Salesian School Chertsey

To start off Wellbeing Wednesday 2025, The Wellbeing Hub posted a Podcast about the impact of social media on children and young people’s attention (with Elizabeth Milovidov, Digital Parenting Expert, Lawyer and E-safety Consultant). Alicia and Elizabeth discussed the role of algorithms and ‘streaks’ in addictive screen behaviour, as well as how platforms like TikTok promote short content consumption and therefore contribute to this growing issue.

To learn more or listen to the podcast, please follow this link:
https://club.teentips.co.uk/resources/the-impact-of-social-media-on-children-and-young-peoples-attention/

A glowing review from the National School theatre Awards on our recent production of Animal Farm. Another huge congratulations to all students involved, as well as the many supporting staff but particularly to Mr Graham for directing so brilliantly. What a fantastic achievement, we can't wait for the next one!

It's that special time of year again where we take part in some jolly festive antics! We hope you enjoy our Christmas video of 2024.

https://youtu.be/I99pxgBVs0w?si=Z9LToJljhuy_87it

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

At Salesian, we are excited to celebrate Christmas but for some it can be a challenging time of year. The NHS offers 24/7 emotional wellbeing support on 0800 9154644 and the Samaritans also run a similar service on 116 123. There is a huge amount of high-quality mental health advice, tips, blogs and videos on the Wellbeing Hub too. If you have yet to create an account for The Hub, please check previous emails from us or contact our Head of Student Wellbeing, Mrs Bruney: [email protected]

Wellbeing Wednesday

Coming up next week, The Wellbeing Hub will be hosting a webinar about understanding the current landscape for boys and young men. Diving into how words such as boys, girls, stereotypes, misogyny, feminism and masculinities are increasingly important for young children and adults to learn and discuss both at home and in school. This could help young men to gain healthy and respectable relationships, balanced power dynamics and complex consent.

To learn more or to register, please follow this link:
https://club.teentips.co.uk/events/understanding-the-current-landscape-for-boys-and-young-men/

We want to say a huge thank you to Mary Shiels who took the time to come and talk to some of our students today. Mary volunteers at ‘Mary’s Meals’, a non-profit organisation that provides meals to children from some of the world’s poorest communities. She spoke about how we take food and education for granted, as well as how our support could impact a child’s life.

If you are interested in learning more about ‘Mary’s Meals’ charity, you can visit their website:
https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/?_gl=1*1naw9dp*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiA6t-6BhA3EiwAltRFGKr5idGvJMJ_HLNGVPbGRnL4_KaZLG5iD1-IVKqQiEJRp7ONSNvgehoCgtwQAvD_BwE

Mary's Meals

‘Pupils Flourish at this Exceptional School’

Following a recent Ofsted inspection Salesian was graded as Outstanding in all five areas of judgement. The first line of the report read: ‘Pupils flourish at this exceptional school.’

The report went on to describe how the school is ‘…unfailingly ambitious for the achievement of all pupils’ and that ‘pupils rise to and exceed staff’s high expectations’. The behaviour in the school is described as ‘impeccable’.

Read the full report here: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50262805

Headteacher Paul Gower said “The Ofsted report accurately reflects the incredible hard work of staff and students at our school. The daily commitment of students is exemplary and staff go over and above to support them. This is manifest not only in the excellent results students gain year after year, but the huge breadth of co-curricular opportunities and trips that punctuate the students’ seven year academic journey. I was very pleased that the inspection team saw that the values of the school were ‘lived’ and that the special relationships here between students and staff was, and I quote, ‘the gold dust’.”

CEO of Xavier Catholic Multi Academy Trust, James Kibble said “This a superb report that accurately describes the exceptional school we all know and love. I am delighted for everyone at Salesian; that they have received the recognition they deserve for all their hard work, commitment and compassion. On behalf of everyone at Xavier, and all those who benefit from this outstanding provision, we offer our thanks to the staff, leaders and especially Mr Gower for everything that they do that has led to this glowing endorsement.”

Wellbeing Wednesday – Parents
Challenging behaviour doesn’t only affect the quality of life for children, but also for their families, teachers, classmates and other peers.

Clare Price will talk in this webinar about the challenges of confronting these kinds of behaviours and the factors which influence other children to behave. This will help you identify the triggers and how to approach them with positive communication along with good outcomes for everyone. Supporting children and young people to understand their emotions and develop their own skills for the future.

To listen to the webinar, please follow this link:
https://club.teentips.co.uk/events/positive-approaches-to-behaviours-that-challenge/

To find out more helpful resources, check out the Wellbeing Hub website:
https://club.teentips.co.uk/home/staff/

Eleven groups of talented students exploded onto the Highfield stage with a mix of song and instrumental prowess last Friday night. Our judges and audience were blown away by all the student acts, but the ‘Shrouded Mouse’ stole the show with their rendition of “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. For their prize, the band now get to enjoy a professional studio recording session!

It was an honour to welcome back last year’s Battle of the Band winners, ‘The Revival,’ who performed the classic song ‘Hey Jude.’ However, it wasn’t just the students who gave us a musical performance… the Salesian Staff Band made a triumphant return and warmed up the stage with some good ol’ fashion rock and roll!

Firstly, thank you to those who took the time to come and watch, your support was greatly appreciated. Next, we send our gratitude to the staff for all of their help and organisation. And finally, a massive thank you to the students for all of their courage and hard work.

Yesterday, the Year 13 students had an amazing time during their Forensic Science Workshop experience. In small groups, they were tasked to solve a murder case and imagine themselves working at a crime scene. Whilst wearing disposable lab coats, students had the opportunity to test out different equipment on (fake) blood, hidden fingerprints and scan for other clues. Congratulations to those who solved the case!

We would like to say a huge thank you to Mr. Potier who organised the day and helped ensure maximum fun was had.

Wellbeing Wednesday – Parents
This week, the Wellbeing Hub released a podcast that explains how our internal dialogue impacts our mental health. This insightful podcast explores the crucial role of maintaining a positive internal dialogue and delves into the profound effects that negative self-talk can have on our wellbeing.

To listen to the podcast, please follow this link:
https://club.teentips.co.uk/resources/how-our-internal-dialogue-impacts-our-mental-health/

To find out more helpful resources, check out the Wellbeing Hub website:
https://club.teentips.co.uk/home/staff/

The Wellbeing Hub, Teen Tips

For Anti-Bullying week at Salesian we are taking time to talk about respect and acknowledging other's different points of view. If you'd like to read more, Anti-Bullying Alliance run this event every year with various ways to get involved: https://shorturl.at/KqIfs

We've created a short montage of Remembrance Day footage from both the school and the college. Thank you to those who took part in the ceremony and to our students who participated very respectfully.

Lest We Forget.

Remembrance Day at Salesian 2023 We've created a short montage of Remembrance Day footage from both the school and the college. Thank you to those who took part in the ceremony and to our st...

Last night, the Year 9 students spectacularly performed a play of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Creating a magical atmosphere for the audience to laugh and enjoy the story of forbidden love, sparkling fairies and a comedic donkey-head. As always, a big thank you to the teachers who helped create the props, set and student costumes, with another massive thank you going to Mrs Garbett who directed the play brilliantly. We hope anyone who came to watch one of the three performances enjoyed it as much as we did!

Keep an eye out for information on our next play in December, which will be a senior production of ‘Animal Farm’.

Today, we had the honour of having Ben Greensmith, who works at Tony’s Chocolonely and spoke to our sixth form about the unknown issues of coco companies, in particular using slaves as a workforce. Thankfully, Tony’s Chocolonely is a slave-free organisation and is encouraging other companies to do the same. The students were stunned by the story of founder, Teun van de Keuken, who faced many challenges in order to find justice and a better way to legally produce chocolate. To end the talk sweetly, Greensmith kindly offered our students free Tony’s chocolate!

Tony's Chocolonely

Wellbeing Wednesday – Parents
Sometimes, depression is a difficult topic to talk about, especially when it comes to young children. Last Monday, Dr Caroline talked in an educational podcast about identifying the symptoms of depression in childhood and adolescence. It’s okay for you as parents to not understand what to do in these situations, that’s why The Wellbeing Hub can offer you support and the best treatment for your child.

To listen to the podcast, please click this link:
https://club.teentips.co.uk/resources/understanding-depression-in-young-people/

To find out more helpful resources, check out the Wellbeing Hub website:
https://club.teentips.co.uk/home/staff/

Our 2024 Remembrance Day Memorial Concert at Salesian will commence at 11:30am on Monday. Please see poster for more information.

Today we were awarded with a plaque from the SSAT to celebrate us having achieved all 12 strands of their Framework for Exceptional Education. What better way to end a wonderful half term than to celebrate the achievements of our students and staff.
A special thanks to Mrs Matthews for being a tremendous spearhead in education framework at Salesian.