29th September 2023
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
It has been a fantastic week here at Honywood. We began the week by welcoming C8 and C9 back from remote learning as C10 and C11 began their stint online. The atmosphere in school has been really positive and visitors have commented on the calm and purposeful climate for learning. We have approached our C6 tours slightly differently than in the past. Previously we have used C11 lead learners to support the leadership team to show families around the school. However, in light of our remote learning rota we thought it might be nice to offer C7 their first leadership opportunity. I am pleased to say they have risen to the challenge and have been fantastic ambassadors for team Honywood. Each day, the member of the leadership team taking a tour has been accompanied by a wonderful C7 learner who has supported them in showing prospective learners and their parents around the school. I had to keep reminding myself that they have only completed a few weeks. They all exuded confidence and maturity and were role models of excellence. Whilst school may be going through a few changes at the moment, the momentum and appetite to see what Honywood is about has not faded. I would like to thank families who have already visited or are scheduled to visit over the coming weeks. Next Thursday it will be Open Evening. Open Evenings never show what a school is really like - our tours do that in the most authentic way possible. However, what an Open Evening does provide is something that is more difficult to do on a tour - an opportunity to talk to our wonderful teachers about their subjects. Please don’t forget that we close early on Thursday next week and that Friday is a non-pupil day. Buses have been informed of the modified timings. The timings for the school day on Thursday are as
follows (3 x 75 minute sessions): 8:45am AM Registration 8:55 LS1 10:10 Break 10:25 LS2 11:40 Movement Time 11:45 LS3 13:00 Learners depart 17.30 Open Evening Commences 20.00 Open Evening Ends SPACE VILLAGE UPDATE
We have seen much progress with Space Village this week. Starting Monday the site was rapidly prepared to begin construction. I began Wednesday speaking to the BBC Essex who spent the morning with us. The day began with four big trucks delivering the materials of the modular buildings. By the end of the day the floorplan for the first building was in place. I would like to congratulate Olivia Wheeler and Victoria Hristova on their excellent interview with the breakfast time presenter. Olivia and Victoria are two of the many learners who entered my competition to design a logo for our Space Village. The closing date for entries is today. We will be displaying all entries at our Open Evening and will be asking attendees to vote on their favourite. I have also begun my series of Moonshot thinking assemblies this week. These assemblies have involved showing learners the inspiration for Space Village the Moonshot and striving to make the impossible possible. I began by referencing the recent conclusion