Inside Heathfield enews issue 18

Issue Number 18, w/c 3rd February 2014 & w/c 10th February 2014 Heathfield Highflyers and Staff Awards In the final assembly of the first half of the Lent Term Heathfield Highflyer Awards and Staff Awards were presented.

The following girls were recognised with a Highflyers Award: Science Faculty Lina (Form V), Achieving 3 A*s in her Biology, Chemistry and Physics mock examinations.

Daisy (Form V), for being the first Heathfield girl to be selected to represent the South West Regional Lacrosse B Team, making her one of the top 36 players in the region.

Humanities Faculty Kate (Form V), for revising thoroughly for her Geography mock examination showing the rigours of the questions and responding with detail demonstrating exacting analytical skills.

Kale (Form IV), for producing an outstanding revision booklet explaining the Christian attitude to sex.

Creative Arts Faculty Emily (Form LVI), for her performance as Teyve in the school production of Fiddler on the Roof and for showing total commitment to the whole process throughout, putting the show together.

Jamila (Form LVI), for producing a visually exciting short film using a self-taught process.

Staff Awards go to Poppy (Form I), Katy (Form IV) and Tayiwo (Form UVI) Natalie Holsgrove-Jones Subject Leader - History & Politics, Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator

House Mathematics After school on Monday 10th February students representing each year group took part in the House Mathematics competition, organised solely by Diana, LVI Form. Each House was represented by one student from every year group and the teams of six competed against each other for an hour, attempting to solve mathematical problems that were challenging for everyone involved. In the first round each House worked together to solve fifteen questions as quickly as they could, with the first two Houses to complete each question gaining points. In the second round each House was split into two teams and took part in a ‘Maths Relay’. Each team had to complete a question correctly before the other team could begin to solve their question; each relay consisted of six questions. The Mathematics department is incredibly impressed by the determination shown by everyone involved, especially when faced with some very challenging problems. We witnessed great problem solving, cooperation and encouragement from all the teams and Somerville were announced as the winning House.

Mrs Z Benjamin, Subject Leader Mathematics

Issue Number 18, w/c 3rd February 2014 & w/c 10th February 2014 Fiddler on the Roof After many months of rehearsals the school’s ensemble of 26 actors, consisting of students from year groups ranging from Form III to Sixth Form, spent three consecutive nights in the St Mary’s theatre performing Fiddler On the Roof, to rapturous audiences.

The audition and rehearsal process started in September and gave many girls a great taste of theatre life.

Rehearsals consisted of singing, dancing and acting, all of which were tackled with enthusiasm from students and directors alike.

When the final performances arrived, with nervous excitement the girls got into their fabulous 1900s costumes and were ready to perform! Each night was unique in the quality of performance and everyone involved learnt huge amounts about what goes into a great show. The show was a huge success all round and all those involved should be very proud!

Emily, LVI Form Student and Drama Captain

Issue Number 18, w/c 3rd February 2014 & w/c 10th February 2014 Heathfield Art Exhibition The Embassy Tea Gallery is set in the trendy lanes of Southwark, less than five minutes’ stroll from the Tate Modern. It is surrounded by busy galleries with contemporary art, cafés and restaurants. Inside is a lovely large traditional wine cellar with high arched ceiling. The atmosphere felt upbeat and reminiscent of Jazz venues but with white washed walls. It was very spacious and well lit.

On Saturday 8th February Heathfield exhibited work by 50 girls, some of whom had left in the Summer after their A Levels. Included in the exhibition were four iconic Heathfield pieces which were all completed within the last ten years. There was a steady stream of visitors throughout the day and the art work gained much admiration and even a few sales. One piece sold for £600! Not bad for an A Level student. This was the ‘Animal Heads’ piece made by Carmen Ceniga Prado (Heathfield 2011-2013), who has recently been accepted into the prestigious School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. All visitors recognised the outstanding quality and the variety of styles of work. Students clearly made their own journeys in their art and worked with high levels of skills but independent in their thinking.

A number of art industry experts enjoyed the exhibition and all commented on the quality of the girls’ artwork, suggesting it looked to be degree standard or professional. There were some real accolades for our students! The exhibition looked absolutely fabulous and guests not only enjoyed art, but they also enjoyed tasty and beautifully crafted canapés prepared by our art scholar’s father, Antony Worrall Thompson, as well as delicious cakes prepared by a friend of Mr and Mrs Worrall Thompson.

Mrs J Leibovici, Subject Leader – Art

Austen Weekend 8th & 9th February 2014 Just before the weekend began Ms Reynolds had to cancel the Invitational Lacrosse Tournament due to take place after Prep on Saturday afternoon because of the torrential rain, which had not stopped all week! However in place of the tournament the Lower School took part in House Netball. In addition to House Netball the girls also had a go at making sock monkeys and enjoyed cinema trips and a Valentine’s supper. Whilst these events were taking place the Art Department with the support of Art Scholar, Billie (Form LVI) and her parents Mr and Mrs Worrall Thompson, put on a pop-up Art Exhibition at the Embassy Tea Gallery in London showcasing artwork by Heathfield pupils and Heathfield Old Girls. To conclude the Saturday activities the girls took part in a Whole School Quiz with questions being based on Hollywood, Film and TV shows.

Sunday was just as busy and after Chapel the Lower School were involved in games run by the House Captains whilst girls from Form III upwards had the opportunity to go to Covent Garden. In the afternoon Forms I and II had a Valentine Bake Off and Textiles Workshop whilst some girls in the LVI prepared for their photography examination. To conclude the weekend there was a free swimming session and girls took the opportunity to go riding.

Madame Lankshear, Senior Head of House– Austen

Issue Number 18, w/c 3rd February 2014 & w/c 10th February 2014 Prep Schools Music Workshop On Thursday 13th February girls from Maltman’s Green and Coworth Flexlands Prep Schools came to Heathfield for a Prep Schools Music Workshop. Firstly, the girls attended Master Classes with Heathfield’s peripatetic teachers and Assistant Director of Music, Miss Kong. During the Master Classes the girls played a rehearsed piece of music on their chosen instruments and they were provided with guidance, hints and tips about how they could improve their performance further. When the Master Classes ended the girls gathered with Miss Kong in St Mary’s Theatre and took part in a musical activity called ‘surprise surprise’. The girls spent half an hour learning a piece of music using percussion instruments. Before attending the Music Workshop the visiting girls were given Ode to Joy by L.V.Beethoven to prepare to enable them to play the piece with the Heathfield orchestra. Before tea at 4pm the Prep School girls and Heathfield’s orchestra got together to prepare for a concert that they would perform after tea for visiting staff, parents, Heathfield girls and staff. The concert was fantastic and there was an amazing atmosphere in the audience. The girls from Maltman’s Green and Coworth Flexlands joined Heathfield’s orchestra to play the opening number. The concert then continued and our Prep School visitors were extremely professional and brave playing solos to the audience, while Heathfield girls also displayed their musical talents with a range of instruments and different arrangements. The ‘surprise surprise’ piece was performed and then there was a special performance from the visiting Directors of Music and Mrs Dance. To conclude Miss Kong played the Harry Potter theme tune which had everyone mesmerised and then the Heathfield band sang and played Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli. The event was such a huge success we are already planning next year’s!

Miss S Lloyd, Marketing Manager

Seacole Cheque Presentation On Thursday 6th February Seacole girls presented The Richard Burns Foundation, their chosen House charity for the year, with a giant cheque for £4759.54. The lady who collected the cheque was called Kate and she spent time explaining to the girls that the money raised for the charity supports those with brain injuries and brain cancer and also their relatives.

The Richard Burns Foundation was created following the death of Richard Burns, the 2001 world rally champion, from an astrocytoma – a virulent form of brain tumour – in November 2005.

Richard’s strength and determination throughout his illness were an inspiration to those who knew and worked with him. After Richard’s death, which occurred when he was just 34 years old, the Richard Burns Foundation was set up by some of his closest friends and colleagues as a lasting tribute to his memory. The charity aims to help people who are affected by serious illness and injury.

Jeanette Kemp, Head of House – Seacole and Teacher of Science

Classics Lecture on Virgil’s Aeneid On Monday 3rd February, the A Level Classical Civilisation girls attended a series of lectures at City Temple, designed to aid their study of Virgil’s epic poem, the Aeneid. Topics ranged from the nature of ancient heroism, comparisons with Homer’s Iliad, the controversial ending of the poem, the famous love affair between Aeneas and Dido and the political context. The girls learned a lot about the problems that Virgil had whilst writing his great work, as well as the influence of Augustus on the literature of the time. The lectures were very useful and have opened up some thought-provoking discussions in subsequent lessons.

Mr A Valner, Subject Leader of Classics and Deputy Head of House - Somerville

Issue Number 18, w/c 3rd February 2014 & w/c 10th February 2014 Leiths Wine with Food Tasting Leiths UVI students attended the annual Wine with Food Pairing and Tasting on the evening of 6th February.

Vivienne Franks, from Aspects of Wine, enthusiastically introduced the huge subject of wine to the girls and four members of staff. She presented the worldwide subject simply and logically, beginning by telling us what we initially needed to know about wine and finishing with a tasting, which she inspiringly called “thinking drinking�.

Vivienne described where wine grapes are grown and how wine is made. She went on to discuss the various styles (aromatic, sweet, medium, dry, fortified and sparkling) and what makes the variations taste like they do: the grape variety, the soil type, the microclimate and the making. We were told about Old World and New World Wines. She explained how to read a label and what vintage, names and letters will appear. She discussed how to store and serve wine to its best advantage.

In the second part of the talk Vivienne started to educate our palates and we began tasting. We started by looking at the colour, before sniffing and finally sipping.

Vivienne demonstrated how to breathe in whilst sipping, explaining which sensations in the mouth indicated which characteristic in the wine (acidity, tannin and alcohol). She told us to ask ourselves questions whilst tasting before we proceeded to match food with wine.

There were 3 white wine grape varieties and 3 red wine grape varieties to taste. Each wine was sampled with fruit, mature cheese, blue cheese, umami, chilli and cake. Vivienne discussed the influence each wine had over the food or the reverse. This led to discussing which wine/ grape variety was best to serve with specific foods. A delicate dish should be matched with a light wine, a rich dish with a robust wine and a sweet dish with a sweeter wine.

The girls were fully engaged in the process, listening to all the information and asking pertinent questions. Good and relevant discussions struck up and the 2 hour talk passed quickly. I hope, and suspect, that everyone present will taste wine and pair it with food more thoughtfully in the future.

Vivienne left in the howling wind and rain to return to London, leaving us all much better informed and suitably enthused.

Miss P Fairclough, Teacher of Cookery

Intermediate Maths Challenge On Thursday 6th February, twenty-two students from Forms III, IV and V volunteered to take part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge. This is a national competition where students work on their own, without a calculator, to answer 25 multiple choice questions. They have an hour to answer as many questions as they can and are not expected to answer all 25 questions in the time available. The questions are very challenging and students are expected to apply their mathematical knowledge to very novel situations. Special commendation should be given to the students in Forms III and IV who took part this year as the competition is designed to be challenging for students in Form V; it was valuable practice for competitions in the future. The Mathematics department is very proud of all the students who took part and are looking forward to receiving the results and certificates shortly.

Mrs Z Benjamin, Subject Leader - Mathematics

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