Screen Discussion Evening & Screen Free Week

In the weeks leading up to this year’s Screen Free Week, a discussion evening for parents addressed the issue of screen use and how to strike the right balance between screen-based and real-world activities. Mr Fletcher wrote, ‘The initial focus of discussion was upon family values and culture. We all need to pan back and look at the big picture: What do we most want for our children? What do we really care about as a family? Pausing to reflect on these questions is crucial. It is too easy to go with the flow, or default to what works, rather than having the courage of our convictions and acting intentionally to create a family culture that reflects our higher aspirations for our children. This involves far more than setting boundaries. It involves inspiring our children with fun, life-affirming, real-world activities, and showing by our example what we think makes life most rich and full.’ 

This year’s Screen Free Week was held in mid-June and, as in prior years, those who participated committed to not making use of screens for leisure purposes. 75 families signed up to take part. In a survey to gather feedback from families who participated, we heard some common themes about the positive impacts to the family and what made the experience successful. Rediscovering time for other activities (reading, games, art, conversation, playing outside) was a frequently reported positive, and several respondents emphasised the importance of planning ahead to offer children alternative activities to look forward to.

What we heard

‘The children learned to potter and find things to amuse themselves.’

‘We were more together as a family – sharing more time and activities.’

‘Discussing as a family what we were doing and aiming for was really key.’

‘Proper preparation for the week [is important]—really have some alternatives in place’

‘Now the existing routines have been reintroduced, the kids seem to find the TV less interesting and have stopped (or not even started) watching at night, and played instead.’

HCA Summer Fete

There was a distinct spirit of festivity during this year’s HCA Summer Fete, an annual event that provides a welcome opportunity for the whole Heritage community to gather in a beautiful setting and enjoy fun and togetherness all while raising funds for the school. It was lovely to see children spending time together and with their families in the beautiful outdoor setting, enjoying the pony rides, sponge throwing, welly wanging, teddy bear tombola, face painting, candy floss, raffle, and so much more. Once again, the dog show was a highlight of the day, as families paraded their pets for a chance to win in categories like best dressed and waggiest tail. Despite a forecast of thunderstorms, the rain held out until the very end, at which point everyone headed out feeling very satisfied after a day full of fun. Thank you to each of the HCA committee members, parents, staff and other members of the Heritage community who contributed time, talents and other gifts to  make it a fantastic day and a successful event overall. Over £1,700 was raised, to go towards reflooring and staging improvements in Panton Hall.

Special Thanks

A big thank you to Tom and Cecilia Amies and family for so generously offering the use of their home and property, not only for the fete but also the Year 4 Camp the day before! And additional huge thanks to Vicki Grebe, who so wonderfully managed the planning for the fete, along with Cecilia Amies, Ellie Stoneley, and Irenee Daly.

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First School Camp for Year 4

The first camp experience for Heritage pupils comes in Year 4, when pupils head out from school on a Friday morning and spend time outdoors together through Saturday morning. During this year’s camp, the Year 4 pupils tried their hand at whittling and archery, played wide games, roasted marshmallows over a campfire for s’mores, and of course spent the night under canvas. Many thanks to the Amies family for hosting the event, Mrs Daly for cooking, Mr Pitcher for archery instruction, Mrs Pearce-Higgins for helping with all of the activities, and also to Mr Fletcher and Mrs Eldridge for planning and managing the event and camping overnight with the class!

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A Special Summer Recital

Last night, families gathered for an evening music recital in Panton Hall. The whole school was invited to listen to pupils from across the school perform a variety of musical genres, both vocal performances and instruments, in solos and ensembles. This was a low-key opportunity to hear music that our pupils are working on both in and outside of school, and came as a welcome diversion during Screen Free week. Audience members remarked how nice it was to have an evening that was slightly less formal than our larger concerts, allowing new ensembles to form and new instrument combinations to come together. As always, it was lovely to see pupils supporting one another during each performance. Special thanks to Mrs Lowe for organising the event and Dr Howell for providing additional support. Will this become an annual event? We hope so!

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Families gathered for an evening music recital in Panton Hall, giving the whole school an opportunity to listen to pupils from across the school.

Heritage Nature Cards for Sale at the Summer Fete

One of the very special things about Heritage is our focus on nature. To celebrate this, our Infants and Juniors have created some beautiful nature drawings especially for the upcoming HCA Summer Fete. A selection has been made into notecards, which will be available for purchase at the fete; each pack of six cards will be sold for £5. You can get a preview of the lovely drawings below.