Newsletter 8th December 2023

Saint Nicholas School

Newsletter Friday 8th December, 2023 For daily news updates follow us:

From the Headmaster's desk 'I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the past, the present and the future.' Ebenezer Scrooge

Dates for your Diary 11th December Christmas party for local elderly

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 Dear Parents and Pupils, Our final, full week has come to a conclusion and it has been a week of all things Christmas! The highlights of the week have most definitely been our Carol Services, which always prove to be very special occasions. Alongside the amazing singing performances and confidently executed readings that celebrate the season, our Carol Services also remind us of the true meaning of Christmas and the importance of being present rather than just giving them.

To quote American writer of humorous books on cooking, Peg Bracken, 'Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.'

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

From the Headmaster’s desk

Dates for your Diary As we look forward to the final three days of term, I would take this opportunity to remind you of our Friends Christmas Fayre on the final day of term, which takes on a special significance this year, as we welcome young carers from local primary schools to join us. A young carer is a child aged 18 and under who care, unpaid, for a friend or family member who cannot cope without their support. Research shows that across the UK there are as many as one in five children and young people who are young carers, and there are more than ten thousand young carers in Essex alone. I am delighted that we will be able to welcome seventy, primary aged young carers to join our festivities and share with us a Saint Nicholas School Christmas.

As we move into our final weekend before the end of term, I wanted to thank you all for your support and wish you all the very best for the Christmas season. The remaining three candles of Advent represent peace, joy and love, and I sincerely wish all our families, and the wider community, an enjoyable holiday bursting with all three. To quote an unknown author, 'The true joy of Christmas is in the love shared with family and friends.'

My very best wishes for the Christmas break.

Lower School News

EYFS Nativity Last week our EYFS Nativity took place. It was a superb performance. Thank you to all involved in making it magical for the pupils and families alike.

Year 4 Last Friday evening, Year 4 had a sleepover at school. It was a fabulous evening of activities, starting with a Christmas movie, exploring the grounds by night, singing around the campfire and a Christmas bedtime story.

Lower School News

Year 5 This week class 5 helped Mrs Bedford with her Reception French lesson. The pupils sang C'est l'hiver to the tune of Let it Snow, and coloured in French Christmas themed bookmarks together.

Story Explorers Club Our last focus book this half term was Stickman by Julia Donaldson. This week the children really enjoyed using chalk to create a scene for their stick family to be in. They used their cutting skills to select the characters that they wanted for their stick family.

Lower School News

Christmas Carol Service We were delighted to welcome families to our Lower School Christmas Carol Service held at St Mary’s Church this week. The pupils delighted the audience with a spectacular array of poetry and song. Well done to all involved in making a truly wonderful service.

KS1 Nativity Yesterday, our KS1 Nativity took place, and it was a spectacular production. The dedication from staff and pupils alike shone through. Thank you to all involved.

Lower School News

Touch Typing Group A very well done to the pupils that attend Ms Cook’s weekly touch typing group. They have all worked extremely hard this half term working on their speed and accuracy and scoring brilliantly in their recent assessments.

Please keep up the incredible hard work.

Ms Cook

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

Middle and Upper School News

Christmas Carol Services We were delighted to welcome families to the Middle and Upper School Christmas Carol Services held at St Mary’s Church on Thursday. The services depicted the magic of Christmas. The choir, soloists and readers were outstanding in their performances. Thank you to all staff and pupils for a wonderful, uplifting service.

Saint Nicholas School News

Reverse Advent

Many thanks to all those who have donated to our whole school Foodbank initiative and Bump to 5. It has been so wonderful to see the influx of items in the last week. We understand that there are pupils wanting to donate still and so we have extended the collection until Monday 11th December. We will then take all the donations to the Foodbank on Tuesday morning.

Thank you so much for such wonderful support at this time of year, it is hugely appreciated.

Staff Leavers Mrs Storey (Maths), Ms Schofield-Paffett (previously Reception and currently Little Saints) and Ms Cook (LSA) will be leaving us at the end of this term. We would like to wish them all the very best and thank them for their contribution to Saint Nicholas School.

Baby News The Saint Nicholas School community would like to offer our congratulations to Mrs Curtis, Year 1 teacher, and her family, on the safe arrival of baby Otis Hugh Curtis, born on 30th November.

Pictured here with big sister.

LAMDA Last week Mrs Simpson came to share more about LAMDA classes. Pupils participated in a voice and facial warm up as she expressed what an important and exciting instrument our voice is. Everyone has the ability to use their voices clearly and confidently to tell stories, poems and share ideas, all of which is explored in their journey through the LAMDA syllabi. The Lower School impressed Mrs Simpson with some acting freeze frames and she told them that after half term she would host a lunch time fun Poetry Jam session for curious pupils to flex their voices as a group, and create something powerful.

Mrs Simpson is accepting new sign ups for the spring term and in January, should pupils wish to share a class there will be the possibility of pairing with others working at the same level.

Please contact Mrs Simpson if you would like to discuss further or register interest for the new term: petrova@seizetheplay.co.uk

Saint Nicholas School News

Save the Date Friends Christmas Fayre Wednesday 13th December

Sports News

Cheerleading On Thursday 7th December, Year 5 pupils took part in the cheerleading festival at Mark Hall School. Below, the pupils tell us about their experience at the event.

I enjoyed seeing all the different schools dancing and I loved that everyone tried their hardest.

Aria I enjoyed being by the front and seeing all the dances at Mark Hall. It was amazingly great to see the other schools participate.

Pumpkin I loved having all the other schools cheering and supporting us. It was amazing.

Aggy I really enjoyed the Christmas cheerleading festival. Everyone was encouraging and kind and my favourite part was watching other schools take on cheer. Thank you, Ms Nicholson, for all your help . I had so much fun.

Annalise Today we had so much fun at Mark Hall. It was great watching all the other schools in Harlow.

Tilly Thursday the 7th of December was really fun! We had a lot of excitement practising for this cheerleading festival. We were the smallest group there and we were amazing! Well done everyone who participated!

Emma Today was the cheerleading festival at Mark Hall. It was so much fun. We were the smallest group there, but we did really well.

Charlotte

Sports News

Football Last Thursday the Year 7 football squad travelled to Passmores Academy for the Harlow Schools Football tournament. This was their second tournament of the season but with a strong team of fourteen players they were optimistic about their chances of success. After winning their first game 2-0 against Passmores, Mark Hall beat us in the second game 0-1. St Mark’s beat us 0-2 and we drew against Stewards Academy. We finished the tournament in 4th place with a lot of lessons learnt.

Training continues after Christmas, with futsal and football tournaments in the new term ahead, so lots to look forward to.

ISA Swimming Finals A huge well done to Nola Year 4, Harrison Year 6, Kayla Year 7, Cooper Year 10 and Ali Year 10, who all competed in the ISA national swimming finals representing East Anglia last Friday, at the London Aquatic Centre in Stratford.

East Anglia finished in 4th place overall, which was a great achievement for only a small representative team.

Standout performances: Kayla bronze medal 200m medley relay, a silver medal 50m butterfly and a silver medal 200m freestyle relay.

Cooper silver 200m medley relay and a silver 200m freestyle relay.

Ali silver, 200m medley relay.

Sports News

Badminton The badminton festival at Mark Hall last Friday was focused on coaching key skills and enjoyment.

The festival allowed pupils to develop new and existing badminton techniques. It was led by senior pupils, who reinforced set tasks, worked independently and eventually in pairs on the court, with an increased level of engagement as the event went on.

The pupils from Purford Green, Pemberley, Jerounds, The Downs, Nazeing, Saint Nicholas (Moyosore, Matilda, Jay & Safia) and Cooks Spinney, formed 14 teams who took part in lots of fun challenges. The staff were even involved in a shuttlecock version of the ‘stuck in the mud’. Harlow SSP Manager, David Stacey, thanked all pupils for displaying fantastic behaviour throughout the morning and gave huge praise to the 6 sports leaders from Mark Hall Academy, who led their groups confidently throughout.