Posted May 3 - 2024Headteacher's Newsletter
what's happening at Chesham Grammar
Posted on: November 26th 2021
Head's Blog
U16 GIRLS PROGRESS IN FOOTBALL'S NATIONAL CUP COMPETITION
This week, our U16 girls played an away football fixture v Thomas Bishop Grant School in South London in the fourth round of the National Cup. Amelia scored four
goals, Eva three, Bella two and Alice one, enabling the team to win 10-1. The following day, we received an email from the Head of PE at Thomas Bishop Grant which made me feel at least as proud as I did when I heard they had progressed through to the fifth round of the competition. The member of staff there had taken the time to send the email to comment on the outstanding, gracious conduct of our players. He wrote, "the girls came to see me this morning as they were so impressed by the way your team played and their really positive attitude." He went on to say that despite their absolute domination of the game, our players displayed excellent sportsmanship and respect for the opposition, with not a hint of arrogance. The email finished with "our girls wish your team the best of luck and we hope you make the final". Mrs Fleming and Miss Cowley who accompanied the team were very proud. Well done to everyone involved...and we look forward to round five!
OTHER SPORTS NEWS
Other sporting news this week includes the first win of the season for the year 8 rugby team v Chesham Prep as well as wins for teams in years 7, 9 and 10 against The Amersham School. We have played over seventy fixtures so far this term, with plenty more yet to come in the remaining three weeks. Well done to all those who have represented the school with pride and thank you to the PE staff for making this possible.
FOCGS CHRISTMAS FAIR
Thank you for all the donations received so far for the Christmas hampers which will be on sale at the FoCGS Fair next Saturday, 4th December. Collections continue on
Monday and Tuesday of next week, with a team of volunteers ready to get to work after school on Tuesday to make up the hampers and all donations are gratefully received. If there are any other parents who would be willing to help at the Fair next weekend, please get in touch with the FoCGS. The FoCGS would like to encourage students who enjoy baking to make cakes or biscuits to sell at the fair. For those who wish to make festive items, the FoCGS are offering a prize for the best festive cakes. Mrs Rees, Subject Leader for Food Technology, will be leading the judging. Good luck to those who take part!
WELL DONE TO...
...Jeremy in year 12 who passed his grade 8 piano exam with Distinction recently and to Edward in year 10 who passed his LAMDA level 3 speech and language drama exam with Merit. Elise in year 9 took part in the British Diving Federation National Novice Diving Competition in Cheltenham last Saturday. Elise, having just turned 14, was one of the youngest competitors in the 14-16 age category. She delivered six excellent dives and this consistency earned her a bronze medal. Well done!
BIRTHDAY TEAS WITH YEAR 7
Happy 12th birthday to Ben, Seb, Tanvi, Beatrix, Grace and Keane with whom I met today.
SNOW PROCEDURES
The weather has turned decidedly colder this week and I have heard mention of the 's word' on some weather forecasts! It is therefore a good time to inform parents of our
procedures in the event of an enforced school closure due to snow. We always do our best to remain open if we can do so safely. This can be a challenge given we are located at the top of a long, steep hill! Should we need to close, the process outlined in this document on our website will be followed. Staff will make available additional home learning tasks on the first day of closure. This will mean that students will not be tied to the usual school timetable on that first day, giving them time to get outside and enjoy the unusual weather conditions. I am sure we can all recall from our childhood the joy of an occasional snow day and the delight of being able to get out and make a snowman or, dare I say, throw snowballs! I strongly believe that the technology we have all grown used to over the last couple of years should not deprive our students of these moments in their own childhood. If a closure extends beyond a day, we will follow the school timetable from day two.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
Our Christmas lunch will be provided by our new caterers, Culinera, on Wednesday, 15th December and will be a traditional affair with turkey and all the trimmings, with a vegetarian alternative and yule log for dessert. This costs £3.90 and must be ordered and paid for in advance via Parentpay by Wednesday 8th.
CHRISTMAS IN WORDS AND MUSIC
Many of you will know that one of the highlights of the autumn term is Christmas in Words and Music which is usually held in a local church. This year, due to restrictions, we will be holding this at school on Monday, December 13th at 7pm. With the low number of cases in the school currently, we are planning to have an audience though this may need to change if the situation deteriorates. We will also be recording the event so that anyone who cannot or does not wish to attend can watch it later. Further details will follow next week.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL AWARENESS WORKSHOP
Mr Bradbury would like to remind parents that you are all invited to a drug and alcohol awareness workshop webinar being run for us by the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation on December 7th from 7 - 8.30pm. The foundation was set up by Fiona and Tim Spargo-Mabbs in 2014, following the death of their son Daniel at the age of 16. Daniel had taken ecstasy, having experimented with the drug as many young people sadly do. The consequences for him were fatal. Fiona Spargo-Mabbs and drug educator Ruth James will be leading the workshop. No parent wants to think their child will experiment with drugs but the fact is that some of them will. The workshop will outline what parents can do if they find themselves facing this scenario. If you have not yet signed up but would like to attend, please register here.
ECONOMICS MAGAZINE
Our GCSE and A level economics students have researched and written a number of
articles which can be found in the Economics Magazine here. The articles are scholarly and thought provoking and I would like to say well done to the students involved. Thanks to the Mrs Carr and the economics staff for inspiring the students.
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR NEXT WEEK
Mrs Hill, our Librarian, has organised a Scholastic Book Fair which begins on Monday 29th. Students are able to make cash purchases but there is also the option to pay on Parentpay, details of which have been sent home. The book title information can be found here.
LATERAL FLOW TESTING
As you know, we ask students to undertake a lateral flow test twice weekly, on Sunday and Wednesday, and to report a positive result. We will be sending automated reminders to all parents from next week and these will arrive on a Wednesday and a Sunday. A good number of parents have told us that a reminder would be useful. Please remember to ask your child to take a test this Sunday. Thank you.
THE END OF TERM
Just a reminder that we finish for Christmas three weeks today, on Friday, 17th December at 1.20pm.
With best wishes for a relaxing weekend,
Annmarie McNaney
Headteacher
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