On 20th March, 30 year 9 students took part in a 2 hour drama workshop with Jacob Whitehorn from Dauntless Revolution. They took part in a broad range of exercises contributing their ideas for a new show due to be performed at The Abbey Theatre in September which they will be attending.  Jacob led them in exercises to build up a physical theatre sequence which they performed with theatrical lighting and music.  All are to be commended on their participation, creativity and focus!

On Thursday 20th March our Etone Holocaust Ambassadors took the annual trip to Auschwitz Concentration Camp Oświęcim, Poland. This event is held each year by the Holocaust Educational Trust and over the course of their time has seen 32,000 young people become ambassadors and visit the camp.

As a Young Holocaust Ambassador, these students are entrusted with upholding the core values of the organisation and support their peers in the education of the horrific events and why they must never happen again.

Our ambassadors started early with a flight from Birmingham Airport at 3:00am in the morning. Arriving in Poland bleary eyed, they travelled to the camp along with the other ambassadors for this years visit. 

Whilst they were there, it was an opportunity to experience the horrendous conditions the inhabitants of the camp were subjected to, reflect on the years of hurt caused and ultimate impact upon the modern world. 

Of course, we are proud with how our ambassadors uphold themselves and Etone Values for a trip that is uniquely remarkable yet thought provoking. Whilst a sombre atmosphere our students have come away with a very careful consideration for what the Holocaust has meant for society. We are thankful to the Trust for their involvement.

We will not forget them!

At Etone College, we recognise the importance of positive mental health and wellbeing and make this a priority for our school. Whether this be through lessons or whole school activities, we regularly promote our five top tips for wellbeing. However, we also recognise that sometimes boys are less confident to discuss their wellbeing and we have actively being trying to address this during the Spring Term. We have held events and also asked our male teachers for top tips about how they look after their mental health so that we can start some conversations about mental health and let all members of our community know it is OK to talk.  Please find following a link to a booklet with some top tips from our staff.

Mental Health Booklet

As you will know, last week as part of our Wellbeing Week we were out on the gates raising funds for our House Charities. These four well deserving organisations support our local community in various ways, from bereavement counselling to helping those without a home or shelter. It is the efforts of these charities that provide the core of what our community means to us. At Etone we hold our values in high esteem and it is with those values we look to support these initiatives.

Just last week we raised over £140 to be split equally, just from spare change in pockets people were willing to donate to.

To read more about our House Charities check out our page here: https://www.etonecollege.co.uk/house-charities/

In celebration of careers week, we are hosting our annual careers day event on the 22nd March.  We can’t wait to welcome over 40 employers into school and take four trips out to university.

Our year 9 students will be taking part in work experience as a part of this event.

During careers week each department developed careers starter activities to use in lessons to further students understanding of careers in each subject area.  

During this term each form group in KS3 have taken part in a day’s work for a day’s pay activity, linking attendance and careers.  We look forward to choosing winners next week. 

On Friday 15^th March the flagship charity event of the year was celebrated at Etone College as we raised funds once again for Comic Relief. Building up to this day our pupils had the chance to understand the importance of the charity through our annual assembly. This year delivered by Mr Bowley the focus of the assembly was sharing how small actions can have big impacts. 

For example for just £100 this can fully train a mentor in Africa who can support young children in keeping them safe. An interesting question to think “how much is our safety worth?” with all Houses agreeing much more than £100.

On the day itself it was fantastic to see the efforts of the Etone Community Champions as they descended onto the school gates to help collect for our Non-uniform day. With the vast majority of pupils showing their giving side the buckets were already heaving.

However, more was to be added after a phenomenal cake sale at breaktime which ensured record donations were made. We have yet to release the total but watch this space.

This week we as a whole school community we have focused on our wellbeing.  We have promoted our five top tips for wellbeing through a variety of activities. Our top tips our:

Connect with Others

Keep Active

Take Notice

Give to Others

Keep Learning

Pupils have been able to take part in wellbeing drop in sessions all week and learn new hobbies such as craft activities.  We have also focused on the importance of Giving to Others and are raising money this week for both our House Charities and Comic Relief.  We are also looking forward to welcoming Guest Speakers from our House Charities next weeks.

Pupils have donated spare change for our house charities, there has been mindful colouring taking place at lunch and break times along with brew Monday where pupils have the chance to chat, craft, colour and create Lego models. Thursday saw pupils enjoy meditation sessions lead by Miss Goode and on Friday pupils joined in the just dance at break which was a huge success. All pupils have enjoyed being part of our wellbeing week.

Additionally as part of our celebrations our staff were involved in an Early Easter prize draw for some chocolate treats, with the Eggcellent Attendance set to start next week it was a prime opportunity to start the rewards.

Don’t forget as part of our celebrations for World Book Day our Scholastic book fair is in town. All pupils will have the opportunity over the week to browse the books and decide on their next read. If you would like to purchase a book this can be done by following the information on the letter shared here

We are really excited for our Comic Relief celebrations to take place tomorrow. This year we are hoping for a record amount raised. In addition to the support from the yourselves for cake sales and non-uniform, we are thrilled to share our Red Nose Menu. The next in our series of themed menus to celebrate key events across the school. 

Make sure you join us tomorrow for some red and round delights as we get into the spirit of being ‘Funny for Money’.

On Friday afternoon, 24 year 7 pupils visited Nuneaton library to borrow ‘human books’ to celebrate the end of Careers Week.  They had an amazing time listening to the books’ stories and also took the opportunity to explore the library, speak to librarians and learn as much as possible.  They borrowed various books including 

Jason Buck: ‘Fantasy Storyteller for Adults and Teenagers’

Kim Hackleman: ‘Shout Out for the Arts Coordinator’

Hareena: ‘Family Learning Co-ordinator’

Ele Haddon: ‘Operational director performing arts charity’Emily Jeffcott: ‘Diary of an Apprentice in the Arts’

Well done to year 7 and a massive thank-you to Anjna Chouhan for organising the event.