No room at the inn 🌟
Mrs Brown and Miss Duce
What an amazing performance from the very youngest members our school! Last week, girls from Nursery and Reception lit up the stage of the Squire Performing Arts Centre with wonderful costumes, beautiful singing and outstanding acting, wowing their audience with an outstanding performance of this year's Nursery Rhyme Nativity.
The stars shone brightly, the angels helped to spread important news, Mary and Joseph found their way to Bethlehem, the Three Wise Men followed the brightest of the stars, King Herod couldn’t find a baby, and shepherds hurried along to welcome the the special new arrival. How truly remarkable!
Click on the GALLERY below for highlights:
NGHS Carol Service
Mrs Fowler
What a wonderful way to end our Autumn Term - a coming together of our whole school community at St Mary's Church. Well done to everyone who took part in this year's Carol Service, especially to those girls who retold the story of the Nativity in word and in costume, and to our staff and pupil choirs who truly raised the roof with their singing.
IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR YEARS 3 & 4
Swimming lessons start in January:
Please do not have your daughter's ears pierced during the Christmas break as this might prevent her from participating, and might also disrupt lessons. The next opportunity for piercing will be the Easter holiday.
CHECKLIST:
One-piece costume in navy blue or black
Plain swimming hat, in fabric or plastic
Towel
Wear socks to school on Fridays, not tights
Goggles are optional, and may only be worn with parental consent
Religious items which cannot be removed (e.g. the Sikh kara) should be covered with a sweatband
Feelin' the burn! 💪🏻
Miss Abbott
On Tuesday afternoon, we hosted our first ever TWELVE DAYS OF FITNESS - replacing the traditional gifts with hearty yuletide exercises, such as 12 x 25-second planks and 3 x burpies - and all to the tuneful accompaniment of Mr Rolfe 😲 It was wonderful to see girls from Year 2 to Year 6 exerting themselves, enjoying the challenge and having a jolly good laugh with the participating staff!
This event complements the activity sheet which girls in Years 3 to 6 have been given to complete over the holiday period - good luck, everyone! 👍
Achievements celebrated ... 🏆
... and saying goodbye
In our final assembly of 2024, Mrs Fowler reminded us that the Autumn Term is the longest term of the year, and thanked both staff and pupils for their RESILIENCE and POSITIVITY. Congratulations to LUXTON, winners of the House Cup for the first full term of the academic year!
We also celebrated examples of EXCELLENCE across the year groups, with girls recognised for their individual achievements in mental maths or for entries in our BOOK OF EXCELLENCE, and their collective efforts in earning house points.
MOST IMPROVED IN MENTAL MATHS
Maia Gandhi-Zhu (1G)
Gracie Horner (2C)
Marni Mahal (3B)
Sumaiyah Aziz (4B)
Johanna Resch (4M)
Eve Janakowski (5C)
Aaminah Sheikh (6B)
Coco Strauss( 6C)
EXCELLENCE IN MENTAL MATHS
Kiya Calladine (1G)
Tali Pollard (2C)
Jovana Krzanicki (3B)
Florence Best (4B)
Yuchen Lin (4M)
Junli Chen (5C)
Ruqaya Janjua (6B)
Dina El-Sharkawy (6C)
Ending on an emotional high, we bade a fond farewell to Mrs Sharon Needham who has worked in the NGHS catering team for an amazing 39 years. Sharon has been a familiar and friendly face to thousands of pupils, parents and staff, and we shall miss her greatly - thank you to everyone who came along to Wednesday's surprise breakfast reception, and to the Junior School pupils who created such a lovely book of memories for Sharon's retirement.
Recycle with Michael is back! ♻️
Our Year 6 Sisters of Charity are delighted to confirm the return of this popular project that helps to divert thousands of tonnes of unwanted items from landfill, whilst highlighting the importance of reusing and recycling in a way that helps worthy causes.
Our next collection of used clothing and footwear will take place during late January, timed to coincide with our families' New Year tidying sprees!
Recycling sacks can be ordered in the next edition of Spark. Items do not have to be in re-saleable condition; anything that is unsuitable for the Salvation Army's charity shops will still be recycled responsibly.
Competition time!
Year 12 GDST Lead students
The GDST LEAD (Leadership Enterprise Advanced Diploma) programme encourages Sixth Form students to create real change for the future, with elements of the programme provided in partnership with LSE Generate, the entrepreneurial arm of the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE).
GDST Lead presents opportunities for students to collaborate, pushed themselves out of their comfort zones, and work hard to overcome unexpected challenges.
Earlier this week, Riyaa Samra and Daisy Billings from Year 12 invited girls from the Junior School to support their LEAD project by entering an art competition, entries for which will feature in a new storybook called Pages with Power:
Draw an animal suited to a jungle, Arctic or ocean environment
Plain white background, A4
Hand to class teachers no later than Friday 10 January
Below: As part of their project, another GDST LEAD team - Paint a Pal - have been working with Junior School pupils after school this week.
OUT AND ABOUT
Mr Rolfe
Hot on the heels of last week's Junior and Senior School concerts, pupils from Years 4-8 have once again exemplified the spirit of generosity and community engagement with a series of heartwarming performances outside of school.
On Saturday, 70 girls - supported by some of our exceptional Sixth Form music scholars - performed in Nottingham's Victoria Centre and at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Their collective POSITIVITY and EXCELLENCE raised an impressive £775 for PASIC, the local charity that supports families of seriously ill children. Since our partnership with PASIC began in 2011, we are proud to have raised over £20,000 for this great cause.
The girls performed with enthusiasm and joy, and drew praise from onlookers for their talent and dedication; we are enormously proud of them, and grateful to everyone who gave generously of their time to help out.
On Tuesday, the goodwill continued as our Year 5-6 pupils - accompanied by the Year 8 voice scholars - performed for the Radford Care Group, one of our long-time community partners. Festive favourites filled the room with cheer, and the girls then spent time speaking with the men and women who are supported by this charity.
The festive tour culminated on Thursday, when the Year 5-6 Vocalise choir - under the direction of Mrs Keys - showcased their singing at the prestigious Lace Market Carol Service, an annual celebration for people who live or work in the city centre.
Overall, the girls' passion for choral and instrumental excellence is a testament to the vibrant musical community we have cultivated - happy Christmas to all!
Click on the GALLERY below for highlights from Thursday's Lace Market Carol Service:
Supporters of our buskers who were unable to attend on Saturday can still donate using this link:
House parties! 🎉
Year 6 House Captains
Thank you to everyone who joined in with the party games which we organised on Wednesday afternoon, and to our Year 6 classmates who helped out. We really enjoyed hosting our own house parties - well done if you won a prize!
Year 5 PSHE update
Mrs Crawshaw
Year 5 are looking forward to embarking on the DAaRT (Drugs, Alcohol and Resistance Training) programme in the Spring Term. This stretching 10-week course will coach the girls to respond maturely to challenging situations such as peer pressure, miscommunication, cyberbullying, assessing risks and consequences, and dealing with stress - as well as recognising the support networks that are available to them.
DAaRT also helps to children to distinguish between helpful and harmful drugs, including the short- and long-term effects of alcohol and tobacco. The training programme - which has been running for over 25 years - even touches upon knife safety and explores how minors are regarded by the law.
Preparation for DAaRT graduation towards the end of the ten weeks will provide opportunities for the girls to showcase the safe and healthy choices which they'll need as they approach adulthood.
TUNING UP 🎵
Mr Rolfe
With 2025 fast approaching and as we wrap up a term filled with events and concerts, we take a moment to reflect on the Music Department's highlights since September. The latest edition of Tuning Up captures the passion and dedication of our young musicians as they make the most of their talents. Included in this end-of-year round up are:
The Junior Windblowers Cup
Rough Trade 6
Winter Lights
The Christmas Concert
Concert at the Quaker Meeting House
The Autumn Concert
Carol service at St Mary's Church
Busking for PASIC
Thank you to everybody who supports these events; we are so very grateful.
Dance Showcase
Monday morning this week began with a high energy dance showcase for parents and the whole Infant and Junior School to enjoy in The Squire Performing Arts Centre. Girls from Nursery to Year 6 performed routines that demonstrated their learning with Miss Becky and Miss Talia this term, all set to festive music. Well done to everyone involved!
