Birchwood Update 29/10/2018
- Josie Evans
- Oct 31, 2018
- 11 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 29/10/18
Our report is Here and we are an Ofsted rated GOOD school
We are delighted to announce that our Ofsted report has arrived this morning and we are proud to say that Birchwood Community High School is rated a GOOD school.
The full report can be read here but just a few of the highlight statements say that:
"Pupils' personal development and welfare is good".
"Bullying is rare".
"Relationships among pupils and staff are very positive".
"Behaviour in lessons and social times is good".
"Pupils make good Progress"
"Birchwood celebrates difference and diversity".
"Teachers in the school are committed and well-qualified".
And about Birchwood College :
"Progress for general applied qualifications consistently remains significantly above the national average".
"Students in the sixth form are keen to learn and behave well".
"Lesson observations and work scrutiny by inspectors indicate that the quality of teaching in the sixth form is good".
Mrs Bryan, our Headteacher said “I am delighted that Ofsted have recognised the excellent provision for our students at Birchwood Community High School. The dedication of our staff and governors, working alongside parents and carers, makes Birchwood a happy and caring school. Our students in school and college can achieve their full potential academically and have opportunities to flourish and to develop as confident and independent individuals. We are very proud of the school which is at the heart of our community.”
We would like to say a huge congratulations and thank you to you all.
Birchwood makes our mark
Birchwood Community High School learners and Birchwood College students have taken part in the British Youth Council’s annual Make Your Mark event. As part of this nationwide project, young people were asked to choose from ten key issues the one, which they felt, was most important to them. Birchwood’s results will be combined with those from other schools and colleges, and the UK Youth Parliament will debate the winning issue, when they meet in the House of Commons during Parliament Week in November.
The issues discussed included improving access to mental health services, providing cheaper public transport for young people and votes at 16. Ultimately, whilst it was a close result, Birchwood’s learners and students opted to put equal pay for young people forward as their most important issue with 159 votes cast. Improving mental health services was a close second with 147 votes cast. In joint third with 123 votes each were tackling knife crime and ending period poverty by scrapping taxes on sanitary products.
Overall, 838 young people participated which represents 88% of the school.
“I think it’s really important that young people take the chance to find out more about politics and make their voices heard,” said Catherine Colville, Birchwood’s Head Girl who, together with the Learner Officer team, helped to organise the Make Your Mark event. “This was the first year that learner officers led assemblies about Make Your Mark,” continued Head Boy Stan Cormack, “and I think this really helped to show younger learners the importance of getting involved at school and making your mark”.
“Working with our learner officers and delivering some of the assemblies, it is abundantly clear that, far from the common perception, young people are incredibly interested and concerned about politics and current affairs,” explains Ryan Bate, who co-ordinated the Make Your Mark process at Birchwood. “As a school we really want to build on this engagement throughout the rest of the year, with events to mark Parliament Week, Democracy Week and potentially an outreach event for our partner primary schools.”
Global Restart a Heart Day
On Tuesday 16 October, it was World Restart a Heart Day. Restart a Heart is a designated annual day of action with the aim to teach vital life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills to as many people as possible. In 2017 an incredible 195,000 young people were trained in life saving CPR and this year the aim is to train over 200,000 people globally!
All our College students and Year 10 Health and Social Care classes were proud to join in and learn this vital lifesaving skill.
Many thanks go to Ron, our instructor, who guided the young people through CPR technique and gave them the confidence that if they were in a situation calling for immediate action, they would know the best way to handle it, and maybe save a life.
As he said at the start of the training “What you are about to learn, is the most important thing you will learn today”.
For guidance on CPR and how you can help out someone in need of assistance see here
Monthly Foodbank Collection
A reminder that this week is our Monthly Foodbank collection week so if you can support by sending in even one item of foodstuff we will really appreciate it. For a guide as to what the foodbank urgently require and what they have enough of see here
You will have read in our headline story that ending period poverty is one of the issues that learners voted on in the ‘Make Your Mark’ vote. A lack of sanitary products is a cause of poor attendance for some girls in schools. To support this cause we will also do a monthly collection of sanitary goods alongside our foodbank collection, so again if you can send in any donations we will be happy to pass them on to girls who are in need.
Thank you in anticipation and please ensure that any donations you can make are in before this Friday.
Our languages department releases their new Facebook page
For news, views, celebrations and learning hints and tips, check out our new languages page on Facebook by searching Languages at BCHS in your search button and liking the page.
Birchwood’s take on Beauty and the Beast
A schedule of this week’s rehearsals can be found here
BIRCHwood Team talk
Signing out of school for appointments during the school day
If you wish for your child to sign out of school during the school day, Please ensure that they have a note, a copy of their appointment letter or that you have emailed school on contactus@birchwoodhigh.org to let us know. thank you for your co-operation.
Keeping your child safe
Checking that your teenager is coping
The teenage years are both exciting and challenging to parent and carers. It can be hard to know whether a teenager's feelings and behaviour are normal or becoming a problem. Anna Freud Centre's child mental health experts have written a leaflet to provide simple advice and guidance to parents and carers about how to make conversations about their child's feelings part of everyday life. Download "Talking Mental Health with young people at secondary school: some advice for parents and carers" booklet here
congratulations to our Learners of the week in Science, English and Languages, from the final week of last half term
Extra-curricular timetable
Please take a look at our extracurricular timetable to see what great activities are available for your child to take part in both after school and at lunchtime .
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.
Year 7
Year 7 Residential Trip to Conwy Centre, Wednesday 20 to Friday 22 March 2019
We are delighted to inform you that we are organising a trip to the Conway Centre for all of Year 7, in March next year.
This will be an ideal opportunity for learners to experience new and different activities and to encourage them to start Year 8 with a focus on making good progress throughout the curriculum.
The centre offers a very valuable learning experience, setting learners a challenging programme of activities far beyond the scope of the normal school day. Learners who have previously attended a similar residential course in Year 7 have enjoyed the experience so much they often mention it as a highlight of their time at Birchwood.
We do hope that your child will be able to join us
For a letter with full details of the trip including how to book and payment schedule see here
PP Learners see here
Year 8 - No specific information
Year 9 - No specific information
Year 10
Year 10 Residential visit to Lockerbie Manor – 10-12 July 2019
Miss Russel is excited to inform you, that she is organising a KS4 Residential Trip to Lockerbie Manor in Scotland, for all of year 10.
This is a fantastic opportunity for year 10 learners to reflect upon how their first year of GCSE has gone and to build and develop skills they will need moving forward into year 11. It will also be an ideal opportunity for learners in year 10, to experience new and different activities and challenges. Encouraging them to continue their KS4 study with a focus on making good progress.
Lockerbie Manor offers a very valuable learning experience, setting learners a challenging programme of activities, which go far beyond what learners experience during a normal school day. The activities available for learners on the trip will have real focus on team building, resilience and challenging yourself. All of which are vital skills as we embark on GCSE and BTEC courses. Activities are yet to be finalised however some of the activities that may be on offer include abseiling, climbing, kayaking, dragon boating and survival skills.
We do hope that your child will be able to join us
For a letter with full details of the trip including how to book and payment schedule see here
Year 11
Year 11 Raising Achievement Evening, Thursday 8 November 2018, 6.30pm - 7.30pm in M1
This year is a crucial final year for Year 11 who are currently busy preparing for their mock exams in December. The challenge to perform highly in the mocks and then in the summer exams is greater than ever and parents and carers can make a significant difference to the results achieved. The Raising Achievement Evening aims to assist in preparing learners and parents for these vital examinations. The main objective of the evening is to provide you with the best possible and most up to date advice, strategies and resources available so that you can help your child achieve their very best in the summer.
The evening will consist of a general session on revision applicable to all subject areas followed by three workshops covering the key subjects of Maths, English and Science. On the evening you will also receive:-
useful information on how to work together with school to support your child
useful tips on different types of revision techniques
information about the format and style of the exam papers
essential examination information/procedures
advice about managing time, work, life and stress
We do hope that you and your child will join us for this valuable event; to book your place see the letter here
Year 11 Mocks examinations - Monday 10 – Friday 21 December 2018
Below you will find information regarding the year 11 mocks, which will take place in December. Please help us by ensuring that your child is aware of their examination dates and that they attend school throughout this period.
These exams will be completed under exam conditions and are a good test to measure how much progress learners have made in preparation for their exams next summer
A letter about the examinations can be found here
Looking to the Future and next steps for 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
Learners have been following a careers programme throughout year 10 to prepare for this and will continue to learn about post 16 options, through Learning4Life lessons this term, assemblies and presentations.
If your son/daughter requires a careers interview to discuss post 16 plans please contact our Careers Adviser, Mrs R Morris rmorris@birchwoodhigh.org
Media Studies tour to Prague 14 - 17 February 2019
Please be aware that the final payment for this trip should be made before 7 December 2018
Birchwood College
Our Year 12 acting students invite you to their first BTEC assessment performance
On Monday 5 November at 3.30pm, our Year 12 acting students will be performing their first BTEC assessment piece, The Crucible, the classic piece by Arthur Miller.
They would like to perform to a live audience, so if you are free we would love you to come down to the Performing Arts block and watch the performance which will last approximately 45 minutes.The event is free of charge.
Global Restart a Heart Day
On Tuesday 16 October, it was World Restart a Heart Day.Restart a Heart is a designated yearly day of action with the aim to teach vital life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills to as many people as possible. In 2017 an incredible 195,000 young people were trained in life saving CPR and this year the aim is to train over 200,000 people globally!
All our College students and Year 10 Health and Social Care classes were proud to join in these numbers as they joined in to learn this vital lifesaving life skill.
Many thanks go to Ron, our instructor who guided the young people through CPR technique and gave them the confidence that if they were in a situation calling for immediate action, they would know the best way to handle it and hopefully save a life?
As he said at the start of the training “What you are about to learn, is the most important thing you will learn today”. Very true !
For guidance on CPR and how you can help out someone in need of assistance see here
Other School information:
Keeping in touch gets even easier with the introduction of the Xpressions website
We are pleased to announce that Groupcall Xpressions is now available to access on your computer via a website. The login page can be found here.
This gives you a further way, as well as accessing the APP on your mobile phone and tablet, to view information about your child
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
Xpressions is completely free of charge to you and supports Apple iOS, Android devices and now Windows operating system.
In order to use the Xpressions, 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 will need to make sure you keep these details up to date in future to maintain access to the service.
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
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.
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.
Comentários