Page 4: Hodgson Highlight Events in 2020
Events in 2020
Whilst ‘events’ in the traditional sense have been put on hold, Hodgson Academy have continued to find new and innovative ways to keep our students engaged in education and involved in fundraising activities.
In September, we launched our brand-new website, along with a virtual 360° style tour of the school campus in place of an Open Evening. You can still explore each department here! We also launched our Facebook page to better engage with our parents, carers and wider community. You can like us from here. We used this platform to bring Year 11’s Class of 2020 presentation evening online, to enjoy from home, for the first time.
Whole-School Read
As daily practices changed throughout the year, we adapted to bringing events and learning online. Mrs. Garside found an inventive way to keep our student (and staff!) cohort well-read by recording members of staff reading a chapter each from Lisa Thompson’s brilliant book ‘The Goldfish Boy’ in a ‘read-along’ style virtual event. This kept excitement for the next chapter- and the story’s momentum- alive in the absence of form-time and group reading. It was also a fun way to introduce Year 7 to all of their new teachers and tutors!
Year 7 were also treated to their usual annual 'BookBuzz' talk by their new Librarian. This programme, run by the BookTrust, allows every year 7 student to choose a free book from 17 selected titles. This is always a fun and inspiring event for the students, which the entire English department supports and facilitates each year. We were overjoyed as a Reading Academy to be able to deliver those same sessions for our year 7 classes this academic year.
Your new Library
Over the October half-term, the Learning Resource Centre underwent a magical transformation; brand new shelving, books, tables and colourful comfy seating have brightened up and modernised the space to make it a welcoming, inspired learning environment to read, revise and browse our careers materials. Follow @LibraryHodgson on Twitter for updates on our brand new library facilities and provisions!
In December, the PE department organised a glow in the dark dodgeball event to replace our usual annual ‘Elf Run’, which raises vital funds for Brian House Children’s Hospice (www.brianhouse.org.uk). This in-house event was a huge success, and raised £350 for Brian House. Thank you to all of our Year 7 students who took part and donated, and to our excellent P.E. staff for arranging such a fun alternative event!
Mrs. Foley, Head of Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education, has ensured that Hodgson Academy’s careers provision remains as unaffected as possible by the pandemic. 70 of our year 11 students received a careers appointment by a qualified careers advisor throughout November and December, and 165 year 11s have already received conditional offers for college or an apprenticeship in September! You can follow Hodgson’s careers programme via @Hodgson_Careers on Twitter. Tweet us with the hashtag #FoleysFutures!