25 June 2021

Dear Parents

What a wonderful week this has been! My first experience of a Channing Enrichment Week,and it has been a joy: the range of activities going on is quite remarkable and I love howeveryone has thrown themselves into them. Highlights have included self-defence classes forlots of year groups, the Careers Convention, Year 12’s community service morning, Year 10’strip to Thorpe Park today and, of course, Year 9’s first experience of the Duke of Edinburgh’sAward. My day out with them on Wednesday was most enjoyable (shout out to Team Are WeThere Yet? for being such excellent company) and it was great to see everyone learning somuch, both in practical navigation skills and also in team work. My thanks to all the staff whoinvest so much time and energy in organising and accompanying all these activities and events:they truly do enrich the lives of our students, underscoring that education does not just happenin a classroom. You can see much more in the following section about what has been going on.

This week has also been the last week in school for Year 13 and Year 11. On Tuesday we wereable to bid farewell to Year 13 in our traditional, if somewhat belated, Leavers’ Assembly whichwas streamed to the rest of the school from the Sports Hall. As I said then, this wassimultaneously a day of sadness as we said goodbye to them but also one of joy, as we shared intheir excitement about stepping out into an exciting future. This week I wanted to share withyou the text of the speech I made to them, which I hope you might find interesting.

‘In thinking about what words of wisdom I might share with you today, I was reminded of a clip Isaw a while ago of an American business school professor, Scott Galloway, discussing his bookThe Algebra of Happiness in an interview. In it, he talked about the people who are invited tospeak at business schools - motivational speakers brought in as role models for the students(you know the sort of thing) who are usually, as he put it, ‘billionaires who are automaticallyexpected to have some kind of insight about life’ - who in his view then give some of the worstpossible advice to young people: ‘follow your passion’. He goes on to say:

“If someone tells you to follow your passion, it means they’re already rich... This is your job:your job is to find something you’re good at and then spend the thousands of hours and applythe grit and the perseverance and the sacrifice and the willingness to break through hard thingsto become great at it. Because, once you’re great at something, the economic accoutrementsof being great at something, the prestige, the relevance, the camaraderie, the self-worth ofbeing great will make you passionate about whatever it is... And here’s the problem withbelieving you should follow your passion. Work is hard, and when you face injustice, which is aguaranteed attribute of the workplace, you’ll start thinking ‘I’m not loving this. This is upsettingand hard. It must not be my passion.’ That is not the right litmus test.”

And I agree with him - not least because I know that some of you will be thinking ‘but I don’thave a passion’ - and let me reassure you, nor did I (nor indeed do a lot of people) at 18. Ienjoyed studying history, enough to want to do a degree in it, I liked reading and playing mybassoon in the orchestra and spending time with my friends, but beyond that I was still a blankpage and keen to find out what else was out there in the world that I might find interesting.

Of course I know that your endeavours to do just that have been thwarted by Covid-19 and Iam so very sad for you that your final year at school has been somewhat curtailed. Restassured that your time will come, and with it will come all the excitement of learning moreabout yourself and about the world around you, alongside your university or college studies -and with that, most likely, will come a job you enjoy and become skilled at over time.

Professor Galloway was right, too, when he said that work is hard. It’s true of life in general,not just work. There are undoubtedly going to be times where you struggle with it - and thoseare the times when the values in which you were grounded at Channing will stand you in goodstead. We all know Matilda Sharpe’s maxim, ‘Never forget, life expects much of you and me’.Depending on the mood you’re in, that can be as much an admonishment as an encouragement.Don’t be weighed down by it, though - because you are well equipped to take life on, whateverit may throw at you.

I have talked a number of times this year about the Channing Promise and my belief that itscentral tenets of kindness, respect and tolerance should be values for all times in our lives, notjust those moments spent in school. I hope that you will take them with you too. EdmundBurke wrote, ‘All that is necessary for the victory of evil is that good men [although probablynow he’d say ‘people’] do nothing’. You, Year 13, are very special. You have the ability, and withit the responsibility, to act rather than to abdicate. You have shown that repeatedly during yourtime at school and, among other things, I hope you will be proud to know that the work of theDiversity, Equality and Inclusion Steering Group is a lasting legacy at Channing of your advocacyand activism in the wake of the Black Lives Matter moment last summer. That is somethingreally very wonderful. Indeed, I have now been given a copy of the Group’s report, with its 40recommendations, and now we can start thinking about how to implement them. Watch thisspace!

You may also have heard the quotation, ‘Of those to whom much is given, much is required’.It’s a verse from the Bible (the gospel according to Luke, in fact) but you are much more likelyto have heard it in the context of the speech from which it came in 1961, and part of which Iwanted to share with you now. This was President-Elect John F Kennedy speaking at the StateHouse in Boston just two weeks before his inauguration:

“For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the highcourt of history sits in judgment on each one of us - recording whether in our brief span ofservice we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state - our success or failure, in whatever officewe may hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:

First, were we truly people of courage - with the courage to stand up to one's enemies - andthe courage to stand up, when necessary, to one's associates - the courage to resist publicpressure, as well as private greed?

Secondly, were we truly people of judgment - with perceptive judgment of the future as well asthe past - of our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others - with enough wisdom to knowthat we did not know, and enough candor to admit it?

Third, were we truly people of integrity - people who never ran out on either the principles inwhich they believed or the people who believed in them - people who believed in us - peoplewhom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of oursacred trust?

Finally, were we truly people of dedication - with an honour mortgaged to no single individualor group, and compromised by no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving thepublic good and the national interest.”

I think this is a fine set of objectives, which sit beautifully alongside the Channing Promise andMatilda Sharpe’s exhortation. As you head into the world we wish for you a future in whichyou can demonstrate courage, judgement, integrity and dedication. You go with our love andbest wishes: good luck.’

Finally this week, as you will already know from the letter sent out earlier today, we have sadlyhad two positive cases of Covid in school in the last two days. We have all worked so hardtogether over the course of this year to keep the school community safe and well, and it is clearthat we must all redouble our efforts to maintain the hygiene and social distancing measuresrequired by the Government guidelines.

In light of the recent cases in school please note two important things:

1) We have made the decision to revert to the wearing of masks in classrooms and whenmoving about the school inside buildings from Monday 28 June until the end of term.Please ensure that your child has a mask with them when they come to school onMonday.

2) Please continue to take twice weekly lateral flow tests, ideally on Sundays andWednesdays. Your child should already have a supply of these and more are available inschool if they need more.

For now, let me wish you all a very happy and relaxing weekend.

Lindsey HughesHeadmistress

The Week Ahead

Monday 28 June 202112:45 Year 8 HPV VaccinationTuesday 29 June 202115:30 Years 7, 8 & 9 Tennis Fixture, Away vs Highgate SchoolWednesday 30 June 202108:50 Verulamium Museum, St Albans: Year 7 Latin Trip20:00 Virtual Alumnae ReunionThursday 1 July 2021No EventsFriday 2 July 202114:00 Senior School Founders' Day ServiceSunday 4 July 2021Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh Award Silver Assessment - South Downs

Forthcoming Events

Cabinet of Curiosities: ExhibitionThis weekend is your last chance to catch the Cabinet of Curiosities Exhibition at LauderdaleHouse as part of the Highgate Festival. The Exhibition includes work from 70 Year 10 studentsfrom both Channing and Parliament Hill Schools. Find out more here:https://highgatefestival.org/event/cabinet-of-curiosities-exhibition/Cabinet of Curiosity Info Pack

Girls Enjoying Success

Congratulations to Emily Kamata in Year 12, whose entry to the New College of theHumanities' London essay competition has been shortlisted. The title of Emily's essay is avery timely one - 'Is democracy experiencing a worldwide setback?'. The competitionattracted more than 6000 entrants, so we are very proud of Emily. The winner will beannounced at the end of this month.

Congratulations to Talia Nabarro in Year 12 who has just gained a high distinction forher grade 8 Violin examination - well done, Talia!

Drama News

Year 10On Wednesday 16th June, Year 10 GCSE Drama students completed their Component 2examination performance of 'DNA' by Dennis Kelly. The play focuses on a group ofteenagers, who are involved in a tragic, but complicated accident. When they realise theirmistake, they try to cover up the crime but inadvertently implicate an innocent man. Thecohort performed the play in 4 acts, spread across 4 locations; a street, a field and a

wood. The lighting was ably designed by Daria Gurevich and accompanied a promenadeset design by Frances Taylor.

The acting students had the challenge of playing multiple roles, which stretched theirabilities to create key mannerisms and vocal choices to signify each character that wasshared amongst a number of performers. The production was keenly supported by bothYear 10 students and tutors, with some stand out performances from Summer Ginvertand Erin Levinson.

Year 12In the Arundel Centre this week, Year 12 Drama and Theatre Studies students performedan extract from 'Mary Shelley' by Helen Edmuson. Lucie Belhomme, Sasha Finlay andNura Bentata (pictured) presented scenes from the play that focuses on the protagonistMary (daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft) as she explores the possibilities of a life livedin-line with the principles of Romanticism.

In 1818, Mary's novel 'Frankenstein' was published and her marriage to poet Percy ByssheShelley was not without controversy. However, this interpretation focuses on a youngerMary, her relationship with her sisters and the unique dynamic between the threewomen. Using the physical theatre approach popularised by theatre company SharedExperience, the students wove text and movement together to create a moving andmemorable piece.

Art News: Year 13 Exhibition

The end of year exhibition was a highlight of the school year with ashowcase style exhibition in the Ark Gallery, where students havecurated and selected a sample of their definitive works. Withcreative, challenging, diverse and individual work on display, eachstudent demonstrated individual and original responses. Theseexhibitions are always exciting and this year the attempt was tocreate a professional exhibition to showcase and celebrate thestudents’ talents. Ambitious, and idiosyncratic work demonstratedthe student’s individuality and artistic maturity, each demonstratingindividual and original responses. These exhibitions are alwayssignificant for the department and this year the attempt was tocreate a beacon in what has been a challenging year. The sociallydistanced private view evening was especially well attended andcomments attested to the brilliance of the students’ visualachievements.

To see the virtual exhibition and to follow us on Instagram click the link below:https://www.instagram.com/channing_art_london.

Summer Concert

Last Thursday, the Music School spent the afternoon in the Arundel Centre filming theperformances of 14 ensembles for our Summer Concert. It is testament to the enthusiasm ofstaff and pupils that in spite of the huge restrictions on our ability to make music we have beenable to film this concert. A very big thank you to all those involved, Ms Nadia Myerscough, MrsHattie Jolly, Mr Theo Travis, Mr Patrick Dodds, Miss Jenny Bacon, Miss Pepper, Miss Zanardo,Mr Subramaniam and Mr Maliphant-Gray for all their work in making this possible, and ofcourse our wonderfully talented pupils!

Here is the programme programme - we hope you enjoy the concert!https://vimeo.com/565498248/012ab0e8a1

Music at Teatime

The final Music at Tea time this term was always going to be full of mixed emotions; celebratory,glad, and immensely proud that we have continued to provide an opportunity and platform forlive music making for our students despite everything that has been thrown at us all, amazed atthe rich and diverse talents that have been on show and relief that the end of term is withinsight and we might, just might, be able to resume music making as we wish. With stringers andsingers commanding our attention- what a showstopper this concert proved to be-if you aregoing to go out with a bang, this is the way to do it!

Anya Jain (Violin) began with a very aptly titled and lyrical ‘Sometime Maybe’ by P Wedgewood.Yasmin Byng (Violin) charmed and enthralled with Movements 4, 5 & 6 from 6 Romanian FolkDances by Bartok. Elizabeth Shepherd (Violin) proved yet again what a truly innate, intuitive

musician she is. Full of technical prowess, she lets the music do the talking. Her performance ofthe 1st movement of the D major Concerto by Mozart left us speechless and desperate for therest.

It was left to 6 singers, Julia Conti-Gemes, Lara Dailey, Lucy Narunsky, Melissa Redman,(whoever suggested that Year 13 have left, doesn't know Channing Students!!) along with KimiCoetzee and Anushka Dimitrov resplendent in crowns and jewels to perform Six Songs from‘Six:The Musical’. With knockout staging and fabulous lighting -Thank you Hannah! - theyliterally brought the house down and provided a magnificent finale to the final concert of theterm. Thank you for listening, we do hope our weekly offerings have provided some light reliefand brought a smile to your face. Our students definitely have to ours.

See you next year! Because of the visual presentation of 'Six' we filmed the concert so doWATCH HERE.

History News

Last week, Year 11 accompanied the History department on a tour of Whitechapel to uncoverthe truth about the 5 victims of Jack the Ripper. Organised by Beyond the Streets, a charity thathelps women currently living in poverty in England, the tour explored the lives of each of thewomen killed in 1888, as well as exploring the issues women involved in prostitution face inTower Hamlets today. Our students were praised highly for their engagement, and we hope leftthe tour with a new perspective on the lives of women both in 1888 and today.

Spanish News

On Monday, as part of our Enrichment Week, Year 9 Hispanists attended a virtual event aboutthe working languages of the World Health Organisation and some of their global objectives. Ingroups, they created a short storybook on one of the following topics:

● Why it’s important to drink clean water● Being careful of dogs who may have rabies● How to be careful on the road● Why it’s important to have vaccinations

The girls found this interesting and it was great to see them being creative while using Spanish!

Congratulations to Echo Braden, Ella Brown, Lotte Crane, Jessica Ezro, Georgia Grossman andElsie Isaac on winning the competition, as chosen by our guest judges. They won some Peruvianchocolate.

Here is a link to their storybook, which is their own work without any corrections made.

Duke of Edinburgh News

Year 9 have successfully enjoyed their practice Bronze DofE trip in the sunshine thisWednesday!

The staff enjoyed it too…

The year group are currently experiencing what Box Hill has to offer. This is the first residentialtrip that the Senior School has completed since the start of COVID-19 and we cannot wait tohear how it goes for them.

Sixth Form NewsThis week was Enrichment week with Year 12 undertaking a series of exciting and enrichingactivities.

Monday: Year 11 and 12 Bonding DayThe decision to delay the ending of restrictions meant this event could not go ahead as plannedbut the girls still had a fantastic day. In the morning, in spite of the rain, the girls undertook aseries of team challenges before taking part in a whole year group 'pass the baton' challengedown at Stanhope Road. In the afternoon they were treated to the leavers fun they missed outon last summer with Bouncy castles, candy floss and music!

TuesdayTuesday saw a morning of UCAS preparation and then in the afternoon a Networking Eventorganised by the Careers department for Year 12 with 19 alumni beamed in from theirUniversities and workplaces throughout the UK, from Edinburgh to Exeter making it a trulynational event. An informal opportunity to chat with former Channing girls online aboutuniversity life, their degree choices and how these impact career prospects. With huge thanksto all our alumni who received the call to arms and gave some very constructive and informedadvice to Year 12.

Wednesday: Year 12 Community Service Day

On Wednesday Year 12 spent a day engaged in various activities both in and out of school.These included working with Judith Hibbert our Catering Manager who is a member of ateam campiagning to bring a Museum of Slavery and Freedom to Deptford (more details here:https://www.mosaf.org.uk/ ) and supporting students at Brookfield Primary School.

The Sustainability Team led by Ms Devine and the Sustainability Officers went out litterpicking in Highgate while Yuki, Hanna and Yidi worked at Lauderdale House with DirectorKatherine Ives to help them prepare for the relaunch of some of their outreach artprogrammes in September.

And finally the Year Group Officer teams went to support Years7, 8 and 10 during their Enrichment activities.

ThursdayStudents were given the chance to attend a series of onlinediscussions with professionals from a broad range of industriesculminating in panel discussions in the afternoon.

Year 11 News: Springboard

The Year 11 SpringBoard programme sadly came to anend this week as we said farewell to our Year 11s with adelicious BBQ. The continuation of COVID restrictionsmeant that we had to run a number of our activities in adifferent way. Some of the highlights included a trip toThorpe Park on what seemed like the hottest day so farthis year. They had a day of team bonding with thecurrent Year 12s and a fun fair afterwards. Year 11 alsoenjoyed self defence classes and found them mostvaluable. The independent film making course allowedYear 11 to learn skills such as camera angles, editing,creating sound effects and storytelling. They had to work together in their small productionteams to produce a two minute silent movie. The movies were most entertaining to watch.Congratulations to “Sunglasses” which won Best Picture, Barbara Parente who won Best Actorand the Best Soundtrack went to “Obsession”.

Other highlights included the A Level subject preparatory sessions and in particular the“Trading Game” where the Economics and Geography Year 13 students planned an exciting andstimulating educational game for Year 11 students. Year 11 economists and geographers formeda number of countries and they had to produce goods to trade with. Year 13 created somerealistic scenarios that Year 11 students had to cope with. A lot of educational fun was had byall.

Careers News

Enrichment Week brought multiple opportunities for students to gain experience, informationand guidance relating to their futures.

On Tuesday, Year 6 students learnt about the differencebetween a barrister and a solicitor and the routes intolegal careers. They impressed Ms Pavlopoulos with theirideas about the skills required to be a lawyer, honing inon attention to detail and acknowledging that theyalready use negotiating skills at home!

Wednesday was Year 7 and 8’s Careers Day. All studentsparticipated in the National Enterprise Challenge,designing an innovative new product which repurposesAir Products gas storage cylinders. Our excitedwould-be inventors, entrepreneurs, engineers and

marketeers learnt the importance of teamwork in creating a product, working out thecosts/pricing and preparing the advertising in a single day. Congratulations to Team Persephoneand Team Ninjas who go forward to represent Channing in the UK National EnterpriseChallenge Finals next week.

The pinnacle of the week was the annual Careers Convention for Years 10 - 13. Experts in abroad range of careers spoke about their work and answered students’ questions. As well asrepresentatives of the traditional professions, students heard from the CEO of Banijay UK, theHead of Creative Strategy at Google, the Management of the Derivatives Services Bureau, theEditor of the Observer Magazine and the winner of the Sewing Bee (who holds a PhD in thecell biology of osteoporosis). In the afternoon, after a short talk on entrepreneurship by DrAnna Grosman, a panel of Entrepreneurs with products ranging from tech solutions to a Greekrestaurant and healthy fizzy drinks provided students with the chance to quiz them on the highsand lows of life as an entrepreneur. Student feedback indicates that the event was instrumentalin helping individual students decide what pathways to pursue and, equally important, whatmight not be for them. Many thanks to all the alumnae, parents and friends of Channing whogave up their time to participate in this.

News from the Junior School

Please see our social media accounts to keep up to date with what’s going on at Fairseat.Follow us on: Channing Instagram Account , Channing Twitter Account , Channing FacebookAccount and Miss_Dina_Hamalis Instagram Account .

Teaching & Learning News

As a part of Enrichment Week Year 12 took part in a session delivered by Inner Drive called‘Studying With The Brain in Mind’. Topics covered included:

● Multi-tasking○ Why multitasking is so hard and how to be efficient and effective with your time.

● Memory○ The brain’s limitations when remembering lots of information and how to

improve memory: writing, simplifying, chunking, acronyms.

● Sleep○ Why teenagers struggle to get enough sleep. The psychological consequences of

not getting enough sleep and how to avoid 9 common sleeping mistakes● Organisation

○ The conscious brain has a limited amount of mental energy. How to avoidprocrastination

● Managing stress○ How to manage and handle stressful situations

Channing Archives

Channing has always encouraged physical education and a healthy sprinkling of friendlysports-person-ship. Step aside Wimbledon, Channing tennis talent is on the court!

First Tennis Team - 1949 Staff Tennis Team - 1949