E-weekly Issue 207

Message from Miss Beary

The weeks seem to be flying past and already the summer seems a distant memory; even the weather is changing and the nights are drawing in. Having said that Autumn brings its own joys, not least the beautiful sunsets and, of course, the fruits of the season. This has been another busy week and it was lovely to see so many parents at our Sixth Form information evening; it is always a joy to share the new opportunities our Sixth Form offers – and for the current students to have the opportunity to share experiences of the greater freedom and responsibilities of life as a senior member of the School; their excitement and passion for their studies, not to mention the Sixth Form Centre itself.  If Mayfield girls are diamonds, the Sixth Form is where they are polished and become the jewel in our crown!

Thank you to everyone who has been involved in the Michaelmas Fair which is happening tomorrow. It will be a great opportunity to catch up with friends as well as to do some Christmas shopping. Our catering staff are providing yummy food, so do factor in staying for lunch…

I look forward to meeting our new Year 7 and Year 8 parents for the Friends’ lunch on Wednesday 5^th October. I hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend.

With my prayers and best wishes

Michaelmas Fair - Sat 1 Oct, 10am-3pm

Please come along this Saturday to our wonderful annual Fair with lots of the regular stalls and some exciting new ones. Enjoy coffee, a light lunch and our famous cake and produce stall. Cake and produce donations can be left in school today and tomorrow. If your daughter is in a match then pop up to the fair before or after to warm up and get started on your Christmas shopping!

Polar Explorer visits Mayfield

Lucia in Year 13 reflects on our first Cornelian lecture of the year: “Alex Hibbert gave a fascinating depiction of his experiences as a Polar explorer, captivating us with stories of the harsh conditions that he braved from as young an age as 19, giving him a passion for exploration which continues to this day. He began the talk by portraying his first experience in the polar world which he undertook in his second year at Oxford University and managed to break the world record by spending 4 long months on the icecaps. He went on to convey his more recent adventures where he learnt the art of dog sledding, a far more difficult challenge than thought to be. He portrayed the tiny frozen villages where he spent time getting to know the locals, learning of their fishing and hunting trade. As a qualified photographer he accompanied the presentation with incredible photos taken by him first hand on the ice. To conclude, his presentation was thoroughly enjoyed by the entire audience, and several students including myself went on to buy his books to learn more about this incredible winter world.” 

French café comes to Mayfield

To celebrate the European Day of Languages, the French department offered a little cafe experience for girls to enjoy on Wednesday lunchtime. On the menu, there was a selection of typical French food ranging from profiteroles, crêpes, waffles and 'tarte aux pommes', which was served at tables by our Sixth Form students. It was lovely to see how pupils engaged in conversation with them and practised their oral skills in a relaxed style environment.

Ms Richard & Mrs Testa

Trip to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

On Thursday 22^nd September, senior Music Scholars and girls studying GCSE and A level Music attended a performance by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cadogan Hall in London. The programme was Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” overture (one of the A level set works), Clara Schumann’s piano concerto, “Fratres” by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and Symphony No. 3 by Sibelius. The concert was conducted by Anu Tali and featured Isata Kanneh-Mason in the soloist’s role of Schumann’s concerto. The concert was enjoyed by all, and our Year 10 GCSE students made the following comments:

Catherine: “It was phenomenal. I enjoyed how all the players love what they are doing and really put their best effort into portraying the music on their instrument. The sound was also really good, very different from a recording or from YouTube. It feels like I am engaged in the playing instead of being a spectator watching a video.”

Charmeine: “I especially appreciated the Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.7 by Clara Schumann.”
Liberty: “I enjoyed being with my friends listening to music which I haven't heard before.”
Trinity: “I loved how the sound resonates all across the hall. It is quite impossible to replicate that in a recording. Isata Kanneh-Mason's playing was amazing.”

Dr Matthew Ward, Director of Music

Year 7 Day of Recollection

Maximising Success Workshop

On Monday, our Year 11 girls took part in a Revision Skills workshop, led by Karla from The Lifeskills Company.  The girls learned how to maximise their success in exams and the 12 techniques used to revise subjects effectively.  The girls each selected 3 or 4 techniques to use in their revision moving forward and learned how to reinforce these techniques on a regular basis, in the run up to their GCSE exams. 

The Year 11s really threw themselves into the session – myself and Karla were particularly impressed with their stories and singing abilities!

Mrs Stone

Sports Update

Hockey Mondays
On Monday the U15 A Hockey team travelled to Hurst for the U16 Hockey Cup. They faced some tough opposition in their group, with two U16 teams and Hurst’s U15 A team. Mayfield lost all three of their group games (2-0, 1-0 and 1-0) but they made great progress across the day and played some good passing hockey, creating chances up front. 

There were strong performances from Cordelia in goal, making saves throughout, and the defensive line, who worked hard, making some strong tackles and clearing the ball. Captain Amelia led from the back, although unfortunately she watched from the side-line for the last part of the game against Hurst after she was injured. Mia, Jess and Ines all worked hard in midfield and Annabel and Daisy closed down their defence to turnover the ball, creating chances in the attacking D. 

The team are looking forward to their next fixture, away to Ardingly School, at the weekend. 

 Georgina Fletcher 

U18A
The 1XI took on Bedes on Monday, playing fantastic hockey, moving the ball around the pitch well, and creating space and opportunities in front of goal. As a squad their work rate was incredible and this resulted in good possession of the ball. The matched ended with a well-deserved 4-0 win. 

Emily Nixon

U14 Tournament – U14s introduction to 11 aside!
The U14A Hockey team travelled to Bedes for a Triangular tournament yesterday. They lost to a very experienced Bedes side, however they improved throughout the morning, showing much promise with their play against Eastbourne. Despite losing both games, they learnt the importance of holding their positions, as well as giving a quicker pass. Well done to Ava D and Maggie who captained the team, and a special shout out to Sofia D for her excellent performance in goal. Onto the next game! 

U18A v Eastbourne College
Thursday saw our 1XI play in the second round of the National Cup against Eastbourne College. After a shaky start the whole squad rallied and began producing excellent hockey. Unfortunately, they lost 4-1, and now move into the Tier 3 competition. Mrs Fletcher and Mrs Nixon are incredibly proud of the girls’ performance, particularly in the second half where they held Eastbourne to a single goal. We hope they take the determination and grit they demonstrated forward into their next matches.

Mayfield Football
Our Lower School girls travelled to Skippers Hill for a Football fixture on Tuesday evening. The game started really well against a very well organised Skippers Hill team. Amelia M (Year 7) made her debut in goal and made some excellent saves. Mayfield were also quick to respond to Skippers’ first two goals in the first half courtesy of Brianna R (Year 7) and Eva R (Year 8). However, after two quick breaks by Skippers, they managed to score two more. The girls eventually lost 6-2, but they worked incredibly hard and fought well until the end, creating numerous chances.

There were plenty of positives from this fixture and we have a very exciting time ahead. Football is still relatively new at Mayfield, so the fact that the level of interest is so high is extremely pleasing. 

Jordan Walser

Year 9 & 10 Boarders' trip to Sovereign Centre

Last weekend Gabs’ boarders visited the Sovereign Centre in Eastbourne. The girls enjoyed the wave machine, bubble pool and flume – a great time was had by all!

Raising Resilient Mayfield Girls

At Mayfield, we offer various ways to encourage our girls to prioritise positive mental health. We have several clubs available, including Miss Richard’s Self Care Club, Mrs Maimi’s Chill Out Club and Mrs Criado and Mrs Testa’s Knit and Natter club, among others. We already have a number of qualified Youth Mental Health First Aiders on the staff and, in addition, Mr Smith has recently qualified as a Mental Health First Aid England Instructor. This means that he is now able to deliver mental health first aid training to staff members at Mayfield, an initiative that he’ll begin in earnest later this term. The plan is to train as many staff members as possible so that Mayfield can continue to lead the way in being a school that promotes positive mental health.

Furthermore, we have The Wellbeing Hub, which is a fantastic resource available to all our girls, parents and teachers. It offers a wealth of articles, tips and support, and is well worth exploring. This week, I have watched a webinar on the Wellbeing Hub about how we as parents and teachers can model resilience for our children, recognising that ‘we can’t pour from an empty cup’. By demonstrating resilience, we can improve the resilience of our children, in an age where an increasing number of young people are struggling with their mental health.

Watch Resilience Webinar
New parents should by now have received details from Mrs Stone about how to sign up to The Wellbeing Hub, but please get in touch if you need a reminder of how to log in.

Finally, it is worth remembering that one of the many ways we can aid our mental well-being is by helping others. With this in mind, the proceeds from today's ‘Hello Yellow’ home clothes day, organised by the Sixth Form, will be split between Young Minds, a charity supporting young people to seek the assistance they need with their mental health, and our link charity in Zimbabwe, Singabantwana, which helps support abused girls. We hope the girls found the day an uplifting experience.

Message from Ronan

During last week’s liturgy, and again before Mass last Sunday, I spoke to the girls about the significance of Mass.  Mass was never designed to be entertaining in the traditional sense (at least, not intentionally entertaining. We still laugh about the time our priest’s radio mike picked up the karaoke from the pub next door). Mass is supposed to be transcendental - the Source and Summit of our Christian life. It’s a gift and a privilege, but if we don’t understand a lot of what’s going on, it’s easy to drift off, slip away, and become bored with the Mass. And so this weekend, before our Sunday Mass, I plan to ask the girls to think about why we do what we do in the Mass. Remember, every word, and every gesture, has great significance in the Mass.

So on Sunday, I’m going to ask the girls, why do we sit? When, during the Mass, do we sit down? When and why do we stand, and when and why do we kneel? Each position indicates how we should be participating in the Mass at that moment, and so each position should give us a clue as to what is going on in the Mass at that moment:

Generally speaking, we sit to listen, to receive, to learn or to wait. Hence we sit to listen to the readings and the homily.

We stand to pray.

And we kneel to show respect and reverence to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. We kneel because we believe Jesus is fully and truly present in Communion.  This is also why we genuflect on entering and leaving the chapel. We are humbly acknowledging Jesus - body, blood, soul and divinity - in the tabernacle.

There are a host of other gestures and movements that we use during the Mass that carry additional meaning. It’s not enough to simply go through the motions, but hopefully, if we understand why we’re moving the way we do, it might give us a slight insight into the beauty and richness of the Holy and Divine Liturgy that is the Mass.

Family members are most welcome to join us for Mass this Sunday at 11:30am.

Due to Fr Patrick’s schedule, there will be no Mass in the Chapel this Tuesday evening at 6pm. Tuesday Masses will resume the following week.

National Poetry Day October 6^th 2022

Do you have a favourite poet or poem? Can you remember the first line or two but not the rest? Whether you like the silliness of limericks, the emotion of a sonnet or the regular rhythm of the rhyming couplet, wallow in some poetry on the 6^th October.

On library display boards around school, are the first lines of 16 poems to identify. Use the QR code to read the whole poem.

More information on National Poetry Day can be found on the link below:

National Poetry Day

News from the Friends of Mayfield

Year 12

Coffee and Brunch
Monday 10th October @ 9.30am  
Eggs Eleven, 11 The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells TN2 5TD.

Drinks and nibbles
Friday 14th October @7.30 pm  
The White Bear, 84 High Street, Tunbridge Wells TN1 1YB (formerly The Tunbridge Wells Bar & Grill). 

To get an idea of numbers, please could you let Laura Scriven, laurascriven@btinternet.com, know whether you can attend either or both events. Thank you.

Parent Lunches
Parents will have seen an email from School inviting them to lunch on the following dates:

• Year 7 & 8 - Wednesday 5th October
• Year 9, 10 & 11 - Monday 10th October
• Year 12 & 13 - Wednesday 19th October

Lunches are at 1pm in the Courtyard and a good chance to meet teachers and other new and old parents whilst enjoying the delicious school food. Please click here if you wish to attend and have not yet replied.

150 Years of Mayfield Ted Competition

Instead of a Christmas Ted Competition this year, we would like to run a 150 Years of Mayfield Ted Competition.

The winner will receive a £15.00 gift voucher of their choosing e.g Amazon, Claire’s, Body Shop. There will be runner up prizes too.

How to enter
Please design a display that we can put up on one of the glass shelves in the school shop that reflects in some way the 150 years of Mayfield and involves the Mayfield Ted in the display. If you are unsure of the space – it is where the recyclable shampoos and conditioners are displayed.

Some hints:
1.       Keep it simple – this is often more impactful.
2.       We will do the display for you and provide all the props; we just need your idea.
3.       The display will be created over half term and will be up in the shop when you come back in November for you to see.
4.       There are forms available in the lower school via Mrs Baker or in the school shop as well.

To enter please email sbowles@mayfieldgirls.org before half term (21^st October2022) with the following information:

• Name
• Form
• Your idea (you can either do a drawing or write a description of your idea)

Lost property

If items of clothing or personal items turn up that are named I will email you to collect from the school shop – please do so as soon as possible. We urge you to make sure all items of both uniform and any personal items are named please.

Please see below personal items that have turned up in lost property either at the end of last term or during the Summer holidays – please come to the school shop to collect if anything is yours. If these are not claimed by half term they will be sold and the money donated to the school charity via Ronan Lavery.