Show me the way to Amaryllis!

Our Year 1 pupils have been busy planting their bulbs this week. They have planted different coloured amaryllis bulbs in pots and hyacinth bulbs in glass jars so they can observe the root systems developing.

They have put some bulbs in the dark and others in a light place, some bulbs have been placed outside and others inside and some bulbs have been watered and others have not. Year 1 will compare their pots to see which conditions help bulbs to grow.

The children will be keeping a bulb diary to record their finding and observations. We will share their results in a few weeks.

Watch this space!

Welcome Back

Happy New Year! We would like to welcome everyone back to school especially the new pupils who have joined us. There is plenty to look forward to in all areas of the school with another Woodland Adventure Day planned for the Prep School and Science Crest Award presentations, Night of the Notables and the Norfolk Careers Festival, to name but a few, for the Senior School.

Of course, we shouldn’t forget Year 11 who are currently doing their mock GCSE exams and the Sixth Form who are taking real examinations for their diploma subjects. We wish you all the best of luck.

I look forward to keeping you updated on all the things we get up to this term. Don’t forget, if you have any exciting news or achievements in your out of school activities, please email a brief outline and a photo to marketing@hohs.co.uk. Happy 2019 everyone!

 

More Christingle Photos

Following our Christingle Service yesterday, I am pleased to have some more photos to share with you. Thank you for sending them in.

Christingle Service

This afternoon our Upper Prep and Lower Prep pupils took part in one of our favourite festivities, our Christingle Service at St Remigius Church. The Reverend Derek McClean led the service, with the children singing songs, making musical contributions and leading the prayers. Once the Christingles were lit and the lights were turned off, everyone circled the church and sang Away in a Manger. It was a wonderful start to the Christmas celebrations. Thank you to all the parents and families who came to share the service, and for your generous contributions for The Children’s Society. If you have any lovely pictures from the Christingle, please send them to marketing@hohs.co.uk.

 

Macmillan Coffee Afternoon

Thank you to everyone who baked or bought a cake for our coffee afternoon in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. We had lots of delicious cakes and biscuits to tempt pupils, parents and staff. Year 12 and 13 did a wonderful job of organising the event and serving the drinks and cakes. With your generous donations, we raised £270. Thank you to everyone who supported this event.

 

Whole school photograph

The biennial whole school photo will be taken next Wednesday (19th September).

We would like everybody to be looking smart and tidy so please make sure  you come to school in winter uniform on that day. Blazers should be worn, please, but not pullovers or cardigans. Could girls please ensure they have blue or brown hair accessories only; Sixth Form should be in a suit or smart skirt/trousers and jacket with blouse.

 

 

Go Green for Big Brains!

A recent study has indicated that a green environment  could enhance academic achievement. The research showed that children who lived and learned in natural wooded and grassed areas had better spatial working memory, which is linked to higher academic attainment.

Almost 5,000 English young people were involved in the study, which was published in the British Journal of Educational Psychology. The authors wanted to see how important shared green spaces were to a trait strongly linked to academic performance, among other things.

We have always thought our beautiful surroundings here at HOHS must be good for learning, but now it’s official;  when our pupils are playing in the woods and running around on the lawns, they are not only developing their muscle power – they are building brainpower too!

Last week in Year 1 ….

…the children worked so well that they were able to have some fun water play in ‘golden time’ on Friday afternoon. On Thursday, during their PSHCE lesson (personal, social, health and citizenship education), Year 1 learned about teamwork and how we can all achieve good results when we work together. After a discussion about how to be part of a team, the pupils produced a lovely banner about how we all fit together. Keep up the good work, Year 1!

Sixth Form Escape!

Yesterday, our Sixth Form stayed after school to participate in a fiendish escape room activity devised by Mrs Mann. With puzzles, clues and QR codes hidden all over the school, the teams battled against each other solving every clue as fast as they could to find the location of the next puzzle trail. They were trying to reach the final mystery destination with all the information required to complete the last task. The winning team was the one that finished in the fastest time. It took just under two hours for the teams to complete the whole route and there was only a few seconds separating the teams in the end. It was a fantastic, fun and truly unique start to the term designed to fuel curiosity, problem solving, persistence and resilience, all of which are important skills for sixth form study.

What have our youngest pupils done today? Mrs Wood has taken some pictures of some of our Nursery children enjoying their first day here.