Issue No.73 January 2000
Issue No.73 January 2000
FROM THE HEAD TEACHER The school is probably as strong now as it has ever been, examination results and requests for places are at record levels. I would, however, draw your attention to the report of Governors' Meetings included with this Newsletter. The budget settlement for next year has not been finalised yet by the County Council, but early indications suggest that we may be presented with a budget which will fall far short of 'stand still' and would endanger the quality of service we provide. County Councillors are now debating by how much to raise the Council Tax. Headteachers are urging them to raise enough to be able to spend on Education what Central Government has indicated is the appropriate level. In recent years, Surrey has not been able to manage this. If you agree that Council Tax should be raised and have contacts with County Councillors, please make your views known. |
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Presentation Evening Once again this enjoyable event saw the new term off to a good start with a splendid turn-out of last year's students full of talk about first terms at university or how a new job was going. Captain John Keegan RN was a popular guest of honour. He was obviously at ease with young people, made time to talk to all the prizewinners and showed an interest in the books they had chosen. |
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Not Forgotten At the end of last term the Annual Carol Service was once again a joyful and memorable occasion. As ever, Mr Pratt his musicians and singers gave us a programme of carols all could enjoy and join in with heartily and the evening also saw the successful debut of the Samba Band. It was sad that this was the school's final service in the beautiful SeeAbility chapel, we shall miss the special surroundings and warm welcome we have always received. Another end-of-term function that was much appreciated was the Senior Citizens Party when the Sixth Form acted as hosts to over 50 local people. The event was organised by Year 12 GNVQ Leisure and Tourism students who were responsible for sending out invitations, transport, entertainment, catering and 'Father Christmas'. |
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After 16 Parents and pupils showed their keenness to find out more about the changes to the Post 16 curriculum by the excellent attendance at the Sixth Form Open Evening. As more and more youngsters opt to extend their time at school, it is vital to make the right choice of further education. Here at Therfield we have an enviably high rate of take up from Year 11 and increasingly are attracting students from outside, who seek a change of establishment at 16 and fit in very well. If you have friends or neighbours who are looking for such a change do please mention Therfield - Mr Hill and the Sixth Form team would be happy to give more information and show them round. |
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Parking Our neighbours in Dilston Road have quite a lot to put up with from traffic to and from the school. A big concern is the double parking at the end and start of the school day which would make it impossible for any emergency vehicle to get down the road. Please be considerate about parking and, if possible, arrange to pick up and drop off away from the school site. |
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Dates and Times to Note The next Academic Tutoring Day takes place on Tuesday, February 8th. Appointments should stay the same as last time but a letter giving more details with appointment reminder times will be sent home next Wednesday, 2nd Feb. A reminder of early closures for Parents Evenings: February 9th Year 13 March 1st Year 9 School closes at 3.15 pm these days. Tomorrow (27th Jan) is, of course, an INSET day when pupils are not in school. |
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Help with Parenting A series of informal meetings to help adults feel more confident about coping with young people is being run by Surrey Parenting. The Leatherhead area meetings are scheduled for 10th and 17th February. More information can be obtained from Yvonne Smith (01 372 802768). The courses are aimed at parents and carers of children aged between 9 and 12 with the intention of providing some successful strategies for people who "want to do better". The cost is £10 per session but concesssions are available as it is intended that the course is available to everyone. |
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No BCG Vaccination We have been told that there will be no BCG vaccination programme in schools this academic year. There is hardly any BCG vaccine available and what little vaccine there is has to be reserved for treating people at particularly high risk. In some parts of the country, stockpiles of vaccine have enabled some of the programme to continue, but that is not the situation in Surrey. |
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Prize Winning Linguists At the very end of the Autumn term, 32 Year 11 pupils were finally able to take up a prize won a year earlier. The pupils had won first prize in a national competition run by Nelson, the educational publishers. Their prize was a day at the Europa Centre in Essex, a language centre staffed entirely by native speakers - who refuse to speak any English!! After a morning of well-structured exercises in preparation, the pupils were 'let loose' on the Europa 'village', where they could shop, book into a hotel, visit the doctor and even be arrested - entirely in French. By the end of the day, many of the pupils were speaking French among themselves, quite unconsciously. The verdict - a well deserved and productive day out. |
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Stompers Perform A reunion concert by the popular jazz group was sold out two weeks before opening night. Having heard them play at a County Hall reception, the Chairman of Surrey County Council, Mrs Heather Hawker, was among the audience. As well as being a triumph on the night, the group sold over 50 recordings and raised about £500 which will go towards funding bass player Ben Newton as he takes part in the Venezuela 2000 project in August. |
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Parents' Prayer Group The next meeting is on Monday, 31 st January at 8 pm. Mrs Jill Poole (01 932 865476) would be pleased to give more information or to hear of any requests for prayers. |
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Appreciating Poetry Over 90 Year 10 students ventured to Westminster Central Hall earlier this month to hear live poetry. The conference was designed to encourage interest in poetry amongst young people and specifically aimed at GCSE pupils who often find poetry a great mystery! A range of poets gave recitals including Liz Lochhead, John Agard, John Cooper Clarke and Simon Armitage. The latter was also available for a question and answer session which was both informative and amusing. Chief Examiner Peter Buckroyd, was also on hand to give help on examination technique. Overall, it was voted an enjoyable day which was appreciated by the majority of students. |
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Sponsored Spell Year 7 pupils and parents raised a total of £1621.12 thanks to the hard work put into Sponsored Spell 2000. Miss Jackson's tutor group won the trophy for raising most money with a total of £314 closely followed by Miss Wraight's group with £280. The money raised goes to buy new books for English and general reading and is a highly valued additional resource - as well as helping with spelling! |
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MUSIC The Samba Band is proving popular with players and audiences alike. In two or three weeks the Band will be recruiting again. Any interested pupils - from any year - should see Miss Jarvis to find out more. |
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LOST PROPERTY The vexed topic of lost property comes up again. It is impossible for us to keep vast quantities of lost clothing in the office - at present we have a cupboard full of outer coats and scarves. These will have to be disposed of if not claimed quickly. Please do name every school item and if a garment has been lost recently remind your son/daughter to come and look properly. |
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Free Books Many thanks for the vouchers and tokens already sent in for the Free Books for Schools promotion. Please keep collecting. One staff member of the Learning Support department is so keen she has been observed going through the litter bins in search of unclaimed tokens on crisp packets! |
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Sporting Honours Congratulations to Christopher Langridge, Year 10, whose prowess in Badminton continues - Christopher was selected to represent the English Schools Under-17 team in a tournament in France last week. Sixth Former Michael Plenty, who plays for Guildford Flames, is a regular member of the Great Britain Ice Hockey squad. Michael was adjudged 'man of the match' in an international against Slovenia in a tournament in France during the Christmas holidays. Among the spectators cheering on the Great Britain team at Meribel, France was Mr Will Smith, Head of Science, who had been skiing nearby and had no idea that one of his students was actually playing! Simon Holmes, Year 9, has qualified for the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships - he returns from skiing with the school on the 26th and then goes off to Wolverhampton to compete in this gruelling swim-run championship. |
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Cross Country Success in this sport continues for Therfield runners. In the boys' sub-mile relays at Oxted, the Intermediate team of Guy Head, Warren Gale, Dean Matthews and Simon Holmes, won their race, the juniors came third and the seniors second. In the County Championships on Saturday we had 10 boys and 8 girls selected to run for Central Surrey. A number of them will qualify to run for Surrey in the forthcoming Seven Counties championship but, unfortunately, the date looks like clashing with school ski trips. In the district contest for girls, first places went to Emily Parker (U17s) and Mary Nelson (U15s). |
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Rugby Our junior boys had a series of matches against Reeds School on Saturday and found it tough going. Given that our team was inexperienced, weakened by the need of likely players to take part in other sports and that Reeds is very much a 'rugby' school, it was a good effort and a valuable learning experience. Mr Batchelor and Miss Collier are offering weekjy Rugby coaching to junior pupils with a special invitation to girls in Years 7, 8, 9 - they have plans to enter a tag rugby tournament in March if the support is there. |
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Good Luck We wish good times and trouble free runs to the four staff (Mr Hill, Mr Garner, Mr Smith and Miss Lansdown) and 21 students who have 'volunteered' to take part in the UK Tough Guy 14 mile run at Wolverhampton this weekend (30th/31st Jan). Last year they wallowed in mud, the year before they froze - what is in store in January 2000? |
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Odd Request Mr de Little is looking for a 'dead' Furby. Is anybody willing to donate one to the Technology Department for research purposes? DATES
& TIMES TO REMEMBER
SEE ALSO THE SCHOOL CALENDAR
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see also very important information in Governors' Meetings back to newsletter library published 23 January 2000 |