The Hemel Hempstead School Issue 1107

20th September 2019

Email: parentmail@hemelschool.com Website: www.hhs.herts.sch.uk

The Hemel Hempstead School Association, or HHSA, operated in support of this school from the late 1970s and as our ‘PTA’ was there for the school through thick and thin. Run entirely by volunteers, mostly parents, but also former parents, community members, governors, friends and staff members it ran uniform sales, provided refreshments at school events, fed hundreds on the fun run, supported school plays and performances, assisted in charity events and ran our bi-annual Summer Fair and Dog Show. In the last decade alone it raised over £35 000, all of which was used in support of our students. Without these donations the following, for example, would not have been possible: the new toilets in South block and Main block, the new microscopes in science, the new fiction collection in the library, the new textbooks in languages, the mental health ambassadors training, the world class 3G football pitch - all part or fully funded by the HHSA. The HHSA provided a vital link between parents and school, offered an avenue for support, especially for new parents with children in Year 7 and was a sociable, friendly and collegiate group of volunteers. You may have noticed that I have been writing in the past tense? It is with great sadness, frustration and regret that in a meeting this week the HHSA placed itself in suspended animation. It still exists as a legal charity, but has ceased all fundraising and event support to the school. It is for all intent and purposes, no more. Why? Around a year ago I wrote in this newsletter to explain that the then chair, Bryan and then vice chair, Roger had agreed to carry on leading the HHSA despite their children having left the school. Both of these gentlemen had been part of the HHSA since their children joined the school. I put out an appeal for new members as explained that it was the same parents and friends supporting every event. For several years a small handful of willing and dedicated volunteers have been doing all the work of the HHSA. This summer that dedicated team and Miss May, one of our Assistant Headteachers, ran a record breaking and simply fantastic summer fair. We had hoped that my appeals and that event would encourage a new group of parents and friends to join and support the HHSA. I am immensely grateful to the two new parents who attended the HHSA meeting this week. However, even with them in attendance the meeting numbered nine people, including Bryan and Roger, still volunteering to lead, two years after asking to step down. As is the case at every AGM volunteers were asked to stand as chair, vice chair and secretary. There were no parents or friends willing to stand. Debbie very kindly agreed to continue as Treasurer. This, with only two new volunteers make the HHSA utterly untenable to run. Today, we have over 2,500 parents and carers in the school community. Me asking you to volunteer with the HHSA is a big ask. You all have pressures on your time, you are all busy, you are all supporting your families and your pastimes. I fully understand that. I am a parent myself, a committee officer of a local dive club, and until three weeks ago a school governor. However, I know that without good people, willing to volunteer, our schools, our communities and society becomes a lesser place. Volunteering is a treasured and traditional part of life in Britain. The irony of course is that if more people gave a little, perhaps just supported one event per year, even for a couple of hours, a few people would not have to do so much. If the HHSA had perhaps fifty members no one would ever have to give more than a few hours per year. With just nine people, seven of whom have served at least five years on the HHSA, those loyal volunteers have instead put in tens of hours of time, year after year. Continued………

OPEN DAY – Saturday 5th October We will be soon holding our Open Day for Year 6 students and parents. This will take place on the morning of Saturday 5th October. The site will be open to visitors from 9.30am – 12.30pm, but staff and student helpers will be on site from 9.00am until 1.00pm. Tours for parents will be conducted by students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 12 who will register on the morning as on a normal day. Students from other year groups will be most welcome to volunteer to help with tours, but we also need assistance in subject areas across the school and we would be delighted to have as many students as possible helping in this way. Students in Years 8 – 13 will finish at 2.30pm on Friday 4th October to allow staff to prepare the site and to allow Year 7 to prepare for their guiding duties. In addition, the school will be closed on Friday 17th July in lieu of being open on the Saturday. These changes are already shown in the school calendar on the website. Mr T Jordan Deputy Headteacher

I am very sad to think that this might be the end for the HHSA and I determined that this will not be the case. So I am appealing to you as parents, friends and supporters for the school. I am appealing to you to contact me directly to offer your time, or your support, or your expertise. I am appealing to you to write to me and let me know what you are willing to do, however small - every little counts. I am appealing to you to get in touch with me and find out what being chair or secretary might involve and how we will support you all the way if you are willing to take on these vital roles, without which the HHSA cannot function. I am appealing to you to not let your children’s PTA die.

You might see an article published by the Gazette this week that says that The Hemel Hempstead School has a high number of call outs to the police. We are surprised by this article, as it suggests a large number of incidents at our school. We always put the safety of our students above everything else. We work with all agencies to ensure that all times when we do call the police, it is often to help students with incidents occurring within the community, which our students trust us to help with. Multi agency work is essential and as a community school we always work with stakeholder agencies in the interest of our students. I know our parents/carers and students appreciate our proactive and outward looking approach. I have spoken to the reporter, who has written a similar article in Bedfordshire, and he has confirmed that the calls made are not necessary from the school at all. We are a prominent landmark in the area so most of the calls are likely to be made by people near or outside of school. One call out that was earmarked to us was for hare coarsing and poaching, which is certainly not something we have ever needed to ring the police about! 4 call outs were for us reporting missing children. I am absolutely sure that everyone would support the fact that if we have even the slightest suspicions that a child has gone missing overnight or over the weekend that yes, we should call the police. We are disappointed in this article as we encourage students to engage fully with the democratic and community process and would not want any student to think that communicating with the police is a negative thing to do! Mr Neil Hassell Headteacher

The Great Bake Off The MFL team are running “The Great European Bake Off” for European Day of Languages on Thursday 26th September. All entrants will receive an R2. Prizes and house points will be awarded for:

• Best decorated cake • Tastiest cake • Most culturally aware • Most innovative • Most weird and wonderful All entries to be submitted into N4 by lunchtime on Thursday 26thSeptember * See Flyer Attached

ALL CAKES MUST BE NUT-FREE

SUMMER CONCERT DVD The Summer Concert 2019 DVD is available now, we ask that all orders are placed with student services or the music department before Thursday 26th September to ensure a copy is received. Here is the link to the concert trailer

https://youtu.be/gBKbER_O-Fo

Miss R Saxby Head of Music

Thank you to parents and pupils for their efforts in ensuring that the school is a nut free environment. We have been extremely pleased to see how well this has been adopted across the school community. There has been a very small number of instances where nuts have been brought on to the site, and we would urge you all to please be extremely vigilant with regards to this important safety issue.

Careers Information On Saturday 28 September between 9.00 am – 2.00 pm, Cambridge University Hospitals will be holding an open day for anyone interested in a career as an Allied Health Professional (AHP). Allied Health Professionals are the third largest workforce within the NHS, providing treatment and help to rehabilitate adults and children who are ill, have disabilities or special needs, to live life as fully as possible. Working as an Allied Healthcare Professional offers a wide range of career opportunities, whether you are interested in science, the arts, sport or psychology. A variety of professionals will be at the open day, talking about their experiences of working at CUH, offering educational talks about what it is they do and explaining how you can train to become an AHP. These include Music Therapists, Dietitians, Occupational Therapists, Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs), Physiotherapists and many others. There will also be information on careers, apprenticeships and work experience. For more information and to keep up to date with this event, please go to: http://bit.ly/ahpopen19

If your son or daughter is interested in studying in America, Fulbright’s USA College Day, is the largest US University fair in Europe and provides students and parents with the unique opportunity to meet representatives from 170 American universities. Learn about different institutions, discover financial aid and scholarships, and find out more about the admissions process.

Time: Friday 27th September - 4pm-7pm & Saturday 28th September - 10am-3pm Venue: ILEC Conference Centre, London, SW6 1UD Tickets: FREE to those who register. Available for specific entry times only and must

be booked in advance.

For more information and to book a place, please go to: http://fulbright.org.uk/events/usa-college-day-2019 Miss S Bond Careers Coordinator

PARKING – ANCHOR LANE/HEATH LANE We would like to remind parents to be extra vigilant at drop off and pick up times outside of the school. Recently Heath Lane and Anchor Lane have become particularly busy again with cars blocking and driving on pavements which is extremely dangerous for all. At least 85% of our students do walk to school which is fantastic and we continue to encourage walking/cycling to and from school. We kindly ask our parents/carers to park in either a nearby car park located on the school map or at an agreed point away from school. We are currently in the process of negotiating with Dacorum Borough Council free parking at The Water Gardens car park for school parents/carers, we will update you as soon as we have more information on this. The local map can be found here: https://www.hhs.herts.sch.uk/school-map-extended-2019-final-2

***Gold Week*** 23rd Sept – Years 11 – 13 Testicular Cancer Awareness Assembly 8.40pm Hall 25th Sept – Year 13 Apprenticeship Workshop 9.00am – 12.30pm 26th Sept – Year 12 and 13 Focus Evening 6.30pm Hall and PA2 26th Sept – Year 8 (Selected Students) Trip to Bletchley Park 8.45am – 3.30pm 26th Sept – Start of Musical Rehearsals, every Thursday until January 7.00pm – 9.00pm PA3/4 27th Sept – Year 11 – 13 Launch of Uganda Trip Assembly 9am Hall 29th Sept – (Sunday) DofE Silver Practice Expedition Planning 10.00am – 2.00pm IT1 ***Blue Week*** 30th Sept – Year 11 British Museum Trip 9.00am – 3.30pm 1st Oct – Year 7 (selected students) Trip to Harry Potter 11.15am – 4.45pm 1st Oct – Krakow Trip Parents Information Evening 6.15pm M9 2nd Oct – Year 12 Samaritans Assembly 8.40am M9 3rd Oct – Year 9 (selected students) Trip to iFly Milton Keynes 9.00am – 2.30pm 3rd Oct – INSET School finishes for students at 2.30pm 4th Oct – Preparations for OPEN DAY School finishes for students at 2.30pm 5th Oct – (Saturday) OPEN DAY – Student helpers on site from 9.00am – 1.00pm

INSET DAY – School Closed to Students - Monday 11th November 2019 OCCASIONAL DAY – School Closed - Friday 29th November 2019 INSET DAY – School Closed to Students - Friday 13th December 2019

The Newsletter is blue or gold to correspond with the blue or gold timetable of the following week.

Dates for your Diary

SPORT FIXTURES Monday 23rd September Year 11 Netball v JFK (H) 3.45pm Year 11 County Cup Football v Goffs (H) 4.00pm KO Tuesday 24th September Year 10 Netball v Longdean (A) 4.30pm Year 10 Rugby Tournament @ Camelot Wednesday 25th September Year 9 Football v Kings Langley School (H) 4.00pm KO Thursday 26th September Dacorum U13/14/15 Football v North Herts (A) 4.30pm KO RESULTS Wednesday 11th September Senior Rugby team lost 29-19 v Tring (National Vase) Thursday 12th September Year 10 Rugby team won 25-5 v Tring (Friendly) Friday 13th September Year 8 Football team lost 2-1 v Aldenham (Friendly) Tuesday 17th September Year 8 Football team won 8-1 v Ridgeway Academy (County Cup) PE Faculty

Flyers attached:

The Great European Bake Off Half Term Fun at Hudnell

Sickness and Absence Line: Years 7 – 11 Please will parents contact us daily if your child is sick, going to be late in due to a medical appointment, or absent for any other reason. Please call our absence/sickness line on 01442 390103 or email absence@hemelschool.com by 8.30am if possible. Sickness/absence line: Years 12 and 13 The dedicated telephone number for accepting calls/messages concerning absence from school for Sixth Form students is 01442 251732. Please call by 8.30am if possible. If Sixth Form students arrive at school after registration they MUST sign in at the Sixth Form Office.

Gold Letters Issued Recently: Letter 15 - KS4 Contribution for D&T Exam Courses Letter 18 - Year 8 Cologne Christmas Markets Trip Letter 19 - 16-19 Bursary Letter 20 - Year 12 PACE Topics Letter 21 - A Level Biology Enrichment Day Letter 22 - Year 8 Code Breakers Enrichment Trip To Bletchley Park Letter 23 - Years 7-11 School Attendance and Punctuality Letter 24 - Year 7 CATs Tests Letter 25 - Rehearsal Schedule for Beauty and The Beast Letter 26 - Year 10 GCSE Art Trip to National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery

The Hemel Hempstead School Association

We are looking for a Chair and Vice Chair for the HHSA……….Can you help? Free fundraising Link: Please consider registering at: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/hemelhempsteadschoolassociation/ If you use this link for shopping online it enables us to receive free donations for the school and doesn’t cost you anything!

The MFL team is running “The Great European Bake Off” for European Day of Languages on Thursday 26th September.

All entrants will receive an R2.Prizes and house points will be awarded for:

• Best decorated cake• Tastiest cake

• Most culturally aware• Most innovative

• Most weird and wonderful

All entries to be submitted into N4 by lunchtime on Thursday 26th September

ALL CAKES MUST BE NUT-FREE

Half-term fun at Hudnall Action-packed day of fun and activities set in 84 acres of Hertfordshire countryside at Hudnall Park, Hudnall Lane, Berkhamsted HP4 1QN 9.30am – 3.30pm Wednesday 30th October (8 to 11-year-olds) Activities include low ropes challenge course, Halloween mask making, campfire and games

9.30am – 3.30pm Thursday 31st October (11 to 14-year-olds) Archery, traverse wall, zip line and campfire

£25 per child - bring your own packed lunch For more information or to book a place call 01442 454345

or email hudnall.park@hertfordshire.gov.uk

www.ychertfordshire.org 0300 1237538 yc@hertfordshire.gov.uk