A Royal Celebration! - Alderley Edge School for Girls...Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow Mrs Bains: “Every morning, I do the normal duties of a mother of two teenage girls. I also wash

A Royal Celebration!

SUMMER TERM 2018 EARLY YEARS AND JUNIOR SCHOOL

Sport /04

STEM Week /06

Family Ski Trip /10

Bursary Ball /11

and more...

inside

Welcome 03 Sport 04STEM Week 06Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow 08Out and About with Reception 09Junior School Family Ski Trip 10Bursary Ball 11Alderley Edge Festival 12A Right Royal Tea Party 13Year 6 Residential 14

Contents

SUMMER TERM 2018

#1. DREAMTo be loved and trusted as an academic school that nurtures girls to be happy, confident and resilient and who reach their potential in whichever field they choose.

#2. CHARACTERHappy Dynamic Academic United Nurturing AmbitiousFun Committed Inclusive Friendly Aspirational

#3. BELIEFSProviding an outstanding, educational journey to girls from the age of two to eighteen

Inspiring girls to achieve and to be the very best they can be

Giving every individual girl a truly holistic educational experience

Embracing the very best in technology to provide a personalised approach to learning

Welcoming girls of all faiths in a school with a strong Christian ethos

Producing successful citizens for the future with global awareness, empathy and a strong moral compass

Supporting girls with superb pastoral care; one which develops girls’ resilience, self-confidence and self-belief

Working in partnership with parents to guide girls throughout their school life

#4. SPIRIT“Aspire not to have more, but to be more.”

#5. FOCUSConfidence and self-belief

School Vision

Welcome to our summer edition of Aspire. This year it has really felt like a summer term as we have enjoyed some fantastic weather, both during the term time as well as the half term break. It is a term which is always jam-packed with events, one of my favourites being the Year 6 Exhibition. The exhibition is the culmination of the girls’ time in the Junior School providing them with the opportunity to demonstrate all that they have learned whilst being with us, particularly through their integrated curriculum studies, an area which really helps the girls develop as independent learners.

Working towards the exhibition requires them to undertake individual research, work collaboratively with their peers and to display and present their findings with confidence. This year’s theme was Explorers and included projects as diverse as marine biology, the history of costume, the development of aviation and female Formula 1 drivers! One of our many strengths at AESG is Art. Having organised and hosted the AJIS Art Exhibition here for the last four years, The Grange took on the task this time. I am delighted to tell you that our girls gained five prizes altogether, including first place in Year 6, won by Marya Zin-Abidine. Look out for an article in next year’s first edition of Aspire. Sport has provided another highlight of this term. I was immensely proud of our Year 6 girls who not only made it to the ISA Netball Nationals but who came away overall winners! This is the first time that we have achieved this in the Junior School at AESG. Whatever stage your daughters are at school and whatever their strengths, you should be very proud as parents of all that they manage to achieve during their time with us. They are a delightful and very talented bunch of girls!

Bridget HowardJunior School Headmistress

ASPIREALDERLEY EDGE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 03

EARLY YEARS AND JUNIOR SCHOOL

Welcome

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SUMMER TERM 2018

ASPIREALDERLEY EDGE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

Why do we place so much importance on sport and physical activity in School?

Involvement in sport gives our girls vital life skills which will stand them in good stead for their adult life as well as their childhood years.

Sport develops qualities such as fair play and resilience. The importance of working together with peers is a necessary skill throughout our lives; at school, at university, at work and socially. Healthy competition develops pupil character with our girls discovering not only the enjoyment of winning but learning from the occasions when they don’t.

Engaging in sporting activities provides girls with a great chance to socialise and work alongside their peers, often presenting them with the opportunity to work as a team with girls from different year groups too, strengthening their camaraderie.

Sport also provides an environment where the girls learn to appreciate the necessity for rules and regulations, and respect the skills and feelings of their opponents.

In addition, it is a well-known fact that being active improves concentration levels; there have been many studies which show that short bursts of physical activity can increase a child’s duration and intensity of concentration. Physical activity energises pupils and boosts their engagement in lessons thereby improving their achievements.

A healthy relationship with sport can also help manage emotions. Not only does participation in sports and games build positive self-esteem and confidence, but it can also contribute to reducing stress and increase feelings of both physical and mental well-being.

With this in mind, if we can nurture an enjoyment of sport and physical activity in our girls in the Junior School, we hope that this will stay with them and be of benefit to them throughout their lives.

Sp rt

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The Year 6 Netball team has had a memorable season this year, maintaining a high level of performance throughout. This has seen them secure three major netball trophies in the North and resulted in them ending the season on a real high when they were crowned National ISA Netball Champions 2018.

2017 - 2018 Team Achievements

What has made the team successful?

All the players in the squad have demonstrated passion, commitment and loyalty to their Netball. There has been great team camaraderie which has helped them to learn as players and develop fluency, and style. They have set themselves personal goals, stuck to their team goals and acted on instructions when on court. They have certainly believed and achieved!

Well done, girls!

St PiusChampions October 2017

Final ScoreAESG: 8Kings Mac: 3

ISA NorthChampions March 2018

Final ScoreAESG: 19Bowdon Prep: 3

AJISChampions March 2018

Final ScoreAESG: 6Cheadle H: 4

NationalChampions 2018

Final ScoreAESG: 11Sherborne H: 2

Netball

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The Junior School enjoys celebrating all things STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and in March a whole week was dedicated to these important subjects. The theme this year was ‘Exploration and Discovery’.

In preparation for the week, the girls researched women who have made an impact in the field of STEM and produced over 100 informative biographies, accompanied with beautiful illustrations. This work prompted many discussions asking why the names of these women are not better known!

STEM Week

“ I don’t think about being male or female, I just behave naturally. I think in terms of excellence in science, not gender.” May-Britt Moser

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In class, the girls explored their own topics, as part of the integrated curriculum, for opportunities to work on and combine the STEM subjects. In Nursery, they used Alka Seltzer and water (that didn’t work) and then, vinegar and baking powder to produce ‘eggsplosions’! In Reception, the castle building was very hands-on and in Year 1 they experimented with airwaves and air resistance - would the flying egg break? Year 2 designed and built a dragon that became articulated whilst in Year 3, they travelled back in time to understand the engineering of the ancient Romans building hypocausts. Year 4 extended their biography work by developing schematics and mood boards, Year 5 investigated their senses with the help of the Senior School and in Year 6 it was all things electric! A huge thank you to Amy, Evie and Alex, our former pupils, who currently study and work in STEM, and returned to AESG to give fascinating workshops in medicine, prosthetics, robotics and engineering, from Reception to Year 6. The Junior school girls revelled in getting ‘hands-on’ and were inspired by the enthusiasm and energy our alumnae guests had for their subjects. Anya, Jewel and Lucinda from the Lower Sixth also gave their free time to come and talk to Years 5 and 6 about their current engineering project. The girls had the opportunity to investigate static with perspex, paper and cloth, and asked a lot of questions about engineering, the Sixth Form project and how our Lower Sixth girls became interested in STEM.

Mrs Thompson, our Librarian, sourced and purchased a marvellous selection of bright, colourful and up to date non-fiction and fiction STEM books (funded by the PFA) to support the girls in their discussions and experiments. The Book Club read a STEM inspired book, ‘The Matilda Effect’ by Ellie Irving. The main character is a girl who loves Science and inventing. Her heroes include Marie Curie and one day she wants to be a famous inventor herself.

STEM Week in the Junior School was a real celebration but as Rosalind Franklin said, ‘Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated’ and we will continue to celebrate these subjects every day and every week in the Junior School.

“ It is a quick read but made me want to be a scientist. Very inspirational.” Daisy, Year 6

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Thinking of others less fortunate than ourselves is an important aspect of our Junior School and each year we raise money for a number of local charities: Francis House, Manchester Dogs’ Home and Early Essentials amongst others. We also support national charities such as Brain Tumour Research and Children in Need.

In addition to all the wonderful efforts our girls have made, this year one of our staff members raised a huge amount of money for a charity dear to her heart. Mrs Bains had wanted for some time do something to support the charity, Child Bereavement UK. The big question when setting out on such a venture is what to do? What will make people sit up and think that the lengths that someone is going to is great enough to warrant them putting their hand in their pocket and making a donation?

Well, Mrs Bains’ idea clearly struck a chord with many when she decided that the way to do this would be to have her head shaved! For most women, this is a sacrifice that they would not be prepared to make but the desire to raise

a significant amount of money for this worthy cause spurred Mrs Bains on.

One of our local barbers from Pascha in Alderley Edge, joined us in assembly to ‘do the deed’ whilst staff, girls and parents looked on. It was an emotional event but it was agreed by all, that Mrs Bains looked wonderful sporting her new haircut!

Having set out with a goal to raise £1000 for her chosen charity, she was delighted when the donations came rolling in, resulting in a whopping £7000 being raised for Child Bereavement UK!

As a school, we were immensely proud of this wonderful achievement!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Mrs Bains:

“Every morning, I do the normal duties of a mother of two teenage girls. I also wash my hair, blow dry it and sometimes straighten it.

During this time my thoughts often drift away to think of my friends, colleagues and the girls at school; it is a time to think of others.

In March, I decided I no longer wanted to just think of others, I wanted to do something meaningful for them and instead of doing my hair, why not cut it off and help to raise money?

It wasn’t difficult to know which charity to support. Child Bereavement UK supports children and families affected by loss. Every 22 minutes a parent of dependent children dies in the UK. Up to 70% of schools have a bereaved pupil on their roll at any given time. 92% of young people will experience a significant bereavement before the age of 16 years.

I initially thought the target of raising £1000 would be a realistic goal. However, the school community, family and friends were so supportive and generous that the target was not only achieved but greatly surpassed. When I sat down in assembly to have my head shaved, I was truly delighted by the generosity of the donations and happy to lose my hair.

Thank you to the girls, parents, teachers and colleagues who supported me and Child Bereavement UK, you have made my new hairstyle worthwhile.”

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Out and Aboutw th Recept on

The summer term is always a magical time in Reception. It is a time for exploring and interacting with all the amazing opportunities on offer in our local area.

As winter eventually slips away, the girls look for the tell-tale signs of spring and find blossoms which they can replicate in their own art work.

We took our class bear, Arthur, on the train to Wilmslow. It was the first time some of our girls had been on a train journey so you can imagine the excitement as the train pulled into the platform. In Wilmslow we visited the library and shared stories together before stopping off for hot chocolate on the way back to the station.

The girls developed close links with the community in Alderley Edge when we were invited to a local restaurant to plant different fruit and vegetables for their new courtyard area. You may actually be eating something delicious we have helped to grow! We enjoyed a treat of cooling ice cream after all our hard work.

It was wonderful to be able to give something back to children who are less fortunate when we supported Children In Action on our Giant Wiggle Walk. We were joined by Nursery, Pre-School and Year 1 in ‘wiggling’ our way through Alderley Edge Park and village. Kind donations from parents, family and friends amounted to over £700 and this was added to by our older girls who made gorgeous cakes to sell.

Finally, we went a little further afield by coach to Stockley Farm with Year 1. We have been learning all about farm animals and knew lots of information which impressed the staff there. The highlights were definitely feeding the lambs and kids, and the rather bumpy ride on the tractor!

On Saturday 31 March, girls from Reception to Year 6 jetted off with their families to Pinzolo in Italy for our Junior School Family Ski Trip.

We visited this resort two years ago and found that it catered for our needs perfectly, especially as we were a very mixed ability group! Everyone was offered 5 hours of tuition per day and as you can imagine, this enabled all of us to make great progress.

The snow conditions this year were fantastic. It can be risky going at Easter but the ‘Beast from the East’ had kept the snow coming right up until we landed. We were particularly lucky with the weather as most of our time there was spent not only on fresh, white snow but also in beautiful sunshine!

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SUMMER TERM 2018


We also got the chance to do some souvenir shopping around Pinzolo and Madonna as well as sampling some of the quaint little bars and ice cream parlours.

It was a very successful trip and one which we hope can be repeated in the future.

To give us some variety we were also taken to another resort, Camiglio de Madonna, for two days with our instructors. The scenery there was absolutely breath-taking and there were lots of ‘fun courses’ for the girls which had ski ramps and jumps, and certainly involved a bit of risk-taking!

Our hotel had some great facilities for the girls, including a swimming pool. It was Evie’s birthday while we were there and she was thrilled to be able to have her own ‘pool party’ with her friends.

Junior School Family Ski Trip

2018 Bursary Ball

Mottram Hall HotelThe BotanistThe AlchemistGustoParasolAlderley Bar & GrillFosters Fish & ChipsThe Bubble RoomBeauty WorksPhysiofitThe Clarins Counter at John LewisGrantham’s Alderley EdgeCorks OutOllier PhotographyThe Potting ShedBarburritoFashion Rocks – kindly donated by Gillian WilliamsMaxi Car Wash Cheadle

Ocean WaveThe Bull’s Head at Mottram St AndrewThe Pointing Dog Cheadle.Total Fitness Cheadle for 2 adults and 3 children.Cooper King DistilleryHoopers WilmslowHenry D JohnstoneZullo & HollandThe Village CaféA Helicopter flight – kindly donated by Mike BathurstManchester UnitedManchester CityPiccolinoClipper Cove Holiday Cottage Cornwall – kindly donated

by Sam WhiteProBand

We have had some fantastic feedback with regards to this year’s ball and hope that even more of you will join us next year. Thank you to everyone involved! Please do remember that all those who attended the Bursary Ball are eligible for a 20% discount off Donor Tree leaves before the start of next term. Place your orders now or find out more by contacting Debbie Dawson [email protected].

Our annual Bursary Ball took place on Saturday 23 June at Hilltop Country House in Prestbury and just like our inaugural Bursary Ball last year, we were blessed with another stunning summer’s evening.

The aim of our Bursary Ball is to raise funds to enable local girls to attend our school who would not otherwise have the financial means to do so. Being able to provide Bursaries for such children allows them to benefit from the fantastic environment in which your daughters are currently flourishing and we are so grateful to our parents and the community for supporting this vital appeal. We have seen, first hand, how being awarded a Bursary can change the life of a child and provide them with opportunities that they would not otherwise have been able to access. We are proud that we are able to offer such Bursaries at AESG and do hope that you will continue to support our fundraising.

As well as support on the evening, we also had some generous backing from our programme sponsors, parents and friends. Thanks go to our generous community donors:

11ASPIREALDERLEY EDGE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

The Alderley Edge Festival of Music and Drama took place in May. This year we had a record number of our girls competing in choir, vocal and instrumental classes.

Behind the scenes, the girls have been working hard all year preparing for this event with lessons, rehearsals and lunchtime concerts, all contributing to their final participation. As Head of Music I was particularly honoured to be present at many of the classes which the girls were competing in throughout the week and it was a real privilege to see some of our youngest performers taking part in the beginners’ instrumental classes.

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SUMMER TERM 2018


Junior School Alderley Edge Festival Success

Junior Choir, Jazz is Cool, 3rd placeBelle Voci Choir, Hushabye Mountain, Chariot’s Comin’, 3rd placeIsabelle B, Who Will Buy?, 2nd placeDaisy M, You Were Meant for Me, 3rd placeAva B, Truly Scrumptious, 1st placeAva B, Lavender’s Blue, 1st placeMolly O, Earth, Sea & Sky, 3rd placeZara S, Cuckoo, 3rd place

Speech and Drama

Ava B, 2nd placeEva, Valentina, Jip, Florrie, Jessica, Kayla, 1st place Lalli & Darcey, 3rd place Daisy M, 2nd placeIsabelle & Emma, 1st placeMia, Ruya, Ellen & Sophie, Joint 3rd placeAva & Talia, 2nd placeTilly, 2nd placeIsla Cr & Isla Ca, 1st placeGrace, 2nd placeTrixie, 3rd placeEden, 2nd placeSofia, 1st placeSusannah, 1st placeChloe, 3rd place Cressida, 3rd placeKatie, Mount Carmel Cup WinnerKatie & Harry, 2nd place

We would like to say a huge thank you to Dawn Flint who works so hard with our girls during Speech and Drama lessons to achieve these wonderful results.

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The marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle was cause for great celebration nationwide.

Sixth in line to the throne, known for his time serving in the military and charity work particularly the establishment of the Invictus Games, Prince Harry is a popular member of the Royal family. Meghan Markle, formerly an American actress, is a keen promoter of women’s rights and also heavily involved in charity work. The country was captivated when the engagement was announced and then Saturday 19 May 2018 named as the wedding date.

As a staff, we were keen that this important event should be marked in school, giving us an opportunity not only to celebrate but for the girls to learn a little more about their royal family, royal weddings of the past and Prince Harry and Meghan themselves.

The day before the big event, Mrs Davison and Mrs Thomaides had the girls enthralled as they discussed the history of royal weddings and what we might expect on Harry and Meghan’s wedding day.

The girls had also been given the task of designing a piece of head gear with a royal wedding theme and they really did us proud with their efforts. Dressed in red, white and blue, each class paraded past the rest of the school to show off their creations.

Finally, it was off out into the sunshine to enjoy themed cupcakes and juice. Thomas Franks had very kindly made the cakes for us, arranging them in a Union Jack formation!

This was a lovely afternoon which really got us in the mood for what was a fabulous wedding the following day.

Our congratulations to the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex!

A Right Royal Tea Party

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SUMMER TERM 2018


Year 6 Residential at Glaramara House,

The Lake District

This term, Year 6 made their inaugural trip to Glaramara House near Keswick in the Lake District. Considering the trip was booked in what is statistically the wettest place in England, we were remarkably lucky with the weather. The activities on two and a half of our three days took place in lovely spring sunshine. The girls were able to enjoy canoeing on Derwentwater, fell

walking in the Borrowdale valley, climbing and abseiling near the Bowder Stone or in the King Kong centre, and ghyll scrambling at Seathwaite. In the evenings, the girls were let loose on the field until the sun went down when they were tempted indoors by jugs of hot chocolate and craft activities. The girls ate like horses and slept like logs having spent all day outdoors!

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Alderley Edge School for Girls, Wilmslow Road, Cheshire, SK9 7QET. 01625 583028 E. [email protected]

www.aesg.co.uk @schoolforgirls /Alderley-Edge-School-For-Girls

Registered Company No. 2659703 Registered Charity No. 1006726

Documents

A Royal Celebration! - Alderley Edge School for Girls...Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow Mrs Bains: “Every morning, I do the normal duties of a mother of two teenage girls. I also wash