SBS News - Spring 2023

SBS News

Spring Term 2023

Inside this issue...

Headteacher's Welcome / Outward Bound / World Hijab Day / Enhanced Learning Day / Tales from the Middle East / Morocco School Visit / World Book Day / Debate Mate / Plus Much More

Headteacher's Welcome Our school has a great track record for providing opportunities for young people to develop the skills and attitudes needed to be, and become, great leaders. This was one of the many areas highlighted by our recent Ofsted Inspection as part of our Outstanding provision for Personal Development.

‘Pupils take an active role in the life of the school beyond the classroom. They participate in many of the clubs and activities on offer, perform in assemblies, help to organise events and activities, and mentor younger pupils.

School leaders listen to pupils and involve them in decision making’ Ofsted Report December 2022 Before you begin reading this edition of Sarah Bonnell News, I want to celebrate two of the opportunities students have had to take on leadership roles this term. The first opportunity was for Key Stage 3 students who were invited to apply to become a Key Stage 3 Ambassador. We had over 130 applications from students keen to be leaders for different curriculum subjects in the school. In order to develop their communication skills, students were shortlisted to attend an interview with our Year 11 Prefects who then put into practice their own leadership skills by supporting and encouraging their peers in Key Stage 3 to demonstrate why they should be appointed to these roles. We now have 95 proud KS3 Ambassadors taking on responsibilities linked to subjects and other areas of the school. Another opportunity was for Year 10 students who were invited to apply for the role of Prefect. We had over 120 applications from students proud to be members of our school community, keen to represent the school as great role models and determined to work together to improve our school for everyone. 106 Year 10 students were shortlisted and invited to an interview with professional volunteers from our business partners including Pinsent Masons Law, Citi Bank, Bouygues Engineering, the Financial Conduct Authority and more. The young professionals commented on how eloquent, confident and impressive our students were in these interviews and I am delighted to say that we have now appointed 52 Year 10 students to the role of Prefect for 2023-2024. These opportunities give students a chance to shine, to develop as effective communicators and to make a difference to the school. I am very proud of the fact that so many young people want to be involved in this way - it shows how much they care about their school and value being part of our community.

In addition to these leadership opportunities there have been lots of other opportunities for students this term. Alongside the lessons teachers plan and deliver everyday, these additional activities further students' learning and broaden their understanding of the wider world. In this issue you will enjoy reading about Science Week, Safer Internet Day, World Book Day, World Hijab Day, Year 9 Residential to Aberdovey in Wales, International Women's Day 2023 and much more.

Finally, you are one of 1334 students, 87 teachers, 64 support staff, 12 governors and over 1000 parents/ carers - thank you for being part of our school community. I appreciate what you bring to our community and value the positive contribution you make to our school. I wish you all a happy Spring Holiday and look forward to welcoming everyone back for the start of a great Summer Term 2023, on Monday 17 April 2023 at the usual time of 8.25am.

Ms Potter - Headteacher

Head Girl & Deputy Head Girls The Sarah Bonnell Head Girl and Deputy Head Girls have been interacting with the community through many key events. One event being the Alumni Event, remembering Sarah Bonnell's history as we celebrated it’s 253rd birthday. We also had the Achievement Assembly this academic year where we celebrated sisterhood and also congratulated our fellow peers. The Black History Month Celebration also took place this year where we celebrated the diversity of our school, and culture. This term our enhanced learning day took place in relation to International Women’s Day where we gave a speech about celebrating equity and at lunchtime collected donantions for students in Cambodia. We also assisted members of staff by doing duties by the school gates at lunch and break. We also meet Ms Potter on a weekly basis in order to discuss further plans for our school, including ideas to improve it.

OUTWARD BOUND

In February, 160 students and 12 teachers travelled to the beautiful Welsh coast as part of their adventures at Outward Bound, Aberdovey. Outward Bound is a charity that gives young people access to amazing experiences in the outdoors and the trip was designed to encourage SBS students to get out and explore the world around them. As part of this experience, Year 9 engaged in a range of outdoor activities. They went for a jog and dip; they went canoeing and kayaking; they went on a two-day hike.

All the experiences helped students to get out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves to learn something new.

Students had an unforgettable time! While their memories of bunking together in a cabin and toasting marshmallows in an open fire will stay with them forever, it was the growth they appreciated the most.

One student commented: “The experience of staying in a cabin was the thing I enjoyed the most... no beds, toilets, running water, electricity, and all 19 of us together...it was a tough thing, and our body ached from the hiking, but it was truly surreal and unforgettable. At the time, I didn't think much of it, but now I see that I really got to connect with nature.”

Another student said: “I got to experience a whole new world of nature outside of London. At first, I got exhausted by the amount of energy we had to put in but then I started to see how happy I was, the smile and laughter was on my face more than once. I could tell I was experiencing happiness.”

Lastly, a student summed up her growth, saying: “I have boosted my leadership and communication skills and abilities as a result of this wonderful experience of the outdoors.

I've improved my ability to operate in a team, learned how to assist others appropriately, and learned how to inspire others, help them overcome obstacles, and encourage others.”

We are immensely proud of our Year 9 students and all they achieved during their week in Aberdovey. We know this experience will be something that helps them in years to come.

Most importantly, we are proud to have been able to provide an enriching experience as part of the diverse and exciting curriculum we offer at Sarah Bonnell School.

WORLD HIJAB DAY ‘PROGRESSION NOT OPPRESSION.’ We celebrated another brilliant World Hijab Day this year with the theme of ‘Progression Not Oppression.’ This year, students in Year 10 and Year 11 led assemblies sharing their personal stories and presented and shared their hijab wearing role models. Ms Sahebdin also launched the art and poetry competition with students having the opportunity to win an array of fantastic books written by diverse authors. Ms Harvey and Ms Sahebdin designed the beautiful piazza display highlighting hijab wearing women across the globe who can isnpire us all.

During lunchtime, a piazza moment encouraged students to share their message based on the theme for World Hijab Day and suggest their own role models who had inspired them. Students also had the opportunity to try on hijabs, take photos with their own message and raise money for United World Schools by buying hijabs.

Thank you to everyone who made it a memorable celebration.

Youth Safety Champions As a school, we are proud of our place in the local community and are committed to educating young people about social action. Over the last three years, we have built a strong partnership with Newham Citizens.

In January 2023, one of Year 9 Youth Safety champions met with Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz at the Newham Council Offices, Dockside, and presented our asks. In this meeting the Mayor agreed to co-sign a letter to the Transport for London Headquarters and support our campaign.

To follow up on this, six Year 9 students attended the GLA transport committee meeting on 21 March where their hard work was discussed.

A year 9 student reflected: “Being a Youth Safety Champion allows me to connect to my community in a helpful and positive way. By being involved with the social action within Newham Citizens I am able to develop myself as a person and my understanding of the wider community. By representing Sarah Bonnell through Citizens I have learnt different ways we can approach the challenges that the youth in Newham face today.”

A’Sheerah English Bar Champion A’Sheerah competed at the English Gymnastics Championships on Friday 24th February in Telford.

The competition A’Sheerah took part in had 70 of the best gymnasts from across England.

A’Sheerah was crowned the new English bar champion, came third on vault and placed an amazing 6th overall.

Enhanced Learning Day 1 Internantional Womens Day At Sarah Bonnell School, we are a proud community that promotes equality and diversity. As part of this, we are proud to be an all-girls school championing female empowerment and sisterhood. We were delighted to celebrate International Women’s Day at Sarah Bonnell by hosting an Enhanced Learning Day on the theme of #EmbraceEquity.

Year 7 students took part in a range of learning experiences linked to science, technology, engineering and math in the curriculum and women in science, technology, engineering and math, exposing students to the wonders of STEM around us.

Year 8 students visited the BFI IMAX cinema to watch a documentary from a female director ‘A Beautiful Planet’. Narrated by Jennifer Lawrence, this documentary highlighted a female astronaut and explored missions to the International Space Station.

Year 9 students focussed on Youth Safety for young women in Newham. Our Youth Safety Champions lead sessions to gather student voice and planned for social action. Students also heard from a range of exciting speakers.

Year 10 students worked with our external partner, Jack Petchey, to take part in the ‘Speak Out Challenge’ where they engaged in workshops on developing communication skills and public speaking to develop their Oracy. They learnt how to build arguments around topics that they were passionate about, linked to International Women’s Day and the theme #EmbraceEquity.

Year 11 students completed required practicals for the GCSE Science specification and also participated in a well-being focused session where they had a choice of sessions ranging from creating bead bracelets to mindful colouring. The items they created were sold in the Piazza to raise funds for our charity partner, United World Schools.

Each student was given a small canvas where they created a design linked to the International Women’s Day Theme #EmbraceEquity. We will be collating these canvases together to make a piece of artwork across the school, marking this meaningful occasion. In her closing address at the sister assemblies, Aasiyah, Headgirl, said: “This canvas isn’t a token, it is a symbol of something so much bigger. When we put these together, they form a piece of art, a story. These canvases present a carving of journeys from each and every student at Sarah Bonnell who aim to put their stamp on the world”.

Greenhouse Sports Tennis

The level of tennis the students are now producing is so rewarding to witness. We have 90 girls on the programme, which is twice the amount I am recommended to enlist. As well as having the highest number of females, we also have the most diverse Greenhouse tennis programme in the organisation.

The clubs are the best attended clubs throughout the school, and all of the above from September onwards has been achieved in freezing cold and wet weather.

Year 7/8s and Year 9/10s took part in a Winter tournament with some great results across the board. These students in particular are those who I hope will represent clubs and teams outside of school as younger adults.

In terms of their discipline and reslience, a lot of these students are now unrecognisable from when first met them. Congratulations and keep it up!

-Coach Sippy

Safer Internet Day 2023 Safer Internet Day was celebrated on the 7th February 2023, as a school we came together to raise awareness of online safety and the issues we all face on an everyday basis. Digital leaders presented in assembly all week to all year groups which were highly engaging and successful. KS3 students looked at the online safety bill in their computing lessons and discussed the impact this would have on our society.

Digital leaders were able to support students with any online concerns they have and to ensure students know where to go for help if they ever needed it.

Morocco School Visit On the 24th of January 29 students and 9 teachers from a school in Morocco came to visit Sarah Bonnell for the day. The visitors presented two workshops to French and Arabic students in KS3 and KS4. The first workshop was a discussion about human values and students made key rings. The second workshop was about bringing Morocco to London by sharing a display of Moroccan cultural artefacts like pictures, traditional clothing and traditional food etc.

Our students enjoyed learning about Moroccan culture and our visitors enjoyed speaking English and learning about school life at Sarah Bonnell School.

Tales from the Middle East Throughout the Autumn Term, a large group of performers and designers from a range of year groups collaborated really effectively to create the school production: Tales From the Middle East. The production involved a range of impressive performances exploring the stories of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Sindbad the Sailor, and Aladdin, and were weaved together by the framing narrative of a classroom scenario. Not only did all members of the cast and crew work incredibly hard to put together the production, but they also shared a performance with the Year 7 students, who have been inspired to write wonderful theatrical reviews of the play they saw. We are incredibly proud of all of the students who participated, the members of staff who worked really hard to support, and, importantly, all audience members who supported the school community.

Faraday Competition On Friday 10th February 36 year 8 students competed in the 2023 Faraday Engineering Competition. Students took part in a one-day cross-curricular sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics activities that introduces students to inspire them to consider engineering as a career, and help to develop their practical and employability skills, including team working, problem solving, and creative thinking.Students were tasked to invent a new idea for a specific industry and complete the industrial cadets level. All 36 students worked in teams and were competing against each other throughout the day.

Congratulations to the winning team who won the plaque for the school and £10 love to shop vouchers each.

LGBT+ History Month As part of our school’s commitment to celebrating diversity, we marked LGBT+ History Month in assemblies led by students and involving learning about important historical figures across a diversity of identities and cultural backgrounds. In the assemblies students learnt about the themes of community, reflected on the lives of LGBTQ+ people and explored the meanings of symbols which have historically been important to the LGBTQ+ community. Not only did the students leading the assemblies demonstrate an impressive commitment to the Sarah Bonnell Way, but there were lots of wonderful moments of participation from students across different year group cohorts, reflecting the value of Be Proud.

What a World Book Day 2023 we had! It was World Book Day 2023 wonderful to see so many imaginative and creative costumes worn by staff and students. My costume had everyone guessing and prompted the 'Who is Ms Kaur?' competition. The only clues I could give were; She is an iconic character - She is from a very famous book - Written by a very famous author Answer: Miss Havisham from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Well done to Saffiya Kawthar 11N who guessed correctly and received a copy of Great Expectations as her prize. Thank you to everyone who took part!

The Learning Hub once again took central stage and hosted a range of games and activities for everyone to take part in. Games included 'Who Wrote this Book?' and 'Guess the Book Cover' It was fabulous to see everyone taking part in the World Book Day festivities and really engaging with Ms Bibi and our creative writing activity where students were given the opportunity to explore their imaginations and add their own sentences to create one collective story.

During Period 5 the Learning Hub was transformed into a dark eerie space with creepy music playing to create a sense of spookiness so that our Rowling Pathways students could enjoy the theme of ‘Gothic Horror’ which they had been covering in their lessons. In the workshop we explored books telling stories in Haunted Houses, Haunted Castles, Spooky Forest and ‘Spooky Graveyards’. We then discussed sights and sounds we would expect to see or hear in theses setting. We used descriptive cards to place on huge pictures depicting these scenarios. The students were thoroughly engaged and really thought about each setting carefully. As an award for their hard work each student was given a bespoke World Book Day bookmark and a ‘Dracula’ gothic novel.

I had a surprise addition to the World Book Day celebrations when Ameenah (11S) presented me with her World Book Day poem. It was beautifully written and encompassed all of Ameenah's memories of World Book Day since she was in primary school.

Our annual ‘Treasure Hunt’ competition was a great success with many, many entry forms given out.Congratulations to Ameenah (11S) who scored an incredible 18/18 and won a Kindle Fire! Ishita (11H) won a runner up prize for book themed entry title ‘Little Woman’.

She received a copy of the book ‘Little Women’. Also, a huge well done to Amara (7B) who won our ‘Create a World Book Day Picture Book’ competition and was awarded a Kindle Fire as well. Her story titled ‘The Perfect Princess’ depicted a wonderful story about a brave princess who defeats an evil dragon. Her entry was an outstanding piece of work and we are incredibly proud of her achievement.

Big Bang @ SB This year we were very fortunate to have collaborated with ‘The Big Bang’ Fair! Celebrating STEAM across the school. Year 7 had a day full of events and workshops which helped ignite a new passion for STEM. ‘The Big Bang’ Fair is an annual event in which schools participate in supporting students to feel inspired about possible careers in STEM. Sarah Bonnell hosted a range of guests for the day as well as celebrating Women in STEM!

Zoolab This year we were very fortunate to have collaborated with ‘The Big Bang’ Fair! Celebrating STEAM across the school. Year 7 had a day full of events and workshops which helped ignite a new passion for STEM. ‘The Big Bang’ Fair is an annual event in which schools participate in supporting students to feel inspired about possible careers in STEM. Sarah Bonnell hosted a range of guests for the day as well as celebrating Women in STEM!

Parent online safety drop in This year we have successfully run 3 parental online safety workshops. They were attended by eager parents wanting to learn more about the dangers of social media and what their daughters could be doing online via mobile devices or computers. Parents had the opportunity to complete the course and gain certification at the end. Feedback from parents was positive and all parents that attended found this to be very useful. The last workshop for this year will be held on the 27th June.

Please sign up online if you would like to attend

Dessault Company - Diversity in STEM Dessault Company came to visit us on the 8th March and spoke to our Year 7 students about diversity in sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics. Students were shown different routes into sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics and how studying any part of this can open their career choices up to a lot more.

Dessault were able to show students pathways into sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics and how the industry has become more diverse over the last few years with more women and the diverse community now entering these fields.

Alumni Visit - Dr Sira Visits SB We were fortunate enough to have one of our very own EX Sarah Bonnell students come and visit us on the 8th March 2023. She was invited in to talk about her experience as a student at Sarah Bonnell from 20 years ago and where she is now. Students found this fascinating and enjoyed looking at the old Sarah Bonnell uniform and school reports.

Dr Sira spoke about her journey to success and how she is now enjoying her career as a Doctor in the Royal Air Force

Girls Believe Academy behalf of Bouygues construction

On the 8th March we welcomed a team from the Girls Believe academy. We were delighted to have them come in to talk to our year 7 students about what sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics is and how women play a crucial part in this Industry. Students learnt about architectural buildings across London that have been built by women, students were able to ask questions and engage with the team throughout the day. Year 7 enjoyed listening and learning about sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics in London and how they can join with their future career choices.

National Reading Championship Quiz 2023 On Friday 17th March, 8 students from Years 7-9 competed against other schools in the regional heats of National Reading Championship Quiz 2023. The event was organised by the National Literacy Trust who we work closely with, to provide our students with excellent opportunities to improve their literacy and reading abilities. Our two teams battled against the clock answering 75 questions from seven categories based on a vast range of books. Although we did not make it through to the finals, the students worked incredibly hard and had a great time all the same.

Thank you Ms Bibi for accompanying us and supporting our students.

Virtual Author Event: Q&A with Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE Ms Ikhlas & 7H enjoyed a fabulous virtual author event in the Learning Hub: Q&A with Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE, on Friday 17th March.

Students enjoyed listening to Dr Aderin -Pocock talk about her new book ‘Am I Made of Stardust’ and answering questions put to her by students from different schools. 7H had prepared for this event by reading through her book as a class and coming up with a collective question to put to the author. The students were thoroughly engaged and left the session feeling very informed about the cosmos. Thank you Ms Ikhlas for assisting with this fantastic opportunity.

Alternative Pathways Over the last three years Sarah Bonnell has developed partnerships with a range of alternative providers across Newham, Hackney and Waltham Forest. At Sarah Bonnell we believe in providing students with opportunities beyond a mainstream setting, and aligns with the launch of the Pathway from September 2023.

We believe effective provision consists of positive links between providers and Sarah Bonnell, where students are involved in their learning experience to ensure it is personalised and allows them to access a wider range of opportunities, for example vocational and work based learning. Our ultimate goal is to ensure they gain regular access to a range of services that support each individual's needs that allows them to gain accreditation that enables them to be successful in the future.

We strongly believe in maintaining these relationships and regularly visit and check in on their progress. Here are some soundbites from students and staff: Success Stories: "I really enjoy courses such as construction" "When visiting students at each provider I have been impressed by their level of dedication as well as the feedback from staff" "Student X has been fantastic in their work placement. They developed their customer service skills and the feedback has been impressive" "My confidence in my work placement has helped me get a better understanding of my next steps for college".

National Reading Championship Quiz 2023 We found the trip was very interesting and enjoyed it very much. It was very educational and all the staff at the college was really kind and friendly.

Fareeha 10N and Zainab 10H

It was very fun and interesting. We did a lot of fun activities and had a good day.

We saw lots of nice landscapes and did a really fun tour of the university Alayna 10B

Belmont Park School

Debating Success A huge congratulations to all our debate teams who competed in the UDL round 1 and UDL round 2.

The league tables have just been released and Sarah Bonnell school have made the top 16 schools. We are 13 on the league table for secondary national core team and our novice team made it to position 7! Well done!

The top 16 National teams and the top 10 Novice teams will be invited to the Urban Debate League Finals to battle it out to be crowned UDL National Champions 2023.

Well done and congratulations to our debating teams who took part in UDL round 2.

WHAT IS DEBATE MATE? Debate mate is a programme where we discuss and debate about important topics in our society.

We learn and develop our speaking and listening skills.

Debate Mate 2022/23 clubs have now started.

This is a 17 week programme with 72 students involved across year 7-10 There will be 4 classes in the F zone with Debate Mate mentors leading.

We had a fantastic year last year with so many successes; from winning the London debate cup, doing really well in the UDL and Nationals as one of the top 5 schools nationally, to winning the Pinsent Mason cup and the Deloitte Futures First competition.

The season for debate is now coming to a close. If you would like to take part in this next year then keep an eye out for the new advert in July for the next academic year.

Thank you to all who have participated in the clubs and competitions so far.

WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN? Debate mate gives you the opportunity to improve and work on your oracy skills such as public speaking and building confidence.

It gives you the opportunity to share your views on topics you care about.

You get the opportunity to compete with other schools It's a great way to meet new people It can give you the skills you need for the future for example if you want to be a lawyer or a politician It would look impressive on your CV You gain SB hours IT IS A LOT OF FUN! WHAT IF I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE?

HOW DOES A DEBATE WORK? Usually a team will consist of 6 people. Only 4 of those people will be required to speak and the other two help the speakers prepare their speech.

You don’t need to worry. Everybody starts somewhere. At debate mate you WHAT SKILLS DO I NEED? will work with mentors who will help Nothing in particular. You just have to make sure and support you every step of the way. you are organised and committed to the 17 week Its ok if you are shy or confused, don't programme. Any other skills you’ll need will be taught to you. be afraid to ask for help. Debate mate is all about learning and developing HOW DO I APPLY? your skills so you’ll be fine. Remember Speak to Ms Sahebdin if you would like to join. everyone is welcome to debate mate Space is limited. no matter their race gender or ability.

The closing date for the 2023 Young Muslim Writers Awards is on 14th July 2023 for Ms Sahebdin to enter on your behalf or 6th August for individual entries via the website. ymwa.org.uk The Young Muslim Writers Awards is back for the 12th year and want to hear from you! If you’re aged between 5 and 16 and living in the UK, we’re inviting you to submit your entry for a chance to be read by our judges!

Each year we run a writing competition for children aged between 5 and 16 to celebrate their creativity and writing talent. We hope to inspire children and help them become confident writers.

Short stories, poems, articles, screenplays and play scripts that are submitted are assessed to select the top five entries from each category. These shortlisted entries are presented to our expert panel of judges comprised of distinguished poets, authors and other notable figures from the arts and media industry.

Shortlisted writers are presented with a certificate and a gift bag of books, and are invited to an awards ceremony where the winners are announced.

Parent Online Safety Course - Information for parents to sign up

The closing date for the 2023 Young Muslim Writers Awards is midnight on Sunday 6th Our annual online safety training for parents & carers provides August 2023. you with the knowledge and skills you need to feel confident and - Mr Begley empowered to help keep children safe online.

The course is split into bite sized modules making it the most time-efficient course.

It is accessible on any device, any time, anywhere.

Scan the QR code and select which course you would like to complete from the list below: 1. Annual Certificate in Online Safety for Parents & Carers of children aged 11-14 2. Annual Certificate in Online Safety for Parents & Carers of children aged 14-18 3. Annual Certificate in Online Reputation for Parents & Carers 4. Online Certificate in Cyber Security for Parents & Carers We hope that this will help in further collaboration between Parents/Carers and the school, ensuring our students are aware of appropriate behaviours online and being responsible for their own digital footprint.

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