9 jun 19

WICORMEDIA
Number 9 June/July 2019
“Anything else you’re interested in is not going to
happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the
water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by
accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment
in the history of our planet.” Carl Sagan

Dear All
They say a week is a long time in politics. Well, the same is true in
education when Ofsted decides to visit… but you don’t want to know
about that. So let’s talk about other far more important things like
ducklings. It never ceases to amaze me just how magnetic the
attraction of birds hatching from eggs really is. Suddenly
children develop bladder problems that need a regular visit to the
toilet (past the eggs of course) and they also seem to need a long
time to…well you know. Other children become super-helpful and
insist on taking things to the office (past the eggs of course) and it
is not unusual to see a group of 6 children carrying an incredibly
heavy register (we’ve all done our manual handling course they say
when challenged).
The incubator was connected and the eggs were scrambled and soon
enough the ducklings were breaking their way out.
For me, hatching is a miraculous process and I end up thinking how
on earth did that fit in there? I remember thinking this about our
own children. There is something incredibly mesmerising about
watching young creatures (I suppose children fall into this
category!) adjust to the world. What surprised many of us was how
quickly the ducklings were on their feet and, talking of feet, I had
no idea they would hatch with fully developed enormous webbed
feet. You literally learn something every day. I think ducklings
are a perfect way of providing an awe and wonder experience and
they are the perfect antidote for an Ofsted inspection too. Like
the children, I developed a serious bladder weakness and found
myself being a responsible adult, helping the children to carry
those really heavy registers.
“…microscopes, pangolins and ducklings. I don’t think we have ever used those words
before in one sentence…” Ofsted HMI

A page of baby animals admiring the
newly hatched ducklings.

Make a difference
Thank you to Niamh Bennett’s
mum for this lovely email.
Hi Mr Wildman,
Please see attached photo of our very proud
Niamh Bennett (2G), collecting litter down the
Wicor Rec and shore. Niamh always takes a
bag with her to collect litter when walking our
dog and last week went on to pick up someone
else’s dog poop bag that they left hanging on a
tree and disposed of it with the rest of the litter
she collected. We sort the litter into recycling
and non-recycling and reuse the bag and
glove. Niamh has asked for a litter picking/grab
stick which she is now earning money to buy
herself.
Thank you for your support and
encouragement to look after our beautiful area
and country. Your words stay with Niamh and
she often shares facts about looking after our
planet and area that she has heard in
assembly. Wicor has played a huge part in
developing our darling girl into an eco- warrior
and we couldn’t be prouder, so thank you!
Dear Mr Wildman
We took Erin out of school on Friday 7th June to visit family in Grimsby. We went to The Deep in Hull (it's a giant
sea life centre equivalent) and whilst this in itself was educational, the exhibit she was the most interested in was
the conservation exhibit about plastic in the ocean. Erin wanted to read the whole exhibit and was very engaged
with this. She told us lots about this and remains concerned about the environment.
Thank you to Erin Marsh’s mum (1M) for this inspiring piece.

Hi I’m not sure if I’m allowed but I thought I heard that if your child has made an achievement out of school
we could let you know and it might go in the newsletter?
Lily - May Church RC has moved up in swimming to level 4 green hats she is one very excited little girl.
If you could let me know how to put in newsletter if it can go in.
Many thanks Emma Church
Consider it done Lily-May’s mum. I am always happy to share any
achievements in WicormediA and moving up to green hats is
something to celebrate!
Dear Mr Wildman
On Saturday 22nd June Rosie Rogers (3K)
took to the stage to perform in The Greatest
Show with her dance group NB Dance
Academy at Ferneham Hall. Rosie danced in
three dances, Food Glorious Food, Alice in
Wonderland and The Pink Panther showing
us her ballet, tap and modern moves. Rosie
thoroughly enjoys her dancing and her
confidence both on and off the stage has
grown so much over the last year. Rosie has
shown great commitment which has been
recognised with a show work award which
was presented to her on stage after the
show. We are very proud of her achievement
and so is Rosie.
Kind regards
Rosie’s Mum and Dad
This is a fantastic achievement
Rosie – more strings to your bow.
The performing arts is such a
great way of building your
confidence and helping with
independence and resilience.
“In lessons, pupils enjoy their learning
and participate with enthusiasm. Pupils
typically demonstrate positive attitudes,
working diligently to apply their
knowledge and develop their skills.”
June 2019

Hi Mr Wildman
Scarlett Jeffery (2G), Gracie Kircher (2H) and
Rosie Barr (3C) continue to thrive at their
football within the team they play for “AFC
Portchester U9 Castle Girls”.
They played two tournaments on 8th June
and 29th June (in the blistering heat!) and will
play throughout the Summer preparing for the
new season in September.
Ladies football is thriving with the World Cup
currently taking place.
It is a pleasure to watch these girls week in
week out (come rain or shine!) here’s hoping
they’ll make the World Cup in years to come!
Many thanks
Thank you to Scarlett’s mum
for the footballing updates.
Women’s footie is on the up!
Hi Mr Wildman
Scarlett Jeffery took
part in another
football tournament
yesterday at AFC
Portchester.
Mrs Jeynes spray
painted the girls’ hair
orange and they all
had a great time
during the course of
the afternoon.
“Leaders use the extra funding
for sport thoughtfully. For example,
leaders identified the low number of pupils
leaving Year 4 who had achieved the
swimming standards set for PE. As a result,
Year 5 pupils have been invited back to
swimming lessons this year and,
consequently, a much higher proportion are
now able to swim the required length with
confidence.” June 2019
Well done to Finn Smith (1M) for
collecting Player of the Week at his
football club. From what I could
gather Finn was everywhere he
needed to be on the pitch and off!

Dear Mr Wildman, Mrs Moorhouse and Mrs Mapp
Erin took part in her first inter-club gymnastics competition on Sunday 23rd June 2019,
competing against other under 8’s from Southampton and Bitterne.
Erin had to compete in two events; the Vault and a Floor routine.
Erin came first in the floor routine and fourth overall! Needless to say, I am very proud of her
sporting achievement, which is fantastic after winning five out of the six events on sports day
on the 18th and coming second in the sixth event; meaning that she came in first place.
Kind regards
Sam Marsh
I can’t help thinking you are at a bit of an advantage Erin because
none of your competitors can see properly (tee hee).
Congratulations to Tabitha
Bishop (4V) on attaining her
first karate grading – the red
belt. Be afraid folks!

Dear Mr Wildman,
We wanted to share with you a very important milestone for Owen (5C) today.
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, at Queen Alexandra Hospital, celebrated its tenth anniversary today,
and Owen was one of the very first babies to be cared for there. So he went back for a visit. He was
born at St Mary’s hospital at just 25 weeks and was transported to QA when the new unit first opened.
Today, he got a guided tour of the unit; saw some of the tiny babies and even met some of the amazing
staff that looked after him all of those years ago!! He had just performed in the Musical Concert after
school and it was amazing to see how far he had actually come over those ten years. We are incredibly
proud of him!
Kind regards
Nadine Forrester (Owen’s proud mum)
Thank you for sharing this story. You had a very challenging start to
your life Owen and look where you are now. Amazing. I can’t help
making connections with the ducklings in their incubator and how
hard their struggle was too.

I wanted to share how proud I am of Sadie for receiving
this trophy for her dancing show. She showed dedication
and commitment in her dancing and was recognised in
the lead up to the show.
She really does give everything her very best and that's
why I'm so proud of her.
Lola took part in the same dancing show and was so
excited to be part of it all. She received this medal for her
involvement. I'm proud of her for her bravery, resilience
and commitment. Mrs Wareham
Hi Mr Wildman
We would just like to say ‘Thank You’ for
letting us out of school to travel to the Dance
World Cup in Portugal. We did Team
England and Wicor proud with the following
result
Mini Large Group Ballet 4th place
Mini Large Group Modern 2nd Place
Mini Large Group National 2nd Place
Mini Large Group Song and Dance 1st
place!!!!
Thanks
India Young and Lexi Lewis

Here is another great
initiative from 3C’s
charity drive. More
inventive uses for the £1
loan. Samuel Hulks used it
to buy a bucket to collect
the proceeds from a sale
down by the marina. In
the end, Samuel raised an
amazing £401.

Living by the coast, it made sense to Samuel to raise the money for
the RNLI. So impressed were they by Samuel’s efforts, the RNLI
invited him to their HQ in Poole for a tour and a ride on an actual
lifeboat!
Maya Mouland-Rafiq used her pound to start a cleaning
business buying a sponge and washing up liquid. I was
impressed by Maya’s account sheet with float, spent and
income detailed on it which she explained to me. Maya
started by taking on a caravan - I like your ambition Maya!

Lachlan McIntosh chose to spend his pound on compostable plant
pots and then used some free seeds to grow into plants which he
then sold. Lachlan produced a beautifully written booklet
explaining what he did.
“Pupils are encouraged strongly to take up
their role as local, national and global
citizens. Leaders utilise every opportunity to
expose pupils to experiences that teach them
about the world around them.” June 2019
We were very grateful to receive
two trees, a hazel and a rowan, from
a former pupil who won some trees
as part of the Queen’s Jubilee tree
planting.
“The curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge and
skills very well across a wide range of
subjects and opportunities. It ensures that
personal development, behaviour and welfare
are outstanding.” June 2019

Wicographer of the Year 2019
We had a record number of
entries and I didn’t envy the
Digital Leaders picking the
winning which was taken by
Kora Nutland in 6N. A cracking
shot, Kora. Your timing is
perfect; I love the ray of light
and your choice of a black and
white image was perfect.
A big thank you to Pete Riches
(one of our governors) who most
generously donated some lovely
prizes on behalf of his company
SinoScan UK Ltd for our
Wicographer of the Year
competition this year, including
this beautiful book.

It is always a delight to
see former pupils and hear
about life beyond Wicor –
which is most weeks to be
fair. Today Chloe Kirkham
popped in to share her
news. Chloe was awarded
one of only two Year 7 Cams
Headteacher’s Awards for,
well, being wonderful, I
guess. This translates as
being a great learner with
an equally fantastic
attitude. Oh, and the other
of the only two Year 7 HT
awards went to Cole
McIntosh also from Wicor.
From the log
book
So, we reach the end of another school year and as I flick back
through my memory book I realise it has been full on. It’s no
wonder we are all so bloomin’ tired – staff and children.
This year has certainly been eventful with much to feel very proud
of including: winning the Southern Final of Rock Challenge with
our highly innovative performance Slaughtered for Scales; the Year
6 da Vinci animation and film set being accepted as part of the
Southampton Art Gallery exhibition and the animation being
accepted by Buckingham Palace as part of their national exhibition;
our South of England YPTE award for our work on extinction and
environmentally-friendly soap; our national Bees’ Needs award by
Defra for our work on – you guessed it pangolins – only joking,
bees; being shortlisted for the national TES Sustainable School of
the Year and Primary School of the Year; and of course, at long last
an Ofsted inspection that properly recognised the strengths and
unique qualities of our school.

What strikes me on reading our report is the variety of specific
things mentioned. I am willing to bet there is not another Ofsted
report in the land that mentions Buckingham Palace, palm oil and
sausages and of course
the one and only….
“The quality of pupils’ learning on environmental
ecological issues is widely recognised. For
instance, the school recently won an award for its
work on the threatened extinction of the
pangolin…” June 2019
Personally, I am in no mood to celebrate Ofsted’s visit – not because
I am a grump (which I am) but because it is what we deserve and I’m
too darned tired. I am pleased, relieved and proud but life goes on
(although less so for an increasing number of orang-utans,
pangolins, tansy beetles, manta rays and the like). We have made
sure that staff have a week or so without the usual pressure – they
have worked so hard over the past few years and will continue to do
so I’m sure. I am going to point out here that so many of the
additional things we do at Wicor simply would not, could not,
happen without the commitment of all members of staff. We do give
up a massive amount of our own time to enable our fantastic
curriculum to work but we are not martyrs; we do it because we want
to.
“Staff work tirelessly to raise pupils’ aspirations and help them to become successful
learners. Staff are held closely to account by leaders for the difference their work
makes. Staff morale is high and staffing at all levels is very stable. Staff feel valued
and respected.” June 2019
Easy to miss one word. But it is one word that speaks volumes.
“The behaviour of the pupils is outstanding.” June 2019
Ultimately, as ever it is the children who provide the cake and the
icing on the cake (ain’t that right Muffin Moll). We had our Year 6
parents’ evening last night and as ever I was completely gobsmacked
by the sheer amount of high quality work the children have
produced in a year. Back to hatching. These children have emerged
over the year as fine, respectful, beautiful young people. They
have developed a strong moral compass and a commitment to make life
better for you and me. We can ask no more of them. I am so proud.
These children are a striking set of individuals and I am tempted
to say that the secondary schools don’t know how lucky they are to

e receiving them but they do; see the response from the Head of
English at Cams:
Good afternoon,
We have just had your wonderful Y6 pupils for their Transition Days at Cams, and I just wanted
to email you to express just how fantastic we found their behaviour, attitude and
boundless enthusiasm!
In the English Department we deliberately chose a Climate Change topic to write about today,
and the Wicor pupils were noticeably much more knowledgeable and passionate about it.
It is obvious just how much the passion at Wicor translates into the awesome little eco-warriors
we’ve had over here.
Some of them have even offered to bring us their poetry in September. This would be amazing
if it’s ok with you.
Thanks again for sending us such politically engaged and knowledgeable young people.
It is easy to get lost in thoughts at this stage and to allow the
emotions of endings to overwhelm. For me, it is just the same as
seeing my own children move on; happy for their next steps in life
and feeling the emptiness of missing them. But life goes on (back to
eggs again) and inside I feel the stirrings of excitement about the
new children coming to the school and seeing the next Year 6 grow
into the fine people I know they will. In the end, children drag you
back to their reality.
Child: Mr Wildman?
Me: Er, yes?
Child: Would you rather be a honey bee or a solitary bee?
Me: Hmmm. Easy, a solitary bee. I don’t like crowds and I’m a bit
anti-social. I hate parties. No, I like to be on my own.
Child: Ah…but think of the protection of the hive and all those
bees on your side. You could have help fighting off your
enemies.
Me: Good point. I do have lots of enemies. Hmmm. No – on
reflection I’d rather take my chances and live a solitary
life in peace and quiet.
Pause for thought…
Child: Ah you’d still have to mate though. (check mate – literally!)
And that is why I love working with children. You never know what
delight is waiting around the corner. It is an absolute privilege to
spend working days in the company of such wonderful people, who
love to learn. Children lift you and they ground you in equal
measure. I count myself, and always have done to be fair, as a very
lucky person.
I wish you all a safe and happy summer break and good luck and
farewell to all those leaving us this year. Bon voyage.
The Wicor Man