Machio 2014-15

2014-15 : Edition 91

The Royal Masonic School for Girls

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‘Sunrise over School grounds’ by Mr Spain 1

JournEyS Contents

Page

Introduction

3

Chapter One – Journeys through Michaelmas

4

Chapter Two – Journeys through Hilary

24

Chapter Three – Journeys through Trinity

50

The Royal Masonic School for Girls Rickmansworth Park Rickmansworth Hertfordshire WD3 4HF

Editors: Mrs Fryer Miss Mordue Miss Reidie Guy Moultrie

+44 (0)1923 773168

Front cover design: Sophie Bates, Year 13

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk 2

JournEyS Introduction

The title of this year’s edition of the school magazine came about after several meetings where the Machio team threw ideas around (not literally), and both Miss Reidie and Miss Mordue were incredibly patient. One idea was even to include the band ‘Journey’ (which admittedly was mine) but unfortunately it got turned down; although I won’t stop believing.

Journey (noun) : An act of travelling from one place to another.

The second you drive past the front gates of RMS you understand that this is no place to stand still. From the bustling car park in the mornings and afternoons to the brilliant groundsmen and women who are tending to all of RMS’s beautiful grounds, everyone within this school is on their own journey. Even our wonderful kitchen staff can be seen speeding through The Garth in their new and improved golf buggy.

This year's Machio encompasses all the ideas of 'journeys' throughout RMS and their roles in developing us as people. From Mrs Rose's well known journey on her bike to the journeys that are more further afield that our international students make to join us, this year’s Machio is full to the brim with creative and interesting stories, poems and art from across the year.

Journey (noun) : A long and often difficult process of personal development.

Sat here writing something for the seventh edition of Machio from my time at RMS, my mind is thrown back to the very first day I stepped through those gates myself. Whether you joined RMS in Ruspini, Cadogan, or even the Senior School, you will most definitely leave with the sense that you really and truly have been on a journey of personal development.

Verity McVey, year 12

Many thanks to…

All the students (and staff) in the Machio Team (above) this year for all their hard work and ideas for the magazine, and everyone who contributed work to this year’s Machio.

3

s a m l e a h c i M

Trinity Hilary

‘Autumn Morning’ by olivia tomlinson 4

Journeys through Michaelmas 5

JOURNEYS throughº Welcome to a new Life!

Hello, we are Paula and Leyre, and we would like to talk

was going to be like in a movie. They try to make you feel at

about our experiences at RMS.

home, but nothing would ever replace your house, your family, your country… at least the first year when you came

First of all, we would like to introduce ourselves (even though

back, everything is different. You feel more confident,

we already know each other). We both come from Spain,

because you already how everyone is, and how the school is

which is a country located in the South of Europe. We came

going to be.

to England, mainly to improve our English level, but we have also learnt lots of new things such as how is it to share

We both agree that slang is of the hardest things to learn, and

everything with 44 people and live with them in the same

the one that takes longer to learn. At school, we don’t learn

house, but the most important thing is to realize how lucky

slang, so when we come here we hear new words that we

you are to live with your family, to have your own house and

have never heard before such as bae, ily, ain’t, lol, omg. We

to appreciate all the stuff you have.

had no idea of what they meant. In Spain we have different slang, for example we use English words such as heavy, hey,

The first time we found out we were going to come a term

love you, omg. But after hearing it a few times you finally get

abroad, we both started crying. We could only think in all the

used to it.

bad things about it such as being the new girl, to share a room with a stranger, to live without your parents… The first

Being off for a term is an amazing experience that we both

weeks at RMS were very difficult and scary. We were really

highly recommend. It helps you to learn a different language,

shy and we felt homesick, because we were both used to

it shows you how other people live, it makes you realize how

seeing our parents every day, and suddenly you don’t see

lucky you are, and as it allows have an amazing time, meet

them in 3 months. Our English level was terrible so even if we

new people, cultures and learn a huge variety of new things

wanted to talk to someone we did not know what or how to

that could be really useful for our career and job. So, if you

say it. This makes everything more complicated, but that was

have a chance, don’t waste it!

our goal, and we needed to deal with it.

Leyre & Paula, year 10

After a few weeks, everything slightly go better, at school the lessons got clear enough at least to know what they were talking about, the teachers FINALLY memorized our names (more or less), some girls started talking to us and we made a few new friends.

We soon realized how different our lives were compared to most of the day girls. To begin with, in our school there are not as many foreigners, so we are not used to other cultures, religions and languages. During the weekends, instead of going to other people’s houses or going to the main cities to

Arrival

MICHAELMAS

Arrival

NE ESPMAadG rid

do some shopping, we go out with our fixed group of friends which is usually very big. Most of the people live in the main cities, or quite close to them. So for example, Leyre/me I live 10 minutes away walking from the centre and I always hang out with the same group, even though we often mix up with other people as well. We hardly ever go to other people’s houses because it is usually sunny and hot. The main cities are not as big as London so therefore you mix up with lots of people of our age and above.

When we arrived we had no idea how everything was going to be like in the boarding house. But we soon realized that our expectations were completely wrong. We both thought it 6

º Michaelmas Christmas at ruspini

Chapel was used for assemblies each week, for services for Boarders on Sundays, for Christmas and Easter Services for Senior School and Cadogan House and many visits from classes and individuals. The Remembrance Sunday Service in November was especially memorable because, in recognition of the hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the First World War, we had a splendid display of poppies that helped focus attention on the significance of the event.

reverend Quill, School Chaplain

Cadogan House Heads We are honoured to have been chosen to be head and deputy for Cadogan House for this academic Year. Most people ask us whether it is a difficult job but to be honest it is an amazing role and we couldn’t imagine better teachers to help and guide us along the way. Each girl is an individual

and it that sense we are no different from

around the school. We have gained more

everyone else. We often think we have to

courage to stand up in front of crowds to

be perfect, but nobody is perfect so again

speak. Year 6 will leave lasting memories

we are just like our friends. We have had

and we will never forget our experience as

our ups and downs, but we have enjoyed

head and deputy of Cadogan house.

every moment. For many girls the Year 6

Jennifer Wood and Anna-Sophia Montesdeoca roy, year 6

experience has created many long lasting friendships, just like us! Each morning we ring the bell and it is nice to greet teachers

Edinburgh Fringe Festival In August 2014 during the Summer Holiday, a group of year 13 girls wrote, produced, directed and performed a piece named ‘Lady Madonna’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, under the About Turn Theatre Company. This was a new and exciting experience for all, with members given responsibilities which included being producer, set and costume designer and lighting technician. It was a real team-effort to create the piece which looked at the different images that Madonna had created for herself throughout her life and we performed it through acting, dancing and of course singing her iconic songs. Some of the performers had more experience than others, but everyone gained a lot from this amazing experience. From the handing out flyers daily on ‘The Royal Mile’ every morning, to cooking all our meals in the apartment, it was an amazing experience. We all found it very inspiring to be performing at this worldrenowned festival, as well as being able to watch so many other amazing and unusual pieces. It was a great way of developing our performance skills, learning about the Performing Arts Industry through first-hand experience, as well as making new friends

Lauren Keiles & Alice Grigg, year 13

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MICHAELMAS

Chapel

JOURNEYS throughยบ

A ICErLrival AND

6J

iceland!

On the first

REY uly 2014 KJA VIK

day of the summer holidays, a group of sleep deprived but very excited RMS girls arrived at

ND A L E C I arture Dep 2014 y l u J 10 JAVIK K Y E R

school with bags full of took a dip in the hotel pool before going to bed, excited for

warm layers, ready to set

the days ahead.

off on our journey to

The Alfagja rift valley

Iceland.

On the second day of our trip we woke up

Thankfully we arrived at

early for our first full day

the airport on time, and

in Iceland. After a quick

were soon on the plane

breakfast we got on the

to the land of ice and fire. During the flight I was lucky

coach, and went to our

enough to sit next to our tour guide, Tony, who taught me

first stop: The Thingvellir

how to pronounce the name of the infamous volcano,

National Park. This is a

Eyjafjallajoekull.

section of the major rift Coming out of the airport in Reykjavik, the first thing we

The approach to the amazing Gullfoss Waterfall

noticed was the very cold wind, and we were glad to climb aboard the coach that was waiting for us.

Our first stop was the Bridge

American tectonic plates that runs through

climbed down and walked through

spans the Alfagja rift valley, which

MICHAELMAS

Eurasian and the North

the centre of Iceland. We

Between the Continents, which

The Kysuvik Mud Puddles

valley between the

marks the boundary of the

the valley, amazed by the size of the rift. We found our first

Eurasian and North American

waterfall of the trip and were excited for what was to come.

continental tectonic plates.

After leaving the National Park we headed to see various

We made an unscheduled stop

geysers, most notably Strokkur Geysir which erupts every 6-8

next to a relatively small pseudo

minutes at a staggering 18m high! We spent time wandering

crater near the bridge. Pseudo

through the different geysers, being able to see the beautiful

craters occur when hot lava

coloured rock and bubbling blue water, but yet again were met by the familiar smell of

bubbles up and solidifies, forming what looks like a mini volcano, but

sulphur.

not connected to the magma

We had lunch

chamber. We climbed up to the top and walked right around

then headed to

the crater. The wind was very strong and we nearly got

our next visit of

blown off the edge, but it was very exciting, not to mention

the day, the

a great photo opportunity.

Gullfoss waterfall.

Next we visited the Krysuvik Mud Puddles, situated in the

We climbed

middle of the fissure zone on the mid atlantic ridge. There,

straight up to the

we could see hot, sulphurous springs bubbling up from beneath the ground. We could also smell the sulphur, very very clearly.

After a long day of flying, driving and trying not to get

Underneath Gullfoss Wa the amazing terfall

viewpoint from which we were able to see the massive double tiered waterfall in its entirety, complete

blown away by the wind, we finally arrived at the hotel,

with a rainbow. By

where we were fed a delicious dinner. Some of us even 8

º Michaelmas were amazed at just how enormous it was! After taking far too many pictures we walked back to the coach.

Up to this point we had been generally very lucky with

Jokulgil, is about 13 km long. Whilst there we walked

weather apart from being a bit cold, but as we headed to the

(supposedly an easy walk) around fumaroles and steam

Kerid crater it started to rain. For the few of us who decided

vents, showing that hot magma is not too far beneath your

to brave the weather we were able to walk around the edge

feet. Around the fumarole mouths, the variety of colours

of the crater and look in at the amazing blue volcanic lake

indicates the various minerals that are deposited there from

surrounded by the red crater edge. By the time we got back

the volcanic steam.

on the coach we were tired but happy after a busy day.

Later we all got dressed into our bathing suits and bikinis and

The next day we went to the famous Blue Lagoon. Before we

began swimming in a geothermal heated stream. Bubbles of

could relax and swim in the lagoon’s geothermal sea water

hot water rise up from the fine gravel streambed causing a

we had to sprint from the warm building into the lagoon, I

lovely place just to relax. Then after a long hard day of

think it was the fastest any of us had sprinted.

walking and swimming we left Landmannalaugar, and returned to the hotel, eagerly awaiting our dinner and finding

There were face mask stations around the lagoon and we all

out that the Wi-Fi had finally started to work once again.

took advantage of them and covered ourselves. It was a change from the walking and hiking and an experience I will

Thursday 10th July, was our last and final day in Iceland. After

never forget.

checking out of Hotel Ork, we said our goodbyes and departed for the Perlan.

Having departed from the Blue lagoon we continued to the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. We had the chance to explore

After an hours drive we eventually arrived at our final activity

the magnificent museums and sights of the city, as well as a

of the trip. The Perlan is one of Reykjavik’s most recognizable

bit of shopping. The church, Hallgrimskirkja is visible from

landmarks. It is a spectacularly designed multifunctional

20km away.

building, which serves as an observatory, restaurant and a conference center and visitor attraction. The restaurant sits

After a long day out we all got back on the coach to return to

on top of four gigantic tanks, which hold the city’s hot water

our hotel. Looking at the unique and barren scenery outside

after it is pumped from geothermal wells outside the city.

the windows made the journey go quickly. Once we got back we had some free time to reflect on our day and relax. After

From our experience the ice cream was also delicious, as the

dinner some us of took advantage of the heated swimming

teachers treated us to one scoop each, which we all

pool outside as well as the Jacuzzi.

devoured instantly! The view from the viewing platform was incredible. Seeing a fantastic view, four floors up, provided a

On the 8th we departed from the hotel at 9am. We first

memorable scenic perspective over the city for our final

travelled to Iceland’s most active volcano, Hekla, which last

glimpse.

had eruptions in 2000 and 1991. We travelled around the base of Hekla, which is 1,450 m and it is part of this 25 mile

Once we departed the Perlan, we took in everything from this

long volcanic ridge. Due to the unique shape of Hekla the

amazing opportunity of a trip and arrived at Reykjavik airport.

locals say it looks like an overturned boat and its keel being in

We checked in and were allowed some free time to get last

fact a series of craters, two of which are generally the most

minute gifts and dinner.

active.

Many of us didn’t want to go home, but were relieved to be

Afterwards we travelled to Landmannalaugar, which is a lava

back after a long flight, and the majority of us were looking

field situated in a valley between colourful mountains at the

forward to sleeping in our own beds.

dark edge of the field. Many hot and cold springs create a

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and was such an

bathing warm brook, where people bathe. The banks of the

amazing, informative trip. Thank you to Miss Williams, Mrs

brook are boggy but it is forbidden to use soap. The

Couldridge, Mrs Freeman, Mrs. Simpson and Miss Cook for

mountains are split with gullies and gorges, one of which, the

making this trip so momentous.

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MICHAELMAS

walking further down we were able to get a closer look and

JOURNEYS throughº Berlin Year 11 Historians visited the German capital city, Berlin. This trip consolidated our knowledge of Weimar, Nazi and Cold War Germany. It was an intensive four days where we learnt a lot, walked a lot, ate a lot, walked a lot, laughed a lot, walked a lot, learnt a lot and walked a lot.

On our first day we were a little sleepy after the very early start, but this pain was eased by the relaxing experience of travelling through Terminal 5. We were met in Berlin by our guide Finn who took us to our hostel – a loft conversion in a trendy area of the city. On our first trip out of the hostel we rode on the tram and walked right through the middle of a prolife protest. We spent the afternoon in the German Historical Museum and tasted some of the best apple strudel in town!

crowded and went down into the camp kitchen.

Cesar told us insightful stories about the camps; from money laundering to escape plans. The visit was moving and memorable, something that will stay with us throughout our lives.

surviving sections of the Berlin Wall and

In the evening we took a sunset trip up to

learned a bit more about its history.

the top of the glass dome of the

After lunch, we moved onto the memorial

Reichstag, the German parliament. From

to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which

here there are views across the city. It

occupies a spot very close to the

was designed by Norman Foster, the

Brandenburg Gate and was erected after

architect who designed the Gherkin and

much debate over how to honour those

you can walk on a platform all the way up,

murdered during the Holocaust. It

whilst listening to an audio tour along the

consists of lots of differently sized

way. At the very top we could lay back

concrete blocks and once you walk down

and look at the stars through the glassless

into the middle of it, it is quite an eerie

space that serves to collect rainwater.

experience.

On Sunday we took a trip out of the city to

This was a highlight of the trip for many of

the Olympic Stadium, built by Hitler in

us. We ambled back, pausing for a few

1936 for the Olympic Games. He used

photos at the Brandenburg Gate, and

this event to show off Germany to its full

stopping for the obligatory Starbucks.

potential and showcase what he deemed to be the ‘master race’. The sports and cultural life of today’s Berlin would be unimaginable without the “Berlin Olympic Park” built for the 1936 Olympic Games.

The stadium is the home of Hertha BSC; Bundesliga games and international soccer matches take place here.

MICHAELMAS

which were horrifically

1980s music for a good two hours.

with Barnaby, who was quite possibly one of the tallest men we’ve ever seen. He split his time between making music and raving about Berlin with the deepest voice in Germany, which made him captivating to listen to. From drawing a map of Berlin amused all day long. We saw Museum

Sachsenhausen Concentration camp.

Island, the Berliner Dom, the city’s largest

This is a very bleak place. The camp was

church and Bebelplatz, the site of the

used primarily for political prisoners from

infamous Nazi book-burnings in 1933.

1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May,

We also visited a world-famous chocolate

1945. We saw the cells where prisoners

shop where there were large-scale

may have been put in solitary

chocolate models of famous Berlin sights

confinement. There are now memorials to

such as the Brandenburg Gate.

had attempted to assassinate Hitler. We also saw reconstructions of barracks,

Germany. We watched Guardians of the Galaxy in 3D, and all became immersed in

our guide Cesar and visited

story of men such as Georg Elser who

to one of only five IMAX cinemas in

we celebrated this along our walking tour

in the sand to his dodgy jokes he kept us

such as Martin Niemoller, and we read the

relaxing evening at the cinema. We went

The next day was Shona’s birthday and

We journeyed to the north where we met

some of the more well-known inmates

In the evening we ventured out for a

Our final day came all too quickly, but we had another sixteenth birthday to celebrate – Izzy’s! More birthday cake gave us a good start to the morning, followed up with a trip to the DDR Museum – an interactive museum all about life in East Germany when it was under Communist control. You could literally smell the coffee for the period and take a drive in a Trabi car. After this we stopped for a quick photo with Marx and Engels, the writers of the Communist manifesto before going for a little retail therapy at Alexanderplatz, the former centre of East Berlin. Much to our delight

We stopped at Checkpoint Charlie, the

we got to visit another great site – the first

most famous checkpoint along the Berlin

Primark store in Berlin and unsurprisingly it

Wall and even posed for a few photos

was as busy and as frustrating as

with some handsome guards. We saw

shopping in England.

10

º Michaelmas In December 2014, Year 10 students of German were offered the opportunity to study at a renowned German language school and visit the Christmas markets. The intention of the trip was to offer extra assistance to those taking GCSE exams in 2016. Simran Sapat wrote the following report about the trip: During the Christmas holidays, Year 10 German students spent three days studying at a German language school in Cologne to enhance their German speaking skills. We learnt new expressions and vocabulary and performed role plays, consolidating our knowledge of the tenses. It wasn’t all about school though, we went ice skating, saw Paddington at the cinema (in German of course), visited “Haus der Geschichte”, Germany’s premier contemporary history museum, where we got to experience life in the former East / West Germany, sampled some tasty chocolate at the ‘Schokoladenmuseum’ and visited the famous Christmas markets. The Christmas markets were a magical experience and we enjoyed putting our German into practise.

Reflecting on the trip, I have now realised how beneficial it was to our studies. I returned with a greater confidence in my speaking skills, and the acquisition of new vocabulary will help me when I start preparing for the listening and reading part of my GCSE.

Simran Sapat, year 10

Bonfire night

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MICHAELMAS

Cologne

JOURNEYS throughº Ghana In the summer of 2014, a small group of us embarked on a two-week adventure to Ghana, which was nothing short of a trip of a lifetime. Whilst out there, the majority of us documented our time in journals; here are some extracts of mine.

Charlotte dormoy, year 12

Da y 2, 26th Ju ly

or fro m Accra . W he n we It too k five hou rs to get to At ork children of all ag es. arrived, we we re surrou nd ed by an d colou r. W he n ng Th ere wa s mu sic, sin gin g, da nci down an d ha d an sat we ent ered the chi ef’ s hou se we r bu ddies. My bu ddy int rod uct ion to the eld ers an d ou so beautifu l. she ’s is M atilda, she ’s fou rte en an d

Da y 3, 27th Ju ly

pa rently it by lou d hy mn s an d chick en s. Ap 0 5:3 at en ok aw s wa ne ryo Eve It’s the mo rni ng. s to say, I’m tired. ha ppe ns eve ry Su nd ay. Ne edles ere d full of be lief for the ir God. Th an ate on ssi pa so s wa ne ryo Eve n lasted for 2 Ch urch wa s just a ma zin g.

It wa s so mu ch fun! Th e sermo hu sia stic g. gin sin d an ng nci da of t un He wa s so ent wa s a hu ge a mo ache r wa s now he re near bo rin g. pre the d an tes nu mi 15 his pa ssion wa s d an hou rs ething, I do n’t kn ow wh at, but . som of lief be a ve ha to nt wa d ove r ag ain an d ma de me about the ha nd of God ove r an ng uti sho en wh n eve le, ab rib ind esc

Da y 4, 28th Ju ly

MICHAELMAS

group W he n we got to the sch ool, my en. ldr chi the h wit ng rki wo y da Tod ay wa s ou r first ba bie s got hit in the face! After the of e on d an t len vio ibly red variou s pla yed net ba ll first. It wa s inc e, the local lan gu ag e. We lea rnt . We als o Ew in son les a ve ha to n tur r t 1 is De ka all cla sse s it wa s ou d we lea rnt nu mbers, I kn ow tha rious try ing to an n, tte go for dy ea alr e I’v ich ph ras es, wh ; it wa s hila n’t exi st in the En gli sh alp ha bet talked about the lett ers that do pro nou nce eve ryt hin g.

Da y 7, 31st Ju ly

ha d so s the mo st stre ssf ul lesson we ’ve wa It s. fan g kin ma on son les ple bit but as For cra fts we pla nn ed a din g an d colou rin g wa s the sim o the ir fan s fol the h, wit rt sta to e fin s wa the glitter ont far I thi nk. It cit em ent aro se. We would pou r ex the out me ca ter glit the as soo n nd s in the glitter an d wipe it on ha ir the put uld wo en ldr chi wh ere the y’d glu ed an d the n the spa rkling. we re the ir faces. Eve n the old er on es

12

º Michaelmas

W he n we arrived at the rai nfo res t it wa s rai nin g. Qu ite hea vily I ma y ad d, but it wa s wa rm rai n, ma kin g thi ng s better som eh ow. Th e clim b to the ca nopy wa lk wa s tiri ng in the rai n an d heat, I saw on e wo ma n wa lki ng in stilett os, I ha ve no ide a how! Th e wa lk itse lf wa s a ma zin g an d I ca n fin ally say I’ve be en to a rai nfo rest.

Da y 10, 3rd Au gu st

It’s mi dd ay at the mo me nt. W e we nt to an oth er sla ve ca stle thi s mo rni ng; it wa s a lot big ge r tha n the pre vious on e an d act ua lly loo ked lik we re roo ms which we ren ’t pa rtic e a ca stle. Th ere ula rly big that ha d to fit ove r 200 me n in ea ch, it wa s horrible. Th ere ’s an oth er ca stle lat er, but it’s opt ion al, I thi nk I’m going to vis it it, I mean how ma ny get to go sig ht see ing in Gh an a? cha nces do you

Da y 14, 7th Au gu st

Later on in the aft ern oon we we nt to the lag oon an d a sm all group of us tried to tea ch som e of ou r girls to swim. M atilda did n’t ha ve an ything to swim in so I ga ve he r my clo the the water. We we re tol d that the s to wear in girls did n’t kn ow how to swim an d the majority we re sca red of the water but the girls that ca me in enjoyed it. Th ey lau gh ed an d spl ash ed, I ca n’t be lieve we ’re lea vin g the m tom orrow, I do n’t wa nt to go.

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MICHAELMAS

Da y 9, 2n d Au gu st

JOURNEYS throughº the Gothic Man comes again!

– A review He perched on his chair, rigid and very still, apart from the conspicuous drumming motion of his fingers against the armrest of his chair. The lights suddenly dimmed. It was then he began to

At the beginning of this year, we were awarded the British

reveal the secret of two breathtakingly dark stories that sent chills

Council International School Award.

down all of our spines!

The International School Award is a badge of honour for

The Gothic Man (real name Rupert Mason from RedHeart

schools that do outstanding work in international education,

Theatre) narrated two unforgettable stories and portrayed them in

such as through links with partner schools overseas.

a way that gave me a real insight and feel into what the

Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at

atmosphere and mood of gothic fiction is all about. I found it

the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that

impressive how he was able to act out multiple characters by

young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they

giving each character a particular voice with a very distinct

need to live and work as global citizens.

demeanour. The story which really inspired and fired my imagination the most for Gothic writing was ‘THE RED ROOM’ – I was truly haunted by this tale!

• links schools with others around the world • teaches pupils about other countries and cultures

This story was about an isolated man who, under the influence of a man with the withered arm and an old woman, remained for a

• prepares pupils for living and working in the global economy

night in the red room. But he was not alone!

• enhances teaching standards through sharing best practice and teaching methods

‘I saw the candle in the right sconce of one of the mirrors wink and go right out, and almost immediately its companion followed it. The flames vanished as if the wick had been suddenly nipped

• leads to a new, outwardly facing perspective and ethos for the school as a whole

between a finger and thumb, leaving the wick neither glowing nor

The accreditation lasts until 2017 and we have an extensive

smoking, but black.’

portfolio of evidence which was collated in support of our

The dramatic flickering of lights combined with the trembling of

application.

the man’s voice and chilling sound effects had a very powerful

The following comments were made by the assessors:

impact; it sent shivers down my spine!

I felt that this event has really helped me understand and appreciate gothic literature and build upon possible ideas and techniques for creating my own stories in this genre. I was aware of other gothic books like Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, but Mr Mason has certainly encouraged me to delve further into this fascinating genre.

Aaliya Abdur-rahman, year 9

Art Corner: Sophie Phillips

MICHAELMAS

Taking part in the Award:

This Impact Evaluation is simply outstanding in every aspect and a real credit to your school. It is refreshing and encouraging to see the level of commitment and passion that you have dedicated to your international education programme. Every activity is completely cross-curricular and they are all appropriately linked with global themes that have resulted in this excellent work. Your ability to embed internationalism into your curriculum in such an apparently effortless manner clearly demonstrates your understanding of the principles and mechanisms of international learning.

Your whole cross-curricular approach to your work and the way you have linked your activities to relevant global themes provide scope for stimulating work. Your school is a shining example of how to guide your international work through clearly planned and delivered activities across an extensive cross-curricular platform. Your partnerships with your international and local schools are impressive and your collaboration provides excellent choices in terms of the languages that are available for you to use to explore relevant global themes.

Ms Claire Lomax 14

º Michaelmas MICHAELMAS

MFL day On Thursday 25th September, the MFL Faculty celebrated the Second Year 8 MFL Day, with a celebration of foreign languages and cultures. Girls took part in many different activities, including dancing, cooking, learning Russian, singing opera, etc. It was a very enjoyable day and all the girls loved experiencing the cultural side of the languages they learn at school and having the opportunity to learn about other languages and cultures. It was a fantastic occasion and it was followed by a successful assembly in which year 8 girls presented to the whole school what they had been up to during the day. We are looking forward to repeating the experience next academic year!

rome At the Plaza, Eleanor and I walked around and got some ice cream, which was amazing. After exploring for a little bit, we decided to sit down at the side of one of the smaller fountains and listened to a band of street performers. It felt like a scene from a film and it was definitely one of those moments that you would have been happy to stay in forever. The sun, the music and calm were perfect.

The tour in the afternoon around the Vatican was lovely. St Pauls Basilica and the Sistine Chapel was just as mesmerising as the first time I’d seen it. The art and architecture never fails to astound.

ROME

The Coliseum tour was amazing, I love it there. The place is just incredible; walking around it feels so

30.10.2014

surreal, like you’re back in history. The tour guide however knew too much about everything, it felt like she talked for hours! After the Coliseum we headed over to the remains of the Forum. Much alike the Coliseum, the air of history was about and it was just a sight to see. Pictures in books don’t do it justice, you have to be there, and you have to experience the atmosphere.

We were supposed to visit the Pantheon afterwards but it was unfortunately closed. Eleanor and I did a little more exploring and came across an ice cream parlour containing over 150 different flavours of ice cream. It was more stressful than revising for GCSEs!

Charlotte dormoy, year 12 15

JOURNEYS throughº

our Environment Focus day 2014 On the morning of Thursday 5th September, the wave of blue-clad girls which usually floods through our school gates was replaced by a torrent of green because we were all dressed for a day on which to explore the wonders of our environment and to consider how we as a school can do more to protect it.

The activities for Year 10 included a tree trail in our beautiful and extensive grounds upon which we identified tree species and collected leaves with which to make an open air collage. We also took close up pictures to show the beauty of tree bark with all its textures and some landscape shots to appreciate our local environment in our photography session. Back in the classroom, we brainstormed possible subjects for a debate before enjoying friendly debates between ourselves such as ‘All cars manufactured from January 2015 should be powered electrically’.

Meanwhile, some younger girls visited a room off the kitchens and saw the way in which waste food is handled. They came away determined to reduce the amount of wastage at lunchtime – which costs money and energy to dispose of.

In the launch assembly back in the July 2014, we were made aware of various statistics – such as the amount of energy which can be saved through recycling materials like glass and paper as this directly reduces the quantity which must be manufactured afresh. Whilst as individuals we can play only a small part, together across the county, country and around the world the impact can be truly enormous.

By the end of the day we had a greater appreciation of the lushness of our spacious school grounds which we are so lucky to enjoy. Emily Stewart, the Environment Prefect led the whole school to make a School Pledge for the

MICHAELMAS

environment which is:

“As pupils and staff of RMS we will do all we can to make our school and our world cleaner and safer.”

This Environment Day impressed on us all the importance of looking after our planet and the contribution we can all make to our only home.

Many staff and students also cycled to school as part of National Cycle to Work Day which coincided with the Focus Day.

Miriam Bonney, year 10 16

ยบ Michaelmas Towards the end of October just before half term, we saw the very first Inter-house Pumpkin Carving to celebrate Halloween. Each house had to design a pumpkin which would be judged by the teachers. The Pumpkins were home-grown by Gardening Club on the school plot and each was unique with scary teeth or terrifying eyes and they were put on display for everyone to admire. Cumberland triumphed with an impressive pumpkin designed by the talented students taking Art A-level, followed by Scarborough. It was a popular event and one we hope to see again!

olivia tomlinson, year 11

SCARBOROUG

CUMBERatLAalNieDand Amy

H Jessica, Sarah,Oliv ia

ATHOLL

and Simran

Issie and Niamh

Emma, N

MOIRA

Rae, Bianca, Amelia an

Halloween in Harris As the pumpkin carving was going to plan, there were all kinds of ghoulish goings-on in the Harris boarding House:

17

d Abena

MICHAELMAS

Pumpkin Carving

JOURNEYS throughº

For those who did not manage to see ‘Oh! What a Lovely War’, it can be described in a few words as a humorous, yet at points solemn play with a number of musical numbers - including popular songs actually from the Front Line of World War One. It focuses on addressing the events of World War One from all points of view in the war, including the many different nationalities of soldiers, army commanders and ordinary civilians.

Joan Littlewood wrote the play in the style of Epic Theatre,

The whole cast were also all involved in a large number of the songs, which meant we were constantly on stage or if we were backstage, we had to be constantly ‘on the ball’. The ensemble

which means that it should provoke the audience to take a

nature of the piece and multi-role playing technique did

critical view of the event being depicted. This often meant that the characters had to be exaggerated for the audience to realise this, which made them comedic and enjoyable to act!

sometimes mean the cast got a little confused (which may have resulted in some missed cues in rehearsals), however it truly ensured a friendly atmosphere during the rehearsals, which helped the company bond.

Overall, the final result was a compelling and powerful piece, which accurately reflected the emotions and turmoil of many different civilians involved in World War One. This was aided by the great lighting design by Bethany Gupwell and the effective costume and props system run by Mrs McCarthy and her helpers as well as all those backstage. I’m sure those who managed to see the show realised the historical importance it

Rehearsals for our production started in September when the whole cast assembled to start learning the musical numbers and discover more about the play. As the play has a lot of ensemble

since the start of the War was very appropriate, and I was proud to be a part of it.

work this meant we were allocated a number of parts

Katie Munroe, year 12

throughout the play that were often very contrasting. For

MICHAELMAS

carried, and I feel our performance in the 100th anniversary

example, I played a number of roles including an English Soldier and an Austro-Hungarian Street seller.

18

º Michaelmas

Adm

Horst at the V&A

it on e adu lt

adult Admit one

On 16th October the Year 13s photography class went to see the Horst Exhibition at the V&A Museum in London. Horst was a famous Fashion Photographer and took photographs for Vogue for 60 years. During our visit, we saw a variety of his work, including his well-known fashion photographs and also his personal work, such as patterns from plants.

The prints were beautiful and the composition of the photographs was amazing. There were both black and white and bright colour prints – all taken with film.

The images are not all about fashion and Horst has a very special way of composing his images, arranging his models and blending their clothes into the background. In some of his photographs he has mixed his models with hand drawn sketches. For example, he has included a little drawing of a smiley face on a balloon, which was comical! I learnt a lot about the importance of composition, light and the effectiveness of shadows.

I really liked the way that colours seemed to create shapes within his images. One of my favourite images is the photograph of a woman’s back, wearing a corset. The alignment of her two arms in the composition of the image is captivating. I would sincerely encourage anyone with an interest in photography, fashion, textiles, art or graphics (even cartoons!) to go and experience the magic of Horst. This exhibition is truly inspirational! Thank you to our photography teachers for organising this wonderful trip. We always like an outing!

Jessie Boyer, year 13

19

MICHAELMAS

Boarders in London!

JOURNEYS throughº time travel

were being treated, just like Dr Barnardo was. What an amazing man; never turning a child away. We took on the role of different

Year 6 travelled back in time to discover how life has changed for children in Britain since Victorian times.

characters and debated whether children should work. Some of us had to support children working whilst other characters were totally against this. There were plenty of heated discussions between both sides. The debate helped us to understand how complicated the situation was.

We started by meeting children from the Victorian period that had to go to work to help buy food and clothes for their families. The Industrial Revolution created many new jobs, in factories and mines, and many of these jobs were done by children, because children were cheap and were small enough to

Many laws were passed to protect children throughout the Victorian Period. Towards the end of Queen Victoria’s reign all children under the age of ten had to go to school. We went to Reading Museum to understand more about schooling. We dressed in our school uniform with white pinafores to protect our dresses. We had to walk in a perfectly straight line into the classroom and sat down at desks in rows. Once we were all seated, we were greeted solemnly by our teacher for the afternoon. He was tall and stern and did not smile at all. All of the lessons were interminable; nothing like our lessons at Cadogan House!

climb under equipment. Some of these children were as young as five years old, climbing chimneys for over ten hours per day. Can you imagine our Reception children having to climb chimneys?

100 times worse than they are today. If you misbehaved you got caned or had to stand in the corner with the dunces cap on. We had to practise our

Some of the poorest families and

MICHAELMAS

The punishments were

orphans were sent to the Work House. This was even worse; families were split up and had to work for

handwriting using ink pens in copy books. We were really nervous about making a mistake!

We then moved forward in time to find out about a boy called Archie Dobson by performing a play at the World War One Commemorative Evening. Archie really helped us to understand

hours each day so that they could have a bit of food and a roof over their heads. Oliver Twist was one of these boys.

how the war affected him and his family and how millions of families across to world were changed forever.

Moving on again … we empathised with the children who encountered the Blitz during the Second World War and wrote a

We were appalled at how children 20

diary entry titled 'A Night in the Shelter.' To help us with this, the sound of the air raid siren was played sporadically and on hearing

º Michaelmas Dear Diary, As the wailing sirens pierced the cold evening air, complete panic gripped my pounding heart. I ran blindly to the Anderson shelter that lay half hidden at the bottom of the garden. With each step I took, the claw like hand of panic that gripped my fear struck heart, tightened like a vice. I scrambled down the ladder and crouched with my mother and sister in the confined space. The high-pitched whistle of a falling bomb cut through my heart like a knife. The damp floor of the shelter made my feet – that were only protected by socks – numb with cold.

A whistle sounded particularly close and as I heard a loud

this we had to duck under our desks and try to imagine what it

bang, the stench of smoke crept slowly up my nostrils. I

would have felt like for those who actually caught up in the Blitz.

could taste the smoky odour as it engulfed the cramped

We also dressed up in a variety of clothing and produced ‘freeze

room. Another bomb fell and it exploded dangerously close

frames’ to depict being in a shelter as well as studying Henry

to the shelter that we were huddled in. The shelter was

Moore’s shelter drawings. Writing our diary entries, all of our

blown to bits and we were left stranded with no shelter to

emotions were much the same; fear, trepidation, panic and

protect us. Sharp pieces of corrugated steel panels rained

optimism that someday it would all be over.

down on us, cutting and grazing my shaking body.

Because of the bombing, many children were sent away from

We fled to the nearest underground and as we ran we gazed

home as evacuees. We did the same! We went on a trip to

in horror at the destroyed houses that made up our street.

Tenterden Steam Railway to experience what it was like to be an

Bombs were falling all around us as we leapt over dust-

evacuee. First we got to see and laugh at how people were

clogged rubble. We threw ourselves down the steps of the underground and onto the platform. Like frightened chicks, women, children and a few men lay huddled together.

Struggling to find a space to huddle, we picked our way through the sea of people. Eventually we did; we crouched down and I recognised several familiar faces. My heart was pounding and my mind was racing, going over the night’s happenings. Our house was in ruins, bombs were falling, father was away fighting, and for all I knew the rest of my friends and family were dead.

My sister was dozing but mother and I could not sleep.

Anxiously we waited for the all-clear to sound; I stared at

dressed as an evacuee, Mrs Brown was dressed beautifully as a

mother who was wide-eyed and dishevelled. This was going

teacher. Former evacuees told us of their real-life experiences. We

to be a long night! (I hope this never happens again!)

learnt and made rationed chocolate spread using mashed potato.

Eventually, the all-clear sounded and I realised that I had

It was disgusting!

spent a whole night in the shelter and survived! I eased my

Finally we moved into the 21st Century. Having looked back at

exhausted body off the floor and instantly winced because of

the past and children using dip pens and slates, we have also

the tremendous cramp in my legs. I had to go and help

transitioned so that each of us have an iPad to help our learning.

clear away the rubble that is left of our house…

This has been another big change for children. We are sure that

Ellie Viney, year 6

when our children look at our childhoods they will be as amazed by them as we are of the Victorian inventions.

21

MICHAELMAS

A night in the Shelter

JOURNEYS throughº BILLET De: Nom:

Rickmansworth Royal Masonic School for Girls

A:

Calais, France

Aller/Retour

Vive La France!

In September we went on a trip to France for a day. We went to a Sweet Factory to learn about how they make sweets. It was a really great experience as we got to try lots of sweets, such as hard boiled ones that tasted like parma violets.

e sunshine A quiet break in th

We went for a walk around the town and we all got berets and wrote postcards to family back at home. We ate at a

Time for lunch in the café

restaurant for late lunch and looked around the town. There were lots of interesting and strange shops and we went through the town to their local park.

On the trip we learnt how to make sweets, different types of French buildings, what they sold in the market and we practised our French speaking.

We had a lovely time in France and we really loved the sweets!

Posting our postca rds home

Anna traill & Emily roycroft, year 5

Performing Arts in the Sixth Form – a “newcomer’s” perspective Coming from a French State School, (where there was very little

also encouraged to make their own groups if there is not a club that suits their interest. This led to me and two other girls starting up a Brass trio and others founding a string ensemble, both of which played in the Ensembles and the Spring Concert.

As well as being able to perform in the musicals and plays at

in the way of Performing Arts), to an English Boarding School I

RMS, there is the opportunity to help out with either backstage or

didn’t quite know what to expect in the way of the Performing

Front of House (all being equally important in order for the show

Arts extra curriculum.

MICHAELMAS

Ooh la la!

to run smoothly). Within the first few months of being at RMS I

At RMS there are two main orchestras: Sinfonia and RMS

had helped out with Front of House for Sunset Boulevard and

Orchestra (both are small symphony orchestras). Throughout my

after that there was nothing stopping me – I went on to work on

two years at RMS I have played the trombone (which is my main

every school production thereafter!

instrument) in Sinfonia and the cello (which is my second

Overall, Performing Arts at RMS offers a wide range of

instrument) in RMS Orchestra. But one of the most exciting

opportunities and there really is something for everyone – ranging

experiences came in my second term at RMS. Within my first

from orchestras, to dance groups, to rock bands etc. And if the

week here, I joined RMS Voices, and enjoyed it so much that I continued to sing in it for the next two years! In Year 12, we took

club you want doesn’t exist just start it up yourself!

part in a concert singing Carmina Burana at the Royal Festival

My only word of warning would be that with so much choice,

Hall. I’m sure that none of us who participated in the project will

don’t take on more than you can handle, sometimes I didn’t

ever be likely to forget the experience.

know where to draw the line!

Despite the sheer number of choirs and ensembles, students are

Melisande Bonicel, year 13

22

º Michaelmas ruspini at work & play…

When I was a child schools were criticised for allowing their students to read books written

by Enid Blyton. It was thought there were better works of literature for developing the minds and the reading skills of young children. One fan of Enid Blyton recalls that her books were banned from his household. But, he was too young to read Dickens so he turned to Blyton instead, finding them “terrific pageturners” that he “could actually finish”. I too learnt to love reading through the adventures of ‘The Famous Five’ and ‘The Secret Seven’.

Jamie Oliver has recently criticised some schools for lack of ambition in cooking only fairy cakes in cookery lessons. I understand the point he is making but I think if making fairy cakes inspires children to cook they will develop their skills and talents in the kitchen.

We too occasionally cook fairy cakes at RMS, however we also cook a range of other dishes. The girls learn and develop many skills which they will be able to apply and adapt to other recipes as they proceed through their culinary journey at school and beyond.

In Cadogan and lower school the girls will be equipped with the skills they will need to feed themselves a healthy diet at university and beyond. The girls who go onto to take GCSE Food & Nutrition develop higher level skills such as homemade ravioli and soufflés.

Maybe some of our girls will

Art Corner: Isobel Shaw

progress from fairy cakes to being the next Angela Hartnett or Monica Galetti in the same way as that fan of Enid Blyton, Michael Morpurgo, went on to write ‘War Horse’.

Mrs Clivaz 23

MICHAELMAS

A Culinary Journey

Hilary

Trinity

Michaelmas

‘Springlined road’ by Mr Spain 24

Journeys through Hilary 25

JOURNEYS throughº Beijing 2015 The bags were really heavy, the girls were excited, they were going to

quite hot that day so we looked at the shops and then went to have dinner.

BEIJING

Beijing!

We met the other exchange students

were all very tired and went to sleep straight away.

27:04:15

The next day (after school) we went to a Hot Pot restaurant, this was new to

from The John Lyon School at the

us as we don’t have Hot Pots in England.

airport and did a little bit of duty free shopping, came back half

We got a variety of food and cooked it ourselves in the Hot Pot, It

an hour later smelling like an explosion in a perfume factory.

When we got on board the plane, we opted for watching movies before changing planes at Doha.

was very yummy!

Over the next few days we visited the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, The Great Wall and many more sites.

When we got to Beijing it was late afternoon. We walked to see the school, Harrow International Beijing, where we would be

At school we have made many friends, they are all very kind,

going to school for the next two weeks. We met the head

considerate and funny! The Teachers are also very nice and

teacher and some of the members of staff and girls who were

friendly!

really friendly. We went out for dinner which was really tasty. We

We enjoyed the P.E Hannah and Minnie played football which

then relaxed for a while at the hotel.

was very interesting. At first it was hard because we were the

On the first day of school everyone was quite nervous but

only girls in the activity and everyone else on our team was

incredibly excited when we went in. Hannah and Freya were put

Korean so we found it hard to communicate but, Minnie set up a

in a form together and so were Minnie and Ice. Our forms were

goal Hannah set up another two goals and scored one goal

both really friendly. The lessons were interesting and students are

herself. Our team won, we communicated by shouting basic

allowed to listen to music and use their phones, it was a change!

English words like “computer” and “water bottle” it was incredibly

We did a range of activities including going to a market where we haggled a lot, which was really fun. We went to go ice skating but the river we were meant to go on had melted because it was

HILARY

Once we arrived back at the hotel we

26

funny and we showed them how competitive RMS girls are.

Minnie ryder, ice Lee, Hannah roberts and Freya McGuinness, year 11

Âş Hilary Science Live

Mandarin is an extremely interesting

On the 26th of February 2015, a

language to learn and helps to set you apart

group of year 9 RMS girls attended

from others.

a GCSE Science Live lecture event,

I initially decided to study it as I was drawn to the beautiful characters and wanted to learn more. After a few years of learning Mandarin, I developed a love for the subject. Although very challenging at times, I enjoyed exploring Chinese culture, learning the history behind characters and writing Mandarin passages. I

SC EN CE LIVIE

which took place in the heart of London at the Dominion Centre. This was certainly a very exciting and enlightening experience which the girls will not forget! We were very much looking forward to the prospect of investigating how Science is put into practice in the real world, outside of the confines of the classroom. The lectures were carried out by various different distinguished scientists who each gave us inspirational talks about a number of intriguing topics.

also was lucky enough to go on a school trip

The lectures were held in a large, elaborate and atmospheric hall, which was

to Beijing, which I will never forget. Whenever

crowded with a broad range of students from numerous different schools.

I tell someone that I speak Chinese, they are

Addressing the audience were a group of eminent scientists, such as Professor

usually very surprised and very impressed,

Steve Jones, who presented a thought provoking speech about the effects of

which is a great feeling. Studying Mandarin

the manipulation of genetics and biodiversity. Professor Jim Al-Khalili delivered

has helped me to receive an offer from my

us a mind blowing speech on the possibilities of time travel to the future in the

first university choice and also get a job at

context of light and time. Another scientist, Dr Aderin-Pocock, whose talk was

Harry Potter World. Being able to speak to

centred on the wonders of space, allowed us to indirectly explore the depths of

natives is particularly rewarding.

cosmos and discover the possible existence of life on other planets such as

I would strongly recommend having a go at

Mars or beyond.

learning Chinese. All you need is

There was one scientist whose speech drew the gathered young students in

determination, perseverance and small

right from the start. Professor Robert Winston gave us an inspiring speech about

writing! I am going to miss studying the

aspects of fertility and gave insights into the findings of his previous researches

subject at school, and would like to give a

into the subject. For me personally, the highlight of his speech was the

huge thank you to Mrs Taylor who has taught

fascinating scientific images of the interior of parts of the human body, such as

me right through from Year 8.

the fallopian tubes and the movements of the fertilised human embryo.

Kate dixon, year 13

In the end, it was a wonderfully engaging day, which broadened the minds of those who attended, inspiring us all with a fresh vigour to discover more about the amazing Science of the world around us.

Aaliya Abdur-rahman, year 9

the Great ruspini Bear Hunt‌

27

HILARY

Mandarin

AD I T ONM E

JOURNEYS throughº Comenius

participation as aspirational goals for

Crotone in Italy, Murcia in Spain, Le

pupils in their personal lives.

Beausset in France and Prague in The

The Royal Masonic School for Girls leads

At a time when schools are expected to

the way in fostering greater understanding

teach British Values, this Europe-wide

across schools in Europe. Values in Our

project has assisted all those involved to

Lives (V.I.O.L.A), a 2 year Comenius

understand what values we share and

project was coordinated by the Royal

how different societies interpret core

Masonic School (RMS). It was based on

values slightly differently. The project has

the RMS Values Programme, which had

given staff and students a deeper

developed from the original aim of making

perspective on values and enriched all

All the schools involved have learned from

the traditional values of the School more

those involved.

the RMS experience and adopted their

overt and meaningful within the lives of all those who work in the RMS community.

There are nine core values, one for each month of the school year and these include Respect, Participation and Compassion in the first term. Courage to Challenge Oneself, Responsibility and Perseverance in the second term and Honesty, Commitment and Tolerance in the third term.

The Comenius Programme itself is a European Initiative and has two main aims: • to develop knowledge and understanding among young people and their teachers about the diversity of European cultures and languages, and the value of this diversity and • to help young people to acquire basic life skills and competences for their personal development, for future employment and for active European

HILARY

citizenship

Czech Republic. For each visit staff and students have been hosted by the partner schools. Visits have involved values based activities, cultural visits and students experiencing life with host families. The experience was sharpened by events such as the Charlie Hebdo atrocity.

own version of a Values based education programme. In each institution this has been adapted according to the needs of the school. Religion, beliefs and historical traditions have influenced the values selected and this individual approach is the key to success.

The list of outcomes is extensive but some of the highlights have been how staff and students from across Europe have worked together collaboratively, sharing ideas and learning from each other. Teaching resources have been developed to assist. For example, a

The V.I.O.L.A project proposal was

Values based project using artworks, a

submitted to the British agency, the British

Values based project looking at historical

Council. As a European initiative, schools

figures, the development of a Values Top

across Europe have the opportunity to link

Trumps game, Open Badges and the

together and work on projects. Seven

culmination of a Values Manifesto for

The Values In Our Lives Project (V.I.O.L.A)

schools were accepted by their own

Europeans to make a pledge to the values

comes at a time when Values in many

agencies to be part of this V.I.O.L.A

of the V.I.O.L.A project.

organisations are under scrutiny and when

project, making it a large project and

the development of character is becoming

receiving total funding of €175,000. It was

a focus for all schools. We believe that this

ambitious as it required a whole school

has always been key for the independent

approach, rather than being subject

sector and that the social and personal

specific. To make a Values programme

development of young people is an

successful, it has to be embedded into

exceptionally strong feature of our

the school ethos and be adopted by all.

schools.Young people require integrity to

The funding for each school has enabled

make good decisions in life, based on

staff and students to share ideas and visit

positive values such as honesty and

the partner schools over a two-year

respect. To assist this, we need to adopt a

period.

Values based approach to education that spans both the academic and personal aspects of school life. Resilience and reciprocity in learning are complemented by cultivating commitment and

The V.I.O.L.A Project has been awarded a British Council eTwinning Quality Mark and has won a British eTwinning Award for the best Comenius project in a British secondary school. This means the project can be submitted into the European Awards in 2016.

Although the project has technically come to an end, the Europe-wide links will continue as will our commitment to educating young people to understand

Our partner schools are all different but we

that ultimately, true success and

have come together as one. Our partners

happiness depend on making the right

have been schools in Vienna in Austria,

choices in life and academic achievement

Taarstrup near Copenhagen, Denmark,

is only one piece of the jigsaw.

28

º Hilary MURCIA March 2015

r 10

– Georgina Norman Yea

I can an unfo rgettable experie nce and “It was an a mazing trip, it was nish Spa my ds for life. It has helped with hon estly say I have mad e frien learnt I gs thin Two es. importa nce of valu and helped me to rem ember the up ng givi not by e, ever ient and to pers about the Valu es were to be resil nd it othe r’s lang uag e and to work arou h eac and erst und whe n we did n't nce erie s t cult ure and enjoy the new exp and also to respect thei r differen Spa in had to offe r” – Alex Browning Year 10

valu es prog ra mm e:: our valu es of frien dship, which is sim ilar to - Oth er schools have the valu e of com pass ion, and tole rance. but were sim ilar or the sa me as ours - Oth er schools had valu es that fit the scen ario.” inte rpreted slightly differently to

“”Two thin gs I learnt abo ut the

– Pepper Macpherson

Year 9

cult ure and whether you are from different “De spit e our man y differen ces, successf ul”. be still all can we es ilar valu background, by sha ring the sim – Minty Evans Year 9

Going on the Comenius VIOLA trip was extremely eye opening to me. I was selected to go on the first trip held in Vienna at the Vienna English School. We were all overwhelmed at how excited the hosts were upon our arrival and they all showed a great interest to learn about our values that we promote at RMS. I found it so touching to see elements we have at school which had made their way over to our partner schools. We all took part in many activities to celebrate our different cultures, and to come up with values which we felt were particularly important in our differing countries and cultures.

Each child participating in the program from the Vienna English School was allocated two or three guests to host for the duration of the trip -this meant that there was a variety of ages, cultures and languages all under one roof. This was probably the most enlightening part of the trip as there were no barriers put up by ages or languages, as everyone was so keen to get the most out of the trip and share interesting elements of their cultures.

I really enjoyed witnessing the growth of the values created at RMS developing and evolving around Europe and noticing how they can be applied at any age in any location. I have seen first-hand the importance of community and friendship through collaborating with the many different partner schools. I was very lucky that I was allowed to help educate others in exploring the values I have been taught in RMS. Although we have nine values here, the trip opened my eyes to the significance of citizenship and that age, culture and language should not interfere with friendship or education.

Sophie Steers – Values Prefect 29

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the school us all to get really invo lved with “The valu es prog ra mm e allowed als and mor ut abo s idea with the sa me activitie s and mak e new frien ds S”. at RM responsibilit ies that we have here

JOURNEYS throughº ruspini is 5!

This year I have acted as Prefect for Ruspini House and visiting every Friday afternoon has definitely been the highlight of my time at RMS. When you walk into Ruspini you notice how colourful it is and you are greeted by all the lovely staff members that work there. I have been involved in many aspects of Ruspini House life such as, talking to prospective parents on open day and helping the children in their Christmas show where they performed ’The Sleepy Shepherd’ and sang beautifully to a full audience. It has also been very interesting for me to see how they learn and interact with each other from a young age and getting a taste of what they get up to on a day to day basis. I have really bonded with all the children and adults in Ruspini House and I am sure I will come back and visit them!

rhiannon Jenkins, year 13

“When I was at Ruspini my favourite thing was dressing up. I dressed up as a princess with special shoes. Evie and I dressed up when it was ‘Breakfast Club’ and then we

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were both princesses. Me and Evie played in

“I really loved my time in Ruspini because we read lots of stories and it was rather funny because we were a bit old and were not allowed to go to sleep so we had to run around the table five times if Mrs Newson or Mrs Bent (now Mrs Ayedun) saw our eyes closing!

the castle and on the slide. We did do

Every Friday we went up to reception and met lots of friends and teachers. We had

cooking sometimes…we made biscuits. My

lots of activities to do and it meant that I was confident to start Cadogan House.

favourite teacher was Miss Lambert because she used to teach me when I was in Blue Class and she sang ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ which was my best song“.

Phoebe Peake, reception

Some of my favourite times in Ruspini were when it was very hot and we got the paddling pool out. We were allowed to splash in it but it wasn’t quite big enough to swim in. Another time was when we had chicks in Red Class. We got to see them hatch. Now senior school have chicks which we went to visit this week.”

Jasmine Patel, year 3 30

ยบ Hilary

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t r A f o l l a W The

natalie rushton yasmin Leggett

Saskia Purr Emma Shaw

tily duce

Georgia Bennett

Anoushka Griggs

thanya Jasinska

Maxine otto

Montana tallentire

31

JOURNEYS throughº Hitler on trial

Commemoration of WW1 in Germany

On the 30th January, Year 11 Historians were given

Although the experiences of soldiers during World War I in Germany were

the opportunity to go to London to witness an

very similar to that of soldiers from the United Kingdom, the

‘exam-busting workshop’ and to watch Adolf Hitler

commemoration of their sacrifice is actually very different.

be tried for war crimes against peace. “Didn’t Hitler commit suicide?” I hear you ask. Well, yes you are perfectly correct in that Germany’s Fuhrer did in fact take his own life at the very end of April, 1945.

However, we, as well as two other schools, were invited to entertain the idea that he had actually lived and was put on trial for his crimes. We were able to watch a handful of talented actors bring to

In Britain, the First World War is usually regarded as the first and most awful case of pan-European war which young people entered in a spirit of optimism and righteousness; in which huge numbers of lives were wasted but which at least ended with the victory and continued freedom of this country. Thus there is a culture of commemoration, remembrance and celebration, in as much as it is possible to celebrate anything connected to a war.

life the court room scene of Hitler’s trial which was

Around the start of the First World War, the mood in Germany was similar

fascinating to see. At the end, the audience were

to that in Britain, but quite apart from the defeat and Armistice, the

invited to cast their vote as to whether Hitler was

subsequent course of history means that any positive aspects of

guilty of his war crimes against peace.

commemoration are now impossible. In Germany, in the aftermath of the

Unsurprisingly, the majority found him guilty, with 88

First World War a group of evil leaders led the country into the darkest and

votes to 63. This alone was a great way to end the

most destructive period of its history. The rise of the Nazis and the

session, but we were unaware of what was yet to

ensuing Second World War have left such a lasting trauma on the German

come; just as the verdict was announced, a

national psyche that war commemoration in Germany is now only

‘civilian’ barged into the theatre. As Hitler fled

possible in the spirit of “it must never happen again”.

uncomfortably near to where we were seated, the

In Britain, the two World Wars are often regarded as similar: two

civilian attempted to assassinate him. The shot fired

occasions where the British fought the Germans and won. In Germany,

definitely caught everyone by surprise but I will

there is a world of difference. The First World War was a horrible and

leave it to you to guess their outcome.

destructive event, but it is a chapter that Germany has come to terms

If what you have read is still not enough to tempt

with. You might, for example come across a street in Germany named

those in the younger years, then ask yourself this:

after Hindenburg or Manfred von Richthofen, or even a university named

do you have an opinion as to whether Hitler was

after Kaiser Wilhelm, but you would never find a road or building named

guilty or not? Do you want to enrich you GCSE

after a Nazi leader.

learning experience? Do you fancy putting the

With the centenary of the First World War, there have of course also been

world’s infamous, evil man behind bars? If so, then I

events, church services, exhibitions and lectures in Germany, but the

guess the History department will see you there in

general profile of World War I in society is lower than in the United

the coming years!

Kingdom, and the focus of remembrance is different.

Katie Bennett, year 11

Today, Germany mourns those who have died in armed conflicts everywhere on the second Sunday before Advent and there is also a commemorative event in parliament to remember the dead and speak out for peace.

Art Corner: Ashley Zhang

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Ms Lomax

32

º Hilary HILARY

their Legacy On Tuesday 28th April, RMS held the first in a series of events commemorating the 100th Anniversary on the First World War. A range of readings and talks were presented, and guests were given the opportunity to browse an exhibition of artefacts from the time, including letters, diaries, posters, deactivated guns, artillery shells and other small military equipment.

To kick-off the event, Helen Morris read a moving poem entitled ‘Battle of Loos’, written by her grandfather who fought in the battle with the 7th division. Launched on September 25th, 1915,

maintained in the face of necessary censorship was ‘The Honour

the Battle of Loos was the largest British offensive on the Western

envelope’ whereby soldiers could request that love letters, or

Front and resulted in the death of more than 8500 men in just one

those containing material they considered embarrassing, would

day, with nearly 60,000 British soldiers killed by the end of the

be censored further up the chain of command so that it was not

battle. The poem was a personal account of one man’s

the soldier’s immediate superior reading the material. Self-

experience of the war during this time and provided an excellent,

censorship also occurred, as the reality of what was going on

if sobering, insight into the life and thoughts of a WWI soldier.

was often hidden by the soldiers from their family. As could be

Other events included Year 6 students from Cadogan House performing a short sketch about a family and their son's experience of the war; members of the Cadet Force giving a talk from the German perspective and reading a German poem about the war; and Year 13 student Faye Moore reading a poem by

seen from the artefact exhibition and the letters read by Miss Hughes, the letters held in the hands of dying men and diaries written in the trenches are the legacy of many soldiers, as they allow us to better understand the experiences of the men who suffered the trauma of war.

Rupert Brooke entitled ‘The Soldier’.

The Soldier Rupert Brooke, 1887 - 1915

me: If I should die, think only this of foreign field a of er corn e som e’s That ther l be shal re The .

That is for ever England ealed; conc dust er rich a h eart rich In that e aware, mad ed, shap , bore A dust whom England s to roam, way her , Gave, once, her flowers to love air, lish Eng g thin brea ’s, land A body of Eng suns of home.

Washed by the rivers, blest by away, And think, this heart, all evil shed less no d, min nal eter the in e A puls ghts by England given; Gives somewhere back the thou py as her day; hap Her sights and sounds; dreams gentleness, and ds; frien of nt lear , And laughter heaven. lish Eng an In hearts at peace, under During the interval, guests were entertained by stories about the

Finally, Ms Gunn recognised the contribution of Old Boys from the Royal Masonic School for Boys in Bushey to the war; their photos and relevant details were displayed as the last post sounded, followed by a minute’s silence. This provided a sombre end to a fitting recognition of the role of young British men in what was supposed to be the ‘war to end all wars.’

artefacts on show and the young children in the audience

The School would like to thank the organisers of the event,

particularly enjoyed finding out how the old guns on display

including Ms Gunn, Miss Hughes, Anoushka Harris, Elizabeth

worked.

Cannon, Bella Scanio and Faye Wilson, as well as all speakers,

In the second half of the event, Miss Hughes talked about the importance of letters from home in maintaining the morale of the soldiers, arguing that the letter could be seen as the ‘most powerful weapon of the war’. One example of how morale was

Year 6 from Cadogan House and those who lent items for the exhibition, in particular, Mr Sandford, the Bartlett family, the Stewart-Ricketts family and Mrs Wiggins.

Mrs Georgellis 33

JOURNEYS throughÂş

ADMIT ONE

YOUNG

ADMIT ONE

ENTERPRISE

YOUNG

ENTERPRISE

younG EntErPriSE‌ Green Glass

imprint

Young enterprise played a very big part of my life in Year 12.

Imprint was an Award

After completing various stages of the company programme, I

winning Young

am very proud to be

Enterprise group

part of such an

that printed unique

efficient team. Young

and selected

Enterprise taught me

designs onto

valuable teamwork

recycled

skills that I will carry

products,

with me in my future

ranging from

journeys. Green Glass

pencil cases to

would not have been

reusable

successful if it was not

bags. As a

for the hard work of all

company we

the members of our

took great pride in our use of

team and the assistance

recyclable materials, playing our part to help the

given by Mrs Loring. There

environment surrounding us. We knew that we wanted to target

have been times that have been challenging, however

a small market therefore making our products very personal to

overcoming these challenges paid off and the rewards we

our customers and this way we could meet the demand of our

received for our innovative product, hard work and determination

target market more likely.

made the programme worthwhile. Watching our company

We were very pleased with our success at Watford, winning the

develop from December to April was also another rewarding aspect of the programme; it was a very proud feeling to see how our company had improved at each event that we attended. I

overcoming many challenges along the way and everyone in the team has learnt a lot throughout the process . A huge thank you

would definitely recommend this experience to younger years

must be given to Mr Bannister for his guidance.

and have thoroughly enjoyed every stage of the competition.

Anoushka Griggs, year 12

Vicky Grace, year 12

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prize for ' Best Stand'. The team had worked very hard,

On the 10th June, 7 students from Woodfield School joined 21 Year 12 girls in a Young Enterprise event. Each team consisted of a Woodfield student, accompanied by 3 RMS girls. Each team was given a product, either masks, photo stands, key-rings, trinket boxes or windchimes which they were to decorate throughout the morning. During the lunch break the finished products were sold to staff and pupils who came along to support us. The day was a great success with many products selling out very quickly. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Elizabeth Cannon, year 12 34

Âş Hilary

ADMIT ONE

ENTE

ENTE

ENTERP

infuse

Herb House

Young enterprise was a brilliant learning experience for all

If I described my Young Enterprise experience in one word, it

members of our team, Infuse. Being the Managing Director of

would be‌ unforgettable.

the company gave me a real insight into the workings of a business and gave me a number of lifetime skills.

us in the team and

I know that the rest of

our business

the team will say the

ethic was to

same for their own

create a product

experiences. We all

that our

worked well together,

customers could

teaching us the

get continuous

importance of

enjoyment out

teamwork and

of whilst doing a

commitment. I am

wealth of good

very proud of the

for the

team as they all

environment. I

showed huge

am so proud to

dedication to the

say that we

company making us as successful as possible, and enabling us to win best stand at Bishop Stortford Trade fair as well as receiving high commendation by the judges. I can say on behalf of every member of the team that we thoroughly enjoyed our time and would recommend the opportunity to take part in Young Enterprise for younger years. A big thank you to Mr Broome for all of his help and encouragement along the way.

imogen Freethy, year 12

There were 12 of

achieved our goal!

After our first few sales on our home-ground we took our product further afield and sold to the public at the Watford Harlequin where we won the 'Environmental Prize'. We didn't stop there, however, as we moved on to the regional finals where we made a presentation and showed our stands to be judged. We ended up winning Company of the Year for Rickmansworth and Dacorum, and Best Company Report which Gaby (my deputy) and I were completely overwhelmed by.

From here we took on the County finals and although we didn't go any further in the competition we won the best Environmental Award for Hertfordshire and all came away with smiles on our faces. I am so immensely proud of all the girls at Herb House, we took on a challenge and I feel that every single one of them has both grown from the experience and made friendships that may not have otherwise have come to fruition. I would like to

Art Corner: Bethany Gupwell

encourage every girl reading this to give yourself the opportunity of taking on your own challenge in the form of Young Enterprise.

I am sure that with the help of Mrs Bannister and all the other teachers involved, you too could come away with your own unforgettable experience.

Verity McVey, year 12 35

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MIT YOUNG ADMIT G AD G YOUN YOUN E ONE RPRISE RPRISE ON RISE

JOURNEYS throughº the demon Headmaster The Demon Headmaster was a very enjoyable and exciting production to be part of. I enjoyed learning all the songs and working on the stage. Harmonies were very challenging because at first we were not sure whether we were singing high or low, but we jumped over the hurdle and in the end it sounded amazing. I learnt a lot of new drama techniques and I also learnt to use my facial expressions more. Overall, being part of The Demon Headmaster was an absolutely phenomenal experience. Probably the best thing about it was that I met loads of new people across Years 7, 8 and 9 who had the same interests as me and we are now really good friends. I loved being part of The Demon Headmaster and I can’t wait until the next production.

Abena Adoma, year 7

This year I have been lucky enough to take part in the lower

I have learnt so much during the demon headmaster, and most

school musical 'The Demon Headmaster’. It is about a school

importantly I have learnt how to work best in a team, and this is

called St. Campions which is controlled by a Headmaster. The

definitely what I will take away from the Demon Headmaster

Headmaster has the power to hypnotise everybody. There are,

forever.

however, five children who can't be hypnotised, class 6Z, and

One of my favourite memories is when on the last show I said my

they form a group called SPLAT. In this play we find out what

line wrong. I was meant to say, "he is a wonderful man and this is

happens when Dinah Glass (my character) comes to St

the best school I have ever been to". This is a line that is used

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Campions…

throughout the show, and when I got it wrong and said "he is the

I have really enjoyed taking part in the Demon Headmaster, and

best man and this is the best school I have ever been to", the

working with such a good cast was amazing. Although the

rest of the cast backed me up and said this line too! This was

Demon Headmaster was really fun it was sometimes challenging,

amazing because it just shows how close we were as a team,

for instance remembering which wing your next entrance needed

and how we worked together so nobody knew that I forgot my

to be and remembering props and lines in the right place. This

line. The Demon Headmaster has been a great experience and

was quite difficult as it was so much to remember, but we all

one I will never forget. Thank you so much to Mr Hyde and Mrs

supported each other and managed not to forget anything

Heaffey for directing this production!

drastic!

Kitty McCarthy, year 8 36

º Hilary This year the RMS Fusion dance company put on the brilliant show ‘Mix Tape’ in February. The idea of the show was to get as many different types of dance and music into the show and there was a huge variety including tap dancing, ballet, jazz and even Chinese. I was lucky enough to choreograph two big dance numbers which at first was quite daunting but I really enjoyed it and I hope the girls participating did too. It was great for me to experiment with different movements and styles of dance through choreography, and it was a fantastic experience. I also performed in the show and it was great fun to dance with friends and even family. The show was run by the Year 12 Performing Arts group and they did an incredible job as the show was well run, well organised and very successful. On behalf of all the dancers, I would like to thank members of Year 12, Miss Heaffey, Mrs Isherwood and the Performing Arts Faculty for giving up their time to put on this incredible show. I definitely cannot wait for what’s coming up next for Fusion!

Serena Conn, year 11

Fusion has been so much fun this year, especially when we were preparing for the dance show. This year’s dance show was called ‘Mix Tape’ and therefore a wide variety of dances were involved.

I performed three dances as part of Fusion. The first was called ‘Beggin’ and was my favourite dance as we all got to perform together in glitzy gold outfits! The second dance was called ‘Acapella’ and this dance was particularly for the members of Fusion who were keen ballerinas. The third was the big finale and was called ‘Killer Queen’. It was a brilliant and fun dance that everyone was a part of.

It was great fun learning these dances at fusion, and they turned out to be really amazing in performance.

Along with these brilliant Fusion dances, there were auditions for any other dance people wanted to be in the dance show which made the show even more exciting and enjoyable. I got to perform a dance with my sister and with Amelia Daley in 7H. I loved making these dances up and I really enjoyed performing them.

Overall, I’d say this years dance show was a huge success and everyone who took part was very thankful to all the members of staff who helped achieve this. I would really recommend Fusion Dance Club to anyone who likes to dance.

Miranda Conn, year 7 37

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Mix tape

JOURNEYS throughº Hamburg Musicians' tour On the 26th March 2015, 19 girls accompanied by Mr Hyde, Mrs Heaffey, Mr Brammeld and Mrs Isherwood departed RMS to Luton Airport to start their journey to Hamburg, Germany. We arrived at the airport, went through security and went straight to the gate. In our orange jumpers we were surprised we weren't mistaken for the cabin crew on the easyjet flight!

Our first evening in Hamburg was spent at ‘Schweinske’; a typical German restaurant. Many of us tried the German Schnitzel for the first time and really enjoyed it. After this it was back to the hotel to relax before the busy days to come. After breakfast, it was off to Minatur Wonderland, one of Hamburg’s greatest tourist attractions. It could be described as an even better version of the Beaconsfield Model Village and even holds a Guinness World record for the world’s largest model railway. Inside there are detailed and fun recreations of sections of Hamburg, Austria, Switzerland, Miami and Las Vegas. In each section there are miniature cars, fire engines and ships!

Minatur Wonderland even has a working miniature Airport where you can see planes take off and land! The model area is over 1,300m2, and has 13km of train tracks. Just like the cars and ships operated by a computer system, the lights are also computer controlled. Upon entering the exhibition it suddenly started going dark and we were a bit confused as to what was going on. The lights are controlled to mimic a complete twenty four hour day in just 15 minutes and more than 250,000 lights (LEDs and lamps) are individually computer controlled.

We then headed to the Mercardo Centre for our first performance, as guests of the Mercado Spring Centre Festival. The Mercado Centre is a massive shopping centre. This was very nerve racking as we went through our programme for the first time ahead of our church performance. Everything went smoothly and we managed to stay professional…even when some boys tried to conduct the violin trio. (I think they were after Mr Hyde’s and Mr Brammeld’s job!)

This was followed by our second concert of the tour at the Anglican Church in Hamburg. We arrived at the church and were instantly astounded by the beauty of it. After a quick rehearsal we performed our programme again and it was lovely to perform in such a wonderful space. After the performance we took the time to speak to the audience members and I think we were all relieved that everyone spoke very good English!

The next day we started with a trip to the Chocoversum Chocolate Museum, I think I can speak for most of the group when I say that this was the part we were most looking forward to! We learnt about the production of chocolate right from the cocoa bean (which the brave ones among us tried!) to the chocolate we see and eat every day! There were plenty of free chocolate samples along the way and we even had the chance to create our own chocolate bar! The museum was followed by a Harbour Boat Tour. Although the tour was all in German- we did manage to learn a few things from Mrs Heaffey, who translated - none of it was true! After the boat tour it was back to the hotel for all of five-seconds to grab our instruments and music and head to the Rindermarkthalle, were we performed as part of a spring festival. This was our last concert on tour and we all enjoyed singing ‘Let it go’ and performing as an ensemble for one last time.

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Our final evening was spent at the theatre watching ‘Candide’, performed by the English Theatre of Hamburg – the oldest English professional theatre in the country. We all had a very enjoyable time in Hamburg, and weather it was our first, or last tour I think it is an experience none of us will forget! We would all like to thank Mr Hyde, Mrs Heaffey, Mrs Isherwood and Mr Brammeld for taking us and giving up some of their Easter holiday to accompany us.

rhiannon Jenkins, year 13 38

º Hilary We were learning about the Aztecs in History, and on 28th April we had a group of people from Mexicolore visit to teach us about the Aztecs and their life. When we first entered the room, the main performer was jumping around to a song that was playing, and there was a large display filled with numerous Aztec ornaments and instruments.

There was a large Aztec stone which showed the Sun / Moon God in the middle and the four Gods.

During the day, we learnt how the Aztecs were buried, how they lived, their punishments, what they wore and ate, their utensils and the games they played. Eleanor and Issie were the game players and they wore a belt and had to hit the ball only using their belt. We also played a game with a jaguar mask where we were guards holding it up.

The day was really fun and interesting and we learnt a lot about the Aztecs.

Emily roycroft & Maya Chudasama, year 5

Wembley Stadium

Semitones – years 7-9 Pop Choir

We thought a tour to Wembley Stadium would be all about

I joined Semitones halfway through Year 9. I decided to join

looking at seats and numbers when Mrs Dwyer first mentioned

after I was in the production of The Demon Headmaster. I

the trip to us, but we were utterly wrong!

wanted to join as I am already a member of Chapel Choir and I wanted something extra to add into my week that was

We were so impressed by this place and Jack, who guided us

performing arts themed. When I first performed with semitones

on the tour. Ed Sheeran‘s name was flickering on the huge

we sang two pop songs. Currently we are working on a

screen at the front of the stadium. He was due to have his first

Mamma Mia Medley for prize day. Sadly I will not be able to be

UK gig since his 2014 UK tour!

part of Semitones next year as I am going into year 10,

The outlook of Wembley Stadium really did attract us! We went

however I have enjoyed the short amount of time I have been

in the England changing room and took pictures with the shirts

able to spend singing with this choir!

and lockers whilst our guide Jack also taught us a lot about its

Faye Wilson, year 9

history. We took Roy Hodgson’s hot-seat in the Press Room and made lots of poses pretending we were all famous footballers.

We walked out of the player’s tunnel, had a taste of the tension of the actual footballers and all 30 of us shouted ‘Hello Wembley’ giving an amazing feeling of the noise in the stadium.

We even touched the FA Cup and took pictures with it!

Our trip to the Wembley Stadium was fabulous! Jack told us something really important at the end – ‘Over the years, Brazil has won 5 times, Italy has won 4 times, and Germany just got

Art Corner: Esther Meng

their 4th World Cup. However, Wembley Stadium has 2618 toilets which means it has the most in the world!’

On behalf of all the girls, we would like to thank Mrs Dwyer and Ms Taylor for taking out of their own time to take us on this weekend excursion!

Cheryl Liu, year 9 39

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Mexicolore!

JOURNEYS throughº lessons, learned a lot and also had a great time working with the

Science Ambassadors

younger girls and my fellow ambassadors.

Joanna Mantio, year 12

The role of a Science ambassador is to encourage others to enjoy and succeed in Science. We all help where we can around the Science department, aiming to set a good example for younger scientists in the school through workshops, clubs,

As a Science Ambassador I have attended Science club each

lectures and clinics. We help out in clinics by working with

week and helped with the younger students, helping them enjoy

students in the younger years and giving them advice on their

Science and have fun with it. One of the most memorable

work. At the beginning of the year we committed to a rota of

moments this year, was watching the first chick hatching at 13:13

days on which we would aid the running of these clinics so that

and naming it Lucky. Another memorable moment was creating

we share the responsibility, but we also all have the opportunity

bouncy eggs using vinegar, and forgetting that they’d still burst if

to help out. This is a great opportunity to get to know girls in

we dropped them from too high.

other years as well as keeping our knowledge up to date.

Helping out at a few clinics this year has been a great opportunity

A Science ambassador must be approachable and friendly, as

to help students who need more help to fully wrap their mind

girls in the younger years need to feel comfortable talking to Sixth

around a topic, or to go through it again from a different

Formers about their questions or interests in Science. We also

perspective.

strive to be reliable, as Science teachers depend on the

Clare Patrick, year 12

additional work done by the ambassadors.

Also included in the role of Science ambassador is the

From a very young age, I've loved Science and everything about

responsibility of promoting Science at RMS. We do this by

it, thanks in no small part to some very inspiring teachers I've had

spreading the word about extra-curricular activities and lectures

throughout my school life. I believe that the future hinges on

in the Science department. We attend events and lectures hosted by the school and raise awareness of the lectures, either by making posters or talking to girls around the school. The

Science, and I relish the chance to pass on my passion, helping to inspire younger girls to succeed in what I think, is the most interesting and important department in the school.

lectures are very useful, as each tends to have a link to our syllabus, but also looks in more depth at interesting aspects of

Throughout my sporting careers in diving and gymnastics I've

the subject. They are a perfect way to “read around the subject”,

always had the opportunity to work with younger children, so I

especially since there is often a Question and Answer session

felt that with my experience, it would be a lot of fun to help my

afterwards. The “Chemistry of Chocolate” lecture last term was

juniors succeed from an academic perspective.

one of our favourites; it was not only informative, but the

I'm really enjoying my time as a Science ambassador; sometimes

numerous samples took the learning to a whole new level!

it’s nice to have a bit of a rest from the demanding AS syllabuses

Being a Science Ambassador requires commitment and hard

I am studying and get back to the basics of Science,

work, but it is 100% worth it. We would really encourage those

remembering why I love it so much.

interested in Science at AS and A level to consider applying.

Sophia Lunt, year 12

Bea thompson and Clodagh Mullins, year 12

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I wanted to be a Science ambassador as it is a great opportunity This year as Science ambassadors we've all been very busy.

to help those with a subject that I enjoy, even though it can

From attending the fascinating lectures in this year’s lecture series

sometimes be challenging. Being a Science ambassador looked

to helping with the running of Science club, where we have

like a lot of responsibility, but even though there is a lot to do in

helped make mini volcanoes, created our own bath bombs,

every department, I enjoy every moment. Helping those in

watched the chicks hatch from their eggs and much more.

younger years is a great way to get to know them, and a

Additionally, we have all been attending clinics to assist the

welcome chance to consolidate my knowledge. Overall, being a

younger girls. I have found this has been a very rewarding

Science ambassador has helped me become even more

experience, as well as it hopefully being beneficial for the younger

passionate about biology, chemistry and physics.

girls. Overall, my time as a Science ambassador has been one I

nicole Lederer, year 12

will not forget; I have carried out experiments not done in regular 40

º Hilary Science Competitions

This year in Science week we have had lots to keep us

Every year in the Science department we promote a variety of

busy. The most exciting as ever, was the arrival of the

competitions for the students to enter. Throughout the year, various

chicks. They have been selectively bred so that they

students have entered lots of different competitions, such as;

hatch even earlier, this allowed us even more time to

Newnham College Engineering Essay Competition, Biology Olympiad,

observe and play with them. The first one hatched on

Biology Challenge and the Bill Bryson Royal Society of Chemistry

Tuesday at 13.13pm, we named him Lucky!

competition.

The rest were not far behind. All ten eggs hatched,

This year the RMS girls have excelled once again;

leaving us with five girls and five boys, the brown chicks being the girls and the yellow chicks the boys. The chicks were visited by all of Ruspini and lots of students from Cadogan house as well as girls from all years in Senior school. We were sad to see them leave before Easter.

• Sarah Roger-Lund was awarded 1st prize in the Newnham College Engineering

During lessons this week, Year 9 and 10 students were

essay

entered in the Biology Challenge 2015. This as ever,

competition,

was a success resulting in 21 students receiving a

outcompeting

Commended category, an excellent result.

many entries

Year 8 were given the Spaghetti challenge in their Science lessons – they had to build a tower that could hold a chocolate egg, using only spaghetti and marshmallows. They had to plan their ‘architecture’ and how they were going to use their materials as they had limited resources.

from all over the country, an outstanding achievement.

Another RMS student Helen Griffiths came

There were some real successes and others that were

3rd in the Law

not quite so effective! The winning group ‘The

Essay writing

Chickens’, consisting of Joanna, Anastasia, Ella and

competition.

Elena built the tallest tower, at 98cm. Well done ladies.

• The Biology Olympiad saw results of; 1 Commended student, 2 Highly Commended and 1 Gold award to Emma Bishop, another outstanding achievement.

• The Biology challenge brought about 21 Commended students.

• Abie Alexander-Ikwue and Safia Williamson created a piece of work

Art Corner: Myra Choi

following the competition theme of ‘Chances’, and achieved 1st place, winning not only their age category but the overall competition. Another outstanding achievement, to not only compete and win against students their age but also students up to the age of 18, beating a total of over 500 entries.

Let’s keep these amazing achievements going, what not challenge yourself and enter a Science competition, who knows, you may even win!

41

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Science Week

JOURNEYS throughº Chess tournament 2015

Maths Masterclass

For the second year, RMS has

I was so excited when I got the invitation to

participated in a school-wide chess

attend a Maths masterclass in the Royal

tournament, called the Delancey UK

Institution a few months after the Maths

Schools Chess Challenge. Success in

Challenge took place. It was one whole day all

this challenge allows students the

about Maths.

opportunity to advance to the National competition. Ten girls took part in the tournament, and each had to play against seven other opponents to gain points.

On arrival, we received a quiz paper to warm up our brains. The questions were tough but fun! There were many people in the Royal Institution and most of them were the same age as me. They all looked absolutely smart!

Trophies were awarded for first, second and third places, the winners are below:

After the quiz, we had three lectures about

1st : Emma B, Year 13

Maths and Physics and they were really

2nd : Mia C, Year 8

interesting! The first speaker came from

3rd (tied): Natalie C, Year 9 & Sylvia S, Year 10

Canada and had just got off his plane before

To move to the next level, the county Megafinals, girls had to gain at least 15 points or have the most points in their age category.

Several girls qualified, but four girls went on to represent RMS at the event in Harpenden:

going straight to the lecture! The second speaker, a former employee of a British Airline, working in Operation Research, told us about her experience working with Maths.

The last speaker was a physics professor from Portsmouth University. We were all

Emma B, Year 13, Kim G-B, Year 10, Natalie

amazed by how Maths is tightly linked with

C, Year 9, and Mia C, Year 8.

Physics and space and everything around us!

At the end of the day, congratulations were in

We had a competition at lunch time in which

order as Emma and Kim each won the title

we all got a question paper and we had to

for their respective categories: Emma B –

work in groups to try and solve as many

Title for U18 girls, Kim G-B – Title for U15

questions as we could in an hour. Rebecca

girls.

and I worked really hard together, and

Both girls will be invited to the southern

although we struggled to answer some of the

Gigafinals in July, where they will be able to

questions, we still completed the paper.

play against students from other schools in the

Next was the prize giving. There were only

south of the UK.

prizes for the top 3 groups and sadly we didn’t get one. It was a little disappointing that all of the winners were boys, but It was a wonderful day and I am looking forward to taking part in another Maths activity. This Masterclass really increased my interest in to meet other people outside school!

Art Corner: Francesca George

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Maths and I think it is also a great opportunity

I would like to thank Miss Barnes for kindly giving up her day taking me to the masterclass and Miss Gent and Mr Llewelyn for helping me a lot with Maths.

Cheryl Liu, year 9 42

º Hilary Few would think that a trip to the zoo could be an educational experience for an A Level student, however when the Year 13 psychology students went to ZSL London Zoo for a phobias workshop, it was undoubtedly an educational experience to remember.

We set off at 8:15am, excited to be out of uniform for once. We arrived at 10:15am and had 45 minutes to look around before our first session. The zoo is huge, and full of animals of all shapes and sizes, from fish and bats to tigers and giraffes. There was a lot to see, and undoubtedly one of the best sections – not to be missed – was the rainforest room. We walked in through the door and felt the heat radiating out of the room like a sauna (or a rainforest), and all immediately started to disrobe, unusual on the cold day. Walking into the room literally felt like entering another country, and for those unfortunate enough to have poor eyesight, things went from bad to worse as their glasses fogged up with the moisture in the room. There were monkeys everywhere, swinging around in the trees in the centre, and even climbing on the branches above our heads! The favourite was a monkey carrying two babies the size of a pear on its back, and everyone tried to get photos. It was an incredible experience.

Our first educational session (which was the purpose of the trip) was an introduction to phobias, where we discussed types of phobias, both common and uncommon and types of treatment, from cognitive behavioural therapy to hypnosis. This included the zoo’s Friendly Spider Programme, for arachnophobes. When we returned for our second session after lunch, we discussed arachnophobia in more detail, examining what makes people afraid of spiders, as well as the extremes to which people with it will go in order to avoid a spider – such as one person who boarded up their windows and doors and didn’t go outside during the ‘spider season’ in order to avoid them.

This was shocking to many of us, who had never thought of arachnophobia as a debilitating disorder before. Once we had discussed this, we had a group hypnosis session, where we relaxed and were told that there was nothing to fear from spiders. This was, for many of us, the most relaxed we had ever been. It was surprising to hear that what felt like five minutes for us, was actually fifteen.

After this, the hypnotherapist brought out a large spider called Rosy, and many of us went to touch her and even hold her, though others were still too afraid. Even Mrs Reeve managed to overcome her fear of spiders and touch Rosy’s legs. Once our session was over, we were allowed to remain in the zoo for as long as we wanted before making our way home. It was an enjoyable end to an excellent trip, which I hope will be repeated in the future.

Aimee Bomford, year 13

43

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Psychology trip to ZSL London

JOURNEYS throughº Sports round up The new Nuffield Health partnership and refurbishment has provided us with outstanding fitness facilities and it has been great to see the enthusiasm the girls have shown in PE lessons towards developing their fitness and learning about the different methods of training on state-of-the-art equipment. The gym is now a hive of activity at 4.00pm and fitness classes run by Nuffield staff have provided great opportunities for those who enjoy a less traditional ‘games’ approach to physical activity.

Our cohort of Year 7s have certainly given us much to smile about, with the cross country and hockey team winning the district championships, the swimming team qualifying for the relay ‘A’ final at the National Championships and the gymnastics team occupying the entire podium in the GISGA championships; they are showing great strength and potential for the future.

Other highlights have come from the Year 6 and 7 sport hall athletics county finals, the Year 10s playing hockey to the highest standard and winning the County Cup, the senior badminton team winning the league, the netball High-5 and senior teams returning to school with silverware from their league and tournaments, and the success of so many of our girls in their own individual sport from kick-boxing and golf, to running and gymnastics to name a few.

Of course, it would not be right not to mention the Astro Turf! I have taken a fair amount of friendly ‘abuse’ (mainly from staff and the Year 13s!) about my over-excitement for what is now a beautiful and fantastic addition to our sports facilities. Inter-House hockey was a very enjoyable way to celebrate the completion of the pitch, and it was lovely to see so much support from parents for the Senior versus Year 10 match to mark the final game for some of our Year 13 players. Thank you to everyone who has helped to make the allweather pitch happen and show how successful and exciting the first stage of the ‘Campaign for Excellence’ has been.

Sport England launched a campaign this year, #ThisGirlCan, with an aim of getting girls and women more active, involved in sport and sharing their enjoyment and successes. Once you’ve finished reading all about the successes of Team PE this season, I am sure you will agree that #RMSGirlsCan!

make it this far. Most Valuable Player with most votes for Year 9 is Talia M-K. The girls played some excellent hockey this season and came second at the District Tournament, on goal difference.

Year 10 has proven to be one of the teams to watch, and they have given the Seniors a good run for their money! They have been undefeated beating big rivals Queenswood, Hockerill and Dame Alice Owen. They also won the Herts County Cup with Most Valuable Player Lizzie J, Players’ Player Pien V, Most Improved Player Lulu S and Neha P, and Outstanding Player Beth H. Finally, the Senior Team consisting of players from Years 11, 12 and

Hockey

13, had a good season defeating Watford Girls, St Michael’s and St

With hockey proving very popular this year, Year 7 had both and A and B teams enthusiastic to play! 7A led by example and were

coming a close second in the District Tournament. All players have been very hard working and committed, playing at a very high

undefeated throughout the season, coming joint first in the District Tournament, with 7B winning the majority of their matches to come

standard and as results show this dedication has paid off.

We have ended the season on an all time high with the Campaign

a close second in the District Tournament.

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Clement Danes, narrowly losing to Hockerill in the last match and

for Excellence's brand new all weather pitch completed in time for

Year 8 also performed well beating St Clement Danes, and St

our last few matches. On behalf of all the hockey members, I would

Michael’s, drawing with Presdales and Watford Girls, also coming

like to say a big thank you to all the friends and family who have

an amazing second in the District Tournament.

donated towards this.

Year 9 had an incredible season winning their County Tournament going on to represent Hertfordshire in the Regional Finals, finishing sixth. This was a huge achievement and the first RMS team to 44

natalie rushton, Senior Hockey Captain

º Hilary HILARY

netball Netball this year has been very successful for all age groups.

There was a real sense of determination and commitment demonstrated across all the years. The season has been extremely eventful, with plenty of matches to

The Year 10 A team have transformed into a very strong side

provide an opportunity for

over this past year. They demonstrated great performances in the

further improvement in

District League, where they won all of their games. However, they

skills practised and set-

narrowly lost to Parmiters in a very evenly matched game. The A

plays learnt during training

team have the potential to be placed as District winners or

sessions.

runners up and are awaiting confirmation to determine their standing at the time of writing.

The Year 7 A and B teams

The Year 10 B team began this season particularly well. Fantastic

were almost unbeaten all

attacking play, particularly by the shooters, resulted in some

season, with each team only

excellent goal differences in games, safely securing their wins.

suffering one loss each in

Although they narrowly lost out to Haberdashers they

their District League

successfully won the remainder of their games, and were runners

competitions. The B team

up in the District League.

continued this outstanding

The Year 11 team have played at such a high standard, ending

success in their District

the season by winning the District League. We are waiting for the

Tournament, managing to

results of the County League, but the team have had some

finish in second place.

excellent wins against very tough opposition. Although the B team suffered a number of cancellations, they continued to be The Year 8 A team ended

committed to training, which paid off in the games that they

the year in first place in the

ultimately did play.

league, whilst the Year 8 B team came second. Both teams matched this success in their District Tournament, finishing as runners up.

This year’s Senior team has played particularly well together, adjusting to new positions as a combined year 12 and 13 team.

The growing popularity of netball at RMS was highlighted by the fact that we were able to have two strong Senior teams competing, and training provided a good opportunity to improve our set-plays in all positions, tidying up our overall performance in

The Year 9 A team

matches. This commitment was reflected in the A team’s final

competed for the first time

position in the league as runners up, an improvement from our

in the County League, demonstrating a high standard of netball

District Tournament, where some tight games meant we were

against some difficult opponents. This challenge undoubtedly

placed third; matched by the B team who also came third.

strengthened their performance as a team, and their improved play was reflected in the District League, which they won.

Overall, this year has been rewarding for netball at RMS, with every year group working hard in order to achieve success. Most

The Year 9 B team displayed excellent overall performance in the

importantly, it has been an enjoyable two seasons, thanks to the

District League, winning all of their games with the exception of a

support of the netball coaches, Ms Stanley, Mrs Joyce, Mrs

draw against Haberdashers. They are in a strong position to

Pooley and Mrs Rafter, who always provide fantastic support and

come out in first place in the District League, however at time of

encouragement.

writing we are still awaiting confirmation of goal difference.

Abigail Arcari, netball Captain 45

JOURNEYS throughº Swimming

ESSA Nationals In October we took part in the Eastern Region to try to qualify for the This year the RMS

ESSA Secondary Schools National Finals at the London Aquatic

swimming team have

Centre (Olympic Pool). In the medley relay Ceara swam the back,

had yet another very

Georgina the breaststroke, Maddie the butterfly and Ellie was

successful season of

swimming the freestyle. We all swam really well and got a time of

competing, with our

2:17.16. In the freestyle relay Mirabelle, Georgina, Ellie and Ceara got

Junior Team (Year 7

a time of 2:06.87.

and 8) winning the league and the Year 7 team winning their two separate league matches. Our Intermediate and Senior teams also performed very well – making it to the A Final of the league, with the Senior and Junior teams both receiving improvers’ trophies for gaining more points than last season. To meet the growing numbers of enthusiastic swimmers at RMS, there has also been a development squad running this year, in which the girls have been very committed and swum well in their matches. A number of friendly galas have been swum throughout the

The medley team got a silver medal in the Eastern region but sadly the freestyle team just missed out on a medal, but both teams qualified with the medley team finishing 4th nationally and the freestyle team in 18th – we were on our way to the Olympic Pool!

When we got there, we couldn’t help thinking about the famous swimmers who have swum there—Michael Phelps, Rebecca Adlington, Ellie Simmonds and many other Olympic swimmers.

Unfortunately, Ceara was injured so couldn’t be there. First we swam the freestyle relay, finishing 20th overall. Next, was the medley relay— it was really tough but we all swam our hardest and qualified for the final in 9th. We knew this would be difficult as we were swimming against Millfield, Guildford, Kelly College and Lady Eleanor Holles who all had exceptional swimming teams. We all swam really hard and finished overall in 8th place.

duration of the season, with RMS swimming very well against

As a group of competitive swimmers this was truly a fantastic

our local schools such as Northwood, where the RMS team

opportunity for us. This is probably the most amazing swimming pool

won 95-71. The highlight of this season’s swimming has to

in the country. Our team was made up of all Year 7 swimmers in a

be our ESSA Junior team who managed to qualify and

Year 7 and Year 8 category. Next year we will all be Year 8, making us

compete in the National finals of the English Schools

that much stronger and more experienced, which will hopefully mean

Swimming competition at the London Aquatic Centre,

even better results. I think overall everyone had a great day. We

swimming in the same pool where Olympic dreams came

would all like to say a very big thank you to Miss Boddey for helping

true.

us train and also thank you to Thanya , Senior School Swimming

thanya Jasinska, School Swimming Captain

Captain, for coming on this fantastic experience with us!!!

Ellie Lock, Mirabelle Waters, Georgina Vane and Maddie Stares

Skiing It was a successful first outing for the RMS Ski Team in their first ever inter-school ski slalom race at Hemel Hempstead’s Snow Centre. They were up against Abbots Hill School, and a

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boys and girls team from Rickmansworth School. RMS came second overall, losing out to a vastly more experienced team from Abbots Hill, but special mention should go to Megan D who won the Junior Individual competition.

The team comprised: Laura Bartlett, Alex Whitehead, Alex Bond, Megan Davies, India Sheridan, Lulu Sieradzka, Ella Dichlian, Lily Butler and Lizzie Jack.

46

º Hilary This season has been an astounding year for the RMS

an indestructible pairing in their tournament, winning every match

Badminton Teams across all age groups.

and drawing one, scoring 43 points out of a possible 45, which

The newly formed Year 8 team have trained hard this term to win

sealed them both gold medals.

two out of three matches, with scores of 8 -1 against Northwood

League matches have also showed the strength of the Year 10

School, and 16 - 0 against St Albans. These well-deserved and

team, beating Northwood 7-2, and closely winning against

convincing victories show the effort and dedication of the Year 8

Queenswood 5-4. The friendly match against St Margaret’s must

team and the potential they have to keep winning during their

also be mentioned for its resounding 9-0 victory! Congratulations

time at RMS.

to the girls as they have come second in the League.

The Year 9 team have

The Year 11 team has benefitted from the help of Phil, a coach

had some tough

who has kindly joined us several weeks this season, to improve

competition this season

our techniques. The year group has had extremely tough

against the likes of St

opposition narrowly missing out against Queenswood and NLCS.

Helen’s and Queenswood. They have shown their ability to play great badminton in the closely fought matches against Haberdashers and Watford Girls; when

The Senior team has also received help from Phil. They have shown to be such a strong team that they have gone the whole season undefeated and consequently have won the League!

Closely fought matches against Haberdashers, Queenswood, and NLCS demonstrated the determination of the whole team when every point counted winning the matches 5-4.

the RMS girls have

It has been a delight to be the Senior Captain this year watching

come off both matches

success after success across the age groups. I can only hope

with a 5-4 victory.

next year is even better with even more victories and gold

The Year 10 team has been particularly successful this season in both matches and tournaments. Bianca and Deniz proved to be

medals!

Fran Farlie, Badminton Captain

Football This term the Year 7 and 8 football team made their debut in the District League. We played six matches, and despite working well as a team, the opposition scored a few more goals then we did! As captain, I was really pleased with how well the team played and communicated with one an other and occasionally we scored the odd goal.

We have had a few additions to the team and as the term has progressed the team have got better and better. We also did a

Art Corner: Fenella Watkins-Hale

player of the match after each game. In the first match we voted our team player as Ella H who throughout the game and term has done some great goal keeping. Jess B, Saira R and Evie I were also voted most valuable players this season. I hope the rest of the team has enjoyed it as much as I have.

Thank you to Mrs Spendiff and Mrs Joyce for leading and coaching the team this term.

Evie ingles, Football Captain 47

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Badminton

JOURNEYS throughº Gymnastics

The Eastern Region Sports Acro competition yet again showed all of RMS’s talents. Both the U14 and O14 groups came second. In the O14 pairs category, RMS had a clean sweep at

Senior Gymnastics

the medal podium with Sarah and Caitlin coming third, Manaalee

The RMS gymnastics team have yet again had a brilliant and jam-

and Ellie coming second and Serena and Miranda coming first.

packed year so far. With three strong teams going to the GISGA

Both Serena and Miranda, and Molly and Ashley who won the

National competition, we had a fantastic weekend. The U13

U14 pairs category, will be representing RMS at the Nationals in

Team won overall and won their group routine; a special

May. Furthermore, the U14 Floor and Vault team (consisting of

congratulations to Arwen, Amelia and Miranda who were placed

Miranda, Arwen, Molly, Ashley, Ellie and Amelia) won the Eastern

first, second and fifth respectively in the individuals competition.

Region Floor and Vault competition and so will be competing at

The U15 Team came fourth overall and second in their group,

Nationals as well. The O14 Floor and Vault team (consisting of

with Georgia coming fifth individually. The O13 team came third

Serena, Manaalee, Sophie, Sarah, Georgia and Isabel), after

overall, with Serena coming sixth and Manaalee ninth. This was

competing against some tough competition, did fantastically well

an incredible competition which showed all the gymnasts’

and were placed at the regional competition.

strengths, and it was very positive in all aspects. At the Milano competition in February, the RMS teams came third and fifth,

Serena Conn

narrowly missing out on Nationals.

Junior Gymnastics This year so far the RMS Junior gymnastics team have been able to attend several competitions including the Acro competition in Luton in February, where Charlotte C and Freya W achieved a brilliant first place for their pair routine and Julia L and Jemima R came a very close fourth place with a difference of 0.8 points for their Acro routine. We have also been to the U11 GISGA 2 Piece Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham where Julia, Freya, Charlotte A, Iona and Emma competed and only just missed out on first place. Julia, Jemima and Gabi also did very well in the Milano team trio competition in February.

Julia Laravita toropova

Cross Country

first place and 1st and Ella P in fifth. The Year 10s, 11s and Sixth Form had

This year’s cross-country

good teams at Districts

season has been exceptional

with Jessica B, Rachel P

for all year groups. All of the

and Jayme G’s

girls performed well at the

performances standing

District Championships and

out. Three of these girls

many were able to make it through to Counties and perform outstandingly. The district races were held at Aldenham Country Park where the girls had a short fast race around the lake and the Counties were at Westminster Lodge, in St Albans where the girls

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had a tough, hilly and very cold race (snow, wind, rain….!).

were able to make it through to Counties and compete in the long tough race finishing in very commendable places. The season finished with an exciting St Martin’s Road Relay for the

The Year 7 team all finished in the top five and won the team

Year 6 and 7 teams, which again finished with RMS taking away

trophy. This alone is an amazing achievement, but considering for

the winning cup for both age groups. Well done to all athletes, it

some team members this was their first serious race, they were

really has been a season to remember.

truly remarkable. Following this they were able to make it to

rachel Padwick, Cross Country Captain

Counties where two athletes finished in the top five; Grace I in 48

º Hilary And the winners are: – First: Helen Brooks. Second: Helen Brooks. Third: Natalie Timmoney

1st Prize

3rd Prize

2nd Prize

Art Corner: Gemma Abrahams

49

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Staff Photography Competition

Trinity

Hilary

Michaelmas

‘Warm Summer day’ by Mr Spain 50

Journeys through trinity 51

JOURNEYS throughº isle of Wight All of Year 5 went to the Isle of Wight on Monday 1st

TICKET

Rickmansworth NAME: Royal Masonic School for Girls FROM:

TO:

Cowes, IOW

June for five days to learn about Science and Geography. While on the trip, we learnt about river studies, by measuring the current in the river, the width of the bank and the depth. We also did orienteering by using a map and compass at the Medina Valley Centre. My favourite part of the trip was the falconry display because we learnt about the different types of birds and how they live around the world.

We all enjoyed the trip very much and we are looking forward to the French Trip next year!

iona Fraser and Siena di Cuffa, year 5

English Civil War

Student Librarians

Year 8 students re-enacted a day in the English

Being a student

Civil War in period costume.

librarian is really fun!

Some of the stuff I enjoy about being Student Librarian is that whilst doing it you can find out more about books and interesting ones to read. You also get to use a really fun label machine and print new labels for old books. You only have to come once a week for about twenty minutes so it is not that long.

Some of the jobs you will do are re-label old books by printing a new label, covering new books in sticky-back plastic and putting new books away.

These are just some of the jobs you can do and there are many more!

TRINITY

Ellie Janackovic, year 7 I really enjoyed being a student librarian. I didn’t really want to do it at first, my friend wanted me to, and I’m really glad she made me because it’s so fun! There is this cool label machine that you get to use and you get to shush people when they are too loud. Mrs Fryer is really nice as well and makes it much more fun. It is a really great opportunity and I really enjoy it.

Molly Savage, year 7 52

º Trinity there were three men who wanted the Crown

She stood for a moment, And stared into my eyes like a gypsy with her ball,

There were three men who wanted the crown

Trying to work out,

And they fought battles of great renown

My fears, disbeliefs and hopes, She took me by the hand,

The first man was Harold, he was the king

And we listened to the solmber breeze,

And to the throne he wanted to cling

The warm air,

Second was Hadrada, a man from Norway

And the whispers of secrets,

Harold wanted to send him away

Entwining in our fates, In our future,

The third was William, he was a Duke

And past,

And winning the battle would be no fluke

We stood on the edge of the cliff,

At Stamford Bridge, Harold won

Regretting,

Hadrada lost and had no fun

And on the end of the pier,

But far away William landed

Expecting,

Whilst Harold up North was stranded

But we listened to the solmber breeze, She sang like a pixie,

The poor king’s army again had to fight

And danced like gazelle,

Against the Duke and all his might

But she was sly like a fox,

Bravely they fought, but it was all in vain

She whispered in my ear,

The Battle of Hastings ended Harold’s reign

“Hear the solmber breeze,” And she was gone,

He took an arrow right through the eye

But her words stayed in the air,

Which made him say to life, “goodbye”

“Hear the solmber breeze,

Duke William then became the king

Breeze,

Conquering England was his favourite thing

Breeze…”

Eleanor Glasspoole, year 7

Solmber: a word I invented combining solemn and sombre.

Jemima Forrest-ratcliffe, year 7

Charity Work Each year RMS chooses a charity to support by student and staff vote. Through a range of events across the whole school, from Ruspini to Hind House, we managed to raise a fabulous £9,621 this year and to raise awareness for our charity Centrepoint. Centrepoint supports young people, who have become homeless, to have a positive future by providing accommodation, education, training and support. The money we have raised can provide a room for over 60 young people for a whole year! Well done for supporting our values of compassion, participation and responsibility.

53

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the Solmber Breeze

JOURNEYS throughº Chinese dance In April, Ms Xue introduced us to the unique concept of dancing with lanterns at out Chinese Dance Club. At first, Charlie, Tamzin and I were intrigued by the idea of moving gracefully with ‘a hazardous, old lamp’ (we came to understand that there were kid-friendly pieces of vividly coloured plastic attached to a stick). Every Tuesday after school, we’d be in the Space, preparing for our performance.

On Saturday, the 13th of June, the Chinese Dance Club met at the entrance of the Rickmansworth tube station. Anxious, we journeyed to Central London, our lanterns attracting a lot of attention. We reached UCL two hours early, with plenty of time to practice and get ready.

Ms Xue had brought us authentic lantern-dance costumes from China. They consisted of sequined red tops and ‘flowy’ trousers. Our hair was parted and put into two buns. Tamzin’s mum gave us transformational makeovers.

The nerves finally hit me when the dance began. Apparently, my mum wasn’t just trying to reassure me, we actually did look ‘stunning’. I remember hearing a collective gasp from the audience as we began gliding across the stage.

The applause we received at the end was the loudest I’d ever heard in my life. Outside the theatre, we understood what Mickey Mouse feels like in Disneyland. So many delegates were demanding pictures and congratulating us on our performance. Ms Xue was very proud of us. She told us that it was the best we’ve ever danced.

I thoroughly enjoyed this exotic experience, and would highly recommend Ms Xue’s Dance Club. It has added to my MFL experience, I have learnt quite a lot about Chinese culture, and can’t wait for the next performance.

isha Sadana, year 8

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Cher Léon,

est on anniversa ire m et s an e uz t toi ? J’a i do o. bien merci ! E va a Ç . violon et du pian ur jo du i ss Bon au ue jo e ckey. J e, le e. Je joue au ho J’adore la dans le huit septembr ? u -t ns ie ut uipe so foot. Q uelle éq ite dans le J’a ime aussi le les pâtes. J’hab r ge an m re do e en ant. J’a mmencé au lycé co i théâtre et le ch ’a J s. re st de Lond ool for ire au nord-oue al Masonic Sch Buckinghamsh oy R he T lle pe ge s’ap . J’a i 14. Mon collè et les sciences hs at m s Septembre 20 le , is sont le frança nces ières favorites dette. Les vaca ca Girls. Mes mat ur sœ e un sœur en et une grande que tu vas un grand frère e. Q u’-est-ce ag pl la à e nc Fra fa it-il hes. Je va is en rte. Q uel temps ca e un d’été sont proc r su s te où tu habi té. J’a i vu l’île uvieux. fa ire pendant l’é souvent c’est pl et i, ic d au ch fa it pas très chez toi ? Il ne h Am itiés Elizabet 54

º Trinity On Wednesday May 27th, a group of 16 Year 9 girls and two teachers travelled to Alicante for our Spanish study trip. We departed at 4am and we were all very excited.

The trip took 2 hours and 30 minutes and when we arrived, at 11am the sun was shining above us. It was so warm compared to England. We took a bus to our hotel and settled down. After a little “siesta” – that is to say, a nap – we were ready to hit the town and we went for lunch and tasted a yummy authentic paella dish. Then we walked to the beach and on our way back to the hotel we stopped for a nice ice-cream. Estaba delicioso!

On Thursday we started early, waking up at 7am and having breakfast in our hotel. We went after that to our language lessons, which lasted 3 hours but were actually – surprisingly, even – fun! Most of the time we worked on our speaking skills and played lots of games while revising practical stuff, such as how to order food, shop for presents, ask for directions, etc.

After our language classes, we had lunch and we went to the Castle, on top of the Benicantil Mountain. The views were amazing! For dinner, we went to a typical Spanish sandwich bar (sandwiches are called bocadillos in Spanish) and you could order the filling of your sandwich from a menu of more than 100 options. They were all delicious.

On Friday we went to school again and then we had our shopping spree! We went to a huge shopping centre and we all shopped till we dropped. After that, we went to a cooking masterclass and we learnt how to cook paella.

Saturday was our last day in Alicante. We woke up early and took a coach to Terra Mítica, a huge theme park with all kind of crazy rides. We spent 4 hours there, but could have stayed for a whole day without going through all the rides. The weather was also very nice… We definitely did not want to come back to England, but all good things come to an end.

I would like to recommend to everyone in Year 8 that is studying Spanish to go on the trip next year. It was a fantastic experience and we had also the opportunity to use our Spanish and learn more about Spanish culture.

Art Corner: Laura Bartlett

Lucy Michaels, year 9

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Alicante

JOURNEYS throughยบ TEXT

From ILES GCS E t o A LE VEL

Annie reid

Charlotte Burrows

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daisy Kelly

imogen Freethy

Emily Sharwod Smith

isabella redding 56

Charlotte Michaels

Francesca Smyth

Kate dixon

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ES L I T X TE SE GC m o r F to EL V L A E

Katherine Bennett

Katherine Fry

Lauren Spreadbury Phoebe Shaw

Lily Gisborne

Maxine otto

remi Hardy

imogen Pinchess 57

Zayna Hussein

JOURNEYS throughº Astromania!

Thanks to the fantastic support of parents, old girls and other members of the RMS community, the first of the projects planned under the Campaign for Excellence has been delivered – and no-one is more excited about this than our Director of Sport, Mrs Spendiff!

“The pitch will make a massive difference to our teaching, coaching and inevitably our hockey success. Our days of limited access to hired astroturf pitches are over, and the time we will save travelling will from now on be spent offering more coaching time to the girls. Finally, the RMS hockey teams have a place they can call home.”

It is not only the staff who are happy about this – as Mrs Spendiff says; “The delight of the girls is a joy to see. The Campaign for Excellence has already taken a huge step towards making a difference to us all,

L et’s dig in!

T he A st ro g et s u nd erwa y…

and with continued support, it will continue to enhance the learning environment for all our girls.”

The Inter-house Hockey tournament matches were the first to be played on the pitches, shortly followed by the official opening which featured a hard fought contest between a team of Old Girls against a team of current senior girls. The Old Girls came out on top,

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winning 5-4!

58

º Trinity We had a wonderful Sports Day. The weather was great, everyone was in a fine competitive mood and Bethany Anderson, Year 12, captured the moments in photographs‌ Cumberland emerged as triumphant winners of the day.

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Sports day 2015!

JOURNEYS throughÂş Puzzle and Games Club During the course of the year, several girls have enjoyed the Puzzle and Games club. This is a club where they can not only develop their logic, strategy and problem-solving skills, but have fun in the process.

This year the club was able to update its games thanks to the generous donation of FORMS. Some of our new games included Cluedo, Nubble, Time Shock, Brainmaster, Laser Maze and new decks of cards.

Brainmaster is a logic game where one person hides a combination of four colours and the other player has to guess it. Each turn they are given an indication of whether they have put correct colours in the wrong places or correct colours in the right places, but are not told which colour. They must deduce this on their own. Emma and Laura Bishop enjoyed this game so much that they developed a logic strategy to always win the game in 5 moves.

Nubble is a Maths game where the girls roll dice and then have to use the dice and any operations to make a number on the board, which is then covered by their colour of counter. Higher numbers get higher points and the goal is to get a trail of one colour from one side to the other. This game is fantastic for not only basic numeracy, but also teaching order of operations and problem solving. The girls enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how to use the numbers to get the best possible score.

Laser Maze is another game where the girls are given a small laser piece and a target piece and must use all of the pieces provided to reflect the light and hit the target. This comes in 4 levels and can be played solo or in a group. The girls especially enjoyed the problem solving aspect of this game, and also learned a lot about the reflection of light.

The girls have also enjoyed playing various games brought in throughout the year, such as 9 Man’s Morris and Munchkin (pictured left).

Senior team Maths Challenge Joining the Senior Team Challenge has been an inspiring and beneficial experience for me. In the competition, the team of Emma, Laura, Helen and I, represented our school to compete against teams from other schools. We managed to integrate our skills and solve problems together throughout the competition.

The competition consists of 3 separate tasks: Group Round, Crossnumber and Shuttle. Each task was timed and therefore we need

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intense concentration on every task. On completion of the challenges, we concluded that working as a team and using our time wisely were the keys to success.

Though we did not get through to the Regional Finals, we gained a wonderful and valuable experience. Participating in the Senior Team Challenge has taught us how to work as a team and treasure individual skills. Every individual has a place to fill in the team and can make contribution to the competition. We would like to thank Mrs Cubbon for her support to us throughout the competition.

Vanessa tse, year 12 60

º Trinity We have started using

In school we have been using

The good thing about having an iPad in

iPads at school and

iPads in our lessons since April.

classes is it is like having endless

our first month of

They have helped us a lot and

resources with you wherever you are.

usage was fun and

made our learning more

Since there is Wi-Fi connection all

interesting. They have

effective. We have been using

around the school, if we need to look up

helped our learning

them in French to look up

something or do some work using the

because we get to use

words we don’t know, and we

internet we don’t have to book a

apps which help,

have been using them in

computer room, but instead get our

especially with foreign

English to

languages where iPads

collaborate on

really good as well such

can help us learn how to

a magazine

as ‘Haiku Deck’ and

iPads out. The apps are

pronounce the words

project. They make a lot of

‘Tellegami’. Haiku Deck

properly. It also helps us in English where

things easier – for instance, in

allows you to produce a

we are making a magazine project, using

Maths you don’t have to

presentation or power

the app BookCreator. The only problem

remember your calculator

point but fits all the

is lots of teachers want to use this app

anymore because you have

words in automatically. It

and you only get one free book – so that

one on your iPad, and in

also allows you to choose

is proving quite a challenge.

French you don’t have to

a picture as the back

spend hours searching

ground which is related to

One of my favourite apps is MindSnacks which you learn languages with. You only get one lesson for free but you get games to help you learn. It is great when you have a test coming up and you want

through a dictionary. Actually, if there’s

the slide without having to copy and

anything you don’t know you have the whole

paste. Tellegami is an app used for

of the Internet at your fingertips. We’ve used

languages as it allows you to insert

the iPads to make slideshows, to take notes

speech which a person then speaks and

in class, and much more. Plus, it’s

to revise the topic. I also

made my bag much lighter!

like Haiku Deck, which is basically PowerPoint but

emotionally reacts to.

Overall I am really happy with the use of

One of my favourite apps is

the iPads and I think it’s a great resource

which pictures already in

Haiku Deck, which is like

to have. The iPads also save us having

it so you don’t have to

Powerpoint but better. This is

to print off home work as the teachers

waste time looking for

because you don’t have to

can set homework on an app such as

pictures.

worry about changing the

‘Socrative student’ or ‘Haiku Deck’, and

A good point is that the teachers no longer need to book an ICT room for

have the Internet in the palm of our hands wherever we go – and as a result we use it more.

when we have completed it they can go on the app and mark it our work.

as it provides them for you. I

Abigail Williams, year 8

also like Wikipanion, which is

whole classes just so that we can use the Internet, we now

font size or endlessly trawling Google Images for pictures,

Wikipedia but in app form.

This pairs with another of my favourites, My Wikia, which doesn’t give you just the Wikipedia page but gives you a more indepth series of articles, like a miniature

We also have apps like Pages which is

Wikipedia (called a Wiki) for each subject. It’s

the same as word, so we can take our

designed for fans, but if you want to know

typed work home.

more about a series of books (say if you were

Overall, I am glad we started using iPads

writing a book review), then it can be really

in school.

helpful!

Jennifer Ferguson, year 8

Annabel Gorton, year 8 61

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iPads are here!

JOURNEYS throughº Battlefields In Year 9 History lessons you start to learn about the First World War. The Battlefields trip was going to be a unique opportunity for us to see the battlegrounds, trenches and memorials of the Great War and see

Great War. On average 45 Canadian

trenches in an attempt to gain an

students run this and other Canadian sites

advantage. In December 1914, French

and provide detailed tours to visitors. After

and British engineers had started

our tour we went to Vimy Ridge memorial.

tunnelling beneath this region and placing

This is a beautiful and gigantic piece of

explosive charges.

architecture and is carved from a single piece of stone.

what we’d been studying in the classroom

Next we visited the Wellington Tunnels in

in real life. Last year marked 100 years

Arras. This is an underground museum

since the outbreak of the Great War and

and is founded to the memory of

you can sense the importance of this

thousands of men of the British Army and

when you visit the sites.

Dominion Forces who lived and worked under the city during the First World War. It particularly commemorates the work of the tunnel-builders of New Zealand, who only used hand picks to create this extensive underground system. Our tour guides showed us a number of features, such as; mining trucks, equipment, food and drink containers and even examples

Early morning on Saturday the 2nd of May we set off to Belgium. Our first visit was to

of their toilets! There are even examples of

The particular crater we visited at La

‘graffiti’ and drawings left by the soldiers

Boisselle was made by a gigantic

which give you a perspective into how

underground mining explosion which had

their underground life was. These two

been sprung on 1st July 1916, the first

sites were valuable experiences for many

day of the Battle of the Somme. The

reasons, but was also significant as it

crater has been preserved as a lasting

reminded us of the many nations who

memory to this war and the men who

fought during the First World War.

died. A service is held here on 1st July every year.

the newly refurbished ‘In Flanders Field Museum’, in Ypres. The museum is full of

Afterwards we visited the Ulster Tower, a

interesting artefacts. Its layout is

memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster)

intentionally designed to make the visitor

Division. At the entrance to the tower is a

feel uncomfortable and this adds to the

plaque commemorating the names of 9

atmosphere. It was a good introduction

men of the Division who won the Victoria

to the trip and provided us with insight

Cross during the Somme. There is also an

into what to expect in the forthcoming

inscription which reads:

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days.

“This Memorial is Dedicated to the Men

On Sunday we got up early and went

and Women who at the call of King and

to the memorial and museum at Vimy

country, left all that was dear to them,

Ridge. This site commemorates the

endured hardness, faced danger, and

attack which was undertaken by the

finally passed out of the sight of man,

Canadian troops in April 1917. The Germans had held this important area since the outbreak of war in 1914 so this was a very important battle. The Canadian government now run the site and it is a memorial to their Forces who fought in the

In the afternoon we visited La Boisselle, which was situated at the

giving up their own lives that others might live in Freedom.”

heart of what had been the Somme

On to the Thiepval Memorial. This is the

battlefields. With the War on the surface at

largest of the Memorials to the Missing

stalemate both sides had begun

men of the war. On the panels of the

searching beneath their opponents’

arches are the names of those who have

62

º Trinity Our next visit was to Langemark German

Having cleaned ourselves up we then

Missing.’ There are over 70,000 names on

cemetery. This cemetery outlined a stark

headed back to Ypres to have dinner and

the arches, all of men who died in the

contrast to the bright and uplifting

then see the Last Post at the Menin Gate.

Battles of the Somme. The memorial was

memorials we had just seen and many of

At 8pm each day the masses gather at

unveiled by the Prince of Wales on 1st

us considered it to be a different

the Menin Gate to hold this ceremony. A

August, 1932. He made a speech partly in

experience altogether. Afterwards we

young boy from a Scottish school

French and British and said that ‘our first

travelled to Tyne Cot cemetery, which is a

accompanied the trumpeters with

thoughts should be with the relatives of

burial ground for the Commonwealth dead

bagpipes making this an even more

those whose death has purchased our

of the First World War; it is also the site

special occasion. It was a touching end to

current freedom’. We found this memorial

where RMS holds its remembrance

what had been a moving day and also

particularly moving.

ceremony each year to the Old Boys of

gave us an opportunity to give the Last

RMS. We gathered in a circle and the

Post Association the money we had

teachers read out the Act of

raised through our cake sale – thank you

Remembrance. They then read out the

for buying them!

112 names which are on the memorial along the Chapel corridor. This was a particularly moving experience as for each name read aloud a student laid down a red carnation. We would like to thank FORMS for providing the red carnations for this ceremony.

We finished our visit to France at the Somme Museum and then set off to Belgium. We stocked up on Belgium chocolate and then met

Our final day saw us visiting

our guide, Simonne. She was great

Talbot House, which today is a living

and knew lots about the sites we were

museum. Thousands of British soldiers

seeing. She started our tour by taking

passed through this house during the 3

us to Essex Farm cemetery and

years it was open from 1915 to 1918. It

medical-dressing station. This is

was a place where the soldiers could

perhaps most famous for its association

escape from the terrors of the Front line.

with John McCrae who, whilst stationed

Hill 62 was next on our tour. We were

The soldier’s rank was left at the door and

at Essex Farm in May 1915, wrote the

encouraged to go into the museum and

there was always a cup of tea on the go.

very famous poem ‘In Flanders Field’. He

explore the huge array of artefacts on

We were encouraged to play the piano

wrote this poem after one of his close

show. We then went outside to go into the

and treat it how the men would have

friends had been killed and buried and he

trench system. It was very muddy and

treated it, as a place behind British lines

saw the poppies blowing in the wind near

had a distinctive smell and although we

where men could spend time relaxing in a

the graves and this influenced the words

couldn’t truly appreciate the soldier’s

British ‘home-from-home’.

he wrote;

experience, we knew that we wouldn’t

In Flanders’ Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row.

That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

have liked to stay in there for too long, especially as some of us went through the dark tunnels and could be heard above ground screaming thinking there were rats in there with us… which was not the case!

63

We would like to finish by thanking our teachers, Mr Grogan, Mrs Timoney, Mrs Baron and Miss Hughes for taking us on this memorable trip.

History Scholars, year 9

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no known grave and are thus ‘the

JOURNEYS throughº

Bethany rosewall olivia o’Sullivan

Lily Gisborne

Helen Zuo

natasha Wilcox

Phoebe isaacs

Zoe Brown

Bethany Anderson

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Charlotte dormoy

64

ยบ Trinity TRINITY yasmin Leggett isabel Smart rachel Hartigan Charlotte Burrows

Phoebe Zehetmayr

Hope Meddeman Amber Willison

Georgia Bennett 65

JOURNEYS throughยบ Anna Charles

Zoey Scott

Amy Buttivant Sarah Wren

Sophie Bates

rosalind Mather Amy tristam-Walmsley

Charlotte Best

Milly Adams

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Ellie turner

Annie reid 66

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Sophie Phillips

Charlotte Atkinson

Jessica Patel

Sophie Crocker Eleanor Grimshaw Ellen Baker

Saffyre Coutts Madeleine Percival

Hanna Landgraff Jessie Boyer

Chloe isaac Gabriella Wisbey

rhiannon Jenkins 67

JOURNEYS throughº

year 11 dt Show The Year 11 DT Show was a way for the GCSE students to show off their impressive coursework. The DT class named ‘The Fluffy Unicorns’ put their hard work on show for us all to see. It meant that each student could get feedback from their peers in order to improve their project. A range of projects was on display, from art containers to bedside tables, showing the talents of everyone taking GCSE DT.

Jessie Boyer, year 13

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Art Corner: Rosalind Mather

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º Trinity TRINITY

Anna Berryman – A2 level

Francesca norris – GCSE level

Gabriella rishover – AS level

Sarah roger-Lund – AS level

Emer Keeney – GCSE level Eneh Alexander ikwue – GCSE level

Francesca rosario – GCSE level

nicole trup – GCSE level

DESIGN &

octavia Hoskin – GCSE level

TECHNOLOGY

WORK

Emily Sharwood-Smith – GCSE level

SHOP 69

rachel Bard– GCSE level

JOURNEYS throughยบ

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the Leavers of 2015

70

º Trinity For my GAP year I have planned to go to

During my gap year I will be taking part in

For my gap year I will be going to Israel

Australia and work as a GAP student

sections of a round-the-world sailing race

on a leadership scheme called Shnat

assisting in the Performing Arts

called Clipper Race of Your Life. This will

Netzer. This will last from October until

Department of a Senior School. I have

start on the 30th of August and I will sail,

June and is through my youth

always admired the GAP girls that come

on a 70 foot boat with a crew of around

movement – RSY Netzer. After becoming

to work at RMS. Growing up as a boarder

20, to Albany, Australia. Before I get there

involved with RSY in the summer of Year

it has always been an ambition of mine to

I will stop in Rio, Brazil and Cape Town,

11 when I spent a month travelling

go to see Australia and travel on my own.

South Africa. When I get to Australia I will

around Israel, I have since become a

I feel as though this experience, as a

leave the boat and have a three week

leader on their camps for the younger

whole, will give me a completely new

holiday travelling around and will return

members of the movement. Going on

feeling of independence and will prepare

home before Christmas. In the New Year I

Shnat will give me the opportunity to

me for the world beyond school and living

will volunteer with the tall ships

further my knowledge about Israel and

at home. After working at the school for 6

organization teaching people how to sail. I

Judaism among other topics, whilst being

months, I plan to travel around to explore

will then return to the Clipper boat in the

able to become more involved with RSY.

other parts of the world that I have never

middle of April, and travel from one side

been to before, such as Thailand and Fiji.

of America to the other and then back to

I hope that my GAP year is something

England, returning home in June. I am

that I will remember forever and that I will

currently the youngest female taking part

grow as a person and be able to face the

in the 2015-2016 race.

'real world' with no fears for the future.

Alice Grigg, year 13

I will spend the first month on Kibbutz Lotan in southern Israel getting to know the rest of my group and experiencing what it is like working on the kibbutz with the rest of the community that live there.

I chose to do this as a gap year as I enjoy

For the rest of the first half of my gap

sailing immensely, and I have always

year, I can either choose to stay there and

wanted to travel the globe. This seemed

become more involved in the work or go

to put these two passions together and

to Karmiel, a city in northern Israel, where

create the perfect gap year for me. I know

I will be living in a flat and spend time

that it will be tough, especially as there

volunteering in the community. The

will be no one else of my own age group,

second half of Shnat is spent in

But I know it is an experience that I will

Jerusalem where I will again be sharing a

treasure for life.

flat with the rest of my group. The days

Sophie Crocker, year 13

are spent in classes learning about Israeli society, Jewish History and Culture, and to gain a better understanding of Progressive Judaism. I will also have the chance to improve my Hebrew.

I am really looking forward to starting this gap year and meeting a huge variety of people from around the world who have similar values and ideals as me. In addition to this, it will give me a chance to expand my knowledge and opinions on these interests and become more independent, setting me up for university!

Sophie Phillips, year 13

Work Experience 2015 71

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taking a Gap year…

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2015-

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‘Sunset over School grounds’ by Mr Spain

Where to next?‌

The Royal Masonic School for Girls Rickmansworth Park Rickmansworth Hertfordshire WD3 4HF +44 (0)1923 773168 www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk