC Microbit from the British Computer

Society.

Mr Lovell, Teacher of ICT/Computing

Astro-Pi Update

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The biggest THANK YOU from LWS Young Carers!

It’s been a busy few months for our Young Carers, even before Covid-19 be-

came the centre of our lives! I took over the role as Young Carers

Coordinator in February and quickly sprang into action planning and booking

lots of treats for our Young Carers. Unfortunately, these treats are on hold for

the foreseeable future, however this does mean that the 200 Easter eggs we

purchased for our biggest ever Easter egg hunt are safely being stored at

school, ready for a party when normality resumes!

We are very grateful to the local community for all the support they have given the Young Carers over the

past few months. A particular thank you goes to Thame Pop Choir, Thame and District Rotary Club and

Cllr Ann Midwinter, who appointed LWS Young Carers the Thame Town Mayor ’s Charity for this

year. There will be more published about their support at a later date.

Even during these difficult times our Young Carers are being so well supported. Professional

Photographer Heni Fourie has brought the #TheFrontStepsProject to Thame, taking photos of families on

their doorsteps during the lockdown. In return, donations can be made to our Young Carers via a

JustGiving page. The project has raised an incredible £1200 so far and has brought so much joy to the

local community, including LWS staff who love to see some of our families included in these photos.

Thank you to Heni and all that have supported the project, it really means a lot to us and will enable us to

carry on supporting our Young Carers during such a difficult time.

On behalf of all of the Young Carers team, we wish you well and look forward to seeing you all again

soon.

Miss Wickert - Young Carers Coordinator/ Year 9 Pastoral Support Officer

Gambia Appeal Update

A huge thank you to everyone who responded to our plea to help with the Coronavirus Appeal for The Gambia. I’ve received over £1300 - that’s about 45 families helped!

Every December for nearly 20 years, Lord Williams's School has been taking Sixth Form students on a study trip to The Gambia. During that time, we have developed a link with Brikama Upper Basic and Senior Secondary School (BUBSSS)

which has since become one of the strongest school links known in The Gambia. With dedicated staff at both schools, we continue to develop avenues to connect our cultures across the miles and instil an awareness of appreciation and responsibility within our global community. Several teachers have visited LWS over the years and we hope this will continue.

We would like to support the families in most need from BUBSSS and the wider community.

A bag of rice costs £25.00 and would feed a family of 20 for about four weeks. In order for people to wash their hands regularly, there are large plastic containers with taps being made and put in places so people can access them easily. These cost £5.00, including the soap.

We have a very reliable contact here and in The Gambia who are organising a project to distribute rice, water containers and soap to those who need them most.

If you would like to contribute towards this, please contact Carol Kendall at info@sponsoragambianchild.org. Thank you again for your support.

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Tell Somebody

Please watch the PowerPoint video on our

website from The Safeguarding Team at Lord

Williams’s School (click here).

What do I do if I am unsafe?

Firstly, if you have an immediate or

emergency concern and feel that you are at

risk of significant harm or danger contact the

Police on 999.

Secondly, talk to a trusted friend or family

member.

Thirdly, if you have a serious safeguarding

concern that you can’t share easily at home

then use this new school email service tell-

somebody-lws@lordwilliams.oxon.sch.uk.

We will reply to you during school hours. In

your message please tell us the best way to

contact you.

Please find below useful links to the web-

sites referred to in the video:

BBC Bitesize

Oak National Academy

Childline

School Nursing website

Kooth

Mrs Vear, Mr Scott & Mr Hammond

- The Safeguarding Team

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CAN YOU HELP? WE URGENTLY NEED MORE LWPA MEMBERS

including the important role of LWPA Chair from September 2020!

In order to ensure all our fundraising activities/events continue to be well

supported and run as smoothly as possible, the LWPA desperately need more people to volunteer their help!

Our current Chair is stepping down at the end of the summer term, so we are aiming to have a new parent Chair elected by August 2020.

Perhaps your child is starting Year 7 this September and you would like to get involved in raising funds for your school? Or, you are a parent who has a little spare time to offer in support? Annual events are ready to handover

and the committee has scope to be creative with new ideas. If you feel you can help and want to find out more, please contact us.

There are currently less than 1% of our parents directly involved with trying to raise funds for your child’s school!!

Please get in touch via lwathame@gmail.com

Recommended by the Library Team :

The Book of Hopes.

Click on the link below to read online:

https://issuu.com/bloomsburypublishing/

docs/thebookofhopes_interactivepdf.

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A big thank you for your ongoing support

for the Annual Fund Appeal.

We would like to say a huge thank you to

our parent community who have supported the school’s

Annual Fund Appeal and continue to do so in these difficult times.

During the last 12 months, we had over 90 new parents/carers signing up and helping to raise funds for

our Canteen Pod and for ICT equipment that the school constantly requires.

We are pleased to say that your donations have helped enable the school to undertake a major refresh

of classroom computer equipment.

The money raised was put towards the purchase of 400 replacement computers

for Lower and Upper School sites, providing teachers and students with better

access to technology during lessons in school. We have also invested in an ex-

citing new App, which is currently being fast track tested, that should have

significant benefits across the school community. More news to follow.

Nearly there!

We are getting closer to our target

to raise £35,000 to implement a

Canteen Pod. We will keep you

updated about this project in the

near future.

Please stay safe and thank you for

your continued support.

The Development Office

School Development Office and Fundraising

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Aresson Design a Bat Competition 2020

Whilst we may not be able to play Rounders at the moment, our competition with Aresson this year is designed to be completed from home. It will get students thinking about Rounders and, will allow students to get creative and active, making it a great home schooling activity!

This year we would like students to design their dream Rounders bat and also create a poster showcasing a Rounders warm up or skills practise that can be done from home.

Each school that enters the competition is entered into a prize draw for a chance to win an Aresson Rounders Set. Each winner receives a bat painted with their design plus a Vision X Bat and Ball Pack.

Who is the competition open to?

Any primary school or secondary school in the UK. There are separate primary and sec-ondary categories so a winner will be selected from each.

How do I apply?

Click the link below to download the Competition Pack.

Please send your entries to Mr Clarkson via Show My Homework.

The deadline for applications is Midnight 3rd July.

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www.lordwilliams.oxon.sch.uk

Lord Williams's School is an academy managed by Thame Partnership Academy Trust, which is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales,

with registered company number 8154932 and its registered address at Lord Williams's School, Oxford Road, Thame, Oxon. OX9 2AQ

You can access the following on-line resources: Show My Homework MyMaths Other online resources: Digital resources for students We have published and shared some guidance on how you should approach your schoolwork at home and this can be found on the website, click here. CGP books – we have several CGP textbooks, workbooks and revision guides, which you can access online. Log in to CGP books and click on "My Online Products" Login: LWSLibrary Password: Library4580* You should work in your school exercise books where this is practical. Digital Access to Text Books & Revision Guides

Digital access to text books and revision guides is via email - please see above pdf titled "How to Ac-cess VLe Books" for step-by-step instructions.

Please be considerate: As we have very few copies of each title available, please select the 'use online' option and close it as soon as you've finished to allow another student to work with it.

Year 7 students can continue reading and quizzing while they are at home. Below are some useful links. If you are not already a library member, you can join online without visiting a library.

Year 7 Accelerated Reader Oxfordshire ebook Library Buckinghamshire ebook Library Libby App (to read the ebooks) Audible Free audio books while you're at home. Renaissance Place For quizzing. Please note that students who do not have access to computers will not be penalised for not quizzing. Archive The US has opened up an internet archive of books which our students may find useful.

Advice & Wellbeing

Further advice on self-isolation can be found here: Self-isolation advice from the NHS

This is an uncertain time for all of us but remember, you're not alone. Advice on mental health can be found here: Coronavirus and your mental wellbeing.

Information to support working from home

Click here for information regarding childcare provision for Key Workers Latest updates for parents/carers please click here

Information for students please click here

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