Issue 90, Friday 04 July 2014

eNewsPrize Giving 2014

The end of term celebrations on Thursday 3 July marked the end of another extremely successful year for St George’s. The day began with a moving Valedictory Service for the Upper Sixth leavers, supported by staff and family. Then, as last year, Prize Giving was held for the entire school in one location. The Sports Hall again transformed into a wonderful venue to celebrate the successes of the girls. We were delighted to be joined by the Director of the Girls' Schools Association, Mrs Charlotte Vere, as the Guest of Honour, who gave the girls some great advice for the future. Congratulations to all the prizewinners but also to each and every girl and member of staff who has made this year so special; we have achieved so much and look forward to the next year with great excitement.

Prize Giving 2014

We were delighted to welcome Olympic Silver Medallist and Badminton World Champion, Gail Emms MBE as Guest of Honour at the Second Annual Sports Award Evening on Friday 27 June 2013 in the Sue Cormack Hall.

Gail was an inspirational and interesting speaker and it was a wonderful evening that celebrated the fantastic achievements of the girls over the last year.

Colours were awarded, in addition to awards for Most Improved Player and Player of the Season for each sport. The evening ended with special awards for service to sport in the whole school. Congratulations to all the teams represented.

Sports Award Evening

Sports Award Evening

The annual Music for a Summer Evening was, as ever, the perfect way to end the musical term and bid farewell to the Upper Sixth musicians who have supported the department so faithfully over the last years; our particular thanks go to Georgia Cooper, Lucy Sedgwick and Darcy Winter who have all played a signifi cant role in the musical life of the school. It was lovely to see so many parents, as well as many former Georgian musicians in the audience.

Garter Day at Windsor Castle

On 16 June 2014 a group of girls from St George's accompanied by Mrs Magill went to the Garter Day Parade at Windsor Castle.

When we arrived there wasn’t enough room for us to sit down so we stood behind the veterans and to our surprise this was the best place to be! The Parade started with soldiers lining the streets followed by the arrival of the military band who then played many different pieces for the arrival of the Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex and other noble men and women.

After this, there was a parade of the different Armed Forces including the Yeoman Warders. This was fi nally followed by the arrival of the Order of the Garter which included: The Duke of York, The Earl of Wessex, The Princess Royal, The Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Kent and Duke of Gloucester all dressed in their uniform.

Last but not least, her Majesty the Queen arrived, walking beside her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, and followed by two pageboys holding the Queen’s enormous regal blue, velvet cloak.

Everyone cheered and the Queen waved with a smile on her face. When she entered St George's Chapel we all sang God Save the Queen with pride. It was an incredible experience and we all enjoyed it so much! Thank You to Mrs Magill for taking us at such a last minute; we are very grateful to be given this experience.

Hetta Loughlin 2Y

The Queen’s Six A Cappella from Windsor Castle

Tuesday 24 June 2014

7.30pm in the Cormack Hall

St George’s School, Ascot

www.thequeenssix.com

Why should the devil

get the best tunes?

entry is free | there will be refreshments & a retiring collection

We were incredibly lucky to host an outstanding concert by The Queen's Six on Tuesday 24 June. Q6, as they are known, are made up of 6 Lay Clerks who sing daily at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The line up includes Tim Carleston who teaches singing here at St George's. The repertoire spanned music from as early as Tallis right through to The Beatles! It was an evening of music of the highest order and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Q6 are available for functions -

please visit www.thequeenssix.co.uk.

The Second Year Present

Mobile Phone Show

by Jim Cartwright

At 7.00pm on Monday 23 June 2014 @ 7.00pm

All are welcome, no Tickets Required

A communication cacophony, a fully charged up chorus line of chaos in a rhapsody of rap, text, tweet and gabble.

Jim Cartwright is a multi award-winning playwright whose work is consistently performed around the world and has been translated into over 35 languages. He has written successfully for film, television and radio and his stage work has been performed at The National Theatre, The Royal Court Theatre, The West End of London and on Broadway amongst others. His plays are on both school and university curriculums, and have been constantly in print since 1986.

The Second Year prepared ‘Mobile Phone Show’ in their Drama lessons this term. They explored the characters and, in particular, worked on the signficant Chorus role which is the only consistent aspect to the play. The work is rather abstract in nature and quickly moves from one character’s story to another with the chorus supporting the narrative.

It was a steep learning curve for all the students to work together as an ensemble, but each and every girl has supported each other and learnt a great deal.

It has been really fun is listening to all the creative ideas of the students, and allowing them to have their say in the direction. We hope that the play raises a few questions about how important mobiles have become in society, especially to the younger generation, and most of all it allows us all to have a good laugh at ourselves and our growing obsession with mobile phones!

Mrs E Gregan

On Wednesday 18 June, the Second Year went on a Classics trip to the Corinium Museum in Cirencester and Chedworth Villa on the outskirts of Cirencester.

We arrived at the Museum and our fi rst task was to complete a questionnaire. We learnt about the occupation of the Romans in Britain from 1st century AD. Interestingly, jewellery was a signifi cant part of Roman life; it showed your status in the Roman Empire and how wealthy you really were. Even men wore jewellery. Rings were very important because the acted as your signature in those days. You would have to dip the ring in wax and stamp it on the piece of paper.

Another topic we learnt about was dinner at a Roman household; it was held in a triclinium, and food would range from snails to hares with a lot of spices! The family would usually have 3 couches, which they would recline on while eating.

Latin & Classics

After the Corinium Museum we travelled into the countryside where we visited Chedworth Villa. Chedworth was owned by Romano-British people who were very wealthy. They had a water system where a pipe would run from the river in to a deep pool, and slaves would collect water from there to do daily chores.

We also visited their baths. The owners must have been very rich to have their own set of baths in their house. They had an apodyterium, a frigidarium, a caldarium and a tepidarium.

We looked at their triclinium and it had amazing mosaics on the fl oor to impress guests when they came. Some of the fl oor had fallen apart and you could see where the hypocaust would have been. I wouldn’t have minded living in Chedworth villa if I were a Roman because you had everything you needed, even your own bath house! If someone asked me if I wanted to live there now, however, I would say no because there’s no electricity, although the location is very beautiful. Alice Hayward 2X

On Thursday 12 June, the Lower Sixth Classics and Fourth Year Latin classes visited the British Museum where we examined the portrayal of Ancient Greek mythology and plays shown on pottery which was over two thousand years old and beautifully preserved. It was great to see the plays we have studied brought to life in this way. Then we went to Pizza Express and some of us ordered a pizza called ‘the Etna’, which lived up to its name and proved a bit too hot!

After supper, we went to the Globe theatre to watch Simon Armitage’s new play, ‘The Last Days of Troy’, an adaptation of Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’. It starred the supermodel, Lily Cole as Helen, whom the Telegraph rightly says ‘proves perfect casting’ for her role as ‘enigmatic heroine’. The play was written with ‘skill and audacity’ according to the Guardian and it will definitely help us with our studies next year. We are very grateful to Miss Fontes for taking us on such an excellent trip!

Upper Sixth BBQ The Upper Sixth celebrated the end of their time at St George's with a celebratory BBQ held at the Beckitt Family home during the last week of term. Thank you to Kate's family for hosting such a lovely event (and for taking the photos!) and to Mr Cornish and Mr Cotterell for the fantastic BBQ.

Second Year Social with SJB

On Thursday 26 June, the Second Year had a social with boarders from St John’s Beaumont Prep School. We had great activities planned, these were: an Indian curry workshop and an owl flying session.

The boys arrived at quarter to six, despite running slightly behind schedule we still got lots done. We were split into two groups. The first group got to see and learn about the owls first, while the other group did the Indian curry workshop, and learned to cook with spices. Then the two groups switched.

The Indian Workshop:Pal and Rani, two Indian chefs, came all the way from Canterbury to teach us about spices and what they know about Indian cooking.

Pal started our workshop by explaining all about the spices which he brought with him. He then taught us how to make our own Indian curry from scratch, he told us some really interesting facts including; if you stir your rice it goes really sticky and mushy and that mango Is a key ingredient in curry.

After we made our own curry we then sat and ate it. We were given popadoms with it, we were also given the choice of whether or not we wanted to add chilli powder. Most of us went up for seconds, it was so yummy.

The Owl Workshop:When the first group walked to the owl workshop, we were all really excited. Sadie from the company 'Feathers & Fur' brought four owls with her. These included a barn owl called Wiggie, a Tawny owl called Meg, an Indian Owl called Charlie and another really small tawny owl. Before she brought all the owls out she told us some interesting facts about owls including: their eyes only look forward and they can’t turn their eyes, so instead they can turn their head 180 degrees, She also told us that Owls are actually in fact really stupid and really lazy animals, she then said that there are 220 types of owls in the world and only 5 in Britain. She also told us something very interesting, there are 3 types of owl; they can be: nocturnal, diurnal and crepuscular.

After all the facts she brought out the birds, she started with the barn owl called Wiggie and we all had a go at holding her. She gave us turns putting on a owl glove and tied Wiggie to a rope. She then made Wiggie fly from one glove to another. After that she made us all lie down and let the Indian Owl bird called Charlie fly over all of us, TWICE! It was amazing!

We would like to thank Mrs Magill for organising the whole experience. We would also like to thank Sadie, for bringing all the precious owls for us to see, and giving up her time to teach us. Last of all we would like to thank Rani and Pal for coming all the way from Canterbury, and teaching us how to make that delicious curry. We are saying thank you on behalf of the whole Second Year.

Sophie Ross and Beatrix Thurner 2X

House General Knowledge

Congratulations to Becket House who romped to victory in the House General Knowledge Competition. The questions were very tough this year, but despite a final push by Alexander, Becket secured the win. Congratulations to Laura Beaumont, Kate Gibb and Darcy Winter who made up the Becket Team. A special thank you also goes to Mr Naeem who composed the superb quiz.

Farewell & Thank you!

We bid farewell to several staff this term. Vicky Potter and Wendy Moyles, who feel like part of the fabric of this place, both retire after many distinguished years of service in the Languages and Study Skills Departments. Joan Cauldwell retires from the Maths Department for the second time! Mike Hodges leaves the same department to return to Harrow International in Bejing. Annabel Brown who has led the Marketing for 3 years is also moving on, to start her teacher training in Secondary Drama at Reading University. Also leaving us are the Resident Tutors; Courtney Bertolone who has served as ELA Lacrosse Coach for two years, Sarah Shannon also an ELA coach leaves after her year-long sabbatical. We also say goodbye to resident Artist Holly Rozier, Resident Tutor, Frances Daws and Academic Resident Tutor, Jen Card. We wish you all the best for the future - and thank you sincerely for your commitment, hard work and support throughout the past years. You will be missed by staff and students alike.

A request from Georgian Jess Palmer In memory of my boyfriend Chris Taylor, I am doing a charity skydive on Friday 18 July, in hope of raising money for the Elena Baltacha Foundation. This foundation helps kids from all backgrounds get into Tennis by offering free tennis coaching and facilities. As a Tennis coach and a captain for one of Bath’s Tennis Teams, this is a charity which Chris would have wholeheartedly supported, and its our pleasure to be able to raise money for a charity that encourages kids to get into the sport Chris dedicated his life towards.

Please help make the feeling of plummeting towards the Earth alittle less scary by donating to our justgiving page, http://www.justgiving.com/Alex-Raithatha. You can also donate by texting CHDT92 plus the amount you wish to donate to 70070. We would be extremely grateful for any donations. Many, Many thanks, Jess.

https://www.facebook.com/events/597811603665898/

EAL Picnic!

On Tuesday 24 June the EAL teachers and their students celebrated the end of the year with a special picnic in the grounds. It was a great way to end the year of hard work and to thank the teachers for their support.

Resident Artists' Exhibition

Congratulations to Resident Artists Holly Rozier and Frances Daws who put on a fantastic exhibition of some of the work created over their year at St George's.

District Sports Success

Devon Mather and Rosie Fisher represented the Bracknell County Athletics Team at the District Competition held at Palmer Park Sports Stadium in Reading on Saturday 14 June. It was fantastic weather for athletics and both girls flew through their heats to reach the finals in their events. Devon ran in the 300m final and came 2nd in a time of 43.1seconds and Rosie ran in the 200m final and came 4th in a time of 27.7seconds. These were both excellent achievements and Devon and Rosie have been awarded a Head’s commendation for their performances. Well done.

Staff Football Competition

The last week of term saw the Teaching Staff go head to head with the Support Staff in the a staff football competition! Congratulations to the Support Staff team who romped to victory with a 12-3 win. The teachers had better get practising for next year!

Mother & Daughter Tennis

On Saturday 28 June, after a busy night of sports awards, the last weekend of sport before the end of term took place in the form of the Mother and Daughter tennis tournament. Due to the late night at Sports Awards Evening, numbers of entries were lower than normal this year, but the spirit of the competition was still there throughout the morning. There was some excellent play by everyone involved until the thunderstorms arrived which unfortunately put pay to the ‘fun’ matches that had been organised for after the event. However, our eventual runners-up were Iona and Mrs Williamson and our champions again this year were Katie and Mrs Sedgwick.

On Wednesday 25 June the Second Year headed off on their trip to Wimbledon. With the daily forecast predicting no rain the girls were in good spirits having left school at 6.40am!

Once we arrived at Wimbledon and completed our brisk walk we were in the queue and enjoying the atmosphere by 7.50am. Tents were already in place for spectators queuing for the following day and several of the girls commented how much fun it would be, so we are sorry parents, if you end up there in a couple of years’ time!! After over 4 hours of queuing, which the girls thought was about an hour and a half, we eventually made it to Henman Hill where the girls went off in search of some good tennis, souvenirs and strawberries.

Throughout the day there were endless stories of excitement as to who they had seen and whose autographs they had managed to get. This continued throughout the coach journey home when we arrived back at St George’s just after 7pm. A great day was had by all and I know that the experience that the girls got was one that they will cherish.

WIMBLEDON 2014

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Looking Forward...Thursday 28

& Friday 29 August 2014 Oliver! Rehearsals

All Cast are Required 10.00am - 4.00pm

Tuesday 2 September 2014 Boarders Return

Wednesday 3 September 2014School Resumes

Friday 5 September 2014Meet the Tutors

3.30pm, Second Year in SLR, Third Year in Top Foyer, Fourth Year in Cormack, Fifth Year in Side Foyer

Saturday 6 June 2014Mother Daughter Netball Competition

9.30am, Tennis Courts

Lower Sixth Army Leadership Day 9.30am--3.00pm

Lower Sixth Ceilidh with Eton 7.00pm

Sue Cormack Hall

Sunday 14 September Harvest Festival

7.00pm Followed by Supper

Tuesday 16 September 2014 Sixth Form Parent Seminar

'Support your Daughter's Study'7.00pm, Chapel

Thursday 25 September 2014 Parents' Forum

9.00am, Old Library

Friday 26 September 2014 Macmillan Coffee Morning

8.30am, Top Foyer Sue Cormack Hall

Sixth Form Wine Society 'Mum's and Daughter's Champagne Tasting'

7.00pmSouth Lawn Room

Friday 27 September 2014

Exeat Weekend

Saturday 4 October 2014 OPEN MORNING

All girls are expected to attend.