March 2010 - Woodchurch High School

www.woodchurchhigh.com
[email protected]
0151 677 5257 Spring Issue
March 2010
Unfortunately the spring term began with the school closing for three
days due to exceptionally bad weather. Ice had compacted, making
Carr Bridge Road and the school grounds treacherous. Thanks to a
number of staff, parents and Governors who came into school at the
weekend with their shovels, enabling us to make the pathways safe
for our pupils.
There is much to do before we move into our new building and it will be
a monumental task sorting out and packing up the contents of the existing school.
To support this process we will be finishing the academic year on Wednesday 14th July. I am conscious of the fact that this is earlier than many other schools by a week. I have, however, attempted to minimise the impact by adding two staff development days onto the end of the term
(July 20th and 21st). These days would normally have been taken earlier in the year in the middle
of term. At this stage we are planning to have a staggered return to school in September to enable
each year to familiarise themselves with the new building and the new technologies within the
building such as cashless catering and biometric registration. I will, however, write to you next
term to confirm the dates for September.
Many thanks for your support.
If any ex-pupils of Woodchurch High would like to share their memories or mementoes of the
school then please contact us, we would love to hear from you!
We are delighted that the school is oversubscribed for the next academic year. This is very
encouraging and the Pastoral Team is looking
forward to meeting our new pupils.
If any parents/Carers have any queries regarding admissions please do not hesitate to contact me on 677 5257.
In January Woodchurch High School because a
Trust School. We welcome our new partners,
Church of England, Hope University, Chester
University and Kier North West Construction.
The Trustees attended Year 9 Options Day and
met with staff, pupils Governors and parents/
carers.
We look forward to the development of our new
partnerships.
On Wednesday 24th February Year 9 Options
Day took place. This was an opportunity for all
the pupils in year 9 along with their parents
and carers to meet with members of the Senior
Leadership and Year 9 pastoral team to discuss
Key Stage 4 options. Members of Staff put on
displays of Key Stage 4 work so pupils could
see the type of work involved in each curriculum area. There were also representatives from
Connections to offer advice about Careers and
Wirral LA to speak about the Diplomas. The day
was very successful and initial feedback from
both parents and pupils is very positive.
Together with your newsletter for this term you
will also be receiving a safeguarding information. This has been compiled to inform you of
our safeguarding procedures in school as well
as some of the ways you can keep your child
safe at home on the internet. Safeguarding of
children is an issue that is always high priority
and at Woodchurch we take our responsibilities
seriously. We hope this booklet will give you an
insight into our procedures but should you
wish to find out any further information please
contact the Safeguarding Officer in school Mrs
Marsha Loney.
To ensure they achieve or exceed their target
grades, Year 11 pupils are receiving mentoring
and have the opportunity to attend after school
and lunchtime revision sessions. There will
also be Holiday Study Days and after Easter,
some subjects will be holding Saturday School.
We welcomed two staff and two pupils from our
partner school in Uganda. They were with us
for a week from 13th to 19th March during
which time the pupils attended lessons with
Year 10 and the staff observed and taught lessons.
If parents/carers have any questions or concerns please contact Mr Canham, Assistant
Headteacher or Mrs Daniels, Pupil Progress
Leader.
As well as being in
school, our visitors did
some sight-seeing,
visited primary schools
and met the Bishop of
Birkenhead.
Come to a ‘BIG EVENT’ being held at Woodchurch High School on Wednesday 21st April 2010.
Members of the Local Authority Mathematics team in partnership with teachers from local schools
will be delivering taster sessions for all adult family members.
The sessions will provide an opportunity for adults to experience how mathematics is taught in
schools today.
There will be several sessions available, catering for children aged between 0—16 years. Each session will last approximately 45 minutes and is repeated to allow parents to attend more than one
session if they wish.
The session for pre-school age children is
for parents and children together, the other
sessions are for adults only, however crèche
facilities will be available.
0-3 years
Early Years/Foundation
5.45 pm
6.45 pm
and
and
6.45 pm
7.45 pm
Years 1 and 2
6.45 pm
and
7.45 pm
Years 3 and 4
6.45 pm
and
7.45 pm
Year 5
6.45 pm
and
7.45 pm
6.45 pm
and
7.45 pm
6.45 pm
and
7.45 pm
6.45 pm
and
7.45 pm
Each adult who attends will be entered into a Years 6 and 7
free draw with a chance to win £50 gift
Years 8 and 9
voucher (4 prizes available).
Years 10 and 11
The exam season has already begun for our
Year 11 pupils starting with their practical assessments in Catering, Fine Art, Art Textiles
and Art Graphics from January 2010. After the
Easter holiday practical exams in P.E., Drama
and Dance are followed by French and Spanish
speaking tests and the Music Integrated Assignment. G.C.S.E. written papers start 17th May
2010 and the final year 11 exam is not until
28th June this year.
Year 10 pupils have internal exams starting after Easter but there are also external exams for
pupils on the diploma courses, those studying
G.C.S.E. Geography and Business and Communication Systems and there are follow-up modules in both G.C.S.E. Mathematics and G.C.S.E.
Science during May and June.
Many Year 11 pupils attended a motivational
evening on 23rd February 2010 run by Andrew
Newton, an experienced educational trainer.
Similar sessions have been delivered in 30
schools across the North and Northwest with a
very positive reception from students, parents
and teachers.
The evening lasted two hours and offered a
stimulating presentation on revision techniques
based on brain friendly principles, as well as
small group activities for parents and students
to explore causes and remedies of exams
stress.
Feedback from Woodchurch pupils and parents
was extremely positive and we hope to run
similar sessions next year.
Year 9 pupils will also be involved in internal
assessments and there is a G.C.S.E. Science
exam scheduled for 28th June.
It is important that pupils and parents are
aware that external examination dates are
set by the examination boards and the
school cannot change those dates under any
circumstances.
The courses that our pupils are following at
KS4 now have different examination requirements than in previous years.
This means that external exams are taken
throughout the year, not just in the Summer
Term.
The dates of external exams are fixed and not
open to change. The exam season commences in November and finishes in July. We
therefore request that holidays are NOT taken
in term time during years 10 and 11.
The MFL Department has this year arranged the
4th annual exchange trip to Puerto Real, near
Cádiz, in Southern Spain.
This year 6 pupils are taking part – Peter Dutton, John Seddon, Gino King, Chloe New, Charlotte Blundell and Amy Dowdall. The pupils recently spent a week living in Spain with families. They spent 2 days in school where they
attended lessons. They helped in English lessons but also took part in Maths, Spanish and
French classes.
During their week in Spain the pupils visited
the area around Puerto Real. This included trips
to Seville, Cádiz and Jérez. The time spent with
their partners and their families meant that the
pupils had lots of opportunity to practise their
Spanish and to learn
new vocabulary. As well
as learning more Spanish the exchange gives
pupils the chance to
engage with a different
culture and have first
hand experience of
customs and food.
The return trip is from
20th to 27th March and
we look forward to welcoming Spanish students to Woodchurch.
Once again, our Year 10 pupils have exceeded all expectations whilst on their Work Experience
placements. Feedback received from employers was glowing! Congratulations to all our pupils who
went out on placement. In total, over 290 placements were undertaken, of these fewer than 2%
were unsuccessful, which is a tremendous achievement. Parents are reminded that if their child
loaned safety wear (e.g., boots and overalls) these must be returned to school, at the first available
opportunity. Below is a snap-shot of some of the positive feedback we have received on our pupils
– to have included more would have more than trebled the length of this newsletter:
Adam Dunn – (Birkenhead County Court) I felt that I had to write to you to let you know how very
impressed I have been with both his standard and attitude to the work he was asked to perform.
He gave 100% commitment to the tasks that he was given. Adam is a polite and consciousness
young man and I sincerely hope that whatever path he chooses for his future he does well. I believe
he will succeed. He is a credit to both his parents and his school. Adam asked if he could extend
his Work Experience and come in on his own time (half term) and assist for the week. Adam has
been with us for the whole week working voluntarily; again his performance has been outstanding.
He actually now feels like one of my members of staff.
Jack Scholey – (Doyle-Edwards Hairdressing) Jack is a charming, polite young man with a willingness to learn. He is very confident and has a fantastic relationship with staff and clients. As a result
of his ability and professional manner, Jack has now got a Saturday job at the Salon.
Stephen Bird – (West Wirral Works) Stephen arrived a quiet shy young man but leaves showing a
high level of confidence and sense of humour that is a pleasure, we wish him well.
Matthew Duke – (B&M) Matthew is an excellent example of a conscientious, friendly, approachable
student. He is honest, hard working and a good team player.
Tom Black – (Townfield Primary-Office Work) Tom has an excellent attitude. He works well with all
members of the school. Tom is very competent and always keen to learn new skills. His excellent
ICT skills have helped us to develop more efficient systems.
Georgia Hughes – (SeeSaw Pre School) Georgia has demonstrated good communication skills when
working with children and adults. She has shown a caring and sensitive attitude which is a very
good attribute when working with children. Georgia has shown enthusiasm and motivation during
her placement. It has been a pleasure to have her with us.
Dean Foster – (Halfords) Dean was always in on time. He was always asking ‘what can he do next’.
He was very polite towards customers and tried his best to help them with their issues. A pleasure
to have.
Kathleen Williams – (Cavendish Day Centre) Kathleen is a most pleasant young lady. She was very
cooperative with anything that she was asked to do, she got on very well with staff and members
alike. Kathleen has asked to come into the centre next week as a volunteer on her half term week
which we have agreed to.
Connor Edge
Connor Edge Yr 10 was on work experience at City Plumbing, during the second
work it was his 15th birthday, the placement provider bought him a birthday cake
with his picture on.
So congratulations Year 10 – you are a credit to the school!
Thank you also to Mr Bannon and Mrs Garrett who worked so hard to secure the
placements and all the staff who enjoyed visiting our pupils.
Pupils from 10YN and their Form
Tutor Miss Melling enjoyed a trip
to the cinema in Cheshire Oaks to
watch a 3D version of the smashhit film Avatar.
Pupils were rewarded by their
Pupil Progress Leader, Mr Roberts,
for having the most improved
attendance across the Year group. Well done
10YN!
Mr Doyle and Mrs Moulton
were at the Engineering
conference in Sheffield talking about the work we do
with STEM club. Mrs Moulton was very lucky and got
to meet Dame Ellen
McArthur who sailed around the world single
handedly in a yacht! We are going to be working on some joint projects about Sustainability
and how to protect the environment in the future! Stem club in year 9 are hoping to go to
Disneyland Paris in the Summer Term as part of
our project on Roller coasters.
Woodchurch
High were delighted to host
a 2 day training
event organised
by Dawn Leonard, the ‘Let's
Get Cooking’, Northwest Training Officer.
Wirral schools were eligible to bid for ‘Start up
Funds’ for a school cookery club. 16 schools
were successful with the application. Woodchurch High offered the use of the Food Technology Room for the activity to take place. 9
schools were represented and enjoyed ‘hands
on’ training in cookery demonstration skills
and food safety, with activities and ideas to
help club coordinators, set up and run a successful Let's Get Cooking Club. It was a highly
interactive programme with demonstrations
and practical activities: rubbing-in method,
peeling and safe chopping techniques, noncook recipes, weighing and measuring, healthy
bakes and international dishes.
The Let's Get Cooking ethos encourages family
and community involvement in the cooking activities. At Woodchurch, the initial Club will be
run by year 10 pupils who will support lower
school pupils who are keen to join. Mrs Graham is the Club Coordinator, supported by
Teaching Assistants, Emma Noonan and Anita
Eccles.
For the start up day, 4 year 8 pupils have been
invited to take part. Initially the Club will run
for 6 weeks, including a week when invitations
will be given members of the Community to
visit the Club to find out what foods have been
cooked and to join the pupils in the tasting.
For further details, please contact Mrs Graham,
Club Coordinator.
The Sainsbury's Active Kids Scheme 2010 was
launched on 17th February and delivers real
benefits in the form of equipment and coaching
for the school. If you shop in Sainsbury’s
please collect the vouchers and send them
into school with your child. Vouchers can be
handed to Form Tutors or directly to any
member of the PE Department.
Thank you for your support.
Can parents/carers please check whether pupils
have lost any jewellery/watches. We have a
vast amount of these items including gold and
silver rings, bracelets, chains and a large quantity of watches both designer & non-designer.
If you know your child has lost any item
please call into Reception or call school on
677 5257 with a description of the item lost.
Christmas Events
The Christmas Draw and the raffle/
refreshments at the Jungle Book production
made a combined profit of over £500. Thank
you for buying tickets and supporting the
PTA. All the money will be donated to school
for the benefit of the pupils.
The Christmas Raffle was won by:1st prize
2nd prize
3rd prize
4th prize
A Phillips
Mrs Wright
J Murphy
K Thomas
A swinging time was had when CJ’s Jazz Orchestra visited school on Friday 5th February
and gave a workshop to Year 7 to demonstrate
Swing and Jazz music. Pupils were able to join
in the session with the musicians.
Thanks to Music Department Trainee Mr
Chandler for inviting
his friends in the
band to come into
school.
Woodchurch Club
The winners are:December
January
February
1st prize
S. Johnson
P. Jones
E. McKay
2nd prize
S. Niblock
C. Fox
K. Ellis
Next Meeting
Our next meetings is on Monday 18th April in
the school library and starts at 6.30pm. We always welcome new members.
Our latest Year 7 Curriculum Evening for Science and ICT attracted over 60 participants.
Our largest audience yet! Parents and carers
have now had access to a number of curriculum
areas, finding out more about what and how
their children learn at Woodchurch.
The next evening, for Art & Design, will be
held on Thursday 15th April. Meet at 7.00
pm for drinks in the School Library.
All welcome.
Linda Tiongco, North West
Manager of Christian Aid,
was delighted to receive a
cheque for £569.67 from
the Year 7 Form Reps,
Esther Matey and Christian Rule. The money
had been raised by each form
organising its own fundraising event as part of
their work on Disasters
and Dilemmas. It will be
used to help victims of
the recent Haitian earthquake.
We are pleased to
announce that we
have recently received
the highest level
achievable for our
Financial Management Re-assessment (FMSiS)
and internal audit, with ‘no’ recommendations
or key issues.
Congratulations to the Finance Team on this
excellent achievement!
The Yr 8 Basketball team beat Wirral Grammar
School for Girls 31 – 12. Well done Girls!
Kyle Fox from Form 7XV has won the annual Brian Jackson Memorial
Trophy for outstanding effort and attitude at Birkenhead & Wirral
Aquarius Swimming Club. Kyle has been a member of the Club for five
years and has been known to swim 64 lengths – that’s over a mile!
His favourite race is the 50 metre freestyle.
The Year 11 Football Team progressed into the last 16 of the National
Cup. They beat Charlton High School from Telford 3-2 in an extremely
close match. Gino King, Jake Walker scored the first two, with Jamie
Smith scoring the winning goal 2 minutes from full time.
Unfortunately the team last 2-1 against Corpus Christian from Prenton
in a hard fought game at Poulton Victoria under floodlights. They now
have the Merseyside Cup Final to focus on in which they will be playing
West Derby.
The Year 9 netball team came 3rd in the
Wirral Schools Netball Tournament. All girls
played brilliantly and were a credit to the
school. Well done!
Dance rehearsals are currently taking place in preparation for the Arts Show
Case. All pupils are welcome to attend, especially Year 7’s! See Miss
McNamara for details of days and times of clubs.
Louise Brown, Health Adviser
with Wirral PCT is working with
a small group of pupils once a
week to help them stop smoking.
This opportunity is available to anyone who
wants it so please encourage pupils to see Mrs
Ward if they would like this type of support.
Mrs Talbot, Head of
Girls’ PE, is working
with Wirral Healthy
Schools Team to write an Anti-obesity Policy for
Woodchurch High School. Apparently we will be
the first Wirral school to have one! As part of
this initiative we are considering setting up a
support group for any young people who wish
to adopt a more healthy lifestyle as well as
more recreational sports clubs.
Two years ago Woodchurch achieved
healthy schools
status, helping to make Wirral one of only five
local authorities in the country where all
schools have gained this award. We are now
starting to work towards our enhanced status
by writing an action plan to further develop
our health provision.
Lea Sloan from Connexions has kindly agreed
to work with every Year 9 PSHCEE class to raise
their awareness of alcohol and its associated
risks.
Two Year 8 pupils recently attended a new
Key Stage 3 Wirral Healthy Schools Pupil Panel.
Adam Yarlett and Amy Hardwick represented
Woodchurch High, working with pupils from
other schools to devise some resources that
aim to help ease transition from primary to
secondary schools.
Jenna Kesic, a student
at John Moores University, Liverpool would
like to thank the four pupils who were interviewed by her recently about healthy eating for
her thesis.
Quite a few pupils are bringing into school cans of
drinks such as Dr Pepper, Coke and Lucozade. For over two years we have not
sold such drinks in school as they don’t comply with the government’s Food Standards. Our drinks machines include orange juice, apple juice and water. One can
of Dr Pepper or Coke contains around 40g of sugar which is equivalent to 10
teaspoons, as well as 139 calories!
These drinks have no nutritional value, can lead to tooth decay and weight problems, and can also affect behaviour and mood.
Please support the school in discouraging young people from buying these drinks or bringing them
into school as we want them to be as healthy as possible.
Do you find it difficult to speak to your son or daughter about sex and relationships? Peter Matthews from the Wirral Healthy Schools Team has offered to run a “Speakeasy” course to help parents and carers develop the confidence and skills to talk to their children about sex, sexuality and
relationships. If you are interest, please phone school and give your name to Ms Oldham, Assistant
Headteacher.
At Woodchurch we are keen to help our young people develop into active and responsible citizens
making a positive contribution both to their school, local, national and global communities. Here
are some of the things they have been doing recently.
Two Year 9 groups carried out
research into Holocaust Memorial Day which was held this
year on 27th January. They
used what they had found out
to write short speeches which they then delivered to Year 7 forms in morning registration.
This is a new initiative and a way of older pupils sharing new knowledge and understanding
with younger pupils. We hope to develop this
in the coming months on a variety of topics.
For the past few
years, Woodchurch
High School students have regularly contributed to Global Online Student Conferences about a number of
issues. During the past few weeks our School
Forum has been working to produce a film on
the topic of ‘What should adults in schools be
doing to help young people to prepare for the
future?’. The pupils were filmed by Mr Steve
Woods our new ICT Innovator and the film has
now been sent to Australia for the Conference
which will go live in March. When this happens
pupils from many different countries across the
world will be able to see and listen to the views
of our pupils. Through our VLE the School Forum is also consulting other pupils on activities
that they like to do in lessons.
Every form has now elected
2 eco-reps to help with our
green initiatives. An ecoassembly was recently held
for the eco-reps in Years 7
to 10 and pupils were
asked who would like to be
on the new Go4Green
Committee. There was a
wonderful response with lots of people applying. With the help of the Pupil Progress Leaders, the Committee has now been selected, so
congratulations to all of them. We are relying
on you to help Woodchurch High achieve its
Green Flag from Eco-schools. The committee is
also hoping to visit the new school shortly to
find out from Kier how environmentally friendly
it will be.
All the Year 9 pupils
recently completed
‘The Wirral Leisure and Recreational Survey
2010 ‘ from an
organisation called Urban Key. This asked
them to identify activities they like to do,
where they would like to do them and to highlight any gaps in provision. Pupils’ responses
will be co-ordinated and fed through to Wirral
Council.
Sea Rainey, Year 10,
has been on the Wirral
Youth Executive Board
for a few years. He recently took the decision to stand for election as
one of the 2 Wirral reps on the UK Youth Parliament. Sea spent an afternoon at the Learning
Lighthouse CLC making a promotional video to
encourage young people to vote for him. He
was the only boy standing, along with 13 girls!
We wish Sea all the best of luck with this and
are hoping lots of Woodchurch pupils will vote
for him at
www.wirral-mbc.gov.uk/UKYP/index.asp.
The year 9 pupils have been fund
raising this half term. They decided to raise money to help the
victims of the Haiti Earthquake.
The situation for Haiti was already difficult before this disaster hit the island. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the
world and is struggling to recover from years of
violence, insecurity and massive disasters.
The year 9 pupils have been collecting money
from staff and pupils during their lunchtimes.
They also held 2 cakes sale during break times
and held a secret valentine rose delivery service. Pupils could pay £1 for a rose which was
delivered anonymously to a friend of their
choice.
I am sure you will agree that they have all been
working very well to support the victims of the
Haiti Earthquake. We have raised over £1,000
which has been forwarded to the appeal fund.
The new school is progressing well, and it is expected that the
building will be watertight by early March. The poor weather at the
turn of the year slowed progress a little, but since this, the progress has been rapid. The sky lights that will flood the building via
the light wells with natural light have been lifted into position, and much of the external plant
and equipment is now in position awaiting installation. Most of the windows have been installed
and the brickwork is all but complete. The plaster work has made good progress and internal
painting has commenced in some areas.
A mock-up classroom, to show the colour scheme and ceiling layouts has been made in the new
build. The “Legacy” (equipment that will be transferring from the current school to the new
school) has been completed and submitted to the builders. Work has
commenced on the landscaping.
Weekly guided tours to see the ongoing work are arranged for pupils, staff, governors and the PTA, feedback from these tours has
been very positive.
On the weekend of 20th March, the Art Department will once again be took 42 Year 10 pupils
to Paris for a trip full of cultural experiences
including a visit to the Pompidou Centre to observe the work of Lucian Freud.
The pupils climbed to the top of the Eiffel
Tower before experiencing the artistic atmosphere of Montmartre. Also on
the itinerary was a tour of the
Sacré Coeur as well as shopping
on the Champs Elysées, taking in
the Arc de Triomphe en route.
Photographs will be available on
the VLE.
47 pupils went on the ski
trip to Austria. The pupils
skied in a resort called
the Montafon Valley
which borders Switzerland. This was by far the
best resort the school has
been to, both in terms of
the quality of skiing and the beautiful scenery.
It was a great week and all the pupils and staff
made great progress with their skiing. All the
beginners managed to ski from the top of the
mountain by the end of the week, with the intermediates and advanced groups getting a lot a ski
mileage done from the wide selection of slopes.
Mr Yarranton would like to thank all the pupils
for their excellent behaviour and enthusiasm
throughout the week and the also for the hard
work of the staff who came too. Next year’s trip
details will be launched after the Easter Holidays.
February 2010 saw the return of the famous talent show. After a lengthy audition process the
judges narrowed it down to eight acts. The acts consisted of singers, guitarists, drummers, dancers
and comedians. The final was a fiercely fought contest and after the first half of the show the audience voted for their favourite acts. After careful counting the votes were verified and the top two
acts were put forward into the second half were they would perform again and the judges would
decide who would be crowned the winner.
The two remaining acts were Sam Kydd (Guitarist & Vocals) and Steph
Birch (vocalist). After much deliberation the judges decided that Sam
Kydd should be awarded the honour. Congratulations Sam and well
done! Thanks to Year 8 for their support on the night of the final and
all the other acts that auditioned and performed.
At Woodchurch High School, we place high importance on good attendance and punctuality. Generally our pupils display excellent levels of both, unfortunately a small minority do not. Both of
these qualities are valued by Further Education Colleges and Employers. A reminder to parents/
carers that your child is expected in school by 8.45 am. If they are not in school by 9.15 am, the
Law states that this should be treated as an Unauthorised Absence and this will be coded in the
register accordingly. Continued Unauthorised Absence and lateness will be referred to our Education Social Worker. This can now result in a Fixed Penalty Notice. We are sure that all parents will
agree with us on the importance of this matter and we look forward to your continued support.
PUPIL ABSENCE HOTLINE
Direct Line
641 8218
Please telephone school on the above number to leave a message if your child is absent from
school. Please state the name of your child, his/her form and the reason for
absence.
Any absence during term time seriously hinders the continuity of a child’s education and reduces
their chances of success.
Spring Term
Close
Friday 26th March 2010
Easter Break
Monday 29th March 2010 —Friday 9th April 2010
Open
Monday 12th April 2010
Close
Friday 28th May 2010
Advance Notice
Staff Development Day
Friday 11th June 2010
End of Academic Year
Wednesday 14th July 2010 (pupils only)