Message from the Head
Dear Parents,
I am inspired this week by the enthusiasm and dedication of the Y11 team! Weekly meetings will be minuted and roles developed as the students themselves have suggested a myriad of ideas in order to enhance their school profiles. I have offered to sit in with the meeting just as a Health and Safety person whilst their enthusiasm and dedication ‘level’ Hollygirt up but more importantly enable them to add to their life skills portfolios.
The creativity competition has drawn to a close and I have some excellent entries so prizes to be awarded in assembly next week and I promise photos in the final newsletter of this half term.
Last week I spoke about the power of retrieval practice in studying, especially for important exams. The practice of ‘study, test, test, test’ being 150% more powerful than ‘study, study, study, test’. This week I am celebrating the publication of a blog I wrote for the website I recommended last week about using cognitive science in teaching. Here is the link – it’s short and fun as it is a blog. https://www.learningscientists.org/blog
Thank you to Mr Dilger for his work in organising successful careers interviews with Y11 this week. An all-round very positive experience. And thank you to all the staff for continued hard work ….
We look forward to seeing you all at the Albert Hall for a shorter Prizegiving event at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start on Weds 13th October. Hollygirt’s very own musicians will be performing from around 6.30/6.45pm as we take our seats. Please feel free to socially distance and to wear masks as you wish. The Albert Hall is well ventilated via an air circulation system. The size of the venue means that we can spread out. In terms of singing, we have minimised the number of songs and there is no obligation to participate. We have also minimised groups of students mixing in the venue. We look forward to a happy and warm celebratory event.
Please can we send our warmest get well wishes to our History teacher Sarah Hall who is off work with a broken arm. A public thank you to Sarah for the excellent cover lessons she is providing that ensure the curriculum is covered and to all our lovely teachers who do cover the lessons.
Next week I will draw the Head’s challenges out of the box in my office and will look forward to sharing with you all the happy news….
A plea regarding parking. It’s a problem that won’t go away. We know it’s difficult but please do not park in front of residents’ driveways for drop off and pick up. Next half term, I start my Head’s breakfast which is an informal opportunity to chat, share ideas. I’d be very keen to hear any solutions to this problem if you have any!
Best wishes for a lovely weekend,
Helen Barsham
Message from the Head of Juniors
Good afternoon,
It has been lovely to see so many of you at Parents’ Evenings this week and we are really pleased to have been able to welcome you back into school.
On Wednesday, all Junior children took part in the poetry assembly. Each class performed exceptionally well, and we had a super range of poems, songs, chants and raps. It was lovely to see how confident the children were when they performed in front of their peers. Congratulations to all those who were selected as finalists in the Poetry Read Off competition – the standard was extremely high. Overall winners were Mia (Y1), Ethan (Y3) and Sebastian (Y6). A special commendation goes to Sara for her rendition of a Māori chant, and Munashe and Ezra who both wrote their own poems.
Also on Wednesday, Amy from Perform 4 All came to deliver workshops for EYFS and KS1 on the theme of Outer Space. They played lots of fun games including teaching an alien to be kind again. We look forward to another workshop soon. If children would like to attend weekly classes, there is more information on our website about classes and venues.
On Monday, for their Games lessons, Years 5 and 6 will be participating in Sports Hall Athletics. I am sure they will very much enjoy these competitions.
Next Wednesday is of course Prize Giving. During the morning, KS2 and their teachers will be walking to the Albert Hall for a rehearsal. School finishes at the usual time of 3:30pm and After School Club will run until 4:30pm. There are no extra curricular clubs on this day. KS2 children should arrive back at The Albert Hall for 6:30pm in the evening in formal uniform, including blazers.
Please could I remind you that if children are presenting with any covid symptoms, they need to stay off school and have a PCR test as soon as possible.
Our school Readathon is now finished and I am delighted to announce that we have raised £848 for the ‘Read for Good’ charity. This is an incredible amount of money and a fantastic result! Thank you for all your support with this.
And finally, as you may be aware, Aleesha in Year Two has been working so hard campaigning for climate change and she is now a mini ambassador for Cool Earth, having raised over £3000 for the charity so far. Her hard work has been recognised by the many people she has written to and she has now been awarded one of the Prime Minister’s Points of Light. This is such an amazing achievement and so well deserved. We are incredibly proud of Aleesha. Full stories on this can be read here:
https://www.pointsoflight.gov.uk/cool-earth-climate-activist/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-58828811
The Junior School will be fundraising for Cool Earth later in the term and more details on this will follow after the half-term break.
This week’s Stars of the Week can be viewed here.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Wright