Chitts Hill, Lexden, Colchester, Essex, CO3 9ST

FROM THE HEADMASTER . . .

Autumn Term, Week 5

www.holmwood.essex.sch.uk

Happiness is the key to progress

Tel: 01206 574305

Friday 6 October 2017

HOLMWOOD HOUSE

NEWSLETTER Chitts Hill, Lexden, Colchester, Essex, CO3 9ST

FROM THE HEADMASTER.. .

Tel: 01206 574305

Headmaster to watch their

Divisions; where the

whole school marched

across the parade ground

inspected by a visiting

officer from Portsmouth.

This was followed by a

rousing harvest festival

service in the chapel and

lunch afterwards.

The children have enjoyed

various activities as part

of Maths Week. The

crowning moment in the

Prep school came in

assembly today as we

announced our Times

Tables Champions. In

joint first place were

Dominique G and Misha

B, in second place was AJ

P-S and in third place was

Charlie A. The Times

Table Tankard will be up

for grabs again next term

when the children will

also have the opportu-

nity to show their progress

with Times Tables

against this term's

scores. My thanks to Mrs

Wild for organising the

week and to Mrs Watkins

Dear Parents

Last Saturday's Songfest

Grand Finale was a huge

success. The year group

section of the competition

was really entertaining and

the Year 7s did well to pip

the others to top spot. Well

done to them. In the

Element section, the judge,

Mrs Lucy Bloore, Director

of Music at Framlingham

College, had her work cut

out for her in choosing the

w i n n i n g p e r f o r m -

ance. After only an hour

or so of learning and

rehearsing, each Element

p r e s e n t e d a s u p e r

performance but Air's

magical and spell-binding

performance of 'Electricity'

from Billy Elliot, was a

t r u e w i n n e r .

Congratulations to Air and

to their conductor, Mrs

Mitchell, for a well-

deserved win!

Helen and I were delighted

to have been invited to the

Royal Hospital School last

Sunday as guest of the

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Saturday 7 October 12pm Colchester Fire Swim

12pm 1st VII Hockey Tournament at

OBH

12pm 1st VII Rugby Tournament at

OBH

Monday 9 October 3.15pm U9 A, B & C Football v

Littlegarth (H)

Yrs 4 & 5 Special Boarding Event

Tuesday 10 October 1.05pm Vibes in the Library

Wednesday 11 October Year 2 Colne Valley Trip

Thursday 12 October ‘Library Event Day’ Image Theatre

Company

Friday 13 October Year 6 Theatre Trip to The Globe

In recognition of their demonstration

of one or all of the Golden Rules, the

following children have received

Golden Awards this week:

Reception:

Ted L

Fabio C

Year 1:

Winston L

Zachary A-B

Year 2:

Roberta G

Beatrice L-D

Hamish D

Year 3:

Rachel I

Nathan O

Adam D

GOLDEN AWARDS

HEADS OF ELEMENT . . .

for coordinating the Pre-

Prep activities. Thanks also

to all involved in running

the activities.

We enjoyed meeting new

parents at our Open

Morning today. The Year 6

children acted as guides and

did a brilliant job. The sun

was shining and the school

looked great!

We look forward to two

special boarding events

next week. The Year 4 & 5

children will enjoy a

cinema night on Monday

whilst the Year 8s will have

their first formal dinner of

the year at a special Indian

Night when they will enjoy

homemade curries followed

by a talk by Mme

M o o k h e r j e e a b o u t

Partition.

With best wishes

Alexander Mitchell

Headmaster

We have pleasure in announcing this year’s Heads of Elements, their Deputies

and the Charity Reps; the three senior positions in each Element.

AIR LAND WATER

Head of Element Misha B Lucy B Kaela S

Deputy of Element Dominic T Charlie A Oscar D

Charity Reps AJ P-S Daniel R-P Cedd R

Hamish I Leo S Charlotte H

Page 2 Friday 6 October 2017, Autumn Term, Week 5

ELEMENT NEWS . . .

AIR

AIR

LAND

LA

ND

WATER

WA

TE

R

At our Element meeting this week we had hustings and all the Year 8s did amazingly well with their

speeches - it will be hard to choose our Head of Element.

The Year 7s managed the polling station and did a very good job. While people were voting, the Year 8s

organised some entertainment. We had to bounce a ball in to a bin with a ping pong bat.

Alara H and Honor D

I would like to express my pride in the whole Element for winning Songfest last Saturday and for the

teamwork, dedication and effort put in by every pupil in the Element. Thanks also to Mrs Mitchell.

Mr Cook

Well done to all the Year 8s for their amazing speeches for Head of Element this week.

Mr Warner’s tutor group won the senior stars this week with Lucy B getting the most stars and show ups.

Mr Jeffries’ tutor group claimed victory in the junior stars with Tom B getting the most stars.

For entertainment, we did a maths theme “splat” game. We had to turn and shoot our opponent when the

right times table answer was given. Anna B, Sam F, Sebastian L, Emmauella I, Theo L, Henry W, Sienna

YA and Rameen A took part.

Quote of the week by Oscar Wilde:

“Be yourself, everyone else is taken”.

Lucy B

Congratulations to the Year 8s for their amazing speeches, I am very proud of you all.

Mr Earley

A massive well done to all the Year 8s for their Head of Element speeches. We will find out on Friday

who will be our new Head of Element - good luck everyone.

Mrs Wild’s tutor group won the senior stars and Arabella D won the most stars this week. Mr Calow’s

tutor group won the junior stars by 0.1 with Rafe C getting the most stars.

David G won Coral this week for making such an improvement this term.

Kaela S

Well done to all of the Year 8s for their amazing speeches. You had all prepared incredibly well and did

yourselves proud.

Mrs Thorpe

Page 3 Friday 6 October 2017, Autumn Term, Week 5

SONGFEST . . .

Congratulations to everyone for another successful Songfest and well

done to Air for being the overall winning Element.

Page 4 Friday 6 October 2017, Autumn Term, Week 5

MATHS WEEK . . .

Escape Boxes

Page 5 Friday 6 October 2017, Autumn Term, Week 5

MATHS WEEK CONT’D . . .

Pre-Prep Puzzles

Rangoli Designs

Page 6 Friday 6 October 2017, Autumn Term, Week 5

ENGLISH . . .

SPELLING IN THE PREP SCHOOL

At Holmwood House we understand how important accurate spelling is. To foster this the English department has implemented a

number of new policies and rewards within the Prep school. We thought parents would like to know what these are, so to follow

is a summary of the main ones.

ALPHA TO OMEGA

We use the Alpha to Omega programme for teaching spelling. It is clear, well-structured and focuses on phonics. It also has an

unparalleled reputation amongst specialists of specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia, and therefore all pupil abilities

are catered for.

VOCABULARY BOOKLETS

All pupils have a vocabulary booklet where they record the spelling and definition of each new word they learn during English

lessons.

SPELLING ASSESSMENTS

All pupils have a spelling test once every two weeks. The tests are created by each English teacher so that the specific needs of

their pupils are prioritised. Spelling tests will usually consist of one or more of the following areas:

words that use specific letter groups;

words that use specific letter groups, which have been identified by their teacher as requiring revision;

subject terminology;

words that pupils have recorded in their vocabulary booklets; new, more challenging words, which will also have definitions to learn. These are to enhance a pupil’s vocabulary and to chal-

lenge more able pupils.

A spelling handout is given to each child, approximately two weeks before the test, to bring home and practise. It is also avail-

able on the Google Classroom hosted by their English teacher.

REWARDS

To encourage pupils to learn their spellings we give the following rewards:

Show Ups for accuracy;

Show Ups for improvement; WOW cards sent home.

We value parents’ input so if you have any feedback or thoughts about English, which you would like to share or discuss, please

don’t hesitate to contact the English Department, via the main office.

In English this term, Year 4 are reading Roald

Dahl’s ‘James and the Giant Peach’, a wonderful

book in which James travels across the ocean with

various oversized minibeast friends. We wondered

how many (smaller versions) of these creatures, and

what other insects, we might find in the grounds of

Holmwood House. So, last Friday, our intrepid bug

hunters trooped off to the dens and found ants,

woodlice, lots of spiders and even an earwig!

Observing carefully, the children drew diagrams

and wrote notes that will help them with their report

writing back in class.

Year 4

Page 7 Friday 6 October 2017, Autumn Term, Week 5

FOHH . . .

KINGS, CANTERBURY . . .

Last Thursday, some Year 6 pupils were invited to attend a Choral Day at the King’s School, Canterbury. After a morning

rehearsing and following a lovely lunch at St Augustine’s Abbey, we had our final practice in preparation for the concert in the

cathedral. Children from different Prep schools across England had the privilege of singing in the most impressive atmosphere

accompanied by the King’s Chamber and Crypt Choirs and conducted by the Director of Music, Mr Bersey.

The music, a selection of anthems from composers like Bruckner, Elgar or

Howells, was quite complex and advanced and required a high level of

musical understanding. However, the Holmwood House children exceeded

expectations and demonstrated a great approach to choral music. We had a

memorable experience and contributed to a tradition that has taken place

daily for over a thousand years in Canterbury.

Friday 10 November

Friends of Holmwood House are again pre-selling an exciting selection of glow toys for children to enjoy with this year’s

fireworks display.

We will still have a selection of toys to buy on the night but, as many parents will know, they sell very quickly and pre-ordering

will avoid disappointment.

Please note that orders should be submitted – with payment please – to the box in the front office by Tuesday 10 October so

that we can get orders ready straight after half term. Order forms have been sent by email or can be obtained from the front

office. Family orders will be bagged together for quick collection before the fireworks display begins.

All profits go to FOHH projects.

Glow Toys for the School’s Birthday and Fireworks Display

Page 8 Friday 6 October 2017, Autumn Term, Week 5

PUPIL NEWS . . .

BOARDING . . .

Congratulations to Jack T who has been selected to join the Essex Junior County Squash U13s

Squad and also to Lewis T who has been asked to join the U13s Development Squad.

Both boys played in the Essex County Closed Tournament recently where Jack took the U11s 3rd

place trophy.

Congratulations to Oscar D and Oliver J who both starred and performed in a West End

performance of the “The Prince” on Sunday 10 September with a professional working cast

(EastEnders, Les Miserables, Wicked and 42nd Street to name a few) plus a 10 piece orchestra.

Both boys played the younger versions of the lead characters and were amazing, confident and

sung their solos beautifully.

The play is in its pilot stages but was a great experience for the boys who received

outstanding compliments from the director.

Team sheets for matches are displayed on

notice boards around the school confirming

team members, dates, times and locations of

matches each week.

For up-to-date match fixtures

and cancellations, please visit

the Sports Fixtures page of the school website.

SPORT.. .

Page 9 Friday 6 October 2017, Autumn Term, Week 5

TEAM WEEK OF

THE

The Team of the Week

All the U9 Girls

Well done!