The New Year saw us welcome our wonderful new GAPs Miss Banks and Miss Higgins. Miss Banks

primarily supports Junior House and she very bravely allowed the girls to get to know her better by

sitting in the ‘Hot Seat ‘ and having 50 questions fired at her! We learnt a lot and Miss Banks was very

honest with her answers. Thankfully she answered favourably to whether she likes the pop group

‘One Direction’!!

We were lucky the constant rain and floods (which had devastating effects on so many other people’s

lives, farmland and property) only disrupted our travel plans to get home at Half Term. However, on

our way to Street (shopping excursion) we saw for ourselves from the heightened view

from the coach the extent of the flooding on the Somerset Levels and then we realised

how locally to us it was all happening.

We have enjoyed plenty of exciting trips, visits, activities, birthdays and celebrations

and hopefully now parents of Junior House Boarders are receiving a regular ‘Photo-

Newsletter’ which gives them a greater insight into their daughters’ week at Leweston.

Although there has been some disappointment that we haven’t had snow (so far!) this

winter we are now seeing the gardens and grounds of Leweston spring back into life –

suddenly the grass looks greener, the trees are budding and the daffodils are blooming. We look back

on a very happy term but also forward to the summer as we welcome new boarders and the Junior

House family grows again.

We hope that everyone had a Happy Easter!

Mrs Lorraine Roberts Housemistress, Junior House

Time flies by so quickly and looking back on last term it is difficult to believe that Easter is now over

and the summer term is here! In a cold and wet January we welcomed our new ‘Gappie’, Miss Higgins

who quickly acclimatized to the cold weather and got to know everyone in the

House.

Although the weather may have been damp it has not stopped everyone enjoy-

ing themselves, from impromptu muddy walks to cycling around the grounds

on a sunny Sunday afternoon. We also hosted our Boarding Taster Weekend

so that current Year 8s could get a taste of life in Middle House! The group,

along with members of the House, enjoyed an afternoon of crawling along in

ditches when we went Paintballing! Our annual trip to Portsmouth saw a full

coach setting off early for a day of fun, shopping, eating out and a trip to the

top of the Spinnaker Tower!

Of course this term has not all been fun for the year 11s as they had mock

exams for their GCSEs next term! All have been working very hard to com-

plete coursework before the holidays; however, they had fun on the last Saturday of term when they

all enjoyed a Chinese Takeaway together in the Common Room! Good luck guys!

We say goodbye to Claire and Elodie who joined us for the term from France – do keep in touch

with all the friends you made! Next term we welcome some familiar faces back for the summer term

as well as welcoming some new faces!

Miss Gina Phipps, Housemistress, Middle

The sun will come out...tomorrow!

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Weymouth Day Out—

Boarders seize the sun-

shine for a day at the

beach!

2

G’day mate! Boarders

celebrate Australia Day!

3

The Wookey Hole

Witch—Spellbound at

Wookey Hole!

3

Life in Boarding—an

insight into Prep Duty!

4

Hello to Miss Higgins and

Miss Banks, our new

Gappies!

4

S P R I N G T E R M 2 0 1 4 V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 2

D A T E S F O R T H E

D I A R Y :

Tuesday 22nd April:

Boarders Return from

12noon

Wednesday 23rd April:

SUMMER TERM BE-

GINS

Monday 5th May: OPEN

DAY

9/10/11 May: EXEAT

Friday 23rd May: Half

term begins

Weymouth Day Out!

T H E B O A R D I N G B U G L E P A G E 2

“The day we went to Weymouth was unusually sunny, which was a start! We all had a running race

up the pebbles when we went to Chesil beach. It was really fun although I got very dusty. After we

went shopping in Weymouth where we did a couple of hours shopping followed by sitting on the

beach. It was a nice day.”

-Sophie Lambert, Year 10

“Junior House went to Weymouth on a Saturday. It was really fun because we got to look

around the market and shops while also spending time at the beach. We also went to Port-

land to look at the rocks. At first I was a bit sceptical to go on the rocks but then everyone

reassured me that I would be ok and eventually I made it through and out alive. It was a really

fun trip and although I was scared for a quarter of it, it was nice to spend time with everyone

and just have a good time.”

-Jane Olodade– Olowe, Year 8

We were all hugely excited to see the gloriously blue sea on a rare sunny day. We clambered across large rocks as we admired

the tall lighthouse. We had a running race across pebbles, followed by shopping in Weymouth where there was an arcade and a

much needed MacDonald’s!

-Grace Pease, Year 10

ROMA 2014 In February half term, girls from years 12 and 13 were lucky enough to attend the Classics and Art Study Tour to Rome. Amongst

those on the trip were year 12 boarders Jenny Lau and TC Chau, who share their experiences here with the Boarding Bugle:

I went on the Rome trip in February for six days. That was my first time in Rome and the

trip was gorgeous.

We were very lucky that we had really nice weather in the trip. For me, the most amazing

thing in Rome is all the food. Spaghetti, pizzas, gelatos, risottos, etc; they were extremely

delicious. I had two ice-creams per day on average and nearly tried every flavour such as

caramel, milk, coffee, chocolate and strawberry cheesecake.

All the places that we visited were fantastic. For example, the Forum, Colosseum and Trevi

fountain. I made a wish in front of the fountain and hope that it will come true. We’ve also

been to Vatican City. It was really near to our hotel so we just walked to it. We climbed to the top of St. Peter's Basilica. It

was hard but worth it since the view at the top was very good. We saw the entire view of Rome.

It was an unforgettable experience and I hope I would have a chance to go once more.—Jenny Lau

This year in February 2014, I went to my first ever European country away from England, Rome! It was a Classics and Art study trip, though I

don't do any of these subjects, I was really lucky to be a part of it. These 6 days were a lifetime experience for me. I can still remember the

range of ancient historical infrastructure like the Colosseum, Trevi fountain and the Vatican City vividly. The most memorable and perhaps unex-

pected surprise was the food there, the pizza, pasta and all the Italian food allowed me to walk such a long way during the stay. Also I have

tried 30+ flavor of Gelato, undoubtedly, one of my favorite flavour is the nutella. After experiencing this trip I have learnt a lot of things, and had

a really good experience and unforgettable memories that will last forever. I wish I can visit there again and I strongly recommend others too.

The most disappointing part was actually the short duration of stay but as I've captured a lot of pictures, I can always look back into it and re-

call all these wonderful things that I have experienced. -TC Chau

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory-------- Dr. Seuss”

Wintry Walks! P A G E 3

V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 2

Every few Sundays, Miss Hart takes us on a nice long walk. It was very windy and wet, but despite the weather we all put on our

wellies, coats and scarves. Due to all the rain, our wellies were needed to get through all

the puddles and rivers. Unfortunately Crystal had no wellies, so while walking down a path

completely underwater, I looked back to see Miss Hart giving her a piggy-back. Only a few

seconds later Olivia fell straight into a big puddle!

The path continued as a river for a long time,

even on to the road and while Ruby and I were

walking through the huge puddle, two cars came

and almost splashed us with a wave, luckily they

slowed down! Eventually we got back to school,

and despite being freezing cold, we all had lots of

fun!

Clemmie Goulding Year 9

LEWESTON INTERNATIONAL

BOARDING COMMITTEE

Wookey! Wookey Hole are these amazing caves! When we went inside our tour guide told

us that it was believed that a witch had lived in there and that made everybody

scared! He also said that we might see some bats! Most people were scared of the

bats but when we only saw a little baby one everyone relaxed a bit because he was

so cute! Along the way he told us the story of the witch and this monk and how at

the end she turned to stone! After that we saw lots of amazing things like life sized dinosaur models and fairy statues and one of

the Senior girls even got to make paper! It was a great day out and I hope we get to go again!

Maddie Austin, Year 7

It might have been cold and wet at the start of the Spring term,

but this did not deter Leweston’s International Boarding Com-

mittee as they brought the sunshine to the dining room as they

hosted Australia Day celebrations at the beginning of term!

With sunglasses and flip flops on, traditional Australian music

emerging from the speakers and koalas hidden everywhere, girls

enjoyed a traditional Australia Day BBQ supper, complete with

Pavlova for dessert to bring the sand and surf to Dorset, with

the kind support of the Catering Department. Led by Miss Hig-

gins, fresh from the Australian Summer, a great time was had by

all! Special mention must go to ‘surfer of the month’ Mrs Rob-

son, who raised the bar by surfing into supper!

Gaudere et bene facere Gaudere et bene facere Gaudere et bene facere

Prep Time in Junior House!

I started my time at Leweston in year nine as a weekly boarder, which seems such a long time ago and I can’t believe I am leaving next

term. I am a Junior House Boarding Prefect so I go to Junior House every Wednesday for about two hours to see the Prep School

boarders and have supper with them, which is great fun as the girls are always chatty and full of crazy stories

about their week at school and their weekend activities! They really enjoy having someone around to do things

with from watching a film and playing games, such as Jenga, to discussing current news: we have recently been

thinking about out how the Malaysian plane disappeared. Rocha, Tilly and Tig were very involved and came up

with some very interesting ideas although Tig seemed set on the idea that aliens had come and abducted it.

Being a Boarding Prefect also gives the girls a chance to raise any ideas for things they really like or issues they

may have about their boarding life with me, which I can then pass on to the Boarding Staff to see what can be

done.

Rozzie Waite, Year 13

CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS!

Every year it is a traditional to have a dinner amongst our family and relatives during the Chinese New Year celebrations. Studying

overseas means that this opportunity is lost, yet, thanks to Leweston School, celebrations can be organised by the Year 12 students.

Organising an event is harder than I thought; Crystal and I had planned for 2 weeks and

with the help from Mrs Larkin, everything was under control. This year, we thought we

would plan something different; something that hadn’t been served in previous years. The

glutinous rice cake and the turnip cake which were one of the traditional dishes that we

added as the starter for the celebrations this year. The process of making these cakes was-

n’t easy, but fortunately they turned out wonderfully and I was glad everyone enjoyed

them.

We were overjoyed to see that a lot of teachers and students were able to attend the celebration, and this year we were honoured

to have Mrs Head, the Chair of Governors, with her husband joining us.

Another highlight of the night was the game we played. After the speech, Crystal and I introduced the game “Chinese Whispers” to

our guests. It wasn’t an original one – we purposely chose a range of greetings in Chinese! There were two rounds – one began

with a Chinese native speaker and the following round with an English native speaker! It was amazing how accurately they pro-

nounced the phrases! Well done!

Thank you to everyone who attended our celebration; thank you to the year 13 boarders and Mr Bush who did a wonderful job at

decorating the DT centre; thank you to all the year 11 and 12 boarders who helped with the cooking! Last but not least, we thank

you Mrs Larkin incredibly for your help, despite a full and packed schedule.

We hope you enjoyed the Chinese New Year Celebrations, and we shall see you guys next year!

G’�day!�I'm�Miss Higgins,�the�new�Middle�House�Gappie.�I�come�from�a�cattle�property�near�Gloucester�in�rural�NSW,�Australia.�Having�just�finished�my�own�time�at�boarding�school�in�Sydney,�now�I'm�finding�myself�on�the�other�side�of�the�job!�It's�so�exciting�to�be�here�at�Leweston�-�help-ing�out�around�the�boarding�house,�the�prep�school�and�during�PE�lessons.�Although�this�first�term�has�already�gone�by�really�quickly,�it�has�been�so�much�fun�and�I�have�loved�getting�to�know�everyone�on�cam-pus.�Weekend�trips�like�ice-skating,�paint-balling,�and�the�Wookey�Hole�caves�have�been�some�of�my�fa-vourite�experiences�with�the�girls,�and�have�allowed�us�to�see�some�of�the�lovely�Dorset�countryside.�We've�also�had�the�chance�to�travel�by�ourselves�to�Bath,�London�and�Ireland,�which�were�all�amazing.�I'm�really�looking�forward�to�travelling�more�around�England�and�then�further�afield�through�Europe!�After�what�I'm�sure�will�be�a�fabulous�year�of�adventures,�I'm�planning�go�back�to�Australia�to�study�Exercise�Physiology�at�Uni.�I�hope�you�all�have�a�great�year�and�that�I�will�get�to�know�you�much�better�by�the�end�of�it!�See�you�around�:)�

Wow,�what�can�I�say�about�these�past�3�months�at�Leweston!�First�of�all,�it�has�gone�by�in�a�flash,�but�at�the�same�time�it�feels�as�if�I�have�been�here�forever!�I�cannot�believe�that�we�have�already�done�so�much�and�have�got�to�know�the�girls�so�well.�I�personally�have�been�working�with�the�Junior�House�girls�and�we�have�had�a�wonderful�Spring�term�doing�all�sorts�of�fun�activities!�We�went�to�Wookey�Hole�to�experience�the�spooky�caves,�and�we�went�to�the�gorgeous�city�of�Wells�to�do�a�bit�of�shopping!�We�have�also�had�some�exciting�times�in�house,�where�we�watched�the�Winter�Olympics�as�well�as�a�very�thrilling�treasure�hunt!�Both�the�pupils�and�staff�at�Leweston�are�very�friendly�and�have�made�me�feel�very�welcome!�I�cannot�wait�for�the�year�ahead�to�get�to�experience�a�bit�more�of�what�boarding�at�Leweston�is�all�about!�Have�a�very�happy�Easter�with�your�family�girls!��Miss Banks x

Hello to the new Gappies!