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

FROM THE HEADMASTER . . .

parents of Year 7 pupils at the

CE Information talk on

Saturday. It starts at 11am

and gives you the necessary

information of what to expect

in the run-up to the Common

Entrance examinations in the

summer of Year 8. Parents of

other year groups are, of

course, welcome as well.

On Monday and Tuesday

next week I will be out of

school at the IAPS Annual

Conference being held this

year in Westminster.

With best wishes

Alexander Mitchell

Headmaster

Dear Parents

Our sports teams have made

an excellent start to the sea-

son with some notable victo-

ries and thrilling matches in

rugby. Our 1st XV rugby

team displayed a fine mix of

skill, tenacity and sportsman-

ship against New Hall on

Wednesday resulting in an

exciting 24-19 victory.

The Colts made a convincing

contribution to the season

against The Abbey. The As

won 56-6 and the Bs had an

entertaining match and won

28-21. An encouraging and

exciting first few weeks!

Please let your friends know

about our Open Morning next

Friday between 9.30am and

11.30am. The staff have

worked hard to display much

of the children’s work from

the first two weeks around the

school and we are hoping for

a busy morning.

I visited Christ’s Hospital

School in West Sussex on

Wednesday and had a fasci-

nating day. I was given a

tour of the school. At lunch-

time, the whole school

follows a 120-strong march-

ing band into the dining hall

every day!

A big thank you to Mrs

Motion and the boarding staff

for ensuring the Years 5 and

6 bonding experiences on

Monday and Tuesday went so

smoothly. The children

seemed to thoroughly enjoyed

themselves and certainly

tucked into the cooked break-

fast with gusto!

This morning, a professional

photographer from The

Colchester Gazette visited the

Reception pupils to take

photographs. Look out for

them in next Tuesday’s ‘First

Class’ supplement.

I hope to see many of the

Autumn Term, Week 3

www.holmwood.essex.sch.uk

Happiness is the key to progress

Tel: 01206 574305

Friday 20 September 2013

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Saturday 21 September 11-12noon Information Morning for

parents of Year 7 pupils - ‘The Common

Entrance Years’

(Year 8 parents also welcome)

Thursday 26 September

Technology Team Challenge at Felsted

Friday 27 September 9.30-11.30am Open Morning (Public)

6.10pm Exeat Weekend begins

(no boarding)

7.30 for 8pm Welcome Dinner for

Reception parents

Saturday 28 September Exeat Weekend - no school

HOLMWOOD HOUSE NEWSLETTER

SCHOOL NEWS . . .

Pre-Prep French

The video shown at the

Information Evening on

Tuesday 17 September can

now be found on the school

website on the French page.

Prompt Arrival

Please could you ensure that

your child arrives promptly in

the mornings. It really does

make a difference when all

pupils are in school and ready

to learn on time.

Senior Schools

Oakham, Culford and St Felix

School are holding open

mornings on Saturday 5

October and The King’s

School, Canterbury is holding

an open day on Saturday 12

October. Please contact the

schools direct for further

information.

If Your Child is Ill

Please refer to the guidelines

on the school website regard-

ing when your child is fit to

return to school after illness.

Reception: Delilah C

Sophie P

Year 1: Edward F

Jenson G

Year 2: Jude S

Flynn P

Year 3: Pearl P

Damon B

WELL DONE!

In recognition of demonstrating one or all

of the Golden Rules, the following

Pre-Prep children have received

Golden Awards this week:

Year 3 Activities

Science

“

Page 2 Friday 20 September 2013, Autumn Term, Week 3

SCHOOL NEWS . . . . . .

Air Element Meeting, Thu 12 Sep Archie L did a wonderful demonstration of his

martial art, Kuk Sool Wun, this week in Air’s

Element Meeting.

ENGLISH …

The Year 7s spent their English double

lesson on Monday observing and making

notes on the features of Annie's Garden to

support their understanding of how to make

use of the five senses, figures of speech and

strong, original adjectives in their creative

writing.

Year 7

You’ve never seen teachers

move out of Archie’s way so

quickly! He was awarded our

coveted ‘Air Contributor of the

Week’ sticker for his efforts.”

Miss Godman,

Head of Element

If you require directions to a particular school, please

visit our website or ask at the front office.

Sports Fixtures

Details of this term’s latest fixtures can be found on

the school website.

Team sheets for matches are on display from Monday

morning on the wall outside the dining room and in

the Talbot Room. They give details of team members,

start times, departure from and return times to

Holmwood for away fixtures.

Page 3 Friday 20 September 2013, Autumn Term, Week 3

ELEMENT MEETINGS…

The BIG vote! Pupils in all three Elements voted this week for pupil Heads of Elements, Deputy Heads

and Charity Representatives in this week’s Element Meetings.

The results will be announced next week together with the names of the tutor group

School Council Reps.

“Land centres around the vote.”

“I made a speech today and

I was very proud.”

“I’m looking forward to

the results!”

Page 4 Friday 20 September 2013, Autumn Term, Week 3

S… BUDDIES …

Reading This week the children met their buddies to enjoy some time reading books together.

BOARDING …

Boarders’ Talk, Wednesday, 18 September This week’s boarders' talk was given by William and Matthew T. They

talked about their sailing success in Italy in the summer. They were

placed 9th overall in the RS Feva World Championships.

“We were very lucky that the boys were able to bring their boat in to school as part of

their presentation.”

Mrs De Voy, Deputy Housemistress

Page 5 Friday 20 September 2013, Autumn Term, Week 3

SCIENCE …

Holmwood - Associate School Member of The Royal Society

At the end of last term the Science Department submitted an application to

become an Associate School Member of The Royal Society, the UK national

academy of science. We were therefore delighted to hear recently that our

application was successful.

Membership lasts for two years during which time we have the opportunity to

participate in their many projects and activities.

What is the Royal Society?

“The Royal Society is a fellowship of many of

the world’s most distinguished scientists

drawn from all areas of science, engineering

and medicine. The society’s fundamental

purpose reflected in its founding Charters, is

to recognise, promote and support excellence

in science and to encourage the development

and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

The society has played a part in some of the

most fundamental, significant and life-

changing discoveries in scientific history and

Royal Society scientists continue to make out-

standing contributions to science in many re-

search areas.”

The Royal Society website

“The Associate Schools and Colleges scheme is

a UK network of enthusiastic teachers who

share their experience and work with us in

order to help promote excellence in science

and mathematics teaching.”

The Royal Society

Robert Boyle, Chemistry 1627–1691 A natural philosopher, chemist, physicist and

inventor. He is best known for the formulation

of Boyle’s Law and is generally regarded as one

of the founders of modern chemistry.

Benjamin Franklin, Electricity 1706–1790 One of the Founding Fathers of the United States

of America. He was a major figure in the history

of physics for his discoveries and theories regard-

ing electricity.

Edward Jenner, Vaccination 1749–1823 Is widely credited as the pioneer of the small-

pox vaccine, and is sometimes referred to as

the “Father of Immunology”. Jenner observed

that milkmaids rarely got smallpox and

concluded that exposure to the bovine disease

cowpox conferred immunity; a theory he

tested and proved by injecting a child with pus

from cowpox blisters.

Charles Babbage, Computing 1791–1871 A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and

mechanical engineer who originated the

concept of a programmable computer.

Alfred Russell Wallace, Evolution 1823–1913 A naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist

and biologist. He is best known for independ-

ently proposing a theory of natural selection

which prompted the joint reading of his and

Charles Darwin’s papers on evolution in 1858

and spurred Darwin to publish his own theory the

following year.

Joseph Lister, Antiseptic Surgery (1827–1912) A surgeon who promoted the idea of sterile

surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal

Infirmary. He successfully introduced carbolic

acid to sterilise surgical instruments and to clean

wounds, which led to reduced post-operative

infections and made surgery safer for patients.

Ernest Rutherford, Atomic Structure (1871-1937) A chemist and physicist who became known as the

father of nuclear physics. He discovered that atoms

have a small charged nucleus, and thereby pioneered

the Rutherford model (or planetary model) of the

atom. He was widely credited as splitting the atom

in 1917.

Dorothy Hodgkin, Crystallography (1910–1994) A chemist credited with the development of protein

crystallography. She was the first female Briton to

win a Nobel Prize.

Sir Nicholas Shackleton, Earth Science (1937- 2006) A geologist and climatologist who specialised in the

Quaternary Period. Much of his later work helped

to clarify the rates and mechanisms of aspects of

climate change.

The Society was founded over 350 years ago in 1660. Since that date it has had many significant members. To celebrate the

350th Year of the Royal Society in 2010, the Post Office issued 10 first class stamps illustrating some of the best known fellows

of the Society and their extraordinary achievements.

Sir Isaac Newton, Optics 1643–1727 A physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural

philosopher, alchemist and theologian who is

considered by many as one of the most

influential men in history. Newton described

universal gravitation and the three laws of

motion which dominated the scientific views of

the physical world for the next three centuries.

Page 6 Friday 20 September 2013, Autumn Term, Week 3

SPORT…

Rugby, Wednesday 18 September

U11 A, B & C vs The Abbey (H)

Hockey - U11 A & B vs Littlegarth (H)

If any parents take photographs at away matches, please send them to: suzanne.excell@holmwood.essex.sch.uk