St George’s Ascot e-News

Issue 024, 17^th December 2008

In this final e-News of the term we celebrate successes throughout the Years, as well as giving a snap shot of the fun and festivities that we have been enjoying as a whole school community
VISITORS IN THE CHAPEL The Posada tradition, from a Spanish word meaning “shelter”, is usually associated with the Mediterranean and Hispanic peoples: parts of the world where the crib figures of Mary and Joseph are processed around the local area during Advent, before ending up in a Church for the full nativity scene.  This custom has been brought to South Ascot and Sunninghill by All Souls’ Church.  We were privileged to give shelter for 24 hours to the two beautiful Peruvian wooden crib figures as they went on their journey.  Our thanks go to Mrs Mary Nichols, the Licensed Lay Minister, for including us in this beautiful tradition.
U15 SE BERKS NETBALL CHAMPIONS 2008 Earlier this term the Under 15 netball team played in the South East Berkshire netball championships. The girls couldn’t believe it when they found out that they were to play Wellington in the final for the second year running.  Several teams stayed to watch as they knew that it was going to be a tight and competitive match.  They were not let down. However, our team pushed hard in the latter stages and scored the decisive goal which meant that St George’s had avenged last year’s defeat, becoming the new champions.  Well done to all the girls in the squad.  We are very proud of you. SANTA HITS AEROBICS! The Monday night aerobics class had a special visitor this week when Santa came to join in and take the girls for a few routines.  Everyone had fun and came out looking very red (not least Santa!).
ART CALENDAR The Art Department is pleased to announce that the new Art Calendar for 2009 is now available. It is packed full of fantastic work from Art, Textiles and Photography. It is always really hard to choose what to include as there is so much talent at St George’s. Well done to everyone whose work was chosen.
			OF MICE AND MEN The ARTY- FACT Theatre Company came to the to perform an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men and to deliver a question and answer session afterwards.  Using four actors, and a bare minimum of rostra, they created the story of George and his companion and dependant, Lennie, set in the 1930s Great Depression.  By ingeniously casting two actors in the central roles and giving a number of subsidiary roles to the other two actors, the group effectively transferred the story from page to stage.  Girls were very impressed with the performance and it was a valuable experience for all.
	JOYEUX NOEL In the final weeks of term the Modern Languages Department ran their seasonal Christmas card competition.  The girls in the 1^st and 2^nd Years were asked to produce a card in French and the 3^rd Years made cards in both French and Spanish.  There were also a few entries in other languages. These were all displayed outside the Dining Room, adding a festive atmosphere during the last week of term.
							ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: MS SUSANNAH DOUGLAS We are very lucky this year to have an Artist in Residence, Miss Susannah Douglas, who works in the painting studio developing her own work alongside the students.  She is on hand to give advice in the senior preps and she runs a club for the junior boarders.  She is producing some very exciting work and is a great inspiration for our budding artists.  There will be an exhibition of Miss Douglas’s work towards the end of the summer term. It generally revolves around the figure and a concern with the relationship between psychological and physical space.  This is developed through exploration of coloured ground and a balance of description and absence of detail. Miss Douglas studied Fine Art at Falmouth College of Art and has most recently been showing in Melbourne, Australia, where she was represented by Brunswick St Gallery.  She has also shown at The Old Truman Brewery, London, Centerspace Bristol and through Whitewall Partners.  She is currently applying to MA degrees in the hope of doing this next year.
CHURCHILL HOUSE Churchill House Party proved to be a wonderful success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.  Thanks go to the catering staff for a lovely meal. The theme of the House Party this year was A Winter Wonderland.  The decorations were classic and sophisticated; all who attended looked splendid in their formal wear.  Thanks go to the Sixth Form Team, who spent most of Saturday decorating.  The girls really excelled in the entertainment. Girls from the 1^st Year to the 6^th Form were involved in the performances. Guests were treated to performances that were varied; duets, solos, declamation pieces and the 1st Year sensibly reminded us that we should have some regard for the Turkeys this Christmas!  The 5^th Year entertained us with an up-beat musical number that outlined their aspiration for more prep (this can definitely be arranged!).  All girls were a credit to the House and the evening proved to be a most festive occasion. !
DRAMA SHOWCASE									The Cormack Hall was buzzing on Thursday and Friday evenings when girls from all years performed a mixture of scripted and devised work for the Showcase.  Every girl in the 1^st Year was on stage performing confidently in Rainbow’s Ending.  Two different versions of It’s a Kind of Magic by the 2^nd Year forms got the programme off to a lively start on each night. The 3^rd Years presented Theatre in Education pieces on self image and drugs and the 4^th Year GCSE group performed an atmospheric piece about London.  Wolf Boy was beautifully performed by the first 5^th Year GCSE group on Thursday and Find Me by the second 5^th Year group on Friday.  It was a great pleasure to hear the girls who study Music Theatre singing and a delight to see some of the 1^st and 2^nd Year perform their LAMDA pieces.t
TREE TRIMMING EVENING The Christmas Trees went up on Friday 5^th December when all boarders spent the evening hanging the decorations and enjoying Tree Trimming Evening.  Junior girls had the bonus of sitting round the Front Hall fire enjoying toasted marshmallows and chocolate biscuits.  What a wonderful evening!
		ADVENT SERVICE Many parents and brothers and sisters came to enjoy this special start to Advent.  The full Chapel looked beautiful with seasonal decorations and beautiful tree, with candle light adding to the atmosphere.  A lovely mixture of carols was sung by the Chapel Choir and the 1^st Year Choir and they led us all in hearty congregational singing, interspersed with appropriate readings.  Afterwards, by the warmth of the Front Hall’s roaring log fire, delicious mulled wine, mince pies and other Christmas delicacies were served.
BOARDERS FESTIVITIES
GINGERBREAD HOUSE COMPETITION For 1^st – 4^th Year boarders flat pack construction came to have a different meaning on the last Saturday afternoon of term, when thirty five girls set about constructing their very own Gingerbread Houses from flat pack kits.  For a couple of hours everyone was busy assembling walls and putting on roofs before the really fun part started - decorating the houses.  By the end of the afternoon three tables in the dining room were turned into a Gingerbread village!  Some roofs caved in under the weight of too many pink Smarties – some girls had decided to adapt their houses into a stable and the nativity scene!  The girls showed their artistic talents, with no one house ending up the same as another.
ICE SKATING Coach loads of Georgian girls sped into London for the boarders’ final outing of the term – Open Air Ice Skating in Hyde Park.  Sixth Formers mixed with Juniors to enjoy the Winter Wonderland stalls and cafes, finally getting onto the ice at 9pm.  The incessant deluge of rain failed to dampen the girls’ spirits and they laughed and sang their way round the rink, which actually looked more like a swimming pool.  Thanks go to the Resident Tutors for leading the carols on the ice and for leading groups of girls through the treacherous surface.  Thanks also go to the girls, who laughed in the face of adversity and the Housemistresses who didn’t complain once about getting cold and soaked to the skin.  s
CHRISTMAS BRUNCH Boarders were promised a lie-in on Sunday 14^th following the long and wet ice-skating trip on Saturday.  It was lovely to enter the dining room at 11 am to festive music provided by the Lower Sixth, and our usual scrumptious brunch with an assortment of fruit smoothies.  This picture shows girls in the Lower Sixth in the aftermath of their Pyjama Brunch.
FESTIVE TEN PIN BOWLING Festive Ten Pin Bowling on the last Sunday of the Autumn term is slowly becoming a Yuletide tradition for the 1^st to 4^th Year boarders.  Names and teams are drawn with all year groups mixed together - with teams of Elves, Snowmen, Angels, Wise Men, Pantomime Characters, Shepherds and Reindeer - even the staff entered into the spirit of the occasion with a Santa, Penguins and a Plum Pudding!  Prizes went to girls for their wonderful Elf costumes for the ingenuity and interpretation of the Wise Men – as Wise Woman!  Team Reindeer won the bowling prize with the highest average score, with the Snowmen gaining recognition for their amazing effort on the bowling alley.  A fun afternoon was had by all.
FATHER CHRISTMAS DOES THE ROUNDS After lessons had finished for the term, Father Christmas went round the school.  In exchange for a song, with or without actions, he delivered sacks of cards.  Each Form was asked to tell him a joke.  The one that scored highest on the Ho-Ho-Hometer was: Question: Who works for MI5 on Christmas Day? Answer  : The mince spies
THE STAFF LET THEIR HAIR DOWN
On the final morning, all the teachers, pastoral team as well as many support staff met together with the girls in the Sue Cormack Hall for the Citizenship Lecture.  The message of how important it is to be kind and helpful was delivered in an unusual way - as the staff panto The Wizard of Oz.  It was hard to decide who upstaged who the most –Dorothy teetering in her red shoes, Toto nipping the ankles of the 6^th Form Tutors, Sister’s motherly concern as Aunty Em, The Wicked Witch (Assistant Head Sixth Form) terrifying even her colleagues, the brainless Scarecrow (Headmistress) leaving a trail of straw everywhere she went, tin foil distributing Tin Man (Deputy Head) quaking Lion (Assistant Head Pastoral), colourful flowers and munchkins, majestic Wizard, Witches (Senior Tutors) giving a good glimpse what it is like to face the music if you get things wrong in the Sixth Form or the show stopping Fairy Nuff.  Needless to say, a good time was had by all.  We were all just hoping that we had removed all traces of stage make up before the Christmas Awards and Carol Service.

St George’s School, Ascot, SL5 7DZ