Wendover

A fabulous first half of term for Team Wendover!

A huge welcome back to the Wendover House News! Time continues to fly by and somehow, we already find ourselves at Long Leave. The girls are very much deserving of a good rest and a chance to recharge their batteries.  

I hope that you enjoy seeing all that we have been up to so far this term: 

Our new recruits have settled into House extremally well. It has been lovely to see them forge new friendships and get to know their House Mothers and their wider House Families too. We have run a couple of House family events this half of term. These remain one of the girls’ favourite ways to hang out together, the bonds between them are incredible!  

The first House family event saw the new LIVs and the new UIVs compete, alongside their House Mothers, to build the tallest structure from spaghetti and marshmallows. Not only did it need to be the tallest, but it also needed to be able to hold an inflated balloon. Some crumbled, some stood tall, and others ate too many of their marshmallows! It was lovely to hear shrieks of laughter fill long corridor.  

The winners were Indira, Kendra, and Arya. Well done!  

The second House family event, saw the whole family come together to create their own family value for the year. Something that they want to cultivate for not only their family but also the wider Wendover community. It was lovely to see the girls reflect on what they loved most about Wendover House and for them to explore the important aspects of living in such a special community.  

This term the LVI have been getting to know the younger Wendover girls with hot chocolate and cookie nights in their kitchen. Our eldest in House really are role models for those in the years below them and I have enjoyed seeing them step into their new leadership roles. I continue to look forward to their watching them flourish in these roles for the remainder of their last year in House.  

The passing of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II saw many of our House go home to watch the funeral with their families. It left 12 girls together in House so the Wendover staff decided to treat those remaining to a Saturday night meal in Zizzi’s. We enjoyed bowls of pasta and massive pizzas! It was lovely to see girls across different age groups spend time together outside of School.  

The individual year groups have been hugely busy too. LVs enjoyed a night under the rain and stars on their first Duke of Edinburgh expedition together. Not too many got blisters and they even managed to be the first group back to camp on the first day of walking. I know that Miss Franks enjoyed helping them learn how to read a map as well as their company.  

The UIVs competed in the much-loved inter-house dance competition. They were tasked with picking a song from the 80s, 90s, or 00s and they went for a Miss Blunt favourite: Material Girl by Madonna. They worked exceptionally well together, and I hugely admired their bravery of dancing in front of the whole school- a first for many of them! We even had some old faces come to cheer them on too (we miss you Wendover UVI!).  

Tutor breakfasts are always a hit and so far the UIVs and LVs have loved getting to know their new tutors over muffins, fruit, and smoothies in the morning.  

October is Black History Month and we always come as a House to learn something new about such an important part of History but also of how we can continue to embrace Equity, Diversity, and Identity in our boarding House. Arolape in her role of EDI rep put together a brilliant Kahoot- well done Colette for winning- and we all learnt something new. I also managed to find a Nigerian café in High Wycombe that makes and sells jollof rice, a traditional West African dish. I surprised the girls with it on the night of the quiz and we all loved getting to try something new (for most of us) and getting to try a dish that is popular with our Nigerian girls.  

Our LIVs are currently busy making their guy for Bonfire night- prizes for anyone who can guess what they are making!  

I have loved welcoming Miss Franks to her new role in House as our new Assistant Housemistress. She runs a baking club each Sunday afternoon for those in House and I have personally loved eating their creations. So far, we have had pizza rolls, red velvet cupcakes, banana bread and spooky Halloween cupcakes. A lovely way to get some balance at the end of a busy week!  

It really is a delight to live and work with such a great bunch of teenagers. This first half of term has reminded me of how incredibly lucky I am, indeed!