Message from the Head
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year! I hope you were able to enjoy some quality family time over the holiday.
While the children were away, we completed restoration of the heating system for the Chapel and the planned redecorations to sections of the Old Roke and Thomas More Buildings. We also launched a new website, which I hope will be valuable to both existing and prospective parents. We will continue to add more content to the site and refine it over the coming term.
On Monday, the staff training day prepared us for the term ahead and included specialist external training on supporting neurodiversity in the classroom. For parents, we are also offering an opportunity to gain useful insights. On Monday, 27th January, at 6:30 pm, we will host a webinar with Q&A led by Mr. Jonathan Taylor. Mr. Taylor brings a wealth of expertise from his years as an Undercover Online Investigator with the Metropolitan Police Investigation Command. His experience, knowledge, and qualifications make him one of the most sought-after speakers on practical, up-to-date, and relevant advice on online safety and social media for children. Please refer to Tuesday’s Portal message for login details.
Looking ahead, we will also have a workshop for Pre-Prep parents on how to help your child with maths on 16th January at 8:45 am. Again, please see this week’s Portal for detailed information.
Today, we are also publishing the Spring Term brochure of our co-curricular offerings. Please explore the wide range of clubs and activities, all of which are provided by staff as part of our core offer. There is a sign-up sheet you can use should your child wish to participate in any of these enrichment activities. Last term, we had 125 bookings and the feedback from the pupils has been fantastic.
It was a great first week back, and particularly notable were the pluck, energy, and skill displayed by our U13, U11, and U10 teams in their hockey and rugby fixtures against Pennthorpe and Hoe Bridge on a bitterly cold Wednesday. Likewise, our U9 and U8 teams brought great energy to their matches against Westbourne, Amesbury, and Aldro on Thursday.
Have a great weekend!
Mr Towers, Head
News from Upper Prep
It has been a pleasure to welcome all the children in Years 7 and 8 back to school this week and to hear about all their wonderful adventures during the Christmas holidays. As usual, they have settled quickly back into school life with their usual energy and enthusiasm for their lessons, enjoying some rather chilly sports matches outside.
Both Year 7 and Year 8 have mock exams during the week beginning February 4th and we have begun helping the children prepare for these in earnest this week. We will be looking at ways to revise during our form times so we can support the children as much as we can. Little and often is the key!
I’d also like to draw your attention to an excellent webinar on Online Safety, taking place on Monday 27th January at 6.30pm. The webinar will be led by Mr. Jonathan Taylor, who brings a wealth of expertise from his 10 years as an Undercover Online Investigator with the Metropolitan Police Child Abuse Investigation Command.
One of my resolutions this year is to read more non-fiction and I am currently reading The Anxious Generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness by Jonathan Haidt. He discusses how the decline of free-play in childhood and the rise of smartphone use among adolescents is changing our world.
He writes:
Gen Z became the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting , addictive, unstable and unsuitable for children and adolescents. Succeeding socially in that universe required them to devote a large part of their consciousness – perpetually – in managing what became their online brand. This was now necessary to gain acceptance from peers which is the oxygen of adolescents and to avoid online shaming with is the nightmare of adolescents. Gen Z got sucked into spending many hours of each day scrolling through the shiny happy posts of friends, acquaintances and distant influencers. They watched increasing quantities of user-generated videos and streamed entertainment offered to them by auto play… they spent far less time playing with, talking to. Touching or even making eye contact with their friends and families, thereby reducing their participation in embodied social behaviours that are essential for successful human development.
I am looking forward to learning more about how to minimise the effects of the online world on our children at the webinar on January 27th.
Finally, I am delighted to let you know that Mr Unwin became engaged during the Christmas holidays! I know you will join me in offering many congratulations to Joe and his fiancee Katie at this exciting time.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Mason, Head of Upper Prep
News from Prep
Happy New Year, and welcome back to what promises to be an exciting and productive Spring Term! It has been wonderful to see the children return to school refreshed, full of energy, and ready to embrace the opportunities ahead.
This week has been a delightful start to the new term. It has been lovely to hear the children share stories about their Christmas holidays, from exciting adventures and treasured family time to thoughtful gifts and festive fun. These moments of sharing help to bring our community even closer as the children reconnect with friends and teachers.
With the arrival of the new year, many children have been talking about their New Year’s resolutions. From aiming to read more books to improving their sports skills or being kinder to siblings, it’s inspiring to hear their aspirations for self-improvement. We look forward to supporting them in achieving their goals and celebrating their progress along the way.
On Thursday, the children had the opportunity to gather in their houses. Through this they were able to develop camaraderie and collaboration and encouraged teamwork, relationships, and reinforced the importance of supporting one another. It was heartwarming to see children of different year groups working together, sharing ideas, and celebrating their house pride. Events like these play a vital role in fostering the values of respect, cooperation, and community, which are central to life at our school.
As we settle into the term, there is much to look forward to in the coming weeks. From academic challenges and sporting fixtures to creative projects and extracurricular opportunities, the calendar is already packed with exciting events. We are confident that this term will be one of growth, achievement, and memorable experiences for all our children.
Thank you for your continued support, and we wish you and your families a healthy and happy start to 2024. We look forward to working together to make this term a successful and enjoyable one for all.
Warm regards,
Miss Tyrell, Head of Prep
News from Pre-Prep
Happy New Year, I hope you have all enjoyed a restful Christmas break. It has been lovely to welcome all our children and families back to Barrow Hills this week. It is set to be a super exciting Spring Term, and we can’t wait to enjoy it together with you.
As is typical with the start of Spring Term, the new chapter always promises to be a very exciting and engaging one. With a range of internal clubs starting again from next week, Pre-Prep visits to the Science Lab planned, themed topic days, trips, STEM Week, Grandparents Afternoon, a sports fixture for Year 2, our annual World Book Day activities, as well as Maths and Phonics Workshops taking place for parents too, there is much going between now and the end of March.
After Mr Towers’ Assembly on Tuesday morning about New Year’s resolutions, our Pre-Prep Assembly echoed this theme as we introduced this half of term’s PSHE lessons; Dreams and Goals. I shared a story with the children based on an aspiration, how to achieve it and understanding some of the emotions that can go with this.
Well done to the children who received Work of the Week certificates in this morning’s assembly. Reception class now join Year 1 to Year 8 in our whole school Friday Assembly and so we were able to present Valo with his certificate for Work of the Week, as well as Alexander in Year 1 and Ottilie in Year 2.
Next Thursday is our first Maths Workshop, to which we look forward to welcoming Pre-Prep Parents to hear about how Maths is taught across the department, and to share the resources used and how you can support your child at home. This will now take place in the Refectory. Refreshments will be served from 8:15am after morning drop off and the workshop will begin at 8:45am.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Barnett, Head of Pre-Prep
BHCC
Bacon Butties made a chilly start to the day both warm and welcoming this morning raising an fantastic £125.76. Many thanks to our community for your support.