Hitchin Girls School:Hitchin Girls School

HITCHIN GIRLS’ SCHOOL
A Specialist Science College
Summer Term 2012
Term ends at 12.30 pm on Friday 20 July.
Students moving into Years 7, 12 & 13 return for the new academic year at 8.40 am on Tuesday 4 September.
Year 13 students will leave at 12.30 pm that day.
Years 8, 9, 10 & 11 return at 8.40 am on Wednesday 5 September.
From September there will be no afternoon registration period. Students will go directly to Period 4 after lunch and will be registered there for the
afternoon session. There will be a five minute warning bell at 1.25 p.m. to ensure that Period 4 starts on time.
Welcome to our Summer and final edition of the Newsletter
for this academic year. The size of the newsletter is an
indication of just how much has been achieved this term; it has
been a very busy and enjoyable period in the life of the school.
I am writing this in the week following an amazing celebration
for the school, beginning with World Sports’ Day and ending
with our traditional Founders’ Day. There were so many events
taking place in the Olympic themed week, which you can read
about in this newsletter. I was also most impressed by the
entrepreneurial skills shown by the girls at the end of the week
when each form ran their stalls on Sports’ Day to compete to
raise the most money as part of our Enterprise month.
We were lucky enough to be invited to take a group of students
to Hitchin to see The Queen’s visit in June where our School
Council represented us along with representatives from other
Secondary and Primary schools in the town.
This term has also been the main examination season for our
senior students. The girls have worked incredibly hard and I
wish them every success with their results in August and for
their further studies. From September, our Year 10 students,
along with others nationally, will no longer follow modular
courses of study at GCSE, but will instead be taught and
examined in a linear course where their examinations will all
be taken at the end of the two years period of study. This will
provide a different landscape for these students and the staff
are working on these new programmes of study to support
these changes.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who
responded to our consultation, regarding our uniform and
changes to the school day. Particularly to those of you who
made comments and suggestions. I can assure you that these
were all read and discussed by both the Leadership Team and
the Governing Body prior to our decision and were of great
assistance in making our final decision.
A number of staff are leaving us this term for a whole variety
of exciting opportunities. These are:
Mrs. McAdam (Science) who is relocating to live and work in
Scotland.
Miss Rai (Science) who has taken a teaching job in Malaysia.
Miss Shah (Psychology) who is going to teach in Oman.
Mrs. Frampton (Head of RE) who is relocating.
Miss Mellowship (PE) who has been here temporarily is
transferring to another local school.
Mrs. Plowman (Technology) who has been appointed to
another school locally.
Miss Jacobs (Student Development) who is going to train to
teach PE.
Mrs. Elliott (RE) who has completed her temporary contract.
There are also a number of staff who are retiring, having given
many loyal years of service to the school. They are Mrs.
Morgan (Mathematics), Dr. Logie (English) , Mrs. Poole (History
and formerly Head of Frank House), Mrs. Gannon
(Psychology) and Mrs. Mead (Assistant Headteacher).
I would like to extend our sincerest thanks to leaving staff for
their dedication and commitment to the school and to wish
them all the very best for the future. I am particularly indebted
to those staff who have been in the school for many years and
those retiring staff have between them given 111 loyal years
of service to our girls.
I would like to thank you all for your support again for the
students and the school over this academic year. The
partnership between parents, the staff and the students is what
makes this school successful and your input and support is
much appreciated. I hope that you all enjoy the summer
period and that hopefully there will be some good weather for
us all to enjoy.
Frances Manning, Headteacher
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Hitchin Girls’ School
EXAM RESULTS
Students can collect their exam results from the Lower
School Hall at the dates and time specified below:
YEAR 13 STUDENTS
YEAR 11 STUDENTS
Thursday 16th August 2012
Arrive from 8am
Thursday 23rd August 2012
Arrive from 10am
YEAR 12 STUDENTS
YEAR 10 STUDENTS
Thursday 16th August
Arrive from 10am
SCHOOL BUILDINGS &
FACILITIES IMPROVEMENTS
SPORTS FACILITIES
We are very pleased to report that our new changing
facility and classroom on the Highbury site behind the
Music School has been completed on time and budget and
will be in full use from September. Known as the Pavilion, it
comprises a large classroom, changing facilities with
showers, and a staff office. Refurbishment of the netball
and tennis courts will now start with the aim of having these
Thursday 23rd August 2012
Arrive from 11am
ready for September as well. When complete, we will have
courts which meet the standard for school, local league and
club netball and tennis.
HIGHBURY HOUSE
When the school transferred to Academy status last August,
the Local Authority transferred responsibility for Highbury
House, the base for the North Hertfordshire Music School,
to Hitchin Girls’ School to allow the school to have greater
use of the building during the school day. Since then, major
refurbishment has been underway including repairs to
plaster, new heating, improvements to lighting, redecoration and new flooring. All this has taken place whilst
still allowing the rooms to be used for Music during the day
and for Music School classes in the evening. This work will
be completed for September when the school will use three
of the larger rooms in the building as classrooms. Individual
Music lessons will still take place in the remaining rooms
and the Music School will continue to operate in the
evening and at weekends.
SCIENCE LABORATORIES
Over the past few years we have been refurbishing and
upgrading our Science laboratories. Eight have been
completed so far with one remaining. We are very pleased
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Hitchin Girls’ School
to report that The Wolfson Foundation has awarded the
school a grant towards the cost of refurbishing the final
Science Laboratory and purchasing a class set of
computers. We are extremely grateful to The Foundation
for their support, which will allow us to provide modern
teaching facilities for all of our Science classes.
MOBILE CLASSROOM (M29)
The ‘mobile’ classroom situated between the Gymnasium
and Main School building was erected in the early 1990s
to provide an additional teaching space. This building has
now reached the end of its practical life and is going to be
replaced. We have applied for, and obtained, planning
consent to erect a new two-storey block in its place which
will provide two large classrooms. Work on dismantling
and removing the existing classroom will start in the summer
holiday and we hope that the new building will be complete
and available for use by October half term.
IT FACILITIES
Plans are also in hand to improve our IT and e-learning
facilities during 2012/13. This includes a new wireless
system to allow greater use of mobile technology and an
update to some of the workstations in our computer rooms.
We will also be providing additional Apple Macintosh
computers for Music and Media Studies.
CHAIRMAN OF GOVERNORS
END OF YEAR REPORT
We are just completing our first year as an Academy and
it seems appropriate to review how this new status has
influenced the school and the community we serve. Many
people will have noticed little difference in the day to day
activity of the school. Others will have noted changes in
attitude and approach to our longer term strategy as a result
of greater financial and operational freedom.
Where have some of these changes been? Hitchin Girls’
continues to be well oversubscribed. We have raised our
planned admission numbers and following consultation with
the Local Authority and community amended our admission
criteria to maintain places for girls from the local Hitchin
parish.
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Hitchin Girls’ School
The school is responsible for setting its own curriculum
under Academy status. The Curriculum and Performance
Committee has fully supported an increase in teaching time
for GCSE subjects and a change from modular to linear
teaching. A full review of the curriculum is taking place.
The new Pavilion and tennis courts at Highbury Road are
nearly complete and we are hoping to officially open the
new building and courts early in October. This event will
be combined with the re-opening of the Highbury House
Music School following its refurbishment. This building was
transferred to the school as part of the Academy settlement.
The Asset Management Committee and all Governors
decided that the old mobile classroom should be replaced
as it is now not fit for purpose. Planning has been obtained
for a new two storey building and contracts are being
signed to commence this replacement during the coming
summer break. We have been fortunate to obtain a grant
of £40,000 from The Wolfson Foundation to complete the
refurbishment of our Science laboratories.
Financial management remains a major task in these days
of austerity and reduced funding. Along with our Head
and Financial Director the Finance Committee are able to
keep a sensible balance between what the school needs
and what it can afford. It is important that we maintain our
Sixth Form numbers. We only have a very modest
contingency planned for the next year or two.
On behalf of the Governors I want to give grateful thanks to
the Head, the Senior Leadership Team, Heads of Departments
and House and all the staff for their magnificent contribution to
the education and development of our students. This newsletter
is full of the achievements of staff and students alike.
Like every successful enterprise we see a healthy turnover
of staff going to greater things whether professionally or
personally. We lost our Deputy Head, Mrs. Donna Lodge,
this year who was promoted to Principal of the new Studio
School in Stevenage. We have been very fortunate in
finding a new Deputy Head, James Crowther, who joins us
in September from The Highfield School. We also
welcomed two new Assistant Heads this term, Ruth Cooper
and Richard Cave, who herald the change of focus on
Teaching and Learning. Along with Assistant Head, Sally
Mills and Director of Finance and Resources, Tony Hankin
this makes a very able and very strong top team under the
leadership of Frances Manning.
At the end of this term we say farewell to our Assistant
Head, Marie Mead, who is retiring. Marie has been
serving this school for thirty nine years. This is a huge
teaching lifetime of immense and incalculable value to so
many students and colleagues. Amongst many other
things, Governors will always remember her for the
charismatic presentations of the year’s exam results. We
wish her a long and happy retirement.
The Governing Body welcomed three new Community
Governors this year. They bring fresh skills and experience
round the table. I would like to thank all our Governors for
their energy, wisdom and good old fashioned common
sense which they bring to bear in tackling the increasingly
complex issues of Governance in this day and age.
My final thanks go to the students themselves - you make us
proud to be Governors.
Colin Minton, Chairman of Governors
AWARDS & PREFECTS
Each year at the Founders’ Day assembly, a number of
awards are presented to recognise achievement and
service to the school. The following are congratulated on
their awards:
The Rand Award - presented for outstanding service to
the school is awarded to Amy Saunders
The Helen Porter Award for Biology is awarded to
Stephanie Smith
The Cathy Taplin Award for Art is awarded to
Sophie Barks
The Wendy Fitzgerald Award for English is awarded
to Julia Speakman
The Frank Ellis Award for Chemistry is awarded to
Cassandra Kennedy
The Beryl Wearmouth Award for Citizenship is
awarded to Fiona Montgomery and Maria Verdeille
The Anne Hendy Cup for Mathematics is a new award
and is awarded to Sasha Gatselyuk
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Hitchin Girls’ School
Also at the assembly, the outgoing Head Girl, Ambir Mann,
presented Chantal Taylor with the Head Girl badge for
2012/2013. For the first time this year we have appointed
two Deputy Head Girls, Gabrielle Hammond and Molly
Mahoney, to assist our Head Girl.
The Prefect Body for next year was also confirmed and the
following are to be congratulated on their appointments:
Sports Prefect: Zoe Waring
STUDENT COUNCIL
Behaviour for Learning: Serene Esuroso
Healthy Schools: Claudia McPhail
Making A Difference: Sammi Wong
Community Cohesion: Aminah Ramzan
Teaching and Learning: Aimee Magill
PREFECT BODY 2012-2013
SPECIALISM
Head Girl – Chantal Taylor
Deputy Head Girls – Gabrielle Hammond & Molly Mahoney
HGS COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS
AUSTEN HOUSE
House Captain: Laura Sheldrick
Deputy House Captain: Louise Fitzakerly
Healthy Schools: Hannah Sheehan
Sports Prefect: Hareena Gill
BRONTE HOUSE
House Captain: Anna Randall
Deputy House Captain: Bobbi Minnis
Healthy Schools: Ellie McKie
Sports Prefect: Nikki Lau
Once again this year’s cohort of Ambassadors has built on
the excellent standard established by last year’s group. Both
in school and in the wider community the praise for what
our girls offer and contribute is overwhelming. The impact
of the scheme is felt by students and staff alike with some
Ambassadors now seeking to undertake degrees in areas
related to their Ambassador roles.
Again this year we shall be celebrating their
achievements at our annual Celebration Breakfast on
Thursday 19 July where those that have been
Ambassadors will be presented with certificates. This also
marks the official end of their Ambassadorial role, many
will continue their roles into Year 13 on a voluntary basis
and we look forward to their continued contributions. We
would like to thank all of the Primary schools and
community group colleagues for their continued support
and enthusiasm for this scheme.
CURIE HOUSE
House Captain: Gemma Brook
Deputy House Captain: Ellis Wharton
Healthy Schools: Vicky Barclay
Sports Prefect: Sidney Nurthen
FRANK HOUSE
House Captain: Alexis O’Sullivan
Deputy House Captain: Lauren Howe
Healthy Schools: Laura Robinson
Sports Prefect: Georgie Mumford
JEWEL HOUSE
We were exceptionally pleased that our fantastic art work
for The Memory Project received coverage in The Comet
newspaper.
We are anxiously waiting to receive footage of the orphans
receiving their portraits which we will share with everyone
in the Autumn newsletter. Until then we have received the
following comment from The Memory Project’s founder,
Ben Schumaker:
House Captain: Anna Osborne
Deputy House Captain: Jodie Vallance
Healthy Schools: Megan Kerr-Barr
Sports Prefect: Grace Mann
TERESA HOUSE
House Captain: Poppy Allen-Quarmby
Deputy House Captain: Keziah Powell
Healthy Schools: Alice Mills
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Hitchin Girls’ School
‘Thanks so much to you and your talented, creative,
dedicated team. These will be delivered to the kids in
Honduras over the summer. The kids are really going to
value these gifts.’
We were also thrilled to receive the images below of the
portraits that our friends at The Chapin School have been
creating for the same orphanage in Honduras.
Mrs. R. Cooper, Assistant Headteacher
STUDENT GLOBAL
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
This summer, we; Rebecca Hankin, Ayo Awokoya and
Nikki Lau (Year 12) will be travelling to Hawaii for two
weeks to attend this year’s Student Global Leadership
Institute. This will involve many different schools from
countries all around the world, including America, China,
Singapore, Sweden and Japan participating in activities
based on this year’s topic which is ‘Health’. On our first
day, we must give a presentation about ‘Health’ from our
perspective, i.e. as we know it in our own country. This will
give us an amazing opportunity, working with students from
other schools, to see how the UK’s health system compares
with that of other countries, such as the United States and
China. For example, a major topic (of course) will be the
NHS, and the pros and cons of being able to have a free
National Service for the whole population.
During our stay, we will be listening to talks and seminars from
many prominent figures from the International Health Industry.
So far, we have been completing online tasks as
‘homework’ for the upcoming trip, we have contacted girls
from The Chapin School who we are combining with to
represent global girls’ education for the trip. Our friends
there seem very enthusiastic about the trip and we are also
very excited to meet them, so we can further develop our
partnership with their school.
Upon our return we will begin to put into action, both in
school and the local community, the project we have
devised whilst at the SGLI.
We would love for you to follow us while we are away. We
will be making a daily blog and video diary which you will
be able to access via the school website.
HGS OLYMPICS WEEK
In this great year of British sport we marked the forthcoming
London 2012 Games with a fun packed week in school.
Across all subjects students had Olympic themes and elements
highlighted in their normal lessons. Just some examples of the
activities that took place are:
The Paula Radcliffe Challenge – Year 10 girls tried to
complete the same distance and time as Paula Radcliffe –
even by combining their efforts this was hard!
Year 7 composed fanfares for the opening ceremony in Music.
Qualities of an Olympian were explored through lessons in
English.
Students in Classics lessons looked at the Ancient Olympic
Games and what they contributed to modern Olympics – not
to mention Miss Hay, Amy Saunders and their team of
students preparing the performance for the ‘sacred lighting
of the flame’ for the Opening Ceremony.
Health and Social Care students looked at Disability in Sport.
Get set - on your marks, get set, breathe experiments were
undertaken in Biology lessons throughout Years 7-9.
Technology ran a competition for students to design their own
Olympic Logo and have it made into a t-shirt.
In Art students looked at how movement is captured and
represented in Art looking at the work of an artist from the
Futurist movement.
Olympics based tasks, differentiated at Bronze, Silver and
Gold level to cover different year groups and abilities, were
used in Maths along with the Grand Finale of our annual
Maths Road Show with teams from William Ransom, Purwell,
St. Andrews schools and our own Year 7 students.
In MFL lessons students undertook language tasks against
the clock. In doing so they built up a range of vocabulary
and structures relating to the Olympic Games and
developed a greater understanding of how foreign
languages play a pivotal role in the success of the games.
In Geography students continued with their ‘Faster, Higher,
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Hitchin Girls’ School
Stronger’ project.
We all (staff included!) kick started the week with a mass
Zumba session on the field! Nearly 800 students and staff
met on the field at 8.50am and proceeded to be led in an
invigorating Zumba session that left us all energised for the
day ahead. We would like to thank Ruth our professional
Zumba instructor who led us all in dance.
In addition to this the PE department ran a range of exciting
activities both during lessons and at lunchtimes which
included a Cheerleading workshop, Dance workshops,
Wheelchair basketball, Christians in Sport, UK Jump Rope
team workshops and Rugby workshops.
The whole week was captured on camera and thanks go
to the Media department for their help in organising this.
Special thanks go to Vicky Barclay (SF C2) who filmed the
vast majority of the week and who has created a wonderful
film that students will see during the end of year Celebration
Assembly.
Our HGS Olympics Week culminated in a very special day
that saw in the morning our Founders’ Day followed by a
very special Sports’ Day complete with full Opening
Ceremony, Olympic Flame and Medal Ceremony.
Throughout the afternoon announcements were given in a
variety of languages spoken by our girls including German,
Swedish and Hungarian as a celebration of the wonderful
array of home languages that our girls speak. Thanks go
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Hitchin Girls’ School
each challenge.
Winning teams from most of the schools attended the
Roadshow Finale here at Hitchin Girls’ School and were set
even more complex challenges. They worked solidly for
over 90 minutes on a very warm afternoon and the
competition was fierce! Congratulations to Purwell School,
who were the winning team
to the MFL department for organising and co-ordinating this.
We have made significant and important progress during
this academic year to the international work that we do and
with our participation in the SGLI this summer and the
collaborative work we plan to establish with Miss Rai when
she has settled in Malaysia and Miss O’Reilly when she is
settled in India. We know that it will only be a matter of
time before we secure the Full International School Award
from The British Council.
MATHS DEPARTMENT
THE HENDY CUP
This year sees the inauguration of a Mathematics Award,
The Hendy Cup. It is presented to a student who has not
only distinguished themselves mathematically, but has
contributed to the promotion of mathematics within school.
Mrs. Hendy is a former Head of department who has spent
her entire teaching career at Hitchin Girls’ School. She has
had an incredible impact on the school, the Mathematics
department, and the thousands of students whom she has
taught and supported through their mathematical studies
and examinations.
This year the cup has been awarded to Sasha Gatselyuk
in Year 13.
THE MATHS ROADSHOW
The Maths Department have again been visiting local
primary schools with the Maths Roadshow. Year 5 and 6
students have been set many problems to solve, including
tangrams, code breaking and number puzzles and have
felt a real sense of achievement when they have completed
MATHS CHALLENGE
This term we have had great success with the UK Maths
Challenges that we have undertaken. These test the girls’
problem solving skills and mathematical abilities, stretching
and challenging some of our most able students.
Firstly, in the Junior Maths Challenge, the girls achieved 20
Bronze Awards, 21 Silver Awards and a special mention
goes to Charlotte King, Florence Allard, Violet Pritchard,
Priya Mann, Fiona Burn and Emily Brewis, who all achieved
Gold Awards, with Shannon Fang gaining best in Year 7
and Isolde Pryle best in School.
Secondly, two teams from Year 7 were entered into the
Hertfordshire Team Challenge. One team was selected to
take part in the County Final, they came a very close fifth.
Mr. B. Allison, Head of Mathematics
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Hitchin Girls’ School
Have a go at the following puzzles:
1) In a certain family, each girl has as many sisters as
brothers but each boy has twice as many sisters as
brothers. How many children were there?
2) Betty and Belinda’s combined age is 91. Betty is now
twice as old as Belinda was when Betty was as old as
Belinda is now. How old are they both now?
ANSWERS ON PAGE 11
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
CHEMISTRY
Housham, Isolde Pryle, Katharine Morley and Hannah Croft
who beat off stiff opposition to win first prize!
BIG BANG SCIENCE FAIR
As I write we are just about to send off three teams to the
Big Bang Science Fair at Duxford. This is an opportunity for
the winning teams to display the work they did for the
school Science Fair in March with up to one hundred
schools from the Anglian region participating.
OTHER NEWS....
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY ANALYST
COMPETITION
This term we have entered two practical Chemistry
competitions. In the Analyst competition, two teams of Sixth
Form students carried out detailed chemical experiments
which were designed to show how accurate and precise they
could be. They competed against several public schools and
finished creditably in fifth and sixth places respectively.
SALTERS CHEMISTRY CHALLENGE
We also entered a team of Year 8 students for the Salters’
Chemistry Challenge. This was a practical, problem-solving
day held at the University of Bedfordshire with a dozen
other teams. Congratulations go to our team of Dora
•GCSE/AS and A2 LEVEL TUITION IN FRENCH,
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•ENGLISH FOR AU PAIRS
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Finally the Summer term would not be the same without our
visits to local junior schools to present ‘The Potions
Roadshow’. This is a chance for us to show off our best
experiments and to stimulate young minds to the wonders
of Science. If you have not seen it yet, make a date to come
to next year’s Science Fair in March.
Mr. P. Jackson, Head of Science
PHYSICS
CERN, GENEVA
On the 12 and 13 July, Miss O'Reilly and I will accompany
a group of 11 A-level Physics students to CERN in Geneva,
host to the largest particle accelerator in the world.
Relevant to the A2 Physics course where Particle Physics
forms an important part of the syllabus, this will be a useful
opportunity for the students to study and learn about one
of the top research facilities in the world, currently engaged
in the search for the illusive Higgs Boson or 'God particle'.
This is one of the so far undiscovered fundamental particles
which is expected to be found by CERN if our ideas about
Particle Physics are anywhere near correct. There will be
opportunities for the students to question Research
Physicists about their work as well as having a tour of the
laboratories, detectors and computer facilities in this huge
complex that stretches across the French-Swiss border.
Over lunch the group will also meet Ph.D. and PostDoctoral students working at CERN with a chance to ask
about their research projects in a more informal setting.
Mr. Adrian Jackson, Head of Physics
Classes:
Mon 7.30pm - St Andrews School, Hitchin
Tue & Thur 7.30pm Grange Junior School, Letchworth
Call Kathryn 07704 811670
for more details
Classes also in other areas
Paynes Park House, Paynes Park, Hitchin, SG5 1EH,
Tel 01462 431804 • enquiries@hitchinlanguagecentre.co.uk
www.hitchinlanguagecentre.co.uk
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Come & Join In
The Fun!
You’ll discover the history of elementary education
housed in two impressive grade 2 listed school buildings.
Explore Victorian, Edwardian and WW2 classrooms, have
a go at writing with an ink pen or in a sand tray!
Peek into the home of a Victorian headmaster’s family
what did they keep in the parlour and the scullery?
Lots to see – Lots to do, Rain or Shine!
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Extra summer holiday openings
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Wednesdays 10am – 3pm • Fridays 10am – 1pm
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For more information:
www.winchmoretutors.com
BRITISH SCHOOLS MUSEUM
01245 354 830
Queen Street, Hitchin SG4 9TS
tel: 01462 420144
www.britishschoolsmuseum.co.uk
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Hitchin Girls’ School
BIOLOGY
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
BAYFORDBURY 2012
‘THE TIMES SPELLING BEE’ COMPETITION’
YEAR 7 SPELLING BEE SEMI FINALISTS!
In May all A2 Biologists took part in an ‘Ecology in a Day‘
course at the East of England Learning Centre. It was a
packed day of theory and practical work with lots of walking.
The students had to work hard but it was worth it as we
actually finished the A level course that day and additionally
several students were able to improve their practical skills.
Eleanor Graham, Lauren Moore, Mary Thornton and Olivia
Abbiss proudly took Hitchin Girls’ School through to the
Regional Semi Finals in Cambridge on Thursday 17 May.
After competing in the online round at school, we found that
we were one of only 100 out of 1200 schools nationwide
to get through to the semi finals! We continued to practise
with weekly meetings until the 17 May when we all
feverishly hoped we were
ready!
On arrival at Cineworld
we prepared to face the
fearsome judges. The first
round was just like a
game show and the
teachers watched in
nervous
anticipation.
After a short break, came the tense quick-fire round and the
pressure was on! Sadly, we were not victorious, but we did
have lots of fun!
By Mary Thornton and Olivia Abbiss, 7J
MICHAEL MORPURGO MASTERCLASS
INDONESIA 2013
This proved to be a popular trip and 30 students from the
present Year 11 and 12 groups were lucky enough to gain a
place. We will travel to Indonesia in July and August 2013
where students will study tropical rainforest ecology including
canopy access. We will be living in satellite camps and
sleeping in hammocks. In the second week we travel to the
coast and students will be trained for their PADI diving open
water qualification and then take part in tropical reef surveys.
Mrs. M.Dixon, Head of Biology
I was lucky to attend the Creative Writing Masterclass at
Ashlyns School in Berkhamsted with Michael Morpurgo.
The aim of the day was to find out more about Michael
Morpurgo and the inspiration for his writing.
I have enjoyed Michael Morpurgo’s books so much and I
was very excited to be meeting him in person. He started
the day by talking about how he picks out experiences from
his life on which to base his stories. He spoke about his
career as a teacher and how his writing began. When he
read to his Year 6 class the students were bored, so he
decided to make up his own stories.
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Hitchin Girls’ School
He spoke about ‘Private Peaceful’ and ‘War Horse’ and
how he based his stories around an object. He enjoyed
going to museums to look at objects and conjure up
possibilities for his stories. His characters are based on
people he has met over the years.
He read a passage from ‘Private Peaceful’ and used voices
to get the identity of the characters across. Sometimes he
sounded quite dramatic and it brought the characters to life.
He said it was very important to read every day to broaden
your imagination.
I enjoyed the day very much; I just wish there had been
more time to ask Michael more questions.
By Isobel West 7B
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
animated music and to have conversations with the girls.
Founders’ Day was on Friday 29 June, this is a very
important part of school life for students in Years 11 and
13 as it often marks the end of a school ‘journey’, and the
Senior Choir plays a very important role in this. This year’s
selection of music was chosen and conducted by Ms.
Hetherington from Hitchin Boys’ School, as this is rotated
between the two schools’ Music departments. As always,
the choir performed in a professional manner and the
occasion was one to remember not only for leavers in Years
11 and 13, but for all involved, including those in Year 7
participating for the first time.
The Summer Concert involved ensembles of all sizes from
the Junior Flute Group to Wind Band. For many, this was
the last concert with the school after 7 years of
participation in musical extra-curricular activities. They will
be sorely missed and thanks go to these girls for all their
support over the years.
Mr. B. Chambers, Head of Music
SPANISH PAELLA EVENING
On 30 May, the Modern Foreign Language and Food
Technology departments hosted a Spanish Paella Evening
for Year 9 students interested in studying GCSE Spanish in
Year 10 and keen to sample a typical Spanish dish. The
evening started with a demonstration by Mrs. Richards and
then the girls made their paella (with or without seafood!)
whilst listening to some Spanish music
Miss. C. Gunns, Modern Foreign Languages
ART DEPARTMENT
ART AND DESIGN A LEVEL ART SHOW
Although the Summer term is always the busiest due to
exams for all years, students have continued to engage in
the extra-curricular music activities. Earlier this term, the
HGS Folk Group went to entertain the residents of Elmside
Care Home. The residents were very pleased to hear the
Our annual exhibition of work by AS and A Level students
was presented to students, family, friends and the general
public between the 25 and 27 June. The work, which filled
the Drama room and main school corridor, represented the
hard work and talent of our forty two students over their
respective one year courses.
The standard of the work was as high as ever, with the
-12-
Hitchin Girls’ School
addition this year of film work to complement the sculpture,
painting, drawing, textiles and photographic work on show.
Congratulations to all the students concerned.
THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE
Year 8 students at Hitchin Girls’ School have created three
major, collaborative pieces of textile art to mark The
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. These ambitious wall hangings
are the result of an on-going homework based project run
jointly by the Art and History departments.
We wanted our Year 8 students to mark The
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and develop
valuable independent study skills. The Jubilee
Time Capsule - an ambitious on-line time
capsule that gives people across the globe
the chance to create a digital Diamond
Jubilee gift for Her Majesty The Queen –
proved the ideal focus for the project.
Students have researched History from The
Queen’s reign, collected and written stories from their own
and others’ memories and researched a commonwealth
nation. As well as creating individual entries for the on-line
time capsule, they have used further research into historic
and contemporary textiles and art to inspire the making of
their own textile flag to represent a Commonwealth nation.
The final works were put onto the Jubilee Time Capsule as an
entry which has been in the top sixty and will, if chosen by a
panel of judges, be shown to The Queen. Entries were due to
be judged in June, but the deadline has now been extended
until this autumn, so please keep voting for our entry ‘Art for
the Queen’ at http://www.jubileetimecapsule.org.
This project was only possible due to the kind donation of
fabrics by parent Millie Reeves, founder of Quantum
Interiors who can be contacted via www.qidesigners.co.uk.
Ms. S. Wallace, Head of Art.
participation in an interactive programme Year 12 students
will continue to develop transferable skills, knowledge and
understanding for use in full-time education and in the
working world.
On 25 June we were delighted to welcome Peter Thorp from
Studyflex. While Peter worked with the students new ideas
blossomed about how they could develop current and future
job roles. Students also discussed and presented ideas on
how the course might help them adapt to life at university.
Successful completion of the course leads to the Level 3
Award in First Line Management accredited by the CMI,
the UK’s leading awarding body for management
qualifications. Our students are showing real enthusiasm
and commitment which we hope leads to them becoming
members of the CMI Academy.
ENTERPRISE MONTH
As Enterprise month draws to a close, we were pleased the
wind and rain did not deter
our students from setting out
their stalls on Founders’ Day.
This year our young bakers,
aided by parents and carers,
produced a wide selection of
tempting goodies many of
which were linked to a Jubilee
or Olympic theme. Under the
watchful eye of Mrs.
Wheelock pancakes galore
were produced and quickly
BUSINESS STUDIES
The department is working with
Studyflex to deliver a programme of
study that provides an introduction
to
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Hitchin Girls’ School
consumed. Our students also used their art and craft skills to
entice buyers with a range of jewellery and hand and face
embellishments. Customer service was taken to new heights
as staff were encouraged to try new experiences.
So far, we have raised just over £1,500, which will be
added to the profit made during Enterprise month last year.
All the monies raised will be used to purchase sports
equipment for use in the new sports hall.
The activities provide pupils with many new experiences
which would not be possible without the support of parents,
carers and sponsors. We extend our thanks to all who
supported the day.
Mrs. J. Molloy, Head of Business Studies
A number of Year 11, 12 and 13 students attended a
presentation evening recently to collect their Duke of
Edinburgh’s Awards. The evening was hosted by Hitchin
Girls’ School and the awards were presented by ex-pupil and
now successful Author and Comedienne, Emma Kennedy.
Congratulations to all those who achieved their Bronze and
Silver awards.
HISTORY
In February Ayo-Oluwa Awokoya (Year 12) and Tara
Anderson (Year 13) took part in The Holocaust Education
DRAMA
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT DRAMA
FESTIVAL
Mr. Balfe, Head of Drama, represented Hitchin
Girls’ at the International Student Drama Festival
(ISDF) in Sheffield in June. Mr. Balfe has been
attending the National Student Drama Festival
(NSDF) as a student and teacher since 1981 and
has taken groups from Hitchin Girls’ and Hitchin
Boys’ Schools in the past. The ISDF was a special one-off
version of the NSDF designed to celebrate the 2012
Olympic Cultural Festival. In the four days he attended Mr.
Balfe saw ten plays in six different theatres, including the
entries from Japan and Germany. He also saw a film
presented by a theatrical practitioner from Gaza showing
children’s monologues. As well as the plays there were
various discussions, special events, workshops and talks.
Mr. Balfe is hoping to organise a visit by Sixth Formers to
Scarborough, home of the NSDF, for the 2013 Festival
which runs from 23 to 29 March. It is even a possibility that
we might enter a play to be auditioned for the Festival –
further details will be available next term.
THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S
AWARD
Trust’s Understanding the Holocaust Programme. This
involved visiting the Polish WW2 Camp and communicating
their experience and understanding to the wider school
community upon their return.
POLAND TRIP AUSCHWITZ
As part of The Holocaust Education Trust programme I took
the opportunity to visit the Polish Death Camp Auschwitz
with Tara Anderson (Year 13). The main aim of the trip was
to gain a better understanding of The Holocaust and the
enormous impact it had on the Jewish population within
Europe. What I learnt on that trip was invaluable, allowing
me to experience some of the obstacles the Jews had to face
and though I could never truly grasp the hardships faced
during The Holocaust the perceptions I entered with
changed completely. Going on that trip was a worthwhile
experience that I would encourage others to participate in.
By Ayo-Oluwa Awokoya.
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Hitchin Girls’ School
SPORTS’ REPORT
SUMMER 2012
The summer has been one of the most disrupted summers
that we, in the PE department, can remember for many
years, due to the inclement weather. We have had a
number of important fixtures and events postponed and so
at the time of going to press are still in the middle of trying
to complete all our matches, clubs and many of our lessons.
We started the Easter holidays with our first Senior Netball
Tour to Malta where our Senior Netball players took part in
a busy week of coaching and fixtures, against a number of
British and International teams. The students were excellent
Ambassadors for the school, both on and off the sports’ field.
Congratulations also to Miss Mellowship and Miss O’Reilly for
completing the London Marathon at the beginning of this term.
A few days into the Summer term, our Cricketers took part
in the Regional rounds for Women’s Cricket. They all
played commendably against some tough opposition.
Our Gifted and Talented athletes attended a training
afternoon, where they were coached in the finer points of
a number of events.
Also our GCSE and A level PE and Dance students worked
hard at the beginning of the term to complete their practical
coursework. Many of the Year 11 students took part in a
highly charged Saturday revision session and our dancers
displayed their choreography in an ‘Evening of Dance’ for
parents and friends.
Many of our students have been taking part in the InterHouse League although the weather has caused us to
postpone and re-arrange a considerable number of these
fixtures. We are hopeful that we will be able to complete
this League before the end of term.
A large Year 7 team also took part in a Sporting Festival at
Knights’ Templar School, where they participated in a wide
range of Paralympic activities including Wheelchair
Basketball and Boccia.
Our Sports’ Leaders are coming to the end of their level 1,
2 And 3 Awards, continuing to develop their coaching and
leadership skills in school, in our local feeder schools and
at local festivals. Our Year 10 Netball players have
completed their Young Netball Leaders Award.
Our athletes have competed at County and District level
and also in the County Championships and District
Championships. We started the term with the County Multi
Events Championships, with our Under 17 team of Olivia
Dixon, Alice Sunderland and Fran Maydom finishing in
2nd place overall. Individually, they all finished in the top
12 with Fran Maydom being selected as second reserve
for the County Schools team. At Under 15 level, Sophie
Pyle achieved 21st place. She also achieved 7th place
overall in the Hertfordshire Pentathlon Championship later
in the term. At the Individual County Championships, Emily
Evans finished in 1st place in the Under 17 Hammer event
and has been selected to represent Hertfordshire at the
English Schools’ Championship in July. At County level,
Alessandra Stevens finished second in the Under 17
Hammer, Kirsty Bateman-Foley finished 2nd in the Under
17 Javelin and Vicky Marquiss achieved 6th in the Under
17 300m. At Under 15 level, Ellie Mann was 5th in the
200m and Alana Hollingsworth Biggs was 12th in the
1500m. In her first athletics season, Synovia Green (Year
7) achieved an outstanding 2nd place in the 100m finals
at Under 13 level. Alessandra Stevens also competed at
East Region Club level in Hammer where she finished in 1st
place, ranking her at 14th in the UK.
At District level our Year 7 (A and B teams) finished 2nd
overall, the Year 8 (B and C) team finished 2nd and the
Year 9 (B and C) team were overall winners!
At County League level, our Year 8 and Year 10 teams,
reached the plate finals where they finished in 6th and 4th
place respectively.
The Senior District Championship took place on the evening
before the examinations started and we were delighted that
our Senior team finished in 1st place overall. The District
Championships for other years saw all girls work hard in some
tough competitions with many Gold, Silver and Bronze medals
being won in a number of events. Overall, we achieved 4th
place in the Year 8 competition and were 2nd in the Year 9
and joint 1st place in the Year 7 and 10 competitions. District
Champions were Hettie Inniss (Hurdles), Olivia Dixon
(Hurdles), Kirsty Bateman-Foley (100m and Javelin), Synovia
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-17-
Hitchin Girls’ School
Green (Long Jump and 200m), Ellie Mann (200m), Ria
Xenophontas (Shot) and Maddy Davies (Discus). A special
mention to Kirsty Bateman-Foley who now holds the record for
the Year 10 Javelin at District level.
We continue to challenge all
of our students who are
taught Athletics during
lessons, to complete the 5
star Award scheme; this
year, the top award of 5
stars was being calculated
as this bulletin went to press
and will be announced in
Final Assembly.
The week of Sports’ Day was
especially busy as we made
this our Olympic themed
week, where students were
given the opportunity to take
part in numerous extra
activities. In PE lessons the
girls were able to access the expertise of Rugby coaches,
Cheerleader coaches, Specialist Dance workshops,
Wheelchair Basketball and took part in workshops run by
the GB Jump Rope team. Sports’ Day took place over two
days but culminated in an Olympic Sports’ Day afternoon,
all teams represented a country with a display of flags and
mascots. We were delighted that a number of our old girls,
who are existing record holders, were able to return for the
afternoon and present our special commemorative medals
in their particular events. The trophies this year were won
by Year 11 (Senior), 9A (Intermediate) and 7J (Junior) with
the House trophy being won by Austen.
As part of our involvement in the Olympic Get Set programme,
we were given 16 tickets for the Women’s Football events
which will be distributed at the end of this term.
One of our most exciting individual achievements this Summer
happened at the Olympic Stadium, where Maria Verdeille
(Year 11) qualified to compete in the 100m and 200m in an
International Pre-Test event and the National School Games.
She achieved two consecutive
Personal Best results in the 100m
over 2 days, with a Season’s Best in
the 200m. We are all very proud of
Maria’s achievements and look
forward to seeing her compete at a
high level in the future.
A special mention also to Sophie
Pyle who competed at National
level in Diving where she finished in
11th place in the 14–16 age
group. Also, many congratulations
to Charlotte Reid who competed in
the ASA National Championships
in Sheffield where she qualified for
the finals in the 50m Backstroke. In
doing do, she also broke the East
Region record for this event which
means that she holds the fastest time
within 6 counties.
Congratulations to Louisa Field (Year 7) who achieved first
place overall in the Herts. Artisitc Gynmastics Grade 9
competition and then went on to win second place in the
Regional Championship.
Our Rounder’s teams have continued to play well this season.
At the District tournaments, the Year 13 team finished in 3rd
place in their round, with the Year 12 and Year 11 teams
losing out in the semi-finals. The Year 7 team narrowly missed
qualifying for the semi-finals finishing 2nd in their section and
the Year 8 team were knocked out in the semi final match.
The Year 9 will play their tournament at the end of term.
Tennis Clubs have been well attended this term despite the
weather. Congratulations to Elizabeth Hodge and Aoife
Scanlan who have been excellent Tennis leaders this term,
helping out with the House League and Tennis Clubs. The Year
8 Tennis team of Sophie Taylor and Juliet Todman won the
Letchworth Tennis Tournament coming up against another
Hitchin Girls’ doubles pair, Libby Brodie and Katherine Morley
in the finals. This team of girls have also qualified for the
Nicola Mabbitt Final later on in the term.
We were fortunate to obtain Wimbledon tickets this year and
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Hitchin Girls’ School
10 students were able to go along on the first day of play.
The annual Gym and Dance display involving over 200
students took place during the week of 2 July. The
participation rates in these clubs and activities are unfailing
and we are continually amazed at the commitment and
enthusiasm for this annual event. We are also very grateful
to the army of senior students who assist and lead a variety
of Gym and Dance clubs; without them we would not be
able to offer the breadth and range of activities.
As another busy Summer comes to an end, we continue to
be impressed with the achievements of the girls and look
forward to re-starting the Winter activities in September.
Have a good Summer and enjoy the Olympic Games!
Mrs. D. Maydom, Head of Physical Education
Bronte House with confidence and an approachable smile.
This term Tara delivered a thoughtful and insightful wholeschool assembly reflecting on her trip to Auschwitz. This,
as well as helping to organise numerous House activities
has shown Tara’s competence as a leader and she has
done herself and Bronte House proud. I would like to thank
Tara and the rest of the Prefect team for their contributions
to Bronte House this year.
We took time this term to look at photographs and share
stories of students in Years 11 and 13 who will be leaving
us at the end of this academic year. It was a time to
remember the good times and celebrate their growth as
individuals and their achievements. We wish you every
success in your next steps.
Miss. C. Evans, Head of Bronte House
AUSTEN HOUSE
Well done to all the girls who have worked very hard for their
exams. I hope the results will send you off to your chosen
destination at University or College. I must also thank the
outgoing Prefects, for their hard work. I would also like to
welcome Austen’s new Prefects who have already started
enthusiastically becoming involved with the lower forms.
Since the school exams each form has been busy getting
ready for various activities happening this term. There have
been House Rounder’s and Tennis Leagues, teams for Sports’
day, stalls for the Enterprise event and Choir and Orchestra
rehearsals for Founders’ day; We gained an excellent result
on Sports’ Day with 7A in 3rd place, 10A in 2nd place and
9A winning their year group. Overall Austen House won
Sports’ Day, an excellent achievement! I am very proud of
all the girls. Well done to all those girls who have managed
to work all year with 100% Behaviour for Learning; at half
term there were 73 girls. Also a very special mention to
95 students who have an exceptionally good attendance
record of 95% or above. Certificates will be awarded for
this outstanding achievement at the end of the Summer term.
May I take this opportunity to wish Miss Rai all the very best
in her new job and thank her for all her hard work with 9A.
I wish all Austen girls and staff a very restful Summer holiday.
Mrs. J. Cornell, Head of Austen House
BRONTE HOUSE
Bronte students have been working hard this term to organise
wonderful Enterprise stalls for Founders’ Day, which include
selling bath bombs, face masks, henna patterns, bracelets,
fruit cocktails, samosas and the ever popular cup cakes!
We have had representatives from each Bronte form taking
part in the Summer Sports League at lunchtimes throughout
this term and I am delighted to say that Bronte came 2nd
in Sports’ Day this year.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Bronte
House Prefects and welcome in the new.
As House Captain, Tara Anderson-Bonner has represented
CURIE HOUSE
This term has been an eventful one for Curie House with
many individual achievements and successes across a wide
variety of criteria. At the annual Sports’ Day whilst Curie
House did not win the overall competition, there were some
individual successes. Amy Allpress (7C) was our only
individual champion winning the Junior Javelin, and 7C and
8C achieved 6 more second place finishes in other events.
Four new prefects have been appointed, they will be
supported by additional appointments to the prefect team
in September. I would like to extend my personal thanks to
our departing prefect team, led by Rebecca Dawson, for
their contributions during the past 12 months.
Our second annual Enterprise Day was an opportunity for the
lower school forms to follow in Sir Alan's footsteps and turn
£10 into a healthy profit. Whilst at the time of writing totals
are yet to be submitted, our stalls had an impressive diversity
and creativity. From a Ja-make-a-cake stall and a temporary
tattoo parlour to a bracelets and a cut out lion king photo
opportunity, it was a very successful afternoon and a great
advert for the school. A special mention needs to go to 7C
who somehow convinced their Head of House to stand in the
stocks whilst they tipped a bucket of water over him....
As always when we reach the end of a year we say goodbye
to some members of the House. Some of our Year 11 students
and all our Year 13 students have already left and Mrs.
McAdam will be leaving to work in Scotland at the end of the
term. I wish all of them the best of luck in the future and look
forward to a successful year for Curie House next year.
Mr. A. Jackson, Head of Curie House
FRANK HOUSE
7F has had an excellent term. The Charity Carwash raised
a great deal of money. We also had the Easter Raffle, Easter
Quiz, Rainbow Revision Tombola and a Sweet Sale. Scarlett
Welbury has also launched a Creative Writing Competition
and we will be publishing the winners in September.
-20-
Hitchin Girls’ School
Lately, our tutor group, 8F, has been showing team spirit.
We took part in the energetic Zumba at form time. Many
of 8F took part in the Athletics tournament and had a good
Rounders team. Lastly, we had the best Behaviour for
Learning points for the week commencing 18 June.
Aphrah Raja 8F
9F have done many things this term, particularly Emily
Hornblower who took part in the 1500m after already
running more than 1km in her previous lesson. We have
held various charity events such as Founders’ Day and
helping with the Fairtrade stall for Healthy Schools.
Lucy Ahern, Beatrice Simpkiss and Maia Perry 9F
10F have had a good summer term. They have worked
hard, taken modular exams and internal exams and
completed many Controlled Assessments. There have been
many good achievements including Alisha Keeling who has
worked hard at her subjects and April Hammond who has
achieved a high Philosophy and Ethics grade this term.
There have been some noticeable sporting achievements:
Evie Darrell won the House Tennis Doubles competition,
and Lauren Batten has had a very good year competing in
Athletics events. Everyone in 10F is looking forward to the
challenge of Work Experience and then enjoying the
summer holiday. Annisah Dhillon 10F.
It has been a privilege being the Form Tutor of 11F over the
last five years. The last day before study leave was one of
mixed emotions; sadness at the end of one stage, mixed
with pride as well as excitement about what the future will
bring. During their exams, 11F were exemplary, I wish them
good luck in their exam results in August. TTFN!
Mr. A. Gaunt.
SF12 have been very busy taking their AS Level exams this
term - good luck to everyone! The form are now working
on their UCAS applications. Alexis O'Sullivan was a
member of the winning Sixth Form team in the traditional
form running event which took place at the end of last term.
From Laura Robinson, Sian Adams, Serene
Esuruoso and Mr. S. Hanse.
I hope everyone has a good Summer break
Mrs. D. Pearce, Head of Frank House
JEWEL HOUSE
Wow – what a way to finish the year – I hope! Jewel House
have again been setting a very high standard of behaviour
both within lessons and around school. The vast majority of
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Hitchin Girls’ School
girls have received certificates throughout the year for keeping
a clean Behaviour for Learning record. I am very proud of the
girls in Jewel House and I would dearly like to see their efforts
and conduct recognised by winning
the ‘fish and chip’ lunch.
SPORTS NEWS: Congratulations
and thanks to all those who have
taken part in our recent Sports’ Day,
and in various House sporting events
throughout
the
year.
Firstly
congratulations to 9J, who have won
both the Year 9 Rounders and Tennis Leagues this year, and to
7J who came first in the Year 7 Sports’ Day, and 2nd in the
Netball and Hockey House League. Special congratulations
go to the Year 7 relay team, who set a new school record for
the 4x100m relay on Sports’ day. The team members were
Synovia Green, Molly Beard, Hettie Inniss and Georie
Felstead. Well done girls. Synovia has also been selected to
run in the North Hertfordshire Athletics team. Mrs. Edwards
has said Synovia is the fastest runner she has taught since
teaching Synovia’s mum!
LITTLE GEMS: It continues to give me much pleasure to read
of all your achievements both inside and outside school.
Remember, you do not have to be an Olympic Gold
medallist to have achieved something worth shouting about.
NEW PREFECTS: I am very pleased to officially welcome
our Prefect body for September 2013. I very much look
forward to working with them all and watching their
contributions to the success of Jewel House. I must also
thank the out-going prefect body who under the leadership
of Georgia Tomkins have supported both the pupils and
staff of Jewel House. I hope experiences they have gained
in their roles will prove valuable to their futures ahead.
As we say goodbye to our Year 13, we must also say goodbye
to their Tutor! Dr. Logie has supported her form for the past
seven years in a very caring and professional manner. I wish
her much enjoyment and fulfilment in her retirement.
It has been a wonderful and very rewarding year being
your Head of House. I could not, of course, support any of
you without my team around me, and so my gratitude and
thanks must also go to the wonderful Jewel House Tutors. I
wish everyone a happy, safe and relaxing summer break.
Mr. S. Ferguson, Head of Jewel House
TERESA HOUSE NEWS
It has been my first year as Head of Teresa House and I have
been so impressed with all your efforts. I would like to take this
opportunity to publicly thank your Tutors for all their hard work
in helping all of you achieve the
very best that you can.
Sports Day and Enterprise:
Congratulations on a fantastic
day - your sporting efforts and
Enterprise stalls were fabulous!
Our sporting champions include
Emily Saunders in 8T, Emma
Saunders and Ellie Mann in 9T.
Teresa House representatives in the Year 11 team performed
brilliantly. Special congratulations to Fran Maydom, Alice
Sunderland and Caroline Willis who won their events.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing
Teresa House prefect team for their considerable efforts over
the course of the year. Their support and hard work have
been much appreciated and the Teresa students further
down the school have benefitted greatly from their guidance
and expertise. You are all Teresa Stars!
We welcome the incoming prefect team and look forward
to sharing in their exciting ideas over the coming year.
SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORED CHILD
This term we sent a parcel to our sponsored child, Aracele.
No doubt she will enjoy all the lovely things you gathered
for her. Thank you especially to Natasha Kumar for sending
the parcel on behalf of Teresa House.
Farewell...but not goodbye, we would like to wish Miss OReilly well in her secondment to India next academic year
where she will be teaching in a school and also training
teachers. We look forward to hearing about life in an Indian
school when she returns to us.
Have a restful and enjoyable summer break and I look
forward to welcoming you back in September.
Ms. A. Salmon, Head of Teresa House
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