The Lister Weekly Update #29

We are proud to be celebrating Deaf Awareness Week at Lister Community School! As we mentioned last week, this is a valuable opportunity for our school community to come together to raise awareness, promote inclusion, and celebrate the contributions and culture of deaf individuals.

Throughout the week, students have been taking part in a range of activities including competitions, form time discussions, and awareness-raising sessions to learn more about deafness and British Sign Language (BSL).

As part of the week, we will also be holding a cake sale today! Freshly baked treats will be on offer, made by students and staff in the Deaf Support Department. All proceeds will go to the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), which supports deaf children and their families across the UK.

We would also love to encourage families at home to get involved. Why not start by learning the BSL alphabet together? We've attached a helpful image to get you started!

Thank you for supporting Deaf Awareness Week and helping to make our school a more inclusive place for all.

Our enthusiastic Year 10 GCSE Geography students were out and about last week, putting their learning into practice with exciting fieldwork trips focused on their Human Geography studies. These trips are a vital part of their GCSE course, providing invaluable real-world experience and the opportunity to collect primary data.

Students engaged in a range of fieldwork activities, exploring key concepts and developing essential geographical skills. While the specific locations and focuses varied depending on the study, the overarching aim was to deepen their understanding of human interactions with the environment and the complexities of our communities.

We commend our Year 10 geographers for their enthusiastic participation and the valuable insights they gained during their Human Geography fieldwork. This hands-on learning will undoubtedly enhance their understanding of the course material and prepare them effectively for their GCSE exams.

Inaya Rahman, one of our year 10 geography students, said: - 'I really enjoyed the outdoor experience of Geography and interacting with the public to gather data, we were able to see the positive changes made from regeneration in Stratford and explored scenic parts of the Olympic park that I never knew existed'.

The Lister Community School Geography Department

Dear Parents and Carers,

Please follow this link to complete an online survey. A third of children in London are living in families that sometimes struggle to make ends meet. You don’t need to be in that position yourself to take part in this survey – we want to gather lots of perspectives to understand more about your child’s experience at Lister. Your answers will help inform an action plan with new ideas aimed at making sure all pupils feel included and happy in school, regardless of family income.

More weeks have gone. This is shown in the picture, which is being shared by English teachers as a way to prompt their students into working harder and longer to get to those final GCSE outcomes. There are lots of intervention sessions available after school and before school for Lister students. Whilst the majority of these sessions are targeted, most teachers will be happy to include volunteer students who want to get on with some extra work. Some students will be invited into school during the first week of the Easter holidays for further intervention. All students are welcome to use the library as a study space. If you receive the invitation, please make sure your child attends.

Here is a list of supportive strategies that you can use to help your child:

Lastly - Celebrate Successes!

• Acknowledge and celebrate their efforts and achievements, no matter how small.
• Reassure them that you are proud of them, regardless of the outcome.

A reminder that you can access lots of support at the Newham Family Hubs. They have everything from financial services to parent and baby groups and domestic violence support. You can find more information here.

Here we highlight year groups' success and the particular form groups and individuals in year groups who are earning the most praises. Keep an eye out for your child's name here and see whether their form group have had particular success through the week!

The Thought for the Week next week is focused on deaf awareness. Please discuss the thought with your child who will be looking at the thought in assembly and discussing the idea with peers and the year team.