E-weekly Issue 263 - 26 April 2024

Welcome

This week, despite the lack of sunshine, the girls still managed to brighten the corridors with their enthusiasm!

Do spare a thought for our Year 9 students completing their bronze DofE expedition today and tomorrow. I am certain they will return with resilience in bucket loads and a huge amount of washing! I am looking forward to visiting their camp site (our chapel lawn) this evening and hearing how day one has gone before retreating to the gatehouse and leaving them to 'enjoy' a night under the stars.

The prefect supper was a highlight this week. Our Year 13 prefects, who have led with such energy and integrity this year, passed the mantle to our new set of student leaders during a special handover prefect supper. It was encouraging to hear the advice being passed on and the buzz of new ideas being formed. 

Once again we have had a busy, enriching week of activities and I hope you enjoy reading all about them in this week's e-weekly.

Deborah Bligh, Headmistress

Moon Camp - Year 8 Cross-Curricular Day

Scholars' Tea

Earth Day Lecture

Mayfield Welcomes Alicia Drummond

Science Club Starts With a Bang!

Boarders' International Fair

OC Visits Budding Medics

Easter Equestrian Success

Sports News

Magic of Mayfield - Book Your Free Tickets

Top 10 Revision Tips

News From the Library

Ronan's Reflection

The Wellbeing Hub - What's On This Week

OCs Complete London Marathon for Miss Beary

Mayfield Michaelmas Fair 2024

From the Friends

Moon Camp - Year 8 Cross-Curricular Day

On Tuesday, Year 8 girls took part in their inspiring cross-curricular day, titled 'Moon Camp'. The students were tasked with a complex yet exciting challenge – to conceptualise and design a base on the Moon. This year, the girls selected from four exciting pathways, each focusing on crucial aspects of lunar colonisation. 

The Propulsion Engineers pathway saw students learning how to design and test fire a rocket capable of travelling the greatest distance. Our Design Engineers utilised advanced CAD software to model a sustainable lunar camp. Girls taking on the role of Software Engineers developed skills to program and control a mini moon buggy. Lastly, the Bio Engineers researched methods to produce essential resources such as water, food, and fuel from basic materials found on the moon. 

After spending four sessions in their chosen pathways, the girls regrouped to integrate their findings and insights. They showcased their collective knowledge and proposals through a video presentation. The judges and pathway leaders were thoroughly impressed by the innovative approaches and the depth of understanding the students displayed regarding the challenges of lunar habitation. The prize-winners were: 

• Best Propulsion Engineer Sub-Team: Saskia and Gigi 

• Best Bio-Engineer Sub-Team: Olivia and Mollie 

• Best Software Engineer Sub-Team: Mylana and Jenny 

• Best Design Engineer Sub-Team: Chloe and Benedicte-Rose 

• Best Overall Group: Group three -  Brianna, Alice, Ava, Lucia, Liberty, Hazel, Izzy, Imogen and Ari. 

Congratulations to all the participants, with a special mention to the prize-winners for their outstanding contributions. A heartfelt thank you goes to Mr Warren, Mr Smith, Miss Woodfield, Dr Kasina, Miss Woodfield, and Mr Marshall for their invaluable support and guidance, which were instrumental in the success of the day. 

Mr Stevie Partington, Director of IT 

Scholars' Tea

On Tuesday the scholars celebrated the last Scholars' Tea of the year with a 'what you've read' exchange. This was set up like a speed dating event with girls from Year 7 to Year 13 moving around in a circle to spend five minutes with each individual discussing what they'd read over Easter. The girls really enjoyed the activity and Esme and Cosima in Year 13 commented on how impressed they were by the quality of reading taking place in the lower year groups, and the ability of the girls to articulate their ideas.  Ms Blagden, the school librarian, was similarly impressed at how the girls maintained the discussion over 50 minutes with 10 different partners.

Miss Staunton, Head of English, and I are keen to encourage girls to read for pleasure as much as possible following a whole school assembly on this theme delivered last term, and we would like to incorporate a book club element into Scholars' Society.  In today's session with the Junior Scholars at lunchtime, we started reading 'Sophie's World' by Jostein Gaarder, which covers the whole history of philosophy through fiction in a very accessible way. We would encourage all the academic scholars who attend Scholars' Society to read this amazing book by the end of term so that we can discuss it together before the start of the holidays, and then decide on some exciting books for summer reading. 

“It was a really lovely final Scholars’ Tea, and the girls in the lower years are very clever! I also think that this sort of activity is incredibly useful for interview preparation for Oxbridge for anyone in the upper years. I did a lot of this type of activity with my tutor, and I believe starting that skill early on will be a big advantage.” – Esme, Year 13

Mrs Kasia Kilvington, Director of Scholars

Earth Day Lecture

On Monday, Mayfield hosted an Earth Day lecture on behalf of Mayfield Climate Action. Matt Whittaker, CEO of Pro-Bono Economics, gave an engaging and informative talk entitled 'From Quantity to Quality: Targeting Happiness and Sustainability Instead of Growth at All Costs'. As one of the architects of the National Living Wage, and moves to develop methods to measure 'wellbeing', it was a great privilege to have him speak at the school. Among the audience were Mayfield students and local people from the village and surrounding area.

John Murray, who chairs the group, outlined the importance of Earth Day and the development of sustainable approaches in the local area, whilst Matt Whittaker wove into his talk the concept of 'Doughnut Economics' when considering peoples' wellbeing at different scales.

The event also formed the formal launching of this year's Mayfield Climate Action Schools Competition, details of which can be found on the poster below. Last year's winner was one of our students, Annabel. For more details, please speak to Mr Adams.

Mayfield Welcomes Alicia Drummond

On Wednesday evening, we were delighted to welcome Alicia Drummond, Founder of The Wellbeing Hub, to school for a parent workshop on worry, stress and anxiety throughout the teen years. With exam season looming, her talk was full of practical tips for parents. Mayfield parents can access The Wellbeing Hub via the parent portal. If you have yet to register for the Wellbeing Hub, then please email Mrs Stone at jstone@mayfieldgirls.org, and she will help you get set up. 

Science Club Starts With a Bang!

Science Club has started the term well. Last week the girls enjoyed exploring the different colours produced by the metal ions used in fireworks. This week they investigated the properties of oobleck, a Non-Newtonian fluid. They also made their own pH indicator from red cabbage and added this to their oobleck, enabling them to change its colour by altering its pH.

Miss Stephanie Gilpin, Chemistry Teacher

Boarders' International Fair

Last Saturday the boarders in Leeds House and St Gabriel’s House enjoyed activities at the International Fair run by the International English Department to celebrate the girls’ home languages and cultures. They made delicious sushi and played a range of games including 'Sushi Stop!', Tsuro, Piranola, Mexican Loteria, Aeroplane Chess, World Snap, Mah Jong and Chinese Chequers. They were challenged to create a Lego Chinese Dragon to celebrate this year's Chinese zodiac sign, and to complete a jigsaw of a Thai market. They had lots of fun, made an incredible amount of mess while making sushi and ate an equally amazing number of jellybeans! 

Mrs Kasia Kilvington, Head of International English

OC Visits Budding Medics

On Monday we welcomed OC Emily Press, 2018, a recently qualified doctor, to share her experiences with budding medics from Years 11 to 13. She has really enjoyed her time at Sheffield University and gave the girls a taste of what life is like as a medical student.

Ms Rachel Davies, STEM Coordinator

Easter Equestrian Success

It was a successful Easter for Mayfield's equestrian team. At Felbridge, Mayfield's intermediate team secured their qualification for the Eventers Challenge Championship, which takes place at Hickstead over May half term. Congratulations to Emilia, Mimi, Eliza in Year 9, and Anya in Year 8. Meanwhile, Charlotte in Year 9 won the novice Eventers Challenge individual qualifier at Tweseldown. Well done Charlotte!

Sports News

Cricket Workshop
Cricket season started on Saturday morning with our cricket workshop. It was great to see the girls diving into action (quite literally!) and practising different skills. The girls were put through their fielding paces looking at diving techniques as well as the cut shot, including how and when to play it, with ground fielding and throwing to finish. A good start to the summer term with the girls working incredibly hard.

Hurst Girls Athletics
On Saturday, we took six of our athletes to the annual Hurst Girls Athletics competition. This was held at The Withdean Sports Park, which enabled the girls to get some early practice on a great track. The athletes took part in three events each; the highlights of the day must go to our inter relay team, who had a great 4x100m run, and Gigi in Year 8 for an outstanding 800m run. 

Well done to Alex, Maggie, Lucia, Sofia and Allegra in Year 10, and Gigi who had her first taste of the inter age group, competing against Year 10s and 11s.

U14A Cricket v Bede's
Tuesday saw our first cricket match this term and it served up a difficult challenge as we travelled to Bede's in the U15 Cup. The girls had a good game in bowling and batting, but just fell short in their fielding performance. Please see SOCS for a full match report.

Upcoming Fixtures
Saturday 27^th April - First & U15A cricket block v Eastbourne college
Saturday 27^th April - Diamond Athletic League (Eastbourne)
Wednesday 1^st May - Brighton girls cricket block U13A, U13B, U13C, U13D

Magic of Mayfield - Book Your Free Tickets

Get ready for an entertaining evening as Mayfield School presents 'Magic Of Mayfield', showcasing the talents of students from across the school. From captivating singing performances to sensational dance routines, and even a sprinkle of magic, this event promises to dazzle and delight. Mark your calendars for Thursday 16^th May, and join us in supporting the whole school charity Maggie’s. Don't miss out on this unforgettable night of entertainment! 

Book your free tickets

Top 10 Revision Tips

With GCSEs and A levels fast approaching, David Warren, Mayfield's Director of Teaching and Learning, gives his top 10 revision tips for doing well in exams.

Read David's blog

News From the Library

Graphic novels are a popular genre of book, whether written as an original graphic novel or an adaptation from a 'traditional' text-only format. They ask different things of the reader, for instance a greater understanding of visual literacy. Adaptations of popular text titles bring greater accessibility of these favourites to a wider readership who may have avoided Jane Eyre or Romeo and Juliet. We have a selection of new graphic novels in the library, if girls would like to have a go at reading these.

Fans of Percy Jackson may want to try another of Rick Riordan's series, ‘The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid’, which draws on Ancient Egyptian mythology.

‘Global’ by Eoin Colfer tells the story of two children whose different communities are affected by climate change.

‘Nimona’ just wants to be the sidekick to a supervillain who is constantly reigning in her ambitions. This is now an animation on Netflix, but I would recommend you read the book first!

Lastly, if you like books by Raina Telgemeier then you'll like these, ‘Positively Izzy’ and ‘Invisible Emmie’ by Terri Libenson.

Following a more visual trend, 'How Biology Works' is highly illustrated, with text in easy-to-read paragraphs laid out across each double page.

The Lower School pupil librarians are promoting 'summer' books this half term, so please do check out the books on display the next time you need a new read.

Ms Jan Blagden, Librarian

Ronan’s Reflection

Spring is a metaphor for change. Some changes we eagerly await, and some we abhor. Some changes we plan and others arrive uninvited. To all these changes we ask the gift of Your perspective beckoning us to expectation, hope, and rebirth.
May the sunlight and the rain be reminders that You are at work renewing the earth. As a God of renewal, You are ever at work in our lives, too.
Open our eyes and lives to the needed changes in our lives this Spring. Awaken us to new life and perspective, for we pray in Jesus’ name.

Mass this weekend is on Saturday at 5pm, and on Tuesday at 6pm. All are welcome to attend.

The Wellbeing Hub - What's On This Week

OCs Complete London Marathon for Miss Beary

Congratulations to OCs Alice and Caroline who completed the London Marathon last weekend in memory of Miss Beary with a very impressive time of 5 hours and 24 minutes, a phenomenal accomplishment. There is still time to donate if you wish.

Donate here
Well done ladies!

Mayfield Michaelmas Fair 2024

Save the date: Saturday 12^th October 2024

If you, or anyone you know, would like a stall at this year’s Michaelmas Fair, please get in touch with Narelle at michaelmasfair@mayfieldgirls.org.

From the Friends

Year 12 
Join us for coffee on Friday May 10th at 9.30am in The Old Auction House, Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells.

Year 13
Join us for coffee on Monday 13th May at 9.00 am in The Sussex Country Gardener, Mark Cross.