VO LU M E 6 I ss ue 1 Aut umn Te r m 2 015
Dates for the Diary Monday 4th January
All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey But it doesn't stop the boarders from coming out to play... Once again the Autumn Term has whizzed by and early homesickness has given way to the ex-
Boarders return from 12 noon citement of the end of term celebrations. The final weekend has been a busy one with everyTuesday 5th January School opens/Start of term
Exeat 1 22/23/24 January 2016 Friday 12th February 2016 Half-term begins 15.30
one enjoying the trip to Exeter for final Christmas shopping, not forgetting that Secret Santa present! On Sunday night St Nicholas and his helper tiptoed along the corridors of Glyn House leaving sweets in the shoes that had been left outside the dormitory door. (St Nicholas was a Bishop in the third century who helped the poor and needy by giving gifts of food and money. He later became the model for the modern Santa Claus). The Glyn House elves have been busy again, decorating dormitory doors for the annual competition. This year the entries have been hotly contested from a simple heart shaped wreath made from greenery from the grounds and sign posts for the North Pole to elaborate decorations where window scenes have been painted. It was very hard to judge! The winners are: Year 11 North Wing Lodge Year 10 Room 1, Dutch House Year 9 Room 6, Yellow Corridor
Boarders return from 18.00 Sunday 21st February Wednesday 23rd March End of term 15.30
Inside this Issue Heavy Horse Centre Wimbourne Pyjama Prayers with Rose House Pizza Night with Mrs Reynolds Hello’s and Goodbye’s
Of course, at the end of this term we always have to say goodbye to our Gappie. Miss McGuigan will be greatly missed by us all and we wish her good luck as she returns home to Australia. Have a safe journey home and a happy holiday with your families. Miss Gina Phipps – Housemistress of Glyn House
Ingredients for a Leweston Christmas Cake:
Harry Potter at Christmas! 3 spoonful’s of Housemistress (use a mix of Rose, Glyn, and Hamilton House personnel) Zest of one cup of tea (Miss Phipps favourite!) Zest and juice of one pink grapefruit (Miss Fielding’s breakfast favourite) 250g of grated boarding assistants 200g fun socials 175g trips at the weekend 100g safely kept passports ½ tsp lost kit 2 tsp Health Centre nurses 1 tsp precious pocket money ¼ tsp stored luggage 100g washed and ironed clothes 2 ½ dogs (Milly, Spud and Tetley!) 1 tsp Christmas Spirit I hope you all have a Peaceful and Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Towards the end of term boarders had the opportunity to visit the Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden. The space has been transformed into a winter wonderland with Christmas dinner served in the magical Great Hall. The girl’s created their own spells on the coach journey and the best spell won a cauldron of sweets!
‘Dancerium’ - to have a dance party at any occasion!
Miss Lyndsay Fielding - Director of Boarding Housemistress of Hamilton House
Pyjamas Prayers with Rose House Rose House boarders participate in Pyjama Prayers in which the girls light candles, sing hymns and each dorm has the chance to read out their boarders’ prayers for the group. Following tradition, the prayers are held in Leweston’s beautiful Trinity Chapel.The girls will have the opportunity to be involved in Pyjama Prayers every Thursday night with Assistant Housemistress of Rose House, Miss Sundermeier, throughout the year.
Heavy Horse Centre Wimborne
We visited Dorset Heavy Horse Centre this weekend. The place was in the peaceful countryside. We saw a presentation of the heavies in a courtyard that was surrounded by many stables. The animals were beautiful; very muscular and well-built. Then we visited the farm and saw donkeys, horses, turkeys, goats, sheep, guinea pigs and rabbits. After that, we had an eventful ride in a cart pulled by a huge tractor. Finally we got to explore the playground. Some girls jumped on the trampoline and others preferred the toboggans. This trip was a very good idea and very successful! Pauline Chavand de Bignicourt-Year 10
#LewestonSchoolofChristmas In what has become a ‘new tradition’; the boarding team took on the task of creating a Christmas advert. This year’s challenge was the ‘Lidl School of Christmas’. Suffice to say filming our hairy companions proved to be our biggest accomplishment yet!
Look out for us on youtube!
Blossoming Roses We have all just about got used to our new name ‘Rose House’. It slips off the tongue quite nicely now. Rose House boarder’s (or Rosebuds as they are affectionately known) have also all settled well into their new lives. It has been a busy, busy term; the girls’ have worked hard at their studies and also played hard. Sports matches and training sessions take up a lot of their time and then the evenings are made up of competitive games of Monopoly, Pictionary or cards. Ever keen to explore beyond Leweston, the girls have signed up for trips to local towns; Sherborne, Dorchester and Yeovil and have explored the Abbotsbury Swannery and Wimborne’s Heavy Horse Centre. They all embraced our boarding taster weekend where we welcomed 32 girls to Rose House - which had a decidedly fishy theme ‘Commotion in the Ocean’, with a day trip to the ever popular Sea Life Centre in Weymouth. Thankfully, ‘Sleepy Sunday’s’ give a day of relaxation and an all-important chance to have a rest. With the Festive season fast approaching the girls are excitedly crossing the days off before they join their families and friends for the holidays. Visiting the Harry Potter studios, decked ready for Christmas, has certainly set the scene for a welcome winters break and has kick-started the exciting atmosphere of the approaching celebrations to come. At the end of term we say a fond farewell and a very big ‘Thank You’ to Nicole Blakeway – our GAP student who returns to South Africa, after being with us for a year. Miss B will be greatly missed, not least by our youngest boarders who she has supported so much this year. We also say goodbye to Allende who returns to Spain after an action packed term here, we know we will see her again as she has put roots down here and made many new friends and had such a wonderful experience. I wish them a safe journey back to their families and to everyone else a happy and Joyful Christmas holiday and New Year! Lorraine Roberts - Housemistress of Rose House
Ringo’s Warmwell On a delightfully sunny Sunday afternoon in September the boarders took to the giant ski slope at Warmwell. The girls picked their giant rubber ring which would become their companion for the afternoon and made the climb to the top of the slope ready to descend it’s snowy surface. After some initial apprehension, the girls were trying new tricks; going down backwards or spinning around, their nerves now replaced with bravery. A good day was had by all!
Pizza night with Mrs Reynolds
What Rose House Taught Me About Pizza Making… It was a simple formula; come for an evening of pizza making and games at White Roses to make the most of the light evenings before winter drew in. This would be the perfect chance for my family to get to know our younger boarders and for me to see the girls, out of school, for some fun and relaxation. So, what did we learn? How varied the art of pizza making can be. From efficiently produced 9” professional margheritas that could rival any Dominoes’ delivery to artisan strangely shaped masterpieces that would have looked as good on a wall as on a plate. But what we learnt away from the kitchen and the dining room table was even more fun: that playing ‘It’ in a garden with no boundary fence is exhausting and never-ending, especially with girls as fit as the ones in Rose House; that adult organised guessing games are nowhere near as much fun as “Zip Zap Bong”, 9 year old Alfie and his mutual support friend Eddy’s devised game of imaginary shooting; and, most importantly of all, that however unique they looked at the creation stage, all pizzas look identical when they emerge from the oven. ‘Now, whose is this one?’ Many thanks to Rose House for providing some memorable fun evenings of pizza and games. Kate Reynolds – Headmistress, Leweston
Autumn Term at Leweston
Welcome to this year’s Graduate Assistants Hello! Hopefully I have managed to meet you all over the past term, but for those who don’t know me, my name is Miss Harris and I am the Assistant Housemistress in Glynn House. I have just graduated from the University of Exeter where I studied English with History. I am teaching English for the next year at Leweston. I cannot believe that it’s nearly Christmas; I’ve had an amazing time and loved getting to know everyone. Although this term has been super busy and full-on, I’ve enjoyed it all and am looking forward to next term!
Hello everyone! My name is Ellen Sundermeier, and I am the Assistant Housemistress in Rose House. I am originally from Nebraska in the United States but have lived in the UK for a little over a year. I recently graduated from the University of York with an MA in Renaissance Literature after completing my BA in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During my time at Leweston, I have been keeping busy teaching English and Religious Studies alongside my boarding duties, so there is certainly never a dull moment! I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone in the school community and am looking forward to many more adventures in the rest of the school year!
Goodbye Gappies I have had such an amazing year at Leweston and I can’t believe that I am now heading home! Everyone here has been so welcoming and I will miss being a part of Glyn House. I wish everyone the best of luck and I hope I can catch up with you all again in the future! Miss Kimberley McGuigan
It’s really sad to be leaving you; I feel as though I’ve only just got to know you all. Although I will miss not being here, I’m really excited to go home and start my new chapter there. I have had a lot of fun here and I have laughed a lot! It has been interesting to be on the other side of boarding, as a member of staff. I have a new appreciation for the people who took care of me at school. I will really miss my amazing Rose House girls. Cheers, Miss B.
Gaudere et bene facere
Gaudere et bene facere