DIXIT
EDITION 99 20th November 2020
The weekly newsletter for the Holyport College family
The African Caribbean Society are organising a food bank in conjunction with Maidenhead Food Share, in order to aid families who have been struggling through the Pandemic and Lockdown. We believe it is our responsibility to help the wider community—Holyport College has done really well in the past in raising money for charities, so we think it would be a great initiative to run, especially in the lead up to Christmas. Starting from next Monday, students can donate tinned/packet food and essential items and leave them at allocated tutor group containers. Azeezah Okoya—Head Girl
@holyportcollege
www.youtube.com/holyportal
1
DIXIT 20th November 2020
P.3
IN THIS EDITION
From the Students A brilliant piece of artwork by a Year 13 student
P.4
From the Music Department Music news and plans for Christmas
P.5
From the Psychology Department Year 12 Psychologists say goodbye to their “egg babies”
P.6
From the Community An invitation to take part in a COVID symptom study
P.7
From the Careers Department Opportunities for students of all ages
P.9
From the Sixth Form Eton Societies next week
P.10
From the PHSE Department December opportunities from Immerse Education
P.11
From the Dad’s Club The Holyport College Dad’s Club Brick Appeal 2020
P.12
From the Refectory Next week’s lunch menus and the Nations Day menu
P.14
From the Calendar Upcoming events and items to note
@holyportcollege www.youtube.com/holyportal 2
FROM THE STUDENTS
DIXIT 20th November 2020
Mr Slyper wanted to share this amazing painting that he commissioned from Year 13 student Sophia Forrester. The painting will be a Christmas present for his aunt. Also below is the photograph Mr Slyper gave Sophia to paint from. We think you’ll agree that the painting is fabulous—if you are interested in commissioning a painting yourself, Sophia is open to requests!
3
FROM THE MUSIC DEPT
DIXIT 20th November 2020
Music Department news Exam Success! Huge congratulations to Year 9 student Caidie Brennan for achieving a high distinction for Grade 7 Piano! This gains Caidie vital UCAS points for university entry in 5 year’s time and is equivalent to an additional A level.
Christmas Music - Opportunities We are all really sad that we are unable to have our amazing Carol Service this year and have been thinking of ways we can still use music to celebrate the love, joy and hope of the Christmas season.
I would like to invite any student who would like to, to make a video of themselves playing or singing a piece of Christmas themed music. This doesn’t have to be religious (but equally, it can be!) - it can be anything from ‘O Holy Night’ through to ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ and beyond! These videos will be shared with our community in Notices, Assemblies and on our social media platforms. We might not be able to make music en masse, but let’s still make it count! We would also like to try and put together a virtual choir recording of ‘Silent Night’ using software and Mr McCarey has kindly offered to put this together. Anyone can take part in this, and this would involve the student singing along to a backing track supplied by me to ensure we are all in the same key, through their earphones whilst being videoed. There can’t be any rehearsals, (but I’m happy to offer help remotely if needed!) so it’s very much up to the student to decide if they’d like to do this on their own and send it to us. Students should email me at j.bryant@holyportcollege.org.uk to ask for the track. Please encourage your child to be involved - it would be wonderful to get a ‘virtual’ open access choir together for a Christmas celebration. Mrs Bryant
4
DIXIT
FROM THE PSYCHOLOGY DEPT
20th November 2020
Egg Baby Project Today is the day our Year 12 Parents say goodbye to their ‘egg babies’. Some of the egg babies have had a wonderful week of ‘attached’ fun and ‘eggtivities’ despite the current restrictions on our social lives.
Baby Sani got a new teddy bear. ➔
Baby Scotchmere enjoyed painting a selfportrait, a relaxing bubble bath and being pampered!
Whereas Baby Kenton was quite demanding! ➔
Baby Bennett had a very exciting week! Wakeboarding and exploring! ➔
But Baby Kinsey had a bit of an accident!
Some egg babies faced a cruel fate though, unfortunately not making it to the end of the week-long project… and there was a new meaning given to “My dog ate my homework…”! Well done to all those Year 12s who lovingly cared for their egg babies and were able to apply new concepts from the attachment theory they have been learning in class. Miss Watchman 5
FROM THE COMMUNITY
DIXIT 20th November 2020
Our School Communities programme has launched and we need your help to spread the word. Little is known about COVID-19 in children, or how transmission of the virus among school children affects the wider population. And worryingly, more children are becoming infected. So ZOE's launched a free School Communities programme open to all schools in the UK. Parents and carers can learn more about how it works on our Parent Guide pages.
We already have over 450 schools up and running and we’d love more schools to join them, as we need thousands if we’re to make a real difference and keep children, families and staff safe! Thank you for reading, keep safe and keep logging. Professor Tim Spector On behalf of the ZOE COVID Symptom Study team 6
DIXIT 20th November 2020
FROM THE CAREERS DEPT
We would particularly urge students interested in The Young Doctor Summer Internship to register now as we are seeing a huge demand for the in-hospital work experience we provide. The Young Engineer Summer Internship, which includes an experiential visit to the Airbus ExoMars facility, is also proving to be extremely popular. Students can register before 31st December and use the code INTERN15 to receive 15% off.
Register here for students aged 15-18. Register here for students aged 12-14. 7
FROM THE CAREERS DEPT
DIXIT 20th November 2020
Final Open Day of the year
Join our Open Day on Saturday 21st November, which will be a great way for you to gain an insight into the UK’s only HE institution to be based in the heart of a FTSE 100 company. Discover our connections with over 150 industry partners, including IBM, L'OrÊal and TfL, learn more about student life and our talent development programmes which prepare you for the world of work, plus attend a subject talk in Business Management.
Click here to book your place.
8
DIXIT
FROM THE SIXTH FORM
20th November 2020
Weekly Societies Bulletin Until further notice all Society meetings will continue to run virtually via webinars (log-in details to be circulated by email by the individual societies). For recordings of previous webinars please visit the Societies page on Firefly.
Michaelmas 2020, Week 10 Tuesday 24th November: · · ·
History Society: Dr Tristram Hunt, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, “Museums and Statues – what shall we do with Britain’s history?”, 20:30. Simeon Society: Ben Shaw, Senior Minister of the Boathouse Church Putney, 20:30. Scientific Society: Professor Skinner, 20:30.
Wednesday 25th November: · · · · ·
Political Society: Sir Vince Cable, “The Political Economy of COVID”, 20:30. Parry Society: Thomas Peattie, Music Professor at the University of Mississippi, “Mahler”, 20:30. MedSoc: Myrddin Rees, Consultant General & Hepatobiliary Surgeon at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, 20:30. Literary Society: Daljit Nagra, first Radio 4 poet in residence, 20.30. Lower Boy Maths Society: E Block, 23 New Schools, 19.45.
Thursday 26th November: · · · ·
VocSoc & Psychology Society: George Honiball, Customer Success Manager in Workplace Intelligence at Microsoft, “Careers in Industrial/Organisational Psychology”, 20:30. Engineering & Design Society: Liam Harberd, “Digital Design”, 20:30. Wotton’s: Dr Soars, “Creation in Christianity – from nothing or from God?”, 20:30. Model United Nations: 20:30.
Friday 27th November: · ·
ShacSoc: Reza Pakravan, Explorer and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, 20:30. Debating: D, E & F Training, Upper School, 20:45.
9
FROM THE PHSE DEPT
DIXIT 20th November 2020
December Opportunities offered by Immerse Education 1. ESSAY COMPETITION Win up to a 100% scholarship to participate in our 2021 academic programmes based in Oxford and Cambridge University Colleges. The 2021 Essay Competition is now open, with entries closing on 5th January 2021. Ages 13-18. Please visit https://www.immerse.education/essay-competition/ to learn more 2. ONLINE COURSES - Black Friday offer We are offering a limited time 25% discount for all online programmes to celebrate Black Friday (offer expires end of November). We have two types of online course: A. Online Insights The highlights of our award-winning summer course can be experienced via a premium elearning platform. Experience university-level subjects alongside other students from around the world, under the guidance of expert Oxbridge university tutors. Ages 13-18. Dates: 28 December - 08 January (one week & two week courses available) B. The Oxbridge Online Research Programme Personalised, one-to-one tuition from your own personal Oxford or Cambridge University tutor. Create a university-level academic research project in any subject field over 2, 4, or 8 weeks. All ages, flexible dates. Please visit: https://www.immerse.education/black-friday-2020/ to learn more.
10
DIXIT 20th November 2020
FROM THE DAD’S CLUB
Holyport College Bricks Appeal 2020 The College announced the launch of an ambitious fundraising appeal back in 2019, part of which is the Dads’ Club brick appeal, leave your mark in history by buying a brick personalised with your name or your child’s name with the date they started. This will be permanently etched into a brick which will then be used to create an attractive display within the College quad. The project has been a huge success over the past few years and many can be seen adorning the College quad walls. To be part of this legacy for years to come, purchase your brick today, for £100. Thank you in advance for your support, you can contact us if you need any further information or have any questions: friends@holyportcollege.org.uk
The Dads’ Club. 11
DIXIT
FROM THE REFECTORY
20th November 2020
Next week’s lunch menus Week 2
Holyport College - Autumn Winter 2020
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Cumberland Sausages
Chicken & Leek Pie
Beef Lasagne
Sweet Chilli Chicken
Nations Day menu
Veggie Sausage
Quorn Hot Pot
To the Right → Traditional counter main choice Vegetarian choice
Ratatouille Lasa- Sweet Chilli Tofu gne & Vegtables
Nations Day menu
Starch & vegetables
Mashed Potato, Roast New PotaSasonal Veg & toes, Carrots & Onion Gravy Peas
Noodles, Stirfried Vegetables & Prawn Crackers
Nations Day menu
← To the Left Something different
Jacket Potato Jacket Potato Jacket Potato Jacket Potato with Chefs with Chefs with Chefs with Chefs choice of fillings choice of fillings choice of fillings choice of fillings Pasta Bar selec- Pasta Bar selec- Chicken or Vege- Pasta Bar selection of sauces tion of sauces table Biriyani tion of sauces
Nations Day menu
Garlic Bread & Mediterranean Vegetables
Sandwich & Snack Bar
Daily selection of fresh sandwiches, crisps
Daily selection of fresh sandwiches, crisps
Daily selection of fresh sandwiches, crisps
Daily selection of fresh sandwiches, crisps
Nations Day menu
Salad Bar
Daily choice of freshly made salad boxes
Daily choice of freshly made salad boxes
Daily choice of freshly made salad boxes
Daily choice of freshly made salad boxes
Nations Day menu
Main dessert
Apple & Cherry Pie
Lemon Curd Cake
Choc & Caramel Cake
Jam & Coconut Sponge
Nations Day menu
Cold Desserts
Selection of cold Selection of cold Selection of cold Selection of cold desserts desserts desserts desserts
Nations Day menu
The Catering Department will make adjustments to the daily menus where possible to accommodate special dietary requirements, when this is not possible an alternative meal will be offered. If you have any queries please contact our Catering Manager Carol Forrest on c.forrest@holyportcollege.org.uk or 01628 640154. 12
DIXIT 20th November 2020
FROM THE REFECTORY
13
DIXIT
FROM THE CALENDAR
20th November 2020
Some Dates for Your Diaries Friday 27th November—Nations Day Friday 11th December—end of term
After reading about Mr Macaulay’s fundraising challenges for Movember last week, a number of staff and students have asked how they can donate to this great cause. Mr Macaulay’s fundraising page can be found here:
https://uk.movember.com/mospace/14342423 So far he has raised £525—he’ll be doing the 75k cycle tomorrow and we wish him luck! POLITE NOTICE
We have seen several instances recently of parents and carers stopping on the roundabout just inside the College gate to drop off or pick up students. This causes congestion and risk of accidents. Please may we ask that you do not stop on the roundabout, rather turn left and drop off down towards the netball court or outside Reception. Thank you for your cooperation.
News from the Dad’s Club Sadly this year, the Dads’ Club will not be offering Christmas trees for sale, we are unable to commit to purchase the trees in advance as we have done in the past, due to not knowing whether the second lockdown will be extended, together with the complexities of contactless deliveries, College access and social distancing protocols. The Dad’s Club wish you a Merry Christmas and hope for a safe, healthy 2021.
Parents’ Evening Dates 2020/21 Year 7 parents evening—Monday 16th November 2020 Year 9 parents evening—Tuesday 24th November 2020
Year 11 parents evening—Tuesday 2nd February 2021 Year 8 parents evening—Wednesday 10th February 2021 Year 13 parents evening—Tuesday 23rd February 2021 Year 10 parents evening—Thursday 11th March 2021 Year 12 parents evening—Wednesday 28th April 2021 14
