As if the term hadn’t been busy enough, we got the news last Friday that a team of ISI Inspectors would be with us for the middle two days of the spring term’s final week. Both the school and nursery welcomed their arrival, eager to showcase the many outstanding features which make Hazelwood School in its entirety from top to bottom, a wonderful place to be. Calm has once again descended and we await the final report which will be shared with parents in due course. In the meantime it is worth mentioning that the Inspectors were impressed with the children with one commenting, up on the main school site, that she hadn’t had to open a door herself for the full two days of the inspection. They found all the children to be polite, charming and articulate. On the Nursery site one young man, whilst preparing to blast off into space, recounted information he had learned during the recent Health & Safety Week during his observed lessons which impressed the Inspector hugely. I would like to say thank you to the staff and to the children who pulled together to make the two days pass so smoothly and to those parents who completed the ISI Survey giving their honest and balanced views. We will wait to hear the outcome.

News of a good number of the awarded scholarships is now in and the children below are to be congratulated. Whilst sorry to see them go, I am confident that they will represent themselves and the school incredibly well as they start their journeys at their chosen Senior Schools. Many other children narrowly missed out on securing an award and these children too should be very proud of how they equipped themselves in their recent assessment days. We continue to build our relationships with a good range of senior schools, putting Hazelwood and its pupils very much front of mind when assessing pupil performance and maturity for such awards. Our warmest congratulations go to....

Pupil Name School Scholarship awarded

Freddie Bosshard Worth School Academic & Music Emily Bo Cooper Wells Cathedral School Major Music Jonny Naylor Sport Harry Pluck Caterham Sport Jake Taylor Bethany Art & Drama Matthew Thomas Whitgift Sport Felix Curson Whitgift Sport Daniel Coates Hurstpierpoint All Rounder Alex Dean Tonbridge Art Luke Louden Lingfield Notre Dame Drama Catherine Pearce Benenden Academic Exhibition Tom Richards Hurstpierpoint All Rounder Lottie Shaw Hurstpierpoint All Rounder Luke Woollard Hurstpierpoint All Rounder Bethan Sharps Brighton College Sport

Huge congratulations to our band of poets, mime artists and budding thespians. Your outstanding performances have put you, your talents and the school in the spotlight of glory this week. These are the very best school LAMDA results ever! Well done Miss Gash.

This week saw another Hazelwood first: our very first, and most definitely not our last, Girls’ Football Tournament. Throughout the term Mr Fagg and a number of Upper School pupils have been arriving at Hazelwood in the semi dark to enjoy Early Morning football. They have enjoyed both the energetic start to the day and the delicious breakfast which follows. On Monday they put their skills to the test against teams from Sevenoaks and St Michael’s Prep Schools. Played in the Sports Hall, the pace of the games was frantic with every loose ball keenly contested. There were goals a plenty and a determination to quickly close down the opposition. It was a fantastic event and one which I hope will become a regular feature in the Hazelwood sporting calendar. Thanks go to Mr Fagg for both his coaching and his organisation.

And finally hot on the heels of the near-miss National Rugby Champions, the school’s Milano Gymnasts headed to Stoke at the weekend to take part in the National Finals. Already Regional Champions there was high expectations resting on the shoulders of Hannah R, Georgie L, Edward M and Daniel H. Preparations had gone well with a few minor scares namely Edward spraining his ankle and almost giving himself concussion in two separate incidents! The girls travelled up to the competition arena after the final night of the Year 6 play eager to do their best in spite of the inevitable fatigue from three nights of performances. The squad missed out on being placed third by the very narrowest of margins yet came away delighted that they are now the fourth most highly rated gymnasts on the floor and vault in the country! Again an amazing achievement and, to borrow the rhetoric of cheesy TV talent shows, what a journey they have been on over the past 18 months. From an idea and an ambition in Mrs Bradshaw’s mind, to becoming a top performing national team. Brilliant!

I wish you all a very Happy Easter. I hope that those of you who are travelling abroad enjoy fantastic sunshine or perfect snow. See you back for the start of the summer term on Tuesday 12th April.

For a list of emails/letters/texts sent home each week please see the ‘Notice Board’ further down the Nutshell.

Good luck to the staff and pupils who are on the school ski trip and the school French trip over the holidays. We hope you have fun, stay safe and come back full of stories to tell your teachers and friends. Bon voyage! News from The Nursery As another busy week draws to a close and with the inspection now behind us, we look to the future in the sound knowledge that the Nursery & Early Years was showcased to the very best of its ability. Rooms looked fresh and exciting, staff were dynamic and motivated and most importantly the children had another full and creative week with plenty of messy play, lots of learning and primarily fun.

Wrens have focused on Nursery Rhymes this week, in particular Rock a Bye Baby. The children have enjoyed caring for their babies, washing and dressing them and attempting to put nappies on them, needless to say this was an interesting exercise! They have also explored finding animals in the mud and straw, loving every minute of messy play and testing out the hammock on their outside area.

Wagtails have continued their Elmer the Elephant theme and the collages continue to develop into a wonderful explosion of colour. In addition they have had great fun on their decking mixing soil, sand and water.

They have also talked about the weather – which this week provided plenty to discuss, showing us the full range of Winter, Spring and Summer in a typically British way.

Sue’s Robins have been exploring the Very Hungry Caterpillar and have created some lovely play dough caterpillars and hand print caterpillars. Matt’s Robins have been thinking about Six Dinner Sid with lots of emphasis on counting and number recognition. A vet’s surgery has also appeared in their role play area with some very sad looking patients sitting in their ‘cages’ awaiting treatment.

Skylarks were last seen in a shower of shamrocks as they celebrated St Patrick’s Day. They have also been making moon rocks, going on a space journey and building a giant rocket in the book corner as part of their study of the book Whatever Next.

In response to parent’s requests we will be emailing out a full list of the books we have covered this term next week.

As the week draws to a close I know that many of you will be heading off for the Easter break. For those of you travelling abroad, I wish you a safe journey and a well earned rest. We look forward to seeing the term time children back on Tuesday 12th April. For those of you who are back with us next week we look forward to seeing you all.

Reminders: Weekly resource appeal – cardboard tubes (not toilet rolls please) to be handed to rooms or into the office.

Thank you for kind donations of soft toys and our lovely new pink arm chair. Nursery & Early Years Closure throughout the Easter holidays – Friday 25th March – Good Friday Bank Holiday, Monday 28th March – Easter Monday Bank Holiday, Monday 11th April – Staff Training Start of Summer Term Tuesday 12th April (term time children) Please ensure that allergy forms are fully completed and returned to the office

Inspired by the book ‘Whatever Next’ the children in Skylarks spent the week on another planet, building a rocket and preparing for Blast Off.

News from Hazelwood Boys Rugby is full of promise Last weekend entered two teams into the Guilford and Edenbridge tournaments. Both were big competitions and the boys won both of their matches. We are lucky to have their skills here at Hazelwood and the boys enjoyed a competitive Interhouse tournament on Tuesday showing off their skills against the other houses. The boys have all made great progress from the training and matches undertaken both at school and at the weekend and we look forward to a successful U9 season next year!

Year 1 'Storybox' Workshop

Tom from Treehouse Theatre came to visit Year 1 on Tuesday this week to help us with our story writing. We all dressed up as different characters that you might find in a Knights and Castles fairy tale and gave ourselves characters and names. We collaborated to make up and act out our very own story which included superheroes who can do gymnastics and trees that came to life! We then all sang 'Puff the magic Dragon' while each playing a different percussion instrument. To finish off, Tom told us the story of St. George and the Dragon (complete with a lot of acting and a whole range of magical voices). The children have been buzzing about this since and I can't wait to see how their story writing will have changed and improved after such a dynamic workshop!

Congratulations to… Phoebe Hyatt and Freya Dunn who were both awarded distinctions in their recent Trinity College of Music examinations. Phoebe mastered her Initial Grade singing exam with an impressive 100% pass rate whilst Freya was not far behind with an equally stunning 94% in her Grade 2 vocal exam. Well done girls.

ESSA Swimming – Secondary Individuals Championships 2016 Report

On Saturday 12th March, both Tom Richards and Bethan Sharps (in Year 8) competing in the prestigious ESSA Secondary Individuals Championships in Guildford. Up first, Bethan swum a fantastic time of 1:32.28 for her Junior 100m breaststroke event and achieved fourth place overall. Quite a impressive result given the high standard of the competition.

Next up was Tom, who was entered into the Junior 100m freestyle event. He achieved a personal best time of 1:15.76 – smashing his previous best by a good few seconds! A huge well done to both our Captains of Swimming, and also special thanks goes to their parents for supporting them on poolside on the day.

Miss Lloyd Head of Swimming

The most talented Hazelwood musicians gave a showcase performance to a packed audience of parents, staff and pupils on Thursday. The Chapel Choir, string quartet and assorted soloists reduced many to tears but all to rapturous and most well deserved applause. The occasion was excellent preparation for next term’s festivals and concert performances and gave the children to steady nerves before the main events. Well done all.

3F followed up their recent trip to Butser Iron Age Village with a spot of weaving in the relative comfort of the classroom. Whilst sitting comfortably in the relative warmth of the pop up classrooms, the children followed ancient techniques and gathered recycled materials which they wove into bright and colourful patterns. With a little more time and focus, each will have enough to make at least one leg of a short pair of trousers!

Mr Lloyd is running the London Marathon in aid of The British Heart Foundation. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser- web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action;jsessioni d=xjMEJufranCmrb08MEbfYD14.lgvappprod2:server one?userUrl=tomlloyd23&faId=658018&isTeam=fals e

His hair is still growing - he's not quite Rapunzel yet but the aim is to raise as much as possible and will cut his hair off and donate to the Little Princess Trust like many brave Hazelwoodians did last term.

Many thanks for your support.

Mr Lloyd

HAPPY

EASTER!

Oak Reception tickle their funny bones After reading the story funny bones, the children drew round each other and then drew skeletons and labelled all the parts. They were tickled pink with their efforts! Later in the week they used colour mixing to make beautiful Easter eggs. Their mathematical studies also had a distinctly hands-on theme as they explored the concept of ‘half’. They dug in the sand to find the objects and then found half by putting them in two pots. The children collaborated well.

Mrs Taylor’s Reception class wrote wonderful letters to the Easter Bunny this week. They were hopping for an end of week reply. The Nutshell is sure that it will be hare for the weekend!

Bending it like Beckham The inaugural Hazelwood girls’ football tournament proved to be a huge success. Six sides fought for the coveted trophy, with two teams each from Hazelwood, St Michael’s and Sevenoaks Prep. The games were all highly competitive, with some exceptional football played by all of the teams. Hazelwood’s two sides, the Sharks, captained by Sasha T and the Eagles, led by Evie H both were a credit to the school. The Sharks were narrowly beaten in both group games, but displayed great character to prevail in the 3rd group place final. The Eagles managed to win both of their group games, scoring a number of goals in the process. In the final, they were narrowly beaten by a St Michael’s team that couldn’t match them for good football, but were physically imposing and clinical in front of goal.

Special mention should go to Camilla E who dominated the midfield in all of her games, against opposition that were both older and taller than her. All of the girls conducted themselves brilliantly at all times and demonstrated their improving football skills. Thanks to Mr Reay for both the organisation and refereeing of the tournament.

Thank you to everyone who submitted entries for the Design a Cake competition. These have all been passed on to the organisers. Fingers crossed Hazelwood will have a winner (and a piece of delicious cake!) Don’t forget entries can still be dropped off at Leisure Centre until Friday of next week.

In-House Swimming Gala Report – Barracudas vs Stingrays! Due to another school cancelling a swimming fixture scheduled for Monday 7th March, we decided to run an in-house gala for all U8, U9 and U10 EMS swimmers. All swimmers were split into two teams – the barracudas and the stingrays – to battle it out! This give all swimmers a chance to compete against their team mates and parents came to support them from the poolside. The event was great fun with a healthy dose of competitive spirit! It was an extremely close gala with only 2pts in it when the results were read out! Well done to all those who took part and to the victorious barracudas!

Final Scores: 1st Barracudas 156pts 2nd Stingrays 154pts

EMS NOTICE FOR SUMMER TERM – Please Read! Please can all parents of EMS swimmers check their emails for any squad changes next term. Tuesday mornings will return as normal (as the IAPS swimming club ends in Spring Term). The squads have to be giggled about a bit to accommodate some new Year 2 EMS swimmers, that are starting next term on Thursday mornings. Any Year 2 swimmer invited to attend EMS will be notified by email (via parents) and those who have not been invited on this occasion will still have more opportunities to try out for EMS. Also, please can parents ensure that EMS swimmers are not dropped off any earlier than 7.20am as they will be unsupervised before this time. For safety reasons, it is vital they are not left unsupervised in the boot room. Recently, there have been more swimmers arriving too early and it is important that they are safe with a member of staff. Enjoy a restful break all swimmers!

Miss Lloyd Head of Swimming

Silver Medal Winners The U9 B team ended their successful netball season on a high at the St Michaels Tournament on Thursday, reaching the final and winning the silver medal. The girls played well during the initial group matches, managing three wins, one draw and one loss. After coming second in their group, the team reached the semi-finals and faced Derwent Lodge, who were definite favourites to reach the final. With great shooting in attack and interceptions in defence, Hazelwood won (3-2) and played against St Michaels in the final. The girls remained positive and enthusiastic throughout the afternoon and their success really showed how much they have developed their skills, both as individuals and as a team. Really well done to Polly S, Ella G, Sofia B, Lila D, Isla M, Olivia H and Alice P.

Keeping the competition on their toes Last Saturday the gym squad competed at the national finals in the Milano team competition having won the regional title back in January.

The journey to Stoke, where the finals were held, started at lunchtime on Friday for two of the team, Edward M and Daniel H and at the end of the Year 6 after show party for the other two team members, Hannah R and Georgie L. It is a very long way and it is safe to say that a comfy bed and good breakfast were needed to set them up for the day ahead on Saturday.

The team performed on vault first, all showing great prowess and superb ability. A special mention must go to Daniel here who scored the highest vault score of the whole competition. After such a great start, the team moved to floor and again performed their routines flawlessly with great musicality and technique. As lunchtime came around the mornings scores were posted and we were both shocked and thrilled to find that by a narrow margin we were in the silver medal position.

After lunch and a rest, the team were determined to make the most of their great start. The group routine was a brilliant success and they held both their nerve and their balances.

When the results came in at the end of the day, the team placed 4th overall, missing out on the bronze medal by just 0.3 of a mark. This moves the squad ranking from 8th in the UK to 4th, a massive achievement for every member of the squad.

The team performed exceptionally both on and off the floor and were gracious in finding out how close they were to winning a medal. I was incredibly proud of them all and this rounds off another successful year for the squad. I can't wait to keep building on this success next year as we move forward in search of a national title.

A special thanks must go to the parents of the squad members for driving their children to Stoke and being such great supporters over the weekend and also to Franki and Sarah from Velocity Gymnastics for their help and support preparing the squad for all their competitions this year.

The U9 A culminated a fantastic season by winning all but 1 match in the St Michaels Tournament in the beautiful sunshine on Thursday. In their last match they played Holmewood House (who we have previously lost to) and won easily 6-0. We have finally worked out the best positions for the girls and this fantastic win really shows how well the team have progressed over the season. They showed excellent determination and I am really proud of how they have developed into great netball players.

Well done to Holly L, Connie D, Julia N, Lily W, Michelle M, Georgia P, Karlijn R and Clara B.

Can you guess what story the Robins children have been studying this week? With their rumbling tummies and their penchant for caterpillars it can only be one. They have absolutely loved exploring the world of The Hungry Caterpillar and recreating the ravenous herbivore.

Elsewhere the children have been experiencing space travel and recreating the surface of the moon with

Playdough. In spite of all this intergalactic excitement, there has also been quieter time to ensure that the rooms’ dolls are washed and looking their best for when aliens come to visit!

The Great Year 2 Mathematical Bake Off Maths came alive this week for Year 2 as they used their growing knowledge of weight and capacity to bake crispy cornflake Easter nests. With careful measuring and weighing skills in plentiful supply the children each made a single nest which was quickly enjoyed in the afternoon. Maths has never tasted so good.

The U13A are all smiles following their silver medal in the Hawthorns Versatility Netball tournament. With the performances by the younger teams this week too, it’s been a fabulous week for girls’ sport at Hazelwood with medals a-plenty. Well done girls. Library news 4W and 5K drew as joint winners of our Whose Shelfie competition! Well done to those two forms for guessing whose book shelves belonged to which teachers!

Happy reading over the holidays! Some forms are coming back with reviews of their books so happy reviewing too! Enjoy!

Mrs Dymoke and Mrs Wisniewski

Thanks to the wonderful and varied talents of the pupils of Hazelwood, the trophy cabinet is awash with ‘silverware’. Well done to all for the most fantastic season of sport. We are still missing the National Rugby trophy and of course, the tens (if not hundreds) of medals won by the children are on display at home. We simply wouldn’t have room for them all!

Thanks to our friends at Holroyd Howe for Esme W and Marcus K proudly show the tasty Easter treats that the children off their LAMDA certificates. Esme enjoyed on Thursday. The chocolate soil scored the perfect 100% in her Stage pots were a particular favourite! II examination. WOW! Look at these amazing results!!

Year 4 enjoyed their Roman Day this week. The children all looked fabulous in their outfits. A full report and more pictures will appear in next term’s first Nutshell.

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] 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

Letters sent home The following letters have been sent home this week. If you need a duplicate copy, please contact the School Office. They will be happy to oblige.

Various French Trip Year 7 Chiddingstone Literary Festival Trip All HPA Comedy Night – new venue

Key Events for First Week Back

Monday 11th April CLOSED for Staff INSET day (both sites)

Tuesday 12th April Bus Service starts (am) Early Morning Swimming starts All Clubs, Dance, Late Rooms & Breakfast Club start 0830 Term starts for Years 3 to 8 0900 Term starts for Years 1 & 2 0900 Term starts for Early Years and Nursery (term-time only)

Thursday 14th April 0835 House meetings

Monday 18th April Hazelwood Scholarship Week

Tuesday 19th April 0830- Year 8 to Europa Centre 1330 2000 HPA meeting

Wednesday 20th April 0915 Early Years and Nursery Form Reps’ Meeting Year 4 to Science Observatory Museum 1430 Cricket: 1st XI and Colts B v Copthorne (A) 1430 Cricket: 2nd XI and Colts A v Copthorne (H)

Thursday 21st April 1430 Cricket: U9A, B and C v Yardley Court (H) 1900 Dick Moore: Visiting Speaker - mental health (all parents welcome)

Friday 22nd April 0845 Form Reps’ meeting

Dear Mrs. Shaw

Thank you for sending me Lupercus 2015, a very impressive effort indeed. The school is certainly not the same as it was in 1955! Philip Hellman's essay is unbelievably well written and a fine testament to the quality of teaching. I wish my university students could write that well.

I did not attend the celebrations, although I wanted to. The thought of travel to from the airport after a long couple of plane trips was just too daunting.

You have a wonderful school (now) and I am proud to have been part of it.

Major MacDonald Dear Mrs. Shaw

Thank you so much for giving me a copy of the Lupercus magazine. I read it from cover to cover; enjoying the photos and reading of the activities and the cycle trip.

What a wonderful school and how pleased my Great-aunt Ruth (Mrs Baily) would be if she was still alive.

My husband and I intend to visit you before too long.

Margaret Hopkinson- Woolley (great niece of Hazelwood’s co-founder Mrs Ruth Baily)

Dexters Catering Company: no event too large or too small If you are planning a family event or need some help preparing food for a school reunion or a friends’ dinner party, then why not ring Mrs Georgina Seegar on 07811 413889. Her menus can be adapted for birthday parties, cheese & wine gatherings, christenings, graduations, funerals and weddings. Always delicious, always beautifully presented and always served with a smile. For good wholesome food guaranteed to hit the spot, call Dexters.