Windsor Girls’ School

15 March 2019

International Rugby Windsor Girls’ played two fixtures against Courtice High School on Wednesday afternoon at Home Park. Courtice were on tour to England and Wales from just outside Toronto, in Canada. There was an U18 fixture made up of students from Year 11 and a few additional players from Windsor Rugby Club, who go to other local schools and an U15 fixture with the WGS team from Years 9 and 10. The two matches were very competitive and the Windsor Girls’ students played really well against more experienced and mostly older players. The U18 match finished 35-15 to Courtice and the U15 match ended in a draw. There was also a game between the boys from Courtice High School and Windsor Boys’, with the

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Dear Parents and Carers This week has been National Science Week and students have had a range of opportunities linked to STEM. Assemblies have been focused on the theme of ‘journeys’ and, in lessons and Science Club this week, students have been using their skills to create inventions of their own. On Tuesday, 60 Year 11s visited The Globe Theatre on London’s Southbank to take part in a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ workshop. Students study the play as part of the GCSE course and they welcomed the opportunity to develop their understanding of the performance aspects of Shakespeare’s play. On Wednesday, our rugby teams were put to the test against visiting Canadian teams. As you will see from the photographs in this newsletter, there were large numbers of students from various teams involved in the event which was hosted by Windsor Rugby Club. It was a great opportunity for the students and it was also good to see so many fellow students, parents and staff supporting them. Also this week, our musicians took part in a wonderful musicals extravaganza at the Royal Albert Hall which was organised by Berkshire Maestros. The auditorium was filled with students and teachers from a wide range of schools who had the opportunity to perform and showcase their talents in the iconic venue. Year 13 students who are looking to pursue apprenticeships after leaving Windsor Girls’ School took part in an interactive session with Monisha Bhalla on Wednesday. The session encouraged students to set their sights high and to plan how to achieve their career goals. Sessions will continue next week and students will receive support in how to produce a striking CV, as well as how to impress with a job application. Elsewhere in school, students have been busy with the Big Questions club, Eco Club, preparing for this weekend’s Mock Trial Competition at Reading Crown Court, and the Silver Expedition in the South Downs. We wish all our competitors and participants well and we look forward to hearing about their endeavours. Auditions for the summer production of ‘A Wind in the Willows’ took place on Thursday and students will find out which parts they have secured in the next week. Thank you to all parents who kindly took part in the questionnaire last week at Subject Evening. We are pleased to report positive feedback with 91% of parents feeling that the school is well led and managed, 97% reporting that their daughter feels safe at school and 90% suggesting that overall they are happy with their daughter’s experience at school. We will use the feedback to develop good practice further. Mr P Griffiths and Mrs E O’Carroll Co-Headteachers

Windsor Girls’ School @WGSWindsorGirls

Windsor Girls’ PE @WGSPE

PE Instagram wgs_pe

Windsor Girls’ LRC @WGS_LRC

WGS Science @WGS_Science

WGS MFL @WGSMFLdept

WGS Geography @GeographyWgs

WGS Aspiring High @WGSAspiringHigh

WGS English @WindsorGirlsEng

Windsor Girls D of E @wgsdofe

Windsor Music @twbsmusic

Friends of Windsor Girls’ @FriendsofWGS

Year Information

Year 9 Good luck to our Mock Trial team who are competing at Reading Crown Court on Saturday afternoon. They have worked really hard in preparation for the competition which sees them arguing their case from different sides and against different opposition. If there are any concerns about options or accessing the online portal, please contact your daughter’s form tutor or Mr Arbi who will be able to support. Year 11 The Silver Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition takes place this weekend in the South Downs. There are MFL oral examinations next week. Catering examinations take place next week, with students creating some challenging masterpieces. The Year 11 prom date has been confirmed as Wednesday, 3 July.

Next week is Community Week, where we will be focusing on wellbeing and revisiting some key ideas about internet safety.

SIXTH FORM

The process of selecting our next Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl begins next week. Applicants will go through a rigorous selection process and younger members of the school community will be involved in parts of the interview sections. Year 12 Mathematicians will be visiting the Hexagon in Reading for a Maths conference on Thursday, 21 March. Year 12 Subject Evening is on Tuesday, 26 March, with appointments available from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Monisha Bhalla will be in school to meet with Year 13 apprenticeship applicants on Wednesday, period 3. Year 13 assembly will be on Tuesday, in Room 63, with Mrs Saunders. Each week there will be a series of ‘Jobs for the Weekend’ (please see below) and, for motivational purposes, students can access the Spotify playlist, ‘Year 13 Music to Revise to’. Mrs Saunders would welcome any further suggestions of titles to add to this playlist.

YEAR 13 JOBS FOR THE WEEKEND Check your UCAS status—contact any universities which have not

responded.

Attend the ‘not going to university’ session on Wednesday with

Monisha Bhalla

Meet with your mentor, set new targets

Do you have your examination timetable? If not, see Mrs

Humphries ASAP

International Rugby

Boys’ School winning 27-15. All three matches were played at the same time, on adjacent pitches, at Home Park, with the castle in the backdrop. There were lots of students and staff down supporting the teams and it was a great opportunity for all involved. Courtice were really grateful to us for hosting them and have invited WGS (along with the Boys’ School who tour Canada every spring half term) to Courtice to play a return fixture next year. It is hoped that this invitation can be fulfilled and we will be able to give the students the opportunity to go to Canada on a rugby tour in the future. Finally, a massive thanks to Windsor Rugby Club for hosting the matches and providing food for all the players after the games, along with providing WGS with some additional players for the girls U18 team to ensure that the match went ahead. Mr Andrews

International Women's Day was celebrated globally on Friday, 8 March. In school, we looked at ideas such as the 'Glass Ceiling' and shared examples of women who had broken through it to pave the way for others after them. Also on Friday, a group of Year 12 students attended the Inspiring Women's Conference at EY's offices in London. They were able to listen to powerful speeches and presentations as well as meeting the women. The students returned to school enthused and excited about their options for the future and we look forward to putting some of these ideas into practice in school.

International Rugby

International Women’s Day

Leadership Conference

‘We were delighted to be welcomed to the ASGS A World of Possibilities Conference 2019 last Friday, corresponding with International Women’s Day. We were lucky enough to hear the inspirational stories and advice of many women in leadership plus, being young ladies ourselves, it was motivating to hear from women in roles of power who have worked extremely hard to get to where they are today. Firstly, we heard from Dame Helena Morrissey, who is well known for

her work on gender equality and founder, in 2010, of the 30% Club - a campaign for more gender balanced boards - which has since risen the representation of women from 12.5% to 30.4%. From her remarkable efforts, especially considering that she has nine children, we learned the significance of both determination and, more importantly, resilience. Helena expressed the importance of young women being ready for the change and truly believed that now is the perfect time to be a girl. Helena was followed by an abundance of speakers who continued to impress us with their exceptional achievements: Jules Chappell, who, even with PTSD, strives to support gender equality on a global scale; Dr Shola Mos-Shobamimu who’s advanced career as a solicitor was seemingly insignificant compared to her extraordinary and motivational speech about our roles and limitless power in the world that we live in today, and the infinite opportunities vocalising your opinions and being authentically you can bring; and Dr Jess Wade who managed to briefly convince us all to become physicists! Her passion and strong interests diffused across the entire conference room. Finally, we heard from Dr Marina Della Giusta who spoke about women in economics and unconscious bias - learning about how it affects your view of others and yourself. Her captivating talk enabled us to become more mindful of the gender pay gap and how we can challenge unconscious bias by becoming more aware and questioning others and ourselves. Not only did Marina inspire us but she also encouraged us to go against social norms and to overcome any difficulties that we might face. Overall, the day really did allow us to put into perspective how important it is as young women (especially in girls’ schools), to dream big and know that no aspiration is too ambitious. We were told to spend time wisely, told to make compromises and told that when we commit to something, to give it everything because that moment in time is when it really counts. As young women, it is so important to listen, share ideas and bounce off of creativity - but perhaps most importantly, we were told that resilience, the ability to respond to setbacks no matter how big or small, can get you anywhere.’ - Larissa Bowyer, Ginny Davis, Lydia Jeremiah & Aliya Prichard-Casey, Year 12

Romeo and Juliet

‘On Tuesday, I found myself on a coach heading to The Globe Theatre, thinking that the rain and wind would ruin the day. I was right in that it was incredibly cold and wet, and sitting outside undoubtedly left many people feeling numb; yet to my surprise, myself and many others were delighted when we finally saw Romeo and Juliet on stage in an authentic setting after months spent studying it.

To start with, we were taken on a tour of The Globe, learning various facts including that Shakespeare was ‘one of the lads’ - which makes a lot of sense given his sense of humour! We also learned about the history of The Globe and attitudes to theatre in Elizabethan England.

Then the workshop began with a few warm ups and then exercises to help us understand the tragedy. We acted several scenes ranging from the brawls to the infamous first meeting of the lovers, all of us, without a doubt, finding some humour in speaking to each other in the manner that Shakespeare intended!

Finally, we were rewarded with seeing a 90-minute rendition of the play. It was a modern-dress version with some unusual interpretations of the characters, including a female Tybalt! Most people came out of the theatre with a new found understanding of a text we have been learning about since Year 10.’

- Maisie Ogston, Year 11

Year 13 Apprenticeship Workshop

Duke of Edinburgh Last weekend, our Duke of Edinburgh Gold participants undertook their practice expedition in Burnham Beeches. The compulsory elements of the Gold Award are much more challenging than Bronze and Silver, and require students to be on their expedition for four days and three nights. They are required to cook for themselves and make camp independently. The current cohort is our largest cohort to date, and the students have all progressed from the Bronze and Silver Awards here at school. The Gold Award is planned and organised alongside The Windsor Boys' School and the students will be taking on the Award’s biggest challenge with their final assessed expedition in the Brecon Beacons over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

On Wednesday, we welcomed Monisha Bhalla, Commercial Director at Versperience, to school, to work with students in Year 13 who are considering applying for apprenticeships after leaving Windsor Girls'. We have been very lucky to work with Monisha as our school Enterprise Associate and she will continue to be involved in the developing careers agenda. As an employer, she is aware of the necessary skills our young people will need upon joining the world of work. The session was informative and encouraging and Monisha will be back in school over the coming weeks to support the girls and to work with them on their CVs and job applications.

Science Week 2019

The theme of the week was "Journey", and students in Years 9 and 10 prepared marvellous posters about journeys, ranging from a journey of a bottle cap to the journey of a fair-trade product. Year 9s also mummified clementines (think of ancient Egypt) and prepared tunnels for a "tunnel challenge". It was a lot of fun and there was great excitement!

Royal Albert Hall

On Monday, a number of students from across WLP travelled to the Royal Albert Hall to join students from schools across Berkshire in ‘Music Leads the Way’, organised by Berkshire Maestros.

Year 11 Prom

Info for Year 11 students: The date for the Year 11 Prom has been confirmed as Wednesday, 3 July, at Windsor Race Course; with tickets costing £40 per person. Miss Edwards will meet with Year 11 students over the coming weeks to discuss further information about the event and to begin the fund raising process to make the event extra special.

Term 4 18 March Music: Wicked Trip 21 March Maths: Hexagon, Reading 27 March Fashion: Factory Site Visit, London 27 March History: Hampton Court, Year 9 28 March English: Up for Debate PiXL Competition, Reading Friday 5 April Term 4 Ends Tuesday 23 April Term 5 Begins 27-28 April DofE: Bronze Practice Expedition 27-30 April Catering: Chateau du Molay 10-13 May Geography: Slapton Sands, Year 12 11-12 May DofE: Bronze Practice Expedition 14 May Drama: Dead Dog in a Suitcase Friday 24 May Term 5 Ends Monday 3 June Term 6 Begins 11 June Geography: Hengistbury Head, Year 10 12 June Food Nutrition: Borough Market 14 June Geography: Hengistbury Head, Year 10 19 June History: Kew Archives, Year 12 20 June History: Imperial War Museum 26 June Geography: Field Trip, Windsor, Year 10 27 June Geography: Field Trip, Windsor, Year 10 1-5 July Year 12: Work Experience 5-8 July DofE: Bronze Assessed Expeditions Friday 19 July Term 6 Ends 11 July - 8 August Costa Rica

Big Questions

Upcoming Events

It was a crowded room, no seating left, which discussed with Wayne Dixon whether marriage is still relevant today. Overwhelmingly, the students decided that marriage is still relevant, but the huge expense of a wedding has perhaps overshadowed and spoiled the true meaning of the event itself. Maybe this generation will be those who can avoid excess and celebrate the hope of a permanent loving relationship in a more fitting way. Idealism is good. Not only do we need more seating, maybe smaller group discussions, but also more cake next week. We shall rise to the occasion. - Mrs Jenkins

Duke of Edinburgh Information

Bronze D of E 2019 - Trangia Training Sessions There will be 4 repeat sessions between 3:15-4:15pm in L29 on the following dates:

Thursday 21 March

Wednesday 3 April In order to take part in the expedition you must attend only one of these sessions. Due to large numbers of students, each session will be restricted 25 students for Health & Safety purposes. During these sessions you will work in groups of 3/4 to prepare a full meal similar to what you would eat for your evening meal on expedition e.g., pasta and sauce (do not bring pot noodles). Prior to the session, please plan what food you would like to prepare with your group and organise who will be responsible for bringing various things. It is essential to plan as a group and share responsibility. Please note, the group you work with for this training session does not have to be your actual D of E expedition group. Just like on your expedition, we will provide each group with the trangia and gas. I will not be able to provide any of the below items. You will need to bring the following to the training session:

ALL food items

wooden cooking utensils such as spatula/spoon

plates/bowls

cutlery

matches (preferably the extra long ones)

washing up liquid

dish cloth/sponge

tea towel

you may wish to bring a cup and some instant hot chocolate for an extra tasty treat. You will have a separate session on meal planning and nutrition but for these sessions I ask that you bring simple and quick ingredients such as quick cook pasta and sauces due to time restrictions. If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to ask! - Miss Edwards.

Year 11 Medical Summer School

Imperial College London are pleased to announce the launch of a brand new residential summer school. Held in partnership with the Medical Schools Council and funded by Health Education Eng-land, the summer school will provide the opportunity to experience what it is like to study at medical school and explore medicine as a future career. The course will be held from 27 to 30 August, and students will spend four days learning about what it takes to become a doctor through talks, workshops and practical activities. There will be sessions on a variety of specialisms within medicine as well as support for preparing a strong application to medical school. Students will also have the chance to experience broader university life through a series of social activities and time to relax with other participants and undergraduate mentors. Year 11 students who enjoy the sciences and are interested in medicine, please refer to the website below for more information on the programme, how to apply and the eligibility criteria. Applications close at 23:59 on 26 March, 2019. We aim to let students know the outcome of their application by 30 April, 2019.

PM Revision Sessions: 3.10 - 4.00pm (All Room 25)

Miss Pearce (LPE); Miss O’Gorman (KON)

GCSE Geography Revision

Key Exam Dates: Paper 1: Living with the physical environment 1h 30m 21 May 2019 pm Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment 1h 30m 05 June 2019 pm Paper 3: Geographical applications 1h 15m 13 June 2018 am

Banana Schedule commences with revision sessions

Unit Date Topics Covered

Wednesday 20 March Coasts

Tuesday 26 March Rivers

Tuesday 2 April Rivers

Easter Holidays

Unit Date Topics Covered

Paper 1

Tuesday 23 April Rivers

Tuesday 30 April Fieldwork/Paper 3

Paper 3

Tuesday 7 May Fieldwork/Paper 3

Wednesday 15 May Fieldwork/Paper 3

May Half Term

History GCSE Revision Monday Break 1 Exam Skills Support Miss Salter Wednesday Break 2 Content Support Miss Salter Thursday Break 2 Revision Support Mrs Peck

MONDAY After School - 3:15 to 4:00pm

Reminder – Use the PixL App

Date Focus Teacher

18 March How far Q- Elizabeth CSR

25 March Explain Q – Germany CPK

1 April How far Q- Medicine CRS

EASTER

29 April Narrative American West CPK

6 May Trenches USEFULNESS CSR

13 May How far Q- Germany CPK

20 May Explain Q Medicine CRS HALF TERM

REVISION DAYS 3 DAYS Times to be confirmed CRS

EXAMs… P1- TRENCHES AND MEDICINE 3 JUNE P2- AMERICAN WEST AND ELIZABETH 6 JUNE P3 – GERMANY 11 JUNE

History A Level Revision

CHANGE TO REVISION TOPICS 18th March Elizabeth Early years 25th March Elizabeth PLOTS etc 1st April Elizabeth Abroad and Armada CONTENT ONLY

GCSE Science Revision

Amended science revision timetable. All science revision sessions are held after school on a Wednesday, with the exception of sessions run by Miss Edward's. These dates are highlighted. Sessions run between 3:05 and 4:05, with the exception of sessions run by Mrs McKinlay, which will finish at 3:45. Rooming will be confirmed before the first session

Date Subject Topic Teacher

20/03/19 Physics Waves, light & lenses Mrs McKinlay

25/03/19 Biology Genetics and Reproduction Miss Edwards

03/04/19 Chemistry Rates of reaction and organic chemistry

Miss Zarzecka

EASTER HOLIDAY

24/03/19 Physics Electromagnetism & space Mr Lottering

01/05/19 Physics FINAL REVISION / REQUIRED PRACTICALS

Mrs McKinlay

09/05/19 Biology FINAL REVISION / REQUIRED PRACTICALS

Miss Edwards

14/05/19 Biology paper 1

15/05/19 Chemistry FINAL REVISION / REQUIRED PRACTICALS

Dr Haynes

16/05/19 Chemistry paper 1

22/05/19 Physics paper 1

07/06/19 Biology paper 2

12/06/19 Chemistry paper 2

14/06/19 Physics paper 2

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