E-weekly Issue 278 - 11 October 2024

Welcome

What a wonderful start to the week we had on Monday, with our first-ever Grandparents’ Day! We welcomed over 60 families who joined us in celebrating this special day. We began with a beautiful Liturgy, after which our students proudly led their grandparents on personalised tours around the school, showcasing all the things that make Mayfield so special. We wrapped up the festivities with a delightful buffet lunch in the Dining Room. It was a truly memorable day for our Mayfield community, and I am thrilled to announce that Grandparents’ Day will now be an annual event!

In other news, our new parent portal is now live! I hope you are finding it useful, and as always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if there is anything else you would like to see on the portal as we continue to improve it. For suggestions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at helpdesk@mayfieldgirls.org.

Next week, I’ll be traveling to China to strengthen our connections in ceramics, followed by a visit to Hong Kong for academic fairs and an OC drinks reception during the first week of half-term. I’m delighted that many parents have already scheduled time to meet with me in Hong Kong, but there are still a few slots available. If you’d like to connect while I’m there, please reach out to my EA, Luciana, at lfrangella-cramp@mayfieldgirls.org.

Back at Mayfield, we’re looking forward to the Michaelmas Fair tomorrow, from 10.00 to 15:00. Please do come along. We are also eagerly anticipating next week's Foundation Day. We have an array of exciting Inter-House activities planned, including hockey, debating, music, and for the first time ever, a colour run! It promises to be a vibrant and joyful day for everyone involved.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Warm regards,

Deborah Bligh, Headmistress

In the News This Week...

Dates for your Diary from The Friends...

Year 7
Coffee at The Deer Park Cafe, Sham Farm Road, Eridge, TN3 9JB - 9am on Friday 18^th October.

Michaelmas Fair - Saturday 12^th October

Wealden Schools Partnership Council Meeting

The meeting includes a series of discussion activities and team-building exercises, offering schools a chance to come together and share their thoughts and ideas on the importance of school councils and prefect teams, as well as the qualities and characteristics desired in their members. Students are placed into mixed groups, with participants from different schools and age groups, which they work in throughout the morning.

Following this, there was a talk on neurodiversity, as this is one of the key areas of focus for the partnership this year, with the aim being to ensure whole school communities are aware of the strengths and challenges of people who are neurodiverse. This included a very powerful exercise on inclusivity by Taf Mpamdawana, EDI coordinator at Bede's. The groups were asked to reflect on this and come up with ways that schools can best represent the views of everyone within their school community.

Mrs Georgina Fletcher, Director of Partnerships and Outreach

Bede's MUN

On Tuesday, 19 of our MUNers had an exciting time at Bede's II Model United Nations conference, where delegates representing the UK, Ecuador and Iran were spread into seven different committees participating in fascinating and complex debates. Numerous quality resolutions were passed as various topics such as statelessness, gender-sensitive military training, and fighting terrorism in Western and Central Africa were discussed. We came home with a crop of awards for Highly Commended delegates Ava in Year 12, and Sophie, Liv, Claudia and Frances in Year 10, along with commendations for Wing in Year 12 and Annette in Year 10. Special thanks were paid to Kseniia in Year 13 and Skye in Year 12 for chairing committees and helping to make the conference such a successful event. 

"I really enjoyed our MUN trip to Bede's as the delegate of the United Kingdom. It was an amazing opportunity to meet new people from different schools and to debate some of the pressing global issues in the world." - Frances (Year 10)

Mrs Kasia Kilvington, Head of International English

Boarding News

It's been a bumper-packed fortnight in boarding, with lots of trips and activities for the girls to enjoy. 

Mayfield Fashion Show - Friday 22^nd November

Please save the date for our upcoming fashion show on Friday 22nd November. If you have any dresses that are going spare or would otherwise be donated to charity, please do consider donating them for use in the show.

Biology Week Photo Winners!

Thank you for the beautiful wildlife photos which are now on display in the Biology corridor. Judging was not easy! Please come to Lab B1 on Monday to collect your prizes.

Winners
Parent: Mrs Auron Gorska for 'Interspecies Encounter'
Staff: Miss Wolmarans for 'Insecta' & Mrs Misiewicz for 'Worcester Town Crier'
Sixth Form: Martyna for 'Busy Bees'
Middle School: Lucie for 'Priscilla the Bear' & Gabi for 'Winged Soulmates'

Mrs Rachel Davies, Teacher of Biology

Mental Health Awareness Day

Yesterday we marked Mental Health Awareness Day with a range of talks and activities for the girls. 

Heads of Years presented assemblies to their students, encouraging them to think about simple tips for good mental health, in areas such as sleep, understanding and managing feelings, spending time in outdoor spaces, helping others and physical activity.

The Catering department featured information and tips about mental health on the screens in the dining halls that students and staff could read during lunch service, and the library featured a 'Take 10 to Read' challenge, inviting girls to read a book for 10 minutes at break time. 

More information and tips

Where in the World?

Last week's winner was Annette in Year 10. Well done!

Here's this week's mystery place. What is its name?

Clues:

1. It's in a mountain range at the end of your arms

2. Its name means 'old mountain'

Answers to Darcy in Year 13. The first person with the correct answer gets a house point!

Chaplaincy News

Pilgrimage in Arundel
On Friday 4^th October a group of Mayfield girls travelled to Arundel to take part in the annual diocesan secondary school pilgrimage. We met up with other schools from the diocese of Arundel and Brighton at the bottom of town, and proceeded to walk two or three miles through Arundel Park on our way up to the cathedral. Bishop Richard led our pilgrimage, and also led us in Mass inside the stunning Cathedral of Our Lady and Saint Philip Howard, in celebration of Saint Francis' feast day. We were blessed with fine weather and beautiful surroundings, and the atmosphere was full of joy and peace. We look forward to returning for next year's pilgrimage!

Next Week's Daily Prayers

Next Week's Daily Prayers

Mass Times
Mass on Sunday is at 11:30am, and Mass is back on Tuesday at 6pm. As ever, everyone is welcome.

Mr Ronan Lavery, Lay Chaplain

Justice and Peace 'Sleep Out' Fundraiser

Join Justice & Peace in supporting the Cardinal Hume Centre, a non-profit organisation, which helps families, children and young people to overcome poverty and avoid homelessness in London. A group of Mayfield girls are going to sleep outside, in the Chapel entrance, in November to experience a glimpse of the reality of what homeless people go through. Without phones, access to creature comforts or the general privileges of our daily lives, we hope to create an experience that is as authentic as possible.

We aim to raise even more money than last year! Please support us if you can. Thank you.

Donate here

Food & Nutrition Creations

Culinary Skills girls made a ramen dish with their own choice of vegetables and either salmon or chicken. The chicken was poached with some authentic ingredients for that special umami flavour and then some time to serve and style. 

Year 10 have been studying carbohydrates this week so made some delicious and very attractive bread rolls. Great job girls! 

MESSy News

More and more the UK is experiencing a decline in biodiversity. Through MESSy we hope we can make a small difference by providing tips on how to attract wildlife such as birds, hedgehogs, bees and bugs to your garden or outside spaces.

How to attract wildlife to your garden:

1. Let nature take over to create what the bugs and pollinators want. This does not mean turning your garden into a jungle, but you could let a small patch at the back of your garden grow naturally. Another suggestion is to create a wildflower garden/bed which attracts all sorts of wildlife from birds to ladybugs; in addition, it is aesthetically pleasing to look at and is a low cost alternative to a high maintenance garden, while also benefitting pollinators.
2. Choosing pollinator-friendly plants. A third of British wild bees and hoverflies are in decline according to the BBC; by planting pollinator friendly plants you are doing what you can to help slow down the decline of pollinators.
3. Create a bug hotel or bird box. You can find ready-made bird boxes in your local garden centre or online, or you could choose to make your own bug hotel from things you have at home such as bricks, twigs and possibly even a wooden pallet.
4. Offer a water source. Like us, water is crucial for wildlife to survive so it is a great idea to put out a bowl of water near trees or plants so wildlife can have somewhere safe to drink. Put some small stones in it to allow access for insects to drink from it too.
5. Serve an extra meal. Put a bird feeder out with nuts and seeds in it to attract common birds such as goldfinches, blue tits, sparrows, blackbirds and robins. Not only does it give the birds a meal, it is also interesting to watch. You could even put up cameras to see some close-up action!

Written by Lauren in Year 12.

Photo of the Week

Many thanks to Mrs Bunce for her photo from a beautiful, frosty morning walk around the school grounds.

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

In addition, we have received lots of photos of the Northern Lights taken in Mayfield and the surrounding area on Thursday night!

Sports News

National Schools' Netball
Saturday saw our first Netball action of the season as our U18s attended National Schools' Netball at Roedean. It was an extremely beneficial day and has given us plenty of optimism for the season ahead, as well as some aspects to work on. 

Swimming Gala at Benenden
On Monday evening, our swim squad competed in a gala at Benenden. Well done to everyone who participated, it was great to see such enthusiasm and excitement. It is safe to say it was a fantastic start to the season. Congratulations to those who won their races or improved their PBs. We look forward to seeing the same energy at the next gala. A huge well done to the Seniors who also won their event by a point!

Lauren, Swim Captain

2^nd XI v Bede's
Monday saw our senior second team host Bede’s for their second game of the season. The girls gave a spirited performance, with a player of the match performance from goalkeeper Sofia, although sadly this wasn’t enough to stop Bede’s taking a 2-0 victory.

U14A & B v Bede's
The U14A team hosted Bede’s on Tuesday for their final match of this half term and were able to put in their strongest performance of the year so far. Flo and Adrianna were voted for players of the game, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get over the line and the game finished 0-0.

The U14B team travelled to Bede’s for their fixture and after a slow first half where the girls found themselves 4-0 down, they quickly found their feet in the second half and won the second half 2-0. A 4-2 defeat, but plenty to be positive about.

Lower School Lingfield Block
Wednesday saw us take on Lingfield in a largely competitive Hockey block. There were several close games which, despite being on the wrong end of the score, were good to be a part of and on another day, could’ve been a different outcome. The lower school U13Bs lost 7-0, U13Cs lost 4-0 and U12Cs lost 3-0. In the tighter games, our U13As lost 2-0, U12Bs lost 1-0 and the U12As managed to get a 1-1 draw.

1^st XI Hockey Tournament
Our senior 1^st team went to Marden Hockey club for a tournament and had a brilliant morning. They played some of their best hockey of the season and managed to win one match and lose two. 

All match reports from the above can be found on SOCS.

Upcoming Fixtures
Saturday 12^th October - Lower School Inter House Football - 9:00am start @ Mayfield.
Saturday 12^th October - U15A Football fixture v Crowborough FC U15 - 11:15 start @ Mayfield.
Monday 14^th October - U13 English Schools Athletic Association Cross Country - 9:00am start.
Wednesday 16^th October - U13A + U13B Hockey fixture v Sutton Valence - 14:30 start @ Mayfield.
Wednesday 16^th October - U13C + U13D Hockey fixture v Sutton Valence - 15:00 start @ Mayfield.
Thursday 17^th October - U15A Football fixture v TWGGS - 16:00 start @ TWGGS.

Library News

October is a busy month for book promotions in our libraries. We have had National Poetry Day, Nigeria Day, Black History Month, World Mental Health Day, Founder’s Day and to end the month Halloween into All Soul’s Day.

The librarians have also been working hard to create a library newsletter containing features and articles on all things book-ish. More information in next week’s e-weekly…

To mark Nigeria Day on 1^st October we had a display of books that were by Nigerian authors or set in Nigeria. Celebrating World Mental Health Day, the girls were invited to Take 10 to Read during morning break. We had over 20 keen readers arrive, thank you!

Take 10 to Read

From the School Shop

Lost Property
Please see below pictures of un-named lost property on the bench opposite the school shop. The items in the last picture are in the school shop. Most of this we have had since the start of term, including 2 x zip hoodies and a full-length Zara coat. Items not collected by half term will be disposed of.

Senior Squad Hoodies
Last call for Senior Squad Hoodies. If you are currently playing Senior Sports then you will have been invited to get a Senior Squad Hoodie. Please note the following:

1. Deadline for ordering is Wednesday 16^th October. There are samples in the school shop to try on for size.
2. We only order these once a year. If you miss the deadline you will have to wait until September 2025 when we will order again. Apologies, this is by invitation only and if you no longer play Senior Sports you cannot order one.
3. They are not compulsory. Cost is £36 per hoodie and they are bespoke with your surname on the back.
4. Any students who already have one and still play senior sport,  but need a replacement, please email by the 16^th October with the size you require or come and try one on in the shop. Any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

School Shop Closure
Please note next week the school shop will only be open on Monday 14^th, Tuesday 15^th and Wednesday 16^th  October. We will be shut on Thursday and Friday. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Mrs Susan Bowles, School Shop Manager

The Wellbeing Hub - What's On This Week