Summer Term 2020 Week 5

Upton

News 22nd May 2020

Together we have made history We have had the most incredible half term with UptonHouse@Home.

As said in assembly this morning I am so proud of every Uptonian from Pre-Nursery to Form 6, you have been resilient, diligent, creative, intelligent and wonderful!

Our theme for this term is togetherness and in many ways our Upton House community has never been more together as we continue to work through this challenging time with such positivity.

We have made history together this half term as we moved our schooling to UptonHouse@Home and the results are phenomenal.

Thank you so much parents for your support and patience, thank you to our wonderful Upton House team for their creativity, professionalism and sense of humour to ensure normality in this time of uncertainty.

Rhian Thornton

Pedal push with a difference At this point in the summer term we hold our annual charity fund raising event, the Nursery Pedal Push for the Alexander Devine charity. This year wasn’t going to be any different, Upton House Nursery were all ready and waiting in the wings as 10am arrived on Thursday and they pushed off for their fantastic pedal push.

The children had set their individual challenges from riding The Long Walk, cycling two lengths of a polo field, riding around the local park to riding around the driveway. They had created their own just giving pages and raised a fabulous amount of money between them. Thanks goes to them all for thinking of those children who are not able to ride their bikes and making a difference to their lives. They are superstars!!

It wasn’t just the children that got ready to pedal, Mrs Bish, Mrs Adnan and Mrs Phelan also took part this year. They completed their 10 laps at school around the netball court to our usual backing track ‘Bicycle Race’ by Queen.

The children’s sponsorship pages are still open and if you would like to support this great charity please go to JustGiving and search for Upton House Pedal Push or visit Mrs Bish’s page here.

Connect with us uptonhouse.org.uk | 01753 862 610 | @UptonHouseSch

#KindnessMatters Across the UK this week it has been Mental Health Awareness Week, encouraging conversations around how we can positively support our mental health. This year the theme is kindness which has never been more important than now when we are trying to manage our feelings in response to leading such different lives and find ways to stay connected and support one another. Whilst we may physically be apart this has never stopped Upton finding ways to get involved and this week we took part in our own ‘Kindness Challenge’ thinking of how we can be kind to ourselves, kind to others and kind to the world.

In our assembly on Monday we talked about how being kind helps us feel happier and is like glue holding the world together. We practised how we can be kind to ourselves using positive affirmations, talking to ourselves as we would our best friend rather than critic.

The children have shared some fabulous pictures of their pledges made already. Chelsea in Form 3 has been litter picking for her ‘kind to others & the world challenge’ and Elisa in Trans B has made an enormous cake for all the teachers in school for her ‘kind to others challenge’. A huge well done and thank you to you both. The children’s creative wellbeing activity pictures are giving so much joy to the teachers in school displayed on our ‘We are Together’ board on the main staircase. It is wonderful to see their enthusiasm and enjoyment of their weekly wellbeing challenges.

As part of this week, a second parent video can be viewed here, in which I talk about potential feelings of loss and associated behaviours with supporting ideas to try at home as well further resources for websites, organisations and books that may be useful.

I have also recorded my breathing and relaxation exercises shared with the children each week in assembly so that you can practise these at home. They will be appearing within the resources page of the Parent Support & Wellbeing section of the website very soon or you can listen to them now here.

I hope that for your child the legacy of this pandemic will be remembering and carrying forward the feeling of togetherness, the acts of kindness shown to ourselves, others and the world. Being grateful, building selfawareness & understanding, enabling empathy and compassion. A sense of belonging and being part of a community, friendship & family. Noticing and appreciating the small things that make the biggest difference.

Being able to step out of autopilot to be present in each moment, taking these moments to pause and respond to all their emotions positively. To appreciate the beauty of nature and our connection with its reminder that change is a constant part of life in order to grow and move forwards. I hope that our children will remember how to embrace life and feel empowered to tackle whatever future challenges lie ahead with optimism to be able to thrive and flourish. - Anna Hewitt For any wellbeing queries please contact me at annahewitt@uptonhouse.org.uk

Connect with us uptonhouse.org.uk | 01753 862 610 | @UptonHouseSch

Welcome to the Jungle Transition have had lots of fun exploring their Jungle topic over the past fortnight. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching our pupils become jungle explorers and getting into the theme of their exciting topic. The children have produced beautiful pieces of numeracy and literacy work, created amazing jungle collages and have enjoyed jungle discussions during their live topic times. We hope you have had fun with us and look forward to our new topic after half term. Would you like to know what it is? ‌ MINIBEASTS! Well done Transition for your super work. Enjoy a lovely half term, you all deserve it.

Virtual visits continue in Prep This week many of the Prep girls would have been on trips and not wanting them to miss out they have been exploring the world virtually. They have been as far a field as Mexico and Athens and have explored history closer to home when they went to the Houses of Parliament, Bath to visit the Roman Baths and the British Museum. They have been fantastic exploring the ruins and artefacts and have produced some amazing work. Thank you for the postcards girls it was lovely to see you enjoying the sunshine, the restaurants and the giftshops.

Time for a rest Children, please make sure you have a well-earned rest over half term, relax and have fun, you deserve it. I look forward to welcoming some of you back to school on the 1st June and I will see all of Upton House back together through UptonHouse@ Home for assembly on June 1st at 9am. - Rhian Thornton

Connect with us uptonhouse.org.uk | 01753 862 610 | @UptonHouseSch