Sergeants in Assembly

Infants and Juniors were delighted to welcome to Assembly this week a Sergeant (Sergeant A) from the Emergency Response Team of Camden and Islington, Metropolitan Police Service and Sergeant B – one of four Sergeants in the Cambridge City Neighbourhood Team.

Sergeant A began by introducing the three emergency services to the children, explaining the role of the police and why we have rules and laws to keep us safe.  Sergeant B then spoke about road safety in Cambridge, especially as a cyclist on the road.

Of course pupils really wanted to ask questions such as ‘Have you ever arrested anyone?’ and ‘Are you carrying a gun?’ which led to a full explanation of both Sergeants utility belts, all the equipment they were carrying and what it was used for (and the demonstrations did not disappoint!)  After a final question from Mr Fletcher asking both Sergeants what inspired them to join the police, Sergeant A explained her motivation was to help and care for people while Sergeant B replied his motivation was to stop bad people!  Pupils left assembly having been both reassured and inspired and we all remain very grateful to both Sergeants and their many colleagues, who work so tirelessly and bravely to keep us safe.

Both Sergeants will be returning to speak to Seniors in assembly later in the month, and will be concentrating once again on road safety, county lines and the dangers and implications of sexting.

(The names: Sergeant A & Sergeant B have been used for security reasons.)

Marking Holocaust Memorial Day

Year 9, 10 and 11 pupils joined hundred’s of schools today, as they listened to Holocaust survivor, Susan Pollack MBE share her testimony on a live webcast from the Holocaust Educational Trust, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2020. Susan was born in Hungary and was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She survived working as a slave labourer and was sent on a death march to Bergen-Belsen where she was liberated by British Forces on 15th April 1945.
Pupils were clearly moved by her sobering account and inspiring words which added depth, poignancy and realism to their history syllabus, namely the Development of Dictatorship in German 1918-1945 and Antisemitism: 1933-1939 and 1939-1945.
Headmaster, Mr Fletcher would like to encourage parents of Senior School pupils to take time to discuss the webcast at home, to pause, to remember, and to consider the choices ahead of us and the lessons that need to be learnt.
‘We all want to create a society with no more racism, no more antisemitism, no more accusations against ‘others’. I am absolutely convinced that each generation needs to be taught these lessons.’ Susan Pollack

Further information can be found on the Holocaust Educational Trust website www.het.org.uk where the webcast is available for playback.

ISA East Anglian Cross Country Trials

23 pupils from Year 4 to Year 10 joined 22 other school teams to take part in the ISA East Anglian Cross Country Trials last week.  Despite some tough conditions with mud underfoot and a challenging course, everyone had a great time and gave of their best with some noteworthy results.  Having come in the top 10 in their races, Kitty M, Annabel S (both Y4) and Maxwell B (Y10) will all be going to the ISA Nationals at Worksop College on the 20th March.  There was some great team spirit in action, with younger pupils running alongside older pupils as they completed their longer courses.  (Year’s 4-6 ran 2.1km, Year’s 7-8 ran 2.6km, Year 10 girls ran 2.6km and Year 10 boys ran 3.1km.)  Special mention must also be given to Sandy M and Sam R (both Year 6) who came respectively 12th and 17th out of 112 runners.  We look forward to next year’s event with a lot of enthusiasm from our Heritage team.

Infants Prepare for Chinese New Year

We were delighted to welcome parents, Mr and Mrs Wei and Mrs Wu, to the Infant School for the afternoon to share with us some of the typical Chinese traditions surrounding the Chinese New Year.  This lasts for about 15 days, starting with the Festival of the Dragon and ending with the Festival of the Lanterns. The children played several games, accompanied by Mr Wei on the harmonica and looked at some beautiful Chinese banners handwritten by Mr Wei’s father. They heard how the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac ran in a great race and worked out in which Chinese year we were born. Upper Prep then enjoyed making a variety of pictures using traditional tangram shapes while Year 2 enjoyed creating their own Chinese lantern.

Heritage Joins Cambridge Power House Games

12 pupils from Heritage were delighted to join with Impington Village College, Castle Hill School and Cambridge University Netball and Rugby Club for the Cambridge Power House Games 2020.  This was a day of inclusive sport embracing both ability and disability. Located at the Cambridge University Sports Centre, each team was made up of roughly one member from each school. The teams took part in a rotation of 6 activities led by John Willis, of https://www.power2inspire.org.uk/ including Sitting Netball, Walking Football and Goal Ball – a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. (Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it into the opponents’ goal. Eyeshades allow partially sighted players to compete on an equal footing with blind players.)

Eveyone greatly enjoyed the day, especially being with such a broad mix of participants.  We would like especially to thank Power2inspire and look forward to working with them again in the near future!