E-weekly Issue 243 - 6 October 2023

Welcome

Model United Nations Conference at Bede’s 

On Tuesday, 13 girls from Years 9-12 attended a Model United Nations conference at Bede’s School, organised around the theme ‘Welcoming World’. The girls served as delegates for Ecuador, Qatar and Indonesia, debating topics including the sale of arms for profit, cyberwarfare, global minimum tax levels, sovereignty on other planets, autonomous weapons systems, and access to food and water. 

Year 12s Katie and Sophie were awarded best delegate for their work on SOCHUM and the Security Council respectively, while Honor in Year 11 was highly commended on DISEC. Ivana in Year 10 and Alexa in Year 11 were both commended in their first ever MUN outing along with Iulia in Year 12. Cece, Emma, Gabby, Frances, Annette, Ellie and Sophie, all new to MUN this year, were recognised for their diligent participation. This really was a superb performance by the Mayfield MUNers, and the only disappointment was that we were only able to take 13 of our 30 club members to the conference. Our next conference will be at Benenden in December, where the girls will continue to try and find solutions to some of the most complex real world problems.  

Mrs Kasia Kilvington, Director of Scholars, Head of International English

Curry & Quiz Night

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Year 7 Day of Recollection

Our Year 7s had a wonderful Day of Recollection at Ashburnham Place on Monday, observing and appreciating the beauty of nature through activities including foraging and composting. They ended the day by making a delicious juice from apples, beetroots and raspberries which were all hand-picked by the girls.

Rare Beasts

On Thursday afternoon our Year 7 girls had the opportunity to hear and try out our 'Rare Beast' instruments. The girls gathered in the Concert Hall and were treated to performances from our Visiting Music Tutors on instruments that are less often played at Mayfield: the clarinet, double bass, cello, viola, harp, and a whole suite of brass instruments. After this treat they had the chance to have a go on three of the instruments they particularly liked. We hope that the girls enjoyed their experience and that some of them may be inspired to take lessons on one of the instruments as an enriching part of their Mayfield education.

Dr Matthew Ward, Director of Music

Mayfield’s Cross Country Runners Impress at Somerhill

Mayfield started the Cross Country season with a bang at Somerhill on Thursday. The event saw six of our girls competing in their first race for Mayfield. Emily and Amelia came an impressive 8th and 9th overall - helping Mayfield gain an overall 2nd place for the U13 category out of 22 schools! What a great achievement and an exciting time ahead for our runners.

Mayfield Girls Selected for County Netball Squads

Congratulations to Lily (Year 9), who has been selected for the Kent U15 Potential Squad, and to Sofia (Year 10), who has been selected for the Kent U15 Development Squad. An outstanding achievement for both girls, and a reflection of the hard work they continue to put in. The future is bright!

Success at Felbridge

Our Mayfield Show Jumping Team were celebrating after another hugely successful competition at Felbridge last Saturday – winning both the novice and mini classes and placing second in the intermediate and open team classes. All four teams qualified for the National Schools Championships at Addington in October half-term.

Congratulations to Polina (Year 13), who also qualified for the Nationals after finishing second in the Novice dressage class with her horse Sharpie.

Finally, a special mention to Hope, whose horse could not compete, but still came along to offer her support. Hope inspired her housemate, Lucia, to jump a great round in the novice class.

Jill Barker, Director of Riding

Ski Racing at Snozone

Last Sunday Darcy, Sienna and Emelia travelled up to Milton Keynes 'Snozone' for the annual British School Girls Indoor Ski Races. The girls faced two solo runs in the morning, before competing in the team event in the afternoon.

Darcy finished 9th in the seniors, Sienna 16th in the inter age-group, and Emelia 8th overall in her age group. As a team they performed well and made it through to the quarter finals of the parallel ski relay competition, narrowly missing out to an impressive Surbiton team. This placed Mayfield 7^th out of 39 schools, our highest ever position!

Huge congratulations to the girls, who are working towards the Flaine races in January 2024, and a massive thank you to their parents for their ongoing support and commitment to Mayfield Skiing.

Mrs Georgina Fletcher, Director of Partnerships and Outreach

Hockey News

Roedean Block
Wednesday saw the U12 and U13 teams play Roedean. The U13 B & C teams went up against two very tough Roedean sides, and demonstrated good perseverance, fighting until the final whistle. For the U12 A-C teams it was their first matches and an opportunity to learn how fast paced the game can be. It was brilliant to see so many Year 7s playing. Sadly, it was not our day to win but all teams improved as their games progressed. 

U13A at the Worth Tournament
On Wednesday the U13A team went to the annual Worth tournament. It was a tough day against some strong prep schools but ended on a big high. The team drew against Walstead and Worth, then went on to beat Burgess Hill 2-0. A special mention to the defensive unit -  Anya, Amelia and Saskia - who were brilliant all day and to Flo and Emilia who were the goalscorers of the day! Well done girls!

Upcoming Fixtures:
Saturday 7th Oct: U16A v U18A Internal Netball match
Monday 9th Oct: Cross Country English Schools Cup & Swimming gala @ Benenden
Tuesday 10th Oct: U14A & B Hockey v Radnor House
Wednesday 11th Oct: U13 & U12 Hockey v Lingfield
Thursday 12th October: U15A Hockey v TWGGS

Girls on Board

This week saw the launch of our partnership with Girls On Board - an approach which helps girls, their parents and teachers to understand the complexities and dynamics of girl friendships and empowers girls in school to navigate the choppy waters of friendships for themselves.

On Tuesday parents heard from Andrew Hampton and we’ve now started rolling out this approach to our girls. Please keep an eye out for the parent handbook and presentation recording, which will be sent to parents next week. 

Field Trip to the South Coast  

On Wednesday, Year 12 Geographers travelled to the South Coast to investigate various aspects of what they have been studying in class. We studied the beach at Newhaven, seeing the impact of longshore drift, before investigating land use and flooding issues in Seaford. We ended the day looking at the erosion taking place at Birling Gap, before enjoying a well deserved ice cream.

Field Trip to Ashdown Forest

On Thursday, Year 11 Geographers went on a field trip to Ashdown Forest to investigate one of the tributaries of the Medway. For their GCSE they have the opportunity to carry out both physical and human geography fieldwork. A dry and warm day was appreciated as they walked down the length of the stream investigating discharge and other aspects of the river.

Gabs' Trip to Laser Tag

Last weekend 37 Gabs' girls grabbed their lasers and stepped into battle at Bewl Water’s Laser Tag Arena! They played a thrilling set of combat games in a military-themed arena, that required them to be brave and attack, but also be calculated and defend their territory in a wonderfully led series of games by their instructor Emma. After the session, the girls enjoyed the views of the reservoir (and of course the cafe).

Boarders’ Trip to British Wildlife Centre

Last Saturday boarders from Leeds House and Gabs visited the British Wildlife Centre near East Grinstead. This fabulous place gives visitors the opportunity to see animals that they will rarely come across, such as Scottish wildcats. With informative talks and excellent displays, the students had the opportunity to see the various animals in surroundings similar to their native environment.  We were blessed with warm weather and this encouraged the girls to find the ice cream kiosk!

Can you spot the vole?

Mrs J Jones, Director of Staff & Student Operations

Leeds' Girls Visit Trampoline Park

Leeds' girls visited Urban Jump last Sunday, where they made the most of their time on the trampolines, as well as enjoying foam pits, climbing walls and the balance beam, where they were able to find the right balance between competitiveness and a sense of fun.

Nigerian Independence Day Dinner

On Sunday evening, all the boarders joined together to celebrate Nigerian Independence Day with a wonderful themed meal. A huge 'thank you' must go to the catering department for the delicious food, and thanks must also go to Yaa, our boarding prefect, for explaining the history behind the celebration and for creating a great quiz with lots of fun facts about Nigeria - we all learnt something new!

Here is what Yaa had to say: "After the second world war, calls for an end to the cruel and exploitative colonial rule of the British Empire swept across Africa. After a long struggle towards independence, Nigeria finally gained independence from the British on 1st October 1960, which is now celebrated as Independence Day. It was great to see the boarding community come together to celebrate such as a meaningful day; the food was very enjoyable, and I really enjoyed organising the event!”

Culinary Skills

This week in Culinary Skills the girls made a Thai salmon tart with mango and ginger salad.

We smoked the salmon fillets with tea and jasmine rice for extra flavour, and also added coconut and Thai basil, lemongrass and spring onion. Healthy and delicious!

There are still Recipe books for sale (£5 cash) from Andrea at reception - don't miss out!

Annabel Receives Innovation Award

In assembly on Monday, Annabel (Year 13), received her award for winning the innovation category in Mayfield Climate Action’s (MCA) inaugural ideas competition. Her submission emphasised the importance of a vibrant local economy to reduce carbon emissions and made the case for a Mayfield Pound to support that objective. Congratulations Annabel!

Year 10 RSE Day

As part of the curriculum at Mayfield, all girls attend sessions of our Lifeskills programme which aims to prepare them for the choices they have to make outside of school both as teenagers and further, beyond school and home.  On Monday 9th October, Year 10 will be having a special half day dedicated to RSE (Relationships & Sex Education). The theme of the day is Becoming a Woman of Value.
The day will give Year 10 a chance to discuss in greater depth issues around relationship choices, developing intimacy in relationships, self-respect and respect for others, setting high personal standards in relationships, physical attraction, consent, safe and risky behaviour, contraception and online and real time communication within the context of the ethos of the School. The aim of the day is to help girls make sensible and informed choices and help them to stand by their principles. We are looking forward to a very interesting and worthwhile day.

Mrs Deborah Bligh, Senior Deputy Head

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