E-weekly Issue 145

The Friends of Mayfield Virtual Christmas Michaelmas Fair

The Friends are delighted to announce that they are hosting Mayfield’s first-ever Virtual Christmas Michaelmas Fair this year, as we are unable to hold the event at School due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Please click here to peruse all the fabulous stalls. You'll find all sorts of wonderful Christmas gifts and treats available to buy. Be sure to regularly check back as more will be added in the run-up to Christmas!

Some stallholders are offering a discount or free postage with the code MayfieldMF20 so there are some bargains to be had!

Happy Christmas shopping!
The Friends

Children in Need

Thank you very much to everyone who came to School in home clothes, baked cakes, bought raffle tickets, and donated prizes to raise money for Children In Need last Friday. We raised a whopping £1447.25 including funds raised from the Lower School sponsored walk – our highest total to date! Well done all!
Miss Lucy Lawson, Teacher of History

Lower School
As part of Lower School's fundraising efforts, the Year 7s embarked on the Mayfield Circular Walk before Half Term. The weather held out for them and they completed 5km altogether, raising a fantastic £480.10 in the process!

Year 7 Louise said: "I really enjoyed going on our charity walk because it was nice to get outside and raise funds for a good cause. On Children in Need Day, it was great to get involved with all the activities going on, whilst raising awareness and money to give to children that need our help and are less fortunate than us."

Many thanks to Mrs Baker, Mrs Lawson, Mrs McFadyean and Mr Percival for accompanying the girls.
Mr Daniel Smith, Teacher of Drama and Media Studies

National Maths Week

The first week back after Half Term saw the start of National Maths Week (8^th to 14th November), and Mayfield’s Mathematics Department marked the occasion by running a number of events and competitions.

During lessons, we ran a daily activity introducing the girls to interesting and unusual areas of the subject that are not covered in the normal syllabus, such as the Greek mathematician, Eratosthenes, who measured the circumference of Earth in 200BC with little more than a stick in the ground and some simple geometry.

A highlight of the week was exploring the art that can be made from graphing equations - the results were wonderful and can be seen below. We also featured a different prominent female mathematician from history every day, and the girls learnt about some of the rich stories that often lie behind the sums. We ended the week with a closely-fought Sudoku competition and a hotly contested ‘Maths Joke’ competition - winning entries below!

Sudoku Winners
Year 8 Ines
Year 8 Onnae
Year 8 Flo

‘Maths Joke’ Winners:
Year 7 Matilda: "How does a mathematician plough a field? With a pro-tractor!"
Year 8 Matilda: "I saw my maths teacher with a piece of graph paper yesterday. She must be plotting something!"
Year 7 Maggie: "I have a scary maths joke but I am two squared to say it!"
Mr Jonathan Percival, Teacher of Maths
 

Cornelian Lecture with Emma Rosen

Students, parents, and staff enjoyed a career’s talk with a difference on Tuesday evening, when OC Emma Rosen kindly treated us to a Cornelian Lecture on ‘How to find your passion and make it your job’ about her quest to try 25 different careers by the time she was 25.

Emma inspired us all with tales of her work experience, which ranged from archaeology in Transylvania, tour guiding in Venezuela, and investigative journalism with The Telegraph, to playing an extra in a major movie, alpaca farming in Cornwall, and assisting the British Council's crisis team during the terror attack in Westminster.

Emma is an experienced TED speaker who launched her project three years ago, and who aims to encourage young people to get more work experience, to learn by doing, and to be more proactive about their career education. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the lecture and asked lots of questions, commenting on how interesting Emma’s experiences are.
Mrs Amanda Glubb, Head of Careers and Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme Manager        

Diwali Delights in Gabs

The girls in St Gabriel’s House celebrated Diwali at the weekend by decorating the Common Room with tea lights and posters, having quizzes, and making scrumptious banana fritters. They then had a feast of samosas, fritters and other delicious traditional food that Year 10 Sahana had kindly brought in for us.

Great fun was had by all!
Mrs Hannah Robertson, Assistant Housemistress and Art & Textiles Technician

News From the Chaplaincy

This week’s Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The last Sunday in Ordinary Time, before we move into the new Liturgical Year. It was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, at a time when dictatorships were on the rise in Europe, and anti-Church sentiment strong.

The Feast tends reminds us about what it means to be a king or a queen, to be a true leader - it requires service and sacrifice, putting the needs of others before our own. It requires justice, mercy, peace and forgiveness. When we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, we celebrate Jesus’ willingness to humble himself for us, to lay down his life for us. We remember that true leadership is the willingness to prostrate oneself, and wash the feet of those whom we are called to serve.

This Sunday’s Gospel is a stark reminder of that call to service, in particular the service of the poor, the sick, the imprisoned and the marginalised: Jesus sits on his throne, in judgment of the sheep and the goats before him.

"Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you.
And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" And the King will answer them: "Truly, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me."

As we begin to look forward to Advent, the season of preparation for the Joy of Christmas, let us try to look at all those we meet through the eyes of Jesus Christ - Christ the king, Christ the man, Christ the humble servant.
Mr Ronan Lavery, Lay Chaplain

From the PE Department

Once again, it was interesting to see the large numbers of families and people outside running, walking, or riding their bikes, over the weekend. While there are now England-wide coronavirus restrictions in place, you can still go outside to be active as many times as you like each day - either on your own, with your household or support bubble, or on your own with one person from another household (while keeping two metres apart). Whether it is just walking or jogging in your garden, or going for a run nearby, getting outdoors can boost your mood and reduce anxiety. It also increases your exposure to vitamin D!

Immunity expert and study co-author Dr James Turner explains: "In the context of coronavirus, the most important consideration is reducing your exposure from other people who may be carrying the virus. But people shouldn't overlook the importance of staying fit, active and healthy during this period. Provided it's carried out away from others, then regular, daily exercise will help better maintain the way the immune system works."

It is also important during times of uncertainty and stress for us to encourage the girls to stay active for their mental wellbeing. Exercise decreases stress and anxiety, while also helping them to get a good night’s sleep, with even modest amounts of exercise making a real difference. You don’t need to devote hours of your busy day to train at the gym, sweat buckets, or run miles, to reap all the physical and mental health benefits of exercise. Just 30-minutes of moderate exercise five times a week is enough. And even that can be broken down into two 15-minute or even three 10-minute exercise sessions if that is easier to manage.

The girls have access to their PE year-group Teams which contain a wide range of videos, suggestions, and ideas for different workouts they can complete at home or in the garden. If they are after something more specific, any member of the PE Department will be happy to help, advise, or create a workout plan.

To discover a variety of different ways to stay active at home or outdoors, please visit the Sport England ‘Join the Movement’ campaign homepage. There you will find links to access a full timetable of live classes, and there should be something that appeals to everybody.
Mrs Georgina Fletcher, Director of Sport

News from the School Shop

Reminder for parents / guardians / bill payers 

Please be reminded that the girls are not being asked to sign when purchasing items from the School Shop in line with Covid-19 guidance, and to avoid cross-contamination with shared pens. Each student is given a print off at the end of the transaction that shows a running total of purchases from the 1^st September onwards, and they are supposed to bring these home to show you or to inform you of the amounts spent. If you have any queries at all, please contact me on sbowles@mayfieldgirls.org.

Second-hand purchases and sales will now show on your School Shop account where they were previously listed as separate amounts on your end of term School bill. If you send in items which are accepted for sale, the credit will be applied directly to your School Shop account. If you purchase second-hand items, the amounts will be debited from your School Shop account. At the end of the Autumn and Spring Terms, if your School Shop account is in credit, we will roll your credit over to the next term. If you are still in credit at the end of the Summer term, we will arrange for this to be credited against your School bill. This will show as a School Shop Credit.
Thank you.

Lost Property
Please see below the items of lost property we currently have in the School Shop. If you think any are yours, please come to the School Shop to collect them.

Last call to collect!
The glasses pictured below have all been in Lost Property since before March 2020. Most of them were found during 2019 and early 2020, and have been featured in the E-weekly already. This is the LAST CALL to collect these items if any of them are yours or they will be donated to charity at the end of term. The glasses below the case appear to be prescription swimming glasses.
Mrs Susan Bowles, School Shop Manager
 

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