HHH news WELCOME! Welcome to the Autumn 2018 edition of HHHnews, and of course, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! Another incredibly busy term for us all, with lots of new pupils starting, various new projects underway and big achievements made. Head Teacher's Highlights A few highlights for me from this term include the reward trips that took place in 'Anti-Bullying Week' (more details below), the dance and theatre workshops with McQueens, seeing the children develop their musical abilities thanks to Chris our Deputy Head Teacher's own passion for music, meeting and recruiting a School Nurse who will start in January and focus on emotional wellbeing and healthy lifestyles, seeing the children's creation from the Felt & Hounds trips and finally seeing the new school kitchen up and running after the extensive works carried out over the summer holidays. Thank you to all of the staff, children and parents for a successful 2018, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The joy of theatre and dance The children have recently enjoyed a series of workshops with McQueens Dance and Theatre School, a community interest company (CIC), based in Launceston, who offer acting, dance and theatre workshops with RAD trained and qualified teachers. The workshops gave the children the opportunity to try on a range of theatrical outfits, experiment with face paints and masks, learn and practice dance routines in small groups, with every class having the opportunity to take part. A few words from Dr Julie Smith, Chair of the Board It has been a very exciting year for Highgate Hill House School, with lots of new faces, children and staff alike. Thank you on behalf of the Board to all the staff for all your hard work and for making a difference! It is an absolute joy for me personally to see the children enjoying learning and all the other activities that you provide. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year, and I look forward to seeing you all in 2019! Bushcraft and survival skills Practical Skills Instructor Ollie Norton and Learning Support Assistant Izzy Skelton, recently completed a residential Bushcraft Competency Certificate with Biblins Bushcraft in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, and have been sharing their new-found skills with pupils. The course covered the safe use of tools, creating fire, bowdrills, safe water, shelter, tree identification, natural navigation and creating cord from natural device - basically everything you need to be able to survive in the wilderness using what you can find in your natural surroundings.
Julie's PhD ceremony You may remember that Dr Julie Smith, Chair of the Board, had just successfully completed her PhD in Education from the Summer edition of our newsletter? Here is Julie, all togged up for her PhD award ceremony, which took place at Cheltenham Racecourse (best known as the home of the Cheltenham Gold Cup). Congratulations again Julie! Swannacott Woods Ollie recently met with the Forestry Commission, to discuss our wishes to lease an area of Swannacott Woods which would enable us to expand our Outdoor Learning provision. We are delighted to say that they very accommodating of our plans and we are now in the process of negotiating a lease. Our aim is that from early 2019, the children will be able to use the space for shelter and den building, nature studies and woodland crafts, orienteering, learning about the local flora and fauna, plus understand the importance of preserving and protecting wild spaces. Christmas 2018 Production All of the children and staff have been involved in the preparations for the 2018 Christmas Production, learning lines, rehearsing scenes, sourcing and creating costumes and set building. 'The Grinch' production will take place on Tuesday 18th December at 1pm in the Sports Hall. We look forward to sharing with you the fruits of all our hard work! We are very proud to tell you that we've been shortlisted for the 'Special Needs Initiative of the Year' award at the TES Independent School awards, which take place on 1st February 2019. The awards ceremony takes place at Grosvenor House Hotel in London, and promises to be a glitzy affair with over 400 guests, including government ministers and the 'great and good' from the world of education. A big thank you to Mole Valley Farmers at Holsworthy who very kindly donated and delivered a Christmas tree to the school at the end of November! The children really enjoyed decorating the tree, adding their own special touches. Reward trips during 'Anti-Bullying Week' To celebrate 'Anti-Bullying Week', the children enjoyed a day of reward trips including bowling at Trethorne Leisure, rollerblading with McQueens and hot chocolates and sand art at the beach! As we move into the festive season I would like to express my gratitude to the School Chair, Head Teacher and all of the staff, parents and carers who work tirelessly together for the benefit of all of our young people. I should also like to offer a warm welcome to Chris Wright, our new Deputy Head Teacher who joined us at the beginning of this academic year. As all good schools we each year set ourselves improvement targets, some of our targets this year include to: 1. Achieve self-assessment 'outstanding' status 2. Introduce a student and staff rewards scheme 3. Secure UNESCO dance and music status 4. Be shortlisted for 2 national awards 5. Continued investment in school premises and facilities for our students Along with the Highate team I am working hard to ensure that we achieve all of these targets plus several others that include raising the profile of the school and awareness of Special Needs Children at every opportunity. Recent activities have involved meetings in the House of Lords, City Hall Mayors Office and the Mansion House. In School Founder Sir Peter Birkett furtherance of this I have recently joined a national SEN committee set up by Worshipful Company of Educators. As a UNESCO (International Dance Council) ambassador I have seen first hand how music and dance has helped build a young persons confidence and learning, that is why we as a school have committed to introducing increased amounts of music and dance into the curriculum. We also hope to become a UNESCO accredited centre in 2019. To that end I should like to wish you all a peaceful and enjoyable Christmas and a prosperous and healthy new year. Last but not least... ... we just had to share Alex's recent acrylic paint masterpiece that he created in Art. He worked on it for several weeks, experimenting with different textures and techniques, and very kindly gave it to his Mum for her birthday! |