High News 23 March 2018

Monday 16 April

Staff Inset Day

Tuesday 17 – Friday 20 April

Year 6 Assessment Week

Tuesday 17 April

Summer term begins

Wednesday 18 April

Forum Theatre Project in Senior Hall
Sixth Form Femsock Talk on Consent
Music Recital

Thursday 19 April

Sixth Form Level 1 Cricket Coaching Course
Whole School Production
Sports Presentation Evening

Friday 20 April

Social Enterprise Charity Bake Sale
Peer Mentor Party

Sports Fixtures

Tuesday 25 April 2018

IN2 Hockey Regional Finals (A), 13 A

At lunchtime on Thursday 22 March, a very large crowd gathered in the entrance hall in eager anticipation of the Easter Egg Raffle prize draw.

Mrs Nash, Mrs Furniss and Mrs Cox drew the tickets and announced the eight winners.

The raffle raised £204.73 in total for charity.

Mrs Furniss would like to say a special to Mrs Cox for all her hard work organising the raffle.

On 21 March, the 6.1s who are currently studying Physics attended the Particle Physics Masterclass at Warwick University. We started the day with an introduction to Particle Physics and a lecture on the Higgs boson and the Z boson delivered by Professor Bill Murray from The Elementary Particles Group. Our fried brains recovered over lunch during which we had the chance to ask our many sci-fi and hypothetical questions to the professors. After lunch we had the opportunity to analyse some particle collisions from CERN which was fascinating. Following this we had a media conference with 4 other European schools in Oslo, Prague, Greece and Geneva as well as two scientists from CERN discussing the results we had found. We had a fantastic day and learnt a lot of physics. Thank you to Mrs Battams for organising the trip and Mrs Cantwell for taking us.

Grace Gee and Gigi Howard 6.1

Three Sixth Form pupils (Julia, Olivia and Jodie) have been awarded a GDST Travel Scholarship to allow them to explore a new culture during 2018.

Each of the three students has written about how they will use the money that they were awarded.

“For a month during the summer holidays this year, I will be doing voluntary work in a Cambodian nursery, helping to educate and nurture children less fortunate than ourselves. As well as working during the week, I will be travelling around parts of the country, visiting famous landmarks and places of interest; such as Angkor Wat Temples and Siem Reap. As part of the volunteering experience, I will be taking charge of some classes myself, helping the children to improve their English skills by using simple counting and writing exercises, along with songs and nursery rhymes.”

Olivia Foster

“I am going to Cambodia for a month this summer to volunteer in primary schools and nurseries to help improve the education of the Cambodian children in the capital Phnom Penh. I hope to use my experience volunteering in Lower Sixth in the primary school at Northampton High School and at Simon de Senlis Primary School to aid these children in Cambodia.”

Jodie Clare

“I am planning to travel to Havana in the summer holidays prior to commencing university. Next year I will be studying Social and Political Sciences at university and this decision was the result of my understanding an individual’s actions, even small, can truly affect people.

2017 marked the 50^th Anniversary of the execution of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and to mark to occasion, Cuba Solidarity Campaign hosted a tour, at which Aleida Guevara (Che’s daughter) was the speaker. I attended the tour on 11^th November in Glasgow at the Scottish TUC. After the speech, I spoke to Aleida and I asked if she would like to take part in an interview for the school magazine and my blog. She was extremely keen for the interview and I have since sent questions.

Meeting Aleida was an unbelievable experience and furthered my intrigue to visit Cuba to experience their culture and in particular, to see first hand the lasting effects of their revolution.

I intend to correspond with the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and arrange to visit the Centro Che in Havana (the education centre set up to continue the emphasis on education to provide a sustainable future for the country)- I will be arranging opportunities to understand education in Cuba as I am interested in parallels and differences between education systems and how this affects young people. I also hope to explore the opportunities for sport in Cuba and understand more about the nation’s ability to stand against those of greater financial and political power through education, sport and vision.

I believe it is truly important to visit Cuba this coming summer, as this year marks the end of the revolutionary generation as Raúl Castro steps down from presidency. Cuba will experience change over the next few years and I believe the opportunity to experience the country before this change cannot be missed.”

Julia Wardley-Kershaw

As part of the school rebrand we are delighted that we have had the opportunity to update and renew the sports clothing, and would like to show everyone the new sports clothing. This will be available for all girls from September 2018. The in no requirement for girls to purchase the new kit but as they change their sports kit this is what the replacement items will be like. The compulsory warm layer will now be the cobalt blue mid-layer top and the optional warm layer which is currently the tracksuit top will be replaced with the soft shell jacket. We are sure that the girls will all really like the look, feel and warmth of the new kit as well as an improvement to the functionality of the garments. If you have any questions please contact me.

Click to download the PDF.

Mrs Hackett, Director of Sport

Thank you to everyone who attended the school’s first annual Charity Quiz fundraiser. The event was a huge success and we managed to raise £648.86 thanks to everyone’s generosity. With this money, we will continue to sponsor Monique Boni Dassogui, who is a 12 year old girl from Benin, West Africa, and sponsor projects to improve the quality of life of other people within her community through provision of medicines and supplies. In the future we are looking to sponsor another girl to give her the opportunity that we so readily take for granted; going to school. Without your support this event wouldn’t have been as successful, so once again thank you to everyone who was a part of the Quiz Night.

Bethany Saunders
Deputy Head Girl of Charities

Imagine a world in which the Suffragettes failed and 100 years later women have yet to achieve the vote…
• Make an original short film of 2-3 minutes in length
• Prizes for KS2 (Years 5 & 6), KS3 (U3, L4 & U4), KS4 (L5 & U5) and KS5 (Sixth Form) entries
• Deadline: 20 April 2018

For more information see https://northamptonhigh.fireflycloud.net/film/nhs-film-competition or email l.heimfeld@nhs.gdst.net see Ms Heimfeld in C2.

The next swap shop will be held on Wednesday 25 April from 1-2.15pm.

Girls can purchase items from the shop during their lunch break and parents are also welcome to come along.

Payments can be made by cash or cheque only and returns are only possible on the day.

Items of uniform cannot be held without payment.

Due to the school uniform changes, we will no longer be selling or accepting school blazers and any sports uniform with the old school logo on it. Girls in U5 wishing to purchase these items are requested to purchase these through the school office.

Should an item be purchased one term and wish to be returned the next term, it will have to go through the selling process.

The Selling Process

Should you wish to sell any items of uniform, swap shop tags can be obtained through senior school reception and fill out accordingly. Any items without completed labels will not be sold and will be returned.

All items must be in a good and clean condition. Any items in a poor or unclean condition will not be sold and will be returned.

Please do not enter a price on the tag. We have prices in place that the clothes sell for and 20% of the item goes to the Senior School Fund, which in turn is donated to the Senior School.

The item of uniform should then be brought into the school and given to the Senior School reception team on the day of the swap shop and not before.

Please make sure that if you are new to using swap shop, that you also attach your name and address (on a separate piece of paper) to the item of uniform so that we know where to send the cheque. If you are sending in multiple items only one name and address sheet is required, please make sure this is placed in the bag with all clothes submitted.

We can no longer sell blazers and sports kit with the current logo, so please don’t send any in.

Cheques for sold items will be issued in June each year. If you have previously submitted items which are now discontinued and wish to have them back if unsold then please arrange with reception to collect from school by no later than the end of Summer term. Discontinued items not collected by this date will be disposed of.

The Senior School swap shop is run on a voluntary basis by three Senior School parents and sells good quality second hand uniform to Senior School girls.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Senior School reception team who can forward a message to us.

Nicola Mitchell, Shelia Mellish and Tracey Shilling

Nicola Mitchell

A reminder about our clothing recycling facility at school. We have teamed up with Starlight Children’s Foundation, a charity that brightens the lives of seriously and terminally ill children, so that for every kilo of clothing and other items recycled, Starlight receives 10p and FoNHS receives 40p.

Through our recycling efforts over the last three or so years, we have raised over £2,000 for FoNHS so a huge thank you to everyone who uses the facility – over 5 tonnes of items going to good use (and possibly saved from landfill) and a huge boost to FoNHS funds at the same time, and we are also supporting Starlight’s incredible work with every kilo of items we recycle.

So if you can, please do consider using the recycling facility whenever you have a clear out. The collection “bank” is bright yellow and is situated on the pathway alongside the Junior School car park. The recycling company accepts all men’s, ladies’ and children’s clothing, paired shoes (tied together please), handbags, bags, ties, belts, towels and bedlinen. Any uniform carrying school or team logos is not accepted. Please put all items in a plastic bag before depositing them in case the bank is not watertight.

Thank you very much for your support.

FoNHS

The U6 Business A Level group visited a local chocolate atelier on Thursday as part of their research for their Paper 3 examination context which this year is the Global Chocolate Confectionery Industry.

Belflair Chocolate is a local firm based in Brackley who produce gourmet handmade chocolates using the finest natural ingredients. Stefaan Moyaert is a Brussels trained Master Chocolatier and together with his wife Mervi, they have established a luxury, artisanal brand, selling direct to consumers via their store in Banbury, their production facility and on-line.

The girls were treated to a presentation about the origins of chocolate and how cocoa is farmed. The composition and ingredients of various well known brands were then discussed and then we watched a chocolate making demonstration. Then the group got to taste various types of chocolate and compare the different flavours of single origin chocolate from around the world. Finally Mervi discussed some of the issues facing a small business which operates in a market dominated by large multi-national firms.

Mrs Tansley, Subject Leader Economics & Business Studies

On Wednesday 21 March, presenters from BBC Look East and ITV Anglia came into the school to interview Ellie Robinson about her forthcoming competition at the Commonwealth Games.

BBC Presenter Jonathan Watts recorded Ellie and some of her friends (Sadie, Kerryn, Grace and Kate) talking and studying in the library before speaking to Ellie and Mrs Hackett in the Pavilion.

Donovan from ITV Anglia then arrived to interview Ellie and Mrs Hackett about Ellie’s expectations of the Commonwealth Games.

Both of the TV programmes were shown on Wednesday evening. We are all looking forward to seeing Ellie compete at the Games in the Gold Coast, Australia.

On Wednesday evening, GCSE Drama candidates had their Component 2 practical examination in the presence of an audience and a visiting examiner from Edexcel. Each group presented two extracts from a play named, Five Kinds of Silence by Shelagh Delaney. All performances were engaging, moving and convincing. Very well done to all the candidates for their hard work and dedication.

Clare Care, Director of Theatre

A group of U3 students have been putting their entrepreneurial skills to the test over the past few weeks. The group, comprising Risha Bhasin, Yinuo Zhang, Heidi Terblanche, Hania Dogar and Emily Luu, have been participating in the Young Enterprise Tenner Competition.

The girls, trading under their company names of “Wonders” and “Sweet Delights”, used their £10 start-up capital, to sell a variety of products including sweets, squishies and stationery. The girls were very successful and made in excess of £10 profit each, repaid their initial capital and made a donation to the Young Enterprise organisation. Well done to all involved.

Mrs Tansley, Subject Leader Economics & Business Studies

We have drawn two numbers this week as it’s the end of term – congratulations to:

Hannah Whitfield number 60
Diya Batra number 48

We will be holding another draw next term – tickets will be £10 per number and this time there will be one draw and hopefully a prize of £500 to be won!  More details to follow.

Mrs Ford, Teacher of Physical Education

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig – recommended for U4 and above

HOW MANY LIFETIMES DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE?
Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old history teacher, but he’s been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen it all. As long as he keeps changing his identity he can keep one step ahead of his past – and stay alive. The only thing he must not do is fall in love . . .

Miss Buxton, School Librarian

In a busy last week of term, our badminton teams played brilliantly at the Regional Finals and in a very close finish for both age groups with three schools all winning 2 matches, our U14 team finished 3rd and our U16 team 4th. On Wednesday, we were delighted to welcome the GDST Select Cricket XI for their training session lead by Lydia Greenway. Abigail Passmore from 6.2 has been selected in the team and, after showing her leadership skills throughout the day, has been asked to be joint captain for the fixture vs the Ladies MCC next term. Our U13 hockey team returned to the field in a training match and are feeling prepared for their Gresham’s Hockey Festival this weekend and we wish them all the best for a wonderful weekend of hockey.

We have also taken the opportunity this week to wish Ellie Robinson good luck in the Commonwealth Games in Australia. Ellie is flying out as part of the Team England Swimming Team today and will be competing in the S7 50m Fly on Thursday 5 April and the finals for this event should be in the morning, I am sure that you will all be tuning in to support her in this phenomenal achievement.

Finally from me, we would like to welcome you all to join us for the Annual Sports Presentation Evening on Thursday 19 April from 6pm in the senior hall. Looking ahead to the next term our extracurricular timetable will be with you shortly, and our sports clubs will commence on Monday 23 April. We have a new system in place for communicating fixture details so please look out for this on School Comms. We hope you have a fantastic Easter and return excited for the sunshine and summer term sports.

Mrs Hackett, Director of Sport

Equestrian

Megan Watts has qualified her horse, Ballyboher Duchess, for two classes at the 2018 Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, in July. The intermediate show hunter class (achieved at the weekend in freezing Beast from the East conditions!) and the show, hack and cob working hunter class.

Megan has worked to train this young horse in the hunter classes and this will be the first time for the combination competing on this prestigious national stage. It is very exciting as Megan’s has worked towards this goal over the winter.

Christine Watts

U12 A Netball

On Wednesday 21 March, the U12 A team took on a very strong Wellingborough School team in our last game of the season.

The first quarter saw Wellingborough taking complete control of the game after some excellent defensive work from Janice Huang.  The next three quarters, Northampton High played a more positive game and our confidence grew.  There was some great expansive play from Alessia Emmanuel, Jayna Bhadresha and Izzy Thorpe, but Wellingborough still kept their impressive lead.  We finished the game losing 20-7.

Well done to all that have played this season, Evie King, Isabella Spokes, Izzy Thorpe, Charlotte Johns, Janice Huang, Alessia Emmanuel, Ella Nicholas  and Jayna Bhadresha.

The Player of the Match accolade went to Phoebe Haynes

Phoebe Haynes, U12 A Captain

U12 B Netball

On 21 March, the U12 B team played Wellingborough. Anjola Ogunsola played well in defense in the third and fourth quarters by hitting the ball off the court, giving us more chances of getting the ball into the middle court. Ella Nicholas and Frankie Peabody, our Centres, played well, getting the ball up court where Simran Sandhu and Grace Rivers-Lambert scored some great goals. Everyone played well and it was a great team effort but the final score was 16-4 to Wellingborough. The Player of the Match was Cecily Bullock.

Cecily Bullock U12 B Captain