Windsor Girls’ School

22 March 2019

Silver DofE ‘Last weekend, four groups of Year 11 students set off to achieve their Silver DofE practise expedition. With an early start of 6:00am every morning, each group put their camping skills to the test by cooking their breakfast on their trangia, before being up and out by 7:30am, aka the crack of dawn. The days consisted of climbing up mountains and down valleys, walking through local towns, waterfalls and even through a bull field. All whilst carrying all we needed to survive on our backs. The relief of getting back to camp was followed by a delicious meal cooked independently, whilst our teachers enjoyed a takeaway! As the evening grew dark, each of us enjoyed the hot showers before tucking in to our sleeping bags. Our group had a few disturbed sleeps, with a collapsed tent at 5:00am and a visit from a friendly

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Dear Parents and Carers We have had a good week at school and it has been pleasing to see so many students taking part in a wide range of activities. Last weekend, our Year 9 team took part in the Mock Magistrates Competition at Reading Crown Court. The team equipped themselves very well and took on some tough opposition to finish fourth, narrowly missing out on the final place in the regional finals. However, they have learned a great deal from the experience and have also developed vital skills of communication and are more confident as a result. Not to be outdone, the Silver Duke of Edinburgh participants were in action on the South Downs over the weekend, with a three day expedition and two nights camping. The conditions were, at times, difficult and students and staff showed fantastic team work and resilience as they battled through windy and wet weather on their routes. In school this week we were looking at County Lines through assemblies, and we were pleased to welcome PC Graham Slater who was able to explain the key issues to students in an accessible manner. If you have any questions about this please do get in contact. Our Aspiring High Group hosted a professional management consultant to share information about possible careers. The interactive session allowed students to participate in a mock share dealing activity which they really enjoyed. The Big Questions Club had their largest attendance of the year this week, it was so popular that we had to reschedule the room they were using. The visiting speaker spoke about forgiveness and shared a very personal story about the loss of the family member. We appreciate the sensitivity of this topic and students were touched by the information shared in the session. Next week, we have our next Community Week, focusing on well-being. There are a number of activities taking place during the week on this theme for students to get involved with. Mr P Griffiths and Mrs E O’Carroll Co-Headteachers Car Park Reminder Please drop students in the drop off lane, rather than entering the school car park. There have been some reports of cars driving quickly through the car park and there may be pedestrians at risk.

Windsor Girls’ School @WGSWindsorGirls

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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 The Debating Club are in involved in a competition this week. Rehearsals for the lower school production of ‘Billy the Kid’ continue this week.

Year 11 If there are any students who still have equipment from the expedition last week, please return it to Miss Castle. Drama practical examinations take place next week. MFL oral examinations take place next week. BTEC examinations will be taking place in lessons on Friday, 29 March. Letters regarding the Sixth Form have been sent home this week. If there are any concerns or changes to choices, please see Mrs Reed in the Sixth Form Office. Biology intervention, on Monday 25 March, will take place at Break 2 in L29, not after school.

The Creative Writing Club, Big Questions and Science Club continue this week. All students are welcome to attend. The cast of ‘Wind in the Willows’ have started rehearsing this week.

SIXTH FORM

Year 12 Subject Evening takes place on Tuesday, 26 March, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Students should be making appointments with their subject teachers. Year 12 will be hosting visiting speaker, Dr. Jon Day, writer, literary critic, and academic at Kings College London. Dr Day will be sharing information about his career to date. The talk is arranged in conjunction with Speakers4Schools, the organisation which aims to increase opportunities for state schools. A group of Sixth Form students will be attending a dinner at Eton College on Wednesday, 27 March, which is linked to the Feminist Society. The next stage of the Head Girl selection process continues next week.

YEAR 13 JOBS FOR THE WEEKEND Speak to your parents about Student Finance

Write your CV and investigate apprenticeships

Make sure you know when intervention sessions are taking place

Plan out a revision schedule

Silver DofE

lizard. However, we laughed it off a made it to the finish the following day. On the second day, the groups battled viscous wind leaving one of our team members drenched in mud. Through the wind all we heard was, "man down", however, she continued with a smile on her face in the true DofE spirit. From everyone on DofE, we would like to thank Mr Stevenson, Dr Haynes, Mr Sutton, Mr Andrews and Miss Castle, who gave up their weekends and encouraged us to the finish line!’ - Emily Helsby, Gracey Caller and Lily Rolfe, Year 11

On Thursday, the Year 12 Maths A level students attended a Maths Inspirational Lecture at the Hexagon Theatre in Reading. They found the talks thought provoking and really interesting. The speakers were as follows Aoife Hunt: The Shape of Escape Rob Eastaway: Puzzling Surprises James Grime: Codes, Security and the great Enigma

Year 12 Maths Inspiration

Silver DofE

On Thursday, we held our last combined Aspiring High session for Years 11 and 12, and we finished on a high. We were fortunate to have a professional management consultant give us a personalised training session for our group. He focused on ‘why would we want to leave our comfort zone’, but showed how we will never know what we can achieve unless we give it a go – resilience is key. He set us a challenge - investing money on a stock market, students being both analysts and fund managers, learning team work and leadership skills. Different announcements during the session meant that the students had to react and take this on board. It was fun, and the students were a credit to the school, achieving very positive results overall compared with other adult groups who sat the same task! ‘On Thursday, we welcomed Mr Adrian Brookes to our final Aspiring High session. He specialises in management consulting and allowed our group to take part in team building. Our aim was to work in five teams and compete in a stock exchange based challenge. It was really engaging and insightful to receive a little taster of how the stock exchange works. The winners even received sweets at the end, which was a bonus. Mr Brookes encouraged everyone to go outside of their comfort zone, which helped the Aspiring High Group bond as we got to share our ideas with one another. I found the overall experience very helpful and it offered a promising outlook for everyone's future career choice options.’ - Polina Vekchina, Year 11

Aspiring High

Mock Magistrates Competition

On Saturday, a group of Year 9 students took part in the Mock Magistrates Competition at Reading Crown Court. Our students were excellent and really made the school proud. One of the Magistrates said that competition was really fierce this year, and that Berkshire is the county entering the most schools (34 out of 55) in the country. Our team came a very respectable fourth which, unfortunately, means that we just missed out on making it through to the next round of the competition. ‘The Mock Magistrates competition was an amazing experience, we experienced the whole court room and procedures and it was all very realistic. Our team was very good and going against other teams really made the experience that little bit better. Having the proper, experienced Magistrates and judges there was very daunting, however, it made the team push that little bit harder, and to have a chance to talk to all of them was really inspiring. I found this experience unforgettable and it was something I would have never seen myself usually doing, but I’m very glad to have done it and I would encourage all others to take that chance of doing something new.’ Issy Spencer, Year 9 ‘I also wanted to let you know how impressed I was by the pupils’ performance on Saturday at the Reading Crown Court. I think this is a fantastic opportunity for them to be able to experience public speaking, and all the skills they have learnt at this early age.’ - Mrs Southgate, Parent

Science Club The Science Club this week welcomed our keen and regularly attending young scientists who were building their own molecule models. We had a variety of molecules built: small, large, flat, rings, long, layered, made with two or more types of atoms. The second part of the Science Club was a distillation process where we managed to recover clean water from a cloudy and murky mixture. Well done! Curious to see what next week's Science Club will bring? All years welcome on Thursdays, in Lab 31, at break 2. - Ms Zarzecka

Big Questions

On Wednesday, Mrs Parsons kindly came to speak about forgiveness and her family's response to a tragic murder of her uncle. Lots of students came to hear her story of the need to forgive, influenced by her faith.

- Mrs Jenkins ‘I enjoyed Big Questions yesterday and it was great to see so many people there. It was very moving to hear about Mrs Parsons‘ story and I found it inspirational that she felt she could come and talk to us about it despite how hard it must have been for her. Mrs Parsons‘ story brought into perspective that anyone can be a effected by knife crime, no matter what your background or area you live in; it really can happen to anyone. I was inspired by the fact that even though someone had completely torn her family's life apart, she still decided to forgive them, which is something I would love to takeaway and see in myself one day. And thank you as ever to Mrs Jenkins for organising these get togethers, and to her and her mum for supplying us with lovely cakes and brownies! - Tallulah Gregory, Year 9

Information for Year 12 & 13

Term 4 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 Practise Expedition 27-30 April Catering: Chateau du Molay 10-13 May Geography: Slapton Sands, Year 12 11-12 May DofE: Bronze Practise 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

Upcoming Events

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.

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:

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.

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

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

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

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

Monday, 25 March, Biology Revision Session Break 2, in L29.

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