Birchwood Update 26/02/2018
- Josie Evans
- Feb 26, 2018
- 12 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 26/2/18
A new 3G pitch for Birchwood
We are delighted to announce we have applied for planning permission to refurbish our 3G pitch. The pitch has been closed since May 2017 but we are preparing a bid to the Football Foundation (the organisation who distribute the FA and Premier League funding) to upgrade the pitch to a state of the art 3G surface.
It will be a fantastic resource for the school and the community. We are in talks with local clubs including Birchwood Juniors and Woolston Rovers about how we can make the most of this opportunity.
Mr Burrows, Head of PE said, “I am delighted we are moving forward with this project. It is an exciting time for students in school and college. But it is also great news for grassroots football in Birchwood”.
The project will cost in the region of £350,000 and will include a new state of the art 3G surface, a new floodlighting system, new fencing and goalposts. We are currently developing our project bid and hope to have approval from the Football Foundation in July 2018. We are asking the local community and local businesses to help with our share to the funding. If you are able to support please contact Alan O’Reilly (School Business Manager) at oaoreilly@birchwoodhigh.org to discuss opportunities for advertising or sponsorship.
The Intermediate UKMT Challenge results are in and it is great news
Well done to the following learners who have had success in the prestigious UKMT Challenge
In Year 10:
Gold is awarded to Joseph Dunn and Gemma Short
Silver goes to :
Emily Severs
Owen Darbyshire
Kieran Donlan
Chee Ying Liu
Aaron Wolstenholme
Catherine Colville
Bronze goes to:
Stanley Cormack
Callum Somers
Mollie Finney
Elizabeth Woodward
In Year 9, bronze is awarded to:
Erika Strong
Jacob Binks
Daniel Beswick
Laura Harrison
Adam Speake
Niamh Aldridge
Congratulations and well done to you all. Your certificates will arrive soon.
Poppy in 10RC plays her part for England
Last week Poppy in 10RC had the opportunity to represent her country in the Women’s Under 15 fixture event in Switzerland. It was a 5-day camp where the girls will played two fixtures against their counterparts on the Swiss team.
The teams played two games and we are proud to say that the English team including Poppy won both games 0-2 to England and 1-3 to England.
As well as the fixtures, the girls had to study each day completing work set by her teachers and had the chance to attend a cultural educational excursion in the form of a commentated boat trip to the Rhine Falls, the biggest waterfall in Europe.
Sean, from the education team at camp said, “It was a pleasure to oversee Poppy during Education and the training event as a whole, she continues to be a credit to her school, club, and family.”
As ever, we are incredibly proud of Poppy. She really deserves her success, as she is both determined and hardworking.
BCHS welcomes a special visitor.
On Monday 12 February, we welcomed a very special and highly amusing visitor called Maya. Maya is an amazing robot who sang danced and answered questions for us as part of the STEM Maths roadshow ‘It’s a Numbers Game’ delivered by BAE systems in conjunction with The RAF and Royal Navy. The roadshow has been developed to demonstrate how maths is used in our World in ways that are both innovative and essential.
The Display team demonstrated to our enthusiastic year 7 learners how Maths helped programme the clever Maya but also how maths is used to balance aircraft carriers and get planes of the ground. The team also showed us how simple magic tricks are actually just maths and how face recognition on the new iPhone again has been developed in 3D again with clever maths.
The roadshow was engaging with lots of audience participation in demonstrations and our year 7 were really enjoying joining in and learning.
Thanks to the roadshow team for all their hard work and a big thank you to Maya who everyone fell in love with!
Year 12 Musical showcase
A huge thank you goes out to our Year 12 performers, our staff and all those members of the public that attended our fantastic evening of performances by our Year 12 musicians.
The students performed music from the 1960’s and 1970’s including merseybeat, motown, country, soul, pop and rock by artists such as The Beatles, The Kinks, ABBA, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, ELO and many more.
The level of talent was huge. Ms Walsh predicted that the evening would be the best that she had ever held and she wasn’t wrong.
The atmosphere was fantastic, the house was packed and the level of performance was amazing!
Well done and thanks to all involved and who came to support, for a very memorable evening.
Love and kind thoughts were in the air
On Valentine, day love was in the air as Margaret in the Kitchen prepared a valentine menu to tempt us. The cakes in particular whereto difficult to resist! Thanks you to Mags and all her staff for their hard work.
Cakes where also on the menu for some lucky teachers as Shannon in 8AD, as a ‘random act of kindness’ had decided to bake valentine muffins for all those teachers who taught her on Wednesday. What a lovely thought and the lovely cakes, which were beautifully presented, certainly added some cheer to her teachers’ day.
The Junior Journalists reveal their findings about our school
On Wednesday before half term, we hosted a very special event for our visitors from the primary Junior Journalist club.
Our primary Clubs have been developed to give year 5s in the local area the opportunity to come into our school and through a series of fun clubs sample what it would be like to join us in Year 7.
We have already hosted our Whizz Bang Science Club and The Lights, Camera Action Media club where year 5 had a chance to do fun experiments and film and act their own mini movie.
This week was the turn of the journalists as the stood in front of visitors and parents and carers to tell us their findings and views of our school from interviews that they has held with learners, staff and even Mrs Bryan our Headteacher.
The children did brilliantly, presenting confidently even though they were all very nervous.
Their findings will now be collated and used to produce a professionally printed newsletter, which will then be sent to other Year 4, 5 and 6 in our area.
Thanks you to all the parents who attended the presentation and a special thanks to Mr Vermiglio, Headteacher at Locking Stumps Primary, who came along to support William and Frederick from his school.
Our half term residential trips were a great success
Thanks to both staff and learners who took part in our fantastic half term residential trips. Both the ski trip to Austria and the Media trip to New York were successful, learners and staff having a fantastic time.
Look out for next week’s Update for both a full report and gallery of photos.
Media Studies tour to Prague 14-17 February 2019
We are excited to be proposing a school tour to Prague to support our curriculum plans for Media Studies pupils and enhance learning experiences within the school.
The visit will depart 14 February 2019 returning 17 February 2019, 4 days and 3 nights. The cost of the visit is £375.00 per pupil, which includes:
Return flights
Accommodation- Hotel Olsanka on a bed and breakfast basis
Group travel insurance
Overseas transfers
Guided Visit to Barrandov Film Studios
Guided Visit to Radio Free Europe
There are 20 places available for the visit and these will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
To secure a place for your child on this trip, a non-refundable deposit of £125 is required, along with the completed permission slip by Friday 16th March. A further non-refundable payment of £125 is required by Friday 4th May, followed by a final payment of the remaining balance of £125 by Friday 7th December. Interim payments can be made between the dates outlined above.
The trip letter that was sent out can be found here
Years 8 - 12, Ski residential trip to France, Friday 15 February – Friday 22 February 2019
Letters are available at the school office, for learners in years 8 - 12, who are interested in taking part in this successful residential trip to the French Alps in the resort called Villard De Lans. This traditional resort offers 130km of downhill skiing, providing more than enough variety for even the most advanced of our skiers. The cost of the course to France is £899 which is payable in instalments The price includes coach travel, ferry crossings, full board accommodation, five hours of ski coaching each day, lift pass, equipment hire and evening entertainment.
For a copy of the letter with booking details see here.
Payment schedule for this trip is:
2 March - Deposit of £100
27 April - 2nd payment - £150
23 November - Balance Due
Years 10 -12, Geography residential trip to the Bay of Naples, Saturday 20 October – Thursday 25 October 2018
Last week Mr Bate sent out the booking letter to those who had expressed an interest in this trip. The letter can be found here
The trip will initially be open to learners currently studying Geography in Years 10 and 11 as well as current Year 12 students at Birchwood College. In order for Year 11 learners to go on the trip, they must be intending to study at Birchwood College and to be taking Geography as one of their options.
The Bay of Naples offers an excellent range of geographical features to study, ranging from the volcano of Mount Vesuvius to the tourism of the famous Amalfi Coast. In addition to visiting Vesuvius and the Amalfi, the trip will also take in historic Pompeii and Herculaneum and the smaller dormant volcano Solfatara.
The all-inclusive price of the trip will be £725. The quoted price will be dependent on a minimum of 25 learners/students participating in the trip, and can be paid in instalments.
Payment schedule for this trip is:
15 February - Deposit of £125
20 April - 2nd payment - £225
6 July - Balance Due - £225
Be Active at BCHS
At BCHS we aim to offer a full range of extra-curricular activities which will appeal to a wide spectrum of interests, both before and after school and also at lunchtimes. For a full timetable of all the activities available, please see the timetables below:-
Year 7
Year 7 Performance Review Evening Thursday 8 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.
Year 7 Residential Trip to Conwy Centre, Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 April 2018
Payment instalments are due on the following dates:
6 March 2018
3 April 2018
Year 8
Please be reminded that Guided Choices forms are due back to the main office by Friday 9 March.
Year 9
Please be reminded that Guided Choices forms are due back to the main office by Friday 9 March.
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.
Getting Ready for KS4 Residential Trip to Lockerbie Manor 11 -13 July 2018.
Payment instalments are due on the following dates:
6 March 2018
3 April 2018
Year 10
Year 10 GCSE Blood Brothers Theatre Trip – Palace Theatre, Manchester. Wednesday 16 May 2018
In order to support our learners’ preparation and revision for their English Literature examination, the English Department have arranged a trip to see the evening performance of ‘Blood Brothers’ at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The trip will take place on Wednesday 16 May 2018, leaving school at 5.45.
The total cost of the trip is £26. Should you wish your child to take part, please return the permission slip on the letter here to the school office by Friday 16 February 2018 and pay a £10 deposit to secure a place. The remaining balance of £16 should be paid by Friday 23 March 2018.
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 date for Your diary - Year 10 English Literature Mock will take place on the afternoon of 15 March
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 March 2018
3 April 2018
Important date for your Diary
Monday 12 March - Friday 16 March - Year 11 core subject Mocks, see timetable below
Friday 15 June – Year 11 Celebration Assembly following on from the GCSE Physics exam
Thursday 5 July - Year 11 Prom at The Hallmark Hotel, Warrington
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 - no specific information
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.
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
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.
Comments