Issue 77, Friday 24 May 2013

eNews

The Chapel Choir had the great honour of being invited by Cllr Colin Rayner, the Mayor of Windsor, to sing at the Mayor’s Charity Ball at the Guards Polo Club in celebration of HM the Queen’s Coronation, 60 years ago. The Guest of Honour was the Duke of Edinburgh who was delighted to hear the girls sing on his arrival to the mayoral reception.

Also in attendance were the Home Secretary, The Right Honourable Theresa May MP, Adam Afriyie, MP for Windsor, Colonel Till, Commanding Officer of the Coldstream Guards and Jock Green-Armytage, Chairman of Guards Polo Club. The girls were delighted to meet the Duke of Edinburgh and the other special guests.

Cllr Rayner commented in a message of thanks to the school “After, [singing] I could see the girls rushing to watch the beating of the retreat by the Coldstream Guards. It was a delight to see the girls overlooking the picket fencing with big smiles on their faces. As I watched the beating of the retreat with the Duke of Edinburgh, we spoke about the St George’s choir. He was also delighted to hear that a number of St George’s girls, including my daughter, Victoria, was taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.

Chapel Choir sing for the Duke of Edinburghat the Mayor’s Charity Ball

Photo © Harding Photographic | kapturedmoments.co.uk

The girls singing the grace at the beginning of the meal was one of the highlights of the night. I must thank you again for your help on this matter. One of my memories of the evening will be the smiles and the laughter of the St Georges girls who was so excited to be there. You should be very proud of every one of them!”

Congratulations to all the girls who were wonderful ambassadors for St George’s.

Photo © Tony Ramirez | www.imagesofpolo.com

We were delighted to welcome Mandy Hickson to St George’s for this term’s Headmistress’ Lecture. Mandy was the UK’s fi rst ever female jet-fi ghter pilot, fl ying multi-million pound fast jets for the Royal Air Force; she worked in a constantly challenging, yet exhilarating environment.

Her extraordinary story of the rigours of selection and unique insight into this elite world was fascinating. Throughout, she demonstrated only too well the importance of remaining calm under pressure and leading, quite literally, from the front, in order to get the best from herself and her team. Her message was powerful; have a clear end goal and focus on it. She truly believes that with hard work and self-belief anyone can achieve their ambitions.

Headmistress’ Lecture

National Teaching Award National Teaching Award National Teaching Award Congratulations to Mrs Bushill who has been nominated for a national Outstanding Teacher Award. This was her response on hearing the news:

“It is an immense privilege to teach here because the girls want to learn so much. I think that they are so positive about learning and they make my job exciting, rewarding and to an extent, easy!

This nomination, isn’t really about me, it’s about the girls. They are so receptive to new ideas; they are happy for me to try new things, even if they sometimes go wrong!

When Mrs Owens announced in Chapel that a teacher at St George’s had received a nomination I was so pleased, but when my name was read out, it was a complete shock - I just couldn’t believe it. It’s an honour really, all the more special because the girls took the time to do it and I really appreciate it.

It gives me great joy to see girls really enjoy science and biology in particular, because I absolutely love it and am passionate about passing that on to my students.”

It is safe to say that we are just as proud of Mrs Bushill as she is of the girls! It is a wonderful accolade and well deserved too. Mrs Bushill has taught at St George’s for over 7 years and has made a huge contribution not only to the Science Department, but as a Head of Year and as a Staff Common Room Representative.

Well done Mrs Bushill and thank you!

The Canterbury Tales

Our Second Years are hard at work preparing for their production of ‘Canterbury Tales’, which will be performed on Tuesday 25 June at 7.30pm in the Sue Cormack Hall.

This adaptation, by Martin Riley, of Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval masterpiece, is bursting with vitality and true to the original storylines and atmosphere of the ‘Tales’. The girls have also studied ‘The Canterbury Tales’ in their English lessons.

Let us take you back to the village green in merry old England, where we will wait in anticipation for the mummers to arrive. The St George’s Players will entertain you with stories refl ecting the nature of humanity with all its strengths, weaknesses and humour. We think you will agree that surprisingly little has changed in the last six hundred years.

Entry is free and tickets are not required. All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you there.

The Canterbury Tales

ST GEORGE’SASCOT

The Second Year St George’s Players

present

on Tuesday 25 June 2013 7.30pm in the Sue Cormack Hall Entry is free.

Well, what a wonderful day we had for this year’s competition! The sun was shining, which made a change, and the tournament was played in a competitive but friendly spirit.

After the initial couple of rounds, all 4 houses had won and lost matches and it was still all to play for. Many of the matches were won by a single rounder, so all of the teams knew that there was still a chance that they could win. Staff cheered on their individual houses and even the umpires were smiling when they gave their decisions!

As the tournament entered into the second half, Darwin’s teams started to dig in and started to pull away from the rest of the field. This was how it remained until the end of the tournament with them running away with this year’s title. Darwin Senior 2nd team and Darwin Junior 1st team remained unbeaten throughout the competition and therefore deserve a special mention for their efforts. Well done to all of the teams, umpires and games captains for their efforts throughout the afternoon.

Miss Lofthouse

Darwin Crowned Rounders Champions 2013!

On Saturday 11 May, St George’s travelled to the Thames Valley Athletics Centre for an Athletics fi xture against 5 other schools. Our girls performed well with an outstanding 33 personal best times achieved! A fantastic effort and achievement by all. Special mentions must go to the following girls who achieved medal positions:

1st Place / Gold MedallistsDevon Mather - 100mOctavia Mason - Discus & High Jump

2nd place / Silver MedallistsFiona Allen - Shot PuttAnna-Lily Kenworthy - Long JumpMegan McArthur - High JumpAnna Mason - Javelin

3rd place / Bronze MedallistsOlivia Haig - 100mEmma Streatfeild - 200mOctavia Mason - 800mJade Agnew - HurdlesElla Walker - Long Jump

Sport Life: Athletics Success!

Gold Medallist: Devon Mather 3YC

On Wednesday 15 May, St George’s entered U15 and U17 teams into the District Athletics Competition. Outstanding performances were seen from the 4 x 100m team who won their event and were awarded the title of District Champions. This team consisted of Emma Streatfeild, Olivia Haig, Jade Agnew and Ella Walker.Devon Mather and Octavia Mason both fi nished 2nd in their respective events (100m and high jump) which has secured them a place on the Berkshire County Championships Athletics Squad.Well done to all girls who competed on this day.

District Athletics

English Schools Athletics Association Track and Field Cup

On Tuesday 14 May, St George’s entered Junior and Intermediate teams into the Track and Field Cup. This competition is unique in that it means all girls need to compete in one track and one fi eld event or an individual event plus the relay.

All the girls worked hard and battled against the wind and rain to try and score points for themselves and the school.

Outstanding individual performances were made by:

• Devon Mather - 100m• Anna Mason - Javelin• Anna-Lily Kenworthy - 200m• Emma Streatfeild, Jade Agnew, Olivia Haig and Devon Mather - 4 x 100m relay

The following girls managed to score enough points in their 2 disciplines to achieve a Track and Field badge.

A Gold Badge will be awarded to:

Devon Mather

Silver Badges will be awarded to:

Olivia HaigAnna-Lily KenworthyAnna MasonEmma Streatfeild

Bronze badges will be awarded to:

Jade Agnew Hawa Al-Najjar Darcy CoopEsme FrenchFlorence LivingstoneOctavia MasonCaitlin McArthurSamira ShafaiElla WalkerGrace WiszowatyVictoria Wyatt

Congratulations to Ellie Simpson-Ball (2XH), who was chosen by her hunt, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, to be a groom for the day at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. It was a wonderful opportunity and a great honour to be selected for this prestigious event. Well done Ellie!

Equestrian

5 Minutes with …

Name: Ms Cheryl Masters

Job Title: Assistant Head (Pastoral)

What did you do before St George’s?

Similar job at Wells Cathedral School in Somerset. I’ve worked in 4 boarding schools in 4 different counties since 1984.

What is your greatest achievement?

Surviving to this point!

How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

Done. Sorted. Satisfied.

Who is/was the most influential person in your life?

My father was influential in showing me how to love life and my daughter is influential now for proving that normality is boring.

What was the last book you read?

‘Hope – A Tragedy’ by Shalom Auslander. It’s about a man who finds Anne Frank alive and ninety, living in his attic.

What would you do if you won £2m in the Lottery?

Give a tidy sum to every person who has ever been there for me, then hire a chef to cook Gwyneth Paltrow meals for me for the rest of my life!

If money was no object where would you travel to?

Home.

What is your ultimate Desert Island Disc?

‘Get Off Of My Cloud’ by The Rolling Stones. It’s all about personal space and I could dance about to it and keep myself fit on the island. I wouldn’t want anything too serious that might make me sad if I were alone on an island.

Which person alive or dead would you most like to spend a day with?

Jesus. I have a lot of questions for him and I’d like some answers.

What makes St George’s so special?

The quality of the resident staff.

Athletics Training Session

ST GEORGE’SASCOT

with Cyle Carty GB Athlete Saturday

15 June 2013

from

9.00am-12.00pm

This event is limited to 40 participants and places will

be issued on a first come first served basis.

Contact Mrs Warr to confirm yours now! Dream it.

Believe it. Do it.

St George's School Ascot will Race for Life At: Windsor Race Course

On: Saturday 1 June 2013 at 11.00 am Our group ID is: JW3091

Please come & cheer oN the st GeorGe’s team!

saturday 1 June 2013 Windsor racecourse |11.00am

all oF Us

caNcerV

School Website Sportsboard Citrix School Email

Scan the QR codes below using your smart phone to go directly to the web page you need.

Looking Forward...Saturday 1 June RACE FOR LIFE

10.30am, Windsor

Sunday 2 June Boarders Return

8.30pm

Monday 3 JuneSchool Resumes

8.15am

Friday 7 June Evensong

4.15pm, Chapel

Friday 7 JuneA Level Art Exhibition

& Reception 5.00pm, South Lawn Room

Sunday 9 June Freshers’ Day

18-21 JuneROYAL ASCOT

No Clubs or Clinics

Friday 21 June Sports Day

10.30am, Sports Fields

Music for a Summer Evening D

$

G&

:

O

A

L

CBat 7.00pm

on Tuesday 2 July 2013

in the Sue Cormack Hall Refreshments served at 6.00pm. Please RSVP to the School Offi ce on creader@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk or by telephone on 01344 629903.

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