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About St Mary’s

Headmistress’s Letter: 26 May 2005

Dear Parents,

This is the time of the year when we say goodbye to the Upper Sixth and to some members of year 11 and wish them well in their public examinations. We had a wonderful Leavers’ Mass for year 11 last week which finished with a riotous chorus of Rise and Shine and lots of laughter and tears. Tomorrow we will celebrate with the leavers in the U6th.

Recent Events

The weekend before last we enjoyed two very different events. On the Friday evening, Alys and Helen Hale and Charlotte Murray organised a Rock Concert and raised over £500 for Breast Cancer Research. This was an enjoyable, well–supported and loud occasion! A big thank you to the parents who helped with this event. On Sunday 15 May at lunchtime, over 130 old girls and their guests got together for the Pastonians’ Reunion. This was a delightful occasion with two excellent speakers and a lovely lunch. One ex–member of staff returned who will be 100 years old in the autumn.

Prizegiving

This year our Annual Prizegiving will take place on Tuesday 5 July at 2pm. We are delighted that Anna Hemmings has agreed to give the speech and award the prizes. Anna, 28, is the UK’s leading female canoeist who dramatically broke into the top flight of the sport at the amazing age of just 20 when she won the gruelling 26 mile Marathon event at the 1997 European Championships. I hope that as many parents as possible will come.

Forthcoming Events

Our Annual Sports Day will take place on Friday 24 June at the University Sports Ground. This is always a very happy day, so please come and join us and support your daughter’s sporting endeavours. The following day on Saturday 25 June the PTA are holding their BBQ at 6pm and this will be followed by a Summer Jazz Concert at 7pm. Please come and enjoy both the food and the music.

Wicksteed Park

The Year 8 trip to Wicksteed Park on Saturday 14 May was a great success and was not only enjoyed by students but also by staff. 62 girls took part in the event. Rides particularly enjoyed by the girls were ‘The Pirate ship’ and ‘Nile barge’ as they were able to feel their stomachs floating in the air! The canoes were also enjoyed as it was very tranquil compared to the rest of the screaming park. The weather was beautiful and the group were able to picnic together on the grass.

After–school Arrangements

Please could I remind you that if students are leaving school at 4pm and returning to school for an extra–curricular activity which begins at 5pm we require written permission from their parents. We need to be clear who is responsible for your daughter at all times.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Isabel Edmundson in Year 10. It has recently come to our attention that Izzy represented Cambridgeshire at the National Pony Club Novice Championships held in Cheshire last August. 41 teams from selected Pony Clubs from all over the United Kingdom took part. Izzy and her 3 team–mates held their nerve in four nail–biting rounds to deliver stunning performances to claim the Championship title, beating the favourite male team from Ireland. Izzy can also take pride in that she was one of only two riders to have four clear rounds on the day. Well done!

Mathematical Challenges Success

Well done to all the girls who took part in this year’s Senior, Intermediate and Junior Mathematical Challenges. They gave record-breaking performances.

In the Senior Challenge — the Sixth Form leg of the competition — Jenny Ding scored a St Mary’s record–breaking mark and was invited to participate in Round 1 of the British Mathematical Olympiad. Other students who performed particularly well were Clarice Lau and Faye Huang, who achieved Gold awards, and the three year 11 girls: Joanne Hong, Jacqueline Robbins and Jenny Wang, who all achieved Bronze awards in spite of being much younger than the opposition.

Joanne Hong excelled in the Intermediate Challenge also, picking up the Best in School Award, a Gold Certificate and an invitation to the European Kangaroo for her record–breaking performance. Joanne becomes the first girl from St Mary’s to be awarded a Certificate of Merit in the European leg of the competition, beating stiff opposition from winners selected from thousands of schools across Europe. Other Gold Award winners are Fiona Blower, who scored the highest ever mark for a year 9 pupil from St Mary’s, Monica Cho, Hannah Somani, Hannah Frost, Polly Martin and Alessandra Lupski. Congratulations to the 40 year 7 and year 8 girls who achieved awards in the recent Junior Challenge. Best in school is Tina Wang. Tina achieves a Gold Certificate, together with Anita Lee, Gemma Stockbridge, Marie McHugh, Sarah Gashi, Olivia Edmondson and Megan Lee from year 8 and Sarah Claydon from year 7.

With very best wishes for a happy and restful half term,
Yours sincerely,

Jayne Triffitt
Headmistress