Thank You to Everyone Who Came Along to Our Fourth Senior Schools’ Fair on Saturday
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Thank you to everyone who came along to our fourth Senior Schools’ Fair on Saturday. You answered the invitation to attend with customary Hazelwood enthusiasm and we were delighted to welcome over 220 parents to the event. It was lovely too to be able to welcome a growing number of families from outside of the immediate Hazelwood family to the Sports Hall, fulfilling the intent of making it a local community event. The 35 schools who came along were both impressed and bowled over by the turnout and the professional way in which the Fair was staged. They all said that it was one of the best that they attend (and some of them attend quite a few!) They were also all full of praise for the five Year 8 pupils who were asked to be on hand to help with the smooth running of the morning. From carrying cups of tea and coffee, to amassing a good stock of brochures to aid with future parent meetings on Senior School choice, to capturing the event on camera, Izzy, Francesca, Archie, Jack and Charlie were fabulous. They did not stop all morning and carried out their requested duties with a smile, presenting themselves as impeccable ambassadors for the school. They were part of the buzz which filled the Sports Hall from the moment the doors opened to the last dying minutes during which we had to usher the remaining parents to their cars! It was a hugely positive event and one which set an optimistic tone for the rest of my weekend. I hope that those attended found it useful and that those, for whom it was a little early, will join us in 2019 when we stage our fifth Fair. All 35 schools have pledged to come back and I will be picking up ongoing conversations with many and visiting more over the next few weeks, together with Mr Fagg in his capacity as Head of Senior School Transition. All of which puts the school in prime position to support you and inform your choice of Senior Schools for your children. We look forward to having those conversations at a time when we, and you, can influence the decisions made. “Thank you so much for organising the Senior School Fair. I don't think I have ever seen so many schools represented and several said that it is the best fair that they go to and were really appreciative of all the work it takes to organise such an event. The hall was buzzing.” “Thank you for inviting us to your Senior Schools’ Fair on Saturday. We were delighted to participate again and to meet many Hazelwood families and staff. The event was extremely well organised and we are very grateful to you, your colleagues and the wonderful children who looked after us so well and made it such a successful morning.” “I just wanted to say how much Alison enjoyed visiting Hazelwood School on Saturday for your Senior Schools’ Fair which was obviously a huge success. She was hugely impressed with your pupils who were so genuinely helpful and pleasant throughout the whole morning!” “It was an excellent event – really well planned as ever and very worthwhile for us. It was our Headmistress’ first visit to Hazelwood and I know she was very impressed. I have to say, that your Year 8 ambassadors were the highlight of the morning. Delightful, confident and engaging children, one and all. A real credit to themselves, their families and their schools” “I also want to express our thanks to your delightful students who looked after us so very well in terms of tea and coffee and delicious cakes. They were all an absolute credit to you and your staff - polite, attentive and so very helpful. Please pass on our personal thanks and let them know that if any of them ever came to our school to visit, I would have no hesitation in recommending them to further their schooling here” It was edge of your seat stuff on Wednesday as the first XI football team took on the much- fancied Rokeby School in the first round of the Surrey Cup. I confess to not knowing huge amounts about the rules of football but I have been around enough coaching sessions and matches to know when the team are pulling together really well and giving their all in pursuit of the collective goal. It was thrilling stuff and such a fast-paced end-to-end game. I didn’t dare look away and had to tear myself back to my office for a 4pm meeting with the score locked at 1-1 and the match moving into extra time. Somehow, I managed to focus on my 4 pm meeting to be greeted at the end of it with the happy news that the boys had pulled off a 3-2 victory and with heads held high, they march into the second round. Whilst this tremendous match was reaching its fitting climax, the car park was displaying no such signs of fluidity and movement. It was grinding to an unceremonious halt (not helped by the poor parking of two of our sporting visitors). Staff were doing their best to squeeze cars in between parked vehicles to at least keep some sense of progress, but it proved very difficult. The situation was made worse by the fact that the very children being waited for were behind on Wolfs Hill, stuck in the queue which quickly developed. It was only the speedy thinking of sports staff (and slightly illegal wrong-side-of-the-road driving) which enabled the children to make it into the car park on foot to meet up with waiting parents. Firstly, apologies for the delay you experienced on Wednesday. It is a situation which I hope will not be repeated. Secondly please may I ask you to check the team sheets, particularly those of away matches, and take heed of the stated return to school times. Many of the matches on Wednesday were not scheduled to return until 4.45 pm. Giving the children 5 minutes to change or gather up school bags, would mean, at best, that they would not be ready for collection until at least 4.50 pm. Whilst we have added to the number of car park spaces we have quite considerably over the past 12 months, a bigger car park is not high on the wish- list agenda. I for one, have a list of other, more productive resources, that I would like to see the school invest in above further tarmacadam. It is down to us to make the most of the space we have. If we can all work together to stagger arrival times and to not park in the blue bays after 3.45 pm then I am confident that we will have parents and staff promptly on their way to pursue whatever else the evening holds. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. And finally, I would like to say well done and thank to you all the children who completed their TED projects over the summer holiday. The approach of giving plenty of notice of the next topic, and leaving generous amounts of time for the exploration to be completed, seems to be helping to generate some amazing work. Who knew so much happened under the ground! I have learned so much already. Seeing such ideas and confidences leap off the paper, is one of the many privileges and joys of being in education. Job satisfaction on every page. These amazing images were the culmination of Isaac M’s exploration of underground ‘graffiti’ art. Inspired by the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Isaac captured his creative journey in different media using photography, textiles, collage and 3D installation to bring his ideas and passion for the subject to life. Stunning work. Well done Isaac! For a list of emails/letters/texts sent home each week please see the ‘Notice Board’ further down the Nutshell. News from The Nursery & Early Years It has been a fabulous first full week back here at HNEY, the children in Skylarks and Oak enjoyed their first swimming lesson of the year. It was also a special week for 12 children in oak as they had their first violin lesson. We look forward to hearing the musical talents throughout the year. It was wonderful to see so many parents for our Fledglings to Skylarks information evening, a big thank you for your participation during the presentation. We will be notifying you soon of some dates that we would like to run the parent workshops. ‘In Fledglings 1 this week we have continued to build on our confidence within the room, getting to know the children and the environment, familiarising ourselves with our lovely resources. We have enjoyed exploring a variety of sensory activities from mixing paints, finger painting and flour play. We have experimented with making marks by creating large floor pictures.’ In Fledglings 2 this week we have been exploring different Nursery rhymes and the children particularly liked ‘the wheels on the bus’. We created our very own big red bus and then added photographs of the children. We have continued to explore different senses using play doh, paint and cornflour. In Upper Robins we have been exploring colours and shapes this week through playdough, coloured water play and rainbow coloured handprints. We have also been practising our printing skills with lots of different shaped objects. In Lower Robins all the children have been making their “Favourite things” picture which has involved lots of glue and cutting out.