Easter Edition 2014
Inside this issue...
Holocuast Memorial Day A interview with Rudi Oppenheimer
...Activity Day...World of Work Day Hinning House & Italy Ski Trips... Biodiversity Project & ECO Schools Atheltics, Badminton, Cross Country & much, more!!
Junior University 2015
HEAD’S COMMENTS
Dear Parents School dog The glass corridor replacement was completed recently and we can now travel around school without getting wet. The project took well over the allocated time but the result looks fabulous and we now have a new student entrance with more space to circulate. The area around will be landscaped once spring finally arrives. The students have been very patient and adapted well to the inconvenience. Our Y11 are working extremely hard at the moment and we want them to achieve their full potential in Summer. To this end staff are coming in over Easter to deliver revision classes and all students have been issued with planning documents to help them over the coming weeks. Please support them though their preparation, keeping them well fed and hydrated as they carry out their revision. I want to thank all the staff on the students’ behalf for the energy and commitment they have shown throughout this year. I know you, as parents, have also worked tirelessly to support us. So thanks to you as well. The final few weeks is very important and together we will ensure they perform well. The school production of ‘Grease’ was a great success with many outstanding performances. It is testament to the talent we have in school and also to the commitment of the Performing Arts staff and the backstage teams. I am still working for part of the week in Salford but will return full time to Golborne in September. Mrs Gormally, I think you will agree, is doing a great job in my absence.
D Lythgoe 2
UPDATE
‘D’ is now 5 months old and has been joining in with Golborne High School life since February. He joins in with Science lessons when he can, and visits pupils and staff whilst on his adventures around the School. He has passed ‘The Puppy Foundation Assessment’ associated with The Kennel Club and the pupils doing an excellent job training him. Here’s what the pupils think about having a School dog. “In class we have learned about animals and ‘D’ has helped us as a class to develop our animal skills. If you walk into class and you’re in a bad mood he is always there to cheer you up” by Sam Fitton “‘D’ is so lovely to be around. I think it was a good idea bringing him into School because he helps you to learn, and he calms you down if you’re in a mood. I have walked “D” and am teaching him to walk to heel and I am very proud.” by Rebecca Porter “D” has made me feel happier coming to school, because it’s nice to be around animals. I have taught him to Sit and to lie down and this has made me feel proud” by Thomas Scott
The Junior University is a motivational programme run by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). Year 10 students from Golborne High School have been involved in this programme for three years now and past students have really benefited from this experience. The 2015 programme started in January and will run for 10 sessions until March. The application process was organised by the staff at UCLan and 20 candidates were successful and gained a place on the programme. The sessions are run on Thursday evenings at the Preston Campus outside of normal school hours with some Saturday and Sunday sessions. They are led by the University’s academic staff and the Undergraduate students who are the Student ambassadors. The activities include: FE and higher education subject taster workshops, campus tours, revision and study skills, subject specific sessions, team building, parental sessions, confidence building, volunteering, money management as well as social activities such as bowling. The final session will be in March followed by a Summer school in May and a graduation ceremony in July. We are grateful for the opportunity to be working with UCLan as part of this aspiration raising programme and look forward to future partnerships.
A Journalist from Granada Reports interviewing Rudi in school
Rudi Oppenheimer working with year 9 pupils.
Holocaust Tuesday 27th Memorial Day January2015 This year Holocaust Memorial Day is more significant as it is also the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. To commemorate such an important event in History the Humanities Department organised for all year 9 pupils to take part in a Holocaust Memorial day at school. Pupils took part in a variety of activities which included listening to Holocaust survivor Rudi Oppenheimer talk about his experiences during the war. Rudi told pupils about his early experiences as a young child in Germany, England and in Holland. Rudi’s family were living in Holland when the Nazis invaded. They then spent the next few years living in Westerbork camp and eventually Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. From meeting and listening to Rudi Oppenheimer pupils were able to understand the human tragedy first hand. They have gained a better understanding of how the holocaust affected its victims; an experience they cannot get from reading textbooks.
“It was interesting to hear how a survivor can be so strong and move on with his life after such an awful experience” Chanelle Atherton
“It was a good experience hearing a first hand account of what the Holocaust was really like” Nathan Hindley 3
Year 7 History Project
Medieval
Castles Year 7’s are currently studying medieval England in their History lessons. As part of the course they learn how William the Conqueror secured control of England after the Battle of Hastings. One of the methods he used to control the English was to build castles in the main towns. Year 7 pupils have been researching how these castles developed from Motte and Bailey castles to square keep castles. They had to present their research to the class and many pupils opted to produce a visual model of a castle as part of their presentation. These are just a few examples of the excellent models produced by year 7 pupils.
All Saints
EGYPT PROJECT Year 4 pupils from Golborne All Saints Catholic Primary school have had a fantastic time creating Art work linking with their class project on, Egypt. The pupils have attended Golborne High school each week and worked with Miss Culshaw to design and make their own clay tiles. The painted tiles have been arranged to create a fantastic display for within their school.
4
ACTIVITY
DAY
Inter House Day in December gave students a chance to explore their creative side when they took part in school activities. The Art department had pupils using Sharpie pens to add colourful designs to ceramic plates that they would later take home to keep or give as presents. Christmas tree decorations were made in Technology and bath bombs in Science, Indoor football ran in the sports hall and movies, games and Quiz events took place all around school. A big Thank you to Staff and students for all their effort and participation in making this day enjoyable and fun.
5
GoalCo Trust Schools Update
Hinning House
Golborne Village Committee Ice Rink Event 12 Lowton J&I pupils and 12 Golborne High School pupils visited Hinning House in the Duddon Valley in the Lake District in January. The area was covered in snow yet pupils made the most of their time there building Cooperative links with our Trust partners. One of the aims of the visit was to look at Cooperative Values and to work alongside one another. All children thoroughly enjoyed the experience which included walking up a waterfall and orienteering in a small team. Year seven, eight and nine children from Golborne High School GoaLCo Cooperative Trust looked after their year four buddies. For more information the Lowton Junior and Infant School Year Four blog is available for all to see. We are about to start a Cooperative Schools Greenfingers project –pupils shall be working together now the plastic bottle greenhouse is finished. We are going to be working with other Trust members within Golborne High School but also other schools will be able to come and join in some of the activities such as seed planting.
6
It was fantastic that so many families and Golborne High School pupils supported the event at Peter Kane Square. The Ice Skating rink in Golborne on 14&15 Feb was a huge success and children had the opportunity to meet Olaf, and the Frozen characters.
Biodiversity project We are well underway with the planning of the Wetland Project which is going to be located at the back of the MUGA pitch on the old hockey pitch. We hope to attract rare birds and species including the protected Great Crested Newt. Some of the supporters in the local community include Golborne Village Committee and Murphy’s who are going to work with us to make our Wetland project a real success. Members of the local community came to talk to Golborne High School pupils on Saturday 14 Feb when they visited the GoaLCo stall at the village square. Here we informed people about our proposed Wetland project and many people were supportive. Local Councillors have given The GoaLCo Trust a Brighter Borough grant for £500. This was given to school which has helped us start the project off. We are now in the process of putting a number of bids together to enable us to buy a bird hide, similar to the one at the Three Sisters. If anyone would like to help with the project in any way, including fund raising events please contact Mrs Thorpe.
Cooperative Conference Manchester
Children spoke at the Cooperative Conference in December held at the People’s museum and we had lots of positive feedback from this. The pupils spoke clearly and confidently about our school and the Cooperative Trust we are in. They have been invited to speak at other Cooperative schools as a result of this. Well done to our GoaLCo representatives!
Eco Schools
The plastic bottle greenhouse is now finished and project is just beginning - pupils are keen to get growing! Many thanks to the kind staff who have donated seeds, plants and plant pots to our gardening project. We have been looking at how to apply for the Eco Schools label too– In March pupils have taken part in a Litter pick with Ellen Hardaker from Wigan Council and there shall be assemblies about noise pollution by a member of the Wigan Council Civil Injunction team during Noise Week.
7
Annual Ski Trip
Once again 33 pupils and 4 staff made their way to the sunny slopes of Chiesa, Northern Italy for our annual ski trip. This year the weather was very kind to us, with only 1 day of heavy snow, then the rest of the week clear blue skies and hot sunshine!!! Some very nervous beginners hit the slopes (some actually did hit the slopes‌and quite hard!!!) on the Sunday morning, but by Monday afternoon they had become very confident, able skiers, moving off the Nursery Slopes and attempting Blue Runs!!! By Thursday morning the Slalom Ski Test was really exciting with some very fast finishers. Each night, after skiing all day, with very tired bodies and legs, football, ice-skating and sledging were on offer, with many stars emerging: Lewis Griffin the amazing Penalty Taker and Danielle Bamford, the star Ice-Skater, Oliver Reffell our speedy downhill sledger!!! I think everybody will agree we all had an amazing week, fantastic Italian food, scenery, weather and of course skiing – roll on next year!!! See Mrs Hollowell, Mrs Gash, Miss Barrett or Mr Thorpe if you would like to join us on this amazing trip next February.
8
World of Work Day Year 11 had the opportunity to experience a range of different activities on a ‘World of Work’ day. During the day students received a mock interview with feedback from a range of professionals who volunteered to give up their time for the day. Students also had the opportunity to experience three career insights within the following areas: Army, Architecture, Town planning, Law, Finance, Sport, Banking, Photography, Insurance, University life and many more. Some of the positive comments from volunteers on the day were: “I feel that I should be thanking you! I really enjoyed the day and it was a pleasure to meet the students and the staff. I wish that we had had something like this when I was at school! I wish all your students well or the future - whatever career path they take. With very best wishes” “It was a real pleasure to help out. You and your staff did an absolutely excellent job organising and hosting the event and your Yr 11 pupils are a real credit to your school and the local area. The pupils whom I interviewed did a fantastic job and it’s great to see from an employer’s perspective, that there’s lots more emerging young talent in the pipeline! Do let me know if there’s any further opportunities to help out in the future”.
9
Cross Country
Athletics The Boys
Today the year 8 indoor athletics team went to St Peters High, Belle Vue in Manchester to compete in the final of the County championships. The boys were truly fantastic and finished a very credible 7th. It’s been a fantastic journey winning the area and regional events to qualify for the county final. Attached is a picture of the team who competed. Sadly James Denmade, Jack Grundy and Reece Tunstall where unavailable but Jake Higson & Rhys Bagmall came into the team and performed tremendously well.
The Girls
Very well done to the Year 8 Indoor Athletics girls who performed extremely well in the competition held at Lowton school. They improved upon last year’s Bronze medal position achieving Silver this time around! Fabulous effort, they came runners up to St Mary’s High school. Team members included: Grace Newton, Rachel Seggie, Tamzin Woodhead, Shauna Gorst, Lucy Grundy and Emily Guerin.
10
Our girls and boys performed extremely well in the Wigan schools Cross Country Championship which took place on Tuesday 18th November and their behaviour was a credit to Golborne High School. The best performance from Year 7 girls was by Aimee Hampton coming in 11th out of around 90 competitors, therefore qualifying for The Greater Manchester Championship event. Our Year 8 boys and girls were excellent and their race consisted of pupils from both Years 8 and 9. Jack Grundy (Y8) finished 12th position, Emily Guerin 11th, Grace Newton 4th and Eve Williams, with an outstanding performance, came 2nd gaining a Silver medal! All these pupils have been invited to represent Wigan at the Greater Manchester Championship. Finally, our Year 10 girls (running with the Year 11 age group) were also very pleasing. Issy Mcmillan finished 8th and Chloe Davies 14th, both qualifying for GMC. An excellent day at the LSV. Well done to all the pupils who took part.
Badminton...
Callum Lowe, Steven Leigh, Caitlin Donohue and Alex Morris were selected to represent Wigan Athletic in the FA North West Badminton Doubles competition. Both pairs did tremendously well playing against teams from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton. The boys’ pair narrowly came second, only losing to eventual winners Everton. The girls however did one step better and won their competition. The year 8 indoor athletics team have successfully defeated the top schools from the Wigan borough to be crowned the district champions. They now will go on to represent the borough in the greater Manchester competition on 11th March. The whole team were fantastic and if you see them deserve a lot of praise for their performances. Reece Caruthers, Reece Tunstall , George Reid , Liam Battersby , Kameron Parry, James Denmade. Hopefully with the return of Jack Grundy and Jordan Grice we go on and really challenge in the regional event.
...and Indoor Athletics GIRLS & BOYS
Primary Basketball Golborne High Staged the LOGOS School Basketball Finals last month. 10 School’s entered with Golborne Communuity winning and progressing to the Wigan Schools final . All games were organised and officiated by the Basketball Leaders here at Golborne.
Bikeability Well done to
Tom Lever Oliver Clark Conner Ashhurst Nathan Ashford Lewis Briscoe Ben Unsworth Jacob Gunn Charlie Sanderson Tom Russell All Yr 7 passed Level 2 program.
12