Birchwood Update 25/5/2020
- Josie Evans
- Jun 15, 2020
- 16 min read
Birchwood Update week Commencing 25/5/2020
A great way to keep fit and keep our community spirit
Mr Yates would like to invite students and school staff to join the Birchwood Community High School Fitbit group.
If you have a smartphone, smart watch or Fitbit you can join the group and take part in our competitions. There will be weekly challenges and competitions for you to get involved in. If you have been out running during lockdown and would like to add a little competition to your training email dyates@bircwhoodhigh.org and ask to be added to the group. If you are not a runner but would like to support others and reach other fitness goals, such as number of steps in a day, you can still share your fitness achievements with the group. The challenges will be accessible for all year groups, staff members and fitness levels.
Before you join you must complete the following steps
1.Download the Fitbit app to your smartphone.
2.Sign up to Fitbit through the app using your school/college email address.
3.Send Mr Yates an email (dyates@birchwoodhigh.org) to let him know you want to join the group. You will receive an invite to join the group which you have to accept.
4.Check the Birchwood CHS and College Fitbit group in the Community tab on the Fitbit app to see this week’s challenges. You are now ready to post your first run or achievement (such as steps or calories burnt in a day) and will be added to the leader board.
5.If you have an Apple Watch that you plan to use to track your Running and steps you will have to create a Strava account and use Strava as a go between by following the steps in this article. Unfortunately, Apple watches do not have a Fitbit app or connectivity, but you can still join in once you have created a Fitbit and Strava account.
Mr Yates urges you to join him and hopes to get lots of emails from students and staff wanting to keep fit over the summer.
Join in with the Alliance for Leaning Bright Futures photo competition, open to students and staff
Springtime has been beautiful this year with the blossom and the blue skies that we have been having and Alliance for Learning is looking to display your favourite photos of Spring on their website. So if you have taken some shots whilst out on a walk, and they sum up Springtime , why not send them in to RCresswell@aggs.bfet.uk
There is a student and teacher section and the phots will be judged by two professional photographers Ben Duffy and Ellie Dean
Winners will receive a £10 Amazon voucher and have their photo published online
.
For full details see the flyer here
Our Eco- committee are keen to keep a presence while not a school
Even though they are not at school, our eco-committee are working hard on Teams to keep our commitment to all things eco alive!
They are asking you to take time as part of your home learning to enter a national competition from eco-schools to create a 30 second video clip about the importance of picking up litter.
More details of the competition can be found here
Your entries can be submitted on either Facebook of twitter but don’t forget to tag us in @BCHSchool, so we can share your entries,
Go on Birchwood, give it a go!
Providing support and a warm welcome for our new year 7
Even though our present situation has impacted on planning for year 6 who will be joining Team Birchwood in September , we are constantly aware that moving on to high school can be an exciting time in a young person’s life but it can also be a scary one and to help ease their worries we have launched a page on our website solely for year 6 and their parents and carers.
The page is live and can be found here
On the page you will find a message from Ms Mills our headteacher and Mrs Dempsey, Assistant Head with responsibility for transition.
We have also put together a transition booklet for you to complete to help you to think about and prepare for starting at our school. We are so excited to meet you all and this information will help us to get to know you better. Over the next week, we will be sending the transition booklets out to you so keep an eye out for the postman but if you would like to start looking at and working on the booklet it can be found here
Keep checking back to this section of the website for weekly updates, videos from staff and challenges for you to complete and as soon as we know when it is safe for us to invite you into school to spend a day with us , we will be in touch with your invitation.
In the meantime we have also set up a dedicated email address for parents of year 6 to use, should you have any questions, worries or concerns about your child’s transition to high school, click the link here to use
We can’t wait to meet you and hope that you feel the same!
Our present students can also do their bit to welcome our new year 7
Ms mills has a special challenge for all our present students. We know how proud our students are of our school and we need you to send a very special welcome to our up coming year 7.
Normally you would be able to meet them when they visit for transition days but as you probably will not be around when we invite them in it would be fantastic if we could show them a video of all of you and your welcome greetings, so we are asking you to record a simple short message on your phones and send them in to Ms Mills at emills@birchwoodhigh.org so that we can edit them all together to create a really warm welcome for the new members of Team Birchwood.
Your message could just say hello and welcome or you could tell year 6 what you like about our school and what they have to look forward to.
Please help us to help them feel part of our team so that they are excited to join us in September.
Don’t forget Fresh, the online youth club – a great way to keep in touch
Young people are really struggling to keep in touch during isolation so don’t be tempted to break the lockdown rules, try Fresh instead, the online youth club which is available after school each Tuesday at 3pm. Have fun with friends without leaving the safety of your home
Do you need help during lockdown?
If you, or someone you know, needs a hand with collecting shopping or prescriptions, or just wants someone to talk to, our NHS Volunteer Responders are here to help.
Join the thousands of others throughout England who are already receiving support – even if it’s just for a friendly chat. Call 0808 196 3646 or visit nhsvolunteerresponders.org.uk
See their poster for more information here
New learning resource ideas from our languages department
Easy French/Easy Spanish - This is a YouTube series where native French and Spanish speakers are interviewed on a range of different topics. Subtitles are in both English and French/Spanish so it is a great way for students to pick up some new vocabulary
Coffee Break French/Spanish - A podcast series which is also available on YouTube. This is a series of short lessons where students can cover the Year 7 basics all the way up to more advanced language for GCSE students.
Our next competition is to tell us what you think of your grandparents and how much you are missing them
You can tell us this any way you like, letter, poster, photo or video. Wouldn’t it be amazing for your grandparent to see a message from you on our website?
Take a look at the video 'you told us about grandparents' video on right on top row - for some ideas
Entries to be emailed to jevans@birchwoodhigh.org before Friday 5 June
Learning about life with vtalks from Speakers for Schools
We are excited to introduce a great new learning experience this week to you as we launch Speakers for Schools virtual talks
Find out about the world and how it works from a range of experts, who share their expertise on a wide ranging spectrum of topics from working for BBC news, to creating the perfect CV , to handling your anxiety.
The schedule for talks which are accessed online are below:
Tuesday 26th May, 10am – Baroness Mary Goudie, Life Peer and Campaigner
Wednesday 27th May 10am – Dr Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director, The Equality Trust
Friday 29th May,10am – Nick Boyle, CEO, Lightsource BP
To listen to the talk, just before 10am on the date of the talk that you are interested in click here and select the speaker. The link is also available on our home learning page on the website here
More information about vtalks and a user guide can be found here
There is also feedback sheet that here you can complete after the talk and email to jevans@birchwoodhigh.org so Ms Mills can see your thoughts and what you have learnt from the speaker ( sheet saved in April folder)
We hope that you will make use of these vtalks and learn for life with the experts!
Follow us on Twitter too
Facebook is a really successful platform for sharing news and stories with you, but did you know that for educational news, advice, stories, hints and tips, Twitter is great too.
To follow our main site use @BCHSchool, but many of our departments also tweet regularly, see a list below:
Sport dept. - @BCHSchoolsport
Media dept.- @BCHSchoolMedia
Geography dept. -@BCHSchoolGeog
Birchwood College -@BirchwoodColl
Eco committee -@BCHSchoolEco
History dept. -@historybchs1
Science dept.- @ScienceBchs
English dept.-@dempsey_mrs
Show off your skills - Launching on Wednesday 20 May on Twitter - Britain’s got Skills
As part of National Skills Days, Twitter is asking you to share your skills with Britain. The challenge is to choose your skill, whether it be singing, dancing, saying the alphabet backwards…..in fact anything you are good at .
Make a short video of your skill and post on twitter with # my skills and @NCWSkillsDays and @BCHSchool
For more information see here
We know you are all tremendously skilled at lots of things, so let’s share Birchwood!
Warrington Foodbank still need your help at this difficult time
Though shopping is difficult at present don’t forget that if you are over at the shops at the centre and can buy an extra item or two for the foodbank and drop into school , we can organise a collection of drop off of goods to the Warrington warehouse.
Stocks are low and with more and more people living on lower, if any salaries please help where you can.
Our reception is open daily 9am -3pm, let’s see if we can do our bit for those less fortunate at this trying time.
See the photo for the goods that Foodbank are particularly short of at present, alternatively you can make a cash donation online
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.
Looking after your Well being 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
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
StartFragmentClick here for home activity packs for children aged 11-13EndFragment
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 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
Please find our latest advice and resources for home learning on our page here
Year 7, 8 and 9
Please find an important video message here from Ms Mills for year 7, 8 and 9 students about going forward and their home learning here Supporting documentation can be found below the video
Year 10
A video assembly for year 10 from Mr Burnham and Mrs Forster about home learning and expectations can be found on our website here along with all supporting documents
GCSE English Literature – an important letter regarding new Government guidance
As you will be aware your GCSE examination in English Literature was recently cancelled along with all other GCSEs and A Levels in England for this summer season. Initially, it seemed as though you would have to take this exam at the end of Year 11 and this was a situation we were trying to avoid. Through consultation with many schools, Ofqual have reviewed this decision and you will no longer be required to undertake an examination. Instead you will receive a teacher predicted grade, much like our current Year 11 and Year 13 students. For a letter with full details please see here
Year 11
Continuing with history pdf - click here
Year 11 Prom
We are delighted to announce that we have worked with the hallmark hotel to provisionally reschedule our Prom to 3 September, of course dependent on social distancing rules a that time.
We a will also be organising a commemorative leavers hoody for all of year 11, these will be free of charge as a leaver present from us to you.
If you have any concerns, questions and worries about anything, year 11, please remember that we are here for you and there is always someone to turn to for help and advice via phone call or email to our pastoral team, SLT team, Form tutor and Head of year team and Mrs Morris for career concerns.
Looking to the Future and next steps for Year 11
The latest advice from Mrs Morris for those who are seeking an Apprenticeship -
School leaver apprenticeships are currently being advertised here
If you need any help with applications/writing a CV, interview skills or just what to do next please get in touch with your Careers Adviser, Mrs R Morris at rmorris@birchwoodhigh.org .She is working at home , waiting for your messages
Birchwood College
Looking to the future - Advice from Mrs Morris for our year 12 and 13s
We hope all our college students are keeping well in lockdown.
Click here for some useful info from UCAS on looking after your mental health and wellbeing.
Do you need some inspiration about your pathway in life?
Here are some useful websites for year 12 and 13 students to help with career planning, getting advice on next steps, hearing from other young people telling their stories and local businesses/organisations who recruit college and university leavers and what they are looking for. Hopefully it will provide some inspiration!
https://www1.chester.ac.uk/outreach/online-resources-schools-and-colleges/resources-post-16-students
https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentrecruitment/virtualoutreach/
http://candwgrowthhub.co.uk/pledge-resources/
https://learn.springpod.co.uk/#
https://mailchi.mp/careersandenterprise/work-it-careers-talks-with-young-people
https://learnliveuk.com/partner/cheshire-and-warrington-lep/
https://learnliveuk.com/videos-index/?category=careers
There are also some interesting workshops run by Edge Hill University for Year 12 and 13 students on a range of topics including: preparing for university, the current situation, student finance and interview skills. There are also subject focused sessions e.g. Routes into Sport or Health.
Click here to see more
Students in England encouraged to apply now for student finance
The Student Loans Company has confirmed that the application service will remain open to students as part of its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and are encouraging students in England to apply for student finance as soon as possible to ensure their finances are in place for the new academic year.
New students are being asked to submit their applications before 22 May 2020. The Student Loans Company is contacting returning students to remind them to reapply for their next year’s student finance. The deadline for these applications is 19 June.
Applications for student finance can be made here.
Year 13, are you looking for an apprenticeship?
For those of you in year 13 who are looking for apprenticeships/employment keep checking on the following sites
https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
https://www.indeed.co.uk/
https://careerfinder.ucas.com/searchjobs/
If you need any help with applications/writing a CV, interview skills or just what to do next please get in touch with Mrs R Morris, your Careers Adviser.
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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