Maidstone Grammar School for Girls Non sibi sed omnibus
The Newsletter March 2015
End of Term Message By the Leadership Team At the end of this term we have again been reminded of the privilege it is to be part of MGGS. Almost on a daily basis we have been informed of results of individual students competing in sport at a very high level and of our sports teams’ successes. Earlier in the term the Music Concert and the School Production also illustrated how extremely talented our students are. In addition, we have again seen the generosity and motivation of our students to raise money for charities and to have a real thought and concern for those less fortunate than themselves. Students have also participated in many extra-curricular activities and this newsletter gives, and can only give, just a small snap shot of the vibrancy and breadth of the experiences students have at MGGS. For many of our students the Public Examination session will soon be with us. Students are privileged to have so many additional revision and support sessions run by staff to support students. We want to take this opportunity to thank the staff for the huge number of hours they put in, over and above, their normal teaching to help and mentor students. It would be wrong for us to not at this point wish all our students who are taking Public Examinations this summer the very best of success. Our advice is to use the Easter holiday wisely, ensuring that they get a good rest, as well as revising carefully and thoroughly for all their examinations. We are pleased to inform you that Mrs Zoe Harris, who has been working alongside the Leadership Team this academic year has been appointed as Assistant Headteacher from the start of term 5. We are saying ‘goodbye’ to three colleagues at the end of this term. After a long career with us Miss Fairhead has decided to leave at the end of this term. She is a popular and committed colleague who has brought much to our school. The Governors would like to thank her for the contribution she has made and I give her my best wishes for the future. Mrs Hodges is moving to work in an International School in Greenwich, and she also goes with our best wishes and thanks for all she has done while at MGGS. Mrs Halton has gained a well-earned promotion to an Assistant Headteacher in Medway. We also wish her the very best for the future. As a consequence, Mrs Magee will be taking over direct responsibility for Year 9 in term 5. Finally, can we take this opportunity to wish all students and staff a restful and relaxing Easter holiday.
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The Newsletter our wonderful caretakers hung what must have seemed like miles of bunting.
War, Women and Song Production By Charli W When Mrs Shand told me the musical this year would be ‘War, Women and Song’, I was a little sceptical, an unknown, new musical based on the women in the trenches. I thought it would be a little boring, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. From early on I could see the intention Mrs Shand and Miss Lewis had for the show, and with help from the cast and crew, it soon became a reality. One of the first scenes I saw was set on a boat, the ensemble were used to create the rocking motion of the sea while the actors stood within their circle, it was instantly effective and I could really see the cast starting to work together as a team. As stage manager and general helping hand I tried to comment where I could in rehearsals, and it was wonderful how readily the cast took on board my ideas as well as their directors’. My main task of course was to organise the crew, after Christmas and the initial meetings I was sending out messages to people constantly, my team leaders of costume, lighting, backstage and front of house made everything considerably easier, and my never-ending stream of meetings with Mrs Shand and Miss Lewis meant everything was starting to take shape. Before long, the time came around to start work on the staging, and with the new flats erected and secured, benches in place, and markers marked, the space was looking more and more like I envisioned each day. The dressing of the set became a literal ‘dressing’, clothes were hung in lines and washing folded in piles, while
The Sunday rehearsal was a real turning point for the show, with a strong smell of tea emanating from the drama office, the cast and crew assembled bright and (what felt like) early to start dress rehearsals. The costumes had all arrived or been hand-picked from the drama cupboard and they fitted the story perfectly, Madeleine B and her team completed the look of the show for me, and I think it helped a lot of the actors to feel part of era we were recreating. After running around the gallery like a mad woman all day it finally felt like all the elements were falling into place, and the show felt like it suddenly clicked, just as the cast did as a team. Then production week, with a lot of last minute decorating, photo sticking and running around with cameras, tripods and even more bunting, it was lights up for our first audience. The show made more sense than it ever had done, after months of work the cast and crew were all drained and I certainly had seen the play so many times that I hadn’t laughed at some parts in weeks, but they were now getting hearty laughs and applause from our audience. Speaking to some of the audience members over the three nights, it really did seem like people understood the show, they connected with it just as all of us had done and it really was a heart-warming piece: I laughed (too loudly) in Alistair and Hugo’s scene, I welled up in Elsie’s ‘Poor Wandering One/Danny Boy’ solo, and I sung along every night in the finale, because it really had that effect on people. Thank you to everyone involved but especially to my wonderful crew and Mrs Shand and Miss Lewis, I couldn’t have asked for a better show for my last year at MGGS.
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The Newsletter War, Women and Song By Sinead F Taking part in the school production was an excellent experience and gave me the opportunity to make new friends with cast and crew members. I was able to gain confidence in my acting abilities and learn new rehearsal techniques to use in my drama studies. The theme of the play was different from anything I had done before but was nevertheless educational and fitting for the anniversary of WW1. Although a lot of rehearsals were required to make the play the success it was, they never lacked enthusiasm and energy from the whole cast and crew. The play came together very quickly and this required everyone to work extremely hard, but we were up for the challenge. In the end, we all had great fun and wanted to keep the show going, even jokingly suggesting “War, Women and Song on Tour”. I’d like to personally thank Mrs Shand and Miss Lewis for making the play such a success, always having confidence in us and enabling us to put on an amazing performance.
The collection made for the Royal British Legion at ‘War, Women and Song’ raised £132.45 which included a generous donation from the PFA.
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The Newsletter Edith, Millicent and Mabel By Ms Arthurs Last summer I photographed the Honours Boards in the school’s reception area and little did I know that this was the start of a journey that I am still continuing today. Outside Miss Stanley’s office is a board entitled: Associate in Arts, Oxford University and on this board the names Edith M Baggs and M C Baggs appear. In fact all three of the Baggs girls attended the school and were named Edith Mary, Millicent Emma and Mabel Constance with Edith joining in 1903 and Mabel leaving in 1917. My journey has taken me to the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps in France during WW1, to the coffee plantations in Kenya, missionary work in Buenos Aires, internment camps in Japan during WW2 and the atomic bomb, amongst other places and events. I have somehow managed to find a fascinating story of three inspirational women who have inspired me personally in the creation of artwork, the first instalment being shown in connection with the Drama department’s production of: War, Women and Song. Some images of the work are shown below. I am still trying to piece the jigsaw together to commence the next set of artwork and am being helped here greatly through contact made with Millicent Emma’s granddaughters. The story will be shown in full in the Archives section of the school website and I hope that you will enjoy reading about their lives and the part that MGGS played in the making of three very remarkable women.
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The Newsletter Careers Update By Miss Rhodes
It’s been an exciting couple of terms for Careers, with the whole school getting involved in activities and events. On Focus Day 3, half of Year 7 had their first Careers focus day (the second half will have theirs on Focus Day 5 in July). The students thought about their personality and skills and how these could potentially help them when thinking about careers. The students all made a shield to display aspects of their personality and interests, and then presented these to each other and their teachers. All of the shields were very creative and showed that we have lots of exciting and talented students! On Focus Day 4 ,Year 10 had a whole day on Careers, including information about the Labour Market and they explored useful websites to help them carry out research into possible future education or careers prospects. On Friday, 6th March we had the ‘Aspire’ Careers Fair; for the first time this event was made available to students in all year groups. All students were given time in the Main Hall to talk to representatives from various different careers and industries to find out more. These were lucky enough to be joined by local MP and Minister Helen Grant who was able to talk to our sixth form students about careers in politics and, in her ministerial capacity in conjunction with the ‘Inspiring Women into Sport’ Campaign, careers and opportunities in sport for women. The event was a great success with all the representatives being very impressed by our students’ behaviour and engagement. Helen Grant was particularly impressed by the conversations she had with our Year 13 students and she felt the students were a credit to the school. I hope to build on the success of this event in future years as it is very important that students get to interact with companies and employers when thinking about their future career options. If any parents would like to be involved in any future careers events then I would love to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch. (Miss A Rhodes: arhodes@mggs.org)
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The Newsletter Stem Week Careers Talk By Miss Rhodes
During STEM week we had three lunchtime STEM career talks for students in Years 11 to 13. On Tuesday, 10th March we had two volunteers, Daisy and Alex, from The National Grid to talk to students about the variety of engineering roles at the National Grid, the importance of studying STEM subjects and the different routes into engineering. Daisy is an engineering student from Queen’s University Belfast who was at National Grid for her year in industry (a paid work placement during her penultimate year of study) and spoke to students about the benefits of a degree with a year in industry and how it has helped her to secure a job for when she graduates. Alex is an apprentice at The National Grid and so she spoke to students about the alternative routes into engineering and the benefits of getting an apprenticeship. The talk was very informative and students had the opportunity to have their questions answered at the end of the session. On Wednesday,11th March we had Mrs Min Keating, a former Pharmacist now a University lecturer, give a talk on the range of careers available in the biological fields. She had many years’ experience as a pharmacist in hospitals and was able to tell students about the role of a pharmacist. As a University lecturer at the University of Kent she was also able to talk about research opportunities in many different fields of science, and the huge variety of jobs available to science students. The talk was very well attended and students learnt a lot about the wide range of jobs available to them if they study STEM subjects. On Friday, 13th March we had Malcolm Homan from BAE systems talk to students about the different engineering roles available at BAE and his personal journey through the company. Malcolm explained his route into BAE (via a degree and an industrial placement) and then his time spent in different departments during his 35 year career with them. Malcolm had information about virtually every area of engineering at BAE and explained to the students the fun and exciting projects he has worked on over the years. He was also able to give them information about the BAE Systems ‘Engineering Taster week’ in July, which gives Year 12 students the opportunity to spend a week completing an engineering project; this was something several of the students found very appealing. Overall the talk was very informative and certainly showed how exciting and fun a career in engineering can be!
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The Newsletter London Innovation Society - Science Week Workshop By Mrs Binks On Monday, 9th February 2015, London Innovation Society volunteers Ekrem and Feyza successfully carried out their third public engagement event, “The beauty of Lotus: waterproof your life” at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls. After many weeks of serious planning and polishing to make the presentation as innovative as possible, the big day was finally here. As the event title suggests, the workshop was based on the Lotus plant and explaining the Lotus effect which allows its hydrophobic leaves to stay waterproof, as well as giving pupils an introduction to the constantly evolving field of nanotechnology. The pupils were then given a range of materials to demonstrate the theory behind hydrophobic surfaces by using pipettes to insert water droplets onto the samples prepared in the laboratory. The feeling of achievement when pupils responded with exclamations of “whoa” when they saw the effect of the hydrophobic materials was incredible! The activities worked very well in giving pupils a sense of satisfaction and allowing them to understand the subject matter in depth. After seeing the effects of hydrophobic surfaces which the pupils found intriguing, the focus was back on the Lotus plant’s amazing micro-structure to explain how such non-wetting materials were made. This neat link between the structure of plant leaves and man-made materials gave pupils an insight into how nature influences science in more ways than we can imagine.
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The Newsletter Kew Gardens Visit By Zara F
On 9th and 10th March, Year 8 ventured to Kew Gardens. In the main building called Palm House, dodging tropical drip tips and sniffing the aromas of the cocoa and coffee beans, we worked up a sweat. The tree top walk transported us to the dizzying heights and even the most apprehensive of us braved the wobbling walkway. After a spot of lunch among the swans and geese we journeyed to the Princess of Wales Conservatory where we sketched and admired cactus spines and the sneaky tactics of the carnivorous plants seeking their prey. There we also found the incredible living stones. Having travelled around the world of Biomes and quickly purchasing a few treasures from the Kew Gardens shops, we said our goodbyes and quickly snapped a last few quick photos, and left for the journey home.
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The Newsletter MGGS Thinking School Initiative & the Wider Community By Mr Harris Since the school’s accreditation as a Thinking School in May 2012 our outreach programme has become an important part of our Thinking Schools work. Here are some of the highlights… Working with local primary schools Some of our sixth form students have designed an excellent set of thinking skills based activities which they have delivered to a range of year groups at Ditton, Discovery, Wrotham and Burham primary schools. The MGGS students have done a fantastic job and their hard work has been very well received by the primary schools. MGGS staff have been involved in delivering thinking skills based lessons to Year 5 students on a couple of Saturday morning master class events held at school. The theme of these lessons is how you can use thinking skills to try and estimate how many (if any) intelligent life forms there may be in the universe- no right or wrong answer but lots of interesting ways to try and come up with a possible number! Staff have also held two training meetings about thinking skills for several primary school teachers with positive feedback. Thinking about thinking Then of course last July we held a sixth form neuroscience conference which students from several local schools including our own attended. The conference presentations were given by scientists from King’s College, London and gave a fascinating insight into the advances of science in trying to understand how the brain works and thinks. In October, we also had a very interesting talk by Professor Roger Ainsworth, Master of St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford about academic life at university and a live demonstration of a mock interview with one of our students. Welcoming visitors We have had several visitors to MGGS wanting to find out more about our Thinking School work- some from the UK, other further afield including South Africa. The Thinking Schools movement is becoming a worldwide educational initiative and it’s great that MGGS is part of this. Presenting our work In the past three years, staff have given presentations about the school’s thinking skills work at Canterbury Christ Church University, a local ‘Gifted & talented’ schools network group and at a national SSAT conference.
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The Newsletter Thinking Day Skills Report By Phoebe H On 5th February, I and three other students braved a snow flurry and rush hour in order to deliver two Thinking Skills Workshops to students at St George’s Primary School. The first session was focused on the Nature/Nurture debate and the children responded with great enthusiasm to the stimulus material which was from Disney’s ‘Frozen’ - at one point we had a whole Year 5 class singing along! The other workshop was using different perspectives and thinking maps to think about Brazil, and it was really heart -warming to hear students debate different ways to help those in the favelas in Rio. At the end of the day, we had delivered our workshop to Year 4, 5, and 6 students, and were thrilled with the willingness to contribute and the plethora of ideas that were discussed. It also served as great experience for those who are hoping to study primary education at university. The workshops are something that we are hoping to expand on in other primary schools, and from the positive feedback we received, this is something that can be mutually beneficial to both the primary school students and ourselves. However, we’re hoping there won’t be any snow next time.
U Dance Medway Performance By Mrs C Smith U.Dance is run by Youth Dance England and is a national organisation that champions dance with and by children and young people. MGGS applied to enter U.Dance Medway run by Loop Dance Company and Medway Council Arts Team and both pieces we submitted were selected which is brilliant. So, on Mother’s Day six members of our high performance group G-Fix Dance Company travelled to the Brook Theatre Chatham to perform. Our girls danced exceptionally well and were commented on by the organisers for their inventive choreography and professional performance. They were a credit to the school. Well done
Dance Trip to the Gulbenkian Theatre By Mrs C Smith On 13th February 2015 dancers visited the Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury to watch an evening performance of ‘What the Body Does Not Remember’. This iconic, award winning dance debuted in 1987 and was revisited with a new cast. Students were impressed with the dancers’ split second timing, to each other, the music and numerous props including chalk bricks and towels. Students commented on the moments of humour in the piece and the amazing physicality of the dancers.
U 16 Netball By Mrs C Smith The U16 netball team have ended their season on a high note by winning the U16 District Netball tournament where all schools in the Maidstone area are invited to compete for the title. As a team they regularly attend training and are motivated and determined to succeed. Well done.
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The Newsletter Introducing our New Head Students for 2015-2016 We are all extremely thankful and thrilled to be representing the student body as Head Students and are really looking forward to the following year. We chose to apply for this role to show our commitment on a higher level to the school, to have the opportunity to immerse ourselves more with school life and events, and to be able to offer our leadership and advice to students in the lower years. Most importantly, we enjoyed the prospect of being able to do all of this as a team which is why we know we will work so well together. As expected, the selection process was a challenging one. There were 3 main stages we had to go through; a letter of application along with a letter of nomination from a peer, an interview with a member of the Sixth Form Management Team and current Head Students, and finally a speech in front of Year 11, 12 and 13 students. In preparation for the interview, we considered questions that might be asked and thought in depth about why we wanted to take this role on. We realised the great responsibility that this would entail and wanted to showcase our capability and dedication. After eagerly awaiting the email from the Sixth Form Management Team, we were all delighted and anxious to be given the opportunity to present ourselves to the students in Years 11, 12 and 13. The encouragement and support that we received from teachers and peers made us feel more at ease and willing to make them proud. Although at the time it was daunting, we all enjoyed the challenge and learned so much from an experience which will help us with similar processes in the future. It will be a difficult task to follow in the footsteps of the current Head Students and we have big shoes to fill, however we will do our best to live up to the high standards of our predecessors. As future Head Students we aim to challenge ourselves by ensuring that everyone has the best opportunity to reach their potential. We hope to involve a diverse range of people and maintain the positive atmosphere for the school. Our enthusiasm for what we are going to do will rely on building on many of the skills that the school has developed within us and hopefully allow us to inspire those around us. We are so excited for the upcoming year and are so grateful to be given this unique opportunity to give back to this school which has given us so much.
Aidan H, Emma R, May A and Anna W
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The Newsletter House Leader Reports The past year of being Normans House Leaders has really been the highlight of all of our school careers. The relationships and friendships that we have made with students throughout the year are some which will last a long time and really have made our Year 13 so enjoyable. Normans have seen a lot of success in this academic year as we won Sports Day and came 3rd place in House Arts as well as coming no lower than 3rd place in any other event! Together, we have all grown as individuals and tried to lead our house with respect for everyone and responsibility while having loads of fun on the way. Everyone in our little Normans family have really come together to help make this year so successful and enjoyable for everyone! It has been a real delight being a House Leader and the memories which we have will not disappear soon. We want to wish the best of luck to all the House Leaders who follow us and hope that they can bring success to our mighty house and show everyone what the Normans can do! Thank you to everyone who has made our job as House Leaders so much fun! Georgia, Ethan and Jude
What a journey this year has been! Starting off with Sports Day and tackling House Arts then finishing off with House Chess and Interhouse Netball. Every event has had its challenges but they have always been filled with laughter and happiness. A special thank-you goes to our fellow Year 13 Danes who we would have struggled without, especially: Hannah R, Louise P, Rowena S and Matt C. A final note from us is that we wish to congratulate the other House Leaders on all their efforts and thank all the Danes who have participated or competed in this year's interhouse events, without whom none of our success would have been possible. Love from Amy, Dannii and April
The opportunity to be House Leaders has been an incredible experience and one that we will never forget from our time at MGGS. Britons house has had an absolutely amazing year and as usual the banter has been real. Starting with Sports Day in the summer term we got a real chance to bond with our house, upkeeping the noisy Britons atmosphere we are renowned for. However, for us, the real highlight was of course winning House Arts. All the hard work and effort not only us but everyone that partook put in all paid off with a spectacular day and the winning trophy for our final performance! The contribution from the house in various events this year, such as Chess, Rounders and the Science Quiz has been astounding and we are truly grateful to every single member. In Britons we have always said we believe we are not a house, but a family and this year has completely proved this. We want to thank every single one of you for making our last year at MGGS such an incredible one and we hope you have loved it as much as we have! Eloise, Tilly and Molly
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The Newsletter Being a Vikings House Leader has been a terrific experience, full of highs and very few lows, because although we did not place in House Arts this year, we were immensely proud of everyone in our house for their commitment and enthusiasm: all the time and effort shone through on stage and it was wonderful as house leaders to see it come together. The response from the rest of the house and even other houses was overwhelming, after some disappointment in the Viking house from previous years, we were so grateful for the support and restoration in faith from this year’s competition. We often say to each other how much we miss our lunchtime house arts rehearsals; it has been a lot quieter without them! We had 1st place success in the Maths Quiz and 2nd in the Science Quiz, losing out by only one point to Saxons. We are incredibly thankful for all of the students who gave up their time for house events this year, even from our early days in Sports Day we have seen a great amount of trust and enthusiasm from our house, which has been reward in itself for us as house leaders. We look forward to our last house event as leaders: Interhouse Netball, and wish the very best to our successors, it is a job like no other. Charley, Clare and Charli.
2015 has been a fantastic year for the Saxons. Not only did we win the annual Science Quiz, but are incredibly proud to have placed 2nd place in House Arts, the best we have done since joining this school seven years ago. Being House Leaders has been one of the best experiences of our lives and we have thoroughly enjoyed being part of such an amazing and enthusiastic house. We are so sad to leave the Saxons behind but wish them all the absolute best for the future. Good luck for next year! Alex, Kate and Amy
Although it has been a rollercoaster experience being House Leaders this year, we can all honestly say that this has been a wonderful opportunity, both in terms of enriching our managerial skills as well as just being a very enjoyable experience. For us, there is no denying that House Arts was the highlight of our year and we all want to thank the students that took part for the effort they put into every rehearsal and the end result in the final performance. We cannot express how proud we were (and still are!) of how well you performed and we hope that you will all continue being as helpful and eager to participate with your new House Leaders for next year. It will be very sad to leave after getting to know you as a house and we would like to thank you all so much for everything that you have done for us over the past year. Phoebe, Tom and Feaya
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The Newsletter MGGS French visit from the Lycée Maillol, Perpignan By Mme Fourmy
A huge thank you to all the MGGS student families who took part in hosting the 31 Year 12 French students from the Lycée Maillol and making them so welcome. It was extremely rewarding to see how our students engaged with their French counterparts so well and created links that we hope will stand the test of time. All the French students have had a really great time at our school; where they felt very welcome by students and staff alike. This was also true of the time spent with the Maidstone families. They went back home with lots of priceless memories.
“languages...are the catalysts to create enriching human experiences”
During the week, the French and English exchange students were involved in many activities with different year groups and engaged in fruitful dialogues about British and French culture. All the activities evolved around our working project (Lefèvre grant from the British council) on minorities past & current in UK/Maidstone and France/ Perpignan. It was also very inspiring to see our Sixth Form students and French classes taking part with enthusiasm and efficiency in all the speaking activities organised at school with their French counterparts. On the day of the “European parliament” (where students on both sides worked in groups on the theme of Minorities and immigration/integration at a local and international level), everyone rose to the challenge and produced excellent well thought through and high quality bilingual presentations. The final debate took place at the end of the day with ambassadors from both countries defending their motions in front of a jury of French and English teachers. Many congratulations to Aidan H (Y12) and Rachel L (1ère) who won 1st place for their team! All the students both French and English were a credit to both schools. All in all an excellent week to remember, Encore merci à tous!
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The Newsletter Here are a selection of comments from staff, students and parents who took part in the exchange.
chaque ambassadeur devait s'exprimer dans la langue de l'autre partenaire. Chaque équipe s’est exprimée avec force de conviction et a présenté d’excellents arguments. Chaque équipe binationale nous a montré combien ce travail à la découverte de l’autre et de son histoire était enrichissant et essentiel pour former les citoyens de demain. Nous remercions très chaleureusement une nouvelle fois les familles et étudiants qui ont participé à cet échange et Mme Fourmy pour avoir travaillé avec nous sur ce projet ; projet qui peut se féliciter d'avoir obtenu la Bourse Lefebvre du British Council.
French Teachers - Mme Laib, Mme Font and Mme Chebchoub As French teachers, we really enjoyed our stay in Maidstone and we were really pleased to get the chance to work with your students, to have our French pupils exchange with yours and have them discover your school system. It is undoubtedly a life enriching experience for them and it enables them to learn more about English culture. We really value such an experience and we can tell that our students were really Caitlin F Year 12 enthusiastic all week long. Some of them even wanted to The French Exchange was a fantastic experience; stay more saying it was a bit too short! We really think hosting my exchange has helped me to develop my that it is what teaching is about: allowing them to French skills and to make a new friend. Also broaden their horizons and to have the interactive activities have helped me to fun also! We are all looking gain an understanding of the French culture “It was a truly unique, forward to seeing Maidstone's and the minorities found in Perpignan. valuable and enriching students in Perpignan! Thank you again to all the families for your Rachel A Year 11 experience” warm welcome as well as the The exchange trip with the French students students and staff at MGGS. enabled me to have an insight into another culture and try new food. It also allowed the French students to explore a new culture as many of them had never been May A Year 12 On behalf of all of the students that took part in the to England before, as well as being able to practice their exchange with the Lycée Maillol, I’d like to say a English with native speakers. Therefore I could also massive thank you to Madame Fourmy for organising improve my French as I learnt many phrases from the the week. It was a truly unique, valuable and enriching French teenagers that I would never have learnt in my experience, which was thoroughly enjoyed by both the lessons at school. This trip has shown how other people students at MGGS and from Lycée Maillol. We have all live and I am looking forward to returning in September. benefited hugely from being given the opportunity to I would recommend participating in an exchange if you welcome our French counterparts into our homes, to get the chance as it is a fantastic experience. learn first-hand about their culture and to create international friendships. Many thanks again for the Emily B-R Year 11 fantastic week which has made us even more excited for The French exchange students provided a great our visit to Perpignan in September. opportunity to not only meet people from a different culture but also helped to develop my conversation skills in French that can otherwise be difficult to progress in Mme Font, History teacher Si les voyages forment la jeunesse....les échanges the school environment. It’s taught me how to debate scolaires participent indéniablement à leur éducation topics that I, before, did not know I could and converse citoyenne ! L’échange assez inédit entre notre lycée du with people that I would otherwise not have had the sud de la France, le Lycée Aristide Maillol et la courage to. It improved my confidence greatly and Grammar School Girl de Maidstone qui a eu lieu du proved to me how useful and interesting having another lundi au samedi 7 mars le prouve une nouvelle fois. language can be. I enjoyed every aspect of meeting Pendant une semaine, nos élèves ont travaillé ensemble everyone and cannot wait to see them all again in sur la thématique suivante "Minorités d'hier, Minorités September. d'aujourd'hui": après des présentations en groupe national, ils ont simulé une session du parlement européen le jeudi toute la journée en groupe binational,
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The Newsletter Year 12 Parent We had a lovely week with Soufiane, he was very polite and ate everything we put in front of him! [our son] took him to afterschool football practice and also to football training at home, which work really well for them both. They enjoyed their evenings on FIFA and I could hear the cheers from the room when France or England scored a goal!! A good time had by all and [our son] is really looking forward to the return trip to France in September. Thank you for taking the time to organise this visit, I know the hard work that goes into it!
Tasteful lunch and discovery of new taste and culture at the Maidstone Ghurkha restaurant.
Year 12 Parent Like last year, the exchange was a very positive experience for us. The girls were all lovely and if anything, having more than one girl made it easier as we didn’t have to worry about them being either bored or lonely and it made conversation at mealtimes very easy indeed. The 3 girls were all very positive about Dickens World and the Nepalese meal. They were far less enthusiastic about Chatham dockyard, not least because they were freezing cold – I don’t think they had any concept of how cold it can be by the river. Like last year, our trip to Bluewater went down very well, proving that teenage girls are the same the world over! [Our daughter] really enjoyed the experience and is looking forward to going to Perpignan. Year 9 Parent Un grand merci à vous pour avoir organisé un super voyage et une organisation en béton pour les familles d'accueil. Mme Fourmy Learning a language is not an end in itself and exchanges such as this show that languages are not only valuable tools to communicate, discover other cultures and ways of life but also are the catalysts to create enriching human experiences.
Year 11 Parent [Our daughter] had a fantastic time with our three delightful students (perfect choice!). The fact that we had three worked well as they policed one another to speak English. They were very much part of our family during that week and keen to use their English during meal time and in the evenings. They all played board games in the evening with [our daughter]or supported her with her homework or music. All in all it was a fabulous week. The three boys are a credit to their school and their English teachers. [Our daughter] is very much looking forward to going back to Perpignan. All in all it was a smoothly organised trip and a great experience for [our daughter] and us as a family!
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The Newsletter Why I Love Languages By Annie B Last term, the Faculty of Languages invited students to write about why they love languages. Here is Annie B’s fascinating story. My mother is French therefore if I did not learn that language, it would have been wasted! My mum introduced easy words and sentences to me as a child, and in 2004, we moved to France for 4 years. It was the best experience of my life. Living in another country is life-changing and it is fascinating too because you can see all of the different ways their culture is different to ours. For example, their music, their clothes, what they eat! I returned to England as a bilingual, which everyone was quite impressed by, however I didn’t think anything of it. So, my advice would be to be proud of yourself if you learn another language! I also loved learning German at GCSE as I find it very rewarding when I can speak in a different language. I have always been interested in learning Spanish and Italian too because when I used to go on holiday to these countries, I would always quickly look in the dictionary to see if I could use any of the simple words! Therefore, I am hoping to start these languages as a beginner course at University, as well as my main course being French.
Chinese New Year Celebrations By Mrs Burley
羊年快乐 ！
恭喜发财！
To welcome in the Chinese New Year of Sheep 2015 Mandarin club students helped create a colourful celebration in the school reception area. The display made extensive use of the colour red, the traditional colour of the New Year, along with a powerful dragon and examples of the Mandarin club student’s calligraphy work. A special thanks to Emilie B-R for making the impressive dragon’s head in the display. As part of the Chinese New Year learning MGGS was pleased to welcome Westborough Primary School on 9th February and Brunswick House Primary School on 2nd March for a beginner’s Mandarin workshop with their gifted and talented students. During the lesson they learnt how to formally greet people, count the numbers 1-10 and the character zhōng wén 中文 (Chinese) and lǎo shī老师 (Teacher). They also played a fun game of rock, papers, scissors using the phrases nǐ hǎo ma 你好吗 (How are you?) and wǒ hěnhǎo 我 很 好. ( I am well). At the end of the lesson they practised their Calligraphy writing skills to produce the Chinese characters 福 (good fortune) and 羊 (sheep) to take back with them. The lessons were a great success and all the students and teachers very much enjoyed the workshop. Quote from the teacher; “ I didn't know we could learn so much Mandarin in such short time, it was great!” Many thanks to students Anna C, Abbey G and Molly L-M for helping out with the Mandarin workshop.
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The Newsletter Madrid Trip By Grace C After an uneventful flight on Friday 13th, 24 Year 11 to 13’s landed in Madrid with Señora Harrison, Señora Higbee and Mr Vela-Castro. Once settled in at the Hotel Mediodia and having got over the amazing view of city, we set off to walk to the restaurant for dinner. Traditional Spanish on the1st night, tapas on the 2nd and The Hard Rock Cafe on the 3rd, each evening was filled with great food and laughter. Everyone tried something new, even if they didn't know the fish still had eyes until the next morning! The first day was a trip to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid Football Club, which included sitting in the managers’ seats by the pitch and admiring their many trophies in the museum. We also visited two art galleries over the weekend, travelling everywhere by metro. The Prado Museum and The Reina Sofia both tested our Spanish as we attempted to read the descriptions. Lunch each day was at the Plaza Mayor, where we gained our freedom and got some quality shopping and ice-cream eating done. The next day we dragged the only male student and Mr Vela-Castro around the rastro market, although we did put our Spanish into practice as we bargained with stall holders for a better deal! Later the Spanish Royal Palace wowed us with its stunning painted ceilings and ornate decoration, finishing off our culture filled trip. After a lovely morning in the Spanish sunshine on our last day, we bid farewell to the hotel that had served us so well, the city that we had all decided we want to move to when we’re older and the friends we’d grown really close to over our four days together. Overall it was an amazing experience.
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The Newsletter AS Geography Field Trip to East London By Anna S
On Tuesday, 13th January the AS Geography classes embarked on a journey to London as part of our fieldwork on ‘regeneration and rebranding’. Our first destination was Canary Wharf, which is widely regarded as London’s new financial district as a result of its regeneration. The regeneration took place after the London Docklands fell into decline and dereliction due to the cease in trade, as cargo ship were unable to travel up this part of the Thames’ estuary as a result of their size. The predominant physical features of Canary Wharf were the towering sky-scrapers, the tallest of which is One Canada Square, standing at a magnificent 770 feet. The frequent use of glass and steel in the construction of these buildings delivers a modern appearance, as well as increasing the aesthetic appeal of the area through the reflection and shine of the glass, as if Canary Wharf is the shimmering jewel at the heart of London’s economy. Furthermore, Canary Wharf proved to present a consistently neat appearance at ground level too, with its trim green spaces, tree-lined avenues and assortment of luxury retailers.
Conversely, the trip also focused on the lack of regeneration in particular areas. Although the Excel centre and warehouses had been regenerated, this regeneration had not extended to Munday Road in Canning Town, situated only a few roads away. The residential area featured a range of juxtaposing aspects: despite many gardens containing rubbish, cramped conditions created by the terraced housing and the lack of parking spaces, some homes possessed immaculate lawns, Hallsville School was along the next road and finally the price for a one bedroomed flat stood at an astonishing £320,000! Later, we saw that the development of the Olympic Park had not encompassed Hackney Wick. In place of the smooth blankets of grass and well-maintained pathways around the Olympic Stadium, we found Hackney’s land use to be focused on manufacturing, boasting a factory belonging to ‘Mr Bagel’ and a ‘Neale and Son’s’ concrete workshop; however, on visiting the Olympic village we discovered that 11,000 new homes had been installed, bringing potential customers to Hackney. In contrast to Hackney Wick, our final destination was Westfield shopping centre, a haven of clothes, jewellery and food. With 80% of the shops lining its hallowed halls defined as ‘high-end’, Westfield attracts many customers with large dispensable incomes – making it completely out of reach to many locals. While at Westfield we had the opportunity to eat lunch and carry out our ninth EQS (Environmental Quality Survey) in addition to a Perception Analysis, which uses inhabitants’ opinions to determine the impacts of regeneration on the area. Thank you to the Geography department for an interesting and informative trip!
Similarly, the second location - the Excel Centre and its surroundings - had been the recipient of market led regeneration in order to convey a more enticing image. The Excel centre was utilised as the venue for Fighting and Judo during the 2012 London Olympics and is frequently occupied by various exhibitions, while the warehouses around it have been converted into flats, restaurants and shops, thus altering the dominant industry of the area from manufacturing to service and social land use.
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The Newsletter Year 12 Geography Trip By Henry B Wednesday, 11th February 2015 was the day the Year 12 AS Geography students adjourned on their field trip to Folkestone and later Rainham so as to supplement their ‘Rebranding Places’ unit of studies. The first destination was the Folkestone Harbour where only a limited amount of renewal had occurred on the surrounding buildings, the harbour itself is still unattractive and derelict. We then walked back towards the centre of the town in order to identify as well as take photographs of the Folkestone Triennial. At the time, the students were also instigated to complete the Environmental Quality Assessment, Land-use survey and in some cases questionnaires for each given site. It was then time for the students to head to The Old High Street where the store fronts have evidence of renewal and regeneration, however the atmosphere there was rather quaint yet quiet, with the steep and narrow street feeling rather closed off from the rest of the town; the next focus of renewal here needs to be the atmosphere.
The final visit in Folkestone was to Guildhall Street where many high street brand stores are located. New seating areas have been provided for the expected population growth in the area, although the area still appears to have a rather dull atmosphere and is not overly inviting at all. The field trip focused on the brighter and darker sides to regeneration in areas such as this, with brighter parts emphasising the dereliction of some buildings even more; there becomes a larger divide once the regeneration actually occurs. The final stage of the field trip was to visit The Barnyard in Rainham so as to aid the Farm Diversification aspect of the unit. This particular farm has implemented a produce shop and restaurant so as to accommodate a larger clientele whilst outside areas have also been brought up to date with more aesthetically pleasing features like fountains and made-on-site pottery. In order to keep the farm-like feel to the building the exterior has experienced renewal.
The third site was to be Tontine Street where, once again, only a limited amount of renewal had taken place, with the most evident example of this being the new gallery built mid-way down the street. On the other hand many of the buildings here are very run-down whilst vandalism and litter are also prominent.
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The Newsletter Duke of Edinburgh Update By Ms Starns The DofE expedition season is just beginning and students and staff cannot wait! Over the winter months Bronze, Silver and Gold DofE students have been working hard to learn the necessary skills for their level of the award. Now it’s time to put all the hard work into practice. On Saturday, 21st March the season of expeditions kicked off with the Silver DofE day walk in Sevenoaks. This was the first experience that our Silver’s had of putting pacing, and bearings into practice over the 16km walk. Previously, many students completed their Bronze DofE award in Year 10, now they face the step up to Silver DofE. Pictured here are the girls during their day walk expedition.
Mrs Smith and Silver DofE Group - Absolutely Fantastic
Mrs Harding and Mr Hilson with Silver DofE Group - The Worriors
Mr Hamilton with Silver DofE Group - The Walking Hoots
Mrs Ryan with Silver DofE Group - The Squadlets
Following this the Silver students will go on their practice expedition over the Easter holiday period in the Elham Valley area of Kent for 3 days and two nights. Students have been working exceptionally hard on their route and expedition planning and have produced some outstanding work. The Silver assessed expedition will start in Folkestone and end in Canterbury with students walking 16km each of the three days. Bronze expeditions will take place in; Snodland for the day walk; Cranbrook area for the practice expedition in May; and Canterbury area during July for their final assessed expedition. Gold students this year will be going on expeditions in the Brecon Beacons, the French Pyrenees, Finland and Snowdonia. Gold participants are welcomed by all sixth form students whether in Year 12 or 13 and also they may
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The Newsletter enrol even if they have not previously taken part in the award. Good luck to you all! The DofE award is demanding and adventurous; it has changed many students’ outlook about the world around them and highlights what is possible through effort and determination. Well done to everyone for your hard work with this prestigious award so far. I am sure you will have fond memories of your DofE experience for the rest of your lives. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the many staff that volunteer as DofE supervisors to make this possible for our students every year. Ms Starns DofE Unit Leader
Mr Hamilton Bronze Award
Mrs Harding Silver Award
Mrs Smith Gold Award
DofE Team Selfie
Religious Studies Update By Mr Tomkins In February AS and A2 students of Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethics attended a conference at St. Lawrence College, Ramsgate. The lecturers were Dr. Peter Vardy, formerly vice-principal of Heythrop College in the University of London and his wife, Charlotte. Topics included: God and the Good; Buddhism and Ethics and Euthanasia and End of Life Care. The latter was particularly interesting and informative. How we deal compassionately with those who are suffering whilst retaining the value and dignity of human life, is, of course, something which we all need to reflect upon. Also this term, Year 13 participated in a day conference entitled ‘Ethics in an Age of Science’. This topic was particularly relevant to students studying science, ethics, psychology, sociology, philosophy and religion. It also provided students with the opportunity to think outside their normal areas of enquiry and to make connections between subjects. The discussion centred on the issues of freewill and determinism and what it means to be a human being.
Pastoral Events for Parents By Mrs Magee We have put on two very successful evening events for parents in Terms 3 and 4 this year. In February, Neil Walker Head of Computing and ICT gave a presentation entitled “Living with Digital Teenagers.” We all realise the benefits of digital technology but with the benefits come challenges, for parents and teachers too! The power of digital technology is developing quickly and advice that was appropriate a couple of years ago is outdated now with the constant advancements in technology. Neil identified the risks students may face and was clear that educating them to understand and minimise risk to themselves and others is the way forward. It was a very entertaining evening. The presentation is on the e-safety page of our website if you want a reminder. This month we had a very enlightening evening when Dr Rosemary Taylor talked to us about the Teenage Brain and 21st Century Girls. She talked about brain development to adulthood helping us to understand why girls do what they do, how to help and, very importantly, how to stay sane as parents! Her presentation was thought-provoking, engaging and insightful. Lots of parents have contacted us to ask for a copy of the presentation slides. It is now on Sims Learning Gateway. Thank you all for coming to these events. It is really encouraging to see so many of you each time. Let us know if you have any ideas for events in 2015-16.
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The Newsletter PFA Easter Chocolate Hamper Draw By Peter Chapman, Chairman of the PFA The Easter Chocolate Hamper Draw has been a resounding success. We have raised a total of £1,338.25, including Git Aid. Barclays Bank has added an extra £1,000 donation thanks to their Charity Match Funding scheme and Tony Gilks. So this is an overall total of £2,338.25 It has been the third year running this fundraising event and it is our best total yet - thank you all for your support! The winners are : Virtual Ticket # 431: Ms Katie H (Year 12) -Main Hamper Virtual Ticket # 196: Mrs Caroline G - Liqueur chocs & wines hamper Virtual Ticket # 309: Ms Lena S-G (Year 9) -Smaller Hamper Please collect all hampers from Reception by the end of term on Wednesday 1st April.
The MGGS Great School Bake Off By Peter Chapman, Chairman of the PFA The Bake Off Champion has been crowned... With nearly 100 assorted bakes, the first ever "MGGS Great School Bake Off" on Saturday, 28th March was a hotly contested affair enjoyed by both students and parents alike. The standard of bakes across all five classes was amazing and some really imaginative and stunning presentations were made. Items as varied as delicious poppy seed biscuits with cheese to some fudgy chocolate brownies, were declared class winners. However, it was a Year 7 student, Olivia L of 7S who beat them all with her “Veg. Patch Cakes”; six parsnip based cup cakes. Judges Paolo Rigolli, Sarah Crysell and Mario Wyn-Jones all declared them to be simply delicious and the addition of parsnip was inspired. The imaginative presentation with a packet of seeds in a seed tray was great fun and quirky. The main hall was busy all afternoon as the judges chomped their way through cake after cake! The show stoppers were a triumph and ranged from a book emblazoned with the MGGS logo to another depicting the First World War trenches and War Horse. Rainbow layered cakes when cut into like a piñata, oozed multicoloured Smarties. Each one was a work of art in its own right! Olivia triumphed overall and won the title of “MGGS Bake Off Champion.” She won a Morrisons voucher for £20, a Comic Relief Bake Off Apron plus a meal for the family at the Olive Stores Brasserie at the Paddock Wood Hop Farm, kindly donated by Sarah Crysell, one of our judges. We are pleased to announce the event has raised nearly £600, thanks to the generosity of so many. Our heartfelt thanks to all who took part or attended. Olivia L has kindly shared her recipe for her winning bake and I for one, look forward to giving them a go! Keep baking everyone!
The Judges
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The Newsletter Veg Patch Cakes - Olivia L Yr 7 "MGGS Bake Off Champion 2015" Makes about 18 small cakes. Ingredients 200g Self Raising Flour 1 tsp baking powder pinch of sea salt 3 eggs 175 g caster sugar 200g finely grated parsnip Finely grated zest of 1 lime For the icing 100g cream cheese 25g butter 150g icing sugar finely grated lime zest viola and rosemary flowers to decorate The Winning Bakes
Method 1
Preheat oven 180ยบC
2
Beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk for 5 minutes. Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. Then fold in the parsnip and lime zest.
3:
Bake for about 15 minutes and leave to cool. Mix together the cream cheese topping ingredients and top the cakes.
The Winners
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Maidstone Grammar School for Girls Non sibi sed omnibus
The Newsletter 12+ 13+ Admissions By Mrs Hogan, Admissions Manager Your daughter or son may have siblings, or you may have friends and relatives moving into the area who would like to join the school. Students can test once for a place into each year group from Years 7 to 11. Our last test date this academic year for a place in September 2015 into Year 8 or 9 will be held on Saturday 20 th June 2015. Students wishing to test on this date are welcome to submit an application by completing the In Year Casual Application Form (IYCAF) and returning this to me at the school. If your daughter would like to sit the test but cannot do so on this date then please do contact me in school to discuss an alternative date. Further information can be found on the admissions page of the school website. For those students wishing to join Year 10 in September 2015, please telephone me at the school for further information. Please do pass this information on to anyone you know wishing to join the school.
Term Dates 1st April
End of term 4
Term 5 - 2015 20th April 22nd May
Start of term 5 End of term 5
Term 6 - 2015 1st June 23rd July 24th July
Start of term 6 Development day (no students in school) Development day (no students in school) End of term 6
September 2015 4th September Start of Term 1 for students
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