Holmer Green Senior School   A Specialist Business and Enterprise School

NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 2015

 

CALENDAR EVENTS……….  18 Dec—Last day of term— reports to parents  5 Jan 2016— Students return to school  21 Jan—Year 9 Options Evening  12 Feb—break up for half term

Headteacher’s Message It has certainly been another eventful term at HGSS as you can see from the wealth of articles within this latest newsletter. If I had to pick just one highlight it would have to be the visit of Warwick Davis who came to thank the school for our long standing support for Jeans for Genes Day every September. Indeed charity has been the theme of this past week, beginning with our A Cappella choir fund raising for Rob’s ARTTT at Sainsburys and ends with our fund raising in school for Meningitis UK in remembrance of past student Francis Lane who tragically lost his life to meningitis in October. Like Rob Holland, Francis was a terrific young man who it was an absolute pleasure to have as a student at our school and will be sorely missed by his loving family and many, many friends. We are thinking of them all this Christmas time. The school is proud to support medical research that will provide the vaccines necessary to prevent future lives from being lost. I would like to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the whole HGSS community and huge thanks to all the staff and our students who have worked so hard, not just with the academic side of school but also for playing their part in making this community of which we are all so justly proud. Michael Jones Headteacher

A new Website After months of careful planning, technical "building", photo shoots and a video shoot we were delighted to launch our new website on 7 December. The brief for the website was for it to be easy to navigate, informative, interesting and easily updated. We feel we have successfully met this brief and with a "Search" facility in place hopefully the site will quickly provide any information required. Please keep an eye on the News page for latest articles celebrating our successes and the Parents page for up to date information. Another big plus is that the calendar automatically updates every 30 minutes directly from our central calendar in school, therefore providing you with the most current information possible. Galleries will be uploaded throughout the website to provide photographs of exciting trips, events and activities that our students have participated in. We really hope you enjoy browsing our new website and will visit frequently. We also would like to invite you to follow us on Twitter @HolmerGreenSnr Liz Plascott PA to the Headteacher

 

Food Technology On Thursday, 15 October ten students took part in the first stages of the Rotary Young Chef cooking competition. We had a wide variety of dishes to taste from Spicy n Creamy seafood pasta to fish cakes, the standard was very high. The competition was judged by Miss Gill, Mrs Knight and myself. The students had an hour to cook a main meal which was judged on appearance, taste and skill. We had many dishes to sample and it was a delight tasting them all! Well done to Eleanor Brackley, Tianna Arden, Amber Kemp, Henry Davidson, Sam Hobbs, Harrison Allen, Toby Myles and Destiny Mayers for getting through to the next round! For the next stage of the competition, which took place on the 9th November, Steve Sharp came and judged each menu. All students worked incredibly hard and Miss Gill was very proud of them all. Steve awarded Eleanor Brackley and Amber Kemp winners of the final who will go through to the next round at Wycombe High School. Written by Emma Heather 

Each year the Year 10 Food students have the opportunity to study for the Level 2 Food Hygiene in Catering qualification. This is a qualification that all food industry employees should have. Over the past 5 years the school has had a 100% pass rate for this qualification, something that we are very proud of.

Students have used this knowledge to gain work experience and part-time work in the food industry. Well done year 10!

Students from Years 9 and 10 took part in an after school 'Christmas Cookery' activity. They made Christmas cake decorations to place on top of a sponge cake or a yule log. The Food Technology department would like to publically thank Mrs Graham (from Reception) for giving up her time and sharing her amazing cake decorating expertise to inspire our students and to progress in their cake decoration skills. Miss K Gill

 

More success from Food Technology

 

Art Department Year 11 students have just completed their mock exam. The standard of the work is incredible - well done to all students. All students are currently on or above their target grade for course work. The Art and Design Department predicts best ever grades this year. Mrs A Hearne

Incredible mixed media pieces by Rachel Dee

Beautiful work by Lily Hansford

Images by Lara Morton

This year students have had an opportunity to do extension tasks, as well as the compulsory homework in Art. This is an extended homework, based on the paintings of David Hockney task by Remi Sylvester in 7S! Well done to all students who regularly take the extension tasks.

 

Interesting photography work by James Travell

Tech Club Tournament Recently we were given the opportunity to attend the Tech Tournament run by the Rotary Club. This was an event held at John Hampden Grammar school where schools entered teams in different age categories to take on a challenge. This year’s challenge was having to build a bridge from materials that were provided to us. This was incredibly difficult as we had the advanced task which entailed us having to include a double lifting bridge. We were given some deadlines throughout the day to complete different parts of the challenge. The first task involved having to create a portfolio to justify the ideas used in the design of the bridge. Then came the making which was fun but challenging. The experience is something that we would all like to take part in again as its an enjoyable day where we work together to achieve a single goal. By Josh McEvoy ************

The Technology trip was amazing fun! Our bridges all functioned very well, though sadly we did not win, but we learned a lot from what other groups did and our experiments. We will get the grammar schools back, we’ve done it before! By Alicia Dawson

 

Learning Resource Centre October 2015 Book Swap The Student Librarian Team organised HGSS’s first Giant Book Swap on Wednesday, 21 October and it was a huge success.

Students with their new books! Amelia Vickery

Students and staff brought in books from home which they no longer wanted and swapped them for other books. Students can drop off books for the Book Swap at any time to the Library, and receive tokens to use to swap for other books on Giant Book Swap Days, which are the last Wednesday of each half term. Mrs V Law Femi Olawale 7R2

Book donations As the demand for books is increasing, we would be grateful for any donations of books in reasonable condition which are no longer required at home. Both text books and popular fiction suitable for our student age range would be well received. Any donations can be dropped off at Reception. Many thanks.

SAMARITANS PURSE/ASDAN Samaritans Purse is a charity that has run Operation Christmas since 1990 and they asked us to donate gifts in a shoe box to a child less fortunate than ourselves. We are pleased to be able to tell you that it was a fantastic success thanks to everybody’s generosity. We decided to juggle things up a little bit this year and ask for smaller donations and monetary contributions in the hope of completing a larger amount of boxes to send off. Cameron Drewitt and Sean Lewin did a brilliant job and we were able to send off a total of 22 boxes. This project has allowed Cameron to complete his Problem Solving Task and Sean his Oral Presentation due to the assemblies they had to lead. Sean Lewin, Mrs Abear and Cameron Drewitt

Message from the Parents’ Association The PA would like to thank everyone who came along, helped out or donated to the brilliant Xmas Fayre on the 21st November. We had a great day, the atmosphere was warm and festive with a great feel of community spirit. It was so lovely to see a good age range there this year with many students coming along. The market stalls seemed very busy with people buying gifts, there was an ever lasting queue at the tombolas and we even sold out of turkey and bacon rolls!! The all new "Human Fruit Machine" game that was suggested by a student this year went down a treat. So, all in all, it was a very successful fayre. We are thrilled to announce that we raised just over £2,300!!  

So thank you all for your continued support.

Teaching and Learning Committee So far, the Teaching and Learning Committee have had regular meetings and started to form links between students and staff. Each member of the committee has been assigned to at least two subjects and most students have met with the teacher representative from their subject to introduce themselves and discuss strategies for progress. In our meetings we have discussed behaviour management in lessons, learning support for students and the results from student voice surveys conducted in form or teaching groups. As a committee, our next steps are to visit a staff teaching and learning clinic to introduce ourselves, before sharing ideas of good progress between departments in the school.

Environment Committee So far we have allocated members to different projects to get started on. For example, we have already started to try and get compost bins bought so we can do something practical with the food waste and eventually earn money from it in the future, by selling the compost.

Community Committee One of our members was approached by the Dorcas Project very recently. The Dorcas Project is a charity with a branch located in High Wycombe, with an aim to help local people living in poverty. The charity hopes for small donations of items for young children, such as good quality second hand toys, books and clothes, as well as unused toiletries for toddlers and infants. We believe our efforts to help the charity have been successful, as we have been able to give a sizeable amount of goods, collected from tutor groups. If you did not donate, we would strongly advise you to visit www.dorcas-project.org and see what you can do to help those in poverty here in Wycombe.

Music

 

Music this term has been really busy. The new Year 7s have taken to the Music Department really well. We have a successful keyboard club with 16+ Year 7 students attending every week. We have started a wind band which is directed by Alicia Dawson (Yr10) and Jenny Savage (Yr12). We have also started a senior choir which is aimed to focus KS4 and 5 students in their close harmony singing. Still running strong is our school band and choir which has doubled in size this year. The choir have been really busy as they performed at the PA Christmas Fayre, they have raised money for Robs ARTTT at Sainsbury's and are performing at Excellence evening. The whole term has been topped off by our annual Christmas Concert which has seen the highest number of ticket sales and the largest number of students taking part since I have been at the school. Exam Congratulations go out to Charlotte Keen Grade 5 Clarinet, Emily Butterworth Grade 5 Flute and Alicia Dawson Grade 5 Music Theory. Miss E Baddeley

Robs ARTTT at Sainsbury’s On Saturday 12th December 21 members of A cappella sang in Sainsbury's to raise money for Robs ARTTT and raised £604.83 whilst we were singing. We performed a selection from our Christmas repertoire and some Christmas carols. The students did HGSS very proud!

 

Christmas Concert Tuesday 15 December saw the annual Holmer Green Senior School Christmas Concert, and what a concert it was! With music from all different year groups, mixtures of solos and ensembles, covers and original pieces, Holmer Green has proved once again that our musicians are fabulous. From a solo, original piano piece by Lucy Preston Year 10 to A Cappella performing 'When Christmas Comes to Town' from Polar Express, to hearing solos by Rachel Heffron and George Lightbrown who are both in year 7! The audience experienced a real treat! A Cappella have grown this year with 35 students attending regularly (4 of those being boys). Congratulations to Sean Underwood for a fabulous solo. There was a mixture of popular music and classical which shows the talent and variety in the school, special mention to Mike and Leo Salem who performed a string duet which was arranged by Mike, well done boys. I must mention Gemma Mengel who was in almost all the performances as her talents range from playing the flute for school band and wind band, singing with A Cappella, to playing piano for numerous acts. To top it off she wrote a piece of music which A Cappella performed! The Music Department is continually growing from strength to strength and this is thanks to my music learning leaders, especially Alicia Dawson who took to the stage for the first time as a conductor. She has been running the Wind Band, not only overseeing the rehearsals but arranging the music and now leading the performance. Congratulations Alicia. Lastly I must not forget my 6th Form students - this concert was part of the coursework for their BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Music Performance. They are growing from strength to strength with their performances, they ended the show with three amazing pieces, one of which was an original composition they have written themselves during the lessons. Thank you to all who came to support, as it was the biggest audience I have seen since I have been teaching at HGSS. I hope to see you all again in the spring.

 

I thought we were going Wales! Two weeks ago my wife asked me when we were going to Tenby in Wales. It was an odd question. I thought for a moment that I had forgotten a wedding invitation or anniversary. Petrified, I asked what she talking about. “Every Sunday and Tuesday evening you mutter about 'Tenby'” she said. Puzzled, but relieved, I told her that she must be mistaken. “You are doing it again”, she said the following Sunday. “What?”, “Muttering about Tenby” she said. Then the penny dropped. “You mean 10B!” Now 10B really are the most interesting and enjoyable bunch to teach. So this article is a tribute to them. I have a not-so-secret hope that it will also help make them even more fun to teach and get even better results. The first task was simple. Design and make a digital logo for an Animal Shelter. As I was introducing it Mr Jones popped his head round the door, and I'm guessing he wondered why on earth I was talking about Badgers, Rabbits and Squirrels in ICT! The results were impressive. I have chosen two to show off, but there are 20 or more really good ones. Next 10B needed to produce two animations that promoted the Animal Shelter. The first is a stop frame animation, a bit like a digital flip scene book. The second used tweening, where an initial scene and end scene are specified and software is used to animate between them. Both are difficult techniques. Lastly this term, they need to make a TV advert. Those Sundays and Tuesdays are all about “how do I get them into this?” and a fair bit of trepidation about how it will go. But on Mondays and Wednesdays I finish the class feeling really good. Now, it may be serendipity, but somehow 10B are now becoming expert animators. Almost all have caught the bug and produced a high quality product. Some are now including the animations into their TV advert. Most of all they have taken ownership of the project and for that they deserve the highest praise. It is a big step towards living up to their name. So Thank You 10B and well done! Enjoy seeing your work on this page. Oh, and if you haven't made your audio track for the advert, that's your Christmas homework! Mr Deller

 

Jeans for Genes Every year in September students and teachers alike don a pair of jeans and pay a pound to take part in Jeans for Genes day, a fund raising event run by genetic disorders UK. Over the last few years the school has raised more than £3,500.00 for the charity. Because of the fantastic contribution the school has made to this important charity on Thursday, 12 November Harry Potter and Star Wars actor Warwick Davis came to talk to 200 of our students. These students were chosen based on their net achievement points, something they get for helpful actions, participating in school events and the general attitude and effort they display in and out of lessons. Warwick spoke about his links to genetic disorders UK and his life with a genetic disease, he was born with the rare genetic disorder spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. During his time with the students he also spoke at length about his experiences as an actor and the students also got to ask him some questions such as “Would you like to be the next James Bond?” from Sixth Former Alex Barnes (Warwick said he would prefer to be the next bond villain!). “He gave a really inspirational and interesting talk. We learnt a lot about why we should raise money for Jeans for Genes and why it’s such an important cause. We also learnt that he really likes Karl Pilkington! We had a really good time, he was very funny.” Kaylie Baker-Costi and Angus Douglas (Year 11).

Geography field trip to Brighton On the 23rd October (INSET day), 88 students and 5 members of staff travelled to Brighton in order to collect fieldwork data for a piece of Controlled Assessment. The Year 11 students went armed with questionnaires, people counts, land use surveys, transects and EQI's so that they could collect data to prove/disprove their hypothesis that "Tourism only has positive effects on Brighton". Everyone involved conducted themselves in a mature, responsible, diligent and hard-working manner (even the staff), and if the write ups that students produce are half as good as their preparation for the trip, controlled assessment results in GCSE Geography are going to be amazing! Massive thanks to Miss Lewin, Miss Thomas, Mr Whitby and Mrs Scatley for supporting the trip. Mr A Wooller

 

FREE Parenting Courses Family Resillience Service AYLESBURY AREA

CHESHAM AREA

Teen Triple P

Stepping Stones

Buckingham

Chesham

Tuesdays 7.00pm—9.00pm

Tuesdays 9.30am—12.00pm

19/01/2016—15/03/2016

12/01/2016—8/03/2016

Teen Triple P - suitable for parents of children 10-15 years old. Triple P looks at issues that are arising in the family, strategies for how to overcome them and during the individual sessions looks at how these are being implemented. Stepping Stones - suitable for parents of children with a range of disabilities (e.g. intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy and high levels of disruptive behaviour). This group covers all ages.

Comments received from parents on completion of the course: - I found this course very helpful with managing my children's behaviour. It has given me a lot confidence and new ways of dealing with bad behaviours. - Very helpful. Learnt different ways of dealing with situations. Have seen a change in my children. A more positive family and calmer all around. - What a brilliant course! It made my family much happier.

Interpreters for parents with English as a second language and Child Care for children under 4 years of age can be provided. Please tell us as soon as possible if you feel this is needed.

To book a place on one of the parenting courses please email [email protected] clearly stating which group you are interested in. For more information on our free parenting courses please go to the Buckinghamshire Family Information Service Website http://www.bucksfamilyinfo.org/kb5/buckinghamshire/fsd/service.page?id=3pF4sb1CqCg 

Year 11 Drama students went to see Disco Pigs by Enda Walsh at the North Wall Theatre in Oxford on Wednesday 25th November. The Story of Disco Pigs is set in the Republic of Ireland in the 1970s in a small deprived town. It tells the tale of two friends, who call themselves Pig and Runt, who have grown up together and do everything together. But on their seventeenth birthday everything changes.... It was a superbly emotional performance and the students appreciated the depth and talent of the actors. On the coach drive home they were already discussing which parts they wanted to use in their final exam presentations. The Sixth Form and Gifted and Talented Trip to the West end to see Bend it Like Beckham was on Thursday, 3 December and was an exciting opportunity for the Performing Arts Level 3 BTEC students to bond in non-curricular time. Forming a solid working relationship in drama is vital for a successful performance. The show was an excellent example of culture clashes within Britain and portrayed it through dance, singing and acting. It also gave the Gifted and Talented students in Year 11 greater exposure to the West End and what a successful performance looks like. There have been Level 3 Performing Arts and Dance workshops this term with outside practitioners. Both workshops were hugely beneficial to the students, especially the Performing Arts workshop which focused on two different acting styles: Artaud and Bertolt. The workshops will allow the students to deliver a final performance on Tuesday, 15 December in the studio. Please come and see their piece. Miss E Lidbury Head of Performing Arts

Please remember to let us know if you change your mobile number or email address so that we can update the contact details we hold for you.

 

Performing Arts

 

MFL Paris Trip, October 2015  Student Comments:

One thing I found good whilst on the  French trip was the Louvre.  We got to see  the Mona Lisa which was cool and I loved  the tour guide, he was very friendly and  nice.   Alice Crowley‐Jenns9G1 

One  thing  that  I  found  fun  whilst  on  the  trip  was  the  metable,  as  although  it  was  busy,  I  s ll  enjoyed  being  able  to  see  all  of  the beau ful sights.  I also thought  the  hotel  rooms  were  amazing  and very spacious.    Freya Saunders, 9Y1 

One  thing  I  found  fun  on  the  French  trip  was  the  groups  we  were  in  and  the  amount  of  exercise  we  got  when  we  were  walking from site to site.    Amber Restall, 9R2 

  The best thing about the Paris trip was Raheem’s  terrible Mathema cs!  I never knew how many  landmarks there were in Paris.  The Paris trip was  probably the best moment of my life.  I would  definitely recommend to people to do it next  me.  I  can’t wait to do it again!  Alistair Lamming, 9R1 

It was a really good trip.  I really enjoyed  it  and  it  was  a  weekend  that  I’ll  never  forget.  We saw so much during our trip  to France, for example the Eiffel Tower,  Notre Dame and much more that I can’t  spell!  The hotel was really nice as well.  Can’t wait to go again next  me.    Alex Nunnington, 9Y2 

I  enjoyed  the  Sacré‐Coeur  market area the most and the  great fun with the tour guide.  Eddie Michael, 9R1 

On Wednesday, 11 November at 11 o’clock seven Year 11 prefects, members of the Sixth Form Management Team, Mr Jones, Ms Liverpool and Mrs Terry went to the War Memorial in Holmer Green to commemorate Remembrance Day with war veterans and locals from the village. “We left school and walked into the village where we were met by the war veterans and members of the local community and businesses. After a few words from the veterans, we participated in the two minute silence to remember those who gave so much for us. We then returned to school where many veterans and members of the public joined us for tea and cake. It was great to listen to their stories about the war and how some of them attended Holmer Green Senior School when they were younger. It was an enjoyable morning and my fellow prefects would agree that we were proud to represent Holmer Green Senior School. ” – Matt Hobbs (Year 11)

UKMT Maths Challenge A number of our maths Sixth Form students recently took part in the UKMT Maths Challenge, a national competition which is aimed at the highest achieving mathematicians at secondary level. The paper challenges students to problem solve and utilise their mathematical skills in novel ways. Congratulations to Chris Ray and Harry Myall who both received certificates for their performance. Chris was awarded a gold which means he is placed within the top 10% of participants. Harry received a Bronze, placing him in the top 50%. We look forward to entering some of our Key Stage 3 and 4 mathematicians in the New Year. Miss B Gowers

 

Remembrance Day

 

Understanding Dyslexia A course for Parents of Dyslexic Children

Tuesdays starting 12 January 7.30pm-9.30pm At The Adult Dyslexia Centre, Denmark Street, Maidenhead SL6 7FN

t:

Debbie on 01628 670054

Helpline: 07921 022 589

e: [email protected] w: www.adult-dyslexia-centre.co.uk  

 

 

Updates—Informa on—Achievements 

SIXTH sense 

The Autumn term has been long and exhausting, but very rewarding. The induction period into Sixth Form can be a real culture shock, but we have got through it and the feedback I have received is overwhelmingly positive. A few days ago I had the great pleasure of visiting two departments. Firstly, Art. The amount of progress made by our students in this department, is nothing more than incredible. The amount of pride, satisfaction and confidence that their achievements have given them is a joy for all Sixth Form staff to see. Secondly, I had the pleasure of attending the assessment performance by our BTEC Performing Arts students. This revolved around the theme of “Peer pressure” and was written for students around Key Stage 4. All actors performed with real professionalism and, again, such confidence, unrecognisable to the slightly timid individuals who we welcomed into our Sixth form only a few months ago. My final item to report that really struck me happened today. I asked a member of our student Management Team to compose a short

piece about their achievements this term. Wonderfully written as always, I checked the draft which ended with the motto: “TOGETHER, WE STRIVE TO IMPROVE. TOGETHER, WE CAN ACHIEVE.” BTEC Performing Arts students 

Thank you Chi, sums up my thoughts precisely. On behalf of the Sixth Form Community, may I take this opportunity to wish everybody a Happy Christmas and a successful and peaceful New Year. Mrs R Golding Learning Area Director of Sixth Form

Sixth Form Open Evening The Sixth Form recently held their annual Open Evening. The aim for the evening was to show Holmer Green’s Year 11, external students and parents what great opportunities that the Sixth Form has to offer. Guests were greeted with a high quality prospectus, before listening to speeches by the Headteacher Mr Jones, Head Boy Sebastian Rutter and Head Girl Lucy Boardman. Head of Sixth Form Mrs Golding then followed by presenting information about education paths, rules and enrichment activities. Students and parents were then invited to meet and greet subject tutors and ask questions about A-Level and BTEC subjects. Members of the Sixth Form Management Team were also on hand to provide tours of the immaculate facilities as well as answer any questions people had. Despite a higher than expected turn out of visitors, the Sixth Form were able to retain a mature and professional attitude to the event. Seb Rutter said “It was a very successful evening and I am sure that prospective students were able to understand the need to make a correct, informed decision. I hope that many of them were able to see themselves in HGSS Sixth Form.” By Toby Martins, Deputy Public Relations Manager

 

Children in Need

 

Sixth Form Management Team Blog What have we achieved this half term? During this half term, the Sixth Form Management Team has held and helped out in many successful events for the school and the Sixth Form alike. On Friday, 13 November, the Management Team organised a “Childhood hero-themed Children In Need” event which involved the whole school dressing up as their favourite childhood hero. A cake sale was held in the canteen and there were also many activities for students to partake in such as ‘Sponge your favourite teacher”, “Name the Teddy” and a Sixth Form – Staff football match after school. All in all, we managed to raise £813.94 for Children In Need. Well done everyone! Members of the Sixth Form Management assisted the Parent’s Association with the Christmas Fayre which was held on Saturday, 21 November. The event was met with great success as members from around the community engaged in numerous festive activities including Tombola, the annual Christmas raffle, a mini auction and this year’s newcomer to the fayre: the human fruit-machine, raising nearly £100! Alex Barnes, a member of the Management Team, who helped out in the event said ‘I found the Christmas Fayre really fun and enjoyable. There was a great atmosphere and this year there were a lot more stalls and all the people who ran the stalls were really cheerful. I give absolute credit to the school and Parent’s Association for organising such an amazing event!’ The Sixth Form Open Evening was also a great success. Parents and prospective students from the area paid a visit to our Sixth Form and obtained useful and helpful advice from teachers on the various subjects available at the Sixth Form. Mrs Golding began the evening with an informative presentation on the introduction on the structure of the Sixth Form, followed by an inspiring speech from our Head Boy, Sebastian Rutter, and Head Girl, Lucy Boardman. Members of the Management Team then toured parents around the Sixth Form, informing them on the unique characteristics of our new and modern facilities. The Management Team has also introduced a Suggestion Box - located below the Sixth Form notice board - for any suggestions and ideas members would like to be discussed in our weekly Team meetings. Feel free to post your comments in the box as it would really help us improve our Sixth Form immensely. P.s. The Sixth Form Management Team would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Written by the HGSS Sixth Form Management Team Together, we strive to improve. Together, we can achieve. 

 

Work Experience With places at the very best universities the most sought after higher level apprenticeships and the choicest employment opportunities being more and more over-subscribed, it is vital that our students can show there is even more to them than a really good set of A Level results. Students need to be able to demonstrate a much more rounded persona and evidence valuable employability skills. With this is mind, we have introduced a new work experience programme for all Year 12 students. This work experience placement needs to be thoroughly researched and arranged by the students themselves, demonstrating their pro-activeness and independence and must ensure that it adds real value to future applications. The original deadline for finalising these placements was December 18th, but has been extended to January 29th to enable anyone who has not yet done so, to hand in details of their placement to Ms Maisey. Any students who are struggling to do this must see Ms Maisey asap! As part of the overall package of enrichment opportunities available to our students here at HGSS Sixth Form, we strive to ensure that all our students leave here fully equipped with both the best possible exam results and an arsenal of easily transferable employability skills as they continue on their journey into the world beyond Holmer Green Senior School. The skills gained in this work placement will showcase a genuine passion for the student’s chosen career path and the weight it will add to future applications cannot be underestimated.

Sixth Form Dress Code The dress code is designed to ensure that students are role models for the rest of the school. It is essential that all students dress smartly to ensure a professional working environment. Please make sure that in September your son or daughter meets our expectations for dress.

Gentlemen Suit, shirt and tie Smart jacket Tailored trousers Shirt and tie Smart jumper or cardigan

Ladies Trouser suit Blouse or smart top Smart jacket Tailored trousers Skirt of reasonable length— no higher than 3” above the knee Smart shoes or boots Smart sweater /jumper, Cardigan

STUDENTS MUST NOT WEAR:Denim, leather or leather look Polo shirts or ‘T’ shirts Shorts, skin tight trousers, lycra or leggings Hooded tops Tops that show a bare midriff/low cut or see through Trainers, canvas shoes or flip flops Discreet earrings are allowed, but nose, eyebrow and other visible body piercings are not acceptable at school. Hair should be of a natural colour. Thank you. Rachel Golding

 

World Challenge 2016 Our journey to Thailand is about to begin…   Next year a group of adventurous Sixth Formers are planning an expedi on to Thailand. The challengers are  looking  forward  to  sampling  the  cultural  delights  of  Bangkok,  riding  in  a  tuk  tuk  and  maybe  trying  some  local delicacies ‐ scorpion on a s ck anyone?                  This will be followed by a trek through the jungle in a  Na onal  Park  teeming  with  wildlife,  including  wild  elephants,  monkeys,  porcupines  and  even  a  few  gers!  There will be an overnight camp and hopefully  the chance to bathe in a waterfall pool to cool off.      The  project  phase  of  our  trip  will  be  community  based  and  give  the  challengers  a  chance  to  help  a  local  school  or  community  improve  their  infrastructure.  A er this, we hope to visit the island  paradise of Koh Samet for some well‐deserved R and  R.  As  well  as  planning  the  whole  expedi on,  the  challengers will raise their own funds for their trip so  please  support  any  fund  raising  ac vi es  you  encounter locally.  Let the Challenge commence…   

 

Safety Week It is part of our remit in the Sixth Form to do all we can to raise our students’ awareness of issues that they might come into contact with later in life, and to train them in the ways that will keep them safe and prepare them for life in Britain today. As part of this initiative, we held a week of Assemblies focusing on the theme of Safety and tied them in to other events and activities. On Wednesday 4th November the majority of Sixth Form students went to the Wycombe Swan to see “Safe Drive Stay Alive”. A TV production organised by the Thames Valley Police and Bucks Fire and Rescue Service, which brought all the different emergency services, victims and victims’ families together to raise awareness of the need for safe and responsible driving.

Safe Drive Stay Alive 

The following week we followed that up with a further talk by Buckinghamshire Fire Brigade. Wycombe Women’s Aid came to visit us twice, raising awareness about issues faced in Britain today such as Forced marriage, FGM, honour based violence and also healthy relationships and how to recognise an abusive relationship. An officer from C-OPS Child Exploitation from Thames Valley police came in to do an E:Safety presentation, warning of the dangers of putting personal information on the internet. Finally, our Second in Sixth Form and party leader for World Challenge, Ms. Irving, gave us the benefit of her experiences with an Assembly on how to keep safe when travelling. The week was supplemented by two female self-defence classes taken by self defence expert Nick Atkinson. Personal awareness, avoidance of danger and unnecessary vulnerability and practical application training were only a few topics covered, gaining hugely positive feedback from the students who took part. “Amazing, really useful and fun” Emma Hardie, “It was very enjoyable and informative; I feel much more comfortable.” Jenny Savage. Following the rave reviews from the young ladies, we are now looking to provide our young men with the same opportunity in the New Year.

 

‘Tis the Season to Apply For UCAS…. The UCAS application process is in full swing at the moment at Holmer Green. Sixth Form students and teachers alike are buzzing with excitement as personal statements are completed and life changing decisions are made. The majority of our Year 13 students are applying to study at University. They have chosen a diverse range of courses including International Relations, Digital Media, Forensic Computing and Security, Food Science and Airline and Airport Management as well as more traditional courses like History, Drama, Photography, Textiles, Languages, Sociology, Journalism and English. The students have been working closely with their subject teachers and form tutors in order to complete their applications. Form tutors in particular have worked tirelessly to support them; giving feedback on their personal statements and staying up late drafting and redrafting references. Offers have started rolling in for those students who have already completed their applications so all our hard work is paying off. The next step for the students is deciding which offers to accept and ensuring that they get the grades they need to follow their chosen courses. In the lead up to Christmas we hope to ensure that all students have sent their applications in well ahead of the deadline of Friday, 15 January 2016.

Jeans for Genes Day

 

On Thursday, 19 November 2015 Warwick Davis came into HGSS to thank us for raising over £3,000.00 for over 3 years. Warwick came in to tell us about how the money raised for Jeans for Genes is spent. He then started answering questions from the audience; Warwick was actually a really funny, nice and a true gentleman. The one hour and 30 minutes we spent with him flew past because we had so much fun listening to him. Alex Barnes Sixth Form Management Team

 

Who to speak to If you have any concerns, your son’s or daughter’s tutor is your first point of contact. If it’s about a specific subject then please contact the subject teacher. If you can’t get hold of either of these teachers, please contact Ms Maisey, Sixth Form Learning Mentor.

The Sixth Form Team Mrs Rachel Golding—Learning Area Director for Sixth Form Ms J Irving—Second in Sixth Form Ms J Maisey—Sixth Form Learning Mentor Mr Wilson/Mrs Newell—Academic Tutor, B1 Mr Deller—Academic Tutor, B2 Miss Ramchandani—Academic Tutor, B3 Mrs Knight/ Mrs Cockbill—Academic Tutor, B4 Miss Gill—Academic Tutor, B5

Reminder Students must be in school when they have timetabled lessons. Only calls from parents or carers can authorise absence; please ring the absence line on 01494 719901. Please use the absence line number (above) or send an appointment card for medical appointments. There is no such thing as a ‘free period’, only study periods!

Key Dates Tuesday, 5 Jan - Introduction to BTEC Music. Tuesday, 12 Jan - Introduction to A2 Eng. Lit. Wednesday 13 Jan - Introduction to BTEC ICT Wednesday, 13 Jan - Stuart Fletcher (CEO of Bupa) Lecture. Tuesday, 19 Jan - Introduction to Extended Project Qualification Wednesday, 20 Jan - Introduction to A Level Business Studies W/C Monday, 25 Jan—Sixth Form Mock Exam week.

Useful websites www.ucas.com www.notgoingtouni.co.uk www.purepotential.org www.university.which.co.uk

Tuesday 26 Jan - Introduction to A Level Biology Wednesday, 27 Jan - Introduction to BTEC Travel & Tourism Friday, 29 Jan - Deadline for Sixth Form Applications (entry Sept. 2016) Monday, 29 Feb—Sixth Form Interviews begin.