Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
As September draws to a close, the autumn calendar of events is getting started at The Holt.
This week, students are preparing for our annual Harvest Festival. This involves collecting donations, preparing assemblies and making sure the school community have brushed up on the lyrics of ‘cauliflowers fluffy….and cabbages green.’ Harvest is a time of charity and therefore we ask that if you are able to, the following donations would be greatly appreciated by Wokingham food bank and the Wokingham and District Elderly (WADE) day centre:
| Wokingham Food Bank list: | Wade Food list: |
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Tinned Cold Meat Cleaning Products Tinned Pies Rice pudding Conditioner Tinned Potatoes Toiletries |
Tea Coffee Biscuits Sugar Squash Tinned Veg Baked Beans Long Life Milk/Cream Tinned Fruit Gravy Granules Dried Fruit Caster Sugar Tinned Carrots Tinned Fruit |
The assemblies will take place on Thursday 6th October and the donations we receive will be distributed on Friday 7th by our Year 11 students.
In addition to the above, we will also be holding non-uniform day on Friday 30th September. All donations will go to Wade in celebration of ‘International day of older persons.’
Still on the theme of charity, last Friday we held our annual McMillan coffee morning. Each year this seems to get bigger and better… I have never seen queues like this!
During an extended break, the school raised a total of £751.05
This is a record-breaking amount for the school and achieved in only thirty minutes!
Thank you to everyone who baked and donated goods, there really were some masterpieces on sale!
Thank you to Mrs Nyazika and the rest of the technology department for organising this event along with their 6th form helpers.
This week I am delivering assemblies on the importance of self-care. This year the school continues to focus on how we can help young people to develop resilience, to recognise their emotions and take care of their well-being. It is important that the curriculum helps young people to develop the self-help skills needed to look after their mental health and the ability to recognise when help and support is needed. Some of the themes covered in the assembly are:
Sleep
Social interaction
Friendships and managing conflict
Social media use
Exercise
Workload
Students are reminded of the importance of connecting with people, of being active and participating in the opportunities available to them. Balance is key.
Please encourage your daughter/ son to get involved in an extra-curricular activity; to join you on that walk and switch those mobile phones off!
Full details of the extracurricular activities available in school can be found here: Extra Curricular Activities | The Holt School
This week, we have welcomed Year 6 students and their parents to visit the school, the usual open evening was moved to the Summer term to give parents the chance to explore the school site in daylight hours. We are so fortunate to have such lovely outdoor space, so it was great to have the opportunity to showcase this to prospective students. The tours are where our visitors get to see the school in action. Parents on pre- booked tours are welcomed by our Co-headteachers and then guided around the school by our Year 11 prefects. The prefects always speak about the school with such enthusiasm and pride. We are grateful for the time and effort they put into supporting the school.
Year 7 are looking forward to their team building day at Ufton Court tomorrow; Mrs Smith will report back next week. I am sure she will have lots of photos to share with you. Over the next week, Year 7 will also be taking part in ‘Fuse’ workshops delivered by Soulscape. These workshops will continue the theme of team building by encouraging Year 7 to reflect on what it means to be part of a community. Students will reflect on the importance of being kind to ourselves and others and their responsibilities as a member of The Holt community. Soulscape are a great support to the school and play a very valuable role in helping Year 7 to settle at secondary school for which we are appreciative.
Vicki Martin
Assistant Headteacher