Update from the Chair of Hasmonean Multi-Academy Trust Board
Dear Parents,
It is great to have all of the children back in school and as we approach Pesach, I’d like to give you a quick update.
As you would expect, the lockdown affected different families in different ways. Educationally we hit the ground running at the beginning of January and all in all the digital support that our schools provided worked really well; compared to many other schools/children we are in a really good place. Thank you to parents for your really positive feedback and support.
I mentioned back in January some of the investments that we have been making and during lockdown these really began to pay dividends:
- Building Jewish Identity: The efforts of the HIPE informal ed team have been awesome. They proved a social and emotional lifeline for our children, and this will be even better now that we are back.
- 21stCentury Teaching and Learning: The Chromebook roll-out, Google class and breakout rooms, and the training that we gave staff fundamentally changed the way students learned and kept the wheels on the bus. We have now appointed a number of Digital Learning Leads in different faculties, two Digital Co-ordinators to oversee them and a Senior Digital Lead to transform things further by pioneering the best teaching techniques and digital learning resources. This will consolidate our position as one of the leaders in the UK in harnessing ed tech for the good of our students.
- Personal Spiritual Growth: We have appointed Rabbi Dov Birnbaum from SEED to make the Girls’ Midrasha a world leader in Jewish young women’s education. Additionally, we have appointed our very own and much-loved R Yehudah Hager to develop and lead a personal spiritual mentoring programme at the Boys’ school. It is so important that we are building individual one-to-one relationships, providing students with a listening ear and individual care and attention focussed on where they are at, supporting them as they grow and develop into young adults.
We can only do this if you continue to invest in our school. As of the end of February Chiyuv Chinuch contributions were £251k below where they need to be.
If you work with us, we can make Hasmonean an awesome place to learn and a nurturing environment that will build the foundation of our community. If you can pay your CCs in full and have yet to do so, please do so now. If you can’t pay in full, please pay what you can and prioritise the investment in your children’s education.
Finally, whilst we may be behind where we need to be we must still recognise the contribution of all those who give what they can. To this end the Hasmonean Charitable Trust are planning the launch of a great initiative to celebrate the success provided by your Chiyuv Chinuch support. Watch this space…..
Wishing you a chag kasher v’sameach,
Gary Swabel
Chair of Hasmonean Multi-Academy Trust Board
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EDITORIAL 18/3/2021
Dear Parents,
As we come to the end of another extraordinary term – who would have thought that schools would have become testing centres?
I was thinking about what there is left to say about our situation. Then I went to the latest Bat Mitzvah celebration in school and heard the lovely song which the girls have written for their teachers. It says it all:
Lockdown is different
Distances between
School closed is not as simple as it seems
Hasmo’s always here
In me they believe
Together as a family, even virtually
Teachers help me to be brave, staff that makes me fight each wave
I don’t have to be afraid; they help me believe
Hasmo is my home
And wherever we’re from
We unite under the same sun
It is where we belong
School helps us be strong
As we face the unknown
You can call it Hasmo
They help when in need
And where should I be without your care for me
When drowning in an ocean, deeper than the sea
Our teachers make possible impossibility
Never was there a school
That the staff don’t back down
Hasmo’s pride is with me and I hope it always will
It’s Page Street our place
Just imagine a space
Where hate has been erased
It’s not hard if you try
Wishing you all a chag Pesach samech.
Best wishes,
Mrs K Brice
Headteacher – Girls’ School