Saint Nicholas School
Newsletter Friday 2nd February, 2024 For daily news updates follow us:
From the Headmaster's desk 'In February there is everything to hope for and nothing to regret.' - Patience Strong
Dates for your Diary 5th February Year 11 trip to Poetry Live! Conference at Norwich Theatre 5th - 8th February Year 7 Trip to Valencia 6th February Safer Internet Day
Year 8 Netball Team off to the ISA Nationals
Dear Parents and Pupils, January has flown past, as has another week at Saint Nicholas, and I am certain that your thoughts are already turning to the prospect of longer daylight hours that February brings. This year, February gifts us with an extra day and I am sure we are all familiar with the concept of a leap year and the reasoning behind why we have them. For the majority of us, an extra day is simply an extra day at work, however, for 'leaplings', people born on 29th February, this year offers them the opportunity to celebrate their actual birthday for the first time since 2020 and I feel certain that they will be making the very most of this rare treat. American author and humourist, Mark Twain is quoted as saying, 'Give every day the chance to be the most beautiful day of your life.' A sentiment that we, and the 'leaplings' amongst us, can all endeavour to action this month. This week has very much been 'the calm before the storm', as we gear up for a busy week next week, which includes a Year 7 residential trip to Valencia, our lower school production of Oliver, a Year 11 trip to Poetry Live, and Safer Internet Day. The theme of my senior assembly today was Safer Internet Day, which takes place on Tuesday, and I provided the pupils with a brief history of the internet, followed by some interesting facts, including treating them to the sound of 'dial-up' internet connection! I then addressed the topics of cyberbullying and trolling, before reinforcing the importance of having a positive
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 Senior Ski trip parent/pupil meeting
From the Headmaster’s desk
Dates for your Diary digital footprint and reminding them that social media is not a place to be negative, express extreme views, speak badly about a person, or criticise or judge people, because all that you write, or post can be visible forever. You can learn more about Safer Internet Day by clicking on THIS LINK. As we move towards half-term, I do have a few staffing matters to update you on. Firstly, our Head of Science, Miss Kerry Johnson, will be departing after 9 years at Saint Nicholas, and I am sure you will all join me in wishing her the very best for the future. I am delighted to announce that Mrs Erin Ivins, who currently teaches physics and biology, will be stepping in to teach all of the senior biology, which will provide our existing pupils with excellent continuity and progression. Also departing at half-term will be Mrs Natasha Stallman, Learning Support Assistant. Mrs Stallman has been with the school for 13 ½ years and during that time has contributed a great deal to the life of Saint Nicholas, and the pupils that she works with. Mrs Stallman leaves us to take up a role as a children's practitioner as part of the Hertfordshire County Council Safeguarding Team, and all the Saint Nicholas community wishes her the very best in this exciting new role. Finally, congratulations to Mrs Jane Burchfield, who will be taking on the role of Head of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) when we return from the February half-term break. Mrs Burchfield has taught Spanish and French at the school for 8 years and has led numerous residential trips, including Year 7's trip to Valencia next week. Mrs Burchfield has proven to be a genuine asset to the school since her arrival and we are all very excited about the future of Modern Foreign Languages under her leadership. As we move into a weekend of dry, albeit cloudy, weather, it is worth noting that the first Saturday of every month is National Play Outside Day. National Play Outside Day is a monthly reminder to take a break from the responsibilities and the distractions of everyday life, and take a break outside. With that in mind, why not kick-start February by wrapping up and expending some energy in the great outdoors? Have a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend.
14th February U11 Boys' ISA Regional 5-a-side Football Tournament 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 26th - 1st February Second Year 11 mock GCSE examinations fortnight 26th February Julian Opie, artist, in school for the day 28th February Year 10 Spanish cinema day at BFI Year 8 Parents' Evening 29th February Year 8 Spanish cinema day at BFI Year 5 Space enrichment day 1st March Lower school progress reports issued Prefect application launch Year 5 trip to the French Institute, London
To keep up to date with events on the school calendar CLICK HERE
Lower School News
Reception This week, Reception pupils had lots of fun finding all the animals in the story 'The Gruffalo', on their school trip to the Gruffalo trail at Thorndon Country Park. They had a go at building houses for the mouse and creating owl art out of the natural objects around the forest. They practised moving, climbing, collecting and hiding nuts like squirrels. Great fun was had by all!
Lower School News
Eco Club
This week, Eco Club pupils cleared the raised beddings areas and planted pumpkin seeds, using the seeds they had collected from pumpkins at Halloween. They then created a poly tunnel and planted cabbages, cauliflowers and onions. We look forward to sharing the results, when the time comes!
STEM Club What an exciting STEM Club this week, in lower school! Pupils created their own lava lamps and were delighted with the results!
Lower School News
KS2 COMPUTING The KS2 Computing experts have been busy helping to support next Monday's assembly. Next week, we will be celebrating Safer Internet Day. This year's theme will be Inspiring Change, making a difference, managing influence, and navigating change safely online. Safer Internet Day is the UK's biggest celebration of online safety.
Middle and Upper School News
Year 6 Pupils in Year 6 have been learning about and developing ideas for a breakfast this term, culminating in the realisation of their dishes this week in class. And what an amazing array of dishes, as you can see. Mrs Ridley-Warren
The Railway Children - Auditions
Middle and upper school production rehearsals are underway. Auditions will be held on Thursday 15th February, and we will be focusing on script work beforehand. Please encourage your children to come along and be part of this beautiful story, every Thursday in the theatre from 4pm to 5pm.
Saint Nicholas School News
Pupil News Year 4 pupil Julia, held a charity stall at the school Christmas fayre to support JDRF, whose research goes into finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes. The raffle of naming the deer, and lucky dip raised a total of £43! Thank you to everyone who has supported JDRF. The winner of the raffle was Miss Farrow, with the winning name of Charlie.
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.branford-jackson@saintnicholasschool.net. Your participation will make this event truly special.
Saint Nicholas School News
World Book Day 2024 We are starting to gear up for World Book Day 2024, which falls on Thursday 7th March. Lower school pupils will be given a physical voucher, and seniors, can use an e-voucher which can be downloaded from THIS LINK
Rocking Horse Nursery Rocking Horse Nursery is offering an exciting opportunity for ambitious, motivated, and professional practitioners to join our friendly and experienced team. We are currently recruiting qualified Nursery Practitioners and Room Leaders to be a part of our charming nursery set within our extensive grounds. For further information please click on THIS LINK.
Sports News
ISA Netball Tournament On Tuesday 30th January, our Year 8 netball squad plus Kayla from Year 7 , went to the ISA Regional Netball tournament. We played strong teams with some very tight matches, and lost a few but won several matches. Each game was 14 minutes and we played over 90 minutes of netball in total. Strong netball against some really good teams, and one of our scores was 16-0! Our last game was very tight, we had the win for the majority of the game, and considering this team hadn’t lost any games, we fought and finished with a 6-6 draw. Everyone played really well and we had some very successful wins, with me (Frankie) captaining and Holly vice captaining. We later found out we had qualified to nationals for the first time! A big well done to everyone! Frankie, Year 8
We are extremely proud of the girls; they are the first team to have qualified for this national event. They worked hard as a team showing great determination and passion to play hard, and learn from mistakes throughout the tournament. The ISA Nationals will be on 20th March at King's High School, Warwick. Mrs Oakley
Active Essex Award
We are delighted to announce that Saint Nicholas School has achieved the Active Essex KS1 Award, in recognition of our fantastic PE curriculum, extracurricular sports clubs, and fixtures. The awards ceremony will take place on Friday 26th April.
Sports News
Football
On Tuesday 23rd January, the Year 10 girls football team went to St Mark’s and played in a Harlow schools tournament. Our team consisted of Sophie, Delilah, Sophia, Polly, Gisel and Eden. We played two matches of ten minutes and then two matches of five minutes. Our first game was against Passmores, we started off with good attack and I managed to score two goals giving us a head start. The opposition then broke through and scored a goal, but we managed to keep up a good tight defence and won the game. We played Passmores for a second time, and although we held up some good defence, they fought back and we lost 2-1. We then played St Mark’s where at first we had a head lead of 1-0 from Sophia’s great corner, with a finish from me. They fought back and drew 1-1. For our final game against St Mark’s, Sophia scored a great goal with good attack but they dictated and brought good attack against us and we lost 3-1. Thank you to Mrs Sanders for taking us, and we look forward to more tournaments and games like this in the future. Sophie, Year 10
Tag Rugby - David Bown Cup Year 3 and 4 tag rugby - Harlow Rugby Club. 16 teams were organised into 4 groups, and within minutes of the first whistle, the pitches were filled with children running, passing and tagging their way to success. The Saint Nicholas team remained unbeaten throughout the day. David Stacey (School Sports Partnership Manager), gave a fitting tribute to the late David Bown, former Headmaster of Saint Nicholas School whose life was tragically cut short in a road traffic accident in 2020. Mr Stacey asked all the 16 teams and staff for three cheers to honour Mr Bown, as Mr Brown presented Henry Moore with a Spirit of Rugby trophy, adorned with Mr Bown’s name.
Sports News
Swimming On Thursday 25th January, we attended the District Swimming Gala held at Bishop Stortford College. Over 10 schools participated from around the local area. Congratulations to pupils from Years 7 to 11, who attended. Everyone took part in a warm up and their respective races, including freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke. Well done to the boys’ team for a strong finish to the gala, with medley and freestyle relays. Thanks to Mrs Hill and Mrs Sanders for all their support. Delilah, Year 10