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of searchable newsletters on the Therfield Alumni website for the full, illustrated pdf version please click May 2008 (this is a large file) FROM THE HEAD TEACHER Dear Parents, This has been a very successful term so far with Therfield winning awards and praise in a number of areas, including several that are mentioned in this edition of the newsletter. Success in the Creative and Performing Arts, involvement in Environmental and Science projects, the numbers of students involved in business, charity and personal development opportunities—all these reflect the dedication, interests and talents of staff and students and the support of parents. We look forward to this success continuing through to the end of term and for the coming year. Susan Willman Drama Therfield -Drama Hat Trick We won the Michael Caine award for the Best Junior Show. Jonathan Lloyd is in year 12 and played the lead role of Joseph K in The Trial by Berkoff. He also played two small roles in our 2006 winning production of Grimm Tales when he was in year 10. We went on to be Runners Up in the u21 British All Winners Festival Finals and then we took the show to the Edinburgh Festival in 2007. “I am so proud of the tight teamwork from the students which made performing to Sir Michael Caine possible on Saturday. The competition has been getting tougher each year! We were delighted to win and it means such a lot to all of us but especially the year 10 students who were worried they would let the year 12 students down! A hat trick was a dream we never thought we could pull off and we are all very excited at the possibility we might be selected for the British Finals in July” Mrs Catherine Hudson – Head of Drama “I am delighted that Therfield has won the Leatherhead Theatre Drama Festival again this year. Anyone who saw the group’s performance of The Trial could not fail to be impressed. The quality of the acting and direction was outstanding. It is a reflection of the considerable talent and dedication of Mrs Hudson and the students, and the superb drama work that takes place in the school throughout the year.” Mrs Susan Willman -Headteacher An article from Surrey Ad online 20th May 2008 : A LEATHERHEAD school has bagged a major award at a star-studded drama festival, attended by one of Hollywood’s most distinguished actors. Therfield School was awarded the SirMichael Caine Drama Award at the Leatherhead Drama Festival for the third year running for their performance of Steven Berkoff's adaptation of ‘The Trial’. Star actor Jonathan Lloyd picked up the Junior Best Actor prize for his role as Joseph K, and Sir Michael praised the high standard of the 28 performances on show over the two-week period. Lucy Weldon, Drama teacher at Therfield School, said: “It was a wonderful experience. “The children loved it, they had a really good time. Some of the kids have ambitions to go on to be actors, they work very hard and are extremely committed.” Joining Sir Michael & Lady Caine at the ceremony was Hazel Vincent-Wallace OBE, founder of the Leatherhead Theatre. In summing up the evening, Sir Michael said that he had watched the Festival get better and better each year and described the standard of acting as much better than when he was an amateur. Art Spectacular Sculpture History Year 7 Castle Making Competition Gifted & Talented G+T News Bridge Club is now postponed until next term. Sessions were enthusiastically attended by pupils from Year 8 upwards, and we are extremely grateful for the dedication shown by our visiting Bridge Master, Frank Marshallsay, who volunteered to teach our pupils the basics of scoring and bidding. Bridge Club will resume at the start of the next academic year. Years 8+9 withdrawal sessions will resume next half term. You will be contacted shortly if you are to be invited to attend these sessions Geography Potato Growing Scheme update Year 8 Thorpe Park Trip The students were extremely lucky with the weather which was
scorching hot and dry and were a credit to the school. It was due
to their impeccable behaviour and maturity, that they were finally
allowed to enjoy a few ‘rides’ when they had completed their work.
Overall a superb day out! MFL New to MFL -Key Stage 3 Spanish Club. Sport Year 12 BTEC Students Week in Cornwall The course had multiple aims, including; to enjoy and experience new activities, develop greater self confidence and improved self esteem and to develop a trust and team spirit between all, whilst attaining towards the BTEC assessment criteria. Whilst in Cornwall, the group was divided into two smaller teams, and were then lead and instructed through a range of OAA sessions, in a bid to not only learn the required skills, but also gain an appreciation of the requirements for such activities, and the effects on the environment. Both activity groups carried out a total of seven different experiences, from conquering fears of heights whilst rock climbing on the natural sea cliffs, or stepping over the edge of the 80 foot abseil; from learning the technical skills of kayaking, or how to build communication and team work skills during the tight squeezes of coastal traversing; from learning about impact on the environment during a night navigation on Bodmin Moor, to mastering the basics of body boarding. However, the resounding favourite activity was the one for which Cornwall has become famous for, Surfing in the Atlantic Ocean, even in April, was by far the most enjoyed activity!... Each day of the Course was structured along a tailored programme, having two activity sessions, three meals and even an evening lecture every day, all aimed at improving the students learning and understanding of the BTEC Assessment requirements. The VI Form students were able to show their newly gained skills, to earn two National Governing Body Awards each, all leaving with their Kayak One Star Award, and their Surfing Bronze Fin Level One or Two Award! Each student was awarded a MERIT for their practical skills, this being the highest grade available for the practical task, so congratulations are awarded to all involved! This was the first partnership between Therfield and the staff of “Outdoor Adventure Limited” in Bude. The Outdoor Limited Staff were extremely impressed by the enthusiasm, energy and willingness to learn shown by all the students (and teachers alike!) during the week long course, although the evening lectures were a struggle at times… The OA Staff praised the attitude and commitment, stating their week with our VI Formers was one of the most enjoyable they have had! Congratulations to ALL involved, and Therfield has already made investigations into returning again next year. The comments given on leaving, included statements such as “What a fantastic week!,” “Thanks for the opportunity!,” and “I’d recommend this to anyone!...” If you are planning on beginning the Key Stage 5 BTEC National Diploma in Sport Development, Coaching and Fitness in September, then you to could be donning a wet suit and conquering the waves, along with your fears!... Well Done to ALL involved and many thanks to Mr Williams and Miss
Holmes for their fantastic support throughout! Here’s to a return
to Cornwall next year!. Year 11 GCSE PE Revision Booster Day The day started in the classroom at 8.45am, where the aims of the day were outlined and questions answered. Throughout the morning, the Year 11s split their time between the Gym, Tennis Courts and Classroom, where there were a mixture of practical and theory based tasks to complete; including aspects such as training methods, diet and fitness components. Before lunch, the final aspect of the morning session was to undertake structured exam questions related to the theory revised. After lunch, the students returned to the Gym revising the body systems, by drawing life sized scale diagrams of the skeletal and muscular systems, all to aid the practical understanding. The Cardio respiratory system was revised on a giant hand drawn diagram on the Tennis Courts, with the Year 11’s acting as individual haemoglobin molecules travelling through the body!... All went home at 3.00pm, having had a very informative day!...
The evaluation sheets were very positive stating, “Very
Good-Recommended,” “Good day which I learned a lot from,” and many
simply saying “Thanks Miss!” National Inter-Schools Badminton Silver Lining! The Key Stage 4 Finals were played in two pools of four schools, with only the winners of each pool then progressing onto play in the Final itself. The Therfield Team found themselves playing against Samuel Whitbread Community College from Bedfordshire, Bournemouth School for Girls from Dorset and the toughest team in the Finals, Garforth Community College from Yorkshire! Each match was played in a best of 5 games format, with each game played to 21 points. The first match started in a tough singles game, but resulted in a 5-0 win for the Therfield Girls. The second match again gave some real highlights, and the girls again won outright, 5-0 against Bournemouth. This set up the most fantastic final round match between Therfield and the College from Yorkshire! By the time the team took to the court to play the final match against Garforth, it had become clear that this match would decide the winners of the pool and the team to progress to the final, as Garforth had won their previous games 10-0 also! The sportsmanship and sheer professionalism shown by the four Therfield Girls, had by this stage won them the respect and admiration of all the other players and managers, and the girls found themselves becoming the crowds' favourites, with most of the supporters now on their side! Georgina opened the final match, playing a singles game against Garforth’s Harriet Shillito, a Yorkshire player with England Representative experience. Despite falling behind by half way, Georgina played some outstanding badminton, but eventually lost 21-18. This proved enough of a motivation to the rest of the team to raise their game, and that is exactly what they did!... Rosie and Suzi won their doubles game, drawing the match at 1-1, leading the way for Katie who then won her reverse singles game, to take a 2-1 lead overall. Knowing the girls needed a total of 3 games to win the match, Georgina and Suzi then once again took to the court, with the knowledge that one more victory would secure them not only a famous win over the favourites to take the pool, but a coveted place in their first ever National Schools Final! Having played through to 19-19, the game could have turned either way… But with some fantastic shot execution, the girls took the third and deciding game by the closest of margins at 21-19! Knowing they were already in the Final, Rosie and Katie then added a gloss to the victory, by winning the last doubles game and giving Therfield a 4-1 victory over the pool favourites!... With the girls then into the Final itself and the massive relief of actually reaching that game; the girls then found themselves being asked to play their first three matches of both singles and one doubles game, at the same time with only Miss Rennie remaining as the chief cheerleader! Their competitors in the final were a team from Nottingham Girls High School, who had also played magnificently well to reach the final, and in addition had the luxury of a large number of supporters with them, since their travel journey had been much shorter. All the girls played to their best, but Katie in her singles game, and Rosie and Suzi in their doubles game, quickly lost their first round games. Although Georgina had an initial lead in her singles game she was able to match the play of her opponent, but a great shot from the Nottingham girl at 20-20 was enough to take the win and seal the final at 3-0, before the reverse doubles had even began. It proved difficult to raise the play when the girls were asked to take to the court again, already knowing the win had been secured by the Nottingham Girls, and the doubles were completed in quick time, resulting in a 5-0 defeat in the final. What had begun so hopeful, finished in such defeat. But by the time the girls received their National Inter-Schools Badminton Championships Silver medals from Donna Kellogg, the British Ranked number 1 and World Ranked number 4 in Women’s Doubles; the upset of defeat had passed and the realisation of their achievements had sunk in! To achieve a Silver Medal, in a National Competition, beating the team representing the toughest Region in the Country, and making their way to the Final of a competition which had began with over 10,000 participants, is a worthy prize to claim!... Many congratulations to the girls, who along the way made many
friends and gained huge respect from all the competitors and
coaches they met. Well done girls, thanks for a great day and
here’s to 2009!... U18 Girls Football Win 8-0 Music Gifted and Talented Day for Musicians In both cases, students learnt the techniques required for playing the instruments and were also taught a number of pieces to play together. Many students said they found the instruments more difficult to play than they had imagined, but that did not stop them creating some very lively sounds! Whilst students in the main music room were learning complex rhythms and subtle drumming techniques (many of which needed a considerable amount of co-ordination!), the second music room was resonating with the mellow harmonies of music from the Caribbean. Some groups were even taught a few traditional African dance moves! Students and staff alike ended the day feeling quite weary and with something of a sore head … but all agreed that the new challenges and musical results had made any physical pains well worth while! Important Notice—Bikes Catering Champion for 'Partnership Working’ Christine is a fantastic canteen manager. She has worked at the school for 16 years and has always taken a positive and proactive approach to promoting healthy eating – she was well ahead of Jamie Oliver. She has worked with students in developing healthy meals and menus and is always trying new things to encourage the youngsters to eat well. Christine has promoted school meals by targeting the parents of new and current students during parents and open evenings, serving up menu samples, always with excellent feedback. Christine willingly gets involved with relevant curriculum areas,
working with the Food and Technology department on several
occasions. She has also helped run and judge competitions where
students have produced healthy meals. Other News Young Enterprise Scholastic Book Fair Rag Week LEATHERHEAD LADIES F.C. U13s: New Players Wanted Matches are played on Sunday mornings. Our home ground is at Mole
Valley Predators, River Lane, Randalls Road, Leatherhead. Training
sessions run by F.A. qualified coaches are every Saturday morning.
Most of the squad are Therfield girls. Any girls wishing to try
out for the team should call/email: Dates for your Diary
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