CHRISTMAS AT NHEHS
At NHEHS, we ensure that by celebrating Christmas, we give back to those around us in the local community We do this in various ways - by doing carol singing at local care homes and raising funds for Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter with various initiatives
This year ’ s school Christmas cards were designed by Year 5 Aroa (Snow globe) and Year 9 Agnes (Christmas tree) All proceeds of the sales went to one of NHEHS’s local charities, Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter. These were on sale on Parentpay and at the school Christmas Bazaar. Thank you to the students who sold these cards at the fair and to everyone for raising over £180!
This week two further volunteering groups joined the caring choir to sing joyfully to the residents of St David’s care home The residents sang and clapped along Students then walked through the corridors singing to residents who were not able to join us in the lounge Staff and residents all enjoyed the Christmas cheer brought along by the group!
Christmas Jumper Day i l l f f with students and staff bringing the Christmas cheer with their fantast s day is always a highlight as students get to enjoy their Christmas lun stive day all round!
Thank you to everyone
stmas events; all money raised goes to Ealing Churches Winter Night S sness during the winter months
VOLUNTEERING
COOKING FOR ECWNS
Many of the NHEHS community have been cooking hot meals and dropping them off at the Ealing Churches Winter Nights Shelter stations around churches in the area We received a lovely email from the organisers: Thank you all so much for the support you have given to Ealing Churches Winter Nights Shelter and St Peters We had a great evening on Friday All the food was absolutely delicious with many second (and third!) helpings enjoyed by guests and volunteers
We really appreciate your very generous food contributions, and the time and effort it made to cook and organise everything
HAMPER PACKING FOR AGE UK
On Tuesday the 3rd of December we went to visit Age UK to help them label their care packages to send off We were welcomed and set off to work straight away We spent an hour labeling the packages, and finishing this task was very rewarding Lisa Y10
Year 12's were also involved in packing hampers in the their free lessons Carolina writes: Caterina and I went hamper packing for Age Uk this term The hampers included scarfs, gloves, biscuits, christmassy items and other winter necessities Not only this, the hampers were decorated beautifully with red festive tissue paper and bows, this gave them a more personal feel and a cheery upbeat Christmas vibe The volunteers had a lot of work to do and many hampers to get through, so our work was greatly appreciated and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience Everyone was friendly and inviting, and it was a rewarding exp uld definitely do again
MENCAP FAIR
On the 26th of November we hosted our annual Mencap Christmas fair Mencap is a charity that supports adults with learning disabilities and their families Around 10 adults with learning disabilities came to join us and enjoyed various activities, from making paper chains to playing instruments. Having created a paper chain long enough to stretch across the whole recital hall, we led the whole group in some Christmas singing Everyone involved had an amazing afternoon and we hope that Mencap will come to join us again soon
YEAR 10 FUNDRAISING FOR GOSH
This term, Year 10 took part in a number of charity events for our chosen charity, Great Ormond Street Great Ormond Street was formed in 1852, the hospital focuses on children's healthcare and finding new and better ways to treat childhood illnesses It is a charitable organisation that relies on fundraising and donations It was founded by Dr Charles West, who was driven by the shockingly high level of infant mortality in London It was the first hospital in the UK dedicated solely to the treatment of children.
As a year group, we did a poll to decide our chosen charity The choice was Great Ormond Street Hospital We chose GOSH because of our belief in supporting the care of many severely ill children; they often have rare conditions such as cancer, genetic conditions and complex medical or surgical conditions Every day around 750 seriously ill children and young people are seen at Great Ormond Street from all over the UK for life-changing treatment and care. We hope that our efforts to raise money to support this charity are helpful in creating opportunities for the less fortunate young people
Great Ormond Street Hospital is a place of hope for children and families facing serious medical challenges It provides world-class care for children with rare and complex illnesses supported by cutting-edge research and advanced treatments. The hospital’s dedicated team works tirelessly to give every child the best chance at life By supporting GOSH, you help save lives and make a difference for children and families now and in the future
Y10 bake sale
The bake sale was a great way to sense the amazing community spirit of NHEHS with everyone taking part in some way We split the jobs into providing for the bake sale and hosting the bake sale in the atrium and it turned out to be an incredibly efficient way dividing the work and contributing to our joint cause There were a wide range of sweet treats but some of our favourites were the delicious home-made brownies and the fairy cakes Thank you to everyone who took part you have really made a difference!
Candy canes
For Year 10 charity month, our form, 10S, decided to deliver candy canes to raise money We sent a form out to the school where whoever wanted to purchase a candy cane, could select how many they want and whether they wanted to add a message for their friends We then collected the money from all people who bought candy canes, and in total we collected over £125
Hot Chocolate stand
On Thursday lunch, we ran a hot chocolate stand We put Nativity 2 on and sold hot chocolate There was an option for whipped cream and marshmallows and the hot chocolates were £1.50 (including toppings). It was a very successful event.
FUNDRAISING & NEWS
AGE UK CHRISTMAS CARDS
Thank you to Year 7 & 8 and children in the Junior School who made such lovely cards for the Age UK day centre users. Each day the centre members will receive one of your festive cards in their Christmas hampers
We were also pleased to be able to give out your cards to the residents of St David’s care home when Year 10 went to sing Christmas songs this week
TREE PLANTING
Year 10 volunteering enrichment students have continued to help the Ealing park ranger in either Montpellier or Pitshanger parks Jobs that students have been involved in have included laying mulch, cutting back weeds and overgrown hedges and this week the group carried out tree planting After instructions from the park ranger the group got to work, planting trees in pairs. Hopefully students will be able to see the results of their efforts on future visits to Montpellier park
HERON HOUSE UPDATE
ECWNS TALK
Today we had Marie come in and talk about homelessness She has worked in a homeless shelter for 27 years and was telling us what it was like The shelter is opened from the end of November to the beginning of April as this is when being homelessness is at its peak Throughout the winter it gets more colder and gets darker faster which makes the conditions for homeless people even more uncomfortable
She told us how she would help with getting everything that a person would need in the shelter (for example doctor appointments, passports, travel cards, bank accounts) so that by the time the shelter closed, they would be independent enough and would have a good foundation to not have to be homeless anymore. We were the most surprised to here that Marie was homeless herself, and after being taken into the shelter was able to buy herself a studio flat two weeks after leaving the shelter She told us that the number of men that are homeless is 82% but the number of women homeless has increased by 100% since last year Even if you think there is nothing you can do to help homeless people, sometimes all they need is to have a normal conversation and human interaction That is the bare minimum that we can do Marianna Y10
We had a message from Heron House sheltered accommodation where some of you carried out gardening work on volunteering day The gladioli bulbs you planted have flowered and were in bloom for quite a while The residents are hoping they NHEHS students will visit again next year.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
For many years, students and their families have donated money to charitable causes in the run up to Christmas Fifty years ago, in our 1974 school magazine, Lyn West (VI Upper) reported that ‘At Christmas, we were able to send a substantial sum, raised at the carol service in St Stephen's Church, to the Mayor of Ealing's Christmas Fund ’ In recent times, we have continued to raise monies via the retiring collection, with our service now being held at St Barnabas and our collections being sent to homeless shelters and local food banks
Looking a little further back, in 1950, Diana Glanville (IV Lower) reported on a children’s party which sounds similar to the party which Year 10 hold for the children at the Log Cabin in the Summer Term Diana wrote that ‘On December 9th 1950, IV Lower A and B gave a Christmas Party to twenty-five children from the Queen Alexandra's Home for Motherless Children, Ealing Our guests arrived about 4-30 p m and after being welcomed sat down to an excellent tea in the Garden Room The party was later entertained by a Conjuror and his assistant, and this was very much enjoyed by all During the performance ice creams were served for which we were very grateful to the giver Before the party ended the visitors lined up for a lucky dip in the Bran Tub and each was also given a bag of sweets from the Christmas Tree ’
CARE4CALAIS COLLECTIONS & CHRISTMAS PARTY
C4C party bags
Thank you for all the care and effort you put into your party bags for the children in the C4C supported hotel in Hayes Thankfully a group of Year 10 & 12 students kindly volunteered to take the many bags to the hotel and distribute them to the children living there The children were very excited to be receiving a gift
C4C visit
Students in Years 10-13 have carried out two visits to the hotel this half term On the first visit after the usual crafts and games, parents were able to choose hats, scarves and gloves for their children and themselves. They were very appreciative especially as the weather had turned colder that week Some of the families are also not used to wintery conditions having moved from warmer climates Thank you for your generous donations
WAYS TO HELP
EALING FOOD BANK
We would like to encourage all NHEHS students and staff to donate towards this good cause, by looking below at the December shopping list
Ealing Foodbank has a new method of supporting the foodbank, should you wish to. Food donations are insufficient to meet demand and we are purchasing an increasing proportion, currently 50% We have signed up to a new food donating platform, ‘GIVE TODAY’. It is accessible from Ealing Foodbank website on the ‘Give Help / Donate Food’ page:
https://givetoday.co.uk/ealingfoodban k/
Here you can purchase specific food items and Give Today deliver them to our warehouse Please feel free to share this with friends, family, neighbours etc
INFORMATION ON CHARITIES & VOLUNTEERING
If you are looking for volunteer opportunities or information about charity events, please look on the Student Noticeboard
Do you have any stories of charity work you have done recently?
Do you have ideas of what you would like us to do as a school?
If so please let your charity reps know: Maja, Catrin, Estella, Ishikaa, Lollie, Maia & Uma, or Mrs Johnson, Miss Newman and Ms Tavakoly.
We’d love to share your stories and help you with your ideas!
Thank you for your continued support in all of our charity endeavours!