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Yesterday evening, our school opened its doors to prospective families, and I could not have been prouder of what they experienced. The school looked fantastic, with every corridor and classroom alive with displays and activities that reflected the richness of our curriculum and the pride staff take in creating a vibrant learning environment.

 

What impressed me most was not only the quality of what was on show, but the atmosphere. So many of our students were eager to volunteer their time, acting as guides, demonstrators, and ambassadors for our school. Their enthusiasm, warmth, and honesty shone through and left a lasting impression on our visitors.

 

I was especially proud of four students who spoke during the evening. Two of our new Year 7 students, after just two short weeks with us, had the courage to stand up and tell families about the sense of belonging they already feel here. Their confidence and authenticity were remarkable. Our two Head Prefects also delivered outstanding speeches. One reflected on the opportunities that have shaped him as a young person, while the other captured the spirit of our community in describing how we value, encourage and celebrate difference. I’ll admit I felt quite emotional listening to them – their words captured the very essence of what we do here: transforming young lives.

As many of you know, we have been gradually introducing different elements of our new Bromcom system. Last year’s roll-out was smooth and successful, and the parent app in particular has been a real strength, giving families access to live information about their child.

 

This term, we moved across to the homework module. While we believe it will prove its worth in the future, I also want to acknowledge that there have been some teething problems. We know that some students experienced difficulties logging in, and that a few features have not been working as they should. For example, links do not always open, and completed homework tasks are not consistently updating on the parent app – understandably leading to some frustrating conversations at home!

 

Please be assured that we are addressing these issues. Our teachers are aware of the situation and will be sympathetic in the short term, while Mr Reed has been supporting students in tutor time to ensure everyone is signed in. If your child is still experiencing difficulties, please do let their tutor know so that we can help.

 

We are confident that these initial problems will be resolved and that, in time, the homework module will become a valuable and reliable tool for students and parents alike. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to get this right.

I wish you all a restful weekend,
Mrs Dawn German

All key dates for 2024-25 are also available on the website.

Assemblies This Week - Mr Grace

This week we have been considering the importance of respect for the environment. With reference to the successful independent documentary, 2040, the assembly has aimed to promote hope and provide easy wins and successes people can achieve to make a difference, rather than simply repeating the usual doom-and-gloom approach to environmental discussions. The thought for the week for them to ponder is: 'The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life' by Rabindranath Thakur. We all have a duty to do what we can, however small, to make the world a happier, healthier place for generations to come.

 

Understanding the English GCSE

At last week’s Year 11 Information Evening, Mrs Crooks invited parents to join a special workshop all about the English Language GCSE.

 

This is a crucial subject, as any student who does not achieve at least a Grade 4 will be required to resit the exam at college. By attending the workshop, you will gain a clear understanding of what the exam involves and how you can best support your child in preparing for success.

 

We know that when parents are confident in what’s expected, it makes a real difference to how well students do. If you would like to take part, please complete this short expression of interest form and we’ll be in touch with further details.

 

School Photographs
On Wednesday, the photographer was in school to take pictures of our Year 7 and Year 10 students, and any new students who have joined us over the past year. Your child should have brought home a slip with an alphanumeric code for you, to enable you to view and purchase photographs if you wish. 

If your child has lost the code please complete this form and we will email it to you. The pictures should be available to view by early next week. 

Instructions to view and order:

Harrow Way to Zanzibar 2027

Late Detentions
If your child is late to school and has no valid reason for being late, they will be required to attend a same-day detention after school for 15 minutes.

If your child does not turn up to this detention, the detention will be moved to the following day and extended to 30 minutes after school. Thank you for your support in helping us encourage punctuality.

Locker Availability
There are plenty of lockers still available for students.

 If your child would like to use one, please log in to Scopay and complete an order under the Products section.

EV Chargers

We now have EV Chargers in school that can be used out of school hours (4pm - 9pm) by the local community. If you turn left when entering the school, the charging points are located just around the bend on the left side.

 

To use the charger you will need to install the Hydra Nexus app and follow the instructions on the charging screen.

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Ways Forward - our weekly newsletter for Careers, Apprenticeship, College, Work and Work Experience.

In Ways Forward this week... it’s a post-16 options special edition!

Following the Year 11 Information Evening last Thursday, we wanted to bring you further information to help Harrow Way students explore all their post-16 options, and learn more about the different pathways available. Year 11 families will find this information especially useful but Year 10 might also like to get ahead of the game by reading it.

Please find a link here to the Harrow Way Community School "Information for Year 11 Parents" page of the website where you can access both the Presentation Slides and Subject Booklet that were disseminated during the evening.

Here you can view the LRC Calendar so you can see what is planned for the academic year, access Reading Cloud - the system which shows our physical stock of over 4,000 items, student borrowing records, book reviews and lots more. You will also be able to view the Reimbursement Policy should loans not be returned to us.

For any students feeling uneasy about returning to school and settling back in, we recommend the following books - Back On Track by Matthew Burton, Go Big - the secondary school survival guide by Matthew Burton and Moving Up - how to ace secondary school by Christian Foley. These are available from the Library in the Learning Resource Centre (LRC). Students can also pick up helpful message slips from our ' Having A Tricky Day ? ' box. Staff and students have contributed to this box.

Most of year 7 have now visited the LRC for an induction lesson to find out what is on offer and we have been able to help many of them with homework, directions and, of course, books. They are actively encouraged to maintain good reading habits developed from Primary school . Reading is, after all,  the gateway skill to academic success and we provide 11,000+ free to borrow items across a variety of media and genres from comics to magazines, Manga, audio books and , most recently, a weekly newspaper. Later this term, our Year 7 Reading For Success Programme will be in place for those identified as likely to benefit from support. You can email us for more information.

It is National Coding Week this week with the theme AI so there have been around 45 related books on prominent display as well as an AI timeline and AI history information display. An online quiz was also available at lunchtime. This initiative supported the Computing curriculum and was endorsed by Mr Carter, the Curriculum Lead for Computing and ICT.

Enrichments - spotlight on Netball!
We had a fantastic turnout at Netball Club on Tuesday, with over 50 students from all five year groups taking part - an incredible achievement just two weeks into the enrichment programme!

If your child would like to get involved, they simply need to come to the gym after school on Tuesday and change into their PE kit. We’ll register them and ensure they have plenty of opportunities to develop their netball skills while also meeting new people and making friends.

Year 11 Football v John Hanson
The Year 11 football team kicked off their season on Wednesday with an away fixture against local rivals John Hanson. It was a competitive encounter, and the team produced some strong passages of play, showing real determination. However, two first-half goals from crosses that weren’t fully dealt with left them trailing 2–0 at the break.

The second half remained tight, with chances at both ends, but neither side was able to find the net. The match finished 2–0 to John Hanson, despite plenty of effort from our boys.
The team will now turn their focus to their next challenge: Wellington, on Wednesday 1st October.

Check out the latest news, fundraising initiatives and upcoming events from the PTA here - harrowwaypta.charityhive.co.uk

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