YEARBOOK 2020
02 • CONTENTS
Contents Staff Arriving....................................... 03 House Captains . ............................... 04 School Council .................................. 05 Day Trips ..................................... 07-14 Opportunities in School ............... 15-35 Lockdown.................................... 36-55 After Lockdown............................ 56-61 Artwork & Creative Writing ........... 62-75 Sport ........................................... 76-82 Staff Leaving ..................................... 83 Farewell to Year 6 .............................. 83
Danielle Stewart Where did you work before you came to NHIJS? I taught at schools in Burton Joyce, West Bridgford and Clifton before working at NHIJS. I was an English co-ordinator and much of my time was spent teaching in Year 6. I also worked at the University of Nottingham in the science library. Why did you want to come to NHIJS? I had been working as a supply teacher after completing a Masters and was looking for a new role. I had always wanted to work in KS1 so this job was perfect. What previous experience do you have of working with children? I have been a teacher for over ten years and also worked as a private tutor whilst completing my Masters. What has been your highlight so far at school? I love teaching Year 1 and exploring lots of picture books with my class. Lovell House has a really cosy atmosphere and I love having a library in the same building as my classroom.
Emily Taylor Where did you work before you came to NHIJS? I had trained at Nottingham Trent University for 4 years and graduated with a first class degree in Primary Education with QTS. I was then lucky enough to be offered a job at a school in Mapperley, where I had previously been on placement. I loved having my first experience of teaching a class of Reception children and knew I had found my dream job! Why did you want to come to NHIJS? I had heard brilliant things about NHIJS and when a job opportunity came up I could not say no! I knew that I could offer even more of myself as a teacher due to smaller class sizes and the amazing resources available. This excited me as I could really offer personalised learning experiences for each child, something which is at the core of my ethos. The staff were also so friendly and helpful so it felt like the perfect job for me. What previous experience do you have of working with children? I have been teaching for 2 years but before that I did a lot of volunteering and teaching placements. Throughout my degree, I worked in a range of mainstream schools across Nottinghamshire and also did a placement in an EYFS class at a special educational needs setting. I was also very lucky to be able to volunteer with Manchester Hospital School and work in Chester Zoo’s Education Office where I would deliver school trips, address the public with interactive talks and design learning resources for schools. What has been your highlight so far at school? I do not know how to possibly pick one highlight. I have loved my first year at NHIJS and cannot wait to see what the future holds. But if I really had to pick one it would be to have the privilege to watch my class holistically grow and learn alongside one another this year!
Marjie Griffiths Where did you work before you came to NHIJS? I worked at Nottingham Girls’ High School, Edna G. Olds Academy, and I have also been a Norland Nanny. Why did you want to come to NHIJS? I wanted to come to NHIJS because I was so impressed when I came for a tour. When Miss Thorpe told me that there is a Unicorn Club in the co-curricular timetable, I was totally sold! What previous experience do you have of working with children? Yes, plenty! My career is my vocation; I am in my element when I am working with children. I have always approached education from a pastoral perspective and believe that happy, nurtured children make the very best learners. By the age of 14, I had a babysitting empire that covered most of central Nottingham and, after that, I trained as a nanny at Norland College in Bath. I also worked as a Teaching Assistant whilst completing my degree (Corpus Linguistics with Children’s Literature), before completing teacher training with The University of Nottingham. What has been your highlight so far at school? So many to choose from! I loved seeing the proud and smiling faces in the audience of the Year 2 Nativity show. The children worked their socks off to make it a really special performance, and I know that their grown-ups were really proud of them! I will also never forget the email I received from 2G during lockdown, with a collage of all of their lovely faces. The time, love and collaboration put into that gorgeous gesture was very moving.
STAFF ARRIVING • 03
Staff Arriving
04 • SCHOOL COUNCIL
School Council 2019-20
House Captains
Ball’s
Jay Guha
Tonkin’s
Finn Rathour
Hardy’s
Georgia Aram
WE RAISED £378 FOR THE NEO-NATAL UNIT AT CHRISTMAS
Trease’s
Roman Elliss
Vice Captains Ball’s
Alice Sharlotte Hukam Sethi
Hardy’s
Isaac Poyser James Golding
Tonkin’s
Edward Mellors Charlie Merritt
Trease’s
Sonam Soar Kavin Rangaraj
WE RAISED £427.91 FOR CHILDREN IN NEED
Charity Council
WARRIORS ENT AND ECO M A I L R A P L I P CIL, PU CHARITY COUN
CHARITY C OUNCIL
SCHOOL CHARITY COUNCIL • 05
Junior School
06 • SCHOOL CHARITY COUNCIL
HARVEST FESTIVAL DONATION S TO THE ARCHES
1785.91 FOR WE RAISED £ F SPORT RELIE
YEAR 6
YEAR 5
YEAR 4
YEAR 3
DAY TRIPS • 07
Day Trips
08 • DAY TRIPS
Young Voices
On Monday 27th January Nottingham High School went to a magnificent arena in Birmingham and we witnessed an amazing show. We were all very excited on the bus as we were going to see some famous musicians and sing to our parents. As we got off the bus, we walked confidently to the Arena. We entered the building and saw thousands and thousands of children all around us. As we took our seats for the performance, I was mind blown by the number of children there were with flashing lights in the dark arena.
I was confident singing as my friends and I sang our hearts out. We managed to see the parents sitting together with a flashing banner on the other side of the arena. With the support of our parents cheering us on, our voices filled the Arena. It was a spectacular event and I will definitely go again next year. Christopher E
Year 1 Traditional Tales Trip! Year 1 spent a fantastic day at Brackenhurst Educational Centre in Southwell to learn more about famous traditional tales. It was a fairly wet and rainy day but the weather didn’t dampen any of the children’s excitement! We were met by Simon who took us on a lovely walk through the grounds to the woods and we were showed all the excellent activities that we would be taking part in. As part of the story, Little Red Riding Hood, children dressed up as the characters from the book and recreated the famous story in the woods. Fun was had when taking part in a nature hunt to find different natural objects and materials to stick onto the big bad wolf’s head. Children got very messy making clay troll heads using natural materials found in the woods, linked to the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff! In the Victorian garden were the Jack and the Beanstalk activities. Children planted their own magic beans in their own home-made plant pot and completed a plant hunt challenge to discover the delights of the walled garden.
On Monday 27th January, Year 2 went on a chocolatey adventure to Cadbury World. We went to find out more about how chocolate is made, and its journey from the bean to the bar!
the bit “I loved e tasted th where we e.” said chocolat Silvana
When we arrived, we went through the exciting exhibits and then we tried writing our names using melted chocolate. After that, we went on the Cadabra ride, which took us through a magical world of chocolate and even had a fluorescent cave! Our favourite bit, however, was the chocolate tasting. We were given little pots of melted chocolate to eat, whilst we watched a chocolate making demonstration. After lunch, we had a lesson all about the history of chocolate and how it is made, which was fascinating. We loved having the opportunity to ask all of our questions and hear answers from an absolute expert!
my “It was ip ite tr favour yan. said R ever!”
“I thought the 4D cinema was going to be scary but it was actually really fun. It was like a real rollercoaster.” said Felix.
“The sm ell is so amazing! ” said Alice. “I t’s so chocolate ” y!
First, I got on the bus to go to Cadbury World. It took 2 hours to get there. At that point I saw a giant chocolate factory. Then we went into a rainforest. I was surprised to find people in the rainforest. I really enjoyed looking at the different things in the past. After that I went down Cadbury Street. We really enjoyed looking at the ‘How you make chocolate’ part. My favourite moment was when we wrote our names in chocolate, I really enjoyed this. Sebastian C
DAY TRIPS • 09
Year 2 Trip to Cadbury World
10 • DAY TRIPS
Year 2
Trip to Sudbury Hall, Museum of Childhood On Thursday 26th September, three intrepid Year 2 classes set off with staff and parents to visit Sudbury Hall, Museum of Childhood. We went as part of their work on ‘Life as a Victorian child’ which was our topic for the Autumn Term. The children took part in three workshops: Victorian Toys for rich and poor children, a tour of the museum and then they experienced a Victorian school room. Not for the fainthearted but absolutely spell-binding. The children all had a fantastic time and we have never seen them sit as still as they did when in the Victorian schoolroom! They handled many artefacts which they would otherwise not
Imog e and E n, Samyuk tha isha f ou Victo rian z nd this abso l oetro utely fascin pe ating.
be able to, and dressed up as Victorian schoolchildren, which they really enjoyed. In the museum, the children were amazed to see a set of bedrooms on the ceiling depicting a child’s bedroom and its evolution from Victorian to the 21st century. They enjoyed lying on the floor, gazing up at them. One of the highlights was definitely when the children experienced life as a chimney sweep, and climbed through a chimney and came out through a fireplace!
en g wo o d Explorin Victorian the toys in useum. s treet m
Henry has enjoye d being a ch imney swee p as it was ve ry clean!
We exper ience d a Victorian classro o m and it w as ver y s trict!
s the boy ls and to The g ir d e t allow were no e were er. Ther h t e s g to it s ge rule r y s tran ! s e so me ve rian tim in Victo
DAY TRIPS • 11
no ug h brave e s a d w i Al e boar e on th acher; t i r w o t e s trict t ! for the eat job r g a d i d he
Year 2 th oro ug hly enjoye d this simp le game of ‘Passing the Rock’.
d enjoye ear 2 Y f f o o ce All perien the ex torian c i V in a being m oo . Classr
We went to Sudbury Hall on the coach. There were disco lights on the coach, it was fun. There was a teacher. We had to call her Ma’am like ham. Mrs Howe had to wear a hat. We went up the chimney and we went along in the dark. We saw an upsidedown bedroom. We saw a picture of Queen Victoria and we went to a toy factory. Silvana D
12 • DAY TRIPS
Year 4
New Walk Museum Trip The New Walk Museum is located in Leicester and Year 4 went there on Tuesday 12th December to learn more about the Ancient Egyptians. The first place we went to in the museum was the Ancient Egyptian workshop. Did you know that when a cat dies the whole family shaves off some of their eyebrows? The guide also described that they used cow poo for fuel, which was really disgusting. It was so cool when we saw the mummified bodies that were 3,000 years old! There was also an activity where we had to guess what the Ancient Egyptians ate, although I barely knew what they ate I managed to get some right! Moving on, we went to the biomes room and saw where all the animals lived. In the tropical forest, it was quite scary when you crawled through a tunnel, looked up and saw a massive tiger looking down on you. I also learnt that the arctic fox has white fur because of the snow, to camouflage it. Finally, we went to the dinosaur room and saw an absolutely massive skeleton called the Rutland Dinosaur. I couldn’t believe it when I saw a meteorite that was 4561 billion years old! This trip was an amazing experience overall and I would recommend it to anyone. My favourite part was everything! Jai S
DAY TRIPS • 13
Year 4
Leicester Trip On a very cold 10th December day, Year Four travelled for an hour to Leicester New Walk Museum. We went so that we could learn more about our exciting History topic: The Ancient Egyptians (and also because we had worked very hard in our Assessments!) Our first activity was visiting the Animals and their habitats section where we had an activity sheet to fill in as an introduction to our Geography topic for next term. Firstly, I went to the Marine animals section where I saw fish, whales and crustaceans. Secondly, I had a look at the Rainforests animals-they looked so realistic! Also there was a tunnel with holes in to look out of into the habitats. After that, I watched an interesting video about various terrains. Before lunch, we explored the Dinosaur Section. I looked at a Cetiosaurus which was a herbivore (plant eater-we know this because of its teeth). Secondly, I carefully examined a skull of a minute creature using a microscope. Fatigued from all the looking, I ate my lunch in the peace and quiet of the classroom with everyone else in my class. Then we went to the shop and I purchased a few special items. Then it was time for the Ancient Egyptian workshop! Firstly, the expert talked to all of us about everyday life in Ancient Egyptian times and the everyday items that they used-it was REALLY interesting! Next, we split up into two groups and passed precious artefacts around-I was absolutely mind blown that three thousand years ago an Egyptian had held the same object!, Thirdly we looked at the real Egyptian mummies and discussed their belief in the Afterlife. By the end of the day, I was exhausted from all the learning but really pleased. I want to go back again because it was so good! Kayode A
14 • DAY TRIPS
Year 4 Visit to
The Galleries of Justice, Nottingham
We went to the Galleries of Justice on Friday 13th March by tram, which for me was an exciting experience. At the Galleries of Justice, we went back in time to see how punishment and torture were given to people during the Medieval Times (or the Middle Ages) from 500AD to 1500AD – that’s 1000 years! We also learnt about hard labour punishment over the Victorian period from 1837 to 1901.
Medieval Torture and Punishment
In Medieval Times (the Middle Ages) prisoners lived in dark, flithy cells in the dungeons, with no friends and it was absolutely freezing. We went into the creepy dungeons where the terrifying jailor was waiting for us. The prisoners’ blankets were old, dirty rags and I can’t believe they actually had to buy them! Unfortunately, there were no fixed rules for the treatment of prisoners who faced torture and punishment. Therefore, different types of torture or methods of punishment were used, depending on the crime committed and the person’s background. One type of torture device I held was a scold’s bridle that husbands used to stop their wives from gossiping! It was made of iron, wrapped around a woman’s face like a mask that stopped her from speaking. When women wore the mask it had a piece that went into their mouth and held down their tongue; this made them drool like a bulldog which I find really disgusting! This torture design worked similar to a horse bridle which was used as a muzzle too! Another form of torture was the bloodthirsty branding iron stick which was a long, strong iron stick that you would put in a blazing fire, then place it on their hands so it would scar them for life!
Furthermore, the Ducking Stool or chair hung on the end of a sturdy pole, used to plunge offenders into a pond or river as a punishment. In Victorian times, they did not carry out torture but instead used forms of punishment. Life in prison was hard and prisoners were expected to carry out difficult physical work. I saw a Treadmill or tread wheel, where the prisoner had to walk the wheel as punishment. Another device I used was the Crank. This was a large handle, in their cell, that a prisoner would have to turn, thousands of times a day. This could be tightened by the prison guard to make it harder to turn.
Court Session
In our fabulous court session we performed a trial called Robbery. The defendant was Carly Cooper, who was accused of stealing Kyreece Smith’s phone. The jurors heard the evidence and found the defendant not guilty so she was free to go! In conclusion, I was exhausted by the end of the visit because I had so much interesting information buzzing around in my head! I really enjoyed my experience and highly recommend the visit to anyone who is interested in history or law and order.
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 15
Opportunities in School
16 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
EYFS
Helping in the community
“When there is smoke, get out of your house and ring 999 on your telephone.” Joe H
“The police dogs sniff out the bad guys because they have a special sense of smell” Edward H
“You have to scrub the patient’s tummy with special stuff to make it clean” Phoebe H
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 17
Spring Concert
Junior School
18 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
Teatime Concerts Over the course of the year, the Music School holds regular Teatime concerts which give pupils of all abilities the opportunity to perform to an audience in an informal setting. Many of our Infant and Junior pupils have taken part in these concerts. They have gained valuable experience in performance and the development of self-confidence. These concerts also enable pupils to listen to performances from pupils of all abilities from across the school. They provide valuable opportunities to inspire and motivate.
Whole School
Book Week
On Saturday 7th March, children from the Junior School took part in the annual Science Fair at Wollaton Hall. The children did amazingly well and they had put in a considerable amount of effort into their projects. Their work really looked fantastic on display and the children interacted well with the wider public, confidently explaining the science behind their projects. Mrs Sethi was very proud of them all. Many congratulations to all who took part.
Science Quiz 2019 This year, the annual science quiz was held in St. Dominic’s School, in Stafford. Eight pupils from our school came: Nihal Singh, Eron Dhami, Kavin Rangaraj, Antoine Boswell, Tanish Paul, Sarah Trent, Ascanio Adriani, and me. There were two teams that competed for us. Nihal, Eron, Antoine and Ascanio on one, and Kavin, Sarah, Tanish and me on the other team. There were twelve teams from all over the country in the competition. There were forty questions in total, each question scoring you an increasing amount of points. At the end both of our teams doing well, with my team finishing third, with over 1600 points, and the other team finishing tenth with over 1100 points! Overall, we all enjoyed the amazing experience and next year you would be very lucky to have the chance to do it. The trip was excellent. I would say that it was worth the bus journey. Roman E
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 19
Science Fair
20 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
Lovell House
Christmas Productions Reception
The Reception children loved entertaining the audience in their first performance at Nottingham High School. RB performed the song ‘A Reindeer Dance,’ RM performed the song ‘When Santa Comes Down My Chimney’ and RT performed the song ‘Five Little Elves.’ All of the children then made the audience laugh with their best Christmas themed jokes! It was thoroughly enjoyed by all who saw it and we could not be more proud of the children’s fantastic performance!
Year 1 The Year 1 children magically entertained their parents and relatives with their incredible performance of ‘A King is Born’. They told the story of five children who learned about the true meaning of Christmas from a bedtime story told by their Dad. The show also featured fantastic singing, acting and dancing from characters from the Nativity story. Well done to all the amazing children who took part!
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 21
Year 2 On Wednesday 11th December, Year 2 took to the stage in style! They performed a brand new show called I’m Gonna Shine … and boy did they shine! The story follows Gloria the star, as she sets off to lead the kings and shepherds to find the baby Jesus. The show was packed with rousing, catchy tunes performed by the whole cohort, as well as several stunning solos and duets. Sydney (2W), who sang beautifully as Mary, said, “I felt really proud and my mum loved it when she saw me singing a solo.” Herod was played with expert Machiavellian style by Max (2G), who said, “I liked all the stomping around on the stage and I liked pulling all the angry faces!” Bertie (2B) was a big hit with his fantastic comic timing! He said, “I loved making everyone laugh but I didn’t mean to knock Melchior over!” The Year 2 staff team are so proud of the children and what they achieved. It really was a show to remember!
22 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
Christmas Carols at John Lewis
On Saturday the 7th December 2019, the Junior school Choir went to sing Christmas Carols at John Lewis, Victoria Centre. It was buzzing with people shopping and getting ready for Christmas. Everyone was in a festive mood and we all had our Christmas hats on! We were given a space on the second floor next to the tills. Mrs. Kawalec had a dual role of playing the piano and conducting the choir. Mrs. Sethi took photos and helped Mrs. Kawalec. We sang in two slots of 30 minutes each with a short break. I was excited to be singing in both groups. Parents and Grandparents were cheering us along with other shoppers. We sang “O holy night”, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas”, “ Silent night”, “We wish you a merry Christmas” among many others. The loudest of the cheers went to “Rudolph, the Rednosed Reindeer”. We were encouraged by the cheers and sang with even more energy and enthusiasm. It was great fun to be singing along with friends and I enjoyed it very much. Tarun B
Carol Concert The Carol Concert was extremely enjoyable and a great experience. When we entered the Player Hall, we were very nervous but excited because for some, it was their first Carol Concert. When we got in, we sat on the benches in a jolly Christmas mood. The concert started and the evening was introduced by Henry. Everyone in the school came and we had a wide range of the community present with parents, grandparents, family and friends. Our highlights were singing in the choir, the congregational songs and reading to the congregation. We had readers who did a splendid job of reciting their cultural and religious traditions on the birth of a baby. The choirs were just fabulous, including the staff choir. We enjoyed the Carol Concert as everyone had a part to shine. We were all included and took part with a brilliant attitude. We were part of an amazing Carol Concert that we will never forget. Chris E and Rohan S
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 23
My Solo Debut This term has been fantastic because, in a number of choir performances, I sang the solo for Once in Royal David’s City. These concerts were the Junior School Carol Concert, The grandparents Sing-a-long and, most exciting of all, the Senior School Carol Service at St Mary’s Church! When I first performed the solo, at the Junior School Carol Concert, my nerves were shaking all around! However, once I got up onto the balcony and starting singing, they all faded away. Once the concert had finished, I received many compliments from my family, teachers and friend’s parents. My final performance, at St Mary’s Church, was slightly less nerve racking as I had already performed it twice before. This time, I wasn’t first to perform so the nerves started to gradually increase. Performing in the church was the highlight of the year. The excitement built up to the day and also when I performed in front of so many people. It was a privilege to be asked to do the solo and a privilege to perform. Maxwell C
24 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
Chamber Choir at the Walton Hotel
On Tuesday 19th November 2019, Chamber Choir went to the Walton Hotel to sing some wonderful, well-known Christmas Carols. Everyone sang with love and happiness. We also brought tears of joy to the eyes of the elderly and the staff! That made us proud of how we had performed. It was a lovely experience going to the hotel and everyone enjoyed it.
Snow!
Evan L
On the 17th December many grandparents were invited to our grandparents singalong. They were invited to sit down, have a cup of tea and enjoy a mince pie. We entertained them by singing some classic songs and not so familiar ones such as our school favourite, ‘Christmas Cake.’ All the grandparents were grateful that the choirs were singing for them on this special occasion. We managed to spread a little Christmas fun and joy. Mia T
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 25
Grandparents Singalong
26 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
Aladdin
The school pantomime of 2019 took place in the Founder Hall on the 18th December. It was a rewrite of the famous story of Aladdin. It started off with Abanaza, the villain of the story, finding a magical ring. It told him a boy called Aladdin was the only person who could find the magic lamp that the prophecy spoke of. Aladdin met Princess Jasmine and fell in love. Overcome by greed, Abanaza found Aladdin and persuaded him to find the lamp. With the three wishes Aladdin was granted, he defeated Abanaza and freed the genie. It was a great experience for the whole school and a fun way to start the Christmas holidays. Isaac P and Benedict H
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 27
The Young
Shakespeare Company On the 6th February a Shakespeare Company came into school and performed ‘The Tempest’ to us. I enjoyed the performance as it was interactive and they chose children to perform with them. I liked their acting skills because they were varied in their performing – sometimes they were loud and excited, other times they were quiet and calm. My favourite character was Prospero because he could play a guitar, sing and perform at the same time. He was also very funny. Sienna P
Musical Workshop By The Magnard Ensemble On Friday 7th February we were treated to a musical workshop by the Magnard Ensemble. They played a variety of pieces to us which were all relatively short. The quintet was made up of a clarinet, oboe, flute, French horn and the bassoon. The players talked about their instruments and we learnt how they practise for many hours a day. The standard of their playing was exceptional. I would love to watch them again. Kayode A
28 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
Egyptian Day I was so excited on Thursday because it was Egyptian Day at school. I couldn’t wait to put on my costume. My mummy also came to Egyptian Day with me.
In the morning, I came to school in my costume with my friends. I did lots of fun activities, like painting, making perfume, making bread shapes, carving soap and making bracelets out of clay. My mummy was on the perfume stand and that stand was my favourite. In the afternoon, all of my friends and I had a big feast. We ate bread, cheese, dates, figs, apple and grapes. I also had some blackcurrant juice, which was very juicy. My friends and I split into groups called servants, actors, dancers and mime. I was in the dancing group. I had so much fun on Egyptian Day – I had an amazing time! I wish I could do it all over again. Isabella D’A
Today was Ancient Egyptian Day in School - I REALLY enjoyed it! Firstly, I had to dress up as an Ancient Egyptian person. I wore a long, white dress with some golden cuffs and a belt around my waist.
We learnt a lot in the session. We took part in lots of different activities but my favourite activity was “mummification”. We had some spices and fat and rubbed it all over a peg and wrapped it all in bandages. (My mum helped with this activity!) After lunch, we were split up into groups. My group performed a role play of a story on stage. We then had some Egyptian food and “red wine” (black currant squash!) It was all great fun-I loved it and learnt so much from the day! Sienna P
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 29
Ingram Cup Wednesday 12th February was the Ingram Cup Finals. All the year groups had 10 children participating and showing their parents and class mates what they could do. It was quite a daunting and scary experience, especially for those of us who were waiting to play. Once we started to play, the time went very quickly. We waited until the end of all the performances and then the adjudicator gave us some feedback on our performances. Taking part in the Ingram Cup was good: it was an excellent opportunity to perform to an external judge who gave us ideas on how to improve our performance. Neha B
Public Speaking Competition
On the 18th October, our Public Speaking Finals took place in our school hall. The theme of this year’s Public Speaking Competition was ‘What should we do to save the world?’ Ten Year 6 children took part in the final competition. The entries ranged from funny to musical, serious, passionate and inspiring ways to save the world. We learnt lots of interesting facts and were inspired on how to save the world and make differences to our daily lives. It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning. Hukam S
Poetry Plate Finals 2020
30 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
Outdoor Education 1B had a fantastic session in the outdoor classroom learning about the great outdoors. A shelter had to be made because the heavens had opened! Children made ‘sofas’ on the logs so that we all had somewhere dry to sit on. The children loved walking a tightrope that was connected between two trees and this encouraged fantastic team building skills as well as their balance. They also climbed some trees and built dens to keep themselves dry. The highlight was cooking marshmallows and popcorn over the fire and then eating them. Mrs Baker managed to burn her popcorn so she had to start again!
Outdoor Activity days have been particularly adventurous this term with Year 2 visiting Sherwood Pines and taking on the Go Ape tree top course, Year 4 visited the Mill Adventure Base to try indoor climbing, underground tunnelling and a low ropes challenge course. Our older students in Year 5 and Year 6 have started work towards their John Muir Awards which focuses on conservation and exploration of natural places, The “Year 6 Tree Day” was a huge hit with students climbing the biggest tree in the Senior School grounds and orienteering in the Arboretum. Year 5 visited Rutland Water and looked at water and wildlife conservation. They found out how hard it is to make water clean and used binoculars in the bird hides with the rangers to identify rare birds at the nature reserve. Back at school Year 3 carried out a bug hunt in the Lovell grounds and refreshed the Bug Hotel ready for tiny creatures to enjoy over the winter months. Reception explored autumn colours with the Neon Leon Story Characters, and Year 1 had a go at building dens and toasting marshmallows over small fires. A fantastic and exciting term for all in the great outdoors.
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 31
32 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 33
ROMAN DAY
34 • OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL • 35
Whole School
Dear Day
On the 15th January I really enjoyed reading 12 minutes at the beginning of each lesson. It felt really relaxing as it helped me calm down my thoughts before a lesson started. By the end of the day, we had read for one full hour which was a perfect way to recognise the national DEAR day. Sam P
Whole School
Future Week For fantastic future week, we wrote some future letters about what, in our opinion, our life would be like in 30 years’ time. As they say: hills are high but the future’s forever. Tanish P
During future week, I really enjoyed making robotic bees because it made me think that even the smallest people can make the biggest change.
From writing to our future selves to designing our own robotic bees, these special activities we did made me think of the future… and how lovely it will be!
Amith M
Evan L This week held lots of fun activities: in Maths, we made futuristic buildings out of 3D shapes and ICT where we made space invaders. On the whole, it was amazing! Vismay G
Lockdown
36 • LOCKDOWN
On the 31st of March 2020 during our time in lockdown, an 8-week virtual competition of baking some delicious cakes and bakes took place. This was judged by special guest, Old Nottinghamian and winner of MasterChef the Professionals 2018, Chef Laurence Henry.
The standards of all the finished work was amazing! The order of our competition was Perfect Pizza, Easter Bakesmy first win! -, Perfect Pastry, Creative Cakes and Bakes, Brilliant Bread, Lovely Leftovers, MasterChef Menu - My second win! - and finally, Afternoon Tea - I was runner up! Everyone who entered the competition did an amazing job. The highlights of the competition have to be making the food and having fun (and of course the winning!). Finally, the time had come; Announcing the winners. As I excitedly opened the announcement, I was surprised to see that I had won the bake off and Rahul was runner up! I was so happy and felt proud of myself. It meant so much to me to win and I couldn’t believe it. I have learnt new skills from this competition, which will really help me in the future and it has given me a passion to try new things. I am really glad Mrs. Stafford organised this exciting competition. Well done to everyone who took part! Sonam S
When I first entered the Bake Off, I was not confident in my cooking skills. After the first week, I had learnt plenty of things in such a short amount of time. However, I now have full confidence in myself every time I cook. Over the course of eight weeks, I learnt so many skills that I thought were impossible for me to do, like making pastries. It also helped me a lot with cooking cuisines that I didn’t usually cook with a lot of confidence! I also learnt how to cook new cuisines as well as cuisines that I was familiar with! I knew the Bake Off was the perfect competition to show off my Sri Lankan culinary knowledge to the judges, which is what I did. Thankfully, it worked! I won twice and came runner up once with my Sri Lankan entries! Not many people see the fun side of cooking, but I had great fun making the dishes and learning new skills. I enjoyed every moment of every challenge, but my favourites would have to be the Afternoon Tea, Pastry Week and Bread Week. I loved spreading the rich cream cheese frosting on the delicious carrot cake, hearing the bubbles boiling as the flaky fish patties were frying and watching the gleaming fish pastries puff up from the oven window. I am extremely grateful to have had this wonderful opportunity to showcase my culinary skills and even more to have a masterclass with a former MasterChef winner. Rahul J
LOCKDOWN • 37
Virtual Bake Off
38 • LOCKDOWN
Experiences of Lockdown Life in lockdown Homeschooling Although I eventually got used to it, at first homeschooling was complicated, especially Google classrooms. Instead of working a fixed hour on a subject and handing in what you finish in that time, in home-school you have to finish the task that is set and hand it in once you have finished. This was really exemplified when on the first day of home-schooling I finished at 9pm due to lack of concentration and not fully understanding the tasks! I also get easily distracted and start daydreaming. It is extremely easy to miss calls because instead of being on Teams they are on Google Meet, so I have to keep switching between Google and Teams to see when the calls come!
Dear Diary
I hope you
,
are well.
Each of my sor as this is a rows is increasing tre mendously hard time f or all of us but we nee to remembe d to r, situation. E stay strong against t his ach death is creating in lockdown us to stay with our br others and however, th sisters, is is for our own safety on a daily b . I am sure asis, I thin k a lot of t changed fo hin r us but fo r me, I hav gs have school as I e been miss do not get ing to meet my to face. Fu friends fac rthermore, e it feels weir any teache d not havin r sitting ne g xt t room. Alth ough it feels o you or in the same weird for u home, our t s to be at eachers ar e trying to they can to do th help us all o ut with our e best Thanks tea education. chers.
Omprath
am K
Daily routines Since lockdown began, I have been riding my bike more than before. Every day, I go on a bike ride in the morning with my dad (before the morning call) and I have another ride at around 5pm. During the school day, I do my work and I stay alert for any calls. Sometimes if my parents have time, we play board games after dinner. That is my average day in lockdown. On Thursday evenings, we clap to show our gratitude to NHS doctors and nurses. I think this is a good idea because NHS staff are working hard risking their lives to cure coronavirus patients.
Playing During my breaks between different lessons, I usually play in the garden and sometimes I play indoors with my Legos. I think playing with friends at school (and having a bigger playground) is better, even though in my garden there are lots of bushes and trees (which you can’t find in the school’s playground). Although I am happy that I have a garden to play in, I would prefer going to school because there I can see my friends and have fun with them. Overall, my coronavirus experience so far has been full of ups and downs. I look forward to the day schools reopen and we will be able to go back to our normal lives. Ascanio A
The Good and Bad about Coronavirus
At Christmas time, life was normal and fun and we had no idea that soon after the virus would get really bad and would affect the whole world. People have to cope with family members dying. You can’t travel as much and it is hard because you are not allowed to see your family who don’t live with you. School is not normal and I can’t see all of my friends which is sad. I miss them. I talk to my friends and family online but we can’t hug. We don’t know when life will be normal again and there is no cure or vaccination. But there are some good things. There is less air pollution because people are not travelling in cars or by plane. There is more wildlife. I see buzzards and kestrels flying near my garden and there are bluetits nesting in my neighbour’s bird box. I get to spend more time at home with my mummy and daddy because I cannot go to drama class, gymnastics or dancing. I am lucky that I still get to go to school because my parents are keyworkers. I can see my teachers and some of my friends. People are celebrating keyworkers which is kind and caring and fun. I like clapping on Thursdays. I enjoy seeing my neighbours and I also clapped for Captain Tom. I hope that coronavirus goes away soon and we all stay safe. In the future it will be important to still wash our hands and look after each other. Emi D
LOCKDOWN • 39
An interview with my mum who works for the NHS and is looking after patients during the COVID -19 outbreak. For my article for the school magazine, I chose to interview my mum, who is a doctor in the NHS and therefore a key worker, to find out more about her life and experience in and out of the hospital during the current pandemic.
1. How do you feel when you see patients who are, or have been, affected by COVID-19?
I have looked after patients affected by COVID-19 throughout the last few weeks. In the earlier stages, I was scared too. There were lots of rapid changes to the way we worked. We had to undergo a lot of training about social distancing, wearing ‘personal protective equipment’ (PPE), managing really unwell patients and transferring them to the Intensive Care Unit. Patients were understandably very stressed & scared that they may die. I feel incredibly proud to have been a part of a team at Nottingham University Hospitals to help some of the sickest patients. 2. Have there been any increasingly stressful moments, and how did you overcome them? It has been very stressful, both enthusiastically and physically. I have found talking to my friends, sharing experiences with colleagues, and relaxing with my lovely family on off-days has helped me overcome these stresses. 3. Do you feel a certain way towards the government and their handling of the pandemic? There are so many ways this situation could have been handled better, especially the supply of personal protective equipment, providing robust and timely guidance about management and minimising the confusing messages in the initial stages of the pandemic. The situation has become better with time. 4. Have your shifts become longer? My shifts have become more frequent and more exhausting over the last few weeks. 5. How long do you have to wear your masks for? We have to wear masks all the time in the hospital. We wear different types of masks depending on what procedure we are doing and whether the patient has a confirmed coronavirus infection. 6. How many times do you have to wash your hands? Probably more than 50! We wash hands after every patient contact and sanitise our hands with alcohol gel every time we move from one area to another or touch any doors or badges or any other equipment. 7. How do you maintain your social distancing? It is very difficult to maintain social distancing in hospital because of limited space. However, we have changed the way we work and trained each other to maintain safety and social distance. Yash H
40 • LOCKDOWN
Lockdown Poem Wash your hands, the teachers say Keep your distance, don’t go near, Empty corridors, An empty space, At the moment school really isn’t, What you might think.
My Experience of Coronavirus in School
My experiences of lockdown may be a bit different to other people because whilst most people were at home doing their school work, I was at school. Although I only went on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the work atmosphere was very different. This was my experience of my first day of corona school. The corridors were eerily empty with not even one piece of school work on display. Despite the infants being in the school, it was strangely quiet without a single sound (except the heater). Our first activity was basketball in the playground where Jay and I tried to do impossible tricks that we couldn’t even do. Swiftly the time crept to 9:30am so it was time for my first lesson in corona school. It was a bit of a hassle to log on to everything but soon I started. It was English first where we had to do some grammar and punctuation activities and a comprehension. Our teacher wasn’t our normal teacher and they were different every day. When we sat in the classroom, we had to sit on separate tables 2 metres apart and try to block out the noise from the Year 5s. After English finished I rushed out to get some fresh air. Next was Science where we planned out our shadow investigations. Carefully I went through the work and wrote my prediction, dependent variable and continued with the planning. The investigation sounded very fun! Lunchtimes had changed as well. There were only 2 choices for your meal and the queue was divided by lines, 2 metres apart. The knives and forks were all in a bag so we didn’t get our hands all over them and the tables were also separated. Break times were as usual where I played some football. The next lesson was Maths. Precisely, I measured the angles and worked through the challenging activities of problem solving. Then we had ANOTHER break which was extra to normal. Our last lesson was a bit different because we had a live lesson for MFL. I learnt some new German words including how to order food. By the end of the day I was exhausted. Luckily I had a classmate there to see and play with but the days were lonely when he wasn’t there. Although it wasn’t normal school I still learnt something and I thank the teachers for supervising me and other children. James S
Wash your hands, the teachers say Keep your distance, don’t go near, None of my real friends to talk to, None of the games I usually play, Working two desks apart, Isn’t great. Wash your hands, the teachers say Keep your distance, don’t go near, Although I’m not stuck at home, Sometimes I wish I really was. It may sound crazy but, School really isn’t where you want to be. Wash your hands, the teachers say Keep your distance, don’t go near, I say I don’t like it but sometimes, I look forward to it, I love the English tasks, Working mostly on the iPads is always fun. Wash your hands, the teachers say Keep your distance, don’t go near, Being at school without my usual friends, Has taught me how to make new ones. The Lovell children are now in the Junior school, That’s nice because I get to see my brother every day. I can’t wait to see my friends and teachers again, So we are all in this together and to keep us safe, Wash your hands, Keep your distance, don’t go near. Neha B
We have recently heard the word ‘unprecedented’ many times - our lives changed dramatically.
We are living through strange times and perhaps we can expect this time of our lives to be a movie; eating popcorn, sitting on the sofa and reminiscing about it all. Lockdown has exemplified how the human race comes together in difficult times. Everyone has had to adjust to all these new rules and laws. For example, I had never heard of Zoom before however, every day since lockdown begun, I have been using this software numerous times. Lockdown is terrible, especially for me. We had the school production planned, along with our Whitby residential, a visit to the Think Tank museum, Sports day, Prize Giving and the list goes on. This was our last year in Junior School and I intended to spend it with my friends and class because once we join the Senior School we will be exposed to completely new children and we won’t see our teachers that often either. I have learnt that we need to treasure every moment because it seems just yesterday, I was a nervous wreck slowly walking into Mr Miller’s class and in a blink of an eye, here I am in the last term of Junior School - it is very surreal. Despite all these terrible things, there is a silver lining. Before lockdown, life was moving at a very fast pace. Lockdown has taught us how to appreciate the little things. I think Shubham Choudhary defines it as, “Good things come in small packages”. We all get to spend more time with our family and our loved ones. I get to have a lie in (finally!) and have breakfast in bed. We have extra time to learn new things and relax. In life, there are many obstacles but how we look at them is what really matters. Have you ever heard the phrase “Turn a lemon into a lemonade”? That is what we need to do now.
I continue my work until the end of the day, where there is a call. At the end of the day, I relax before my dad and I play cricket in the garden. At school, I would be at after school club until 5:00pm and would get home by 6:30pm. Finally, I would have dinner and slowly get to sleep. I think we could all say that we are eager for Lockdown to end. Some people are looking forward to sports resuming and for others it is about meeting friends. Nevertheless, we all want this to end. I was posed with the question “What are you looking forward to the most after lockdown ends?”. Now there is obviously the resuming of life and meeting all your friends. However, if I think back to when I heard lockdown was going to begin, I was more intrigued than upset because this was a completely new experience. Nobody knew what lockdown was or how it would play out. I had never learnt online before so I was very excited for this to commence. It was a new experience for me and something I will never forget. People say life is about experiences and I agree. That is why I am looking to the next big experience, whatever that is. In this lockdown, we are very restricted but when it ends, I can do anything I want. I have learnt many things from this lockdown and I am ready to try something new. Many people have found this period very boring. It is finally coming to a grinding halt as the government is gradually lifting the restrictions. That doesn’t mean it will end tomorrow; it could possibly be a few months for everything to get back to normal. That could be quite long for a few people. In my opinion, the best solution is to enjoy this time because time flies when you are having fun. I am going to leave you on this quote that may help you get through these last few weeks of lockdown. It is all about perspectives, it was said by famous American author, Dr Wayne Dyer “If you change the way you look at things, the thing you look at changes”. Aarush A
It is sometimes overlooked how small communities have come together in such difficult times. For example, my parents and I were having our evening stroll and all we saw were people sitting outside their houses chatting to each other from afar, embracing the lockdown and not letting that stop them. I have seen a clip of people playing table tennis from their balconies! There is also a video of people doing the conga, all within the realm of social distancing of course. The community spirit is incredible and has made the lockdown much better. We all have had to make sacrifices but it is all for the greater good – to stop the spread of the virus and save lives. In lockdown I usually wake up at 8:30am, however, on a normal school day I have to wake up at around 6am in the morning. I am now allowed to have breakfast in bed; usually I have breakfast in school. Afterwards, I log onto Google Classroom to see what work has been set. I work until 12:30pm where I take a break of an hour. In school there are a few more breaks and a completely different setting. At 1:30pm
Have you ever heard the phrase “Turn a lemon into a lemonade”? That is what we need to do now.
LOCKDOWN • 41
Lockdown
42 • LOCKDOWN
How I learned to cook during lockdown During these strange times, I thought that I should learn a new skill, rather than watch Netflix and play FIFA. So, I decided I should learn how to cook. I love to eat food, and so I should learn how to make it. I helped cook a bit when I was younger, but I did not do too much because of my age at the time. Once every few months, myself and my mum would make a dessert or curry yet that was the most I had cooked or baked. After
Week 1: Pizza
The first week was all about pizza. We had to make a pizza of any choice in 90 minutes. I decided to go for a classic margherita pizza. In the end, I think it went very well as the pizza was not overcooked or undercooked.
Week 2: Easter Bakes
The second week was about Easter bakes. We had to make a batch of 6 Easter themed bakes, cookies, biscuits or muffins in 2 hours. I decided to make Easter cookies served with chocolate strawberries. I think these came out excellent as cookies were baked for the right amount of time and the right temperature.
Week 3: Pastries
The third week was all about pastries. We had to make a type of pastry in 2 hours. I decided to do Sri Lankan fish patties with a sweet chilli dip. I think I did well on this as the patties were closed very tightly, which meant the pastry did not split whilst they were frying. I also finished as the runner-up that week.
about a week and a half of teaching from my Mum, the school Bake Off was announced. A week and a half of teaching was not enough to learn everything there is to know, but I knew the basics as well as having previous cooking experience, so I decided to enter. Over the past 2 months, I have made things I never knew I could make in addition to achieving results I never thought of achieving, as well as winning the Bake Off one week! I enjoyed it so much and it benefited my cooking skills! Now I feel I should cook more often. Below are all the things I have cooked and made over this period.
Week 4: Creative Cakes
In this week we had to make a cake that would appeal to an elderly person in 2 hours. The dish in my mind I wanted to do was dates cake with a homemade sticky toffee sauce and Sri Lankan chai tea. The reason behind choosing this dish is because the dates cake recipe was my grandma’s, and I decided to give it a twist by adding the toffee sauce and chai tea. The reason why it appeals to the elderly is because dates cake is one of my grandparents’ favourite things to eat. All the elements in the dish did not give me any concerns and the end product looked delicious.
Week 5: Bread
For this week, we had to make any type of bread with a time limit of 2 hours. My dish of choice was Sri Lankan Fish Buns served with ketchup. The Fish Buns were quite tricky to make as there was a filling inside and you must get the shine on the bun. I also won that week as well.
My Sri Lankan fish patties
My Fish Buns
Week 6: Leftovers
LOCKDOWN • 43
For week 6, we had to create a dish using leftover ingredients and ingredients left in your cupboards. This time, I decided to make double chocolate chip scones. I created this dish using leftover flour and some chocolate chips that were going out of date.
Week 7: MasterChef Menu
In the penultimate week, our task was to create a twocourse meal with a theme in three hours. My theme was Italian cuisine. For starters, I made prawn bruschetta skewers and for mains, I made salmon linguine in a creamy cheese sauce. I had quite a lot of salmon and prawns in the fridge which needed to be used, so I made two seafood dishes. Making the bruschetta was extremely hard, but I developed a trick so that it is a bit easier. In that week I finished runner-up.
Week 8: Afternoon Tea
In the final week, we were tasked to make as many dishes as we like that could be served at an afternoon tea party in three hours. My dishes of choice were Sri Lankan fish cutlets, mini white chocolate and raspberry nests, carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting and special rainbow wheel sandwiches. The rainbow wheel sandwiches are special because I made them as a tribute to all the key workers who helped us during these tough times. The sandwiches look easy to make but you have to refrigerate the fillings and then the sandwich as well. This was the toughest cook but the most enjoyable one as well.
My prawn bruschetta sk and salmon linguine.ewers
I hope you have all enjoyed reading about what I made! Rahul J
ini white m , es h ic w d n sa l ee h bow w and carrot cake. My fish cutlets, drarin ts es n y r er b sp a chocolate an
44 • LOCKDOWN
Lockdown Poem An invisible virus swept the country, Each day spreading faster and faster. People fell ill and there was no cure, It was a huge disaster! Shops closed down eventually, So did restaurants and stores. The biggest shock for me was that, Even schools had to shut their doors. At first, the future seemed lonely and bleak, And I couldn’t visit a single friend. Throughout the day I’d sit and wonder, When lockdown would finally end.
Year 5 Origami
Slowly I realised that in lockdown, There was so much I could do and learn. Like baking delicious cookies and cakes; (The occasional ones got burnt!) I had the time to explore some art skills, And spend time with my sister, mum, and dad. We would laugh, eat, play, joke, And prove that quarantine was not so bad. This phase of life can be sorrowful, For the loved ones of those who do not live. We must be grateful that we are all healthy, We must stay safe and stay positive. Tanvi K
Year 3 Home-School Drama
My Daily Basis
Lockdown report
My daily routine was packed before this stressful situation, I played tennis, cricket, football and took part in many more activities.
When I started home-schooling, I thought it was going to be the hardest experience of my life, but I was wrong!
Due to Covid-19, my daily routine now involves staying at home. I’m lucky though because I at least get a private lesson with one of my tennis coaches!
I started talking to my friends and seeing that schooling was going to be different, but the only way to make it fun and normal was to embrace the idea and work hard. While I worked in my house, I sometimes thought of the world out there, the people who were in city flats who couldn’t get out, and I thought how lucky I am to live in such a rural place.
During the term before lockdown, I was in a cricket tournament; my team wasn’t doing that well, but we were improving at the game. I feel let down that I can’t improve any more. I used to love diving into the pool and get my body wet but now due to social distancing, the pools are closed and I am disappointed. It is surprising to say but I am really enjoying being in lockdown! Although my daily routine was amazing and fully packed, I feel happy as my life is more relaxed now. My sleep schedule has been affected because I used to sleep at 9pm but now I sleep at 9:30-10pm. I can now sleep in so I wake up later! I did enjoy my routine before lockdown but more importantly I do wish that Covid-19 will end soon. Navaan P
I am so thankful to all our teachers who stood by us in this tough, trying time, and who prepared work for us even under so much pressure. My time home-schooling was full of happiness, but I am so excited to go back to school and see my teachers and friends so early, however, I feel especially sad for the students who have to stay at home and work and who are finding homeschooling very tricky. Emily B
LOCKDOWN • 45
Year 5 Rainbow for th
e NHS
Experiences in Lockdown Lockdown has been hard on everyone in Year 6, Year 11 and Year 10, any school year and adults. I am in Year 6 and I will have missed out on a lot of the key parts of Year 6. For example, my end of year production, school residential and leavers but I always think about that this is hard on everyone. A few weeks into lockdown, it was my 11th birthday. So I am going to describe my 11th birthday in Lockdown and my general experiences.
My 11th Birthday in Lockdown
Every year on my birthday I am normally away because it is during the Easter holidays. So this birthday was a little unusual for me. My birthday started off opening my birthday presents. I am really grateful that I could receive birthday presents during lockdown, so thank you. I felt so grateful for everything I got and I am so thankful to my parents for trying to make my birthday amazing, considering the circumstances. Me and my family had an amazing day (me especially).
General Experiences
I always go on a bike ride every day to get fresh air. Bike rides and walks always help me relax after a day of distance learning. I am in my house with my sister, dad, mum and dog. I don’t find it annoying but sometimes it is hard to find alone time because you can’t go to the park or anything. You are not allowed to go out more than once so I spend as much time on the weekends in the garden and watching TV. Sometimes it is hard to find things to do because the first few weeks of Lockdown you do most activities. I really miss my friends and family. I try to keep in touch with most of my friends and I dance with one of my friends. Distance learning is not that bad (in my opinion) but sometimes it is a little confusing. My teachers are really helpful, answer all my questions and get me in the right direction for my work. Thank you NHS Workers for saving lives and helping people. Lucy Jane M
46 • LOCKDOWN
Home Schooling
During Lockdown I “Sam P” from 4W, would like to share my experiences during lockdown regarding home schooling. On the first day of my home schooling, I was a bit worried about how I was going to adjust with my studies, but then my parents started supporting me. They said “Don’t worry Sam, your teachers will organise everything perfectly and during this lockdown time we are all together to help each other.” Just before lockdown was in place, our teachers gave us some books to do Maths and English in. These books really helped me with my learning. Everyday, our class teacher Mrs. Whittamore started the day with an online morning video call, where she explained everything that we had to do that day. We all joined Microsoft Teams to help us communicate with our friends. On that website, we can chat with them and even call them. It is possible to have a personal chat with that particular person and different groups. To get our work done we use Google classrooms. There is a different classroom for different subjects. A few weeks ago, we started collecting merits. 10 merits equals one honour point. Our teachers gave us a Google sheet to record our merits on. Sometimes for Maths, a different teacher comes online. Different teachers teach different subjects. At the end of the day our form teacher does a call to see how our day has gone. I am looking forward to going back to school and meeting my friends and teachers. Sam P
Lego Drawings in Lockdown
My life in Lockdown
School has changed a lot due to this outbreak; before, we met at school every day and had a laugh, and it’s not been possible now. Only if you are a key-worker’s son or daughter you would be allowed to go to school. The NHS and Public Health England now advise that you should stay at least 2m away from people, a definite 3m if they’re on a bike. The teachers at school have been working hard in setting tasks to complete online. I have become more familiar with Atom learning, Google classroom and Microsoft teams, all of which were unknown to me before lockdown! I have been entertaining myself in all the possible ways I can. I have been playing one player games, going outside in the garden to get some fresh air, doing all the optional homework I can and sometimes just sitting around reading a book. My family are also coping well seeing as we are allowed out of our houses at least one time for the whole day. Each day I look forward to going out for a run. The number of hours I spend with my parents has also increased; usually it would be 4-5 hours a day but now it’s 14! I do really miss my friends and the cool refreshing water of the swimming pool. Despite all the restrictions we managed to fit in some fun; the home pentathlon which Mr Abdy suggested in particular. Voila! My mum and I got into the national leader board. Miss Thorpe’s fantastic Easter challenge, The Great NHIJS bake off and Mr. Cordy’s brain racking riddles are the other spectacular events that kept me engrossed! I have to say that I have developed a great deal managing my own home learning. So life’s changed a lot during this lock down for me! While I learnt some new skills, I can’t wait for the day I can dive back in to the pool and have a good old laugh with my mates! Tarun B
Being in lockdown is very weird. I still haven’t decided if lockdown is good or bad. I get more time to play on my bike and go for runs through the woods at the back of my house. I have much more time to play football in the garden with my brother and we have had some great nerf wars. The bad side is that mum keeps making me help with the gardening, which I don’t like as I get hot and sweaty and the plants are sharp. The sad thing about lockdown is that we can’t go out for meals any more. I want to go to Legoland and see my friends in York. As soon as lockdown is over I want to do this. I haven’t seen my grandparents since Christmas now. We were going to see them the weekend that I got a temperature and a cough and then had to isolate in March. Luckily I’m better now and no one else became ill. I don’t like having to help clean the house, although I’m very good at dusting now! I’ve had lots of adventures during lockdown. I had to go to the doctors and the chemist on my own (while mum sat in the car) because she was in isolation and Sam needed his asthma medicine. I’ve been to the post box on my own lots of times now. We are getting used to swapping food and other things with our neighbours. One week we got free pizzas because the meat ones got delivered to a vegetarian family by mistake! Mum got free plants for her garden because someone was getting rid of extra ones they had. Mum has cut my hair - I’m not sure what the barber will say about how good she is! School is strange. I start at 8am so I can finish at 1pm. I don’t have a morning break, but play all afternoon while Sam, mum and dad all work. Mum is a very strict teacher. I have to work very hard. I bet the children at her school are glad to have a rest from her! However, I do get hugs from my ‘teacher’ which Mr Crossland wouldn’t do! Tom G
LOCKDOWN • 47
The whole COVID 19 situation is not very pleasant seeing as there are many people developing infection and dying every day around the World.
Lockdown
48 • LOCKDOWN
Lockdown
It was Wednesday 25th March, and my daddy was struggling to breathe. We called the ambulance and they put a mask on my dad and took him to the QMC. I was feeling sad and wasn’t sure what was happening and didn’t know when he was coming back. I saw him leave the house in the ambulance. It was awful! As the ambulance left, I started to cry. It was one of the saddest moments in my life! When my dad reached the hospital, we called him on my mummy’s phone, and I said “Are you alright daddy?’’ He was feeling okay. A few days later the nurses confirmed that my dad had Covid-19 and his lungs were infected so he had to go on the ventilator. He was on the ventilator so he couldn’t talk. He had about a 2-week rest on the ventilator and then he was able to get up, but it took him some time as he couldn’t walk straight away. He sounded really weird when he first woke up and my dad talked about random nonsense. He was able to talk a bit better a few days later but his voice was still quiet. A few days later he was discharged from the hospital. I was so happy to see my daddy again. He had lots of spots on him because of the drugs he had eaten though. The following week he started walking up and down the street to get stronger. He’s now going on really long walks that even I would get really tired from and my daddy doesn’t. He still has a big tummy though but I’m so proud of my daddy. He is our hero! Rishi S
Artwork by Victoria O
Artwork inspired by Andy Warhol
Year 2 Great Barrier Reef
LOCKDOWN • 49
Art in Lockdown
50 • LOCKDOWN
Year 3 Art Work based on
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
PSHE Home Learning
In PSHE lessons, Mrs Baker and the Year 1 children learnt about the importance of friendship in their live lesson. Children then went and made love hearts to share with friends and family. This was such a lovely and important way of keeping in touch with each other and for everyone to know that their friends are missing them. Amazing work Year 1!
Year 3 DT
Year 3 Athletics LOCKDOWN • 51
Year 3 Cricket
Sport in Lockdown Children from all years get creative at home to stay active during lockdown.
Year 4 Golf
Year 5 Football
Year 6 Golf
52 • LOCKDOWN
Letters to
Old Nottinghamians Thursday 2nd July, 2020.
Thursday 2nd July, 2020.
Dear Old Nottinghamian,
Dear Old Nottinghamian,
My name is Mani and I’m writing to you to see how you are coping through lockdown because I am also from Nottingham High School. I am 8 years old and have been in the school for nearly 4 years and am in Class 3C. My Form Tutor is Mr. M Crossland and he is an excellent teacher! During lockdown I have been home learning and have been spending lots of quality time with my family. I have also been going in my paddling pool, bouncing on our bouncy castle and have been going on bike rides with my family and with my new bike. I have also been watching movies with my family and have enjoyed it. I have been feeling sad and overjoyed because I can’t go to places that I usually go to but have been overjoyed to have water fights with water guns and water balloons. I don’t know if you used to have Sports Day but it’s super fun and tiring. In the Junior School (which I am in), there is Cross Country and there are many sport fixtures. I was lucky and went to school for a fun day and had a lot of fun with my friends. What was your favourite subject when you were in school and which subjects were you good at? Were you a fast runner or good at sport? I hope you are well. Mani S
My name is Hattie and I am a current student at Nottingham High School in 4A. Today, I am writing to you to tell you a bit about what I think it is like at the school, as it has changed quite a bit since we are in the Coronavirus situation. I am a key worker child and I am in school every day except one. For me, the school has changed a lot, as we all have to socially distance ourselves from others except those who are related to you. As well as that, we absolutely cannot share things like stationery unless it has been thoroughly antibacterially wiped by the owner of that particular object. Also, we have to be in bubbles of up to fifteen people. My bubble has the name of the silver bubble. It isn’t that bad because we do get proper lessons and get to see the best of both teachers who will swap round to teach us lessons. The lessons are different though because the teachers have to use an app called ‘Google Classrooms’ to write instructions of what to do and talk about what to do in the lessons in a video for the home learners, even though we still watch the videos with the teacher or the teacher goes through the lesson live. It doesn’t seem too much different but I don’t find it much better than what it was like before this crisis. Once I can be normal again I will be much happier to see my friends even though I still have a lot of friends with me as key worker children. Now you know about what it was like for me I think I would like to know a bit about what it is/was like for you. I have been wondering as I have been writing this letter what was it like when you were at school here? Also, what was different about school when you were here and what it is like for me (as I have said previously in paragraph two)? As well as that, what is it like now being at home in this sticky situation? I hope you liked to hear from me and it is all going as well for you as it is for me. If not better for you. Hope to hear from you soon. Best wishes, Hattie J
Tuesday 23rd Ju
ne, 2020.
ghamian,
My name is Yash and I am a pupi l in 3C at Notti today because it ngham High Scho is of my knowle ol. I am writing d ge I thought it wou this ld be nice for yo that you previously attended Nottingham Hig letter to you u to talk to som h School and eone who is curr I consider mysel ently a pupil at f to have a knac this school. k for the game to further impr of chess so, duri ove my skills. I n g a lso enjoy playin lockdown I have I now have a lo g fo been practising t of spare time. a lot I have also foun otball which I have been able called Uno. 0th to do more of si d other ways to er things include n ce en tertain myself cricket, listenin school has chan lik g to music and ged immensely spending time w e playing a game since March. Som groups, live less it h e of the change my family. Life ons on s include bubble in also been implem line, and the use of Google cl s where we have assroom. The tw ented at school. ou r own o-metre social Nowadays, we do instead of using distancing rule our fingerprints not share our pl ha s to pay for food ay equipment w we simply touch , we use ‘lunch it h the scanner wit ea ch ot he r cards’. They are an h them and go. more efficient be d At first, I was sc ca use ared because lo ckdown was a n to adjust to it. ew and unusua Some of the thin l experi gs I discovered I liver’ in chess, do could do were ba ence but eventually, I manage ing the ‘London d king, walking 5k sy basketball and m, doing the ‘f learning how to stem’ in chess, playing the ches ri ed s variant ‘king do a simulation of the hill’, pla . Thank you for ying taking the time to read my lett er and I hope to he Wishing you wel ar back from yo l, u soon! Yash H
Thursday
, 2020. 25th June
NHIJS, Mount, Waverley m. Nottingha NG7 4ED.
s is letter a writing th mian, m a a h g I es. . in d tt n ti o la N Cross range m Dear Old in these st 3 with Mr n r a ia e m Y a h in tting nd I am Young No is Tanvi a r from a a e h My name to e be nic riting. it would 3 years. I thought my handw HIJS for N g n to si ti n c e a e pr d I have b ning and pened. I am 7 an I am lear demic hap se n u a a p c e le b o h sh w ct is Engli when this tests and rite subje ce March st of our n o si t M lo s. My favou e a g I really anged dvanta usual and ool has ch ges and a n h n a e sc ll th a in r h e c te if L a bit la s its own me an wake up arning ha has given g e time to in m n s r Distance le e a iv le g hich dy as I istance e online w me in han d. Also, d r o e a c b s e in sy l ss o il c la c feel w oze in my iends and ls which I extra sno eing my fr puter skil se m s k o is c enjoy the m y I m er in brea rove wever arry Pott ity to imp ation. Ho H n m g r tu r in fo o y in p la p f p o ich fun new era o school wh and have er in this n day at e to play fu v a a r d grow old c a y h ll e rea en w person. I r was wh t howeve teachers in r a p s. st e b my friend hool. The nect with n o c times at sc pil at the to y were a pu ortunit p u r p o o y t n a e e h r were you ack w was a g own? How life was b d k w c o lo h t n w e o in e curr d to kn you play on like th e intrigue games did f d a situati I am quit e o c t n r ie so r e t xp Wha ave you e like ours? school. H t or nice ic r st y e Were th cult times. teachers? these diffi e food? th in s lf a se w r ow you school? H d care of . Take goo n o so u o y hear from Hoping to Regards Tanvi K
LOCKDOWN • 53
NHIJS, Waverley Mount , Nottingham. NG7 4ED.
Dear Old Nottin
54 • LOCKDOWN
3C lunchtime
Day Trippers During Lockdown ool
4W in sch
SHINE
3M ENJOYING THE SUN
LOCKDOWN • 55
5E stay active
4A GET COMPETETIVE
56 • AFTER LOCKDOWN
Return to School After Lockdown
I’m happy an excited to b d e The window back. s closed befor were eC 19 but now t ovid hey open and I lo ’re ve having my o wn desk. Hunter C
being It’s really good s. with my friend Nikhil B
It’s fa great ntastic, it’ , it’s e s x c i t but di i fferen ng t. Re xC
e e th s. k i l I ion t a r deco elie V Am
I like being back at school to play with my friends. Edward B
ack Its good to be b ’t an but I’m sad we c r. cuddle each othe Tom C-H
d to e t i exc I’m e back! b Mia
S
AFTER LOCKDOWN • 57
Reception
58 • AFTER LOCKDOWN
Year 1
I feel h appy bec and play ing ause I like doing wor k o utside wit h my f rien ds Esher K
It feels ! amazing John
B-E
ed Over joy Josh
I feel grea t because I e a t sch ool njoy workin g Ellie W
K
I feel very excited to come back and see my friends Amiyah S
and y p p a H d Excite it J
Amr
Joshua S
When I saw Mrs Baker I ran over to her and gave her a big hug! Anoushka P-T
My favourite lesson coming back to school has been art when I did some African weaving. Willow I-W
It is really different in our lessons because we have to do everything ourselves and not work together.
It is fun to be back at school because I love to play football with all my friends. Aryan B
Milan A
It is fun being back at school because I get to see all my friends and have fun lessons.
I am in a different classroom and I can play with all of my friends. Aryaman G
Amrit J
I am very excited to be back at school to see my favourite teacher, Mrs Baker and all of my friends in my yellow bubble! Henry A
It is very different being back at school but all my teachers and friends are here and this makes me feel happy.
It is weird being back at school because I am in a different classroom but I am pleased to see my friends.
Lara S-S
Josh K
AFTER LOCKDOWN • 59
It is different being back at school, but I eat in a huge dining hall!
60 • AFTER LOCKDOWN
Year 2
I like being able to see all my friends because 2G is like my team.
Being with my friends on the playground is really good.
Komal L
Huey G-D
It is great being back at school. I get to play with all my friends and have lots of fun.
It’s nice to be back at school because I am back with my friends and get to see my teachers again.
Freddie M
Max G
I like being back at school. We can do our lessons with our teachers Eisha H
It’s fantastic to be back at school and being able to see all of my friends. I’ve missed them! Charlotte T
It’s much better to be back at school as we can learn with our friends instead of just seeing them on the computer Gurpreet L
I’ve enjoyed doing our work together. Max G It’s so fun being able to see my friends again Lyla K I get to play with my friends and see the teachers. Esme R I like being back at school because we are all working together on the same lessons. Samyuktha V It’s good to see our teachers again. YiYi Y
It has been different but made me more independent because we are based at the Senior School. We have separate desks so I need to work well on my own. Emily B It is a lot easier to concentrate at school rather than at home because there are fewer distractions at school. Alfie A It is really great to be back to school and see your friends. Charlie M I am happy to be back at school in the new ‘normal’. Edward M I am really excited to be back at school as I get to see my teachers and friends in person! Three months is a long time to be at home. Rahul J Going back to school is better than being at school as a key worker child as I have so many friends to play with and talk to. James S It is fun to be back at school but very different as we still need to remember to socially distance ourselves. Om K It has been enjoyable being able to play with my friends on the yard. Hukam S It’s wonderful to see our friends and play with them, which we couldn’t do during lockdown. Henry B
AFTER LOCKDOWN • 61
Year 6
Artwork & Creative Writing
62 • ART & CREATIVE WRITING
2W Self Portraits
ART & CREATIVE WRITING • 63
Christmas Crafts
64 • ART & CREATIVE WRITING
Year 1 Displays
Firework poems by 2W Pop! Peonies shooting like flower petals opening.
Bang! Fireworks zooming like a cheetah.
Fizz! Roman candles fizzing like sherbert.
Boom! Catherine wheels booming like a drum.
Bang! Sparklers exploding like a bomb.
Fizz! Roman candles fizzing like a sherbert.
Sparkle! Sparklers sparkling like diamonds.
Pop! Peonies popping like bubbles.
Twirl! Catherine wheels twirling like a ballet dancer.
Zoom! Sparklers zooming like shooting stars.
Shoot! Rockets shooting like bullets in the air.
Esme R
Imogen N Pop! Roman candles popping like popping candy. Fizz! Peonies exploding like a bomb. Sparkle! Sparklers sparkling like the sun. Booming! Rockets booming like a drum. Zoom! Catherine wheels whistling like a bird. Max G
ART & CREATIVE WRITING • 65
Year 3 Self Portraits
66 • ART & CREATIVE WRITING
ART & CREATIVE WRITING • 67
Year 3 are inspired by
Henri Matisse
68 • ART & CREATIVE WRITING
Year 4 Art and DT
moving vehicles
printing
n r e t t a p & e p a h texture, s
ART & CREATIVE WRITING • 69
pointilism
70 • ART & CREATIVE WRITING
Year 5 are inspired by
Picasso...
...and Jim Dine Year 5 Clock Making
Japanese Night Sky Acrylic paintings
ART & CREATIVE WRITING • 71
Year 6
72 • ART & CREATIVE WRITING
Fibonacci Workshop On the 3rd week of our first term back at school, Year 6 were excited to find out that they were having a Fibonacci workshop. We were all taught by Peter who taught us the Fibonacci art. First, Peter showed us how to roll out the clay properly. Then, we placed our shell template onto our rolled out clay. Next, we got a blunt pencil and traced our shells off our template. We had to be very careful peeling our template because it can stick to the clay. You were also allowed to stamp patterns with wooden tools (which had the patterns carved onto). Some of us managed to get three shells on our piece of clay. We really enjoyed this workshop and we were very grateful to come back to school to such a wonderful workshop. Lucy M and Sonam S
ART & CREATIVE WRITING • 73
Winter Paintings
74 • ART & CREATIVE WRITING
Describing characters from
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Verruca Salt was a spoilt little girl who was grumpy and nasty; she was horrible even when she wanted everything. Every time she shouted and kicked her legs for hours and hours screaming “I want my golden ticket!” She can be very charming to her mum and dad but unkind to other people. Aarav K
Charlie is described as little and small. Charlie looks happy and kind, however he is always starving hungry. Charlie tries not to stare at the chocolate in the shop window. I think Charlie is 7 or 8 years old. The family are very poor. The people in the family are Mr and Mrs Bucket, Grandpa George, Grandma Georgina, Grandpa Joe and Grandma Josephine. Sydney Q
Verucca Salt was a small girl who lived with her rich parents in a great city far away. She always shouted “Where is my golden ticket?” and kicked her legs on the floor. One of her dad’s workers said “I found the golden ticket!” She was grinning from ear to ear when her dad waved the golden ticket. Verucca Salt is very spoilt. Neil K
Writing as Charlie from Charlie and the chocolate factory. It is a cold winter’s day and I am on my way home when I see the extremely giant metal gates. I walk very, very slowly past the gates and stop as still as a statue. I stand still holding on to the giant metal gates wondering what Willy Wonka’s next incredible invention would be. I smelt the incredible smell of melted dark chocolate in the distance of the factory. I am hungry because I haven’t had any chocolate for ages. Freddie M
Chocolate room from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I could smell the delicious smell of soft trees made out of sweet-smelling chocolate twirls. I saw the amazing sight of balloons that pop when they touch the wall and they have chewing gum in them. I could taste the air when I was walking slowly on stepping stones made out of everlasting peppermint creams. I could see the red and white liquorice candy canes to hook apples off the trees. Henry L
I raced joyfully into the wonderful room. There were trees with candy floss for leaves and Mr Wonka said that everything was delectable. There were bushes made from Haribo sour bears. I grinned when I caught sight of the chocolate waterfall! It was so astonishingly marvellous I was lost for words. It was a dream come true, it was epic and the aroma was terrific! Ruari H
It looked beautiful, everything tasted scrumptious. I was about to blow up with excitement. Sherbet rain fell and I gobbled it up. I jumped up and I could reach the sour cream clouds. I could not believe my eyes. The cookie dough paths tasted amazing. The blooms were Malteser balls; they popped everywhere and I caught one! Eisha H
Mr Willy Wonka opened the creaky door. It looked amazing. The path was made of scrumptious cookie dough. Every time I stepped on it, I could smell chocolate! It was so colourful that I was flabbergasted and I ran joyfully to the river. There was a churning whirlpool in the river. Hard orange pumpkins were made of boiled sugar. Huge balloons made of Maltesers. Soft clouds made of fluffy candy floss. Rain made of sherbet. Graceful trees made of cupcakes. Aria B
Mr Wonka slowly opened the brown door, I saw a huge chocolate waterfall; all of it was amazing. The flower petals were made of scoops of pink ice-cream. The beautiful mushrooms were made of lollipops. I couldn’t believe my eyes “Is this all a dream?” Stepping stones were made of caramel. Tree barks were made of chocolate and the aroma was so good. Samyuktha V
When he opened the door to the room I saw delicious chocolate beans and leapt over to get them. The tree branches were made of chocolate and the leaves were made of cotton candy. The rain was made of sugar with pumpkins made of chocolate oranges. I smelt the lovely chocolate and it was amazing, then when I saw the chocolate waterfall I was amazed and surprised! Kiyaan B
ART & CREATIVE WRITING • 75
Writing descriptive sentences about the
Sport
76 • SPORT
U11 Mixed Sportshall Athletics On a rainy November afternoon, 20 children from Year 5 and 6 made the trip to Oakwood Academy to take part in the City Sportshall Athletics competition. The children were up against 5 other teams from the local area and the afternoon was filled with some exciting action! First up were a selection of running races, including the obstacle race and two sprint relays. After this, the children took to the field events where they were involved in attempting to throw and jump their ways to victory! Once these events had concluded, it was back to the track races with the distance race, the hurdles and another sprint relay to finish. Overall, the children performed fantastically well and finished the afternoon in third place – one place outside qualification for the next round. This didn’t take away from some excellent individual performances and the fact that the children represented the School impeccably well. Congratulations to all of the children who took part.
Cross Country
SPORT • 77
Athletics
78 • SPORT
Cross Country U11 Cross Country Nottinghamshire Schools’ Cross Country League
This year the three races which take place in the months leading up to Christmas were held at Sherwood Pines so it was a bit of a long journey for some of our budding runners (and teachers!). This fact did not deter children from taking part though as, over the course of three races, we had a total of 21 athletes taking part. A special mention must go to those children who made it to all three races – Aarya, Oliver, James G, Elizabeth and Maria, as that showed real commitment. Another mention should go to Tarun who secured the best finishing position out of any of our children with a 14th place in the 2nd race. This is despite being only in year Five! The future looks bright! Well done to all of the children who made it up to the north of Nottinghamshire for any of the Saturday morning races and also a massive thank you to Mrs George for being an ever-present team manager!
Grace Dieu Cross Country Team
U11 and U9 Highfields Cross Country
Mrs. George and Mr. Tollie were looking after us. There were over 280 runners from more than 6 schools across the county of Nottinghamshire! The U9A team had 4 boys and 3 girls. There were 4 boys and 4 girls in the U11A team. I was excited to be part of the U11A team as I was the only Year 5 boy in it! I enjoy running outdoors and it gives me a buzz! Although it was cold at least it was not raining. The U9A team ran before us and put in an excellent performance. They all supported each other and 3 runners from the boys’ team finished in the top 30. Overall they finished 5th in their race. We (U11A boys) were the last runners of the afternoon. We all stood in a column with Jay in front of me and Isaac and James behind. We all waited patiently for the whistle to blow. To start with I got into a good position, keeping close to Jay. I was focused and determined to finish within the top 10. I maintained a steady speed, not letting anybody barge through! Towards the end I dashed through the crowd, overtaking a couple of runners, to finish in 7th place overall. As a team we finished 2nd and every runner in our team finished in the top 30. We were very proud of our achievement! To round it all off, we tucked in to some delicious hot dogs and Kit Kats before making our journey back to school. Tarun B When we arrived at Highfields it was very cold. After getting ourselves ready we walked to the sports hall. Inside they had set out mats for each school. When we found our mat we lay our belongings and then made our way to the start line. I could sense the nerves around us. First up to race was the U9 girls; we cheered the team as they ran the final stretch. Next was the Under 9 boys; I could feel that they were nervous at the start but they ran excellently as we witnessed them cross the finish line. The U11 girls followed. They ran well against hard competition. Finally it was the U11 boys (my age group). My legs were shaking at the start. The four of us lined up. When the official came out in front of us I had giant butterflies in my stomach. As soon as I heard the starting whistle, all my nerves disappeared and I focused on running. I was in a good position from the start. It was tiring but I battled it out until the finish. In the final stretch Tarun, my teammate, overtook me for seventh place. Fortunately no one else overtook me and I finished in eighth place. After the races were finished, we had hot dogs and left in the bus. I really enjoyed the day and I am very proud of my performance. Jay G
SPORT • 79
On the 21st of November 2019, NHIJS Under 11A and Under 9A teams made the trip to Highfields School, Newark to participate in an Inter-Schools Cross Country fixture.
80 • SPORT
Rugby
“I really enjo yed the games and I scored a g reat try!” Mani S
y a reall “I had e and tim good ite ver qu o ll e f I a lot!” rine Z Kathe
“It was lots of fun but w e didn’t win a ll of our games!” Hollie B
SPORT • 81
U9 Rugby
We have played Rugby for the whole of the Autumn term and we played quite a few matches. Even though we have lost some games, we went on to win others and had lots of fun. We visited some other schools and played in lots of different conditions including when it was very muddy and rainy! We worked together well to battle against the other teams and the weather! Sam H and Bobby have scored lots of tries and Ewan and Vusi have been very strong tacklers. Our captains have motivated us in our matches so that we played our best. Sahil G, Sridhar M and Sienna P
U8 Tag Rugby
Back in September, children from Year 3 were given the opportunity to represent the school in some Tag Rugby fixtures – the first was away at Ranby House. This was a tricky fixture but the children represented the school brilliantly and scored some great tries! After this, they attended a tournament at Hill House School in Doncaster where we played lots of matches against lots of different schools. Again there were some very competitive matches and the children performed brilliantly!
Dance
We were very proud of our Dance Fit group who took part in the KS2 Dance Showcase at Ellis Guildford School on Wednesday 5th February. They worked very hard and were extremely committed for months to get their routine together, some of which was choreographed by themselves. They performed brilliantly on a big stage and had huge smiles on their faces throughout the whole performance!
82 • SPORT
Swimming
Swimming gala v Ratcliffe College On Tuesday 12th November, NHIJS had their first swimming fixture at home against Ratcliffe College. This was for our U11 and U10 boys and girls teams. Having swum against them last year, we knew it was going to be a friendly but close competition. There were many close finishes and there was some super swimming from both schools. This was reflected in the final overall score which was 120 points to Ratcliffe and 114 points to NHIJS. We are looking forward to the return fixture in the Spring Term! Well done to all of our swimmers and the staff involved. Particularly well done to our U9 girls who swam up an age group to swim against Under 10 girls, well done!
On Tuesday 4th February, our U10 and U11 Swimming teams travelled to Ratcliffe College for the return fixture against their U10 and U11 boys and girls teams. (In the previous home fixture in the Autumn term, the score was very close with only 6 points difference!) Everyone swam exceedingly well with some amazingly close finishes. The final score had only a three points difference; we gained 102 points, Ratcliffe 105. Very well done to every single swimmer-every point counted! It was a great experience and a good warm up for the IAPS regional round at Repton in March.
IAPS Swimming gala at Repton School On Monday 2nd March our U10 and 11 Boys and Girls teams set off to Repton School to represent our school in the National IAPS swimming competition. This was just one of the regional rounds of Independent Schools taking place up and down the country. 145 swimmers took part at Repton, swimming against each other, but mainly against the stopwatch, as all of the swimmers’ times are sent off and ranked into order nationally for Independent Schools. There was some tough competition but all of our competitors swam exceedingly well and many broke their personal best times! Well done everyone, and particularly to Lucy M and Maxwell C who had to stand in as reserve swimmers.
Julie Higgins Infant Class Teacher February 2013 Having begun her teaching career in a small village school within Northamptonshire, Julie decided to combine her love of travel with her love of teaching and relocated to Singapore, where she taught in a British School. Following this, Julie moved to New York where she had the privilege of teaching as part of the United Nations. Julie returned to the UK and is now married with two young daughters. Her passion for travel was reignited, when her young family went on a ‘round the world trip’, during her maternity leave! She is now off again moving to Thailand, where she and her husband will be teaching, in a British International School in Bangkok. She is looking forward to new adventures ahead and continuing to pursue her love for culture and travel.
Lesley Higgins Infant Teacher April 2012 Lesley joined the High School as Head of EYFS from Lambley Primary in April 2012 and quickly settled into the team. Following the birth of her son, she returned to work at the High School on a part-time basis and has now achieved a full-time position in a local Nottingham City School. We wish her all the very best for the future.
Farewell to Year 6
FAREWELL • 83
Staff Leaving
Nottingham High School, Waverley Mount, Nottingham, NG7 4ED Telephone: 0115 845 2232 Email: enquiries@nottinghamhigh.co.uk www.nottinghamhigh.co.uk