House Sports Day Wednesday 13 March 2024
The past week has seen Mr Day, our PE and Houses coordinator, running a series of sessions to set out his expectations of students and teachers for the upcoming House sports day which takes place at the Wan Chai sports stadium from 8:00 am to 4:oo pm next Wednesday 13 March 2024. It is an inclusive day, with all students from Year 7 through to Year 13 expected to attend, with many of the older students working alongside the teachers to organise and run events, whilst the students from the younger years will be taking part in the morning and then cheering on their team mates in the final, more competitive races later on in the day. All parents will have received a communication via the Engage system, and all are invited to attend for all or parts of the day. We will be praying for slightly better weather!
Harry Potter, of course, put the typical House system run in UK schools to the forefront of public knowledge elsewhere in the world. If you have not considered why many schools such as ours have introduced such a system, then my good friend Claude (from Poe.com) can do the work for us by listing the following as key reasons why they are so popular:
- Builds community and school spirit – Grouping students into houses fosters a sense of unity, belonging, and competition among students that can boost overall school spirit and pride.
- Encourages competition and teamwork – House competitions in academics, arts, sports, etc. can motivate students to work together towards common goals and compete in a friendly, structured way.
- Develops leadership skills – Being part of a house gives students opportunities to take on leadership roles within their group like student council representatives or team captains.
- Promotes cooperation across year groups – A house system mixes together students from different year groups, allowing older students to mentor younger ones and fostering peer support networks.
- Recognition of diverse talents – House point/merit systems recognise achievement in many areas beyond just academics, allowing students strong in arts, athletics, volunteering, etc. to be celebrated too.
In summary, a well-designed house system has potential to boost engagement, build community, and help develop important lifelong skills when it taps into friendly competition and brings students of varying interests together.
Indeed, that is a great summary and the growing number of House events (debates, maths dragon competition for example) are helping to make it more high profile and raise school/community spirit! So, let the races begin and may the best house win the House Sports Day cup.
