Insight |
Autumn Term 2019 Reflections
Issue 17 | Published January 2020 1
s t n e t n o C Page 3: Welcome from the Editor Page 4: School News Page 6: STEAM News
From the Headmistress
Page 8: Iceland in Pictures
Welcome to the latest edition of Insight. I’m sure you’ll agree, staff and students have certainly been busy this term.
Page 9: Carson Club Geographers Out and About
There has been remarkable success for Year 9 in Drama, with an outstanding appraisal following their performance at the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. The Music Department has also been incredibly busy with many carol services in the community. We were delighted to see Cobham Hall girls reach the top 10% nationally in the Bebras Computing Challenge.
Page 10: Year 13 Service Experiences Page 11: Cobham Hall Wellbeing Page 12: Shakespeare Schools’ Festival Page 14: From the ILC... Page 15: It’s the Holiday Season! Page 16: Mock Election Coverage Debating Club Centre Feature: ‘MUN News’ written by Mrs West and the COBMUN Press Team
Across the School there were lots of new initiatives this term and I am sure you will enjoy reading about them.
Page 17: Round Square International Conference in Pictures
Ms Roberts Headmistress
Page 18: Languages Page 19: Music
Autumn Te r m’s Most Liked Instagram
Page 20: #BoardingLife
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Page 22: Sporting Success
Post
Page 24: Netball News Page 25: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Fundraising Page 26: School Snippets Page 28: Elders’ News Page 29: Unicorn News Page 30: Barbie: An Icon Redesigned?
111 likes cobhamha ll And we’re off! #cobha #netballtou msport #cob r #theresmo hamgirlscan re #CHBarb ados2019
Page 31: Stay in Touch Forthcoming Events 2
Welcome from the Editor
You’ll have noticed a slight change to Insight this
is used by the School. Many follow our Instagram page for example, but perhaps not really understanding why we have a presence there. I was delighted to see Year 12 students Aoife and Alisha grasp the opportunity to be the first students ever to ‘takeover’ our Instagram page, running a ‘12-Days of Carson Club’ in the run up to Christmas. This had over 2000 views in total.
term: as Ms Roberts sends a termly letter to all Parents and Guardians directly, we felt Insight no longer required a full welcome from the Head. Moving forward, I’ll will be writing the Editorial welcome. I do hope you’ll also notice and support another change in this edition. When I took over the editing of Insight in 2015, I started adding an article from a member of staff, to move the magazine more towards being a school magazine, as opposed to a straight recap of the term. This edition heralds another step forward and you’ll see a number of articles written by students.
This generation of students are much more likely to come across social media for business use as a commonplace occurence. Many may find their job role requires them to be able to use it for business purposes, or for networking. To put it into context, it was only in my final year at university in 2008 - and towards the end even of that - that Facebook was vaguely starting to get a mention within the Marketing course of my Business degree. Just over a decade later, there’s not only Facebook, but Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat - in fact, there are hundreds of social networking sites, with 3.48 billion people using social media. For businesses, it’s no longer a case of whether or not to launch on social networks, but accurately working out which ones their customers are using, and how best to engage them.
At the start of term in September, I launched ‘Media Team’: an opportunity for girls to gain experience writing articles, or producing different media, for a variety of outlets and build a portfolio of work to support them entering careers such as journalism, broadcasting, editing, marketing and so on. I’d like to thank all the girls who have contributed an article and images, particularly those who’ve shown real enthusiasm and initiative. I’m excited to see this grow and develop, and am keen to see Insight become much more student-led.
For now though, I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Insight. Articles written by girls are credited and the photo above shows a small number of the girls on my team. Should any other girls wish to get involved, my door is always open.
My vision for Insight is for it to remain a recap of the term at its core, but to contain more articles that embrace the passions, challenges, interests and concerns the girls have. One thing that has struck me time and again since writing Insight is that the girls at Cobham Hall are not only incredibly talented in Sports, Drama, Art, Music, Academia, but many are also passionate about global issues: the environment, women’s rights, politics - and Insight can be the vehicle to demonstrate that to Parents and Guardians much more. But Media Team is going to be more than supporting the development of Insight. I hope too that girls will have the opportunity to see and understand how social media
As always, I welcome any feedback, and always enjoy hearing of the girls’ achievements, so please do drop me a line. Happy Reading! Tracey Reid Insight Editor and Marketing Assistant
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School News Staff News Congratulations to Mrs Keys and Mrs F West, who both announced that they were expecting a baby this term. It will be Mrs West’s first and Mrs Keys’s second. We wish them both well as they take maternity leave during the Spring Term.
Mr Haas Smashes Personal Best
A huge congratulations to our very own Marathon man, Mr Haas!
As many may know, our Round Square Representative and Voice and Piano Tutor is a keen marathon runner, having completed several and aiming to complete all the world’s major marathons. The last weekend in September saw Mr Haas compete at the Berlin Marathon, where he beat his personal best time by an incredible 20 minutes! “It went amazingly well,” he explained. “I achieved a time of 3 hours 40 minutes, which is over 20 minutes faster than my past personal best. I also achieved a negative split, which is when my second half was faster than my first half.” Well done, Mr Haas!
We say goodbye to Mrs Sheila Lewis from our Domestic and Laundry Team, who retired at the end of this term. We wish her a long, happy retirement. Finally, goodbye to Mrs Jacqueline Hackwell, our DofE and Services Manager. Her duties will be picked up by Miss Chinn.
Year 9 on BBC Radio 4
Year 9 joined in as part of a feature on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme. The feature, to provide light relief during the General Election coverage, encouraged listeners to send in suggestions for a soundscape. Head of Humanities Miss Williams sent in a recording of her Year 9 class answering the register. Not unusual you may think, but the girls had taken to answering the register in any number of creative ways to avoid simply saying ‘Yes’. They were chosen and aired! 4
Dairy Renovation Complete
The Landmark Trust has now finished renovation works on the old Dairy in our grounds. The Dairy dates back to 1795 and was designed by James Wyatt, one of the 18th Century’s most renowned architects. Designed to mimic an Italianate chapel, the Dairy was created for the ladies of the House as a popular pastime. The restoration is exquisite and the Dairy is now a stunning sight.
Steinway Makes Grand Entrance as Cobham Hall Welcomes Community Choir Cobham Hall opened the doors of the stunning Gilt Hall to local singers, Cobham Ladies Choir, for their annual Carol Concert in December. The concert, sold out, was the third performance that included use of the School’s spectacular new addition: the gold standard in piano manufacture – a Steinway Grand. The Rolls Royce of the piano world had its first event with Cobham Hall’s more advanced musicians laying on a Maestros’ Concert, more of which can be found later in this edition of Insight. The piano also provided
elegant accompaniment to our annual Carols by Candlelight service, which was live-streamed in full for the first time this year – receiving over 800 views on Facebook over that weekend. The addition of the Steinway enables the School to work with Duet Media to hire the Gilt Hall as an outstanding venue for recording artists wishing to use this space.
Cobham Hall Opens the Doors This Autumn we hosted two Open Mornings; one for the whole school, and one specifically for Sixth Form.
international selfies were available for those that wished to take a quick snap.
The October Open Morning, and accompanying Taster saw a large number of visitors explore our school.
Teloni (Year 13) and Henrietta (Year 7) both impressed with their speeches. Teloni explained about the diversity of the student body saying, “Cobham Hall has allowed me to immerse myself in rich cultures and learn about many backgrounds. It is made up of global citizens and urges students to connect with one another and allows them to start vital conversations about the world we live in and how we treat each-other.”
During Open Morning, our guests had a chance to win a book as the English Faculty held a creative writing competition, as well as testing their tastebuds in Economics! Our A Level Economics students wanted to see if Mr Case was right about being duped by big brands. Two bowls of crisps were placed on the table – Bowl A (Walkers Ready Salted Crisps) and Bowl B (Tesco Ready Salted Crisps). Participants were invited to vote using taste, sight or a combination of the two to determine which bowl contained the branded crisps. The results surprised Mr Case – 67.21% of the sample population were able to identify the Walkers Brand. Meanwhile, in Languages, 5
A few weeks later our Sixth Form Open Morning gave both our Year 11 and girls from other schools the chance to discover more about our A Level Programme and life in our Sixth Form. They got to hear from current students as well as key members of staff, had time to see Boarding, and speak with members of staff regarding available subjects.
Work Experience with Morgan for Rebekah During the Summer Term’s Curriculum Enhancement Week, Year 10 pupil Rebekah went to work at Brands Hatch Morgans. Her experience was recently included in the Morgan Sports Car Club magazine, Miscellany.
New Scientist: Live
Year 10 got hands-on with Science this term as they headed to London’s ExCeL Centre in October, for New Scientist Live.
The event was jam-packed with talks, hands-on exhibits and activities. Billed as ‘The world’s Greatest Science Festival’, the girls had the chance to try out a giant game of ‘Operation’, listen to a talk on managing exam stress, handle creepy crawlies, and even give virtual reality surgery a go!
Young Doctors’ Programme
Alex, Year 11 In November, I travelled up to a University College London lecture theatre at London Bridge to attend the Young Doctor’s Programme. I heard about this through our Head of Middle School, Mr Eyers, who sent out an email with several of these courses for different career paths. I was drawn to the Young Doctors Programme, because I have always dreamed of becoming a Plastic Surgeon and the programme would help me to get an idea of how to get into this line of work. The day entailed detailed seminars from several medical graduates. These talks ranged from topics such
In the article, Rebekah explains why she opted for Morgans as her work placement, “I chose to do something I was interested in. I want to become a mechanical engineer and I have a keen interest in cars.” During her week, Rebekah not only learned how different each individually handcrafted Morgan is, but she discovered the importance of customer service, how to run a garage, and how to service a Morgan. After her experience, Rebekah said, “I really enjoyed my time at Brands Hatch Morgans because it showed me I can do mechanical engineering and it really helped to boost my confidence around people I haven’t met before.”
as medical work experience and personal statements, to learning how to perform sutures on a banana. The day also included an extremely helpful question and answer session where you got to hear honest responses about life as young doctor, which were extremely useful and interesting. I really enjoyed the day as I learned a lot about life as a medical student in university, as well as life as an actual working doctor. I got to make new friends my age who were also interested in pursuing medicine as a career. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and gained a lot of knowledge about this career path. I would definitely recommend this to anybody interested in pursuing a career in medicine in the future. 6
Maths Inspiration for Year 12 The Year 12 Mathematicians had a blast at the Maths Inspiration talks during December at the Phoenix Theatre. Head of Maths Mrs Afolayan said afterwards, “It was an enlightening, intriguing and entertaining day and the girls took a lot from the event.”
Computing Girls in Top 10% Nationally
Congratulations to girls who took the Bebras Computing Challenge on a fantastic performance. Over a third of our student body entered the Oxford Universityorganised Computing competition. The ompetition involves solving problems using computational thinking – the same skills and techniques software engineers use to write programmes and apps.
What is Bebras? Martha, Year 7 During this half term, many girls from across the school took part in a competition called Bebras. However, how much do we actually know about it? I asked some Year 7s about what they thought it was, and most thought it was a progress test on the National Curriculum. Although most of them said this, that is not what Bebras is all about. In fact, it is a logical thinking test given to students all around the country. When completing the test, you have a time limit – so you need to be a quick thinker! To the side
AwardWinning Artist Visits Art Students In October, our Art Department was lucky enough to welcome Jeanette Barnes for a full day workshop with A Level Art and Photography students, as well as selected scholars. Jeanette Barnes is multi-awardwinning artist who studied at the prestigious Royal Academy as well as Royal College of Art, and now is a tutor at Royal Drawing School and Royal Academy. Jeanette has won numerous awards including the 2019
of one area of your screen, a list is provided of each challenge that you need to complete. Bebras has a unique marking scheme which consists of three different ways of awarding points. The easiest questions will award you three points for a correct answer, and zero if you either got the answer wrong, or if you didn’t do it. The next set of questions will get you six points for a correct answer, zero if you didn’t do it, and it will take away one point if you find an incorrect question. The hardest questions offer nine points for a correct answer, zero if you didn’t do it, and three if you attempted the challenge but got it wrong. ‘Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize’ just a few days before the workshop. Jeanette constructs huge detailed charcoal drawings of urban landscapes – highlighting the movement of such populated places and layers of architectural detail. She explains, “These drawings are not about one single moment, but a combination of ideas and experiences, bringing together the most interesting aspects from different sketches to create the final piece.” This workshop was packed with exciting drawing exercises, aimed to improve and develop mark making techniques, use of charcoal and thought on composition. Jeanette inspired all the students to push themselves and their materials to create an intensity in their outcomes. 7
We are delighted that the 28 girls entered were placed within the top 50% nationally, 13 in the top 25% and, fantastically three scored within the top 10%. Special congratulations go to Year 7 pupil Martha, who was just 10 points away from being invited to Oxford University for the Bebras Finals! Martha has explained the Bebras competition below the photo.
Our top scorers are: Year 7 – Martha Year 8 and 9 – Alyssa Year 10 and 11 – Arwen The students were lucky enough to be provided with an in-depth artist talk, learning how Jeanette creates her images from a variety of sketches and photographs of each location. Each student left with multiple successful outcomes demonstrating a range of new abilities. Challenged by some of the exercises, each piece was remarkably different and showed a personal level of understanding on composition and tone. Everyone pushed themselves and their skills, by the end finding a respect for the materials and techniques they had used. Mrs Walsh and Ms Bowdery were impressed with the day, agreeing that “it was highly productive and valuable experience for our Art students.”
Iceland Exploration in Photos
Following the success of a previous trip to Iceland, this term the trip was opened up to girls from Years 9 to 13. Supporting the Round Square pillar of Environmentalism, our Geography and Science Departments joined forces to take the girls on the trip of a lifetime to see the famous Blue Lagoon, as well as explore sustainable energy resources, waterfalls, geysers and volcanoes. Here’s their trip in pictures.
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Carson Club Aims for Sustainability Inspired by the passion our students were showing about tackling environmental issues, Mrs Keys decided to rebrand and relaunch the School’s Eco-Club. Now known as Carson Club, named for noted conservationist Rachel Carson, the group aims to promote sustainability within school, as well as support the wider and address wider environmental issues.
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” - Rachel Carson
One of their first initiatives was to encourage each Tutor Group to create and decorate their own recycling box. The prize was bamboo toothbrushes. Each Tutor Group put in a lot of effort, with the winning Groups being LJC and SAW - well done girls!
Sixth Form students Alisha and Aoife were also keen to promote an Eco-Christmas. Taking over the School’s Instagram, the girls posted Carson Club’s ideas and ways to make our Christmas more sustainable. The School also took the Club’s lead, choosing to send an e-card this year. Alisha writes, “We’re delighted that this year, Cobham Hall decided to send e-Christmas cards, replacing the use of paper cards. Paper cards use up energy and resources, and could ultimately end up in landfill sites after Christmas. Carson Club has also been busy posting on the School’s Instagram our ‘12 Days of Carson’, which have provided the viewers with ways to make this Christmas more eco-friendly. Have a look at the ideas that Carson Club came up with on the Cobham Hall Instagram page.”
Geographers Out and About
Geographers in Year 7 and Sixth Form enjoyed trips out this term to enhance their classroom studies. Year 7 developed their understanding of Food and Farming with a visit to Bore Place Farm. The girls visited the vegetable garden, had a tour of the farm and a lesson about global food issues. Meanwhile, towards the end of term, A Level Geographers undertook a residential trip to Nettlecombe Court. The girls braved the weather to carry out coastal fieldwork to investigate sediment size and beach profiles at Porlock Bay. The week-long trip also involved data analysis. 9
Year 13 Service Experiences As part of our Sixth Form Programme, each student has to undertake either The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award or participate in a Service activity. This term, Year 13 pupils, some of whom spent their service activity supporting local care homes in Singlewell, were awarded their ‘Dementia Friends’ badges. Dementia Friends is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative aiming to raise awareness about how dementia affects a person, and how as a society we can be more considerate. After their training, the girls hosted a fundraising bake sale for the charity. They also took time to see the travelling ‘Knife Angel’ exhibition at Rochester Cathedral. The Angel, regarded as the National Monument against Violence and Aggression, is made out of 100,000 surrendered or seized knives from the UK. The accompanying exhibition explores real-life case studies and examines the facts surrounding knives.
and swords too. It was gruesome. Besides that, the face of the Angel also made a great impression on me. It was one of anguish and despair and accurately reflects the pain that the victims experienced.” For Year 13, timetabled Service comes to an end after the Autumn Term to allow them more time to focus on Summer examinations. Their last activities saw them visit Medway Open Award Centre, a charity offering The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to local young people, and Medway Water Sports Centre. The girls checked and organised over 200 expedition rucksacks, and washed and checked buoyancy aids.
“It was a heart-breaking experience,” explained Deputy Guardian Teloni. “I didn’t expect to see so many knives that are used for butchering,
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Wellbeing at Cobham Hall A round-up of wellbeing initiatives from across the School this term
Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Take Lead During Awareness Week
From Monday 11th to Friday 15th November, the Anti-Bullying Alliance organised and ran a national campaign for Anti-Bullying Week, with the theme of ‘Change Starts with Us’. At Cobham Hall, our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors took the lead in organising a range of activities. Supported by Miss Fenice, these included an assembly to introduce themselves, a Kindness Card activity, joining the campaign’s ‘Odd Socks Day’, designing Anti-Bullying comic strips and encouraging discussion and debate. The Ambassadors were also on hand at lunchtime for girls to speak to. During the week, Miss Fenice also hosted the School’s first Stonewall assembly, raising awareness of tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.
Therapy Dog Ted Debuts on World Mental Health Day
Cobham Hall regularly marks World Mental Health Day with a yellow-themed non-uniform day. Supporting the Young Mind’s #HelloYellow campaign, our Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead Ms Fenice encourages the school community to don their brightest yellows and join her in the Wellbeing Centre at lunchtime for hot chocolate. This year, there was an extra special guest - even wearing his own yellow jacket - waiting to greet the girls: Ted the greyhound. Dogs at Cobham Hall are not an unusual sight - resident pups include Bella and Jess, Headmistress Ms Roberts’s Golden Retriever and Black Labrador; Ariel, Ms Fenice’s Lurcher; and Freddie, Housemistress Mrs Jackson’s German Shepherd, and that’s without mentioning the dogs that occasionally come in with teachers. But what makes Ted special is that he is an official ‘Pets as Therapy (PAT)’ dog. Having undergone an assessment by a PAT vet, Ted is now part of the School’s Wellbeing programme and will be in school regularly for the girls. His owner, English teacher Mrs Bonner said, “Ted makes a great therapy dog. He never tells your secrets and always cares!” Ted was a big hit with the girls, and certainly enjoyed lots of pats and cuddles!
Cobham Hall Hosts The Diana Award for Local Schools’ Training For two days in October, Cobham Hall played host to The Diana Award and a number of local schools.
people from neighbouring schools primary and secondary - were also invited.
has finished. The training looked at bullying in different situations including face-to-face and online.
The Diana Award were holding two one-day Anti-Bullying Training sessions at the School. Along with several Cobham Hall girls receiving training following the success of the scheme last term, this time, young
The programme has a strong peerto-peer focus, with trainers giving young people the skills and confidence to become Anti-Bullying Ambassadors to tackle bullying in their schools long after the training 11
At the end of the day, pupils were encouraged to make an action plan of how to approach bullying issues that may arise in their schools and committed to their roles as AntiBullying Ambassadors.
A creepy, chilling and clear Macbeth...
For the second year running, Drama Teacher Ms Gorman, supported by LAMDA Tutor Mr Mangan, has successfully led Year 9 to a stunning performance at the Woodville Theatre as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival: the full appraisal can be seen opposite, an incredible review of which we are extremely proud. Following the performance, Year 9 pupil Tara wrote, “The Year 9s performed Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ at the Woodville Theatre with the help of Ms Gorman and Mr Mangan: we couldn’t have done it without them! The show went amazingly and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. “One student said ‘It was a fantastic experience, truly memorable, and one that I will never forget’. Another said, “I loved how we got to express Shakespeare’s language in a new way, ‘All the hard work definitely paid off,’ complimented many audience members. “The Year 9s loved every moment of it and would like to thank everyone that helped.” Following their spellbinding performance at the local theatre, the girls gathered again at School to present their work to parents, staff and their peers, to much acclaim.
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... of clever casting and creative and confident ensemble work! “I would like to extend my most
sincere congratulations to Cobham Hall School for your tremendous production of Macbeth as part of the 2019 Shakespeare Schools Festival. It was an excellent night of theatre, and I’d like to highlight a few aspects that really stood out. “I want to congratulate you all on your excellent physical and vocal characterisation. You performed such a powerful and emotional piece of theatre. I was very impressed by your fantastic stagecraft and real focus when deliverying the language which meant that your audience could understand the intricate details of your story, characters and themes – this was a truly impressive achievement! “I loved this company's incredible ensemble work: you created beautiful formations and
choreographies with your bodies - a cauldron, a letter passed across the stage, and characters being lifted into the air by crowds. All of this was very creative and must've taken a lot of rehearsal time and you made it look seamless onstage. What an achievement! “A particular strength of your performance was your clever multiple casting of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I really enjoyed seeing the whole company on stage throughout, and findng the moments when the title characters rotated by the passing of a crown or a gesture. I also loved your minimalist approach to costumes and props. The hoods and capes that everyone wore made you all look like one spooky figure constantly shape-shifting and emerging from the darkness. What was particularly impressive was how you all held onto this dark, scary atmosphere for the whole 13
performance – a huge accomplishment of teamwork and maturity. “I wanted to give a special mention to your wonderful student technicians Lexie and Dami for their hard work and professionalism on the performance day - well done! “Thank you for a creepy, chilling and clear Macbeth of clever casting and creative and confident ensemble work! “Performing Shakespeare’s words on a professional stage takes bravery, resilience, and creativity. You should be immensely proud of what you and your teachers have achieved in this Season of Infinite Variety. “I hope to see Cobham Hall School in the 2020 Festival!” Appraised by Jesse Phillippi, Shakespeare School Festival
Staff and Sixth Form Book Club Alessi, Year 13 I took over the Staff and Sixth Form Book Club halfway through Year 12 and I have enjoyed it immensely. The Club is predominantly staffbased but this is beneficial for the Sixth Formers who attend as it provides more intellectual conversation and a variety of ideas and interpretations of the books we have read. At the beginning of Year 13, I introduced a different method to decide which book will be read next – an online voting system. The list is a mix of recommendations from students and teachers and this method allows us to read books of interest to the majority. The last book we read was Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – it tells the story of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who emigrates to the United States to attend university. The novel traces Ifemelu's life in both countries, threaded by the love story with a high school classmate, Obinze. In an interview, Adichie defines Americanah as a Nigerian word that can describe any of those who have been to the US and return with American affectations. We discussed how the book tackles issues surrounding migration and the effects of this on the bonds of love, how it changes personalities and cultural views, and how it re-interprets identity. Mrs Bonner also recommended A Different Drummer by William Kelley as it links to some of the ideas in Americanah. The next book we have voted to read is My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, a short, darkly funny, hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.
From the ILC... It was books galore this term, with a re-introduction of the Staff and Sixth Form Book Club for the new academic year, with Year 13 pupil Alessi at the helm. You can read more in Alessi’s column on the left, including how she has revamped the way books are chosen for the group to read - a very Round Square Democratic method! There was also a Scholastic Book Fair on site for a week in November, with girls able to purchase half-price books, as well as stationery and posters. Year 12 were able to take a trip to the Drill Hall Library at the Universities of Medway campus - an impressive university library shared by the Medway Campuses of the University of Kent, Greenwich University and Canterbury Christ Church University. Girls were given a tour and were able to find out more about university libraries and learn about library research skills in preparation for their Extended Project Qualifications.
Truth Wins on National Poetry Day
This year’s National Poetry Day theme was ‘Truth’, and so Head of English Miss J West challenged the school community to submit their Truth poems.
Here are the winning entries from Jess and Lexie, who won the Year 7-9 and Year 10+ categories respectively.
Truth Poem - Lexie, Year 10 The sun will rise every morning The moon will take its place every night Strike a match and light will come Blow it out and darkness will replace it All of this is true Yet only when someone said ‘Let there be light’ Was darkness created And only when the moon was made Could the sun chase it endlessly Order needs chaos for it to exist Same as how day needs night Predator needs prey And truth needs lie. 14
Dark and Twisted Creatures - Jess, Year 9 Dark and Twisted Creatures Laying in your stomach A miniature beseecher Telling you to keep quiet Squirming in your innards Turning and contorting Constantly burrowing inwards You can always hear it snorting But people keep on prodding it Squishing it and scrunching it Trying to coax truth out of it Consistently attacking it It’s a lot of work Protecting the lie So helpless and defenceless I decided ‘Enough was enough!’ And I beat it senseless I tore it out of my tummy It started writhing and screaming I squeezed and squeezed until it popped And so the truth was Out.
Cobham Celebrates the Holiday Season The holiday season began at Cobham Hall with the celebration of the American holiday Thanksgiving.
As well as the Catering Team cooking Thanksgiving Dinner for the whole school, with Dining Rooms decorated by Dr Marin, Bligh House also hosted a supper for Boarders. Bligh Head of House, Isis, Year 10, was delighted. “I think that it’s important for girls that come from all different countries and backgrounds to experience the joys of a different culture,” she explained. “I played a very patriotic song called ‘God Bless the USA’ by Lee Greenwood, which definitely had me in the mood to make some scrumptious apple pie! The evening was great, and I couldn’t have imagined a better one. It made me feel as if I was at home. After all, home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.” The festive feeling continued when, on 1st December, girls helped decorate the Christmas Tree. The Science Department brightened a lab with their ‘Chemistree’ and Christmas Jumper Day added a sparkle in the run up to the end of term.
Staff and Sixth Form enjoyed the festivities too - joining in with ‘Colour Week’ organised by Lab Techinician Mrs Howard. Each day staff wore the same colour - from Berry Red and Spruce Green to Christmas Sparkle! We sent our winning Christmas card, designed by Poppy, Year 11 (shown below right) as an e-card this year following Carson Club’s ‘12 Days of an Eco-Christmas lead’.
Annual Christmas events were again popular, with Carols by Candlelight streaming live on Facebook. The Concert followed the Round Square Christmas Fair, where as well as stalls run by the girls, staff members also hosted stalls: handmade jewellery from Miss Frost, homemade crafts from Mrs Thompson, and Usborne books from Mrs Reid. The term came to a close with mince pies and mulled wine in Gilt Hall after the Carol Service, held at Aylesford Priory.
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Izzy Takes School to the Polls As the Autumn Term came towards a close, the news agenda was filled with details of the forthcoming General Election, held across the country the day before we broke up for the Christmas break. Election fever came to Cobham Hall also, as Year 12 Politics student Izzy organised a Mock General Election. Candidates were selected to represent several Parties, and campaigning began in ernest. Guardian Sarah represented the Liberal Democrats, Deputy Guardian Teloni was the Green Party, Alessi and Joanna took the mantle for the Conservatives, Chi Chi stood for Labour, and AK and Tami campaigned for the Brexit Party. Speaking afterwards, Izzy explained “It was organising an election at a previous school that sparked the start of my interest in politics. It created a feeling of community as people were campaigning and excited for the results.” Reflecting on the event at Cobham Hall, Izzy said, “I have found that the election created a buzz throughout the School and I heard lots of political conversation in the corridors. It spreads lots of awareness of how important it is to be politically active.” Did Cobham Hall reflect the mood of the country? Our results were: Liberal Democrats - 37.6% Conservative Party - 28.6% Green Party - 18.5%
Labour Party - 12.3% Brexit Party - 1.1% Spoilt Ballots - 1.6%
We look forward to our next major democratic event: the election of a new Student Leadership Team in the Spring Term!
Debating with Dami and Alex
Older girls are encouraged to set up new clubs if they feel there is interest and demand. This Autumn, Year 11’s Dami and Alex decided to re-instate Debating Club. Here, Dami explains why, and what the club entails. “I love debating. I had never done much of it before joining Cobham Hall but when I came, I was presented with the prospect of joining MUN despite having no idea what it was. But as an overly eager Year 7, I wanted to sign up for as many clubs as humanly possible. As my time at Cobham has progressed I've come to love all aspects of debating even more. However, Alex and I knew that the idea of debating in something as formal as MUN can come across to be quite daunting to some students. We knew that even though so many of them have such an avid minds and strong views they perhaps didn't feel confident enough to voice them. “So Alex and I had the idea of forming our own Debate Club, a place where students could come to feel comfortable enough to discuss topics that they feel passionate about. In the past few weeks we've covered a range of topics: should LGBTQ+ be taught in schools; the justice systems in America and England compared; our views on Donald Trump’s possible impeachment; and how we all feel about what people are doing to combat the issue of climate change and so on. At the end of each session it's the Club members’ choice for what next week's topic will be. “Each week is a fun environment for people to put forth compelling arguments for their views and not feel as though they are being judged but challenged by all the different perspectives. The Club consists of members from Years 7 to 12 but every voice is equally heard and its great to see people working together to form ideas and get to know each other a little more. And so, I do strongly advise everyone, regardless of year, regardless of experience, to come along on a Friday because it is bound to be great.” 16
COBMUN. DEBATE. DISCUSS. DECIDE
COBMUN
-DEBATE. DISCUSS. DECIDE-
MUN NEWS Issue 5, October 2019
Meet the Generals Every year we see budding leaders emerge to run our October whole school Model United Nations conference. This year we meet Maci and Heather. Two new Generals are in town!
Maci and Heather: Secretary Generals.
Maci is dressed in her bright pink suit, it’s clear she’s no wallflower and Heather is dressed to kill. It’s a winning team, who seem to take organising this big event in their stride. Both have always been invested in global affairs and have a strong social conscience. Model United Nations (MUN) is the perfect way for them to gain some political prowess before becoming world leaders. Here we interview them on their top tips, thoughts and ideas about the day… What’s an issue in the world today that you’re most passionate about? Heather: I’m very passionate about the misrepresentation of young people in politics, and think that MUN and integrating young people into politics in schools at such a young age can plant roots towards politics in the future. Our society can be ageist in believing that older people know best, but we make up a lot of the population and have the right to have our say, and this is just one step into doing that. What do you hope to inspire most in the Year 7s? Maci: What I’d like to inspire the most
in the Year 7s is the fundamental ideas that you don’t naturally have to be a born leader or naturally be a good debater but its about being able to find empowerment amongst your peers and being able to observe more experienced delegates and take inspiration from them to aid your own development of debating skills. How are you finding the day? Maci: I think so far it’s been a really exciting day, although it started off relatively slow-paced in the committees, being in the senior debating it began to take off quite rapidly. We have a number of new delegates who have taken rather well to the process. Although perhaps a language barrier may hinder them, they pulled through and have done very well considering many aren’t English native speakers and MUN is like an entirely new language. What have you learnt from the day? Heather: One of the biggest things I’ve learnt is management; how to manage a conference correctly and efficiently. Although Maci and I have chaired before, it’s a completely different responsibility from chairing committees to running General Assembly and making sure everything behind the scenes is running smoothly.
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What have you been discussing in your committees? Maci: In my committee we’ve been discussing the prevention and how to target cleaning up our oceans. We had a resolution submitted by Poland, which provided solutions to plastic packaging and singe use plastic, and how we can cut down on it. Why do you feel MUN is important? Heather: I feel it’s important to encourage young people to get involved in politics. Especially for me, MUN has given me the jumping point to go into politics and want to go into that career choice and opening younger people’s minds to politics to show our political world isn’t as daunting as it may seem. Does debating make you feel empowered especially as a girl? Heather: Absolutely! Although, nothing really comes of the debate, it does make you feel that you’re doing something and educating the other people who you’re debating with and even possibly changing their opinion. When children are educating children, I believe it’s great as you can relate to the people who are telling you these things. Page 1
Issue 5, October 2019
MUN NEWS
Dynamic Delegates Receive Recognition Written by the Press Team and awarded by Committee Chairs
It’s great to see the whole school getting involved in important issues, but sometimes there are those who particularly stand out from the crowd. For
The Winners... Drum Roll, Please
Best Senior Delegate Damilola: Russia Best Junior Delegate Poppy: Indonesia
these individual candidates we have selected some speakers who deserve their own special mention and these can be seen opposite.
Best Ambassador Ezara: Mexico Most Outspoken Anahita: Belgium Most Likely to Start WWIII Jena: Ivory Coast Bravest Junior Kiera: Russia
Anahita, Year 7, representing Belgium, speaks confidently here in her committee
Bravest Senior Anna: Mongolia
Opening Ceremony Written by Mrs West Every year Cobham Hall is lucky enough to run two full school conferences on the most important issues that affect our world and the people in it. Firstly, it’s a pleasure to hear the voices of so many young women who are privileged to live in a country where gender equality, though not completely solved, is much less of a daily concern. Bearing this in mind, this year the focus is on women: their rights, their opportunities to succeed as entrepreneurs, and their entitlement to have a childhood which is not marred by cultural traditions such as child marriage.
Maci presented opening statements as Cobham’s MUN got underway. The other focus for the conference is the environment. Never before has our planet been so threatened by human activity. Committees will explore air pollution, the effect of climate change in unurbanized slums and the issue of ocean preservation. Secretary General Maci, Year 12, successfully opened the conference in the morning with an introduction to all the delegates and a particular welcome for Year 7s, many of whom may have never taken part in such an exciting event. It was clear from her opening speech that Maci was keen for the whole school to get involved and to acknowledge global affairs. As even from a young age, being aware of our responsibility to become active participants in debating about and changing our futures is essential. She also stressed the importance of listening and responding to others, keeping an open mind, using one’s intuition and being a creative thinker. The safe environment of School will hopefully provide the most comfortable and fun backdrop for some serious debating about people, places and politics. Page 2
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Issue 5, October 2019
MUN NEWS
Can you solve the MUN Scandal Sramble? Which scandal relates to which country? Scandal
1) When the XXXXXXX Party campaigned in 1997, they pledged to support a European Union Directive banning tobacco company sponsorship and advertising. Bernie Ecclestone, the president and CEO of Formula One Management, was not happy with the pledge, since all of the leading Formula One teams had tobacco company sponsorship. After the XXXXXXXX Party had won the election, Ecclestone met with the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, and walked away with an exemption from the ban for Formula One.
Country Nigeria
When the exemption came to light, three newspapers launched an inquiry, and after some sleuthing, they found that Ecclestone had donated £1 million to the XXXXXX Party.
2) The lower house of the XXXXXX parliament has been criticized in the past as being nothing more than a rubber stamp for the President’s initiatives. This perception was reinforced in May 2010 when a new law regarding drunk driving passed the house on its first reading with 440 out of 450 votes. A landslide! However, there was one small problem. Only 88 deputies had shown up for work that day.
UK
A video emerged that showed the deputies running from vacant seat to vacant seat, pushing the voting buttons of their absent colleagues. 3) Incredibly, in a five-year rule, this dictator managed to take between $3 and $5 BILLION US dollars of public money. In 2014, an international corruption team froze more than $458 million in illicit funds that the dictator and his conspirators hid around the world. They are still trying to recover and repatriate the missing funds!
USA
4) A golf course, ostrich farm, private zoo and full-size Spanish galleon replica were just some of the attractions at the multimillion dollar 137-hectare estate of this former president. Allegedly, $40 billion US dollars’ worth of assets disappeared during his time in office.
Russia
5) This country’s president has a long string of misdemeanors, yet, despite this, was inaugurated as President in 2016. The list of allegations and scandal includes: failed business deals and bankruptcy, marital rape, sexual assault, racial discrimination and intimidation.
Ukraine
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Don’t Forget This Year’s Committees at COBMUN
Environment, a key topic that we cannot escape in our current political climate. It is constantly surrounding us in the media from worldwide climate strikes to Greta Thunberg’s powerful speeches. Now Global Warming is affecting slums. Cobham Hall discusses the issue.
Here our writer Mabel considers the impacts of the Here our writer Mabel topics under discussion at considers the impacts the conference of the topics under discussion at the conference
To begin, the Environmental Committee (Junior) started to debate the banning of Environment, a key that wewas met trading single usetopic plastics. This with several solutions such as cannot escape in our current banning single use plastics 2040, using reusable political climate. It isbyconstantly straws, cups, bags and finingfrom large surrounding us in the media corporations. Questions posed by the worldwide climate strike to Greta USA included “How are you going Thunberg’s powerful speeches. to maketoday sure allCobham future plastics can be However hall takes recyclable?”, tackling the issues of largeon the issue. scale change.
Further pushing the debate on the female entrepreneurs addressing the environment forward the Senior issue of inequality in the wider business Environment Committee sat down to world, known for the large gender gap debate the question of the preservation demonstrated by this statistic: ‘only one of the ocean especially dealing with in 13 women are looking at starting a contamination such as the great garbage business vs one in five men’. patch which contains 3.6 trillion pieces of plastic and is roughly three times the These issues were taken on by the of inequality size of France. This was received with resolution issue proposed by Kuwait, in the wider mixed views, however, Poland stated containingbusiness a solution world. includingWhich equal is known fo large gender gap shown with “Poland thinks it is very possible to turn funding forthe female-run business. climate change aroundthe to help species Speaking about writing the resolution, Further pushing debate on to environment become less sickforward and to impose fines the senior Jessica, Year 12, made the following to environment countries who don’t follow” “Writing the resolution has in 13 wom committee as satthey down tostatement:these statistics ‘only one found way to prevent further damage to allowed me to expand my knowledge debate the question of the are looking at starting a business vs thepreservation ocean. thein issue lackingthese femaleissues were of the ocean especiallydeeper intoone fiveofmen’. entrepreneurs and how it must be dealing with contamination such as taken on by the resolution propose challenged.” the great garbage patch which by Kuwait, containing solution
More debate was sparked in world
and is roughly three times the size of run business. A statement from to women’s welfareBakker in the COBMUN France. This was received with mixed Jessica on how she wrote th Studying in an all-girls school gives us an debate by focusing on child marriage, view however Poland state “Poland resolution “writing the resolution h immediate curiosity into women’s which sees 37,000 girls forced into every thinks it is very possible to turn allowed me to expand my knowledg welfare and inequality around the world. day. China proposed the resolution climate change around to help deeper into the issue of lacking Today these issues were debated by two stating the legal age of marriage should species to become less sick and to female entrepreneurs and how it committees: Economic Society (ECOSOC) be 16 for all countries. This ignited a impose fines to countries who don’t must be changed”. and Human Rights. large debate with delegations debating follow” as they found way to preventfor and against due to moral judgments further damage the ocean. of and cultural traditions of each country. ECOSOC debated thetoempowerment Human rights took a different 4 Other committees discussed approach to women’s welfare in the issue of female today’s debate by focusing on child
To begin, environmental committee (junior) started debate the More debateto was sparked in the World banning of Organisation trading single use between Health Committee the USA Belgium on the impact of plastics. Thisand was met with several plastics on air pollution, following the solution such as banning single use recent statistics that 2.4 million deaths plastics by 2040, using reusable percups, year were to fining air pollution. straws, bagsdue and large With the USA claiming that we cannot corporations. Along with some function without Belgium questions posedplastics by theand USA “how pressing that there are other environmentally are you going to make sure all future friendly plastics can alternatives. be recyclable?”, tackling Page 4 of large-scale change. the issues
Other committees discussed the contains 3.6 trillion pieces of plastic including equal funding for female issue of female empowerment… Human rights took a different approach
Cobham Hall Heads to India
During their time in India, the girls and Mr Haas heard from Keynote speakers, inckuding Kailash Satyarthi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Sofia the Robot. They visited Mandu and saw 16th Century ruins of Mosques and Palaces, and were moved by a visit to Gyanoday School. The School opened in the slums to educate children through to Grade 8 (Year 9). The School then aims to raise money for students to continue their education.
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This year, the Round Square International Conference was hosted by The Emerald Heights International School in Indore, India. There was a post-conference tour in Jaipur. Here’s the trip in pictures
Delving Deeper into Language
This term, Head of Languages Miss Caro introduced several new ways to explore languages a little more. This page gives a glimpse into the new activities this term, as well as other things going on within the Languages Department.
An Introduction to British Sign Language
European Day of Languages Treasure Hunt
To celebrate European Day of Languages, Miss Caro challenged the girls to a Treasure Hunt. With Amazon vouchers up for grabs, the girls had to locate QR codes around the School and translate the words that appeared when they scanned the code. Well done to winner Mercedes, one of our Spanish short stay students.
Celebrate, Discuss and Support with New Clubs
Three new Language extra-curricular clubs were launched this term - a Spelling Bee, a Scrabble Club, and a World Film Club. The Spelling Bee and Scrabble Club were introduced to help those wanted to improve and develop their skills, whilst World Film Club is to engage those wishing to discuss language and culture a little more deeply. Films have included Ratatouille for the younger girls, and Goodbye Lenin for those in Years 10 and above.
One lunchtime this term, staff and students were invited to a taster lesson on British Sign Language (BSL). Many were eager to take part following an earlier assembly by Head of Languages Miss Caro, along with PA Mrs Elliman, a former BSL Interpreter. The assembly demonstrated how isolating it can feel to be left out of a conversation because you can’t hear or understand. By signing between themselves, Miss Caro and Mrs Elliman were able to impress upon the girls that for the deaf community, not being able to hear a conversation can make them feel excluded. Learning BSL not only enables the deaf and hard of hearing community to communicate with more people, but it can also be used elsewhere. Miss Caro, after the birth of her first child, discovered that learning sign language was a great way to communicate with her son before he was able to say his first words. She explained, “Learning BSL at a Baby Tiny Talk class just opened my eyes about the struggles Deaf people face, as well as opening a great way of communicating with my baby.” The taster lesson was a great introduction to learning BSL. Girls were able to sign their names, as well as learn some of the signs for animals, colours and greetings. The photo above shows the girls signing the first initial of their name.
Classics Club Put on Plays Latin teacher Dr Marin hosts Classics Club and this term saw girls in Years 7 to 9 put on Mini-Greek Plays. Held in the Drama Studio, the girls invited their peers and members of staff to their performance of several classic Greek Mythology stories, including Midas and Pandora’s Box. The girls did a great job on their lunchtime show!
French Celebration
Mrs Russell’s Year 8 French Class enjoyed an end of term celebration, with girls bringing in French-themed treats to enjoy in the last class of the term. 18
Maestros Give Masterclass Performances Our top musicians gave a Maestros’ Concert this term, accompanied by the School’s brand new Steinway. The evening saw a number of girls perform classic pieces on the new piano whilst others had piano accompaniment to stunning vocal solos and a wonderful violin performance.
Benesonantes in the Community
It’s been a busy term for our Chamber Choir, Benesonantes.
Not only do they join the School Choir for the annual events of Carols by Candlelight and the Carol Service, but many also performed solo pieces at the Maestros’ Concert. However, as a group, Benesonantes has been out and about flying the Cobham Hall flag in the community. They were personally invited by Gravesham Choral Society to be the
Children’s Choir in their performance of Rutter’s Mass of the Children and Blackford’s Mirror of Perfection. As well as joining the Choral Society, Benesonantes also sang Rutter’s ‘God be in my Head’, and Victor Johnson’s ‘Hope is the Breath of Music’. Benesonantes also had the joy and privilege to be part of the Winter Choirs Festival at London’s prestigious Southbank Centre. The girls headed straight from their
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London performance to Cobham College Retirement Home in the local village, where they spread festive cheer with the residents there, regaling them with Christmas carols. As a thank you and congratulations after all their hard work this term, the girls were then treated to a meal out with Head of Music Miss Clements and Voice and Piano Tutor Mr Haas. The perfect way to relax ahead of the final Christmas events of the Autumn Term.
#BoardingLife From the start of term BBQ to Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner, Boarders have enjoyed plenty of opportunities to share good times over good food. They’ve celebrated Nigerian Independence Day, German Unity Day and an untold number of birthdays!
The Christmas Dinner, followed by the popular staff entertainment, provided light relief for our Year 13 and Year 11 girls, who had their trial examinations at the end of term. The outings started in September, with the now traditional trip to IKEA for furnishings and fariy lights, to give their bedrooms a personal stamp. Weekdays have seen the girls stay local, with trips to nearby restaurants and dessert bars, as well as activities such as toboganning and bowling.
Trips further afield were taken at the weekends, and these included Canterbury, Spitalfields Market and paintballing. There was also time for simpler pleasures - baking brownies, making pizzas and enjoying a walk into Cobham Village earlier in the term. The start of the new academic year also saw each Boarding House elect their new Head of House. The new Heads can be seen below. Well done girls!
Congratulations to our New Heads of House:
Gillian (Brooke House), Dami (Main Hall) and Isis (Bligh House)
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Keep up-to-date with all the adventures on Twitter:
@CobhamBoarding
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Match Results Netball U19 Kent Netball Tournament Our U19 Netball Team competed in the highly prestigious Kent Schools’ NetballTournament. They were the first ever U19 team to compete in the Tournament for Cobham Hall. PE Teacher Miss Fautley reported, “Despite being slightly nervous in the first couple of matches and having to adapt their play to the tough conditions in torrential rain, the girls performed outstandingly. They went from strength to strength from one match to the next, which was reflected in their results. We are incredibly proud of the girls and their utter determination.”
Sporting Success at Cobham Hall Gold, Silver and Bronze at British Schools’ Biathlon Our young athletes gave superb performances at the British Schools’ Biathlon Qualifiers in October. Year 7 pupil Amber, following on from her stunning display at the Somerhill Cross-Country event (see
below) stormed to the Gold Medal in the U12 category. Success was to be found also in the U15 and U16 age categories, where Natasha (Year 9) took Silver and Enya (Year 10) took Bronze in their respective categories. We look forward to the March finals!
U16 vs Benenden 17-24 Player of the Match Nifemi Year 7 vs Wilmington 14-3 Player of the Match Lindi Swimming Gala vs Benenden
PE Teacher Miss Fautley commented, “We had a fantastic Gala against Benenden’s A team. We had girls competing from every Year Group in Junior, Intermediate and Senior teams. The Gala was incredibly close, losing by only one point in the Juniors, four in the Intermediates and six in the Seniors. Many of the girls won some of their races and more impressively girls were beating and swimming very close to their PB’s. This was an exciting first Gala!”
Gala vs King’s Rochester Cobham Hall A Team - 52 Points King’s A Team - 31 Points Cobham Hall B Team - 30 Points King’s B Team - 14 Points
Excellent Performance from Cross-Country Juniors A team of six Cobham Hall Year 7 and 8 cross-country runners attended the Kent Independent Schools Cross Country Championships at Schools at Somerhill, Tonbridge. Parent Mrs Matthews helped on the day and recalled the event, “The weather and conditions underfoot were perfect for this gruelling 3K run, renowned as one of the toughest cross-country courses in the South East. Cobham Hall was one of 10 schools competing in the U13 event, with many county and national standard runners in the mix. “Out of 80 girls, four of our girls finished in the top 30. Amber held third for much of the race, but then just missed out on a medal. With Amber, Olivia and Anna all competing a year young, the overall results were impressive.” 22
PE teacher Miss Fautley agreed, “All the girls demonstrated true grit and determination, performing to the very best of their ability and flew the Cobham Hall flag high. A special mention goes to Amber, who just missed out on a podium position, coming 4th out of 80 girls. However, she was the first Year 7 to cross the finish line! We had a fantastic afternoon and would also like to thank Mrs Matthews for all her help on the day.” Cobham Hall came home fourth in the team standings. Individual results and times were as follows: Amber (Year 7), 4th 11:49 (1st Year 7) Hannah (Year 8), 12th, 12:26 Poppy (Year 8), 22nd, 13:05 Olivia (Year 7), 28th, 13:23 Anna (Year 7), 40th, 14:28 Adele (Year 8), 52nd, 14:52
First Place in Kent Schools’ Championship Qualifiers There was great excitement in Mid-November following the outstanding performance from Cobham Hall girls at the Dartford and Gravesham Qualifier for the Kent Schools Cross-country Championships . PE teacher Miss Fautley enthused when sharing the results, “The girls were incredible, with fantastic team and individual results.” Head of PE Mrs Hooper added, “We are so proud of all the girls who competed.” The team was made up of girls from several Year Groups: Amber, Olivia, Anna, Olivia and Alana (Year 7), Poppy and Hannah (Year 8), Elena and Natasha (Year 9), Enya (Year 10) and Alice (Year 11). Fantastically, Amber and Natasha won gold medals in the Year 7 and Year 8/9 races respectively, and Hannah took the Bronze medal in the Year 8/9 race. Incredibly, all 11 girls who competed placed in the top 20, with seven making top ten finishes, and five in the top five for their age categories. The School celebrated these achievements in Assembly, where the girls were presented with their medals, and upon their request, they also found out the team results for the first time. Loud cheering followed the announcement that not only had the School secured individual golds, but came first in both the Year 7 and Year 8/9 Team categories!
Ones to Watch: Individual Sporting Success in Diverse Disciplines Sailing Success for Enya We’re delighted to hear of success for Enya, Year 10. In her first Junior Sailing Regatta in the summer, she finished an impressive second place. She has now also been awarded the Alan Dutton Trophy for Overall Most Improved Sailor Across the Season in the Wilsonian Sailing Club, and Sailor to Look Out For, progressing into a Laser within only one year of sailing.
Felicity Dances to Bronze Medals
Year 10 pupil Felicity took part in The Sevenoaks Dance Competition with five solo dances in ballet, modern, lyrical, tap and song and dance.
Bella Competes at Horse of the Year
In October, Year 10 pupil Bella and her horse, Perfect Puzzle, competed at the prestigious Horse of the Year show. Commenting afterwards, Bella said “It was an unbelievable experience and I am proud of both mine and my pony’s performance. This was by far the biggest show I had ever competed at, and with the most amount of people watching me! “I didn’t quite realise how big the jumps would be until I walked the course and some were nearly the same height as me!”
We’re delighted to share that she won five bronze medals as she came third in each dance!
Gold Medals for Natasha
Natasha, Year 9, has had great success in the swimming pool this term. It started in September when she competed at the Medway Championships Gala. She swam the 100m freestyle with a time of 1:05:38, and headed to the finals of that event, beating her personal best and achieving second place. In October, Natasha took part in the U14 Kent Development Championships. After fantastic swims, Natasha placed either first or second in all six swimming events in the gala. She won three silver and three gold medals. 23
Lenox Retain Inter-House Netball Glory Congratulations go to Lenox House this term, who won the Inter-House Netball Tournament. “It was the best standard of Netball I have witnessed in the Inter-House Tournament since starting at Cobham Hall 12 years ago,” said Head of PE Mrs Hooper when announcing the results. “It’s fantastic to see the girls playing so well for their Houses.” Players of the Tournament were: Lilly Z, Alana, Ola, Abadere, Poppy, Jena and Daisy for the Juniors, and Cora, Amelia, Aoife, Tife, Hannah, Rachel, Felicity, Maisy, Amber, Jess and Rhiannon. Some girls won Player of the Match more than once in the round robin tournament so well done to all girls playing so determinedly for the House! The overall results were as follows:
1st Lenox 2nd Darnley 3rd Clifton 4th Richmond
Beautiful Barbados Netball Tour
- Tara, Year 9
During the October Half-Term break, 23 students and three teachers went to Barbados for a Netball Tour. We all had an early Sunday wake up to get to school for 6:00am! Our flight departed from Gatwick mid-morning and after a long but fun flight, we arrived in Barbados and transferred to the lovely Butterfly Beach Hotel, where we swam in the pool and had a great dinner! The following morning, we enjoyed an early breakfast at the hotel then went on a Jeep Safari Island Tour which lasted all day! This was a highlight of the trip because the views of the beautiful island were outstanding. We played our favourite pop songs, singing along with the lyrics, and went off-road down bumpy lanes, which was so fun! Day 3 saw us complete a two-hour coaching session with local Barbadian coaches. They were amazing and prepared us well for our forthcoming matches. We learned new techniques and great phrases such as “The ball is not hot!” The day ended with us relaxing by the pool, before our first match the next day, against Springers Memorial School. The Juniors amazingly beat Springers in the 30-degree heat which was incredible. The Seniors lost overall but won two quarters and played very well. Our second match was the following day. The Juniors won, showing fantastic sportsmanship and although the Seniors lost, they showed outstanding resilience pulling together a tough second quarter and closed the gap, to finish by winning the last quarter convincingly. Another close match with lots learned. We had our final netball match on our last full day in Barbados. Both Seniors and Juniors played really well but both teams lost against a tough club team! We all learned a lot from each of the matches. Between our second and third matches, we had a rest day, and enjoyed a catamaran cruise. We had the opportunity to visit shipwrecks, snorkel through coral reefs, and swim with turtles. We had a lovely buffet lunch on board before returning back to land. We also got to stand outside Rihanna’s house! We enjoyed a relaxing last morning in Barbados then went to the airport for an overnight flight back to England. It was a shock when we arrived back to 0-degrees compared to 30! We all had an amazing time and learned new tactics we will continue to use back in England. 24
The Start and Finish of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Journey Introducing Year 9 to The Award
Collecting Gold at the Palace
As part of the Year 9 Curriculum, girls are introduced to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to develop the crucial skills needed if they wish to undertake their Bronze Award.
At the other end of the School, Kathryn and Izzy, who left in the Summer, were invited to St James’s Palace to collect their Gold Awards. What an achievement and well done, girls!
They headed out to the lawn behind T-Block during one such lesson to learn how to pitch tents. Separated into groups to put the tents up, DofE Manager Mrs Hackwell assured us that great fun was had by all!
Lower School Raise £500 for Education East Africa
Macmillan Coffee Morning Raises
£1000
Organised by Laboratory Technician Mrs Howard, Staff and Sixth Form students contributed cakes - made or shop bought - for a Macmillan Coffee Morning. With prizes for best cake available, hungry guests could purchase a whole cake, a sample platter or a small piece. In total, £1000 was raised for Macmillan.
Lower School were excited to host a bake sale to raise funds for Education East Africa this term.
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The four Tutor Groups worked together showing great teamwork and commitment to raise £527, with thanks to matching from the Round Square Fund. That is a whole lot of cake!
School Snippets
Cobham Hall’s Creative Spirit Girls in Lower School Art Club, led by Sixth Form Art Scholars Tiffany, Christine and Lily, produced tie-dyed t-shirts this term.
Megablock Games in Spanish Year 13 went back to childhood using megablocks to help with sentence building in A Level Spanish.
Investigating Enzymes Year 10 were investigating the effect of the enzyme trypsin on the digestion of milk. They measured the speed of the reaction by timing how long it took for the enzyme to digest the protein – the solution turns from a milk colour to clear when the reaction is finished.
Map Reading in Year 7 Year 7 practiced their map reading skills during a Geography lesson this term.
Convection Currents Testing Methods
Year 8 investigated convection currents during a Chemistry lesson.
Year 13 were testing the effect of a condition on the rate of respiration of a microorganism. In this case, they were testing yeast in a range of temperatures or pHs or with a range of sugars.
Spanish Armada Natural History Year 9 discovered more about Earthquakes and Volcanoes on a visit to the Natural History Museum this term.
Edible Coral Polyps Year 9 girls have been studying oceans and spent time in class making coral polyps - using biscuits and sweets! 26
Year 8 were studying the Spanish Armada this term. Miss Williams had them re-enact this historical event during class. It helped the girls consider which factors were most important in its failure.
Searching for Starch Year 9 were testing leaves for starch during a lesson this term. You can see the result below: the blue/black colour is where the leaf has been exposed to light and so it is photosynthesizing; the pale yellow section is where no starch was present – this part was not exposed to sunlight.
House Spirit
Our Student Leadership Team kicked off the term with a bang. Not only introducing fabulous new House T-Shirts complete with House emblems, the girls organised an Ice-Breaker picnic with Lower School, as well as a whole school House Spirit Day. Experiencing this for the first time, Aoife and Alisha, Year 12, write, “After a long summer away, no time was wasted by our Student Leadership Team getting us back into Cobham life with an enjoyable day packed full of House Spirit!
“Friday was when it all began! Before Saturday’s many adventures Sarah, our Guardian, and her team, planned an exciting evening starting off with a water balloon fight on our grounds, before a barbeque and ice cream van outside. Though it didn’t end there, as girls then moved inside to watch High School Musical (and have a sing along) whilst munching on popcorn. It was such an enjoyable evening for all the girls.
Modelling Digestion
“On Saturday 7th September the whole school took part in House Spirit Day, with each house participating in multiple events. It was such a marvellous start to the new academic year and a brilliant way for students in all year groups to interact with one another, especially the new Year 7’s. The morning was filled with many enjoyable events, including tug of war, egg and spoon races and capture the flag. “To start the morning off, each member of Clifton, Darnley, Lenox and Richmond had the opportunity to decorate their house flag, bringing together the artistic and creative skills of each house member. It was great to see what each house came up with as there were many interesting ideas and thoughts that went into each flag. “Thank you so much to our incredible Student Leadership Team for their extraordinary planning and to all the hard work they put in to such a successful House Spirit Event!”
Building Resilience to Extremism
Year 8 modelled digestion: using pestle and mortar to represent the mouth and teeth, a plastic bag to represent the stomach and tights to represent the intestines - the ultimate aim – to produce faeces!
Me and You Education came in this term to raise awareness of, and explain how to build resilience to extremism. The presentation was well received. 27
Elders’ News
Cobham Hall’s Elders follow a variety of paths after school, and we always enjoy hearing of their successes. Here are some recent good news stories. An Elder and have news you’d like to share? Please contact Julia Booth via boothj@cobhamhall.com or submit via: www.cobhamhall.com/submit.
Wedding Belles! Congratulations to Kate Kate Forster (nee French) and Charlotte Mair (nee Roles) (Both attended 2002 – 2009)
Our congratulations go to Elder Kate French on her marriage to Leo Forster on 28th September 2019 at St John the Baptist Church, Meopham, and Elder Charlotte Roles, who married Dean Mair on 12th October 2019 in a Teepee Ceremony at her Mother’s home in Kent.
In Memoriam Penny Tebbit We were sad to hear this term of the passing of Penny Tebbit. Penny was a former Governor of the School.
Elizabeth Barry We are also saddened to share the news that Elizabeth Barry has also passed. Elizabeth was Head of Languages when she retired in 2014 after 10 years’ service.
Attendants at each other’s weddings, the girls were also attended by fellow Elders Annabel Ashworth, Chantelle Roles and Kamiji Ebun-Cole.
Kate, with Kamiji, Annabel and Charlotte
After leaving Cobham Hall Kate studied Sports Performance at Bath University. Kate is part of the Olympic Modern Pentathlete Squad due to compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Kate also competed successfully in the Rio Olympics in 2016, placed 5th after a consistent performance throughout all events, including winning the riding event with a perfect clear round. Charlotte completed her PGCE in Early Years and is now part of the management team at ‘Dimples Day Nursery’. She loves working at the Nursery and is determined to spread the word about the importance of the early years. Charlotte would welcome Cobham Hall students to attend their Open Days to show students that there is a career path in Early Years and just how rewarding it is.
Charlotte, with attendants including Annabel, Chantelle and Kate 28
Charlotte is also a personal trainer and employs someone part-time to work for her. She takes several classes and 1-1 sessions throughout the week and fits these in around working at the Nursery. Congratulations to both ladies.
Unicorn News and Events
Cobham Hall’s Parent-Teacher Association, Unicorn, is dedicated to raising funds and running events for the benefit of all at Cobham Hall. Here are details of their next event. To find out more, you can email the Committee: unicorn@cobhamhall.com or visit www.cobhamhall.com/unicorn
THE BIG QUIZ
Written by Amanda Matthews, Year 7 Parent
Parents and friends of the Unicorn Association gathered in the Gilt Hall for The Big Quiz one evening in mid-September. With pens poised, and much scratching of heads, seven teams of ten wizards answered cleverly worded questions on Cities, Film, History, Science, Music, Advertising Slogans, Sport, Geography, and Connections. Parent and Quiz Master Stephen tested our minds and mettle with his well-researched topics; the Music round proving trickiest for some teams. A half-time pause in proceedings for a delicious fish and chip supper gave us the hearty boost we needed to dig deep for the second half. ‘Advertising Slogans’ quickly swung the scores – especially for tables who’d cunningly played their Jokers. Quiz Master’s able assistants Alex, Keely, Francesca and Rachel gathered our rushed scribbles and collated points. With a roomful of historians, scientists, teachers, film buffs and TV addicts, it was anyone’s guess which team would emerge victorious. Table 4, the Quizzie Rascals were crowned champions, each player delighted with their winner’s bottle of fizz. Table 1, Grape Expectations speeded into silver, while Table 2, aka ’50 Shades of Grey Matter’, took the bronze. Simple Minds (I’m saying nothing!) went home happy with their wooden spoons and a consolation bottle. Raffle prizes included a life size bear – destined for a five-year-old’s bedroom - plus wine and chocs, all wrapped to perfection and gratefully received. A fantastic £700 was raised on the night, which will go towards the building of the Cobham Hall swimming pool. A fun night was had by all, a perfect ice breaker for new and ‘old’ parents to get to know each other. See you all again next year!
Drizzle Doesn’t Stop Dazzle Written by Marc Massar, Year 9 Parent
Cobham Hall’s annual fireworks celebration was a great success. This year the fun happened on Saturday, 9th of November, a few days after Guy Fawkes Night. The Unicorn Association sponsors the Fireworks Night every year to raise funds for the school. This year, Unicorn is supporting efforts to raise funds to upgrade the School’s swimming pool. I know my daughter will appreciate it! Every year the event runs the risk of weather disruptions, but we live in England, and the wet didn’t slow anyone down! We had great attendance, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. And even with a little drizzle in the air, the fireworks were spectacular. This event requires a great deal of help from parents and staff volunteers, and the Unicorn Association would like to thank all of the volunteers for giving their time. Your efforts contributed to another successful celebration. 29
Barbie: An Icon Redesigned? By Andrea Lockheart Lower School Tutor and Art and Photography Teacher
For many of us, Barbie brings
to mind one image: an unattainably thin-waisted, blonde-haired, white plastic doll, cruising around California in her fluorescent pink 4x4. Over recent decades, concerns have abounded around the impact of Barbie dolls on the mental health and self esteem of young girls, as well as their damaging role in fuelling gender stereotypes. And rightly so. 2019 marks Barbie’s 60th birthday. But what’s not yet widely known, though, is that Barbie and its manufacturer, Mattel, are taking innovative steps to redesign their creative approach and reshape the narrative for our children. They’re taking strides to open up the minds of their young consumer base, shift deep-rooted preconceptions and
help kids with differences live a more enjoyable life. In an effort to reflect the company’s diverse clientele, accessibility and inclusivity have become the bedrock of Barbie’s design process. Newer dolls represent a variety of skin tones, hair textures, and body types, earning Mattel a spot as the most inclusive and diverse doll line in the market. This year, a partnership with 13-year old Jordan Reeves has sparked the creation of its first-ever doll with a prosthetic leg — an unexpected culmination of Reeves’ years of disability activism. By sharing her experiences and knowledge first hand, Reeves has helped Mattel create products that genuinely speak to its diverse consumer base. Barbie’s representation of disability is certainly a step in the right direction, and proof that the brand is actively driving a more inclusive society. But it’s also addressing and redefining deep-rooted gender
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stereotypes—a hot topic given recent research highlighting that girls as young as five are aware of limitations as to what they can accomplish due to their gender. With this in mind, 2019 marks the unveiling of Barbie’s Judge Doll, available in a variety of different skin tones and hairstyles. This decision came following the staggering statistic that just 33% of sitting U.S. state judges are women. What’s more, Barbie has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money to close the Dream Gap, supporting non-profits that drive female empowerment. As Barbie says goodbye to stilettos and hello to gavels, I hope we’ll see other brands follow suit and emphasise purpose-driven and human-centric design. I hope we’ll see marketing and advertising place inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of their messaging. And I hope we’ll see brands actively change the narrative and chart a brighter, more inclusive future for our next generation.
Stay in touch with Cobham Hall! Website: www.cobhamhall.com
Keep updated with the latest news, and access term dates, forthcoming events and more!
/CobhamHall Like us on Facebook and Instagram! See pictures, share achievements, join in with celebrations, catch the latest news, ask questions and more.
@CobhamHall @CobhamBoarding @CobhamLearning @CobhamHallMHWB Follow us on Twitter! Catch daily snippets from all aspects of school life.
www.youtube.com/ cobhamhalluk Subscribe to our YouTube channel! See videos of school life, and watch our Music, Drama, Art and Sports Departments in action.
To keep in touch and up-to-date with Elders’ news and events, visit: www.cobhamhall.com/elders Cobham Hall’s Parent-Teacher Association. To find out about upcoming Unicorn events, visit: www.cobhamhall.com/unicorn
Tasters and Open Mornings
Forthcoming Events
Year 5 Taster Afternoon & Sleepover
Prep and Junior School Harry Potter Experience
(for September 2021 Entry)
Friday 1st/Saturday 2nd May 2020
Wednesday 5th February
Open Morning
Half-Term
Saturday 2nd May 2020
Friday 14th to Sunday 23rd February
Lower and Middle School Taster Afternoon & Sleepover
Unicorn Association Candlelit Ball Saturday 14th March
Friday 2nd/Saturday 3rd October 2020
Prep and Junior School Netball Tournament
Open Morning
Saturday 21 March
Saturday 3rd October 2020
School Musical Production of ‘Oliver’
Sixth Form Taster Sleepover & Open Morning
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Wednesday 26th, Thursday 26th and Friday 27th March
Friday 13th / Saturday 14th November 2020
For information on any of the above events, or to register your interest in attending, please email enquiries@cobhamhall.com 31
Cobham, Kent, DA12 3BL, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1474 823371 enquiries@cobhamhall.com www.cobhamhall.com
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