South Newsletter Michaelmas 2012 Mrs Frett’s Column Hi Southies and relations, is it me or has this term whizzed by so that even though September seems an age ago it feels like yesterday that I was grinning at nervous 4th Formers, reassuring them that they had indeed chosen the best house! With my superb team of Greeny G, (her humour- (usually at my expense!), energy and passion are unique) Miss Sturdee (whose enthusiasm for cupcakes and pedicures is unmatched), matrons (I hope you have all met our new matron, Kim who makes an awesome team with Claire) and tutors of course not forgetting my stalwart prefects (led by Imara and Ellie S- thank you for your patience, endless humour and ability to keep your housemistress calm)- how we could not be! So what has been happening in South this term? I have logged that the juniors have clocked up over 70 credits in 7 school working days! Mocks, progress tests and modules have been occupying the girls’ thoughts but instead of hysteria and blind panic, there has been an atmosphere of calm. Sport has dominated the extracurricular activities. Southies are well represented in the U14A, U16A and U18A hockey teams who have triumphed in every tournament they have been involved with putting Cranleigh on the National Schools’ hockey map and punching well above their weight. The same can be said for the riding teams who were outstanding in the Nationals. Netball, lacrosse, swimming have also taken up the girls’ time and energies. We thrashed West at house fives and football and were gracious in our defeat at squash. Music and drama have been unsurprisingly massive this term and we have some outstanding musicians and actresses. As you know, my mantra is ‘work hard; play hard’ and of course we have socials galore. My thanks to the superb 4th Form prefects for hosting a pajama party for 4th Form Southies and Westies. We have had culinary, quiz, pampering evenings and as always, our matrons have gone to extremes to ensure the hot chocolate and treats flow. Happy Christmas, God bless and see you in January. Mrs Frett x
Frodo... Merry Christmas everyone and woof, woof to one and all. Surprisingly, it’s been a lovely term, although it could be because I’m sleeping a lot more. One particular U6th has been nice to me for the first time ever (I’m sure it has nothing to do with being bribed by Mrs Frett- it only took 3 Krispie Kremes!) and the new 4th Form are lovely. Lots of you have taken me for lovely walks and I am so grateful, although please don’t expect me to run the whole time- I’m old and there are far too many interesting smells. I hope you have lots of treats at Christmas. I’ve asked Santa for a huge bone, 4 apples, a squeaky toy, a new bed- but knowing the Frett family, I’ll be lucky if I get a biscuit and a bowl of water. See you in January.
This newsletter was compiled by Anna Forrester, Lara Hobson and Isie Marcar.
Matrons Corner
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NEW KID ON THE BLOCK! When Matey wasn’t able to come into South during the Easter term we were very grateful to Mrs Griffiths and Kim who helped Claire to hold the fort. None of us would have thought then that Kim would be tempted to leave High Upfold, Loveday, and take up permanent residence in South! Kim’s first experiences of South were the ‘pinkness’ of it all and the rather luscious smells that pervade the air in contrast to High Upfold!! The only down side Kim can think of is the sewing expectations – she’s flattered by the skill the girls believe Matron has to deal with yet another ripped seam or hem!! All in all Kim has been welcomed with love and warmth by all the Southies and she’s happily transferred her allegiance! Claire and Kim wish all of you a happy time with your families over the Christmas break and all the best for the New Year.
From the House Captain... My first duty as House Captain was to give South House a little ‘makeover.’ I don’t know if any of you noticed the pristine notice boards and boarders, all the photographs and bulletins. I feel proud to be a part of a house so full of events and responsibilities. Everyone should be so pleased with how far they have come this term. The Fourth Form who have already fitted into our family, getting ready for the morning without leaving their beds. The Lower Fifth, moving up a step in the school community, writing Christmas poems about “croissant Tuesdays”. The Upper Fifth, dealing with pressures of GCSEs and running around the house in only their towels. The Lower Sixth, getting cosy in the common room and enjoying the pleasures of in house break-y. Finally the Upper Sixth, the ones who keep everything altogether, without them nothing would happen in South. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope that you all have a fantastic holiday! Imara Gluning
Music A huge congratulations should go to all those who played in the Helen Wareham Competitions this term. We did splendidly well in both the Woodwind and Piano! Helen Wareham Piano Competition. Junior- Olivia Chesser (1st), Fayruz Megdiche (2nd). Great performances by Soyoung Choi and Soo Choi Senior- well done to Terri Yoon and Ellie Morgan. Woodwind Helen Wareham- Junior- Ellen Talbot (1st), Fayruz (2nd) but well done to Emily Hill, Ellie Williamson. Senior- great performances by Hattie Allison, Hannah Lock and Ellie Morgan.
L5th Social with East In the middle of the this term, we had the great privilege of being joined by East in our middle common-room for a L5th Social and what could be better than a giant QUIZ! We were set four different tasks to do in twenty minutes: To build a building out of just newspaper, tape and paper clips (not as easy as it sounds!), complete the quizzes, guess the song (only from a few lyrics), guess the brand logos and guess the quiz theme. Overall, it was a great evening for everyone, and even Mrs Frett seemed to enjoy it, even though she had teenage boys rampaging round the place, with faces full of crisps!
4th Form Cross Country
Sport House Fives All teams played exceptionally well leading us to victory for the first time in three years. Everyone who took part gave their all and gave West a run for their money. Our team was Ellie Sutherland, Bea Stephenson, Cecile Zoet, Phoebe Bagge, Poppy Bathurst, Rosie Mundy, Livy Walliker, Livy Hartley, Poppy Glaister, Olivia Chesser, Sasha Faure and Amy Slade.
Once again our 4th form took to the roads for their first cross country race – ours girls did amazingly with 4 out of the top 5 runners being south girls (Congratulations to Ellen Talbot, Amy Mitchell, Emily Thornton-Wood and Laura Pollard for that) and this meant we won overall with 382 points to 442!
Thanks too go to the Southies who played in house squash! We didn't win, but the effort put it shows South had the most House spirit!
House Hockey Two teams from each age group contested for the house cups – South won the Senior Cup with 2 very emphatic victories, but unfortunately we came second in the Junior Competition. The mixed age group teams played a round robin competition for the Stonesett trophy, which unfortunately we did not win - it’s a good job really as the trophy is so big it would not fit in our trophy cabinet!!!
6th Form Football A superbly drilled Upper 6th team took to the field earlier this term to take on West in the first of 2 house football matches. South (sporting Mrs Frett and Frodo masks) dominated the game, scoring the goal which won the match just before halftime, and Miss Greenwood’s skills in goal were never put to the test!
Drama The school play this term saw three of our girls treading the boards in the production of Rhinoceros. Kimi Zoet, Cecile Zoet and Phoebe Bagge all gave incredible performances as their respective parts (and who can forget Phoebe jumping down some destroyed stairs to ride away on her rhinoceros husband!). Bring on the South Play next term!
TGI Wednesdays Here are some ‘nibbles’ of what Miss Sturdee has got up to with different yeargroups this term! 4th Form Pedicures: “It was an epic girls’ night in.” L5th Hand massage evening: “It was da bomb!” U5th Charades evening: “It was a night of unspeakable fun!” L6th Cupcakes evening: “It was like a little slice of heaven that no-one could resist!” U6th Cheese & wine tasting: “It was a stinking success.”
4th Form Teambuilding Weekend Teambuilding on the first weekend of term involved swimming activities, raft building, ping pong challenges, attempting (and often failing) to get across South lawn with only some barrels and planks of wood! It was so much fun, and a really good way to meet all the other houses and make new friends!
House Performance Evening On Wednesday 26th September, the famous annual House Performance took place. All the performers were so amazing to watch and clearly well rehearsed, both the dances and partsongs (Wayfering Stranger/ We found Love for East and OMG/... for Cubitt – well done to Ellie and Noosh for helping arrange the pieces). Even though South didn’t win, they were brilliant nonetheless. We can’t wait for next year!
Academic House Challenge It was South vs East in sadly the first and only round this term. The team was Poppy Glaister, Beth Andrews, Maisie La Costa and Jemima Young. We had a promising start—winning when the first scores were announced, but before half time the boys were in the lead by a substantial way. We continued to keep a steady flow of points coming in with our fingers poised on the button, but the boys were just that bit faster, winning more points and eventually won the round, meaning we were out of the running for the Final.
House Public Speaking Junior: The team consisted of Bella Trouerbach (chairperson), Maddie Lock (main speaker) and Abi Lord (proposer of the vote of thanks). The topic chosen was “Are celebrities held captive by the freedom of the press?”. Despite not being placed at the end of the competition, it was a very strong delivery, and this bodes well for future events! Senior: Maisie La Costa, Gabs Hill and Emily Hill made a dynamic trio and took the competition head on. Gabs made an excellent introductory speech as chairperson, Maisie gave a speech on women’s progression to the board room, and finally Emily wrapped up our performance well and spoke with great confidence. We were very pleased with ourselves and were hoping to get some recognition in the awards. Cubitt, however, was outstanding and unsurprisingly won overall! However, the silver lining that Maisie won the ‘Best Speaker’ award!
L6th Masterchef On Friday 16th November Mrs Frett, Miss Greenwood and the L6th girls braved the elements (and school rules) and secretly ventured across to the Prep School for our biggest challenge this term...Masterchef! Not only did it test our culinary skills, but assessed our mental capacity, emotional and physical strength. Through this intense battle, the groups were each required to follow the different recipes given to produce different canapés and muffins. Each group fashioned some exquisite cuisine, and although the group consisting of Georgia Beaumont, Michelle Chan, Maisie La Costa and Tish Montgomerie were named the winners by a mere slip of the tongue, the actual winners that deserve recognition were Jess Worpole, Charlie Phillips and Georgie Gegg.