Year 5 enjoyed a fun and educational at Harvington Hall.  They had a private viewing around the house with the expert guidance of ex Dodderhill teacher Mrs Ruth Perry.  Mrs Mawston and Mrs Cameron Price joined in all of the activities including hiding in a priest hole and learning Tudor dancing.  A super trip and a great way to finish the topic of the Tudors.

It really is hard to believe that this week marks my first anniversary of being at Dodderhill.  It seems like I have been here forever but paradoxically the time has flown by!

Like most weeks the first week back has been full of activities and excitment.  I was really pleased the Year 5 took me along for my birthday treat to Harvington Hall- I was dressed up as a Tudor lady and squeezed through a tiny gap in the wall into a priest hole with Mrs C-P and 4 or 5 girls.  Getting in was tricky- but getting out was far more challenging! Having been air ambulanced to hospital once since I have been at Dodderhill I was very keen to avoid having the Fire Brigade called out to rescue me- think of the headline!  Fortunately, I managed to wriggle out much to the amusement of my young friends.  We all enjoyed our picnic lunch and then spent the afternoon learning Tudor dances and about life in the kitchens. One of my more memorable birthdays!

Once we were all safely delivered to school I then hot footed it down to Top Barn where Year 10 were throwing themselves(literally) into 3 hours of leadership and teamwork exercises.  It was cold, grey and a bit damp- for some very wet if they did one of the exercises incorrectly. Did it dampen the spirits of the 30 odd girls there- not one bit!  In three randomly selected groups they showed what a fantastic group of young women they are- not one single grumble.  They concentrated, listened to everyone in the group, squealed, supported each other and showed how girls just get things done.  It was another excellent activity building on the Dragon’s Den “Invent” challenge last term.

On Friday morning they were still buzzing with how much fun they had and how much they learnt about each other. Just a day to recover and dry out and then they were back at school on Saturday morning for the D of E practice  expedition.  I have just seen them all off, but the forecast is absolutely awful.  It will be a challenge – but all the evidence points to them dealing with the vicissitudes of the English weather at its worst with good humour and excellent teamwork, making the unbearable bearable.

My biggest challenge this half term will be to appoint a new student leaders team.  The present Year 11 have been an outstanding team and we spent the last lesson Friday working out job descriptions and a list of skills and qualities needed for these roles.  I’m not entirely sure about the need for House Captains to “support your evil minions for world domination”, but I can’t fault their ambition! I did like the idea of “ALWAYS being optimistic and committed to your House”.  Generically the skills that the girls identified were:good communication skills, being committed, competitive and being confident( the four Cs that are the keys to success in life), being able to manage time, working well in a team and handling stress well.  These ideas will be passed onto Year 10 and then they will write letters of application, give speeches and be interviewed for these very important jobs. How will I choose? I will need the wisdom of Solomon and possibly some divine guidance!  Having watched Year 10 work together and achieve so much over the last few weeks I cannot rule a single girl out of contention- it may come down to how passionate they are how they show this in their applications.  Wish me luck!

Just one more job to do before Oscar I go out in search of D of E groups and probably the most important task of all?  The health and well being of our future chicks have been in my hands- one more trip down to the Reception Class to give the incubating eggs one last rotation.  Heavy responsibility being Head? It doesn’t get much tougher!

With very best wishes

Mrs Mawston

In writing my end of term letter to parents, I re-counted news of the many activities and triumphs of the last few weeks and much of what follows comes from that letter. Musically we have continued to hit many high notes, following on from the hugely successful Music tour toBarcelonaat half term, we continued with outstanding performances at the Worcester Festival where massed choirs, soloists, duets, trios and ensembles excelled. I think it safe to say that Dodderhill would have won the prizes for the largest choirs and the choirs that most clearly communicated how much enjoyment they got from singing together, had there been such awards and a cup big enough for such a title!  I was thrilled to hear that at the winners’ concert Dodderhill were awarded the cup for High Achievement. Well done and thanks to all of the girls and to Mrs Vinson, Mrs Allen-Griffiths, Mr Porter, Mrs Shepherd and our peripatetic teachers for their musical inspiration. Of course, this could not happen without the many staff and parents who were there in the background making sure that everyone was in the right place at the right time, as with all things at Dodderhill it was a magnificent team effort.  It was really good to see so many parents there and at the end of term concert which reprised many of these performances and saw the launch of the Barcelona DVD. The concert was a sell-out and the rapturous standing ovation at the end was something that I have never experienced at another school.  Hardly a dry eye in the house as tears of joy were shed and quite a few bucket loads by the Year 11, who came together as a choir in their last concert and completely failed in any attempt to keep a stiff upper lip- well done!

At the concert, the girls showed their enterprising spirit in both their fund-raising for their House charities and through the inaugural ‘Invent’ challenge.  Mr Wheatley and Mr Radcliffe proved to be expert ‘dragons’ in the Dodderhill ‘den’ and the competition was closely contested with a range of re-cycled products and convincing pitches.  Another ‘first’ was the visit of the BP road show where the whole of Year 9 and 10 took on the role of oil traders in a fast paced simulation which included regular news updates.

The Dodderhill Young Chef of the Year has caused quite a stir as the Years 6-9 crossed wooden spoons over a hot saucepan.  The standard of all of the dishes was incredibly high and the judges took their jobs very seriously, including the chef from Grafton Manor.  After considerable deliberation and not a little dribbling on my behalf we awarded certificates and first and runner up prizes to Libby Horton and Hannah Lee in Year 6, Harriet Mallaby and Isabella Jacobs in Year 7, Samantha Bache and Hannah Hill in Year 8 and Isabelle Schoch and Phoebe Clayton in Year 9.  Photographs of all the finalists with their creations can be seen on the plasma in school.

We like to start them young at Dodderhill and the 3- 5 year olds in Kindergarten and Reception have also been to the catering room to try their hand at stir-frying as part of their celebrations for Chinese New Year.  A sartorial highlight of the term was the spectacular Easter bonnet parade which was taken very seriously by everyone. The Early Years have been making the most of their fabulous outdoor area and exploring the new tepee that Mr Beaven and Mr Palmeri have constructed.  We will be welcoming another brood of chicks at the beginning of the summer term into Reception – visitors are most welcome!

Following the many positive comments from both girls and parents about the new three week menu we have decided to continue with a three week menu for the summer tem.  The girls have been consulted about their views and whilst many would be happy if anything green and vegetable related disappeared off the menu, we will continue to provide ample fresh fruit and vegetables in this menu as well.

TheJuniorSchoolperformance of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ was outstanding, if rather scary, and again with mass participation and support from parents, staff and older girls.  I hadn’t appreciated before that Gretel was such a feminist icon! Unfortunately the really wicked characters of the witch and the evil stepmother perhaps show another side of the female psyche.  Those brothers Grimm obviously knew a few things about human nature. Anyway, everyone lived happily ever after and punishments were swift, if not merciful!  A review of the play has been written by Lucy in Year 10 in the first edition of the Pupils’ Press, our very own student newspaper.  We are hoping that a copy of the paper will be available through the website.

So everyone has been very busy and deserves a well earned break- it will be much needed to be ready for the next action packed term!

With very best wishes

Catherine Mawston

Honours and First Place – Senior Choir in under 16 category.
Distinction and first place to Strings Group A and B
Distinction and first place in Chamber Music (Tasha Ratti, Sophie Condlyffe and Abi Smith)
Distinction and first place in Music Theatre vocal, Lucy Kennett
Distinction and first place to vocal duet under 10 to Amelia Gardner and Beth Rutter
Distinction and first place to Amy Nolan in Violin duet
Distinction and first place to flute duet to Jenny Cahill and Kirsty Haines