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April  09

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**** Archive of Newsletters

 

8th June 2009

 

Alder Hey Hospital Visit

 

On 2nd April 2009 we spent the afternoon at Alder Hey Hospital giving out Easter eggs that had been so kindly donated by Bridgewater staff and pupils, to children who have been diagnosed with leukaemia.

 

Mrs Mason, mother of son and ex-Bridgewater pupil Michael who sadly died of leukaemia aged only 17, wants to get students like ourselves to bring a smile to the faces of the young children, helping them hopefully, to cope with their treatment.

 

This was a very touching experience.  It was nothing like we had expected, we thought everyone would be upset and dismal, but no, everyone in the leukaemia section was happy, nurses included.  There were children of all ages, from 2 to 17 years old.  Some patients were not leukaemia sufferers themselves but were donating marrow or blood to their ill siblings.

 

When we were giving out the eggs not only were the children delighted but also their families.  We talked to them about ourselves and Bridgewater High School.

 

We would like our link with the hospital to continue.  We noticed on our tour that the walls of the unit are very bare.  Mrs Mason has asked the hospital if as we are a specialist arts college, we could decorate some of the walls with our artwork to make the place seem bright and cheerful.  We are hoping this project will start soon.  We want to try and make the ward seem homely whilst the children receive their sometimes very difficult treatment.

 

This was a trip to hospital to remember for all the right reasons.

 

Becky Murphy 11TP, Charlotte Smith 11TE

 

 

1st June 2009

 

A very successful two weeks for our Year 10 students,in their work placements.  Employer reports are beginning to arrive in school and some lovely remarks are made by them.  Students have found a great variety of opportunities this year and as usual a party went on the “Look at Life” residential course with the Army.  Eight students took part in the “Jump on Board” programme, based in Warrington, undertaking activities such as:  first aid, D.J’ing, looking at job roles in Ikea, team building with the army and mock interviews.

 

Year 10 students have also taken part in the Lionheart Enterprise Challenge, where they worked in groups on the theme of ROAD SAFETY.

 

An overall winning team will be competing in the North West Regional Finals in Liverpool on Monday 6th July 2009.  We wish them all the best.

 

Year 9 students will be spending two days at Upper School on the 17th/18th June.  On the Thursday, they will have an induction into work experience.  Students will be given all necessary paperwork, including a self placement form, to enable them to find and secure a placement during the summer break.

 

S Statham

Careers/Enterprise

 

May 2009

 

Congratulations to all of our year 9 pupils for their excellent results in the first module of their Mathematics GCSE.  100% of pupils passed the exam and 84% of pupils achieved A* to C.  The maths department has been impressed by the ambition and determination of more than 100 pupils who have decided to resit the module in order to achieve a better mark.

 

Thanks is also due to all year 9 maths teachers and to Mrs Kandola, Mr Sillifant, Mrs Jervis, Miss Beswick and Mrs Archer for their extra revision sessions after school.

 

Mrs Heald KS3 Maths Co-ordinator

 

8th May 2009 History Department Trip to the World War One Battlefields 3rd-6th April 2009

 

On a cold April morning The History Department and 44 Year 9 pupils set off from school on our way to Belgium and France.  The whole party was eager to reach our destination and see the battlefields for ourselves.  The journey went smoothly and we reached Belgium in good time.  In trying to find our hotel we encountered our first obstacle which was to prove a challenge for the duration of the staff’s tour of duty – a driver with no sense of direction or an ability to read a map.  Thank goodness for Mr Aleksic’s map reading skills and fluent French!

 

Our second day dawned cold and misty and this definitely added to the sombre mood as we visited two huge cemeteries, one British and one German, in the Flander’s battlefields.  The respectful and thoughtful response of the students was very moving.  Our spirits lifted as we toured our first excavated trench structure and the pupils had a genuine picture of how the trenches would have looked and felt.  Lunch and copious amounts of chocolate in Ypres also helped to restore a buoyant mood!  A fascinating afternoon was spent exploring restored British and German trenches.

 

That evening we travelled back to Ypres to experience the Last Post at Menin Gate.  The Gate commemorates 55,000 men who fought in the Ypres area but who have no known grave.  This act of remembrance occurs every evening and has done since the end of World war One (with a short break during the second war).  There were hundreds of visitors there but the respectful silence was immaculately observed and again this was an extremely moving experience.

 

On day three we travelled to the Somme which contained one fascinating site after another.  The most poignant stop was at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing which remembered 75,000 men who died fighting in the Somme.  The phenomenal size and extent of the monument was astonishing.  The majority of the party probably enjoyed the Newfoundland Park best as the battlefield had been preserved and we could really imagine being in No Man’s Land  and could see the remnants of the trenches, shell holes and mine craters.

 

The last day was spent touring around Vimy Ridge where the Allies finally started to make significant advances in 1917 which eventually led to the end of the war.  Although by this stage we had seen many cemeteries and memorials, our breath was still taken away by the massive scale of the German cemetery at Neuville St Vaast.  There were crosses as far as the eye could see, so many that they were blurred into the horizon.  Our last stop was the Vimy Memorial to the Canadian dead and then we made our way back home.

 

Everyone on the trip had a fantastic time and we have gained many lasting memories.  The staff and pupils are very grateful to Mrs Mottershead for organising such an unforgettable experience.

  


2nd April 2009 Headslines

For many of our students, this half term started with a series of assemblies about our trip to Soweto in South Africa, which had taken place during February half term.  I was privileged to visit Forte High School along with two colleagues and four students as part of our cultural and educational exchange programme which is supported by the British Council.  For all of us, it would be fair to say that the trip was a life changing experience and seeing how two schools, in such radically different environments, can actually have so much in common was for me one of the most interesting parts of the experience.  Whilst we were there, the students identified an exciting way to develop our links further.  Forte High School run their own eco garden programme in order to produce food that can support their learners and we too have developed the “quad” area at the Upper School as an eco garden which we plan to use as an educational resource.  The intention is to run these two garden projects in parallel and last Saturday over twenty students helped to dig and drain the quad area at Upper School in preparation for growing food, conducting eco experiments and developing curriculum enrichment activities.  If any parent with a background in gardening feels that they could support us in any way in developing this link, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

This term is traditionally when Y11 begin their final preparation for GCSEs, whilst Y9 start the process of choosing the GCSE programme they wish to embark on and both activities are progressing well.  As you may recall, a focus area for me is to move the outstanding progress Ofsted judge us to be making at KS3 and KS4 and move this into the sixth form and I was delighted that the recent AS units taken by students this January indicate very strong progress.  We are also working on plans to refurbish the whole sixth form area to create a learning environment fit for the type of outstanding outcomes and experience we want our students to have.  A group of sixth formers, as well as a  design company, are working closely on this project and more details will be available next term.

 

Bridgewater students can always be relied upon to show their generosity with regards to all sorts of charitable activities and this term was no exception.  We had a very successful Comic Relief day and students have also raised money for other good causes including collecting Easter eggs for Alder Hey hospital.  This commitment to the wider educational experience can also be seen in the range of extra curricular activities and enrichment events that have taken place, including Enterprise Days for Y8, theatre trips and visits to a local nursing home where our students sang and performed for residents.  Also, as part of our role as a leading Arts College for the North West, we recently hosted the Arts College North West conference which brought lead professionals together from across the region to allow for the sharing of good practice.

 

Like many schools, Bridgwater is now entering that period of the year when recruitment becomes a key activity and earlier this term the Governing Body appointed Mrs Hatton as the new Deputy Headteacher at Lower following a rigorous interview process and I wish her all the best in this role.

 

Finally as Easter is well upon us, may I take this opportunity to wish everyone a relaxing and enjoyable break.

 

Tim Long – Headteacher

 

30/03/09 GCSE Geography students survey Stockton Heath

Last week our GCSE Geography classes were surveying Stockton Heath as part of their Coursework.  They could be seen classifying landuse around the village, questioning people using the shops and residential areas, and undertaking a number of individual projects to assess how land values, pedestrian foot traffic and differing resources that are put into various parts of Stockton Heath.


 
24/03/09    FILM REVIEW                                                                          

After school trip to the Cornerhouse Cinema in Manchester to see the Award Winning French Film ‘The Class’, Friday 27th February 2009.  What a challenging film it was1  Not your usual Friday evening entertainment but a thought provoking and philosophical documentary style piece which showed the day reality-with its sudden flashes of both tension and humour-of inner city life.  As always, Bridgewater students were a real pleasure to take out.  For anyone interested, don’t forget that in the upper school library there are lots of subtitled foreign films to borrow-Romance to Adventure and everything in between.

A Orde                         

 

As the winner of the Palm d’Or, at the Cannes Film Festival, ‘The Class’ is an intriguing drama that recounts the tale of a teacher and his students in a Parisian high school.  It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by the same name (but originally ‘Entre les Murs’ in French), by Francois Begaudeau, who also takes the lead role in the film.

 

‘The Class’ offers a tantalising insight into the lives of the teachers, showing their struggle to cope with the outspoken, street wise city kids that enter their classroom each morning.  Each defeat and victory of the students is typical of the real life drama that occurs each day in virtually every school, and by the end of the film, the viewer is left with a much deeper appreciation of what any teacher must go through to help them.

 

Emma Walker Y10

 

17/03/09  UKMT MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE

 

Some Bridgewater pupils from years 9 and 10 took part in this years UKMT Mathematics Challenge in February. The event is organised by Leeds University and is a national competition.  Special congratulations go to John Corbridge in year 10 who was successful in reaching the second round of the competition.  The mathematics department are now waiting to hear from Leeds University to see if John has progressed to round 3.  Good luck John.

 

Mr Gledhill

Mathematics Department

 

06/03/09 ECOSCHOOLS

There will be a meeting held at upper site for any staff or students who would like to help with the creation of the Eco garden.  The meeting will be held from 3.30-4.00 on Thursday 13/03/09 in the TLC.  Bring your green minds.   Mr Bennett


06/03/09  CONGRATULATIONS
to the year 8 girls’ hockey team who beat the Heath 1-0.  The match was brilliant and the girls deserved their win.   Mrs Pennington

 

13/02/09 HEADSLINES

 

We are fast approaching half term and I hope that it will provide an opportunity for pupils, parents and staff to relax and enjoy themselves.

 

We have a ski party heading off to Austria while I have the privilege of being part of a small group of pupils and staff visiting Forte High School in Soweto, South Africa.  You may  be aware that we have a long standing cultural and educational exchange programme with this school.  A number of their students and staff visited us last July and I am very much looking forward to seeing their educational system at first hand and exploring ways in which we can further develop our links.

 

As you will be well aware, Bridgewater High School benefits significantly from its Specialist status, something that is always reviewed after an Ofsted Inspection.  There is a fixed six week timeline for a school to seek “redesignation” and we were delighted to have our status reconfirmed just after Christmas.  This will, therefore, continue to provide us with the opportunities and resources to enhance, not just the Arts subjects, but also support all our subjects in raising achievement and broadening the enrichment opportunities available.

 

As ever we have continued to run a wide range of extra curricular activities and I would like to thank all the pupils who have taken part, the staff who have led them and the parents who have supported their children in attending these activities.  Despite the weather, a range of sports fixtures have still gone ahead.  In addition to the team sports, the PE department are also working very hard as part of a broader Warrington based project to develop healthy lifestyles among all pupils.  We were delighted to host, for example, a Virtual Multi-Skills event for Y2 pupils which was successfully run by our Year 10 Sports leaders.  With regards to healthy eating, I would also like to congratulate Chartwells, our catering contractor, (formerly Scolarest) for achieving the “Healthy Food Award” with distinction.  Also whilst I write, we are entering the final week of term when our school play “10 Days of Peace” is performed and I am sure it will, as ever, prove to be hugely enjoyable and entertaining experience.

 

As a school we also had the privilege again of inviting Rudi Oppenheimer, a holocaust survivor, to address some of our students.  His thought-provoking and moving account of his experiences certainly made an impact.  This time of year is also an important one for our students to reflect upon the opportunities they face, particularly if they are in Y9 and Y11.  For example, on the Tuesday after half term all Y11 students will take part in our “GCSE and Beyond” day.  This day is designed to give students a sense of the A level opportunities we provide by allowing students to take part in a variety of “mini” A level lessons.  We also talk to students again about the wide course offer we have, the enrichment opportunities and above all the support and monitoring we now have in place to ensure that the outstanding progress they are currently achieving rolls forward into the sixth form.  Similarly Y9 pupils are currently receiving extensive advice about the options available to them when they move to the Upper site as part of their KS4 curriculum.  This culminates in the Option Evening held at the Upper Site on Thursday 5th March and a letter will be sent out about this shortly.

 

Finally in the week after half term we will be interviewing for a new Deputy Headteacher at Lower Site to take over the role created by my appointment as headteacher.  This post received substantial national interest and our final short list is drawn from people across England and I am confident we will be able to make an outstanding appointment.  In the meantime I hope you all have a good half term break.

 

Tim Long

Headteacher  

 

13/02/09   Good luck to all Y9 students sets 2-6 who will be taking their 1st GCSE Maths module after half term on Tuesday 3rd March.  This module is 18% of their GCSE.

 

Miss C Beswick

Head of Mathematics

 

10/02/09  Homework Support Club

 

We are pleased to inform you that, commencing after half term, all pupils in Years 7 and 8 will have the opportunity to attend homework club every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  This will take place in the lower school library between 3.15 and 4.15pm.  The first session will take place on Tuesday  24th February.

 

The sessions will be fully supervised by teaching staff.  Although they may not necessarily be your child’s teachers, they will be available to offer support or advice.  Students are welcome to attend on a voluntary, drop in basis and it is their responsibility to bring work with them.  Depending on numbers, we may extend this facility to Year 9 at a later date.   Mr B McCahey


03/02/09  CHILDREN IN NEED

We are proud to say that here at Bridgewater High School, pupils have been doing everything they can to raise money for ‘Children in Need.’  The fundraising events include car boot sales, cake stalls, guess how many sweets in the jar, sponsored silences and guess the name of the bear.  We are delighted to announce that all in all we have together raised an amazing £150.00.  Many thanks to Charlotte Carter-Shepherd, Freya Rush, Helen Young, Kate Fomina, myself (Natalie Williams), Ffion Williams, Ruth Samlofski-Jones, Abi Harries and Katie Moore and friends.  We couldn’t have done it without you and every penny will go to a good cause.

 

Natalie Williams   

14/01/09  CATERING ASSISTANT VACANCY

2x10 hour posts

2 hours per day

12.30-2.30pm

£6.10 per hour

(spread over year)

All kitchen duties, including washing up, food preparation and serving.  All training to be given, experience not essential.  Uniform provided.

For more information please contact Paul on:  10925 216044

 

08/01/09 Maths – NSPCC Childline Sponsored Charity Event

 

Just before Christmas Year 7 took part in a sponsored charity event.  Each pupil completed a ‘Mathionaire’ quiz during their maths lessons and collected sponsorship according to the number of questions they got correct.  The maths department have been absolutely overwhelmed by the response.  Year 7 collected an amazing £996.17!!!  We really appreciate the efforts of all the pupils and parents in Year 7 and we are sure that Childline will be equally grateful.

 

Mrs Kandola-Maths Department

 

06/01/09  Careers News  Friday 28th November 2008 – Yr 10 Careers Day

 

All Year 10 students followed a day of career based workshops:

 

·        Interview technique

·        Financial budgeting via an interactive “Holiday Planner” produced by RBS

·        Health and Safety preparation for Work Experience

·        Careers Fair, supported by Universities, Sixth Form Colleges, Training Providers, Apprenticeships, the Uniformed and Public Services.

·        “Hands on” activities, some examples being:  DJ, floristry, hair and beauty, painting, fitness, RAF, Marines and Computer Games Design.

 

Feedback from the students has been very positive and they responded very well to all activities.  The day was supported by school staff and many outside companies and agencies who gave freely of their time.  I am sure the students benefited from the day and took away some useful information to help them make some decisions about their future.

 

“Make your Mark” Enterprise Event, Warrington Collegiate

 

Eight Year 10 students represented Bridgewater:  Elizabeth Heaven, Natalie Lyons, Daniel Tidd, James Bennett, John Corbridge, Chris Owen, Chris Wooolley, Mark Williams

 

They had to come up with a business idea on the key values of the Olympics.  Their Business Plan created a charity to raise funds, in the support of disabled children, to enable participation in a variety of sporting activities.  Unfortunately they did not go through to the next round, but competed well against the College students.  Staff were extremely impressed with their work and conduct.

 

Congrats Theatre Company

 

All Year 10 students watched a live performance outlining all learning routes available post 16:- work based learning, college and sixth form, Way a head and information on EMA, including services offered by Connexions.

 

Work Experience

 

All self placement forms should now have been handed in to Mrs Barlow, and students, following an interview with the Army, now know if they have been accepted.