Dear Parents and Carers
It was lovely to welcome our Year 11 and many from other schools to our Sixth Form Open Evening on Thursday. They were impressed by the wide range of subjects on offer and the wonderful facilities, and I hope this gives them some motivation for their mocks after the October break.
If you have personal devices at home which you have used the Hardenhuish Portal link to install Office on you will receive a notice in the next week explaining a change in the monitoring of Office 365 to ensure your privacy on your own devices. Please don’t be alarmed, this is expected.
The Hardenhuish Education Trust are in the process of setting up our Annual Hardenhuish Christmas Raffle. If you or the company or business you work for would like to donate a prize to this we would be very grateful. Equally, the Trust would be interested to hear from any parents who might be interested in becoming a Trustee of the Charity. This would involve attending three Teams meetings a year to discuss bids and contribute to discussions around fundraising activities. If you are interested or are able to help us with a raffle prize, please contact events@hardenhuish.wilts.sch.uk in the first instance.
Due to a lack of take up, After School Care Club will not be continuing after the October break. We have had very little take up for the extra hours and this is therefore not sustainable to continue.
There will be no Headlines next week as we finish for the October break on Wednesday. I wish our Iceland explorers a safe and enjoyable trip and look forward to hearing all about their adventures when they return.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus on .. Successful Lives and Aspire
As part of our holistic curriculum and commitment to personal development, we have a Successful Lives programme for Years 7-11 and an Aspire programme for years 12-13. These tutor programmes are designed to guide our pupils and students to become independent life-long learners, empowered with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a changing world. The five ‘Language for Life Themes’ underpin these tutor programmes to support the character development of our pupils and students.
The Successful Lives and Aspire programmes also include two enriching Successful Lives days that take place in November and June. These are a chance for pupils to learn in an alternative way to the normal timetable and with different groups of young people. There is a range of days on offer from Enterprise Smoothie Day and STEM Day to Democracy Day, as well as career focus days with external speakers and educational visits. Look out for year group reports after the days in November and June.
Mental Health Week and Hello Yellow
Last week, students and staff came together to celebrate Mental Health Week and Hello Yellow Day, raising awareness of the importance of mental wellbeing while supporting the work of YoungMinds.
Throughout the week, students took part in a range of positive wellbeing activities planned by our Student Wellbeing Ambassadors. The It’s Cool to be Kind initiative encouraged students to send uplifting messages to other people in our community, while Kindness Bingo challenged everyone to carry out acts of kindness and contribute to a more supportive school and home community.
On Friday, the school turned yellow as students and staff wore yellow accessories to show their support for young people’s mental health. During break and lunchtime, students enjoyed a variety of themed activities, including Happy Feet, where wellbeing tips were shared across a display, and the Mellow Yellow Quest, which saw participants hunting for yellow objects and wellbeing clues to solve a mystery word.
Lunchtime activities also included Mindful Making, offering a calm and creative space for drawing and relaxation, and the Boardgame Bonanza, where students connected with others through friendly competition and teamwork.
The week was a fantastic celebration of kindness, connection and wellbeing, with the Hardenhuish community embracing opportunities to support one another while raising awareness and donations for YoungMinds. Thank you to everyone who took part and helped make the week such a success.
Health and Social Care
Year 11 Health and Social Care students had the chance to learn some British Sign Language from our very own Mrs MacKay this week; they also learnt tips on how best to communicate with people with hearing loss. They really enjoyed having a go at sign language and this has really helped them develop their understanding of specialist communication methods for their exam. Thanks so much for your time Mrs MacKay!
Netball
This week saw our Year 8 and 9 teams take part in a friendly netball fixture against KGA and Sheldon. The teams delivered an excellent performance, demonstrating great communication, and determination throughout the matches. Strong defensive pressure helped win possession at key moments, while accurate passing and movement through the court created numerous scoring opportunities.
The players worked hard from the first whistle to the last, showing resilience and a positive attitude – overall a fantastic team effort!
Results:
Year 8 v KGA 15 – 4 Win
Year 8 v Sheldon 9 – 2 Win
Year 9 v KGA 12 – 1 Win
Year 9 v Sheldon 12 – 11 Win