Dear Parents
Thank you for your patience and support this morning in getting our young people safely home for Health and Safety compliance due to having no mains water. As you may be aware, this is an issue that has impacted large parts of Chippenham and we are hopeful will be resolved quickly. We will keep you updated as we know more.
It has been another busy week with trips, fixtures, visitors into school and various assessments taking place. Our young people as always continue to take all of these things in their stride and continue to amaze us with their positivity, resilience and can-do attitude.
243 Year 6s have had their Hardenhuish offers today and we look forward to welcoming them to our community over the coming months ahead of them starting with us as Year 7 in September. We will be once again full on first preference and are pleased that young people and their parents continue to choose us for their secondary education.
I would like to take the opportunity of National School Governance Awareness Day yesterday to thank our Governors for all they do to support us and our school.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus on… Young Carers
We have been working hard over the last year to support our Young Carers within the school. Our Young Carer group have been raising awareness amongst staff and fellow pupils about the impact being a young carer can have on their day-to-day life. They have made videos and shared their personal experiences about their caring responsibilities during assemblies and tutor sessions. We have introduced support options including a weekly drop-in session, an information noticeboard and a dedicated email address for Young Carers which are all run by designated staff members. We recently achieved the Bronze Award from The Carers Trust and Childrens Society and the Carer-Friendly School Award from Carer Support Wiltshire in recognition of the ongoing work we are doing to support our Young Carers.
Alongside our regular Tuesday lunchtime sessions our young carers have also attended a Christmas themed creative workshop and an art day. These involved creative activities and the Christmas themed workshop was supported by Carer Support Wiltshire. We work closely with Carer Support Wiltshire to signpost exciting events and activities for our young carers which can be accessed within school and during the school holidays. The workshops and lunchtime sessions promote support and friendship and allow students to come together with those in similar situations. This was demonstrated by “Friendship Circles”, a stunning mural created by our young carers.
In March, we will celebrate National Young Carers Day with whole school events to continue raising awareness and support our pupils within school.
Charity Week Raffle Donations
During Charity Week commencing 18th March, School Parliament will be hosting an Easter Egg raffle to raise money for our school charities Dorothy House and Teenage Cancer Trust. We would be really grateful if you could donate an Easter-themed chocolate prize for our raffle. Please can students bring any donations to Mrs Auld in A8 by 11 March.
Many thanks, School Parliament
6th Form Netball
Congratulations to all those who played in the sixth form netball match on Wednesday. Three wins in three matches! The weather was not on our side, but it was a fantastic afternoon of netball and great to see so many 6th form students playing sport. All three schools showed great skill and sportsmanship but more importantly just enjoyed playing again. We hope to arrange more fixtures later in the year.
If there are any other students who would like to get involved in future 6th form fixtures, please see Mrs Colquhoun or speak to a member of the sixth form team.
Year 10 Area Netball Tournament
Before half term the Yr10 netball teams took to the court for their Area Tournament. It was a really close contest and both teams battled through the afternoon with lots of games back-to-back. The girls managed a to secure a mix of results with more wins than losses which was really encouraging to see. The girls worked hard in each game and it was positive how the performances got better throughout the afternoon.
Well done girls on a great afternoon of netball, finishing in respectable positions of 2nd and 6th place.
Vacancies – Hardenhuish School