February 28, 2020

Weekly News – Friday 28th February

Message from the Headmistress

Dear Parents,

So many thanks to those who have already made a donation to our ‘Sponsor a Slate’ campaign for the Junior School roof.*

We are delighted that donations have come in from across parents, staff, former pupils, trustees and friends. The work is going well. This week, we have had the chimney stacks rebuilt. The link to donate is here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/hollygirt-school/

*Pam Hutley, Roberta Hutley, The Howletts, Craig Dean, Barbara Royce, Beryl Rimmer, Sean Akins, The Lillies, Adam Saunders, Tim Vaughan (from Cole and Edie-Mae), Helen Fisher, Peter Ware, Anonymous, Caroline Corah, Tina Curtis, Anonymous, The Websters, Aldona Greenwood, Saskia Binns-Smith, Claire Tucker, John Goonan-Dunne (from Bonnie), Anonymous, Amanda O’Sullivan, Jean Wightman, Stephen Hippisley-Cox, Anonymous, Sharan Mehat, Victoria Wright, Michelle Taylor, The Roper Family, Kate George, Kim Hanscombe, The Lincares, Charlotte Schmidt, Anonymous, Andrea Bamber, Maggie Briggs, Carole Woddis

I hope you all had a wonderful half term break and the incessant English rain did not spoil your fun.

Please keep your eye on information about the spread of the coronavirus and refer to the letter sent at half term about the actions you should take if you have concerns. Where possible, avoid travelling to infection hotspots. With Tenerife and much of Northern Italy now with pockets of outbreaks, it is quite close to home. The simplest advice at the moment is to protect yourself by using tissues to sneeze/cough into (and disposing immediately, and increasing personal hygiene with frequent handwashing). While ever there are no local concerns, school will carry on with its activities as normal, but we are keeping a watching brief in case the situation deteriorates.

This week we have increased our engagement with the Trinity Church Youth Outreach team and seniors were introduced to their youth workers and their fantastic space at the bottom of Villa Road in an assembly mid-week. I have to say, since I first visited the property, when Neil’s Auction House closed down, they have made the most phenomenal modern, yet sensitive improvements to the building and created some fabulous large spaces which will be perfect for us rent for some of our events in the future.

Next week, we have vaccinations scheduled for Year 9 on Monday. These are the Meningococcal ACWY vaccination and the Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio (Teenage 3 in 1 Booster) vaccination. All year 9 parents need to fill in the online consent form for each child even if you do not want your child to be vaccinated. The code for Hollygirt is: NG122912.

The Schoolwear Solutions’ Pop Up Uniform Shop is on Wednesday at 8.00am – 9.30am in the Friends’ Room at 9 Villa Road.

On Thursday, it is World Book Day. All children, in both Junior and Senior School, are invited to dress up as a well-known book character.

As the mornings and evenings get lighter, we have no excuse for not taking some exercise now!

Have a good weekend,

Mrs Hutley
Headmistress

Message from the Head of Juniors

Click here to view this week’s Stars of the Week

Welcome back. I hope you all had a good week off despite the weather not being the best.

On Wednesday this week, Mrs Heatlie and Year 2 invited parents in for the afternoon. It was a lovely afternoon and I think both children and parents thoroughly enjoyed the various activities, from making flags and sewing to making their own plant pots and planting bulbs.

Yesterday, Years 3 and 4 participated in an Athletics Festival at Harvey Hadden where they competed in a number of field and track events against five other schools. They performed really well and represented the school superbly by showing their support and enthusiasm for everyone taking part.

Tonight is ‘Movie Night’ for Years 1 to 6 and the children are very excited. Please collect from the Senior School hall at 6pm. Thank you to Friends of Hollygirt for organising this and to both parents and staff for helping out.

Next week begins with cross country competitions at Twycross House School on Monday for the Under 11s, followed by Tuesday for the Under 9s; good luck to all runners. Also on Monday and Tuesday, we have our Parents’ Evenings. I will be available in the Junior School on Monday and Friends’ Room on Tuesday should you wish you speak to me.

Raaj from Schoolwear Solutions will be in the Friends’ Room from 8.00am on Wednesday with her Pop Up Uniform Shop.

Also on Wednesday, we begin our World Book Day celebrations with Booky Breakfast. We will be treated to performances by the children whilst also having the opportunity to share stories. This event will begin at 9.00am in the Senior School hall. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

On Thursday, the official World Book Day, we are inviting children to dress up as a well-known book character.

Finally, to complete the week, on Friday, our Under 11 football team are competing in a tournament hosted by Nottingham High School; the best of luck to all involved.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Wright
Head of Juniors