Senior School Weekly News Update
Friday 8th June 2018
SCHOOL INFORMATION This Term’s Events at a Glance… Here are just a few important forthcoming events—for our full calendar, please log into the brand new parent portal or website
Donations for Atorkor, Ghana This summer 19 pupils and 3 staff will be travelling to our partner school in Atorkor, Ghana. We are very much looking forward to
Saturday 9th June Royal Institution Masterclasses
the visit and are lucky enough to have a very
Tuesday 12th June Year 7 to Chess Valley
any donations with us.
Thursday 14th June Year 8 to Whipsnade Zoo
sports supplies and kit, books, toys, sanitary
Saturday 16th June Royal Institution Masterclasses
donate to the cause please ensure these are
large luggage allowance to enable us to take
If you have any suitable clothing, art supplies, towels, or stationary that you would like to brought into school by Friday 29th June.
Wednesday 20th / Thurs 21st June Year 10 Maths Circle Thursday 21st June A Level Photography Exhibition Private View Ghana Pre trip Meeting
Donations should be left at Reception in the New Mark Hall for the attention of Miss Reidie. We thank you in advance for your support.
Friday 22nd June Rush Hour Concert Year 7 Roman History Day Exeat Weekend
FOLLOW US! To keep up to date with School events, news, photo galleries and more, follow us on
Saturday 23rd June FORMS Summer Fair Tuesday 26th June Year 12 UCAS Exhibition Year 10 Sixth Form Taster Day
Twitter @RMSforGirls
Saturday 30th June Lower School Prize Day and Sports Day Sports Day
Facebook @RMSforGirls
Sunday 1st July Duke of Edinburgh Silver Expedition
Instagram @RMSforGirls
Tuesday 3rd / Wednesday 4th / Thursday 5th July Year 11 Sixth Form Induction
Flickr (photos) @RMSforGirls
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS Save the Date for our Celebration of Sport 2018 This year’s Celebration of Sport will take place on Tuesday 26th June from 7.00-9.00pm in the Dining Hall. During the evening, as well as a look back over our sporting year, the sports awards and a quiz, there will be a barbecue and bar. We are delighted to announce that our Special Guest this year will be Ali Young, GB 24 hour ultra-endurance athlete.
If you would like to reserve space at a table, please contact Mrs Marsh in the PE Department via email jmarsh@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk stating how many spaces you would like. We look forward to seeing lots of you there to look back on what has been another successful sporting year for RMS!
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THE WEEK IN PICTURES
Fun in STEAM Club—the spaghetti and Marshmallow Challenge—an RMS favourite!
Impromptu Photoshoot with Boarding House Dog Winston
Life Skills Props for Year 8
Year 8 step back in time in the Civil War
Resource Centre in the evening
2018 Art and Textiles Exhibition
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2018 Art and Textiles Exhibition
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YEAR 8 CIVIL WAR DAY
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Message from Rev Quill Mindful Self-compassion course Ten parents are appreciating the Mindful Self-compassion (MSC) course that I'm running this term and I'm writing now to offer a further course next term. MSC offers the opportunity to take some time to have a fresh look at your life and learn some practices that will help you take care of yourself in a consciously kind way, and as a result look after those around you, including your children, in the same way. As with this term's course, it's great to do this with a group whose common experience is that they are all parents of daughters at this School. I have written more about the principles of MSC below. The course will be from 7.00pm until 9.30/9.45pm one evening a week over eight weeks; there will also be a Retreat day. There is a fee of £150 including teaching, course materials, and meditation practices; some of that will come to me and some to the school for accommodation and materials. So it's a big commitment, but worth it as I can testify from my experience; I believe current participants would agree. I'm writing separately about the Parenting Workshops I'm also offering; they will be specific and limited whilst this offers you the opportunity to go quite deep for yourself - so it's helpful that this is a group with parenting in common, but it's not about that, it's more a journey of personal self-discovery. Finally let me say that you don't have to have studied Mindfulness to learn about MSC - the Mindfulness that you need to know is included in the course. But if you've done some Mindfulness then you'll find that MSC builds on what you've done in a very valuable way. If you'd like to express an interest please write to me at jquill@royalmasonic.herts.uk and let me know; also do please ask if you have any questions. Mindful Self-compassion (MSC) brings together three strands o A mindful approach to life, really noticing what’s going on, paying attention, learning to be aware of early indicators of stress or difficulty o An acknowledgement that life for everyone involves a degree of difficulty, suffering, struggle and that this is our common humanity; my struggle is different to yours, but we all have difficulties and are not alone even when it feels like it o The introduction of deep compassion for ourselves and for others, in a way that, instead of being judgemental, is kind and open-hearted; this starts with learning to be kind to ourselves in the same way we are naturally kind to our family and friends. This might sound straightforward, but it takes time and practice to really let it work properly; we are “hot -wired” for survival, most of us have an “inner-critic” and MSC has to overturn a lot of assumptions and practices. This is why the course is intensive, with some challenging material, and some wonderful practices to do together and to take away to use every day.
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Message from Rev Quill Parenting Workshop The more I practise Mindful Self-compassion , and the more I reflect on my own parenting (a long time ago!) and talk with parents here at RMS, I can see how it can be a huge support to parents. Instead of being triggered by the behaviour of your child or children you can learn a calmer way to deal with all the challenges they bring. I am pleased to offer Parenting Workshops starting in Michaelmas Term that will introduce this approach. I will work with a counsellor who brings extensive therapeutic experience of working with children. She will teach basic information about what you as parents of daughters can expect; she will also explain some of the more specific behaviours of girls (and we may well have one approach for those of you with teenage girls and another for those of you with younger girls). I will introduce strategies for parenting, in particular ways that as parents you can pay attention to your behaviour as the adults so that you do not get caught up in your daughter’s behaviour. This gives the opportunity to cope better and model a way of handling things that, in (an age-appropriate) partnership with your daughter, can be hugely beneficial to the whole family. As well as the workshops you will be invited to join self-help groups to share experience and break down the feelings of isolation that occur all too often; these will be supported at first by my colleague and I, and without our direct support as time goes by. I am not sure yet what the exact arrangements will be because that depends on interest shown by yourselves and whether we work with large groups or smaller groups; a fee may be involved, and again that will depend on numbers and the exact arrangements, but we will keep it as low as possible. For now I need to know whether there is any interest in such a programme so if you think this will interest you please email me at jquill@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk and let me know. John Quill School Chaplain
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Life Skills Days Year 7 Life Skills Day—6th June On Wednesday, 6th June the entire Year 7 was off time-table to participate in a Life Skills Day. Starting the morning was Mrs Williamson, who earned a MSc in Nutrition and leads sessions and workshops for adults and teenagers on the science behind food choices. She touched on topics of protein, sugar consumption, the importance of water and iron, linking what we eat to how we feel. The ‘good mood food’ message was well-received by the year group as was the encouragement to reduce food miles by buying British. The second session of the day was led by Nikki Bennett, the school counsellor, on how being positive about oneself and others. The girls enjoyed creating bookmarks of compliments for someone else and thinking through tricky scenarios. After a pre-lunch PE session the day ended with a whole group session with Mrs Whetstone of Amnesty International. Ms Whetstone introduced the girls to the problems faced by refugees and encouraged them to take action to improve the well-being of others. Time was given for the students to write a short note of encouragement and support to a teen refugee injured whilst sheltering in Turkey and finally reunited with his family in Germany. The Life Skills days support the work we do at RMS in Life Skills lessons, consolidating taught materials and giving students the opportunity to hear from other voices about the importance of well-being and community.
Year 8 Thursday 7th June Thursday saw the Year 8s also attending a series of sessions. The experts at ChildNet presented a session on On-line Safety including information on identity, sexting, trust and privacy. The girls raised interesting questions on keeping safe and demonstrated good awareness of the risks and benefits of an on-line presence. The second session was on Personal Safety with Peter McCarthy of KravMaga. This action-packed session introduced skills in awareness, escaping a hold and using reasonable force to remove themselves from danger. They thoroughly enjoyed learning the techniques and practising on the instructor as well as each other! The final session was with Bob Tait (affectionately known by staff as the ‘drugs man’) who spoke on Drug and Alcohol safety. Bob uses a dynamic presentation style, real-life examples and a series of very cool props to inform students of the risks of both legal and illegal substances. As girls move up in school years and gain more independence, the Life Skills messages help them make informed decisions and knowledge of where they can get advice and help. Follow us on Twitter at @RMSLifeSkills
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RMS SPORT Forthcoming Fixtures
Date
Start
Finish
Event
Location
Monday 11th June
4.00pm
6.00pm
Year 7,8,9 Rounders vs Parmiters
Parmiters
RMS
Tuesday 12th June
4.00pm
6.00pm
Rounders Year 7 A and B Teams vs Habs
Tuesday 12th June
4.00pm
6.00pm
Year 8, 10 Tennis vs North London Collegiate
RMS
Wednesday 13th June
4.00pm
6.00pm
County League Athletics Year 8, 10
Jarman Park
Wednesday 13th June
4.00pm
6.00pm
Tennis Year 7
St Albans High School
Thursday 14th June
4.00pm
6.00pm
District Tennis Year 7 vs St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes
Friday 15th June
11.30am
4.00pm
Under 14 Country Tennis Doubles Tournament
St Albans High School
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RMS OPEN EVENTS We have the following two Open Events coming up; please share with anyone who may be interested! Ruspini House Open Morning Saturday 9th June 10.00am—12.00pm Cadogan House “Show and Tell” Open Afternoon (for Reception 2019 entry) Monday 11th June 1.30—3.00pm—click above to book a place.
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FORMS NEWS
FORMS NEEDS YOUR HELP!!! With two of the biggest events of the year for FORMS coming up, we really need your help!!! Firstly we are looking for volunteers for FORMS SUMMER FAIR on 23rd June; you can sign up to volunteer to help with either set up or take down here http://signup.com/go/wCUcuwX And then the following week, it is Senior School Sports Day, for which we need help with setting up, serving on the barbecue, serving drinks, and then helping to clear away afterwards. The link to volunteer your time is http://signup.com/go/kKRwfAm. If you have any questions about either event, please contact the FORMS Vice Chair
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SUMMER HOLIDAY ACTIVITY BLAG Youth Theatre Summer School As we head towards the Summer I am sure some parents will be keen to find a fun and creative activity for their children. At Blag we offer a full two week performing arts program that culminates in a production at the Elgiva Theatre. Over the last 20 years we have had lots of RMS girls including my own daughter (an ex-RMS pupil) take part and experience what it's like to be part of a musical production. This year we will be fusing together two story lines, 'School of Rock and Fame' the show will be tailor written and offer great parts for all. If you are looking for more than just a musical theatre skills workshop and would like to find out what a Blag Project entails please email me at lynn@dramaclasses.biz and I will be pleased to answer any questions you may have. We take children from 7 years to 17 years and we start on July 23rd. We have been producing children's summer schools for 20 years and were one of the first in Rickmansworth. Being part of our summer school teaches a lot more than just performing arts, it teaches confidence, team spirit, quick thinking, social skills and enhances short term memory. We would love to hear from you so please feel free to get in touch. 01923 772320 or 07730 572714 Testimonial from RMS parents.... “I highly recommend Blag summer project. It’s been the highlight of all my girls’ summer hols for the last 10 years. Recommend it if they are interested in dance singing or drama or would just like to make a really nice bunch of friends and have a great laugh in the hols”. Abbey “Blag is a unique experience; it’s huge fun and a really encouraging environment where the kids learn what they’re capable of and how to push themselves to achieve more. Although they never feel pressured or regimented, the kids respect Ricky and Lynn’s skills and deep experience and respond by pulling together to put on an amazing show or performance. Blag’s far more than a Saturday class - it soon becomes a key part of their life, along with the lifelong friends from all different backgrounds and talents that they make there” Diane
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SUMMER HOLIDAY ACTIVITY
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SUMMER HOLIDAY ACTIVITY
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