Aspire & Achieve Together Holcombe Newsletter December 2019 CONTENTS Message from the Director of Education 1 Holcombe Grammar School Welcomes New Principal 2 School Captains’ Team 3 Thinking Accreditation 3 ABCD Term 1 Winner 3 Senior Maths Competition 4 Work Experience Success 4 Remembrance Day 5 Sixth Form Mock Election 5 Sailing Trip 6 Duke of Edinburgh Expedition 7 Sea Cadet Summer 8 Sea Cadet Residential Trip 9 Japan Trip 11 Macbeth Trip 12 Knife Angel 12 Mastery, Endeavour and Thinking Cyber Discovery Group 13 Year 7 Thinking Skills 13 Open Morning Prize Draw Winner 13 Aspirations Day 14 Public Speaking Success 14 Operation Christmas Child Warehouse Trip 15 Children in Need Fundraising 16 Day of the Dead Competition 16 Sports 17 Holcombe Library Grand Opening 18 Community Event 19 Space Chase Reading Challenge 19 Christmas Carol Concert 20 12 Tins of Christmas 20 Christmas Card Competition Winners 20 Poetry Live! 21 Archie’s Boxing 22 Charlie’s Crime Writing Club 22 Holcombe Association 22 Clubs 23 Term Dates 24 Key Dates 25 Page 1 HGS Newsletter M ESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION A warm welcome to our final newsletter of 2019, packed full of reports outlining the successes and triumphs of our Holcombe community over the past two terms. In keeping with the festive season, we have much to celebrate and be thankful for as we reflect on recent events. Gaining accreditation from the University of Exeter as a nationally accredited Thinking School was a great achievement for us, and testament to the skills and talents of our teachers in delivering an effective cognitive education for our students. Thanks goes to Ms Tanti who led on this initiative for Holcombe with Miss Cook. I was also delighted to support the launch of our Holcombe library. This is a fantastic resource centre for our students, and indicative of our continual drive to promote and support their reading and research skills. These are critical skills for their future success, and I thank Mr Still and Mr Claessens for their energy and dedication in overseeing the creation and successful daily operation of the library. On a personal level, I greatly enjoyed reading the third stave of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” to assembled students in the library last week, whilst wearing a Scrooge-esque top hat, courtesy of Mr Still! Our students here at Holcombe continue to make us proud, both by their own achievements and their wonderful community spirit. As is now traditional, Miss Martin led the Shoebox appeal as part of Operation Christmas Child, and we were delighted to deliver an amazing 269 shoeboxes to the Tonbridge depot. In addition, and for the second year running, Holcombe topped the Trust by one of our very own students, Orlando Sarkodie in Year 7, winning the annual Thinking Schools Academy Trust Christmas card competition. Congratulations to Orlando. I would also like to commend and thank Daniel Marks, Thea Baker and the School Captains’ Team, as they come to the end of their term of office. They have made an excellent contribution to our community and I have greatly enjoyed my termly Leadership Lunches with them, where we have discussed student council agendas and their ongoing work in supporting school development. I wish them, and all of our Year 11 and Year 13 students, every success as they enter the revision period for next year’s public examinations. Thus, as we enter a new decade, we enter into an exciting new era for our senior leadership team. Mr Preston is officially joining us as Principal from January, but has spent much time with us in the past term meeting staff and students and preparing for this role. I look forward to continuing to work alongside him as he leads our school forward. I am also delighted to announce the secondment of Miss Martin as Assistant Head of School for Personal Development, Behaviour and Welfare. A thank you and farewell to Mr Day, who will now return to his substantive role at Rochester Grammar School. We have been grateful for his interim leadership of the school, alongside Mrs Villalta, who will continue to support Holcombe in her role as Head of Staffing and Operations for the Chatham Hub of Thinking Schools Academy Trust. Finally, a thank you on behalf of the staff and students to all our parents, carers and families for your continued support of our school. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Ms M Gage Director of Education Page 2 Holcombe Grammar School Welcomes New Principal Mr Preston will be joining Holcombe Grammar School as its new Principal from January. Mr Preston is an exceptional school leader, with more than 12 years’ leadership experience. Mr Preston, born and raised in Kent, has worked in schools in the county throughout his career and is currently Deputy Headteacher at Thomas Aveling School in Rochester, where he has led on school improvement and raising standards, and played an important role in the school being rated Good by Ofsted. Prior to his current role at Thomas Aveling School, Mr Preston served as an Assistant Head at Hayes School in Bromley and was an Assistant Head of Year at Cator Park School in Beckenham. Mandy Gage will continue supporting both Holcombe Grammar School and the Victory Academy also in Chatham, in her role as Director of Education, Chatham Hub, for Thinking Schools Academy Trust. Message from Mr Preston It is my pleasure to introduce myself as the new Principal of Holcombe Grammar School from January 2020. Since being appointed in September, I have enjoyed getting to know the school and the Thinking Schools Academy Trust through a series of visits and meetings with staff and students. It was also a real pleasure to attend the Carol Concert last week to see some superb performances from our choir and musicians. I have taught in Kent schools for over twenty years and led in Senior Leadership Teams for the past twelve years, in two different schools. As a parent of two secondary age children myself, I know very well the importance of children being happy at school and being supported and encouraged to become their best selves. I will work closely with everyone at, and associated with, Holcombe to ensure that all students continue to have every opportunity to excel both academically and socially. I really look forward to meeting you all in the new year and working with all staff, students, governors and parents to continue to build on the wide array of strengths and achievements of Holcombe as we move into a new decade. In the meantime, I offer my very best wishes for a Happy Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year to you all. School Captains’ Team and Prefects 2019 Page 3 A big thank you to last year’s School Captains’ Team and Prefects. They have done a brilliant job assisting at school events, assemblies, Parent Consultation Evenings and more. New Captains are being appointed and we will introduce the new team next year. Captains’ Team Head Boy Daniel Marks Head Girl Thea Baker Deputy Head Boy Elliot Odom Deputy Head Girl Bethany Franqueira Head Prefect Martin May Sports Captain Caitlyn Ehrich Captains’ Team Hanna Roob and Harry Osborne Thinking Accreditation Holcombe Grammar School is proud to announce that we have been accredited by the University of Exeter as a ‘Thinking School.’ This status means Holcombe is among schools striving to teach students to be creative and independent thinkers. This is a status we will hold until September 2022. In their report, as part of the accreditation process, the University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education praised the leadership team and wider teaching staff for “actively seeking opportunities to continuously drive improvements in learning and teaching” and “creating a positive learning culture.” ABCD Term 1 Winner Congratulations to Miss Green, Office Apprentice/Admin Assistant at Holcombe Grammar School, who has been announced as joint ABCD Winner this term. ABCD Winners are chosen across the Thinking Schools Academy Trust to recognise outstanding contributions from Trust staff. Miss Green was nominated because ‘since joining she always goes above and beyond in her duties; she ensures the students feel comfortable when coming into the office to ask questions and ask for support. She is a dedicated member of the office team and is always willing to help and support in the multitude of tasks within the Main School Office. She has doubled as our receptionist, communicating with staff and parents, manned reprographics and is a constant support with the admissions of our students. Ellie has exceeded all expectations of the role of an apprentice and is a valued member of our team.’ She was presented with her certificate and prize by our Chief Executive Officer, Mr Stuart Gardner. SIXTH FORM NEWS Page 4 Senior Maths Competition Several Year 12 and Year 13 students were involved in the Senior Maths competition on Thursday 7th November, which is an individual national competition lasting 90 minutes, where 19 students gained awards ranging from Gold to Bronze. This is a fantastic achievement! The test called upon students' inherent problem solving and reasoning skills. Students also needed to recall and apply a high level of mathematical knowledge. Johannes Sadler, who achieved Gold, will now proceed to a further round. We wish him the best of luck and will keep Holcombe parents up to date. Work Experience Success Year 13 student Daniel Belsey recently completed a week’s work experience in Councillor Vince Maple’s office at Gun Wharf, Chatham. Cllr Maple is the Councillor for Chatham Central, Medway Labour Spokesperson for Business Support and Leader of the Labour and Co-operative Group.