Birchwood Update 15/7/2019
- Josie Evans
- Jul 15, 2019
- 10 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 15/7/2019
Important dates for your diary:
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, see message in relevant section below.
22 August – School Results Day, see message in relevant section below.
Come and join us to Celebrate this academic year
We invite parents and carers to share in your child's success at our end of year celebration evenings. An evening of entertainment and awards.
The evenings will be held on:
YEAR 9 - TUESDAY 16 JULY, 6.30PM YEAR 10 - THURSDAY 18 JULY, 6.30PM
ALL EVENTS TAKE PLACE IN THE PERFORMING ARTS BLOCK
We would love to see you all there.
Last day arrangements
Next Tuesday, 23 July is our final day before closing for the summer. There will be as assembly at 11.30am in the Sports Hall and parents and carers are invited to join us. Learners will then return to their form rooms for registration before being dismissed for the holidays at 12.45pm.
On behalf of the staff and governors at BCHS we wish you all a happy and restful holiday. We will re-open on Wednesday, 4 September.
Year 7 and Year 12 - 8.45am to the school yard
Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 - 9.45am in form rooms
Year 13 Monday 9 September - 8.45am
A great tournament for Poppy
Last week we reported that one of our Year 11 was missed at prom as she was away representing her country in the Women’s Under 16 Nordic Football Tournament in Sweden.
We have just received an update From the FA with regard to Poppy’s performance and conduct at the event and as usual it is exemplary.
At camp, the girls were provided with several opportunities to develop a good social connection and team spirit. They had the opportunity to watch the Women’s World Cup Semi-final and Final, this was integrated with some family time and time with players from other squads and FA staff members.
There were also a number of team meetings that the players attended. There were also a number of training sessions as well as three games which the girls took part in, winning 2 out of the 3 played.
Sean England of the FA said, “Poppy has come into the event with a mature mind set. She is a strong character who has the ability to influence others and it is good to see that she is doing this in a positive way. Poppy is easy to talk to; you can tell that the pressure of exams has lifted, and she has been able to enjoy this experience. Poppy has raised her own personal bar over the past 10 days she should continue to set herself high personal standards.”
Congratulations Poppy on such a positive report. Your high standards and excellent work ethic are certainly being rewarded with amazing opportunities.
Good luck and here’s to a shining future in women’s football.
Year 5 design their dream classroom of the future
Last Tuesday, we welcomed Year 5 children from our local primary schools to spend the day with us and think about classrooms of the past and future.
Firstly, the children looked at classrooms of past eras and were amazed that teaching existed without computers, electronic boards, iPads and all the other gadgets that are so common in our modern classrooms.
They were then asked to plan, design, and present their ideas for how they would like classrooms to develop in the future. They were asked to consider a whole range of criteria including eco-friendly features, the subjects studied and any new technologies.
The children came up with some fabulous ideas including floating chairs that would be super comfy and allow kids and teachers to move around quietly and without any effort……. sounds marvellous!
It was great to have the children here working with some of our learners. I’m sure that it was a beneficial day for everyone.
A busy week for science in our school
The science department has been extremely busy recently with a successful visit to Chester Zoo. Learners were impeccably behaved and did the school proud. Their excitement was palpable as they viewed some of the rarest species on our planet, taking a keen interest in their way of life and how Chester Zoo is working to conserve them. It was a pleasure for all staff on the trip to spend a day with such conscientious and enthusiastic learners.
In the same week, a group of year 9 learners visited the annual Big Bang Fair in Liverpool and were given the opportunity to view some of the exciting careers linked with STEM. Learners were able to see how science could be applied to a variety of different job roles, from engineering to animal conservation.
A big thank you goes to everyone involved in these valuable trips.
Colourful Pride cake day
Last Tuesday the Pride team held a bake sale to celebrate our July Pride month. The team baked some cakes with Mrs Ikin, as well as receiving donated bakes, and two splendid large colourful cakes baked by Mr Bolton and Mr Neil which were raffled. Money raised by the cake sale will fund our Pride celebration party here in school, purchasing items for next year’s Pride month and the charity Stonewall.
Lost property reclaim day
During period 1, tomorrow, Tuesday your child will have the opportunity to check the massive amount of lost property items that we have accumulated to see if there is anything that they have lost. They will be taken by form to the gym where the items will be laid out.
Official Prom Photography
For those who purchased Photographs from our Official Prom Photographer Ben Unwin please see details from him below to access your Free digital downloads
Link for FREE digital downloads, and/or to purchase prints, password is: 6783
https://www.benunwinphotography.co.uk/2019-Photography-Clients/Birchwood-Prom-2019
Whilst viewing individual photos, students and parents can either download them as high quality images for free by selecting the download icon found bottom right of image, and/or they can purchase prints by selecting the ‘BUY’ button, they can multiple to their shopping cart if they wish.
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.
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 are 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
Homophobic and Transphobic bullying
It’s never okay for someone to treat you badly because of your sexuality or gender identity. If this happens to you, remember that you’re not alone, there is support available 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 8 July by our English and languages department.
Year 7 - No specific information
Year 8 - No specific information
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 event is planned:
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
Results days 2019
GCSE/BTEC – Thursday 22 August 2019, 9am - 11am
Please find a copy of a letter regarding the arrangements for collecting results on this day here
Birchwood College
Results days 2019
A level/BTEC - Thursday 15 August 2019. Year 13 from 9am. Year 12 from 10am
Please find a copy of a letter regarding the arrangements for collecting results on this day here
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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