The week commencing 4th March will see the start of the KWS house charity fortnight.

There are various activities planned throughout the fortnight to raise money for our school charities which are The Ollie Foundation and Cancer Research UK. Students can contribute using card or cash. House representatives have coordinated various events to support these great causes. 

5th March- Armstrong have arranged a “guess the eggs in the jar” 

6th March- Franklin have arranged a sweet sale in the Courtyard at 3.30pm. 

8th March- Ali have arranged a “dunk the teacher” event. This will be held at lunchtime in the courtyard. 

11th March- Keller have a bake sale in the Hall at lunchtime. 

12th March- Nightingale have a movie screen in Room 41/43 at Lunchtime.

13th March- Tesla have arranged “The great KWS bake off”. All entries will receive achievement points. The deadline for submitting cakes will be 12th March, these will then be judged and winners will be announced. On the 13th March all cakes will be sold in the hall at lunchtime.

 

Miss Fatima

 

This week KWS celebrated Safer Internet Day. The theme this year is “change online”

Students looked at:

• Young people’s perspective on new and emerging technology
• Using the internet to make change for the better
• The changes young people want to see online
• The things that can influence and change the way young people think, feel and act online and offline.

Here at KWS we think online safety is very important, as a school to keep children safe online Hertfordshire police run Cyber prevent sessions, we have e-safety lessons in PRE and Computing lessons. We communicate with parents about online safety issues. If parents have missed our e-safety parent briefings this year, you can access information and support through our website. 

Here is the latest HFL online safety bulletin. 

Here are a few tips from Safer Internet Day to help you deal with online safety: 

Staying up to date with what children are doing online can feel like a challenge sometimes. However, you don’t have to be an expert in every new app or service. Simply having conversations with your children about their lives online, and what to do if they need help or something goes wrong, is what’s most important. Here are a few simple steps you can take to help bridge the gap.

Talk little and often

Having a regular open dialogue with your children about their favourite apps, the games they enjoy, and their online friends, will help create an environment where chatting about online experiences becomes a normal part of family life.

Stay proactive

As a result of discussions with your children about their online activities, take time to research the apps they’re using, the accounts or channels they’re following, and the games they’re playing, to get a better idea of what they’re experiencing and what your thoughts are towards it.

Seek support

Knowing where to get help is essential. Each app or platform will have its own safety guidelines and reporting features, and having knowledge of how to use these will ensure you can make a report, seek help, and support your child to get the best out of the services they’re using.

Miss Fatima

It’s been fantastic to see so much usage of the astroturf over the last few weeks and how well students have adhered to ensuring that the space is getting looked after and being maximised. Long may that continue! 

We have also had a series of fixtures recently. Our Year 11 netball team had a superb 17-11 win against Stags and all students were fantastic – some great passing and interceptions throughout. Jasmine D and Thea O were identified as players that excelled.

Great work by the U12, U14 and U16 girls futsal teams in a district tournament. The girls were superb! Stand out performers were Alice T, Sophie K, Poppy D and Mikalya C. Our u16 girls finished 3rd overall.

The year 11 boys football team had a fantastic 3-2 win in the county cup at home on our brand new astroturf. 

Our Year 7 basketball team had a 23-22 win against Aldwickbury yesterday. They also have another fixture against Nicholas Breakspeare later today. The Year 8 rugby team completed their final game of the rugby season with a highly competitive game against Verulam, being edged out by one try. Some fantastic defence throughout though. 

Finally, huge congratulations to the six students who competed at the Zonal trampoline competition in Solihull last Sunday. Matthew P, Josh P and Riley W were crowned Zonal Champions in the year 7-9 Elite category, qualifying for the National Finals in March in Telford and Matthew qualified in 5th place individually. Ollie T and Jude D competed fabulous routines to place 7th and 9th respectively in the year 9-10 Novice category, with Ollie only 0.1 away from qualifying individually for his first National Finals. To finish the day off, Will E competed in a tough category for the intermediate boys. Will completed great routines and placed 4th overall qualifying for the National Finals. Thank you to all the parents who supported their children on the day and to parents who volunteered as helpers for the competition.

Well done to all involved.

On Friday 12th January 2024, the Katherine Warington School Community Pitch, our new artificial pitch, was officially opened by some special guests: Mick Harford, the former LTFC player, manager and ex England international, Annie Brewster, who has worked at parish, district, and county council level for over 15 years and Dr Tom Gilham, a local GP partner.

A collaboration between Katherine Warington School, Wheathampsted Wanderers, the Football Foundation, and Watford FC Community, the new pitch will be enjoyed not only by KWS students but by the wider community for multiple sports, all year round.

Our guests spoke about how fortunate the students and local residents are to have such a fantastic facility on their doorstep. Mick Harford commented that “sport changes lives for the better” and urged students to make the most of the pitch, which he said “is going to be an incredible success”. Mick also said, “Sport and exercise also brings people together especially when it’s introduced in your formative years, it builds relationships which last a lifetime”

Annie Brewster commented that, “She was delighted the school, plus its wider community, now had access to this fantastic facility having originally campaigned for the school to have a 3G when it was built”. Annie looks forward to working with the school in her new role as High Sherrif of Hertfordshire later in the year.

After the official cutting of the ribbon, some selected students were invited to take part in a penalty shootout with Mick Hartford. Benjamin Mupita, a KWS student said, “It was amazing to be playing with Mick Harford. It was lots of fun and I really enjoyed myself.” Isobel James, a KWS student said, “I enjoyed using the new astro to play football with Mick Harford very much as it gave me an opportunity to use this wonderful facility and understand how it would be used in the future.”

The school was also delighted to be able to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK as part of the event and currently has a Just Giving page running (https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/KWS-3G-Pitch). At the ceremony, a cheque for £1,000 was presented following a donation from Academia Technology Group.

David Martin, Headteacher gave thanks for the dedication of Dean Inns, School Business Manager, and Tony Smith as well as to the incredible contribution of so many in the local community who have worked tirelessly together to support this project and make it a reality.