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fhgfdgdfgdg 2016 Friday 3rd May, 2019

FROM THE ACTING HEAD’S DESK As we move towards the warmer weather, it has been a pleasure to watch the pupils play on the back lawn during lunch break. Whilst the summer term brings so many highlights to our school calendar, for lots of pupils the thought of grass play often becomes the best part of their day, not to mention the swimming pool is open for the rest of term.

The sports department have had a full week of fixtures, with pupils of all ages competing in athletics, cross-country and rounders. I would like to congratulate Larna in Year 8, who competed in the ISA national triathlon yesterday and came second. This is a remarkable result and we are incredibly proud of her.

On Wednesday, we said goodbye to the Year 5 pupils who left to embark on their first school residential trip. Parents wiped the tears from their eyes and pupils set off on their coach with Avon Tyrrell as their destination. With activities and challenges aplenty, I know much fun and laughter will have been had. I look forward to hearing all the stories of their adventures on Monday.

Thursday saw a new style of Open Morning for us. Once again, our pupils at Saint Nicholas School led by example. A number of seniors gave our visitors tours of the school in action and it is always a real privilege to see and hear them talk about how proud they are of their school. Through their own words and actions they share that they are part of a school that continues to grow and move forward.

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CELEBRATION OF LIFE

We warmly invite parents and pupils to join us for a Celebration of Life in honour of Mr Bown, on Saturday 22nd June, to be held in the school grounds from 10.30am until 1pm.

A full programme of events and activities will be released in due course but it is hoped that this event will encompass everything Mr Bown held dear about the school. It will also allow our children to participate, perform and pay their respects to Mr Bown in their own special way.

LE THÉÂTRE EN FRANCAIS!

On Tuesday, pupils from Year 6 to 10 were treated to a play in French, La Salle des Énigmes (The Escape Room), by Onatti Theatre Productions, with professional French actors. It proved to be a very enjoyable experience, where pupils were able to follow a whole story in French, set in a ‘panic room’, and develop their listening skills whilst having fun. Some of them were asked onto the stage and bravely played a part, helping the actors with the clues.

Here are some of the pupils’ comments afterwards:

“I liked how they involved a lot of pupils, it was interactive throughout as they encouraged us to participate”

“The French music fitted in naturally and contributed to the atmosphere”

“The visuals made it easier to understand”

“They had cool outfits! Un grand enthousiasme!”

Monique Adair, Head of Languages

LAMDA EXAM Congratulations to Jack in Year 6 who recently sat his Grade 2 Lamda examination and performed exceptionally, being awarded a Distinction with an incredibly high overall score.

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ECO CLUB UPDATE In eco club this week, the children have been working hard to get the allotment up and running, ready to plant their seeds next week. Great work!

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LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD Year 1 pupils have been learning all about the fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. They were challenged to work in groups and re-enact the story using lots of expression and actions. They did a super job!

ANNIVERSARY BALL TICKETS

There are only five tables remaining for the 80th Anniversary Ball on Saturday 6th July. Please email booking forms to friends@saintnicholasschool.net by Friday 17th May at the latest.

MATHLETICS Well done to Max in Year 2 who has achieved his gold Mathletics certificate.

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PLAYGROUND FUN The Reception children have been continuing to enjoy the new markings in the playground.

PRE-SCHOOL FLOWERS In the Pre-school during their group time, the children have been looking closely at flowers. They have been smelling them, deciding whether or not they like the smell, learning the names of the different parts of a flower and looking at other characteristics such as size. They all found it a fun and interesting activity.

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Please see below the ‘save the dates’ for the next two weeks:

6th May - Bank holiday Monday (school closed)

8th May - Year 1 trip to Hanningfield Reservoir (9am - 3pm)

8th May - Year 1 and 2 Book Look afternoon (3pm)

9th May - Year 6 sex and relationships education (9.25am - 12.50pm)

10th May - Year 11 Nuclear Races trip (12 - 4.30pm)

10th May - Year 11 study leave begins

10th May - Year 9 Essex Outdoors (2.30pm - 4pm)

13th - 17th May - Lower school creative writing week

13th - 17th May - Year 9 exam week

15th May - Lower school story telling evening

16th May - Key Steps gymnastics competition

17th May - Year 6 full reports issued

17th May - Year 9 Essex Outdoors (2.30pm - 4pm)

17th and 18th May - Duke of Edinburgh practise expedition

SAVE THE DATES

BALLET REPORT Our Saint Nicholas School annual dancing display took place on Thursday 28th March, bringing joy and plenty of colour to the theatre with each performer demonstrating some of their class work exercises and also a group dance.

To begin the performance, Year 4 and 5 pupils thrilled everyone with their ‘Welcome Cha Cha Cha’ followed by pre–school pupils, who danced some of their class work before beautifully performing their ‘Poodle Parade’.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 3 children continued with ‘Fun at the Fair’ which featured balloon sellers, children having fun at the fair and a colourful carousal.

Budding ballerinas, Bethany and Emily then danced a ballet solo each before a quick change of costume to join their friends in Year 4 and 5 to dance a classical ballet piece.

Year 4 and 5 dancers also performed with Year 2 in their ‘Medieval Entertainment’ dance, which included colourful performances from noble ladies, music makers and jesters.

All the children had great fun performing and in the finale everyone received a balloon to take home.

I was delighted with the afternoon and evening performances and thank all the staff, parents and children for my beautiful flowers.

Mrs Mitchell

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CROSS COUNTRY

Report by Fleur, Year 4

On Friday 26th April, a team of four Year 4 girls qualified to represent Harlow schools in the Essex primary schools’ cross country team final event in Hadleigh Park. Clementine, India, Georgina and I were all running on the day. It was a 1500m course.

It’s definitely quite a challenging course as the track has various lengths of grass and in some areas the ground is rather uneven. The toughest part of the course was definitely the uneven grass - not even the steep hill could challenge this. As a team we did really well. I came 41st, Clementine came 46th, Georgina came 90th and India came 93rd. We all tried our best and were proud of our results.

SPORTS REPORT

ROUNDERS

Report by Hope, Year 7

On Tuesday 30th April, the new Year 6 and 7 rounders team went to Burnt Mill Academy to play three friendly matches. This was a nice start to the season and the team comprised Rose, Ellie, Olivia, Lois, Sienna, Lucy, Lily, Catherine and me. Well done to Ellie who performed well as our captain for this tournament.

We played really well, winning our first match. Unfortunately, we conceded the next two matches. Despite these losses, we played well as a team and it has given us the motivation and understanding of what a competitive match looks like and the areas we need to improve on.