Message from our Principal - May

This term has also started with a celebration which I am very excited to share.

Over the past term, there have been so many members of our community involved in our Saturday Community Connections Club and I have been incredibly impressed by the warmth, generosity and kindness shown by everyone who has given willingly of their time and energy to make this initiative so successful. Our extended community, which includes our new Ukrainian friends has grown over the seven weeks of operating this club and we have seen many events such as Year 5 students offering their own games and activities and Year 10 planning and delivering a very popular Easter-egg hunt. Other activities have been of a sporting nature; time spent planting and caring for our hens in our Community Garden; arts and crafts and technology activities all of which have been led by teachers, Year 12 students and even our student alumni returning during their holidays. I must also mention the delicious hot food which has been provided week after week by a team of parents, led by Vanika.

I am now delighted to share our latest TBS Warsaw achievement. We have been successful in our application to the Nord Anglia Charitable Giving Committee, for a project grant to help further support our Community Connections Club. This success is due to our diligent and community-minded leaders in Year 12, Anna, Isabel and Max, who decided to present our project to Nord Anglia Education team. Their very detailed and impressive proposals, accompanied by a thorough action plan and costings took a great deal of planning and consideration. Congratulations to these ambitious students and our dedicated staff: Ms Olivia Sawday, Mr. Kev Halpin and Ms Laura McElhill who have supported this bid. I have copied below some of the feedback the students have received:

Dear Saturday Community Connections Club, Thank you for your application to the NAE Charitable Giving Grant. We can see a huge amount of work and planning in this application, as well as considerable compassion and care in your project. Your application was evaluated by the Student Advisory Board, before being presented to the Charitable Giving Committee, who has decided to award you the Project Grant for US$50,000 – huge congratulations to all involved in this project! You have identified clear ways to support the immediate needs of the refugees in your community and we commend your efforts to consider how you can support their long-term needs moving forward. Forming partnerships with the PTA and organisations who are specialists in working with refugees will ensure that your work is sustainable over time and has the expertise to support the vulnerable people with whom you are working. We are particularly blown away by the way you have gathered the support of the whole school community to work on this project together.

We are really excited to see how this project unfolds and will keep our community updated.

It is not just our secondary leaders who have shone this term. In Primary, I have been delighted to see so many students taking part in ‘Wake up, Brain’s up!’. From 8am, the Astro Turf has been alive as so many students and teachers have walked, jogged or sprinted around the track collecting House Points as they go. This was the initiative of our Well-Being Leaders and is one of a number of ideas they are implementing with the focus on helping us all to look after own mental and physical health. Thank you to Mrs Garlick and the team for their hard-work!

The third term is always a great time to take advantage of the warm, sunny weather and embellish outdoor learning. Whether embarking on trips to forests to take part in new experiences or field trips to local areas to collect first-hand data for geography or biology, these adventures are very valuable. Our students from Year 5 upwards will soon be embarking on residential trips to a variety of Green Camps here in Poland. We look forward to hearing more about their adventures in due course.

Over the past couple of years, there have been very few opportunities to gather as a community. This is all about to change! I would like to extend an invitation to you and your family to attend our special TBS Warsaw event on Saturday 4^th June, when we will be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Games, food and lots of fun is planned at our Main Campus and it would be great to see you all on this day for a truly British event.

SUE HILL

PRINCIPAL