E-weekly Issue 126

Letter from the Headmistress

Dear Parents and Guardians,
Happy Easter to you all!

I hope that the joy of the Easter message has filled us all with optimism for the future. While of course it would have been nice to be returning to School as normal, there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel and, God willing, I would like to think that we may well be back together sooner than might have been anticipated. We will be back as soon as we are allowed and it is safe to do so.

My thanks go particularly to all the support staff who have been in over the last couple of weeks to ensure that the School is clean, maintained and ready to open as quickly as possible. Additional thanks to all of you who contributed feedback on our virtual provision to Mrs Bunce at the end of last term. As a result, we have made a few tweaks to the shape of the day. We are proposing lessons will all start at the usual time but will now be 45 minutes long, with a break of 15 minutes for girls to catch up on any notes and, more importantly, to have a screen break between sessions. I hope that by its nature, the curriculum we are continuing to offer will provide a range of activities and help break up the day for the girls, but we want them to take some responsibility themselves.

As a number of parents have expressed misgivings about virtual Music and LAMDA lessons, we have taken the decision to suspend these lessons for this half of term, in the first instance. Music and LAMDA staff will be furloughed from Mayfield, although as they also work independently, they may well be working privately in the interim. Therefore, parents can disregard this term’s fees from invoices, although historic charges from last term still apply.

For those parents with girls in Years 11 and 13: it has been confirmed that the results will be announced on the original dates of 13th August for A Level and 20th August for GCSEs. We have no further updates on when examinations will be scheduled for those who wish to sit them next term.

Over the past few weeks, many of our wider school community have been involved in initiatives to help others. Mr Rees and Mr Warren have spent much of the holiday creating masks (over 400 to date) which are being supplied to Hospice in the Weald, local nursing homes and GP practices, as have supplies from our Health Centre. A number of girls have also been active in different ways: please do continue to let us know so we can celebrate these small, but important gestures of support and humanity. After all, we are lucky in so many ways, especially compared to many around the world. Mayfield is particularly beautiful and peaceful at this time, and it is hard to believe that there are so many places and individuals struggling. I am sure this is the same for many of you and I think it is important for us not to feel guilty about this, but to appreciate moments of joy and in turn to be inspired to reach out and share in whatever ways we can. Having said that, I know that this enforced lockdown is bringing many challenges to families and, inevitably, bereavement. Please let me know if you have lost someone close to you as we are happy to add them to our book of remembrance. Equally we have a thanksgiving list, for those who have recovered and those who are putting themselves at risk on the front line. Coming together in shared prayer is more important than ever at this time and I hope that you and the girls will take advantage of the Chaplaincy provision, especially the prayer time at the start of the day. There are many who need our prayers at this time and often it might be the only way we can help. I know that I have received many messages from Old Cornelians around the world, who have appreciated being able to join with, and who feel supported by, the prayer-life of our community.

Thank you to everyone who has been in touch to convey their appreciation for all that staff have been doing to support girls over the past few weeks in keeping up the continuity of education in its widest form. We are all committed to working together with you to build on this over the coming weeks.

With my prayers and best wishes.
Miss Antonia Beary, Headmistress

STEM Hero for April

Our STEM hero for April is Florence Nightingale, revolutionary nurse and statistician, and founder of the nursing school at St Thomas' hospital, London. Her insistence on handwashing and hygiene saved countless lives from preventable diseases during the Crimean War. Her systematic approach to record keeping helped prove links between poor hygiene and mortality rates, and to influence politicians to improve conditions in British hospitals.

She famously said: “The greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs whilst the world whirls as a maddening dreidel.”

Mrs Rachel Davies, Deputy Head of Sixth Form, Teacher of Biology and STEM Coordinator

The Science Behind Washing our Hands for 20 Seconds

Have you wondered why we have to wash our hands with lots of soap and warm water whilst singing happy birthday twice? This video explains the science behind handwashing to control the spread of coronavirus.

Mrs Rachel Davies, Deputy Head of Sixth Form, Teacher of Biology and STEM Coordinator Sixth Form, Teacher of Biology and STEM Coordinator

News from the Textiles Department

The Textiles Team has been busy creating patterns and prototypes for scrubs that can be sent to the NHS for use in hospitals and care homes. Production of the scrubs will begin in earnest next week!
Mrs Terri Budden, Head of Textiles

Year 10 British Biology Challenge 2020

In March, Year 10 Biologists took part in the Biology Challenge, run by the Royal Society for Biology. The Biology Challenge stimulates students’ curiosity for the natural world and encourages them to take an interest in Biology outside of school. The Challenge is open to pupils aged 12 to 15 years old and comprises two 25-minute multiple choice papers taken online. The questions are set on the School curriculum, but the competition also rewards students whose knowledge of the subject has been increased by reading books and magazines, watching natural history programmes, taking notice of the news for items of biological interest, and are generally aware of our natural flora and fauna.

Mayfield girls performed very well this year with Elizabeth winning a Silver Award, and Avery, Mia and Vera winning Bronze Awards. Well done girls! Many other members of the Year group received Commended and Highly Commended Certificates. Congratulations to everyone who took part.

Mrs Jocelyn Mahon, Head of Biology

St Michael's House

Boarders are invited to log into Teams at 18:00 every Monday evening for a house chat and light entertainment. Fun hats, quizzes and hobby sharing will be on the agenda.

Mrs Margaret Barnett, St Michael’s Housemistress

What’s been cooking over the Easter break? 

It has been lovely to have students send me photos of what they have been able to cook over the last few weeks. What have the staff been cooking?  Please don’t forget to tag us on Instagram @MGfoodandnut as well as uploading your pictures into your recipe folder in Teams class notebook. 

Thank you.

Mrs Emily Theobald, Head of Food and Nutrition

Year 7 History Projects on Tudor Life

Year 7 Historians were asked to research and create projects on Tudor Life. Well done to Millie for designing a fabulous Tudor dress and for making a Tudor Beer Loaf! It looks delicious!

Mrs Lucy Lawson, Teacher of History

Chaplaincy News

This Sunday’s Gospel:   Luke 24:13-35
In this week’s Gospel, we hear the familiar story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. What an apt piece of scripture for these troubled times! Two men, uncertain, troubled, afraid, have been in hiding for weeks, since the death of their Teacher. As known followers of Jesus, they were in grave danger. They didn’t understand what was happening, or why. Everything they had known, all that was certain in their lives had been whisked away in a moment on Good Friday. But Jesus came and walked with them, on their journey into the unknown. And as they spent time with him, their fears melted away. They began to hope again. They began to take comfort. And that night, as they ate together, suddenly they recognised Jesus, and they rejoiced. Immediately they ran out into the world to proclaim the Good News.

I suspect that, when these restrictions are lifted, a priority for many of us will be visiting friends and loved ones. We look forward to eating with each other again, laughing and loving, and being together again. And people the world over will join those disciples on the road to Emmaus, re-living that journey from darkness into light, that belated Easter joy.

Let us remember that Jesus walks this road with us during these days - whether or not we recognise him. And on Sunday, as we once again are unable to participate in the Eucharist, let us pray the words of spiritual Communion, offered to us by Pope Francis recently:

At Your feet, O my Jesus, I prostrate myself and I offer You repentance of my contrite heart,
Which is humbled in its nothingness and in Your holy presence.
I adore You in the Sacrament of Your love, the ineffable Eucharist.
I desire to receive You into the poor dwelling that my heart offers You.
While waiting for the happiness of sacramental communion, I wish to possess You in spirit.
Come to me, O my Jesus, since I, for my part, am coming to You!
May Your love embrace my whole being in life and in death.
I believe in You, I hope in You, I love You. Amen.

Mr Ronan Lavery, Lay Chaplain
Mayfield School
Switchboard: 01435 874600
Direct: 01435 874602
www.mayfieldgirls.org
A Holy Child School since 1872

Swimming Pool Update

While the School is empty, it is a good opportunity to give our swimming pool some attention. Work began this week to remove the old pool liner which means the pool has been drained and is completely empty. The liner will then be replaced with a two-part resin and the lines painted back in. The inside of the pool is actually white but once full of water, it appears blue, so it will look the same as before but shiny and new. The tiles around the pool are also being covered to make way for a new floor area. This will be divided into an area for swimmers to walk around, and an area for spectators to use. This segregation should make the pool surround easier to clean. Finally, the diving blocks will be stabilised to eliminate the 'wobble' caused by the angle of the tiles at the edge of the pool. This process will take two to three weeks and then the pool will be filled, re-heated, and made ready for some Summer Term use. 

Mrs Pippa Whitby, Teacher of PE and St Gabriel’s Housemistress           

Reminder from the School Office

We would like to remind you that we send out a large number of School emails via our InTouch system.  These messages will not look like the normal messages you receive from us but come from '8456035@capita-intouch.co.uk'

Please check your Junk, Clutter or SPAM mail boxes to see if they have gone in there and make this email address a ‘safe sender’ to ensure that you receive all of our messages.

Thank you very much.
The School Office

Mayfield Social Media Accounts

For up to date information on School events and activities.
Mayfield School - @Mayfieldgirls
Mayfield Geography - @MGeographers
Mayfield Economics - @MayfieldECON
Mayfield Food and Nutrition - @MGFoodandNut
Mayfield Music - @MayfieldGirlsM1
Mayfield Drama -@DramaMayfield
Mayfield STEM - @MayfieldGirlsS1
Mayfield Careers - @MGCareersDept
Mayfield Sport - @MGPEDept
Mayfield Spark Camps - @SparkCamps                                     
Mayfield Library - @MGLibraries

Instagram:
Geography - www.instagram.com/mayfieldgeographers      
Mayfield School - www.instagram.com/mayfieldschool

Facebook:
School - www.facebook.com/mayfieldgirls
Alumnae - www.facebook.com/OldCornelians
Spark - www.facebook.com/mayfieldschoolsparkcamps

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