Sixth Form Weekly Newsletter | Autumn Term, Week 12 | Date: 2 Dec 2022
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If you have symptoms of Covid-19 or you have tested positive for Covid-19, you should stay at home and avoid contact with other people.
Symptoms of Covid-19 can include:
- a high temperature or shivering
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- shortness of breath
- feeling tired or exhausted
- an aching body
- a headache
- a sore throat
- a blocked or runny nose
- loss of appetite
- diarrhoea
- feeling sick or being sick
Students under 18 years old who test positive or have symptoms should stay at home for 3 full days. The day you first have symptoms or have a positive test result is Day 0. You may return to school on Day 4 provided you do not have a temperature and feel well enough.
Full government guidance is available here.
We will continue to support the personal choice of students and staff in wearing a face covering. We will also continue to ensure good levels of hygiene and ventilation for everyone here at school, and will maintain appropriate cleaning regimes.
If you have questions regarding official guidance please call 119 for visit the NHS website.
If a student is unwell, regardless of whether Covid-19 is suspected, they should stay away from school and the absence should be reported via our online absence form.
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 **
Monday: BLACK BEAN NOODLES (v), VEGETABLE CURRY (v)(gf), CHEESE QUICHE (v), JAM SPONGE
Tuesday: MINCED BEEF & ONION PIE, LEEK & MUSHROOM PASTA (v), VEGETABLE & BEAN BURGER IN A BUN (v), DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP SPONGE
Wednesday: CHICKEN HOTPOT (gf), CURRIED CAULIFLOWER & BROCCOLI CHEESE (v), CHEESE & ONION PASTIES (v), APPLE CRUMBLE (free from eggs, milk)
Thursday: SAUSAGE HOTPOT (gf), PASTA BAKE (v), CHEESE QUICHE (v), ICED SPONGE
Friday: PASTA BOLOGNAISE, QUORN HOTPOT (v), FISHCAKES, CHOCOLATE KRISPIE (free from eggs)
(v) = Vegetarian (gf) = Gluten Free
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SCHOOL NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Message from the Headteacher
Good afternoon.
It has been another exciting week, which began with last year's Year 11s collecting their GCSE certificates at our celebration event. It was great for staff to catch up with returning students and hear how they have been getting on with their new ventures, and for the students to reconnect with their peers in school.
Lunchtimes this week have seen the inter-school Rainbow Laces football matches taking place between ourselves and HBS - staff and students have returned with wonderful accounts of the games, and I look forward to seeing more activities involving the two schools in the future. As you will see from the content below, there has been much else for students to get involved with this week as well.
Finally, thanks again for all the contributions to the values project that we have undertaken. I will be collating the responses with our working group to bring this all together; I look forward to sharing the developments with you in the future.
James Crowther
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Remember to purchase tickets for
the student Christmas lunch!
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Free School Meals - supermarket vouchers
for the Christmas period
Hertfordshire County Council are providing supermarket vouchers for every child who is entitled to benefits-related Free School Meals for the Christmas holiday period.
Each entitled child will receive a digital supermarket voucher to the value of £50. These will be delivered to families via email from 5 December.
Please remember to check your junk folder - emails will be from noreply@edenred.co.uk.
The email will also state the expiry date of the redemption e-code so families must redeem (i.e. choose a supermarket) before this date. If the redemption e-code expires, the school will not be able to reissue the voucher.
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Christmas Food Drive is next Friday
Please see below for items that are particularly needed at the local Food Bank at the moment. Please bring any donations to school on Friday 9 December and place them in the crates in the foyers of the Main School, Lower Block or Woodside Building. Thank you for any support you can give.
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Please tell us your sporting successes!
If you participate in any sport at County level or above please share any successes from this term with us. The PE Department would love to include them in their Sports Report for the HGS community.
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Rainbow Laces
We've had a fantastic week of mixed-team football matches with students from Hitchin Boys' School across the year groups, to champion equality and diversity within sport and beyond.
We are thankful to Tottenham Hotspur FC for donating some cool prizes!
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GCSE certificates - celebration event
It was great to see many of last year's Year 11s get together this week, to collect their GCSE certificates, and have a bite to eat and catch-up at the same time.
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Engaging with local politics
The Leader of North Herts District Council, Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg, and fellow district councillor Daniel Allen came to talk to our student Prefects about local democracy, encouraging an interesting discussion about what makes a good leader. It was a valuable opportunity for our students to engage directly with sitting councillors.
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A Level Psychology - Brain Day!
We were so utterly privileged to have a visit from Dr Guy Sutton, Director and Founder of Medical Biology Interactive and an Honorary Consultant Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham Medical School. He ran a Neuroscience 'Brain Day' in school for our Year 13 Psychology students this week.
Students were involved in a brain dissection, and also learned about forensic psychiatry, mental illness and criminal behaviour, as well as the psychiatry and psychology of terrorism. Dr Sutton also talked about psychological and biosocial theories of crime, the connection between drugs, the brain and crime, and the role of the prefrontal cortex and sub-cortical systems. We are grateful to him for introducing this fascinating and growing area of research to our students.
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Latest from Leona!
Many congratulations to Leona Lee (Y13) for her success in the U19 National Championships in Milton Keynes at the weekend.
She was seeded no 2 in the Singles and lost in the final against the no 1 seed, winning Silver.
In Women’s Doubles Leona and partner were seeded no 3; they beat the no 2 seeds in the semis but lost in the final against the no1 seeds, gaining another silver medal!
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Library news
Scholastic Book Sale 5 - 9 December
Don't miss the Scholastic Book Sale taking place in the Library at lunchtime on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday next week.
Visit the book sale, have a look at the books and pick up a wish list. If you see a book you would like, write it on the wish list. Then take it home to ask your parent or guardian to pay online using the link bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/pay.
When you've paid, jot down the reference number and book details at the bottom of the wish list. Then bring it back to the Library the next day to order your book.
You will be able to collect your books from the Library by the end of term. Any questions, please contact Mrs Goose.
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The tree is up!
Thank you to our Head Girl and Deputy Head Girls for continuing the annual tradition of decorating the HGS Christmas tree, this year in lovely gold, silver and white.
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Vote for the HGS tree next weekend!
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NOTICEBOARD - LOCAL PROVISION / EVENTS
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NOTICEBOARD - EDUCATION / CAREERS
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Virtual careers conference - the space sector
The National Space Academy will be hosting online careers conferences for students and parents/guardians, thanks to the UK Space Agency. These conferences will allow attendees to find out about some of the most exciting job opportunities within an ever-growing industry.
Jobs within the sector range from working with satellites to help predict the weather, to designing and building rockets and becoming a space lawyer.
The UK space industry has an annual turnover of £16.4 billion and employs more than 45,000 people. It continues to grow year on year. The UK Space Innovation and Growth Strategy has a target of achieving 10% of the global space market, which is estimated to be £400 billion by 2030.
These interactive online conferences will explore the range of careers available before delving further into the career choices of three speakers. They will talk about how their journey brought them to where they are today and what it is they do daily. This will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A session with the speakers.
Saturday 3 December
Years 10 and 11 students
10.30 - 12.30
Book here
Saturday 3 December
Years 12 and 13 students
14.00 - 16.00
Book here
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Amazing Apprenticeships have put together a really useful downloadable PDF with a comprehensive list of Higher and Degree level apprenticeships or a 2023 start.
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Applications are now open at MBDA Missile Systems for their work experience weeks taking place next year for Y11 – Y13 students.
The roles are in General Engineering and Software Engineering. Both will allow students to explore MBDA and understand what it takes to work as an engineer at the company.
The provisional weeks are:
- General Engineering - choice of w/c 3 April, w/c 26 June, w/c 3 July, w/c 10 July, w/c 31 July, w/c 7 August
- Software Engineering - choice of w/c 3 April, w/c 10 April, w/c 26 June, w/c 3 July, w/c 10 July, w/c 31 July, w/c 7 August
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Degree Apprenticeships –
A Guide for Sixth Form Students
The 75-minute programme includes:
• an interview with Clare Marchant, Chief Executive of UCAS, talking about how Sixth Form students can use UCAS to find out about degree apprenticeships
• four presentations explaining ‘What is a degree apprenticeship?’, ‘Which degree apprenticeships are available?’, ‘University or a degree apprenticeship?’ and ‘Where to find out more information on degree apprenticeships’
• an employer showcase of 50 major UK employers in different industries & business sectors who will be offering degree apprenticeship programmes in 2023
• tips, advice and guidance from Lloyds Banking Group and BDO on how to apply for degree apprenticeship and the selection processes that employers’ use
• interviews with current degree apprentices at Dyson, PwC, Royal Navy and Rolls-Royce
• information on how solicitor apprenticeships offer an alternative route into the legal profession, from law firm Eversheds Sutherland
The programme was presented by Martin Birchall, research director for the Department for Education’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers and Levi Jouavel, presenter on BBC Three and a former BBC apprentice.
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Thinking Black: Year 12 Essay Writing Programme
Thinking Black is a social enterprise supporting Black British students to develop key academic, communication and leadership skills. The students have the opportunity to creatively imagine the future through written and spoken responses to social and political issues that directly affect them. The flagship ACT Essay Writing Programme has engaged more than 300 Year 12 students since 2017, many of whom have since studied at Oxford, Cambridge and within the Russell Group.
The programme is entirely free and will run online from January 7th, 2023 until May 3rd, 2023. It is open to Year 12 state-school students of Black and Mixed Black heritage.
Participants will:
- Attend a series of specialist lectures and small group discussion sessions led by university students and graduates;
- Receive comprehensive, written feedback on their work from academics at the University of Oxford;
- Attend the in-person Celebration Day at Pembroke College, Oxford in Summer 2023;
- Receive the chance to win: cash prizes, publication in an anthology, meetings with talent & literary agents, and a place on OxNet summer school
At the Celebration Day, students with winning essays will be awarded prizes and all students will enjoy a tour of some Oxford colleges. There will also be an opportunity to receive advice from current students and University staff about the undergraduate application process.
Find out more
Apply
Deadline: 12 December 2022.
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About Skills Gap
Skills Gap is a career accelerator that runs insightful workshops for young people aged 15-19 – because it’s never too soon to think about building your skills for a competitive edge in your future studies and career.
We're offering a range of intensive workshops this autumn, all designed specifically for 15-19 year olds and delivered to small groups by experienced industry experts:
Robotics in Space
Saturday 3 December
From exploring the surface of Mars to sizing up metallic asteroids, the race is on to unlock the mysteries of the universe and answer our planet’s biggest challenges. Taught online by robotics experts, this workshop gives a fascinating insight into today’s space industry. Take part in a hands-on exercise to design an autonomous robotic lander to explore Europa and get career tips and advice to get ahead.
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NOTICEBOARD - WELLBEING / SEND / SUPPORT
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