Newsletter 19th January 2024

Saint Nicholas School

Newsletter Friday 19th January, 2024 For daily news updates follow us:

From the Headmaster's desk 'A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.' - Eeyore Dear Parents and Pupils, It has been a week of below-zero temperatures that, rather appropriately, started with Blue Monday. Whilst for some, the alternative, synth-pop band New Order might immediately spring to mind, for many, born after 1990, Blue Monday has become synonymous with the most depressing day of the year. Coined in 2005 by travel company Sky Travel, the term Blue Monday typically refers to the third Monday of each January and was created as a marketing gimmick to sell holidays. Whilst Blue Monday is a myth, the Mental Health Foundation states that there can be seasonal variations in our mental health. During the winter months, some people might experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) with symptoms of depression that come and go in a seasonal pattern (and are usually more intense in the months with lower daylight). The Mental Health Foundation encourages practical steps to protect our mental health during the winter months, such as talking about our feelings to somebody we know, keeping active and eating healthily. You can read more about Blue Monday and what it means for our mental health by clicking on THIS LINK. Fortunately, the cold weather has not impacted a busy week of learning and enrichment trips, and I have been delighted to see the pupils engaged and working hard during my weekly classroom visits. Year 11 art trips to the Disney 100 exhibition and the Tate Modern, supplied our GCSE pupils with some valuable enrichment to enhance and inspire their practical work, whilst participation in Young Voices at the 02 provided our lower school pupils with an experience that will live long in the memory.

Dates for your Diary 22nd January Year 3 class assembly 22nd - 26th January Year 8 examinations week 23rd January Year 7 Valencia trip information meeting 26th January Year 9 interim reports issued 30th January U13 ISA regional netball qualifiers at Ipswich High School Reception trip to The Gruffalo Trail, Brentwood 31st January Year 9 Parents' Evening 1st February Whole School Time to Talk Day Year 7-10 girls Spurs coaching session at Spurs Academy 2nd February Year 6 interim reports issued

From the Headmaster’s desk

Dates for your Diary This week, pupils from across the school participated in several activities as part of our Whole School Community Week. As I have written previously, I feel strongly that Saint Nicholas has a key role to play in making a real difference to our local community, and weeks of this nature embed this into Saint Nicholas School culture. To quote writer, humanitarian, and former First Lady of the United States, Rosalyn Carter, 'I believe one of the most important life lessons is that you can make a difference in your community no matter who you are or where you live.'

Before concluding this week's bulletin, I wanted to update you on one, ongoing staff matter. After a period of extended absence, the school has agreed that Mrs Carole Bowerman will not return to Saint Nicholas School, and we wish her all the very best for the future. We are currently in the process of appointing a new Director of Music, who will also be responsible for the performing arts across the whole school. In the interim, I am pleased to announce that Mr Burrell will continue to teach KS4 music and Mrs Argyrakis will continue to teach KS3.

As we move into a weekend of predicted highs of 12 degrees, it is worth noting that on Sunday we mark National Hugging Day. The purpose of the day is to help everyone show more emotion in public and promote the benefits of appropriate, physical contact. From the day we are born, hugs or touch improves sleep, and hugging, like cuddling, releases oxytocin. On its own, this hormone provides tremendous health benefits, not only does a hug give us feel-good hormones, but it also helps reduce stress, ease anxiety, lower blood pressure, and the risk of heart disease. To quote author Ann Hood, 'I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than a thousand meaningful words.'

My very best wishes for a warmer and oxytocin filled weekend, To keep up to date with events on the school calendar CLICK HERE

5th February Year 11 trip to Poetry Live!

Conference at Norwich Theatre 5th - 8th February Year 7 Trip to Valencia 7th February Safer Internet Day 7th & 8th February Year 3-5 production of Oliver 8th February Pre-School Valentine's workshop 9th February Year 9 Diphtheria, Tetanus & Polio and Meningitis ACWY Harlow Schools Multicultural Dance Festival at Saint Nicholas 12th-16th February Year 10 examination week 12th February Year 1 class assembly 13th February Year 6 animal workshop 14th February U11 Boys' ISA Regional 5-a-side Football Competition at Alleyn Court School Year 11 history trip to Hitler on Trial 15th February Year 8 options evening 16th February Year 8 full reports issued Year 4-11 ISA Regional Cross Country at Finborough School

Lower School News

Reception Class Forest School In Forest School this week, reception pupils have been busy making bird feeders.

Secret Reader Reception pupils had their first secret reader visit last week. Mr Ayres read the story, Felix the Fast Tractor and the Coal Delivery. The pupils loved the story and enjoyed the visit. They are looking forward to the next secret reader!

Big Garden Birdwatch This week, reception pupils took their clipboards and bird sheets out around the school grounds to see what birds they could find. They spotted many, including six robins, two magpies and three crows. The pupils loved this activity and we are planning another outing next week to find more.

Lower School News

Year 2 Year two have been working hard this week in mathematics. We have been looking at different strategies to help them subtract across the tens boundary, including partitioning, ten frames and the number line.

STEM Club KS2 STEM Club have been learning about sustainability this week and different renewable sources of energy. Pupils made their own waterwheels to help us understand how hydropower works.

Lower School News

Year 5 Science This week, Year 5 have been learning about reflection.

Pupils made their own periscopes to investigate how mirrors can reflect light. They had great fun looking around corners and over tables and showed great teamwork!

Mathletics Congratulations to Raithe, Neal, and Evelyn, who have all achieved a gold certificate in Mathletics. Neal has also achieved a platinum certificate. Keep up the great work!

Middle and Upper School News

Year 7 French Year 7 pupils have been levelling up their language skills this week in French, with a round of mind reader, and were able to showcase some great pronunciation skills.

Saint Nicholas School News

Pupil News Last Sunday, April played piano and Julia played violin at Birchanger Service Station for the Welcome Break charitable funds, alongside Khloe who collected funds for the charity.

The girls performed with great confidence and they were outstanding in their quest to raise money for this worthwhile cause.

The Saint Nicholas school community is very proud of what the girls have achieved.

Keep up the great work!

International Women’s Day Join us in celebrating International Women's Day at Saint Nicholas School! We're inviting female parents to share their career experiences, journeys, and triumphs.

We're keen on hearing about the challenges you've overcome. Additionally, we'd love for your child to get a glimpse of your work through a mini workshop in the afternoon. If you're interested and available on March 8th, please reach out to Miss Branford-Jackson at s.branfordjackson@saintnicholasschool.net. Your participation will make this event truly special.

Saint Nicholas School News

Sting Perfoming Arts Club Sting Performing Arts Club runs every Friday from 3.45pm-5.15pm in the theatre, and is open to all pupils including Reception. If you require further details please contact Tamara. Contact details are shown on the poster below.

Sports News

GCSE PE pupils’ visit to Spurs Academy Mr Tucker took GCSE PE pupils to the Spurs academy last week, where we spent the day having specialist tours and staff talk about potential career pathways. Firstly, we had the head of the coaching academy speak to us about how the academy is run; he showed us videos of the different academy age groups and how he got into his job. We then had an analyst speak to us about how he analyses the players and showed us examples. He explained how it is a very busy job and he always has to be available to talk to the players, even on rest days, to give them feedback. We listened to a nutritionist who told us about all the specific food the players need to eat to stay at their best to perform well. Afterwards we went to the gym and heard from Adrian, head of strength and conditioning. He told us about his pathway into the job and what it consists of. We finished off the session with a jumping challenge to see who had the most power to jump the highest. We talked to a physiotherapist who showed us a board of all the ongoing injuries with the academy players and explained how they were treating them.

The U18s match against Aston Villa had just started, and we managed to watch the first half before heading back over to reception, where we started a tour of the 1st team side. The guide showed how different and more luxurious it was compared to the academy side so the academy players had a goal to get there. They had a large gym with a huge windows facing out towards the pitch and everything else was very nicely decorated. We got to see a few 1st team players as we walked around and passed through the restaurant. To finish off the day we had a tour outside and were shown the players’ recreation and BBQ area as well as the Lodge, which is the hotel for teams to stay in when they come to England. We visited the room where Spurs’ new signings were staying and finished the day off with a visit to the conference room.

Overall it was a great day out for us all, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ali Year 10

Sports News Football On 10th January, the Year 10 and Year 11 football teams opened their football season with a tournament against Harlow Schools. We played two games, the first of which was against Passmores. We got off to a good start with some great passages of play and some good defending. However, we conceded a couple of unfortunate goals which in turn led to us losing our first game.

Our second game was against a strong St Mark’s team, which we dictated and controlled for the first half of the game. The opposition then broke through the line of our defence and scored two goals in the second half, which led to St Mark’s winning the game.

Sports News

Despite the results there were many positives to take away from this game. A special mention to Braydon and Frankie who stepped up in the last minute to play in the fixture. Thank you to Mr Tucker for taking us, hopefully we can come out with a positive result in our next football fixture.

Suraj Year 11