Worthing High School March 2012
Message from the Head Dear Parents, Carers, Staff and Governors Yet again we reach the close of another action packed term. Our students have been extremely busy, Year 11 more so than most, with completion of GCSE coursework and commencing preparation for the forthcoming examinations both in lessons, Period 6 and at home. Amongst this focussed work came the opportunity for our students to give of their time voluntarily as the Communities of Heene and Tarring launched themselves into the local area. They helped with numerous tasks such as cleaning grave headstones, clearing waste ground and chopping down vegetation and burning it, collecting litter and many, many more. Those remaining in school had a varied diet of all sorts of enriching activities ranging from composing music and disc cutting through to origami to street dance and other exciting skills. I think it is fair to say that students had a very enjoyable and thoroughly tiring time. We sadly say goodbye to Mr Knowleden this term whose career path takes a different direction. We are delighted to retain the services of Mrs Chetwynd who will be covering Mr Knowleden’s timetable for the rest of the academic year. We also said a sad farewell to Mr Jewell, our DT Technician, who moved to promotion to the Regis Academy in Bognor Regis nearer his home. Again we are grateful to Peter Guy our previous DT Technician who stepped in to fill the breach. Many thanks, Peter. My last comment regards the future collaboration of Worthing schools. The locality of Worthing, in terms of both Primary and Secondary Schools, has an enviable reputation for
collaborative working which all the headteachers feel strongly about retaining. All Schools are currently thinking about the way forward, especially with the Government’s drive on moving Schools to become Academies, although many feel this is not currently appropriate for them. One of the things that Worthing High is considering is whether a move to an Academy would suit our school
and I will be contacting you with any further thoughts and ideas, asking for your feedback, following the Easter break. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a peaceful Easter. Warm Regards Alison Beer Headteacher Alison Beer
Olympic Medallist Visit
complete their GCSE’s. By the end of the project, with the Worthing High was honoured to use of Peter’s mentoring skills, we welcome Peter Waterfield, Olympic hope our students will be silver medalist in the Men’s reinvigorated and inspired to Synchronized Diving, and Bronze achieve their full potential at this medal winner at the FINA World Cup critical stage in their education.” at London’s Olympic Aquatics Marie Field, Leader of PE, praised Centre to school in February. the project saying, ‘I am really proud Peter Waterfield was also paired in of all the students who are the synchronised diving committed to the raising competitions at the 2008 Beijing aspirations to achieve project. Olympics with Tom Daley. Students were very eager to start Peter was visiting the school as part the project which we are delivering of the “Sky Sports - Living for Sport during their normal PE lesson time. Project” - ‘Raising aspirations to It was so nice to have an Olympic achieve’ which the school is athlete visit the school and share his participating in. experiences with students here. We Alison Beer Headteacher said: “The are looking forward to Peter’s next ‘Raising aspirations to achieve’ visit to the school in May and also to project focuses on five key strands hearing about the outcomes of this which are: self-confidence, selfexciting national project during the esteem, attainment, attitudes to summer term.’ learning and attitudes to health and Peter will be focusing on his wellbeing. Our project runs over preparation for London 2012 but two months and we will be workwill be back at Worthing High ing to inspire and motivate Year 11 school at the beginning of May to students who are just about to work with our students again.
Sally Stevens, Finnabar Handley, Amy Searle, Matthew Goodwin, Marie Field with Peter Waterfield
Eco future has arrived On Tuesday 17th January, a group of students from the Worthing High School Eco-Committee and the school’s Gifted and Talented programme visited the UK Government Building Research Establishment (BRE) in North Watford. The establishment tests and showcases building designs of the future most recently having played a role in the design, practicality and safety testing of London’s Olympic Stadium staging. The group learnt that the new staging for the Stadium had been load tested, using 100s of
people in a large hanger at the centre to ensure it was safe to use. In preparation for Year 8’s next project in Geography, as well as the Eco Committees on going commitment to steering the school towards its goal of sustainability, the purpose of the visit was to look at the establishment’s collection of eco homes and buildings. The visit started with a brief overview of the establishment, before the students were given an extensive guided tour of the buildings, which included an array of eco homes, including a
converted Victorian Terrace which was built especially to fullfill a design brief of Prince Charles, as well as a Health and Community Centre. Colin Guyton, Head of Geography and Eco lead at Worthing High School said: “Each building, constructed with sustainability in mind incorporated creative designs to harness natural energy sauces from the ground to the sun; with one house using just £53 worth of energy in a year, whilst generating £1900 of electricity, all of which was sold back to the National Grid. Our visit to the BRE enabled our students to explore experience and understand a wide variety of ideas and techniques which can help in improving the sustainability of a building. Using this experience, the students now have the challenge of using what they have learnt to review the sustainability of our school in an effort to suggest and make improvements.” Mr Guyton Head of Geography
School’s in for pupils Parents are being warned they can now be fined if they take their children on holiday in term time. If your child’s school refuses your application for a holiday and you go ahead with a break of more than five days, you could be liable for a Fixed Penalty Notice which is currently £50 per parent. Research reveals two thirds of pupils who miss between 10 and 20% of school will not pass the minimum five GCSEs. So regular school attendance is vital to ensure children reach their educational potential.
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Educational Welfare Officers and school staff will first offer support to parents and pupils to find the root cause of the truancy. In extreme cases parents can receive a hefty fine or go to prison for failing to ensure their children go to school. The County Council has also written to doctors and dentist surgeries to ask them to accommodate pupil’s appointments after school hours. Fact: Government research suggests 17 missed schooldays per year = a GCSE grade drop. Fact: There are 190 statutory
school days per year and 175 non-school days available for holidays. Fact: One day off per week = two whole years of your child’s time in school.
Support our Olympian Worthing High School has “Adopted” Ciara Michel as their Olympian from the GB Women’s Indoor Volleyball Team. Ciara was delighted to accept the invitation from WHS to become our “Adopted” Olympian and looks forward to us following her on her Olympic journey, from now until next July, when the London 2012 Olympic Games begin. The school has embraced Ciara as their adopted Olympian with the sport prefects delivering wonderful assemblies to all communities, putting up a fantastic notice board and running a number of fund raising activities. Ciara regularly keeps in
touch with the staff and students at WHS to let us know how training and preparation for London 2012 is going. Ciara would like to thank everyone at Worthing High School for wanting to keep her Olympic dream alive. The PE department, sport prefects and the entire school wish Ciara and the GB volleyball team all the best over the next few months. Miss M Field
Year 10 Music Business Challenge Last Wednesday all Year 10 students were involved in creating a new company hoping to operate within the Music industry. The business could sell products or services for any aspect of the music industry – from CDs to merchandise, from gigs to recording facilities. Students worked in teams of 4 or 5 and assumed roles as Managing Director, Staffing, Marketing, Premises and most importantly Finance Managers. All groups had an opportunity to attend a consultation with a Business Expert from HSBC. Finally all groups were required to give a presentation to their class and winners from each class were finally judged by four Business experts from HSBC. The commitment and involvement by the Year group was fantastic. The judges had to make difficult decisions to judge the winners.
Community Focus We continue to sustain our positive impact on the local community. We are a school that encourages every child to develop academically and socially and emotionally. Working within the community, sharing our skills, talents and
Finally it was agreed that “Scratch” from Salvington were awarded £50 first prize, closely followed by Gold Diamond representing Broadwater £30 and EHS who came third representing Salvington - £25. This was a great day and
students have realised that to be successful in Business it is necessary to be creative, work as a team, but most importantly keep to a realistic budget. K. R. Price Director of Enterprise
HSBC Business Experts with the winning team
time provides us with so many valuable opportunities to learn what it means to be a good citizen and to really understand the importance of helping others. During this term, we are working with the following community partners:
• • • • • • • •
Western Sussex Hospitals (Love Your Hospital) St Barnabas Berkeley Lodge Guildcare Worthing Scope Wellchild (Purple Day) Worthing Society for the Blind Worthing Lions
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Southern School Book Award On Friday 13th January, a dark and chilly night, hordes of teenagers including a group of students from Worthing High School, determinedly moved towards a gothic building on the south coast...yes, Roedean was hosting the eighth Southern School Book Awards (SSBA) and there was even a horror book on the shortlist! This year’s shortlisted novels were Being Billy by Phil Earle, Ghost of a Chance by Rhiannon Lassiter, Wasted by Nicola Morgan, The Double Life of Cassiel Roadnight by Jenny Valentine and Numbers Two: the Chaos by Rachel Ward. The SSBA presentation evening, enthusiastically hosted by last year’s winner Lucy Christopher, was attended by 290 students and staff from 34 state and independent schools in Kent and Sussex including students from Worthing High. The students, mostly aged 13 to 14, had read and voted for all five titles on the shortlist and were on the edge of their theatre seats,
anticipating the voting results. Sarah Oldfield (pictured above) said, “The authors read extracts from their books and answered intriguing questions posed by the students. Author Nicola Morgan played several rounds of Jack’s game of chance with the audience where students had to guess whether a coin had landed heads or tails. After the schools had received their book tokens, the gold and silver envelopes were produced with a flourish and the tension was palpable as Lucy requested the traditional drum roll
We now have about 40 students taking part in The Sussex Coast Schools Amazing Book Awards. This is a new award started off by a group of local school librarians. We will be reading 5
books and then voting for our favourite in June. There will be an ‘amazing’ presentation evening at the end which all students and their parents will be able to attend. The authors on the shortlist will all be invited along to talk about their books and hear the
Next Book Awards
just before revealing the results. And the winner of the 2011 award was Jenny Valentine with The Double Life of Cassiel Roadnight. The Highly Commended category was awarded to Numbers Two: the Chaos by Rachel Ward.” The evening was a really professional and engaging event and our students were excitedly discussing the books and authors all the way there and back home afterwards, such a joy to witness.” Amanda Phelan Learning Resource Manager
winner announced. Do check out the website for more information and details about all the authors and schools taking part. http://amazingbookawards.co.uk/
Working with Employers A programme entitled ‘Meet the Professionals’ has been set up to enhance the Careers Information and Guidance that Year 10 and 11 students receive in school. Students were sent a questionnaire asking them who they would like to come in and talk to them about a specific career or profession. From this we are able to see in which areas the students were looking at. The talks are run during the lunch break and to date we have had six speakers come into the school. The feedback from professionals and students has been excellent. Liz Millar, Careers Coordinator said, “Being able to ask questions to the right people has helped the students realise what is actually involved in that job, and students are now more informed about what they need to study at college and possibly university.” We would like to thank the following businesses for giving up their time to come and speak: Spofforths (Accountants); Major Ansell (representing the Army); Anthony Michael Salon (Hair and Beauty); Morgan Sindall (Construction); Bennett Griffin (Solicitors). If, as parents, you work for a local Business which would like to contribute to Employer Engagement programmes, please contact: Liz Millar at emillar@worthinghigh.net
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Learning through showing others In recent weeks students of Year 8 have been busy in Geography working on a project exploring the characteristics and inhabitants of a chosen Biome. The projects, which explored Rainforest, Desert, Savannah and Tundra biomes were designed and compiled for middle school readers. Year 8 began their projects in November, completing them in January. The quality of the work submitted was such, that it was decided that a handful of students would present the very best projects to the Vale first and Middle School. On Tuesday 31st January twelve students from Worthing High visited one the Vale’s Year 5 classes. During the visit our students showed the Year
5 class what it is that they have been doing in Geography, explaining to the students the characteristics of the different biomes and the types of plants and animals living within their biome. The visit which lasted 45 minutes was extremely well received, with students engrossed in productive conversation, encouraged by some rather challenging questions asked by the Year 5 pupils. The students of Worthing High conducted themselves in a very professional manner, showing excellent leadership skills which helped them to converse and teach the Year 5 pupils about the world’s different biomes. Mr Guyton Head of Geography
Speak! A new debating and public speaking group has been launched, and we’ve already had our first successful public appearance: three year students (Jevhan Pandya, Phoebe Walker and Jack Winter) spoke brilliantly about the Stop the Traffik child slavery campaign. The 200 strong congregation of Offington Park Methodist Church’s special Parade Service heard a strong, powerfully delivered presentation by the three students about how chocolate companies like Nestle are turning a blind eye to the use of forced child labour in cocoa plantations. This will hopefully be just the first of many such opportunities for Worthing High students to demonstrate their skills in public speaking and debating. Speak! – meets Tuesday lunchtimes in Mrs Sabin’s room, E3
speak
speak speak
speak
Mrs H Sabin (SB) English Department
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Conservation and Community Day March 2012
This was the most varied day we have offered our students so far. It was very successful. You only have to look at the photos to see the impact the day had on other community members, conservation and WHS students. This is a response to new challenges that our students should be proud to be associated with. I would like to thank Ferring Country Centre, SCOPE, Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, Friends of Broadwater Cemetery,
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Care Home, West Sussex County Council, Worthing Borough Council and Continental Landscapes, Wildfowel and Wetlands Trust, Sussex Wildlife Trust, National Trust at Cissbury, Devil’s Dyke, Sheffield Park and Uppark House, South Down National Park, Sussex Ouse Restoration Trust, Worthing Museum, Vale, Goring, Thomas Becket, St Mary’s RC, Durrington and Hawthorns
First and Middle Schools, Worthing Baptist Church, Adur and Sydney Walter Centres, Broadwater Group of Churches, Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden and of course all of the staff and students at Worthing High who supported these activities. Paul Kaczmarek
Author Andrew Hammond Worthing High School in conjunction with Waterstones were thrilled to welcome Andrew Hammond to their school today. Andrew came to talk to over 300 students about his series C.R.Y.P.T. The Covert Response Youth Paranormal Team, a top secret section of MI5 that use their innate talents of extra sensory perception and state of the art technology to protect the world from attack from the great beyond. Amanda Phelan – Learning Resource Centre Manager said “Andrew told us the best way to write a powerful and gripping read was to write from your experiences. His first book ‘Gallows Curse’ is set in London which he visited for the first time as a child. He was travelling on the tube when he fell over, quite spectacularly, onto his head. He was so embarrassed and trying desperately not to make a big deal out it took a handkerchief off his dad and just held it to his head and carried on as normal. Once on the tube they came to a stand-still between stations and he took the opportunity to check out his wound. On taking the handkerchief away he realised that blood was leaking everywhere and ended up being taken to Westminster Children’s
Hospital for stiches, a very scary day indeed. The London tube features on the opening pages of his book from which he read a very gory extract.” Louise Millar Assistant Head Teacher English said “Andrew also talked about his second book in the series which was launched on World Book Day earlier this month. The book is called ‘Traitors Revenge’ and is based in York which he discovered is the most haunted city in the world. Apparently there are over 600 active ghosts in the city at one time. His other writing tip was to make sure that you had a really good setting for a book and that is where York came in. His family used to live in Yorkshire and they lived in a four storey house where every night at about 6.00pm they would smell different cooking smells such as onions. The smell seemed to be coming out of a cupboard in the hallway. Their father suggested they look at the floor plans of the Victorian House and they found that where the cupboard was there used to be a staircase which led down the kitchens. And that is where the traces of ghostly smells came from.” Andrew explained to the audience that being an English
teacher at the time of writing his first book, he decided to ask his form group 8S to read the first few chapters of CRYPT prior to sending it to the publisher and to let him know what they thought. On the first reading they told him that they loved the ghost fighting gadgets, bikes and helicopters but the book just didn’t have enough blood and guts and needed to be more gorier! (their word not his). He then went back to the drawing board and re-wrote some sections and showed them again, they said “it was getting quite tasty but you can do better!” On the next draft they read they collapsed with fear saying “Sir what have you done, we have gone too far and made a monster out of you!” And that is why the first book in the series is dedicated to ‘The Muffintops of 8S’. Muffintops - because they all enjoyed a Muffin on Friday registrations. Oliver Levine a year 8 student said, ”It was an absolutely fantastic talk and we were all enthralled throughout. Every student went away keen to read the series and be scared out of our wits!” Mrs A Phelan Learning Resource Centre Manager
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Worthing High School Association Spring up-date Recent events - Fun Quiz
WHSA are delighted with the success of the Quiz night which we held back in November. Over 100 parents, teachers and students participated they were entertained by Worthing High’s Soul Band - many thanks to all the musicians and to Steve Jeffery who also did a fantastic job as Quiz Master. The final amount raised was £400 which includes a donation from Barclays Bank who also provided members of staff to help on the evening. Feedback about the evening has been extremely positive. It seems that the questions were pitched at just the right level – the winning team ‘Brighton Boys’ consisted of Worthing High students (and a few parents!) so well done to them. Another quiz is planned for 18th October 2012 so keep an eye out and book your teams early! The WHSA committee have continued to provide refreshments at parent review and careers evenings – we thank everyone for their generous donations at these events. All the money is ploughed back into school projects.
Car Boot Sales
Starting this Saturday! Come along and sell, pick up a bargain or simply come and help us with refreshments.
Eclipse Library System I am pleased to say that since its installation in December the new library system is being used to its full potential. Students are loving writing their reviews on there and reading what other people have read. I think it has really boosted reading within the school. I would like to say a big
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Car boot dates are; 31.3.2012, 14.4.2012, 2.6.2012, 9.6.2012, 7.7.2012, and 14.7.2012
Funding for the new Library System
Following an excellent presentation at our AGM, the committee agreed to award a grant of £1500 towards the cost of the new Eclipse Library System. We hope that it will help to encourage the students to make an even greater use of the excellent range of resources within the Library. Heene Hearts – coming soon! We agreed to give a grant of £90 towards a new initiative, the ‘Heene Heart pin’ which will recognise both social and academic achievements of the young people within Heene Community.
thank you to the WHSA for making the purchase of the library system possible. A new addition to the system is that the students can now access this from home. There is a link on the front page of Moodle which takes you straight to Eclipse. Many students have been asking about this as they would like to be able to write their reviews from home and check out what to read next.
Each community uses different methods to acknowledge hard work and commitment, but this shone out for us. How we decide what to fund? WHSA has a grant application form that any Faculty or Community may use to ask for support. We consider each request on its own merit – taking into particular consideration if other funding has been secured and the number of children that will benefit from it. We can only continue to support these excellent projects with your help. Every pound we raise brings direct benefit to the students of Worthing High- new committee members are always welcome as are helpers at events. Our next meeting is on Monday 30th April 6.30pm in B3 (please enter via student services). Favourite book in the LRC at the moment, well it has to be The Hunger Games. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the film after the Easter Holidays, will it live up to the book? let’s hope so. Have a wonderful Easter everyone. Mrs Phelan Learning Resources Manager
“Purple Day” to raise funds for Wellchild Friday 30th March The school will be holding a nonuniform day on Friday 30th March to support a very important charity that four Worthing High students are keen for us to help. Marcus Lynch, Charlotte Nye and Chloe and Charlie Maclaran have been supporting Wellchild (www.wellchild.org.uk) through Charity Roadtrip (www.charityroadtrip.co.uk) – a supportive venture set up by their families. WellChild is the national charity for sick children and works tirelessly to help sick children and their families throughout the UK to manage the consequences of serious illness and complex health conditions through a wide programme of care, support and research. Wellchild’s logo draws heavily on the colour purple. With this in mind, the school has invited students to wear nonuniform that includes
one purple item and pay £1 for the privilege! It is so heartwarming when members of our school community share their concern for other people and encourage us all to support in some way. Mrs Beer and I were so proud of Marcus, Charlotte, Charlie and Chloe when they approached us to talk through this charity idea. They presented their requests in such a professional manner and with real warmth too. It was wonderful to see Charlotte, Chloe, Charlie and Marcus leading assemblies for a whole week, introducing Wellchild to all of the students and teachers
at Worthing High School. Marcus told us how the charity is helping his sister Jennifer who suffers with Wolframs Syndrome – a complex syndrome that is benefitting from the research being funded through Wellchild. The students at Worthing High School were very inspired by what Marcus said and there has been a really positive response from a number of our young people who want to do something positive to support Jennifer and her family.
Working with Northbrook College and Worthing Scope Worthing Scope has been very generous to WHS in providing a really positive link for our students who have wanted to experience working with people with disabilities. We wanted to give something back. After meeting with the charity, it was requested that we helped Worthing Scope to raise their profile and funding through composing a charity song that would then be promoted across the town, encouraging people to purchase the single/download. Students have met with the people who use Worthing Scope, really enjoying getting to know them – forming close friendships with clients and staff. The charity and students wanted to write a song that reflected the lives of the individual people that rely on the charity and this is reflected in their lyrics. We have been very fortunate to
have been working with singersongwriter, Emily Baker – Emily has kindly recorded a “demo” of our students’ song – the next stage is to work with Northbrook College and record the song using our musicians in their studios. When the song is completed, we will be very interested in talking with our student-leaders and Business students to discuss the most successful means of marketing the song to enable the desired outcomes of the project to be achieved. Any marketing advice from our business partners and parents would be gratefully received.
New coat, soft boots, Diet Coke - no winter blues Recurring numbers being heard, Clumsiness is gone with love, holding hands, his happiness. New jeans, hot coffee stirred Train rides, high-tides, socialising, mesmerised Life’s like the cherry on the cake, You don’t need words to feel the same, watching dreams in aeroplanes, The little things that make you fly, Summer’s coming round again, Summer’s coming round again, Summer’s coming round again, My time, my life, my chance to shine, My voice, your thoughts give peace of mind. Standing on the common ground, no-one’s name is just a sound. My time, my life, my chance to shine, my chance to shine. Borrowed clothes, a cardigan, shopping trips, meeting friends Memories bring light into her eyes She’s got big hopes, in the news, sings a verse of Blue Suede Shoes, Elvis lives, she’s not surprised
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Reminder re: early closure, 1.30 pm on Friday 30th March and late start (9.40 am) on 16 April for all students Inset Day on Tuesday 8 May (following May Day Bank Holiday on 7 May) Fund raising for the Yearbook & Prom
As a parent of a Year 11 student I know only too well how expensive the end of the academic year can be. There is the Yearbook, the Hoodie, the Prom Photo Cd and the Prom its self of course.... hair, make-up, dresses/suits, shoes and limo’s! Therefore over the past few months the school has organised a few events to raise money to subsidize and pay for extras at the prom. We have held cakes sales, a pancake sale, a rugby match and a football match still to come, a Prom Fayre but the biggest event is the Car-boot Sale this Saturday! Please come along and support it and if you have any items you wish to donate for the sale please bring them in to reception and ask for Mr Peacock or Mrs Hayler. Although time has run out to order the Hoodie we have extended the deadline to order Prom tickets, Prom Cd and the Yearbook as we know lots of you want them but have yet to order. Please do order as soon as possible as we need to give numbers to the suppliers. Thank you for your support, have a great Easter.
Mr Peacock Design & Print Manager
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A Load of Rubbish! On Friday 9th March, over 100 students took part in the schools first ever ‘Big Tidy Up’. Throughout lunchtime sways of students joined in by collecting a bag and litter picker before setting off around the school to collect as much litter as possible. Aided by the incentive of one of three £10 HMV shopping vouchers more than 20 full bags of litter were collected in what was truly a ‘Big Tidy Up’. The idea of organising a ‘Big Tidy Up’ was that of a number of Year 8 students, who in Geography had been undertaking a review of the schools environmental impact. As part of their review
students in Year 8 were expected to write to Mrs Beer, outlining the schools impact, whilst identifying what can be done to address it. On reading through the many letters received by Mrs Beer, the idea of a ‘Big Tidy Up’ was extremely well received with Mrs Beer instructing the schools Eco Council to undertake its organisation. The event was a great success and it is hoped that a similar event can be undertaken next term. A big thank you must go to the Eco Council for organising the Big Tidy Up. Whilst congratulations must be offered to Amelia Smith,
Broadwater Reward Is Private Fostering Trip for you? Back in January a group of students from Broadwater community were rewarded for their excellent academic progress with a trip to The Eco Committee Royal Pavilion; Brighton, for an enjoyable experience Ice Skating. All the students appeared to really enjoy themselves and hopefully the experience will be something they will remember for a long time. On behalf of Broadwater staff team I’d like to thank and congratulate those that came on this trip for making it so enjoyable.
Mr Loversidge
Are you looking after someone else’s child? Private fostering is when someone under 16 (18 if registered disabled), is cared for and provided accommodation for over 28 days by an adult who is not a close relative. West Sussex County Council needs to be aware of such arrangements and can provide a wide range of support to those who need it. If you are in such an arrangement, or know someone who is, find out more about Private Fostering by visiting www.westsussex.gov.uk and looking up ‘Private Fostering’ or call the Children’s Access Point on 01403 229900 for more information.
Chiara Oliver, Laura Pemberton, Shannon Burtenshaw and Courtney Lee who collected the most litter and therefore won, one of the three £10 HMV shopping vouchers. Mr Guyton
Sims Learning Gateway (Parent/Carer online access to their child’s information held at school).
SIMS. Learning NET Gateway All user names and passwords have now been issued to those parents/carers who have requested them. If any parent/ carer still wishes to have access please contact Mrs Hauck by e-mail dhauck@worthinghigh. net for information. There is now a link on the school’s website direct to the Gateway for your convenience. If anyone has any comments about the system we would like to hear them. Please e-mail Mrs Hauck. During 2012 individual student reports will become available to view on-line, details to follow next year. Finally can we remind you to change your password on a regular basis for security.
Mrs Hauck
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Author Marcus Alexander Visits We were pleased to welcome author and all round sports enthusiast Marcus Alexander to the school in February to talk to over 300 students. Marcus’ school event was energetic and unique; he is a personal trainer and practices gymnastics, Parkour, Capoeira and much more! He told us how ‘Keeper of the Realms’ was influenced by his passion for travelling, experiencing different cultures –and by sports, in particular K’Changa – a competitive art form incorporating elements of martial arts, dance and gymnastics. The event was truly inspirational. Marcus dropped in a few competitions throughout the talk and the students were thrilled to win t-shirts, posters and canvas artwork from the books. We are all looking forward to reading all about ‘Charlie Keeper’, the heroine
Film Maker Award Sammy Jones is an independent film maker who, with the support of the Worthing High School Film Club, entered “Magician” into the South East England Institute of Amateur Cinematographers Film Festival held at Tunbridge, Kent. Sammy’s film deals with the very difficult topic of a boy who has the ability to read minds. It considers the dilemma faced when the “magician” is in a store and reads the mind of another shopper. He leaves contemplating his actions, should he or should he not take an action that would reveal his secret? Sammy’s film has also been entered in the British International Film Festival being
of the book and her adventures in the Realm of Bellania.” Students asked Marcus a range of questions: When did he decide he wanted to be an author – Marcus said he was about 26 years old and realised that he loved writing whilst he was at school and had won prizes for poetry and creative writing – so he started off writing as a hobby for a couple of
years before working on his first book. Another student asked what Charlie Keeper the heroine looked like as there were no pictures of her – Marcus explained that he wanted readers to image what she looks like rather than be shown through a picture.
held in Weymouth in April. Sammy has been awarded three stars by the judges and his film will be show cased on the 14th April at the Hotel Rembrandt. This is a very great achievement for a young film maker working without the support of a production team.
wider audience come and see me. I will look at your project and offer guidance and when appropriate assist you entering a wide range of film competitions. For any student wishing to pursue a career in film these opportunities are an impressive addition to your CV.
We have a number of other film makers actively working on projects. Oliver Levine, a young animator, had his film “Lego City Marina” entered into the BIAFF where it won a two star certificate for this animation. If you have a project you would like seen by a
Paul Kaczmarek
P
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Mrs A Phelan Learning Resource Centre Manager
Paul Kaczmarek and Sammy Jones
School Vouchers Please Once again the Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s Active Kids 2012 voucher scheme (AKV) is up and running – and once again we will be collecting for PE and Food. If you shop at either store and are offered any vouchers please say ‘yes please’ and add them to our collection! Vouchers can be handed in to the LRC, Student Services and the Main Schools Reception.
Last year we managed to collect over 20,000 AKV’s, which was used to purchase equipment for Food Tech (scales, tins, variety of pots and pans, utensils) and PE (bats, balls, rounders and stoolball posts & bases, badminton rackets, cones), all of which is greatly appreciated and put to maximum use,
thank you.
Nicky Stevenson
New Peer Mediation Project is Launched Worthing High School set up their new Peer Mediation Project in September last year. The project is aimed at Year 10 and 11 students who are able to make a positive influence on other students across the school. On Tuesday 7th Feb Worthing High School held a celebration evening kindly hosted by Northbrook College. The event was organised to celebrate the completion of a formal training programme for 40 new Student Peer Mediators.
The evening was attended by all the students and their parents. The Headteacher presented the certificates to all the new Peer Mediators during the evening and said “I am extremely proud of all the students here tonight. You have all shown a high level of personal commitment to learn a new set of skills which will enable you to help other students in our school resolve issues which might otherwise escalate unnecessarily.” Students applied to join the programme and completed eight
Sport relief mile 2012! This year’s WHS Sport Relief Mile was absolutely colossal, thanks to absolutely all students and staff who was part of it! So far the total raised is well over £300 and counting, with Joe Peacock, Sophie Penfold and Zyanya Brady raising over £50 each. Again thankyou to all staff and students who took part as the
intensive hours of in-house, after school training sessions looking at areas of restorative justice, confidentiality, listening skills and bullying issues. The group of newly trained Peer Mediators will now be matched to ‘clients’ (students), which will be predominantly Year 8 & 9 students, with continued support from teaching and pastoral staff. After the Easter break year 9 students will be invited to apply for a Peer Mediator position in readiness to begin working with the new Year 8 students.
money you raised by going the extra mile will change countless lives forever. Well done! Miss M Field
Sport Relief Race Winners- Josh Bourne & Lucy Steel with Ms Stevenson
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Ski Trip Bardonecchia, Italy 2012
What a fantastic ski trip. After 20 years of running ski trips I thought I had seen the best but this group challenges all the previous high standards set. The beginners had shear pluck by the bucket load and skied the toughest red on the fourth day and the top of a black on the fifth. The intermediates sped across the slopes faster and with more grace and skill than I can ever remember seeing before. The slalom was a fantastic event with a winning time so fast by Chris Goodridge that the instructors questioned if it was possible for an English boy to do it. Jordan Ashton in the beginner group, was so fast he beat half the intermediate group. Point these boys at a challenge and they rise to it. To see this years film go to http://www.worthinghigh.w-sussex.sch.uk/ page138.html
As well as skiing, the group went tubing, ice skating and out for a pizza. The social side was very successful with an evening of cards, a table football competition, a show and a disco. At the end of the week the intermediates all gained a gold level and the beginners either bronze or silver. Like all ski trips they went from zero to hero in 6 days. To see what happens on a ski trip go to http://www.worthinghigh.w-sussex.sch.uk/page138.html
By Paul Kaczmarek, Ski Trip Leader
Building Bridges 14 intrepid Worthing High students aided local volunteers in dismantling the current wooden bridge and replacing it with a new structure over a small river in the Arun valley. Battling against the adhesive nature of the local mud the students removed the rotten posts and boards and dug 4
feet deep holes for the support posts to enable walkers to cross the river along a public bridlepath. The kids got stuck in, almost literally in some cases, and were a credit to themselves and the school according to West Sussex County Council organiser Darren Rolfe.
Open University Workshop In January we invited two Open University lecturers to the Worthing High School Science Department. During the day they delivered 4 workshops - “The workings of a motor”, “Investigating Pendulums”, “Evolution”, and “The life of a carnivorous plant” - to an enthusiastic group of Year 8 students. Brittany Boxall, Gaby George, Grace Glover, Chloe Hutton and Isabel Milne excelled in building their fully functional motor. ‘We actually got it to work’ they enthused, after their success and were particularly impressed when the wire began to glow and sparks were seen! The students were also taught the principles behind the pendulum where they investigated how the length and mass of the pendulum affected
the time of the swing. During the evolution workshop, Nick Oxley was amazed with the fact that he shares 50% of his genetic material with a banana. The students also discussed why an elephant is the ‘odd one out’ compared with rhinos, hippos and whales and found out it is all in the genes. All the students commented on the amount of knowledge they had gained during the day. Students said ‘the whole day was really good – it was very educational but made science fun to learn’. Only three students said they had any interest in plants at the beginning of the day but after an hour learning about and dissecting carnivorous plants, many more hands went up when asked who was interested in them now.
Dr Wood told the students that if they buy a carnivorous plant they must learn from his experience with a Venus Fly Trap and give them rain water, not tap water! The eating habits of the carnivorous plants were eagerly discussed amongst the group. Following questions from students about the contents of the pitchers, Dr Wood removed three and students dissected them. They discovered the dry(ish) remains of many flies. Yum! The Science department and students sincerely thanked the Open University lecturers for giving their time and sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm to deliver these fascinating workshops. J Hylianski
Your chance to get involved with the music industry A fabulous opportunity has arisen for the young people of Worthing.
world and everyone deserves the chance of success.
Record Producer, Ian Lovatt (aka Ghostcopy) is working with Worthing High School.
With this in mind, Ian is running the No Limits: Live course - a 10week course which introduces young people (aged 12-18) the opportunity to learn about songwriting, arranging your song, rehearsing and performing (as a soloist and within a band) and how to give a live performance that is memorable and professional. The young people of Worthing are being given the opportunity of working with someone who is at the cutting edge of the music industry - Ian is working with some of the most successful writers and producers that are currently storming the charts both here and in the USA.
He has real knowledge of the music industry, working with many of the most successful writers/producers/performers including Jack McManus(The Wanted),Si Hulbert (Ed Sheeran, One Direction),Slash, Michael Jackson, Ali Tennant (Jessie Jay, JLS)Michael Gray (Full Intention), Jon Pearn (Body Rock) and Geoff Duncan (Wayne Hector) – and many more! Ian Lovatt wants to give something back to the young people of his town - Worthing. He believes that this town could potentially produce some of the greatest performers and writers in the
Places are limited, so these will be offered on a first come, first served basis. All enquiries to Ian Lovatt on 07887773902 – more info at Facebook Group Ghostcopy@nolimits
The course will run for 10 weeks, starting on Wednesday 18th April 2012 at Worthing High School.
Worthing High Girls make U15 County Cricket Finals Worthing High School hosted one of the heats for the Under 15 Taverners indoor Tournament on Monday 6th February. The students enjoyed a fantastic day developing their skills in bowling, batting and fielding. Some excellent bowling was displayed by Charlie Murphy and Chloe Ford, both taking wickets in their stride. With high scoring runs by Melany Cook and Amber Blan ey and exceptional fielding by Leah-Jo Simpson, Beth Pemberton-Hill, Sophie Zienkiewicz and Sharna Challenger the girls claimed victory in all the games played.
Marie Field leader of PE ‘I am really proud of the girl’s performance. The squad has worked hard in training and to be going to the county finals is a result of hard work and determination. The girls have been a pleasure to work with and have been a credit to the school. Its great to see Worthing High School doing so well.’ The girls look forward to the County Finals Tournament at the end of March, watch this space! Pictured, back row, from left to right are: Back Row: Charley Murphy, Chloe Ford, Amber Blamey, Leah-Jo Simpson, Melany
Cook, Sharna Challenger Front Row: Sophie Zienkiewicz, Beth Pemberton-Hill.
WISEPAY online payment system Worthing High School use WISEPAY as our online payment system for all money that you need to pay to school –to save you sending in cheques or cash by using credit or debit cards. You can pay for everything including trips, books, tickets and lunch money all online! If you don’t yet have a login please contact Mrs Hayler on (01903) 229275 or khayler@worthinghigh.net
www.worthinghigh.w-sussex.sch.uk
achieve@worthinghigh.w-sussex.sch.uk
Tel: 01903 237864