E-weekly Issue 275 - 20 September 2024

Welcome

The sun shone brightly on Wednesday as we welcomed Emily Craig, OC and Olympic gold medallist, to our school. She spoke to a packed Gresham hall, filled with students and sports teams, sharing her inspiring journey toward achieving the ultimate success in her sport.

The student questions were outstanding, providing an opportunity to gain real insight into how Emily reached her goals. She emphasised the importance of determination, hard work, resilience, and nurturing multiple passions. As Emily noted, “when rowing wasn’t going well, I had my History of Art studies to bolster me, and vice-versa.” This felt like a particularly meaningful takeaway for our girls.

Emily then kicked off our new 'Whole-School Fitness Challenge' with Year 7 and 8. The challenge? To see if, as a school, we can collectively cover the distance to LA 2028 (8,892 km) by 30^th November!

While the focus will be on rowing, students can also walk, run, cycle, and swim, logging their distances as they go. This will culminate in a House Challenge to see which house covers the greatest distance.

To finish the day, Emily officially opened 'St Raphael's' in front of our staff, students, and members of our Governing Body. Raph’s, as we now fondly call it, is now fully operational, offering an incredible space for our girls.

We would be delighted to welcome any parents who can visit next week, Monday through Thursday, from 4:30–6:00pm. Staff will be on hand to proudly show you around and answer any questions you might have.

This weekend, we are excited for the Mayfield Carnival! Parents, please refer to the letter Mrs Bunce sent out earlier this week for all the details.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Warmest wishes,

Mrs Deborah Bligh, Headmistress

Feedback on our recent parent survey

Thank you to all who took the time to fill out our recent parent survey connected to the Catholic life of our School. As you can see, the results were fantastic and we are delighted to feel that we are getting this right for your daughters.

There was only one question that had a significant 'don't know' element and as you can see this was around the school's work with the parish. To help with this, we will be featuring Fr Patrick and our local Parish, St Thomas', in the chaplaincy section of next week's e-weekly.

Thank you to so many who took the time to write personal comments - these will be shared with staff and are so gratefully received. 

In the News This Week...

News From the Sixth Form

Students Attend Oxbridge Information Evening

Learning Support Clubs

Year 7 Students Get Dramatic!

Lower School News

Biology Week Photo Competition

Big Sister Mentoring Programme

Boarders Enjoy Saturday Yoga

STEM Hero - September

Photo of the Week

A Colourful Start - Rainbows Returns

MESSy Tip of the Week

Chaplaincy News

Sports News

Library News

The Wellbeing Hub - What's On This Week

News from the Sixth Form

Sixth Form Information Evening
Parents, Guardians and Year 11 students are warmly invited to our Sixth Form Information Evening on Wednesday 25th September, 5:45 – 8:45pm. This is a chance to learn about the exciting educational provision offered in Mayfield Sixth Form, and also to hear more about individual A level subjects through a series of talks.

This Week in UCAS 

• Thursday 19^th September - Year 13 Deep Dive into UCAS parent meeting, covering application procedure, personal statements, predicted grades, university course selection,  references - key information for Year 13 students and parents.

Next week in UCAS

• Year 12 - online assembly on Oxbridge Entry with Elsie Linley, the Schools Liaison and Access Officer from the Admissions Office at St John’s College,  Cambridge.

Students Attend Oxbridge Information Evening

For the first time, we took seven Year 12 girls to Tonbridge School on Tuesday for a special Oxbridge evening. The EM Forster Theatre was buzzing with excitement as pupils from local schools were asking their questions to a panel of Cambridge University Directors of Admissions and Old Tonbridgians. The guest speakers gave us a lot of useful tips, for example on 'What We Look For?' and 'What makes a competitive application to sciences at Oxford and Cambridge?' The girls took a lot from it! It was an excellent opportunity for the girls who may be contemplating an application to Oxford or Cambridge. 

Anna offered the following reflection: "I would say that the evening gave us insightful guidance to application, the experience with lots of helpful tricks with university in general. The people that came from Cambridge helped to calm us down and see that anyone has a good chance of getting in". Another Year 12 said, “I would really recommend this talk if you are unsure about the application process as a whole and which courses you should study at university”. The evening was extremely informative, and we hope that it will become a regular occurrence."

Dr Marie-Sophie Reijers

Learning Support Clubs

We are excited to announce some fantastic new clubs starting this term, all designed to help the girls have fun, make friends, and learn new skills!

Games Club (Year 7-9)
Miss Isaac will be running a Games Club for girls in Years 7 to 9 every Tuesday A1. This is a perfect opportunity for those who might enjoy spending break time playing board games and getting to know other girls in a relaxed, structured environment. It is especially helpful for girls who need a bit more structure during their break or for girls who are new to the school and looking to make friends. This club is not just for girls who have Learning Support. It is open to everyone who might be interested! If your daughter would like to join, please let Mrs Martin know. Miss Orchin will be running a Games and Activity Club on Wednesdays for girls in year 7 to 9 during A1. Another perfect opportunity for girls to spend break time playing and getting to know other girls. All girls are welcome to join. 

Typing Club (Year 7-9)
For those looking to improve their touch typing skills, Mrs. Martin is running a Typing Club on Wednesdays A1. This club is especially beneficial for girls who are eligible to use a word processor during exams but still need to refine their typing skills. It is open to girls in Years 7 to 9 who want to build speed and accuracy in their typing. If this sounds like something your daughter would benefit from, get in touch with Mrs Martin to secure a place.

Art activity (Year 9-11)
Miss Orchin will be running an art club for girls who would like some structured quiet time to draw, paint, colour and journal. This is open to all girls in Year 9-11. It will be a place for the girls to come and express themselves creatively and socialise or sit and have some time to de-stress and enjoy themselves. If your daughter would like to join, please let Mrs Martin know. 

Dyslexia Awareness club (open to all)
October is dyslexia awareness month and Miss Orchin will be running a club on Fridays during A1 to raise awareness. If you have a diagnosis of dyslexia, know someone who has it, or simply want to learn more about it, please come and join. We will be doing different activities to learn about dyslexia. If your daughter is interested in this club or you would like to find out more about it, please get in contact with Mrs Martin or Miss Orchin.

We hope to see lots of you there!

Mrs Emma Martin, Head of Learning Support

Year 7 Students Get Dramatic!

This week in drama lessons, Year 7 students have been learning the drama skill called STILL IMAGE. Mrs Le Riche's class (pictured) were excellent at demonstrating teamwork, creativity with space and audience awareness. Well done girls!

Ms Victoria Nash, Director of Drama and Media

Lower School News

If any parents/guardians of Year 7 and new Year 8 girls were unable to attend Monday night's presentation on Lower School, please find the link to a recording below.

Lower School Presentation Recording

Biology Week Photo Competition

To celebrate Biology Week 2024 - 7^th to 11^th October - we are running a Wildlife Photography competition which is open to all staff, students and parents. The submitted photograph can be of any aspect of wildlife you choose. The photographs will be on display in the Biology corridor throughout Biology Week and the winners will be announced in the e-weekly on Friday 11^th October.

Mrs Rachel Davies, Teacher of Biology

Big Sister Mentoring Programme 

On Friday 13^th September, we launched the start of our 'Big Sister' mentoring programme. This is a programme where the Year 11s sign up and volunteer to mentor the Year 9s who then become their 'Little Sister'. By doing this, the girls can transfer knowledge and offer the younger girls a different perspective, whether it be about listening to their thoughts and feelings or helping them with their academics. Peer mentoring not only promotes diversity, but it fosters collaboration and teamwork and helps develop future leaders. 

We started this year by launching it with the Year 9 boarders, who thoroughly enjoyed a pizza and movie night in The Hub with their Year 11 boarding Big Sisters. This offered them the perfect opportunity to get to know a familiar face, who walked in their shoes before, and to chat about how they have found the first few weeks of school, all whilst enjoying watching the journey of the infamous Poppy Moore in 'Wild Child'. 

Plenty of pizza, popcorn, sweets and ice cream were enjoyed by all. A special thank you to the catering department who made the most delicious 'fake away' pizzas. 

Miss Sophie Auer, Deputy Head of Middle School

Boarders Enjoy Saturday Yoga

The boarders from St Gabriel's house took part in a fun afternoon last Saturday learning some new yoga poses and having a go at practising some partner poses too. It was great fun seeing the girls taking part and most importantly having fun. They all deserved some well-earned relaxation afterwards!

Ms Corinne Richard, Yoga Instructor

STEM Hero - September

Photo of the Week

Many thanks to Martyna in Year 12 for this picture of girls and staff enjoying their Welly Walk activity in the beautiful countryside.

We would love to receive submissions for future 'photo of the week' stories. Please send your chosen photos to jtompsett@mayfieldgirls.org.

A Colourful Start - Rainbows Returns

This Friday we welcomed some of our girls to the first Rainbows session of the year. We started the day with pastries and hot drinks in Raph's before getting to know each other a little better. 

Rainbows is a programme which we hope will achieve the following:

• Raise awareness of the impact of bereavement and loss on our young people 

• Nurturing and developing the emotional health and mental well-being of our young people who have experienced a significant loss through death, relationship breakdown or other adverse circumstance

• Provide them with resilience, and confidence to navigate their pathway through bereavement and loss

We look forward to seeing the girls again next week.

Mrs Le Riche & Mrs Lavery

MESSy Tip of the Week

Each week, MESSy aims to tell you about a tip for a more sustainable lifestyle. This week's tip has been provided by Chloe in Year 13. 

Every day another 'evil' food emerges in the media: don't eat x, don't eat y, it's bad for the planet. Thankfully, the list of things that really make a difference is far shorter. The most effective thing you can do to cut your carbon footprint is: eat less meat and dairy.

Livestock creates 14% of all greenhouse gases, with cattle being by far the largest contributor. When we look at the impact of different foods, a hierarchy emerges. At the very top of the list is beef - producing 100 grams of protein from beef emits around 50 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents. Lamb is next at around 20 kg, followed by dairy, then pork and then chicken. Fortunately, most plant-based foods - soy, peas, beans, lentils - have a much lower carbon footprint than animal-based products.

The takeaway from this is simple: if we want to reduce our carbon footprint, we should eat a more plant-based diet.

This doesn't mean we have to go vegan or cut meat out either - simply choosing a chicken burger rather than a beef burger would go a long way. Researchers estimate if everyone were to adopt a more plant-based diet we could halve our emissions from food production - if even half the population went meat-free two days a week we could cut emissions, land use and water by much more than we would from increasing veganism a few per cent. A few ideas may be meatless Mondays or meat-free lunches. Even by simply switching one type of meat for another we can make a massive impact!

Important to note: It's not just a question of "tagging individual products as good or bad", says biologist Prof Margaret Gill of the University of Aberdeen, as the carbon footprint of any given food also depends on how it is produced, where it comes from and whether it's in season.

Chaplaincy News

Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham
Next Tuesday sees the first celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham. This is unusual because until this year, the celebration of Our Lady of Walsingham was a memorial, rather than a feast (A quick explanation of the difference between solemnities, feasts and memorials can be found here, if you’re interested!).

Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, wrote to Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops’ Conference, in response to his request last year that the Obligatory Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Walsingham be raised to the rank of Feast.

He explained that normally it wouldn’t be moved but an exception would be made. He said: “Given the historic importance of this shrine for the Church in England and Wales, dating back just over one thousand years, and given the growing devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham to which you attest, the Dicastery has decided that, by way of exception, your request may be granted.” (Catholic Herald)

Walsingham is the Catholic National Shrine in England, and a site of great important to the Church of England and to the Ordinariate Rite of the Catholic Church as well. So this weekend, let us unite in celebration of the Feast Day next Tuesday, as we pray to Our Lady of Walsingham:

O Mary, recall the solemn moment when Jesus, your divine son, dying on the cross, confided us to your maternal care. You are our mother, we desire ever to remain your devout children.
Let us therefore feel the effects of your powerful intercession with Jesus Christ.
Make your name again glorious in the shrine once renowned throughout England by your visits, favours, and many miracles.
Pray, O holy mother of God, for the conversion of England, restoration of the sick, consolation for the afflicted, repentance of sinners, peace to the departed.
O blessed Mary, mother of God, our Lady of Walsingham, intercede for us.
Amen.

Next Week's Daily Prayers

Mass Times
Mass on Sunday is at 11:30am. All are welcome.
Mass on Tuesday evening (to celebrate the Feast Day!) is at 6pm. As ever, all are welcome.

Mr Ronan Lavery, Lay Chaplain

Sports News

Sutton Valence Round-Up
Saturday saw our first Hockey fixtures of the season as we faced Sutton Valence. A 3-0 defeat for our senior 1^st XI and a victory by the same scoreline for our 2^nd XI was an encouraging start against a strong Sutton Valence outfit. Our U15A team had a tough start as they went down 8-0, however our U15B team won 2-1. The U14A team lost 6-0, whilst the U14B team went down 5-0. Thanks to Sutton Valence for the block fixture. Plenty of positives, with some areas to focus on for next time.

U14A v Dulwich Prep
The U14A team bounced back in emphatic fashion on Tuesday against Dulwich Prep. It was a very good performance all round from the girls with a 'Girl of the Game' performance from Adriana, which was even more impressive for a girl who was playing in her first ever Hockey fixture.

Lower School v Burgess Hill
Wednesday was a tough start for our Year 8 Hockey players against a good Burgess Hill game. The A team went down 8-0 despite a brilliant performance from goalkeeper Ana and the B team lost 5-0. A special mention goes to Trinni who was voted 'Girl of the Game' in her first ever Hockey game.

The Year 7 girls had mixed success. The U12A team were victorious in their first every Mayfield Hockey fixture, winning 6-2, with a player of the match performance from Isobel. Lastly, despite a 'Girl of the Game' performance, again in her first ever Hockey game from Pia, the U12B team went down 3-1. It was great to get so many lower school girls out and involved in fixtures and gives us plenty to work with.

U15B v Burgess Hill
The U15B team culminated a busy week of fixtures for us as they hosted Burgess Hill. Despite losing 1-0, the girls played very well and were able challenge Burgess Hill throughout.

Emily Craig Visit
We were delighted to welcome OC and Olympic Gold Medallist Emily Craig back to Mayfield on Wednesday. She delivered a talk to our Sports Scholars and senior sports squads about her rowing journey, how she dealt with setbacks and also about her time and education at Mayfield. She also came down to Lower School games to show the Year 7 & 8 girls how to use a rower and was able to launch a school wide Inter-House fitness competition, where we are aiming to cover the distance from Mayfield to LA, which is just under 9,000km. We will be launching this to the rest of the school next week.

For all match reports in full, please head to SOCS. 

There are no fixtures this Saturday. We hope everyone has a lovely weekend off sport and we will see you all on Monday.

Library News

The new librarians in lower school have settled into their roles with confidence and enthusiasm. This week’s Book Review is by Leonie in Year 7 and is a verse novel, a popular style with modern authors that is readily accessible by the reader. 

The Wellbeing Hub - What's On This Week