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Hobart High School

Newsletter

Easter 2013

I am delighted to be writing to you all in our first newsletter since we converted to academy status in February. The move has gone extremely well and I am sure that many of you will not have noticed a huge difference. We will work over

the coming months to ensure that we make the best use of additional resourcing to ensure a continuation in the high standards you have come to expect from us.

It was a pleasure to see so many students and staff taking part in events to support Comic Relief and I hope that you will enjoy reading about these further on. It has also been a great term for the arts at Hobart with our production of “Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde” and our spring music concert. Both of these were outstanding events and I had to remind myself at times that we were still in a school and that the performers were children. Many thanks and congratulations go to all staff and students who were involved.

Year 11 are now in the final stages of their taught courses and will be spending the coming weeks revising and attending additional revision sessions. I will talk more about their contribution to the school in my next newsletter but I would like to wish them all well in their final exam preparation.

I wish you all a restful and hopefully snow free Easter holiday.

Sam Griffin Headteacher

Joann Manning

As many of you will know February saw the passing of Joann in Year 9 following a

lengthy illness. This has been a difficult time for students and staff and I would like to thank people for their support during this time. Students and staff from the school did attend Joann‟s funeral which took place in Colchester. Over the coming weeks we will be looking at a suitable memorial to Joann.

Up Coming Events

Monday 15 April First Day of Term Monday 15 April- Wednesday 17 April GCSE Art Exhibition Tuesday 23 April Year 8 Parents Evening Wednesday 24 April German Exchange Leaves Monday 29 April GCSE Drama Evening Thursday 2 May Summer Science Lecture Wednesday 1 May German Exchange Returns Friday 10 May Year 11 Leaving Day Friday 17 May Year 8 Girls HPV Immunisation Monday 27 - Friday 31 May Half Term

Uniform Reminder

Could we please remind parents if you are renewing items of uniform for the summer term, that girls skirts need to be knee length, A-line or straight and not tight fitting. Trousers should be black or dark grey in a traditional straight leg style - not jean style or leggings.

A full uniform list is available on the school website or in your child‟s planner. We will continue to work with families where there is an issue or problem with uniform. Should you wish to discuss further please contact Head of Upper or Lower School.

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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde On the 14 and 15 of

February Hobart students presented Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The show was a great success and included the efforts of pupils and staff members from across the school. Students and staff members alike were not only involved onstage, but also worked hard in the creation of scenery, props, costume, sound and lighting for the performance.

The cast consisted of a large chorus that showed strong commitment and dedication into learning a large amount of lines and movement. Leading roles such as the character of Dr Jekyll

was played by Jake Harrison and the spooky and disturbing Mr Hyde by Charlie Martin. In addition to this Jekyll‟s dedicated lawyer, Gabriel Utterson (Josh Hope) and the Presenter (Chris Woolner) along with others, helped to inform, entertain and amaze the audience into reaching the final chilling conclusion of the disappearance of Dr Jekyll and the death of Mr Hyde. All involved demonstrated Hobart High School‟s wealth of creative talent at the school and it was a real privilege to work with such a professional and dedicated group of young people. I would like to congratulate everyone involved with the production of a memorable and outstanding performance.

Students Compete in Einstein Challenge A group of Year

9 pupils spent the day at the Hethel Engineering Centre competing against teams from other Norfolk schools in the Einstein Challenge. The pupils had to design and build a super capacitor car within a set period of time. The cars were then tested for speed, distance, effectiveness and design by a panel of judges from the event sponsors.

The final design produced by the pupils performed really well and it was a very close competition. In the final testing all the schools were brought together so that the cars could be compared. As the day came to an end the winning team from Reepham High School was announced. Congratulations to all the pupils involved. Woman In Black On Wednesday 13 February, Miss Webb and Miss Remsbery took 50 Year 10 and 11 students to a matinee performance of The Woman In Black at the Theatre Royal, Norwich. The show is a notoriously chilling adaptation of Susan Hill's classic novel which is now a GCSE English Literature exam text. Pupils were suitably terrified by the sudden screams, loud bangs and ghostly appearances although we think, in between the gasps, cries and jumps, they just about managed to enjoy themselves...

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Gifted and Talented

On Tuesday 4 February, a small group of Year 11 students visited one of the most

prestigious universities in the country: Cambridge. The purpose of the day was to inspire some of our most able students and give them a taste of the sort of university lifestyle they might be able to achieve in the future. We visited Gonville and Caius College, right in the centre of the beautiful city, where we spent a proportion of the day thinking about the type of university the students might like to attend, the best A-Levels to choose, financial challenges and the conundrum of how to manage your social and study time. Students also had the opportunity to eat in the lavish Cambridge dinner halls, chat with existing students and explore the college and the surrounding city centre.

I know many students came away smitten with the university and all that it has to offer and hopefully filled with a determination to one day be offered a place at Cambridge University. Annual Academy Conference Lectures

On Friday 8 March, a group of KS4 pupils spent the day at Hellesdon High School attending Norwich's Annual Academy Conferences Lectures. The day consisted of a series of high level lectures aimed at stretching the brightest pupils in the county and introducing them to concepts and ideas beyond the day to day school curriculum.

The lecture topics ranged from exploring consciousness, to considering what time actually is; from considering the place tolerance has in modern politics to considering the moment at which we can call a human embryo a person. It was a thought-provoking day and hopefully students came away with many questions, thoughts and ideas to ponder over. Special Educational Needs Department News

Norfolk Parent Partnership Newsletter: These are available for any pupil with an Individual Education Plan. If you would like a copy please contact the SEN office at the school or visit Norfolk Parent Partnership‟s website: www.norfolkparentpartnership.org.uk

The newsletters are full of useful information and contact details.

Public Speaking Competition

On Monday 11 February, Ellie Hagan (Year 10), Alex Newman (Year 11) and Josh

Ogden (Year 11) competed in the Norfolk heat of the English Speaking Union's Public Speaking Competition at Wymondham High Academy. Ellie delivered a superb five minute speech about the media having too much control over what the public think, as well as answering questions from the Wymondham High Academy team and members of the audience. Alex was chairman for the Wymondham speaker and Josh had to question her speech which argued that we should not be spending money on space exploration when people on Earth live in poverty. It was an excellent opportunity for Hobart students to compete in an internationally recognised competition and was really exciting to see so many young people, from both state and private schools across Norfolk, talking so passionately about complex topics. Geography Conference A group of Year 11 students visited the University of East Anglia for Geography Conference in February. The students enjoyed a day with other students from around Norfolk discussing and learning about a number of current geography related topics. Topics included Globalisation: Is Apple rotten to the core, extreme weather and migration. The students had the chance to experience learning in a university setting, to interact with other students and to learn in more depth some of the issues that geographers study at GCSE.

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Eco-Club

As spring arrives, look out for the daffodils in the pots outside the humanities block,

which were planted by Year 7 earlier in the year! If any students want to help out in making the school are more eco-friendly place, then please see Mr Skinner in lab 1. Look out for bug houses this summer!!

Mandarin Club

Nǐ hǎo (hello)!! Mandarin Chinese is said to be one the hardest languages to learn, but a group of students have made an excellent start in learning the basics! Students in the lunchtime club have got the opportunity to learn simple conversation skills and vocabulary such as animals and food. Well done to all students who are involved in the club! Lǎoshī (teacher) Skinner

Year 6 Forensic Science day & Year 9 John Innes trip

Recently, Hobart hosted its feeder schools for the annual Forensic Science days. Over 2 days, 130 Year 6 Students got the chance to analyse evidence using CSI techniques to decide who committed a crime. A number of our Year 9 students helped out with activities, such as chromatography and flame tests. Most of the Year 6 students were able to solve the mystery and find the culprit.

Together with other local high schools, selected Year 9 students got the opportunity to go to the John Innes Centre in Norwich. As well as taking part in some practical activities, students heard a lecture from TV presenter Dr Jonathan Hare about Hollywood Science. Dr Hare investigated the likelihood of 4 different film stunts being carried out and used movie clips to prove his theories!

Feedback from students about the day was extremely positive and some felt encouraged to take triple science next year.

Hobart Sports Leaders are ready and raring to go!

On 19 October 2012 16 selected Hobart sports leaders participated in the South Norfolk Leadership Academy at The Sportspark UEA. The day was designed to introduce the role of coach, official and team manager to our sports leaders who will be instrumental to the success of competitions, events and festivals

throughout the academic year. The morning session involved a series of fun interactive challenges and activities focusing on good leadership skills and behaviours. The afternoon was sport specific with leader‟s choosing to focus on a Primary version of a sport (High 5 Netball / Mini Tennis / Kwik Cricket / Sportshall Athletics / Tag Rugby / Quicksticks Hockey). Hobart‟s leaders are now part of the 140 strong South Norfolk workforce who will organise, lead, coach and manage large scales events for both primary and secondary students. So far the leaders have been deployed to officiate and lead the Hobart Primary Cluster Football league, involving eight schools, 150 player and 130 goals! The Hobart Cluster Swimming Gala (which was a really fantastic event!). The Level 2 Cluster Tag Rugby completion (which was frosty!). The Primary Netball Cluster training session (which included skills and officiating) and the South Norfolk School Games Level 2 Sportshall Athletics Primary finals at The Sportspark UEA (which involved over 300 pupils from 14 different schools!). The Hobart leaders are a real strength and support to any competition and continue to receive praise from pupils, staff and Headteachers across our cluster of Primary schools.

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Coming Soon! After Easter look out for the parental survey that‟s coming your way via your child, it will be given to them on 22 April. We would like to know your views of the school, please complete and return in a sealed envelope to your child‟s form tutor. Comic Relief 2013 Students and staff helped to raise money in a number of ways - Sponsored Silences, a Football Keepy Uppy Challenge and a Bake Sale of cakes and biscuits the students had made. Staff also joined in with the „Hobart Staff Bake Off!‟ working as a team of two they created a baked product and students then voted for their favourite. Some staff even dressed up for the occasion! Mr Stone and Mr Greenhalf‟s chocolate caterpillar cake was voted the overall winner. The cakes and bakes were then raffled. Well done and thank you to all who took part or contributed.

Hobart - School Games Success South Norfolk is more than half way through its School Games Calendar with a series of Inter competitions already taking place between South Norfolk‟s 9 high schools and 58 primary schools. The great news is that a number of Hobart students won places in their respective sports and qualified to represent South Norfolk in the inaugural Winter School Games County finals. Highlights being the U16 girls Badminton team who finished 2nd and Phoebe Chick who finished 3rd in the 50m Breaststroke final – this is 2nd and 3rd best in the county! There are seven more qualifying Level 2 School Games competitions between now and the Summer School Games County finals week commencing 1st July and I wish all Hobart competitors the very best of luck. SECONDARY

Tuesday 21 March In2Hockey (Norwich Dragons) Friday 19 April Aquathlon (Wymondham Leisure Centre) Monday 22 April Trampoline & Indoor Rowing (Framingham Earl) Monday 20 May Super Sixes Golf (Dunston Hall) Tuesday 11 June Tennis (Easton Tennis Centre) Tuesday 18 June Athletics (Sportspark UEA) If you have any questions or queries regarding School Games or the South Norfolk Partnership please contact me direct on 07990 640031 or email vanessa.boon@framinghamearl.net I look forward to welcoming lots more competitors, spectators, teachers and coaches at the remaining 2013 School Games competitions! Best wishes,

Ness

Vanessa Boon South Norfolk School Games Organiser (and Hobart Cluster School Sports Coordinator)

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