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HitcHin Girls’ scHool
A specialist science college
Autumn term 2012
Term ends at 12.30pm on Friday 21 December 2012 and students return at
8.40am on Monday 7 January 2013
We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year
Welcome to the Autumn Term Newsletter. This term
has been a long one, in terms of the number of
weeks that we are in school and it seems to have
been even busier than usual.
As you are aware, we are working in a time of considerable
turbulence and change in the education system and are being
required to assimilate and respond to many new initiatives and
changes on an almost weekly basis. This presents a number
of challenges to schools and considerable work to ensure
that what we provide for our young people, continues to be
relevant and appropriate for their needs. With this in mind, I
am even more appreciative than usual when I look at the huge
range of opportunities that staff make available to our students,
many of which you will read about in this publication.
We have held three parent consultation evenings this term –
for Years 12, 13 and Year 8. Attendance at these evenings
has been high as usual and I am grateful to parents for taking
the time to complete a brief OfSTED questionnaire which has
been presented at these evenings. Although we will not be
inspected until after Easter 2013, it is useful to have feedback
from parents in this way as the new ‘no notice’ inspections
make it difficult for us to collect this data when the inspection
is announced.
Our GCSE Celebration Evening in November celebrated the
achievements of all our GCSE students from Summer 2012.
Current Year 12 students and those who left us at the end of
Year 11 came together for the presentation of their certificates
and to showcase a range of Music, Art and Technology as well
as to reminiscence about their times in compulsory schooling.
A highlight of this term has been the completion and opening
of our three new classrooms. Rooms M29 and M30 have
replaced the old mobile classroom and provide two large,
bright rooms which are being used for Mathematics and
Geography currently and as two Year 9 Form rooms. Room
P106 (also known as the Pavilion) is part of the Highbury
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Staff news:
Nicola Nightingale, Administration Assistant left us in
November for a promotion at Barclay School.
Alison Northover who has been covering maternity leave in
English leaves us at Christmas to take up a post at Freman School.
Frances Marchant, Mathematics, is leaving to take up a
promotion at Biddenham School in Bedfordshire.
Janet Molloy, Head of Business Studies and ICT, is retiring
after 23 years of service to the school.
I would like to wish them all the very best for the future.
In conclusion I would like to thank you all for your continuing
support for the school and hope that you have an enjoyable
time over the holiday period.
Frances Manning, Headteacher
Proposed New Sixth Form Centre. See Page 15
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Hitchin Girls’ school
SPECIALISM
STUDENT GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE –
SGLI, HAWAII
This summer while the UK was gripped by Olympic
fever, 3 Year 12 students; Ayo Awokoya, Nikki Lau and
Rebecca Hankin travelled with Mrs. Cooper and Ms. Jones
to Hawaii to take part in the prestigious Student Global
Leadership Institute. They joined students from 20 schools
from the USA, China, Japan, Singapore, Jordan and
Sweden for this intensive two week Summer conference
whose focus was ‘Health’. We will let the girls explain
what they did:
We were based at the prestigious Punahou School, which
happens to be the school that Barack Obama, the President
of the United States, went to. We stayed at the University
of Hawaii, so we got a bit of a taste for university life.
We were split up in the bedrooms, which, although was
a bit scary at first, was great as it meant we could quickly
establish relationships with our room-mates.
The aim of the two weeks was to create a plan, which
would address one of the key issues we felt was prevalent
in our school or community. We spent the majority of the
second week working with our mentor, Allen, to prepare
a presentation we would show to the other students there
as well as influential people on our final idea.
But it wasn’t all work! We did have some free time,
which we mostly spent going to the beach. Beaches in
Hawaii are exactly like you would expect - sun, sea and
beautiful sandy beaches! On our day off, we chose to
go snorkelling. Some of us had more success than others,
however we all loved the chance to relax and let off a bit
of steam. Of course, we also had to fit in a bit of souvenir
shopping to keep the parents back home happy.
Over the two weeks, we met some incredible people,
and we have all definitely made friends for life. When
spending two weeks with people, 24/7, you build
very strong relationships and it was incredibly hard to
say goodbye. We have learnt so much, developed our
confidence, communication and teamwork skills. There
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are many things that we have learned, not only about
health and the state of health in the different countries
that participated; but also things like listening to people,
especially when working in a team. We had an awesome
adventure there, getting to experience different cultures
and traditions, which really opened our eyes to the
differences around the world.
We are currently working on implanting our project, which
will be launched in January 2013.
Students and staff listened to key speakers ranging from
Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human
Services, Dr. Jack Watters from the Pharmaceutical
company Pfizer and Harvard, Fellow Professor Skip Burkle.
They also visited the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies
where they learnt about disaster relief and the important
role that social media now plays in rapid response. The
SGLI 2012 cohort went on field trips to hike up the Manoa
Falls, undertake conservation work at the Kahula Kahili
Valley, help maintain healthy crops of the sacred Taro
plant and even saw sea turtles while scuba diving in a
volcanic crater in Hanauma Bay!
Over the two
weeks all 63
students worked
collaboratively on
different tasks and
activities before
deciding as schools
on a health related
project to tackle
back at home. On
the final day of the
conference each
school presented
their project to
an audience of
150 including
their professional
mentors who had
supported them
throughout the
week.
Reflecting on their
amazing experience:
Nikki Lau: ‘There are
many things that I
have learned, not only
just about health and
the state of health in
the different countries
that participated;
but also things like
listening to people,
especially when
working in a team’.

Ayo Awokoya: ‘What was most valuable to me was the
experience to meet all the students from all over the world
and begin to understand their cultures and interests’.
Rebecca Hankin: ‘I would describe it as an experience
that is not to be missed- it’s a win, win situation! You get
to meet new people from different countries, and make
friendships that will last a lifetime, whilst learning about
ways that you can have a positive impact on the world
while seeing all the different aspects of Hawaii, not just
the touristy places like the beach but doing things that only
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AWARD
We continue to develop the way we bring an international
dimension into learning at school. As a proud holder of
the ‘International School Award’ which is run by the British
Council, our students embrace being global neighbours
in many different ways including class based learning,
enrichment activities, House charity events and many are
now pen pals to students from France, Japan and Russia!
In these ever changing times it is vital that we prepare our
students to become active global citizens. To support them
in this we continue to develop our learning partnership
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native Hawaiians know about, like working in the gardens
and with the taro leaves.’
Mrs. Cooper added: ‘This was truly a once in a life
opportunity for us all. Watching our girls work alongside
60 other young people from diverse cultures was inspiring
and an absolute joy. We are so privileged to have been
the first and only UK school to partake in SGLI and know
that it has unlocked so many possibilities for ensuring that
our students learn in a truly global community.’
with The Chapin School in New
York. In the days before Hurricane
Sandy hit the east coast of America
Mrs. Cooper spent a day at Chapin
observing lessons and learning
about their curriculum and pastoral
system. This was very interesting and informative and
provided her with the opportunity to discuss and plan
exciting events that the two schools wish to work on this
year such as how we will celebrate’ International Women’s
Day’ in March.

Hitchin Girls’ school
HGS PORTRAITS ARRIVE IN HONDURAS
After eagerly waiting all summer, we were thrilled to
receive the wonderful photographs of the children for
whom the girls had created portraits. Part of an 850 strong
cohort of art work produced through The Memory Project,
HGS portraits accompanied those from their partner
school – Chapin in New York – and many others from
across America and this summer they were delivered to
vulnerable children all over Central America.
Ben Schumaker, founder of The Memory Project said of the
girls’ portraits, ‘Thanks so much to you and your talented,
creative, dedicated team. You have given the kids unique
gifts to last a lifetime.’
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In response to seeing her portrait in the arms of the child
she has grown to know over the last few months, HGS
student Millie Morris (18) said ‘I love the picture of Maria!
It's so lovely to see her actually hold it; I do hope she liked
it. I watched the film as well; the children all seemed so
delighted which is brilliant. I'd love to be involved in a
project like this again.’
Fellow student Anna Lacey (14) commented that “it was
wonderful taking part and seeing the reaction of the
children. It shows how much the project meant to them”.
We are thrilled to be taking part again this school year in
the project and this time will, with our friends at Chapin,
be creating portraits for vulnerable children from the island
of Haiti. Following the devastation they experienced at
the hands of four hurricanes in 2008, many children in
Haiti are now orphaned or living in extreme poverty and
deprivation. We hope that the portraits we make will bring
some element of hope and happiness to their lives as well
as providing them with a memory of them at their current
age to cherish as they grow up. Students from Years 9–13
will work on their portraits during the Spring term and
we look forward to telling you about their progress in our
Easter newsletter.
If you would like to learn more about this wonderful art
scheme please go to www.thememoryproject.org.
HGS COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS
Once again our new 130 strong Year 12 cohort have completed their first term as Ambassadors. This integral part
of Sixth Form life continues to go from strength to strength and our scheme is known across the county. Our girls
make wonderful contributions to support the learning and well being of others here at HGS, in one of our family of
primary schools or indeed in the wider community.
We are so proud of our girls – what fantastic Ambassadors they are for our school but also as
young women. Well done girls – keep up the fantastic work!
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LEARNING LEADER PROGRAMME
New this year, our Learning Leader programme aims
to involve our students in every aspect of teaching and
learning in our school. Open to all year groups, students
were invited to apply to become a Learning Leader and
had to complete a short piece of writing that focused on the
essential questions: ‘What makes a lesson outstanding?’,
‘How could we further improve the learning that we
provide?’, ‘If you were to be the Head for a day what
new learning initiatives would you introduce?’, ‘How do
you feel about your learning at present?‘.
We had a huge number of girls from all year groups apply
and their entries were extremely impressive. We now have
a 40+ strong team of Learning Leaders for the school year
ahead which is very exciting.
To kick start the research our Learning Leaders visited
Sandringham School in St Albans on 4th December to
take part in our first learning insight day. Our Learning
Leaders spent the day shadowing their buddies, going to
their normal lessons and getting to experience secondary
education both in a different school context but also in a
mixed environment.
After an early start leaving school in the dark, we arrived
at Sandringham School. As we drove up to the gate the
minibus was full of comments such as ‘it is so much bigger
than our school’, ‘look how many buildings they have –
there’s even a map because it is so big!’, ‘they’ve got their
own theatre!’.
We met our buddies and then it was straight off to lesson
1 which started at 8.45am. We spent 4 lessons with our
buddies having their normal classes and observing the
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similarities and differences between the ways that we
learn. Some of us did circuit training in PE lessons, while
others had Maths, Technology and Science. Art, Religious
Studies and IT lessons followed for some and by lunchtime
everyone met to eagerly discuss what they had seen and
learnt in Sandringham’s’ brand new Sixth Form Centre.
Over lunch, we all shared our thoughts and observations
from what we had seen. Sandringham’s Head Boy and
Girl then lead a plenary session where we all reflected on
what we had learnt, what we had felt and experienced
as well as identifying things we would like to take back
to implement at HGS. We had a fantastic time and saw
some really exciting things that we would like to work on
at HGS. This informative and inspiring trip is the first of
many that the Learning Leaders will be taking part in. We
are really looking forward to welcoming all of our new
Sandringham friends in January when they will come to
spend a day learning at HGS. It will be really interesting
to hear their thoughts as to how they believe learning to
be different in a single sex school.
Learning Leaders: Isobel Porter, Hannah Clarke
and Rosie Firth in Year 7. Millie Broadhurst and
Sienna Emanuel in Year 8. Isolde Pryle, Maisie
Brewster, Laura Jones, Lottie Brignall in Year 9.
Ana Lacey and Elyse Emanuel in Year 10. Hope
Abbott and and Aimee Magill in Sixth Form.
This exciting, informative and inspiring trip is the first of
many and we look forward to welcoming our Sandringham
friends to HGS in January.
YEAR 12 CELEBRATION EVENING
The Year 12 cohort, their parents, friends and staff had an enjoyable evening celebrating the success of the
summer exams. The year gained an excellent 90 % A* to C grades which reflected the hard work of the girls.
We finished the evening by reminiscing the previous 5 years of life at Hitchin Girls’ School with photo montages.
Millie Savage, Natasha Gruenke and Gemma Ward gave some excellent speeches summing up school life from
the students’ perspective.
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Hitchin Girls’ school
WINTER PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Thank you to everyone who entered their fantastic
photographs for our Olympic inspired Summer competition –
Active HGS. This Christmas we have an exciting new theme
which we hope will inspire you to take part. We encourage
you to enter your photos for both our school competition
following the instructions below and the Hitchin Rotary Club
Competition (please see further information below)
This winter our theme is: PEACE
At this special time of year your challenge is to take photos
that encapsulate this essential theme. Whether you are jetting
off around the world to spend Christmas with relatives or
staying in Hitchin there are exciting and intriguing things that
you could decide represent PEACE.
Using a camera – try to capture them in the best way that
you can. As with the last summer competition here are some
visual elements to consider:
VIEWPOINT – Where will you position yourself in relation
to the objects/view that you are capturing? Could you play
with perspective and choose a worm’s eye or bird’s eye view?
LIGHTING – There will be beautiful lights everywhere during
the holiday. Perhaps you will focus on the candle as a sign
of peace and tranquillity? Think about how the light will cast
shadows and how you could capture silhouettes.
TEXTURE –You may want to ZOOM in and capture detail
rather than focus on a whole structure such as knitted blankets
with a gentle fire in the background.
SETTING – Try to include something within the photograph
that lets us know where the photo has been taken. There may
be a sign, lettering or carving that will provide us with a clue
as to where you were when the photo was taken.
INTERACTION – You may want to capture yourself or your
family in an activity, going for a peaceful walk or simply
standing in front of a Christmas tree soaking up the atmosphere?
-6-
BE IMAGINATIVE – BE CREATIVE - SEE THE WORLD
AROUND YOU AND CAPTURE IT
FOR US ALL TO SHARE
Some images to inspire you…
What to do next:
• Once you have taken your photos choose the best 3 that
you would like to enter.
• Print them out to all fit on a piece of A4 paper and return
them to the box in reception during the first week of term.
• Please ensure that you CLEARLY PUT YOUR NAME (&
FORM) ON THE BACK OF YOUR ENTRY and WHERE
THE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN! If you are a parent entering
please also include your daughter’s name and form.
We look forward to seeing everyone’s entries in January and
celebrating all the wonderful things that HGS sees this
Winter! A display will go up in the long corridor and the
winners will then be announced with House Points for the
1st prize and a runner up in each category.
ROTARY CLUB OF HITCHIN TILEHOUSE COMPETITIONS
The ‘Rotary Club of Hitchin Tilehouse’ are running the following three competitions: ‘Young Writer’, ‘Young Chef’
and ‘Young Photographer’. Students can log on to Moodle, and download the competition rules and application
form, which can be found in the ‘Student Zone’ area.
COMING SOON IN 2013
Science Week, March 11–15 2013 – another fun packed week of Science – you may wish to take part in our
annual Science Fair which this year will have an international twist as we welcome participants from some of our
partner schools around the world via Face-time! Mr. Jackson will launch the Science Fair in January – so get your
thinking caps on! First prize is a trip to go indoor skydiving at AirKix in Milton Keynes!
International Women’s Day – Friday 8th March 2013
Mrs. R. Cooper, Assistant Headteacher and Specialism Co-ordindinator

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT
CERN TRIP
On the 12 and 13 July
this year Mr. Jackson
and Miss O’Reilly
accompanied a
group of A-level
Physicists to Geneva
for a tour of the Large
Hadron Collider, the
world’s most powerful
particle accelerator.
The trip was very timely as only the previous week a major
scientific announcement had been made at CERN about the
probable discovery of a particle called the Higgs Boson,
the elusive missing particle of the standard model of particle
physics that is responsible for conferring mass on all the other
elementary particles. These ideas form an important part of
the A2 syllabus the students have been studying this year
and the lectures and explanations from professional Physicists
have helped the students understand the underlying physics.
Once again Paul Marsden from EADS Astrium in Stevenage
came to the school to give a talk about satellite technology
to 20 AS Physics students during the afternoon of Monday
12 November. The talk was very well received with many
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Hitchin Girls’ school
interesting questions from the students. Many relevant topics
were covered including GPS technology and aspects of
quantum physics and gravitation that will be covered in the
New Year and at A2 level.
BAYFORDBURY OBSERVATORY
On the 7 December Mr. Jackson and Mrs. White from the
Physics department accompanied a group of Year 10 Physics
students to The Bayfordbury Observatory for an evening of
Astronomy talks, demonstrations of a radio telescope and
planetarium as well as observations through professional
optical telescopes. This was an exciting opportunity to
understand some of the work they will cover at the end of
Year 10 and in Year 11 in the Astronomy module of their
Physics GCSE.
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Hitchin Girls’ school
BIOLOGY
INDONESIA 2013
Our conservation trip to Indonesia is taking place in the
Summer 2013. There are 30 students from
Years 12 and 13 participating. On the trip they will take
part in jungle and diving training so that they can assist
Operation Wallacea in its surveys and quest to keep
some of our endangered and threatened species alive.
Fundraising is now taking place so please look out for
opportunities to support the girls. Students have ideas such
as table top sales, candy cane messages and a pyjama
party!! More details to follow.
Mrs. M. Dixon, Head of Biology
MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT
MATHEMATICS INSPIRATION LECTURE
Abbie Crew wrote: On Monday 26 November, the Year
11 Accelerated Maths set went to Cambridge for a Maths
Inspiration day. At first I wasn’t sure about how inspiring
an afternoon of Maths could be, but the speakers Rob
Eastaway, Hugh Hunt and Matt Parker, turned out to be
very engaging and entertaining, which I wasn’t expecting.
Amongst many other fascinating ideas, we learned how
falling cats always land on their feet, the Maths behind
text messaging and I even picked up a new card trick.
Altogether the day was a huge success.
-8-
SENIOR MATHS CHALLENGE
Several Sixth Formers took part in the Senior Maths
Challenge. They achieved 21 certificates overall, of which
there were 12 Bronze certificates, 8 Silver certificates and
1 Gold certificate. Well done ladies!
Grace Wagstaffe, in Year 13, achieved the ‘Best in School’ and
qualified for the next round, the ‘Senior Kangaroo’. This took
place on Friday 30 November; we eagerly await the results.
Let us hope that the success continues with the Intermediate and
Junior challenges planned for later in the year.
SENIOR MATHS TEAM CHALLENGE
If anyone ever says that Maths Challenges are easy or
simple, they’re lying! Maths Challenges are all about
problem solving and thinking outside the box (and possibly
lots of past papers). The four of us that attended the Senior
Team Mathematics Challenge in Cambridge did not
expect it to be a walk in the park, as the only preparation
we had had was the individual Maths Challenge a couple
of weeks prior to the competition. We were up against
schools and teams that had been practicing for months.
We did our very best and came 25th, the second round
being our best. Overall it was actually really fun and
a brilliant experience for us all. By Hannah Morrison,
Katherine Newbery, Grace Wagstaffe and Sabah Malik.
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
PRIVATE PEACEFUL THEATRE TRIP
On 27 September, 50
Year 8 pupils went to the
Royal Theatre Haymarket
in London to see the play
of Michael Morpurgo’s
Private Peaceful. The
limited, two week
production featured a oneman
performance by actor
Paul Chequer. The play
tells the moving story of
Thomas “Tommo” Peaceful
who signs up to fight in
World War I. It was a
very enjoyable show and
we felt very privileged to
have the opportunity to see
this unique production. By Abigail Priestley
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GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
‘OH I DO LIkE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE…’
On Thursday 14, and Friday 15 September 2012, all
Year 11 Geography students went on a trip to Sheringham
in Norfolk to collect the data needed to complete our
GCSE Controlled Assessment. It was a productive day -
we collected lots of useful data, but we also had a lot of
fun and it was a rewarding trip for everyone involved - we
even had fish and chips on the beach for lunch! Tasks
included measuring the beach profiles, wave counts,
longshore drift direction, groyne profiles, beach sediment
size and roundness, beach sediment type, completing
field sketches, and showing the environment through the
use of photographs. Some of the tasks were fun - such
as measuring the longshore drift direction, which involved
throwing either an apple or an orange into the sea, and
seeing which direction it moved in, which would then
indicate the direction of the longshore drift. We used new
equipment, such as the clinometers, which was a new
learning experience for us! Overall, we had a fun-filled,
productive day where we all bonded and demonstrated,
and developed our team skills in ensuring all of the work
was completed. By Evie Darrell
Miss Johns would like to thank all the students and staff over
the two days who made the trip a pleasure to lead. Special
thanks to Mr. Lynn who had to drive the minibus all the way
– putting up with a select bunch of Year 11 students!
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Hitchin Girls’ school
Jazzercise (Hitchin Girls - M) 16/11/10 13:58 Page 1

Come & Join In
The Fun!
You’ll discover the history of elementary education
housed in two impressive grade 2 listed school buildings.
Explore Victorian, Edwardian and WW2 classrooms, have
a go at writing with an ink pen or in a sand tray!
Peek into the home of a Victorian headmaster’s family
what did they keep in the parlour and the scullery?
Lots to see – Lots to do, Rain or Shine!
Open to the public March – November:
Tuesdays 10am – 4pm
Saturdays 10am – 1pm • Sundays 2pm – 5pm
Extra summer holiday openings
between 27th July - 31st August:
Wednesdays 10am – 3pm • Fridays 10am – 1pm
Admission Charge – Café & Gift Shop
BRITISH SCHOOLS MUSEUM
Queen Street, Hitchin SG4 9TS
tel: 01462 420144
www.britishschoolsmuseum.co.uk
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YEAR 12 GEOGRPAHY FIELDTRIP TO
SNOWDONIA
Year 12 set off at the crack of dawn on their recent
Geography adventure. We arrived in Shrewsbury where
we investigated flooding on the River Severn and the
methods in place to manage it. Following dinner it was
back on the road as we headed deeper into Wales to
Snowdonia, our final destination.
Snowdonia was beautiful in the morning and we even
glimpsed some sunshine through the day as we investigated
the River Conwy and its characteristics. There were a few
wellington boot malfunctions which led to soggy socks and
frozen feet, but nothing the hardy geographers couldn’t
cope with!
Thursday was spent in the Victorian coastal resort of
Llandudno, which would have been lovely if it weren’t
for the gale force winds and torrential rain! Year 12
persevered and spent the day in the rain collecting data
for their investigation into the settlement and aspects of
social welfare. The cake and warm drinks back at the field
centre were never more gratefully received!
We had a great week, despite the weather, and Miss Johns
would like to thank the students for their hard work and
entertainment over the four days – they were a pleasure to
spend the week with! In addition, a big thank you goes
to the other members of staff on the trip, Mrs. Adcock, Mr.
Day and Ms. Sykes.
Miss E. Johns, Head of Geography
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Hitchin Girls’ school
“The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card-sized single-board
computer developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi
Foundation with the intention of stimulating the teaching
of basic computer science in schools.” Wikipedia
On Open Evening, there was a Raspberry Pi computer on
display to parents and potential students. The Raspberry
Pi is a computer which was built by the owner. It is easy to
put together and there are currently 4 in the school.
As the school’s ICT Ambassador, I was given the task
of building and learning to use the Raspberry Pi when it
arrived. It was surprisingly easy to put together although
the instructions were not included in with the components.
The most difficult part of using the Raspberry Pi is the
start up procedure which requires a log in that must be
found online and also the lack of software. Only minimal
software is supplied on the Raspberry Pi because of its
limited memory. All data storage for the Pi is on an SD
card which was supplied in the kit for building it though
any SD card could be used provided it has the correct
programs. Most of the actions you can perform on the
Raspberry Pi can be done using the Python software that
is installed on it.
Later in the year, the Year 8 ICT classes will learn about
using Python which is programming software that allows
the user to create programs such as games. Python is also
important in programming the Raspberry Pi. Some of the
Year 8 students have Raspberry Pi’s of their own and are
independently learning how to use it. By Hazel King
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Hitchin Girls’ school
MUSIC
Early this term was the opening evening of the North
Hertfordshire Music School and the new sports building.
The HGS Folk Group played along with the NHM Jazz
Ensemble, serenading the members of both HGS and
NHMS staff as they enjoyed tours and canapés.
On 19 October, A Level Music students participated
in a day’s conference involving a professional singer,
composer, and the Heads of Music from The Priory
School, Hitchin Boys’ School and Hitchin Girls’ School.
The students were given fun and memorable ways to
tackle all parts of the A Level exam (the composition,
performance and end of year exam itself). The day was
very useful and enjoyable for all involved, especially
those lucky enough to enjoy a pizza lunch!
The Autumn Concert was held on 13 November and
included ensembles from the Junior Flute Group to the
Senior Orchestra and a variety of pieces from ‘Mission
Impossible’ to ‘Teach me the Blues’! The evening was
attended by parents, friends and residents from the local
care home, ‘Elmside’, who all enjoyed it immensely.
Parents and students alike commented on the very high
standards exhibited by their children and peers; well
done to all involved. Mr. Chambers said it was the best
one he had seen at HGS!
The traditional aspect of the first term of the academic
year was, of course, the ‘Service of Nine Lessons and
Carols’. As per usual, many musically faithful first year
university students returned to sing their favourite carols
such as ‘Hark the Herald’, ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and
‘Once in Royal David’s City’. Some of the new carols
this year were ‘The Candlelight Carol’ and ‘Angelus ad
Virginem’ with a solo by Heather Mussett.
The Music department would like to thank all students
for their efforts this term. By Isla McLachlan
DRAMA
BILLY ELLIOT
A large group
of students from
Years 10-13 (and
a couple of Hitchin
Boys’ students)
went to see Billy
Elliot on Thursday
25 October, along
with an enthusiastic
group of teachers.
As the coach
journey to London’s
West End drew
to a close, and
-12-
the Victoria Palace Theatre came into view, the already
mounting excitement grew to almost frenzy.
As we made our way into the theatre and anxiously
awaited the call to take our seats, there was a rush of
souvenir buying including programmes, t-shirts, mugs and
hoodies – they had them all.
Making our way to our seats was a challenge in itself;
fighting our way along the narrow rows with our arms full
of winter coats, scarves and food to fight off the bitter chill
outside which had quickly been stripped off in the warm
atmosphere of the auditorium.
As the lights dimmed and an expectant hush fell over the
audience, our journey began. Many of us found ourselves
becoming totally absorbed in the world of Billy Elliot, the
struggles against poverty during the miners’ strike and

Billy’s own struggle against the conventions of the time.
We laughed at the blunt flirting and his cross-dressing
song and dance number with his best friend. We cried as
he sang an eerily beautiful duet with his mother’s spirit and
felt his passionate frustration as he fought against what the
world expected him to be.
With such powerful and beautiful scenes and emotions,
delivered by such a young and talented cast, it was no
wonder that many of us were questioning what we had
done with our lives that even remotely compared to the
achievements of some of these young people!
Faced with such memorable music and exquisite dancing
it was hardly surprising that many of us came out wishing
we were ballet dancers ourselves, (not to mention really
appreciating what a positive effect ballet dancing has on
a man’s figure!).
Billy Elliot made us want to laugh, cry and dance,
sometimes all at the same time! Everyone thoroughly
enjoyed themselves and I know I’ll be getting out my ballet
shoes at the first opportunity! By Natasha Gruenke
CLASSICS DEPARTMENT
The Senior Classics Society is currently rehearsing their
production of Aristophanes’ The Clouds. This year they
are staging a Greek comedy all about education and set
in a very unusual school. Keep an eye out for posters and
tickets after Christmas. As always, all money raised will be
donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
All Senior Classicists should also look at the notice
board by M12 for upcoming events. There is currently
a selection of competitions, trips, plays and study days
being advertised.
The Junior Classics Society has been meeting every Friday
in M13 for games and activities organised by the Senior
Classics Society. The Junior Greek Club has also started
on a Wednesday in M13 and all are welcome. Come
along and join in!
Miss L. Hay, Classics Department
-13-
Hitchin Girls’ school
BUSINESS STUDIES
Year 12 Business Studies
students used their
entrepreneurial skills to project
manage the production,
marketing and sale of bracelets
which were sold in aid of East
Anglia’s Children’s Hospices
during the open evening on
25 September. Emily English
handed out a delicious cake
she made which attracted
visitors to the stand. The cake
and bracelets were very
popular with Year Six pupils who were visiting HGS during
the evening. A total of £30 was raised and will be added
to other monies raised in support of our chosen charity.
Mrs. J. Molloy, Head of Business Studies
TECHNOLOGY
YEAR 8 VEX ROBOTICS COMPETITION
WITH MBDA
A Year 8 team
consisting
of Maddy
Davies,
Corrine
Russell, Jannet
Ip, Abbie
Priestley,
S i e n n a
Emanuel,
E m m a
Watson,
Lizzie Rice, Tegan Walker and Isobel West, with the
help of Mr. Galvin, Mr. Andrews, and two engineers
from MBDA in Stevenage, have entered The Vex Robotics
Challenge, held at the University of Hertfordshire on
Saturday 15 December.
The challenge was to design and develop a robot to grab
bean bags, and deposit them in a scoring zone 45 cm
off the ground. The robot was programmed to also be
autonomous for a period of 20 seconds (so it drove itself
around, and dropped a bean bag in the goal). The team
have designed and built the robot (called R.O.S.I.E.)
from scratch, and have learnt a variety of different skills
during the process. The winners of the competition on the
15 December receive a trip to America to take on the
International Champions! Fingers crossed.
Mr. D. Galvin, Technology

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PROPOSED NEW SIXTH FORM CENTRE
We are delighted that our Planning Application to build a
new Sixth Form Centre was unanimously approved by the
North Hertfordshire District Council Planning Committee
at the end of November. Thank you to those parents and
staff who registered their support for the application with
the Council. The granting of this planning permission
is the first stage in our plan to provide much needed
improvements to our facilities to support our successful
and popular Sixth Form which has grown in size by 25%
over the past 5 years.
The building will be located on the corner of our lower
field, behind the Lower Block and will comprise a large
Sixth Form Common Room and Study Area on the first
floor, with classrooms on the ground floor. The ground
floor will also comprise a changing facility which will
support greater use of the lower field and courts. A further
benefit of locating the new building on the lower field will
be improved security. This part of the school site regularly
CHRISTMAS FAYRE
This years Christmas fair
was a great success and
the Sixth Form managed
to raise a large amount
of money due to their
fun, imaginative stalls,
not forgetting Santa’s
Grotto. A massive thank
you to all House Captains
for organizing their stalls
and any volunteers who
helped to run them,
especially to Laura
Sheldrick who was our
Santa for the whole day!
She made all of the children’s days, even Mr.Nolans’!
-15-
Another thanks to all the
girls who helped with
the Macmillan Cancer
Coffee Morning cake
sale; we raised a large
amount of money at this
event as well.
Lastly, well done to our
Year 13 Football Team
for the Coles-Swinburne
Cup, despite not winning
on the goal front, we
definitely won when it
came to team spirit!
By Chantal Taylor, Head Girl
Hitchin Girls’ school
suffers from vandalism and unauthorised access, with the
fencing around the pitch having been pulled down on 3
separate occasions this year alone.
The next stage is to seek funding from the Department for
Education for this project. As an Academy, we are eligible
to submit an application to the Department for Education
Academies Capital Maintenance Fund 2013/14 (ACMF)
for a grant to improve facilities which are either in need
of urgent maintenance or need improvement to meet the
current demand. The bid was submitted by the closing
date of 18 December 2012 and we now await their
decision which is due in early April 2013. If successful,
we will have 12 months to complete the project which will
mean the new building could be complete and ready for
Summer 2014.
The demand for funding from the ACMF is very high and
only a relatively small proportion of applications are
successful. We hope that the preparatory work that has
taken place, along with the evidence provided regarding
the need for this new facility, will give us a strong chance
of success.
‘Moodle’ is our new learning
platform. It includes a wide
range of tools which can be used to support learning
and teaching. Important information, activities and
course materials will be posted online for students to
access at anytime from any device with an internet
connection. Students can access Moodle via the school
website and login using their school network user names
and passwords. Moodle is continually being updated
and it is our aim to roll out ‘Moodle’ to parents during
the Spring term.

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-16-

SPORTS REPORT
Following our successful Olympic summer, it has been
encouraging to once again see high participation levels in
all extra-curricular activities during this term and we have
been fortunate to secure additional external coaching
for the students in Badminton, Cricket and some Rugby
workshops and lessons from Simone Shepherd from
Saracens. Some of our Year 11 students have also joined
the Firefit project for another year at Hitchin Fire Station in
their PE lessons, where they learn about aspects of fitness
and training and take part in a number of activities led by
members of the fire service.
Sports’ Leadership continues to flourish with student leaders
assisting and leading clubs and umpiring at matches. The
Year 12 and 13 students have been working hard on their
Level 2 and 3 Awards and a number of students from
Years 10 and above have been attending workshops in
their free time to become Dance Leaders at Levels 1 and
2. Congratulations to Fran Maydom who has completed
her Level 1 Coaching Award and Young Umpires Award
in Netball this term and to Beth Clarke who is due to pass
her Beginners Netball Umpiring Award.
The Inter House League has been successfully organised
by our Level 2 Leaders and, on a weekly basis, we have
seen good attendance and some exciting matches in both
Hockey and Netball. We have also held meetings for
Gifted and Talented students in order for them to set their
targets for next year and the Sports Council have met for
the first time this year to discuss the forthcoming year’s
events.
In Netball, our Senior A and B teams worked hard
throughout their District Tournament to meet each other
in the semi-finals with the Senior A team qualifying for the
finals against John Henry Newman School. After a very
close match, with some exciting netball, our team narrowly
lost by 2 goals but are to be congratulated on their efforts
and a high standard of netball all round. Our Under 18
team also entered the County Tournament where they
played commendably in a very tough section. The Under
14 team also entered the County Tournament where they
played to an extremely high standard, reaching the quarter
-17-
Hitchin Girls’ school
finals. This is the highest position that one of our netball
teams has been placed for many years in this tournament:
an outstanding achievement. All year groups are playing
well in the District League with some commendable wins
that bode well for the rest of the competition.
Our Hockey players have started the season with some
impressive play and we are particularly pleased with the
quick progress that has been made by the Year 7 team.
In the District League our Year 7, 8 and 9 teams are yet
to lose a single game! The Year 10 and Senior teams
have been competing in the County Cup where they have
made a very promising start to this competition against
some tough opposition. The Year 10 team also played
extremely well in their District Tournament, where they
finished in 3rd place overall. At the time of going to
press we are still awaiting the result of the Senior District
Tournament and are yet to finalise the students who
have been successfully selected at County level. Special
congratulations go to Alice Turner who has been selected
for JRPC at regional level. In the County tournaments,
the Under 14 team finished in 4th place overall, with the
Under 16 and the Under18 teams finishing in 6th and 5th
places respectively.
We have been very lucky this year to have Mrs. Lingham
and Mr. Nolan to run the school football club on a
Wednesday evening. Attendance at this club has been
excellent and in November the Under 13 team took part
in a District Tournament where they finished in a very
creditable 5th position. Although this was a Year 8
competition many of our players were from Year 7 and as
a result, we are very proud of this team’s achievements.
We have also been fortunate to have Mr. O’Leary from
Hitchin Belles Football Club to join us for additional
football coaching on a Wednesday evening.
Once again our dancers have been auditioning for the County
Youth Company with Josie Burningham, Isabel Turner, Serena
Brooker, Hannah Emes, Kennedy Hare and Amy Wright being
selected for the Senior Company and Emily Ahern and Freya
Brooker being selected for the Junior Company.

Hitchin Girls’ school
Our Junior Swimming team took part in the Division 10 finals
earlier in the term and competed in the freestyle and medley
relays, finishing in commendable positions in both events.
Congratulations also to Harriet Field in Year 13 who was
selected to jump at the Pony Club Eventer Trial at Blenheim
earlier in the term.
At the time of going to press, our Trampoline teams are
training hard in preparation for the East Region Schools
finals in December and so I will report back on this in the
next newsletter.
Back at the
beginning of
November, our
Cross Country
runners once
again came away
from the District
Championships
with a number of
medals, trophies
and personal
achievements.
The Year 7
team really
demonstrated that
they are a team
with a big future
in Athletics and
Cross Country by
finishing in 1st place overall. They were also joined in
1st place by the Senior team and the Year 10 team. The
Year 8 team finished in 4th place and the Year 9 team
finished in 3rd place. All the athletes performed with
determination but particular recognition goes to Molly
McKenzie and Caroline Willis, who finished 1st and 2nd
place respectively at Senior level, Alana Hollingsworth-
Biggs and Freya
Nobbs who
finished 2nd and
3rd respectively
in the Year 10
competition and
Molly Astill who
finished in 3rd
place in the Year 7
competition.
-18-
Congratulations
go to Fiona
Montgomery
who won the
Outstanding
Leader of the
Year Award at
a prestigious
ceremony at
Lord’s Cricket
Ground. She received her award from Lord Coe in honour
of her work with young people in sport, encouraging them
to take up activities regardless of their disability. We
are very proud that Fiona has been recognised for her
achievements.
Congratulations to Sophie Pyle who has finished in 4th place
overall int the Scottish National Diving Championships.
We look forward to the spring term, knowing that it is the
busiest term in the PE department, with numerous fixtures to
play and contest, along with the Lower School Gymnastics
Competition and the County Dance Festival. Have a good
rest over the Christmas holidays and all the best for any
training or competitions that you may be engaged in over
the break.
Mrs. D. Maydom, Head of Physical Education

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Hitchin Girls’ school
JEANS FOR GENES DAY
Looking Good
FancyDress
for every Occassion
Telephone:
01483 72 22 71
Opening Days:
Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday & Saturday
Stevenage Indoor Market
On Friday
5 October
students,
parents and
staff showed
magnificent
support for
Jeans for
Genes.
The Biology Year 12 Ambassadors and Year 7 students
played a major role in selling and making cakes and in
promoting the cause through selling pin badges. The
whole school wore jeans and we also constructed a giant
pair of jeans from the copper coins you all so kindly
donated.
This is the fourth year in which we have supported this
charity and our target for 2012 was £1600... We beat
this raising £1,664.54 so thanks to all of you for such
fantastic support in helping us to reach the target.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
Now is a good time to check your daughter’s school
uniform – Please can you ensure her skirt is knee length.
-20-
INTOUCH
ARE YOU RECEIVING OUR WEEkLY NEWS
AND LETTERS?
We are pleased to say that over 97% of parents are registered
with ‘Intouch’ to receive our weekly newsletters every Friday which
cover upcoming news and events. General Information for all
Year groups is displayed at the beginning of the newsletter and
any information relating to a specific Year group including trips
then follows. If you are not receiving letters/newsletters please
inform Nicola Blake so we can check we have your correct email
address. Please email Nicola at nicola.blake@hgs.herts.sch.uk.
IS THE SCHOOL CLOSED?
SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS
When a decision is made to close the school because of
bad weather, we try to ensure the message is circulated to
parents and students as quickly as possible.
The main place to check for information is the Hertfordshire
County Council website.
1) Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) has
a Closure Notification System which is
used by the school and their web-page
will show whether the school is closed.
This system is designed to cope with any emergency
situation where hundreds of thousands of users are all
seeking information at the same time. The information can
be accessed via the HCC website http://www.hertsdirect.
org/. Whilst we also try and have a message given out
on local radio (BBC Three Counties and Heart 96.9), there
is often a considerable delay between the station being
advised and any announcement being made.
We also aim to provide information via Intouch and our Website.
2) ‘Intouch’
We shall send an email via ‘Intouch’ to advise you if the
school is closed. If you are not receiving these emails
currently please advise Nicola Blake at nicola.blake@
hgs.herts.sch.uk
3) School Website
If the school is closed a message will displayed on the
front page of the school website. www.hgs.herts.sch.uk
Stevenage Indoor Market
01438 72 22 71
Open: Wednesday, Thursday
Friday & Saturday

AUSTEN HOUSE
I have been really proud of Austen girls this term. They
have for the first time won the half term’s Behaviour for
Learning League table. This is an excellent achievement
and there are 88 girls in the House who have a 100%
record. Well done!
We have also been busy with charity schemes. We
completed a quiz which raised in excess of £50 for our
chosen charity – ‘The Garden House Hospice’. Each Form
also donated items for a Christmas Box for Samaritan’s
Purse and in total we sent off 11 boxes.
The girls have also been involved in House Leagues,
music performances and attending various clubs. Our
Year 12 prefects have been elected to help with the
current Year 13’s and they hold the following positions;
Charity - Imogen DeTrafford, Sports – Emily Jackson,
Public relations – Molly Taylor, School Council – Maddy
Weston, Healthy Schools – Miranda Balfe.
Well done for your hard work this term Austen girls and I
hope you have a lovely Christmas and good rest.
Mrs. J. Cornell, Head of Austen House
BRONTE HOUSE
Happy Christmas Bronte family and friends!
We have welcomed 7B this term, who are settling well
into life at Hitchin Girls’ School and Bronte House. 8B
have had an action-packed term as they spent four days
at Osmington Bay and nearly half of the form have been
successful in passing a variety of music exams. Well Done!
After taking great care of the old mobile classroom for
two years, 9B are very excited about their recent move
into the new teaching block! 10B have been busy starting
their GCSE’s and 11B have attended a ‘Learn to Earn’ day
and ‘Careers’ Fair’ to help them think about their future.
The Sixth Form Prefect team have met this half term to
discuss innovative ways to fulfil their roles and maximise
the effectiveness of prefects and form representatives
throughout the House, as they establish regular contact
with them. As well as developing their own leadership
skills, they are helping to increase confidence and House
cohesion within other Bronte forms, as they start to lead
form activities on a regular basis.
-21-
Hitchin Girls’ school
In addition to the successful ‘Dance Off’ stall at the
Christmas Fair the Sixth Former’s have planned an exciting
Christmas charity event in school. Four prefects dressed
up as Danny O’Donoghue, Jessie J, Sir Tom Jones and
Will.I.Am will take their place on stage as judges for
HGS teachers ‘The Voice’. The Bronte tutors will lead the
way with an opening Christmas song, at the mercy of the
judges! The money raised will go towards helping Frankin,
a 7 year old boy from Ecuador, who we are supporting
through his education this year.
Well done Bronte – May I wish you all a well deserved
break and a very happy Christmas.
Miss C. Evans, Head of Bronte House
CURIE HOUSE
This term has been a very eventful one for Curie House.
With the new House Cup to fight for, we have been busy
in every aspect, from sports to charity!
At the Christmas Fayre on the 24 November, Curie House
had a stall selling raffle tickets, friendship bracelets and small
organza bags. They made a total of £70; all of which will
go to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices - our House charity.
Thank you to Emily Hyde, Imogen Richardson and Olivia
Speakman for all their hard work.
At the end of October, the Senior Curie Netball team won
the Year 10/11 Tournament, pushing Curie up in the House
League and the Year 9 Hockey team came third in their House
League. Year 8 students also competed in the French Alphabet
Challenge and came first helping the House to secure more
points for the House Cup. Congratulations to everyone involved!
The Senior Maths Challenge took place in November
and Curie House came joint first with Bronte for the best
performing Houses! Well done to Molly McKenzie, Katherine
Newbury, Lily Cook, Lucy Adcock, Sana Sheykhzadeh and
Bryony Pomfret for receiving Bronze level certificates and
also to Choong- Ling Liew-Cain for gaining Silver.
In other news, Maria Verdeille has once again been
selected for the Paralympic talent ID squad and was invited
to a celebration evening to celebrate the achievements
of Olympians and Paralympians by the Marquess of
Salisbury and the Chairman of Hertfordshire Council. This
is a huge achievement and I would like to congratulate
her and wish her the best of luck for the future. Well done
to Imogen Richardson in Year 12 for attaining her Young
Leader qualification. Finally, well done to 7C for their
House presentation on Marie Curie, it was well presented
and very informative, and came second in the House
League, gaining more points towards the House Cup.
I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year. I would also like to wish luck to those of you who
have exams in January and hope your revision goes well. I
hope everyone has a good break ready to come back in the

Hitchin Girls’ school
Spring term and earn lots of points for the House Cup! for the
House Cup! By Hina Awan, Public Relations Prefect.
Mr. A. Jackson, Head of Curie House
FRANk HOUSE
Frank House has had a good start to this academic year,
particularly when it comes to rewards for having a positive
attitude to learning and high achievements - we have more
House points than any other House! Other important news
is that we have chosen the Cystic Fibrosis Trust as our charity
for this year, and have many plans for fundraising events.
We have welcomed an excellent group of new students
into the House in the form of 7F, and are very pleased with
how well they have adapted to life at HGS. 8F have had
a great start to 2012. The form is currently working on an
Environment project, and has already started fundraising
with a successful Rubber Duck Paint for the Cystic Fibrosis
Trust. Osmington Bay was also a great success, and
photos, videos and reviews will soon be on Moodle.
9F have had a rollercoaster of a term! We have been busy
making Christmas decorations and crafts, 10F have continued
to work hard having started their new GCSE courses this term
and they have fielded teams for all tutor group competitions.
11F have all been knuckling down and working hard on
their GCSE subjects. They have been organising their Prom,
busy with fundraisers, cake sales and planning. They are
now faced with making their A Level choices, meeting for
interviews with Careers Advisors and deciding their future
career paths. 11F are looking forward to Christmas and
getting ready to win the ‘Decorate a Reindeer’ competition!
It has been a very busy term for all members of Frank
House Sixth Form group. Year 12 have been getting to
grips with their new AS courses and Year 13 have been
busy completing their UCAS applications. Although it has
been a challenging time thank you to all who assisted me
with the Christmas Fair held on Saturday 24 November,
especially Laura Robinson for supporting the events held.
By Lauren Howe
Have a lovely Christmas Break.
Mrs. D. Pearce and all the Frank House tutors
JEWEL HOUSE
As we move into our Christmas break, the summer
holidays seem a long time ago. We in Jewel House have
been very busy electing our Form and House Prefects, and
representing Jewel House in all manner of events.
I should like to welcome our new House Captain into
her role, Anna Osborne, and her Vice Captain, Jodie
Vallance. I wish them every success and thank them for
their work already in making a significant contribution to
the smooth running of Jewel House. We can all support
-22-
our Form Prefects by making a contribution to the collective
success of Jewel House.
Charity Report
In October, 10J gave an informative assembly on the five
nominated charities they wanted to raise money for this
year. It was then up to the rest of Jewel House to vote on
the charities they wanted to support. The successful charity
was ‘A Cure for Dylan’ which helps to find a cure for a
neurological disease that Dylan, a 3 year old girl and
others suffer from. In November, the fundraising got off
to a good start by raising £50.65 in a Jewel House cake
sale. By Ellen Temple – Jewel House Charity Prefect
Sports Report
This half term has shown some outstanding efforts across
Jewel House. The Senior team have had a full team
out every week for the Inter House Netball League.
Although they didn’t win their games, 10J and 11J have
demonstrated commitment and dedication which deserves
recognition; well done! Form 7J have yet to take part
but we look forward to their future achievement and
contribution to the House League. 8J have played two
Netball games to date, resulting in a 3-2 loss, and a 0-0
draw. This progression will hopefully see a win in the
future. Overall a good start to the year in terms of sport,
but we aim to do better. Keep it up Jewel! By Victoria
Marquiss - Sports Captain
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Thank you to Victoria and Ellen, and all those who have
joined in this term. I wish you all a well earned rest over
Christmas. I hope you have a lovely break and enjoy the
gift of giving. Try to find time to reflect upon how much
we have and how lucky we are, and spare a thought for
those who aren’t as lucky as us this Christmas.
See you all in 2013!
Mr. S. Ferguson , Head of Jewel House
TERESA HOUSE
Charity Update
Many thanks to all students who represented their Tutor
groups with presentations on their chosen charities. The
presentations were all so professional and informative
and enabled us to vote and select ‘Great Ormond Street
Hospital‘ as our House charity for the year. We will
be raising money to help enable Great Ormond Street
Hospital to provide world-class care for its young patients
and their families and to pioneer new treatments and cures
for childhood illness. We hope to raise lots of money
through our ‘Get your own back’ event in December.
..better get counting!
YEAR 8 RESIDENTIAL TRIP TO OSMINGTON BAY
-23-
Hitchin Girls’ school
Our other charity focus this year is sponsoring a child
in Ecuador. We will be raising £100 after Christmas to
support a student through their education for the year. This
money will enable a child to receive an education and
also will pay towards food and resources over the year.
Rewards
Congratulations to all those students have received
certificates for their excellent behaviour over the two half
terms and of course to the winners of the end of term
chocolate raffles. Remember …..you have to be in it to win
it! You get one entry for every week you have a perfect
behaviour record.
A few students have received Teresa Saint Awards for acts
of kindness this term. If you think someone deserves one of
these awards remember to nominate them.
I would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas.
While you are spending time with friends and family
enjoy yourselves. If you find yourself getting annoyed with
anything just think back to our assembly on tolerance .…
smile and remember all the good points!
Ms. A. Eames, Head of Teresa House
The majority of Year 8, along with a number of members of staff, enjoyed a memorable 4 days at Osmington Bay
recently. The students experienced a number of activities, including climbing, abseiling, aero-ball, fencing, quad
biking, archery and the giant swing. They also had the opportunity to hunt for fossils along the Dorset coastline
as well as taking part in a number of team building activities. By the end of the week they had learnt a lot about
working together as well as having had the opportunity to challenge some of their fears. The week culminated with
the obligatory disco where students and staff let down their hair and demonstrated some very slick moves. Year 7
are already preparing for and looking forward to their trip next year to Caythorpe Hall.
SPRING TERM 2013
Term Starts : Monday 7th January 2013
Term Ends : Thursday 28th March 2013
Half Term:
Monday 18th February to Friday 22nd February 2013
Easter Break:
Friday 29th March to Friday 12th April 2013

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