It has been yet another hugely busy and successful term. As we reach the Easter break with lighter evenings and hopefully brighter and warmer days it helps to focus the mind on the imminent arrival of the summer exam season. The Easter break is an opportunity for students and staff to recuperate from the efforts they have put in over the last three months. There are no easy terms in the school year but in my opinion the spring term is the most intense. The run of parent evenings combined with the pressures of mock exams and controlled assessments mean there is little time for reflection but the Easter break will allow everyone to recharge their batteries a little and gather their strength to face the challenges that all their efforts have been geared towards.
Our Year 11 students are now counting down the last few weeks before their GCSE examinations start and I have been delighted to see so many Year 11 utilising their lesson, tutor and intervention time to good effect.
I am keenly aware that a supportive parent community like ours experiences the exam pressures too and it is sometimes tricky to get the balance right between supporting the students and keeping them focused and taking them to task if they are too complacent. The key to good revision is practising exam questions against the clock which can be corrected to give an idea of topics which need attention and also creating revision aids like cue cards or mind maps. Both these activities avoid the trap of reading notes without retaining the information which many students fall into. I know that many of the students are now following a clear revision plan. It is vital that all of the students spend the Easter break wisely in terms of revision and exam preparation.
Year 11 parents will also have received a letter with details of our English Literature Revision day at The Lights on the first day back – Monday 24th April. There is a reply slip for parents to complete. The letter is also available here and permission can be e-mailed to caroline.lowing@harrowway.hants.sch.uk . The department have been busy planning an exciting programme to support Y11 revision.
Our new Year 10 prefects and Student Leadership Team are taking over responsibility for prefect duties from next term. Prefects will be attending a training day at Norman Court on Tuesday 25th April.
Looking at the range of activities mentioned in this e-newsletter over the term I am again reminded of the huge amount of extra-curricular activities that go on and success that we achieve. I am incredibly grateful to my colleagues who despite increasingly heavy workloads continue to give so freely of their time at lunchtimes, after school, in the evenings, at weekends and during holidays to enrich the learning and life experiences of the students. Your child should have brought home the Easter edition of the Harrow Way Eagle Newsletter yesterday, with dates for the Summer Term. It is also available to view here.
Celebration Assemblies this week have rewarded students in many ways for their achievements across the school community this term. We have celebrated Learners of the Week, Learners of the Term, Stamper Totals, High Attendance and Tutor Learners of the Term.
Our Year 9 French students started their journey to Paris early on Thursday morning – and are tweeting already – you can follow the group @harrowway.
I wish you a very happy Easter break and look forward to welcoming the students back to school on Monday 24th April refreshed and ready for more!
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