Harrow Way Community School

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Friday 5th May 2017

Good afternoon,

You may remember that earlier in the year we raised money through a non-uniform day for Y11 student Alice Razza in her battle with cancer. Sadly, Alice died yesterday morning. We thought that we should let you know so that you can support your children over the weekend.

This is going to be a difficult time for Year 11 and particularly Alice's close friends. Today we have set aside a quiet room for students to come to if they are struggling. It is manned all day so they can talk to an adult or just sit and have some time on their own. A book of remembrance and other celebrations of Alice's life will be planned for the future. We are a family at Harrow Way and I have no doubt that we will pull together to support each other during this very sad time.

Year 8 Curriculum Evening
Thank you to all parents who attended the Curriculum Evening on Tuesday. We were really pleased to see so many parents and students. A big thank you also for attending the individual appointments with senior staff on Thursday and Friday. They are busy days for us, but a very important part of the process of ensuring your child achieves to their full potential at the end of their education with us.

General Election - Education
As I am sure you know, the Prime Minister has called a General Election on 8th June. As with any General Election, there will be many issues which will be at stake when the nation votes. I would like to take this opportunity to make you aware of the major education issues of the moment, and their impact on Harrow Way. My hope is that you will ask the candidates about these issues, find out where the different parties stand on them, and use what you find out to help you when you decide where to place your "X" on June 8th. Do have a read through my blog where I have outlined the key challenges we face over the next few years.

Assemblies
This week in assembly we have been thinking about the power of the questions we ask ourselves and the answers we reach. We have considered that the questions we ask ourselves can often be our key to success.

Year 7 Parents Evening – Monday 8th May
There is a last opportunity this weekend to book appointments on our on-line system for short individual appointments with your child's teachers. The link and instructions are available here. The booking system will close at 11.00 pm on Sunday 7th May.

Other news
Our Year 11 boys' football team played Stonehenge in the semi-final of the Salisbury & District Competition this week. The team won 5-3 with Tommy Willard scoring 2 goals. Tyler Barrow put in a great performance and also scored a goal. The final will take place against Bishop Wordsworth's School in the near future and will be a great swansong for the team. Well done lads!

Congratulations are due to Kai Liss and Abby Loader, who were winner and runner up respectively of the Senior Class of the Andover Rotary Young Photographer competition. The judges were very impressed with the level of competition. As winner, Kai's entry was forwarded to the District Competition and we have just heard that his photographs have been given first place. He now has the opportunity to be entered for the National level of the competition. Well done Kai!

Following the school's recent work on preventing and dealing with bullying, we have been awarded the Bullying Intervention Group 'BIG' Award for Excellence for 2017-18. We are very proud of the students who have helped to achieve this award and for their on-going work to educate their peers to eliminate bullying in school. The BIG website gives more details on the scheme.

To add some Spring colour to the school site, the Student Council has invited the School Houses to engage in a competition to find out which House is the most 'green fingered'. Each House will respond to the challenge of filling some large flower pots with a variety of plants and flowers that will add to the general ambience of our school. We are hopeful that before too long, we will be rewarded with a riot of fragrance and colour that will help us to welcome the busy Summer term.

School Uniform

At Harrow Way we are very proud of our school uniform, which is an essential part of our school's ethos. We believe that a smart uniform improves our students' self-esteem and confidence and contributes to good behaviour, as well as helping them to feel part of their school community. At Harrow Way we are doing more than preparing students for exams, we are preparing them to be citizens in the world of work. A professional and appropriate appearance is vital in every industry.

Since the beginning of the school year students have been growing and for many of them their skirts are now too short, please can we ask that you check carefully the school guidelines which state skirts must be plain and black. They must also be of an appropriate length to preserve decency. A guide for appropriate skirt length is that it should be no shorter than one hands width above the knee. Lycra fashion skirts are not permitted. We hope that you will support us by having this in place by the start of the Summer Term.

May 2017

Monday 8th May
Year 7 Parents' Evening

Tuesday 9th May
Year 7 Residential Trip to Plas Pencelli

Wednesday 10th May
Year 8 Parent & Student Appointments with Senior Leadership Team

New term start dates:

Monday 4th September 2017 - INSET Day - No students should attend.
Tuesday 5th September 2017 - 8.45 am - New Year 7 students and Year 11 Prefects onl.y
Wednesday 6th September 2017 - 8.45 am - New Year 7 students and Year 11 Prefects only.
Thursday 7th September 2017 - 8.45 am - All students.

Safeguarding

It has come to the school's attention that students have been using a website called "Sayat.me". This website allows individuals to ask questions and for others to respond anonymously. From our observations this site is often misused as a way of making offensive, nasty, rude and inappropriate comments towards others. The comments are anonymous and not moderated so it means that anyone can say anything without consequence. Please follow this link to read Mrs Pearce's full letter which also offers helpful advice to safeguard your children when using the Internet.

Andover Young Carers Ramble

A fundraising ramble is taking place on Sunday 7th May, in order to raise money for Andover Young Carers. A 3 mile walk around the beautiful town of Stockbridge, starting from outside The Grosvenor Hotel and will end back on the High Street. All ages, abilities and dogs are welcome. See poster for further details.

Harrow Way Guarantee

A reminder for parents of Year 8 students; the deadline for completing their Harrow Way Guarantee blogs is Friday 26th May. We look forward to inviting students to a graduation ceremony at Pass, Merit or Honours level if they have completed the Guarantee to a high enough standard. Please encourage your child to complete their blogs.

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

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