Posted May 3 - 2024Headteacher's Newsletter
what's happening at Chesham Grammar
Posted on: October 1st 2021
Head's Blog
Staff News
Last Saturday, we received the sad news that Mrs Georgie Gardner, who worked in our Finance Team for over 20 years, had passed away in the early hours of the morning. Georgie knew that she had a terminal illness, approaching her diagnosis with stoicism and a concern for those around her who would be left behind, which came as no surprise to those of us who knew her well. Georgie will be greatly missed by her colleagues in finance and by the staff body as a whole. She gave many years of service to our school and was also a CGS parent, having chosen CGS for her children, both now in their 20s. Georgie asked for any donations made in her memory to be split between Cancer Research UK and the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and we will be undertaking some fundraising in school in the coming months. Details will follow as appropriate.
A busy week of sport
During the week, there has been lots of sporting action, both at home and away with our year 9 and senior girls beating Misbourne and Amersham schools respectively in netball while our U13 girls continued their winning streak in football, beating Aylesbury High 4-0. There have also been wins for our year 8, 9 and 10 boys in football, with the year 10s winning a thrilling County Cup game v DCGS on Monday.
It is always a highlight of my week to watch our students representing their school with pride, always conducting themselves. Next week’s fixtures can be found here.
Other events this week
On Wednesday, the site was very busy first thing in the morning as parents dropped of items for the Bags2School collection. My thanks to the Friends of Chesham Grammar School for organising this and to parents for supporting. Today, students in years 10 and 11 have attended a workshop run by Elevate, an external company with which we have worked for some time.
Elevate employs recent graduates to run sessions for schools aimed at helping students to develop effective study and revision skills and habits.
The feedback from our students is always overwhelmingly positive and please do ask your child about this session, if s/he is in year 10 or 11. On Saturday and Sunday, 30 year 11 students will be undertaking their assessed expedition for their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. While the weather does not look ideal, we wish them an enjoyable and rewarding weekend. Thank you to Mr Moore-Bridger who has organised this for the students.
Other information for parents
There is a letter for parents from Mr Bradbury about a programme for parents called Raise Resilience. This aims to share strategies parents can use at home to encourage their child to be resilient and the next programme begins in early November. A reminder from Mr Patteson about how students can access remote learning and MSTeams lessons if they are self-isolating due to Covid-19 can be found here. Those of you with a child in year 7, 10 and/or 12 received information recently about how to access their school photo which was taken a few weeks ago. Just a reminder that these need to be ordered online using the unique code you have been sent.
Mrs Batsman, one of our science technicians, has asked me to make parents aware of a competition being run by the Microbiology in Schools Advisory Committee. This is for students in years 7 - 11 and is aimed at enabling them to develop an understanding of the interrelationships between the activities of fungi and climate change. The closing date is 31st October with cash prizes of £100, £50 and £25 for first, second and third place respectively. Information about this can be found on the competition pages of the MiSAC website. Finally, please find the latest edition of our Economics Department newsletter, written by our students, which is always informative and enjoyable. Thank you to Mrs Carr for coordinating this and inspiring the students.
Request for parental feedback
Over the course of a school year, we undertake regular curriculum reviews and we have the first one of the year next week, when we will be reviewing maths. During these reviews, we seek anonymous feedback from parents and we would be very grateful if you could find a few minutes to complete the questionnaire by Thursday October 7th. Please click here to access the questionnaire.
Well done to...
...Sohan in year 9 who was awarded a distinction in his grade 1 keyboard exam recently. Well done also to Emile in year 12 who took his grade 8 piano exam, also passing with distinction. Staying with the music theme, congratulations to Polly in year 13 who has gained a place in the National Youth Orchestra, playing viola.
Last weekend, Mia in year 12 walked the Shine Marathon, a night-time event, walking around London. Mia, who was raising money for Cancer Research, started just after 9pm and completed the walk at 6am. This is a superb achievement and we are very proud of her. Well done! Finally, congratulations to Ryan in year 11 who, after a very successful summer cricket season, has been selected for the Bucks U18 Winter Pathway Training Programme.
Next week
On Monday, we have the Bucks School Age Immunisation Service visiting the school to administer vaccinations to those in years 7 - 11. On Wednesday evening, we look forward to welcoming those with a child in year 8 to our Information Evening. Thank you to parents who have submitted questions in advance which we will build into our presentation.
Finally, can I please remind you to encourage your child to do a lateral flow test on Sunday.
With best wishes for a relaxing weekend,
Annmarie McNaney
Headteacher
