By Mrs Johnson, Charities and Volunteering Co-Ordinator

With the final fundraising activities taking place during the Easter holidays, we returned to school to hear the fantastic news that the Year 8s had raised an amazing £2,647.93 for Alzheimer’s Society! A huge well done to all the girls who took part in all the sponsored events, organised the Easter Fair and Easter Egg Hunt and a a big thank you to everyone who donated so generously! Also thanks to The Ealing Times for sharing our story – you can read it in full here.

The focus on fundraising moves on to Year 7 this term, and as with all the other Year groups, form charity reps put forward their chosen charities to the whole Year to vote on. Year 7 have chosen Great Ormond Street Hospital as their charity for this term.

The form charity reps are busy planning their fundraising activities, but ideas being discussed include a bake sale before half term (Covid-style with pre-orders being taken!) and then after half term, possibilities include a traditional Sports Day Challenge, a fair, a pyjama dressing up day and the inevitable teacher event! More details to be announced shortly.

With the current Covid restrictions still in place, we are also talking to our local charities to see what scope there is for volunteering or helping them out in some capacity this term.  Our Year 10s have already been to Pitshanger Park where they are volunteering as part of their enrichment programme. Last week they were working at the ‘Pitshanger Triangle’ area (pictured), where they helped make a woodchip path around the site to suppress the vegetation and keep an access around the site throughout the summer.

Another initiative which is going ahead is our work with The Children’s Book Project over the next four weeks which is taking place at Chelsea Harbour. Also on the book-themed front, we will be running our own Book Collection Week here at NHEHS in mid-May – more details to follow.

Looking further ahead, Year 7 will be doing a sponsored walk with their ‘Big Sisters’ in Year 12 on 18th June around Pitshanger Park for Plan UK.

More immediately, Saba M in Year 13 together with the Head Girl Team are organising a “Bake for Bethlehem” cake sale this Friday 30th April for the Sixth Form to raise funds for a hospital in Bethlehem which has been struggling to deliver care to patients due to Covid and lack of funding.

Watch this space for more details!