Worthing High School March 2013 MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD Dear Parents, Carers, Staff and Governors, As we reach the end of this Spring Term we look back to see just how far we have come since the disappointment of the Ofsted outcome following the Inspection in December. Staff and students have worked incredibly hard to show just how much potential there is at Worthing High. Our Yr. 11 predictions for the summer are strong and will be a just reward for the commitment both staff and students have made to improving outcomes. A further indication of this potential has been illustrated by the Yr. 9 Science University Challenge team led by Dr Klemenic. The team triumphed through to the Final on Saturday March 23rd held at Royal Holloway, University of London. Our team was narrowly beaten by one point by Kings School, Canterbury. We are incredibly proud of Jevhan Pandya, Phoebe Walker, Lolakshi Vicneswaran, Zach Sutherland and Calum Wares for not only their academic ability but also for the way they conducted themselves throughout the competition. Following on from the meeting held with parents on February 7th, I can report that the DfE visit on March 7th recognised the progress made and deemed that we have the capacity to move the school out of Special Measures. They recognised our actions in addressing not only the Quality of Teaching but also driving up standards of Literacy across the curriculum. The DfE recommended that we introduce a handwriting pen for all students, the Staedtler 309, which will encourage both neat and cursive (joined-up) handwriting. We have taken this advice and will issue all students with this pen at the beginning of next term.
The DfE visit was closely followed by HMI who visited us on March 19th. The purpose of the first visit was to establish whether the Action Plan is fit for purpose; I can report that the plan has met this requirement. We say farewell to four members of staff this term. Heather Gover has been a Cover Supervisor over the last two terms and leaves us for a post closer to home. Lauren Beer leaves us to embark on an exciting period of travel; we are extremely grateful to Lauren who has provided excellent maternity cover in English for Annie Brown who we look forward to welcoming back in June. Hannah Smith, Leader of History, leaves us this Easter and we wish her all the very best with the next steps in her career. Hannah will be replaced by Julie Grindel who joins us from Felpham Community College and also starts in June.
SPLASH AWARDS 2013 On Thursday 21st March, Splash FM hosted their annual awards ceremony at the Dome Cinema. The awards celebrated the best that Worthing has to offer recognising everything from a successful business, through to individuals with a heart of gold. Anna Strudwick, Leader of Dance at Worthing High School was awarded Top Teacher:
Finally, we say a very fond farewell to Seren Collins whose career path is to take a different direction. As we look forward to continuing the journey out of Special Measures, I can report that next term will see both the return of HMI for a full monitoring visit and the selection process for a substantive Headteacher, interviews take place on April 25th and 26th. I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continuing support and to wish you a very peaceful Easter. Kind regards Carolyn Dickinson Miss Strudwick was described as an excellent teacher and a great friend, offering advice and support to all her students. She has transformed dance at Worthing High and established a brilliant programme of out of school activities as well as transforming dance lessons. Dance is now a very popular choice with both girls and boys. Congratulations Miss Strudwick!
YEAR 9 UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE A team of four Y9 scientists attended the University Challenge held at Royal Holloway College, University of London on Tuesday 19th March. The team were Lolakshi Vicneswaran, Jevhan Pandya, Phoebe Walker and Zach Sutherland. During the first round of the competition the Worthing High team faced Ash Manor School in Surrey in a quick fire, first on the buzzer set of about seventy science based questions. The team answered rapidly and were often the first on the buzzer with an amazing set of answers providing a comprehensive win over Ash Manor and taking them through the semi finals which were held at Royal Holloway on Saturday 23rd March.
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The team set off on a cold Saturday morning and were met by a snow blizzard on the north side of the Downs.
Unfortunately Lolakshi had other commitments on the Saturday so she was replaced by Calum Wares. The competition formed part of the Science Festival held on the extensive campus of Royal Holloway so with snow falling around them the team took in as many of the events as possible visiting the undergraduate laboratories in the Departments of Biology and Physics, before embarking on the semi finals in the afternoon. The team examined fleas under a microscope, discussed the difference between a lobster and a cray fish with a crab expert and had a shocking time with a Van de Graff generator and plasma ball.
After lunch the team entered the lecture theatre of the Moore building to begin the semi final part of the University Challenge. The question master was the Dean of Science at Royal Holloway, Professor Paul Hogg, and the Worthing team faced Claremont Fan Court School, Surrey, a co-educational Independent School. This was a closely fought round with no conferring but at each stage the Worthing team edged ahead of Claremont to face Kings School, Canterbury in the final. Kings is another independent school with a long and distinguished history. Again this was very close with the teams
remaining at level pegging until the last round which Kings won by a single point.
The Worthing team answered some difficult questions and were a credit to the school. Well done Phoebe, Zach, Calum, Jevhan and Lolakshi.
Dr P Klemenic Gifted &Talented Co-ordinator
PURPLE DAY FOR WELLCHILD Worthing High School held their second purple themed non uniform day last month in aid of WellChild, the national charity for sick children, who are helping to fund research into a rare progressive condition called Wolfram Syndrome, a condition suffered by the younger sister of one of their year 10 students and to raise awareness of Rare Disease Day. Wolfram Syndrome affects 1 in 500,000 million in the UK and there are currently about 100 known sufferers in the UK (adults & children). The main symptoms are insulin dependent diabetes, water diabetes, loss of vision and blindness. It also causes choking, respiratory problems, depression, anxiety and many other problems. WHS students Marcus Lynch, Charlotte Nye, Chloe and Charlie Maclaran are the organisers of the Junior Charity Roadtrip, part of the Charity Roadtrip is fundraising groups formed by their parents supporting WellChild, approached Steve Jeffery the teacher in charge of Community Charities within the school to discuss holding this day again after the huge success of last year which raised over £880. Mr Jeffery said, “We are REALLY happy to help. It is our pleasure and
makes charity work so much more meaningful and poignant when we are potentially supporting family members of our school children through the focus. This year we are pleased to have raised £557.88”. Mrs Tracy Lynch whose
Each morning we feared the worst when we arrived on the unit.” Jennifer is back full time at her school, Thomas A Becket Middle and isn’t letting anything faze her. Her classmates and other students all welcomed her back and
daughter, Jennifer aged 11, has this rare condition said, “We as a family really appreciate Mr Jeffery and the schools support with this. It is helping to raise awareness about the work that WellChild do, about the syndrome as it is so rare & also about other rare conditions. This time last year Jennifer was in Intensive Care at The Evelina Children’s Hospital, London on a ventilator and after 3 failed attempts at coming off the ventilator she had to have a Tracheostomy, a tube put in her throat to aid breathing.
have just accepted her as she is. Last year through various fundraising events like the “Purple Day” the Charity Roadtrip managed to raise just under £15,000 which is all going to Research into the Syndrome and to provide support to sufferers throughout the UK. More information about WS can be got from their website http://www. wolframsyndrome.co.uk If you would like to donate to help fund research and support this rare condition then click on the JustGiving icon on the home page of the website.
Term Date Reminder: Last Day of Term Thursday 28 March 2013 1.30pm finish Start of Term Monday 15 April 2013 9.40am start 3
OPEN UNIVERSITY SCIENCE WORKSHOP In January we invited an Open University lecturer to the Worthing High School Science Department. During the day he delivered four workshops - “The workings of a motor”, “Investigating Pendulums”, “Evolution”, and “The life of a carnivorous plant” - to an enthusiastic group of Year 8 students. Caitlin Moorfield, Daisy Kolarova and Bevan Lockwood excelled in building their motor. ‘We actually got it to work’ they enthused, after their success and were particularly impressed when 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, students were amazed with the fact that humans share 50% of their 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
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had gained during the day. Students said ‘the whole day was really good – it was very educational but made science fun to learn’. Only a few 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 one of the stems and a student dissected it. They discovered the dry(ish) remains of many flies. Yum!
The Science department and students sincerely thanked the Open University lecturer for giving his time and sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm to deliver these fascinating workshops. J Hlynianski Assistant Leader Science
ARTHUR BERRY FUTURE RACE HORSE TRAINER Arthur Berry, year11 student, has passed his interview and selection test and will be starting a 9 week Foundation Course at the highly prestigious British Racing School. He will start at
you don’t think you’re going to cope with that then the door is open.” He then told us more about the routine of the 9 weeks. The next thing we had to do was a Maths and
the racing school in August this year. The course includes riding race horses, maintaining a high level of personal fitness and learning more about the equine industry. A full time job in racing is guaranteed when he passes the Foundation course. The School promote and encourage young people who have the potential to ride as professional jockeys, the School has developed as the Centre of Excellence for training in the racing industry! Arthur recalls the interview day: “The interview was at 9am Newmarket so my mum and I went up the night before and stayed in a hotel. Up bright and early the next day my interview was the first, it went well but I had to wait for ever whilst the rest of the students were interviewed. The Chief Executive, Rory MacDonald walked in and told all the parents/carers to go. He shut the door and said to us, “Most of you in the room won’t get in, the 9 week course is going to be hard and stressful. If
English test on the computer. Next up was our Fitness test, we had to do 3 minutes of sit ups with weights, exercise with your arms, 20 squats and then hold the squat for 90 seconds and to finish off we had the bleep test. Finally we were weighed. We were then taken on a tour of the college and shown the horses and, if we got in, where we would be staying. After all this I then had my interview with Rory MacDonald and Bill Radcliffe. They asked loads of questions, about if I worked, and where I wanted to be in 5 years time. Then they told me they will contact me in a few days. The letter arrived on Christmas Eve, offering me a place at the British Racing School. I begin my course on August 26th 2013!” Congratulations Arthur, we wish you all the best, please keep in contact and let us know about your progress (as well as all those tips).
THE NEXT MO FARAH? Worthing High School could well have the next Mo Farah on their hands. Year 8 student Max Hollands, who is part of the highly successful Worthing Harriers Athletics Club, has qualified to represent Sussex Schools in the South East Counties Cross Country Championship in Essex. This follows on from his success at the Sussex Cross Country events at Bexhill Leisure Centre
and, more recently, Christ’s Hospital. It was here that Max came an impressive 18th out a huge field of 130 runners and subsequently invited to represent Sussex Schools at the prestigious South East Counties Championship which was due to be held on Saturday March 23rd. Unfortunately, this was postponed due to inclement weather and, as yet, a rearranged date has yet to agreed. The PE
Department would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Max on his achievements so far this year and hope this continues. Watch this space for future updates. Mr Morris PE Teacher
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EX STUDENTS REQUIRED Worthing High are looking for ex students! Our current Year 11 Student Leaders are looking to develop a program whereby ex-students are invited back to the school to support careers provision and help students with their choices for further education. Sophie Zienkiewicz Head Girl 2012/13 said “Ex Students would be given the opportunity to talk to our current students about their Higher/ Further/ or Vocational experiences. This would provide our current students with more first-hand information when looking to make important decisions during their education, for example when making their year 9 option choices or choosing their pathways for higher education. We would be very grateful if students who left over 2/3 years ago could consider giving up a small
amount of their time to aid our students as we believe that it would be hugely beneficial to them. It would also be a good opportunity for you to catch up with some of your old teachers and have a nose around your old school!” If you would like some more information about the project then please contact Karen Hayler at khayler@ worthinghigh.net. Also the school will be celebrating its100th anniversary in 2014 and is looking to set up a small project team to oversee the co-ordination of a programme of events. If you would like to get involved or would merely like to register your interest to participate in whatever events the school organises please email your contact details to Karen Hayler – khayler@worthinghigh.net
Karen Hayler added: “We would love to hear from any ex-students of Worthing High, West Tarring Secondary School for Boys and Gaisford High School for Girls as we are very keen to speak to a wide variety of ex-students as part of the preparations.”
MARATHON RUNNERS In April 2013 two members of staff who are assisting with the India trip are running the Brighton Marathon. This will be the first time both Mr Loversidge and Mr Williams have entered a marathon and they have spent a lot of time on the roads preparing. The weather hasn’t been very kind to them during the six months of training; running in snow, sleet, rain and high winds. If you wish to donate money for this excellent achievement please either visit their justgiving page which is http://www.justgiving.com/RyanStu Alternatively you can simply text rlsw50 then the amount you wish to donate to 70070. Sue Knott & Fran Fisher ( LSA’s)
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For example- rlsw50 £5 – send this to 70070.
We will be eternally grateful for any donations received and we’d
like to take this opportunity to thank all of you well-wishers in advance.
SUSSEX POLICE GIVE BACK Chief Inspector and District Commander for Adur and Worthing, Jo Banks presented Worthing High School with a cheque for £200 recently. The grant is from the Sussex Police Property Act Fund which redistributes income from the sale of stolen goods. The grant is being used to support the Sussex Coast Schools Amazing Book Awards Project (ABA). The ABAs, is a book award set up at the start of 2011 by a small group of school librarians from West Sussex which included Mrs Phelan, Senior Librarian at Worthing High. The group felt that secondary school students, particularly those in years nine and ten, were so often overlooked by bigger book awards schemes, which frequently aim themselves at students in lower years. The ABAs enable students to take control of what they choose to
read. Although the team, with the help of the publishers and nominations from participating school librarians, create the long list, students choose the final shortlist of 5 and also vote for their favourites each year. There is no overall veto or “panel vote”, the books chosen by the students win. The 2013 winning book will be announced at an Award Ceremony on 5 July 2013 hosted by Shoreham Academy.
Jo Banks said: “Sussex Police are really pleased to be supporting this great project and we think the ABA scheme is a brilliant local idea. Securing the engagement of the short listed authors to attend the Awards Ceremony meeting students and their parents is a great strength. Well done for developing the programme for local schools in Sussex and I hope you all continue to enjoy your reading.”uke
WORTHING INDOOR ATHLETICS HIGH! On Wednesday 13th March Worthing High School hosted the Annual Year 5, 6 and 7 Indoor Athletics heats for the Worthing High Family of schools. The event was as well supported as always by staff and parents alike and they were all treated to a fantastic display of running, jumping and throwing from all the pupils involved. The results were a lot closer than in recent years which is testament to the time and effort put in to preparing these talented students for this event by the teaching and coaching staff of the schools involved. The final standings were as follows:
1st TAB 2nd Chesswood 3rd Broadwater 4th Vale
381 323 288 280
Thanks go to the parents and teachers involved for supporting
the event and to the fantastic Sports Leaders from Worthing High School who ensured the event ran with out a hitch. Mr Morris PE Teacher
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LEARNING RESOURCES CENTRE To congratulate Year 8 students for doing fantastically in AR last month we took them to meet Author Saci Lloyd at Davisons High School. Saci told us all about her new book Quantum Leap and where she gets her inspiration for the characters and plots. As well as writing Saci teaches media at college. She was so full of energy and utterly inspiring to watch, the students really enjoyed the opportunity.
This month students can win Easter Eggs for achieving the highest points in AR reading quizzes. We will also start awarding badges based on the amount of words they have read. There will be Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. http://amazingbookawards.co.uk/ Students have started reading along with 20 others schools in the Amazing Book Awards. The presentation evening will be held on Friday 5th July. Everyone is welcome to attend. We were delighted to welcome back author, Darren Shan, to the school this month. He visited us in 2007 when the Learning Resources Centre was officially re-opened after refurbishment. Darren Shan is the number-one bestselling author of the young adult series Cirque du Freak, The Demonata and The Saga of Larten Crepsley, as well as the stand-alone books. The Thin Executioner and Koyasan. Shan’s books have sold in every continent, in thirty-one languages, and have been bestsellers worldwide. In total, they have sold over twenty-five million copies. Darren talked about his new series Zom-B, which is a about a zombie invasion. He kept everyone enthralled as he read extracts from his books and then answered student questions. Students then had a chance to get their books signed with many of them bringing in their own books from home. He is a very popular author at WHS and it was a pleasure to have him here.
Congratulations to Lizzie Stenlake & Denisa Damian for winning the Zombie poster competition!
Happy Easter from the LRC Team. Mrs A Phelan Learning Resources Manager
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WORTHING HIGH SCHOOL STANDARDS At the beginning of this term we surveyed parents and students asking opinions on a range of issues concerning standards in and around the school. Thank you for your responses, one common theme that arose was the need for consistency of applying and maintaining our standards and sanctions. Next term we will be having a focus on some key areas to help address these issues and would ask for your help supporting us.
Attendance and Punctuality
The National average for attendance in a secondary school is 94%. We are therefore aiming to achieve if not exceed this target. Please try and send your child in to school at all times and contact our absence line if necessary. We are duty bound to tackle and challenge if a child’s attendance drops below 90%, in some cases this may lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice of £60 or even prosecution in extreme circumstances. If there is a problem with attendance please contact your child’s Community or Pastoral Leader who will be happy to discuss strategies with you.
The student may collect the phone at 3:15 from the main school office. If there is an emergency and you need a message to be sent to your child please contact the school on 01903 237864 and we will pass it on. Students should aim to be in school at 8:30 am and in family tutor rooms at 8:40 am for their register to be taken. If students arrive late we issue a 15 minute detention that day, for persistent offenders we will be contacting home for support and further sanctions.
Food and Drink
We have a zero tolerance on energy and non-healthy fizzy drinks. This is part of our drive to promote healthy living. Unfortunately some of
Mobile Phones
The school accept that students bring mobile phones into school but they do so at their own risk and phones should be out of sight. Mobile phones are confiscated if seen in lessons or corridors.
our students bring to school energy and other unhealthy drinks. The impact of these drinks results in a fluctuation their energy levels and often has an adverse effect on their attention and behaviour later in the day. If a teacher sees a student with banned drinks the items will be confiscated.
HOW MANY SPELLINGS HAVE YOU LEARNT THIS TERM? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Spelling strategies can help you remember! Break it into sounds (d-i-a-r-y) Break it into syllables (re-mem-ber) Break it into affixes (dis + satisfy) Use a mnemonic (necessary – one collar, two sleeves) Refer to word in the same family (muscle – muscular) (word webs) Say it as it sounds (Wed-nes-day) (spellspeak) Words within words (Parliament – I AM parliament) Refer to etymology (bi + cycle = two + wheels) Use analogy (bright, light, night, etc) Apply spelling rules (writing, written) Learn by sight (look-say-cover-write-check) Visual memory (look-say-cover-write-check) 9
GUYS & DOLLS What a truly fantastic show Guys & Dolls turned out to be. Months and months of planning, preparation, rehearsals and the odd tantrum, all paid off to produce a production that the School will be proud of and look back on for years to come! Hundreds of family and friends turned up to see the show and the cast and crew really did themselves proud. There were even tears shed by some of the parents! It really showcased the amazing pool of talent here at Worthing High. The School would like to congratulate and thank the whole cast (listed below), crew, Mrs Hunwick, Mr Martin, Miss Strudwick and all that helped. Cast List for Guys and Dolls KS3 Cast Matthew Votta Kieron Ford Emily Coles Nancy O’Melia Joe Mei Christopher Matthew Holley Jake Richards Amelia Smith
Cast
The Mission singers
Lt Brannigan General Matilda Cartwright Big Julie Joey Biltmore Harry the Horse Angie the Ox
Sam Lumsden Alice Palmer Fraser Birks Hannah Dow Holly Hopkins Ryan Steel
Agatha – Lucy Steel Clara – Kia McCaffery Martha – Amber Logan Sherylee Headington Rebecca Selley Abi Olliver
Hot Box Singers Mimi – Star McFarlane Ferguson – Lucy D’Agostino Young – Melissa Rowe
Crap Shooters – singers Alicia Tapp Remy Sines Jaydee Castle
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KS4 Cast
Character Nathan Detroit Sky Masterson Sarah Brown Miss Adelaide Nicely-nicely Johnson Benny Southwest Rusty Charlie Aunty Arvide
George McDonald Stephen Brown Neath Champion-Weeks Grace Brandon Stanley Evans-Power Luke Scattergood Abi Refoy Kim Logan
Dancers Hatti Pilcher Sophie Penfold Megan Mustill Isobell Hansell Aline Losch Francesca Tratt Emily D’Agostino Fleur McBride
you could help raise funds for Worthing High by simply registering with The Giving Machine. Simply visit www. TheGivingMachine.co.uk WHSA has recently agreed to contribute £300 towards the school’s new Digital signage system - this will aid communication across the school; whether about upcoming events, room changes or current affairs. It will also be used to provide information during parents evenings and other evening events. In addition we have agreed to give £500 to the DT department for new
equipment such as food processers and mixers- This equipment will be available for use of all students during food technology lessons so we can see a huge benefit for the whole school from this funding. If you shop on-line at Amazon, Ebay, Tesco, M & S, Next or many other high street stores
– enter your name, e-mail address and postcode and select our school as your chosen beneficiary. The more people who join and shop at these stores the more we raise - it’s simple and costs you nothing! WHSA has now started running its 200 lotto club with monthly draws taking place - it is not too late to join. Each month a £2.00 payment buys you one membership number which will be allocated and entered into the draw and can be purchased on a yearly basis with payment in advance of £24.00. Please see the WHSA page on the school website for further details. http://www.worthinghigh.net/ parent/whsa Car Boot Sales starting soon -
first date for 2013 is Saturday 13th April. Why not a have spring clear out and sell your unwanted items? Cars from just £6 – see the website or email on WHSA@worthinghigh.net for further details. STOP PRESS Date now set for Worthing High’s first ever Summer Festival - Friday 19th July. Entertainment will be provided by students and (hopefully!) staff bands as well. There will also be various stalls and refreshments . We are delighted that students from each of the communities have
agreed to help so this really will be a whole school effort. We hope that you will come and support this event. If you can offer some help with the Summer Festival or the car boot sales do please get in touch - all volunteers welcome!
CANTEEN GOES CASHLESS reminder In January 2013 the school canteen went cashless, no longer are cash payments accepted during break or lunch periods. All students must go to the canteen before registration, on any day of the week, to load cash or cheque payments to their catering accounts.
Alternatively, parents can top up accounts via Wisepay using credit or debit cards 24/7.
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INDIA FUNDRAISING UPDATE
to get some of the staff challenging each other in Sumo Suits!
The fundraising for the trip is coming on well with the total raised just over £13,000.
This has been down to some amazing individual efforts from the team as well as the car washes, cakes sales and other group activities. We have included details of some of the fundraising activities we have done so far on this page.
Huge thanks to Roger Talbot, Jamie Peacock, Andy Lutwyche, Sarah Hurley, Stu Williams, Katie Guirey, Ryan Loversidge, Dan Stringer, Paul Gill, Richard Doyle and Paul Read for all the baking and catering for 45 covers and also their outstanding work getting the venue set up and packed away again, a truly valuable contributions. Thank you also to the many businesses and organisation that donated prizes for the raffle, your contributions all added up to a fantastic evening.
Rowley Twins well on their way. Curry and Spice and all things nice! Following on from the success of the first Worthing High Pie Club Pie Gala in November, we decided that we would hold another to raise funds for the trip. This again, was a great success with a total of over £600 raised altogether from ticket sales, a raffle, race night and bar. We even managed
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Our fundraising has gone well so far but we still have £800 of the £3000 to raise. It has been very hard for us, we have had to raise double everybody else’s amount. We started by doing a few car boot sales and that raised a lot of money, surprisingly.
We also put up a marquee in our back garden and did a curry night for 30 people and that raised £500. We have also received many donations from our friends and family which has helped a lot. We are still coming up with new ideas to raise the rest of the money. The trip doesn’t seem too far away now and we are both getting excited . We can’t wait !
Jim Fenlon India Trip Organizer
RECYCLED CLOTHING DONATIONS PLEASE The India Team need your help. As part of the teams fundraising initiates we have set up a link with a recycled clothing charity. If you have any unwanted clothing or footwear that you would kindly like to donate then please can this be placed into a bin bag, brought into school and passed onto Mr Williams or Mr Fenlon. If you have a large amount of unwanted items and are unable to bring them into school please contact Mr Williams directly via email swilliams@worthinghigh.net for collection. Many thanks for your continued support with this fundraising project. Many thanks Mr Williams.
MELROSE CARE HOME Worthing High School has been building a close link with local Nursing Home, Melrose (Mill Road, Worthing). The first event was an Art Workshop which our Leader of Art, Roger Talbot ran for us. He took a group of Year 9 art enthusiasts with him and started an ongoing project focusing on lino printing. We all had a wonderful time. Phoebe Walker, Danni Tabakova, Isabel Milne, Jasmine Leggo, Sally Austin, Dolly Culver and Abi Downham joined Roger Talbot in giving an art workshop to a group of senior citizens at the home. Melrose Nursing Home approached us because of our reputation within the community. It was so heart-warming to see our students teaching and helping and chatting away to the residents. There were serious conversations and many light-hearted moments as memories and wisdoms were shared. It was a delight.
and then gave of their time to chat with the residents – long after the school day had ended (on a Friday!): Melena Baughan SJT, Emily Coles BRO, Milo Liau TGI, Amelia Smith BDH, Greg Vernon BDH, Nola Wakeham SRR, Phoebe Walker HJH and Jevhan Pandya. The residents were really sad to see our students leave. One lady, Josie, told me that they see very few young people and it is such a special opportunity for them to chat with our students – she is so excited that Worthing High School students will be returning soon – she can’t wait! We had a time of singing songs together and Ted gave us an excellent solo in “Lily Marlene”. The residents (especially Betty, who never wants the students to leave) kept asking for “just one more song…” – which was a real encouragement for our youngsters. Once again, I am very proud of our students and our school.
Students were expecting to leave at 3.30pm and asked If they could phone parents to stay longer – I think we left around 4.30pm in the end. On the 8th March, we presented a musical afternoon to the residents of Melrose. The following students offered highly professional performances
Lou Bruce (Care Home owner) writes: Melrose Care Home is delighted to be working with Worthing High School. Steve Jeffery has put together a programme of workshops (art and music) which students will come and run with our residents. These initial meetings have been a real success - there was a tangible buzz as young and old interacted. The students were a credit to the school - polite and friendly, patient and encouraging. Thank you so much. We are so looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship. S Jeffery Assistant Headteacher
READING BUDDIES Reading Buddies is a reading scheme that has been operating successfully for several years at Worthing High. Year 8 students come for two, twenty minute sessions at tutor time, where volunteer year 10 students become their ‘reading buddy’. The scheme has been shown to raise the self-esteem and confidence of all the students, both year 8’s and year 10’s. The year 10 students also gain a unit award from this rewarding experience.
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WORLD BOOK DAY TREAT Joshua Raven, author of the 5fingers series of supernatural adventure thrillers, visited Worthing High School on World Book Day, Thursday 7th March. He ran two creative writing workshops and spoke to the whole of Year 9 about creative and professional writing and his love of reading.
fast-paced and feature captivating characters and a plot that spans the globe. They cover topics such as blackmail, revenge, hope, love, freedom and friendship.
He also shared passages from his 5fingers series of novels, which are cinematic and
Mrs C King Leader of English
The 5fingers series is available to buy from www.5fingers.co.uk as paperbacks and eBooks.
MAYOR OF WORTHING VISITS Councillor Charles James, the 96th Mayor of Worthing, visited Worthing High School on Tuesday 26 February to present an assembly to 250 students from Heene Community. He came to talk to students to promote the Rowland Gibson Charity Swim which is raising money to support the Mayor of Worthing Charity 2012/13. The charity being supported by the Mayor is Worthing and Adur Fund, in partnership with the Sussex Community Foundation and Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce. The charity swim takes place on Saturday 23rd March 2013 from 5.00 – 9.00pm at Worthing Aquarena. The Mayor explained to students that the ‘Worthing & Adur Fund’, in partnership with Sussex Community Foundation, is a charity that develops and supports local giving. The fund provides grants from the income it earns for charities and community groups in Worthing and Adur. The website provides more information on how local charities and groups have already
Sophie Zienkiewicz, Head Girl and Gary Thompson, Student Leader Heene Community with the Mayor.
benefited from this charity. http://www. worthingandadurchamber.co.uk/ Charity-Details Students were reminded that on the day of the swim, participants are being asked to report to the Studio no more than 20 minutes before their swim time. The event will commence after a special Waterwalkerz Race has taken place at 5 pm.
A second Waterwalkerz Race will take place at 6 pm. Refreshments are being provided and participants will have an opportunity to have their picture taken with the Mayor. For more information go to: http://www.worthingleisure. co.uk/worthingleisure/aq/ swimming-programme/ charityswim2013/
...an inspiring evening of dance featuring performances from Worthing High School, Thomas a Becket Middle School, The Vale Middle School, Thomas a Becket First School and Heene C of E Aided First School
2013 Thursday 18th April, 2013 Pavilion Theatre, Worthing 7 – 9pm £5 – adults; £4 – children & OAP’s
PURCHASE direct from Worthing Pavilion, Box Office ONLY – online or call 01903 206206
www.worthinghigh.w-sussex.sch.uk
achieve@worthinghigh.w-sussex.sch.uk
Tel: 01903 237864