Friday, 20th April 2018
Upper School Newsletter
Upper School News
The sun certainly shone on Dwight this week and the staff and students returned rested and ready for another challenging term. We took very little time to get into full swing and we have lots of news to tell you about this week. Please note the newsletter is back to me to author this term as our Media Club has evolved into the new medium of TV (as you will see at the end of the newsletter) but I hope to continue to include items from students and other staff during this term.
Berlin Music Exchange
A group of 15 music students left for Berlin last Saturday on a return visit to the Evangelische Schule who joined us in Dwight for the Choir Festival last year. Our students were mostly hosted by German families, always a great cultural experience, and our musicians rehearsed with their students to create a joint musical performance. They also saw the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brandenburg Gate and the Blue Man theatre group! We hope it was a very interesting trip and look forward to hearing more from them about it next week. Thanks to Mr. Kraft for setting up this experience for our students. One of our teachers, Ginka, on the trip said They really enjoyed spending time with their German friends, making music together and performing in front of the whole school. At the end of the assembly, everyone was shouting 'Zugabe! We want more!' It was a pleasure to see the audience enjoy the joint performance and appreciate Serena's vocals and Mitiya's guitar solos with 'wows' and spontaneous clapping.
Alzheimer's service workshop
On Tuesday of this week, there was a workshop for the M4 and M5 students based around the problems faced by dementia patients and the kinds of care that is given to them which lead by a parent Mrs. Keane. There were many engaging activities which gave them an insight into how it feels to suffer from dementia. This was a great way to round off their Spanish unit on Alzheimer's patients and I understand the project will lead to Dwight supporting a local home for adults with this condition. Thank you to Ms. Delgado and Mr. Sanchez for setting this up and to Mrs. Keane for her time and support.
On Thursday we had an Upper School student led assembly on the theme of LGBT+ issues. After some feedback from families and students this year around how we need to continue to open up and discuss more the themes of diversity, discrimination, equality and human rights we are holding a series of assemblies, workshops and tutor period times on this topic.
As an IB school we always need to live the mission on open-mindedness and greater equality. Future assemblies will look at issues around race, faith and religion, gender and other topics but Tess who organised this event with Ion, Teodor, Sterling, Abdullah, Finn and Mira led the first session on LGBT+ issues. We had passionate speeches, videos, activities on a variety of themes including a same-sex parenting talk from Alex and Jane Anderson-Hendra. It was well received and created a buzz of conversation around the school. It was an important topic for me personally and I was very proud of not only the students who led the assembly but the mature and compassionate reactions of the student body overall.
In our ongoing project to improve the Dwight Campus more, our maintenance staff carried out some very visible improvements to the exterior of the campus. The most visible and welcomed one the new green wall of ivy on the exterior fence which the students really like. Not only is it a great barrier against noise and air pollution from the traffic but it adds to the safe and more natural environment of the playground. Barry and Paul, our maintenance men, have further plans and we thank them for their hard work. Ms. Allen has also started a gardening club this week so students can continue add to the green improvements on campus.
Shakespeare Theatre Trip
- Ion, D1 Student
On Wednesday, some of the D1 students accompanied by Mrs. Kennedy and Jacob Done attended William Shakespeare's Pericles in French, at the Barbican Theatre. We were all generally familiar with Shakespeare, however, we weren't familiar with Pericles, which made it more interesting as this was a new story.
The production was done by Cheek by Jowl who are an innovative and exciting international theatre company that often do quite abstract and riské plays. The set was great as it was a one-room play, set in a patient's room and the characters would change from a family at a hospital to accomplices of Pericles.
This was a good experience as it was very interesting to see Shakespeare in a different language and an international theatre group.
As advertised in the last newsletter, Ms. Krohn's Drama Club, mostly with our younger M1 to M3 students, are performing on Friday evening (tonight) in the Jubilee Hall at 6.30pm (free bar opens in H1 around 6pm). Do come along and support the students who have been working hard last term to stage this unique play. Ms. Krohn writes in this comedy by Patrick Greene, celebrity interviewers Alan (Noah) and Amela (Ana) have a dream line-up for tonight's episode of the World Wide Window: a veritable litterful of felines whose internet antics have catapulted them to fame. In this fast-paced series of hilarious interviews, Alan and Amela uncover the story behind Tuffy's (James) first dramatic foray into a cardboard box, learn just what makes Nelson the Grouchy Cat so very, very grouchy, scratch their heads over Skinny Jean the Sarcastic Cat's (Nelly) ambiguous musings, and contend with the diva-like antics of Kitty Purry (Ariana) and her entourage. We look forward to seeing you in the audience!
Poet Prize Winner in M1
Some great news just in from Herbie in M1. He came in first place in his age category of the Young Poets Competition held by the Stratford Literary Festival. He wrote the poem last summer which you can read here. Congratulations Herbie!
Group Photos
Here is information on how to order class/group photographs:
- Go https://nicesmile.gotphoto.co.uk/login
- Enter Access Code: DUSL180419
- Please note free postage expires on: 30 April 2018
- Event will be archived on: 28 May 2018
If you have any questions please call NiceSmile on 0207 183 8683 or use the chat facility on
their website.
Termly Magazine
We are delighted to share our latest magazine with you. Please click here to view it online, or here to download a PDF version.
Important Events Next Week
I would like to remind parents of some important events next week:
Personal Project Exhibition
On Monday evening M5 reach an important IB milestone with the presentation of their IBMYP Personal Projects. IBMYP projects are student-centred and age-appropriate, and they enable students to engage in practical explorations through a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection. This allows students to go into great depth on one personal area of interest and the exhibition always produces an array of outcomes. Come along this Monday at 6.30pm to enjoy the evening where students will explain their work.
Student Teacher Parent Conference - Tuesday 6.30pm and all day Wednesday.
I hope you all received my letter on Monday announcing the second STPCs to be held at the Dwight Campus on Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday. If you are not aware of the event, important for your child's progress, please see the letter here. There are no normal classes on Wednesday as all teachers will be meeting students but if you need your child to be supervised in school, please contact Mrs McCormack at the Jubilee Campus who with me will arrange a supervised private study space.
D2 on study leave
Next week our eldest D2 students start study leave as they prepare for their final IBDP exams in May. They have been feeling very nostalgic this week knowing their days in Dwight classrooms are coming to an end. We wish them all the best with their final preparations and look forward to their Graduation on May 18th.
Dwight TV News
I finish this week with a new activity initiative, Dwight TV where a club run by Tess in M5 is recording for students a weekly news programme. The club had a first go this week - not yet the polished product to come - and they scripted, recorded and edited this video! Now we are more familiar with the equipment and the club has finally met last Tuesday, we hope to bring you the schools news in a new format.
Have a great sunny weekend everyone and well done everyone for an action packed first week back!
Andy Atkinson
Upper School Principal
Dwight Parent Association Events.
April Out and About – Ocean Liners: Speed and Style @ The V&A
Join The Dwight Out and About Club (which is open to all parents at Dwight!) as we experience a unique journey through the design stories of the world's greatest ocean liners including the Titanic, the Queen Mary, and the Canberra, and find out how these impressive vessels helped shape the modern world!
Date: Friday 27th April, 2018
Meet: 9am West Finchley station or 10:00 am at the main ticketing entrance of the Victoria and Albert Museum – Cromwell Road SW7 2RL
Cost: £18
***You will need to pre-purchase your own ticket via the link below. Book for: Friday, 27th April - 10:15am entrance time.
https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibiti ons/ocean-liners-speed-style
Please let Michele know when you book your ticket and plan to join - michele@seanoneill.com
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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