Birchwood Update 23/4/2019
- Josie Evans
- Apr 23, 2019
- 8 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 23/4/2019
Important dates for your diary:
21 May – KS3 show – Matilda, 7pm, Performing Arts Centre
13 June – Year 12 Which Way Now event
14 June – Year 11’s last day in school. See Year 11 section below for more details
Week of 17 June – Years 7 -10 Examination week
27 June – Year 9 Performance Review Evening, 3.30pm – 7pm
28 June – Inset Day (Warrington Walking day)
4 July – Year 11 Prom at Hallmark Warrington
Welcome back and let’s work together to make our summer term a successful one
Welcome back to our summer term at BCHS, we hope you had an enjoyable Easter and made the most of the exceptionally good weather.
As examination season will soon be here, we hope that learners and staff are well rested and ready for the challenges ahead.
Real Madrid tour review
On the Wednesday before we broke up for Easter, 45 learners set off for Madrid for a once in a life time experience. Over a five day tour, we had three training sessions at Valdebebas (Real Madrid’s training ground), six games against local opposition, an afternoon sightseeing in the city centre, a visit to Parque Warner Madrid, a tour Real Madrid’s iconic stadium, The Santiago Bernabeu, and we also found time to take in Real Madrid’s 2-1 home victory over Eibar.
Our learners represented the school with pride and took home many experiences that will live long in the memory. Thank you to Mr Burrows and the staff who organised the trip. And thank you to everyone who helped with sponsorship.
We are very grateful to our sponsors below who made generous donations towards the cost of kit for the tour.
Evolution Recruitment Solutions Ltd
SG Embroidery
Taylor Wimpey
CindyBMellor Mortgages
Our Eco Day Clean up
Just before the Easter break, our eco–committee, assisted by volunteers from Year 4 of Locking Stumps Primary School, took part in The Great Big School Clean. The aim of the day was to raise awareness of the impact of litter on the environment.
The workers did a fantastic job around the perimeters of our site collecting a massive amount of rubbish which, if left there, would have had a massive impact on wildlife.
The total weight of the rubbish collected was nearly 100 kilos and included a crisp packet that was dated at 11 years old!
We are also pleased to announce that after viewing our tweets about taking part in the Big School Clean Up, Eco-schools England have chosen to feature our eco-day story on their website. Pretty impressive as there were 100s of schools taking part in the great big school clean!
For their report see here
A big thank you to the children from Locking Stumps who joined our team, I'm sure they will become Eco Ambassadors for their own school.
A reward to remember
Over the course of the year, learners have been rewarded with BIRCH Points for observing our Behaviour for Learning policy, having fantastic attendance, and consistently accumulating ATL Grade 1s and 2s. To reward these learners Mr Heaton held a reward day, just before the holiday, which converted our Sports Hall into an inflatable carnival. The hall was packed with inflatable activities and challenges for learners to enjoy including a giant inflatable assault course, a helter skelter and gladiator duel challenge.
Learners had a brilliant time and it was a great way for learners to let off steam before the holidays.
Keeping your child safe
This week we are looking at rail travel safety. Many of our learners travel to school by train and it is important that they travel safely. For tips for your child on how to complete their journey safely, see 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 .
Language learners of the Spring Term
Well done to the learners below who were selected as best Learners of the Term for Spring by our languages department.
Year 7
7LF are the winning maths TT Rockstars
After 8 rounds of competition, we can announce the champions of the TTRockstars competition for Year 7 and they are 7LF!
They have had 2 top performing girls in their form, Emily, who alone won 142858 points, and Emma, who gained 90002, and they have sustained their lead throughout eight rounds of competition.
Many congratulations to the whole form for all their efforts.
Year 8 - no specific information
Year 9 - no specific information
Year 10 - No specific information
Year 11
Year 11 Leaver’s Prom, Thursday 4 July 2019
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 4 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. There will be a professional photographer present during the evening who is offering an optional prepaid value package so that you have a special memento of the evening. We are also offering the chance to purchase a BCHS keepsake printed hoodie
For full details and how to order, you can find a copy of the Prom letter, which has been given to your child here.
A date for your Diary.Year 11 last day in school, Friday 14 June 2019
For your information, the last day that your child will be in school is Friday 14 June. On that day there will be a science examination in the morning followed by our Leavers Celebration Assembly.
Please be aware however, that there are still 2 GCSE examinations after this date - German on 17 June and Polish on 19 June.
More details will be sent out nearer the time.
2019 Examinations
A full timetable of all summer examinations has been released and can be found on our website here
Results days 2019
A level/BTEC - Thursday 15 August 2019
GCSE/BTEC – Thursday 22 August 2019
More details will follow with regard to collecting your child’s results nearer the date.
Birchwood College
2019 Examinations
A full timetable of all summer examinations has been released and can be found on our website here
Results days 2019
A level/BTEC - Thursday 15 August 2019
GCSE/BTEC – Thursday 22 August 2019
More details will follow with regard to collecting your child’s results nearer the date.
Other School information:
Please support us in ensuring that our facilities are the best they can be
Please be aware of rules regarding learners being on the school site outside school hours.
Some damage has been caused to the site and a learner has been hurt trying to climb over the fencing. We would like to remind you that learners are not allowed on the school site at any time unless they are with a member of staff. The rule about this is below:
Unless there is a member of staff running a special extra-curricular activity, the school site is out of bounds for all learners on weekdays after school clubs have finished (usually after 4.30pm) and at weekends and during school holidays.
Please support us by making you child aware of this rule so that our facilities are the best they can be for us to use in school time and for the community to book and use out of school hours.
Thank you for your support in this matter
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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