Dear Parents,

 

On Wednesday, to mark their virtual graduation in the evening, Mrs Paster, Mrs Hamer and the Informal HIPE team organised a special treat for the Y13 girls. A float was hired and decorated with a banners and balloons and it went round to every girl’s house. Each girl was presented with a box of goodies and a short speech was made in her honour to the accompaniment of music from the float. The event was carefully choreographed to ensure that social distancing was maintained and the staff followed the float in their own cars.  The sun shone and the delight on the faces of the girls and their parents spoke volumes about how important this gesture was to them which was funded from private donations and the HIPE budget.  The day ended with a very successful graduation event on zoom with live speeches and a beautifully constructed video put together by Hannah Benaim, the outgoing Head Girl, and her friends. This was composed of good wishes from the teachers, the girls’ memories  of their time at school and good wishes from some illustrious celebrities.

 

It was really inspiring to see how a thoughtful gesture could have such an impact and huge thanks are due to the members of HIPE- Racheli Wagner, Shira Rabson and Hodaya Schiff for their tireless energy in making this happen under the careful direction of Mrs Paster and Mrs Hamer. A short video of the event can be seen here:

https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/hasmonean-girls-brings-graduation-ceremony-to-six-formers-doorsteps/

 

Mrs Katherine Brice

Headteacher: Girls’ School

 

 

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Dear Parents,

 

On Tuesday morning you may have received an email regarding voluntary contributions. Due to a computer malfunction, this email was sent to you in error. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.

 

Should you have any queries relating to voluntary contributions, please contact Ms J Alleyne via email on j.alleyne@hasmonean.co.uk

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms T Luke

Acting Head of Finance & Premises

Dear Parents,

 

We hope that you had an enjoyable Shavuot and that you and your families are well.

 

Thank you so much to the very high number of parents who joined our Zoom meeting about online learning on Monday. It was very heart-warming to receive so many expressions of thanks for the effort our staff are putting into digital learning. While we know what we are doing is not perfect, we are certainly trying to offer the best education possible in the current circumstances and will continue to monitor and adjust our provision in the light of the feedback we receive.

 

On June 1st we re-opened both schools in response to the increased demand to educate vulnerable children and the children of key workers. We now have a small number of students in both schools who are being supported by our staff with their online learning timetables.

 

The government’s most recent advice in regard to the wider re-opening of secondary schools is as follows:

 

Face-to-face support [should] supplement the remote education of year 10 and year 12 pupils, which should remain the predominant mode of education during this term for pupils in these year groups. Our assessment, based on the latest scientific and medical advice, is that we need to continue to control the numbers attending school to reduce the risk of increasing transmission. Therefore, schools are able to have a quarter of the year 10 and year 12 cohort (for schools with sixth forms) in school at any one time.

 

Unlike many schools, and thanks to the generosity of our Trustees, Hasmonean is in the fortunate position of being able to ensure that all of our children have access to digital devices. The new online learning timetables also ensure that children in all year groups are benefitting from face-face teaching.

 

However, we are currently discussing amongst ourselves and with Headteachers from other schools how we can supplement our face-to-face provision for Year 10 and 12 in school. This is a far from straightforward process. Only one quarter of these year groups is allowed in school at any one time and class sizes will need to be very small to enable us to observe strict social distancing rules. We also need to ensure that we can sustain our online learning programme for students who continue to learn remotely so that they do not miss out. The government has also asked – for very understandable reasons – that a comprehensive risk assessment be undertaken before any wider re-opening is undertaken and for consultation to take place with the various unions, as well as with trustees and parents to ensure that children and staff are kept as safe as possible.

 

We will publish our plans so that you can see them in advance as soon as we are able to do so. However, in the meantime, please be assured that children will continue to follow the online timetables to ensure that they benefit from a high standard of education.

 

 

 

Wishing you a good Shabbos and a relaxing weekend,

 

 

Mr A McClusky – CEO, Hasmonean MAT

Mrs D Lebrett – Headteacher, Hasmonean Boys’ School

Mrs K Brice – Headteacher Hasmonean Girls’ School

Rabbi J Golker – Menahel, Hasmonean MAT