Events Coming Up
3rd Feb Year 10 History Trip
6th Feb Geography Trip to Fawley
6th Feb Yr. 3&4 Gym competition
10th Feb Brockenhurst College Cooking Event
10th Feb Yr. 11 Brockenhurst College Interviews
10th Feb Lights, Camera, Action
11th Feb Yr. 11 Brockenhurst College Interviews
11th Feb KS3 & 4 Gym Festival
12th Feb GCSE PE Gym Festival
12th Feb Key Stage 4 course information evening for year 9 – 6pm for all
13th Feb Immunisations for Year 9 and catch ups for older students
14th Feb Wear Something Different day
14th Feb Yr. 11 Brockenhurst College Interviews
14th Feb Save a Heart Day
14th Feb Yr. 7 & 8 PSA Disco and end of this half term
14th Feb Yr. 7 & 8 Cake Bake Off for Valentine’s Day – see below!
Message from the Leadership Team
Dear Noadswood families,
As you will note from the events coming up, we are continuing to enjoy another busy half term, and I am thankful for everyone’s energy and enthusiasm, during the squally days of January, with lots of lurgy around, too. It takes resolve aplenty, and our students and staff have shown that.
In that spirit, I would like to start by congratulating everyone involved in DanceLive! on Tuesday night at the Portsmouth Guildhall. We know the phenomenal hard work that goes into this event from staff, students, and families alike. I was delighted by the final performance, cheering alongside lots of you in the theatre, and to see us awarded for our technical work and best LED screen was the icing on the cake!
Also want to give a big cheer to the 20 or so students who worked with Wellbeing Consultant and friend of Noadswood, Stacey Miller, on Tuesday afternoon, helping her with a commission she has from the Department of Culture and Media in the Government, no less, to capture the voices of young people about what’s good about their lives and the challenges they face. Miss Fitzgerald and I selected a crew from across the school, pretty randomly, and they did us proud. Waterside voices will be heard nationally, and quite right, too.
More good news about individual students has plopped in this week, like every week. Firstly, congratulations to Isolde whose design has been selected to take part in the Jurassic Furzey Trail, painting either a dinosaur or egg which will form part of the trail with other local artists (another excuse for me to go to the beautiful Furzey Gardens!).
We then had the loveliest email from Kevin at Hampshire Golf about great success for Charlie and Joe, Charlie having been awarded Future Champions Tour Final Champion and Joe coming second in the order of merit. I am looking forward to meeting both boys to say well done in person, and Mr Hewitt is keen to do likewise, enjoying playing golf himself.
Great achievements by all three students mentioned. Let us know if your child has an achievement outside school you’d love us to hear about, or maybe they are trying really hard at something in school and you wonder if we have noticed. We can’t wait to hear from you.
You will read more below about other enrichment opportunities as well as opportunities to visit school and learn with your child – we’re excited and thankful for your partnership. I say it every week and mean it every week, too.
School Lockdown Procedure
As you will have seen from Mr Hewitt, Deputy Headteacher’s note earlier in the week, in House Time with their tutor groups, students will have been briefed about the school’s lockdown procedure. This is different from an evacuation for fire, for example, something that we rehearse regularly. The lockdown procedure is a necessary plan that we have in place in the event of potential risks which might be reported in the community, impact on health or should there be an intruder on site, human or animal!
Although we understand that the idea of this plan might be worrying to some young people and adults alike, it is one that we need to share as part of our annual Health and Safety processes, so that we all understand the ‘What to do if’ parts of this plan. We’re not doing this in response to an alert we have received in any way – we are ensuring that all of our suite of Health and Safety policies are actually understood as live documents, not just on the shelf or online, hence doing this work, and other similar work, some of which only pertains to our adults, supported by our Trustees.
If you have any questions about this, don’t hesitate to drop us a line:
Contact details are here:
https://www.noadswood.hants.sch.uk/contact-us
Or you can contact colleagues such as Mr Hewitt, or any of the Leadership Team, as well as your child’s Year Leader team, via ClassCharts.
For a general enquiry, or you are not quite sure who to contact, or you want to check to see if your prior contact is being followed up, it’s info@noadswood.hants.sch.uk and we will do what we need to with the mail.
Wishing you a good weekend when we get there,
Kathryn Marshall and the Noadswood Leadership Team.
Air Ambulance "Save a Heart Day"
We are delighted to let you know that Air Ambulance are dedicating a full day to come into school on Friday 14th February to offer parents and grandparents the chance to learn how to do CPR effectively and how to use a defibrillator. Did you know Cardiac Arrests are the most called to incidents for our Critical Care Teams? But did you also know that fewer than 1 in 10 survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest? For every minute that someone is in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and early defibrillation used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10%. Early defibrillation within 3–5 minutes of collapse can increase survival rates by up to 50-70%.
There are 4 different sessions available on the day for you to come in and practice doing CPR and using a defibrillator. Spaces are limited, so please click on the link to book your space: Save a heart
CLOSING DATE TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR CPR SESSION IS WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY AT 4PM.
Cup cakes will be available to buy on the day and all proceeds will go towards Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.
A message from one of our parents here at Noadswood regarding the session we are offering:
"So so so pleased to see the school is offering this!!!
I had sudden cardiac arrest 12 years ago so I know the value of CPR and defibrillation!!!
Please please keep doing these courses! You never know how many people may be saved through this."
Key Stage 4 course information evening for Year 9
12th February 2025
On Wednesday evening we will be inviting all year 9 students and a parent to attend the above event in preparation for selecting preferred courses for Years 10 and 11. More information will be mailed to you this week. Due to restrictions on space we ask that only one adult attends the evening with each child.
Bikeability
We are pleased to inform you that we are working with Bikeability to arrange some course dates during the May half-term and hopefully the summer holidays. These courses will provide students with the opportunity to complete either the Level 2 course or, if they have already completed this in primary school, the Level 3 course. Initially, these courses are open to Years 7-9. Both courses will now be fully funded as long as your child has not completed the course before.
To help us gauge interest and determine how many students wish to participate, we kindly ask you to complete this short form
Year7 History trip to Ironbridge
The History department are very excited to launch a trip for current Year 7 students to Ironbridge, Shropshire. This trip will run next academic year and therefore support students understanding of the causes, events, and impact of the Industrial Revolution.
Ironbridge offers a fantastic opportunity to travel back in time to the days of the Victorians at the Blists Hill Open Air Museum where the sights and sounds, shops and houses of the 19th century have been faithfully recreated and where you can take part in some of the activities and still spend pounds, shillings and pence. No trip to Ironbridge is complete without viewing the iconic bridge over the Severn, the wonder of its day, whilst also viewing the remains of the furnaces and the elegant houses of the ironmasters. The students will also make a stop at Cadbury World on the final day where they will learn about Cadbury history and of course, have the chance to sample some chocolate.
There are 40 spaces available, and you can find all the details on the Arbor app. Sign up ends tonight, so please sign up today to avoid disappointment.
Year 11 English Department Trip – An Inspector Calls
This week, 23 students from year 11 went to The Mayflower Theatre to see a performance of An Inspector Calls which is one of the texts they have studied for the English Literature GCSE.
All students were a credit to the school as they were polite and respectful towards the theatre staff and throughout the performance itself.
The show was fantastic to watch. We really hope the students enjoyed it too and that it has developed their understanding of the play even further.
Careers
A reminder that the year 10 mock interview evening will be taking place on Thursday 6th March. Students who uploaded their CV and cover letter will receive the time slot of their interview very soon.
Year 7 & 8 Cake Bake-Off
Friday 14th February 2025
Students in years 7 & 8 are encouraged to bake cupcakes and bring them to the library by 08:45, There will be a prize for the tutor group with the most cakes. Funds raised from the sale of these will go towards the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.
Please do not use fresh cream or nuts, in the making of your cupcakes.