Keep up to date with the goings-on at Honiton Community College.
The following students took part in the Beach Volleyball Champs at Croyde Bay yesterday;
Rowan Symonds, Jake Sellick, Weasel Hooper, Lauren Davey, Joby Mabbutt, Rhys Phillips, Rebbecca Donne-Davies and Rebecca Copp.
All pupils competed well in what was a truly magnificent day.
Our two Year 10 teams were playing a year up and competed well but didn’t make the knock outs and it was a similar story for the Year Seven pairs who will surely be back in the future to improve on this yea
School Transport
Further info available at: http://www.devon.gov.uk/school_transport
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The Modern Foreign Language department at Honiton Community College would like to invite you to take part in our annual French exchange with our partner School in Strasbourg. This truly beautiful medieval city boasts World Heritage Status and we are delighted to be able to offer pupils to chance to see the oldest and most traditional Christmas markets in Europe, first inaugurated in 1570.
The exchange has been planned to provide the very best opportunities to experience French life and culture, to improve French listening and speaking skills, take part in cross-curricular projects and to make new friends abroad. Students who have taken part in HCC language exchanges in the past have found them to be an extremely rewarding experience and, for many, the links have continued for years.
This opportunity is open to any student who will be learning French in September 2014. If your son/daughter is planning to study French at GSCE and/or has an interest in the French language, we strongly recommend that they consider the exchange as a way of improving their linguistic skills and finding out more about the country and culture they will be studying.
We propose to spend the week of 8-12th December 2014 visiting our partner school and experiencing home life with host families. During the stay we will be participating in an extremely varied programme of trips and visits including the Christmas markets, a visit to the Rohan Palace where Napoleon Bonaparte repeatedly stayed, a tour around one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in Europe and a river trip. We will also have a chance to learn about history when we visit the medieval castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg and its impressive collection of weaponry from the Middle Ages with crossbows, all types of swords and armour, as well as a visit to the Second World War Struthof concentration camp (optional).
The exchange will then involve our French partner school visiting us for a week in Spring 2015. Exact dates will be confirmed in due course. During this time we will organize a variety of activities for them (some joint), and they will stay with your family as their hosts.
Great care is taken to match the host families with our students. We will be asking both students from HCC and Strasbourg to complete a questionnaire detailing their lifestyle and interests and then families are carefully chosen to reflect your son/daughters interests. Year 8 pupils already know many of the French students through writing to them as part of our yearly penpal scheme. Should your son/daughter wish to stay with their existing pen pal, we would try our very best to make this possible.
The overall cost of the trip is £375, which includes all travel, insurance, accommodation, meals and visits. Travel will most probably be by train or coach although once numbers are finalised we will look into the cheapest option, which may include flying. Parents/carers of those children entitled to Free School Meals should contact the Finance Office for clarification of payment amount. There may be additional sources of support available and I would stress the importance of speaking to me directly if you have any questions so that we may discuss some of the options available.
If you would like your son/daughter to participate in the exchange programme, I would ask that you return the attached reply slip by Monday 30th June 2014 with a non-refundable deposit of £75, to be paid via Parent Pay. If you do not have access to the internet please contact the Finance Office to discuss alternative methods of payment via Paypoint. Further information about the exchange will then be sent to you. Please note that places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me or any other member of the Modern Foreign Languages Department.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs M Theeten
Modern Foreign Languages Teacher
A new Drop In Session has been arranged for parents to come along and discuss any concerns they have in terms of parenting teenagers.
The Sessions will be run by Liana Smeath, Family Support Worker and Jenny Eslick, School Nurse.
They are informal drop in’s so anyone is welcome and they are taking place on:
Tuesday 10th June 2014 – 1pm – 2pm
Tuesday 24th June 2014 – 1pm – 2pm
Tuesday 08th July 2014 – 1pm – 2pm
Tuesday 22nd July 2014 – 1pm – 2pm
At the new Beehive Centre, Honiton.
We are there to offer advice and support to any parents that are finding teenagers a challenge and just need someone to talk too.
If there becomes a theme of concern for instance: self-harming; mental health; smoking; sexual health, we can look at running specific workshops to target these concerns at a later date. So please feel free to ‘drop in’ and have an informal chat about the difficulties you face parenting teenagers.
Liana Smeath, Family Support Worker / Jenny Eslick, School Nurse
Open to Boys and Girls
Thursday 26th June
Thursday 3rd July
3-4pm on the College field. Wear your PE kit and Trainers
See Mr Taylor for more details or just turn up!
Ten Tors 2014 9th-11th May
Preparation
This year the college entered a 35 mile and a 45 mile team. We started training at the end of November last year with 20 students from year groups 9 to 12.
The training is not easy, 5 months of gruelling training walks, mostly on the moor each walk being progressively more difficult in terms of the distance and terrain covered. This year’s training was conducted in typical winter Dartmoor weather - strong cold winds and heavy rain. In these conditions the teams had to practice their navigation, camping skills and their teamwork carrying a rucksack weighing 30-35 Lbs. In total the 35 milers walked 121 miles and the 45 milers walked 168 miles during this training period.
A testament to all of the participants was that it was really difficult for the training team to select 12 people for the teams. A massive well done to everyone who took part in the training.
The 45 mile team selected was Andrew Appleby (Team Leader), Luke Spiller, James Craig, Lauren Hunt, Cerys Little and Hollie Miller-Ratcliffe, with Bea Bandyszewska and Morgan Davy selected as reserves. Bea subsequently accepted an offer of a place with Sidmouth College 45 mile team.
The 35 mile team selected was Makindi Trim (Team Leader), Sadie Pike, Matt Ayres, Ethan Watts, Rob Wood and Kyran Delamain, with Vanessa Jackson, Jack Llewellyn-Dare and Joe Gibbs as reserves.
Preparation at Okehampton Camp on the Friday went well the teams were briefed, scrutinised, planned their routes, had a barbeque and an early night. The following morning tragedy struck in the form of a stomach bug. James was taken ill and was unable to start the challenge so Morgan stepped up to the team one hour before the start. James was devastated but bore the decision with dignity and stoicism and he returned to Okehampton on Sunday to see the teams finish, which showed to all of us that James is maturing into a fine young adult.
The Challenge - heads down, bums up, let’s crack on!
On a fairly mild Saturday morning the teams, along with around 2300 other young people, crossed the start line. However the weather conditions rapidly deteriorated and the teams had a hard slog for 2 days, contending with very high winds, driving heavy rain and very boggy ground. Despite this, both teams stuck to the game plan successfully reaching Tor 6, their first day targets. After a cold wet and windy night on the moor the teams set off at 6am on Sunday morning in slightly improving weather conditions for the final push to the finish at Okehampton Camp. The first team to cross the finish line at 2.30pm were the 35 mile team, singing as they crossed the line. Next in, at 4pm was Bea with Sidmouth College 45 mile team and 15 minutes later the HCC 45 mile team finished.
A special congratulation should also go to Rob Bourne who this year completed the 55 mile route with East Devon District Explorer Scouts. Rob has now completed Ten Tors at each distance, which is a huge achievement.
So now, at the end of a busy training period, I can reflect on the last 5 months and again come to the conclusion that the resilience, commitment and the dogged determination and guts that these brilliant young people show never ceases to amaze me.
Bravo teams, you nailed it – you should all be proud of your remarkable achievement.
Of course none of this could have been possible without the help of the organisers who run the event in a way that only the best Armed Forces in the world could.
Thanks to all the college staff who assisted throughout the training, the parents for the support they have given to the teams and to Innovate for providing the teams with a hearty breakfast.
A special mention and huge thanks to Warren Oak who led the 45 teams training on Dartmoor and John Lilley and Charles Craig who assisted myself and Warren throughout the training. The teams could not have achieved without these volunteers selfless contribution.
But most importantly, congratulations to Andrew, Luke, Lauren, Morgan, Cerys, Hollie, Bea, Makindi, Sadie, Matt, Ethan, Rob and Kyran who proved to everyone, including themselves, that they did have the skills, stamina, determination, self belief and commitment to overcome adversity and get the job done.
Mick Robson, Ten Tors Team Manager
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