Newsletter 5th

September 2014

75th Anniversary Picnic From Danielle Jones

On Sunday 31st August Saint Nicholas School

marked seventy-five years of excellence with a

family picnic at Hillingdon House, Old Harlow.

Over 300 former pupils, staff and their families

joined with the current school cohort in glorious

weather, to celebrate life past and present at Saint

Nicks.

‘Gypsy Jazz’ band The Mighty Peas provided a

lively musical accompaniment to the afternoon and guests of all ages were entertained

by a magician and various outdoor games.

A special exhibition of film and photography spanning all 75 years of the School was

held in Mountbatten Hall and a tree was planted in the grounds in memory of

Alexander Glen Swire, killed in action during the First World War. The Swire family

have generously allowed the School to use Hillingdon House since 1977 for a

peppercorn rent.

The afternoon concluded with speeches from Lifetime President, former pupil and

Chair of Governors Mr Ian Liddell, former Chair of Governors Mr Derek Wilson,

former Headmaster Mr Geoff Brant, former Headmistress Mrs Jane Ridler and

current Headmaster, Mr Keith Knight.

The event also marked the launch of the official Saint Nicholas School Alumni

Association; which aims to reconnect former students through reunions and events as

well as harnessing their skills and talents to help inspire current pupils.

If you are an ex pupil make sure to sign up to the alumni association via

www.saintnicholasschool.net/alumni

Positions of Responsibility Well done to Year 11 pupils who have been awarded positions of responsibility. Chloe Macklin and

Yasmin Islam were awarded Librarian posts but were

unavailable to be photographed.

Head Boy Bradley Veitch and

Head Girl Zoe Benton

Deputy Head Boy Ethan Penney and

Deputy Head Girl Molly Haley

Saint Alban Deputy and Head, Joseph Horsley

and Grace Catchpole

Saint Christopher Deputy and Head, Isobel Collins

and Millie Cornwell

Saint Francis Deputy and Head, Tadgh Devlin

and Jessie Ayres

Saint George Head and Deputy, Emma Weeks

and Katie Long

School Council, Jensen Williams, Alexander

Thompson, Emily Wicker and Grace McGee Sports Captains, Charlie Cook and Natalya Gordon

School Lunch Service From Mrs Maunder (Bursar)

As parents will be aware, in its endeavours to significantly

improve the lunch service and food provision, the school

appointed Harrison Catering who commenced service this

week. You will also be aware that Harrison are having to

work in very restricted facilities for the duration of this term

whilst we complete the facility works necessary to create a

full working kitchen and service counters.

During this temporary stage, in spite of the difficulties,

Harrison is still committed to improving the standard of food

offered to the children and staff and I am delighted to state at

this very early stage that the improvement to quality has been

very successful.

Unfortunately, due to this significant improvement, we have

received many more requests for lunch from parents than

even we estimated. So much so that we are in danger of

demand growing larger than the facilities are capable of.

Whilst we are jointly delighted with parents’ response to the

new service, we are writing to all parents to request their

patience in accommodating new requests for lunches for

their children. We will slowly increase capacity during the

temporary service as long as we can always maintain high

standards however, the temporary facilities will not be able to

cater for the whole school.

With the new purpose facilities completed, the plan from

January remains to be able to provide lunches to every child.

In the meantime, thank you again for your very positive

response and we look forward to serving every child a

delicious range of exciting dishes very soon.

New Parents’ Coffee Morning All new parents are invited to attend a coffee morning at 9am on Wednesday 10th September. The

Friends will be hosting the event which is an ideal opportunity for new parents to get to know each

other a little better.

Term Dates 2014-2015

Autumn Term 2014

Start of term – Tuesday 2nd September

Half Term – Saturday 18th October to

Sunday 2nd November inc

Term ends – Friday 12th December *

Spring Term 2015

Start of term – Wednesday 7th January

Half Term – Saturday 14th to Sunday

22nd Feb inc

Term ends – Wednesday 1st April *

Summer Term 2015

Start of term – Tuesday 21st April

Bank Holiday – Monday 4th May

Half Term – Saturday 23rd May to

Sunday 31st May inc

Term ends – Wednesday 8th July *

*The final day of term always ends

at 11.45am for EYFS-Year 2, Years

3-5 at midday and Years 6-11 at

12.15pm

Reception Parents’ Meeting All Reception parents are invited to attend a welcome meeting straight after school (3.30pm) on

Monday 8th September. Miss Whiffen and Mrs Shubrook will talk to parents about phonics, homework

and reading and answer any questions.

The Teddy Bears’ Picnic at the 75th anniversary picnic this Sunday will not take place but we hope

Reception pupils and parents will still attend.

Pathways From Mrs Mulinder

Our new Pathways programme in the senior school got off to an explosive and exiting start this after-

noon when Year 9, 10 and 11 students joined together for team building exercises.

The activities included tower building, river crossing and retrieving a toxic chemical bomb! The stu-

dents had to work together in their houses to compete the various tasks.

The afternoon was a huge success and the students are looking forward to their next challenge in the

Pathways program.

Congratulations! Congratulations to Peter Jackson and Sophie Smith, our

Groundsman and Pre-school Manager, who were married

during the summer break.

Friends and family joined the happy couple and their two

daughters to celebrate their marriage with a party on the

back lawn at school.

Open Morning For your early information Open Morning will be on Saturday 11th October between 10am-12. Please

extend the invitation to friends and family who are interested to find out more about Saint Nicholas

School.

Lower School News From Mrs Clements

Welcome back!

It has been a great pleasure to return to Saint Nicholas and see so many familiar, friendly faces and to

welcome in so many new pupils and parents too! Thank you for the many well-wishers who have asked

after my family as well, it has been very touching.

Well done to all you new mums and dads who have watched with a mixture of excitement and anticipa-

tion as your young children have begun their first few days at school in the EYFS. They are all settling

in well and are enjoying exploring the indoor and outdoor spaces. Rest assured much thought has been

put into the setting up of each area and routines, giving them a great start to their education. There will

be a short phonics presentation for EYFS parents on Monday. Details are being sent to you via the

EYFS weekly newsletter.

The new term is already well underway and it has been reassuring to see children across the department

settle into the routines so quickly. The weather has been on our side and children have been enjoying

the green, open spaces to run around and are busy in and out of class enjoying the new topics being

taught. Form Captains and House Captains have also been chosen and children are looking forward to

enjoying the weekly celebration of Golden Time for their hard work and efforts.

With the introduction of the new catering, many of us who have taken up ‘hot’ dinners and are being

presented with a great choice of hot and cold. This is going down a treat with children and staff alike.

Next week, the Lower School clubs will be starting. Please encourage your children to join up to the

wide range of activities on offer from the Eco-Club to Art club. This is a great opportunity to learn new

skills or develop particular strengths as well as build friendships with other children.

With the start of term, please ensure all children are wearing the correct school uniform and all items of

clothing are clearly marked. This will ensure children look their best and also should items go amiss,

they will have greater opportunity to track them down. Please ensure children have their blazers with

them at all times as they are expected to wear them to assemblies and events around school.

Should you require a meeting with the class teacher, please contact the school office or send an email

and they will be only too happy to arrange to see you. If you have an important message to relay, please

use your child’s reading diaries or place a note in their book bag. We request that if you have an urgent

message, please catch the teacher on the playground or speak to the duty staff member. Please be re-

minded that the start of day is particularly busy for teachers as they are required to collect their chil-

dren for registration and attend assemblies so need to be prompt to class.

We are looking forward to the many trips and visitors which have been organised. We look forward to

working with you and your children over the next few months and hope to see many of you at our

events held throughout the term.

Extra-Curricular Music Lessons From Mrs Chadwock

If your child is considering taking up instrumental lessons, please complete and return an application

form.

There has been an increase in singing applications over the last year, so much so that we have employed

a second singing teacher, Heather Carmel. Heather, who specialises in contemporary pop music, will be

starting during the week beginning September 15th. This alternative singing choice is proving to be

popular so if you wish your child to begin lessons with her this term, please return an application form

to me by Wednesday 10th September. Application forms have been distributed to some pupils this

week and can also be picked up from the school office.

Alongside our new teacher, we still have the following visiting music teachers who are also recruiting

new students:

Drums - Steve Tyner (30 minute lessons only)

Guitar - Trent Halliday

Strings - Joanna Jones

Woodwind - Sarah Lewington

Flute - Peter Foster (limited spaces)

Piano - Gillian Scott

Classical and Musical Theatre singing - Sarah Kinsella (limited spaces)

Instrumental lessons are paid directly to the music teacher by cheque or BACS each term. You will be

sent an invoice by the teacher and will have contact with them via phone or email, depending on the

teacher's preference.

Fees are:

20 minute lessons - £110 for 10 lessons per term

30 minute lessons - £165 for 10 lessons per term

Most music lessons are beginning next week. If you have are any concerns or queries, please do not

hesitate to contact me on s.chadwick@saintnicholasschool.net.

A final reminder: If you wish to terminate music lessons with a teacher, you must give at

least a half of a terms written notice to the instrumental teacher directly.

Ice Bucket Challenge Well done to Mr Knight for

taking part in the Ice

Bucket Challenge in aid of

Motor Neurone Disease.

Lower School House Captains Congratulations to the following Lower School

pupils:

Saint Alban: Oliver Mardel & Krishni Chavda

Saint Christopher: Cameron Pantlin & Ben Clifton

Saint Francis: Emily Parr & Isabella Farey

Saint George: Charlotte Harding-Jones & Lucas

Graham

EYFS News Our new Reception children have settled in extremely well and have been having lots of fun with Mrs

Shubrook and Miss Whiffin.

They all donned their wellies for blackberry

picking

Form RW with their treasure boxes

Evie Radford Very well done to Year 8 pupil, Evie Radford, who appears in the autumn edition of the glossy Cakes

and Sugarcraft magazine.

Evie who has her own baking blog, evieradford.wix.com/eviesfidgetyfingers, will also be appearing on

TV very soon in a programme called The Munch Box.

Excellent work, Evie.

Scholarships and Senior Transfer Pupils who will enter Years 6-8 in September 2015 are invited to apply for one of our scholarships.

Parents have received information and an application form by email. Please note the deadline to apply

is Friday 29th November.

Year 6 pupils, having completed a year following a senior style timetable, will seamlessly drop into Year

7 next September. If parents would like to meet with Mr Knight to discuss their child’s senior education,

please contact Julie Bradley for an appointment.

Breakthrough Bake Off From Mrs Ridley-Warren

I am running a Cake bake off on 17th October, which is the Friday we break up for half term. Pupils are

invited to bake a cake, decorate it and bring to the Food Tech room on that morning by 9am. Prizes will

be awarded as follows: Lower School—Reception to Year 2, Lower School Year 3 to 5, Middle School,

Upper School and a staff prize.

If you cannot make a cake then you are welcome to donate bought cakes which can be sold at break to

raise money for Breakthrough Cancer. This is a national event happening on this date so it would be

great to raise as much as possible. Please see me for an entry form.

Sports News Boys’ Sport from Mr Baines: Striding to Better

A huge welcome back to all our sports superstars at Saint Nicholas.

Congratulations to Charlie Cook our new Boys Sports Captain. Please approach Charlie if you have

ideas to improve our activities.

Games Lessons

This term all boys (Years 3-11) will be taught rugby in games lessons. They must have tracksuits, blue

kit, studded boots and gumshields to participate. Boys must be able to tie their own laces.

Boys in yr 3 - 5 classes will swim this half-term in PE lessons and Year 6-11 boys will begin this half

term with ball skills, and will swim before half term. White kit, tracksuit and trainers are required for

PE.

Towels, costumes, school swim hats and goggles are required for competitive swimming.

Please remove all jewellery before activities. Pupils should hand inhalers to staff leading sessions before

they begin.

Pupils must bring in a note if they are unable to participate in PE or games lessons along with their kit

so that uniforms remain clean.

Please label all kit to prevent it entering Lost Property.

Be determined to do your very best and be proud in your performances. You can do it!

Clubs

All pupils can supplement their swimming by attending the triathlon sessions at the pool at 8am on

Wednesdays. Pupils should come changed with costume, trainers and a warm fleecy top, so that they

can run/cycle/swim their way to success.

An U11 triathlon event is planned for those who can compliment running, cycling and swimming

disciplines.

Many U11 swimming galas are scheduled on Mondays 4-5pm for selected pupils.

Rugby (Tuesdays), Football (Fridays) and Badminton (Fridays) opportunities are also on offer so please

turn up and take part.

Sports Fixtures

Dates of inter-school tournaments and fixtures are regularly added to the school calendar. Seasonal

sports may not always shadow our curricular lessons, but we'll remain keen to prepare teams in

preparation for the widest variety of activities. Please encourage pupils to discuss any sporting

selections with staff.

Summer Sports Camp

A fantastic time was enjoyed by many Saint Nicholas sports superstars during the summer break. This

was a great way to make new friends and enjoy different activities together. Many thanks to Mrs Hill for

her encouragement.

Let's enjoy a successful year together with the many opportunities that boys’ sport can offer to our

pupils.

Girls’ Sport from Mrs Oakley

Welcome back to the new school year and congratulations to Natalya Gordon, our new Girls’ Sports

Captain. There are many sporting events this term with swimming galas, netball and football matches.

Please see below for the girls programme this half term.

Non-participants

Pupils have been reminded that they must bring their PE kit to lessons even if they have a letter to

excuse them from participating in a practical role. They will be required to get changed and assist in the

lesson.

In the cold months those not participating should also bring coats, gloves, hats and wear as many warm

items as they wish with their PE kit whilst outside with their class. This will prevent their school

uniform from getting dirty and wet and allow pupils to gain the most out of the lesson.

U14 and U16 netball

The girls will begin their training on Tuesday 9th September before the league commences on

Wednesday 17th September.

U14 coach: Miss Blakey and Miss Castro

U16 coach: Mrs Johnson

Swimming

Years 6-11 will be swimming for the first four weeks of this half term; this will see the girls competing

for ISA regional selection. The junior event (Years 4-6) will be on Wednesday 12th November, and the

senior event (Years 7-11) on Wednesday 19th November both will be held at Ipswich crown pools.

Year 6 will also be competing in local swimming galas in the build up to the ISA.

Football

Years 3-6 will be preparing for selection for the local schools football festival this half term. Please

ensure the girls have shin pads and football moulds (no metal studs).

A message from Mrs Fitch

Pupils borrowed several swimming kits last term and there are a lot still to be returned. Please can these

be returned as soon as possible, they can be left at reception in a bag labelled for Mrs Fitch.

PE- white kit Girls Games - blue kit

Year 3 Swimming Football- shin pads, football moulds (no metal studs) & outdoor

trainers

Year 4 Swimming Football- shin pads, football moulds (no metal studs) & outdoor

trainers

Year 5 Swimming Football- shin pads, football moulds (no metal studs) & outdoor

trainers

Year 6 Swimming Football- shin pads, football moulds (no metal studs) & outdoor

trainers

Year 7 Swimming Football- shin pads, football moulds (no metal studs) & outdoor

trainers

Years 8-11 Swimming Netball