THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
Friday 19th May, 2023
A MESSAGE FROM LAURA
Dear Parents
It has been another incredibly busy week at Frensham. Our open morning last Saturday was a tremendous success where students, staff and existing parents came together to share how wonderful Frensham is to prospective families. The morning began in the theatre with welcome talks before Louis played the piano and in doing so, demonstrated the Frensham spirit of courage and resilience. Following this, Lila, Alexander and Finn from Year 6 confidently took to the stage to read their mini TED Talk on the subject that they had chosen and independently researched; LGBTQIA+, racism and climate change. The student panel as always provided the icing on the cake as students provided their refreshing, confident and funny reflections about Frensham.
One of my priorities for this term is to reconnect as a community. I was delighted to welcome parents from across the school to the Town Hall event on Monday evening. This proved a fruitful event where the new leadership team were able to introduce themselves and answer questions about their roles and their areas of the school. Thank you to all of the parents who joined us and made this event such a success. Thank you to Jo from Parent Voice who took notes for those parents who could not make the event, these will be circulated to parents shortly. On Tuesday we hosted the OF Art exhibition. This event was attended by the Frensham community past and present. The artwork on show was a wonderful reflection of our vibrant, creative and talented community. Thank you to all involved in making these events a great success. On Wednesday night 100 families from Year 9, Year 10 and external prospective Sixth Form families attended the Introduction to Sixth Form Evening. This was an opportunity for students and parents to find out more about Sixth Form life and about the wide range of subjects that we offer.
All of these events have provided a much needed and welcome opportunity to reconnect. An opportunity for staff to talk to parents, to have conversations to discuss their children, to talk about the future and get to know each other once again. However, these evenings cannot happen without the commitment and dedication of the wonderful staff team at Frensham. From housekeeping to catering, teaching staff to Marketing and Admissions. Our staff go over and above to make Frensham the special place that it is and I am incredibly proud to be leading such a wonderful team.
Wishing you all a restful and happy weekend,
Laura
SAFEGUARDING UPDATE FROM JACK AND JO
This week has been Mental Health Awareness Week and while assessment week for Years 7,8 and 9 might not initially seem like a good match for this, I hope that the Frensham way we have done this has enabled the children to navigate this week successfully. We hope that they have gained some experience of revision and exams as well as resilience when facing a challenge. When they come across external exams later in their school careers, the experience of this week should help them to succeed in dealing with these. I hope that the current Year 11s and 13s, who are doing their external exams, are drawing on similar experiences right now.
Of course, we have given them fun activities in the afternoons and all day on Friday to help with this too and we have also been pleased to see Years 10 and 12 enjoying their Life in the Sixth Form and Life After Frensham activities. Giving them this time is unusual during a traditional ‘exam week’ but, we think, really beneficial for them. Spending time outside lessons having fun with their friends is a genuine tonic at this time. Young people today face so many challenges and mental health is a huge part of safeguarding across the whole country. Nobody can do this alone and so we want to work with any of you facing challenges with Mental Health in your families. Part of this is signposting you to expert support and so please click here to view a leaflet put together by the school Health Centre with a number of charities and agencies that are really great and offer this support to anyone and all of us when we need it.
Best wishes,
Jo and Jack
OUR FACULTY SYSTEM
A rich, progressive curriculum is one where students are offered the opportunity to make connections in their learning and build networks between the knowledge and skills they develop within disciplines.
The arbitrary bounds that define subjects are drawn to create a legacy of closely related information, silos of knowledge that can be understood by those in the academic field up and down the chain of development: for example, subject-specific definitions are needed for the purposes of effective communication, so that students in any particular field are able to ‘talk the same language’ and can compare and exchange their understanding. Of course, this is necessary for the specialisation demanded by academic development. ‘Freezing’ in science may specifically refer to the temperature at which a change of state occurs in materials when liquids become solids, but in English Literature, may be understood as being uncomfortably cold. It is essential that students understand the use of language, theory and the bounds of knowledge within a subject.
But it is also essential that students understand how subjects are connected, but that the bounds of knowledge that define disciplines are not steadfastly drawn and finite. To encourage cross-curricular understanding, collaboration and creative thinking, we must encourage students’ intellectual curiosity when thinking about the relationships between studies. One way of achieving this is to bring similar subjects together to encourage opportunities for building collaborative learning opportunities and celebrate the commonalities between subjects. Another is to challenge thought about seemingly opposing and unrelated subjects and encourage students and staff to find links for their learning and their academic progress.
Frensham’s faculty structure aims to bring similar and different subjects to the same table to create the kind of information sharing and cross-curricular activities that are the hallmark of progressive education: an education that moves students’ interests forward in their own directions, enabling them to flourish by creating stronger links between their studies, more closely mirroring the interconnected and interdependent world we inhabit.
EXCITING PASTORAL NEWS
We are pleased to announce that from September we will have Pastoral and Progress Leaders from Years 7-11 and new roles within sixth form. This will give another layer of pastoral care and support to further strengthen this important responsibility. Although Tutors will always be a parents first point of contact, it allows for one person to oversee each year group as a whole and manage their needs fully. In sixth form we will have Alison responsible for all pastoral needs and Pippa overseeing their academic progress. Jo as Assistant Head Pastoral, will then oversee years 7-13. We understand this may affect tutor groups and any changes to these will be announced before the end of term.
WHO DOES WHAT
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SCHOOL NOTICES
HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD MANAGE THEIR STRESS & WELLBEING - Tuesday 23rd May (6-7pm)
Elevate Education's second free webinar of the Summer Term will be taking place on Tuesday 23rd May. Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series you will learn how you can help better support your children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school:
Click here to register for free
In this webinar, Elevate will be showing parents:
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How to spot your child's stress symptoms early
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How to start a conversation about emotional wellbeing
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Techniques your child can use to self-manage stress
PARENT VOICE MEMBERS NEEDED - YEARS EY, 1, 8 and 10
Parent Voice is looking for parents with children in years EY, 1, 8 or 10 (who are going into years 1, 2, 9 or 11 in September) to join their volunteer team! Joining Parent Voice is a positive way to get involved at Frensham.
Parent Voice is made up of parent volunteers. Their 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 in order to support the joint interests of the school community.
Details of PV and its role can be found on the school's website: https://www.frensham.org/parent-voice
Vicki, Emma and Jo will be in the Aldridge Cafe after drop off on Tuesday 23rd May to meet with anyone who is interested in a role, would like further information or has any questions. Please feel free to drop by and have a chat!
Alternatively, you can contact any of us directly:
Vicki Nixon - Chair - vicki@nixonconsultancy.com
Emma Tweed - Vice Chair - emmatweedradford@icloud.com
Jo Bushill - Secretary - j.bushill@hotmail.co.uk
ELSTEAD GIRLS FOOTBALL
Elstead Sharks is a friendly, inclusive club who are on the hunt for more 13-14 year old girls for next season. Click here for more info.
SHYNEFEST - 2nd & 3rd JUNE
A couple of our parents run the annual Shynefest music festival in Guildford. Click here for more info.
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.
FRIENDS OF FRENSHAM NEWS
CHANGES TO THE STRUCTURE OF FOF
We would like to give a very big thank-you to Louise Wheeler who has been the FOF chair for the past few years. Louise was instrumental in reviving FOF after COVID and helped FOF on its journey to becoming a charity but has decided to step down now that FOF is in a much healthier place and we wish her all the very best. We would also like to thank Erika Thomas a founding member of the board who did an amazing job guiding us along the path to becoming a charity. Erika is now stepping down to focus on her family more.
As part of these changes, we have had a re-jig in roles and have been lucky enough to see our FOF community grow. We now have a strong list of regular volunteers who help out with different events as well as our board, committee and comms reps. However, we are always looking for more help and ideas so if you would like to get involved please contact us on chair@fofrensham.com (please note the new email address).
Friends of Frensham Board
Verity Glasgow
Gayle Horobin
Alison Dickinson
Ally Williams
Wendy Harrison
Friends of Frensham Committee
Ally Williams (social media)
Nicola Clutterbuck
Mandy Ogle
Sarah Ring
Alison Dickinson (Treasurer)
Rachel McCartney (Secretary)
Gayle Horobin (Chair)
Friends of Frensham Comms reps in charge of WhatsApp messages
Claire Droog
Ally Williams
Emma Bray
Sarah Ring
Kelly Dawson
Wendy Harrison
Kate Atkin
Mandy Ogle
Shyne Adcock
Wallis Lam
Val Brennan
Rachel McCartney
Jules Binns
UPCOMING EVENTS
The summer term has got off to a busy start for FOF, with a 2nd hand uniform sale, coffee meeting and the Junior school disco. Thanks to all of you for your support with these events, especially Sarah R and her disco team.
Please follow us on Friends of Frensham Instagram (@friendsoffrensham) to see some of our events and plans for upcoming activities. This term we will be offering refreshments at Junior and Senior Sports Days and of course there is the traditional Founders Day fun alongside some fundraising projects. So please watch this space.
GLASS OF 2023
Following on from the success of our Vegas-inspired bubbles at the ball, FOF is pleased to announce a limited edition run of “Glass of 2023” Hawkins Bros Brut 33 English sparkling wine. What better way to spend a summer’s afternoon, or to keep as a memento for your 2023 leaver, while supporting FOF fundraising.
This specially labelled classic cuvée from 2014 features grapes grown by Greyfriars Vineyard on The Hogs Back in Surrey. A blend of 56% Chardonnay, 22% Pinot Noir and 22% Pinot Meunier with over 6 years ageing on its lees. This is a beautifully crafted wine with soft bubbles, great balance and a long finish. A Gold medal winner at the IEWA 2019 and Bronze at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018.
These will be available for a limited time, so if you would like to order some please follow the link below:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/friendsoffrensham/921915
![Summer Dates[63].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/244947_4edde7b29337409f91ba08ae7239dabd~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_46,h_20,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/Summer%20Dates%5B63%5D.png)
![Champagne Newsletter[11].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/244947_57ffe03825ec41c8aea3cd3aac97abcf~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_60,h_31,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/Champagne%20Newsletter%5B11%5D.png)
SCHOOL EVENTS
Sports Day 2023
It gives me great pleasure to invite parents to sports day this year. Great events to attend and I will be looking for some volunteers to get involved in some parent v teacher events!! - Phil
Senior School Sports Day (Year 7-13) – Thursday 8th June – Approx 1:00pm Start
Junior School Sports Day (Year 1-6) – Friday 9th June – Approx 1:00pm Start
Early Years Sports Day (Nursery and Reception) – Wednesday 7th June – 8:30am Start
FAMILY FUN DAY
Saturday 10th June | 12pm - 5pm | FREE
We are very excited to be working with Cherry Trees of Clandon to host a family activity day culminating in a fashion showcase - here at Frensham Heights on:
Sat 10th June 12 - 5pm.
This long term project has allowed us to explore the barriers that some young people face when choosing their clothes each day – Physical barriers such as being in a wheelchair, practical barriers such as needing to wash clothes more often or financial barriers due to the high costs for disabled youngsters and their families.
Emma Tweed (Parent Voice and recently involved with Beauty and the Beast costumes) has a professional background in the fashion industry and has offered to organise the FASHION SHOWCASE for this event.
We are now looking for MODELS from our students to work with Emma and create an amazing Fashion Show in our Aldridge Theatre at 4pm on Sat 10th June. There will be a rehearsal on Monday the 5th after school. Please contact her directly at emmatweedradford@icloud.com to sign up and receive further information to be a model – with full styling and wear one of the new designs that has been created by our professional designers and Frensham students together to make this the celebration it deserves.
There is also an outdoor stage with 2 bands and 3 singers currently signed up from 12 – 4pm, so please contact Lynngoodburne@frensham.org if you would like to join this group.
Everyone is welcome and it is free to attend-so please do come along and join in with the fun broad range of activities that we are offering alongside refreshment stalls.
Together we can make a difference
https://www.cherrytrees.org.uk/Event/self-expression-safari2023
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Saturday 10th June | 10am - 4pm
Photography Studio | FREE
We need you! Shout out to Years 7 to 13 photographers for two workshops:
13th May - get to know your camera & camera skills
10th June - practical event photography
Own camera desirable!
RSVP to sarahfarr@frensham.org to reserve your place.
THIS WEEK AT FRENSHAM
YEAR 10 MOCK JOB INTERVIEWS
If you were a biscuit, what type of biscuit would you be? And why?
What a great start to the week by Year 10. Lyall led an hour-long careers workshop focussed on how to survive a job interview by recognising the common questions asked (so you can be prepared how to answer), the importance of dress code and body language, and how to nail that welcome handshake.
Students then had a two-hour window to work on ambitious marketing campaigns for their activewear product design – creating a billboard poster, 15-second digital advert and a pitch to industry experts.
All the while they were being called out to attend a job interview to put into practice the ideas and concepts learned in the opening session. Almost sixty students coming into the “interview hub” in waves to face the questions from one of the volunteer interviewers. Despite the nerves, the students came through unscathed – and as expected – from initial anxiety, they went on to speak with growing confidence and eloquence – some even said they enjoyed the experience!
Hannah added; “It was very helpful and I got to understand what an interview is actually like because I had no idea.”
Imogen commented; “It was fun. My interviewer was nice and and it was good for experience.”
Thea said of the experience; “I felt very comfortable and they were very patient with me. They reviewed me after which was very helpful, giving me more efficient words I could answer with. 10/10 - would defo do again.”
With thanks to parents Kevin, Mark, Terry, Debbie, Albert, and Sandra and additional interviews from teachers Colin, James, and Niah; we couldn’t have run the session without your support and willing. Thank you.
VILLAGE TRAINING
Year 8 spent the afternoons this week and all day Friday in various workshops and activities preparing for their stay in the Village in June. The students made spoons in DT to use while they're in the Village, started setting up the camp and practised their fire building skills.
FRENSHAM COMMUNITY ART EXHIBITION
On Wednesday evening, we held the launch event for the inaugural Frensham Community Art Exhibition. With more than 50 exhibits from Old Frenshamians, current parents, former and current teachers, the exhibition looks wonderful. The exhibition will be up until Founders’ Day in the Aldridge Theatre foyer, so please do go and have a look at the wonderful variety of art on display.
NATIONAL OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM DAY
On Thursday 18th May, the Junior School participated in the National Outside the Classroom Day. We had an array of opportunities on offer to get the children outside, learning and experiencing out amazing site. Nursery developed their balance on steppingstones, Reception looked into drawing their own shadows and how they may move position throughout the day. Year 1 were creative learning how to weave with natural resources. Year 4 complete an outdoors maths challenge and chatted to one of the groundsman’s on how he makes perfect stripes with his mower in the lawns. On return of their residential trip to Swanage, Year 5 recreated Corfe Castle using the outdoor play equipment, while Year 6 developed their understanding of Pie Charts in the drop off zone. What an amazing day!
YEARS 3-6 PROBLEM SOLVING COMPETITION
On Tuesday this week 12 children from Years 3-6 took part in a Satro Problem Solving competition at More House School against three other schools. The children worked in two teams; Years 3 and 4 together, and Years 5 and 6 together. The children were set the challenge of building a marble run using only the limited materials provided. They were given 90 minutes to complete their marble run and the big challenge was that it they had to make it so that the marble would take 10 seconds to go down the run. The children worked expertly in teams and showed great resilience when they came across problems with their runs. The Years 5 and 6 team achieved 11 seconds on their first run, on their second chance the marble took 10.35 seconds to complete the marble run!! They won the Years 5 and 6 competition hands down! The Year 3 and 4 team's marble took 6 seconds, which was a great effort - they came second overall. The children were an asset to Frensham and did brilliantly.
GREENPOWER
This week we had a lot of work to do which the team were very enthusiastic about, Richie, Edward and Elijah started to put on the stub axles. Richard (one of our governors) helped those who are interested in telemetry and coding, he was very patient and very knowledgeable! Frankie, Ava and Maria worked on the aerodynamics at the back of the car, so far we have made one prototype out of card, less drag = more laps!!!
Team Profile:
Name: Aragon
Likes: Gaming, cars, F1, Racing, Food
Dislikes: Breaking his arm 🙁
Favorite subject: Dt
Why I applied: I love F1 and thought that it would be a great opportunity to design and build a car then race it!
YEAR 7 ECO DAY
Year 7 started their Eco Day enjoying woodland games. It was wonderful to see them letting off some steam after their busy week of exams. We then changed the mood and moved to the theatre to watch one of the Our Planet series as an introduction to our Eco Heights programme of study in Science and Geography. The remainder of the day was spent in workshops understanding the nutrient cycle and our plastic waste issue. Students applied their learning to the nutrient cycle by creating performances for the peers to explain the process. The ‘Rubbish’ workshop asked students to consider and rank waste rates of different items and led on to discussions around solutions which will be followed up in our Eco curriculum. We finished the day with a fun games activity on the field.
CATERING RECIPE BOXES
Callie helped out with some presentations from catering companies tendering for our contract and really enjoyed making the macaroni cheese from the recipe ideas they shared with her.
YEAR 12 ESCAPE ROOM
As part of the Year 12 Employability and Life Skills session, we had an escape room team in to run the show.
YEAR 10 MUSIC TRIP TO WICKET
Year 10 GCSE Music students went to see Wicked in London on Wednesday. It was an incredible show, and they got the opportunity to have a Q and A with the leads from the cast.
YEAR 10 A-LEVEL DRAMA TASTER
Year 10s in an A Level Drama taster lessons this week, enjoying their Special Effects make-up lesson and being very dramatic!
LOST PROPERTY
Here's the items currently in the lost property office. As always, please contact amylee@frensham.org if anything is yours.
SPORTS REPORT
Under 15 Cricket v Boundary Oak
What a game of cricket this was. It started with Boundary Oaks opening batsmen hitting 3 massive sixes and retiring on 29 runs after just 11 balls. We then bowled really well and managed to restrict them to 84-4 off their 15 Overs. The pick of the bowlers was Lexie with 2 overs 1 wicket for 7 runs. We then set about chasing the total. Archie and Miller started really positively against some tight Boundary Oak bowling. We then started to lose wickets at regular intervals but Archie managed to keep us up with the run rate. He retired on 26 runs and when our 9th wicket fell, he came back in needing 15 to win from 9 balls. Zac and Archie then got us to needing 8 off the last 2 balls and Zac hit a four leaving us 4 to win off the last ball. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite able to achieve this but what an effort. Boundary Oak won by 3 runs.
U11 Cricket
It was brilliant to see 22 keen cricketers representing Frensham in the junior school on Wednesday afternoon. This week we travelled to Bedales Dunhurst. On Rory’s pitch the team faced some skilled cricketers however Frensham approached it with a great attitude and spirit throughout. Frensham batted first and set Bedales a total of 226, Carter the pick of the batters playing some lovely shots to find the boundary. Bedales chased down the total and went on to win the match. Alexander bowled well including a brilliant moment of fielding off his own delivery to run a pair out. Well done to the whole team on a great effort and for some their first cricket fixture.
On Phil’s pitch the team were up against a tough opposition with some experienced cricketers. The team did a great job in a pairs cricket format with Eve and Madeline scoring well in their two overs. Fin and George scored well with a couple of boundaries before losing a couple of weeks late in their two batting overs. Poppy started off the bowling well and bowled a consistent line and length and made life difficult for the Bedales batters. A few players getting their first experience of a cricket match and despite the defeat great to see so many involved enjoying the afternoon.
U9 Cricket
The U9 cricket team were back in action this week, with one team taking on Ditcham on the Astro. Frensham batted first and set Ditcham a total of 259, showing a greater understanding of communication between the wickets and some great shot technique. Ditcham cam into bat and it was an incredibly close run chase with the visitors winning by just 6 runs to reach a total of 265. Again, the improvement in bowling technique from the first game was huge and it was great to see everyone bowling overarm deliveries confidently. Well done all, we look forward to the next one!
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 22nd May
9.00 Departure - Year 6 Trip to Tyf, North Wales
13.55 - Year 7 to Year 13 School Notices (Aldridge Theatre)
16.00 - U10 & U9 Mixed Swimming vs St Ed's (Away)
Tuesday 23rd May
Year 8 HPV immunisations & other year group HPV catch ups (Music Recital Room)
8.30 Departure - Year 10 Geography - River Wey Field Work
13.00 - 15.00 - Year 3 Maths Challenge (Halstead Prep School)
14.30 - U15 & U14 Boys Cricket vs More House (Home)
14.30 - U15 & U14 Girls Cricket vs St Edmunds (Away)
16.30 - 17.30 - Malawi Team Participants Fundraising and Project meeting (Ballroom)
18.30 - Parent Voice informal meeting (Billiard Room)
18.45 for 19.00 start - Year 12: Next Steps Parents information session (Music Recital Room)
Wednesday 24th May
13.10 - 13.50 - Senior Lunchtime Acoustic Concert (Y7-13) (Music Recital Room)
14.30 - U13 & U12 Girls Cricket vs Sherfield (Away)
14.30 - U13 & U12 Boys Cricket vs More House (Home)
17.30 - 20.30 - Year 7 Academic Parents Evening (Assessment Feedback) (on Teams)
Thursday 25th May
Friday 26th May
Year 1 to Year 5 Showcase Teaching and Learning
8.15 - 8.45 - Year 1 to Year 5 Showcase Book Look
9.30 - Morning Talk: Year 7 to Year 13 Morning Talk: Malawi Talk (Aldridge Theatre)
16.10 - Half Term begins
Saturday 27th May
10.00 - Boarding Houses close
Sunday 28th May
10.00 Departure - Years 7 to 13 Hockey Trip to Olympic Park, London (Return time approx. 6pm)
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