Half-termly news from Highgate Wood School Autumn 2: 2018
MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER Welcome to our December issue of Insight. Much has happened since I last wrote to you in October as you will see when you read through this edition. What you will see is that the achievements of our students, supported by my excellent staff continue to create magical moments and positive experiences that really sum up what Highgate Wood School is all about. Some of you may be aware that I have been absent from school during the period leading up to the end of term. Apologies for my absence, but it is for a good reason! I have been celebrating the arrival of my new youngest daughter who was born on the 6th December. I am thrilled to be a father again and the excitement that I feel for nurturing another young life is a very positive feeling to have and reminds me again of the significant responsibility that we have as a school to nurture the futures of our 1400 children at HWS – something that I am proud to know our staff do every single day! It’s a long way away, but I would be proud for my new daughter (or any of my children) to come to HWS!
We are keen as ever to have as many of our Year 11 students remaining here as possible. However, this is not a given, since the expectations are high and only those students who achieve the grade criteria for entry to the sixth form and those of specific subjects will be allowed to enrol in the summer. For those who don’t quite achieve this or for whom an alternative pathway of study is more desirable, we will ensure as always that we give top class careers guidance and advice so that those students get onto the right courses with the right providers. For those who can, we believe that staying at HWS represents a very good and positive decision based upon...
Our belief in the 7 year commitment that the school has to all of its students that tracks their education, growth and progress from year 7 to year 13 – we see Post 16 as a natural continuation of the learning that takes place in Key Stage 4 for those students who achieve the demanding grades required to enter the sixth form.
The benefits or remaining at a school that students know, but more importantly a school that knows them; where their teachers know their strengths and how to build upon them; where their teachers are aware of their areas for development and will not allow these to be overlooked or left unchallenged – our standards and expectations of our Sixth Form students are high
Remaining at a school where they have made good progress, knowing that progress in the Sixth Form is further accelerated according to all national benchmarks and measures
The knowledge that teaching in the Sixth Form is of a high quality
The wide (and growing) range of opportunities available to our students at Post 16 to experience leadership roles and responsibilities and to ‘give something back’ to the school community that has helped develop them
Post 16 Open Evening – the natural route from Year 11 into the 6th Form We held our Post 16 Open Evening earlier this term for all current year 11 students (and some year 10s) and their parents to come and view the school and find out why our students do so well and make progress in line with the top 25% of post 16 providers nationally. I was again thrilled with the number of people that attended the event – particularly the mix between students who currently attend HWS and students from across Haringey (and beyond). On the evening we had well over seven hundred students attending, around three hundred of which were external students. This is a testament to our positive reputation locally. I am proud that more and more we are being considered by our community as the local school of choice. 2
A belief that our Year 11s are very much a part of HWS and HWS a part of them... a partnership and relationship that is beneficial to all during A’ level study at Post 16 Autumn 2
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• Knowing that at HWS, our students benefit from teachers who really do care about them and will go the extra mile to support them throughout their studies and beyond onto a wide range of high quality courses at the best universities One of the most important things to emerge out of the evening is the clarity that our Year 11s now have about the expectations of them in terms of securing a place in the Sixth Form. For every student that wishes to secure their place they must... 1. Work really hard between now and the summer exams to secure the very challenging grades necessary to gain access to our Post 16 courses – for many students there is now a realisation of just what it will take to secure their place 2. Understand that not everyone will automatically be offered a place. The days of Highgate Wood Sixth Form being a ‘reserve option’ are long gone – a significant number of students missed out last year on courses that they wanted to enrol onto here because of this 3. Be committed to doing their absolute best in the Sixth Form which includes taking full responsibility for their learning, making learning their first priority and ensuring excellent attendance and punctuality to all lessons/study sessions 4. Ensure that they continue to make a positive contribution to HWS as a positive reference from their tutor or their head of house is also a prerequisite for entry
We will have, early in the New Year, a whole series of activities for year 11 students which are designed to give them all a taste of what to expect in the sixth form and to aid the choices that they will have to make. I look forward to yet again being involved in the interview process and look forward to seeing our very successful Year 11s here in August 2019 at enrolment. Highgate Wood remains oversubscribed for September 2019 The local authority have recently released figures showing the number of preferences expressed by parents of children in year 6 for secondary schools for the coming September. I am very pleased to report that we have again attracted a high number of parents who wish to send there children to HWS. The overall number of preferences are over 1100 for the second year running. Only Fortismere, and Alexandra Park schools have also achieved this overall level of popularity in Haringey. HWS Pupil Admission Numbers 2019:
243
Total Preferences for September 2019:
1104
This means that yet again, we will be oversubscribed in year 7. I continue to be humbled and enthused by the support that we continue to receive locally from our parents/carers and our community. In addition, you will probably be aware that in our current year 7 we have 270 students rather than the usual 243, because Haringey Local Authority asked the school to take an additional 27 students in 2018 to help with the high local demand.
WINTER CONCERT The front cover features some of the performers from our fabulous Winter Concerts in the last week of term. More photographs will shortly be available online. The concerts were a perfect ending to what has been a very busy but also very successful term for students at Highgate Wood School. Congratulations to everyone who took part and enormous thanks to those who helped make it happen, especially Mr Ekstrom, Head of Music, Mr Birch, AV Technician and the PSA for their support for the event. Autumn 2
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This year’s figures are confirmation of a high level of popularity for HWS over a number of years as is shown in the table below.
PAN 2019
243
It is pleasing to know that this (along with other indicators referred to earlier in this message) demonstrates that we are achieving our aim of being the school of local choice. Year
Total Preferences
Year
Total Preferences
2010
995
2015
983
2011
968
2016
962
2012
879
2017
1070
2013
1009
2018
1117
2014
1001
2019
1104
... And Finally At the end of another successful and busy year, I thank you all for your continued support. For those of you who celebrate Christmas, have a good Christmas! For those of you who don’t, please enjoy the break. I wish you all good health for the holiday period and the very best for the New Year ahead. Regards Patrick Cozier Headteacher
A REMINDER If a family member needs to get in touch with a student in school please phone the switch board on 02083427970 or email admin@hws.haringey.sch.uk We will then be able to make arrangements for your child to contact you.
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Mr Mansfield writes: I would like to extend my thanks to students, parents and staff for such a positive first term. It has been a pleasure to see students behaving so well and looking so smart around the school. If you need a reminder about the uniform code please download the guide from bit.ly/hwsuniform. In the last issue of Insight I was able to announce the awarding of 100,000 merits, This has continued this half term and the running total for the year now stands at over 210,000. I am particularly pleased by the way some of this is made up through a growing numbers of students achieving the Headteacher’s Fortnight Award for perfect attendance and behaviour in each two week period. Hundreds now receive this every fortnight. We will continue to make Highgate Wood School better and better and in this issue of Insight you will read about the focus on being ready to learn in every lesson. This means every student always having the correct equipment and always being punctual to lessons. I have absolutely no doubt that students will respond to this well and it will help them become very best learners they can be.
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and I am very pleased that by all accounts it has been a success, partly because of the fantastic This will be my last contribution students who make up our youngest cohort, but also to Insight as Chair of Governors at because of some of the new initiatives that we have Highgate Wood School. After seen impact on the whole school this year. These nearly three years as Chair I have include the focus on behaviour and uniform, which decided to stand down and look has resulted in far fewer distractions around issues forward to my successor of dress and conduct, and the introduction of supporting the good work of the Dedicated Reading Time which, together with its Governing body and the wider school community. obvious benefit for developing literacy, has also In my time as Chair I have seen Highgate Wood provided an oasis of calm and focus within the busy School successfully navigate an increasingly school day. challenging environment for education; both in I am looking forward to seeing the results of the new terms of school funding and teacher recruitment. Year 11 and post 16 cohorts. There is every Whilst losing some valued members of staff to indication that these will exceed the school’s now promotions elsewhere (including exciting established excellent examination outcomes. During opportunities overseas), HWS has made some my time as Chair we have seen the move from the outstanding appointments that are helping take the old accountability measures to the new Progress and school from strength to strength. The financial Achievement 8 and our results have clearly situation, though still giving cause for some demonstrated how well our students grow and sleepless nights, is significantly better than many progress during their time in the school. But it is not other local schools largely because of careful just in examination results that we gauge success. planning, good governance and dedicated staff who Highgate Wood School prides itself on providing a work miracles within a very constrained budget. If I much wider range of experiences for its students, had a wish for 2019 it would be a fair funding and some of these are included in this issue of formula that supports the work of maintained Insight – including the History and Philosophy Sixth schools nationally. Form trip to Auschwitz, the campaigns of the Global We are the community school of choice for a very Feminists group, the Year 7 Disco and the Winter large number of families, with the figures for 2019 Concert to name but a few. showing again that we are heavily oversubscribed. Although I am standing down as Chair I hope to There is also pleasing news for the sixth form, continue serving the governing body as a co-opted where last month’s Open Evening attracted record governor. Both my children attended HWS and both numbers of students from other schools, as well as remained for their 6th Form education. I feel our own Year 11s. With a number of exciting new indebted to HWS for the opportunities and courses planned for next year we are confident for experiences afforded to them. I have a huge amount the future. More immediately there have been of appreciation and respect for all the brilliant staff, some fantastic achievements at Post 16 this term, the senior leadership team and the Head teacher at with students being applauded for their work for HWS and it has been an honour to carry out the role the Longford Trust, their success at the English of Chair. Speaking Union's Mace debating competition and Finally I would like to wish the whole school their contributions to the wider life of the school community peace and happiness for the festive community. season and a productive, successful and fulfilling As many of you will be aware the lower school 2019. agreed to take a Year 7 “bulge class” at the request of the Local Authority, increasing our roll from nine Chris Tully to ten forms. These decisions are never taken lightly
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF GOVERNORS
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CONTRIBUTION AND CONSIDERATION
COMMUNITY TEA PARTY
Ms Burniston writes: Many thanks to the staff, students and families who contributed to our Foodbank collection for the Trussell Trust foodbank in Muswell Hill. We filled 17 large crates with useful and valued items, including toiletries, washing powder, tins of food, chocolate, herbs and spices and cooking oil. The exercise really brought the idea of consideration and contribution to life and will have made a significant difference to the Christmases of many local families.
Mr Ashman writes: This is the time for sharing and we are delighted that a dozen of our neighbours came into school in the last week of term for tea, cake and conversation with our sixth formers. They also listened to some of our talented musicians, including Noah Stoneman and Sasha Key. Our visitors said they had a thoroughly enjoyable time, and we had a great time welcoming them.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it
From caring comes courage
Success comes from perseverance
66,109
70,089
75,336
merits
merits
merits
so far this year
so far this year
so far this year
Top Merit Earners Mae Greene (Yr 11) Rosie Hegarty Morrish (Yr 10) Fizzy Linke Amorin Correia (Yr 9) Rose Thomas (Yr 8) Megan Elliott (Yr 7)
Top Merit Earners Hoti Blendi (Yr 11) Zoe Street (Yr 10) Eunice Tshimuna (Yr 9) Kathryn Holland (Yr 8) Izzy Peel (Yr 7)
Top Merit Earners James Vasilev Krumov (Yr 11) Seren Wilkins (Yr 10) Pinar Yildiray (Yr 9) Laneashe Williams (Yr 8) Tiva-Martina Ray Jones (Yr 7)
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Autumn 2
2018
FOCUS ON READINESS FOR LEARNING
Mr Mansfield writes: In the last week of term we shared with all students the importance of being at all their lessons on time and always being equipped for learning. The vast majority of students do this routinely, but from time to time there will be students who do not move from lesson to lesson as swiftly as they should or find themselves in class without the equipment they need to engage properly in the learning. Making sure everyone gets this right is a focus for the coming term. We are insisting that all students are always punctual to lessons and registration, that they all have the basic equipment out at the start of each lesson and that they have started their first learning activity within two minutes of arrival. To help ensure this happens we have put in some new systems. Students are now able to purchase equipment from Ms Joseph in the Wren Reception before 8:30am, and at break or lunchtime - and they will need to if they have any equipment missing. We are changing the closing times for the school gates. The back gate (Park Road) entrance will close at 8:30am and the top gate (Montenotte Road) entrance at 8:32am. Students who arrive for Period 1 after 8:35 will be deemed late. They will not be allowed into their lessons and will be sent to the Late Room for Period 1 and serve a 25 minute detention at lunch time. We are also making “late� a much more defined concept for lessons 2, 3 and 4, where there needs to be time to travel one class to the next. If a student arrives to these periods five or more minutes after the start of the lesson they are classed as being late and will receive an automatic 20 minute detention at the end of the school day.
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Five minutes movement time is to allow for students to move from one building to another during some of our busier lesson changeover times, and students should not see the five minutes as a time to congregate, relax and chat in between lessons. All students should move quickly and directly to their next lesson, and they will incur an automatic 20 minute detention if they are not. For Registration and Period 5 students must be at their tutor room or classroom for the very start of the lesson and they will incur an automatic detention if they are not there when the second bell sounds, or if they are not moving quickly and directly toward the lesson as soon as the five minute warning bell sounds at the end of breaks and lunchtimes. If a student is late twice in a single day their late detention becomes one hour, in addition to any other sanction that maybe relevant on that day. These sanctions, and fuller details of the focus, has been discussed with students in tutorial time and we are confident that every student will be fully aware of our expectations for the New Year.
Mr Ashman writes: Thanks to the very generous support from a major corporation we are looking forward to transforming the items that are available in the e-praise shop. We are aware that the effectiveness of the e-praise shop does not currently match the brilliant efforts of our students and we are resolved to changing this. We expect to give details of this announcement very early on in the New Year, and see its impact reflected in the e-praise shop within the first week or two or the spring term.
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SAFER INTERNET DAY
Mr Ashman writes: In response to a growing number of parental requests we will be holding an Information Evening during the coming term to provide help and support to those concerned with the prevalence of inappropriate information online and how to help their students stay safe in the digital world. If you have more immediate concerns it may be helpful to contact the support site run by the NSPCC and O2 at http://bit.ly/hwsparentcontrol or the associated helpline on 0808 800 5002. There are a number of different Apps that parents and carers might wish to consider to monitor or limit their child’s access to content through their phone, but an alternative solution is to simply use the phones own Parental Control tools. For Android phones open the Play Store app, go to the Menu on the top-left corner and then go to Settings and Parental Controls. Full instructions are available at http://bit.ly/ androidhwspc. For iPhones go to Settings and tap Screen Time. Tap continue and then choose This my My [11Device] or this is My Child’s [Device] Full instructions are available at http://bit.ly/ hwspcontrol. Please remember that mobile phones are not allowed to be used in school. If they are seen or heard they will be confiscated and not returned for a full week. However, the school will support parents with issues around mobile phone use and cybersafety in general. If you have any questions please email me: tas@hws.haringey.sch.uk
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MOBILE PHONES IN SCHOOL
Mr Ashman writes: Students must always remember that we advise them not to bring mobile phones or any other expensive items into school. Student mobile phones should not be seen or used on the school site. If a mobile phone is seen/heard it will be confiscated. Ordinarily confiscated items will be returned after a full week. If a student refuses to hand over their mobile phone they risk additional sanctions (including exclusion) as well as having the device confiscated for a prolonged period of time. Whilst the use of mobile phones is not allowed in school we also expect students use of mobile phones and other communication technologies outside of school to follow our basic expectations of consideration and courtesy. Action will be taken against any student who uses technology to bully or intimidate others even though that activity is not taking place on the school site or during school time.
TASSOMAI PRIZES Mr Heath writes: A huge well done to Zac Chisholm, Max Eatherden, Milo Stapleton Brister, Alabama Cawley and Caitlin Gillespie in Year 11, and Alice Jenkins & Rosie Hegarty-Morrish in Year 10 for their excellent effort and perseverance on Tassomai. Each won one of the Tassomai prizes (2 cinema tickets for a film of their choice) for the Autumn term. Thanks to their efforts- and those of everyone completing their Daily Goals on Tassomai- Highgate Wood School has been awarded Star School status, placing us in the top 15 schools around the country. The Spring prize draw will be held on Wednesday 20th March. Autumn 2
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COMEDY NIGHT
EASY FUNDRAISING
Our first every Comedy Night in November was a huge success. With the amazing talents of Julian Deane, Rose Matafeo, Robert Auton, Gareth Jones and Greg Davies, compered by the irrepressible and brilliant Paul Tonkinson, it was a stunning evening full of laughter and happiness. It was also a major fundraiser for the school. The event raised just short of £9,000 for toilet refurbishments at Highgate Wood School. We have now had a site survey and feasibility studies for this project and hope to instruct contractors to begin phase 1 - toilets near the PE area - during the current academic year. Many thanks to everyone involved, particularly the PSA and Avalon Entertainment, as well as the comedians themselves, without whom it simply could never have happened.
If you still have any Christmas shopping left to do, or shopping any other time of the year, please don’t forget to use Easy Fundraising. It is really simple to use, and it won’t cost you a penny, but it means that the PSA will be able to collect free donations every time you shop online. The range of shops and services available with Easyfundraising is huge, and growing all the time. It includes Amazon, John Lewis, Booking.com, Gao, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Majestic. Please visit the website to register or to find out more: www.easyfundraising.org.uk/hwspsa
KATHLEEN ARCHBOLD: YOUNG MUSICIAN
CURRY AND QUIX NIGHT - 7th March 2019
Mr Nayar writes: Kathleen Archbold (10D) must be congratulated for her fantastic success in music. In September she was awarded a Humphrey Searle Bursary to support her composition lessons at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music. She also receives viola lessons at RCMJD and is principal flute of the RCMJD A date for your diary: Symphonic Wind Orchestra. There will be another Curry and Quiz Night on Kathleen’s composition Silhouette was performed Thursday 7th March 2019. These have proved to be by Haringey Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra really successful and hugely entertaining in the winter concert at Hornsey Girls School last fundraising events. Tickets will be available on line month and repeated in a concert in the Alexandra during the Spring term. Palace Theatre on Sunday 2 December. Autumn 2
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THE HOUSE CHARITIES - REBORN awareness raiser, sponsoring someone to do something, buying a cake or simply raising awareness by taking part in one of the events we have lined up.
Mr Grimmett writes Over the last few years, students in Year 8 have enhanced their management, planning and speaking skills as part of classroom led projects in PHSEE to raise money for their chosen charity which, over this time, has raised a few thousand pounds for good causes. This year however we have decided to re-establish House Charities in an effort to involve the whole school in taking action and as part of this process we invited 5 students from each Year 8 tutor group to take part in a training and decision making workshop led by representatives of the WE Charity in London. These students did us proud as not only were the representatives from the WE Charity happy with their engagement and behaviour, so were our 5 visitors from Parliament who came to observe us to see what we were up to! The students quickly discussed various issues facing people of their age group in their home area such as knife crime, poverty, homelessness, racism, bullying and gangs and quickly came to consensus on what charity they thought their Houses should support this year. Students will begin introducing their charity to each House team at the beginning of next term through assemblies, the school web site and tutorial time. As this is a whole school event we would absolutely love it if each form class in school could do their part whether it is arranging some kind of fundraiser or 10
Edison Charity: The Childhood Trust Manuela and Daisy write As the students representing Edison House, we have chosen to raise awareness of poverty in our city and will be supporting a charity called The Childhood Trust. We chose this issue because we feel that so many children in our country today are living in poverty and we think that it needs to end. Children living in London are much more likely to live in a poor household than children in other parts of England with 700,000 children, 37% of all London children, living below the poverty line. We feel this is wrong on many levels as children should be living their lives and having fun not suffering from the cold or wondering when their next warm meal will be. We want to raise awareness of this problem and will do so through competitions, advertising and raising money to help this charity continue its good work. We will also organise food bank drives to help local food banks. If there is anything you can offer to contribute to our cause we would gladly accept! Autumn 2
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Da Vinci Charity: Godwin Lawson Foundation Han writes As the students representing Da Vinci in this year’s charity project, we have decided to focus on violence; in particular, knife crime in our local area. Therefore, the charity we have decided to raise money for is the Godwin Lawson Foundation. This charity was founded in 2012 by Yvonne and Calvin Lawson to commemorate the death of their son, Godwin Lawson. Like so many other young people, Godwin was stabbed in a nearby area whilst only at the age of 17. Their aim is to reduce knife crime, especially in our local area, by encouraging young people like us, to fulfil their potential and avoid gang life to become capable members of society. Over the course of the year you can expect many fundraising events such as bake sales and charity sports matches. Please help us to stop violence among young people. WE STOP VIOLENCE.
Seacole Charity: Stop Hate UK Luka and Ava write As the students representing Seacole in deciding our house charity, we have decided to focus on challenging discrimination and hate crimes. Stop Hate UK is a charity who deliver and support projects such as youth engagement, community cohesion and stop and search consultancy. We want to support this issue because we can see that over the past year, just in Haringey, there have been more than 700 incidents of racial and religious hate crimes reported, more than 100 reports of homophobic hate crime reported and almost 50 reported incidents of Islamophobia. This is particularly worrying when we consider that Hate Crime is widely accepted to be under-reported with few people reporting what happened to them. We will help this charity by running an awareness campaign and raising money through sports competitions.
YEAR 9, YEAR 11 AND POST 16 OPEN EVENINGS Appointments for the upcoming Parents’ Consultation Evenings will again be scheduled through e-praise. Parents\carers or students themselves can log in to e-Praise, go to Community and then Parents’ Evenings and then click on the relevant link to make their appointments. Bookings open a week before the evening itself and parents\carers will receive a text message to let them know that this has happened. Please alert data@hws.haringey.sch.uk with any login problems Autumn 2
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PSA GUEST SPEAKER
YOUTH TRAVEL AMBASSADORS
HOW STUDENTS CAN PREPARE FOR AND HOW PARENTS CAN SURVIVE THROUGH EXAMS
We are looking forward to welcoming our guest speaker at the PSA meeting on 6th February 2019. Juliet Landau-Pope is an expert on time and organisational management and also a study skills coach who has written extensively about supporting teenagers in the run up to exams and other times of stress. Those who have already heard her speak have found her to be both helpful and inspirational. Her talk at the PSA meeting will be directed for parents, not students, but will provide some really useful pointers to help us support our children with revision and study. More information about Juliet and her work can be found at https://jlpcoach.com
PSA CALL OUT
To keep informed about PSA events or volunteer for events, join the mailing list through the PSA page on the school website. Every parent and carer at Highgate Wood School is automatically a member of the PSA. We are looking for members to join the committee as there are committee members whose children have now left the school. If you think you might be interested do please contact us. We would be very happy to discuss what could be involved. Email us at: hwoodpsa@gmail.com 12
Ms Nafi writes: Our Year 7 Youth Travel Ambassadors (YTA) have teamed up with Transport for London to launch a project in our school to raise awareness about antisocial behaviour and personal safety on public transport. In the new year we will be visiting each Year 7 form class to inform students about the importance of being respectful and considerate on public transport. Here are a few things you can do to be considerate passenger on the buses: You could say hello to the driver on the way on or thank them on the way off You can be respectful by giving up your seat for someone more in need than you e.g elderly people, pregnant women, people less able to stand. Try to make the overall experience of a bus ride better for everyone by not being too loud. Students involved are: Kye 7E, Lucas 7W, Arthur 7D, Daniel K 7E, Ira 7W, Tilly 7E, Sylvie 7A, Esma 7A, Tahlia P 7A, Leila 8W, James 8W and Megan 7E.
STUDENT NEWSPAPER AWARD Mr Ashman writes: Congratulations to Alice Jenkins (10T) who successfully bid for a £250 award to help start a student magazine for Highgate Wood School. Alice hopes to get the publication underway in the coming term. We can’t wait to see the first issue. Autumn 2
2018
RIOT ACT—ROAD SAFETY
PC BUILDING CLUB
Mr Grimmett writes: Year 7 took part in a Road Safety event called The Riot Act as part of the PHSEE curriculum. The message was delivered by a group acting out the story of a boy who was injured on the road. Did you know that pedestrians under 16 years of age account for 1 in 5 injuries on London’s roads? The key messages included the all important ‘Stop, Look and Listen’ but there were also other handy reminders and tips; avoiding wearing headphones, not relying on others to have looked for traffic before crossing and not playing in the road. Year 7s thought the play “was very informative and entertaining which meant the message stuck” they also quite enjoyed the jokes and thought “the show was a fair mix of being serious and funny and had a strong message.” “It made us more aware of what happens if you’re not careful on the roads.”
Mr Odei writes: Students in year 7 have been learning how to build computers. They will gain adequate skills after the sessions to understand the internal components of a computer system. Some will be able to move on to build their own computers with extra support. All sessions are very hands-on and practical, where they get to work with actual parts both old and new working components of the computer system. Students are learning: to name and identify the parts of a computer motherboard to identify and know all the parts needed to build a computer to identify and learn the required skills needed to install Random Access Memory chips (RAM), a central processing Unit (CPU) and a heatsink to identify and learn the required skills needed to install a motherboard in a new Mini ATX Tower case and a power supply unit and relevant connectors. to identify and learn the required skills needed to connect power to the motherboard, Hard disk drive, CD/DVD ROM and the power switch connectors. practical skills of how to select compatible parts to buy so they can assemble their own computer.
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WORLD AIDS DAY
Mx Lacroix writes: Well done to all the students who were involved in raising money, and raising awareness, for World Aids Day on 1st December. Through your efforts we managed to raise ÂŁ204.33. This money has now been sent to the National Aids Trust who will be using it to continue to champion the rights of people living with HIV, and to end new cases of HIV transmission. Ella (Year 7) writes: It was a great experience and we had fun. We did well for a good cause and we learnt some good life skills even if we were nervous. Leelou (Year 7) writes: I was fundraising for World Aids day, 2018. I am proud to have helped this cause, and others who donated and helped. I think it is important to have helped this charity, and say the message that it is important to raise the awareness of it and let people know that more and more people are getting diagnosed and we should appreciate and help people who have HIV. I am happy I helped this charity! Charlotte (Year 8) writes: Being privileged to help and support World Aids Day, was very fun . Plus the very nice people I fund with, were easy to work with and you could tell that they also enjoyed helping out with the charity. Everyone in HWS was so much happy to contribute
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DIGIGIRLZ
Ms Brown writes: I took a small group of year 8 girls to the Microsoft offices in Reading for the annual DigiGirlz event. The girls got to hear from many inspirational women who work in technology at Microsoft. It informed the girls of various possibilities in the tech industry and allowed them to get hands on and involved in a challenge which used micro:bits. Read Rose’s account of the trip: "At DigiGirlz, we programmed micro:bits for the purpose of making an everyday object or action more accessible for those who have a disability. This was what I liked so much about it; we had the chance to use our skills to make some kind of difference. Being at Microsoft in itself was an amazing experience; seeing people working hard and even the commute to Microsoft made me excited to work when I'm older." Furthermore, I am delighted to announce that Laneashe, Freja, Amelia and Rose won the CEO pick for the micro:bit challenge. I am very proud of the girls conduct during the trip, they represented HWS incredibly well!
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CHRISTMAS COVERS
DEDICATED READING TIME
Ms Christodoulou writes: Students were invited to enter a very special competition to inspire them to get their creative hats on. Organised by World Book Day they were asked to celebrate the festive season by drawing a book cover and writing a short blurb for a story that would be perfect for Christmas. Their book cover and blurb had to be connected to the theme of Christmas, but could be interpreted in all sorts of ways; it could have been anything from a tale about characters putting up decorations, to reindeers going on a Christmassy mission or even a story about meeting Santa Claus! Congratulations to all the students who submitted entries. All of their work was very impressive but we are particularly proud of Hattie Munday’s entry. Her fantastic cover for Santa’s Time Machine was applauded by the judges of the competition and won first prize in their 9-12 category.
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2018
Ms Christodoulou writes: Our Dedicated Reading initiative goes from strength to strength and has now become established practice in school. Staff and students are working hard to ensure the curriculum time it has been allocated is used effectively. We have seen an increase in the numbers of students who are taking books out of the LRC and virtually all students are appropriately equipped for the daily sessions. In addition to this there is a real buzz about reading and we are encountering more and more young people engrossed in books in and around school at all times of the day! Sixth Form Reading Partners have now been trained to support students in years 7, 8 and 9 with reading. This is a relatively new development, but one that has been pursued enthusiastically by the Sixth Formers and embraced by the younger students who they are working with. We are indebted to the Tottenham Grammar Schools Foundation for their generous donation of £1,200 to support the development of reading for pleasure. These funds, along with Pupil Premium Funding, was used to enable over 350 students to select a book of their choice to keep, at our recent Book Fair. This was in addition to any book purchases that students and their parents/carers chose to make. We are busy planning a range of events for next term too. These include visits by all our Year 7s to Hornsey Library, and an opportunity for them all to become a member of Haringey Libraries giving them access to over a million books! Finally, we are undertaking a range of surveys to gather more information from members of our community on views, experiences and attitudes towards our initiative and reading more generally. We’ll share our findings next half term.
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SIXTH FORM NEWS Ms Pinnick writes: Year 13 University Applications This term, our Year 13 students (and their tutors) have been completing their UCAS applications. Students have applied for a range of courses from animation to sports psychology to economics. Eight students have had interviews for Oxbridge, including two for medicine. A good number of students are also applying for Art Foundation courses. Now year 13 students need to focus on revision for their Mock Examinations in January. The timetable has been sent home to parents and given to students. Year 12 Our new Year 12 students have settled in quickly and become involved in school life. We have been impressed by the way they have coped with the transition from GCSE to A Level and their embracing of extra-curricular activities. The Mark Evison Foundation have had the most proposals from our students out of all the schools involved in the programme. Reading Partners and Mentoring All Post 16 students are supporting the rest of the school community once a week either mentoring Year 11 students or as Reading partners with Key Stage 3 students. I know that their involvement is highly appreciated. Attendance It is important that all students attend all timetabled sessions including tutorial and supervised study. Students with high attendance make more progress (often one or two grade difference) than students with low attendance. Parents must phone or email Ms Gordon by 8.30 in the morning if their daughter/son is absent. Year 12 are expected to arrive by 8.30 in the morning and swipe in if they do not have a lesson.
Open evening The Open Evening for the Sixth Form was a hugely successful event attended by over 700 students and their parents. It was particularly pleasing to see so many faces from other schools in Haringey and the surrounding area. Students got to meet staff and students to find out more about our Post 16 offer. Information about how to apply is on the Sixth Form section of the school website. The closing date for applications is Monday 28th January.
ID All Post 16 students are expected to wear a lanyard and visible ID badge at all times. Students arriving at school without their ID badges will be sent home to collect this. 16
Autumn 2
2018
THE LONGFORD TRUST
DEMENTIA FRIENDS
Ms Pinnick writes: The Longford Trust Scholarship programme has, over the past 12 years, supported 200 young people, most of them in their 20s, to rebuild their lives through education after serving a prison sentence. 85% go to university, graduate and move forward to have careers, to settle down, and to start families. Highgate Wood School students were chosen to be the school partners for 2018. This involved producing the marketing and publicity material and working as ushers for the Annual Lecture in November. Amy Giles reflected “The Longford Trust evening was an eye-opening experience. It made me realize that prisoners are not bad people – they have simply done a bad thing. They are normal people like us who deserve a second chance. The Longford Trust are an amazing charity and more people need to know about the work they do and get involved. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get involved.”
Dr Chaudhary writes: Jill Fraser, director and co-founder of the charity, Kissing it Better, gave an inspirational talk about the difference that young people can make in society – in particular, to our aging population with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Through an interactive session, our year 12 students learnt about dementia and about what they can do to support those who suffering with the condition in the local community. Equipped with this training, our year 12 students will carry out voluntary work with dementia patients at the Whittington Hospital for the second year running. This year, our students will also extend this voluntary work into local care homes. One in fourteen of us now experience dementia, and with the continued growth in life expectancy, this statistic is expected to increase; it is therefore important to raise awareness for dementia. I am very proud that our students have made a start.
Ms Pinnick writes: I am delighted that James Lenton and the 6th Form Council have been awarded a £250 grant from the Jack Petchey Foundation to allow them to pursue some of the initiatives that have been proposed by the Council and the student body as a whole. These include helping to maintain the Sixth Form newspaper, Neck of the Woods, developing the
fundraising and business enterprise campaigns (that included the hugely successful Krispy Kreme sale for the Young Enterprise Challenge last year), getting more books and board games for the sixth form common room and providing a small hospitality fund for visiting speakers who come to address the Sixth Form.
Autumn 2
2018
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ENGLISH A LEVEL OTHELLO LECTURE
Ruby Jubb-Baddiel writes: On the 26th November, a group of A Level English students went to a series of lectures on Shakespeare's play, Othello at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church. The day proved to be extremely beneficial for our study of the play. There was a series of 45 minute lectures each from impressive English scholars with new and interesting interpretations of the play. Professor John McRae made a point that I found of particular note in the third lecture of the day. He discussed the nature of tragedy, and the distinction between comedy and tragedy. He also discussed the relation between harmony and disharmony and how in the case of a tragedy, chaos always dominates. This relates nicely to Othello as it seems as if Othello could be a comedy, until the pivotal point and moment of risk where chaos overturns harmony. Each lecture brought something new about the play, which as English students we could use to build on our own ideas or bring into essays we write. The themes and characters in the play were elaborately conveyed through the lectures and the day gave us an insight to what life at university could be like. After extensive note taking and intense listening the day was particularly draining, despite being seated for over 3 hours. However, at the end of the day I felt productive and much more secure in my understanding of the play and know what I learnt will definitely be helpful in the next few months. 18
A LEVEL HISTORY COMPETITION WINNER
Ms Kingston writes: A Level History students took part in a national competition run by the Ukrainian Society to write an essay about the Holodomor, the Ukrainian famine which occurred in Soviet Russia in 1932. Students had to research the topic on their own and then submit an essay, judged by a group of historians including a Cambridge University professor. We are pleased to announce that Aisha Taylor Duran was awarded 1st place and Rosa Georgiou 3rd place. The students both received a cash prize and the History Department received £600 which will help fund an A Level History Library to extend students’ reading and prepare them for studying History degrees. Aisha’s essay can be read at http://bit.ly/hwshistory18
A HERO OF OUR TIME
Ms Board writes: Year 12 and 13 drama students visited the Arcola Theatre to see an impressive and highly entertaining adaptation of the mid 19th century Russian novel 'A Hero of Our time'. Only three cast members took on an array of characters in this complex, dramatic, tragi-comedy and they have certainly inspired our students to be imaginative, courageous and creative in their upcoming practical exams Autumn 2
2018
PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY SIXTH FORM TRIP TO AUSCHWITZ
Ms Burniston writes: In the last week of November fifty Sixth Formers, accompanied by school staff, visited Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps as part of the Philosophy and History trip to Krakow and the legacy of the Holocaust. The trip to Poland is invariably emotionally-charged and thought-provoking. You cannot visit Auschwitz or the Holocaust museums without it having an impact. And it is also incredibly important. It is only through a visit can one really begin to grasp the reality of one of the most terrible episodes in human history.
Rosa Georgiou writes: The trip started with a hilarious 5am dash to the 41 bus stop where a bemused driver took pity on our soaked clothes and lack of coach (something about 16 vs. 60!) as we legged it to the airport— from then on I don’t think we stopped! First was a tour of the Schindler’s factory museum and a introduction to Krakow, new and old. The pieced together walls of the old synagogue introduced us to the horrors of the city, whilst exploring the new square showed us its beauty, in full festive show. Autumn 2
2018
The next morning we made our way first to Auschwitz and then to Birkenau, an unforgettable experience, made by the knowledge of our guides and which is yet to fully sink in. A personal highlight was the honour of seeing a collection of artwork by David Oleré, which showed the true power of art and provided such an emotional insight for the rest of our tour, piecing together the real human experience with the belongings and buildings left behind. We next had the absolute privilege of speaking with a survivor, a brilliant woman, who spoke to us so frankly about her experiences and left us all in awe of the possibility for human resilience. Our final night was spent with full Jewish music and memorable celebrations following the days reflections. It was a truly defining experience which I will not forget, and a trip I will definitely make again.
A gallery of photographs from the trip is available online at http://bit.ly/hwskra18 19
YEAR 7 DISCO
GCSE ART Ms Shepherd writes: We are so proud and excited to give you a sneak preview of our current cohort of GCSE Art and Design students. We think their work is as exciting, diverse, engaged and fabulous as they have been during the preparation in the past few weeks. Really well done for pulling out all the stops... and Merry Christmas! We hope you have a well deserved rest and a good start to the New Year!
The House teams write: It was a pleasure to run the disco for our Year 7 students. Not only was it a great social occasion for the year group, it was also a way of us being able to congratulate the students for such a great start to their time at Highgate Wood School. Year 7s have already contributed enormously to life at the school, in their application to study, their enthusiasm for learning and their amazing creativity which has been demonstrated in so many ways, including Biba Healy’s winning design for the school Christmas card, Louie Forward’s performance at the winter concert and Niamh and Lola’s fantastic costumes at the disco itself.
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Autumn 2
2018
GCSE ART
Autumn 2
2018
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DEBATE MATE LAUNCH TRIP
Ms Eades writes: Twenty-eight year 8 students to the launch event for this year’s Debate Mate programme last month. It involved a live debate with Debate Mate mentors and some very talented students from schools across London – maybe we’ll see a Highgate Wood student up on that stage next year! Elliotte Magahy-Scott, 8G, writes: I found it very good because it was nice seeing a real debate live, and it showed me the type of club I was joining and what we would be doing. The show really helped me understand what the debate was about and what they have been doing in the last few years. Furthermore, all the lights, balloons and colours made it really exciting and vibrant.
ESU SCHOOL’S MACE ROUND ONE
Ms Eades writes: Earlier this term two of our post-16 students, Mia Popovic and James Lenton, took part in round one of the English Speaking Union’s School’s Mace debating competition on November 28th, speaking in proposition on the motion ‘this house would weight votes such that the younger the vote, the more powerful their vote’. Although they sadly did not proceed to round two, they gave some fantastic speeches and were excellent ambassadors for HWS post-16 debating! 22
JACK PETCHEY SPEAK OUT CHALLENGE
Ms Eades writes: In three separate sessions through November a total of ninety Year 10 students took part in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge. This challenge is designed to help boost student’s public speaking skills as well as their confidence – especially useful for our modern foreign languages students as well as being valuable for the speaking and listening endorsed component of GCSE English. Those students who did take part were extremely impressive and developed their public speaking skills through the day. Eight students will now be going on to take part in the school final – these are: Humza Khan (10G), Alice Jenkins (10T), Abdirahman Warsame (10S), Orgena Kola (10I), Amara Blair (10S), Gabrielle Percival (10A), Daisy Daman Underwood (10E), and Max Haslam (10G). Congratulations to them, and to all the Year 10s who took part. Humza Khan, 10G, writes: In the programme we did speeches about a chosen subject. Mine was about people and their behaviour and emotions. In the event we practiced making speeches to see if we can make it to the next stage, which I did achieve. The biggest thing I learned was ways to put my message across effectively and efficiently.
UPCOMING DEBATE EVENTS
Debate Mate competitions – January and March Oxford School’s debating competition round 1 – February KS4 debate club – launching Wednesdays after school in January (also open to year 9 students)
Autumn 2
2018
PANTHER’S SCHOOL OF INTELLIGENCE
BAKE-OFF CHAMPION
Ms Went writes: We have another Bake-Off Champion! Nina Fraser 9E stormed to overall victory, winning an amazing three out of the six challenges with her fabulous Swiss roll, Gingerbread and shortbread biscuits. Our other winners were Toni Gallagher 9E, with her Victoria sponge cake, Dylan Mark 9S with his glutenfree scones, Lili Jones 9E with her delicious cheese straws and Fizzy Correia 9T who was joint winner of the final Technical Challenge with her shortbread biscuits. Great fun was had by all after school on Thursdays. I would like to especially thank Hope Selby and Frank Thorne from Y12 who run Bake-Off Club every Thursday, directing and organising making and overseeing the clearing up afterwards. Y9 Bake-Off Club will reconvene again after Easter so if you are interested in some competitive baking in good company, come and put your name down.
Autumn 2
2018
Ms Howell writes: As part of the school’s celebration of Black History Month the Year 7 Drama Club planned and rehearsed “Panther’s School of Intelligence” which they then performed before parents at the start of this half term. The production reflected on the lives of many black people who have changed the course of history. The students were not only celebrating their influential input, but also recognising the obstacles that black people have faced and overcome in order to make a better society. The students not only contributed to the devising of the piece, they performed it with passion and true professionalism in order to portray this important message to the audience.
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CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Talia: Whilst the plot was sometimes confusing and sometimes hard to follow, I am glad that I got the chance to watch the film and meet the director. Tamsin: The film - although complex - was fun to watch and the experience was amazing. Chimey: The rhymes in the movie were amazing and kept me hypnotized throughout the whole movie!
Ms Clyne writes: In November we took the Year 10 French classes to a special viewing of the 1990 classic French film Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Gerard Dépardieu, at the Ciné Lumière in the French Institute, South Kensington. The viewing included a fantastic question and answer session after the film with the director, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, now 86 years old!
Yelena: It was a great experience to watch one of the most important films in French pop culture as well as be able to ask the director questions about his film rendition. Daisy: I liked the trip because the film was good and the interview forced you to try to understand the French. The words in the film were hard to understand because the original script was old.
MEDIA STUDIES STUDENTS AT THE BFI
In terms of the language, Cyrano is a challenging film. It is performed in French alexandrine which is a syllabic poetic meter of 12 syllables, and it is 2 hours 20 minutes long! Our students coped incredibly well and were a true credit to HWS. They were fully involved in the question and answer session at the end with both Ms Lacroix and Beyon MartialBennett asking questions regarding the budget of the film and the difficulty in learning the Alexandrine script. Indeed, students from the French School in London praised our questions for being some of the most interesting. It was an amazing and very memorable experience. Here are what some of students said about the day: Camilo: Le film était très intéressant.
Sami: The film had a very complex, interesting storyline. It was great! Ava: Fantastique! I thought the storyline was beautiful, although somewhat confusing and would gladly visit this cinema again. Beyon: Superbe! J'adore le film dans ce cinéma. Humza: It was not like any movie I have ever seen, the first movie I had seen in another language.
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Ms Ahmet writes: On Wednesday 28th November the Year 10 Media Studies students had a wonderful opportunity to visit the British Film Institute - BFI GCSE Study Day conference, down at the Southbank. Our students were fortunate enough to take part in a study day that took them through the moving image film and video gaming industries required for their studies. It was full of productive and intelligent information and feedback regarding the media industry and a day that will hopefully aid our Media Studies students attain a fantastic grade in their GCSEs. Autumn 2
2018
FIRST STORY
ENGLISH YEAR 11 MACBETH TRIP
Mr Gowen writes: Our work with the First Story scheme led to the publication of the anthology Moral Support, which featured poems and short stories from seventeen of our students and led to one being selected to visit the former home of the playwright John Osbourne in the forests of Shropshire. Talia Bunting writes: First Story has been an amazing experience for me. Through its weekly creative writing workshops led by professional poet, rapper and performer Adam Kammerling, I was able to develop as a writer and performer. At the end of the programme I was chosen to attend a free writing residential organised by First Story and the Arvon Foundation. I stayed at The Hurst in Shropshire with students from several London schools. Every morning we had writing workshops with the writers in residence, Mike and Malika. In the afternoons we had tutorials, played games, did cooking, went on nature walks, or just chilled in our rooms. At the end of the week we performed our work to each other and then it was published in a First Story anthology entitled ‘My week long family’. Although at first I was a bit nervous, as I didn’t know anybody, by the end of the week I felt as if I’d known these people all my life. It was very hard to say goodbye. I am still in contact with a lot of them now and we chat from time to time on a group chat. I am truly grateful to First Story, the Arvon Foundation, and of course Mr Gowen, for giving me that opportunity to do nothing but writing for a week and meet such amazing people. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll be the one leading the workshops, or handing out free holidays. Autumn 2
2018
Ms Christodoulou writes: A group of Year 11 students visited the Barbican Theatre to watch a production of Macbeth in which Christopher Eccleston took the title role opposite Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth. This contemporary production of the dark tragedy of power and revenge was full of surprises, not least by the casting of children as the weird sisters. “When shall we three meet again?” squeaked the first child, a young girl in a red dress and white tights, ribbons in her hair. Two identically dressed girls answer, then run energetically off the stage, giggling shrilly. We were all gripped from the start and knew we were in for a treat. Students were absorbed throughout the play and have spoken enthusiastically about the production. The symbolism of the introduction of a red digital clock, counting down the minutes to the end of the play, from the point at which Lady Macbeth briskly snatches the daggers from her husband’s hand following Duncan’s death, was not lost on us.
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YEAR 7 POETRY
A Hurricane of Horses Ms Wildman writes: Year Seven students were asked to write a poem to demonstrate the techniques they had learned. The two poems judged the best were selected from each English class. These poems were then put forward into the school poetry competition. Well done to all the nominees; Dylan Cervi, Lawrie Elston, Zelal Sigincli, Daniel Bloch, Jivan Banwait, Ione Begg, Se-Lim Chang, Izzy Reed, Tiva Martina Ray-Jones, Hussein Arif, Iris Dadd, Karte Harvey, Briella Lynn-Douglas and Gael Manzeke, and to all those who took part. Special congratulations to the two winners whose poems were judged most successful at engaging the reader, with both content and poetic techniques being taken into consideration. My Mom My mom is like a fire She shouts to do your homework But she is always silk and safety In the heart She’s kind and soft as feathers by Hussain Arif
A hurricane of horses Galloping across the sky They call to one another Clouding up the once blue horizon The sky grows dark And all becomes silent Like the calm Before the storm But then There arose Such a noise Kicking and bucking Biting and bargaining They attack Much like a circus act of destruction Spiralling Twisting Twirling Storming Hooves thundering People screaming Towns flooding Then it stops And all is quiet again. by Iris Dadd
NEW SCHOOL WEBSITE Mr Ashman writes: We are hoping that the new website which the school has been working on, helped by Creative Schools and supported by the PSA, will be ready for public viewing in the first few months of the new year. We already have a number of parents and carers who have agreed to be in the “test group” to look at the new site and try and identify any bugs or failings. If you would like to be involved in this process please email me: tas@hws.haringey.sch.uk
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Autumn 2
2018
ENGLISH A LEVEL STUDENTS AT THE BL
GCSE MASTERCHEF
Maddie Osborn writes In November a group English Language A Level students attended a British Library workshop to learn about language variation. British Library research staff, experts in English accents and dialects, taught us about why people have accents and speak differently due to the area they come from or live in. We uncovered the UK’s rich landscape of diverse accents and dialects as well as the patterns of language change, language variation, and regional vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar in the UK. We looked at a number of recordings of people from all over the UK and characteristics of their accents and how and why they pronounce things differently. It gave us all a new insight into accents and specific attributes of accents that we hadn't noticed before. We identified many different techniques from our language framework structure and definitions we had learnt from our A Level course. This experience was very hands on as we all got to study different transcripts. In addition, the experience was very enlightening as we studied topics we are currently leaning in depth for example phonology, semantics etc. We were very fortunate to be able to tour around the building itself. The British Library holds unique unpublished sound recordings relating to several significant nationwide surveys of regional speech in the UK meaning we were getting the best and most useful information. It’s very useful to have these trips and outings at A Level as we get to see a different perspective of the subject and it allows an element of excitement as well as expert knowledge to help us advance and improve our understanding.
Ms Went writes: The theme this year for the GCSE practical exam (which is set by the exam board) is Asian Cuisine. The theme is released on the 1st November, which gives our Food Preparation and Nutrition students five weeks to research and practice recipes from the cuisine of their choice. Each student will trial 6 different dishes which will be produced during their 2 hour regular food practical lessons, cooking 2 dishes in each of three sessions. This prepares them with the organisational skills that they will need to employ when they undertake the three hour practical exam where they are expected to produce 3 dishes in 3 hours, completely from scratch.in exam conditions! The exam is the culmination of the trialling and redesigning of three of the trialled dishes and must demonstrate a range of complex skills e.g. jointing and deboning a chicken, filleting fish or making fresh pasta or noodles. Featured above is a wonderful Thai Green Curry and Sticky Chicken Wings that one of the students prepared and cooked. All of the meals produced by the class looked and smelt delicious. I can’t wait to see what our Year 11 Masterchefs are going to produce next.
Autumn 2
2018
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YEAR 9 OPTIONS Ms Chaudhri writes: With their Option choices happening in January, Year 9 students have already begun thinking about the future and planning what they wish to do next year and for the longer term. All Year 9 have now spent some time on “Fast Tomato”, an on-line careers program that helps students think about the career they may wish to follow and the qualifications they will need to follow that path. For the first time Year 9 students have also been provided with an Options planning guide, explaining the options process and outlining most of the subjects available. Students have been warned, however, not to settle on anything until the Options process has begun in earnest and all the subjects available for September 2019 are confirmed. Those details will be available in the final Options Booklet which will be made available at the Year 9 Options evening scheduled for Tuesday 29th January 2019. This will also be the opportunity when students can discuss the different subjects with teachers. Students can also look at Fast Tomato at home. Just go to www.fasttomato.com and login with your usual username and password. If students or their families have any question please contact me, Ms S Chaudhri, as I will be coordinating the Options process this academic year. (sci@hws.haringey.sch.uk) Download the initial draft Option guidance from http://bit.ly/2R9FP5p
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MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
Mr Ashman writes: Two thirds of us will experience a mental health problem in our lifetime. As a country we are becoming more aware of the importance of understanding and accepting the reality of mental health problems and providing support for those who are having difficulties. In the coming term we will be announcing one initiative that we hope will help many students. We will also be having mental as a focus in the second week of May which is Mental Health Awareness Week. Below one student reflects on Mental Health Awareness Day that happen in October. A student writes: Mental health is very important and effects so many people’s lives. Not everyone has mental health problems but people who do may feel alone. But they aren’t. October 10th was Mental Health Awareness Day. This is a day for people to speak out and show others that they aren’t the only ones. It has a big impact on people and deserves to be talked about. In registration time we watched a video from the mental healthy charity ‘MIND’ which explained what it means to have good mental health, and what to do if you feel unwell. We also discussed what students at Highgate Wood School can do if they feel that they are struggling with their mental health. We said that you could talk to your form tutor, or any teacher, you could visit your doctor, or you could see the Safe Talk nurses Jen and Lorna who are in school every Thursday lunchtime in the Wren meeting room. Some people may think that just because mental health problems are in their head, that it’s not important. But it is. Talk openly about it and share your story. It may inspire others to do the same. Let’s talk openly about mental health. “ Have the courage to exist.” Daniel Howell Autumn 2
2018
RELATIONSHIP AND SEX EDUCATION Mr Grimmett writes: This year our PHSEE teachers are working in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the National Sex Education Forum to trial out the delivery of a new Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum in advance of mandatory changes to the curriculum in 2020. As part of this exciting exchange, we have launched a programme called ‘Positive Choices’ which involves the establishment of the School Health Council led by staff and students from across the school who make decisions on what should be taught in our RSE curriculum. The project began last summer with a relationships and sex survey to find out what our current Year 9 students thought they already knew. The answers were quite interesting. We hope to keep you updated on Positive Choices and provide information to help parents talk with their children about relationships and sex via the school website in due time.
Bianca, of the School Health Council, writes Did you know that 45% of our Year 9 students believe that a girl can't get pregnant if she has intercourse with a boy standing up? The correct answer of course is that she can. This was just one of the more interesting examples of why Relationship and Sex Education is needed following a survey of 212 of our current Year 9 students last academic year. The survey suggested that although Year 8’s felt that healthy relationships, consent, resisting peer pressure and the law on sharing naked photographs had been covered well or very well in lessons there was a gap when it came to sexual activity such as how to use a condom, sexual pleasure and pornography. Autumn 2
2018
The survey also asked students what they thought was most important to learn about in Year 9 with 50% of students suggesting that learning about condom use was useful followed by masturbation, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s) and knowing if you are ready to be intimate with someone also scoring highly. These ideas were taken into consideration at our last Health Council meeting and will definitely be added into the Year 9 curriculum for this year. In addition to these, the Health Council also decided to include lessons about pregnancy options, readiness for intimacy and human rights, stigma and discrimination. We also thought addressing body image was very important because we are so bombarded with unrealistic standards of beauty, which also tie’s into mental illnesses and eating disorders. We hope we give the year 9s of 2018/2019 a better understanding of this touchy and awkward subject. The New Relationships and Sex Curriculum Year 9 parents will receive further information in due course however the curriculum being taught to Year 9 this year will be; knowing our body, fertility, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s), using condoms, healthy relationships, response and pleasure, pornography, readiness, pregnancy options and stigma. Outside providers will also be coming as part of a workshop during the second half term of spring.
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BOOKBUZZ Ms Ereira writes: Thanks to the generous support of our brilliant PSA, every student in Year 7 was able to select a book as a gift from the Bookbuzz scheme organised by BookTrust. It’s always interesting to see which book is the most popular, and this year Haunt: Dead Scared was the clear winner. Haunt: Dead Scared by Curtis Jobling Will is cycling to his best friend Dougie's house when he’s hit by a car. Coming to in the hospital, he soon realises the worst is far from over: he did not survive the accident and is now stuck here as a ghost. The only person able to see him is Dougie, and together they set out to discover why Will is still here. Covering every possibility they can think of, they seek out other local (and sometimes terrifying) ghosts and accidentally stumble onto a 40-year old secret that someone is desperate to keep hidden. This story is funny, touching and exciting all in one go. Will and Dougie are charmingly hapless protagonists caught up in a situation neither understands, leading to endless comic situations. The sarcasm and humour are an interesting twist on a generally dark genre, the banter and friendship between the two making this far more than a regular ghost story.
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SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
Ms Ereira writes: On Pastoral Review Day we held a Scholastic Book Fair in the dining hall. Hundreds of books were sold and, thanks to the Tottenham Grammar School Foundation, we were able to provide vouchers to many of our students to help towards their purchases. The fair will also benefit the school library, as we will now have plenty of credit to spend on new books from Scholastic.
Autumn 2
2018
GLOBAL FEMINISTS
HAIKUS Ms Ereira writes: Book Club members in years 8, 9 and 10 have been writing haikus about the HWS Book Award shortlisted books. The writer of the haiku judged to be the best was awarded a voucher to spend at the Book Fair. There were so many excellent entries that we felt we needed to award three runner-up prizes too. Congratulations to Mae Mathews (8T) on her winning haiku inspired by the book Your Turn to Die, and to runners-up Lily Bacon Darwin (10W), Saira Idubor (8D) and Talia Bunting (10T). Your turn to Die by Mae Mathews, 8T Fear is a killer Friends are really enemies Always watch your back. The Sacrifice Box by Lily Bacon Darwin, 10W Broken promises Haunting children with their pain Happiness triumphs They Both Die at the End by Saira Idubor, 8D Two teens separate A call from fate they will meet To live before Death. They Both Die at the End by Talia Bunting, 10T Safe on the island, Water in a tin kettle, Flames take me to sea
Autumn 2
2018
Mr Ashman writes: Highgate Wood School’s social media campaign for global feminism is getting noticed. Annie Lennox, the well-known singer and founder of The Circle has noticed the group’s presence on Instagram and commented: Speak out!! Taking on the Baton!!! So proud of #highgatewoodschool. There is also growing activity on the group’s twitter feed. The group meets in W13 every Wednesday and discuss issues as diverse as sexual harassment in the work place, in school and on the streets, lack of female representation in politics and positions of power, inequalities in pay, education and opportunity, child marriages, menstruation and everyday sexism. All students for all groups are welcome to attend. The group has recently won a Jack Petchey award which will help them to take develop their campaign even further. To see the work so far, and to share and contribute if you wish, please see: Instagram: @global.feminists Twitter: @globalfeminist1
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KEY DATES
Spring term begins on
Monday 7th January at 10:35am It will be Week Two Year 9 Parents’ Evening
Tuesday 15th January
Year 11 Mock Results Day and Parents’ Evening
Tuesday 22nd January
Sixth Form Taster Lessons
Friday 25th January
Year 9 GCSE Options Evening
Tuesday 29th January
Safer Internet Day
Tuesday 5th February
PSA Guest Speaker: Juliet Landau-Pop
Wednesday 6th February
Year 12 and 13 Parents’ Evening
Tuesday 12th February
Half Term Break
18th—22nd February
Year 7 Parents’ Consultation Evening
Tuesday 26th March 2019
Year 9 Parents’ Consultation Evening
Tuesday 15th January 2019
Year 10 Parents’ Consultation Evening
Tuesday 30th April 2019
Year 11 Parents’ Consultation Evening
Tuesday 22nd January 2019
Post 16 Parents’ Consultation Evening
Tuesday 12th February 2019
SPRING 2019
SUMMER 2019*
AUTUMN 2019*
Monday 7th Jan
Term Starts
Tuesday 23rd April
Term Starts*
Monday 2nd Sept
Term Starts
18th - 22nd Feb
Half term break
27th — 31st May
Half term break
21st - 25th October
Half term break
Friday 5th April
Term Ends
Friday 19th July
Term Ends
Thursday 19th Dec
Term Ends
*Provisional
The school calendar is available on-line at www.hws.uk.com
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Insight is available on-line at www.hws.uk.com