Pipers Post | Autumn 2016

Termly News | issue 26 | Autumn 2016

It’s a kind of magic

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...

Learn, explore, discover

Girls get SET P2

Pipers Corner School, Great Kingshill, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP15 6LP

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Countdown to Christmas

TELEPHONE 01494 718 255 EMAIL theschool@piperscorner.co.uk VISIT www.piperscorner.co.uk

Sports news P6

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MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMISTRESS This term there has been a real sense of new beginnings at Pipers Corner. The opening of our new Arts Centre, with its Theatre and Café, along with our fabulous Senior Library, have created some fantastic spaces for the school community that have already made a huge difference to the way our girls are learning.

We have seen first-hand the impact that can be made by a new addition, or a re-invention, and I hope that the girls themselves take this onboard as they look at themselves and consider how they can also constantly improve.

There have been some superb examples of this over the course of the term. The choice of “We Will Rock You” (see page 3) was a brave one for the Drama Department – challenging the girls to embrace rock music and present a performance that was so completely different

to previous productions. The chance for some of our Year 8 girls to participate in the GE Healthcare “Girls Get SET” Scheme which encourages girls to become more involved in Science, Engineering and Technology (see page 4), has really opened their minds to what the future career opportunities are available to them. Our Geography Department has also shown innovation, embracing new technologies and employing the use of virtual reality fieldtrips, enabling the girls to learn in new and exciting ways (see page 5).

It is always a joy to see both staff and students embrace new ways of doing things and to share with them in their success along the way. I very much look forward to seeing where new directions will take the girls throughout the remainder of the academic year.

Wishing you a joyful Christmas and a happy New Year.

Learn, explore, discover We were delighted to welcome nationally acclaimed poet, Jacob Sam-La Rose, to Pipers Corner in September to officially open our brand new Library.

The Library, situated at the very heart of the school, provides a brand new and exciting learning space for the whole school community.

Along with a range of fiction and non-fiction books, there are individual work stations, collaborative working areas and a dedicated classroom for more formal lessons.

At the opening Jacob gave a brief speech, including an insight into how he felt libraries were instrumental to him becoming the poet he is today. He spoke about the fond memories he has of going to libraries when he was younger, and how he feels that libraries are spaces where imagination can run free.

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Following the opening Jacob spent the afternoon at Pipers, delivering workshops to girls in Year 9 and 10.

This provided a unique opportunity for the girls to discuss not only Jacob’s work, but their own style of writing, enabling them to gain inspiration as to how they can write more effectively about the things that are important to them.

Science as Art

Victorian surgery

Challenging Maths

A Level Art students have been considering viewpoints this term exploring the different ways we can look at the world around us. Taking inspiration from specialist micro image artists such as Terry Winters, who uses microscopic images to create close up pieces of art, the girls looked through microscopes at objects including onion cells, petals and leaves to view the intricate designs of these objects close up. They then used their observations to create larger pieces of work.

GCSE History students visited the Old Operating Theatre in London in November to complement their study of Victorian medicine. The group had a tour of the museum, followed by a walk around Southwark, where they learnt more about the public health problems of living in the district in the Nineteenth Century. The girls discovered that with no anaesthetics, antiseptics or blood transfusions available, speed was of the essence in surgery for a successful outcome.

In November, four Year 6 Mathematicians went to The Beacon School to take part in their annual Year 6 Mathematics Challenge. The Pipers Corner team, comprising of Scarlett C, Isabelle E (Prep Mathematics Captain), Elsa H and Isabella P (Prep Mathematics Captain), competed against nine other schools, answering questions across a wide range of Mathematical topics. The team finished in a creditable fourth place – well done girls!

It’s a kind of magic

Informal concerts

Girls at Pipers Corner fully embraced the world of rock music at the end of November with their hugely impressive performances of “Schools We Will Rock You”.

During the Autumn Term musicians and singers from Pre-Prep to Year 11 welcomed family and friends to two small informal concerts. Many genres of music were performed at the events including nursery rhymes, classical movements and musical theatre.

Featuring beginners, right through to GCSE students, and our Music Scholars, the audience were treated to pieces for piano, violin, viola and guitar and voice.

Pipers Lunch Watch

The musical tells the story of a group of Bohemians who struggle to restore the free exchange of thought, fashion, and live music in a distant future where everyone dresses, thinks and acts the same. Musical instruments and composers are forbidden, and rock music is all but unknown. Featuring classic Queen tracks including “Radio Ga Ga”, “Somebody to Love”, “We are the Champions” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” the girls brought the house down with their energetic portrayal of how “real music” was brought back to life.

The show was the perfect choice as the inaugural production in the school’s brand

new £5 million Arts Centre which opened its doors in October. At the heart of the Centre is an impressive theatre which seats up to 280 people and is fully equipped with a large and flexible stage, including orchestra pit, along with state-of-the-art sound and lighting facilities.

“We Will Rock You” provided the girls not only with the opportunity to show their exceptional ability as actors, singers and dancers - it also allowed the crew to really showcase the technical abilities of our wonderful new facility as they demonstrated great professionalism in their work on set, costume, lighting and sound.

A French adventure This September girls in Year 6 immersed themselves in French culture when they travelled to France for their residential trip to Château de la Baudonnière in Normandy.

During their stay at the Château the girls took part in a wide variety of activities including canoeing, fencing and climbing. On arrival in Normandy, instructions were given to the girls in French and they were encouraged to use the language throughout their stay in order to improve their knowledge and pronunciation skills.

During their stay the girls also thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to visit a local market and the Abbey at Mont Saint-Michel.

All the girls fully embraced the French culture and put in a fantastic amount of effort in order to master new phrases. The trip certainly provided fantastic enrichment to everything the girls have been working on in their language lessons at school.

Monday 21 November heralded “Lunch Watch Week” when each day photographs of the delicious food available for the girls, were shared via the official Pipers Corner social media accounts. The aim of the initiative was to draw attention to the many options available to the girls each day including a hot cooked meal, or a choice of soup and sandwiches, as well as a well-stocked salad bar.

The great debate This term A Level History students had the opportunity to take part in The Historical Association’s Great Debate.

The debate’s question was “How did the First World War affect me and my community?” Pipers’ representative Bethan T (Upper Sixth) spoke about her research into Wethered’s Brewery in Marlow, focusing on the role of women.

After winning the Oxford heat Bethan will be participating in the National Grand Final at the Imperial War Museum, London in March.

Exploring environmental change One afternoon in November Year 7 Geographers ventured to Prestwood Nature Reserve for an afternoon of fieldwork. During their visit the girls were able to think about the impacts of change on the natural environment around them as well as in the wider world. Tasks included data collection through quadrat sampling, land use analysis, field sketching, locating grid references and using technology to annotate photographs, measure decibels and identify tree species.

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Award winning artists We were delighted to discover that this term three former Pipers girls, who completed their A Levels at the School in the summer came first, second and third in the Buckinghamshire Art Society Young Artist of the Year Award for 2016.

The winners were: Rebecca Brennan (first), Pamela Naidoo (second), Emilia Fish (joint third). Pipers Corner also received a prize as the winning school.

Textiles and Art of Florence Sixth Form AS and A Level Art and Textiles students made the most of a fantastic four day study tour to Florence over the October half-term holiday. Whilst in Italy the girls visited a selection of museums and galleries, gaining fantastic inspiration to help them in their work as they spent their time sketching, painting and observing their surroundings.

Helping those in need The Pipers Corner School Harvest Festival took place in mid-October.

Beginning with an assembly led by School Chaplain, Revd Gurr, each House brought forward a decorated hamper as a symbol of all the items that had been generously donated by girls and parents. All girls from PrePrep to Upper Sixth were involved in the collection of a variety of produce and household items to donate to the House charities.

Changing places At the beginning of October, Lower Sixth Geographers travelled to Snowdonia National Park in Wales as part of their A Level Geography studies of “Changing places”. The girls began their fieldwork in Nant Ffrancon valley and Cwm Idwal, where they observed glacial features. They also visited Llandudno to complete their urban change fieldwork, concentrating on the regeneration within the town.

Exchanging cultures As part of the annual German Exchange programme run in conjunction with The Royal Grammar School, girls studying German GCSE welcomed German students from Ratsgymnasium in Osnabrück, into their homes in November. During their visit, the students took part in lessons at Pipers, visited London, Bath and Oxford and spent time with the host families. Pipers girls will have the opportunity to visit their German partners when they travel to Germany in 2017.

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The girls were able to visit many places of interest including the Church of Santa Maria Novella where they saw “The Holy Trinity” by Masaccio, the Accademia, which houses the amazing sculptures of Michelangelo including “The Slaves” and his most famous sculpture “David”, the Pitti Palace, which incorporates a number of different galleries including a special exhibition on photographic textiles and finally the Uffizi Gallery where the girls took the opportunity to observe

pieces of art close up. They were also given a practical demonstration on how to draw in front of a piece of artwork when standing up.

Before travelling home the girls visited Prato Textiles Museum which was the centre of Textiles production in Italy. They were given a guided tour and were able to see an exhibition by Canadian Textile Artist, Marjolein Dallinga, along with a wonderful display called “Across Art and Fashion”.

Girls get SET In mid-November, Pipers Corner hosted the first STEM Activity Day for the GE Healthcare “Girls Get SET” Scheme, which encourages girls to become more involved in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET). The objective of the GE Healthcare Scheme is to generate awareness of the wealth of opportunities available to young people if they consider a future career in the Science, Engineering and Technology sector.

10 girls from Year 8 were selected to take part in the day, along with 10 girls from Holmer Green Senior School and Chesham Grammar School. The girls were introduced to the Scheme and were told what to expect from the project over the next 12 months.

For this first session the girls were split into six groups to work together on a variety of different tasks. The first task was to name the different types of job roles within the Healthcare profession - with the winning group able to name 68. After a brief talk about the biology of cells, the girls then chose a specialised cell which they had to create a 3D model of using craft supplies. In the afternoon, the girls had an introduction to DNA and again were challenged to create a 3D model and present their creation to the group.

These activities and short presentations provided a brilliant way for the group to learn more about Science and help them understand the different roles they could pursue in the future.

Virtual fieldtrips with Google On Thursday 6 October girls from Prep to the Sixth Form at Pipers Corner made the most of a unique learning experience using technology developed by Google. Using a virtual reality viewer made of cardboard and a smart phone the girls were transported to places as diverse as the Grand Canyon and the human body.

Girls in the Prep Department travelled to the Amazon, got up very close to rocks, minerals and gems, and delved into volcanoes from around the world.

The expeditions were a great success and a fantastic way for the girls to experience something, albeit virtually, to help them develop a greater understanding of the world outside the classroom.

In the Senior School, Year 5 visited Borneo to explore the rainforest, Year 8 Geographers explored the volcanic landscapes of the world whilst Year 8 Art students took a trip to Mexico to look at Aztec and Mayan architecture. Year 9 Biologists explored the human digestive system and in Religious Studies, Year 10 ventured to the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia. Year 11 and Sixth Form Physicists took a journey to see the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and artists in Lower Sixth, who are studying “viewpoints”, went to the Amazon rainforest.

The whole school was excited to take part in World Ballet Day Live on Tuesday 4 October, when five of the world’s leading ballet companies live streamed a full day of behind-thescenes footage from across the globe.

Highlights from the day included watching the live stream in Form Time, girls listening to ballet music in their Art lessons, and the Prep Department’s special general dance knowledge quiz.

During October half-term Year 11 GCSE History students set off to Berlin for a three day tour of the city. The purpose of the trip was to visit places of historical interest from the period of the end of World War One, through the Weimar Republic and Nazi Third Reich, to the Cold War split and the construction of the Berlin Wall.

On their second day in Germany the group went to see the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, the site of the 1936 Olympic Games, a museum commemorating the work of Otto Weidt, an

In September girls in Year 11 to Upper Sixth made the most of an opportunity to attend a hugely beneficial careers networking evening. We welcomed representatives from whole host of industries including Law, Business & Management, Media, Chartered Surveying, Theatre, Marketing and Finance & Accountancy, to talk about their career paths and provide insight into their areas of expertise.

World Ballet Day

A tour of Berlin

The girls’ first port of call was a visit to the German Historical Museum where they were able to view artefacts from the 1920s and 1930s including Nazi and Communist propaganda and uniforms.

They then went on a walking tour of the city taking in major landmarks including the Reichstag, the Soviet and German War Memorials, the Brandenburg Gate and the site of Hitler’s bunker.

Looking to the future

“Oskar Schindler” type figure and the DDR Museum - an interactive museum providing a journey into Germany’s Socialist past.

On their final day the girls visited the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall in Bernauer Strasse and heard stories from people who lived through this time. From there they went to the Stasi Museum, Checkpoint Charlie and then on to the Holocaust memorial in central Berlin. This provided the group with a perfect opportunity to reflect on what they had learnt throughout their three days in Berlin.

History challenge In November, four girls in Year 6 had the opportunity to represent Pipers at the Primary Schools History Competition, held at Davenies School. The team consisted of Alice T (History subject leader), Carys V, Evie C and Millie B. The girls competed against 13 other schools and received a special Highly Commended Award for correctly identifying more historical faces than any other team during the picture round.

Founder’s Day The whole school came together to celebrate Founder’s Day at the end of September. This year the chosen decade was the 1980s. In Pre-Prep the girls learnt an 80s dance routine to “Girls Just Want to have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper and played Twister. Other activities included making 80s food in Food Technology, exploring advertising from the decade in English and in History the girls looked at 80s politics. In the afternoon the whole school attended the Founder’s Day Service. The service culminated with the cutting of a celebration cake by the Head Girl, Bethan T (Upper Sixth) and the youngest.

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Countdown to Christmas Gabriella’s big break Pre-Prep girls were delighted to welcome their family and friends to the Arts Centre Theatre last week for the presentation of their Nativity “Gabriella’s Big Break”.

The performance told the story of a group of angels who found out that God had a list of very important jobs to take care of before the birth of a special baby. All the angels were keen to be given the responsibility, but when the two main contenders suddenly became ill Gabriella had her chance to shine and prove that she was the angel for the top job.

All the girls were fantastic in their roles and really brought the Nativity story to life in a different way. The girls performed extremely well, impressing their audience with a selection of great songs including “Achoo! Bless You”, “See the Baby” and “The New King”.

Prep Con cert

Christmas crafting Christmas came to Pre-Prep at the end of November when the girls invited family members to join them for an afternoon of Christmas crafting.

The Prep Departm ent broug to Pipers ht festive with their cheer Christma the end o s Concert a f term. It t was a fan dance, dra tastic eve ma and si n in g of n ging from Departm all girls in ent. High th lig e h ts included: from the productio Year 3 re ading Ch n Year 4 sin ristmas c ging “Awa ard facts, y in a Ma performin nger”, Yea g a Christ r5 m a s Tree po telling Ch em and Y ristmas jo ear 6 kes!

There were a variety of Christmas themed items to make including; reindeer shaker bottles, snow and sequin handprint baubles, rocking Robins, Christmas trees, Rudolph bookmarks, bouncy snowmen, paper angels and lots of magic reindeer dust!

The afternoon provided a lovely opportunity for the girls and their parents to experience an afternoon of festive fun. The girls were also able to be creative, whilst using a range of skills such as teamwork.

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Pre-Prep singers

Nativité Française

Celebration of carols

In early December Pre-Prep girls visited the residents of Abbeyfield House, a residential property providing supported accommodation for the elderly in Great Missenden. The girls were very excited to visit the residents and sing some Christmas carols and songs to them. The performance was very much appreciated by all and the girls thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to bring a little bit of Christmas spirit to the people they met.

Girls in Year 6 performed a special Nativity to family and friends at the beginning of December with the whole performance spoken entirely in French. The girls have been working very hard with their French language skills since their trip to the Château de la Baudonnière in Normandy in September and were excited to show their parents how far they had over the course of the term.

On Wednesday 7 December girls, staff and parents came together for the Junior and Senior Carol Services at All Saints Church in High Wycombe. The afternoon and evening provided an excellent opportunity to reflect on the year gone by and the importance of the Christmas season. Traditional carols were sung by the congregation along with additional performances from soloists, choirs and ensembles.

Shakespeare Schools Festival Girls in Year 8 and 9 took to the stage at the Old Town Hall, Wycombe Swan one evening in November to perform an abridged version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Shakespeare Schools Festival.

The Shakespeare Schools Festival is a nationwide initiative which, in 2016, will see over 1100 schools performing in 131 theatres. The aim is to provide young people with an opportunity to learn the language, magic and possibilities of Shakespeare.

On the night the girls from Pipers Corner performed alongside Cox Green School’s “Macbeth”, Highcrest Academy’s “Othello” and The Beaconsfield School’s “The Comedy of Errors”.

They all performed brilliantly on the night, with the Shakespeare Schools Festival Director complimenting the girls’ comic timing and professionalism throughout.

News from Sport

Staff vs. Sixth Form Netball In December it was time for the Sixth Form to defend their title as winners of the Sixth Form vs. Staff Netball.

The match was well-fought on both sides but in the end the staff came out on top with a convincing win of 18 – 4.

The Sixth Form will have to wait until next term to win the title back.

GSA Netball tour

In September the Year 8 and Year 9 Netball teams travelled to Condover Hall in Shrewsbury to take part in the GSA Netball Tournament against 20 other GSA schools.

The tournament ran over a weekend and provided the girls with the perfect opportunity to develop their skills both on and off the court.

Not only did the teams play in competitive matches on both Saturday and Sunday, but they also took part in activities such as abseiling and laser-tag. A highlight of the weekend was meeting two members of the England Netball

team, Pamela Cookey and Sara Bayman, who gave the girls great tips on how to improve their game in the future.

At the end of the tournament Eloise W was named Year 8 player of the Tournament by Sara Bayman.

Jumping to success

On Saturday 19 November, Pipers Corner School entered two teams into the Grass Roots Regional Championships held at Bury Farm Equestrian Village in Slapton, Buckinghamshire. The teams had qualified for the event by placing in the qualifying competition earlier in the year.

The team entered two classes - the Class 1 (40cm) team consisted of Grace B (Year 3) on Out of the Shadows, Ava W (Year 4) on Murphy and Elodie F (Year 7) on Junior. In Class 2 (50cm) there was Elodie F (Year 7) on Junior, Gina M (Year 8) on Fionn, Emily O (Year 8) on Razzle Dazzle and Ava W (Year 4) on Murphy.

Both teams rode very well with Class 1 finishing in third place and Elodie being presented with a special rosette for Best Rider.

Class 2 also rode well with both Gina and Elodie jumping a clear round.

In other Equestrian news, Ciara S (Year 11) had the opportunity to represent England in the first Nations Cup Show Jumping Competition at the NSEA National Championships at Addington Manor Equestrian Centre on Sunday 23 October.

Ciara was selected for England after having won the 1 metre class at the County Challenge Show Jumping Championships in April. The competition saw teams of six riders from England, Scotland and Wales, with the best four scores counting towards the final result. England were placed first and Ciara, on Jessica, posted the fastest clear round of the competition at 29.79 seconds.

A Hockey first

For the first time in the School’s history, Pipers Corner was delighted to host the regional U11 IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools) Hockey qualifier at the beginning of October.

The team from Pipers was joined by teams from The Abbey School, Great Walstead School, The Elms School, St Hugh’s School, St Piran’s School and Holy Cross, for an exhilarating day of competition.

Having only recently started to play Hockey it was the first opportunity for the Year 6 girls from Pipers to play in a competitive match, so they were extremely excited. There was tough opposition from all teams, but the Pipers girls were tenacious and made huge improvements throughout the day.

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WHO’S WHO Team and support GCSE students who choose a technical module as part of their final Drama examination.

Name: Andrea Duncan Position: Arts Centre Manager Brief description of your role within Pipers Corner I am the Arts Centre Manager and Production Manager for the larger scale Drama and Dance productions, Performing Arts events and examination performances. I co-ordinate the day-to-day running of the School’s Performing Arts facilities and provide first-line support to all users of the School’s Performing Arts resources including external users. I also run the Technical

What activities do you enjoy in your spare time?

I don’t tend to have a lot of spare time, but when I do I love going to the theatre and cinema with my two sons.

What did you do before you joined the School?

I trained as an actress and worked in the West End, on tour and on Broadway appearing with many wonderful actors, including Derek Jacobi at the Old Vic. Then I decided to move into production and casting and then stage and company management on shows such as “Phantom of the Opera”, “Cats” and “The Rocky Horror Show” amongst many others. I was also responsible for managing the presenters and winners at the Laurence Olivier Awards for 18 years before joining Pipers.

Who would you say has inspired you in life?

I am constantly being inspired by the people I meet and the incredible people in the world.

I think the people who have had faith in me to do the things I’ve done, gave me inspiration. My school in a tiny mining village in Yorkshire didn’t teach Drama, but I had a fantastic Music teacher called Mrs Senior who encouraged me to go to the local college to study Theatre Arts instead of becoming a PE teacher. She saw something in me that others didn’t and I will be eternally grateful.

What excites you about the job you do?

Providing the best possible facilities and highest standards for the girls to experience the Arts Centre as an incredible place to learn and perform. Also the fact that every day is different and offers so many new challenges often within very tight timescales.

Finally, the best thing about working at Pipers Corner is…

It is absolutely the people, the girls and the fantastic lifelong friendships I’ve made during my time here. I love my job and having the opportunity to do something I love in a beautiful setting is just the cherry on the cake.

If you were fortunate enough to see the Senior School production of “Schools We Will Rock You” in the new Arts Centre Theatre in November, then you will have seen the fabulous stage lighting in action. The PPTA contribution of £14,500 towards the equipment is a direct consequence of the incredible support we enjoy at our events.

As always, our thanks to all Pipers parents, girls and staff who have supported us in our endeavours to bring community spirit to Pipers Corner.

Once again the Christmas Fair this year was well attended and we were very impressed with the generous donations and support again from parents and girls. Money raised at the fair this year will benefit Child Bereavement UK.

Wednesday 8 February | 1930 - 2100 hours AGM and Open Meeting

Goodbye and good luck!

Hello and welcome!

Mrs Anne Fairweather | Head of Business Studies

Mr Chris Sivewright | Acting Head of Business Studies Mrs Kate Maynard | Assistant Exams Officer Mrs Emma Connor | Administration Assistant

News from the PPTA Our first event this academic year was the combined New Parents Welcome and Macmillan Coffee Morning held on Thursday 22 September. It was a lovely morning with chat and cakes a plenty. The event raised £315 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

On Wednesday 12 October the PPTA Committee visited the charity CHAT in Aylesbury to hand over a cheque for £4,680.

This donation was raised at the Summer Ball in July and was very gratefully received. The money will help provide short term respite care to at least five families.

Summer Term 2017 Term begins Wednesday 4 January | 0830 hours Half-term begins Friday 10 February | 1600 hours Half-term ends Monday 20 February | 0830 hours Term ends Thursday 30 March | 1600 hours

HAVE YOUR SAY

We would love to hear your thoughts on Pipers Post. If you have any comments or suggestions then please contact us.

Dates for next term are: Saturday 28 January |1830 - 0030 hours Burns Night Supper and Ceilidh (sold out)

Saturday 25 March | 1400 - 1700 hours Easter Egg Hunt

Rebecca Conroy, Senior Marketing Executive TELEPHONE 01494 719850 @PipersCornerSCH EMAIL rconroy@piperscorner.co.uk www.facebook.com VISIT www.piperscorner.co.uk /PipersCornerSchool