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Newsletter 24.03.2025

A prayer to share

A Prayer for Lent
Loving God,
As we journey through this season of Lent,
Help us to open our hearts to Your presence.
Teach us to walk in kindness, patience, and love,
Reflecting Your mercy in all that we do.
May our words be gentle, our actions be just,
And our hearts be filled with compassion for others.
Guide us closer to You each day,
So that we may grow in faith, hope, and love.
Amen.

Message from our Chaplain Mairie

Fund-raising
During Lent and especially in this Jubilee year, St Nicholas has its main fund-raising focus as CARITAS Shrewsbury, the diocesan charity that supports the vulnerable and need in our local areas.
Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury was formed in 2016 from Catholic Children’s Society (Shrewsbury), originally founded in 1889.  Throughout its history the Society sought to address the real needs of children and families who experience some form of disadvantage and exclusion. They can provide one to one family support in the home.
Caritas also work with families to enhance their parenting skills, using evidenced based parenting programmes when appropriate or adapting strategies to meet the needs of an individual family in order to change the young person’s behaviour. This work is consolidated by the support given where there are emotional / mental health concerns or where there is risk of family breakdown.
Staff in the Community Hubs work with and alongside parents and residents, to provide locally identified services and a safe space to receive advice on debt management, nutrition, family law, health concerns and foodbanks.
Counselling
Caritas also  provide counselling for adults and young people is provided in the Community Hubs, our offices and  local schools.
Schools Service
Caritas are currently working in 18 schools in the diocese to provide family support service, which meets the needs of children and families, which enables young people to be happy and achieve their full potential.
We will be setting up a parent-pay item for contributions as well as all the wonderful events that the students are planning in school.

Sporting Success – Cross Country

Both Ruby Carrington (left) and Erin Carney (right) ran brilliantly in the English Schools National Cross Country Championships down in East Sussex on Saturday morning. Both girls finished strongly with Ruby crossing the line in the top 6 out of the Cheshire competitors and Erin finishing 3rd in Cheshire.

A fantastic effort from both girls.

Sporting Success – Athletics

On Monday  St Nicholas competed in the Year 7 Cheshire Sports Hall Athletics Competition at Ellesmere Port Sports Centre. All competitors fought brilliantly with our girls finishing 4th and the boys 7th.
What a fabulous group of students and also very talented athletes! Mrs Simms

Sporting Success – Netball

Thursday Yr 9 girls to leave your lesson early today to attend a netball tournament in Knutsford.
We had 6 games in total and won them all!
A 1st place position that they fought for and thoroughly deserved.
All girls played with determination and integrity and are a credit to St Nicholas.
Mrs Azakli

Sporting Success – Swimathon

The GCSE and A Level PE boys were absolutely unbelievable on Saturday night at Brio, Northwich for the Swimathon.
They have set a new record of 271 lengths in 55 minutes and were averaging 14 second lengths.
We are raising money for The Christie. Thank you to those that have sponsored.
Click here to help them achieve their goal.

Cambridge Aspiration session

On Friday this week we welcomed Katie from Fitzwilliam College Cambridge to work with some of our aspiration students in Year 10, 11 and 12.
This is set up as part of our Sixth Form Gateway Programme we offer our Sixth Form students in Year 12.
Some of the challenging questions they were debating were:
  • Should there be a universal language?
  • How can AI affect the future of Medicine?
  • Is Maths manufactured or natural?
Hopefully these session inspired our students to want to know more and question more.
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Everyone Matters.  Attendance Matters.

Research published by the government last week shows that each day a child misses of school costs them £750 in future earnings. They also found that by Year 11, a child who has missed ten days of school each year was half as likely to achieve a grade 5 in English and Maths at GCSE, and that those off school for 10% or more of the year will earn £10,000 less a year at age 28 than someone whose attendance at school was 100%.
At St Nicholas Catholic High School, we want all students to be in school all of the time. We know that illnesses are unavoidable but ask parents to consider the NHS guidance around school absence before reporting an illness; this is  available at the following link https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

PTFA Lottery

Our latest jackpot winning number is:

121417

One of our supporters won £16.50 in the draw!

Please consider joining our school lottery if you’ve not already done so as it helps raise funds for school. Thank you for your support as always.

www.your.schoollottery.co.uk

Kind regards,

You PTFA

Win a Home Robot Bundle (or £1,000 cash)!

Library and Literacy

New Hunger Games release

Good news for Hunger Games fans! Sunrise on the Reaping was released this week and has already racked up a respectable number of rave reviews from readers and critics alike. This is the second prequal to the original trilogy. The previous release, Songbirds and Snakes has been incredilby popular in the library and we expect this one to fly off the shelves as soon as we get it in. 

Sunrise on the Reaping follows Haymitch Abernathy in the Second Quarter Quell. We’ll finally get to learn about Haymitch’s journey from District 12 tribute to victor, shedding light on the events that shaped his complex character. The novel will also deepen our understanding of District 12’s history and its inhabitants, including connections to Katniss Everdeen’s family. We’re also set to meet some familiar faces from Catching Fire’s Third Quarter Quell along the way.

 

Midnight release parties have been held worldwide with fans gathering in bookstores, many dressed in themed costumes, to celebrate the latest addition to the series. Haymitch is a fan favourite with many skeletons in his closet so it’s easy to see why this long awaited latest installment has garnered so much attention and excitement.

 

Sadly, it hasn’t yet arrived on Sora, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time so I’ll keep you all updated.

For those eager to see this story on the big screen, a film adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping is set to be released in November 2026.

The 2025 Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist is:
  • Treacle Town by Brian Conaghan (Andersen Press)
  • The Things We Leave Behind by Clare Furniss (Simon & Schuster UK)
  • The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Otter-Barry Books)
  • King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore (Bonnier Books UK)
  • Little Bang by Kelly McCaughrain (Walker Books)
  • Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald (Faber & Faber)
  • All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri (Zephyr, Head of Zeus)
  • Play by Luke Palmer (Firefly Press)

After school PE

Week commencing 24.03.2025

Fixtures :
Monday:
Tuesday :
Cheshire Cricket with ARC students (10:15-11:15am)
Wednesday :
Year 7 Netball Tournament @ Weaverham
Year 3/4 Mixed Netball
Thursday :
Year 8 Netball Tournament @ Weaverham
Friday:
–

Clubs:
Monday –
No clubs (staff meetings)
Tuesday –
GCSE revision
All years rugby & GCSE practical evening
Wednesday –
Netball – no club due to tournament
Thursday –
All years football
Friday –

Music Co-Curricular

Rehearsals
week commencing 24.03.2025
Lunchtime
Monday  Keyboard Club 2M
Tuesday Year 10 Band 1M
Wednesday Woodwind Group 1M
Thursday Strings group 1M Year 7 practice room
After School
Monday  Year 13 composition workshop
Tuesday Year 11 GCSE Music intervention/Year 13 composition workshop
Wednesday CHOIR 3.15-5pm  Year 10 GCSE Composition Workshops
Thursday Orchestra & Year 10 GCSE Composition Workshops
Friday  Year 10 GCSE Composition Workshops

After School Clubs

Wednesday  Dungeons and Dragons
Wednesday Art Club in A2 all years 3.15-4.15

Lunchtime Clubs

Monday
Art KS4 in A2
History Musical Mondays – H1
Chess Club and Rubik’s club in M5
Y7 & Y8 Code club in C2
Tuesday:
Computer Science Revision in C2
Wednesday
KS3 Art club in A1
Thursday
Year 7 Book to Film Club in E1
Art club KS4 in A1
Friday
Easy as Pi club (maths)

Community notices

Easter Rugby Camp at Winnington Park RUFC

Let’s Play

Play together on Hartford’s green Field on Sunday 23rd March

Holiday Craft Activity

Wednesday 9th April at Hartford Village Hall

Sports, arts and other social clubs in Hartford
Dance, drama, football, tennis, craft, art… In Hartford, there are so many clubs and classes where you can make new friends, try new hobbies and have fun.
At Hartford Parish Council, we have pulled together an overview of clubs for kids, teens and adults. Take a look at what is on offer here: Community life – Hartford Parish Council. Have we missed any Hartford-based clubs? If so, please email asst.clerk@hartfordparishcouncil.org.uk.

Free courses 

Become a Teaching Assistant

Attendance

Everyone Matters – So Attendance Matters

Upcoming dates

  • Mon 24th Mar – Year 9 exams
  • Tues 25th March – Year 9 vaccinations
  • Fri 28th Mar –  Gold & Silver DofE training expedition – 28th-30th March
  • Wed 2nd Apr – Year 7 reports to parents, Whole school mass
  • Thurs 3rd Apr – Year 8 Parents evening 4:15 – 7:30pm
  • Fri 4th Apr – Stanley Igoe Cup (year 11),  Year 9 exams finish
  • Fri 4th Apr – SCHOOL CLOSES 3.15
  • Wed 23rd Apr – SCHOOL REOPENS
  • Thurs 24th Apr – Year 8 vaccinations

 

Click here for further dates

Click here to download 2024-25 Holiday Dates

Click here to download 2025-26 Holiday Dates