Events Coming Up
16th December - Year 11 Brockenhurst College Interviews
20th December - Half day for students - Christmas Holidays
January 2025
6th January - All students return to school
6th January – Year 11 GCSE Mocks start
Message from the Leadership Team
As we approach the end of the autumn term, we would like to extend a thank you to everyone involved in making this week’s annual Christmas lunches such a success. These events are a wonderful opportunity to bring our entire school community together in the spirit of the season. There can be precious few opportunities to sit together, eat together and enjoy some festive time together in today’s world that races us along at such pace. Young people being able to do that is as important as the Christmas spirit itself. The energy and enthusiasm of our Year Leader teams, teachers, support staff and student are the qualities that make these lunches special.
Our PE department have hosted some lovely events with local primary schools lately, the most recent of which was Y3 and 4 netball, umpired expertly by Beau, Neave, Sophia K, Jaime, Dottie, Sophia T, Lavenia and Maisie in Y9 whilst the older PE Champions were enjoying their festive lunches. Compliments flew in from visiting staff and our staff alike, and I loved hearing the children singing, in such good moods, as they left us at the end of the event.
Going back to the subject of festive food, Year 10 students have been creating some marvellous festive meals today – proud Y10 team captain, Year Leader Mr Wilkinson made it across to enjoy their hard work with them. Thanks to them and their teachers for a morning of busy, high quality cheffing!
t’s been a musical jamboree this week, too – with the notable exception of me starting singing ‘Living on a Prayer’ at the wrong time in my festive enthusiasm at last night’s concert, rescued by Y9 students, my choir have stormed it at every event. Since the Craft Fair, we have been to sing at Carpathia Care Home and at Oakhaven Hospice’s Light Up a Life Service, alongside Mrs Rees’ beautiful choir at AFC Totton. Two such lovely events in their own way.
Carpathia staff wrote to us saying, ‘Thank you once again for your choir’s performance at our home, we all had the most lovely afternoon.’ We did, too, and we’re grateful for their partnership with our school, and for the sweets and treats they gave us. There were some good Bon Jovi singing residents down there who did not start at the wrong time! 😀
The two choirs at AFC Totton, Mrs Rees, Mr Watkins, Mrs Wyse and I thoroughly enjoyed the poignant service with Oakhaven Hospice holding in our minds our loved ones we miss and enjoying a traditional array of carols to lend our voices to as well as our own songs.
A colleague there said, ‘Both choirs sang so beautifully and were so confident and brave. I believe the children added some relief to what can be a sombre occasion.’
Then last night, as mentioned, we had our walloping great Christmas concert, with an incredible 90 or so children involved. Performers who showed up bravely, performers who showed up brilliantly and performers who have just done their bit all term long make us blown away proud. Thank you for supporting the event – it was a great atmosphere, and we love the performing arts here at Noadswood because of that.
A special thank you to our incredible Mrs Rees and Mr Watkins, and our student tech crew, too. I think that Australian music educator Vaughan Fleischfresser captures why we do this in this little quote:
Bravo to everyone who makes it happen and here’s to the next events and to Beauty and the Beast!
With the winter months upon us, we would like just to take a moment to emphasise the importance of safety, both on our roads and in our neighbourhoods. As the days grow shorter and the weather more unpredictable, we urge all our students to ensure they wear their helmets and high visibility clothing when cycling to and from school.
Additionally, with increased vehicle traffic during this time of year, we ask that families park considerately, being mindful not to block driveways or roads for our local residents. We receive daily concerns from neighbours about their roads and entrances to their homes blocked for quite a period of time, causing risks to safety and inconvenience at an exhausting time of year for everyone. This is not something over which the school has agency except to ask everyone: please show that consideration wherever possible.
We are also pleased to remind our families that there are vouchers available to provide support to families and these are not means tested. If your household needs assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's year leader who will be happy to provide more information. Thank you also to everyone who has helped to build our lovely library further by making a donation via our Darling Reads wish list: Noadswood Wishlist - Darling Reads
Reminder
Finally, we would just like to take the opportunity to remind families of our end of term arrangements – it’s coming up scarily fast!
Final Day Timings and Reward Assemblies (Friday 20th December 2024)
8:45 - 9:00 Tutor Time
9:00 - 9:45 Lesson 1
9:45 - 10:30 Lesson 2
10:30 - 10:45 Break
10:45 - 10:50 Return to tutor rooms for tutor-based activity (Individual tutors will confirm with their tutees.)
Assembly Order
10:50 - 11:10 Year 7 Assembly
11:10 - 11:30 Year 8 Assembly
11:30 - 11:50 Year 9 Assembly
11:50 - 12:10 Year 10 Assembly
12:10 - 12:30 Year 11 Assembly
A bell will ring after the end of the Year 11 assembly as close to 12.30 as possible. We have a lot to celebrate and so, on occasion, this can run slightly later, but that is roughly when the students will leave to go home. If your child is in receipt of free school meals, they must ensure that they get their food from our canteen at break time as it will be closed at lunch.
Wishing everyone a really good weekend – despite low energy batteries, high levels of tiredness and the impact both have, there is much to celebrate at the end of this week thanks to your children and our staff. I am very thankful for that.
Best wishes,
Kathryn Marshall and the Noadswood Leadership Team
Mock Examinations
Good luck to all the year 11 candidates (and some in year 10) who will no doubt spend some of their holiday revising and preparing for the mock examinations. They begin on the 6th January and the last exam is on the 21st January. The full schedule is available HERE
On this page, which pupils will find on FROG, we have provided full guidance of what pupils may and may not bring into exams. The mock series will be conducted in the exact same way as the summer series to prepare the pupils effectively. Please pay particular attention to the ‘must read for all candidates section’.
Individual pupils‘ timetables will be emailed to pupils and parents and carers next week. These will include all the venues for the examinations.
Prom Date
I am pleased to be able to let Year 11 parents and carers know that Prom 2025 will take place at Elmers Court in Lymington on Tuesday 1st July 2025. An expression of interest letter with further details will hopefully be with you prior to the Christmas break.