Legis Plenitudo Caritas
Telephone: 01509 263901
Website: www.olcs.leics.sch.uk
Issue 28 | winter 2012
Established in Loughborough since 1841. Member of ISA.
An Independent Day School for girls aged 3 to 18 and boys aged 3 to 11.
A word from the
Headteacher
In this issue:
Sixth Form Summer Ball................................. 2
Macmillan Coffee Morning............................ 2
Year 6 Talk About Meteorology................. 2
Diana Award Ceremony.................................. 3
Achievement Assembly................................... 3
European Day of Languages....................... 4
School Council...................................................... 4
Why Caritas?........................................................... 4
Loughborough Lightening
Masterclass.............................................................. 4
ISA Art Competition 2012/13..................... 5
National Poetry Week....................................... 5
Jeans for Genes................................................... 6
Textiles GCSE Year 11 Students.................. 6
Senior Citizen VIP Lunch............................... 6
Prizegiving 2012................................................... 7
Nottingham University
Summer School.................................................... 7
Sports Day 2012.................................................. 8
Boys’ Football........................................................ 9
Jess Ennis Meets Representatives
From The Convent................................................ 9
Millie-Mae’s Tennis Triumph......................... 9
Emily Hedger Flies With BYRDS.................. 9
Who Done It?.......................................................10
Reach 4 With The Sixth Form.................10
Open Evening A Huge Success................ 11
A Level Success 2012..................................11
100% GCSE Pass Rate...............................11
Parents’ Association News.......................11
Holly Whittaker Climbs Kilimanjaro..........12
Encouraging Children’s Reading...........12
Tigers Rugby Match 2012.........................12
Harvest Boxes 2012.......................................13
Shakespeare Schools Festival................13
Lourdes 2012......................................................13
Outreach..................................................................14
Summer School Experience.....................14
National Catholic
Young Writers Award........................................... 14
Remembrance 2012.......................................15
Gardening Club Takes Root......................16
Welcome to the Autumn/Winter 2012
Newsletter.
At Our Lady’s Convent School we value and
celebrate the individual as part of our larger
community. Community is immensely important
within the School as are our Christian values and
‘family’ environment. We help each young person
to enjoy the learning journey and achieve personal
goals.
We are proud of all that our School offers students;
we are able to meet the demand for excellent
exam results whilst adding value to the educational
experience. Behind each student and each set of
exam results is an individual story and it is some
of those stories that have been combined into this
newsletter.
I do hope you will enjoy reading it, celebrating
students’ achievements and experiences and join
with me in congratulating each and every student
for their contribution to the School community.
Mrs Hawley
ide!
Take a look ins
1
OLCS news | issue 28
Summer
Sixth Form
Ball
At the end of the Summer term the Sixth Form held their ball at Loughborough
Town Hall. They arranged an excellent evening to round off the Summer
term and students and staff enjoyed dressing to impress.
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Year 6 talk about Meteorology
As part of the Houses’ continuing support for Macmillan we took
part in the ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ with a bit of a twist,
as we swapped coffee for milkshakes.
By Jessica France, Lucy Grinham, Katie Harris, Maya Prasad,
Naomi Wilbram and Alicia Wood
Mrs Viv Davison came from the Met Office on 12th October to
talk to us about the weather and its impact on people. It was
fascinating. Near the end we had a quiz about the Met Office
and we had to show whether it was true or false. We learnt that
they did not have an earthquake monitor but they are starting to
record and report on weather in space. There was an interesting
PowerPoint slide show and we liked the pictures showing the
different types of weather conditions.
The girls were asked to bring in cakes and other scrumptious
items and a bevy of Sixth Formers helped to sell the shakes and
cakes at break-time and lunchtime.
The Cloister was decorated with balloons, banners and bunting
and a lively and enthusiastic crowd gathered to buy, drink and
eat with gusto.
Overall we raised a fantastic £197.02 Well done everyone!
2
Diana Award
Ceremony in London
On Monday 24th October, Emily Adams
Brown and Sarah Yates, Year 13 Caritas
prefects, travelled to Canary Wharf,
London with Miss Joss to collect the Diana
Award on behalf of the School.
Sarah said, “We felt privileged to receive such
an award and it was great to see what other
young people have achieved to help others.
We were presented with our certificates and
trophy by Martine Wright, who was deputy
team leader of the Sitting Down Volleyball
team at the London 2012 Paralympics. She
lost both her legs during the 7/7 terrorist
bombings in London; other speakers
included Sinita from the X Factor. We really
enjoyed the day and were honoured to be
invited to such an event.”
Achievement Assembly, October 2012
Mrs Hawley welcomed everyone and
congratulated them on an excellent start
to the year. She then handed over to Mrs
Chatburn to announce the outcome of the
ISA Art Competition 2012.
ISA Art Competition
First prize to Charlotte Matthews and second
prize to Razeea Hajat in the Year 12/13
Drawing category. Katherine Moorehouse
and Saskia Inkley both achieved a second
place in 2D Art and GCSE Exam Piece
respectively.
Sixth Form
Ms Petchler, Head of Sixth Form, spoke of
the achievements, dedication and hard work
of all the girls in the Sixth Form, particularly
drawing attention to all those involved in the
Outreach Assemblies and Teambuilding,
The Diana Award, Senior Citizens’ Lunch,
Harvest Boxes, Young Enterprise and
Student Council.
Poetry Competition
Mrs Blainey announced the Winner of the
KS3 Poetry Competition as Olivia Preston
and Megan Hall as runner up. KS4 Poetry
Competition winners were Hannah Bursell
and Bethany Green.
Catholic Young Writers Competition
Congratulations to Cara and Iona McNeill
for achieving joint first in the Catholic Young
Writers Competition. Their awards will be
formally presented in the next half term.
Sport
Miss Joss reviewed the School’s sporting
achievements to-date and congratulated the
Year 7 Netball team who recently played four
matches at Loughborough High School, putting
up a spirited defence but ultimately losing three
of the four matches.
Earlier in the week, eight girls travelled to
Leicester Grammar School to compete in the
U16 County Netball Tournament. As always
our girls played really well, showed great
determination and sportsmanship throughout.
The team were drawn against some stiff
competition and they were only beaten in the
semi-finals by Sir Jonathan North Community
College.
contributing to the life of the School. Mr
Henry particularly thanked everyone who
supported and were involved with the Choir
and the Orchestra. Students in KS3 were
awarded a certificate and metal ‘bronze’
pin badge to mark their achievement,
and KS4 students achieving the highest
number of House Points in their form were
awarded a ‘high street shopping’ voucher
with their certificate.
The winners of the vouchers were:
Ellie Craven
Joanna Siddall
Frankie Devine
Sophie Fern
Medals and trophies were awarded for the KS3
House Cross Country competition:
The overall House Point total currently
stands:
Year 7: 1st Lily Matthews (Rosmini), 2nd Eve
Lyon and 3rd Mollie Brown.
Year 8: 1st Jess Moody (Rosmini), 2nd Jess
Ward and 3rd Caroline Hardy
Rank House
House Points
1stPeter 1960
2nd Rosmini
1952
3rdAgnes1853
4th Teresa1545
Year 9: 1st Lucy Jones (Peter), 2nd Anna
Wanstall, 3rd Cara McNeill
The next achievement assembly will be in
February 2013.
House Points
Bronze House Points Certificates and badges
were awarded to those who had achieved
50 or more House Points in the term to date.
House Points are awarded in recognition
of achievement and involvement in School
activities including academic, music, sport and
3
OLCS news | issue 28
Loughborough
Lightening Masterclass
By Miss Joss
School Council
Jessica Cox Y12 European Day
of Languages
By Mrs Adley
On 26th September 2012 we celebrated
the European Day of Languages with a
fancy dress parade, where pupils had
to dress up to represent a country of
their choice, not necessarily a European
country. As usual the effort from the
Primary School was fantastic and our two
Sixth Form judges Ellie Marsh and Becky
Crawshaw found it hard to choose the
winners. Eventually they selected Jessica
Watkins and Soraya Khakbiz as joint
winners. Holly Jones and Alisha MarriottBest won the senior parade.
To continue the theme of languages, 8P
together with Mr Schavier produced a very
interesting assembly on Brazil together
with Samba dancing and interesting
anecdotes from Mr Schavier’s travels.
Languages online
Following the Open Evening, a reminder
that everyone can access Linguascope
at home by using the OLCS user name
and password, so if you want to learn a
language, brush up on some old skills or
continue to progress, this is the website
for you. Grammar help is always freely on
hand from www.languagesonline.org.uk
This year in School Council we have elected
the important roles within the council, such
as the positions of the Chairman and the
two Deputy Chairmen. Each candidate
had to deliver a short speech about why
they would like to be Chair and the Council
voted for the girl they felt would fulfil the
role to its fullest potential.
Jessica Cox in Year 12 was elected as
Chairperson, with Caroline Garfield and
Frankie Devine both in Year 11 as Deputies.
The Council decided as a whole that the
position of the Secretary would be shared
as it is a very time consuming role each
week for just one individual. A Publicity
team of Anisha Jalota, Iona McNeill,
Shreena Sanghani, Sophie Fern and Angel
Brooks, headed by Eleanor Hopewell was
also elected. Mr John Orrill, Catering and
Events Manager attended a meeting to
explain the new Refectory system and to
answer any questions the representatives
had collected from their peers.
This year the School Council hopes to
support various charity events as well as
helping to improve the School as a whole.
Some of the male members of staff have
taken up the School Council’s suggestion
to raise money for male health through
growing a moustache during the month of
November or ‘Movember’. I am sure that
they will be generously supported.
Jessica Watkins and Soraya Khakbiz,
Primary winners with classmates
4
On Tuesday 9th October we had the
privilege of Olivia Murphy former England
Netball Captain and Head Coach for
Loughborough Lightening and four U21
England netball players coach a selection
of 40 girls from Years 8-11. The session at
Loughborough Leisure Centre lasted two
hours and involved a warm up and then
the girls were split into three specific areas,
shooting, defending and attacking. While
in these areas they worked on ball skills,
movement and small game situations.
The session ended with some match play
where the girls applied the skills learnt.
All girls thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic
opportunity and gained some brilliant new
ideas.
Why Caritas?
Liana Malhan, Y12
Many of you may wonder why the girls
at Our Lady’s Convent School do so
much for charity. Is it because they are
made to? Is it because they feel it’s
a good thing to do? Well the answer
to your question is quite simple. Yes,
giving to people in need is a great way
of showing appreciation for what we
have, yet this is still not the main reason
why we do so much. Our School is
a Rosminian School, a school founded
by Blessed Antonio Rosmini. Antonio
Rosmini is the reason why we help
the elderly, give money to the sick and
generally show so much empathy to
those in need. Our School ethos is
‘Legis Plenitudo Caritas’, which is Latin
for ‘Charity fulfils the law’. This means
that we live our lives in service to those
who are less fortunate than ourselves.
ISA ART COMPETITION 2012/13
National
Poetry Week
By Mrs Chatburn, Mrs Schofield & Mrs Chadwick
Although OLCS is not a very large school, we do have a
large impact when it comes to ART!!
At this term’s Achievement Assembly Mrs Blainey announced
the Winner of the KS3 Poetry Competition as Olivia Preston for
her ‘visual imagery and strong use of colour’ and Megan Hall as
runner up. The standard of entries in the KS4 Poetry Competition
was so high that a single winner could not be identified; therefore
Hannah Bursell shared the award for her ‘range of exciting
vocabulary’ with Bethany Green who wrote ‘a very effective piece
with a tragic last line.’ You can see for yourself the excellent work
they produced:
We had some very impressive work for both A Level and GCSE
Art and Textiles last year. As there was such a lot of excellent
work to choose from, it was difficult to select which pieces to
submit to the annual ISA Art Exhibition. After much consideration,
we entered a selection of 2D Painting, Drawing and Mixed Media
work to the Area Award Exhibition at Malvern St James School.
We were delighted to learn that two of our strongest A Level
candidates had gained first and second prize in the Year 12/13
Drawing category. These were Charlotte Matthews’ ‘Lily’ pastel
work and Razeea Hajat’s graphite drawing of her brother.
Katherine Moorehouse was awarded second prize in 2D Art for
her mixed media response to Notre Dame in Paris and Saskia
Inkley achieved a second place with her GCSE exam piece ‘Cut
& Paste’.
Winner KS3
In My Dreams… (Olivia Preston)
Hidden behind a world of change,
Endless words written amongst the sparkling page,
Delicate candles wandering the deep ocean,
Floating as such a sight of motion,
We are very proud of all these achievements and are looking
forward to seeing Charlotte’s work go forward into the National
ISA Competition in November. It is an opportunity to get their
work seen and also to show what we can do at OLCS! We hope
to put up copies of all of the winning pieces around the School to
remind us of this and to encourage others to aim high!
Fields of corn glinting a blaze,
Children point; watch; gaze,
Tippex blobs covering the ink black night,
Light, bold, twinkling bright,
Diamonds scattered over the curtains of magenta,
A navy blue egg speckled with silver in the centre,
These things whatever they are,
Reach from my dreams to the sky a far.
Runner Up KS3
Stars! (Megan Hall)
Flung into outer-space by an unseen hand,
Guiding three kings to a whole new land.
Star fruit, fleshy yet firm,
Soft, yellow and tasty.
Star shaped or ellipsoid,
From hot countries like Haiti.
A mysterious ball of blazing fire,
A symbol of hope and burning desire.
Star bar, Milky Way and Galaxy,
Crunchy, velvety, chomp!
A mouth-watering explosion of sweet and sour,
Off to the shop we stomp.
Stars that fill our T.V. screens,
Britney, Béyonce and Bieber.
Not really that important, but,
You’d think they’re the Queen of Sheba!
‘Lily’ by Charlotte Matthews
Stars that make a difference,
Parents, nurses and teachers.
Often forgotten, never thanked,
The good ones are definitely keepers.
‘Brother’ by Razeea Hajat
Stars shine high above,
Big, bright and beautiful.
Twinkling, twirling, sparkles of light,
Like diamonds in the dead of night.
Star on top of the Christmas tree,
Waiting, watching, wondering.
Looking for the big fat man,
To come, down the chimney thundering.
Star that leads to Christ,
Shone brightly over a manger.
Shepherds, Angels and Kings.
In Bethlehem to visit the new born saviour.
‘Façade’ by Katherine Moorhouse
5
Joint Winner KS4
Stars (Hannah Bursell)
Glistening beauty; celestial light,
Bringing comfort and peace in the darkness of the light.
Countless, unnumbered, unfathomably vast,
I gaze in awe at these relics of the past.
Joint Winner KS4
Fallen Stars (Beth Green)
How do they cope?
Blinding cameras constantly flashing,
A name in bold print for the world to see,
For them to judge.
Always in the public eye,
The pressures and expectations on their shoulders,
A reputation to rely on,
That could shatter and bring bad luck,
Delicate as a mirror.
Size zero,
Deep crimson red lipstick,
Signature perfume,
Designer clothes,
Only the best.
The thought of being alone,
No friends,
Just expectations,
Driven to the edge,
Becoming fallen stars.
OLCS news | issue 28
Jeans
For Genes
Jeans for Genes Day is one of many
annual House fundraising events which
this year took place on Friday 5th
October. Everyone at School was invited
to wear a pair of jeans to School for the
day and make a donation for the privilege
of doing so.
Jeans for Genes Day raises money for
the organisation Genetic Disorders UK
which aims to change the world for
children with genetic disorders.
Individually, genetic disorders are rare
but together they affect 1 in 25 children
born in the UK - that’s more than 30,000
babies each year. Their associated health
problems mean that genetic disorders
are the biggest cause of death of children
aged 14 years and under.
Textiles GCSE Year 11 Students
By Mrs Chadwick
On Friday 12th October, Year 11 Textiles students headed off to The Alexandra Palace
in London to visit The Knitting & Stitching Show. As we arrived in glorious sunshine to
be met by the stunning views across London we knew we were in for a treat, and we
were not disappointed. The Alexandra Palace was filled to the brim with inspirational
textiles work, materials, equipment and demonstrations. All three halls were alive with
colour and texture and although it was hard on the feet the show was a fantastic
resource for all the textile students.
There were stalls of exciting materials and sparkling embellishments and
demonstrations to watch and techniques to try. Everyone came away feeling inspired
and it has certainly been a brilliant aid to the Textiles GCSE girls.
Jeans for Genes Day provides funding
for the care and support of children with
genetic disorders through their grant
programme.
We all donned our denim and raised a
very healthy £287.11
well done everybody!
Senior Citizen VIP Lunch
By Sruthi Pillai, Y12
On 17th October, the Lower Sixth invited twelve local elderly
churchgoers to enjoy a complimentary meal within our School, after
a successful fundraising effort in the form of a cake sale. The guests,
or as we like to refer to them, the V.I.P.s, delighted in a three course
meal, entertainment, and the company of the girls. Overall, the V.I.P.s
thoroughly appreciated the afternoon and the girls truly think it was a
heart-warmingly pleasurable experience.
6
Nottingham University
Summer School
By Jodie Legrand, Y13
This Summer I was lucky enough to win a place
on this year’s Food Summer School, hosted at
Nottingham University on the Sutton Bonnington
Campus. In total 50 of us attended the course
and it was a great experience to be allowed to
look into various aspects of Food Science.
We were each assigned a sponsor who was
going to pay for our stay and expenses whilst
we were on the Summer School; ‘The Chilled
Food Association’ sponsored my stay. We were
all accommodated in the new residential block
and enjoyed many great experiences while we
were on the course, from creating and marketing
pizzas to a specific opening in the food market
(my group’s being a high quality vegetable pizza),
to trialling different yogurts and seeing how our
sense perception affects what foods we like and
dislike.
We had a meal with industry professionals and
were informed about the various jobs that are so
widely available in the food industry. Even though
it was Summertime, I was astonished to hear that
despite the fact that I was wishing for a heat wave,
Tesco had just finished and finalized their 2012
Christmas range and advertising, they’d even just
successfully hosted their Christmas party!
On the final day of our stay on the university
campus we were rewarded with the amazing
opportunity to visit an active factory and food
production line, which is normally closed to the
public. We were split into various small groups
and travelled to six different factories ranging
from Dairy Crest and Samworth Brothers (who
manufacture both desserts and meats in two
different factories within the East Midlands and
supply to Waitrose, Marks and Spencer’s and
Tesco) to Pepsi Co. This was an eye opening
experience to see the vast number of employees
that work in the factory and how they transform
the initial ingredients to the food we expect to
see in front of us.
Prizegiving
2012
The annual celebration of achievement
both academic and non-academic was
held in September this year. This was
a change from the usual November
date to enable more of our Upper Sixth,
who left in the Summer, to return and
participate before they departed to join
their various universities.
This year we were honoured to host
David Wells, Director of the Vicariate
for Formation, Plymouth Diocese, the
Mayor of Charnwood, Councillor Diane
Wise and Mr Colin Price, Vice Chair
of Governors as well as Trustees and
parents. As Mrs Hawley summarised
the last academic year it was apparent how much the students have achieved and been
involved with; from celebrating The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics to many
sporting successes including the U15 Leicestershire Netball Championships, the ISA
and Charnwood Netball Leagues.
The theme for the evening was Community and it was clear right from the start with Mrs
Hawley’s address and presentations from current students that ‘community’ is a major
part of the life of the School.
David Wells’ engaging, entertaining and thought provoking address prompted everyone
present to ‘believe in what we do’. He emphasised how student differences enrich each
and every one of us and how as a School based on Catholic values we are a wonderful
community, full of beautiful diversity where together we can each be an individual.
After the formal end of the Prizegiving ceremony guests gathered in the Cloister for wine
and canapés to chat and further celebrate the achievements of the prize winners as well
as the choir and orchestra who supported the event with professional aplomb.
It was a great experience to carry out various
tests and experiments in university labs and
be able to have a short preview into life as a
student. We had many social events that ranged
from team building to just chilling out with one
another. I am still in contact with many of the
people that I met on the Summer School.
I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who
is interested in Food Science as it’s an incredible
experience, and it opens your mind to the rapid
growth of the food industry as a whole.
David Wells, Georgia Cave (Head Girl) Cllr Diane Wise (Mayor of Charnwood), Mr
Colin Price (Vice Chair of Governors)
7
OLCS news | issue 28
Sports Day
2012
Year 10
100m 1st 2nd
3rd
Year 9
100m 1st 2nd
3rd
T
his year the Summer term has been marred by the persistently
poor weather. On Senior Sports day the deluge was so heavy
there was flooding in the School (of course we remained open),
hail stones the size of golf balls were reported and flash floods
around Loughborough. Unsurprisingly the athletics track at the
University was also flooded and sadly the event was postponed.
The following day was scheduled to be the Junior Sports Day and
whilst there was rain, it was not sufficient to cancel the event and
it proved to be an ideal opportunity to combine the Senior and
Junior Sports Days into one packed afternoon.
E Carrier
A Simes
A Clarkson
200m 1st E Beachell
2nd H Webb
3rd H Ball
S Hahn
L Haynes
L Thompson
800m 1st L Jones
2nd A Wanstall
3rd C McNeill
200m 1st E Astbury
2nd E Fathers
3rd A Watkins
800m 1st A Matthews
2nd T Bignell
Year 8
100m 1st E Mitchell
2nd L Clarkson
3rd J Hunt
The event was extremely well managed by the PE department
of Miss Joss and Mrs Durham ably assisted by Miss Werritt, Mrs
Matthews and many other members of the teaching staff.
Due to members of the GB Olympic Team being based at the
University we were given very little choice as to when we could
hold the events, as a result the majority of the Year 10s were out
on their final Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Expedition, however they
did compete in the 100m during PE lessons prior to departing.
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
1st
Peter
Teresa
Peter
Agnes
2nd Rosmini
Peter
Agnes
Teresa
Total House Scores:
3rd
4th
Teresa Agnes
Rosmini Agnes
Teresa Rosmini
Rosmini Peter
First:
Teresa-790
Second:Agnes-774
Third:
Peter - 704
Fourth:
Rosmini - 639
8
Year 7
100m 1st O Jones
2nd H Grinham
3rd A Bown-Bhandal
200m 1st G Elliott
2nd E Cairns
3rd S Stevens
800m 1st J Moody
2nd J Ward
Boys’ Football
Mr Gallagher has once again started
Football training with the Junior boys
at lunchtime on a Monday. Currently:
Robin, Abi, Frank, Harry, Ben, Leon
and Sam all enjoy getting to grips with
passing and goal kicks.
Millie-Mae’s
Tennis Triumph
Jess Ennis meets
Representatives from The Convent
On Saturday 7th July 2012, 24 girls represented the School at the LEAP (Loughborough
European Athletics Permit) meeting held at Loughborough University. Our girls were kit
carriers and had to look after the kit while the athletes were competing.
The girls were provided with a T-shirt and had the chance to meet Jessica Ennis who
was competing on the day. Our girls’ conduct was exemplary and they showed great
self-restraint when meeting world class athletes; their calm and professional conduct
was noted, appreciated and commented upon by the organisers of the event. Jessica
competed in, and won, the Long Jump, this was her final competative event before her
huge success at the London 2012 Olympics. Millie-Mae Matthews in Year 5 is already
proving to be a real tennis star, by winning
her First Grade 3 Orange Girls 9 and Under
Tennis Tournament at the 83rd Felixstowe
Open in August.
Millie finished 1st in the Nottinghamshire
Summer County Leader Board and also
1st in the Midlands Summer Regional
Board, and ranks number 25 in the UK.
Since the start of the Winter season, Millie
had played four tournaments and won
three, at Leeds, Goole and Loughborough
and come second at Derbyshire, so the
season is off to a good start! With one
more season to go Millie-Mae’s sights are
set on achieving a place in the UK top 10
or above, and we wish her every success
in her endeavours. Millie-Mae’s potential
has already been spotted and she is part
of the ‘My Tennis’ Graduate Programme
at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre at
Loughborough University.
Emily Hedger Flies with BYRDS
Emily Hedger in Year 11 has recently returned from
competing at the British Young Riders Dressage
Scheme (BYRDS) Home International, at Bishop
Burton in East Yorkshire.
The road to achieving a place at the competition
has been paved with hard work on Emily’s part
and a great deal of support from her family. To
be considered for selection to the team Emily
participated in a number of high level competitions,
the results of which she submitted to BYRDS as
did many other aspiring dressage competitors.
After an agonizing wait, the good news finally
arrived – she was selected for the team! Each
team consisted of four riders; one each competing
for the Novice, Elementary and Medium dressage
tests, with the fourth rider acting as back up.
Emily was selected to compete at the Elementary
level in the Over 16 class – despite being only 15.
Emily and Oscar competing
at Bishop Burton, Yorkshire
Once selected, Emily attended many additional
training sessions and extra lessons which often
9
meant missing school. She said, “I have really
enjoyed the whole experience, even the hard work
leading up to it. At times it was stressful, but in
a good way, but I think my mum was anxious and
found it very stressful. I completed three dressage
tests over two days. For the first one Oscar and I
didn’t do so well, luckily this didn’t affect the team
competition, but the second test went really well
and in spite of missing out a movement, I won!
On the second day it was so foggy you couldn’t
see the other end of the warm-up area and I didn’t
feel the third and final test went so well, but still I
came ninth.”
At the end of the competition Emily’s hard work
had paid off: she achieved an individual 3rd overall
and her team achieved a 5th place overall.
Congratulations to Emily and Oscar!
OLCS news | issue 28
The ‘photofit’ rogues gallery
O
n the last day of the Summer term, a shocking sight met the
senior students as they arrived; there on the lawn was the
unmistakable outline of a body...
The Heads of House had once again pulled out all the stops, this
time to host a ‘Murder Mystery’ House competition as a start to
the Summer holidays. The girls, whilst not knowing what was in store for them, had
prepared for the event, having been advised to dress as
‘detectives’, and many had taken the challenge to heart, with
hats and badges to match. On arriving at School the girls were
informed of the unfortunate demise of ‘Mr Trevor’ the erstwhile
and much appreciated Premises Officer. During the morning
the House teams were given the opportunity to earn clues by
completing challenges such as ‘photofits’, ‘fingerprinting’, ‘blood
type analysis’ and anagrams. At break time ‘do-nuts’ were
provided to refuel the teams as they progressed though the
challenges. The final result was correctly identified by the super sleuths from
Rosmini House who deduced that PE Teacher, Mrs Durham, was
the ‘guilty’ culprit. Speaking after the event, Mrs Hawley, said, “It
never ceases to amaze me how creative our House Heads are, or
how dedicated the staff are. They have worked tirelessly in their
own time to formulate alibies, and challenges such as collecting
finger prints on different items for the ‘forensic teams’ to analyse
during the day. This has been a fun but challenging end of a great
academic year.”
Who done it?
The all-important briefing
Reach 4 with the Sixth Form
Jessica Cox, Y12
On Tuesday September 18th, four members of Reach 4 came to the Convent and spent
the morning with Years 12 and 13. The Sixth Form were split into four groups and learnt
the key skills needed to lead a group of Year 5s and 6s. They were taught a variety of
games based on trust, team building and FUN! The Reach 4 team helped the Sixth Form
learn how to make the games more interesting whilst still carrying an important message.
Through learning how to lead a youth group, the Sixth Form carried their skills on to local
Primary schools at the end of September and beginning of October when they visited.
Each Primary school learned valuable skills such as teamwork and trust, whilst having lots
of fun through games and mini competitions. The Sixth Form found this challenging but very
enjoyable and felt that the Reach 4 team inspired them to continue leading youth groups.
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Open Evening
a Huge Success
A Level
Success 2012
The Open Evening in October was a
great success with a record number
of new families visiting the School and
taking a tour. This upturn in interest in
our excellent School is heartening in
these financially challenging times. As
you would expect, everyone within the
School who was able to, participated
in some way. Our Sixth Form acted as
knowledgeable ambassadors and tour
guides and senior students stayed after
School to assist staff and participate in
activities to give visitors a feel for life at
the School. The Primary Department
hosted a very successful and well
attended Haiku Poetry Workshop
between 4pm and 6pm enabling visitors
to participate before joining the Open
Evening.
Students, parents and staff were in a
jubilant mood as the A Level results were
announced this year. We are delighted
with this year’s results; a 99% pass
rate with 85% achieving A* to C really
reflects the hard work and dedication of
the students and staff. We take a pride
in knowing and understanding individual
students, therefore it is a matter of great
joy when they achieve and then exceed
their targets.
From
the
anonymous
on-line
feedback 100% of respondents would
recommend us to a friend, and other
comments included:
“My daughter commented on how
friendly both the teachers and students
were”
“My children and I thought that the
science experiments were fantastic.
The children wanted to stay in the
science lab all evening.”
“It is still early days for us, in terms of
making a decision as to which school to
send our daughter. Having been at the
Convent myself from infants through
to Seniors, it was lovely to return and
I must say we were hugely impressed.
The atmosphere and feel was very
special and reminded me so much of
the happy times I had at school...we
were very impressed.”
Feedback gathered over the months
from new parents visiting the School
would indicate that most referrals
come to us via parents of our current
students. No amount of advertising
carries the weight of one personal
recommendation - so share the good
news and invite friends and family to
participate in our other Open Events
throughout the year.
Whilst we are always sorry to see our Year
13s move on, we know they leave us well
equipped academically and socially for the excitement and challenges of university life.
Georgie Hughes summed it up brilliantly when she said, “When I was at primary school
no one expected me to achieve much but since joining OLCS, I’ve excelled myself. Not
only did I achieve GCSEs but now I have my A Levels and I’m going to study Business
Management at Swansea.”
100% GCSE Pass rate for OLCS Students
After the excitement and celebration of the A Level results we were also able to celebrate
tremendous GCSE results. One hundred per cent (100%) of students passed their
exams with a staggering 94% attaining 5 or more A* to C grades ensuring an excellent
start for their A Levels.
It is such a pleasure to see the expressions of delight on students’ faces as they open
their results envelope. They work hard to achieve their goals and fully deserve their
success. Congratulations to each and every one of them on their achievements and we
wish them well as they continue with the next phase of their education.
Parents’ Association News
Mrs Baker, Chair of Parents’ Association
Thank you to all who came along and supported the Fish, Chip & Casino evening on Friday 12th
October. The evening was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. The
atmosphere was fantastic and the fish, chips & mushy peas supplied by John Orrill were delicious.
Our next event is the Family Quiz Night on Saturday 26th January from 6.30pm to 9pm – so come
along and support us and enjoy a fun evening. Tickets are £5 for adults and £3 for children. Ticket
price includes a meal. Enquire at School Reception to purchase tickets.
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OLCS news | issue 28
Encouraging Children’s Reading
Introducing Eclipse.net and JuniorLibrarian Online
Mrs Taylor, Librarian
We are delighted to inform you that the School has recently made a significant investment
in our library with the introduction of a new online version of our library catalogue. The
new system allows pupils, staff and parents to view our School library catalogue online and
pupils are encouraged to use this to help with research, to write reviews about books they
have read and search for new books and other library resources. There are two attractive
versions of the system, Eclipse for the Senior Department and JuniorLibrarian for the Primary
Department which have been designed to appeal to students of all academic levels.
Holly
Whittaker
Climbs
Kilimanjaro
In the previous edition of the Newsletter
we heard from Holly Whittaker about
collecting her Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award from Prince Phillip at St James’
Palace in March. Holly was inspired by her
D of E successes to become a member of
the first team from Aberystwth University
to climb Mount Kilimanjaro on behalf of
Childreach International. Last Summer
(2011) she worked hard to raise £3000
for the charity; unfortunately she then
contracted glandular fever and was unable
to participate. Understandably Holly was
very disappointed at the time but since
then the charity asked her to become team
leader for the University’s 2012 climb.
She lead a team of 19 towards their own
fundraising targets and then participated in
the climb which started on the 20th August.
Holly relished the challenge – particularly
achieving the summit!
The system includes such features as:
• Individual student accounts where current and past loans can be viewed
• ‘Who Next’ which recommends new books and authors based on the books that the
students have already read
• Weblinks – access to pre-approved and curriculum relevant websites
• Meet the Author videos and Author’s Corner
• The chance to read and write online reviews and star rate a book
• New Arrivals, Top Ten and News Bulletin sections
Our School is strongly committed to improving literacy and knows the importance of
reading for pleasure. There is good evidence to suggest that young people who read for
pleasure daily perform better in reading tests. We want to encourage students of all ages
to enjoy reading; to read a wide range of good quality literature; to improve their research
skills and their ability to find information for their studies.
Tigers Rugby Match 2012
By Alice Baker Y12
In late September, Mr Gallagher arranged a School trip for
students and their parents on behalf of the Parents’ Association,
to see the Leicester Tigers vs. Harlequins rugby match. We
were transported to the Tigers ground via bus, and were lucky
enough to receive a tour from one of the guides. This meant
that we could walk all around the pitch and were able to see
all the cups the team had won. We had really good seats and
could clearly see the pitch. At half time, we walked the Lap of Honour
around the pitch, waving to everyone as we went by. The dads also took
part in a ‘try’ kicking competition. Then we had the chance to have a big group photo
taken with the massive Tigers mascot Welford. Unfortunately, Tigers lost against the
Harlequins but, I’m sure, especially from the levels of noise, that we all had a really good,
fun day out. Due to the trip being such a success, there will be another one arranged for
next year. Let’s hope Tigers win!
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Harvest Boxes 2012
By Alice Baker Y12
The motto of Our Lady’s Covent School
is ‘Legis Plentiudo Caritas’ meaning
‘charity fulfils the law’, and in Year 12, it is
our duty to uphold the school ethos and
organise charitable events. Harvest boxes
are traditionally given out to residents in
the local community. The harvest boxes
were made by the infant and junior pupils
as part of their Harvest festival. We took
the boxes to Hodson Court, Park Court,
Connaught House and John Storer House
and we were joined by Naomi Wilbram and
Katie Harris from Year 6. We successfully
delivered around 70 harvest boxes. When the residents received the boxes, we were
all overwhelmed by the gratitude that they showed to us. Katie said, “I’m going to be
happy for the rest of the day now; giving something to someone else has made me really
happy, and they were so grateful too.” I believe this sums up the ethos of the School,
and it really made the whole principle of harvest boxes more worthwhile.
By Mrs Maddox, Ella Astbury, Olivia Platts,
Alex Shannon and Amber Savage
The Shakespeare Schools Festival (SSF) is
the largest youth drama festival in the UK. By
the end of this year’s Festival 100,000 young
people will have performed an abridged
Shakespeare play on a professional stage.
A cast drawn from Years 8, 9 and 10
performed The Winter’s Tale on Wednesday
14th November 2012 at Melton Theatre. The
feedback our students received at the end
of the evening was outstanding with clear
diction and storytelling abilities highlighted
as their specialities. Members of the cast
had the following to say…
“I played the part of Florizel; I enjoyed
doing the Shakespeare Festival, it was fun
and fab. I enjoyed working with my friends
and getting to know the people from other
years.” Ella Astbury (Y10)
Lourdes 2012
Alice Baker Y12
On 16th July 2012 we arrived in Lourdes,
in the South of France, to begin a week
long pilgrimage helping elderly people
find spiritual healing. In total 18 girls from
Years 11, 12 and 13 attended the trip to
Lourdes. The majority of us travelled on
a 28 hour coach journey, whilst a few
travelled on a two hour plane journey assisting the elderly people. Our main job whilst in
Lourdes was to push the elderly people, which we called VIPs, around in wheelchairs to
various masses and places of worship. We also got the chance to go out for coffees and
shopping with our VIPs. This was really good fun as we were able to get to know them
and all about their lives – they had many funny stories to tell, and we were able to really
connect with them. This also gave us a chance to remember why we were in Lourdes. In
Lourdes we all made many good friends who we still keep in touch with now! Everyone
was really friendly and there was a deep sense of community on the pilgrimage. On the
Tuesday and Thursday nights there was the candlelight procession at the Grotto. The
Grotto is the main church in Lourdes and we had the advantage of sitting at the front
steps during the candlelight procession. The scene before us was beautiful, and the sky
was lit up by the candlelight. That is a night I will never forget. Whilst in Lourdes we had
lots of opportunities to go shopping and to buy presents for our friends and families – as
well as trying out the various ice cream shops! In the middle of the week, we went on a
trip to a nearby lake and water – park. The surrounding scenery was beautiful, and it was
an afternoon full of laughter, and gave us all time to relax. Unfortunately, before we knew
it, our week in Lourdes was coming to an end, and on the last night, after the talent show,
we visited the Grotto at midnight. We were told to walk around silently and sit and reflect
on our week. I can’t quite describe the feelings that everyone experienced, however I
know that we all experienced something we hadn’t before. Leaving Lourdes and all the
friends we met was very emotional, but we left knowing we had had an amazing week.
I personally loved every minute of Lourdes and would urge anyone thinking about going
to go – it truly is a phenomenal week.
13
“I played the role of Paulina; I have really
enjoyed this year’s Festival. My favourite
scene is the last scene, I get goose bumps,
everyone loves a happy ending!” Olivia
Platts (Y10)
“I play the part of Leontes, I really enjoyed
taking part in the Festival this year; I took
part last year as well. It is really good fun, as
you get on with people you don’t normally
talk to. My favourite part of the play is at
the beginning when I shout “Too Hot” the
heartbeat in the background really builds up
the suspense and Leontes’ suspicion. It’s all
very dramatic” Alex Shannon (Y10)
“I played the parts of a gentlewoman and
a villager, it has been really good fun to be
involved in, I would definitely do it again!”
Amber Savage (Y8)
OLCS news | issue 28
National Catholic
Young Writers Award
for The Convent
Mrs Joanna Bogle, jounalist, writer and
broadcaster, and one of the Judges
of the National Catholic Young Writers
competition recently joined with pupils,
parents, governors and staff at Our
Lady’s Convent School, to celebrate
the achievement of twins Cara and Iona
McNeill in winning this competition.
Outreach
By Emily Dunne Y12
Since the beginning of the School
year, a group of Upper and Lower
Sixth Form girls have taken part in an
activity called Outreach which I have
been fortunate enough to be a part
of. Outreach is an activity where a
group of Sixth Formers go to different
Primary Schools in and around
Loughborough to perform a small role
play to the children in their assemblies.
This year the theme was Community
and this was demonstrated by each
of us portraying a colour from the
rainbow, boasting about how each
of us was the best until we realised
that all the colours are important
and make up the rainbow as a
community. I especially enjoyed and
looked forward to performing to other
schools, I loved to see the children
have fun which made them rewarding
and memorable experiences for me.
To celebrate this excellent achievement
the School hosted a special celebration
assembly in the School’s Pugin style
19th Century Chapel. Parents and family
members of the winners and eight runners
up were invited to join in congratulating the
girls for their submissions.
Summer School
Experience
Catherine Hooper Y13
At the end of Year 12 I had the opportunity
to attend the Reading University, Food and
Nutritional Sciences Summer School and
was one of the lucky few students who
was selected from nationwide applicants.
The aim of the Summer School was to
show potential students what a degree
in Food Science consists of. Throughout
the time on campus, I not only got to eat
fabulous lunches sponsored by M&S,
but I also got a taste of what university
life is going to be like. I participated in
many activities and lectures, but the ones
which stood out to me the most were the
chocolate tasting session, being able to
produce and taste our very own ice cream
and using the sensory analysis booths.
After these few days, this confirmed that
Food Science is definitely the degree I
want to pursue.
14
In judging the competition Mrs Bogle said,
“The standard of entries was high however
there were two entries which stood out from
the rest. Each entry is judged on its merit
and no notice is taken of the author’s name
or school until a decision has been made. In
the end the panel decided there was nothing
to separate the two entries so decided to
award a joint winner, it was at this point we
realised that the winning articles had been
submitted by twins, Cara and Iona McNeill,
from Our Lady’s Convent School.”
Cara and Iona received a £50 cash prize,
books and a shield to display at home. Each
of the eight runners up received a certificate
and decorative cruciform necklace.
The eight runners up were: Olivia Iyayi
(8P), Ruth Elsegood (9P), Megan Hall (9P),
Stephanie Pattinson (9P), Alice Cox (10Q),
Kate Freckelton (10P), Katie McCauley
(10Q), Alexandra Pickavant (10P).
Congratulations to them all.
Remembrance 2012
OLCS in Windsor
By Holly Newing Y12
On Tuesday 9th October, eleven Philosophy
students, including myself, were privileged
enough to be asked by The Royal British
Legion to work with them on the topic of
Remembrance. This also enabled us to
expand our knowledge on remembrance
acts themselves.
The week began with a short introduction
where we discussed ‘what remembrance
means to you’ however, our typical and
almost ignorant views allowed the members
of the Legion to understand how little, in fact,
we knew about the acts of remembrance.
Throughout the packed four days in which
we were in Windsor, we were honoured
enough to hear numerous speeches
from serving war-veterans; veterans who
were involved not only in current wars, for
example Afghanistan, but also from those
who fought in the Falkland Islands back in
1982 and those who dedicated their lives
to the parachute regiments, not just to the
battlefield.
In retrospect, we were completely unaware
of the dangers of war and the drastic effects
upon not only the soldiers involved, and
also the devastation left surrounding the
families of lost loved ones. On returning to
School we were compelled to share our
experiences and to inspire those who were
not able to attend, of the true and horrific
realities of war. We have many plans for
the future to communicate the message of
remembrance around not only our School,
but into the wider community. Succeeding
such an inspirational few days, Sunday 11th
November this year - and undoubtedly for
the rest of the years to come will have a very
personal and strengthened meaning to me;
all thanks to The Royal British Legion.
How We Remembered
By Olivia Preston Y8
At Our Lady’s Convent School remembrance
has always been an important part of our
School life, but this November our School
has had the chance to have some direct
accounts of war. Our very own Sixth
Form had an amazing opportunity to hear
first-hand the consequences of war from
people who have witnessed and have
been affected by it. They heard first-hand
accounts from brave soldiers who have
served and fought in Hong Kong, Northern
Ireland, the Falkland Islands, both World
Wars and Afghanistan.
When eleven of our Sixth Form journeyed
down to Windsor to be part of the British
Legion, in their services and conferences,
they were inspired to tell the compelling
and pertinent stories of the veterans who
attended the event. The School was lucky
enough to have an assembly produced by
the Sixth Form girls and we watched and
listened to it, it was very moving indeed.
In our own way we all have been affected by
war in one way or another, maybe losing a
friend or a family member but we all come
together to remember them. We were
encouraged to wear poppies and were
proud to wear them. I saw the whole School
wearing poppies together in remembrance,
showing how thankful we were to be free.
We had a service in the Chapel where we
were privileged enough to share the two
minutes silence with the veterans who knew
how destructive war really was and still is
now. We all showed gratitude and respect
throughout the whole service and I was very
proud of all who served in the wars and I am
sure everyone else was too.
Our Remembering
Hearts
By Grace Elliott, Chloe Slee and Olivia Iyayi
Y8
At Our Lady’s Convent School we always
honour Remembrance Day but this year
was more pertinant than any other year.
The reason for this is that a group of 11
Sixth Form philosophy students had the
opportunity to attend a conference with the
Royal British Legion in Windsor. After four
days they came back to School to prepare
a thoughtful and reflective assembly about
their time at Windsor. Holly Newing and
Nirah Sanghani who went to this conference
put together two videos including photos
and footage of their trip.
On Monday 12th November, our School held
a touching and inspirational Remembrance
Service in the School Chapel. Some past
15
war veterans joined us in this service
and at 11am we had a two minute silence
in which the ‘Last Post’ was played very
movingly.
As we do annually we have the Poppy
Appeal that raises money for the good work
of the Royal British Legion which was well
supported by our pupils and staff members.
Our hearts will always will remain with the
men and women who sacrificed their lives
for us and those who are still fighting today.
We Will Remember Them.
Remembrance This
Year Was Memorable
Because….
We had visitors from the war that came and
they said prayers to remind us about the
people who died for us in the war. The
music was nice and it was good that they
sang with us, they also brought a blue flag
that one of the veterans carried in at the
start when we were all singing a song.
By Hannah Gillen & Megan Williams. Y8
The Remembrance service this year was
memorable, because we had visiting
veterans to share this service with us.
We also enjoyed hearing the ‘Last Post’
being played by a trumpet before the two
minute silence and the ‘Reveille’ to mark
the end of the silence. The speech by the
Sixth Form was very moving and made
us realise how the soldiers gave their lives
for our generation’s peace. We will always
remember and cherish this for the rest of
our lives. By Amelia Leeland, Jessica Moody, Lauren
Astbury, Olivia Jones and Olivia Sherwood
Y8
Legis Plenitudo Caritas
Telephone: 01509 263901
Website: www.olcs.leics.sch.uk
Fax: 01509 236193
Issue 28 | winter 2012
Established in Loughborough since 1841. Member of ISA.
An Independent Day School for girls aged 3 to 18 and boys aged 3 to 11.
Gray Street, Loughborough LE11 2DZ Email: [email protected]
Gardening Club Takes Root
Over the Summer holidays and during the first part
of the Autumn term, the garden at the centre of the
Cloister or the Cloister Garth as it is correctly known,
has been regenerated thanks, in part, to a donation from
the Parents’ Association. This space is now a garden
for quiet, calm study and relaxation for Sixth Form and
staff. The lawned area is now carefully managed and
surrounds a wildflower border around the base of the
statue of Jesus to encourage bees and other insects
into the garden. Existing, well established plants will be
pruned over the coming months and the garden will be
tended by the new Gardening Club.
Mrs Hawley meets with senior girls at lunchtime on
Tuesdays and together the group tackles different
gardening challenges. Currently they are establishing a
small ‘Kitchen’ garden in a sunny but previously unused
corner of the School, behind the Food Technology
room. Mrs Jennings is very pleased to have a fresh
herb bed situated so close to her classroom. Over the
coming months the Club plan to add pots of lavender
to the Cloister Garth and to ensure the roses planted
around the Convent House are deadheaded and weeds
removed. The girls are keen to receive donations of
plants, cuttings, excess gardening tools and small plant
pots that are no longer needed. They are also in need
of any large, old, mens’ shirts they can use as protective
overclothes.
16