Issue No.51 January 1998
Issue No.51 January 1998
| FROM THE HEADTEACHER
For your urgent attention - It seems that there is a very real possibility of a cut in funding for schools in Surrey. This is the result of a reduced grant from Central Government. The Government has given extra for education, but the overall reduced grant may mean that some of this will need to be directed to support services other than schools. I have great sympathy with County Councillors who have to make difficult decisions, but I do have a responsibility to draw Therfield Parents' attention to what the consequences would be and so enable you to make representations to our local councillors. No decisions have been taken but a cut of about 2-3% in real terms is being mentioned. If such a cut happened, the effect on Therfield's budget would be in the order of £45,000. This could only be achieved by a reduction in staffing, with smaller courses being removed and a general increase in class sizes. If you feel that this should not happen, would you please make your views known to your local councillor or write to the Chair of the County Council at County Hall in Kingston-upon-Thames. Final decisions will be made on 10th February - so please do not delay. Welcome to Mrs June Robinson who has been appointed by Surrey County Council as a Governor to the school. Mrs Robinson's two sons are former pupils. Presentation Evening - Once again this was a very enjoyable and heart-warming occasion. Over 130 students attended to receive their certificates and , awards. It was good to hear from so many who ! were about to return to university how the life was suiting them. This was a theme which our Senior Students, Peter Scottow and Linda Hiley, touched on in their votes of thanks as they stressed the gains to be had from higher education yet were highly critical of the financial burdens with which students have to contend. Mr Pratt arranged that the musical content of the programme was well suited to our guest, the Bishop of Guildford, who was full of praise for the expertise and quality of performance - congratulations to Joanna Cordell, Elizabeth Evans, Anna Hanson, Richard Hewitt, Paul Mills, Robert Prowse, David Reynaud and Sarah Weston. Prayer Group - there will be a meeting on Monday (2nd) at 8 pm at the school. This is a group of parents who meet twice a term to pray for the school. Music - This term sees a number of important musical events. On Friday, February 27th, there will be a full scale performance given by the Main Choir of the famous Requiem by Mozart. It will take place at 7.30 pm in the School Hall accompanied by the orchestra. At least two of the four solo singing parts will be taken by a member of the school. You will have a second chance to hear the work performed, this time with organ accompaniment, in the hauntingly beautiful, candle-lit setting of St. Bamabas Church, Ranmore on Friday, March 6th at 8.00 pm. The good news is that those of you who purchase tickets for the performance at Therfield will automatically qualify to hear the second performance without further payment. At the February Concert the Lower School Singers will give the informal 'World Premiere' of a hugely enjoyable work called Dragons. The official premiere will take place on March 11th when choirs drawn from all over Surrey will perform it once again, accompanied by the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra. (Our singers will be there of course but remember you heard it here first!). There are two further events planned before the end of term - our annual Spring Concert and a joint concert by our celebrated Swing Band and the University of Surrey Big Band. More details in the next Newsletter. News from the Friends - helpers on the day are urgently needed for the Jumble Sale on Saturday, 7th Feb. Phone Barbara Leyshon (377034) or Sheena Reeves (372531) if you can help am or pm. March 14th 7.30 - 11.30 pm is the date for the AdLib Dance which should prove a popular addition to the social calendar and looking even further ahead - Sunday, 1st November has been booked for the Craft Fair, always one of our best attended events. The Friends are planning a Grand Draw to take place at Cabaret Evening in July. This will be the main fund raising activity of the year and prizes, donations are eagerly awaited. Contact the School Office or Sheila Wallden (373232) if you can help. Free School Meals - it is important for us to know the total number of pupils eligible for free meals, as part of our funding depends on these numbers. In order to qualify for free meals parents/guardians must be in receipt of either Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance. If currently you do not claim a free school meal and would like to know more please contact the School Welfare Office - all information is treated as confidential. Tough Guys + One Girl! - They looked weary and battle-hardened on Monday morning with some noticeable scratches on faces and some not so obvious lacerations on the knees and legs. But our tough guys from the Sixth Form plus Mr Hill and Mr Marshallsay from the PE Dept. (Mr Hill was first home of the Therfield contingent) all finished this demanding course and so did Emily Nelson from Year 12 who entered with some friends from her Running Club and was one of 415 women taking part. All of them agreed that it was the toughest challenge they had met "I have never known such cold... they gave you a hot drink at the end but your hands were shaking so much you couldn't hold the cup. The worst part for me was crawling through the pipes half full of ice, mud and water, then you came out and were faced with this kind of cats cradle of netting and telegraph poles ...but I am so glad I did it" said Peter Scottow. And what about next year? 'Maybe' say the boys `No thank you' said Emily! Cross Country - this seems to be an appropriate space to congratulate our cross country runners. In the recent Girls district championships held at Dorking, we had the first home in the U15s, U17s and U20s races thanks to Emily Parker, Emma Firth and Sarah McMahon. In fact, we had the first four runners home in the U 17s and the fir t three in the seniors and so will have 12 girls running for Central Surrey in the County Championships to be held at Reigate Priory on 7th February. In the Boys District Championships our junior and intermediate teams both came home first and eight boys will be taking part in the County championships. Badminton - having done brilliantly to beat Tiffin School 5-4 and Whitgift School 8-1 our U-14 team lost to Collingwood 5-4 this week and will now have to depend rather more on results from other teams to keep their county title. Football - our senior boys are through to the last 32 of the English Schools Cup having beaten the Berkshire champions 4 -1 last week. They still have to meet Glyn to decide the destination of the County Cup. Squash - Tim Garner, professional squash player and ranked 9 for Britain and 29 in the World, is coming into school on Monday to do some squash coaching with a group of Year 11 students. Tim is the brother of Jeremy Garner, a member of our PE staff. Reminder - Monday, 23rd February is an INSET Day and pupils are not in school. They return from the half term break on Tuesday, 24th. Dyslexia Seminar - on Saturday, 7th February from 10.00 am - 12.30 pm a `Dyslexia Awareness Seminar for Parents' is being held at Esher College. It will be led by Jeanne Holloway who has specialised in teaching students and adults with dyslexia. The cost is £25 and the programme hopes to answer many of the questions asked by parents. More information from Jill Kirby on 0181 398 0291. Congratulations to Andrew Lindsell in Year 11 who was one of a winning team of youngsters appearing on the TV programme 'Home Front' last week. Andrew, together with a friend from another school, came through the preliminary rounds for design and decoration of a bedroom and was one of three top pairs to appear on TV. Their 'Jungle Theme' was an exciting and challenging one and won them £100. Andrew said they had spent a lot of time thinking about what to do and were then given a small budget to put their ideas into practice. He enjoyed doing it but is undecided as to whether Interior Design is his likely career. Sponsored Spell - The Year 7 Sponsored Spell has raised a record £1062.51 this year. Thank you very much to all parents, relatives and friends who contributed - hopefully, the spelling of all Year 7 has improved as well!. The money will be spent on new texts in the English Department and Resource Centre and a plaque will be presented to the Tutor Group which raised most money to display on their wall. Lost Property - the School Office has 14 good quality winter jackets (mostly black) in the Lost Property cupboard, plus 14 scarves and numerous gloves. The PE department has a rack full of trainers and football boots (mostly muddy) plus two bins of unclaimed PE kit. Pupils are reminded frequently to come and look for lost items but few claims are made. If your child has `lost' such an item recently then please remind him/her to search again or come into school yourself and have a look. The moral of this item is - if an item of clothing or property has a name on it then it can be returned. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY - FEBRUARY |