Students at Healing School Academy made history last week when we held our first ever Prime Minister elections.

Students took great delight in forming the start of their School Government, electing a leader to hold the honorary position of Prime Minister.  In the build up to the momentous occasion, assemblies were held by the four successful shortlisted candidates campaigning and competing for the desired position. They were Lacie Mustafa in Year 7, Leon May in Year 8, Oskar Grzeminski in Year 9 and Zuzanna Adamska in Year 9.

All four candidates were assigned campaign managers: Lacie worked alongside Mrs Gunn, whilst Leon was supported by Mr Goodwin. Zuzanna had help from Mrs Smith and Oskar worked closely with Mrs Horner. They each had a budget of £25 to spend for their campaign and some decided to raise support through giving out badges, stickers, flags and more whilst others thought information leaflets would be a good way to get their message across.

Thursday the 23^rd of June was the day of the student elections and all students came down to vote during their tutor period.  North East Lincolnshire Council very kindly allowed us to borrow voting booths and ballot boxes so the students got to experience the real election process. The students had all been previously reminded about the importance of voting, their democratic right, and it was great to see so many students take this incredibly seriously.  During the course of Thursday the votes were counted and we held a special live Election Results Day on Friday 24^th June.

The count was very close but Oskar Grzeminski was elected into the position of Prime Minister with over 330 votes. Leon May who came second in the voting was elected as Deputy Prime Minster. All four applicants had run superb campaigns and really did themselves and Healing School proud. Oskar and Leon are now in the process of forming their cabinet which will include Zuzzana and Lacie in cabinet roles.

Proposal to change the name of Healing School – A Science Academy

We are currently consulting on changing the name from Healing School – A Science Academy to Healing Academy.

The current school name relates back to a specialist schools programme developed by the government in the late 1990s encouraging schools to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum.  This was subsequently abolished in the early 2000s after a far more standardised approach to secondary education was created.

We want to remove the outdated part of the name to reflect the academies link to Harbour Learning Trust (formally Healing Multi Academy Trust) and its family of academies.  We understand ‘Healing’ is a really important part of the name and that part would remain unchanged.  After the name change the academy would continue to have its own branding and identity for the community it serves and supports.

Consultation will run until 27^th May 2022.  Questions or comments can be made by email to [email protected] or in writing to Wendy Smith, Harbour Learning Trust, Low Road, Healing DN41 7QD.

This month has seen Year 11 pupils putting together submissions in DT for their GCSEs.

Pupils had 2 days off timetable to put the finishing touches to the projects they initially designed on the computer from scratch. All items were practical and would be useful in any home. They included bird houses, shelving units, coat racks, chairs and tables, wooden speakers and even a barrel!

During the course of their projects, pupils had access to a wide range of tools and materials and learnt lots of new skills in carpentry, electronics and engineering. We helped to furnish them with invaluable practical experience.

Before the Christmas break, Geography teacher and Careers and Enterprise Co-ordinator, Miss Henshall, ran a competition for KS3 pupils, inviting them to create a bauble for the humanities faculty Christmas tree.

Pupils were asked to make a bauble that was in some way related to the topic of Geography. We had entries depicting Christmas lights in cityscapes and one of Santa travelling over a mountain range on his sleigh.

Eventually winning entries were selected. First prize went to Year 7 pupil Stephanie, who created a globe wearing an illuminated Santa hat! Daisy, also in Year 7, was runner up with a world map bauble she had made from clay.

Thank you to all the pupils who enjoyed taking part in this project.

Free books were handed out to encourage children’s love of reading in a special initiative adopted by Healing School.

Bookbuzz is a reading programme from BookTrust that helps schools inspire 11 to 13-year-olds.

Pupils choose a book from 17 titles – selected by a panel of experts for their suitability – to take home and keep.

Deputy Area Leader of English and Performing Arts Lindsay Codd thanked Tronox, a global company based on the Humber Bank, for its support in funding the programme.

“This reading scheme creates a wave of excitement among our Year 7 pupils,” she said.

“It ripples around the school from the minute the books are selected to the time they are handed out to read.

“We are grateful to Tronox for its wonderful support with the scheme.”

“Having access to books and reading regularly is such an important experience for children growing up, and the ability to read is a vital life skill,” she said.

“We know that unfortunately it’s not always a given that children have access to books at home, so by giving our support, we hope that we can do our bit to foster a love of reading by giving all children who come into Year 7 at Healing School a book of their own.”

Prince’s Trust Qualification Achieved by three Year 11 students at Harbour Learning Trust.

Three students in year 11 have just received their completion certificates for taking part in the Prince’s Trust programme. The Prince’s Trust initiatives partner with centres nationally and opportunities to allow students to nurture their talents through bespoke training. Young people have the opportunity to work in small reflection groups, with a strong emphasis on building confidence as well as skills, in order to broaden horizons and foster ambition, exposing students to a wide range of different activities and experiences. The ‘Achieve’ education programme has enabled Jayden, Jed and Jake to develop their employability skills. The boys will be leaving school with an extra qualification and an abundance of confidence and employability.

Mr Wakefield (Assistant Principal) stated, “We are incredibly proud of the students’ achievements. They have embraced all aspects of the achieve programme and shown so much dedication and endeavour. Our thanks are extended to the Learning Support team for their ongoing efforts to ensure we provide success and happiness for every child.”

Thoughtful students in KS3 have been collecting groceries and supplies for donation to the Rock Foundation.

The Rock Foundation is based in Grimsby and is a charitable organisation that creates provision for adults with learning disabilities, or who are in need. The aim of the foundation is to improve life skills, employability and quality of life. As part of their wider curriculum and pastoral care, students had been learning about best to ensure everyone in our community has equal life chances and experiences.

Associate Assistant Principal, Mr Blockley commented, “we are so pleased and overwhelmed that our students have considered others and been so supportive with the collection of the produce. I know the Rock Foundation will gratefully receive it and everyone within the family of schools at Harbour Learning Trust will be proud of them.”

The Year 11 Boys Football team are crowned regional champions.

The Healing Academy PE celebrated another victory for one of their sports teams, following the Year 11 Boys becoming Grimsby and District champions. The road to the final came following back to back wins, over several weeks against a high level of local opposition within the Humberside area. In the final match of the competition, they were victorious against our fiercest rival, winning the game 2-1.

Mr Norman (Head of PE Faculty) said, “We are so thrilled for every single member of the team who has shown an unrelenting level of passion and commitment to the team throughout the term. Over the course of the competition every student has played their part, giving their all to their team and shown great character. My thanks are extended to all members of the department for providing such fantastic opportunities to our students.”

The Cross Country squad dominate the local competition and progress to the next round.

We were delighted to congratulate all our members of the cross country teams for their recent performance at the Grimsby and District annual competition. There were a host of fantastic individual performances, but the overall team performance was simply brilliant due to all students showing 100% grit, will and determination to secure the best possible results and performances for themselves and the Academy. Team Healing came in the top 3 schools for all 6 categories. The Academy placed 1st in Yr7 boys, 3rd in Year 7 girls, 1st in Year 8/9 boys, 1st in Year 8/9 girls, 3rd in Year 10/11 boys and 1st in Year 10/11 girls categories. These impeccable results ensure qualification and safe passage to the next round of competition (Humberside Cross Country Championships).

Mrs Dickinson (PE Teacher) commented, “Words cannot describe how proud we are of all the students that represented the Academy. In very difficult conditions, students kept composure, running discipline and stayed motivated to the very end. I’m looking forward to seeing what they achieve next round.”

Just before we broke up last term for the summer break, Year 10 pupils took part in the North East Lincolnshire virtual skills fair.

Pupils were presented with 4 main areas to explore: An ‘Exhibition room’, where pupils had direct access to speak with representatives of local and national businesses, colleges, universities and apprenticeship and training providers. On the ‘Main Stage’ a live video of information was streamed, while the other 2 areas promoted live apprenticeship vacancies and highlighted support available to young people, such as Kooth and Compass Go.

Employers exhibiting included: Orsted, Phillips 66, Engie, Navigo, Wilkin and Chapman, the NHS, Humberside police and representatives from the Army, RAF, Navy and Royal Marines. The event was hugely well received, with pupils engaging with providers and making the most of all the opportunities presented to them.

There were also 2 activities for pupils to take part in. One of them was a virtual ‘scavenger hunt.’ We recently learned that Healing Year 11 pupil, Isabelle, was the winner of the hunt and received £30 worth of Love to Shop vouchers for her efforts!

Isabelle was presented with her vouchers by Karen Linton, Strategic lead for Skills and Employability at North East Lincolnshire Council.

Isabelle said “I am so happy I won the vouchers. I’m glad I took part in the virtual skills fair and I am looking forward to spending my vouchers over the half term break.