27th November 2002
27th November 2002
| FROM THE HEAD TEACHER
Surgery Date - My next surgery for parents who have concerns or issues they wish to discuss will be on Wednesday, 22nd January from 5pm to 8 pm. Please phone my PA, Mrs Sharkey on 814432 to arrange a time. Top Nomination - It was good to see Therfield listed in The Times as being among the 400 top state schools in the country. Thank You to Mrs Hunt - The school owes a big debt of gratitude to Mrs Pat Hunt who has so faithfully tended the flower borders and hanging baskets at the front of the school for so many years. She has supplied the plants and bulbs which have made the school entrance so attractive and also invested a huge amount of time in making sure everything always looked well tended. Now that she has decided to retire from this particular voluntary activity, we say a very big thank you. Trust Fund Update - From Mr
David
Crutchley, Chair of Trustees: " This term you will
have received a request for a donation to the Trust Fund. We are
planning projects for the year ahead and possibilities include - None of these items could be met out of the school's very tight budget. Clearly what we can do depends on the money available to us from parents, so I would ask you to respond as generously as you can. Sincere thanks to all who have already made a donation this term. The Fund is making a real impact at the school and exists solely to benefit the educational opportunities of your son or daughter. " Democracy on View - The Chairman of Mole Valley Council, Cllr Mrs Heather Ward, and officers from the Council were impressed by the enthusiasm shown by our students for the election of two representatives to serve on the Mole Valley Youth Council. On Thursday 21st November, 1058 students, representing a turnout of 73%, took part in polling day complete with ballot boxes, impartial tellers, secret voting booths and the Chairman of the Council as Returning Officer. The eight candidates - John Crozier, Connie Deans, Jonathan Francis, Craig Gale, Katie Mitchell, Cassie Pickles, Mark Richardson and Alex Sarafian - had worked hard on their campaigns, even volunteering to address assemblies which could mean standing in front of 200 Sixth Formers and pressing your claim for election! There was plenty of tension on polling day before it was announced that Jonathan Francis (288 votes) from Year 12 and Mark Richardson (249) from Year 9 had been elected, with John Crozier (Year 12) as deputy. Best at Marketing - Congratulations to our Year 13 Business Studies students who won the Surrey Satro Marketing Challenge at County Hall, Kingston last week successfully defending the title they won last year. The students gave a first-rate presentation on how a fictitious new school should promote itself in the local area. Our team of Robert Kemp, Edward Ellis, Emily Cooke, Stewart King, Ross Nagle, Will Smith, David Newman and Den Robinson were inspired and all contributed to an excellent win over the seven other Surrey schools that took part. Party Time - GNVQ students are hard at work organising a Christmas Party for senior citizens inthe area. They would be grateful for any contributions toward raffle prizes for the festive tea and also if you have grandparents/parents who would like to come at 2 pm on Monday, 16th December, to contact Mr Meadows for an invitation. Testing Time - The first of the Year 10 Science Module tests takes place on Thursday 28thNovember. It is especially important for students to be punctual to school as the tests will be held in Periods 1 and 2. Dates and Times to Note - School will close at 1pm on the last day of term, Friday 20th December.Friday 29th November is an INSET Day when students are not in school. Looking Ahead - Year 11 will be on study leave in preparation for their GCSE mock examinations from 28th November. Students must be in school uniform for all examinations. If they do not have an examination they do not have to be at school. The Year 11 Ball will take place on Friday, 13th December. Worthwhile Work Experience - It was two way traffic in thanks and admiration on the completion of Year 11 Work Experience Week. The majority of students found the experience confidence building and enjoyable and reports from employers echoed these positive sentiments. About twenty per cent of the students were offered part-time employment or the chance of a job when leaving school. Inevitably, one or two were disenchanted but were glad to find out early on that certain jobs were not for them! A wide variety of experiences were enjoyed by the 230 students, ranging from shadowing a barrister, helping at Chelsea FC with Football in the Community, working in an Art Gallery or at the Imperial War Museum, to helping in a veterinary surgery or the local Golf Centre and learning the skills of being a successful groundsman. Carols for Christmas - Our Carol Concert this year will be held at the school and takesplace on Tuesday 17th December, starting at 7.30 pm. Groups taking part will include the Main Choir, Lower School Singers,Advanced Singers and Main Orchestra. As usual a warm welcome is extended to all parents, students and anyone who enjoys joining in a traditional Carol Service. Help Wanted - Mrs Harvey, Examinations Secretary, is looking for 'mature, responsible and calm individuals' to help as invigilators during the public examinations next year. This is a paid position and times are flexible. If you are available for approximately 40 hours during the month of January and are available from the end of April until the end of June, please contact Mrs Harvey for more information on 01372 818123. Skills Needed - The school is keen to offer a wider range of activities for students to takepart in out of school hours. If you have any skills you think would be of interest to the students, then please get in touch with Mr Meadows on 01372 818123. Appreciating History - Following their visit to the WWI Battlefields last month, Year 9 students showed how deep an impression the visit had made by submitting a high standard of entries for a competition organised by the History department. Creative writing, poems, artwork and diaries were put forward and the winners, who received books on the Histories of WW1 and WWII were Oliver Dixon for his model of a trench, Mark Richardson for a poem and Christopher Rowntree for his memorial graveyard model. MFL News - Exchanges to Germany and France for students in Years 9, 10 and 12 have been arranged for next year. If 'pupil post' has let you down and you would like to know more, please contact Miss Buckell (German) or Mr Hostler (French) and they will be happy to supply information. As the GCSE examinations approach, grade booster sessions and after-school and lunchtime clubs are being held to help students improve their grades. Again if this is thefirst you have heard of such activities, please contact Mrs Collins. National News - The views of Mrs Shannon, Head of Technology, were given plenty of prominence in an article about the new A level system in Education Guardian on November 5th. Described as coming from 'a top-rated comprehensive in Leatherhead', Mrs Shannon was able to give a balanced look at the way the new A levels are now functioning. Shoeboxes and Thank You - Mrs Dodd, Clerk to the Governors, writes - " I would like to thank everyone who contributed a shoebox full of Christmas goodies for Link Romania. Over eighty boxes were donated and the school will receive a certificate and poster to put up shortly. Many thanks -it can be an effort to do, but is well worth it for those families who do not receive any other gifts at Christmas." Being Good Neighbours - Dilston Road gets heavily congested with traffic at all times and the present road works add to the confusion. If at all possible, when bringing or collecting students from school, please try to make your drop off/collection point away from Dilston Road or use the back entrance in Cleeve Road.
Cycling Safely - Mr Hostler, who is in charge of cycle registration, stresses the importance of good lighting and light/bright clothing for students who cycle to school. Also, helmets must be worn and number plates shown. Active Acting - Advanced level Drama students had some high level practical input into theirstudies when they took part in a Physical Theatre One Day Workshop at school last week. Performers from a professional theatre company challenged the students to lose their inhibitions and throw themselves into their roles. They taught them how to lift, how to fall and how to 'act action' during a demanding, worthwhile and enjoyable day. Television Date - Daniel Bickerdike in Year 10 will be busy next week taking part in the recording of an episode of the TV police drama The Bill. Daniel is no stranger to the limelight, having appeared in a number of TV and stage shows. World Challenge - The specially arranged showing of the new James Bond film, Die Another Day at The Theatre in Leatherhead was a great success. The World Challenge team sold over 400 tickets, making a profit of about £3,500 towards the students' group fundraising efforts for next year's expedition to Australia. The World Challenge team would like to thank all those who supported them - and hope they also enjoyed the film! In the News - When Year 12 and 13 Biology students visited Bodyworld's Anatomical Exhibition in Brick Lane, London last month they appreciated that much of what was on view could be labelled controversial. This has been confirmed by recent activities of its promoter Professor Gunther von Hagens. The exhibits enabled students to get an insight into the design of the human body as well as to visualise the effects of illness, such as tumours, cirrhosis of the liver and also smoking. It proved to be very informative although it did raise many moral and ethical considerations as the exhibits were real human bodies that had been donated for medical science. Theatre Visit - Students on the
GCSE Drama course enjoyed a memorable trip to the Fortune
Theatre, London where they saw the long-running drama Woman
in Black. For many this was their first experience of
live theatre and it certainly left an impression! - The power of good acting was demonstrated as four actors played a number of different characters, making the audience laugh and cry and sit on the edge of their seats in anticipation. Help Offered - 0808 800 5678 is the freephone helpline of Surrey's FamilyLine Service. Callers who are struggling with family issues and feel they have no one to talk to are invited to call FLS for confidential support. It is staffed by trained volunteers who are themselves parents and is available to callers from 10-4 Monday to Friday and 10-1 on Saturday. FLS also has an updated database of other organisations in Surrey to whom they can refer the caller if appropriate. FLS stresses that all calls are confidential. Click here for the latest News from the Friends of Therfield (in Word) DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Nov 28th Year 10 Science Module tests
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