And so, the Summer officially starts! It’s been a wonderful year at Hollygirt with plenty to celebrate and I am immensely pleased to have been able to share that with pupils this morning during assemblies in both the Senior and Prep schools and with our outdoor concert. It was wonderful to see (and hear) the many talents of some of our musical pupils, especially given the short amount of time they had to rehearse in. Thank you too to Mr Duik who has offered a little insight into ‘things yet to come’ and what musical delights we could see in the coming terms.
We’ve had several events going on, in and out of school, in the final days of term. A week last Friday the Year 11 attended Bestwood Lodge for their Prom. All looked absolutely amazing in their outfits and showed up in style. The pupils had a lot of fun in the photo booth and enjoying the beautiful surroundings before sitting down to a hearty dinner. This was followed by dancing with pupils and staff alike showing off their moves! Overall, the evening was a success, and it demonstrated the close bonds formed by the year group, but also the community spirit with staff celebrating alongside the pupils and wishing them well as we waved them off into the summer, next to be seen on GCSE results day!
We were disappointed at the start of last week to have to make changes to our Sports’ Day plan; however, the resilience of the Hollygirt pupils shone through as they all understand their safety was at the heart of the decision. Both Prep and Seniors got to have a safe and very competitive(!) sports day where the House spirit was fully on display with chants, flags, and mascots. Plenty of medals and certificates were awarded for the races on the day, with team spirit also factoring into the earning of a few points. The EYFS sports day went ahead as planned on Wednesday, they were lucky enough that cooler weather had set in and they could complete in the garden. The children did an excellent job of following the lane markers while running and displayed excellent team spirit.
I barely had time to draw breath after all my spectating duties earlier in the week, before it came time for the Prep school performances. EYFS and Year 1 performed There’s a Sunflower in my Supper with many musical numbers thrown in. I was impressed with not just the acting skills on display, but the way the children had memorised so many songs and did a great job of reading their lines. Next came the performance of Shrek the Musical Jnr, which had me nearly splitting my sides with laughter one moment and welling with pride at the stunning performance the next. The strength of some of the singing voices was impressive and I am looking forward to seeing many more productions over the years if the quality is even half as good as this one!
In addition to the above, we’ve had two House reward outings – for Prep and Senior – and Year Six spent last Friday afternoon at Funstation in the Cornerhouse, as part of their leavers’ celebrations. Finally, yesterday, the school were out at Drayton Manor for a day’s fun and adventure. Many children braved the rides, but there were also quiet moments to be had in the zoo areas; all pupils were fantastically well behaved and arrived back at school tired but content.
Finally, I would like to thank parents for their commitment to Hollygirt this year. Supporting your child through their education is a tough enough job with homework help, getting your children to and from school, supporting charity drives, designing costumes, helping them learn lines, supporting with friendships, and keeping uniforms clean, and all this before you add in the financial commitment required. Please see below for an introduction to Hollygirt’s newest Head prefect for a little insight into the power of Hollygirt.
Thank you for making Hollygirt your choice; thank you for making me feel welcomed and for your continued support of the school. I remain grateful and open to dialogue with you all.
Best wishes for a restful summer.
Ever Onward and Upward
Ms Purdy
Introducing Diya – Hollygirt’s Head prefect for 25/26:
Hi, my name is Diya and I am honoured to have been chosen to be the next Head Prefect for the school. Over the past four years Hollygirt has truly shaped me to be the best of myself I can possibly be. They have helped me become the person I used to only dream of! I am thankful to Ms Purdy for this incredible opportunity, and I am extremely excited to step up to this role and help others by leading with kindness, respect and positivity; always being there for others and encouraging everyone to feel included and valued.
I’ll strive to lead by example, showing how being competitive and up for a challenge, and just giving things a go and how this can go hand-in-hand with supporting each other, and bringing out the best in every pupil.
I’ll help others to step out of their comfort zone, just as I did when I first dreamed of this role back in year seven.
I hope the prefect team and I can work together with Ms Purdy to achieve great things in the coming academic year!