Box Hill School
November 2020
Latest News
Proud of our Round Square heritage As I am sure you are all aware Box Hill School was one of the founding members of Round Square along with seven others back in the 1960s. Round Square schools share a commitment to character education and experiential learning built around six themes – our “IDEALS” of International Understanding, Democracy, Environmental Stewardship, Adventure, Leadership and Service. The Round Square IDEALS are underpinned by twelve “Discoveries” that students explore on their learning journey: inquisitiveness, tenacity, courage, compassion, inventiveness, ability to solve problems, self-awareness, sense of responsibility, appreciation of diversity, commitment to sustainability, communication and team working skills. There are now 200 schools around the world who belong to the Round Square family and, in non-COVID years, we enjoy a wonderful collaboration with them and often travel and work together. At Box Hill School, Round Square is part of our DNA and imbues everything that we do in a less obvious but still powerful way.
WELCOME We are back again and absolutely delighted to be sharing our news from the last 6 weeks of term. Nobody could have expected such a tumultuous summer of uncertainty when we ended physical school in March, and yet, due to so much hard work by so many, we have returned in amazing strength. At the start of term we were thrilled to welcome all the new students who have quickly settled in to school life. We look forward to a happy and successful year for them all, despite a few understandable nerves at the start we are so proud at how well they have settled in, made new friends and grasped new opportunities.
Re-enacting the Battle of Hastings Sanitised weapons and non-contact combat were the order of the day for our Year 7s as they continued the Box Hill School tradition of re-enacting the Battle of Hastings in History. Using their homemade shields, looking resplendent in the autumn morning light, Mr Vermeulen’s history class marched to the Dalewood lawn to decide who would emerge as the ruler of England. As always, it was a tight affair with Harold’s shield wall protecting the Saxons well. However, William’s clever tactics and the unfortunate arrow to Harold’s eye meant that it was the Normans who returned to Room 8 as the victors (again). Weapons were cleaned with disinfectant wipes, and handshakes and high-fives were put on hold, but it was pleasing to see this tradition continue (safely) during such a difficult and uncertain time. It certainly makes one ponder what our ancestors from centuries gone by might make of the world in which we currently live.