26 29th April Victoria Smit Principal. Please drive slowly

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1 The sun appeared this week, along with hail and at one-point snow. There is nothing quite like an English Summer Term! This week, we started the GCSE and A level examinations. We had Art practical s and PE moderations. Over the next couple of weeks, the pace will increase to see examinations every day. Please keep your eyes out for the Examination in Progress signs and please remember that the main examination room is just above the Year 6 classroom, next to the entrance for the pre prep department. Some exams will start at 12.40pm and will not end until 4.30pm so if you can remember this when collecting your children we would be grateful. We had a very successful Open Day on Tuesday with parents looking for places across the school. We did discover however that our name does not come up when you type kindergarten or sixth form into Google, so we are working on that at the moment. We had a visit from a local state junior school who is looking to liaise with us across the state/independent divide. We were also visited by Waverley Independent School. Additionally, we had a workshop by Newbury Agricultural Show staff who brought with them Rasher (the pig), Clover (the goat) Buttercup (the cow) will be arriving next week. This was to teach the children where meat and milk come from and to let them experience milking, identify cuts of meat and promote the value of organic and sustainable farming. A letter to the top Juniors went out this week for the Eden Trip, the students will be staying in snooze boxes at Eden, as the heating isn t working yet at our Cornish Centre. They will be doing a host of events and workshops at Eden and will be spending part of the day at Puddle Farm where their task will be to identify what they would like to see happen at the site as we refurbish. Hopefully a letter regarding next year s ski trip will also be winging its way to you by the end of this week and failing that at the start of next week. We are expecting take up to be good so please get your booking forms returned. Additionally, if you have not signed up to take part in the show, please do so urgently. A quick reminder that it is a Bank Holiday on Monday so if you turn up for school, the staff will not be here. School recommences on Tuesday although boarders may return on Monday evening. Have a lovely Bank Holiday everyone. Victoria Smit Principal Please drive slowly Parents please remember to drive slowly in our car park when dropping off / picking up students. Banksy inspired performing artists are on the loose. Mr Lee

2 Drama Year 11 final performance of "Dreams" is on Fri 13th May, please be in the studios for 6pm so we are ready to start promptly. This is a free event and all are welcome. You might need a tissue! The show lasts max 30 minutes. Mr Lee Junior Librarians Congratulations to Charlotte Docker, Evie Maslen-Lines, Harriet Clowes and James Perkins who are the new Junior Librarians. Rasher and Clover Sausages were made, goats milked and many interesting and fun facts were learnt during the visit from Newbury & District Agricultural Society on Thursday. Gregory Piscov and Madison Morris-Jones getting to grips with sausage making. (above) Georgia Sellars looking very professional milking Clover. (left)

3 Summer Term in the House With the light nights and the opportunity to be outside in the school grounds, boarding during the summer term has much to offer. Our first House meeting of the term gave the boarders an opportunity to request a list of activities, including barbecues, swimming, bonfires in the woods and trips to the coast to name but a few. This week we are planning a trip to Gravity Force for extreme trampolining. I have already taken bookings for day pupils to come in and board during the week of Royal Ascot. Many of you will know that the traffic around school can be pretty miserable that week, but some parents simply want to enjoy grown-up time at the races, safe in the knowledge that they don't have to worry about that second (or third) glass of bubbly, because their children are staying with us for a night. We currently have space for flexi-boarders, but please be aware that room for boys is limited. Please come in and talk to me if you are interested in summer flexi-boarding, or you can me directly on landrews@hurstlodgesch.co.uk. Alternatively leave your details with Jo Johnson in the office and I will always get back to you. Lynda Andrews Music Department Congratulations to Catherine Witcombe for passing her ABRSM Grade 1 Piano examination. A reminder we hope that everyone is practising ready for their performance at Hurst Lodge s Party in the Park on Saturday 21 st May. Hurst Lodge s Summer Production th 25 th June (inc) Rehearsals are underway for The Summer Dance and Musical Theatre Production. Lots of excited faces are to be seen in the Studio block, together with concentrated faces and squeals of laughter as pupils are put through their paces. Marketing Opportunity In the week starting 20 June, many of our pupils will be participating in The Summer Dance and Musical Theatre Production. It promises to be a vibrant school show that will highlight the strength of our Performing Arts department and the exceptional talents of our students. There will be five performances in total to be held in the school s Studio Theatre. Each show has the capacity for an audience of 100 plus people, making a possible total viewing audience number in excess of 500.

4 For such a prestigious event we will produce a high quality programme. We would like to offer you the opportunity to promote your business by placing an advert in this publication. This would allow your business to reach a wide audience and will go some way to helping the school meet the costs of the production. The cost of a full page (A5) is 100, for a ½ page 50 and 25 for a ¼ page. Seamstresses, Prop Makers, Hair/Make Up and Backstage Helpers required We welcome parents to come and help with general duties e.g. Sewing, Prop Making, Backstage, Hair & Make Up. This could be a one-off helping day/evening, or more depending on how much time you can give. Items & Props Required For the show, we require a lots of carpet backstage for sound proofing. If anyone has any large pieces of carpet that they no longer require, please could you get in touch. We would also welcome the donation of the items listed below. These may be brought to Studio 1 at anytime. Carpet / Flat White Sheets / Shopping Bags (preferably card) / Shoe boxes / Hangers / Shoes in any condition. Discussions about the set up and publication of the programme are already underway. If you would like to advertise in our programme, are able to help, or require more information, please contact us on summershow2016@hurstlodgesch.co.uk. Many thanks. Year 6 Fun Day In the next few weeks, all Year Six pupils will be receiving an invitation to a Year 6 Fun Day which is being held on Tuesday 7 th June. Please keep the date free in your diary as we would like all students to attend. This will be a fun day with lots of activities and it is an opportunity for existing Year 6 pupils to meet and get to know all the new students who will be joining Hurst Lodge in Year 7 in September. Dear Parents We would like to let you know that we have now started to issue our Year 7 students with their very own BBC micro:bit. The BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized, codeable computer that allows children to get creative with technology. We encourage all of our students to visit the BBC website where they can learn and create some fantastic projects in and out of the classroom. Already this week, some of our students have created their very own Smart Watch which will soon be displayed in our Art Gallery. Mr Jordan s Year 7 coding students have also been working hard on developing a design and team name for our entry into the Rocket Car Competition where our students car designs will compete against other schools to gain the fastest recorded land speed. For further information visit Parents are also encouraged to watch the following video clip: Should you find that your child has not yet received their Micro:bit or if their device has developed a fault, please report this to Mr Jordan. Happy Coding Mr Jordan

5 Menu for W/C 3 rd May