iceland trip - · pdf filetheatre intermediate class gaining 1st place. ... lucy viola &...

SPRING NEWSLETTER 2016 ISSUE 17

Iceland TripPAGE 9

Head GirlsPAGE 11

Disco with St John’s BeaumontPAGE 12

This welcome is a first edition copy. The inaugural principals preface to the Marist News acts merely as an appetiser to the glad tidings, successes, accomplishments and experiences of enrichment which follow.

50 days into post and I am reminded of the magnitude of the achievements of Franklin D.

Dates for your diary

WELCOME

Roosevelt in the first 100 daysof his presidency. Faced with such accomplishment I am more heartened by President Obama who observed: “The first 100 days are important but it’s probably going to be the first thousand days that make the difference.”

I hope that the celebratory reports and articles in this term’s Newsletter will also prove to be inspirational and aspirational as the girls continue to seize every opportunity to broaden their horizons, deepen their skills and expand their interests.

As we commence our Easter Holidays the signs of new life in nature are all around us. Let our Easter celebrations renew our lives and raise us up refreshed and ready to maximise “life in all its fullness” in the next term.

With every good wish and blessing,

Karl McCloskey

www.themaristschools.com 2

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May

11 Senior School Open morning09.15-11.15

June

11 Preparatory School Open Day10.00-14.00

30 Early YearsWoodland Fairies10.30-14.00

Senior School Tea Towel available to order Summer Term

Save the date!

28 April 2016Marist Friends

Does Food

Dental Care and Healthy Eating

In line with our topic Dental Care and Healthy Eating, this term we

organised two outings for the Ladybirds class. The first was to Waitrose

in Sunningdale. The girls had the opportunity to see behind the scenes

of the shop floor and even had the chance to walk into a big freezer.

You will be relieved to learn that we all emerged safely but several

degrees cooler!

After half term we took the girls to visit Sunninghill Dental Practice.

The girls had a great time sitting in the dentist chair and looking at all

the different instruments that a dentist uses in their daily clinical

practice. The dentist herself was greatly impressed that the girls knew

how to look after their teeth and why it is so important not to eat too

many sugary foods.

Gym Display

The Gym display was yet another event where the girls in

Ladybirds (Nursery) and Butterflies (Reception) were able to

show off their gymnastic abilities. As the girls have developed

their skills, they have become more adept in their movements,

coordination and following instructions more effectively.

THE MARIST NEWS Issue 173

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Bumblebees Spring Term 2016

This term bumblebees have been learning about animals

through the books, Commotion in the Ocean, Farmyard

Hullabaloo and Rumble in the Jungle.

We also celebrated Chinese New Year, making lanterns and

trying out some ribbon dancing while listening to Chinese

music.

We’ve been very busy bees and had lots of fun!

EARLY YEARSWelcome From early years

The classes in year 4 were delighted to be given the opportunity to perform ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ by Roald Dahl at the beginning of February over the course of two evenings to parents, family and friends. The children triumphed, alternating each scene with 4O and 4C. The audience were treated to two suave Mr Foxes (Lore de Kock and Anya McCall) and their family of terrified little foxes, as they were being pursued by the


PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Fantastic Mr Foxmalicious farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean. They dug their way to Chicken houses, Cider cellars and Vegetable Stores, amid human tunnels, and every member of the cast gave a terrific performance – Rats, Weasels, Badgers, Rabbits – you name it, the show had them! It truly was a dazzling, imaginative and poetically inflected come caper.

World Book DayThe Marist had a wonderful day celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 3 March. Festivities began on Monday, when we were delighted to welcome young-adult author Catherine Webb (pen names include, Claire North and Kate Griffin). Catherine Webb’s most recent book, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was selected for the Richard and Judy book Club and the girls were fascinated by Catherine Webb’s own story as an author.

On Thursday both schools enjoyed a visit from children’s author Fiona Barker, who recently published her first book, Amelie and the Great Outdoors. Fiona spent the day introducing the girls to Amelie and discussing what it means to be an author. Our festivities concluded with some wonderful dressing up on Thursday, from Mary Poppins to Pirates and Princesses – we had them all!


Roman WorkshopYear 4 had a wonderful day exploring what life would have been like in Ancient Rome. All the girls enjoyed dressing up as Romans for the day and learning about the history and customs of Ancient Rome.

Congratulations to Laila Groeneboom, Lola Rose Neal and Elizabeth Paine in Year 5. All three won a regional competition for the Knights of St Columba to produce a nativity scene. Well done to everyone who took part. We are delighted that Laila, Lola Rose and Elizabeth will now be entered into the national competitionwhich will be judged late this year.

Knights of St Columbia

World Book DayGymnastics

In January, Year 6 donned mop caps and aprons in order to learn more about the role of domestic servants played in Victorian Britain. A variety of posts were available at Preston Manor and after being put through their paces by the stern housekeeper, Mrs Storey, and the head housemaid, Miss Rose, four girls were successful in securing employment. Throughout the day, the girls learned about washing and drying clothes, laying the table correctly, churning butter and cleaning bedrooms. So there should be no further excuses for not keeping bedrooms tidy! It was a daunting and inspiring start to ourtopic on Victorians.

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The theme for thisWorld Internet Safety Day this year was ‘Play your part for a better internet!’ We aimed to inspire a kind, respectful and inclusive internet and help raise awareness about the issue of online hate.

As part of our week, we invited Alicia Coad from ChatFOSS (Friends Only Stay Safe) who gave the girls an online safety presentation about using technology safely. As part of teaching the girls to use social media responsibly, Years 4-6 had the chance to download the ChatFOSS app which enables children to communicate with each other in a safe, secure environment. This will play an important role in educating them about how to communicate online and be responsible internet users and respect their own privacy. The app has an age rating of 3+ and is a very secure and safe platform in which to communicate. It is important that the girls remain engaged with technology and we teach them skills to be enable to enjoy using it safely.

The girls have enjoyed using ChatFOSS during lessons to learn how to communicate respectfully online and this will hopefully help them as they progress onto more public forms of social media in the future.

Year 6 Trip to Preston Manor ChatFOSS App


Knights of St Columbia

Celebration of MusicCelebration of Music Assembly 5 February 2016

We are delighted that Antigone Cottle, Year 6 has gained a place in the Under 11 National Children’s Orchestra for 2016, playing the Bassoon. As with elite athletes, Tiggy is certainly an elite instrumentalist.In February Amelie Barker, Year 6 competed in two singing classes at the LVS Ascot Music Festival. The first, a Musical Theatre Intermediate class gaining 1st place. The second was an Intermediate Folksong class where she was awarded 2nd place. Amelie was awarded the trophy for the best overall musical performance and deserves our warmest congratulations.

Congratulations to the following for their musical achievements:

On Friday 5 February we held our first Celebration of Music Assembly. I was delighted to see the hall full of girls, staff and parents. We were privileged to hear Mr Newman playing electric bass guitar alongside our drum teacher Mr McBride.

Sophie Bennett in Year 6 began our assembly with a reading from Psalm 102. The whole school then beautifully sang King of Kings Majesty accompanied by the band. The Swing Band (Oboe: Lucy Viola & Misha Joshi, Trumpet: Amy Jukes, Saxophone: Anya Gannon, Flute: Eleanor Young and Lucy Vigar, Cello: Sophie Bennett, Bassoon: Tiggie Cottle and Drums: Grace Sheffield) performed Freddie Freeloader and Watermelon Man.

Without doubt we have many highly talented musicians in our midst. With such levels of accomplishment at such an early age Marist Music is incredibly strong.


IAPS Netball Championships On Thursday 3 March 12 prep girls, accompanied by Mrs Palmer, Mrs Farmer and Mrs Bishopp travelled to Dorset for the annual IAPS regional tournament. During the course of the day the girls played 8 pool games. They won 6 matches, drew 1 match and lost 1 match.

This successful performance in the pool element of the competition meant the girls progressed to the play offs. They were narrowly defeated by Dumpton which meant they missed out on an automatic place at Nationals.

The girls then went into the second round of the play offs, aiming for 4th place in the overall event. The girls first beat St Gabriel’s then went on to fight a close very close matchvs Chafyn Grove, which they eventually won 6-5.

Our Marist U11s were through to National Finals on 12 March. On 12 March they came XXXX

On Wednesday 24 February the Marist Year 4 netball team took part in the Senior School Year 4 Netball Tournament. The girls play 5 matches, each 16 minutes long without a break. They performed to a high level of skill and displayed good perseverance and team spirit. They won all bar one of their matches, scoring at least 4 goals in each! The girls finished in silver medal position! Well done Eve, Lore, Lucy, Carla, Emily, Zara, Isabella, Grace and Emma!

The Marist Senior School Year 4 Netball Tournament

The annual Gym Display was another success in our school calendar. Girls from Years 3-6 showcased their hard work on Wednesday 9 March, to parents, students and staff. It was wonderful to see the creative displays the girls produced. A particular highlight was the tribute to David Bowie, performed by the Gym Club.

Gym Display

Congratulations to Natasha-May in Year 11, who was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ for her short story ‘Suntrap’ at the Windsor Schools Festival presentation evening.

During the evening Natasha-May was delighted to meet Dr Alistair Niven LVO OBE. He was one of the judges for the creative writing section of the competition and spent time discussing the content and quality of Natasha’s written piece with her. Amongst his many accolades, Dr Alistair Niven has been a judge for the Man Booker Prize, in both 1994 and 2014.

Natasha also enjoyed meeting Susann Laughton, Director of Marketing for ComXo, who together with Herbert Smith Freehills, were responsible for sponsoring and organising the Windsor Schools Festival event.

Windsor Schools Festival Literary Win

THE SENIOR SCHOOL

HP Sprout is a computer which blends the physicaland digital environment through 3D scanning and printing. We are working closely with HP to develop the product for a classroom setting.

We have elected three “Tech Champions”, Grace Hillabrant, Lottie Stabbins and Claudia Stuckes, Year 10. In January, the girls were invited to The Saatchi Gallery to present in front of members of the global press and various HP Executives, as partof the European Commercial Launch of HP Sprout.


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The following day, the girls took part in the Bettconference, the largest educational technology fair in Europe, demonstrating Sprout at HP’s exhibition stand.engineering and mathematics) initiatives.

We are delighted that HP have given The Marist two additional Sprout machines and 3D printers. Our school will also feature in HP’s digital marketing campaign. We are confident that this will pave the way for a longer term partnership between HP and The Marist, which will have significant benefits for our pupils as part of our ongoing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) initiatives.

HP Sprout Launch

On Wednesday 3 February GCSE and A-level art and photography students visited Tate Britain on Millbank in London. As an A2 student I have been fortunate to access a wide range of art trips throughout the years and was especially enthused by this particular trip. The diverse work on display explored many different artistic stages throughout time. All of us were captivated by the particularly unique pieces, for example Rachel Lowe’s installation, ‘A Letter to an Unknown Person’ where a television screen repeatedly played a person scribbling on a window to signify an ‘unknown’ message for an ‘unknown person’. The Tate Britain has many visually stimulating and ambiguous pieces that really changed and helped us as art students to delve deeper into the meaning of art and prepare more creatively for our exams.

By Melissa Fry, Year 13

Tate Britain Review

Year 7 French Spelling Bee

On Thursday 11 February, nine year 7 students from all three classes took part in the school French Spelling Bee Competition. The girls had to learn a list of 100 words in French and spell out as many as they could accurately in one minute. The students have been practising for this competition since September!

The three top scorers were Rebecca Augier, Heather Aldous and Orla Dowling from 7A. They advance through to the Regional Competition at Brighton University on Wednesday 20 April. Bon courage les filles!


This term The Marist has been supporting Notre Dame Refugee Centre, London. The Refugee Centre was established by the Marist Fathers’ parish, Notre Dame de France Church in 1996. The centre assists French-speaking asylum seekers and refugees, offering warm meals and advice in developing their professional skills.

The Main Hall was full of donations including school supplies, clothing and toys. Thank you to all of our staff, students and parents, who have been so generous.

Refugee Crisis – The Marist Responds

On the 29th January, the Marist A Cappella choir (named Grace Notes) attended the Voice Festival A Cappella workshop in London. Michael, our workshop leader, taught us how to control our pitching to help blend our sound. Next we learnt a group song. This gave us the opportunity to work with different singers of different ages and abilities.

For the second verse of the song, Michael split us into 3 groups of mixed singers from the respective choirs. We worked to improvise new ideas including melody lines and the A Cappella accompani-ment. In the afternoon, the famous A Capella group, the ‘Swingle Singers’ joined us and demonstrated professional A Cappella. They then improvised spectacularly. The day ended with performances by each A Cappella choir with songs they had prepared in advance. The Swingle Singers and Michael gave us very useful feedback, gratefully assisting us in our preparations for the Voice Festival.

By Amy Simpson & Ollie Smith

A Cappella

Last half term 27 students and staff enjoyed three days exploring the sites of Flanders and The Somme. A highlight was the Last Post Service at The Menin gate, performed every night at eight O’clock since the First World War with only the break for World War Two. Olly Bennett and Alice Hughes had the honour of presenting a wreath on behalf of The Marist School. Amy Hannam was even able to trace her Great Grandfather’s name, inscribed on one of the plinths at Thiepaval; a memorial dedicated to those fallen during the battle of the Somme. The girls were able to walk in the actual trenches and the tunnels prepared for the attack on Vimy Ridge. No trip to Belgium however, would have been complete without a shopping trip to chocolate shops in Ypres! The trip was a great success and it is hoped that it will be a regular feature of The Marist calendar.

Trip to the Battlefields of World War One

Drama Report


Iceland TripDuring half term, Sixth Form and Year 11 geographers got the opportunity to take a trip to Iceland, where they stayed in Reykjavik and spent four days travelling around the coast of Iceland, visiting some of Iceland’s most renowned attractions.

On our first day we had the amazing opportunity to visit and swim in the 37oCwaters of the Blue Lagoon located in a

The drama department is as busy as ever this term. Year 11 are well under way with rehearsals for their practical moderation production of ‘Daisy Pulls It Off.’ The sixth form are also working hard for their moderation, Year 12 are performing ‘Mermaid’ by Polly Teale, using physical theatre and choreography to create an ‘underwater world’. Year 13 are adapting ‘Call the Midwife’ and Bligh is being transformed into the east end of the 1950s. Both year groups were heavily influenced by a production of ‘Jane Eyre’ which we saw at The National Theatre in January.

We are hosting the fantastic ‘Scene Productions’ workshops for the sixth form and year 9. Artistic Director Kelly Taylor-Smith always delivers brilliant programmes written specifically for our students. All GCSE and A level students are going to see a modern adaptation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Watermill Theatre and we will also be off to the West End to see the ghostly thriller ‘The Woman in Black’. The girls are excited and nervous about the prospect!

Year 7 Drama Club are putting on an adaptation of ‘The Wind in the Willows’ and are enthusiastically contributing to all areas of the production. We are looking forward to showcasing their hard work.

lava field in Grindavík on the Reykajanes Peninsula, southwestern Iceland. Across the next two days, on our expedition we visited Iceland’s largest waterfall, saw the volcanic springs, walked around Kerið, a volcanic crater lake located in theGrímsnes area, as well as visiting a geothermal power station and many more spectacular attractions.

Thank you to all the staff that accompanied us. The trip was an educational and unforgettable trip for all!

Megan Ingham Year 12.

Stretch and Challenge for AllIn September we set the challenge of every girl in the school attending at least one sMARteas event this year. We are now well on our way to meeting this target with over 100 pupils participating so far. Guest speakers have included climate change scientist Professor Shine and renowned author Catherine Webb. Other sMARteas events have been of a more reflective nature, notably the ‘risk-taking’ workshop. Pupils considered the role failure can play in advancing learning.

In March a group of Year 10s attended a series of mini-lectures at The University of Oxford. The stand-out lecture, ‘The Death of Individuality’, questioned whether, in a society based on shared habits, there is any room for individuality. The girls returned home with frazzled brains but aspirations raised high.

Follow us on twitter #Marist_Gifted

PE ReportNetball success at AST / SE berksOnce again the Marist have been dominating the local netball tournaments at senior level.

Our Year 7s were AST cup and plate winners and plate runners up. Our Year 8s were SE Berks cup and plate champions and plate runners up. At the AST A team were Cup winners & C team plate runners up.Our Year 9s were AST runner up and SE Berks runners up.Our Year 10s were AST runner up.

In all of the above age groups we have entered at least 2 teams, in Year 8 we enter 4 netball teams into each tournament. Well done to everyone!

Ski Trip 2015Girls in Years 8 – 13 had an amazing time on our annual ski trip to Austria. Thank you to everyone who made it such a wonderful experience!

Schools Modern Biathlon National FinalsGood luck to Immy Tattersall, Isobel Legg, Madison Foxcroft & Katie Flockhart who have all qualified for the Schools Modern Biathlon National Finals at Crystal Palace.

They rank as the top 70 pupils in the country in each of their age groups – we are immensely proud of you.

1,322 players took to the court to take part in the record, playing a continuous netball match for 90 hours raising over £20,000 for Sport Relief which is a fantastic achievement.

Our girls played their hour from 8-9am on Friday morning in central London! It was amazing to be involvedin such a fabulous morning of netball & we are thrilled to have been a partof the GWR attempt.

On Friday 12th February 14 girls from Years 9 and 10 took part in England Netball’s Guinness World Record attempt!Guinness World Records have confirmed that England Netball officially achieved the World Record for - “The most players in a netball exhibition match, achieved by England Netball (UK) at Play On Sports, London, from 12 February to 15th February 2016”.

The game which formed part of the England Netball 90 year celebrations.


14 Marist Girls – Guinness World Record Holders!

THE SIXTH FORM

New Senior School Head GirlsThe Senior School are delighted to announce Imogen Naldrett as Senior School Head Girl and Annabel Brook as Deputy Head Girl. All our candidates worked extremely hard through the rigorous application process and we are proud of each and every one of them. We look forward to working with both Imogen and Annabel in the year ahead.

On the 21st January 2016 I was fortunateenough to set off on my once in a lifetime journey to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaroin aid of The Loss Foundation - a small London based charity who provide bereavement counselling and advice to families who have lost loved ones to cancer. Although it was one of the toughestexperiences of my life (being on a drip at 4700m was “different” to say the least!) it was also one of the best and I couldn’t have wished to have done it and met better people than I did. The climb took 7 days in total and I walked through 4 different

in total and I walked through 4 different terrains: rainforest, bush land, desert and snowy mountain. I learnt so much about the local people and it was an honour to be able to experience the African culture at the level that I did. Kilimanjaro was the most physically and mentally challenging event of my life so far and I am very lucky to have completed it at such a young age! I have been overwhelmed by everyone’s support and hope that I can continue to raise money for The Loss Foundation.

https://www.justgiving.com/Amy-Gandhi

Year 13 Conquers Kilimanjaro

Extended Project QualificationMarch saw the annual Extended Project Presentation evening; this event is a true showcase of the scholastic and intellectual talent in our school and represents the pinnacle of pupils’ learning journey at The Marist. Parents, teachers, sisters and governors gain real pleasure, not to mentionknowledge, from listening to the Year 12s present the findings of their 9 month independent re-search projects. This year’s topics did not disappoint: ‘Is human error the main cause of aircraft crashes?’, ‘Should the allies have bombed Auschwitz in WWII?’ and ‘ Should we take vitamin supplements?’ to name but a few.


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Disco with St John’s BeaumontYears 6, 7 and 8 had a wonderful time on Friday 26 February at The Marist disco, held with St. John’s Beaumont in The Senior School Main Hall. Everyone had a wonderful evening and thank you to all the staff, students and parents who made it such an enjoyable night. We look forward to many more in the future!

FUNDRAISING

Sports Hall UpdateSince joining the Marist School as Bursar in September 2015 amongst my other responsibilities I have relished Project Managing the new Sports Hall build on behalf of the School. It has been challenging, time-consuming but ultimately extremely exciting. As the building takes shape the school is taking every step to ensure we will provide pupils and parents the best possible facility in the area. March will see the completion of roofing, cladding, brickwork and connection of external services then, with the arrival of windows and doors, work will move inside the building. Planning has begun regarding the additional clubs/sports we will be able to provide using the new hall, including gymnastics and trampolining and interest from other local sporting clubs has been extremely high. Anyone for pickleball?

Jon Philpott – School Bursar

iceland trip - · pdf filetheatre intermediate class gaining 1st place. ... lucy viola &...

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