A leading boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 12-18 in Perthshire, Scotland
20-26 February, 2012
The past week has once again been filled with sporting news for Home. The Glenalmond Invitational run, in which Fettes and Strathallan were invited for a friendly competition, took place on the golf course. Home girls Olivia Strang-Steel, Poppy Robertson, Tora Joicey, Marina Morgan, Alexandra Bullard, Rosie Roberts, Tara Houston and Georgie Horne were all selected to run, thanks to their recent success in the school Steeplechase.
Lacrosse results in school have proved strong again this week, and further afield Mollie Maclean, Holly Craven and Hannah Jane Headon have all been chosen for the U17 Scotland Lacrosse Team whilst Jenny Anderton has been chosen to represent the U19 team. Big congratulations to all four of these girls.
On the subject of congratulations, Mollie Maclean and Minnie Murray Poore have been selected for the exchange to Australia, whilst Izzy Arnaud's exchange is shaping up for South Africa this summer. The competition for both exchanges was very tough so well done!
With University offers coming in for the Upper Sixth girls, Amy Izat was delighted to find out that she had been offered a place to study Art at Falmouth University, her first choice. Also Emily Harrison and Rebecca Headon have both spent the week preparing for interviews at their chosen universities so we wish them the best of luck. Emily Harrison also gave her Pre-U recital this week in the Music school which went beautifully and she was supported by many friends who came to watch.
Whilst the senior girls were dining and dancing at the Valentine Ball, the younger years enjoyed a trip to the cinema in Perth. Although they had a fun evening with pick and mix sweets they would not recommend the film!
The Home girls have also had a few moments of fame this past week! A handful of junior girls, who went to support the Scotland rugby team at Murrayfield on Sunday, managed to get on television thanks to their enthusiastic cheering!
By Grania Lambert
In the run up to half term two major events were looming over Home; the Steeplechase and Interhouse Music.
The minor flaw, that due to adverse weather conditions the steeplechase was being held at the golf course this year, did not discourage the Home girls from showing up in their pink attire ready to give it their all. All in all it was a great success with Home triumphing over Lothian and Cairnies, and every girl very much enjoyed it. Special mention in the Junior Girls race must go to Olivia Strang-Steel who won, closely followed by Rosie Roberts, who won the cup for first girl in the Third Form, and then by Mollie Maclean. The Senior girls also won with Amy Izat, Cat Houston, Lara Tulloch and Iona Gaskell all putting in very strong performances.
House Music was next on the agenda. Our team, led by Lara Tulloch and Emily Harrison, played a well rehearsed rendition of "Christmas Lights" by Coldplay and a percussion piece. Home emerged the clear victors, making us the only house who has won both House part-song and House music for a few years, a huge achievement!
On the sports field, Holly Craven, Mollie Maclean and Hannah-Jane have all been selected for U17 Scotland Lacrosse, and we wish them good luck with their upcoming matches and training sessions.
In Third Form, Rosie Roberts and Tara Houston have both had birthdays whilst in Upper Sixth Amy Izat and Katy McNiven-Baxter both turned eighteen!
Lastly, congratulations must be given to Iona Gaskell and Fern Whitelaw, who on the day of half term were made college prefects, bringing Home's total of prefects to four.
Lent term is proving itself full of sporting achievements in Home with the Junior girls owning the court in Interhouse Netball against Lothian. Special mention here must go to Tara Houston and Mollie Maclean, who were shooting to a very high standard.
The fourth form girls have also enjoyed a strong start to the Lacrosse season with some outstanding results over Fettes and Loretto.
Sassy Stewart Wilson is now a qualified lifeguard, after having completed a tough course at school.
On a larger sporting scale, Sophie Kuebler-Wachendorff scored a bronze medal in the Giant Slalom at the British Schools Ski Championships in the Alps, and another Bronze for her combined score is on the way.
Although she may not have been playing the sport, Lorna Davidson joined her mother on the touch line at the Calcutta Cup Six Nations match! We were all very jealous to say the least!
The Prep Schools Debating Competition was held at Glenalmond again this year and our star junior debaters Rosi Dow and Issy Arnaud judged the debates and gave out some useful advice to the aspiring teams. Grania, Iona and Fern also participated in the day, by guiding the teams and their parents around the school.
The Australia exchange, which offers two pupils the opportunity to go on exchange to an exotic country, recently held interviews. We wish Mollie Maclean, Tessa Maxwell, Holly Nisbet, Marina V-H, and Minnie Murray Poore, who attended these interviews, the best of luck.
Alice Craven was invited to Essay Society this week where she clearly picked up some valuable skills, as a few short days later she received a star for the excellent standard of her English essay.
Grania and Fern spent the day at Manchester University for a Classics Set Texts Day which proved to be a valuable experience, especially for Fern. She made such an impression on the Classics professor who was leading her round the department, that a few days later she received an offer to study Classics at Manchester, which she had been hoping for!
Izzy F played beautifully at the recent Lunch Time Concert, where many of her friends were supporting her.
The Interhouse Music Competition is fast approaching, and Lara and Emily H are preparing the troops for a performance of Christmas Lights and a Percussion ensemble. Best of luck to them! Let's hope that Home will triumph again!
At Sunday Chapel Sarah Jane sung the opening responses beautifully, while Emily and Cat were performing at a concert in St Giles Cathedral.
The junior play of "Grim Tales" has started rehearsals, which involves many of the junior girls. Megan M has been kind enough to offer her help to the girls with this task.
Lastly on the arts front, girls are finally on the Give Gig committee! Lorna and Josie will contribute to the infamous fund raiser and we are sure that their ideas will be amazing.
Out of School, Jenny A attended the Scottish youth Parliament meeting and Iona, Catriona, Amy and Lara are busy in training for the Scottish Island Peaks Race.
Olivia, Beth, Ellen and Issy A all visited HMS Duncan in Glasgow on a Navy field trip which was very informative for them.
In House, the Fourth Form enjoyed a pizza night and a film on Saturday night with Mrs. Watson. Marina V-H's operation went well and we look forward to seeing her after Half Term. Also, Suze Sampson celebrated her 14th birthday with all her friends and a cake baked by Mrs. Watson.
Lastly, Amy Izat has started her own business and is making greetings cards with drawing of game birds. They are beautiful and useful so if anyone would like to purchase some please contact Mrs. Watson who will pass the message on.
The last few days in Home have been very busy indeed. The Third Form had a netball match against Strathallan, in which Fiona Williamson rose to the challenge and played centre for the very first time, even attempting to shoot a goal in the D!
Every Monday, the Third Form has activities in the afternoon. This week many of them did First Aid and came back with some very realistic bruises, cuts and burns, scaring the life out of the Upper Sixth girls who were enjoying a peaceful cup of tea in the common room!
Isla Graham came for a taster day in Home; we hope that she enjoyed her stay and that she will be able to come to Home next year. There were also the junior play auditions for "The Grim Tales" and many of our Third and Forth formers managed to get a role. The Winter Run was a notable sporting event last week and Poppy Izat came first in the Third form, giving Home high hopes of its chances as a House in the upcoming Steeplechase.
In the Forth Form Tessa Maxwell confidently performed a reading in chapel this week, well done to her. The Fourth Form also did the Winter Run. Olivia Strang-Steel came first and Mollie Maclean and Poppy Robertson came second equal. On Sunday, the Fourth Form enjoyed an afternoon of pizza and ice cream with Mrs Watson, they all had a great evening.
Holly Nisbet, Mollie Maclean, Minnie Murray -Poore, Tessa Maxwell and Marina Vidal-Hernandez have all applied for a school exchange to Australia. We wish them the best of luck with the interview and will keep our fingers crossed! Last but not least, Issy Arnaud sang beautifully in the lunch time concert, well done to her!
In the Sixth Form, Megan McLaughlan, Helena Lindeman, Emily Harrison and Michael Greer had the wonderful opportunity of going to see the opera "Betrothal in a Monastery "which was brilliant. Ellie had an international lunch with Mrs Woods at the Warden's house to learn about different cultures and their cuisine. The whole school had a sex education talk, which proved both educational and insightful! The Lower sixth and Upper sixth had drinks to celebrate Catriona Houston and Lydia Proctors' 18th birthdays.
In the Upper Sixth Katie Winton took responsibility for organising a trip to give blood in Perth, for which she managed to gather a large group, all of whom returned sporting a plaster and a beaming smile! There was a netball match against Strathallan for the 1st team in which the girls played really well. The inter-house lacrosse was postponed due to the pitches being water logged which, on the bright side, gives us more time to train! Jenny Anderton went to the Youth Council meeting in Perth on Sunday and has also handed out the scripts for her play "Murder in Hatherby Manor", which will be performed by some of the girls in Home in the near future.
By Poppy Robertson, 4th Form Home
All the Home girls have been very busy in the last couple of weeks. We have had a good start of the term with plenty to get involved in. The 3rd Form have enjoyed playing Lacrosse against Loretto on Saturday, with Tara Houston captaining the side and named man of the match for the 'As', and Rosie Roberts captained the 'B's. Well done to them! The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Forms took part in the ceilidh on Saturday night which everyone enjoyed thoroughly dancing with people in different years and getting to know more people. On Thursday Sasha Ogilvie, Rosie Dow, Poppy Izat, Laura Welsh and Erraid Gaskell did a reading in chapel, which they were very brave to do and all read beautifully. Most of the 3rd Form girls took part in the lacrosse development day on Thursday which took place at Fettes. Half of the year group went to have breakfast at the Warden's on Sunday morning which they said was delicious!
The 4th Form have had a great couple of weeks with Olivia Strang Steel, Marina Morgan, Rachael Cobb, Mollie Maclean, Holly Craven, Poppy Robertson, Hannah-Jane Headon, Tora Joicey and Minnie Murray-Poore winning the lacrosse tournament on Thursday . They played very well and thoroughly enjoyed the day. On Saturday, we played against Loretto with everyone one in the Home Fourth Form taking part. The 'A's" won 9-5 and the 'B's drew 3-3 with Tessa Maxwell scoring the three goals. Well done to Ellen Douglas who got a Merit in her Grade 3 Saxophone exam, Holly Craven who got a pass in her Violin exam and Hannah-Jane Headon who received a merit in her Grade 3 singing exam. We all took part in the Ceilidh on Saturday with Mollie Maclean and Hannah-Jane Headon winning the prize for the best reeling out of the juniors.
Meanwhile, the Lower Sixth Form girls had their Burns Supper followed by a ceilidh on Saturday, which they all enjoyed very much and looked gorgeous. Many of them have had Maths, Biology and Politics exams since the start of term so been studying hard. Cecilia Stewart Wilson, Jemima Shannon, Alice Craven and Helena took part in the 3rds Lacrosse match against Loretto on Saturday winning 9-1 and Cecilia Stewart Wilson, Jemima Shannon, Flora Robertson and Helena played against Fettes the week before winning 8-7. Flora Robertson and Rosanna Harvey- Crawford in the 2nds drew 7-7 against Loretto on Saturday and the week before (also with Alice Craven) they won 8-7.
The Upper Sixth have been getting replies from Universities, Josie Leader has been offered a place at Oxford University and Iona Gaskell has been offered a place at Cambridge University - very well done to them. They have all been busy studying for their exams, which they have had over the past two weeks. It was Catriona Houston's 18th Birthday on Sunday, which the Sixth Form celebrated in the evening with some fizz. Congratulations to Katie Winton who has been appointed Captain of Lacrosse and Fern Whitelaw who has been appointed Captain of Swimming. In addition, they all enjoyed the Burns Supper and Ceilidh on Saturday evening.
Written by Charlotte Miller, Fourth Form Home
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What a brilliant start to the school year! The new pupils settled into the house very quickly and have since been very busy with the many activities and events that the Michaelmas term brings. The beginning of term brought the much anticipated House outing, which was white water rafting in Aberfeldy. The surprise result of this year's outing was that the main culprit of capsizing the rafts was our very own Housemistress Mrs. Watson! Photos of the day out can be found at www.rafting.co.uk. Home has also seen both the senior debating team, made up of Fern Whitelaw and Issy Houston, and the junior team of Rosi Dow and Issy Arnaud progress to the semi finals of the Interhouse Debating competition. Rumour has it that Iona Gaskell will also step up to the podium for a senior debate in the next stage! We wish them well. | |
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Other events include the Home House Arts evening which was organised by the Arts Prefect, Lorna Davidson. The night was a huge success with singing, dancing and acting from all year groups, and some of the girls even did individual performances which were a real treat to watch. Special mention here goes to Erraid Gaskell from the Third Form, who amazed everyone with her beautiful piano pieces which she composed herself. The past two weeks however have been dedicated to preparation for House part-song and House Shout competition. The part-song group of ten girls performed a challenging arrangement of "Summertime", which managed to win them the competition! Special mention here goes to Cat Houston and to Emily Harrison whose hard work was the reason behind our singing success! The House Shout is less formal and every girl in the house takes part. The song was a classic, "Bring it all back to you" by S Club 7, and our performance was credited for its hard work on the singing arrangement, and the well rehearsed dance moves. On the whole the night was a great success and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. |
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The Home girls have also had a few notable appointments and selections this term as Cat Houston has been appointed Captain of Choir, and Minnie Murray-Poore and Mollie Maclean were selected for Under 16 Midlands Hockey. Grania Lambert also was fortunate enough to make the Under 18 Midlands Hockey training squad. On the lacrosse field, we wish luck to Jenny Anderton, Hannah Jane Headon, Holly Craven and Minnie Murray-Poore in their trials from Scotland Lacrosse. Lydia Proctor and Jenny Anderton are flying girl power flag in the CCF, as Lydia has been chosen as Head of Army and Jenny as Head of Navy in the CCF. As half term approaches, we now prepare for one of the biggest sporting events of the year... Interhouse Hockey! Can we prove once again the Home is the superior House? We hope so! We also wish luck to Michael Greer, Jemima Shannon, Ellie Moran and Megan McLauchlan, who will be featuring in the school play "Godspell" and we look forward to seeing them on stage. |
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However, let me not neglect to mention the fun that we have been having inside Home this term! The junior girls have been partaking in activities on a Sunday afternoon which range from making gingerbread woman, to a Third Form dance off! The senior girls have also been enjoying their weekends with events such as wine tasting and the prefects' new invention of Choc and Chat night, which is bonding time for the upper sixth and the younger years. Looking to the near future, Home is preparing for its first candlelit Christmas Dinner which will take place at the end of November in Reids. More exciting news is that the Upper Sixth has decided to redecorate their common room and colour schemes are still being hotly debated. The idea is to try and make this room as homely as possible so that any visitors can truly see and feel our house spirit of which we are really proud. |
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Since returning to school we have been a very busy house with many activities and events to talk of. With a whole new team of House prefects we kick started the term in house with a Choc and Chat night for the Third Form and Upper Sixth girls to get to know each other. The night went to plan and with some energetic games everybody was enjoying themselves. For good measure the Upper sixth girls repeated this night the next week with the Cairnies girls and the Fourth Form which lead to a slightly unorthodox game of charades!
Congratulations to Minnie Murray-Poore and Mollie Maclean for getting into the under 16 Midlands Squad and good luck to Grania Lambert who has her second trial in a week's time. Further congratulations to Issy Arnaud and Rosi Dow for their convincing and feisty win over the Matheson's team in the first round of Junior debating, who have branded themselves with the caption of "the ones to beat" in this year's house debating competition. We were also delighted to hear that Catriona Houston was named Captain of Choir.
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Last Saturday's triathlon was a great success and saw many girls involved in swimming, running or cycling. There were some great displays of teamwork and the glen provided the perfect setting for such an activity. The Third Form capped this with some circus skills in the evening, whilst the Fourth Form went off for some CCF training. | |
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The first Sunday weekend, we had our House Outing which was a fun afternoon of white water rafting and inevitably involved some cheeky throwing people out of their rafts, the main culprit being Mrs Watson! For more information, or some photos of our trip, visit www.rafting.co.uk. Our Sunday afternoon was anything but dull, with making Ginger Bread women for the junior girls, and a more sophisticated choice of wine tasting for the sixth form girls as Mr Watson shared his knowledge of wine. |
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This week A2 exams began, meaning the Upper 6th form have had a quiet week made up of hard revising and sweating brows. However the house has been unusually quiet with the Lower 6th Form on their leadership course for 3 days and then an optional leave-out. The 4th Form also had exams all week, so conditions for revision have been optimum which is obviously very helpful for the Upper 6th Form.
The Lower 6th Form have had an action packed week; the last exams having finished, the majority set off on the annual three day leadership course. Organised largely by Mr Owen, the course is looked forward to with trepidation as its contents are a complete mystery until the moment we are told to carry it out. However, despite a few cuts and bruises, bandaged up feet and some mild sunburn, we have all returned with smiling faces and more stories than we have time to tell. Friday - the last day of the course - was Nairne's birthday so while walking down a hill at four o'clock in the morning we broke into a chorus of 'happy birthday to you'. The smart dinner that night was a lovely way to end the course and the hot three course meal was a welcome luxury. Even better was the twelve hour sleep we all then enjoyed! Having had a night out of school as an optional leave-out we are now all back and ready to begin A2 lessons, while those in the Warden's tutor group went out for dinner at The Bothy in Perth as their termly tutor outing.
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The 4th Form have also had exams this week so have been studying hard. Along with the 2nd and 3rd Form they won Home the Junior Inter-house Tennis which means they are unbeaten so far this year. The Junior summer barbecue and ceilidh was scheduled to take place on Saturday night but unfortunately the barbecue had to be cancelled due to the rain - what a surprise. This Sunday afternoon Mr Watson has given the year group a lesson in cooking, teaching them how to make bruschetta followed by minestrone soup and tiramisu - a valuable life skill to have. Having finished exams the year group can now enjoy the same cheerful feelings as the Lower 6th.
The 2nd and 3rd Forms begin exams this week - for many the first formal exams they have ever sat - so revision has been vigorous throughout the house. These year groups also put in their fair share of sporting skill in helping to win us the house tennis. Together with the 4th and 5th form they dressed up in their glad rags for the junior ceilidh to have a night of letting their hair down before the forthcoming exams. We were also delighted to gain a new member to the House this week and we welcome Elena Filenghi from Italy who we intend to get as fluent as possible in 'Glenalmond English' over the next three weeks!
By Katie Winton and Iona Gaskell, L6th
The week before half term, although short, was extremely busy for the Upper and Lower Sixth girls as they were preparing for and sitting their AS and A2 examinations. However, for some, that was the final week of exams. For those in the Lower Sixth with French, Politics or History exams, the finish line was just after half term. The Upper Sixth are still in the midst of their exams and there is a very diligent atmosphere in the house during prep and the afternoons as they revise in groups or in their own rooms. However, on the other end of the spectrum, Caroline Bullen achieved her Fencing Stage 2 over the past week. We are very proud of her.
The triumph of the week has to be Home's victory in the Senior Inter House tennis competition. There was great House spirit as girls donned their pink war paint, grabbed their tennis rackets (some for the first time in a few years) and headed out to the astro-turfs with all the rage of John McEnroe on a foul call.
For the Juniors, they have been keeping themselves occupied with sports fixtures and also plenty of revision for the 4th Form for their exams after half term. There were rounders matches against Kilgraston and Fettes and we were delighted that the girls won both of them. In the 2nd Form, Erraid, Annis and Jamaica, showed Home House determination, playing tennis in spite of the rain, against Strathallan. May we wish everyone a very happy half term holiday.
By Josie Leader, L6th Form
This week the 2nd form had a tutor outing to MacDonald's and then went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean film with Revd. and Mrs Dove which they all enjoyed greatly. They also played in the tennis matches against Strathallan in which Jamaica, Erraid and Annis all won their matches.
Many of the 3rd form have been very busy this week with rehearsals and the performance of the junior musical, Camp Rock in which Molly Maclean and Izzy Arnaud had star roles. Our congratulations to Rachael Cobb, Ellen Douglas, Beth Whitaker, Hannah-Jane Headon, Charlotte Miller, Marina Morgan, Holly Nisbet, Tora Joicey and Tessa Maxwell who also gave dazzling performances.
On Sunday, trial House Prefect, Jenny Anderton, led a baking session in Mrs Watson's flat for the Juniors. It was great to see all the girls working together and making a mound of cookies to be enjoyed by the whole House.
This week has also been the beginning of exams for the 6th form and everyone has been hard at work but, as well as revising, the Lower Sixth have taken over the prefect duties from the Upper Sixth and are taking turns to try out the different duties within the house. Michael Greer was also choreographing for Camp Rock and Lydia Proctor helped with makeup and costumes. Amy Izat won the Victrix Ludorum for House swimming in which Home successfully won both the junior and senior competitions. She and Iona Gaskell also participated in the Scottish Islands Peaks Race last weekend which proved to be a great experience for them. Jenny Anderton has started up her own tuck shop for the house in order to raise money for her trip to Germany with Scotland Lacrosse. The Upper Sixth have also started exams but took a night off and all went out for an enjoyable evening at Opus One for their Home Leavers' dinner.
Last but definitely not least, this week Home House also proudly won the effort prize for Form Orders for the seventh time in a row.
By Sarah Jane Dent, L6th
2nd Form
This week the 2nd Form had some exciting activities. On Wednesday they went on a trip to M&Ds theme park during Field Day which sounded amazing fun. Also House swimming took place this week which Laura Welsh took part in and came second in the butterfly race. There was only one match this week but we are delighted that Erraid made it into the tennis team.
3rd Form
This week Tora celebrated her 14th birthday with a big chocolate cake from Mrs Watson. Many of the 3rd Form participated in House swimming and led the house to a victory. They also had Field day this week, where half of them went hill-walking and the other half did various activities such as canoeing or climbing. Huge congratulations go to Minnie Murray-Poore who has been selected for a reserve player on the Midlands hockey squad.
4th Form
Well done also to Jemima Murray-Poore and Amber Flowerdew who have also been selected for the Midlands hockey squad. In addition all of the Fourth Form took part in Field Day where the army stayed around Coll. and performed drills, some of the R.A.F went flying and the Royal Navy went to Glasgow. Some of the 4th Form also joined in with the House swimming and helped lead them to victory. Meanwhile, Phoebe Williams and Rowan Gaskell took part in a singing competition. A busy week, therefore, for the 4th Form.
L6th and U6th Forms
The Home Sixth Form has been mostly concentrating on their forthcoming examinations so we wish them all the best during this testing season. Form orders were out this week and all the girls have been determined and focused during these busy times with work. They all did very well and I'm sure they were pleased with their results. As has already been mentioned, the inter-house swimming gala took place this week. Many Home girls got into the spirit of things and participated, leading Home to a victory in both Senior and Junior sections!
There was the 1st and 2nd rounders match that took place on Tuesday 10th May against Strathallan at home here in Coll. . Natural leader Louisa Macdonald stood as captain of the team, and Catriona Houston, Emily Townsend, Hattie Mellor, Emma Macphie and Annabel Blackett also took part. This resulted in a close tie and almost a win, Strathallan won by 5 and a half to 5. Very good play, however, from the girls!
By Rowan Gaskell and Mary Peacock, Home 4th Form
Here ends another busy and happy week in Home for the girls with the Sixth Form really working hard for their forthcoming examinations and the Juniors heavily involved in Camp Rock rehearsals or other sporting commitments.
The 2nd and 3rd Form girls had a fun-filled start to the week when Mr Nichols set up a giant water slide on the hill outside of Home and Lothian. The girls had hours of fun throwing themselves down the slopes as can be seen by the photos attached.
The 2nd Form also enjoyed a walk on The Knock in Crieff followed by a cheeky trip to the chocolate shop to replenish the energy levels. On the academic front, Annis was awarded a star in both Maths and French so well done her. On Sunday, Emily Simpson spent the day at the Kilgraston Scottish Schools Equestrian Competition at Gleneagles, where she, amongst others, performed well in the dressage and show jumping arenas. Saturday night, the Junior Entry girls, Mrs Watson, Megan and Cameron all cosied up in Mrs Watson's flat for a film and popcorn. The next morning, Megan and Cameron declared it was 'the coolest night ever'!
In the 3rd Form, Marina Vidal Hernandez and Charlotte Miller have been strutting their academic stuff, gaining stars in Geography and Biology. Meanwhile Issy Arnaud was invited to the Warden's office for some well-deserved praise for an outstanding project on Shakespeare. We are very proud of them and all their efforts.
Olivia Strang Steel joined Emily at the Gleneagles equestrian competition, guiding Rufus around the course with her usual panache. Just up the road, Poppy was keeping herself fit and healthy running in the charity road race in Comrie, which she finished in good time with plenty of energy left over for a round of golf with her dad! We are all looking forward to next Friday when we can share a big piece of chocolate cake for Tora's 14th birthday.
| Olivia joined Emily at the Gleneagles equestrian competition, guiding Rufus around the course with her usual panache. Just up the road, Poppy was keeping herself fit and healthy running in the charity road race in Comrie, which she finished in good time with plenty of energy left over for a round of golf with her dad! We are all looking forward to next Friday when we can share a big piece of chocolate cake for Tora's 14th birthday. |  |
The 3rd and 4th Form enjoyed a joint tennis tournament tournament on Saturday afternoon with the two winning pairs comprised of Annie and Mollie, Mary and Ellen. Well done the Home girls! This was a good release after the English Controlled Assessment that they have been focussing on this week. All of this work was topped off with a good boogie on Saturday night at the Reids House disco. Amber also spent the Sunday riding at Gleneagles, show jumping with her horse Tia.
Last weekend, Alice and Jenny spent the weekend on a cultural visit to Gladstone's library in Wales with Dr Byrom and Miss Dryden which provided great inspiration for them. Meanwhile, this week has had a linguistic focus for many of the L6th with French and German orals talking place. There was also an Art examination for those studying the subject in the L6th. In addition to this, Sarah Jane and Grania read during chapel, overcoming their own personal barriers. Katie Winton returned with a cast on her leg form her ankle operation and has been well cared for by her lovely housemates. We wish all the best to Amy and Iona who will be running the Scottish Islands Peaks Race next weekend with Mrs Hendo, they will be great.
More good news on the sporting front, we were all delighted to find out that our Head of House, Emily had been awarded Captain of Tennis this term. Many congratulations to her. Alice also joined the riding team at Gleneagles with her horse Manus. Congratulations to Caroline Bullen for completing her German oral, that will be a huge weight off her mind.
Mrs K A Watson
This week the Second Form has been very busy. They went gorge walking on Saturday with Mr Nichols. Also on Saturday they played tennis against George Watsons which they won. Annis and Erraid had rounders trials on Saturday and Laura, the dedicated swimmer, had to get up on Sunday morning for 2 hours of swimming. All of the Second Form enjoyed their visit to the Innerpeffray library on Wednesday with Mrs Haylock whilst Erraid and Annis also had a tennis tournament on Sunday.
The Third Form has had an action-packed start to the term what with their tennis match against George Watsons which we won. They've had lots of Camp Rock rehearsals to get ready for the big nights. On Friday it was Marina Morgan's birthday and she went to London for the Royal Wedding. Minnie has had Midlands hockey training this week and, along with Holly Craven from the Third Form, competed in the Duncan Garrett tennis tournament on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Form has been involved in many activities this week. They had a match against George Watsons. The A team won but the B team lost. They also had rounders trials on Saturday afternoon. Rising stars Amber and Jemima have had Midlands hockey training this week and Jemima also won the Duncan Garrett tournament beating Micky in the final 12 to 9. Annie Winton spent Thursday and Friday on the streets of London for the Royal Wedding and starred on radio 1! Having declared her love for Prince Harry, we are all hoping to be at the next Royal Wedding!
Congratulations to Fern, in the Lower Sixth, who won the Senior Duncan Garrett tennis tournament on Sunday. Lydia, Cat, Sarah Jane, Steph and Iona completed their D of E Gold award either walking or kayaking. Katie Winton was also in London for the Royal Wedding and slept on the Mall. Emily's auditions for the National Youth Choir of Scotland certainly paid off as she was awarded a place in the main choir this week. Cat and Emily sang at the May Madrigals outside the library on Sunday morning. We are all really pleased for Lara who has finally had her knee operation and is in week 5 of her recovery. There is a sense of endeavour and purpose about the House with the up and coming examinations and we wish the Seniors well with their revision. Some of them have French Orals and AS Art exams next week so good luck to them.
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The Upper Sixth has been busy with lots of music this week. Lisa Robertson got into National Youth Orchestra of Scotland for the second year running and it was also Lisa's 18th birthday on Sunday. Meanwhile, Emily Townsend came 2nd in the Duncan Garrett tournament. They had their house photos and leavers' photos on Thursday which they found sad to think they're leaving but excited about what's in store for them next year.
By Marina Morgan, Third Form
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25th January 2011 The 2nd form this week have been very active, Annis and Erraid have played their first lacrosse match on Saturday and managed to score a goal which is really impressive. Jamaica, however, was unable to play in the lacrosse as she had fallen over and sprained her wrist, resulting in a cast being put on it. Every Wednesday the 2nd form go on a special trip with Mrs Haylock and this week went to the Famous Grouse Experience on the other side of Crieff, for a taste of local tradition (There was no tasting! Ed). Mrs Watson has kept the rest of the second form busy with some baking which was a huge success as they made some delicious cupcakes. We look forward to people coming to visit Home in the run up to the next winter term, Alexandra Bullard and Anna Whitaker; the sister of one of our 3rd form. The girls are really looking forward to getting to know them better. The 3rd form have had great news this week Mollie Maclean, Rachael Cobb, Tessa Maxwell, Marina Morgan, Charlotte Miller, Tora Joicey, Hannah Jane Headon, Poppy Robertson, Ellen Douglas, Beth Whitaker and Hannah Fairbrother have got into the school play and Mollie has managed to get the main part in Camp Rock. The girls played a lot of lacrosse last week, with a training day at Fettes on Thursday and then a match at Loretto on Saturday. That night, straight off the bus they went into a Ceilidh to celebrate Burns which was enjoyed by all. Sunday morning, half of the year went for breakfast at the Warden's and the other half had breakfast with Mrs Watson which was enjoyed by all. The 4th form has been hard at work this week with their exams and people achieving some very good grades. On top of that they have been playing lots of lacrosse as well, with a development day on Tuesday at Fettes and then a tournament on Thursday which resulted in them winning 3rd place. They then had a match at Loretto on Saturday, with Bella Solms scouring 5 goals. After that they went straight into a Ceilidh with the 2nd, 3rd and 5th form. The Lower 6th are sad to say farewell to Fern Whitelaw as she waves goodbye to Britain and heads to the USA to our sister school, Brookes where she will be staying for a month. She will have the most fabulous time being educated and living amongst our American friends and we know she will make the most of every opportunity. Sophie will be racing this week in the British Schools ski race and we wish her very good luck. Emily Harrison had a great weekend, she went to sing with the Scottish Opera Connect Group, which is a huge achievement and we wish her all the best. Grania and Catriona had their first netball match this week, which they won. Along with that Catriona had her 17th birthday, which was celebrated with a cake made by Mrs Watson. There has been lots of lacrosse for the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd teams this week, with all their matches being won. The Upper 6th have continued to tackle their A2 modules this week. Caroline started driving this week, which she really enjoyed (keep off the roads everyone!). Hattie, Camilla and Hennie attended the Reid's Burns dinner which was enjoyed by everyone. We had lacrosse on Saturday with the 1st team winning 7-6 against Loretto with goals from Hattie and Louisa. After which we then sat down to a great Burns dinner which was followed by a Ceilidh. Our thanks go to our Captains of Coll - Alice Strang Steel and Jack Cadzow - for all their organising. Jennie Graham did the address to the lassies with well-prepared banter and good-natured humour. On Sunday afternoon Hennie and Charlie attended a life drawing class, in preparation for their portfolios for art school. By Emma Macphie | |
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January 15th 2011
The big thaw, accompanied by 48 hours of non-stop rain produced this:
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Home House Update 11/11/2010
Over the past few weeks in Home, the girls have been excelling in all areas. Firstly, the many talented lacrosse players have attended two Scotland Lacrosse training sessions in Edinburgh. Those girls included both juniors and seniors. In hockey, the Home team managed to beat Lothian in the inter-house matches, winning the Junior Inter-house hockey trophy: well done! At school level, both the U15Bs and the U14As beat Strathallan with many of our girls contributing to this brilliant win. Lydia Proctor, Jemima Murray-Poore and Charlotte Legerlotz once again played for the U18 Midlands team, this time in a tournament, over the weekend.
In the world of music, Home has done really well, too. In the House Music competition before half term, the house came 3rd in the Part-song competition and 2nd in the House Shout competition, which required everyone in the house to participate. There were some incredible efforts put in by the U6th: Louisa Macdonald, Emily Townsend, Lisa Robertson and Annabel Blackett, as well as by the house as a whole. Congratulations everyone on a wonderful performance!
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But the house does not only shine in the show business sense, 3 of our bright junior girls are stars already. Rachael Cobb was given a star in Biology, Marina Morgan achieved a star in Chemistry and Rowan Gaskell gained a star in Mathematics.
Home girls have also been doing their bit for charity recently. Poppy Robertson, Annie Winton and Rowan Gaskell have been collecting old bras on behalf of Breast Cancer. Also, some of our L6th girls (Iona Gaskell, Katie Winton, Cat Houston, Lara Tulloch and Fern Whitelaw) visited the Teenage Cancer Ward in Beatson Hospital, talking to some of the patients there.
Our sixth form girls have been planning their futures, and we congratulate all those who have received offers already. It is a real mark of their enthusiasm and organisation, that their UCAS forms have already produced results, when so many have yet to apply. Finally, our Head of House herself has been particularly thinking about her future, as she took her SATs for entry into an American college over the weekend. We hope the results are good, we will keep our fingers crossed.
Finally, on Sunday, the Junior Entry took a walk out to Buchanty Spout to see the Salmon Leap. It was a beautiful autumnal walk, followed by plenty of hot chocolate and a DVD at Mrs Watson's place.
Michaelmas 2010 Update #5
The highlight of this week has been the hugely successful Home House Arts Evening, which took place on Saturday evening. There were some entertaining dances by the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Forms, as well as videos by the L6th and U6th. The Partsong team gave us a taste of what we can expect next Thursday at House Music and some brave singers sang solos, too. Overall, it was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
In the world of debating, Ysabella Arnaud and Issy Houston brought Home a win in the debate against Mathesons on Wednesday. Well done girls, their intellectual prowess was quite something!
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There was some wonderful singing on Prep Schools' Choral Day on Sunday, in which many Home girls took part. A huge effort was made by all the students to ensure that this day was as fun as possible for our visitors, and a special mention has to go to all those who were guides for the prep schools.
In sport, the Midlands hockey squads were chosen, and a number of Home girls made the team. Congratulations to Lydia Proctor, Charlotte Legerlotz and Jemima Murray-Poore. The U-15Bs also played well this week, winning their match against Strathallan. Finally, the lacrosse players (Michaela Macphie, Jemima Murray-Poore, Emma Macphie, Rebecca Headon and Jenny Anderton) rose early this Sunday for a Scotland Lacrosse training session in Edinburgh.
Amy Izat also had an early start this Sunday in order to complete the second part of her certificated chainsaw course with the rest of the conservation team, where she chopped her first tree. Meanwhile, Fern Whitelaw was soaring above those trees during her gliding trip with a handful of members of the CCF.
The photos taken from the Home Arts Evening will soon appear on the Photo Gallery section of the website. Please keep an eye out.
By Jennie Graham, U6th Home
Michaelmas 2010 Update #4
This week, our girls were involved in various activities on Field Day. (There are photos in the Gallery section of the site - bottom left of the screen for the link). It was a successful day for the CCF, with everyone doing well in the different challenges and exercises. The Fourth Form camped the night before as part of this, and returned smiling, having thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The Third Form participated in a day of climbing, canoeing, walking and mountain biking and the Second Form went to The Blair Drummond Safari Park.
There have also been some trips out this week. There was a drama trip to the theatre to see "The Black Watch" on Monday and then some of the girls studying English went to see "Romeo and Juliet" in Stirling.
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We wish good luck to our girls applying for the Brooks exchange: Josie Leader, Lara Tulloch, Cat Houston, Fern Whitelaw and Jenny Anderton.
We also congratulate those Home girls in the choir for their singing in Choral Evensong this week, as well as in the Memorial Service on Friday. They really worked hard towards that end.
There has been some shiny, silver evidence of the hard work done in Home this week, too. The house has won the Form Orders Effort Prize, again, and the work ethic in the house has never been better. Keep it up!
As we work towards the Home House Arts Evening, which takes place next week, everyone is devoting time to rehearsals. We look forward to hearing and seeing the talents displayed on the night.
Over the weekend the whole house relaxed and rested in preparation for the week ahead. That is, except the Juniors, who spent Sunday afternoon in the Watsons' kitchen making pizzas. But then again, hard work in Home always pays off; apparently they were delicious.
Michaelmas 2010 #3
Once again, it has been a victorious week in Home, with plenty of wins. First of all, Home has successfully beaten Lothian in the Senior Inter-house hockey, thanks to the determination and skill of our girls. And thanks also to the enthusiasm exhibited by the supporters, who are proof that you don't have to make the team to get involved and contribute to a win.
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Over the weekend, Home sent a number of girls off to Scotland Lacrosse Training, who played well even though they had a horrific seven o' clock wake-up (far too early for most of us on a Sunday morning). The girls who went were Camilla Ambler, Rebecca Headon, Katie Winton, Caroline Solms, Annie Winton and Jenny Anderton. We hope all of them make the squad.
Senior inter-house debating also begins next week, and our fingers are crossed for Fern Whitelaw and Michael Greer who will be representing the house. We are all very confident, as Home girls always seem to excel in the field of talking!
House Part-song practises continue this week, with the girls making good progress in the care of Lisa Robertson and Annabel Blackett. With the weeks dropping away, it will not be long before we will be cheering them on in the competition (and hopefully celebrating a win).
We also celebrated Jemima Murray-Poore and Grania Lambert's birthdays with the ever-popular House chocolate cake.
As always, Home is keeping up with the academic side of things. With form orders approaching, we encourage everyone to give it their all, so that we can maintain our record as the top house!
By Jennie Graham
Michaelmas 2010 #2
This week, Home girls have excelled on the sports pitches, with our girls at the senior end beating Loretto no less than three times. In the 1st's hockey, where we make up a large proportion of the team, there was a 5-0 win. In the 2nd's and 3rd's, both matches were won 6-0, with members of the L6th scoring some fantastic goals. In other sports, Amy Izat (L6th) was made captain of the swimming team, with Fern Whitelaw (L6th) as the vice-captain. Congratulations also go to Charlotte Legerlotz(L6th) and Lydia Proctor (L6th) who made it into the Under-18 Midlands hockey team. Well done to the fantastic sportswomen of the L6th, you have made Home proud this week!
In the world of music, Home appears to be doing well, too. Our own Emily Harrison sang the opening responses at the Sunday service this week, and judging by her voice, she looks set to take the music department by storm. The final 10 have been selected by Annabel Blackett and Lisa Robertson to sing in the House Music competition in a few weeks, so good luck to all involved!
On Saturday, the fun and games continued long after the matches ended. The 2nd form enjoyed their tutor outing with Mr and Mrs Dove, and the 3rd form girls were invited to Goodacres for a movie night. The second Moncrieff night of the year was a success for the 6th form, with some extremely inventive costumes. It seems our girls can never resist an opportunity to be creative.
But now it is time to move on to the most important triumph in Home this week. As we all awoke on Friday, none of us dreamed that in a few short hours we would be basking in glory. Soon, the crucial moment arrived, and Home stepped up to the plate. Yes, Home has indeed won the Pavarotti Cup for singing in chapel. Well done everyone!
By Jennie Graham (U6th Home)
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Some of the Home girls playing against Loretto
Michaelmas 2010 #1
It has been a very busy first week in Home, with girls from across the years getting involved in a variety of extra-curricular activities, from the sports field to the world of music. Congratulations go to all those who attended preseason hockey, who not only put a huge amount of effort into the trials, but managed to have a great time despite the unpleasant weather! And the hard work has paid off, with our veteran players maintaining their places on the squad and a handful of new seniors making the squad for the first time. A special mention has to go to Amber Flowerdew, Jemima Murray-Poore and Isobel Houston, who have become the only 4th form students in either house to make the 1st team. Well done!
Over the weekend, the house outings took place, and Home enjoyed a wonderful day of white water rafting. Once again, the Home girls displayed their teamwork skills, with everyone working together to navigate the rapids and avoid the rocks (for the most part!) and in spite of their determination to swim with the fish, we managed to keep Louisa MacDonald and Harriet Mellor in the boats long enough to cover a distance of about 5 miles!
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At the other end of the spectrum our Captain of College, Alice Strang Steel, cunningly avoided the water and remained (relatively) dry. This must be a good sign! Everyone returned freezing cold but cheerful, dreaming of the sausages and burgers waiting for us on our return.
Once again, Home has contributed some new members to the school choir, hopefully this will mean that we can maintain the high standard of singing in Home at congregational practice, and the Pavarotti Cup will be ours!
The senior play auditions take place next week, so good luck to all those Home girls hoping to take part, I am sure Home will dominate the production, if our performance in House Drama last year is anything to go by.
As always, the Home girls have been hard at work this week, and with any luck this will continue. The Form Orders Effort Prize deserves to stay on our trophy shelf, so keep going everyone!
By Jennie Graham (U6th Home)
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