Archived News | Michaelmas: September to December 2009
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Old Girl appearing in EastEnders
Old Girl Lisa Shah, who left in 2007, appeared on EastEnders on 28 December and again on 1 January. Two episodes not to have been missed!
U13A Netball Team Victory
On Saturday 28 November, the U13A Netball team played in the 1st Annual Highgate School Netball Tournament. The High School won their group and went onto beat City of London Girls School 16-2 in the semi-final. The U13s then secured the tournament title by beating Forest School 9-8 in a very exciting final. Many congratulations to the following girls: Hannah Girdlestone [Captain], Siobhan Campbell, Megan Kelsey, Anna Cloke, Bryony Freer, Bronwen Parry, Poppy Edwards, Lizzie Hamshere and Kim Marsh.
Please click here to read the full report in the Download Centre.
Old friends re-united as StAHS celebrates excellence
Today saw old friends come together as High School 'Old Girls' were invited to return, together with the present Years 10-13 for the annual Prize Giving Ceremony. Held in the Sports Hall, the assembled heard from (amongst others) Headmistress Mrs Rosemary Martin, Head of Governors Mrs Jacqui Boulton, and special guest Bridget Kendall, MBE, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent. Congratulations to all those who received prizes, and our thanks go out to the Parents who were able to attend and enjoy the ceremony.
The 'X'mas Factor as staff and Students of StAHS get together for Carols
The Christmas spirit has well and truly arrived at St Albans High School for Girls at the traditional Christmas lunch, held in the Dining Room. The students enjoyed a wonderful Christmas meal with turkey and all the trimmings, all beautifully accompanied by the enchanting sound of Christmas carols performed by the Staff with some encouragement and guidance from the Music Department. Merry Christmas everyone!
Year 13 receives scholarship from Deloitte
Another High School star last term was Amy Arnold in Year 13! Each year the major international accounting and consultancy firm, Deloitte, offers scholarships for university study to 35 students throughout the country. Amy applied online and, following two gruelling days of interviews and assessments in September and November, was delighted to be offered a place on the scheme. Amy will now work for the company for seven months of her gap year and receive a bursary to enable her to travel for the remaining five. Deloitte will also subsidise Amy's university studies while she continues to work for them for at least four weeks during her holidays. She will also be a preferred candidate for employment at the end of her degree. Well done, Amy, and well done, Deloitte!
Under 9 Gym Squad
On the 27th and 28th November the Under 9 Gymnastics squad travelled to Dorset to compete in the Under 9 National Championships. 16 schools participated, with some travelling all the way from Holland and Belgium. Although slightly disappointed to miss out on an overall team position by only 0.15 of a mark from 158.650 winning a medal for their group sequence performance more than made up for it. Over 80 girls took part and every member of the St Albans team came in the top third - well done girls!
Nuffield Science Bursary for Year 13 girl
Lizzie Raine was successfully selected for a prestigious Nuffield Science Bursary last year, and she chose to study and research how to maximise chemical drug synthesis. By applying her knowledge and problem solving skills, she spent 6 weeks in the summer and her sixth form work experience at Glaxo Smith Kline, and was awarded a GOLD crest award for her research. These awards are extremely rare and highly prestigious and we would like to congratulate Lizzie on her hard work and initiative for attaining such an impressive level of science research.
Netball victory for the Staff's Blue Team
The Staff Netball match entertained a frozen crowd at StAHS on Friday. After a closely-fought match, filled with excitement, thrills and (sadly) a few spills, the Blue Team at this term's St Albans High School for Girls Staff Netball match, left victorious! The final score line was a nail-biting 3 to 2, and will leave the Green Team licking their wounds ready for a re-match! The match was watched by an excited crowd, cheering for their favorites, despite the freezing weather!
Mr McGuinness' Art Exhibition - Tuesday 8 December
Mr McGuinness was pleased to see some familiar faces from the High School community at his 'open studio' art exhibition that took place during September through to early October.
He would like to take this opportunity to invite anyone interested in viewing some of his recent paintings, currently on exhibition at the Bloom Gallery, to an open evening from 6-9pm on Tuesday 8 December at the gallery situated at 107 Victoria St, St Albans, where there will also be complimentary Champagne and truffles. The exhibition which also includes work from two other local artists continues to run until the end of December. If you require more information please contact Mr McGuinness at the school.
The Bank of England's Target 2.0 Student Investor Competition
On Wednesday 18 November 2009, Nabaa Khandwala, Sophie Tomlinson, Prina Shah and Rosy Blake from Year 13, impressed the judges in the Bank of England's Target 2.0 Interest Rate Challenge. During a fifteen minute presentation, they put forward their argument for maintaining the interest rate at 0.5% in order to complement the government's quantitative easing strategy.
Click here to read the full report.
The I.A.P.S Gymnastics Championships
On the 14th and 15th November the U10 and U11 Gymnastics Squad from Wheathampstead House travelled to Dorset to compete in the I.A.P.S Finals. With over 15 schools taking part and over 130 girls competing, the competition took place over two days. Our girls each performed on five events.
The U10 team were pleased to receive medals both for placing 6th in their Group Sequence and 6th Overall. The U11s also performed brilliantly and won 3rd place for their Group Sequence and 3rd Overall.
Lucy and her team win Gold for Hertfordshire
On Sunday 15 November Lucy represented Hertfordshire in the Inter-counties women’s artistic gymnastics competition in Ipswich. She was competing in the Level 3 team and performed routines on the bars, beam, floor and vault. All 6 teams were very strong, however Hertfordshire finished in first place to achieve the title of Regional Champions and were awarded the Level 3 shield beating Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Bedfordshire. This is a fantastic achievement for Lucy and reflects all of the hard work and effort she puts in on a daily basis with her training. Well done to Lucy and her team on this fantastic achievement!
Netball team victory
Many congratulations to the 1st V11 Netball Team who played St Albans School on Wednesday evening, thrashing them 25-6. Well done to Marigold Keane, Daniella Farsiani, Isabelle Sadler, Georgia Lowe, Ayomide Akin-Agunbiade, Amelia Lucas, Annelies Sweeney and Georgie Pearson.
Armistice Day at Wheathampstead House
The Last Post and Reveille were played by Juliet at 11am on Wednesday 11 November at Wheathampstead House. She played on the stairwell so that all the classes could hear the trumpet and indicate the beginning of our time of reflection. Miss Styles had spoken in assembly about the importance of memories and the history of the poppies which we had sold at school in aid of the British Legion appeal.
Another outstanding achievement for High School Netball Team
On 11 November, the U14 Netball Team competed in the County Round of the National Schools Netball Tournament. The High School achieved incredible success by achieving one of two county places in the Regional round of the tournament. This is a first for a High School Netball team and many congratulations go to Julia Dawson (Captain), Abbie McCall, Sarah Cleaver, Jessica Thorne, Sophie Carter, Emi Giles, Pippa Babayode, Sabina Messent and Lucy Johnson.
Please click here to read the full report in the Download Centre.
404th Anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot marked by an unforgettable Fireworks Extravaganza
Once again set to music, the amazing pyrotechnics of the High School Society's annual Fireworks Display brought colour and light to the skies above the school playing fields. Everyone agreed that the combination this year of hot mulled wine, together with refreshments from Mal's Burger Bar was a formula definitely to be repeated.
Year 2 Viking Day
On 7 October, the girls in Year 2 had a fantastic Viking Day. All the girls and staff dressed up as Vikings and some of them looked really scary! In the morning, the girls took part in a number of workshops where they learned more about everyday Viking life and became apprentices of the village. The girls made candles, pots, runic charms, wrote with ink, made herbal remedies, tried plaiting bread and crushed olives to make oil for the lamps. In the afternoon, they became archaeologists and had to uncover objects from the past and try and guess what they might have been. The day was a great success and as well as being enjoyable, it helped the girls develop their historical understanding.
Year 12 girl is Junior Commissioner for IGGY
Research by Lydia Backhaus, in Year 12, reveals that despite peer pressure and current trends, pupils still follow in parents’ footsteps when choosing study subject and career paths.
Click here to read more about Lydia's research.
Consultation on new development
Our Chair of Governors, Mrs Jacqui Boulton, spoke to parents some time ago about the plans to develop and extend the facilities available here on the Townsend Avenue site. We were grateful for the feedback we received from you.
We have continued to work on our development strategy and I am delighted to inform you that we are now in a position to make the current, more detailed plans available to all of you. We are anxious that as many parents as possible should have the opportunity to see these plans and to comment on them. We will therefore be displaying them as follows:
At Wheathampstead House on Friday 9 October from 8.30 am to 12 noon. The displays will stay in place during the evening at the High School Society’s Race Night.
In the Function Room at the Senior School in Townsend Avenue on Saturday 10 October from 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm.
The architects will be present on both occasions, as will governors and members of the Senior Management Team, and we will be happy to discuss this very exciting project with you and to answer any queries you may have.
It is one of the stated objectives of the school to provide the girls with the most up to date equipment and facilities possible and we would like the whole community to be involved in ensuring that this objective is achieved.
I have presented these plans to the girls in assembly this morning and I am sure that they will be keen to share their excitement with you this evening.
I very much look forward to seeing you at one of our consultation events.
Rosemary Martin
Headmistress
High School skiing teams selected for Dry Ski Slope Championships
On Sunday 20 September, five teams competed at the Midland Schools' Dry Ski Slope Championships at Welwyn. The girls all skied really well particularly the Year 7 girls who had never skied competitively before. A special mention should go to Alicia Carr who has very bravely taken up competitive skiing in Year 10 and did 2 clear runs. Jo Miles recorded the fastest time of the day amongst the girl competitors. Alison Miles came 8th out of 95 skiers.
The Under 14A team came 2nd; the Under 14B team came 4th; the Under 16A team came 3rd; the Under 16B team came 4th and the Under 19 team came 2nd.
As a result the U14A teams and U16A team have been selected to compete at the English Schools' Dry Ski Slope Age Group Championships at Rossendale in Lancashire on Saturday 10 October.
We also had some of the fastest skiers on the day so we have two Open Teams (8 girls) who will compete on Sunday 11 October. If we are successful at this event we have the opportunity to compete at the British Schools' Dry Slope Ski Open Championships which are being held at Pontypool in Wales this year.
Lap trolleys and wireless come to Wheathampstead House
The new term brought new learning opportunities to Wheathampstead House in the form of laptop trolleys and Wireless connectivity.
Class 1H were the first class to trial the new laptops for a full topic lesson. Their topic was the seaside and they used the 2publish+ program by 2Simple to start making postcards. They used the webcams on the laptops to take a picture of themselves, as the stamp on the postcard, and then they typed in the text and address. The girls were very excited when the trolleys, with the laptops, arrived in their classroom!
These new ICT developments are a very positive step forward. They will enhance the learning for all the girls at Wheathampstead House, from age 4 through to age 11.
You'll believe you can fly!
Year 12 girls headed for Willen Lakes for their induction course and a day of aerial activities, raftbuilding and kayaking. Teamwork, determination and no small measure of individual courage were required and, once again, the girls rose, often quite literally, to the challenge! Lydia Backhaus, Hannah Carey and Izzy Clegg were the stars on the High Ropes course as they defied gravity to conquer the 'Leap of Faith', whilst Natalie Strauss has surely put herself in contention for a place in the London Olympics with her performance on the water.
Yass Achievement
The Open University's Young Applicants in Schools and Colleges Scheme (YASS) enables academically gifted students in Years 12 and 13 to study a wide range of undergraduate modules at first-year level alongside their AS and A levels. We are delighted by the success of our first group of students to take advantage of this opportunity. Emma Barnett, Jessica Coffin, Emily Humphries, Antonia Northam, Alexandra Saetta, Francesca Wong and Camilla Walker achieved certificates in a wide range of modules including; Human Genetics, Molecules Medicines and Drugs, Life in the Oceans and An Introduction to Shakespeare.
It is an excellent opportunity for our students to develop further as independent learners, giving them a taste of the skills they will need for university life beyond the High School. It provides stretch and challenge for our more intellectually curious Sixth Form students and gives them an opportunity to explore their academic interests at a more challenging level.
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