HOAC
On Wednesday 15th June Year 8 went on a trip to HOAC with DCGS. It was a very eventful and thrilling day. My two activities were raft building and high ropes. During raft building we learnt how to tie an Xfactor knot, the instructor showed us the knot once and then we were on our own. We all tried our hardest however failed miserably. Luckily Gabby had learnt to tie that knot before and knew exactly how to do it - she completed all eight knots!
We tied the barrels to the wooden logs and tested it out by lifting it up and then shaking it to see if it fell apart! Once we were happy with the results we placed it on the water to test it out. We had to race around the yellow buoy, ours fell apart half way through the race. When we got back to dry land we had to take it apart as quickly as possible and then sit in a circle and sing a song. Sadly we lost!
In the afternoon our activity was the high ropes. We had to race to the top of a selection of ropes, tyres and webs; a Jacob’s Ladder challenge and climbing to the top of a high tower. It was very scary because it was very wobbly and high up! The high tower was quite terrifying because we had to go even higher up and then four of us had to stand up on the platform at the top, which was also very unstable.
The Jacob’s Ladder was a great team building activity because we went up in groups of four and had to help each other get as high as possible within 3 minutes. It was a massive floating ladder made with wood logs, but the gaps in-between each log got bigger each time. We made it to the fourth level on the ladder. It was all pretty scary but it was definitely fun and rewarding in the end. By: Annemie Nuyts 8P and Anusha Rathod 8B
St Albans
Over the past couple of days, all of the Year 7 have been going on the fascinating school trip to St Albans. Everyone has had a lovely time and here are a few things that we did whilst we were there.
We went round the Cathedral and were told lots of history behind it. The tour guide told us that there were people who would come in the night and steal the gold that was on people’s tombs. This meant that they installed a watching post and the monks looked over the halls.
We had the opportunity to do some clay tiles and we each made up our own designs. This was super fun to do and the outcome was fantastic. We were able to take these clay tiles back to school but we have yet to paint them. (This is another thing to look forward to!)
After we had lunch we were told about pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. We realised that so much has changed since then and we were all given roles to play as pilgrims. We had elaborate costumes to put on and Mrs Callaghan was dressed as a nun! We had to decide what we were going to pray for when we were on our pilgrimage. Over all, the day was a lovely day out and all round, very interesting. It was fascinating to see how much we have adapted and also to learn lots about the past of St Albans. Sophie Armitage
Swimming
Congratulations to Olivia Lee who won gold for her age group 12yrs in 200m fly and silver in 100m fly at the regional swimming championships. http://www.getbucks.co.uk/sport/other-sport/sadie-sweeps-four-golds-chalfont-11442877 .
Geography Field Trip
On Friday 10th July, Year 10 set off on the long journey to Snowdonia for fieldwork purposes for our GCSE Geography Controlled Assessments. We stayed at Rhyd-y-creuau, a beautiful Geor-gian stone house, for the four days that we were in Wales. The food was excellent and we were mostly fortunate with the weather, we were occasionally caught out in a sudden downpour, but we were all pre-pared with our waterproofs so we managed to stay dry. There is, how-ever, only so much that waterproofs can do when you fall in the river! We visited three sites along the River Conwy to collect our data, all very different to the next, it was brilliant to get out and see the changes downstream. We also were lucky enough to take a hike through Cwm Idwal, a glaciated valley in the Glyderau range of mountains. This gave stunning views, especially when we all made it to the top! It was ex-hausting, but well worth the climb. On behalf of all the Year 10 Geogra-phers, I would like to say a huge thanks to all the teachers who joined us on the trip: Mrs Barnett, Mr Roe, Mrs Glenn, Mrs Grimsdale, and to Mrs Jones for organising the trip. Thank you for helping to make this an amazing experience that we will never forget. Alex Telford
Carnegie Book Club
Sometimes I can’t believe I get paid for this job! Tuesday afternoon saw around 40 girls from years 7-10 gathering in the library to debate the 8 books shortlisted for the 2016 CILIP Carnegie Medal, an award for teenage fiction. The discussion was frequently fierce and passionate but always considerate. All girls from whichever year group felt able to speak their mind and there was an acceptance of others’ ideas that was a pleasure to see. For the first time ever, once we had voted on our favourite we discovered that our joint favourite actually won the medal, announced the previous day. The winner was “One” by Sharon Crossan, a book written in verse which allows the reader to see life through the eyes of a conjoined twin. We all loved the unusual nature of the storyline and the way the writer made us think about the nature of disability and being different. Well done to all the girls who took part; the hours of reading and quality of debate were impressive. Huge thanks to Mrs White and Mrs Balasubramani who endlessly supported the girls with their multitudinous book swaps! Roll on next year, let’s see if we can agree two years in a row. Mrs Meredith.
The Courtyard Cafe
The Courtyard cafe has officailly been opened!
