Events
From the 86th floor of the most famous skyscraper in the world, the Empire State Building, members of the Sixth Form gazed in awe at the sights of New York which stretched before them. A busy few days followed during which they visited many of the sights, attended an impressive conference at the UN and had a sparkling night out on Broadway where they watched "Hairspray". A solemn moment was spent at Ground Zero where the construction of a memorial garden and a new World Trade Centre is underway. Returning with bulging suitcases after seeking out the best bargains in the shops, all the girls agreed it was a brilliant trip and are looking forward to going again next year.
From the 86th floor of the most famous skyscraper in the world, the Empire State Building, members of the Sixth Form gazed in awe at the sights of New York which stretched before them. A busy few days followed during which they visited many of the sights, attended an impressive conference at the UN and had a sparkling night out on Broadway where they watched "Hairspray". A solemn moment was spent at Ground Zero where the construction of a memorial garden and a new World Trade Centre is underway. Returning with bulging suitcases after seeking out the best bargains in the shops, all the girls agreed it was a brilliant trip and are looking forward to going again next year.
On Thursday, the children in Pre-Prep had a special taster session themed on the book “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt”. All the children, along with some new friends, got the opportunity to experience an afternoon in Reception, and thoroughly enjoyed exploring, creating and investigating all sorts of different activities based around the “Bear” theme. The children particularly enjoyed using instruments to accompany the story, making bear biscuits and even creating their own bear masks. Some of the children were especially good at impersonating the bear and I am sure the occasional roar could be heard from further away! All the children joined in beautifully and were keen to use the different equipment and facilities that they will experience in Reception.
St Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Farnham was the setting for a glorious concert last Thursday evening. Almost 180 girls and boys from the school filled the church with a wonderful mixture of modern, traditional and classical music which thrilled a packed audience.
Full choirs from the prep and senior schools were in magnificent voice for a number of items and the smaller Chamber Choir of the senior school and Chanteurs group of the prep school enchanted St Joan's parishioners with some quieter songs. There were splendid duets featuring Olivia with Kate and Eleanor and musical pieces from Hannah on recorder and a violin quartet from teacher Pam Edwards with Erin, Kate and Elisabeth. Georgia, Imogen and Allison stepped from the choir to perform beautiful solo pieces.
Our fundraising for this year’s Good Shepherd Appeal on behalf of the Catholic Chidlren’s Society reached its climax on the last Friday of term. At lunchtime, the prep school joined the senior school for a simple, frugal lunch of bread, cheese and fruit. Later on in the day, the Welsford Hall was transformed as the Upper Prep set out the stalls for their businesses, which had been in preparation throughout Lent. Staff, parents and younger pupils were hugely impressed by the variety of business ideas that the children had come up with, with sweetie kebabs, cakes baked to order and chocolate fountains attracting particular interest.
The weeks of hard work, learning poetry, rehearsing prose and planning and practising presentations have certainly paid off this year, with record numbers of pupils (33!) achieving distinctions in their English Speaking Board exams. Almost all of our candidates achieved a merit, with no less than 84% getting Merit Plus or higher; our best results so far. The results apart, the opportunity for independent, personalised study and research, the chance to learn from and critique one another’s work, and the development of analysis and presentation skills make this a hugely important part of our curriculum.
Early years and KS1 enjoyed some exciting Easter activities on Tuesday.
The day started with an egg rolling competition in Reception, where the children rolled their hard boiled eggs across the playground, trying to get their egg to land nearest to the Easter egg target. Hannah and Maddie were victorious, but all the children enjoyed the challenge and lots of interesting techniques arose!
The Easter Bunny had been hard at work in the woods, and all year groups enjoyed searching for the Easter eggs, which he had thoughtfully left behind. This was certainly the highlight of the day for many, and we had some very vigilant Easter egg hunters! The eggs came in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes, and were found in some unusual places! Fortunately we were very thorough and every class ended up with a sizeable collection to share out.
Variety is the spice of life - this was certainly the case at the Chamber Music Concert presented by the Senior School pupils. From the serene sound of Debussy's Syrinx on solo flute played by Hannah to the Gorilla Rock, composed and performed with panache by Katie. Hannah also gave an accomplished performance on recorder and piano of her A2 examination recital.
Chamber groups also featured - the year 9 flute quartet delighted the audience with their Ragtime piece whilst the wind quartet brought back nostalgic feelings with an arrangement of The House of the Rising Sun.
The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound
Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.
The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound
Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.
The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound
Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.
The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound
Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.
The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound
Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.
The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound
Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.
The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound
Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.
After completing Bronze D of E successfully, the ‘lucky’ thirteen set off aspiring for their Silver along the Sussex/Surrey/Hampshire boarders. After much hail and with clothes soaked in rain the groups arrived at Chase Farm for the first night camp. I will not lie. It was a sleepless night – very cold. The next day involved a long walk around the Devil’s Punchbowl, including some unplanned ‘diversions’. The hail was torrential and all were very happy to settle down for the second night in their tents. 13 extremely tired yet very content faces were beaming at the finish line, until we remembered that this was only the practice.
29 hours of intensive,uninterrupted rehearsal +
26 girls from forms I II and III in the Senior School +
1 producing company called Upstage Productions+
1 Drama Teacher from school+
1 Audience of 100 people+
1 set of costumes=
1 50 minute performance called 'The Dreamer'
A very jolly combination it was too, of people,acting, singing and dancing in the Marian Hall from 7to 11 April.The judgement of both the performers and the audience was that it had been an incredibly worthwhile experience and one that is worth repeating another year!
Well done to all who decided to use one week of their Easter holiday in focused creativity!
