Birchwood Update 29/1/2018
- Josie Evans
- Feb 2, 2018
- 11 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 29/1/18
External Teaching and Leaning Consultants praise BCHS for our further improvement.
We are pleased to announce that after an external review of teaching and learning at our school, feedback was extremely positive and we are continuing to succeed in following our school improvement plan.
Our consultants were Barbara Dutton, an Educational Consultant and experienced Ofsted Inspector who though not here in an Ofsted capacity is fully aware of Ofsted’s inspection criteria; Mr Mark Heron and Mr Steve Cook who are both Leaders of Teaching and Learning at schools on Standish and Formby respectively.
Along with our own Senior Leadership Team, the visitors observed every teacher and every department in school and their chief findings were:
There was a positive and calm feeling in all classrooms. In all classes, behaviour was exemplary or very good and learners were keen and enthusiastic to learn, maintaining their focus throughout the lessons. Disruption in lessons was rare. In all, it was noted that there was a tremendous improvement in behaviour for learning.
There was effective planning seen in each lesson with a consistent use of objectives and questioning to promote progression.
Teachers had high expectations of learners, using examples of both their own, and other learners’ work to set standards of good work and expectations.
There is a positive reward culture in school, which encourages learners to work hard and excel. Far more rewards are given out than sanctions, which showed a shift in the culture of the school.
The consultants also had the opportunity to look at learners work and speak to learners confidentially and we are delighted that the learners interviewed said that:
They valued their education at our school and the school is stricter now than it was previously and learners like that, as it allows them to learn.
They felt safe in school.
The consultants noted that our learners are confident, enthusiastic and articulate.
Mr Bryan would like to thank both our staff and learners for their enthusiasm, positivity and passion that they showed during the 2-day review. It was obvious from the outcome that we really do have pride in our school and our learning.
Poppy in year 10 achieves her dream
In our Update of 18 December, we reported that Poppy in Year 10 had been selected to take part in the England Under 15 training camp at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre.
Poppy who at present plays centre back for Manchester United was selected for this honour after being observed playing by undercover England scouts.
The training camp was second of two and overall 60 girls between 14 and 15 have taken part from all over the country. Out of the 60 girls taking part of the training camps, the head coach reviewed their performance to select 30 players to take part in a 5-day camp in Switzerland at the beginning of February, where they will play fixtures against their counterparts on the Swiss team.
Poppy has been anxiously waiting to see if she had been selected and we are delighted to announce that her dream has come true and she is off to Switzerland as part of the team on the 12 February.
Poppy will be away at camp for five days during which she will play two games against her counterparts on the Swiss team.
We really are delighted for Poppy who really deserves this honour and opportunity after all her hard work. In December she said “If they choose me it will be overwhelming. To make my first International debut at 14 would make me so proud.”
We are also so proud of you Poppy and hope you have a fabulous time in Switzerland …and of course win!
A Thank you from St Rocco’s
St Rocco’s have asked us to pass on their thanks to the Birchwood Community and our school for taking part in the Christmas tree collection this Year. Birchwood high School was used as a local drop off point, which was much appreciated by the volunteers who were collecting trees in this area as they didn’t have far to travel between collections.
The collection was a huge success raising an outstanding £27,000 for the hospice by collecting over 2000 trees. Every penny raised goes towards caring for patients at the hospice and supporting their relatives.
As one of the charities our school has chosen to support we are proud to be involved.
KS3 STEM Club fun
As part of the Science department’s extra-curricular Club for KS3, Miss Diamond and Mr Goodrum provided the opportunity for learners to make their own ‘floating hologram’ using acetate. It works by creating a 3D partial reflection of an image on a smartphone - so that it looks as though the image is floating in the air!
Learners were amazed. Unfortunately, the photos didn’t show the experiment too well but science really is fantastic!
UKMT Maths Challenge, Thursday 1 February
This Thursday, 80 of our most able mathematicians from Years 9 and 10 will take part in this year’s UKMT Maths challenge. This is a countrywide challenge open to promising mathematicians from across the UK. We wish all those taking part, good luck and look forward to getting the results in a few weeks time.
Street dance classes, open to all, Wednesdays at 3-4pm
From Wednesday, all Year groups are welcome to attend an extra-curricular class to learn how to street dance. The classes will be held in the dance studio between 3pm and 4pm. Come along with comfortable clothes and trainers and join in the fun!
E-Safety update
As ever, BCHS are always looking out for your child’s safety whilst online. Please find the latest guide for parents and children with regard to safe use of live streaming Apps.
As the guide says
“You can now broadcast from anywhere in the world, to anywhere in the world for free using the device in your pocket.”
So please read the guide found here, and keep your child safe
Be Active at BCHS
In a bid to offer learners some meaningful pastimes during lunchtimes in these cold months, staff have offered their lunchtime to provide a varied timetable of lunchtime clubs from music and relaxation to dodgeball. We hope that there will be something for everyone to take part in and that learners will benefit from having the opportunity to do something meaningful or learn something new during the school day.
For a full timetable of clubs see here
Year 7
Year 7 Residential Trip to Conwy Centre, Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 April 2018
Payment installments are due on the following dates:
6 February 2018
6 March 2018
3 April 2018
Year 8
Year 8 Guided Choices Evening, Thursday 1 February, 5.00-7.30pm
Your child will bring home a letter inviting you to our Year 8 Guided Choices evening.
A copy of the letter can be found here
As this is an important time in your child’s educational journey, we aim to support both your child and yourselves to make well-informed choices as to which subjects they will choose to study at KS4.
The guided Choices evening allow you the opportunity to speak to subject staff about the courses they offer as options and there will be a short talk about the choices process and pathways that your child can opt for.
We aim to provide the correct option pathway to best suit your child and with your help and support I’m sure that we can work together to succeed.
We therefore look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 1 February.
Year 9
Year 9 Guided Choices Evening, Thursday 1 February, 5.00-7.30pm
Your child will bring home a letter inviting you to our Year 9 Guided Choices evening.
A copy of the letter can be found here
As this is an important time in your child’s educational journey, we aim to support both your child and yourselves to make well-informed choices as to which subjects they will choose to study at KS4.
The guided Choices evening allow you the opportunity to speak to subject staff about the courses they offer as options and there will be a short talk about the choices process and pathways that your child can opt for.
We aim to provide the correct option pathway to best suit your child and with your help and support I am sure that we can work together to succeed.
We therefore look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 1 February.
Important dates for your diary
Year 9 Performance Review Eve Thursday 15 Feb 3.30pm – 7.00pm
This event gives you the opportunity to speak with your child’s subject staff to discuss progress and achievement at a vital stage in their school life.
Your child will be bringing home a letter with regard to booking an appointment for this valuable event, which can be found here and we hope to see you all on the evening
Year 9 Immunisations, Tuesday 17 April & Wednesday 18 April
Letters will be in form boxes today for all year 9, regarding immunisations for tetanus, diphtheria, Polio and Meningitis ACWY, which will take place on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 April. The immunisation is for both boys and girls. Please complete the enclosed consent form and send it back to the office in the envelope supplied before the 20th March. Thank you.
Fantastic work to celebrate and share
A very well done to Reece Demet, Lucy Swann, Joshua Simpson, Libby Johnson, Charlie Holt in 9EF for their fantastic work that they have produced investigating the history of western classical music.
Getting Ready for KS4 Residential Trip to Lockerbie Manor 11 -13 July 2018.
Payment instalments are due on the following dates:
6 February 2018
6 March 2018
3 April 2018
Year 10
Year 10 Enterprise Day, Tuesday 6 February
On Tuesday 6th Feb, Year 10 will be off timetable all day to take part in the award winning Ryman National Enterprise Challenge which is the UK's leading Enterprise and Employability competition, having been delivered to over 140,000 young people since 2013.
The challenge aims to develop the key employability skills needed for higher education or the world of work, including teamwork, communication and leadership. Working on a challenge set by one of the UK's leading companies. The challenge is split into various tasks throughout the day with learners working in teams of six to complete them, culminating in a presentation at the end.
The winning team and runner up will attend local finals and compete against the other 14 teams for a chance to attend the National Finals, which takes place each summer. There, the learners pitch their ideas again for the chance to present on stage to real-life Dragon and main ambassador Theo Paphitis from Dragons Den.
Learners are to attend school as usual on the day, in full school uniform.
An important date for your diary
Year 10 Performance Review Evening Thursday 1 March 3.30pm – 7.00pm
This event gives you the opportunity to speak with your child’s subject staff to discuss progress and achievement at a vital stage in their school life.
Your child will be bringing home a letter with regard to booking an appointment for this valuable event, which can be found here and we hope to see you all on the evening
A message from our English Department
York notes revision guides will be available to purchase through the school shop on the school’s website, here, from Monday 4th December. All guides are priced at £2.40 each and learners will be able to collect the revision guides from their English teachers.
For Year 10 classes the guides required are:
A Christmas Carol
Blood Brothers
Macbeth
Getting Ready for KS4 Residential Trip to Lockerbie Manor 11 -13 July 2018.
Payment instalments are due on the following dates:
6 February 2018
6 March 2018
3 April 2018
Year 11
Reece and Jacob shine as football stars.
On Saturday 20th January, Reece Gaskell in 11DL and Jacob Rowe in 11ED represented the Cheshire u16 Boys Football team in the last 16 of the National County Cup. After a long days travel on Friday Cheshire faced Norfolk for a place in the quarter final in wet and windy conditions. Reece and Jacob both started the game in midfield and helped Cheshire to a convincing victory with Jacob Rowe scoring the third goal after two free kicks had given Cheshire a 2-0 lead. Both learners should be proud of their achievements and we wish them luck in the next round where they will face Surrey County.
We are also very proud to announce that Reece has been offered a 2 year scholarship with Oldham Athletic FC who currently play in League 1. His scholarship will start on 25th June 2018 with a trip to Portugal for a warm weather pre-season training camp before starting the season as a member of the u18 squad. Reece has been with Oldham for almost three years and is delighted to have received an offer to continue his development with the club.
Congratulations Reece!
Important dates for your Diary
Thursday 5 July - Year 11 Prom
Final examination information:
Year 11 will receive their actual summer GCSE examination timetable, after it is finalised by the examination board, at the beginning of February.
Please keep in mind if planning holidays that at present the examinations could run until the end of June and our Prom celebration is booked to take place on Thursday 5 July.
A message from our English Department
York notes revision guides will be available to purchase through the school shop on the school’s website, here, from Monday 4th December. All guides are priced at £2.40 each and learners will be able to collect the revision guides from their English teachers.
For Year 10 classes the guides required are:
A Christmas Carol
Blood Brothers
Romeo and Juliet
Birchwood College -
An important date for your diary
Year 12 Performance Review Evening Thursday 8 February 5.00pm – 7.00pm
We do hope that you will join us for our Year 12 Performance Review Evening. This event gives you the opportunity to speak with subject staff to discuss student progress and achievement at a vital stage in their college life.
Please see the letter here as to how to book your appointment.
Other School information:
We would like to hear your views about our school so we can share these with OFSTED
We are asking for your support so that we are aware of your views about our school. It will also help us to prepare for our next OFSTED visit which is due this academic year. Thank you to all parents and carers who have already filled the online form in. We have had 18 responses so far and all parents have said that their children feel safe and happy at school. We would love more views though! Please read and fill in the online form below.
Parent View is an online facility launched by Ofsted in October 2011 that allows parents and carers to give their views about their child’s school at any time of the school year. The questionnaire is also the main mechanism for parents to give their views to inspectors about their child’s school at the time of a school inspection. If you are a registered parent or carer of a pupil at the school, you can tell us your views about the school by completing Ofsted’s online survey here
View your child’s information on your mobile phone or tablet, a great new way to keep in touch.
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new service to make communications between school and home quicker, easier and more effective.
You will be able to view information about your child or children securely on your mobile phone or tablet using the Groupcall Xpressions app.
Once you are set up you will be able to see information such as:
Free messages sent by the school delivered to the app
Attendance and absence information
Attitude to learning (“ATL”) scores for each lesson.
Daily/Weekly timetable information
The app is completely free of charge to you and supports Apple iOS and Android devices (with Windows mobile to follow).
In order to use the app school must have your correct mobile number and email address on our school system. Forms are available from the school office to check and update your details or you can simply email them to the school. You’ll need to make sure you keep these details up to date in future to maintain access to the service.
You can download the app by searching for “Xpressions” in the App Store or on Google Play. Once the app is downloaded, simply follow the on screen instructions.
We hope that you take advantage of this new service, which has replaced our ParentsLive system. If you have any issues or need to know more please contact Mr O’Reilly here at school on aoreilly@birchwoodhigh.org
Children on site out of school hours
As a Community School, we welcome clubs and booked activities to use our facilities and school grounds outside the school day. We have become aware though that there are groups of both learners and ex learners on site in the evenings. Please make your child aware that learners are only allowed on site after the school day, if they are part of an organised and booked group. Thank you for your co-operation.
School Nurse: Please note that the school nurse comes into school every Wednesday from 12.15- 1.30pm and is available in the BSR Mentoring Room if any learners or students have any health related issues they would like to discuss.
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