A Foreword From Mrs Parpworth
Welcome back to our second week back after half term! Thank you as ever to Mrs McBride and her team for providing such a brilliant and entertaining Holiday Club provision.
We have had a difficult few weeks which included my own hospitalisation and that of Mr Bithel-Vaughan who had a stay in hospital having suffered a serious health condition. Mr BV is now at home having had some very serious surgery and is recovering well. We are sending lots of love, wishes and prayers to Mr BV at this time and we wish him the very best for a full recovery. It is at times like this that I am reminded of the support, strength and love which exists within our school community. Thank you to everyone for your messages of kindness and concern; we will ensure that these are passed on to Mr BV.
It has been a fruitful few weeks, with a varied programme of events and activities happening from drama, to art, to PSHE and community work. Our skiers returned having had a trip of a lifetime on the slopes and Year 2 gave the most extraordinary performance on the stage just before half term. We have certainly packed a lot of opportunities into the calendar this term (as evidenced by this bumper edition of our newsletter) and we are delighted to see the children rise to the occasion. The detail outlined in this newsletter is testament to the sheer variety of activities the children are involved and the benefits they are experiencing as a result.
Without doubt, one of the highlights of the academic year is our involvement in the Thanet Speech and Drama Festival. Details are below, but in a snapshot, over 20 WHD children (with all year groups between Year 1 and 8 represented) took part in this regional festival and they did so with enormous skill, pride and courage. All of them, without exception, performed brilliantly with much success. Not only this but it was wonderful to watch the children encourage and congratulate each other and their peers. It is a reminder not just of the breadth of opportunities at WHD, but also of the encouragement (and, at times, stretch and challenge) for our pupils in activities outside of the day to day classroom environment. Our congratulations, of course, go to these children, and our thanks go to Mrs Bourne and Mrs Flory who work passionately to provide such great support and leadership for our pupils.
We received some news that two of our children in Year 6, Genevieve Frogley and Theo Alifrangis, have achieved a place in the Final of the Primary Maths Challenge. This is an incredible achievement by no mean feat. They had to answer a gruelling 45 minute paper under exam conditions. I am delighted to tell you that Genevieve achieved a bronze and Theo achieved a silver. This puts them at the very top of all mathematicians in the country for their age. A huge well done to them both and thank you to Mrs Satish for her tireless dedication to all things maths! If you are interested, last year’s paper can be accessed here.
Finally, I would like to congratulate all Year 8 pupils who attempted sports and drama scholarships at their chosen destination schools. Every student deserves to be commended for aspiring to achieve such accolades but a special mention must go to Tate Sheppard who achieved a drama scholarship at King’s School Canterbury; Lila Grady and Kaspar Lear who achieved a place on the drama excellence programme at King’s Schools Canterbury; Jamie Montgomery who achieved a sports scholarship at Kent College; Freddie Loudon who achieved a sports scholarship at Tonbridge School and Freya Ralph for achieving a sports exhibition at King’s School Canterbury. We are so proud and delighted for all students involved and are excited for the future opportunities this has enabled for them. We have a number of children aiming for academic scholarships and we wish them the best of luck for their forthcoming assessments in a few months’ time.
I hope you have a brilliant week ahead.
Mrs Jo Parpworth
School Last Week
Year 6 Ski Trip
Year 6 had the amazing opportunity of a ski trip to the Italian resort of Clavier before half term. We were a group of varying abilities, ranging from absolute beginners to pretty advanced and experienced skiers but everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience. All the children threw themselves into the challenge and gained some great skills by the end of the week. As well as skiing, the children enjoyed evening activities, including: Laser Tag, The Luges in Montgenevre along with some shopping, Quiz night in the hotel and Pizza night (which was a real treat). We ended the week with a presentation evening where the children received certificates for the level of skiing they had achieved.
Suri “I loved going really fast down the slopes and being able to hang out with my friends in our rooms together”.
Theo A “The food was good and the extra activities were very fun. My favourite being the Luges”
Stanley “ I really enjoyed Wednesday quiz night because we got to build our own teams and tension built before the results on Thursday.”
We want to say a HUGE thank you to Mrs Crompton and Ms Elliott for providing the upmost care and support for the children during their trip. We are so thankful and appreciative of their time.
Year 1 Trip to Powell Cotton Museum
We had such a fantastic time at the Powell-Cotton Museum. The children had lots of fun exploring the different galleries and took part in a couple of activities, including retelling a famous encounter between Percy Powell-Cotton and a fierce lion (with a sad ending for the lion), and handling very interesting artefacts. The children were very respectful around the museum and the staff were extremely complimentary about the behaviour.
Internet Safety Day
Before half-term we joined schools and youth organisations across the UK in celebrating Safer Internet Day 2024. Emmy Dobbs, Hector Halton, Felix Worthington, Felix Butterfill, Freddie Loudon and Jamie Montgomery delivered an assembly to the Upper School and the Pre-Preps went through the assembly in their classrooms. The children have continued to work on consolidating their understanding of Online Safety in PSHE & Computing lessons throughout this term, for example Year 4 have been learning about phishing emails, Year 5 have been exploring Google Interland (link) and Year 6 about how your digital footprint can have repercussions later on in life. Thank you to Mr Knights for organising this important initative.
Pre-Prep School Show
The pre prep show, The Goblin Next Door, was a riot of colour, movement and energy. The children performed with real enthusiasm, delivering their lines with clear audible voices and excellent expression for those so young. This made sure that they were clearly able to tell the story of the naughty goblin and how he learned to change his ways. The dances and songs were displayed with energy and focus and showcased what the cast had achieved in such a short space of time.
It was wonderful to see every child shine and demonstrate their acting, singing and dancing skills with confidence and enjoyment.
The ensemble performing was great but we can’t let the opportunity to praise those that had lines or solos go by. There were some really strong individual performances by Year 2 and an awful lot to remember. The goblins were all suitably mischievous and cheeky and the animals, fairies and pixies clearly showed how cross they were with the goblin that kept ruining their harmonious environment.
A huge well done to those that had to manage head microphones and sing solos, some really heartfelt and mature performances there. We think we have some performers in the making and we can’t wait to see what they can do by the time they reach Year 8!
Ms Websper said she was really proud of how hard the children worked and of their final performance. It was a real testament to the additional work done by them, the pre prep team, Mr Parfitt, the site team, Mr Spencer, Mr Redwood and parents at home – who provided such wonderful costumes and helped rehearse lines. Ms. Websper said she feels blessed to be able to work with such a team!
Our thanks go to Ms Websper, Mr Redwood and all the staff who worked together to enable this opportunity for the children.
NHS Mental Health Roadshow 
We very much enjoyed hosting the NHS mental health self esteem machine roadshow this morning. It was a highly entertaining show tackling some important wellbeing issues, and offering some mental health tips. Each class was given some seeds to grow, and a wellbeing poster to encourage them to focus on different areas of their mental wellbeing, such as eating well and cutting down on screen time.
Police Visit
Thank you very much to PC Cleaver and his team for visiting our school on Monday last week to provide very interesting information about careers in the police force. During their talk they reviewed the safety equipment they need to perform their jobs. They also discussed the rule of law, specifically the age of criminal responsibility starting at 10 years of age. We look forward to welcoming PC Cleaver back to school where they will help us address issues on our PSHE curriculum such as discrimination, online safety, cyber bullying and healthy relationships. Thank you to Mrs Lear for organising this informative visit.
Pottery Workshops
Miss Fay Kelly visited us on Tuesday and Thursday to run several pottery workshops for Years R-6. The children enjoyed getting the chance to work with clay and produced some lovely work. Miss Kelly will be running an after-school pottery club from next term, details of which will be published in the Clubs Menu at the end of term. Our thanks to Miss Kelly for taking the time to organise and run these sessions.
Miss Kelly said, ‘I have to tell you how wonderful the children were during pottery workshops this week. They were enthusiastic, paid attention, and followed instructions. Not only did they make some lovely ceramic tiles, but they were so kind to me and each other. They shared beautifully and supported each other too. Such lovely children to work with.’
Thanet Speech Festival
Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Thanet Speech & Drama Festival 2024. It really showcased the talents at our school and the results below are indicative of the hard work of the students and the support given by our LAMDA teachers and of course, the parents. As you will see, we achieved multiple first and top 3 places. We were represented in almost every category and this demonstrates the breadth of ability in all year groups. Of course, taking part in LAMDA classes and festivals such as this provides more than the opportunity to win medals and trophies. LAMDA builds essential skills for life, confidence and a sense of strong self-esteem.
Our sincerest thanks go to Kim and Sue for their unwavering dedication to the children.
Report from Sue Flory
Wellesley Haddon Dene pupils, who work with me, entered 12 classes and gained 1st places in 8 classes, three 2nd places and two 3rd places. These results were achieved by 7 pupils. I am very pleased with their results and the manner in which they conducted themselves.
The adjudicator was excellent and a lot of learning was achieved from listening to her adjudications and through watching other pupils perform. Thank you to all the pupils for their hard work, their parents (and grandparents) for supporting them, and the WHD staff for their forbearance in the weeks leading up to the Festival. Your pupils really were brilliant and were a great credit to themselves and the school.’
Year 8:
Poem – Yrs 7 – 8 (12 entrants)
Lila Grady – 85 – 2nd – Commended
Kaspar Lear – 84 – 3rd – Commended
Platon Shatokhin – 83 Merit
Tate Sheppard – 83 Merit
Bible Reading – Yrs 7 – 8 (5 entrants)
Kaspar Lear – 87 – 1 st – Distinction
Tate Sheppard – 85 – 2 nd – Commended
Platon Shatokhin 83 Merit
Lila Grady 82 Merit
Prose Reading – Yrs 7 – 8 (12 entrants)
Tate Sheppard 86 – 1st – Commended
Lila Grady 83 Merit
Kaspar Lear 83 Merit
Platon Shatokhin 83 Merit
Monologue – Yrs 7 – 8 (8 entrants)
Lila Grady 87 – 1st Distinction
Kaspar Lear 86 = 2nd Commended
Tate Sheppard 86 = 2nd Commended
Platon Shatokhin 84 Commended
Mime – Yrs 7 – 10 (3 entrants – the other 2 entrants were 2 yrs older)
Tate Sheppard 87 – 1 st Distinction
Year 6
Suri Lear 86 – 2nd Commended – Bible reading
84 – 3rd Merit Poem
88 – 1st Distinction Prose Reading
87 – 1st Distinction Monologue
Year 3
Emilia Foster 86 – 1st Commended Prose Reading
Emilia Foster – 84 Merit Poem
Year 2
Arabella Dolan-Crowley 87 – 1st Distinction Poem
Report from Mrs Bourne
Festival Students: 10
Eva Roberts, Felicity O’Dell, Oliver Eve, Juelle Simpson, Emmy Dobbs, Pearl Dunbar-Brunton, Theo Alfrangis, Nicholas Chhabra, Magnus Dilkes, Gian Tarr
The above children took part in this years Thanet Speech and Drama Festival, I am so proud of all of them for taking part in this long standing event. Their growth in confidence and etiquette is evident.
Eva: Well done Eva for overcoming your fear to perform to an audience.
Felicity: Your beautiful poem about My Puppy was adorable and you gained a 3rd place, well done.
Oliver: You entertained us with a reading from Mr Gum and achieved a well deserved second place. I loved your poem’ The Birthday Bike’.
Juelle: Wow Juelle your performances have been fabulous! Your beautiful poem was stunning and your reading from The Magic Finger, gained you a third place. I loved your first attempt at public speaking, we are definitely continuing with this discipline.
Emmy: Your first attempt at Public Speaking was outstanding and I can’t wait to hear what is to come next. Well done with your lovely reading from Esio Trot
Pearl: Such a beautiful reading from Matilda and your poem ‘Shells and Stones’ gained you a well deserved second place, Your growth in projection and expression has been wonderful for us to see.
Theo: Well done Theo you have gained a second place in the year 5-6 first time entry Prose Reading and a third place in the year 5-6 Bible Reading. Your humbling, gentle attitude to your work is adorable.
Magnus: You continue to impress me with your growing confidence. Thank you for your reading from Charlie and the chocolate Factory,
Nicholas: Well done Nicholas on your wonderful and engaging poem, congratulations for achieving a second place in a very competitive class. Your reading from the Bible was sensitive and engaging.
Gian: Gian, my sincere praise for entering all aspects of the festival: a first place in the poem class, a second place in the prose reading class, a second place in the original poem class, a second place in the Public speaking class, a first place in the mime class and a third place In the acting class, Congratulations for winning the Cup for speech year 6 and under for the second year.
Swim Success
Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Thanet Swim Club Speedo Development Gala at Hartsdown Leisure Centre this weekend. This was Langa’s gala debut and there were lots of improved times in swims from Nicholas, Georgie and Elodie. Congratulations to Lyndon who achieved 3 medals!
Winter Wander for Wildlife
On Saturday, friends and family of WHD joined forces to raise money for wildlife charities whilst enjoying being immersed in nature. We walked a total of 5km around Pegwell Nature Reserve where we spotted many species of animals including seals, horses and several types of birds. It was so refreshing to be out and about, breathing in the fresh sea air, so close to nature and away from our desks! We are delighted to have raised over £200 for charity! Thank you to Bird Wise East Kent for their informative talks and to RSPB Thanet for access to powerful spotting scopes which enabled us to see so many beautiful sites. It was a great turn out and thank you to all our families who supported the event.
Our ultimate thanks goes to Mrs Sabin-Dawson for organising such a brilliant community gathering. She is a brilliant ambassador for nature and the environment and a role model for the next generation.
You can still raise funds by clicking on the links below.
School This Week
Plastic Free Assembly – Tuesday 27th February
Wild Club will be leading this assembly for years 4-8 to help pupils understand the role that plastic plays in our lives and what we can all do to reduce single use plastic and, consequently, plastic pollution.
WHD Challenge Final – Thursday 29th February
Who will be crowned champions of this prestigious general knowledge quiz? We look forward to this nail biting final!
Free Book Giveaway – Thursday 29th February
Westgate Bookshop will be giving away free books on this day in the run up to World Book Day.
Reception Trip to Manston History Museum – Friday 1st March
As part of our transport topic this half term, Reception will be visiting Manston History Museum for the day on 1st March. We will have a tour and talk plus a teddy hunt!
Senior School Open Day – Saturday 2nd March
We are opening our doors to prospective families in Year 7 and 8.
Future Events
Year 8 Mock exams begin 4th March
Year 8 will complete a range of CE or scholarship exams in the Old Hall.
Mother’s Day Gift Room – Tuesday 5th March
The PFA is holding a gift room between 9am-11am on Tuesday 5th March. Children can purchase up to 3 gifts which will be posted on School Money at a cost of £5 each.
Please complete this form to indicate how many gifts your child will purchase.
World Book Day (Little Denes to Year 2) – Thursday 7th March
Children are welcomed to dress up as their favourite book character for the day. There will be a range of fun activities happening that day for the children.
Year 2 and 3 Trip to the Houses of Parliament – Friday 8th March
This is an exciting trip for our youngsters to witness inside one of the world’s most famous buildings and find out about the work of the UK Parliament.
Exeat Weekend – Friday 8th March – Sunday 10th March
Parent Consultation Evenings – begin 11th March
Please see your individual Class Dojo pages for more information.
Science Fair – Wednesday 13th March
We are looking forward to celebrating Science Week beginning on Monday 11th March. We will be holding a range of cross-curricular activities around the theme of ‘Time’. On Wednesday 13th March we will be holding a Science Fair in the Old Hall, parents are most welcome to attend so please save this date in your diaries. We will be issuing a project brief to the children where they will be guided to research and develop a science project/experiment of their choice to showcase at the fair. We are also looking forward to taking the senior pupils to the Natural History Museum on Tuesday 12th March for a ‘Mission to Mars’ workshop.
Elocution Cup – Thursday 14th March
For parents in Year 1 to Year 8, please save this date. There will be three sessions in the Old Hall:
Year 1 & 2 – 9am
Year 3 & 4 – 10.30am
Year 5 to 8 – 6.15pm
Comic Relief – Friday 15th March
We will be supporting this important charity by wearing non-school uniform in exchange for a voluntary £2 donation.
Year 3 and 4 Show – Friday 15th March
Please note that this date has changed from the 8th March. We have changed the format of our Junior show this year, breaking it down into 2 smaller shows for Year 3 & 4 and then later in the year for 5 & 6. We have taken this decision so that every child is able to embrace a larger part and so will have a better opportunity to shine on the stage. More details to follow.
Music Soiree – Friday 15th March
We are looking forward to an evening of entertainment, providing our students in Years 4 – 8 with a platform to showcase their talents. Please save the date for your diaries with more information to follow.
Denne Hill Cross Country – Saturday 16th March
This event is aimed at children in Years 4 and upwards, however children in Pre-Prep are very welcome to come along and run the course. Cakes and refreshments will be served afterwards.
Lenten Service – Tuesday 19th March
Please join us for our special service between 4-5pm in the Chapel.
Term ends – Wednesday 20th March
Please note that term ends at 12pm and there will be no after school provision on this day.
Easter Fair – Wednesday 20th March
On the last day of term, we will hold our annual Easter Fair with lots of fun and refreshments on offer. The Easter Bonnet parade will take place in school time at 11.30am on the school field. Once term has finished at 12pm, the Fair will begin with an Easter egg hunt, daffodil picking and games. More details to follow.
Reminders
Please ensure that you have labelled every item of your child’s school uniform. Any lost property will be kept for 2 weeks. After that time, any unlabelled items will be given to the second hand uniform shop for resale.
School Values Awards
Pre-Prep
Reception | Jacob Flockhart has been working really hard in his phonics and has shown resilience when he’s found things a little tricky. What a superstar! Sadie-Mae Buckley-Patey for kindness and teamwork. She is always keen to help a friend in need. What a star! |
Year 1 | Elliot Palmer for his fantastic progress in phonics, always showing enthusiasm when sounding out and spelling words. He has also shown a keen interest in Science providing excellent explanations for parts of plants. David Walters for working really hard in Maths this week. David has shown resilience to overcome challenges and has been proud of his achievements. |
Year 2 | Joseph Wake- Joseph’s home reading engagement is phenomenal, over the half term break he read an incredible 17 times! He is showing fantastic resilience in his learning where he is readily taking risks, particularly in our maths lessons, which is enabling fantastic progress! Frederick Tipping- Freddie is really pushing himself to learn his times tables beyond expectations. Every single lesson Freddie is devouring his work, the challenge cards and even then asking for more. He has such an amazing attitude towards his learning! Catalina Marsh-Gonzalez for the neat presentation of her work. She has made a huge effort to improve her handwriting and this is reflected in her recent work. She is focused and her attitude to learning is greatly improved. Remy Watson for his progress in reading. Remy makes a huge effort to read daily and has shown a determination and perseverance to achieve Free Reader status. Well done. |
Year 3 | Frank Lillis – For particularly well presented and accurate geography work using an atlas to good effect to find countries and capital cities in North America. Lara Davies – for her kind, considerate and thoughtful nature. Lara always appreciates the feelings of others and will put them first before herself. Her selfless attitude is to be admired in someone so young. |
Seniors
Year 4 | Lyndon Smith for his efforts to be an amazing allrounder. He puts a 100% effort into everything he does- both in the classroom and in sports and not to mention his excellent baking skills. |
Year 5 | Juelle Simpson – for having the courage to play for the senior netball team. |
Year 6 | The ski children were an absolute credit to the school. With a special mention to Suri Lear who was a great ambassador for WHD. Jonathan Moreno-Stafford, Yusuf Almas Fordham, Henry Slater, Onno Teubner for courage for starting a new school and undertaking the Boarding experience. |
Seniors | Felix Butterfill – For his ability to see something wrong and have the courage to do something about it. His maturity in problem solving is admirable and deserves the respect he has from his peers. Archie-Bird for settling into life at WHD with courage. |
Team of the Week:
Year 2 for their outstanding leading performances in the school show.
School Calendar
Please click here and scroll through for the most up to date calendar of events for the term.
Matches This Week
2.00pm start unless otherwise stated
Monday
Spring Grove Cross Country: U11 & U9 Boys and Girls 1.45pm
Tuesday
Northbourne Park Cross Country: U13 Boys and Girls
Wednesday
Rugby v Dover College: U13 A Boys (a)
Rugby v Northbourne Park: U11 A Boys (h)
Rugby v Northbourne Park: U9 A Boys (a)
Netball v Dover College: U13 A Girls (h)
Netball v Northbourne Park: U11 A Girls (h)
Netball v Northbourne Park: U11 B Girls (h)
Netball v Northbourne Park: U9 A Girls (h)
Saturday
Netball v Junior King’s: U13 A Girls (h)
Thanet Schools Cross Country: U11 Mixed. 9am
Please always refer to the website calendar as it is the most up-to-date place to check for fixture changes and locations.
If your child has been selected for a fixture, we will communicate with you prior to the fixture with information regarding the recommended pick up time from Wellesley HD.
Matches Last Week
Hockey v Northbourne Park: U9 A Boys | Lost 0-2 |
Hockey v Northbourne Park: U9 B Boys | Lost 0-2 |
Netball v Northbourne Park: U13 A Girls | Lost 18-22 |
Netball v Dover College: U11 A Girls | Lost 4-10 |
Squash v Tonbridge U14 | Lost 3-5 |
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