HPFS Whole School Bulletin Friday 7th September 2018 Issue 2 Message from the Principal Our academic year started with summer school with many of our students in Europe on trips to Berlin and France, so it has been wonderful to welcome back all students this week. Our first day saw in the morning all our students on the Officers Mess Site where students met with their tutor to get organised ready for the start of their lessons. As a school our vision in summary, is to ensure we know all our children well so we can support and challenge them to achieve excellence in the classroom and beyond. It is important to us that they achieve academically but it is equally important that they achieve as young people. Being involved in the wider aspects of school life such as trips, teams, charity activities, work experience and some of the leadership roles we have, support this. As a staff and a student body we all know, (like the geese) that if we fly in formation, we help each other. We can take it turn to be leaders setting the directions as well as encouraging each other to succeed. Starts of terms are often about getting consistency and expectation right so we all do our part for each other. This allows us then to develop our individuality from a solid foundation. Whilst knowledge and hard-work are important attitude means we make the most of opportunities as well as creating new ones. This week is about new starts as well as building on what each of us has achieved so far. Our Year 7 students, like our youngest in Reception are staring the next phase in learning and education As a school we this year have begun our sixth form and we are proud that of the attitude these students are showing in this stage. We all know it is a big jump in learning between GCSE and A level. Last week I was fortunate enough to attend with our first sixth form students the Western Library in Oxford. It was a pleasure to be involved with students who were interested in what happens in a library at post graduate level as well as the interest shown in the Tolkein exhibition. In the afternoon we met up with all years in Blenheim Palace Gardens for a picnic lunch and visited the pleasure gardens to take on the challenge of the maze. It was here we saw the family ethos of our school with students supporting and encouraging each other. We must praise our students and thank you for the high standards of uniform. We would remind everyone though nail varnish is not allowed in school. Year 11 have mock exams starting on the 2 nd October. We will be sending out timetables for exams and revision booklets at the end of next week. It is important that they have a revision and homework timetable that they build up over the year. Many will find blocks of 15 minutes on a subject topic followed by a short break helpful in retaining information. Next week on 12 th September at 2pm we have Parents Drop In. Please join us on the Officers Mess for a tea or coffee and an opportunity to ask us questions, offer ideas. Important Information Dates for your diary (Subject to change) Week Commencing 10th September 2018 is Week 2 on the Secondary Timetable September 12.09.18 Parent Drop in @ OM 2pm & 6pm 19.09.18 KS4 (Y10-11) Info. Evening and Y7 Settling In Evening @ OM 5pm- 6pm 29.09.18 HPFS Open Day 11am- 3pm October 10.10.18 Y6 SATS Info. Evening 6pm -7pm @ OM 11.10.18 Y11 Parent Evening T.B.C. 15.10.18 - October Half Term 29.10.18 Inset Day 30.10.18 Students back in School November 08.11.18 Firework Evening @ SC, time TBC 13.11.18 15.11.18 Primary Parents Evenings December 11.12.18 KS1 Christmas Play 2pm 12.12.18 KS1 Christmas Play 6pm 13.12.18 Nursery & Reception Christmas Play @ SC 2pm 18.12.18 Rewards Trip T.B.C. 19.12.18 Christmas Concert T.B.C. 20.12.18 Y10 Parents Evening T.B.C. Please continue to refer to the School Website calendar for regular updates. Year 7 Settling in Evening - Wednesday 19th September Please direct any enquiries to office@heyfordparkfreeschool.org An opportunity for new year 7 parents to meet form tutors and their Head of Houses. KS4 Evening - Wednesday 19th September An opportunity to meet Maths, English and Science subject leads and understand the requirements of the new GCSE's.
Summer School Well done to all of the students who took part in summer school this year, it was a fantastic week filled with Science Experiments, Murder Mystery, Problem Solving, the history and heritage of the site followed by cooking, sport, chess slime making and football. The end of the week finished with exploring our local museums and visiting Blenheim palace. Students were fantastic and did the school and themselves proud.
New Traffic/Pedestrian Plan Attached to the Bulletin email is a new plan which comes into effect from Monday 10th September. Parents and Children have to cross the road using the light controlled crossing and walk around Heyford House and enter the school using the schools side gate entrance. Looking at the attached plan you can walk further along the footpath and cross the road opposite the school main entrance but this not advisable. Our students will need to also be informed as they will be required to use the side gate entrance to the school, and NOT the main gates at the front of the school. This whole process will commence around 9.30 on Monday 10/9/18. Please have a look am familiarise yourself with the new plans. Site Team Attendance Whole School Attendance = 96.97% Primary Attendance = 97.72% Secondary Attendance = 96.44% MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT! PE News September activities Extra curricular activities return in term 1 with students having the opportunity to represent the school in Rugby, Football, Netball and Hockey. When possible, we would love to see the students who wish to represent the house come to a practice session on Wednesdays after school to practise as a team and prepare for the upcoming competitions. Fixtures will begin WB 17th September and details will be shared with students on the fixtures board. Wednesday after school sports club begins on the 12th September and we look forward to welcoming as many students as possible to this enrichment opportunity. Its a great way to meet new students, try new activities or practise for upcoming fixtures and events. Mr A. Brown Director of Learning PE & Arts PASTORAL life of the school Ever wondered what this term means in a school context? A simple way to think of it is normal level looking after your children like you and any other parent would expect. Practically this means looking after student well being, so for our students whether that be looking out for them if they re feeling down, if they re feeling great, how their school day is going, monitoring behaviour- positive and negative - attendance, basically their world here at Heyford Park. If you have any questions or concerns about pastoral issues please do contact one of the Student Welfare (Pastoral) team at school- here s my email as a starting point: jhobbs@heyfordparkfreeschool.org News from Art Dept. Art club starts next week and will be on Mondays and Thursdays. Art club is open to all students and is a great opportunity for GCSE students to complete coursework. The sessions run from 4-5pm in TB09, the Art studio. Curriculum Booklets Curriculum booklets will be published next week and sent out with the newsletter, they will also be placed on the website.
Multi Activity Trip Summer 2018 45 students and 4 staff set off for France on Sunday 26 th August. With lots of smiles and a few tears we departed the SC heading south in some typically British summer weather. Following a choppy crossing from Dover to Calais we made our way down to Le Lac, Mimizan. We were welcomed by beautiful sunny weather and an extremely positive and happy group of Rockley instructors. The pace immediately increased with students shown to their tented sleeping accommodation, given a healthy and hearty breakfast and introduced to the Rockley staff and arrangements in a style that could only have been done by the Rockley staff. Students took part in a wide range of on and off water activities, including, Sailing, Canoeing, Kayaking, Mountain Biking (with a sneaky stop to practise French language skills by ordering ice cream), Stand Up Paddle boarding and Raft Building. The students all threw themselves into each activity with gusto! They fed off the enthusiasm from the instructors and returned from each session with a huge smile and new skills. The instructors commented positively about the group of students after each session and there was a great relationship developed between the instructors and students on the trip. Students showed great teamwork throughout the week, in working together during activities and whilst keeping their tents and living space clean and tidy. Students strived to keep their space clean to avoid having to clear staff and student s plates at mealtimes as a forfeit. Our time off-site was spent at the natural wonder of Dune du Pilat, and the not so natural Aqualand, where the students enjoyed the water slides, wave machines and staff enjoyed the lazy river. Once again the student s behaviour was outstanding. On Thursday evening we visited the seaside resort off Mimizan, which gave students another chance to further develop their language skills and buy gifts for friends and family. We watched a beautiful sunset over the Atlantic Ocean before meeting in the town square for a group photo. Our last couple of days the students displayed huge level of endurance and resilience in continuing to take part in every session with the instructors. Many transferred learnt skills onto new activities and again levels of praise were high. We handed out our awards on the penultimate evening to successful individuals and groups of students who had gone above and beyond throughout the week. These were mirrored by Rockley staff before our departure on Saturday to their students of the week. On the return journey the student s behaviour was again outstanding and they were delighted to see their parents happy smiling faces as we returned (ahead of schedule) to the SC. It was an excellent trip all round and an absolute pleasure to have worked with the students during the week. Planning is already in place for next year s trip and I will look to launch it to students before the end of September. Mr Brown
Berlin Residential 28 th -31 st August 2018 During summer school this year the humanities department ran a residential to Berlin for GCSE History students (Yrs 9 & 10). This visit offered students a fantastic opportunity to visit locations and museums linked to their GCSE History course. This was a fantastic trip and the 42 students who came were an absolute credit to themselves and the school. From the (very) early departure for the flight from Heathrow to the late arrival back to the Specialisms campus the students were pleasant and well behaved. I would like to thank all the staff and students who attended the trip and look forward to running it again in summer 2020. Below I have included some pictures of some of the sites we visited. Mrs R Rhymes Director of Learning for Humanities Showing how many were put in a cell at the Stasi Prison (we were always going to let them out, we promise!) Remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, complete with graffiti and chewing gum! Standard trip group shot in front of the Berlin Wall and guard tower. And another in front of the Brandenburg Gate Finally, an image of the gate and memorial from the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Again, a massive thank you to all staff and students for making this trip so enjoyable and a fantastic success!
On the 21st of September, Heyford Park is organising a non-school uniform day raising awareness for people with genetic disorders. One in 25 children are affected by a genetic disorder such as cystic fibrosis. Infact, 30,000 babies and children are newly diagnosed in the UK each year, some disorders start at birth, others throughout their childhood and even at adolescence. By raising money and awareness we are helping those families who need the extra support and service which is desperately needed in their day to day life. By encouraging your child to come into non-uniform, especially jeans, you are helping to raise a greater understanding of disabilities and the difficult lives led by children with genetic disorders. Thank you and we hope to see you on the 21st of September on non school uniform day! Danielle Girling Charity Ambassador