Issue No.72 December 1999
Issue No.72 December 1999
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published
16th December 1999 and
updated 20th December
FROM THE HEAD TEACHER Good Wishes This has been a long, hard term lightened by the many successes and triumphs contained in it. All of us here at Therfield wish you all a joyful Christmas and a very Happy New Millennium. |
Staff News Our Head of Sixth Form, Ann Fearon, now goes on maternity leave and we wish her well. Mr Hill will be taking over the Head of Sixth Form role during the Spring term. Congratulations to Mr Tilley, now our Examinations Officer, who recently received an award from Surrey County Council for 25 years service. |
Information Needed It is vitally important for the school to know how many pupils are entitled to free school meals. Even if you do not intend your child to claim the free meal we still need to know. The way 'league tables' are calculated, this information has a major influence on a school's position in the table. To qualify for free meals you need to be claiming Income Support or Income-based Job Seekers' Allowance. All information sent to us will be treated in the strictest confidence. |
Early closures School will close at 3.15 pm on Wednesdays, 19th and 26th January to accommodate Year 10 and Year 12 Parents' Evenings respectively. Thursday, 27th January is an In-Service training day for staff, and pupils are not required in school. |
Uniform Views Thank you to all those who responded to the survey on 'uniform trousers for girls'. Replies are still coming in and there seems to be a strong vote in favour. More news on this later. |
Celebrating Year 11 students completed ten days of mock GCSE exams and then partied happily at the Year 11 Ball. Smart dress and equally smart transport got the evening off to a good start, though what Mr Digby's dog thought of it all no one knows! Stretch limousines were a favoured mode of transport and one enterprising pair hired a double decker bus to deliver fifty happy party-goers. The main hall was transformed by black and white drapes and an extra touch of class came with the tables, chairs and decorations to be used for the Friends' Millennium Ball the next night. Here again everyone had an enjoyable time - more news of this successful occasion in the next Friends' Newsletter. The Friends Christmas Fair provided its usual high quality mix of things to buy. Attendance was rather disappointing but those who came found plenty to spend their money on and the splendid sum of £1,400 was raised. |
Post 16 Education Major changes in the curriculum for students entering Sixth Forms in September makes our Sixth Form Open Evening on 12th January a particularly vital one for all Year 11 students and their parents. Here we will set out what courses Therfield will offer and how we intend to meet the challenge of 'Education after GCSEs'. There will be opportunity to view subject displays, ask questions, and talk to Department Heads about individual 'A' level and GNVQ courses. This is a follow-on to the first information evening held on 2nd December and will start at 7 pm. |
Safer Cycling Now that it is dark when pupils make their journeys to and from school, please check and make sure that lights are working properly and that riders are clearly visible to other road users. The cycle registration system works well - we do get a surprising number of calls from the public reporting cyclists riding carelessly, without helmets andior without lights. |
Congratulations Following on our success in the national Junior Maths Challenge when our Year 7 pupils did so well, it was the turn of the Sixth Formers to solve the problems set in the UK Senior Maths Challenge. They did so brilliantly. Therfield achieved 15 certificates out of an entry of 32 - five per cent above the national average. Philip Haines in Year 13 gained the best in school award - a distinction he has achieved right through his school career and other Gold awards went to Owen Smith, Robert Hicks and Karen Trickey. Silver awards were gained by Simon Matthews, Tristan Blood and Alexander Head. Bronze winners were - Joe Cummings, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Plenty, Tom Marshall, Sarah Skyte, Anna Jenkin, Michael Peck and Tristan Blackburn. The Maths Department were delighted that so many Sixth Formers took part and, judging by the number of Year 12 students who did well, Therfield's future in this challenging competition looks bright. |
Triumph over disaster! A jinx seemed to have settled over the production of After Easter by Sixth Form Drama students and it says much for the early training and discipline of the students that the two performances not only took place but achieved a very high level of acclaim. Ms Beth Harris, Head of Drama, was rushed into hospital two weeks before the opening night and then, just hours before curtain up, her deputy, Ms Julie Steel, fell and broke her arm and was taken to hospital. Illness among cast and the back stage team added to the real-life drama but all went well on the night! We are delighted to have Ms Harris now back with us. |
Parents' Prayer Group Meetings for next term are planned for Monday, 31st January and Monday, 20th March 2000, both at 8 pm. Mrs Jill Poole (contact via school office 01372 818123) would be pleased to give more information or to hear of any requests for prayers. |
Presentation Evening Captain John Keegan RN will be guest of honour at Presentation Evening on 7th January 2000. During his time in the Royal Navy, Captain Keegan has held a number of challenging and high profile appointments and is a keen sportsman. The evening celebrates the successes and hard work of our more senior students, many of whom will be seizing the opportunity to meet up again with friends who are studying at different universities or who are now out at work. |
Invitation All pupils and parents involved in German Exchange 2000 are invited to an information evening on Tuesday, 11th January at 6.30 pm in the New Dining Hall. |
Thank you We have received a very nice letter of thanks from Macmillan Cancer Relief for a donation of £3866.96 raised by Leith House pupils. |
More Crisps Once again we are collecting tokens from Walkers Crisps and vouchers in the Sunday Times, the Sun, The Times and News of the World to collect Free Books for Schools and also for some Maths resources. Mrs Swingler in the Learning Resource Department organised the successful counting of thousands of tokens during the last promotion and was delighted when new parcels of books arrived regularly. Please send your tokens into school, there is a collecting box in the Resource Centre. |
Second Chance for a Jab Those Sixth Form and Year 11 students who missed the Meningitis C immunisation sessions here at school can attend a public session at Leatherhead Clinic at 4-5 pm on 16th December. |
Dyslexia Meeting A talk on Latest Research in Dyslexia will be given on 18th January in the Woolsack Room. Harlequin Theatre, Redhill at 8 pm. The speaker will be Michael Thomson, co-principal of East Court School for Dyslexic Children, and has been organised by South East Surrey Dyslexia Association. More details from Jan Warne on 01 883 712224. |
New Year Resolutions please A plea from the Office that all property should be named - it can then be returned to the loser! Also it is important for all pupils to have 10p to use the phone and to have change for bus fares and buying snacks. No money is kept on the school premises and it is impossible for us to change £10 or £20 notes. |
Sporting News Football Well done to the Year 8 footballers who won the District 5-a-side tournament. Will Crysell, Tom Fuller, Jackson London-Williams, Steven Douglas and Pedram Najafi made up the squad. The Year 7 team are also going well and have reached the last eight of the County Cup. Cross Country The hills and icy weather of Wakefield in Yorkshire provided a stern challenge for the girls in our Intermediate Cross Country team who reached the national finals of the TSB Championships. They didn't win but found the experience very worthwhile. Swimming Samantha Green, Year 11, won the 'top girl' trophy in a recent inter-club contest at Hitchin. She picked up four firsts and a second. Julie Hunt, Year 9, also won four races for Leatherhead Swimming Club. |
Science visits Twenty of our Year 12 Science students attended a Physics conference earlier this month and on Monday the Chemistry students attended a special Christmas Lecture at the University of Surrey'. |
Successful Stompers The reputation of Therfield Stompers goes before them - their reunion concert to be held at Ashtead on Friday was a sell-out weeks ago. Money raised will go towards funds needed by bass player Ben Newton to take part in Venezuela Challenge 2000. |
Buying a computer? If any parents are thinidng of buying a computer for New Year, Mr. Wessell in our ICT Department All be happy to give any advice. Some companies can offer packages for less than £500. |
Pupil Post Letters home are always sent on a Wednesday - these should have come home during December: Year 8 Geography visit to Paris request for forms Year 8 visit to Hampton Court Interim Progress Report Cards for Year 12 'A' level and Advanced GNVQ |
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DATES & TIMES TO
REMEMBER |
| 17th Dec | School closes for Christmas - 1pm approx. |
| 4th Jan 2000 | Start of Spring Term (Week 2) |
| 7th Jan | Presentation Evening |
| 11th Jan | German Exchange 2000 Information Evening 6.30pm |
| 12th Jan | Sixth Form Open Evening 7pm |
| 19th Jan | Year 10 Parents' Evening |
| 26th Jan | Year 12 Parents' Evening |
| 27th Jan | INSET Day (pupils not in school) |
| 29th Jan | Friends' R&B Evening |
| 2nd Feb | Years 9 & 10 Options Evening |