Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me. 

So says the children's rhyme that was used as a defence against name-calling and verbal bullying. Its intentions were to increase resilience and to avoid physical retaliation. 

I have recently been to my own children’s parents evening and whilst I am obviously very interested to hear about how they are doing academically and that they are achieving their potential one of the main comments that always sticks in my head is that my children are kind, sociable and they are liked by the other children.  

Kindness; to be generous, considerate and friendly.  

One of the biggest battles we have as parents and in school is the use of social media. Unfortunately, both adults and young people often sit behind a screen and think it is acceptable to write things that they would never say to someone’s face, all too often choosing very unkind words. Some would use the term ‘keyboard warriors’ to describe people like this. Clearly, social media is a big problem for us and our aim for people to behave with kindness.  

As Head of Year, I often speak to the students about ‘being kind’ and treating others as they would like to be treated themselves. School should be a happy place for young people, the place that they can come to and gain the best education whilst also spending time with their friends. We want the young people to be kind and to be respectful to each other, to understand that to gain respect they need to give respect and to speak to others in the way that they would like to be spoken to. 

We have recently had the opportunity for our Year 7 and 8 students to watch a Leicester-based band that are currently touring UK schools to promote their music and raise awareness of mental health issues and the importance of looking after yourself and being kind to each other. This is a subject that they feel passionate about, as they have all experienced the negative effects of anxiety, depression and unkindness at some point in their lives. 

Band members spoke about the symptoms of mental health issues and the importance of seeking help through family, friends, teachers and organisations. They then put on an excellent performance to the students which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. For anyone interested in listening to their music you can find them on social media @themercians, download their music at Spotify and watch music videos on Youtube. 

Thank you for your continued support and please do contact us with any questions or concerns; HOY8@hessleacademy.com 

Miss Pinkney

Head of Year 8

Miss Briggs

Assistant Head of Year 8