Following the retirement of Brian Houghton, Sue Gould has taken over as Headteacher of Vyners School.  Sue was previously Deputy Head at Hemel Hempstead and, prior to that, Head of Mathematics at Chorleywood’s St Clement Danes.  She is married with three grown-up children.  She said, “As soon as I walked into Vyners I knew it was just right for me.  It’s a fantastic school with a strong academic background as well as a fine extra-curricular reputation.  Under Brian’s leadership the team of pupils and staff have just managed some of their best ever exam results and we can now build on that achievement.  Together with the parents and Governors I believe we can change Vyners from being a really, really good school to being truly outstanding”.  Sue is impressed with the existing House system which splits the community into “families, each led by a House Captain from the sixth form.  There is also”, she says, “a strong pastoral care team which makes all the difference to the end result.  My firm belief is that EVERY CHILD MATTERS.  We’ve got to make sure that we do our best for each child and remember that they are all individuals.”

 

Club members can enjoy social tennis on four days a week throughout the year:  on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 12 noon, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 5pm.  Additionally there are evening sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer.

We play outdoors, next to Wayfarers Tennis Club in Swakeleys Drive, on two brand new courts.  The courts and our new clubhouse were built thanks to Hillingdon’s Chrysalis Fund.

Our membership fee is just £70 per year (that’s £1.35 per week) and there is no additional sign up fee.  Why not think about joining us?  For membership applications please phone Pam Currin on 01895 677149, or email Hans@Radar.co.uk.

 

Have you noticed this poster around the village recently?  If so, perhaps it has got you asking the same sorts of questions about Rukiga.

Earlier in the year, ICN announced the launch of an initiative, supported by both churches, to link the community of Ickenham with the community of Rukiga in Southern Uganda.  The aim, in conjunction with the charity World Vision, is to use the time, talents and expertise of Ickenham folk to help with the development goals in this deprived area near the Rwandan border.  A team was formed, led by Mike Whitlam from St Giles’, to plan the way forward.

As this edition of ICN goes to press, three members of that team are in Rukiga, learning more about the problems faced by those who live there.  Mike, Ken Tombs and Derek Hughes are seeing first-hand what is happening, so that on their return, decisions can be made on the specific projects where Ickenham’s efforts could make a real difference.  These may focus on Health, or on Education and Childcare; on Agriculture or on Water and Sanitation.

Meanwhile, Mike has emailed the following:

As we write this letter in Bukinda near the Rwandan border, we have just been given a Ugandan lunch of pork.  The visit so far has gone extremely well and we have met lots of people necessary for the development of Ickenham's link with Rukiga.  The World Vision Team organised a very full programme of visits to individual families and projects all with full briefings, so we will have much to tell people when we get back!

In order to see these projects and people we have spent many long hours travelling through banana plantations on very rough dirt tracks.  We have seen stunning scenery and abject poverty alongside each other.  It's very clear already that World Vision's interventions to date have made a real difference to people's lives.  More in the next edition!

On our first Sunday we were privileged and very pleased to be invited to take part in a church service in Kamwezi district. We were received by Canon Christopher and had a chance before the service, over breakfast, to hear about the life and work of the church.  I think Ken Tombs was surprised but honoured to be the first white person to be asked to preach in their church.  The service was joyous and the music was uplifting.  I know that Ken will have much more to tell everyone about the service when we get back.

This afternoon we leave to go and see Kisiizi Hospital where Adrian and Jane Shutts are based.  These are the people being supported by the St. Giles’ congregation through the Christian Missionary Society.  On Friday we hope to call in at the Children's Project in Kampala which is being supported by the URC.

We have hundreds of miles to travel on dusty roads before then. The team look forward to telling everyone in Ickenham about the visit and what we hope to achieve with World Vision in the coming years.

Yours

Mike Whitlam