Newsletter - Whitworth Community High School

Hallfold, Whitworth, Rochdale
Lancashire, OL12 8TS
Tel (01706) 343218
www.wchs.co
Newsletter
Spring Term Issue 12
Thursday 24th March 2016
Calendar
Dear parents and carers
School closes today for the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend and reopens next Tuesday 29 th March.
Congratulations to all Y7 and Y8 students who have completed their examinations this week.
Their behaviour and attitude has been exemplary throughout and we are very proud of the
serious approach they have taken to the examinations. As you know, most GCSE subjects will be
assessed entirely by examination in the future, so it is vital that our students get used to the
demands of this kind of formal assessment as early as possible.
On the subject of attitude and behaviour, please note the following reminders regarding school
policy. The school’s Behaviour for Learning Policy / Exclusion Policy is there to ensure the
highest standards of behaviour and to therefore ensure all our young people achieve the best
possible outcomes.
School uniform – clear guidance is in student planners. After the Easter weekend, all
students must return wearing the correct school tie; skirts of an appropriate length ie
not more than 3 inches above the knee and a style which meets the standard in the student
planner (girls). Students must not wear ‘hoodies’ either under or on top of blazers including on
the way to school. Footwear should also meet the guidelines in the planner.
Jewellery and makeup are not allowed, neither are hairstyles or colours which do not match the
guidance in the planner. The vast majority of our students meet our high standards of dress and
appearance every day – it is essential that everyone does so. Any student not meeting these
standards will be given a sanction and parents contacted as necessary. Correct uniform indicates
that students are ready to learn, buy into our ethos and are proud to be members of the school.
Our 7 Respects make explicit the expectation that all students must behave and speak
respectfully at all times – to their peers and to staff as well as in the wider community. All
students are expected to be ambassadors for our school. This means wearing uniform correctly
– including on the way to and from school; having respect for the school’s reputation at all times;
having respect for the local community and being proud to be members of the school
community.
Last week, two students went to help an older woman who had fallen in the garden whilst
visiting a friend. They helped her to her feet, checked that she was not injured and offered their
support. This is exactly what we would expect our young people to do. Our fire cadets continue
their weekly training, to equip them to take the lead in demanding situation; our collection box
of food bank items for Lent for the Raft Foundation is almost full. Whilst our standing in the
community is strong, it relies on all students behaving responsibly; being aware of the needs of
others and considering how their actions and language might reflect on themselves and on our
school. It would be helpful if parents were to reiterate this message.
Finally, there has been considerable mention in the media of sexting lately. ChildLine defines it:
‘Sexting is when someone sends or receives a sexually explicit text, image or video on their
mobile phone, usually in a text message’. In this Newsletter is some brief information and a link
to NSPCC advice for parents, to support you in keeping your child safe.
Best wishes for an excellent Easter weekend.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Best wishes
March
2016
24.03.16
School closes at 3pm
25.03.16—28.03.16
School closed for
Good Friday and
Easter Monday
29.03.16
School reopens
Attendance Challenge
starts
April
2016
04.04.16
3rd Y11 Mock Exam
Week
08.04.16
Commendation
Assemblies
School closes for end
of Spring term break
25.04.16
School re-opens for
Summer Term
26.04.16
HT coffee morning
Commendation
Assembly
Fire Cadets at Fire
Service Training
Centre—Chorley
27.04.16
Y7 Parents’ Evening
5pm—7pm
Mrs G Middlemas
Headteacher
Climbing higher!
School Website : www.wchs.co
Newsletter
Hallfold, Whitworth, Rochdale
Lancashire, OL12 8TS
Tel (01706) 343218
www.wchs.co
SEXTING: Information for students and parents from the NSPCC:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SEXTING:

It’s not harmless:
Young people may see 'sexting' as harmless activity but there are risks. Taking,
sharing or receiving an image, even voluntarily, can have a long-lasting negative impact.

It’s illegal:
It may be common but 'sexting' is illegal. By sending an explicit image, a young person is producing and distributing child abuse images and risks being
prosecuted, even if the picture is taken and shared with their permission.

No control of images and how they are shared:
It's easy to send a photo or message but the sender has no control about how it's passed on.
When images are stored or shared online they become public. They can be
deleted on social media or may only last a few seconds on apps like Snapchat, but images can
still be saved or copied by others.
These images may never be completely removed and could be found in the future, for example
when applying for jobs or university.




Young people may think 'sexting' is harmless but it can leave them vulnerable to:
Blackmail An offender may threaten to share the pictures with the child's
family and friends unless the child sends money or more images.
Bullying If images are shared with their peers or in school, the child may be
bullied.
Unwanted attention Images posted online can attract the attention of sex offenders, who
know how to search for, collect and modify images.
Emotional distress Children can feel embarrassed and humiliated. If they are very distressed
this could lead to self harm.
Advice for parents and carers on how to approach the topic of sexting with children and young
people is available at:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/sexting/
Should any parent / carer require a hard copy of this advice, please contact the Pastoral team.
Latest E-Safety update for parents, carers and students
Please go to the link below for details on OOVOO. This is a newish video chat
service which is becoming more popular with young people. OOVOO brings with it
some e-safety concerns with which parents and carers need to be familiar.
http://www.net-aware.org.uk/networks/oovoo/
Climbing higher!
School Website : www.wchs.co
Newsletter
Hallfold, Whitworth, Rochdale
Lancashire, OL12 8TS
Tel (01706) 343218
www.wchs.co
Joint concert at the school with Whitworth Vale and Healey Youth Brass Band
On Wednesday last week, the School Wind Band and the School Training band performed
in a joint concert with Whitworth Vale and Healey Youth Brass Band. The audience was
treated to a wide variety of wonderful music. Amy Morgan performed a guitar/vocal solo,
Samantha Houghton and Georgia Atherton performed vocal solos. The bands performed
their own individual programmes as well as a
collaborative programme. Music from the
bands included: Highland Cathedral; Grease;
Bohemian Rhapsody; Haven’t Met You Yet;
Pirates of the Caribbean and Cool Cat Blues.
Funds raised as a result of the concert will go
towards purchasing music for both bands.
Students and staff really enjoyed the experience
of playing with other young musicians from the
community and it is hoped that this will become
an annual event.
Thank you to everyone involved in making the concert a wonderful evening.
Anyone interested in joining Whitworth Vale and Healey Youth Brass Band please contact Mrs Oxford at
Whitworth Community High School.
School CD
The Y10 music BTEC class have created a 2015/16 school CD. They have
overseen the whole process from auditioning performers to recording the
music and designing packaging. There are a few good items on the CD
including a piano solo from Cole Proctor and a lovely piece of solo singing by
Georgia Atherton so you might enjoy a listen in your cars. The group have
chosen to donate all profits made to the British Red Cross (this is a charity that
one of the class volunteers for every weekend). So your money will go to a
good cause at £3 per copy. Available from Mr Oliver, Curby Newsham, Brandon
Ravenscroft, Georgia Atherton, Ewan Davies, Jack Birch or Brogan McGarry.
Netball
Our Y8 girls’ Netball team played 3 matches in a
tournament on Monday this week at Haslingden High
School. We did not win the first two
matches but won the last match 8-0 against
Haslingden High School Combined Team. The girls
displayed excellent sportsmanship skills with the other
teams. Comments were made on how smart our new
Netball kit looks and all the girls were very proud.
Congratulations and well done to all the players:
Jessica Butterworth; Leah Butterworth; Nicole
Whitehead; Jorga Slicker; Abigail Dawson; Codie
Barron; Holly Butcher; Samer Qureshi; Jessica
Burton.
Climbing higher!
School Website : www.wchs.co
Newsletter
Hallfold, Whitworth, Rochdale
Lancashire, OL12 8TS
Tel (01706) 343218
www.wchs.co
World Book Day
World Book Day was once again a success; not even the wintery conditions could keep our staff
and students from celebrating in style. Many students and staff created fantastic costumes to
become characters from a wide variety of books – from childhood favourites such as the ‘Mr Men
and Little Miss’ series to a mobile library and the Highway code. The prizewinning faculty was –
not surprisingly – Science with their impressive representation of 101 Dalmatians complete with
Cruella De Vil. Great individual student costumes were everywhere – with Lauren Phee’s ‘Mad
Hatter’ and Curby Newsham’s giant chicken.
Both staff and students voted for their favourites with the winners being awarded prizes as
follows:
Best Dressed— Lauren
Phee—(The Mad Hatter)
Climbing higher!
School Website : www.wchs.co
Newsletter
Hallfold, Whitworth, Rochdale
Lancashire, OL12 8TS
Tel (01706) 343218
www.wchs.co
World Book Day
Climbing higher!
School Website : www.wchs.co
Newsletter
Hallfold, Whitworth, Rochdale
Lancashire, OL12 8TS
Tel (01706) 343218
www.wchs.co
Food bank collection for the RAFT Foundation
Thank you to all families who have personally donated to the food bank collection
during Lent. The crate is now full and Mr Oliver has arranged for the items to be
delivered to the Raft Foundation this weekend.
Creative Writing competition
In addition to the events on World Book Day, we also introduced a Creative Writing competition in
the lead up to the big day. Students were asked to produce a creative piece of writing inspired by
one of the three pictures provided amounting to no more than 200 words. We had some fantastic
entries which really demonstrated the creative flair some of our students possess. After much
deliberation, the entries were shortlisted and students were given the task of voting for the
winner. Congratulations to Oliver Norris who claimed first prize - an Amazon Fire tablet. Well done!
You’ll find his winning entry below.
Once again, thank you to all staff and students who made this year’s World Book Day a success!
Creative Writing winner: Oliver Norris
Nervous, so dreadfully nervous I am. But still I find myself here, I know why I'm here, but what am I facing?
A house. I'm facing a house. How could anything made of brick and mortar be so terrifying? But I know I need to
do it. I limp towards it. The pain that strikes my leg is not dissimilar to when I last fought it. This time,
however, I will strike it off the earth. I'm sure.
Entering, fungi spread in a minute network of eaves reached from beam to beam, leaving damp marks trailing
behind them. We can walk into a place like this and walk out with the living embodiment of evil in chains,
under our control. That's when I saw 'it'...
The creature unfastened the clasp at its throat, and the cloak slithered over its scaly hide and off its body. As it
unfolded itself to its full height, looking slightly down upon me, I noticed how the blue-green scales of its back
gave way to yellow on its chest, silvered in the moonlight. But what struck me most were the thing's black, sickle
-like claws and the fangs protruding from its elongated mouth. Then 'it' lunged...
Cli
School Website : www.wchs.co