The Lister Weekly Update #22

As you know, we love to read at the Lister News Desk. This is particularly the case this week when Lister, along with schools up and down our country, celebrate World Book Day! On the big day, teachers will be wearing costumes to celebrate a wide range of books that they love highlight the importance of reading for Lister students. We are not inviting students to wear costumes, as too many teenagers find costumes to be cringy.

The assembly this week is all about reading and the positive effect it has on readers. We encourage all Lister students to read for 20 minutes every day. If students commit to this for at least 5 days a week, within a year they will have been exposed to 1.8 million words. This is a definite step in the right direction of getting brilliant qualifications and the good life that comes with them. The most committed readers in KS3 at Lister have been invited to take part in a readathon (like a marathon for reading) when they will be staying in the library all day long to read as much as possible during the school day. We will let them out for breaks!

We will be launching the Lister Short Story Competition on WBD. Last year the wide range of entries were made into a collection of short stories and the winning stories were made into audio books for students across the school to listen to.

Finally, we will be celebrating WBD through a video sequence that will shown in short clips through the day. There will be a mystery element to this which students will need to solve as they put together clues throughout the day.

Lister Community School is delighted to announce that we will be hosting an Iftar event on Friday, March 8th, between 5.00pm - 7.00pm, to celebrate Ramadan with our community. Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for students and staff, and some community members to come together, share a meal, and experience the spirit of Ramadan.

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, March 8th, between 5-7pm
• Location: Lister Community School
• Tickets: Tickets will be required for this event. Information regarding ticket availability will be distributed shortly.

This event is a chance to:

• Experience the rich cultural traditions of Ramadan.
• Foster a sense of community and togetherness.
• Share in the spirit of generosity and reflection.

We hope your children will join us for this special evening. Please look out for further announcements regarding ticket availability and event details.

Next week we have parents' evening for year 10. We appreciate and understand that our community is largely one who will be fasting and therefore arrangements will be made for the event to be complete in time for parents and students to break their fast.

As it stands, years 7, 8, 9, and 11 will finish school earlier on Wednesday 12th March and be dismissed by 1 o'clock at the latest. Year 10 will remain on site and parents' evening will take place between 2-5pm. Further communication will be forthcoming.

A gentle reminder that we are a week away from our free Online Harms workshop designed and delivered by The Social Switch Project for parents and carers on Tuesday 11th March between 10:30AM to 1:30PM at The Mix (1a Cumberland Rd, E13 8LH).

This training supports parents and carers with gaining essential knowledge and practical tools on how to respond to key issues online to help protect their children and young people navigate the digital world. For more information, please see flyer attached to this email.

Please share with parents and carers in your network. If anyone is interested, please let us know and we can sign them up.

Last week, a group of our students had the incredible opportunity to watch England take on Spain at Wembley Stadium. The atmosphere was electric, with over 46,000 fans cheering on the Lionesses in an exciting and competitive match.

Our students were fully engaged in the game, showing great enthusiasm and support for the team. They witnessed some fantastic moments of play, including impressive saves, skilful passes, and intense attacking football.

Beyond the match itself which was a brilliant victory for the Lionesses, the trip was a brilliant experience, inspiring our students to see women’s football at the highest level.

Ygam has a family hub designed to provide parents and carers with the knowledge and resources to safeguard their families, especially in regard to online gaming and gambling. You can visit the online family hub here. Ygam are also working with the Metropolitan Police to offer an online information session to help develop your understanding of gaming and gambling harms, enabling you to have open conversations with your children. For more information and how you book, please see this flyer.

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 reading and WBD. 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.