Message from the Head
Dear Parents,
It was so lovely to come together on Wednesday and we really enjoyed the evening. Great to hear from our Head students (“with great power comes great responsibility”) and my huge thanks to Dr. Debra Costley for providing us with a different kind of criteria with which to measure education – posed by the question ‘What is Education?’; watch this space on reports! My huge thanks too to Alex Peace Gadsby OBE; DL for her inspirational ‘fake it until you make it’ mantra about self-belief. As a student of Albert Bandura (Self-efficacy) I am a big believer in believing in capability. More of this soon!
I spoke about my marriage (to the school!) and our levelling up; the Sixth form and scholarship opportunities; our estate and IT improvement programme; the football nets (to name but a few). My deep gratitude to the team that is Hollygirt. Parents’ feedback about the event was really positive and it was so lovely to see you all. Feedback is always welcome.
The speeches are available to read on our website so don’t worry if you were unable to be there! My speech can be found here, Dr. Debra Costley’s speech can be read here.
Of course, the night belonged to our students, and we congratulate all the prizewinners and we say ‘not yet’ to those who didn’t get a prize – it’s always ‘not yet’ -just keep trying.
We were blessed with clear skies for Open Morning and about 25 families visited us. Some great feedback there too and my thanks to the lovely Friends of Hollygirt for making the tea tent such fun!
Today saw the start of our European Day of Languages celebration and thanks to Ms Nissan and Ms Brimblecombe for the dance moves and multi-lingual songs – and the suitcase game! I also taught Year 6 today and we quickly descended into a rather wonderful conversation about cognitive science as we pondered the meaning of ‘What is clever?’ (with party rings, of course, and a note to self here for some gluten-free biscuits in the office!).
Dottie is really being adored by the Hollygirt community and along with her mum -such a great addition to the Hollygirt team – she often pops across the reception to find crumbs (see previous comment about biscuits!)
Thursday 29th September, 4.45 -5.45 pm is a real date for your diaries. I appreciate the pressures of work, but we are hosting an event by the NSPCC about online safety for parents. Students are welcome to stay in homework club and can order a sandwich tea (if you wish). I would highly recommend you come if you can because it is such a minefield to navigate.
The next event will be the Sixth Form evening on 6th October for years 10 and 11 and I hope to see many of you there to discuss this exciting school development.
Better dash -off to the Southwell Ploughing Match tomorrow- do drop by our gazebo and say hi if you’re there.
Fingers crossed re. the weather.
Have a good weekend,
Helen Barsham
Message from the Head of Juniors
Good afternoon,
Prize Giving on Wednesday was, as usual, an amazing evening and we are so very proud of all the children and everything they have achieved, both in and out of school. The singing performances were beautiful; thank you to Mrs Maher for her hard work in preparing the children.
Today, we are celebrating European Day of Languages. Along with many activities arranged by Miss Cooper, the children have been dancing with Miss Nisan and baking croissants which looked delicious.
Tomorrow is the Southwell Ploughing Match and we will be taking the Junior School competition entries with us. If you are attending this event tomorrow, please come and find the Hollygirt stand and say hello to us.
For Harvest Festival this year, we shall be donating, once again, to Emmanuel House, who do some fabulous work for the homeless here in Nottingham. In a bid to reduce waste, they have specifically asked for certain non-perishable items, such as tinned beans, tuna and meat, and pasta. This leaflet has more information. I know that all donations will be very gratefully received and will make a real difference.
Next Thursday, the NSPCC are visiting School to talk to parents about Online Safety. This will run from 4:45pm to 5:45pm in the Senior School hall. If you are attending, please could you let Reception know so that we can cater for the right numbers. Children can stay at our After School Club for no charge. If you wish them to have tea, this is £3 – please let Reception know in advance it you do wish to order one.
On Friday, we will be hosting a Macmillan coffee morning in the Friends’ Room from 8:30am – 10am. Please come along if you are able to and support this important charity.
Have a lovely weekend,
Victoria Wright
Head of Juniors
Key Dates for the Week Ahead
| Thursday 29th September | NSPCC Online Saftey Talk of Parents, 4.45-5.45pm |
| Friday 30th September | Macmillan Coffee Morning, 8.30-10 am |