GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Team Camp Monday 21st July saw the first day of the summer holidays and the first day of Team Camp at The Grange. ‘Campers’ cautiously arrived, not sure what to expect and were instantly thrown into a number of activities. Any inhibitions or worries seemed like a distant memory by lunch time as they tucked into their ham sandwiches and apples. Team Camp offered a unique opportunity for 30 Year 6 students to experience a two week fun filled learning programme, which prepared them for their transition into Year 7. From games such as Team Attack, Raid & Trade and the always competitive Ultimate Frisbee, to innovative lessons in English, maths and science, the students were fully engaged and involved throughout.
A major focus within the programme is to help students improve their English and maths skills prior to starting Year 7, encouraging them to adopt the mind set of perseverance and positivity. The students from The Grange set new Team Camp records, being the first camp to achieve a 100% improvement rate, with ALL students progressing in both English and maths. This is an achievement we are very proud of, especially as many students improved by a full level.
Our students were not just motivated and encouraged by the Team Camp staff or teachers but also by our newly recruited Franklin Scholars. This group of Year 10 students has recently been set up within school to help the Year 7s with their transition from primary to secondary. The Franklin Scholars were a great help throughout the two weeks, working closely with the younger students, helping them in all aspects of the course. We are very thankful that we have such a mature group of students who were willing to give up their time during the summer break in support of other younger students. Team Camp was not just about academic success as there was a great emphasis placed on the students familiarising themselves with the building, talking to staff about what they could expect and making new friends. Through dance, drama and team sports the students developed skills of team work and throughout the camp there was a great sense of friendship and respect between all involved. All learning at Team Camp was based around three things: Resilience, Positive Mind-set and Social Intelligence. There is no doubt that these qualities can be found in all of the participants from the camp and we look forward to seeing each of them progress and grow throughout their time at The Grange, building on what they have learnt so far.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
First day at The Grange The first day for Year 7 students as they move into the secondary school can bring a real mix of emotions, from nervous excitement to trepidation but that really didn't appear to be the case this year. Our new year 7 have benefitted from the smooth induction process that our 'all through' school offers and it has been very pleasing to see the students so well prepared for the challenges ahead. Day one began with an assembly where students were welcomed into the Year Team by Progress Leader, Mr Talbot who urged them to begin 'making memories' by taking advantage of the ever increasing range of opportunities available to them at The Grange. From here it was into form groups for a 'team photo' in their splendid new uniforms and a series of teambuilding activities, before lessons began in earnest. After assembly, Y7 spent the morning in their Tutor groups with their Progress Tutor and then after lunch they went to their first lesson. I was lucky enough to meet my new Y7 class and started teaching them straight away. I’m looking forward to meeting the remainder of Y7 over the next half term and spending time in some of their classes. Mr Talbot said at the end of the first day, “It has been wonderful to see our new students bursting with pride at the start of this stage of their learning journey and we look forward to working closely with you in the future.” I echo his comments and look forward also to helping Y7 make some wonderful memories.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney. The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
July 2013 Issue
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines School Fantasy League
The Grange Welcome Imagine8 Junior Netball Club We are pleased to announce that Imagine8 Junior Netball Club are now training at The Grange. The club has a history of success in the Cheshire Junior Netball League and a number of their players have gone on to represent Cheshire County and the North West Region. The club boasts level 2 coaching and a highly dedicated committee of parents to ensure all players are provided with top quality coaching and competitive situations. Training takes place every Tuesday as follows: Under 10s and 11’s Under 12s and U13s Under 14s and 15s
6pm-7pm 7pm-8pm 8pm-9pm
The club are currently looking to recruit players in the following age groups: Year 4, 5 and 6 for the U10 and 11 session Years 9 and 10 for the U14 and 15 session The club offers taster sessions, whereby players ability and dedication to training can be assessed. For f u r th e r i n f o rm a ti o n , p l ea s e c o n t ac t imagine8nc@outlook.com or speak to Mrs J Thomson in school.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of
After a very successful season last year, when almost 100 members of staff and students were involved in our competition, we will be launching our own school league again, for the new season, in the next few weeks. We organise our competition on both an individual basis and as an interhouse competition, within the school. The competition runs for eight months and managers of the month are named and all participants in the league are kept informed of their team’s position throughout the season. HOUSE COMPETITION The winning house last season was CASTLE HOUSE with Mr Mooney’s 9 MOOfc team who returned a massive 1,303 points. INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION The winning individual manager was Mr. Downey whose team of ‘Downey’s Diddymen’ kept my team, ‘Gaswork’s X1’, at bay for most of the season. I am determined to challenge his dominance of the competition this season and have already sorted out my squad! If you would like to have a team in our league please contact Mr Burton by email (bur@thegrange.com) and he will forward you the details and keep you informed as to your team’s progress. We aim to have our league up and running by the beginning of October.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
A warm welcome We have a number of new staff joining us this term who I am pleased to introduce.
Mrs Hughes - Science
Mr McLindon - Curriculum Leader for English
Mr Beavon - Music
Mr Elliott - English
Miss Carter - Teaching Assistant
Miss Allen - English
Miss Stratford - Teaching Assistant
Miss Taylor - Mathematics
Mrs Toole - Teaching Assistant
Dr Humphrey - Science
Miss Wood - Teaching Assistant
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Maths goes viral
Maths teaser
Answer will be in next month’s edition.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Grange Graduation: celebrating success We are very proud of our Graduation process. It provides a structure for students that encourage them to focus their efforts in key areas which we feel are important. It also gives them a chance to be rewarded for their academic progress, attendance and participation in school and the community. The criteria for Graduation focuses on four key areas and to graduate at the end of a school year students are required to show that they have: - Achieved academically and reached their ‘Minimum Expected Grades’ (MEGs) - Shown understanding of and demonstrated the 6 Rs of learning Reasoning, Resourcefulness, Reflection, Responsibility Resilience and Reading. - Maintained good attendance. - Shown commitment to extra-curricular or community activities these can be based both inside and outside of school. Out of hours
Vivos
Attendance
3 hours
100
95% in any period
Reach target in any 5 subjects
6 hours
150
Reach target in English & maths plus 6 other subjects
12 hours
200
95% in any 2 periods 95% at the end of period 3
Period 1
3rd September 2014 -- 21st November 2014
Period 2
24th November 2014 -- 27th February 2015
Period 3
2nd March 2015 -- 5th June 2015
During the last 6 years, Grange Graduation has had a dramatic impact on students’ motivation and achievement. It has been very positively received by both students and parents and carers. Large numbers of students have achieved all of the requirements and enjoyed a celebration afternoon in a purpose built marquee surrounded by fellow graduates and family. Every student has the opportunity to become not only a Grange Graduate but a Gold Grange Graduate. This is something I encourage students to aspire to and believe they can achieve. At the end of the year, with family and friends looking on, you can see just how proud we all feel about their achievements, including the youngsters, as they collect their scrolls on stage in the marquee.
Progress
Reach target in all subjects
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Grange Alumna returns to the Grange Former student of the Grange, Rachel Taylor made a return visit to the Grange recently. Rachel was a student at the Grange from 2004-2009 and left with 10 good GCSEs including an A* in mathematics. It was no surprise then, that Rachel continued to study mathematics at Sixth Form and then went to Sheffield Hallam University to study mathematics. Earlier this year she graduated with a 2:1 Honours degree and this year will train to become a teacher. We asked Rachel why she had decided to become a teacher and this is what she said: “After the support and assistance that I received whilst attending The Grange I decided that I would use my degree to become a secondary school mathematics teacher. This decision was made when I reflected upon how enthusiastic the teachers at The Grange were in helping me fulfil my potential; on Monday 8th September I will be in the final stage of completing my dream to become a mathematics teacher by beginning my PGCE at Hope University.”
Attendance Matters Regular attendance at school is vital to help pupils achieve and get the best possible start in life. Thank you to all parents and carers for your on-going support which saw an end of year attendance figure of 95%. This reflects the positive partnership that we have to ensure that attendance at The Grange continues to rise year upon year. Could I please remind parents and carers that should your child be absent to; -Inform school of the reason of absence prior to 9am. -Inform school of any medical issues that may affect your child’s attendance. -Contact school and speak with the Attendance Team should there be any concerns about your child’s attendance. Thank you for your continued support
Congratulations Rachel and good luck this year!
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Accelerated Reader - A Celebration of our ‘Millionaires’ Accelerated Reader is a programme that The Grange incorporates into the English curriculum as a method of improving/increasing reading and literacy skills for Year 7 students. Through using the software, teachers can create a reading programme to meet the needs of every student on the programme. The aim of the programme is to encourage independent reading practice, giving students the confidence to choose books that are both challenging and manageable. The results should produce a two year reading growth in just one academic year, whilst the students can feel pride and a sense of achievement when their reading and literacy improves. Last year, a number of our students reached the prestigious one million words mark.
Callum Thomas, a member of the Millionaires’ Club since Year 8, really enjoys his reading. To date he’s read 1, 391, 696 words! FAVOURITE BOOK: Stand by Me, Stephen King The best thing about AR and Reading lessons: the opportunity to enjoy and discuss our reading. The AR programme and Reading lessons helped me progress and i have become more aware of strategies to help me read and improve.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
Alex Randles 9WLM, has read a total of 1,393,652 words and regularly helps out in the library. FAVOURITE BOOK: Mates, Dates and Mad Mistakes by Cathy Hopkins THE BEST THING ABOUT AR AND READING LESSONS: We got to read our favourite books and learn lots of new vocabulary.
Megan Hutton, an avid reader from 9WLM, is currently on 1,053,117 words. FAVOURITE BOOK: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson THE BEST THING ABOUT AR AND READING LESSONS: Keeping track of progress and the opportunity to read for pleasure.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Celebrate the European Day of Languages
Did you know that….? There are between 6000 and 7000 languages in the World with about 225 indigenous languages in Europe. At least half of the World’s population are bilingual or plurilingual – they speak or understand two or more languages.
Most of the World’s languages are spoken in Asia and Africa. Learning one foreign language can enhance your thinking processes and helps you to learn more languages. Here at the Grange we will be celebrating the day by organising fun events for our year 7 and 8 pupils throughout the week. Language lessons will feature Japanese. We will have competitions, treasure hunts, spelling bees and quizzes. The European Day of Languages is an initiative of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and has been celebrated on 26th September every year since 2006.
We hope that our pupils will enjoy the activities and that it will encourage them to develop an interest in other cultures and languages which will enhance their lives in the future.
It is a day designed to encourage language learning across Europe. Language learning promotes the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe and the World.
For more information about the European Day of Languages go to: www.coe.int/edl
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Magical Music Just 2 weeks before we broke up for the summer holidays, ten students travelled to Liverpool and Warrington to take their instrumental music exams. The students had rigorous practical examinations in which they had to perform a range of pieces, scales, sight reading, aural test as well as discussing their pieces. The exams ranged between grade 1 and grade 6, and all students passed. The students involved who deserve a great amount of praise, recognition and congratulations are: Harry Dale: Grade 1 trumpet Ruby Wilson: Grade 2 flute Belinda McCashin: Grade 1 piano and trumpet. Ryan Harper: Grade 1 trumpet Demi-Lee Rogers: Grade 1 piano Chelsea Gillies: Grade 1 piano
Term dates Term
Opens
Closes
Autumn 1
Wednesday
Autumn 2
Monday
3rd
Spring 1
Monday 5th January 2015
Friday 13th February 2015
Spring 2
Monday 23rd February 2015
Thursday 2nd April 2015
Summer 1*
Monday 20th April 2015
Friday 22nd May 2015
Summer 2
Monday 1st June
Thursday 16th July 2015
3rd
September 2014
November 2014
Friday 24th October 2014 Friday 19th December 2014
* School is closed on Bank Holiday Monday 4th May 2015.
Upcoming events Event
Date
Year 9 Home/School Partnership Meetings Year 11 Futures Evening
Thursday 2nd October
Open Evening
Tuesday 7th October
Year 7 Parents Evening
Thursday 16th October
Amie Rosenburg: Grade 2 piano Chris Keoghan: Grade 3 euphonium
Awards Evening
Thursday 20th November
Also, two of our Y11 leavers who are not in the picture: Shannon O’Reilly: Grade 6 voice Jade Ryder: Grade 5 voice
Follow us on www.thegrange.com
www.facebook.com/grangeschool @grange_school
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.