Dates for the Diary
June
20th Krispy Kreme Donut Sale (See posters around School building)
24th Year 10 mocks all week
25th Year 6 Moving Up evening (Parents only)
26th-28th Matilda Performances (Sold Out)
26th Hampshire Track Finals U13+U15
July
1st - 4th Year 9 mocks
4th Year 11 Prom
4th Year 6 Moving Up Day 1
5th Moving up Day 2
5th Fundraising Music Concert (further details below)
15th Year 9 Pride in the Waterside challenge – celebration event with Applemore
19th Wear Something Different Day - £1 via Arbor payment
Message from the Leadership Team
Dear Noadswood families,
We hope this newsletter finds you well. We have had another busy and brilliant week with your children! We continue to be delighted to see Matilda rehearsals in full swing and it’s no surprise to us that next week’s performances are sold out! Thanks so much for your support of everyone’s endeavours.
We’d like to thank Mrs Rees, Mr Watkins, cast and the whole production team again for their incredible effort in bringing this to our Noadswood stage.
We had the bittersweet moment of saying a fond farewell to our Year 11 students on Wednesday. We are so proud of how well they have conducted themselves throughout their time at Noadswood, including during exam season. We know how challenging school life can be for our young people, and we do not take their sense of team for granted. I thanked them for the laughter, the strong commitment to each other and their goals, their professional approach and to all they’ve achieved, including across times of such disruption as the lockdowns were. I quoted the fashion icon, Coco Chanel, who said, ‘May my legend gain ground, I wish it a long and happy life’ to share with them my hope that their stories gain ground too – they have showed such spirit, sparkle and courage, and I wish them a long and happy life.
We thoroughly enjoyed giving them a Noadswood send off, signing shirts galore and giving them their customary guard of honour departure from staff. We’d like to say a special thank you to Mr Marsh, Miss Fitzgerald and all in the Year 11 team for their phenomenal organisation of, commitment to and unstinting support of year 11. There were very few dry eyes in our Leavers’ Assembly, and we can’t wait to see those going to Prom and on Results Day on August 22nd – more to follow on that later in the term!
In the spirit of saying farewell, the PSA said goodbye to a legend who’s impact certainly has gained ground, Coco Chanel, style, Suzie Pavitt this week. We’d like to say a tremendous and heartfelt thanks for her contribution to our school family; Suzie has been involved in various PSAs for the last 14 years and we’ve been so lucky to have her with us and we will miss her very much.
As we bid farewell to Year 11, we have loved beginning to welcome our Year 6s to the Noadswood family. We have written to everyone this week confirming houses and tutor groups as well as all our moving up events. When you have questions or anything on your mind at all, please do not hesitate to email movingup@noadswood.hants.sch.uk and the team will get back to you.
Transition Evening - 25/06/2024 from 5.30pm - your timeslot to be advised. This event is designed for parents and carers. On this evening, we'll share student leader and senior leader messages for new families from Grace, Dayshaun, Harry, Emily, Alex and Ryley, Mr Hewitt, Deputy Headteacher, and, of course, me!
Then everyone will have the opportunity to hear more about our pastoral and inclusion systems, and ask questions of our Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Loveday, and Assistant Headteacher, Mr Rowling.
Moving Up Days - 04/07/2024 and 05/07/2024. Pupils will join us for two dedicated 'Moving Up' days. They'll get to meet their Head of Year, Tutor, and experience lessons at Noadswood.
For those Noadswood students who have kindly volunteered to be part of Summer Camp, Mrs Rollett will be in contact to confirm arrangements at the start of July.
Next up in our super busy summer of culture and fun:
Fundraising Music Concert – Outdoor event – Friday 5 July from 6-9.30pm
As we have trailed in several letters now, we are looking forward so much to this event in support of two Noadswood students who will be representing us and our community internationally in their chosen fields this year.
My super Years 7 and 8 ‘This Me’ Choir will be kicking off our inaugural International Fundraising event followed by various students singing solos or in groups with music from the Matilda show. The Rock band and Mrs Rees's choir will conclude the first hour.
Then, The Kazbaas will then entertain us for the rest of the evening, joined by my choir for a rousing rendition of that old classic, ‘Sweet Dreams’ by the Eurythmics.
This event really will help some of our students continue to be their best when representing themselves, their club and the school when taking part in events abroad. So far, we are supporting Zach who is going to represent Team GB at the European Gymnastics Championships in Azerbaijan and Flo, who will be teaching in a school, as well as sports coaching, in Zanzibar. This is just the start as we would like to support other students, that reach this sort of level in their own field and need a little extra help in getting there.
Tickets can be found in the Arbor School Shop - Entry only at £5.00 per person or Entry with food at £10.50 per person. If you have any queries, please email events@noadswood.hants.sch.uk
We are also after donations for the tombola stall, please could your child give these to their tutor. Any cake/biscuit donations can be delivered to school on the morning of Friday 5 July. Various stalls and activities will all be outside on the evening.
You could also help us make our Fundraising Music Concert a memorable event by donating raffle prizes. We are seeking contributions such as gift cards, services, or any special items you can offer.
Students: Please bring your donations to Mrs Wyse, your tutor, or drop them off at main reception.
Supporters: Contact us at mwyse@noadswood.hants.sch.uk for more details on how to contribute.
Your donations will play a vital role in the success of our concert.
Thank you for your support!
A couple more day to day items to finish with this week: as the warm weather continues, we now have 3 new bottle fillers located outside the Sports Hall, the Gym and opposite the community garden on the back of the site office wall. Please do remind your students to bring refillable water bottles to school so that they can stay hydrated throughout the day.
And as the end of the academic year approaches, and students’ uniform begins to need replacing, please can we ask that you consult our uniform page for the most up to date listing. We would hate for anyone to waste money on incorrect items. Please also remember that we are in receipt of supermarket and skoolkit vouchers for any families that need it, and our PSA do all they can with respect to pre-loved uniform supplies - please do reach out to your child's year team or to psa@noadswood.hants.sch.uk .
Finally, thanks in advance for completing our survey, created this time by Miss Skinner, Director of Culture and Learning on the senior team, using as its basis the Ofsted survey format. If you have other matters to raise with us that the survey prompts in your minds, don’t hesitate to contact the right people on Class Charts or by using the email address for them found on our contact page on our website Contact Us
Best wishes,
Kathryn Marshall and the Leadership Team
Attendance streak challenge
A reminder of our current attendance streak challenge that started this week.
We’re super excited to be ordering the extra ingredients needed for lots and lots of cookies!
A reminder that we have 3 challenges running; 10 days, 15 days and the 28 days.
How are you getting on so far?
Safeguarding – upcoming audit
As we do every year, we have our external safeguarding audit coming up at the beginning of July. The audit itself looks at all aspects of school safeguarding from the safety of the site, reporting incidents, management of safeguarding concerns and hearing the voice of both students and staff. As such, we would be really grateful if each student could spend just one or two minutes completing this survey. It’s produced by the auditors and completely anonymous. The feedback from this survey and the audit itself, helps us to build our safeguarding action plan and ensures that we continue to do all we can to provide a safe and happy environment for us all. Clicking on the link below will take you directly to it – please do encourage your child/ren to complete this
Literacy in the Community
This week we wanted to draw your attention to some of the fantastic work being done in our community.
Hythe library is a fantastic spot offering an awful lot to our community. They have an extensive book collection for all readers which includes a dyslexia friendly section and texts for reluctant readers, as well as both non-fiction and fiction for all ages.
Hythe library run many activities throughout the week for little ones and is also home to the community kitchen where families can access free food items which are close to their sell-by date. They make this available to reduce food waste.
In keeping with this, The Waterside Food Project gather at Blackfield Baptist Church every Thursday from 3:30pm – 5:30pm for the Community Cook Up. During this time, they use food items close to their sell-by date to create healthy and hearty meals to enjoy.
Finally, a plea from our school library – please can all library books be returned by the 30th June. At present we have 78 overdue books, mainly borrowed by Years 7 and 8, to a total value of just under £800. Please check at home for any lying around and ask your child/ren to return them to the library. There are no late fees.
Parent/Carer Survey
Just a reminder that the deadline for the parent/carer survey is Thursday 27th June. Huge thanks for your support with this, your feedback is much appreciated.
Pride in the Waterside Award
Our Year 9s have made a brilliant start with gathering their evidence and signatures for the Pride in the Waterside Award. Just a reminder that their deadline is Monday 1st July. Good Luck Year 9!