MGGS Summer Newsletter 2014

End of Year Message By Maureen Wolloshin, Headteacher

Here at MGGS we are enjoying the sunshine, finishing our studies for the

academic year, and reflecting on the many learning experiences we have enjoyed

during the course of the year.

The articles in this bulletin give a flavour of some of those experiences. What

shines through every one of them is the commitment, sense of fun, and joy of

learning that our students bring to everything that they do.

I am convinced that our success as individuals and as a community can be

attributed to the commitment, curiosity, and determination to succeed that

characterises so much of what our students and staff do.

I hope that you all enjoy a peaceful, restorative, and happily eventful summer.

Our students have worked extremely hard this year and I am very proud of their

achievements. They deserve a little rest and relaxation before we see them

again in September; refreshed and ready to give of their best.

Maureen Wolloshin

Headteacher

a tradition of excellence

Buckland Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 0SF T: 01622 752103 F: 01622 681947 E: central @mggs.org www.mggs.org

School Production of Angels

The Newsletter

Non sibi sed omnibus

Maidstone Grammar School

for Girls

July 2014

See inside for full article

U16 Futsal National Finalists By Miss Relph

On Sunday 29th June the U16 Futsal team travelled to the Futsal Arena in

Birmingham to participate in ‘The FA Futsal National Finals’. Teams

from all over the country participated in local competitions, then district,

then regional to have the chance to represent their region at the finals.

MGGS were representing the whole of the South East.

It was a long tiring day for the girls who left school at 6am to register by

9.15am in Birmingham. The girls played some fantastic football and

showed off their skills proving that they are worthy of playing at this

high standard. Katie Startup in goal was phenomenal and kept the team

in the majority of matches due to her fantastic saving ability. Both

Rachel Stevens and Tish Smith were solid at the back and influential in

making accurate passes to Amanda Beeput who played as a lone striker. Megan Gill and Zoe Moyler played well in

the middle and Megan finished a lovely move by scoring on her left foot - a great team goal. Eve Hume is a versatile

player and demonstrated a good performance in defence against some tough and physical teams. Well done to all

players.

Drama Workshop By Mrs Shand

Forty one of our Year 9 Drama students kicked off

preparations for their GCSE course, which starts in

September, with a two hour workshop with the actor

Sean Jones from the cast of ‘Blood Brothers’ on 24th

June 2014. The students were taken through actors’

warm up games, exercises in characterisation, status and

tension and even shown how to bring to life a short

extract from the script of ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy

Russell. The girls were enthralled throughout and

particularly valued a Q and A session at the end of the

afternoon when they could ask their own questions

about training and working in theatre. Afterwards, the

girls agreed it had been a really inspiring and enjoyable

afternoon!

Report by Jenna

Roper and

Angharad Roberts

On Tuesday 24th June,

the Year 9 GCSE

drama students had

the opportunity to

take part in a workshop run by professional actor ‘Sean

Jones’. Sean Jones is an experienced actor who has

performed the part of Mickey in the West End show

‘Blood Brothers’, and played his part on tour around the

UK.

It was an enriching experience for us all to meet an

experienced actor who has actually taken part in a

famous play. He showed us many acting techniques that

will come in handy for our GCSE drama course and

anything we want to do in the future. The workshop not

only gave us new ways of improving our drama skills,

but also boosted our confidence levels by doing things in

a team. While being taught key skills needed for drama

and performing, we had a lot of fun incorporating games

and funny exercises. Whilst being exposed to serious

techniques we had a lot of fun creating scenarios.

Sean Jones displayed a depth in character whilst playing

Mickey Johnstone, a depth that was interesting to

explore. While playing Mickey, Mr Jones made the

character journey from a seven year old to fourteen

years of age; then age twenty-one to a mature adult, in

the space of a 2 hour show.

We also took part in an exercise that meant we could

show emotion through our character, by only saying one

word. This is a useful exercise for us as it allows us to

show emotions through our actions and facial

expressions, without having to actually say the words.

We are very grateful to Sean Jones for giving up his

time and sharing his experiences and knowledge with us.

We would also like to thank the Drama Department for

providing this opportunity for us and allowing us to

strengthen our drama skills and abilities.



The Newsletter


Angels By Mrs Shand



The Newsletter


This year our school production was part of The National

Theatre’s Connections Festival. The play was an original

piece called ‘Angels’ written by Pauline McLynn. There

were 22 actors and 24 crew members involved, ranging

from Year 7 up to Year 13. There were three

performances in the School Hall in February and we then

transferred to The Marlowe Theatre in May.

The cast and crew showed a mature dedication to

developing the new play and were never afraid to work

outside their comfort zones. The entire company seized

the opportunity to portray their interpretation of ‘Angels’

with professionalism and passion.

Below is an extract from the Show Report we received

from Richard Weinman. He is a professional director

associated with The National Theatre, who watched the

Thursday evening performance in February and spoke to

the company after the show:

“The performances were committed and truthful and

there were some lovely moments where I felt the actors

were really responding to each other. It is clear that the

actors have really invested in their characters and the

play, and in general the performances are natural

and truthful.

I thought the physical discipline of the Angels was

incredible and that they had a really excellent

balance between being slightly stylized and natural.

The angels were affectively ghost like without being

stereotypes. Overall I thought the design was really

effective in its simplicity.

I really liked the simple but effective lighting design

of the piece, which never felt forced and had a really

natural quality to it. They were clearly able to

demonstrate the time of day and the passing of time

whilst also creating some beautiful images on stage

through the lighting. The use of handheld LED

torches and the fairy lights draped onto the angels,

to light the later scenes was really clever and

beautiful and effectively helped to create the

atmosphere of the graveyard….. what you have is

really beautiful.”

Richard Weinman, Director associated with The

National Theatre

Notre Voyage en Normande By Mme Fourmy

Last May Mme Fourmy, Mrs Farnham, Miss Couves,

and Mr Ansette took 40 students to Normandy for 5

days. The students stayed in a comfortable French

nunnery in the picturesque town of Bayeux and enjoyed

taking part in lots of interesting and varied activities.

The high point of the visit was a guided ecological walk

across the Bay of Le Mont Saint Michel. Students also

visited some of the following: Bayeux and its well-

known tapestry, a working goat cheese factory,

Honfleur, Arromanches and the D-Day landing beaches.

They also enjoyed the opportunity to visit smaller places

of local interest independently, and tried out their

knowledge of French by visiting the local markets and

shops.

Quelques témoignages…

Normandy was one of the best

experiences! From staying in the nunnery

to completing activity full days, it was

amazing. I really enjoyed seeing different

parts of the French culture and history like

the D-day landing and the Bayeux Cathedral. Although

each day was fun my highlight of the trip has to be the

walk from Mont Saint Michael to the shore, it took a

whopping 7 miles but I am so glad I did it, even if I did

step on a few jellyfish on the way! The market was great

and I loved having the responsibility of looking round

with my friends; we used our French talking skills and I

improved a lot! Overall the Normandy trip was amazing

and will always be a fond memory of mine and I really

recommend going there, you won’t be disappointed!

Safia Rasoul

Normandy 2014 was great! It was filled with fun

activities and spectacular experiences with the French

culture. My highlight of the trip was the bay walk; we

walked from Mont Saint Michael across three rivers, to

salt dunes, past islands crawling with birds all the way to

the shore! It took half a day and we walked 7 miles. The

food there was great. We tried some odd concoctions

and my favourite by far was the snails. The goat farm

experience was tremendous and we were able to pet and

brush lovely little goats. It was really memorable and we

got to taste lots of goat cheese. I liked going to the

activities centre in ‘le Châteaux de la bourdonnière’ too.

We made bread, did orienteering and even archery. I

eally enjoyed myself and I think that next year’s

students going will really have a great time.

Rebecca Cheeseman

The Normandy trip was really great

because we went to all sorts of amazing

places and saw all sorts of interesting

things. For instance, we saw Mont Aaint

Michel which is where J.K. Rowling got

inspiration for ‘Diagon Ally’. We also went to a goat

farm and saw some of the cutest pigmy goats around,

and we also saw the Bayeux tapestry, which is really

famous. The accommodation was really good and the

whole town was very inviting. I highly recommend

going on future French trips; it is the experience of a

lifetime.

Tori Simmonds

I really enjoyed the school trip to Normandy. It was such

a different experience and we did lots of great activities;

from archery to going to a goat farm! When we stayed in

Normandy, I used the French I learnt throughout the

year a lot. We visited many beautiful places including

Saint Michael’s Bay. The evening entertainment was

brilliant and we all put on a talent show at the end. I had

such a fantastic time and would love to go again.

Kristy Maskell

Normandy was an amazing experience because we did

lots of different activities. We did bread making and

archery. The picnics at lunchtime where delicious as



The Newsletter


“I would love to

go again”

Mont Saint Michel

well as the 7 mile walk through the Monte Saint

Michael. It was tiring but so fun. The evenings where

great fun too and we played different games every night.

My favourite evening was the talent show, everyone did

amazing shows! Overall it was an amazing trip and I

know next year’s students will have an

amazing time too.

Ciel Chaussy

When we were told about the trip to Normandy, I was

excited but didn’t quite know what to expect. Because of

this it exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed all of the

activities, including the walk across the causeway back

to the mainland from Mont Saint Michel as it was a very

unique experience. I also liked the panoramic cinema as

I thought that it was extremely clever and interesting.

Overall, it was a great week.

Lauren Oram

Our trip to Normandy was great. Every activity was

really fun and interesting; my favourite was the trip to

Mont Saint Michel as it was exciting and fun to learn

about. I genuinely think my French improved vastly. I

got to utilise it so much more, especially in the market.

It was brilliant to have your friends around and we all

got to stay in the nunnery together. All of it was

enjoyable, even the everlasting coach journeys! It was a

very memorable trip that I’d love to do again.

Georgia Freeman

Next years visit to Normandy will be

taking place from the 17th of May to the

22th of May 2015 and is open to all of

Year 9. You should have received a letter

via ParentMail. Only 40 places are

available so make sure you return your form quickly.

You would not want to miss out on such a great

opportunity!

Deadline: First

deposit by

Monday the

8th of

September

2014.

Science Extravaganza By Mrs Mahon

On 30th June fifteen students from Year 8 went on a Science visit to the University of Kent. We first had a lecture

from a Cellular Biologist about the causes of cancer and how biologists are trying to not necessarily find a cure to

the disease but a treatment that would allow sufferers to survive longer and die from a disease other than the cancer.

This would work in the same way as someone having diabetes or HIV, they have the disease, it is treated, but it will

not cause them to die.

After a short break we went to our first workshop called Mini Monsters. We had to look at a variety of invertebrates

and find physical features that were similar and different so that we could classify them. We had great fun

photographing the mini beasts through the lenses of the microscopes.

After lunch our second workshop was on Kitchen Chemistry. This was broken up into smaller sessions. The first

was given by a Pharmacist who went through a patient’s prescription and asked us all questions about what the role

of each drug was. We then had to dispense the prescriptions which were Smarties really. Finally we had a quiz to

identify if something was a drug or a sweet. This was very hard and showed that to children a lot of prescription

drugs look like sweets.

We also looked at some small demonstrations about light, static electricity and lava lamps.

We were shown around all day by University Ambassadors. They were students on their summer holidays. They

told us all about student life, courses available and what we would need to do if we wanted to go to university. We

had to fill out a booklet throughout the day and may win an ipod. We all had a great day.



The Newsletter


Le Chateau

“Every activity was

really fun”

Forte By Mrs Wood

We’ve had another busy year at Forte. We hit the ground running in September auditioning new members and

working towards the School Carol Concert and Young Voices at the O2. Young Voices was a fabulous concert

singing a whole range of pieces with professional musicians, including Stacey Soloman. In fact, such a great time

was had, we’ve already booked up for next year - so keep the 31st January free if you would like to come and watch

your daughter singing again - but don’t forget your binoculars!

Since then we’ve been working on a wide ranging repertoire, including Happy by Pharrell Williams, Rolling in the

Deep by Adele, and Viva la Vida by Coldplay. We’ve performed at Mrs Smith’s farewell assembly, and our next

performances are at the two Open Mornings for perspective students and doing a workshop with the new intake of

Year 7 on their Welcome Day. We would like to thank both parents and staff for their support of Forte and all the

concerts we partake in. The choir would not be so successful without supervisors and an audience! Please keep an

eye out for notices of concerts at the start of the new academic year - I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Twelve Angry Men By Eloise Ball

On 16th January 2014 Drama students from Years 10, 11

and 12 visited the West End of London to watch a

performance of “Twelve Angry Men” at the Garrick

Theatre. The day began with a huge buzz of excitement,

as is always with trips in the Drama Department. The

lively atmosphere on the coach is fantastic - people

singing together, chatting, asking questions about the

show and it got even more exciting as we entered

London. One of the best moments was definitely as we

drove through the West End, looking out of the window

and spotting the different theatres and what shows they

were housing. For some of us, performing in the West

End is a long-term goal and something we hope to

achieve later in our lives which made the trip all the

more special.

We arrived early so had some spare time before our

show. This enabled us to walk down to Trafalgar Square

and spend some time just enjoying the sights of London

in the surprisingly sunny weather. Taking full

advantage of the photo opportunities, we took pictures in

front of the famous lion statues and group pictures in

each of our drama classes.

The show itself was absolutely fantastic. Set entirely in a

single set of a New York City court jury room, the play

was a legal drama on the theme of justice, showing how

12 individuals on a jury can have such a dramatic impact

on one person’s life. The performance was extremely

engaging, leaving us all on the edgesof our seat. There

was light comic relief at times, predominantly coming

from the oldest juror’s charming wit, yet there were also

very emotional moments when jurors had to face a

change in verdict.

After the show a few of us were even lucky enough to

meet the actor Edward Franklin who played the

youngest juror which was extremely exciting!

A huge thank you must go to Mrs Shand and Miss J of

course for all of their hard work in organising such a

fantastic trip which everyone thoroughly enjoyed! And

also a thank you to all the staff who accompanied us as

without them it would not have been possible!



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ICT Update By Mr Walker

Although we are nearing the end of the academic year,

the Computing Department is still as proactive as ever.

Between lessons, school trips and extra-curricular

activities, Computing students are still working hard and

taking an active interest in this subject.

On Friday the 6th June, 50 Year 9 GCSE Computing

students attended a trip to the National Museum of

Computers at Bletchley Park. These students are the

latest addition to the Department, having no background

in this specific subject area, and they are settling into

their chosen subject comfortably. This school trip not

only allowed the students to learn a broader history of

the evolution of consumer technology, but it also helped

them to understand technology’s place in society

today. Ceilidh Monaghan, 9G, expressed she was

excited to learn about and interact with a robot, and

enjoyed

learning about ciphers, one of the fundamental concepts

behind computer programming. She summed her

experience up by saying, “Seeing all the older

generations of computers made me realise how lucky I

am to live in a generation when we are able to have

access to things like internet

practically immediately.”

Thursday the 26th of June saw a group of Year 10 and

12 ICT & Computing students travel to the Microsoft

UK Headquarters in Thames Valley Park, Reading. This

was a fantastic opportunity to get away from the

classroom and learn about how computer science is used

in one of the largest producers of consumer

technology. The students learnt that women can still be

scarce in the technology industry, but that there are

many opportunities out there for us to have rewarding,

successful, creative careers.



MGGS Film and Media Awards By Mrs H Smith

The first MGGS Film and Media Awards ceremony took place in April and was

a huge success! This red-carpet event showcased film, television and media

production work by our students and was judged by industry professionals.

There was an extremely high standard of work on display and the judges had a

tough job deciding the winners.

Students won prizes in the following categories: Best Crime Drama - Holly

Cowan, Sienna Foreman and Mollie McKenzie; Best Short Film - Jasmine

Allam; Best Music Promotion - Elle Hays; Best Viral Campaign - Eloise Ball;

Best Drama - Molly Shuter; Best Mystery - Alex Carter and Matthew Lamb;

Best Advertising Campaign - Sophie Teakle; People’s Choice Most Effective

Magazine - Amy Filmer.

The event also revealed the winner of the ‘Spirit of MGGS’ film competition

launched by Mr Horstrup at the start of the year. Students from across the school were invited to take part in a

challenge to produce a film which sums up why they love MGGS. The winning film created by Emilie Bartlett and

Phoebe Brookes, was an excellent stop motion animation which showed a great deal of skill and artistic flair.

The Newsletter


Bletchley Park

Outside Microsoft

Headquarters



Geography Trip to Dorset By Jude Shorter

In March 2014, the Year 12 geography AS group went

on a school field trip to Dorset. We went for three days

and the aim of the trip was to collect geographical

information from the area to help us in our upcoming

AS exam.

On arrival, we went straight to Durdle

Door and began our fieldwork. While

we were there, we collected data on the

number of tourists and pedestrians, the

amount of litter in the area and the number of cars which

were in the car parks. We also had set questionnaires

which we asked the locals. Once we had collected all

our data from Durdle Door, we went on to Lulworth

Cove. Here we did some of the same activities, but we

also completed a beach

profile. For this, we had

to measure the size of

rocks, the distance and

gradient of the beach,

count how many waves

there were in a minute

and also measure the

distance of long shore drift. We did this in 8 or 9

different groups at different points on the beach so that

we all had our own individual data that we could then

share as a group later. In addition, we wanted to

evaluate the success of the World Heritage Jurassic

coast rebranding at Lulworth Cove.

On arrival at our accommodation, Harrow House, we

were allocated our rooms where we unpacked and then

went down to the communal area where to our joy we

found the Wi-Fi and the pool tables! That evening we

had dinner and then went to the lecture theatre to share

our findings from the day. Following this we had some

free time until lights out at 11pm.

The next morning, we were informed that there would

be a small alarm to wake us up nicely for breakfast, so at

7:45, the alarm sounded. It played ‘Wake up Boo’ full

volume from every speaker located directly opposite

everyone’s doors!

Straight after breakfast we headed off to Weymouth.

Here we were again split into our groups and all sent to

locations to complete some surveys. After Weymouth,

we went to Chesil Beach. This was without a doubt the

windiest place we could possibly have gone to. Here we

had to do another beach profile, however due to the

wind and the wild waves, we struggled. Paper was flying

everywhere, hair in our faces, the loss of hats, and trying

to measure the distance of the beach and its gradient,

while dodging the waves, well, it

was a challenge. However, being

the wonderful Year 12 group we

are, we pulled

through, getting

the data which we

needed for our

exams. Here we

had to do similar activities as those

we did at Weymouth, however, Mr

Messenger gave my group the task

of looking after Trevor, the

monkey who accompanied us on

our entire trip to Dorset. For this,

we had to get as many photos of him in unusual places.

This too turned into a challenge for us as we had to get

the best photo of him.

After we had done our fieldwork and photographed

Trevor in a variety of places, we got back on the coach

and made our way back to the accommodation.

On the final morning of our trip to Dorset we boarded

the coach and headed straight for Studland Bay where

we did a sand dune transect. This was very interesting as

due to the earlier storms throughout the year and the

amount of tourists it attracts, many of the embryo sand

dunes had been destroyed and blown out. This then gave

us a variety of results as we were then separated into our

groups and did different areas.

We finally boarded the bus one last time and set off for

Maidstone. The trip was a huge success and the entire

group of 50 students all had a great time, we only wish

we could have stayed there longer.

The Newsletter


Trevor the Monkey

enjoying a ride

“The trip was a

huge success”

Visit to Cambridge University By Miriam Aziz

Cambridge University; Chemical Laboratories and Churchill College, 16th June 2014

At the start of the day at Cambridge University, we visited Churchill College and

had an admissions talk on Oxbridge, especially Cambridge, from the Admissions

Tutor, Dr Sally Boss. This was very useful for those looking to apply to Oxbridge as

they also provided us with useful statistics. This was followed by a tour of the

college.

We then headed over to the other side of the Cambridge City where we explored the

Chemical Laboratories including the library and the largest lecture hall of the

University. As we went past the laboratories we saw different examples of analytical

equipment including mass spectrometer apparatus of various sizes, Nuclear Magnetic

Resonance and Infrared Spectrometers. We went past a working laboratory where we met some PhD students who

were in their final years with various projects and a large PhD thesis to write up. Much of this work was of an air

sensitive nature and we saw many glove boxes and air sensitive equipment.

Overall, it was a very enriching experiment and allowed us to see how chemical apparatus and synthetic Chemistry

is used in real life. A few pupils were able to see if they would enjoy a future in Chemistry and were able to see

themselves as future Chemists.



Talk by Zack Sabella By Mrs Crozier

The History Department was honoured to host a talk by

Zack Sabella, a Christian Palestinian and expert in

humanitarian aid policy. Zack is currently in Britain

studying a Masters in Public Policy at the extremely

prestigious Blavatnik School of Public Policy, Oxford

University.

The scope of Zack’s talk spanned

his experiences growing up as a

Palestinian Christian in East

Jerusalem, the origins of the Arab-

Israeli conflict and his perspective

on what factors were preventing peace in the region. His

talk was made all the more poignant as it coincided with

the finding of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers and

the murder of a Palestinian youth in Zack’s

neighbourhood.

Sociology and English teachers and students joined us

and the discussions that the talk generated have

resonated around the Sixth Form. Zack’s measured tone

and clear analysis, despite relating events that have

caused personal tragedy, was inspiring. His exhortation

to students to ‘enjoy’ their rights and freedoms and his

insistence on the empowering effect of education forced

us to examine our own lives and consider our aspirations

in the light of the fortune of our location. Excellent

questions were put to Zack by many students and he was

especially impressed with the quality of Sophie Nelson’s

questioning.

Perhaps the most moving part of the talk came at its end,

when a student asked Zack whether, through gaining

qualifications, Palestinians sought to leave the Occupied

Territories. Zack replied that 60%

to 70% of his peers had either left

or intended to do so. When pressed

on his own aspirations, he replied

that he intended to return to the West Bank despite the

reduction in quality of life that would entail. He said, “I

think my people need me. I am willing to make that

sacrifice.”

The History Department hopes to hear the testimony of

Zack’s Israeli course mate, Neta Gruber, on her return

from Mexico in order to hear her views on how far

western interference is the main factor responsible for

the conflict. This testimony will be used and evaluated

by students in their A-Level coursework.

The Newsletter


Churchill College

“I think my people need me. I am

willing to make that sacrifice”

We would like to start by saying just how proud we were of Danes on Sports Day. Every single student

and teacher put in 100% effort to help with the running of the day. There were people that had never

done their particular event before, but everyone did an amazing job and we hope everyone enjoyed the

day as much as we did. We managed to come second behind Normans and one point ahead of Britons, so no one can

feel disappointed and you can all go home believing that you helped to achieve that one extra point that made the

difference. Not only the people that participated and gave it their all, but also the huge amount of support from

everyone else in the house. The spirit that you all have shown was fantastic and we hope that we can

keep this up, if not improve, for the upcoming events. We are extremely proud to have the role of

Danes House Leaders and promise to help get as many people involved next term for House Arts. We

are sure many of you are as competitive as we are, so lets win this for our house!

Matt Cornwell, Danni Bills and Amy Prime



Sports Day Reports By House Leaders

After being elected as one of the Normans House Leaders, the first job was to sort out Sports Day.

This was far harder then it seemed, we had to go round looking for willing people to take part in over 20 events for

each year. However, due to the greatness of the Normans, only very few needed some persuasion. Sports Day

arrived and we were all ready, we had all our Normans with face paint on and wearing our house colour, ready for

the events of the day. The three house leaders split up across the field events to make sure every Norman had one

there to support them. As the morning went on we were doing quite well with the many of our Normans finishing in

the top three. Unaware of this, we went out to the field in the afternoon to watch the track events and just before

they started, the results from the field events were announced. To our

surprise, we were in first place! From this excitement, we continued to

do well in all our track events throughout the afternoon. Once the

events had finished, we all gathered together to see who had won

Sports Day. After announcing 6th to 3rd place, all that was left to hear

was who had won the trophy, and due to the hard work of all our

Normans, we finished in first place and won Sports Day. This was

such a great moment as all the Normans put so much effort into

winning their events for their house, we couldn’t be more proud of

them!

Jude Shorter, Ethan Quinn and Georgia Heath

The Newsletter


What a Sports Day it has been for the Britons this year! As always Britons were super loud and

supportive of one another; our team spirit is definitely what makes us Britons special! Not only that but

we were so impressed with the huge talent we had participating this year. Throughout the day we

continually ran at a close 2nd, winning events such as Year 8 shot put and Year 12 800m where Cicely Rice-Wilson

broke the record! Although in the end we came 3rd place by just one point we were all absolutely thrilled as the day

had been so enjoyable. As our first big event as House Leaders it was fantastic to be able to get to know our house

and lead the team spirit that we are renowned for! A huge thank you to everyone who took part; you all did so well

and we couldn’t be prouder! Here’s to our next year together.

Eloise Ball, Molly Shuter and Tilly Pollock

A sea of navy blue was all you could see in our area for Sports Day, amongst support, cheering and

lots of food. As house leaders we are extremely proud of all those who participated in the events on

Sports Day and everyone who supported their team mates throughout the afternoon, a lot of voices

must have been lost by the end of the day. Between the injuries, breathing struggles and spur of the moment rallying

for people to run in the track events, we still managed to come fourth, which

was an improvement on last year! Sports Day was great fun with more to look

forward to such as Interhouse Rounders on the last week of term and House

Arts in October. We are so thankful for everyone electing us as House Leaders

and it is great that we are now getting to know more of you. During Sports Day

we developed so much pride for Vikings, even more than we had before and we

can't wait for the rest of Viking's to demonstrate their many talents throughout

the up and coming year. Thank you to you all!

Charley Parker, Clare Court and Charli Weston.



Although for the Saxons Sports Day this year may not have made us 1st place champions, we still

feel like victors in our own right. We are incredibly impressed with the dedication, level of

performance and enthusiasm for House spirit that many of our House has given and are immensely

grateful to everyone who took part in some way, whether that meant sprinting the 100m or making us a

Saxons flag. Having been voted for by the people that make up Saxons, we felt a responsibility to lead our House

well and do them proud. We hope that our support for the Saxons throughout this Sports Day has earned their trust

that we will continue to do the best we can to lead our House in the coming year.

Alex Hodgkinson, Kate Moshanova and Amy Thomas

The Newsletter


Firstly, we would like to say how immensely proud we

are of everyone who competed for our house. Although

we didn't win, it is safe to say that everyone seemed to

enjoy themselves and all the people who entered, both in

the morning field events and afternoon track events, definitely tried

their hardest. We found the experience very valuable as it gave us an

insight into trying to organise a large group of people and keeping

morale up. We would especially like to thank Lauren Lefevre, Ruby

Savill and Antonia Matthew for being so willing to get involved and

help us out when we were short of competitors. We think it was a

tremendously successful day and we all thoroughly enjoyed it, and we

are hoping that everyone will bring the same positive attitude and

willingness to get involved in other House events throughout the next year. Thank you again.

Phoebe Freeman, Feaya Conway and Tom Murphy

Mandir Temple Trip By Willow Hall

I remember stepping off the coach. I have visited the

Mandir before, but yet again, the sight of this miraculous

building blew me away. It was unrealistic, almost

dreamlike, to see such a beautiful place amongst the vast

city of London.

The inside was even more elegant. Most noticeable were

the Murtis and shrines with their rich colours of gold

and silver. Furthermore, the ceilings and walls were

immaculately carved, telling stories of the lives of Hindu

Gods.

I felt so small in such a grand place; I find it amazing

how the walls were all hand carved. How long did it take

to create the pillars and building structure? How many

people were involved?

Moreover, I find it incredible how many people visit the

temple each year. After watching the ceremony, I feel

that I now respect Hindu beliefs more than I did before. I

have always accepted the fact that all religions have

different beliefs about our world, but now, I feel inspired

by the beauty of the way that Hindus worship.

The Mandir complex is also very helpful and provides

an exhibition to explain further the beliefs of Hindus.

For example, there was a section which explained the

Hindu symbol ‘Aum’, and another which explained

many Hindu stories.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed the visit to the Mandir, it

has opened my eyes to the beliefs of Hinduism and I

would love to visit again.



The Newsletter


Trip to Noel Coel Theatre By Miss Shand

In January 2014 the A2 Theatre Studies

class of fifteen students went to the Noel

Coward Theatre to see the Micheal Grandage production

of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ starring David

Walliams and Sheridan Smith. This visually stunning

production provided our most senior drama students

with a rich variety of comparisons to make with their

study of original Elizabethan performance conditions; as

well as a hugely enjoyable opportunity to visit the heart

of London’s West End. David Walliams was typically

attention seeking as the character Bottom, interacting

with the audience at times and using excellent comic

timing; Sheridan Smith led a cohort of hippy type fairies

on stage in a clever director’s concept inspired by the counter-cultural event of Burning Man in San Francisco. It

was a truly memorable trip and we all, staff and students alike relished this opportunity to see a performance by a

renowned national company featuring accomplished and successful British actors.

The Micheal Grandage company subsequently sent to us at school a free set of special editions of the play illustrated

with photographs of the production as part of their outreach and education work; these provided invaluable support

for our students’ analysis of the production.

Year 10 Masterclass By Mrs Meek

Earlier in the year, our Year 10 Food Technology students were lucky enough to take part in a day long

‘masterclass’ with a local chef and PFA member, Mr Peter Chapman. This was an exciting opportunity for the

students to work alongside a highly experienced chef, learn

new skills and experience a little of what is required to be a

professional chef. The day was supported by our Specialist

Science Status and also the generosity of a local supplier,

Steve Hazzard from Booker who provided the whole chickens that the students boned and portioned for their main

course. The PFA also very kindly paid for the other ingredients we used apart from the garlic which Peter himself

had foraged the day before!

The students had a great day and learnt some really high level skills. They also really enjoyed sitting down together

to eat what they had made. A comment from Peter about the day was “It was a great day and amusing to see the

girls squirm at the thought of having to handle a raw piece of meat! I am sure it was a very valuable learning

experience.”



The Newsletter


Year 11 Active Revision Session By Mrs Meek

The context for this year’s GCSE Food Technology exam was ‘decorated cakes’

and in order to help the students with their revision, we organised for Sarah Farrell

from Confection Perfection Cake School in Maidstone to spend the afternoon with

them.

The students used a variety of cake decorating techniques including moulding,

piping, using cutters painting and adding decorations such as edible glitter.

The students learnt a great deal about cake decorating in a short space of time and

used the experience to start thinking about designs that they could sketch in their exam paper. We also looked at

ingredients, materials and equipment used by professional cake decorators and compared them with those we might

use at home.

It was a really enjoyable and worthwhile afternoon and a number of the students announced at the end that they had

found their future career!

Menu

Smoked Haddock, Apple & Potato Brawn

with Horseradish cream

Chick Pea Bread Rolls

∞∞∞

Chicken Breast with a Black Olive, Tarragon & Cream Cheese

Stuffing

Gratin Dauphinoise, Green Beans wrapped in Black Forest Ham

Vegetarian alternative - Chickpea and Chestnut Burgers

“It was a very valuable learning

experience”

Year 13 Cooking Club By Kyle Davies

Over four weeks, a group of Year 13 students took part in Cooking Club! Each week had a different theme, we

would split into pairs and each pair would cook a different delicious dish. We cooked all sorts! From soup, to bread,

to curries, to lasagne and even finished off with making celebratory cakes!

It was a lot of fun making all the food and was extremely useful preparation for university and living on our own.

We learnt valuable skills and had a great time whilst doing it. Furthermore, all the meals were inexpensive and easy

to make which is even better for uni preparation!

Thank you to Mrs Meek and Mrs Seabrook. It was a brilliant four weeks and so much fun!



The Newsletter


Farewell By Mrs Meek

As I am writing this, the students are preparing to go onto the field for Sports Day. This will be my last Sports Day

at MGGS and I will be experiencing many ‘lasts’ over the next few weeks. I have been responsible for Food

Technology at MGGS for ten years and have taught almost every student in the School over that time. It has been a

wonderful experience and I will greatly miss the students, my colleagues and the School. I hope that some of the

recipes that the students have made are still being cooked in homes and student accommodation around the country.

I still remember and use recipes that I made when I was at school!

Thank you to all the parents and carers who have provided ingredients (often at very short notice!) and a big thank

you to all the students who have worked so hard to make Food Technology, and particularly GCSE Food

Technology, such a successful subject in the school. Keep cooking!

Wimbledon Trip By Erin Brady

On the 26th of June 2014,

11 students had the

opportunity to go to the

Wimbledon Tennis

Championships with Miss

Relph. On arriving at the

prestigious grounds, we

gathered on Murray

Mount to work out our

court rotations as we had

10 Court 2 tickets and 2 Centre Court tickets.

At Wimbledon, there are 4 shows courts that require

tickets and 14 outside courts with free seating where you

can watch tennis played at the highest level. We were

all eager to watch matches on both of the courts,

especially the World Number 1, Rafael Nadal on Centre

Court. As well as watching Nadal beat Lukas Rosol,

making a comeback after losing the first set, we saw a

mammoth

match between Frenchman Richard Gasquet and

Australian Nick Kygrois. This match was incredibly

entertaining with Kyrgois taking it after 3 hours and 53

minutes, saving nine match points in the process. After,

we were able to witness the final set of Jo-Wilfred

Tsonga vs Sam Querrey due to it being suspended the

day before. Tsonga won the match, with the final score

being 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 14-12. Allez Jo-Wilfred!

British Heather Watson and Roger Federer also played

on Centre Court with Watson losing but Federer

winning after only an hour and a half.

Due to the unique way that Wimbledon is laid out, you

have ample opportunity to meet players and visit the

practice courts where the elite athletes prepare for their

matches. Whilst walking around, we met James Ward

(British Number 3), Jamie Murray, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga,

Venus Williams, Radek Stepanek, Nick Kygrois,

Richard Gasquet and Eugenie Bouchard. We left the

Championships at around 5.30pm after an amazing day

watching some incredible tennis. I would like to thank

the PE staff for giving the chance to visit the hallowed

grounds.

Andalucia Trip By Nicole Hallett

On the 31st March 2014,

some students who were

studying Spanish went to

Andalucía on a school

trip. We stayed there for

five days. On the morning

we went, we had to get up

very early to leave for the

coach to the airport! When

we got to Málaga it was

really hot but it was still

quite early. We then had a

short coach journey to the

hotel named Palmasol; it was a

three star hotel. The staff and

guests in the hotel were very

kind and friendly and made our

stay in Palmasol even better!

After that, we had a great time! When we were there,

most of the time, it was very sunny, but on one of the

days we went to Granada it poured it down with rain!

We also spent a lot of time on the coach, at one point it

took three hours to get to Ronda (a beautiful place in the

mountains). Nearly everyone on the trip slept for most

of the coach journey.

While we were in Spain, we visited lots of places

including, the Alhambra Palace, Puerto Banús, Plaza

Bib-Rambla, Alcázar de los Reyes Católicos. The

Alhambra Palace was very pretty with many different

historical features. Also, we went to Puerto Banús, we

saw lots of very large boats, they were amazing!

The time in Spain was amazing; I really enjoyed and

will remember it forever. I had lots of fun with my

school and loved walking around the towns and cities.

This trip was also very educational and I learnt a lot

more Spanish words and can now speak more fluently in

Spanish than before.

By Isabel Miller

The 5 days I spent in Andalucía with my school were

definitely days I will remember for a very long time!

They were full of memories and meeting new people! It

was a great way to get to know the other people in my

year group who I don’t usually mix with. The days out

were always exciting, and we saw at least two new

places every day! I visited places I didn’t think I ever

would, like a historical mosque in Córdoba, the

Alhambra palace in Granada and the amazing shops of

Puerto Banús! There wasn’t a day that didn’t fly by and

I was always excited to talk to my parents at the end of

the day and tell them about the memorable day I had just

experienced. Not only did I speak to my parents at the

end of the day but the chatty hotel

staff and guests at the hotel. This

was an excellent way of

expanding my Spanish vocabulary

and being confident in the language. The guests were so

friendly and they always wanted to talk about our day

trips! The week went so quickly and I didn’t want it to

end! I think that going on a trip abroad with the school

was a great experience that taught me how to be

independent and responsible.



The Newsletter


“This was an excellent way of

expanding my Spanish vocabulary”

Oxjam By Mrs Wood

We wanted to say a massive well done to all of Year 9

for their fabulous Oxjam concert this May. Also a huge

thank you for everyone who supported the effort, from

buying tickets and baking cakes, to running around back

stage helping arrange 180 performers into the right

places – it could not happen, or be so successful without

you. As Hannah has written below we raised a lot of

money this year, in fact in the 4 years we have run

Oxjam we have raised a whopping total of £5,492.86.

This is a real tribute to the hard work the girls put in.

Oxjam is about giving Year 9 students opportunities. A

chance to use all the skills that they have developed in

Key Stage 3 Music, arranging the songs, evaluating their

success and building strong performances. They take

their own lessons, arrange their staging and have

ownership of the entire project. It also gives a realistic

viewpoint of the many careers that are amalgamated into

creating professional concerts, from advertising and

ticket sales, to choreographers and sound/lighting

technicians. It allows all the students to use their

personal strengths towards a common goal. The aim has

always been to put on the best show possible, involving

the entire year group.

As part of the module the girls get a sobering look at the

lives of others and what we take for granted. They begin

to realise how lucky we are, and how little it takes to

make such a profound difference to another individual’s

life. Through this project we are always amazed and

humbled by the compassion shown by our students and

their willingness to take themselves outside of their

comfort zone for others. This has been particularly

evident this year. Year 8 you have a lot to live up to -

we’re already looking forward to Oxjam 2015!

So thank you, Year 9 - you have been an honour to work

with and have made us so very proud of you.

By Hannah Morris

Oxjam 2014 - where do I start? I think the

whole of Year 9 were passionate and dedicated to

raising as much as we could for such an

amazing cause. Each form performed 3

songs and we all performed together as a

finale. The atmosphere was electric. We

raised £1,247.71 and

we are proud to say

we helped save lives.

I’ll never forget

Oxjam 2014 and I

hope MGGS carry on

this tradition.



The Newsletter


Samba By Lydia Watson

I am one of the students who participates in the enjoyable MGGS samba band “Baterias Not Included.” This extra-

curricular club takes place on Thursday lunchtime and in it I, and the rest of the group, learn the techniques in order

to be able to play effective Brazilian samba music. We even have T-shirts with our own logo printed on it -

‘Baterias Not Included’. We are taught by Cheryl Hooker-Blake who plays professionally with the band “Bloco

Fogo.” Through her excellent teaching we have been able to perform in our KS3 assemblies as well as also having

the amazing opportunity to perform in the Maidstone Mela, our local carnival to celebrate all different cultures and

music. Our latest gig was on Saturday 5th July where we took part in the Maidstone Arts Carnival parade through

Maidstone. We were right at the end of the parade line, bringing some rhythm and noise. It was pretty tiring as the

parade lasted for nearly one hour, but great fun! Overall, samba is a delightful experience which I am proud to be a

part of.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award By Ms Starns, Unit Leader

Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - Expedition 2014

Now Going for Gold on Royal Duty!

Thirty five of our students are now aiming for Gold

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award following their successful

Silver assessed expedition in June. One group in

particular sent the Queen their Bronze Award project

and now plan to send their Silver Award project for

Royal approval also!

All our groups, despite what can only be described as

varied weather conditions, on 27th to 29th June

successfully completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s

assessed expedition. Day one was a pleasant sunny day

and all our students shone. On day two, the girls endured

torrential rain and thunderstorms with great humour and

stoicism. Day three of the Silver expedition gave fine

weather and perfect walking conditions. Students

completed their expedition with great enthusiasm and

determination. All groups succeeded through this

expedition element of the award.

Mr Cocker, one of our assessors commented, “Along

with all the assessors, we were very impressed not only

with the performance of the groups; their enthusiasm

and good humour but also the way they presented

themselves and the public image they projected to the

wider community. Supporting this were the fabulous

staff who not only gave up their precious free time but

also gave the girls tremendous support and guidance,

whilst enduring torrential rain and living in a tent. All

of them were a credit to themselves but also the School.

Well done to everyone involved with this event.”

Ms Starns, Unit Leader for the Duke of Edingburgh’s

Award at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls

commented, “Our students were outstanding in every

way. They dug deep and achieved their goals to

complete an exceptional Silver DofE assessed

expedition. It is a joy to work with such determined and

talented young students.”

Mrs Harding, Assistant Unit Leader for the Silver award

at MGGS said, “The girls were an absolute credit to the

School and completed their Silver award with

exceptional humour having to endure quite extreme

weather conditions.”

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Update

Well done also to our 95 students in Year 10 for

completing a successful Bronze practice expedition in

May. We now wish you every success with your

assessed expedition at the end of term!



The Newsletter


Trips and Visits By Miss Brown

127 trips and visits took place this academic year, and 2014/2015 is looking to be just as busy! The new Year 7 and

new Year 12 students will be attending bonding trips at the start of next term, and oversees visits to Madrid, Milan,

Austria, Normandy, Krakow and Andalucía have been added to the School calendar. Other trips planned for next

year include a GCSE/A Level visit to the Gulbenkian Theatre to see Antigone, a Year 13 visit to the Lyric

Hammersmith theatre to see Othello, and a Business Studies trip to the 4Entrepreneurs Conference in London.

All trips, visits and orders will be added to your +Pay account so that you can make payment using your debit or

credit card. We will, of course, still accept cheques or cash which we will enter onto +Pay for you, but card payment

using +Pay is our preferred method. You can access ParentMail/+Pay by visiting www.parentmail2.co.uk or by

clicking on the link on the school website.

The Outlet is open every break time so that students can return permission slips, order forms and payments, and also

collect any revision guides or pre ordered equipment.

There are still a large number of Mary Glasgow MFL Magazines that are yet to be collected from the Outlet. If you

purchased a subscription for your daughter, and she is yet to collect her publications, please ask her

to do so as soon as possible.



Attendance Update By Mrs Hart, Attendance Officer

The reason for any absence should be given by letter or telephone, preferably in advance or on the first day of

absence. Absences will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. Sickness absence should be notified by

10am on the first day of absence and then every morning for each day thereafter in the case of continuing

sickness. As you are aware, regular attendance at school is extremely important. If your daughter or son is

unavoidably absent from school would you please provide a letter of explanation upon their return.

If a medical or dental appointment must be made during school time, a letter requesting authorisation for the

absence must be addressed to the Attendance Officer and given in at Reception. Again, if this is not possible please

contact the Attendance Officer, Mrs Shannon Hart ([email protected]), as early as possible on the day of absence to

notify of this appointment and the expected time required out of school.

Requests for leave of absence for any other reason should be addressed to the Attendance Officer, Mrs Hart.

Any student authorised to leave school during the day should report to the Reception, taking their authorised letter

with them. They will be issued with a pupil pass. Without a letter or prior notification the student will not be

allowed to leave the school premises.

Lateness

Any student who is not in registration at 8.40am or 2.25pm will be marked as absent.

Any student who arrives between 8.40am and 9.00am should enter through the Main School Entrance, collect a late

slip from Reception and complete this. They should then report immediately to their Form Tutor who will mark

them in the register as late.

The Newsletter


http://www.parentmail2.co.uk

mailto:[email protected]

Admissions Update By Mrs Hogan, Admissions Manager

Your daughter or son may have siblings, cousins, friends or neighbours

wondering how they can join the school into Years 7 – 11. Please

inform anyone who asks that they are entitled to test for a place at the

school once a year for each year group from Year 7 - 11. So, if a

student in Year 6 at primary school is unsuccessful in the Kent test

(11+) they can test in the summer term when they are in Year 7 for a

place into Year 8 that September.

Other students wishing to test for a place into Year 8, 9, 10 or 11 are

welcome to submit an application at anytime during the academic year.

To apply for a place at the school, complete an In Year Casual

Application Form (IYCAF) and return this to the Admissions Manager

in school, Mrs Hogan. Arrangements will then be made for your

daughter to sit the in year test at a mutually convenient time in school.

External Applications to the sixth form should be made online at

www.kentchoices4u.com There is no closing date for applications, but

to ensure the best possibility of obtaining your subject choices we

strongly recommend that you return your application form as early as

possible and by Friday 7th February 2014 for the September 2014

intake.

Visits and tours of the school are available on request. For further

information or to request a tour of the school please email

[email protected] or visit the admissions pages of the school website

at the following link http://www.mggs.org/about-mggs/admissions#



The Newsletter


Annual Holiday

In relation to the new government guidelines from 1st September 2013, no holiday in term time is authorised. Any

parent taking a student out of school on holiday in term time could be subject to a referral to the Attendance and

Behaviour Service, and Penalty Notice Action could be issued. Holiday requests in term time will only be

authorised in exceptional circumstances which are set out by the Government and the School has no authority to

override these. All requests must meet the criteria in order for MGGS to agree the annual leave.

Term Dates

Term 1 – 2014 3rd September Development day

(no students in school)

4th September Start of term 1

15th October Development day


24th October End of term 1

Term 2 – 2014 3rd November Start of term 2

19th December End of term 2

Term 3 – 2015 5th January Start of term 3

13th February End of term 3

Term 4 – 2015 23rd February Start of term 4

18th March Development day


1st April End of term 4

Term 5 – 2015

20th April Start of term 5

22nd May End of term 5

Term 6 – 2015

1st June Start of term 6

23rd July Development day


24th July Development day


http://www.kentchoices4u.com

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

MGGS Summer Newsletter 2014