Issue 128 26th January 2005
Issue 128 26th January 2005
| FROM THE HEADTEACHER
Presentation Evening This took place on 6th January 2005. Over 100 students who had taken their GCSEs and A Level exams last year came together to receive their certificates. As some of these students have now left the school it was a good opportunity for them to meet up with friends, and for staff to catch up on what students are now doing. The guest of honour, Lieutenant Colonel Minden MBE, Commanding Officer of DMRC Headley Court, gave an inspirational speech about the value of life long learning. Awards were made to students for
excellent attainment and achievement in individual subjects and
for service to the school. The following special awards were
also made: In attendance were Councillor Bridget Lewis, the Chair of Mole Valley Council, and her consort Councillor Hubert Carr along with Governors, current staff and past staff members. The awards were very kindly sponsored by Atkins, Exxonmobil, ERA, Lester Bowden, Omya UK and the School Governors'. The evening finished with a vote of thanks from the senior students Louise Noble and James Claxton. School Uniform Thank you to all parents who have helped with the monitoring of school uniform. There has been a great improvement in the appearance of the students. Duke of Edinburgh's Awards On Friday 21st January fifty Therfield Students were invited to collect Bronze and Silver Award certificates at the Regional Presentation Ceremony held at City of London Freemen's School. This was the biggest ceremony in the country and Therfield was one of the best represented schools there. Bronze Awards went to: Alexander Bakovljev, Judith Ball, Gemma Barker, Jonathan Beischer, Samantha Benham, Thomas Bingham, James Bottomley, Emma-Jean Callaghan, Sarah Chambers, James Chouls, Karen Coulton, Jessica Cousins, Jessica Crosby, Gary Cullen, Toby Edwards, Megan Ellis, Susannah Firth, Lotty Foster, Lindsay Fraser, Eleanor Gough, Becki Grunsel, Paul Holland, Timothy Holmes, Claire Howes, Robert Kennell, Daniel Lerpiniere, James Major, Claire Malczewski, Elizabeth Millard, Louise Moore, Stephanie Morris, Geoffrey Nunn, Mark Richardson, Timothy Rickard, Kathryn Scott, Samantha Sharpe, Lucy Smith, Penny Smith, Michael Snow, Joanna Stock, Sean Valente-Cross, Emma Vertigen, Hollie Vincent, Matthew Waters, Joanna Weightman and Heidi Williams. Silver Awards went
to: Gordon Fox, Kathryn Greenwood, David Hodson and Sarah
Morris. Gold Update - our first ever Gold group, having successfully completed their expedition on Dartmoor in October, are now planning their qualifying expedition for July in the Breacon Beacons. They are making good progress towards the Service, Skill and Physical sections of the Award and hope to finish it by the end of the year. Silver Update - We will be signing up new students from Year 10 to undertake the Silver Award in the next couple of weeks. Please remind students to listen to assembly notices for more information. Only those students who have completed the Bronze Award are eligible to start the Silver Award at school. Those who are keen to pursue Silver can start now on their Service, Skill and Physical activities. Bronze Update - Miss Starling is organising the Bronze Award this year for Year 9. Following a very successful parents' information evening she will be signing up students to start the Award. Please get your forms in as soon as possible as places may be restricted. Training will start in the next couple of weeks - further information will be available in the assembly notices. Year 10 Visit to Kew Gardens On 18th January, 88 Year 10 Geography students braved the freezing cold weather and ventured to Kew Gardens. Tours were arranged which allowed students to experience a variety of ecosystems ranging from desert, to tropical. Students had the opportunity to learn about the plant adaptations and how they are used by humans. We were all very surprised just how useful coconuts can be! Year 8 Citizenship Days This event took place on 15th and 16th December and as always was a great success. The Year 8 students took part in workshops covering issues such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the running of Political Parties. It was a great opportunity for students to debate and ask questions about current issues. Tsunami Appeal Students have been working hard to raise money for the Tsunami Appeal. This week sees The Battle of the Bands. There will be performances on Wednesday and Thursday with the best performances going forward to a final performance day on Friday. There will be a mufti day on Friday 28th when students will be allowed to wear their own clothes to school for the payment of £1. A big thank you goes to Louise Noble, James Claxton and Rob Haslam, members of the sixth form committee who have worked hard organising these events and collecting the money. In addition to the above 9NMN will be taking part in a sponsored silence and 7LAD have collected games and pens to send to the children. Results Days For those planning their Summer holidays around the results days for public examinations the dates are GCE, Thursday 18th August and GCSE Thursday 25th August. Just A Reminder There is a meeting for all Year 9 parents on Wednesday 2nd February to outline choices and procedures for the move to Year 10 in September. Amnestv International Amnesty International is open to 6th formers every Tuesday in C4. Amnesty International is an organisation that campaigns for basic human rights and therefore takes action against the captivity of innocent protestors. As such we are sending letters weekly campaigning for the release of those unjustly held captive. For further information students are reminded that there is a notice board outside the resource centre. Prayer Group The group meets twice a term and the next two meetings will be on Monday 7th February and 7th March both at 8pm at the school. A warm welcome is extended to all. More information from J Poole on 01932 865476. Problems with our telephone system You may be aware that the school has been experiencing problems with the phone. To rectify this a new system will be installed on Tuesday 1st February. Please bear with us on this day because we may not have a phone system for a short period of time. During this down time if you need to contact the school urgently you can email us on info@therfield.surrey.sch.uk. 1471 Please note that if you dial 1471 and receive the school number a call could have been made from any one of our 100 plus extensions, or even the payphone. Please be assured that if there is an emergency we will leave a message wherever appropriate and continue to call any contact numbers on file. Lost Property Please make sure that all school uniform is marked with your child's name so that any lost property can be returned to the owner as quickly possible. Earlv Closure Please note that the school day will finish at 3.15pm on 9th February and 2nd March due to Year 11 and Year 9 Parents' Evenings. News from The Friends of
Therfield Quiz Evening: Our popular quiz which was to be held on 10th February has had to be postponed because of a clash with events which would have made it difficult for staff to attend. A new date has yet to be arranged. Supporting the Specialist Sport Status bid: The Friends have contributed £7,500 towards the £50,000 needed to make the Specialist Sports status bid. Thanks to generous contributions such as this we are currently on target for achieving Sports College designation in September 2005. Success will significantly improve the quality of life at Therfield for all students. Christmas Ball: Another major success, thanks to the hard work of Christine McParland. New ideas on this event are being looked at. Therfield Alumni: if anyone in your family is ex-Therfield please get them to look at the Alumni and History pages via the Therfield website. The Alumni hope to arrange a musical event this year to which all Therfield musicians past and present will be welcome. Craft Fayre: Anyone who is a keen attendee of Craft Fairs and knows the stall-holding community, please contact Robin Eddleston 01372 372548 - we'd like to talk to you. Diary Dates |