Headmistress’s Newsletter

Issue 26 –5 January 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome back to all Bronte families to our Spring Term.

As the mornings begin to get lighter and we begin to look

forward to warmer and dryer days, I am sure many are wondering
what lies ahead in 2018……….

A bit of trivia related to the new year:

• 2018 is the 2018 th year of the Common Era and Anno Domini designations, the 18 th year of the 3rd
millennium, the 18th year of the 21 st century and the 9 th year of the 2010s.

• The Chinese New Year begins on 16 th February 2018 and is the Year of the Dog.

• In February the Winter Olympics will take place in PyeongChang, South Korea, featuring the women’s
Nigerian bobsled team – marking the first ever time this African nation is represented at the Winter Games.

• In May a royal wedding will no doubt result in much merriment and memorabilia, but unfortunately NOT a
bank holiday!

• 2018 is 2 x 1009, or a prime number multiplied by 2. Its reverse, 8102 = 2 x 4051, so is also a prime number
multiplied by 2!

• June and July will see blanket television coverage of the World Cup. Book your seat on the sofa……..or
anywhere but!

• 2018 will be celebrated as the 250th anniversary of the first circus, in London in 1768.

• July can only mean strawberries and cream, as Wimbledon is held.

• Edgbaston will host the opening Test of the series between England and India at the beginning of August.
Fingers are crossed as Edgbaston is one of England’s most successful grounds – with England only recording
one loss there since 2002 in Test Match cricket!

• Frankenstein will be 200 years old in 2018. Mary Shelley’s book was published in 1818.

• Broadway will see the opening of a brand new musical which tells the timeless tale of two sisters, pulled
apart by a mysterious secret………Disney’s production of FROZEN aims to turn the animated tale into a real-
life spetacular.

• The Royal British Legion continue to mark the centenary of the First World War (with 2018 marking 100
years since the signing of the peace treaty at Brest-Litovsk) with commemorations in the UK and Republic of
Ireland focusing on Remembrance, education and legacy.
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Handy hints for Healthy Hands:

When to wash?
Before you prepare or eat food
After you go to the toilet
After you blow your nose, cough or sneeze
After you play or work in the garden
After you play with your pet animals
If your hands are dirty
How to wash?
Wet hands with water
Then use enough soap to create soapy bubbles all over
Remember to rub all surfaces, including wrists, palms, backs
of hands, fingers and under fingernails
Make sure you rinse your hands thoroughly with warm water
Dry your hands

As the Australian flu continues

to spread across many parts of
the UK, Nurse Katie’s lessons
last term have become
particularly relevant.

Every class had the

opportunity to test out their
hand washing skills!!!! They
then used the light box to see
how good they were at
washing their hands and
which bits they missed.

Some of the children designed

posters to promote their
learning, a few of which have
been put up around the
school.
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Mathletics
Today’s assembly saw an abundance of Mathletics
awards – most notably two GOLD certificates.

Well done to Annabel in Year 1 and Ore in Year 3.

Art Lessons
Year 1’s Spring Term started with a splash and a splatter
as they explored the work of abstract expressionist
painter Jackson Pollock. Th ey used primary colours to
replicate his unique style of drip and splash painting.

It looks like some Year 1 children were ‘painted’ as

well!!!
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Looking Ahead

Spring Term Clubs Mon 8 th Jan Activity clubs and music lessons begin
Next week sees the start of our Spring Term clubs,
and there will be a slight change in arrangem ents for Tue 9 th Jan Years 3 and 4: swimming lessons
collecting children afterwards. All children will now begin (Cobham Hall)
be taken to the gate where they will be dismissed by
their teacher (in the sam e way as they do at the end Thurs 11 th Jan Years 5 and 6: Sportshall Athletics
of the school day). Competition (Cobham Hall)
(within school day)
New Year 3 Teacher
We are delighted to welcome Mrs Annette Durkin to
Bronte School this term, where she will be teaching Cyber Crime Warning
Year 3. I know the children have enjoyed the start of Payment Diversion Fraud
their term, and Mrs Durkin has been very pleased
with how they have all settled back to school so All Independent Schools in Kent have been asked
sensibly. Check out their progress on FaceBook……. by Kent Police to share the following information
with parents, as they have become aware that
private school fee payments are actively being
targeted by cyber criminals:

The attack begins with an email sent to parents

stating the latest payment details for school
fees. The email appears official and at times
appears to be sent from the schools own email
system. The new bank details belong to the
hackers and results in all school fees being
diverted into the criminal’s accounts.

All parents need to be very cautious if you

receive any emails stating a change of payment
detail or containing unexpected attachments.
You should telephone the school on the usual
telephone number, not one contained within the
email and double check the validity of all
information before making any payment.

If you believe you have fallen victim to fraud

please contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040
or https://www.actionfraud.police.uk
WELCOME AND GOODBYE
We wish farewell to Daniella and Divine Obi who left
at the end of last term, and welcome three new
children and their families to the Bronte community:

Amrita Harry – Kindergarten

Charlotte Zheng – Reception
Musa Mushtaq – Year 1