Issue No.39 December 1996
Issue No.39 December 1996
| FROM THE HEADTEACHER
May I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Joyous New Year. Congratulations and thank you to Mr Pratt, Mr Payne, the singers, musicians and readers for such an enjoyable and traditional Carol Service and Lessons on Monday. It made a lovely start to Christmas. Bicycles - I have received a number of calls from concerned motorists about the lack of lights on cycles and the dangerous way a number of our pupils - especially in Barnett Wood Lane and over Kingston Road bridge - ride to school often cycling on the outside of cars. Please check that your child is visible and impress upon him/her to cycle responsibly. Visit to Natural History Museum - To support the Science Curriculum all of Year 9 last week went to the Natural History Museum. Four areas were studied in detail - Dinosaurs, Human Biology, Man's Place in Evolution and Ecology. The pupils also had time to look around the new much-publicised Earth Gallery which included standing in a shop whilst being shaken by an earthquake! 'Scrooge' - Christmas really came early for a group of pupils from Mrs. Thomas' Drama and English classes, when they watched the lights on the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square being switched on. This was an added bonus for the group who were on their way home after seeing the musical 'Scrooge', starring Anthony Newley, at the Dominion Theatre. The pupils, who have been studying 'A Christmas Carol', thoroughly enjoyed the show and were particularly impressed by the effects of appearing and disappearing ghosts and by the performance of Tiny Tim, who was played by a very young child who sang a solo in the show. Quiz - Questions about geographical processes, map skills and current affairs were featured in the Worldwise Quiz run by the Geographical Association at Kingston University earlier this month. Three of our Year 11 pupils - Andrew Boon, Mark Tibbetts and Michael Traboulsi - took part and came a very creditable 5th out of 10 teams competing from local schools. Next month - on January 16th - the Geography Dept. will be taking 60 Year 11 students to London for the day. They will study the growth of London via a boat trip down the Thames from Charing Cross Pier to Greenwich and will look at the redevelopment of the Docklands travelling on the Docklands Light Railway - the first driverless train in the UK. The next meeting of Therfield Prayer Group will be at the school on Monday, 27th January at 8 pm, A gift from Sainsburys - We are grateful to Sainsbury's for presenting the school with six framed prints which are now adorning our walls. The pictures were selected as part of the store's `Pictures for Schools' scheme and include 'The Triumph of David' by Nicolas Poussin, 'The Vision of St. Eustace' by Antonio Pisano, 'Cel' by Max Ernst, 'Cheetah and Stag' by George Stubbs, 'The Princess Elizabeth and the Princess Anne' by Sir Anthony Van Dyck and 'The Painting Lesson' by Henri Matisse. Merit Awards - Achievement, effort and service earns a Merit Award - 5 merits earn a bronze, 10 equals a silver and 15 gains a go!d. This is an initiative which pupils support and enjoy as part of our 'Learning Pays' scheme. The record at present stands at 152 Merits in a year! - even so this is likely to be broken but will if be a boy or a girl who does so? The evening set aside by Menzies in Leatherhead when discounts were offered to Therfield pupils, parents and staff with an extra special rate for Merit Award winners was very successful. The store was pleased with this new venture, commenting on the 'happy atmosphere' and well behaved pupils. Discounts were also available on Thursday last week at the Body Shop, Epsom and here again the response on both sides was excellent. Satellite System - Thanks to some brilliant form filling in the Bursar's Office and a lucky dip at the Consortium Purchasing and Distribution Offices in Trowbridge, the school has won a Satellite System. The 'Hotbird 13 East-Eutelsat' which will be installed this week in the Resource Centre and will provide a wide range of educational and sport programmes. Presentation Evening - To mark the achievements of those students who took examinations last Summer and those who left the school either for university or employment - will take place on Friday, January 10th. Our guest of honour will be Bruce Kent, probably best known for connection with CND and still a doughty campaigner on many a national and international field. Mrs Hrouda and Mrs Leeming are away on maternity leave - their classes are being taken by Mr Andrews and Miss Wooding. A special plea from Mr Boucry - he still would like to hear from families willing to accept a French boy or girl, aged 14-15, during the time of our French Exchange, March 6-14th 1997. Payment for keep and accommodation will be made and the students would follow the same programme of activities arranged for the Exchange pupils. The problem arises as 40 French students want to come here and only 31 Therfield pupils have signed up to provide return hospitality. STUDY LEAVE FOR YEAR 13: 13th-21st Jan - Students will be taking 'A' level mock exams and modules at this time. It is vital that they are preparing properly for these over the Christmas holiday. Sponsored Spell - To date the Year 7 Sponsored Spell has raised £716 - thanks to parents, sponsors and pupils for taking part. The money goes towards new quality fiction for Key Stage 3 in the Resource Centre and English Faculty. Cross Country - Therfield's team came 20th in the TSB National Cross Country Championships at Leicester on the 7th. Given their outstanding success in the area finals, the girls possibly felt that they could have finished higher but consoled themselves with the thought that they were competing against 24 other champion teams and that next year they will still be young enough to contest the Intermediate section. The experience of taking part in a major championship and all its attendant ceremonies was, however, something they will always remember. "Joseph" - 50 Year 8 students are visiting Bill Kenwright's musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" this week. This is connected with the syllabus for Year 8 studies in the Old Testament and we hope that, along with the recent televised 'Animations' of many Biblical stories, some of the wonder and drama will grip our students. Help wanted - We have encountered a slight holdup with our computerised cataloguing of books in the Resource Centre, but hope to be up and running again in the New Year. Mrs Burnham would be grateful for any help, even an hour here and there. It is really easy and rather enjoyable with no experience in computers or book cataloguing needed. In return we can offer as many cups of tea or coffee as you can drink and a chance to use one of the best libraries in this area - including borrowing books. Mediterranean Cruise '98: An information evening will be held on 15th January in the Resource Centre at 7 pm. A representative from Discovery Cruises will be there and all parents and pupils are welcome Year 11 Ball - Year 11 celebrated the end of their Mock GCSE exams with a highly successful and much enjoyed Ball. "Best ever" was the popular verdict. Earlier in the month the annual visit to the Clothes Show Live by GCSE Textile students was much appreciated as well as offering valuable ideas for coursework projects. The students spent the day seeing spectacular fashion shows, hair and beauty demonstrations - and hunting for bargains! Tuesday saw the Sixth Form's annual party for local senior citizens which as usual seemed to be much appreciated. GNVQ students did most of the spade work in organisation including issuing invitations, arranging transport and supplying eats, drinks and raffle prizes. All of the Sixth Form helped on the day. The Friends' Christmas Fair seemed to have an extra sparkle and seasonal atmosphere this year - so much so that a record profit of £2000 was made! This will go towards funding the main project of refurbishing the Main Hall. Achievement : Stuart Clowser, Sixth Form, has been chosen to attend a junior training camp by the British Snowboard Association. James Spencer, Year 10, has again been selected for training with the National Optimist Dinghy Sailing Squad. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY |