Student Voice to hear your views

Each week, Tony Patterson and I meet with the Student Voice to hear your views.  This week we discussed the following:

·         Badges – it was clarified that these are part of school uniform and should be worn to identify your House.  It was felt that this should be clarified in assemblies.

·         We reviewed some online software for sharing student ideas.  It was agreed that we should trial it first.

·         The Year 10 and 11 representatives would like more money for printing, as they run out regularly.  It was suggested that requests should be made for extra printing on an individual basis.  This will be discussed by the SLT.

·         The pack for the Big Vote was handed out.  We will have three candidates this year.

·         Some students have requested that the hubs be opened to students in the morning when it is cold. 

·         One student suggested that we have House ties.  The Student Voice group who met on Friday unanimously voted against this.

If you have any comments on any of the above, add a post!

Teaching and Learning

It has been a great week for learning.  I was invited to a Y8 showcase of dance on Tuesday.  Mrs Ellis, led her group in a showcase of Saturday Night Fever – extremely engaging, and very difficult to resist getting up to join in (it has been known!).

And then, I found out that Y7 had been incredibly creative in science .  Jack Smith (7A3) emailed me the details of the learning in Miss Duff’s science lesson.  The class conducted an experiment to see which insulation was most effective.  They built their own houses and insulated them-in miniature of course, but what fantastic preparation for the future!  Well done 7A3.   

Great learning – we are proud of our students.

Speakers for Schools

I found this interesting website when I was looking at the events surrounding 2012.  There are a vast number of speakers who will come into state schools to give inspirational talks to young people for free.

“These speakers address the big subjects: technological, scientific, political, economic, historical, cultural, artistic, ecological and ethical. They are people who will be able to explain the latest developments in areas such as business, cosmology, biology, medicine, linguistics, history, engineering, inter alia.” (taken from their home page).

Motivating and inspiring young people is vital, and this seems like a very promising initiative. 

I need to apply for a particular speaker, so would value your thoughts on a subject area or latest development initiative, so that we choose the right speaker for our school.  You may even have a particular speaker in mind.  Have a look at the list, and read up on their profile.  If you would like to let me know, I will take the most popular choice.

You can access the website below:

http://www.speakers4schools.org/speakers

Elastic Radio Update

I have just returned from a visit to Clowne Junior School – thank you to Mr Edge and all the staff and students for making us feel so welcome.

Our students: Shaun Fell, Brandon Shaw, Toby Bagnall, Laura Wilson and Liam Gibbs gave a presentation at Clowne Junior School this morning to promote a competition to launch the community radio station.

Please see at the following link a Powerpoint presentation which has been created by the students (http://www.heritage.derbyshire.sch.uk/elastic/rebuiltNed.pptx).  If you are interested in entering the competition , please submit your entries to Heritage High School, and mark them for the attention of the Student Radio Committee.

  

 

The start of term is always an exciting time

The start of term is always an exciting time…This year, following such superb results, it was even more exciting.  When I met the students coming down the drive on the first day, I did wonder what they would achieve and whether they would achieve even greater success – it is highly likely!

What will our new Y7 students achieve in five years’ time?  They have such an opportunity now, with this fantastic building and a staff who have the highest expectations of every student. 

The new Y7 students have fitted in very well and, after the first week of ‘directing’ lost students around the site, they all seem to have found their feet.  It is clear that the induction days were a success, as many faces are already familiar.

We are looking forward to the first ‘Team Event’ for the House system:   Roald Dahl day!  It should be a super day, with lots of people getting involved.  Beware though, as the ‘Grand High Witch’ will be here, and we could be overrun with mice.

Elastic Radio – a community project is starting here at Heritage High School

Two radio broadcasts have already been completed with our students and the students from our feeder primary schools.  Both programmes were really well-received and it is hoped that our students will continue this great work alongside members of our community.  Miss Trevis, our head of ICT wanted to develop a radio station in school and with the help and support of Clowne Enterprises, this idea has grown into a community project.  This will be a community radio station and the first broadcast will be in September. 

In the meantime, we want to know what features you would like included on a radio programme – what would make you listen?  Perhaps a cookery section, with specific recipe ideas; top-tips for your allotment; or a book-club?  The list is endless, but we want your ideas so that the radio really serves the community.

Heritage Students fund-raising for others

The students at Heritage High School are very good at fund-raising and thinking of others.  This morning, I felt extremely proud to stand with our students and hand over a cheque for £701.21 to the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance.  The idea for a charity bike-ride came from the Student Voice who, together with Extreme Wheels of Bolsover and Tony Patterson from the Youth Service, completed a sponsored ride around Rother Valley in April.

The students raised £475 from individual sponsorship and the rest was raised around school with collecting buckets. 

This is a community of learners, supporting others in their community who in turn support others…it is a ‘cycle’ of success!

If you follow the link, you will see the air ambulance in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywWN5royeXo&feature=related

Please let us have your comments on the work of schools in supporting charities: we support many worthy causes.  How do you feel about what these young people have achieved? 

New Reward System

The school is looking at a new reward system and we would like your views.  What do you think students should be rewarded for?

What kind of prizes would you see in the online catalogue?  If you could make a wish list what would be on it?  What privileges would you like to see ‘Gold members’ getting?

One student said if you were gold members, you should be able to ‘queue jump’ automatically.  What do you think?

Your suggestions are valued.

Robotics education in schools

Students are learning new skills and knowledge to prepare them for the rapidly changing world in which we live.  Passionate about teaching and learning, we are constantly looking for new ways to innovate and engage students in new learning experiences. 

Last September, I was invited by the Ministry of Education, Singapore to speak at their bi-annual teachers’ conference.  As part of the conference programme for speakers, we were taken to visit high performing schools.  Their conference theme was ‘Lead, Care, Inspire’ and I was certainly inspired by what I saw.  One of the primary schools was delivering a range of curriculum activities through a robotics programme.   Added to this, they were taking part in an international competition.

Click on the link below to see these robots in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CoQzbXLR34

What are your thoughts on robotics education in schools?