RMS End of Term Newsletter December 2017

M I C H AELMAS T E R M 2 0 1 7

A Year in Sport Trips and Visits

School - SchoolTerm Trips School News A lookEvents back on Michaelmas 2017- at RMS for Girls

MICHAELMAS NEWSLETTER

PAGE 2

Congratulations to....

Every term, members of the RMS community achieve so much - both in School and outside. Here are just some of their achievements this term...

The following Year 13 students who have been invited to interview at Oxford and Cambridge: Oxford Mae Boehler - Chinese Elizabeth Whittaker - History Beth Halbard - Materials Science Cambridge Lizzie Jack - veterinary medicine Carla Tilsiter - Human, Social and Political Science Myrtle Priddy - Human, Social and Political Science Sophia Shoutova - Geography Caitlin Finnan - History and Politics Evie and Nikisha who beat plenty of competition to gain places on the coveted CISCO Work Experience Programme for Year 10 students RMS Year 10 Cross Country Team who took first , second and third in the District Championships RMS Intermediate Swim Team who swam in the finals of both the medley and freestyle relays at the ESSA Secondary School Team Championships, placing 10th and 8th NATIONALLY respectively

Curtis and Kitty, who were selected to join the English National Youth Ballet for their performance of Coppelia next March Mrs Coffey, Head of Textiles, on the birth of her daughter Eleanor Rose on Saturday 11th November Amelia D (Year 10) who has recently returned from Gran Canaria where she and her team from Heathrow Gymnastics club were defending their title in the Team Gym International Cup for Clubs.

Amelia and her team came first despite one of the team being injured and having to withdraw from the competition. Next up for Amelia is the qualifying round in March for the British Championships 2018. We wish Amelia success and look forward to hearing how she gets on.

Oxbridge applicants (minus Myrtle and Beth)

PAGE 3

Farewell to Mrs Young, after 30 year at RMS This term we say a sad farewell to Mrs Young, Assistant Head, as she begins her well-deserved retirement, having served an impressive thirty years and a term, here at RMS. Over the years, Mrs Young led a variety of roles, which include teaching Mathematics, Second in Mathematics and Assistant Head (Operations), all carried out with immaculate precision and dedication. RMS is also a very special place to Mrs Young, having met and married Mr Young here As Head of Mathematics, Mrs Cubbon commented, Mrs Young’s care and attention to detail for her classes is exemplary, and she thinks deeply about her students’ individual needs, preparing carefully to explain complex concepts with clarity. Mrs Young looks to extend her most able students and has been a regular user of the Cambridge entrance STEP questions. She enjoys looking for novel unfamiliar problems to challenge the keenest and most talented students.

She strives for the clearest logical explanation possible and her approach to teaching younger students is as meticulous as her sixth form teaching. We are hugely appreciative of her offer to continue teaching her Year 7 and 13 classes until 2018.

As well as teaching mathematics, Mrs Young’s responsibilities include, ensuring that events across the academic year run smoothly, creating the school timetable, managing staff cover, running internal examinations, organising entrance testing days, awarding prizes and line-managing some departments, to name but a few. In whatever role she undertakes, Mrs Young is loved by many, dearly loyal, and very much epitomises the ethos of RMS. As a ‘polished-cornerstone’, Mrs Young was awarded the traditional and valued ‘ashlar’ in the final end of term assembly, in recognition of her hard work, demonstration of the school values, and contributions to school life.

It has been a real pleasure putting together a leaving book for Mrs Young, to help her look back on snippets of her time here at RMS, with contributions from students and staff, both past and present. What does resonate in the messages is Mrs Young’s kindness – so generously- hearted, compassionate, and so forgiving, especially when students have forgotten to place their, ‘Bags on the pegs, and not on the floor!’ - a phrase that students quite often hear from Mrs Young to help ensure their safety around school, as well as the phrase, ‘Just a little bit of housekeeping…’ All of course, followed up with a friendly Mrs Young smile. Incidentally, the mathematics department sported their ‘Just a little bit of housekeeping’ aprons in Mrs Young’s honour, and presented her very own keepsake apron in her favourite colour red, at a vintage afternoon tea party held at the school in recognition of her dedicated service.

PAGE 4

Many students and staff have contributed to a ‘word cloud’, in finding words that best ‘sum her up’, and it is clear that Mrs Young is held in such high regard by students and staff alike. Mrs Young is always willing to listen, even whilst knitting her favourite garment during departmental meals out. Mrs Young is a keen knitter and many of the colourful ensembles that she wears, have been hand-knitted by her. (She hasn’t stretched to knitting during departmental meetings – that would not be allowed!) Many staff and students have commented that Mrs Young always takes an interest in them personally and their life outside of school. Always asking what plans they have for the weekend and asking after family members. We all know, that it's those little things that can make all the difference.

At times, it can be easy to underestimate the role that a conductor plays in leading an orchestra. Ensuring that that people turn up on time, that they are where they should be, and feel comfortable playing their individual parts. In the same way that a conductor conducts an orchestra, Mrs Young conducts us.

In fact, Mrs Young’s values are neatly woven into the rich RMS tapestry that is unique, interesting and complex. She weaves in traditional detail, carefully attentive to whatever aspect she is working on, whilst being able to see the overall colourful picture and accept it for what it is. If slips occur then Mrs Young is quick to unpick problems and make amends, without stitching anyone up(!) and her ‘purls’ of wisdom are always welcome by many. Needle-less to say, from cast on to cast off, Mrs Young maintains her professional hallmark and is always a true delight to work with.

Mrs Young, you have given so much of your life to RMS and we now look forward to hearing about your exciting plans ahead and wonder what windows of opportunity may lie ahead for keeping in touch with us.

We wish Mrs Young a long, happy and healthy time ahead as she embarks on the next chapter of her life. So, in the summer, go run for those hills Mrs Karen Young, and enjoy some well-deserved, off-timetabled fun!

Miss Emma Durnford

PAGE 5

Performing Arts Review

by Mr Hyde, Director of Performing Arts What a busy term it has been for the Performing Arts; before we even get to our Watersmeet production of the Dolly Parton musical '9 to 5', we have had rush hour concerts, the prize day concert, trips to the theatre, workshops at school at at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts and regular rehearsals by our drama and dance groups. Last week saw our huge Christmas event in the chapel which featured the whole community - from Year 3 girls in Prep through Year 13 to our Community Choir, made up of girls, staff, parents and friends of the school. This week has seen the Choro performing the carol service of the Worshipful Company of Bakers and the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the Thames at the beautiful All Hallows-by-the-Tower in London - the oldest church in the City of London. The school Carol Service was recorded to be broadcast on Christmas Day and I do hope you'll all tune in!

November saw a week of performances of '9 to 5' at Watersmeet. Double cast, and with a huge ensemble, this show really had the ambitions, talents and success of not only our girls, but (in terms of the storyline), women everywhere right at its heart. There are very few muscials which have so many strong female lead parts, and I was so proud to see such talented performances by all of the girls involved - both on and off-stage.

The term doesn't fizzle out, but goes off with a bang as 31 musicians head to Berlin! We'll be doing a workshop and backstage tour at the Komische Oper, one of Germany's most prestigious opera houses and seeing a performance of The Magic Flute. We'll also be performing a concert at the Osterkirche, Berlin. There may also be sometime for a couple of Christmas Markets too!

Looking forward to next year, we have (another) busy term ahead. I really hope to see you at some of our performances. In the Summer, a group of girls performed their own interpretation of Shakespeare's The Tempest at the Edinburgh Festival.

They are holding two performances at RMS on 24th and 25th January.

Before half-term, Years 7-9 will really shine in a huge production of the musical 'Oliver' in the Space, from 5-8 February. In March, the Fusion Dance company, along with Choro and the school Big Band will produce 'Royalty'.

This is a wonderfully ecclectic evening of dance to music by Rick Wakeman and Ella Fitzgerald!

We'll end the term of with our usual Spring Concert and also throw in a couple of rush hour informal concerts and a percussion and brass workshop for good measure!

PAGE 6

Next Term for Performing Arts Next term promises to be every bit as busy as this - here are just a few of the events we have planned....

PAGE 7

A Level English Trip A battle of the dystopias: ‘1984’ vs ‘A Brave New World.

The question: which text is more prescient to us now in the 21st century?. Report by Emily F, Year 13 RMS Sixth Form English students had the opportunity to witness two acclaimed political and social commentators, Will Self and Adam Gopnik, debate insightfully and effectively as to which of these two books is the most relevant dystopian in modern society. Self, a highly articulate, well-informed debater, advocating for the merits of ‘A Brave New World’, versus Adam Gopnik, a similarly politicallycharged and fluent speaker. Both were aided by a group of actors, including Simon Callow, who performed a series of excerpts from each text, as chosen by Gopnik or Self to emphasise their particular line-of-argument

. Indeed, both speakers’ arguments centred on how themes and ideas from Orwell’s and Huxley's novels have tangibility in modern society, including the rise of populism, the increased use of government surveillance, and the more recognisable divisions within society. In the end, Self’s wit and ability to persuade the audience triumphed over Gopnik, with 65% of participants voting for Brave New World. However, the skill of both speakers in providing credible and thoughtful arguments made for a highly useful debate, providing key critical analysis required for the A-level study of 'dystopias.'

Thank you to the English Department for organising such a useful and enjoyable trip!

A Level Religious Studies Conference

Report by Isabella A

On Wednesday 6th December, St Helens School held a conference for the OCR A Level Religious Studies course, which began with a useful talk by Libby Ahluwali, who gave us a number of handy tips on how to go about the course, including a good way to structure essays. Another fascinating speaker, Daphne Hampson, whose views on gender and theology are included in our textbook, followed this.

As such, it was extremely exciting and interesting to hear what she had to say, and we all very much appreciated the opportunity to speak with her afterwards.

The day was then concluded with two breakout sessions, which were given in a moral informal style. The first I attended was on Sexual Ethics, which is ff c the next topic we will be studying. This was extremely interesting, causing us all to really question what we deem to be immoral. The second breakout session was then a useful revision session of a topic we studied last year, Religious Experiences.

As such, we all left feeling pleased at having had a useful and fascinating day, which has given us much excitement for the rest of the course.

PAGE 8

Biology In Action Each year, a group of A Level Biology students are lucky enough to attend Biology In Action, an amazing day at the forefront of Biology...

During the course of the day, wewere guided by experts through the most exciting research and future prospects in biology, reinforcing key concepts and providing a taste of life as a scientist.

Subjects covered this year at the conference included:

Are anti-GMO activists the climate deniers of the Left?

From genome to clinic - tales from the oesophagus A dive into the Planet’s Beating Heart Do you smell what I smell? – the genetics of our chemical senses.

Epigenetics - why DNA is not your destiny

We were also given a special session with hints and tips for revision and examination success which we are sure will be very useful in our A Level revision, and when we write our personal statements. We would like to thank Mrs Sears and the Biology department for organising such a useful and enjoyable day out.

Biology Week 2017 Biology Week showcases the important and amazing world of the biosciences, getting everyone from children to professional biologists involved in fun and interesting life science activities. Here are some photos of some of the activities undertaken at RMS...

PAGE 9

Art, Textiles and Photography Trip to Amsterdam During half term, a group of Art, Textiles, and Photography students travelled to Amsterdam....

During the October Half Term from 25-28th October, 55 Art/ Textiles and Photography students and staff visited Amsterdam.

The visit was packed with visits to art galleries and experiencing the sights that Amsterdam had to offer. Our Hotel was a great venue to settle in for the evenings, Jenga was provided on the dinner tables and the bedrooms spacious.

On our first full day in Amsterdam, we crammed in the galleries in the museum Quarter and did lots of first hand drawings in our little sketchbooks and using our Drawing Bingo task. The Rijksmuseum enabled us to view some old Dutch masters, such as the famous Rembrandt painting, The Night Watch. Seeing it up close you realise the scale of the art work and Rembrandt’s attempt to capture light and the quality of the fabrics with his painting. At The Van Gogh Museum we were able to see the largest Collection of paintings, drawings and letters by Van Gogh and learn about his family history. Finally we experienced contemporary art pieces at the Stedelijk Museum. Fifty five students travelling on one tram was fun and we soon got to know our way around the city.

PAGE 10

Amsterdam (continued) On our second full day, we had the RMS shopping experience in the city centre before visiting the Bodyworlds Exhibition. This was an interesting mix of Biology, Psychology, Mindfulness and Art and enabled us all to learn more about ourselves and how we work both emotionally and physically through visual models and hands on tasks. For some, it was a perfect venue to draw first hand parts of the body for their mock pieces. We then toured the city via a canal tour and took in the unique architecture and learnt a little more about the history of the city – (that’s if you were listening to the headphones), OR you sang your way along the canal- even a resounding rendition of the School Hymn was heard along the way.

We had the opportunity to visit Anne Frank’s House. She was a Jewish teenager whose family were hidden in a secret Annex during the 2nd World War. Many of us had read her diaries and so it was great to be able to be in the place she wrote her diary. We were able to imagine how life must have been for this teenager hiding from the Nazis. It was an emotional place to be and eaves dropping into other visitor’s stories of this period of history was interesting as we walked around. It was also interesting to think that now it would not have been a hidden annex due to new technologies, drones etc.

On the final day we split into three groups with Photography students visiting the FOAM photography museum and going on a photographic walk of the city. The Textile Students visited the Museum of Bags and pursesAmsterdam has a museum for everything! The building was stunning and it was great to be inside a canal side residence. The Art Students visited Rembrandt’s House, which is meticulously refurbished with seventeenth century furniture, art and objects.

Since the trip, we have all became a little more independent and caught the travel bug with many of us wanting to visit Amsterdam again or even move there in the future. It is a lovely city.

We would like to thank our teachers for taking us. Thank you to Mrs Bloomfield-Proud, Miss Lawrence, Miss Reidie, Miss Brooks, Miss Malan and Mrs Kingston for the overall planning and organisation of the trip.

When’s the next trip? More pictures over the page!

PAGE 11

Amsterdam (continued)

PAGE 12

Art, Textiles and Photorgraphy Exhibition at Watersmeet

PAGE 13

Charity Update This term has been an incredibly busy one for everyone, especially for Charities and we would like to thank all parents, guardians and students for their continuous support for SANE. Update by Elizabeth and Caitlin (Year 13 – Deputy Head Girls for Charities) There have been copious events ran by girls which is brilliant to see because one of our aims for this year has been to get more of you involved: • Sophie Stewart (Year 13) ran a Special Effects Halloween Make-up Class.

• Tamzin Kraftman and Layla Chauhan (Year 13) held a Great British Bake-off Party raising £100 for Macmillan and SANE. • Eloise Garth (Year 9) held a BBQ for SANE raising £180.

• We would like to say a huge congratulation and thanks to Simon Redman (parent to Kitty Redman) ran 250km in Peru raising money for SANE - so far collecting £3428.20 and an additional £2000 from his company Invesco. If you would like to donate please follow the link; https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/si mon-redman6 Additionally, several groups of girls have been holding a range of events during lunch times for their £2 Challenge to support their House as well as SANE. Girls have been running ‘Lucky Dips’, tombolas, tuck shops and each House ran their own Cake Sale.

The results so far from the Cake Sale are as follows: 1. Scarbrough 2. Cumberland 3. Moira 4. Atholl Sussex There is still plenty more time to raise money for your House, so there could be changes to your House’s position. Money for the £2 Challenge will be collected in after the Christmas holidays on Monday 15th January.

There have been two non-uniform days this term, the most impressive one has to be the ‘Festive’ themed non-uniform day on Friday 8th October where everyone really went all out to wear their most eyecatching Christmas jumper!

There have been collections at numerous events this term, including the fabulous production of ‘9-5’, the Christmas Concert last Friday, the Advent Service, FORMS Fireworks Night and there is always the opportunity to donate at the New Mark Hall.

The FORMS Christmas Fair was a wonderful occasion and we would like to thank students, parents and teachers who visited the SANE stall and had a festive photo taken!

The Sixth Form Charity Winter Social is being held on the last day of school and should be an excellent event for all as well aiding such a worthwhile cause.

On the 22nd December, there will be a group of girls helping at Waitrose in Rickmansworth with bag packing, any donations will go towards SANE. We would be grateful if you could come along and show your support!

At present (12th December 2017) the RMS Community has helped to raise a staggering £9981.44 (with more money to be counted)!!!

PAGE 14

Charity Update (continued) At present (12th December 2017) the RMS Community has helped to raise a staggering £9981.44 (with more money to be counted)!!!

We are absolutely blown away but this incredible total over this term and are astounded by the enthusiasm and support shown by everyone – SANE is a charity with only 10 working members and this total will make a world of difference to them.

There are still plenty of events to come: • Charity Quiz Night • Non-uniform days • Cake sales • Charity Fashion Show and Auction • Battle of the Bands • More make-up classes • Year 7-8 Disco • Hind House night in • Slime competition • And many more!

If you would like to run your own event for SANE or have any suggestions, we would love to hear these. You can contact us via our school emails: ewhitt18@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk or cfinna18@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk A couple of weeks ago we sent a link to Northbrook Fundraising in the School Newsletter where you can purchase wrapping paper and Christmas cards and 15% of your purchase will go towards the School Charity. If you are interested in this please follow the link below: http://www.northbrookfundraising.co.u k/beneficiary/index/id/518/school/royalmasonic-school Once again, thank you all very much for your continuous support for Charities at RMS and in particular, SANE. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

PAGE 15

My Day at the Royal Opera House GCSE Textiles students Ciara writes about her day spent in the costume department of the Royal Opera House During the visit Liz showed me the costume floor where they store all of the costumes for the upcoming ballet shows and operas. Liz’s main responsibility is to refurbish ballet tutus and fit them to the ballet dancers.

It was a stroke of luck that I decided to share my current Textiles project with my ballet teacher.

I was working on designing a romantic ballet tutu with snowflake detail. I had in mind a costume that could be worn in the Snow Queen Ballet (one of my favourites).

As it happened my ballet teacher knew of a costume designer and maker (Liz Healey) at the Royal Opera House (ROH) in London. I got in touch with Liz and one Friday after school I went into London and Liz gave me a guided tour of the ROH costume department.

Sometimes Liz will have to make brand new costumes but mostly the costumes are refurbished and some of them are nearly 20 years old and have been worn by some very famous dancers.

Liz showed me her current project which is getting the Nutcracker Ballet romantic tutus ready.

Much of her job involves hand, embroidery and embellishment sewing.

A lot of consideration is given to making sure the ballet dancers have the freedom to dance in the costume and making sure that parts of it don’t get caught in their hair or get stuck to other dancers when they are dancing.

Also, a lot of time is spent fitting the costumes to the individual dancers as they are all different shapes and sizes. I was shown the rooms where the ballet dancers had their fittings and the dance studios where the dancers would try on the costumes and check that they were able to dance freely.

It was a fantastic experience to see behind the scenes of such a famous theatre and it was mesmerising being surrounded by hundreds of beautiful ballet tutus with their intricate details and designs. I got a lot of great ideas and inspiration from my visit to the Royal Opera House.

PAGE 16

Christmas at RMS Our festive celebrations included the Chapel Carol Concert, which this year was recorded by BBC Three Counties Radio to be played on Christmas Day....

You will be able to listen to the live broadcast here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05pjxk3, or alternatively it will be available on iPlayer for 30 days afterwards.

PAGE 17

Christmas at RMS The girls and staff all enjoy celebrating the festive season at School with the annual charity Christmas Jumper Day, classroom decorating competitions, the always entertaining House Day, and of course the renowned Christmas Dinner! Here are just a few photos from the last days of term....

PAGE 18

Snow at RMS he last week of term started with the unscheduled and almost unprecedented Snow Day on Monday. Here are just a few pictures from our very own Winter Wonderland...

PAGE 19

Coming Next Term...

Next term, we are very much looking forward to welcoming adventurer Lindsey Cole to School to share some of her stories from her travels around the world On Friday 19th January, Lindsey Cole will be coming to speak to the Senior School in Assembly about her adventures. She is also making time to meet a small number of students for lunch, and will also be leading a workshop session for interested students.

More about Lindsay Cole?

Lindsey grew up near Rickmansworth and has returned from her most recent expedition in Australia where she walked 1000 miles solo following the Rabbit Proof Fence through the Western Australian desert. She retraced the journey of three aboriginal girls who had been forcibly removed from their homes.

They were placed in a settlement to be assimilated into white society and they escaped, walking 1000 miles home to Jigalong, following the Rabbit Proof Fence.

The story was made into a book and a film, which came out in 2004. She read the book whilst backpacking in 2007 and was inspired by the characters' story after the loss of her father. It was many years in the waiting for her to pay homage and retrace their journey. Lindsey even had the fortune of meeting one of the girls who made the journey herself 86 years ago- she is now 96! She is writing a book about her adventure and visits schools about her experiences.

Lindsey's previous adventures have included: cycling the length of Africa, running across Britain, roller skating to Paris and a few Ironman triathlons.

Learn more about Linsey here: www.lindseycole.co.uk We are very much looking forward to welcoming Lindsey to RMS next term, and are sure that she will be a very inspiring guest!

PAGE 20

FORMS NEWS First term of this academic year is coming to a close and you are all surely looking forward to all of the festivities this season brings! FORMS would like to thank you for all the help and support from the parents. Without your help none of our plans would come to life! We would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year and looking forward to what the next year will bring.

Second Hand Uniform This term has been such a busy term for FORMS and the Uniform team. We were delighted to be fully relocated in our spacious new room above the After School Club in Weybridge House and really appreciate all the help from the Estates team. In January our first session will be on Friday 12th January 8.00am to 9.00am.

We have just completed the ticket sales from last year – please contact us or pop in so we can update you and arrange payment or keep funds on account for you. We have also had a large influx of lost property so it’s worth coming down to see us to see if you can reclaim any lost items!

Thank you so much to all the parent volunteers and supporters this year – we offer an invaluable service as well as the funds we raise and it can’t be done without a great team. If you would like to join our uniform volunteer rota please email us at forms.rms2hu@gmail.com.

Thank you for all your support this year!

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

FORMS

PAGE 21

KEY DATES FOR NEXT TERM Monday 8th January: Tuesday 9th January: Wednesday 10th January: Thursday 11th January: Friday 12th January: Tuesday 16th January: Wednesday 17th January: Thursday 18th January: Monday 22nd January: Tuesday 23rd January: Friday 26th January:

Monday 29th January Wednesday 31st January Thursday 1st February Friday 2nd February: Monday 5th February: Tuesday 6th February:

Wednesday 7th February: Thursday 8th February: Friday 9th February

Boarders return Term starts Year 9 GCSE Options talks Year 13 English Literature to "A Passage to India" Year 12 LEAD Talk - Presentation Skills Year 12 Art Trip to Tate Britain / Royal Academy Year 10B English to Julius Caesar at the Barbican Year 12/13 Performing Arts to Kings Head Theatre Harrow Bangkok Parents Information Evening (at John Lyon School) Year 9 Options Evening Year 7 Entrance Assessments (also Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday this week) FORMS AGM Year 8-10 Entrance Assessments Charity Quiz Night EXEAT weekend Year 12 Religious Studies Conference at St Helen's Year 10 RS Students to Holocaust Memorial Day Workshops Physics Masterclass Year 11 At Home Life Skills Evening for Parents Lower School Production Maths Fest Year 13 Classics Lecture Day in London Lower School Production Lower School Production Lower School Production Year 12 LEAD: Soft Leadership Skills Year 9 At Home HALF TERM

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our students and their families From everyone at RMS