Letter from the Headmistress

7th July 2010

Dear Parents,

Smashing Times

On Friday 9th July Mr James Buchanan, accompanied by a mallet, the lucky winner of the “dispatching the portacabin”award at the auction, will be having a meaningful interface with our departing portacabin as it bites the dust.  Then in quick order the builders will come in and if everything goes to plan, phoenix-like the beautiful new Clock House will arise to accommodate the St Augustine’s Nursery, opening next April.  This does mean that in the interim, pedestrian access to the School Convent Entrance for the Sixth Form and Staff will be via the Lych-gate, which is being rebuilt, and everyone else will continue to use the ramped access through the Prep playground, although 50% of the playground will be fenced off as a Contractors’ compound.  Prep 1 has their own personalised tunnel through which they can access that world of learning and enlightenment which is ruled over by Miss Keane.

As I write, our intrepid canoeists are canoeing in the Wye Valley.  Our equally intrepid trekkers and Orangutan platform builders are doing their stuff in Borneo and everyone else is recovering from this term’s plethora of activities culminating in the triumph of the Parents’ Committee Ball.

Comings & Goings

I am sure that you will all join with me in expressing your appreciation of all that this year’s retirees have done for our girls.  Unusually we are saying goodbye to three of our staff.  Mrs Bailey who is Head of English will be replaced by Dr Gill with Mr Elder joining the Department.  Mrs Lakomy who is Head of Maths will be replaced by Mr Bale with Mr Tizard joining the Department.  Mrs Crick has decided to try her hand at something other than teaching and so will be replaced by Miss MacDonald.  All three in very different ways have been inspirational whether their interest has been poetic intensity, quadratic equations or the sheer thrill of learning that even though you are five years old you can do creative writing.  All three will be very hard acts to follow.

Where is it?

I have delayed writing this letter to you in the hope that we would be in receipt of the ISI report.  It has yet to materialise.  When it does, the School will have the chance to correct factual inaccuracies and it will then go back to ISI for amendments and final editing and then be returned to us when we will have a fortnight within which to make it available to all parents……and as if we have not been inspected enough we will be welcoming the Reverend Mr Anthony Clark of the Westminster Diocese to carry out a Religious inspection here towards the end of September.

In the meantime, next year is proving to be just as frenetic as this one with Hawaii, Public Speaking in Canada, Music in Malta, French in Le Touquet and Skiing already on the horizon.

I do hope that you and your girls have a great summer.  After all this year’s alarums and excursions the girls deserve to do a bit of nothing.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs F.J. Gumley-Mason MA (Cantab)

Headmistress

28th May 2010

High-Flying Trio with Plenty to Beam About

Tiggy Idelson, Daniella Tedeschi-Atkins and Gabriella Stewart are part of a team that finished sixth at the Team Gymnastics British Championships.

It was the first time that the youngsters from Heathrow Gymnastics Club had qualified for the event at junior level and they were not far off a bronze medal at the GLI Leisure Centre in Gloucester. The girls have not yet been together a year, but in their initial big outing they came fifth in last year's Junior European Cup.

They are hoping to go to Iceland for a friendly competition soon in preparation for this year's Junior European Cup meetings in Bracknell and Gran Canaria.

The girls also compete in artistic gymnastics events for the Heathrow Club.

5th May 2010

Augustinian General Election

Earliest General Election results are in from St Augustine’s Priory, Ealing. 

In a 66% turnout, the acting Returning Officer for the constituency, Sheldon O’Kalo, gave notice of a landslide victory for the new Political party, Fifi, (Frances Gumley-Mason) – 82 votes - whose main policy is a three day weekend.  Second place went to the Liberal Democrats (Helen Souchon) – 64 votes, third to the Conservatives (Aarti Suri) – 62 votes, fourth to the Labour party (Christina Cheriyan) – 48 votes, and in fifth place was the Green party (Eleanor Snell-Navarro) – 12 votes.