HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL · Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter 2 Olympics 2016 Lucy Doherty (Year 11)...

Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter

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HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL

We are all very proud of the successes of our young people. They are talented, hardworking and superb representatives of their families, communities and school. Over the years Helsby High School has a longstanding tradition in supporting our students to fulfil their potential. Many of them have been involved in developing their leadership skills through helping others, one of our school priorities is to further develop leadership across the school community. At the recent Introduction to the Sixth Form Evening our Head Boy and Head Girl did a fantastic job in helping me to introduce the evening to a hall packed with parents and Year 11 students. This is just one example of the potential of our young people to help the school improve further as well as developing their confidence. I work with the sixth form leadership group each month and they provide many constructive ideas. Each year group has a focus group and other examples of students leading the school over this last term have included prefect duties, showing visitors around school, assisting with interviews, leading lunchtime activities, including drama, sport, language, film and other clubs. Flat Screens As part of the refurbishments in the entrance area we have put a number of flat screens on the wall. Over the coming weeks we plan to use these to promote the successes of our students as well as providing information and notices about school events.

Website The school website has been relaunched at www.helsbyhigh.org.uk . Please see page 11 for further information. We hope that this new website will prove easier to navigate than the previous version. Clearly this website is not yet fully populated but we hope that you will find it useful and informative as it develops. We would welcome any constructive ideas to help us improve it further. E-communications We are aware that many of our feeder primary schools communicate effectively with parents/carers by texts and e-mails. Clearly some parents/carers may still prefer paper copies of communications and we will facilitate that to continue. However we believe that there are many benefits of texting and e-mail (not least the environmental benefits) and we are consequently aiming towards paperless communications (unless parents/carers request otherwise.) One of the traditions of Helsby High School is high quality musical events and the sound of students practising Christmas Carols has been familiar over recent weeks. Events include the Christmas Carol Service at Chester Cathedral and a charity concert in aid of Zoe’s place at the Brindley Theatre, Runcorn. The choir will also be performing at the PTA Christmas Craft Fayre. I know these events will prove fantastic showpieces of the talents of our students. Mr J Dowler Headteacher

Autumn

2011

Pictured: Rebecca Archer (Deputy Head Girl), Will Dunn (Head Boy), Mr J Dowler

(Headteacher), Rebecca Glass ( Head Girl), Oliver Martin (Deputy Head Boy)


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Olympics 2016

Lucy Doherty (Year 11)

raced first of all in

Sunderland in her first

competition of the

season and achieved a personal best in every

race she swam. She received four gold

medals and one silver. She also set two

records at the Sunderland Firecracker

meeting.

Lucy has now achieved her qualifying time in

her 100m backstroke event for the Olympic

trials in 2012 and is now trying to get her

200m backstroke timing improved to qualify

for this event too. In the summer Lucy came

6th at the Youth National Gala in Sheffield and

was put on the England Talent programme for

the second year running. Lucy also swam for

Cheshire last month in the inter-county

championships where the whole country was

represented.

Lucy has recently moved her training to the

City of Liverpool Swimming Club where Fran

Halsall (World Champion) trained. Lucy

trains nine times a week, very early in the

morning 5.45am until 8am, before she goes to

school.

After school she goes straight to the pool in

Liverpool for more training. Lucy’s Mum and

Dad are kept very busy transporting Lucy to

the various venues for her to compete.

We hope to see Lucy competing in the 2016

Olympics in several swimming events. Watch

this space!

HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL

CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE

8th December 2011

7.30 p.m.

Chester Cathedral

by kind permission of the

Dean and Chapter

Featuring the Guitar Ensemble, Senior Wind Band, Bluegrass Folk Group, Chamber Choir, Only Lads Aloud, Jazz Band, Junior Choir, Junior Band, Flute Ensemble, Christmas carols and readings from pupils.

No ticket charge but donations to the Cathedral gratefully received.

Christmas Charity Concert In aid of Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice

Presented by Highfield Male Voice choir

The Brindley Theatre, Runcorn

7.30pm

Thursday 1st December

£8 adult, £2 child

Box Office 0151 907 8360

Featuring the Helsby High School

Chamber Choir

and Frodsham Silver Band

PTA Christmas Craft Fayre

on Sun 27th November

will feature the choir

performing in the hall

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Olympic_Rings.svg/800px-Olympic_Rings.svg.png&imgrefurl=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olympic_Rings.svg&usg=__w1LjaVsVqzFe6LrKI0_Qj4FZplQ=&h=388&


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Watersports at Helsby High School

During the summer term 2011, students from Helsby High School participated in sailing, canoeing and kayaking at the Budworth Sailing Club at Budworth Mere, near Northwich with Mr Jankowski and Mrs

Darlington.

Students from Years 7, 8 and 9 went for three Thursday afternoon sessions during June. They were free to choose whichever watersport they wanted to try, and had lots of fun on and in the water whilst also

improving their skill and fitness levels.

During Activity Week at Helsby High, in July, another group of Year 8 students chose to spend a full day during activity week at Budworth

Mere, and were able to have a taster of each of the three watersports.

Drama The well established

Drama Club is still going

from strength to strength.

Drama club is for all

students in year 7, 8 and

9 who are interested in

learning about and

extending their drama skills. The club takes place

on Monday lunchtimes in the drama studio. The

club is a drop in so anyone can come and it

doesn’t matter if you miss one week and come the

next. Students create original work based on

topics such as emergencies or mistaken identity

and use such techniques and genre as

Melodrama or thought-tracking. All students have

fun in this friendly and energetic environment.

During the summer term all Year 7, 8 and 9

students get the opportunity to audition for the

lower school production.

The New GCSE Skills Club

On Tuesday lunchtimes in the Drama Studio,

Drama GCSE students can now come along to

skills club where they can learn extra skills that

they wouldn’t have

the opportunity to

learn in lessons.

GCSE Skills Club is

very valuable to

students, as they can

take all the new

techniques and information and use them to

improve their work in Drama lessons. At GCSE

Skills Club, you learn many different techniques

and genres of acting, which will contribute to your

already expansive knowledge in the subject and

students will also learn all about different drama

practitioners, which you don’t normally get the

opportunity to learn about in lessons until A Level.

The skills and knowledge that you will gain from

the club are very beneficial to your Drama lessons

as they will help students to improve their ability

and creative knowledge this in turn will help to

improve their overall grade at GCSE. Aside from

the theatrical progress in GCSE Skills Club, you

get to know new people from the other GCSE

classes and this can build confidence, which is

essential for a successful Drama student.

The School Production: Alice’s Library

The school production has now been cast. Well

done to all those who auditioned and especially to

those who were successful. The school production

this year is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice

in Wonderland. Students are very excited about

the use of Promenade theatre (where the

audience follow the actors to new performance

spaces during the play) as this will provide the

challenging opportunity to be creative with the

spaces available at our school. Look out for the

posters around school for clues to the surreal yet

satisfying storyline of Alice’s Library.

Report by Lorna McAvoy - L6 Theatre Studies student


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LEARNING TO SAVE A LIFE AT HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL

The nation’s leading first aid charity, St John Ambulance launched its Save a Life September campaign this year, with the goal of equipping as many people as possible with vital first aid skills. Hundreds of local people have benefited from the campaign so far – at demonstrations held at Tesco stores and other events in Cheshire. Yesterday, 20 Year 10 students at Helsby High School were given the opportunity to pick up life saving tips during first aid demonstrations delivered at their school by St John Ambulance Cheshire trainers. The demonstrations covered five important first aid protocols relating to the recovery position, CPR and dealing with choking, bleeding, and chest pain. Afterwards the children were each given a free pocket-sized first aid guide to

carry in case of an emergency.

Research carried out by St John Ambulance last year showed that up to 150,000 people - which is 11 times the population of Helsby and Frodsham combined - die every year in situations where first aid could have given them the chance to live. This includes nearly 900 people who choke to death, 2,500 who asphyxiate from a blocked airway and 29,000 who die from heart attacks. In addition, the charity found that around 58% of people wouldn't know what to do if faced with a medical

emergency and a quarter would do nothing.

Steve Peaurt, CEO at St John Ambulance Cheshire said: ‘Learning first aid is one of the single most important things you can do in your life. You never know when you may need it – at work,

at home, in school, playing sport – you just don’t know. With basic first aid skills, anyone can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved and what could be

more important than saving someone’s life?’

He continues: ‘By launching Save a Life September and holding first aid demonstrations across the country, we want to reach as many people as possible, so that more people are equipped with the skills to save a life. Anyone who needs first aid should get it and armed with this knowledge we can all be the difference between a life lost

and a life saved.’

Joanne Robinson, a teacher at Helsby High School said: ’We were so impressed with the demos given by the St John Ambulance team on Monday that we have decided to give our year 10 children the opportunity to acquire further first aid skills and

do their Young first aider course.’

The St John Ambulance Young first aider course is a comprehensive, relevant and versatile first aid course which can be adapted and delivered to children aged from 6 to 16. It meets a number of school curriculum requirements; specifically, key stages 1 to 4 and the promotion of “well being and community cohesion” as part of the Every Child Matters framework. It also enables young people to develop “corporate citizenship” skills in the Sustainable Schools Initiative. This training is delivered over a five hour period and at the end of the course students receive a

certificate of competence, which is valid for three years.

To find out more about the Young first aider training course in Cheshire call 01244 383407 or

visit www.sja.org.uk/schools

http://www.sja.org.uk/schools


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Ski Club at Runcorn - October 2011

The Helsby High School Ski Club, which is based at Runcorn Ski Centre, started off its sessions during early October this year. Every Thursday, over 35 enthusiastic students from Years 8 to 10 have been quickly getting changed in school and then catching a lift in the minibuses for training sessions on both the beginner and the expert slopes. Instructors John, Phil and Jason have been

preparing the students for their ski trip to Folgaria in the Italian Alps, which takes place during the half term break next year. All the students are improving their confidence, skill and fitness

levels and looking forward to the challenge of big mountains and real snow in February 2012!!

Report by Mr. Jankowski


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YEAR 9

CASTLETON FIELD TRIP

On our trip to Castleton, we were split into

three coaches and we endured a two hour

drive through towns and cities and finally into

the countryside of Derbyshire. After driving

through the peaceful town of Castleton, we

arrived at Treak Cliff Cavern, about half way

up the hillside. Our group then split into three

smaller groups and we took turns having a

guided tour into the cave. We were told all

about how the tunnel was dug out by miners

and how they had discovered a new stone call

“Blue John”. Blue John was given its name by

the French, who bought it and called “bleu et

jaune” because of its blue /yellow colour. To

the English it sounded like blue john so that is

what it was named. We also learnt how the

natural caves were formed by the water

carving out the rock when it made

underground streams, because of the

permeably limestone, and how stalactites and

stalagmites were formed. Whilst we were in

the cave we

had water

dripping on our

heads from the

rock, so most

people had their

hoods up.

Towards the

end of the tour,

when we were over fifty metres underground,

the lights were switched off and we were in

pitch black and could experience what it must

have been like for the first miners in that cave.

Meanwhile, the other groups who were not in

the cave were outside doing a field sketch and

view score of Hope Valley. On the whole

Hope Valley got a very high score because it

was a very quiet, natural peaceful view. Once

we had all been around the caves, we got

back on the coach and drove into Castleton

itself where we had lunch. We then started a

questionnaire and completed a map. Most

people wanted to finish their work quickly so

they could look into the shops!! Pizzas, ice

cream and sweets were bought in the many

tourist shops. Some people found an old

fashioned sweet shop selling homemade

fudge, with the kitchen next door, where lots

of samples were tasted. After lunch we were

packed back onto the coach and taken to

Lady Bower reservoir and did another field

sketch and view score. Then we drove to the

visitors centre at Lady Bower reservoir where

we answered some questions about it and

looked for evidence of possible conflicts and

management strategies and also visited the

gift shop.

Finally after a long day we had the two hour

coach journey back and most people seemed

quite tired. Eventually we arrived back at

school after having a great day in the beautiful

countryside.

Laura Stock-Caldwell Year 9


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POPPY APPEAL Once again it is the time of year when we take a moment to think about a defining moment in history, and present our respect and support for the British Army, past and present, in the form of a humble poppy pinned to our shirts. The Royal British Legion works tirelessly every year to raise funds for war

veterans and currently serving armed forces who risk their lives for the safety of the country and the world, it’s hard to believe that something as simple as purchasing one of the poppies can make a difference – but it does. With the money raised so far the charity has managed to achieve so much, such as making the lives of wounded soldiers a lot more comfortable when they return home. Often men and women return from places like Afghanistan and Iraq having lost limbs or are suffering from mental illness, it is a massive change to their lives and the money can help to adapt their home environment, pay for medical bills and give hope to these brave people. This is an important cause that the Charity and Community Prefects at Helsby High School Sixth Form, led by Tom Stockton, Sam Stradling and Jane Kelly, were extremely keen to support and be a part of this year. Over the course of the two weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday, we went around forms selling the poppies and raising money, and at the weekends some of us went to Hapsford Services to stand and sell poppies to the general public. Over the two weeks they raised an incredible £1,093.57! The Royal British Legion is incredibly keen on involving teenage members of the community in the charity and the work we have done this year proves that we are willing to give up our time and work with them too. We hope to continue this work for the charity every year, building a relationship between the school and the Royal British Legion and expanding the community’s knowledge and support of Remembrance Day.

The UKMT Senior Team

Challenge:

The regional heats of the UKMT senior Team Challenge are being held across the country at the moment and the team from Helsby High School competed at Manchester University on the afternoon of Wednesday 2nd November 2011.

The team consisted of Tim Smith and Josh Rugen from Year 13 and Alex Jones and Jolyon Burgess from Year 12. There were three rounds of Maths problems that needed to be

solved as a team. The problems were interesting and difficult. The winning team at this heat were from Stockport Grammar School. Pictured is the Alan Turing building where the Maths department at Manchester University is currently based .

On Tuesday 8th November 2011 approximately 75 students from Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 took part in the UKMT Senior Challenge. This is a challenge taken each year across Great Britain by a large number of students. It involves tackling interesting and sometimes obscure Maths problems. Try some of the questions below. We expect the results in about 2 – 3 weeks time. Good luck to all of you

who took part.

http://www.maths.man.ac.uk/


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FRENCH EXCHANGE Thirty three Helsby High School students have been enjoying hosting their French partners from Lyon this week. This is the account from one of the pupils, Robbie Conduit, about the visit of his

French partner, Pierre Houdouin.

During the English half of the French exchange, we enjoyed two days out with the whole group. In Liverpool we explored the Beatles’ Museum and the Tate Modern art gallery. We then got a view of the whole city, from the big wheel. In the evening, Pierre and I played cards and chess and went

swimming in Frodsham.

The following day, we visited Old Trafford football stadium, which was great! Afterwards we looked at the ‘matchstickmen’

paintings in the Lowry and then followed the time-line trail around the Imperial North War Museum. Friday evening

was spent ten-pin bowling.

During the weekend we were with our families. We went go-karting and visited Chester, the city walls and the shops. Pierre seemed to like it all and thought that Chester was very historic. On Sunday, we played lots of sport together - pool, table tennis and football at a friend’s house and then badminton. Pierre and I easily beat my other friends and their partners! On

Sunday night, my mum cooked a big roast dinner, especially for Pierre and we all loved it!

The exchange finished with a day of special activities in school.

Pierre has learnt many new English words like: jam, keyboard, pen lid, finger nail and zip. I look forward to doing the same in France, when I go next March. We got on very well and have both

learnt a lot from each other, especially when we spoke to each other during meals.

Report by Rob Conduit—Year 10

Activities at Helsby High

School with the French

Exchange students


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European Language Day

On Monday 26 September, Helsby High School held a European

Languages day so students could explore and celebrate all

European languages and cultures, not just French and German

that we are already taught in Modern Foreign Language lessons.

The main events were held in the breakout space at break and

lunchtime, and included: a showing of the Disney film ‘Ant’ (which

was played in French with English subtitles), quizzes which the 6th

formers had kindly created for the day, bright decorations and

informative posters. The atmosphere of the whole event was

enthusiastic and excited, as a buzz spread through the teachers

and pupils. Everyone was keen to get involved with the quizzes

and people made sure they could get a good view of the film.

The leader of the day was Miss Maxfield (French and German teacher) and she also got

involved with all of the activities. She also said “I have been particularly pleased with all the help

from other departments and also from the 6th formers.” Other classes were also joining in on the

action; the head of Media Studies, Mrs McGovern, got her classes to analyse the film trailer for

‘Amelie’ in French without subtitles, proving that even if you don’t understand the dialogue, you

can still make sense of the symbolic codes, which audiences across the globe can interpret in

various ways according to their own background, knowledge or culture. The cross curricular

quizzes also linked languages to football, celebrities and food.

The canteen also got involved in the day by making delicious European dishes and delicacies

from scratch. The menu included Hungarian beef goulash, currywurst baguette, Korv chicken

stroganoff and Italian meatballs. They also served pain au chocolat at break which was made

from scratch by the dinner ladies and went down a treat! Pupils and teachers both thoroughly

enjoyed them including Mrs McGovern who said “The pain au chocolats in the canteen were

better than ones I have tasted in Paris and definitely better than the ones from the

supermarket!”

Overall, lots of different year groups got very involved especially the 6th formers some of which

are completing their Language Leadership Award. They all said that they had taken languages

because they really enjoyed them at GCSE and that they wanted to complete this award

because it also looks good on their CVs.

The year sevens who have just joined the school especially enjoyed the day and it gave them a

good first impression of languages. One year seven said “I like French a lot more here at

Helsby than I did at primary school.” Also some year eights said that they much preferred doing

two languages rather than just one, so they are exposed to a wider variety of different

languages and cultures.

All in all the day went very well and was a complete success. Mr Dowler expressed his feelings

about the day - “The day has gone brilliantly, with lots of people joining in on activities. It was

very well organised with fantastic displays and I was very impressed with everyone.”

Report by:

Nina Treharne, Lucy Malone and Rosie Hampton (Year 10 Media Studies Students)


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RUGBY

Our Year 10's and a 11's were involved in their first rugby tournament in a long time and showed outstanding achievement. Both teams went and achieved 100% winning records. Our Year 11's started the

tournament v- Whitby 2nds The game had a slight nervous start however Helsby High soon turned things in their favour. Joe Smith showing he can run on a track as well as a rugby field. Helsby - Tries -Kirk Langley, Joe Smith, Joe Smith, Will Hyde. Conversion - Joe Smith Score: Helsby 22- Whitby 2nds 5 Year 10's also started their tournament against - Whitby 2nds. After watching their older peers achieve success there was only one thing on their mind—winning! The boys came out like Wales did against Ireland and turned them over in every aspect of the game from scrum, line out and their pace with ball in hand. Helsby Tries - Tom Legg, Jake McKenna, Chris Woolmington, Kieran Evans. Conversions - Kieran Evans. Score: Helsby 27- Whitby 2nds 7 Year 11's v- Whitby 1st Year 11's knew things were going to be more difficult against Whitby's first team however the score line didn't suggest so. The team tightened up on some mistakes in the first game and were only short of performing the Haka. Excellent display and a very enjoyable game to watch. Helsby Tries- Tom Owen, Will Hyde, Tom Owen, Will Hyde, Joe Smith, Joe Smith, Joe Smith. Con: Will Hyde, Joe Smith. Score: Helsby 26- Whitby 1st 5 Year 10's v- Whitby 1st

This game displayed true defensive and attacking prowess. There were two occasions where Helsby were pinned on their 5m line and came away without conceding. Patting each other on the back each time they worked a try or made a big tackle. They were enjoying the game as a team. Fantastic display!

Tries: Tom Legg, Jake McKenna, Chris Woolmington, Kieran Evans. Con: Kieran Evans. Score: Helsby 22- Whitby 1st 0 Year 11 v Super 7's This was to become Helsby's most challenging game of the day. The Super 7's contained the best players of the tournament to play the mighty Helsby Year 11's. The game was end to end with both teams finding it difficult to break each others defensive line. After endless attempts Helsby finally broke through with a Joe Smith try and a Will Hyde conversion. Score: Helsby 7- Super 7's 0 Well done to all involved! Year 10 Pupils:

Josh Warburton, Archie Duff, Kieran Evans, Tom Legg, Chris Woolmington, Liam Brown, Will Crawley-Gelling, Jake McKenna, Tom Jacobson, Matthew Burns and Connor Brooks. Year 11 Pupils:

Will Hyde, Tom Owen, Tom Birch, Elias Rugen, Joe Firth, Kirk Langley, Joe Smith, Harry Paige, George White and Johnny Furnival.


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Basketball The following boys were selected for the North-West squads in in the inter-regional

tournaments over the summer:

U13 Cellan Goulbourne

U15 Alex Jones, Zach Baird

U17 Cameron Mackay

ESAA Cross Country Cup - County Round 1 (Cheshire)

Junior Girls 1st

Junior Boys 4th

Inter Boys 1st

Inter Girls 3rd

Junior Girls, Inter Boys and Inter Girls have all qualified for the Regional Round (West Central)

in November

Full details can be found at http://www.esaa.net/ Click on 2011, Cross Country Cup Results

Index, Cheshire

World Marathon Challenge for Save the Children

On Wednesday 5th October 36 Year 7 & 8 boys and girls raced in Manchester, completing the 26.2 miles in 2hrs 2 mins 9 secs. This placed us 3rd in England and 6th overall out of 51 in the world table. As well as the English schools there were teams from Ireland, France, Canada,

Spain, Norway, China, Kenya, Mali, Mexico and New Zealand competing in the challenge.

Full details can be found at http://www.sportshall.org/VTL/World_Marathon_2011.aspx

Accessing the new School Website

First of all, open your internet browser

(whether it’s Windows Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).

In the address bar at the top, type in www.helsbyhigh.org.uk and press enter.

You will now be presented with the new school website.

http://www.esaa.net/

http://www.sportshall.org/VTL/World_Marathon_2011.aspx

http://www.helsbyhigh.org.uk


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International School Award In September, we were awarded a grant from the British Council of £12,000 to

develop joint curriculum projects with our partner primary, Helsby Hillside, and

our South African partner schools. The funding will allow staff from all six

participating schools to visit one another in order to set up a series of events and

activities promoting global citizenship.

Our aims within the project are to study key themes of Sustainability, Diversity,

Globalisation and Interdependence. Already underway is an Art project exploring

diversity through images, and a Food Technology Project looking at British and South African menus.

We are working closely with Hillside Primary and intend to visit our Cape Town partners early in 2012. A

number of related events have been planned for the coming half term.

Once our themes have become embedded in the curriculum we will be in a position to apply for the

International School Award which the British Council awards to school promoting internationalism within

the curriculum.

Afritwin continues to be our designated school charity for 2011-2012 and a growing number of Year 12

and 13 students have become involved with this exciting project. Last year pupils raised over £1,000 with

a variety of events and the money helped support students at hector Peterson High School in the

following ways:-

Art equipment

Cultural visits for Hector Peterson learners

Sponsorship for a talented student who had been recently orphaned and made homeless

Purchase of a small wooden house for two homeless Hector Peterson students. This will then be

used by the school to assist future students in difficult circumstances whilst they aim to complete

their studies.

Purchase of 500 plates, spoons and forks to enable learners to eat inside rather than sharing plates

and eating with rulers. This has enabled the school to use lunchtime for additional clubs and

meetings.

This year’s fundraising will initially pay for sets of Xhosa – English dictionaries. Xhosa is the first language

of most students but their examinations are in English.

Hector Peterson teachers have identified the purchase

of dictionaries as an ideal way for our pupils to support

their south African partners in their education.

Many thanks to pupils and parents who have

supported this project over the past year. It has made

a very real difference to pupils who are trying to get an

education in some very challenging circumstances.

Report by Mrs M Marvin


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Helsby Bake Off

As part of the Year 10 Food Technology topic ‘processes and techniques’ students have been

busy making cakes of a very high standard. The aim of the lesson was to make a product

which demonstrated a range of finishing techniques. The students enjoyed showing creativity

and skill when they designed and made a celebration cake. They had 2 hours to bake the cake

and decorate it. Something the contestants of Mary Berry’s ‘Great British Bake off’ would find

difficult! The students worked extremely hard under pressure to achieve some great results.

A small selection of the cakes are shown below, a full selection are displayed in the Food

Technology department.

Mrs Cross


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Year 10 BTEC Construction Visit to Liverpool One

As part of their coursework tasks, the Year 10 BTEC Construction students went on a visit to Liverpool city centre on Wednesday 9th November. Students have been studying the social and economical implications of the development of Liverpool One in lessons and this visit was

to see the impact it has had on the city of Liverpool.

Students saw the range of leisure facilities on offer in Liverpool One, from the shops, gym, hotels and restaurants. In lessons we had discussed what was demolished to create the Liverpool One area and how this had now become the main location to visit in the city centre. We also wanted to investigate the types of shops in the ‘old’ part of town and Church Street, compared to the shops

within Liverpool One.

Students got to view the city from the top of the St John’s Beacon, better known as the Radio City Tower. After an express lift ride to the top students had a panoramic view of Liverpool, the Wirral and Lancashire. Many of the boys were trying to spot Frodsham, but the sky was too

hazy to see that far.

We bumped into one of the presenters from Radio City whilst at the top of the tower and he gave us an interesting story about being stuck in the lifts a few years back……whilst we were

in the lift going back down!

On the way back to the bus the boys got their chance to see the Winter Wonderland being built on Chavasse Park. Many Christmas stalls were in the process of being set up and construct-

ed, ready for the Christmas lights switch-on that evening.

All in all the boys had a great day out in Liverpool and were extremely grateful for the day.

Mr J Cooney

Work Related Learning Co-ordinator

Work Experience — Year 10

Year 10 pupils will be involved in Work Experience from Monday 2nd July until Friday 13th July 2012. The main aim is to provide an opportunity for students to experience employment and a

working environment.

In order for Education Business Plus to complete Health and Safety checks, it is essential that all forms are returned to Miss S Oscroft in Pupil Services no later than Friday 9th December

2011. Paperwork returned after the deadline will not be processed by Education Business Plus.

To access information regarding Work Experience please use the links on the Helsby High

School website.

If you have any questions regarding Work Experience please see Mr Cooney in school.


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Styal Mill

Year 11 students visited Quarry Bank Mill on Friday 16th September to gather information for their History GCSE Controlled Assessment. The students were able to admire the Dickensian architecture in the warm autumn sunshine and walk through the mill itself to take in the sights, sounds and smells of a nineteenth century textile mill. The groups enjoyed a guided tour around the Apprentice House and were able to find out about life for children in the mills. The visit was rounded off with a stroll around the village, which has been kept as close as possible to the original style and layout. Students gained lots of material in order to enable them to produce their assessments and were once more

commended for their excellent conduct by the National Trust Staff.

Horrible Histories On Friday 4th November thirty-six very excited Year Seven pupils boarded the bus destined for the Manchester Opera House. The cold and rainy night did little to dampen their spirits as they

headed for a night of fun, laughter, thrills and ‘scary bits’. Yes, it was their visit to see ‘The Rotten Romans’ theatre production of Horrible Histories. The acting was humorous, colourful and spellbinding. The 3D effects in the second half had them all on the edge of their seats and convinced that all manner of things were flying at them from the stage. This was certainly a very fun way to learn about the Romans and there was certainly no chance that anyone was not paying

attention! Ellie Thompson who went on the trip had this to say:

‘I thought that Horrible Histories was hilarious and my friends and me had a great time. The

characters were amazing and very funny; I thought it was a fabulous night out.’

International Slavery Museum, Liverpool.

On the 8th and 10th of November Year 9 pupils visited the Slavery Museum in Liverpool. They were able to explore life in Africa before the arrival of the European Slave Trade and were delighted by the culture, skills and wealth of tribes living on the west coast of Africa. They gained an insight into the terrors of the Middle Passage across the Atlantic Ocean, the cruelty and humiliation of plantation life and the struggles for freedom. They were able to understand the impact

that slavery has had on our lives today in terms of the richness of music, sport, art and dance as well as seeing images of the great successes that people of African Caribbean descent have enjoyed today. Sadly, they saw that there is still much to battle against in the form of modern slavery, racism and discrimination in the world today. They left the museum with plenty of information to help them with their National Curriculum Assessment, which will form a major part

of their overall Key Stage 3 level award by the end of the year.

Mrs E Hunter Head of History


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Girls Football There has been another extremely positive start to

the season from girls in all years. The U’13s had

another good cup run in the English Schools

Competition with the highlight being an 11-1 victory

over Hartford High school. Unfortunately the girls

were knocked out of the cup in an extremely close

fought game against Flixton Girls School from

Trafford losing 4-3 in the final minutes of the game.

However, the girls have not let this defeat ruin their

spirits and both the U’13 and U’14 teams have

convincingly made their way through to the second

round of the Cheshire schools cup after an 11-1

victory over EPCH and a 9-1 win over Blacon High

school. The U’16 team were handed a bye in the

first round after the opposition couldn’t field a team

and are therefore waiting to hear who their first

game of the season will be against.

On an individual note we currently have Beth

Middleton (Year 10) who, after attending trials, was

selected to represent Cheshire this season. This is

an outstanding achievement particularly

considering that Beth is playing a year young in the

U’16 age group.

A number of girls from Year 8 - 10 also attended

trials for the FA Player Development Centre which

is a new programme in Cheshire looking to assist

the development of young talented female

footballers in the county. Beth Middleton was once

again successful in the trials and along with Sophie

Eccleston (Year 8) and Caitlin Ord (Year 8) will

attend a 20 week coaching programme at the

centre. Congratulations to all three girls and to all

the others who were selected to attend the trials.

If any girl in years 7-11 are interested in playing

football, training takes place on Thursdays after

school until 4:15pm.

Miss N Wilkes

Netball

The girls must be commended for their excellent

commitment to netball club this year. We have

seen more girls attending the club which is making

team selection quite hard but that is how we like it!

If you are not selected for a match you must not be

put off but simply work harder to be selected in the

future. We have had two league matches to date

with some positive results:

Players of the match to date (as voted for by the

opposition):

Year 7 – Madison Juby, Erin Hough, Emily

Heatley, Natasha Hudson

Year 8 – Jasmine Cook, Joydel Finney

Year 9 – Faye Wetherall x2

Year 10 – Ellie Hughes, Martha Cottrell

Year 11 – Amy Pearson, Emma Scott

The girls are reminded to check the board regularly

for upcoming fixtures. If a pupil is ill or unable to

play could we ask parents/carers to ring into school

first thing on the morning of the day of the match to

warn us so we can make other arrangements.

We encourage parents to support any fixtures

so please feel free to come and watch.

Zumba

This is a new club we have introduced this year

that runs every Monday from 3.10-4pm. It is a form

of aerobics with latin links that uses a variety of

latest chart music and latino music. It allows for a

good cardio workout and is so much fun that often

you forget you’re exercising! The girls have been

very enthusiastic about this club with pleasing

numbers attending. It is led by a well-qualified

instructor (who happens to be an ex-pupil) who

runs the session with passion. The club is open to

girls in Year 8 upwards with no limit at this stage on

numbers. The club is completely free and is the

same standard as if you were going to attend a

session at a leisure centre where you could pay

£4.50 or more, so take advantage of this

opportunity starting this Monday!

Miss R Clarke

EPCH WHITBY

7a lost lost

7b won lost

8a won won

8b won lost

9 won Won

10 lost lost

11 lost won


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HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL CHILDREN JOIN PUPILS ACROSS THE WORLD TO UNITE IN GLOBAL MARATHON RACE

TO SAVE CHILDREN’S LIVES

LOCAL SCHOOLCHILDREN COMPETED TO BEAT MAKAU’S WORLD RECORD MARATHON

TIME ON OCTOBER 5

The school team competed in the annual World Marathon Challenge which saw 30 teams of children compete from 16 counties in the UK and over 25 teams from 12 countries overseas. The relay is supported by Save the Children to highlight the challenges faced by children less fortunate than

themselves.

In villages, towns and cities across the world, the 26.2 mile relay races on 5 October will see children

aged 11-13 running together to send a powerful message to the world that No Child is Born to Die.

The aim is for a school team to beat the marathon world record time of 2 hrs 3 minutes and 38 seconds, set only last week in Berlin by Patrick Makau from Manyanzwani, Kenya. Makau broke the record held for 3 years by Haile Gebrselassie, who is supporting Save the Children’s No Child Born to Die campaign and says: “I lost my mother at a young age when she died in childbirth. And in my home village far too many children still die young. It’s so important that mothers and children get access to

trained health workers and the right medicine”

Cheshire Initiative – The idea of the World Marathon Challenge was the brain child of Frodsham

Harrier, George Bunner MBE. The programme was first tested by the children of Helsby High School where its success drew attention form the governing bodies both at home and overseas. It has now

been adopted by Save the Children to develop health initiatives and friendships through partnerships.

On October 5th the children each ran 6 or 7 times over 200 metre sections in a continuous marathon relay at Sportcity in Manchester. Times for each team were transmitted via Twitter at regular intervals as the relays progressed to allow children to monitor their performance against their competitors who ran simultaneously in other venues around the world. The results were published on a world league

table.

In the UK, races will took place at 11am across 15 venues, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Kirklees, Bedford, Oxford, Exeter, and West Dunbartonshire. Teams from 11 other countries across the world, including China, Kenya, Canada, Mexico, Mali, Nigeria, Norway, France,

Spain, Ireland and New Zealand will challenge them.

Justin Forsyth, Chief Executive of Save the Children says “Every child is born with the potential to shine, but right now, across the world, too many children don’t get that chance. Every year almost 8 million children die before their fifth birthday, mostly from illnesses we know how to prevent or treat, such as diarrhea and pneumonia. When children take part in the World Marathon Challenge they'll be running with children from Kirklees to Kiambu, from Madrid to Mali – all standing in solidarity with

children who face a daily struggle to survive.”

For more information please contact:

Sam Jones on [email protected]

Tel 020 7012 6481 / 07531 625 233

mailto:[email protected]


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Year 8 E-Safety Competition

In October 2011 a competition was launched with Year 8. The task was to design a poster for school

which offered E-Safety Advice including Internet Safety Rules

The winner was Jasmine Hulse 8REV, her entry has now been put onto the desktop of all school

accounts so when students log on they now see her poster in full colour.

The runner ups were Rebecca McKennall and Jade Worrall 8PTA, Ross Frewin and Aled Cropley 8NWI, Lauren Miller and Leah Stockton 8MDA and Oliver Marx 8PTA. The runner ups will have their poster

printed in colour and on A3 paper, these will be displayed around school.

In Year 8 Assembly on Tuesday 18th October the winner and the runner ups also received a gift voucher

prize from the Deputy Head, Mr Capstick.

There were over one hundred entries. Thank you so much to everyone who entered there are obviously

a lot of very creative students in Year 8!

Ms Simmonds

Head of Year 8


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HOLIDAY DATES 2012-2013

Date of Closing Date of Re-opening

All pupils

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Autumn Half-Term Friday 19 October Monday 29 October

Christmas 2012/2013 Wednesday 19 December Monday 7 January 2013

Spring Half-Term 2013 Friday 15 February Monday 25 February

Easter 2013 Thursday 28 March Monday 15 April

May Day 2013 Friday 3 May Tuesday 7 May

Summer Half-Term Friday 24 May Monday 3 June

Summer 2013 Tuesday 23 July

Staff training days will be:

Monday 3 September 2012

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Thursday 27 September 2012

Please note: You may have seen on the national news that 30th November may be affected by industrial action. As soon as we are able to clarify the arrangements in school we will write to parents/carers and post the information on the school website.

HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL · Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter 2 Olympics 2016 Lucy Doherty (Year 11)...

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