eNews
Wednesday 9 March 2016
Dear Parents and Guardians
Last week ended very sociably with a very well-attended First Form parent tutor tea.
Meanwhile, in Milan, a group of Sixth Form Food and Nutrition and Textiles students
were gaining valuable knowledge and experience for their coursework, having fun
all the while.
On Sunday, I was very touched to be presented with a card and present by the
Boarders at a Mothers’ Day dinner. It is difficult for the girls to be away from home
at such times. The Boarding staff do a fantastic job to support each girl’s needs and
to enable them to enjoy such occasion here at Prior’s Field. This was a fun event for
everyone.
This week is a busy one. As you know, we have visitors from the Independent School
Inspectorate. It is, however, business as usual. A large number of girls are taking their
LAMDA exam this week, after many hours of hard work. Good luck, girls – enjoy it.
Yesterday we had a visit from the Eco-Schools representative who was interested to see
how we encourage green thinking and care of the environment. We are delighted to
have passed the assessment with flying colours. In the evening, it was the Lower Sixth
parents’ evening, when we were able to encourage students and provide support
and advice where needed. Thank you to those of you who were able to come.
Today, we have welcomed over 100 junior school girls to our annual gymnastics
competition. This has been a wonderful event, which everyone taking part has
enjoyed. We were able to make use of our new vault (courtesy of the PSA) and our
own girls were impressive school ambassadors as well as skilful athletes.
Also today, the Inter House Art competition has been judged. The standard for this
competition is incredibly high. I have been struck by the range of work and the
impressive talents on show. I am already thinking about how I can have a rotating
exhibition of all the entries in my office, for my visitors to see.
The end of the week brings another Sixth Form lecture, this time a talk by writer, Fran
Sandham, on an epic 3,000 mile walk across Africa. The girls are very much looking
forward to it. Then, on Friday, parents, staff and Sixth Form students will be pitting their
wits against each other at the PSA quiz. We will be fed and watered by our wonderful
caterers, Chartwells. I am hoping no one notices how large my team is …
Next week, we will be able to enjoy appART again. appART is an exhibition, indoor
and outdoor, of a variety of art work, some of which is for sale. We have invited a
number of local junior schools in over the next couple of weeks to enjoy the display.
The exhibition will be open to the public in the Easter holidays.
As well as a Fourth Form parents’ evening, next week also brings the hard-fought
House music competition. The girls – and some staff! – have been preparing busily.
I am very much looking forward to watching the results. Which will it be: Austen,
Pankhurst or Frank?
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and it seems appropriate that it is this week
that we are showing the Inspectors the legacy of Prior’s Field which Julia Huxley left
us. Thank you for your messages of support. We will let you know the outcome of the
Inspection as soon as we can.
With best wishes for the end of the week
Tracy Kirnig
pf:achievement
Well done to:
All the girls who did so well in their Maths iGCSE. We are all so proud of you.
Jess Escott who has cut her long hair short and donated the hair to charity. Jess says:
‘My friend’s sister has recently cut her hair for this good cause and I decided that it is
something that I would like to do to help. I will be going to the hairdresser and asking
them to cut 17cm off my hair. There will not be much left! I will send it to the charity
Little Princesses, who will arrange for it to be made into a special wig for a child who
needs it while they are poorly. I would like to raise some money at the same time to
help towards the cost of having the wig made. I am asking my friends and family to
help me by donating as much as they are able to, and it will be awesome if I can
reach my target. Thank you.’ Jess’ target was £400 - she has raised in excess of £700
with donations still coming in.
A Head’s Commendation and congratulations go to:
Rosalind Fomin for an exceptional piece of work ‘Why I want to
be an engineer’. Congratulations to Rosalind, whose blog will be
tweeted by the GSA (Girls’ Schools Association), and posted on its
website, during British Science Week (11-20 March).
Rosalind’s article describes the growth of her passion for engineering,
and recent holiday work experience which included the site
manager being unable to locate the key to the ladies’ toilets,
because it had not been needed in so long! Last week Rosalind
presented her EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) on the gender
inequality within today’s engineering profession and, in August, will
be heading to Canada to start an Engineering degree.
Ella Leatham and Eloise Rennie for independently organising and completing a
sponsored bike ride to raise funds for Tinga Tinga School. The girls raised £130 between
them by cycling from Guildford to Godalming along the very muddy path adjacent
to the River Wey.
Mabel O’Brien for her last piece of Biology prep on habitats which was above and
beyond expectations. She has produced a wonderfully detailed poster on the Waitomo
Caves in New Zealand, which is a unique habitat for the glow-worm Arachnocampa
luminosa.
Amira Hojeij, Amber Whitefield, Neave van’t Riet, Holly-Rose Harland Fairweather
and Isabella Francks for competing in the ISGA Gymnastics competition on Saturday.
Good luck to:
Amy Collins, Grace Collins, Poppy Edmonds, Fleur Melesi who are all performing in
Shake Ripple and Roll at the Mill Theatre in Guildford next week.
pf:boarding
This weekend the boarders spent Saturday in Guildford with Mrs
Picken, doing a little retail therapy and getting all those essentials
that they needed to stock up on. Saturday night the girls spent
the evening making beautiful decorations with Miss Condy for
the dining room ready for Sunday’s Mother’s Day Supper. In the
day on Sunday, the girls got cultural in London with Miss Pretty,
visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum
in Kensington, with a quick stop off in
Harrods…well just because it’s Harrods!
Sunday night was the Mothering Sunday
supper, where Mrs Kirnig was guest of honour; the girls also
very kindly made the boarding house staff cards too which
was lovely. A wonderful evening spent together having a
roast beef dinner followed by strawberries and chocolate.
(Miss Brailey)
pf:sport
As the season is coming to an end, there were some important fixtures played this
week.
Tuesday:
The U12 A team braved the wet and windy conditions to play the U12 Surrey tournament.
The team started well with a gutsy 1-0 win over Danes Hill. The second match was
against a strong Downsend side who managed to win 3-0. With a win and a loss, the
team had to win their next match against St. George’s B team. After a stalemate first
half, the girls scored 3 goals in the second half to take 3 points into the last match.
Sadly we were unable to pick up the points against a strong Reigate side, just missing
out on a semi-final place by 1 point. Well done girls, you showed resilience in tough
weather conditions! Keep up the hard work.
The U14A team had the return fixture at Prior’s Field losing narrowly 2-1.
Our 1st and 2nd VII Netball teams had played Charterhouse in a local derby on
home soil. The 1st won 27-13 with Olivia Russell being named as the player of the
match and the 2nd V11 won 13-3 with Zara Freeman being awarded player of the
match. Congratulations to both teams on two brilliant victories.
Wednesday:
Another netball day with our U16 and U14 teams in action against Tormead away.
Two close games saw a 13-19 loss to the U16 and a 12-21 loss for the U14 team. Well
done to Zara Freeman and Millie Webb for winning player of the match. Sadly the
U14B had their match cancelled due to the cold and wet conditions.
Thursday:
The senior hockey team were in action on Thursday against a strong Gordon’s side
away from home. The Prior’s Field team were victorious 5-1 with Sinead Kay scoring
4 of the goals! Congratulations to Ashley Davies who was awarded the player of the
match.
Well done to all of the Prior’s Field teams who competed this week and enjoy your
last two weeks of the 2015-16 season. Remember the Sports Dinner is on Monday 21
March so please return your form as soon as possible to avoid missing out!
Gymnastics
The U13 Gymnastics team travelled to Kent College to compete in
the National Gymnastics Championship Finals. They all performed
in 5 different disciplines achieving good scores. Congratulations to
all the girls, Amira Hojeij, Amber Whitefield, Issie Francks, Neave
van’t Riet and Holly-Rose Harland Fairweather.
(Mrs Baines)
(Miss Cram)
Swimming
On 7 March, we visited St Catherine’s to take a part in a swimming gala against St
Catherine’s and Notre Dame. Our U14 and U16 teams won their category, as a team
mainly because they won both their relays.
(Miss Weiserova)
pf:tennis academy
Jasmine Williams won the consolation draw in an U18, G-4
Tennis Tournament at Woking; it was a really great performance.
Good job, Jasmine, and all the best for the next tournaments.
(Mr Martin)
pf:drama
CONGRATULATIONS
…to all those girls who successfully auditioned for the “Witch Hunt”! Rehearsals are
under way and we are now just waiting on a few reply slips confirming that your
daughter can make the rehearsals. These are all documented on the schedule that
went out last week and also are posted on the Drama Studio notice board. Happy
cackling………
(Mrs Horton, Miss Hedley and Mrs Harrison @ The three witches!)
pf:english
The Word of the Week is……… Perlustration
Look the word up. Click ‘Enter’ on the ‘Word of the Week’ panel on Frog. Fill in name,
year, word class (adjective, verb etc.) and make up a sentence that shows the word’s
meaning. Press send; get a merit. Easy peasy
Last Week’s word was ‘bibliophile’ – a noun meaning ‘a lover and collector of books’.
For example: ‘Although an undoubted bibliophile, Miss Condy’s library consisted of
hundreds of books only about shoes.’ The Winner was Natasha Cocksedge – great
and slightly sinister sentence! She got three merits and some chocolate! Have a go
yourself!
(Mr Butler)
pf:world book day
World Book Day 2016
Last week we celebrated World Book Day with a plethora of
exciting activities put together by the English Department and
the school library:
• Julia Golding visit
• Second hand book sale raising money for First Story, which
brings professional writers into secondary schools serving low-income communities
to work with students developing writing and creative communication tools
• A Book Fair in the library (running this week)
• Mr Butler’s Bonkers Book quiz
• Design a Bookmark
• Book Shelf in reception where girls and staff are able to write the title of the book
they are reading on the spine of one of the books.
• Prior’s Field’s World Book Day Competition (Reimagine/ recreate a book in any form
you choose.
- a video animation of your film
- A poster or piece of art
- A cake
- An interpretive dance
- A rap or a song)
(Mrs Sapseid)
pf:debating
Junior Debate League at Tiffin Girls’ School, Kingston
An excited minibus left Prior’s Field on Tuesday afternoon to participate in the last
round of the Junior Debate League. Annie Stocker, Jessica Leach and Mabel O’Brien
were in opposition to the Government’s motion, ‘This House believes that the voting
age should be reduced to 11’.
With three strong speakers we were delighted to win this round against Ibstock Place.
The judges commented that our arguments were convincing. Annie, Mabel and Jess
explored how issues adopted by certain political parties can impact on life and death
issues. The girls explored how the voting patterns of political parties can influence
those decisions. The judges noted that the role as the speaker is important and our
girls excelled in this position. The other team might have over prepared the speech
which shows that a clear arguments and good rebuttals are better than lots of facts
and figures.
The next round was close. The motion was ‘This House as an actor of colour would
boycott the Oscars’. Emilia Chilcott, Greta Lyon and Anya Newall in opposition, did a
great job and came very close, but the Government won this time.
Michaela Holmes was awarded a Head’s Commendation for her commitment to the
Debate club. She did a great job judging the other schools and giving such precise
feedback. What a super role model she is!
The Junior League tournament is over for another year, however debating can go on!
Debate training is on a Monday after school and Wednesday lunchtime. All welcome
(Ms Kervin)
pf:geography
The Second Form were in Portsmouth last Tuesday investigating the importance of
tourism to Gunwharf Quays:
‘It was great! We learnt a lot about Portsmouth and the reasons why people go to
Gunwharf Quays. Our group loved the glass floor in the Spinnaker Tower.’
‘Our day out was very informative and a fun and interactive way to learn. We got lots
of responses to our questionnaire and even visited the shops!’
‘This trip helped us to see Gunwharf Quays in a different light as
most of us only ever go there to shop. We liked asking the public
questions and doing surveys. The views from the Spinnaker Tower
were breath-taking.’
‘We loved being by the sea and learning new things. It was fun
sitting on the glass floor of the Spinnaker Tower, looking down at
everything below.’
pf:biology and pe
A2 Biology and AS PE visit to the Surrey Human Performance Institute
This week the A2 Biology and AS PE students visited the
Surrey Human Performance Institute at the University of
Surrey. During our visit we had a live demonstration of how
various specialised equipment is used, including the usage
of a spirometer to find the volume of air inhaled and exhaled
by a participant, how a blood glucose monitor can be used
to analyse blood sugar levels and how an ECG monitor is
used to detect the electrical activity
generated in the heart during different stages of the cardiac
cycle. Toyin Dairo had the challenge of carrying out a VO2
max test! We are all now more aware of how tests can be
carried out to identify health problems and overall an
interesting afternoon was had by all.
(Georgia Thorpe)
pf:science
Lower Sixth and Fifth Form Biologists attend a lecture on ‘Protein folding and disease’
A group of Lower Sixth and Fifth Form Biologists attended this
lecture at Charterhouse last Friday evening. The lecture was
given by Professor Chris Dobson of the University of Cambridge.
The lecture was linked closely to Alzheimer’s disease which
is caused by a build up of ‘amyloid’ protein deposits within
cells of the brain. The professor explained that proteins have
a tendency to aggregate into these amyloids due more to a fault in a cell’s defence
mechanism against this process, rather than a fault with the protein itself.
Interestingly his team were not originally working on Alzheimer’s disease; they
were actually studying how proteins fold, and ‘stumbled’ upon how proteins can
aggregate into amyloids when a student’s experiment ‘went wrong’! Fortunately they
had the initiative to investigate these rogue results, and subsequently developed their
research in the context of amyloid formation. This research has also evolved into the
development of drugs to treat diseases caused by these amyloid deposits, such as
Alzheimer’s disease, with the collaboration of physicists and computer programmers
to theoretically design specific chemical compounds to block amyloid formation.
Drug screening using transgenic organisms such as tiny nematode worms has also
involved the use of fluorescent monoclonal antibody probes.
We were delighted when Professor Dobson invited us to visit his research laboratories
and see some of this work for ourselves!
(Georgia Thorpe)
pf:chess
UK Schools Chess Challenge
The 7th and final round of the Prior’s Field qualifier for the UK Schools Chess Challenge
2016 took place in lab 64 on Monday. 18 of the 25 girls who started gained a certificate
and a mascot by completing all of the rounds. 5 girls achieved the qualification
score of 15 points or more, which entitles them to compete in the inter-school stage of
this national event in May.
There were some very tense battles in the final round, but girls from 4F eventually
swept the board by claiming all of the top 3 positions: Hannah Mohammed claimed
1st place with the maximum possible score of 21 points when she defeated Kyra
Crous. Megan Wood took a deserved 2nd place with 19 points, although she was
quite fortunate to beat Emilia Chilcott in her last game. Ali Fallon took 3rd place on
17 points by defeating Emma White in a close game. Tabby Wagerfield and Dixie
McKinnon shared 4th place on 15 points.
(Dr Smith)
pf:masterchef
Masterchef Spring Term
Our latest Heat winner in the First Form is Neave van’t Riet with her fabulous
trio of focaccia breads. She used the theme of culture to produce an
American, a classically British and an Italian dish, all in 90
minutes!
Our next Second Form Heat winner is Fernella Paine who created a
stunning baked vanilla cheesecake decorated with fresh strawberries
and served with her homemade raspberry coulis.
And finally, this term’s Third Form Heat winners are Imogen Sutherland, Anna Demenok
and Isabel Plumbe, who all impressed us with their creative, skilful and beautifully
presented pastry dishes.
pf:alumnae
Do you have a daughter who has already left Prior’s Field?
We’d love Old Girls and their families to join us for a private view of appART’s Spring
Exhibition with a cream tea before the general public attend. Due to the success of
last year’s event, we have added an extra date, in the hope it will suit more of you
who cannot attend during the week. Join us on Wednesday 6 April or Saturday 9
April from 2.30pm. This annual exhibition will feature many pieces from local artists,
sculptors and craftspeople and will be displayed in the School Hall, complemented
by an outdoor sculpture trail in Prior’s Field’s Gertrude Jekyll designed garden. Please
RSVP by email: [email protected]
pf:in education news
Mental health advice
Writing in the Guardian, the government’s mental health champion for schools,
Natasha Devon, offers advice on how to promote good mental health in schools,
for both staff and pupils. She suggests regular discussion of matters related to mental
health, more exercise and encourages honest dialogue. (The Guardian)
World Book Day
Many schools held special events to mark yesterday’s World Book Day. Several
encouraged book-themed costumes and Kirsten Grant, the director of World Book
Day, criticised schools which blocked children dressing as comic book heroes or
Disney characters on the grounds that they are not literary characters, saying taking
part may encourage an interest in reading. Staff at east London’s Forest Academy
used the literary event to launch the Curriculum Campaign, a scheme designed to
address the lack of female and ethnic minority writers on set text lists. Their research
of AQA, Edexcel and OCR reading lists shows that female authors account for just
31% of GCSE and A-level texts, while some courses see just 5% of books by writers
from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds. Elsewhere, Eltham Hill School
won the World Book Day Award and was presented with £20,000 by author James
Patterson; Chris Hoy and Michael Rosen read to pupils from Wells Primary School; and
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon launched a new reading challenge with primary school
pupils at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh. (The Daily Telegraph, Page: 7
The Independent, Page: 21 Evening Standard, Page: 12 The Scotsman, Page: 19)
Independents in the spotlight
The Telegraph carries an Independent Schools supplement which addresses several
topics including: specialist schools which offer tailored facilities; Government reforms
designed to make A-levels a better preparation for university; a debate on whether
uniforms should be worn; and school trips that not only focus on educational syllabuses
but also offer unforgettable experiences. (The Daily Telegraph, Independent Schools)
British teacher’s refugee library
The Daily Telegraph highlights the work of British teacher Mary Jones, who runs a
makeshift library for refugees in the “Jungle” camp in Calais. Ms Jones set up the
library nine months ago. The Telegraph highlights that the library is at risk as bulldozers
move in to destroy the camp and fires are started in protest. (The Daily Telegraph)
pf:psa
Quiz
We look forward to seeing you all on Friday.
Diary Dates
The Royal Gardens at Highgrove Tour with Lunch - Friday 13 May
Information and booking form with the Wednesday letters
Summer Lunch (with tennis) - Friday 17 June
Details to follow in due course.
Christmas Gift Fair - Saturday 26 November
If you know anyone interested in booking a table please contact maranne.kingsbury@
btinternet.com