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Birchwood Update 13/4/2020

  • Josie Evans
  • Apr 13, 2020
  • 14 min read

Birchwood Update week Commencing 13/4/2020

Happy Easter BCHS, we hope you have had as good a celebration as can be expected at this present time. Many of you will have missed visiting and spending time with loved ones but we hope that you have managed to keep in touch via telephone, skype, Zoom and Houseparty. We really must appreciate that keeping in touch is easier than it has ever been and be grateful for that at least.

This week how about contacting someone that you have not spoken to for a long time, they may just need a friend at this time.

Communication is so important to our mental health and that is why we have introduced Time to Talk @BCHS, a new service to support our community. Every Wednesday morning between 9am -12pm we are available for a chat.

Please Email any concerns, queries, requests for advice and help of any sort to timetotalk@birchwoodhigh.org and Mrs Crompton, Mrs Butler or Mrs Roberts will give you a call back. If appropriate they may also recommend a video call via Zoom, in which case you will be sent a Zoom video meeting ID code that you can use in Zoom on your browser on their site here

https://zoom.us/join

This service is offered to all our community parents, carers and learners alike and we hope that this will provide added support to everyone with any worries or concerns that they might have at this troubling time.

Communication really is essential at any time but at times of stress and uncertainty it is vital

 

BCHS along with other Warrington schools do our bit to support our local NHS and carers

We had a lovely thank you from Birchwood Medical Centre on Facebook last week to thank us for our donation of over 200 pairs of safety goggles to help them work safely with their patients.

The girls modelled the goggles beautifully for us and said

“We wanted to say a massive thank you to Birchwood Community High School for their amazingly generous donation of 200 pairs of eye goggles for our staff to wear!!!!

This is a huge help in helping protect our patients and doctors, nurses and health care assistants from the risks of transmission of the coronavirus.”

Since this original donation we have donated more goggles to a residential school, a care home and another clinic in the North West and Mr Neil has been in using our school 3D printer to make face shield for St Rocco's Hospice both for staff and for visitors to enable them to visit their loved ones who are critically ill.

 

The Big Birchwood Bake off Competition for Easter

Thank you to everyone who entered our Easter bake off competition, the standard of entries was very high. We had triple tier cakes, cakes with fresh fruits and berries, scrummy chocolate cakes and an abundance of mini eggs.

We thank you so much for taking part in this competition, it really is a delight to get your emails and see what you have been up to. It was lovely too that some of you have made your cakes for neighbours and people who are elderly or lonely. Those cakes must have been all the sweeter because of your kindness

Picking a winner was difficult, especially as we unfortunately couldn’t get to taste the cakes, but after much deliberation, Ms Mills chose Amelia Hatton’s (7BN) four tier skyscraper of a cake with spring coloured icing and newly hatched chick decoration. Fantastic!

Well done Amelia an amazon voucher will be in the post for you, and very well done also everyone else who took part.

See photos below of Amelia’s cake ( image 1 & 2) and a selection of our other superb entries

 

Our next competition

Our next competition for learners will be a photo competition, so get those phone cameras at the ready and send in your interpretation of ‘We are Family’

At this strange time family can mean so many different things to us all:

Missing family and wondering when we will get that next hug off a grandparent or child.

Spending too much time cooped up with family.

Appreciating each other more or struggling to cope with family demands.

Thinking of contacting family that you haven’t seen for a while and remembering good times with them.

Having fun together, being bored…………………. The list goes on.

Send us a photo that sums up your view of ‘family’ to jevans@birchwoodhigh.org, before Friday 1 May, again an Amazon voucher is up for grabs .

 

Do you have any fabric or duvet sets to donate to make protective clothing for the NHS?

Last week we had a clear out of our textiles cupboard and donated four bin bags full of fabric to a local lady seamstress who is coordinating a team of ladies who sew to make donated fabric into protective scrubs for the NHS.

Pauline was delighted with our donation and has asked us to ask if anyone else in our community can help. Do you have any clean polycotton duvet sets that you are thinking of getting rid of, not plain white or cream? Printed or plain dark colours are suitable, basically anything that is not easy to see through.

Pauline and her ladies' sewing machines are at the ready so if you have something to donate contact Pauline Trewartha Wright on 07917 355488, pauline@ivyvillas.co.uk or via Facebook messenger

 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see some Live theatre for both drama and English home learning

Our Drama department are looking forward to hearing how Year 7 and 8 have enjoyed watching performances from the National Theatre and Shrek the Musical.

All are free to watch, and the links are on Birchwood 365 in the Drama folder and on teams. Review sheets to fill in while watching!! Anyone welcome to enjoy!!

English would also like learners (and families) to watch the National Theatre live ‘Treasure Island’ which is available from 16th April here

How lovely to be able to see high calibre live performance from the comfort of our own homes

 

How about joining Warrington Youth Cabinet and having your say on what matters to you?

Warrington Youth Cabinet works on many exciting projects to help improve the lives of young people in our area. Their goal is to promote great opportunities for youths in Warrington and believe that with access to the right resources, people can become empowered by their own abilities and gain the confidence to meet their full potential.

We are proud that at Birchwood we already have members of our community that hold Key positions within the organisation, Louis, Viktoria, Evelyne and Daniel but the Youth Cabinet is looking to recruit new members for roles covering a wide range of interests from corporate affairs to education, housing, parks and safety

So, if you are committed to making a difference to the youth of Warrington, see the Warrington Youth Cabinet site here and get in touch.

 

Don’t drop your music lessons due to coronavirus

Last week you should have received an email regarding music lessons which can be found here

Music lessons can be done via video so we need parents to download Zoom at https://zoom.us/

New starters are welcome too at a cost of £102 for 12 weeks through our summer term

 

Looking after your Wellbeing and safeguarding is still our Priority

Isolation doesn’t mean silence

There is NEVER any excuse for domestic violence and isolation should not mean silence.

At this time when families are thrown together for longer periods if you or anyone you know is living in fear do not put up with a bad situation. For help and assistance please see the poster and for your own and your family’s safety please get in touch - help is out there

Scam alert

We have been informed that some parents have received an email stating the following: ‘As schools will be closing, if you’re entitled to free school meals, please send your bank details and we’ll make sure you’re supported’.

We can confirm that this is a scam email and is not official. We urge parents that if you receive any emails like this, please do not respond, and delete it

immediately

CEOPS Thinkuknow Home activity worksheets to support online safety whilst home learning Bootstrap core CSS HTML5 shim and Respond.js IE8 support of HTML5 elements and media queries [if lt IE 9]> <![endif] Favicons

StartFragmentSchools across the UK are now closed to most families. CEOPS know this is a difficult time for most parents. Their page and home activity pack is intended to provide you with support and resources to help you learn about online safety at home with your child. EndFragment

Bootstrap core CSS HTML5 shim and Respond.js IE8 support of HTML5 elements and media queries [if lt IE 9]> <![endif] Favicons

EndFragment

Mental wellbeing is an important as physical, if you are struggling help is at hand

We all deserve to enjoy life and feel good about ourselves. Sometimes however life can be tough, particularly given the current situation. Whether you're feeling great and want to stay that way, you’re a bit fed up; or you are struggling to manage your feelings , then Happy, Ok, Sad by Warrington Borough Council has links to information and tips ranging from how to boost your mood, to where to get help if you're unable to cope.

They have also introduced a section regarding Covid-19

Happy, OK, Sad can be found here

The Online Youth Connect Five Programme, a free online course to understand wellbeing

This online course is open to parents/carers in Warrington

The overall aim is to promote resilience (resilient families, ways to cope and support):

• Understanding children and young people’s mental health

• Understanding wellbeing

• Understanding why we feel the way we do (emotions)

• Life skills problem-solving

The course will take place over five days starting on Monday 13th April 2020.

This will be a webinar event using Zoom.

Book your place now, here

Kooth is still there to support you

Kooth will continue to provide online mental health and wellbeing support to young people via any internet accessible device. Kooth provides an opportunity to interact in a supportive way with other young people as well as receive support from a qualified counsellor.

They are able to offer students online presentations about Kooth and online training sessions for staff, both via ZOOM.

To find out more visit www.Kooth.com here where young people can register and others can find out more about the service.

Further info about signing up can be found here

You can also view a short video about the service here

 

Working together to continue to learn

Last week we launched our home learning area for anyone who is not attending school so they can continue to learn while at home. At present there is enough work on the system to last until the Easter holidays and then the page will be updated at the start of the new term with new work if it is needed.

Learners will need to complete 5 hours of work a day whilst at home, unless they are ill and are unable to.

On the site you will find guidance for both learners and parents and carers plus guidance on how you can support your child. There are also contact emails for each department should you need further assistance

Let's work together to continue learning through these difficult times.

The learning page can be found here

Mrs Evans, with the help of teaching staff, has also set herself a task to provide an idea of an interesting leaning task, each school day to share on Facebook and Twitter, so check social media daily for more ideas to engage your children.

If you are having problems accessing work online, paper packs of home learning for your child can now be collected at our school office.

 

Year 7 - No Specific information at present

 

Year 8- No Specific information at present

 

Year 9- No Specific information at present

 

Year 10 - No Specific information at present

 

Year 11



 

Year 11 Prom

Unfortunately, It looks that our Prom will be cancelled, please be aware that we will work alongside the Hallmark hotel to reschedule Prom when our current circumstance permits. We will ensure that when we can, year 11 will have the leaving celebration that they deserve.

 

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

If you have applied to college there is no need to worry. Your college offers will still stand for September. If you haven't had an interview yet, it will probably be done over the phone, you will be contacted about this.

If you haven't applied for college yet, this is still possible but should be done asap, please follow the links below:

School leaver apprenticeships currently being advertised on https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship include:

It is also worth signing up with Training Providers and registering for vacancies on their websites:

QA.com for IT/Technical

Estio.co.uk IT/cyber security

Kaplan.co.uk Accountancy/Business

Liteltd.co.uk Animal Care

nltg.co.uk North Lancs Training Group (various)

remit.co.uk Automotive, IT, Business, Food, Hospitality

JTL, CITB, NWTC - construction, electrical, plumbing etc

https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/ - Health Care/Social Care/Admin/Construction/IT

Apprenticeship vacancies change daily so register, create an account on https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship and keep checking for updates. In these uncertain times, we would recommend that those who are looking for an apprenticeship should also apply for a college place as a back up.

If you would like some advice regarding your son/daughter's future plans, college applications or apprenticeships please get in touch with our Careers Adviser Mrs R Morris rmorris@birchwoodhigh.org who will be able to help you via email.

 

Birchwood College


Year 13, are you looking for an apprenticeship?

Any Year 13s still looking for an apprenticeship will find lots of companies advertising vacancies at: Gov.uk

Current college leaver apprenticeship vacancies around the North West include:

Degree apprenticeships:

It is also worth signing up with Training Providers and registering for vacancies on their websites:

QA.com for IT/Technical

Estio.co.uk IT/cyber security

Kaplan.co.uk Accountancy/Business

Liteltd.co.uk Animal Care

nltg.co.uk North Lancs Training Group (various)

remit.co.uk Automotive, IT, Business, Food, Hospitality

JTL, CITB, NWTC - construction, electrical, plumbing etc

https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/ - Health Care/Social Care/Admin/Construction/IT

 

Birchwood College students are smashing their university applications, with a great success rate of unconditional offers on some really interesting courses!

Year 13 students at Birchwood College are celebrating as many of them are receiving unconditional offers in their chosen courses. This doesn’t mean taking their foot off the gas however as they all want to achieve their best. It does give them certainty that they can progress onto their chosen field with some really interesting courses and university choices.

Well done goes to:

Ebony who has accepted an unconditional offer from Edge Hill University. She is off to study psychosocial analysis of offending behaviour.

Nathan who has unconditional offers to study history at The University of Wales Trinity St David’s but is also investigating the apprenticeship route.

Lois who has an unconditional offer to study law at Liverpool John Moores University.

Lily who has conditional and unconditional offers to study law at universities around the country.

Rachel who has an unconditional offer to study a childhood and youth studies and criminology degree at Edge Hill University.

Jake who has an unconditional offer to study television production management at Edge Hill University.

Callum who has secured an unconditional offer to study cartoon and comic arts at Staffordshire University after showing a phenomenal portfolio of his Manga drawings!

Well done to all of you, we are immensely proud of your achievements.

 

Other School information:

A Reminder of our policy regarding sugary drinks and junk food in school

Please find a letter here from Ms Mills reminding you of our policy on such items. At the moment we are seeing a great deal of energy drinks, sweets, chocolate and takeaway foods in school and as per our policy on these banned items they will be confiscated or disposed of. We hope that you understand why this is a priority for our school and your child’s learning and development.

 

Difficulties in viewing the Update.

Last week some people told us they were having difficulty viewing photographs in our update. The problems relate to using Microsoft Internet Explorer. If you are experiencing problem and are using Internet Explorer as your web browser, please close and re-open in another browser such as Google Chrome.

 

Useful Contacts for your child and to to keep by your phone:

  • Year 7 Team Office in Art Building

  • Year 7 Team Leader & Officer – Mrs Butler: Telephone extension 202

  • Year 8 and 9 Team Office is at the back of the Willows

  • Y8 & Y9 Team Officer – Ms Hickson: Telephone extension 290

  • Y8 Team Leader – Mrs Jenkinson/Ms Gilchrist

  • Year 9 Team Leader – Ms McAlinden

  • Year 10 and 11 Team Office is in D&T/EPR building

  • Y10 & Y11 Team Officer - Mrs Bird: Telephone extension 229

  • Y10 Team Leader – Mrs Jones

  • Y11 Team Leader – Miss Russell

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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