E-weekly Issue 248 - 24 November 2023

Welcome

Last Saturday saw the Mayfield school community come together to say our goodbyes to Antonia. I would like to thank all those involved in arranging the day, especially Annabel Bunce, Ronan Lavery and Narelle Morson. It was a moving tribute to Antonia, who led the school for fifteen years with such energy and enthusiasm, embodying the school's Cornelian principles. Ronan has written a moving piece below, reflecting on the day. 

With the festive season fast approaching, we're looking forward to Live Crib in the final week of term (Mon 11th, Tues 12^th & Thurs 14^th Dec). Whilst we are on a musical theme, please make a note in your diary for the 1^st & 2^nd Feb 2024, which is when our next production, The Addams Family Musical, will be taking place at the Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets will be going on sale soon! 

With very best wishes,
Jonathan Forster

Farewell Miss Beary 

Last weekend saw the funeral of Miss Antonia Beary, beloved Headmistress of our school for so long. It was - of course - a time of grief. But it was also a time of community, and a time of gratitude. From the moment Antonia’s coffin came through the top gate on Friday evening, until she was interred in the graveyard next door after Requiem Mass on Saturday, Mayfield was at its inimitable best. We said our goodbyes to our leader, friend and mentor in style. And while it’s true what they say - that funerals are for the living - none of us was in any doubt that Antonia would have thoroughly approved of every bit of it (especially the part where she managed to have the last word, and make all of us smile through our tears!).

The ten priests who showed up to concelebrate the funeral Mass may not have made a difference liturgically (though there was the logistical issue of where they’d all sit…!), but they certainly demonstrated in a way much more powerful than words could have expressed just how loved and respected she was by the Church, to whom she devoted so much of her life. Bishop Richard’s letter was also testament to that love and respect.

Antonia went to her eternal rest surrounded by people who loved her, and in a coffin bearing the logo of the school she loved for seventeen years, fiercely and unequivocally. And she did it in her own, inimitable style - to the ancient strains of 'In Paradisum' from Gabriel Faure's 'Requiem', followed immediately by a bit of Hugh Laurie, of course!

We will always miss Antonia, but her memory will live on, for generations to come. We will safeguard her legacy - Mayfield Girls Catholic School - and our Cornelian ethos, of which Antonia was so, so proud. And we will begin to look forward now to what was arguably her favourite part of the school calendar- Live Crib! I know the girls will make this year a very special, and a joyful Live Crib.

God bless, Antonia. May your soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.

Ronan Lavery, Chaplain

Update from Deborah Bligh

We are looking for ways to further share the Cornelian Way with our community. One way we are doing this is to have a Cornelian Quote of the Week that the whole school community reflects upon and engages with. Next week the quote that we will consider is: 'Sustain a Bright and Joyful Spirit'.

It would be wonderful if you could find opportunity to talk to your daughters about this quote and how it can be a lived-out experience - we will be doing the same in school. A new reward category, aptly named 'bright and joyful spirit' has been added to our school system and staff will be able to award house points to girls who are demonstrating this throughout the school. There will be termly prizes for students who gain the most house points in this area.

We are keen to maintain a strong Cornelian spirit throughout the School.

Friends

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet with the current Chair and Secretary of 'The Friends of Mayfield' this week and find out how this group supports the school in such a brilliant way.

We wanted to remind you that you can join year groups and find out more about the work of The Friends as well as hear about social events, meet ups and communication by contacting your year group reps. A letter with year group rep contact details was sent on 22 September. Please contact the School office if you would like these details re-sent. This is a really friendly, inclusive and welcoming group of parents and I strongly encourage having another read of this letter and joining up if you have not yet had the chance to do so.

Communication

Communicating with parents and guardians is a top priority for us this academic year and we are in the process of reviewing systems that will enable us to do this more effectively. We are also really interested in your views so please do fill our parental survey on a variety of themes if you haven't already done so. 

Parental survey

Gabs Update

The stage one refurbishment of Gabs has gone extremely well and to time! We look forward to sharing photos very soon.

Deborah Bligh, Senior Deputy Head

Brain Day

On Tuesday, Sixth Form Psychologists and Biologists were thrilled to welcome Dr Guy Sutton to Mayfield to deliver his Brain Day sessions. The day was both fascinating and inspiring whilst also giving students a taste of university-style lectures. It was rather unnerving learning how climate change will affect the brain and how future humans will be able to hear each other’s thoughts through computer interfacing; whilst learning how brain tumours, drugs and brain damage can be linked to criminal behaviour was intriguing. We also heard about the importance of sleep, diet and reading for good brain development. However, the highlight was the brain dissection in which students were able to see the structures of a sheep’s brain. Surprisingly similar to a human brain, students could touch and hold the hippocampus, pineal gland and different hemispheres leading to some very interesting reactions.

Dr Sutton certainly had a busy day, staying into the evening to deliver his ‘Inside the Teenage Brain’ lecture for parents, guardians and staff. I have been told that it has prompted many dinner-time discussions on how social media affects the brain as well as the importance of sleep for cleansing the brain.

Many thanks to Dr Sutton for an excellent day of brains!

Charmaine Noyes, Head of Psychology

Religious Studies Masterclass

On Wednesday we returned to the annual conference masterclass on Philosophy, Ethics and Religion. The talk began with Julie Arliss who very clearly explained the Christian approaches in relation to Sexual Ethics. This was followed by talks on Liberation Theology and the Free Will Debate, where we learnt about determinism and the true meaning of the word 'free will'. The conference was topped off with an interactive debate about two major philosophers: Kant and Bentham, who we frequently refer to as part of the RS A Level. The conference was very informative and proved to be an extremely useful resource for expanding our knowledge beyond the specification. 

Florence, Year 13

The Addams Family Musical - Save the date

Sports News

Lower School Cross Country
A fantastic race for our lower school runners at Knole Park on Friday. The girls ran 2.6k  and the team came in an impressive 7th place (out of 33 schools). A special mention must go to Emily B (Year 7) who came in 1st place out of the Mayfield runners and 18th out of 160+ runners.

Hockey News
The first team had a great game on Monday against Burgess Hill, drawing 1-1 against a well-organised Burgess Hill team.  The U12s and U14s showed great progress in what was their first game back after half term, and demonstrated that the hard work they are putting into training is coming together. Unfortunately the U12 and U14A teams lost, however the U12B team came away with a draw. 

St Cecilia's Day Concert

On Thursday 16^th November our Music Scholars and several Gifted and Talented musicians gave our annual concert in honour of the patron saint of music, St Cecilia. Always a treat, this concert was no exception, with impressive vocal, piano, violin and cello performances. Accompanied by Dr Ward, our musicians performed everything from Caccini to Coldplay, including familiar works such as Brahms’ 'A major Intermezzo' and “Without You” from My Fair Lady, and introducing lesser-known items like the violin 'Romance of Svendsen' and “My House” from Bernstein’s version of Peter Pan. As always, girls in every year group performed, showcasing talent across the school years. 

Watch the concert

Leeds' Boarders go welly walking

Last weekend Leeds girls enjoyed a walk through the autumnal woodland, splashing through muddy puddles, climbing over stiles and occasionally getting their welly boots stuck in the proverbial Sussex mud. Overcast weather and even light rain did not dampen their enjoyment and enthusiasm. They came back caked with mud but very happy.

Petra Kotesovska, Housemistress

Culinary Skills

Year 12 Culinary Skills girls kickstarted the build-up to the festive season with some very impressive cinnamon "Star Bread". It looked, smelled and tasted amazing!

Sue Smeaton, Head of Food and Nutrition

Farm Club

The Year 12 Farm Club, sporting their new boilersuits, are enjoying their weekly visits to Froghole Farm. Farmer Guy explained the trials and tribulations of dealing with British weather. He tries to keep the animals outdoors as long as possible but the wet weather has meant that he has needed to bring his cattle in, both to allow the land to recover, and to keep his dairy herd clean. This week's focus was on his outdoor reared pigs and Percy Pig, the resident farm boar, was a big hit. 

Fact of the week: pigs have a gestation period of 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days.

Rachel Davies, Deputy Head of Sixth Form

Trip to see Brighton v Arsenal

On Sunday, we took 19 girls from Years 7 to 13 to Crawley Town Football Club to watch Brighton v Arsenal. The girls witnessed a lot of goals as Arsenal ran away with the game to win 3-0. They enjoyed the trip and hopefully we will be able to do more of these before the end of the academic year.

Jordan Walser, PE Teacher

Live Crib

Library News

The librarians have been busy recycling old books and out of date magazines into Christmas decorations for both libraries; the folded-book Christmas tree is very easy to make.

Making a welcome return this Christmas is the library’s very own Merry Quizmas. Look out for the Quiz sheet in each library with a returns box for your entry form. The Merry Quizmas will be running from 1st December - 7th December. Entry closes at 4.30pm.

There will be prizes for the most correct answers returned by the deadline. In the event of a tie, names will be drawn from a hat.

Test yourself, try not to use the internet!

Jan Blagden, Librarian

STEM Hero

Careers Event

More information

Xmas lights switch on

Our girls will be singing carols by the Post Office! Do come along and support them.

Next Week's Menu

Menu w/c 27th Nov