Towers News 2010 - 2011 The Towers Convent School, Henfield Road, Upper Beeding, West Sussex, BN44 3TF. Tel 01903 812185 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.towers.w-sussex.sch.uk Happy Reading! This edition of Towers News runs from October 2010 to November 2011. As you will read, it has been an action‐packed year and the aim was to include as many events as possible. I do hope that we have been successful. Carole Baker ‐ Headmistress Fine Dining Best Foot Forward The girls and staff were delighted to Twenty‐six Year 10 and 11 pupils return after half term to discover the began their Bronze Duke of newly extended and refitted dining Edinburgh expedition training on room. The room is light and spacious Saturday 20th November. The with new counters (one with group gathered at 8.30am for a homemade soup, another for the briefing before setting off on a ‘grab and go’ items to suit busy girls 10km walk which began at The who are in a hurry and a new hot one Towers and visited Windmill Hill for hot puddings). Particularly and the River Adur. All the pupils popular are the bar stools and the were fantastically enthusiastic, raised counter along the back of the completing the walk in excellent room! Thanks to the PTA for all the time and developing valuable super new furniture and to the navigation skills along the way. kitchen staff for coping with all the They supported each other mess during the construction period. throughout the walk and made the Well done to David Treharne and his best of the cold, damp and VERY building team – another success! muddy conditions! Congratulations to the pupils for the successful start to their D of E training. Covent Garden The annual trip to Covent Garden proved to be its usual success. The girls and staff braved the bitterly cold weather to rehearse, shop and finally sing in the Concert of Christmas Music for the 'Voices of Youth'. The music was glorious and the girls were in good voice. Instrumental soloists and choral soloists were confident and were a credit to Mrs Gray. Another triumph and a fun day too! Fly me to the moon! The entire community had the opportunity to explore beyond the Earth between 15th and 19th November. An exciting package arrived Monday morning containing genuine NASA samples of lunar rocks and meteorites from the Natural History Museum. Year 8 studied these samples as part of their topic ‘Journey into Space’; while Years 10 and 11 studied the lunar samples as part of their studies of How Science Works. All the pupils displayed fantastic scientific skills, using evidence to evaluate theories of moon formation and the origin of the inner planets. Key Stage 2 pupils also had the opportunity to visit the Senior School labs and study the moon rocks, with Years 5 and 6 discussing the evidence to decide whether NASA really visited the moon. A particular highlight for pupils, parents and staff was Tuesday afternoon when lab 3 was transformed into a space museum for an hour, allowing visitors to investigate these amazing samples first hand. It was a wonderful opportunity to study these rare specimens, as the majority of lunar rock and meteorite samples are held in universities or museums. Thank you to Jane Butt from the STFC for organising the loan and to pupils, staff and parents for their enthusiastic support of the week. Founder’s Day Treat November 30th is already a very special day in the life of The Towers Community at Upper Beeding as not only is it Founder's Day (the day when Blessed Peter Vigne founded the Order of the Blessed Sacrament Sisters) but it is also the feast day of Sister Mary Andrew as it is St Andrew's day. However, this year it was made even more special when Natalie Cheng, who was in Year 10 at the time, decided that she would like to be received into the Catholic Church and would like to make the day for her Baptism and First Holy Communion coincide with Founder's Day. Natalie was prepared for the Sacraments by Sister Breda and her sponsor was Mrs Anne Bowerman. Father Dominic O'Hara, who celebrated Mass for the School, commented on how generous it was for Natalie to share her wonderful day with the entire school and enable even the Reception children to experience this very unique event. One of Natalie's friends, Alice Standen, videoed the morning so that Natalie's parents in Hong Kong would be able to 're‐live' the day when she returned home for Christmas. The morning was followed by a delicious lunch and an inter‐house dance competition. Bizarre Bazaar Just as everything was on track and the PTA Bazaar was ready to go the snow arrived! So the Bazaar was postponed and rescheduled for the same day as the second performance of 'Jesus Christ Superstar.' This could have been chaos but the PTA were remarkable and the stalls were set up, Father Christmas arrived and the parents joined their children to try their luck at the tombola or browse the lovely gifts. The raffle was drawn at 3:45pm and by 5:30pm Father Christmas had returned to Lapland, the stalls and chocolate fountain were all cleared away and the gym became an auditorium once more. Moving Musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar' was a brave choice by Mrs Sparkes and Mrs Gray as the music is difficult and the singers required powerful voices but we need not have worried. Jesus Christ, played by Sophie Sparkes, and Mary Magdalene, played by Nancy Holt, were re‐ markable. Herod (Phoebe Murphy‐Dunn), Pilate (Daisy Parker) and Peter (Catherine Crick) were simply perfect and the High Priests (Mary Haruna, Saoirse O'Halloran and Zofia Reeves) were powerful and quite menacing. The final accolade must go to Angela Nabuufu whose portrayal of Judas was magnificent and really put across his struggle and final act of self‐destruction. The choreography (Maddy Brooks, Ella Turner and Mrs Pappenheim) was just right and the entire cast put their hearts and souls into all four days. This was possibly one of the best musicals ever and the girls should be congratulated on their energy and commitment. A Musical End To The Christmas Term Junior School Carol Service Christmas Nativity Chloe Ellman‐Baker The last week of term was full of all manner of musical events with the Junior School Carol Service complete with Christmas Nativity featuring Chloe Ellman‐Baker ‐ our Year 6 harpist. The same day sixty girls from the Senior Choir and Orchestra went to Holmbush to sing to raise money (£364) for the homeless of Worthing and Brighton whilst some others went with Sister Breda to sing to the residents of Adur View. The next day Mrs Gray took one of her Year 8 classes to Valerie Manor to sing carols for the elderly residents. On Wednesday the Rainbow Theatre presented their production of Aladdin to the Nursery and Junior School. The children took part in the production both acting and singing in this lively version of a well known tale. Then at the end of the week the Seniors finished the term with their two Carol Services – parents added to the money collected at Holmbush and we were able to send a total of £560 to the charities who care for the homeless in Worthing and Brighton. In addition the girls collected warm clothes, flasks and toiletries for the homeless who use St Anne’s Day Centre in Brighton. So a fitting end to the term ‐ bringing the true meaning of Christmas into the lives of many. ‘Aladdin’ Carols at Holmbush Carols at Valerie Manor End of term Carol Service Transformation The Year 11 Leavers' Hoodies arrived just before the end of the term and the girls took great delight in the privilege of wearing them to school for the last week of term. They had chosen some lovely, bright colours and they looked fabulous. Ski Trip Forty three girls enjoyed an excellent week of skiing and fun in the French resort of Valloire. All girls showed terrific progress in their skiing lessons and kept the teachers entertained with some spectacular falls and spills! Evening activities were highly amusing, including a fancy dress quiz, bum boarding, ice skating, bowling and the inevitable last night DISCO. This included a memorable 'no plate, no date' quiz which involved the two other schools sharing the hotel (the boys had to come from somewhere!) This was truly another memorable and enjoyable week which was made easy due to the excellent behaviour and enjoyment of all the girls. Ms Hansell, Mrs Packwood, Miss O'Neill and Miss Miles also had a fantastic time but are next year requesting a week off to recover! Roll on next year's ski trip. Juniors Enjoy A Windy Day The Towers Riding Team The first competition of the season Our first team (Hattie Shoosmith, Annabelle Grimes, Georgina Dunlavey & Alex Wright) jumped 70 cms and were unlucky not to be in the rosettes after a really good try by all four girls ‐ all of whom are new to team jumping. So a great experience for them to get out on the school teams’ circuit for the first time ‐ they were already looking forward to the next competition! Our second team jumped 80cms (Helena Dunlavey, Rachel Laurence, Katie Harris and Georgina Dunlavey) and came 8th! It was a really tricky course and only one school managed to get 3 riders round clear! So well done to them ‐ a very creditable result.