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The Hemel Hempstead School Issue 1087
1st March 2019
Email: [email protected] Website: www.hhs.herts.sch.uk
The safety of our children, of your children, is our number one concern. This takes many forms and is, of course, built into our safeguarding procedures, but is also part of our curriculum. We teach young people to make good decisions about themselves and their own safety, both now and as adults. This is done through PACE, through PE and science and through special events and assemblies. When young people find that they are struggling to keep themselves safe we support them and their families, often alongside expert external agencies. There are three areas in particular where we take a very strong line, and have the very highest expectations of everyone. The first is drugs. We teach young people the risks, the dangers, the links to criminality and gangs, the potential physical and mental health issues and the consequences of drug abuse on society. Young people who are struggling with addiction (whether their own, or a family member) get support through the school, the NHS and community services. Students know that the possession of any illegal drugs at school could lead to permanent exclusion and to criminal charges. The second is bullying. At times, all young people are capable of being rude to each other. This is part of growing up and we support and sanction in equal measure to help students to make the right decisions in their relationships with other people. I am very proud of the fact that bullying is very rare in our school and that when it does happen we act decisively. We teach young people that accidentally saying something hurtful is rude and needs apologising for. We teach young people that saying or doing something nasty is unkind and unwelcome and needs apologising for and making good. We teach young people that bullying is so much more than this. It is the repeated, intentional, deliberate undermining of a person. It is going back, time after time, making people feel worthless, different or unloved. It can happen in person, via rumours and hearsay, or on social media. It can happen in school, but more often happens outside of school. Students know that bullying is unacceptable and could lead to permanent exclusion and to criminal charges. The final area is in the modelling that we do as adults to show young people how to interact with other adults. We totally understand (because most of us, myself included, are parents) that you want to put your children first and that if something has happened, and you only have their point of view, it can be upsetting. We have a dedicated and experienced pastoral and leadership team who will always work with you to resolve problems. However, my colleagues are busy professionals, doing demanding and time constrained jobs and adults must make an appointment to see someone. It is not possible to see parents on demand as we may be teaching, in a meeting or even off site. We will also be unprepared for the meeting and therefore less able to help. Appointments can be made via [email protected] or by calling reception on 01442 390100 during school hours. Just like your doctor, MP, police officer or any other public servants we do not tolerate any violence or aggression, physical or verbal, towards our staff or students. I know that in all of these areas we can count on the support and understanding of our parents, carers and students.
Neil Hassell Headteacher
NON UNIFORM DAY Friday 8th March
Next Friday 8th March will be a non uniform day for students and staff, organised by the Year 11 Prom Committee who are raising funds for this year’s Year 11 Prom. If you wish to take part please donate £1 on Friday.
MARCH 3rd Music for Youth Regionals, Watford, 4-6pm
***Blue Week*** 4th Year 11 Prom fundraiser – Headteacher for a day
Years 8/9 (selected) BBC Young Reporter training day, W5/6, 9am – 3.30pm Year 10 Teenage Cancer Trust talk, Hall, 11.30am-12.30pm 5th Year 11 (selected) pre-GCSE PE Moderation Assessment, Sports Centre, 12.30 – 3.30pm 6th Years 8/9 (selected) BBC School Report News day, W5/6, 8.40am-3.30pm 7th Key Stage 3 Elevate Workshops in lessons, 10.05am – 2.45pm
Years 12/13 Bank of England speaker, M2, 11am-2pm Years 7/8 House Book Challenge, Library, 1.35pm-2.20pm Year 12 Parents Evening, 4.30-7pm 8th Non Uniform day
Charity Football Match, 4-6pm ***Gold Week*** 11th Year 8 Girls Female Role Model event, Hall, 9-11.05am 12th House Science, Sc1/Sc2, 3.30-6pm 12th – 14th Year 11 second Trial Exams 13th Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Bronze Expedition Information Evening, M9, 6-7pm 14th Years 9/10 (selected) Dacorum Rotary Technology Tournament, Ashlyns School, 9am-3pm
Years 7/8 (selected) PE visit to Spurs, 12-4pm Year 10 Drama Theatre Trip, London, 5-11.30pm ‘Anxiety’ Parent Workshop (selected parents), 6.30-8pm 15th Year 9 History trip to the Somme, 4am-9pm
The Newsletter is blue or gold to correspond with the blue or gold timetable of the following week.
Dates for your Diary
HEADTEACHER CERTIFICATES
For Exceptional Achievement
U15s Rugby Team for reaching the National Bowl Quarter Final
Sam Morley 9A Daniel Jones 9C
Matthew Morgan 9C Dylan Pethard 9C
Joshua Lee 9F Thomas Albone 9N
Samuel McLoughlin 10A Sammi Amamou 10C Freddie Fletcher 10C
Joel Grey 10C Julius Jesudoss 10C Caolan Doherty 10F Edward Long 10F
Thomas Martin 10F James Norman 10F Dominic Burger 10L
Joe Watts 10L Thomas Ashton 10N
Joshua Ewer 10N Ben Calder 10P
The Hemel Hempstead School Association
PTA News
Free fundraising Link:
Please consider registering at: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/hemelhempsteadschoolassociation/ If you use this link for shopping online it enables us to receive free donations for the school and doesn’t cost you anything. Used Uniform for Sale
If you wish to buy any used uniform items, such as blazers, trousers, PE kit, etc., please contact Sarah Tedder directly on: tel: 07493 451101, [email protected] and she will be happy to help. Next Meeting: 12th March 2019 – Summer Fair Planning - the meeting takes place at 7pm in the
School Library. If you are interested in getting involved in this wonderful bi-annual event being held on the 7th July this year, then please come along and join us. Meetings normally last less than an hour; we would love to meet you. HHSA Contacts/New Chair
We are currently transitioning to a new Chair of the HHSA, Louisa Lingwood. Brian Spencer is still a key team member and is working with us to help Louisa settle into this role. Please feel free to contact them both using the details below: Brian Spencer [email protected] Louisa Lingwood [email protected]
Careers Information A reminder that The University of Hertfordshire is hosting an apprenticeship show on Wednesday 6th March, from 3.30 – 7.00 pm at the de Havilland campus, Hatfield, AL10 9EU. It is an opportunity to meet employers from across Hertfordshire and find out what current apprenticeship vacancies are available, get hints and tips on securing an apprenticeship and hear what current apprentices think about their experience. You can register for this event at: go.herts.ac.uk/apprenticeshipshow
Miss S Bond, Careers Coordinator
Gold Letters issued recently: Letter 128 Year 8 Female Role Model Event Letter 129 Year 10 Drama Theatre Trip
Flyers attached:
Online Safety Guide for Parents -
MOMO
SPORT
FIXTURES Thursday 7th March
Year 7 Boys Football v Tring (H) on 3G, 4pm RESULTS
Year 9 Basketball Friendly v Astley Cooper won 30-21 Year 10 Football v Tring lost 1-2 Year 7 Netball v Abbot’s Hill won 11-9 Year 11 Football v Ashlyns
PE Faculty
Sickness/absence line: Years 7 – 11 Please will all parents contact us daily if your child is sick, going to be late in due to a medical appointment, or is absent for any other reason. Please call our sickness/absence line on 01442 390103 or email [email protected] by
8.30 am if possible.
Sickness/absence line: Years 12 and 13 The dedicated telephone number for accepting calls/messages concerning absence from school of Sixth Form students is 01442 251732. Please call by 8.30 am if possible. If Sixth Formers arrive at school after registration they must sign in at the Sixth Form Office.
Top Tips for Parents
SOURCES:https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/sick-videos-youtube-youtube-kids-14052196http://www.bbfc.co.ukhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-47359623
MOMOSUGGESTED VIDEOS
ON YOUTUBE
Video apps such as YouTube include an ‘up next’ feature which automatically starts
playing another video based on the video just watched. Due to YouTube’s algorithm,
users are shown ‘suggested videos’ that they may be interested in. The thumbnails used
on suggested videos are purposefully created in a way to encourage viewers to
click them. During our research, we found that when watching one Momo related video, we were shown countless other Momo themed videos and other scary
content which would be age-inappropriate for children under 18.
TELL THEM IT’S NOT REAL
BE PRESENT
TALK REGULARLY WITHYOUR CHILD REAL OR HOAX?
DEVICE SETTINGS &PARENTAL CONTROLS
Trends and viral challenges can be tempting for children to take part in; no matter how dangerous or
scary they seem. Make sure you talk to your child about how they shouldn’t succomb to peer pressure
and do anything they are not comfortable with, online or offline. If they are unsure, encourage them to talk to
you or another trusted adult.
REPORT & BLOCK
www.nationalonlinesafety.com Twitter - @natonlinesafety Facebook - /NationalOnlineSafety Phone - 0800 368 8061
It’s important to note that new challenges are arising on the internet all the time. We have created to this guide to raise awareness of the issue and offer advice on helping parents to talk to their children about making safer decisions online. See also our ‘7 conversation starters’ guide for more tips on better
communication with your child.
What parents need to know about
Momo is a sinister ‘challenge’ that has been around for some time. It has recently resurfaced and once again has come to the attention of schools and children across the country. Dubbed the ‘suicide killer game’, Momo has been heavily linked with apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and most recently (and most worryingly)... YouTube Kids. The scary doll-like figure
reportedly sends graphic violent images, and asks users to partake in dangerous challenges like waking up at random hours and has even been associated with self-harm. It has been reported
that the ‘Momo’ figure was originally created as a sculpture and featured in an art gallery in Tokyo and unrelated to the ‘Momo’ challenge we are hearing about in the media.
DISTRESSING FORCHILDREN
Popular YouTubers and other accounts have been uploading reaction videos, showing their experience of the MOMO challenge. Some of the videos include a disclosure
message warning that the content may be “inappropriate or offensive to some
audiences” and that “viewer discretion is advised” but these videos are still easily
accessed by clicking ‘I understand and wish to proceed’. The image of the ‘Momo’
character can be deeply distressing to children and young people and it’s
important to note that it may slip through parental settings and filters.
CHILDREN’S VIDEOSBEING ‘HIJACKED’
There have been recent reports that some seemingly innocent videos on YouTube and
YouTube Kids (such as ‘surprise eggs’, unboxing videos and Minecraft videos) have been edited by unknown sources to include
violence provoking and/or other inappropriate content. Even though
YouTube monitor and remove videos that include inappropriate content, clips can be uploaded and viewed thousands of times
before they get reported and removed. As a parent, it’s difficult to spot these videos as the harmful content doesn’t appear until
partway through the video.
PEER PRESSUREFURTHER SUPPORT
Just like any urban legend or horror story, the concept can be quite frightening and distressing for young
people. Whilst this may seem obvious, it’s important for you to reiterate to your child that Momo is not a
real person and cannot directly harm them! Also, tell your child to not go openly searching for this content
online as it may only cause more distress.
It’s important for you, as a parent or carer, to be present while your children are online. This will give you a greater understanding of what they are doing
on their devices, as well as providing you with the opportunity to discuss, support and stop certain
activities that your child may be involved in. As the nature of each task become progressively worse it’s
also important to recognise any changes in your child’s behaviour.
As well as monitoring your child’s activity, it’s important for you discuss it with them too. Not only will this give you an understanding of their online
actions, but those honest and frequent conversations will encourage your child to feel confident to discuss
issues and concerns they may have related to the online world.
Ensure that you set up parental controls for your devices at home. This will help to restrict the types of
content that your child can view, as well as help you to monitor their activity. In addition to this, it’s vital that you are aware of your device and account settings to
ensure your child’s utmost safety. For example, on YouTube you can turn off ‘suggested auto-play’ on
videos to stop your child from viewing content that they have not directly selected.
As a parent it is natural to feel worried about certain things you see online that may be harmful to your
child. However, not everthing you see online is true. Check the validity of the source and be mindful of what you share as it may only cause more worry.
Speak to the safeguarding lead within your child’s school should you have any concerns regarding your child’s online activity or malicious content
that could affect them.
If your child sees something distressing, it is important that they know where to go to seek help
and who their trusted adults are. They could also contact Childline where a trained counsellor will
listen to anything that’s worrying them.
The Childline phone number is 0800 1111.
You can’t always rely on parental controls to block distressing or harmful material. People find ways
around a platform’s algorithm in order to share and promote this type of material. Due to this, we advise that you flag and report any material you deem to be inappropriate or harmful as soon as
you come across it. You should also block the account/content to prevent your child from
viewing it. Also encourage your child to record/screenshot any content they feel could be malicious to provide evidence in order to escalate
the issue to the appropriate channels.
