As the sun finally emerged this week, it’s made me realise how far through the year we are and how quickly it seems to have arrived! The Year 11 Leavers’ hoodies have arrived, Year 10 will be finished with their work experience placements today, and next week’s newsletter will be the last of the Spring term.
The reports I have received about pupils’ work experience placements has been amazing; the work experience programme is a real rite of passage for Hollygirt pupils, and the cohort really rose to the challenge. Look out for some photos coming to our Facebook page soon, in the meantime I wanted to share with you some feedback from Miss Koepke:
I had the privilege to visit two Year 10 students out on work experience this week. One, working in an estate agent’s office, had been given his own workstation and proudly showed me how he identified properties on Rightmove which the company could invest in, improve, and sell for a profit. He had also been given the opportunity to go out on location and use a very fancy camera to take photos of various properties, which were then uploaded on the company’s site. He was able to answer one of my long-held questions: how estate agent photos can make rooms appear much bigger than they actually are!
My second visit was to a student who had returned to his old Primary School for work experience. From the first to the last person I met, everyone was singing his praises, and it was clear from the high fives he received from passing students in the hall that he had become very popular very quickly. He showed me around the school and introduced me to the Year 2 classroom where he had been helping during the week – marking students’ reading books, supporting them in lessons and, on the last day, accompanying the class to a cinema trip.
Continuing with a vocational theme, the Hollygirt Hive have been a hive of activity this week, preparing for Comic Relief today. The team have been raising money hosting classic fairground style games for pupils at break and lunch time today. The team have shown a great commitment to raising money for the charity and have developed a whole host of practical and useful skills along the way. The team meet on Mondays after school and welcome new members who want to join them in building the Hive.
Finally, thank you once again to those of you who have reached out with messages of care and support after the announcement of our sad news last week; it is not a decision anyone wants to have to make, and your messages are valued by staff and families.
Ever Onward and Upward
Ms Purdy