Issue No.67 June 1999
Issue No.67 June 1999
| FROM THE HEAD TEACHER
ROSEBERY & GLYN SCHOOLS - Many, many, thanks to those of you who have responded to my letter which went out by pupil post concerning the selection policy of Glyn and Rosebery schools. This is a final plea to those who have not yet made a return, please do so now, either to the school or direct to the Schools Adjudicator at Vincent House, Darlington DL3 7PJ. As I explained in my letter, the head teachers of all the other secondary schools in the area plus many of the primary heads are opposed to the idea that Glyn is able to select 15% of its intake by ability and Rosebery 30% with a further 10 places for girls with special musical aptitude. Not only does this upset the balance of intake for all secondary schools, it also makes for a highly confusing and unclear admissions arrangements for the whole area. If you need another letter, please contact the school office. PHOTOS & WEBSITE - We are currently updating and improving our school website and we plan to include photos showing 'Life at Therfield'. It may be that some parents would be unhappy if their son or daughter happened to be included on these web pages. Please contact your son's or daughter's tutor if this is the case. SCHOOL GOVERNORS - Mrs Yvonne Marshall has been successfully re-elected as a parent governor for a four year term commencing lst December l999. Mrs Paula Sime, Food & Textiles Technology, has been elected as a non-teaching staff governor for a four year term commencing lst September 1999. EURO ELECTIONS - Judging by the response elsewhere in the country, there was more interest in Europe at Therfield than elsewhere! Our mock election drew a 44% turn-out: Under proportional representation this meant 3 seats each for Lib-Dems and The Greens, 2 for UK Independence and Conservatives and none for Labour. The whole exercise provided a useful civics lesson for everyone. SCHOOL UNIFORM - The Friends will be holding a sale of second-hand uniform at the school from 2.30-4.30pm on Tuesday, 6th July. The main Uniform Shop for new uniform will be at the school from 4-7pm on the 6th and 7th July. Mrs Hodgson is always pleased to receive donations of uniform, especially those items bearing the Therfield logo. IN GOOD VOICE - The multi talents of Therfield staff were revealed this week at the Staff Concert to raise money for next years School Samba Band. A varied programme which offered both serious and light hearted moments was well received by an audience which included many pupils as well as parents and fellow staff. A group of Year 8 pupils were in no doubt about its success - "brilliant" they said. When it was suggested that the content was rather different to the usual teenage fare they replied, "We really enjoyed it. We thought it great singers and it was nice to see how good they are at playing instruments." All items proved popular and our memories include:
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the happy faces -and excellent singing - of the choir ..
the solo numbers from Mr Geary and Mr Cordell, the flute duet of Miss Pears and Miss Jarvis ...
PRAYER GROUP - Looking ahead - the Group will meet at the school at 8pm on Mondays, 4th October and 15th November next term. If anyone has a special request for a prayer or would like to know more about the group, please call Jill Poole on 01932 865476. BOOK NOW! - Our main drama-musical production this year is 'Little Shop of Horrors' which takes place on 15th - 17th July with a dress rehearsal performance on Wednesday 14th. Ticket reservation letters have gone out this week by pupil post so please do support us by getting your reservations in early. This is a production that provides a big challenge to our backstage and special effects staff as well as making sure our actors, singers and musicians keep on their toes. It was first performed in 1982 and has plenty of humour, drama, surprises and music to satisfy an audience of all ages. AFRICA EVENING - All Year 7 will be taking part in this celebration of work across the curriculum on Wednesday evening, 30th June. Details and a booking form for tickets went out earlier this month. SUMMER CABARET - This popular musical event rounds off the year and takes place on Thursday, 22nd July. It is not a formal concert but all the school's orchestras, bands, groups and choirs will perform. The audience sits around tables and traditionally the evening ends with dancing to music played by the school's Swing Band. NEWSPAPER DAY - A group of students led by Miss English recently took part in the Times Educational Supplement's Newspaper Day. Eighteen Yl0 and Yl2 students rose to the challenge of researching, writing and producing a newspaper in a day! They used the school's IT facilities to the full; using the Internet to track the progress of the stories of the day, the word processing software to write their articles and the presentation packages to produce a very professional looking paper. All agreed it was a fantastic experience and illustrated perfectly the non-stop nature of newspaper work - even to having to run to the post box to catch the 5.30pm post! GOVERNORS and FRIENDS OF THERFIELD - An early date for your diary - on October 6th the Governors will hold their annual meeting with parents at 8.15pm following the AGM of the Friends of Therfield School. IN FRANCE - A wonderful week was spent in France staying with pupils and teachers from Jean-Monnet school in Vertou. We travelled by EuroStar and so arrived still feeling fresh at Nantes station. During the week we spent the day at Puy du Fou (a medieval theme park), visited the City of Nantes, enjoyed a day at Futuroscope (a futuristic amusement park with 3D cinemas) and also fitted in a day visiting the ancient town of Guérande, the seaside resort of La Baule and a Sea Life Centre at Le Croisic. Many pupils are eager to return next year as they felt it was an excellent and relatively painless way of learning the language as well as discovering at first hand more about the French way of life. IN GERMANY - There was much excitement for this, the return visit of Therfield pupils to link up with their German partners who came to England in March. Since the visit, regular correspondence/phonecalls/E-mails had kept up contacts and staff were impressed by the solid friendships which have blossomed over the intervening months. The destination was Bergisch-Gladbach near Cologne and our hosts provided an itinerary packed with interest. Visits included a trip to Phantasieland - Cologne's answer to Chessington World of Adventures - a cruise down the Rhine, tour of Cologne, a visit to Bonn and, of course, the inevitable Friday evening disco! Dates for next year's exchange are being discussed and any interested applicants from our present Years 8 and 9 should see Miss Buckell to reserve themselves a place. IN PARIS - A four day Geography adventure in Paris was enjoyed by 59 Year 8 students and 7 staff. The group stayed in Dourdan, an hour's drive from the capital. The itinerary included a trip down the River Seine, a jaunt up the Eiffel Tower (not for the faint hearted!) a visit to a miniature French theme park, a film show about the growth and development of Paris and, finally, a well-deserved day at Disneyland. Students were able to practise their language skills as well as to see for themselves the different aspects of the city studied within their Geography lessons. The students worked hard and played hard - Parioke providing a particularly entertaining evening and revealed many fine singing stars for future Therfield productions! ART ON SHOW - Parents and friends are invited to visit the exhibition of 'A' level Artwork by this year's students on the evening of July 7th from 7pm - 8pm in the Sixth Form Centre. This show is always well worth a visit, revealing a tremendous depth of talent among our students as they set out for university or careers often allied to their talent in Art. WANTED - Very urgently! Any empty ice-cream or margarine containers suitable for storing food in a freezer. Mrs Shannon would be pleased to receive any surplus to your requirements! FRENCH ASSISTANT - We welcome our French assistant at the end of September and she will work with the Languages Department until the end of May. If a family would like to accommodate her for a few weeks whilst she finds permanent accommodation - or have a 'granny annex' to rent out - please contact Mrs Hrouda at school. Information is that 'Sarah' is very pleasant and sociable and would welcome a friendly billet until she finds her way around. LOCKERS - Mr Cockerill is currently sorting out lockers for next year. If you want your son/daughter to rent one, then please remind him/her to see Mr Cockerill promptly. LOST PROPERTY - As we approach the end of term, our property cupboard is overflowing. A number of good quality coats and anoraks are still there - all unclaimed and without names. Also the PE department has a wide selection of 'lost' PE kit, again without any names. Storage space is limited so we cannot keep these garments forever. If you think your son's/ldaughter's missing clothing is here please remind them to come and look before the end of term or, better still, come in and rummage yourself. BLOOD BROTHERS - Inspiration for English coursework essays came for 28 Year 10 students through a visit to Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre arranged by Miss Johnson. The performance was greatly enjoyed - for some it was a first visit to a London theatre - and it is hoped that GCSE grades will reflect the enthusiasm shown. SPORTING NEWS - This term has, so far, been one of well-earned success. In the District Sports our Intermediate Boys won the Lord Riddell Shield. Since it was first presented in 1982, Epsom College has won it 17 times, sharing it last year with Ewell Castle. As the 1999 champions Therfield are the first State school winners. We had 15 athletes representing Central Surrey in the County Championships and Michael Moore (javelin) and Emily Parker (hurdles) were picked for Surrey in an inter-counties event. Michael came second and Emily third in their respective events. Emily has done the qualifying time and so will be competing for the county in the English Schools Championships next month. In the Surrey Youth Games in which a number of our sports people took part, Mole Valley came second overall. A report on Sports Day will be given in the next Newsletter. Field events were held on Thursday and Track competition took place on Friday. At Cricket all our teams are prospering in the District League. Years 7, 8 and 10 have lost one game apiece while the Year 9s are unbeaten and are in the semi-final of the Callingham Crane Trophy. Some close finishes have added to the sense of achievement. The Year 8 team will long remember their match against Glyn which almost rivals that semi-final for tension! Needing to get 7 runs off the final over, they won it on the final ball when Glyn bowled a 'no ball'. MUSIC - A special plea to look for any music left lying about at home. The Second Orchestra in particular has had a number of pieces disappear and it is costing the Department a lot of money. Miss Jarvis promises an amnesty to all finders!
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