Dear Parents
Happy Christmas Jumper and Christmas Fayre day!
Thank you to the lovely parent who made the wreath that is in my window – it has made the front of the house look so Christmassy and been much admired!
Please find attached the report from our recent Ofsted inspection which I hope that you will read with the same pride that I have. It is a validation of all that Hardenhuish is and does and we are very proud of how positive the report is about our children and the work that we do. You will know that we have been working on the areas for improvement for some time and will continue to do so over the coming months. Your support in encouraging our young people to take full advantage of the amazing array of extra-curricular opportunities on offer and to read more for pleasure both in and out of school will be very welcome.
The Year 11 Music concert on Monday was a celebration of our GCSE musicians work and I hope will help to build their confidence for the practical element of their exam. They played a wide range of genres from Mozart to Metallica! Thank you to our music team, our peripatetic teachers and you as parents for your patience, support and encouragement of our young people.
I am looking forward to the Christmas Fayre this afternoon and hope this will raise lots of money. If you have not yet bought raffle tickets, there is still time with many wonderful prizes including a Dyson!
If you are having a pre-Christmas clear out and come across any uniform that is in a condition that it could be passed on, please send it in to reception as our pre-loved items are flying off the shelves – a positive for our purses and the environment. We are hoping to add a boot exchange to our offer in the new year so any (clean!) football or rugby boots that no longer fit would be gratefully received either in the PE department or to Reception to get this new money and planet saving initiative off the ground through either a boot sale or exchange depending on the number of donations.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus on…..Language for Life
As part of our Successful Lives tutor time curriculum, we have developed five ‘Language for Life Themes’ below that we believe all young people should be or have mastered by the time they come to the end of their Hardenhuish journey:
Resilient learners will try and have a go. Not be phased by failure, willing to take risks, fail and learn from their mistakes rather than giving up.
Independence is thinking or acting for oneself and not being influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion or conduct.
Metacognition is the ability to use prior knowledge to plan a strategy for approaching a learning task, take necessary steps to problem solve, reflect on and evaluate results.
Successful learners are motivated to learn, driven by their interests, and determined to succeed.
Mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how we make sense of the world and self. It influences how we think, feel, and behave in any given situation.
This is part of our mission for all of our pupils and students to become independent life-long learners, empowered with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a changing world.
Uniform purchased on Arbor
Please could any uniform purchased on Arbor be collected from reception before the end of term. Items purchased on Arbor are usually ready for collection by the following morning break unless they have been purchased on Wednesdays in which case they will be ready the following Monday.
Pupils can pop to reception during breaks or after school or if parents could please collect after 2.30 when possible.
Thank you – The Finance Department
Health and Social Care Practical Assessments
This week in Health and Social Care, students have undertaken practical assessments which is part of their non-examined assessments. In the last few weeks, they have been planning a creative activity aimed at a group of service users in a health and social care setting. This week, they had the opportunity to deliver their activity to groups of students. A wide variety of activities were offered including finger painting, cake decorating, gardening, and karaoke! This gave students a valuable opportunity to experience first-hand how to plan and lead a creative activity. We were really impressed with the high-quality, engaging activities they offered.
A small group of Year 9 and 10 pupils have been taking part in activities facilitated by staff at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust over the last few weeks, at Green Lane Woods in Trowbridge. This is an ancient Wiltshire Wildlife Trust woodland. They have been learning about the importance of coppicing to preserve the woodland and native wildlife, carrying out coppicing, helping to build natural hedges and making reindeers for an OCR manufacturing qualification.
Young Carers Festive Celebrations
On Tuesday lunchtime 18 Hardenhuish Young Carers welcomed Clare McClaren, Lindsey Clay and Jess Marshall from Carer Support Wiltshire. After a delicious lunch of pizza, mince pies, tangerines and doughnuts, pupils got into a festive mood and participated in 2 creative activities. The first was fun writing based on an unexpected Christmas adventure followed by blackout poetry. Next pupils sewed felt Christmas stocking decorations filled with candy canes. Pupils received gorgeous goodie bags from Carer Support Wiltshire with information packs, notebooks and were signposted to their support website.
Henry said he like working in our relaxed environment and having the opportunity to present his written work in the form of role-play. Amy’s favourite part was the pair activity and having “space to express yourself”
Will reported he enjoyed” the creative freedom he had as an individual.”
Whilst Cerys stated she enjoyed time with other Young Carers and sharing their experiences outside school.
There are a weekly Drop-In sessions on Tuesday lunchtimes in C9. All welcome
Don’t forget to check our Young Carers noticeboard to see forthcoming events.
We have a dedicated email address where Mrs L McCarthy the School’s Health and First Aid Officer, and Mrs Bush can be contacted. youngcarers@hardenhuish.wilts.sch.uk
Mrs Bush
Y12/13 National Archives Live
On Monday 4 December students studying A Level History came together to enjoy an ‘Archives Live’ experience on the Tudors led by leading Historian and curator of Historic Royal Palaces, Tracey Borman. Before the talk students were introduced to the National Archives and its establishment as the ‘Public Record Office’ in 1838 – this was illustrated with the actual preserved rat brandished in Parliament which was guilty of eating important British documents provoking the need for a system of organisation and preservation!
Over the course of the talk, five different documents were presented to students and we talked through the significance of them including the 1535 Valor Ecclesiasticus, 1549 letter to the Bishops imposing Edward VI’s Prayer Book, a Tudor propaganda image of Mary I and Philip of Spain, and lastly the final letter of Elizabeth I’s ‘favourite’ Robert Dudley. We were also tasked with a Paleography challenge which was extremely difficult to decipher due to the appalling handwriting of Sir Francis Walsingham – whoever accuses students of having poor handwriting need to see this source!
We were lucky enough to be the only school to ask Tracey Borman two of our many questions including ‘Do you think Mary I has a fair and accurate representation in History?’ We also asked ‘If Elizabeth had married, who do you think would have been the most suitable husband and why?’ Much to Mrs Carter’s delight Tracy Borman acknowledged that Mary I had a tough time as the first female monarch and to an extent can be credited for allowing Elizabeth’s reign to be able to succeed in the way it did. Our Year 13 students were similarly pleased to hear that Tracy Borman supported our class favourite, Eric of Sweden, who we established as least likely to cause issue after a particularly fun lesson of Elizabethan blind date.
The talk was well attended and well received by the students and provided not only a good form of revision for Year 13 but also an insight into the future knowledge for our Year 12s. It was again a fantastic opportunity to be able to be guided through such interesting documents by a very prominent and interesting Historian.
Foodbank Donations
Next week, we are collecting food donations for The Salvation Army Chippenham Foodbank. They would be grateful to receive any non-perishable items of food like pasta, rice, biscuits, or cereal, and tins like soup, beans, and sauces. Please can students take any items to the collection points by Hardenhuish Hall, Peter Thompson Hall, and in the Sixth Form Foyer next week. Thank you in advance for your kind donations.
Photography Department
For the past 13 years Photography has run A level here at Hardenhuish School and in those 13 years our equipment has been very well used. If you have any photography equipment at home that you would like to donate to the department, our students (and us!) would very much appreciate it. We are a digital course, so anything such as: backdrops, tripods, lighting, lenses, filters or anything else you think would be suitable would be fantastic.
Many thanks
Becki Portlock
Year 9 Netball: Hardenhuish 18-17 Corsham
The Year 9 Netball Team’s fixture against Corsham this week say the team playing very well in a close contest. There was some fantastic pressure from Hardenhuish to keep Corsham to shooting to the edge of the ‘D’ and fantastic interceptions and rebounds from Emme in the ‘D’ and then the quick movement of Lottie and Amelie through the middle of the court to allow Louise and Hermione lots of opportunities to shoot. Haddy and Erin worked together as joint shooting unit and really stretched the defence and to get themselves into great shooting positions. Faith and Macy linked well together and became a strong pairing in the 2nd quarter and helped to keep the passing fluent and consistent in the game. Lily and Mila worked hard to support Emme and made some vital blocks when needed and linked well with Freya and Sophia to feed the shooters. Well done on a good game Year 9s.
School Calendar – Hardenhuish School