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Friday 27 January 2023 |
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Teamwork and Community This time of year can be, for me anyway, a combination of excitement about new beginnings alongside feeling miserable when anticipating months of short, dark, cold, winter days, with nothing much to look forward to before spring. So we need to start finding things to look forward to. At Northampton High we are planning lively inter-house singing events, preparing for the school musical ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and there is the annual excitement of interviewing for and selecting our new Head Girl and Leadership Teams. These spring term traditions all help to brighten these otherwise gloomy days. As a school, Northampton High is one large community, but it is made up of lots of smaller communities. From Year 7 to Sixth Form, to individual houses and forms, sports teams or musical ensembles, our pupils belong to any number of smaller groups within an overarching school body. Sometimes, as just one member of this much bigger entity, it can be easy to feel that maybe some people are more important than others. The reality is that everyone is equally important and has a vital role to play. To build a high functioning and effective team, we need to embrace the concept of MeWe which explains how being part of Northampton High enhances the potential and experience of every individual within it, while that individual also enhances the wider community through their contribution to it: we are more than the sum of our parts. Fundamentally, no school is an island and at Northampton High we believe our pupils grow in character and resilience by widening the circle of people they meet which enables them to grow into valuable and productive members of society. Being part of a community promotes an atmosphere of unity and harmony which serves as an important part of that preparation. To allow for the Me to We shift, we need to consider communication, empathy, and respect, these areas can and will help to jumpstart the conversation and mindset shift.
No school can grow without teamwork, and no one can truly thrive by being outside the team, and every individual needs the team to succeed for their success too. Therefore it is imperative to work towards the common goals collectively because there’s no ME without WE. In other words, teamwork means more We and less Me. So, challenge yourself to reflect on what you will start doing, cease doing, and do differently to allow our school community to shift from “Me” to “We”. Read Dr Lee’s full piece by clicking here. Dr Lee |
The Week Ahead |
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Monday 30 January Tuesday 31 January Wednesday 1 February
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Thursday 2 February Friday 3 February Saturday 4 February To view a list of the spring term clubs and activities, please click here. |
Northampton High School holds special Holocaust Awareness Week |
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This week in school, we have been delighted to extend our remembrance of the annual Holocaust Memorial Day by organising a five-day programme of events to respect the events of the Holocaust. We are proud to be a UCL Beacon School in Holocaust Education, as we enhance the quality of learning and teaching and strengthening SMSC provision as part of the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education. This year, Northampton High School’s theme aimed to highlight the ordinary people involved in the events of the Holocaust. This includes the ordinary people who allowed genocide to happen, those who actively perpetrated genocide, those who were persecuted and those who achieved extraordinary things, either by helping others to hide or escape, or simply by surviving persecution themselves. Our Theology and Philosophy team, Miss Robinson and Ms Eldridge, believe this focus will prompt the school community to consider how ordinary people, such as ourselves, can perhaps play a bigger part than we might imagine in challenging prejudice today. |
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Pupils have had the opportunity to engage in many different curriculum events, starting with an informative assembly outlining the chosen theme and highlighting the importance of continued education and awareness of the Holocaust and its legacy. Departments across the school incorporated this message both through lessons, and extracurricular activities, with students in English investigating fiction books that explore children’s experience of Nazi persecution. We also showed two screenings of the film ‘Hotel Rwanda’ (PG) this week, as well as hosting a Reach Lecture; a weekly event hosted by staff aimed to provide insight and perspective into ranging topics and events, entitled ‘Explaining the Holocaust’ inviting all GCSE and A Level students. Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27 January each year, providing an occasion to remember the millions of innocent people who were killed, and those whose lives were affected, by events during the Second World War under Nazi persecution, and the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The Northampton High School community is proud to remember this world-changing event with its continued annual awareness activities. Miss Price |
Young Enterprise Programme with Year 5 and 6 |
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This month, we have been delighted to begin our Young Enterprise programme in the Junior School, for students in Years 5 and 6, led by our Head of Business Studies, Mr Jain, and Head of Junior School, Miss Hair. Businesses have been formed, case studies learnt and initial product designs are taking shape – look out Alan Sugar! We know from the GDST Futures report that girls want a greater awareness of financial matters – our girls are reinforcing this and will be well equipped for the future. As part of this process, we have invited students from the club to write blog entry-style updates on what takes place each week, and we are delighted to share the first entries with you below: |
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Entry One: “In the past two weeks of our Enterprise Club, we have discussed some ideas for all our groups and most recently, we have decided on a CEO for our group. We then began to add up the costs of the possible ideas. We studied young enterprise groups in our case files and looked at what they asked for loan, and some of their products that were most successful and what made people want to buy them. After doing that, we analysed a form that showed our strengths and weaknesses, and based our CEO from that information by doing an anonymous vote.” Aurelia Entry Two: “In our session on Thursday 19 January, in our three different groups, we each have decided on a group name, and description of the beginnings of our businesses. We have begun to discuss what things we would need to create our products and are thinking about what things are good value for the loan we will be given. Soon, based on that, we will look at what we should be charging for our products, considering what we buy, the cost of it and all the extras. We are also thinking about whether our shops should be online, (for example, Etsy), or in a local communal area such as Waitrose or Dobbies near the school. We have chosen hats by way of roles amongst our groups, having decided on a CEO, we based each other’s roles on who we think would be best at something. We are coming back to the session this Tuesday, with more ideas and hopefully some plans of what the costing could be.” Ellie Mr Jain |
High Sports: Match Reports |
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Our sports fixtures have returned with a bang after a well deserved Christmas break. Pupils’ batteries have been recharged and are all set for a busy spring term fixtures calendar. We hope you enjoy reading the first of 2023’s match reports below, with more to follow in the weeks to come. Mrs Blake |
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County Cross Country: Congratulations to those runners who attended the event at Abington Park on Saturday 21 January. The weather was nearly ideal running conditions but the surface was still quite hard and in parts slippy. Everybody ran tremendously well; Grace C and Bella F ran in the U15s and found the course tough but did not let this deter them and ran respectful times and came 29th and 32nd. Congratulations go to Jemima C who came 2nd and Ella D who came 3rd, and they will go on to represent the county later in the year at the Anglian Schools event. Netball: On Thursday 19 January, The U14’s travelled to Pitsford and played a round robin competition – it was very enjoyable for us all! There were three teams from each school and we played three matches each, winning most of them. The teams were mixed ability which meant everyone took something away from it and we will be working to improve on a few things for future matches. Special mentions go to Eri, Olivia and Aiyven for being really strong in defence and keeping the ball away from the other team’s end, other mentions go to Anna and Suki for scoring many goals throughout. Keep up the great work – our season is looking very hopeful! Charlotte F Netball: On Thursday 24 January, the U14s played against Akeley Wood. The team played an outstanding game, filled with many interceptions and impressive goals. This resulted in a 29-1 win! Special ‘well done’ to Suki, Player of the Match, for scoring a multitude of goals. We were brilliant at losing out defenders and swiftly getting the ball in the D, where our shooters excelled at scoring. We could improve on our ball placement as occasionally our passes put the players receiving the ball in difficult positions. Extremely well done everyone! Aiyven M |
Say cheese! |
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This week in school, we have taken over the Squash Courts in the Sports Centre to begin capturing content for an exciting, upcoming project! We can’t wait to share the finished results with you, keep your eyes peeled for more! Mr Nash |
Book Review: Three Sisters by Heather Morris |
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When they are little girls, Cibi, Magda and Livia make a promise to their father – that they will stay together, no matter what. Years later, at just 15, Livia is ordered to Auschwitz by the Nazis. Cibi, only 19 herself, remembers their promise and follows Livia, determined to protect her sister, or die with her. Together, they fight to survive through unimaginable cruelty and hardship.Magda, only 17, stays with her mother and grandfather, hiding out in a neighbour’s attic or in the forest when the Nazi militia come to round up friends, neighbours and family. |
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She escapes for a time, but eventually she too is captured and transported to the death camp. In Auschwitz-Birkenau the three sisters are reunited and, remembering their father, they make a new promise, this time to each other: that they will survive. Three Sisters by Heather Morris is recommended for Year 9 and above. Miss Buxton |
Turning 'can we?' into 'we can!' - Spring Open Mornings at Northampton High |
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We look forward to welcoming so many lovely families to our upcoming Spring Open Mornings on Friday 3 March and Friday 28 April. The events promise to be a superb showcase of life at Northampton High School. If you would like to come along, please do feel most welcome, and should you have family, friends, or neighbours keen to visit us, please encourage them to book their place here and join us! Mr Nash |
Dance Festival - Wedensday 29 March 2023 |
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We warmly invite you to save the date for our annual Dance Festival, which will take place on Wednesday 29 March. This year our show will take you ‘Through the Decades’ and include performances from students across the school from Reception to Sixth Form. Pupils have also been invited to attend auditions should they wish to perform a solo, duet or group dance with their peers. Our PE Staff will be working with Junior School classes, as part of the curriculum, to create and rehearse an exciting display of class dances. |
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We are also incorporating our House System into the Festival, to showcase a House Dance and involve pupils from Year 5 upwards to collaborate and work together. We have some superb Dance Leaders choreographing the House Dances and I am positive the evening will be an inspiring performance of talent and expertise in the Arts. Mrs Blake |
Community Nursery Sessions |
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Reach Lectures: Spring 2023 |
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Hope Centre Donation Box |
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Term Dates |
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Northampton High School |
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