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Northgate Way | Northgate High School
Back in July 2021, the Earth Summit Team decided to put together some top tips for pupils, staff and the community, to get them thinking about small changes they could make in their daily lives to be more environmentally friendly. From cutting down plastic use and walking instead of using the car, to baking in bulk and trying to reduce your energy consumption.
We have now been posting the tips for a whole year. Below you can see all of the top tips. We hope that even if you have just found one or two tips that you can put into action, then the team has succeeded in their mission.
On Thursday 19th May Northgate hosted our first Battle of the Bookworms Quiz for primary schools. The morning event saw Y5/6 teams from Toftwood Junior, Thomas Bullock Primary, Yaxham Primary, Mattishall Primary and Scarning Primary School battle with their book knowledge to be awarded the winning trophy shield. Parents of the children taking part were also invited and it was a delight to see so many here in the library showing their support.
The event was to celebrate reading and ‘National Share a Story Month’ and we were delighted by the knowledge and enthusiasm shown by all these young bookworms. Some of our dedicated library assistants- Seren, Evelyn, Sophie, Maisie, Kyra, Charlotte and Scarlet were eager to look after all the teams and also hosted the rounds, reading the questions confidently and audibly.
After six varying themed rounds the scores were tallied up to announce the results The scoring proved a close competition and with only one point separating the first, second and third places the overall winner was Scarning Primary who were awarded the trophy shield, which will be engraved with the school name and date and displayed with pride in their school until next year.
All those taking part were awarded a certificate, sweets and a book to take home with them. The event was a great success and we look forward to welcoming more schools to the quiz next year.
Seren, one of the library assistants, said, ‘As a library assistant, it’s my responsibility to help keep the library tidy, to put the books on the shelves, sometimes to scan in and out books and to help in library events! We were assigned a team each, and then we went to show our teams to the library. After this, we helped our teams during the quiz, gave out snacks and we read out some of the rounds as well! We assisted the students and showed them around. It was a very fun experience and a great way to represent the school to local primary schools. I think they really enjoyed this event and would like this to happen again.’
Members of our Northgate News Team have decided to find out a bit more about staff at Northgate. Daniel, Year 8, met with Mr Cushion from the Geography Department, for a quick chat. Here’s what he had to say.
‘Earlier in the half term, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr Cushion, Geography teacher at Northgate High School. Also, he is an excellent Head of House for Attenborough and an inspiring individual that leads the young minds involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
So, I asked him a few questions to find out what we don’t already know about Mr Cushion’
What do you enjoy most about leading the Attenborough house?
I enjoy working as a team to achieve goals and make this house the best it can be.
What is your favourite topic to teach in Geography and why?
In Geography it has to be climate change because I think the more people know about it the better. Also, it teaches kids what could happen if no-one acts about it.
The obvious question is are you cat or a dog person?
Cats because they are cuddly and adorable, but not saying dogs aren’t cute too.
What has been the most recent trip you have done with the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme?
The most recent trips have been expeditions to Lincolnshire and a trip to Burnham Market. It was a lot of fun to travel with the students.
Is there anywhere in the world you would like to visit?
Australia because of the bustling ecosystems and wildlife.
Finally, did you aspire to any other careers before going to teaching?
When I was a kid, I always dreamed of being a football coach because I love football and everything to do with it.
‘As you can see, Mr Cushion is one of the many talented individuals at Northgate High School and I look forward to talking to him again in the future.’
Many thanks to Daniel and to Mr Cushion for taking the time to complete the interview. If anyone is interested in House Competitions for Attenborough or getting involved in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, please see Mr Cushion for more information.
Members of our Northgate News Team write blogs for the school website about events, trips and activities. They also interview members of staff to find out a bit more about them. Now Year 7 Northgate News Team member, Mirren, has decided to write a book review for a book she thinks would be perfect for Year 4 and 5 students in our local primary schools.
‘The book is ‘You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum!’ The author is Andy Stanton and the illustrator is David Tazzyman. This is a fiction book for a variety of ages. I chose to read this book because I read the blurb at the back and I was really drawn to the story before I had even opened the first few pages. I also thought that the cover is drawing me into it as well.
This story is set in a small town called Lamonic Bibber. That’s where Mr Gum lives. It was a lovely town except for one thing in it, Mr Gum! He was a filthy old man with a filthy old house. His clothes were moth eaten and he picked his nose and ate it. But there was one thing that wasn’t disgusting about him – his garden. He had the prettiest, cleanest garden in the whole of Lamonic Bibber. There was one reason why he has to, 100%, keep the garden tidy. It was his one and only moral – keep the garden tidy. Do you want to know why he has to keep it tidy? You will have to read the book and find out!
I would definitely recommend this book to other people. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr Gum and can’t wait to read more of his already existing books and adventures!’
Many thanks to Mirren for writing the review – we hope her recommendation to our local primary schools is a good one!
A huge well done to all the students who competed in the Mid Norfolk Athletics on Wednesday 18th May. This annual event saw students from Iceni, Litcham, Neatherd, Northgate and Wayland Academy compete against each other on the track and on the field across the afternoon.
It was a great day of athletics in glorious sunshine, a number of our students were individually successful in winning their events:
Jordan (Shot) and Poppy (High Jump) in Year 7
Ethan (200m), Rocky (800m) and Josh (High Jump) in Year 8
Ewan (High Jump) in Year 9 and Tyler (High Jump) in Year 10.
In addition, Ewan (9), Reece (9) and Tyler (10) all qualified to represent Mid Norfolk at the Norfolk Schools Finals taking place at the UEA on Saturday 11th June.
On the team front the Year 7 girls and Year 8 boys finished runners up in their competition.
Back in November a group of Year 7-10 students took part in the Erasmus programme called Humans First. The aim of the programme was to look at sustainability and in particular, renewable energy, whilst working with students in Spain, Italy and Germany. You can read about the experience here: ERASMUS ‘Humans First’ – a project on Sustainability and Renewable Energy | Northgate High School. This project was held online and whilst it was a really valuable experience, it was not the same as doing it in person.
In April, however, some of the team had the opportunity to travel to Dortmund, with Miss Brooks and Miss Lynn to work with some of the students again (from Italy, Germany and Spain).
Here, we have a day by day account of what they all got up to, with contributions from a few of the team.
Day OneÂ
Travelling is tiring!
Minibus to Stansted then a flight to Cologne. Finally, a train journey to Dortmund. 11 hours in total, after a delayed plane and waiting for the train!
The youth hostel is way better than some of us thought! They prepared a meal for us, even though we were an hour late.
Miss Brooks brought dessert to our rooms!!
Tomorrow we will meet the other students from Italy, Germany and Spain.
Just off the plane, waiting for a train in Cologne to take us to Dortmund.
A mural we saw on our daily walk to the school – there are lots of things like this in the area.
The community football pitch and surrounding houses which are decorated with Dortmund football players.
Day TwoÂ
Early start with breakfast then walk to School.
We were introduced to the teachers and then the project. The Ruhr area was dominated by coal mining. Also steel manufacturing.
We formed groups to research different topics including: miner’s housing, environment damage, renaturalisation of industrial areas, immigration to the Ruhr area, formation of coal and more!
(Each group has a mix of students from each of the four countries: 1 English student, 1 German student, 1 Spanish student and 2 Italian students)
After lunch we walked to the underground station to get the train to Phoenix Park. It was an area once used for steel manufacturing; now it is a large lake and grassed area where people walk their dogs and cyclists and walkers enjoy the path round the lake. Surrounding the lake are very expensive houses; many footballers and managers like Jurgen Klopp have property there.
We were all very tired and glad we got a train back to our hotel that evening!
Day ThreeÂ
After breakfast, all the students and teachers met up outside the hostel and we walked to Leopold Strasse to meet our tour guide, Martin; he took us round Leopold to see all the art and graffiti on the walls. Along the way, he talked to us about the particular locations of the city!
During the tour, we saw a playground which previously wasn’t a safe place for children until a super team of unemployed adults were given jobs to look after the area! Their jobs included cutting grass, supervising, removing litter and just keeping the place safe for young children.
Later, we arrived at blocks of flats that had been decorated and had Dortmund football team players painted on. There was also a community football pitch built. Around midway through our guided adventure, we stopped at a Turkish food shop. They were nice enough to let us try some of their bread and baklava which was really good!
After an hour, we left the school to return to the hostel to complete any work or catch up with our families!
Day Four
We had a very early start today!
We got a train and a bus to the Hydrogen Research Centre. On one side of the road was the remains of an old coal mine and the other side had the new Hydrogen lab!
We split into two groups and had a lecture about the production and use of hydrogen and how this can be applied to scenarios in the future. We also learnt about fuel cells and how hydrogen is stored in a compressed canister.
We went on a tour to see how wind energy is used to create the hydrogen (taken from water) and stored.
They are also looking into using magnesium as a way of storing heat that can be used when solar energy is not available. They have an electric car that creates electricity through the hydrogen fuel cell. Some of us got to have a ride in it!
Later, we completed an experiment with distilled water. We separated the hydrogen from the oxygen, collected it in a container then used the hydrogen we produced to power cars.
We had some time off in the afternoon before all of the students and teachers went bowling!
The Hydrogen powered car.
Experiment at the Hydrogen Research Centre – to create a hydrogen powered model car.
Day Five
Thursday started at school working on our presentations and Kahoot quizzes.
After lunch we headed to a training mine; this was made underneath the coal spoil heap.
We got to experience some of the smells and noise that the coal miners had to work with. The conveyors and cutting machines were very loud!
We had to wear white cotton jackets, this is so others could see us and because cotton does not create friction. Friction is very dangerous as coal mining produces methane which will burn.
Day Six
Friday! Today we had a short time to refine our presentations and then we went to 2 different English classes to present our work and involve the students in our Kahoot Quiz. The first time we were nervous but we settled in and gave incredible presentations!
The school in Dortmund is a digital school and each student has an iPad so it made playing the quiz easier.
After our time at the school, we went for lunch at the hostel then had time to pack, explore and shop!!!
In the evening we went back to school for a barbeque. As it was still Ramadan we all waited until 9pm so we could all eat together.
We all had a great week and it was such an amazing experience! We are all incredibly grateful for the opportunity and have made friends for life!
Our students before going down the mine – they had to wear white coats and hard hats.
Members of our Northgate News Team have decided to find out a bit more about staff at Northgate. Daniel, Year 8, met with Mr Cushion from the Geography Department, for a quick chat. Here’s what he had to say.
‘The book is ‘You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum!’ The author is Andy Stanton and the illustrator is David Tazzyman. This is a fiction book for a variety of ages. I chose to read this book because I read the blurb at the back and I was really drawn to the story before I had even opened the first few pages. I also thought that the cover is drawing me into it as well.
