Inside Heathfield enews issue 15

Issue Number 15, w/c 2nd December 2013 & w/c 9th December 2013 Christmas Carol Service The Christmas Carol service A Festival of Lessons and Carols concluded the Michaelmas Term on a festive note. The Top 12, choirs, orchestra, soloists and readers had obviously been rehearsing hard to put the service together. There were many highlights throughout the service which included the Staff Choir performing The Sans Day Carol and Victoria and Lydia (Form II) singing in German as a duet during the first verse of Silent Night. Fr. Tim gave us much to think about in his address and the readings throughout the service told the Christmas story. £542.81 was raised for the school charity JDRF during the collection.

Miss S Lloyd Marketing Manager

Heathfield Highflyers Every half term two pieces of work are selected from each faculty and girls who have produced a piece of outstanding academic work receive a Heathfield Highflyers Award. The awards are presented in the penultimate Assembly of each half term in our ‘Celebration Assembly’. The pieces of work can be produced by any girl from any year group within the school.

Heathfield Highflyers Awards were presented on Friday 6th December 2013 to the following girls: Science Faculty Olivia (Form III), Science Investigation Ellie and Bea (Form III), A revision booklet on Angles Humanities Faculty Amber (Form III), History Booklet Sophia (Form UVI), English Essay Creative Arts Faculty Serena (Form V), Textiles Dress Tally (Form UVI), Christmas Cake Staff Awards are given to girls who have been recognised for their hard work and commitment to their academic studies and these were presented to Diana (LVI Form), Amber (Form I) and Maria (Form IV).

Congratulations must go to all the girls.

Mrs N Holsgrove-Jones Subject Leader: History & Politics, Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator

Issue Number 15, w/c 2nd December 2013 & w/c 9th December 2013 House Drama House Drama is always a source of great excitement and everyone threw themselves into script writing and rehearsals once the theme was announced – Shakespeare. Although some thought 'it's all Greek to me!' when adapting the plays, all were very successful. With The Tempest set on the exotic Ascot Island, Romeo and Juliet set in a boarding school, Macbeth dealing with Rooney vs Beckham and A Merchant of Venice which was made In Chelsea, everyone who took part should be very proud of what they achieved!

Jessica Madsen, Guildhall School of Music and Drama graduate, kindly took time to adjudicate the competition and declared De Valois’s The Tempest the overall winner, with Austen's Macbeth taking Best Costume and Best Programme, and Camilla (Form LVI) sharing Best Actress with Ella (Form LVI) from De Valois. The evening was very enjoyable and a huge thank you must go to the House Captains for creating such wonderful plays and Ms O’Connor for organising the event.

Janet, Form UVI Student Christmas Lunch Heathfield’s Christmas lunch took place on the penultimate day of term, with the whole school being seated in one sitting. Fr Tim opened proceedings with a fitting grace which was followed by the pulling of crackers, turkey and all the trimmings and Christmas pudding. Then everyone took part in a festive singalong, starting with The 12 Days of Christmas, where each year group took one verse of the song! The Catering staff really embraced the Christmas theme, by not only producing and serving a delicious Christmas lunch but also wearing Christmas jumpers, tinsel and sparkly hats.

Miss S Lloyd Marketing Manager

LAMDA Success During the Michaelmas Term girls took their LAMDA examinations and 92% of candidates achieved either a distinction or merit. Congratulations must go to all of the girls especially Honey-Bee (Form LVI) who achieved her Gold Medal for LAMDA Musical Theatre with a distinction and also to Phoebe (Form IV) who gained 92%, distinction for her Bronze Medal LAMDA Musical Theatre. We are very proud of all the girls’ achievements.

Mrs N Shaw Extra Dance and Drama Coordinator

Issue Number 15, w/c 2nd December 2013 & w/c 9th December 2013 French Exchange The French exchange group who visited our partner school, Centre Daniélou, have just returned after seven enjoyable days in Rueil Malmaison outside Paris. The five Heathfield girls who were accompanied by their teacher were delighted by the warm welcome of their host families, the French school and the beautiful weather. They started the week with a day in Paris visiting the Arc de Triomphe, les Champs Elysées with the Christmas market, le Sacré Coeur and Montmartre. The following day our pupils, in particular the two LVI Form students who were in full immersion, were treated to varied lessons including History, Geography, Economics and French. After a full morning of lessons, all the girls enjoyed a shopping escape to Le Marais, walking from Le Centre Pompidou to the beautiful Place des Vosges square. On Friday, the three Form V pupils were treated to a another day in Paris, this time enjoying the fantastic view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, visiting the Louvre Museum and ending the afternoon on Boulevard Haussmann in the famous Gallery Lafayette, beautifully decorated for Christmas. Finally, they spent Saturday with their hosts, mostly going back to Paris, to the cinema or even being invited to parties. The French exchange has again offered a unique blend of social, cultural and linguistic opportunities and we are already looking forward to next year, hoping to be able to open the exchange to a larger number of girls.

Madame F Rayner Subject Leader: MFL

Leiths Christmas Cakes Each year the UVI Leiths students make a Christmas cake to take home to share with friends and family over the festive season. The finished products are always a delight to see with such an array of different designs on display, demonstrating the girls’ original thought and creativity. Heathfield staff were invited to vote for the ‘best in category’ and the following prizes were awarded: Most Traditional Christmas Cake – Georgie Most Creative Christmas Cake – Imogen Most Modern Christmas Cake – Janet Most Technically Ambitious Cake – Jasmine Most Technically Proficient Cake – Taylor We hope all the cakes take pride of place in the girls’ homes this Christmas.

Miss P Fairclough Teacher of Cookery

Issue Number 15, w/c 2nd December 2013 & w/c 9th December 2013 Austen House Weekend, 7th and 8th December 2013 In time-honoured fashion, the last weekend of term was dedicated to activities related to the festive season. We had trips going to Camberley, Windsor and Guildford where the girls were able to do a spot of Christmas shopping amidst carol singing and general festive cheer. We also had a trip to Somerset House in London where the History of Art group viewed the Isabella Blow exhibition which by all accounts is absolutely stunning. The girls have recommended it to anyone interested in design or fashion and don’t forget that Isabella was a Heathfield Old Girl, attending between 1970 and 1975. On Sunday we had several workshops as well as the traditional Christmas party for Forms I and II which culminated with an early visit from Father Christmas. Last, but not, least Lower School were able to enjoy the obstacle course in the swimming pool late afternoon.

Madame R Lankshear Senior Head of House – Austen

U13 and U14 Netball vs Warminster School On 6th December a mixed Form II & Form III netball team played against Warminster School who were on a weekend tour playing Hockey and Netball against schools in the Berkshire area. The Heathfield team leapt into a commanding 8–3 lead after the first quarter with some outstanding shooting from Ella (Form III) and some exceptional interceptions and handling skills from Emmy (Form III). The first half closed with Heathfield leading 12-4. With a few changes at half time, the Form II girls got into their stride and the match ended with a Heathfield win 21–7. Well done to all the girls: Amber, Anastasia, Bota, Ella, Emmy and Eva (Form III) Chloe, Ellie, Grace and Lydia (Form II).

Ms W Reynolds Director of Sport

House Cross Country House Cross Country this year was held over two days, 9th and 10th December. The Cross Country was split into three categories Junior, Intermediate and Senior. In the Junior race De Valois was the winning House with Lydia (Form II) being the Junior winner. For the Intermediates Somerville won and Georgie (Form III) finished first. In the Seniors De Valois won with Emily (LVI) winning the race and she was also the overall Cross Country winner for the whole school. Miss McSweeney, Miss Wells and Mrs Chell also took part in the Cross Country and did the staff proud!

Congratulations to De Valois who claimed this year’s House Cross Country title.

Ms W Reynolds, Director of Sport

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