Getting festive in Butler House
15 December 2022 - Butler
Life in Butler House never stands still, we are always looking for new and exciting ways to enrich the lives of our community. For the first time, Diwali was celebrated in Butler House with a party led by Miss Sunil, Assistant Housemistress and supported by pupils Ojasvi, Ahana, Riana and Inaayat who also share this Hindu festival. Our Social Secretary Alice was involved in organising the event, which involved rangoli art, henna designs, a Bollywood dance competition and an Indian buffet. It was a memorable evening full of colour, music and laughter and I am sure will become a much-loved annual event. It was special to celebrate this important cultural festival and nice to share this with friends and staff helping us understand more fully what this occasion means to them. It was lovely to see the girls and Miss Sunil dress in their traditional outfits and share stories from past celebrations at home.
Halloween saw some interesting pumpkin carving take place and being the first night back after Long Leave, it was an ideal time for some House Family bonding. The lanterns certainly brightened up the dark November nights, flickering a suitable shade of ‘Butler orange’ on our doorstep. Staff and pupils dusted off their baking skills during the holiday for a Halloween themed, charity bake sale which took place on our return to School. Lots of fantastically decorated cupcakes, biscuits and cake pops appeared with the returning pupils and we raised over £200.
November seems to be the month of light and colour and the bonfire night celebrations added to this. Our charity stall was a popular attraction, guests paid to have a go on some traditional fairground games such as ‘hook a duck’, ‘hoop toss’ and darts. . It was another successful charity initiative to raise money for the Wycombe Homeless Project and we raised over £300! Events such as this give the House an opportunity to work together to come up with the fundraising idea, design marketing material, organise staffing and generally encourage pupils and parents to take part on the night. MJ and Livi were great leaders as House Charity Reps.
One of the most fun additions to House life this term has been the Bake-Off competition between Butler House and our sister house, Barry, which was an idea from our LVI. Each week a dorm in each House has baked a cake of some sort and staff have enjoyed sampling the finished product. Judging has been difficult, and the competition continues! Dorm competitions have given the girls the opportunity to do something creative with pupils across different year groups.
House Cross-Country and House Swimming were other fun opportunities to demonstrate House Spirit. These events are all about getting as many people involved as possible and both the participants and the supporters did Butler proud! Whether running up the hills or diving into the pool, every point counts and it is all about being part of the team. Well done to everyone who took part to represent the House.
Tutors are an important part of every pupil’s journey at Wycombe and we always enjoy seeing them visit the House. Miss Smith arranged a special breakfast with Upper V ahead of their Mock GCSEs as a treat which was a great success!
Not so much a House event but an evening which will always be remembered was the England v France FIFA World Cup quarter-final match. The game was watched with great anticipation, and we will never forget the shrieks and extreme noise level in the Drawing Room as we gathered as a House to support the England team. With the result proving to be a disappointing one, it was good timing to have our Dorm Feast straight afterwards to cheer everyone up. Hopefully next time England…
Christmas in a boarding school is a special time, with the anticipation of the holidays, lots of jolly events and plenty of treats along the way. As we near Christmas, there have been plenty of festive events to look forward to. We have enjoyed House Christmas lunches, a Butler Bop, gingerbread house decorating and most importantly…snow! We wish all our pupils, both past and present, as well as their families a wonderful Christmas and all the best for 2023 from the Butler House staff.
