Welcome to the weekly Newsletter for parents and carers of students attending John Hanson Community School.
Inspire - Care - Succeed
‘HEAD’ Lines
We’ve got the power!
Dear parents/carers
If your children are anything like mine, they have a much better understanding of and a much more informed opinion on environmental issues than I did when I was their age.
With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that the school has taken its first really big step towards reducing its carbon emissions and tackling climate change.
Over the last couple of weeks, we have had 144 solar panels installed on the roof of the Performing Arts block. This will go a significant way to providing electric power for the school moving forward.
I hope this is just the start of the schools move towards a more climate friendly future.
Enjoy the weekend with your children.
Regards
Russell Stevens
Headteacher
Full Governor Board and the work of its sub Committees
- the Student Care & Guidance Committee
In my last Newsletter entry I mentioned that I hoped to provide an update on the various sub Committees that feed in to the Full Governor Board (FGB). On 13 October, the Student Care & Guidance Committee (SCG) met for the first time in this Academic Year. Chaired by my excellent colleague, Angela Day, the SCG focuses on Safeguarding, Behaviour, Vulnerable Learners, Guidance, Equality and Diversity and Stakeholder Engagement.
The Committee ensures that policies are followed stringently within the school and monitors the effectiveness of these policies to maximise the learning of students in a safe environment. The SCG also reviews the reward programme to ensure it is effective at encouraging the behaviours and attitudes that reflect the ethos of the school. Committee members also ensure that the school has effective anti-bullying and attendance policies in place and reviews the care and guidance for children with particular barriers to learning.
It is also an important part of the SCG’s work to consider the full school journey of our learners, ensuring that the school provides support to those moving from primary to secondary school through to those moving on to the next stage of education, training or employment. As a Board, we monitor whether the school is providing moral, spiritual and cultural development particularly with reference to British values. The PSHE program at John Hanson aims to prepare the students effectively for the opportunities and challenges of life outside school, which includes providing appropriate guidance on healthy living for both physical and mental wellbeing. The SCG promotes community cohesion and inclusive practice relating to race, gender and disability equality. As the Chair of the FGB, I am particularly keen to monitor and develop the involvement of parents and ensure that all feedback is effectively used to inform our planning, I’m also very keen to ensure that students contribute to the school and wider community and I was delighted to see the Head Girl and Head Boy, Lucy Hide and Jamie Biddlecombe, deliver excellent confident presentations at the school open evening in September.
I’d like to thank Angela and her team for their work on the SCG and I would, of course, be very happy to receive your thoughts on this or any other issue relating to the FGB.
Finally, I wish you all a very happy (and spooky) Halloween and hope that all of our furry friends will be safe and comfortable during the fireworks on 5 November.
The English team are so incredibly proud of the amazing KS3 projects that have come in – we are so impressed! Please have a look on our Instagram page to see the amazing work produced:
@JHCS_English
Black History Month
To celebrate Black History Month, we have been reading books by Black Authors this week in the LRC. We have books for you to borrow which are written by: Alesha Dixon, Savita Kalhan, Malorie Blackman, Marcus Rashford, Patrice Lawrence and many more….
We have also been finding out more about the authors themselves in our Years 7 and 8 Tutor Time Reading ‘Stretch’ Sessions with the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture.
Maths Champions
John Hanson Maths Champions are students who are recognised for their outstanding commitment to their studies in mathematics. Each week staff will nominate their class champion who will then be entered to have the chance of becoming the Ultimate John Hanson Maths Champion. The JHMCs for last week are:
The Maths Challenge Club will be running on Tuesday lunchtime every week 1 in T11 with Mr Doyle & Miss James and is open to students from all year groups.
Careers Hub
We are excited to share our new ‘Careers Hub’ - a designated area for year 11s to research their post-16 options and apply for college, based in the LRC.
Calling all Creative Writers!
From Tuesday 28th of September, Miss Cook will be running a Creative Writing club in M15 from 3:10 until 4pm. All Years are welcome, and there is an opportunity to enter the Rotary Young Writer competition should they choose to take part. Writers, poets, biographers, reporters - please come along!
Please encourage your son/daughter to use their SCHOOL EMAIL for work rather than their own private email. This is important for safeguarding and also some of our messages for students are being sent to school email addresses.
This term saw the launch of the new Staff Book Club. We are currently reading ‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig.
Thought provoking and worth a read – we would definitely recommend it!
Physical Security
If you are one of those people who leaves their passwords on sticky notes or somewhere written, you may want to throw them away. Though many attacks are likely to happen through digital mediums, keeping sensitive physical documents secured is vital to keeping your data and passwords secure.
Simple awareness of the risks of leaving documents, unattended computers and passwords around school or home can reduce the security risk. By implementing a 'clean-desk' policy, the threat of unattended documents being stolen or copied can be significantly reduced.
As mentioned in last week’s article, consider using an approved program to manage your passwords safely and securely! Some examples include: Keeper Security, Nord Pass and Last Pass. Although you need to pay for some of these programs, it is worth keeping your data protected!
Please see the other useful links.
Think you know – Activity Packs relating to online safety Who’s watching yours? – 17% increase in children livestreaming since lockdown (Advice to help parents/carers minimise risk to children online) Mental health – How to look after your family’s mental health when stuck indoors Houseparty – Everything you need to know.
John Hanson Computing Department
Performing Arts
Instrumental Lessons
If your son/daughter would like to learn to play a musical instrument please contact Mike Adams - Head of Music and Drama for details. Email - mike.adams@jhanson.hants.sch.uk
Teachers from Hampshire Music Service visit the school and we can offer lessons in Piano, Woodwind, Brass, Guitar, and Percussion (Drumming).
CALLING ALL YEAR 7’S
Be the first to borrow one of our new collection “BEST NEW BOOKS FOR YEAR 7”
If you enjoy reading the book, please write a short review for us to keep in our Year 7 Book Review Folder. This will help other students when choosing a reading book. Achievement points will be awarded for completed book reviews.
Happy reading Year 7’s, Mrs Coward, LRC Manager
Shenell and Shelby choosing a book.
We have added a page on the website of video How To Guides
