USH Newsletter 6th December 2019

Here at USH we have a strong reading culture and one of the
many ways we encourage reading for pleasure is to give every Year 7 student the
chance to choose their very own book to keep. The scheme is called BookBuzz,
and is partly funded by Book Trust and partly by the school. Students in Year 7
were able to choose one of fifteen titles, from a list selected by a panel of
experts to reflect
a variety of genres, styles and reading levels. There was considerable excitement
recently as the books arrived and were handed out by the Librarian during
English lessons. It gives us huge pleasure to give such a wonderful gift to
each student, and we hope that they get as much enjoyment out of reading them.

Here is what some of the students said of their choices:

Prushir chose Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts by Katie Tsang,
which she has been reading this week and said was “really interesting and very
different from the books I’ve read before. I like it that you get to choose
your book and it’s yours forever.”

Kiyann and Mantaj both chose Crossover by Kwame Alexander,
which they said was “a really good book, very inspiring and very realistic.”
They both thought that getting a free book from the school “makes people want
to read”. They are now keen to read other titles by the same author.

Sally said: “It is a very good idea to get a free book from
the school and I am very excited to read my book that I chose. I chose When the
Mountains Roared [by Jess Butterworth] because it looked like an interesting
book and I like cats and it’s about snow leopards.”

Class 7B with their BookBuzz books

Calling all Parents! Does your son/daughter have any overdue books at
home that they borrowed from the School Library? Maybe they’ve been hanging
around for so long that they’ve become part of the scenery? Or maybe they’re so
late that they’re simply embarrassed to return them.

If the answer is yes, don’t worry! 
The Library is holding a Book Amnesty from Monday 9th December until the
end of term. Just drop the books off in the box by the Library door, or hand in
at Reception, and their Library record will be cleared with NO QUESTIONS ASKED!

We were delighted to host the Team Spirit 'Lego-tastic' event at USH today.  This is the third year they have held the event here.  We welcomed students from our feeder schools and using Lego combined with sports activities and challenges they developed team work and resilience.  Our Sports Prefects helped run the day and it appeared that everyone had lots of fun.  It is great to see our students of the future so relaxed and enjoying their time at USH.

We wish Bevan W good luck as he represents USH at the English Schools Diving Championships at the London Aquatic Centre this weekend.

Maths whizz winner this week is Saif A. 

Congratulations!

Some of our students would like to start a Lego club next term.  If you have any Lego at home which is no longer needed we would be very pleased to receive it as a donation to the school for the club. 

Thanks for your support.

Suzanne Dibden, Head of Personal
Development

Currently, all schools in
England can receive the Pupil Premium Plus for children adopted from care, or
who left care under a Residence Order on or after 14 October 1991. This can
also include any children under a Special Guardianship Order. This funding was
implemented in recognition of the traumatic experiences many children may have
endured in their early lives and a realisation that their needs do not change
overnight.

If you believe USH is unaware
of an aspect of the history of your child or the child you care for, please
contact the appropriate Head of Year to discuss this further or email a member
of our admin team at lisa.howell@ushschool.org. To enable us to
claim the Pupil Premium, you will need to provide supporting evidence e.g. the
original Adoption (Court) Order.  This information can then be added to
our systems and can secure additional funding that we can use to support your
child.