| Heartfelt
Thanks After twelve
years as a governor, eleven of them as chairman, Mr
John Hickey has decided, reluctantly, that it
is time for him to retire from the board.
In the short time that I have known him, I
have been hugely appreciative of the role that he has
played.
Despite having a busy life as a director
of electrical contractors, Buchanan and Curwen, he has
always made time to deal with school matters. He has had
a high profile as governor of a successful school and
County have often called upon his expertise as adviser
and mediator.
|
John Hickey seen here presenting a gift from the Governors
to retiring head Terry Reddin, July 2001 |
|
He is a firm believer in the importance of
schools being supported by the community and has always
followed this belief in a practical way. Perceptive,
witty and with a sureness of touch that will be sorely
missed, we wish John Hickey some happy times away from
the cares of education, knowing that he will always take
an interest in the school and be a keen and
knowledgeable supporter.
|
New
Intake This has been a
very busy term with the Open Evening and dozens of tours
of the school by prospective parents, so I am very happy
to report that there are 283 first choice applications for
entry into Year 7 next year. Our Published Admissions
Number remains at 232.
|
| Help
with Revision On
Tuesday, 5th February, the Learning Performance
Group will be providing a one day course in
revision and study skills for Year 11 students.
We have provided the course for a number
of years and students have consistently said that it was
very good and helped them in their preparation for their
GCSEs. Feb 5th is an INSET day when students are not in
school and we would encourage all Year 11s to attend.
The cost of the seminar is £12. More details will be
sent home in January.
|
| Dates
to Note The next Academic
Tutoring Day will be held on 29th January -
individual appointment times will be sent home nearer the
date.
Year 10 Parents' Evening
is on 23rd January and Year 12's on
30th January - school will close at 3.15pm on both these
dates.
Letters offering appointment times will be
going home early next term so please ask your 'student
postman' if you do not receive your letter or enquire at
the office in good time.
There will also be a 3.15pm closure on
16th January to prepare for the Sixth Form Open
Evening.
5th February is an INSET Day when students
are not in school.
|
Presentation
Evening Guest of Honour
on January 11th, when we acknowledge the success of our
senior students will be Lord
Dearing, someone
who has had considerable influence on education in recent
years.
|
Carols
for Christmas St.
George's Christian Centre in Barnett Wood Lane, Ashtead,
made a wonderful venue for is year's Carol Service. My
particular thanks to Mr Ben Langford for
all his hard work in organising and rehearsing our many
choirs and musical ensembles. My congratulations to the
students and staff whose performances were outstanding. It
was a wonderful evening and a marvellous way to lead in to
the Christmas break.
|
| Issues
to Think About Bruce
Kent has been accused of many things including,
the Daily Mail's jibe that he was "a woolly mind
in a woolly hat!" This proved certainly not to be the case
when he spoke to the Year 13 students as part of their
General Studies programme. Ex-Chairman of CND and
outspoken critic against world poverty, warfare and global
injustice, he captivated his audience with the depth of
his beliefs.
He spoke about his current campaign The
Annihilation of War and highlighted alternatives
such as the introduction of a world wide police force to
track down and arrest international terrorists and
criminals, greater diplomacy, the reduction of poverty
and a greater understanding of cultural differences.
Sixth Formers asked many questions in what proved to be
a stimulating and thought provoking debate. Thanks to
Librarian Margaret Burnham for
arranging Bruce Kent's visit.
|
Joining
the Sixth Form Up to
seventy per cent of Year 11 students each year stay on in
the Sixth Form and increasingly we are attracting students
from other schools. This year's Open Evening takes place
on 16th January when you will be able to see subject
displays, chat to staff and hear about what Therfield has
to offer. If you know of anyone who is seeking a Sixth
Form place for their son/daughter please encourage them to
come along.
|
Prayer
Group The first meeting
of 2002 will be on 4th February at 8 pm in the school. All
parents are welcome or you can request a prayer to be
said. Ring 01 932 865476 for more information.
|
| In
the Spotlight Seven Year
10 students enjoyed the film star life recently when they
featured in a promotional video for the charity World
Vision. With Blue Peter presenter Simon
Thomas in the leading role the students (Jack
Richards, Luke Medley, Laura
Bolus, Bridget Tidey, Rachel
Brazier, Francesca Pink, Michael
Titman) took part in location shots in
Leicester Square and in the studio - an experience one of
them described as 'the best day of my life'.
The school has strong links with World
Vision thanks to a number of successful fund
raising activities as part of the Year 9 Geography
course. The video will be released next year as the main
publicity venture in the charity's Food Fight
appeal.
|
| School
Mini-bank Scheme To
support the Business Studies programme in Key Stage 4, the
Economics and Business department have arranged to set up
a minibranch of HSBC Bank. This is fully supported by
staff from the bank's branch in Leatherhead and will run
every Tuesday lunchtime.
Year 10 Business Studies students were
invited to apply for positions in the bank. Sixteen
students were then interviewed and five were chosen for
Staff posts for their enthusiasm and commitment to the
project - David Howarth, Selina
Reinfo, Nathaniel Jenkins,
Sarah Rowntree and Harry Dowd.
The idea is to give students hands-on
experience of running a bank providing a range of
banking services, including cash deposit and withdrawal
facilities to students, staff and school associations.
Therfield's branch will initially cater for students
from Years 7 and 8 and letters will be sent home shortly
for parental consent to open an account.
|
Chess
Opportunity The Maths
Faculty are running a Chess Club on Tuesday lunchtimes.
All abilities are welcome and members will be pleased to
teach students how to play.
|
| English
Visit Year 12 English
students took the opportunity to visit Tate Britain
and its acclaimed exhibition Exposed - The Victorian
Nude. The work on show analysed the presentation of
the male and female nude in Britain during the reign of
Queen Victoria. The six rooms of the exhibition focused on
different issues concerned with the production and
reception of images of the nude.
As a contrast to our more liberal times,
students heard that many of the paintings and sculptures
on display had provoked outrage when first on view to
the Victorian public. Students will use the visit to
write and record an audio guide to the exhibition in
preparation for the second unit of their AS course.
|
| Year
11 Ball Elegance,
glamour and good fun were the hallmarks of the Year 11
Ball on Friday. Many of the students arrived in shiny
limousines dressed in sophisticated evening wear.
Mrs Thomas and her
helpers had transformed the Main Hall with drapes,
balloons and wall decorations and a grand evening was
enjoyed by all. A cabaret and band featuring staff and
students was immensely popular as was the disco music
for the evening provided by ex-Therfield student, John
Sharkey.
|
Looking
After Baby The
Technology Department's electronic baby has been giving
Year 10 students on the Child Development Course sleepless
nights. It is now know as Volatile Baby and was
even taken Christmas shopping by Emily Sweeney
and Fiona Coleman.
|
Generous
Initiative David
Hodson in Year 8 organised a bring and buy sale
at school and raised £56.61 for the Blue Peter Wheel
Help Appeal.
|
School
Catering Assistants Help
is still needed. If you are interested in term time only
work, please contact the Catering Manager on 01372 375089.
|
| Keep
Collecting The Free
Books for Schools campaign has started up again -
so please send in tokens from crisp packets and from The
Sun and News of the World newspapers.
Proof of how worthwhile past collections
have been comes with the news that in the past three
years Therfield has collected 32220 tokens and received
227 free books! Collection points in the Resource Centre
and Learning Support Department also welcome more cereal
top tokens and the IT department are delighted to
receive empty inkjet cartridges for recycling.
|
Harry
Potter Year 7 students
have spent the Autumn term studying the characters from J
K Rowling's first book and rehearsing twice a week in
preparation for their stage production in January. This
adaptation of Harry's adventures to restore The
Philosopher's Stone includes dance and drama and
will be held in the Drama Studio on 15th and 17th January.
Tickets are now on sale at £3 for adults and £1.50 for
children. The performance starts at 6.30 pm and will last
for about one hour.
|
Jumping
to Success Well done to
the U15 Floor and Vault Gymnastics team which came seventh
in a recent Surrey Schools competition. Our team of Leah
Thomas, Kara Oliver,
Megan Thomas, Jessie Moore,
Amy Thomas and Rowena Butler-Easton competed
against thirteen other schools in a pleasantly competitive
atmosphere and, as newcomers to the scene, did very well.
A Gym and Dance display evening will be held at school on
24th January. This proved very popular last year, so watch
out for details of tickets and times.
|
Special
Requests A New Year
Resolution of great benefit to us would be if all items of
clothing were labelled. Yet again the Lost Property
cupboard is over-flowing. Also, as we do not keep money in
the office, we cannot give change for the phone etc.
|
Early
50s Re-union Please see
the Alumni pages on the website for
details of a reunion being organised by Judith
Crawford (née Tyrell) of those who were at
Therfield in the early 1950s or its precursor in the late
1940s.
|
Help
Offered and Wanted A six
week course for parents wanting advice and help on
bringing up teenagers starts on 23rd January at
Leatherhead Clinic 7.30-9.30. To reserve a place call Kathy
Pellatt 020-8394-1081. Family Link in Surrey
would like to hear from anyone who could spare at least
four hours a month to help care for a child or young
person vvith a disabilty. Qualities needed are energy,
patience and a sense of humour. More information from the
Co-ordinator at 01252 319288.
|
| Sports
Round-up All teams are
going well in League Football but, unfortunately, this
year we have been knocked out of the County Cup.
Year 8, for whom Daniel Ross
has scored an astonishing 35 goals in just 14 matches,
are second in the SE Region of the national Coca-Cola
Cup and hope to progress further. Steven
Douglas and Antoine Thompson,
both Year 10, have played for Surrey.
The coaching from London Towers that Year
7 received in Basketball is showing results - having
lost their first match they have improved to be unbeaten
subsequently.
The U14 boys and girls Badminton teams are
in the county finals.
Frozen pitches have led to cancellations
in Rugby matches recently.
|
Issue 94 19th December 2001