Birchwood Update 21/05/2018
- Josie Evans
- May 22, 2018
- 16 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 21/5/18
Kaitlen, our street dance superstar!
Last weekend was very special for Kaitlen in 7DR as she travelled to Germany to take part in The Street Dance European Championships.
Kaitlen has been part of the ASH (Aim Sky High) Dance Company in Manchester for three years, dancing both solo, with a partner and in a group. She got through to the European competition with her partmer Zara in a duo performance when they achieved first place in the British heats.
They travelled to Kalkar in Germany along with other qualifying members of the company, 71 of them virtually taking over the plane!
At the competition, they competed against dancers from all over Europe.
Kaitlen and Zara performed against 14 other duos and secured first place, making them European Champions, and carrying off a medal and an enormous trophy.
Winning this competition automatically qualifies the girls to compete in next year’s final in The Netherlands.
When Kaitlen was told that she had qualified to compete she said that she was really excited to take part. She also said that it was scary as she was performing with someone else and was worried about letting her partner down as the dancing and timing has to be really tight and that is really difficult.
When they won however, she said, “We were so excited we screamed our heads off. Getting that medal and trophy was amazing”.
Well done Kaitlen, our own little European superstar.
Together we can succeed; success stories from last year’s exam results.
This week’s high achiever is Daisy Wray who joined us from Cinnamon Brow C of E Primary.
On results day daisy surprised herself when she opened her envelope to find that she had achieved an 8, 6 and 7 in English and maths and 7 A* - As with A* in both music and RE.
Daisy worked hard and attended as many revision sessions as she could alongside performing in our musical events. Daisy stayed on with us at Birchwood College and has really settled well into college life studying psychology, music, English and maths
Year 11, don’t be disappointed when you open that envelope in August, get the work in now and attend as many revision sessions as possible (see the Year 11 section of this update for dates and times.)
Yet again, our learners shine in the UKMT Maths challenge
A few weeks ago, many of our years 7 and 8 sat the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge in school. The UKMT Challenge aims to stimulate mathematical problem solving in young people.
The Junior Challenge is aimed at learners in year 8 and below. It is the UK's most popular mathematics competition with over 300,000 students taking part each year. As ever our learners have achieved some fantastic results:
Achieving Gold are:
Jacob Dunn, Eliza Piskor, Corban Hardy (Y8) and Sadie Johnstone (Y7)
Jacob and Eliza have also qualified for the Junior Kangaroo Challenge on 12 June
Achieving Silver are:
In Year 8
Taya Radford, Aiden Voos, Joshua Carroll, Alex Laszkiewics, Ethan Mackay
In Year 7
Isaac Jones, Fletcher McIntosh, Heidi Perrin, Samantha Piazza, Leah Wimbleton
Achieving Bronze are:
In Year 8
Sam Dix-Baker, Bessie Fitzpatrick, James Short, Miriam Marsh, Jake Whitehouse, Millie Davis, Charlie Van Den Branden, Tyler Breeze, Hannah Fellows, Aidan Bullock, Antony Carroll, Megan Crawford, Charlotte Broady
In Year 7
Joshua Vickers, Aqil Adil
Congratulations to all who sat the paper and did so well.
Keeping your child safe.
As the weather gets better and the evening are lighter, young people are out and about more to meet friends. So this week we ask you to consider road safety.
Road incidents are a major cause of injury and death for young people in Great Britain. The transition between primary and secondary school is a significant factor in child pedestrian casualties as children often begin to walk to school unassisted and have to negotiate unfamiliar routes. Combined with the risk taking tendencies, adolescents between the ages of 12-16 year olds are consequently one of the most vulnerable groups of road users accounting for 51% of all child (0-16 years) road casualties.
For the latest advice on how you can help keep your child safe see here
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
New rules relating to how we collect and process personal data - the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - will come into effect in the UK from 25 May 2018 and to comply with the rules and protect your data your child will receive a letter via their form boxes today regarding the use of photographs and videos of your child.
We really value using photos and video of learners to show case what they do in school and to show others what life at our school is like. Learners are always excited to be included on this update and our Facebook page and we would love to be able to continue doing this.
The letter can be found here. Please return your completed slips to the school office before Friday 25 May.
Join us for a great evening of entertainment
Our College students provide us with some spectacular musical occasions, so we do hope that you will be able to join us for an events this month.
On Wednesday 23 May, year 13 will be giving us a musical theatre extravaganza, showcasing well-known songs from musicals like Chicago, Les Miserables and many many more.
Come along for a 7.30 start and pay on the door, £3 and £2 for concessions.
Our Year 8 and 9 Girls get a better understanding of cyber science
Last Wednesday, a selection of year 8 and 9 girls were invited to the Cyber Girls First event at Priestley College. The event was organised by Youth Fed, an organisation whose aims are to bring together young people in need with people prepared to help.
The day, held at Priestley College, was centred on computing and cyber sciences and gave the girls the opportunity to learn about coding, the history of computing and the opportunity to talk to women who work in computer and cyber sciences.
We want to support and encourage girls who enjoy STEM subjects and inform them of the career opportunities available in coding and cyber security. We can change the mindset of those who feel that STEM subjects are not for girls. Only 12% of jobs in STEM subjects are filled by women, yet they constitute 51% of the population.
The day was jam-packed and allowed the girls to better understand hardware (PC installation), software (Python), and cyber security and also learn about the careers available to them in these fields. Part of the day was spent meeting women and men in IT positions in government and business, including local companies in the north west whose senior staff spoke to the girls about their career opportunities. Government and businesses are desperately in need of coding and cyber skills, and at BCHS, we want to do our part to encourage girls to consider taking their rightful place in those careers.
Please remember to give your feedback on Parent View
In last week’s Update, we asked for your help in completing Ofsted’s Parent View survey. Many thanks to those who filled in the survey. If you have been able to find time over the last week, please try to find ten minutes this week to complete the survey. Your feedback will really help our school.
All you need to do is log on here then click on “Give your views” on the top tab and register. It will take about 10 minutes of your time but it will support us to give an accurate picture of our school at our next OFSTED visit and will also allow us to see more of your feedback.
Thank you for your support.
Can you help us?
On Friday 8 June, year 13 will perform in their final music gig at college. Although this will undoubtedly be a sad event, it will also be spectacular judging on their previous showcases.
Ms Walsh is organising a raffle and needs as many prizes as she can collect. If you would like to contribute a prize, please send it to the school office before Monday the 4 June.
And don’t forget to keep the date free in your diary. We will have more details to share in future weeks. Thanks for your support.
Mobile phone sanctions
We would like to remind parents and carers about the school rules on using mobile phones.
Learners must not use mobile phones between the 8.50am and 3.00pm on school days. Teachers will confiscate mobile phones where a learner breaks this rule. The only exception to this rule is when a member of staff asks learners to use their phones in a lesson to support their learning.
Confiscated phone are taken to the school office and process below is followed:
First offence: The phone is locked in the school safe where it can be collected at the end of the day by the learner.
Second offence: As above but a Year Team Leader after school detention is issued and parents and carers are informed.
Third offence: The phone is confiscated and locked in the safe and school inform a parent or carer who are asked to collect the phone at the end of the school day. The learner will also receive an after school detention with a member of our Senior Leadership team.
The KS3 Maths Problem Solving Challenge
This week’s challenge is
Years 8 - 12, Ski residential trip to France, Friday 15 February – Friday 22 February 2019
For your information, the remaining balance for this trip must be paid by 23 November. Thank you.
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 Mini World Cup
Well done to all those who took part in the Year 7 Mini World Cup inter form competition last week. We had teams from 7CR, 7DC, 7DG, 7DR, and 7HB but it was 7RT who took the cup.
It was fantastic to see mixed sex teams taking part and the atmosphere was brilliant.
A big thanks goes to our Year 12 BTEC sport students from the college who did a great job of organising the event on the day.
Year 8- No specific information
Year 9 - No specific information
Year 10
Summer Examination information
All learners in Year 10 will have received their initial summer 2018 Individual Candidate Timetable which details the dates and times of all exams they will be sitting this year. Please check this document with your child to see when their exam takes place. Also be aware that the name that appears on their Individual Candidate Timetable is the name that will appear on their exam certificates, if this is not their legal name please inform the exams officer, Mrs Kinnaird at JKinnaird@birchwoodhigh.org.
For the full timetable, please see here
Media Studies tour to Prague 14 - 17 February 2019 for current Year 10 learners
Please be aware that the final payment for this trip should be made before 7 December 2018
A message from our English Department
As the GCSE English literature exam is rapidly approaching, you can help make sure your child is well prepared for their revision by purchasing the relevant York Notes guide.
guides are 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
Year 11
Year 11 attendance choices after 4th June
Last Thursday Year 11 learners received a letter outlining two options for their attendance at school after half term (from 4 June). Learners can choose to either revise at home from this point or attend school lessons and revision sessions. You can find a copy of the letter here.
The letter is explains the options and what to think about regarding the suitability for your child to attain the best outcomes on results day. Please discuss the options with your child and make sure you return the reply slip to the school office before Friday 18 May.
Year 11 core exams revision sessions open to all year 11 learners
To help to prepare our learners for their core exams, we are offering two-hour revision sessions from 3:15 to 5:15 on the evening before every core exam. These are not compulsory, but did prove to be very successful last year in conjunction with the learners own revision and really helped to boost learners performance. We would recommend that your child attend these sessions. The dates of the revision sessions are:
Tuesday 23 May – Physics
Wednesday 24 May – Maths
Thursday 25 May – English Literature
Monday 4 June – English Language
Wednesday 6 June – Maths
Thursday 7 June – Biology
Monday 11 June – Maths
Tuesday 12 June – Chemistry
Thursday 14 June – Physics
Year 11 Prom, Thursday 5 July at the Hallmark Hotel, Warrington.
We do hope that your child will join us for what will be a fantastic final celebration of their time at BCHS.
The Prom will be at the Hallmark Hotel (formerly the Fir Grove) on Thursday 5 July. Learners will enjoy a mocktail on arrival, a three-course meal and then a disco. Return travel by coach from school is included in the price alongside a memento Year Book to keep and cherish.
You can find a copy of the letter here.
Important careers information and guidance for Year 11 learners
All Year 11 learners should now have made some plans for after year 11. According to the Government, young people must stay in education or training until at least the age of 18. See the information here
They must do one of the following:
stay in full-time education, for example at a college/6th form
start an apprenticeship or traineeship
spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training
It is possible to get financial help with education costs. In England, you can apply for a 16 to 19 Bursary Fund to help with education costs – this is means tested. Please see here
If you are eligible for Child benefit, this will continue if your child stays in education. You will need to inform the CBA about this.If your child starts an apprenticeship, then you will not be eligible for Child Benefit as they will receive a wage.
Apprenticeships
The following companies are currently recruiting:
Nuvia -http://www.nuvia.co.uk/careers-apprentices-design.asp (closing date 16/3/18)
Volvo – HGV technician
Kone – Engineering
United Utilities – Science
Mercedes Benz – Light Vehicle Maintenance
Barratt Homes – Engineering and Design
Daresbury Labs – Engineering
Atos – IT Software Development
All these and more vacancies are advertised here
Even if your child is keen to get an apprenticeship, it is still a good idea to apply for a college place as a back-up.
Birchwood College offers our Internship Placement Programme. This is a specially tailored educational pathway, which allows the student to learn at college whilst completing a placement at a partner organisation, allowing a more hands-on learning experience. For more information, contact Mr Burrows, Head of College at cburrows@birchwoodhigh.org.
Warrington and Vale Royal College is also an option as they offer both apprenticeships and full time courses.
If your child requires any assistance with securing a place in education, training or an apprenticeship please get in touch with our Careers Adviser, Mrs R Morris rmorris@birchwoodhigh.org asap.
Summer Examination information
All learners in Year 11 will have received their initial summer 2018 Individual Candidate Timetable which details the dates and times of all exams they will be sitting in May/June this year. Please check this document with your child to see when the first and last exams take place. Also be aware that the name that appears on their Individual Candidate Timetable is the name that will appear on their exam certificates, if this is not their legal name please inform the exams officer, Mrs Kinnaird at JKinnaird@birchwoodhigh.org.
For a full copy of the summer exam timetable see here
Important date for your Diary
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
Thursday 23 August – GCSE Results Day
A message from our English Department
As the GCSE English literature exam is rapidly approaching, you can help make sure your child is well prepared for their revision by purchasing the relevant York Notes guide.
Guides are 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
Our Year 12 Public services students come to the aid of the Risley Moss rangers
Last Wednesday, the Year12 Public Services group from Birchwood College took part in an off-site visit to Risley Moss Nature Reserve.
As part of their course, they are required to carry out an audit of the orienteering course at the reserve. Then they must use their research to produce a pack of information and advice that the rangers can use to upgrade the course.
Mr Sutton said, “This gives the learners a good opportunity to find out the work the rangers do. Through the visit, we discovered the rangers have obtained a grant to upgrade the course. The audit the learners completed will add to the information the rangers will use to make the facility so it can be used by more community groups.”
Well done to the students involved. Part of our school motto is ‘Pride in our Community’ so it’s great to see our students making a difference locally.
Leavers’ Day
Year 13 will leave Birchwood College officially on Friday 25 May 2018. Students are invited to attend an assembly in college where tutors and staff can wish them well as they leave. The assembly will be followed by a celebratory barbeque on the terrace at the college, which will finish at 3pm. Students should arrive at college at the later time of 11.30am and there are no formal lessons on this day.
Please remember that although this is the official leaving day, year 13 lessons will continue up to the day of their respective examinations, and students are encouraged to attend these lessons to ensure they are properly prepared. On these occasions, students will be required to sign in and out at Birchwood College reception and wear their lanyards whilst on site.
Year 13 Leavers’ Night – Friday 6 July 2018
We have also organised a year 13 Leavers' Night on Friday 6 July. This will be a fantastic opportunity for your child to celebrate their education at Birchwood. The event is being held in a private room at Block One Nightclub (formally ‘The Apartment’) on Bold Street in Warrington.
The evening includes a buffet and Block One’s own in-house DJ. The event starts at 7.30pm, and will finish around 12.30am. This venue is exclusively for the Birchwood College party until approx. 11.00pm, when it will then be open to the public. Students will need to travel to and from the party independently, as transport is not provided.
Students will need to bring their proof of age ID to the evening if they wish to purchase drinks at the bar. It is important to note that staff at Birchwood College will not be responsible for students who attempt to obtain alcohol if they are under 18 and we trust you will support this requirement.
Students should arrive promptly on this day, and in the right frame of mind to enjoy a celebratory evening. If over 18, they should refrain from over-indulgence of alcohol prior to, and during the event, as this will result in them being sent home.
The cost of this evening will be £10. To secure a place, please complete the reply slip attached to this letter making payment preferably via Parentpay or cash or cheque.
A Level Results Day – Thursday 16 August 2018
Results will be available in Birchwood College on the morning of Thursday 16 August 2018. Senior staff will be available between 9.00am and 12.00pm to provide students with their examination results and offer guidance as required for university or career plans. It is important that students are available to collect results in person on the day
Summer Examination information
All students in Year 12 and 13 will have received their initial summer 2018 Individual Candidate Timetable which details the dates and times of all exams they will be sitting in May/June this year. Please check this document with your child to see when the first and last exams take place. Also be aware that the name that appears on their Individual Candidate Timetable is the name that will appear on their exam certificates, if this is not their legal name please inform the exams officer, Mrs Kinnaird at JKinnaird@birchwoodhigh.org.
For the full timetable, please see here
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.
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