Posted May 3 - 2024Headteacher's Newsletter
what's happening at Chesham Grammar
Posted on: November 5th 2021
Head's Blog
WELCOME BACK TO THIS HALF TERM
I hope your child enjoyed the half term break. It is always good to welcome students back after a holiday and to see them get back into the routines of school life once again, reconnecting with friends, classmates and teachers after some time away. Year 11 students have returned to mock examinations and we have been very impressed by the way in which they have approached these and by their impeccable conduct. It was helpful to meet with their parents on Tuesday evening to outline how we are approaching mock exam feedback this year as part of our process of recovery and we are looking forward to doing the same with parents of year 13 students this coming week.
FEEDBACK FROM YEAR 7 CLASS REPS
It was very helpful to meet with year 7 class reps this afternoon to hear about how the first half term for both students and parents has been. Thank you to the reps for their time in both gathering feedback from other parents and for sharing it with me. It is always helpful to know what is working well and what could be further improved. It was clear from the feedback that parents and students really appreciated and enjoyed the FOCGS Halloween Disco at the end of last half term and I would like to thank Co-Chairs Pru and Caroline for organising this. It was a lovely way to bring the first half term to a close for the year 7s and 8s.
ASSEMBLIES THIS WEEK
During the week, we all enjoyed an assembly on Diwali, put together by Mrs Taylor and featuring a number of students and staff who shared what Diwali means to them. Thank you to Mrs Taylor for putting this together and to the students and staff involved. This was delivered via Teams as our hall is currently out of use due to mock examinations. We were also treated to a recording of the Autumn Arts Festival which ran last half term. The students involved clearly had a superb time and we all enjoyed seeing their work. Well done to everyone and thank you to Mrs Neagle for organising.
FUNDRAISING OVER HALF TERM
Over half term, Mrs Rasekh ran the Liverpool Rock'n'Roll Marathon to raise money for The Lullaby Trust. She would like to thank those parents who kindly supported her, helping to smash her initial target and raise a superb £1,180. Mrs Rasekh's immediate response to the experience of running a marathon, which she says was emotional and exhausting, was 'never again' but she is already reconsidering this! Well done, Mrs Rasekh. Also raising money for charity during half term was Leo in year 12 who undertook a skydive, raising £1,055 for Help for Heroes. Well done to Leo, of whom we are very proud.
SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS
Noah in year 7 spent some of his half term in Toulon, France, taking part in an international football tournament. His was the only UK team and they won the tournament, beating professional academy side Paris FC in the final. What a superb experience. Well done Noah. You may remember that during August, the FOCGS held a Fun Run and I would like to congratulate Olivia and Issy, both in year 8, who recorded all their runs during August and covered 116km and 114.5km respectively during this period.
Staying on the sporting front, the first week back has seen a number of fixtures, despite it now getting dark earlier. Our senior girls played Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School in football in the second round of the national cup, winning 9-1 while our year 10 boys won 6-0 also in football again Chiltern Hills. In netball, the year 7 girls have had a good deal of success with the A team drawing 2-2 and the Bs winning 12-0, both against The Misbourne School and in matches against Chiltern Hills, the C team won 7-4 while the year 9 C team won 5-0 and the Ds 12-2 in their league games. Well played everyone. Yesterday, we had the first lunchtime rugby session for girls, led by Neil Aves from Chesham Rugby Club, with over 30 attending the session. This is an excellent start and we look forward to growing this within the school.
CHILDREN IN NEED AND REMEMBRANCE AT CGS
Next week, we will be holding a charity day led by Darwin House to support Children in Need. The national CiN day is Friday 19th November but we are holding ours a week early as our year 13s, who lead our charity events, will be on exam leave for their mocks on 19th. Further infor
mation on what is happening next Friday, 12th, will follow from Darwin House Captains. On Thursday 11th, we will be holding a whole school act of Remembrance at 11am. Poppies will be on sale throughout the week. Please do encourage your child to buy one.
CGS STUDENTS ON STAGE
At the end of November, a number of our students will be performing in Berkhamsted Youth Theatre's production of Wendy and Peter at The Court Theatre in Tring. They are hard at work in rehearsals at the moment and you can find information about the show here.
VALUABLE ITEMS – A REMINDER
Can I send a reminder that students should avoid bringing valuable items into school. Our students are very trusting and we often see bags left around the site with valuable items, including purses and wallets, on show. Very rarely do things get taken but sadly, every so often, items do go missing and while we make every effort to find them, sometimes this is not possible. It is wise for personal belongings of value to be left at home.
LATERAL FLOW TEST REMINDER
Finally, please remember to encourage your child to undertake a lateral flow test on Sunday and please report any positive result via the form on our website. The case numbers in the school are low at present and we want to make sure we do what we can to keep this so. Thank you as always for your support.
With best wishes for a relaxing weekend,
Annmarie McNaney
Headteacher
