19 January 2024
School uniform sale
We are about to hold our first uniform sale of the year, with a great choice of used and nearly-new garments.
We hope this will provide families with an opportunity to save time and money, and reduce their carbon footprints by rehoming clothes that still have plenty of wear in them. ♻️
PRELOVED UNIFORM POP-UP SHOP
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, THIS COMING WEEK
16:00 TO 17:30 IN THE JUNIOR LIBRARY
(Please come to the main entrance and call the After School Club phone to be let in)
ECO CLUB field trip to the Young People's Forest 🌳
Miss Simmons and Mrs Astill
What a great start to our whole school GREEN MONTH for our Eco Club members! On Thursday, they visited the Young People’s Forest at Mead, near Heanor, and saw for themselves the monumental scale of this 250,000 tree planting project which started in 2019.
Once complete, this will be a thriving new woodland scattered with biodiverse ponds, open spaces and species-rich grassland. Bordering Shipley Country Park, and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Woodside Farm, these three areas provide over 500 hectares of accessible landscape for local people to enjoy - as Eco Club discovered when they were invited by a ranger to brew hot chocolate and roast marshmallows over a camp fire, and make tree decorations from natural materials!
Mrs Eggington's study leave
Girls from Years 3 to 6 enjoyed an assembly with Mrs Eggington this week, all about her recent study leave which had to be postponed to 2023 because of the pandemic. The GDST study leave programme gives teachers the opportunity - once every ten years - to enhance their subject knowledge and pursue interests or professional studies which can then be applied in the curriculum.
Mrs E's travels in November included opportunities to visit a primary school in Thailand and sites of archaeological interest in Egypt. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, Mrs E!
Classrooms are sparse, with no computers or interactive whiteboards, and pupils are responsible for cleaning.
This was a Thai reading lesson - the noise was deafening as the children all chanted the words in unison!
❄️ Cold weather and its benefits ❄️
Mrs Fowler
At last it feels like winter has arrived and the girls are experiencing more ‘normal’ seasonal conditions for the UK at this time of year, which is actually reassuring against some more dramatic climate changes around the world. As teachers - throughout the year - we encourage pupils to build and develop their observation skills. With the currently icy conditions we might ask, "How does it make the trees look?" or "What do you notice when you step on frozen grass?" These opportunities to explore environmental changes develop knowledge, understanding and curiosity.
Sometimes parents worry about children being exposed to cold weather. This is understandable as nobody wants their child to be uncomfortably cold or even unwell. Colder weather is however an opportunity for healthy young children to build their immunity. Ensuring your child is wrapped up warm in a good quality coat, footwear, hat and gloves will enable them to remain comfortable in colder temperatures - and spending time outdoors, as we all know, is crucial for psychological and physical wellbeing.
Girls from Years 3 and 4 walked across The Forest Recreation Ground this morning, to and from their swimming lessons. Accompanied by their teachers under beautiful blue skies, they felt the winter sun on their faces. The cold was barely felt when wearing our tri-season school coat, hat and gloves, and by making sure that we were continuously moving and thus keeping warm.
Above: Enjoying the snowy winter of 1940 - with NGHS being at the centre of a large manufacturing city, the school was evacuated in 1939. One third of the pupils were sent to Ramsdale Park, about seven miles outside of Nottingham, where this photo was taken.
YEAR 5 TOY APPEAL
Mrs Crawshaw and Mr Cox
As part of the NGHS Juniors commitment to GREEN MONTH and emphasizing the importance of recycling and reusing, Year 5 are delighted to announce their Used Toy Appeal.
This links well with the girls' current WW2 Home Front topic which covers aspects of the British Government's wartime Make do and mend campaign, encouraging people to find ways to make things last longer.
The Year 5 appeal, which will mostly benefit local charity shops, runs until the end of January and welcomes the following educational play items in very good used or unused condition:
Board games and puzzles * Construction toys (e.g. Lego, Stickle Bricks) * Role play toys (e.g. kitchen sets)
Small world toys (e.g. Playmobil, model animals) * Transport toys (e.g. model cars and trains)
We hope families will enjoy rehoming these items for a second life, as well as the opportunity to declutter. Donations can be given to class teachers.
YEAR 6 AWAY FIXTURE
Miss Abbott
This week, the NGHS Year 6 netball teams played our sister school in Sheffield. Despite the freezing cold weather that led to the postponement of the Year 5 hockey match that was also due to take place, there was some good play. We couldn’t quite manage a win, but we certainly acquitted ourselves well and we learnt lots to take forward into our next games. Well done for demonstrating both RESILIENCE and POSITIVITY, girls!
Year 6 kick off Green Month
Miss Whitehead
Well done to the girls from Year 6 who matched words with deeds this week, removing litter from our surrounding streets and contributing towards the Nottingham Clean Champions project.
This is a fabulous example of pupils being empowered to take responsibility and learn that their positive actions - no matter how small - count towards a team effort and are much appreciated. It is also a practical way to generate civic pride and instill neighbourliness.
Below: If you see these purple sacks around Nottingham, they are the work of Nottingham Clean Champions - volunteers who improve our urban street scene, using litter picking equipment provided by Nottingham City Council. Every sack is logged online, and then collected by the City's refuse removal operatives.
Year 3 try their hand at golf 🏌🏽♀️
Miss Abbott
Year 3 started learning about the C for Coordination in their ABC of Physical Education this week, with an introduction to the game of golf! Assisted by a visiting professional coach, they learnt how to putt - and we cannot wait until next week when chipping will be on the menu, SO WATCH THIS SPACE! In future lessons, we'll be looking at A for Agility and B for Balance though other sports and activities.
Reading by example!
A collaboration betweeen Nursery, Reception and Year 5
Thursday morning saw the first of this year's EYFS Reading Buddies sessions, which involve girls from Year 5 partnering our youngest pupils for a weekly get together over books and sharing their love of the printed word.
Mrs Brown and Miss Duce's classes really enjoyed meeting their new 'friends from upstairs', and Mrs Crawshaw and Mr Cox were delighted and proud to see their girls reading by example.
