Headlines By James Saunders 24th September 2021
Open Evening update
Enrichment and building social and cultural capital It has been a great week for Enrichment. Yesterday a group of C11 learners hosted an afternoon tea to say thank you to the volunteers who gave up their time to support our on site lateral flow testing. Their hosting made our visitors feel very welcome, as did the cake. A special mention to Lienke and Layla who provided a lovely backdrop of entertainment in the form of a singing recital. Today we have engaged the whole school in experiences that have been a long time coming. Donned in their PE kits, our newest cohort of C7s have been to Danbury for an activity and team building day. The weather was perfect for a school trip and it was great to finally see learners filling the bus. The learners were all accompanied by their Learning Group Leaders who supported them in overcoming a series of challenges which included zip wire, mountain biking, obstacle course and orienteering. Experiences such as this really help us to focus on getting to know learners as individuals through building positive relationships. The experiences they had this week will stay with them as their relationships with their peers develop over the year and have certainly helped to strengthen their sense of belonging to our community. Next week, C8 gets to do the same after missing out on this experience last year.
That brings me neatly on to today: Sports’ Day. We approached this Sports’ Day with great anticipation. Even in the summer the weather can be unpredictable. Thankfully today was great. Sports’ Day takes a lot of organising behind the scenes as well as on the day. People often ask me if being a Headteacher is tough - they have asked it a lot over the last eighteen months. I can honestly say that when you experience the things I have mentioned, when you get to see how talented our young people are, and when you get to share in their challenges, talents, failures and successes, it is the best job in the world. I hope that our learners have enjoyed competing for their Houses today in relays; netball; rounders; football; and pétanque.
Open evening is fast approaching and is only a couple of weeks away. We are however aware of the changing landscape. The Covid situation in school is already becoming quite difficult. We are monitoring things closely and will make a decision next week as to whether we need to make any further changes to the evening. Thanks To: Izzy Corbett, Layla Al-Riyami, Marcia Swain, Lienke Viljoen and Megan Walby for supporting the afternoon tea to say thank you to the community volunteers who helped us with lateral flow testing.
C7 at Danbury Outdoors
Sports’ Day winners are Attenborough!
Sports’ Day Fantastic day today as C8, C9 C10 and C11 competed in the postponed Sports’ Day. Learners competed in their Houses in Football, Rounders, Netball, Pétanque and relays.
Reminder to families: Please could you ensure that your child has everything they need for their day in school (ipads, lunch, water bottles etc). Visitors to the school site and reception are still restricted. We have seen an increase in the number of parents dropping off forgotten items. Thank you for your support in keeping our community safe.
Dates for the diary Wednesday 29th September C11 Careers Fayre Friday 1st October
C8 Danbury outdoors
Thursday 7th October
Information Evening 5:30pm Early closure of school at 1:00pm
Friday 8th October
Non Learner Day—staff only in school
Monday 11th October
C11 mocks commence
Monday 8th November
C10 Mock exams
Friday 12th November
Flu vaccinations
Monday 15th November
Flu vaccinations
Friday 19th November
Mop up school photo shoot
Monday 29th November
GCSE Music event online
Next week is a Week “A” If you haven't completed the short survey already, Honywood would like to hear about your experiences of home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's completely anonymous and you can access the form here.
Remember to bring a coat to school!
Could families please remember to top up their balance on our cashless catering system. Thankyou.
Thankyou to our Cohort 8 Duty
With COVID precautions, doors and windows will be open and the building much colder!
We are inviting nominations for the September Jack Petchey Award. Please email Mrs Frogley on cfrogley@honywoodschool.com
Receptionists
Harry Dilloway Jay-Conner Gormley-Morriss Cameron Griffin
Don’t forget, early finish on the 7th October and a non learner day on Friday 8th October. Follow us on...