Inside Heathfield Michaelmas 2012

A message from Mrs Heywood

Michaelmas 2012

2012 has been a year of celebration and as it draws to a close we can reflect on another busy and successful term at Heathfield School.

Inside Heathfield

Our new girls have settled well into boarding life, becoming fully immersed in the school community. Several prefects have been awarded their red ties. Outside of the classroom girls have had the opportunity to expand their knowledge further with talks from Lord Dalmeny, Deputy Chair of Sotheby’s, on auctioneering, and author Victoria Campbell.

The Science department staged a mock shooting in the greenhouse one lunchtime, setting up a forensic scene for Form III to analyse, and our budding mathematicians entered The Maths Challenge. A series of trips across curricular subjects has allowed girls of all ages to gain a greater understanding of their subjects.

Walking with the Wounded has been selected as the school’s charity for the year. Our Eco Schools Committee is actively conducting a wildlife watch and running campaigns with the aim of achieving Heathfield’s Eco Schools Silver Award this academic year.

This term has concluded with the usual special, traditional events, including St Nicholas’s Stalls and our school Carol Service. This year’s school production, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was performed to an exceptional level. Girls and staff were in a very festive mood during the school’s annual Christmas lunch, while the Fellowship Carol Service saw many Old Girls coming back together to celebrate Christmas.

Mrs Jo Heywood Headmistress Heathfield’s LVI History of Art students with Lord Dalmeny and Silke Lohmann

Heathfield Arts Conference Two: Sales

Heathfield’s Sixth Form and Form V girls were delighted to welcome Lord Harry Dalmeny and Silke Lohmann to speak at Heathfield’s second Arts Conference. Lord Dalmeny, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s UK, gave the girls an insight into the world of auctioneering as well as an overview of Sotheby’s as a company. He also explained to the girls how they could apply for internships at Sotheby’s and gave two case studies of Heathfield Old Girls who work for the company. Silke Lohmann from Exclamation!PR talked to the girls about Public Relations

Head Girl’s Overview of the Term Michaelmas Term got off to another thrilling start here at Heathfield with successes all round, in the classroom, on the sports field and beyond.

We kicked off Head Girl, with the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Ingrid and Gold practice expeditions where members of the Sixth Form spent a long weekend energetically exploring and navigating Dartmoor in appalling weather conditions which gave an even greater sense of achievement once completed!

Many of us have also enjoyed trips to the London art galleries and theatre outings which have provided useful insights to aid GCSE, AS Level and A Level studies. There was also the Music Captain’s Jazz concert, where our Music Prefect, Thea-Rose (Form LVI), along with fellow pupils and members of staff, put on a beautiful performance of music and dance. It was amazing!

By all actively getting involved in their roles, the Prefects this term have demonstrated leadership and responsibility which they will continue to develop enthusiastically throughout this school year. The House Captains in Lower Sixth have worked extremely hard in preparation for the annual and festive St Nicholas’s Stalls as Heathfield continues its charitable efforts.

As ever the event was a huge success!

House Singing this term allowed all the girls to show off their talent and creativity, and congratulations to Somerville who were the winners on the day.

The girls have also been very busy rehearsing for the play, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, whether it was learning lines or helping backstage; it all came together on the night concluding in two stunning performances. Congratulations to all involved!

within Arts and also went onto explain how PR can be used across Ingrid, Head Girl, Form LVI Student any sector and field. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the talks and asked a series of challenging and interesting questions. We were also Key Dates for Lent Term 2013* delighted to see girls from The Marist and 8th January 2013 – Girls return: – 5.30pm – Forms I-III St George’s Ascot at 6.30pm – Forms IV–UVI

12th – 13th January 2013 – Closed Weekend the conference.

25th – 27th January 2013 – Exeat Weekend Mrs Meeson

15th – 24th February 2013 – Half Term Teacher in Charge:

8th – 10th March 2013 – Exeat Weekend HoA & Old Girls’

16th – 17th March 2013 – Closed Weekend Co-ordinator

22nd March 2013 – End of Term *Please see school calendar for more details of other events

Children’s Author

St Nicholas’s Stalls 2012

Victoria Campbell

visits Heathfield

On Monday 1st October children’s author Victoria Campbell held an exhilarating workshop with Form IV pupils. Based on the theme of creative writing, each girl was given the opportunity to develop a narrative from a picture in a and II) rm (Fo Emma Tessa (Form III) magazine. All kinds of questions with author arose about a very diverse range Victoria Campbell of characters: above all, what was their goal? Plot lines emerged through confrontation, conflict or a crisis (sometimes all three simultaneously!), culminating in a resolution which might, or might not, facilitate the fulfilment of each character’s dream. There was also the exciting chance for the girls to experiment with bold and arresting opening lines.Victoria’s enthusiastic encouragement for every idea led to all sorts of imaginative possibilities.

This was followed by a talk to Forms I, II and III about how Victoria became an author, after changing career from being a solicitor, from experimenting with an earlier novel, to recently having her first book, Viking Gold, published.Victoria read an extract from her adventure story and, with the help of some replica Viking artefacts, gave the girls an exciting insight into the historical context of the novel.

The audience was enthralled with Victoria’s interactive presentation, generating a torrent of questions, with many girls purchasing signed copies of her book at the end. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience of welcoming this young author to Heathfield and her enthusiasm and advice may well inspire the girls to be writers in their own right one day.

On Saturday 24th November 2012 at 11am Mrs Heywood and Zofia (Form I), the youngest girl in the school, officially opened Heathfield’s annual St Nicholas’s Stall.The Sport Hall was the usual hive of activity with girls running games including Splat the Rat, guess how many sweets are in the jar, guess the name of the teddy bear and the incredibly popular Splat the Teacher, as well as their stalls, bottle tombolas and silent auctions.The atmosphere continued into the St Mary’s Theatre where independent stallholders sold their goods and the Heathfield Parents Association ran a plant stall and café.

The event raised over £10,000 for charity and thanks must go to everyone involved in organising the event and for their kind donations; the event really was a huge success. The money raised will be distributed to the four House charities which are being supported this academic year: Combat Stress, The Broad Appeal, Make a Wish UK and Teenage Cancer Trust.

Madame Lankshear Senior Head of House – Austen

Mr Grey Subject Leader: English, Mrs Bramley Librarian and Head of Careers

LVI and UVI Yorkshire Art Trip UVI and LVI art students

Grace and Lydia (Form I) run ‘How many sweets in the jar’ at Nicky Stalls

Form IV GCSE Art Trip

On 8th October 2012, Form IV GCSE Art Students visited the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The first task of the day was to study the architectural details of the Natural History Museum where we soon discovered the intricate carvings of animals, flowers and birds which covered the ceilings and staircases, giving us all inspiration for our sketches.

On Sunday we set off to the Henry Moore Institution to see Sarah Lucas’s Exhibition with a guide explaining the reasoning and ideas behind the particular show. Next, the Barbara Hepworth Exhibition, which was filled with numerous sculptures and painting from other artists, including Francis Bacon and Frank Auerbach.

During the next part of the trip we went to the V&A where we headed straight for the ceramics room. We observed the array of different pots before gathering sketches and photos that we could bring back to school for inspiration. We then met the Potter in Residence who gave us a brief talk about all the pottery exhibitions and his personal interests in pottery.

The contemporary room was particularly amazing, filled Ball Gown Exhibition with beautiful and interesting works of art. Mr Johnson then introduced us to the wonders of ball gowns. The ball gown exhibition was a lovely and inspiring way to end the trip, as we all sat amongst work by the world’s most renowned and talented designers.

Isabella Form UVI Student

Serena Form IV Student

Form LVI and UVI art students headed off to Yorkshire on 28th September to visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Henry Moore Institute and Barbara Hepworth Exhibition. After a long coach ride we arrived at our destination and enjoyed supper followed by art games organised

by Mrs Leibovici. On the sunny Saturday morning we headed off to the Sculpture Park. We met our guide who showed us around explaining each of the sculptures with interesting facts. There were sculptures by Henry Moore, Anthony Gormley and Andy Goldsworthy. After lunch we explored the Sculpture Park ourselves, taking notes and drawing detailed sketches of particular works of interest. The evening involved another series of games, including making plasticine models from the painting Guernica with prizes being awarded to the best ones.

Music Performances Heathfield’s Music department has worked extremely hard this term to put on a range of performances which has enabled all of the audiences to enhance their awareness and knowledge of music. As well as the Choir’s tour to Vienna, Heathfield girls have also performed in a concert at Farnham Castle and Heathfield Fellowship’s Carol Service which was held on 6th December 2012 at St Peter’s Church, Eaton Square, London.

The House Singing competition was as successful as previous years with each House performing two pieces, one as a whole House choir and the other as an ensemble made up of girls from different year groups. Mr Charles, Music Director from Bute House Preparatory School, kindly judged the event and announced Somerville as the overall winners.

Girls, parents, governors and staff have thoroughly enjoyed the range of music concerts which have been performed throughout the term.

Musician in Residence, Miss Kong, displayed her outstanding talent and passion for music during her Musician in Residence concert where she performed pieces by Mozart, Chopin, Debussy, Grieg and Vaughan Williams, many of which were impressively played from memory on the piano. Thea-Rose (Form LVI), Heathfield’s Music Captain, put on an evening of jazz, where girls and staff performed a diverse number of pieces ranging from Gershwin’s Summertime to Muse’s Feeling Good.

Miss Kong after her recital

During a ‘spooky’ themed lunchtime concert in the Chapel there was an opportunity to hear Heathfield’s Brass Ensemble and the Form I and II choirs as well as individual performances which showcased the musical talents within the school and gave the girls an opportunity to practise performing in front of a small audience.

Mrs Dance Director of Music

Somerville, winners of House Singing

Choir Tour to Vienna

The final event was at Stephansdom where the first performance was held during Mass and the second to a congregation of 400, which included the girls’ parents and families. Throughout the tour the choir was able to perform a wide repertoire which included choir items, solos, a quartet and Top Twelve performances and the support from the girls’ families was tremendous. We all had a fabulous trip, with the exception of poor Janet (Form V Housemistress) who returned to the The choir performed at the Votivkirche and the Haus Der Musik, a secular UK with a broken leg following a fall. building which is an interactive museum devoted entirely to the history Mrs Dance Director of Music of classical music.The venue gave the opportunity to present a varied programme which included solos ranging from a traditional Venezuelan song through numbers from shows to John Fogerty’s Proud Mary.

On Friday 19th October, twenty-six Heathfield girls and four staff arrived in Vienna for Heathfield’s Choir Tour. The trip was varied and busy and included a coach tour of the famous city, a visit to the magnificent Schonbrunn Palace, a boat trip down the Danube, a Mozart concert and most importantly singing at three very different and impressive venues.

Heathfield’s Choir outside Stephansdom

Wear It Pink Day On 19th October 2012 Heathfield became a vision of pink as staff and girls wore as much pink as possible to raise money for the Breast Cancer’s Wear it Pink Campaign. As a result the school raised £304.23 for the charity and it was wonderful to see the whole school embracing the theme for the day.

Madame Lankshear Senior Head of House – Austen

Remember, Remember the 5th of November Form III girls all in pink

On a cold, crisp and clear Guy Fawkes evening the skies above Heathfield became a spectacle of bright lights, colour and very loud bangs. After supper the girls headed to the top field equipped with warm clothes, toffee apples and sparklers where they were met by the staff and their families. A huge bonfire was lit and everyone enjoyed the display of fireworks accompanied by many excited squeals from the girls. Once the fireworks had ended the girls headed into the warm for cookies and hot chocolate.

Miss Lloyd Marketing Manager

Over 300 girls from Britain and around the world, aged from 7 to 17, enjoyed an Olympic summer at Heathfield as part of the school’s annual four week Summer School and Summer Camp programmes.

Parade of Nations

Heathfield’s

Olympic Summer

Summer School and Camp pupils joined English teacher Claire Massey to take part in the nationwide ringing of bells at 8.15am on Friday July 27th which was also attended by a large crowd of enthusiastic girls and staff. Claire was one of two Summer School members of staff who were honoured to be taking part in the official Olympic Closing Ceremony.

Earlier in the week Claire had helped the girls create their own Opening Ceremony in the St Mary’s Theatre. This was preceded by a parade of nations across the lacrosse pitch, including girls from countries as varied as Armenia, Austria, China, Greece, Estonia, Ghana, Jordan, Peru, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. When it came to watching the official Opening Ceremony, bed times had to be extended as the girls cheered and clapped their way through the great show, even standing proudly for our National Anthem.

And of course we had our own Mini Olympic Games! Over 50 British Summer Campers joined the international girls in a giant competition including archery, athletics, gymnastics, soccer, tennis, volleyball, swimming races and water polo. The afternoon was rounded off by medal ceremonies for each event in the theatre. 15 year old Summer Camper Poppy Smith said: “It was amazing to be involved in such a great international competition at Heathfield and to really feel a part of the Olympic Games”.

Olympic Archery

A medal ceremony

Next year’s Summer School and Summer Camp takes place between 6th July and 3rd August 2013.

Visit www.heathfieldsummerschool.co.uk for more details.

Mrs Madaras Summer School Director

Heathfield’s US Election

On Friday 2nd November 2012 Heathfield held a Politics Day. Sixth Form Politics students ran two Presidential election campaigns acting as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. During morning assembly Heathfield’s Obama and Heathfield’s Romney went head to head, convincing the school to buy into their policies with the aim of winning votes. The arguments and debates were both heated and convincing. Then during lunchtime the polling station opened and Heathfield girls and staff voted for their chosen candidate with Obama coming out as the winning Presidential candidate. The day raised everyone’s awareness of politics and established a general interest around the school in the American elections.

Queues at the polling station!

Mrs Holsgrove-Jones Subject Leader: History and Politics

Geography Photography Competition 2012

Most Unusual, Lily (Form III)

Closest to the Theme, Bella (Form V)

At the end of last academic year’s Summer Term the theme was set for the annual Geography Photography Competition with the theme Off the Beaten Track. With 80 competition entries being submitted by the girls and a further 23 entries from the staff the judging panel made up of Mrs Heywood, Mrs Mason and Miss White certainly felt the strain when selecting the winners!

All the submitted photos were of an impressive standard and congratulations must go to all the winners. This year a new Geography Photography Competition badge was introduced which was awarded to the girls who won the Most Unusual photo, Most Photographically Challenging and the Most Geographically Interesting. This year an extra badge was given out for the photo which was Closest to the Theme, as it was so apt!

Miss White Teacher in Charge: Photography

Most Geographically Interesting, Thea (Form III)

Jane Austen Trip

On a beautiful, sunlit, autumn afternoon, a group of “Leader Readers” enjoyed a richly rewarding visit to the home of Jane Austen, one of the great novelists. An idyllic cottage in the village of Chawton in Hampshire remains a delightful testimony to the genius of a woman ahead of her times.

A mixture of Lower Sixth and Fifth Form students, the girls participated in a wide ranging programme of activities. An introductory discussion and film facilitated an appreciation of Austen’s surprisingly radical view of the society around her with its

Geography Photography Competition Badge

Most Photographically Challenging, Daisy (Form IV) overbearing emphasis on money, rather than love. The tour of the house contained pleasing, sometimes poignant details, particularly the small, cramped looking desk, where wonderful stories were composed.

There was also an exhilarating opportunity to handle objects from the period; some quaint, others practical, but all intriguing insights into the lives of women two hundred years ago. Writing with a quill pen, as well as learning a Regency dance, were other rare and stimulating opportunities for the Heathfield girls to enter a new world.

Mr Grey Subject Leader: English

Quill pen writing

Challenging Chapel

the pew into action. From Stole Voting where students could vote for the school charity by placing a peg on a stole (a long scarflike vestment), to the Harvest Fizzy Festival where everyone was given a cold can of fizzy drink and had to make the painstaking decision to keep it or donate it to a food bank. The Harvest Shoestring Shop encouraged students to visit the supermarket with a small budget, buying items for those in need. The Chapel and the PE department teamed up to host the St. Leonard’s Day Dash where students had 10 seconds to run around a square marked on the ground. Each time the course was completed the square was enlarged. We have gathered as a community to pray for our departed loved ones at All Souls and we have stood in silence for Armistice Day promising ‘We Will Remember Them’.

So our little Chapel, the heart of our school, continues to keep us filled with hope, joy and challenge.

The Michaelmas term has been filled with opportunities for the girls and staff to truly challenge themselves, taking their faith from

Fr Tim Tregunno School Chaplain

Heathfield’s Harvest Collection

Michaelmas Sports Report Heathfield girls have been busy competing in Lacrosse, Netball, Swimming and Equestrian fixtures throughout the term, and ski race training began after half term.

In Lacrosse all our teams have played to a high standard with 1st team victories over St Paul’s 2nd team, Wellington and St. George’s Ascot. We are delighted that Emily and Octavia (Form UVI) and Daisy and Daisy (both Form IV) were selected for Berkshire Lacrosse U19B, U15A and U15B respectively. Congratulations must go to the U12 team who managed to gain a convincing first victory over St George’s Ascot.

In netball we have faced some tough opposition throughout the term but the U18 and U16 teams both beat Luckley Oakfield, the U15 teams had successes against The Holt and Bearwood College and the U14 team finished 6th in the South East Berkshire Tournament.

Heathfield Remembers

Every girl in Form I has competed in a swimming gala this term, and our squads have been victorious against Charters. Many races throughout the term have been closely fought with many personal bests being achieved. Forms I and II took part in a highly successful sponsored swim and it was wonderful to see so many parents supporting the event.

Heathfield’s show jumping teams continue to go from strength to strength with teams being entered in Stonar School’s One Day Event, Pangbourne College NSEA Show Jumping Senior Qualifier and NSEA National Schools Show Jumping Championships. At the nationals Charlotte (UVI Form) competed in the 1.10m individual final on her horse Flash Van De Kwakkelhoek; the pair rode exceptionally well and were placed 4th nationally. Heathfield entered the team 90cm, finishing in 9th place nationally and also the team 1m, finishing 8th nationally.

Harriette (Form V) and Octavia (Form UVI) competed in the individual 1m class with Octavia being placed 7th nationally.

The amazing results achieved at the National Schools Championships

by Heathfield were certainly down to a year of hard work, determination and true dedication from all the riders and parents.

Ms Reynolds Director of Sport

Form I Lacrosse

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