Christmas 2017

SEASON’S GREETINGS FROM BRIGHOUSE HIGH SCHOOL

Christmas 2017

News Bulletin

Dear Parents and Carers, As we approach the Christmas break I have the opportunity to reflect on a busy and successful term at Brighouse High School.

We began in September by celebrating the achievements of our Year 11 and 13 students who gained important GCSE, BTec and ‘A’ level qualifications. The results at Key Stage 4 were pleasing, especially in the light of the new assessment methods in English and Mathematics.

73% of our pupils achieved the benchmark figure of gaining a vital Level 4+/C+ in English and Mathematics.

At Post 16 results were especially pleasing and matched our all- time best. For the second successive year our ‘high grade strategy’ aimed at boosting the attainment of the most able students was successful and I am pleased to report that over 50% of grades achieved were at A*-B level; a fantastic achievement for our open entry comprehensive 6th form.

In addition to academic success students and staff have been involved in a range of extracurricular visits, clubs and activities. One hundred and fifteen students embarked on their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award and Year 13 undertook the challenge of their Gold expedition.

Record numbers are once again expected to gain their awards. Congratulations goes to all of them on the progress they are making and thanks, of course to Mr O’Farrell, Mr Bishop and the other staff members who generously give up their own time to ensure that the D of E programme can take place.

Music and performance have been a key theme of this term. The school’s production of ‘School of Rock’ was another roaring success and was staged in record rehearsal time. The performers and backstage crew were a credit to the school and drew in packed audiences on both nights.

It was our turn to play with the Brighouse and Rastrick band in their annual Christmas concert on 9th December. The wind band combined with players from the Brooksbank school and gave a tremendous performance worthy of the occasion. The guitar ensemble were also fantastic and rose to the challenge of their moment in the spotlight.

Performers at the Carol Service, the winter soiree and Senior Citizens party continued the musical theme to the end of term. The talent goes on and on.

The Christmas newsletter always provides an opportunity to thank the staff team for all the excellent work put into the life of Brighouse High School and to thank the Governors for their time they give. Thank you to parents and carers too for the support you give to your children and the staff at school.

The letter contains two important pieces of information which I would like to draw your attention to. One is a strategy for succession planning which Governors would like to share with you (see final page of the newsletter ) and the second is an important change to the uniform policy for girls from September 2018. You can read about this on the next page .

This has been one of the longest terms I can remember but it has been pleasing to see the students working positively and contributing well to the end. I wish all students and all of you a very happy festive season and a happy and healthy New Year. We return to school on 8th January 2018.

E Cresswell

IMPORTANT CHANGE TO SCHOOL UNIFORM FOR GIRLS FROM SEPTEMBER 2018 From next September we will introduce a pleated skirt to replace the current uniform skirt for girls. Trousers will remain as an alternative option but straight/ A line skirts will not be allowed.

The change to uniform has been discussed with pupils and approved by Governors and should ensure that girls have a smart and work like uniform going forwards. The new uniform skirt will be compulsory for all year groups.

From January onwards uniform suppliers will stock the pleated skirts so that if new purchases need to be made from this time onwards the appropriate skirt can be bought. From September 2018 all girls will be expected to wear the new style skirt (or trousers). Any families who have difficulty meeting the cost of new uniform may seek financial assistance by contacting the pastoral team at school.

Thank you to parents, carers in anticipation of your support for this change.

E Cresswell Headteacher

Year 10 Fashion and Textiles – Christmas Teamwork Task In early November we were divided into 4 groups and set the task of making at least 6 identical products to be sold at the LMH German Christmas markets. We had to nominate a team leader who assigned all team members a different job role by working out what their strengths were. We sold the products in the LMH to raise money for charity and we managed to make over £80. The items we made were Christmas ornaments, stockings, and baubles, and every one of us was successful and managed to sell more items than we originally made. We now need to write up an evaluation of our teamwork skills which will count towards our qualification.

Libby Marshall 10E

In year 9 in Food Technology pupils are involved in the Sainsbury’s Gold Award scheme.

Pupils have to design and make a range of products from around the world.

They have 1hour 30 minutes in which to create their master pieces.

This year the pupils have risen to the challenge and have created a wide range of dishes.

They include; Bruschetta Quiche Muffins Lasagne Cookies Stuffed vegetables Stir fry Éclairs Risotto Fajitas Soup Cheesecake Pizza Ice cream Thai curry All of their work has been of an extremely high quality and the pupils have been very proud of what they have achieved.

‘Reading Leaders 2017-2018’ in the Older pupils are natural role models for younger ones and young people often find communicating with peers a lot easier. With this in mind we engaged in a Reading Leader’s course in the LMH during 2017.

There are many benefits for both the Reading Leader and the younger student they are supporting;   

Improved reading and communication skills Raised confidence and self-esteem Better engagement at school Training took place over the course of a normal school day. The content of the course covered;

   

Understanding how it feels as a struggling reader Diagnosing reading difficulties Ways to motivate and improve reading skills How to plan reading sessions and select appropriate resources ‘Reading Leaders’ plan their reading sessions so that they have fun and help their partner overcome any reading difficulties. They use lots of different activities, and are given the freedom to choose the activities themselves.

The response has been fantastic some BHS students say: ‘One to one reading leaders sessions are a great opportunity for students who are tutoring and the students who are being tutored. It helps students who aren't as confident in reading as they are able to build their confidence and improve their reading skills and it helps the leaders too as the leaders are able to build their own confidence as they know that they have helped others. Without it, both the reading leaders and the one who is being tutored would miss out as it is such a great idea. ‘ ‘I think that reading leaders is good because it helps young people with reading, but it is enjoyable also. They young readers that we mentor try really hard to improve their reading styles. The activity sheets we were given are really fun. It is a good idea and fun to do.’

‘Reading leaders help you to understand the words you do not know. They really help you to read.’

The students and their leaders meet once a week for 20 mins in the LMH. The leaders create their own resources as well as using books within the library.

An excellent opportunity to enjoy reading at BHS!

AQA Unlocking Potential programme Following a successful application by Mrs Horsfield (Assistant Headteacher and Pupil Premium Achievement Leader) two of our pupils, Siobhan Skudder and Jasmin Brook, are to take part in the AQA Unlocking Potential programme. On this eight-month scheme, the pupils are to create a social action project, under the mentorship of a professional athlete from the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which will benefit both themselves and other members of our school community. We were privileged to attend the launch event in Manchester at the start of December, meeting the Trust's athletes along with pupils and teachers from other schools involved, and getting a clear idea of how to begin our project. Last week, we were visited in school for the first time by our own Athlete Mentor, Jenny Wallwork, who is a five-time National Badminton Champion, and, amongst other accolades, was the recipient of bronze and silver medals in the Commonwealth Games. We were really pleased to welcome Jenny to the school and look forward to working with her on our social action project.

Laura McGregor Materials Technology

As part of the new Materials Technology course at KS4, pupils were given the task to create tea light holders for the LMH German Christmas Market. They had to work in groups to read technical drawings to ensure that they measured and marked out materials accurately to produce their finished products.

All students did extremely well and the end products sold out over the two day market. We will be back next year!

Visual Communication

As part of their skills portfolio to show how they can capture and manipulate images the Year 10 Visual Communication students were given the brief to design the Summer Soiree posters for next years musical event. Pupils had to develop skills in the use of Photoshop to create their designs and a winner will be chosen

by Miss Venus to be used for promotion.

ICT Coding Club We have been very busy at coding club this half term. We have entered the ‘Block the Web Monsters’ competition which is being run by West Yorkshire Police(https://www.westyorkshire.police.u k/BlockTheWebMonsters). We have focused on phishing and identity theft and briefly covered the other types on risks too.

We wrote all of the content ourselves and only used images that were available under the Creative Commons Zero license. It is available as a mobile site and as an app.

Keep a look out for posters in school in 2018 to download the app to see how you can stay one step ahead of the cyber criminals. Coding club runs every Wednesday after school in F11 and we are a very welcoming bunch. Also Coderdojo (https://coderdojo.com/) runs at lunchtime in S16 every day and this is where you can learn to code at your own pace.

Physical Education As always it has been an incredibly busy term in the Brighouse High School PE Department and the following pages highlight all the great work and successes from our fantastic students and staff.

As is now becoming folklore at Brighouse High School, the academic year 2017/18 began with the Brighouse Run which saw all students from Y7-Y11 compete in the Cross-Country style endurance race.

This year the level of competitiveness really increased as everybody was vying to win the coveted title of Brighouse Run Champion & Record Holder, currently held by students Ben Beverley and Rebecca Udall.

We observed some incredible endurance based performances from the students, particularly given some of the adverse conditions we experienced in September 2017. Jake Kelly was crowned the new record holder for boys with a time of 5:30 and Rebecca Udall maintained her position as the record holder for girls recording a new PB of 6:24.

Your individual Year Group Winners are detailed below;

Y7 Boys – Max Priestley (6:37) Y7 Girls – Daisy Whelan (7:47) Y8 Boys – Ned Hughes (6:04) Y8 Girls – Billie-Jo Wood (7:18) Y9 Boys – Thomas Ablett (6:28) Y9 Girls – Hattie Nichols & Olivia Webb (6:25) Y10 Boys – James Shaw (5:46) Y10 Girls – Jessica McConnell (7:10) Y11 Boys – Jake Kelly (5:30 Boys Record Holder) Y11 Girls – Rebecca Udall (6:24 Girls Record Holder)

The PE department has been buzzing each day with a hive of activity, as we aim to deliver a high quality PE and Sport based curriculum which engages, enthuses and allows our students to excel.

As part of the syllabus design, my team of specialist staff deliver a spectrum of activities that are both balanced and broad, ensuring we continually develop and expand our students sporting horizons allowing them to learn lifelong skills.

The delivery of high quality PE is something which the department prides itself on and the students ultimately reap the benefits of this, epitomised none more so than in our most recent academic results of 2016/17: GCSE: 36% A*-A & 87% A*-C A Level: 50% A*-A & 100% Pass rate

At Brighouse High School we want to instil an ethos in our students so that they develop a passion for physical activity and sport. We have an enviable reputation of being equipped with a department and facilities which has the capabilities to offer such a diverse range of sports so that we can find a passion for each and every student.

As ever, our extra-curricular programme has been extensive and incredibly successful since September with a wide range of sports teams representing Brighouse High School in both local, regional and national competitions.

Our rugby programme continues to grow from strength to strength with 5 extremely strong teams taking to the field on a regular basis with boys in Year 7, Year 8 and Year 11 and girls at U15 and U18 level.

The new crop of talented rugby players to join Brighouse High School in Year 7 are really beginning to gel as a squad and have recorded some fantastic victories against opposition from across Calderdale. Training is held each Thursday and all students are encouraged to come along.

The Year 8 rugby squad is going from strength to strength each week and have already secured their first White Rose Festival win, defeating all schools in the group stages and wininng the final against local rivals Lightcliffe Academy.

Our girls programme now headed up by Miss Spink, continues to produce some incredible talent as we field squads at both U15 and U18 level, competing against the best schools from across Yorkshire. The pressure is on this year however as we look to emulate the 2016/17 season and defend our Yorkshire County Championship title.

However, the Year 11 rugby league squad continue to be the stand-out performers so far this year, having already swept aside all who stood before them in Calderdale to claim the title and qualify for the National Cup for the second successive season.

The squad have continued their scintillating performances in the Nationals sweeping aside St Wilfreds of Wakefield 44-14 and Archbishop Sentamu of Hull 50-18 meaning they have now reached the knock-out stages to face the best rugby league teams in the country.

Our netball programme remains a stronghold of our sporting success and they have had an extremely busy term competing in all of their respective Calderdale league matches and competing in tournaments across West Yorkshire.

Our Y9 and Y11 squads were also invited to take part in the West Yorkshire invitational tournament held at QEGS Wakefield, the only state school represented, whereby the girls performed exceptionally well and tested themselves against well-established netball playing schools.

The football squads across the age ranges have really progressed well this season and are all vying for silverware in all competitions.

The Year 7 students have really lived up to expectations this year and have produced some superb performances under the stewardship of Mr Hornsby.

The year 8 football squad have had the most drastic improvements to date, having had a difficult 2016/17 season they have really come together as a footballing squad this year and are pushing to clinch the Calderdale League Title.

However, the plaudits so far this year go to the Year 9 football squad who have progressed further than any other year groups in both the West Yorkshire and National Cup.

This year the squad have clocked up lots of mileage in the National Cup, travelling over to Oldham in the 2nd round defeating a strong Cardinal Langley Team 3-2.

The next round saw the boys venturing to Manchester to take on Greater Manchester County Champions Walkden High School who they beat 3-1 on penalties until the dream came to an end down in Chester where they were beaten by well-established and one of the competition favourites Kings School 31.

Beyond our traditional strengths, we have also had great success in a wide range of other sport competitions.

Our swimming squad took part in the Calderdale Schoolboys and Schoolgirls Championships in December and we tasted great success on the evening of the gala, making a little piece of history as the we clinched the Rose Challenge Cup awarded to the fastest Boys Relay team in Calderdale.

Our badminton programme within school is also very extensive, giving students the opportunity to develop their skills both within lessons but also in 2 extracurricular sessions (Thursday Lunch & Friday after-school) throughout the week.

We have forged a very good friendship with Rishworth School over the last year and we have been pleased to welcome their talented pool of both local and international students over to BHS on numerous occasions.

Our indoor cricket programme is really taking shape over the winter months and every Monday lunchtime we have a host of budding young cricketers being put through their paces in preparation for the indoor league matches. Having already got the season underway against a strong North Halifax Grammar School, we are looking for more excellent performances in the New Year to secure a place in the Calderdale Schools Indoor Finals.

Our Panathlon success is currently unstoppable as the squad claimed the North of England Championship having reaped enormous success at West Yorkshire level for the last 4 years.

The Panathlon Challenge runs mini Paralympic multi-sport events such as Boccia, Polybat, Table Cricket, New Age Curling and athletic field events and races. The team from Brighouse High School were a credit to themselves, Calderdale and West Yorkshire and can be incredibly proud to rightly claim themselves as North East Champions 2017!!!

The PE Department at Brighouse is passionate about giving our students as many opportunities as we can to ensure we set them on the right path once they depart our doors and pursue whatever dream they wish.

As part of this, we run a number of additional courses within the department which will hopefully set the students of Brighouse High School apart. One of our key focuses for students when they reach Key Stage 4 is to provide them with leadership skills and as such we deliver a comprehensive Sports Leaders course to students in Year 10. Our new cohort have begun their leadership lives incredibly well and were invited to lead and deliver the Calderdale Primary Panathlon event, whereby they did so with a phenomenal level of maturity, compassion and real professionalism.

This year we also worked in conjunction with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and the British Heart Foundation to equip a full range of students from Y7-Y11 with the appropriate skills to administer emergency CPR under the ‘Re-start The Heart’ initiative. We are so proud at our lifesavers!

Here at Brighouse High School we are incredibly blessed to have so many fantastically talented sports stars and we love nothing more than keeping track of their progress and development outside of school.

We have such a diverse range of athletes within our school from academy footballers, rugby players and netball players to National dancers and future trampoline stars.

British Junior Golf Champion & IMG World Qualifier Louie Walsh

Leeds Rhinos Netball Academy Saoirse Duffin

6 time Gold medallist 2017 School Games Swimming Aliya Bacakoglu

England Schoolgirl Golf Champion Charlotte Heath

National Rock & Roll Dance Champions Mia Lawrence & Billie Lambert

England Karate & National Champion Connor Moffatt

Please contact Mr Wainwright (Head of PE) at the school to keep the department informed of all sporting achievements and follow our PE department Facebook & Twitter Page BrighouseHighSchoolPE&Sport / @BrighouseHigh

Performing Arts Department Music Drama Dance As usual the winter term has been extremely busy within the department with numerous trips and events being enjoyed by our students and staff.

I liked to take this time to thanks all the students, staff and parents for their continued input and support of their department.

Miss R Venus.

School of Rock 23rd/24th November Over the years the Performing Arts Department have put on great shows such as ‘Grease’ , ‘Little shop of Horrors’ and ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ to name a few but this year the Performing Arts Department began and with over 50 students attending the auditions process we knew our next choice had generated plenty of interest.

The Performing Arts department always enjoys a challenge and at the start of the year when they were presented with the task of putting on ‘School of Rock’ from scratch in just 12 weeks they may have thought that it was a challenge too far.

Needless to say their work ethic and attitude was fantastic throughout the three month process and they supported, nurtured and coached our cast with a professional level of expertise.

The school production was a culmination of a lot of dedication and hard work and it would not have been possible without the help and support of everyone involved. It can be so easy to take the time and support from other members of staff for granted but we feel so humbled and privileged to be able to work with such a reliable core of people and we would like to personally thank everyone that has made the show happen.

The effort and hard work the students put in to make the show a success never ceases to amaze us. This year the entire company transported us to the hallways of an American high school with their mastery of American accents, dance routines and a whole load of rock onstage. The live band brought so much atmosphere to the show and the talent of our young musicians was highly

impressive. The costumes transported us through the different scenes and the backstage, lighting, sound and make-up crew all learnt new skills and did so much behind the scenes to ensure that the show ran smoothly.

We’re so pleased with how this new process went we have decided to hold another production next year instead of biannually. The show will be revealed towards the end of the summer term.

Year 13 Cabaret – Wednesday 25th October On 22nd October, students from the 6th form went to the Grand Theatre in Leeds to watch Cabaret. We arrived and took our seats in the crowded stalls of the midafternoon performance. The stage welcomed us, spelling “WILLKOMMEN”, the cleverly misspelled German welcome, spelled incorrectly in honour of Will Young, the star of the show as the flashy and hilarious MC. The performance was all in all, phenomenal. Both Young and Louise Redknapp, who played the main characters of the MC and Sally Bowles, led the show, with their raw talent evident with every action, movement and lyric. This modern revival of Cabaret’s classic

Pre WW2 “Rise of Hitler” story was so relevant to the society of today. From the moment we took our seats, we were hooked. Constantly wanting more from the performance, the audience just watched in awe. The showboating style of the Cabaret club, to the sombre, more emotionally provoking scenes, the entire thing was a masterpiece. As we have to write an essay reviewing the performance as part of our A-Level exam, it was a blessing that we had such a well-rounded, near perfect performance to write about. Young was spectacular, and he definitely carried the show. His talent as both an actor and a singer made the audience desire more from him, we were left begging for more whenever he left the stage.

Redknapp’s vocal talent was subliminal; however, I feel the only criticism of the performance was her acting style. She played the character as too much of a “girlnext-door” style. As we all love this show, we have seen various representations of it, and we disliked how Redknapp had decided to play her. It was the only let down of the show. In short, we saw a beautifully created, styled and acted performance. A definite recommendation for fans of theatre/musical theatre, as this show is technically one of the greatest out there.

Jack Grady Year 13 Year 11 Narnia Trip – Thursday 7th December On Thursday 7th December, year 11 Drama students went to the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds to watch The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The students went there as part of their GCSE course which requires them to complete a theatre review. The students enjoyed the trip and it was a nice opportunity to socialise with like-minded people outside of the classroom.

The performance had plenty of interesting themes for students to talk about in their reviews. Most notably was that this performance was performed ‘in the round’ with the audience surrounding the entire performance area. For some of the students, this was the first time they had seen a production with this audience layout and it gave plenty of ideas that they could introduce into their performances in lessons.

There was something for everyone in the performance as it also featured a live pit band, original songs and lots of gymnastics. This meant that the cast had to be strong singers, athletic as well as being fantastic actors – an insight into the demands of the modern-day actor.

With Narnia having the feeling of a Winter Wonderland, the audience left the theatre feeling very festive – a feeling that continued during the snowy drive home!

Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band Concert – Saturday 9th December The Brighouse High School Wind Band joined forces with Brooksbank School Wind Band and the Brighouse High School Guitar Ensemble for a special performance with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band on Saturday 9th of December at Central Methodist Church in Brighouse. Brighouse and Rastrick were recently crowned the National Brass Band Champions of Great Britain for the 10th time in their 137 year history and they’d displayed the huge trophy at the concert. Their concert was a Christmas Concert with our Wind Band and Guitar Ensemble performing as special guests. As you can imagine, it was amazing

watching and listening to them and being invited as guests to one of their performances. We played some of our repertoire, including a selection from ‘Wicked’ and music from’ Frozen’ and the Guitar Ensemble played some of their repertoire too like ‘In the Bleak mid-Winter’ and a modern take on ‘Kashmir’ by Led Zeppelin. The entire band really enjoyed it and it was a great opportunity to play with Brooksbank School and we hope to join forces with them again in the not too distant future.

Holly Mason and Lili Osborne 9B

Carol Service – Tuesday 12th December The school carol service took place on Tuesday 12th December and was held at St. Martin’s Church, Brighouse. This was a great event that everyone really enjoyed and is an annual event. The evening started off with a performance of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ performed by the school choir which included a duet of the first verse by Holly Mason and Jasmin Brooke. There were many readings read by staff and pupils which shared a great message of peace and Christmas.

The school choir also performed singing some great songs, one of the Christmas songs being a modern version of the ‘First Noel’. Everyone really enjoyed their performance of the school choir. The school wind band also did a performance of Frozen and a carol by John Rutter called ‘Candle Light Carol’ featuring the clarinets. The guitar ensemble played a mix of their repertoire and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We also all sang traditional carols with audience participation and the organ played by an ex-student Robbie Lumb, it was overall a great night.

Thank you to all the staff and sixth formers that helped out to make the service as good as it was.

Lili Osborne and Holly Mason 9B Winter Soiree – Thursday 14th December 2017 Organised by our Year 12 BTEC music students, our informal concert was once again a huge success. It included acts from across the department show casing a variety of talent and unearthing artists of the future.

Year 13 A Level drama students and Year 10 BTEC dancers added to the musical mix which contrasted from larger group performances such as choir and wind band with duets and some soloists accompanying themselves on the piano or guitar.

Matthew Jordan in Year 11 added some lighting effects to his performances with glowing drum sticks and light changes in time to the tempo.

Many thanks to those who attended on what was a very cold evening.

Senior Citizens Party – Friday 15th December In partnership with the Business Studies department we once again welcomed in the local community for our Senior Citizens Christmas party. The musicians in the department always enjoy performing at this event and it was a chance for the performers to find music that suited the tastes of the audience as requested by the Business Studies department. Some students performed as our guests were served lunch although a few joined in with the carols played by the wind band.

Before the games of bingo started the choir performed and there was a communal sing along of the Twelve Days of Christmas which was led by the business department. We had a lovely afternoon which truly enticed everyone to get in to the Christmas spirit.

Senior Awards – Wednesday 14th December 2016 The opening of this event started with Rebekah Goodchild (Year 12) performing on the piano as guests arrived for the awards evening. Year 12 students Robbie Freeman, Jonty Freeman, Matthew Jordan (Year 11), Jessica Priestly and Lewis Woodham entertained us with 'Don't Look Back In Anger' before Rebekah performed a solo piece.

One of the highlights of the evening was when the guest speaker Paul Whittaker signed ‘You’ve Got a Friend In Me’ and encourage audience participation.

Instrumental and Extra-Curricular Provision Well done to all the students who have recently received their ABRSM or Trinity exam results, our music tutors have been very impressed with the standard and there have been some amazing individual results.

Instrumental lessons provided by Calderdale Music Trust still prove to be popular in school and extra-curricular sessions are always well attended. Extra-curricular sessions are held during lunchtime and after school across the Performing Arts department and there are no additional costs to attend them. Students also earn RESPECT points for each session they attend and extra RESPECT points are awarded for students who perform or help out at concerts. Students may also book to use the music rooms after school for their own band rehearsals if they wish Performing Arts Department Diary Dates 2017-18

Half Term Workshop with Black Dyke Brass Band  Thursday 22nd February – 2pm – 8.30pm (concert at 7pm) BTEC Evening of Performance  Thursday 22nd March – 6.30pm Music for Youth Festival  Saturday 24th March Music Primary School Tour  Wednesday 20th June Summer Soiree - St Martin’s Church, Brighouse  Thursday 5th July – 7pm Music Tour to Germany  14th- 18th July

Performing Arts Enrichment Timetable 2017-2018 Lunchtime

1.30 –2.05 Monday

Tuesday

3.10 – 4.10

 Choir (F15)  BTEC Dance Workshop (G16)  String Group (F16)  BTEC Dance Workshop (G16)  Guitar Ensemble  GCSE (F16) Composition(F15)

Wednesday  GCSE Drama

Workshop (G15)  GCSE Music Theory (F16)

Thursday

Friday

After School

 Wind Band (F15)  Cheerleading (G16)

 Keyboard Club (F16)  GCSE Composition(F15)  Year 7 & 8 Drama Club (G15)

Music and Drama rooms may also be booked for rehearsals, please see a member of the Performing Arts staff to do this.

University Challenge 2017 On the 22nd September year 13 students, Josh Mager- Wright, Harry Middleton, Phil Short and myself, along with Mr Bell, travelled to the University of Lincoln to compete against 12 other schools for the national final of the their university challenge competition.

The 12 schools included sixth forms from East Anglia, the Midlands and London.

We had this opportunity after qualifying for the final through the Leeds heat in July (with the highest average score in the country). We were competing for the opportunity of winning £1000 for the sixth form and £50 for each winning team participant.

Over 2 rounds we answered questions on 16 different subjects ranging from maths and science to photography and fashion. The questions were based around one topic in each section. For example, in physics we were asked about electrons and quantum mechanics, in English we were questioned on the morphology of folk tales, in business we were asked about the Boston Matrix and in agriculture we were asked about the nitrogen cycle.

After answering all of the sections The Southend High School for Boys were announced as the winners of competition with 325 points.

Brighouse High School Sixth Form was placed a respectable fourth place with 265 points. The competition was a great experience and allowed us to pit our wits against schools all over the country.

Megan Moon, Year 13

Sample Questions What was the last Beatles album? What train holds the world speed record for steam trains?

What battle ended the Plantagenet’s reign? What are Gabions?

Which brand designed the WW1 trench coat?

Brighouse Sixth Form competes in the mock trial competition 2017

I am a student that actually doesn’t study law, so being apart the National Citizenship Foundation Mock Trial Competition was a unique and amazing experience which I don’t think I will ever have the opportunity to do again. On a Saturday in the middle of November the Brighouse Sixth Form team competed against 15 other schools from all over Yorkshire and beyond, prosecuting and defending two cases in Leeds Crown Court.

I experienced first-hand what a court room was like from the perspective of the defendant. The role I played was a care worker in a fraud/theft case, who allegedly took advantage of the elderly person in my care. I sat in the dock, as the trial unfolded and then gave evidence and went through the daunting process of being cross-examined and sentenced by the Judge.

I was opened up to a whole new world, as I met a barrister who came in and spoke to us about how best to present ourselves in a court room. He spoke to us individually about why he loves his job, and if we really wanted to, how we could become a barrister. So not only was I inspired by new aspirations and opportunities, at the end of the trial I was given a certificate as proud proof of my participation. This experience will help me make decisions of what I want to do at university and beyond.

But more than anything else, even though this sounds a bit cheesy, I genuinely had fun. We set the classroom up like a court room each practice session, taking on different roles such as; ushers, lawyers, witnesses, defendants and barristers.

We then enjoyed playing out the roles we were given, so lawyers made up questions to ask, and tested them on the defendants or witnesses. This was a massive part of the fun as it was a game of trial and error finding out the best way to prove innocence or guilt. For me I loved taking on the role of my character and

battling my wits against the lawyer. Each time we presented the case it came out differently, as there were so many ways I could go about it.

It’s so enjoyable. You get to experience what the world of law and justice is like.

You get to go to a real Crown Court on the day of the competition and perform in front of a real Judge. You also get to meet new people and is a great experience for university and beyond. I couldn’t recommend it more.

Jess Wray, Year 12 Sixth Form Charity Christmas Boxes This year the sixth form filled around 50 boxes for Brighouse Rotary Club’s annual Christmas Box Appeal. Georgia Wallace held a bun sale on our open evening and raised £95 which we spent on toiletries, toys and dried foods and staff and students also donated goods. Some of the sixth form captains spent a pleasant hour after college on Wednesday 13th December packing up the boxes ready to be collected and distributed to children and young adults who would otherwise receive nothing from Santa.

Senior Maths Challenge Year 12 pupils at Brighouse High School achieved 1 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronzes in this year’s UKMT Senior Maths Challenge. Over 82,000 pupils from across the UK entered the Challenge with the top 10% receiving a gold certificate, the next 20% silver and the next 30% bronze.

Approximately 7000 of the top students are invited to sit one of the follow-on competitions, the BM01 or the Senior Kangaroo.

Jonathan Freeman achieved a gold certificate and was invited to sit the Senior Kangaroo paper. Nathan Shaw achieved a Silver and Amy Bakes, Hannah Cowling, Harry Moon and Sherwin Samuel each achieved a bronze. This is a wonderful achievement.

The Senior Maths Challenge and follow-on competitions are run by the UK Mathematics Trust and are supported by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

They are aimed at those in Years 13 and below, and are sat in schools.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS FROM THIS YEAR’S SENIOR MATHS CHALLENGE:

One of the following numbers is prime. Which is it?

A 2017-2 B 2017-1 C 2017 D 2017+1 E 2017+2 The teenagers Sam and Jo notice the following facts about their ages: The difference between the squares of their ages is four times the sum of their ages. The sum of their ages is eight times the difference between their ages.

What is the age of the older of the two?

A 15

B 16

C 17

D 18

E 19

Photos of the pupils with their certificates.

Jonathan Freeman with his certificates

From left to right: Harry Moon, Sherwin Samuel, Nathan Shaw, Amy Bakes, Hannah Cowling.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Job Interviews can be daunting – so Year 12 Travel and Tourism students had a dry run at a “Selection Day” as part of their Btec Level 3 qualification assessment.

The afternoon started with a group task, followed by individual interviews, then a test on UK Tourism Information knowledge.

Hopefully you can see the candidates were very nicely dressed in business attire. The interpersonal skills they displayed and verbal responses given were very strong indeed and prove a positive attitude will lead to rewards.

Well done to all – the class is now awaiting confirmation of who has been successful. Usually a job would be offered, however on this occasion a treat of sweets will most likely be the reward 

For more information visit: http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/btec-nationals/travel-andtourism-2010.html

“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.”

Henry Ford

Speed Down: Save Lives Road Safety Week 20-26 November 2017

It’s a great opportunity to hear the voice of experience. On 23rd November 2017 our Sixth Form students were lucky enough to meet a number of public service personnel at the West Yorkshire Fire Service Road Safety Roadshow which is held annually at the Victoria Theatre.

The event informs our students of the choices they may take and the consequences of their actions in relation to road safety. This year’s show included PC Buchan who is a Family Liaison Officer with West Yorkshire Police who gave statistics and information about fatalities and serious injuries on the roads of West Yorkshire.

I ask that you remember to keep yourself and children safe by using seatbelts. In particular, please drive slowly and carefully on Finkil St and never use your mobile phone whilst driving.

“You are four times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone.” http://think.direct.gov.uk/mobile-phones.html

For more information visit: http://www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk/

Information, Advice & Guidance (IAG) at Brighouse High School FORWARD PLANNING please make a note of the date and time!

Brighouse High School and the Mirfield Free Grammar School Joint Careers Fair – Wednesday 14th March 2018 The sixth joint Brighouse High School / Mirfield Free Grammar Careers Fair will be hosted by The Mirfield Free Grammar, Kitson Hill Road, Mirfield WF14 9EZ from 1630 to 1930 on Wednesday 14th March. Details will be posted on the Careers Website link http://www.brighousehighcareers.co.uk/events/careers-fair/ so students and parents can keep up to date with attendees and also research the companies attending prior to the event. Please note that some companies may change due to a change of circumstances.

The Careers Fair is open to students and parents from both schools in all year groups. Next year's event will be well supported by over 60 exhibitors from local and national businesses, professional bodies, training organisations and local universities. The evening will give students and parents the chance to discuss career opportunities, progression and possible job vacancies for now and 2018 leavers.

Students from years 7-13 can attend; the youngest students can fact-find in different career areas, years 9 & 10 can identify entry requirements to different careers and courses at Further Education and years 11-13 can understand progression routes in Higher Education and the opportunity of finding both job and apprenticeships.

The careers fair initiative is the largest project to date for both schools which have careers firmly at the heart of their curriculum, with students thinking and learning about the opportunities they will have on completing their education. The event gives students the chance to speak to relevant people who can help them make the right choices for their future career. The aim of this initiative is to provide a focus for careers guidance activity at an important stage in the academic calendar, to help support young people when they leave education. With many companies now offering apprenticeships, engaging with local businesses is also a priority.

Lorna Aitken, Head of Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) at Brighouse High said “The Careers Fair is a very successful event where parents have the opportunity to attend too. Students of all ages from Year 7 upwards benefit in different ways; they enjoy the opportunities to ask questions and interact with delegates. By working collaboratively and creatively, we are able to deliver a high quality event for all our students. We often see former students coming back with their employers."

The event is co-ordinated between the schools by Heidi Haigh at Brighouse High School and Frances Burkinshaw and Katrina Clarke at The Mirfield Free Grammar & Sixth Form.

THE CAREERS WEBSITE We have a new calendar of events that is on the home page of the Careers Website. Students and parents are able to log on to the Careers Website on their phone, click on the event and you can save the date by exporting the event. A reminder will be sent to your phone on the day the event takes place. If you click on View All Events this will show the full month of events and you are able to scroll through every month to see what is happening.

Students in Year 9 and Year 11 and will soon make crucial decisions about their forthcoming options. The Careers Website is there to help them with these decisions, whether going on to Further / Higher Education or an Apprenticeship.

There are links to Apprenticeships, the World of Work and to the different Career areas, which show the different job areas that can be explored to see how they link into subject choices. Parents are able to access the site at home with their child to help them make these decisions. Year 12 students will be deciding whether to go to University or into the World of Work. They can access the University Applicants link to do research on the UCAS website as to which degree they would like to study. Year 13 Jobseekers will be able to take advantage of any job / apprenticeship vacancies that are posted, by checking the website regularly as to what opportunities are current and available.

To access the Careers Website via the Brighouse High School Website www.brighouse.calderdale.sch.uk click on the Careers link on the top right hand side to take you to the home page shown below. The direct link is http://www.brighousehighcareers.co.uk.

Students from Year 7 are able to use the computers / careers folders in the Careers Library at Finkil Street for careers work from 12.25 – 1.00pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Year 7 Careers Ambassadors will be available to sign you in and assist you. All other year groups are able to use them on a Monday or Friday lunchtime.

Any student who would like training in how to use the website can email Mrs Haigh on h.haigh@brighouse.calderdale.sch.uk to arrange this.

Lloyds Bank Group – Work Skills Programme 14/15th November 2017 A group of selected 6th form students had the opportunity to attend a two day Work Skills Programme with Lloyds Banking Group in Halifax.

They were taken through interactive sessions over the two days whilst building practical skills and sharing careers tips and advice from Graduate Trainees and Lloyds Scholars.

There were also personal challenges to complete and the students gained valuable work experience within the Legal department and other professional services teams.

Yvonne McGibbon is our Careers Adviser from C&K Careers Yvonne is available for a careers drop in for all year groups on Wednesday lunchtimes in the careers office at Finkil Street.

Yvonne has been seeing year 11 students for guidance interviews to allow them to discuss their career ideas and plans for after year 11. Students have been encouraged to research their ideas and also attend open days to prepare for their next steps. Students are welcome to call in to the careers drop in session in the careers office if they need further help researching their plans and applying for courses.

Year 13 Careers Appointments Yvonne McGibbon is available to see 6th form students on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons in the 6th form Careers Office. Students can book an appointment with 6th form reception if they would like to discuss their career ideas and future plans.

Year 13 Tutorial - Jobseekers Since September, Year 13 students who are going into the World of Work at the end of Sixth Form have had careers sessions during their Monday or Tuesday Tutorial sessions with either Mrs Aitken or Yvonne McGibbon.

Students have taken part in sessions to prepare them for their next steps. These have included sessions on the following topics: Using Social Media for Job search, Job/ Apprentice applications, Online applications, and Team building skills.

Sixth Form – Visits from external agencies The West Yorkshire Fire Brigade and PwC are two external agencies who have come in to our Sixth Form Centre recently. They have set up a stall in our Mulberry Centre for two hours and interested students were able to go and talk to them directly about the opportunities available in their company.

We are very grateful for the input from all delegates who have been able to give up their time to assist our students. We are sure this will have helped the students to make informed decisions about their future choices.

Year 11 - L4L Sessions Since September Year 11 students have been taking part in Careers sessions during L4L including preparing a CV and a Personal Statement. There have also been visiting speakers from Huddersfield University, DWP Bradford and C&K Careers. Students have also been shown examples of an Achievement File for storing all their certificates in, which they are able to take with them to future interviews. Mrs Lee also provided information about Brighouse High Sixth Form Centre in advance of the Open Evening which many students found beneficial. It should be noted that the closing date for Sixth Form applications is Monday 26th February 2018.

Year 9 Super Learning Day– 26th October 2017 On the 20th of October, Year 9 students were off timetable and participated in a careers day focussing on their choices for KS4. Choosing GCSE subjects can sometimes be quite a challenge so students were given the chance to consider all the options open to them and how best to make these decisions using the C&K Careers Directions Booklet. Students also used a programme called JED, where students could find out the types of jobs that would match their skills, talents, likes, dislikes and personalities. Students can continue using JED independently with a direct link being on the home page of the Careers Website.

We also had a session where former students of BHS were interviewed about their careers and they in turn gave students advice about moving up through school. Our students had through discussions in their L4L session, chosen some questions to ask the former students. Three students had taken the apprenticeship route whilst two had attended University. Also former student Emily Moss showed off her musical skills by singing a couple of songs to everyone. We are very grateful for their support and thank them all for giving up their time to come back into school.

Year 13 Jobseekers Super Learning Day – 26th October 2017 Students were privileged to have a team from C&K Careers join the group for the day where they learnt more about different types of job opportunities in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, digital and construction. The resources used on the day have been developed by a team at C&K Careers through funding from the Future Jobs Project, to raise awareness in schools on the opportunities in the Leeds City Region. Students played a business game called Make It! which set them challenges they may face in the real world of work as well as providing a

competitive learning environment. Students also learnt about Local Market Information and how to use Google maps to assist in their job search.

Year 12 Bridging Group Super Learning Day – 26th October 2017 Our Year 12 students had individual interviews with C&K Careers staff who are involved with a Future Jobs project. The students who have recently completed an internal work experience placement, will take part in an external one for every Tuesday over a five week period between February half term and Easter. Future Jobs will be organising all the Health & Safety checks and paperwork for these placements. Work experience is a compulsory part of the Bridging Group course.

Year 12 - Work Experience 9th – 13th July 2018 All Year 12 students at Brighouse Sixth Form College have now started the preparation for their Work Experience for 9th – 13th July 2018 and have been going through interviews this term, to indicate the type of placement they will undertake during the week. Work Experience is compulsory and a requirement for students to return to their Year 13 studies. Any student who would like to discuss their work experience further can make an appointment at Sixth Form reception to see Heidi Haigh.

For those students who are interested in a career in the medical field, we have secured 15 placements (all taken) for 16th to 20th July 2018 at either Calderdale Royal Hospital or Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. To ensure students are able to get as much work experience as possible, they are encouraged to do the week before 9th to 13th July, in a caring role as well.

After another successful work experience programme in 2017, the comments from both students and employers were overwhelmingly positive. Placements were secured in solicitors, schools, hospitals, engineers, estate agents and charity organisations to name just a few. Many students travelled to Leeds or Manchester each day and some gained a week in London. Two students Lucy Duncan and Saskia Uttley also had the opportunity of travelling home and abroad with the NCS to do a month of volunteering work within a community project and took advantage of some fantastic opportunities; well done to them.

To support our students with both UCAS and employment/apprenticeship applications we encourage students to work in an area that they are interested in and part of their future aspirations. We are looking forward to another successful week of work experience in July 2018!

Saskia Uttley – Work Experience

National Citizenship Scheme “NCS changed my whole perspective on life. It taught me how to be unique and always look at the bigger picture” – Saskia Uttley NCS grad 2016 “Nobody can change the world in one step. But it’s the multiple little things you do.” – Saskia Uttley NCS grad 2016 Calderdale Community Community Champion

Spirit

Awards-

Young

Awarded to a young person 21 years old or under, who have engaged, inspired and motivated their peers or other people in support of a social cause or initiative.

About Saskia: over the past 7 years Saskia has raised thousands for local charities, Saskia is an integral part of the committee that runs and organises RamFest raising charitable funds, because of her enthusiasm she was invited to be the vice-Chair of the committee, which she has grabbed with both hands.

Following her trip to Poland via the Erasmus programme she is busy planning events to raise money so the orphaned children she met, can visit them and she herself has offered her family home (with parent’s support) for one of the children to stay with them. She has worked tirelessly with the National Citizen Service first taking part in their summer programme of four weeks where she raised money for various charities and helped with the Calderdale valley clean up team. She then went on to volunteer as a graduate with NCS where she went on to be an assistant team leader with another four week programme. She also raised all the funds herself so she could go to Sri Lanka where she taught English in a school, releasing turtles into the sea and washing elephants she also helped to renovate a primary school whilst she was there for disabled children. Saskia has also volunteered at Ravenscliffe High School working with children with various disabilities she has given up numerous hours helping out different people who just need help and someone to talk to. She is also the captain for her school’s fundraising team.

For more info and to see Saskia’s interview please visit… http://www.cffc.co.uk/community-spirit-awards/

Photos from student placements in 2017 are shown below:

Careers Link with the Royal Navy – Logistics / Outreach Team Mrs Aitken & Mrs Burton in the Food Technology Dept., were delighted to welcome some Royal Navy Chefs in to their lessons on Tuesday 7th November.

Students were able to watch professional chefs at work as well as learn about life in the Navy and the Armed Forces. The chefs were able to tailor each demonstration to fit the needs of each year group ranging from Year 8 - 13. They produced a chicken roulade stuffed with mozzarella, smoked bacon and coriander. This was accompanied with a carbohydrate with a freshly made sauce and a vegetable side. They covered different cooking techniques and nutritional values of the foods and plated each dish up in different ways to show presentational skills.

During the talk the students learnt about roles of the Royal Navy, catering in the Royal Navy, personal experiences, travel opportunities, sport, qualifications on offer, entry requirements and career paths as well as having the opportunity to have an open question forum. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day where the Year 13 students were even able to join in the practical sessions.

See some pictures below:

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BRIGHOUSE HIGH SCHOOL ACHIEVES AWARD FOR EXCELLENT CAREERS SUPPORT TO STUDENTS

Once again we are delighted to announce that we have achieved the national Quality in Careers Standard awarded by licensed award provider C&K Careers for providing excellent careers support to our learners.

Achieving the award is not an easy process and the school’s provision was rigorously assessed against 9 criteria that aim to demonstrate that the school provides its learners with a programme of careers education information advice and guidance that is in line with national standards.

The Standard involves

proving that the careers programme in school includes effective work related learning, engages parents/carers in careers, has good resources and information, strong leadership, effective training for staff and that the careers programme is inclusive for all learners.

The school marked the occasion with an award presentation at C&K Careers Head Office in Huddersfield earlier this month. Mrs Aitken, Head of Careers / IAG, expressed her appreciation of all the hard work and the contribution of so many staff across the school for their input into the Careers Programme in L4L sessions / Super Learning Days and Careers Events.

Pictured are: Jill Ellis, Assessor, C&K Careers; Lorna Aitken, Head of IAG / CPD at BHS; Gerald Hey, Chief Executive, C&K Careers.

During this academic year, Mrs Aitken is currently working on a Future Jobs Project alongside C&K Careers as a Consultant, two days a week. She is involved with the production and delivery of resources linked to Advanced Manufacturing across the Leeds City Region. This is a rare and unique opportunity to be involved in such a project which is a fully-funded service through aspire-igen, Leeds City Region LEP and the European Social Fund. .

For further information on C&K Careers check out our website www.ckcareers.co.uk Follow us on

and

C&K Careers is accredited by Matrix, Investors In People, Positive About Disabled People, and Investors in Diversity

Groupcall Xpressions App View your child’s information on your mobile phone!

An exciting new service is now available for parents to ensure communication between the school and yourselves is easier and more effective. Groupcall Xpressions is a new service created by the award-winning school communication company Groupcall Limited.

The app is completely free of charge to you and can be installed on your mobile phone or tablet. It currently supports both Apple iOS and Android devices (with Windows mobile to follow) and you’ll be able to see information for your children.

What do I need to do now?

Please ensure we have your correct mobile number and email address on our school database to ensure you can use the new app as soon as it is available. To update your details, please inform the school office in writing.

You’ll need to make sure you keep these details up to date in future to maintain access to the service.

What happens next?

In the New Year we will let you know how to install the app and login in order to get access to your child’s information.

Once installed and set up you will be able to see the following information:  Free messages sent by the school delivered directly to the app  Attendance records and absences  Timetable  School calendar  Notification timeline for all of the above.

Later in the year we plan to develop the service to also include the following:  School reports and tracking  Behaviour and achievement points.

Issue Number: 4

E-safety Factsheet for Parents Positive and Negative Aspects of the Internet: Positive aspects of the Internet and Apps: • Great for research and creativity • Cheap or free communication and collaboration • Easy to create and publish content and get it noticed •

Great for children to develop future job skills as fun hobbies

Negative aspects of the Internet and Apps: • Cyber bullying and the lack of appropriate rules • Online privacy and personal information and the increasing likelihood of being hacked • Reputation management and ‘digital footprint’

•

Introduces children to the world of commerce and business

•

Sexting, grooming, pornography and inappropriate material

• •

Encourages creativity and individualism Children feel they have ‘ownership’ of the Internet

• • •

Illegal downloads and copyright infringement Spam, phishing, viruses and malware Children lying about their age to get onto social networking platforms with a 13+ age limit Pressure to respond to comments 24/7

•

The positives need to outweigh the negatives in e-safety education: The best outcome regarding e-safety incidents, cyber bullying and online harassment with school-aged children is always to persuade the pupils to see the consequences of their actions and remove the material of their own accord. It is important to promote positive digital citizenship and ensure that children treat peers with respect.

Much better outcomes are seen when children decide for themselves what is and is not appropriate and self-regulate their actions. Schools and parents have a huge role to play in providing this guidance first, rather than imposing rigid rules and sanctions as an initial measure.

Minimum age limits: Most social networking sites and apps are based in the US and under privacy laws in this country, you have to be 13 years old to register. There is no legal violation if you use these sites or Apps, if you are under 13. The only rule you are breaking is the terms and conditions set up by company that owns the site or App. Many children and young people have become savvy to this and use sites below the age of 13. The important issue around this is that they can then put themselves in potential danger as predators can target them when using this sites/Apps. With the development of video streaming and photo Apps, children need to be aware of the pitfalls Also, parents need to be aware of back channeling which is when conversations take place along side an activity e.g. playing video games.

Statistics: Social Networking Use • • •

Facebook now has 1.55 billion active users.

2.9 billion Google searches are made every day.

2.7 million blog posts are published every day. Source: https://hostingfacts.com

• •

Instagram has a much younger audience, 39% of its UK users are aged 16-24.

64% of Instagram users are female vs 56% of Facebook users. Source: http://www.rosemcgrory.co.uk/

•

60% of Snapchat’s users are 13 to 24 years old. Similarly, 63% of its audience are 18 to 34-year-olds Source: (Snapchat).

© www.e-safetysupport.com 2016

You must be an E-safety Support member to use these resources in your school

Issue Number: 4

E-safety Factsheet for Parents • •

YouTube has over a billion users–almost a third of all people on the Internet–and every day, people watch hundreds of millions of hours of YouTube videos and generate billions of views.

Once users are on YouTube, they are spending more time per session watching videos. On mobile, the average viewing session is now more than 40 minutes Source: You Tube

Sexting • • • • • •

Six out of 10 teenagers say they have been asked for sexual images or videos 40% said they had created a sexual image or video, and about a quarter said they had sent one to someone else by text.

Of those who had sent an image or video to someone else by text, 58% said the image had been sent to a boyfriend or girlfriend, but a third said they had sent it to someone they knew online but had never met.

About 15% said they had sent the material to a stranger.

Of those who said they had sent a photo to someone, 20% said it had then been shared with other people, while 28% said they did not know if their picture had been shared with anyone else.

More than half (53%) of those questioned said they had received a sexual photo or video, a third of whom had received it from a stranger.

Source: NSPCC/Childline

Online behaviours • • • • • •

One in six 12-15s and one in ten 8-11s who go online say they have seen something online in the past year that was worrying, nasty or offensive Three in ten 12-15s (28%) said they knew of someone who had had any of a range of negative experiences asked about, including online/mobile contact or conduct, in the past year.

Around one in 12 12-15s (8%) say they have been contacted online by someone they do not know and one in eight (13%) know someone this has happened to.

Two per cent say they have seen something of a sexual nature, either online or on their mobile phone, rising to 5% saying they know someone this has happened to.

Only one in ten 8-11s and 12-15s say they have personally experienced any kind of bullying in the past 12 months, including face to face.

Some older children (12-15s) do have knowledge of potentially risky behaviours, for example one-third of Internet users know how to delete their browsing history.

Source: OFCOM, 2015

Childrens Internet Use • • • • •

12-15s now spend nearly three and a half hours a week more online than they do watching a TV set.

Tablets are now the device most often used for going online among all age groups except 12-15s.

12-15s in 2015 are most likely to use their mobile to go online; seven in ten 12-15s now have a smartphone.

The majority of children aged 5-15 live in households with access to on-demand services. 12-15s who watch both TV and YouTube content are more likely to say they prefer to watch YouTube.

Three-quarters of 12-15s have a social media profile. Facebook continues to dominate as the main network of all children, but imaged-based apps are growing in popularity; increasing numbers of children have a profile on Instagram or Snapchat. Source: OFCOM

© www.e-safetysupport.com 2016

You must be an E-safety Support member to use these resources in your school

Issue Number: 4

E-safety Factsheet for Parents Parental Concerns • •

A quarter of parents of 5-15s are concerned about the online content their child is exposed to.

One in five parents of 5-15s are concerned about whom their child is in contact with online

•

A third of parents of children aged 5-15 are concerned that their child may be giving out personal details to inappropriate people.

• • • •

Around three in ten parents of 5-15s are concerned about online bullying.

A quarter of parents of 12-15s are concerned about their child sharing inappropriate or personal photos or videos online.

One in four parents of 5-15s are concerned about their child seeing content which encourages them to harm themselves.

One in eight parents of 12-15s feel they don’t know enough to help their child manage online risks. Source: OFCOM

Key tips: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Know what your children are doing online.

As they get older, ensure that they become more resilient to the pressures associated with the Internet Be aware who your children are talking to online. Make it clear that people that they don’t know are strangers Explain why your children should not give out personal details online.

Emphasise that having many different ‘followers’ or ‘likes’ does not necessarily make them popular Explain to your child that nothing is private on the Internet – anything can be copied, whether it be private pictures, comments or messages.

Point out that your child should always consider what an employer or partner might be able to find about them on Google in 5 to 10 years’ time.

Avoid replying to junk, spam or phishing emails, or opening attachments which might contain viruses or malware.

Make sure that children become better critical thinkers and can evaluate content on the Internet such as propaganda.

Ensure your child does not meet up with online friends.

Creating a positive environment where your child can be open and inquisitive and feel confident discussing their online experiences, whether positive or negative.

Teach your children how to block and report any behaviour or content which makes them feel uncomfortable.

Investigate ways in which you can set parental controls on devices and home broadband

Useful links: • • • • •

www.thinkuknow.co.uk www.internetmatters.org/ www.commonsensemedia.org/ www.childnet.com/ www.e-safetysupport.com

© www.e-safetysupport.com 2016

You must be an E-safety Support member to use these resources in your school

Minor sickness and School attendance.

A guide for parents/carers Introduction Brighouse High School is proud of its student’s attendance and punctuality. Good attendance and punctuality supports good progress and achievement.

Outlined below are some of the reasons why full attendance is important.

Why is high attendance important to my child's education?

As a parent/carer you want the best for your children. Having a good education is an important factor in opening up more opportunities in adult life.

Did you know that:  A child who is absent a day of school per week misses an equivalent of two years of their school life.  90% of young people with absence rates below 85% fail to achieve five or more good grades of GCSE and around one third achieve no GCSEs at all.  Poor examination results limit young people’s options and poor attendance suggests to colleges and employers that these students are unreliable.  Poor school attendance is also closely associated with crime a quarter of school age offenders have truanted repeatedly.  At least 1 million children take at least one half day off a year without permission.  7.5 million School days are missed each year through unauthorised absence.

All absence at any stage leads to gaps in your child’s learning. This in turn can:  Mean that they fall behind in work.  Affect their motivation.  Affect their enjoyment of learning.  Lead to poor behaviour.  Affect their desire to attend school regularly.  Affect their confidence in school.  Mean they miss out on the social life of school and extra-curricular opportunities and experiences.  Affect their ability to have or keep friendships.

Recording your child’s attendance Schools must take an attendance register twice a day, which is a legal document that is kept for five years. Any absences will be recorded with a specific code depending on the type of absence.

 

Absences fall into two main categories: Authorised – those which schools can give you permission for Unauthorised – those which they will not.

       

Examples of absences which the school is unlikely to authorise can include: Sickness of a parent, or other family member Inadequate clothing for school Child being used as a carer Problems with transport Non-urgent medical treatment School refusal or truancy Days off for birthdays, shopping trips Family holiday since new regulations came in September 2013.

Some common rules about illness absences Minor illness If your child is unwell on a school day, always contact the school in the morning to let staff know.

Longer-term absence If your child is absent from school for three or more days, or is often absent for short spells, Brighouse High School staff may ask you to present a doctor’s note to verify the reason for the absence. A letter from a parent/carer is needed when • a child has any condition requiring hospital or surgical care; • the child returns to school with a cast or stitches; • the child needs restricted PE lessons for more than three consecutive days.

If your child has seen their GP or been to hospital, please follow the recommendation of the doctor on when your child can return to school.

When a Parent or Sibling is Ill You should make alternate arrangements to get any well children to school. Family illness is not usually considered a good reason for school absence. Please discuss any difficulties with the school as they may be able to offer support.

Punctuality Establishing good habits is important. Ensure that your child goes to bed early as lack of sleep will affect his/her ability to function in the morning, leading to lateness.

Medical appointments Where possible, please arrange doctors’, dentists’, opticians’ appointments outside of school hours. If this is not possible, your child should attend school for the remainder of the day.

Medication in School Your child does not need to be kept at home, just because they are taking medication. If your child needs to take prescribed medication during the school day, please talk to the school staff about this. Each school will have a policy for management and administration of medicines.

Common sense Use this when deciding whether your child needs to stay at home. Work on the basis that sick children belong at home and well children belong in class! Please remember that early morning aches often pass, so don’t keep your child at home “just in case” when he or she could be learning in class. If you are not sure, check the guidance in this leaflet. For further advice, you could talk to a member of the staff, your GP surgery or NHS 111.

Your contact details Please make sure that the school has these up to date. It is important that staff can contact you during the day if your child is not well enough to stay in school.

If your child needs a leave of absence you must ask for permission in advance. The Headteacher can only approve the absence if she views them to be exceptional reasons. The Headteacher also decides on the number of days to authorise or unauthorise. You can request a leave of absence form from your school.

Brighouse High School will be carrying out home visits to students whose attendance is deemed as below 90%. Please be aware you may be visited by a member of staff at home to discuss your child’s attendance/ absence.

Advice on “Is my child well enough to go to school?”

Your child should only be kept away from school if they have an infectious illness, need care during school hours that cannot be carried out in school or are not able to cope with lessons. Many children experience common ailments from time to time.

Most of these do not need a prescription, are rarely serious, do not require a visit to your doctor and do not require time away from school. Often treating your child’s illness yourself, or with advice and medicines from your pharmacist, can be the quickest and easiest way to deal with it.

Brighouse High School may not agree to authorise your child’s absence for minor illnesses and you have a duty to ensure your child is not absent where this can be avoided.

High temperature If your child looks or feels shivery or is unusually cold or hot, he or she may have a high temperature. There may be various reasons for this. A child with a high temperature should not be in school. However after feeling and looking better for 24 hours, a child should be able to return to school.

Cold and cough A slight cold and a cough does not disable a child from attending school. However children with heavy colds or persistent coughs should stay at home. A child whose cough is disappearing and who is feeling better should return to school.

Sore Throat If your child complains of a slight sore throat and has no other symptoms they are fit to go to school. If the sore throat occurs with a raised temperature, they need to stay at home.

Rashes A rash could be the first sign of one of childhood’s many illnesses, such as chicken pox or measles. The rash or spots may cover the entire body or appear in only one area. Do not send a child to school with an unexplained rash or skin eruption until you have contacted NHS 111 or your GP surgery for advice.

Minor aches and pains A child with persistent toothache should see a dentist without delay and one with earache should see a doctor without delay. A child whose only complaint is a minor headache does not usually need to be kept at home.

Vomiting and diarrhoea If vomiting occurs, your child should stay at home until he or she can keep food down. A child with diarrhoea should also be kept at home. If your child does not improve as you expect, contact NHS 111 or your GP surgery for advice. NHS advice is that you should stay off school for 48 hours following vomiting.

Raised Temperature (fever) If your child is shivery or feels hot, they may have a raised temperature. This may be due to a variety of reasons. If your child has a raised temperature (over 37.5˚C), they should not be in school. It is important to measure the temperature accurately with an appropriate thermometer.

However your child should be able to return to school once they feel and look better.

Toothache, headache or stomach ache If your child has a persistent tooth or ear ache, they need to see a dentist or doctor without delay.

If the only complaint is slight headache, your child will not usually need to be kept at home.

If your child complains of repeated mild stomach ache, headache or other symptoms and does not want to attend school, this could be due to your child being unhappy at school e.g. bullying or finding school work difficult. Speak to staff to discuss this and find ways of dealing with it.

General information Please remember that early morning aches and pains pass, so don’t keep your child at home ‘just in case’ when they could be learning in class.

When you send your child to school with minor aches or pains, tell the school staff and they will phone you if your child continues to have symptoms.

If you are not sure, check the guidance in this page. For further advice you could talk to a member of school staff, your doctor or visit the links below.

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/ NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/ Emergencyandurgentcareservices/ Pages/NHS-111.aspx www.meningitis.org https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence

Family holidays/school holidays Children have 13 weeks annual holiday from school and school holiday dates are published well in advance online. As such, all parents/carers are expected to plan and take their family holidays at this time so as not to disrupt their children’s education. Education law states that parents do not have a right to take their child out of school for a holiday during term time. Only in exceptional circumstances may the Headteacher grant permission for leave; and it is the Headteacher’s decision on whether the absence is exceptional and how many days to approve. When you take your child out of school during term time for a holiday this is likely to be recorded as an unauthorised absence and can lead to a fine. School also has a policy of excluding pupils who have unauthorised absence from any term time rewards trips which take place in the academic year of the unauthorised absence.

Transition and Beyond – Emotional Well-being Information Events for Parents and Carers Brighouse High school have organised a series of awareness raising meetings for Parents/Carers on Emotional Health topics.

The first event on Wednesday 28th September 2016 was an information fair for new Year 7 Parents/Carers on Emotional Health & Well-being. Its aim was to raise awareness of local agencies that support young people’s emotional well-being.

There were representatives from the following agencies: - Community Police Support, Barnardo’s BEAMS, Lifeline, PACE and local youth agencies. Brighouse High School Council had student representatives who outlined to parents/carers their project work on supporting other young people with their emotional needs, e.g. stress and homework.

The second event on Bullying was held during Anti bullying week. The meeting was delivered by Mrs Naylor and Ms Wardle who discussed indicators of bullying, how home can support young people and where victims of bullying can get help. Ms Wardle went through all the different types of support in school and the bullying policy. Below is an outline of our policy and support mechanisms.

Brighouse High school Anti – Bullying policy Three strands: Preventative • Encourage a culture of support and openness • Supportive • Communication with victim, provide support mechanisms around the victim, communication to staff e.g. seating plans, provide secure place/refuge.

• Bullies – monitor behaviour closely, give support, mentor and contracts.

Corrective • Victims - use outside agencies and mentors to improve self-esteem and access to counselling agencies.

• Bullies – Parents informed, punishments and targets.

Recording is key to ensure no repeat offenders.

Anti Bullying Support Mechanisms in School Preventative Mechanisms  Tutorial programme (L4L)  Assemblies  SLD  Theatre group productions  Poster campaigns  School Council  Student Planners  BHS Website

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Supportive Mechanisms Respect box Pastoral teams + SMT Prefects Safeguarding leads Peer mentoring programmes Counsellors Mentors Group counselling Community Police Bullying Reflection Programme – For repeat offenders

UNIFORM REMINDER We regard school uniform as an important element in maintaining standards and hope that parents will support us in this. Sensible attire and hair styles sum up our approach. The school colours are navy and light blue and most items can be easily obtained locally. Ties can also be bought through the school. The following uniform applies on the journey to and from school as well as within.      

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Boys Dark grey trousers (School type, not cord, denim, cotton or skin tight fit trousers) Pale blue shirt – worn tucked in to trousers and sleeves rolled down School tie (clip-on tie for Years 7-9). Tie knots should be fully visible and clip on ties should be attached at the top Navy Brighouse High school sweatshirt Standard length plain dark socks Plain black leather or leather-looking shoes (No trainers / boots / pumps) No logo, writing and must be all black. Canvas, suede or fabric, Vans and Converse style footwear are not appropriate Girls Navy A-line or pleated skirt with a length to the top of the knee(pleated skirt only from September 2018) Navy trousers (school type, not cord, denim, cotton and no leggings) Pale blue shirt – worn tucked in to trousers and sleeves rolled down School tie (clip-on tie for Years 7-9). Tie knots should be fully visible and clip on ties should be attached at the top Navy Brighouse High school sweatshirt Standard length Plain dark socks or navy or black tights Plain low heeled black leather or leather-looking shoes (No trainers / boots / pumps) No logo, writing and must be all black. High heeled or backless shoes, boots, canvas, suede or fabric, Vans and Converse style footwear are not appropriate Notes The minimum length of skirt Frank Harrison’s will provide to our students is a minimum of 18 inch to ensure the length of the skirt reaches the top of the knee. For some younger or petite students the suppliers may order a shorter length.

All outdoor clothing must be removed on entering school and is at risk of being confiscated if worn in class or corridors.

Articles of clothing made from denim are not regarded as appropriate for wear to and from school nor inside the school.

Minimal jewellery; a watch, one small stud in each ear for boys and girls. (no stretchers, spikes or tunnel type earrings). No bracelets and bands. No other form of body piercing is allowed. All jewellery must be removed for PE/Games.

Hair should not be extreme in terms of style, cut or colour Nails must be of a short length and a natural colour. (no polish, gels or acrylics) If you are in any doubt about any of the information above, please contact the school before making your purchases

BOYS UNIFORM

Hair should not be extreme in terms of style, cut or colour

Navy Brighouse High school sweatshirt

Minimal jewellery; a watch, one small stud in each ear (no stretchers, spikes or tunnel type earrings). No bracelets and bands.

Plain dark socks, Standard length

Pale blue shirt – worn tucked in to trousers / skirt and sleeves rolled down

Years 7, 8, 9 Clip on tie Years 10, 11 School Tie Tie knots should be fully visible and clip on ties should be attached at the top

Dark grey trousers (School type) (Not cord, denim, cotton or skin tight fit trousers)

Plain low heeled black leather or leather-looking shoes (No trainers/ boots/ Are you pumps) wearing the correct school uniform?

No logo or writing & must be all black.

High heeled or backless shoes, boots, canvas, suede or fabric, Vans and Converse style footwear are not appropriate.

GIRLS UNIFORM

Hair should not be extreme in terms of style, cut or colour

Nails must be of a short length and a natural colour. (no polish, gels or acrylics)

Navy A-line or pleated skirt with a length to the top of the knee (pleated skirt only from September 2018)

Navy trousers (School type and not cord, denim, cotton or leggings)

Plain dark socks (Standard length) or navy or black tights

Pale blue shirt – worn tucked in to trousers / skirt and sleeves rolled down

Navy Brighouse High school sweatshirt Years 7, 8, 9 Clip on tie Years 10, 11 School Tie Tie knots should be fully visible and clip on ties should be attached at the top Minimal jewellery; a watch, one small stud in each ear (no stretchers, spikes or tunnel type earrings).

No bracelets and bands.

Plain low heeled black leather or leather-looking shoes (No trainers/ boots/ pumps) No logo or writing & must be all black.

High heeled or backless shoes, boots, canvas, suede or fabric, Vans and Converse style footwear are not appropriate.

Not acceptable are

Mobile Phone Policy – REMINDER Students are permitted to bring phones to school but they must be switched off and kept in bags or lockers unless teachers specifically ask their class to use a mobile phone for learning purposes.

Anyone seen with a phone out during the school day will have it confiscated and held in the school office until the end of the day. If it is a second offence parents must then collect the device.

If your child needs to contact you for any reason they will be able to do so at the school office or with permission from a member of staff.

The policy has been established in an attempt to reduce the number of mobile phone technology and social media related incidents and to emphasise that during the school day we expect pupils to focus on academic work, extracurricular work and face to face social interaction. Many schools locally and nationally are adapting similar policies successfully and we look forward to the co-operate of pupils and their families in this matter.

Please note that if you allow your son or daughter to bring a mobile phone to school, this is at your own risk and any loss or theft of the device would not be covered by the school policy.

Thank you in anticipation of you support with implementing this policy and ensuring all students have the right learning environment.

LOST PROPERTY We have accumulated various unnamed items including coats in lost property.

Any items not claimed by the 15th January 2018 will be recycled.

Please clearly name all items brought into school by your child so they can be reunited.

Detention System 2017 – 2018 After consultation with our student council and feedback from all staff, we will be introducing a new detention system from September.

The new centralised system will have a staged approach based on the number of detentions a pupil accumulates within a school week. The new system will replace all existing detentions.

Under the new system students will be informed of a scheduled detention on a Monday, followed by a text home.

A summary of the new system can be seen below.

Teacher Led Detention (TLD) When: Triggers:

1

Break, Lunch or After School Minor subject or form issues

Organised by a subject teacher or Form Tutor. Allows pupils an opportunity to complete missed homework, classwork and/or to discuss behaviour concerns. Not recorded in the centralised system but failure to attend will result in a Stage 2 Detention.

Lunchtime Detention

2

When: Tuesday - 13.25 – 13.45 – S13 Triggers: Pupils being issued with ONE Detention in a one week period, failure to attend a Stage 1 TLD, failure to follow the behaviour policy and/or pastoral issues (late marks, uniform) Pupils will be informed of the Detention by their Form Tutor, followed by a text home

After School Detention

3

When: Triggers:

Wednesday - 15.10 - 16.00 – Dining Hall (50 minutes) Pupils being issued with TWO Detentions in a one week period, failure to attend Stage 2 Lunchtime Detention, and/or subject or pastoral matter or more significant misdemeanours as decided by HOY/SMT

Pupils will be informed of the Detention by the School Office. Detention slip signed by pupil, followed by a text home

After School Detention

4

When: Triggers:

Thursday - 15:10 – 16.30 – Dining Hall (80 minutes) Pupil being issued with THREE Detentions in a one week period, failing to attend the 50 minute Stage 3 Detention, S17 isolation twice in a one week period or more significant misdemeanours as decided by HOY/SMT

Pupils informed by the School Office and asked to sign in detention slip followed by a text home

Full Day Isolation (08.45 – 16.00)

5 S17

When: Day agreed with the Senior Leadership Team Triggered: Pupil being issued with FOUR Detentions in a one week period, failing to attend a Stage 4 Detention, S17 isolation (more than twice in a week period) Arranged by the Head of Year and Pastoral Administrator). Pupils will be informedof the Detention by the Head of Year, followed by a phone call home

S17 Lunch Detention (13.25 – 13.25) Pupils sent to S17 Isolation will attend a Stage 3 Detention the following day

Activities in the

Tues Year 7 Homework club with Miss Preece 3.10- 4.20

See Mrs Makinson- literacy and library co-ordinator if you are interested in any of these exciting activities. c.makinson@brighouse.calderdale.sch.uk

FRIDAY FILM CLUB 3.10-4.30 See Mrs Makinson

Who? With Mrs Makinson What? The Festival Book Group When?- Mon lunchtimes Where? The LMH

Advertise your Business here!!

For ÂŁ20.00 per year If you own a business and want to discuss advertising in this newsletter, then contact Nicola Carthew at school on 01484 404830

www.DrivetoThrive.co.uk

Professional Driving Instruction  Driving lessons for beginners.  Free on-line Theory / Hazard Perception  Pass Plus.  Refresher and development lessons available in motorway driving, parking, fuel efficient and safer driving.  Driving Instructor training available for those looking for a new career opportunity  Occupational road risk management available for businesses

Andrew Adams ( A.D.I. ). 0791 3900 494 : adams@drivetothrive.co.uk Please see the website for current lesson prices and special offers

*NEW YOUTH DANCE PROJECT – YOUTH DANCE ELLAND* A community dance project for young people in Elland and the surrounding areas.

Focusing on health and wellbeing, participants will develop their strength, coordination, flexibility and self-esteem whilst also learning a new skill! Suitable for complete beginners.

Places are limited – get in touch as soon as possible to secure your place.

Leadership of Brighouse High School Brighouse High School has a track record of planning carefully for the succession of Headteachers and Senior Leaders. At a meeting recently Governors agreed to a plan for succession at Headteacher level.

During the Spring Term Governors will seek to appoint an Associate Headteacher / Headteacher Designate to work alongside Mrs Cresswell. The plan is for the new post holder to eventually take over the leadership of the school and work with Governors, staff and the wider community to secure the school’s ethos and build further on its current success. Governors expect Mrs Cresswell to continue her association with the school in the longer term in an executive capacity.

A recruitment process will be established and parents / carers informed of the outcome later in the Spring Term.

J Jones Chair of Governors B Robson Vice Chair of Governors

Future Events Monday 8th January 2018 School Opens Monday 15th January 2018 Year 11 Tracking Home Wednesday 17th January 2018 Year 11 Parents Evening Thursday 25 January 2018 Guided Choices/ Year 9 Parents Evening Wednesday 31st January 2018 Year 12 Parents Evening Saturday 3rd February 2018 Workshop with West Yorkshire Regiment Band Thursday 15th February 2018 USA Trip Departs Friday 16th February 2018 Battlefields Trip Friday 16th February 2018 School Closes for Half Term Saturday 17th February 2018 Ski Trip Departs