Composers’ Concert – Monday 27th June 2016
Monday evening’s concert provided us with the rare opportunity to celebrate the talent of our GCSE musicians as composers, as well as performers. With composition accounting for 30% of the final GCSE Music grade, it was wonderful to see the girls’ work come to life in live performance after many months of hearing it only on computer software. A tremendous amount of skill and musicianship was on display not only in the composition of these pieces but also in the direction of rehearsals and performances. The collaborative effort involved as girls supported and participated in one another’s pieces was a treat to witness and was a great reflection on their characters. Many congratulations to all the evening’s composers and huge thanks to the performers – GCSE and non-GCSE musicians alike!
Lunchtime Recital at Amersham Free Church – Tuesday 21st June 2016
We are always offered a warm welcome at Amersham Free Church and last week’s recital, our final one of this academic year, was no different. Tuesday’s concert featured newcomers to the series Amy Calderan (Year 9), Elea-nor Patterson (Year 9) and Mia Laycock (Year 12). Amy gave an exuberant debut performance on the bassoon and ‘cellist Eleanor proved that she’s as valuable a soloist as she is an orchestral musician. In preparation for her forthcoming Grade 8 flute exam, Mia performed beautifully before String Ensemble took to the stage to show their serious and cheeky sides in a performance of a Bach Suite followed by a quirky set of variations on The Teddy-Bears’ Picnic. Many congratulations to all our performers and thanks to Rev. Ian Green and all at Amersham Free Church for their kind support. We look forward to many more lunchtime recitals next academic year. Are you interested in performing at one of these recitals? If so, please speak to Miss Korzinek or Mrs Wood and we’ll gladly slot you into next year’s programme!
Help needed!
We are planning to run another Green Sustainability Day for our year 8 students on Wednesday 20th July. The day will offer a great choice of workshops run by teachers, 6th form students and YOU?! We are looking for enthusiastic workshop leaders who would like to work for an hour with a group of 10-15 girls. You can offer any type of workshop (practical, research, problem-solving, discussion, performing...) and any topic as long as it is linked to sustainability. The girls in previous years have really enjoyed the day and much appreciated all the efforts that work shop leaders had put in! If you are interested in becoming involved please email Mrs Carr on [email protected]
Barcelona – Creative Arts Trip
From the 22nd to 25th June, 44 girls from Year 9 went on an amazing trip to Barcelona, with Miss Korzinek, Mrs Wood, Mr Hartney and Mrs Stracey. It was (by far) the best trip we’ve ever been on! On the first day, we took a trip on a boat called ‘Las Golondrinas’ and took in the beautiful landscape and sea. In the evening, we arrived at our hotel in Calella and set up our rooms, before familiarising ourselves with the town (and watching a surprise dance that was being performed on a stage in the middle of Calella!) On day two, we went to the Picasso Museum to see his artwork – which was a great experience, as we could roam and sketch any-thing we wanted to. After lunch and a quick visit to ‘Las Ramblas’, the shop-ping street, we made our way to a magnificent cathedral, ‘La Sagrada Famil-ia’. The cathedral’s building commenced in 1882, and even today it still isn’t finished. However, it is a beautiful place and the stained glass windows were the most intricate designs we’d ever seen. We also went to a restaurant to eat dinner, which was a new experience for some of us. On the third day, we went on a cable car ride to Castell de Montjuïc. You could see the whole of Barcelona from the cable car, and some amazing photos were taken. In the castle, we moved around in groups and sat down in places of our choice to sketch. There were lots of interesting things to sketch – such as the views, pictures on the walls or even just the bricks in turrets. After lunch, we went to a dance studio and split into two groups to learn how to flamenco – which was a hilarious and fun experience. We went to the beach before going out to tapas again, because it was kindly arranged by a girl’s aunt who happens to live in Calella (thank you Leah!). On the final day, we got packed up and took the coach to Parc Guell, which is a beautiful place full of mosaics. We then went to have lunch and after that went to Maremagnus, a shopping centre. We later walked along the marina and sat down to watch a Spanish band play for us. It was a lovely last day.
The trip was absolutely amazing, and we’d like to say thank you so much to the teachers who went and organised it (Miss Korzinek, Mr Hartney, Mrs Wood and Mrs Stracey) because it was a great experience.
Iceland
On 24th June, over 60 girls from year 9 travelled to Iceland. We were shocked by the cold, icy wind as we got off the plane. When we ar-rived in Iceland we visited the hot springs. Next we went on coastal walk and we climbed up different parts of the cliffs despite the slippery and wet conditions. After that we went to the Blue Lagoon which was our highlight of the trip. The milky, blue, mineral water was heated by volcanic heat and we were able to use the silica mud masks around the lagoon on our faces. We were staying in the Viking Hotel on the outskirts of Reykjavik. At meal times we tried different food some of which we enjoyed. Also at the hotel we were able to use the hot tub one night and other nights we had the opportunity to go on a walk around the town. On the first day, we visited the cathedral in Reykjavik and City hall. Then we were able to explore the city and go to a variety of different shops. After lunch we went whale watching. We saw two minke whales and multiple dolphins within close proximity to the boat. On the final day, we went on the Golden Circle tour. First we visited the power station which uses volcanic activity to power the majority of electric-ity in Iceland. After that we visited two waterfalls- Gullfoss and a smaller one. We found them magnificent and were stunned by the scale and vol-ume of water. Next we visited the geysers which sprayed boiling water out of the ground every 2-10 minutes. Finally, we visited a national park in between the two tectonic plates - the Eurasian plate and the North Ameri-can plate. The plates move 2cm apart every year. On Monday morning we woke up early for our flight and arrived back at Challoner’s at 3:30. We would like to say thank you to Mrs Cross for organ-ising our trip and to Mr Roe, Miss De Alwis, Miss Gibson, Miss Franklin and Mrs Grimsdale for taking us on this trip. We all had a great time! By Esther Coomber and Tabatha White .
Congratulations to Sophie Armitage (7L)
Well done to Sophie who has raised over £600 doing a sponsored walk for the Thomas Ball Cancer Fund!
