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

FROM THE HEADMASTER . . .

Autumn Term, Week 13

www.holmwood.essex.sch.uk

Happiness is the key to progress

Tel: 01206 574305

Friday 12 December 2014

HOLMWOOD HOUSE NEWSLETTER

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Monday 5 January 2015

Staff INSET Day

Tuesday 6 January 2015

8.30am Term Begins

Saturday 24 January 2015

Exeat Weekend

Friday 13 to Monday 23 February 2015

Half Term

Friday 27 March

Term Ends (whole school)

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

HOLMWOOD HOUSE

FROM THE HEADMASTER . . .

approach to the parents of

the Prep School. On

Saturday 17 January,

please come along to the

talk in the Talbot Room at

11.15am. We also look

forward to Maths Week

and Conscience Week next

term as well as two major

productions by pupils in

Years 4 & 5 (Robin and

His Sherwood Hoodies)

and in Years 6 & 7

(Joseph and the Amazing

Technicolor Dreamcoat).

And these are just the

highlights!

On behalf of Helen and

my family, may I wish you

all a very Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year.

With best wishes

Alexander Mitchell Headmaster

Dear Parents

Here we are at the end of

what has been an

extremely busy, rich and

varied term. The children

and the staff have all

earned a jolly good rest as

they have given their all in

so many ways. This

week’s Christmas parties

have been great fun; the

Pre-Prep even had a visit

f r o m F a t h e r

Christmas! The Juniors

enjoyed traditional party

games and the seniors

threw themselves into the

Bingo and Karaoke Night

on Wednesday. We

enjoyed a wonderful

Christmas Lunch on

Tuesday; Tina and her

crew have been on

overdr ive p rov id ing

refreshments and mince

pies for various events as

well as party food; well

done to them.

Pre-Prep ended their term

with Christmas Carols in

the Jubilee Hall and the

Prep School held their

traditional Carol Service in

St Botolph’s Church,

Colchester. My thanks to

Mr Snell and Mr Stapleton

for what is an extremely

busy time of year. The

s i n g i n g h a s b e e n

wonderful and we are very

lucky to have such an

active musical scene.

As we look forward to

2015, I would like to flag

up an important date with

you where I will take the

opportunity of explaining

the 5Rs Learning to Learn

Tel: 01206 574305

Congratulations!

Elliot W completed

his Open Water

Scuba Diving Course

– PADI – this week.

This is a fantastic

achievement as he put

in a great deal of hard

work. Very well

done!

SCHOOL NEWS . . . SCHOOL NEWS . . .

Sewing Christmas Trees

We bid a fond farewell to

Jono, Lucy and Tayla,

this year’s Shadows, and wish

them well on their return home.

For half an hour each week this term

Lottie L, Beth I, Emma d’A, Holly H

and Phoebe R have stuck diligently to

the task of creating a sewn Christmas

decoration. Everybody finished, Holly

and Phoebe completed their tree just in

the nick of time. Well done everyone.

Page 2 Friday 12 December, Autumn Term, Week 13

AIR

L

AN

D

WA

TE

R

WEEKLY ELEMENT MEETINGS . . .

LAND

AIR Thanks to Oliver T, Air had a super final element meeting with a treasure hunt, the results of the

tutor group paperchain competition and a talk from Sapphire B-G. Many thanks to all the Air

staff that have helped this term. Happy Christmas, Air!

WATER In Element meeting today it was lovely to see all the Pre-Prep children too.

They sang one of the songs from their carol concert. The Year 8s organised

‘Pin the Beak on the Penguin’ and all children were rewarded for their efforts

this term. Then we ended with a rousing chorus of ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed

Reindeer’. Thanks to Mr Snell for providing the musical accompaniment.

We started off with some dancing by a group of Year 7 girls -

Harriet F, Holly H, Oyin A, Angelie A, and Olivia R - who

danced to ‘All About The Bass’, followed by a piano piece from

Noah T. Then we listened to Christopher T playing the violin and ‘The Cup Song’ by Millie C

and Maisie H. Then there was a performance of ‘Rockin’

Around the Christmas Tree’ by Oliver R, Oliver S, Sam B and

Peter M also known as ‘The School Boyz’ with a surprise

performance from Mikey C and Xen McW who sang ‘Let It

Go’ from the film ‘Frozen’. The biggest surprise, however,

was a fantastic performance from Zara M in Year 2 with an

amazing solo. Zara won the competition.

The judges were Evie D, Millie C, Xen McW, Mikey C,

Angus F-T and Santa.

Everyone thought it was great, with lots of clapping and

cheering. We also gave out prizes to staff and pupils.

Nicolas R-P

LAND’S GOT

Page 3 Friday 12 December, Autumn Term, Week 13

LIBRARY.. .

Ideas for Christmas books for young sports fans

The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams

has been adapted for television

and will be shown on BBC1 on Boxing Day

at 6.55 pm.

Tom Palmer, author of Rugby Academy and Over the

Line recommends these books for young sports fans. He

says:

“It’s not always easy to choose the right book for a child,

grandchild, niece or nephew. But if you do choose the

right book it can have a huge impact. I talk to more than

50,000 children a year about books. I ask them what they

like to read and many of them talk about sports books,

because that’s what I write. This is my list of sports book

Christmas ideas for children based on what children say

to me.

The Guinness Book of Records do football and rugby

versions. Ideal for children who like facts and who might

not be confident with reading long linear narratives. 6+

The Know the Game Series are short

and clear books with the rules of most

s p o r t s a n d g a m e s . V e r y

comprehensive. Include loads of

sports. Good value at £5. 7+

Charlie Merrick’s Misfits in Fouls,

Friends and Football by Dave Cousins is

a very accessible well-illustrated non-

intimidating story about football. A little in

the style of Wimpy Kid, etc. Funny too.

8+

There are lots of boys’ football series. There

is only one for girls that is in print, but it’s

great. Helena Pielichaty’s Girls FC series.

Twelve excellent stories. 7+

The 2015 England Rubgy Annual is

one of the few non-fiction rugby books

for children. Lots of pictures, puzzles

and facts. Great for Christmas Day. Be

careful not to buy it for anyone who

doesn’t support England. 6+

Jessica Ennis’ autobiography –

Unbelievable – looks like it is for adults, but

Jessica wanted it to be written for children

too. A confident 10+ could read it. My

daughter did and found it very inspiring.

Another Olympic autobiography – covering

swimming, cycling and running – is the

Brownlee brothers’ Swim Bike Run: our

triathlon story. Not only the story of their

training and competing, but filled with

training tips too. 9+

An annual not about balls –

although some might argue with that – is

the Top Gear 2015 Annual. Lots of

children are obsessed with cars. This is

one Top Gear publication that is aimed at

kids, so it is relatively safe. 7+

One Dollar Horse by Lauren St John is a

great story set in the world of

equestrianism. A girl and a horse. But more

than your usual pony tale. St John writes

animals as well – or better – than anyone.

9+

And one for next year. Loads of children

love WWE wrestling. 2015 sees the first

children’s wrestling novel I know of. Phil

Earle’s Demolition Dad. Phil is a fine

writer, so it will be good. 7+

Finally, it’s all very well promoting other authors’ books,

but I write sports fiction too. Rugby Academy and Over

the Line are the new ones.”

Have a lovely Christmas and...... Keep Reading!

Mrs Apperley Librarian

Page 4 Friday 12 December, Autumn Term, Week 13

READING COMPETITION. . .

And the winner is...

During this week, all Year 7s have been busy collecting weather data

from five strategically chosen sites around the school. They have

found that the weather does vary between these sites and will now

use the data to produce a project on the microclimate of Holmwood

House. The pupils enjoyed using a variety of weather instruments, in

particular the ‘Electronic Anemometer’ which accurately measures

wind speed. The microclimate project acts as a valuable practice run

for the CE coursework which begins in the summer term.

Year 4 Reading Competition Winner: Harry O Runner up: Margot F

Highly commended: Ilayda H, Fergus S, Gus A, Pearl P, Jemima L, Ava G, Amelia M and James P.

Year 5 Reading Competition Winner: Misha B Runner up: James N

Highly commended: Honor D, Alara H, Thomas L, Oliver J, Charlie A,

AJ P-S, Millie C, Oscar D, Daniel R-P, Sapphire B-G.

Year 6 Reading Competition Winner: Zeke L

Runner up: Maximus G

Highly commended:, George L, Sam B, Edmund A, Oliver S, Olivia F, Oliver R, Matthew B, Eliot W, Jasmine W.

Well done to everyone!

THIS WEEK IN GEOGRAP HY.. .

Holmwood House Year 7 Microclimate Project

Holmwood students go to the BBC filming of the 2014 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

“Sparks will fly” Lecture 2 presented by Professor Danielle George

Professor Danielle George is Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Engineering and

Physical Sciences, and a Professor in the Microwave and Communications Systems research group at the

University of Manchester. She worked at Jodrell Bank Observatory as a senior Radio Frequency Engineer until

2006 when she took up a lectureship post in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. She was

awarded a Professorship earlier this year at the age of 38.

“A revolution is happening. Across the world people are taking control of the devices we use every day, customising them, creating new things and using the sparks of their imagination to change the world. Now it’s your turn, and you can start with the things you have around you. Professor Danielle George will take three great British inventions – a light bulb, a telephone and a motor – and show you how to adapt them and transform them to do extraordinary things. This is tinkering for the 21st century, using the full array of cutting edge devices that we can lay our hands on: 3D printers, new materials, online collaboration and controlling devices through coding.”

SCIENCE. . .

Page 5 Friday 12 December, Autumn Term, Week 13

Watch all three lectures, especially lecture 2!

Lecture 1 Monday 29 December 2014

8pm – BBC Four

The Light Bulb Moment 1878. Geordie inventor Joseph Swan

demonstrates the first working light

bulb. Now in 2014 we can find tiny

LEDs in almost everything we own. So

can we use a humble light bulb to start

our own imaginative, creative process?

Danielle will announce the new rules of

invention and show you how to use

modern tools and technologies to have

fun and make a difference to the world

around you.

Lecture 2 Tuesday 30 December 2014

8pm - BBC Four

Making Contact It was the Scottish inventor

Alexander Graham Bell who first

managed to get the world’s first

telephone to transmit speech –

and now we carry these amazing

devices around in our pockets!

We’re now connected to

everyone else in the world, so

can we use these networks to

solve problems?

Lecture 3 Wednesday 31 December 2014 8pm -

BBC Four

A New Revolution The Royal Institution’s very own

Michael Faraday demonstrated the

world’s first motor in 1822 – now

we are surrounded by devices that

spin, swing, and saw. But why stop

now? If we continue prototyping,

testing and perfecting, can we turn

a humble motor into something

world changing?

Page 6 Friday 12 December, Autumn Term, Week 13

PRE-PREP NEWS. . .

Year 3 Christmas Party

BOARDING . . .

On Monday, George B-C, Oyin A and James J delivered the Christmas cakes that the boarders had made to

Blackbrook Residential Care Home in Dedham. The residents were thrilled to receive the cakes and the children had

an interesting time chatting and getting to know the recipients.

Mrs de Voy

Christmas Cakes

Bingo and Karaoke Evening

Page 7 Friday 12 December, Autumn Term, Week 13

ELEMENT MATCHES…