The Hemel Hempstead School Issue 1119

20th December 2019

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

Happy Christmas to you all! Today we ended the calendar year as this school has done for over 30 years, with our Mistletoe Day Celebrations. This wonderful event, of fun and festivity, all organised by Sixth Form students, has ensured that the year has ended as it began, with energy and laughter. The week started with our incredible Christmas Music Concert and was punctuated with our annual chance to celebrate, applaud and reflect at our Senior Prizegiving. It was an absolute honour to be at both and see our students at their very best. A big pat on the back needs to go to Year 11 and Year 13 who have, over the last three weeks, done their trial examinations. They have conducted themselves brilliantly and I, for one, am excited to see the results in January. I hope that you will be able to spend time with friends and family over the Christmas holiday and into the New Year. Happy Christmas, Happy New Year and roll on 2020!

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The new school term begins at the normal time for all students, on Monday 6th January 2020. Neil Hassell

Headteacher

Headteacher’s Certificates

Excellent Achievement for

Reading at the school carol service

Chloe Allen 7L

Brandon Eyles 9A Horia-Mihail Murariu 13A

Neola Mtore 10C Harriet Norris 13C Theo Potton 8C

Opening the school carol service with a solo

Amy Warren 7A

Reminder to Year 11 Students

The deadline for applications to our Sixth Form has been extended to Friday 17th January 2020. Application Forms have been sent to the

school email addresses of every student in Year 11. All internal applications must be completed online using this form. Thank you Sixth Form Office

Free Fundraising

At this time of year when buying gifts online, please consider

registering at: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/hemelhempstead

schoolassociation/

If you use this link for shopping online it enables us to receive free donations for the school and doesn’t cost you

anything!

Herts County Council School Emergency Closure Notification

System

Parents/Carers can sign up for emergency school closure

notifications due to severe weather using the following link:

https://member.everbridge.net/index/892807736725489#

2 devices can be added to receive

notifications from one account login or parents/carers can login separately.

Careers Information

Two websites which provide useful information for students are YC Herts and Prospects. YC Hertfordshire (https://www.ychertfordshire.org) has a wealth of information for students and their parents.

In the jobs and careers section there is a link to national employers who offer school leaver schemes. Various industry sectors are featured here including retail, engineering and finance. This website also offers advice on where to get additional help and support about careers, education, training, work, health and finance issues. Prospects (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/) is a leading provider in the UK of information, advice and opportunities to students and graduates. They publish a wide variety of articles including a ‘What Can I Do with My Degree’ section which gives career information about various subjects and what area of work graduates have moved into. This may be useful to sixth form students who are trying to decide which subject to take at university as well as students in Year 11 deciding which post-16 qualifications to study. Miss S Bond

Careers Coordinator

Christmas Carol Service and Christmas Concert

The Christmas period is always a busy time for the Music department. Not only have they been rehearsing for the school musical in January but they also managed to produce two exceptional evenings of musical excellence.

The Carol Service at St. John’s Church is the event that, for many, heralds the start of the Christmas festivities. On the 11th December, our music students performed to a huge congregation in the traditional ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ service. There were many highlights in what proved to be a moving and poignant celebration of the Christmas story. Amy Warren delivered the first solo verse of Once in Royal with confidence and clarity, setting the tone for the rest of the service. Among the traditional carols, the Male Voice Choir sang Kirchner’s ‘Brightest and Best’, SSA sang Schram’s ‘All for a Baby’ and Chamber Choir performed Bruckner’s ‘Locus Iste’. Three of our talented Sixth Form boys, Niall Marsden, Joe Harding and Tom Hill, sang the solos in We Three Kings, capturing the awe and wonder of Christmas. Wind Band played a rendition of The Coventry Carol and the congregation were welcomed to the service by our wonderful brass players, performing a medley of traditional Christmas carols.

Thanks also to our wonderful readers Chloe Allan, Theo Potton, Brandon Eyles, Neola Mtore, Harriet Norris, Horia Murariu, Steven Mansbridge and Debbie Benjamin, all of whom read beautifully. Mr Hassell delivered the final reading and an apt reminder of how lucky we all are to work with such talented and committed students. The service was led by the Vicar of St Johns, Rev Michael Macey, and we are always grateful for the warm welcome we receive in the parish for this annual celebration.

The Christmas Concert was held on the 17th December in the school hall, to a packed house. The evening was relaxed and fun, ably hosted by Miss Saxby and Miss Barden, as musical group after group took to the stage and entertained us with their talent.

The first half illustrated the diverse range of musicianship at the school: from Wind Band to Ukulele group (it wouldn’t be an HHS concert without Euan Tees and the ever increasing Uke group) to our Sax Quartet, Flute group, String Ensemble and every choir you can think of! Highlights included Mr Hassell joining Uke group for their first piece, and solos from Izzy Finnamore, Millie Kelly, Phoebe Miller, and Adele Kemp in SSA. The second half featured a battle of the bands Rock Band, Acoustic Band, Funk Band and Jazz Band. There were numerous soloists giving it their all – Izzy Finnamore, Niall Marsden, Ella Cairns, Olly Dyer, Talia Dussek, Tam Hussain, Amie Merrick, Evan Hancock, Cerys Gravell, Billy Reed-Hook, Harry Miller, Hannah Adu, Gracie Maskell and Maria Fazli. Congratulations to all our musicians who performed - you were all exceptional. What is so impressive is not just the quality of the music produced but the ease and confidence with which all our students perform, often playing multiple instruments and participating in several groups. It was a lovely evening and a true celebration of the talent we have at HHS. It just remains for me to thank all the people involved in making these events happen: Mrs McGahey and Mrs Cooper, the site team, the wonderful peripatetic music teachers, Joe and Rob, our Performing Arts technicians, office staff, Sixth Form Dragon’s Den students for providing refreshments, parents, friends and ex-students for always supporting these events. Most of all, thanks to Miss Saxby and Miss Barden for the hours and hours of rehearsal and preparation they put in for our students. Mrs D Heale

Director of Learning

SPORT

FIXTURES

9th Jan – Year 7 Basketball v Londean (H) 4.00pm

RESULTS

Football Well done to the Year 11 boys football team as they won their District Cup quarter final game against Tring School 3-2 on Tuesday. Goals from Moriarty (2) and Bonner. An unlucky loss for our Year 7 boys football team in the County Cup quarter final against Goffs School on Tuesday. Jack Gibbings

Year 12

29th January – 1st February

2020

Tickets on sale now! £10 and £8 for concessions

To purchase tickets please pay

via School SIMS Pay or call 01442 390101

For more information on what is happening around school you can follow us on;

@HemelHSchool

@hemelpe

hemelhempsteadschool

We are still seeking Parents/Carers that may be interested in becoming a parent governor. Attached is more information from Mr Hassell and an application

form.

***Gold Week***

6th Jan – Term Begins

7th & 8th Jan – Year 11 Trial Art and Graphics exams 9th Jan – Year 13 Parents Evening 4.30pm, Hall, PA2 and Canteen

***Blue Week***

13th Jan – Year 11 Trial exams results given

14th & 15th Jan – Year 11 trip to National Army Museum 12.45pm – 6.00pm 15th Jan – Year 12 English Weston Library, Oxford Trip 8.15am – 3.15pm

15th Jan – Year 9 &10 (selected students) Herts University Trip 9.00am – 3.30pm 16th Jan – Twilight INSET, School Finishes @ 2.15pm for students

16th Jan – 17th Jan Year 11 Prom fund raising event, Fifa Tournament, Lunchtime 16th Jan – Musical rehearsals 7.00pm – 9.00pm

17th Jan – Year 11 Deadline for Sixth Form Applications 18th & 19th Jan – Musical Rehearsal Weekend 9.00am – 6.00pm

Important Dates

6th Feb – Year 9 Parents Evening

27th Feb – Year 11 Parents Evening 3rd Mar – Twilight INSET, School Finishes @ 2.15pm for students

5th Mar – Year 12 Parents Evening 12th Mar – Year 8 Parents Evening 23rd Apr – Year 7 Parents Evening

Term dates 2019/2020

Last day of Autumn Term – Friday 20th December 2019, Finish @ 1.00pm Spring Term starts – Monday 6th January 2020

Half Term – Monday 17th February – Friday 21st February Last Day of Spring Term – Friday 3rd April

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

week.

Flyers Attached:

Nash Mills Charity Christmas Fair

Parent Governor Application

Gold Letters Issued Recently: Letter 81 – Year 11 Trip to National Army Museum Letter 82 – Year 12 English Literature Weston Library Trip

The Hemel Hempstead School Heath Lane 01442 390100 (t) Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire admin@hhs.herts.sch.uk (e) HP1 1TX parent contact email: www.hhs.herts.sch.uk parentmail@hemelschool.com

Headteacher: Neil Hassell BEng (Hons) NPQH FRSA

4th October 2019 Dear Parent / Carer ELECTION OF PARENT GOVERNOR

There is a vacancy for a parent governor on the school’s governing body. If you would like to stand for election, please complete and return the attached form to the school office by 12 noon on Thursday 31st October 2019. If you wish to stand for election as parent governor, please give brief details about yourself (not more than 80 words) on the form. If an election is needed these details will be copied and sent to all parents with the ballot papers. If you are the only person nominated, you will be deemed elected unopposed, otherwise there will be a ballot of all parents at the school. The term of office for a parent governor is four years from the date of election. If you are elected you may serve the full term of office even if your child leaves the school before your term of office finishes. If an election is necessary we will send you a ballot paper on Friday 8th November 2019. If there are no nominations, the governing body has the duty to appoint a parent governor to fill the vacancy. Only parents of children registered at the school are entitled to stand or vote in the election. A parent who is paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in a school year or is an elected member of Hertfordshire County Council may not stand for election.

Each parent will be sent one ballot paper regardless of how many children they have at the school, and each parent will have one vote. The ballot will be secret and you will be notified of the result as soon as possible afterwards. The Hemel Hempstead School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and expects all staff and governors to share this commitment. All post holders are subject to a satisfactory DBS enhanced disclosure. Please be aware that regulations require everyone elected or appointed to a governing body to undergo a pre-appointment check which may include a criminal background check. This is to ensure the safety of the pupils. If you are elected and you subsequently decline to undergo such a check, you will disqualify yourself. If you have any questions about whether you are eligible to stand or vote in the election or about anything else in this letter, please contact me. Yours sincerely Neil Hassell

Headteacher

T H E H E M E L H E M P S T E A D S C H O O L

ELECTION OF PARENT GOVERNOR – October 2019 Your Name: …………………………………………………………… (Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Dr)

Address: …………………………………………………………………………………………..

I have a child at the school (as below) and hereby nominate myself for election as a governor. I understand that if elected I will have to undergo a pre-appointment check. Biographical details (80 words maximum) for circulation with the voting paper are given below. Parent/Carer of : ……………………………………………………. Form: ………………

Please give brief details about yourself below – no more than 80 words

………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Nomination Seconded by: ……………………………………………… Parent/Carer of : …………………………………………………….. Form: ……………… (the seconder must be a parent of a student at the school) ALL NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY STUDENT SERVICES BY 12 NOON ON THURSDAY 31st OCTOBER. Additional copies of this form and the accompanying letter are available from the School Office