Issue 130 23rd March 2005
Issue 130 23rd March 2005
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| FROM THE HEADTEACHER
Surgery Date I will be available on 20th April from 5pm-7pm to meet with parents who have any concerns or issues they would like to discuss with me. Please phone, my PA Mrs Jo Devonshire on 01372 814432 to book an appointment. French Links As part of our French Exchange Programme, we recently welcomed forty French students aged 13-17 and four accompanying teachers from Collège Jean Monnet and Lycée la Herdrie in Vertou near Nantes. They arrived on Wednesday 2nd March and spent a week staying with host families and experiencing the English way of life. They attended lessons in Therfield as well as taking in the sights of London, including Madame Tussaud's, the British Museum and Camden Market. Also on the agenda was a joint trip, along with English hosts, to the Tower of London and Covent Garden. This proved to be a very successful trip, despite the snow! Firm friendships have already developed, making goodbyes all the more difficult. Therfield participants are now eagerly awaiting the second leg of the Exchange when we travel to France in June. Over to the States - USA TRIP Forty sixth form students enjoyed a fantastic week in the United States over half term, led by Miss Allen and accompanied by Mr Ward, Mr Casselton and Ms Langley. Landing in a freezing New York City we scaled the Empire State Building on the first night to get our first bird's-eye view of this amazing place. The next two days were spent exploring the city on foot - walking through Little Italy, Chinatown and up and down Fifth Avenue - by ferry to see a spectacular view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, on ice skates in Central Park whilst admiring the famous Christo 'gates' exhibition and finally by yellow taxi and limousine at night! We bowled, we dined in an all-singing all-dancing American diner on Broadway and we shopped in Macys and Bloomingdales 'til we dropped! We then took a bus to Washington DC and 'visited' the grave of JFK at Arlington Cemetery. We went into Congress and the Supreme Court and also did a little bit more shopping in Georgetown. The students were an outstanding group to take and were praised by everyone we met including our guides, the hotel staff and by our coach driver. It was a pleasure to spend the week with them. Changes to Governors - New Vice Chairman of Governors Following Paula Scrivens' appointment as Chair of Governors Tim Reeder has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Governing body. He has been an LEA appointed Governor at Therfield for three years. During this time he has regularly attended major Therfield events. As Chairman of the Staffing committee he has attended In-service Training (InSet) days and evenings. He has regularly observed teachers at work with classes of all ages. As a link governor he has been invited to deliver sessions to Newly Qualified Teachers and to PGCE (student) teachers on the role of governors. Tim has also represented the governing body on interview, promotion and student disciplinary panels. He has also given active support to the sailing club by being safety boat crew. Tim retired from working life in 1999. He spent much of his time combining line management with management education first in the Royal Navy then in business both in the UK and globally. He experienced the vital importance of education both for his own life and for those with whom he worked. He has 3 children educated in England and France in the 1970s/80s and now 4 grandchildren who are in or near Infant School. As a result he has always had an active interest in schooling and a determination to find effective ways of teaching and learning. Goodbye We would like to say a fond farewell to Mrs Diane Jones who is retiring after many years of service to the school in our Welfare department. She will be missed by the students and her many friends at Therfield. Congratulations Congratulations to seven GNVQ Health and Social Care students who have successfully completed the Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene. They are: Katie Balyckyi, Dan Cooke, Joe Denyer, Kim Penny, Sam Simmons, Becky Williams and Claudette McKenzie. Our congratulations go to Sam Pudney of 8CEV who has been successful in winning a BBC footie stars competition for CBBC Xchange. Sam will be featured in a film insert where he will attend the launch of the new England Football Kit and also interview John Terry - well done Sam! Congratulations also to Eleanor Whitlock from 9PJA who won a Young Achievement award in youth drama on 28th January. Happy Birthday Einstein
The Physics department held a birthday party - for Einstein. It
is 100 years since Einstein published some of his greatest work.
The party was attended by about 50 year 7s and 8s. They had
ice-cream made with liquid nitrogen, took part in fun science
experiments and got their hair sprayed grey to look like the
hero of the day. Safe Driving Course - a group of forty Year 12 students attended the inaugural Safe Driving Show which was run by the Surrey Emergency Services at Dorking Halls. The very emotive event told the personal story of a serious road traffic accident in Surrey. Our students were very moved by the experience and we hope that the event will have positive impact upon their driving. Family Links Another
ten week run of Family Links Parenting/Nurturing classes will
begin on Wednesday afternoons 12.30 to 3.30. These classes are
available to all. A contribution of £2.00 a week is invited to
cover the cost of the course handbook and refreshments. Chernobyl Children Life Line Could you welcome two Belarusian children into your home for two weeks this summer and treat them like your own? The children come to the UK for a four-week recuperative break from the after-effects of the Chernobyl disaster. It is believed that the resulting boost to their immune system may add up to two years to their life expectancy. Outings and activities are organised for the children, and their host and support families can join in with many of these if they wish. We are looking for hosts for a fortnight from July 17th or from July 31st, and also for people to support the hosts, helping them out while the visitors are staying with them. For more information, please call Liz Taylor on 01372 720419, or visit our website at www.midsurreylink.org Year 12 AVCE Leisure and Recreation Race Night The Year 12 AVCE Leisure and Recreation group hosted an extremely successful Race Night at Therfield on Wednesday 9th March. As part of their coursework, the students have to plan and carry out a 'Leisure' event. They pulled together and worked very effectively as a team lead by Barry Fleming as Chairman and Dean Thomas as Vice Chairman. From the profits they raised, £88 will go to the Tsunami Disaster Fund and £50 will go to Comic Relief. Therfield Launch Mole Valley Youth Games - the youth games are one of the largest sporting events in Surrey. In co operation with Richard Coleman at MVDC we organised a morning of sport to launch the programme which leads up to the final games at The Guildford Spectrum. Students had the opportunity to take part in Rugby, Basketball, Squash and were able to measure their sprinting speed using a speed gun! Dignitaries from MVDC Council and Active Surrey attended the event and the mornings events were recorded by the Dorking Advertiser. Any students that wish to take part in the Games should see Mr Batchelor for an application form. The Book Fair This was well attended with many students using their £1 vouchers to buy books. Thank you to all who supported the Resource Centre. Cross Country The annual Cross Country Event took place earlier this month. Over 400 students took part in the event with some fantastic performances from many athletes. Detailed results can be seen in the PE dept and on the school website. The victorious athletes were, Don Hemming, Maddy Reeves, Matt Holmes, Catherine Gough, Ross McKenzie, Millie Monk, Tom Horley, Amie Turner, Alex Hawkins and Kate Chitty. Child Development Year 10 students spent one morning for a whole week at local nurseries and playgroups as part of their GCSE Child Development course. Without exception, feedback was positive and encouraging and demonstrated the worthiness of such a course. Therfield are extremely fortunate and grateful to have access to excellent community links, and students themselves have said, “It was my best week ever while I've been at Therfield”. One student was even offered a job! Police Work Experience Three Therfield students were honoured last week at a special award ceremony held at the University of Surrey. Chris Rowntree, Samantha Mollett and Sophia Sweeney were judged to be amongst the top 25 students who took part in the pilot of the Surrey Police Work Experience Scheme held at Mount Browne Police Headquarters' last summer. The year 11 students were presented with their awards by the Chief Constable of Surrey, Robert F Quick in front of an audience of dignitaries including the Mayors of Guildford and Woking and the Chairman of the Surrey Police Authority, Liz Campbell. Many senior police officials also attended the ceremony which marked the launch of the Surrey Police Community Student Scheme. Chris, Samantha and Sophia have now been assigned to a division of the Surrey Police Force where they will continue with on going work experience over the next 12 months. This initiative is the first in the country and Surrey Police are delighted to have pioneered this scheme not only to promote the Police Force as a career choice but to build better relations between the young people of our communities and the Police. Many other police forces from around the country are now looking to Surrey's example. We are delighted that 6 of our year 10 students have been selected to attend this years Police Work Experience in April. Job opportunities The examination department are looking for helpers to assist some special needs students with their Reading and Writing during their KS3 and KS4 exams. If you would like further information or wish to apply please telephone Mrs Harvey, the Examinations Officer on 01372 818123 extn. 223. Friends' Quiz Evening: Our popular quiz evening, including a fish & chip (or veggie) supper, is on Thursday April 28th - the booking form is attached - please put the date in your diary now! Quizmasters will be Frank Haslam and Graham Tuck. Changes to the School Day During the time of the public examinations it is necessary for us to change the school day. During the main period of the exams-May 16th-24th June, the lunch break will be from 12.05 to 12.50. School will start, as usual, with a warning bell at 8.30am but will close at 3.15pm during this period. Please note school will close at 3.15 on Wednesday 20th April. Dates for your Diary May 3rd-6th National Curriculum tests |