Newsletter 1st December 23

Saint Nicholas School

Newsletter Friday 1st December, 2023 For daily news updates follow us:

From the Headmaster's desk 'There's something super special about December.' Charmaine J. Forde

Dates for your Diary 4th December Lower School Carol Service 2pm Years 3 to 5, parents welcome

6th December Middle School Carol Service 11am Years 6-8, parents welcome Upper School Carol Service 2.15pm Years 9-11, parents welcome

7th December KS1 Nativity 2.30pm and 5.00pm Dear Parents and Pupils, Another week has rushed by and the arrival of December has brought with it a snap of cold weather, that can only be described as seasonal. The frost always brings a new dimension to my journey in from Buckinghamshire and serves as a timely reminder of the importance of taking extra care on the roads at this time of year. As I am sure you are aware, stopping distances can be up to 10 times longer in icy conditions and with that in mind, can I please ask that you are extra vigilant and keep to the 10mph speed limit when you are driving on site; thank you in advance for your support.

Middle and Upper School theatre trips

8th December Lower School trip to the Pantomime

11th December Christmas party for local elderly

From the Headmaster’s desk

Dates for your Diary Today, Christmas officially arrived at Saint Nicholas in the form of the EYFS Nativity and I was so proud of all our pupils. The performance of the Nativity is always an incredibly heart-warming event that brings sharply into focus the true essence of Christmas. United States Ambassador, Caroline Kennedy is quoted as saying, 'You have to remind kids to stay connected to the meaning of Christmas.

Sometimes it takes a little bit of effort, but it's so worth it.' A big well done and thank you to our pupils and EYFS teachers for the effort that went into providing all the adults with a seasonal reminder of the true meaning of Christmas this afternoon.

Next week, the lead into Christmas begins in earnest and there is very much an excited buzz around the school. One of the 'super special' things about Saint Nicholas, and one of the reasons I had no hesitation in returning, is our community and this is particularly apparent at this time of year. I am a strong believer that the true magic of Christmas, is the impact that it has on bringing people together and I am very much looking forward to welcoming you to one of our numerous events, to celebrate the season and another successful term at the school.

On Sunday, we welcome the beginning of the Christian celebration of Advent, and the lighting of the first candle in churches across the globe. The first candle, which is usually purple, symbolises hope, a state of being that I am sure we would all wish to embrace in the current climate. The only Superman in my opinion, Christoper Reeve, is quoted as saying, 'Once you choose hope, anything's possible.' A sentiment that I wholeheartedly agree with.

My very best wishes for a relaxing and reflective weekend

12th December Christmas Lunch Lower School Christmas parties Year 11 mock GCSE results day

13th December Christmas Jumper Day Friends Christmas Fayre Autumn Term Ends

To keep up to date with events on the school calendar CLICK HERE

Lower School News

Year 3 For enrichment day, Year 3 took their learning outside of the school to learn all about the local area. Pupils went for a walk to Newhall where they looked at the houses in detail, thinking about when they were designed and how.

They completed sketching of some of the buildings and a virtual walk up and down Churchgate Street during their computing lesson, spotting older buildings that they had previously learnt about in class.

Pupils also explored the school in more detail, looking at old and new photos and discovered that Mr Wilson’s office was an X-ray room many years ago!

Year 4 It has been a busy week in Year 4.

In science, pupils have been experimenting with simple circuits and switches and learning about electricity.

They have been working in groups perfecting their problem solving skills.

In art, pupils have started their latest project with our artist-in-residence, Mr Keenleyside. The theme of the project is Christmas and recycling. They have been focusing on looking at the famous Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes and how she works with plastics to create beautiful sculptures.

Lower School News

Year 3 and 4, visit to the Barbican Concert Hall Pupils in Years 3 and 4 experienced a cross curricular themed concert at the Barbican Concert Hall, with the London Symphony Orchestra last week. They experienced the story of Rama & Sita through music, singing and learning about Diwali - The Festival of Light celebrations.

Pupils enjoyed listening to the Indian instruments and were amazed by the drumming techniques on the tabla by Kuljit Bhangra. The concert finale was the song Jai Ho, which translates roughly as ‘let there be victory’, which was a rousing end to a fantastic concert.

Year 5 Year 5 had an exciting day out at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford as part of their history studies on World War II. Highlights included viewing World War II planes such as Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers, going in an air raid shelter and a secret war control room. Pupils walked through reconstructed trenches and a re-constructed bombed German town, and particularly enjoyed the chance to go on the famous Concorde plane.

Lower School News

Cheerleading Year 5 have been preparing for the annual cheerleading festival, which will be held at Mark Hall School on 7th December. Pupils have been enjoying dancing with the gymnastic ribbon for their individual routines. The final details are all in place and the choreography, music and costumes are now complete, nothing new will be added or changed. It is now time for the pupils to concentrate on doing their best, and they are excited to showcase their dance.

Eco Club During the last few weeks, Eco club pupils have been busy planting trees donated by the Woodland Trust. Pupils have planted over 50 native trees so far including Silver Birch, Rowen and Chestnut trees around the Rocking Horse nursery.

Mathletics Congratulations to all of our pupils who have excelled at Mathletics and received their Gold certificates. Keep up the great work!

Middle and Upper School News

Year 7

This term, Year 7 pupils have been studying Gothic Literature, in English. Congratulations to Annaliesse who claimed first prize in our 'Gothic Story Writing Competition', and to Evie who came a very close second! Both girls wrote extremely sophisticated and chilling pieces which perfectly captured the eerie, Gothic tone required.

Pupil News Congratulations to Amelie in Year 7 who, on Tuesday 13th November, took the 2005 Preliminary Dressage Test. Amelie tells us all about her experience below: I had to perform and remember a series of movements, that all came together to make a test where I was judged and given a score. I got mostly sevens and went up against some professional dressage riders, and managed to achieve third place!

Amelie Year 7

Saint Nicholas School News

Art Project This year’s whole school Christmas art project was inspired by the work of the internationally renowned artist Beatriz Milhazes. Born in Brazil, her works are about cultural celebrations fused with modernist painting and sculptures.

Pupils across the school have been working with our artist-in-residence, Mr Keenleyside, recycling plastic bottles into decorations that both reflected our celebrations at Christmas and the work of the artist. We think you will agree, the result is spectacular.

Christmas Carol Services We would be delighted for parents to join us for our Christmas Carol Services at St Mary’s Church, Old Harlow. In order to accommodate pupils and parents, we will be running three separate services.

Lower School (Years 3 to 5) - Monday 4th December 2:00pm Middle School (Years 6 to 8) - Wednesday 6th December at 11:00am Upper School (Years 9 to 11) - Wednesday 6th December at 2:15pm As there is limited parking at the church, we ask parents to park in the arena car park and walk to the church in Churchgate Street.

Seating for parents will be limited so please be prepared for the need to stand at the rear of the church for the duration of the service. Unfortunately, we are unable to reserve seating on this occasion.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Friends Donation Thank you to the Friends who have kindly donated £150.00 to our Year 10 pupils, to help make the annual Christmas party for the local elderly on 11th December, a great success.

Saint Nicholas School News

Save the Date Friends Christmas Fayre Wednesday 13th December

Saint Nicholas School News

Reverse Advent

As we are fast approaching the festive season, we would like to remind you that we are supporting two local charities: Harlow Foodbank and Bump to Five, and would be very grateful to receive your donations by Monday 4th December.

Last half term, we launched the idea of our school community Reverse Advent. The pupils learned what a Reverse Advent is, and how we will be using the concept to make donations to Harlow Foodbank and Bump to Five, to boost their supplies for Christmas time. There are currently more than 300 children in Harlow who rely on the Foodbank each month, and we would like to help support the extra pressure that is placed on the Foodbank over the next few months, plus bring some festive cheer to children with gifts of toys, games and books (please note that gift items must be new).

Throughout November, pupils have been asked, if they would like to participate, to bring food, toiletries and children’s gifts, to follow the idea of the twenty-four days of Christmas, with twenty-four items being donated (of course, any number of items will be very much appreciated).

Below is a list of food items that are required by the Foodbank. Please remember that food needs to have a long shelf-life and, therefore, fresh fruit and vegetables should not be donated. Bump to Five would be very grateful to receive new toys, games and books. Donations can be suitable for children of any age; they must be brand new and unwrapped as they will be wrapped up by the volunteers at Bump to Five, and passed on to families with appropriately aged children.

Pupils were shown an example of a Christmas tree planner that they could use to help organise their twenty-four items. A copy follows for printing at home, or you can collect one from the school office.

Lower school pupils can leave their food and gift items in the basket in the coffee shop, and middle and upper school pupils can put their items in the basket in the main entrance of Hillingdon House.

Thank you so much for your support.

Mrs Oakley PE Department

Saint Nicholas School News

Sports News

Netball What an amazing display of netball the Year 7 squad put on against Notley High School in the Essex Cup on Wednesday. The girls knew this was a must win game and have been fortunate to have a few solid weeks of squad training under their belts, however the anticipation of this game was felt amongst the players. Since our last games, they have all been working really hard to improve their personal game play whether working a variation of centre passes or changing the way they pass the ball in different situations.

With a little singing on the bus on the way to settle the nerves, the girls arrived ready to play with fire in their belly to show off their skills and beat the opposition. Some great attacking play from Isabelle and good shooting from Tia settled us quickly to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter. The defence play and interceptions from Dotty and Amelie, with strong keeping from Alice allowed us to move further to lead 8-1 at half time. With a change of positions with Clementine coming into WA and Casta moving to C, their speed and agility allowed Kayla and Isabelle to ease to a 12-3 lead. Jemima coming into defence only allowed Notley to score 1 goal in the last quarter to finish the game at 13-4 to Saint Nicholas. Well done girls! We take on City Academy on Wednesday to hopefully progress to the knockout stages of the competition.

Team: Kayla, Tia, Isabelle, Casta, Amelie, Dotty, Alice, Clementine and Jemima.

Football Senior Girls football report Last Thursday the Year 10 and Year 11 squad travelled to Passmores Academy for the Harlow Schools Football tournament. This was their first game of the season but with a strong team of seven players they were optimistic about their chances of success. Captain Lucy scored first against Passmores, and the opposition hit two successive goals so with only short matches we unfortunately lost 1-2.

Sports News

However we kept the eventual winners of the tournament, St Mark’s, to a goalless draw and then finished the tournament in style with a 6-0 win over Burnt Mill with an amazing hat trick from Polly. We finished in second place but it was a good start to the season with more tournaments and futsal to come in the new year. Training continues on Mondays.

Team: Sophie, Sofia, Lucy, Desiree, Polly, Delilah and Eden

Basketball Basketball Qualifying events, welcomed 15 teams to compete in small groups, at the Mark Hall Sports Centre on Friday 14th November.

The standard of play was good and all the teams that attended the events enjoyed themselves immensely and definitely improved throughout the sessions. The levels of sportsmanship were on display and some great baskets were scored. Pumpkin, Summer and Agatha put their netball skills to use, passing and moving swiftly down the court together. In the second half of each game Harrison, Lucas and Angus were tested, improving lay-ups, set shots and gaining extra opportunities after collecting rebounds.

Sports News

On Tuesday 28th November, the Year 9 boys attended a basketball tournament at Passmores School.

The team really played well and were effective in their man to man defense.

We were unlucky with some of our lay-ups which is something we all need to work on improving. We won against Passmores, lost against Saint Marks and Mark Hall, and drew against Burnt Mill, coming 3rd overall.

We really gelled as a team and had 2 unlucky losses which we probably could have won. Wilfred scored 3, Oliver scored 3, Max scored 1. A big thank you to Wilfred who played well and was playing a year up.

Oliver Year 9