RMS Hilary Term News March 2018

HILARY TERM NEWS MARCH 2018

A Year in Sport Trips and Visits

SchoolA look Events - Hilary School School News back on TermTrips 2018 at-RMS for Girls

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H I L A R Y TERM 2 0 1 8

Hilary Term may be the shortest of the academic year, but it never fails to be a busy one, packed with sporting, dramatic, musical and academic events, a whole host of visiting speakers, and a number of school trips!

This term, we say farewell to Miss Rayat from the Art and Design Department - we wish her well in the future. We also say goodbye temporarily to Mrs Baron and Mrs Bayless, who are leaving on maternity leave - we look forward to hearing about the safe arrival of the newest members of the RMS Community! This week, we have welcomed back Mrs Spendiff to the PE Department after her year of maternity leave with her daughter.

In this newsletter, you will find write-ups from the girls and staff about the many and varied events that we have celebrated this term, as well as some trips from the Christmas holidays. RMS girls have embarked on trips to Bangkok and the ski slopes of Colorado, have listened to talks from acclaimed poets and authors, taken part in Model United Nations visited places of scientific interest, and raised lots of money for charity! In addition, we would like to share with you what goes on in the boarding houses when day students have gone home for the evening or weekend - there certainly seems to be a great emphasis on food in the boarding section of this newsletter....

Success in sports has been tremendous this term, both team and individual, and we relish the opportunity to share these triumphs with you; the Performing Arts faculty has had, as usual, a fantastically busy term, incorporating the Lower School Production of Oliver, the Royalty Dance Show, the Cadogan House production of Aladdin, and the Spring Concert, interspersed as always with Rush Hour Concerts, masterclasses by visiting musicians, and an even increasing number of candidates entered for ABRSM, LAMDA and other external examinations.

We hope that you enjoy reading all our news.....

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Leadership Team and Prefects 2018/19 During Hilary Term each year, as the existing Head Girl, deputies and prefects stand down to concentrate on their A Level studies, staff and Sixth Formers vote for the Leadership Team for the following academic year. In addition to the vote, the girls take part in a rigorous selection process, and are interviewed by the Head and other senior members of staff. Congratulations to our new team for 2018/19, and thank you to our outgoing team who have all done a wonderful job for the last year!

Leadership Team Head Girl Dep. Head Logistics Dep. Head Boarding Dep. Head Charity Dep. Head Charity Dep. Head PR Dep. Head PR Dep. Head School Council Dep. Head Student Support Dep. Head Development

Elizabeth Abbott Lucy Clarke Natalie Chu Florence MacSwiney Rachel Bennett Elana Keiles Eashani Chauhan Panchal Jessica Astbury Regan Newton Amelia Small

Prefects Head of House Boarding Harris Head of House Boarding Connaught Head of House Boarding Zetland International Boarding

Manayka Walia Winnie Yip Virali Shah Virali Shah

Prefect for Life Skills & Values Secretary to School Council Charity Secretary

Bronte Tallentire Manayka Walia Deniz Uyanik

Head of School House Atholl/Sussex Head of School House Cumberland Head of School House Moira Head of School House Scarbrough

Emma Gratte Molly Coates Talia Morton-Kemsley Kirsty Stewart

Prefect Year 7 Prefect Year 8 Prefect Year 9 Prefect Year 10 Prefect Year 11 Transition Prefect Team leaders

Helena Spooner Alice Bishop Ellie Hunt Emily Burke India Sheridan Cheryl Liu, Yiwen Jin, Emma La-Plain

Prefect Cadogan Prefect Ruspini House

Katie Bruce Olivia Robins

Academic Enrichment Sixth Form Well Being Prefect Hind House PR

Ella Hooles Erin McMoneagle Arianne Lazarus-Noel

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The Great Outdoors at RMS At RMS, opportunities for outdoor pursuits are almost limitless,and the School continues to work to ensure that every member of the School community actively engages with the grounds they are so privileged to share.

The importance of the great outdoors in our school has not diminished in the two terms since our whole school Focus Day in September, and this term we are delighted to have created some fantastic new outdoor spaces to enhance the learning environment of all our students.

In Ruspini House, we have just opened a brand new play area for the youngest members of the RMS family – the children are clearly enjoying this new space, which complements the existing outdoor spaces to which the children already have access.

In Cadogan House, pupils and staff alike are thrilled with all the new developments, including "Pooh Sticks Bridge" and a dedicated Year 1 outside space.

Our Sixth Formers were delighted with the Rose Garden which opened last academic year, and now we have added a door from the Common Room directly onto the garden.

There are many more plans for the coming months, including some improvements to Forest School for younger pupils, and the construction of some shelters overlooking the valley, to give Senior School students somewhere to sit and relax and enjoy the views as exam season looms...

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Harrow International School Bangkok Exchange 2018

by Hattie, Sophie, Shaan, Paizlei, Arianna, Amy, Maya and Charlotte Eight lucky Year 9 girls were selected to take part in the Harrow INternational School Exchange in Bangkok. RMS has had connections with Harrow Beijing for some years, and last year we ran our first exchange with Bangkok. Led by Mrs Adamson, the eight girls spent two weeks in Thailand, studying alongside their Thai and international counterparts, and immersing themselves in Thai culture.

Here are just some of their highlights: Hattie: I really enjoyed this exchange to Bangkok and I would recommend to many year 8’s who might be interested next year. It opened my eyes about Asian culture, I met so many kind people, learnt in a different working environment, and became closer to my friends from school. I loved the weather in Thailand, and everyone is so nice to talk to. I miss the trip, and I hope I will go back to soon.

Sophie:I found the trip to Thailand very enjoyable and exciting. We went on an island for the first 2 days and snorkelled in the sea as well as taking a speedboat around the other islands. While we were there we learnt and experienced Thai culture. We also made many friends in the international school we went to. I really recommend this trip to upcoming year 9s as it is an amazing opportunity and it was really fun.

Shaan: During the amazing trip to Bangkok I feel like I have learnt many things about the thai culture that I had never known before. This trip was certainly fun and enjoyable as well as educational... The hotels that we stayed in were amazing. We had a many chances to feel free and explore the shopping centres as well as the places we visited such as the Grand Palace. I would encourage current Year 8 students to consider this once in a life time opportunity - the trip is very long ( 2 weeks) but you will need all of this time to encounter the incredible sights and activities.

Paizlei: Bangkok was really sunny and humid. I had a lot of fun exploring different beaches when we were at Koh Sumet. The school was really big and had a lot of staircases which gave us quite the workout when moving between classes. I never found that I was missing out on good exercise and the Harrow International School.

The food was fresh and really good. Fridays at school was my absolute favourite.

The theatre show was amazing. The Fiery Hell scene gave me a heart attack as a huge jet of water shot up right in front of me. The restaurants and outings were a lot of fun. I will always remember the ancient city bike riding. The shopping was a lot of fun but there was so much shopping. Overall, I enjoyed the trip and wish I could go again.

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Harrow International School Bangkok Exchange 2018 Amy: I really enjoyed getting to know about all the Thai culture and take part in all the fun activities. This trip created many new friendships from All the other schools and made some even closer. This has been one of the best experiences of my life and I would do it all over again if I could. I really would encourage the next year 8 to go on this trip as it was such an extraordinary experience.

Maya: I was given a great opportunity to visit Bangkok, which is an amazing city.

We did many things and I am mostly grateful for the fact that we were able to experience the culture and see things such as the see food market and travel with most means of transport that they have there. I also enjoyed being able to eat the food that they have in Thailand, one of the best places was the Baiyoke tower. I loved going into the centre of Bangkok and being able to look over many, many buildings. I am very thankful for this opportunity.

Your can read Mrs Adamson's account here on the school trips blog here

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Harrow International School Bangkok Exchange 2018 Our fortnight in photos! A full gallery of images can be found here

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Havergal Exchange 2018 This term, we welcomed three students from Havergal College, Toronto to RMS on an exchange with three of our Year 9 students. We enjoyed giving the girls a taste of life in a British school and some London sightseeing, and our students are now looking forward to the return visit to Canada during the Easter holidays

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Extra-Curricular: Trips Performing Arts Trip to Berlin Thirty girls and four members of staff headed to Berlin on a cultural music tour right before Christmas . Whilst it was a whistle stop tour of three days, we managed to pack plenty in! The first day saw an incredibly moving and memorable trip to the Jewish museum. The first striking thing is the architecture; the building is built on stark diagonals and whilst walking through, seeing items donated by survivors of the Holocaust, the silence was palpable.

The museum houses the Holocaust tower - a light and heat starved room where one can hear the noises of people and traffic outside but not see anything. The whole experience played on everyone's minds as we progressed onto the rest of the day.

Walking past checkpoint Charlie, the Deutsche Dom and having eaten lunch at the Christmas market at Gendarmenplatz we made our way to the Komische Oper, one of Berlin's three internationally renowned opera houses.

The girls were treated to a backstage tour and a workshop on that night's production, the award winning Magic Flute.

That night the girls were enthralled by this production which relies on whole stage projections and is heavily influenced by silent movies. The next day, we headed to the Berlin Instrument Museum and following that, had a rehearsal in the Osterkirche where that night we performed an atmospheric candlelit concert of English Christmas music. The audience of English and German locals were very appreciative. The concert was followed by a visit to the Gedechtniche Kirche and Christmas Market. The final day saw a quick trip to the huge Berlin aquarium before we all flew home ready for Christmas.

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Lower School Production of "Oliver!"

by Francesca W, Year 9 On Monday 5th February, 44 excited students were gathered in Scarborough Gallery, with mud on their faces and wearing ripped up clothes, all eagerly awaiting the moment that the clock turned 7.30. “Why?” You may ask. Well Mr Broome - aka Mr Bumble - could tell you in his starring number; “O-liv-er!”

The auditions had been held months earlier, in October, and we had all been very excited to find out what parts we had been given. Many of us had achieved main parts, such as Jhanvi and Helena, cast as Oliver himself, but for those of us in the chorus we knew that every single person was so important to the success of the production. Ms Flatto often told us as much, early on Sunday mornings, when it took a lot of persuasion to get us out of bed! However, it was absolutely worth it, for the massive success the production was and the amazing feeling we all experienced on the four show nights.

“Oliver was the most amazing experience, of being in a group production and being involved in something so incredible, with the power to make the audience laugh.”

I think this sentence, from a girl in the chorus, is applicable to the feelings that the entire cast experienced in this incredible production. “It was a privilege to be a part of,” agreed another chorus member. We all enjoyed it so much and we can’t wait until the next one!

Our production of Oliver! would never have been possible without the incredible work and dedication of the backstage crew, the lighting crew, the costume and makeup helpers and of course, Ms Flatto! Thank you to all of the people who helped and shaped our fantastic production. And while we Year 9s are sad to be leaving our Lower-School Production years, we know most of the Year 7s and 8s who were in it really enjoyed it, and they promise they’ll “be back soon!”

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"Royalty" Music and Dance Even by RMS standards, the Fusion Dance and Choro/Big Band production of "Royalty" was an eclectic show; the "royal" connection being the music of the "Queen of Jazz" Ella Fitzgerald, with dance set to Rick Wakeman's music "The Six Wives of Henry VIII". That said, it was a truly spectacular show, with some amazing individual and group performances - well done to all the students who took part, and to the Faculty of Performing Arts staff.

Here are just a few photos from the production....

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"Blue Sky Thinking" Trip On Friday the 9th March, a group of girls from Year 10 and 11 went to London on a trip called ‘Blue Sky Thinking For Bright Minds’.

During the day, we listened to four captivating talks and a debate.

The particular talk that stood out to me was one led by Dr Chris O’Neil who spoke about the Psychology of Outstanding Achievement. Dr Chris O’Neil himself is the creator of the mindfulness programme we do in school today! He went through the key steps needed to attain outstanding achievement including Gladwell’s idea that everyone needed to have practised for 10,000 hours before they can be good at something; he gave the example of one of the most famous pop groups in the world, the Beatles, they did 1200 concerts over 6 years before they had their first hit.

What I found particularly intriguing was that neither IQ nor genes plays a paramount role in success and in fact, it is hard work that matters. This talk was certainly very awe-inspiring and very practical for the future.

Another talk I found particularly thought provoking was the debate to end the productive day, the motion was: This House Believes that sex is not a commodity that should be traded. I ended up agreeing with both the proposition and the opposition in this debate, due to the fact that both parties seemed to be arguing different topics within themselves, however nonetheless the debate made me think about our world today and how it works.

These were two talks that were notably striking to me and found especially thought-provoking, however, saying this, all the talks were thoroughly enjoyable and I was able to explore different ideas I hadn’t before, including ideas of philosophy and ethics.

This was a great trip that I thoroughly appreciated and learnt a lot from. I would like to thank Miss Lavelle and Mrs Reeve for taking the time out of their busy schedules to take us on this amazing, eye-opening trip.

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Haileybury Model United Nations On 23rd March a group of Sixth Formers together with Mr Grogan, Mr Buddy and Mrs Booth went to Haileybury School to take part in Haileybury Model United Nations This is a conference that aims to simulate the events of the United Nations by assigning groups of students to countries in the UN to discuss current global issues.

Before going we went up we chose which committee to sit on and researched the issues to be discussed. I had chosen to be part of a political committee which focused on fixing issues of global political significance. On arrival, we congregated in the sports hall for the opening ceremony and then headed to our committees to begin lobbying. Once we had arrived at our committees we began to lobby other delegates with our resolutions, hoping to get the 10 signatures necessary to get the resolution debated. Although lobbying with the other delegates was fun, we were all glad to see dinner even though we were only given 15 minutes!

After some more lobbying we returned, exhausted but excited to our hotel.

We were awoken at 6:30 the next morning for breakfast, which had so many options it took longer to decide what to eat than to actually eat it. After Breakfast we set off for Haileybury. We all went off to our committees and continued to lobby. After signing slightly too many resolutions we began to debate the resolutions which had passed through the approvals panel. Things got pretty heated in our committee with a form of cold war developing between Jordan and Japan, who both spent a large majority of the conference debating each other, rather than the resolutions at hand.

Even if you were not speaking in the debate, a way in which we could remain involved even without speaking, was note passing. Note passing allowed us to communicate about all manners of things, political and non-political. This continued for most of the rest of the day, with breaks for lunch and joke awards in between each resolution. Although the debates were fun the highlight of the day for many, was the Shack night, which was essentially a massive disco held in one of the boarding houses. RMS students displayed their customary resilience, dancing non-stop for nearly 2 hours even with a broken water machine.

We returned to the hotel late Saturday night, needless to say we were very tired in the morning. We were further disorientated by the clocks changing in the middle of the night, stealing a precious hour of our sleep. We went straight to our committees upon returning to Haileybury and continued to debate.

After the debating was all finished we gathered in larger groups to have plenary debates, to officially pass the resolutions which each committee had passed. Note passing got even more intense during the plenary debates, with around 20 Haileybury students running across the hall attempting to deliver each note on time. After the plenary debates had finished we all collected in the sports hall for the closing ceremony and Haileybury MUN was officially over.

Finally, we all headed back to RMS. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Haileybury MUN, with several if us coming home with a whole new groups of friends, and greater insight into the world of international politics. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is interested in just about anything relating to world affairs.

Ollie, Year 12

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Year 10 Visit to the "Big Bang Fair" The Science and Mathematics departments organised an amazing day at the forefront of STEM at The Big Bang Fair in Birmingham for Year 10 students. Here pupils had access to a huge variety of activities and displays aimed at inspiring the next generation of scientists and mathematicians to achieve the very best they can.

A voyage of discovery of virtual reality, medicine, marine biology, film and TV, space exploration, explosive chemistry, crime-solving, robots, computer coding, microscopic bugs, giant trucks and more. The Fair gave young people the chance to hear from inspiring engineers and scientists from some of the UK's biggest companies and find out about the opportunities available in science and mathematics. This event also complemented the GCSE Science and GCSE Mathematics courses and here are some quotes from the pupils about their experience: I really enjoyed watching the 'Dangerous Equations' talk

by Marty Jopson. It was fun to see how dangerous experiments could be completely safe if accurate thought and science was done before hand. The fire, martial arts and more all came together to make a very exciting show to watch! I also loved going round all the stalls and trying out the activities they had to offer. One of my favourites was the virtual reality by the RAF who showed what it is like to fly in a plane with the Red Arrows.

Elizabeth B I enjoyed walking around the Big Bang Fair. The best bit was going in the dome. It was a good day and I learnt loads of new facts.

Madeleine S

The big bang fair was an enjoyable day away from the classroom, to learn different things to do with Science and Maths. I really enjoyed how interactive it was and how we got free pens, key rings, badges, stickers and wristbands - you could even win a water bottle from completing 3 challenges.

My favourite stand was the National Theatre because I enjoy Performing Arts and am doing production. It was interesting to see how science and engineering was used in the national theatre and theatre in general Sami B I really enjoyed the variety of the fair and how there were so many different job careers to hear about, there were lots of fun activities and I enjoyed the day and found it quite useful.

Lottie J

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Sixth Form Physics Visit to the Rutherford Laboratory The A Level physics girls were all looking forward to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories by the time it finally happened, especially Year 13 with the trip being cancelled the year before After battling both the M25 and the M40 in rush hour we made it to Ditcot and the labs. 
We began with a series of short lectures on particle accelerators and their uses in the wider world outside of their obvious applications in research. The lectures consolidated our A-level knowledge, whilst also showing all of use the sheer range of opportunities that a career in Physics held.

We then moved on to an interactive activity of find the Higgs boson, a particle that turned out to be trying to find a needle in a haystack. From this we learnt of just how much data the detectors and research stations on the LHC in CERN processes. With all of us being shocked at the amount of results that scientists had to thoroughly go through each day.

The diamond laboratories accelerator was the last stop on our visit, with us having the chance to talk to the actual scientist who worked with the device. We were able to walk on top of the accelerator, showing all of us the size of these machines. But, also, whilst talking to the scientists the range of experiments that the x-rays it produced could help in.

We would like to thank Mr. Dacanalis for taking us, and Miss Black for helping to organise the trip. It left year 12 readily anticipating their upcoming trip to CERN and year 13 glad that they’ve all chosen degrees heavily based around Physics.

Beth, Year 13

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Year 7 "Race for Line" Competition Race for the line' is a national competition run by Dendrite.

The competition is intended to inspire tomorrow's engineers and scientists with a national rocket car racing competition involving around 70,000 Year 7 students in England, Scotland and Wales.

The competition has involved collaboration between our departments of Science, Mathematics, ICT and Design and Technology. Thank you colleagues!

The weather has not been kind to RMS's attempt: the first day we had planned was cancelled due to snow, and this week when we finally managed to have our rescheduled day, it was pouring with rain! However, not even the rain could dampen anybody's enthusiasm for the races.

Our winning teams were 'Speedy people' at 64.9 milliseconds and 'Strawberry Scorpions' at 65.2 milliseconds. Both teams will go to the regional finals on the 2nd May - good luck to them - we look forward to bringing you news of their results - and congratulations to everyone who took part.

Thank you to Dendrite for organising such a fun and exciting event, and to RAF Northolt (particularly Flt Lt Catherine Morris and FS Craig Gougn for their help on the day.

Here are some of our photos from the day, including the winning cars!

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Extra- Curricular: Clubs and Societies Every term we offer a wide range of extra curricular clubs and societies - here are just two that have been popular this term...

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) Club uses the expertise of staff members from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, DT, Art and Mathematics and the club members enjoyed making their own fidget spinners, growing crystals, building geodesic domes, making slime and learning about the unusual properties of non-Newtonian liquids just to mention a few projects.

"It’s was really fun when we tried to walk on custard even though we only had about two trays full " Mimi, Year 7 "My favourite activity we have done so far in STEAM is when we wrapped bicarbonate of soda in a tissue and put it in a sandwich bag and added vinegar and warm water and then it exploded. It was very cool but one of the bags exploded in my hand and it exploded all over me and made me smell like vinegar which wasn’t very nice. I also enjoyed it when we did paint pouring. We poured paints and then swirled it around on a foam board and it made a very beautiful marble design. STEAM is my favourite club that I go to because every week we do something different and we always do really fun projects and experiments."

Hattie S

SCUBA Club Scuba Diving has continued to be a popular club this term, following the introductory courses run during Michaelmas term. Having learnt some of the theory out of the water, including the necessary underwater sign language, the girls were ready to plunge into the school pool to put the theory into practice. Key skills, not least breathing underwater, were learnt how to clear your mask, find the regulator and communicate - and once completed the girls were able to go down to the deep end to swim around, try out some tricks!

This has been a fantastic introduction to scuba diving, and we are very grateful to Xambor Watersports for running the club.

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Charity Update As ever, we have had a busy term supporting our School Charity, SANE Update by Elizabeth and Caitlin (Year 13 – Deputy Head Girls for Charities) As this is the last full term of fundraising for SANE, we would like to for the last time, thank all the students, parents and guardians for their support and the continued commitment of the community towards Charities at RMS There have been many great events in this last term which deserve recognition: • The Sixth Form Winter Social was an astounding success, helping to raise £1,162.26!

• The Year 7 & 8 Disco this March was another achievement, raising over £700!

• We would like to make a special thank you to Mrs. Clivaz and the Year 7s for their excellent baking skills for their Shortbread Cake sales – they raised £301.

The Inter-House £2 Challenge victors were revealed in the final assembly on Thursday – every girl should be commended for their excellent effort with the Houses raising a collective total of £1081.61!

The results from the £2 Challenge are as follows: 1. Scarbrough - £344.39 2. Atholl Sussex - £339.76 3. Moira - £211.51 4. Cumberland - £185.95 We would also like to make a special mention to the individual who raised the most amount of money, Year 7 student Annabelle T (Atholl Sussex) who raised an excellent £110 on her own – well done to Anabelle!

Due to popular demand, a slime competition was held with many year 7s and 8s flocking to show off their slime skills.

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Charity Update There have been collections at numerous events this term, including the fabulous production of ‘Aladdin Junior’ and ‘Royalty’ and there is always the opportunity to donate at the New Mark Hall.

In December, we let you know that the RMS Community had helped to raise £9811.44!

Since then, we have been able to raise much more and are very grateful to all your work… however, you won’t be able to find out the grand total under next term!

Last year the total money raised was £12,000 – hopefully, we will have beaten this!

Lastly, both Caitlin and I would like to thank all of you for whatever donation, large or small you have made to SANE. Mental health is an area that needs to be spoken about more openly, without any stigma or embarrassment. We hope that from this year, you will be more able to talk about any issues you are having and find the help you need.

As we come to the end of our time as Deputy Head Girls for Charity – we wish Flo and Rachel every success in RMS’ next charity venture, next year.

Once again, thank you to everyone for helping SANE � Elizabeth and Caitlin (Year 13 – Deputy Head Girls for Charities)

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Boarding News Hilary Term has ended and we bid farewell to the boarders for just over three weeks. The term has seen all the girls mature and grow in independence, confidence and especially resilience.

As I look out on the Garth I can definitely see signs of spring although the weather experts say we haven’t seen the last of this beast!!! The girls enjoyed the snow and the snow day but it was bitterly cold.

Much needed heaters and extra blankets were found and some even took to wearing warm hats in bed!!! Warming,nutritious food was provided by Mr Watley and the catering team Of special note is the hot chocolate with marshmallows and chocolate brownies which was such a treat at break time.

Food plays a major role in all our lives and is an integral part of everyone’s well -being, the girls learn about and are given excellent nutritional advice on an ongoing basis. I thought I would give you a small insight into some of the fun activities we have had this term in boarding which relate to food. It goes without saying that three meals are provided everyday. Menus are available and at the moment work on a three week rotation there are always many options and individual needs are catered for. Fresh salad and fruit is available at all meal times. The menus are added to regularly and the girls requests are taken into consideration in fact we await the results of a survey they have just all completed. In the last week of term, the boarders tried out some possible new menu items, so we look forward to seeing which ones made the cut and will feature on our Trinity Term menus!

All the houses have kitchens and basics such as bread, butter spreads, cheese and fruit. Girls in Connaught and Zetland are able to buy extras and make snacks as they want and fridge space is provided in the kitchens. In addition a supper box of fruit and treats is provided each evening.

This is only the beginning twice a term we have family suppers which are themed based, this term we had a Chinese New Year feast which was amazing. And only this week an Easter supper followed by an Easter egg hunt which was won by Mr Carson and his team!!!!!. These meals are different in as much as the girls are put in mixed age groups in attempt to encourage friendships with girls across the whole of boarding.

When it is a girl's birthday they attend a tea with Mr Carson in his office and one of the houses is usually lucky enough to get the leftover cake. There is also the possibility of the housemistress making birthday cakes and they even take orders! Oreo cakes are very popular.

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Boarding News Outings always involved a packed lunch, however on the exciting outing to Borough Market it was deemed that they had enough tasters to make a second lunch !!

One Saturday the boarders became chefs and made a delicious three course lunch for everyone under the very serious supervision of our weekend Chef Paul Richardson. What a truly wonderful lunch it was and the girls really enjoyed themselves.

Once each term we have a pizza evening. This is always to highlight the end of a busy and hopefully successful term.

Quick walks to the high street to Creams the ice cream parlour not to mention popcorn drinks and chocolate during movie nights. Afternoon teas, baking on a Sunday and experimenting with recipes. These treats all play a huge an important role in our boarding life.

I have not yet mentioned the fun that is had by having midnight treats which a lot of girls think the housemistresses know nothing about it. We did have an ongoing mystery of noodles in the bath! Absolutely fabulous team building .A most important part of boarding! We have barbecues and picnics to look forward to next term!

And with all this cooking going on, it is important to have some "house rules"....

If you empty it, Fill it If you dirty it, Wash it If you open it, Close it If you spill it, Wipe it up If you cook it, Share it (Sometimes?)

Thanks must go again to the catering team for making so many of the above mentioned possible.

Congratulations to all the new prefects for 2018/19 especially to Natalie Chu - Head of Boarding Winnie Yip Head of Connaught, Virali Shah Head of Zetland and Manayka Walia,Head of Harris To all the boarding community and their families. Have a wonderful holiday with your girls. Enjoy every moment !

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Boarding Term in Pictures

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Sports Reports Another successful season for the RMS Teams - our Sports Team Captains write up their seasons below....

Hockey Year 9 This season has been great for the year 9 hockey team, winning all of our matches, including winning one of them matches 11-0 to become District Champions. We also went through to the County Cup semi final against Dame Alice Owen School. It was the best team performance we have played all season. holding them at 1-0 down for the whole game. Unfortunately, we then let in two goals very near the end and therefore lost 2-1.

Everyone played at a great standard and tried their hardest. Well done everyone for an excellent season - I can’t wait for next year!

Year 10 After hockey trials in September, it was pleasing to see that the Year 10 hockey team not only involved girls that had been in the team previously, but also gained a lot of new members. We were all keen to start working towards a great hockey season. Our first match was a success against Aldenham, and this winning streak continued for the entire term as we worked hard in training. Focusing particularly on tackling, deflections and ball control, we noticed ourselves beginning to play at a much higher level of hockey as the term went on. After the Christmas holidays, we were all a bit rusty having not played together as a team in weeks. We began preparing for a match against Queenswood, a very tough opponent who had beaten us many times in the past. Knowing we would really have to play our best to win, Mrs Booth gave us an incentive in the form of a team McDonald’s if we won. It’s amazing how much food can motivate us, as we played an amazing game of hockey winning 3-1. This was definitely the highlight of the season and saw us through to the County Cup Semi Finals. Despite not winning the tournament, we still all played really well and are now looking forward to another year of hockey!

Miranda C and Charlotte C Senior Team The senior hockey team this year have excelled in all matches and have been very successful in most. We ended by winning our last match 9-0 which was a brilliant end to an amazing season. All girls have worked hard this year to balance their work load while maintaining committed to the team. Despite some matches being unfortunately cancelled this year, by the other team, we still got to play many which we all enjoyed. We had tough matches against schools such as Queenswood however we stayed resilient and strong as a team and didn’t give up, playing our best till the end. We would like Mrs Booth for all the support and patience this year.

Jessica B and Nikki G

Year 8 Congratulations to the Year 8 Team who won the district tournament this year!

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Netball Year 8 A Team Through this season the A team has progressed and excelled very well in netball. Our team work has improved massively which has made us work better together. Our ability to communicate on the court has really shown in our performance. By losing some of our matches we have learnt from our mistakes. The whole team persevered and tried very hard throughout every match, which led us to some great victories over some tough opposition. During training we tried out different strategies and positions to achieve our best in all matches and training. Thank you for all the members of the netball team and Miss Watts that have made this season an amazing experience.

Livvy R, Captain Year 8 B Team This season, the Year 8 B team played very well and worked well as a team to get to where we wanted to be. We won all our matches apart from 1 or 2. Our attack and defence where always successful and always trying hard; we moved a few people to give us the best chance and we succeeded; we shot and defended many goals. All the girls should be super proud and very happy with their performance, I am very happy with how we have improved and grown as a team. We came 2nd in the B team Netball District tournament! Massive thanks to all of the B team. Well done girls it had been an amazing season and so much fun!

Annabelle T, Captain Year 9 The Year 9 netball teams have had another great season with both teams winning the district league. We had some tough matches in the first term against some of the top netball schools in the county including Berkhamstead, who unfortunately the A team lost but the B team won. At the start of the term the A team entered the county tournament at Stanborough School. Maddie W joined this year made a great start and impact by being GS and backing me up in GA. We came 5th with many close matches and a couple of wins. The B team have a great season with winning many of their matches. Thank you to Mrs Joyce for taking the squad and being a great coach!

Stephanie B, Captain Year 11 Although this netball season has been snowy and extremely cold, with a few of our matches sadly being cancelled, this has not fazed the year 11 team. We have successfully won 6 out of the 6 district fixtures we played in, with large goal differences. We were particularly successful against St Margret’s where we won 24-5, Watford Girls Grammar with a score of 17- 1 and Bushey Meads winning 20-10. We were particularly pleased with our score against North London Collegiate,15-3, since they are normally one of our toughest competitors. We have had an amazing season and the results are a credit to the commitment, hard work and determination of the team.

Jasmine L, Captain.

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Netball Senior Team As the end of the 2017/18 season nears as a team we look back on all of our achievements, challenges and memories created throughout the season. The senior A and B team has been made up of: Nikki G, Jessica B, Deniz, Megan E, Anna B, Alex B. Elena, Erin, India, Manayka, Nicole, Summer and Talia Some of the highlights of the season are the A team coming 2nd in the District Tournament- only losing one game against Habs. There have been many extremely nail biting matches such as the B team winning 11-10 against St Clement Danes and the A team sadly losing by 1 goal to North London Collegiate - both were very exciting games to watch, play and umpire. Other successful matches include the A team winning against Dr Challoner’s by a massive margin of 21 goals.

The B team in general have had a very challenging season playing in the A league, against very strong teams but every player did themselves proud and has strengthened players in general.

However, the season hasn’t finished yet! The A team still have the chance to be district league winners and this will decided in our last match against Habs. I think I can speak on behalf of all the Year 13 players that we are going to cherish and enjoy every moment of our last match together. For many of the Year 13s, including myself, this is our seventh and final year of RMS netball. Friendships have been created and strengthened through netball and for me personally school netball triggered my love for netball and my dream of playing for England one day. We cannot thank all of the PE teachers who have been our coaches over the years and a massive thank you to Mrs Pooley especially, we appreciate everything you have done for us and all the time you sacrifice for the team.

Megan E, Captain

Swimming This year the RMS Swimming Team has pulled out all the stops and achieved far and beyond what we might have dared hope for! Both Junior and Intermediate teams won the first round of the League, each with 42 points ahead of second place (Berkhamsted).In October the junior team( Issie, Emily, Laura, Lilly and Diya) and the intermediate team (Mirabelle, Georgina, Maddie, Steph and Ellie)went to the English National Schools Swimming Qualifiers (ESSA) in Watford. The junior team swam amazingly and qualified for the National Finals for the medley relay placing 7th. The intermediate team qualified for both relays (medley and freestyle) placing 1st in the medley relay and 2nd in the freestyle relay, making them 7th in the country for the freestyle relay going toward Nationals.

The London Aquatics Centre has always been visited at least once a year by the RMS girls for to ESSA National Finals. All the girls swam to their best ability and some making new Long Course PBs. The junior team came in at 22nd overall nationally for the medley relay. The intermediate team came 8th in the freestyle relay and 10th in the medley relay nationally.

In the last round of the league each swimmer pushed herself to the extreme: we don’t like to lose and so the intermediates won with 53 points beating their rivals Berkhamsted and St Albans High by 17 points. The juniors did their best and came 4th overall which is an amazing result.

Towards the end of the season our final gala was against Wycombe Abbey School and unsurprisingly, all teams won making the Intermediates undefeated throughout the whole season.

The girls really have performed brilliantly this season from National Finals to the District league and I can’t thank all of you enough for being such a supportive team that has so much enthusiasm for swimming and always wanting to do well. Miss Boddey, Thank you for getting us to National Finals and for all the training you have taken up your lunch times for to help us improve our skills and team work. We could not have done it without you!

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Football Year 7 and 8 The Year 7 and 8 football team has improved so much from the start of the year. The first game we played was against Westfield and we played very well, considering that some girls had never really played a football game before. We had our first victory that day and we were all very happy.

The match against St Margaret’s was exciting as it showed that we could work as a team and defend and attack. This resulted in another win. Every game our performance gets that little bit better due to the extra work we had been putting in at training.

At training, we worked on corners, tackling, off side and simply playing the game of football. In the matches I have noticed that some Year 7s have become more confident with the ball at their feet and are willing to press and even take the ball a little way before passing.

We have progressed immensely this season and we have all played really well in all the matches.

Badminton This year the RMS Badminton team has made very impressive achievements throughout all age groups. The Year 9 Badminton team has been playing particularly well and they have won many matches. In the Doubles tournament in which many schools participated, pair 1 of our Year 9 team came 3rd and pair 2 came 4th! They also won many league matches against other schools. For example, they did exceptionally well in their match against Northwood College where they won 7-2.

They also won their matches against Haberdashers 6-3 and against NLCS 5-4. These were all very tough matches but the girls worked very hard and did a great job in all of their matches always doing their best!

The Year 10 Badminton teams also did well this season. The Year 10 pair 1 came 4th and pair 2 came 6th in their tournament. Both of these were amazing achievements.

The Year 10 team played very impressively also won their matches against St Helens (friendly) and NLCS 5-4.

The RMS Senior Badminton team worked so hard and did their best in every single match. In the Senior tournament pair 1 of the Senior team came 3rd and pair 1 came 9th. The team also did very well against their competitive opponents from Northwood Collage and won 5-4. Two of the amazing players from the senior team took part in a highly competitive Elite Singles tournament and both did very well. This Elite Singles tournament was newly organised this year for the first time and those who participated enjoyed it very much and played in very high standards. Player 1 played very well and got into quarter finals.

Finally, these two together with a pair from the Year 9 team took part in the Elite Doubles tournament for all year groups and both did very well with the Senior team pair coming 4th place.

Overall it was a very impressive season for all year groups for the Badminton team and everyone played very well. I was very proud of everyone's efforts and enjoyed being the captain of the Badminton team this year. I hope that next year is even better for those who will continue to play for the marvellous RMS Badminton team.

Deniz, Badminton Captain

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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...

Abigail W in Year 11, who competed at a Dressage event at Snowball Farm Equestrian Centre earlier this month where she came 4th in a field of 16 in her horse's first event since injury in August 2017

Amelia D, Year 10, has qualified for the British Championships (team trampette, vault and tumbling) in Newcastle in April. Amelia is also taking part in the selection process for the GB team - we wish her lots of luck Grace I in Year 10 who competed in the Intercounties Cross Country Championships, representing Hertfordshire, at Loughborough. The race was a tough 4.5km in extremely muddy conditions. Grace came 8th overall, and 5th in England.

Zuriel was selected for the Hertfordshire team for the English Schools Track and Field Championships

Carys and Aleena who played for Watford Ladies in the 5-a-side Capital Futsal Tournament. They won all four qualifying matches to come top of their group, then beat Hampstead in the semis, sadly losing in the final to a very strong team from Harrow.

Issie J was crowned Under 11 English Youth Fencing Champion and has now also been selected to represent England in Poland this month

Amy P, who qualified for the Under 15 English Junior Squash Open, coming 8th nationally overall

Emma F, who competed in the British Lead Climb Open in Sheffield, against 14 and 15 year old girls from around the country, including 8 who are members of the GB Climb Team. Emma qualified for the finals in 3rd place, and finished 4th nationally overall

Don't forget to let us know about any other achievements - please email details to phopkins@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

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FORMS NEWS It is hard to believe that another term has come to its end. It has been a busy term at school and has been a very busy one for FORMS. It is hard to believe that another term has come to an end. It has been a busy term at school and has been a very busy one for FORMS.

A couple of weeks ago we had our AGM meeting which went very successfully. We have elected members to all of our available positions and have come up with many interesting ideas about how to Increase our profile at school and various fundraising ideas.

Below is the list of the committee members as of AGM election:

Chair - Nicole Whitfield Vice-Chair - Victoria Paul Secretary - Emily Sharps Assistant Secretary - Kellie Adamberry Treasurer - Rick Mitchell Assistant Treasurer - Erwin Keiles

We would like to welcome all the newly elected members! The Chair and Treasurer report, as well as the minutes from AGM meeting will be available on our page of RMS website so please have a look.

Have a lovely Easter everyone and remember that our last event the Summer Fair is on 23rd of June so please save the date! The details will be revealed after Easter holidays!

FORMS

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Coming Next Term...

As ever, the Easter holidays and Trinity Term at RMS are going to be busy...

Here's just a taste of the events we have planned...

Over the Easter break, a group of History students are heading to Vietnam and Cambodia, our Year 7/8 linguists are off to the Opal Coast of northern France or to Alicante, and three of our Year 9 students are heading to Canada on the return leg of the Havergal Exchange - we look forward to bringing you their news next term. And then over the summer holidays, we are looking forward to trips to Mexico and Ghana...

We are very excited that work is starting on the transformation of Alex House into our brand new Faculty building for the Performing Arts. We look forward to bringing you updates as work progresses.... Watch this space!

Sixth Form Taster Day for Year 10 - Tuesday 26th June On 26th June, all our Year 10 students will be spending the day in HInd House, getting a taste of Sixth Form life at RMS. During the course of the day, students will take part in a range of taster lessons and activities, including those subjects offered new at A Level such as Psychology, Sociology, Photography, and Government and Politics. There will also be sessions for those interested in Oxbridge applications, and medical careers.

Parents are also invited to tea at the end of the day, where they will be able to meet with Sixth Form staff, including Head of Sixth Form Mrs Freeman, to discuss any queries they may have about the RMS Sixth Form in general, or ask specific A Level curriculum questions.

This event is open to girls from other schools who may be considering a move for Year 12. If you know of anyone who may be interested in attending, please refer them to our website

Careers Convention 2018 Come along to our Careers Convention on Thursday 3rd May in the Great Hall and meet with representatives from a wide variety of companies and professions.

This event is open to non RMS students from Year 9 and above, so please do feel free to extend the invitation to friends and family!

If you have any questions, please contact Head of Careers Mrs Isherwood via email nisherwood@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk