Headlines - 31 March 2023

HEADLINES

By James Saunders

As we come to the end of another busy term, it is important to take a moment to reflect on the great achievements and successes that our learners have had. We have seen an incredible amount of hard work and dedication from our learners, and we are proud of what they have accomplished this term. Every day I get to walk around the school - often accompanied by prospective parents. The overwhelming feedback is positive. Parents comment on how quiet it is in school and how focused, happy and polite our learners are.

We aim for our learners to leave us both happy and successful. At Honywood, we believe that success is not just about talent, but about developing good habits and attitudes. I often have conversations with learners who state they are not good at something. The only way to get good is to develop a strong work ethic.

There are of course many things that we can all do to help us be successful. Today I would like to highlight ten things that every learner can do to maintain a good work ethic:

• Be On Time – This shows respect, maturity and responsibility.

• Work Ethic – Do they spend every day focusing on the right things?

• Effort – Talking is easy. Doing the work is where accomplishment takes place.

• Energy – This is the most valuable thing anyone can bring to learning.

• Body Language – Do learners look like they are ready to learn and engage?

• Passion – Are they proud of what they are doing?

• Doing Extra – Putting more than the minimum in - going the extra mile.

• Being Prepared – Being organised and arriving ready to learn.

• Being Coachable – Prepared to listen and learn from feedback.

• Attitude – It’s up to them. It is their life. The attitude will determine the altitude they fly at.

These are all things I have seen as I have been walking around the school recently and talking with learners. However, they are not things that we can get complacent about. We must maintain a strong work ethic everyday. I had a chat about ‘taking the easy option’ with someone the other day. I pointed out that taking the world is full of people who take the easy option. If we really want to achieve our dreams and ambitions it does require hard work. Cultivating these habits from an early stage really does help later on in life.

By focusing on these ten things, our learners can continue to achieve great things in their academic and personal lives.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our learners, parents, and staff for their hard work and dedication this term. I am looking forward to continuing to work together to achieve great things in the summer term. I hope the weather improves too!

Best wishes for a happy and restful Easter break.

James Saunders

March 2023

31st

Congratulations to Caleb Gilbert (8PBL) who attended a karate tournament this past weekend in Hamburg, Germany. We are delighted to hear that Caleb fought hard and came away with the gold medal in his individual event, and also took silver in the team contest. It was a long day, 12 hours at the venue and his family are immensely proud of his achievement. He works really hard on his karate training, and this is another big step on his journey in the sport. Well done Caleb.

Another success story! Well done to Amy Garner (10LST/CKH)! Following her selection for U15 Mavericks Futures pathway in netball, Amy and her team came

A TEAM

Sophie Bloomfield, Lilly-Mae Gilden, Bethany Gilfillan, Atia Heard, Izzy Roebuck, Frances Rassell, Zoe Robinson

B TEAM

Abigail Casey, Evie Hammond, Zaina Ibrahim, Sophia Jeffries, Darcy Luckett, Emily Fox, Belle Turner

On Wednesday this week the U13 squad travelled to Hedingham School to play their district league games. It was great to see all their training put into match play after great commitment to netball club all year. The B team tried really hard against the opposition who were very strong and had some moments of fluid play down the court but ended up losing the game. The A team had some excellent defensive play from Atia and Lilly-Mae and the ball moved really well down the court. They played very cohesively and came away with an impressive 9-5 win, well done girls! Players of the match were Evie Hammond (C7) and Zoe Robinson (C8).

Mrs Borella

On Wednesday 29th March, a group of KS3 learners took part in a live schools cookathon. Hosted from the UKHarvest training kitchen via a free live online webinar, our learners cooked Chickpea Curry, Lentil Dahl and Rice Bread. UK Harvest are a non-profit organisation and educational charity aiming to elimate hunger and food waste and engaging communities in improving cookery skills and helping children and families make healthy food choices.