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Penn Resilience Year 9 students have been participating in the first six Penn Resilience Programme lessons today as part of

the school’s Thrive programme. The remainder of these lessons will be delivered on Thursday 26 March and

Thursday 2 July 2020. Year 8 have already completed the programme and Year 7 are being taught it in their

Thrive lessons.

The Penn Resilience Programme is an evidence-based training programme that has been demonstrated to

build resilience, well-being, and optimism. The programme equips individuals with a set of practical skills

that can be applied in everyday life to strengthen an individual's ability to overcome adversity and

challenges, manage stress, and thrive in their personal and professional life.

Decades of empirical studies indicate that the programme:

Increases well-being and optimism

Reduces and prevents depression, anxiety, and conduct problems

Results in fewer mental health diagnoses

Improves physical health

Resilience is more than just bouncing back; It is a toolkit that enables us to bounce forward in all situations.

The resilience toolkit includes competencies such as thinking flexibly & accurately, human connection, hope

& optimism, self-regulation, and self-awareness & compassion. Young peoples’ ability to adapt and respond

to the world is of increasing concern. Numerous studies show that the answer is good quality teaching and

learning of resilience skills in the classroom. This is a valuable addition to our ever evolving, forward thinking,

research & evidenced based curriculum.

Youth Violence Awareness Session at Onslow St Audrey’s School 25 February 2020

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Sixth Form Taster Day Our Year 11 into 12 ‘Taster Day’ occurred on Thursday 6 February, during which Year 11 students got to

'taste' the A Level and BTEC Level 3 subjects that they are interested in studying after their GCSEs. Students

also had the opportunity to discuss their chosen courses with current Year 12 students in the Sixth Form

Study Centre and to engage with Unifrog - a tool that will help them to understand future careers and

make decisions about their next steps.

Thank you to Ms Gardner and the Sixth Form Team for all the hard work that went into making the day a success! Students were really happy with all their subjects and with the atmosphere created by staff. Feedback from Year 11 students included:

'I enjoyed trying the different subjects in small class groups. I enjoyed all the subjects I tried today'.

'I enjoyed all the lessons I had today and our discussions with the Year 12s. Their explanations made Sixth Form seem like a great opportunity to study the subjects I am passionate about in a healthy environment.'

‘I enjoyed all of the subjects: art photography and health and social. I also enjoyed the discussion with the Sixth Formers and Mrs Small, they really gave me an understanding of Sixth Form.'

Swim Challenge

Mr Roberts, Head of PE, is hoping to get both a student and a staff team to represent Mount Grace School

at the Brookmans Park Rotary Club Annual Charity Swim Challenge being held at the Furzefield Centre,

Potters Bar on Saturday 7 March 2020 from 5.30pm. If you are interested in taking part, talk to Mr Roberts

as soon as possible. Funds raised will be split between Herts Young Homeless (HUH) and the school’s PTFA.

Stem Club starting after Half Term

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Notices

Dubai trip: We wish everyone going on the Dubai trip a fantastic time – and look forward to hearing all about it after half term! Mr Bhura has made a slight change in the schedule as he has succeeded in booking a day at the new Laguna Waterpark – which sounds amazing. Visit www.lagunawaterpark.com to find out more about it.

Ongoing Parking Problems Please be considerate to our neighbours when you drop off/collect your child from school and also for the safety and welfare of others. Do not block school entrances; private driveways or park on yellow lines. Thank you for your help.

Cambridge Science Festival

The 2020 Cambridge Science Festival runs from 9 – 22 March 2020. Join them for talks, hands-on

activities, performances, exhibitions and films exploring the theme of ‘Vision’. For more information

visit: www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk; email csf@admin.cam.ac.uk or ring

on Tel: 01223 766766.

French ‘Words of the Week’

For an extra Merit, why not see Mrs Baker in N13 with the meaning of any of the words below, or putting

the words into a sentence. Excellent sentences will get a bonus prize!

casse-pieds

boute-en-train

Merit Points

Congratulations to 7B who were the highest (number above target minimum) achieving form group, in

their category, last week.

Congratulations also go to the following students for achieving the highest number of conduct points in

their year group:

Year Week commencing 3 February Conduct

7 Santino W 45

8 Sonia U 40

9 Seamus L 39

10 Eylul V 38

11 Katharine C 37

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Diary dates for this term

For details of upcoming events please see the School Calendar by using the following link:

http://www.mountgrace.herts.sch.uk/calendar/3384.html

17-21 February Half Term

Thursday 27 February Sixth Form Learning Review Evening 16.00 – 19.30

Friday 28 February Year 11 Geography trip

Monday 2 March GCSE Music Performance recording day

Tuesday 3 March Year 11 Exam Techniques Training session

Wednesday 4 March Year 9 Science Lecture

Saturday 21 March Family Quiz Night 7.00 for a 7.30pm start

Tuesday 24 March Year 8 Learning Review Evening

Thursday 2 April Gym & Dance Display

Friday 3 April Last day of Spring Term – students leave at 12.40

Thursday 30 April ‘We will rock you’ Musical at 7.00pm

And finally… Facts of the week! (thank you Mrs Parsons)

The smell of coffee reduces the stress caused by sleep deprivation and damage caused by stress!

The smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which triggers relaxation.

We would like to wish you a relaxing weekend.

The HEADlines Team

You can also view this newsletter at http://www.mountgrace.herts.sch.uk/headlines/4084.html

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