Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
What have you eaten so far today? Of course, it depends when you are reading this, but I’m sure we can all picture the tasty breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack we’ve had recently. Many of us may have thought about what to choose, which brand to buy, or even the calories.
But how many of us paused to think about where our food comes from? How far it has travelled to reach us, how it was grown, the farming systems behind it, or the challenges faced by the farmers who produced it? And what about the impact our food choices have on people and the environment?
These questions, and many more, were at the heart of our Harvest assembly — the culmination of several weeks of preparation for The Holt Harvest week.
We began with students bringing in produce for their House Harvest displays. This is always a tense competition, with prizes for both the quantity of produce and the creativity of the display. This year’s theme focused on regions of England and their food production.
Students from Years 9, 10, 11, and 13 worked together to create displays that were truly outstanding. Congratulations to our winning Houses:
- 🥇 1st – Clothworkers
- 🥈 2nd – Spinners
- 🥉 3rd – Weavers
On Thursday, our Student Leadership Team presented the Harvest assemblies. They spoke thoughtfully about food production and sustainability and engaged the audience with a lively “How well do you know your food?” quiz. As always, we were joined by the House Prefects and Farmer Lewis to deliver the House totals so far…Go Lacemakers!
We also enjoyed a poem read by Selma and Alice, ‘How the Leaves Came Down’ a beautiful performance of ‘In His Eyes’ from Jekyll and Hyde the musical, by Ruby, and an update from our Charity Prefect, Nada. She reminded us:
‘Harvest is a time where we are reminded of the importance of gratitude and sharing and where we come together as a school to donate produce to charities and people in need. It’s a chance to reflect on the difficulties less fortunate people face. However, it is important to remember that these people struggle all year round, and need a constant stream of support, not only during special occasions.
As a school, we have raised over £2500 since the start of the new house year, with Lacemakers alone contributing almost £700 to Camp Mohawk. While it is easy to focus on just the numbers, this money has made a massive difference and supported children with special needs, brain tumour research, animal rescues and many more local charities here in Berkshire. By keeping our efforts close to home, it is easier to see the impact of your charity events much more directly, such as the Ollie Young foundation which was launched in memory of Ollie who was a member of a local primary school. Supporting charities like this reminds us that the donations are not going to a distant place, it is helping people around our community.’
A huge thank you and well done to everyone who has taken part in charity activities so far this year.
On Friday afternoon, our Year 11 students delivered Harvest parcels to local residents, care homes, and WADE. Many enjoyed short doorstep chats while handing over the parcels, helping to spread kindness alongside the donations.
We’ve already received several messages of thanks. Julie Marsh, the Care Manager at WADE, wrote:
“Thank you so much for the most wonderful donations from your Harvest Festival. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of your school and pupils.”
This massive feat of organisation would not have been possible without Miss Harris and our dedicated Heads of House.
Also on Friday, we welcomed the largest group yet for our third Morning Tour of the year. Parents and children were able to experience The Holt on a typical school day. After a welcome talk, our prefects guided visitors around lessons and shared their own insights — including their experiences of Harvest Week. We look forward to welcoming many more families to the remaining two tours.
Harvest Week at The Holt is always a special time. It brings us together as a community, reminds us of the importance of gratitude and sharing, and challenges us to think more deeply about the food we eat and the people who produce it. Most importantly, it gives us the chance to support others — not only at Harvest, but throughout the year.
We welcomed Samina from the charity, Sakoon through Cancer, on Monday afternoon to deliver her annual breast cancer awareness talk to Year 11 students. Sakoon through Cancer are a charity who raise awareness and empower women about the bodies and recognising the signs of breast cancer. The talk gave students the facts and statistics behind breast cancer and Samina also shared her personal experience of her battle with breast cancer. The students were fantastic and showed such empathy towards Samina. The talk concluded withteaching students to conduct self-examinations – the students particularly enjoyed finding the marble ‘lumps’ in the knitted breasts. The session was also really empowering for the students as Samina not only encouraged them to look after their physical health, but also their mental health too. Year 11 will be completing a follow up reflection session with their tutors this week to further discuss breast cancer and the signs to look for.
If you are interested in finding out more about the charity, please see their website – Sakoon Through Cancer