Airlie House Newsletter Summer 2024 – So Long, Farewell…
28 June 2024 - Airlie
As always, the Summer Term is an exciting time in the boarding Houses as we start to get to know the current Upper III pupils who will be joining us in September. Over the course of the term, the girls have been meeting the older year groups. Last half term, the Upper III met with their future House Mothers over a barbeque dinner of burgers and hot-dogs.
This half term, it was the Lower Vs turn to meet their future Great-Granddaughters. The girls enjoyed a picnic outside before heading to the drawing room to discuss the ins and outs of life in Airlie. Before accompanying the Upper III back to Junior House, they asked them what it is they are looking forward to the most. Here are their replies:
Emily: Fewer house orders
Sia: The people are nice
Madeline: A nice community
Avyanna: Flourishing and sharing a dorm with older girls
Raji: The house colour
On Friday before Short Leave, our Lower IV pupils were the first to get out of bed and rush downstairs – a rare phenomenon that could only signify one thing: House Mothers and House Daughters were announced early that morning! It was so nice to see all our Lower IVs excited to find out which Upper III pupil they will be welcoming into their House family in September!
The House family is one of the most special Wycombe Abbey traditions, as every new ower LIV who joins their Senior House gets to be a part of a family tree: their House mothers are always the first port of call when it comes to settling in. They share a dorm with them during their first Autumn Term and House Staff guide the Upper IVs in making the best of this first role of responsibility in House, helping their House Daughters with any question they may have about House routines and life in Airlie.
We asked our current Lower IV pupils what they’re looking forward to the most as they become House Mothers:
Poppy: I am excited for the new member of our House family to join Airlie.
Georgie: I am very excited to be responsible for a younger pupil and to build a bond with my House Daughter.
Lilly: I am looking forward to sharing a dorm with my House Daughter so we can build a good connection and share fun memories together.
Chloe: To help my House Daughter settle into Airlie.
Daisy: Helping my House Daughter with going into Lower IV.
As always, the end of term is packed with fun events, competitions, and celebrations. June started with Airlie’s House Bake Sale. We were impressed with the variety of baked goods our pupils made, from Sasha’s lush cinnamon buns to Helen’s perfectly cooked macaroons. All proceeds from this went to our School Charities – Mary’s Meals and Wycombe Refugee Partnership. A huge thanks to Clarice, our House Charity Rep, who worked very hard to organise the event, and to all the girls who brought treats for the sale.
On Monday 17 June, we celebrated two important events: the arrival of sunshine after weeks of rain and House Tennis Funals. We are so proud of all our Airlie girls who competed and even won Second House!
The last weekend of term was busy, but extremely fun. On Dove Day, we welcomed the Airlie parents, and even some old pupils, and got together for a nice lunch in the House Marquee, which was beautifully decorated by our girls. We enjoyed watching the Gymnastics and Dance display, especially Michelle, Roxy, and Poppy, who amazed us with their wonderful performance.
A special congratulations goes to Natalie in Upper IV, who won the indoor rowing competition for her category, with an impressive 289m in one minute.
A highlight of the day was the Dog Show, which again featured many four-legged members of the Airlie community and even saw Fern being crowned the winner of the ‘Loveliest Lady’ category.
On Sunday, we celebrated the end of the year with the most anticipated event of the school calendar: GlastonAbbey! The weather was beautiful and the entertainment even better, as many Airlie girls captivated us with their performance.
The last week of term was packed with activities. We all gathered in LAC to support our Lower V performing their House Play on Monday.
On Wednesday evening, for our House Inning, we took advantage of the nice weather and gathered in the pitches for our favourite game, Rounders. Miss Flynn surprised the girls with a visit from the ice cream van and we ended the evening with a huge order of Domino’s Pizza, which gave us the necessary energy for Thursday’s Sports Day. Congratulations to all the Airlie girls who took part!
As another year comes to an end, we are saying goodbye to some members of our community. Two of our Upper Vs are moving to new schools next year. We wish them the best in this new journey, and we want them to know that they will always be a part of Airlie.
Our Lower VI mons, who did a great job in leading the House this year, are heading off to Clarence. We are so proud of everything they have achieved this year. We will miss them a lot, but we hope that they will come visit us regularly.
We asked Alice, our Head of House, to reflect on her time in Airlie. Here is what she said:
At the beginning of June, we welcomed Kristine, an Airlie senior, into the boarding house – it was the first time she had been back onsite since she studied here in the 1950s. All of us fortunate enough to meet Kristine were struck by her vitality and strength of character, but above all, the stories she shared have really stuck with me. In short, they bear such striking similarities to my own memories in Airlie, and I take this to be firm evidence that there is an immutable ‘Airlie spirit’ that is passed on from generation to generation. For sake of brevity, I’ll share just three of my own memories to illustrate what I have loved and will so profoundly miss about Airlie. At the end of my first Autumn Term in Airlie, we went ice-skating at Somerset House for our House Outing, and though I was absolutely horrific (falling over multiple times) and it was pouring with rain, I was just overjoyed to be around all the older girls whom I was in process of getting to know. Around a year later, after Covid had struck, the house was considerably emptier. On one quite drastic occasion, there were only 10 of us in the house for an entire two weeks! You’d think this would correlate to a quiet and peaceful house environment, but in reality it was quite the antithesis – we spent most evenings in the drawing room, chatting or watching movies (in fact, we got through every High School Musical movie in the space of a weekend). If I were asked to give a highlight from my last year in Airlie, I would instantaneously say House Shout. If you’re going to enter Big School on the penultimate evening of the Spring Term, you must be prepared for serious ear damage – Wycombe Abbey girls have impressive lung capacities! For three years running, Airlie have chosen songs which require a small group of us to perform a rap, and this year I volunteered. I channeled every ounce of energy I had into those verses and even though we didn’t come away with a win, it’s a moment I doubt I’ll ever forget. Altogether, whilst its bittersweet to be reaching my final week in Airlie, the house I’ve quite literally grown up in, I’m confident that the house will maintain its warmth and homeliness, after all, our current girls and staff alike are thoroughly invested with that notorious ‘Airlie spirit’.
Our amazing House Tutor, Miss Denson, is also leaving at the end of this year. She has been an extremely valuable member of our community, from lending some help with Math problems to organizing ‘Fruity Fridays’ and helping with crumbling the feta cheese for ‘Greek Salad Day’. She will be greatly missed by pupils and staff alike.
Most importantly, we are all very sad to be saying goodbye to our amazing Housemistress, Miss Flynn, who has been in Airlie House for six years. Pupils and staff alike are so grateful for everything she has done for the House, leading us to multiple successes, but most importantly supporting us, giving advice, and encouraging everyone to be their best self! We will all miss her so much!
As a way of saying goodbye and a huge THANK YOU to her, we have some messages for her:
Our favourite memories with Miss Flynn:
Alice (LIV): Learning to crochet after trampolining is something I won’t ever forget.
Jasmine (UV): During Spring Term, when she came to House Games to watch us during football. She was so encouraging and enthusiastic, and that was the first time Airlie won a match!
Daisy (LIV): My favourite memory with Miss Flynn is definitely when we set up the Xmas tree together, it was so fun and definitely a memorable experience for a first year in Airlie.
Isabelle (LV): I remember when I was hiding on top of the wardrobes in Lower IV and Miss Flynn walked in and I tried to flatten myself against the wall so she wouldn’t see me and then she looked closer and saw me and it was so embarrassing and awkward, but also so funny!
Michelle (UIV): My favourite memory of Miss Flynn is every time I walk past her in the hallways, she would always give me a smile or ask me how my day was. It always felt good to see her around!
Helen (LV): Miss Flynn complimented my guitar playing even when my guitar was on silent!
Yvonne (UIV): My favourite times with Miss Flynn were discussing my GCSE choices over a cup of tea – thank you for all the support you have offered us the past few years and wish you all the best for the future!
Ameera (UIV): My favourite moment with Miss Flynn is every time she put us to bed in Little Bear after we had finished our dorm volleyball tournament. Thank you for putting up with us! We will miss you so so much!
Natalie (UIV): Thank you for being an amazing Housemistress this year. You make life at Wycombe so much better. I hope you have best time next year. My favourite moment with Miss Flynn is when I was the last person to leave house for long leave and she chatted with me. Thank you so much!
Sophie (UIV): One of my favourite memories of Miss Flynn was when she caught us multiple times out of bed in one night in Autumn Term Great Bear. (We promise we won’t be out of bed again!) We will miss you and we hope you have a good time on your trip!
Ying Shan (LVI): Thank you and goodbye Miss Flynn!! My favourite memory with you is probably when we were in Clarice’s room, and you told us about the show you watched where they were like doing extreme sports in the jungle!! I hope you have the best time travelling (jungle?), thanks so much for helping us all settle in and for being there for all of us!
Sofia (UV): My favourite memory of Miss Flynn was her Irish dancing in the talent show.
Clarice (LVI): The first few days of Lower Sixth when I first joined the School and she was very welcoming and kept checking up on me.
Fiona (LVI): Miss Flynn being so supportive and encouraging during exams by asking me about how they went and telling me to not stress and get some rest. McFlurries during GCSEs really cheered me up!
Grace (LVI): Helping me to settle into the school and Airlie which made me feel so relieved, and I am so grateful for the fact that she is always here when I need a helping hand.
Dr Tsaknaki: My favourite moment with Miss Flynn was when I persuaded her to do a TikTok with me.
Some messages to Miss Flynn:
Tasha (LVI): In my first and final year in Airlie, Miss Flynn has been the most amazing Housemistress. She is so welcoming and thoughtful, and it’s so nice to have a kind face around who you know you can count on. I’m very grateful for everything she has done this year, and I am sure she will be greatly missed both in House and throughout the school!
Alison (UV): Thank you so much for looking after me for the past three years. I have cherished every memory in Airlie especially early beds and my very first house order. I wish you all the best in your travels!
Joann (UIV): Thank you so much for being the best housemistress ever! You are always so nice and caring (even when my iPad got confiscated). We will miss you sooo much!
Elaine (LV): Thank you Miss Flynn for being the most tolerant and caring house mistress and smiling at me every day even after finding three different phones two ipads and a laptop.
Chloe (LV): Miss Flynn, you have been the kindest and the best house mistress to Airlie, and we are all so sad to say goodbye to you. One of my favourite memories is when we used to play cards in the furthest Great Bear cubie, and you would always let us play ‘one last game’ even past lights out. You have made my time in Airlie so enjoyable from being our biggest supporter and always looking out for us. We wish you the best in your future adventures, although we’d rather you stay. Thank you, Miss Flynn!
Isabella (LV): Miss Flynn – Thank you for making sure our dorm had a good night’s sleep every day, even if that meant confiscating our lights and playing cards.
Lilly (LIV): Thank you so much for being a caring supportive Housemistress, you are so kind and love all our ideas (like the slushy machine!) I hope our little bear volleyball did not disturb you too much. I hope you have a good trip ahead. Love Lilly
Poppy (LIV): Thank you so so much for being the best Housemistress ever!! I will miss you so much. Thank you for always helping me tidy up my avalanche of clothes and sorry for nearly trapping you!! I hope you have a great trip ahead and please come visit us. Love, Poppy
Amalia (LV): We love you Miss Flynn and we all wish you the best for this new chapter of your life. Thank you for everything (and especially the Starbucks after doing the 1500!).
Linda (UV): Thank you for being the best Housemistress ever and making me feel so welcomed even though I joined late! Thank you for always lending me a helping hand and for arranging so many taxi rides to support my volleyball journey. We will miss you incredibly and have fun travelling!
Amalia (UIV): Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for all of us. We will all miss you so much and you have been the best housemistress ever. We all hope you enjoy Australia.
Sophia (UIV): You’re the best house mistress ever! You’re always there for everyone and I’m very sorry for being loud and late at lights out. house is going to be so different without you and I hope you have a great holiday and enjoy Australia!
Yolanda (UIV): Thank you so much for your contributions towards our house. You have been the best Housemistress! I will miss the times with you as a house and the times you come into our dorm after lights out obviously not for anything naughty. Thank you so much!
Olga (LV): I will miss you so much! You have been so kind and supportive throughout my entire time in Wycombe – even in the quarantine before I came to the school! I hope you enjoy the new chapter of your life in sunny Australia! Please come back and visit us!
Chloe (LIV): My favourite things about Miss Flynn is that she is very supportive, and anyone can go to her to talk, and that she put me and Daisy in the same cubie!
Anjali (UVI): A huge thank you for everything Miss Flynn has done to support us in Airlie. I know she really will be missed, and I’m glad I left before I had to see Airlie without her.
Aubrey (UV): Thank you for being the best Housemistress ever! No matter the issue you are always so supportive and helpful, and I really appreciate how you are always so welcoming, especially after I came back in Upper IV. I really enjoyed all the chats outside of dispense, pizza parties and early beds we had, and Airlie won’t be the same without you! I hope you have a great time traveling and can come back and visit us!
An Ode to Miss Flynn
written by Georgie (LIV)
I love Miss Flynn because she is so kind,
A better Housemistress will be hard to find.
She makes Airlie feel like a home,
Helps me when I need it but also lets me roam.
She is such an amazing Housemistress and makes everything fun;
She keeps us all in order and gets everything done.
We will all miss her so much,
And hope we can keep in touch!
