Our new Year 7 students have been experiencing their first few days at Heart of England School. Read our report on how they have been getting on during their first week:
It always seems to be the case that it rains just as you are about to leave to go on the school run. At the start of the week, we were showered, quite literally with rain and thunderstorms, which many seemed to think marked the end of the Summer; back to the school run and back to school. But those rain clouds parted and the sun shone on Tuesday as our new Year 7 students walked through the doors for their first day at Heart of England.
All the new arrivals were greeted in reception by Mrs Yates our Year 7 Pastoral Manager. They went on to meet Miss Lancaster, Year 7 Academic Manager and began introductions to their fellow students. There were many smiles as they looked out for people they knew from their Primary school or from clubs that they attend and of course there were lots of new faces to meet. The new students also met a couple of older students who supported Year 7 throughout the day. There were other members of staff to meet as well.
At 8:50am the students heard the school bell for the first time, and this shocked them quite a bit! From here, the Year 7 tutor team met the students and took them into the main hall for a welcome from the Principal Ms Hughes-Williams, Mrs Yates and Miss Lancaster. They then they had two hours with their tutors. During this time maps were given out and there was a school tour including a trip to their tutor rooms. ID cards and timetables were also handed out and an opportunity to have their first experience of logging on to the school computers.
Students were able to look at the Insight system and find a piece of homework that Miss Lancaster had already set them. Breaktime was spent using their new ID cards to buy their own food which was very exciting! Students spent lots of time socialising, playing on the yard and asking staff questions to ensure they were prepared for their lessons ahead. From there, students were in their lessons for the rest of the day: meeting their new teachers, meeting lots of new people as they were sitting in their new seating plans and learning lots of new skills. “There was a lovely learning environment in the classrooms. The students were listening and writing in their new exercise books. I even walked through the MFL (Modern Foreign Languages) department and they were learning lots of new French and Spanish words. I couldn’t be prouder of them,” said Miss Lancaster, Year 7 Academic Manager.
The courage and determination shown by Year 7 on Tuesday carried through to the next day: on Wednesday we welcomed all students back to Heart of England after their Summer break and Year 7 continued to shine brightly. Mrs Yates greeted students outside the school gates and Miss Lancaster was on hand to meet students on the yard and remind them of where their tutor room was if needed. As the first bell went, all students moved from the yard and canteen area to their tutor groups. Year 7 navigated this really well and were all in their tutor rooms on time and ready to start their day.
Students experienced lots of new lessons on Wednesday including Drama, Music, Food Tech, Geography and History. James from 7S said: “My favourite lesson so far has been computing because we did a typing thing to help us type quicker and we made files!”
On Thursday, Year 7 had arrived at school looking absolutely fantastic, ready for their school photographs to be taken. Even with this slight disruption to the school, Year 7 moved around school respectfully as the other year gourps were learning and returned to complete their lessons in a mature way.
There has been a lot of information for the Year 7s to take in, but they are doing so well. “Year 7 are lovely, really lovely,” said Mr Raybould, teacher of English.
The compliments did not end there! “7S had an amazing first Religious Studies (RS) lesson,” said Miss Whittock, Curriculum Lead for RS.
“Year 7 are buzzing about the subject,” reported Mr Taylor, Curriculum Lead for Drama. “I’m really looking forward to teaching them and for the excitement to continue.”
We hope that Year 7 continue to shine brightly and enjoy their journey at Heart of England. Great start everyone!