Junior Girls' Boarding Update: 21 November

With the darker mornings and evenings and the horrible rainy weather that we have had this week, the days are starting to feel incredibly short. That said, the girls are not relenting or retreating to the warmth of the boarding house, they are as busy as ever and it is great to see them getting involved in so many extracurricular activities and school events. This week has been no exception and the girls have worked tirelessly in their academic lessons and on the sporting, dramatic and musical front. Milli came to stay with us again on Monday and it was great to welcome Lucy and Sophie back to the house on Tuesday and Wednesday; the house is buzzing with activity, which is great to see and hear.

This weekend has been particularly gruelling for Helena, Anson and Lucy who spent both Saturday and Sunday, from 9am – 6pm, in the Burrell Theatre rehearsing for next week’s big event, the whole school play, Fiddler on the Roof. The other girls and I, and Miss Hope, Poppy, Matilda and Eva are really looking forward to watching the show and supporting the Pentreve girls next Friday evening! What is it they say in the movie making business….’break a leg girls!’

Rehearsals aside, this weekend started in its usual fashion with the girls downing tools at 3.45pm on Friday afternoon. After supper and an hour of prep, Tung, Anson, Stephanie and Cherry made the most of the on-site sporting facilities at the SBASC. Caroline and Lena went up to Trennick House for a couple of hours and for those not wanting to brave the wet and very cold weather it was a movie in the common room with Tessa, one of the senior girl boarders who lives in Malvern House. With popcorn to munch on and having raided the Mulready DVD collection the girls settled in to watch ‘We bought a Zoo’.

Saturday morning meant an early start for those in Fiddler but for the rest of the house lie-ins were made the most of. After brunch the girls visited the gym, did some shopping in town or relaxed about the house. Anne spent some time with her guardians and all the girls enjoyed some down time before supper. In the evening, Caroline and Lena had hoped to go to the cinema to watch the Harry Potter spin off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them but they left the ticket ordering too late and just missed out; they instead braved the torrential rain and headed up to Trennick with Antonia. Chloe and Yuki joined us in Pentreve in the evening and the girls settled down in front of the television together. The usual rounds of random and bizarre food combinations were ordered and I dutifully obeyed delivering copious amounts of pizza, ice cream, chicken and nachos. The obligatory lettuce for Cherry and cucumber for Stephanie made for a slightly healthier spread and once again the girls amazed me with the speed at which they can devour food; I only grilled the nachos for a moment but in this time the previous plateful of nachos, stacked high I might add, had been scoffed.

On Sunday, the early alarm clocks went off again and Helena, Anson and Lucy headed up to the Burrell whilst the rest of the house slept and enjoyed a lie in. Brunch was enjoyed and then Anne, Victoria, Stephanie, Tung, Caroline, Cherry, Lena and I set off in the minibus bound for Looe, a quiet and quaint seaside town about an hour away from Truro. Once parked up we headed up the main high-street to ‘Paint a Pot’.

The girls took their time choosing their item to be painted and then, after a quick explanation with regards to the painting and the firing process, they got to work with some serious designing and painting. Cherry, Caroline, Lena and Tung opted for a bowl whilst Stephanie went for a heart shaped plate. Anne deliberated and eventually chose a unicorn whilst a rather large piggy bank was the item of choice for Victoria. Colours were selected, Chinese symbols perfected and the girls really enjoyed unleashing their creative sides. The only shame is that we must wait a week for our items to arrive in the post!

Upon our arrival, back at school, it was straight into supper. The tired trio returned from rehearsals and then it was prep in the house for all. The usual rounds of room tidying, household chores and bag packing ensued and the house is now quiet and as the girls go to bed, another weekend comes to an end.

This time next week the house will be in full Christmas mode. On Wednesday, we will traipse into town, on mass, to support the Truro Christmas lantern parade. All the schools in the local area, and some further afield in the county, will march through the streets with their pupil made, Christmas inspired lanterns. There will be music and dancing as the city’s Christmas lights are turned on. Next weekend, in a bid to really get into the Christmas spirit, Miss Hope and the girls will put the house Christmas tree and decorations up; mince pies and alcohol free mulled wine will be consumed and the house ‘Secret Santa’ name choosing from a hat and some Pentreve House bauble keepsakes making will make for a fun and creative weekend.

Anson and Tung have just reminded me about their FIRST EVER Truro School badminton fixture too; on Wednesday the girls will represent the school in the Peninsula Round of the National Schools Competition and we wish them the best of luck!!!

Make sure you read Miss Hope’s blog next weekend for all the Christmas action….

Mrs Sarah Mulready (Housemistress, Pentreve House, Junior Girls’ Boarding)