Headlines February 2012

Headlines “Change your Life”

The Grange School Forum

The Adult Learning Team based in Castlefields & Kingsway are now enrolling for a wide variety of courses including everything from maths to multimedia, French to family learning and counselling to crafts.

At the Grange we also have a Parent/Carer Forum, which has already met on five occasions.

The current group consists of nine parents/carers who have met to discuss topics such as communication, how to access on-line school resources, the new school building amongst other topics. Those staff present include myself and Mr Beard who convenes the meeting, and then staff relevant to what is being discussed. The next meeting will be before Easter, so if any parent/ carer wishes to join the group, then please contact Mr Beard at the school.

For more information contact Acorn Learning Centre on 01928 573721 or Kingsway Learning Centre on 01928 4717486. Alternatively pop into one of the centres on either of the information days;  Acorn Learning Centre, Castlefields – 16th April 2012  Kingsway Learning Centre, Widnes – 17th April 2012

Halton Parent & Carer Forum Parents are the most important influence on their children's lives. Halton Parents and Carers forum believes that by working cooperatively with local service providers and commissioners parents can lead on improvements in services delivered for Children, Young People and their Families. The forum aims to provide a voice for parents and carers to enable them to make a positive contribution to the development of Child and Family services across Halton.

If you wish to get involved the next forum meetings are detailed below:  

Thursday 23rd February 10:30 Halton lodge Children‟s Centre, Runcorn Tuesday 27th March 17:30 Warrington Road Children‟s Centre, Widnes

Alternatively you can visit their website www.haltonpartnership.net/childrenstrust and click on the Parents and Carers link at the top of the page.

Halton Netball HALTON DISTRICT NETBALL TOURNAMENT – Year 10 and 11: Hosted at The Grange on 2nd Feb Year 10 came runners up in a very close competition, only missing out on the Champion spot on goal difference to St Chads.

Squad: Jessica Rigby, Anna Timms, Natalie Bennett, Amy Pinkney, Megan Crilly, Natalie Howard, and Kirsty Yates.

Year 11 were victorious for the 5th year running.

A fantastic effort from all girls and a superb achievement from our year 11 team.

Well done to you all.

Squad: Rebecca Orme, Hollie Bousfield, Carla Ormond, Katie Whitmarsh, Amy Miles, Denica Durr and Gemma Rees

February 2012 Issue The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney

Headlines Primary School Visits

GCSE Music Performance

Mr Burton works tirelessly with our primary schools to ensure that the move up to secondary school is a smooth one and part of that process involves visiting and meeting regularly with staff from the primary schools.

To develop this process further, we have begun to invite all the primary school Headteachers to visit us for an hour or two to see how well their former pupils are getting along.

Tuesday 8th February was a wonderful evening when GCSE pupils had the opportunity to perform to their family and friends.

Pupils are quite excited at the prospect of meeting up again with their former Primary School teachers and showing off how well they have progressed in their studies.

It is always a great pleasure to welcome colleagues from the primary schools and most recently we have received visits from Mr Collings and Mrs Felix from Woodside and Mr Worthington from Castleview.

We look forward to greeting many more other Headteachers and staff from our primary schools.

The evening opened with the school choir performing Rhythm of Life, followed by pupils from Years 9, 10 and 11 performing a variety of pieces including solos, duets, small ensembles, and rock bands.

For the first time ever at the Grange, a group of pupils performed a piece of music that they had composed themselves – so a big well done to Joel Mathurin, Jack Doyle and Christian Keogh.

The first half finished with an hilarious rendition of the “4 chord song” featuring Reece Moore, Ritchie Redmond and Jack McAdam entertaining the audience by literally repeating the same 4 chords to numerous different songs.

The concert ended with a Year 10 performance of Bohemian Rhapsody, which involved every Year 10 pupil who has opted for Music GCSE. Over 60 pupils were involved in the evening from year 7 through to year 11 and for many it was their first time on stage.

Thank you to all the pupils involved in producing an amazing musical evening.

February 2012 Issue The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney

Headlines New Build Update

Uniform and Appearance

The building is coming along at a fast rate as you can see from the pictures below.

School uniform and appearance plays a valuable role in contributing to the ethos of our school and sets an appropriate tone. It instils pride; supports positive behaviour; encourages students to identify with the school and ensures that pupils of all races and backgrounds feel welcome. School uniform protects students from social pressure to dress in a particular way; nurtures cohesion and promotes good relations between different groups of students.

Above all it supports effective teaching and learning.

The „topping outâ€&#x; ceremony when the roof is installed is due to take place in April which we will have more information about nearer the time.

Students must also attend school with a sensible hairstyle, which is not extreme or which includes unnatural, bright colouring or outrageous hair patterns.

Jewellery is not allowed with the exception of a watch and one plain, small stud earring in each ear; no other jewellery or piercings are allowed. Hair bands if worn, must be simple and plain.

I would like to bring to your attention an issue to do with uniform and appearance which is a cause for concern and I would like your support in resolving the issue. An increasing number of girls are arriving to school wearing excessive amounts of makeup and long false eyelashes. Where excessive makeup is worn pupils are provided with wipes and it is removed however it is often difficult for pupils to easily remove false eyelashes and therefore I would like for them not to be worn in school.

Half Term We finish for half term on Friday 10th February and re-open for all pupils on Tuesday 21st February at 8.30am.

February 2012 Issue The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney

Headlines SIMS Learning Gateway

House Cricket

The Gateway is fully operational and allows you to view your child‟s attendance, behaviour and progress along with important updates from school. If you have not yet logged on or seem to be having difficulty doing so then please contact Miss McGuffie who will be able to talk you through it. Or if you prefer make an appointment to come into school and be shown how to access it fully.

During the months of March, April and May Test Match Cricket makes a welcome return to the Grange; the first match will take place during the week of Sports Relief. Last year‟s winners were Brindley in a fiercely contested tournament. I look forward to a similarly engaging contest played out in a competitive but sporting manner. Our resident umpires Messrs Burton and Gandy will of course, ensure that proceedings are played out in the true spirit of the game. Go to our website www.thegrange.com to view a video about the upcoming tournament!

You can access the Gateway though the school‟s website www.thegrange.com.

Important Dates Tuesday 21st February: Pupils return to school.

Thursday 1st March: Y8 Parents‟ Evening.

Thursday 1st March: Y8 Science Exam.

Friday 2nd March: Y10 & 11 Maths Paper 1 Exam.

Monday 5th March: Y10&11 Maths Paper 2 Exam.

Thursday 8th March: Y11 Art Exam.

Thursday 15th March: Y9 Parents‟ Evening.

Monday 19th March: Y11 Drama Exam Prep Day. Tuesday 20th March: Y11 Art Exam.

Tuesday 20th March: Y11 Showcase Evening.

Wednesday 21st: March: Y11 Showcase Evening.

Wednesday 21st: March: Dance Concert.

Thursday 22nd March: Y8 Pathways Evening.

Monday 27th March: Y11 Drama Exam.

Friday 30th March: Finish for Easter Half Term.

Monday 16th April: Pupils return to school.

Mr Burton and Mr Gandy make the draw for the first round of matches.

February 2012 Issue The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney