termly news | issue 16 | summer 2013
Life in the trenches Page 3
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Pipers Corner School, Great Kingshill, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP15 6LP telephone +44 (0) 1494 718 255 | email theschool@piperscorner.co.uk | visit www.piperscorner.co.uk
Message from the Headmistress Whilst writing this introduction for Pipers Post we took delivery of our school magazine “Aquila”, an annual publication that is produced by the girls themselves. The theme that the girls chose for their magazine this year was “Around the World in 80 pages” and at this point in a school year it is a natural time to think about moving on and moving forward as we look ahead to the challenges we may each face in our journeys through life.
As written in our school mission statement, our aim is for girls to emerge from Pipers with maturity, confidence and a sense of independence. It is our hope that we equip all our girls with the skills they will need to move forward in their own lives. Thinking about this and reflecting on the events from this term I realise that I see examples of this maturity, confidence and independence on a daily basis. Whether it is taking the lead in a school production (see page 3), demonstrating sensitivity during a trip to the Battlefields of World War One (see page 3) or coming
together and working as a team in the many sporting fixtures that girls participate in each term (see page 7). I am very proud of all that our girls have achieved and look forward to the start of the next academic year and all the new adventures we can embark on together. Wishing you an enjoyable summer break.
Story of survival In June, Pipers Corner welcomed Gena Turgel MBE, a World War Two Holocaust survivor, to talk to Year 9 about her experiences. The girls were gripped by her story as she described what it was like living in Poland when the Nazis invaded and how the invasion impacted on her family life. She went on to talk about living in the Ghetto in Kraków where she witnessed the death of her brother. She was moved to a concentration camp in Plaszow and then, in 1944, to Auschwitz. Here she was sent to the gas chamber but narrowly escaped death, for reasons still unknown to her today. In 1945 Gena and her mother
were sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, where she worked as a nurse until British soldiers arrived and liberated the camp. Despite all the horrors that Gena had witnessed during the war, thankfully her story had a happy ending. Norman Turgel, one of the soldiers in the British Army became her husband just six months after the liberation. After Gena talked, the girls were invited to ask questions in order to further their understanding of the Holocaust. One of the most interesting parts for the girls was finding out that when her ordeal began, Gena was the same age as they are now.
West End trip for the Prep Department
The Prep girls were taken to London’s West End to watch “Matilda” at The Cambridge Theatre at the beginning of May. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful performance of the Roald Dahl classic tale. They particularly appreciated the extremely high standard of the acting on the London stage and came home with very happy memories.
A day in the life
For one day in June Year 10 had the opportunity to experience life in the Sixth Form. The day gave them an insight into subject content, allowed them to meet different teachers and socialise with current Sixth Formers. The girls were allocated five or six AS Level lessons, an enrichment lesson and one study period. The experience really allowed the girls to gain a sense of what Sixth Form is like and how it differs from being in Year 10.
“It was a privilege to welcome Gena Turgel to Pipers Corner. By hearing Gena’s story, the girls have learnt valuable lessons about the Holocaust and the horrors that so many experienced. Gena’s experience has demonstrated to them the dangers of where prejudice can ultimately lead and has very much reinforced the belief that these events should never be allowed to be repeated.” Mrs Gledhill, Head of Religious Studies
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Welcome back
We were delighted to welcome five of the last six Head Girls back to Pipers Corner this week to film a sequence for the new school DVD. The Head Girls from 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 joined together with the current Head Girl in the Headmistress’s study to talk about their time at Pipers and to share stories of what they have been up to since they left school. The girls have embarked on a number of different paths including degrees in Drama, Psychology and Dance. One of the girls has just completed her first year at Cambridge University, studying Medicine and another is about to being a PGCE course.
Life in the trenches In May, 33 Year 9 girls had the opportunity to explore the First World War battlefields in Ypres, Belgium. Hearing about trench life was quite shocking for the girls as they explored the cramped conditions that the men would have lived and fought in; Jessie H kindly “volunteered” to dress up in the Great War uniform and some of the girls held the Lee-Enfield rifle that the men would have used.
troops from across the world. They then moved on to see a cemetery for German soldiers and had the opportunity to stand where Hitler stood to deliver a victory speech in 1940.
The girls also went to Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery and learnt about the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission whilst also looking at graves commemorating
The girls all returned with a much better understanding of the First World War and an appreciation of what soldiers endured almost 100 years ago.
The trip culminated in four of the girls participating in the Last Post Ceremony, where they laid a wreath on behalf of the school at Menin Gate in Ypres.
Treading the boards with the National Youth Theatre
Travelling through time Imagine what it would be like to travel back in time; to be able to visit any historical figure you liked from any era. This was the premise of an energetic performance from Year 6 when they staged their end of year production, “Time Lord”. In the play a group of children joined forces with a Time Lord and travelled back in time. On their journey the time travellers met some intriguing historical characters including Florence Nightingale, Beethoven, and Boudicca. As well as the famous faces they
also met some World War Two evacuees who had unwittingly unleashed a group of fierce Dinopods. It was up to the time travellers to successfully battle against the Dinopods and save the Earth from disaster. It was a fantastic evening, complete with incredible costumes, hair and make-up, and the audience were treated to a spectacular presentation of song and dance. The girls brought the characters to life and showed off the skills that they had learnt in their drama lessons over the course of the academic year.
We would like to congratulate Harriet P (U6), who has been accepted for a place at the National Youth Theatre for this summer. Thousands of students apply each year and Harriet worked very hard for her place. The National Youth Theatre has a been a spring board for many British names such as Matt Smith, Helen Mirren and Richard Wilson to name but a few. Harriet plans to go to E15 Drama School next academic year to study for a Foundation in Acting which will lend great support to future drama school or university applications.
Chicks in Pre-Prep
In early May Pre-Prep girls were treated to a very practical maths lesson when they had the opportunity to weigh and measure the newly hatched chicks that were in their incubator in the Pre-Prep Department. The girls were all shown how to hold the chicks carefully and then eagerly joined in with the recording of the chicks’ heights.
All that jazz
We were delighted to welcome over 300 people to Pipers in July for a memorable evening of Jazz. This year we had a very special opening; the Prep Trumpets, playing “When the Saints”, directed by Mr Sam Eastmond. As ever the Russell Barr band was fantastic and as well as performing their own pieces they provided accompaniment for Consort who sang “Fly me to the Moon”. The Pipers Corner community choir sang “Sway” “You are the Sunshine of my Life” and “Blue Skies”.There were also great performances by Vocalease with “Sir Duke” and Vocalessence who sang “Someone to watch over me”.
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An exhibition of creativity Once again the halls and classrooms of Pipers Corner were adorned with art, textiles and design work for the 2013 Art Exhibition. Girls from Prep to Sixth Form demonstrated excellent creativity in what was a truly outstanding event. Many parents and friends visited the school to look round and enjoy the work on display. They were also treated to afternoon tea and cake shop run by our Catering and Hospitality students. Visitors were able to view work created by the girls using a range of techniques including painting and sketching, sculpture, pottery, photography, dressmaking, drypoint printmaking, woodwork and furniture design. Themes for this year’s artwork included “Personal Identity” (Year 7), “Cultures” (Year 8), “War, Conflict and Injustice” (Year 9 and GCSE), “Old and New” (A Level).
All about animals In June the whole of the Pre-Prep Department set off in good spirits to discover the delights of Woburn Safari Park. First stop for Pre-Reception and Reception was the Education Centre for a talk entitled “All about Animals”. The girls were able to look at different animal skins and found out about camouflage and how animals go about catching their prey. Years 1 and 2 also headed to the Education Centre where they enjoyed a talk on “Habitats and Adaptations”.The girls were
excellent at answering questions and many took the opportunity to stroke Savannah, the royal python - for some this was their first time touching a snake. After lunch everybody had the chance to wander through the marmoset area where they found lots of different animals. The girls managed to get up close to the lemurs and enjoyed the underwater view of the penguins. They were also delighted to be taken on a guided tour of the Road Safari, spotting different animals including giraffes, wolves and bear cubs.
Choreography competition
Pipers Corner was ablaze with creativity at this year’s Choreography Competition. The annual event is an opportunity for girls of all ages to showcase their dance ideas as they choreograph their own dance piece. Entrants from Years 4 to 8 were keen to show their dancing skills ranging in styles from modern to ballet. Adjudicators, Ms Hadler and U6 Dance student, Alice K were faced with the selecting the winners. Junior first place went to Annique B (Year 4) and Grace-Mary F (Year 5). Senior first place went to Ellie F (Year 7).
Supporting the NSPCC
On Friday 14 June, the Prep Department and Year 2 were visited by Mr Ian Stevens, from the NSPCC. They enjoyed listening to a story about the founding of the charity in the Victorian period and how much work the NSPCC does to protect children from violence. In order to show their support and raise money for the NSPCC, this term, the Prep girls organised four Junior House Days, with stalls including nail painting, sweets, popcorn, candyfloss, sponge the teenager and cakes.
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News from Boarding
Emerging entrepreneurs
Boarding aims to be a home from home for all the girls who live at Pipers whether they are full, weekly or flexi boarders. There is always an exciting programme of activities for them to take part in over the weekends. Highlights from the term include: • Sightseeing in London • Finding out about the magical world of Harry Potter at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour • Adrenaline pumped action at Thorpe Park • Outdoor Adventures at Hillingdon Activity Centre • Shopping in Henley
Students from Pipers Corner teamed up with boys from Thorpe House in an Enterprise Day held at Pipers in April. Students from Years 7 – 11 were divided into mixed teams to challenge each other in two tasks. The first was an exercise in team building where they had to share ideas and co-operate to build the tallest tower they could using nothing but newspaper. The second activity saw each team given a market segment with a brief to think of an idea, design a prototype, create a marketing campaign and then present their idea to the other groups, focusing on product, price, place and promotion.
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The competition was evident as all the teams got to work. Following all of the presentations and a short question session from the judges it was announced that first place was a joint award to “Jamaviel” (Jamie F, Max M, Ella H and Vicky H) and “TP Toys” (Elanor V, Poppy N, Joel T, Tom B and Anna M) with “No Home” as runner up.
School trips
Harry P otter
There are lots of opportunities for Pipers girls to leave the classroom and enrich their education with trips to places of interest. This term they have included:
ith Ms M Storytime w
• Year 12 trip to see “One Man, Two Guvnors” at the Theatre Royal in London. • Years 10, 11 and 12 trip to see “The Winslow Boy” at The Old Vic in London. • Year 10 Geography field trip to South Wales. • Year 8 and 9 trip to see “Twelfth Night”. • Year 11 and 12 Nature in Art, Museum trip to Twigworth in Gloucestershire. • Year 9, 10 and 12 Spanish trip to Andalucia.
All of the winning students received gift vouchers and both schools felt the day had been a huge success with particular emphasis on the range of age groups working so well together. It was a great opportunity for the girls to learn how to work within teams, plan accordingly and present to a panel.
Model United Nations
This term saw girls in Year 9 became international delegates for a Model United Nations conference. The aim of the conference was to educate pupils about current events, topics in international relations, how the UN works as well as public speaking, team work and research skills. Their challenge was to persuade the delegations from other countries to vote for them to receive part of a £100 billion grant from the World Bank. After a lively debate the eventual winner of the grant was Zimbabwe, well done to delegates, Mairidgh O, Sarah O, Alice C and Oonagh O.
A taste of French life
At the beginning of June the girls in Year 5 travelled to the Europa Centre in Essex for a “French experience”. Inside the Centre there was a “mock town” which, on the day, was entirely French speaking and allowed the girls to fully immerse themselves in French language and culture. Having the chance to practice conversational French in everyday situations really helped the girls to improve their language skills.
Junior Maths Challenge
In May four young mathematicians went to Davenies School in Beaconsfield to participate in the Junior Maths Challenge. The girls had six different mathematical tasks to gain points. Ella N, Abi M, Kayleigh L and Ella C all from Year 5 had to work with dice, pentominoes, playing cards, dominoes, tangrams and counters. The seventh and final round was the coming together to work through ten multiple choice mathematical problems to successfully complete the challenge. The girls did very well coming 13th overall.
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Connecting with Shakespeare “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona where we lay our scene” - words spoken on a sunny afternoon in June during an outdoor production of “Romeo and Juliet”, performed by girls in Year 8. The girls have been studying the Shakespeare play in their English class and were keen to bring the text to life by performing the play themselves. They each put a lot of effort into their acting and the performance was
appreciated by the audience of Prep girls and their teachers. With many of the girls playing multiple roles and changing parts for Act 2, they demonstrated confidence, creativity and a sound knowledge of the text. It was a great opportunity for them to bring their studies to life and allow them to connect with the written word.
Africa week In the early part of the Summer Term girls at Pipers held a fundraising week in aid of the schools nominated charity “An African Dream” which supports St. Mark’s School in Uganda. There were many activities taking place from cake sales to the “Fun Fair Extraordinaire”, which included the very popular, “Soak the Teacher”. Mr Carey came prepared, dressed head to toe in sailing and scuba gear. Fundraising continued with an African inspired meal, a fun run and a mufti day. An astonishing £1132.50 was raised in one week.
“Thank you for all your enthusiasm, great ideas and generous giving throughout the year. Look out too for a bra bank, where you can bring your old bras, which will support breast cancer and help African businesses.” Miss Hadler, Head of Dance
Towards the end of the week the school united in a whole school service which took place outside. The theme of the readings, the music, the dance and the prayers was Africa. Ms Hadler gave a talk in which she explained that it does not matter what earthly possessions we have, as we are united not by them but by our innate skills and talents and these are gifts that money cannot buy. Throughout the year the girls have been raising money for St. Mark’s School in Uganda and the total now stands at over £4000. The girls all voted in assembly where the money should be spent and Healthcare Days was the most popular.
PTA News The Pipers Corner PTA provides an opportunity for parents to involve themselves more closely with the school. It offers a chance to meet staff and girls and to make new friends. The PPTA organise social events and fundraisers to enrich the educational provision on offer and are always looking for new members. Highlights this term have included the BBQ and Camp Evening where over 100 guests came to Pipers for an evening in June to toast marshmallows and catch up with friends. Another exciting event was the PTA’s very successful ball, this year’s theme being “Masquerade”. It was a fantastic occasion allowing teachers, parents and Sixth Formers to celebrate the end of another academic year with dinner and dancing.
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Exciting adventures In June our Year 6 girls went on a residential trip to the PGL centre in Windmill Hill, East Sussex. As soon as the girls arrived they were briefed on safety rules and then whisked off by PGL staff to begin their adventure. During the action packed weekend the girls tested their own abilities and conquered their fears. They took part in numerous adrenaline pumping activities including abseiling, climbing, zip-wire (much bigger than the one at school), tunnelling, canoeing, fencing and archery. It is fantastic to see the girls working together, encouraging one another and attempting to do everything while having lots of fun. In the evening they sang around the campfire and danced till they dropped at the disco.
“I was impressed by the way girls looked after each other and encouraged each other to complete the various activities. They were wonderful ambassadors for Pipers with their good manners, good humour and enthusiasm.”
Run for Chloe This June pupils at Pipers organised a mufti day and a run to raise money for Hurstwood Park Neurological Unit in Haywards Heath. The Unit saved the life of Chloe Townsend, a pupil in the Upper Sixth at Pipers last year, who suffered serious injuries in an accident on New Year’s Eve. Both events have raised a total of £921.67 which is really good news for the hospital. Pipers Corner was also the final destination for Callum Campbell’s fundraising cycle ride from Brighton to Great Kingshill on 22 June. Callum,
Mrs Summers, Prep Teacher a friend of Chloe’s, arrived at Pipers after leaving Brighton early on Saturday morning and was greeted by a grateful Chloe, her family and friends with a special party to celebrate her returning home from hospital. The Pipers community has closely followed Chloe’s amazing progress and long recovery. A very special and moving assembly was held at school this term so that Chloe could be welcomed back to Pipers. Her friends, along with Callum, shared her story with the school and talked about their fundraising.
Sport Summer Term fixtures This term has seen the culmination of an excellent year of results in the PE Department. Pipers girls have competed in a number of competitive fixtures this Term against a variety of Schools including: Wycombe High School, Godstowe School, Maltman’s Green School, Heatherton House School, Chesham Prep School and High March School. Highlights include: Swimming • A fantastic win for Penn House, in the InterHouse Swimming Gala for the second year in a row. Second place was Milton, third Hampden and fourth for Mandeville. • There was success in the pool this term with Years 5 and 6 squad achieving first place in the Bucks and Milton Keynes School Games at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium. • A win for Pipers when girls in Years 3-8 swam against the girls from Godstowe in our annual local derby Gala!
Triathlon • Great participation and wins in the first Pipers Corner Triathlon. Congratulations to Zara M for first place, Katie T in second and Ellie G in third.
Tennis • A win for Pipers in an U14 Tennis fixture against Wycombe Abbey School in April. • A 42-24 win for the Year 8 team against Wycombe High in June.
Equestrian • Our Equestrian team secured 2nd place at the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) Qualifying Show Jumping Competition in April. The placing means that they have qualified for the National School Championships, taking place in October – well done girls!
Rowing We would like to congratulate Eve C (Year 11) and her crew who won a gold medal (Under 16 Eights) at the National Schools Regatta in May.
Athletics Girls in Years 7-10 took part in Tuesday Night Athletics League events held at Sir William Borlase Grammar School this term. There were some fantastic performances including: • A win for Leah E (Year 10) in the shot put with a throw of 8m 31cm • A storming run for Sofia L (Year 8) taking 1st place overall in the 1500m • A win for Daisy T (Year 8) in the javelin with a throw of 16.26m.
The successful swimming squad at Bucks and Milton Keynes School Games
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Who’s who at Pipers Corner Name: Mrs Sharon Reed How long have you worked at Pipers? I have worked at Pipers Corner since last summer, so have nearly completed my first year as School Office Manager. Can you let us know a little about your career before you joined us? Prior to joining the staff at Pipers Corner I spent 30 years as a Civil Servant. Initially for the Employment Service working on Benefits and Benefit Fraud and then for the Ministry of Defence. My last role being the Deputy Officer Commanding for the RAF Catering Training Squadron based at RAF Halton. This role was not dissimilar to my current role in that I managed the Administrative function and staff for a school which trained Chefs and Stewards. If you hadn’t decided to pursue this career what else might you have done? Funnily enough, when I left school I wanted to be a Mathematics teacher but life has a way of sending you down a different path to the one which you may have originally chosen.
Position: School Office Manager
What do you like most about your job? I enjoy the variety that the job offers; every day, in fact, every hour holds something different. Multi-tasking is an essential part of this role and I enjoy the constant ‘juggling’ of priorities. I also enjoy the contact with people that the job affords me; teachers, staff, girls and parents. I consider myself to be very much a ‘people person’ and I really enjoy being part of a team; the larger school team as well as managing the school office team. What activities do you enjoy in your spare time? I very much enjoy walking and we do have some very nice places to walk in Buckinghamshire, my favourite being Coombe Hill, near Wendover. The views from Coombe Hill can be fantastic on a clear day and although it gets busy I like that you can feel like the only person in the world whilst
“I enjoy the variety that the job offers; every day, in fact, every hour holds something different”
Key dates for your diary Autumn Term 2013 Term begins:
Boarders, Wednesday 4 September Day girls, Thursday 5 September Current Parents’ Open Evening: Thursday 3 October Prospective Parents’ Open Morning: Saturday 5 October Half-term: Friday 25 October, 1600 hours to: Boarders, Sunday 3 November Day girls, Monday 4 November Term ends: Thursday 12 December, 1600 hours
Who would you say has inspired you most in your life? I cannot say that I have been inspired by any particular person but I believe that every person you meet ‘touches’ your life and has an effect on who you become. Finally, the best thing about working at Pipers Corner is... Being a part of the Pipers Community and of course enjoying the beautiful grounds we work in.
Goodbye and good luck We would like to say farewel l and thank you to the followin g staff for all their hard work and wish them well for the future. Mr Paul Brown Mrs Helen Bryant Mrs Tanya Chapman Mr Mike Green Ms Elsje Maassen Mrs Naomi McKee Ms Katherine Mulligan Miss Tracy Smith Mr Nick Stuart Mrs Cathy Wallis Mrs Pauline Wyllie Mrs Sony Zietsman
Network Manager Registrar Marketing and Communications Manager Teacher of Geography Head of Boarding Teacher of Religious Studies Teacher of Physical Education Teacher of Religious Studies Musician in Residence Pre-Prep Teacher Teacher of English Teacher of English
Hello and welcome! We would like to say hello and welcome to the following staf f who have joined us this term or due to join us in September.
Have your say We would love to hear your thoughts on Pipers Post. If you have any comments or suggestions then please contact us. Rebecca Conroy, Senior Marketing Executive Pipers Corner School, Pipers Lane Great Kingshill, High Wycombe, HP15 6LP T: 01494 719850 E: rconroy@piperscorner.co.uk W: piperscorner.co.uk
you are walking there. I also enjoy meditation and I belong to a group which meets every two weeks. I really enjoy ‘eating out’ at nice restaurants but I also love ‘eating in’ at Pipers, the food here is excellent. I am an avid knitter and find knitting to be very relaxing and therapeutic.
For all the latest news and updates you can follow us on Twitter: @PipersCornerSCH
Miss Sarah Clifford Miss Rebecca Conroy Ms Jo Cox Ms Christy Grimes Mrs Fran Knight Ms Sue May Mrs Lorna Page Mr Alex Rees Mrs Rohini Rees Ms Eleanor Wilson
Teacher of Geography Senior Marketing Executive Teacher of English Dramatist in Residence Director of Admissions and Mar keting Temporary Teacher of Religious Studies Teacher of English Director of Digital Strategy Head of Research Based Learnin g & Library Musician in Residence