From the Headmistress
During the summer holidays the Times Educational Supplement (TES) produced a poster of the 100 things you should have done at school by the time you are sixteen. Whilst some points on the list are either dangerous or silly - for example, numbers 1 and 2 are fall asleep in class and fall off a chair whilst rocking it - some are amusing and most importantly some pose a challenge. For example, number 48 is experience the need to be resilient and number 16 to give a speech to an audience.
There are far too many excellent points on this list for me to mention here and it does highlight just how much being at school involves certain "rites of passage" and openings that if you don't experience them at school you will never try them. Acting in a play, voting in a school election, standing in a school election, representing the school in a team or competition are all wonderful opportunities that school offers. The sixth form offers even more of these chances to do something exciting and to have two more years of ticking the items off this list.
Number 83 is to do a tour for school visitors and I am eternally grateful to all those girls who have willingly given up their Saturday morning this week to show our guests just how brilliant PHS is at open day by taking them round the school, demonstrating a subject or playing a musical instrument. Who could fail to be impressed by our girls? They represent us so well and we are very proud of the young women they become and how they are enthusiastic and keen to participate in all that school life brings.
Mrs Jane Prescott
Headmistress
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Dear Parents
On Tuesday I attended the GDST sports rally in Northampton. There were girls playing netball and hockey from the senior school and the junior school participants were in the pool as part of the swimming gala alongside one hundred and fifty others.
These are events on a grand scale and the atmosphere is electric. Our girls performed very well but this is only one element of the value of the event. The camaraderie that was developed between different age groups is always wonderful to see. The younger generation look up to the seniors who make excellent role models, the whole group pulling together as a unit despite performing in different disciplines.
I was trying to think back to my own school days as to whether I attended sporting events that were quite as large. I attended hockey tournaments for county and some large athletics competitions but nothing quite on the scale of that which the GDST provide. This was then followed by a maths conference at Oxford University the following day and I am in the process of entering several of our girls’ work into the INVENT entrepreneurial competition based on their work this term. Our choir will be recording our entry into their event and we will look forward to our annual netball triangular against Oxford and Brighton in the spring.
Being part of the Trust gives the girls so many opportunities that would be very hard to accomplish otherwise and, as I plan for the junior GDST ski trip, I feel privileged to be able to offer them.
Paul Marshallsay
Headmaster of the Junior School
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Early Years' News
Nursery
This week, the Nursery children have been thinking about the sense of hearing and enjoyed taking part in activities listening to and differentiating between different sounds. Our Sound of the Week this week has been ‘t’, where the children have had fun buying things from the ‘t’ shop. We have been concentrating on recognising and writing number 3.
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Junior girls take part in STEM challenge
Following on from the success of the Year 5 and Year 6 Challenge Day, Portsmouth High School hosted a similar event for Year 3 and Year 4 from external primary schools this week.
In a STEM challenge, the girls were tasked to design, build and test a visitor attraction train for Southsea seafront which involved them in thinking, planning, constructing and presenting to a panel of external judges.
Girls from Gomer Junior School, Arundel Court Primary School, St Swithun's Catholic Primary School, Wimborne Junior School and Northern Parade Junior School joined teams from Portsmouth High School Junior School to take part in the challenge.
The girls were asked to design the visitor attraction train that would run on a test track and to create the travel company branding before presenting to the judges. The panel was made up of Mr Les Creak, Manager, Wärtsilä, a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets, and Mr David Hill, Technology Faculty Outreach Coordinator from the University of Portsmouth.
‘It has been a lot of fun,’ said India Shivjee, 7, from Portsmouth High School. ‘But it takes skill, creation and imagination.’
‘If you are not good at team work it just won’t work,’ added Imogen Wallace, 8.
‘What I love about this day,’ said Mr Willis, who accompanied Gomer Juniors, ‘is that the girls are just so inspired by the task that they just get on with the challenge and are immediately independent and so full of ideas. It is a wonderful opportunity for them.’
The winning team was Wimborne Junior School for their WJS team presentation and seafront visitor attraction train.
‘We have learnt a lot about balancing and making sure the train is balanced correctly to make it work,’ said Lottie Parker, 8, from Wimborne’s team WJS. ‘It’s all about business,’ added Ivy Sandys McCormack. ‘We have to charge money for the train ride but it will be stopping at an ice cream van on its way.’
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Dates for the Junior School Diary
Saturday 8 October
Whole school Open Morning 9.00am – 12.30pm.
Tuesday 11 October
Year 6 Internal Taster at Senior School.
Reception trip to Portsmouth City Museum.
Thursday 13 October
U9A, U9B Netball v HCS (A) 2.30pm – 5.00pm.
Friday 14 October
Celebration Assembly – Year 5.
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Girls' Day School Trust Young Leaders' Conference
The Head Girl Team travelled to Bath for the weekend, where along with Head Girls and Senior Prefects from across the GDST we took part in the GDST Young Leader’s Conference. We worked in teams with girls that we had never met before to create a mass fundraising event for The Microloan Foundation, Hope and Homes for Children, The Lily Foundation and HART. We had to undertake market research in Bath, create a promotional video and an eight minute presentation all in one day, which we were to present to everyone including the CEO of the GDST on the Sunday. We all feel incredibly lucky to have been given this amazing opportunity to meet other young leaders and develop our own leadership potential, and have all become very good friends with other girls from across the GDST.
Rosie Tredray
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Two girls make it into the finals of the GDST Bake-off
After an exciting bake-off on Tuesday, two girls have been selected to go into the semi-finals of the GDST bake-off next Friday 14 October. They are: Grace Waring and Ruby Newport Spiers both in Y9. Well done to all those who baked last weekend at home and for the six who baked in school on Tuesday. Their culinary skills were amazing and the judges, Mrs Prescott, Mrs Yeung and Mr Paget-Tomlinson had a difficult choice to decide on who to put forward for the semi-finals. Good luck Grace and Ruby.
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Flick Drummond MP gives top tips for any career
The senior girls were delighted to hear an inspiring talk from MP Flick Drummond this week who talked about her route to becoming an MP. She told the girls that resilience and determination were the key to her success. Being in parliament is a precarious job and developing a thick skin is vital. Flick Drummond’s three top tips for any successful career are to have determination, work hard and to learn from all your mistakes. When asked about ‘grit’ she said ‘you have to start realising that when people criticise you there is usually something behind what they are saying. You all need to develop an emotional understanding and don’t take everything personally'.
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A week of more sport successes
Last Thursday the Under 12s continued their success in the netball leagues with a 26-1 win over Mayville and the Under 14s drew 9 all. Players of the match were Emily Gibb and Tavie Laitt.
Last Saturday the Under 14s played Ryde at Hockey in the most torrential rain. Ryde were quick to score but our team never gave in and almost scored in the last, very soggy, few minutes of the game. Players of the match were Flo Nicholls and Hope Glew.
On Monday we travelled to Northampton to stop overnight ready for the big Trust Rally for Senior Hockey, Under 15 netball and Dovercourt swimming. The swimming races were very exciting and our girls competed well. Outside the weather was perfectly sunny and cool and the senior hockey girls played brilliantly against some very tough opposition. They beat Sheffield 1-0. The Under 15 netballers played 2 ¼ hours of netball and beat Northwood, Sydenham, Howells and Blackheath to finish 4th in the plate. Chloe Wildsmith the Goal Attack then travelled on to Guildford to trial for the Surrey Storm Under 16 netball squad which is an incredible achievement. What a fabulous day of sport!
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Dates for the Senior School Diary
Saturday 8 October
Whole school Open Morning 9.00am to 12.30pm.
Sunday 9 October
Chinese students: V&A Engineering the World 8.10am to 7.00pm.
Monday 10 October
Italy trip information evening 6.30 to 7.30pm.
Tuesday 11 October
U18 XI Hockey v HCS at HCS 3.30 to 6.45pm.
Year 11 Drama performance for parents 6.00 to 8.00pm.
Wednesday 12 October
Sixth Form Open Evening 6.00 to 8.00pm.
Thursday 13 October
U15 Hockey v Seaford at Seaford 3.30 to 6:45pm.
Yr 9 Able Linguists' Event 4.00 to 5.30pm.
Friday 14 October
GDST Bake off semi final.
PSA Quiz and Curry Night 6.30 to 9.30pm.
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