Anti-Bullying Week

This morning marked the end of our anti bullying week.

On Monday in assembly, we kicked off our Anti-bullying week, (which we prefer to call kindness week), by wearing odd socks to raise awareness and celebrate difference and diversity. Form 8 led an assembly to encourage everyone to use their power to speak out, support others and build a world where kindness wins.

Our Friday assembly was a chance for each class to share the work they have done this week in their PSHE lessons and today, each class talked about what they had learnt. I was touched by the incredibly thoughtful insights each form shared with the school. Kindness and compassion is truly celebrated at Sunninghill, and this assembly really shows me how important this is to all our children.

We had another large number of bronze badges to hand out this week which is fabulous so early on in the term. This weeks Academic Excellence winners were Elodie, Freddy and Ted. Our Well Done certificates went to William, Samson, Sandro, Millie, Eben, Sonny, Phin, Manu, Max, Lottie, Felix and Rosa and all of Reception class. Freddy and Alice won the Commitment award, Jonah and Sonny the Compassion award, Phoebe and Seb the Courage award and Penelope and Connor the Creativity award. Well done to Manu for receiving the Tassomai Titan badge (for 5,000 points) which is an incredible achievement.

Although the weather has turned bitterly cold this week, the children have been enjoying the last of the Autumnal sunshine. Reception class enjoyed their forest school with Liz, Ms Livesey and Mrs Culshaw. They learnt how to be safe around a camp fire, by playing lots of games that involved running round the outer circle, and never the inner circle. Once the fire was lit, the children enjoyed warming their hands – at a distance – and baking apples, filled with sultanas, on the campfire. Their teachers were so impressed by how sensible the whole class was, really listening and learning. Well done Reception!

This week we welcomed back Scarlett, who left us in July, at the end of Year 8. Scarlett came in to do a poetry workshop with Forms 1- 4 in preparation for their entry into the Rotary Young Writers Competition. Last year, Scarlett was the National Winner in the Intermediate category, so it was so lovely for the children to spend time with her, and be inspired by her. All pupils from Form 1 to Form 7 will be entering the competition year, with Form 8 entering the Youth Speaks competition. I look forward to seeing all their entries.

There was much excitement in the dining room today, as Mme Derrick and Form 4 welcomed Bobbins and Junior Prep to their French Café! All of Bobbins and Junior Prep have been practising ordering a French breakfast, so they got to use their new vocabulary to order a yummy breakfast made by Kerry and the team. Thank you to Form 4 for all their effort, and to Sophia and Lottie who came to help!

Forms 5–8 enjoyed a wonderful cultural experience this week as part of the national Into Film Festival. On Tuesday, pupils walked to the Dorchester Odeon to watch the award-winning Japanese animated film Mirai. Before the trip, they took part in a preparatory lesson exploring the film’s key ideas—particularly the theme that our experiences shape who we are, but they do not define us. This linked beautifully with our PSHE curriculum, encouraging pupils to reflect on empathy, identity and how family relationships influence personal growth. It was a thought-provoking and enriching visit that sparked some excellent discussion back in school.

I wanted to end this weekly round up by congratulating Ralph, Agatha’s father, who has completed his epic Lands End to John O’Groats trip in his 101 year old Austin 12/4 saloon in aid of raising funds for research into finding a cure for Motor Neurone Disease. His Cousin has MND and he and his wife and 4 children have been bravely living with this disease. On Monday, Manu, Sonny and Eben held a cake sale in aid of this charity, and raised a magnificent £93. If you haven’t yet donated to this very worthy cause, please donate using the link below. Well done Ralph!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/ralph-messenger-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL