Welcome to the new format of the weekly newsletter and thank you to all of you who provided feedback on the newsletter and communications at HCH generally. We hope that this new format will make it easier for you to receive information that is relevant and specific to you, whilst still providing you with the overall picture of all the great things that are happening at HCH.
I also want to thank again all parents who joined me for the informal parents’ evenings over the last few weeks. These meetings have been invaluable for me to connect with you, to hear your thoughts about our provision, to think how we can move forward together, and to know how your children are experiencing the school and, most importantly, how we can improve. It is great to have such a passionate and committed parent body who care so much. We will continue to host these evenings going forward so that we can ensure a strong connection with you and that you have a platform to ask questions and provide feedback on what is happening at the school. It will also be just a great excuse to get together to get to know each other better in an informal way.
I wish you all a lovely weekend.
Best wishes,
Adrian
Summer Term 2022
Dates for your calendar
18th May, An Evening of Arts: Ukraine Crisis Appeal Fundraiser. Book your tickets now on our Eventbrite page
23rd – 27th May, Francophonie week at HCH
25th May, Francophonie Week Wine & Cheese Tasting. Please RSVP via this Google Form
30th May – 3rd June, Half-term break
16th June, Their Future Today charity partnership launch event. Invitations to follow!
19th June, Friends of HCH Summer Fête
27th June, Year 11 leaver’s event (details to follow)
28th June, Year 13 leaver’s event (details to follow)
6th July, Speech Day Prizegiving Ceremony
Highlights of the week
Mental Health Awareness From Tea and Talk breaks to team-building, there has much been much going on at HCH for Mental Health Awareness Week. We had a special visiting speaker for our year 5, 6 and 7 today called George Perterkin from Mind Your Health. He delivered a Mental Health Warriors course to the year 7’s, this is accredited and the students will receive a certificate of completion. He then led a session on the importance of looking after your mental health for years 5 and 6. Both were excellent sessions and well received by our students.
In addition to this years 5-10 had two special lessons on different topics relating to mental health, including loneliness, team building, anti racism and stereotyping, or cyber bullying. The students engaged fantastically in these sessions and the teachers were very impressed with their contributions. We also asked all teachers today to include a link to mental health awareness in their own subject teaching in someway, we had many different activities going on, including creative writing in year 3 about a lonely toy or animal receiving help, French poetry on the importance of expressing your feelings, in photography the students looked at the work of Richard Billingham which explored his chaotic family life, and much more! Finally as a special thank you to our staff, SLT took over all break duties so that everyone could enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, some pastries and a nice chat with colleagues in the staff common room.
Here are some of the highlights:
Year 10 PSHE: Teambuilding
Years 5 & 6 Mental health workshop
Year 7 Creating posters for a mental health display
Other news from across the school
Reading
This week the Y2, Y3 and Y4 children got to meet the Y12 students who will be reading with them over the course of this term. The Sixth Formers are volunteering their time to help the children in the Lower Years with their reading. This promises to be an excellent experience for them and an opportunity to develop their social leadership skills.
Gardening
It was a super busy gardening club this week with lots of tasks that needed completing and despite the rain we got loads done. This week the children were weeding and mulching the footpaths; planting sweetpeas and rainbow chard in the sensory beds and planting out lettuce, cucumber and French marigolds in the veggie beds. The garden is really starting to come to life now with the geraniums about to flower around the statue; and the radishes and strawberries thriving in the raised beds. We’ll be planting out more peas, beans and sweetcorn in the coming weeks too. We’re hugely grateful to all of the children and the wider school community for their support in the garden.
The Friends of HCH
Poetry
In Poetry Club this week we discovered the young Vietnamese poet, Ocean Vuong, and read some of his wonderful poems, including ‘Kisses in Vietnam’ which beautifully describes relationships, ageing and a joyful grandmother. The students identified all sorts of poetic devices and also learnt more about the culture and history of Vietnam.
Bikeability
This week the Y6 were on their bike for a cycling training at school and on the roads around the school. They are now equipped with vital life skills! They have gained confidence, improved their cycle on the road, social skills and a sense of wellbeing. Well done Y6!
Lower Years Assembly
The Lower Years had their annual Geography Contest on Monday run by Clarisse, Head of Humanities. They were divided into houses and focused on countries of the world and their capital. The winning team is Wright 2! Well done to all the children and parents who worked really well during the Easter holiday to memorise the different countries and their capital.
Fort Boyard
Year 7 are studying French TV and this week they focussed on the iconic TV show “Fort Boyard“.
The students were very imaginative and came up with their own idea about a challenge that could be done by the contestants of the show:
Dukes Club is hosting a couple of fantastic events in the coming week with two stellar parenting experts hosting exclusive webinars for the Dukes Club audience.
Is your child neurodevelopmentally mature enough for school?
By Sarah Warley of the Key Clinic
6pm, Thursday 19 May 2022 on Zoom
Is your child finding things more difficult at school than they should be? Sarah Warley is the founder of the Key Clinic which specialises in helping children and adults overcome issues such as dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety and depression with cutting-edge, drug-free therapies. Engaging, knowledgeable and a brilliant speaker, there is little Sarah Warley doesn’t know about childhood development. The DJ Chris Evans calls the Key Clinic, “a miracle!”. Don’t miss this talk. Sign up atthedukesclub.com
Never have to ask your child twice
By Elaine Halligan of the Parent Practice
6pm, Monday 23 May 2022 on Zoom
Does it drive you mad when your children don’t listen to, ignore, or defy you? Do you find yourself repeating things over and over again only to end up shouting? If so, join Elaine Halligan of the Parent Practice for this webinar on how to talk to your child so they will listen. Elaine is one of the UK’s most experienced parenting experts and has years of expertise transforming challenging children into confident and contented young people with her positive approach. Sign up now atthedukesclub.com
