THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
Friday 17th June, 2023
A MESSAGE FROM LAURA
Dear parents,
On Monday we held one of our mini Open Mornings. It is always a pleasure to introduce Frensham to new families and to share with them all that we are doing. It is also provides an opportunity to capture their views about our school. The feedback from the families was extremely positive and I look forward to welcoming them into our community in the future.
On Tuesday, I enjoyed spending time with a local archivist, Roy. I invited him in to share some new information that had found its way back to us last week. A local arrived at reception and unexpectedly presented us with a photo book from 1907 that they had found in a skip! They recognised Main House and returned the book home. The photos are in excellent condition and document a year in the life of the Charrington's, the family who rebuilt Frensham. The photos show Frensham through many different lenses and I was fascinated to learn about the family and the site's rich history. But to discover that Frensham was a hub for cricket was a surprise. Did you know that W. G. Grace, K. S. Ranjitsinhji and Sir Conan Doyle were regular guests of Charrington and we have photos of them playing here at Frensham! I have leant the book to Roy so that he can conduct some further research and when he has, I will share it with you.
Keeping in the spirit of our history, enjoy the Ashes and have a lovely weekend.
Laura
SAFEGUARDING UPDATE FROM JO AND JACK
Thank you for bearing with us regarding the attendance letters that have gone out this week. We know that at this stage of the year attendance percentages only reflect the absences that have been agreed and reflect sickness or other valid reasons for your child’s absence. We had to send out a lot which meant they sounded a bit formulaic but wanted every family to know their child’s attendance figures for this year. Next year, we will be able to be more personal with these and will be in touch as and when students drop below the target figure of 95% and see how we can help every child to attend as much as possible. Being in school with friends and taking part in school life is so important for their social and personal development as well as their academic progress.
The annual update of Safeguarding guidance from the government, that all schools have a statutory obligation to follow, has been published - a big day in the Safeguarding calendar! It is called Keeping Children Safe in Education and you can see it here, although it is a bit of a monster to read! Click here to read the report.
One big focus this year is on schools’ wifi monitoring systems. You can be reassured that ours meets all the requirements and works well. The Safeguarding Team are notified regularly whenever a student searches online for something that could be considered dangerous or potentially harmful. This is often easily explained but a trend that we have observed is the increasing interest in anime. This kind of animation is really popular with children across the school and much of it is great fun but some of this can also be inappropriate and very adult in content. We have noticed that certain adult anime websites are coming up repeatedly at the moment and being blocked by our system. As always, keeping open lines of discussion with children and talking about the online world can be illuminating for everyone and this might be a conversation to think about.
SCHOOL NOTICES
ROWLEDGE PHONE BOX RENOVATION
On Sunday 25th June, local residents are getting together to renovate the phone box into a community library. Click here for more info.
PV AND SLT OPEN MEETING - EVERYONE WELCOME!
In the summer term, the PV meeting with the SLT is open to all parents. It is being held at 6.30pm on Thursday 22nd June in the Ballroom.
If you plan to attend, please let either your PV rep or Vicki know so we have a rough idea of numbers: vicki@nixonconsultancy.com
MUSIC PRODUCTION
Alex Canadine, one of our music peris, is now offering music production alongside guitar and bass lessons. Alex's latest professional track, Dreamland, was featured last weekend on BBC Radio Solent's BBC Introducing show. You can hear the track here.
RESIDENTIAL TRIPS - LOOKING AHEAD
We are very lucky that we have a large number of staff who are very happy to run school trips that enrich our school experience – including over weekends and holidays. We know that trips require a lot of planning and in general residential trips are scheduled a year in advance so that we can organise them and allow you time to plan/save as neede. Below is a live link to our working document that shows our plans so far. The further ahead the trip – the less details we may have – but hopefully it goes someway to help give the overview.
THANK A TEACHER!
The Thank a Teacher campaign recognises all staff working in UK schools and colleges; school leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, and all support staff such as lunchtime supervisors, caretakers and cleaners. If you’re feeling shy you can send a card anonymously! Click here to send a thank you.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
Got something amazing to shout about? Click the logo to use our Parent Voice Frensham Heights positive feedback link.
MALAWI FUNDRAISING
SCHOOL EVENTS
As last year, the school charity stalls (including Malawi stalls) at Founders' Day will all be cashless. They will be taking tickets which can be bought in bundles of 10 (£5/bundle)
Here are some examples of charity stall charges to give you an idea of how many you may need to buy:
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Ice creams - 5 or 6 tickets
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Candy floss - 5 tickets
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Inflatables - 5 tickets
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Climbing tree - 3 tickets
You can purchase tickets in advance until THURSDAY 29th JUNE midday. Use the link below to purchase - it is set up for packs of 10, just update the quantity to purchase more than one pack. All pre-purchased tickets will be available for collection at Main House Reception on Friday 30th June from lunchtime until 5.30pm. They can also be collected from the Information Tent on Founders' Day.
External Food Stalls WILL NOT accept these tokens and will be a mixture of cash and card at their own discretion.
THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
YEAR 7 LONDON TRIP
On Monday 12th June, all of year 7 enjoyed a wonderful cross-Faculty trip to enrich their learning. We started with a super visit to the Globe theatre and given a tour of the theatre and about the history of its original location. They learnt about the construction of the present building, the purpose it serves and the programme of plays and events that take place there. They all met some of the actors who perform in the plays, they were able to ask questions and imagine the experience of audiences four hundred years ago, as well as that of those today. They then all engaged in a hands-on drama workshop, and our students engaged in rehearsal techniques and enjoyed thinking further about Shakespeare’s writing. This tied in with the “Shakespeare unit” studied by all Year 7 students and greatly enhanced and enriched the knowledge they had already gained.
We then walked across the Millennium Bridge to St Paul’s cathedral where we had the chance to tour this magnificent building and hear about the history and religious tradition of one of our greatest city landmarks. This was a great opportunity for students to further develop their understanding of Christianity & the impact of faith on architecture. We finished our day by climbing up to the dome to enjoy the fantastic views and take in the inspirational location. This visit was a wonderful chance for the students to hear about the historical and spiritual journey of this place of worship, complementing the work that they’ll be doing in PRE as well as deepening their appreciation of Shakespeare and his literary and cultural legacy explored in their English classes.
YEAR 8 VILLAGE
Year 8 had a very successful week in the Village this week. The Village is a student led community in the woods on site. They had spent some time preparing beforehand with training in cooking, fire-management, conflict resolution, shelter building and first aid. In addition, they had made their own bowls/ plates in ceramics and spoons in DT. They were blessed with some dry weather and spending most of their time in the woods meant they were shaded from the heatwave. It has been a huge learning experience, and everyone has made progress in their own way. Students have developed their skills in lots of different ways, whether in teamwork, leadership, communication, problem solving, resilience, independence, tool work, being ambitious and showing support for each other. A real highlight this week has been the external experts who came in and led workshops. Anita from Hampshire Hawk Walks brought in her kestrel, Harris's hawks and her ferrets for a truly interactive experience. Nick Chapman took the students on foraging walks and showed the students edible and medicinal plants that many of the students tried. They also took part in a visit to Worthy Earth and took part in some horticultural work. This was hard work in the sunshine. There has very much been a theme looking at a more sustainable life and exploring the journey of food and products from cradle to grave.
The spirit of the village is self-guided and the students build and run their own community. When students enter into this concept whole heartedly it functions fantastically well and is a wonderful life lesson: the more one puts in, the more one gets out. A video will be coming out next week showcasing the best of the week.
YEARS 5 & 6 SAILING CLUB
We are a few weeks into this summer's sailing club and our sailors are doing a brilliant job of learning the ropes! We have seen no wind, too much wind and back on the first week we had to come off the water early because of thunderstorms - we've had it all. Thankfully, we've now moved onto gentle winds and sunny afternoons, now they think sailing is a breeze.
They have so far learnt how to rig their boats, how to turn, control speed and they have learnt how to capsize (both on accidentally and on purpose!). What a way to spend a sunny afternoon.
YEAR 7 LEARNING TO LEAD - A COLLABORATION
English and Music have come together in a series of workshops exploring the expressive power of water as part of Year 7’s activity week on the flood. Students explored the wonder and awe of water by looking at recent news articles as well as the imagery used in the poem ‘Blessing’ by Imtiaz Dharker. They considered how the element has inspired so many musical genres over the ages from Handel’s Water Music to the more metaphoric approached in tracks such as ‘Bridge over Troubled Water.’ Students then wrote their own poems and set them to a musical track with great success. They were then challenged to consider the role of clean water in helping to shape a society. Using their critical thinking skills, they reviewed what would make a home, considered Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as well as reviewing Frensham’s values and those of the UN sustainability project. Using this knowledge, they wrote their own societal proclamation and finished it off with an appropriately composed fanfare that celebrated their cooperation, resilience, and communication.
PHOTOGRAPHY DEVELOPMENT TALK
Last week we had a visit from Jodie Michaelides, a young person that graduated last year from UAL: london college of communication and now working as a photo editor. She come along to share her journey from A level to her start in the photo world.
Since graduating Jodie is now working as a Photo Editor for PORT & Anima Magazine aswell as a freelance Photo Editor for the Financial Times Weekend Magazine.
YEAR 8 MATHEMATICAL TREASURE HUNT
Year 8 were outside this week taking part in a Mathematical Treasure Hunt around the grounds.
The winning teams were Charles and Patrick on course A, while Barnaby and Callie were fastest on course B.
DEMENTIA MORNING TALK
This week Michael from Training2Care joined us for Morning Talk and spoke to half of Year 8 and all of Years 9, 10 and 12 about Dementia. The talk was engaging and the students participated well and learned about what Dementia is and how we can do simple things to help people with Dementia to live their lives as fully as possible. The idea that if we paint light switches a bright colour then people may be able to see them more easily was a simple idea but one that could make such a difference and it was ideas like this which brought the talk to life. I hope this helped the students gain a greater understanding and empathy for those living with Dementia and living with someone with Dementia. So many in the audience raised their hands to say they knew someone with Dementia this is clearly something that affects so many. A special mention must go to Linus in Year 8 and Amaryllis in Year 13 who had asked for the talk and who spoke powerfully and movingly about how this has affected their lives at the start. Thank you to these really special two members of our community for inspiring all of us with their compassion, honesty and bravery.
GREENPOWER (LAST TWO WEEKS)
Last week we were very busy practicing pit stops in preparation for our next race later next month. David and myself helped practicing pits (Edward's foot might have encountered a car whilst stopping the car in practice).
Ava and Maria continued to work on the second aerodynamic prototype which caused them a bit of trouble. Richard and Sully continued on the e-chook which is looking very good.
As it turns out soldering is a real skill and fascinating to watch! The car is in great shape and we hope the modifications will make a difference to our next race at the Lotus test track, I am already compiling jokes about Lotus and reliability that I hope to include in an update soon.
Team profile:
Name: Maria
Likes:netball
Dislikes:beans
Favorite subject: ceramics
Why I applied:I thought it would be a nice time to have a experience
This week we had a look over the plan and strategy for our next race at lotus in Hethel and figured out who would drive, help in the pits, hold up the pit board etc which is looking good, everyone is very excited about the race! We also reviewed some race footage and had a look at the new piece of tech that we’re programming that we are going to use at races, which will help us understand what to improve on and what to do at further races.
Team Profile:
Name: Edward
Likes: Music
Favorite subject: DT
Why I applied: I like motorsport and thought it would be an awesome experience!
YEAR 7 FLOOD - SCIENCE
As part of their immersive project week, The Flood, Year 7 worked with science teachers to understand water filtering and they also built a water wheel.
SPORTS REPORT
U10 Mixed Cricket vs St Edmunds
Last weeks match was on our home pitch and was against St Ed’s. The team seemed very excited to be back playing Cricket after half term. Once we had a team briefing and discussion on pairs it was time to get playing. Frensham won the toss and chose to bat first, so our first pair Rudy and Louis were in to bat. There was some great bowling from St Ed’s but Rudy and Louis managed to get us some brilliant runs, with Louis hitting a four on the second ball. Overall Frensham put on a lovely batting performance with some brilliant hits. The team are getting better and better each week and their understanding of the game has greatly improved. Once all our pairs had batted, we were into field. Rudy was our first bowler with some brilliant and accurate bowls which prevented St Ed’s from scoring to many runs. Ava had a brilliant over with very accurate and powerful bowls which St Ed’s struggling to hit. Another highlight of the game was out first wicket of the season which was bowled by Amos. It was a brilliant game to watch so well done to everyone that played and on to the next match!
Golf
Ben played is latest tournament in the schools golf championship. Finishing third a few weeks a go Ben was keen to perform at this event to reach the finals at the end of the summer. Ben played superbly well and took the victory with an impressive gross score of 78. He has now qualified for the national finals at Worplesdon where he will compete against the best players in the country who have qualified for the finals. Well done Ben!
U15 Cricket v St Edmunds
The U15 Girls' cricket team were victorious in a very enjoyable afternoon of cricket on Tuesday. St Ed's were the hosts, and the game was played in a great spirit at Hindhead Cricket Club. Frensham won the toss and elected to bat first. The girls put on a brilliant display of batting with some lovely drive and pull shots, as well as some big powerful hitting to the boundary. Jamie scored 20 runs , including 4 boundaries and Heidi put on 18 not out to get us to 100 runs off 12 overs. Frensham's dominance continued with the ball and the girls are showing signs of massive improvement in their bowling. Jamie took 2 wickets, including a wicket maiden over and Lexie took 3 wickets, which included a brilliant final over of the innings. The hosts finished on 86 and Frensham took the victory. Well done all.
U10 Cricket v Bedales Dunhurst
Half of our year 5 year group were involved in the U10 cricket fixture on Wednesday afternoon against Bedales prep school. For some, it was their first experience of a competitive cricket fixture, and they all did brilliantly, improving their game understanding and showing a good level of batting and bowling skills. The opposition batted first and had some big hitters amongst their ranks scoring runs at quick rate to finish on 270 after their innings. In reply, Frensham scored 220 and Bedales took the win. Despite the result, the team will take a lot away from the fixture and performed brilliantly with a great attitude. Well done all.
U15 Cricket v Duke of Kent
Fixture Calendar
A reminder that you can see all fixtures for the half term on the SOCS sport frensham website, team selection activates on Thursdays the week before matches. Website can be found here.
FRENSHAM KITCHEN
NEXT WEEK
Monday 19th June
8.00 Departure - Year 9 Trip to Mount Cook
13.55 - Year 7 to Year 13 School Notices (Theatre)
15.30 - Year 3 & Year 4 Transition Chat and Tour
18.00 - 20.00 - GCSE Creative Arts Exhibition (Aldridge Theatre Foyer & A&D Block)
19.00 - Boarders Week - Karaoke Night (MRR)
Tuesday 20th June
14.30 - U15 & U14 Boys Cricket vs The Royal (Home)
16.30 - Malawi Participants Project & Itinerary Finalisation meeting (Ballroom)
17.30 - 20.30 - Year 12 Tutor Parents Meeting (Teams)
19.15 - Boarders Week - Movie Night (Aldridge Theatre)
Wednesday 21st June
8.30 Departure - Year 6 Trip to Thorpe Lakes
13.00 - Year 6 & Year 9 Maths Challenge (Alton School)
14.30 - U11 & U10 Mixed Cricket vs DOK (Home)
14.30 - U13 & U12 Boys Cricket vs The Royal (Home)
17.30 - Boarders Week - Overnight Camping behind boarding houses
18.00 - 20.00 - A level Creative Arts Exhibition (Studio Atrium)
Thursday 22nd June
11.50 - 17.30 - Junior School Backyard Bug & Reptile Experience
14.00 - U9 Mixed Athletics Bedales Festival (Away)
15.30 - Year 3 & Year 4 Camp (in classroom) Night / Frensham Pond Adventure
18.30 - ELT / Parent Voice Meeting (Open Meeting) (Billiard Room)
19.15 - Boarders Week - Boarding Houses Bake Off (Boarding Houses)
Friday 23rd June
8.40 - JS Assembly (Aldridge Theatre)
9.30 - Year 7 to Year 13 Morning Talk: Guest Speaker on Languages in Football (Aldridge Theatre)
14.00 - U13 & U12 Mixed Tennis vs Sherfield (Away)
19.15 - Boarders Week - Games & Poker Night (Roberts House)
Saturday 24th June
9.00 Departure - Boarders Week - Thorpe Park
10.00 - 14.00 - IELTS Exams Trip (University of Law, Guildford)
Saturday 25th June
7.00 - 21.00 - Greenpower Lotus Test Track
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We also have several Twitter accounts around the school where you can find resources and school info:
Main School account - @FrenshamHeights
Business/Economics - @getontheeconbus
Careers - @FrenshamCareers
Creative Arts - @ArtsFrensham
Charity, Outreach and Community - @FrenshamCharity
Design & Technology - @FrenshamDT
Junior School - @FrenshamJuniors
Geography - @FrenshamGeog
Maths - @Frensham_Maths
Modern Foreign Languages - @Frensham_MFL
Music - @FHMusicSchool
Outdoor Ed - @Frensham_OE
PE & Sport - @Frensham_PE
PRE - @FrenshamPRE
PSME/PSHE - @FrenshamPSME
Science = @FrenshamScience