High School News Issue 5: May 2016

Dear Parents/Carers So much has happened at the school since the Easter break. On Friday, 22 nd April we had our Birthday Celebration at Gloucester Cathedral. The theme looked at the symbolism of a tree as this is the school’s emblem and can be found on our school badge. Details of the event can be found in the newsletter. The collection at the Birthday Celebration was passed on to the Woodland Trust and it will be used to protect a piece of woodland in the Gloucestershire area. On Thursday, 12th May Year 11 began their study leave. The day was filled with laughter and a trip down memory lane of the students’ time at the school during the past 5 years. We wish all the students the best of luck in their examinations and look forward to welcoming them back into the High School Sixth Form. In the evening of the 12th May we had an excellent Song and Dance evening which showcased the wide array of the artistic talent that we have in the school. It is wonderful to see our students’ enjoyment of performance. Well done to all the students who took part! It was a truly wonderful evening. Last Friday Year 13 celebrated their last day in school. The students and some of the staff dressed up as heroes and villains. We had much laughter on the day but also many tears from students who have enjoyed their seven years at the High School for Girls. I received many cards indicating how the school has given them the knowledge and skills that have made them into the people they are today. They are a fantastic year group which will be long remembered for their positive attitude. We wish them the very best of luck in their exams. It is unusual to say goodbye to a member of staff at this time of the year, but our Business Manager, Miss Sheila Bloodworth, is retiring on the 9th June. She has been an excellent guardian of the finances of the school and the school’s last audit made us realise just how good she is, as we only had just 1 or 2 minor comments. Miss Bloodworth has also been in charge of all the support staff who have undergone a number of reorganisations since she took over in 2012. We are all extremely grateful for her expertise in all matters relating to Finance, Health and Safety, Premises, HR and Catering. We wish you a long and relaxing retirement. I am pleased to see that the weather will be good over the May half term. I hope everyone has a good relaxing break and that students come back refreshed in order to do their exams. With my best wishes,

Ewa Sawicka Headteacher

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One of the joint winners of the Queen’s Birthday Poster Competition Louisa Brooks, 8W

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One of the joint winners of the Queen’s Birthday Poster Competition Felicity Simpson, 8W

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Congratulations to our Award-winning Music Department

The winning Year 7 and 8 Flute ensemble at the Cheltenham Festival

Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts The Music Department took three groups to perform at the Festival this year. Nine flautists (Verity Burrows, Sarah Smith, Rosie Mason, Georgie Stott, Katherine Elbro, Tessa Bye, Mimi Sedgley and Ella Green from Years 7-8 were ably accompanied by Hanna Mulligan on the piano and Ashleigh-Jade Noble on the bass guitar. The performance was really confident and the adjudicator noted how enthusiastic they were. They won the Girl Guide Shield for the Junior Ensemble Novice class. The Junior Choir were narrowly beaten (by one point) in their category. They performed with confidence and again the judge said they captured their second song perfectly with great attack and verve. The Senior Choir won their category with a performance described by the adjudicator as “exquisite”. They performed two very contrasting pieces: ‘Fields of Gold’, including solos from Sophie Ellis, Lara Maylor-Wrout and Emily Davis and followed this with ‘I’m Gonna Wash That Man’ with Ellie O’Driscoll performing a solo. All performers gained really valuable experience of performing in front of an audience and it was a good experience to hear their contemporaries too. We were very proud of all the performers and hope that they enjoyed the experience as much as we did. The Senior Chamber Choir were victorious for the second year in a row, winning their section and the Maden Pratt Challenge Cup. The adjudicator called their performance exquisite!

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Leavers’ Concert – April 2016

Song & Dance Evening – May 2016

On 28th March we said a fond farewell to Year 13 musicians. All the large ensembles performed during the evening as well as student run groups. The concert began with two film theme soundtracks played by the orchestra and the second half carried on the popular theme with selections from ‘Chicago’ and’ Pride and Prejudice’. Year 13 students performed a variety of solo and ensemble items and the evening finished with a performance of ‘The Kite String’ and ‘The Anchor Rope’, which was first sung in House Music in October. We would like to thank all the Year 13 musicians for their support of the Music Department over the past seven/two years and wish them good luck in their university courses. Keep playing!

Song and Dance Evening Students from Years 7-10 entertained siblings, parents and friends in a relaxed concert on Thursday, 12th May. The evening consisted of solo and ensemble items, some which had been prepared for House Dance; others had been performed already at the Cheltenham Festival. Musical performances included a range of vocal items, including the inaugural performance of newly formed Year 9 band ‘The Awkward Cover Artists’. They are hoping to perform again at the summer fayre, and are now busily learning a new repertoire. Many thanks to all the performers – you gave us an evening to remember. Mrs Day and Mrs Bowman

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Year 7 Trip to Coventry Cathedral We arrived at Coventry Cathedral on Thursday, 14th April at 10.30 am after a two hour coach journey. My first impression was the contrast between the ruins of the old cathedral and the modern design of the new one. The old cathedral was bombed by the Germans in World War II at the time when my great grandfather (Dick Howard) was Provost. (Photo right: Emma and her great grandfather, Provost Howard). Richard Thomas Howard (1884-1981) was an Anglican priest and author. He began his ministry as chaplain of his former Cambridge College. In 1912 he went to St. John's College, Agra for the Church Missionary Society. From 19131918 he was Vice-Principal of St Paul’s Divinity School, Allahabad and from then until 1929 he was the Principal of St Aidan’s College, Birkenhead. After four years as Vicar of Luton he became Provost of Coventry Cathedral, a position he held for 25 years. From 1941 to 1946 he was also Archdeacon of Coventry. We were divided into groups and allocated a tour guide; ours was called Bernardo (I think he was Spanish!). He took us around the cathedral, pointing out the main features of the building and some of its treasures. I was particularly impressed by the massive stained glass windows, the charred cross, the amazing statues, and the organ which is the second biggest in the country. Lunchtime quickly arrived and afterwards we had time to explore the cathedral on our own, take photos and go to the gift shop before setting back home again. I doubted whether I was going to have a good time but it turned out to be very interesting and enjoyable day and I learnt a lot about Christian symbolism. Emma Holder, Year 7

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AS and A level Art Exam Final Pieces

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Biology Challenge During March, students in Year 9 and Year 10 are given the opportunity to take part in ‘The Biology Challenge’. This a national competition set by the Society of Biology, which tests students on their understanding of Biology from school and their background knowledge from outside of school. The results have recently been announced, so congratulations go to the following students: Award

Student(s)

Award

Silver Certificate

Amber Wilkins

Highly Commended

Bronze Certificate

Chloe Elliott, Nelly Lawrence, Caitlin Wild, Lottie Wilkinson

Commended

It is an exceptional achievement for any student to be awarded either a gold, silver or bronze certificate, particularly for a Year 9 student. This is because the level of biological understanding required to score this highly is far in excess of that required in lessons. I

U13 Rugby

Student(s) Sandali Aluthge, Francesca Bevan, Hannah Desmond, Alex Insall, Hannah Jones, Margaret Liu, Natasha McDonagh, Rachel McKinlay Hannah Mutlow, Clarissa Sanderson-Moody, Claudia Slater, Natalie Sodzi

Would, therefore, like to offer my congratulations to these students and also to the rest of the competitors for taking part. Mr Scott, Subject Leader for Biology

Table Tennis

The U13 team The U13 Table Tennis team have continued with their qualified for the excellent run in the National Schools Championships. regional rugby finals Following their victory in the regional finals at following finishing as Bournemouth, they qualified as one of the best four runners-up to Dene schools in the country for the National Finals. Magna in the County Reaching the National Finals is a tremendous Finals. The regional achievement. The girls played brilliantly in the finals finals were held at against some of the best players in the country and Weston Hornets in won a number of individual games. They eventually Weston Super Mare finished in fourth place. Special thanks to on a beautiful sunny Mr Greenough who has accompanied and team day. managed the girls at every stage of the competition. The first game proved to be a real challenge as we played Hugh Sexey School who were last year’s National runners-up. We got off to a slow start and grew into the game eventually losing 7 tries to nil. Following this experience. the girls knew they had to raise their game, and they beat Sheldon School in the next game and then drew their final two games against Clyst Vale and Richard Lander. This resulted in the girls qualifying for the 5th/6th play-off where we lost a very close game to Churchill High School. The girls played some terrific rugby during the game demonstrating some excellent handling and tackling skills. Many thanks as well to all the parents and supporters who joined us in Weston for the day; your support was very much appreciated. Miss Wilkes Page 8 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

How Hackers Hack On Wednesday 13th April, our GCSE computing group attended a workshop run by Raytheon on how hackers hack. The room was set up so that every student had their own laptop, which was loaded with specially designed software, which allowed us to hack without damaging any school computers! We were taught a variety of ways in which hackers are able to bypass security systems and manipulate weaknesses in software in order to gain access although the first thing we were told was that hacking is ILLEGAL! The techniques

included SQL injection which was changing the a URL bar to gain usually restricted information to ‘shop’, and using cookies to impersonate another customer (allowing us access to their account details). We also used a technique called DDoS (Dedicated Denial of Service) which allowed us all to flood the network with requests, meaning that the network became more vulnerable to attack and broke down. Finally, we learnt about Buffer Overload which is another technique hackers use to skip past certain security measures to gain access to the software. Overall this was a great experience, one which many others will not learn about. It was also interesting to learn how a computer’s weaknesses can be exploited and how we can protect computers from these attacks. Anna Kemmett, Katie Forbes, Year 10

Well done Isabelle! A number of individuals were recognised for their contribution to Forest Green Rovers’ record breaking season on Saturday evening when the end of season presentations took place after the last home league fixture of the season against FC Halifax. There were a number of awards handed out for first team players and individuals who have contributed off the pitch both for this season, and over a longer period of time. The Secondary Ambassador of the Year was given to Isabelle Arris from the High School for Girls, Gloucester, who is working hard on building the Forest Green Rovers fan base in Gloucester. Here, Isabelle is receiving her award from Jackie Harries, Manager of the Coventry Building Society who presented the awards.

English Schools Athletics Cup The junior and intermediate teams took part in the first round of the English Schools Cup at the Prince of Wales stadium. The two teams performed really well with both teams finishing in third place. The standard of the intermediate competition was particularly strong and the girls have an outside chance of qualifying for the Regional finals. We now look forward to the District Athletics Championships after halfterm. Miss Leathart

Year 10 celebrated the end of their Fast Track French course after sitting their GCSE exam. Thanks go to Mrs Sartore-Wallace and Mrs Sollars for the time and effort they have put in to support the students, since starting in Year 9. Page 9 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

Year 11 GCSE Final Artwork

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News from the Governors High School for Girls’ Open Morning for Year 5 - April 2016 Dear Parents Cast your minds back. For some of us, a long way back. The prospect of leaving your beloved junior school is looming just as you are carving out an identity and authority there. You are feeling apprehensive, excited, sad, relieved perhaps. Many other emotions too. It is possibly the first significant life event that you can fully grasp the implications of, especially with consideration to friends made, bonds formed and experiences remembered over the last few years. Now, jump a few years and you are seeing it all happen again, this time to your daughters. Hopefully you can empathise, understand and support. But maybe you feel some help is needed. On Wednesday, 20th April 2016 our school opened its doors to the annual Year 5 Open Morning for girls and their families who are considering the High School for Girls as an option for the September 2017 Year 7 intake. The event was very well attended and fantastically supported by our current Year 7 girls who ably took girls and adults ‘in hand’ and showed them around the school, without hindrance or interference from staff to mar the experience! After the tour, over refreshments, some staff were on hand to assist with any further questions the visitors had. As a governor, I was also happy to attend to offer opinions and experiences of the school from another perspective. I had some very valuable discussions and met some very interesting people – both junior and ‘senior’. I can say that without exception, everyone I met thought that our school would be a lovely place to attend. The sense of community, belonging and courtesy were mentioned more than once. But the overriding memory I will have of the morning was the change in demeanour of the girls who came in. At 8.30 am some very nervous and quiet girls arrived. But by 10.30 am we had a hall full of young students who were interested, inquisitive and, dare I say it, excited at the prospect of maybe being able to come to the High School for Girls. I for one would be happy to see everyone I met get a place. By: Andrew Haigh – Parent Governor Two current Year 7s showing a Year 5 and a parent around the school

Song and Dance Evening - May 2016 This was such a fun evening. So much better than tea and biscuits in front of yet another dreary TV crime drama or consumer show designed to get us all stressed. Many others agreed with me as the hall was packed from 7.00 pm for two eclectic hours of music, song and dance performed by some very talented and enthusiastic girls. Whether you like classical, folk, pop, jazz, rap music, or contemporary, ballet, hip hop dance, it was on show. The evening was organised, scheduled and performed by the girls with some help from staff making occasional announcements and musical accompaniment. You must remember that this was all put together in their own time and a great many hours had clearly gone into practice and rehearsal. Our students do work very hard academically but this kind of informal event is an opportunity to relax and showcase what they get up to when not pouring over unsolvable maths equations or explanations of katabatic winds in Antarctica. I don’t know about you, but the thought of singing or dancing (can’t do either), or piano playing (can do this a bit) in public would have had me out in a cold sweat. But not so the girls who performed. This I think is testament not only to their own individual talents which are obvious to see, but also to the school environment that nurtures and encourages opportunities to push their comfort levels. Though I suspect some of the performers didn’t need much of a push. A great evening. By: Andrew Haigh – Parent Governor Page 11 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

Year 11 GCSE Final Artwork

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Write a diary entry on a visit to a religious building Dear diary, I awoke early raring to seize the day as I was going to visit one of my favourite places of worship: Gloucester Cathedral. Glancing out of my bedroom window, I saw the majestic tower protruding up above all of the other buildings that stretched out for miles, standing proudly for all to see. The thought crossed my mind that if I were to look out of this very window in the future would the tower have changed with any architectural additions? Would the Cathedral still be there and would as many people be able to see the beauty? I stepped out of the house and dashed to the car prepared for the day ahead! When we arrived, I walked around the Cathedral grounds and looked at some of the worn gravestones laid in the grass like a ready-made bed. I moved around the walls and examined the many gargoyles and other features of the exterior. The entrance was an archway surrounded with many ornate aspects from men in robes to decorative details, with St Peter leading the way. As I entered, it gradually grew colder, but there was still a pleasant warmth in the atmosphere. The aura was so unique, the scent of incense danced up my nostrils, making me aware of its fragrant aroma. It made me think of Christmas and other holy events in the Christian calendar. I approached a large, round pillar and the stone was rough beneath my fingertips as dust spiralled into the air as a result of it, but the pillar remained strong as though a guard on duty. How long had he been on guard? How much longer will he be a guard and what is he guarding? What has he seen? What has he heard? What shouldn’t he have seen and heard? Questions bounced off the walls of my brain. As I sauntered through the cloisters, I noticed the intricate carvings deeply engraved into the stone that will hopefully remain there for years to come. Patterns, only found in the most expert interior designer’s sketchbook.

Every inch of stone was individual and had its own story to tell. Each etching in the stone had a whole life to share. Every footstep resounded throughout the whole of the cloisters but it was a beautiful, rhythm of human nature, the sound rippled like waves of the river of Jordan. In an area of the cloisters, there are places where the monks used to wash. I could almost hear and see the water rushing down the stone sink like the water John the Baptist poured over Jesus as he was baptised. It was once an abbey where monks would sit and write, and chant and eat, and live their lives. It was amazing to imagine that I was standing where thousands of years ago, a wise monk once had stood. I was on an emotional rollercoaster, as my heart filled with joy and hope yet sometimes dread that this beautiful construction might not live on forever, but always will in my heart. I ventured further and came across the organ. Decorative pipes stood proudly blowing out a tune like no other. Immediately, voices joined in and the sound was breathtaking. The corners of my lips turned up auto-matically. The Cathedral became so alive. Everything could be heard from every corner of the entire structure. I spun around and my eyes landed upon a glorious sight; a stained-glass window. The stories it told, the images it depicted, the colour that shone out! The colours were so vibrant, that it all made more sense, as each small pane of glass told a tale from the Bible, Jesus stood as holy as I may ever see him. Then just at that moment, the sun beamed through and lit up the whole building. Glancing down at the floor, the light from the sun was playing games with the colours on the stone ground. It really lifted my mood, as it would anyone’s. When my parents called me, informing me we were leaving, I actually wished I lived there. It reminded me of a beautiful home as it felt so cosy! As I left I took a quick snapshot of the façade and I would keep it forever. By Harriet Saxton, 7G

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Birthday Celebration at Gloucester Cathedral – Friday, 22nd April

1883

Award Winning Students

The theme of this year’s seventy-third birthday celebration was decided upon when considering why our school crest was chosen and the meaning behind the symbolism of a tree. It is good to know that a tree is a symbol of antiquity and immense enduring strength and also that this emblem was chosen in 1933 as the school badge. Today, this badge is proudly worn on school blazer pockets and on the Sixth Form tie. A wild hawthorn tree was chosen as the school badge, as the then headmistress, Miss Penson, had in mind the Norse legend of Yggdrasil, the life tree, with its roots in the past and its boughs reaching beyond the stars. This tree, like the school, has withstood the test of time, during periods of prosperity in its history and also times of difficulty. A Russian fable read during the service talked about the importance of the leaves and roots and particularly the roots which enable the tree to flourish. This was then related to each person with a reading entitled “Wisdom of the Ancients” and how the leaves, branches and roots related to people whom each of us have met. The poem “Advice from a Tree” enabled us to reflect on the good things in life and how we should embrace them. As always the scriptures were read which refer to our motto “Love genuinely, in honour, preferring one another”. The address by Cannon Steven Bowen talked about the importance of trees in people’s lives, especially for Tolkien and Tolstoy. The service was well received by the students, staff and parents of the school and resulted in the May Tree being the centre of attention as can be seen in the photograph of the students, and staff, hugging the tree top left and bottom. Well done to Lauren Thornell (left) who performed in the Piano solo grade 8 (18 years and under) class at Cheltenham Festival where she played Grieg's Nocturne no. 4. Congratulations to Caitlin Dunnett (right) in Year 10 who has been awarded the Ken Fox memorial prize for the most promising/committed young singer in the ‘Young Singers scheme’ run by Gloucester Choral Society. She receives an award and a £50 prize. Well done, Caitlin. Page 14 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

Sixth Form Politics Trip to the Houses of Parliament On Monday, 11th April the Sixth Form Politics classes took a trip to Westminster Palace and The Supreme Court. After an early start at 7.00 am, and taking the long journey to London, the students’ first stop was the judicial giant, the Supreme Court. After taking a look at the permanent exhibition of the Supreme Court’s history, the group was given a tour of the three courts within the building. After an in-depth presentation explaining the details of the court, we were allowed to take up the seats of the judges and learn their roles and duties. The tour started with a very traditional court and concluded with the Commonwealth Court on the bottom floor. After a very swift lunch break, we moved on to the Parliamentary Education Centre. Here we were treated to a tour of the Houses of Parliament, with the exception of the Commons Chamber and the Lords, as they were ‘in session’. The parliament trip was finished off with a workshop explaining voting systems. We also had a talk from Gloucester MP Richard Graham’s representative, Megan Trethewey, a former student of the High School, and a chance to sit in the Commons gallery to watch the beginning of the Panama Papers debate. After a long day of tours and interesting, special,

experiences, the group headed home. A large quantity of the politics course focuses on what goes on within the two locations we visited. The trip was informative and helpful for all the students who attended. Samantha Fletcher, Year 12

High School for Girls’ Archery Team The HSFG Archery Team beat Ribston Hall High School, Gloucester and the Gloucester Academy in the Level 2 School Games Competition to go through to the Level 3 final. The competition took place at Deer Park Archers on Monday, 16th May with a team including students from Year 7, 9 and 11. Miss Wilkes

High School for Girls making history! Gloucester Cathedral Choir has a famous musical tradition dating back almost 500 years. Evie, Harriet and Georgie from the High School have been given the opportunity to be part of the very first group of girl choristers. This is an historic opportunity for girls aged 8-13, to form an integral part of the musical worship of the Cathedral, and to begin an exciting new chapter in the Cathedral’s world-class musical heritage from September. Gloucester Cathedral is committed to increasing participation for girls to sing as a key element of the musical provision in worship. Rehearsals will take place three times a week during term time - on Saturday mornings and after school on Mondays and Thursdays. The girls will sing at Evensong on Mondays during term time and will have the opportunity to sing at high profile events throughout the year, including Christmas and Easter services, as well as events in the diocese and even further afield. A full schedule of events and commitments will be issued to the girls at the end of the Summer Term. Well done Evie, Harriet and Georgie! Page 15 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

The Year 7 Lowry Project In Year 7 we have been studying the artist Laurence Stephen Lowry. We researched his life and found out lots of interesting facts. As a class we discussed the techniques of his artwork and the artistic words that describe them. In the first part of the project we were given half of a black and white pencil sketch and had to draw the other half using perspective and tone. Once we had finished that we got another small image of his work; this was of a street corner. We then drew it in pencil and added in colour.

After that we had to draw the building in our collages and cut them out. We then stuck them onto an A5 sheet of grey paper, then we added detail and tone to the sky and buildings. Everyone really enjoyed doing this project and had fun studying the artist. By Grace Matthews 7TC

These were the primary colours to make it look simple but effective. Everyone in the class was given a picture of one of his many famous paintings. This was The Walking

Man. We had to answer some questions about it and use as many technical words as possible. When everyone completed it we peer assessed each other’s work and highlighted all the key artistic words. For our final pieces we had to create a collage of a city using images of cool buildings and things that were funky. We also had to make a visual mind map about the city with information. Page 16 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

Year 13’s Last Day – Friday, 20th May – Heroes & Villains

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Anysa Parker: Inspired by Salvador Dali and Maurizio Anzeri and Sophie Standing

Year 13 Textiles Rosie Clayton

Lili Milne

Robyn Griffin

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LRC in the News The BAGSS Award (Gloucestershire Secondary Schools’ Book Award) has now been revealed: ‘Awful Auntie’ by David Walliams! We were right on trend choosing that as our favourite too. We have copies of all the shortlisted books for students to borrow. Thank you for supporting our Scholastic Book Fair, which was a great success, allowing us £250 in vouchers to spend on new resources for the LRC. We will soon be launching a Scholastic Book Club with the opportunity to buy books at a discounted rate, with each purchase benefitting the LRC. Our Carnegie Shadowing Group is under way with, by the end of the term, more than half of the nominated books read. The

Carnegie Medal is awarded each year to an outstanding book written for children or young adults during the preceding 12 months. As always, there are some excellent reads, so if your daughter is a keen reader who is looking for new ideas, tell her to come and look at the nominated titles which will be available to borrow from mid-June, or even to think about joining the shadowing group next April! Our annual Library Week is coming

up during the week of 20th-24th June. We are planning interesting and fun activities, with an author visit on Friday, 24th June aimed at Year 9. Sara Grant is an author who writes for both young adults and younger children. Just a reminder that all students have access to a range of reliable, up-to-date online resources through the LRC’s Google Site (Online Resources page). If your daughter/son has not yet tried these out, and doesn’t know where to start, please ask them to contact us, as we are always happy to demonstrate how to get the best out of them. Mrs Brazier and Mrs Cordall Librarians

UKMT Junior Maths Challenge

Parents/Carers assisting with revision

At the end of April, 31 students from Year 8 and nine students from Year 7 took part in the Junior Maths Challenge. 5 students from Year 8 and 3 students from Year 7 achieved a Gold certificate. 10 students from Year 8 and 5 students from Year 7 achieved a silver certificate. 11 students from Year 8 and 1 student from Year 7 achieved a Bronze certificate. Well done to all the girls for taking part! Special congratulations go to Felicity Simpson in Year 8 who achieved the best score in school and also qualified for the next round of the competition; competing against other top-scoring students from around the country. Miss Pandor

The secret to doing well in exams lies in planning. Help your daughter/son to create a clear revision plan and method of studying that will make them feel in control of their work. Here are a few tips for revision planning for students:  work out a revision timetable for each subject  break revision time into small chunks - hour-long sessions with short breaks at the end of each session often work well  make sure you have all the essential books and materials  condense notes onto postcards to act as revision prompts  buy new stationery, highlighters and pens to make revision more interesting  go through notes with parents/ask them to listen while you revise a topic and ask parents to time your attempts at practice papers.

Follow the yellow brick road and put the date in your diary . . . .

Wednesday 13 July, Thursday 14 July & Friday 15 July 7.00 pm in the School Hall Tickets available soon.

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Parkrun is a free, weekly, timed 5k run that takes place every Saturday at 9.00 am. Junior parkruns are 2k events specifically for 4 to 14 year olds, held weekly on a Sunday. It's not a race, it's just a regular timed run so it's you against the clock. It's free to register (please register before your first run and bring along your barcode to each race) and it's free to run each week. It is run on the last Saturday of every month at 10:00am. www.parkrun.org.uk/forestofdean-juniors/

Venues:  The Crypt School, Podsmead Road, Gloucester, GL2 5AE.  St Edward's Preparatory School, 252 London Road, Charlton Kings, www.parkrun.org.uk/forestofdean-juniors Cheltenham, GL52 6NR. Use code SUMMER16 to get 15% off your summer Multi-Activity booking.

www.supercamps.co.uk Page 20 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

Collection of Students for Appointments The school operates safeguarding procedures and takes responsibility for its duty of care for students seriously. Therefore, we would be extremely grateful if parents/carers would abide by the procedures set out for all students in the main school. Any student, who needs to leave the school site during the day must be collected by a parent/carer or named individual for that student, from Student Services. Please be aware that we cannot make any exceptions to this procedure for any student in Years 7-11. Please make sure we hold up-to-date details for your daughter/son. Please remember that only the contacts detailed on your daughter’s/son’s data sheet can collect them from school. You can also email [email protected] at any time with new telephone numbers or email addresses. Parents/carers are also requested not to park on school grounds when collecting daughters/sons for appointments.

Year 7-11 Student Absence Line: 01452 543335 (Press 1 when prompted and leave a message) or email:

[email protected] Sixth Form Student Absence Line: 01452 543335 (choose the option to report Sixth Form absence) or email:

[email protected] Parking Please would parents/carers refrain from parking on the zigzag or yellow lines in front of the school at any time during the day. Parking on these lines endangers both pedestrians and cyclists. At no time should parents/carers drive onto the school site. Please be aware that this term a parent has run into a member of staff’s car and caused damage. Had the parent followed this simple request then this could have been avoided.

Term Dates 2016-2017 Term 1: Monday, 5th September - Tuesday, 18th October 2016 Term 2: Monday, 31st October - Friday, 16th December 2016 Term 3: Tuesday, 3rd January - Friday, 10th February 2017 Term 4: Monday, 20th February - Friday, 7th April 2017 Term 5: Monday, 24th April - Friday, 26th May 2017 Term 6: Tuesday, 6th June - Friday, 21st July 2017

Term Dates 2017-2018 Term 1: Wednesday, 6th September – Wednesday, 18th October 2017 Term 2: Monday, 30th October – Friday, 15th December 2017 Term 3: Tuesday, 2nd January – Friday, 9th February 2018 Term 4: Monday, 20th February – Wednesday, 28th March 2018 Term 5: Monday, 16th April – Friday, 25th May 2018 Term 6: Tuesday, 5th June – Wednesday, 25th July 2018

Examination Results 2016 A Level results – Thursday, 18th August A2 10.00 am and AS at 11.00 am GCSE results – Thursday, 25th August Year 11 10.00 am and Year 10 at 11.00 am

Page 21 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

What’s on in Term 6 2015/16 Term 6 (2016) Monday, 6th June Tuesday, 7th June

School closed for staff training Term 6 begins. This is Week 2 High School for Girls Art Exhibition in hall this week Denmark Road, Gloucester GL1 3JN Wednesday, 8th June Governors’ Teaching and Learning Committee meeting - 6.00 pm Telephone: 01452 543335 Fax: 01452 549862 Monday, 13th June Week 1 Email: [email protected] Website: www.hsfg.org Year 12 Work Experience Week Year 7-10 exams this week th @hsfgdenmarkroad Wednesday, 15 June Governors’ HR and Pastoral Committee meeting - 6.00 pm th Friday, 17 June Year 7 Maths Techniquest Trip Believe • Achieve • Thrive Monday, 20th June Week 2 Learning Resource Centre week this week st Tuesday, 21 June Year 10 Sixth Form Taster Day PTA Committee Meeting - 7.30 pm Governors’ Business Management Committee meeting - 6.00 pm rd Thursday, 23 June Geography controlled assessment field trip Second-hand uniform sale - 3.30-4.30 pm Year 6 Welcome Evening - 7.00 pm th Friday, 24 June High School Sixth Form New Year 12 Induction Day Monday, 27th June Week 1 Year 7 reports published th Tuesday, 26 June Summer Open Morning - 8.45-10.45 am Wednesday, 28th June Sports Day Governors’ Communication and Engagement Committee meeting - 6.00 pm st Friday, 1 July Reserve Sports Day Saturday, 2nd July PTA Fun Day - 11.30 am-2.00 pm th Monday, 4 July Week 2 th Tuesday, 5 July Year 8 Geography Trip Year 12 Higher Education Evening - 7.00 pm th Thursday, 7 July Taster Day for September 2016 Intake (Provisional) th Monday, 11 July Week 1 Showcase Rehearsal th Tuesday, 12 July Showcase Rehearsal Governors’ Board Meeting - 6.00 pm Wednesday, 13th July Showcase Dress Rehearsal th Wednesday, 13 July Showcase – 7.00 pm th Thursday, 14 July Showcase - 7.00 pm Friday, 15th July Showcase - 7.00 pm th Monday, 18 July Week 2 Activities Day Tuesday, 19th July Activities Day th Wednesday, 20 July Term 6 ends at 1.30 pm Summer Holidays – Thursday, 21st July to Friday, 2nd September 2016.

Believe • Achieve • Thrive

High School for Girls Denmark Road, Gloucester GL1 3JN Telephone: 01452 543335 Fax: 01452 549862 Email: [email protected] Website: www.hsfg.org @hsfgdenmarkroad

Believe • Achieve • Thrive Page 22 of 22 - High School for Girls’ Newsletter – Issue 5 – May 2016

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