The Autumn Term 2023: ‘In With The New’

13 October 2023 - Butler

The start of every new academic year brings with it a blank canvas of potential and opportunities. It is a new beginning, filled with excitement and possibility. For Butler House, it has been a fresh start indeed: a refurbished boarding House, five new boarders, nine new LIV, and a new Housemistress! We also welcomed Ms Bailey as a new Evening Matron, Miss McEvoy as a new Resident Tutor, and Miss Smith as a new House Tutor. And it hasn’t stopped there… The Butler girls have launched into all sorts of new subjects, new roles, and new experiences. In just six short weeks, we have crammed in so much activity and joy that it is hard to comprehend how Long Leave has arrived so quickly. The start of the new term in Butler has certainly been manic but utterly wonderful!

Every year group in Butler has embraced the new challenges of the term so far:

The LIV are settled in, and are enjoying life in their new Senior House. The UIVs were delighted to win the new ‘design a bridge’ competition as part of their architecture challenge on the Activities Days. The LV survived their Duke of Edinburgh hike in a thunderstorm and have launched into their first year of GCSEs with great spirit. The UV are loving life in their new roles as Heads of Dorms and have been showing the young girls the ropes with lots of games in the evenings. The LVI are working hard in their new A Levels and have recently taken up their positions of responsibility. They are doing a brilliant job so far.

As a House, it felt wonderful to come together for the Butler House Dinner at the end of Short Leave. It was fantastic to spend time with new faces and to have an evening together as a community. We were delighted to hear speeches from Lara, our new Head of House, and Ahana who has just successfully launched her own new charity business, ‘Saathi’. We were also treated to incredible performances from Tiffany, Lucy and Chloe, some of our talented musicians who played so beautifully.

Weekends have been busy for our Sportswomen, and they were fearless in the Lacrosse tournaments last weekend. A particular congratulations to Lara, Clemmie and Esther who have been dedicated players for the 1st Lacrosse team, and also Cicely and Angel who have brought great pride to Butler for the value they have added to their senior teams this half term. Esme has also been training incredibly hard with her tennis and is leading the way for our upcoming sports stars.

Our Butler musicians were remarkable at last weekend’s Wycombe Abbey Competitive Music Festival too. Congratulations to Sasha, Tiffany, Chloe, Lucy and Elizabeth who were impressively accomplished in the Final, playing new pieces for all to admire.

Evening Activities continue to be a source of great delight for all. We have introduced some new activities for pupils to spend time relaxing after School, and also brought back the old favourites. Games Night has gone down particularly well as a new addition – ‘Spoons’ has been a real winner! Back by popular demand, Book Club has been re-established by our new House Librarian, Sasha, and has been a hit with all year groups. The LVI have also run some great new House bonding activities, including a Just Dance Competition, weekly Study Club and mentoring support with subjects, and inviting the younger girls for hot chocolates in the Mons Kitchen.

Next we turn our attention to preparing for this year’s Bonfire Night, and the LIV are already working hard on designing their guy for the bonfire! Charity representatives Charlotte and Riana and busy planning the Butler Stall, and hoping to raise lots of money for the School Charity and provide lots of entertainment on the night. It had been a wonderful start to the new academic year, but there is certainly plenty more to look forward to!

We wish you all lovely Long Leave, and hope you find plenty of time to relax and refresh. Find time to do something nourishing with family and friends, explore somewhere new, enjoy time doing what you love, and have a brilliant time. Well done for a fantastic new start!

Miss Monteil and the Butler House Staff.

Below is an account from one of our new LVI pupils, Suzette:

Before coming to Butler, I had never boarded nor shared a dorm, so everything was a completely new experience. Despite feeling nervous at first, I was surprised at how quickly I adjusted and felt at home.  

As someone who is new to the school, I found Butler to be very welcoming and friendly. I feel like being surrounded by so many great people has meant that making friendships is much easier and more fun than I could have imagined. From Toastie Tuesdays to Fruity Fridays, house activities are always a lot of fun and is something that I can look forward to at the end of the day. Boarding in Butler has really made me appreciate the little mundane things, like chatting with my roommate about my day, or even brushing our teeth together while jamming to music. 
 
Since joining, the newfound independence that boarding has given me while still being supported by my friends has been something that I already value and will continue to.  

I am excited to spend the rest of the year here, especially a snowy (hopefully) Christmas in England! I am looking forward to sharing many more hot chocolates and blasting Christmas songs in house. 
Suzette, LVI