Y7-11 Weekly Newsletter | Autumn Term, Week 14 | Date: 8 Dec 2023 |
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REPORTING STUDENT ABSENCE 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). [Every day - Pasta / Jacket Potatoes & Toppings, Panini of the Day] ** MENU SUBJECT TO CHANGE **
** GLUTEN-FREE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST ** Monday: SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI (v), VEGETABLE & BEAN HOTPOT (v)(gf), CHEESE & ONION PASTIES (v), JAM SPONGE Tuesday: SAUSAGES, CAULIFLOWER CHEESE (v), CHEESE QUICHE (v), RHUBARB CRUMBLE (free from eggs, milk) Wednesday: CHICKEN HOISIN NOODLES, THREE BEAN CHILLI (v)(gf), CHEESE QUICHE (v), CARROT CAKE Thursday: CHRISTMAS DINNER - ROAST TURKEY, CHRISTMAS DINNER - BRIE & CRANBERRY CROWNS (v), SELECTION OF CHRISTMAS CAKES Friday: SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN (gf), MACARONI CHEESE (v) BATTERED FISH, CHOCOLATE CRUNCH (free from eggs, milk) (V) = Vegetarian (GF) = Gluten Free |
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SCHOOL NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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Good afternoon, In the spirit of Kindness - one of our core values - today we held our Christmas Food Drive, which has become something of a tradition here at HGS - in fact this is its 10th anniversary. Mrs Reynolds spearheads the Food Drive, the original idea of which came from a group of students who took part in an international student leadership conference in Hawaii. Mrs Reynolds supported that group of students with getting the event up and running, and she has continued to ensure it happens every year long after the students left our school. Thanks to everyone for supporting this initiative for our local community, and a special thanks to Mrs Reynolds for all of her efforts! The HGS entry is looking resplendent at the Hitchin Christmas Tree Festival - this year's tree celebrates our extracurricular activities with decorations made by students attending lunchtime / after-school clubs. These include Y7 Model Club, Library Goblins, LGBTQ Club, Crochet Club, Take a Break Club, Eco Cub, Greek Club, Music, PE, Science and Art (to name a few!). The festival is on from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th December and is well worth a visit. You can also vote for our tree!! Many thanks to Ms Mills and Ms Wells who helped with the decorating. I am really looking forward to the Carol Service on Tuesday next week. This year we will be holding the evening service at St Mary's Church and it will certainly be a fantastic event. A huge thank you in advance to all of the music staff and the students performing in the concert. Thursday next week is Christmas Jumper Day for us and also the day of our school Christmas dinner. As you will have read, we are wearing Christmas jumpers to raise money for Save the Children, a charity that provides support and humanitarian aid to children in the UK and all over the world. Have a good weekend, James Crowther, Headteacher |
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Free School Meals - vouchers for
the Christmas holidaysHertfordshire County Council will be providing supermarket vouchers for each child entitled to benefits-related Free School Meals to cover the Christmas 2023 holiday period. Eligible families will receive a digital supermarket voucher to the value of £30 per child on 13 December 2023, which you must redeem within 3 months (the expiry date will be included in the email that you receive from noreply@edenred.co.uk). Please check your junk mail if you do not see the voucher.
Families can choose to spend vouchers at one of the following supermarkets:
• ALDI
• ASDA
• Marks and Spencer
• McColl’s
• Morrisons
• Sainsbury’s
• Tesco
• Waitrose
Please note that the voucher works like a gift card and so doesn't have to be spent all in one go.
Contact HertsHelp for advice and practical support – call 0300 123 4044, email info@hertshelp.net or visit www.hertshelp.net. |
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Lost propertyWe have a collection of unnamed winter gear, lunch bags, pencil cases, headphones, etc. at main school reception. Please come to collect if you recognise yours! 
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They shoot, they scoreA massive well done to the Year 10 footballers who won all of their matches and became District champions! 
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Ten years of Food DriveThis is our tenth Christmas of running our Food Drive in school - thank you, once again, for all the thoughtful donations this morning. They will be making their way to the local foodbank shortly. 
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Visitors in Design & TechnologyLast week we invited 60 Year 2 pupils from Samuel Lucas Primary School to our workshop, to use the saws to cut the axles for their racer cars. It's safe to say they had a fantastic time and got a lot from the sessions, where they also got to see some inspiring examples of GCSE and A Level work by our students. 
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Vote for our tree at the Christmas Tree Festival!Our entry for the annual Christmas Tree Festival at Holy Saviour Church this weekend is decorated on the theme of our extracurricular clubs and societies. Please go along, see how many of our clubs you can spot and cast your vote! 
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Autumn term sports report Have you had success in a sport outside of school at County level or above? If so the PE department would love to hear about your achievements and include them in the Sports Report to share with the HGS community. |
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Food Club feeling festiveFood Club have got into the Christmas spirit with these cute reindeer cakes! Made with curly wurlys, red smarties and edible icing pens for the eyes, these festive creations were a big hit! 
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Have a listen to our inaugural HGS Podcast produced by our team of digital enthusiasts! Ep 1: Aspirations |
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The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has launched The Big Ambition, a national survey of children and young people across England. The Big Ambition aims to hear from children across England on what they think is important! In the lead up to the next General Election, The Children’s Commissioner wants to take children’s thoughts, opinions and ideas to decision-makers, to make sure that the Government hears young people’s voices on what they think needs to be done to make children’s lives better in England. Our students will be asked to complete the survey during a tutor time ahead of the closing date, which is Friday 15 December. The survey asks for information about the person responding, the child’s age, and what school they attend. The questions are slightly different depending on the age of the child answering, but everyone is asked what they think the Government should do to make children’s lives better. It’s important to remember that the survey is not a test and that there are no right or wrong answers. Everything in the survey is anonymous. If you want to find out more about the Children's Commisioner's data protection policies, please visit their information and privacy page. If you have any questions about the survey or The Big Ambition, you can contact them using the contact form on their website. |
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Pre-Christmas volunteering opportunity
for students aged 16+Garden House Hospice has an opportunity for students aged 16+ to gain employability skills, support sustainability and give back to their community by giving a few hours of their time to help in the Garden House Hospice Care shops in the runup to Christmas. This additional support will help the charity to raise much-needed funds to provide compassionate end-of-life care and support to patients and their families. To apply, please visit their website here. For more information please call 01462 679540 (option 6) or email volunteers@ghhospicecare.org.uk |
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NOTICEBOARD - CAREERS / HIGHER EDUCATION |
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Apprenticeship opportunitiesDecember / January ia a busy time for the opening up of apprenticeship opportunities - and Unifrog's apprenticeship tool currently has a lot of Advanced, Higher and Degree apprenticeships listed, including employers such as Airbus, Tui, AstraZeneca, Mace, Amazon, BAE Systems, Kier, BBC, ITV, Sky, Barclays, Bloomberg to name a few. Some examples are: Bank of England https://www.boe-futuretalent.co.uk/apprentices.html PWC https://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/early-careers/our-programmes/flying-start-degrees/accounting.html KPMG https://www.kpmgcareers.co.uk/apprentice We are encouraging interested students to log into Unifrog and take a look so as not to miss any application deadlines. |
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NOTICEBOARD - WELLBEING / SEND / SUPPORT |
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Bereavement peer support groupStand by Me, a local charity for children's bereavement support, will be holding weekly Peer Support Group meetings during Thursday lunchtimes (12.45 - 1.30pm) in the Conference Room starting on 23 November. The aim is to provide a safe, supportive space for students to share their experiences and emotions with other young people who understand how it feels when someone close to them passes away, and to enable them to see that they are not alone. |
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