Newsround - Issue 2

St Peter’s Catholic High School

news

1960

round Issue

The Sports Persons’ Dinner

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Y11’S winners

On Tuesday 11th March 2014 the Sports Persons’ Dinner took place at The Owls in Standish. This night was a celebration of the Y11’s sporting achievements over their time at St Peter’s. There was excitement in the air as pupils arrived looking smart and perhaps a little nervous of what the night could bring.

The night consisted of a delicious three course meal, presentation and a disco towards the end of the evening. Additionally, the pupils were lucky enough to listen to 4 guest speakers: Matthew ‘Matty’ Ashurst of Salford Rugby League, Greg Scott of the Dewsbury Rams, James Dandy of the Rochdale Hornets and David Forrester, a prolific athlete, all ex St Peter’s pupils who shared their success stories. It was really nice for our current Y11s to see what is possible to achieve and what hard work and determination can result in.

In this issue

Landscape in a box Spelling Bee The Bake Off Theatre Show French Fun Science Trip Skiing Trip Our Trip To Geneva Year 8 Trip to Normandy Notice Board Sporting Achievements

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The night saw numerous pupils picking up prizes and awards for all their hard work and their commitment to sports teams and the PE department as a whole.

It was a fantastic success and a good night was had by all. Well done to all the winners!

Tel: 01942 747693 Email: enquiries@admin.saintpetershigh.wigan.sch.uk

...Sports Persons’ Dinner Continued

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AWARD

NAME

Sports Personality of the Year 2014 Player’s Player Netball Managers Player Netball Player’s Player Hockey Managers Player Hockey Player’s Player Rugby Managers Player Rugby Player’s Player Football Managers Player Football Best Athlete

Alex Green Rachael Blakeley Hannah Gaffney Charlotte Halliwell Molly Hopkins Joseph Hanman

hy ograp us a e G r u in set in rch, o In Ma er, Mr Makbmissionrm teach ue for su re half te o d task week bef e th

Matthew Costello Liam Riley Alex Green Tom Dobbs

Best Cricketer

Jake Brown

Outstanding Achievement in Rugby Outstanding Achievement In Rugby Outstanding Achievement In Football Contribution to the PE Department Contribution to the PE Department Contribution to the PE Department Contribution to the PE Department Contribution to the PE Department Contribution to the PE Department Contribution to the PE Department Contribution to the PE Department Contribution to the PE Department

Matthew Costello Kieran O’Mara

Our challenge was to take an average shoebox and create a famous landscape (or a landscape that we have visited) inside it. We each had two weeks to complete it and show it to the class. We all chose different landscapes varying from the tropical volcanoes of Italy to the chilly snow-capped mountains of France.

Alex Linguard Aaron Molloy Liam Riley

In class we each put our projects on our desks and looked at each other’s. We had to inspect and write a review about each of them. We had to imagine we were actually there and write about what is around us. It was very interesting to see everyone’s work.

Nathan Morters Joseph Hanman Jack McHugh Ben Leaford Jack Seddon Chris Wilson James Roughley

Y11’S winners

Overall I think that the project was very enjoyable and it was a great way to help us with our work. We enjoyed it and learning about all the different places on Earth. Our class would recommend it to others as it was very helpful with our Geography work.

Orla O’Donnell 7.7

Another ‘Buzzing’ Year of Spelling Bee Success

Our Spelling Bee German classe journey began back in Januar s. We were all given a list of 50 y when the competition was translate them launched in ou words which w and spell them r French and e al in mini competitio ns and generally the foreign language! So we pr ready knew, but we had to be able to ac did lots of diffe rent activities to tised the alphabet, tested ea ch other, held help develop ou r speed and accu racy.

The Regional Winners with Caitlin & Hannah

Our Regional finalists!

We all had to perform for one minute in front of the class and the winners would go through to the school competition. These twenty four spellers from across our Year Group were given another fifty words to practise.

One French lesson in February, we all went to the lecture for the school competition. All twenty four class winners performed really well; we all clapped and cheered for them even though we were feeling nervous ourselves. At the end, we found out who would representing St Peter’s at the Regional Final taking place in Manchester the following month. The winners for French were Nathan Massam and Phoebe Makin and Caitlin McGreevy and Hannah Lamb were the winners for German. We were so excited as all the hard work had paid off; we had been practising at lunchtimes with Mrs. Kellaway and Miss Whittaker as well as practising our speed at home. Now the real competitive streak in us took over! We were given another fifty words which were even longer and contained more accents, but had only two weeks to get ourselves ready. Learning the 150 words was not the hardest part, it was actually saying them as quickly as possible to get as many crammed in to one minute. A few days before the event, we performed in a special lunchtime event in the LRC to practise performing in front of an audience and to show staff and students how good we were!

On 19th March, we made our way to Manchester Metropolitan University for the Regional Final with Mrs Makin and Mrs Callaghan. The building was incredibly large and modern, with university students wandering around. To help us relax, we were offered cupcakes and strawberries and mingled with the contestants from the other ninety four schools from the North West. All the way there and whilst waiting we practised with our word cards until it was time for Round 1.

Unfortunately, we were called up first! Nathan and Phoebe did a great job and performed very confidently

Phoebe & Nathan waiting nervously for the French round

The Dean of Manchester Metropoltan University presenting Caitlin with her medal

and accurately but they didn‘t make it through to Round 2. Nathan said “The spelling bee has been a great opportunity, going to Manchester was brilliant and I wish good luck to the German pupils”. Phoebe said “I really enjoyed doing the competition, especially going to Manchester because it was very fun and exciting!”

In our German round, we stood at the front, facing the audience when it was our turn, it was so nerve-wracking with everyone staring at us ! We did our best, getting about 21 words correct and when they announced the winners… we were through ! We knew this meant: we were in the final and had to perform again in front of a larger audience as all the French, German and Spanish participants came together. We were against two girls from another school. It was a tough competition but within minutes we had our results… Caitlin came a brilliant third overall and after a sudden death round, Hannah was declared champion! The best German speller in the North West! We were all given goody bags but Hannah was presented with a trophy for the school. This means we’ll go on to represent the North West at the National Final in Cambridge on the 4th July.

We’ve been given our final 50 words now, so any of the 200 words could come up in the National Final. We are so excited and looking forward to the challenge but know that competition will be tough. I’m sure we’ll have a great experience no matter who wins. Miss Swindells said “All Year 7 class teachers are very proud of their pupils’ determination and positive attitude towards the competition. They have developed not only their language skills and pronunciation but their general literacy skills too. All pupils receive a certificate of participation, with special certificates and prizes presented in a dedicated assembly to mark their achievements.

We all wish Hannah and Caitlin the best of luck!”

Written by Caitlin McGreevy 7.2 and Hannah Lamb 7.3

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The Great Wigan Schools Bake Off

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The first heat was a complete success with 18 outstanding St. Peter’s entrants. After a hectic afternoon of baking, six pupils were selected to compete in the final. The talented semifinalists were Aleisha Cook and Emily Fagen with their rose and beetroot cupcake, Mollie Woods and Lucy Rigby with their lime and courgette cupcake and Harvey Whitby and Sammy Glover with their classic carrot cake.

At the final, students were invited to indulge in afternoon tea whilst the judging panel scored the cupcakes on the taste, texture, appearance, nutritional value and cost. All pupils worked exceptionally hard and despite not winning in the final everyone had an enjoyable evening. All finalists walked away with a well-deserved medal and certificate presented by the Mayor of Wigan, Councillor Billy Rotheram, to celebrate their achievement. All finalists will also have their recipes published in a special edition of ‘Great Wigan Schools Bake Off‘ book.

Teacher Mrs. Hughes who entered the school in the competition said: “This competition was a great opportunity for our pupils to show just how talented they are. Everyone who entered embraced the competition and produced a wide range of excellent cupcakes. The effort and enthusiasm shown by all of the competitors was exceptional and commended by the judges. The whole event has been a complete success and we are very proud of the students who entered and we look forward to competing again next year!”.

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Pupils got their aprons on and whisks at the ready for a chance to go head to head with local schools in the Great Wigan Schools Bake off as part of the Wigan Food and Drink Festival.

Pupils from all year groups battled it out to make the best vegetable cupcake and a chance to represent St. Peters at the Grand Final at Haigh Hall on February 27th.

The contestants and their cupcakes

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Théâtre au Collège

Saint Pierre

In November 2013 and February 2014, the MFL Department at St Peter’s once again welcomed the reputable foreign language theatre company ‘Onatti’ who presented four entertaining and understandable plays to all year groups in French, German and Spanish.

Year 7 pupils were excited to watch a whole play in French and were keen to try out their new language skills. They found ‘Le Château’’ (The castle) highly entertaining, enjoyed the gruesome historical references and volunteered to participate in the story with hilarious consequences! The play for Year 9 had a perfect storyline for teenagers… one disgruntled daughter wishes she could change her dad, then her birthday wish comes true! One disaster follows another as she comes to realise the dad she had all along is all she wants and needs.

excellent actors. Many pupils could relate to this story; Hanna wants to impress her new neighbour but everything she tries makes her look stupid. With some embarrassing and cringe-worthy scenes, this play was enjoyed by all.

With cameo performances from Taylah Yates and Robbie Freeman, this play was a hit with our pupils.

Key Stage 3 and 4 German pupils found ‘Erster Eindruck’ a great introduction to German culture with some current German pop music played throughout and wacky performances by the

Pupils and staff alike are always impressed and amazed by the actors’ skills, rapid costume changes and very clever set design. Scripts are well written to allow a good balance of challenge and accessibility to all pupils. We look forward to the next one!

Even our Spanish ab initio students were treated to a performance ‘La Habitación de Mateo’ (Mateo’s room) where poor Mateo experiences a make-over like no other in order to attract the attention of Veronica.

Robbie Free man (Y9) ta king part in the show n ching the actio Attentively wat

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Year 8 ‘Exchanging’

French Fun

Opening sc ene in

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the video

in the video Canteen scene

In November, we started a French Exchange Club so we could communicate with real French people who were the same age as us. The school we email is in Angers, in the North West of France which is Wigan’s twin town.

The school is called St. Aubin La Salle and it looks a lot like St Peter’s. We meet up every Tuesday in L4 where we read what the partner school has sent us and work on what we are going to send over to them.

They emailed us some profiles of themselves and we were surprised to find that they were just like us! They liked pop stars such as One Direction and Justin Bieber, as well as some others that were famous in France. We thought the quality of their English was very impressive, but could see from what we know about French why they were making certain mistakes. We have exchanged information through questionnaires about home life and have written in English about trips we have been on, which they are using in their English lessons. After this we felt we should send something really good over to them as thanks, so our recent correspondence is a video, in which we

are giving a tour of the school – in French!

It also stars some teachers such as, Mr. Barton, Miss. Swindells, Mr. McGlown, Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. Mooney… all speaking perfect French! We put in a lot of time, including lunch times and after school, and we feel it truly shows our school at its best. After we finished it, and it underwent some excellent editing by Mr. Sharpe, it was ready to send off. We have already received some great feedback from the French class, and we are hoping to produce some more things we can send over. We are improving our French, and we don’t even realise. We are currently brainstorming ideas and have come up with some promising ones such as a French play or a fact file about Wigan.

We hope our French Exchange partners are having as much fun as we are!

Eve Loftus.

The name of the lecture was the ‘John Salthouse Memorial Christmas Lecture’ and the topic was, ‘The Elements present in the Human Body’, therefore it mostly focused on carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus. We arrived in the huge lecture theatre, in the Renold Building, along with many other schools from across the region and we were privileged enough to be sitting on the front row.

The lecture was presented to us by Dr Steve Rossington, who had previously worked at one of the Universities.

The first experiment that we were shown was about oxygen and how we all need oxygen in order for our respiratory system to work properly and efficiently. The lecturer poured liquid oxygen over some broken biscuits and then proceeded to set it alight. He wanted to show how different burning something covered in oxygen was, than attempting to burn something that was deprived of oxygen, which is not possible. I found this interesting as I had not yet had the chance to see or use liquid oxygen as it is too difficult to store at well below 0 degrees Centigrade.

He then poured liquid nitrogen all over the floor, which is below 200 degrees Celsius. The water vapour condensed and created a cool mist, which made us feel cold, as we were sitting right at the front near to where the demonstration was taking place. After the room was given time to warm up again, he ignited balloons which were filled with one third oxygen and two thirds hydrogen, which exploded and produced water. I found this particularly interesting as I had done this experiment in school myself, but on a much

smaller scale than this, therefore it was fascinating to see how this experiment can be done in a different way and what it looks like on a larger scale.

Dr Steve Rossington did yet another demonstration with liquid nitrogen. This time he demonstrated how all of the energy is transferred from something that is warm, into something that is cold. He put a rubber tube, one that is usually on the end of a Bunsen burner, into liquid nitrogen and when he took it out it was no longer flexible. However, as it began to warm again whilst in his hands, the rubber regained its elasticity, this proved to me how a variation in energy can affect the properties of any material, as he demonstrated further with various different objects and materials.

My favourite demonstration (and I am sure others have the same opinion) was when the lecturer put dry ice and solid carbon dioxide, into an empty bottle and then added water, this produced carbonated water, or fizzy water. He then put a balloon over the top of the bottle to collect all of the carbon dioxide gas that was being produced and which inflated the balloon. I found this interesting as I knew that manufacturers used dry ice to produce fizzy drinks, but I didn’t think that it was as simple as it is.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this trip as it was educational and fun at the same time. I hope that everyone who was privileged enough to visit this university and to witness this lecture enjoyed it as it was a fantastic opportunity.

By Eleanor Makin 9.6

Science Trip The University of Manchester

On Wednesday 11th December 2013, a group of Year 9 and Year 10 pupils visited the University of Manchester to take part in a more practical and interactive type of lecture which had been organised by the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Skiing is believing From the 13th to the 21st of February 2014, ninety pupils from Year 10 and 11 enjoyed the annual skiing holiday to America. Run by P.E., this year we went for a five day ski trip in New Hampshire followed by an overnight stay in the infamous city of Boston.

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After a extremely long journey (we had been travelling from 3am to midnight British time), we finally arrived to a welcome meal at our first hotel-the North Conway Grand Hotel. For the first three days we skied at the Attitash Ski Resort. Many of the group had never skied before but didn’t need to worry as we were split into ability groups and by the end of the trip everyone could ski. Everyone learnt something new, whether it was how to put on the equipment, how to ride a chair lift or even simply how not to crash every five minutes.

Meanwhile many of the experienced skiers took on the harder slopes. Even in freezing temperatures the views where magnificent and the sport was worth wrapping up for.

For the final two days in the mountains we travelled to another resort called Wildcat.

True to its name these mountains were much higher than the previous and were challenging for many. But it was still an amazing experience being able to ski in America, especially if you had never been before.

In the evenings, although it was occasionally snowing too hard to venture outside, there were lots of activities to entertain us in the hotel.

It had a games room, shopping in the outlet just next to the hotel and movies for rent, but I think the most exciting part was swimming in the outdoor pool with snow surrounding the heated Jacuzzi.

Skiing done, we set off for Boston! On arrival we headed straight to the popular Quincy Market and then off to another mall again (we couldn’t go all the way to America and not take advantage of the great shopping opportunities). We checked in at our overnight hotel and thankfully the snow had stopped so we could walk to our restaurant for the evening. Here we were able to surprise Mr. Ashton with some new ski goggles as a thank you for his great organisation.

The next day we explored the highlights of Boston, including a tour round the prestigious Harvard University and a tour round the whole Boston Redsox baseball stadium. Both proved very popular and new to everyone. Having seen Boston it was time to head home after what was a school holiday that we will all remember forever.

Thanks to all the pupils and teachers who went and helped make it so special.

Lizzy Simms Year 11

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Our Trip to Geneva In Early January 2014, the Science Department took a number of pupils on a trip to Geneva, Switzerland. On a classic English night (cold and rainy) around 25 students had to get themselves out of bed at about 2am in the morning and make their way to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

With everybody surprisingly turning up on time (since we were still half asleep), suitcases in tow, we were ready to go on our three day adventure of all things science.

We eventually arrived in the snowy, mountain lined airport of Geneva, with everybody very excited about the next few days ahead of us. All of us still intact, we disembarked from the plane, got our bearings and boarded the tram to our hotel. We were all amazed at how smooth the journey was, finding we could easily fall asleep on one. Luckily everybody resisted the fatigue and we managed to get to our hotel. Our first impression of the hotel was very positive; it was in a very good area and we were a stroll away from all the trams, whilst still being quite secluded and peaceful.

Upon arrival we managed to get our keys and assign ourselves to our rooms without too much hassle.

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After a small period of recuperation, we were ready to explore Geneva. We got on a tram to the Natural History Museum of Geneva, or at least we thought we did. As it turns out, we boarded the wrong tram, but eventually we reached the museum. We walked in and were greeted by a massive space of four levels of natural science. There was one level devoted to the science of birds, one level for dinosaurs, another for rocks and minerals and finally one for land animals.

On display was an intriguing display of diversity. It was truly inspiring for us all and a valuable learning experience we could all take advantage of. After a few hours of examples of stuffed giraffes, dinosaurs, man, fish and diamonds, we decided to take in a few of the sights.

Close by was the famous St Pierre Cathedral which we all were very interested in seeing. We were greeted by a big, intricate church, where there were many great views such as Lake

Geneva and Jet d'Eau. It was a very good place to reflect and a break from all the science that we were about to encounter. Hunger called, so we decided to savour some top class, ‘Genèvan’ food, at the “Holy Cow” restaurant. We all tucked into massive burgers with toppings of our choice. A great end to a great day. Awakening on the second day of our trip, we feasted on a continental’ breakfast which consisted of a single, but very fresh croissant and bread bun, a variety of preserves, and a coffee, tea or orange juice.

We then eagerly headed off to the tram stop and boarded the (correct) tram to our destination.

Whizzing past the city sights, it was easy to detect the excitement that emanated from our two resident science teachers, so much so that at points it really got quite conCERNing as their knees began to tremble with anticipation. Punctually arriving at CERN, we were greeted with a deeply interesting lecture about the long term goals and targets that CERN were working towards, as well as a brief yet encapsulating introduction to the specific areas of science that they are committed to working on. The talk was both educational and interactive and enabled myself and my peers to better understand the unfathomable mysteries of the early universe such as anti-matter and sub-atomic particles.

Our tour of CERN then kicked off with a trip to ATLAS, one of the four particle detectors used in their fascinating experiments, where we were given an all too brief talk about how the detectors work, before watching a video about how the actual Large Hadron Collider (LHC) itself works. The second phase of our tour took us to a separate site to see specific parts of the LHC, how they work, as well as further educating us on topics such as electromagnetism and superconductors, before visiting the CERN cafeteria to dine with (well, in the same room as) famous 21st century scientists.

After lunch we visited the Universe of Particles exhibition at CERN where we watched a short video and discovered a working version of an experiment Mrs. Briers and Mr. Bromelow had tried so hard to perfect back in England. A short rest at the hotel was all that we needed before setting out again into the Genèvan evening where we visited the famous flower

clock, also known as L’horloge Fleurie in French, and finally ended our fun-filled day with a trip to the familiar location of Starbucks, during which time we chivalrously competed in a science-themed quiz and then headed back to the hotel for a relaxing sleep.

Eventually, morning came around and at that point we realised that CERN itself was over, but there were many more things to do and see in Switzerland. After another morning of croissants we stowed away our luggage and waddled towards the nearest bus station.

Within about 20 minutes, we had finally made it to the History of Science Museum by Lake Geneva (Musee d’Histoire des Sciences), where we all took part in some great scientific games, such as the classic “Who can hang from the highly pressure metallic sphere for the longest?!” game. After this further expansion of our scientific knowledge, we pressed on to the United Nations building, despite the fact that no flags were found to be billowing in the wind in our presence. After tucking in to a healthy lunch of good old ‘McDonalds’ we re-attempted to find Jet d’Eau. We walked on the ol’ jetty and finally realised our journey had come to an end.

Our final tour of Geneva had to come to a stop and so we collected our luggage and made our way to the airport. With our heads held high (yet heavy with knowledge) we boarded our return flight rather glad of the opportunity which we had been offered). We understood what some people meant when they said that travelling to CERN is a once in a lifetime experience, because as we now knew, it truly was.

Adam Flatley 11.7, Alex Gravener 11.6 and Connor Spratt 11.7

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Year 8 trip to

Normandy In early February, the MFL Department took a group of Year 8 pupils on a trip to Normandy. The journey there was quite enjoyable as there were films to watch and plenty of stops at the service station for toilet breaks and the chance to get things to eat and drink. The ferry crossing was very comfortable and those of us lucky enough not to feel queasy were keeping ourselves occupied with shopping, cinema, wandering around and relaxing. The journey from the ferry port to the ‘Grande Ferme’ didn’t take long, but everyone was all suitably tired by the time we reached our destination.

12 We stayed in a farmhouse called Le Grand’ Ferme. There were lots of bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and rooms with bunk beds. My favourite part of the farmhouse was the barn. It had four guinea pigs, one of which was very young.

You could get them out and stroke them in your free time.

There were also two chinchillas but they couldn’t be handled. For our entertainment the barn housed ping pong tables, basketball hoops and footballs. There was an extra bit for teachers to make their escape upstairs in the barn.

There was a volleyball pitch and space for games outside.

After a good nights sleep we were all ready for our first full day of activities and we were all looking forward to what we would experience today. Firstly, we were split into two groups, one with Valentin and one with Solène, Valentin’s group spent the morning making yummy French bread whilst Solène’s group learnt how to juggle and spin plates.

We all learnt how to say things like “spinning plates” and “diablo” in French and had lots of fun practising our new-found talents. After a nice lunch we all hopped onto the coach and went to the town of St. Malo where we had a small tour and had the opportunity to buy some souvenirs.

Following dinner that evening, we took part in some evening activities, one of which was learning a French song called ‘Le Petit Poisson’.

Waking the next day to a breakfast of cornflakes, croissants, bread and hot chocolate, we all got on the coach and took the fifteen minute drive to ‘The Chateau’, which is a place where you can do lots of fun and exciting activities. We were split into groups again and one half went to do some archery and orienteering while the other group went to tackle the climbing wall. Orienteering involved trekking around the Chateau trying to find posts to stamp. In the archery sessions we all shot at the targets and had a competition to see who could score the highest number of points.

The following day, we went to a goat cheese farm. We began by watching a video about the goats and how the cheese is made, but after that was the best part. We got to go into a room full of goats, with a few male goats, lots of females, two little toddler goats and an adorable baby goat. It was about the same size as a cat. We were given the chance to hold the little goats, and feed the adult goats bits of hay, but if you got too close they started nibbling on your clothes.

There was also a donkey which you could pet.

We went to the market one day but since the weather was miserable, not many stall holders showed up. It didn’t spoil the day though, we still had lots of fun. We went off in different groups, and my friends and I headed to the most important stall of the market; the crêpe stall. There were quite a few stalls open considering the weather wasn’t as good as usual. They were selling food, clothes, jewellery, key rings, and more. I wish we had markets like that in England.

13 On our fifth day, the groups from the first day swapped activities, so we did bread baking and the other group did the circus skills. The bread baking was really enjoyable considering we made the dough ourselves. After the dough was made we had a contest making animals out of dough.

On the way home, we stopped at the Abbey on Mont Saint Michael. We were all very surprised at how lovely the building and surrounding area was. There were lots of shops selling gifts and a friend and I put some money together to get one of our friends back home a jewellery box. The Abbey was very beautiful although we were disappointed not to see the interior.

The trip back was very similar to the trip there, again going to the cinema. We watched Frozen on the ferry and made the discovery that you don’t feel as ill on a ferry when you are lying on the floor, (just as long as you ignore people looking at you strangely).

Overall, our time in Normandy was fantastic and we all really enjoyed it.

Rachel Hough & Tara Lathom.

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St. Peter’s Notice board Year 7 Retreat 7th February 2014, Year 7 On the week of Tuesday 8th- Friday a day packed full of for ns Hele visited Lowe House in St. ities included dressing activ the of e Som . enjoyable activities recycled materials and building other members of your group up in arrived in the morning, we were we towers out of newspaper. When ed and games and after lunch we settl treated to the fun packed activities es quot few a ered We have gath down for a time of quiet meditation.

7: from Year sing up and the tuck shop.”

“It was really good! I enjoyed the dres Faye McCarthy 7.2 es to people. There were lots of fun gam “The staff were really funny and kind 7.3 ert Gilb yam play. I really enjoyed myself.” - Mar ing. The very happy and never stopped smil “The people at Lowe House were me beco and ther toge s form rate 2 sepa newspaper tower building brought falling, is g, fallin stuck in my head: Mercy is friends. The song we learned is still is falling…” - Tara McHugh 7.3 eone in I enjoyed when we dressed up som “I remember the hymn we sang and very got I use beca shop there was a tuck our team as robots. I was really glad Turton 7.3 hungry after the activities.” - Victoria t know use I got to know people-who I don’ “The retreat was very helpful beca 7.3 very well-better.” - Ben Molyneux 7.6 & Faye McCarthy 7.2

by Paige Delahunty 7.6., Lucy Rigby

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took a cohort of 83 m the PE department ter lf ha er tob Oc the During d. We had 2 netball to Valkenburg in Hollan and after long and pupils on Sports tour a hockey team in tow, d an , ms tea ll tba foo 4 teams, lland. eventually arrived in Ho eventful journey and ed in intense training all teams were involv Throughout the week, . The netball teams pils thoroughly enjoyed glish schools. They sessions, which the pu En er oth the nts against all t competed in tourname ll reaching the final, bu we y ver did d an ll tba ne nt a elle s wa exc e ich som wh played ners up, ulting in them being run teams were lucky enough unfortunately lost res y cke ho d an ll tba foo e Th fantastic achievement. , in addition to playing on siti po op against Dutch week. All the teams to experience playing of ment at the end the rna tou ls oo sch sh gli in an En all week! e remaining unbeaten did really well with som in s and staff participated and fixtures, the pupil pancakes tch Du l rea ere Away from the training wh , ited a pancake house other activities. We vis wn a treat. We went ce and syrup went do sau ate nt on a Tour around covered in chocol we o exciting and als d an fun s wa ich wh bowling brilliant time. ff and pupils all had a PSV stadium. The sta ent Miss Lynn P.E. Departm

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On Wedne coach and Trafford C that are ta people in many oth Througho organisat sector im latest adv and see school. A in hands

We had the care options The ma would c success

Regional Skills Event for Year 10

boarded a , the whole of Year 10 esday the 5th of March t near the jus r, west in Mancheste d drove to Skills North al skills events ion part of many reg is st we rth No ills Sk Centre. d motivate young country to inspire an the s ros ac ce pla aking ne aged 15-24 so e event was for anyo the world of work. Th ent, just like us. came along to the ev s ge lle co d an ls oo her sch er 100 opportunity to visit ov out the day we got the major career ery ev ve features from cti era int ing vid pro tions for us to ask for the rthwest was a chance maginable. Skills No and ambitions, ation on our dreams orm inf d an e nc ida vice, gu can go after high ssible and where we po is at wh s lve rse for ou nd and take part o go round each sta als uld co we t en ev At the ities. s-on demos and activ ding out about Skills Northwest, fin at y da le ab joy en a really us widened our sted in and some of ere int are we s job d eers an considered before. ngs we’d never even s and even found thi ial and said they the day very benefic nd fou ar ye the of ajority y was a great d overall I think the da come back again an in the future. more careers events s and look forward to

NETBALL

St Peter’s have had another fa ntastic netball played some su season. All of ou perb netball an r teams have d for that need won most of th to be commende eir fixtures whi d. The Y10 team ch resulted in them Wigan West Le finishing runner ague. The Y7, s up in the Y8 and Y9 teams ha remaining unbe d brilliant seas aten in their leag on s all ue s, which resulte being Wigan W d in all three ye est League Cham ar groups pi ons, which mea the overall Wig ns the teams go an final. Well do th ro ne ugh to to all the girls w teams througho ho played in th ut the season. e netball Special congra tulations must go to Niamh M Y8 who were vo cLaughlin Y10 an ted Players of th d Ruby Petrovic e Season in the schools nominat Wigan West Le e a player of th agues. All e m atch in all match with the most vo es played and tes at end of th the player e se ason from all th wins. So for thes e schools in the e two girls to w league in player of the se achievement. W ason is a massi ell done! ve The Y7 and Y8 teams had thei r netball Final on in Leigh. Both te Tues 1st April 20 ams gave it thei 14 at St Mary’s r all and played Unfortunately bo some really nice th teams were netball. be at en by St Mary’s Wigan runners and finished Ov up. Well done Gi erall rls!

The Y9 final is st ill to be played.

HIGH ADVENTUR E 2013 Back in Decembe Adventure Outdoor the Y11 GCSE cohort went on 3 Pupils took part in r Education Centre in Skipton a day trip to High opted out of Mou two activities for one and a halfs part of their exam. weather conditiontain Biking, Climbing and Oriente days each and assessed continuons, pupils displayed a high level ofering. Despite difficult sessions and reallyusly throughout. The pupils did pr ability and were actical and theor enjoyed the trip. y

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Walsingham Pilgrimage 2014 On Monday 17th April, thirty one Year Nine pupils went on a three-day residential pilgrimage to Walsingham, in Norfolk. We had a great time.

Walsingham offered us a chance to reflect and consider our faith along with allowing us to bond with each other.

There were many pupils with differing faith viewpoints who attended this pilgrimage. Some members of the group had a strong faith and some pupils were still considering what their faith means to them. I think all pupils got something positive from this trip that could help them in the future. The group quickly bonded to create a happy and positive atmosphere. This atmosphere remained for the duration of the pilgrimage.

Walsingham is a beautiful place. It is an ancient site a pilgrimage, far older than places like Lourdes in France. A lady by the name of Lady Richeldis had a vision here and built a replica of the Holy House of Nazareth. Pilgrims have been flocking here for the last thousand years. You can still visit the holy house today, which has been rebuilt across the road from the original site.

The teachers that attended this trip were Mr Keenan, Mrs Keyworth and Carl our chaplain. Each member of staff gave us a chance to reflect on our faith, in the various places we visited.

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On the first day, we travelled for most of the day. We set of at the beginning of the school day and arrived at about 3pm, when the school day was completed. We had only just got started. We visited the Holy House immediately and had a chance to reflect on something that was important for us. That night we went bowling.

This was probably not what most pilgrims do on pilgrimage, but we had a great time. It was an evening that all pupils and staff enjoyed.

On the second day, we completed a church trail.

We visited an Orthodox Church, a Quaker Meeting House and the local Catholic Church. We had a chance to study the different parts of each place of worship and how different each place was. All were very different in styles and everyone appreciated the differences and beauty of each different church.

We also had the chance to visit an Abbey ruin, dissolved by King Henry VIII. He left one part of the monastery standing, as a threat to show what would happen if you crossed King Henry VIII. In the afternoon we visited Sherringham, a quiet fishing village. It was nice to visit the coast, although this was certainly not like Blackpool. It is a peaceful place full of interesting shops and sites that allowed us to reflect on our faith and our time at Walsingham.

After dinner, in the evening we had a Sprinkling Service. This involved us drinking the healing water of Walsingham. This helped us in our faith. That evening Mr Keenan led us all on a walk on something called the Holy Mile. The stars were so bright that night. It was quite moving to walk with a group of my friends at night to a holy place.

The next morning after prayers and breakfast, we had a chance to buy souvenirs and collect Holy Water for those at home that have not had a chance to experience the water of Walsingham.

Here are some of the comments of pupils who travelled to Walsingham:

‘I liked talking to different people and learning about what they do and liked looking at the different churches.’

‘It helped me to understand a pilgrim’s way of life. I thought it was worthwhile to meet new people and spend time with my friends. The room smelled, but was clean!’

‘I really enjoyed this trip and would definitely do it again! I experienced things I haven’t heard of before, like the Sprinkling Service. Also it helped me to think about my own faith.’

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St Peter’s Catholic High School

Howards Lane, Orrell, Wigan WN5 8NU Tel: 01942 747 693 Fax: 01942 747 694 Email: enquiries@admin.saintpetershigh.wigan.sch.uk Web: www.saintpetershigh.wigan.sch.uk

Website: www.saintpetershigh.wigan.sch.uk