Issue No.42 March 1997
Issue No.42 March 1997
| FROM THE HEADTEACHER
High praise from the High Sheriff for Mr Pratt and our singers and musicians who took part in the Mayor of Reigate and Redhill's concert. The High Sheriff of Surrey, Mr Adrian Sanders, described the concert as "a tour de force" and said he was inspired by the talent on view. Mr Michael Hensor, Head of SE Surrey Music Centre, described Therfield's performance of the Fauré Requiem as "excellent and one of the most satisfying interpretations and performances that I can remember by any ensemble, professional or amateur". Mr. Pratt too was full of praise for our pupils - "they were brilliant", he said. The Spring Concert took place on Tuesday and, yet again, added to our reputation for musical excellence. Maths Challenge - Pupils from Years 9-11 gained 46 certificates in the UK Intermediate Maths Challenge last month. 71 pupils took part and achieved 4 golds, 15 silver and 27 bronze awards. Questions are designed to make mathematicians think and so stimulate and encourage able youngsters to enjoy Maths. Last week Robert Caldwell and Simon Matthews in Year 9 took part in a further round - the European Kangaroo in which 15-20 other countries took part. Philip Haines, Year 10, gained the 'best in school' certificate and his mark of 112 qualifies him for the International Intermediate Challenge and will involve sitting a two hour paper in late April. Poetry - Sixth Formers Melanie
Jenner, Heather Gentry, Elizabeth McLean, Samantha Totten and
Stuart Turner are to have poems published in `Calypso Surrey' a
book of poems published by Young Writers from a selection
submitted to the Day trip - Boulogne greeted 45 students from Years 10 and 12 with a warm sunny day when they visited on March 7th. The Channel Tunnel experience was without incident but was voted "not as much fun as the ferry". After football, frisbee and lunch on the beach a visit was made to the Sea World Centre Nausicaä - everyone enjoyed this, particularly when able to touch the ray fish. A drive up to the old city enabled the more athletic to climb to the top of the Town Hall Belfry tower for a magnificent view and the day ended with shopping plus tea and cakes. Thanks to Mrs Pass for organising such an enjoyable day - some of us even used our French! Our Day Out is the title of a Willy Russell play and part of the GCSE English set texts, so Year 11 students were delighted to attend a production by Nescot students. "A painless way to appreciate it and understand it more" was the verdict. The next meeting for the Parents School Prayer Group will be on May 12th at the school at 8 pm. Further details about this group from Jill Poole (01932 865476) Therfield Visa Card - The Friends have joined the Co-op Bank's Schools Visa Card Scheme. For everyone who applies for a card - which has no annual fee - the school receives a donation from the Co-op of £5 with an additional 25p for every £100 spent using the card. You should all have received an information pack about this - if not or if you want more information, please contact Ann Jenner of the Friends (01372 275172). Request - the PE department is collecting vouchers from Sainsburys to buy sports equipment. Any spare vouchers to PE staff, please - we are aiming to collect between 9 and 10,000!! Also the school gets through a great number of tennis balls each season - if anyone can donate a few - or a lot - Miss Jefford would be most grateful! Dyslexia-ADHD - those parents who attended the meeting on this subject organised by Hilary Porter will be interested to know that children who have been taking the nutritional supplement Efalex are reported to have shown positive improvement within 4 weeks. More information from Harmonies 01372376247. Bon Voyage to Mrs Jones and her group who set off for their Mediterranean Cruise tomorrow. Mrs Jones already has a number of pupils with their names down for 1998 and some places are still available. Lost Property - coats, gloves, watches, rings, scarves, sweaters - all lie unclaimed and without names. If your son/daughter has lost anything recently remind them to check in the Main Office. Football memories - Turning out a cupboard in the Maths room recently, Mr Thomas came across Elementary Algebra first published in 1885 and issued to the Central School, Leatherhead in 1940. Inscribed in the fly leaf were the doodlings of a long ago Maths scholar with his dream England football team of Bartram, Howe, Scott; Wright, Compton, Mercer, Matthews, Saunders, Milbum, Tudor and Mullen, with Williams, Shorthouse, Hancocks and Swimboume as possible alternatives. They were set out in the approved fashion of the day with no modern 4, 4, 2 formation. The scoreline looked much the same though 0-0 with an optimistic 50-0 being added! Fashion - A Charity Fashion Show in aid of Help a London Child is being held at the school on 25th April from 8-10.30 pm. This will be presented by Hamells of Epsom and is organised by Polesden House. Tickets are £6 for adults, £3 for children. French Exchange - 40 students from College Jean Monnet near Nantes enjoyed some English sunshine when they visited at the beginning of the month. The visit went well with a joint day trip to Windsor, the shops of Oxford Street and Madame Tussaud's being the top attractions. The Therfield party goes on its return visit in June could parents please let Mr Boucry have their E111s, also the balance of their contributions. Greenfingers - Since last October, 15 students in Years 7-9 have been working to improve the school environment by designing the Therfield Garden with the help of Leatherhead Horticultural Society. Thanks to the pooling of thoughts and ideas on plants and layout and the expertise from Computer Aided Design the plan of the garden is now ready and work has started to prepare the soil and lay out the various areas of the garden which will include a rockery, a cottage garden, greenhouse, bushes, trees, a pond and vegetable patch. Mr Boucry and Mrs Want would be pleased to hear from new volunteers. Practical Science - a team of Year 8 scientists were faced with the task of building a machine which would weigh objects between 2g and 5g to an accuracy of 0.01g using a packet of polos, paper, card and cocktail sticks. They came joint third in the final at BP in Sunbury having earlier been runners up in a heat organised by Surrey SATRO Problem Solving Challenge. Mock Trial - 13 pupils from Years 8-10 spent a fascinating morning at Guildford Magistrates Court on the 15th when, with other schools, they took part in a mock trial organised by the Citizenship Foundation. Our pupils performed really well, losing one case but winning another in impressive style. All agreed that this was an excellent way to learn more about the way the law works. Drama - 'House Full' notices went up for the Drama Evening presented by Sixth Form Theatre Studies students last week and a richly varied programme featuring their 'A' level work was much enjoyed. Election News - comments about youthful apathy towards politics doesn't apply at Therfield. A Mock General Election in which the whole school can vote will be held on May 1st and Sixth Form candidates for all parties have been selected. A Political Forum is to be held on April 16th for the Sixth Form. All the Mole Valley candidates have agreed to attend. Badminton - Congratulations to the Year 7 Boys team on winning the Surrey Schools U12 league. They did so by winning all their rnatches and only dropping two games. Congratulations also to Sarah McMahon, Sixth Form, who came first in the Girls 17+ 100m freestyle at the Surrey Schools Swimming Championships and to Carla Gillings, Year 7, who came 1st in the U14 100m backstroke and Samantha Green, 2nd in the U14 100m butterfly. Swanage Study - Y10 Geography
students enjoyed a tiring but worthwhile study trip to boost
their GCSE work. APRIL DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: |