Issue 134 20th July 2005
Issue 134 20th July 2005
the newsletter format has been updated - see the original as a pdf file
| FROM THE HEADTEACHER As the
school year comes to a close we say a fond farewell to a number of
staff. Many go on to promotion in other schools, whilst others
seek a change of scene.
On behalf of all the Therfield community I would like to extend particular thanks and future best wishes to Mr Geary (Deputy Head), Mr Stewart (Assistant Head) and Mrs Thomas (Head of Year 8) - although I am delighted to say that both Mr Stewart and Mrs Thomas will be returning to Therfield in a part-time teaching capacity in September. I hope that all three will see it as a mark of our respect when I write that between them they have contributed sixty-seven years of dedicated service to our school. Mr Garner and Miss Langley have both been promoted to Assistant Headteacher at St Bede's School, Reigate and Miss Allen to Assistant Headteacher at Blenheim High School, Epsom. Mrs Benson leaves us to become SENCO at Tolworth Girl's School and is joined by Mrs Symes. Miss Jones has been appointed as second in charge of English at Overton Grange School, Sutton and Miss Starling has been appointed Assistant House Mistress at Box Hill School. Mrs Boon joins Hampton School, Mrs McConnell joins St Bede's as Assistant Head of Maths Department & Mr Ward moves to Leicestershire and joins Oakham School as Teacher of Politics. Miss Wheeler leaves us to travel the world. We also say goodbye to Miss Anderson, Mr Courtney, Mr Farmer, Mrs McKinney, Mrs Pike, Mrs O'Brien, Miss Scott, and Mrs Wooding. The school will miss all of these colleagues and we wish them well for the future. I am pleased to report that the
school will be fully staffed in September. The new Head of
History & Citizenship will be Mr Foster from Riddlesdown
High School, Purley. I would also like to congratulate the following staff on their promotions, Miss Buckell to Assistant Headteacher, Mr Casselton to Head of Creative & Performing Arts, Miss Wooding to Head of Humanities Faculty, Mrs Foley as temporary Head of Maths, Mrs Moore to Head of Year 12, Mr Batchelor as Head of Sports Specialism, Mr Morren as Head of Year 9, Mrs Ensum as Teacher i/c Gifted and More Able, Mr Michelmore as second in Citizenship, Miss Thomas as Teacher i/c Literacy and Miss Lewis as Teacher i/c KS3 Music and Mrs Sykes as Teacher i/c GCSE Leisure and Tourism. Sports Day Sports day took place in June and had the highest number of students taking part ever; Sixth Formers also took part for the first time. There were numerous excellent performances this year but sadly there were no records broken. The winning tutor groups were; 7LCH, 8AC0, 9LEL and 10NHR with Champion Athlete Awards for Charlotte Taylor, Daniel Relton, Rosie McEwing, James Barnes, Danielle Dowling, Arnel Soriano, Katrina Fidler, and Will Renton Rose. Healthy Studies Year
10 Health Days allowed students to investigate and discuss
issues surrounding alcohol and other forms of drugs, healthy
relationships, coping with stress and young people and the law.
Some of the activities were very interactive. For example
students volunteered to wear very odd glasses which made their
vision blurred and confused, as associated with too much
alcohol. They then had to try and walk in a straight line and
control a remote controlled car around a course! If you walked
into the stress session, you would have seen students lying on
the floor, breathing deeply and listening to birds or the noise
of waves washing up a beach. Sailing Away Hayling
Island Regatta 2005 Fred Hunter was 1st in the Topper
class and gained the Ron Joult Trophy; Alex Stypulkowski was
voted Seaman of the Year. Visit to Portsmouth Naval
Dockyard. 19 students and 2 staff had a wonderful day
at Portsmouth thanks to Governor Tim Reeder who organised the
trip, drawing on his connections as an ex RN officer. After an
exciting video presentation the group went on to enjoy hands on
excitement in Action Stations, followed by an excellent lunch in
the Junior Mess. The afternoon brought a Harbour boat trip, a
visit to HMS Victory and finally a visit to a serving warship
HMS Exeter. Induction Days I am not sure if it was the children or the parents who seemed most fearful for the Year 6 students who are soon to be Year 7s. At the end of the first day the children were more lively and there were lots of smiling faces. At the end of the second day they were saying they wanted to start straight away. It had been an excellent two days. The new students had a tour of the school with sixth formers, met their Year 8 mentors, and had a series of Iessons. AII of them had a chance to hear about the extra-curricular life of the school and were given the expectation to join at least one club. It looks as though we have an excellent year group starting in September who are going to have a lot to gain from, and a lot to contribute to Therfield. Summer Cabaret The Summer Cabaret just keeps getting bigger and better! Demand for tickets was so high this year that the event sold out a week in advance! The students are to be congratulated on the high quality of their performances which kept the audience so entertained and delighted throughout the evening. In the first half, the biggest ever Symphonic Band got things off to an energetic start with a medley of popular pieces from the hit film Shrek. The Lower School Singers and the Gospel Choir gave perhaps their best performances to date singing a range of popular and gospel pieces from memory, in two, three and four part harmony. Some beautiful and exciting solo pieces were played by Gareth Mead on the trombone and Gillian Fox on the flute, and an authentic-sounding rendition of the first movement of Vivaldi's Double Trumpet Concerto was presented by Gordon Fox and Mr Singleton, supported by a string trio and harpsichord continuo involving students and staff. Therfield Brass presented a performance of a serene movement from Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and the Year 7 Band received tumultuous applause for their performances of Doctor Who and Star Wars (not to mention a groan of disappointment as they finished for the interval!). During the interval, guests topped up their drinks from the licensed bar and, for the first time at the Cabaret, were also served food. This seemed to be plentiful and greatly appreciated in the balmy yet relaxed nightclub atmosphere. The Jazz Orchestra and Swing Band played an eclectic mix of big band and swing jazz including pieces by Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker and rounded the evening off with an encore of Gimme Some Lovin from The Blues Brothers. Our congratulations to all the students who took part and our thanks go to the Friends of Therfield, and to Mrs Barker and the office staff for their indispensable help with the organisation and catering for what has become a firm favourite in the school's calendar. We would also like to publicly thank those individuals who have made donations to the Therfield's Trust Fund after attending this year's Cabaret. Arts Showcase Parents and friends were treated to an evening which displayed Therfield students' considerable talents in the Creative and Performing Arts. Year 9 drama students opened the event with a short play about what can happen on a school trip, entitled Our Day Out. Year 8 girl acrobats put on a show of suppleness which was followed by musicians from Year 7 performing their own compositions for voice and percussion. Energy, style and co-ordination were hallmarks of the performances of Irish, Contemporary and Prop dance showcased by the Girls' Gifted and Talented and Key Stage 3 Dance Clubs. During the interval, audience members sipped wine whilst listening to relaxed guitar music performed by Paul Leppard and Paul Williams in Year 12 and taking in the phenomenal display presented by the Art department. The range of styles and genres, from surrealism to sculpture, Pop Art to portraiture by artists throughout the school was inspirational. The second half of the evening bounced into action as the Trampolining Club amazed onlookers with their routines and Year 10 drama students produced an abridged version of their award-winning play Blue Remembered Hills. This was followed by a light-hearted sequence of synchronised film and music, produced by Year 9 musicians to the animated film The Wrong Trousers. Live music was performed by two groups of students from Year 9, who presented two pieces that they had studied in a recent scheme of work on Rock Music: Smoke on the Water and Sunshine of Your Love. The evening was rounded off by a preview of the opening sequence and Dentist's song from the forthcoming production Little Shop of Horrors - a collaboration between the Drama, Music and Art departments which will take place in January. Thank you to all the students for sharing such high quality work and for the continued dedication and expert guidance from the staff in the Creative and Performing Arts Faculty - well done! Year 7 Band Students entering Year 7 in September will have the chance to participate in Therfield's acclaimed Year 7 Band Scheme. Students will have the opportunity to apply to have the loan of an instrument and receive tuition free for a year. Details will be given to students in Year 7 in September and further information will be available to parents at the Friend's Welcome for Year 7 Parents on Wednesday 28th September. Art 8 Design It's been a busy and successful year in the Art Department. This term has seen student's work on display in the Creative Arts faculty showcase. Featured was a wide variety of work in a range of media from printing and painting to surrealist 3D work and sculpture. The showcase was a celebration of the excellent achievement of students from all year groups. We look forward to displaying much of this work around the school. Well done to all students involved. The work was exciting, varied and very much enjoyed. Leatherhead Tomorrow Leatherhead Tomorrow is a community driven project to enable people in and around Leatherhead to express their views on what they think works well in the town and where improvements could be made. To help shape an Action Plan for Leatherhead, students and parents are invited to visit their website at www.leatherheadtomorrow.co.uk where you will be able to provide your views via the on-line questionnaire. The website is being updated regularly and will shortly include an on-line questionnaire aimed at young people. Leatherhead Tomorrow has already been working with the School Council and representatives of each year, brainstorming ideas and sharing opinions. Rough Science A
report by James Daly 9LEL: The whole experience was memorable, as we learnt how to make gunpowder, how to find gold and many other interesting things. We had one practical experiment, where we saw how light could also relay messages, not Morse Code though. I had to speak into a tube, with a rubber cap over the top, and it had a mirror stuck to the cap. As I spoke, the light emitted from the torch opposite and the mirror reflecting it, shook. A machine made a noise to show that the light beam carried the vibrations of the sound. Near the end, the Science Club members got Jonathan Hare's autograph. It truly was an exhilarating experience. Forensic Science Project This project is supported by Aimhigher Surrey and is designed to provide talented Year 10 science students with an opportunity to use the knowledge they have gained in the classroom in an applied and exciting way. Year 10 students chosen to attend this July at The Royal Holloway University in Egham were - Amar Chauhan, James Bottomley, Kathryn Scott and Hannah Piggott. Teams get the opportunity to represent the Crown Prosecution and Defence services, visiting the scenes of crime, interviewing prime suspects and collating evidence from the laboratory teams. In addition to giving participants a taste of applied science, this project aIso provides a great opportunity for the students to acquire and improve teamwork, debating, interpretation and presentation skills. The students were resident on campus for three days and so gained a good insight into life at university as well. PE Well done to the Year 10 cricket team who beat Warwick School by 93 runs in their match on 22nd June. Best performances were from Paul Holland who scored 84 not out and Daniel Lerpiniere who took 3 wickets for 22 runs. Congratulations too to the Year 7 cricket team who beat St.Andrews in their match on 15th June. Best performances were from Lawrence Bolton (17 runs) and Matt Davison (13 runs). All Fired Up
Students from Therfield have been taking part in a project to
enhance the facilities at the new Recreation Ground that will
open, in the Autumn, in Kingston Road, Leatherhead. They have
worked under the supervision of staff at the Fire and Iron
Gallery which is at Rowhurst Forge on the Oxshott road. The work
of the gallery is renowned throughout the world for its
metalwork and this was a great opportunity for students to learn
new skills. The students, Lauren Denby, Courtney Brayer, Krissie
Jewell, Alex Rapley, Dan Curtis, Justin Holman, Simon
Rheinlander and George Burt, all from Year 9, have worked on six
park benches, one day a week from May to July. The students have
learnt how to design something that is appropriate for its use
and which is also graffiti proof, fire proof and safe. We all
look forward to seeing the results of their work in the Autumn. Make Poverty History Day To mark this day students came to school wearing white and raised £336.37. Sixth formers sold over 200 Make Poverty History bands on behalf of Oxfam. English Update This has been another busy and exciting year in the English Faculty at Therfield. We have introduced two new A level courses, Media Studies and English Language, both of which have proved very popular with students. Most of our current students are continuing to A2 and there is a high take up of new students for next year. English Literature still remains popular at A Level and students have had the opportunity to visit Jane Austen's house at Chawton, even dressing up in 17th century clothes, see a variety of theatre performances and watch a performance of Chaucer's The Miller's Tale told in the original Middle English. For the first time Year 11 students attended a national Poetry Day, where they were entertained by a number of the poets whose work they study for GCSE, who read and discussed their own work. Students were also given useful advice on exam technique by one of the chief examiners for English. We hope to make this an annual event in the future and have already booked tickets for next year. Year 11 students have been supported as usual by our programme of additional revision classes, which were held both after school and during their study leave period. Prior to their Key Stage 3 English tests, Year 9 students saw Macbeth performed by the Box Clever company and all students also had the opportunity to work on the Kartouche software to increase their understanding of the play. Year 7 students followed a library induction programme, working with Mrs Soloman, the Librarian, as part of their first term's scheme of work in English, which introduced them to the school's Learning & Resource Centre and improved their research skills. A large number of students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have taken part in the Carnegie Shadowing project, reading six books in six weeks and uItimately voting for their favourite. The Therfield students disagreed with the judges who chose Millions by Frank Boyce whereas Therfield's choice was The Star of Kazan@ by Eva Ibbotson. Many of our students have produced exceptionally good work and this has been recognised beyond the school; Dan Howell in Year 11 has had a poem published in the anthology Great Minds; Alice Page and Emily Barrett won the Key Stage 3 section of the Mole Valley poetry competition with Jessica Crosby and Matthew Walters as runners up. The key Stage 4 and 5 section was won by Laura Forest with Tim Law and Tom Foulsham as runners up. Other students have had their work published in our school magazine Green Bottle. Miss Jones, who has run Green Bottle for the last few years will be leaving us for a new position in another school at the end of this term and will be very much missed by her colleagues and her students. Cooking Up a Treat Year 8 students took part in a Pasta Challenge, run by the Food Tech department and judged by the Canteen Manageress. Five students in Year 8 had their recipes trialled in the school canteen. Staff and students voted the overall winner as Duncan Stuart who won £20. Nicola Stock and Becky Deacon were voted runners up and won £5 book tokens each. Congratulations to all who took part. The Year 9 Grab 5 Competition was won by Chris Groves and Connor Gilby who each received £ 10 prizes. Helen Brady and Jenny Knight were the Year 8 winners for the same competition. The students worked hard to create a meal for primary school children and were judged by the school Catering Manageress. Their entries will now be forwarded on to the National Competition. Well done for their efforts. A new Jamie Oliver competition run by KSD (Key Stage Developments Ltd) has chosen Gareth Rendle of 8CP1 to represent Therfield. Gareth has been awarded £5 by the Food Tech department, but stands to win £50 for himself and £150 training vouchers for the school if he is overall winner. Congratulations to Gareth. Students from 8CRG - Jonathan Hunt, Jack Ellis, Sean Clarke, Daniel Osbourne, Duncan Stuart and Sherry Andrews all volunteered to help with a pre-school meeting on Tuesday July 19th in the school dining hall. The Food Tech department was extremely grateful for their enthusiasm and support - they have each been awarded 5 service points. News From The Governors Mrs Janet Yeates has been appointed an LEA governor. Miss Allen leaves the school at the end of the summer term and will cease to be a staff governor. Ms Lis Swingler has been appointed in her place and will serve for a term of four years. Once again Dawn Dodd our clerk to the Governors will be collecting shoeboxes to be sent to Romania. Leaflets and posters can be collected in from Reception in September. Dates For Your Diary Start of term How to Contact Us
Therfield School, Dilston Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7NZ school website www.therfield.surrey.sch.uk |