Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
I hope you had a lovely half term break. It is incredible what a difference a week makes; driving into school on Monday, I no longer needed my full beams along those country roads. Even my drives home have not been so dark and gloomy! The days are definitely getting longer at last!
Over half term the history department took a group of Year 9 students to the Battlefields in France. They got to visit many places, including “Hill 62” which has a British trench system that was later used by the Germans.
The students also visited a dressing station on the front line, where the soldier and poet John McCrae served.
You can see Maya in the picture reading out his poem, “In Flander’s Fields”. The group then visited a German cemetery and saw a lot of differences with those of the British and Commonwealth graves.
Mrs Vockins also found the grave of her great, great grandfather!
Whilst the trip had sombre moments, it also provided some awe and wonder, as the students saw firsthand the awful conditions in which the soldiers lived.
Thank you to Miss Howard for organising the trip and her team, Mrs Hagger, Mrs Barker, Miss Vockins, Mrs Conner and Miss Lee for accompanying this trip…….and well done all on the hideously early start on the Friday of 2.30 am!!
Also over half term, Mrs Totolan-Moore and Mrs Ellison led a group of Year 12 and 13 Spanish students on a trip to Seville.
Mrs Ellison said “The students were delightful company, and everything went according to plan. The highlight was visiting a school in Seville as it gave our students the opportunity to experience conversing with Spanish students in a completely natural and spontaneous way. We really enjoyed this cultural and linguistic exchange. We did so much during the week such as visiting the historic Royal Palace, enjoying a river cruise, being dazzled by a flamenco show at the only flamenco museum in the world, having a three-course meal for Elyssia’s birthday, visiting Sevilla cathedral, learning a huge amount from a guided tour of the city and eating tapas in the traditional market of Triana!”
Thank you so much to Mrs Totolan-Moore for organising a great trip and thanks also to Mrs Ellison for accompanying the visit.
Below are some pictures of their trip.
Now returned to school, we have got straight back into things with the next round of Year 13 PPEs, swifty followed by the Year 11 PPEs. The students are working really hard but there are also lots of other things happening aside from exams. Miss Edwards, our head of drama has asked me to include this advert in the blog……..
A Midsummers Night’s Dream:
It is our great pleasure to invite you to The Holt School production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.
Let us transport you from a cold winter evening in Wokingham to a magical midsummer night! In our modern twist on Shakespeare’s classic play, the enchanting forests of Athens transform into a vibrant music festival. As lovers navigate their complicated entanglement, a group of festival workers stumble upon a magical realm whilst rehearsing a play. Neon lights, pulsating rhythms, love potions and mistaken identities set the stage for a whimsical night of revelry, where the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur, and the power of love resonates through the festival grounds. The production has been a collaborative effort of the drama, design and technology, English, and art department who have been working with a cast and crew of students from Year 7 to Year 12 since the beginning of September 2023.
Doors open at 6.30pm and the performance will begin promptly at 7pm, the show is approximately 2 hours long and the performance will be finished around 9.30pm. Tickets are available from: A Midsummer nights dream at The Holt School, Main Hall event tickets from TicketSource
As well as head of drama, Miss Edwards is also in charge of our “Holt Socials” and she wanted me to let you know about our new Facebook page. She said:
“As a part of our ongoing efforts to enhance communication, we would like to invite you to join our official Holt school Facebook group. Joining our Facebook group is an excellent way to stay informed about important school updates, upcoming events, and various activities happening within our school community. We’re excited about the opportunity to connect with you on Facebook and create a thriving online community that complements the wonderful community we have here at The Holt school. Please find us at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553683660354 . Remember we are also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHoltSchooland Instagram: https://instagram.com/theholtschool, so if you don’t already please give use a follow”
We are also on X (formally known as Twitter) and our Student Leadership Team run their own Instagram account- so please follow us there as well!
Finally, thanks to all our students for their donations on non-uniform day before half term. We raised £1205 for a Children’s Hospice Service called Alexander Devine. https://alexanderdevine.org.
Katie Pearce
Co-Headteacher