Geography Trip to Snowdonia 2016
On 28th September and 29th September, the AS Level Geography students made their way to Snowdonia in Northwest Wales. We were instantly greeted with harsh, cold winds! Luckily, we all stayed warm in our waterproofs and woolly hats!
We began our 4-hour expedition around a lake called Cwm Idwal. This was Wales’ first National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific interest. We stopped off at certain points to look at glacial features such as: corries, hanging valleys, glacial troughs and arêtes. Mr Bird and Ms Wharton taught us all about these glacial features. It was great being able to see the features at first hand.
Afterwards, we headed down to a roche moutonnee in the Nant Ffrancon Valley. Whilst it was only a 5-minute stop, we walked onto it and discussed in detail how it was formed which was fascinating.
Fortunately, after our 4-hour long expedition, we drove to the 5-star Plas Curig Hostel, where we relaxed and dried off. For the rest of the night, the Geography students took a trip down to the high street where we ate our dinner at the local pub.
The next day, for Human Geography, we carried out a questionnaire on the summit of Snowdon, looking into peoples’ different perceptions of place. Interestingly, we met some locals who didn’t consider the summit of Snowdon as special a place as those who were visiting; perhaps a sign that people take for granted what’s in their own backyard!? During our train ride to the top of Snowdon, we saw spectacular views which included many glacial features that we learnt about the previous day. The summit had winds up to 50mph which added to the exhilarating experience.
It was an excellent experience and one that brought our Geography studies to life thanks to Ms Wharton and Mr Bird.
Viren Sharma & Anastasia Martin
Prizegiving 2016
We welcomed Mr Alex Gidman as Principal Guest to our annual Prizegiving on Friday evening. Alex was England A Cricket Captain, played for the England Lions, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Captain, played for the MCC and Worcestershire during a 15 year career. He scored some 12, 000 first class runs, took over 140 catches and scored some 1, 500 Twenty Twenty runs. He spoke about the need for resilience so that difficulties and challenges can be overcome by using small gains and wins en route to a major goal. He also advocated taking advantage of the huge opportunities on offer at HGS and encouraged all to get involved in sport, drama, music and the house system. He was very impressed with the progress made during the past year as well as with the facilities on offer at HGS. It was a very positive and enjoyable event which saw Professor Joe Biddlestone our Chairman of Governors hosting the proceedings.
Mobile Phone Use
Young People and Mobile Phone Use
The information below was derived from a recent article on the Education area of the BBC News website. It makes for an interesting read!
Almost half (45%) of young people are checking their mobile phones after they have gone to bed, a poll suggests.
A survey of 2,750 11- to 18-year-olds found 1 in 10 admitted checking their mobile phones for notifications at least 10 times a night.
The poll was carried out by Digital Awareness UK.
The organisation warns night-time usage of mobiles means pupils are coming to school tired and unable to concentrate.
They recommend having a “digital detox” and putting mobile devices away for 90 minutes before lights-out or keeping them out of the bedroom.
Of the 45% of survey respondents who check their phones when they should be sleeping, almost all (94%) are on social media – with a tenth saying they would feel stressed about missing out if they did not check their device before going to sleep.
Of this group, 75% are listening to music and over half (57%) are watching films.
A third (32%) of these youngsters say their parents are not aware that they check their mobile device after going to bed.
The findings also show:
- 68% of all respondents say using their mobile devices at night affects their school work
- a quarter say they feel tired during the day because of how often they use their mobile device at night
- almost half (42%) keep their phone next to their bed at night
10 screen-time tips from Digital Awareness UK
- Refrain from using screens 90 minutes before bedtime
- Turn off notifications, or activate “do not disturb”, “aeroplane mode” or mute settings. Turn the phone off altogether if you can
- Reduce blue light exposure, which can disrupt sleep. For example, most Apple devices have the “night shift mode”, which changes the colour temperature of your device to reduce exposure
- Try and break the habit of unprompted device checking
- Keep your phone in a location that prevents you from seeing, hearing or even reaching for it
- Use screen time tracker apps, such as RealizD and Moment, that can showcase the amount of time you are spending on your device. Some of these apps allow you to set usage restrictions
- Digital detox – take a break from devices altogether or set times that you will turn your phone off
- Switch the habit – in the 90 minutes running up to bedtime, get stuck into a good book, practice meditation or have a relaxing bath
- If we think about the reasons why we are using mobile devices at night time, we would often think twice
- If you take control back by exercising any of the tips listed above, give yourself a pat on the back and a treat
Charlotte Robertson, DAUK co-founder, said: “One of the biggest topics around at the moment is excessive social media consumption and how it is affecting our physical and emotional wellbeing.”
“A lot of them [children] are waking up sometimes with over 100 notifications from conversations that have happened overnight.”
“They want to be that person that is responding at 01:00, and seen to be quite cool, to make sure they catch the joke – it’s a huge driver, that anxiety of wanting to know what’s happened.”
It’s not that this technology is all horrible and terrible and we should all be wringing our hands! Perhaps this is the reality and we all need to educate children to use it in a positive way.
Peter Hayes Charity 10k Run
Well done to Mr Alishah, Mrs Donoghue, Mr Jones, Mrs Minhas and Mr Mohsin who, on Sunday 18 September, completed a 10k charity run in memory of Peter Hayes, a former pupil who sadly passed away as a result of a heart condition at the age of 25 in 2012. The run, organised to support the British Heart Foundation, is now an annual event and takes place in Handsworth Park.
It is expected to take place on the equivalent Sunday next year so start training now! It would be great to see students, parents, more staff and friends of the school getting involved.
http://handsworthpark10k.weebly.com
DT Charity Coffee Morning
All students are invited to the DT Charity Coffee Morning. Please see the poster below for more details and support this worthy cause.
Chinese Club
A new and exciting opportunity has arisen at HGS. Mrs Fiess is launching a Chinese Club which starts on October 10th 2016. It will then take place every Monday from 3.10 pm to 4 pm in Room 24. So why not:
- Learn something new
- Experience a different language and culture
- Develop new skills
- Have lots of fun?
Please see Mrs Fiess for more information and sign up via the website.
PTA Update!
Join Us and Get Involved!
We are a friendly group of parents who have children at the School. Our role is to create a wider school community where parents, teachers and students can come together and organise fun fundraising events. The best way this can be achieved is to have a positive and active PTA, so that our children can benefit with the extra influx of funds.
We will always need an extra pair of hands, ideas and contacts to help with the many future projects and events that are due to take place. If you or someone you know can help with supporting events, raffle prizes, catering or anything else, which may be of use, then please contact us.
Future Events include:
- New Year 7 Introduction Evening: 29 September 2016 6.00pm
- Bake Sale: 14 October 2016 Lunchtime
- Shop2Drop Fashion Show: 17 October 2016 6.30pm
- Autumn Arts Festival: 18 November 2016 7.00pm
- Winter Concert: 15 December 2016 6.00pm
If you would like to join in please contact our PTA Chairperson Neha Jolly via the Contact Us page.
