March 2010 - Woodchurch High School
Transcription
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)