Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
Excitement filled the air at The Holt this week as members of the English, PE, drama and music department opened their doors to auditions for our school production of Beauty and the Beast.
Over one hundred students from all year groups signed up to audition…..so many that they were split into two groups and put through their paces in an initial first round. This involved singing a song of their choice to the panel.
A large number of students got “call backs” for a second round, which took place on Thursday after school. This time, Miss Flintham from the PE department who is also the show’s lead choreographer, got the students dancing for the first heat.
Then, Ms Edwards, head of drama arranged the students in mixed age groups and gave them a scene from the show that they had to prepare and perform to each other and of course the judges!
It must have been quite nerve racking for all the students as they faced our panel, X factor style……..,luckily, none of our staff are Simon Cowell types, there was no need for a buzzer and all the groups were put at ease before they performed……..
The panel enjoyed the performances immensely – there is a lot of talent at The Holt……but of course watching was the easy part. They then had to decide who to cast……not so easy….
After much discussion, they made their decisions, and I am delighted to reveal that the lead roles are as follows:
Belle: Dani Thornton
Beast: Hope Hardman
Gaston: Lulu Briggs
Lumière: Natasha Watkins
Cogsworth: Lucy James
Congratulations to these students, as well as the others who were given parts. Well done to all those who gave it a go and I’m sure there will be roles for anyone wanting to be involved.
Mrs Kennedy and I are delighted to be having a show; our first in five years and we are really looking forward to opening night in the Spring term. I am sure we will both be mentioning more about this in future blogs……
Meanwhile, in other news, Year 7 students had their photos taken last week and were very efficient and organised. It is hard to believe they have been here only two and a bit weeks…..Year 11 have their turn this Friday…..which is a good thing as they are barely recognisable from current pictures on our school system, taken back in Year 7. Students are allowed to come to school with their hair down if they wish for the photo. They then need to put it back up afterwards for the rest of day as usual.
The Student Council meeting schedule starts this week with Year Council. This year, hot on every agenda will be an item about the environment. The Student Leadership Team are leading discussions on what actions we as a school can take to protect the environment. The students who attended the protest marches back in May are assisting them by sharing their passion and offering some suggestions as to how we at The Holt can “do our bit” to consume less. They are taking suggestions in the following areas; buildings inside school, outside space, waste/litter, food/café, personal health and hygiene, transport, stationery and clothing. We look forward to sharing our ideas with you in due course.
Last Wednesday, it was lovely to see so many Year 7 parents at our information evening. This evening, it is the turn of our Year 12 parents. The talk starts at 6.30pm and is in the sixth form centre. We will see you there!
Katie Pearce
Co-Headteacher