So Proud Of You! With the academy’s academic attainment and progress at an all-time high and our Sixth Form

achieving an ‘outstanding’ rating, the community has much to be proud of. Still, we have much to

do and every journey towards greatness has its ups and downs. Improving attendance levels

remains a key target for our academy and we thank our community in advance for their ongoing

support in helping us achieve this (attendance ladder below). In this Hertsbeat, our students and

staff show how they make a significant contribution to local charity work and fundraising. We start

with the latest exciting images from Willmott Dixon and wish you all the best for a restful holiday.

Hertswood Academy Aim High Achieve Excellence

Hertsbeat Monday 18th December 2017 | Issue 13:07

Peter Gillett, Headteacher

A Glimpse of the Future

After working hard over the summer to prepare our interim buildings and to migrate our classrooms and equipment,

Willmott Dixon have continued along the next step of their busy schedule — clearing the land at the front of the

school, which in less than eighteen months will house our new world-class academy buildings.

Designing the new buildings is an enormous task and over the months to come all of the aspects of the buildings will

be brought into a comprehensive 3D model. This allows the many teams involved to coordinate their work and gives

us the opportunity to explore and adjust the design before it’s finalised. An early version of the model, focused on

the structure of the buildings, was recently presented to the academy. We look forward to sharing it with you in

detail in the new year, but for now

here is a selection of pictures taken

from the model for you to enjoy. We

hope you share our excitement!

www.hertswoodacademy.org | facebook.com/hertswoodacademy | twitter.com/hertswooduk

Tomorrow, Tuesday 19th December, will be our annual Christmas Jumper Day! Students may come to school in

non-uniform for a £1 (or more!) donation, which will go to the wonderful Children in Need and Noah’s Ark.

A Time for Giving by Mrs Lewis (Asst. Head of Learning, Year 10)

In this time of giving, we grow increasingly aware of those who do not

have as much as we do. Students wanted to do something that shows

they are caring, active citizens — not just locally but globally as well.

Each year for Human Rights Day (10th Dec) students are

invited to take part in ‘Write for Rights’, a campaign by

Amnesty International. Last year we had 75 entries sent around the world

to show support for our global neighbours where many human rights

were not enjoyed. This year House Leaders received over 200 entries

from students passionate about British values of equality and fairness.

The idea of an alternative advent calendar was suggested

at our latest House Prefect meeting. Knowing that 35,000

children in Hertfordshire alone live in low income families, students

wanted to have a significant impact on our community. Sophie (Year 12),

Deputy Head of Darwin, produced a presentation on the Borehamwood

food bank along with a list of the items needed. Prefects spent the last

two weeks collecting donations from staff and students, though currently

the winning House for donations is too close to call. I feel very proud to

see so many students contributing to these worthy causes.

Katerina (Year 9) said “We want to help people who don’t have as much

as we do. This is a time for giving and sharing.”

Get Hertsbeat Direct to your Phone

Download the simple, free MyEd app at www.myedschoolapp.com to quickly access Hertsbeat and other

Hertswood Academy services from your Android phone or iPhone, as well as...

Send and receive free messages to/from the Academy, including receiving and responding to absence

alerts from the Attendance Team.

Check your child’s timetable, absence/late marks, and attendance record.

View upcoming keys dates and news from the Academy.

Fundraising for the CanSat by Joseph George (Year 13) Have you ever wondered what it would be like to build a satellite?

One of the many STEM activities offered with A Level Science, the

CanSat, involves the design, testing and managing of a fully functional

satellite the size of a soft drink can.

Each of the students involved take on different positions, such as

Project Manager, Systems Engineer or Chemical Engineer. My role

was Business Manager of the project, which involved creating

accounts, contacting companies for investments and organising

fundraising activities like our recent cake sale. We’ve learned that

each of the roles are equally important, giving us an insight into what a wide range of responsibilities can bring to a team.

We are all very excited for the challenge of the CanSat, as well as the other STEM projects we engage in through the year. I

also like knowing that they will look amazing on a personal statement and CV, to give me a unique edge over the competition.

Globally

Locally

A selection of submissions for the Write for Rights campaign

Mrs Lewis with Sophie (Yr 12) and prefects Izelle & Katerina (Yr 9)