eNews Issue 75, Friday 28 March 2013
Model United Nations Conference
12 enthusiastic students left for Edinburgh on 17 March to attend George Watson College’s Model United Nations Conference where we represented Bangladesh. We experienced Edinburgh at its finest on Friday evening, before going off to the opening ceremony. Although very nervous at first, everyone came out of their shell during the first debate session on Saturday morning. All of us asked questions from the floor and Linh Phuong Pham even debated an amendment in front of her committee. The most exciting parts of the whole trip were the ceilidh and the disco on Saturday night, where everyone finally relaxed and had fun on the dance floor. At the closing debate, after an emergency arose and Kuwait became overrun with rebels, all 50 delegations teamed together to try and find a solution. Louise Schofield and Darcy Winter thought on their feet and proposed a challenge to a resolution form France which Louise bravely put forward in front of all 600 students. We were all very grateful to Mrs Major and Miss V for organising our trip and for going with us. After such a great weekend, we were all disappointed to return to England and sad to say goodbye to our new MUN friends. Marija Djacic & Louise Schofield
House Music House Music 2012 The House Music Competition took place on Tuesday 26 March with Mr Stephen Burrows, acclaimed counter tenor and Director of Music at St George’s School Windsor, as the guest adjudicator. For weeks, all the Houses had been hard at work rehearsing ensembles, special items and House songs, using rooms in rotation to pack in enough rehearsal time and for those rare moments when every member of a House was able to rehearse at the same time! At one point in the preceding week you could stand in the Music school and hear four House songs at the same time – in Consort, Chapel, Byrd and Top Foyer – quite an amazing experience. The four Houses performed in order of Churchill, Darwin, Alexander and Becket, each with a Beginner, Intermediate and Advance soloist and then an ensemble, special item and House song. Every performer and performance almost deserves special mention, all girls played so well. But in mentioning just a few: Kelsey Lujan and Camelia Joel- Davison (Churchill) won the Beginner section singing ’ I know him so well’ and Chloe Horswell singing ’ Hey soul sister’ from Churchill and Sophia Lyons from Alexander tied to win the Intermediate section, with Sophia offering one of her own compositions ‘Drowned by Sound’. There were four stunning Advance entries from Helen Sale , Sasha Tyan, Darcy Winter, and Vicky Harding and Lucy Sedgwick as a duo, any of which could have won, but ultimately it was won by Helen Sale, who also won the prize for the best individual performance of the competition.
Becket’s Ensemble – a ‘Mash up of 6 tunes’ was impressive as was Darwin’s rendition of ‘Skyfall’. All four Special Items – Churchill ‘Some Night’, Alexander’s ‘We are never getting back together’, Darwin’s ‘Footloose’ and Becket’s ‘Circle of Life’ – were terrific fun and so well done. Best House Song of the day was ‘Summer Nights’ from Becket House. Mr Burrows spoke with genuine praise for everyone’s efforts and gave some valuable advice and tips Sasha Tyan as School Music Captain gave a vote of thanks and the competition ended with most feeling justice had been done! As with all things it’s the taking part, the enthusiasm, enjoyment, team spirit and good humour that are most important, but just by a whisker the winning house was Becket. Many thanks to all the Music captains for all the hard work and to everyone for an excellent competition. Mr I Hillier
Young Enterprise
World Book Day Publishers' Challenge The English department enjoyed reading all the interesting outlines and extracts from the potential novels, and appreciated the creativity and skill with which the ideas were presented. Congratulations to Kate Gibb (4Y) who won the Senior entry. The junior winner was Sophia Lyons (1Y). This means that Sophia has won prizes in both the Poetry Competition and the writing competition, which is very impressive. Well done to all who entered, and congratulations to Kate and Sophia.
Charity
On Thursday 14 March, members of the Young Enterprise teams from St George’s, ‘ForgetMeNot’ and ‘Branded’ attended the area finals in Bracknell. Along with 11 other teams, we set up our table displaying our products and showing off our achievements. After a tense hour while waiting for all the judges to come and view our table, we moved into the 3M auditorium where we listened to each Young Enterprise teams’ presentations. Once the presentations had finished the judges left to deliberate and after a nerve-racking 30 minutes of comfort eating and chatting we went back into the auditorium to receive the results. ForgetMeNot were pleasantly surprised to receive the award for the best company report and even more thrilled to be awarded runners up of the 2013 area finals; meaning we advance to the county finals. We hope to go forward with new ideas and improved skills. Our excitement definitely shone through on our very loud and out of tune bus drive home, with our talented singing to late night Capital FM.
The Fourth Year Boarders spent the evening baking with Miss Brown and Miss Hives to hold a Cake Sale to raise funds for YouthLine, a youth counselling service based in Bracknell. Also last week, the whole school turned up in their Pyjamas or Onsies and donated a pound to raise funds for this term’s chairty: Water Aid. The final totals are being counted and we hope to be able to send lots of much needed money to the worthy charities.
Parent Association Quiz Night
Religious Studies As part of their studies on the topic of Easter, girls in the First Year made some amazing cakes depicting the Tomb of Jesus and Jesus entering the city on Palm Sunday, Well done to all the girls.
A fabulous evening was had by parents, girls and staff at the annual St George’s Ascot Parent Association Quiz Night on Friday 15 March 2013. It was wonderfully organised and our sincere thanks go to the committee for their tireless work in organising these fabulous events. The ‘Golden Oldies’ won the title and the staff table lagged behind in fifth place after playing their joker on the Sport & Leisure round only to be confronted with questions about peanut butter! Better luck next time ...
Uniform Shop: Holiday Opening Hours Please note that the Uniform Shop will be open as normal from 12.20-1.20 on Monday 15 April, the day before term starts.
Σinstein Club!
Boarding Life
Final Instalment!
Last time we finished up with this table: Yellow
Blue
Red
Green
Pink
N America
Africa
Europe
S America
Africa
Tea
Milk
Coffee
Ribena
Golf
Lacrosse
Hockey Horses
Dogs
Now, using fact #6 (The person who plays squash also has birds), we can see that it can only fit into the space under the European. Yellow
Blue
Red
Green
N America
Africa
Europe
S America
Africa
Tea
Milk
Coffee
Ribena
Squash
Golf
Lacrosse
Hockey Horses
Birds
Pink
Dogs
There is only one position for the person who plays Netball (the person from Africa) so we can fill that in now.
The boarders had an action packed last weekend of term. On Saturday they visited the Reading Climbing Centre. Although some girls were rather nervous about heights they all had a go, conquered their fears and enjoyed themselves. On Sunday they got the train into London to watch the highly acclaimed ‘Potted Potter’ at the Garrick Theatre. It was a hilarious show and very cleverly done. They managed to squeeze in some shopping in Covent Garden and then we all went for a meal at Pizza Express.
Annual Georgian Gallop
Tuesday 23 April 2013 at 4.15pm Parents are warmly invited to attend to support or participate to celebrate St George’s Day. For more information please contact Mrs Warr on jwarr@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk
Yellow
Blue
Red
Green
N America
Africa
Europe
S America
Africa
Tea
Milk
Coffee
Ribena
Netball
Squash
Golf
Lacrosse
Horses
Birds
Hockey
Pink
Dogs
Using fact #15 (The man who drinks Water is a neighbour of the man who plays Netball) and fact #10 (The man with Cats lives next to the man who plays Netball) we can fill in two more gaps in the table. Yellow
Blue
Red
Green
Pink
N America
Africa
Europe
S America
Africa
Water
Tea
Milk
Coffee
Ribena
Hockey
Netball
Squash
Golf
Lacrosse
Cats
Horses
Birds
Dogs
And so, we have used all of the clues and can see that there is one spot left not filled in. The question asks who owns the fish. Now, since we must assume from the question that one of the five owns the fish, it must be the pet that fits into that gap. The South American owns the Fish!
Sport Life
House Lacrosse Competition On Wednesday 20 March the school took part in the House Lacrosse Competition. It was an extremely cold evening but girls came down focused and excited to compete. The support from the side lines was excellent, especially from Churchill House who made flags and wore green face paint! The Junior Competition was extremely close with only 1 point separating 3rd and 4th place and two points separating 1st and 2nd. Becket House won two of their games and drew the third which mean they won the Junior Competition, but were closely followed by Darwin in 2nd. The Senior Competition also involved some close matches and a tough fight was put up by all teams competing. Becket House won the competition with some high scoring games of 6-0, 7-1 and 3-1. Their passing and attacking play was excellent throughout. Overall the results were as follows: 1st place: BECKET nd 2 place: DARWIN 3rd place: CHURCHILL 4th place: ALEXANDER
28 points 19 points 14 points 5 points
U12 Ascot Schools Netball Tournament The U12 Ascot Schools Tournament took place on Tuesday 13 March. St George's had representation in the form of A, B and C teams. The A team girls were entered into the Cup competition and faced St Mary’s A, Marist A, LVS and Heathfield. Our girls played some excellent netball and passed the ball around court well. This resulted in them winning comfortably against Heathfield, drawing against LVS and St Mary’s but losing to Marist. The B team had a strong start with a 1-0 win against LVS. They then won four out of the next six games, with a draw against St Mary’s C team. Excellent defence from Catherine Lee and Valerie Boakye meant that only 4 goals were scored against St George’s throughout the whole tournament. St George’s eventually came 2nd and won silver medals! Well done to all! The C team played some challenging games against both other B and C teams and although they lost all bar one of their games played with vigour and determination.
U14 Ascot Schools Netball Tournament On Monday 11 March the U14 A and B teams played in the Ascot Schools Netball Tournament. The U14A team played some fantastic netball. All girls passed the ball around court well and adapted their game to suit the windy conditions. Their movement to get free and beat defenders as well as make interceptions proved how far they have come this season. Esme French captained the team and led them to 3 victories over LVS, Heathfield and Charters. The girls were unlucky to narrowly miss out on a win against Marist and St Mary’s; however their performance secured them an overall 3rd position. Well done to all! The B team started off with strong games against LVS and Marist C. Their passing was accurate and they were determined to do well. Despite some hard matches, the girls remained positive and managed to win their final game against Charters 3-1. Overall the girls came 4th and should be proud of how they played. A special mention must go to Grace Holley who managed to make some fantastic interceptions.
Sports Star of the Week Awards Spring Term 2012-13
Week 1: Hetta Loughlin (First Year) For excellent coaching during the Netball visit by Coworth Flexlands. Week 2: Meg Dawson (Fourth Year) For excellent practical performance in GCSE PE and performance in Netball matches. Week 3: Antigonie Wainwright-Parker (Third Year) For excellent gymnastics performance and commitment to Netball and Lax. Week 4: Cristina De La Pena (Third Year) For commitment and improvement in Lacrosse. Week 5: Catherine Lee (First Year) For excellent Lacrosse goalkeeping work during the Heathfield Lax tournament as well as generally showing excellent commitment and effort to all lessons and practices. Week 6: Alice Hayward (First Year) For excellent captaincy and play during the Berkshire Schools Netball Tournament. Week 7: Freja King (Fourth Year) For Lacrosse Performance at National Schools Week 8: Izzy Murray (Fifth Year) For continued hard work and effort during lessons Week 9: Sophia Lyons (First Year) For excellent Cross Country Performance Please see the Sportsboard on the website for more results and match reports.
5 Minutes with … Name: Mr M Hodges Job Title: Maths Teacher Gifted & Talented Coordinator Second Year Tutor What did you do before St George’s? Teach at an international school in Beijing for 5 years and travel around China and the rest of Asia in the holidays. What is your greatest achievement? I could say something cliché like being taught by my students. But the real answer is probably rowing for Great Britain when I was 18 and winning a silver medal (there were only 2 boats in the race). How would you describe yourself in 3 words? “Tall Maths man”. Or I quite like “efficient not lazy”. Who is/was the most influential person in your life? My uncle, Dr Geoff. He introduced me to my favourite authors and films, Asian culture and many of my hobbies. And his kids are so smart and great fun. What was the last book you read? Dodger by Terry Pratchett. A fun historical fantasy novel about a fictional character called Dodger who lives in old London and meets historic figures like Sweeney Todd and Charles Dickens. Brilliantly funny and a happy feel good story full of clever twists. What would you do if you won £2m in the Lottery? Pay off my mortgage and then carry on as normal, with a few nice holidays and a cleaner car thrown in for good measure. Maybe set up a school somewhere warmer. If money was no object where would you travel to? Mars. Or the Bahamas. What is your ultimate Desert Island Disc? Tough one. Can I take Starcraft and a laptop to play it on? If I had to choose one band though it would have to be Muse, but it’s a close call I have lots of favourite artists. Which person alive or dead would you most like to spend a day with? Einstein. He was the greatest mind to have ever lived and has hundreds of inspiring quotes; it would be nice to have a chat with him about and the universe and stuff. And I could ask him who owned the fish? What makes St George’s so special? The people; there’s such a great community feel among the students and the staff, it’s hard not to smile here. Oh, and the amazing view from my classroom. And the food!
Looking Forward... Monday 15 April 2013 Boarders Return
Friday 3 May 2013 Exeat begins at 4.00pm
Tuesday 16 April 2013 Summer Term Begins
Monday 6 May 2013 BANK HOLIDAY Boarders Return
Saturday 20 April Churchill House Party 7.00pm Monday 22 & Tuesday 23 April 2013 Lower Sixth Drama Performance 7.30pm, Drama Studio Tuesday 23 April ST GEORGE’S DAY The Georgian Gallop 4.15pm Saturday 27 April 2013 OPEN MORNING All girls required from 9.45am - 11.15am Monday 29 & Tuesday 30 April 2013 GCSE Drama Performance 7.30pm, Drama Studio Thursday 2 May 2013 Evening of Dance and Jazz 7.30pm, Sue Cormack Hall
Headmistress’ Lecture
Wednesday 17 April 2013 SL5 Performance ‘We Lost Elijah’ 6.30pm, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
MANDY HICKSON
Mandy Hickson 07799 628 540
mandy@mandyhicksonspeaker.com
Dream it. Believe it. Do it.
www.mandyhicksonspeaker.com
As a School Governor and Mother of two young boys I recognise the daily challenges that face Head teachers and their staff. All too frequently this has an impact upon the time available to do the very things that are undoubtedly
close to your heart –nurturing your pupil’s hopes and aspirations and inspiring them to the realisation of their dreams and ambitions.
My own dream to become a fast jet pilot started when I was 13 years old and
Tuesday 7 May 2013 7.30pm in the Cormack Hall
despite apparently insurmountable hurdles, I ultimately became the only female Þghter pilot ßying the Tornado GR4 on my front line squadron.
I’ve come to realise that these experiences can act as an inspirational example to ignite the spark of our future adults in terms of self-belief and a
Mandy the firstis female pilots to flabout y multi-million pound fulÞllingwas life. one My of message about conÞdence, overcoming fear and fast jetsworking for thehard. Royal Air Force working in a constantly challenging about and exhilarating environment. If this is something you would like to bring to your pupils, I can promise a
Hear her unique insight into this elite world and the importance unique, memorable and engaging event which includes Þlmed footage and of remaining calm under pressure and leading, quite literally, from which will leave your students with an understanding that they can indeed the front. aim high. Entry is free. Please confirm your place with the School Office on 01344A first 629class 900 or office@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk Inspirational performance
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It’s generally recognised that men have preconceptions about women, so how do
and engaging
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www.stgeorges-ascot.org.uk
you make your mark in a male dominated environment? How on earth do you become the only female pilot on a Front Line Tornado Squadron….
Motivational Speaker, Mandy Hickson, fought hard to achieve her ambition to be an RAF pilot and talks with humour and great passion about making that dream happen despite apparently insurmountable setbacks.
Her story gives a unique view of success and survival in a way that will resonate with those determined to succeed in today’s challenging business climate. If you know a group or organisation that’s aiming high, or a school which is seeking to ignite a spark in their pupils and would benefit from a unique and memorable speaker please get in touch.
Scan the QR codes below using your smart phone to go directly to the web page you need. Offering a frank insight into the strategies she employed to succeed in an elite and demanding
Mandy Hickson - Motivational Speaker
School Website
Sportsboard
Citrix
+44 (0)7799 628 540
School Email
www.mandyhicksonspeaker.com
mandy@mandynicksonspeaker.com