Dear Parents
Year 9 Options evening on Thursday was very well attended and hopefully helped our young people and their parents with their decision making for GCSE courses. If you are a Year 9 parent and either you or your young person still have unanswered questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Year Team who will be able to answer your questions or point you in the right direction.
Year 8 have continued well with their exams. We welcome the “I can, I am” bus (which was very well received by Year 8 last year) next week to work with them and give them some time to reflect.
During this particularly cold snap, please remind your young people to wear a warm, waterproof coat to school to keep them warm as they move between lessons.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus on Revision
In order to support our students in achieving their potential, one of the key skills we practice in school is that of Revision. Revision in its simplest form is reviewing or revisiting previous work with the aim of embedding this knowledge.
All of our students receive advice and guidance in how to revise through the Successful Lives Program, which is delivered in tutor time. This ranges from the Year 7 students learning about study skills, to Year 11 students looking into more specific techniques, such as flash cards, retrieval practice and looking at some websites.
One of the key things we want our students to understand is that it is important to balance the type of revision that they are undertaking.
Students can think of breaking revision into three parts:
- Looking over the content
- Practicing the skills
- Checking if they have understood correctly.
The image below demonstrates this further.
When the time comes for students to start their revision, it can potentially be a stressful time. If your young person is finding the pressure of exams stressful, there is useful advice for parents on how to support their child on the NHS website Help your child beat exam stress – NHS (www.nhs.uk). There is also a lot of support available in school, through the tutor, the Pastoral Manager, Learning Manager, Subject Teacher or SEN department.
Focus on… Hardenhuish Educational Trust
Hardenhuish Educational Trust is supported by donations and enables us to add to our normal offer with additional activities and resources. This year they have already supported Book Buzz, and a Young Carers Day and would be keen to do more and any donations would be welcomed – even as little as 50p or £1 a month. With over 1500 students on roll even if 25% of families donated £1 a month we could raise £4,500 each year which could benefit the students by supporting more projects. Donations can be made directly to the HET bank account by setting up a Standing Order or with one off payments by bank transfer. Bank details can be found on the HET page of the website by downloading the Standing order and gift aid form – if you are making a donation please complete the gift aid form if you can so that we can claim the tax back as well.
Hardenhuish Educational Trust – Hardenhuish School
The Trust meets three times a year and we are always interested in welcoming new parent trustees to help with bid decision making and fundraising.
Guidelines: School Medical Room
General Information
If your child has been diagnosed with a new health condition or their existing medical situation has changed (including medication changes), it is essential to notify the school as soon as possible. This ensures that the school has current and accurate medical information for each pupil.
Non-Emergency Medical Room Visits
For non-emergency situations such as headaches, stomach aches, or toothaches, pupils should visit the medical room during break and lunch times.
Emergency Medical Room Visits
If a pupil is so unwell that they cannot continue their class, they will need permission from their teacher to visit the Medical Room. The pupil’s conduct card will be signed, and they will be evaluated and treated accordingly. If the pupil needs to go home, a staff member will contact the relevant parent/carer to arrange transportation. Pupils must not contact parents/carers using their mobile phones as this violates the school’s mobile phone policy.
Medication Guidelines
Pupils are not permitted to carry required medication in their bags or self-administer medication. All medications should be taken to Reception or the Medical Room with a completed consent form which are available from Reception or the Medical Room. All medications should be in their original box or bottle, with the name of the medication and dose amount information. With the appropriate consent forms, we can store and administer any long-term, short-term, or occasional use medication. Please note that only medication supplied from home in advance and with completed consent forms can be administered.
Sanitary Wear
As part of the “End Period Poverty” campaign, all female pupils in school can now access sanitary products for free from the Medical Room and Year Offices.
Sickness Policy
Please note that if a pupil has suffered from diarrhoea or vomiting, they must not return to school until 48 hours after their last episode.
If you have any questions about any of the policies outlined here, please do not hesitate to contact the school
Attendance Certificates
Congratulations to the 521 pupils who will be receiving one of the Bronze (97-98%), Silver (98-99%) and Gold (99%-100%) attendance certificates for Term 1 and 2. Well done to you all!
Parent Mental Health Day – Saturday 27 January
Next weekend is Parent Mental Health Day, organised by the charity stem4. It is an opportunity for parents and carers to acknowledge and discuss their struggles and share in their achievements of connecting positively with each other and the whole family, and to learn ways to connect positively to maximise young people’s mental health.
They are running a free ‘Creating Positive Relationships’ webinar next Friday, details of which are on the website:
Parent Mental Health Day – 27th January – stem4
Wiltshire Public Health Vaping and Smoking Survey
Please read the letter attached regarding the Wiltshire Public Health vaping and smoking survey. If you would like to take part in the survey, please scan the QR code below.
Year 9 – Bletchley Park Trip:
On Tuesday 16 January 54 Year 9 pupils and six members of staff ventured to Milton Keynes to visit the historic Bletchley Park. Although it was cold, the sun shone on the beautiful grounds of Bletchley, where pupils had the opportunity to explore areas of interest and learn about Bletchley’s part during WW2. These included the various huts where code breakers worked tirelessly to break enemy encrypted messages, the house with it’s charming architecture and surrounding stables (now containing vehicles from the time period), a museum containing encryption devices (such as the Enigma Machine) and a chance to see one of the ‘Bombe’ machines in hut 11, an early electro-magnetic device that helped allies break some of the enemy encrypted messages. Pupils also had a presentation that looked at the importance of Bletchley Park during many key parts of WW2, including the D-Day landings that could not have been successful if not for the intelligence gathered by the brilliant minds at Bletchley.
Pupils also had a session on cyber security, looking at the various risks that exist in our digital world and what steps they can take to make sure their personal data and privacy is kept safe and secure.
It was a wonderful day and the Year 9s were brilliant, we hope the trip gave pupils a chance to reflect on the work that these code breakers did during the war, whilst looking at the early machines that helped lay the groundwork for the technology that we have today.
The ICT & Computer Science department
Bebras (OUCC) Programming Competition
In a remarkable display of enthusiasm and skill, 50 out of 53 invited students took part in the second round of the Bebras (Open University Computing Club) programming competition on the evening of Thursday, 18 January. The students, spanning from years 7 to 13, showcased their programming prowess, making the school proud with their commendable efforts.
The competition, known for its challenging nature, did not deter our dedicated students. Each participant approached the coding challenges with determination, demonstrating not only their technical skills but also their problem-solving abilities.
As the dust settles after the intense competition, the school eagerly anticipates the release of the results. The collective effort and dedication displayed by the participating students are sure to yield commendable outcomes.
It’s heartening to note that students from all year groups took part in this intellectually stimulating event. Their involvement not only underscores the cross-year commitment to academic excellence but also fosters a spirit of healthy competition and collaboration within the school community.
The school expresses their pride in the students’ accomplishments and eagerly look forward to celebrating their success in the upcoming Bebras (OUCC) programming competition results. Stay tuned for more updates as we await the outcome of this impressive showcase of talent and dedication.
From The Computer Science and ICT Department
Health and Social Care Trip
This week the Year 10 Health and Social Care students enjoyed a trip to 3 different venues. They spent time exploring mental health care through history at Glenside Mental Health Museum, handling various objects and learning about therapies that were used to support people’s physical, intellectual, social and emotional development and how views around mental health and wellbeing have changed.
They were shown around the University of the West of England’s training facilities by student Ambassadors training in Nursing, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy and were able to observe some of the students training in Health professions participating in practice scenario workshops and find out about a range of professions including Radiography.
They ended the day at Fairfield Farm Trust Nature Centre, working alongside adults with learning difficulties, the students learnt about the adjustments the Trust makes to ensure they can participate fully in a range of meaningful and engaging activities, including access to employment within animal care and hospitality.
Tai Chi
Year 11 Health and Social Care students were very lucky to have the input of a very experienced Tai Chi Practitioner, Jean Harvest this week to help them with their Creative and Therapeutic Activities coursework. They were able to learn about the origins and benefits of Tai Chi and try out some of the techniques themselves. Thank you Jean, the students really enjoyed your time with them.
Senior Maths Challenge
Last term saw the annual Senior Mathematical Challenge hosted by the United Kingdom Mathematical Trust (UKMT).
The 90 minute, 25 multiple choice question is aimed at Year 12 and 13 students and the stimulating problems are designed to make students think laterally about problems that are likely unfamiliar at first, but normally are rooted in maths they know about.
25 of our A Level students took on the challenge and we had a fantastic set of achievements from our mathematicians. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards are given to the top 50% of candidates in the ratio 1:2:3. We had 5 Golds, 7 Silvers, and 8 Bronze certificates in our cohort. Well done to all of these candidates.
Four of the gold candidates scored so highly they were invited to the follow-on round, known as the Senior Kangaroo. This is a fantastic achievement for these individuals.
The best in school candidate, Lily MacAllister in Year 13, scored one of the highest scores in the country, and went on to participate in the British Maths Olympiad. Congratulations to Lily for this outstanding achievement.
This sets the scene for the Intermediate Maths Challenge which takes place later this month for pupils in Years 9 to 11, and the Junior Maths Challenge which takes place in April later this year.
How do you think you would do in the maths challenge? You might like to try this problem from last year’s Intermediate Maths Challenge.
Wiltshire Schools Cross-country Championships 2024
Congratulations to all the Hardenhuish runners who competed in the Wiltshire Cross-country Championships on Saturday 13th January at Sheldon/Hardenhuish.
Qualification to this competition was as a result of finishing in the top 12 of the previous round which was the North Wiltshire Championships in November. This event brought together the top athletes from Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, Swindon and West Wiltshire to compete for a place in the Wiltshire County Squad.
Hardenhuish PE staff were in charge of the North Wiltshire squad, ensuring they were all race ready and understood the complex course. The Hardenhuish students had the home advantage having experience of running up the Huish hill and around the Marge Simpson trees.
It was a pleasure to witness all the Hardenhuish runners supporting each other, some with over 6 years’ experience in racing cross country and others in their 1st year.
The results were as follows:
Year 7 Boys
Reuben Griffin 35th
William Townson 50th
Oliver Stonyer 38th
The North Wiltshire Year 7 Boys team came 3rd.
Junior Girls (8/9)
Sophie Phelps 8th
The North Wiltshire Junior Girls team came 1st
Junior Boys (8/9)
Charles Whale 16th
The North Wiltshire Junior Boys team came
Inter-Boys (10/11)
Tobi Loughlin – 3rd
Daniel Phelps – 6th
Ryan Matthews – 13th
Selby Archer – 21st
William Howe – 22nd
The North Wiltshire Inter Boys team came 2nd
Senior Girls (12/13)
Amelia Chalk – 16th
Lauren Coward – 19th
Senior Boys (12/13)
Henri Cotineau 5th
The North Wiltshire Senior Boys team came 1st
As a result of finishing in the top 13, the following students will now represent Wiltshire at the South West Championships on Saturday 3rd February at RNAS Merryfield, Ilton, Somerset.
Sophie Phelps, Tobi Loughlin, Daniel Phelps, Ryan Matthews and Henri Cotineau – we wish all of these athletes the best of luck as they will be racing for a place in the National Finals.
A big thank you to the PE Faculty for giving up their Saturday to support the athletes and help run the event.
Mrs Place
South West Indoor Athletics Championships
Congratulations to Natasha M for winning the U17 Women’s 60m race and coming 3rd overall at the South West of England indoor championships in Cardiff against a very strong field of competitors. She ran a personal best of 8.17s, a fantastic to start 2024 with a bronze medal. 🥉
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