Author and illustrator visit
The Reception and Year 1 children were treated to a very special visit on Wednesday afternoon. We were lucky to welcome a very talented pair of sisters to NHP. Lisa Read and Kim Ansell created the magical picture book ‘Fredrick the Fox’. After a wonderful reading to each class, Lisa and Kim went through all the tricks of the trade on how to create a picture book. Lisa showed the children her water colour paints; her sketch book filled with the drawings which went on to create ‘Fredrick the Fox’. Kim talked about using the right words and helping the rhyme bounce along from beginning to end. They also talked about how they specially made their book environmentally friendly by having it printed in the UK and using vegetable based prints. The children learnt that both Lisa and Kim used many of the NHP habits to produce the book, such as persisting and persevering to get the pictures just right, and reflecting and evaluating to make sure their layout was the best it could be, to name a few.
Oxford University Computing Challenge
At the beginning of November all children in Year 4 to 8 took part in the Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. We were extremely pleased that 12 children at NHP scored in the top 10% in the country and were therefore invited to take part in the next round, the Oxford University Computing Challenge.
The 12 pupils have been giving up their lunchbreaks once week to prepare with Ms Kirkland, and today our NHP students took a part in the challenge.
NHP Future Schools’ Presentation
The JCB Hall was buzzing on Monday evening with nearly a hundred Year 4 and 5 parents, gathered together to hear about the Senior School journey. NHP are committed to guiding parents through the (sometimes quite complicated and overwhelming) application process and ensuring that their children remain happy and thriving in the school that suits their needs.
Read MoreBasic Lunch
At NHP, our pupils are fortunate enough to be able to access nutritious and varied meals made up of a number of different ingredients and portions generous enough to power them through the day and keep their brains and bodies healthy and growing. Statistics show that a shocking 29% of children in Kensington and Chelsea are living in poverty, of which food poverty plays a huge part, and 33% of London adults have skipped meals to save money so that their children can eat. This winter, the rise in the cost of living continues to leave many of our local community struggling to put food on the table and keep their homes warm. Often, they will have to choose between the two – a situation which causes incredible stress and anxiety.
As winter and the cost of living crisis continues within our community, on Tuesday our pupils had the opportunity to play a vital part in supporting the work of the Kensington & Chelsea Foodbank through donating the saved costs from a ‘basic lunch’. With the aim of saving on food costs to donate to the foodbank, our Catering Team devised a reduced lunch menu for our pupils consisting of pasta with tomato sauce, soup, crudités, bread and a deliciously simple sweet treat; all basic staples (aside from the fresh produce) that are offered to those who seek support from our local foodbank at the Notting Hill Methodist Church, just down the road from NHP. The Kensington & Chelsea Foodbank is part of a London wide network providing three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food packages and support to local people who are referred to them in crisis. All the food they are given is donated from local people and organisations. Sadly for far too many, the foodbank is a major lifeline and so it stands as a crucial part of our local community. From just one lunch, we were able to make an incredible saving of £299 to donate to the foodbank to support those in need locally and we look forward to introducing the ‘basic lunch’ again in the near future, as well as working more closely with the Kensington & Chelsea Foodbank.
The children really appreciated taking the time to hear some interesting information on the work of the charity, creating a greater awareness around food poverty within our borough, and feedback from the lunch was that it was a resounding success.
Read More“‘Could we do this every week?’”
“It’s nice to think that we are making a difference”
“I will really appreciate lunch tomorrow in a different way’”
“I do miss the salad bar a bit, but it’s worth it”
Nutrition Talk by Sodexo
Today, NHP were joined by Amy Teichman, the Quality and Nutrition Manager for Sodexo (the catering providers for NHP), for an informative talk on child nutrition, based on extensive research and experience within the schools’ sector. She discussed how the catering team at NHP creates varied and balanced meals that work on a three-week rota to provide our pupils with a wide range of options. We allow our children freedom to choose the food items on their plates in a controlled and monitored environment, encouraging them to add vegetables where needed.
By including a twice-weekly sweet treat, she spoke about how this enables pupils to understand that all food types can be enjoyed in moderation; thus building the foundations for a healthy and happy life both in and out of school.
Amy gave some great tips to our attending parents on how to how to incorporate healthier ingredients into regular meals, which even the fussiest of children will enjoy! We finished the session with a demonstration of recommended portion sizes and how our catering team measures each portion when preparing food for the children, finishing off with a Q&A, which covered points in the answers such as how it is very normal for children to be hungry and wanting a snack around 3pm after a good lunch, how portion sizes vary from lower down the school to higher up and and how student voice is important to the school through feedback on the food discussed at School Council.
It was an incredibly informative talk and one which highlighted the pivotal role that schools take in creating a healthy relationship with eating.
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