Dear Parents and Carers
A Midsummer Night’s Dream this week was amazing, and I would like to congratulate all of the young people involved (as well as those parents who have supported them with the late pick-ups and weekend rehearsals) for their professional, joyous and creative performance – the festival twist on Shakespeare was inspired! A massive thank you to Mr Kirkman and Ms Wilcox for working so hard with our young people to encourage and nurture their amazing talents and produce such an incredible show.
I am looking forward to the Spring Concert next Tuesday which I know will be an equal treat in terms of our talented musicians.
World Book Day was also great fun on Thursday with lots of departments dressing up and trying to encourage our young people to explore different books and read for pleasure.
Don’t forget to buy your tickets for the Quiz night – these are selling fast!
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus on … 50 Things
As an opportunity to encourage our young people to get involved in as many opportunities as possible, we have designed a “50 things to do before you leave Hardenhuish”. This is shared with pupils at the beginning of each year with the idea that they consider what they could do and then review throughout the year as part of their Tutor Time Successful Lives programme to see how many they can complete. It is a good prompt and encouragement to get involved with as much as possible as well as an opportunity to celebrate everything that they have done.
Please take the opportunity to ask your young person about the 50 things and how they are doing this year in terms of completing and getting involved in the activities shared.
A ‘Dream’ of a Show!
This year’s Drama department’s school production ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ has been simply amazing! The actors were so expressive, and the band topped it with fantastic music and vocals. Our favourite scenes include The Mechanicals – such brilliant comic timing. Lysander’s song and dance routine for Hermia was also hilarious. We have loved watching each night as part of the Front of House Stage Crew. The set and props were so colourful with their festival feel which matched the fairies’ costumes too. The bubble guns were a particular fun highlight (although from a stage crew point of view tricky to keep filled up and working!).
Thank you so much for all your hard work cast, crew and teachers (Mr Kirkman and Ms Willcox)!
By Daisy Bethune and Evie White – Stage Managers
Resource Centre News
Term 4 sees a huge number of literary events taking place and, as always, World Book Day yesterday was one of the highlights of the school year as students get to see a brilliant array of costumes across the departments. From the variety of legends showcased in English to the ‘Wicked’ leadership team and Willy Wonka himself in the Resource Centre, we hope you all enjoyed the fun atmosphere of the day around the school.
The term began with our first author visit of the year last Friday, where we welcomed Carnegie Award shadower’s choice winner Tia Fisher in to speak to Year 9 students. Tia first ran a library workshop offering some fantastic advice on how to put together the structure of a story, which led to some memorable adventures being created. She then spoke to the whole of the year group and focussed more here on the inspiration for her debut novel ‘Crossing The Line’, which has recently been our most borrowed book at Hardenhuish. Telling the story of how Erik makes a series of really bad decisions that put him, his family and friends in danger, we feel this gripping thriller is a must-read for all teenagers in today’s society and Year 9 were certainly engrossed in Tia’s explanation of what inspired her to write the novel. A huge thank you to Tia for visiting and to those Year 9s who got involved in the activities and asked lots of insightful questions. There will be more author visits for other year groups as we go into the summer term.
Our Hardenhuish Book Group this term are looking at novels with strong lead characters. These include the wonderful award-winning ‘October October’, graphic novel ‘The Sad Ghost Club’ and the exciting dystopian thriller ‘Knife of Never Letting Go’. We will have a round-up of their thoughts on these titles in a future edition of Headlines. Next week meanwhile our Year 8/9 Carnegie group get started with the 2025 shadowing process once the shortlist is announced – will our very-own Mr Palmer make the shortlist for his second novel ‘Play’?
Finally, next week also sees our annual Scholastic Book Fair return to Hardenhuish once again! This is your opportunity to buy some of the latest trending titles from the school, often at discounted prices, and every purchase helps us get more books for the library shelves. The Fair arrives on Tuesday 11th March and will be here right through to Monday 17th March, so there are lots of opportunities to come and have a browse. Bring along your £1 World Book Day token to get £1 off any book and there are a variety of payment options available – from cash to card and even pre-paid vouchers from this Scholastic website link: www.bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/gift-vouchers
We are looking forward to all these literary events continuing this term and hope you enjoy getting involved as much as possible.
Year 12 and 13 Buddhism Trip
Year 12 and 13 students recently visited the Amitabha Kadampa Meditation Centre in Bristol, where they had the unique opportunity to deepen their understanding of Buddhism. They took part in a peaceful meditation session and engaged in a Q&A with Lamchen, a Buddhist nun, and a lay practitioner. Through these insightful discussions, students explored key Buddhist beliefs and teachings, making meaningful connections between their studies and real-world practice. The trip was a highly positive experience, with students finding it both enriching and thought-provoking.
“I really enjoyed visiting the meditation centre, it was great to learn more about life as a Buddhist nun and try out meditation again which helps us to apply it to aspects of the course!”
“I really enjoyed the meditation and how it helped clear my mind”
“I really enjoyed learning about how traditional Buddhism intersects with everyday modern life. I loved the meditation we did, I was so comfortable and relaxed.”
World Book Day
In celebration of World Book Day yesterday, we saw many departments portray wonderful characters from books well loved by the pupils of our school. The Maths department went down the rabbit hole in their portrayal of Alice in Wonderland; if anyone managed to spot the Wallys of the science department then well done; the catering staff made a barking performance of 101 Dalmatians; SLT wandered down the yellow brick road as the beloved characters from the Wizard of Oz; and a particular standout was the haughty and brooding Mr Darcy that was interpreted by our Deputy Head. Obviously, the legends of the English department reincarnated myths and legends with a particular focus on powerful women. We hope the day has inspired you all to take some time out and get lost in a book.
Girls Football Festival
This week, Hardenhuish hosted an action-packed Girls’ Football Festival, giving our Year 7-9 girls the chance to play against local schools – and for many, it was their first-ever match! The energy was high, and the girls brought their A-game, showcasing fantastic determination and team spirit. They fought hard in every match, achieving good results and making impressive progress along the way. We couldn’t be prouder of their efforts and can’t wait for the next set of matches in the coming weeks! The future is looking bright for these talented footballers!
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