GRANGE SCHOOL
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Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award On Friday 22/05/2015 Fourteen Year 10 students took part in their D of E bronze award. During the weekend students completed 3 walks around the Clwydian Range in Wales. It was up hills and up hills and up more hills. On the first day they completed an 11 mile walk carrying all possessions in their rucksacks including sleeping bags etc. On the following days they walked 9 and 7 miles, again carrying full packs. The students put up their own tents and cooked for themselves. Time was limited and any free time students had back at camp was filled mostly by sleeping. The weekend was really hard and pushed them to their limits. All completed the weekend and the walks, and there was a tremendous spirit with students helping and encouraging each other.
It was wonderful to see students overcome adversity and show determination to succeed. These are characteristics that will bode well for them in the future. The weekend was organised by Catch 22 who do the Mayors Award with Key Stage 3 students. This is like a mini D of E and it is hoped students continue to gain the full award later in years 10 and 11. Thanks to Mr McGovern and Miss Atkinson accompanied the students on the walks.
Year 5 Enrichment Week at The Grange From Monday 1st to Friday 5th June over 150 Year 5 students and 15 primary staff took part in our Enrichment Days. During these days the students experienced what life is like at secondary school by taking part in exciting lessons in Computing, Music, Design Technology and Science. These lessons involved a range of activities including cooking pizza, programming traffic management systems, burning crisps in science to see how much fat they contained and singing in unison. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff and students from the following schools for their outstanding contributions across the week: The Grange, Halton Lodge, Victoria Road and The Brow The week was a great success and here is what the students thought about their time at the Grange: ‘I loved the day in the secondary and enjoyed seeing what fun lessons we will be doing when we are in Year 7’ – Milly Clegg – The Grange Primary.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
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‘I thought The Grange was great; there were many exciting things to do. I enjoyed The Grange because I learned new things’ – Jessica Buckley – Victoria Road Primary. ‘I had a great experience in the high school, I especially enjoyed music because we got to use a range of instruments’ – Josh Roberts – The Grange Primary. ‘The children had a brilliant day and all sessions were very informative. The children got a real taste for what life is like in high school. Thanks again!’ – Mrs McGuire – Victoria Road.
If people have taken this drug it is imperative that they recognise signs and symptoms and act fast. Symptoms are thought to include: • Profuse sweating • Racing heart beat • Extreme muscle tension • Delirious ranting • Very high body temperature
Legal Highs Cheshire Police and Halton Borough Council are warning after a Runcorn girl was hospitalised after taking Vertex, a 'legal high'. Four people in Warrington were hospitalised yesterday after taking the same substance. Police officers are becoming increasingly concerned over Vertex and are identifying locations of sale. They want to speak to anyone with any information regarding the sale of legal highs.
If you believe anyone has consumed “Legal Highs” we advice urgent medical attention is sought. If anyone has any information please call 101 or CRIMESTOPPERS.
Cheshire Police are advising people not to take Vertex and are warning of the danger of taking any substance known as a legal high. Vertex can be bought on the internet and a copy of a similar packet is attached. It appears that VERTEX is advertised as a type of incense.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Chat App OoVoo Runcorn Police have recently received a number of reports relating to a chat app OoVoo. OoVoo is a video chat and messaging app, and is available for iPhone/iPod/iPads and Androids. You can also use OoVoo on a computer (PC or MAC). With OoVoo you can video chat with up to 12 people at a time; you can see four people at once on screen during these video chats. While children can use FaceTime on their iPods and iPads, FaceTime only allows for a two-way call. OoVoo will let them have a little video chat party. OoVoo is for the use of anyone 13 years or over. Children under the age of 13 are not permitted to use the software although we have had children as young as 6 using the app. The app is open for whoever is on the app to communicate with one another; unfortunately there have been a number of incidents of adult males speaking to children through the OoVoo app, along with inappropriate images and conversations being reported. Oovoo terms and conditions state, ‘OoVoo is under no obligation to review or monitor the content of the app or comments libel, slander, obscenities, pornographic, profane, threats etc, this app is NOT MONITORED’.
OPEN WEEK Monday 29th June – Friday 3rd July 8:00am – 6:00pm daily We would like to invite you to join us for our Open Week at The Grange School. Deciding which secondary school is the best fit for your child and family is vital to ensure a smooth transition that leads to academic success. Here at The Grange we are opening our doors for you to come and see what we have to offer. To visit the school, simply sign in at reception between 8:00am and 6:00pm and a member of our Senior Team will be available to greet you. We are very much looking forward to meeting you and your family to discuss the exciting opportunities available at our school.
When you first download OoVoo it will be open to everyone and anyone. You have to go into the settings to make it private so only people you accept can contact you.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines Maths Teaser
Girls Rugby In the recent Halton Touch Rugby competition, we entered two teams. Chloe Hillan – Captain, Mya Ricketts, Kimberly Gaskin, Ellie Creasy, Chloe Tedstone, Amy Doran, Lily Clifton – Stringer came second and the team comprising Ellie Dunn – Captain, Chloe Anderson, Rebecca Woodward, Ella Lupton, Jamie-Lea Reed, Molly Vaughan, Chiana Wilson came a creditable fourth.
Well done girls!
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines
Debate Mate Accelerates! Our final debating competition for this academic year was the Debate Mate Cup. This was a one-day competition, held at Liverpool Hope University, with the winners being invited to attend the final at the Deusche Bank Headquarters in London. A group of our most dedicated debaters travelled to Liverpool Hope University on 27th April to compete against students from school across Liverpool and Knowsley: St Edmund Arrowsmith Centre for Learning Fazakerley High School The Hawthorne’s Free School Mosslands High School North Liverpool Academy Alsop High School Knowsley Park Centre for Learning A total of 18 teams competed on the day, with our school submitting two pre-prepared teams. Members of our group also kindly volunteered to form an improvised, unprepared team so there were an even number of competing groups for opposing schools. The motion for the first debate (for which we had two weeks to prepare) was: ‘This house supports eco-terrorism’. Our teams were extremely
dedicated to practising for this debate and were a credit to the school. Their arguments were really interesting, they made excellent points towards the other schools, and they presented themselves respectfully and positively. The motion for the second debate (for which our students had only fifteen minutes to prepare) was: ‘This house believes that football players should be held responsible for the actions of their fans’. This encouraged a heated debate, which our students performed fantastically well in, and earned a huge number of points for their teams. After this round of competition, teachers were asked to volunteer to involve themselves in a separate debate. Miss Allen volunteered for The Grange and argued against the motion, ‘This house would arrest all superheroes’. Miss Allen’s team did, of course, win and the students had a fantastic time seeing their teachers get so involved in the day.
After a full day of debating, one of our teams came 3rd out of 18 teams, very narrowly missing out on a chance to compete in the final. This, however, has only meant that our teams have a hugely-increased ambition to win next year. Finally, one of our students was awarded a special award by Debate Mate themselves. Ben (from Year 8) was selected as the Most Improved Speaker across the year; he received a certificate and a £10 voucher for Nandos. Debate Mate only awarded this prize to two students from the whole of Halton, Liverpool and Knowsley, so it is a real testament to Ben and his dedication to debating.
The Monthly Newsletter for Parents and Carers from the Head of School, Mr B. Carney.
GRANGE SCHOOL
Headlines Term dates Whats Next?
Term
Opens
Closes
Summer 2
Monday 1st June
Thursday 16th July 2015
Important dates Our group is now preparing to perform in a speaking and debating presentation to Derek Twigg, our local Member of Parliament, on 26 th June. This will be focused around Send My Friend to School 2015, and is inspired by the United Nations Conference in September, which will discuss how to bring all children into education across the world. Our students will be thinking about the difficulties faced by each country and will suggest ways to overcome them. This should be another amazing event, and will showcase what our students can do.
Event
Date
Year 6 Induction Day 1
Monday 6th July
Induction Evening - Parents
Monday 6th July
Year 6 Induction Day 2
Tuesday 7th July
Year 10 Graduation
Friday 10th July
Year 7 & 8 Rewards Trip
Friday 10th July
Year 9 Graduation
Monday 13th July
Year 8 Graduation
Tuesday 14th July
Year 9 & 10 Rewards Trip
Tuesday 14th July
Year 7 Graduation
Wednesday 15th July
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.