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Issue 613 - 5th January 2018

Celebration of Learning Page 7

Page 8 www.honywoodschool.com | Tel : 01376 561231

Headlines

By Simon Mason

Choices for the Year Ahead At the centre of our school is the absolute determination to ensure that everyone associated with the school respects themselves, other people and the world around them. As we look forward at the beginning of the year, I’d like to ask you all to consider how this phrase has meaning for you.

One way in which this key belief has influenced the development of our school so far has been its influence on our willingness to trust our youngsters to make good decisions (a key quality you’ll find in people whose lives are happy and successful). Because we trust our young people to follow our respect code, over the last seven years our youngsters have been given real choices about how they learn and this is helping us to focus ever more concertedly on meeting individual learning needs, challenging every youngster to reach their highest potential both academically and in respect of developing their characters.

The thinking behind this whole school development is that when you get good at making real choices, and you accept the consequences of the choices you make, you are much more likely to be motivated to succeed and as a result are a more committed learner. Every piece of research evidence we have studied confirms that success (whether that is as measured in test scores or in more wide ranging definitions of the term, for example in the development of character) is more closely influenced by effort and desire than it is by any other factor (for example by some abstract concept like ‘ability’).

So as we focus on developing the choices on offer to our learners, does this mean that eventually we’ll create a school where you could choose not to learn?

It is clearly the case that in any setting, school, home or business, individuals can choose not to do the things that are there to be done and which will benefit them, however, in all these settings if you make bad choices there are consequences to face. However we develop our school, those consequences will also be there to be faced by anyone choosing not to learn as, clearly, this is not a choice that easily sits with the idea of respecting yourself, other people and the world around you.

As you commit to your learning for the year ahead, consider these challenges: • As you make choices this year, are you always honest with yourself about the choices you are making? When you ask, for example, if you can learn away from your classroom, are you making that choice to avoid focusing fully or because you’d prefer to be engaged in ‘social’ learning at that point in time rather than being committed to the study that will help you to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to succeed? Does this also happen when you tell your family that you are studying in your room at home, when what you are actually doing is socialising via social media? Will you be happy when the consequences of these bad choices come to you, for example when you receive your next school review?

• When you choose to present your learning, do you choose not to communicate your learning in writing because this is a skill you’ve not mastered yet? If this is the case, when are you going to make the choice to put in the practise to master this key learning skill as eventually you’ll have to use your ability to write in an examination to show what you know, understand and can do in each of your subjects?

• When you choose to present yourself in a less than smart fashion are you happy to be seen as someone who isn’t serious about learning? Are you happy to accept that this will affect how others see you and how they behave toward you? Are you happy to accept the consequences of their choices?

• When you make choices that help you to ‘fit in’ with others are the people you are ‘fitting in’ with going to be the most influential people in your life? Research shows that those seen as ‘cool’ at school are less successful and more likely to encounter serious problems in their lives upon leaving school. Why might that be? If the choices you make act in your best interest, not just for now, but for the future, they will probably be better choices. Consider this the next time you are tempted to do something just to ‘fit in’.

Our commitment to trusting our young people is absolute. We believe in you and know that you will rise to every challenge as we look to secure success and happiness in your lives here at Honywood and most importantly the lives you’ll have on leaving us. You have so much to gain by embracing the trust we are putting in you, but don’t lose sight

of the consequences you will have to face if you misuse that trust and make poor choices – learning is what we are here to do and there will never be a choice about that!

Staff News Joining us at the beginning of the new term are three new Learning Supervisors, Holly Britton, Jenny Hall Smith and Hayley Warman Joining us for the remaining two terms of the academic year to complete their training are Abi Brooke (Science), Nicole du Preez (Maths), Amy Edgington (Science), Claire Leggett (English) and Elliot Walker (PE).

On behalf of our whole community can I welcome all our new staff to the school.

Forward Planning To help families plan holidays for the next eighteen months, and thus avoid taking youngsters out of school during term time, can I remind everyone of the school holiday dates for 2017/18 and 2018/19.

Holiday dates (all are inclusive) for 2017/18 Spring half-term Easter Summer half term Summer holiday

Saturday 10th February – Sunday 18th February 2018 Friday 30th March – Sunday 15th April Saturday 26th May – Sunday 3rd June Saturday 21st July – Monday 3rd September

School will also be closed on Monday 7th May as this is a national bank holiday.

Holiday dates (all are inclusive) for 2018/19 Autumn half-term Christmas Spring half-term Easter Summer half term Summer holiday

Saturday 20th October – Sunday 28th October Thursday 20th December 2018 – Sunday 6th January 2019 Saturday 16th February – Sunday 24th February Saturday 6th April – Monday 22nd April Saturday 25th May – Sunday 2nd June Thursday 25th July – Monday 2nd September

School will also be closed on the following dates, either for staff training or for national bank holidays: Monday 3rd September 2018, Friday 5th October, Friday 16th November, Monday 19th November, Friday 4th January 2019 and Monday 6th May 2019.

These dates are broadly in line with those set by Essex County Council. Please do, however, check carefully when booking holidays as our staff training days, which are set by the school and often affect the beginning and end of terms, can mean that beginnings and ends of terms can vary a little from those set by the County Council.

Finally, families will be aware that in 2013 the Government changed the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations from their original wording as set out in 2006. This meant that the previous situation where Headteachers were allowed to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday during term time in “special circumstances” of up to ten school days leave per year changed. All references to family holidays and extended leave as well as the previous statutory threshold of ten school days were removed from the regulations. The amendments made clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

We have worked hard with families over the last couple of years to avoid the situation that has occurred in many Essex schools where families have faced fines for taking their youngsters out of school during term time. For many families this has been especially difficult, with lots of you writing to me pointing out the additional cost of taking holidays during the standard school breaks. Sadly holidays being cheaper outside of the normal school breaks is not a reason for considering exceptional circumstances. If you are in the position where you need to consider taking your youngster out of school, please complete the form available on our website and send this in to me as far in advance as you are able, so that we can engage in constructive dialogue as to the exceptional circumstances you face, thus avoiding any family facing a fine over this issue.

Parents’ Time Members of the Leadership Team will be available to see parents without appointment: Monday 9.00am—9.45am Tuesday 7.15am—8.00am Wednesday 3.00pm—3.45pm Thursday 5.00pm—6.00pm Friday 7.15am—8.00am

£10 Challenge A group of Cohort 10 students taking part in the Birkett Long £10 challenge organised a raffle to raise funds for St Helena Hospice. They contacted local businesses to ask them to donate prizes and ran the raffle over two nights at the school production of School of Rock.

The group, made up of Lizzie Grinter, Olivia Campe and Emelia Saunders, helped over the two nights by Jess Nelson-Smith and Ava Coughlan, raised £64 for the charity.

They would like to thank the following businesses who donated prizes: Coggeshall Auto Repairs, Peter Watts wines, Little White Box, Blackwells Farm Shop, Olivers Plants, Ziel of Earls Colne, OM Yoga Life and Especially for You Love Jasmine.

End of Term Variety Show Wonderful way to finish of the Autumn Term where the school comes together to watch our learners in the End of Term Variety Show. Well done to everyone who contributed to the show.

New Trainees and Learning Supervisors Amy Edgington Trainee Science

Hayley Warman Learning Supervisor Abi Brooke Trainee Science

Claire Leggett Trainee English

Nicole du Preez Trainee Maths

Elliot Walker Trainee PE

Holly Britton Learning Supervisor

Jenny Hall Smith Learning Supervisor

Highlights of 2017 Whole School Sponsored Walk

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Celebration of Learning Each month, learners who have gone above and beyond in their commitment to learning in and out of school are recognised through the Celebration of Learning Awards. Nominations can be made for circumstances where learners have demonstrated commitment to learning beyond expectation, exceptional progress in the development of one or more of their My Learning Attributes, represented the school or an outside organisation in a regional or national event, or completed a challenge.

Each learner who is nominated for an award will be invited to the Celebration of Learning Evening, where they will be able to showcase the work they have been nominated for in the presence of friends and family.

Our next evening is on Thursday 18th January. Nominations are made by any member of staff in the school and learners can also nominate themselves or their peers through their Learning Group Leader.

Congratulations to the learners who have received a Celebration of Learning award in December.

Daisy Thomas 7CTh

Ethan Moore 9CHa

Harry Alderton 7MHa

Alice Rissen 9JWi

Maddison Green 7MHa

Jess Elmer 10ATo

Thomas Last 7DPe

Alfie Jacobs 10OCi

Jodi Clarke 8KGu

Karta Morley 10KHo

James Deakin 8PBi

Layla Osborn 10KHo

Florence Ramsey 8AIs

Scott Collins 11CFr

Pacey Wells 8PBi

Rebecca Cordeiro 11DBr

Katie Gurbutt 9CHa

Holly Lord 11DBr

Annabel Harris 9JWi

Learners in Cohort 11 will be completing their mock exams for speaking in French, German and Spanish over the next two weeks.

French and Spanish exams will take place during the week beginning Monday 8th January and German exams will take place during the week beginning Monday 15th January.

Every learner in Cohort 11 has been emailed a document with their date and time slot and their Learning Group Leaders have also been provided with the information. It is essential that learners arrive punctually to their exams and pay particular attention to the dates and times; as with real GCSE exams there are no mop up sessions.

Speaking contributes 25% to the overall GCSE grade and therefore it is vital that learners revise and prepare effectively in order to build their own confidence. In Cohort 11 MFL classes learners have been preparing answers to key questions in French, Spanish and German and have also practised techniques for the three different elements of the exam; Role Play, Photo Card and General Conversation.

As a team, we are dedicated to help learners build their confidence with speaking a foreign language as much as possible! We would encourage all youngsters to attend after school support sessions (Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays) and to book MLCs with an MFL teacher.

We wish all of our youngsters in Cohort 11 lots of luck and success in their exams!

Week 1 Main Course

Vegetarian Course

Monday Traditional Cottage Pie served with seasonal vegetables or beans Vegetarian Cottage Pie served with seasonal vegetables or beans

Dessert

Forest Fruit Crumble & Custard

Pasta Bake

BBQ Sausage Cheese Sauce Plain

Courtyard Cafe

Pizza Tugo Quad Special

Menu subject to change

Tuesday Roast Chicken with stuffing, roast potatoes & seasonal vegetables Golden Vegetable Loaf with roast potatoes & seasonal vegetables Chocolate Sponge with Chocolate Sauce Chicken Tikka Vegetable Tikka Plain Pizza Tugo Quad Special

Wednesday Beef Lasagne with green salad & garlic bread Vegetarian Lasagne with green salad & garlic bread

Keylime Pie

Thursday Sweet & Sour Chicken Noodles with spring roll & prawn crackers Sweet & Sour Vegetable Noodles with spring roll & prawn crackers

Friday Traditional Fish & Chips with peas or beans Tomato & Basil Quiche with chips & salad

Strawberry Mousse

Fresh Fruit Salad

Cheese Sauce Arrabbiata Tomato & Basil Sauce Plain Plain

Pasta Bake of the day

Pizza Tugo Quad Special

Pizza Tugo Quad Special

Pizza Tugo Quad Special

New line to be found in the canteen

My Learning Choices Enterprise & Solutions MLCs this week are available to Cohort 7 learners that would like to go over any work that they have done in the first lesson of Season 3 on ‘stakeholders’ in business, or for Cohort 8 learners wanting to go over any Season 8 work on ‘methods of advertising’ and ‘justifying business decisions’.

Business Studies MLCs this week will be focused on the ‘marketing’ unit, with emphasis on either ‘Case Study 1’ or revising for the end of unit assessment. How to structure 6 and 9 mark questions will be a particular focus when revising, as well as use of key words and terminology.

Learning resources and guidance will also be available for the Cohort 10s who would like to go over either ‘cash flow’, ‘sources of finance’ or ‘break-even’.

Important Dates 5th Jan - Cohort 11 Mock Results Day 9th Jan - Ambassador Assembly Launch 18th Jan - Celebration of Learning Evening 22nd Jan - Deadline for Ambassador Applications 29th Jan - 2nd Feb Quintet Week 31st Jan - Pathways Event 2pm-4pm 3rd Feb - 9th Feb Honywood Depart German Exchange 12th - 16th Feb Half Tearm 21st Feb - Online Learning Evening for Famlies 7pm 28th Feb - Cohort 8 Guided Choices Evening (1) 1st Mar - Cohort 8 Guided Choices Evening (2)

Careers

New School of Medicine at Anglia Ruskin beginning September 2018 Did you know Anglia Ruskin has commenced plans to build Essex’s first ever School of Medicine, intake from September 2018!

Well Done to our Cohort 8 Duty Receptionists

MFL

Start the new year off with positive steps towards your language learning and book an MLC in January with an MFL teacher today!

Maths - Are you curious about a specific Maths topic that you would like to learn more about?

- Do you want to improve your problem solving skills and become a more capable Mathematician?

- Or, do you want to boost your confidence in Maths?

Please book your Maths MLC for extra support with your learning.

We will be offering workshops on specific topics, as well as general maths sessions where you can bring any learning you need support with. Book for yourself, or bring a friend, or if a small group of you need help with the same topic, book a session together.”

English Do you need support with addressing your recent learning points? Perhaps you are finding some punctuation tricky or you can’t quite get your head around how to use PEE to respond to texts. If so, don’t hesitate to book an MLC today.

The support we can provide you with will benefit your learning immensely.

Family Learning Team

email FLT@honywoodschool.com If your youngster is absent please email attendance@honywoodschool.com

Ellie Houghton Sophie Myhill Pacey Wells Finley Kennedy