After School Clubs

 ART Club

For the past few weeks students in art club have been engraving into a sheet of plastic to create an etching.

 The printing press has been cleaned, paper stretched, and all students are ready to start printing! We all look forward to printing with the coloured etching inks in the next Art club session after Easter!

Recreational Basketball

On Friday Mrs Smith hosted the last recreational basketball session of the season. It's been so good to see Winston students, from all year groups, come along and just play! Although it's been hard at times to not turn it into a coaching session, there has been a marked improvement in their play, knowledge of the rules and confidence. There has been a core group of students from Year 7 and Year 10 most weeks with other year groups joining on occasions. 

Thank you to all the girls and boys who have stayed after school on a Friday to enjoy the beautiful game of Basketball!...I have no doubt that they will all take their confidence and skills to some of the amazing summer sports Winston has to offer, which will be starting after Easter.

Laboratory Skills

 Making Dirty Water Drinkable 💧

As part of the water topic , students in Key Stage 3 have been looking at how to make dirty water drinkable. They have filtered off soil and other impurities , used silver nitrate solution to identify whether salt , or any chlorine residue was present and finally used a distillation apparatus to purify the water. This lesson is a very simple and early introduction to the GCSE chemistry required practical .

Evolution of the Eye 👀

Year 8 classes have been exploring the "evolution of the eye" as part of their curriculum. 8WG, 8WT, 8CG and 8WR were all able to experience first-hand, that sight involves both the eye and the brain working simultaneously, to create images they perceive. They experimented with different materials and equipment - like bubble wrap over goggles or tiny little holes punched into black sugar paper- to experience blurred or obscured vision , respectively. Featured is class 8WG.

Laboratory Skills

As part of the advanced laboratory skills topic in science, during the next two weeks, Year 7 and Year 8 classes will learn how to read a burette, understand the concept of neutralisation, look at different pH monitoring equipment as well as testing household products for their properties. Our budding scientists will be able to set up a boss, clamp and clampstand, use indicator fluids and name a wide range of glassware we use in chemistry . Dr Gonzalez compiled a programme  that will enhance our student`s data collection skills.They will devise questions to estimate risks and follow standard laboratory practices. Below , pictured is 8WR and 8WT during their " How to read a burette" lesson and 7CF after  a dilution practical while  they are recording their data creating a graph.

Learning for All

 Year 7 Numeracy Leaders

The group met on Monday morning to trial the new activity that they will be leading on Thursday, during tutorial time. 

The students had to think and then plan how they would support their form group to complete the task successfully.

Parents as Learners

On Thursday evening parents in Key Stage 4 were invited in to learn about how to help their children with revision. MADE, specialists in teaching children and parents about learning effectively, led a session which taught parents effective ways to revise. This session supported the work MADE did in school with Winston students on Thursday and Friday helping them build the skills to revise effectively. 

It was a well attended event which challenged the parents and engaged them in the process. 

It is great to get back to face-to-face events at Winston.

Books and Goals!

 Ending the Football Season on a High

With the football season coming to an end, the girls teams are working hard to get their league fixtures played before the cut off for the finals. 

In order to be in with a chance of playing at the Woking Kingsfield stadium for the league final, teams need to have played at least 3 games each so on Monday 14^th March. The girls in the year 8 and 9 football team played 3 league games in one night! Salesian, Woking High and Hoe Valley all travelled to Winston to get multiple games played. 

It was an intense afternoon of football- 20 minute games a 5 minute break in between 3 times! Refs from year 11 oversaw the proceedings; which ended in the Winston girls drawing two games 1-1 (against Woking High and Salesian) and winning 1-0 against Hoe Valley! 

Keep an eye out for more league fixtures and hopefully multiple Winston teams making it to the final! 

Winston Book Exchange 

As part of March a Month of Reading in the library, students have been encouraged to recycle their books. To do this, they have been asked to bring in books that they have read and no longer want or need. In return students have been given tokens, whereby they can exchange these and take another book home. 

The students so far have been great - the turn out in the number of books donated has surpassed my expectations and, at the request of students we have decided to keep it running until the end of the month!

So, if you have any books sat at home that you've read one too many times and want to try something different, why not bring them into the library?! In return you get to take home a new book of your own and start a new challenge - what a good way to get involved with March a month of reading. 

Miss Turner🙂

  

Accuracy Matters!

 Latin Reading Competition

Congratulations to the Latin students who participated in the Latin Reading Competition at St Catherine's School this week, with many winners among them. Students competed against independent schools in and around Guildford in Latin recitals, marked on their pronunciation and expression.

Mr Fisher was very proud to receive so much positive feedback from the organisers and teachers from other schools about how well all the students performed and presented themselves. 

We look forward to entering more students next year!

Calibrating Balances

Today, Year 8 were introduced to the importance of calibrating balances. Our trainee teacher, Ms Azam - with the supervision of Mr Gunnoo - created a lesson where the students were able to practice the use of balances by weighing extremely small quantities of chemicals and compared the items` volume to their mass. They understood the importance of placing balances on a firm surface in a draught free environment on a vibration free stand. They compared grams with fluid ounces as well as newtons. The pupils had the opportunity to use balances that are fitted with a spirit level and adjustable feet for the most accurate measurements.

Welcome to Winston

 Your New School 

Many of you will now know that you are going to join Winston in September.  We are delighted that you have decided to become part of our family.

There may be some families who have been unsuccessful at gaining a place, however, if you place your child on our waiting list immediately, I will be offering additional places as of Wednesday 2nd March.

Once the list of those joining us is finalised, by about the 20th March, I will write to all of our families explaining the next stage of the process and how our Induction Programme will run throughout the summer term.  

There is a massive welcome waiting for you, your Peer Mentors are being selected, the curriculum and staffing are being planned and Mrs Smith, your Year Leader, has planned some online resources to support your transition.  

Our new building, Performance Space, will be ready for September and new toilets are being installed over the summer, along with some changes to the school hall and classrooms.

Outdoor table tennis tables have been installed for your use, before school, break, lunchtime and after school.  You can buy bats and balls from the school or bring your own.

What are you going to get involved in?  You will find something new to challenge you, whether you become a radio presenter, represent the school in sport, participate in drama or perhaps you will become the leader of the chess club.  Its all here waiting for you.

Welcome to Winston!

New Performance Space