February Behaviour Curriculum Bulletin

Afternoon all, 

Welcome to Half Term 2b - the shortest of all of the half terms and we are well on our way to Spring now! 

The end of the half term saw our Annie production in full swing and performances to local primary school students as well as staff, students and parents / carers. A massive well done to all of the staff and students involved on and off the stage. I hope that all those that managed to join us on site had a great evening.  

Although this is a short half term, it is packed with opportunities for you as parents/Carers to have a full overview of how your child is getting on at HDHS with all of these parent evenings scheduled: 

• Year 8 - Thursday 26th February
• Year 9 - Thursday 12th March
• Year 7 - Thursday 26th March
• Year 10 - Thursday 16th April

Any questions or guidance needed with the booking system please call reception and they will be able to assist you. We are offering a hybrid event again for all Parents Evenings where you are welcome to visit us on site and see staff face to face for your appointments or log in and use the online meeting system. Either way all appointments need to be booked in advance. 

Just to give you advance notice, our next evacuation drill to be aware of will be our Internal Lockdown which we will practise next week. All students and staff are made aware of this and information sent in advance as we always want our students to be prepared for the process. It will be at the end of Period 4 on Friday 6th March, therefore any students with a Leave Early Pass on this day, will leave slightly later than usual, but still earlier than the rest of the school. 

Progress Leader; A quick word:

Miss Bradshaw - "I hope your half-term break was chilled and we are all  ready to dive back into school routine;  reconnecting with friends and staff as well as attending school clubs and upcoming sporting activities. It really is amazing how fast a term goes when things are buzzing! Year 7 is such a pivotal time, and seeing that shift from "nervous newcomer" to "confident contributor" is an amazing part of the job.  I would like to give a huge shout out to all the incredible year 7 students who participate in the January's Dance show. Students shared some of their own choreographed pieces of work, fostering creativity, developing friendships as well as providing students with a safe space for self expression. We were then privileged to see students taking part in the musical production of 'Annie', where students mastered new skills, performing in front of others which helped build confidence, students being out of their comfort zone as well as acquiring  skills  in public speaking,  academically gaining from memorise their lines as well as developing empathy with the characters in the storyline; it's such a powerful tool which impacts our students personal attributes. As we continue to move forward into Spring, hopefully with better weather, we will be looking forward to the next ATL (Attitude to Learning) data drop, where we will continue to see students making that strong commitment to their studies.  Next month we also look forward to inviting parents and guardians to meet with teachers to discuss academic and social development and share how we can continue  to work closely together to support your child's successes. Thank you all for your continued support."

Miss Garcia - "Last term we held our celebration assembly. We began by revisiting the importance of respect, and it was an assembly where students listened brilliantly and engaged maturely with the message. We then had the opportunity to celebrate some of our fantastic students who have achieved amazing ATL scores and made a positive difference within our year group. It was great to recognise their efforts and successes, and we’re really looking forward to the opportunities and achievements this half term will bring."

Mrs Honeyman - "As we move into the second half of the year, it is clear to see how our Year 9 students are maturing as they begin to look ahead to Key Stage 4. While it is rewarding to watch their growing independence and confidence, it is also a reminder of how quickly this stage of their journey is passing. It was fantastic to see such a strong turnout at the recent Options Evening. Thank you to all families who attended and engaged so positively.  We hope the evening helped students feel more informed and reassured as they begin to consider their next steps, and that conversations at home have been supported by the guidance shared. We are also looking forward to the next Attitude to Learning (ATL) data drop, which will help us recognise continued effort and focus as expectations rise.  As we move towards spring, with lighter evenings and hopefully better weather on the horizon, this is an ideal time for students to refocus, set new goals and continue building on the strong foundations already in place. Year 9 students have great potential, and we look forward to seeing them continue to develop over the coming months. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support."

Mr Day - "We still have 16% of our Year group with 100% attendance for the whole year which is excellent and we hope they can keep that going this half term. Our shortest term is the perfect time to challenge our other students to gain 100% attendance with only 23 days to be in school. Well done to our Year 10 students who performed in the production of Annie. They will be given the opportunity to share their performance  with the rest of the Year group in the Easter rewards assembly at the end of be Half term. Showcasing talent is becoming the focus of Year 10 rewards assemblies where students get to perform Music, Drama or Dance pieces to their peers, showing just what talent we have amongst this amazing  group of young people."

Mrs Abbott - "Year 11 have returned to school this morning 'locked in' and eager to show the benefits of their focused revision in their next round of PPE exams. Prom is very much at the forefront of the minds of a lot of the students and the excitement is palpable!"

Thank you as always for taking the time to support your young person with their education everyday, we are all in this together and all have the same end goal for our young people to be healthy and successful. Maybe you could ask them about something they have done at school that is mentioned in this bulletin, or something they are looking forward to that is coming up? We know good character and conversation skills being modelled from all adults in their life is always a positive thing for them. If you have any ideas or questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Kind regards,

Charly Doyle

Deputy Headteacher