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NETHERTHORPE NEWSLEARN • ENJOY • SUCCEED OCTOBER 2015
Art Corner
The Staveley Town Council Art Competition
theme this year was 'My Art' and led to students
producing a wide range of work, from a lifelike
model of a dog by Hannah Pitchfork to Adrian
Godfrey's evolution of man picture, which is his
artistic interpretation of how he hopes to
develop into becoming an RAF pilot in the future
(pictured). The presentation evening was very
well attended, and this year the prizes were
given out by his grace the Duke of Devonshire.
Once again Netherthorpe's artists enjoyed
incredible success, scooping 10 of the 16 prizes
on offer to secondary schools. Congratulations
to all our prize winners.
We welcomed our new Lower Sixth with our now
traditional autumn barbecue. It was a very enjoyable
occasion with hamburgers, hot dogs and a lively
disco organised by our resident DJ Tony
Castelluccio. Meanwhile the Upper Sixth marked the
new term with a wet and wild weekend at White Hall
activity centre. A fish and chips supper on the first
evening got the students ready for two action packed
days of climbing, canoeing and caving. Despite
aches, bruises and muddy knees it was a fun filled
break, enjoyed by all.
What is Parent Voice?
• We're not a PTA!
• We're not a fundraising
arm of the school!
• What we are is a great
bunch of friendly faces
who meet 3 times a year.
We discuss new school policies and initiatives and we
look at the successes of the term's extra-curricular
activities. All parents have the opportunity to add
whole school issues to the agenda.
It's a good way to meet other parents and feel in
touch with your child's secondary education.
Come along - tea, coffee juice and biscuits are feely
available.
The next two meetings are on the 14th March & 20th
June 2016 @6.30pm in room 100.
We hope to see you there.
Dear Parents, Governors, Students and Friends of the school,
It is with great pleasure that I open this newsletter, the first of the school
year. So much has happened since the last newsletter and I am going to
present a potted version for you here.
A level results arrived on August 13th and staff worked hard to ensure
that the 90+ students who wanted go to University all had a place to go
to. More students than ever chose the Apprenticeship route instead, and
gained high quality places with real career prospects. A week later the
GCSE results came in and I am pleased to report that we are still improving, with 67.5% of the students
gaining 5 or more higher grade passes including English and Maths. Following these results, we interviewed
both our own Year 11 students and over 100 students from other schools for our sixth form and admitted
record numbers. The sixth form now has 300 students in it. In September, term started well and we
launched our charity causes - Blue Bell Wood Children's Hospice and Sight Support Derbyshire, the latter
because we have now welcomed our first completely blind student to the school. We have more students
with physical disabilities than ever before and they really do enrich the school.
Our first ever cohort of Year 13 students were awarded their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Certificate and
already there have been two Geography fieldwork trips, one to North Wales and one to Derbyshire, for
examination classes. The Department head off once again in a week, this time to Mount Vesuvius. We have
teams producing Christmas items to sell in the shop at Chatsworth House and their creations have had to
go through rigorous selection and quality control processes. We've held a sixth form Barbecue to welcome
new students, had a sixth form weekend away at an outdoor pursuits centre and a fabulous sponsored walk.
Year 7 are about to begin their World War 1 project and all this complements the normal day-to-day
teaching and weekly extra-curricular programme of activities. Children will always learn better when they
enjoy learning and enjoy their school experience and there has never been a better time to be a student at
Netherthorpe.
Mr A. Senior
Meeting our future king
Daniel Humphreys of Year 7 has supported anti-bullying initiatives since junior school, where hewas chosen to serve on a County committee. Hiswork was recently recognised nationally when hewas invited to London to take part in the DianaAward's Anti-Bullying Ambassadors' programme.This scheme, set up by Princess Diana, providesthe opportunity for young people to learn how torecognise signs of bullying and encourage victimsto seek help and speak out about their concerns.Daniel took part in a training session focused onsupport networks, cyber-bullying and LGBT(lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) bullyingissues. Daniel knew he was going to meet animportant guest but he got quite a shock whenthe mystery VIP turned out to be Diana's son,Prince William. There are not many of us who cansay they have met the future King of England, butDaniel can!
6th Form News
Thursday 12th November:
Monday 16th November:
Friday 20th November:
Monday 23rd November:
Thursday 26th November:
Thursday 3rd December:
Tuesday 8th December:
Thursday 10th December:
Thursday 17th December:
Friday 18th December:
Dates for your diary
Year 11 Presentation Evening
Year 11 Mock Exams start
Staff Training Day
Year 13 Mock Exams start
Year 12 Open Evening
Year 11 Parents’ Evening
Christmas Charity Concert
Year 12 Parents’ Evening
Year 13 Presentation Evening
Term ends
A new Charity Committee has
been formed and has selected
two very worthwhile local
charities to support: Bluebell
Wood Children's Hospice and
Sight Support Derbyshire. Miss
Dexter is our new Charity Co-ordinator and the
committee is packed with students of all ages from
across the school. They have set themselves the very
ambitious target of £10,000! The year got off to a
fantastic start with the Sponsored Walk around
Poolsbrook Country Park. The whole school took part
and it was a very enjoyable afternoon with the students
doing the school proud with their behaviour and good
humour. We wish the
Charity Committee every
success throughout the
year.
A French breakfast
On October 10th the Year 11 GCSE French group
travelled by minibus to enjoy a French trip… to
nearby Sheffield! They had a petit déjeuner (French
breakfast) experience at the renowned French
restaurant Bistrot Pierre. Ex-Netherthorpe student
Imogen Soakell, now studying Maths and French at
Sheffield University, joined them and they learned of
her plans to study Maths at Versailles University
next year. There was warm French bread with butter
and jams, crispy pains au chocolat and pains aux
raisins. Eve loved her Croque-Monsieur and many
other students had delicious crêpes with cream and
berries, while Evan opted for a petit déjeuner
anglais! The group all appreciated the very French
atmosphere and
they were served
by the French-
speaking waitress
Marsha: "vous
prendez du thé ou
du café?"
Final House Scoreboard 2014/2015
De Rodes Frecheville Sitwell
1440 1225 1175
On the final day of the summer term the Rosebowl
was presented to De Rodes for a record breaking
7th year in a row! The term had ended with a
magnificent Sports Day at the Sheffield Institute
of Sport and hard fought cricket and rounders
competitions. Can anyone beat De Rodes this
year? Time will tell! This term's House events are
badminton, the House Quiz, football and netball.
The Charity Commitee
Mexican ExpeditionThis summer a group of Sixth Form students carried out two weeks of volunteer
conservation work in Mexico. For the first week the students travelled to the
Calakmul Biosphere reserve close to the border of Guatemala. This is an area of
great biological diversity as it is an ancient Mayan city where the ruins have been
reclaimed by the forest. The Mayans farmed and planted fruit trees which have
returned to the forest and provide food for the high density of primates and bats.
The students soon adapted to living without electricity, running water and the
internet!! Since returning to the UK we have had the fantastic news that the
planned 4 lane highway the Mexican government was planning to run to the ruins has
been cancelled, to protect the forest and animals, particularly the critically endangered
Jaguar and Tapir. In the second week the students moved to the coast where they
learned to dive and carried out surveys of the sea grass which is an important food for
the turtles. It was two weeks of hard work, fun and adventure; the students have had an
experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives.
Netherthorpe students have been asked to support a Chatsworth
House initiative to create and make Christmas decoration designs that
could be sold in their shop. Netherthorpe students came up with
several Christmas designs that were then made into prototypes and
presented to the Chatsworth retail buying team for consideration and
approval. Many hours of hard work and careful thought was required to
ensure that the ideas would be easily produced, cost effective and be a
desirable product that would sell well in the shop. Chatsworth was so
impressed with the design ideas and products that four ideas (and
their variations) were chosen to be put into production. The actual
designs are currently top secret and we look forward to their
unveiling ready for Christmas. A specially commissioned Chatsworth
House badge will be presented to the students who have been involved in
the project.
Romeo and JulietNetherthorpe's talented students are rehearsing
and performing a production of Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet in a professional theatre. The
students chosen have shown tremendous acting
ability over the past year and will now be given the
chance to represent the school in the UK's biggest
drama festival: the Shakespeare Schools' Festival.
On Wednesday 7th October, students involved in
the project visited the performance venue, the
Montgomery Theatre in Sheffield, for the first time.
At this cast workshop students got the amazing
opportunity to work with professional
Shakespearean actors and directors as they
developed their acting skills through a series of
improvisation games and exercises.
"For never was a story of more woe than this of
Juliet and her Romeo;" this was clear as the
students performed a section of the show they had
been working on in rehearsals to an audience full of
festival coordinators and students from a partner
school. The students were complimented on their
ability to present the raw pain and emotion which
the characters in the play go through.
The performance is due to take place on
Wednesday 11th of November at the Montgomery
Theatre in Sheffield and tickets are already selling
fast. In order not to miss out tickets for the show
can be purchased directly from the Montgomery
Hall's box office. Tickets are £9 for adults or £7 for
concessions. The contact information for the
theatre is below:
Phone the box office on: 0114 249 6000
Buy tickets online at:
http://themontgomery.org.uk/events/shakespeare
-schools-festival1
Project Chatsworth
The end of the last school year was jam packed
with memorable events and activities. There
were two splendid proms for our departing Year
11 and 13 students. The school first XI cricket
team defeated the Old Students in a close and
hard fought match at the Welfare. We enjoyed a
splendid Sports Award Evening and our first ever
Oscars Evening was a glittering occasion.
Activity Day was a great success with a whole
host of activities including bike rides, sports,
music and a visit to the magical world of Harry
Potter. The Modern Languages Department ran
a very successful trip to Santander and the PGL
visit proved as popular as ever. We congratulate
our first ever DoE Gold students (pictured) who
braved the elements and completed their
qualifying expedition in Snowdonia. The year
ended with our ever popular Carnival sports and
our first ever whole school assembly in the
Sports Hall.
Remembering last summer
Staveley ChurchThe Year 11 History students had a very interesting
visit to Staveley Church as part of their GCSE work.
The Church dates back to the Norman Conquest and
is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The students
learned about the central role played by the
Frecheville family in the history of the Church and
marvelled at the splendid Frecheville Chapel. We are
very grateful to the Rector for allowing our students to
visit.