February proved to be a very important month for MGGS with the realisation of our first ever staff and student visit to the Himalaya Milan School in Tangting, Nepal. 43 students and 6 staff travelled 8644 kilometers via Delhi, Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara to arrive at the school for which MGGS has raised thousands of pounds over the years. Contributions from RAG week activities have been donated annually since 2008 and, this particular year, MGGS Teams ‘Everest’ and ‘Rhododendron’ arrived at the school atop a mountain ready to lay a new floor paid for by the money raised. We are very proud to have seen the positive contributions our students have made to the experience of students in the Himalaya Milan school who are now, thanks to generous donations, able to access better classroom resources, laptops, the internet and an even an interactive whiteboard!
Nepal is just one of the good causes that MGGS has continued to support over the years. Charity work and ‘Community Service’ are integral elements of school life and are, of course, fundamentally underpinned by the school motto of ‘Non sibi sed omnibus’ (not for oneself but for all). In 1978, for example, sponsorship was given to a boy from India as well as to two girls from Swaziland and Kenya.
Examples of our community-minded ethos come from school records which show that in 1978 students from MGGS were working with the local community in a variety of ways:
Oakwood Hospital Canteen: “We run a canteen selling squash, tea, coffee, biscuits and crisps to patients and their visitors and talk to patients.”
Pilgrim’s Way Children’s Home: “We look after the girls from the Pilgrim’s Way Children’s Home. We play in the sports hall or gym and swim in the pool in the summer. I think they enjoy themselves and the food (we do too!).”
Despite our benevolent history, charity sometimes does begin at home! We are currently raising money for our ‘Let there be Light’ campaign and are finding innovative ways to meet our £20,000 target, including The Great Silence 2 (scheduled for June 2018) and Glow Jam, which takes place after school on 28th March. However, such novel ideas are not new at MGGS, as in 1979 students were fundraising using a variety of methods such as identifying staff from baby photographs, car cleaning, film clubs and even a Polo sucking competition! The school was very proud of the £688.90 they raised that year.
We are now just over three months away from our special celebration on the 7th July and would very much like to invite you to share the day with us. Scheduled activities for the day will include: tours of the tunnels; dance; music and drama performances; and even Afternoon Tea! There will also be lots of opportunities to purchase memorabilia, the proceeds from which will contribute to future school projects. You may be interested in purchasing a commemorative 130th anniversary badge, a set of branded Christmas cards or even a hoodie!
Important Notice! We are very interested to hear from former students/parents/carers staff who are planning to attend our 130th birthday celebration on Saturday, 7th July 2018 at MGGS. If you are not already registered with our MGGS Alumni, we would be most grateful if you could complete this brief form to register your interest; we will also add you to our database to keep you fully informed of arrangements for 7th July and future events. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ovf87j94ajS5adW0fI5KKXCNkKKMQdIG0ChacSUIWio/edit
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all on 7th July!
