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About St Mary’s

Headmistress’s Letter: 16 December 2004

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are reaching the end of a very successful but long and exhausting term. I know that all the girls and staff are looking forward to the holiday. The term starts for the pupils on Tuesday 11 January 2005.

I have had a particularly happy time recently meeting the new year 7s in their classrooms and hearing all about their families (and many pets!). I have also interviewed each member of year 11 individually about their sixth form options. It is wonderfully reassuring to see how poised and gracious the girls have become by year 11. It is a credit to you as parents and to the teaching staff.

Fun Run update

Mrs Meg Jackson informs me that the final total from the Fun Run now stands at just over £7,200. This is a new record! Thank you for your continuing support of the girls’ efforts. The cheques will be on their way to those we are supporting to arrive before Christmas.

PTA Christmas Fair

Another very successful event was the PTA Christmas Fair. We made a profit of just over £2,000. The Fair was packed with people, stalls and other activities. A big thank you to Mrs Helen Jackson (mother of Sophie and Emma) and her helpers who organised the Fair. We are also grateful to the support from the parents, staff and children from St Catherine’s at the Fair. In addition we raised a further £384 from the wrapping paper sales. Thank you to Mrs Jenkins (mother of Eloise) for organising this.

Presentation Evening

On Tuesday we enjoyed celebrating the academic achievements of last year’s year 11 and U6th with the presentation of their GCSE and A level certificates. The hall was full and the girls and parents were very proud. We enjoyed an informal evening with mince pies and mulled wine.

Cross–Country Championship

On 1 December a group of girls represented St Mary’s at the Cambridge and District Cross–Country Championship which was held at Wimpole Hall. All of the girls ran well. The following girls have been chosen to run at the next level of the championship which takes place in January: Cecilia Allen, Helen Mather, Charlotte Haines, Julia Slack, Harriet Arbuckle, Marie and Anna McHugh and Storm Baxter. Anna McHugh deserves a special mention because she was the overall winner of the year 7 race, beating some 100 girls.

IMPROVING COMMUNICATION: PLEASE READ

I am constantly looking for ways to improve communication between parents and the school and to make sure that we act quickly when there are any problems with your daughters. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of reacting quickly to any problems rather than letting them escalate. For this reason, I am going to make myself available from 8.45am to 9.15am each day to take calls or see parents without previous appointments. I know that you are aware that my diary fills up very rapidly and you are sometimes hesitant about contacting me — but I would like to make any concerns you have about your daughters a priority.

SAFETY ON DARK EVENINGS

Some concern has been expressed by parents and girls about the walk to the station from St Mary’s on dark evenings. Unfortunately we have had to warn the girls about one or two unsavoury characters who have been hanging around on this route. We would advise all girls to walk in groups. Girls who are walking to the 4.45pm train to Newmarket would be well advised to co–ordinate themselves into groups (which may mean attending homework club first). Mrs Lucie Smith (mother of Molly) would be happy to facilitate this. Her phone number is 01638 572820.

Christmas Festivities

We have enjoyed a splendid Boarders’ Christmas Dinner on Monday evening (followed by noisy party games!) and a fantastic Christmas Lunch yesterday. A big thank you to all the catering staff for their hard work and efforts this week and throughout the year. We are looking forward to the Carol Service tomorrow morning followed by the Sixth Form Revue.

May I take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Yours sincerely,

Jayne Triffitt
Headmistress