Birchwood Update 1/7/2019
- Josie Evans
- Jul 1, 2019
- 9 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 1/7/2019
Important dates for your diary:
2 July - Year 6 Induction Evening, 4.30pm – 7pm
3 July – Sports Day, 1pm
4 July – Year 11 Prom at Hallmark Warrington
4 July – Year 10 Taster Day at Birchwood College
9 July – Year 7 Celebration Evening, 6.30 – 7.30pm
11 July - Year 8 Celebration Evening, 6.30 – 7.30pm
16 July - Year 9 Celebration Evening, 6.30 – 7.30pm
17 July – KS3 show – Matilda, 7pm, Performing Arts Centre.
18 July - Year 10 Celebration Evening, 6.30 – 7.30pm
15 August – College Results Day
22 August – School Results Day
Sports Day 2019 – Wednesday 3 July, 1pm
On Wednesday, we are holding our annual sports day in school. The event starts at 1pm and all learners are encouraged to participate on the day. Hopefully the weather will be fine so please make sure your child brings a refillable water bottle to school, as well as sun cream, and perhaps a baseball cap to shield them from the sun.
Parents and carers are very welcome to come into school to show your support. This is a competitive event with individual prizes as well as awards for the winning form in each year group.
Birchwood College induction day was a huge success
Last Tuesday Birchwood College held its annual Induction day for year 11 learners. The day started with presentations about our College and the courses we offer but after break the fun and team building really started as learners had the chance to have some fun on the giant inflatables. The day was rounded off with a BBQ.
Thank you to all the college team for your hard work.
Year 9 learners develop their STEM skills at HS2 Workshop
Last Wednesday, 55 of our triple science Year 9 learners were involved in a day of workshops led by HS2 Ltd’s Education Team. The team aim to educate students and their families about HS2, the high speed rail link from London to Manchester/Leeds, and the employment and training opportunities it will create.
The workshops highlighted the ‘EPIC’ nature of the challenges that engineers face and showcased the creative, technology-driven solutions used in rail and infrastructure industries. Throughout the day, learners participated in practical engineering and design challenges and had the chance to explore the latest technology in augmented reality on tablet devices and learn about the skills required to build and manage aspects of their own high-speed rail network.
They learnt about careers involving Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and developed their employability skills across each of the workshop activities. One learner said, "It was interactive and helped us understand the roles of peoples jobs", another said, " It was fun and helped us work on team building". The facilitators also commented on the excellent behaviour of our learners "The students were polite, communicative and showed excellent problem solving. Their designs were clever and imaginative - thanks to all involved for taking part and Mrs Morris, Careers Adviser for organising the day."
Help for anyone unsure of their plans after Year 11, 12 or 13
Anyone still unsure of their plans for after Year 11, 12 or 13 is reminded to get in touch with our Careers Adviser Mrs Morris who will arrange an appointment (rmorris@birchwoodhigh.org) and provide guidance in taking the next step forward.
There are now lots of apprenticeships being advertised for those looking for a more hands-on approach to learning and who feel they are ready to enter the workplace. Most can be found here
Raising the Participation Age means that young people have to be in education or training until the age of 18. This could be a college course, an apprenticeship, traineeship or volunteering/working for at least 20 hours a week alongside further education or training. See here for guidance.
With exams out of the way, throughout July BCHS will celebrate Pride
Every year, during the month of June, the LGBT community celebrates in a number of different ways. Across the globe, various events are held during this special month as a way of recognising the influence LGBT people have had around the world. BCHS this year will make July our Pride Month!
Pride celebrates sexual diversity. For lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people it is a way of protesting about discrimination and violence. It promotes their dignity, equal rights, self-affirmation and is a way of increasing society’s awareness of the issues they face.
At BCHS we celebrate the values of liberty, diversity and respect, so throughout July we will be supporting Pride Month by offering a series of activities and events including a poster competition film night, bake sale and a key stage 3 Pride party.
Fantastic after school football opportunity for Year 8
On Thursday, 11 July Birchwood College BTEC Sport students are organising a Year 8 Football Tournament which will take place after school on our new 3G astro pitch.
This is part of their Unit 23 assessment, where they are tasked to organise a sports event
The tournament will be open to both boys and girls and may give some learners the chance to play football for the first time.
If your child is interested in participating, there will be an assembly in the coming weeks about how to get involved in this fun event.
I would be fantastic for our students’ portfolios if as many year 8s as possible took part in the event
Birchwood’s Matilda, Wednesday 17 July, 7pm
We have a few tickets remaining for the Key Stage 3 performance of BCHS’s take on Roald Dahl’s Matilda. The show will be in our performing arts studio at 7pm on Wednesday 17 July. Tickets are £5 for adults and £3 for concessions available from the office.
Our uniform Suppliers
As many of you may now be considering purchasing uniform for the next academic year, please find a reminder of our local suppliers
Touchline UK
Unit 2 Kerfoot Street
Warrington
WA2 8NU
Warrington Schoolwear
50-54 Buttermarket St
Warrington
WA1 2NN
Keeping your child safe
June is officially Pride month, though due to exam stresses we will be celebrating Pride and diversity at our school throughout July.
It seems appropriate therefore over the coming weeks to look at some issues that may be worrying your child regarding their sexual and gender identity
Gender Identity
For some great advice on gender identity, what this means, and what to do if your child is confused about their own gender identity, please see the guidance from Childline 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
Well done to the learners below who were selected Learners of the week for week commencing 24 June by our languages department.
Year 7 - No specific information
Year 8
Year 8 Girls HPV vaccination
Girls HPV virus immunisation will take place in school this Tuesday. 2 July.
Year 9 - No specific information
Year 10
Looking to the future. Dates for your diary
As part of our careers programme and preparing learners for the future the following events are planned:
Thurs 4 July - Birchwood College Taster day for all of Year 10.
Tues 9 July - Warrington and Vale Royal College Taster Day (those interested in a vocational route - letters have gone out)
Tues 16 July -Careers and Mock Interview Day in Birchwood College. Year 10 will be off timetable for the day and will take part in a carousel of activities including: a mock interview, CV session, Apprenticeship Workshop, University Talk and interactive activity to help build employability skills. They should come to school dressed smartly for a mock interview. Further information can be found in the letter which has gone out with learners. A copy is available here.
Year 11
Year 11 Leaver’s Prom, Thursday 4 July 2019
This year the Year 11 Leavers’ Prom will be at the Hallmark Warrington on the evening of Thursday 4 July 2019. We will be leaving school at 6.15pm and returning late (approximately 12.30am).
All learners going to the prom must travel on the coaches provided. Arriving together on the coaches is an integral part of the evening. It also enables parents/carers to take photographs at school before we set off if they wish.
The Warrington Guardian photographer will be taking photos at school before we leave as will Mrs Evans, our Events Manager so make sure that you arrive in plenty of time for photographs.
We look forward to a special evening.
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
Birchwood College induction day was a huge success
Last Tuesday Birchwood College held its annual Induction day for year 11 learners. The day started with presentations about our College and the courses we offer but after break the fun and team building really started as learners had the change to have some fun on the giant inflatables. The day was rounded off with a BBQ.
Thank you to all the college team for your hard work.
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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