Principal’s Message

Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends of WIS,

It’s been a very busy week at WIS, which once again proves to me that, our unofficial motto: West is Best! is indeed true

On Wednesday, I was delighted to attend our annual Diwali Ball. 185 students were involved, a record for WIS. The evening was as usual written, directed and choreographed by our students, for our students. The result was a real sense of community, joy and ‘light’ in the spirit of Diwali. Our auditorium was packed to the rafters with extra seats being brought in and standing room only for some observers.

A big thank you to Julie Hannaford for all her hard work in bringing this event to fruition and also to the upper school students in particular who learned so much about organization and leadership. It was also the first time we had a staff dance included in the programme which was a wonderful addition to the event. Once again I enjoyed a dance with the students who helped me by rehearsing a great deal before the show. It proved to be a wonderful evening.

We also saw some superb outcomes in cross country (more below). I was proud to receive a commendation from the organiser commenting on our student’s politeness and behaviour, which echoes our values alongside our sporting prowess. WIS Teachers led by example this week by getting involved with a charity run within the ESF teams in Central.

We also were pleased to welcome Year 7 parents to our parents evening, and by all accounts, our Year 7 students are happy and supported in the year group.

Finally, we are looking forward to Horizons Week next week. I am sure you are aware of the enormous effort that goes into this week by our teaching and support staff. It is a great opportunity for students to focus on Creativity Action and/or Service in a deeper way than is possible during the regular school week. It is an indeed a week we treasure as one of our jewels in the crown of student experiences here at WIS. I hope your child has a great experience and learns new skills in a different learning environment ‘beyond the classroom’.

Yours,

Jane