E-weekly Issue 211 - 11 November 2022

Message from Miss Beary

As today is Armistice Day, at 11 o’clock today, the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we marked the two minutes’ silence. We remember all those who have died, particularly during the Great War and the Second World War, but also any who have lost their lives in the defence of life and liberty. On Sunday our Head Girl, Elizabeth, and Michelle, the Head Girl of Lower School, will lay wreaths on behalf of the School community at the cenotaph in Mayfield during the Remembrance Sunday service. November is the month of the Holy Souls when the Church - and we as a Catholic community - remember all those who have died. We pray especially for those whom we have lost recently from our extended School family; a group which this year sadly encompasses girls, parents and grandparents. We also remember our deceased Old Cornelians and Sisters of the SHCJ. There is a list of names in Becket Hall for girls, parents and staff to add family members and friends you would like us to remember specifically in our prayers and at mass over this month.

‘Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful, departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen’

Mayfield Poetry Day

Award-winning poet Holly Hopkins, whose first collection ‘The English Summer’ is currently nominated for the Forward First Collection Prize, spent Thursday at Mayfield for our annual Poetry Day. She led a series of great workshops as well as reading some of her own superb poetry. Holly gave Year 10 and Year 11 lots of accessible and useful ideas for creative writing and shared some of her favourite poems with us. This increased the girls’ experience of creative writing and poetry in preparation for exams but also gave them an enriching, thought-provoking day. In one exercise girls had to surprise each other with a sudden ‘interruption’ which changed the course of their writing – this turned out to be a very fun prompt, the girls definitely making the most of its entertaining possibilities.

Holly also judged Mayfield’s Eisteddfod. This lovely showpiece featured a wide range of poems and moods, ranging from gentle and bright, to powerfully ghostly. The finalists all performed with intelligence and clarity. Well done to all, but especially to Year 8 winners Michelle (first) and Sophie R (second), Claudia (commended) and best group Imogen, Eva and Emma; and to Year 7 winners, Florence (first) and Emilia (second), Izzy (commended) and best group Ines, Jimena, Paz and Natalia. It makes us very proud to see and hear the Lower School girls learning poetry by heart and sharing it aloud so beautifully.

Old Cornelians receive awards at Buckingham Palace

Old Cornelians Amelia, Isabelle and Ruby had a wonderful day recently at Buckingham Palace where they were presented with their Gold DofE Award Certificates by Prince Edward. Between them, the three girls volunteered nearly 200 hours of their time, helping at a local church (Isabelle), supporting elderly people (Amelia) and assisting a cub group (Ruby). Over 200 hours was also spent keeping fit and improving techniques in hockey, netball, swimming or kick boxing. 

For their skills section, our talented trio also learnt to drive (Isabelle), practised piano techniques (Amelia) and cared for a range of farm animals over 6 months (Ruby). The girls enjoyed the beauty of The Lake District for their Gold Assessed Expedition, walking for four days and camping for three nights, walking about 60/70 miles over four days. The residential section is an additional section for the Gold Level where Gold DofE participants have to spend five days and four nights away from home on a shared activity with people that they have never met before. The girls again rose to this challenge with two of them attending a Conservation and Activity Residential and Ruby attending an Operation Raleigh project in Costa Rica. 

Well done to Amelia, Isabelle and Ruby for all the hard work you have put in to achieve this prestigious award.  

Mary Saunders, DofE Manager

Celebrating National Non-Fiction November

In celebration of November being National Non-Fiction month, the Pupil Librarians in Lower School have selected some of our non-fiction titles to promote in their library. Whether you enjoy cooking, mind-boggling puzzles, biographies, history or science, we have a wide range of brilliant non-fiction titles for students to browse. Remember, non-fiction is one of the categories on the Champion Read scheme, so have a look at the shelves and try a book suggested by one of the Pupil Librarians.

Further information on Non-Fiction November

Sports Update

U12 Hockey
It was a late outing to the triangle to play Burgess Hill girls on Wednesday for our Under 12 Hockey teams. The A team needed to dust off the half term cobwebs in the first few minutes and went a goal down early on. They soon settled back into play and scored with a good rebound shot from Brianna. Unfortunately the home team capitalised when they won the ball in the middle and sent it forward to a free player in the D.

The second half saw Mayfield with the majority of possession and lots of shots and opportunities in the attacking circle. However Burgess Hill defended well and we were unlucky not to draw level with a disallowed goal late into the game. 

Player of the match was Gigi.

The U12 B team showed huge progression in the understanding of positional roles during their match but were unlucky to go two goals down. However with a fantastic effort from all players and a particularly strong second half saw them secure an exciting 4-2 win! Congratulations to Haniel who was awarded player of the match by the opposition and scored two of the goals and to Izzy for scoring the other two. 

This Saturday Mayfield seniors face Roedean at home for the 1st and 2nd team. All spectators are welcome. The U14 and U15 teams are all away at Roedean. 

The Mayfield Junior Swimming Team competed against Bede's Prep at their Senior School pool on Monday. It was a super gala with a great atmosphere and we were able to take a large and varied squad, including lots of girls who were competing for Mayfield for the first time. We were delighted to come away with a resounding win, setting the girls up for next week's Swimathon. Particular highlights were Kitty and Erin winning and coming second by a large margin in 100m freestyle, and Amelia, who hasn't swum for us before, showing us that she is a versatile swimmer and a fast one at that! 

Haniel achieves Black Belt in Karate

During half term Year 7 Haniel passed her black belt in karate. This is an amazing achievement and has involved a huge number of hours of training, demonstrating real discipline, commitment and dedication. Well done Haniel!

Emilia donates hair to Little Princess Trust

Year 7 Emilia has raised almost £700 for the Little Princess Trust by donating her hair to the charity, which makes real hair wigs for children suffering from hair loss. Emilia has been waiting since July to ensure her donation would meet the charity’s minimum requirement of 8 inches and over half term she was able to reach this and beyond - in the end she donated just over 11 inches! Congratulations Emilia!

Message from Ronan

November is the month of the Holy Souls. During this time, we pray in a special way for our friends, family and loved ones who have gone before us to the Lord.

Catholics believe that, although those who have died are separated from us physically, they remain connected to us as members of God’s family. Jesus has conquered death, and so we remain members of that family, even after we have passed from this world. This is why we are encouraged to pray for, not only our loved ones, but for those who have died who might not have anybody to pray for them.

Although we pray for the Faithful Departed each time we participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass (listen out for the words of the Eucharistic Prayer: “To our departed brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom.”), during the Month of November we will offer every Mass celebrated here in school for the repose of the souls of all members of the Mayfield Community. We have a space by the reception desk, where you are welcome to write the name of anybody you would like to be remembered in these Masses. Alternatively, please feel free to email me any names you would like to be added to the Mayfield Book of Remembrance. This book will be placed on the Sanctuary during all Masses in November.

At this time of year, I am always reminded of, and reassured by, an old Irish saying: ‘Ní imithe uainn atá siad, ach imithe romhainn.’ It translates as, ‘They are not gone from us, but gone before us’. So let us try to take a moment or two this week, to enter into that thought, to thank God for the gift of our loved ones, and to hold them in prayer in the presence of Christ our Lord.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord. May they rest in peace. May their souls, and the souls of all the Faithful Departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Caedmon's self-penned production coming soon
 

Live Crib – Save the Date

• Monday 12^th December – Years 7 and 8.
• Tuesday 13^th December – Years 9, 10 and 11.
• Thursday 15^th  December – Years 12 and 13.

More details to follow.

Anti-Bullying Week 2022

 A message from Mayfield's anti-bullying Ambassadors - Anna, Julia, Izzy, Cesca, Alicia, Alexa, Maggie and Sonya.

On Monday (14th Nov) Mayfield will be joining in the Nationwide Odd Socks Day, marking the start of Anti-Bullying Week. All we are asking is that you support the campaign by proudly wearing odd socks to school. Nevertheless, be mindful that there is a serious message behind the fun: let's pull on odd socks to show we're ALL unique and different, and let's be kind to each other and respect each other's individuality.

Anti-Bullying Week is coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, and the 2022 theme is 'Reach out'.

MAYFACS Christmas Toy Drive

Mayfield and Five Ashes Community Services (MAYFACS) have launched their Christmas appeal - they have asked for:
- New or Good Quality second hand toys/presents
- Not wrapped
- presents for ages mainly 5-12, but 0-15 as well
- including, toys, games, simple books (for younger kids), toiletries, possibly chocolates.
Anything that you would want to receive for Christmas yourself and you think could really help someone at this time.

           There will be collection points in Mrs Stone's office as well as Lower school.             

Invitation to Book Launch

“Medieval Mayfield: Archbishops and Peasants” has been published by Tim Cornish, village resident for 36 years.  This 330 page fully-illustrated hardback is the first serious history of the parish for 120 years. You are invited to the book launch in the Memorial Hall on Wednesday 16^th November, from 6pm to 8pm.

Click here for more information

School Shop

New In...
•             Glass cleaning kits - £2.75
•             Pink/grey/white tartan pyjama bottom - £19

Coming Soon...
•             Sports bras - more details to follow.

Ted 150 Years Competition Winners
Congratulations to Aimee and Hazel who submitted a joint idea for the Mayfield Ted Celebration of 150 years and are the winners. I am currently working on the display and you will be able to view it in the school shop shortly. Congratulations also to Rose Squires who came a close runner up.

Christmas Shop
The Christmas shop is now up and running, with all items priced under £5.00. Ideal for secret Santa presents or gifts for friends - please remember to have the bill payer's permission to put these on your account, or alternatively you can use cash or cards in the shop. We are also offering a gift-wrapping service for 30p, including a bow and tag.

Lost Property
Please see below the most recent lost property. If you think anything is yours, please claim as soon as possible from the school shop.

Below is last call for these items, many of which have been with us since before Summer. Items unclaimed by next week will now be sold and the proceeds donated to Charity.

News from the Friends of Mayfield

Year 8 
Friday 11 November @ 1.00pm - Lunch at the Middle House, Mayfield.
Wednesday 30 November @ 9.00am - Coffee at Mark Cross Garden Centre. 
Friday 9 December @ 7.30pm - Christmas drinks at the Middle House, Mayfield.
Please contact Vic Davison on vix_davison@hotmail.co.uk if you would like to attend. Thank you.

Year 11 
Coffee - Wednesday 16th November
Dinner - Wednesday 30th November.
Please email Emma (emmathered@me.com) or Helen (charlie.helen@btinternet.com) if you would like to attend. Details of when and where will be sent out at the end of this week, but both will be in Tunbridge Wells.

Year 13
A dog walk after drop off at 8.30am on Monday 14th November. Open to all even without dogs! Meet in bottom car park.