E-weekly Issue 193

Message from Mrs Green 

We hope you all had a restful Easter break and an opportunity to enjoy the good weather. It was wonderful to welcome all the girls back earlier this week and lovely to see them making the most of the beautiful school grounds. We look forward to a fruitful term ahead. 

As you are now aware we are no longer testing for Covid and below is new guidance from the UK government for when young people with symptoms should stay at home and when they can return to education.
- Children and young people with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, who are otherwise well, can continue to attend their education setting.
- Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people, where they can. They can go back to school, college or childcare, and resume normal activities when they no longer have a high temperature and they are well enough to attend.
- If a child or young person has a positive COVID-19 test result they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test, if they can. After 3 days, if they feel well and do not have a high temperature, the risk of passing the infection on to others is much lower. This is because children and young people tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults.
- Children and young people who live with someone who has a positive COVID-19 test result should continue to attend school as normal.

As a School community we have a lot to look forward to this term and we hope to see you all at the various events and sport fixtures, as well as the Friends’ Peacock Ball on Saturday 18 June and our Mayfield Day celebration on Saturday 25 June.

Book now – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Bookings are now open for Mayfield Theatre Company Seniors’ production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on 19^th and 20^th May at 7pm!
Book tickets

Inter-House Drama

The annual Inter-House Drama competition took place on the last day of the Spring Term. This year our presiding judge was Old Cornelian and former Head Girl, Amelia Gabriel (Class of 2015).  Amelia is a professional actor and is currently working with the theatre company, 'Nine Inch Fools'. Each House presented a 15-minute piece of drama that they devised based on the idea of a person they considered to be 'a legend'. The chosen four were Amelia Earhart, Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe and Odysseus! All the Houses had large casts that spanned across the year groups, they were all costumed appropriately and well-rehearsed. A lot of effort had been put into each piece and everyone who took part should be proud of their achievements. The winners included Bronte for Best Sound Effects and Lighting,  Curie for Best Programme, Yaa in Astor for Best Supporting Actor and Anastasia in Glennie for Best Actor. This year the overall winning House was Glennie. Well done to everyone who took part.

Sally Gerstmeyer, Head of Drama Department

Easter Egg Hunt

Our fantastic Lower School prefect team organised this year's Easter egg hunt, which took place on the last day of Spring Term, and caused great excitement among everyone involved. There were clues across the school site and special golden eggs if you could find them which meant extra special prizes! The winners were Holly, Annalise and Maria. 

Claire Baker, Head of Lower School

The Friends' Peacock Ball - Saturday 18th June

The Friends of Mayfield are pleased to announce the upcoming summer Peacock Ball to be held at Mayfield School on Saturday 18th June. 

Book tickets for Peacock Ball (from 8am Saturday)
If you would like to donate an auction item or smaller gift for the wishing tree please contact Susie Pepper at susiepepper10@gmail.com.

Poetry Please

The English Department is delighted with the sonnet offerings (see examples below) for the Mayfield Anthology and now looks forward to extending this into writing celebratory poetry about the Queen’s Jubilee.  Entries should be submitted on or before 6^th June.  A third Edition will be produced in time for Mayfield Day.

Keep writing every one – PLEASE…
Mrs Lucinda Misiewicz, Teacher of English/Year 11 Tutor

Shakespeare used to mention modern Technology - by Kitty in Year 7
The stars were shining in the dark night sky.
The swirly dust grew tall towards the moon.
As the sun went down, I let out a sigh.
The gloomy night sky will appear very soon.
I lay on the ground looking at the stars.
I have spotted a shooting star skiing.
I lay on the ground and can only hear cars
Like I am the only human being.
I can hear the whispers on the soft wind.
The stars light up the night and tend to shine.
I cannot move, I am on the ground pinned.
I look at the dark trees; I see a pine.
And as I fall asleep, I dream about
If I would be here if stars I was without.

A Poem - by A Anon in Year 8
A poem is a name; A poem is a game
A poem has a beat; a poem has feet
A poem is for brains; a poem rhymes the same
A poem don’t repeat; a poem don’t heat

A poem is for fun; a poem in the sun
A poem is cool; but not for a fool
A poem has begun; and is for everyone,
A poem in a pool; a poem on a stool.

A poem is a tool; A poem is for school,
A poem is to be read; and to be said,
A poem is a rule; a poem is a jewel,
A poem in my head; a poem I dread,

No category; just Auditory
A poem is a story; A poem is said in glory.

Dancing Queen!

Tabatha in Year 10 had a wonderful experience on Saturday 26^th March 2022 dancing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the match and at half time in front of over 40,000 fans. She was dancing as part of The Showdown Rugby series at the match between Saracens and Bristol Bears, with  
Saracens winning 27-23. 

Tabatha is an incredibly devoted dancer and she currently trains with the Catherine Bellinger School of Dance in Ballet, Pointe, Modern and Musical Theatre, alongside volunteering every Saturday teaching dance to pre-school classes.  In addition to this Tabatha has had vocational training and ballroom training with Kristina Rihanoff and has a vast list of previous performances including The Nutcracker at the Congress Theatre Eastbourne and Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall. She worked incredibly hard behind the scenes last term learning our Lower School dances for the Dance Show. She has shown an incredible amount of dedication to support the Sports Department in all our preparations for this year’s show and we look forward to seeing her continue to grow as both a dancer and choreographer in the future. 

Oxbridge Reading Group

The Oxbridge Reading Group enjoyed a shared reading of James Joyce’s epic Modernist novel ‘Ulysses’ last term to celebrate the work’s centenary. Here are some of their thoughts on this extraordinary, notoriously challenging novel and its author:

Merged ten thousand novels into one. Portrays normal minds on a normal day but that made us question what is normal. On a normal day everyone’s mind is confused. What do we actually know without feeling or knowing that we do? - Teresa
Reacting against linear narrative being packaged as normal. An immersive experience, disgusting and graphic – at times off-putting. Weird!  - Yueshi
Focuses on Ireland which he knows without knowing it. Subconscious mind explored – what we know and think about and forget all captured. - Rosie
A genius wanting to tell stories in his own way, not wanting to be normal like “basic people” who use punctuation! – Iulia
Other keen members of the group were Erica and Katie.

The readers have really stretched themselves this term, we’ve had a great time and feel a strong sense of achievement even if we skipped a few passages here and there! We’ve learned a lot about Modernism and about the Irish literary tradition. It’s inspired us to think about what narrative means, who gets to tell stories about whom, and left us wanting to read more experimental fiction.

Miss J. Staunton, Head of English

Easter Delights!

Here are some photos of our Easter cooking in Food and Nut. 

• Decorated Easter cakes by Year 12 Culinary Skills students
• White chocolate Easter cheesecakes - Middle School Cooking Club and Leeds Saturday Morning Cooking 
• Hot cross scones - Year 9 
• Hot cross buns - Leeds Saturday afternoon cooking 
• Cinnamon buns - Year 10 Food Preparation and Nutrition students

Mrs Sue Smeaton, Head of Food and Nutrition

Summer Cake Competition

On Mayfield Day (25^th June) we will be holding a cake competition and welcome entries from pupils, parents and staff. This year’s theme is 'Summer'. Please email ssmeaton@mayfieldgirls.org by Friday 10 June if you would like to enter.

Boarders' Trip to Battle

The final Saturday of last term saw a mixture of Year 9, 10 and Sixth Form boarders venture to the small town of Battle in the Sussex countryside to have the opportunity to see the place where the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066. In the grounds of Battle Abbey, our own Mrs Downing led a session by creating thought-provoking scenarios to allow the pupils to understand the different stages of the battle. We also had a walk around the grounds, which were stunning on such a beautifully sunny day. Following this the girls had the opportunity to have a look round the shops although I think the best trade was done by the ice-cream shop!

Earth Hour Biology Lesson

Period 5 on 25^th March was Earth Hour at Mayfield when lessons were conducted without the use of electricity. Year 12 Biologists took part in a Blockbusters style revision quiz to help embed key terminology. The quiz mat was made using recycled paper. It was a warm day and we had a very competitive session in the sun!

Notices

Covid vaccinations for 12-15 year olds

How to book your second dose

School Shop

Welcome back to the Summer Term, we hope you all had an enjoyable break.

Lost Property
If I have named lost property, you have all been e-mailed to collect it from the School Shop – please check your e-mails or the list on the School Shop door and do so as soon as possible. I have also e-mailed all students the photos below. This is un-named property. The shoes will all be disposed off at the end of next week (29^th April) if not collected and are located on the bench opposite the School Shop.

We also have some personal items of jewellery and watches etc. These are available to collect from the School Shop and will be held until half term break when they will be donated to charity or disposed of if not collected.

New in this term
- Cricket Caps with Mayfield's logo at £8.25 each in Cyclone or Navy Blue.
- Mayfield travel mugs which are 85% stainless steel so are recyclable and durable. These are £6.50 each.
- New desktop items – matching pen pots and letter trays that are £2.25 and £3.50. These are in pastel colours; the trays are stackable, and they are made of open metal fretwork.
Also Available
- We have after sun cream and a small amount of sun cream available for when (hopefully) the weather gets hotter.
- We also have plain baseball / cricket caps in navy, white and cyclone blue at £3.00 each.

Exams
We carry a selection of revision aids in the School Shop such as flash cards, post-it notes, highlighters, small white boards etc. If there is anything you think we do not stock for exams that would be useful, please feel free to drop me a line at sbowles@mayfieldgirls.org to see If I can source it for you.

CALCULATORS – If you have battery calculators and you are unsure or know the batteries need changing, we have some button and AAA & AA batteries available. Please bring your calculators to the School Shop at least the day before. The tiny screws on the backs of the calculators are fiddly to get out, so you will need to leave it with me and sometimes we cannot open the back at all. Please do not leave it to the morning of the exam as we may not have time to be able to help you.

House Points
Please do not forget to bring me your empty (and clean) shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel bottles if they have tops that are removable. You will get 3 environmental house points for every one you bring. We will then recycle them in the shop where you can buy bulk shampoo, conditioner & shower gel. Again, for every purchase of the bulk product you buy you get 3 environmental house points.

Year 11 & 13 - Second Hand
Once you are on study leave and have a reduced need for certain parts of your uniform, if you wish to sell this back to the School Shop for second hand, please do the following:
1.       Please make sure you have uniform for Prize Giving / Sports Day which is on 25th June – including your house polo.
2.       Make sure all the items are washed and ironed. If we must launder them, we will consider the item a donation as we will need to cover the cost of laundering them - this includes ironing them.
3.       Please make sure they are the current uniform. We do not take back obsolete uniform or that with the old logo on it.
4.       We do not take back things such as white shirts, swim caps, hockey socks etc.
5.       All items must be in good condition, have no holes, rips, broken zips, or stains and not be faded.
6.       If you are in doubt, please send it all in and what we cannot take for second hand we will recycle for you.
7.       Items taken in (and not sent for recycling) will be credited to your School Shop account straight away. Therefore please make sure all items you wish to sell are with us by the last day of term. After July 8^th, any items received if you are leaving, will be considered a donation as your account will be closed. For those moving into the Sixth Form, if we receive items after term has ended or even the Autumn 22 term, we will credit you on the next available bill run.
8.       For Year 11 – please remember to keep your House Polo, sport bag and any sport kit you know you will need for next year. If you are unsure of your sport choice yet, please keep all your sport kit and then bring items you will not need to me in the Autumn term once you have chosen your sport.

The Mayfield Festival of Music and the Arts starts tomorrow and tickets for most events are still available.

It has recently been announced that the Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex will be attending the first concert of the Festival on Sunday the 24th of April. This concert includes the world premiere of a new work by composer Nicholas O'Neill - Cantata of St. Dunstan - that was commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary of the Mayfield Festival in 2020 but which was unable to be performed in the anniversary year because of the pandemic-enforced cancellation of the 2020 Festival. It is in recognition of this anniversary that Her Majesty the Queen's representative in East Sussex will be joining the audience. Moreover, the performers at this concert include Mayfield School’s very own Schola Cantorum.

A very important point to note is that students at Mayfield School can now attend any of the events at the Festival free of charge subject to ticket availability. Any student who would like to take advantage of this generous offer should apply to Dr Ward (Director of Music) who will make the necessary arrangements with the Festival Box Office.

In addition to the Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition four other Festival events are taking place within the School: Liz Grand’s one-woman play about Clementine Churchill (which is being staged in the Concert Hall on the 3^rd of May), a concert by the highly-regarded folk music trio Leveret (which is also in the Concert Hall on the 27^th of April), a recital of works by Brahms and Schumann given by pianist Sam Haywood and cellist Guy Johnston (in the Chapel on the 29^th of April) and a lunchtime concert given by students of Mayfield School in Gresham Hall on the 5^th of May.

There is also a rare opportunity to see a screening of the classic science fiction silent film Metropolis with an accompaniment of live organ music (played by Darius Battiwalla) on Friday the 6^th of May in St. Dunstan’s Church.

Full details of all events are available in the Festival brochure (copies of which can be obtained free of charge from the School Reception) and on the Festival website at www.mayfieldfestival.co.uk. Tickets can be purchased either online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/mayfieldfestival, by telephone on 0333 666 3366 (quoting Mayfield Festival) or in person at Sew Inspired, High Street, Mayfield. Tickets for Under-30s are half price for all events bar one.