Not here! Well… a little bit, but not as you would experience in other schools. This week, the girls have been working hard to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills in Writing, Reading and Mathematics, but without the pressure which is often put upon children, unnecessarily. On Tuesday, my assembly focused on ‘worry’ and how worrying about things doesn’t help to solve problems and that discussing worries is important. I explained to the girls (in Upper Juniors) that these tests were purely there to see how much they knew and what more we needed to teach them; which is absolutely correct. Assessment provide us teachers with an opportunity to pose questions and help our planning for the individual pupils.

So, yes we have assessments because they do serve a purpose but they really are not the be-all and end-all of everything; what the girls produce in their lessons, their character, the way they perform on stage or on the sports field and their kindness is so much more important!

As Albert Einstein says: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”.

As well as assessments, many other exciting things have happened this week. On Thursday, Reception travelled to Maidenhead Library by the public bus; they used actual tickets and had such a fun time!

On Thursday, our swim-squad competed in the Marlins Swimming Gala and finished second overall.

Also on Thursday, Year 5 had such a fun day; they discovered what it would be like to be in our Senior Girls’ School. Their day consisted of planning and baking cakes and pitching their company to our Dragons Den!

Today, Year 3 enjoyed their Outward Bound trip at Junior Boys and Year 4 enjoyed theirs at Cliveden.

Well done to the U11A Netball team who performed very well in the ISA Netball Nationals at the weekend.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend

Mrs Kirby

Merit Certificates: Adara (Reception), Amelie (Year 1), Alice (Year 2), Josie (Year 3), Holly & Aylin (Year 4), Chloe (Year 5) and Olivia(Year 6). ICT: Chloe H & Charlotte L PE: Kaliyaani, Aanya, Alice, Florence S, Alisha.

Bunny Awards: Willow (Year 1) for always being kind to others, and Isha (Year 6) for showing incredible compassion and care for her friends.

Mathlete of the Week: Aanya (Year 1)

Mathletics Class of the Week: Year 3

House of the Week: St Therese