EASTER 2017
CONTENTS In this issue... Page 3
Music Concert
Page 4-5
Chinese New Year
Page 6
Mexichem Art Competition
Page 7
One night with the King
Page 8
Duke of Edinburgh
Page 9
PGL Trip
Page 10
Nightmare on Chad’s Street
Page 11
Microbit
Page 12-13
Other News
Page 14-15
Other News
Page 16-17
Sports News
Page 18
UCAS Convention
Page 19
Easter Egg Competition
MUSIC CONCERT
On the 9th of February St Chad’s Music Department hosted another very successful concert. The concert was organised with the help of Year 9 BTEC Music students who designed the posters, helped with the sound and lighting and worked in groups to produce ideas.
Music has always been a proud aspect of life at St Chad’s and this evening, enjoyed by all, will last long in the memories of those fortunate enough to be there. We hope to see you at our next concert in July!
Students from Years 7-11 took part in the concert and there were over 100 pupils involved! These students performed in various different groups including rock and pop bands, instrumental ensembles and the choir. Showcasing the musical talent at St chad’s there was a wide variety of different styles of music performed throughout the evening, with songs ranging from the Arctic Monkeys to Leonard Cohen to Musical Theatre. 3
The annual Chinese New Year celebrations were very successful once again at St Chad’s. We started the festivities with our year group assemblies which were conducted by our Chinese teacher Mrs Kirkham who introduced the history and traditions of the Chinese New Year festival. The assemblies helped raise all students’ awareness of Chinese New Year. During China week, the workshops were conducted by Mrs Kirkham and our visiting Hanban teachers Miss Hou and Mr Meng. In the workshops, students participated in Chinese calligraphy, traditional paper cutting art and water painting. Our students learned to write their names in Chinese and how to write “Good Luck” with Chinese characters. Some students did the water painting of a panda which helped the students to experience these traditional Chinese art skills. Also, students enjoyed the paper cuttings representing the symbol for “Double Happiness”. The workshops were open to the entire school and everyone who participated really enjoyed themselves, getting involved
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with typical relish and enthusiasm. Our China Week was very successful. Students at St Chad’s not only increased their own cultural awareness of China itself but it has also helped them understand the global dimension of the real world. The excellent Chinese New Year celebration activities were very popular and positively received by all. With our Language College roots it is good to see how popular Chinese celebrations have become and it was interesting to hear how many students and families visited Liverpool and Manchester to see Chinese New Year celebrations take place. Well Done to the Language team for their hard work.
CELEBRATIONS IN OUR FEEDER SCHOOLS
LEARNING ABOUT THE
At the end of January film stunt and fight coordinator Dan Styles visited school to show sixth form Media Studies students a few of the tricks of the trade. During the week from 23rd to 28th January 2017, our Chinese Hanban teachers Jun Meng and Ting Hou, went to eight of our feeder primary schools to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year with the pupils and teachers. They delivered assemblies telling the traditions and taboos of how and why Chinese people celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year and offered workshops on Chinese paper cutting and lantern making for the pupils. They were warmly welcomed by the schools and the pupils were extremely enthusiastic.
As a qualified instructor for the British Academy of Dramatic Combat (BADC) and having appeared in major films such as London Heist, Eliminators and Kicking Off, Dan was able to pass on his expertise to students keen to learn about the movie business.
Pupils and teachers learnt how to say Happy Chinese New Year in Chinese with the right gestures and experienced the Chinese Lunar New Year culture by immersing into Chinese New Year songs and music, Chinese food and Chinese handcrafts. The teachers said it was a valuable experience for the pupils and they all enjoyed the day.
His master class in co-ordinating stunts involved technical fight moves, the use of weapons in fight scenes and most importantly not getting hurt when mastering these complex movements. Adam one of our, Media Studies students said “Working with Dan was a fantastic learning opportunity, as he has great experience in the media industry, having worked with Matt Damon and Orlando Bloom�. He can now say he has worked with Adam. 5
Art Competition Throughout this academic year, St Chad’s have been working in partnership with Mexichem. They recruited a Spanish teacher to work 3 days at Mexichem delivering 1:1 lessons to senior employees and 2 days at the school to teach pupils and deliver a Mexican culture programme. The successful candidate was Mr Riding, who took on the challenge of putting together an art competition based on Mexican culture as part of his school programme brief. The concept, suggested by Dave Smith, Business Director, Mexichem UK Ltd, was to allow students to design artwork based on their own research on Mexico. The competition allows Mexichem to portray A1 canvas frames in its conference rooms and offices so that when employees from Mexico visit Runcorn or are involved in teleconferences, they are able to see the work that is on display. Neil was overwhelmed by the response, number of entries and outstanding work produced by year 7 to year 6
11 pupils. The competition was open to the whole school where a wide variety of designs where submitted. Mr Riding worked alongside Mr Waller, Head of Art, and Mrs Wilde, Art teacher, on the competition with Dave Smith and Kathie Hessey, PA to Dave Smith from Mexichem. Mr Waller suggested the idea of students using a postcards was a perfect way of communicating their understanding and sharing different cultures. The opportunity also provided an occasion to demonstrate their skills, techniques, initiative, and use of a wide amount of media. The whole enterprise opens other windows for St Chad’s to forge further links with Mexichem and other countries through art. The competition judged on a top 10 basis, then further reviewed to the best six entries. The winners have been notified of their success and will receive a prize from Mexichem at their offices in Runcorn.
To kick start our 40th Anniversary celebrations and to commemorate 40 years since Elvis Presley passed away a group of sixth form students produced a stunning performance of One Night with the King. The evening was staged as a Vegas night with guests receiving a cocktail on arrival and a buffet was served during the interval. Calum Snell made a very entertaining Elvis and along with his Vegas dancers had the whole audience up on their feet as he performed a medley of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits.
The whole evening was put together by Calum Snell, Adam Hughes, Emma Hogg, Emma Mutch, Elisha Horton, Mollie Jones and Ella Byrne supported by members. The evening was a great success and raised £500 for one of our local charities, Halton Haven. The response to the evening was so good that the ‘production team’ have already begun to consider another evening to follow on from the positive feedback from the Elvis show.
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The Halton presentation evening for the Duke of Edinburgh Award took place at the Brindley on the evening of 25th January this year. Almost fifty students from St Chad’s successfully completed the award at either Bronze or Silver level and nearly forty of them were present at the Brindley Theatre to receive their awards. The past year has again been successful for St Chad’s students, continuing the tradition of the award at the school. The students receiving their Bronze awards had completed their expedition in the Delamere Forest and Frodsham area last June while the Silver candidates had completed their
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expedition in Llangollen last April. All the candidates had successfully completed up to six months of volunteering, skill development and physical fitness and thoroughly deserved their awards. Five St Chad’s 6th Form students also completed their Gold award last year and will be presented with badges and certificates at Buckingham Palace later this year. This is a tremendous achievement and we are very proud of these students and all who have completed D of E certificates this year.
PGL ADVENTURE WEEKEND YEAR 9 & 10
At the end of February students from Year 9 and 10 enjoyed an action packed weekend at Boreatton Park PGL in Shrewsbury. Arriving on Friday evening they soon gathered around the campfires to toast marshmallows. The next morning the students were set the challenge of engineering rafts to take on to the lake. With four teams the competition during the raft races became very competitive and splashing the opposition to slow them down was the most widely used tactic. Back on dry land students were soon zooming through the woodland in a zip wire after learning how to survive in the forest by
building shelters and making fires. On their final day the students tested their sporting skills in fencing and archery sessions, followed by racing each other around the track on quad bikes before attempting the giant swing of faith. It was a great weekend and students had a fantastic time whilst being great ambassadors for the school. The joy mixed with some trepidation can be clearly seen on the faces of students in the image of the raft race. 9
There are a number of events that we keenly look forward to each academic year and those events that involve large numbers of our students performing in major productions are more keenly anticipated than others. This March saw our 12th presentation of the annual dance show which involved almost 150 students performing in a show called ‘Nightmare on Chad’s Street’. The ghoulish themes, designed to send a shiver down your spine and terrify the calmest of viewer involved dancing and singing of the highest calibre, something we have now become used to at St Chad’s. Both staff and parents commented on how proud they were of the youngster who had put in hours of preparation to ensure that the show was both as professional and as enjoyable as possible. Set in an enchanting
graveyard, students from all years across the school danced to songs such as ‘Come Little Children, Fun House and Circus of the Dead.’ The show lasted over two hours with highlights including the school choir performing ‘Shake It Out’, a fabulous duet from Sarah Fowler and Ruby Thornton and incredible solo performances from Ellie Behan, Hannah Bailey and Lily Mayers. Warned in the programme to be prepared for a scare, the audience need not have worried because the evening turned out to be extremely enjoyable for all who attended. Well done to all the students involved and the staff who supported the show for yet another year. Here’s to the dance show of 2018.
The BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized codeable computer with motion detection, a built-in compass and Bluetooth technology, which was given free to every child in year 7 or equivalent across the UK in 2016. This term we have been using them in our Year 7 Computing lessons with students developing their coding skills by producing a series of short games playable on the device itself. The UK currently faces a critical skills shortage in the technology sector and the BBC and partners aim to help change that. Our aim is to help equip our young students with these key skills to enable them to be better prepared for the world of work over the next ten years. In the 1980s, the BBC Micro introduced many children to computing for the first
time and the BBC Micro:bit, part of the BBC’s Make it Digital initiative, will build on the legacy of that project for the digital age. Learning to code is a skill that will boost your employability in the future and the youngsters in Year 7 have already demonstrated a keen awareness of this fact. They have embraced the use of these devices and have begun to experience the enjoyment of creating their own code. Using the Micro:bit will hopefully inspire them to get creative with digital and develop core skills in science, technology and engineering and become the next generation of technically skilled workers.
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WELCOMING THE STRANGER An important date on the calendar this term was Safer Internet Day on 7 February. At St Chad’s we take the safety of our students very seriously and surfing the Internet is no exception. It was therefore good to take part in this day which was a national initiative designed to make all youngsters safe when using the World Wide Web. The theme of the day was ‘Be the change: Unite for a better Internet� and the day called upon all stakeholders to join together to make the Internet a safer and better place for all, and especially for children and young people. On the day teachers had an opportunity to raise the awareness of the dangers of using the Internet and the value of using it as part of the learning process. In IT lessons students completed a range of activities designed to make them think about how they use the Internet and how they could do so more safely in the future.
Whilst the school welcomed parents of Year 11 and Sixth Form students for Consultation Day, Year 7 students were taking part in a special day created to help them develop their understanding of the need to welcome strangers into our community. Whether they are from other parts of their own country or from much further afield young people today are living in a world were new people are arriving almost every day. Understanding why they have come and where they have come from is an important aspect of growing up in the modern world. During the day students were able to research about refugees, consider what items should be in a welcome pack for these people, especially young people and use their creativity to produce poems about the struggles that some people face in their lives. At the end of the day they listened to a presentation from the Runcorn Foodbank and left with a better understanding of the struggles that have led to people arriving in their local area looking to start a new life. It is our hope that Runcorn will remain a welcoming community in the future thanks to these students.
PRIMARY VISIT TOURS This term we have offered a number of opportunities for parents to visit and tour the school on normal school days.
MINDFUL ME... On Monday 27th February Year 9 students took part in a Mindful Me Enrichment Programme. Mindful Me is about equipping young people with the mind management tools to manage life’s stresses and aims to ‘help young people help themselves’. The bespoke sessions support to build aspirations and reduce anxiety, stress and low mood by teaching them the techniques to regulate, improve and take ownership of their actions.
This has provided them with the chance to sample a functioning school, visiting lessons and viewing the many facilities we have available to our students. These tours have proved to be very popular and the young students who have visited have commented on how friendly and welcoming the school is. Parents too have expressed their delight in being able to see the school and meet some of our current students. Hearing what they have to say is a useful way of assessing how good a school St Chad’s really is. It has been extremely pleasing for us to welcome so many young students eager to see our school.
The students looked at the importance of mindful music, food for thought, having time and the correct space to relax and calm down, laughing with friends and family, how to be happy and performing random acts of kindness.
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LANGUAGES DAY At the beginning of March we welcomed pupils from the Holy Spirit, St Edward’s and Our Lady’s primaries for a French Languages day. The pupils enjoyed a carousel of activities, reinforcing their knowledge of French topics such as food and drink, wild animals, and clothes. There were parachute games, races, and interactive group activities. The day culminated in a stunning performance by the French Flying Theatre company which was enjoyed by all students and staff who accompanied them for the day, they had a brilliant time, and enjoyed the opportunity of practising their French in a wide range of contexts.
To mark this years’ World Book Day on 2nd March the Learning Resource Centre celebrated with two competitions. Each competition rewarded the winner with a bundle of books and proved to be very challenging. The first competition involved describing how the book bundle could benefit you in less than 100 words and the winner Jack proved to be a worthy winner of the Minecraft (secrets and cheats) and other gaming books bundle. He stated that reading the books would help him to develop his gaming ability and help to occupy his time when he was bored. The second competition for a bundle of books from the ‘Legends’ series went to Cameron who correctly completed a Dystopian crossword based on the novels from the Hunger Games and Maze Runner series.
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Well done to both boys.
TRIATHLON FOR CHARITY Students at St Chad’s have always been very generous and keen to help each other and this month we have seen an extremely generous gesture from two of our younger students. Emily and Shannon decided that they would like to help one of our nominated charities, Down Syndrome Liverpool by completing a triathlon of events. They began by running three miles from Brookvale to Frodsham before cycling the return journey to Brookvale Leisure Centre. Here they swam 21 lengths of the pool. They managed all of this despite both having injuries to their ankles and knees and on the day raised £715. Emily said “We both like helping charities and we were motivated by this charity”. Shannon also had personal motivation and said that “I know people who will benefit from this particular charity.” The girls also set up a ‘Just Giving’ page on the Internet which continues to add money to their overall total. Shannon added “We didn’t expect to get the amount we did.” Well done to both girls.
THE MOND TROPHY Four students from St Chads participated in the Mond Science trophy at Cronton Sixth Form College as part of science week in March. Amy Hanson, Brooke Dogan, Jordan Byrne and Liam Hearn were challenged with Maths puzzles, quantitative chemistry, making a digital thermometer from a resistor, calibrating scientific equipment, predicting animal classifications and measuring the impact of exercise on the diastolic heart rate. Students had to work together to interpret and solve the puzzles that were set whilst relying on the knowledge they had gained within their Science lessons. As a result the students won the Applied Science challenge and the Engineering challenge and came a credible third overall. Staff at the College commented on the resilience of the team, their ability to think outside the box and their effectiveness in managing the 20 minute timings for tasks. Mrs Hall who attended the event with the students said the students were excellent ambassadors for the school and could be very proud of their achievements. We look forward to next year’s competition and more good news from the Science team.
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SPORTS NEWS
GIRLS FOOTBALL
Girls year 7 & 8 football teams have been undefeated this year. They have played 7 games within Halton and have been selected to represent Halton at the Merseyside games. Macy Wilding and Amy Meadows have been nominated players of the match at the local games. Also massive congratulations to Amy Meadows who has been selected to play for Man City.
BOYS FOOTBALL
The Year 8 boys` football team currently head the Halton League with 3 wins out of 3, including a 7-1 victory over neighbours Ormiston Bolingbroke. Their key game will be the revenge clash with Helsby High, who St Chad`s lost to in last year`s District final!
GIRLS NETBALL
It has been a fantastic season for netball in St Chad’s.
BOYS RUGBY
The Years 8 boys` team this month became the first ever competitive Rugby Union team to represent St Chad`s in the school`s 40 year history. They took part in a development tournament at Winnington Park Rugby Club, as part of the All Schools Programme, a 3-year rugby partnership with the Rugby Football Union, which the school started in September 2016.
Year 7 won the Halton tournament and represent Halton at the Merseyside games. Year 8 came a close 2nd in the Halton tournament but have been an amazing squad to work with this year. Their commitment and dedication will pay off next season. KS4 team have played a few matches with players from 9-11, however due to exam commitments there was no official league in Halton. The girls have developed into a great team as the year progressed and will look forward to next season.
BOCCIA COMPETITION
Huge congratulations are due to the 6 Year 8 Sports Leaders, who assisted in the organisation of the Runcorn Primary Schools` Boccia competition, hosted here at St Chad`s in February. Staff from the visiting partner schools were delighted with the job they all did, praising them for their confidence, maturity and initiative and also saying how friendly and supportive to the Primary school players.
Manchester Jewish Museum
NAVIGATION AWARD
This term the Year 7 Nurture group have been taking part in the Young Star Navigation Award (YSNA). The focus of the Award is to encourage exploration and journeying using simple maps such as street maps, pictorial park maps and orienteering maps. The group have spent time at Castle Park in Frodsham and have learnt about the importance of both interior and exterior maps. They have also completed an orienteering course at the park and as well as enjoying the fresh air they have learnt a great deal about working in teams and have had opportunities to develop their own selfconfidence.
At the beginning of March 7B4 visited the Manchester Jewish museum. Seeing the artefacts on display students soon began to recognise items they had studied back in the classroom when learning about Jewish synagogues. Symbols of the Jewish faith were all around and the guides, who were practising Jews, had planned lots of interactive games for the students to find various artefacts, using iPads to take pictures for evidence. They became detectives searching for clues to find items such as Moses in the famous ‘basket’ which was hidden in a beautiful stained glass window. Student’s were fascinated to see the Torah scrolls which were kept in a glass case because they are considered very sacred and the Yad (the pointing stick) which is seen on top of the scroll and is used to read the passages of the scroll to keep it clean. In all they had an amazing day and felt they knew a great deal more about the Jewish religion.
On Tuesday 15th March a group of Sixth form students attended the annual UCAS Convention at Manchester Central. It was a very busy and exciting day for the 74 Year 12 students who attended. They had the choice of 170 universities from across the United Kingdom to investigate with 12 interactive areas including a wind machine and virtual reality games. The Royal Air Force, Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines were available for those interested in a career in the Armed Forces, and for students interested in apprenticeships there were representatives from businesses such as Rolls-Royce plc, Airbus, BAE Systems and the National Apprenticeship Service. It was an amazing opportunity for our students
CONVENTION MANCHESTER
to learn about the different choices they have when starting to think about the next stage of their learning journey. The students came away feeling very positive with lots of goodie bags and pens! Our students were a delight and a credit to St Chads Catholic and Church of England High School. When asked about his experience of the day Michael Ratcliffe said “I found the day a useful way to find out about all the different ways you can go when you leave the Sixth form”. Kieran Clarke added “It was a good opportunity to learn about courses and the choice of Universities I might be interested in” In all it was a very positive day and one which gave students a view into their possible futures.
Easter Egg Competition As we approached the Easter break, the RE department organised a competition with Year 7 students who were asked to design an Easter Egg which featured an image from the Gospels that showed what happened on the first Easter morning. This formed part of a National Easter Egg competition and allowed students to combine their knowledge of the Gospels with the own creative flair. All the entries were of a very high quality but the winner, chosen by the RE department, was Maisy Berry with Isabella Davidson and
Jessica Rodin as runners up. Finally a special artistic award went to Josh Crockett for his lovely design! Chocolate, it would appear, is a powerful motivational tool, but it was good to see how imaginative students can be. Thank you to all the students who took part and well done again to our four prize winners.
St Chad’s Catholic & Church of England High School Grangeway, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 5YH Email: admin@st-chads.halton.sch.uk Tel: 01928 564106 Fax: 01928 572902 www.st-chads.co.uk