Term Two 2018-19 Newsletter Issue 004 - Stretford …...Page 1 of 15 Term Two 2018-19 Newsletter –...

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Term Two 2018-19 Newsletter – Issue 004

We thought about it…

My last newsletter started with “think about it” in relation to striving to

reach our goals and ambitions. After a term of competitions, trips,

costumes, re-enactment, record breaking number of House Points

awarded, charity, community spirit and love, it is fair to say we didn’t

just think about it. We thought about it and then we smashed it.

We continue to showcase the amazing qualities that staff and

students at Stretford High have to offer and this newsletter is a

celebration and reminder of what has been achieved over the last

term.

Keep working hard, push yourself to reach your potential and

remember to celebrate the good things that you do in and around

the school. Have a restful Easter break and I look forward to

welcoming you all back in Term Three.

Mrs. Doward

House News

Royce managed to claim the House Trophy last term with over half

a million points. This term Team Royce retained the House Trophy,

thanks in part to their ability to double their points tally to over a

million. They are the first House to reach this milestone since the new

House system was created. Well done Royce House!

Pankhurst have secured second place for a consecutive term,

comfortably ahead of their nearest rivals, Turing. Bronte have

earned more than they did at this stage last year, however, it is not

enough to push them further up the leader board.

A total 3,777,745 points have been awarded since the start of the

academic year (another record) for attendance, library book loans

and, of course, points awarded in and around school for being

ready, showing respect and being safe.

Remember to keep working hard and earn points for your House, you

never know you could be in for a reward at the end of Term Three if

you amass the highest number of points in your form or year.

Enjoy this bumper edition newsletter and thank you all for everything

you have contributed to this term.

Mr. Freedman (Student Champion)

Students, per House, with the

most House Points at the end of

Term Two.

Bronte

Mikaeel S. (7B/SKN) 8122

Pankhurst

Daniel-James M. (8P/CSI) 9093

Royce

Uzair Y. (7R/OMO) 10938

Turing

Kushpreet K. (7T/GRO) 7971

House Points, per House, at the

end of Term Two.

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ARRIVEDERCI ROME!

On Friday 22nd March a group of 26 of our Year 7 students gathered

at Manchester Airport with 5 staff for the eleventh (and final) Stretford

High School trip to Rome. It was (as always) a sickeningly early start.

Early drama was avoided by everyone being on time and nobody

having a case that was too large for the plane. Once we had

checked in and gone flight side through security everybody

scattered in groups to do “breakfast shopping” (which translates as

“eat as much sugar as possible”!). The flight to Rome was wonderful

as always. Jet2.com have flown us over on every trip and their staff

always treat us well when we are on board. When we arrived in Rome

it was midday, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was already 25

degrees. Perfect!

Sadly, our luck didn’t hold for much longer. There was a strike at Rome

airport so we instantly had a one hour delay waiting for bags to arrive

on the carousel. This wasn’t so bad. I spent most of this time playing

“Pokemon Go” and, besides catching Pokemon with students, we

also got to cheer the Italian Special Olympics Team, who arrived at

Rome airport at the same time as us, laden down with medals from

an athletics meet in Dubai. Very impressive!

Once clear of the airport everything else that day went to plan. We

took the Leonardo Express into Rome, the Metro to the Hostel and

then we checked in. By this point we were starving so we got out of

the hostel very quickly and made our way to the Trevi Fountain where

we had dinner (and a certain nameless student ordered a steak with

chips instead of the Pizza or pasta that he should have done! I

couldn’t believe it…I’m not made of money!). After dinner we walked

through the centre of Rome on a beautiful Friday evening (surely one

of life’s great experiences). We threw coins in the Trevi Fountain,

Students, per Year, with the

most House Points at the end

of Term Two.

Year 7

Uzair Y. (7R/OMO) 10938

Year 8

Zarah M. (8R/SSH) 10224

Year 9

Kamay L. (9B/SWE) 6214

Year 10

Zara K. (10P/MFI) 6888

Year 11

Dev Singh L. (11R/ZMA) 8472

House Points, per Year, at the

end of Term Two.

Year 7 937002

Year 8 940772

Year 9 684505

Year 10 604168

Year 11 610998

Sporting Events

Keep an eye out for results

coming in the next few weeks:

Y8/9 girls football tournament

Internal matches between year

groups, starting with Year 10 vs

Year 11.

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marvelled at the priceless art treasures in the Pantheon and ate gelato in the Piazza Navona. Days

rarely get better than that!

On Saturday morning we had breakfast at Vincenzo and Alyseo’s café next door to the hostel (they

have made us breakfast since our first trip in 2006 and they always remember us). After that we took

the train to Ostia Antica, the Roman Ghost town outside of the city. After exploring the ruins on a

blisteringly hot day (and keeping a wary eye open for basking snakes, lizards and scorpions) we took

the train back into Rome before exploring the Colosseum. All stadiums in the world have been based

on the design of the Colosseum (and it even staged a mock naval battle about 2000 years ago! The

Romans made the stage area watertight and built two battle ships inside the stadium. These ships

were manned by Gladiators who then fought to the death in a battle between the two ships! Makes

you reflect that human cruelty knows almost no bounds).

After the Colosseum the hot day started to take its toll amongst our students. After dinner I had to

take one back to the hostel because he was unwell. The rest of the group went on to the Spanish

Steps. However, whilst I was back at the hostel I got a text message from one of the teachers to say

that the Metro at the Spanish Steps had been shut. This was a major problem…how to get everyone

back to the hostel on a Saturday evening? Fortunately, the staff on the trip were amazing and they

used their phones to guide everyone to a different station in order to get the Metro back. When they

got back to the hostel I expected the students to be upset at having to walk quite a distance. Not a

bit of it! Everyone seemed very happy and had treated it as a problem that had required solving.

Fantastic attitude from the staff and students.

Sunday morning started with

“Rome Supermarket Sweep”. Each

group received 50 euros to do their

food shopping for breakfast and a

Vatican picnic that day. Off they

went around the Auchan

Supermarket next door to the

hostel whilst I stocked up on Italian

coffee! Once we finished

breakfast we made our way on

the Metro to the Vatican, where

we saw the Pope deliver his

midday Sunday address to 100,000

people. After that we had our

picnic in the Vatican square

(again, one of life’s great

moments!). Once lunch had been

eaten we looked around St. Peter’s Church (the centre of Christianity) before doing something that

we had never done before. This was our last trip to Rome so EVERYBODY was going to do the 551

steps to the top of the Cupola. Yes, it was an effort, but those who were reluctant had to admit that

the view was amazing from the top and they did get a sense of achievement from completing the

climb.

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Once we were back down it was time for some souvenir shopping in the Vatican area followed by

dinner in the Vatican. We had two of our students have birthdays and turn 12 on the trip so we held

a double celebration for them both, complete with cake, candles, cards and a rousing chorus of

“Happy Birthday!” After that it was time for one last gelato before going back to the hostel to pack.

On Monday we said goodbye to the “Youth Station Hostel”. They have provided accommodation

for us on every trip since 2006 and it was sad to say “Farewell” to Daniel and Marco…they have

helped us out with our Rome trips since the start. The Metro and train trip to the airport was as frantic

as ever but we managed to get through security in good time. At the foot of the stairs to the plane I

breathed a sigh of relief…the students were all on board and we were going home. I gave Ms Lowry

and Ms Crabtree a “high 5” and started to walk up the stairs. Literally seconds later we had a crisis to

deal with…a student had left his passport on the bus! I had celebrated too soon! Fortunately, the bus

came back to the plane ten minutes later and the driver handed over the lost passport. Now I could

relax!

This was a wonderful trip to Rome. The attitude of the students throughout was fantastic…they were

upbeat, positive and enquiring at all times. The staff; Ms Latham, Ms Crabtree, Ms Lowry and Ms

Hughes were amazing. Anybody who has supervised on the Rome trip knows that it is hard work and

anything but a holiday. I’d like to give a big thank you to all of the students who attended the eleven

Rome trips over the years (that works out at 275 children!). Similarly, all of the staff who have had to

endure me shouting the word “Groups!” every five minutes…you have my admiration for your

patience.

Arriverderci Rome!

Mr. Hirst

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Y7 STEM Spelling Bee 'Grand Final' Results

In January we held our 'Grand Final' of the ‘STEM Spelling Bee’. The list of finalists was huge and

included: Aleem, Ruhi, Alfie, Hamid, Daod, Haifa, Daniel, Umaymah, Humera, Nawaha, Kaiden-Lee,

Sabeeya, Abdo Rahman, Nooriyah, Ahmed, Medina and Abdi.

After round one, the top 4 went through to round two where they

had to spell each word aloud. It was a gripping showdown

between Humera, Ahmed, Nawaha and Abdo Rahman. After a

tense and nail biting showdown, it came down to Nawaha and

Ahmed from Mrs Pixton and Mr Moloney’s classes respectively.

After an intense final, the overall champion and recipient of the

trophy for 2019 was crowned - NAWAHA - ‘STEM Spelling Champion

2019’.

All finalists received a badge and certificate to mark their

outstanding efforts.

A massive well done to all of the year 7 students, wonderful effort

with the in-class rounds and fantastic behaviour throughout the

competition today. And well done Nawaha!

Mrs Clayton

Disneyland 2019

Four members of staff embarked on

a week’s stay in Disneyland Paris with

31 of our year 9 and 10 students. It

was absolutely fantastic to see some

of our quieter students really come

out of their shell. Our students made

us exceptionally proud! The

student’s enjoyment made our

exhaustion totally worth it.

Students attended seminars and

workshops as well as enjoying some

of the main attractions at the park.

The staff delivering the seminars

commented that our students

certainly had personality and were a

pleasure to teach.

Mr. Moloney

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Year 10 English Residential.

At the beginning of March Year 10 jetted off to

the peak district for some intensive English

revision to help them prepare for their GCSE

English Language Exam in June.

Students covered a range of skills and exam

questions and even managed to see some of the

glorious peak district on a walk through some

very muddy fields. We certainly made the most

of our environment as inspiration for creative

writing! Thank you to Mrs Rhodes, Miss Mitchell-

Brady and Mr Taylor for their support on their trip.

Good to luck to all Year 10 and 11 students in your upcoming English exams.

Miss. Eggleton

Drama

The Drama department took 11 students on a visit to

London last term. Our budding dramatists took

backstage tours at The National Theatre and The

Globe before spending an evening watching Les

Misérables on the West End. The students were an

absolute credit to the school and to themselves.

Miss. Crabtree

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Library

This has been an incredibly busy term in Stretford High Library!

We've celebrated lots of things,

including International Children's Book

Day (2nd of April every year) and the

big one; World Book Day in March.

World Book Day was an incredible day

once again, with pupils taking part in

competitions and activities in the

Library throughout the day, and 200

pupils were lucky enough to grab a

free WBD special edition Diary Of A

Wimpy Kid book. 100 books went

before the school day officially started,

and there were pupils queuing up

outside the Library waiting for it to

open so they could be in with a

chance of getting hold of one.

Lots of staff dressed up as characters from their favourite books to celebrate their love of reading

and share it with the pupils, and hid behind their favourite book covers for a quiz that's still getting

interest! Once again the Library was full-to-bursting with

staff and students celebrating books and reading at

break time and people were queuing to get in!

Key Stage Three pupils created some wonderful World

Book Day homework; they dressed up cans and tins as

book characters and they're on display and looking

fantastic in the Library.

In addition to all of this, one of our amazing Year 8 pupils'

English homework was so impressive that it caused

conversation between the authors of the on Twitter!

We're already planning our next event for after Half Term

with Harry Potter Night in the Library, so keep your eyes

peeled for next time to see how it went!

Miss. Winn

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No Borders, Just Horizons, Only Freedom

The Welfare Team returned from a fantastic trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park back in March. It allowed

some of our students an amazing opportunity to get into nature, appreciate art, reflect and work

together.

The students were a credit to

Stretford High and their

behaviour, so a special thank

you to each and everyone of

you for your attitude and

enthusiasm!

Mr. Devine

At the car wash

The second annual Staff Car

wash raised a staggering £89!

This money will be used for lots

of fantastic opportunities for

the students and families that

need it most in our community.

A huge thank you from all of

the Welfare Team to the

students that helped on the

day and to the staff who

allowed their car to be

washed!

Roll on the Spring Term where

the car wash will be a much

more enjoyable experience.

Mr. Devine

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Careers

As part of their Careers lessons, a group of Year 9's had

the pleasure of being invited to Trafford Town Hall to

explore the roles of an apprentice there. We were given

a guided tour, in depth Q&A session about current

apprenticeships as well as knowledge on the various

routes into a position. We saw some of the fabulous work

Trafford Council apprentices have been a part of and

were given an insight into the pros and cons of this type

of employment and learning.

Not only were we treated like VIPs, given refreshments and

goodies, we were also greeted by Trafford Mayor

Councillor Tom Ross who showed us around the Mayor's

parlour with a privileged look at the guest book noting the

esteemed visitors over the years. Students found it a really

worthwhile, informative, experience. Thank you to all

involved.

Mrs. Latham

Debate mate

Our budding Year 7s, took part in the Urban

Debate League round 2 yesterday with the help

and support of some our more established

debaters. We were so proud of the effort and

enthusiasm shown by our students, Lovepreet,

Babandeep , Gurditar and Neo.

Authur showed everyone how it is done as the final

speaker in the FPTP Debate earlier in the month. As

the fourth and final speaker he has a unique role to

play; summarising previous speaker points and

rebuttals. Arthur is always busy writing notes during

the whole debate and makes sure no point left

unturned in the final showdown. Great to watch!

Miss. Knowles and Miss. Van Alderwegen

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History Club

We're now six sessions into our new Stretford High History Club. We had

a fantastic start with a varied and brilliant group investigating the

infamous Whitechapel Murders of 1888 and deciding who was the real

Jack the Ripper. We've since debated the pros and cons or getting

involved in World War Two, investigated the best and worst of the British

Empire and discussed Manchester's own Peterloo Massacre. Last term

we even arranged the room to emulate the trenches of the First World

War and really imagine what it would be like to be there.

This is a great way for any enthusiastic History lovers to have fun and

look at areas that we wouldn't normally discuss in lessons. We're putting

the pupils in charge and getting them to pick topics that they are

interested in. Going forward we might even make the pupils present a

session themselves.

In the coming weeks we're looking at areas such as medieval battles,

Irish history and the Civil War. Interestingly, a popular option was 'The

partition of India', although I must admit I might need to brush up on

that myself first.

Staff sometimes get involved in the action too dressing up as our

favourite historians.

Mr. Neilson

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Humanities EGG Competition

The first humanities egg competition has been a wonderful

success! All the entries were fantastic, and you have all

worked really hard! It was a tough competition, our top

judges Mrs Lee, Mr Kyrycz & Mr Neilson had a very hard time

choosing our winners. In first place, Jayden with his Martin

Luther King Jr. Egg. Second place, Anaaya & Nawaha for

their fantastic interpretation of the humanities department.

In joint third place, Angelica with Henry VIII and Laura with

Christopher Columbus. Have a look at the winning eggs,

they’re simply eggcellent!

Miss. Clark

Imperial War Museum

This term provided a fantastic opportunity for a group of Year 8 students to visit the Imperial War

Museum in Salford. This museum, explores the conflicts that Britain had been involved in since the First

World War to the current day through a timeline of objects. It was poignant to walk into a reading of

a poem about children in war, with images and facts projected onto the walls within the museum.

Our students viewed each and every piece presented by the Museum and were able to use this

contextual information in their final responses to War Poetry in English.

Mrs. Mahmud

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Year 7 Football

While the year 11's were battling away on

home soil, the Year 7's travelled away to

take on St. Anthony's in the Trafford Footballl

Cup in March. Year 7 continued to march

on with their great form and stormed home

to a 10-2 win. Caius with another hat-trick,

Hamza with his first goal for school, Dylan

added a couple more, Kanji managed 2

from defense, Mohammed scored one and

Alec wrapped the game up by smashing

the ball in to the top corner from 18 yards

out.

They followed this victory with an away trip

to Sale Grammar where their cup run

unfortunately came to an end. A strong

defensive display saw us go in at half time

only 1-0 down to a penalty and then the students came out ready for the second half.

A much improved performance in the second half saw Isa and Kandji score two amazing goals but

unfortunately the height of the other team saw them score 2 from corners and the result ended up

coming in at 4-2 to Sale. A very respectable score line against a strong team.

Well done to the Year 7 team – you have the potential to make others quake in their boots based on

how you have progressed.

Keep an eye out for the talent of the following boys; Adam, Callum, Kandji, Hamza, Dylan, Isa, Alec,

Aaron , Caius, Mohammed and Mohammed.

Mr. Fielding

Year 11 Basketball

Stretford gave a valiant effort but

unfortunately fell 43-35 to the better team in

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. This is a

team that didn't win anything in year 7, 8 or 9

but they made a huge commitment to come

together and get better. They are continuing

to grow as a team every day. Thank you for

having the determination and passion that

they have shown while representing the school

over 5 years.

I salute you.

Mr. Fielding

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Student Council

Student Council has been busier than ever this term, with all the Year 7 to Year 10 Student Council

representatives undertaking a new initiative for a Student Leadership Accreditation. This has seen

some our very talented Year 9s plan, prepare and deliver an assembly on “success” to all the year

groups. As well as listening and sharing the views and suggestions from their peers, they are

launching a recycling campaign around the school, along with the help and advice of Mr. Cooke,

to help reduce our waste and carbon footprint. Although in the early stages, there are some big

plans ahead, so watch this space.

During last half term, the whole school was invited to take part in a competition to create a poster

to raise awareness around the importance of recycling. With several entries from all the year groups

I managed to whittle it down to ten and left the very tough decision to choose a winner to Mrs.

Doward.

The posters will be copied, laminated and placed around the school. In first place is Warda (Year

8), who receives 100 House Points and a shopping voucher for the Trafford Centre – well done

Warda. In a very close second, with an equally amazing poster, is Humera. Well done Humera, 50

House Points have been awarded to you.

Check out the winning entries below.

Mr. Freedman

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Thank You

This certificate says it all. Thank you Stretford High.

Mr Freeman

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Maths Club

Don’t forget to attend your Maths Homework Club next term!

Mr. Mohamed

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