Inside Heathfield enews Issue 46

Issue Number 46 - February 2016

Thoroughly Modern Millie, 4 and 5 February This year, a group of talented girls performed Thoroughly Modern Millie. A light and humorous musical set in 1922, based on a young girl, Millie Dillmount, performed by the incredible Phoebe Parker. Millie moves from Kansas to New York aspiring to be a "Modern Girl", yet during her journey she falls in love with Jimmy Smith, played by the talented Farah Re d i ng - Re u te r .

T he m u sic a l is a combination of humour, romance and mystery.

The hard-working cast, crew and succeeded in creating a most memorable evening for the audience, with all their hard work throughout the course of 5 months. Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved, you have true professional spirit and talent!

band

Olympia, Thea and Phoebe (LVI)

Cast Millie Dillmount Jimmy Smith Ruth Gloria Rita Alice Cora Lucielle Ethel Peas Mrs Meers Muzzy Miss Dorothy Brown Ching Ho Bun Foo Miss Flannery Trevor Graydon Speed Tappists

Dorothy Parker Rodney Kenneth Dexter Muzzy’s Boys And introducing …

Phoebe Parker Farah Reding-Reuter Georgie Kelly Lizzy Bentinck Thea Lumley Harriet Colley Na’ima Khan Darcey Guerrini Charlotte Geddes Antonia Seymour Holly Allen Catharine Reid Daisy Cave Matilda Cottrell Olympia von Woellwarth-Lauterburg Freya Henderson Tansy Adam Sophia Adderley Flavia Camerlingo Libby Joy Poppy Souglides ChiChi Nelson-Moore Kate Thompson Charlotte Geddes Hum Hunt-Davis Kate Thompson Charlotte Geddes Hum Hunt-Davis Isabella Baillieu India Holroyd Lily Jevons Tamara Pilkington

Key dates for your diary 12 – 21 Feb – HALF TERM 4 – 6 Mar – Exeat 11 Mar – LAMDA, Fashion and Music Show 19 – 20 Mar – Closed Weekend 23 Mar – END OF TERM 18 – 19 Apr – Staff Focus Days 19 Apr – Return of all girls (I-III 17.30; IV-UVI 18:30) 23 – 24 Apr – Closed Weekend 29 Apr – 2 May – Exeat Weekend 13 – 15 May – Exeat Weekend 27 May – 2 Jun – HALF TERM 2 Jul – Parents’ Day Please see school calendar for details of other events

Issue Number 46 History of Art Conference, Saturday 6 February On Saturday 6 February, Heathfield open its doors for our first History of Art Conference.

Hosting an impressive line-up of speakers, the conference attracted Sixth Form pupils and staff from a wide selection of schools including Radley, Stowe, King’s Canterbury and Bryanston.

It was a great success. Professors and Lecturers attended from York, Nottingham, Sussex, Bristol and Oxford Brooks Universities and they were all dynamic speakers, each providing an excellent example of what art history entails at university. One student was heard saying ‘I thought I loved the Renaissance but that Futurist stuff was SO interesting!’

The topics were diverse and engaging, from the Pre-Raphaelites and Ruskin’s influences, to the aesthetics of nineteenth century sculpture, to German Expressionism, Futurism and Surrealism. The speakers challenged the audience with thought-provoking questions and each was passionate and stimulating.

Freya Henderson, studying History of Art in the LVI, presented on Francis Bacon who she will talk about in the regional heat of the ARTiculation competition on 1 March. She was fabulous and feedback from our guests said how cool and interesting it was and how much they really enjoyed it. Well done Freya!

Teachers and students who came from the other schools all chatted and exchanged ideas. The teachers even had a meeting to discuss the new specification with one of the examiners who is involved in writing the specification. We were so lucky! The conference broadened everyone’s knowledge and it was a most fulfilling and inspiring day.

Joanna Meeson History of Art

Poetry Declamation - Thursday 28 January The girls recited their chosen poems with great confidence and expression which was most entertaining to watch. The poems were chosen from a diverse range of writers including Shakespeare, Edward Lear, Wilfred Owen and Wendy Cope.

We were delighted to welcome Mrs Bentley, an English teacher from Eton College, as the judge of the whole competition. The winners each received a poetry book as a prize and the winners were: Lily Jevons (Form I) – The Rules that Rule the School by John Foster Minty Clarry (Form II) – Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen Overall winner: Poppy Souglides (Form III) – Prospero’s Speech from The Tempest by William Shakespeare Extremely well done to all the girls who entered.

Sarah Shirwani Teacher of English

Issue Number 46 Forms III to UVI Lecture at Eton College, Tuesday 19 January There was a buzz in the air as fifteen girls from Forms III to UVI packed up from Prep early in order to attend an evening lecture at Eton College.

The department of Computer Science and ICT invited girls, all with an aptitude or interest in technology, to listen to Dr Ian Levy, Technical Director at GCHQ. Dr Levy spoke about security and privacy and raised questions about the nature of the ‘free’ services and apps available on the Internet – he used the example of a Torch App (downloaded by over 10 million people) that had full network access, permission to modify the phone’s memory and settings, and use its camera – his question was why did they need this to switch the phone’s light on and off – and why did over 10 million people think this was acceptable?

It was an engaging lecture: informative, entertaining and very accessible. The issues discussed were certainly relevant to the packed lecture theatre and the students were happy to ask Dr Levy questions; Heathfield School was represented amongst the questioners. The questions did not end with the lecture as there have been quite a few discussions amongst our girls and their friends about the matters examined.

Mrs Millns would like to thank the Computer Science department at Eton College for the invitation. We look forward to more opportunities to collaborate academically in this field, and we commend the girls for their enthusiasm and good behaviour.

Mrs Rushi Millns Teacher in Charge of Computer Science and ICT

Founder’s Day, Friday 5 February After a superb Founder’s Day celebration lunch, staff and students listened to our inspiring guest speaker, Tracy Edwards MBE. Tracy Edwards won international fame in 1989 as the skipper of the first all-female crew to sail around the world in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. The boat won two legs and came second overall in her class, which remains the best result for a British boat since 1977.

In 1990 Tracy was awarded Sportswoman of the Year and an MBE. She was the first woman to achieve acceptance by the British yachting community and paved the way for other women, notably Dawn Riley and Ellen MacArthur, to follow. Tracy spoke about her success and also the many challenges she faced including treacherous seas and broken masts.

Following her ground-breaking success with Maiden, Tracy set out to consolidate her position as one of the world’s top sailors by entering Trophy Jules Verne in 1998 with the Royal Sun Alliance boat, again with an all-female crew. Tracy and her crew broke seven world records during their two-year programme.

The girls asked Tracy lots of questions and were keen to hear more about her adventures at sea. They were clearly inspired and in awe of Tracy’s achievements and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. The talk was followed by high tea and a sing-a-long in the Assembly Hall.

After supper, everyone had the opportunity to watch our fantastic school production, Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Issue Number 46 UVI History of Art Study Day at London Galleries, 26 January Notebooks in hand, we arrived at the Courtauld Gallery ready to immerse ourselves in the 19 th and 20th centuries. We explored the role of women in society within the 19 th century, looking at La Loge by Renoir and Bar at the Folies Bergere by Manet. We discussed the research on the paintings, looking at who the ladies were and how Renoir and Manet were engaging us with their paintings. In contrast, we looked at modernism in Cezanne’s Mont St Victoire, Seurat’s pointillism, the influence of Japanese prints on Van Gogh’s work and a look at some Expressionist works.

After a welcome rest we caught a bus up to the National Gallery.

There we revisited David, Monet, Degas and Van Gogh but we also discovered Delaroche and Ingres hidden in the basement! Our next destination was Westminster to see Rodin’s Burghers of Calais. It was wonderful to be able to feel his modelling and capture the true emotion within this work. Our last stop was Tate Britain where we saw the British Oriental exhibition and briefly looked at the PreRaphaelites Henry Moore and Epstein. Exhausted but fulfilled we made our way back to Waterloo to catch our train back to school.

Jo Meeson, History of Art

Shooting Star Chase—Ellie’s Visit, 26 January Last month we had a visitor from Shooting Star Chase, a children’s hospice, to tell us a bit more about palliative care and the work that they do including medical factors and the different ways they support children and their families. The charity has been running for 10 years, and continues to offer incredible support and care for children with life-limiting illnesses and their families, whether it’s offering respite care for the child so the parents can have a break, or visiting home daily for the parent’s convenience.

In a previous lesson, we had a very heated debate about whether voluntary euthanasia should be legalised, and the majority were in favour.

However, after this workshop with Ellie, we all came away with slightly differing views!

First of all, Ellie told us a bit about the wonderful support and work that Shooting Star Chase do, and told us about the different centres which families can visit. Although the word ‘hospice’ often gives a depressing impression of dying and illness, these buildings gave totally the opposite view! When children visit the centres they have a selection of activities to do, such as music therapy, visiting the sensory room or having a mess about in the art room. The hospice also runs fun fair days where the children can have their face painted, and just generally have a nice time without their parents or any worries.

Ellie then showed us a medical history of one of the children that Shooting Star Chase supports, who was born prematurely and developed Costello syndrome, an illness which makes one more prone to cancer. We made a human graph with the quality of life on one axis and what the charity should be doing to help that child on the other. Our options were aggressive medical treatment, palliative care and withdrawal of treatment. After learning all this child has to go through, having a tumour at only a few months old, the majority of us were leaning towards poor quality of life and withdrawal of treatment, although it was a very tough decision.

Then Ellie showed us a story of a young girl called Daisy, who could not speak and spent all of her time in a wheelchair, and was in constant pain. Although she was suffering, Shooting Star Chase had given her opportunities to have a great quality of life, and she was becoming more independent as the days went by, practically shoving her parents out of the door every time she went to the Shooting Star Chase centre! She also has older siblings who love her very much and a wonderful dog. All in all, she seemed a very happy person! We were astounded to find out that Daisy was the same child with the disastrous medical history, but she was an optimistic and happy child despite her constant pain. This changed our views on the legalisation of euthanasia, as previously I held the view that if someone is suffering they should be allowed to make that decision, but now I realise that although you may be in pain, you can still have a great quality of life and enjoy it to the fullest!

Maya Russell Smith, LVI

Issue Number 46 Invitational Lacrosse tournament, Saturday 30 January Despite the temperamental weather we were delighted with the fantastic turnout of over three hundred supporters for the Invitational Lacrosse tournament held at Heathfield. During the course of the morning the U15, U14, U13 and U12 lacrosse teams competed against girls from Godstowe, Guildford High, St. George’s and The Royal.

The U14 team drew with The Royal and beat Guildford High’s C team. This meant they were tied on points with the Royal; after the goal formula had been used, Heathfield finished in 2 nd place by 0.25 of a goal!

The U15 Team beat The Royal, Guildford High ‘C’ team and St. George’s to win the trophy; a superb result.

Players of the tournament were Grace, Imo, Lucia, Lydia and Minna.

Well done to all the girls who played great lacrosse and fought so hard, right to the end.

Wendy Reynolds Director of Sport

Swimming

Netball

After the Ascot Schools’ Swimming Gala held recently, congratulations go to all the girls who competed strongly, resulting in Maria coming first in the U14 Backstroke, Chloe coming first in the U15 Backstroke and Imo winning the U15 Freestyle.

In netball matches played during the past fortnight, the U13 team finished 3rd in the plate competition of the SE Berks tournament.

The U14 team came second overall.

Well done!

Against the Marist, the U16 Team drew 21—All with Ella being named as player of the match.

In the U16 Ascot Schools’ Netball Tournament the team played incredibly well and finished in 2nd place.

Wendy Reynolds Director of Sport

Wendy Reynolds Director of Sport

Equestrian Matilda and her horse George competed against some strong opposition at the Interschools eventing at Felbridge on Saturday 6 February. A tight course and challenging jumps didn’t phase Matilda who rode well but finished with an unlucky 8 faults.

Girls are having a Tent pegging taster session on 10 February.

Tent pegging is part of the military riding itinerary and involves riding with skills, including picking up ‘tent pegs’ with a lance whilst on horse back.

We have also just started six girls on a Sunday at HAC for all levels of riding and horse management.

Gill Glimmerveen, Equestrian Co-ordinator

Issue Number 46 Austen Weekend, 30 & 31 January Austen’s weekend was a busy one with the school hosting its own lacrosse tournament which saw the I to IV Forms participate, undeterred by a mixture of heavy downpours and sunny skies. The rest of the day was fairly relaxed with the Wii set up for some friendly Mario Kart competition followed by cookery with the girls baking peanut butter cookies to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day. Form IV finished off the day by organising a series of games for Form I, an initiative used to raise money for the Help for the Homeless project.

On Sunday, a group went to the National History Museum to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition whilst the junior school saw Goosebumps at the cinema. In the evening the girls put on their dresses for the unique White Chapel service held once a term.

Andrew Valner Head of House – Austen

De Valois Weekend, 6 & 7 February Following a successful morning on the Lacrosse pitches Forms I and III headed to the pool to enjoy the lively and exhausting inflatable obstacle course. Form II then began their preparations for their ‘Come Dine with Me’ challenge set by Sue and Mel (aka Liz Curtis and Su Crafer). Following thorough planning and preparations, the girls headed off to the shops for their many supplies. The afternoon into early evening was spent in Cookery prepping desserts, finalising table plans and producing menus for their guests on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Form V took part in wild and wacky co-operation games in the Sports Hall and began to plan for their next Duke of Edinburgh expedition. Work then began on transforming the Assembly Hall into a ‘Casino’ themed room in preparation for their Formal Dinner with Harrow School that evening.

As LVI departed for the cinema, the Harrow boys arrived looking extremely smart for the V Form dinner. A three course menu and chocolate fountain followed by dancing and crowning of the Prom Queen and birthday girl, Millie, set the evening up for a fun and enjoyable time for all.

Following Chapel on Sunday, Form II continued their ventures cooking up a storm in Cookery. After a huge buzz of excitement, the girls served up their fantastic three course meal showing off all their considerable talents. A huge thank you must be given to Liz and Su for putting on such a great activity and for their effort, commitment and care throughout the experience to the girls. Roll on the next dinner party!

Sunday was the turn of LVI to get their planning done for Duke of Edinburgh.

To top this fun-packed weekend off, Forms I, III & LVI headed to ‘Go Jumpin’, a large trampoline park in Slough, to let off steam.

Janet Talbot Head of House – De Valois

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