This final triumphant week of an amazing academic year got off to the best possible start with Friday night’s Picnic Concert. There was an electric atmosphere which pervaded the Bawtree Hall and neighbouring Head’s Lawn. Solo drummers, ensemble string players, laid-back jazz improvisers, hi-tech synthesisers and the massed singers of the Hazelwood School choirs (amongst others) performed a programme which was full of vitality and infectious energy. Every performer’s face came alive, captured by the school’s artists who were in amongst the musicians to record their every move and pose on canvas. The Chapel Choir’s rendition of Imagine Dragons’ RadioActive impressively heralded a successful shift in singing style whilst Louis’ concert closing drum solo to Van Halen’s Jump raised and re-raised the roof on several occasions. I couldn’t have been more proud of the pupils and the staff who worked so hard to present a concert which has been called, by many, “the best yet!”

“Thank you so much for the best concert yet. The energy was palpable and so uplifting. I was blown away. I had tears, laughter, joy and amazement for the whole thing. It is so impressive to pull this level of performance together.”

“Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the concert on Friday evening. My husband was disappointed not to have been able to make it this year, but will catch up on what he missed via the recording. You could see, via the enthusiasm and joy on the kids’ faces, how much they enjoyed performing. We loved that they had been encouraged to try some different things this year. Well done to all involved as I know these events require hours of preparation and rehearsal from many people.” “I just HAD to send you all a message today so say what a HUGE success last night was! We all absolutely loved it......oozing so much joy and energy! Our Scottish Grandma who has 9 older grandchildren said it was the best school concert she’d ever watched! It was so brilliant to see so much creativity.... truly inspiring for the children... my daughter watched the whole thing with mouth open and eyes wide! I thought it was great fun to have a few acts outside during the picnic.... it really set the atmosphere for the evening. Using the hall’s proper seating really does show it off at its best and means everyone can see all the performers (and the children can see their families too). Thank you so, so much for all your passion, care and hard work you impart to our children.... we are so grateful for all the opportunities they seem to be embracing!”

The concert set the scene for a seven-day period throughout which the pupils of Hazelwood School shone and did their very best. All seemed determined to end the year on a high. One such group of individuals was the four athletes who had qualified for the IAPS National Finals (seniors) in Birmingham on Monday. Perhaps with the music still ringing in their ears, drowning out the sound of the spectators who gathered to cheer them on, the quartet of Max, Luke, Hannah Ri and Poppy took on the best the Independent School community can muster, and the weather. Running, throwing and jumping in the heat is not easy and introduces another dimension of challenge to overcome. All did brilliantly as Mrs Falconer reports later in the Nutshell. However, the afternoon belonged to Luke D who came home, arms aloft, to be crowned, by quite some margin, the National IAPS Champion for the U13 1,500m. Luke has worked incredibly hard; running is his passion and his motivation. I am delighted that his drive and focus has been rewarded at this highest level. Well done Luke. The whole school community gathered together on Thursday to celebrate all the very many achievements of all our pupils. The annual Prize Giving is a favourite event of mine in the school calendar as it gives us all a chance to remind ourselves of the huge amount of progress made, and effort put into their studies by all our children. The morning is a celebration of grit and resilience, of creative thinking and of working together as a community of teachers, pupils and parents. We were delighted to welcome Annabel Lark as our special

guest. As Chair of Governors, Annabel addressed the children and gave out the prizes. She has served the school community well for twenty years and is finally handing over the reigns as Chair to Roger Heaton (another past parent) in December. We have benefitted from her passion for Hazelwood, from her informed perspective as an educationalist and from the constancy and fairness that she has brought to Governor proceedings. She too congratulated the children on a wonderful year, pointing out that for those not lucky enough to win a prize, their achievements were no less celebratory. She too shares the confident belief that a bright future awaits all who enjoy a Hazelwood education.

“However, not all hard work results in awards and prizes, only a small handful of you will walk away with a prize of some kind today so if you are not someone who picks up an award you must NOT give up. GRIT, determination and perseverance are key to long term success. Many very successful people have overcome challenges in their lives. They may not have been awarded any prizes at school but through their own determination, perseverance and GRIT they have continued to grow and have become the successful individuals they are today.”

And finally, Thursday’s Sports Day was brought to a very blue end when Parry lifted the trophy after three successive years of Baily victories. With the sky overhead matching the sea of blue sports shirts, it was the job of Hannah and Natasha as Parry House Captains to lead the celebrations. Well done to everyone who braved the heat to take part in what was a closely, and keenly contested afternoon of spirited sportsmanship. Thanks too to our family and friends who cheered the children on, keeping cool with the occasional iced beer and glass of PIMMS. Your support is very much appreciated and certainly drives the children on to do their best. The afternoon, and whole day, couldn’t have been more perfect.

Sports Day 2019 – well done to Parry, worthy Champions!

May I take this opportunity of wishing all staff and pupils who are heading off to new adventures and pastures new, at home and abroad, all the very best. I hope you will keep in touch and that you take away with you many happy memories of your time at Hazelwood and lifelong friends. For those of you returning in September, enjoy a wonderful holiday. I look forward to welcoming you back to school rested and refreshed, ready for a year that already boasts some special events and opportunities. The first of these events, our Senior Schools’ Fair, takes place on Saturday 7th September. Proceedings kick off at 9am in the Bawtree Hall with The BIG Debate followed by the Fair itself in the Sports Hall until 12 noon. Six schools, including Ardingly, Sevenoaks and Kent College will be looking to answer key issues which many of you may be facing as you look ahead to your child’s future. We are delighted to be hosting the event and to be welcoming thirty of the UK’s top schools to Hazelwood to meet our parents. The Fair is also open to the wider community so do please spread the word to friends and neighbours. Anyone considering a future education in the Independent sector will find the morning most useful.

And finally, I am certain that the buzz which accompanied Class Swap Day on Tuesday, as the children met their new teachers for the first time, will fill the classrooms and corridors of Hazelwood as we set off, together, on another journey of discovery and wonder. What lies ahead is for us both to find out, to share and to determine. Happy holidays!

For a list of communications hosted on the Parent Information Portal (PiP) each week please see the ‘Notice Board’ further down the Nutshell.

News from The Nursery & Early Years

The final week of term has gone by in a flash and the children have all had a brilliant week. As I walked the site on Tuesday morning, it was wonderful to see each and every child enjoying their time with new friends and new adults. I am very excited for next academic year and seeing all of the children continue to grow. This week, the Fledglings 1 children have enjoyed visiting their new classrooms, and loved exploring their new areas. We have also enjoyed visiting the lawn and playing running races along the race track. The children have also explored all of their senses with lots of different resources. The scented playdough being a firm favourite.

We have continued to look at the Snail and the Whale in Fledglings 2. With all the great weather this week the children have enjoyed lots of water play in the garden. They have painted whales using grey paint with different brushes and have used wool to thread through holes cut round a template of a whale, as well as creating shaving foam waves and a variety

of sea animals with different materials. The children have really enjoyed making Marmite snails using puff pastry and lots of Marmite.

This week in Lower Robins we have been focusing on the story ‘Six Dinner Sid’. The children have enjoyed cooking a variety of meals in the role play area, making fruit kebabs and spending lots of time speaking about what they like to eat and developing their listening

Fun and smiles in Fledglings 1 (above) and Fledglings II (below)

skills by listening to others. They have also enjoyed playing outside and making potions in the messy play!

The Upper Robins' children were keen to extend their topic on 'Holidays' this week in anticipation of the end of term and imminent family holidays. We added blue rice grains and glass pebbles to our 'small-world' beach scene and used our hand-eye co-ordination to try and pick these small objects up with tweezers. Cotton wool ice cream cones were on sale in our ice-cream van too, prompting further imaginative language and co-operative play. The children created patterns using glue and coloured sand which were fashioned into beach balls and added to our display board. Our topic was further enhanced by outdoor sand and water play. To celebrate the end of term for some children, we enjoyed party games in the hall as well.

In the actual words of Skylarks children, here is what they have been doing this week. "We have been learning about the sea and the rainbow fish... he doesn't share with his friend but then he ends up sharing with his friends and everybody is happy... it's really important to share because then you're caring, sharing is caring... if you share you will have friends, and if you don't have friends you will be sad... I loved doing gardening and watering all the strawberries... and we did drawing and listened to the aquarium music... I liked it best when we made the submarine from boxes and we listened to yellow submarine which is my daddy's favourite song and I listen to it in the car." The Oak children have had a wonderful last week on the Early Years site. The children enjoyed their class swap day on Tuesday and all are excited to be moving up to Chestnut in September. They have all written letters to their new teachers, saying what they are most looking forward to. With the beautiful weather, it has been perfect conditions for insect spotting. The children have explored the grounds and in particular the nature area to see which creatures they could find. The children have enjoyed working collaboratively out on the decking, building some magnificent constructions using the bricks and inside they worked together in teams during a ‘Maths Quiz’.

REMINDERS

Please ensure that your child has a sun hat in school and that you have applied sun cream before arrival at nursery.

If your child has had a case of sickness or diarrhoea, they must not return to nursery until 48 hours after the last bout of sickness.

For more information on the Early Years Foundation Stage, please visit www.foundationyears.org.uk

News from Hazelwood

Senior IAPS Athletics: Super Performances and National Success On Friday 21st June, 30 children in Year 6-8 represented Hazelwood in the Sussex County IAPS Athletics competition at the K2 Centre in Crawley. It was fantastic to see the children competing in a range of different events throughout the day and there were so many brilliant performances. All the Athletes showed excellent focus and resilience. This was particularly highlighted by Seb TS. Seb started the High Jump competition, he then had to leave part way through to do his Hurdles race. Straight after this, Seb had to go straight back and finish off the High Jump competition. Some of the Athletes were competing at their first IAPS event. This was the case for Ariella T who performed really well in the 100m and Relay.

For our Year 8 athletes; Thomas H, Felicity C, Hannah R, Max E, Hannah R, Artie F & Natasha B, this competition acted as the final IAPS competition they would compete in for the school and we wish them all the best with their Athletics in the future.

All the children tried their best and were really supportive of each other’s performances. It was lovely to see. The following children managed a top three finish in their event.

Athlete Name Event Position

Luke D U13 Boys 1500m 1st

Poppy J U12 Girls Shot 2nd

Max E U14 Boys 80m Hurdles 2nd

Seb T-S U12 Boys High Jump 3rd

Hannah R U14 Girls Long Jump 3rd

Hannah R U14 Girls 1500m 3rd

Due to their performances at the Sussex Round, Luke D, Poppy J, Max E and Hannah Ri were all selected to compete in the National IAPS Athletics Finals. The children travelled down to Birmingham on Sunday night so they were ready to compete at the National event on Monday at the prestigious Alexander Stadium. Max Ejje started off the day with U14 boys 80m Hurdles. Max put in his best performance and ended up finishing 13th out of 19 Athletes. Luke Danby was in the next event, the U13 Boys 1500m. There were two heats for this event. Luke went into the race with the fastest qualifying time so he raced in the second and fastest Heat. The boys went off at a sharp pace, but Luke kept in control and started to pull away from the group after the second lap. He got stronger and stronger and stormed to the finish line in 1st place. Luke is now the U13 Boys 1500m IAPS National Champion! Congratulations Luke. Hannah Ri then took part in the U14 Girls’ High Jump. She had some really strong jumps and should be proud of her finishing height of 1m25. The last Hazelwood competitor was Poppy J in the U12 Girls’ Shot. With some fierce judging, Poppy kept level headed, managing to produce a throw of 6m meaning she finished in 10th place overall. Well done to all of the Athletes and thanks very much to all the parents that came to support. Mrs Falconer

These fabulous images, along with many others, were taken during the summer term for use by the school. They capture the essence of Hazelwood perfectly and will be used to promote the school to the wider community and prospective families.

“Yesterday I travelled to Birmingham for the IAPS Athletics Championships, representing Hazelwood. There were hundreds of people swarming around the stadium, and over 20 people had qualified for my race, the 1500m. Before a race, I cannot eat anything, but I managed a banana even though I was nervous. With my blue Hazelwood vest and my black and white Academy shorts, I was ready to go. It was a very warm day, so hydration was important. The first race was for slower qualifiers – about 11 people – and I watched from a pen at the side, as our race was straight afterwards. It was nerve-racking watching runners competing in my race, knowing it was my turn next. Standing on the starting line, I focused on the track in front of me as the race official said, “On your marks, get set…. (it felt like the longest five seconds of my life) … then BANG! We were off! I could tell you my race strategy, but it’s top secret and I’d have to kill you. I don’t want just anyone knowing how to be a national champion – it takes dedication, time and hard work (plus the secret strategy, but I still can’t tell you that!) However, by the time I crossed the finish line, the opposition were so far behind, that I was able to spread my arms wide like an eagle, and win the race with my head held high. At the medal ceremony, I waited for the awards to be made to the 3rd and 2nd places – I know them from many competitions. Then my award was made, and everyone laughed as I said, “When are they playing the national anthem?” Maybe one day, they will.” Luke Danby

U13 IAPS 1,500m NATIONAL CHAMPION

Classroom Round-Up

These amazing shoe-box mini worlds have been on display outside the Y3 classrooms bringing the sights and spectacle of the Rainforest to the corridors of Hazelwood. This half term’s project has really captured the interest and imaginations of the pupils and this has been very evident from the enthusiasm with which they have embraced their work and the quality of it. Under their future guardianship, let’s hope the forests are in safer hands.

The response to the Y5 topic of Inspiring people has been equally enthusiastic with the children delighting in showing their parents their work at yesterday’s Open morning. The vibrant display in 5L’s classroom is testament to the depth of research skills and powers of both persuasion and presentation developed over the year by the children. They are all sources of tremendous inspiration.

Y4 Know their Onions! As part of Year 4's Living Things unit in science we planted sunflower seeds and an onion bulb. We have taken weeks caring for these out on the Bawtree terrace, tending to them when needed. However, the spell of really hot sunshine saw our sunflowers in a lot of trouble. However, we harvested our onions and in Year 4 we had an 'onion off!' Who had grown the biggest onion? Each class harvested and weighed the onions, look out for the results! Congratulations to Beatrice (Y4) who after months of waiting finally had her beautiful tresses chopped for charity. Beatrice Deacon would like to thank everyone who has very kindly sponsored her for her hair donation to Little Princess Trust this week. She has raised over £700 as well as being able to donate her hair. www.justgiving.com/littleprincesstrusthaircut

Congratulations to the senior dancers on a fantastic show. The audience were in awe of your grace and talent. Such a wide range of dance styles, cultures and moments in time were beautifully captured through the language of dance and movement.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Contemporary Dance and Musical Theatre Workshops. Closing date is 6th July. hazelwooddance@gmail.com for details and booking

Boys IAPS Under 11 cricket sixes Six intrepid year 6’s went to Ashford on Monday for the under 11 IAPS. We came top of our group on run rate, after winning two games and losing one. We then played Wolseley House in the semi-final and won with a brilliant bowling display, I think we only had one wide in the whole of their innings. In the final we played a Bickley Park team brimming with district and county players. We batted first with a really sensible batting display building slowly to begin with against their better bowlers and then accelerating in the last few overs. We ended up with 43 runs. When bowling, our first over only went for 3 or 4 runs, our second was a bit expensive but we were still in the game. After some tight Hazelwood bowling the opposition needed 9 off the last over, they only got 1 run off the first two balls but the third went for a boundary so they needed 4 off the last three balls. Their batsman drove the next ball for a lovely straight boundary and it was all over but what a good final.

The team was well led by Ollie H and Adam R, Ollie doing really well behind the stumps and with the bat, and Adam who had good contributions with bat and ball. They were ably backed up by Ollie McC who batted well and bowled really well, especially at very pressured times at the end of an innings. Harry W opened the batting consistently well and bowled very accurately in the middle of the innings. Alex P had good contributions when opening the bowling to get us off to a good start and Jake D, playing his first six a side tournament bowled with tremendous accuracy and was a real asset in the bowling department. The last thing I’d like to add is the quality of our fielding especially as the tournament went on was absolutely brilliant and it kept us in games that we could have lost. The boys should be tremendously proud of themselves for an excellent effort across the whole day. Mr Greenwood

Year 2 are totally conkers! This year, along with the help of Mrs Sweeting, five children have been growing conkers. Declan MacP, Lars C, George G, Oliver M and Isabelle H all found conkers that had fallen from a horse chestnut tree, put them in pots with some soil and have been looking after them throughout the year. The conkers sprouted in the Spring and now need a little more room! 2K, with the help of Isabelle, went down to plant the conkers near to the tree house. We successfully planted 1 and Gary has kindly offered to plant our other 4. We’re excited to see how the trees progress!

We wanted to thank you for taking Lucas out for dinner, he had a fantastic time.

We are delighted with the way Hazelwood operates and commend you on leading a first class team.

Gold Award Congratulations go this week to Alex L, Esther T, Hugo de VH, Oliver MS, Oliver G, William G, Louis B, Abigail I, Toby C and Charlie M most of whom got to enjoy a night out at Cucina’s last week. Their totals may have, equally importantly, gone towards Dowling’s year total which saw them clinch the overall House Point Trophy at the End of Year Assembly. Well done to everyone for a great year of focus and hard work.

“We wanted to thank you for taking our son out for dinner, he had a

fantastic time.

We are delighted with the way Hazelwood operates and commend you on leading a first class team.”

Special thanks and congratulations go to Joe

O’C, George G, Lars C and Declan MacP for

tending Y2’s potatoes so diligently and well. You

are the Kings of Spud!

SCOOP Magazine To help keep your children reading over the summer Scoop are offering a 15% discount on their subscriptions. Scoop magazine has lots of book articles in including some written by children between the ages of 9 -12. We take a subscription here at school and it is enjoyed by those who read it. Scoop are also looking for October's junior editor. Please see the information alongside if your child is interested. Have a great summer and don't forget our reading challenge starts on Friday 5th July. I hope you will encourage all your children to participate. Warm wishes Nicki Wisniewski Librarian

Guests of the school’s annual Prize Giving were treated to a display of the most wonderful artwork. Most of the works on display were inspired by the Alice in Wonderland theme with the exception of the giant canvas which was the result of a collaborative effort between pupils and visitors at the last Open Morning. Looking very much like the tentacles of an outstretched octopus, Mrs Tulett is hoping to bring it more visually to life over the summer.

Congratulations to the nine pupils whose work has been chosen by an independent panel of adjudicators with a fine eye for graphic design detail! Their work shows great creativity and mastery both of concept and delivery. Well done to all the children. In their first year of Graphics, they have produced some impressive designs.

To find out more or to make a booking email hazelwooddance@gmail.com Places are limited. Final date for booking is 6th July 2019.

Well done to all the Hazelwood families and friends who took part in the Pram Race at the weekend. A lot of you got very wet, although in the heat and the sunshine, it was a welcomed soaking and spurred you on your way.

HPA

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.

Notice Board