We’re in the business of learning.....
The Heath
DECEMBER 2011
Run, Mr Jenkins, RUN! Mr Jenkins (Progress Coordinator for Y7) took on the immense challenge that is the Liverpool Marathon on Sunday 9th October. Over 8000 people took part in the event and most of Liverpool’s main streets were shut off. Spectators lined the streets and cheered all the runners on. It was a fantastic experience to see all the many men and women, aged 18 to 80 having a go at completing a very gruelling 26 miles! Mr Jenkins managed to cross the finish line in five hours and in doing so, has so far raised almost £200 for Neonatal Units caring for premature and seriously ill babies. Well done Mr Jenkins on such a fantastic achievement that not many people ever attempt in their lifetimes. Everyone at The Heath is very proud of you! If you would like to support Mr Jenkins and the charity he is raising money for, you can sponsor him quickly and easily online at: http://www.justgiving.com/robert-jenkins Many thanks for your support!
If you know of anything happening in and around our school community, let us know, or if you have any comments about the newsletter email: stewartd@heathschool.org.uk
Remembrance Day Remember where you were on this day...
11.11.11 From the moment we were asked to present an assembly about remembrance we knew it would be a special day. First and foremost it was remembrance day, secondly it was very historic date, The eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year. Significantly it was year 11 assembly so we decided everyone needed something they could keep to remind them where they were on this historic day. After such debate we decided to give each pupil a commemoration card, this was designed by Charlotte De Toms Scott, Ellen Stott and Bethany Norwood. The finished design was taken to Mr Dover who made the design into the correct size for us, this was then taken to Mrs Roberts who worked tremendosly hard to laminate 240 cards ready for the assembly.
With this in production the rest of the form worked on the assembly, it had to be a fitting tribute to all our soldiers who have died fighting for their country. We looked through hours of footage to find the right video to show and photos to show in our presentation. We wanted the assembly to highlight not just all soldiers but local soldiers and Callum Davies and Mr. Mansfeld had a guided tour of the Royal British Runcorn Mausoleum to help with the research. In the final preparation each pupil arranged their own speaking part whilst others sorted the technology out. We would all like to think that we presented an assembly that helped everyone to think of those we remember. We would also hope that each pupil keeps their commemorative card not only to remind them of 11.11.11 but as a constant reminder of remembrance day. We would like to thank everyone from the school staff who pulled together as much as they could to the poppy sellers, technicians and pupils like CallieJo Lever who came in early to set out the cards and poppies in the hall. The readers in assembly were Callum Daves, Lauren Horton, Kelsie Nicholls, Joe Hill, Charmilla Lewis, Scott Dutton, Brittany Craig and James Chapelhow. Special mention must go to Callum Davies who put in a lot of time and effort into all aspects of the assembly all in his own time. Thanks everyone for your help 11SMB
Remembrance Day A year 11 form from the Heath had a unique opportunity to present a Remembrance Day assembly to the other year 11’s. To commemorate the
Who invented war I always think, Who invented guns in which can take a life in a blink, Why do we fight, why do we kill, Some people are just sick, just ill, Is there need for war, is there need to fight, Or will many lives have to be taken tonight, Has everyone just lost respect, Do they care whose lives it will affect, It is hard for a family to hear the news, That there is a relative they’ve had to lose, If it’s a friend or even family, Everyone is sad at such a tragedy, But still every minute they take a life, With diabolical and needless strife, But some though can take a bow, because they’re still fighting, fighting now , I think it’s hard to believe, The bad news that many receive, So if it’s with a gun or maybe with a knife, Still every minute, They take a life
historic date of 11/11/11 and the fact that the pupils are in year 11, each pupil was given a special card to remind them where they were on this significant day. The main part of the assembly was to focus on remembering the heroes of Runcorn, in armed conflict. Throughout the assembly we spoke about Alfred Todger Jones who was a soldier in World War 1. He was unarmed and got 120 Germans to surrender. He will go down in history as one of many heroes. Another of the soldiers we spoke about was one of the most recent heroes, Colour Sergeant Martyn Horton. Martyn tragically died while serving for his country in Afghanistan.
15 pupils in 7LTBR took part in a sponsored run to raise money for O p e r a t i o n Christmas Child. The run was organised by Hera Westwood, Charlotte Pickering and Rebecca Riley from 7LTBR who delivered a presentation to the form about the shoebox appeal and about their plans for a sponsored run. This was greatly supported by the other members of the form who gave up their time to raise money and complete the run. In total we raised £113.26 for the appeal of which we have bought equipment for more boxes and have covered the cost for the £2.50 postage per box.
HALTON SCHOOL’S AND NORTH CHESHIRE SPEAKERS’ CLUB PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION On Thursday November the seventeenth two students from The Heath School took part in the annual Halton public speaking competition, at the auditorium in Riverside College Widnes. Many students, both key stage 3 and 4, were involved in the competition, preparing informative, persuasive and entertaining speeches on subjects they feel strongly about which varied from: The Royal Family and the Manx TT race to The X factor and Love Rat footballers! The young hopefuls underwent a rigorous selection process in which they prepared and delivered their speeches to the Key Stage 3 English Co-ordinator. For this commitment to enrichment they have been highly commended. The two successful entrants to the competition were Charlotte Ward (KS4) and Star Barrett-Shaw (KS3). Their speeches were superbly delivered and well received by the audience, which included local dignitaries. Our key stage 4 entrant, Charlotte, was awarded the runner up trophy - just one point from first prize! Star happily received a plaque in acknowledgement of her achievement and effort also. They are a credit to me, Miss Thomas - their coach, and the school!
Drama News
‘What’s in a name?’
Year 11 GCSE Drama students once again took to the stage during assemblies this half term as they explored this year’s Anti-‐ Bullying Week theme. This year the focus of the week, which is recognised nationally, was the power of words and how they can hurt. Students devised the theatre in education piece to provoke thoughts amongst their peers to encourage them to think before they speak. ‘What’s in a name?’ combined music from Coldplay accompanied by physical theatre, the inspirational words of Martin Luther King and the students’ own experiences, which resulted in a powerful piece that was commented on by both students and staff at The Heath. Student Voice was once again celebrated at Year 11 led anti-‐bullying week and highlighted the importance of it. The piece will be showcased at this year’s Christmas showcase along with works from the KS3 Drama club and year 11 will also tackle some Shakespeare too! Tickets on sale now and we hope to see you all there!
Drama Partnerships The Drama Department and Year 8 students welcomed Cronton College’s cast of ‘My Fair Lady’ on December 1st . Year 8 watched the cast perform the memorable ‘Wiv a little bit of luck’ number and took part in creating their own scene from the popular musical. There were some fantastic cockney accents and the Ye a r 8 s t u d e n t s w e r e fearless in their approach to the script. All involved had a fun afternoon and we look forward to working with Cronton College again in the future!
LIPA 4:19 has moved to the Heath! LIPA 4:19, a franchise of The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, has been established in Halton since 2009. This is an exciting move for us as we continue to grow and flourish as an academy, supported fully by the Heath School. We are a part time performing arts academy for 4-19 year olds, and run classes on a Saturday during term time in singing, dance and drama. We have also performed several full scale shows in venues including the Brindley and across Merseyside, enjoyed thoroughly by performers and audiences alike. For all age groups, classes are fun and stimulating and are carefully designed to reflect the correct stage of performing arts development. We recruit the very best staff and all our tutors have relevant qualifications in their discipline, alongside working in the performing arts profession as artists and performers. We also have a uniform dress code ( LIPA t- shirt and black leggings/trousers). We believe this allows students to focus on classes and friendship without worries or concerns. If you wish to find out more information or wish to apply for a place at LIPA 4:19 at the Heath, please contact:
Kate Allerston, Principal of LIPA 4:19 at the Heath 01928 576664 or kallerston@heathschool.org.uk
Vauxhall Plant Visit The Heath school was invited to participate in a 'See Inside Manufacturing' event hosted by GM Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port. All of year 11 was asked and the students who see a career in manufacturing through an apprenticeships route all returned their forms in time so off we went. Mr Rogers driving and Mr Wade riding shotgun we sped off to the Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere Port (where the new Astra Sport Tourer is being built for the European market), to see what was occurring. The Vauxhall apprenticeship scheme is a tough one to get on, due to the amount of people who apply for the programme but there is an undergraduate programme as well and like all things if you show enough qualities and determination then all avenues are possible. The training centre had been put aside to hold the event where the students had an opportunity to have a hands on session looking at the fundamentals of manufacturing. The highlight of the morning was however a guided tour through the plant to see the production line. The attention to detail of quality control, timings of the day, levels of engineering skill and the emphasis on productivity was evident to see and all of the undergraduates who were running the session for us emphasised these points. One of our own ex-students was our contact for the day which made the experience even more personal. The picture which was taken by a thermal imaging camera which is used in the manufacturing process was done just to make sure that we didn’t have any vampires in our little group!
Stop Press... Please do not by imitation school ties as the quality s not as good as the official school tie...
Arts and Crafts club Recently Mr Dover and Mrs Fox started up an art club for the year 7`s. It is proving a great success. I was lucky enough to be asked to assist at the club and I have really enjoyed helping the year 7`s to produce excellent work. Everyone is having loads of fun. So far we have created hanging name mobiles. Standard of work is excellent and very colourful. Everyone is working really hard and enjoying the projects. As the club continues we will hopefully be creating some Christmas mobiles and other decorations ready for Christmas. In the new year the club will hopefully be working on projects such as jewellery and phone charms, tee shirt printing, marbling gift boxes and a whole host of other interesting craft ideas. Come and be part of the fun. Its still not too late to join in. We run the club on Monday afternoon 3:10-4:15 in Mr Dover's room. Everyone welcome from year 7. By Holly Ryan Year 9
The Heath School New PE Kit The kit will be in addition to the one that the students already wear and it will be optional as to whether parents choose to buy these items. If this additional kit is something you would be interested in purchasing it can be preordered from Best Sports in Runcorn Old Town. We anticipate demand to be high and as such we advise you to visit Best Sports as soon as possible so not to be disappointed in January.
STEM Saturday The Heath school hosted another successful STEM Saturday on the 19th November. Year 6 Primary school students and their parents took part in fun packed Science , Technology, Maths and Engineering workshops all morning, lead by ‘Techniquest staff’ and our very own Mrs Olden. Students were Maths detectives......Mars mission designers and ........Solar power geniuses for the day. ..... activities explained below. • The Maths Detective challenge asked students to help solve a Maths mystery they had to use graphs, mathematical information, calculations to help work out the mystery. They worked quantitatively to present findings in order to uncover the identity of the criminal!! • The Mars Mission Madness activity challenged the students to investigate the properties and use of materials, the science behind every-day objects and the way they are constructed . Students made a cushion for an ‘egg’ to land safely from a great height! • The solar power activity allowed students to harness the power of light! Students had to design and construct a solar-powered fairground ride!! The STEM team would like to thank the Heath School STEM ambassadors , who helped out massively!! Thank you Mr Rogers
Mrs Olden
Mr James
Miss Eustace
Under 16 Hockey News. Currently we have a team unbeaten in the area, with victories over Bridgewater, Hartford High, Weaverham this term. However we faced a completely different proposition at the Hockey Under 16 County tournament, held at the Grange School, Hartford on November 5th. The teams we faced were the Grange, Queens School Chester and West Kirby Grammar. The first two teams are private schools with more opportunities to excel in Hockey and boasting many County and district players. The first game against Queens School was difficult, with us losing 3-0, but Queens were outstanding in attack and we found them tough opponents. Our other 2 games were draws, making us finish 2nd, as the other schools lost 5 0 and 6 1 against Queens. We were congratulated for our play and the girls were a credit to the school and fought really hard. Our 2 draws were very unlucky, having numerous chances to win both games, and dominating both matches. So that is the end of Cheshire Tournaments for this very talented, dedicated group of girls. Many have played since year 7 and they deserve praise for all their efforts. They will be missed! Thanks to Mrs Sibley for umpiring the games and to Jo for all her help, and for providing the half time oranges! Squad Bex Fisher (capt), Amy Wignall, Rebecca Jacobs, Abi Hancox, Emily Rizzotti, Danni Sampson, Steph Spencer, Becky Walker, Paisley Morgan, Tash Adderley, Beth Ward and Shannon Laban. Mrs Probert
Rugby
On the 13th October, year 10 and 11 pupils played in an emerging school rugby league tournament in St Helens. After playing 4 games and only conceding 2 tries the team went on win the tournament and progress through to the last 16 of the national schools champions competition. This is the first time any rugby t e a m f ro m t h e H e a t h h a s progressed into this tournament. What a massive achievement.
PE News Breakfast blast has started this half term and has been well attended. So far, the students have played table tennis, basketball and badminton. The session is rounded off with a healthy breakfast to set the students up for the day. There’s been a great start to the sporting fixtures calendar for the girls since September. Football, netball and hockey matches are well underway, with the girls showing a commitment to training and fixtures. A very big thank you to all those girls who have represented school teams so far. We’ve had a few excellent results, with the Year 7 girl’s football team winning their 1st game of the season 10-1 against Bankfield. They are also making their mark in the netball league too Year 7 and Year 8 forms have been taking turns taking part in a taster session of sports hall athletics during form time. Hopefully this will culminate in each form submitting a team to represent them at the inter form sports hall athletics competition on 10 th December 2011. The Heath played host to the Everton Football Club’s mini kickers festival for the Runcorn primary Year 1 and 2 pupils. Our Year 10 leadership group played a vital part in the success of this event and their efforts on the day were commended by both Everton staff and the Halton School Games Organiser. Some of our students have been selected to officiate at the semi finals to be held at Everton’s training ground, Finch Farm.
Year 7 and Primary STEM Engineering Day BAE systems and the Royal Air Force came to visit students at the Heath!! Students from the Heath School and Moore and Daresbury Primary schools was amazed by the theatre performance and workshops on the 24th November 2011. This lively engaging show was designed to excite students about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The theme of the performance was all about Biomimicry, students watched how a real life robot was developed! Some students completed two workshops , one was ‘Lego Mindstorm’ and the other was about exploring the concept of ‘Biomimicry’. Students was also given to the opportunity to design their own invention using nature and biomimicry , all designs have been submitted in the BAE school challenge – the prize of which is a VIP day at the Big Bang Science Fair which is being held at Birmingham next year.
The Heath - A Specialist Technology College Closure Dates Inset Days
SCHOOL CLOSES
SCHOOL REOPENS TO STUDENTS
Friday 16th December 2011
Wednesday 4th January 2012
Tuesday 3rd January 2012
Friday 10th February 2012
Monday 20th February 2012
Friday 30th March 2012
Thursday 29th March 2012
Monday 16th April 2012
Friday 4th May 2012
Monday 8th May 2012
Friday 1st June 2012
Monday 11th June 2011
Thursday 19th July 2011
Tuesday 4th September 2012
Friday 19th October 2012
Monday 29th October 2012
Tuesday 20th December 2012
Monday 7th January 2013
Friday 15th February 2013
Monday 25th February 2013
Thursday 28th March 2013
Monday 15th April 2013
Friday 3rd May 2013
Tuesday 7th May 2013
Friday 24th May 2013
Monday 3rd June 2013
Friday 19th July 2013
Monday 31st September 2012 Friday 5th October 2012 Monday 22nd July 2013 Tuesday 23rd July 2013 Wednesday 24th July 2013