Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
Our Christmas festivities start this week. The trees are up…Mrs Martin’s students set one in reception and Tracey Phillips sorted the tree in the main hall – it is amazing!
On Monday Miss Vockins, Mr Turner and Mr Wong took a selection of students from Year 7 CAD-CAM Club to Wokingham town centre to attend the annual dressing of the Christmas tree event. In the club, students were tasked by Wokingham Town Council to make a decoration or two for the tree in the town centre. They have been working hard over the last few weeks to create some dazzling decorations using our laser cutter and vinyl cutter. It was lovely evening with the students, alongside their parents singing carols and then handing their decoration over to the mayor on stage and posing for the press. It was all very festive! The Christmas tree decoration will be on display for all to see in the market square on the large Christmas tree over the Christmas period. So, please keep an eye out to see if you can spot our decorations! Thanks to Miss Vockins, Mr Turner and Mr Wong.
Happy students were leaving school with homemade mince pies they made in Junior cooking club. Thanks again to Miss Vockins!
Various forms have been raising money for their House charities over lunchtime; Lacemakers held a Christmas themed disco on Monday, Spinners ran the annual ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ event, we have the Christmas Jumper swap sale and next week 9H are running a ‘dress to impress’ charity event, 11B have a Christmas candy sale on Tuesday and W are holding a House disco at lunchtime on Wednesday. Mr Mosely wrote
‘Always be wary of the offer of a free lunch! Wednesday’s lunchtime entertainment came in the form of some Bush Tucker Trials in the name of charity. Some items on the menu were Earthy Mash (Mealworms), Chirp & Cheese Pizza (Crickets) and Yuk Cakes (Chocolate & Horseradish Muffins). A huge thank you to Mr Mirams, Mrs Wragg, Ms Herron, Miss Schotting, Miss Edwards & Mr Mosley for giving up their lunchtime, and also thank you to the Spinners House prefects who prepared some ‘delicious’ treats for the staff.
Thanks to Mr Mosely for organising!!
The students raise on average £60-£100 for their chosen House charities which is brilliant; they also learn entrepreneurial and teamwork skills and have fun!
|
House |
Charity |
|
B |
Helen and Douglas House |
|
C |
Promise Inclusion |
|
G |
Diana Brimblecombe animal rescue |
|
H |
Daisy’s Dream |
|
L |
Camp Mohawk |
|
S |
Cancer Support Network |
|
T |
Dingley’s Promise |
|
W |
Ollie Young Foundation |
Last week, Emma, Shruthi, Anneka, Autumn and Lilia from the Year 12 Spanish class spent a day at Reading School taking part in ‘Operation Language’. Lilia wrote this article in French and Spanish, and it will be included in the MFL La Hispana newspaper.
Business Language Champions: A Rewarding Experience
On November 27, I participated in the Business Language Champions (BLC) event, which aimed to demonstrate how languages can open doors in the professional world. Students from various schools, including Reading Boys, Kendrick School, and The Abbey, attended to explore the practical use of languages in different careers.
One of the highlights of the day was listening to inspiring speakers. Alison Brunier, Communications Officer at the World Health Organisation (WHO), shared her experience from Geneva, Switzerland, and explained how her proficiency in French is essential for the WHO’s global communication. Other speakers included a representative from the University of Reading’s language department, a Spanish-British sports commentator, and a professional in the pharmaceutical sector, all of whom highlighted the importance of languages in their respective careers.
During the event, we worked in groups with other students studying the same languages. Together, we created a health campaign inspired by WHO initiatives, which we then presented to our peers. It was a challenging activity due to the limited time, but it was also very rewarding.
From my perspective, the event was both stimulating and rewarding. I learned about the numerous professional opportunities that language skills can offer, directly from experts in the field. A personal challenge was providing consecutive interpretation for my team’s presentations. Although it was intimidating at first, it turned out to be a valuable experience that allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and develop new skills.
Thank you
Lilia
Thank you to Mrs Diaz for encouraging the students to take part!
A reminder from Mrs Heard, Learning Resource Centre Manager, she is trying to recover 600+ missing books from the library 😳. She has sent out a book amnesty letter to parents, so please if you trip over any library books in your daughter’s bedroom, please ask her to drop them off in the LRC.
The Friends of The Holt are running a Christmas auction … there are plenty of things on offer and normally participants get a good deal. Please visit the link; all proceeds are going to The Friends of The Holt, who fund lots of ‘extras’ for our students such as the canopies, the sound system in the sports hall and main hall and the delightful trees along the main thoroughfare in school.
https://auctionofpromises.com/AuctionForTheHoltSchoolChristmas24
Finally, it is the Christmas Fair tomorrow (Friday 6th December). The Heads of House and Year 13 and 10 prefects have been planning the event since half term. Thank you so much for all the tombola prizes that were donated on non-uniform day!
Year 7 will visit the fair period 3 and Year 8 period 4. Year 9,10 and 11 can all go at lunchtime. We would appreciate it if you could give your daughter’s £3.00-£5.00 cash to spend at the fair…. there are loads of games such as reindeer racing, ‘higher and lower’, guess which teacher matches the baby pictures and so on…. along with hot chocolate, ice cream and candy floss stalls. The fair is old school and fun!! The money raised goes to the House charities and the tombola funds go to Friends of The Holt. We don’t have card machines so please remind your daughter to bring some cash. Thank you!
Best wishes
Anne Kennedy
Co-Headteacher