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News from the Senior Department
Remembering to Remember
On Armistice Day we are asked to remember all the brave men and women who have fought in wars all over the world. The day itself is often called ‘Remembrance Day’: the word Remembrance meaning, the action of remembering something.
I am reminded of all of the things we ask our pupils to remember on a daily basis: revision; homework; their equipment for lessons; the timetable; music lessons; after school activities…
Our memory is a powerful tool and memories are important. It’s good to find ways to remember things that are important to other people, it helps us to build relationships with them. Remembering birthdays and anniversaries shows that we care. Remembering to ask someone about themselves or their interests can help make them feel valued.
We should also remember to take care of ourselves and our wellbeing. So, this weekend here is your list of things to remember:
- Remember to laugh
- Remember to share time with friends and family
- Remember to spend time in nature
- Remember to get enough sleep
- Remember to do some exercise
- Remember to relax!
On the subject of Remembrance, click here to listen to Reuben’s Top Form) moving rendition of The Last Post at today’s Armistice Day Assembly
Art Festive at Stowe
Five lucky Senior Department pupils were selected by Mrs Kelway-Bamber to be part of the Prep School Art Festival at Stowe on Wednesday.
They were treated to a jam-packed, Art-filled day. If you haven’t visited Stowe School before, then I highly recommend a visit if for no other reason than to admire the architecture. Leo, Otto, Isaac, Arisa and Sasha were awed from the moment we stepped foot in the grand entrance hall to when we left the extremely well-equipped Art Studio. There was even a unicorn next to the bathrooms and minibus sized golf carts to transport you around the campus!
The day was a celebration of the ocean and all aquatic life. We started by designing aquatic themed name badges whilst enjoying juice and chocolate croissants – it was hard to be entirely focused on the art work when sitting in a beautiful hall underneath an elaborate domed ceiling but we just about curtailed our excitement! We then made our way to the Art School alongside a variety of other Prep schools from around the country. During the first workshop, pupils made exotic sea creatures out of a huge array of recycled materials ranging from ping-pong balls to plastic takeaway cutlery to bubble wrap. After a delicious buffet lunch, they created a virtual reality ocean filled with fish, coral and sea grasses. It was an incredible experience to wear the VR glasses and explore the world they created. The pupils then made stencils of plant life and sea creatures ready to spray paint onto giant canvases. Finally, the pupils were taught how to etch on plastic and printed their own fish drawings. The day finished with an exhibition of all the artwork that had been created throughout the day as well as the announcement of the winner of the ‘Name Badge Competition’, which was won by our very own Isaac C with his jellyfish style name badge. What a brilliant end to a fun-filled, creative day.
Miss Mac
Quotes from the day
“I especially enjoyed the spray-painting task because we collaborated with each other from all the different schools. I made a mutant hammer-head fish and some coral!” Arisa T
“I liked the etching workshop as I learnt a new skill and I was really pleased with how it turned out. We had a piece of plastic and an image of a fish; we used an etching needle to trace the image and then added detail. We used a squeegee to apply ink to the plastic etching and then removed any excess blobs of ink with scrim. The plastic then went through a press with damp paper to transfer the image onto the paper. The artwork we created and the plastic etchings were then displayed.” Otto C
“I enjoyed the VR experience the most as it was a unique opportunity to express our creativity. We created a virtual, abstract scene of the ocean. I drew some seaweed and coral.” Isaac C
“I was so impressed with the ingenuity and composure of our pupils throughout this fantastic day. Thank you to Stowe for inviting us to be part of this wonderful experience.” Mrs KB
“I had a great day out with some of our Senior Department artists, it was wonderful to learn new skills alongside the pupils and be inspired by their creativity. They were very helpful, providing me with plenty of feedback throughout the day – even if I did receive many more ‘even better if’ suggestions, compared to ‘what went well’ comments!” Miss Mac
Here are some photos from the day:
From the Drama Department
Year 7 have been inspired by the puppetry in War Horse to create their own paper puppet people. Look at how brilliantly 7LD brought them to life!
Keeper of the Lost Cities – Stellarlune by Shannon Messenger