Issue 1120: 1st May 2026

HEADLINES

Social Media Content

It is always worth reminding your children to be mindful of what they chose to post on social media platform, such as Tik Tok. Photographs of them in their school uniform, particularly if taken on the school site, can easily identify where they live and may result in attracting unwanted attention. This is also a breach of our Behaviour Policy. If your children are concerned about contact they receive on social media, please encourage them to speak to you and/or a member of staff at school. As ever we would always encourage you to regularly check your child’s phone and to ensure that their privacy settings are appropriate.

Lunch Time Swap Y8/Y11

It is hard to believe that the first of the GCSE written exams will begin on Thursday 7th May! In order to ensure the best possible conditions for our Year 11 pupils, as of Tuesday 5^th May, they will be having the early lunch slot at 12.30pm to ensure that they are ready on time for their afternoon exams. This means that when we return from the Bank Holiday weekend, our Year 8 pupils will have their lunch at 1.30pm.

Free School Meals

On the subject of lunchtime, as you may be aware, parents on low incomes, and receiving certain benefits, are entitled to claim Free School Meals for their child(ren). Full details, and an application form, are available online at www.essex.gov.uk/free-school-meals. Alternatively, if you think you may be eligible, but want to find out more, please do ring Pupil Services at the school, and they will be happy to advise you and help with an application. If your claim is successful, a set amount will be credited to your child’s account in our cashless catering system, which ensures anonymity. It is well worth having – even if your child only uses it to buy a drink/snack to supplement a packed lunch!

And Finally….

Enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend.

Adisa the Verbalizer brings powerful poetry to life

On Thursday, Year 9 were treated to a lively poetry performance by the wonderfully entertaining poet, Adisa the Verbalizer. Adisa’s visits to Sweyne Park School are always considered as one of the highlights of the Year 9 curriculum, linking in perfectly to their work on multicultural poetry, so it is great to be able to welcome him back in school.

Adisa engaged and entertained all of Year 9 in the Hall, with his powerful, vibrant and energetic performance as he happily demolished stereotypes and peoples’ perceptions of poetry. There were poems that had us laughing out loud and poems that made us really stop and think. Year 9 should also be commended for their thoughtful questions. The performance obviously resonated with the pupils, as so many of them came to thank him personally and shake his hand at the end.

Adisa then expertly led two creative writing workshops in the Library, with a focus on being truthful and personal through the liberation of writing and building confidence in sharing our thoughts and ideas. He also explored the idea of expression and imagery through music, by playing four examples of jazz music and asking pupils to conjure up their thoughts on texture, colour, emotion and imagery. These invoked great emotion and produced some powerful poetry written by our Year 9 pupils.

Yet another powerfully productive, poetry-filled day was experienced and we’re already looking forward to, hopefully, seeing Adisa again next year.