THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
Friday 17th June, 2022
A MESSAGE FROM NICK OT
Dear Parents,
I hope you have had a great week in the glorious sunshine. It has been fantastic walking around the site and being a part of the summer vibes that the children are exuding across the whole school. There is a real summer-infused buzz which I hope is resonating with you too.
It was great to see so many Junior School faces at the Parents Voice ‘open’ meeting on Tuesday and to hear all the constructive feedback. Please do keep engaging with your PV Class Reps as they are a highly valuable channel of feedback, ideas and opinions that can inform our development and planning in the Junior School.
With time flying by I wanted to make you aware of plans for next year and to give you some idea of when we will be sharing key information. My plan is to communicate with you at the start of the week commencing the 27th June and to let you know your child’s class and teacher for next year. In that email I will also give you an overview of the teaching landscape across the whole of the Junior School.
On the Thursday of the same week (30th June) we will then have our ‘Move-Up’ afternoon where your child will have an afternoon experience with their new class and teacher and any new children who will be joining the Junior School. At the end of these sessions there will then be an Afternoon Tea for parents (old and new) up at Main House from 3.30pm, where you can come and say hello to their teacher, meet new parents and collect your child. If the sun is shining, this event is always very well received.
The JS staff have spent a great deal of time and consideration deciding on the classes for next year - looking to create dynamic and strong foundations for learning, to promote positive and meaningful friendships and to be sure to have a lot of fun!
There is so much going on in the next three weeks of term. From school sleepovers to trips to Marwell and West Wittering - from the Year 6 Play in a Week to the JS Sports Day. Batten down the hatches because it’s going to be fast, exciting and a time when many memories will be made! I’ll be in touch again next week with more information on Frensham Founders' Day which is another stand out event in the school calendar.
Until then, have a fantabulous weekend in the sunshine and see you next week for more fun.
Take care,
Nick O-T
SCHOOL MESSAGES
REPORTING ABSENCES
If your child is going to be absent due to illness, please contact Reception on 01252 792561 or reception@frensham.org
UKRAINIAN BURSARY APPEAL
We have been delighted with the response so far for the request to help us to support the Ukrainian children that we have welcomed so far. If you have yet to give and feel that you can, please follow this link and give what you can. We are incredibly grateful for every penny.
MESSAGE FROM THE ECO-HEIGHTS GROUP
For Founders' Day this year the Eco-Heights ECA group will be running a stall selling eco-related goods made at school, in order to raise money to expand our ECA activities. Some of the wonders on offer will include birdboxes and batboxes made by the Year 5s and Year 6s; “fat balls” (for bird feed) made by the Year 5s; a plant sale and other items with an eco-heart.
To help us out, we would be very grateful to any parents who can donate cardboard egg cartons to store the fat balls, or plants that we can sell.
If you have any cardboard egg cartons please give them to your child to take to James Bell’s office in Flottage before the week commencing 27th June. And if you have any plants you are able to donate, can you please contact James by email to arrange collection.
Many thanks for all your support and we look forward to seeing you at Founders Day!
TEA AND BISCUITS WITH...
From September, we're launching Tea and Biscuits with... A monthly session where students are invited to meet with an industry expert who will give a brief talk before an informal Q&A with students picked because of an interest in that field as a possible future career.
If you can spare an hour one morning at 8:30am and like the sound of a free cup of tea in exhcange for your insight - get in touch with Lyall.
PARENT VOICE REPS NEEDED
Parent Voice are seeking two new reps to join their volunteer team to cover Boarding and current Year 10 (so will be in Year 11 from Sept) starting in the Autumn Term. Becoming a rep is a positive way to get involved at Frensham.
Parent Voice is made up of volunteers whose role is to provide a point of contact for feedback, to represent wider parent views fairly and without bias, provide help on general issues and develop opportunities to collaborate with parents and staff to support the joint interests of the school community. Find out more here
For more information and to put yourself forward, please click on one of the names below to email:
Chair Vicki Nixon
LISTEN TO BBC RADIO SOLENT TOMORROW
One of our peripetatic guitar teachers, Alex Canadine, released a new song last week "Love is an Energy" under his artist name Dan Aciné which will be featured on the BBC introducing show - which showcases up and coming artists and new music etc - on Saturday night. They recorded the vocals here at Frensham. Be sure to listen to BBC Radio Solent tomorrow evening or find the song online.
FRIENDS OF FRENSHAM COFFEE MORNING - FRIDAY 24TH JUNE
After drop off in the Aldridge Theatre Café
A great chance to meet some new people and get involved in our wonderful school community. Come see what we are about, how we work and what we would like to achieve. We will be looking at our fundraising goals as we finalise our charity status and begin to plan some of the next FOF events and would love to hear your ideas.
Hope to see you there!
SCL SUMMER CAMP
SCL holiday camp is running at Frensham again over the summer holidays. There is also a 10% early bird discount included with this flyer.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
Got something amazing to shout about? Click the logo to use our Parent Voice Frensham Heights positive feedback link.
SCHOOL EVENTS - see all upcoming events here
FOUNDERS DAY
2nd July
Founders Day is back on site! Please save the date. More info will be sent out before the big day, but here's a general day plan:
10am - OF Netball Tournament & Creative Arts Exhibition opens
11:15am - Rick's Review of the Year & Guest Speaker in the Aldridge Theatre
12:15pm - Music starts on Main Stage
3pm - Performing Arts Programme starts in the Aldridge Theatre
4:15pm - Afternoon Tea
THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
YEAR 12 KNOYDART TRIP
Last week was the first Year 12 trip to Knoydart. It was a unique trip focusing on personal development, organisational skills and leadership training - really taking the students out of their comfort zones and getting them to stretch and challenge what they think they can do, really strive and thrive in a different environment.
After an 11 hour drive on Sunday, they settled in to their accommodation and headed for a swim in the Loch. Monday saw the start of the first phase of the trip - Outward Bound - with a climb up Ben Nevis followed by zipwiring in the evening. Tuesday, after a thorough safety briefing, they spent five hours gorge walking - sliding off, climbing on and jumping off rocks and into pools. This phase finished off with team games plus marshmallows around the fire pit.
The second phase - Community Project - kicked off on Wednesday with a 9k trek from Bracanory to Tarbot to catch the ferry to Inverie. This phase involved building picnic tables, benches and firepits for the local community. The students were fantastic - 100% engaged - and they celebrated by swimming in the river and sea and toasting marshmallows over the firepits they had built.
Friday saw the start of the third and final phase - Expedition/Sea Kayaking. For the next two days and night, they needed to be completely self-sufficient so careful planning of meals and supplies was needed before setting off sea kayaking and wild camping. The weather was unfortunately not safe enough for sea kayaking so they kayaked instead in the Loch which was still very unsettled with the odd glimpse of blue sky amongst the high wind and rain.
Saturday they arrived at their hostel with surprise entertainment from a ceilidh band whose ferry had been cancelled - the whole restaurant was up dancing and it was the perfect ending to an amazing trip. A life-changing trip which gave each student the chance to lead and gave all the chance to review each phase and learn from what went right and what hadn't and they undoubtedly all came back stronger for it.
"This was my first overnight school trip in the UK and it has truly been an experience I will never forget. To anyone considering going on the next Knoydart trip, I would 1000% encourage you to do so, as it is unmatchable to anything I have experienced in the past. Not only did we get the chance to partake in incredible, physically demanding activities like hiking up the to the top of Ben Nevis (the highest peak in the UK), gorge walking in Scottish streams we had the opportunity to help the Inverie community with our project of building picnic tables, benches and fire pits at the beach for locals and holidaymakers to enjoy. Despite all the physicality, the week was filled with moments of pure joy and it gives you a new side of the people you go to school with every day. Plus, on a more subconscious level you get to develop the aptitudes of a leader, but also understand your strengths and weaknesses in a team setting. By having the leadership program (In which every day a new leader for the group was delegated) it was made sure that everyone got the chance to develop their skills in this domain. Overall, it was a blast, really, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat." Sofia C
YEAR 8 VILLAGE
This week has seen the inaugural Frensham Heights Year 8 Village. What a pleasure it has been to see Year 8 students build, live and manage their own independent community in the woods. A month ago Year 8 spent their afternoons making tools, building shelters, learning fire management, exploring concepts of teamwork, leadership and societies, and a crack team worked with Holroyd Howe cooking a menu in preparation for this week’s Village. The weather has been incredible. The woods are cooler than in direct sun, so it has been the perfect temperature. The smoke rising from the fires catches the sunlight as it streams through the leafy canopy of sweet chestnut leaves creating the most stunning tranquil atmosphere. The students have proved their metal resolving differences, problem solving, cooking, splitting fire wood, foraging for food and a range of other activities proving that young people can do anything if motivated in the right way. Many staff have come and gone over the week, some staying the night, others just visiting, but everyone wants to stay for longer. At the beginning of the week a team built a pizza oven from clay, chicken wire, metal supports and fire bricks. All week they have been making pizzas successfully. That’s not all that they have eaten of course. Marshmallows have proved essential around the fire after dinner. There has been a range of food on offer, all vegetarian. One of the themes of the week has been consumption. Living in the woods with only the most essential equipment has proved liberating and helped the students recognize how consumerism impacts on them and the world around. The freedom to choose how to manage their time has proved that young people can be free of the trappings of the modern world and be children: free to explore, play and create. A good example of this is that one of the girls has refined the washing station with a range of different water outlets depending on the required flow. This is an addition to the three bears story: the chair, the bed, the porridge and now a wash stand with water flow that is ‘just right’ for Goldilocks.
We are very happy with the success of this project and already have ambitious plans to refine it for next year. There is a gentle coolness mixed with a dappled light that makes the Village the place to be. Perhaps there will be a Yoga retreat there before we know it. All is well in Frensham Woods.
YEAR 12 PHOTOGRAPHY
Carla has been busy being very creative in the Photography Studio using translucent paper and a long exposure camera technique- fantastic result!
YEAR 10 CAREERS DAY
This Wednesday Lyall organised a really valuable and fun Careers Day for Year 10 students giving them a range of experiences and information to help them in the future. First of all we have to thank OF Sara Richardson for coming in and speaking to the students about her career path and life after Frensham. We also have to thank all the current parents who came in to interview the students. Each student had a one to one 15 minute interview for a fictional position as a Trainee Manager at the local Coop – somewhere that some students were able to speak knowledgeably about! Some students were nervous but all did really well and were complimented on their manners, confidence and interesting answers. I loved hearing about the answers some gave to questions about which superhero or animal they might be: “A wolf since they are strong and powerful, but also work well as part of a team” was a great one. They then went on to work on their CVs and also put together a Dragons Den style pitch for a possible drink product. The team behind ‘Punch’ were particularly impressive and would certainly have been awarded the cash needed to start their business in the real Den. Thank you again to everyone who helped out with this day. We hope the students appreciated it and that it helps them in any future interviews and career choices!
