Spring ISSUE 9 / 2013
A fantastic start to the DofE season...
...LowryCentre Creative Day...
...Clothes Show 2012... ...Media Trip to Bradford... ...Sports Round-up For the full facts and much, much, more - THE STANDARD
Art the STANDARD x Standish Community High School x Spring 2013 x Page 2
A note from
the Head
Please enjoy reading ‘The Standard’ once again as we reflect on what has been taking place in our school over the last few months. As always, this publication gives a real flavour of what is taking place both within and beyond the taught curriculum. Once again the commitment that our students and staff demonstrate on a regular basis is both inspirational and humbling. In addition, I am always grateful for the support we receive from our families in ensuring that such a wide range of activities and events are well supported. There is never a quiet time in any school but at Standish Community High School you can always be assured that there are exciting activities taking place in addition to a real focus on teaching and learning. Lynne Fox
Lowry Centre The Kingsbridge Excellence Centre, Wigan invited us to take twelve talented and gifted pupils to the Lowry Centre, Salford. We spent the day with Paul Pickford, an animator, who gave us a brief introduction as to how the brain/eye/ hand co-ordination works. We had a few challenging exercises: drawing a model without being able to see the paper; not being able to take the pencil off the paper; drawing with the non-dominant hand!
Charity
Next, there was a photography exhibition of comedians, from the past. We also viewed Lowry’s work, though more interest was paid to a 1950s juke box! (A lovely lady gave us 20p to select our chosen record, as our bags were locked in the Art room). There was also a Peter Blake exhibition that included life-size models that featured on the album of ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. I thought it was just a collage of cut out photographs! Moving quickly onwards we visited the BBC Centre in Salford meeting a Dalek, the Dr Who Tardis, and the new Blue Peter Garden, which was rather disappointing! We were also able to peer through glass at the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ costumes on mannequins. Finally, we were allowed to sculpt with ‘magic-clay’, which is a very clean material that can be painted, once it has hardened. Paul showed us his sculptures of The Joker and Hellboy. Students were then encouraged to use their imagination to create figures, including a few snowmen. This is not a feature of our normal Art curriculum! It was a most enjoyable day: the behaviour of the pupils was impeccable; they saw art work first-hand; experienced the BBC Centre and Lowry Centre and saw some ‘Children in Need’ events. Mrs Houghton
Here at Standish we are delighted to have received an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for use in our school. I was first approached by Mr Bernard Powell, who has personally financed this AED, in September 2012 and I was delighted to meet with him to discuss how we could take this forward. Mr Powell works closely with SADS UK, a charity that promotes and supports the use of AEDs in schools and other public places, and is personally committed to ensuring that more young lives are saved by the availability of this life saving equipment. In addition to the gift of the AED we have also received training for our staff, provided by the North West Ambulance Service, to ensure that staff are confident and able to use this equipment safely. The staff have been fantastic, with more staff offering to be trained than we could facilitate! This is a piece of equipment that we hope we will never have to use but, should the need arise, we may save lives. On behalf of our staff and students I am really grateful to Mr Powell for making this donation.
The following members of staff volunteered to undertake the training for our newly donated Automated External Defibrillator (AED):
Mrs Fox Head teacher
Thursday 29th November was the last time that the class of 2012 would be together at SCHS. Mrs Fox was quick to deflect praise from her own leadership role and publicly thanked staff, students and parents for the hard work and sheer dedication that enabled the class of 2012 to be such a successful year group. The prize-giving evening was marked by some outstanding musical and theatrical interludes. The “Grand Finale” though, was provided by the last outing of the much celebrated cheer-leading team that competed in the European Finals in Slovenia back in June 2011. A spontaneous standing ovation from staff, governors and parents provided an apt conclusion for what was an emotional evening. Will Ash, guest speaker, mingled with students and parents over canapés and light refreshments posing for photos and signing autographs. In his speech, Will talked about working hard to find not just a job but “…something in life that made you tick… something in life where you felt you could make a difference…”. This year’s leavers will make a difference wherever they go! Everyone at Standish Community High School would like to wish them well in their academic courses, vocational pathways or jobs.
M Grainger J Johnston M Simms-Crewe D Morgan D Thompson K Barker
L Naylor A Stewart J Preston M Duffy C Heyes D Fairhurst
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Generous Donation
A Fond Farewell to our Yr11 Students
Charity the STANDARD x Standish Community High School x Spring 2013 x Page 4
Celebrations for all
The last day of term at Standish Community High School saw students and staff celebrating their achievements both in and out of the classroom. Celebration assemblies were held to reward students for their hard work and successes regarding their academic efforts and their magnificent contribution to the school’s annual charity fundraising efforts. The school celebrated success regarding excellent attendance and attitude to learning with students being rewarded for their efforts with pre-Christmas prizes. Whilst it was clear that students had been working incredibly hard in the classroom their efforts had been matched with their enthusiasm and commitment to raise money for their four chosen charities: Help For Heroes, Joining Jack, Cancer Research UK and the RSPCA. Throughout 2012, students had also supported the Poppy Appeal and raised money for local Senior Citizens to visit Standish Community High for a Christmas lunch and celebration. Whist staff supported students with these activities, they endeavoured to play their part in raising money for the McMillan Cancer appeal and ‘Movember’ – a charity that supports issues relating to men’s health. The assemblies recognised the good work of students, at Standish Community High School, who had participated in activities such as sponsored events, cake sales, quizzes, fairground activities and even
leg-waxing! Representatives from the students’ chosen charities explained how the money raised would be used and the students were delighted to watch a special video-recording from Andy Johnson, the father of Jack. On a poignant note, past student, Jimmy Higham, sadly passed away just after his 26th birthday, a little over a year ago, following a battle with cancer. Jimmy was an inspirational young man who left Standish to pursue a career as a PE teacher. He achieved the job of his dreams at the Wellington College in Hampshire. The students at Wellington College chose to support the Jimmy Higham Bursary Fund by releasing a video to support Jimmy’s
posthumous hit – a cover version of “Isn’t She Lovely” which reached number one in the iTunes Soul Chart. Standish students and staff have supported this cause by downloading the tune, enabling further monies to be generated for this fund. Our end-of-term assemblies were a fantastic celebration of the achievements of young people and we are confident that the sum of approximately £7800, raised throughout the year, will make a significant difference to the lives of many!
Languages
SUMMER 2012 CREDIT/DRAW WINNERS YEAR 7 7T 7K 7K 7U 7L
Ryan Stockley George Rose Ellen Winterbottom Emily Ashurst Ross Carter
YEAR 8 £40 £40 £20 £20 £20
8E 8U 8E 8C 8G
Ryab Helm Daniel Hart Clodagh Horsefield Jaima Mahmood Sam Grant
YEAR 9 £40 9C £40 9L £20 9T £20 9T £20 9L
Rob Traynor Courtney Bradley Megan Sharples Aimee Taylor Ianthe Warlow
YEAR 10
Year 7 Language Students
Go Christmas Shopping!
As a special Christmas treat, Year 7 language students had the opportunity to try out their French skills in the Langtech Shopping Street and Café. They had a choice of roles: to go shopping or be a shop-keeper (or both) or be a café customer. Mrs Chen said that everyone really rose to the challenge! The students had been busy practising their vocabulary in class and this really paid off on the day. We heard some excellent French accents and key phrases. Well done Year 7! After a tiring Christmas shopping trip, students were able to relax in the Langtech Café and enjoy a selection of French pastries and cakes. These included croissants, pain au chocolat, brioche and gateaux. Mrs Hickman and Mrs Young were busy serving, whilst students perused the menu and asked for their chosen items in French. Even the drinks had a European flavour: coca (cola), limonade (lemonade) and l’eau (water). Mrs Young
£40 10E £40 10H £20 10T £20 10N £20 10A
Amy Ashurst James Morris Edward Moore Samantha Wilding Sophie Adamson
WINNERS OF THE ADDITIONAL PRIZES 7T Molly Taylor
Flat Screen TV
8G Cameron Scott
Flat Screen TV
9A Chris Pilkington
Digital Camera
7T Louise Hardman
Docking Station
7L Jack Helm
Meal Vouchers The Beeches Hotel
8T Emma Hamilton Grand Arcade Shopping Vouchers 10T Kayleigh Peach
Football
10L Lucy Merrill
Hat
8U Sophie Harrison
Hat
10T Daniel Walker
Hat
8N Amy Austin
Hat
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£40 £40 £20 £20 £20
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€urolympix You have probably heard about the Comenius project in school already but this month we experienced the first Comenius exchange to Germany and it was so amazing it is definitely worth telling you more about it! In January of this year, Miss Owen and Miss Barker set off on a mission to France. The mission was to secure funding for a Comenius project in which they so desperately wanted to take part. Miss Owen had tried the previous year but unfortunately, as only about four hundred schools receive the funding, we were unsuccessful. The visit to France was a great success and in July we found out that our school would be receiving 25,000 euros from the Lifelong Learning Programme which would help fund our Comenius project. The project, which has been named ‘Eurolympix’, focuses on sports and languages. In the project, we aim to present the sports of our nation and locality to our partner schools in Germany, France and Italy, as well as find out about what sports they are famous for and enjoy practising. We also aim to develop our knowledge of languages and our understanding of cultural differences. The next step was to set up a ‘Comenius Club’, so Miss Owen asked pupils from Year 9 to write letters of application to show their interest in becoming members of the Comenius Club. Thirty five students applied, and twenty pupils decided to attend the club on Thursday lunchtimes. The first trip to Germany proved very popular amongst the Comenius Club members so names were put into a draw and eight were chosen to take part in the first exchange to Gross-Umstadt in Germany. The lucky eight were Alex Calland, Emily Melling, Rebecca Mullaney, Rosalind Rowse, Rhys Southern, Josh Taberner, Chloe Wakelam & Olivia Yates. In preparation for the exchange, and with the help of Mr Blakemore, we began creating a film about our school, which we are going to present to the partner schools in the near future. In addition, we made badges for our club and we contacted our German exchange partners by email. We also learned some German to help us on our travels and found out about German food, culture, history and geography. As the trip approached, the eight students and their parents met with Miss Owen, Mrs Fox and Mr Mayor, who was coming on the trip to help us with the P.E and sports aspects of the project.
Exchange to Germany
The day of the trip arrived and we could not contain our excitement! We met in school at 8.45am and dropped our bags off at the International Pavilion. We travelled to Manchester airport by mini bus and the forty minute journey felt so slow as we just could not wait to board that plane! We took off at lunch time, landing in Frankfurt International Airport within two hours. The airport was huge, modern and clean, which was quite different from what we had all expected. The first cultural difference we encountered was the recycling process: you could not just throw away your empty water bottle; you first had to decide in which of the five separate sections the bottle needed to go! The Germans take the environment very seriously and do whatever they can to ensure it is protected. Once we had gone through customs, we had to find the students from the French school. We had to walk to another terminal where we found a group of students l ooking as lost as we felt in this huge, foreign airport. We then boarded a minibus from the airport to Max-Planck Gymnasium where we were to meet with our host families. On the journey we all felt nervous about meeting our exchange partners with whom we had made email contact only a few times We were going to spend five days living with someone we hardly knew and we were all feeling a little anxious! When we arrived at the school at 5:30pm, it was already pitch black. Our host families were all waiting eagerly for us to arrive
and within no time at all we were in the car on our way back to their houses. We all stayed in houses very close to each other and to the German school and Miss Owen and Mr Mayor stayed in a hotel in the centre of the town. At first, it felt a little strange for everyone, being in a house with a family we did not know, but everyone was open-minded and ready for a new cultural experience and that is certainly what we all had! Chloe’s host Dad greeted her in Lederhosen, Josh had an entire floor in the house to himself, while Rhys was laughed at whilst he ate! We all bought our exchange partners a present from Wigan. (Most of us took Uncle Joe’s mint balls!) We also took Joining Jack wrist bands and told our exchange partners all about our fundraising activities at school. On the first day, we all met at the school, where we were welcomed by German teachers and students and had the opportunity to meet the Italian partners for the first time. We spent the first morning in German lessons. A few of us were even in English classes and had to assist the teacher with pronunciation and speaking practice! We all agreed that being in a German school was a very different experience and made us really appreciate what we have here at Standish. At Standish, most of us take resources such as interactive whiteboards, computers, our Langtech Street and food facilities for granted but we now realise how lucky we are! There was no internet connection in
met the Mayor. Gross - Umstadt was a really beautiful town, like something you would see in a film. The afternoon of the first day was a trip to a bowling alley in Darmstadt. We played in mixed nationality teams which gave us an opportunity to bond with the other students involved in the Eurolympix project. We also discovered that bowling isn’t Mr Mayor’s strong point! Most of us then spent the rest of the evening with our host families at their houses and a few of us spent the evening together as our hosts were friends. The second day was a trip to the Technik Museum in Speyer. We were able to see all of the old German war planes, tanks and submarines. We also slid down the emergency exit of a Bowing 747 plane, which was fun! We watched a film in the museum’s IMAX cinema and then we had lunch in the museum. German people tend to have their main meal at lunch time and then just a snack in the evening, which was quite different for us and some of us were rather hungry at night! In the afternoon we went to Heidelberg, a beautiful city which Miss Owen knew well as she studied there when she was at university. We visited the famous Heidelberg castle, went ice-skating and
then shopping at the Christmas markets. We bought some traditional German gifts for our friends and families. Miss Owen nearly had a heart attack when Alex told her about his gift for his Mum. Alex said that he had bought his mum some Baileys and that the man at the Christmas market had been so kind he had even let him try it before he bought it! In fact, Alex speaks so fast that what he had actually said was that he had bought his mum some Baileys flavoured nuts! Phew!
On the third day we spent the morning at the school. We watched a Christmas concert put on by the younger children at Max-Planck Gymnasium. We discovered that children start school at nine years old and leave when they are eighteen; this was another significant difference from our school. We then gave presentations about our schools and about sports in our countries. We were very sad to hear about the destruction and devastation from the recent earthquake in Bologna. Our Italian partner school has had lessons in a hotel for months and has recently moved into temporary containers. When we compare this to our school it makes us even more thankful for what we have. Later in the day, we went to the school’s sports hall, which is not actually in the school, but a five minute walk away in the town centre. We learned how to play crossboccia and spent three hours playing badminton, crosboccia and basketball in mixed nationality teams. A few of us spent the afternoon in a shopping centre and others went back to their host families’ houses. In the evening there was a big party at Tom’s house (Alex’s host), where only the English danced. We taught everyone how to dance to Gangnam Style and we shared four 21” pizzas! When the final day came, we all met at the school and bid farewell to our new Comenius friends, travelled by mini-bus to the airport and then flew back to Manchester. We all agreed that while, at first, we felt quite uncomfortable with our hosts as it was difficult to communicate and we wished we could speak German, the situation improved as the week went on and we all grew to know each other. We became very good at using our hands to express what we wanted to say and Alex even learned to speak a little more slowly! We became close with our partners and will definitely keep in touch through Facebook, email and eTwinning. In April the French, Germans and Italians are all coming to Wigan and we will need to find 24 host families for them. When they are in England, we need to plan exciting activities for them to enjoy! All eight of us want to be hosts as we have seen from first-hand experience what a memorable and rewarding project Comenius is. Next year, we will also go to Italy and France to continue the Eurolympix project. If you would like to be involved by either hosting an Italian, French or German student or going to Italy or France or by simply helping us to make videos, questionnaires, anthems, logos and update our Twinspace, please come along to the Comenius club which takes place every other Thursday lunchtime in Room 3 with Miss Owen.
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the school and the canteen sold one choice of meal each day. Lessons were quite different too: mini-whiteboards were unheard of and teachers still used old-fashioned chalkboards! Students go to school in their own clothes and have to provide all of their own exercise books and equipment. Josh and Emily had an interesting story to tell when one German student’s phone rang in lesson and she simply answered the phone and walked out of the classroom to take the call. The teacher didn’t bat an eyelid! Later on, we went to the town hall and
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WINTER 2012
CREDIT/DRAW WINNERS YEAR 11 DRAW WINNERS Overall credit winners Hannah Toghill 11A & Patrick Melling 11T £40 11E Georgia Grange £40 11L Lucy Merrill £20 11A Harry Clark £20 11H Molly Greenhalgh £20 11E Yasmin Latham 100% Attendance Prize Winners Lorran Holland 11L & Frankie Gormally 11L
YEAR10 DRAW WINNERS Overall Credit Winners Megan Sharples 11T & Daniel Shaw 11E £40 10N Daniel Dewey £40 10E Olivia Rowe £20 10U Tom Hesketh £20 10T Aimee Taylor £20 10A Natasha Williams 100% Attendance Prize Winners Georgia Goulding 10K & Lucy Farrimond 10K
YEAR 9 DRAW WINNERS £40 £40 £20 £20 £20
9A 9L 9T 9E 9H
Daniel Holland Michael Djali Rose Mennell Lauren Mayor Rhiannan Wheeler
100% Attendance Prize Winners Charlotte Moss 9A & Aimee Southern 9U
COMENIUS
Standish Community High School forges international links. Standish Community High School is partnering schools from France, Italy and Germany as part of the Comenius project, which aims to teach students more about other cultures and gain an insight into other teaching practices. The school has received 25,000 euros for the programme which enables staff and students to work together with the foreign schools on a chosen theme – Standish has chosen sport and languages. Modern Foreign Languages teacher, Miss Owen, who had been pushing for funding for some time, finally secured it from the European Commission after a trip to France. The Standish project has been named Eurolympix and aims to present the sports of the nation and locality to the partner schools from Germany, France and Italy, as well as finding out about what sports they are famous for and enjoy practising. Students will also develop knowledge of languages and understanding of cultural differences. Miss Owen said: “Getting accepted onto a project is really difficult but I am now busy planning the exchange trip to us with the help of the Comenius Club. We are trying to find host families and plan fun activities which will show Wigan and the North West in their best light! The students are so motivated to help with the organisation of the project and this is really helping to develop their independence.”
The project began with an exchange trip to Germany recently and proved so popular that lots had to be drawn for the eight available places on the trip to Gross-Umstadt. The lucky ones were A. Calland, E. Melling, R. Mullaney, R. Rowse, R. Southern, J. Taberner, C. Wakelam and O. Yates. In April, students from Italy, France and Germany will come to Standish on an exchange and stay with Wigan students’ families for five days. Exchange trips to Italy and France are also planned for students. These will end with a Eurolympix Games event celebrating what they have learned about the sports of each others’ countries. Head teacher, Mrs Fox said: “This has provided a fantastic opportunity for our students, as ambassadors for Standish Community High School, to experience living away from home and using their language skills.” “The range of activities experienced by our students was impressive and certainly thought-provoking, challenging and exciting. This visit has provided students with a fabulous educational experience combined with a rather unique personal development opportunity.” “The students were a credit to themselves, their families and to our school and should be congratulated for making the most of this fabulous opportunity!”
The Year of the Snake
Tai Chi session led by Mr Qin Dong
155 children from our local primary schools attended this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations. Mrs Fox gave a hearty welcome to everyone before the start of the fun-packed activities sessions. The very popular Tai Chi session was again delivered by the Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester. We were pleased to welcome a very experienced teacher, Mr Qin Dong. This traditional Chinese martial art is practiced as a form of self defence and also helps to improve health and well-being, so it was a wonderful start to the celebrations. Ms Chen then arranged for the children to go shopping in the International Curriculum Street. Prior to the event, she worked with a group of Year 8 students to teach them how to be Chinese shopkeepers. At the same time, the primary children also practised their Chinese words and phrases in readiness for the event. On the day, pupils made purchases from the greengrocer’s, fishmonger’s, DW Sports shop and Morrison’s supermarket. Mrs Heston from Woodfield Primary School said that our shopkeepers were “really helpful, confident and caring”.
a Chinese lucky door hanger for the Year of the Snake
Everyone then made a traditional Chinese lucky door hanger for their bedroom doors. At the end of the day, pupils were given a little present which contained a sample of Chinese Green Tea in a traditional lucky red packet so that they could try it with their families. Special thanks go to: Mr Beales, Abby Mackenzie and Chloe Andrews (10N) who organised the photographs on the day. MRS YOUNG
our Y8 Chinese speaking shopkeepers
For the final session, Mrs Young showed the children how Chinese families celebrate the New Year. They watched a video clip from the 2012 celebrations in Hong Kong and then identified their Chinese Zodiac animal sign. The children then practised how to write and say the Chinese words for these animals.
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Chinese New Year Celebrations
Drama the STANDARD x Standish Community High School x Spring 2013 x Page 10
Thursday 18th October saw the staff, cast and crew members of SSF 2012 set off to Knowsley Hall, Liverpool, for what would prove to be an amazing night of theatre. Since September, students from Year 9, 10 and 11 have been working hard to put together a production of an abridged version of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” for a final performance on a professional stage. Standish was one of only eight schools chosen to perform at Knowsley Hall, where one of the prestigious dining rooms was transformed into a Shakespearean stage. It was a great honour to be chosen to perform at such a venue, especially after finding out that Shakespeare himself had once performed there and that the hall had not been used as a theatre space for over 400 years!
Shakespeare Schools Festival 2012
The Merchant of Venice Knowsley Hall, Liverpool
We arrived at 1.25pm and were escorted into the dining room, now an amazing theatre space, ready for the evening. After a brief introduction, we were shown downstairs to what used to be the servants’ quarters and what would be our dressing rooms for the day. I think it was at this point the students finally started to feel nervous. It was at this point I also started to feel the pressure as the staging that I had carefully planned to use was different owing to the unforeseen fact that the tables in the dining room could not be moved. Mrs Heald and I huddled and heads together, scripts and notes in hand set about changing entrances and exits to fit the new stage layout. The moment of truth finally arrived and I was so proud to see the students act like professionals, taking every new direction in their stride and working on the stage wonderfully. It was fabulous to see the show finally coming together in the hall. The technical rehearsal also gave Alex Drew the opportunity to observe the technician, in the lighting box, programming our lighting states. Alex was able to practise. Forty-five minutes passed quite quickly and, before we knew it, we had another school seated as an audience and ready for the dress rehearsal. Owing to time restrictions the students had no opportunity to become nervous before the dress rehearsal. There was a rumble of excitement in the wings and students could not wait to be out in front of the audience and showcase seven weeks of hard work!
Complimented highly by the other school and with the dress rehearsal out of the way, the students were definitely excited about the final performance. Giving the students enough time to calm down and change, we then discussed production notes. Mrs Heald and myself, ever critical of the performance, are always striving for better. (Most would say we are perfectionists!). About half an hour later, we watched the dress rehearsal of King Lear performed by another school and then headed for a well-deserved tea break. Mirroring last year, I think it was during this break that the enormity of the students’ task ahead really started to set in. At 6.15pm the cast from all four schools gathered in another dining room for a final warm-up and to hear the order of the performances for the evening. WE WERE
FIRST…and the fear began! First!!! WOW!! We all started to feel the anticipation of opening the show. Students returned to the dressing rooms to prepare and the nerves began to show. Realisation had dawned and excitement had turned to slight terror. 7.15pm arrived and it was time for a final cast and crew discussion. Bins, lids, drumsticks and brushes in hand, masks on and we were called. The stage was set, all props were in place, cast and crew were ready and waiting and then the blackout was signalled. Everyone moved smoothly into position, lights came up and the Stomp (and carnival) began. The Students were amazing, opening the play and setting the mood and atmosphere for the audience. From that moment on everyone played his or her part superbly.
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Just under thirty minutes later and it was all over, the performers were taking their well-deserved bows and I was grinning from ear to ear, filled with pride. Just fabulous! There was pure elation from the students as the adrenaline and sheer rush of the performance overwhelmed them. The smiles on faces after the performance were incredible and it was fabulous to see students beaming with pride and excitement. What an amazing feeling for all involved! Students who were previously nervous now wanted to repeat the performance and go on stage again! All staff involved, as well as staff and parents in the audience, commented on what a successful and enjoyable evening it had been. We were also very lucky to have Chris Grace, the Artistic Director and founder of the SSF in the audience. He spoke about each performance at the end and was so complimentary about our students. SSF staff that worked with us during the day also said that our students all excelled. They commented on how professional our students were back stage and with the other students and how well we had adapted to the unusual performance space, for which we should be doubly congratulated! Alanna Beekon, Fesitval Coordinator was told our show was “a wonderfully exuberant Merchant of Venice that showed great attention to detail and commitment from the actors.” The Merchant of Venice is a difficult text with complicated themes and subplots, and she was also pleased to hear that we “had tackled it with such originality and sensitivity. The ‘Stomp’ opening was just fantastic … especially with the acoustics in the State Dining Hall, and set the tone for a professional piece of theatre which brought the audience on a roller coaster ride of humour and emotion.” Leading the SSF project this year has once again been a very special experience. For a second time I was blessed with a committed and talented cast and crew (students and staff). I am so very proud of the students that took part and hope that they have loved the process as much as I have. Standish students continue to do Shakespeare proud! K Gannon P.S. I cannot wait to start work on SSF 2013 – exciting times ahead!!!
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Last year, a group of Standish Community High School students attended a prestigious writing workshop, where they learned many of the tricks of the trade, and learned how making a career from writing is possible. Will Self has a reputation that precedes him. When you are renowned as both an acclaimed and prolific author, and also as a notorious journalist, it must be easy to let your ego swell. But there’s not a hint of self-importance/egotism to be found in the man who took the time out of his busy schedule to speak to approximately fifteen Standish High students on a typically rainy Wigan morning. Charismatic, inspirational, and slightly frightening, he led the group through an at times surreal - activity where students created, from scratch, the plot of a sure-fire sci-fi bestseller about a man and his hybrid dog-rat-creation. He talked about the importance of understanding characters no matter how bizarre - on a deeper level, questioning their background and motives. He spoke honestly about the enjoyment and purpose that authors such as himself find in writing, and his hope that he would inspire young people to go on and do the same. After lunch, the students met with yet another industry professional – this time, the experienced journalist Stephen Armstrong, who writes for publications such as The Guardian and The Sunday Alan Gibbons, who has written more than fifty novels for young people, visited Standish Community High School on Monday 3rd December to promote reading and help Year 7 students develop their creative writing skills. The students loved it! He helped students create a Gothic story, stressing the importance of starting in the middle of the action, working with a simple plot and using images to help describe setting. Students were encouraged to write with flair and originality: they began on a road in Transylvania, where shards of glass had caused the tyres on their car to explode. He encouraged students to slow down in their description, taking their time to describe the situation to their reader, focusing on small details and using figurative language to ‘show, not tell’: “Don’t just say, ‘It was raining! Instead,
English What’s Writing Really Like?
Times. Beneath the easy-going demeanour is a man whose career has seen him in unlikely situations all over the globe, and one who is more than willing to share his field-tested tips with any aspiring journalist he might encounter. He demonstrated a more concise style of writing – one where getting to the heart of the issue at hand is key. Taking headlines from newspapers at random, Stephen discussed how he would present that particular story, and disclosed several “tricks” that professionals use to add appeal to an article, including using (or exaggerating) the “human factor”.
It was encouraging and inspiring to speak to people who have made a successful living from doing what they so clearly enjoy, and who are charitable enough to give the next generation a leg-up in doing the same. The writing workshop was undoubtedly a success: perhaps in fifteen or twenty years, some of the Standish students who attended will be returning to share stories and tips from their own writing careers! Adam Randell Year 11
An Author Calls use ambitious vocabulary and figurative language to show your reader what is happening. Try this: ‘I paced around the car cursing and cussing; rain attacked me like daggers and the wind cracked its cheeks’. Nice!” For Gibbons, stories are everywhere: he told students (in response to some
excellent questions) that his greatest ideas have come from song lyrics. He promoted to students the importance of writing, stressing that it can be a great vocation. All in all, it was a wonderful day for our budding young writers!
Media On Friday the 12th of October, 2012, Media Studies students from Years 10 and 11 set off to Bradford to visit The National Media Museum. Arriving at 10 o’clock, we excitedly toured the lower ground floor which was all about ‘Kodak’ cameras and the history of photography; we even saw the world’s first colour moving pictures dating from 1902! At 11:30am we made our way into the IMAX cinema. After being given our 3D glasses (that looked more like scuba goggles) we sat down in the cinema. We saw a documentary called ‘Born to be Wild’ about elephants and orangutans and were stunned by the quality of the cinema. The screen was almost the entire width of the room and with the surround sound, it was very realistic and we felt as if we were really in the wild! After consuming our packed lunches, we were free to tour the remaining seven floors of the museum. The other floors included the internet, photography, films, broadcasting, lighting, TV, illusions, animations and much more. Each floor had a variety of practical elements that made the whole experience different from an average museum. At 2:30pm, we were able to pay a quick visit to the gift shop, before it was time to leave. We had all had a great day and a very memorable experience! Report by I Warlow Photos by G Williams & C Andrews
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The National Media Museum Bradford
DofE the STANDARD x Standish Community High School x Spring 2013 x Page 14
What a difference two months make!
It was probably the saddest decision we have had to make, during the history of the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Standish Community High School, when the Silver Expedition had to be postponed in July because the monsoon-like rains had made it unsafe. Thirty young people and a whole team of leaders had gone home unhappy and frustrated by what was unquestionably the right decision. What a joy it was to arrive in school on the first weekend in September to dry, warm weather and to be talking about the dangers of sunburn rather than hypothermia! Owing to the delay, there were minimal changes to the groups involved. Some benefited from the change of date while others did not. We had some more training in the summer and, thanks to the good will of colleagues and parents, the expedition went ahead. The walking was challenging and the participants were well and truly tested, in all aspects of the award. Llangollen itself may be a very pretty tourist village but the area around it presents a whole series of challenges. The hills are rugged and the slopes are steep. At the end of each seven hour trek, the participants were tired but happy. Llyn Rhys Farm near Llandegla is a very good base for an expedition. The long walks were along the Clwydian Way, the Offa’s Dyke Path and the Dee Valley Trail. The whole expedition was blessed with good weather and as the last groups trailed into Llangollen on the Sunday afternoon, the general feeling was that the mission had been successfully completed and had been worthwhile. Thirty young people completed the expedition and we can only hope that they all manage to complete the rest of the award in time for the presentation in December. Thanks as ever to all concerned in making the expedition a wonderful event. Mr Boyle
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As the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme undertakes changes in staffing, we would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Mackenzie and Mr Boyle for all of their hard and selfless work that they have given to the scheme over the years. We are sure that they will now fully enjoy proceeding with the award as volunteers and being able to hand over all responsibility to Miss Fisher and Mrs Crook. We are happy to announce yet another fantastic intake to the scheme and another wonderful start to the DofE season. We started with two successful practice weekends, in the Autumn term, which introduced our Year 10 pupils completely to the Bronze Award. Despite last minute changes to our campsite, both weekends were extremely successful and we are led to believe an enjoyable time was had by all. However, our LANGU students were slightly more blessed by the beautiful weather in comparison to the TECHK students who dealt with a visit from Jack Frost over night. Spirits remained high and once all had returned to camp and settled in their tents for the night, we had fun with some team-building games and the making of some very questionable dinners! All campers were up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, the next morning, and everyone left the campsite in good form. All in all, the ‘practice’ was a great success and we now look forward to the qualifying expedition after the Easter holiday. Our current Silver candidates enjoyed a further training session at Haigh Hall in January, where they were given orienteering skills, trangia and tent training. Again, the weather was on our side! Despite the extremely cold start, the sun was shining and the temperature soon increased as we worked through the morning. All of this could not happen without the absolute selfless volunteering of school staff, parent helpers and various other volunteers that have stayed loyal to us over the years. No matter how bad the weather is, they always seem to want to come back for more! Training is also provided for all staff and, as a pre-expedition trial for the Qualifying Silver Award in July this year, almost all of our volunteers spent their free time on a very sunny but cold weekend in December, walking through the hills of Llangollen in North Wales. Experienced staff led the way and great advice and training were given and received by all. This trip also allowed the staff to address any issues ahead of the expedition in July. We must thank all of the following volunteers for their time and pray they continue to join us on those cold and wintry days in the future: Mr N Malik Ms J Austin Mr J Ashurst Mrs M Grainger Mr B Warburton Miss K Gannon Mr N Lane Mrs P Smith Mr A Boyle Mrs A Mackenzie Mr C Worsley Miss A Fazackerly Mr D Grainger Mr S Brown Mr S Tomkinson Mr A Grundy Miss K Barker Mr A Seddon Mrs J Lea Mr C Jones Thank you! Miss Fisher & Mrs Crook
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Music PE St. Wilfrid’s Rugby Arts & Music Festival 10th October 2012
League
Round Up Once again, all year groups have put forward teams to represent Standish Community High School in the Wigan Schools’ Competition. This is the story so far: Year 7 Team Played eight won five but three teams reached the play off stage of the Wigan Champion Schools’ Competition. Good effort boys! Year 8 Team The Year 8 boys came top of the group in their play-off tournament and progressed through to the Wigan Champion Schools’ Competition. Great effort!
Some of the very talented students within the music department took part in the St. Wilfrid’s Arts and Music Festival. This was a joint concert with St. John Rigby Sixth Form College. The students who performed were Courtney Bradley, Courtney Evans, Sarah Marrow, Joe Stott, Aaron Bentley, Charlie Sherlicker, Constance Halliwell, Lucy Farrimond and Emily Boylan. There was an array of talent from both Standish Community High School and St. John Rigby VI Form College. Audiences were treated to a real diversity in musical styles and each of the students added real lustre to this fantastic occasion.
Year 9 Team The Year 9 boys were placed third in their play-off tournament. Recently, they have turned their hand to rugby union and reached the semi-final stage of the North West Emerging Schools’ Competition. Great work fellas! Year 10 Team The Year 10 boys were placed 4th in their play-off competition and have won three out of four of their league games so far. Keep up the good work! Year 11 Team The Year 11 boys finished runnersup in their play-off tournament and have also won their one and only league game against Cansfield High School. A great performance considering we only had ten players!
Players’ Player of the Year (6.4k) 2012. Plays for Bolton Bullets Jets, winners of: North West Powerchair Football League Premiership 2011/2012
Rowing Revelation!
During the month of December 2012, pupils from Years 7, 8, 9 & 10 tried their hand at rowing. What a bunch of talented rowers! The indoor rowing competition was held at Abraham Guest Academy and out of ten categories, Standish rowed out winners in five of them. We became indoor rowing champions of Wigan at Years 7, 8 & 9 girls and Years 7 & 10 boys. What a performance! The squads now go forward to the county finals on 16 January, 2013, at Robin Park. Good luck to all the teams.
Are you watching Sir Steve Redgrave?!
Badminton Bonanza November 2012 saw the Standish Community High School badminton teams take on the best that Wigan could offer. A great day was had by everyone who took part! The Key Stage 3 girls’ team came second overall. The Key Stage 3 boys’ team finished runners-up overall. The Key Stage 4 girls came second overall and the Key Stage 4 boys finished runners up. Great individual performances and fantastic team work culminated in some amazing results. Well done to everyone involved!
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Josh Waywell
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Football Frenzy What a great season so far! Once again, Standish Community High School can boast that every year group is represented in all competitions. Good effort boys! All the teams are showing up well in their respective leagues, with the Years 7, 8 & 11 boys occupying third place in their League competitions at the moment. Challenging for the honours at the moment are the Year 9 & 10 teams who are in first and second place in their competitions. The English Schools’ Football Association competitions saw early exits for the Years 10 & 11 boys who went out in Round 1. The Year 8 team faired a little better by reaching Round 2. The best performance came from the boys in Years 7 & 9 who reached the lofty heights of Round 4 before going out to a tough team from Barnsley. Keep it up for the second half of the season boys!
Basketball Team
Smash It!
Wow! What a performance! The Year 11 boys blew away the opposition at the Year 11 Championships held at Leigh Sports Village in December 2012. The boys from Year 11, ably led by Ralph Woods, rose to the challenge and took the opposition to pieces. The other teams had no answer to the skills and power from our boys. The Year 11 team will now go forward to represent Wigan at the Greater Manchester finals at the Amaechi Centre, Manchester on 30 January 2013. Come on Standish!
Cross Country Report
Congratulations to all pupils who competed in the Wigan Schools Cross Country Competition at Leigh Sports Village on 13th November, 2012. Standish achieved an overall placing of third on the day with the Year 8/9 and 10/11 girls teams both achieving first place in their groups! Special mentions to Maddy Cullin who came third in the Year 7 girls’ race; Scott Thompson who achieved second place in the Year 7 boys’ race, Alice Rowe who came second in the Year 8/9 girls’ race and Sophie Myers and Danielle Thompson who came third and first in the girls’ Year 10/11 race! Well done to all those who competed! Miss Barker, Mr Mayor & Mr Mc Cullagh
Year 7
Girls Football
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th November saw a return to the UKCA National Winter Open, a competition in which our Cheerleading teams have been very successful during the past 3 years. We went with very high expectations for both our Key Stage 3 Cheer Team on the Saturday and our Key Stage 4 Street Cheer on the Sunday. It is safe to say we were not disappointed! Both teams were impressive and earned 3rd place in Cheerleading and were runners up in Street Cheer. I am absolutely delighted with the performances of both teams and very proud of the girls commitment, exemplary behaviour and conduct over the whole weekend. It has been a pleasure, as always, to work with you girls. Keep up the good work and let’s start practising for the Nationals in March! (No rest for the wicked!) Miss Fisher
Rounders
The year 7 and year 9 girls’ rounders teams won the ‘Rounders Wigan Schools League Competition’ and went on to play in the final on Wednesday 4th July 2012, but unfortunately both teams were beaten in the final by Lowton High School.
Congratulations to the girls’ Year 7 football team who went undefeated in the Wigan Schools Football Competition held at the Soccer Dome on 23rd October. The girls were presented with medals and certificates on the day to celebrate their achievements. A special mention to Maddy Cullin who was voted Player of The Match for all games. Well done girls! Miss Barker
Result
7-1 (win) Team: 7-1 (win) Georgia Burchall, Maddy Cullin, 8-0 (win) Lily Robinson, Jessica Hill 8-1(win) & Courtney Witts
Standish Elite
Player of the match
(Voted by the opposition)
Maddy Cullin Maddy Cullin Maddy Cullin Maddy Cullin
Standish High School would like to congratulate Greta Hampson, Year 8, for her amazing performance at the British Synchronised Swimming Championships held this month. Greta won a silver medal in duet and rose up the rankings to gain second place and another silver medal in the individual figures event. Greta’s excellent performance enabled her to qualify for trials held at the Crystal Palace National Performance Centre, London where she was successful in gaining a place on the England Talent Squad for 2013. She is really excited and looking forward to participating in the elite level training camps next year. Well done Greta. We are all very proud of you and keep up the good work. Miss Fisher
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Standish Allstars Shining Bright Again
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CLOTHES SHOW LIVE 2012 A Fashion Extravaganza There were screams of excitement and frantic arm movements – courtesy of our beloved teaching assistant, Mrs Smith as JLS warmed up the crowd for the magnificent fashion show. The Clothes Show Live was back for 2012 and on Monday 10th December the Standish Community High School Textiles students were there to soak up the atmosphere. Numerous exhibits, from colleges and universities, fashion, beauty, industry, catwalk shows, designers old and new, models and celebrities were there in force to celebrate what was currently hot in the multibillion pound business of fashion! High street and designer brands demonstrated their wares which were showcased in the Suzuki Fashion Theatre finale. International models wore breath-taking garments which were enhanced by exciting choreography and exhilarating music. By the end of the hectic day, it was clear to see that students and staff alike had enjoyed a wholly memorable experience. Thank goodness we have a full year to recover! As always, the Textiles students’ behaviour was exemplary throughout the trip and my thanks go to Mrs Fisher, Miss Johnston and, of course, Mrs Smith for their assistance and company on the day! Mrs McDermott