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Open Events 2010
We would be delighted to welcome you to one of our forthcoming Open Events - no appointment necessary.
Wheathampstead House in Wheathampstead (Preparatory School)
Friday 8 October from 9.15am to 11.15am
Saturday 6 November from 9.30am to 12.00pm
Senior School in St Albans
Saturday 9 October from 9.30am to 12.30pm
Saturday 13 November from 9.30am to 12.30pm
Sixth Form Information Evening in St Albans
Wednesday 3 November from 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Click here for further information.
Coldwell Cup Champions
On Sunday, 27 June the U13 lacrosse team competed in the Coldwell Cup 6 A-Side Lacrosse Tournament. The girls started off the day slowly losing twice against their opponents. Luckily, the girls picked up their game and managed to secure two wins and a spot in the semi-finals. The High School powered through and won convincingly in the semi’s against Harpenden. The final match was close and required the team to use all effort towards slowing down their opponent, Seven Oaks. The score was even at the end of the game forcing the girls into over-time. After several minutes of fast-breaks up the field by both teams, the High School placed a very nice shot in the back of the net, winning the game by one point and becoming champions of the tournament. Well done to Bronwen Parry, Laetitia Selous, Hannah Girdlestone, Rachel Smith, Jenny Wood, Izzie Cavanagh, and Anna Cloke.
Year 8 awarded medal for Maths
We are delighted to report that Katharine, Year 8, performed magnificently in the recent Junior Mathematical Olympiad! Approximately 1000 of the top performers in the Junior Mathematical Challenge were invited to attempt the Olympiad paper. The paper consists of ten short questions followed by the opportunity to attempt up to six problems which require detailed written solutions. Katharine scored amongst the top 250; she performed competently in the first section and went on to give two substantially correct solutions in the second section. As a result she was awarded a Bronze medal and a Certificate of Distinction! This is the first medal the current Maths staff remembers being awarded to a StAHS pupil!
Sports Field Update July 2010
It is now a month since work started on site to construct the new Sports Pavilion at the Senior School sports field. In that time, significant excavations have taken place to create the level area adjacent to the tennis courts where the new building will be located. The concrete foundations have been poured and the necessary initial steelwork is taking shape. Already it is clear that, as was planned, this new building will provide significantly more space for pupils and spectators than was available in the previous pavilion.
Progress has been aided by the very dry weather and the whole project is on schedule for completion towards the end of the Michaelmas term. While the work has been continuing over these past weeks, the pupils have been able to enjoy the use of the tennis courts, some of the athletics facilities and part of the grassed area.
Once again we would like to remind pupils, parents and staff of the dangers of construction sites. Every effort is being made by the contractors (Shaylor Group) and by the School to ensure the safety of all who use or visit the field. Fencing is in place and deliveries are timed to avoid periods when pupils are walking to or from the field. Parents are requested not to drive along Spinney Lane as there is no space for parking or turning and the Lane is a designated cycleway. Your co-operation on this is greatly appreciated.
Race for Life
Many congratulations to Sarah Weeks in Year 10 who took part in the 5KM Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK on Sunday 6 June around Stanborough Lakes in Welwyn Garden City. There were over 3000 women taking part including Sarah with Rachel and Anna Snow, also students here at the High School. Sarah raised well over £100 in sponsorship money.
Here is a picture of Sarah trying to catch up with Rachel as she nears the finishing line. Sarah ended up splitting the sisters but they all ended up with times around 30 minutes or less. Well done, girls!
Grandparents' Afternoon
Wheathampstead House was delighted to welcome over one hundred and forty grandparents on Thursday 10 June. The girls took their visitors on a tour of the classrooms and the beautiful grounds. Grandparents were then taken to join in a variety of lessons. A cup of tea and homemade cakes ended this very special afternoon for the girls and their relatives.
Magistrates' visit
On Friday 21 May, four magistrates from St Albans came to visit Year 6. They talked about their job in the court, how the court is run and what motivated them to take on this voluntary position.
We also took part in a role play of a real court case which was interesting and fun. We all had roles in the court. Hannah Stobart was the accused and Georgia Moreland was the Chairman of the bench, with two assistant magistrates. After hearing from the witnesses, the defence solicitors and the Crown prosecution we all had the chance to decide whether she was innocent or guilty. We all learnt the appropriate sentences for criminals, ranging from a caution, community service and what life would be like in prison. We learned how having a criminal record can ruin your life and ambitions.
We had the opportunity to ask lots of questions. It was a fantastic day and lots of fun. Sadly we had to declare Hannah guilty on the charge of theft, but she was given a warning as this was her first offence.
Report by Darcey Lucas and Katie Munro, 6S
Bikeability Week
Year 6 enjoyed a week of Bikeability with four great tutors! We learnt how to cycle in and out of a T-junction, we learnt a rolling U-turn and a stationary U-turn and how to weave in and out of small spaces and in and out of each other!!! We all successfully passed level 1 on the first day and worked extremely hard on level 2. But it wasn't all cycling, we learnt lots about road safety and in the class room made a six page booklet on safety for KS1 and a fun, but educational game for the Reception classes, based on the green cross code.
Report by Sabrina Pinto and Genevieve Adams
The Biggest Blue Shopping Bag Assembly EVER!
The Community Service Tinned Food Collection Challenge for Centre 33
Our Founders' Day theme of the High School 'Simply Serving' came to light yet again with the Biggest Blue Shopping Bag Assembly Ever on 13 May, 2010.
After singing the Senior School's favourite hymn ("Shine, Jesus, Shine"), and listening to the Chaplain read the story of the Feeding the Five Thousand from St Mark's Gospel, representatives from all Tutor Groups, as well as various staff members, presented sixty eight massive blue shopping bags stuffed to their brims with a selection of tinned foods for our friends and neighbours at Centre 33, a drop-in charity for the many homeless and disadvantaged citizens of St Albans. Many hundreds of tins and jars of baked beans, tomatoes, potatoes, tuna fish, beef stew, peanut butter, custard, rice pudding, sponge pudding, carrots, peas, Marmite, and pasta sauce were collected during our 121st birthday fortnight, all of which came together at the Biggest Blue Shopping Bag Assembly In-Gathering.
Later on, during the Senior School's morning break, girls from many year groups, led by the Head Girl, Charlotte Lees, and the School Officers, came to load the tins into the soon to be groaning hatch-back of Centre 33 volunteer, Mr Bob Barrett. Truly, many hands made for light work.
On Monday morning, Mr Barrett will return to collect 100s of tins of baked beans gathered by the girls of Wheathampstead House during their week-long Baked Bean Challenge for Centre 33.
'Simply Serving.' It's what St Albans High School for Girls is all about!
Inter-House Trampolining
Inter-House trampolining took place on Friday 7 May in the Sports Hall. Each House had four competitors and the event was a great success as each girl completed their own 10 bounce routine in front of a judging panel and lots of spectators. The audience was in awe as many competitors performed numerous twisting somersaults one after the other to try and win the team and individual trophies. Top performances from Emi Giles, Eleanor Wardley, Catherine Heminway and Olivia Murphy for Paris House (59.6), secured the victory just in front of Mandeville (58.2). Out of the 16 competitors, Emi Giles (Paris) in Year 9 won the overall individual competition and trophy with a score of 22.4. Melanie Grigg (Verulam) also Year 9 finished in 2nd place with 20.6 and Lucy Moxham (Mandeville), Year 7 in 3rd with 20.5. Well done to all who took part in what was a very exciting and high standard competition!
Young enterprise means business
We are delighted that two of our Young Enterprise companies, Alpha and Summit, made it through to the last 8 out of 26, at the Young Enterprise competition held at Rothamsted Conference Centre last month. Eight Young Enterprise companies from local schools took part; Alpha won the award for the 'Best Company Report' and the Judges praised them for their professionalism.
The girls were a real credit to the school in all respect and and their business advisors were very proud of them.
Click here to read the St Albans and City District Council website report.
All in the best possible taste?
Perhaps it was election fever or just the change from spring to summer outfits, but girls in the Sixth Form, normally the gurus of fashion, the supermodels the Year 7 girls look up to, the girls who put the 'amour' into glamour, were more Coco the Clown than Coco Chanel. Even Mr Thomson and Mrs Browne, widely regarded as the fashion icons of the staffroom, seemed to have succumbed to the disease. Yes, it was the Sixth Form Bad Taste day. The clashing, garish floral outfits at least brought a feeling of nostalgia to our VIP judge, Mrs Ross, as they reminded her of her own wardrobe from the 70s! All was well, however, as £200 was raised for an extremely worthwhile charity, the Savannah Educational Trust.
Miss Bacon's Marathon for Medical Research www.justgiving.com/michellebacon
Well done to Miss Bacon who completed the London Marathon on Sunday 25 April!
SPARKS aim is to help all children be born healthy and stay healthy. The charity funds vital medical research into conditions that affect newborn babies and children. SPARKS has committed £11 million pounds to tackle conditions as diverse at cerebral palsy, meningitis, spina bifida, childhood arthritis and cancers. Please visit www.sparks.org.uk for more information on the charity.
All donations are gratefully received. You are supporting such a great cause. www.justgiving.com/michellebacon Thank you for all of your support.
Click here to read Miss Bacon's full account of her amazing achievement.
Inter-House Badminton
On Friday 30 April, inter-House badminton took place in the Sports Hall. It was an exciting event with girls from Years 7 to 13 involved. The winners of the junior section were Heidi de Souza and Stephanie Shone (Mandeville) who achieved the best scores of the day 21-4, 21-1, 21-1. Mandeville also won the senior section, where School Games and Badminton Captain Daniella Farsiani, with her partner Isabelle Sadler, again stormed away with wins of 21-4, 21-3 and 21-8. It was a different story in the intermediate section where matches were quite closely fought. Beth Kirby and partner Jayna Patel won the section with wins of 16-12, 18-15 and 21-18. With the total points for each section calculated, Verulam took the title from Mandeville by a narrow margin of 20 points to 18. Paris finished in 3rd position with Julian just behind. Well done to all competitors.
CoStA Junior Aquathlon
Holly, Anna, Ellie, Katie, Zoe, Alice, Ruth, Krithika, Hannah, Katie, Lauren, Ellie, Sophie, Ella and Sophie all joined Mrs Still in a very early start on a Sunday morning for the CoStA Junior Aquathlon. Rebecca was also there on her crutches! It was a fabulous event. All the girls completed a swim in the pool then had to pull on trainers and a T shirt over their costumes and complete a run. Mrs Still was very proud of all the girls and they were justly awarded medals for their efforts. Alice deserves a special mention as she won her age group from a field of 33. Other girls who finished in the top ten in their age groups were Holly who finished 8th, and Ellie and Lauren who finished 6th and 9th. To top a great morning they were a very close second in the overall Primary Schools award and won the Challenge trophy for the school with the greatest number of participants. Congratulations to all!
Wheathampstead House Mock Election
On Friday 30 April, a number of girls from Year 3 through to Year 6, representing 9 different Parties, presented their manifestos to the rest of the school in morning Assembly. The level of political knowledge and confidence portrayed by all the Parties in a wide variety of topics such as reducing taxes, the environment, fairer working hours, and equal rights to name just a few, was astounding. After a whole school ballot, the British Happiness and Welfare Party were pipped to the post by the World Wide Improvement Party.
Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Gordon Brown, along with other political hopefuls for the General Election, could learn much from these youngsters who are clearly wise beyond their years! Congratulations to all who took part.
Mathematically Minded
Congratulations to Amy in Year 11 who, following an excellent performance in the Intermediate Maths Challenge, has been selected to attend the National Maths Summer School in Birmingham. The Summer School is run for about 40 of the most talented mathematicians, between the ages of 14-16, in the country.
Well done Amy.
Intrepid teacher's travels
Amongst the intrepid travellers making their way back to the UK last week was our very own Mrs Such, (Year 6 teacher) at Wheathampstead House. She writes as follows about her journey back from Spain.
"We exhausted all possibilities in Barcelona... all the long distance coaches were fully booked, as were the trains and hire cars. The rail strike in France was not allowing any trains through from Spain so we were stuck. We decided on Monday to make our way to Santander on the northern coast of Spain to catch a 29 hour ferry to Portsmouth. After a 10 hour overnight bus journey from Barcelona to Santander we heard news of an HMS warship which was arriving to transport troops home from Afghanistan. We arrived at the port and after waiting for hours we were invited on board along with about 280 other civilians. It was lucky as all ferries were booked up till Friday. So we sailed with the Navy and RAF/Army back to Portsmouth on Thursday night. We then travelled by bus to Victoria and back to Hemel Hempstead in the early hours. I woke up the next morning feeling pretty exhausted but I am so thankful for everyone's help. What an epic journey! It was my husband's birthday on board the ship and we were fortunate to be able to go onto the bridge and meet the captain. He even got to steer the boat (yes they trusted him with £354 million worth of naval vessel!)"
Report by Mrs Such
We are all very glad to have her back!
A flavour of France 'Oh la la!'
The High School Society's French Bistro Night on 15 May promises to entertain with a Disco, Live Band and a French themed menu.
An application form for places is available from the Extranet - why not get a table together with friends - all welcome!
Year 6 Slipper Shop
The Year 6 Slipper Shop is open! In Year 6 we have spent the Lent term designing, sewing and decorating our slippers. We used a variety of materials; felt, fleece, fur and a range of decorations to enhance our work. Some slippers were designed for younger siblings, or parents to wear, some were designed with comfort in mind. Which would you like to try on? If you are in Wheathampstead House, why not come and see the slipper show?
First Place in Gymnastics Qualifier Competition
Last weekend, Emma (from Year 5) came in first place in the Grade 13 Hertfordshire County Qualifier gymnastics competition. In addition, she was awarded a 'distinction' for her outstanding performance. We are all very proud of her and wish her the best of luck in the regionals in May.
Safe return from Sicily
Welcome back to all our girls and staff who finally made it back from Sicily last Wednesday morning! They had an arduous journey home via land and sea and arrived happy but exhausted.
Oxford University Admissions Conference
We were delighted to welcome to St Albans High School, more than 200 representatives from 19 schools across Hertfordshire, for the Oxford Admissions Conference, led by St Anne's College, Oxford on 24 March.
Dr D Porcelli (Fellow in Earth Sciences at St Anne's College and StAHS Governor) gave the first presentation. His informative talk addressed St Anne's and College Life plus how to consider whether making an application to Oxford is right for you. Additionally, he explained Oxford’s response to the new A* Grades.
Two current undergraduates and former StAHS students – Rosie Alterman, 1st Year Medicine, and Sasha East, 2nd Year Biochemistry - provided an entertaining and informative review of their own application experience and enthused the audience with their obvious enjoyment of their undergraduate studies.
The conference subsequently divided into six groups to allow more detailed discussion of the interview admissions and interview process for specific subjects. Each group was led by a representative from St Anne's and addressed Modern Languages, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Medicine and Biochemistry, Humanities, and general advice for the undecided.
The conference closed with a further opportunity to ask any outstanding questions. Feedback from visitors was very positive about both the information they learnt and the warm welcome we provided.
Mrs Cubbon, Oxbridge Coordinator
New Head Girl for 2010-11 announced
Charlotte Lees in Year 12 has been elected by staff and students to become the new Head Girl of StAHS. Charlotte said that she was honoured and excited to be chosen to represent the High School as Head Girl, and is looking forward to starting work with her new team of School Officers; Dani Farsiani, Games Captain, and Deputy Head Girls Selena Arbe-Barnes, Lily Hollins and Gemma Lee. We wish them all every success.
Year 3, 4, 5 Entertainment at Wheathampstead House
Once upon a time… Year 3, 4 and 5 wrote a play based on their favourite stories. Year 3 looked at the Roald Dahl story 'George's Marvellous Medicine', Year 4 presented their adaptation of 'The Snow Queen' by Hans Christian Andersen, complete with the Health and Safety Officer! Year 5 won a competition to the isles of Scilly and performed Michael Morpurgo's, 'Why the whales came'. The girls enjoyed the challenge of writing their own play scripts and songs. They all performed confidently and enjoyed the experience immensely.
St Albans District Swimming Association Trials Gala
Girls from Year 5 and 6 were invited to swim at this event which is the first of its kind. The aim of the gala was to select a district swimming team. Nine girls put themselves forward for the gala; Holly Adams, Zoe Horne, Alice Mackay, Keya Patani, Rebecca Parlour, Ruth McKenna, Juliet Merelie, Millie Dixon and Lizzie Whelan. The following were selected to represent St Albans District at the Hertfordshire Primary Schools' Swimming Championships on 23 April 2010; Keya, Alice, Juliet, Lizzie and Millie.
Members of High School Netball Team Invited to Trials
Following the U14 National Schools Netball Championships, Regional Round, six of the High School team were identified and selected by England Scouts as 'a player who may have some of the skills needed to play at a higher level'. The girls have been invited to trials over the Easter holidays, which could eventually lead to them joining the East Region Excel Programme. This is an outstanding achievement, especially for so many girls from one school and the girls should be extremely proud whether or not they progress any further. Congratulations to the following girls: Abigail McCall, Sophie Carter, Sarah Cleaver, Julia Dawson, Lucy Johnson and Sabina Messent.
Year 1 enjoy a Victorian Day at Knebworth House
Year 1 visited Knebworth House on Wednesday 24 March. The girls enjoyed participating in a Victorian Treasure Hunt which included dressing up as Victorian children, visiting the nursery, examining Victorian toys and trying their hand at calligraphy. In the afternoon sunshine they explored the gardens and even managed to reach the middle of the maze.
St Albans Primary Schools' Girls Cross Country League Champions
The Team has run really well this season. At each match six girls from each school run the course and the four highest placed positions are added together to arrive at a team score. We have won two matches and finished a close second in the other. The final league fixture was to be a crucial one to see which schools came top of the league. Going into this fixture we had a nose in front of Wheatfields but by just one point. At the final fixture all our girls finished in the top 25.
Special mention to Caroline who came 4th and Juliet who came 3rd. Caroline received a trophy for third best runner over the season and the school retained the large schools' league winner's shield for the third year running. The following girls have been part of this successful team; Caroline King, Juliet Merelie, Georgie Walker, Alice Semark, Alice Mackay, Hannah Bartlam, Issy Berrington, Lizzie Whelan and Gabby Kosky.
Orienteering Success
Girls from Years 5 and 6 started to compete in the Hertfordshire Schools' League in October. They have completed courses in open parkland and some tough and very muddy courses in dense areas of woodland. Nearly 30 girls have participated during the season, which finished in early March. They have worked hard and are deserved winners of the League and the Maureen Webster Memorial Trophy. Many congratulations to the team!
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