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Friday 18th July 2014

Dear Parents and Guardians

At the end of a very busy and exciting year here at Hillside I

would like to take this opportunity to thank all our students,

staff, governors and the community for the support they have

shown us this year. Hillside is a truly special place, where

special things happen but this is only possible because of the

hard work and dedication of all involved in the school.

I can't wait to see our Year 11 students again on GCSE results

day in August and I am confident they are going to achieve the

school’s best results yet.

I was honoured to visit Alder Hey Oncology Ward on

Wednesday with Joel Hemans to present them with the

PlayStation 4 we raised money to purchase at our last non-

uniform day. The PlayStation will be available for the

enjoyment of the children staying on the ward and they were

absolutely delighted with it.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a lovely

summer and am looking forward to the next academic year and

the wonderful things I know we will achieve here at Hillside.

School starts for students on Tuesday 2nd September. Year 7

students need to enter school via the front entrance at 8.45am

and students in Years 8 to 11 need to be in school at 10.00am

and should go to their form room.

Our community clubs are due to start again on Monday 15th

September. All are welcome including families and friends of

new intake students. We are offering junior badminton, table

tennis, adult badminton, over 14s fitness, Silver Surfers (1:1

help with IT) musical instrument lessons and beginners

Spanish. A whole host of interesting and worthwhile activities!

Details of when and where will be published in our Septembers

newsletter.

Amanda Ryan,

Headteacher

Leader Readers

These students have been nominated as

exceptional readers by their teachers.

Casey Miller 7MD

Ellie Thorbinson 7GS

Aidan Carr 8RS

Joe Kenny 8RS

Isabella Kemp 10MS

Attendance (Week Commencing: 7.7.14)

Year 7 91.3

Year 8 94.0

Year 9 89.7

Year 10 94.3

Whole School 92.4

Leader Reader

Ellie Thorbinson, Aidan Carr and Casey Miller

Presenting Alder Hay with a new PlayStation 4

GCSE Food Technology Students

Visit Red Hot World Buffet

On Wednesday 9th July, Year 10 GCSE Food Technology students visited

Red Hot World Buffet as part of their controlled assessment task research.

They worked with Head Chef Colin to produce a variety of pizzas which

were readily consumed, and also met the general manager David

Matthews. Students gained insight into health and safety procedures and

the recent history of the restaurant chain, its management and success.

They observed staff from around the world at work and the reality of

working within the food industry. A delicious buffet lunch was enjoyed

and many students adventurously ate multicultural products they have not

tasted before. We were made very welcome by all the staff and very

grateful to them for enabling this learning experience to take place.

Pictured are the Year 7 and Year 8 cricket teams that

successfully defended the South Sefton Senior

Schools Cricket Championships by defeating teams

from Savio, St Ambrose Barlow and Hawthornes.

ICT becomes Computer Science September 2014 sees the launch of the new programme so study for KS3. One of the biggest changes is that ICT is changing its name to

Computer Science. What does this mean for our students? All students in KS3 will still receive 1 hour per week of Computer

Science. Students in KS4 will have the opportunity to opt for a Computer Science or ICT qualification.

The new curriculum will focus on the following 3 strands

Computing (programming)

Digital Literacy (using applications software)

Information Technology (theoretical knowledge about how computers work)

Students at Hillside have always studied a rich curriculum in ICT which

encompassed many of the new strands. Although learners will still use much of the

same software, they will find that their Computer Science lessons cover a greater

level of programming and theoretical knowledge about how computers work.

Some of the sample projects include;

Python Programming

Game making with Kodu / Stencyl / Scratch

History of computers

Binary

Networks and communication

App Design

The Computer Science department are really looking forward to the new, exciting

lessons for September!

The World Cup took on another meaning for 7MD when they read

Tom Palmer’s novel “Foul Play: Brazil.” The form followed this book

online from 11th June to 14th July as the gripping and exciting story

reached its climax. It was an action thriller which was set against the

background of the competition whilst also dealing with saving the

Amazon rainforest. At key points in the novel the form participated in

the voting with other schools across the world to decide which way the

plot would develop, and were rewarded with a certificate of

achievement, which was posted online by the author. Every member of

the class enjoyed the experience and are looking forward to reading

more of Tom Palmer’s books and hopefully, meet the author himself.

Students visit their

Charles Dickens Book Bench in London! A mixture of Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 students accompanied by

a Hillside High School bag, 5 learning coaches and Miss Bolton

enjoyed a wonderful trip to London on Tuesday. The students were

amazed when they were finally reunited with their book bench in

the prestigious St Paul's area of London. They were particularly

amazed to find a couple of Londoners lunching on their bench when

they arrived. When the students were introduced to the passers-by

they had nothing but compliments to offer to the young budding

Bootle artists. It was a very proud moment indeed!

Students then enjoyed a stroll along the Thames in the shadow of

the Millennium Bridge, the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern and the

London Eye. Then they enjoyed a civilised lunch in Covent Garden. Following this there was an afternoon jaunt exploring the delights

and absorbing the atmosphere of Covent Garden.

“I really enjoyed this fantastic trip, especially when the magician chose me as his assistant!” said Caitlin Jade Young.

Once refreshed, they continued to explore the sights of Leicester Square, the school bag enjoyed being near to the red carpet in this

famous square. Marc Cox and Kayleigh Simpson enjoyed imagining themselves in the future strutting up the red carpet in all of their

finery.

The next stop was Trafalgar Square where they boarded the open top bus tour. Soaking up the sun and all the sights, music and street art

from the top deck of the bus, the students discussed literature as we turned right onto Fleet Street. Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber was

on everybody's brains! We then went on to join the London commuter rat race on the tube to make our journey back to Euston Station.

The students were tired, buzzing and hungry. We then enjoyed a lovely supper on the train on the way home and reminisced on all we

had seen.

We could not have wished for a better day weather wise and the

students and Miss Bolton would like to thank Mrs O Brian, Mr

Murphy, Mrs McCarthy, Mr Williams and Mr Stanley for making the

day extra special and simply fabulous!

Year 7 Can Teach Art! Also in Art this week, three of our Year 7 students were charged with

the task of planning and delivering an art lesson! Jude Evans, Thomas

Feeney Shaw and Liam Jones created a differentiated lesson with

learning objectives and a PowerPoint presentation. They were

confident and delivered the lesson well. They marked the work

produced and awarded Vivo Miles for those who achieved their best!

This exercise was a chance for students to test their organisational

skills and self-confidence and to challenge their peers’ artistic talents.

Congratulations to all three boys for their courage and organisational

abilities!

Maths Puzzles You must cut a birthday cake into exactly eight pieces, but

you’re only allowed to make three straight cuts and you can’t

move pieces of the cake as you cut.

How can you do it?

Jake bakes cakes. He bakes more cakes than there are days in

June. He bakes fewer cakes than the seventh square number. If

he sells the cakes he bakes in fives there is one left. If he sells

the cakes in threes there are two left.

How many cakes did Jake bake?

My age is a prime number. Two years ago my age was also a

prime number. Six years ago my age was an odd square number.

I am old enough to vote, but I am not a pensioner.

How old am I?

¡Bienvenidos a Hillside! On Wednesday 9th July 2014 our MFL department arranged a Family Learning Evening for

Year 4 and 5 students and their families to come and enjoy an evening of all things ‘español’.

The evening started with a food tasting event which involved the students using the iPads to

go around the classroom scanning codes to see which foods they would be trying and then

came the fun part – the tapas! There were many things to try including, chorizo, tortilla

española, manchego cheese and the very beautiful patatas bravas carefully cooked by our

very own chef for the evening Mrs McIntyre! ¡Muy delicioso!

Next our families were invited to make their very own sangria (non-alcoholic for the children

of course) and to make their very own tapas, ‘pan con tomate’. This was a hit with everyone

involved and several pots of sangria were even made for extended family members at home!

Finally the evening was rounded off with a ‘family vs family Spanish quiz’ using the

interactive pods. This was lots of fun as we could see who had answered the question

correctly and which team was fastest with their fingers on the pods. Many congratulations to

the Carr family (Team Coche) who won a lovely bottle of Spanish wine and a box of chocolates for the children.

Overall an enjoyable evening was had by all (staff included) and we would very much like to thank the families who attended on the

night. We are already looking forward to our next event and hope to see you all there!

¡Muchas gracias!

After School Clubs

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

School Closed to Pupils Library Club

3.00-4.15pm

Art Club

3.00-4.00pm

Guitar Club

3.00-4.00pm

Library Club

3.00-4.15pm

Art Club 3.00-4.00pm

Drama Club

3.15-4.15pm

Senior Choir Lunchtime

Public Speaking and

Debating (All pupils)

3.00-4.00pm

History Club 3.00-4.00pm

Library Club 3.00-4.15pm

Keyboard Club 3.00-4.00pm

English Homework Club (All

pupils) 3.00-4.00pm

ICT, Business &

Computer Science

Support Sessions

3.00-4.00pm

Library Club

3.00-4.00pm

Rock Workshop

3.00-4.00pm

Senior Choir

Lunchtime

Lunch Menu A

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Crispy chicken nuggets

with chips and beans

Chicken rogan josh with

boiled rice and naan bread

Cheesy vegetable pasta

bake with a leafy salad

and garlic bread

Apple pudding and

custard

Beef casserole with crusty

bread and beetroot

Sweet and sour chicken

with pea and spring onion

rice and a spring roll

Cheese, onion and tomato

ciabatta with wedges and

coleslaw

Orange jelly and ice

cream

Roast beef, roast potatoes

and carrot and swede with

gravy

Spicy chicken penne pasta

with garlic bread

Vegetable tikka with pilau

rice and naan bread

Mixed fruit sponge and

custard

Crispy chicken legends

with savoury rice and

potato rosti

Beef Bolognese with

spaghetti and garlic bread

Cheese vegetable burger

in a seeded bun with curly

fries and coleslaw

Rhubarb crumble and ice

cream

Battered cod or fish

fingers with chips and

peas

Chinese chicken curry

with boiled rice and naan

bread

Jacket potato with cheese

and beans and coleslaw

Cheese and crackers

Term Commences for Students: Tuesday 2nd September

Year 7 Student Photographs: Wednesday 24th September

Year 7 Coffee Morning and Evening: Tuesday 14th October,

10.00am and 7.00pm

Diary Dates

Half Term: Monday 27th October

School Commences: Monday 3rd November

Term Ends: Friday 19th December 3.00pm

Term Commences: Tuesday 6th January

Thought for the Week

“What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.”

- Vern McLellan