Godstowe News: Summer Term 9/6

A letter from the Headmistress

I have enjoyed this week enormously and the range of activities and events on offer across the school has been inspiring.

Our Fourths have made it through their Common Entrance and Exam week valiantly and they should be congratulated on the calm and studious manner in which they have approached each day since they began. They now have a weekend of fun to look forward to, including their celebratory dinner tonight and the social with the Year 8 boys at Caldicott tomorrow evening On Monday, they then set off for the Leavers’ Expedition to the Lake District I am so proud of this hard working group of girls and let the fun begin for them all. They deserve the success that follows after all the study and focus! My senior school visits took me to Wellington and Stowe this week and it is ever wonderful to hear the glowing feedback I constantly receive about our alumnae Emma McKendrick from Downe House also emailed me this morning to congratulate another alumnae on a recent presentation they did to the Downe House School Board on some research she had done since joining the school I feel like I am walking five feet taller today, as this news is what we are all about, in so many ways

I am looking forward to my Lodge Assembly next Tuesday morning and to seeing all Lodge families next Friday at the Lodge Summer Concert and Sports Day Congratulations to Form I and II today on their superb Drama Showcase which featured ukulele bands, acts from the musical ‘Matilda’, the awesome adventures of Perseus, and Cinderella and Snow White from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes. Thanks to Miss Bennett and Mrs Martin and the Form I and Form II teaching team who did the girls proud We then flew into the Music Recitals which are always a strong favourite of mine As you read this I am now getting ready for the Fourths Dinner tonight and to raising a glass of fizz (me, not the Fourths!) to a fabulous group of girls, who have such a glowing and inspiring future ahead. Have a good weekend.

Some of our IAPS Swimmers

Claire Gillett, Head of Lodge Hannah Smart, Head of Nursery

For the last half term in Nursery we are revisiting some of this year ’ s favourite topics, so this week we are looking at 'Fairies and Superheroes'. The children enjoyed blending summer berries to make berry pastry wands in Cookery, which were delicious! In Art we made beautiful fairy pictures using natural resources, such as petals We have been using our superhero powers to get ready for Sports Day next week, which has been very exciting Our sound of the week this week was ' x ' and the children made x-rays of their hands Finally we have had a focus on kindness this week and we were lucky enough to buy some new stories for the Nursery that focus on how to make others happy and feel valued Following on from this, the children have been learning how to compliment each other and the impact of their words on others

We were excited to return to our busy final half term in Beginners. We have 'dived' back into school life and we are learning about Under the Sea Journeys Thursday was World Oceans Day and we talked about ocean pollution and how we can play our part to protect the creatures in the sea We designed posters to discourage people from littering because it ends up in the ocean and we are excited to display them. We also read The Rainbow Fish and discussed sharing and kindness We have decorated some beautiful fish using shiny scales and written letters to the Rainbow Fish. In Maths, we have learnt about Mass and have been deciding whether things are heavy or light

This week, Kindergarten and Transition were thinking about telling the truth in their assembly Thank you to members of Kindergarten H for bringing the story of 'The Truth according to Arthur' to life.

This week in Kindergarten the children have been exploring fractions in Maths, finding half and quarters of objects, shapes and numbers. Our new History focus this term will be The Aztec Civilisation which links to our previous topic of The Rainforest

Transition joined a Lower School Assembly on Wednesday and learnt about the importance of being trustworthy. Having previously sent their questions about life at Main School to Form I, Transition had a great time listening to creative presentations from Form I girls, answering them. They are now very excited about moving up in September

Transition have started a new Maths topic on Money. We have been counting up amounts and choosing coins to make specific totals In our Literacy lessons, we have been reading and reviewing a selection of picture books by Anthony Browne. We have realised that some picture books have hidden messages in their words and illustrations, and are for all ages

We are looking forward to our Summer Concert and Sports Day next Friday, 16th June Please ensure that your child has the correct uniform for the day, including regulation red ankle socks for PE The uniform shop will be open on Friday morning if you are missing any items or you may order online.

MainSchool

Busy, busy week in Main School this week

Field finals started bright and early on Monday morning Well done to Form II and Lowers for giving it their all and contributing to their House totals Thank you to all of the parents who showed up, it really does make such a different when we have support from the sideline

Fourths finished their exams this morning and despite some nerves at the beginning of the week, they've all done themselves, and us, proud They finished off their school day with their Field finals and then a break before their Leavers' Dinner this evening.

Some of our FoG families joined their daughter's to have a go on the Laser printer in DT.

Form I and Form II had their first Drama showcase this afternoon and what a display it was. The whole school has heard rumblings of 'Revolting Children' for the last few weeks so it was fantastic to see it come together

We also, for the first time at Godstowe, had a double Student Recital Well done to all the girls who performed, we will tell you more about this in next week's newsletter

Key Dates for next week

12th June

IV's Leavers' Expedition

10am U12 and U11 London

Prep School Athletics (away)

3pm U10 Athletics vs Maltman's Green (away)

13th June

9am - Form I Field Finals

3 15pm U9 Cricket vs Pipers Corner (home)

4 30pm U12 Tennis vs Dr Challoner's High School (away)

14th June

2 30pm Middles Field Finals

9 30am U8, U9, U10 and U11 Athletics vs RMS (away)

3.15pm Afternoon Tea at Walker for Day parents

4 30pm U13 Tennis vs Wycombe Abbey (away)

15th June

11 45am - Uppers Field Finals

16th June

8 15am Positive Parenting, Sports Hall Gallery Lodge Summer Concert followed by picnic lunches

1 15pm Lodge Sports Day EXEAT

Boarders'Corner

As the academic year starts to draw to a close, it will soon be time to say goodbye to the Fourths as they move onto their Senior Schools.

It has been a privilege to watch these girls grow and mature over the past year and it is wonderful to see how many of them can recognise how far they have come Whilst writing their Yearbook entries, articles for the House newsletters and letters to the new girls, lots of them have compared how they feel now to how they first felt as a new boarder at Godstowe They have commented on how, at the beginning, they had occasionally felt homesick so it is hard to believe that these are the same girls who are now so sad at the thought of leaving, reminiscing fondly over all the trips and activities they have enjoyed, the times they have spent chatting with friends and the responsibilities that have come with being the oldest girls in the boarding houses.

However, it is not quite time to say goodbye! We have a busy few weeks ahead of us and once the exams are over, the Fourths will have a weekend of celebrations with their Leavers’ Dinner at Godstowe and their IV Form Social with Caldicott, before they head off bright and early on Monday morning for their Leavers’ Expedition in the Lake District We are also very much looking forward to welcoming some of our new boarders this weekend for an afternoon of games, a BBQ and sleepover and we look forward to sharing stories and photographs in next week's weekly newsletter.

As one year ends, thoughts turn to the year ahead, and whilst we prepare for our new intake of boarders, the Fourths are looking forward to their new schools and the next stage of their education We hope that regardless of whether they have been a boarder at Godstowe for one, two or five years, they will take with them firm friends and memories that will last a lifetime

ClickheretowatchtheBoarders'Video

On Tuesday 18 U12 Tennis players travelled to Queen Anne’s to play 3 matches. Due to injuries, two girls had to step in at the last minute, so special thanks to Ella and Annaliese Our A team lost 4-5, our B’s won 7-2 and the C’s won 5-3 So over-all it was victory for Godstowe Well done girls!

On Thursday afternoon, a group of U8 and U9 girls travelled to Maltmans Green to compete in an athletics competition against RMS and Maltmans The sunny afternoon included long jump, javelin, sprints and relays The girls gave it their all and did very well, especially in javelin as for many of them it was their first time throwing one Well done to all that took part and special mention to Anjola for placing third in her age category, winning herself a bronze medal!

On Saturday June 3rd the London Aquatics Centre was host to the IAPS Swimming Finals With each year the boys and girls swap to who is in the morning and afternoon. This year it was the turn of the girls to be the morning session Hello early start!

At 7am all the swimmers had gathered to take their places within the pool area. With warm up at 8am it gave a little time to take in the atmosphere and familiarise with their surroundings With the warmups completed, 9am was the start of the Relay races Being heat declared winners it was a one-off swim to top the list.

From our year 5 swimmers right through to year 8 the girls were competing in either the Medley Relay, Freestyle Relay or both. All the girls gave a great account of themselves improving on their qualifying times and giving Godstowe some top 10 finishes

Before we could take a breath the warmup session for the individual races had been completed and it was time for the heats to begin Godstowe had a strong team of 11 swimmers taking part in the individuals with 6 getting through to the finals

In the finals it was great to see each swimmer push themselves and finish strongly to be within the medals or very close to it It was a great achievement to come away with a bronze in both the U12 50m Butterfly and U13 50m Freestyle respectively With all results in Godstowe finished a very respectable 8th overall. This is made even more notable when there were around 100 schools at the finals alone

Furthermore, and just as important, it was great to see the team support from all the girls Even with their races completed the whole team were there until the end To arrive as a team and leave as a team was a great statement of camaraderie and positivity. Well done to all the girls involved you have done Godstowe proud

Lastly, thank you to all the parents who took their daughter to the event and supported throughout it is very much appreciated