Three cheers for the community of Hazelwood School and Nursery!

The School and Nursery are once again fully alive with the sounds of happy children at work and at play. Friends have returned after the summer break to be reunited with tales of holidays from across the globe. Our new families have arrived (some from the far-flung corners of the globe) to begin their Hazelwood adventure. I was delighted to throw open the curtains of my living room on Wednesday in the knowledge that soon the Head’s Terrace below would be the bustling route to and from the Baily Building for those excited Year 3 children making the transition from Year 2 and the Chestnut Building. A school, without children is like a balloon without air. It has shape, form and colour but it isn’t, until it has air, that the balloon comes alive and takes on a personality which captivates and opens up endless possibilities. Welcome back one and all. I am delighted that the 2017-18 academic year, which holds so much promise already, is underway! A particular warm welcome is extended to our new staff members across both sites and to our new families:

The Harrison family, the Maryan family, the Collis family, the Viner family, the Bladen family, the Keoghan family, the Mavili family, the Zurrin family, the Bruner family, the Parsons family, the Brockwell family, the Hewett family, the Long family, the MacPhee family, the Sher family, the Gallagher family, the Taylor family, the Walters family, the Beattie family, the Broughton family, the Chamberlin family, the Collins family, the Cousins family, the Hull family, the Kolankiewicz family, the Lawless family, the Leow family, the Mourouzides family, the Pope family, the Sheppeard family, the Gonzalez family, the Henk family, the Kemp family, the Lomax family, the Stallard family, the Stokes family, the Su family, the White family, the Williams family, the Grayston family, the Wynne family, the Kerchiched family, the von Bergen family, the Linger family, the Esreb family, the Conway family, the Bennett family, the House family, the Watson family, the Mason family, the Raymond family, the Chou family, the Rundle family and a host of siblings of existing Hazelwood families who have enjoyed their first few days of their new school or nursery.

Myself and all of the staff team look forward to getting to know you and to watching your children thrive and develop in our care over the coming weeks, months and years.

Thank you to all those staff who remained across both sites during the summer working with the children at the Fun Club or at the nursery, or preparing the site for the return of the pupils in September. Improvements continue to be made to our facilities to ensure that the whole community can learn and grow in a safe and engaging environment. Hats off to Steve Smith, our Facilities Manager who brilliantly interpreted the winning designs in our H&S Week competition to Jazz up a Zebra. Isaac M and Henry D are both delighted with how their ideas have turned out. It is hoped that with a splash of colour and creativity, the zebra crossings will become more noticeable and that cars will look for somewhere else to be parked!

“We popped down, and had a look, and Isaac absolutely loves it! We think Steve has done an amazing job! We took some photographs, and Isaac realised he could include them in his TED project based on Underground Art Movements... as they can certainly be considered Street Art... (despite not being done in secret or illegally). Thanks for choosing his designs, Isaac is certainly a very proud boy, and he took immense pride at watching his friends walk over it today as we left a party at the school”.

And finally, thank you to everyone who has started the new school year with an almighty spring in their step. There is a buzz of excitement and anticipation across both sites as staff, parents and pupils adapt to new routines and new faces. Apologies to all our new Year 3 children that perhaps the most exciting aspect of transition – the security swatch – failed to live up to huge expectation. The school was delivered a faulty batch of fobs which the door readers could not register. Mrs Powell has worked her socks off to get these re-issued so that normal, excitable service can be restored from Monday. Our new Year 1 pupils seem to have taken to rolling drop-off like ducks to water meaning that congestion in the morning car park is down to a minimum. It has been a privilege and a pleasure walking the children to the Chestnut Hall, chatting and hearing all their news. Double Stream Pick-Up may need a little more focus to get it running as smoothly as we would like! And our Year 8 cohort have returned a few inches taller with heads and shoulders held back. They are setting an excellent example for the other children to follow and seem to be adapting to their positions of responsibility and leadership incredibly well.

My second year as Head of this amazing community is going to be an exciting one!

“Rolling drop off is the easiest thing ever…why do people park-up??!!! My boys were actually singing (well it was more akin to a football chant) about how happy they were to be going back to school ….. …unbelievable!”

Do please join us for the Hazelwood School Senior Schools’ Fair this Saturday. We are playing host to over 35 top Senior Schools and it would be great to show them our community at its very best. This event takes quite a lot of organisation, all of which deserves a great turn-out. Families in the past have commented on how useful it has been. See you there.

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 wonderful to welcome all of the children back for the new academic year. It has been fantastic to walk around the site and see such happy faces in all of the rooms. There are some children who are continuing to settle in but I am sure that it will only be a matter of time before we have limited tears. A big thank you to the staff for making the settling period as smooth as possible.

Although it is only the first week back with all of the children, the site has been a hive of activity.

In Fledglings 1, children have had lots of fun this week exploring their new classroom and settling in. They have been getting very messy in the corn flour play and exploring the rice with modes of transport. They have also been making many different sounds with the sensory bottles and musical instruments. Over in Fledglings 2 there has been lots of experimenting with paint colours and water in the tuff trays as well as messy play with flour and corn flour. The children have been doing lots of drawing as well as exploring the decking area. A small group of children have visited the playground and tried out the little bikes.

Meanwhile in Lower Robins we have been making our own play dough, looking at small world bugs, working out puzzles and building things using a variety of construction materials. Despite the rain there has been lots of outside play, particularly in the sand pit. Settling has gone well and all the children are getting used to their new room.

In Upper Robins, we have been exploring different coloured water play and mixing colours. We have been using different cutters in play dough and are making different sculptures and shapes. We have been painting using different colours and threading Cheerio's onto string to increase our hand and eye co-ordination.

Skylarks have enjoyed exploring all the areas of their new room. This week we have focused on settling in and learning about all the new children and staff. The children have enjoyed playing with the small world cars, train track and colouring pictures of their families. The children took part in their first PE lesson this week. They all had lots of fun joining in with the games and running around.

A big WELCOME to our new team members: Chloe Wilford, Diane Kelsey, Mara Avila, Paige Hackworth and Megan Peters.

Good luck to the quiz teams of Years 7 & 8 who lock horns tonight in the inaugural Upper School Quiz. Given the fact that Mr Jarvis is the quiz master, the safe money is on rounds all about History, football and Liverpool’s 2005 victory in the Champions’ League (against Milan at the Ataturk Stadium in Turkey!)

Smiles all round for the children of Oak Reception. Their teachers, including Mrs Smith- Chandler (who is equally new to the school), are looking forward to taking their first steps on their BIG school adventure. They have quickly settled making it hard to imagine that they haven’t been here all summer! Equally hard to imagine is that the children of Year 8 were, only a few days ago, enjoying temperatures of 37 degrees on their trip to Sorrento, Italy. To cool down they had to take a dip in the sea. They certainly didn’t bring back the weather. Only happy memories of a wonderful trip filled with tales of ancient civilisations, dormant volcanoes (thank goodness) and 150 varieties of gelato! Thanks to Mr Fagg,

Mrs Brighting and Mr Walton for giving the children such a terrific time.

News from Hazelwood Welcome to Mr Russell Shepherd – Deputy Head (Pastoral) “I am delighted to be joining the Hazelwood community and having the opportunity to tell you a little about myself and my aspirations for the future.

My early teaching experiences were in the secondary sector and it was during this time that I was involved in a programme where subject specialists went into their local primary schools to share good practice. This reinforced to me the impact one can have on children’s perception of education during these formative years and led me to a career in the Preparatory sector, where I have now taught for the last 15 years. The first Preparatory School I taught in was in Hertfordshire, where I was Head of Sport. Following this I moved to Caterham Preparatory School, which brought me to Oxted and living in Limpsfield. Since leaving Caterham I have held senior positions in a number of different Prep schools, mostly recently as Deputy Head of Longacre School near Guildford. In these senior roles I have been heavily involved in the pastoral, organisational and strategic direction of each school, all areas that I am passionate about.

Out of school, I am a lover of all things sport and the great outdoors. With my rugby playing days now a distant memory, I still enjoy getting out for a run or a long walk with my wife and our black Lab Stanley!

Despite my teaching career taking me to a number of different counties, my wife and I have been based in Limpsfield for the last 11 years and as such, I have watched with interest as Hazelwood continues to develop from strength to strength. I am extremely excited to be joining the team with the priority of getting to know each of the children and helping them be the best version of themselves.

I look forward to getting to know each of you and your children over the course of the term.

Best wishes Russell Shepherd

Thank you and well done to the HPA for the wonderful Summer Fair and Dog Show. An amazing £3,500 was raised which will go towards the Library Refurbishment Funds for both the Prep School and Nursery libraries. Welcome to (some of) our new starters A very warm Hazelwood welcome was extended to a mixed group of confident and nervous new pupils on Wednesday. Battling against the sun’s rays (an unusual event for this summer), nerves, delayed arrivals, we managed a picture of some of them. We wish them all the very best for the start, and continuation, of their Hazelwood adventure.

Well done to staff and pupils on both sites for sailing through the biennial Safety Mark Audit with flying colours. The scores on the doors were 25% up on the previous assessment and meant that the certificate and plaque, recognizing the school’s safety record and attitude towards all-things-H&S, is already proudly displayed on the wall on each site. The auditor as impressed with how the whole community were engaged with, and understood, the importance of H&S. Particular mention was made of the innovative H&S Week which this year resulted in Isaac’s and Henry’s wonderful zebra crossing designs. Having secured the award, work is already underway to improve our score still further ahead of the next audit in 2019!

Welcome to Mr Ben Figgis, Head of Ardingly and a new Hazelwood Governor Ben has been the Headmaster of Ardingly College since 2014, having moved to Sussex from Oakham School. His early career was in advertising and television news production, after which he converted to teaching. “Hope, happiness and humanity are three immensely positive things that working with children brings to your life,” he says. “Rather like being a parent, it is incredibly rewarding and changes every day as the children themselves change and grow up”. Having started his teaching career at a single sex boys’ school, he has become an enthusiastic advocate of co- education and also of boarding and a broad-based and internationalist education. “I am fortunate that at Ardingly I have found a school that celebrates all the aspects of what I believe a great education requires, including a determination to look beyond our gates and connect children to the outside world.”

Ben’s professional qualifications include a 2.1 in History from Cambridge University, a PGCE in Secondary History teaching and an MA in Educational Leadership. He is married to Joanna and they have three children, all currently at Ardingly. In joining the Governing Board, he hopes to contribute to the continuing development and success of Hazelwood, and to supporting the Head and staff in delivering a first class, inspiring and relevant education to give children the best possible start in life.

The school looks forward to working with Ben and to benefitting from all his wisdom and experience.

Sal’s Shoes thanks and congratulations At the back end of the summer term, a group of children decided to launch an appeal for unwanted, but still wearable, shoes in support of the charity Sal’s Shoes. They imagined, given the lateness in the term, that they would receive a few pairs of shoes, enough maybe for a small football team. In the end, such was the response, the boys were able to send off 195 pairs of shoes – enough to kit out two centipedes! Thank you to everyone who supported the appeal. We hope the clear-out made room in cupboards and boot rooms for more colourful trainers!

These boots were made for walking A huge pat on the back for our very own Mrs Greenwood who, with friends, conquered the 100km South Coast Challenge over the August Bank Holiday Weekend. Gail not only completed the course in under the 24 hour target, raising over £7,000 for The Stroke Association and Brain Appeal, but she was back at her desk the following Wednesday morning with very few blisters to show for her ultra-champion efforts. Both she and Mrs Tulett are looking to put another such walk under their belts in 2017. I am sure they would appreciate some company either for the walk itself or for the necessary long training walks. Rumour has it Mrs T is challenging herself to complete all 7 walks in the Ultra Challenge series.

st Good luck to the Football 1 XI at the Bede’s tournament on Saturday. Could this be the first piece of silverware for the already filled cabinet? News of the results will be shared in next week’s Nutshell.

Congratulations to Miss Becky who tied the knot over the summer. Miss Parr was on hand to capture the event on camera for the Nutshell. Plenty of smiles, beauty and pale pink roses filled the day. We wish them both a long and very happy life together.

Well done to Clive Dalton who was invited to take up the prestigious position of Fourth Dan over the holidays. This is the equivalent of four black belts and puts Mr Dalton way ahead of Kung-Fu Panda in the danger-stakes! The highest accolade is a Ten Dan but that award is rarely given out. Mr Dalton has only five more notches to add to his black belt before he is officially the most feared man in Hazelwood!

Hazelwood Boys get a taste for top European football at The Gothia World Youth Cup The second week of the summer holidays saw Hazelwood pupils Callum M, Alex D and Max E head to Gothenburg to compete for the Prep Schools’ Lions District Teams at the Gothia World Youth Cup. With around 1,800 teams from around 80 countries, the Gothia Cup is the world’s biggest youth football tournament and as an event is larger than the Commonwealth Games.

56,000 players and supporters packed Gothenburg’s world famous Ullevi Stadium on Monday night for the Opening Ceremony, it was an amazing spectacle.

The football itself was fast and furious against teams which, in many cases, are professional academies and feeders for some of Europe’s top senior sides. The standard was very high but our boys performed well under some excellent coaching. Max played in an U12 team who did very well to win their group and move onto the knock out stage of 32 teams. They played a very hard match against a Mexican side, and unfortunately were beaten.

Callum and Alex played in the same U11 team. Their team played some outstanding football making it through to the semi finals. A final was not to be but boys should be proud of their achievement. Alex had to hold his nerve in a very tense penalty shoot-out, to reach the semi’s. As supporters, we could barely watch!

For the children who were lucky enough to be selected, this really was an experience to remember. It’s not often that you have the chance to pit yourself against some of the best young players in the world. For the parents who went it was equally exciting. Quality football played in the right spirit and a thoroughly enjoyable week.

Diamond award winner Isla gets a taste for the high life up The Shard I have been lucky enough to teach Diamond award winner Isla Howell twice since being at Hazelwood firstly in year 1 and then in year 3 and she was a deserved recipient of her prize winning trip to the shard. Unfortunately like most days in the summer we weren't blessed with clear blue skies none the less we were both filled with excitement and anticipation as the lift ascended the 69 floors to the first viewing gallery. The view certainly did not disappoint. You can see far and wide across London. Isla commented how the trains looked like snakes as they entered London Bridge below us. Some of the iconic buildings we saw were the Olympic stadium and orbit, Battersea power station, Buckingham palace and the monument which was dwarfed by the mighty shard. The BT tower was in the distance and it was funny to think once upon a time this was one of the only tall buildings on the London landscape.

Did you know the shard is slightly smaller than the Eiffel Tower and only the 15 tallest building in the world, it is 244 metres tall? The scene in the city was a juxtaposition of old and new, St. Paul's Cathedral surrounded by skyscrapers all with amusing names; the gherkin, cheese grater, toaster! Many of which our parents work in.

After visiting the sky deck on the 72nd floor we headed for lunch at Bills on Clink Street. After refueling on chicken burger and a chocolate bombe, we headed to the Golden Hinde and Southwark

Cathedral.

Southwark Cathedral was stunning and we discovered it has its own church cat called Doorkins, who has become quite the mascot and we were lucky enough to see him in the courtyard.

So a busy, whirlwind tour of this amazing part of London. Both Isla and I had a fabulous day out and I am certainly happy to accompany next year’s lucky prizewinners.

Hazelwood Hockey pre-season training. It was great to see girls from Years 3-7 at the Edenbridge hockey astro, training hard for the matches looming in a few weeks. The girls trained for 3 hours a day, completing fitness circuits, drills, skills and lots of game play. It was great to have such a large number of girls taking part and I look forward to seeing lots more hockey over the following weeks. Special thanks go to Evie Hall and Sasha Twyman (Year 8 leavers 2017) and to Miss Dancy, Miss Parker, Mrs Hardgrave, Miss Parr and Mrs Lowe for helping out with coaching.

Wishing everyone the best of luck with their hockey season 2017! Mrs Falconer

Save our Seas The wonderful work produced by our growing group of Art Scholars is displayed in the school’s Main Reception. It is being used to highlight the plight of sea birds, fish and animals whose habitat – the sea – is being plagued and over-run by rubbish and discarded plastic. The information below makes for distressing reading.

Thank-you from the Librarians for the lovely postcards, amazing photos of children in the summer and of libraries all over the UK and the world and some really top-class book reviews!

Please hunt down any library books still needing to be returned plus the SUMMER READING CHALLENGE FORMS! Please hand in FORMS by the end of next week, 15th September. The children will start to choose their book prizes next week for all their reading over the summer, if they did the CHALLENGE.

Here's to a great term ahead of reading!

Congratulations to our final Gold Award winners of last term. Getting the required 300 house points in the nick of time were Connor W, Violet L, Eloise P, Louis B, Oliver H and Oliver M-S. Well done one and all.

New Scientist LIVE 28th September to 1st October: SAVE 20% on tickets New Scientist Live is a festival of ideas and discovery taking place at ExCeL London. Rooted in the biggest, best and most provocative science, New Scientist Live will touch on all areas of human life. There will be 120 brilliant speakers, 60 awesome experiences across 5 action- packed zones including Cosmos, Earth, Humans, Technology and Engineering. Many of the events and speakers are specially targeted at the younger, emerging scientist with hands-on displays and installations to really challenge the enquiring mind. Mrs Syrett, who went along last year with son Ethan, has managed to negotiate 20% off the ticket price for all Hazelwood families. Simply include the code NSSTAFF20 when you book online and you will secure the saving. Mrs Syrett and Ethan would firmly recommend it.

Follow the link below for details of what’s on: https://live.newscientist.com/whats- on/highlights

Welcome to Hazelwood’s New Staff Members

Miss Keen (Maths), Miss Parker (Assistant Tutor), Miss Parkinson (Assistant Tutor) and Mr Hayes (Head of ICT) have joined Team Hazelwood. They each bring with them a satchelful of ideas and experiences with which to enrich and support our pupils’ learning. We wish them well on their careers at Hazelwood School. Welcome to the team!

Year 2 launched their half-termly investigation into all-things chocolate today with a special programme of activities which saw them painting and baking with chocolate and formulating recipes and writing, in pencil this time, all about their day. More pictures to follow in next week’s Nutshell suffice to say the day was a big, sticky hit!

Miss Lucy dances her way to a Distinction

Welcome back to our dancers. It's wonderful to see all our pupils back and to welcome many new dancers. We are delighted and very proud of Miss Lucy who didn't stop dancing during the summer and has just passed her latest teaching exam with Distinction.

Following this, she has been asked to demonstrate the Intermediate Ballet Syllabus work at the South East Area seminar for dance teachers. There are some changes being introduced in the way teachers qualify and our senior examiners are giving lectures to assist teachers in this process. Lucy was very pleased to be invited to demonstrate the work during the lectures and this clearly illustrates her sound technical ability and talent as a dancer.

Congratulations to Esme This summer, Esme (Y5) has competed in her first Surrey YIGS Golf tournament (Young Improvers Group) for under 13’s. She completed three rounds of 9 holes, two at Hoebridge in Woking and one at Addington Court Golf Club on the par 3 course.

The competition works on a Stableford scoring system with players starting with a handicap of 54. Esme consistently played better than her given handicap that was reduced after two games to 41. In her final round she scored 24 points after chipping in for a net eagle on the last hole…………. Go Esme!

She is hoping, after scoring 24 points for nine holes to get to below 36 where she would qualify for the Rookie tour for the girls U14’s.

A Musical Invitation not to be missed! Violin and viola duo "Redoubled" will be performing in the Bawtree Hall on Sat 30th September at 6.00pm. Redoubled comprises of violinist Zoe Eborn and violist Susie Asli, both professional musicians with long careers performing in various orchestras and ensembles around the world. The concert will be informal and will include music ranging from Bach to Ravel to more recent and popular music, performed with electronic assistance! Entrance is £4, children free and very welcome. A glass of prosecco or equivalent will be included. Please do come and join us.

Oscar has two reasons to celebrate Oscar was delighted to receive the award for Colts Player of the Year for the Limpsfield Chart Cricket Club.

Oscar and Jacob deW joined forces with two pupils from Hawthorns to beat a number of other teams to win the Tandridge Inter-schools tennis tournament, organised by Matchpoint. The trophy is currently being engraved and will be shared for display between Hawthorns and Hazelwood. Well done boys!

More Dowling Ducklings to feather the nest! Dowling ducks never switch off even over the summer holidays. Ducks of all shapes and sizes are always on their minds. So much so that Miss Clayton was delighted to receive three new ducklings for her collection from Leo, Isla and Charlie (see later in the Nutshell). After their Pancake Race success and the closely contested Sports Day, Dowling are hoping to walk off with some Interhouse silverware with a waddle and a quack but

no unhappy frown!

Hazelwood Unsung Heroes They are normally on their way by the time the sun rises, picking up pupils in the school bus, but driver Dave and chaperone Cherry were all smiles at the recent school’s INSET training day. Both look forward to their morning catch-ups with the children on their bus and to seeing them home safely at the end of a busy day. The school is grateful for their commitment, dedication and ability to get up early in the morning each day!

Bronze Medal for Caitlin Caitlin, the daughter of Mrs Lefevre (Y2 TA) and pupil at Caterham School, competed in the ITU Multisports World Championships in Penticton, Canada representing GB in the Age Group category 16-19 years.

She completed the Duathlon (5 km run 20 km bike 2.5 km run) and came a brilliant fourth. Six days later she did her first ever Aquathlon (1km swim followed by a 5km run) and came 3rd getting herself a Bronze medal in the process. (Beaten by an Aussie and a New Zealander.) The event started with a Parade of Nations and an opening ceremony. The medal ceremony was carried out once all the Age Groups (oldest competitor was 84) and the Elite races had been completed so for Caitlin and her family, it was an amazing experience.

Caitlin is still looking for sponsorship as it is proving to be an expensive past time with 3 different sports involved. Mrs Lefevre is happy to receive any ideas and suggestions as to organisations which may be looking to support an up and coming young athlete of Caitlin’s obvious ability and potential.

News from the Kitchen Please don’t forget that the new menus for both Hazelwood School and the Nursery & Early Years are now on their respective websites under The Parents’ Sections. Music Timetable The weekly music timetable can be viewed on the Music Notice Board outside the Dining room in the courtyard. I will endeavour to have the coming week’s music timetable on the notice board by the end of the school day each Friday. Please ensure that your child brings their instrument and music in on the relevant day. It is also important for them to take these books and instruments home when they do not need them in school.

Sports Department

Match Reports should be taken to Mrs Greenwood or emailed to her on [email protected] by Friday afternoon ahead of assembly on Monday morning. If your child is nominated as captain, please encourage them to write the report in time for the assembly. The children do like to share their successes with the rest of the school. Thank you.

Notice Board Communication sent home this week The following letters have been sent home this week. If you need a duplicate copy, please contact the School Office.

Year 4 : Westerham Trip Year 3: Team Building Year 1-5: Lower School Info Evening Year 7 & 8: Quiz Night

BABYSITTING Angus and Archie Dymoke available for babysitting: Archie 07889 786826 Angus 07531 544697 Former Hazelwood pupils. Both can drive.

Key Events for Next Week Week 2 Tuesday 12th September 1330 Football: U9A Tournament at Hawthorns (A) 1900 Lower School Information Meeting 2000 HPA Meeting

Wednesday 13th September 1430 Football: 1st XI and Colts A, B and C v St Michael’s (H) 1430 Football: 1st XI v Rokeby (Surrey Cup first round) (H) 1430 Football: 2nd XI, 3rd XI, Colts D, E and F v St Michael’s (A) 1430 Football: 4th XI v Handcross Park (A) 1430 Hockey: U13 A & B v Holmewood House (A) 1430 Hockey: U11A-B v Caterham. Training instead at ELC 1430 Hockey: U11 C-D v Holmewood House (A) 1430 Hockey: U10 A-B v Caterham. Training instead at ELC 1430 Hockey: U10 C-D v Sevenoaks Prep (A) 1515 Hockey: U13C v Holmewood House (A)

Thursday 14th September 1330 School Council Meeting 1430 Football: U9 A-D v Sevenoaks Prep (A) 1430 Football: U8 A-B v Sevenoaks Prep (H) 1900 HNEY Information Evening

Friday 15th September 1900 Year 7 Camp Out

Saturday 16th September 0900 Year 7 Camp Out pick up 1000 Football: U11 A & B Tournament at St Michael’s (A)

Sunday 17th September 1400 Year Play Rehearsal (until 1800)

Charlie and Miss Clayton with the Statue of Liberty duck! Year 2’s finger licking learning!