Welcome to Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale - Class Lists are up for 2014

Hello Friends,

I hope you've had a wonderful holiday.  I've just been to Japan and I can't wait for you to read all about it. I'm so glad to be heading back to school and there are lots of new friends joining us.  Thank you to everyone who sent their enrollment form in.  It was really tricky because so many of you wanted to have the same room mate and Miss Grimm suggested that Millie and I share again this year because we get on so well.  But the other girls are all lovely and the new girls are good at so many things - especially being friends.

There have been loads of wonderful suggestions for outings including: riding, shopping, swimming, trips to the beach and a fun park, sewing workshops, a visit to the fair (I'm sure that Miss Grimm will let us do that again this year but hopefully it won't be nearly as dramatic as last time), walks and a visit to a cafe for breakfast or hot chocolate.  Mrs Smith will be busy in the kitchen too making all those new recipes - she's very keen to try Tortellini Boscaiola, some seafood including salmon and of course she'll make lots of roast dinners (which she's very good at).

Brummel Bear is excited to meet all your softies with the cutest names ever - Hariette, Mustard, Peaches Primrose, Piggy, Carlos, Doggie, Fluffy and Framboise.  I think we should have a midnight feast softie picnic!

Lots of you are good at lots of things, but there was definitely a trend that many of you wanted to improve in Science and Maths.  I think Mr Plumpton will have to get busy with his experiments and I've heard that Professor Pluss might be coming over from Fayle to help with some extra Maths lessons.  Miss Reedy is always wonderful offering extra tuition for English too.  Remember when she helped me study for my test when I first arrived.  She was so helpful.

There might be a little bit of confusion with the class groups as some students said that they were going into that year but others didn't specify, so if you're in the wrong class, please let my best grown up friend Jacqueline Harvey know and she will make sure Miss Grimm changes you into the correct year.

It's not too late to get your form in.  Miss Grimm's expanding the school this year so there are still some spots available.

Welcome to Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale.  I can't wait to meet you!

Lots of love,
Alice-Miranda xx

Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies Class Lists 2014
Surname	First Name	Class	Room Mate	House	Co-Curricular Activities
Signorelli	Phillipa	5	Ashima	Shakespeare	Piano, drama
Ayres	Brianna	7	Jacinta	Bronte	Riding
Bell	Maisy	3	Cara	Bronte	Art, drama, music (percussion)
Bloom	Madeline	7	Danika	Shakespeare	Choir, piano
Covich	Nadia	6	Susannah	Austen	Riding
Dare	Susannah	7	Nadia	Austen	Riding
Divall	Ashima	5	Phillipa	Austen	Choir
Headlington-Bear	Jacinta	7	Brianna	Dickens	Gymnastics, Choir
Hicks	Ivory	5	Molly	Dickens	Tennis
Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones	Alice-Miranda	4	Millie	Bronte	Riding, choir, sailing
Hobbs	Araminta	4	Laura	Shakespeare	Drama
Mallyon	Georgie	8	Imogen Walton	Dickens	Riding
McLaughlin-McTavish-McNoughton-McGill	Millie	5	Alice-Miranda	Bronte	Riding, tennis, choir
O'Brien	Molly	5	Ivory	Shakespeare	Drama, riding
Radford	Caprice	6	Sloane	Austen	Everything
Rigby	Danika	7	Madeline	Bronte	Sailing, choir
Sharry	Cara	3	Maisy	Austen	Choir, piano, drama
Sykes	Sloane	6	Caprice	Shakespeare	Choir, piano, drama
Venn	Laura	4	Araminta	Bronte	Drama
Walton	Imogen	8	Georgie	Dickens	Riding

Sneak Peek at my next adventure - Alice-Miranda In Japan

Hello Friends,

I couldn't wait to share the beautiful new cover for my next adventure, Alice-Miranda in Japan which will be released in Australia 1 February 2014.  I think it's gorgeous.  We had such a great time and what a mystery to solve!

Have you got your diary for next year?  I'm excited to find out who's going to be in my class - there's an enrolment form inside and lots of girls have been signing up and sending their forms to my best grown up friend Jacqueline Harvey on her email address Jacqueline@jacquelineharvey.com.au
Classes will be on the blog and Jacqueline's website in time for school to go back in January 2014.

 

I'm very excited to be heading to Singapore tomorrow where I'll be meeting lots of new friends over the next 10 days.  Then we're off to England so that I can introduce Clementine Rose!  We're going to loads of lovely schools in London and then we're going over to Lancashire, Shropshire and Manchester.  I can't wait - although I think it's going to be a lot colder in the UK than it is in Sydney at the moment.  I love the English cover of Clementine's first adventure - it's different colours to the Australian one but the second book is almost exactly the same.

Happy reading everyone.

Lots of love,
Alice-Miranda xxx

Book Week Fun

Hello Friends,

One of my lovely friends, Georgie sent me a photo of her little sister Juliet, who dressed up as Clementine Rose for her school's book day.  Doesn't she look amazing!  I'd love to have more photos of characters from my stories or Clementine's to add to the blog if you or your friends dressed up this week.  Of course please make sure that you have your parents' permission to send the photo.
 

My best grown up friend Jacqueline Harvey is enjoying her first Book Week as a full time writer. Yesterday she visited Warrawee Public School and had a great day.  The highlight was meeting one of the boys who wasn't very excited by the prospect of hearing about Clemmie's and my stories at the beginning but by the end he was so excited to be able to read the books.  It was wonderful to see him so eager and not at all worried that there are girls on the cover.  I don't know why people fuss about that - there are lots of boys in the stories!

Today Jacqueline's been with the girls at PLC Prep in Pymble and had a great day talking to the children from Kindergarten to Year 3 as well as doing some writing workshops too.  There were some very funny stories about Clementine visiting Hong Kong with her mother and Lavender for a holiday and poor Lavender being chased by a crazy butcher who was sizing her up for his pork dumplings.  Luckily Lavender and Clementine outsmarted him in the end.

There are more adventures for the rest of the week so stay tuned.

Hope you all have a fantastic week.

Lots of love,
Alice-Miranda xxx

Would you like to enrol at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale?

Hello Friends,

I am so excited that the new Alice-Miranda diary for 2014 will be in the shops in less than two weeks.  One of the fun activities inside is being able to enrol at my school, choose a house and nominate which friends you'd like to share a room with.  There's lots of fun detail on the form.  Now you don't have to send it in if you don't want to but if you do, my best grown up friend, Jacqueline Harvey is going to collate all the forms that are emailed to her and put my new friends into classes.  She's good at that sort of thing because she was a Deputy Headmistress for a long time.

So, look out for the form online here and on Jacqueline Harvey's website in the next couple of weeks or if you get a diary first, you can photocopy the page once you've filled it in and email it to Jacqueline Harvey at Jacqueline@jacquelineharvey.com.au

I can't wait to see how many new friends sign up for school next year.

This week is exciting too as I'm visiting lots of schools for Australian Book Week.  Tomorrow it's Warrawee, then PLC, the Loreto Kirribilli and Our Lady of Good Counsel at Forestville.  After that we're off to Melbourne for the Writers' Festival.  I think there are still some spots left for the school days activities.  You can see the link here.  http://tickets.mwf.com.au/session2_mwf.asp?s=392

My new book, Alice-Miranda Shines Bright is out in a couple of weeks too and we're having a giant launch party at The Children's Bookshop in Beecroft on Saturday 31 August at 1pm.  It's a combined party with Clementine Rose and there will be lots of lovely baby farm animals there for you to hold.  The event is free but you need to book so Mr Macdonald can make sure there's enough room for everyone.  You can do that here http://www.thechildrensbookshop.indies.com.au/StoreEvent.aspx  It's just after the Paul Jennings event.

Happy Book Week everyone - oh and if you dress up as a character from any of the Alice-Miranda or Clementine Rose books, please email me and send a photo as I can add you to a special blog post about the week.

 

Lots of love,

Alice-Miranda xx

Clementine Rose and the Farm Fiasco - OUT NOW in all good bookshops

Hello Friends,

I am so excited that my best grown up friend, Jacqueline Harvey's latest book, Clementine Rose and the Farm Fiasco is now in shops around Australia.  I love the cover - it's so pretty.  I just met Clementine Rose at the beach while Millie, Jacinta and I were on holiday with Millie's mum and dad at their caravan.  You'll be able to read all about that in the adventure Jacqueline Harvey and I are writing at the moment.  It's called Alice-Miranda In Japan.  It will be out next year in March.  Before that I'm so excited that Alice-Miranda Shines Bright and the Alice-Miranda Diary for 2014 will be in shops 1 September.

Have a great week - I promise to write a longer blog about our wonderful time in Adelaide soon. I had a lovely email during the week from a friend called Violette-Rose and I'm planning to try and use some of her ideas for some posts.  So, pop back again soon.

Lots of love,
Alice-Miranda xxxx