December 2021

Headlines Term 2 December 2021

Pride . Ambition . Community

Headlines Issue 2 16 December 2021

Head’s Message I am delighted to be able to share with you this edition of Headlines packed with celebration of student achievement both in and out of the classroom.

We profile the subjects of Mathematics and Languages this time with details of what students have been learning as well as some tips for how you can support at home.

Do remember that your subject teachers are always happy to update you or answer questions if you feel you want to understand more fully or unpick a barrier.

You should also be able to see from the Wider Curriculum pages how much the students have been able to explore their broader interests. Of course, what they don’t always realise is that this too is part of their education! The overall intention that we provide “ambition and breadth; high-quality experiences both in and out of lessons that are carefully designed to develop the knowledge and characteristics needed to be able to access, succeed and thrive at the highest levels” can hopefully be seen in everything we do.

I would like to reiterate the thanks I gave last night in the Carol Concert to staff, students and to you as parents and the wider community. We do not take it for granted and are very grateful of the support that is afforded to us. We continue to seek to learn and grow from feedback but it is because of the collaborative approaches and community engagement that we are able to achieve so much for these young people. A clip of the concert can be seen if you click on the photo: I hope the holiday is a time for rest and peace for you all, stay safe and well and may I wish you a VERY Happy Christmas.

Key Stage 3: Orbiting Jupiter, by Gary D Schmidt This book is a unique little treasure that follows the character of a teenage boy whose family decide to foster another teenager who has been getting into a lot of trouble.

They face several problems after being thrown together but this beautiful story is all about acceptance and learning to never judge a book by its cover.

Key Stage 4: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon This story as a well-known one loved by many, and for good reason. It follows 15 year old Christopher who has Asperger's and has made it his life's goal to discover who murdered his neighbour's dog. However, his investigation turns up secrets in his own life and he has to learn some sad truths about the world quicker than he was ready to.

Key Stage 5: The Five People You Meet in Heaven From the author of Tuesdays with Morrie, this uplifting tale is based on idea that everybody must meet five people after they die that will teach them something about the life that they have left behind. It is in order to feel acceptance with the next stage of life and to trying learn about themselves.

It's a glorious, bittersweet story that cannot help but make you reflective.

YEAR 7 Attendance Average attendance for Term 2: 93.8% Praise Average praise points per student for Term 2: 142

Year 7 have had an exciting term 2. They have submitted some fantastic entries for super-curricular which really showed them engaging in new activities and topics that they have not had a chance to experience yet.

On 10th November, students embarked on a journey to see ‘Matilda’ at Cambridge Theatre. The comments we received from students about the day included; ‘My favourite part of the day was when the young child got swung by Mrs Trunchbull by her hair; it was very dramatic and the lighting and sound effects added to the intensity’.

During this term, Year 7 have also been focusing on revision to support their assessment fortnight. Students have been working hard to complete revision both during lessons and as homework, developing their skills through the use of the revision clock.

Many Year 7’s are taking part in extracurricular clubs and a number were involved in the ‘All Together Now’ performance. There have also been many fixtures against other schools, and our girls’ football team finished 2nd in the Wealden Schools tournament hosted

by Uckfield College.

Year 7 have continued working on their resilience and well-being projects within their tutor groups and Mrs Millyard has launched the ‘Girls on board project’ to support Year 7 girls with developing friendships.

One half of Year 8 had a successful and enjoyable day on their French Wider Curriculum day on 10th November. Staff were impressed with the engagement and enthusiasm that students showed in all the activities and cultural explorations of the day.

We look forward to the other half of the year group showing the same dedication and excitement to their equivalent day of Spanish in January.

Students are hard at work as they move towards their Assessment Week in January. The revision packs and advice provided by their subjects will help them to focus closely on the content and skills they need for success in these assessments. These assessments will also help students with their GCSE options in March, so now is a great time to start having those conversations at home about choices and preferences for the future.

YEAR 8 Attendance Average attendance for Term 2: 94% Praise

Average Praise points per student for Term 2: 151

YEAR 9 Attendance Average attendance for Term 2: 92.1% Praise Average praise points per student for Term 2: 132

Over the last 7 weeks, Year 9 have continued their GCSE work diligently and have been involved in a range of brilliant activities across the school.

One memorable highlight being the County Lines Performance, which aimed to enable students to recognise the warning signs and then act to ensure their safety. It was amazing to see the number of students that were interested and that wanted to ask important questions to further their understanding. The performers commented on how engaged the students were, which was great to hear.

Back in September, Lucy Coombs entered a competition to design this year’s Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Christmas Card and ended up winning the competition! The competition was open to all RCN members and their families and will be used for all the corporate Christmas cards. This is a fantastic achievement, as there was a large number of applicants. Well done!

I hope Year 9 have a restful holiday and a great Christmas and new year.

Year 10 students have had a busy term completing their mock exams for their intensive and languages subjects. Students have been completing revision activities during tutor time using subject Firefly pages and revision videos. During the mock exams, Year 10 students have consistently shown their ambition and determination to succeed and they should be incredibly proud of their hard work.

Students now need to use the mock period to reflect on useful revision strategies to develop exam techniques as well as knowledge based on subject feedback.

As always, students have made many notable achievements this term. Congratulations to Lauren Gablehaus who plays with Brighton & Hove Albion FC and has been scouted by a Welsh international team.

Many Year 10 students have been put through to the rugby county cup final – congratulations on a great achievement.

All Together Now, our school production saw many students from the year group participate including Harry Sedgwick, Ivy Caffyn, Ellie Pascall, Phoenix Hadden and stage crew. A well done for their ambition and confidence in leading a fantastic production.

Wishing Year 10 a lovely Christmas break.

YEAR 10 Attendance Average attendance for Term 2: 91.2% Praise Average praise points per student for Term 2: 113

YEAR 11

Term two began with students visiting Plumpton college and Sussex University in the first week back. This provided students with an opportunity to experience a further education establishment for themselves.

Attendance

During the Sussex Uni trip, students had a tour of the campus by current students providing question and answer sessions as we explored the grounds. They then spent time in lectures, experiencing what it is like to be in a lecture room as well as providing them with useful tips on how to revise. Students then enjoyed the luxury of having lunch at the campus prior to returning to complete a reflection task at school.

Average attendance for Term 2: 90.4% Praise Average praise points per student for Term 2: 74

Following on from these trips, students then started a two-week mock exam period. This was an intense period of time for them, sitting numerous formal assessments in exam conditions. Despite the pressures, students coped really well. They had some reflection time with their tutors following their results and now the task is to focus towards making improvements prior to the next set of Mocks that begin at the end of February.

Wishing the year group a happy and relaxing Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all in 2022.

Students in Year 12, and a group of Year 13 volunteers have started the College mentoring programme this term. Students receive training on how to be a successful mentor and are then matched with a student in Year 7. The conversations taking place have built the foundations of relationships which will continue to be developed over the coming weeks. Well done to all Sixth Form involved!

It has been a busy term for Year 13 with many students making applications to university, college and apprenticeships. Many students have already secured offers at their preferred universities.

We had an increased number of early applicants to university this year – applying to Oxford or Cambridge, to conservatoires or for courses in Medicine and Dentistry. Of the seven students who applied to Oxford and Cambridge, we are pleased to say all have secured interviews this term after an already demanding application process involving multiple drafts of personal statements, aptitude tests and submission of written work.

This term we were able to re-instate our annual Sixth Form Christmas quiz. Over 60 students attended to battle it out over a range of different rounds including Christmas Music, Christmas Films and general Christmas Knowledge. All profits from this event will be donated to Save the Children. The winning team were a group of Year 12 students who were supported by Miss Taylor.

VI FORM Attendance Average attendance for Term 2: 92.5%

Praise Over 1600 praise points awarded since September. Most notably for quality of work and progress being made.

What are students learning in …

MATHEMATICS Key Stage 3 So far this year, students in Year 7 have been exploring the key concepts of algebra and understanding the link between a worded question and an algebraic expression. We have been looking at how they have been working with algebra throughout Primary School without even realising it! Whenever they have had to find the missing value in a calculation they have been working with algebra! We are exploring how to represent multiplications and divisions in algebra and how to simplify expressions, expand brackets and some students have been looking at factorizing expressions. Later on in the year, students will build on these skills and solve linear equations. Students have also been looking at angles and measurement and using key angle facts to solve geometry problems. Numeracy remains a key focus and we have introduced all the students to our preferred method of multiplying – using the lattice method. We have found students are less likely to make mistakes with this method and students actually get a lot of satisfaction out of using it!

Our Year 8 students have been exploring types of numbers and linear sequences. There are many exciting number patterns to investigate including the Fibonacci sequence which you can see a lot in nature (Golden Ratio). Students have been building on their Algebraic skills from Year 7 by working out the nth terms of linear sequences and some have even been looking at quadratic sequences. Ratio and proportion is a key part of the mathematical Curriculum and we study it regularly throughout KS3 and 4. This term we have been showing students how to interpret the worded question to understand the maths needed to find the solution. We love to build on consistent approaches so that students have access to successful tools to help them start a problem.

Key Stage 4

In Year 9, we have started the year by recapping key skills in number and algebra as these form the foundations for a vast majority of the maths Curriculum. A strength in numeracy skills always supports students in becoming more confident in their mathematical skills as they can quickly access the answers to the numerical calculations and then focus on the applications. In algebra, students have been exploring the different types of linear equations they could encounter and how we can show step by step how to solve them.

MATHEMATICS In Year 10, we have been studying the geometry in circles and the amazing properties it has. We have been exploring how when you divide the circumference by the diameter, you always get the same number- the amazing 𝜋! We have been looking at the different angle properties in a circle, how when you draw a triangle in a semi-circle with one length as the diameter you always produce a rightangled triangle!

In Year 11, we further build on the algebraic skills from previous years by constructing and solving linear and, for some students, quadratic equations. Maybe you remember the famous ‘Hannah’s sweets’ problem from a few years ago! This is an example of a constructing quadratic equation question. A key part we have been looking at is how to interpret the question and understanding what it is asking for.

Key Stage 5 For Years 12 and 13, studying maths A Level two thirds of the course is pure maths, however, one sixth is mechanics and Year 13 have been looking at this with one of their teachers this year. In pure maths, students have been exploring algebraic proofs and solving trigonometry problems. We have been impressed at how students have risen to the challenge of the maths A Level as they often see it as big jump from KS4. We have been working on how they set out their solutions as this is integral to their success in Mathematics. They must show every step of their solution clearly, there are often lots of steps (some fill a whole page) so being able to check through every step carefully makes a big difference.

Extra-curricular In Maths Club students have been working on puzzles and challenges from national competitions and we have entered all our sixth form students into the UKMT Maths Challenge. For the supercurricular activity, students were creating Escher style tessellations. Here is one by Isabelle Fogg.

How I can help my child with Numeracy: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Practice, practice, practice!

Look for Maths everyday e.g. Sales discounts in the shops, estimating total cost of shopping Practice times tables as often as possible, e.g. run through the 3 x table while you’re brushing your teeth.

Remember, positivity about Maths is contagious!

What are students learning in …

FRENCH

Key Stage 3 XXXXX This term, Year 7 have learnt to introduce themselves, tell us about their age, their date of birth, their personality and where they live. They have learnt French numbers and alphabet, as well as the vocabulary for a few classroom items and instructions along the way. They have discovered French grammar and have looked at how many French words are used in the English language.

Year 8 have been focussing on getting their grammar back on track and have concentrated a lot on the past tense. They have started to learn how to systematically extend their sentences to include as many details as possible so it becomes a good habit when they start preparing for GCSE French. Students have been shown a few virtual tours of famous French theme parks such as Le Futuroscope or Asterix and Obélix, which unfortunately we cannot travel to yet.

Year 8 were the first year group to benefit from our Wider Curriculum Day initiatives. They had a full day off timetable, attending a carousel of lessons ranging from a History session on Remembrance Day and the role of the French at that time; a Science lesson delivered in French about floatability and a Food Technology lesson showing them how to make crèpes. We also invited a catering company to give them a taste of delicious authentic French cuisine and a theatre company that delivered a well received play in French.

We offer our Language Club every Friday Week B at lunch time, open to all of those who wish to learn more about languages in general. We encourage everyone to pop in at some point during the year.

Key Stage 4 The decision was made to ensure that our Year 9 French students use this year to consolidate the bases they covered in Years 7 and 8 so that they become more confident for this 3 year GCSE course. Indeed, Year 9 is all about learning exam techniques, bases and skills to address the French GCSE with confidence.

We have reviewed the present tense and started on the past tense, adjectival agreements, the use of connectives along with how to talk about yourself and your family, describing someone, both physically and personality wise. They are getting used to extending their written and oral responses so they establish a good routine for the GCSE exams.

We are already seeing some of our more timid students experimenting a little more with their language skills and gaining in

What are students learning in …

FRENCH

XXXXX confidence, whilst others fully embrace the whole French experience and are happy to produce lengthier pieces of work.

For our Year 10 Extended students, focus has been placed on helping them assess and address the gaps in their language acquisition. Students have been reviewing present and the past tense, adjectival agreements, adverbs and prepositions, along with how to use connectives.

The topics covered this term are describing and talking about your local area, mentioning the type of activities available, talking about the weather and how it might affect the hobbies you decide to do, and the issues linked to living in a specific area.

They have also looked at the format of GCSE papers so they get a better understanding of the work and the revision strategies required.

For Year 10 Intensive and Year 11, Term 1 has been about revising key grammatical structures, establishing systematic extended sentences and honing their speaking skills, along with studying the topics of the world of work, school and future aspirations. Our students have been busy preparing their oral presentations and organising their revision notes.

Some Year 11 students have been allocated extra support sessions since September to make sure they have the best chances of catching up with whatever aspect of the French language they find challenging. It has not always been a popular option but many that are being coached are benefiting from this initiative. The speaking, listening, reading and writing mock exams took place in November to assess their efforts and got them used to the format of French GCSE. Sixth Form The topics covered this term are family and how society is changing in France in terms of marriage, relationships and other aspects of family life. We have also covered the topic of education and the different route options French students have compared to their British counterparts. Students have also started studying the movie ‘la Vie en Rose’, which depicts the life of Edith Piaf and have enjoyed listening to her songs and hearing about her eventful life. They have also started getting to grips with longer listening activities, real French materials for reading and translation activities, whilst revisiting the dreaded French tenses and grammar.

Year 13 students have been studying the novel ‘Un Sac De Billes’ by Joffro. This book ties up with the historic component of the course that looks at Marshal Pétain and his role during World War II, the Nazi occupation of France between 1939-1945 and the awful treatment targeted groups suffered in France during that time.

How I can help my child learn in French?

Remind students to go onto our French resource section on Firefly and follow the links for study skills and interactive language sites. These provide vocab lists and help focused on: Can you say it? Can you translate it? Can you spell it? Can you use it?

What are students learning in …

SPANISH

Key Stage 3 XXXXX Since the beginning of Term 1, Year 7 students have settled in extremely well and have made clear and significant progress. They have become accustomed to regular homework tasks which includes learning core vocabulary. Term 2 has furthermore seen some great progress and they have now all produced a spoken task that they recorded and uploaded to Firefly. Students have been exposed to a wide range of Spanish names and places, putting Spanish speaking countries outside of Spain on map, allowing students to see that Spanish is spoken in numerous countries other than Spain and even allowing some cross-curricular Geography to be taught!

In Term 1, Year 8 students really engaged with the topic of ‘Las vacaciones’. They have delivered some outstanding and accurate pieces of extended writing on this topic. At the end of Term 1, all students produced a short, spoken presentation on the topic of holidays and it was a delight to mark this work and give them their feedback.

In Term 3, Year 8 students will have the opportunity to engage in a collapsed-Curriculum Day for Spanish when we look forward to delivering a range of lessons through the lens of the Spanish language.

Key Stage 4 The curriculum in Terms 1 and 2 enables Year 9 learners to review and build on prior learning of grammar seen in KS3.

Student autonomy is encouraged and learners will be expected to make their own connections with grammar rules and patterns they have seen in the past when introduced to new concepts. Students are gaining confidence and success of using a variety of tenses together to talk about holidays. At the end of Term 1, all Year 9 students produced a short, spoken presentation on a past holiday, giving them an opportunity to work independently using prompts, thus developing exam skills and increasing their spoken confidence.

Year 10 Extended students have been more determined than ever to participate in scaffolded spoken tasks allowing for their pronunciation, ideas, and fluency to develop. Lockdown gaps were identified in Term 1 and both the present and past tenses were revisited, enabling students to consolidate knowledge and effectively apply these tenses across their work.

Furthermore, as students’ vocabulary broadens each week, opportunities for exam style practice have been embedded into lessons.

What are students learning in …

SPANISH

Term 2 has seen our Year 10 Intensive and Year 11 GCSE students hone their exam skills through XXXXX modelled exams, completing exam-style written tasks, and discussing best practise when it comes to revision. All students are expected to be organised and prepared with classwork and homework, to keep their key grammar notes clear and to have role-play booklets and picturebased prompt sheets ready to hand in lessons.

Extra support for Year 11 students is offered every Monday during p5. More information can be found on the College website under extra-curricular activities.

Key Stage 5 Year 12 Hispanists have been immersed in Spanish language and culture since embarking on the course. They are encouraged to engage in Spanish discourse every lesson and every student is beginning to show their own flair and confidence in speaking in front of the group.

Students are expected to gain an understanding of how Spanish society has evolved since the end of Franco’s dictatorship and the social changes and impacts that Spain has seen right up until the current time, including advances for members of the LGBT+ community. Equality in the job market and the challenges working women face in Spain, compared with other Spanish speaking countries, are just some of the topics they have been exposed to.

Year 13 students are studying a play by Federico Garcia Lorca: La casa de Bernada Alba, which provides a useful link for the students to learn about the historical and political background to La Guerra Civil Española (the Spanish Civil War). The play allows students to identify and analyse some of the most important themes: oppression, death, depression and desire being recurrent themes.

Cultural values and traditions remain an embedded part of the A level curriculum and as such students have spent the term researching Spanish speaking customs and festivals including Spain’s different working day (with the inclusion of the siesta), La Fiesta de la Quinceañera and La Barranquila.

How I can help my child learn in Spanish? ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Help them to learn vocabulary Test them using flashcards they make Ensure they engage a little bit EVERY DAY with Spanish Listen to them practise their GCSE Speaking presentation (it ought to last one minute) as often as you can Check they are using their GCSE Spanish Revision Workbook and ask them which activities they have done/are planning to do each week.

Remind them to attend Intervention sessions after school on Tuesday (Yr11) or Thursday (Yr10)

What are students learning in …

LATIN Key Stage 4 Term 1 was the start of something new for Year 9 students at Heathfield. For the first time, a small group of students took on the challenge of learning the Latin language. A club for 6th form students has also been established on Thursday evenings to allow those interested in the subject an opportunity to study the language, history and culture.

During the first six weeks of the academic year, Year 9 have focussed largely on introducing themselves to the grammar basics.

This has included understanding the concept of verb and noun endings and how they denote the role of a word in a sentence. We have focused on the idea of the subject and the object in a sentence, as well as Latin word order. The students are beginning to see that many of the challenges Latin throws at us are overcome by knowing these essentials inside and out.

Students have also been introduced to Latin through vocabulary. Our textbook, Cambridge Latin Course, takes the students through the language by telling the story of a real life family who lived in Pompeii. We meet the family on the first page without any glossary or translated vocabulary. As daunting as it seemed at first glance, the Year 9’s soon recognised the Latin words for ‘mother’, ‘father’, and ‘dog’ without having to look them up in a dictionary, based purely on their own knowledge of modern languages, particularly French and Spanish. Very quickly, the class then acknowledged that they have an innate ability to make sense of any Latin passage with common sense and attention to detail.

The students have enjoyed reading the stories of the Pompeian, involving the lifestyle of the father, Caecilius, the escapades of the son, Quintus, and the patient yet begrudging cook, Grumio. The comic book style leads pupils through the Latin narrative in an organic, intuitive way, the image prompts helping them to build their vocabulary and cultural knowledge. Then, after nailing some of the tougher bits with quick translation activities on the board - working in pairs and sometimes independently – they have already begun to translate longer passages by themselves. They have done so using their knowledge of the grammar and vocab which they have been encouraged to memorise.

What are students learning in …

LATIN

In term 2, the students are being introduced to discussion points which form a large part of current academic discourse concerning the classical world: how much of ancient history have experts ignored to make it fit in with their beliefs? What was Ancient Rome really like?

As an essential piece of educational enrichment that runs parallel with our language textbook, we have therefore begun to consider who the Ancient Romans really were: the women, the people of colour, the LGBT+ citizens, ordinary folk and emperors alike. The original Romans were, in fact, mixed race. Emperor Carcalla was black. Roman slaves were not chosen based on ethnicity. Many of the male heroes in Ovid’s myths were romantically involved with one another. There is so much for classicists of all levels and abilities to learn about the Ancient World and it has changed the way we view history. At Heathfield, we are joining in that conversation.

With a focus on setting a firm foundation for Latin GCSE and encouraging a love of Latin, the Year 9s have worked incredibly hard since September and on their way to becoming strong classicists.

How I can help my child learn in Latin? ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Make flashcards for vocabulary or word endings on quizlet.co.uk.

When revising key grammar, make colourful mind-maps on A3 paper.

When revising vocabulary, brainstorming for any English words that come from the Latin words being learned.

Check out the free online textbooks for Latin, Cambridge Latin Course: https://www.clc.cambridgescp.com/online-activities.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP FOCUS ON STUDENT LEADERSHIP: VALUES LEADERS We currently have 23 students in Years 10, 11 and 12 who are Values Leaders. This group was borne out of the previously named Anti-Bullying Leaders whose influence and impact always reached far beyond that title.

They epitomize the Heathfield students’ commitment to transition and across the whole year to standing up for what is right, for integrity.

The Values Leaders are currently recruiting. They will be training the successful applicants from Year 9 in January 2022. After that we will be offering the chance to Year 8 to join.

Over the last 2 terms they have: • • •

Started term a day early to support the new Year 7 in their transition.

Created resources and led on for Anti Bullying Week lunchtime activities for staff and students to access to highlight this year’s theme of ‘One Kind Word’.

Met with Curriculum Leaders to quality assure the curriculum and the learning environment to understand how we value diversity and racial inclusion across each subject and year group.

In addition Values Leader, Katherine Hills is leading an exciting new project linking Heathfield Community College with Jewellery Quarter Academy in Birmingham to explore the things we have in common and our perspectives on Diversity. Year 9 and 10 have been invited to take part by email.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT STUDENT LEADERSHIP HERE: CLICK LINK

YEAR 13 WIDER CURRICULUM “All of my interviewees talked about learning time management, taking breaks, looking after themselves, etc. when under pressure and I got the impression those are messages they have been getting from their teachers! I think it's easy to take such things for granted but not all schools support their students in this way so well done to HCC for promoting such positive, healthy messages.”

Our annual Year 13 Interview Day took place this term. Students have been prepared for the day through their PSHEE lessons with sessions on “STAR method” – how to embellish and develop answers to questions and how online / face-to-face interviews differ and reflections upon how they would exemplify questions regarding the soft skills required for employment. This day aims to provide students with the skills to support them through the next stages Post 18. A number of students seeking employment or apprenticeships will be interviewed and therefore practicing this experience with an external experienced interviewer will provide the opportunity to hone this skill.

There was a mix of nerves on the actual day, however, all students participated fully and the feedback we received from our Interviewers has been extremely positive.

Those intrepid Year 13’s applying for degree apprenticeships are already into the early stages of often grueling recruitment processes; involving video presentations, psychometric testing and assessment centres before any interviews.

Students applying for Art Foundation at local colleges are currently completing applications and readying portfolios for interviews in the New Year.

We will be continuing to support Year 13 students with their searches, applications and employability skills in PSHEe careers lessons next term. We wish all of our Year 13’s the very best luck with their progression applications – wherever they may take them!

To read the latest news from the Sixth Form follow us on Twitter.

@Heathfield_6th

Wider-Curriculum xxx.

The Creative Writing Club meets every Tuesday afternoon in Room 10. Students are able to write about pretty much anything in any style they would like. Below is a wonderful excerpt from a piece written by one of our loyal attendees: ‘A deer all alone’, By Alyxis Kennedy 7C I felt my legs tangled in vines. I couldn’t move. I was still as a rock. I heard shuffling in the bushes ahead. I was terrified! Was it a FOX, WOLF, RACOON OR COULD IT BE A BEAR? Trying to not make a sound, slowly untangling the vines and shaking all the dirt off, I stood up, realising how much of a risk it was. Predators could see me. In their eyes I was a delicious mouth-watering creature that longed not to be eaten. But in my eyes, I saw a terrifying monster that was dribbling to eat me. Ducking under fallen trees, forcing my way through the fern, bushes and leaves, I hoped I didn't need to run.

The Year 7 Design Technology club have been making an insect house. Students have been learning how to accurately mark and measure finger joints on timber and use the tools and machinery to precisely cut these out. They have also learnt how to use 2D design on the computer to design their own laser cut window for the front of their insect house.

It has been a great term in Music with two big events going on: All Together Now and the annual Carol Concert.

The Samba Drumming Band is held at lunchtime on Mondays. It would be great to get more members if people enjoy playing the drums. We are working towards our first carnival which will hopefully take place in the summer term.

On a Tuesday Lunchtime, the Ipad Band have been creating their first live music performance for the Carol Concert. Please come along if you enjoy making music on your Ipad.

Our Eco-Reps have helped rejuvenate the planters in the Technology Quad area. It was their request to do this as their previous planting did not last as well as was hoped due to the lockdowns.

The Orchestra and Choir will be performing at the end of December. These clubs take place on a Wednesday (Choir) and Thursday (Orchestra) after school. The students are sounding fantastic and it has been great to get more students coming to these clubs in recent weeks. If you are a singer or a musician, please do come along to choir and orchestra!

Wider-Curriculum xxx.

It was a great shame this year that we had to make the difficult decision to cancel our annual Christmas Carol Concert. With two weeks to go until the event we decided that it needed to be virtual and recorded the concert during school hours. The outcome of the Virtual concert was fantastic with thanks to all students and staff involved. It was amazing to see the students performing again and hopefully will be able to welcome you back in the new year.

This term’s House table tennis competition has been a real success with lots of students getting involved and representing their House. There was a buzz of excitement at lunchtimes, where students competed against their year group to win the most points. Those who took part arrived on time, were hugely enthusiastic and thoroughly enjoyed the competitive element of the event. Well done to all students involved and for the Prefects who umpired each day.

Congratulations Heffle, you are the winners of the table tennis competition!

The Christmas edition of The Vine is now available and is packed full of ideas for a sustainable and kind Christmas whether it's charity shopping, earth-friendly wrapping or donating to food banks. http://heathfieldcollegenewspa per.weebly.com/

Community: Thank you to all our students and families who donated to our collection for the Hailsham Foodbank. We collected enough to provide 1,723 meals to families in crisis in the area.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Poppy Appeal for the Royal British Legion this year. We raised a fantastic £144 as part of the district total of £3400.

Help and Support: We understand that life sometimes throws up issues or problems that need to be resolved.

We understand that concerns regarding your child’s well-being or progress can be worrying.

We want to work with you to resolve issues as early as possible. Please use the routes highlighted here as a parent: REPORTING A CONCERN. Please encourage your son/daughter to report ANY issue or worry to us so we can address it. If we don’t know, we cannot act and we want to help: • Tell a teacher or your form tutor • Speak to your Head of Year • Speak to your Pastoral Manager • Email help@heathfieldcc.co.uk to report a problem

Dates for your diary Start of Term 3 (please check the College website for LFT days and times https://www.heathfieldcc.co.uk/?page_id=3452) Tuesday 4 January

Start of Year 13 Mocks Fortnight Start of Year 8 Assessment Fortnight

Monday 17 January

Year 8 & 9 HPV Vaccination

Wednesday 19 January

Opening Morning (booking is essential)

Thursday 20 January

Year 7 Subject Feedback Evening

Friday 21 January

Year 8 (Y Population Spanish students) Wider Curriculum Day

Monday 24 January

Start of Year 8 Wider Curriculum Day (The Arts) - Harry Potter Studio

Wednesday 2 February

Year 12/13 Theatre Trip - The Great Gatsby

Thursday 3 February

UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge Year 13 Subject Feedback Evening

Friday 4 February

Year 7 & 8 Author Visit

Monday 7 February

Broadbridges uniform for sale – Link Hall, 3.15 pm – 4.15 pm

Wednesday 9 February

Year 8 & 9 Latin Trip to Ancient Roman Sites in Fishbourne and Novium Museum

Thursday 10 February

Year 8 Subject Feedback Evening Open Morning

Friday 11 February

Last day of Term 3

www.heathfieldcc.co.uk @Heathfield_CC