Head of School's News
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Issue 7 19 October 2018 HEAD OF SCHOOL’S NEWS A warm welcome to the first newsletter of the new school year. We are delighted to welcome both the new Year 7 and the Sixth Form students. We are so proud of all our students who have made a confident and assured start to the new school year. This is another milestone in the growth of our growing school, we have doubled in size both in terms of student numbers and teaching and support staff. Over the page is a list of all the new members of staff and their roles. I am proud to have such a talented team of teachers and teaching assistants who are committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for students. We are also very grateful to all our parents for the support and encourage- ment they have provided. It has already proven to be a very busy half term with lots going on in the first few weeks. Students have been completing baseline assessments in the core subjects, and taking part in engaging lessons in other subjects. There have been elections for the school council which will have its first meeting after half term and not forgetting the charity day for Macmillan which saw the students raise an impressive £735.28. Students have been actively involved in the extra-curricular activities which are running at lunchtimes and after school, thank you to Mr Matthews and Miss Mead for organising all the inter-form activities at lunchtime and the after school fixtures, which has already seen us compete against other schools in cross country, rugby, netball and girls football. Thank you also to Mr Leach and Mr Chapman for setting up the after school science club which has proved to be very popular filling up within the first few days. During next half term we will be looking at additional curriculum area clubs which will be running, details to follow. I would also like to remind parents of the opportunities that students have to learn a musical instrument or have singing les- sons. If you require further details on these you can ask for a letter from the main office. It is also pleasing to see that we have several students who are rehearsing with the orchestra at Hampton College and I look forward to seeing them represent the school in future Trust performances. Early October saw us hold the open evening for next year’s Year 7. I am always amazed by the huge volume of students who are willing to give up their free time to help on these occasions. Once again it proved to be a very busy evening with nearly 400 families attending. It was a very positive evening, but most pleasing were the comments that parents made about the students in particular. On the evening and after the event we were inundated with comments saying how polite and helpful the students were. A huge thank you to everyone who helped out on the evening you are obviously proud of your school and we are all very proud of you. Inside this issue: Hampton Garden News and General Information 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Attendance and Positive Points Leagues 8, 9 Physical Education Department News 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Diary Dates and Term Dates 15 Hampton Gardens Hampton Thank you to all parents who attended our Curriculum and E-safety evening on 11 October. It was great to meet so many of you again. On the evening I discussed the challenges that technology brings in today’s society and the impact that this can have on young people in particular. There is a short article enclosed in this newsletter to make parents and carers aware of these issues and where they can go to seek help and guidance. With winter fast approaching, it seems a good point to remind students and parents about bike safety to and from school. It is pleasing to see so many students using their bikes and wearing cycle helmets, even if they do have to be reminded on several occasions. However whilst I have been on duty it is clear that not many students have lights or reflectors. As the daylight hours get shorter please consider applying these to your child’s bike and consider reflective bands for their coats. On another issue it has become clear that some of the students are using the walking paths across the brick pits to and from Yaxley. Can I remind parents that this is not a recommended route to and from school and when the weather is not good that these tracks turn into mud baths which mean that the students arrived covered in mud. We still do not have confirmation of when the cycle route from Yaxley will be open, but please be reassured that we are working with both the Parish and City Council to make sure this happens. It is always nice to celebrate student success and I was delighted to hear the news that 28 Year 8 students are going to have their work published in a book which will be released in November of this year. This is the result of the students being select- ed from a national competition which they entered last year. Further details are included in this newsletter, the organisers have not announced the overall winner yet, so fingers crossed for those students still in with a chance to win this. Finally it is with a great deal of sadness that we will be saying goodbye to a member of staff shortly after half-term. Miss Ben- yon, who has been heading up Music, is leaving us in November to relocate to Suffolk where her husband’s job has taken him. Mrs Benyon has enjoyed her time here and said “I just wish I could pick this school up and move it to Ipswich”. I personally would like to thank Mrs Benyon for what she has achieved here and wish her all the very best for the future. Warmest regards, Mr A H Greenwood Head of School New Staff Members- September 2018 Teaching Staff Support Staff Mrs S Gilligan Deputy Head of School Mrs M Bogris Teaching Assistant Mr S Joyce Head of Year 8 and Teacher of Mrs T Caborn Teaching Assistant Technology Miss A Hodgkinson Head of Art Mrs C Cadman Teaching Assistant Mr J Sandeman Head of ICT and Computing Miss A Cava Teaching Assistant Mr P Tank Head of Maths Miss J Goodey Teaching Assistant Mrs H Willetts Head of History Miss S Hamey Teaching Assistant Mr B Ayling Teacher of Geography Mrs R Howes Teaching Assistant Mr H Chapman Teacher of Science Miss L Jones Teaching Assistant Mrs L Cumberland Teacher of Technology Mrs E Lee Teaching Assistant Mr R Gallagher Teacher of French Miss L Rozario Cover Supervisor Miss A Pinnell Teacher of English Mr M Sanderson Caretaker Miss J Redden Teacher of French Hampton Gardens Hampton HAMPTON GARDENS NEWS European Day of Languages During this half-term the European Day of Languages took place on Wednesday 26 Septem- ber. To celebrate, the languages department taught lessons on the importance of lan- guages, staff put on their berets for the whole day and we even had some teachers showing off their linguistic skills in languages they have learnt, including: Miss Dixon - Japanese Mr Ayling - Afrikaans Miss Cava & Mr Sandeman - Italian Mr Gallagher - Swedish Mrs Benyon - Welsh Mrs Caborn - Sign language During the week students also attended lots of lunchtime clubs and enjoyed playing language games, doing a languages treasure hunt around school and we even watched the movie Sing in German. We also launched the National Spelling Bee Competition for Year 7 German students which is a competition to spell as many words as possible in a minute using the German alphabet from a list of a possible 200 words. The Year 8 French students were also introduced to the National Translation Bee Competition which is a similar format but rather than spell out words, students have to translate full sentences into French. It was brilliant to see so many students involved, engaged and celebrating different cultures throughout the week! Parents/Carers Bike It+ comes to Hampton Gardens Secondary School! We’d like to introduce an exciting project that is starting at Hampton Gardens Secondary School this year. Bike It+ is run by Sustrans, the country’s leading sustainable transport charity that helps more pupils to be able to cycle, scoot and walk to and from school. The project is funded by TravelChoice through Peterborough City Council. Over the next year we will be working with the Bike It+ Champion and the school to promote cycling, scooting and walking in the following ways: By making sure the school has the facilities needed by pupils who want to cycle and scoot to school, including secure cycle and scooter storage. By working with your school to provide cycle or scooter skills and games sessions to help pupils ride safely and feel more confident. By organising promotional activities and events to encourage pupils to cycle, scoot and walk to school. By involving local shops, clubs and other organisations to help us. By working with parents so that they can help support the project. At Bike It+, we think cycling, scooting and walking are excellent ways to travel to school, as it is good for your health, good for the environment, and helps to develop independence and road safety skills. We focus on making cycling, scooting and walking as safe as possible, and by reducing the number of cars around the school, we can help to make the neighbourhood a safer and less congested place.