Principal's message:
The start of this half-term has been full of celebration and commemorations.
Today, we commemorate Remembrance Day. This week's assemblies, led by Ms Troy, have focused on what Remembrance Day is about. We were reminded of how there are war heroes all around us. Ms Troy focused on Frederick Potts (a Reading Resident) who was awarded the highest honour awarded to British soldiers - the Victoria Cross for his bravery, saving another soldier's life in Turkey during the First World War. She challenged us to go away and look up the name of a soldier who had fought in the First World War and to remember them as a means of understanding the hardship they faced and their bravery. This was followed by a Remembrance Day ceremony just before break time, where we listened to Louise remind us all about the atrocities caused by war, followed by a two-minute silence, the playing of the Last Post on the keyboard by Aiyana as well as a reading of John McCrae’s 'In Flanders Fields'. The whole community fell silent as we remembered those that died in the First and Second World Wars and all wars. Again, the girls demonstrated their ability to take on board the importance of the occasion and were respectful and thoughtful throughout. Their assembly powerpoint presentation can be viewed below.
Last Friday, 3rd November, we had our annual Cultural Dress Day and the whole school was full of colour for our eyes to feast on. The girls wore their ancestral national dress from all parts of the world. Our two head girls, Katherine and Danojini were responsible for organising the day, with the support of Ms Maley, and they did a fantastic job of bringing the whole school together to celebrate the diversity that exists at RGS.
Not only were we able to enjoy seeing the intricacies of the different national dress, but also, we had an extended lunchtime, where girls were able to perform their national dance, followed by a cat walk of girls walking up in groups representing their countries, to show off their national dress, in front of the school community. The cheers and clapping in the sports hall were deafening. I can't tell you how proud I and the rest of the staff were, as we watched. Firstly, I wish to thank Katherine and Danojini for making all this possible and for how well the day went, with the rest of the student body. A huge well done.
I wish you all a restful weekend.
Marika Farrugia, Principal
TEXTILES
We have marked Remembrance in Textiles with a wall hanging and a ‘bust’ decorated with Poppies.
The decorative Poppy flowers were made by year 9 and 10 students from scraps of fabric, using a traditional hand sewing technique called ‘Suffolk Puffs’. Thank you to all who have donated their off-cuts and unwanted pieces of fabric – they are very useful!
The base of the wall hanging was made on Open Evening by visitors and our students. The fabric was printed with pieces of dried apple!
The University of Reading visited some of the Year 8 STEM classes last week. Some undergraduates considering doing teacher training are currently taking an education module and visited to try out some mini lessons and activities they had prepared about global warming and sustainability.
Topics included: whether plant based diets are better environmentally and dietary; the sustainability of day to day life; the effect of climate change on turtles and jellyfish; the Holocene extinction and what you can do about it; waste and recycling; and the environmental impact on farming budgets.
It was a great opportunity for our students to hear from other young people and it was wonderful to be able to help the University and their students with this project. They enjoyed working with our students and useful for the course, and we hope they all do well in their module.
Photos from our Cultural Dress Day
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FROM 1ST NOVEMBER 2023
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