NHEHS CHARITY NEWSLETTER

Date: 31st March 2022

Ukraine fundraising

NHEHS has continued to be very generous in their fundraising for Ukraine. Y11 have run a series of successful events to raise money.

The collection of items resulted in a car load of new and nearly new sleeping bags, rolls mats, underwear and power banks. The Ukrainian 'Prosperity’ restaurant in Twickenham were extremely grateful to receive your generously donated items. They sent a tweet afterwards to show their appreciation.

Elizabeth in Y11 writes: Over the last few weeks Year 11 have been hosting events to help support the situation in the Ukraine. We have been holding a donation drive. Taking in supplies such as sleeping bags, new t-shirts and portable chargers to send to the people who have been displaced due to the ongoing crisis. The response to this drive was incredible and we were able to gather several bags of supplies to send over. However, while supplies are important, we have also been hosting some events to raise money to support relief eorts amid the ongoing crisis. There has been a second-hand book sale in the lower atrium held at both break and lunch, where students can purchase books donated by others within the school. It has been really wonderful to meet fellow readers from dierent year groups while also supporting such an important cause. In order to help spread the importance of supporting Ukraine as far as possible. There shall also be a busking event in Ealing on Sunday 20th March to allow us to spread this message into the community.

Acts of Kindness day

Mrs Duns has also encouraged many members of the school community to knit and crochet sunflowers (the national flower in Ukraine) in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. We have been overwhelmed by the beautiful sunflowers made by so many students and their parents as well as how many of you have bought and been proudly wearing their sunflowers. Thank you to Mrs Duns for running such a successful campaign and raising so much money for the work of Unicef in Ukraine.

This week events for Ukraine have also been held alongside ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ day. Thank you to all those who bought lollipops to give to friends and brought food items in for Foodbank. We would like you to continue showing kindness throughout the Easter holidays to family and friends. Here are some additional suggestions:

● Give an unexpected compliment.

● Let someone join the queue in front of you.

● Give someone your seat on a crowded bus or tube.

● Pick up a piece of litter on the street and put it in the bin.

● Smile at someone who looks sad.

● Donate your old phone or other electronics to charity.

● Donate gently used clothes to a charity shop.

● Give old blankets, sheets and towels to an animal shelter.

● Sign up for a shift at your local soup kitchen.

● Donate your old glasses.

● Give a sticky note with an uplifting message to a friend

● Write a thank you note to someone who has helped you.

● Make a double batch of biscuits/cakes and give to a friend

● Walk a dog for a friend or family member.

● Oer to babysit a friend or family member for free.

● Write a thank you note to a teacher who made a dierence in your life.

● Be on time.

● Call your mom or dad just to say I love you.

● Reconnect with an old friend you ’ ve lost touch with over the years. Share a memory you carry with you.

● Forgive someone who has wronged you.

● Make amends with someone you have wronged.

● Do chores for a family member who could use some extra free time.

● Give a friend a book you think they would like.

● Figure out a friend or family member’s half birthday (six months from their full birthday) and surprise them with a little treat on that day.

● Don’t forget yourself! Schedule a pedicure or massage, spend a few hours reading a great book or make time for another activity you love. Being kind to yourself will give you the energy and strength to be kind to others!

Lollies!

Thank you to Y10 for sticking 300 labels on the lollipops so students could write a kind message to someone else in the school.

So far you have all helped raise approximately £3000 for Unicef in Ukraine.

Well done also to the Y11s who organised and took part in the busking event in Ealing Broadway. They raised £2500 for the work of the Red Cross also in Ukraine.

Water Aid - world water awareness day Tues 22nd March

The senior and junior schools reflected on water gratitude on World Water day. The senior school learned about the work of water aid as well as practising mindfulness when drinking water and not taking it for granted.

In the Junior school three of the charity reps led an informative assembly encouraging students to reflect on how easy it is for them to get hold of clean water. They learnt about children in other countries who have to walk 4 miles to collect water and back which is often unclean. Toilets are also in short supply. By also supplying more toilets for schools and communities ensures water supplies are kept clean and free from waterborne diseases.

Sport’s Relief

On Friday 18th March, NHEHS celebrated Sports Relief, a Comic Relief initiative, by hosting a dodgeball competition.

The round robin tournament took place in the morning on the astro, with 8 teams (ranging from Year 7 to Year 13) taking to the courts. It was great to see so many students showing their competitive side, along with dressing up as a teamthere were some wacky outfits!

The playos took place at lunchtime, with Wildcats!, Balls of Steel, XY Baby and The Unstoppables all qualifying. The final saw Wildcats! take on Balls of Steel. After a hard fought match, Balls of Steel were victorious! Then it was time for the much anticipated Sta versus Winners match. Although tightly contested at times, after a few quick strikes, the sta team managed to knock all of Balls of Steel out, taking the victory!

Along with the dodgeball competition, we also had a mufti day, with the theme of Retro Sports Clothing. The dress up competition at breaktime saw some creative outfits, with joint winners Romilly and Joanna K winning a tasty easter egg.

We raised £207 for Comic Relief!

Y8 Events for Beat

Throughout March, Y8s have been holding events to raise money for the work of Beat. We are the UK’s eating disorder charity. Founded in 1989 as the Eating Disorders Association, our mission is to end the pain and suering caused by eating disorders. Here are photos of their many events, a full write up will be included in next month’s newsletter.

Pancake morning

Cake sale

Well done, Y8 for all your eorts. £270 was raised!

Homeless shelter volunteering - Millie Sutton

I am currently volunteering at a homeless centre in my area called Damien House. Damien House is part of Acton Homeless Concern and is open from 8am to 6pm every Monday to Friday with volunteers providing breakfast and activities. There are many volunteers that work there, and I am part of group who bake for the centre every Tuesday and Thursday.

I love baking for Damien House because it makes me feel connected to my community and during half terms, I can spend the whole morning there which is a really interesting experience as I get to know more people in my area.

Damien Centre is located at 3-5 Church Road, Acton W3 8PU so if you live around that area you can email me at asutton@nhehs.gdst.net to get involved!

Meet the reps continued

We are very fortunate this year as we have a large team of Y12 & 10 reps. Here are the last of our reps introducing themselves:

' Hi I'm Uma, I'm very excited to be a charity rep! I applied for the role as I enjoy helping with school charity events and volunteering. I am looking forward to helping dierent organisations and supporting our local communities as well as setting up important charity events and fundraisers. '

I chose to be a volunteering lead as I love being involved in my local community charities.

Many of my family members were helped by research charities so it is something very close to me.

I'm really looking forward to all the opportunities and charity events coming up.

NHEHS Amnesty International Update

Over the course of this term, we have written letters to a brilliant number of people who have needed our help, pleading the cases of people who have been wrongfully imprisoned. Our focus has been on individuals identified by Amnesty as part of their ‘Write for Rights’ Campaign, such as the Egyptian Human Rights lawyer Mohamed Baker and the Palestinian teenage journalist Janna Jihad.

In addition, we organised a successful teacher versus students dodgeball event, in support of ‘Sphere’, a LGBTQ+ group in Ukraine, facing persecution.

In March, Mr Piesse spoke at a Languages and Social Justice Conference in Sheffield about the benefits of linking the learning of modern languages to global human rights cases; King’s College, London have invited him to discuss these ideas with their cohort of trainee language teachers in June

Finally, we were delighted by the recent news of the liberation of Nazanin Zahari Ratcliffe, for whom we campaigned last year, aer six years of prison in Iran Watching her press conference, we were heartened by the potential of human rights activism to effect positive change, but also galvanised by the fact that many people, both in Iran, and around the world, are still in urgent need of our support.