Nower Hill News May 2024

NOWER HILL NEWS

From The Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to this half term’s edition of the Nower Hill News, bringing you up to date with all of the great things that have been going on in school over the past 6 weeks.

As you will be aware if you have a child in Years 11 or 13, A Level and GCSE exams are in full swing and I know I have said it before, but I’ll say it again: we have just been so impressed with the students. They are well prepared, positive, supportive of each other and their conduct in the examination hall has been exemplary. We know that they will be working hard over the break for their exams next month, but we would remind them to add some leisure activities to their timetables, to maintain a healthy balance and give their brains a rest!

We also say goodbye to Mr Harsh Shah today, who leaves Nower Hill after 6 years to take up a promoted post at another Harrow school. Harsh will have taught many of your children Maths over the years and I know you would want to join me in thanking him for his excellent service and wishing him all the very best in his new role as Head of Maths at Canons High

As we move into the summer and hopefully into better weather, a reminder to please ensure that your child brings a good sized water bottle into school each day to allow them to stay hydrated.

Children often underestimate the amount of water they need to drink in hot weather to stay feeling well, and we are keen to avoid multiple visits to the medical room with headaches, hence missed learning. Also, a

UPCOMING EVENTS

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reminder that in the event the temperature tops 30 degrees (seems hard to imagine at present!) the students may come to school in their PE shorts and coloured polo shirts. On days when this is the case, a notification will be sent the night before to inform parents that children can dress down, in order to be comfortable.

As another half term comes to a close, I would like to thank all of our families for their support and for being such wonderful ambassadors for Nower Hill. As a local resident, I have lost count of the number of times that people have randomly mentioned the reputation of the school to me and all the good things they have heard about us; we will continue to work hard to preserve our excellent reputation, but know that we can’t do it without you working collaboratively with us to gently steer our young people in the right direction.

Please enjoy reading the Nower Hill News and on behalf of all the staff at Nower Hill, I wish your family a very happy half term holiday We look forward to seeing the children back at the normal time on Monday 3rd June.

Louise Voden

Headteacher

Nower Hill High School

STUDENT LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS 2024-25

Following a rigorous selection process which involved completing an application, delivering a hustings speech and attending an interview, a brand new Senior Student Leadership Team has been appointed to take over with immediate effect This process has been brought forward in the year to ensure a seamless handover takes place and that continuity is maintained. All applicants are to be congratulated for their efforts and for making the whole selection process so very difficult, such was the quality of their applications

All of our Senior Student Leaders, led by our two Head Students, will continue the work of their predecessors and will continuing to reinvigorate Nower Hill’s sense of community Visible throughout the school, they will act as role models, provide support and guidance to younger years and generally ensure that the school ethos of “Service not self” is upheld.

We are also delighted to announce our Year 11 Head Prefect team for 2024-25, who were successfully appointed after a challenging selection process and interview. Our two Head Prefects will be supported by four Deputy Head Prefects, in addition to a team of 115 Year 11 Prefects and 130 KS4 Faculty Prefects.

Mr Bremner

Head Students

Head Prefects

Deputy Head Prefects

Heads of Houses

Shreeya Rohan

Jasmine Zubair Anne-Marie Nisreen

GOOD LUCK YEAR 13

After two years of 6th Form and seven years at Nower Hill for most students, Friday 10th May was the final school day for Year 13. It was a wonderful celebration, full of positivity and appreciation. As you can see in the photograph, there were some wonderful costumes on show Well done to all the students who worked so hard to put a wonderful assembly together; it was incredibly memorable and brilliantly organised.

We are very proud of all our Year 13 students, for all their achievements so far and those yet to come. We wish them all good luck with their exams and everything beyond.

Ms Abbotts

OUR ‘GOLDEN’ YEAR 11s BEGIN THEIR EXAMS

We were thrilled to have been able to enjoy a wonderful last day with our ‘golden’ Year 11 cohort on Tuesday 7th May The sun was shining as brightly as their yellow polo shirts when students enjoyed one final form time, the last few revision lessons, signing each other’s shirts and a wonderful celebration in the form of a Final Assembly The assembly allowed the students to celebrate the last five years through videos and awards... And we were able to dust off some photographs like this one from their first day in September 2019!

As you read this, the Year 11 cohort will have already sat some of their GCSE exams. We wish them so much luck and look forward to being able to celebrate their amazing achievements later on in the year, both at their Prom and on results day.

Mr Ford & Mr Michaelides

YEAR 7 NEWS

My World & Me Project

This term, our fantastic Year 7s have been completing their “My World and Me” project, where they have been tasked with sharing everything about their “World”.

These pictures show just a small handful of some of the amazing artwork that our Year 7s have submitted! Prizes will be awarded for the best submissions at the beginning of next half term.

The “I AM” Project

Since Easter, some of our students from Year 7 have been spending every Wednesday lunch time with Mr Balch and Miss Lewis in the Art rooms, drawing, painting, sculpting and talking whilst coming up with some fantastic art pieces.

We are so proud of these students for their commitment to the project, and we have loved getting to know them better - and seeing how fantastic they are at art!

Mr Balch & Ms Lewis

YEAR 7 & YEAR 8 JUNIOR MATHS CHALLENGE

On Thursday 25th April, over 250 of our students in Year 7 and 8 took part in the Junior Maths Challenge The Junior Mathematical Challenge is a 60-minute multiple-choice Challenge which takes place in test conditions. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency to make students think

The results are in for the Junior Maths Challenge which took place last week in many parts of the world! Well done to all our students who took part! We have 71 students achieving a Bronze award, 54 achieving a silver award and 25 achieving a gold award! To recognize the highest performers in the Challenge, they award the top-scoring 50% of participants Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates in the ratio 3:2:1.

Kiara Chhabra has been invited by UKMT to take part in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad, only 5% of the top performing gold award students from the Junior Mathematical Challenge worldwide are invited to take part.

We are also delighted to hear that Jason Bucur, Joshua Daniel, Nikhil Dharmaraja, Keisha Shah, Rushil Parmar, Priyanshu Roy, Anushka Nemiwant, Arav Kothari, Dev Vaidya, Leah Devabala, Siena Shah, Cynthia Chang, Aarush Patel, Oviya Yanasegaran and Vignesh Chandrasekaran have been invited by UKMT to participate in the Junior Mathematical Kangaroo follow up round. Only 10% of the top performing gold award students are invited to take part in this round. Certificates will be presented to all students who took part.

Ms Maisuria

Congratulations to the following students who have gained gold awards in the UKMT Junior Maths challenge!

JACK PETCHEY WINNERS

Congratulations to six students who have been nominated to receive the Jack Petchey Achievement Award, a scheme that recognises outstanding young people across London and Essex. Students were nominated by students and staff for their resilience, engagement and participation in school and for showing compassion, care and support.

Students have decided to spend their £300 prize money on a wide range of projects, including purchasing items for the NHHS Summer Festival, to be held in July.

Mr Bremner

NOWER HILL NEWS

The achievement points and behaviour points of every student contribute to the Overall Conduct competition, with the winning House engraved on the House Shield at the end of the year. Shabazz are in the lead as we approach the end of the Year!

There are still lots more opportunities for students to get involved in the House system, with assemblies, Sports Day and our Maths Bee Relay still to come this term!

MUSIC & DRAMA NEWS

Glee Club Grand Final

On Sunday 28th April, Nower Hill’s Glee Club took part in the Jack Petchey Glee Club Challenge Grand Final at Indigo at the O2 Students were accompanied by Miss Leighton, Mrs Johnson and Miss Sheppard during the day

A big thank you to all Nower Hill staff and parents who came to show their support during the evening competition. Our students did fantastically well, coming 3rd overall As one of only two Glee clubs from state schools, rather than Performing Arts schools, this result is something to be extremely proud of! We are so proud of the Nower Hill Glee Club and cannot wait for their next performance!

Music Exam Success

This half term the following students have had some amazing achievements in their music exams:

★ Reeyun Solanki Year 9

Merit in Grade 5 Drums

★ Aarav Riyat Year 7

Merit in Grade 2 Drums

★ Aaron D'Mello Year 13

Distinction in Grade 4 Drums

Mr Roberts

Performing Arts Friends and Family Showcase

On Friday 26th April, friends and family were treated to a range of performances from the Performing Arts faculty

• Drama Year 13 Final Exam Group PerformanceMetamorphosis

• Drama Year 13 Final Exam Monologues

• Drama KS3 Drama Club - Watford Festival

Performance - The House at the End of the Street

• Music Year 13 Final Exam Solo recital

• Music Year 11 Final Exam Solo performances

• Dance A-level

• Dance GCSE

• Dance KS3 Dance Club

The evening was a huge success, it was lovely for our wonderful students to share their hard work with friends and family.

SPORTS FIXTURES

Girls’ Athletics

On Thursday 9th May 2023, the girls took part in The Harrow Schools Athletics Championships. We were treated to some fantastic performances from the teams which resulted in the Minor Girls (Year 7) finishing 4th, the Junior Girls (Years 8&9) finishing 3rd and the Inter Girls (Year 10) finishing 2nd.

We would also like to congratulate the following students who have qualified to represent Harrow at the Middlesex Championships on Saturday 8th June 2024: Gracie, Grace, Soufia A, Cara, Anaya, Aanya, Lara and Lily.

Boys’ Athletics

On Thursday 9th May 2023, the boys took part in The Harrow Schools Athletics Championships. We were treated to some fantastic performances from the teams which resulted in the Minor Boys (Year 7) finishing 2nd, the Junior Boys (Years 8&9) finishing 2nd and the Inter Boys (Year 10) finishing 1st.

We would also like to congratulate the following students who have qualified to represent Harrow at the Middlesex Championships on Saturday 8th June 2024: Vicent, Luca, Shayan, Aiden, Zannai, Nikolas, Ethan, Aarvah, Kayden, Rohan and Daniel.

SPORTS FIXTURES

Year 9 Girls’ Netball

On Monday 6th May, the Year 9 Girls Netball team played their league semi-final against Park High. The girls started strong but faced fierce opposition. They remained positive throughout the game and demonstrated some excellent passages of play. Unfortunately, on this occasion the team were unable to secure the win. We look forward to next season where we aim to go one step further and make it to the final.

Congratulations to the following students for their excellent commitment throughout the season. We are exceptionally proud of the team: Anjela Lulbaddha, Gracie Lewis, Cara Samuel, Nikki Lotay, Shiann McCallum, Monique Chumber, Aanya Dharmaja, Lara Russo, Hannah Nagra-Hoyle, Nicole Alvarez and Wren Whiting.

Year 7 Table Tennis

Earlier in the year, the Year 7 table tennis team qualified for the finals competition. We were drawn against Park High in the semi-finals, but unfortunately lost 5-2 in that match.

This team did really well across all competitions and will have a strong chance of winning the Borough tournament in the future.

Year 11 Boys’ Football

On Thursday 25th April, the Year 11 boys' football team played local rivals Pinner High School in the final of the Harrow Borough League Cup The Year 11 team had already had a very successful season, managing to reach the semi finals of the Middlesex Cup. They played Pinner High School in the semifinal last year, but were unfortunately beaten in difficult and wet conditions, so this year there was even more motivation to redeem themselves and take home the cup.

The team started strong, with a neat combination of passes between Mehdi and Dhyan seeing Nower Hill score a goal inside the first 5 minutes of the match. This helped to settle their nerves in what was a relatively even contest between the two teams in the first half Another goal late in the second half helped to give the boys a two goal lead.

The second half saw Nower Hill take control of the match They pressed Pinner High and linked up well through midfield and in wide areas to create many more goal scoring opportunities Four more goals were scored: 2 from Rafi, another from Dhyan, a fabulous shot from Saim from just in front of the halfway line, and a penalty from Alialdeen in the closing stages of the match, saw Nower Hill crowned champions of Harrow with a 6-1 win. Well done team!

Miss Reynolds

YEAR 10 MOCK WORK EXPERIENCE

We are delighted to announce 325 Year 10 students participated in on-site work experience from Monday 29th April to Thursday 2nd May 2024.

Over 200 students found their own work experience, which is an amazing achievement. Thank you to parents for helping support your child with a placement or offering to take on another student. A wide variety of industries offered work experience to our students including pharmacies, estate agents, fitness centres, primary schools and solicitors. Our students thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the world of work and did exceptionally well. They were fully engaged, professional, and gained new skills which will be invaluable when they enter the workplace in the future

Here are some of the comments made by students:

• All in all, it was a fantastic experience. It gave me an insight into how organisations operate

• I enjoyed meeting with employers and learning about their life at work and what they do

• It really made me think about what I want to do and what my aspirations are

• So different to being at school; a long day and I was very tired

• Work experience helped improve my time keeping skills

• I realised how hard teachers work and I appreciate them more

Overall, employers were very impressed with our students and thought they were confident, polite and an asset to our school. Well done to all the students who took part.

Ms Doshi

NOWER HILL NEWS

Poetry by Heart

Poetry by Heart is a national poetry speaking competition for schools across England. As part of the English House competition, Ms Sheikh ran a Poetry by Heart club this year which was attended by students from across the key stages. Students explored the benefits of reciting poetry of their choice and in doing so, they developed confidence with poetry in an enjoyable, accessible and engaging way that leads to its life-long enjoyment.

Congratulations to Nower Hill’s Apernah (10GH) who has secured a place in the finals of the prestigious Poetry by Heart competition! Apernah was selected as one of the 10 students in the KS4 category out of 3,000 entries Apernah will attend the final on Monday, July 1st, at Shakespeare's Globe theatre where she will perform poetry she has learned by heart on the main stage. Once again, a huge congratulations to Apernah!

Ms Gordon

Introduction to Classics for Parents and Carers - Final Sessions

It's not too late to sign up for either or both of the last two sessions in our programme of introductory sessions for parents and carers. If you are interested, please email atkinson.tara@nowerhill.harrow.sch.uk, stating whether you would like to attend remotely or in person.

Thursday 6th June 6pm

Thursday 20th June 6pm

Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World

The Origins of the Ancient Olympics

You may also like to watch the recordings/video summaries of a number of earlier sessions, which are now available on the Classics Department YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@nhhsclassicsdepartment2000)

Ms Atkinson

YEAR 12 TRIP TO EAST LONDON

On the 15th May, our Year 12 Geography class went on a field trip to collect data in East London. This is part of our ‘Changing Places’ unit, where we study a local place that has undergone significant changes in recent years We visited Canning Town and looked at London City island, which has been built up from derelict land next to the East India docklands.

We then visited Whitechapel to complete questionnaires and talk to local residents to understand an insider’s perspective to the changes that have taken place in East London which we have studied in lessons. It was a fun day out, enjoyed by both students and teachers.

Kayla. Year 12

NAYANA YEAR 12 – WOMEN IN MATHS RESIDENTIAL 2024

At the end of March, I had the opportunity to attend a series of both challenging and incredibly fascinating lectures at Christ’s College and Trinity College, Cambridge, that discussed multiple branches and applications of university-level maths Topics covered ranged from Schwarzschild’s analysis of black holes to how many folds of paper it would take to reach the moon! The residential (fully funded by the University) brought together 60 girls from 60 different schools all over the UK, with only our strong passion and curiosity for maths in common, giving us the chance to make some really valuable friendships and unforgettable memories of working through stimulating maths problems together, exploring the city, partying in the college bar and enjoying a massive games night with current Cambridge undergraduate student ambassadors

We also had the privilege of attending a formal hall on the first night (a 3-course dinner in a dining hall straight out of Harry Potter) wearing Cambridge bachelor’s dinner gowns We later had the chance to tour multiple historical locations within Cambridge including the site of Isaac Newton’s renowned apple tree and the famed Wren Library that houses over 70,000 rare books dating as far back as the 8th century (notably including Newton’s own annotated copy of his famous ‘Principia Mathematica’).

All in all, we took away heaps of advice on how to make a competitive application to top universities for Mathematics (or similar) courses, explored lots of compelling maths problems, had our questions regarding applications and general maths openly answered by the amazing student ambassadors and academics, and had a whole lot of fun.

The weekend made for one of the best and most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had!

Christ's-Trinity Women in Maths Programme | Christs College Cambridge

Nayana, Year 12

NOWER HILL NEWS

Opportunities for students of Black Heritage

At Nower Hill we have promoted Black Heritage Careers Easter Fair, run by the Reach Society We are delighted that 3 of our Year 13 students and one of our Year 12 students are benefitting from the Amos Bursary - one of whom is a scholar. We are also proud of the current representation in our Student Senior Leadership team and the positive role models this creates for students in Key Stage 3 and 4 Thank you to Elaine Huggett for all of her support with promoting opportunities for Black students at Durham, King's College and Edinburgh universities.

When six young Black men meet for group therapy sessions, they collectively become each other's safe space away from a judgmental society

https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/27460for-black-boys-who-have-considered-suicidewhen-the-hue-gets-too-heavy

Review of: ‘FOR BLACK BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE HUE GETS TOO HEAVY’

(Garrick Theatre: 2 Charing Cross Rd, London, WC2H 0HH till 1 June, 2024)

I recommend you go and see ‘For Black Boys who have considered suicide when the hue gets too heavy’, written by Ryan Calais Cameron This is a play about life as a young Black man in Britain It deals with different forms of racism, gang violence and domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse and other forms of trauma and themes of suicide. These are heavy, triggering themes, but I did not leave the theatre full of pain and despair. I left the theatre feeling and thinking how amazing Black boys are. For all the pain, trauma, and struggles, the play is at once brutal and joyful. The six young men clash and support, disagree and agree, tease and comfort, criticize and counsel each other through the telling of their personal stories, through verse, music and dance The young men have to dig deep just to survive as everything in life is a challenge

Elaine Huggett

BRILLIANT PARENTS

Parenting Support Discussion Groups

Each month "Brilliant Parents" offer free discussion groups on commonly encountered problems by parents Parents are given tips and suggestions for dealing with their children’s challenging behaviour, looking at short video clips and sharing their thoughts with other parents. Parents and Carers are actively involved throughout the 2-hour small group format discussions. The following discussion groups are coming up;

• Coping with Teenagers’ emotions- 11th June 2024

• Getting Teenagers to Cooperate - 21st June 2024

• Building Teenager Survival Skills- 24th June 2024

• Reducing Family Conflict - 25th June 2024

To find out more, visit our website where we have further information on each of these groups. To sign up please complete the registration form and survey.

Brilliantparents.org

HARROW SENDIAS

LATE DETENTIONS… STARTING AFTER HALF TERM

• Punctuality is extremely important at Nower Hill and our students have an amazing record, with 97% of them making it in on time every day.

• Students are expected to be in school by 8:40am.

• Students who are not in Form by 8 45am are late

• Those who are late to school twice in a five-day period will receive an after school detention the following week

• Parents will be notified by text the day before their detention and students will be escorted to their detention by their period 6 teacher

Mr Bremner

STUDENT WELLBEING

Remember, there is always someone at school that students can reach out to.

Students can access the Student Wellbeing Page using their Google Account. A reminder that if parents/ carers need any support, you can access a range of resources on our school website

OTHER INFORMATION

Hire our Facilities

Looking for a venue for your function?

Nower Hill High School is proud to offer many facilities for hire to the local community, clubs and organisations at an affordable price.

Astro Turf Pitch Indoor Cricket Nets Hall

Dining Centre

Drama and Dance Studio Gym

Tennis / Netball Courts Classrooms

For further information on any of our facilities, including availability, please email: lettings@nowerhill.harrow.sch.uk

Contact Us

Parents and Friends of Nower Hill High School

Registered Charity Number 1097399

C/O Nower Hill High School, George V Avenue, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 5RP

Email: nhhspta@gmail.com

Some good news

We have managed to find a room to display a range of library books that can be issued as usual, from E6 at lunch time. IT2 is still available for computer use. This will be available from Monday 3rd June