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St Margaret’s 2016 Annual Update

St Margaret’s 2016 Annual Update

As we approach the end of 2016, we have been reflecting upon our 170th anniversary year and would like to share with you some of the highlights. Of course, this is not an exhaustive summary; the full account will be presented to you in our Chronicle in due course!

January

2016 began with an outstanding review of 7 Junior’s adaptation of ‘Hamlet’ in the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. The festival’s venue director said ‘this production was innovative, energetic and dynamic’.

We said goodbye to our Australia Exchange partners, who had enjoyed 4 weeks getting to know Scotland and their hosts. Their visit was one of numerous events in 2016 when we celebrated our international links and diverse community.

February

Our annual lunchtime concert at the Citadel saw eight very talented senior musicians perform solo pieces. Practically every seat was taken, and it was with much pride that we listened to the comments of the audience who were taken aback not only by the girls’ musical prowess but by their poise and professionalism.

We were pleased to host Meg's MUN, our own one-day Model United Nations Conference, the second of such events held in school. Over fifty pupils from our own school, Albyn and Robert Gordon's College, and a strong contingent from St George's in Edinburgh, joined in the debating. The event began with an inspiring presentation by three of the senior girls who had visited the real United Nations in Geneva last June. This presentation set the tone for a whole day of sparkling debating on world issues in two committees: political and economic. After lunch, the delegates reassembled in General Assembly to debate a hypothetical world crisis, precipitated by the mysterious disappearance of a space shuttle, heading to the International Space Station.

March

The opening of our long-anticipated new science facility was the highlight of this term. Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell opened our new laboratories and hosted a Q&A session for our Higher and Advanced Higher pupils. It was a very special day for the school and we were privileged to welcome such an esteemed female scientist who certainly inspired our girls.

World Book Day is a much enjoyed junior school event. To mark the centenary of the birth of the well-loved children’s author, Roald Dahl, our celebrations in the junior school focused on Roald Dahl and his works. Pupils and staff donned a wonderful array of colourful and creative costumes for the occasion and there were giants, witches, giraffes, ladybirds, pelicans and foxes in attendance at our morning assembly.

As always, the end of term was celebrated with music, this time in the form of our Spring Concert and Easter Service.

April

During the first week of the Easter holidays, Mrs Fowler, Miss Forgie and eleven girls from III and IV Senior departed for a fun week of skiing in Killington, Vermont.  Although some of the weather conditions were challenging, girls made excellent progress with their skiing, and only a few were passing the teachers on the slopes!

The 1st XI hockey team won the final of the Aspire Cup 11-0 in Glasgow. Of course, we all enjoyed being on the winning side of this event but at St Margaret’s we balance our commitment to providing opportunity and a desire to succeed in competitive sport with a ‘sport for all’ philosophy. We believe that any girl with an interest in sport or dance should be supported and encouraged whether or not she will ever make the 1st XI or its equivalent.

Towards the end of the month, eighteen Latin pupils from I Senior and II Senior travelled to St Andrews to enjoy an afternoon of classical activities organised by the St Andrews University Classics Department.  The whole afternoon proved a very entertaining introduction to Greek culture.

May

Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums introduced a new project, ‘ Alchemy,’ inspiring art and science in schools. Every term, the school is given a different item from the Gallery for display. During May the school library displayed a Victorian silver and granite bracelet. 6J were studying the Victorians this term and during their Art and Design lessons the girls developed their drawing skills, taking inspiration from local granite, and made miniature portraits of each other.

The majority of the 7 Junior girls set off on their residential trip to Boreatton Park in Shropshire. The girls had a busy fun-filled week in which they visited Hadrian’s Wall, the Victorian village at the Ironbridge Museum, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cadbury World and the Thinktank Science Museum.

23 eager pupils and three members of staff journeyed south to Hadrian’s Wall for a memorable weekend trip. Highlights included the Birdoswald site, Wallsend, Arbeia and Chesters Roman Fort.

At the end of the month the junior school put on a most captivating performance  of ‘Dr Dolittle Jr’ at Queen’s Cross Church. The girls had rehearsed from January at the junior school show club, which met after school once a week in preparation for the full scale musical theatre performance.

June

As part of our 170th Anniversary celebrations, we were excited to welcome over 170 former pupil and staff to our first ever Big Reunion. There was a fantastic atmosphere and everyone was in high spirits as the sun shone and old friends were reunited. We were thrilled to host a Ball on the same evening at the Marcliffe Hotel.  With over 260 people in attendance it was a highly successful evening, full of celebration and dancing!

Our annual presentation evening for the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative took place on Wednesday 18th May. The IIIS girls had been working in teams to research a charity which they felt was important to them. All of the teams visited their charity during the spring term and presented their findings to a team of judges. In session 2015 – 2016 the school raised £16,868.84 for over 30 different charities.

17 girls travelled to Zurich with Ms Main and Mrs Williamson to explore this beautiful city. With fully guided tours, a trip to the zoo and a visit to the Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum), a wonderful time was had by all.

During the same week, 50 girls and 6 members of staff boarded a coach to Glasgow, before flying to Orlando not quite knowing what exciting adventures lay ahead. Witnessing a rocket launch, an inspirational lunch with a female astronaut, astronaut training and many amazing theme park rides are just a few highlights of what was an unforgettable trip.

The term was rounded off with Sports Day and Speech Day where girls were commended for their achievements both in and out of the classroom and benefited from the wise and witty words of Baroness Goldie.

July

During the summer holidays, school was a hub of activity as the full-scale conversion of old science labs to sparkling new art and drama facilities took place.

August

At the end of the summer holidays, 6 of our VIS girls decided to try something different for their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award and canoed the river Spey. They canoed a total of 100km from Kingussie to Spey Bay: a fantastic achievement.

St Margaret’s celebrated another exceptional set of SQA examination results this year. The school has a long history of consistently high academic achievement but this year’s National 5 pass rate of 99% (A-C) for fourth year pupils set a new record! 92% of grades at National 5 were awarded at A or B level and over 50% of pupils gained A grade passes in all of their National 5 subjects. At Higher level, the results also showed outstanding success with a pass rate of 96% (A-C) and with 87% of grades awarded at A or B level. The school also attained an impressive 94% pass rate at Advanced Higher.

Each of our VIS girls gained entry to their first choice of university. Destinations included Cambridge, Durham, St Andrews and Stanford and, of course, Aberdeen University. Courses included law, veterinary medicine, Spanish, computer science, mathematics and chemistry, to name but a few.

The VIS conference took place just before the start of term at which girls heard from inspirational professional women and took part in team building activities. It was just one of the tailor-made experiences we offer our VIS girls in their final year of school.

We were delighted to welcome so many new families to St Margaret’s at the beginning of the new session on Wednesday 17###sup/sup### August.

At the other end of the school it was wonderful to see many of our pre-school girls start in 1 Junior, settling quickly after a smooth transition from nursery to junior school, with the help and support of our committed staff and families.

The new drama studio was ready for use and is a fantastic space for girls to explore creatively during lessons and is complemented by impressive lighting and sound capabilities; girls are very excited that the curriculum will now extend to include the delivery of technical theatre, learning to design, programme and operate the kit. This facility provides us with a perfect Black Box Theatre which our older girls are looking forward to putting to good use as an intimate performance space in the near future.

Our new art studio was also officially opened to the girls. The space is bright and modern, and is a wonderful studio for the many creative tasks that place during art lessons.

September

The nursery children began learning about what happens inside their bodies. We were grateful to receive a loan of ‘Giant Joe’ from the Aberdeen Science Centre and he proved to be a very popular addition to the class. Mrs Miller, Head of Biology, visited the nursery to help the girls and boys learn about the heart. They received an ox’s heart from the butcher, which helped the nursery children see, first-hand, what the heart looks and feels like and what it does to help everyone stay healthy.

We were also excited to launch our Inspirational Women talks which, this term, included Professor Mona Siddiqui, Professor Margaret Ross, Dame Professor Anne Glover and Muriel Muirden.

It was with great pleasure that we welcomed Clara Chambrelan, our French exchange student for this session. Clara stayed with Iona (VS) for three weeks before returning to the Lycée Pierre-Marie Théas in Montauban.

On Tuesday 20th September, 24 girls from St Joseph’s Primary School came to St Margaret’s for a morning of biology-related experiments. A group of 10 sixth years volunteered to help with the event. The Gopher Science event, initiated by the Royal Society of Biology and the Biochemical Society, relies on peer to peer learning across age groups. The pupils develop their communication skills, innovation and self-confidence in learning and delivering the science demonstrations. The girls from St Joseph’s were excited and enthusiastic about all of the experiments, and each gained a Level 1 certificate.

Our brand new walking club strode out to walk Bennachie in the blissfully warm early Autumn sunshine. Twenty four of us – and Jess the black Lab – took the less travelled route up the hill’s south face to avoid the crowds and gain the best possible views of the Aberdeenshire landscape.

October

As part of our celebrations to mark the 170###sup/sup### anniversary of St Margaret’s, each class was tasked with pulling together a representation of ‘what it means to be a St Margaret’s girl in 2016’ to be included in a time capsule. The contents included finger paintings from the nursery, class photos, newspaper cuttings for a week from local and national papers and a letter from the Head Girl to the school of 2046.

We were delighted to welcome 90 girls from 16 schools to our Girls in Engineering Conference which we ran in partnership with the University of Aberdeen. It was an action packed day with a variety of talks from women in the engineering industry and hands-on activities. The feedback from participants was very positive and the girls left with renewed enthusiasm for their own studies and university applications.

7 Junior took part in the Shakespeare for Schools festival, performing Macbeth at Aberdeen Arts Centre.

We celebrated the long service of four members of our staff. Each member of staff who has served at the school for 20 years or more is now to be honoured with a School Council Long Service Award. The first recipients of the Long Service Award were Mrs Liz Crisp, Mrs Susan Lynch, Mrs Lynne Reilly and Mrs June Slater who between them have given over a hundred years of loyal service to St Margaret's!

During the October holidays Mrs Crisp took her Advanced Higher Geography  class to visit Dorset to study and admire the beautiful Jurassic coast and explore the many towns situated along the coastline.

November

At the start of the month the Higher and Advanced Higher Economics pupils  attended the Scottish Economics Society’s tenth annual conference in Perth. It was a fascinating day with lots of thought-provoking presentations, which strengthened the girls’ understanding of key economic principles.

The senior school play this year was  ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and it ran for three nights at the Aberdeen Arts Centre. It was a captivating show and much fun was had by cast, production and audience alike!  

November also saw some great success in debating when St Margaret’s won the Debater Trophy, an annual competition for novice debaters held between ourselves, RGC and Albyn School. St Margaret’s were also finalists in The North of Scotland Schools Debating Competition

The nursery started to learn about their new topic, ‘people who help us’. The children made the journey down to Crown Street to visit the dentists and dental nurses at Crown Dental Practice. The children were given the opportunity to sit in the dentist’s chair and pretend to be the dentist or the nurse by looking at teddy’s teeth, using some of the tools a dentist might use and putting the chair up and down for their friends!

The tradition of the annual VS and VIS dance was continued this year at Ardoe House Hotel after a reflective St Margaret’s Day service in that morning.

The Sunday Times published their annual league table of independent school SQA results in which St Margaret’s had risen to third place, well ahead of the other Aberdeen schools!

December

The St Margaret’s STEM team were delighted to be placed second in the ‘STEM in the Pipeline’ project, a long-term competition between Aberdeen schools, which gives an insight into the oil and gas industry.

The Kindness Elves arrived in 2 Junior and stayed until the end of term spreading acts of love and goodwill throughout the school.

To round off the Christmas festivities, the whole junior school set off on a trip to Dundee. The girls spent the morning in the science museum, where they took part in different workshops and explored the exhibitions. The girls then went to see ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ – described by 4 Junior as ‘breathtakingly amazing’.

We celebrated the end of term with a beautiful Carol Service at the Beach Ballroom at which girls of all ages and stages participated in ensembles, choirs and orchestras.

2017

As 2017 approaches, we look forward to many events: the Aspire Hockey Cup Final; Professor Dame Sue Black’s visit; an Engineering Day for 7 Junior; our first piano competition; trips to Krakow, Athens, Abernethy,  Barcaple and

Montauban, to name but a few.

Supporting each child to be the best she can is at the heart of the St Margaret’s ethos and we look forward to working with each and every member of our community to achieve this in 2017.

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