Yes, the countdown to Christmas at TH began early this year and Christmas events, celebrations and preparations have been enjoyed throughout the Junior and Senior school. Here is the TH special edition Advent calendar!
1 beautiful looking and smelling Christmas tree in the Main Hall signalled the start of the festive season for the TH community. Not a friendly Venus Fly-trap, but a Norway Spruce (Picea abies) purchased from a local grower at Woodlands Dorset, who has been providing trees to the school for over 30 years. Standing 14ft tall [give or take an inch] it took a full day for the site team [thank you!] to put up and decorate.
2 Nativity plays delighted and enchanted proud parents in equal measure and offered a reminder of the magic of Christmas for the school community. Huge congratulations to the pupils who performed in the Key Stage 1 Nativity and to the EYFS Nativity which were the culmination of many rehearsals. Thanks go to all of the staff for their dedication and hard work; the pupils for their energy and enthusiasm and to the parents for their support. A superb £149.66 was raised for Dorset Mind Charity. Thank you to everyone who donated.
3 Little Pigs – Pre-Prep joined the ‘Three Little Pigs’ at the Lighthouse Theatre in Poole for an exciting and creative family pantomime by ‘Stuff and Nonsense.’ Billed as a ‘joyful retelling of a classic tale, and told in a unique physical style with raucous puppets, this is high-octane family theatre that will make you howl!’ Delightful for staff and students.
4th December was the deadline for the much anticipated ‘My at Pet at Christmas House Photo Competition’ where both Junior and Senior students emailed their funny pictures of their pets at Christmas decked in tinsel, hats and twinkly lights – 98 entries were received! [Please note that no pets were harmed in the process…] Entries were shown on a big screen prior to the concert and winners to be announced shortly… thanks to Mr Kirtland for organising. Merry Woofmas Update: Congratulations to the winning entry: year 6 pupil Caidee!
5×5 squats, 4 press ups, 3 x up and down the Hub stairs (top floor), 2 laps of the main school building and a 1 minute plank, are just some of the ‘treats’ on the PE department’s Exercise Advent Calendar created for those wishing to work off their Christmas Dinner in advance. The Christmas Eve challenge is to do 24 minutes of brisk walking. Good luck!
6th December was a day of feasting in the Senior school thanks to the talents of Holroyd Howe staff who provided the delicious Christmas lunches for pupils and staff. They also preparaed an array of sumptuous goodies for each of the Christmas festivities and events in both the Junior and Senior schools – all truly scrumptious! Thank you to the Holroyd Howe team. The Junior school’s Thanksgiving Service of Christingle also took place in the Jubilee Hall during the afternoon; it was a time of reflection and celebration for the Christmas period.
7th December was the date for pupils in Upper 3 to enjoy their Christmas Party in the Hub; thanks go to the Sixth Form and U3 tutors for organising games and a fun-filled afternoon.
8th December witnessed knitwear of all descriptions and some beyond… Christmas Jumper Day raised valuable funds for Save the Children; flashing and flashy, tasteful and tasteless, the jumpers created a colourful celebration of all things festive.
9 Lessons and Carols took place in the Senior school – a traditional celebration of the Christmas story interspersed with carols, readings and prayer led by Revd. Burke. The opening solo of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ was beautifully performed by Emily W; the congregation of pupils, parents and staff joined together to reflect on another year. Thanks go to all of the readers and singers, to the Music department and to Miss Hill for their input and organisation. Collection donations went to the Guild of Help.
10 Christmas songs were sung beautifully by pupils from years 3-6 for a local care home concert; children delighted and entertained the residents. Thank you to everyone who participated.
11 – Elefen… [sorry!] Buddy the Elf has hit social media through a number of posts, pictured in different poses and positions around the school. He can be won during the PSS Festive Friday event where pupils will have the chance to win him; he will be locked in a cage and pupils have to guess the combination to free and win him. Good luck! A special thank you to all of the PSS who helped to organise the event and for giving up their time.
12 acts ranging from student performances – dance routines, singing and signing – to staff bands, entertained the audience in the lunchtime Christmas Concert, all thanks to the expert organisation of the Sixth Form team. Special thanks to Betsy, Esther, Ariella and Pippa as well as the prefect team who sold tickets in aid of Godfrey’s Kitchen in Rwanda. Rock’n’Roll, festive tunes and even synchronised swimming [well done PE dept!] featured alongside a range of instruments: guitars, piano and bells! Staff band Boyz Only, performed unique versions of ‘Sweet Caroline’ and ‘I’m Gonna Be [500 miles]’ and the legendary Talbot Heathens played a memorable [and edited] version of ‘Fairytale of New York’ and a punk version of ‘White Christmas’ … thank you to each and every one of the performers and the fantastic audience.
13 School Mini-buses have been beautifully decorated for Christmas by the transport staff, many of whom have worked extra hours to cover all of the trips over the past few weeks. Thank you very much indeed!
14 mop and flat caps plus an array of other Victorian costumes, were donned by Year 5 pupils recently when they dressed as Victorians for a visit to the Russell-Cotes Museum. They all participated in a Victorian Christmas Experience which was the culmination of their learning on the topic on the Victorian Era in Humanities: see separate news story for more details…
15th November was the first of three dazzling performances of the Senior school’s outstanding production of ‘Frozen’. Drama and Music staff all worked tirelessly for months, directing and inspiring pupils to create a visual and magical musical spectacle for audiences of all ages to enjoy. Mrs Harris thanked and congratulated everyone involved in the production, saying: ‘The performances have been a showcase of theatrical and musical excellence. Thank you to everyone involved.’
16 leg raises, 17 sit ups and 18 alternate front kicks (on each leg) if you’re still following the PE Exercise Calendar… keep going!
17 medals and counting – Podium success for both the TH Tennis team and Swimming Academy winning a crop of medals in their respective national championships recently [see separate news stories on website]. Congratulations to everyone who competed.
18-year-olds and below were the recipients of a generous array of gifts kindly donated in the collection boxes by the TH school community. Thanks go to Miss Coates for coordinating the WAVE 105 appeal: Mission Christmas – Cash for Kids. To support this excellent charity visit the cash for kids website. A huge thank you again, to the staff, parents and pupils who so generously donated gifts.
19 seasonal songs and carols were performed at the Junior School Carol Service, combining Years 2-6, the congregation were treated with many festive favourites such as ‘O, Little Town of Bethlehem’ and ‘Once in Royal David’s City’, to John Rutter’s ‘Star Carol’ and a Spanish traditional carol ‘In a Cold and Dark December’. Thanks go to the music department for their organisation.
20 book titles need to be guessed in the National Book Token Hidden Books Game via the virtual bookshop link; a massive £500 National Book Token is up for grabs. Good luck bookworms! Thanks to Mrs Harty for sending the magic link.
21 Staff members got creative and Christmassy with Head of Art, Miss Coates for the annual Wreath Making Workshop, all enjoying an array of beautiful aromas from the foliage to the mulled wine. She said: ‘It was wonderful to see the individuality of the staff through their beautiful and personal creations. A great time was had by all and I feel overwhelmed by the lovely thank you messages I have received. This is only possible because of the support from the grounds staff to collect a vast amount of the foliage.’ Thanks go to Miss Coates for organising and to the grounds team for their input.
22 year 6 pupils who attended lunchtime Computing Club have been designing and making Santa’s reindeer and his sleigh from Lego. They were then programmed to pull the sleigh… magic! Thanks go to Mrs Eels for her time and expertise.
23 remaining boarders and various staff members enjoyed the Christmas Party in St Mary’s Boarding House; they were all treated to an evening of fun and games and a delicious traditional Christmas dinner. Great fun was had by all!
24th November was the date for the annual Sixth Form Winter Ball. The main hall was magically transformed into a winter wonderland for the glamorous girls. A superb evening was had by all; thanks go to staff for their support and chaperoning during the evening, and special thanks go to Madame Klemz and the Sixth Form committee for organising.
25 – Eat and drink all the calories you burnt off to complete the TH fitness advent calendar! And finally… the Talbot Heath community would like to wish everyone a very relaxing, peaceful and Merry Christmas!
