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I do hope everyone enjoyed a happy and restful break. Students have come back refreshed and ready for the next seven-week half term. The run up to Christmas is a particularly important time for teaching content, so there is much to do for all year groups and especially those preparing for public exams.

I am delighted to say that we have implemented our new MIS (management information system) successfully. This system affects all areas of school life and ensures our school runs more efficiently and effectively. However, transitioning to a new system of this scale required thorough training. The two days at the start of the week were invaluable for our staff to master the system. 

This new system also offers us an app for parents, which will improve our communication with home. This online portal enables parents to view their child’s performance, access attendance, timetable, behaviour and reports as well as letters and important documents. We can also share exam timetables electronically meaning parents are fully informed. 

There are other features, which we will roll out gradually, such as homework, Parent Evening booking, online booking for clubs and secure payment for school trips and visits. It means that everything can be accessed in one place - convenient for busy parents to manage all school-related activities. We intend to launch this app at the end of November, with workshops for parents at our Meet the Tutor evening in December. More details will be shared in the coming weeks.

For now, it is business as usual. Our Year 11 students will be sitting their first practice exams next week, a chance to experience exam conditions and the type of questions they might face next year.

 

Next week is of course Remembrance. As I wrote in my letter to parents earlier this week, the Head Prefects and I will represent Harrow Way Community School at the parade and service on Sunday 10th November at St Mary’s Church. We will also mark remembrance in school on Monday 11th November, including the two minute silence. Students who participate in uniformed groups may wear their uniform with pride. 

I wish you all an enjoyable weekend,
Mrs Dawn German

Harrow Way’s New Instagram Account
As well as Twitter (X), we are now publishing ongoing news, photos and information on Instagram. Scan the QR code or give us a follow here:

instagram.com/harrowwaycommunityschool

Remember to check out Ways Forward, our weekly newsletter for Careers, Apprenticeship, College and Work. This week, we focus on Green Careers Week - an exciting event that raises aspiration, supports diversity, challenges stereotypes, and promotes real opportunities for young people to have a career that will genuinely make a difference. A 'green' career can be any job, role or occupation that contributes to preserving or restoring the environment and our planet.  Find out more inside and why not try the Green Buzz Quiz to help you work out which sort of green career might suit you best?

In this week's edition you can also find out more about careers in hair and beauty, and the energy sector. Unifrog are running some applications masterclasses which could be very useful for Year 11 students hoping to apply for apprenticeships. We also highlight some webinars with top employers including Coca-Cola, EDF and Dunelm.

Well done to the first year 10 students who have confirmed their work experience placements. Remember to get started on finding your work experience as soon as you can as popular placements can get taken quickly.

Work Experience
If you're struggling to find a work experience placement, you might like to attend this free webinar taking place next Tuesday, 12th November, from 6.30-7.30pm.

Register for 'How to find a great work experience placement' here: Work Experience Placements

NHS - Think Pharmacy First!
As winter approaches, headteachers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have been asked to help highlight the NHS services available for parents/carers to ensure their children have access to the right service at the right time.

Pharmacy First
This service enables patients to be referred to, or walk into, a community pharmacy for a minor illness or an urgent medicine supply.

The new service was launched in January 2024 and enables community pharmacies to provide treatment for common medical conditions. There are five conditions that commonly affect children that are included in the service.

Vaccinations
We’d like to remind parents that while children can build up some immunity to flu, the virus constantly changes and our body’s immune system cannot keep up with this change, so immunity is only temporary. The best way for children to have maximum protection is by taking up the offer of the free vaccine, which for most children is offered as a painless nasal spray dose through their school.

Healthier Together
The  Healthier Together app is a great source of information for parents and carers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The app, which can be easily downloaded (see Home :: Healthier Together (what0-18.nhs.uk)), provides parents and carers with information to help keep their child safe and healthy, as well as helping them decide what to do when their child is unwell. 

For Year 7, we are launching a brand new competition called 7 FOR 7. This is to encourage them to read across a range of formats and give their responses as well as to use Reading Cloud and SORA. Between now and July 2025, they could each earn up to 400 house points and be in with a chance of winning a prize. More information on the posters below.

11 to 18 year olds can enter a 100 word story competition, Fight Or Flight,  at Young Writers and be in with a chance of seeing their work published. There are also some cash prizes. Several of our students have previously seen their work in print. Here is a one minute promotional video - please be aware that this opens on YouTube.

The annual Federation of Children's Book Groups promotion of non-fiction takes place this month with National Non-Fiction Month. Our Student Librarians have been scouring the shelves to find the best titles for a display. They have also been working on our Remembrance display.

Enrichment
Here are the sporting enrichment activities. Enrichment clubs are free and you can just turn up. You do not need to sign up, you just need to turn up! Boys change at the Sports Hall and Girls change at the Gym and then head to your area.

Lateness 
If your child is late to school, please write a note in their planner or call the school with the reason for lateness, to prevent unnecessary sanctions being set. The sanction will be a same-day lunchtime detention for all Years.  Failure to attend this detention will result in an after-school detention and further sanction will be applied for persistent lateness. Thank you for your support with this, it is very much appreciated.

Website Medical Page
We have an updated Medical Page for parents on our website.  Parents can access forms to keep us updated on all things medical for their child, such as:

Prescription Medication

Returning to school on crutches or with an injury

School inhaler

School Autoinjector

Updating medical information  

Students Feeling Unwell in School
Please remind your child not to contact home in the first instance if they feel unwell. They should go to the school nurse, who will then contact home if necessary. If you send your child into school knowing that they are under the weather, we feel you have made the decision that they are well enough for school and we will stand by that decision unless their condition deteriorates.

School Nursing Team
The school nursing visited recently, they highlighted how parents can support their child's well-being through the teenage years, here are some useful websites and services that they shared with us:

Hampshire Healthier Families

Sleep Charity

Back to Basics - Hampshire CAMHS

Young Minds - Parents' A-Z Mental Health Guide

Community
If you are looking for a new venue for your club/organisation Harrow Way Community School offers fantastic facilities at competitive prices. To view what we can offer please visit our lettings website. We now have a Facebook page. You can find it here or by searching for Harrowwaycommunity

Aluminium Recycling
We have teamed up with Magpie Community Recycling on East Portway Industrial Estate. This local service supports people with learning and physical disabilities and has provided us with a bin so we can collect foil, drink cans and aluminium food trays. There is a collection bin in our Main Reception for the aluminium to be deposited. Please send in any aluminium products you have - this will be collected by Magpie Community Recycling every 2 weeks. Thank you for all your support.

Please find the latest newsletter HERE from the Harrow Way School PTA
The PTA would also like to announce the launch of their new website at harrowwaypta.charityhive.co.uk. This will be the home of PTA news, raffle and event details so please sign up, check out what we are up to and if you have any thoughts, feedback or if you are interested in helping out in any way please get in touch!

The HWCS Parent Teacher Association continues to look at future fund-raising and enrichment opportunities to benefit students and would love to hear from you if you have ideas or experience to share. You can email us here for information or to express an interest. In order to continue, we do need volunteers so hope to hear from you. 

Andover Athletic Club - October Newsletter

Andover RFC U13’s - We are looking to recruit enthusiastic players to our U13 team (School Year 8). Training is held on Wednesdays and Sundays at the Goodship Ground.

On the 25th of January 2025, Your Space Therapies are offering a practical and down-to-earth ‘Anxiety Toolbox’ webinar for parents and carers to support their children with anxiety and mental health.

All the details and a QR code for ease of booking are on the flyer which can be found HERE.

We look forward to offering parents and carers in your school community kindness and empowerment to support their children.

Being a parent has never been easy. There are no manuals for it, and previous generations may not be able to provide the insight you're looking for. The family unit is more dispersed than ever, with some families existing hundreds of miles from what may be called a 'core unit'. The rapid pace of societal change in the UK rapidly outstrips the knowledge of the immediate past. The result is that many parents may find themselves lost in a maelstrom of contradictory advice. For adults, time has never been more compacted. Family Lives has produced a series of online parenting courses, to make this challenge a little easier. If interested please follow this link.

Family Lives offers a confidential and free* helpline service for families in England and Wales (previously known as Parentline). They can be contacted on 0808 800 2222 for emotional support, information, advice and guidance on any aspect of parenting and family life. Their website is also a rich source of useful support and advice.

The Community Adult learning programme from Hampshire Library Service are pleased to offer a exciting new programme of courses; a mixture of firm favourites and new subjects.

Courses are designed to enhance your knowledge and skills, promote personal growth, explore your creative interests or simply broaden your horizon. To book a course, please visit their online shop.

If a course you are interested in is full, please e-mail: learninginlibraries@hants.gov.uk to be added to the waiting list.

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Harrow Way Community School,
Harrow Way,
Andover,
Hampshire.
SP10 3RH