Summer 2017

Sharing the

Summer 2017

Our Lady’s R.C. High School Magazine

IN THIS ISSUE: Year 11 Celebrate at the Prom Our Lady’s Stand United in Hope Making Music at MMU

Our Lady’s Entrepreneurs Conquer the Den Year 10 Football Team create history Plus much more!

Photo: Robert Jones bobbyjo.fly@talktalk.net www.bobbyjoimaging.co.uk

Our Lady’s R.C. High School

Alworth Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester, M9 0RP T: 0161 795 9004 F: 0161 702 3923 E: admin@olsc.manchester.sch.uk

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www.olhs-manchester.org.uk

On behalf of the staff and students of Our Lady’s R.C. High School it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the latest edition of our school magazine.

As we near the end of another successful academic year, I’d like to take the time to reflect on some of the significant events of the last term.

As you will all be aware the tragic events of the past couple of months have made it a difficult and emotional time for the whole country, but nowhere more than our great city of Manchester. Even with emotions running high the response of the staff and students in raising money for those affected through the sale of silver ribbons, food and generous donations has been particularly impressive. Some of our students tried to process the horror of the attack through creative writing, art and poetry; the best selections of these were placed on our social media site and shared far and wide. At this difficult time, we also took the opportunity to reflect on what unites us—those gospel values of tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, peace and justice—rather than what divides us.

As well as making significant contributions to the Love Manchester appeal, we have also worked hard to contribute to other worthy causes. During the Easter term, we raised funds for our Caritas charities, St Joseph’s Penny and CAFOD; the students take the lead on this and I am always impressed with the diligence and inventiveness of the children’s fundraising activities. In the

summer term our main charity is the British Heart Foundation. As well as our usual annual charity sports games and bake sales, we also recently hosted a community summer fair with a variety of stalls run by the staff and students of Our Lady’s. It was lovely to welcome local residents, students and their parents and I’d like to thank everyone for their support in hosting an enjoyable family event for a very worthwhile charity.

This term has also been a busy time for transition, including visits from ten different primary schools. The feedback we have received from all pupils has been incredibly positive and is a reflection of the fantastic staff and students we have here at Our Lady’s.

As you can see from the achievements listed below, we continue to shine on the sports field: ●●

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Year 7 team became Junior NBA western conference basketball champions.

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The year 8, 9 and 10 boys’ teams were all football Catholic cup winners making it a historic treble for Our Lady’s.

We are immensely proud of all the students and staff have achieved across a wide variety of sports.

The year 11 students have now finished their exams and we hope and expect that this year group will achieve record exam results this summer. We always like to end the students’ time here with a celebration and this year was no different. The Mass, followed by a leavers’ assembly, was a lively event where many staff and students celebrated the past five years. The final part of our celebration was the School Prom where the ‘red carpet’ theme was embraced by many students and staff; a truly fitting way to bring their time here to a close.

Finally, I’d like to thank you for your continued support and I hope you all enjoy the summer break.

God bless

Our year 11 boys became Manchester table tennis champions.

The year 8 and 9 girls’ football teams won the Catholic cup.

The year 10 girls won the football Manchester cup.

L. Ormsby Headteacher

Editor’s Welcome Message Welcome to the summer edition of Sharing the Vision. The last academic term is always busy so we hope you enjoy reading about our school trips, sporting events and careers activities. As we prepare to wave off another wonderful group of year 11s take a look at their fantastic prom photos.

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Sharing The Vision

Contents Editor’s Welcome Message

2

Our Lady’s Stand United in Hope 3 Students Have their Say in the Election

3

Showcasing all we Offer at Our Vibrant Open Evening

4

We Are the World

5

Congratulations Charlie!

5

What Have Year 8 Been Up To? 6 Too Big For Our Boots?

7

Making Music at MMU

7

Year 8 Build Bridges During Savio Retreat

8

Oh What a Night!

Year 11 Celebrate at the Prom

10

Staff Profile—Mr Vincent

11

Achieving an Award that’s Full of Adventures!

12

Year 9’s Action-Packed Activity Weekend in France

14

Year 10 Contemplate Life after Our Lady’s

16

Interview with a Chef

16

Our Lady’s Entrepreneurs Conquer the Den

17

Malta 2017

18

Year 10 Football Team create history

19

Congratulations to our Year 8 Catholic Cup Champions

19

Our Lady’s Girls are GoRide Champions

19

A Strong School Community

20

Editor: Anna Barker Sub Editor: Adam Jones

Our Lady’s Stand United in Hope Our students’ response to the Manchester terror attack is one positive example among the many of stories of unity and strength. Miss Collins’ year 8 religious education class used their lesson as a chance to express their feelings about the attack through poetry, with some beautiful work reflecting on the impact of the tragedy. The students also prayed together for everyone caught up in the atrocities.

The national minute’s silence provided another opportunity for our students to stand together and show their support for the city in which they attend school and for all those affected by the terrible attack. Forming an M shape for Manchester, they displayed great dignity,

showing their respect for humankind.

The photo of them standing united was posted on our Facebook page, reaching almost 40,000 people and attracting messages of support from around the country.

The Middleton Guardian also shared our message of solidarity with excerpts from year 8 student Leander McPherson’s moving poetic tribute. The response of our students sends a powerful message that children of all faiths are united, reflecting the importance of reinforcing the fundamental human qualities of kindness and understanding from an early age.

This is how we teach our young people to grow up to respect the world they live in, celebrating religious and cultural differences rather than allowing them to cause divisions.

Students Have their Say in the Election On Thursday 8 June election fever swept the nation and although not yet old enough to vote, our students held their own mock general election. It was an opportunity for them to think about what they’re looking for in our country’s’ leaders and to have their say. All voting was carried out in a secret ballot.

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PRIMARY TRANSITION

Showcasing all we Offer at Our Vibrant Open Evening On the evening of Thursday 29 June, we opened the doors of Our Lady’s to welcome prospective students and their parents/ carers to come and have a look around our fantastic school.

Families of year 5 pupils will soon have to make a decision about which high school to go on to once their time at primary school comes to an end.

This can be a daunting time so in order to make the transition as smooth as possible and to help families make an informed choice, the Open Evening was an opportunity to see our school in action, look around the building, find out more about our varied curriculum and speak to staff and students.

Mr Ormsby welcomed everyone with a brief introductory talk and was on hand throughout the evening to speak to parents and primary pupils, answering any questions they had. He also introduced our newly appointed Head Boy, Dean Hindmarsh

and Head Girl, Louise Flaherty who both spoke confidently to our visitors about their experiences at Our Lady’s. Our friendly team of year 10 prefects made great tour guides for the evening, ensuring visitors were taken around the school to see all the different departments.

to get their school tour cards stamped with each subject stamp to enter our prize draw to win an iPad. Congratulations to our lucky winner, Charlie Cavanagh from Crosslee Community Primary School—we hope you enjoy both learning and playing on your new iPad.

It was lovely to see so many people arrive and engage in the range of fun interactive activities hosted by the different departments. There was a real sense of vibrancy around the whole school as children from our local primary schools excitedly explored the different departments

From fireballs (it was all under control!) in Science to a ball pool and origami crowns in Maths, there was a real hive of activity. Modern Languages were cooking up crepes, there was a drama unfolding in performing arts and delicious cakes were on sale in technology; which were being

“

It was a wonderful experience, first time looking around the school with my son, seeing the excitement in the children’s faces that were helping; they are obviously very proud of their school. The staff and children that were present are a credit to the school. Thanks.

”

Susan Kane, Prospective Parent

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PRIMARY TRANSITION

We Are the World

enjoyed before people popped to get their blood pressure checked! With so much going on, our visitors worked up an appetite.

Luckily our incredible catering team had this covered with an array of tempting hot and cold dishes being served in the canteen.

If you were unable to join us at our Open Evening and would like to look around the school or pick up a copy of our new prospectus, please contact Sally Royle (PA to the Headteacher) on 0161 234 3502 or email s.royle@olsc.manchester.sch.uk

“

I want to congratulate the school on the fantastic reception we were given by both the faculty and students. It was particularly impressive how friendly and articulate the students were in welcoming us and showing us around the school. (Year 8 student) Binyam instantly built up a rapport with my year 4 son Jake and made him feel relaxed straight away. I can’t express how wonderful he was, explaining how to do each activity and being encouraging and supportive along the way. He is a credit to both the school, and his family, and he should be extremely proud of himself.

”

Dale Richards, Prospective Parent

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We all have a responsibility to celebrate diversity and promote understanding and acceptance of what makes us unique. With so many cultures within the Our Lady’s school community, our two recent ‘We are the World’ events were the perfect opportunity to learn more about the different traditions and beliefs across the globe.

Mr Banham opened the event by saying that in light of recent tragic events in the UK and around the world it is more important than ever to celebrate different cultures. And that’s exactly what the children did with their wonderfully colourful carnival of song, dance and drama with each school representing a different country.

St Patrick’s, St Thomas of Canterbury and St Malachy’s joined us for the first event, setting the bar very high with their incredibly polished performances. Parents were treated to a vast array of cultural cabaret with St Thomas of Canterbury representing America and St Malachy’s putting in a vivid performance as the Caribbean. Year 4 and 5 pupils from St Patrick’s R.C. Primary School delivered a

breath-taking rendition of the traditional Irish song Siuil A Gra. On the day of our school Open Evening we were excited to see what St Chad’s and St Anne’s had in store for us and we weren’t disappointed. St Chad’s impressed with their Ukrainian dancing much to our very own Ukrainian dance professional, Miss Tkaczuk’s delight!

St Anne’s shared some fascinating facts about the Chinese culture through a drama piece in collaboration with St Chad’s before performing some traditional Chinese dances.

Not to be left out, our own students also did us proud with their beautiful version of the Hawaiian national anthem, under Miss Durbin’s musical direction. Well done to everyone who researched their country and rehearsed to lay on two superb afternoons of cultural entertainment for our parent visitors. The world certainly came together at Our Lady’s!

Congratulations Charlie!

Well done to Charlie from year 5 at Crosslee Community Primary school who won our Open Evening prize draw.

All the children who visited us were very excited at the prospect of winning an iPad. It was Charlie’s name that was drawn at random after he successfully completed his school tour card getting a stamp for every subject by visiting the all the different departments.

It was a pleasure to deliver the prize to the sunny Crosslee playground and to see Charlie’s delighted face as Mr Cope handed over his iPad.

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What Have Year 8 Been Up To?

By Mr Edwards

The past two terms have been extremely important for Year 8, as it has been the time for students to select which subjects they wish to continue studying in Key Stage 4.

A big thank you to all students for their maturity in selecting their option subjects; as you can imagine the process takes a lot of hard work and organisation. On behalf of the students, I’d like to thank the staff who planned the options procedure, conducted interviews, inputted data and made the whole process as smooth as possible.

Mrs Buckley arranged a spiritual retreat to Savio House, which I had the pleasure of attending. The following students were an absolute credit to Our Lady’s: Jack Sparrow, Daisy Cunningham, Talia Florence, Leon Meek, Rebecca Akinleye, Noah Ajadig, Latipha Anusiem, Andreja Bielskyte, Beverlyn Bonsu, Megan Hunter, Madeline Jackson, Julia Marszalek, Abraham Oladapo, Kellece Olisa, Jessica Taylor, Dean Thomas, Feranmi YakubuOlugbenga, Miriam Boyfar, Francesca Ojimo, Julia Dabal, Elidana Tesfaldet, Charlie O’Brien, Benita Obiora, Imani Andango.

Recently Year 8 celebrated the Month of Mary. I set the year group a creative challenge to design something to help the students of our school celebrate our mother Mary. The competition winner was a collective entry from Lourdes after they decorated the statue of Our Lady and wrote terrific poems and words to celebrate Mary—great work!

As the end of Year 8 rapidly approaches, I would like to thank all parents and staff for their continued support throughout the year.

I wish you a restful summer and I hope to see the students ready for year 9.

As you are aware, our great city was hit by a horrendous act of terror. It hit our community deeply and we came together in the face of terror to show how ‘United’ our ‘City’ and school is. We send our prayers and condolences to the families who were affected by the attack.

I would like to end my notice with an exceptional heartfelt poem about the

Manchester attack, written by Leander McPherson form Walsingham 4, class 8I. Dear Old Town, Of Red Devils and Blue Moons, Had a great night sky of pink balloons, Until the beauty left the stage, And light filled the room, Followed by commotion, Then a large BOOM! People scrambled running, Frightened for lives, Concerned about their children, In groups of fours and fives, Streets were bustling, The smell of coffee, a sense of PRIDE, But now they’re barren, empty, Our people petrified, But the fight is not over, The war has just begun, As they forgot Manchester, Is a place for EVERYONE! Leander McPherson 8L

The staff at Savio commented on how this group of students were the best that they have ever had and have invited them to return next year. I was incredibly proud of how our students independently completed tasks and engaged in all of the activities. Fantastic work and well done!

I would like to congratulate; Tayo Bakare, Annelisa Egwele, Leander McPherson, Andreja Bielskyte, Martins Adonry, Vanely Barumire, Haider Mohamad, Deborah Ekhator, Maja Palubicka.

For those who don’t know, these students have created the ‘Magna’ magazine. Mr Quiligotti informs me that this is completely student led— they write, edit and design the magazine. Tremendous work and achievement! Issue two is circulating and I urge you take a look; there are articles for everyone and it is a fantastic read.

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Sharing The Vision

Too Big For Our Boots?

On Thursday 16 March, some of our year 8 students were lucky enough to be invited to the BBC studios in MediaCity, Salford, as part of the BBC’s ‘School Report Day’.

Annelisa, Leander, Andreja and Tayo who run the school newspaper at Our Lady’s, were among the visitors to the studios so the BBC journalists were worried their jobs may be at risk in a few years as they watched the students make themselves comfortable in the BBC Manchester newsroom!

Here Tayo Bakare gives his own report of BBC School Reports’ 11th annual News Day… “It was a fantastic day and we were able to produce some excellent material which can be found on the Our Lady’s school website.

The trip gave us all an outlook to the future in

terms of our potential careers but also new and exciting advancements in technology.

Our day began with us being invited to a meeting with some familiar faces from Newsround (Martin Dougan, Ayshah Tull and Jenny Lawrence). We all discussed our opinions on the latest news bulletin flying around Newsround and we were able to provide our own feedback to the team. They told us some stories from their lives which were interesting and hilarious. Luckily, we managed to snap a quick photo before they left to do some work.

Throughout the day, we attended some workshops and one that particularly

interested us was about the future of technology. The virtual reality (VR) head set was a favourite among many but still made us question how realistic it was compared to our own reality. Our group then visited a workshop about how television has developed over time and how it might look in the future.

Overall, it was an informative and enjoyable experience as we learnt about technology that will eventually shape the earth we are currently on. Hopefully there will be a similar opportunity for a group of students next year!”

Making Music at MMU Miss Nicholson, Mr Ridgley and Mr Addington accompanied the year 9 BTEC Music classes to MMU on March 29 for a day of musical activities. The students were brilliant and thoroughly enjoyed all the different tasks. They were lucky enough to play Gamalan (pronounced Gah-Meh-Lahn) Music. This Indonesian style of music predominantly consists of tuned percussion and requires specialist instruments of which there are only two sets in Manchester. The year 9s also had the chance to complete their ‘Battle of the Bands’ project and to put music to their shadow puppetry stories.

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Year 8 Build Bridges During Savio Retreat Set in the beautiful Cheshire countryside near Macclesfield it’s no surprise that our school retreats to Savio House help to strengthen friendships and build confidence in the students who take part.

And it was no different this April when our year 8s enjoyed a visit to Savio House retreat centre for a few days participating in a carefully considered programme of activities, prayer and reflection based on the theme ‘Bridges’.

The group were asked to think of relationships and the ways in which they can break down. One exercise required the students to work together to build a bridge out of different materials, for a ball to run from one end to another. They also took part in various tasks reflecting on their theme and played games requiring them to think about

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the most effective ways to work together. The engaging and fun activities were designed to encourage both quiet personal reflection and strong team working; all of which foster a deeper understanding both of themselves and their relationships with others.

to Our Lady’s. Although tired on their return to school after a busy few days away, the group felt enlivened and had an increased awareness of the importance of ‘building bridges’ and supporting each other through life’s challenges.

Every year 8 who took part in the retreat experience gave their all and were a credit

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“

Savio House retreat centre is a very good, fun and enjoyable place where you get to know people more and collaborate with others. I really enjoyed staying there because I got to stay with my friends and take part in lots of different activities.

I also think that I got closer to God during my time there

”

Benita Obiora

“

Savio House is a beautiful place where you can study and learn about God. All the staff there were really kind with different personalities too. The theme was bridges and it was good to look at different relationships we have and how we can change for the better. I really want to go again next year!

”

Francesca Ojima

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Prom King and Queen, Joshua McDonagh and Dorota Golasik

Image by Robert Jones

Image by Robert Jones

Oh What a Night!

Year 11 Celebrate at the Prom After months of studying for their GCSE exams our year 11s were more than ready to celebrate a fantastic final school year at their high school prom on Thursday 6 July.

Arriving at the Ashton Moss Village Hotel for an evening of fun, it was clear to see the students had embraced the ‘Red Carpet’ theme. Dressed to impress and ready to party, the evening got off to a sophisticated start with some colourful mocktails. A posh buffet and chocolate fountain ensured no one went hungry.

The photo booth was the cause of much hilarity with students queuing up to get silly outfits on to create some take-home souvenirs. With a range of staff and student awards, the highlight of the night was the voting of Prom King Joshua McDonagh and Prom Queen Dorota Golasik.

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Mr Vincent, head of year 11, said: “The year 11 Prom is an event Our Lady’s looks forward to each year. It’s great to see the students dressed up and letting their hair down. They have all worked extremely hard these past few weeks during the exam period so they deserve some fun now they have finished.

Members of staff go to lot of effort every year to put on an evening to remember and it’s great to watch everyone enjoying themselves. As the head of year of these students I feel very proud tonight and wish them all every success in the future.”

Sharing The Vision

Best-dressed: Ellie Gibson and Malavi Hayles

Staff Profile—Mr Vincent What is your role at Our Lady’s?

Head of Year 11 What do you enjoy most about your job?

Every day is different and challenging. I have the opportunity to support students personally and academically. I enjoy moving around the building and seeing what students are doing across their subjects each day.

What does a typical day for Mr Vincent look like?

Typical? There are none! Most days consist of teaching Maths and Physics whilst trying to balance and support the problems of 136 students, some-how!

Funniest (embarrassing) moment in school?

Person you would most like to meet and why?

At the start of my first academic year with my Year 8 class (Currently Year 11) I was writing my name on the board and actually spelt it wrong! Mr Vincenet… Stick to Maths!

Kimi Raikkonen, the ice cold Finn. I have been a big fan of his for a long time. He is hot-headed but relaxed at the same time.

Maybe he could take me for a spin, in his Ferrari?

What are your hobbies outside of school?

What has been your proudest moment with your Year 11s?

Spending time with my daughter and trying to keep fit… to some degree of success.

Too many to single out just one. However, I am proud of the boys and girls that have become young men and women over the last 18 months. The maturity and work ethic is admirable.

Favourite film or show?

Training Day (Denzel Washington) Favourite song ?

‘Return of the Mack’—Mark Morrison Greatest moment?

What is your advice as they leave Our Lady’s for new adventures?

Keep working hard, success brings great things… stay humble, keep your family close and go and see the world.

Seeing the birth of my daughter Lexi, a very proud moment!

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Achieving an Award that’s Full of Adventures!

It’s been another very successful year with the Duke of Edinburgh Award here at Our Lady’s with all 28 year 9 students who committed to the Bronze Award, successfully completing it.

This was Our Lady’s biggest intake yet for the prestigious award; proving its popularity has grown around school. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DOE) is a national youth charity founded by HRH, The Duke of Edinburgh in 1956 that operates throughout the UK. It provides a balanced programme of activities for participants aged between 14-24, enabling young people to develop skills for life through team working and social interaction.

Participating in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme enables our students to embark on incredible adventures and a range of activities all culminating in an award recognised by colleges, universities and employers alike. This year the Our Lady’s D of E participants have done us proud, overcoming personal challenges, making a positive contribution to their community and tackling an outdoor expedition at Tawd Vale Scout Camp in the heart of the West Lancashire countryside. The River Tawd from which the site derives its name wanders through the centre of the camp and adds to

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the natural beauty of the surrounding area; a place of fun and adventure.

Miss Richmond leads the Duke of Edinburgh Award for Our Lady’s and accompanied the students on their expedition to the Tawd Vale Scout Camp where she was supported by Access Outdoor Adventure who assist schools and other groups in

running the scheme. Praising the dedication of her group, Miss Richmond said: “All my students worked extremely hard during both the practice and qualifying expeditions, demonstrating all the necessary skills they needed in order to pass with flying colours.

I’m particularly proud of how they handled

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the expedition as some of them had never visited the countryside before!”

Assessor Ann MacKenzie was also full of high praise and recognition. She contacted Our Lady’s upon completion of the Bronze Award Scheme to express her enjoyment at working alongside our students. She was particularly impressed with their performance during the expedition.

In additional to their expedition, the students have been dedicated to developing invaluable leadership skills, volunteering their time to support and help others inside and outside the Our Lady’s community. The award has given them the opportunity to develop new academic and personal skills as well as the scope for personal growth.

By striving to meet the expectations of the award scheme, our students have developed their caring, compassionate qualities in keeping with the ethos of our school.

This is a huge achievement for all students involved and one of which Miss Richmond is very proud to be the lead on. Many of the students from this group are keen to take the scheme further and are already expressing an interest to commit to the Silver Duke of Edinburgh award next year. Well done—we look forward to next year’s adventures!

“

The group were a credit to the school and without exception they were well mannered, respectful and helpful to each other and to me. All of this was still true at the end of the expedition when they were very tired and could have been forgiven for letting their standards slip. Their lack of experience in the countryside was made up for by their willingness to learn and their ability to be totally engaged in the task. They were a lovely group of youngsters who really demonstrated the values of their school.

Ann MacKenzie, Duke of Edinburgh Assessor

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Year 9’s Action-Packed Activity Weekend in France At almost midnight, on 25 May 35 Year 9 girls and five Our Lady’s staff set off on an 18-hour coach journey to Normandy and Disneyland Paris full of enthusiasm. After reaching PGL’s outdoor adventure and education centre in Normandy, excitement overtook tiredness as the group relaxed around the camp fire.

During an activity-filled weekend of climbing and raft building, the girls demonstrated consistent team spirit encouraging and supporting each other. Julia Roczniak and Aleksandra Biernacka were born leaders in Miss Nicholson’s raft building group using tactical skills to make sure Mr D’Costa ended up in the water. Zuleica Fancony and Lois Scullion took charge when the ‘Ding Dongs’ (Mr Bell’s group) tried to go in to battle with ‘Team Power-Jacques’ and even after Mia Lockett-Duffy and Dawn Alice Musoni fell off the raft and into the water, Mr Bell’s team still couldn’t beat them and his group ended up capsized!

“

It was a great experience and I wish we could go back

Taina Rose

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”

Back on dry land for the climbing, every student showed strength, bravery and determination; conquering fears of heights and taking ‘The Leap of Faith’. Showing real Our Lady’s spirit the group encouraged each other to overcome their nerves. Elizabeth Fashina showed immense bravery when climbing up the wobbly trapeze pole to take ‘The Leap’ with encouragement from her fellow peers—especially from Breanna Campbell. On the zip-wire Elly-Louise Baron, Xinyi Feng, Michelle Isaacs and others overcame their fears to take the plunge and were relieved to succeed with such a high climb.

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The trip was amazing and a lot of fun. Visiting a foreign country was a great experience

Kaja Wojtkowska

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Away from the activities, the students soaked up the French culture on a long walk to a local bakery. They got an insight into the very long hours the baker works and helped him make croissants. Later, they explored the town in a Town Trial Competition where Michelle, Dawn, Isobelle Cuniffe, and Marci-Leigh Ward were victorious with getting every single question correct. The group also visited a local, family run farm to meet the animals and discover the history of the town.

The wonderful PGL staff laid on lots of entertainment including a very lively, final evening disco (which even included S Club

“

I enjoyed Disneyland and going on all the rides

Josie Yates

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7 as requested by Miss Power!) After a fantastic weekend the PGL staff felt sad to see the girls leave praising them for being one of the best groups they have ever had.

Their behaviour and conduct was excellent throughout so the girls left PGL on a high to head to Paris!’

After a lovely walk through the city they headed to the River Seine for a boat tour around the city on the ‘Bateaux Parisiens’.

This relaxing tour taking in beautiful city landmarks such as Notre Dame Cathedral was the perfect wind down from a long journey. Next stop was the Eiffel Tower to explore the grounds and take plenty of pictures before heading to The Explorers Hotel in Disneyland Paris for a fun evening making the most of the hotel facilities.

Tuesday was the day everyone had been looking forward to—Disneyland Paris!

Arriving at 9.15am, the girls excitedly explored the park in their bright blue hoodies. The day was truly amazing, with great weather and lots of laughter. Even Reah Owen dislocating her knee didn’t dampen spirits. After a trip to hospital, she was back to travel home with the Our Lady’s family, who after a tiring coach journey were sad to be back from an amazing school trip.

The trips highlights included Mr Bell constantly breaking into ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (in French!) and teaching it to everyone, Maisie McCall and Elizabeth Anibi being daring enough to eat snails, Szaffi Jarbath having to be chief translator to help out staff and the coach driver and Miya Spencer coming up with a new name for the PGL magic tree.

Miss Power would like to thank all the Year 9 Form Tutors and Mr Mottershead for their help and co-operation. A massive thank you to Miss Nicholson, Miss Jacques, Mr Bell and Mr D’Costa for giving up their half term to make this trip possible and thank you to all the girls who were a credit to Our Lady’s.

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My favourite part of the trip was zip lining at PGL and going to Disneyland. Overall the whole trip was a great experience

Mia Lockett Duffy

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I really enjoyed the France Trip and we didn’t stop laughing for six days. Disneyland was amazing!

Maisie McCall

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My favourite part was when we went to Disneyland because it was amazing. I really liked the teachers who went, they were good fun

Ellie Prickett

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“

You were amazing and are a credit to your school.

You did Our Lady’s proud and I am proud of every one of you for making this trip the success that it was. I am so happy that you all enjoyed yourselves. It really does make all the planning and preparation worthwhile

Miss Power

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FUTURES & CAREERS

Interview with a Chef

Year 10 Contemplate Life after Our Lady’s At Our Lady’s we encourage our students to gather knowledge about their post-16 options in order to make informed decisions. Whether they decide to go on to further education or pursue an apprenticeship, we provide advice and support to help them choose their best route once they leave us at the end of year 11.

Ten of our year 10 students visited Manchester University for a talk and a tour to give them some background to what they can expect if they decide to do A Levels to get a place on a university course. After the university visit the students went on to Manchester Museum where they looked at different displays and got a chance to ask the museum curators questions.

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As part of our Career Ambassadors programme, on Thursday 18 May Armando Cocca, a chef from contract catering company Gather and Gather visited Our Lady’s to encourage the students to think about their future and consider the possibility of pursuing a career in catering.

Armando travels all over the North West covering for head chefs and managers when they are away on business.

Our Careers Ambassadors inspire the students to think about the different career choices available to them when they leave school. Armando made pulled pork, chicken curry and coleslaw with the students which they got to taste. It was also an excellent opportunity for them to ask questions about what it’s like to be a chef.

Students Anne-Marie Pam, Ella Cooney and Ellie Warrender had some questions for Armando: Before you left school, did you ever think you were going to be a chef?

I knew since I was three. I was born in Italy so I was pretty much brought up cooking. As you can tell I love food! It has inspired me since I was a child growing up in Italy with my grandma who taught me all her secrets.

What kind of qualification is needed?

So, there are two types. A Full time College NVQ, how long you stay there depends on how long you want to learn. I stayed for four years. And there’s apprenticeship. With

apprenticeships you learn quicker as you are put to work straight away and learn from experience, so it is recommended.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a chef?

If you like travelling and trying new foods, being a chef can take you anywhere. I have travelled to many countries working and learning everyday as you can always be taught new things and the more you know the further you can go. Having a second language is also good; it opens many doors for you. I hope to inspire some of you to love food as much as I do and I can help you with any questions you may have about the catering industry.

What does your average day consist of?

Travelling, training and telling people off!

I train all our new chefs and managers to show them how to make dishes look amazing so people will buy them. There really isn’t a job I haven’t done.

What are your plans for the future?

I like to learn as much as possible in my roles, so I that I can move up the career ladder. I have run my own restaurant before but nowadays it’s quite difficult to do that. I would like to move back to Italy to open a restaurant there and introduce English dishes to attract the tourists.

Sharing The Vision

Our Lady’s Entrepreneurs Conquer the Den

ask the teams questions about their business plans the audience also had caption cards to hold up to show their support.

The business plans included a cash change machine and a fundraising scheme to support the homeless. The winning pitch came from Walsingham with their idea to host an International Day in school to celebrate different cultures.

Here at Our Lady’s we certainly have some budding entrepreneurs. This was demonstrated at our recent Dragon’s Den event. Three year 9 teams from the different houses—Walsingham, Lourdes and Mount Carmel—researched and generated ideas that culminated in well-considered business plans. They then pitched these ideas to a panel of ‘Dragons’ in front of an enthusiastic audience of year 7 and 8 students. The Dragons that the teams had to pitch to were Business Manager Mr Gosling, parent governor Ged Collins, David Fish a financial services specialist from PwC and Our Lady’s Head Boy and Head Girl—Leighton Curry and Ellie Bull.

Mr Mottershead did a fantastic job of compering the event and the Dragons were supported by an interactive audience made up of their peers. It was also lovely to be joined by our ‘mini dragons’ from St Chad’s Primary who joined in with their questions and comments. As well as the opportunity to

The feedback on this year’s Dragon’s Den was fantastic and our Dragons were very impressed. All the teams demonstrated a great level of professionalism in regards to their research and their personal approach to their pitches. The Dragons commended Lourdes for identifying a real need within the school for a change machine and felt with a little more thought on how to address the issue, it could be a success. They praised Mount Carmel for their vision statement, a clear professional presentation style and the idea of linking school and community.

Ultimately the Dragons were persuaded

by Walsingham’s passion for their subject which shone through in an energetic and stylish presentation. The Dragons liked the clarity of their idea for a multi-cultural day and felt they handled the questions superbly.

The teams’ use of pictures and quotes in the presentation gave it a personal feel that won the Dragons over. Well done everyone.

Business will be booming when these young tycoons venture out to make their mark!

“

The event was excellent, really well organised with good behaviour and the teacher compere was superb.

The amount of work put in by the teams was clear to see and all of the presentations (written and verbal) were of a very high standard.

I thought the confidence demonstrated to answer some of the trickier questions was commendable. It was hard to be mean to them!

David Fish PwC

”

“

We all really enjoyed the Dragons Den experience and think the best team won.

Thanks so much for inviting us; it is great to feel part of the Our Lady’s family.

I thought the children’s presentations were excellent and very thoughtful, even if the dragons were a bit fiery! The groups responded very professionally.

”

Mr Ratchford, Year 5 teacher at St Chad’s Sharing The Vision

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SPORTS NEWS

Malta 2017 The annual boy’s football tour to Malta took place at the beginning of April, with Mr Burke and Mr Jones taking 14 year 8 and 9 boys to the island for a life-changing week of competition, independence and enjoyment as part of the famous Malta Rally! Staying at the 4 Star Qawra Palace Hotel, they arrived late on Monday 3 April and were in high spirits, looking forward to the week ahead.

Our Lady’s had a free day for exploration of the local area, so the group walked into the local town of Bugibba. After returning to the hotel for lunch, ‘free time’ was spent at Qawra Point Beach and rocks and later back at the hotel pools. That evening they visited Sirens F.C. to watch Manchester United vs. Everton in the Premier League but after the days exploits, most were too tired and only survived until half time before heavy eyes set in!

On Wednesday morning, the group headed to Sirens F.C. for their first training session which was run by current Maltese international player Steve Pisani—who played against England at Wembley last year! All the boys put in a great effort in the hot conditions.

That afternoon, Our Lady’s played their first match of the tour against San Gwann F.C. Under 13s and put in a great team performance to win 8-0 which included a hat-trick from Louie Bull and two goals from Eric Dimuene. Everyone returned jubilant to the hotel to shower, change and re-fuel with a hearty evening meal ready for the evening’s antics. Everyone returned jubilant to the hotel to shower, change and re-fuel for the evening’s antics. All the Malta Rally schools had a great time dancing and sliding the night away at the Foam Party with Our Lady’s being one of the first to arrive and definitely the last to leave Another morning training session on Thursday was followed by an afternoon match—this time contested against the home team—Sirens F.C. Under 15s. Another great performance against the older side meant Our Lady’s emerged victorious once again with a 5-2 score line with Louis Bull scoring another hat-trick from his central midfield role. Mr Burke and Mr Jones treated the group to a trip to the local Empire Cinema that night to watch the futuristic and actionpacked Ghost in the Shell.

Friday was a rest day for all schools in preparation for their respective, all-important Page 18

tournament giving competitors (and staff) the chance to recuperate. The morning saw everyone enjoy a sightseeing harbour cruise around Valetta and in the afternoon, a planned trip to the beach was cancelled due to a dip in the weather. The morning saw everyone enjoy a sightseeing cruise around Valetta and in the afternoon Our Lady’s and Headington School visited the Point Shopping Mall for a relaxed afternoon of retail therapy.

That evening saw the Sweet Chariot Quiz take place in the hotel and with their new found friendship, Our Lady’s and Headington teamed up to participate.

Everyone had great fun but finished valiantly in second place.

The big day arrived on Saturday and the boys woke up after a good night’s sleep, ready to seize the day. After a hearty breakfast they headed to Sirens FC for their tournament. Our Lady’s had won this competition four out of five previous years so confidence and expectations were high.

There were six teams entered—four from Malta and two from England but only the top two teams would contest the final after all fixtures had been played. Throughout the day the wind picked up and there were many tightly contested games with San Gwann Under 15’s the only team to beat Our Lady’s by 1-0. Our Lady’s scored more goals than most of the other teams combined but narrowly missed out on making the final due to having conceded one more goal than their nearest rival.

congratulated by Our Lady’s who despite not winning the tournament, were confident in their performance and in high spirits having greatly enjoyed the tour. Mr Mottershead also made an impromptu arrival that further lifted everyone’s spirits!

The boys were given free time in the afternoon to unwind and spent it in the indoor pool at the hotel before preparing for the evening’s presentation. Everyone met in the hotel foyer dressed to impress and were taken to the lavish Monte Cristo Estate.

Awards were presented, food was served and a wonderful of dancing and partying ensued on what was all the participating schools’ last night together.

Most schools departed the following day, but Our Lady’s had the added bonus of an extra day spent sightseeing around Bugibba and relaxing at the hotel. That evening another trip to the cinema and to watch ‘Kong: Skull Island’ was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The final day, was spent packing and souvenir shopping before transferring to the airport for their flight home to enjoy the Easter break with their loved ones.

Reigate School became Malta Rally Champions 2017 and were warmly Sharing The Vision

SPORTS NEWS

Year 10 Football Team create history Back in September 2013, over 40 boys turned up for year 7 football trials. Very little was known about these boys at this point and nobody could envisage the quality, passion and teamwork that this year group’s team would go on to produce over the next four years…

Fast forward to May 2017, now in year 10 and another fantastic performance meant that they had become the most successful football team in the history of our school.

After previously making history while in year 9 by winning four trophies in a season, the team entered year 10 full of confidence but were immediately brought back down to earth by losing 1-0 to St Matthew’s in the first round of the Manchester Cup, sandwiched between a couple of victories in other competitions. In October they were also controversially beaten on penalties by local rivals MCMA in the English Schools FA Cup. But this defeat only spurred the team on, prompting a return to winning ways so it turned out to be the last game they would lose for the next seven months of the season!

Premier League Champions. In a repeat of last season’s final, in which Our Lady’s won, they entered this year’s final missing a couple of key players.

The first half was a frustrating one in which many chances were created but none converted with Our Lady’s always in control but the score remaining even. Within five minutes of the second half, Jamie Wall scored a wonderful free kick, over the wall and into the top corner to finally take a deserved lead. Our Lady’s goalkeeper Bartosz Matusz remained a spectator for much of the second half but performed as expected when called upon. To cap off this dominating performance, a wonderful team goal was fittingly scored by captain David Edwards giving Our Lady’s a 2-0 lead and securing their final, history-making trophy.

Congratulations to our Year 8 Catholic Cup Champions On Monday 12 June our year 8 football team were triumphant in the Catholic Cup. The victory was well-deserved following a thrilling and hard-fought final against St Matthew’s. The boys were a credit to Our Lady’s with a team attitude to match their performance—excellent!

This win makes three out of five Catholic schools trophies attained this year—a feat never before achieved

by Our Lady’s. Congratulations boys, you really have done us proud.

Our Lady’s Girls are Go-Ride Champions At the end of May three teams from Our Lady’s competed in the Go-Ride Competition for schools.

They successfully defended the Catholic Cup beating St Monica’s in the final, side by side with the year 9 football team who were also victorious on the St Bede’s football pitches.

Congratulations to all the students that competed for displaying excellent grass track cycling. There were some really talented cyclists in the group—in particular Domininkas Radziukynas who won the group Scratch Race and the Elimination Race (otherwise known as ‘Devil Take the Hindmost’) to gain lots of team points.

They also won the North Manchester Premier League for the second successive season, in which they are now unbeaten in two years. As a result of this victory, they faced the South Manchester Premier League winners—Trinity High School, for the title of Manchester Schools

Julia, Nicola, Sinead and Jane performed consistently well across all the races, winning the team gold to become Manchester Girls Go-Ride Champions!

Sharing The Vision

Page 19

RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE SCHOOL

A Strong School Community Raising money for charity continues to be a vital part of our school community and as part of the St. Joseph’s Penny and ‘Grow a Fiver’ campaign, students and staff raised £728—a wonderful amount.

In light of the recent terrorist events in Manchester, our school community showed a real sense of reflection as a Catholic community. The school managed to raise £607 in only a couple of days to be donated to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund. Thank you to Mr and Mrs Burke and Ms Castle for their support.

Year 7 and 8 students have all now visited St Clare’s Church over the past few weeks, to gain an understanding of a place of worship and the significance of the Eucharist, Mass and Forgiveness in our lives. Many Thanks to Fr Dariusz for his time and support in leading these sessions.

Year 11 put in a tremendous amount of work for their exams and after five years at Our Lady’s, they celebrated with Mass on 22 June concelebrated by Father Glover. We wish them every happiness and success in their futures.

Our Chaplaincy team were invited, along with Chaplaincy teams from other schools, to meet Bishop John Arnold on 5 July. They spoke about the work that they have been doing to support the religious life of the school.

Our Lady’s R.C. High School’s

Summer School Our Lady’s FREE Summer Programme for partner primary schools will help boost the skills and confidence of your child as they move from primary into secondary school in September.

Your child must be due to start in year 7 at Our Lady’s in September to be eligible.

When? Monday 14–Friday 18 August 2017 Time: 9.30am–3pm each day Where? Our Lady’s R.C. High School What? A full week of fun activities Learn: Booster classes in Maths and English Play: Sports, arts and craft, dance, drama, games If you have any questions please contact Paul Schofield or Hania Tkaczuk.

Call: 0161 795 9004 Email: admin@olsc.manchester.sch.uk Visit: www.olhs-manchester.org.uk

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Sharing The Vision