Dear Parents,
It has been wonderful to welcome the children back to school for the Summer Term which I hope will be full of excitement, laughter and wonderful memories In my assembly this week, I focused on the theme of hope – a word that feels especially fitting as we step into the final chapter of the academic year Hope, in its quiet strength, gives us reason to look forward, to keep growing, and to believe in the good that lies ahead Hope is also a gift which is too precious to keep to ourselves As I explained in assembly, hope comes to us in order to flow through us I therefore challenged the children to bring hope and happiness to others not only this term but throughout their life As Pope Francis said, ‘Let us be lights of hope!’
It was lovely to start this term with our Interhouse Cross Country competition It was great to see so many of you enjoying this Castle Court tradition in the afternoon sunshine and embracing the friendly rivalry between the Houses I even spotted a few parents getting involved in the House face painting! Today, we also welcomed 8 local primary schools to take part in a Year 4 cross-country competition It is so important, especially in the current political climate, that we continue to support the local community and enable others to benefit from our wonderful facilities and beautiful grounds This term brings a rich array of other events too – Activities Week, sports days, swimming galas, the senior play, our Family Festival, PSPQ presentation evening and Speech Day I hope these moments will offer you, as families, the chance to feel truly part of our Castle Court community After all, hope grows best when we grow it together
As we start this term, I also wanted to update you on some further staff news Nathan Norris, our Bursar, will be sadly leaving the school at the end of May to take up the role of Chief Operating Officer at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park Cumberland Lodge is an educational charity and social enterprise focused on growing the next generation of ethical youth leaders I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Nathan for his outstanding service to the school over the past 9 years and the wonderful support he has given me throughout my time at the school, but particularly in my first year as Head Whilst Nathan’s departure is a huge loss, we understand what an exciting opportunity this is for him, and we wish him every happiness and success in his new role We will now begin the process of recruiting Nathan’s replacement for September To help see us through the final few months of the busy Summer Term, I am delighted to announce that Luke Gollings has agreed to take on the temporary role of Operations Manager until the end of July In this role he will be overseeing the day-to-day operations of the school site Luke will be employed on a part-time basis, but will flex his hours across the week depending on the requirements of each week As a previous Headmaster of the school, Luke continues to be a great supporter of Castle Court and I am extremely grateful to him for agreeing to take on this temporary role I am really looking forward to working with him again I am also delighted to announce that Sarah Ball has been promoted to the role of Financial Controller and will have ownership of all financial aspects of running the school Sarah has been instrumental in the smooth implementation of VAT and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank her for her incredible hard work and dedication to the school
Looking ahead to next week, a reminder that Mr Dunsford will be giving a presentation to Year 2-8 parents on Monday at 415pm in the Family Lounge about the school’s behaviour policy This will give you the opportunity to understand our behaviour systems in greater detail, learn more about our new ‘Castle Court Way’ and ask any questions I do hope that you are able to attend this talk Next week, we will be holding our Topic Exploration Sessions for Pre-Prep; see the school calendar for further details
Finally, as we begin to enjoy warmer and sunnier days, it is important that pupils remember to bring a water bottle into school and to wear sunscreen
I look forward to sharing a term full of sunshine, laughter and hopeful horizons with you all
Wishing you a wonderful weekend Katie
Head’s Awards are given out every Friday morning in assembly to children nominated by their class teacher or form tutor; the reasons for these are many and varied, including outstanding effort, overcoming difficulty, or helping a friend in need A huge congratulations for their efforts goes to
Badger Cubs
Class Teachers / Form Tutors
Mrs Genge | Mrs Tomblin
Badgers Mrs Bartlett | Mrs Wilson
Reception Mrs Brewer | Mrs Speer
Year 1
Mrs Dobson | Mrs Zachariades
Year 2 Mr Antell | Mrs Glenn
Year 3
Mrs Baugniet | Mr Bambrey
Year 4 Dr Lippiatt/Mrs Deards | Mr Laidler
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Yourfirstpointofcontact foranydaytoday questionsandenquiries relatedtoyourchild(ren)is theirtutororclass teacher.
Mr Mills/Mrs Vivian | Mrs Miller/Miss Sinclair-Smith
Mrs Rule/Mrs Major | Mr Fermor-Dunman/Mrs Hoey
Mr Jordan/Mrs Harmer | Mrs Lea/Mr Cheadle
Mr Phillips/Ms Thompson | Mrs Gallop/Mr Smith
Section Leaders
Nursery Miss Hixson
Pre-Prep Mr Antell
Years 3&4 Mr Laidler
Years 5&6 Mrs Munns
Years 7&8 Ms Thompson
Heads of Department
English Ms Thompson
Maths Mrs Miller
Science Mrs Gallop
History Mrs Rule
Geography Mrs Hoey
CAVE Mrs Hoey
Music Mr Smith
Art Miss Sinclair-Smith
DT Mr Phillips
Sport Mr Fermor-Dunman
Leadership Team
Mr Dunsford Assistant Head (Pastoral)
Mr Edmond Assistant Head (Operations)
Mrs Hoey Head of CAVE
Mrs Munns Director of Teaching & Learning
Mr Norris Bursar
Mrs Robson Admissions & Marketing
SENDCo
Mrs Harmer
Absences:
Please report absences to the School office on office@castlecourt.com or by telephone to 01202 694438.
MrsJohnson:
To make an appoointment to see Mrs Johnson, please contact her PA, Hannah, on hmsec@castlecourtcom or use the telephone number above.
