NOTTINGHAM GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL INSIGHT

May 2013 Issue 29Dear Parents, Girls and Friends of NGHS

We have had a very busy and enjoyable half term. School trips, performances, reunions - we have seen it all! Our first big event was the spring lunch where we were delighted to welcome alumnae and former staff back to school. The dining hall was buzzing with year groups from 1940s all the way up to the 2000s.

This was followed by performances of the much loved musical ‘Cats’, based on the book of poems entitled ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ by the author T.S. Eliot.

After lunch, guests were eager to go on tours of the school and the 2003 leavers, who were celebrating their 10th anniversary, settled down in the Reading Room to watch their ‘leavers dvd’. This was followed by a rendition of ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ in the hall, accompanied by Mrs Flewitt on piano.

So many people worked so hard for such a long time to put it together - and it all paid off. The set looked incredible, the make-up was magnificent, the choreography was stunning and the singing was outstanding. The girls (and boys of course, from Nottingham High School) performed wonderfully to a full house over four nights, which is quite an achievement.

Everyone who saw the performance thoroughly enjoyed it and was very complimentary about the professional quality of the show. So, very well done indeed to everybody involved.

Our 2007 leavers had their own party in the Sixth Form Centre. They enjoyed catching up with each other and particularly liked sitting on the decking with a glass of Prosecco, or two! They watched their ‘leavers dvd’, which caused much hilarity and then wanted tours of the school. The new Sixth Form art rooms and the recently refurbished science labs were of particular interest. All agreed it had been a fun afternoon.

It is also the time of year when we have to say goodbye to our Upper Sixth and wish them luck in their examinations.

The girls’ last day at school is always a memorable and fun occasion marked in true and traditional NGHS style.

Year 13 chose an entirely appropriate theme this year, given the recent dreadful weather, as they opted for ‘Noah’s Ark’. Two by two, a colourful collection of assorted wildlife lined Arboretum Street to greet staff, girls, parents and innocent passers-by, accompanied of course by Noah and the family. The sun actually shone for the girls who provided their own rain by way of the obligatory water pistols, as well as clouds of bubbles and balloons drifting down the road.

Much fun was had by all creatures great and small who then went on to surprise and delight the Junior School girls with an impromptu visit in their animal costumes, before retiring to graze on a well-earned breakfast in the dining hall.

The customary final assembly followed which was the usual mix of singing, dancing, laughter and tears. All agreed that the Ark was a triumph, and before we knew it, our Year 13 girls had sailed away into the sunset. We will miss them

all and we wish them the very best of luck in their forthcoming examinations, and much happiness in whatever the future holds.

Our Year 11s are also now on study leave and I wish them all the very best in their GCSE examinations.

I wish you all a well-deserved break and hopefully we might even see some sun!

With best wishes

Susan M Gorham, Head

SKIINGDuring the Easter holidays thirty three girls and five members of staff set off for the NGHS Ski Trip to the USA. After a long, but smooth, journey they arrived at the resort of Sierra-at-Tahoe. During the five days at the resort, the girls had 25 hours of ski tuition where they quickly honed their technique. The beginners’ group soon found that standing on skis was an adventure rather than an impossibility and were quickly progressing on the green and blue runs. The advanced group loved the moguls on the black diamond runs!

The week ended with a stopover in San Francisco; the girls loved the buzz of the city. During their stay the group travelled on the old fashioned Street Cars and visited Pier 39 where they watched the sea lions and got a view of the bay. The highlight of the city stopover was a visit to Alcatraz; everyone was enthralled by the visit and enjoyed learning all about the island prison.

During the trip, several girls contributed to our blog, http://ski2013.nghsblogs.net/ and getting comments from parents on this and on the twitter feed really helped the girls feel that they had kept in touch with home. All the girls had a really good time and returned home with new friends and lots of stories to tell.

BARCELONADuring the Easter holidays forty seven Year 9 pupils and five members of staff took part in a four day study trip to Barcelona. They stayed in chalets in a holiday park just outside Barcelona in the coastal town of Vilanova i la Geltrú. The four days and evenings were filled with excursions to experience as much as possible of what Barcelona has to offer. These included visits to Gaudí’s magnificent Sagrada Familia and Park Güell, El Museu de la Xocolata (chocolate museum), the home of Barcelona’s football team Camp Nou, a stroll down Barcelona’s most famous tourist street Las Ramblas and visits to

authors • performances • bands • photography • art • authors •

NGHS Arts Festival Saturday 6 July 2013 12.00 - 5.00pm NGHS Arts Festival Saturday 6 July 2013 12.00 - 5.00pm NGHS Arts Festival

NGHS Arts Festival Saturday 6 July 2013 12.00 - 5.00pm NGHS Arts Festival Saturday 6 July 2013 12.00 - 5.00pm NGHS Arts Festival

Arts FestivalSaturday 6 July 201312.00noon - 5.00pm

“Showcasing creativity from our current students, alumnae

and friends of the school.”

the Joan Miró and science museum. During their time at Vilanova Park the girls also got to savour some authentic Spanish cuisine such as paella, tapas and churros con chocolate. On the final evening everyone participated in a dance workshop with a local professional dancer and learnt the main steps of salsa, merengue and mambo. It was a fantastic visit which gave the girls the opportunity to enrich their understanding of Spanish culture and language.

DTDuring Fairtrade fortnight, girls took part in a competition to design and bake an item using Fairtrade ingredients. They had to photograph their dish and produce a design sheet explaining their recipe and which ingredients were Fairtrade. Rosie Shipman and Ellie Stephens, from Year 9, did a joint entry and made a Giant Fairtrade Cookie. They each won a Fairtrade Bag and a large bar of Fairtrade chocolate.

NEWARK SHOWOnce again we were asked to be involved in the Nottinghamshire County Show. Eliza Cox (Year 8) played and sang beautifully at the reception prior to the Presidents’ lunch and Emily Naish, also from Year 8, won second prize in the ‘President’s Challenge’ competition with her innovative idea to assist deaf people.

JUNIOR SCHOOLAnother action packed half term in the Junior School! The trips have been many and varied and the girls have enjoyed participating in a range of new and exciting activities. Next term proves to be just as exciting.

I wish you all a very relaxing holiday.

Best wishes Faith Potter, Head of Junior School courage, co-operation and energy, all of

which our girls have in abundance! They had a fantastic time, as did the staff who accompanied them. They were an absolute pleasure to take out of school and were complimented warmly by the Dobroyd Castle staff for their exemplary behaviour and can-do attitude.

The girls had worked extremely hard to make the event an afternoon to remember. The range of stalls, fair rides and delicious food made it a huge success. Everyone involved demonstrated real teamwork and true spirit for having lots of fun. £572.48 was raised and this has been allocated to develop the outdoor learning space for girls in Key Stage 1.

YEAR 2 TRIP TO OADBY FARMYear 2 enjoyed their trip to Oadby Farm in April as part of their current topic ‘Farm to Fork’. They had a tour of the arable farm, saw huge farm equipment, made their own pizzas and visited the beehives. The sun shone so they didn’t need their wellies! YEAR 4 VISIT CRANEDALE

Once again, Year 4 have been on an exciting, ecological and environmental residential experience! They charmed worms, hunted for mini beasts, made nests, observed lapwings, became herbivores and carnivores in the woods and learnt valuable life skills, away from the comfort of their own homes. The Cranedale Centre staff were warm and welcoming, as well as knowledgeable on environmental and geographical studies. Mrs Nash, Mrs Potter, Mrs Eggington and Miss Robinson all complimented the girls on their behaviour and enthusiasm throughout the trip. They can’t wait to try out what they have learnt on sustainability, in their everyday lives.

CONKERSYear 3 thoroughly enjoyed the experience of their first school residential at Conkers last week. Although the weather forecast was not good, they enjoyed glorious sunshine on the first day and were able to take part in activities relating to woodland habitats as well as explore the maze and nature trail, willow weaving and shelter building. They came up with some very elaborate designs for these, including en-suite bathrooms, slides and sentry guards!

DOBROYD RESIDENTIAL TRIPBright and early on Wednesday morning, 1 May, our Year 6 girls set off on an exciting three day residential trip to Dobroyd Castle Activity Centre. It was non-stop fun in glorious sunshine from the moment they arrived. They had an action-packed programme of activities which included climbing, caving, the Piranha Pool, zip wire, a problem solving Quest, the Giant Swing, canoeing and raft building. The activities called for

MAY FAIRHaving had to postpone the Easter Fair due to bad weather, the girls were excited that it was able to take place, even though the location had changed to the dining hall!

After a hearty evening meal, a film and hot chocolate they soon settled down to sleep in their rooms ready to face the next morning of exploring the Discovery Centre, the Barefoot Walk and, of course, the shop!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARYWednesday 19 and Thursday 20 JuneYear 6 Performance of Bugsy Malone 7.00pm - 9.00pm

Wednesday 26 JuneYears 5, 6 and 7 Concert

Friday 28 JuneYear 7 and 8 Disco 7.30pm - 9.30pm

Tuesday 2 JulyReception, Years 1 and 2 Sports Day 1.45pm - 3.30pm

Wednesday 3 JulyYears 3 - 6 Sports Day 1.45pm - 3.30pm

Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 JulySenior Play: Animal Farm 7.00pm - 9.00pm

Saturday 6 JulyArts Festival 12.00noon - 5.00pm

Thursday 11 JulyYear 6 Presentation Evening

Friday 12 JulySummer Term Ends 1.00pm

UNIFORM SHOPOpening times Mondays, term time only 1.30 - 4.30pm Saturday 15 June and 6 July 10.00am - 12.00noon

PRAYER GROUPThe next meeting will be on Tuesday 18 June at 8pm. For further details please contact Jane Shipway on 0115 9282201 or jane.shipway@ntlworld.com

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SPORTIt has been a busy term with lots of rounders and tennis matches (weather permitting) and the City Athletics Championships.

The Year 9 rounders team won their qualifying league, winning five matches out of five and finished runners up and silver medal winners in the City Finals.

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They returned exhausted but happy with the chants of ‘I wish we could stay longer’.

CASTLETON RESIDENTIALOn 15 May the Year 5 girls, laden down with everything from sun cream to thermals, embarked on an exciting three day residential visit to Castleton, in the heart of The Peak District.

They stayed at the Hollowford Centre where they enjoyed an action-packed programme of activities which included: survival skills covering how to make fire (which resulted in delicious toasted marshmallows!) and how to get fresh water from trees and the ground, shelter building, seed dispersal, a study of local flora and fauna, a high-wire challenge course, team building games and a walk in the hills to learn about the local history of Castleton. The girls learned so much while they were away, about sharing, co-operating and supporting one another, and returned home older, wiser and a lot muddier than when they left.

The Year 7 athletics team competed in their first match against Trinity with most competing on a full 400m track or 100m straight for the first time. Well done to all concerned.

Both the junior and intermediate teams won their events at the recent City Athletics Championships. We now have fifteen girls going through to the County finals on 7 June. Good luck.

Left to right: Olivia Beasley, Pip Revans, Mollie Summerland, Jasmine Krishan and Alice Venkatesan.