Birchwood Update 14/1/2019
- Josie Evans
- Jan 14, 2019
- 8 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 7/1/2019
A message from Mrs Bryan, our Headteacher
Following on from the letter sent out to the parent and carers of all learners last week, you will now know that I have decided to take early retirement from my position as Headteacher on 31 August 2019.
BCHS is, without a doubt, the best school community I have every worked in and my reasons for leaving are entirely personal. After 35 years of working in schools and colleges, I move forward to a new stage my life with more time to spend with my husband and my family, which is an exciting prospect!
I first joined Birchwood Community High School in September 2011 as Deputy Headteacher. Since September 2015, it has been a privilege for me to lead the school as Headteacher. I believe that BCHS has grown to be a very happy, caring place of learning for learners, students and staff. The vision for our school has always been “to have a learning culture that is aspirational, has high expectations and celebrates success.” The recent 2018 OFSTED report shows that the school is in a strong position to continue to move forward with this vision. If you walk around the school and speak to the young people who come here, you will see and hear how this vision is embedded in our school. You will also see just why we are so proud of our school community.
The BCHS Governors will now start a recruitment process for a new Headteacher who will take up position in the new academic year starting September 2019. They will be looking for an experienced senior leader who shares our vision and values. They will involve learners, students and staff in this process. I am confident that they will find the right leader who understands what the needs of Birchwood are and who can lead the school effectively into its next stage of development.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working at BCHS. What makes BCHS so special are the amazing people who work and study here and I feel very lucky to have shared in this during the last eight years. I will certainly miss Team BIRCHwood and will hold special memories in my heart.
I would like to thank all of you for also being part of our team and continuing to work in partnership with the staff, the governors and me. I wish Birchwood Community High School the very best for the future and I will continue to lead the school with passion and dedication through this transition period.
I will, of course, even after retirement keep a close contact with Birchwood Community High School and wish its new Headteacher every success in leading such a wonderful school community.
Don't miss the opportunity to visit the best sixth form college in east Warrington
On the evening of 17 January, we will be holding our second Birchwood College Open Evening. If you have yet to visit Birchwood College or you have more questions, please join us between 6pm and 8pm. Mr Burrows, Head of College will give a short presentation at 6pm.
After our recent Ofsted Inspection, it was noted, “The progress for general applied qualifications is significantly above the national average”.
Staff and students will be available to discuss courses and any other queries so come along and see why our student are so happy and successful.
Year 5s from our local primaries, visit us to learn about DNA.
To develop links with our local primaries and help ensure a smooth transition to our school when the time comes, BCHS offers a series of after school clubs for Year 5 children. The children have the opportunity to come to our school, meet our staff and pupils from other schools, try some activities and have fun.
This week at the Whizz Bang Science Club, the members tried a little biology as they looked at the make-up of DNA. The children had a great time with Mrs Archer and Mr Fryer as they built DNA strands from sweeties!
Future clubs will give the children the chance to write a newsletter, do some computer coding, try some language skills and make an afternoon tea.
For details of future clubs, please contact jevans@birchwoodhigh.org
Would you like to join Team BIRCHwood?
We are hiring at present for a number of non -teaching vacancies that could suit talented individuals from our local community. Positions available are for a Site Manager, Exam Invigilator and Mid-Day Assistant.
For more details on the posts available and how to apply see here
A great new service for learners who are also young carers
Are you a young carer or do you know someone who is?
Do you or a young person that you know look after someone with a disability, mental health condition, illness or addiction?
If so, there is someone to talk to and offer help and guidance.
Come along to our monthly drop in at the Willows meeting room. For dates, see the poster and any more information speak to Mr Crompton.
Keeping your child safe
When the excitement of Christmas is over, the winter can leave people feeling very low, and this obviously includes young people. For help in identifying signs of depression in young people, and who to turn to if you think your child needs medical help, see the advice from the NHS here
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 .
Learners of the Week - wc 7/1/19
Well done to the learners below who were selected as 'Learners of the Week' by the English, languages and science departments
Year 7
Year 7 Residential Trip to Conwy Centre, Wednesday 20 to Friday 22 March 2019
Payment schedule:
Date Amount payable
25 January 2019 - £50
28 February 2019 - £50
Year 8
A date for your diary:
Year 8 Guided Choices Evening, Thursday 31 January, 5pm-7.30pm. More details to follow shortly
Year 9
Year 9 Vaccinations
Your child will be bringing home tonight a pack for you to complete and return for their upcoming DTP and Meningitis ACWY. These vaccinations are for Boys and Girls and will take place in a few weeks.
Year 10 - No specific information
Year 11
Mock Results
Year 11 will receive ALL their mock results together on Tuesday 15 January. This will mimic GCSE results morning, to give our learners a taste of what will happen in August when they receive their actual set of results. Afterwards they will be reaping the rewards for their hard work as they go for a reward trip to the Trafford Centre with Ms Gilchrist
Dates for your diary
On Tuesday 22 January, Year 11 will be having their final official leavers’ photos taken.
Please be aware that the date of the Year 11 Performance Review Evening has been changed to WEDNESDAY 13 FEBRUARY to avoid a clash with the Prague Residential visit.
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
Birchwood College
Don't miss the opportunity to visit the best sixth form college in east Warrington
On the evening of 17 January, we will be holding our second Birchwood College Open Evening. If you have yet to visit Birchwood College or you have more questions, please join us between 6pm and 8pm. Mr Burrows, Head of College will give a short presentation at 6pm.
After our recent Ofsted Inspection, it was noted, “The progress for general applied qualifications is significantly above the national average”.
Staff and students will be available to discuss courses and any other queries so come along and see why our student are so happy and successful.
A date for your diary
On Tuesday 22 January, Year 13 will be having their final official leavers’ photos taken.
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 Phones, Earphones and Speakers in school.
Phones and headphones may be brought in to school but must be kept in bags or zipped in blazer pockets out of view at all times. Learners must not use phones at any time on the site between the bells at 8.50 and 3.00pm unless they are asked to do so by a teacher in a lesson for a reason that is related to learning. In this case, the teacher will issue instructions on the use of phones or headphones, which must then be followed. If a phone is out during the school day, even to check the time, this will be confiscated. There is a staged system of sanctions and mobile phones, earphones and speakers are counted as identical items. If you think a learner is using a smart watch in the same way as a mobile phone, please speak to their Year Team Leader or Year Team Officer.
If a learner is concerned about an issue at home and feels they need to speak to a parent, they need to go to the Year Team Office and discuss this with Year Team Officer. Staff should confiscate mobile technology items that are visible and in use during the times specified. They should be taken to the school office. The system of sanctions are:
Stage 1 - First offence
The item is confiscated and locked in the school safe
The item is collected by the learner at the end of the day
One behaviour point is issued by the Office
Stage 2 - Second offence
The item is confiscated and locked in the school safe
The item is collected by the learner at the end of the day
One behaviour points issued by the Office
Stage 3 - Third Offence
The item is confiscated and locked in the school safe
Parents/carers are informed and asked to collect the phone at the end of the school day
One behaviour points is issued by the Office.
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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