Headlines By James Saunders 26th February 2021
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A softer approach to the ‘Big Bang’ Back when Boris made his ‘Big Bang’ announcement I had already decided that this would not be a workable option for us. I think it jarred with me because it felt too rushed; too forced. It felt mechanical and in no way a natural opening. Nowhere in nature do we really find such sudden binary jarrings - if we do they tend to be quite uncomfortable. Things tend to unfold slowly to take their time to reveal themselves. Or do they? Take the chameleon - not known as a fast mover; it will slowly position itself and wait for the optimum time to strike - to unleash everything in one big bang. Full opening will be a bit like this. Whilst it may still feel full on, it is about ensuring all the settings and conditions are right and that everything is in place. We will stagger the first week so that we can get things right. So that we can ensure that we have transitioned ourselves safely back and prepared for a reset to the operational changes and challenges that are still required of us. On Tuesday 16th we will reach that big bang - everyone will be back in. However, it won’t feel so abrupt because, like the chameleon, we have slowly and carefully moved everything into place over the previous week to strike with precision and effectiveness. I hope you have had a chance to read the letter I sent yesterday outlining the details regarding the phased return from 8th March. We have been here before - back in September. We handled it very well. Whilst our senses and anxieties may have been stirred up further by the media, creating a feeling of high stakes, it is worth remembering that we are in the same position as we were back then and we got through it well. These last three weeks of term will be a transition to Easter and hopefully a slow easing of measures back towards normality. Some things are further on than in September. We have Lateral Flow Tests; masks at all times; ventilation and improving weather; social distancing, and vaccines coming on board.
We are again more informed than we were previously and we did a great job. I will leave you with the words of Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Have a nice weekend James Saunders Operational update School Transport: We have been communicating with the transport providers and have informed them of our opening schedule so they will begin running on Tuesday 9th March following the same timetable as last term.
School day: This will revert back to the same as it was last term. Same start and finish times. Risk Measures: The measures in place at the end of the term will continue. The key change is that of masks - building on top of last term’s guidance we request that all staff and learners wear them at all times now, including in class, where social distancing is impossible. Consent form: Thank you to those who have already completed the consent form. The consent form was provided by NHS and as such we were directed not to change the wording. However the advice in point 11 has changed and any contacts of a positive case would follow the same guidelines in place before Christmas self isolation. Please note we shall be communications next week.
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Copies of the letters sent out can be found on our website:
Letter re Return to school: http://bit.ly/LetterReturn Lateral Flow Test letter: http://bit.ly/LateralFlow Contd...
Headlines contd... What’s happening with GCSEs? You may have heard the recent announcement yesterday from the DfE regarding what is happening with exams. Underneath the headlines there are however a lot of details still to be presented. I have no doubt that many of you will wish to contact us to ease any concerns about this process. I ask you to be patient as unfortunately there are still some unknowns and we are still waiting for exam boards to clarify the nature and details regarding assessments. I have had a few questions about whether we should be doing mocks or not for parent. The answer is yes, we will have to do some assessments. Every school I have spoken to will be doing this too. We will however change the timing of them as they were due to start on 8th March. After meeting with a national group of heads yesterday to look at timelines we only have a small window to conduct these assessments and then complete the necessary processes required before submitting marks. Therefore, for the time being, subject to any further announcements or changes, we will be reviewing the last week of term and the start of the new term as possible points to place assessment windows for C11. These assessments will likely be similar to what we had planned for mocks and will be derived from what learners have covered in their courses to date. We will review the published guidance and requirements at the end of the term and will use the start of next term to complete and finalise all other formal assessments. More details will follow once we have had further time to plan. Plagiarism One of the drawbacks of working remotely is that we are not able to monitor the originality of a learners work. There have been a few instances where work submitted has just been copied and pasted from the internet. Please, please stress to your children the importance of not doing this as it is classed as plagiarism and can potentially lead to being withdrawn from the exam board. This is an important message for all cohorts but in the light of where we are with C11 it is vital that they are able to demonstrate their learning at every opportunity.
Illness / absence from either virtual or physical school should be reported in the usual way via email to
attendance@honywoodschool.com
C8 families:
Information regarding the GCSE Guided Choices for C8 learners will be sent to families next week. As we are unable to hold our Guided Choices evening, subject teams have created videos to present the information to families to aid the decision making process. Links to a Google site will be shared with families via email.
When learners return, w/c 8th March, they will need two masks and a plastic bag in which to keep the spare mask. Masks to be worn at all times.
The deadline for GCSE choices is the 22nd March at 9am.
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Week commencing 22nd February 2021
English
Maths
Geography
C7—Max Holland C7—Max Ewers C8—Natalia Monk C8—Hannah Doggart
C7—Pru Duffy C7—Morgan Dearsley C8—Shayne Stedman C8—Dominic Scherer
C7—Zac Shuffield C8—Jenson Galvin C9—Sam Colebrook C10—Amelia Jenkins
C9—Amelie Cooper C9—Megan Ginn C10—Freya Edwards C10—Amelia Jenkins C11—Maxine-Emily Harvey C11—Fred Frost
C9—Harriet Mead C9—Levi Halasi C10—Holly North C10—Miranda Nicholls C11—Amber Pryor C11—Christina Vince
C11—Grace Morris
Science C7—Morgan Dearsley C7—Harry Gosling C8—Rose Young C8—Mia Ramsay C9—Kieron De-Silva C9—Mollie Russell C9—Finely Petts C10—Holly North C10—Izzy Corbett C11—Sophie Poole C11—Rachel Ball C11—Matthew Gomes
KS3 Technology C7—Zehra Torbas C8—Dan White
Food Technology C10—Tommy Mardle C10—Cook of the week Harry Freeman
Resistant Materials
C7—Jonny Penrose C8—Harriet Trustrum C9—Ben Hill C10—Ebony Blowers C11—Sam Trevains
Philosophy & Religion C7—Samantha FlowersAmaral C8—Adam Fulford C9—Maya Scott C11—Maxine-Emily Harvey
C9—Joshua Moore
Graphics C11—Lucas Bennett
Art C7—Luke Read C8—Isabelle McKeown C9—Holly James C9—Padraig Pitt C10—Freya Edwards C11—Sienna Gray
History
Textiles C9—Ruby Garnham Health and Social Care C9– Jasmine Rigby C10—Charlotte Baker
PE C7—Ethan Kindred C8—Adam Fulford C9—Cameron Ramage (Core) C9—Eloise Duffy (GCSE PE) C10—Gregory Glover (Core) C10—Charlie Long (GCSE PE) C11—Charlotte Littleton (Core) C11—Jake Fookes (GCSE PE)
Week commencing 22nd February 2021
French
Music
C7—Zehra Torbas C8—Harrison Hayes C9—Fern Mascot C10—Freya Edwards
C7—Diana Twardosz C8—Rose Collier C9—Theo Nicholls C10—Harry Alderton
C11—Ryley Brazier
C11—Emily Hasler
German C7—Soha Malek C8—Isabelle McKeown C9—Tilly Mead C10—Luca Shuffield C11—Zane Wright
Spanish C8—Aidan Holt C9—Jay Norton C10—Caitlin Grealis C11—Gina Harding
Drama C7—Karis Newman C8—Dan White C9—Clara Donnelly C10—Jake Ring C11—Corey Edwards
Enterprise Solutions C7—Kai Harding C8—Rose Collier
Computer Science C9—Finn Petts C10—Daniel Jones C11—Oliver Williams
Business Studies C9—Daisy Leaney C10—Tommy Mardle C11—Rachel Ball
Dance C7—Emily Henrici-Fernandez C 9—Alicia Clayton C10—Holly North C11—Lauren Evans
Media Studies C9—Cameron Ramage C10—Evie Mitchell C11—Luke Wells
All Learners nominated will be receiving certificates in the post shortly. In addition, every learner nominated will receive 10 House Points!
Well done to everyone who has been nominated this week!