November / December 2006
Dear Parents
Welcome to the final newsletter of 2006; as I am sure you are all too well aware, it will soon be Christmas and all the children are becoming increasingly excited at the thought!
EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS
Christmas concert: We hope to see as many of you as possible at our forthcoming concert at St John's Church, Hurst Green, at 11.15 am for 11.30 am on the last day of term (15th December). This is always a pre-Christmas treat and has proved so popular in the past that this year we are holding two performances - one for parents, relatives and friends of students, on 15th December, and another on the evening of 14th December, for local people and friends of Moor House School. After the church service, all students are to walk back to school with their class groups. Students will then have a sandwich lunch, whilst all parents are invited to the dining room for warm mince pies and coffee; we hope you will also take the opportunity at this time to buy some exciting gifts from the Year 10 students' "Soap and Sparkle", "Masketears", and "Go Go Badges" mini-enterprise companies! Please note that taxis have been asked to arrive at 2 pm. This year we will be collecting after each concert performance for the charity "Crisis"; please give generously to this very worthwhile cause.
Race Night: The Moor House School "racecourse" was full on 26th November for the PSA Race Night, when many of you, together with staff and students, attended a hugely successful and very exciting evening. Profits raised amounted to an amazing £977.59!! Thank you to everyone who contributed to this very enjoyable and profitable event. See the PSA website page for further information, including how to join the Association!
Festival of Remembrance: On 8th November, Canon Peter Bruinvels came into Moor House School to hold an uplifting and extremely informative assembly, where he explained to the students the significance of November 11th. As the date fell on a Saturday this year, the school was unable to hold its customary 2-minutes' silence for all staff and students, although a small contingent met on the day to honour the lives of those who fell in the First World War.
See also the link under our Events section, to read about Years 10 and 11 History students.
Proposed Erection of Radio Mast in Hurst Green: You will all have received my recent letter outlining the proposal to erect a telecommunications column in Hurst Green. Although the original application was rejected, a further one has been received for a mast which is just 2.5 metres shorter. I have sent another letter of objection to Tandridge Council on the grounds of possible long-term implications to health; thank you to those parents who have supported the school by writing themselves to the Council. As soon as we have any news of this latest offensive, I shall inform you.
Stop Press!!!!! I have just received official confirmation from Tandridge Council that permission has been refused. Excellent news!
Work Experience: This year, the Year 11 block of work experience took place between 9th and 14th October, with students becoming involved in the selection of placements as early as January, which included local schools, leisure centres, shops, hairdressers, hospitals and garages.
The whole experience proved to be very positive for all the students, many of whom wished that their placements could have gone on for longer! Here are some of their comments:
q I liked work experience because I became confident working with people they didn't know.
q I learned many important lessons about the world of work like getting up early, being on time and being organised.
q WEX helped me choose my course for college.
q It taught me that I have to talk louder when I'm working with children.
q I enjoyed working with the animals, but I didn't enjoy working with the pigs.
q Work experience made me become more confident in talking to unfamiliar people but it also taught me that I never want to work in an office.
q I learned how to change a tyre.
q It was good to meet new people in and around the area and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed doing the gym rig.
And from the employers:
- He was a joy to have working with us and got on well with all the team
- He gained experience of working in all aspects of the retail sector and had gained confidence by the end.
- He had a pleasing attitude towards work and showed willingness to join the team and help out.
- He presented himself in a very mature and friendly way throughout his week. He was a very valuable member of the team and worked superbly along side other members of staff.
- She was always polite and happy and a real pleasure to work with.
- She was an asset to our Reception class during her week with us.
- She impressed with her determination to make the placement a success
- She used her own initiative and chose appropriate ways to be useful and helpful.
Congratulations to all the students and a big thank you to the staff who worked hard to ensure that the week was a success!
Senior Awards
More congratulations in order - this time to 12 students who recently gained their Senior Award badges, to join Samantha Harper and D J Oni on Silver and Joshua Lake and Luke Thorogood on Bronze.
Student need to fulfil various criteria for their behaviour and attitude in each department in order to be considered for each Award. For example, for the Bronze Award, students would need to hand their homework in on time, be polite and co-operative in therapy sessions and be kind and helpful during residential care time; to gain Silver, examples include having a high level of personal hygiene, good self organisation and being able to work well in a group with others in the classroom. To gain Gold, however, the student must show maturity and take responsibility, setting a good example to others and being motivated and co-operative; they must show an excellent attitude towards work and towards others.
Privileges granted for attaining these Awards include being able to go to bed later than others (at Bronze level); the wearing of acceptable jewellery within school and choosing when to do homework (Silver) through to many extra privileges at Gold level, such as being allowed to go out in the evenings or to the shops, wearing smart casual clothing in school, watching TV with a cup of tea at breaktime and having supper in Northanger.
The 12 students are:
Joe Green, Nick McKone, Louise Sayer, Christian Oliver, Philip Jackson, Julien King and Jules O'Neill were all presented with a Bronze Award;
Sean McInerney, Samantha Harper and “DJ†Oni each received a Silver Award;
Adam Craggs and Alexandra Rayment are particularly to be congratulated on receiving the rarely-achieved Gold Award.
Well done to all of the above students, who have worked so hard to gain these privileges. I am sure that the Bronze and Silver holders will work extra hard now to try to attain the ultimate Gold Award!
See website link under "News and Events" for photographs!
Caution re use of Websites:
Many teenagers use websites like "Bebo", "MySpace" and "FaceBook" whilst at home, to keep in contact with their friends, and this is becoming a popular activity. However, to be safe, please remind your children that they should never put their full name, where they live or their telephone number, on line. Their real friends will have this information anyway; furthermore, children should be careful about what photographs (if any) they choose to put on line.
This basic information will help to keep your children safe whilst using the Internet.
Globe Theatre Trip: Several groups of students have been lucky enough to take part in excursions to theatre workshops and exhibitions recently â€" including to the Globe Theatre in London! See website link to "News and Events" for photographs and to read Mrs Redgrove's account of the trips!
Grace: The children are now writing "grace" to read out at breakfast time each day. 2M read the grace after the Christmas lunch on 11th December, which was as follows:
"Thank you for the turkey, potatoes, vegetables and the Christmas pudding we are going to eat"
"Thank you to Terry and his kitchen staff for making our Christmas dinner. We really enjoyed mixing the Christmas pudding".
"Help us to remember those people who are not as lucky as we are. They might not have lovely food like us or families to share it with".
"Please keep all the students and staff at Moor House safe and warm this Christmas".
"Amen".
Events at Weekends: We are now recording the activities each weekend so that you can see what the students take part in. See link under "Residential Care - Activities".
Picture Frames!! We are still desperate to obtain all sizes of picture frames so that the students' fantastic artwork can be displayed to best effect around school. If you have any unwanted frames, of any size, or unwanted pictures which are still inside their frames, please bring them to school for us to use. We will remove any glass and replace it with perspex, for reasons of safety.
Unwanted Christmas Gifts!! Whilst I realise it may be a little early to mention unwanted Christmas gifts (!), I am sure that after the Big Day some of you may have acquired some objets that you feel you would rather be without. This is where Moor House School comes to the rescue, as, from January onwards, we will be beginning to gather together as many prizes as possible for next year's Summer Fete (June 16th). We are always very grateful to receive any suitable donations for raffle prizes, tombola etc.
We would also love to receive any unwanted jewellery, to boost our stock on the jewellery stall!
Reminder re Family Update/Connexions permission forms
Please could parents who have not yet returned the above forms remember to do so by 3rd January, 2007. Many thanks!
A reminder also from Miss Collingwood for those of you who have not yet replied regarding permission for your child's photograph to be on the school website; please contact her as soon as possible.
Don't forget that the new academic year begins on January 3rd, 2007. Pupils return on this date before school starts next morning, on January 4th. Please see the School Calendar link on the website for further information.
I look forward to meeting many of you on the last day of term, both at the concert and afterwards in school. In the meantime, may I wish every one of you a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and happy New Year.
Hilary Dobbie
Principal