dear parent/carer welcome to our december 2014...
TRANSCRIPT
Dear Parent/Carer
Welcome to our December 2014 Newsletter. It certainly has been an action-packed term at
Hollingworth as this Newsletter demonstrates, with events and activities in virtually all aspects of
the school life. These have involved the Science, MFL, Food Technology, History, Business &
Enterprise, English, Media Studies, the Arts, PE, IT and Geography departments.
A real feature of the last few years has been the increasing number of pupils involved in raising
money for others. Since September pupils have organised events for Children in Need, Macmillan
Cancer Care and Handicap International. The enthusiasm and commitment shown by children at
Hollingworth to help others is a real pleasure to see.
On behalf of all the staff at Hollingworth, I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a
peaceful New Year.
Darren Randle
Headteacher
The Year 9 Choices Programme will be launched on the return to school in
January. Further information regarding the Year 9 Choices Programme will be sent
home with your child in January including an invitation to attend two evening
events: the GCSE Options Information Evening on Thursday 8th January 2015 at 7pm
and the Year 9 Parents’ Evening on Wednesday 14th January 2015. Please save these
dates in your diary.
As part of our PUSH homework tasks, a selection of sets have been producing cell models. These models
have been amazing and range from cakes, pizzas, jelly, melons to large polystyrene spheres. Here’s a small
selection of examples…
This term the STEM Club has been participating in many activities in Science and Engineering (they will be
completing activities in Technology and Maths later on in the year). In Science they completed
investigations into rockets, slime, rainbow fizz and fireworks. It has been well attended and enjoyed by all.
Since the start of September our Year 7 pupils have all been busy practising for the first
round of the French Spelling Bee. They have had up to fifty words to learn and spell
using the French alphabet. Class competitions will have taken place by the end of
the term and winners will be announced in the New Year.
In October, nine Year 11 pupils participated in an Apprentice style challenge at Crompton House. Pupils
had to work in groups to design a new range of British themed cupcakes for the international supermarket
Aldi. Once the brainstorming was complete and the cakes were iced, they had to create and film an
advert in either French or Spanish. The day closed with final pitches, in English and/or the target language
to the judges. The pupils were definitely all hired!
In October we were very pleased to welcome Mathilde and Irene, our new French and Spanish assistants,
who will be working with us until the end of May. They have been busy supporting pupils in lessons and with
one-to-one speaking practice. Many Year 7 and 8 pupils have also been enjoying the after school French
and Spanish clubs on Fridays, 2-3pm. New members are welcome to join in with the fun activities in the new
term.
A small group of Year 10 MFL pupils have opted to participate in additional Mandarin Chinese lessons on
Mondays, 3-4pm. In these sessions, which will run until Easter, pupils have been enjoying mastering the
basics such as greetings and numbers with Miss Xianwen He from the Confucius Institute in Manchester.
In September we once again celebrated European Day of Languages to
help raise awareness that learning other people’s languages is a way of
helping us to understand each other better and overcome our cultural
differences. Activities included a French rewards breakfast, taster lessons in
other languages and themed meals in the Atrium. Year 7 pupils participated
in a poster competition and our overall winner was: Sarah Catherall (7CS).
¡Felicidades Sarah!
The Food Technology department continue to run their half termly “Chef of the
Term” competition for KS3 pupils. The winners from the last half term were:
Year 8: Erin Green – for perfectly diced vegetables in her vegetable soup
Year 9: Shane Holt – for excellent pastry making
Pupils are now making their Christmas treats. Year 8 are making shortbread biscuits
and Year 9 are making Yule logs.
The Year 10 GCSE Catering groups have made their own Christmas cakes and they
will be spending time icing and decorating these in the next couple of weeks.
Due to the great success of the 2014 World War One Battlefields
visit earlier this year, another 35 Year 9 pupils will be visiting Ypres
in Belgium. This is where British and Commonwealth forces were
involved in a number of battles. The visit is scheduled for 26th and
27th February 2015. As Year 9 pupils study World War One, the
History department have arranged this visit so they can better
understand what they have been learning. This will be a two day
visit with one overnight residential stay close to the sites we will
visit in and around Ypres.
On day one, after an overnight journey via coach and ferry, the
pupils will visit Essex Farm trench and ADS, Passchendaele
Memorial Museum (for an interactive experience of the battle
there in 1917), Tyne Cot British Cemetery (the largest of its kind in
the world), Langemark German Cemetery (as a contrast to the
British Cemetery at Tyne Cot) and the Yorkshire Trench. Their
evening meal will be in a restaurant in Ypres, following which they
will participate in a reconstruction of the
‘Last Post’ ceremony at Menin Gate (a
memorial to British and Commonwealth
soldiers).
On day two, following an overnight
residential stay in Château d’Ebblinghem
in Northern France, the pupils will visit
Sanctuary Wood (to see original British
trenches), ‘In Flanders Field’ interactive
museum and Talbot House (a unique ex-
British soldiers’ club). After eating a
packed lunch (provided) the pupils will
depart, arriving back in Milnrow later on
the second day.
The History Department would like to say a big
well done to all of the Year 10 and 11 pupils that
joined us on our visit to Munich and Berlin in
November. The pupils were a credit to themselves
and the school in terms of their behaviour and
also their eagerness to learn as much as possible
from the experience. As part of the visit, pupils
had the opportunity to go to various sites that are
relevant to their studies into Nazi History and Cold
War History, the highlights being: the German
Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall outdoor
museum, Stasi Prison, Check Point Charlie,
Gestapo Headquarters, Nuremburg Rally Grounds
and Dachau Concentration Camp. This group of
pupils also had the unique experience of actually
being in Berlin for the 25th Anniversary of the fall of
the Berlin Wall.
All day on Wednesday 21st January 2015 pupils from Year 9 at Hollingworth will be taking part in an
enrichment activity that will focus on the Holocaust that happened in World War 2. In History and Religious
Education lessons prior to and subsequent to the day, all Year 9 pupils will be studying the background
reasons for the causes of the Holocaust, Jewish beliefs, the Jewish way of life and the impact of the
Holocaust on the Jewish people and others.
On the actual day Year 9 pupils will attend sessions hosted by members of the Jewish community who will
be giving talks and delivering activities about the Holocaust based on Jewish families’ experiences and
evidence of what happened to the European Jewish population. Pupil activities will revolve around topics
such as ‘Where was God at the Holocaust?’, the transporting of children during the Holocaust, the
Holocaust as seen through art, poetry and literature, and what happened to a guest speaker’s family
members before, during and after the Holocaust.
On Wednesday 22nd October, at The Macron Stadium in Bolton, nine of our
Year 11 pupils represented Hollingworth at The LionHeart Challenge Regional
Finals where 200 young people of all cultures and social backgrounds, from
Schools right across the North West, Yorkshire and Midlands Regions,
assembled to compete in a demand-driven, real-time challenge.
Their challenge was to conceptualise, design and create an innovative and
highly effective product or device which would prevent vulnerable people
becoming victims of anti-social behaviour in the community.
This event sharply focused their minds and intellect as to how they, as young
citizens of their own communities, could take daring and courageous steps
forward to prevent young people not only from falling victim to this crime,
but also to tackle many other crimes which blight the most vulnerable in
our society.
Organisations tasked with the fight against crime and building safer
communities, including the Metropolitan Police Service, Greater
Manchester Police, Victim Support, and the new Police and Crime
Commissioner Officers were present as a sounding board for the Pupils.
Pupils worked as a team on a variety of tasks with the support from their
business mentors - some of whom are most prominent business leaders in
the industry in the North West and also at a national level. A panel of
judges assessed the final Pupil
Team Presentations and awarded points for different key
categories. Our pupils won an award for Best Final Presentation.
As part of the Year 9 ‘Faces of War’ unit, pupils ran a one-day only
Christmas Card & Crafts Pop-Up Shop where they sold Christmas
cards and crafts they had made to raise funds for ‘Help for Heroes’.
The sale was very successful and raised over £50 for the charity.
Many thanks to those who took part!
Over the past half term, Year 7 pupils have been taking part in the
Accelerated Reader project. There has been an incredible
response from the year group, who have been reading books suited
to their reading capabilities, and then taking online quizzes to test
their knowledge. Each pupil who completes a quiz is entered into
the Accelerated Reader raffle with a chance to win a £10 restaurant voucher. A massive well done to all of
the Year 7s who have participated…. keep on quizzing!
This half term’s raffle winners were: SHAAREF REHMAN, UROOSA INAM, HAMMAD ALI
On Thursday 27th November, 143 pupils from five local primaries spent the day at
Hollingworth for an English and Drama enrichment event. Working with some of our
fantastic Year 9 Drama pupils, the primary pupils analysed poems about WW1 and
transformed them into drama performances. Everybody worked to a tight schedule to
make sure we had a wonderful drama showcase. Well done to everybody involved!
Pupils are producing a series of stunning advertisements that are challenging gender and cultural
stereotypes.
Pupils are responding to the challenge of producing DVD covers to a professional standard, prior to being
selected for the Manchester School of Art end of year exhibition.
On Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th December, we will be running the annual Year 9 Media and Business
Enrichment activity. As usual it will take place at Milnrow Working Men’s Club. This year the pupils are
working on a project called Audacity! Full details will be revealed in due course, but it promises to be two
days of creativity and thinking outside of the box……watch this space…..Audacity will be appearing and
playing live!
Jessica Frater (Year 9), Alex Goodall (Year 11) and Joshua Gordon (Year 11) have all
passed their Grade 5 Theory examinations with flying colours. Good luck to Emma Gooding and Samantha
Divers who will be both taking their Grade 3 clarinet at the end of this term.
On Thursday 16th October the Music Department proudly presented our fourth Evening of Music. A number
of pupils from across the key stages offered a variety of performances. It was a great evening that was
attended by a number of parents, carers and Hollingworth pupils.
Hollingworth Academy Band took part in the Rochdale Music Service Christmas Cracker concert at the
Grace Fields Theatre on Sunday 30th November 2014. Well done to everyone who took part.
The Music Department took a group of pupils from Years 7-11 to see Shrek the
Musical at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. Everyone had a fantastic time!
Evening of Voice, Wednesday 4th March 2015.
On Wednesday 15th October, pupils from Year 9 took part in the Future First event at Hopwood Hall College,
Middleton. Pupils had the opportunity to talk to lots of different educational providers about possible career
and qualification pathways for their future.
Pupils who expressed an interest in apprenticeships were invited to a workshop led by Andy Turner, RMBC. It
was a very positive event and a number of pupils have started working on applications for apprenticeship
places for September 2014.
Since mid-November pupils have been attending sixth form interviews with Rochdale Sixth Form College
and Oldham Sixth Form College at Hollingworth Academy. Offers of placements have already been made
to pupils pending GCSE results. In addition, a number of pupils have been invited to attend interviews at
various other FE colleges in the Greater Manchester area.
Hollingworth Academy has been working closely with the National Citizen Service to promote The
Challenge. In 2014, Hollingworth had the highest number of pupils in the borough participating in the
summer 2014 event. This year we are proud to promote this event again and hope that even more pupils
will take advantage of this opportunity. A representative from The Challenge will be available at Year 11
Parents’ Evening in February 2015. In addition, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/get-
involved/take-part/national-citizen-service for further information.
In January 2015, the moderator from IAG will be visiting Hollingworth Academy to assess our application for
the Silver Award. Hopefully we will secure this by the end of January.
In Year 9 pupils will be shortly introduced to CASCAID. This is a careers programme which can be assessed
both in school and at home that can provide valuable information with regards to helping their pending
GCSE options. Further information is available at https://www.cascaid.co.uk/kudos/.
Just to let you know that there is a vast range of information available to pupils and their families on the
school website and VLE with regards to careers and employment. Pupils and parents/carers can access
up-to-date information on job vacancies, alternative pathways and further education. In addition, pupils
can even book an appointment to see Lynsey Lovelock, our Positive Steps Advisor, to discuss any matters
relating to their future plans.
Thursday 5th March 2015: Year 10 Skills North West Exhibition (Trafford Park)
Wednesday 1st April 2015: Year 10 Mock Interviews
The KS4 girls’ team, consisting of Robyn Hartley, Courtney Holt, Bethany Stott and Alice Stott,
were Runners Up in the Rochdale Inter-schools’ Championships.
The KS3 girls’ team, consisting of Jessica Frater, Holly Pountain, Lucia Jones and Sally Tisdall,
were Runners Up in the Rochdale Inter-schools’ Championships.
Over 40 pupils represented the school at the year’s Rochdale Schools’ Cross Country
Championships in October. Well done to all those who took part, but particularly those who
finished in the medal positions:
Matthew Rowson: 1st Year 8 boys
Brandon Morris: 1st Under 16 boys
Louise Akehurst: 2nd Year 9 girls
Under 16 boys’ team – 1st
Under 16 girls’ team – 2nd
Year 7 & 8 girls’ teams – 3rd
All pupils who had represented school in a sports team or attended an extra-curricular sports club were
invited to this year’s Sports Awards Evening in July. Over 100 pupils attended the event at the Mayfield
Rugby Club where a disco followed the formal awards ceremony. Awards were presented to pupils who
were identified as ‘Player of the Year’ in each of the sporting categories. Congratulations to all who
contributed to the extra-curricular programme over the past twelve months and particularly to the 43 pupils
who received awards this year. Special congratulations to the overall ‘Sports Personalities of the Year’: Josh
Gordon and Olivia Stagg, who have shown an exemplary attitude and commitment to extra-curricular sport
over the past year.
In September we took 16 Year 11 GCSE PE pupils to Water Park Adventure Centre in the Lake District as part
of their GCSE PE practical assessments. Pupils were assessed throughout the weekend in both Rock
Climbing and Orienteering. Many of the pupils who attended scored high assessment marks which will
contribute to their final GCSE PE grade.
Another fantastic performance by our pupils at this year’s Rochdale Schools’ Athletics Competition in July.
Eighty pupils represented the school at Sport City and came back with an impressive medal haul! Our
pupils won 17 Gold, 14 Silver and 4 Bronze medals in the individual events – well done to all those who
competed.
Hollingworth’s success story continues…. On Wednesday 3rd December 40 rowers took part in
the Rochdale Indoor Rowing Championships at Kingsway Park. TEAM SUCCESS: Once again,
all 40 won the ten relay races and will now represent Rochdale in the County Finals in Wigan
on Wednesday 11th February 2015. An incredible achievement! INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS: In the
individual events we had some outstanding results. As you can see, we won 23 of the 30 medals available.
An exceptional performance!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR ROWERS!
Year Group GOLD SILVER BRONZE Year 7
2 min row Girls Sarah Catherall (489m PB) Isabelle Labas (456m PB) Megan Beale (455m PB)
Boys Charlie Holmes (505m) Charlie Sutcliffe (464m)
Year 8
3 min row Girls Hannah Barlow (713m PB) Tanya Harrison (709m) Charlie Ogden (708m)
Boys Harry Proctor (801m) Kian Dunn (752m PB)
Year 9
4 min row Girls Grace Lewis (1004m) Sally Tisdall (998m)
Boys Nathan Sykes (1073m) Suhail Hussain (1041m PB) Tom Mayoh (1013m PB)
Year 10
5 min row Girls Elise Greenhalgh (1200m)
Boys Daniel Wain (1364m) Joe Ashton (1363m PB) Brandon Morris (1357m)
Year 11
6 min row Girls Hannah Wain (1410m PB) Leanne Glynn (1402m PB)
Boys Joseph Buckley (1609m) Joshua Gordon (1601m PB)
This year saw Hollingworth compete in the Rochdale Schools’ Swimming Gala for the first time. There were
some outstanding individual performances, with Daniel Wain (10LM) receiving 1st place in both the
backstroke and breaststroke events. Also among the medal winners were Ellie Thompson (7TN) who won a
bronze medal for her performance in the breaststroke event and Sarah Catherall (7CS) who won gold in the
freestyle event. Congratulations to all involved.
On Thursday 20th November the Year 7 Girls’ Football Team won the Rochdale Indoor 5-A-Side Finals at
Falinge Park High School. The girls will now represent Rochdale on Saturday 13 th December in the Greater
Manchester Regional Finals. Hollingworth girls’ football teams hold every trophy available to win for the
2014 season. Rochdale Observer will be publishing an article on this tremendous achievement, which has
never been done before. Well done girls! A reward trip will be planned for the summer for all the girls who
took part.
The 8th – 12th December was computer science week. In order to celebrate this, the IT and Computing
Department participated in the largest learning event in history. Alongside millions of others, including
David Cameron and Barack Obama, pupils in Years 7 - 10 at Hollingworth took part in an ‘Hour of Code’
which encourages pupils to explore the world of coding and computer science. Pupils created popular
games such as flappy birds and angry birds by constructing algorithms and understanding how simple
programming can be. Pupils also explored the careers which computer science can lead to.
As part of computer science week pupils battled it out in ‘Binary Wars’. On a
cold, dark, rainy afternoon in Milnrow, pupils volunteered to fight it out to
become the ultimate binary champion. Pupils from all years pitted their maths
and computing knowledge against each other in order to win high street shopping
vouchers and Vivos. After a strongly fought battle in which competitors negotiated
many obstacles (including flying sponge balls) a winner emerged: Christian Soare
(8TK) became the ultimate binary champion and winner of £15 high street vouchers,
closely followed by Ellis McKeown (7BH) in second place who was awarded £5 in high
street vouchers and Moheeb Hussain (8TK) in third place. Well done!
We have been busy preparing the garden for winter. The beds have been cleared and
hoed so that bugs can feed the birds and rid the beds of pests. Some of the beds were
planted with onions and green manure to prepare for next year. We received hedgerow
plants from the Woodland Trust which we planted on Armistice Day as part of a National
Remembrance Ceremony.
We can now identify different tools and use them in the garden and lots of different plants and
animals too. Recently we have taken delivery of a wheelbarrow through the Morrison’s voucher
scheme - thank you to all those who brought vouchers in.
Most importantly we have fun and have made great friends too!
In the Eco Garden we have seen a range of birds: robins, magpies,
sparrows and pigeons. To feed the feathered creatures we have made
bird feeders.
We have seen many bugs and organisms rooting around in the eco
garden, for example frogs, squirrels and dragonflies. We have placed a
football in the pond to provide oxygen for the bugs when it freezes. We have also
built a five storey bug house named “Bug Heights”; this will allow animals to hibernate
over winter and give somewhere for them to nest and lay eggs too.
the big bird watch run by the RSPB.
The Performing Arts team were delighted
with the cast’s performance in our
production of Grease which ran over
three nights from Wednesday 19th to
Friday 21st November - it was a huge
success! We would like to congratulate all pupils involved, both performers and
those behind the scenes, on their hard work and dedication since July. The
performances were absolutely fantastic and the pupils should be proud of the
professional approach they gave. We were so thrilled with the Team Hollingworth
effort and would like to extend our thanks to all the staff that helped in making and
mending costumes and offering emotional support. We would also like to say a great
big thank you to everyone who came to support the show and all the audience sing-along participation.
Finally, a special thank you to the parents and carers for their patience and taxi services during rehearsals
and performance week.
Shelby Buckley (9WD) had this to say….
On the 19th, 20th and 21st November, the Hollingworth cast of GREASE hand-jived their way down
to the Theatre at Hollingworth Academy. Hundreds of teachers, parents/carers and pupils dusted
off their leather jackets and pulled on their bobby-socks to see what had been called “fun-for-all
night”. I was very lucky to be asked to be front of house manager
and part of the back stage crew. Everyone loved being a part of
the production experience, ensuring that friendships, romances
and memories were made that no-
one will ever forget.
Various activities took place in school to raise funds for this year’s BBC Children in Need
appeal and we managed to collect £1,185.01 in total! Well done to everyone who
organised an event and to those who participated.
On Friday 26th September we held a staff
coffee morning in the LRC to raise money for Macmillan Cancer
Support as part of their ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ campaign.
Staff were invited to don their aprons and bake; the response was so
great, staff struggled to pick a cake as there was so much choice
and they looked so good! Ms Lewis’ Year 8 tutor group also
organised a cake sale on Monday 10th November.
In total we managed to raise £451.24!
All Year 9 Geography pupils have been
learning about conflict in the Middle East
and some have written letters to our local
MP, Simon Danczuk, to ask for international
aid money to be spent in this area as part of the ‘Forgotten 10
Challenge’. We had a Bake Sale on Wednesday 10th December
and raised £97.47 for ‘Handicap International’. The money goes
towards providing ‘risk education’ to prevent deaths and
disabilities, clearing land of land mines and cluster bombs and
supporting the victims of conflict through rehabilitation and
providing artificial limbs. This is a really important issue as 70% of the
victims are innocent civilians and 50% of those people are children,
so it affects their education, their career prospects and their
quality of life. Thank you to all those that supported this cause and
helped children in the Middle East.
Seventy Y9 pupils are currently involved in the St John Ambulance Cadet Unit at
Hollingworth Academy, over the next year pupils will take part in an interactive and full
programme. This programme enables pupils to learn important life skills through the training
course. Cadets have the opportunity to put their first aid and other communication skills
into practice by providing first aid during school events such as drama productions, sports events and music
nights. The unit meets on a weekly basis during term time and pupils have the opportunity to volunteer
throughout the year in the local community and raise funds during charity events organised by the pupils.
When pupils have completed the initial first aid training, they will receive a St John Ambulance Cadet polo
shirt as well as a discount card for a range of high street retailers and restaurants. Pupils have the
opportunity to work towards a Grand Prior Award which is a useful addition to a C.V. or college application,
as it is worth UCAS points which can help when applying for higher education courses.
Lead Unit Learner: Alexandria O’Hare Unit Leader: Amber Hickford
The Hollingworth Work Experience Programme for current Year 10 will commence in the New Year. Between
13th July and 17th July 2015, most Year 10 pupils will be expected to undertake a five day work experience
placement at a place of their choice. The placement does not have to be linked to your child’s chosen
career. Booking forms will be given out during the first week of January; all placements must be booked
and forms returned by mid-February. However, it is advisable that your child begins making enquiries now
and has a placement arranged before the deadline.
Listed below are important points to consider when choosing a work experience placement:
Out of area placements (i.e. outside Rochdale or Oldham districts) are not advisable as the required risk
assessments cannot be completed.
There must be at least two of the company’s employees present with the pupil during the period of
placement.
A placement with family members is not advisable.
The company must have a valid Employer’s Liability Insurance (not Public Liability).
Work experience cannot take place in high risk environments, e.g. a butcher’s shop.
Mrs Hastings will be on hand in Reception to answer any questions or to give assistance with placements
where appropriate and can be contacted directly on 01706 292835, or by email at:
The Catering Department would like to thank the pupils & staff at Hollingworth Academy for supporting our
facility. We are now producing home cooked food at record levels. At the end of this term, we will have
provided over 55,500 lunches and 39,000 breakfasts since September 2014. We are currently making
alterations to our recipes by means of reducing the sugar & fat levels, incorporating wholemeal flour and
adding more fruit and vegetables. This has proven to be successful thus far, with no negative feedback
from the pupils. There is now also signposting for any pupil who has a known allergy to be able to enquire if
any dish contains something which they may have a reaction to. A Food Council has been introduced with
representation from each year group, who can be contacted with any suggestions the pupils have.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the Catering Team.
Two Year 11 pupils, Beth Astin and Harry Royds, laid a wreath on behalf of all
pupils and staff at our school at Milnrow’s Remembrance Service in Milnrow
Park on Sunday 9th November. This service marked the centenary of the
outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and commemorated the sacrifices
made in all wars by people from our country.
In school, we used assemblies to remember those who lost their lives,
particularly those from the Milnrow area. Daniel Gordon (Year 8) played the
Last Post in the Atrium at 11am on Armistice Day and Reveille after two minutes
of silence. The sound of a silent school and this moving music being played
was very memorable.
On Sunday 21st September, the first EVER “Mayor of Rochdale’s Charity Country Fete” was held at Rochdale
Riding Club’s Showground on Roch Valley Way, Rochdale. The event was a huge success and raised in
excess of £6,000 which will be distributed to the Mayor’s three chosen charities at the end of her term in May
2015. The chosen charities are: Springhill Hospice; the Rochdale Children’s Moorland Home; Youth Link.
Parents/carers can find a full list of the extra-curricular sessions we run on our website:
http://www.hollingworthacademy.co.uk by following the links: Pupils/After School Clubs. This is updated
each term and the Spring Term lists will be available to view in January.
The school Reception team strives to offer parents/carers, visitors and pupils an experienced and friendly
service. As part of this service we are aware that there are times when parents/carers need to visit school
to see a member of staff. Where possible, please can parents/carers contact the school in advance to
book an appointment. We understand that this is not always possible and on these occasions we will try to
organise a meeting with the member of staff as soon as they are available, but for unplanned visits there
may be a wait.
There are times when parents/carers need to drop items off for their child. The Reception team will always
endeavour to notify pupils and pass these items on, but please can this be kept to a minimum. It is
ultimately the pupil’s responsibility to remember their equipment for school and at busy times we cannot
guarantee that items dropped off will be passed to pupils in time for the required lessons.
We recommend that parents/carers get their children into the routine of checking their timetable each
evening and packing their bag in readiness for their lessons the following day. This helps pupils become
more organised and hopefully leads to a less stressful school run, or the parent/carer having to take time off
work to bring forgotten items in! Here is a list of the basic equipment that pupils must remember each day
(which is in the pupils’ planners)…
Pen/Pencil/Eraser/Ruler PE Kit Apron for CDT Calculator
Earphones for ICT Exercise Books/Planner/Homework
As parents/carers will be aware, a new barrier has been put in place to restrict access to the school car
park and to reduce speeding on the school grounds. Due to the limited spaces, the school car park is for
staff and visitors only. We would ask that parents/carers who are collecting or dropping pupils off between
9am and 1.30pm use the parent parking at the front of school. At the beginning and end of the school day
parents/carers must park outside the school grounds. We do understand that there may be occasions
when you are collecting a sick child and closer access to school is necessary. In these instances
parents/carers will be given access to the car park. Many thanks for your co-operation.
Parents/carers can find a full list of the GCSE Examinations timetable and Controlled Assessment timetable
on our website: http://www.hollingworthacademy.co.uk by following the links: Exams/Timetable/Controlled
Assessment. These are updated as required.
Attached to the back of this Newsletter is a copy of our Holiday Pattern for 2015 – 2016, which you can
detach and keep.
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26
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to
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30
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Frid
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18
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19
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Monday 5th January: SCHOOL OPENS
Thursday 8th January: Y9 Understanding GCSE Options
Wednesday 14th January: Y9 IAG Parents’ Evening
Thursday 29th January: Y7 Parents’ Evening
Friday 13th February: SCHOOL CLOSES FOR HALF TERM
Monday 23rd February: SCHOOL OPENS
Wednesday 25th February: Y11 Parents’ Evening & Be the Best Parents’ Conference Workshops
Wednesday 4th March: Evening of Voice
Thursday 5th March: Y10 Skills North West Exhibition (Trafford Park)
Tuesday 24th March: Evening of Dance
Wednesday 1st April: Y10 Mock Interviews
Thursday 2nd April: Evening of Drama
Thursday 2nd April: SCHOOL CLOSES FOR EASTER
Monday 20th April: SCHOOL OPENS
Monday 4th May: BANK HOLIDAY – school closed
Thursday 7th May: Y11 GCSE Drama Performance
Monday 11th May: Y8 Parents’ Evening
Thursday 14th May: Y7 into Y8 Transition Evening
Friday 22nd May: SCHOOL CLOSES FOR HALF TERM
Monday 1st June: SCHOOL OPENS – NEW SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS
Tuesday 16th June: New Y11 (old Y10) Parents’ Evening
Wednesday 24th June: Careers Fair (CEIAG)
Thursday 2nd July: New Y8 & Y11 Presentation Evening
Monday 6th July: New Y9 & Y10 Presentation Evening
Tuesday 7th July: New Y7 Induction Day/Evening
Friday 17th July: SCHOOL CLOSES FOR SUMMER