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newsletters on the Therfield Alumni website for the full, illustrated pdf version please click December 2008 (this is a large file) FROM THE HEAD TEACHER Dear Parents This has been another successful and action packed term. The Year 7s are truly settled in and are already contributing to our community. Thank you to those of you who have supported our many events this term. We are all looking forward to the coming break and I wish you and your families a restful and enjoyable time over the Christmas and the New Year. Susan Willman History Auschwitz On 13th November 2008, two Year 13 students from Therfield took part in a trip to the Holocaust work and death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland. The Holocaust Educational Trust gives the opportunity for sixth formers from every school in the country to travel to Poland, have a tour of the camps of Auschwitz, and also of the neighbouring town. Having written essays about why the visit was important to us myself and Fran Hughes were selected to attend the trip. Before the day trip to Poland, we were invited to a Seminar in London, where we were taught some of the background of the Holocaust and given a very inspirational talk by a survivor of the Holocaust, Josef Perl. Josef had been 10 years old, and a normal school child in his small hometown in Czechoslovakia, when he was forced to leave his home. He escaped from the SS, but was forced to watch his mother and other relatives killed before his escape. He was later captured and sent to Auschwitz, and was moved from Camp to Camp until he was liberated from his eighth camp, Buchenwald, in 1945. His story was incredible, as his life was so often in danger. At one point, he was sentenced to death, for using a grenade in a factory to disrupt munitions manufacture, but he escaped from captivity and survived the Holocaust. His story was especially relevant, as before the Holocaust, he was a child with a happy, ordinary life: with Jewish and non-Jewish friends. However, after the Holocaust, he returned home to find that his mother and sisters were dead, and despite the end of the war, he was not welcome back in the town-people were still prejudiced against the Jews. Josef Perl has written a book that I highly recommend: “Faces in the Smoke”, which gives his full testimony. We found out just a few days before the trip to Poland, that we would be very privileged. We were accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams and the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, as well as the other seven faith leaders of Britain. We flew out early in the morning, and took a coach to Oswiecim, the Polish name for Auschwitz. When we arrived we were given a short tour of the town, including a visit to the site of the Great Synagogue, which was burned down during the Holocaust, and the only remaining synagogue in Oswiecim, that has been restored into a museum. What was really poignant, was that before the war, the town was over 50% Jewish, but now no Jewish people remain, out of a population of over 150,000. We then went to Auschwitz I, the original camp. Here, we were given a guided tour of the camp, which is now a museum. We were shown rooms full of shoes, clothes and other items belonging to the victims, but perhaps the most shocking of all, a room full of human hair. The officers of Auschwitz would sell the hair of the victims to cloth manufacturers and mattress fillers. It was scary and a little sickening to stand in a place where 1.5 million people had been murdered. This was emphasised especially when we were taken in to gas chamber and crematorium of Auschwitz I. Finally, we were taken to Auschwitz II-Birkenau. This was the main death camp, and the place where the majority of the victims were killed. It is not a museum, but has been left as it was-so it is perhaps easier to imagine what it would have been like. The crematoria here, as well as most of the barracks were destroyed nearing the end of the Holocaust, before liberation, but some barracks remained standing. We were told that the huts, which were built to house around fifty horses, were used to keep up to 1500 people at a time. We were also shown a room with photographs that survived of the victims, which helped to humanise and individualise the victims. We attended a small service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Rabbi, in which we reflected about everything we had heard. We were then each given a candle to place on the railtracks to Auschwitz, in memory of the victims of the camps. There are many lessons to be learned from the Holocaust. The more obvious ones, such as tolerance and equality are certainly important, but it is equally important to remember that every person who died in the Holocaust was an individual person, a human being with family. To put the Holocaust into perspective, instead of thinking of 6 million dying, imagine one person’s death. Then imagine another, and another, and another, 6 million times. Each person who died during the Holocaust, whether Jewish, or Gypsy, or Polish, or a political prisoner, had a family, and people who suffered their loss. This is why the Holocaust should be remembered, not forgotten, especially given the current events of Darfur, where yet again, genocide is occuring. “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it”, and the Holocaust should never be allowed to happen again. Sarah Cannon Belgium Battlefields Trip Thursday 16th – Friday 17th October 60 Therfield students and 7 teachers took part on the Belgium battlefields trip. After several History lessons learning about trench warfare and conditions faced when fighting in WW1, we went to Ypres, a town in Belgium which was heavily involved in World War 1. On Thursday morning at 4am, I woke up to get to school for 5 o’clock. Despite not knowing for sure whether we would be able to get across the channel (due to the ferry strike and the fire in the channel tunnel), we left for Dover. Luck was on our side and we were able to get onto the ferry fairly quickly. After quite a lot of driving, we arrived in Ypres. We visited The Ramparts Cemetery where we had a look at all the gravestones. The soldiers were buried where they fell. Then there was a short walk to the Menin Gate. We had a look at the sheer size of the place and the lists of names engraved into the stone. Next we went to a museum where there was a makeshift trench system. There were also dummies wearing all the different uniforms worn by the soldiers. We then visited a series of trenches that had been renovated and there was also a mineshaft that you could look down. After that it was a fairly short journey to the hotel. (The rooms were really nice and weren’t too big and full of people unlike other school trips.) We had dinner before returning to Ypres to attend the Last Post Ceremony which was an unforgettable experience. We watched various people laying wreaths including Jaye Jordan and Rory Hogan, the winners of the competition where we had had to write why we should be the one who laid the wreath. The next day was just as jam-packed as the previous. We visited the Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres which was really interesting. We then visited a number of cemeteries including Essex Farm where Joe Strudwick from Dorking, one of the youngest British soldiers to die in WW1, was buried. We also visited the Pool of Peace, which is a massive crater from where dynamite had exploded and blown the top of a hill off. It is a memorial to those who died when the explosion went off. The size of the pool brought home the damage that was caused by the War. Next we visited Tyne Cot Cemetery. We had each researched a soldier who we searched for, and left a memorial. The scale of the site with all the gravestones was something I will never forget. After Tyne Cot we visited a German cemetery where the atmosphere was completely different to that of Tyne Cot, it was much darker and less than half the size. The trip was a great experience. (With it being 90 years since the end of the First World War, it made you realise how recently WW1 actually was.) Driving through Belgium, you could see a cemetery nearly every five minutes, which brought home the fact about how many deaths there were in the war. It was a once in a lifetime experience which I thoroughly valued. It really made me think about the effect that the soldier’s sacrificing their lives has on our lives today. I would seriously recommend this trip as it is very emotive and important in the understanding of World War One. Also, the memory will remain with you for the rest of your life.
Work Experience 2008 196 Year 11 students took part in Therfield’s work experience week from 6th – 10th October. A wide variety of employment followed with over 70% of students finding their own placements. The majority of remaining students were placed in either their first or second preference. Jobs varied from aircraft engineering, the Police, film and television, barrister’s clerk, sports coaching, fashion design and landscape gardening. The locations of the placements varied as well from Leatherhead, Kingston, Crawley, Bristol, London and St Austell in Cornwall, again this give the students added skills in organisation and independence. Students on work experience begin to understand the value of much of the work learnt in the classroom through practical application in the workplace, most especially with numeracy, information technology and communication. This helps them to focus on the skills and qualities required in today’s workplace. They have the opportunity to work alongside other adults as part of a team, increasing confidence and abilities. Many students find a direction and focus at a critical time of their academic life allowing them to make more informed decisions about their future careers. Students were fully de briefed on their return to school and feedback from their employers was exceptionally positive with many students being praised for their approach to the work place and some being given offers of part time work. The majority of students found it a very rewarding and worthwhile experience even when the outcome confirmed that they definitely did not want to pursue a particular career path! Here are just a few comments from the debrief – “The placement has helped me to understand what it is like in the
workplace.” Through our work experience programme we make new links and strengthen old links with our business partners enabling us to work towards a mutually beneficial future for our community. Internal Appeals Procedure Policy on Internal Assessments for Qualifications with English Awarding Bodies In accordance with the Code of Practice for the conduct of
external qualifications produced by the QCA, Therfield School is
committed to ensuring that: Written Appeals Procedure Appeals may be made to the school regarding the procedures used in internal assessment, but not the actual marks or grades submitted by the school for moderation by the Awarding Body. A student or parent wishing to appeal against the procedures used in internal assessments should contact the Examinations Officer as soon as possible to discuss the appeal, and a written appeal must be received by the School at least two weeks before the date of the last external exam in the subject. On receipt of a written appeal, an enquiry into the internal assessment will be conducted by the Examinations Officer and the Head of Faculty. This enquiry will consider whether the procedures used in the internal assessment conformed to the published requirements of the Awarding Body. The appellant will be informed in writing of the outcome of the appeal, including details of any relevant communication with the Awarding Body and of any steps taken to further protect the interests of the candidates.
MFL If you would like to make an appointment between 4pm and 7pm please contact Ms J Kelly on 01372 814432. Other News Uniform Reminder Please can we ask for your support in ensuring that students are ready for the new term looking smart and in correct uniform – black shoes, not trainers included! Many thanks for your continued support Parenting Classes Polite Reminder Therfield School Uniform Suppliers LESTER BOWDEN Established Epsom 1898 THE OLD SPREAD EAGLE, HIGH
STREET, EPSOM, SURREY KT19 8DN G&M SPORT & LEISURE LTD Your Local Sport, Ski and School
Shop 232 COBHAM ROAD, FETCHAM, SURREY KT22 9JQ Uniform ‘For Sale’ This is a new page that can be found on the website under
Information /Uniform and Appearance.
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