Hertswood School

The summer festivities got truly underway last night at our super Scene on the Green. Quite rightly, Arts College Director, Zoë Watkins decided that there should be a building site theme to this year’s show since the “green” is currently a mixture of the two, with heras fencing separating the theatre works from our normal summer quadrangle on Upper School. There were sneak previews of the new auditorium space, refreshments including the unlikely combination of burgers and Pimms, and a whole host of creative talent on display. Performance highlights were too many to list but singing performances by Taylor Crosby, Levi Noonan and newcomer Harvey Rising had us all on our feet. A tangible new direction for us was the number and quality of the boy dancers that graced our stage: George Pessima from Year 7, Emmanuel Banjo, JD, Gideon Boateng and newcomer Oliver Yeboah from Year 9 were outstanding, Jake Gooch, in a routine with Malachi Spaulding our new dance teacher was his usual brilliant best and, having finally managed to persuade our Impact squad to put on their dancing shoes instead of their football boots, they stole the show with their finale sequence in a tribute to the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.

Earlier in the day, Hertswood students took part in the Cowley Hill Dance Festival, the primary schools Performing Arts Festival and, last week, we saw the opening of the schools’ Art Exhibition in the village hall. The standard all round was incredible and Hertswood’s contributions to all these was magnificent. I am very proud indeed; we have come such a long way as a school over a very few years.

On the sporting front, our talented Year 9 and 10 squad conquered Sir Frederic Osborn School in the District Cricket Cup Final with a magnificent display. Bowling their side out for only 95, we won by a huge 70 runs. Great performances by all of the boys, but in particular, Aaron Prince and Vineet Patel who took two wickets in spectacular fashion, and closed our batting innings with a string of sixes and Daniel Humphrey who was our top scoring batsman, retiring with 65 to his tally. On Wednesday keen cricketers in Year 7 were treated to what has become an annual event: our Cricket Day hosted by Radlett Cricket Club. The lucky youngsters get to watch some first class cricket on the first field as well as playing their own game on the club’s second field. Key to everybody’s enjoyment is a Mr Engwell barbeque special, and a great day was had by all. I must say that our partnership with the club has proved a great success and the improvement and increased interest (indeed, passion) in our students is tangible.

As the weather warms up in sizzling style, I have had some requests from parents regarding the wearing of blazers. We have insisted that the uniform remains intact (obviously the jumper is not a compulsory element of it) because we do find that any relaxation of our dress code results in a seemingly inevitable relaxation of working attitude. We have already lost significant time this year due to circumstances beyond my control and I am anxious that we continue to make up for lost time. Of course, students are only asked to wear blazers for a short portion of the day since staff are at liberty to allow students to remove them during lessons as temperatures soar in our south facing classrooms and, on the fields and outside during break and lunchtimes, students do remove them to play or simply to chat with friends. Next week, during Wonder Week, students are invited to wear sports type gear (not necessarily uniform/kit) for the week in order to take part in the wide range of activities on offer. For most students, I imagine this will take the form of tee shirts and shorts and these would be entirely appropriate. I do ask that students (and, I suppose, girls in particular) do not wear anything too revealing and I hope I can rely on parents to support us in this.

Wonder Week looks set to be another terrific week of Twenty First Century learning as students will be experiencing new skills, adventures and challenges that we simply can’t offer on a day to day basis. Last year, we had a truly wonderful week with students queuing up to tell us how wonderful it was. I hope this year is even better!

I look forward to welcoming you to Sports Day on Tuesday. In the interests of security we are setting up a reception desk on the field – I wonder if I could ask you to sign in as you arrive?

Jan Palmer Sayer - Headteacher

Hertfordshire swine flu update

I have been asked to update you on the swine flu situation in Hertfordshire. A student at Queens’ School in Bushey has been confirmed as having swine flu. Based on Health Protection Agency advice, the school has been closed to all students and staff. A number of Queens’ school students and staff who have reported flu-like symptoms will be offered Tamiflu as a precaution. Tamiflu is an anti-viral medication that is being used to treat those with the virus and which may also be effective for those at risk.

The Primary Care Trust is now reporting a total of 21 confirmed cases of swine flu in Hertfordshire and the county council is continuing to monitor the situation closely. It is liaising with other organisations in the county and the eastern region to ensure a co-ordinated approach. It is important to remember that the majority of cases in the UK are mild and that when people are given anti-virals early enough they seem to be recovering.

It is sensible to take the following precautions to help prevent the spread of swine flu and other viruses: ·

· Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible

· Dispose of dirty tissues promptly and carefully

· Maintain good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people

· Clean hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning product

· Make sure that children also follow this advice

In the event of you or your family suffering from flu-like symptoms you should follow the NHS advice to stay at home, limit contact with other people, and contact your GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647. If a Hertswood student is confirmed as having the swine flu virus we will be contacted directly by the Health Protection Agency, but I would ask that if your child (or member of the family) is confirmed that you also let us know at the school. Should we need (or be instructed) to close the school, we would post information on our website (and update it daily), attach a notice to the front gates on both Upper and Lower School, and contact you via email or text. It is in fact the same routine we had to use earlier this year when we had the difficulties with electricity and the weather and I hope you agree that it is an efficient means of communication with parents.

Jan Palmer Sayer - Headteacher

Dates for your diary

Term finishes Tuesday 21 July – students will be dismissed from 12 o’clock

A Level Results are available between 10:30am and 12 o’clock on Thursday 20th August in the Lower School Hall

GSCE results are available between 10:30am and 12 o’clock on Thursday 27th August from Lower School Hall

INSET DAY on 2 ^ndSeptember

New term starts on Thursday 3 ^rdSeptember at 8:45am (Year 7 only)

New term starts on Friday 4 ^thSeptember at 8:45am (Years 8-13)

Jan Palmer Sayer - Headteacher

( Edited by Lisa Borburg - original submission Thursday, 18 June 2009, 08:16 AM )

( Edited by Lisa Borburg - original submission Thursday, 18 June 2009, 02:22 PM )

( Edited by Lisa Borburg - original submission Thursday, 25 June 2009, 02:26 PM )