NEWSLETTER
CHRISTMAS 2009
UVHS English Department Receive Prestigious Award from Prince Charles! Mr Fay writes...........
UVHS English Department became the only Cumbrian school to receive the Prince’s Teaching Institute’s Schools Programme Mark on Monday 23rd November 2009. 51 state schools received the mark (which covers several subjects) in a ceremony at Clarence House in London. UVHS, however, were the only school to be invited to speak about English in front of his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, at the ceremony. Laura from Year 13 and Ross from Year 11 accompanied Ms
A Happy Christmas to all the Ulverston Victoria High School community. I hope you like our Christmas card which was created by Stephanie Hargreaves of Year 9 ‐ well done! There were lots of brilliant entries this year. Indeed some were fantastic but were too intricate for us to print and mass produce to send to other schools etc. In most respects the school has had another successful term. Apart from a “flu inspired” blip our attendance continues to improve and all major indicators paint a picture of a well motivated group of students which is achieving. Indeed the school has received two prestigious awards this term. Mr Nicholls, from the Peake has worked hard to English Department, coordinate the school’s application and Headteacher, Mr and we have been awarded full Fay, to the ceremony. International Schools status which In a nerve‐wracking is a brilliant achievement. morning, the students Ms Nicholls has led the work with and Ms Nicholls gave a the Prince of Wales Teaching Institute and we have been to speech awarded The Prince of Wales Feathers for English. We were Headteachers, press and Prince Charles about English at the school. one of only three schools invited to Clarence House to make a After the ceremony, the students and staff were personally presentation to Prince Charles and Ms Nicholls, Lucy and Ross, introduced to the prince, who chatted to them about the English the student representatives, were brilliant ambassadors for curriculum and what the UVHS. Prince Charles was particularly interested in the students were reading students’ viewpoints about education and very welcoming to before going on to his guests from Cumbria. express his concern We are continuing to try to improve the aspects that disappoint about the recent floods us. The school buildings are better and there are visible morale throughout Cumbria. boosters to be found around the school site but we must The prince was very continue to respect our students by seeking sources of funding approachable and for future development and major maintenance. For instance, generous in his concern, thanks to support from the Local Authority we believe that A block will have a much needed new roof and windows over the next two years. and spent a full fifteen Our other major concern remains our finances and we are minutes conversing embarking on a review of day to day expenditure as well as a with our students. long term plan to ensure that the school becomes financially Initiatives undertaken viable. The key is, of course, the number of students who come by the English to the school. Falling rolls and possibly the impact of Special Department included Measures have threatened the school. We are doing lots to our Literary Festival in recruit more students by vastly improving our liaison with June 2009, Roaming primary schools and at Sixth Form level. Indeed the Sixth Form Reads (where books is leading the way with record numbers in Year 12. were left for students to find), sending 'Secret Missions' to get Yet, the issues facing our school are placed in perspective by more writers for the school newspaper, creating the 'Teachers' the calamity which has recently affected our fellow citizens in Theatre Group' and writing challenging schemes of work shared Ulverston. The floods have been devastating to the town and on the PTI website. our thoughts must be on those families who have suffered such This was a fantastic opportunity for the students, who were not a horrible event, at any time, but particularly before Christmas. only a credit to the school, but the whole of the county. We are A school, like Ulverston Victoria, at the heart of its community very proud of the achievements in our English Department and its stands with the town and it will do all it can to help its recognition through such a prestigious award. community. We will be holding a Literary Festival again in June 2010 and hope Take care over the festive season. to see you there. Also, keep a look out for the Prince of Wales' feathers on our headed notepaper in the very near future!
Work Related Learning/Careers
Message from the Governing Body
Year 11 Careers Year 11 have attended the Careers Convention in Barrow and have attended careers presentations from Mr Rastelli, Head of UVHS 6th Form, Barrow 6th Form College, Furness College and Kendal College. Our thanks go to Jenny Rowland and Aim Higher for financing our transport to this event. Presentations from Lancaster and Morecambe College unfortunately clashed with an exam and has been rescheduled for the New Year. Students are currently being encouraged to complete application forms for our 6th Form and the local colleges and to hand them in at reception.
The Governing Body would like to thank the students and staff for working so hard to obtain another set of excellent results. Your hard work and commitment has clearly paid off. Well done to parents too as they clearly play an important role in supporting their sons and daughters and the school in these achievements. Both GCSE and A Level results were above target and further support our efforts to become an outstanding school. Good luck to all our leavers as they go out into the world of work and onto college and university. We know they will be great ambassadors for Ulverston and Victoria High School. We are looking forward to prize giving when our leavers will return to celebrate formally, with us, their achievements. We would like to welcome our four new parent governors to the governing body – Janet Rigg, Maureen Evans, Rob O’Hara and Philip Solloway. They bring with them a range of skills and abilities which will further enhance the role and work of the governing body; we look forward to working with them. We are also delighted to have recently appointed an experienced clerk to governors, Pam Corkish, whose work is already begin‐ ning to impact positively on the governing body and its work. We are however saying farewell as a governor to Jack Rice whose term of office is coming to an end. Jack has been a stalwart of the governing body for a number of years and has supported the school in good times and in more challenging times. For this we commend him and we hope his link with the school will continue into the future. The newly calendared Governors Open Week was well re‐ ceived by governors and we are keen to build on these founda‐ tions to further improve communication between school and governors at the classroom level. The governors would also like to thank Mrs Allen (Assistant Headteacher) for the tre‐ mendous amount of work she has undertaken to assist them with their improvement agenda.
We have approached a number of people to talk to our students about their job and what it involves. The first of these is an office manager and the next will be a representative from Army careers. Students have signed up for these talks and we hope that it will help them to make important decisions about their future. Those wishing to apply for BAE systems will be assisted with their applications in the very near future. Please note that the Year 11 Form Tutors are an important gateway for collecting and sending careers information to our students so please encourage students to talk to them and to sign up for talks and presentations as the opportunity arises. Year 10 Work Experience All students have now made an application for their work placement and Miss Dacre has been contacting local companies trying to secure placements. Progress is being made, although I know that students feel it is a long time since they submitted their applications. We are working towards confirming placements with the students by the end of this term. Our thanks for your patience. Year 12 Young Enterprise The team is up and running. They have elected a Managing Director and other key roles for their company. They were in attendance at the Dickensian Festival in the town centre on Saturday 28th November. Look out for them at our parents’ evenings and open evening and please support their venture.
Library Corner The Library is collecting Nestle box tops for books. We would like the support of students, parents and staff to collect as many as possible so that we can get some new titles in the school Library. After Christmas the Library will be hav‐ ing a book sale to make way for new titles. All funds raised will go towards new books in school. Finally over the next few months we will be looking at modernis‐ ing the library booking and communication systems which will benefit all pupils and staff.
Language News This half‐term we have welcomed two degree students from the University of Manchester who came into school on 23rd November to give speaking practice to Years 9, 11 and Sixth Form and also showed us the variety of degree combinations that can be done with languages. It was interesting to hear how many famous people have done foreign languages degrees, from J K Rowling to Jonathan Ross and Fiona Bruce. It was also a surprise to realise that only 16% of EU citizens speak English as their first language, the same percentage as French but lower than German at 24%. This is part of the motivational programme that we are doing with the University which will also involve 25 Year 9 students going for a taster day in Mandarin Chinese and other languages in January. We are also preparing for the annual ‘’Petiteville’’ French shopping experience which will take place in December. All of Year 8 will be involved in ‘’travelling’’ to France, passing through customs, changing money, shopping and going to a French café.
Important Announcement : New Date for Year 11 Parents’ Evening The re‐arranged date for the Year 11 Parents’ Evening is Thursday 7th January 2010. Please use the appointment times that were made for the evening that had to be postponed.
Texting and Homework Issues From January 2010 we will be further developing a text messaging service to include a message if there is an issue with a child’s homework. This will be a pilot scheme. We have consulted with the Parents’ Advisory Group and the new Parents, Staff and Friends of UVHS Association (PSFA). It was universally thought to be a good idea and a further improvement in our communication with home.
Introducing Miss Proctor ‐ Assistant Head of Sixth Form Well, here I am nearing the end of my first term as Assistant Head of Sixth Form and Mr Fay thought it would be a good idea for me to join the list of contributors to the newsletter, introduce myself and say a few words about how my new role has gone so far. After a little bit of cajoling here I go! I joined UVHS in September 2007 after teaching at Dowdales for three years and Roade School in Northampton two years before that. Coming to teach A Level Psychology along with Sociology was very exciting for me as it meant I was able to use my degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice alongside my training as an English teacher. With my classes this year including sixth form Psychology and lower school English I feel I am getting to see more of the school and having got used to Years 12 and 13 only, the Year 7s are certainly keeping me on my toes. Since becoming Assistant Head of Sixth Form, myself and Mr Rastelli are working hard to try and develop our sixth form into an extension of the school which more and more students aspire to join. This year’s number of external students coming into Year 12 is the highest it has ever been and we hope to continue this success into the future. In terms of what we offer we are trying to give our students an extra advantage above other 16‐18 year olds with a new Leadership and Management certificate, and we can now offer credit to all of our students who give up their time in a range of volunteering opportunities through the V‐Involved scheme. I have really enjoyed the challenges that being Assistant Head of Sixth Form has created and am excited by what the future has to offer. I would like to finish though by saying a big thank you to Mrs Talbot for all her hard work as my predecessor as Assistant Head. I am extremely appreciative for all her help and support and hope she is enjoying her change of role as well. Thank you Mrs Talbot!
News About Former Students Those of you who know Matthew Lister (left UVHS 2001) may be interested to learn that the Admiralty have announced that he has been promoted to Marine Engineering Officer (submarine service). He joins the Lieutenant Commanders list and will assume that rank when appointed as Chief Engineer of a Royal Navy submarine. If parents of ex‐UVHS students have news of their son/daughter’s achievements, we would be pleased to hear about these and can put them in future Newsletters.
Meet Miss Jones ‐ Our New Citizenship Leader I have taught at Queen Katherine School (QKS) for 8 years now in the role of Assistant Head of Year 10 & 11, Head of Citizenship/ PSHEE, Health and Social Care and Healthy Schools Coordinator. I have worked to develop the profile of Citizenship and PSHEE in KS3 & 4, introducing the ASDAN Wider Key Skills for KS4 accreditation. I have worked with students to produce a community garden, and organised two very successful food festivals, each attracting over 300 primary children to raise the profile of good local food. I have organised activity days from kayaking and camping to a beauty therapy day. I am fully trained as a Body Control Pilates instructor and have been teaching staff and students at QKS and in Grange where I live. In the last academic year I worked with the School Food Trust to pilot Meal Deals and to ensure QKS met the governments nutritional standards in the menu cycle offered here, also producing a DVD of this work for national marketing. I also secured local authority funding to introduce a biometric pre‐pay catering service to speed up the dining experience and to help monitor of progress nutritionally. I am very pleased to be moving to UVHS where I intend to develop the excellent work that has already been put in place for the provision of Citizenship and PSHEE. I would like to implement the Wider Key Skills in Years 9 and 10. This is the equivalent of 2 B grade GCSE's and students could complete this in year 10 or 11. It would be great to develop student voice and active participation of the UVHS population and setting up strategies for effective community cohesion projects.
English on Tour! Twenty year 12 and 13 Literature students, accompanied by a select group of year 11s, travelled to Bolton in October to watch Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons at the Octagon theatre. Although it was a very long evening (we didn’t get back until after midnight, and all had huge bags under our eyes the next day), everyone agreed that it was an excellent production. The reviews said that it would be “emotionally wrenching” and there were certainly some shocked faces at the end. Lancaster was the destination for 50 year 10 and 11 students later in October when they went to see Of Mice and Men. Many of them are studying the novel for their GCSE, and it was a great opportunity for them to see the action on stage. STOP PRESS: at the time of writing the whole of Year 7 are looking forward to their trip to Keswick to see ‘Grimm Tales’ this December – it all sounds very Christmassy! Inspirational work Thomas Wilkinson in year 9 had his Canterbury Tales animation work selected and showcased at a conference for English teach‐ ers in November. The story of the lifeguard was chosen because of the huge amount of effort that he had made to make a really effective animation – and the teachers who saw it went away inspired to do something similar with their own students. Well done, Tom!
Headteacher’s WOWs 2008‐09! Share in our celebrations ‐ last academic year 170 Headteacher’s WOWs and 4 Headteacher’s MEGA WOWs were issued to UVHS students for non‐academic excellence! Sharing in these awards was PC John Turner, who received a MEGA WOW for his dedication and service to UVHS.
Pictured above (from top) are last years Year 7, Year 8, PC Turner and (below) Year 9, Year 10 and Year 12 with their WOWs and MEGA WOWs. These were given for such achievements as volunteering in the local community, representing UVHS at presentations, amazing performances by our dance students at the Brewery Theatre, helping an elderly lady in distress, assisting at the UVHS Literary Festival and becoming a world champion orienteer to name but a few! Well done to all!
UVHS Learning Mentors
Bus Service S11 Ulverston to Broughton
My name is Pam Anderson and I am a Learning mentor at UVHS. I have been informed by Cheryl Cowperthwaite, Acting Part of my role is working with identi‐ Passenger Transport Manager, that the South Lakeland Local fied students to help alleviate the barri‐ Committee agreed to support the late afternoon bus service ers to learning which some students S11 Ulverston to Broughton‐in‐Furness to give further have that can stop them reaching their opportunities for this service to be used. full potential. However, this agreement is only in force until the end of 2009 Where possible I try to design and imple‐ and, at the moment, the number of students using the service ment individualised learning packages to is very low. meet the students needs to help them The service journey will cease to operate at the end of 2009 maximise their educational success. unless there has been a significant increase in numbers over the This is done in a variety of ways. Some last month. may just need meeting every few weeks I am afraid it has been a case of use it or loose it! just to get them to focus on the goal. Others need more intensive work through daily and weekly target setting to reach their goal. I run study skills and revision workshops after school close to A Plea from Mr Fay About Jewellery! Please would parents be aware that piercings in any part of the exam time. I also offer help with coursework planning. We look at exam techniques, time management, stress manage‐ body, apart from a stud in each ear, do not form part of the ment, different learning styles, revision skills and mind mapping. school uniform. It puts me in a very difficult position when a child comes into The things a learning mentor might do include: school with a piercing that is supported by the child’s parent. I • Meet regularly with a student to plan learning targets. am, I hope, a reasonable person but I will not relax this rule and • Help a student learn new ways of studying. if a child refuses to remove a piercing then he/she cannot • Help a student manage coursework deadlines. remain in school. • Meet with parents to help them help their children with If I allow one child a dispensation then I have to allow everyone school work. • Provide extra emotional support and encouragement for that right! Also some piercings are, particularly in the tongue, threatening the child’s “health and safety”. It is the governors’ students. • Negotiate a more individualised learning package for stu‐ and therefore, my legal responsibility to ensure that does not happen. dents. Please do not complain to me if your child chooses to break this • Challenge a student’s assumptions about their ability. school rule and I have to taken action. I will not compromise on • Provide advice on learning. this issue. • Run revision workshops.
Meet Mr Nayler ‐ Head of Science
Using your Newsletter
I grew up in Lancashire and spent a lot of time walking and climbing in Cumbria as a child, either with my family or the Scouts. After studying genetics at university and working in research for a few years I finally settled down in Nottingham as a teacher. My wife grew up in the East Midlands but fell in love with the Lake District the first time we came up here for a holiday and after many more visits we decided to move to Cumbria last year. Although my climbing days are over my wife and I both enjoy long walks in the country, especially following Megan the dog up the fells. I have a passion for landscape and wildlife photography and made the shortlist for this year’s Landscape Photography awards. I’m hoping the local countryside will provide the inspiration to go a step further next year and win a prize. My other love is football and I try to get to Anfield when time allows and tickets are available. Things haven’t gone so well this season but you never know with Liverpool and there are still trophies to play for. Maybe England will have better luck next summer. I have been a teacher for 12 years and during that time I’ve been Head of Key Stage 3 Science, GCSE Science and Biology, Assistant Head of Year and i/c Outdoor Education. My most recent post was Head of Science in a Derbyshire school where Ofsted identified Science as the most improved subject area and Core Science GCSE performance rose from 38% to 64% during my time in charge. Science education has undergone unprecedented changes in the last 3 years at all levels in secondary school. New GCSE courses have been introduced, the national curriculum for Key Stage 3 has been reduced to allow the development of more core skills and all three sciences have adopted new courses at A level. GCSE courses will change again in 18 months time to allow a wider range of qualifications and pathways into employment. As Head of Science I hope to build on the good progress the department has already made to provide a science education that prepares students for 21st century life.
One of the functions of the newsletter is to give parents infor‐ mation of an organisational nature such as early closures. The advantage of the newsletter for this purpose is that we post it to every home and it is not subject to the vagaries of student post as in important communication can lie at the bottom of a bag undiscovered until time team do the excavation! We will still need to use student post from time to time and reinforce our communications with the text service. However, I advise parents to cut and stick and use the trusty fridge magnet because sometimes we will let you know well in advance of an event. Also keep checking the texts and help us “save trees”.
UPACT : Ulverston Partnership Action Community Team Throughout the summer UPACT funded many free activities for young people in Ulverston. Many of our students benefited from free passes for the leisure centre, funded golf tuition and free cycle lights. We also helped with local community fun days and so much more. But it doesn’t stop there. Made up of local police, schools, local councillors and youth workers, UPACT meet once every half term at UVHS and source funding to help young people and our local community. So watch this space, there’s lots more to come next year!!
Science Bursaries Awarded to Sixth Form Students Year 13 students Emma Sture and Mathew Tripp achieved double awards this year by successfully applying for a Nuffield Science Bursary and as a result of their work, being awarded Crest Gold Awards. The Nuffield Bursary allowed them to undertake four weeks paid work experience at Expro (Tronic) Ltd in Ulverston. Working under the supervision of experienced professional engineers, Emma and Mathew evaluated their own designs for a system to test the mating of misaligned cables under pressure and in silty conditions. Expro engineers were highly impressed with the standard of work achieved by the UVHS students and said that they would be able to take the designs forward in the construction of their own test equipment. Tony Gill from the Cumbria STEM Centre (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) made the initial Bursary arrangements through the physics department at UVHS and he suggested that Emma and Mathew put their project forward for a Gold Crest Award. They are seen holding their certificates in the picture. Also from year 13, Scott was awarded the Barrow and District Association of Engineers Bursary, awarded each year to a high achieving year 13 STEM student who aims to pursue a University course in Engineering. Martin (pictured left) has received the Ogden Trust’s Young Physicist of the Year, awarded to the highest achieving physics student who goes on to study physics at advanced level. All Ogden Physics Prizewinning Students who go on to read physics at university are eligible to apply for an Ogden Undergraduate Scholarship, currently worth £1,500 pa for up to four years' study. These are all great achievements in their own right and valuable additions to any student’s CV. We congratulate them all and wish them continued success in the future.
Financial Savings
We have embarked upon a stringent economy drive and we are aiming to reduce our operational costs by 15%. Christmas Early Closure As a result from January 2010 we will only be able to issue a School will close early for the Christmas holidays at 1.50 pm on newsletter termly and not be able to continue to publish the half Friday 18th December 2009. Students return to school in the new year on Tuesday 5th January 2010. School transport have termly newsplash. I know this will be disappointing to parents who enjoy reading both. We will, of course, continue to send been informed of these arrangements. both publications if we can find sponsorship.
Sports Report
Here Come The Girls!
It has been an exciting season for our hockey girls. Our year 7 team have been playing extremely well; they remain unbeaten and have beaten both Academy teams 2‐0 in recent weeks. Well done to Eleesha, Holly, Lois, Olivia, Hannah, Hannah, Shannon, Kiera and Carla. The year 8 girls have gone from strength this season; they have beaten Furness Academy North 2‐0 and drew 1‐1 with St Bernards. Well done to Becky, Lois, Lucy, Becca, Georgia, Jennifer, Tia, Kirsten and Chelsea. The year 9 team have also played extremely well, drawing with St Bernards, then going on to beat Dowdales and Furness Academy. Well done to Jenny, Carys, Chloe, Shona, Becky (year 8), Eve and Steph. Our Under 16 team have also had a fantastic season. Their last game was perhaps the most exciting game of them all. The girls played St Bernards and it was end to end, the final score was 2‐1 to St Bernards but our girls proved what a fantastic team they Morgan had an outstanding game when he travelled with the are and did not stop until the final whistle went. So well done to team to play Liverpool, despite losing 3‐0 to a very strong team Collette, Meghan, Kim, Steph, Amy, Emily, Emma and Victoria. The year 8 Netball team played Chetwynde in their first league full of potential Liverpool and Everton players of the future. game, they lost narrowly 3‐1 but played very well. They then Swimming Unfortunately, due to the very poor weather the decision was went on to beat St Bernards 3‐1, so well done girls… Keep up the made not to attend the National Swimming Relay good work! Championships in Middlesbrough. However, the district The year 7 organiser allowed the school to complete their time trials in the girls Ulverston pool the following week. Times have now been (pictured submitted and we are awaiting results to see if any teams right) played in the qualified. Competitors were Furness 5 a Sean, Jared, Alex, Josh; side football Claire, Catherine, Alex, Ellie; tournament Aaron, Austin, Sam, Reece; on the 25th Zarina, Lucy, Clara, Rosie; November, Lydia, Lisa, Jessica, Emma ; they played Fraser, Kristian, Lewis, Alex. Furness Cross‐country The department is trying to increase the number of inter‐house Academy competitions. Therefore, the first event will be cross‐country. South and drew with them 0‐0, then lost to Walney 2‐0, but the girls played really well and were great ambassadors for the All students will be expected to compete at the times as follows: school. Well done to Rebecca, Olivia, Elysia, Megan, Emma, Mia, Year 7 : Friday 11th December p 1 & 2 Lois, Caitlin, Kiera and Evie. Year 8 : Friday 11th December p 3 & 4 Year 9 : Wednesday 9th December p 1 & 2 Year 10 : Friday 11th December p 5 & 6 Congratulations to Freya and Jenny who have both been selected for the County cross‐country team. At the writing of these items for the newsletter, the South Lakes district cross‐country had been postponed on two occasions and the department were hoping that it would be going ahead in the near future. Therefore, reports will feature in the next edition A Night of Music and Words of the newsletter. The Year 12 English Language and Music students have worked Jemma and Fraser have been shortlisted for Cumbria Sports extremely hard on creating a night of music and words on the Awards in the following categories in Young Volunteer of the theme of ‘Space’ this term. Local author, poet and stand up Year and Rising Star, respectively. comedienne Ann Wilson worked with the English Language Jemma won the Barrow Borough Council Award for Leadership students, who wrote the lyrics (to which the music students and Volunteering and is a contender for the Love Barrow Young added the music), poems, stories and stand‐up comedy Volunteers Award. sketches. The Music students then wrote and performed Many of our students actively involved in volunteering both songs using the lyrics created. within and outside school. If any students want to be included In the evening the students then performed their work in front in the Step into Sport volunteering scheme please see Mrs of a packed audience in the Drama Studio. The audience Jackson at school. thoroughly enjoyed themselves and joined in enthusiastically PE kit throughout. Please could we remind all students that they should wear their Congratulations to all students and thank you to the parents football socks in all lessons, whether indoor or out. who supported our work. Barrow Boys Football Ulverston Victoria has now become part of the Barrow Schools Football Association and left the South Lakes. This will hopefully give our students more opportunities to compete in county events and attend county trials. Congratulations therefore go to Reece, Bradley, Kieran, Liam and Morgan (pictured below) who have all been selected to represent Barrow Boys in the forthcoming inter‐district county trials to be held in Carlisle. Good luck to them all.
Maths and Computing Specialism News
School Fund Contributions
We would like to keep parents and other community members up to date with new projects and initiatives linked to our specialism of Maths and Computing. We are very interested in extending our work with partner primary schools and other community members. Our long term aim is for UVHS to become a centre of excellence in providing guidance, resources and support to our primary colleagues and to strengthen our links with them. Mrs Quinn is close to completing an audit of our partner schools and from this we will extrapolate those training/teaching requests which are linked to the specialism and then plan how best to meet these requests. Funding from the specialism is being used to create a new post of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Coordinator. We intend to make maximum use of the VLE so that resources can be posted on the site for students to access outside school hours to improve their learning experience. This space will offer teachers and pupils access to stored work, e‐learning resources, communication and collaboration with peers, and the facility to track progress. Thirty of our year 10 students are involved in an exciting initiative with the publishing company CGP, as part of our to work reinforce links with local businesses. CGP is the largest publisher of school revision guides in the UK and their books are used by many schools across the country (ourselves included). The students are working with CGP to review their revision guide design and to put forward their own ideas about what they feel works for them. The selected students spent a day at the CGP headquarters at Eccleriggs. They were given a tour of the site, provided with lunch and given a talk on publishing by CGP experts. This is a truly unique experience for the students involved. Additionally, planning for a new and exciting project with BAE is well advanced. BAE graduates will work with our students on different science and maths based projects and will mentor our students as necessary. We will shortly be appointing specialism ambassadors from our student population. These students will have their own leadership team and will meet with and work alongside teachers to plan and implement projects which will benefit both other students in our school, children in partner schools and members of the wider community. We already have several ideas but would love to hear about your ideas of how we could work alongside you or benefit any community projects. We are currently exploring family learning activities in Maths and ICT and also the possibility of providing training in ICT skills for returners to work. Our principal desire is to put UVHS at the heart of the local community. We have resources and expertise in some areas which could be fruitfully and willingly shared with local organisations. We are very eager to strengthen links with the local community. Please contact Ms Desbottes or Mrs Quinn at school if you wish to discuss your ideas. We would be delighted to meet with you.
We had a long discussion at the Parents’ Advisory Group the other evening about (you’ve guessed it) the school’s financial situation. It was suggested that we should try to reinvigorate the school fund by asking for a voluntary parental contribution. Therefore enclosed in this newsletter is a standing order form by which you can make a voluntary contribution on a regular basis to the school fund. The fund is used for a variety of purposes and supports, for instance, students who are experiencing hardship allowing them access to trips etc. The contribution is at your discretion. The gesture would be fantastic. If you wish to contribute please complete the standing order form included in this newsletter and return it to your bank. Please insert your name in the reference box so that we can acknowledge your generosity. Unfortunately, the school does not qualify under the Gift Aid scheme.
Pantomime Tradition Survives at UVHS (oh, yes it does!) GCSE Drama students at UVHS, ably assisted by A Level Theatre Studies students in Year 12 and 13 are holding their last dress rehearsal of their Christmas production “Little Red Riding Hood ‐ and the Big Bad Gangsta Wolf!” which will be staged at the Coronation Hall on Monday 14th December at 2.00 pm. This original production was written and designed by the students themselves. This matinee performance is for local primary students from our feeder schools. Miss Hicks is extremely proud of all the students involved. Sixth formers are lighting the show and many have made props and costumes ‐ we expect a sparkling afternoon!
Procedures for Closing the School Mr Fay seems to have brought biblical weather conditions to Ulverston Victoria since he has been here! It is, perhaps, useful to remind parents of the procedures if the school is closed. Announcements with be made on local radio ‐ Radio Cumbria, The Bay, etc. The school is not closed unless you hear it formally announced. If every school announced it was open then the important messages about closures would not get through to parents of the closed schools promptly. The nature of emergencies is that they are an imperfect situation because they are emergencies. Ulverston Victoria is part of the emergency plan for the district and a part of the school was allocated to offer a haven for evacuees. We did not know that was to happen until after 9.00 pm on Thursday evening. We then, in co‐ordination with the Civil Authority, planned how we could cater for evacuees. We were able to keep UVHS open by using an area that could be cordoned off from the rest of the school.
Winners for the 15th Year Running at the British Schools Orienteering Championships! Over 60 pupils took part in the British Schools Orienteering Championships held last weekend in Northumberland. The area was a country park consisting mainly of a large lake surrounded by fields and scattered woods. Fortunately, the area backed onto the North Sea and the planner was able to make use of a narrow strip of sand dunes. All courses were thrown into this technical area before the inevitable run round the lake. UVHS results were impressive, both individually and as teams. Jack led the B 12 home to win his first gold medal. Adam had a strong run to finish with the silver medal in B 8. Bronze medals were won by Lois in G 8, William in B 9 (who beat his brother Patrick into 4th place by 8 seconds), and Meghan in G 10. After returning a total of 8 team trophies from last year it was going to be difficult to match those results this year. The girls teams were announced first with G 7 coming first despite only starting the sport in September. They were joined on the top of the podium by the G 10 and G 11 teams. Silver medals were won by G 8, G 12 and G 13.
Then came the boys results. UVHS came away with almost a clean sweep winning B 7, B 8, B 9, B 10, B 11 and B 12. The B 13 team only had two runners so a late substitution was made and Emma was drafted in from the G 13 team. She had her best ever run to bring the team up into the silver position (much to the dismay of some of the other boys teams). There were also some other prizes awarded during the day. Collette won a spot prize of a signed GB Orienteering top and the Fashion prize was awarded to the B 12 team, who looked very fetching in their multi coloured Lycra tights! (pictured below). The most important trophy is always announced last – Large Secondary School. Kenilworth School, King Henry’s, Coventry and Banchory Academy from Scotland were all pushing hard to topple UVHS from the top spot, but with 9 runners in 4th position or higher UVHS were crowned top school for the 15th time in a row. Congratulations to all who participated in this event ‐ well done! Girls Girls Girls Boys Boys Boys Boys Boys Boys
7 9 10 7 8 9 10 11 12
1st (A Smith & H Roper 4, H Metcalfe 7, H Dearden 12) 1st (M Hallett 3, K Raymond 4, K Douglas 6) 1st (M Beard 6, J Bing 9, J Courtman 10) 1st (A Brockbank 7, K De Vries 11, J Perry 13) 1st (A Bartlett 2, J Allison 5, J Rotherham 23) 1st (W Rigg 3, P Rigg 4, R Barton 14) 1st (S Jefferson 7, M Buck 8, B Hewson 13) 1st (M O’Hara 7, N Metcalfe 10, J Perry 14) 1st (J. Wright 1, M McIver 6, Z Buck 8)
Girls Girls Girls Boys
8 12 13 10
2nd (L Jefferson 3, L Segger 8, L Millington 17) 2nd (J Myers 6, K Brown 10, R Emms 16) 2nd (J Hubbard 4, R. McKenny 6,M Bondevik 9) 2nd (M Hudson 10, P Metcalfe 16, E Sture 10)
Large Secondary Schools 1. ULVERSTON 28 (1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4) 2. Kenilworth School & Sports College 45 (1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 9) 3. King Henry viii Senior School 53 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12)
Photographs provided by Ray Barnes/BSOA.
Children’s Centre ULVERSTON
Hi, I’m Dave Morrison, on 1st April 2009 I began my new role, within Action for Children, as Locality Co‐ ordinator for Dalton and Ulverston. If you would like any information on either of the Centres please contact me on my mobile ‐ 07949 434 076. This guide shows just a few of the activities that we have on offer with additional activities being rolled out over the next few months. I look forward to seeing you at our Centre soon!
Youth Contraception Clinic Mondays 3.45 ‐ 5 pm Drop in to our confidential service for under 25’s. Well Baby Clinic Mondays 10 ‐ 11.30 am Come and talk to your Health Visitor and have baby weighed too! WRIGGLE AND RHYME Starting on Monday 16th Nov Running for 5 weeks 10.30 am ‐ 12 noon Come along and join us for some fun! Movement Music Rhyme Midwife Drop In Tuesdays 1 ‐ 2 pm No appointment needed, just bring your notes. Preconception, Antenatal, Postnatal and Breastfeeding support Baby Massage Tuesdays 1 ‐ 2.30 pm Come and learn how to massage your baby in a calm, warm atmosphere ‐ Just bring baby and a towel, oil is provided!
About us Action for Children has come a long way since the Reverend Thomas Bowman Stephenson opened his first children’s home in 1869 but our primary aim ‐ to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable children and young people ‐ remains the same.
Find us at: Lund Terrace Ulverston Cumbria LA12 9BE Tel 0845 543 6913
Our Values Passion ‐ we are driven by our desire to help children and young people overcome injustice and disadvantage. Equality ‐ we believe all children and young people have equal worth and equal rights. Hope ‐ we believe in a child or young person’s potential, no matter what they have experienced or what they have
Every Parent Matters Monday 1.00 pm ‐ 2.30 pm Talking to parents about services within their area and to look at how they can have an input into the development of their Centre. Inbetweenies Thursday 1.00 pm ‐ 2.30 pm A parent led group for babies aged 6‐18 months. Childminder Drop In Thursdays 9.30 am ‐ 12.00 noon A chance for Childminders to get together and share ideas. DADS GROUP Thursday 4 pm ‐ 6 pm If you are a father/male carer, why not pop down for a coffee and a chat with other dads and have fun with your child/children? Parent and Toddler Messy Play Starting Tuesday 10th Nov for 6 weeks 10.00 am ‐ 11.30 am For parents/carers and pre‐school children Painting, Gluing, Sand, Paste, Tactile pool 60 p per family
ADS Drug and Alcohol Drop In Fridays 9.00 am ‐ 11.30 am ADS Cumbria is a charity which pro‐ vides a free and confidential service to anyone who is 18 years and over who lives in the Cumbria region and has a problem with drug misuse or anyone who is worried about some one’s drink or drug use.
Breastfeeding Mums Group Fridays 1 ‐ 2.30 pm Offers practical support and advice for mums around starting and maintaining breastfeeding. Come along and have a chat, share hints and tips and enjoy a cuppa with other mums who are currently breastfeeding or have breastfed.
Dummy Tree Workshop As required Designed to given parents and children support to dump the dummy or bottle!