May 2003
May 2003
| FROM THE HEAD TEACHER
A Golden Jubilee Year - A quick look at our school history shows that it is fifty years this term that we moved onto the site in Dilston Road. Owing to financial cuts by Government (what's new!) the building programme had been halved so only the senior school moved into the new buildings and the old Kingston Road site was kept on for the younger ones - it took another twenty three years before all students could be housed in the Dilston Road buildings. When the new building first opened it was treated with such respect that no outdoor shoes were allowed to tread the polished wood floors! It was not until 1964 that the school was given its present name - the school stands on land which was once part of the Manor of Pachesham and the Manor was presented to Brian de Therfield by King John in 1205. It seems particularly appropriate that in this special year, the school should have been awarded three exceptional accolades to mark its success - the Certificate of Achievement, Investors in People and the renewal for the next three years of the Sport England Award. The Certificate of Achievement recognises the school's success in securing even better examination results in 2002 and is a tribute to the hard work of all staff. Given that Therfield's results are always higher than the national and country averages such continued improvement - this is the third successive year we have gained the award - is all the more creditable. Top in English - Five Year 10 students - John Andrews, Rob Leay, Hannah Lynch, Joe Newman and Ben Thomas - achieved such high marks in last year's Key Stage 3 English tests that they are adjudged to be among the top one per cent of students in the county. To celebrate this achievement and to provide further stimulus for these 50-60 most able English pupils, Surrey County Council has organised a Writers' Workshop. This will be held on Saturday, 12th July at Riverhouse Studio, Walton where the workshop leaders will be Alan Gibbons, whose children's book The Edge is on the shortlist for the Carnegie Medal, and Beth Wood, a Drama expert and playwright. The students have been congratulated on their achievements by Angela Bradshaw, senior consultant for English at Surrey Education Department. Changes to the School Day -A reminder that the need for greater flexibility in timing during the period of the public examinations - GCSE, GNVQ, A2 and AS - has meant we have had to make some adjustments to the school day. During the main period of the exams - 12th May - 27th June - the lunch break will be from 12.05-12.50. School will start, as usual, with a warning bell at 8.30 am but will close at 3.15 pm. As from Monday, 30th June the normal timings will be resumed and school will finish at 3.30 pm. Reading Challenge - The Carnegie Challenge has been accepted once again by the English Faculty and to date 25 students from Years 7 - 10 have signed up to read, comment on and vote for the best children's book of the year. The books selected are Martin Pig by Kevin Brooks, Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech, Up on Cloud Nine by Anne Fine, The Edge by Alan Gibbons, Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn, The Dark Horse by Marcus Sedgwick and, for Year 10 readers only, The Shell House by Linda Newbery. The books were greeted with enthusiasm at the first meeting and the group 'judged a book by its cover' before starting to read and voted Across the Nightingale Floor as the best. The question now is will it still hold first place once the students have read it and its rivals. Voting day is July 10th and extra spice is added by comparing the tastes of Therfield readers with that of the national panel of judges. Prayer Group Meetings - Monday, 23rd June is the date for the next Parents' Prayer Group meeting at the school. Starting time is 8.00 pm. All are welcome to attend. More information from Mrs Poole (01932 865476). Module Exams - Year 10 students are reminded that they will be taking GCSE Modular Exams in Maths on 12th and 25th June - it is very important for students to have with them a working calculator and equipment, such as compasses, protractor, ruler, rubber, sharpener and, of course, pen and pencil. GCSE Science modules for Year 10 take place on 24th June. Important Changes to the School Canteen - All parents should have received a letter explaining how the New Cashless Catering Scheme will work. The system will 'go live' on 19th June which means that no cash will be taken at the tills from that date. Students will received a swipe card and money must be added to the card before it can be used. A full explanation as to how the system works and why it has been introduced is contained in the letter - more information from Mrs Howarth, Finance Officer. Animal Farm - Years 7, 8 and 9 are busy rehearsing George Orwell's Animal Farm which will be staged on Wednesday and Thursday, 9th and 10th July. The Drama Department would like to hear from any parents who would be prepared to help with costumes - contact Mrs Hudson or Miss Ferguson. Formal Farewell - Year 13 students and a number of staff attended the Sixth Form Ball at the Queen's Stand, Epsom last Friday. This was a thoroughly enjoyable and happy occasion and reflected very favourably, not only on the youthful organisers, but on the happy and positive atmosphere within the year group as a whole. The students say their final goodbyes to school on 27th June when the Year 13 Leavers' Tea will be held. Walking the Challenge - Students going on the World Challenge Expedition to Australia in August put in some practice when they took part in a 15km hike over the South Downs. It was a rare warm, sunny day early in May and they all proved their fitness by completing the walk while carrying their heavy rucksacks. Linden Bridge Event - All tickets were sold for the Charity Day at Tooting and Mitcham FC's ground on Sunday. The event was held to raise money for the swimming pool appeal for Linden Bridge School for Autistic Children. Graham Cole (PC Stamp from The Bill) proved to be a cheerful compère and the organisers thank Therfield parents and students who supported them and so helped make this an enjoyable and successful day. Dance Show - A number of Therfield students, including Maria Crilly, Nicola Brett, Amy Callaghan, Megan Titley and Helen Ruocca, took part in a lively song and dance show at The Theatre, Leatherhead on Saturday. They belong to the Poptastic Dance group -more information from Lisa on 07748 845707. Trial Walk in Wales - To test out their abilities for the real thing, six intrepid year 10 students set out for Wales in the Easter holidays to embark on their practice expedition for the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award. It was snowing as they left Surrey but Aberystwyth provided them with good walking weather and they duly completed the 51km walk over the weekend with packs weighing about 13 kg on their backs. Thanks to the expert knowledge of their hosts they learnt a lot about survival and navigation, negotiated a lot of steep ground and the occasional bog and now look forward to the real thing. The group - Kathryn Greenwood, Sarah Morris, Gillian Fox, Nikki Henshall, Miriam Taylor and Matt Willsher were accompanied by Miss Kendrick, Mr Pordage and Mr Hostler. The Silver Qualifying expedition will take place in Dorset from 6th-8th June. Students from Year 9 planning to gain the Bronze Award have a Day Walk on 22nd June. Sponsored Sail and Barbecue - This popular event which is also the main fund raising function for the school Sailing Club takes place on Friday, 20th June at Papercourt Sailing Club, Ripley. With good sailing, good food and good company there is plenty to keep everyone happy - both those who sail and those who watch. It is hoped to have a 'parents' boat' offering sailing to anyone interested and there will be the opportunity for motor boat rides around the lake. The briefing for those taking part in the sailing will be at 17.00 and the barbecue begins at 19.00 - more information from Mr Stewart or Mrs Wingrove who would also be most grateful for any suitable tombola prizes. Last year over £800 was raised and this was spent on a new Topper dinghy and other sailing equipment. Looking at Japan - Thanks to Geography teachers, Miss Crooks and Miss Baty, with plenty of help from Art, English and Sport, Year 9s spent a day concentrating on the culture, language and life of Japan. Each group produced a newspaper reporting on the activities and gauging the reaction of students. Ella Rainsbury sums it up well - "Japan Day has opened many doors to Year 9. The Japanese lifestyle contrasts quite dramatically with our own way of life. Perhaps this is why the students enjoyed the day so much; their level of enthusiasm was outstanding and made Japan Day both memorable and beneficial for all". Swimming Success - Joe Bennett, Year 10, and Julie Hunt, Year 12, were part of the Leatherhead Swimming Club team which represented the South of England in the A finals of the National Team Swimming Competition at Sheffield - a notable achievement in view of the challenge coming from such teams as Portsmouth. The swimmers found themselves competing against Britain's Olympic and Commonwealth representatives and did so well they came third in the relay competitions and fourth overall. Not surprisingly, Leatherhead won the prize for the best supporters. Joe now hopes to compete in the Scottish national championships in June. Private Fostering - If you are looking after somebody else's child OR if your child is being looked after by somebody else then you need to inform Surrey County Council on 08456 009 009. A young person, under 16, is defined as privately fostered when an adult, who is not a relative, cares for him or her for more than 28 days. Chernobyl Children - The Ashtead group is still desperate to find host families for children from this disaster area who will be on holiday in Surrey from 20th July to 17th August. A number of Therfield parents are involved and a meeting is being held on 22nd May at Barnett Wood School at 8 pm or contact Lesley Coton on 01372 272519 for more details. Studying Marketing - Year 12 students had good weather for their visit to Chessington World of Adventures. Naturally whilst they took advantage of the opportunity to test out the rides and challenges, the visit had a serious intent as they needed information for work units on customer service and marketing. Athletics - Organisation of the District Sports at Kingston fell this year to Therfield and Mr Tuck presented the prizes. Seventeen schools took part. The U15 Boys took third place and the U17s came second, losing by just a few points to our great rivals - Epsom College. Good performances came from Gillian Fox, 4th in 1500m, (Inter) and in the Juniors Katrina Fidler, 4th in 100m April Stevanovic, 4th in high jump, Amie Turner, 3rd in shot putt. Chris Scott had a successful afternoon with a 3rd in 200m, 3rd in triple jump and 4th in long jump, Steven Douglas was second in the 100m, Ben Stevenson, 4th in hurdles and Therfield won the intermediate relay. In the juniors, success came for Daniel Lee, 1st in 100m and 3rd in 200m, Shaun Burchell, 4th in 200, Tony Adamson 3rd in 400m, Jon Grunsell, 3rd in 80m hurdles, Alex Hawkins 2nd in 1500m. Tom Bingham was 2nd in the shot putt and Tim Pitt 4th in javelin. At the English Schools Cup in Croydon on Monday, the junior girls took 6th place, and the Intermediate Girls 4th. The Junior Boys were 3rd and the Intermediate Boys 2nd, which means they have a good chance of going on to the finals. DATES FOR THE DIARY |