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Dear OWs and Friends,
The sun still shines on School Field and Junior school students are finally able to enjoy the beautiful MCS grounds, with sports fixtures anticipated for the end of the summer.
Although the end of term and the end of lockdown approach, MCS is still a hive of activity. The school has adapted by hosting a virtual induction for new Second and Lower Fourth students this week, and next Tuesday will see our first virtual open days. From next week, students from the entire school are invited in to have face-to-face meetings with their tutors, as MCS continues to provide dedicated teaching and pastoral support during this challenging time. |
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Founders’ Day success |
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| Last weekend saw the inaugural MCS Founders’ Day where students and staff took a break from studies to complete a challenge connected to the number 1480, raising more than £7,000 for the Mustardseed school in the process.
Challenges undertaken were wide-ranging and included:
- drawing non-stop for 14.8 hours (Jago’s artistic labours can be seen above)
- solving a Rubik’s Cube 148 times (see Oscar’s effort here)
- cycling 148 miles (amazing feat by Archie)
- running 48km (Head of Drama Mr Thomas pictured below with his youngest daughter Cecilia, having completed a 48km run from Oxford to Lechlade).
- … and another stamina-testing challenge can be found at the end of the newsletter!
Students were inspired and motivated by the philanthropy of OW Sir Vernon Ellis (1966), who is match-funding all school fundraising towards the Mustardseed project.
Show your support for Mustardseed (and for your House…) via the JustGiving page.
Find out more about MCS’ partnerships, including the Mustardseed School, on the school’s website. The latest pictures from Mustardseed’s building works can be seen here. |
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| ‘Conveniamus’ Bursary fundraising campaign |
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| Following on from the inspirational fundraising of our current pupils, our upcoming campaign will invite the MCS community to come together in this current crisis to support hardship and bursaries for current and future students.
Over the next few months we will be in touch to explain how, by acting together, we shall raise these funds – and we will also share more about the school’s historic benefactors.
The campaign will run from Commem on Saturday 4th July 2020 through to late September 2020. The first £50,000 of gifts will be matched by an OW who is donating in memory of an inspirational teacher at MCS.
This campaign will enable us to offer hardship grants to those who are genuinely and profoundly affected on a temporary basis by the implications of the virus. It will also ensure the long-term success of the pupils and the school by allowing MCS to teach an outstanding cohort of pupils each year, drawn from all parts of society. |
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Virtual Chapel |
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| In the final podcast of the school year, the Master celebrates the success of Founders’ Day and considers the US “Juneteenth” celebrations which occur on the same day, 19 June. On the theme of civil rights and Black Lives Matter, we also welcome you to read the following blog post by OW James Aiken (2011), entitled “My Half-White Privilege”.
Words of wisdom from the Master:
“History is messy. It analyses change, and it tells stories, too. The stories we tell ourselves both shape and are shaped by our identities. You will notice I say identities in the plural; more on this next week. For now, I shall leave you with the words of Walt Whitman, the great American poet whose life spanned the nineteenth century and who tended the wounded in hospitals as a volunteer during the Civil War:
The past and present wilt—I have fill’d them, emptied them.
And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
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Virtual Oxford Festival of the Arts |
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2020’s Virtual Oxford Festival of the Arts is underway!
OFA Virtual 2020 is on now until the 5th July, with an eclectic selection of performances, interviews and talks, all available on their website and YouTube channel.
Click here to see OW Rob Watson (1979), of BBC and “Volta” fame, interview Annaliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
All events are free. Visit the OFA website for the full line up, which includes:
• University of Oxford cultural historian, broadcaster and author Dr Janina Ramirez talking about goddesses – divine women of the past
• Alleyne Dance sharing excerpts from their incredibly powerful works, including the “Chair solo” from A Night’s Game
• Acclaimed cellist Gabriella Swallow performing a tribute to Jacqueline du Pré in this the year of the 75th anniversary of her birth. |
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Thank you to our Key Workers |
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This week we thank OW Annie Robinson (2012) who is teaching Maths at an academy in west London.
“I’m a Maths teacher and Head of Year 8 (I still think of it as third form…!) at a secondary academy for age 11-16 students in Fulham, London. Throughout lockdown, I’ve been finding my way through the maze that is online teaching, whilst going into school regularly as part of our duty of care to our vulnerable students and children of keyworkers.”
It has been a delight to spread good news about OWs making a positive impact on the world right now.
Please keep sending photos and updates to the Waynflete Office – click here to read the stories sent in so far!
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OW Tim Stew on Trinidad and Tobago |
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| Click here to read OW Tim Stew (1984), High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago, explaining how the pandemic has unfolded in the Caribbean.
“While we strive to reinstate important work underway pre-C19, we also continue to prioritise sourcing products to meet demand for PPE in UK, the essential work on vaccine development … its equitable distribution internationally, and taking good care of any Brits who remain here and vulnerable.” |
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In memoriam |
| We are grateful to OWs who keep us in touch with news of their friends.
Sadly, that does include news of those who have passed away. Those names are published on our website and in The Bridge each year. We are glad to include the obituaries and tributes sent to us by family and friends, and we add those whenever we receive them. |
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And finally… |
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| Current student James completed 1480 taekwondo kicks for Founders’ Day. Enjoy watching his (sped-up) feat here! |
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Keeping in Touch |
| We are always thinking of our MCS community and endeavour to help you feel connected to the school during this unprecedented time.
You can keep in touch with the school on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, as well as the Waynflete Office on our Facebook and Twitter.
In order for us to keep in touch with you, please notify us if your contact details change via the new online form on our website.
If you would like to organise a virtual reunion or reach out to long lost school friends, please let us know via email. The MCS Strava group is also serving to keep members of the MCS community healthy, connected and motivated.
We are pleased to continue to receive your submissions to the Pandemic Papers.
With best wishes,
Susie, Alan, Allison, Kristina, Maddy, and Rob
The virtual Waynflete Office
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MCS ranks among the top independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2024, placed seventh nationally and third in the Southeast.
39 of our pupils achieved 10 or more 8 or 9 grades in 2023.
Your donations contribute over £150,000 a year to bursaries as well as building an endowment to fund bursaries for the future.
