It has been a quieter week in school as some of our usual routines have returned; we are in a period of focus before we reach December, and preparations begin for our seasonal events as we approach the end of the longest term. In both Prep and Senior schools there are practices underway for singing, playing and readings; and behind the scenes plans for special lunches, Festive jumpers and the Winter Wonderland Emporium.
Our Food tech department has been a hive of activity recently; last Friday several pupils visited London for a food tour and this week trials have taken place for the latest round of Springboard’s Future Chef competitions. Year eight entered the Junior competition where the task was to make a French savoury tart which involves the difficult task of perfecting shortcrust pastry. Congratulations to Krish and David whose entries have been submitted to the Nottingham final. The senior competition requires cooking one main, producing two portions on a budget of £6.50, Years nine to eleven took part, and Travis and Noah have been selected to attend the Nottingham final on Monday but we’re keeping their dishes top secret for now! I am grateful to Miss Hill for her support and encouragement of pupils in these competitions; we hope to see increasing participation and success over the years as Miss Hill now spends some of time teaching the younger pupils in Prep, offering them specialist guidance at an early stage of their schooling.
This week I have spent some of my lunchtimes getting to know Year Seven a little better. I’ve really enjoyed chatting with them over a hot chocolate, especially in this cold weather, and hearing about what makes them tick and what they’ve enjoyed about Hollygirt so far. I’ve learned a lot about rugby, Rubik’s cubes, sushi, ice skating, East African foods… it’s been amazing and I’m looking forward to more next week.
Thank you to those who have provided comments on the changes to Prizegiving; I do take the time to fully digest each one and I am conscious that there will be perspectives I hadn’t been able to imagine so do please highlight things to me. If you’d rather do so over a coffee, please feel free to ask for that too!
Ever Onward and Upward
Ms Purdy