Windsor Girls’ School

24 November 2017

Beauty and the Beast 'Beauty and the Beast’ was always my favourite Disney movie when I was a little girl, and Belle, the princess who I wished I could be. I love her spirit, independence and, of course, her beautiful gold ball gown. However, when Mr Manwaring and I were trying to choose the musical for this year we didn’t initially even consider Beauty and the Beast. We stumbled into the woods for a bit, got lost and came out again, went to London to meet a boy called Oliver and even thought about visiting Saigon (sorry that was for all the musical theatre geeks out there!). It was after the Manwaring family epic Disney World adventure that Mr Manwaring suggested Beauty and the Beast. Having recently seen the new film adaptation, I had been reminded of the wonderful songs, strong characters and magical storyline so knew instantly that Beauty was The One.

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Dear Parents and Carers, The joint Upper Schools production of Beauty and the Beast has been showing this week, and what a spectacular show it was. I am always amazed at the quality of our performers and musicians, and this show was no exception. The large cast had so many fantastic performers and I have received some wonderful feedback and letters of praise from members of the local community who have been to see it. Beauty and the Beast was sold out every night, and this week has certainly been a busy one for students, staff and parents and carers of those involved in the show. However, the reaction of the audience and the cast showed that it was all worthwhile, and I would like to thank everyone involved for their time, commitment and enthusiasm. I am sure you will enjoy looking at the photographs in this newsletter. Elsewhere this week, we have had a number of other events and activities taking place. Year 12 History students visited Windsor Castle to take part in a session on George III. Modern Foreign Languages students have been taking their oral examinations. Science Club was looking at a circus of experiments; and the ‘Big Questions’ Club was considering the secret of happiness, through their debate and discussion on Thursday. Also this week, the Windsor Girls’ School Bake Off finalists were in action completing their showstopper challenge. This house event has been very popular and students were all very impressed with the standard of the final pieces. The chosen staff were also very happy to help with the judging. Next week begins an important few weeks for Year 11, as they undertake examinations in Mathematics and English on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They will then sit internal examinations in their other subjects. The examinations will be exactly as the real ones to provide students with an opportunity to experience the examination room and conditions. Students were reminded of the expectations and the need to be organised with their time and equipment. A noticeboard in the Hall has all the information for students and they have also been issued with timetables for their examinations. As always, if a student needs any support during this time please do not hesitate to contact your daughter’s form tutor so we can help them in school. To allow students to focus on their preparations for the examinations, all Year 11 homework will be revision based for the next two weeks. Mrs G Labrum

Key Dates Term 1

Christmas Dinner Wednesday 13 December

Carol Concert Thursday 14 December

Christmas Jumper Day Friday 15 December

Term 2 Ends Friday 15 December

School Day Finishes Early

Term 3 Starts Tuesday 2 January

Term 3 Ends Friday 9 February

Term 4 Starts Monday 19 February

Term 4 Ends Thursday 29 March

Year 10 Students who are undertaking their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award are eligible for a significant discount on membership at the local tennis club. The club is also interested in hosting students who are looking to complete their volunteering aspect. Please see Mrs McWalter for more information. Year 11 Examinations begin next week for Year 11. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, students will be undertaking English and Mathematics examinations and will be sitting examinations in all other option subjects thereafter. Homework will be focused on revision for the duration of the examinations. Students are reminded to check their seating allocation for each examination and to make sure they have the correct equipment to enable the examinations to start promptly. Results for examinations will be shared with students during the first week of Term 3. Applications for the Sixth Form are now open. Initial Preference forms should be submitted by 8 December to indicate your choices. If you were unable to attend our Open Evening last week, the prospectus and related forms are available on the school website, or can be collected from the Sixth Form Office. Students who are interested in undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award need to see Miss Castle for more information.

The Giving Tree Appeal is ongoing and donations can be brought in to school up to 8 December. Please take items to the main office or to Mrs Saunders’ office. We are looking for small new gifts and toys, stocking fillers, toiletries and confectionery to support Berkshire families. Monday and Tuesday next week will be 3/2 splits for students in the Lower School only. Students in the Sixth Form will continue to follow the normal timetable. The canteen will be open from 12:20pm to 1:55pm to allow all students to purchase food.

SIXTH FORM Data for Year 12 students will be coming home this week. If there are any queries, please contact the subject teacher in the first instance. On 30 November, Period 3, Year 12 will be attending a careers information session led by CTX Pathways. The session will focus on the different options available to students beyond A-levels. CTX Pathways currently work with global companies such as Deloitte and EY, and a wide range of universities. The session will be held in the Drama Room. Students who are interested in completing the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award should see Miss Castle. Three students are competing in the Youth Speaks competition on Monday 27 November. We wish them well.

Year Information

Teachers of Year 13 are currently writing reports and entering progress data for their students. These full reports will be coming home before the end of term. There are a very small number of students who are yet to submit their UCAS applications. Students are reminded that some universities will finish for Christmas at the start of December, so it is vital that applications are completed and submitted in the next week. Well done to the Year 13s who have already received university offers. It is always exciting to hear about student choices for life beyond Windsor Girls’ School. Year 13 university applicants will be attending a session delivered by Student Finance England on 30 November, Period 5. The session will focus on the next steps and provide students with information about applying for student finance. The session will take place in the Drama Room. Students who are considering apprenticeships and alternatives to university, are asked to attend the CTX Pathways session, during Period 3, on 30 November to gather further information about options after school.

Collaborating with Mr Manwaring is so harmonious as he looks for the strong musical elements and I study the plot and characters, I quickly realised that directing Beauty and the Beast was going to be an exciting adventure. What I love the most about this show is the message. Both the Prince and Belle start as flawed characters and it is through meeting each other and falling in love that they both change and become better people. The Beast’s transformation is physical and external, whilst Belle has an emotional, internal transformation which she sings about so beautifully in ‘Change in Me’. This brings me nicely on to thank my wonderful cast for telling this story in such a fantastic way. The principles have been simply outstanding and inspirational to work with, and I cannot praise them enough; you have been a joy to direct and have put your heart and soul into the show. I have the privilege of teaching so many of you Drama and you have blossomed into amazing performers. An extra special thanks must go to Ellie Lawrence who has beautifully choreographed all the dance numbers. We have had a brilliant, hardworking chorus this year who have put in endless hours of rehearsal and put up with some difficult blocking and choreography. This particular cast are so special to me as I first worked with many of you a few years back on our junior production of 'Joseph', it is wonderful how you have blossomed since then and how so many of you wish to pursue a career in theatre or music. Mrs Baggett

Science Club

We had a circus of experiments to choose from. Our group overwhelmingly opted to build spectrometers out of small pieces of CDs, toilet roll and pieces of card, amongst other things. We found this very interesting and didn’t realise that everyday items such as these can do the same thing as complex instruments. We found building a spectrometer challenging, yet fun. The most fascinating thing was by holding it up and putting it against our eye we saw the unique rainbow formed by the gas in the fluorescent classroom lights. - Bailey Dickinson & Lizzie Easter, Year 10

Windsor Contemporary Art Fair

Two Year 13 students, Sophie Holloway-Horton and

Paveena Sidhu, exhibited and sold artwork at the

Windsor Contemporary Art Fair, held at Windsor

Racecourse on 9, 10 and 11 November.

Jeans for Genes We have received a certificate from Jeans for

Genes Day, thanking Windsor Girls’ School for

raising an impressive £961.53. Thank you to all

who donated.

Equestrian Event Rose Arbery, 9R, and her horse, Woodfield Moonlight, took part in the first show jumping competition organised by Gordon's School and held at Parwood Equestrian Centre on 18 November. There were 172 entries from 35 schools.

Ms Maslen, Head of Equestrianism at Gordon's School, said that all the riders were a credit to their schools and were well presented, professional and clearly dedicated to their sport. She added that there was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the day.

Well done Rose.

History Trip

On Tuesday, twenty-one Year 12 students visited Windsor Castle for a presentation, followed by a guided tour of the State Apartments and St George's Chapel. The theme of the visit was George III, as he is a key focus of the specification at A level where the students study the Revolutionary War in the USA. Historian, Sophie Jones, devised the session and the tour specifically for our students who were fascinated to find out lesser known facts about George III and to dispel the idea that he was 'mad' throughout his reign. We are fortunate to have the Castle so close to school and, as a school in the Royal Borough, we are able to visit for free. If you live in the Royal Borough and have an Advantage Card, you will be able to visit the Castle for free too and we encourage you to do so.

University Taster Day GIS mapping, a tour of London & climate change: a flavour of what King’s College has to

offer

On Wednesday 15 November, I was fortunate enough to attend a University taster day in geography. On the day, I attended a variety of activities - the first being an introduction to King’s itself. The degree is extremely flexible - physical and human geography can easily be mixed. Modules include development, natural hazards, geocomputation, urban and cultural geography, spatial analysis and many more. Fieldwork represents a big component of a geography degree. Students go to Spain in their first year, which is fully funded. In the second year, you are spoilt for choice - India, Hong Kong, Morocco and the US are the destinations available. Study abroad is also available within Europe and out (USA, Hong Kong, Africa or India).

Dr Daniel Schillerff led a lecture on climate change; he explained to us the effects of rising temperatures, melting of the ice-caps, the disappearances of ice sheets in Antarctica and destruction of natural habitats. We also got to look at his analysis of mud samples from around the world - the different hues and colours can provide a geographer with an array of information regarding climate. Following this, we were given a tour of KCL and London itself. We were taken to the chapel and were given a brief talk as to the history of it. We were also shown Somerset House, which has an ice-rink. Looking around, we had to analyse the economic and social effects of the rink itself. In our group, we decided that the rink was economically self-serving.

Our last activity, was a GIS mapping session using a programme called ArcGIS. This was by far my favourite session - we were instructed to create a map depicting temperature rises in the UK. The areas with squares represent hotspots, places where temperatures rise above 14 degrees Celsius. We were instructed to find and correlate data. Despite not being interested hugely in physical geography, I thoroughly enjoyed data collection. Research is important at King’s.

The geography degrees available are inter-disciplinary. Many students have gone off to work in NGOs, political organisations, finance, marketing or business. A geography degree does teach transferrable skills. KCL has an amazing location. The Strand campus is located near the Royal Courts of Justice, Trafalgar Square and Parliament.

The University of London website has taster courses from KCL, UCL and Queen Mary.

- Aaminah Saleem, Year 12

PE News

Netball Last Saturday, Miss Skinner and Miss O'Gorman took eight Year 10 & 11 netballers to Theale Green School for the District Netball trials. The weather was not in any team’s favour, being very cold, wet & windy, but the students all played extremely well against tough opposition. WGS played teams from Wellington, Bradfield College, Ranelagh, Leighton Park, and other private schools that train every day. Well done to all, as always, you were a credit to the school.

On Saturday 18 November, the Windsor Girls’ Senior Swimming team spent the day at the National School Finals at the London Olympic Aquatic Centre, for the second consecutive year. Our team, consisting of Zebina George, Katie Davies (both Year 11), Becky Pope (Year 13) and myself, competed in both the individual medley and freestyle relay for the U19 age category. We were all supported by Miss Castle and Mrs McWalter, and performed fantastically, considering our ages. It was a brilliant experience and we all felt very well supported by the school. I hope to compete for the team again soon. Poppy Pope, Swimming Team Captain, Year 11

Swimming

Central America Trip

Following the success of this summer’s expedition to Peru, it is very

exciting to be offering our Year 10, 11 and 12 students the

opportunity to travel to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with Camps

International, during the summer of 2019! Here students will be

working on a range of sustainable and meaningful community and

conservation projects before scuba diving towards their PADI Open

Water Certificate.

Parents, carers, and interested students are invited to attend our

Parents Presentation Evening to find out more. This will be taking

place on Wednesday 29 November at 18:30 in the Main Hall.

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Sessions will take place after school on Wednesdays from 3:15pm to 4:15pm, unless otherwise

stated.

Year 11 Science Revision

Date Teacher Session Title Chapters Covered

(according to the CGP

Revision Guide)

Wednesday

29 November

Dr K Haynes Bonding, Structure and

Properties of Matter

C2

THURSDAY

7 December

(NOTE CHANGE OF DAY)

Mrs S McKinlay Electricity P2

Wednesday

13 December

Mrs H Humphreys Quantitative Chemistry C3

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

Wednesday

3 January

Mrs R Najafi Infection and Response B3

Wednesday

10 January

Mr G Young Particle Model of Matter

& Atomic Structure

P3 & P4

Wednesday

17 January

Miss J Edwards Respiration &

Photosynthesis

B4

Wednesday

24 January

Dr K Haynes Chemical Changes C4

THURSDAY

1 February

(NOTE CHANGE OF DAY)

Mrs S McKinlay Forces P5

Wednesday

7 February

Mrs S Sahota Energy Changes & The

Rate of Chemical

Change

C5 & C6

Sessions will take place after school on Wednesdays from 3:15pm to 4:15pm, unless otherwise

stated.

Year 11 Science Revision

Date Teacher Session Title Chapters Covered

(according to the CGP

Revision Guide)

FEBRUARY HALF TERM

Wednesday

21 February

Mrs H Humphreys Organic Chemistray C7

Wednesday

28 Febrary

Mrs R Najafi Homeostasis &

Response

B5

Wednesday

7 March

Mr G Young Waves P6

Wednesday

14 March

Dr K Haynes Chemical Analysis C8

Wednesday

21 March

Miss J Edwards Inheritance, Variation &

Evolution

B6

THURSDAY

27 March

(NOTE CHANGE OF DAY)

Mrs S McKinlay Magnetism &

Electromagnetism

P7

EASTER HOLIDAYS

Wednesday

18 April

Mrs R Najafi* Ecology B7

Wednesday

25 April

Mrs M Sahota Chemistry of the

Atmosphere & Using

Resources

C9 & C10

Wednesday

2 May

Dr K Haynes PRACTICAL SKILLS IN

CHEMISTRY

Wednesday

9 May

Mr G Young PRACTICAL SKILLS IN

PHYSICS

Wednesday

16 May

Miss J Edwards PRACTICAL SKILLS IN

BIOLOGY

Parlez-vous français? Sprechen Sie Deutsh? Habla español?

The first mock exam that Year 11s take will be their speaking exam. Therefore the Languages Department is

offering revision sessions before half term so that students can get started on planning their revision over the

holiday and beyond. These are drop in sessions but please arrive promptly at 3:15pm.

Students of German, please speak to Frau Popat to find out when your revision sessions are

starting.

French Speaking Revision 3:15-4:15pm

Spanish Speaking Revision 3:15-4:15pm

Dates Topic Extra info

Mon 27 Nov and Tues No revision session

They will start again after Christmas

Dates Topic Extra info

Weds 29 Nov No revision session

They will start again after Christmas

Year 11 MFL Revision

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