Nothampton High School
High News

High News 15 February 2019

If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise…

Senior girls who have come from the Junior School will remember with great fondness our wonderful Wild Area. Half an acre of woodland and rough grass, at the extreme edge of the grounds, has been the scene of many adventures with Forest School and the clearing of the pond four years ago provided a perfect location for pond-dipping.

In recent years, the area has seen many further improvement, prominent among them the addition of a bug hotel, bird-feeding station and fire pit. Last year, we became the proud owners of a ‘green’ composting toilet. Our more recent innovation has been the installation of a shelter, made of wood and canvas with retractable sides. The shelter has transformed a chilly corner of the Wild Area into a cosy spot, enabling our fearless Forest School girls to enjoy their outdoor lessons whatever the weather. Here they are, for example, enjoying the brief spell of snowfall we had a couple of weeks ago.

The shelter was made possible by a generous donation from FoNHS last year, based on a successful fundraising campaign, including our fabulous Fun Day in June. On behalf of all the girls and staff, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Committee members, led by the Chair Esther Sooriah, and all parents and colleagues who organised and supported the events to enable us to raise the funds for this improvement.

Dr Stringer
Headmistress

Week Ahead

Monday 18 February to Friday 22 February: Half Term

Monday 25 February
Senior School Assembly – SSLT Hustings

Tuesday 26 February
L5 and 6.1 Textiles Visit to V&A Museum

Wednesday 27 February
L4 Normandy Trip Information Evening
Netball: U11B vs Pitsford (A)
Netball: 1st VII vs Bedford Modern (H)
Netball: 2nd VII vs Bedford Modern (H)

Thursday 28 February
House Assemblies
School Production Rehearsals
6.1 Higher Education Evening

 

Friday 1 March
U3 Condover Hall Weekend
Senior School Assembly – SSLT Hustings
Netball: 11A & U13A Weekend at JCA Adventures

Saturday 2 March
U3 Condover Hall Weekend
Netball: 11A & U13A Weekend at JCA Adventures
Netball: U15A & B at Uppingham Tournament (A)

Sunday 3 March
U3 Condover Hall Weekend
Netball: 11A & U13A Weekend at JCA Adventures

Continued success for Northampton High’s Equestrian Team!

Over the weekend of 9 and 10 February, our Equestrian team were out competing in a local competition – well, for at least part of it! Ill jockeys, lame ponies and an ill team manager meant that only 4 of the original 10 entered were able to travel, but the girls more than made up for it with their performances over the event.

Arena Eventing was the focus, and the team faced a challenging course of Showjumping and Cross Country fences, with participants being judged on jumping faults, time and style. Amelia jumped in the highly competitive 100cm and 80cm classes, and she was accompanied by Eve, Jodie and Gemma who made a team for the 90cm and 1m classes. The team came fourth  and third in the respected events, meaning that they qualified for the Plate Championships in October! Gemma continued the success by finishing second in the 1.10m individual class, securing her place at that National Championships, also in October. A superb effort by all of the girls.

We would like to thank all of the parents for their support and also those involved on the day, as well as the staff members for their continued help and guidance, headed by Mrs Hodgetts-Tate. We look forward to the next event as the team look to secure more silverware and accolades, leading up to the Plate and National Championships later in the year.

Mr Nash
Marketing & Communications Officer

Classics Trip to see Oedipus Rex

On 8 February, Miss Mason and Miss Monks took the 6.2, 6.1, Upper and Lower 5 Classics classes to see Oedipus Rex live at the Bloomsbury Theatre.

As a small group we travelled by train after school down to London, first heading to The British Museum to find the Ancient Greek statues in the Parthenon and the archaic pots 6.2 had studied, and then walking back along to the Bloomsbury Theatre to wait for the performance to begin. It was put on by amateur actors from UCL and taken out of time to the early 20th century, during the decline of Imperialism, a fitting time period for the decline of Oedipus as king of Thebes.

The performance was engaging with interesting twists on the original, such as the northern messenger from Corinth, and a dramatic conclusion that was suitably tragic. We would like to thank Miss Mason, Miss Monks and Miss Balchin for organising this trip which has greatly enhanced our study of Oedipus Rex.

Elena
6E1

Georgie represents Northampton High at GDST Netball weekend

Last weekend, myself and 10 other GDST girls took part in 2 Netball matches and a training session. The matches were against a Leeds Rhinos hub team and Leeds Athletics Netball Club.

After a great training session at Leeds University, we travelled to Gateways School on the Friday to play against Leeds Rhinos. We had a great match, where we jelled instantly and came out with a great score of 73-11. That night we had a great evening with, making sure to rest up for the next day. The following day was tougher but nevertheless the team pulled through with a 53-48 victory. A highlight of mine was playing against Vanessa Walker, an ex Lightning Super League player; it was a great experience and I look forward to trying out again this year.

Georgie
U5N

6.1 Biology visit to the Wellcome genome campus in Cambridge

On Wednesday 13 February, all 6.1 students studying Biology visited the Wellcome genome campus in Cambridge.

On arrival we were greeted, and taken to a conference room where we were introduced to the campus, its multiple sections and it’s major role in the International human genome project. After a riveting introduction, we moved onto how the world of immunology has been influenced by advancements in genomics, and how we can now isolate a single amino acid as being the source of an illness due to mutation.

After a quick lunch break we looked further into gene mutation. We each interpreted the base sequences and compared healthy and mutated genes and their effects. Next, we swiftly move onto the campus tour. After a quick walk, we entered one of the many modern buildings in the campus to watch an engaging and informative video about the use of the campus in modern genomics, and how the research conducted here has and will continue to change the world.

Following this there was a Q&A session where our tour leader, who is also a Data Scientist, gave us information about her studies and route to her current job. She also stressed the need for more scientists (especially female) in this sector. As this is ever growing, misuse of this knowledge without complete understanding could lead to lots of misconceptions and worse, reiterating the need for further research. We then saw some of the sequencing technology as well as past methods which really put into perspective how far this has been developed.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this trip and I would like to thank Mr Attwood for arranging this trip and accompanying us.

Maya
6B1

Creative Arts Spotlight

This week’s Creative Arts Spotlight falls onto Fleur Beale in U3S for her creative cupcakes. They have a crushed biscuit base, cream cheese frosting and freeze-dried raspberries for decoration; she has really impressed me with her innovation!

Miss Knight
Subject Leader for Food

School Sport

Following on from an exciting weekend of Netball, we must add a special mention to Georgie Forde-Wells as the youngest member of the GDST Select VII Netball team, who was accompanied by Mrs Webb who coached superbly.

The teams at school played some great netball against Ratcliffe College with particular plaudits going to the U14 A&B, U15 A&B and the U12A teams. The hard training and matches have continued this week with wins for the 1st and 2nd team on Tuesday against Pitsford, and the U13 A team against Oundle on Wednesday.

As you will have read in the above article, our Equestrian team continues to go from strength to strength this year, putting in a stellar performance at the Arena Eventing last weekend, qualifying for the National Championships in the process!

We hope you all have a wonderful break and return ready for a busy half term. Don’t forget to make your firefly vote for the ‘Sports Woman of the Year’ and ‘Team of the Year’ as announced this morning!

Mrs Hackett
Director of Sport

Netball

Our Senior Netballers have been busy this week with fixtures on Tuesday versus Pitsford and on Thursday versus Thornton College. It was a great opportunity to have more 6th Form girls on court, with two making their first appearance in the squad this term. We are building towards the National Finals in March and Thursdays fixture was really useful for the girls to see where on court we need to focus some extra effort! It was a positive end to a busy half term with two wins and we now look forward to more fixtures and hopefully more success.

Mrs Ford
P.E Teacher

U14A vs Ratcliffe

Continuing our nearly unbeaten season, the team were determined to keep our winning streak going when we played Ratcliffe College. With several members of our squad unavailable, Tilly  & Georgia joined the team. We started the match as we meant to go on and with some strong accurate passing and some excellent shooting against an extremely physical side the first quarter ended 6-2 to us.

The team continued to play well with great defence from Amy, Jelly & Georgia, allowing the ball to be taken back to our circle with ease. We extended our lead and the score at half time was 11-4, with Tilly scoring some excellent goals.

In the third quarter we really got into our stride and played the netball we know we can play. The team used the court space well and the defence prevented any more goals being scored by the opposition in the third quarter. Tilly and Jess continued to work really well in the circle with some excellent passes in from Maddie and Jane  finished with some lovely goals, extending the score even further to 18-4 after the third quarter.

In the final quarter the team decided to try some different positions with Jane moving from C to WD, Maddie to C, Katie to GD and Georgia coming into attack at WA. The team continued to keep up the pressure even though we had sustained a few injuries throughout the match and overall the team played really well and the match ended in a 22-5 win. Player of the match was Jane.

Jess
U14A Netball Captain



Book Review

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf
Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2019

There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now a new boy called Ahmet is sitting in it.

He’s nine years old (just like me), but he’s very strange. He never talks and never smiles and doesn’t like sweets – not even lemon sherbets, which are my favourite!

But then I learned the truth: Ahmet really isn’t very strange at all. He’s a refugee who’s run away from a War. A real one. With bombs and fires and bullies that hurt people. And the more I find out about him, the more I want to help.

That’s where my best friends Josie, Michael and Tom come in. Because you see, together we’ve come up with a plan…

Miss Buxton
School Librarian

Singing is good for the soul!

Always thought about joining a choir, but didn’t know where to start? Love to sing, but can’t read music? Fear not, the Northampton High School Community Chamber Choir will welcome you with open arms.

We are currently searching for more people to join the choir, to rehearse and sing just for fun on Thursday evenings (7.30-9pm) and to sing at a variety of events over the coming year, including the GCSE Composition Evening, the Junior School Arts Morning, school Open Days and a Christmas concert and carol service.

Led by choir director, professional soprano and music teacher Catriona German, we cover a wide repertoire from Bach to the Beetles, medieval motets to musicals.

Come and make music with us. No previous experience of reading music is required, just a love of singing. The choir is a very friendly and relaxed group, free to attend (other than buying our music) and open to parents, students, teachers, the local community and friends of the school.

You can find out more on our Facebook page – search for Northampton High School Community Chamber Choir – or email Rachael at rachael.eden1@btinternet.com and we can arrange for you to come along to one of our rehearsal evenings to see what it’s like.

Liz Male

Join our Team: Nursery Nurse wanted

We are seeking a committed and enthusiastic nursery practitioner to join our experienced and friendly team.

Full year: 36 hours per week
Salary FTE: £18,141 – £19,497 depending on experience
Required start date: ASAP
Contract term: Permanent

Full details can be found by clicking here, or by contacting Anna Gates via a.gates@nhs.gdst.net. Applications should be submitted by midday, on Thursday 28 February 2019 at the latest, however, applications may be considered in advance of the deadline.

Mrs Gates
HR Officer

The Hub presents Professor Matthew McCormack

Dates for your diary

Term Dates

Northampton High School
Newport Pagnell Road, Hardingstone Northampton NN4 6UU
T: 01604 765765 nhsadmin@nhs.Gdst.Net