Week 14

Dear Parent/ Carer,

One more week before our break for Christmas ! 
Last night's Christmas Fair at Haseltine was the last of our partnership Christmas Fairs this year.  All three of our schools are well along the road with Christmas Concerts and Nativities and we look forward to our final performances and parties next week.

I am able to reflect on a successful term for our partnership.  We have strengthened the links between our schools through teachers and leaders working in collaboration together for the benefit of their own schools, thereby benefiting the whole through the sharing of knowledge and expertise.  We are beginning to see some evidence of that collaboration through the work of our Pupil Parliaments/ Councils and through our initiatives around enhanced communications with parents and the communities.

Given that ofsted are very active in Lewisham at the moment, we have been expecting... and hoping for... an inspection at Haseltine.  The progress at the school since the beginning of the partnership has been rapid and sustained.  We are looking forward to welcoming ofsted and celebrating with them the fantastic progress that has been made at Haseltine.  All credit goes to Ms Brumby and the wonderfully dedicated staff at the school.

In a week that you may have read about Mr Gove's call to Headteachers to consider pay deductions for teachers taking industrial action short of strike action, I can only reflect upon the dedication, passion, enthusiasm and commitment to the children demonstrated by staff in all of our schools this term and in these final pre-Christmas weeks.

Have a lovely weekend,
Mark Wilson

Week 13

 Dear Parent/ Carer,

A combination of the Christmas Fayre at Fairlawn and my family joining me for the weekend kept me away from the computer last weekend.  Apologies for last week's hiatus...

Since my last post, we have had School Achievement Reviews at our three schools - all of which evidence the continuing progressive journey that we are taking.  I am very grateful to Adam Higgins, our School Improvement Adviser, for his support and input and to our Heads of School and staff for their incredible hard work.

I had the pleasure of attending The Turning of the Year concert last week at Blackheath Hall.  My mother and father were down for a short visit and attended the concert with me.  It was beautiful!  I was quintuply (if there is such a word) proud that:

• our Fairlawn children gave a great performance, 
• our Kilmorie children gave a great performance
• all of the children from the Lewisham schools that participated in the event gave a great performance
• and that our wonderful Anne Rennie (Fairlawn) 
• and our fabulous Daisy Moon (Kilmorie)

had done such a remarkable job in bringing the event together, in developing such a high level of quality with their choir and in leading the singing in the way that they did.

We are fortunate in our schools to have such wonderful talent amongst our teachers, talent that can bring the very best out in children and help them to connect with that joy of performance and pride in the quality of their endeavours.

We are, of course, in the midst of Christmas recitals, concerts, performances, and all.  I am sure that you are enjoying them as much as the children are.  Two more weeks until our Christmas break.  My... how quickly this term has passed!

Have a wonderful weekend,
Mark Wilson
Executive Headteacher