TRINITY TERM NEWS JULY 2017
A Year in Sport Trips and Visits
School Events - Sports Reports - Trips and Visits
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Sports Report: Athletics by Athletics Captain, Zuriel Owolana It has been a privilege and an honour to have had the opportunity to be captain this year, which I would say has been one of the most successful, if not THE most successful, athletics seasons for RMS. The 2017 season for Athletics got off to a flying start with the intermediate girls winning the English Schools Track and Field Cup qualifiers which allowed us to progress to Regionals. At the East Anglian Regional Finals RMS finished in 3rd place with a total score of 396 points. Due to the way schools are selected to compete in the National Finals, we missed out on being selected despite having the 10th best points total nationally. A huge achievement and well done to the Under 16 team There have been a lot of personal bests and season's bests achieved during school competitions, and I am extremely proud of all of the girls for always trying their hardest in every fixture. I would like to mention a few examples of some outstanding achievements: Jane Williamson had the amazing opportunity to run for England in the Cross Country. Freya Witheat achieved a massive PB in her 75 metres hurdles and was only 0.02 seconds off the English schools’ standard!
This year was the first time that THREE RMS girls have been selected to compete in the English Schools’ Championships, representing Hertfordshire. This competition is at the highest level as far as athletics goes for our age group. Gracie Ingles has been selected for 800m, Talia Morton Kemsley for Long Jump and myself for 100m. This section also highlights the variety of specialism of athletics events at RMS. I would also like to mention some up and coming talents that keep improving every year; Amelia Daley, who really does give me a run for my money (excuse the pun). Amelia has jumped over 5 metres this season and that puts her 35th in the whole of UK. This is a massive achievement for someone who has only just started athletics and whose main sport is gymnastics, in which she has competed at international level. Miranda Conn has greatly improved in her hurdles and Carys Arnold is becoming a very promising 800m runner having won all her races this season and was crowned district champion this term. Thank you to the whole PE Department and all the girls who have competed this season. Your effort has placed us as one of the best schools for athletics in Hertfordshire.
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Sports Report: Gymnastics It has been another hugely successful year from RMS gymnasts, with a host of individual and team triumphs..... Our gymnasts excelled themselves in competition this year with teams reaching the national finals in all three age groups, a first for RMS National Results: Amelia Daley came 11th out of 28 for her tumbling; the Over 14 group (Serena Conn, Manaalee Trivedi, Isabel Peters, Miranda Conn, Ella Peters and Beatrice Vane) came 4th overall, just missing out on third place and a medal by 0.05 points; The Under 14 team (Miranda Conn, Amelia Daley, Ella Peters, Mia Tompkins and Thalia Adams) came 2nd for floor and vault and 1st as part of the Eastern Region The U11 pair (Zahava and Zissel Owolana) came 10th The Under 11 group (Zahava Owolana, Olivia Stubbs, Sowmiya Paramjorthy, Ynes Minashi, Ophelia Whitfield, Isobel Edwards. came 6th The U11 team (Sophie Chiese, Georgie Wells, Ynes Minashi, Sowmiya Paramjorthy, Olivia Stubbs)came 7th on the floor and vault
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Sports Report: Tennis by Rachel and Katie, Year 10 Tennis team The Year 7 tennis team has had some tough matches this season; however, they managed to win 2 out of 5 of their matches against St Clement Danes and Watford.
The Year 9 team has had a difficult season, winning only a few of their matches. However, all players were great sports and showed great perseverance in all of their games.
The Year 8 team has had a cracking term by winning all of their matches against some of the best schools in Hertfordshire. Congratulations to Steph, Betsy, Freya and Monika.
The Year 10 team were successful against Haberdashers in a championship tiebreak, after having always failed to beat them in the past, which was a lovely feeling! Overall we’ve had a great year! Thank you to Miss Boddey, Miss Watts, Miss Lavelle and her team for running the recreational team, and Mrs Booth.
The District team also did a good job by winning most of their matches and have finished as District Runners Up this season, so congratulations to Phoebe, Rachel, Holly, Jennifer, and Aneya.
Sports Report: Trampolining Our Level 3 team was made up of Natasha Jones, Olivia McGuire, Ella RMS hosted its first trampoline Baish, Elena Izqueirdo-Hall and Beatrice competition this term with our squad taking Vane. Elena Izqueirdo-Hall placed 1st on a 12-strong team from Haberdashers' over all and included an astonishing six Aske's School for Girls. There were two team somersaults in her routine! As a team events as well as individual titles to be won. the Level 3s also placed 1st and had the highest total score for Round 1. This was an important competition for the squad where they were attempting to Beatrice Vane won an award for the complete high-difficulty routines and see neatest routine across the whole how they fared in front of the judges. Each competition with a score of 8.9 out of girl performed two routines, one simple set 10. routine and a harder voluntary routine with somersaults. The competition was a success and an
By Miss McCarthy
The Level 2 category consisted of Charlotte Clarke, Polly Berryman, Talia Adams, Lauren Cliffe, Jemima Redding and Gabi Kaplan. Charlotte Clarke took 1st place overall, Talia Adams 3rd and as a team the Level 2's placed 1st with the highest total score for Round 2.
enjoyable afternoon for the girls and the parents who came to support. We are looking forward to hosting many more trampoline events in the future. Congratulations to all girls that took part.
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Sports Report: Rounders This term has seen lots of success for RMS rounders teams, with the Year 8,9 and 10 teams all winning their respective district tournaments! The Year 10 team beat Haberdashers resoundingly in the semi finals by 7.5 to 1 rounder, before facing Watford Girls' Grammar in the final. After a close game, RMS emerged triumphant to take the District Champions title. In the Year 9 tournament RMS beat Westfield, St Joan of Arc, Parmiters and Watford on their way to the semi final against the Reach Free School, which they easily won. They then faced Haberdashers in the Final, where they batted and fielded beautifully, winning by 6 1/2 rounders to 2.
Other Sports Trinity Term saw students, parents and staff alike taking to the golf course and to the water for Sailing club and regattas, as well as the first cricket matches for our Year 7 and 9 teams. The girls took part in a Three Rivers and Watford School Sports Partnership competition, which saw mixed successes but our teams had lots of fun and played some excellent cricket.
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Other Sporting Successes Congratulations the following girls on their sporting achievements: Ceara Barber who is swimming for Great Britain in the European Youth Olympics this month; Her younger sister Niamh, who qualified to swim 100m and 200m freestyle at the British Nationals; Cara O'Toole who qualified for nationals in 200m backstroke and 200m breaststroke Amelia Daley who came first in the National finals for Floor and Vault; Sophie Faulkner who qualified for the English Nationals in Golf; Megan Elworthy who has achieved a place in the Mavericks netball squad; Carys Arnold, who has been awarded a contract with Reading Football Club; Sophie Parkinson who captained our equestrian team, and came 4th at the National Plate Championships; Phoebe Eggs who represented RMS and was crowned champion at the Bloxham Schools Equestrian competition. Congratulations also to Emma Futcher and Amy Pullen who have competed at the highest national level in Climbing and Squash respectively.
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Modern Foreign Languages Evening On 5th of July, Cadogan House and the Senior School celebrated their Modern Foreign Languages evening with brilliant performances in several languages by girls from Year 2 to Year 9. This was the Modern Foreign Languages Department's ninth such event, and as always was a lovely opportunity for students, staff and parents to celebrate the sense of enjoyment and achievement that can be gained from learning about foreign languages and cultures, four of which were represented at the event. Some of the highlights were a short theatrical piece on the French Revolution by Year 5, several songs in German and Mandarin, Year 7 pupils presenting a GCSE structure in Spanish and a beautiful recitation of a French poem. The event was well attended and gave the opportunity to visitors to learn more about international cheeses and taste them. We look forward to bringing you the tenth MFL evening next year! Mr Piquieras
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UKMT Mathematical Circle Mathematical Circle took place at RMS on the 20th and 21st of June. Mathematical Circles are designed for young people with an interest in mathematics. They aim to promote mathematical thinking and provide an opportunity for participants to meet other students who enjoy Mathematics. By Jennifer, Nicole,Jasmine and Emma Over two consecutive days, students took part in demanding and stimulating sessions led by experienced mathematics communicators. We all found it both fun and challenging. On the first day, we had lessons on mathsrelated subjects such as cryptography and data science. We enjoyed the cryptography lesson the most, despite the incredibly hot weather.
We took part in lots of fun activities on the second day, including making Reuleaux triangles. At the end of the day we had a team competition. We were split into different teams but all of us cooperated well with boys or girls that we didn't know, allowing us to complete the tasks. The competition was stressful as it was under timed condition, but at the same time, we all enjoyed the challenges we faced over both days.
Mathematical Enrichment Day at the Royal Institution On Sunday 2nd July, we travelled to the Royal Institution in London, and met up, before heading into the lecture theatre to hear our first speaker. We did some extension puzzles before. The first speaker was a woman who had done a Maths degree and now uses these skills to calculate vital research into glaciers in the polar regions. She showed us how to calculate the average temperature of the earth using various data, including the solar constant, which we calculated using the energy from the sun and the surface area of a sphere.
She also explained how melting ice leads to climate change. During lunch, we competed a maths challenge-style competition, which we later found out we won by getting only 4 questions wrong, so we won a book by the second speaker Matt Parker. Matt showed us how to calculate cube roots to six digit numbers, and Mรถbius loops which you can never cut in half. He also showed us his work in making binary computers out of dominoes, and we also played with a spherical camera.
All the Maths we learnt there would not be taught in a classroom, so it was really fun to play with Maths in a way we are not always able to. It was a really enjoyable day, and we hope to be able to do something like it again.
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GCSE and A Level Art and Textiles Exhibition 2016-17 Our annual Art and Textiles Exhibition is always truly spectacular and this year was certainly no exception. For those of you who were unable to visit it in person, here are just a few of the the works of art. A full gallery of images can be seen here: http://bit.ly/RMSArtText20167
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RMS - At Home and Away
Yet again this year, RMS girls have been exploring the world! Here are some reports and photos from just some of our overseas trips this year...
Australia Sports Tour - May 2017 This Easter, 47 Year 8-10 students set off for one of the biggest trips RMS has organised a sports tour "Down Under". During our two weeks away, we visited the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Cairns, and finally Sydney. In each place, we played lots of netball and hockey matches, but in between these we were able to do plenty of sightseeing - the highlights were definitely the Great Barrier Reef and a surfing lesson in Manly. Thank you to the PE Department for organising such an amazing trip! You can see more photos here: http://bit.ly/RMSOz2017
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History Trips to Berlin The History trip to Berlin is one of the School's favourite trips - so much so that the Department organises two visits a year! Year 11 Trip This trip consolidated our knowledge of Weimar, Nazi and Cold War Germany. It was an intensive four days where we learnt a lot, walked a lot, ate a lot, walked a lot, laughed a lot, walked a lot, learnt a lot and walked a lot. On our first day we were a little sleepy as we ventured onto the Berlin U-Bahn and went for lunch in the sunshine followed by a brief visit through the Sony Centre to purchase some cinema tickets for the next night. We spent the afternoon in the German Historical Museum where we extended our knowledge of Weimar and Nazi Germany and tasted some of the best apple strudel in town. In the evening we took a sunset trip up to the top of the glass dome of the Reichstag; the German parliament building, designed by Norman Foster. From here there are views across the city. You can walk on a platform all the way up, whilst listening to an audio tour along the way. At the very top we could lay back and look at the stars through the glassless space that serves to collect rainwater. This was a highlight of the trip for many of us. We ambled back, stopping for a few photos at the Brandenburg Gate, and also for an obligatory drink at Starbucks.
On Saturday we took a trip out of the city to the Olympic Stadium, built by Hitler in 1936 for the Olympic Games. He used this event to show off Germany to its full potential and showcase what he deemed was the ‘master race’. The stadium is the home of the soccer team Hertha BSC; Bundesliga games and international soccer matches take place here. We then journeyed to the north where we met our guide Phil and visited Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. This was a very bleak place. The camp was used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May 1945. In the camp we saw the cells where prisoners may have been put in solitary confinement and where there are now memorials to some of the more well-known inmates such as Martin Niemoller. We read the story of men such as Georg Elser who attempted to assassinate Hitler. We also saw reconstructions of barracks, which were horrifically crowded, and went down into the camp kitchen. Phil told us insightful stories about the camps from money laundering to escape plans. The visit was moving and memorable, something that will stay with us throughout our lives. In the evening we lightened the mood by relaxing at the cinema, in one of only five IMAX cinemas in Germany.
The next day we ventured into the city for an in-depth walking tour. We saw Museum Island, the Berliner Dom - the city’s largest church - and Bebelplatz, the site of the infamous Nazi book-burnings in 1933. We also visited a world-famous chocolate shop where there were largescale models of famous Berlin sights such as the Brandenburg Gate made out of chocolate. We stopped at Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous checkpoint along the Berlin Wall and even posed for a few photos with some handsome guards. We saw surviving sections of the Berlin Wall and learned a bit more about its history. We managed to get caught up in the Berlin half-marathon. After lunch, we moved onto the memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which occupies a spot very close to the Brandenburg Gate and was erected after much debate over how to honour those murdered during the Holocaust. It consists of lots of differently sized concrete blocks and once you walk down into the middle of it, it is quite an eerie experience. Later in the afternoon we followed this up with a trip to the DDR Museum. This is an interactive museum all about life in East Germany when it was under Communist control. You could literally smell the coffee from the period and take a drive in a Trabi car. We had a gentle stroll home which included our obligatory photo stop with Marx and Engels. Our final day came all too quickly but in the short amount of time we had we managed to fit in a tiny bit of shopping before departing to the airport!
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History Trips to Berlin Year 10 Trip On 23rd June 2017, 26 girls and 3 enthusiastic teachers set out for a long weekend of history fun in Berlin. Unfortunately 3am is not the most popular time to wake up and head to school, however all girls took it upon themselves to get there with all but one passport! When we finally arrived in Berlin after a short flight from Heathrow we headed to our hostel and were sure to grab the Wifi password as soon as possible. We then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city and going to the Deutsches Historisches Museum where we had our first taste of Berlin history. We looked at all the memorabilia including the first edition of the Treaty of Versailles, which was truly incredible to see in real life. We then travelled back to our hostel for a delicious dinner. Afterwards we set off to the Reichstag, the German Parliament. The building is beautiful with a glass dome at the top which we were able to walk up, and from where you could see the whole of the city which was truly magical. We later arrived back at the hostel for a wellneeded rest for the action packed day ahead. Day 2 started with a lie in until 9:00 and then we travelled to Sachsenhausen Concentration camp using the integrated transport system of trams and trains. Sachsenhausen was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May 1945. Between these times the camp took over 35,000 victims.
Here we met our fascinating tour guide Brian, an actor and director who for a few months a year leads tours in Berlin. He knew everything about everything to do with Berlin's history, and showed us all around Sachsenhausen. After our tour we retired back to the hotel for an evening meal, swiftly followed by a visit to the Imax in the Sony centre where we watched the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie with a tonne of popcorn! Day 3 consisted of a 4-hour guided walking tour with our favourite tour guide Brian who had a wealth of knowledge. We visited sites like the Berlin Wall, a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin between East Germany and West Germany, from 1961 to 1989. At Checkpoint Charlie we put our feet on either side of East and West Berlin. After that we went to the site of Hitler's bunker where he committed suicide when he realised Germany had lost the war. Finally we finished at Brandenburg Gate, an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian King Frederick William II after the successful restoration of order during the early Batavian Revolution. After finishing the eye-opening tour we headed to the Olympic stadium, built for the summer Olympics in 1936, now renovated and used for the 2006 Fifa World Cup. It had the most beautiful view and and breathtaking view. Afterwards we headed back to the hostel where some people relaxed and chilled at leisure, while others decided to have ice cream and drinks at a lovely restaurant accompanied by Mr Grogan and Miss Onyems. Finally we headed back to the hostel for a good night's sleep.
Day 4 started with our final breakfast, and everyone packed up their belongings and checked out of the hostel. However we still had time to visit the DDR Museum which gave us an insight into day-to-day life during the Cold War using interactive learning, which really helped us absorb all the information. One thing we couldn't miss was doing a final bit of shopping in a Berlin mall, and then we made our way to the airport for dinner and the flight back to Heathrow. A big thank you to Miss Simmonite for organising the trip and to Mr Grogan and Miss Onyems for making it possible, as it was an unforgettable experience full of fun and interesting information. I truly recommend it to anyone studying GCSE history in the future.
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Year 9 Spanish Trip to Alicante Year 9 Spanish students spent four days in Alicante brushing up on their language skills, and trying plenty of Spanish food... Having arrived in Alicante and got on a local bus with our luggage, we were able to admire a country some of us had never set foot in before. When we arrived at our hotel, our rooms were unfortunately not ready, so we started our first task. We split up and went to get lunch and had to ask a Spanish speaking person a question in Spanish to extend our skills. This proved to be a surprise to some as everyone seemed to speak so fast! In the evening we went to have dinner at a place called '100 Montinos' where we tried small sandwiches which tasted amazing! The next morning we went off to our first day at language school. It was an intensive session but helped us feel more able to interact with the locals.
The afternoon saw us exploring a little more of the town and trying tapas for lunch, using our developing language skills. After a second morning at the language school where many of us were beginning to feel more confident with our skills, we were treated to a proper paella and a range of traditional Spanish desserts. On our last day, before heading off for the plane, SeĂąor Piqueiras got the chance to dig out his 'Sir Alan' impression as we undertook Apprentice tasks. We had to find and ask for a number of strange items from around an amazing covered market. All was going well in our group until we came to one item we were unsure of. We asked for help from a lady at a coffee shop who unfortunately mis-translated it and so we arrived at Mr P's table with an incorrect item and had to quickly find the correct one!! We all agreed that this was definitely a trip we'd recommend to the current Year 7 and 8 girls who study Spanish and thank our teachers for giving up some of their time to help us develop our confidence and language skills You can see more of our trip photos here: http://bit.ly/RMSAlicante17
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Geography Trip to Iceland A group of Geography students are currently in Iceland exploring geysers, volcanoes and much more... Here are some of their photos of the trip so far...
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Watersports Trip to the Dordogne A group of Year 8 and 9 students have been trying their hand at a variety of watersports in the Dordogne... They seemed to be having lots of fun and we look forward to hearing more about it now they are back, but in the meantime here are some photos to enjoy...
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Science Trip to The National Space Centre Last month, a group of lucky students from Year 10 spent a day at the National Space Centre in Leicester... Home to six interactive galleries, the UK’s largest domed planetarium, a unique 3D Simulator Experience and the iconic 42m high Rocket Tower, this really was an "out of this world" visit! During the course of the day, we enjoyed a wide variety of "hands on" galleries, and learnt lots about space, including how stars are formed, what gravity is like on other planets, and what it is like to be an astronaut. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the full dome 360 degree planetarium, although the "Into Space" gallery was clearly a favourite with Mrs Sears and Dr Munro... Here, we could walk through a mock up of the Columbus Module from the International Space Station, and yes, we found out the answer to the most asked question at the National Space Centre - how do you go to the loo in space?!!! It was really exciting to visit the Space Centre, as lots of famous astronauts have visited too, including Buzz Aldrin who was part of the Apollo 11 crew who landed on the Moon. We also saw Helen Sharman’s launch couch and spacesuit from her journey to become the first Briton in space.
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Science Trip to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich In May, Year 7 visited The Royal Observatory in Greenwich The first activity was an interactive classroom session on Seasons, Phases and Eclipses. The girls then went to the Meridian Line, and took a tour around Flamsteed House which used to be the home of the Astronomer Royal. Most girls agreed that the most exciting part of the day involved a visit to the Planetarium to watch a show entitled Solar System, Galaxy, Universe, where the girls were also able to take part in an informative Q&A session with the astronomer after the show.
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Civil War Day Now a Year 8 tradition (or simply an excuse for Mr Grogan to dress up in period costume!), Civil War Day took place on the Lowers on 9th June... Everyone had dressed up in their costume of choice, representing either a Royalist or Parliamentarian, and the day began with a long walk down through the 'time tunnel', where we 'officially' changed eras. Our visitors gave us lots of information about life during the Civil War period, including the clothing that was worn: women wore long dresses whereas men wore stockings, baggy trousers and shirts. We tucked into an authentic Civil War lunch of chicken soup and jacket potato, and then had a lesson about armour and weapons - some of us even got a chance to try on the armour and hold the weapons. The armour was very sturdy and strong, but extremely heavy. Next came the 'battle' - we each grabbed a long stick and marched down to the Lowers with our 'guns' (actually sticks), in rows as if we were in battle. Overall the day was very interesting: I learnt lots of fascinating facts and broadened my knowledge of the history of the Civil War.
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Leavers' Day and the Official Opening of "The Rose Garden" As always,Year 13 Leavers' Day is a sad occasion as we bid farewell to our oldest students, but this year it coincided with the official opening of the new Hind House garden, and we welcomed back former Head Mrs Diana Rose to do the honours...
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News
2017/18 Dates at a Glance Fireworks Display Friday 3rd November 2017 Christmas Fair Saturday 25th November 2017 Quiz Night Saturday 10th March 2018 Spring Party Friday 11th May 2018 Summer Fair Saturday 23rd June 2018
It has been an interesting year for FORMS and we’ve had some fantastic support from the school and parents. All of our events enjoyed great success, finishing off nicely with the Summer Fair, which had a wonderful community feeling and was enjoyed by all who attended - adults, children and dogs! Next year’s events are already confirmed, so make sure you save the dates. As ever, we’ll need as many helpers as possible to make things run smoothly. Have a lovely summer! The FORMS Committee
Second Hand Uniform shop during Summer Holidays The Second Hand Uniform shop will be open at the following times: Thursday 20th July 9.30-11.00am Thursday 3rd August 4.00-5.30pm Tuesday 5th September 9.30-11.00am Please note that the shop has been relocated to Weybridge during the holidays. If you have any queries, please contact Abbey Robinson via email at forms.rms2hu@gmail.com