Hitchin Girls' School Parent Portal - Sixth Form Weekly Newsletter

We have an online absence reporting form for all absences (whole day or part of the day). If you are unable to use the form you will need to email absence@hgs.herts.sch.uk with the student's name and tutor group, reason for absence and expected return date (if known).

WEEKLY MENU

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SCHOOL NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Good afternoon,

Today is a hugely important day for our school as it's Founders' Day. The morning involved special assemblies, students receiving Founders' Day Awards and the Year 13 Prefect team handing over badges and responsibilities to the new team in Year 12; and of course the Founders' Day Service at St Mary's Church.

This is followed by Sports Day and Enterprise activities in the afternoon - all in all it makes for a great day. The students have been working hard on their enterprise ideas and judging by their adverts, it looks like they will do incredibly well as they raise money for Phase and Eco Club.

As well as the events in school leading up to Sports Day, this week has seen the students perform exceptionally well at the district athletics championships - you can read all about that below, but I must say huge congratulations to all involved.

This week we also had the Year 11 Prom and Year 13 Leavers' Supper - both events were fantastic, very different in their nature, but sharing the commonality of students coming together and celebrating the end of an important stage of their school careers with friends and teachers. Thank you to all students and staff who were involved in making these two evenings memorable for all involved.

Also this week, we welcomed the majority of our Year 11 students, and a number of external students, as we held three days of induction and taster lessons for entry into the Sixth Form. With little time passing since the last public exam, it was great to see the students coming back looking excited about the prospect of studying for their A Levels in September.

As this week closes we look to the next, and that brings another school tradition in the Gym and Dance Display. As always, the PE staff and students have been working hard in preparation and I wish them every success for the two evening shows and the matinee on Wednesday.

Finally, a reminder that the industrial action taking place on the 5th and 7th of July will be impacting upon the normal running of the school day; please see my recent letter for the full details of how your child will be affected.

Have a good weekend.

James Crowther, Headteacher

Founders' Day 2023

Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award

Fifty-six of our Year 10 students undertook their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award qualifying expedition recently, walking over 20 miles in very hot conditions and camping in Henlow. Well done to everyone who took part, and thank you to the volunteers who gave up their time.

Another busy week in Athletics!

Regional Combined Events

On 24 & 25 June, three of our students attended the Regional Combined Events athletics competition at Lee Valley. With a range of season's best performances and wins in her 200m heat and hurdles heat, Lucy B (Y11) placed 17th in the U17 Women's Heptathlon. In the U15 Women's Pentathlon, Edythe O (Y8) produced four Personal Best performances in shot put, high jump and 800m. Her overall Pentathlon score put her in 21st place. Meanwhile Juliet A (Y9), who was new to some of the events, had a fantastic Personal Best in the high jump and finished in 26th place overall. Against tough competition and the best in the region, this is a fantastic achievement for all involved - well done girls.

District League

Congratulations to everybody who has competed in the Year 7 and Year 9 athletics district league this term. Both age groups were overall winners and received the trophy.

District Junior Championships

On Wednesday 28 June, 35 students from Years 7-10 attended the District Junior Athletics Championships to compete against the best athletes from schools in North Hertfordshire.

The students displayed exemplary behaviour and exceptional support for one another, and are a credit to the school. In total, HGS picked up 36 Gold, 8 Silver and 6 Bronze medals, alongside multiple Personal Best performances. Particular highlights were the Years 8, 9 and 10 relay teams who won their races. Also Edythe (Y8), Florence (Y8), Emily R (Y9), Fran (Y10) and Lily-Rose (Y10), who came away with three Gold medals each in their events.

Congratulations to the Years 8, 9 and 10 teams who were the overall winners of their age groups. Well done to the Year 7s who produced commendable performances in their first year at the competition.

Year 7 team: Jess M, Mya P-B, Peaches L-G, Lilly H, Millie C, Mia S, Molly I, Neve S

Year 8 team: Edythe O, Sadie R-H, Faith C, Florence F, Indiya Q, Sarena S, Nia K, India H-M, Mirelle R

Year 9 team: Emily R, Molly W, Emma S, Juliet A, Bethany D-G, Lily B, Tilly M-S, Olivia T, Summer S, Jaime S

Year 10 team: Jess F, Fran H, Holly D, Holly P, Lily-Rose C, Evie H, Renai H, Chloe E

Take a Break Club

Our Take a Break Club is an activity-based club that runs on Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes, to support students with social skills and interaction. It includes games, crafts, eating lunch together and ultimately having fun! A recent activity was decorating these egg boxes and getting outdoors to fill them with colourful found objects.

KS3 Photography Club

Sharing some of the fantastic pictures taken by Years 7 - 9 in Photography Club this term! In Week 2, the students used the black and white setting on their cameras to take moody and interesting environment shots around school. They looked at how to control the exposure and thought about interesting viewpoints and angles of the buildings' interiors and exteriors.

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CAREERS SPOTLIGHT

NOTICEBOARD - LOCAL PROVISION

HAPpy Holidays

For students in receipt of Free School Meals

Looking for something to keep your children entertained this summer holiday?

Through DfE funding, Hertfordshire County Council and Herts Sports Partnership have co-ordinated a huge range of activities running at different venues across the county.

Each activity will offer a nutritious meal, and all of this is free to young people in receipt of benefits-related Free School Meals.

Eligible families can book for free using the unique HAPpy Booking Code: 3JH@XR

Activities are searchable by postcode or the child's age. Places are limited and strictly on a first-come basis, so be quick and book online from NOON on Monday 26 June. https://www.sportinherts.org.uk/booking

Additionally, there's a range of online activities to look through, with ideas for learning more about history, music and theatre, plus ways to keep your family active for 60 minutes each day! View these at https://www.sportinherts.org.uk/haf/enrichment

More information with links to a variety of organisations and useful advice can be found at https://sportinherts.org.uk/useful-local-services

NOTICEBOARD - EDUCATION / CAREERS

If you are currently in Year 12, there are some fantastic new courses live on the University of London Taster Courses website, ranging from Optometry and Music to Linguistics and French Studies.

Some of the Taster Courses are also open to students in Year 11 and Year 13 so be sure to check the requirements on their website.

Find out more

REPORTING STUDENT ABSENCE