MSJ News Autumn 2016

MSJ

NEWS AUTUMN TERM 2016

DEBATING LEADER COLUMN With the end of term and Christmas in sight, the sense of festive magic and excitement is all around us. This Christmas at Malvern St James has been particularly special for me, as I joined girls, staff and parents in our wonderful Christmas traditions that bind our community together. We marked the start of the season with The Friends’ Christmas Fair in York Hall, the Priory’s Advent Service, our Christingle Service at Christ Church, Carols for Malvern’s Christmas Light Switch-On, and Prep’s ever delightful Nativity.

The grand festive finale was, of course, the MSJ Carol Service at the Priory, where it was a joy to see past and present generations of girls, staff, parents and friends from our rich foundation coming together in thanks giving, peace, and festive celebration: the MSJ community at its very best!

But it hasn’t just been about Christmas: there has been so much more besides. It has been a long term and very busy but, as ever, the girls have risen to the occasion. Sitting alongside a multitude of seasonal events has been a demanding academic and extra-curricular schedule. I am so impressed and in awe of everything that our talented girls and staff have achieved together.

Across the whole school, girls have been involved in all aspects of this year’s production, Grease, which played to rave reviews last weekend. It was a real treat and pleasure for me to see the show with so much talent on display.

I was delighted to see so many girls across the years taking part in performance, both musical and dramatic, in set design, sound, lighting, props, costume and make-up, and enjoying the experience. This production comes off the back of the Shakespeare Festival and Evensong at Hereford Cathedral. My thanks and congratulations to Mrs Fisher, Mrs Miller and Mrs Lindner and their teams. Music and Expressive Arts go from strength to strength, showing everyone exactly why we are an Artsmark Gold school.

Year 13 Medics, and early entry applicants have been brushing up on technique ahead of their university interviews with the help of some of our Old Girls. New societies are being formed, the latest being the Psychology Society led

by Year 12’s Liberty Wilkinson. Clubs and societies have been studying and achieving fantastic things off-curriculum – look at the Maths and Computing sections in particular in this Newsletter. The MSJ Maths Team won the Regional Final of the UK Maths Team Challenge, having beaten all the other top schools in the West Midlands area, and are through to the National Final In February. We wish them the best of luck for the New Year.

Congratulations to Lucinda Hobden and Jenny Gallagher for getting through to the next round of the ESU MACE debating competition.

SIXTH FORM: PREFECTS’ SUPPER

MSJ girls hosted our second Model United Nations Conference in November with over 200 delegates from ten schools, who together represented 38 counties in the committee debates. Barney Mayhew, former UN peacekeeper, was a guest speaker and there was an impressively high level of lively debate and discussion amongst delegates. Seniors and Sixth Formers have started to get their teeth into Duke of Edinburgh’s Award training: no mean feat in some of the bleakest environments in mid-winter. Young Enterprise girls enjoyed a very successful sales fair in Worcester recently, selling out of some items altogether. The Charities Committee has been busy planning Children in Need events and hosting Pudsey Bear, much to the delight of the Prep department! The whole school has been involved in the ‘100 Acts of Kindness’ as part of Anti-Bullying Week and Natasha Devon MBE, former government children’s mental health champion, has been in to talk to the girls, staff and families about wellbeing. Our sportswomen keep on going rain or shine; there are so many achievements by individual students and our teams. And there has been a lot of fun with our fantastic weekend programme of activities, including popular trips to the ‘Clothes Show’ in Birmingham, reeling with Eton and a social with Radley.

It has been a wonderful first term at MSJ for me; I would like to add a personal note of thanks to all our students, families and staff who have helped me to settle in so quickly and who make MSJ the warm and friendly place it is. I do hope that you will now all enjoy a happy, peaceful and relaxing holiday, and I look forward to seeing you in January to turn the page to a new year with new opportunities and exciting new challenges. I feel extremely privileged to be leading this wonderful School.

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The Prefect Team of 2016/2017 enjoyed an exquisite meal in the Rectory hosted by Mrs Raraty. Conversations ranged from politics to satire to the Sixth Form Ball. It was a great opportunity to come together as a team and get things 3 sorted, as well as a chance to leave behind our studies and focus on socialising.

Enrichment Trip to LSE, the British Museum and Parliament

SIXTH FORM The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

A group of 15 girls from Years 11-13 had an early start of 6.45am, but were able to catch up on sleep on the train on the way to Paddington! When we got to LSE, I was immediately overwhelmed by the atmosphere that came from the campus. The hustle and bustle of everyone was exuberant. The campus is in central London and this adds to the excitement of it all.

After our introduction to LSE life and the small fright about the thought of doing 35 hours a week of study, we were then shown around. The campus was exquisite. It is very modern, especially the new library, which is the biggest social and political science library in the UK. For lunch we met Georgie Kwok, an MSJ Old Girl now in her third year, who chatted to me about her time at LSE and also her opinion on Law. It was so useful to get some inside knowledge and I am really grateful as she gave lots of beneficial advice on personal statements, Law degrees and the transition to university from school.

After we had finished our time at LSE we ventured to the British Museum. At the museum we were allowed to go around in groups.

This was really fun as there was so much to see and do. My favourite part was definitely the West African collection. The museum was a playground of different cultures, art and history.

T

After we had looked around the museum we moved GIRLS AT THE on to our next destination: HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT The Houses of Parliament.

This was my favourite part of the day. It was so fascinating to me that some of the greatest world leaders such as Barack Obama, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and many more had spoken and debated world changing policies in the same place where I was standing. We were fortunate enough to stand in the actual chamber itself; this was a truly unimaginable experience.

It was a trip full of culture and I would recommend it to anyone thinking about applying to any London-based university. It has helped with my decision immensely and also has given me a fuller knowledge of my country’s governmental system which is already a keen interest.

Sanchia de Villiers Kuun (Year 12)

THE GIRLS MET OLD GIRL AND LSE STUDENT GEORGIE KWOK (MSJ 2014)

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Our thanks go to Old Girls Georgie Kwok and Victoria Prentis MP for facilitating this trip and making it such an exceptional experience.

he EPQ allows girls to undertake projects that enable them to explore their intellectual interests and realise their passions either through writing a 5,000-word essay or creating a practical project or artefact with accompanying written report.

Russian National Dress’.

The idea of my project was to preserve the original meaning of the Russian National Dress but make it more wearable for Russian women. Throughout the project I had to learn a completely new skill - sewing.

The project encouraged me to learn more so I decided to book a sewing course in Kiev, as this meant that I would be learning a skill that I would use not just during the project, but also in life. I particularly liked the fact that the Extended Project involves independent work, meaning that it was completely my choice of what to do and when to do it – I set my own deadlines.

This helped me to manage my time and ensure that I completed my tasks on time.

Projects are diverse and always individual and the process involves learning valuable transferrable skills that will be vital at university and when pursuing a career.

Current EPQ projects include: Are there any discrepancies in the treatment of male and female sex offenders by the media and what does this reveal about gender stereotyping in Western society? Should 16 year olds be allowed to vote in the UK? And what are the impacts of celebrity culture on feminism?

Yelyzaveta talks below about her EPQ which explores one of her country’s cultural traditions.

YELYZAVETA KOVALEVYCH’S REDESIGNED RUSSIAN SARAFAN

“When I started my EPQ project, I did not have any research skills, I had no idea of how to present my project and I lacked confidence – over the course of

the year all that changed.

As I would like to work in fashion and study fashion trends, I decided to choose a topic close to my culture and explore Russian fashion. My project was an artefact and entitled ‘Modernising the

My aim was to create a portfolio showing the development of my ideas and the different designs and to actually make a dress myself. Overall, I am pleased with the outcome as I met all my deadlines, managed to create a good quality dress and used my research to create a portfolio that led to my final design. The EPQ allowed me to start thinking about my future and develop my knowledge and skills."

Yelyzaveta Kovalevych (Year 13)

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SIXTH FORM

SIXTH FORM

HEADSTART ENGINEERING

THE SIXTH FORM EXPERIENCE FOR YEAR 11 STUDENTS

THE SIXTH FORM EXPERIENCE FOR YEAR 11 STUDENTS I was excited to be selected against stiff competition to attend the prestigious Headstart Broad Based Engineering course at the University of Cardiff. The experience was a valuable taster as I was exposed to the different fields of engineering: mechanical, civil, electrical and medical engineering. It also allowed me to demonstrate my teamwork and leadership skills as I was selected to lead my team in building a minigolf course. I was able to apply the skills and learning gained during my Physics lessons at MSJ to the development phase of the mini golf course, which included designing a blueprint and developing it accordingly.

This project enhanced my understanding of the multifaceted nature of engineering and was proof that this field of study transcends all ethnic, cultural and religious boundaries. The support system put in place was effective because there was advice available for prospective university applicants such as tips on writing a personal statement and the UCAS process. Listening to lectures delivered by the academics and being surrounded by a team of determined women inspired me to debunk the gender myths in the engineering profession. I strongly recommend Year 12s to apply to this course as it is well respected and recognised by educational institutions and can help your application stand out. If you apply for a Broad Based Programme, you develop an understanding of the specialised area of engineering you are most inclined to study. The Headstart course also helped me during my work experience at EAN Aviation, a private jet centre and maintenance facility in Lagos, Nigeria, because I had certain employability skills such as organisation and problem-solving. I was also able to apply the teamwork skills to my new environment, which made my work experience worthwhile.

In October, Year 11 tasted what life would be like in the Malvern St James Sixth Form. We arrived in Sixth Form dress code (smart business suits) and were given the respect and trust that a Sixth Former is given. The day gave us a really good insight into the wonderful Sixth Form that we are lucky to have here.

The day started off with every girl going to the Sixth Form lessons that they had chosen as tasters. This gave us an understanding of what it would be like to study these subjects for the next two years. The lessons were helpful because at GCSE level the teaching style is very different; being taught a subject in A Level style was enlightening and altered the way we thought about it.

After lunch we were treated to a series of talks on things like boarding, careers support and the more independent style of living and learning that we would experience in Years 12 and 13. Every student is treated like an adult and this really sets you up for university life.

ROBYN DISCUSSES SIXTH FORM AND UNIVERSITY WITH YEAR 11S

At 4.30pm we went back to the boarding house to get changed for a candlelit supper. At supper, every table, including mine, was in deep discussion with the current Sixth Formers: I certainly found answers to a few of my pressing questions. The Guest Speaker at dinner was Robyn Annetts, a member of the Old Girls’ Association who left in 2013 and from her interesting speech, it sounded like she had really flourished here. She told us about how she had gone on to read Law and Humanities at Warwick and was now doing a year in business as a paralegal before travelling and returning to university to complete her training.

Teniola Oriola (Year 13) To conclude, I think the day provided a thought-provoking insight into what it would be like to study here for Sixth Form and really helped me in my decision-making.

MOCK UNIVERSITY RECITAL Given the quality of Sandy Hsu’s music performances, you could be forgiven for considering her an A Level music student. Somehow, she has managed to be one of the top students at school while excelling in the Arts simply through self-motivation.

Due to her diverse interests, she has applied to study a unique joint Physics and Music undergraduate course at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Music.

MSJ arranged a mock recital for her audition and a small group of us assembled to support her.

It was a spectacular performance, starting with the melancholy Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 881, by Bach, followed by Schubert’s Impromptu in G flat Major, op.90 no. 3. The climax was Chopin’s Etudes op.25 no.5 in E minor and Sandy has always found this most technically challenging. We all breathed a sigh of relief as she pressed the G#, swiftly moving on to her final and signature piece: Gershwin’s Prelude no. 3.

Sandy has shown us that it is in fact possible to fulfil our dreams – we only need to reach out and opportunities await. We wish Sandy all the best at her audition in December.

Jadie Luo (Year 13)

We have enjoyed many of her past performances and know of the struggles she goes through when preparing for them. However, the challenge she had this time was at a completely new level. Not only did she have to play her four pieces all in one go, but (eventually) she will also have to play the entire 20 minutes of music from memory.

Holly Harvey (Year 11)

SAT

Applications Beyond the UK

Every year at MSJ there are girls who seriously consider applying to universities outside of the UK. These are mostly students who want to study in the United States or Hong Kong. In this current year we also have several girls particularly interested in Canada as a host country for their undergraduate courses. At MSJ we have developed links with several agencies that can also give support to students (and their parents!) with quite specialised advice; for instance with sports scholarships. Last summer (2016), three of our Year 13 girls went off to study in the US; two of them on Lacrosse Scholarships.

Applying outside of the UK is often quite a big decision so our job is to give support across the whole process, whether it is through SAT/ACT practical advice and lessons, through the application system itself or indeed in ensuring that the recommendations and references are done. Essentially, the school provides all of the support needed to ensure that our girls get to choose the opportunities that are best for them.

Mr Peter Newton-Lewis (Economics and SAT teacher)

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MSJ NEWS SANDY AT THE GRAND PIANO

AUTUMN 2016

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OGA LECTURE: Dr. Caroline Lucas MP

MODEL UNITED NATIONS (MUN)

O

n Saturday 19 November we were proud to host the second one-day MSJ MUN Conference. Ten schools joined us for an exciting day of debate on world issues: King Edward’s School (Birmingham), King Edward’s High School for Girls (Birmingham), St Mary’s School Calne, Abingdon School, St Helen and St Katharine’s (Abingdon), Malvern College, Kings School (Worcester), Hereford Sixth Form College, Reigate Grammar School, and Wychwood School (Oxford).

The Opening Ceremony featured a fascinating talk from Barney Mayhew, an ex-serviceman who has worked as a civilian on conflict and humanitarian aid for the EU, the UN and Christian Aid in Bosnia/ Croatia, Rwanda and Congo respectively.

Our girls gain significant leadership experience from leading such a large, complicated conference including planning, critiquing briefing papers, running training sessions for Chairs, leading a complex team and liaising with various School departments. Chairing

Dr Caroline Lucas MP, the UK’s only Green MP and co-leader of the Green Party, visited MSJ in November to deliver the Old Girls’ Association Lecture.

Caroline has this year been voted one of the 500 Most Influential Britons in the Sunday Times / Debretts listing.

She has garnered countless other awards for her campaigning and political achievements.

The usual lecture format was turned on its head and instead of Caroline delivering a speech from the lectern, she was interviewed – “fireside-chat” style – by Year 13 student Lucinda Hobden and Mrs Rachel Huntley, Head of History and Politics.

Lucinda quizzed Caroline on topics as wide ranging as Brexit, Proportional Representation, closing the Westminster gender gap and what she thinks about her colleagues in the House.

Our girls took to heart Caroline’s closing comments that politics “needs more women, fired up and wanting to change things.” Lucinda Hobden, who interviewed Caroline on stage, commented “This was such a good experience and definitely something I’ll remember for a long time to come.”

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CAROLINE WITH MRS CHRIS SHEPHERD

Committees and working alongside guest Chairs can be a challenge – it is not always easy to run a boisterous and volatile committee full of people you don’t know and keep it on track and focused on serious debate. Girls also run press and media teams and

organise a lively social event to close the conference. This year The Brazil Olympics inspired a South American themed disco, where delegates were able to let off steam.

During the course of the day there were three ‘corruption busts’, where Prep girls dressed as police officers would burst into a debate and charge one of the delegates with accepting bribes.

We have had great feedback from attending schools, with Peter Ollis from King Edward’s School commenting, “The Conference all ran very smoothly and our most experienced MUNer said on the way home that ‘it was one of the best conferences he had been to’ – praise indeed!”

Sasha Lloyd, Joint Secretary General, said, “I started MUN as a shy Year 10 student who would never think that she would be able to organise and lead, together with Lucinda, MSJ’s second MUN Conference. Opportunities and capabilities are interwoven together and often we never realise our true capability without seizing an opportunity. I feel MUN is brilliant for this; for the newer delegates, the chance to ask a question from the floor which may lead to becoming an Ambassador, and even chairing a Committee in no time. Lincoln once said, “I walk slowly but I never walk backwards”. This thought has stuck with me on my Model United Nations road. For me, this has meant small steps in participating more through Points of Information, amendments and seizing every opportunity to get to the front.”

Lucinda Hobden, Joint Secretary General, agreed.

“I’ve been taking part in MUN for several years now.

I still remember my very first conference: reading nervously from a sheet of paper in front of a room full of scarily well-informed and intelligent people, I had to try and defend Syria’s policies on Human Rights! MUN is never easy, but the skills it has given me since that first shaky speech are so valuable: researching into global issues, defending different points of view and forming bonds with other delegates.”

Photo credit: India Wilkinson MSJ NEWS

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ART

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY In Year 7, we are doing an ‘Under the Sea’ bag product in DT. This project has helped improve our confidence and skills in Textiles and we’ve learnt how to use the sewing machine.

Chloe and Floria commented, “We liked learning different stiches for embellishment and improving our sewing, whilst learning from our mistakes and having lots of material and components options.”

Nia Grainger (Year 7)

PRINT WORKSHOP WITH ADRIENNE CRADDOCK

SKETCHBOOK PAGES BY PRUDENCE LO (YEAR 12), AFTER VISITING TATE MODERN.

WORK BY ANGIE HUGHES

PRODUCT DESIGN We only have to look around to see a world packed with the fabrications of product designers: computers, phones, cars, furniture, kitchenware...

PORTRAIT PAINTING WORKSHOPWITH MIKE BAGSHAW

ADRIENNE INSPIRES THE GIRLS

The London Gallery trip to Tate Modern was as popular as ever. Highlights included the Georgia O’Keefe and Bhupen Khakar exhibitions.

Back at home, Year 11 enjoyed Angie Hughes’s textile workshop and Year 11 and 12 girls took inspiration from Adrienne Craddock’s print workshop.

“This was a new way of expressing art through the sensory use of materials. Instead of drawing we cut images from textured cards to create a printing block. The unexpected results were great.”

Hattie Green (Year 11) commented after Adrienne's print workshop.

Also, Mike Bagshaw presented a fantastic portrait painting workshop.

Product Design is an exciting subject that is equally creative and technical. Undertaking a sizeable project requires the integration of design skills with knowledge, planning and organisation. The fantastic facilities and guidance of the Product Design department help combine traditional craft skills with the latest technologies, methodologies and materials.

A Level Product Design students were given a blank canvas at the beginning of the year. With no design brief and almost limitless options as to materials we truly could make anything. This however led to problems when deciding on a final product. The Welsh Joint Education Committee exam board put on an exhibition, allowing students to view past exam pieces. They also provided coursework so we could achieve a better understanding of the level we were expected to work at. Products ranged from wireless speakers to protective clothing; and proved that so long as your product addresses a current problem, your product is needed in today’s competitive market.

Coco Chernel comments, “I enjoy studying product design, because I love the idea that I can design and manufacture a product from scratch.”

Chloe Parker (Year 12)

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CLASSICS LECTURE:

What Makes a Tragedy?

DR NICK LOWE, ROYAL HOLLOWAY On 24 November, the A Level Classics groups, along with some Latin students and the Classics Department teachers, went to Dean Close School for a Gloucestershire Classical Association lecture by Dr Nick Lowe, from Royal Holloway. The topic was particularly interesting, and I found the lecture itself to be very thought-provoking, spurring me to think about Greek Tragedy and the interpretation of Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ in a different way. Taking an interesting route to answer the question, Dr Lowe began by debunking the typical answers to the question and then provided a more satisfactory answer through an unusual and unexpected route. His straightforward answer was that, for 5th Century Athenians, Tragedy is simply the staging of Epic. It was an interesting perspective on what Tragedy actually is, as he did not include what most people give as a definition of Greek Tragedy. The lecture also provided very useful insights about Epic and there was some discussion about how the Odyssey and the Iliad could be staged, given that violence and battles could not be shown on stage and that the action had to happen in ‘real time’. This lecture, the second Classics lecture we have been to at Dean Close this year, was riveting and inspiring to me and my fellow students.

Yewande Oyekan (Year 13) Mrs Kingshott added, “This was a very special evening for me. Nick Lowe was my tutor at Royal Holloway and it was a lovely opportunity to share with my students the experience of being taught by him. His style is unique; truly eccentric, quirky, passionate and insightful.”

WRITING FOR ROYALTY

MSJ WRITERS ARE GIVEN A ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL

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The girls who have lessons in the Learning Enrichment and Support Department have received a very special letter from Kensington Palace, thanking them for their book, Tales for the Telling, which they wrote for Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The girls were thrilled to receive a letter from the Palace, which included, “Their Royal Highnesses were most impressed to learn how you put the book together and particularly enjoyed the ‘Charlotte and George Find a Dolphin’ story. The Duke and Duchess are grateful for you taking the trouble to send them the book, and were most touched that you should think of their children in this way.”

UNSUNG HERO This is the part where we shine a spotlight on MSJ’s Unsung Heroes. This term we meet minibus driver Nigel Wilson, who drives the Ross route (he’s also one of MSJ’s Exam Invigilators). He was interviewed (very brilliantly) by Year 4’s Poppy Blandford.

NIGEL AND MO FARAH

How long have you been driving the MSJ minibus and what did you do before?

I started at MSJ in September 2014.

Before that I drove minibuses for St Mary’s Convent in Worcester for a year. My “proper job”, as I call it, was Sales Director for local newspapers, including the Worcester News and Malvern Gazette. I was with my company for just short of 31 years and absolutely loved it.

What do you like most about your job?

The girls telling me about all that they’ve done and achieved, and sharing their day.

Have you met any famous people?

I’ve met quite a few famous people – Mo Farah, Steve Redgrave, Seb Coe, Paula Radcliffe and Michelinstarred chef Michele Roux. Not long after England won the 2003 Rugby World Cup, I was fortunate enough to spend half an hour with Jonny Wilkinson. I’d love to meet Jessica Ennis-Hill – she’s such an inspiration.

What’s the most memorable thing that’s happened during a school journey?

This is a very well-timed question! Last night, when I was taking the girls home, the POPPY AND NIGEL minibus started shuddering ominously and then the engine stopped. All of the girls said, “What’s wrong, Nigel?” We managed to limp back to the MSJ car park and had to swap buses. I ended up taking my minibus all the way to the garage in first gear!

What kind of music do you listen to in the car?

Everything from Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars, to Katherine Jenkins and UB40. If I’m on my way to watch England in the rugby, I always play Swing Low Sweet Chariot. We usually listen to Free Radio on the MSJ bus

and if a song comes on that the girls like, they always ask me to turn it up!

Where do you live?

Kempsey. I leave home at 5.40am to get to MSJ for 6.00am. I get home at around 9.00am, and then at 5.20pm I’m off out again to drive the girls home. I’m usually home after 8.00pm.

What’s on the top of your Christmas wish list?

I never know what to ask for! I think I’m very lucky really. There’s something special about this Christmas… my daughter had a baby girl in July so this will be my first Christmas as a grandparent. My daughter, her husband and my granddaughter, son and his wife will be with us on Christmas Day. What do you do in the school holidays?

I should be doing decorating, but I always find there’s another time for that! I enjoy cycling and running.

I’ve got a place to run the London Marathon next year, so my serious training is underway. We often go to Cornwall in the holidays. I enjoy going to sporting events too. My son and I went to the London Olympics in 2012 and were lucky enough to be in the stadium on Super Saturday and the following Saturday when Mo Farah won his second gold medal. I enjoy going to the theatre and my favourite production is Les Misérables.

What’s your most favourite holiday ever?

Our 1996 trip to Florida. We went for 22 days and had a packed itinerary. We saw everything from Walt Disney World and Busch Gardens to the Kennedy Space Center.

During the last week we were so tired we had a rest day and spent the day by the pool, having a BBQ! Do you have any pets?

No. I’m not very pet friendly as I’m allergic to pet hair!

What’s your favourite Christmas Carol?

Once in Royal David’s City. It’s beautiful when the first verse is sung by a lone chorister, then the choir joins in and then the congregation. It’s always lovely. I really like Boney M’s song, Mary’s Boy Child, as I like its Calypso style.

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EXPRESSIVE ARTS Shakespeare Schools Festival 2016

GREASE

When I first saw our script of Twelfth Night, I was excited as well as intrigued to know how this would turn out. After reading the play through a couple of times I fell in love with the character of Sir Toby Belch, and when the day came for our characters to be announced, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I was cast as Sir Toby Belch!!!

Being in Grease was so much fun, from dancing to stage lighting. We rehearsed every week and enjoyed learning the songs and dance routines. It brought the whole school community together from start to end.

We loved the make-up, dancing and sparkly costumes throughout the show. The audience loved it and so did we! Our favourite bits were dancing to the songs backstage as part of the stage crew, and wearing amazing costumes to create our characters. We are definitely signing up for more fun next year!

Overall, I thought the play was upbeat, exciting, happy and colourful. As an enthusiastic team, everyone in the group worked well together and we managed to steal the show with our AMAZING performance. We got a lot of laughs and I think we told the story well. I like how at the start the twins, Viola and Sebastian, get separated in the shipwreck; they each think the other is dead, but then at the end they are reunited. This is a magical moment and the audience enjoyed it too. They even joined in our singing at the end.

Scarlett Kelly and Michaela Holmes (Year 7)

If someone else had the opportunity to do this Festival, my advice would be to grasp the opportunity with two hands and never let go. It is without doubt an experience worth experiencing!

Rebecca Harris (Year 10)

GCSE Drama Performance On Tuesday, 8 November the GCSE Drama Group performed scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream to an enthusiastic audience of Year 9 Drama Scholars and the REP group.

The examination required the students to study the play, decide on the concept for performance and present a scene as if it were part of the play as a whole. After taking inspiration from Emma Rice’s production at The Globe, the group selected scenes, chose characters, created highly imaginative and varied concepts, learnt lines, collected and made costumes and props, designed the lighting and sound and finally performed for their GCSE exam.

Mrs Fisher, Head of Expressive Arts said, “What a brilliant morning, where we were entertained with wonderful acting, dancing, sets and costumes. Stunning lighting with colours and gobos perfectly created the forest. It really gave us the magical feel of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Well done to all the girls!”

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MUSIC

STEM

Young Performers’ Platform

A sofa, a porch and Pythagoras’ Theorem

On Friday, 11 November I played in the YPP and I felt very nervous!

Grace McSpadden and I were playing a clarinet duet called Shhh! which was fun to play but unfortunately we had to go first. We stood up at the music stand and the audience went quiet. My hands began to shake. We played the piece the best we could but felt relieved and could then enjoy the other great performances.

Violins, flutes, harp and the piano were just a few of the amazing instruments played in that exciting concert. Everybody succeeded in playing really well with the support of the audience and fantastic music staff. No matter the age, everyone was able to show their genuine music talent and the occasion was greatly enjoyed by all!

Ella Greenland (Year 6)

Interview with MSJ’s new Head of Mathematics, Mrs Elizabeth Bell Benz: Where did you go to university and what did you do before you came to MSJ?

GRACE MCSPADDEN AND ELLA GREENLAND

Evensong at Hereford Cathedral In mid-November the MSJ Singers travelled to Hereford Cathedral to sing Evensong. Upon arrival we rehearsed all of the music for the service, and then practised walking in and leaving the choir stands – making it run smoothly is not as easy as it may look! After some tea and biscuits to warm up, we then lined up and got ready to walk into the service.

The choir sang beautifully and it was a lovely service incorporating the Berkshire Service by Malcolm Archer and an unaccompanied version of the spiritual Steal Away. The service was well received by all and on the journey back we all had some well-deserved chocolates!

Genevieve Manning and Immy Surridge (Year 10) CHORISTERS OUTSIDE HEREFORD CATHEDRAL

I read Maths at Warwick University.

After that I did teacher training, also at Warwick, then got a job in a local Grammar School.

From there I moved to a comprehensive school in Coventry MRS BELL AND BENZ and then I relocated to Malvern to work at MSJ. So it’s been quite a diverse experience so far.

Benz: Why is it important that more girls study Maths and what is MSJ doing to support this?

Mrs Bell: A lot of girls here are already interested in Maths and that’s encouraging. For those that aren’t, it’s often due to having lost their confidence. The good news is we can rebuild this. My job is about nurturing and encouraging everyone to get involved at all levels.

Outside of lessons, I’ve started Maths Club, we do trips to universities and we enter every competition that we can find. It means a lot to me for girls to feel they can do Maths to whatever level they wish. Losing girls from Maths means losing many of the best and brightest minds which is a loss to great STEM career opportunities such as engineering.

Benz: How would you encourage the practical applications of Maths in everyday life?

Mrs Bell: It starts with an awareness of where Maths can be applied in real life. When I moved to Malvern in the Summer, I used Pythagoras’ Theorem to work out if my sofa would fit through my porch. It didn’t. I had to get a new, smaller, one!

Benz: What do you do when you’re not doing Maths?

Benz: What makes a ‘good mathematician’?

Mrs Bell: A good mathematician is curious: they ask why things work the way they do. They also always seek to understand, not just to replicate.

Benz: What do you find most challenging about Maths?

Mrs Bell: My big hobby right now is working towards getting my private pilot’s licence. I love to spend time with my friends and family, and my cat Professor Picklesworth, or Pickles for short.

Benz Mecasuwandamrong (Year 11)

Mrs Bell: My degree was very challenging! But if I thought that was hard, my husband is a Professor of Maths and his work is almost impossible to understand!

It’s important that students realise that even though I find the maths they are doing relatively easy, I do know how it feels to be confused.

Benz: If you overheard a student saying, "I can’t do Maths", what would you say to them?

Mrs Bell: That happens frequently and I’m quick to reassure them that they can! Maths is a subject where you either ‘get’ something or you don’t and the time before that ‘light bulb moment’ is very frustrating.

Almost anyone can do Maths. I am a big fan of the Growth Mindset – thinking “I can’t do it YET” rather than “I’ll never manage it”. It just takes perseverance and alternative strategies sometimes.

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PROFESSOR PICKLESWORTH, MRS BELL AND THAT SOFA

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STEM Maths Masterclasses at Worcester University

Senior Team Maths Challenge

We Year 9s started off the first week looking at topology (the study of shapes) and if we could play noughts and crosses on them. We even looked at the Klein bottle (a shape that can only be depicted in 4d)! The next week we had a go at Maths modelling. We used probability to predict where forest fires would travel in different conditions. In the third week we investigated what was the best number. We looked at using the golden ratio, which eventually won our competition! The next week, we had lots of students from the university come and teach us about Maths in different careers. We looked at using Maths in music (prime number notes!), business, mapping and engineering. Finally, we learnt about cryptography and how our private information is encoded. We used food colouring in water to show it and then had a go ourselves. We also looked at codes where you move the alphabet along a certain number of letters.

This method was used by Julius Caesar. We then had a go decoding enigma messages with our own homemade enigma machines.

On Thursday 17 November, a team of four mathematicians participated in the Senior Team Maths Challenge at Malvern College. With dedication and determination they managed to triumph over twelve other local schools in the final relay round. Achieving first place, the team has now qualified for the next National Round, which will be held in London in February. Congratulations girls!

Emily Cox and Anna Hale (Year 9)

Maths Club is a chance to explore some areas of the subject that we would not otherwise touch on in the school syllabus. We get to see where it can be applied in real life too. We have learnt about the Sierpinski triangle and we have solved ciphers as part of the Southampton Cipher Challenge. The Club pushes us to our limits and lets us see our potential, even though we get stuck a lot! We use teamwork: one person may not think of the way to solve a problem but someone else will and it’s fun doing it together. It’s very different to exam papers which we do alone.

A Sierpinski Triangle

Sylfiana Wong and Cherry Lam (Year 11)

UK Senior Mathematics Challenge In November, we sat the UK Senior Mathematics Challenge paper which is a 90 minute examination which requires you to use mathematical knowledge in scenarios that you would not encounter in class.

We did better this year than last as we are more mature mathematically and understood the questions better.

Between all of us in Year 11, 12 and 13, we received 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 5 Bronze certificates. Six girls scored in approximately the top 2% in the country and so qualified for the Senior Kangaroo, a follow-on round.

Charlotte Li also qualified for BMO1, an even harder follow-on round, for which she scored in approximately the top 0.5% of the country.

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Here is a sample question:

Miki, Chloe, Sabrina and Charlotte (Year 12)

Institute of Physics Lecture The lecture was about how the European Space Agency put the Rosetta spacecraft into orbit around a comet and set a lander, Philae, down on its surface. The lecturer, Dr Andrew Morse, was part of the team that built one of the scientific instruments on Philae. Their instrument was used to ‘sniff’ the comet and analyse the light elements and molecules, including light organic compounds. We were given a ‘scratch and sniff’ postcard of what the comet smelt like – not good! We found out about the problems they had deciding where to land, mainly because the comet turned out to be shaped like a rubber duck! When it eventually landed, one of the mechanisms failed, so it bounced for about a kilometre before stopping. They were able to collect a huge amount of data for scientists to analyse, and one thing they found out was that the ice on the comet had a different proportion of heavy water in it to that on Earth. It was a very informative lecture, and I really enjoyed expanding my knowledge about physics outside my syllabus.

Millie Cooper (Year 12)

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COMPUTING Raspberry Pi Coding Club

The Hall

Several students from a variety of year groups have been attending a weekly Raspberry Pi Coding Club run by Mr. Shaw, the Head of Computing. A Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized single-board computer, which many different pieces of equipment and devices can be attached and plugged into. This term, we have been focusing on programming using the PiLiter, which is a series of eight LED lights that connects to the pins on the Pi. We have practised using variables to simplify complex programs and create sequences of light patterns in Scratch and Python.

This club is an absolutely brilliant introduction to coding on the Raspberry Pi, but also caters for more experienced students. We are all looking forward to continuing this club next term!

The best bit about The Hall was the 3D printing machine. The amount of things that you can do with a 3D printer is amazing! There were skulls, converse shoes, and more, but the best thing that had been made by the 3D printer was a box that had a ball inside it. How did they do that?

Erica Borwell-Fox (Year 7)

Tomorrow’s Engineers

Grace Knuth (Year 8)

The Malvern Festival of Innovation This term Year 7 travelled to the Malvern Festival of Innovation where they met many scientists, mathematicians and engineers.

Cardboard Chairs

Marcus Du Sautoy Talk We met Marcus Du Sautoy – a maths professor. He came to talk to us about what he thinks maths is and how maths is fun. Marcus believes that patterns and sequences in maths especially can be used to predict the future and certain events. Many types of patterns were described including the Fibonacci numbers, square numbers and lots more. One of the ways he proved this was by using lemmings as an example. Lemmings are proven to multiply and then every 4 years they plummet to their death by jumping off a cliff. Marcus said that we can predict the next time lemmings do this by using the power of patterns. Lastly, we played a kid’s lottery and this was used to express the last point of Marcus’s talk.

This point was about predictions and that none of us would get all the numbers. Marcus has also written books based on Maths.

We learnt a huge amount from Marcus and we had a very memorable, enjoyable session with him.

Nia Grainger (Year 7)

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Our challenge activity was making chairs out of card board, using as little of it as possible, while making it strong enough to stand on. It had to be 30cm tall and the lightest person could stand on it.

The Dome

We participated in a very fun engineering challenge based on the issue of immigration.

The engineers said that immigration is a struggle and they cannot supply enough water and food. Our task was to imagine we are trying to deliver food to the migrants. We had to create and design an object that could be parachuted from an aircraft and could be easily opened by the migrants. The object also had to be well priced. There was a supply ‘shop’ that held all of the materials we needed to make the object. We split up into groups and all of us came up with amazing designs, using materials such as balloons, tissue paper, string etc. Overall this was a stunning day for us and we really got to know about the immigration crisis and engineering, as well as science and maths. Thank you to all of the teachers that helped to make this day possible.

Georgina Attlee (Year 7)

To round off the busy day, all the girls gathered to watch a video in the inflatable planetarium. We learned about space, the Apollo mission and the Google Lunar X Prise– a competition run by Google challenging you to make a droid, land it on the moon and bring it back successfully! This was a very fascinating part of the day every one enjoyed the 3600 view! All of the girls left more aware of the challenges around them and inspired to do something amazing like it one day.

Cyra Mead (Year 7)

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ARMISTICE DAY CEREMONY

SPORT

On 11 November, the whole school gathered in the Quad to join in with the national commemoration and two minutes of silence at 11am. Before the silence, we sang the hymn, Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past and a Year 12 student read the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. The Act of Remembrance began with the evocative and powerful The Last Post being played by a trumpeter and the two minutes of silence ended with Reveille. We then made a pledge to work for the relief of the needy and to encourage the peace and welfare of nations.

EQUESTRIAN Addington Champs 2016 Addington Champs have become the highlight (in competitive riding) of our school year in terms of the accolade and achievement of qualifying and competing there. This year was no different: schools were attending from around the UK with each class containing approximately 40-45 teams, so the girls were competing against 160 riders and horses each time.

The competition was run over three days, so horses were stabled on site and riders and grooms (mums) stayed in lorries or the nearest Premier Inn!!

As last year, MSJ did really well. They had qualified for five classes this year. Our dressage team did fabulously to get 8th place with all of our riders placed in the top ten in each of their arenas.

Our two show jumping teams were just out of the placings as they were not quite fast enough; you have to go like a rocket to be in with a chance of a place and then you so easily might have a pole down and so incur penalties!

Our Jumping with Style team was Eve Hobbs, Izzy Lee, Jess Morris and Genevieve Manning; they competed on the Sunday and Monday in the 95cm and 105cm

SPORTING SUCCESS FOR LOTTIE Lottie Trevethan had a great half term. She entered the Yorkshire Pentathlon over the first weekend winning the overall event in U15 Girls and also winning the Best Fence and Best Swim discipline in the competition.

She found out later that week that she had qualified for the British Biathlon Championships and then won a Bronze Medal in the U17 elite epee fencing competition.

STOP PRESS: Lottie has been called up for the England U15 Fencing Team.

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classes but didn’t get a placing this time although they all rode very well.

The girls had a great time as usual; they all support each other and work really hard to achieve their dreams. They all want to win, so there is great jubilation when they get placed and of course commiserations when they lose!

Mrs Issy Manning

CRICKET Keira Johnstone has been trialling for Warwickshire U15 girls at Cricket and has been selected for the Development of Excellence squad.

SKIING Ibble Watson has been invited to be part of the England Alpine Squad.

HOCKEY

Our Chaplain, the Rev’d Kim Taplin, conducted the ceremony from the middle of the Quad where a symbolic centrepiece of an army coat and helmet, along with two model rifles, had been constructed. As everybody left the Quad in silence, many placed their own poppies there as a gesture of solidarity.

Sarah Jackson (Year 12)

MEDIEVAL FASHION WORKSHOP A group of Year 7-9 girls attended a History and Language workshop by Dr Farris, an Historian at the University of Westminster. He is working on the Lexis Cloth and Clothing project which is based on the Medieval Royal Clothing accounts (http://lexisproject.arts.manchester.ac.uk/index.html).

We set to work looking at the class system in Medieval Britain and how people of different classes dressed. We used the Lexis database to identify the materials worn. We also learnt about the language used and how it helps Historians with their research. We finished a fabulously informative afternoon with a competition to see who could design the best Medieval outfit using the clothes that we had discovered that day.

The winning team received certificates and everyone went away with a lot of new knowledge about Medieval Britain and Medieval language.

Emma Green (Year 8)

It has been a great season for Hockey, with many triumphs and the opportunity for the U11 and U13 teams to play at the ‘Olympic Park’ (known as Lee Valley Stadium) where the U13s won the plate competition. Congratulations too to our U13 and U15 teams who are ISA UK Midlands Champions.

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PREP

Preparations for all things Christmas-y are underway…

Pre-Prep 1’s Class Christmas Acrostic

Trip to @Bristol The Pre-Prep enjoyed their visit to @Bristol where they learnt all about the human body.

Sophie Clarke (4) “I liked learning about my body and my brain.”

Alice Bond (7) “I learnt about the five senses and what makes a living thing.”

S anta is here, T rees and deer, A wintery time of year, R obins cheer.

EMILIA EDE A TRICKY CHALLENGE FOR NANCY

THE GIRLS MAKE A BIG FRIEND DECORATING THE TREE

FANCY DRESS DISCO

CHRISTMAS NATIVITY

November 2016

GETTING READY TO DANCE FANTASTIC OUTFITS

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PREP

CHILDREN IN NEED The Charities Committee has been extremely active this half term whilst preparing for a whole school fundraising event which took place on Friday 18 November for Children in Need. Pudsey Bear himself visited to collect a cheque for nearly £400. Overall, a ‘spotacular’ day!

Coco Chernel (Year 12) PUDSEY BEAR JOINED THE GIRLS (INCLUDING EMILY NOBLE, YEAR 6) FOR SOME DANCING.

FRIENDS OF MALVERN ST JAMES BONFIRE Just like the fireworks, the Friends’ burger and hot dog selling went off with a bang! £888 was raised.

SINGING FOR THE TOWN AT MALVERN’S LIGHTS SWITCH-ON FIREWORK FUN

CHRISTMAS ARTWORK

CHRISTMAS FAIR

FUN AND GAMES AT THE FAIR

WELLBEING PRE-PREP 1’S CHRISTMAS CARD

PREP’S GLITTERY CREATIONS

A FESTIVE VILLAGE BY THE ‘LITTLE POTTERS’ POTTERY CLUB

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During Anti-Bullying Week, girls and staff were invited to take part in random acts of kindness.

On 11 November, York Hall was transformed into a shoppers’ heaven. The Friends would like to thank everyone who supported this event, and a special mention must go to Malvern Parish School and the MSJ Prep department for their festive singing £887 was raised.

SOMERVILLE SUPPER

SOCIALS

BOWLING WITH RADLEY Girls from Years 9 and 10 enjoyed bowling and a Chinese meal with Radley College.

Faye Lynch Williams, Year 9, said, “I had a great time bowling and was once again reminded of my lack of bowling talent, however it was fun spending time with my friends and the new friends I met. I will hopefully be keeping in contact with the good friends I made there!”

DUKE OF EDINBURGH On Tuesday 15 November, 22 students from Year 12 were invited along to The Somerville Supper. The topic of conversation for the evening was: Does it matter who is President of the United States of America? We were all asked to prepare some research and bring an article that we found interesting and that was relevant to the topic – if possible connecting it to the subject that we were interested in studying.

During the evening we shared different opinions on policies and statements that had been made by Donald Trump which were often followed by a heated debate. Throughout the evening, conversation flowed easily.

“I was especially interested in the ideas focusing on the intelligence behind Trump’s campaign and the political game that he may have been playing during the run up to the elections.” Izzy Lee (Year 12) "The evening was exciting and informative." Lucy Blum (Year 12) I heard some well-argued points about the role of the President and I was able to appreciate different perspectives, but it was often hard to come up with a single answer.

The conversation was led by Dr Jones and Mr Morris, on each table, and in addition we were joined by Mrs Raraty and Mrs Kingham, a governor who said afterwards, “What an inspiring group of girls, some real stars, but all intelligent and brave, in putting their views forward.”

Until that evening, I'd never really been interested in politics but I now realise how important it is to modern day culture.

Coco Chernel (Year 12)

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T

he DofE Scheme is as popular as ever. 48 girls from Year 9 have joined at Bronze level, with 18 at Silver and 14 at Gold. One girl who joined in Year 9 and went on to do all three levels is Eleanor Revill. She left in Summer 2016 and was due to receive her Gold certificate at St James Palace in November.

DofE Expedition Training Day – Southern Malvern Hills The 2017 DofE expedition season is already under way.

Girls who have just joined the scheme have done their first days with the emphasis on map-work skills.

“On 13 November I went on my first expedition. As it is my first time doing DofE I had to learn a few basic skills; Ms Cole taught us how to read maps, do bearings, use a compass and also understand basic first aid. Although all these skills sound easy, they definitely take some practice, especially remembering to keep the map the right way round! As soon as we got walking it all became second nature; I especially liked the map work.

I really enjoyed reaching the top of Swinyard Hill and seeing the beautiful views of Malvern. It was definitely worth the long walk up there, even with the help of Taff the dog giving a helpful pull now and again! It was a really enjoyable experience and I can’t wait for my other expeditions.”

Sanchia de Villiers Kuun (Year 12)

Call 01684 584624 admissions@malvernstjames.co.uk www.malvernstjames.co.uk Malvern St James, 15 Avenue Road, Great Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 3BA