Box Hill School
February 2021
Latest News
National Children’s Mental Health Week 1st – 7th February 2021 There has never been a more pertinent time to recognise the mental health of children, at Box Hill School we participated in this week with numerous initiatives developed by our pastoral team. Within our remote PSHEE lessons staff worked with students in every year group to discuss all the changes that have happened over the last year. Importantly, we looked at the strategies that students can use to cope with the new period of remote learning. We are encouraging positive discussions around mental health and sharing healthy and productive outlets for our students moving forward. As part of this, we launched ‘Time to Talk Day 2021,’ which this year focuses on ‘the power of small’. The idea is that a small conversation about mental health has the power to make a big difference. We are also encouraging everyone to engage in small acts of kindness as we move through this period of remote learning, as well as beyond.
Remote Learning The migration to a world of remote learning and teaching was not the start to the Spring term we had hoped for, yet we find ourselves here again. Whilst not an ideal scenario, Box Hill School has risen to this challenge again making some enhancements and refinements to our highly successful remote teaching provision from the last time schools closed. Fundamental to our remote learning strategy is the recognition and insight that students require as much structure and routine as possible, continued accessibility and interaction with the school community, an innovative online curriculum and underpinned by supporting their physical and mental wellbeing. Our high quality teaching and learning has continued virtually, with almost all lessons live in the style of a digital classroom, ensuring our students maintain the important interaction and connection with their peers and teachers. Lessons continue to be innovative and engaging, maximising all the latest technologies from break out rooms to Quickfire Lite quizzes and even room surfing! Supporting our student’s health and mental wellbeing is paramount during these times, that’s why our lines of communication between students and families are always open. Tutors, House Parents, Heads of Year and our Senior Pastoral Team are all readily available to help with any concerns or to offer advice. “Virtual Registrations” occur twice a day to enable students to maintain connections with their form and Tutor. In addition, weekly assemblies are being recorded with themed topics in order to keep our whole community together and inspired. We firmly believe that learning outside the classroom is fundamental to developing the skills that lead to confident, resilient and wellrounded young men and women. In normal times we run an extensive co-curricular programme with over 50 activities running three times a week. During remote learning we believe it is more important than ever for our students to enjoy this experience, therefore we have adapted our range of co-curricular activities to run on a weekly basis all delivered ‘live’ by our teachers. A selection of extra-curricular initiatives including fun house competitions, whole school challenges, weekly quizzes and opportunities to collaborate in ways that are fun, such as year group PE lessons and Dance classes, has also been developed. We are very proud that this period of remote learning is a challenge that our students and staff have risen to, showing great tenacity, passion and success.
‘Outside the Box’ is back We are delighted to have relaunched our ‘Outside the Box,’ online pastoral newsletter designed to help the Box Hill School community stay together, stay informed and stay happy during these quite extraordinary times. This was really popular with our families during the first lockdown and we look forward to sharing hints, tips and stories again around mental health and physical wellbeing as this is so important right now.
Year 7 historians become news reporters Year 7 historians put their knowledge of the Black Death to the test by producing a series of news reports for their half termly assessment. Using modern technology combined with deliberately basic (not to mention erroneous!) medieval knowledge of the fourteenth century plague, pupils educated viewers on all aspects of the global pandemic, from possible causes to potential cures. They did not shy away from the very grim nature of the plague and used a combination of news anchors, ‘experts’ and priests to tell us exactly what was going on in the world in 1348 and why everyone was so afraid.
Geography students get creative with TikTok videos Virtual Learning certificate recognition We have introduced Virtual Learning certificate rewards for students’ work that goes ‘above and beyond’. It could be for independent work in a subject, or something that a student has managed to do outside their schoolwork that has a large, positive influence on the community, friends or family. We want to celebrate the hard work that is going on whilst we work remotely and recognise our students’ achievements and hard work.
In Geography our Year 7 students have been busy learning about the weather and climate this term, including looking at the different causes of rain. They were tasked with creating a presentation to explain the differences between Convectional and Relief rainfall. There were some fantastic submissions including some extremely creative TikTok videos, please click on the images to see some of their fantastic work.
CREATIVE ARTS In Drama and Music lessons, Year 7 have watched The National Theatre’s production of ‘Treasure Island’. In Drama they have been getting creative, designing and making their own parrot for Long John Silver. The task set was to try to give their parrot a personality before they start to write a monologue for the parrot to deliver. We talked about the use colours, textures, the shape of the parrot and the addition of accessories such as a pirate hat! Whilst in Music students will be using software to create the voice of the parrot and a soundtrack to underscore their monologue.
‘Hold Still’ Photograph Competition 2021 We have just launched the Box Hill ‘Hold Still’ Photograph Competition. The objective of this competition is to gather photographs taken from the school community (students and staff) around a weekly themed brief. This is similar to the National Portrait Gallery Exhibition ‘Hold Still’ campaign launched by the Duchess of Cambridge last summer. We asked the School community to share their images of lockdown life and even challenged them to try and link it to the school IDEALS, which meant the first week followed the theme of ‘Internationalism’.
Winter Drama and Music Productions We are delighted to share with you our Drama department’s virtual Winter production of Chicago Heights, please note recommended viewing is for children aged 11+. Alongside, our virtual Christmas concert brought to you by our Music department.
We had some brilliant entries and our winner was Katya C who submitted a fantastic photo. This collation of photographs will then be printed as a book and will be something the school can look back on in years to come. Each week the theme will be taken from our Round Square IDEALS.
Importance of staying safe online Year 8 have been looking at cybersecurity in their
Cooking up a Spanish delight Our Year 8 students have been busy learning about food in Spanish. Mrs Benitez’s class were given a challenge to make a Spanish/South American dish at home. There were some delicious looking entries which made it very difficult to choose a winner, but first prize was awarded to Joe S for his effort and amazing food.
IT lessons this week. With so much happening online now and students working virtually it is important they are able to develop the critical thinking needed to spot potential malware or ransomware. The students have been fully engaged in understanding how to identify what is genuine or fraudulent and in developing their understanding of how to protect themselves, their personal data and their devices. This work fits into the theme of this year’s
GRIT Awards It was fantastic to be able to award 45 students from year 10 with their end of term GRIT Awards. Students who demonstrated attributes of Guts, Resilience, Initiative and Tenacity to their teachers were awarded with a certificate and on their return to physical school will receive an engraved pen as an appreciation of their efforts.
Safer Internet Day on the 9th February; ‘an internet we trust, exploring reliability in the online world’.
eNviRoNmeNTal
challeNge
This challenge is based on one of our Round Squa Environmentalism. re IDEALS, We are asking all members of change one thing our school comm in their life that unity to will help our glob al environment. Cling film to Beesw ax food wrap – Ms Van Staden
Here are a few examples of changes your teach ers have already made to their daily life
Plastic toothbrush to Bamboo toothb rush
Mr Bhardwa
Nivea to Bulldo g showe gel and facewash r
Keep an eye out for these recycl ing symbols.... www.recyclenow .com
THE CHALLENG
E
Change one everyd ay item that you use to an eco-friendly version! Our ambiti on is that everybody in the school comm unity changes one thing. The challenge runs from now until the 5th March.
HOW TO ENTE
R
We are pleased to launch a whole school challenge this term based around Environmentalism, which is one of our Round Square IDEALS.
–
USEFUL TIP
– Mr Jago
Environment challenge
Please email Mr Jago detailing the new eco-friendly item you have chose n. We would love to see any pictur es and look forward to seeing what enviro nmental change you have made!
This challenge is for students to take the opportunity to change one thing in their daily life that could have a positive impact on the environment.
French disco time Year 7 and Year 8 have had some fun with a 5-a-day French disco at the start of some of their lessons. Thank you to Emily, Tom, Dylan, Harry J and Krystal for showcasing their French disco moves!
SCIENCE In Key Stage 3, our Year 7 and 9 students have been learning about space, using the early nights to observe the winter constellations, with Year 7 making stellar-scopes to help with this. To keep students thinking about their health, Year 8 have been encouraged to remain active by planning and carrying out experiments looking at the effect of exercise on their pulse rate. Meanwhile Year 9 have been putting together presentations looking at healthy living and taking advantage of Zoom to make those presentations during lessons. This model was made by Gabriella D in Year 8 (they are studying the topic of breathing).
The Biology department has been encouraging students to carry out at home experiments wherever possible, ranging from simple enzyme experiments involving chewing bread to Year 12 students conducting biodiversity experiments in their gardens using homemade quadrats. In Chemistry students have been looking at reactivity of metals and hydrocarbons. We know that long days in front of the computer are not ideal so the Science department would encourage all students to try some at home experiments (with parental permission). The Chemistry department suggests a simple at home experiment for all students that demonstrates how not everything behaves as you would expect. Cornflour slime is a special type of fluid.
A time for reflection Wednesday 27th January, was the International Holocaust Memorial Day. To remember and reflect on what happened during the Second World War, the EAL Department in Box Hill School has shared with members of staff and students an online exhibition. This exhibition was our chance to reflect on the victims of the Holocaust and other genocides. This also gave us the opportunity to think about how to create a better future. The title of the exhibition was ‘Be the lights in the darkness, the Holocaust Memorial Day 2021.’ One member of staff commented: “A great message for us all to remember ...”. As in many houses around the country, at 8pm the boarding community lit a candle in front of their windows as a reminder to continue to ‘be the light’ in our community, particularly poignant in our uncertain and unprecedented times.
JUST LAUNCHED – The Box Hill School Remote Running & Cycling Clubs The Box Hill School Remote Running and Cycling Clubs are now up and running – virtually! These are open for all students to join and aim to bring a community together to keep active throughout the lockdown period. Already keen runners and cyclists will be able to find others with shared interests. The groups will be meeting every Monday after school.
VIRTUAL SPORT The major sports this term are rugby, netball and senior football. We are delighted to still be able to continue with these in the virtual world. Throughout our co-curricular activity time on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons we are aiming to get some team camaraderie going through group exercise, training and theory. We hope this group mentality will provide a real motivation for students to get out and keep exercising.
Practising ball skills Students have been working on their ball control skills by performing some keep-ups in front of the camera. Some with modern hockey sticks, others with golf clubs, pieces of wood and even an ‘old school’ hockey stick from 1964! Students used tennis balls, rolled up socks and screwed up pieces of paper! They have also been enjoying some hockey-specific workouts to get the heart racing, using the highlights of the GB women’s hockey team winning gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016 as inspiration.
Badminton An inventive badminton challenge was accepted by a group of Year 9s. Following a physical workout, they were tasked with creating their own shuttlecock using items at home. There were some excellent initiatives.
Rugby news The senior and under-16 rugby coaching challenged the boys to approach rugby in a different way – indoors! The session started with a ‘Talking Point’ in which the evolution of the modern game since the 1992 IRB Law changes was discussed. The students discussed their views on the modern game in relation to its physicality, tackling techniques, player safety and operating within the confines of the Covid pandemic. Students have also enjoyed physical sessions where they have been working on their fitness and ball skills as directed by a New Zealand rugby coach on YouTube. Future sessions will see a blending of physical, online match analysis and discursive slots too.
Netball Our netball teams have enjoyed participating in a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) session that was created by two England Netball players, Sasha and Kadeen Corbin. The girls have displayed terrific energy, determination and skills. All girls have also attempted our Box Hill School Netball Challenge – the Alternate Hand Wall Toss Test to measure hand-eye coordination. More ball drills, Kahoot rules quizzes and skill analysis are planned for future weeks.
Co-Curricular Hockey In the hockey activity students followed a Joe Wicks workout to get their heart rate up before they worked on some skills, got their breath back and watched highlights of some epic hockey matches from the past couple of years.
Gymnastics In Gymnastics lessons, students have been improving their springboard, cartwheel, jumping and balancing skills. They accepted the #GymnastsAtHome Balance Challenge to perform a balance and at the same time, balance an object on part of their body.
Dance We are fortunate to have been able to take our dance classes online. Both the Dance Company and the Year 7 dance group are working extremely hard on their new routines. The Dance Company are working on a dance to the track “Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga, and Year 7 are doing a routine to “Glory” by the Score, which has a theme based on the BBC’s Peaky Blinders. Both groups are working towards producing a dance video which will be shared with families in due course.
So proud of our Nurse Justine Braid, one of our nurses, has been helping with vaccinations at the NHS vaccination centre at Epsom racecourse. Well done Justine!
Activities continue virtually Our extensive co-curricular programme continues to run remotely, we have chosen to put the spotlight on a few of these activities in this edition.
Delicious baking
Book Club
Years 12 and 13 had a very happy time making scones in the cooking activity, they look delicious!
During sessions we discuss and recommend books, talk about our reading habits, or have a theme such as “Books v Films”, “Non-fiction” or jokes, riddles and puzzles. We do a variety of activities based around the theme including playing games. The aim is to increase students’ enjoyment of books and reading and strengthen their desire to read for pleasure. The Year 8 book club discussed graphic novels during their activity this week. They talked about their favourite graphic novels, which ordinary novels they would like to see turned into graphic novels and diversity within graphic novels. They also had a go at drawing their own graphic novel characters. Miss Rose now has a list of graphic novels to consider adding to the school library’s collection.
Drama
GET IN TOUCH
Our co-curricular Drama activity started the term with games entitled ‘Wardrobe Malfunction’, ‘Sorry I’m late’ and ‘Spot the difference’. Classes are aiming to work practically in all sessions and will be working with some theatre companies’ remote offerings including Knee High Theatre Company and Frantic Assembly.
Please contact us via admissions@boxhillschool.com WHO TO CONTACT Claire Jordan, Registrar Emma Bushnell, Marketing Manager
Old London Road, Mickleham, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6EA Tel: 01372 373382 www.boxhillschool.com boxhillschool @boxhillschool
Gardening Students were asked to photograph and identify ten plants in their garden or local park. If they didn’t have a garden they could take pictures of house plants or came up with a ‘wish list’ of plants or items they would like in a garden.