Orley Farm School… Duke of Edinburgh Awards… - St Augustine's ...

Edition 10 – Friday 11 th May 2012
Orley Farm School…
Last Thursday evening St Augustine’s Priory was represented at Orley Farm School’s transfer evening. Miss
Gandi, Mrs Donovan and Mr Guilford spent an enjoyable evening speaking to parents of children from Orley
Farm School who may look to be joining St Augustine’s for their secondary education. We would like to thank
the staff at Orley Farm for their hospitality and the warm welcome we received, and we look forward to a
positive relationship with this lovely school.
Duke of Edinburgh Awards…
The Duke of Edinburgh Awards were presented on
26 th April to the participants who had successfully
completed either the Bronze, Silver, or Gold level.
There are four sections at each level that are
completed over 6-18 month periods; volunteering,
skill, physical, and expedition. Students can join the
award scheme at Bronze level in Lower V, and if they
complete an award level a year, they will be able to
complete all three levels by the end of Lower VI.
At Gold there is an additional residential section,
which involves spending five days and four nights
and undertaking a shared activity or specific course. The Duke of Edinburgh
Award is a great extra-curricular activity that, as well as giving you
experiences of the outdoors, is also an impressive addition to CVs and
university applications. At the award ceremony, groups presented their
expeditions through photos and videos.
The girls who received their Bronze Awards are: Francesca Amasanti, Ellie
Ananais, Kiran Brar, Tara Delargy, Gursimran Deu, Josephine Elliott,
Maryam Allawi, Hira Bashir, Juliana Buchanan, Maria Cherepanova,
Rebecca Graham, Ravlean Ghatora, Kione Grandison, Iheoma Green, Katherine Ingram, Rachel Jones, Tasnim Jivraj, Aoife Kelly, Anjali Karadia,
Sophie Masih, Zara Mirza, Hannah Moores, Kavita Patel, Ranmini Philomin, Hind April Rassam, Helena Routledge, Natasha Rushton, Eugenie
Serkilar, Catherine Strahan, Jessica Taylor, Kyra Uberai, and Ellen Welsh.
The girls who received their Silver Awards are: Caitlin Costello, Rosina Fielder, Gursimran Deu, Annabel Gurdikyan, Yasmin Al-Jawad, Niku Seif
Amir Hosseini, Imogen Idelson, Leah Masih, Berengaria Matossian and Elizabeth Wood.
The Gold Awards were awarded to Laura Bowler, Monica Doyle, Alice Elliott and Martina Oxley.
Duke of Edinburgh is a challenging, yet enjoyable experience and I would highly recommend it to any fun-loving, free-spirited individual.
By Yasmin Al-Jawad (Dux Castrorum Gold)

Spring Concert, 8 th May…
Congratulations to all the girls who played
so well in the Concert. The Junior Orchestra,
Flute Group, Junior and Senior Strings and
the Senior Orchestra presented a very
enjoyable programme, with the Senior
Orchestra playing Jurassic Park and The
Magnificent Seven theme tunes. Very
special commendation to Anna Szyszko,
Imogen Idelson, Jasmine Tooth and
Josephine Elliott, for their demanding solo
items.
Our St Cecilia Concert will be held in
November.
Football Olympics at St Augustine’s Priory…
On Thursday the four School Houses, St Gabriel, St George, St Raphael and St Michael, all played against each other in the Football Olympics,
held on the Astroturf. Everyone was in their house colours and there was a definite air of excitement and anticipation. The first matches were
St George vs. St Gabriel and St Michael vs. St Raphael. St Gabriel won by two goals to nil and St Raphael also won by two goals to nil. In St
Gabriel’s first match Aaliyah Julian in Upper I and Grace Aimable Lina in Lower I scored the goals. In the second matches, St Gabriel beat St
Michael by three goals to one and St Raphael beat St George also by three goals to one. At this point St Raphael and St Gabriel realised that, as
they had won all their matches, they had won through to the finals. The final games were played between St Gabriel vs. St Raphael and St
George vs. St Michael. St Gabriel won their match by three goals to one and St George won their match by two goals to one. Everyone had
thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are now looking forward to the finals, which are to be held on Monday 25 th June.
The final results were: St Michael came in 4 th place, St George was in Bronze medal position and St Raphael and St Gabriel play in the finals on
Monday 25 th June.
Stowe School…
Fifteen members of the Chapel Singers travelled to Stowe School in
Bucks for a choral workshop. They were accompanied by Mr Allen,
Mr Maryniak and Mrs Woodman.
It was a very hard-working day and ended with a performance at
Evensong in the magnificent school Chapel. The school is an 18 th
century mansion sets in thousands of acres of parkland, complete
with Roman statues, stone lions and colonnades, unlike any school
any of the girls had seen!
Thanks to Mrs Oglina, mother of Sienna in Upper I, for suggesting
this idea.

Georgina Horwich, Upper IIA writes about Stowe School…
The Chapel Singers spent a day at Stowe School for a Choral Workshop. We were one of seven schools participating in a wonderful singing
opportunity. We were separated into groups – soprano, alto, tenor, bass and treble. The Stowe boys were the only ones who could sing the
tenor and bass parts. We were very impressed with the school, from its wonderful entrance gate to the carved stone statues and marble
columns around the grand entrance of the school building. Pupils there can enjoy golf, swimming and many other sports. There was also a
school shop full of stationery with the school crest on it. We were treated to a slap-up lunch and hourly biscuit rations. All in all it was a really
good day’s singing and learning experience. I hope we can go again next year.
Ghana Project…
Thank you to all of you who
made contributions to the
Ghana project. We collected
many useful clothes and
books that will be extremely
beneficial to the community
in Ghana. A huge thank you to
Mrs Brobbey who makes this
all possible by funding and coordinating
the donations
getting to Ghana. A special
mention needs to be made to
Lower IV Alpha who helped to
sort and organise all the
donations.
Shakespeare in Stratford…
“If music be the food of love, play on!’ And the play WAS on for the A2 English Literature students, who spent Saturday 5 th May in Stratford
upon Avon enriching their knowledge of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. After a fascinating tour of Shakespeare’s birthplace, they tested their
ideas about the play in a discussion guided by Dr Elizabeth Wolledge of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. They then attended a performance
at the newly rebuilt
Festival Theatre. An
intriguing
interpretation
emphasised the
darkness behind the
comedy and
engendered fruitful
discussion of the
subtext of the play:
exactly what was
needed in preparation
for the examination in
June. “Hey, ho, the
wind and the rain!”

Les Garçons..
We were extremely happy to
welcome the Onatti Theatre
Group to St Augustine’s Priory this
week. Students of Modern Foreign
Languages were invited to watch a
French play called ‘Les Garçons’.
All the students involved were
given sheets with vocabulary and
exercises to help them to prepare
for the events during their
language lessons. The play was
performed entirely in French, by
actors from France, and it was
written specifically for schools – it
even involved some audience
participation! The students were
all thoroughly engaged and
enjoyed the production
tremendously.
We have received very positive
feedback from the students - and
the teachers enjoyed it too. We
plan to invite the Onatti Theatre
Group back in the future and hope
to extend the offer to other languages. Thank you to all staff and students who supported this event, especially Ms Assemat, who organised it
on behalf of our Modern Languages Department.
Fair Trade Coffee Morning…
Please join us for our second Fair-Trade Coffee Morning
next Thursday 17 th May from 8.45 to 9.30 am.
All welcome…There will be cookies!
Congratulations to…
The following girls who have been awarded Merit badges: Blue Badge: Upper IIA – Emma Thal. Silver Badge: Lower I – Grace Aimable-Lina;
Upper I – Aaliyah Julian. Gold Badge: Upper I – Jonelle Esprit, Lily Stephens. Diamond Badge: Lower IIA – Neve McGrath.
And also to the following girls who have achieved their Music grades:
Liliana Pastuszek, Lower I, Grade 1 Flute and Grade 4 Piano; Claudia Stefanczyk, Upper IIA, Grade 1 Piano.
Diary for next week…
Monday 14 th May… Wednesday 16 th May… Friday 18 th May…
Main Block GCSE and A Level exams commence
Upper IV Options interviews (all week)
Olympic Week 4 – Waterpolo
U12 A &B, U13 A&B Rounders v NHEH (home)
U14, U15 Rounders v St Benedict’s (away)
Lower II residential trip to Kingswood (returns
Friday 18 th )
11.05 am Mass, Juniors and Prep III
1 – 4 pm GCSE Drama Unit 1 assessment
2.30 pm Ballet display
Tuesday 15 th May… Thursday 17 th May… Weekend…
Lower I to Verulamium
7.00 pm Lower IV ‘Excuse Me’ Parents’ Evening
1 – 4.00 pm GCSE Drama Unit assessment
U15A, U14 A&B Rounders v Sacred Heart (home)
7.00 pm Pathways – Transition Dialogue
Meeting, Prep III
Lower IV Alpha Gamelan workshop
3.00 pm Nursery and Prep I Opendoor
afternoon