Headlines By James Saunders 20th November 2020
Reverse Advent Calendar
This week I would like to shine the spotlight on the arts, creativity and performance through the lens of our practical and creative subjects of Drama and PE. Last week our gcse learners took part in the practical performance component of their course. All learners did a fantastic job. It is not easy running PE at the moment with all of the restrictions. I would like to thank our PE team for the great job they did in facilitating this assessment and providing our learners with the opportunity to shine at their individual sports. During the summer I had the privilege of leading some assemblies for our C10 learners when they came back into school. I asked them what they regretted from their lockdown experience and what they would do differently if they went into another lockdown. The overwhelming response from the majority of learners was exercise: they wished they had done more and recognised the value of exercise in maintaining a healthy mind and wellbeing. This week was the turn of Drama, another subject where we often get close to one another and yet another one that has been blighted with restrictions. That did not stop staff or learners this week. Learners approached the assessment with such maturity and delivered outstanding performances. I can’t wait until we are able to come together again to celebrate the masses of talent that our learners possess. If you have never seen one of our Drama performances you have really missed out. Just like PE and exercise in general, Drama, and all arts for that matter, provide an outlet to express our individuality. The act of creativity is also great for mental health. I can’t quite remember the exact date that it happened to me but I can distinctly remember there being a void in my life before I discovered a love for sport, music and for the art of performance. When times have been tough I have been able to turn to these things to keep my head above ground. A simple run or making the space to create something is guaranteed to help us deal with the challenges that life throws our way.
I would like to thank everyone for getting behind this initiative. After successfully working together over half term to support free school meals we felt that we should extend our community reach beyond the school by contributing more widely. The reverse advent calendar is our way of sharing our community spirit beyond the reach of the Honywood doors. Thank you to those who have already made some donations. I am sure that the Braintree food bank will be very grateful. Covid Update Thank you to everyone for supporting us with our measures. As you will be aware we have had a few isolated cases of Covid with our support staff. None of these cases are related and none of them have been connected to learners. I would like to ask families if they can support us in maintaining our safety measures by not entering the school site unless they have a prior appointment. I realise that this can be frustrating and goes against our ethos as a school. One of the most common positives I receive from visitors and families is how approachable the school is to visitors. However, if we are going to work together to keep each other safe I must ask that we all respect our current measures and not enter the school site unnecessarily.
Your support is greatly appreciated, have a safe weekend. James Saunders