8 December 2023
Carol Service and arrangements for the last day of term
All parents are invited to the whole school Carol Service at St Mary's Church in the Lace Market on the last day of term, on Wednesday 20 December - this event starts at 10:30 and should finish at 11:30.
This is a special opportunity for our school community - of all faiths and none - to come together, a memorable occasion to mark the end of term and the beginning of the festive season. Families who have not yet accepted to our invitation to attend may still do so here: CAROL SERVICE RSVP
Here's a reminder of timings for the final day of term:
The Dining Hall will open as usual from 07:50 and will offer a festive breakfast. Our catering team will attend church with the girls, so the Dining Hall will close promptly when service ends.
Pupils should arrive at school for morning registration on Wednesday as usual.
Girls in Reception to Year 3 will travel to St Mary's Church by school transport, and older girls will walk. All girls should wear their usual school uniform, with school coats. Coins in coat pockets for the customary end-of-service collection will be much appreciated - this will be in aid of Ducklings, the Nottingham Children's Hospital charity.
For safeguarding reasons, all pupils will return to school after the service.
Parents may collect girls at the end of term, at 12:30. School buses will depart at 12:45 - kindly note that there will be no After School Club provision on Wednesday 20 December.
Super sustainable Christmas jumper exchange - update
Eco Club would like to thank everyone who has entered into the spirit of festive recycling, and congratulate those girls who have earned extra house points by rummaging around for preloved jumpers that require new owners.
There will be a final opportunity for girls to bring a swap on Monday morning, after which everyone who has made a donation will be invited to rehome a jumper and then wear it to school on Friday. ♻️
** Christmas Jumper Day is this coming Friday. Girls wearing a festive top with their usual school uniform are invited to bring a £1 donation for Save the Children, which will be collected by our Year 6 Sisters of Charity. **
Writers' Club 🖋️
An interview with Miss Taylor
At NGHS Juniors, we are very proud to have a well-stocked and beautifully-appointed library with a team of librarians who are passionate about the joys to be found in reading.
With thirteen years of service behind her, Miss Taylor balances her library duties with being a published author and running our club for older girls who are budding writers:
"Junior Writers’ Club runs throughout the school year, meeting every Monday. In the Autumn Term, we begin by exploring a few fiction essentials such as character, setting, plot and hooks. We use published examples and picture prompts as inspiration, and try out a variety of playful and practical creative writing exercises.
Once our junior writers have embarked on their stories, they often grow in confidence and frequently share constructive feedback as well as working independently. At the end of each year, we produce a booklet showcasing their great work. Our booklets usually focus on a particular genre. In the past, this has included ghost stories and animal stories, mysteries and fantasy - and this year, we’re celebrating science fiction.
We’re looking forward to revealing our stories about aliens, alternative realities and futuristic worlds in 2024!" 👽
❄️ Winter Lights ❄️
Tuesday evening saw the Junior School's 13th annual Winter Lights concert, an event that provides opportunities for our Key Stage 2 musical ensembles and classes to demonstrate their love of and commitment to musical and dramatic excellence.
Year 5 commenced the proceedings with a beautifully narrated reenactment of The Night Before Christmas, directed by Mrs McDowell and including a surprise cameo appearance from the Sugar Plum Fairy herself, Mrs E!
The girls then treated the audience to a variety of musical genres, from traditional Irish to modern songs. Playing to a full house and directed by Mr Rolfe, this year's concert included 96 girls, many performing in multiple bands, orchestras and choirs - as well as a whole host of staff and Senior School volunteers working behind the scenes and on stage.
Mr Rolfe tells us that he is already busy planning for Winter Lights version 14.0 next year! He hopes that our readers will enjoy these photos from rehearsals - images from the final concert will be shared at a later date.
❄️ ❄️ ❄️
"Thank you for a magnificent concert - it was joyous and utterly uplifting, and helped to seal the tone for the festive season."
Year 6 parent
"Yet another remarkable Winter Lights Concert... I hope you realise the wonderful musical impact you have had on our daughters at NGHS."
Year 6 parent - to Mr Rolfe
"The concert was brilliant! We thoroughly enjoyed it and walked away feeling full of joy - it was a production that the girls can be proud of."
Year 5 parent
** Thank you to the generous audience at Winter Lights who donated just over £200 to support the work of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust which manages Attenborough Nature Reserve. **
Above and right: Click on the galleries to reveal more images
It's all going swimmingly!
Above: All swimming lessons involve exclusive use of the 25m deck level Djanogly pool with moveable floor.
Below: The walk to the pool is quick and straightforward, across The Forest.
Every year group at NGHS Juniors swims for a full term at the lovely Djanogly pool, a short distance from school. Girls from EYFS and Key Stage 1 travel to lessons via minibus in the Summer Term, whereas Years 3-6 walk as part of their warm-up, with their weekly distance logged and counting towards the City's Sheriff's Challenge to walk the equivalent of a Marathon before the start of the Paris Olympics in 2024.
The swimming pool has a moveable floor, which means it can be as shallow as a few centimetres, or as deep as several metres. This enables girls of all abilities to learn at safe and appropriate depths, with NGHS staff on hand to join them in the water to support, encourage and accelerate progress. The variable depth of the pool also means that more confident swimmers can learn to dive, swim underwater and develop self-rescue skills - sometimes wearing clothes! By the time girls complete the programme in Y6, the aim is for everyone to be able to swim at least 25m unaided and non-stop. Of course, many girls can swim further much sooner, so there are also opportunities to improve stamina over distance and play games such as water polo.
At the end of term, we usually host an informal inter-house gala with events ranging from traditional stroke races to treasure hunts and races with floats. These events include girls of all abilities, so everyone has a chance to develop a healthy competitive spirit and contribute to their house score!
All groups are taught according in groups based on proficiency by fully-qualified coaches, as well as Miss Abbott our PE lead who is also a certified swimming teacher. It is common for girls to move between groups as they make progress or as their confidence improves.
Swimming is a vital life skill, providing numerous benefits - both physical and mental - and it can provide hours of fun and fitness regardless of ability. It really is an activity for everyone.
Above: Team Bolton
🏊 Swimming Gala Results - Years 5 and 6 🏊🏽
Well done to everyone who participated in this week's gala, which saw house teams pitted against one another in a range of formal and informal races. Competition was fierce - especially in the relays - and the final scores were incredibly close:
WINNERS - Bolton 46
Hastings 45 * Luxton 45 * Skeel 44
Christmas tree decorating
Mrs Fowler
Thank you to Milena, Emily and Esme from Year 6 who represented NGHS Juniors at St Mary's Church in the Lace Market last week, continuing our yearly gesture of dressing a Christmas tree and supporting Emmanuel House.
Thanks also go to the girls from Mrs Crawshaw's Art Club who created the beautiful Ojo de Dios or 'God’s eye' decorations, which we all look forward to seeing at our Carol Service on Wednesday.
Our Junior School tradition of Christmas tree decorating also extends to the annual gifting of baubles by pupils from Year 6. Each bauble is named, used to adorn the current tree, and then reappears periodically on future trees to remind of us of our alumnae.
Top left: Visiting St Mary's Church
Left and below: Year 6 pupils ready to decorate the Rainbow Room tree with their personal baubles
🏃🏽♀️ Key Stage 2 - Inter-house distance relay 🏃♀️
Miss Abbott
On Friday, we completed our first inter-house distance relay run with some very close finishes! The Y3/Y4 event saw Luxton crowned champions, completing 80 laps and narrowly pipping Hastings who completed 79. In the Y5/Y6 event, Bolton were victorious with 87 laps, ahead of a tie for second place on 83 laps by Hastings and Skeel. This completed a sporting double for Bolton who had also won the swimming gala earlier in the day!
Well done all of the participants for demonstrating our NGHS Junior RECIPE through excellent teamwork, positive attitudes and resilient determination.
Did you know? ... 🤸🏼
As well as teaching Years 1-6 after school every Wednesday, our gymnastics instructor Richard Smith also coached and managed Great Britain squad gymnasts for the 2023 World Trampoline, Tumbling and DMT Championships which took place last month at the Birmingham Utility Arena.
Richard's students, Laila Boxall and Alex Bell, achieved bronze and fifth place awards - a magnificent trophy for their teams and a reminder that we are very fortunate to have such an expert working with us here at NGHS Juniors!
