Message from the Headmistress
Dear Parents,
Incident on Villa Road
I start this week with an apology. On Wednesday night I typed an urgent alert to you all, and it didn’t send (I didn’t send it). I’m not sure what happened. To inform you, we had an incident at the end of school on Wednesday, on Villa Road, where a group of youths accessed a parents’ parked car and were rifling through her stuff. The PCSOs were in the area and came out. There was no damage, and I believe nothing was taken, but it was a scary incident as one of the offenders was sitting in the car… Can I please urge your caution and vigilance when parking and ensure you lock the car and, especially in this warm weather, remember to close the windows, even if you are only stepping across the road to meet your child. Remember that opportunistic thieves will spot valuables, purses, handbags, work bags, laptops…. and if they are easily accessible it is putting temptation in their path. This is a rare and I suspect opportunistic incident, and we will ensure we give you an immediate alert if we are aware of suspicious strangers in our vicinity in future. If you see anything untoward, please let us know.
COVID Update
We now know we are not asking Senior children to do LFD tests over the holidays. However, they will need to ensure they have one spare, to do within 48 hours of their return to school. I will send out another box with pupils next week. We are still awaiting guidance for the re-opening of school in September, and whilst there is much speculation that bubbles will go, it is not yet agreed by the DfE/PHE/NHS. Also much speculated, is the possibility that contacts of known cases will not be sent home from September, instead, following the current national trial, they will be tested daily in school. This is also not currently in guidance!
We know there is a surge in cases in young people at the moment and so many schools currently have bubbles self-isolating at home. We would be distraught if this happened at the very end of term – so take extra care to do all that is necessary to keep virus-free. Parents are reminded not to send their children into school if they are presenting as unwell (with any symptoms).
This Week’s Highlight
This week’s highlight in Senior School was our fabulous alternative Sports Day where the Year 7-10 pupils enjoyed rounders, and an array of races including egg and spoon, obstacle race, and water balloon relay. What was great to see, was the staff participating (quite competitively, but still losing) in all games and races against the Y10. It may not have been athletics at Olympic standards but it was huge fun, fabulously organised by the PE Department, led by Mr Deacon, and without exception, it was participatory for all! Thank you so much to all involved for providing a memorable end of term event.
Next Week
Next week, our last full week of term, our younger pupils will be having their own alternative sports days on Monday and Tuesday. Then on Wednesday the Junior Children will have their Flying Up Day, to meet their new teachers for September, and on Thursday we will be holding a garden gathering, socially distanced to welcome our new pupils who will be joining us in Year 7. We are looking forward to Mrs Barsham, the new Head Teacher, joining us at this latter event.
Uniform for Next Year
If you are looking for uniform for September, our uniform supplier Schoolwear Solutions is taking appointments for the pop-up shop on 7th & 8th July. To book a slot please fill out this booking form. PE kit remains the same as it is at present whilst a new kit is sourced. If the tracksuit trousers are not available, the pupils have permission to wear basic black skins or joggers.
If you are requiring any second-hand items, we will aim to host another pop-up shop before the start of the term. We have ample supplies of striped blouses for Senior girls in stock and many other items available. However, our stocks of blazers are very low. If you have any grown out of uniform you would like to donate then please send it to the school reception so we can recycle it.
Buses
The buses organised by Nottingham High School for 2021/2022 will be available to book and pay for from next Wednesday. If you have any special arrangements can you email your requirements to: boulton.ja@nottinghamhigh.co.uk – Ms Boulton is the operations manager at Nottingham High School.
At the very end of this term: the High School finish on Tuesday 13th at 12.30 but our term finishes on Wednesday 14th at 12.30 pm. This has been pre publicised. Therefore, there will be no school buses running on Tuesday at the end of school, or Wednesday 14th am or pm.
I wish you all a very relaxing weekend, enjoy the football (if this is your thing) and good luck to England!
Mrs Hutley
Headmistress
Message from the Head of Juniors
Dear Parents,
We have had a really busy week. On Wednesday, Miss Cooper organised Languages Day for the Junior School children. There were many different activities, including making some delicious croissants and Flamenco dancing with Miss Nisan. Everyone had a great day.
The Juniors are having an amazing time at the Garden Party today! They are having great fun on the bouncy castle, enjoying eating pizza and ice lollies, and winning lots of prizes on the various stalls. Year 6 and Mrs Keyworth have put a huge amount of effort into planning and setting up their stalls – some of the games are harder than they look! A big thank you to Mrs Wand and all staff for organising this, and to parents for your generous donations. Please have a look on our social media pages for photos.
Unfortunately, on a very rainy Monday, we had to cancel Junior Sports Day but instead, these races will take place during PE lessons next week. We are still hoping to run the EYFS event as planned on Tuesday morning but will keep a close eye on the weather forecast and let you know of any changes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Juniors will spend some time with their new teachers, getting to know them and finding out more about next year.
Our extra-curricular programme has expanded this half term and the children are really enjoying the range of activities on offer. This term, clubs will run until Thursday 8th July. After school club will run as usual until Tuesday 13th July. We have many exciting ideas for clubs in September and we will send out this information at the start of the new term.
Our Junior School end of term performances will be on Tuesday 13th July, beginning at 7pm. These will be on Zoom and you should have received a link. If you wish to stay, these will be followed by a quiz written by Miss Purchase- these are always very entertaining!
As you know, we finish at lunchtime on Wednesday 14th July. So that we can stagger leaving times, please could EYFS and KS1 children be collected at 12:10 and KS2 at 12:20 from Elm Avenue.
Have a lovely weekend,
The week’s Stars of the Week can be viewed here.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Wright
Head of Juniors