Head’s Newsletter – March 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a great start to this half term and there is much to update you on.

World Book Day 2023

Last week, we held a number of in school events celebrating World Book Day. All our work is centred around our current DEI theme, ‘Finding a Voice Telling a Story.’

Ifeoma Onyefulu, a prolific children’s author, came in on Wednesday to talk to and work with children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. She spoke to the children about the power of stories and the fact we are all story tellers.  

On Friday, Abe Gibson, a London based poet, came to do a performance poetry assembly for our children from Year 3 to Year 6. Abe then ran a series of workshops, which our children engaged with impressively, producing some powerful insights into Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘Still I Rise’, about self-respect and confidence. Abe was impressed with how our children had responded to the poem “with such honest, truthful, creative energy!”

In their feedback, both Abe and Ifeoma, also referenced how welcoming the school was, and in particular, how creative and warm our children are.

More speakers are currently being lined up to talk to the children next term.

Following on from a guest speaker’s visit, posters go up in all classrooms with a photo of the speaker and a quote/message from them, which captures the essence of their assembly/workshop. The posters serve as a reminder for our children about the various inspiring people they have listened to, met and worked with. 

Storytelling and Podcasts  

Thank you to all those who came into school to read stories to their child’s class on World Book Day. We had over twenty parents and grandparents read stories in their first language, stories they grew up with or other stories from around the world.  

In collaboration with Coleridge Families, we have we relaunched our story telling podcast series, Coleridge Story Podcasts. These feature a range of stories read by staff at the school. There are a number of stories read in a range of the different languages, which are spoken at Coleridge by our many families.

The Coleridge Art Trail  

This term, we are launching our Coleridge Art Trail. On the perimeter fences around the school, banners will go up, showcasing some of the children’s art work, which has been inspired by a number of different artists from across the globe, as well as some art work inspired by our local community.  

Please do keep an eye out for these as you walk to and from school. 

Cultures of Coleridge Week  

This year, we will be celebrating Cultures of Coleridge week from Monday 27th March through to Friday 31st March. The week will provide many opportunities for children and our school community to learn more about the heritage, language and culture of one another. The children will take part in lots of teacher led activities in their classes and around the school; we would love to invite parents, grandparents, carers and other family friends and relatives to come in to their child’s class and share information about their heritage and culture with the children. Please do keep an eye out for further information and an email from Mr Shiel about this.

Anti-racism Training 

In my previous newsletters, I have affirmed our commitment to ensuring Coleridge is a school community where racism is not accepted. All members of the school community (staff, children, parents and visitors) have a right not to experience racism at school, regardless of whether this is directed at them. A central part of ensuring this, is the fact we run regular professional development for our staff team on how to be an actively anti-racist school. Following on from our last training in October, further staff training will be taking place next week.

Racial Equity Review 

In my last DEI update, I wrote to you about Marva Rollins coming into school to undertake a review of our work around Racial Equity and DEI. We have now confirmed a date for this and Marva will be in school on 19th April. During the review, Marva will speak with the senior leaders, middle leaders, teachers, support staff, governors, parents and children, in order to independently assess the school’s current work.  

Well Being Festival

Coleridge Families and the school will be holding a Well Being Festival on Saturday 25th March, 11am – 2.00pm. The festival will offer the opportunity for our school community to explore and experience a range of workshops and talks centred around emotional, mental and physical well-being. The timetable for the festival is currently being finalised and further details will be sent out shortly. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch at: coleridgeloveswellbeing@gmail.com; we would love to hear from you.

Photo Exhibition

Plans for our photo exhibition are ongoing; thank you to those parents who met with me last week to help shape the project. Due to the potential size of the exhibition, preparation will take longer than expected. We will email as and when we have more details. 

Thank you for you continued support.

Leon Choueke