Miss Taylor: A year in Sixth Form
The highlight of Sixth Form this year has to be the ability of students and staff to maintain our close-knit community through challenging times.
Through assemblies, newsletters, the Prefect Team, socials and our numerous online events, we continued to work together, enjoy each other’s company and support each other through an extraordinary year.
Our Mary Ward Day, Chinese New Year celebrations and Virtual Trip to New York are great examples of this. The cooking and calligraphy workshops for Chinese New Year were particular highlights. Just over a year ago, we could not imagine the level of innovation that was about to burst onto the scene or imagine a different way of carrying out all that is important through Sixth Form.
An example of this is the way in which our Prefect Team has worked together, such as by organising our very fun start of year quiz and continuing their support for younger year groups via assemblies and Form Prayers. The Sixth Form has also developed a newly discovered love of Zumba thanks to Dr Gundy!
Sixth Form Review by Year 13
Our annual Christmas event was a triumph in creativity and innovation given that we could not all be in the hall together. Mr Seidler’s homage to Hugh Grant’s dance in Love Actually was a particular highlight.
Keeva’s Khoir
This year Keeva set up her own after-school choir. An entirely independent and student-led venture, this choir reflects all that is good at St Mary’s with lots of fun, beautiful singing and great memories along the way.
Inclusivity Group
This student-led group has been a pioneer in raising awareness and educating both staff and students, something that particularly stands out given the international narratives about Black Lives Matter and LGBT rights. They have been articulate, well informed and extremely impressive.
Prefect & Alum Q&A for Years 10 and 11
This event was an opportunity for the Prefects to offer wise words to students looking ahead to the Sixth Form. In their answering of questions they showed real maturity, care, insight and wisdom. They reflected the excellent leadership shown by the Prefect Team all year.
Form 02 felting
Amongst all the chaos of this year, Form 02 got the felting bug! Out of this new hobby has come the Sixth Form mascot, Felicity, who gave Elf on the Shelf a run for her money at Christmas. The Grinch was also known to join her on occasion…
Year 13
A big shout out must go out to Year 13 for keeping on track despite the national chaos surrounding summer exams. The uncertainty and ongoing change was extremely difficult for them, on top of which we were locked down and so their usual support systems were not necessarily available to them. Despite it all, they stayed focused and engaged and took every opportunity available to them and worked hard to achieve their university offers and places.
Finally...
This poem has been my ‘go-to’ through all lockdowns
and then the whole world
walked inside and shut their doors
and said we will stop it all. everything.
to protect our weaker ones
our sicker ones. our older ones.
and nothing. nothing in the history of humankind
ever felt more like love than this.
Miss Taylor, Head of Sixth Form
Image credit: Sixth Form leavers' card created by Year 13 student Cristina H.-P.
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