Pipers Post | Autumn 2017

Termly News | Issue 29 | Autumn 2017

Christmas Counts P2

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...

Thank you for the sacrifice

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

Hold the front page

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There’s a light at the end of the tunnel

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

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U14 Country Netball Champions

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MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMISTRESS The word “journey” can have many connotations. At the time of writing we have just held our annual Junior and Senior Carol Services where we considered not only the journey of Mary, Joseph and The Magi, but we also heard readings that touched on the difficult journeys undertaken by many people in modern day Bethlehem and refugees embarking on new lives in strange and unfamiliar countries.

This led me on to thinking about the journeys the girls here at Pipers are taking. Each and every one of them is on a learning journey with us, as we help them to navigate their way through syllabus and curriculum content, with the ultimate goal of gaining the highest grades possible in their various examinations.

However, our role in their journey is much more than that and will ultimately help to shape their characters as they progress through life.

In this edition of Pipers Post you will read about some of the many different journeys the students have been on this term. The Prep Department went on a journey of scientific

discovery with a team from the London Science Museum (see page 6). GCSE History students learnt about how a newspaper story makes its way from an initial idea to the front page (see page 4). In the Senior School production of Starlight Express (see page 6) the girls were literally making journeys as they took on the characters of trains and our U15 Girls Football Team embarked on a hugely successful journey, climbing to the top of the table as District League winners.

of Year 10 and 11 girls will be embarking on a volunteering trip to Peru. We are hugely excited to be going on these journeys with the girls and enabling them to successfully overcome the many challenges that they will undoubtedly face along the way.

Whatever journeys you may be taking this Christmas we wish you a joyful festive season and a happy New Year.

Looking ahead to 2018 an intrepid group of Sixth Formers will be taking part in a World Challenge expedition to Ecuador and a number

Christmas Counts One special baby boy, two parents, three kings, four Shepherds, a figgy cake, and a host of Angels; it all adds up to the very first Christmas, but what about the census takers... do they count?

Pre-Prep girls excitedly welcomed their family and friends to the Arts Centre Theatre in December for the presentation of their Nativity - “Christmas Counts”.

The performance told the story of a group of census takers and the mammoth task on their hands when they tried to count the population of Bethlehem. The girls performed extremely well, delighting their audience with a selection of energetic songs including “Oh So Busy”, “Stand Still Granny”, “Mary, You Can Count On Me” and “Meet The Infant King”. They rounded off their performance with a lovely rendition of “We Wish you a Merry Christmas.”

Head of Pre-Prep and Prep Drama, Ms Bevan said, “The girls did an amazing job and I am really proud of how they performed this afternoon. They each learnt their lines beautifully, performing the witty script with real commitment. I was also extremely impressed by the effort they put into the dancing and singing.

Well done to all!”

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Founder’s Day 2017

Women in industry

We commemorated Founder’s Day in September - an occasion when the whole school community comes together to celebrate the life and work of the founder of Pipers Corner, Miss Jessie Cross.

As part of our enrichment programme for Sixth Form students we welcomed members of the firm, Hypnos, to Pipers in October to speak about the role of women within manufacturing. It was an inspirational experience for the girls as they listened to the speakers talk about how women are a growing force within manufacturing and gained a sense of the excitement of being involved in new product development at the cutting edge of the industry.

All aboard the betty bus

Each year a different decade is chosen as the focus for the celebrations and this year marked the 1920s. Throughout the day the teaching staff worked hard to include elements of the 20s in their lessons. In Pre-Prep the girls made bread and butter pudding, learnt how to do the Charleston, and designed 1920s style outfits. In the Prep Department the girls learnt about the 1924 British Empire Exhibition and the work of Albert Einstein.

Girls in Year 3 also had the chance to make Waldorf Salads.

In the Senior School girls began their PE lessons by completing a 1920s warm-up routine, in Maths Year 7 girls completed tessellation work in recognition of the work of MC Escher, in ICT Year 8 focussed on the skill of typing, in Design

Technology girls in Year 9 made mini mirrors in an Art Deco style, in Textiles Year 10 girls considered the fashion of the period, in Year 11 History the focus was on Germany in the 1920s, Year 12 Psychologists explored the suffragette movement and in Upper Sixth Physics the girls considered the changes in Science from the 1920s to the modern day.

In the afternoon the whole school attended the Founder’s Day Assembly where the hymns and readings reflected the period. The service culminated with the cutting of a celebration cake by the Head Girl, Ruby B (Upper Sixth) and the youngest member of the school Satya B (Reception).

Thank you for the sacrifice Girls in Year 5, Year 6, and Year 9, along with History subject leaders from Years 10-13 participated in a hugely inspiring roadshow led by the charity “Never Such Innocence” (NSI) in November.

“Never Such Innocence” takes its name from Philip Larkin’s poem “MCMXIV, which reflects on the changes caused by the First World War. Since 2014 the charity has held roadshows and visited schools all over the country in order to educate young people about the First World War, its impact and legacy, through creative means.

As a four-year project this is the final year that the charity will be running its poetry and art

competition, along with its song competition “Songs of the Centenary”. For both activities young people from all over the commonwealth are invited to submit work based on the theme of the Great War. At the roadshow a selection of Year 9 girls read out poems they have already written for the competition in their English classes. There were also presentations from girls in Year 10, 11 and 13 on “The Importance of 1918”, and the poetry and art entries from last year’s competition.

During the morning Year 5 pupils took part in a song writing workshop with NSI’s Artist in Residence, singer/song writer Marty Longstaff.

As a group the girls wrote a song entitled “Thank you” which they performed to the rest of the students during the roadshow presentation event.

In December we welcomed the betty bus to Pipers as part of the “betty for schools programme” which is aiming to create a generation of children who are truly at ease talking about periods.

During the day all girls in Years 5-7 took part in sessions aboard the betty bus where trained facilitators helped them to explore how periods can affect their emotions and what they can do to combat them.

Buzzing about books Towards the end of term Year 7 students were very excited to receive their chosen book from Bookbuzz - a reading programme from BookTrust that aims to inspire students to love reading and keep reading for pleasure.

Through the scheme students select a book from a given list of titles covering a range of genres including comedy, fact books, fast-paced action and mystery stories. The idea is that the students read their book and then participate in writing projects based on the Bookbuzz selection of titles.

A visit to the orchard Members of the Pre-Prep and Prep Gardening Clubs paid a visit to “My Fruit Orchard” at Atkins Farm in Great Missenden in November to learn about the process of turning apples into apple juice. Earlier in the term the girls had harvested apples from the Headmistress’s garden which they took with them to the fruit orchard so that they could make their very own Pipers’ apple juice which went on sale at the Christmas Fair in December.

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The art of being normal We were privileged to welcome author, Lisa Williamson, to school in October.

Lisa is best known for her award winning book “The Art of Being Normal”, which tackles the challenges of being a transgender person in today’s society.

It was a hugely beneficial experience for the girls to gain an understanding of the issues involved, whilst also learning about the literary process and the stages a writer goes through to turn an initial concept into a finished novel.

Hold the front page In October, GCSE History students made the most of a fantastic opportunity to visit the Guardian Education Centre in London to take part in a workshop as a useful enrichment activity to support an IGCSE unit they will be studying next term.

The session began with an introduction to race relations and the fight for civil rights in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s. The girls were then required to work in pairs creating a newspaper front page using original archive news stories from The Guardian and Observer from the 1950s and 1960s. The girls had to choose three events,

Mastering the art of Asian cookery GCSE and A Level Food and Nutrition students were treated to an Asian Cookery Masterclass in November.

Representatives from the “Healthy Chinese Cuisine Ambassadors” Project came to Pipers to deliver an engaging presentation about China, its culture and celebrations, followed by a practical demonstration of how to prepare the popular Chinese dish – Chicken and Black Bean Sauce.

Wherefore art thou Romeo Year 10 students hugely impressed when they presented an abridged version of one of Shakespeare’s most well-known works, “Romeo and Juliet” at the end of the first half of the Autumn Term. Using live music and set in more modern times, the play delivered all the intrigue and excitement you would expect as the audience followed the love story of Romeo and Juliet, through to the tragic fate which awaited them.

A time to give We celebrated Harvest Festival in October, an occasion that the whole school always looks forward to. The opportunity to have a focussed time when we can actively seek ways in which we can support those in need is extremely important. In advance of the day each House had collected a variety of produce and items that would then be donated to their chosen causes and charities: Wycombe Night Shelter, elderly people in our local community, One Can Trust and the Oxford Homeless Community.

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organisations, characters or themes to write about, then designed their page layout, edited their reports, wrote the headlines, designed a masthead, and printed their paper to a deadline.

Their host for the day gave the students some useful tips about how to produce interesting, eye-catching and knowledgeable articles. They covered everything from headlines to pictures and their “skyline”. By the end of the day all groups successfully met the deadline and had created their front pages. Articles included pieces about Martin Luther King, Emmett Till and the Klu Klux Klan.

Headmistress for the day There was a change of personnel one Friday in November when Isabelle L (Year 5), took on the role of Headmistress for the day. The opportunity came about as part of an auction lot from this year’s Parents’ Association Summer Ball.

Taking on the responsibilities of Mrs NessGifford, Isabelle began her day by meeting with her PA, Mrs King, to go through her schedule and catch up on correspondence. She then had a meeting with the Director of Admissions and Marketing, Mrs Knight, to discuss pupil recruitment. At break time it was back to the Head’s study for a meeting, along with her deputies for the day, with the Head Girl Team.

After break it was time for lesson observation and Isabelle headed off to Year 1 to watch a Drama lesson with Ms Bevan. She then took responsibility for presenting some certificates and cups to girls in Pre-Prep. At lunchtime Isabelle met up again with her deputies to walk Barney, the Headmistress’s dog, before having lunch with four of her friends in the Arts Centre Café.

After lunch Isabelle’s appointments resumed with a tour round the school with the Bursar, Mr Forrester, to check that everything was in order. Prep assembly followed and then it was time for afternoon tea back with Mrs Ness-Gifford.

Isabelle ended her day with a tour of the kitchens and another round of lesson observation – this time Year 9 Music with Miss Faith. Her final duty was to say good afternoon and shake the hands of the Prep girls as they left school for the day.

Focus on the future This term there has been a focus on careers in the Senior School with some interesting talks from a range of external speakers.

Oscar-winning Film Editor, Mark Sanger, provided a fascinating insight into the world of film making when he came to talk to students in Year 12 and 13 about his work and career.

The girls made the most of the opportunity to ask questions about the industry, Mark’s experiences and what advice he had for how best they could position themselves if they wanted to embark on a career in film themselves.

Representatives from PwC came to talk to girls in Year 11-Upper Sixth about employability. The presentation was given by two members of the

company’s Graduate and School and College Leaver programmes.

The presenters began by talking about their own backgrounds and experience, before going on to speak about what they now did at PwC. As a group they then considered employability skills and the PwC presenters talked about what employers are really looking for in terms of interview skills and how you can impress through an application.

Lower down the school Year 9 students have been exploring the types of career paths open to them

in their careers lessons. As part of this they are participating in the “Step into the NHS Schools’ Competition”, for which (either individually or in small groups) the girls have to choose an NHS career that interests them and create a job description and an advert to tell their friends and other young people about it. The idea behind the competition is to promote the fact that there is much more to working for the NHS than being a doctor or nurse.

Photography competition success Many congratulations go to Isabelle W (Year 10) and Annie S (Year 9) who both won gold awards in a local Junior Wildlife Photography Competition this term.

Isabelle’s outstanding picture of a fallow deer won the section of the competition that covered animal photography. The judges particularly liked the framing of the subject with the deer looking directly at the camera and framed beautifully by the surrounding grass.

Annie’s terrific close up of aphids on a seed head won the plant photography section. The judges were particularly impressed by the sharpness of the image which shows beautifully the hairs on the bud and stem.

The Junior Wildlife Photo Competition, which attracted 79 entries from young people aged between 9 and 16 was organised by Prestwood Nature, the Nature Conservation Group for the area around Prestwood, including Great Missenden, The Hampdens, The Kingshills, North Dean and Speen. Prestwood Nature aims to protect and enhance the quality of the natural environment through the involvement of local people.

Annie also gained a silver award for a very colourful photograph of a bee on a cornflower. The judges liked the sharpness and detail of both the flower and the bee.

Also to be commended is Heather N (Year 11) who obtained a silver award for a dramatic photograph of a red kite swooping over a field.

The judges were very impressed by the detail in the bird’s face that Heather captured in her photo.

Pipers rocks for Butterfly House

Community Drama Workshop

Year 6 rise to the challenge

The Arts Centre Theatre was rocking in October when we hosted a charity rock concert in aid of Butterfly House in High Wycombe - a day hospice which provides specialist palliative and end of life care for people diagnosed with lifelimiting or long term illnesses. As well as the band performances there was also an opportunity to bid for some fantastic lots in a charity auction, including an electro-acoustic guitar signed by Rock Legend Ozzy Osbourne. The event raised over £2000 for what is a very worthy cause.

We welcomed 50 young people to Pipers Corner during October half-term to participate in a Community Drama Workshop. The five day workshop included dance, drama and singing, and culminated in a fantastic performance on the final day for friends and family.

Throughout the week the group were challenged to move out of their comfort zone and develop their performance skills as they took part in a variety of improvisation exercises and drama games, as well as rehearsing their feature piece.

In September Year 6 girls enjoyed an adventurous day at Woodrow High House, an outdoor activity centre occupying 24 acres of grounds on the edge of the Chilterns. The day was a hugely valuable opportunity for the girls to spend time together and develop their team building skills as they embarked on a series of group tasks and activities, including problem-solving exercises and a camp building challenge. The whole year group impressed with the enthusiasm they demonstrated throughout the day.

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Restart a Heart Girls at Pipers took part in the “Restart a Heart Day” in October. Organised by the Resuscitation Council UK, this annual day of action aims to train as many young people as possible in life saving CPR skills on a single day.

Members of the Ambulance and Fire Services, along with a representative from the Air Force taught the girls basic CPR skills and helped them to understand how taking action quickly can save lives.

Braving the rage In September, Julie Wilkinson from “Brave the Rage”, came to speak to girls in Year 7 about anger management, dealing with stressful situations and bullying. Julie’s presentation covered a number of topics including: confidence building tools and assertive techniques, the power of body language, anger management, relaxation techniques and friendships and relationship skills. The presentation was in the style of an interactive workshop where the girls took part in quizzes and also had the opportunity to try their hand at role-play!

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel Following its 17 year run in the West End, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Starlight Express” is a musical that has subsequently rarely been staged, due to the exceptionally difficult technical, musical and physical capabilities that it requires. However, the Performing Arts Departments at Pipers love a challenge and consequently jumped at the chance to bring such an exciting show to the Arts Centre Theatre.

The production tells the story of when a child’s train set magically comes to life and the various engines compete to become the “Fastestengine in the World!” The underdog, Rusty the Steam train, has little chance until he is inspired by the legend of the “Starlight Express.” He ultimately defeats his arch-rivals Greaseball and Electra before going on to win the hand of the lovely first class coach, Pearl.

The universality of the message that the show expresses is one that has particular resonance

to young people. That no matter how hard the struggle, or how great the odds, self-belief, resilience and a determination to succeed is what really counts.

Director of Drama, Ms Spencer said, “I couldn’t be prouder of the girls for putting on such amazing performances. It has been wonderful to work with students who consistently rise to the challenge of performing such creative material, frequently exceeding what anybody would expect young actors to achieve.”

Celebration of House Spirit The end of the first half-term was celebrated in style when we held our annual House Day in October.

Everyone came to school in House colours and there were a variety of activities and stalls to enjoy at lunchtime. In the afternoon there was a fantastic display of House Spirit during Inter-House Performing Arts.

Congratulations to Mandeville – this year’s winning House.

Leading with confidence In November our Senior Prefect Team and Senior House Teams took part in a collaborative Leadership Skills session focussing on how to embrace the challenges of leadership with confidence. It was a hugely rewarding and positive experience for our young leaders, enabling them to critically reflect on their leadership styles and, most importantly, look to the future with greater confidence.

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Science in action In November the Prep Department welcomed some very special visitors to school when a team from the London Science Museum came to lead an interactive day of scientific discovery.

With the help of Sir Isaac Newton and Phil the Stunt Frog, the team from the Museum led the Prep girls on a trip to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Ancient Greece and the Highland Games, taking a closer look at the forces that shape our world. Through a series of demonstrations the girls learnt about the effects of “push and pull”, gravity, air resistance, friction and magnetism.

The session ended outside with the launch of an air powered rocket!

Year 4 and 5 then went on a mission to Mars. In the first part of the demonstration they discovered all about the science behind launching rockets and satellites into space, as well as finding out a lot more about satellites and their orbits. They then had a go at making their own rockets to see how far they could get them to fly across the room.

Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed a presentation on blood and guts! The girls followed the journey of blood through the body and discovered what it does, what’s in it, where blood goes and what happens when you start to lose blood.

News from Sport U14 County Netball Champions In November the U14 Netball Team competed in the county round of the National Schools Netball Tournament.

The whole of the Team played fantastically all morning, keeping their cool even in the closest of games.

They won six out of their seven games against The Misbourne School, Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School, Great Marlow School, Dr Challoner’s High School, Beaconsfield High School and Wycombe High School, only narrowly losing to Wycombe Abbey School.

At the end of the round, as the team with the greatest number of wins, Pipers Corner were crowned County Champions. The Team will now progress to the Regional Finals, being held in January 2018. Well done girls - what a fantastic effort!

Wycombe District U15 Girls Football League Winners Many congratulations to the Pipers U15 Football Team who were named champions of the Wycombe District U15 Girls Football League.

The team won the league with 15 points out of a possible 18, two points ahead of their nearest rivals Wycombe High School. Over the course of the season the girls have notched up an impressive set of results including a 3-0 win over Great Marlow School, a 2-0 win over Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School and a 2-0 victory against St Michael’s Catholic School. Led by coach, Mr Cohen, the girls have really equipped themselves well throughout the term and their League victory has been fully deserved!

Sixth Formers take on the staff Well done to the Sixth Form – winners of this term’s Staff vs.

Sixth Form Netball match. It was a close fought match with plenty of end-to-end action throughout.

However, the girls just had the edge over the staff with the final score being 12-9 to the Sixth Form team.

Inter-House Hockey Inter-House Hockey matches took place in the last few weeks of term with girls in Year 3 through to Upper Sixth competing for their Houses.

Well done to all involved for the fabulous display of House Spirit that was shown.

The final result was as follows: 1st - Hampden 2nd - Milton 3rd - Penn 4th - Mandeville

Inter-House Football In October girls in Year 7 upwards competed in the Inter-House football competition showing some great teamwork and skill. Each House managed to win at least one age group, which was fantastic.

Overall, the results were as follows: 1st - Milton 2nd - Hampden 3rd - Penn 4th - Mandeville

ISGA Gymnastics Well done to Jemima H (Y8), Ellie G (Year 7), Laura R (Year 7) and Daisy M (Year 7) on gaining joint 5th place at the U13 Independent Schools Gymnastics Association (ISGA) Girls’ 2 Piece Competition in November.

They competed brilliantly and their joint 5th place finish qualifies them for the ISGA 5 piece finals in March – a great result.

IAPS Hockey We welcomed seven teams to Pipers to compete in the IAPS Regional Hockey Finals in October. For 8am on a Saturday morning, the girls were in high spirits and eager to demonstrate their skills. Each match lasted 15 minutes and with 21 game to play, the day was a marathon!

The Pipers girls played a couple of close matches against Gayhurst, Hall Grove and Highfield, scoring some excellent goals. When all the results were verified Pipers Corner finished in 6th place. Congratulations to all of the teams that competed and thank you to all the girls and supporters for a fabulous day.

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WHO’S WHO staff Co-ordinator of Mandeville House, working closely with the Sixth Form House Leadership Team who do a fantastic job.

What did you do before you joined the School?

I was a PE teacher at a girls school in Luton.

Before teaching at Pipers I was actually a pupil here. I had a fantastic time as a pupil and even though a lot of buildings and people have changed, the community and friendly environment has stayed the same.

Name: Olivia Morris Position: Physical Education Teacher Brief description of your role within Pipers Corner I am a Physical Education Teacher for Pre-Prep right through to the Senior School, teaching a range of physical activities and sports, as well as examination PE. I also coach a number of different sports teams, such as Year 7 and 8 Hockey Teams, developing pupils’ skills and tactical awareness within that specific sport. In addition I am the

What excites you about the job you do?

I really enjoy seeing young people develop their skills in sport and achieve success, often beyond their expectations. Sport has the capacity to create memorable moments of success (and failure) which can last for a lifetime.

What activities do you enjoy in your spare time?

In my spare time I am either participating in or watching sport. I play for a local Hockey team and enjoy playing Tennis in the summer. I am

also a Manchester United fan, so I try to watch as many games as possible, including some at Old Trafford. I also enjoy travelling the world and seeing new places.

Who would you say has inspired you in life?

My parents. They are both great examples of how to be successful and enjoy life. As much as I try to push myself to work hard, it is always important to spend time with your family and friends. My Dad especially keeps me smiling and laughing, always giving me a positive and happy outlook on life.

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

From being a pupil and teacher at Pipers I have always felt the school has a unique and inclusive atmosphere in comparison to other schools.

To see Sixth Formers helping the Pre-Prep girls learning to swim is very rewarding and special.

News from the PPTA The first PPTA event of the academic year was the combined New Parents’ Welcome and Macmillan Coffee Morning held on Friday 29 September. It was fantastic to welcome so many parents along and we all enjoyed the delicious cakes! The event raised £397.35 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

they can meet others like themselves and have one-to-one sessions with a counsellor when they need to.

In October members of the PPTA Committee visited the charity Young Carers Bucks to present them with £9,700 raised from the summer ball auction and raffles. The money will be used to provide children who are carers for members of their families, with events and outdoor activities, as well as a fun place where

Spring Term 2018 Term begins Thursday 4 January | 0830 hours Half-term begins Friday 9 February | 1600 hours Half-term ends Monday 19 February | 0830 hours Term ends Wednesday 28 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.

This year’s Christmas Fair was, as usual, a joyous affair and it was a pleasure to see the school so busy on a Saturday morning with all the various stall holders, both from within school and those visiting on the day. Thank you to everyone for all your generous donations and support of this lovely event. Money raised at this year’s fair will benefit YoungMinds, the child and adolescent mental health charity, as well as PPTA funded school projects.

We look forward to seeing many of you at our Spring Term events - the Burns Night Supper and Ceilidh in January, and the Easter Egg Hunt in March!

PPTA Committee

Goodbye and good luck!

Hello and welcome!

Mr Peter Forrester | Bursar Rev. Mary Gurr | School Chaplain Mrs Jo Hurst | Second in English Department Mrs Marie Shepheard | Netball Coach Mrs Joy Walters | Teaching Assistant – Prep

Mr Bob Pearce | Bursar Mr Kieran Beirne | Finance Manager Miss Lara Boocock | PE Assistant and Lifeguard Mr Stephen Jones | Teacher of English Mrs Barbara Mc Gowran | Accounts Clerk

Fran Knight, Admissions & Marketing Director TELEPHONE 01494 719866 @PipersCornerSCH EMAIL fknight@piperscorner.co.uk www.facebook.com VISIT www.piperscorner.co.uk /PipersCornerSchool