2 October – NEWSLETTER

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are well and that your child has enjoyed their first few weeks of the new academic year. A particularly warm welcome goes to our Year 7 and Year 12 students, all new joiners and their families. We are delighted to welcome you into our school community and hope you are already beginning to feel settled, supported and part of school life. 

We have made an exceptionally strong start to the year, with students and teachers bringing energy and enthusiasm to their work. As we build on this positive beginning, we remain committed to ensuring that everyone feels a sense of belonging and can enjoy both academic and social success. 

Academic success 

The climate for learning across school is extremely focused, with teachers expertly guiding students through new content and students showing strong effort and commitment. 

Academic success grows from this daily hard work, supported by good organisation and preparation. Parents and carers play a vital role in helping their children develop these positive habits at home. Providing a calm space for learning, encouraging regular homework routines and checking planners together helps students manage deadlines and arrive at school prepared. This partnership between home and school helps students make the most of their learning and achieve their potential. 

Social success 

There is a wonderfully positive energy around school as students build new friendships, catch up with familiar faces and get to know their teachers. These connections are an important part of school life, helping students feel welcome, included and confident within our community. 

Over the coming term and throughout the academic year, students will have access to an extensive range of clubs and enrichment opportunities. These offer valuable chances to explore interests, discover new talents and build friendships. We encourage everyone, especially our Year 7 students and new joiners, to get involved and try something new. 

There is also much to look forward to beyond the classroom. Excitement is building among our Year 7 students ahead of the upcoming sleepover in October, which is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen new friendships, get to know one another and create shared memories as they settle into school life. 

Our Year 8 students also have their PGL trip to look forward to on the second weekend in October. They will have opportunities to try new activities, work together and grow in confidence while spending time with friends. 

Finally, our open season events began this week, and our students have already made a wonderful contribution. It has been a pleasure to see them welcoming prospective students and their families, showing them around and sharing what they enjoy about school. Their enthusiasm and pride in our community are clear to see. A heartfelt thank you to everyone involved.  

Kind Regards,
Ms Joseph
Deputy Headteacher

The children’s commissioner’s Big Future survey is asking children and young people about their lives, their experiences and their hopes for the future. The Children’s Commissioner will be using what they tell her to build a national picture of what matters to children today and to ensure their views are heard by Government

The survey takes just a few minutes to complete and can be accessed here:

HFS Worm Society (Gardening Club) is back, and we started our new term with a fantastic harvesting session. Gardeners were eager to get stuck in and create an environment which can support all levels of the food web. Our tomato crop has been incredible. Some plants are so abundantly covered in juicy red tomatoes that they have fallen over with the weight of it all. We even spotted an aphid or two, which is a great sign that our garden is safe for insects. The most magical surprise was the huge vine in the small playground which was planted in the 1900’s is absolutely covered in juicy red grapes. We were able to collect an entire bucket full, and the gardeners were able to take some home for their families. We even had enough left over to give to teachers and support staff. We look forward to the changing seasons and the coming weeks of gardening club. As always, if you have any gardening tools or bulbs that you would like to donate to the school, they would be greatly appreciated.

– Ms. Brown

This week has started strong with our Year 9 work experience students, where they have participated in professional conduct and administrative duties.

Here is further feedback from the students:

Angel-Faith – I have learnt good communication skills whilst working at reception.

Minire – This has been a very fun role to do and there is a fair amount of responsibility working in the office.

Elfida – There is lots of organising to be done in the office/reception area.

Ivana – I really enjoyed being part of the duty system and giving messages to classrooms.

Basma – I enjoyed the interaction with so many staff and students at reception.

Isra – I would consider an office-based role in the future and found it very interesting.

We are looking forward to welcoming our new round of Year 9 work experience students next week.

Last week our new Year 12 students got on a bus to Leaside to spend the day in the September sun. They reached the activity centre around 12:00 and were split into two groups. One group got ready to hit the water on some 2-person kayaks, whilst the other group headed to the nearby field to spend a day getting to know their classmates a bit better. The two groups then swapped activities for the second half of the day.

The Year 12s had a fantastic time in the kayaks, learning to paddle up and down the river. They learned to work in tandem with their partner and soon they disappeared from view down the river. Many tried standing up in their kayaks and a few unlucky souls took a dive into the water. But luckily it was all smiles as the day ended and everyone headed home.

It was a lovely day for the Year 12s and staff alike and they all can’t wait to see what the next trip entails.

This week, Year 9 students have had a fascinating exploration of the significance of Black History Month in assembly as well as vital PSHCE sessions on how to learn from setbacks. The incredible Year 12 students Peter, Iman, Amy and Rano led a very informative and passionate assembly on Black History Month where they introduced Year 9 to phenomenal people who have shaped history including Olive Morris, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire and Jack Roosevelt Robinson.

Peter also shared the significant history of Inter Milan (now AC Milan), which enabled Year 9 to develop an understanding of the historical barriers to having an integrated world. In form time, through PSHCE sessions, Year 9 students learned about how to identify sources of support and help when facing setbacks. They learned that making mistakes is how we learn and being given constructive feedback is the most effective method of overcoming setbacks. We are very impressed by the mature discussions in Year 9’s pastoral sessions and look forward to them continuing to flourish.

– Ms. Brown

Year 10 Biology 

50 Merits
Form Tutor’s Merit
.

Year 7: Ava-Mae, Asila, Jean, Masty, Inayah, Neva, Khalila, Ellie, Zoe, and Kahlo.
Year 8: Ed-Lynne. Ami, and Razan
Year 9: Sarah and Iqlas

Year 7
7/Ada Lovelace – Alaiyah
7/Andrea Levy – Ritah and Sara
7/Isatou Ceesay – Neva
7/Kelly Holmes – Hafizah
7/Malala Yousafzai – Della and Amara-Grace
7/Margot Fonteyn – Alexandra, Zoe, Jarrah, and Tia

Year 8
8/Chimamanda Adichie – Chloe
8/Frida Kahlo – Elif
8/Helen Sharman – Sara
8/Junko Tabei – Aisha and Qamar
8/Winona LaDuke – Rosa

Year 9
9/Alicia Keys – Iman
9/Jane Goodall – Maryam
9/Margaret Atwood – Mira
9/Marie Curie – Natalia
9/El-Saadawi – Duru
9/Serena Williams – Cyreen

Year 10
10/Barbara Hepworth – Asya and Elif
10/Katherine Johnson – Karis and Retaje
10/Maya Angelou – Roxanne and Rana
10/Olga Korbut – Khadeeja and Zayna
10/Wangari Maathai – Noura, Angeles, Cuadros, and Lila

Year 11
11/Angela Carter – Alesha
11/Jacqueline Du Pre – Savanna
11/Kadambina Ganguly – Keira, Saeedah, and Matina
11/Mae Jemison – Oniba
11/Nicola Adams – Nati

Year 7 – Raaido
Year 8 – Kayla
Year 9 – Iqlas and Somaiya
Year 10 – Lily-Rose and Amelia
Year 11 – Savanna and Yasmin

The government has introduced new Enrichment Benchmarks to support schools and colleges to offer a broad range of high-quality activities.

The new funding will help participating schools put these benchmarks into practice, making sure more children can benefit from enrichment opportunities, regardless of their background or where they live.

Choices magazine is dedicated to helping you make important
decisions after turning 16. Although it has been written for Year
11s, it may also be useful for Year 12s in sixth form or college.

Please take a look over some time to look over the magazine with your child.