ISSUE NUMBER 26
- Spring Term 2017
Once again we have had a very busy term at Morecambe Road School, even
though it has been a relatively short term. We have had residential trips to
Ullswater and Bendrigg Lodge, involving students from Key Stages 3 and 4. The
students have once again excelled and challenged themselves. These trips are
so important in helping them develop their confidence and independence.
We are very lucky to have so many members of staff who are prepared to
organise these trips to enable your children to have these fantastic
opportunities.
Key Stage 2 pupils have taken part in the 69th Lancaster and District Schools’
Singing Festival along with 8 other local primary schools. It was a pleasure to
have been there and the children who took part were a credit to our school.
Last Christmas, many of you donated towards the ‘Shoe Box Appeal’.
Following on from this, Mrs. Weldon who organized the Appeal in school, has
been given the opportunity to travel to Romania later this year. I am sure you
will hear much more about this over the coming months, as it will be an
important part of our school year.
Finally, I would like to say thank you to all the parents and carers for your
support during the Spring term. Wishing all parents, staff and pupils a very
enjoyable Easter Break.
Morecambe Road School
Morecambe Road
Morecambe, LA3 3AB
Telephone: 01524 414384
Class 3 visit to Ingleton Falls.
Thursday 9th March 2017
Class 3 enjoyed a very muddy but exciting day at Ingleton Falls. We followed part of the
waterfall trail challenge and observed the beautiful scenery. We were lucky with the
weather and stopped part way for a picnic lunch.
Thank you to Miss Holmes for organising the visit for us.
In Class 4 we have been looking at books written by
Julia Donaldson. We as a class love The Gruffalo! We
have made a den for the Gruffalo and even made
Gruffalo crumble…Yummy!
S1’s adaptation of Macbeth – English focus book
After 26 weeks and 52 hours of lesson time, we have finally reached the end of our
Macbeth play. The children have loved every 3120 mins of it and I dare say, they
are rather upset that it has finished! However, we have just completed the final
scenes involving Lady Macbeth’s death and Birnam Woods descending on Macbeth,
with his final demise at the hands of Malcolm, son of King Duncan, whom Macbeth
originally kills to become King of Scotland.
For such a complicated (dark story) the pupils have embraced their roles and with
the support of BSL signing, music and some very simple props, this rather political
story has been re-enacted and understood by the members of S1. They have
responded extremely well to the repetitive element of the book (Macbeth in Mind by
Nicola Grove and Keith Park) and grown in confidence with their drama abilities.
Many of the pupils can name the key characters and can often answer questions
about the plot. It has been particularly rewarding to see the children enjoying one of
our greatest literary icons (Shakespeare) and although they may never, truly
appreciate the genius behind the writing, I think he would have been honoured by
their performances. Every English lesson we have, the children want to know if we
are doing Macbeth, and a huge cheer erupts as they find out it is a Macbeth day!
The pupils have been totally engaged with the story from the very beginning and we
will soon be filming a live version so that parents can see the fruits of our labour!
S3 Spring Term 2017
S3 enjoyed making models to aid their learning in
geography this term. They made models of key coastal
and river features such as caves, arches and stacks.
This really helped to learn key vocabulary and got the
class talking about the main processes involved.
S3 also enjoyed designing and making
self-portraits in design technology / art lessons.
Class S4
We were all very proud that the class finally managed to earn the much-coveted 'Class
of the Week' trophy at the beginning of term. The trophy was awarded for really hard
work and focus in class and for being good friends and supporting each other socially.
Since then, they have continued to focus well in class,
particularly enjoying their work on the comical and
emotive David Walliams text, 'The Boy in the Dress,' as
well as working really hard to learn their times tables in
maths.
The whole class was also an enormous help in preparing for the KS2/KS3 French Café
event in February. Pupils tirelessly rehearsed songs in French lessons and performed
them brilliantly with their Key Stage 3 peers on the day. They also practised cooking
crêpes and filling croissants in Food Tech lessons so that
they could serve these to all the friends and parents who
attended the event. They deserve many thanks and
recognition for their efforts, along with all the KS2 staff
who helped to prepare their pupils for their class performances on the day, too - a
great team effort.
Merci beaucoup!Merci beaucoup!Merci beaucoup!Merci beaucoup!
From the 27th February until the 3rd March year 9 went on their annual residential to Bendrigg
Lodge near Kendal. The week was split between the two classes, 9ii heading off first on
Monday morning with Miss Hinchcliffe, Carley and Paul.
When they arrived 9ii unpacked and got straight into their activities such as the climbing wall,
abseiling and archery. On awakening Tuesday morning 9ii found out it had been snowing
during the night leaving a beautiful white blanket across the landscape! This however did not
stop them enjoying the zip wire, bike riding, the indoor cave and canoeing all around Killington
Lake!
On Wednesday lunch time 9i arrived with Mr Davies and Jo. 9ii shared with them some of
their experiences before returning to school in the afternoon. Paul enjoyed it so much he
stayed for the whole week! 9i unpacked and enjoyed an afternoon of rock climbing, abseiling
and the spooky indoor cave experience.
The fun did not stop there and 9i went out to explore the grounds with head torches on a
night walk through the forest, where they also saw a flurry of snow. The next day was an early
rise to get to Yordas cave in the Yorkshire Dales. After exploring the far reaches of the cave
they returned to some hot chocolate and a much warmer indoor cave. An evening of archery
then a good night’s sleep after a fun packed day. 9i finished off the residential with the zip
wire and assault course. Both groups had a great time at Bendrigg Lodge. A big thank you to
the instructors and staff who made it so special.
10i Careers visit to Myerscough College
Having a college in front of our school is great and
pupils benefit in Key Stage 4 from the different
taster courses that Lancaster and Morecambe
College offer. However, 10i decided to look
further afield, opting for a campus tour of
Myerscough College, to better inform their
choices for the future.
Myerscough is an agricultural college that is located in Bilsborrow near Garstang.
10i enjoyed a full campus tour, seeing and experiencing some of the interesting
courses on offer, they also met a few ex-Morecambe Road pupils along the way.
Travelling to Myerscough college is very possible, with buses each morning from
Morecambe and Lancaster. There are many courses available to our young
learners, mainly around animal care, agriculture, sport and farming.
GALA SUCCESS!
Well done to the whole swimming squad at the Special Schools Gala
held at Salt Ayre on Wednesday 15th March. Each pupil won a medal
and a certificate on the day. It was great to see pupils transferring
skills they have learnt to the competitive environment. The whole
group’s behaviour and effort were fantastic. Well done, a real team
effort.
Mr Challis
Year 11 have been busy this term with the curriculum linked to life
skills.
We have been fund raising for our Year 11 prom which is due to be
held on 30th June 2017 at the Strathmore Hotel. Fund raising
activities have included things such as sponsored walks and selling
jellies.
Our class has also been taking advantage of the Spring weather,
mostly rain with a bit of sun, to plant up and bring seeds on in the
school’s horticulture area. Everyone has got ‘stuck in’ to weed and
tidy up and get ready for a blooming summer (hopefully).
We will be running further fundraising events on the run up to our
Prom and look forward to your continued support.
Mr Murgatroyd,
Jo, Nick and 11i Pupils
‘Who am I?’ Exhibition‘Who am I?’ Exhibition‘Who am I?’ Exhibition‘Who am I?’ Exhibition
February 2017
‘Who am I’ was a reflective project aimed at enabling pupils to expand their interests and
ideas.
To begin with pupils from 11ii filled out a questionnaire about themselves and chose up to
three different projects to undertake. Some of the projects they completed included short
films, stop motion animation, collages, 3D models, a song, drawings, a short story, a menu
design and many others. 11ii put together an exhibition and invited primary and secondary
pupils to try and guess which table belonged to whom (answers were supplied in a yellow
envelope!).
Visitors were invited to stick a star on the whiteboard if they liked a piece of work.
At the end of the afternoon we counted 112 stars, well done 11ii!
Howtown Outward Bound
Y10 and Y11
30th Jan – 3rd Feb 2017 Ten Key Stage 4 pupils have recently enjoyed a week of “Adventure and
Challenge” at Howtown Outward Bound Centre in Ullswater. Supported by Jim
Townley, Jo Gibson and Jo Kelly, the group took part in a variety of outdoor
pursuits in some very good if chilly weather.
We set off on Monday morning, breaking our journey by stopping for lunch at
Rheged and then travelled on to Howtown where we met our tutors, Gary and
Katie. After sorting out our rooms, we canoed and waded in the lake. After tea,
we went canoeing again in the dark. Despite the cloud but we saw a lot of stars.
On Tuesday after breakfast did challenges in the grounds and then prepared for
gorge walking. We went to Martindale in the minibus and then after lunch we
climbed the gorge. We all got very wet and cold. We returned to the Centre to
get warm and dry. After tea we went orienteering in the grounds.
Wednesday was expedition day. In the morning we packed and prepared for our
expedition and set of in canoes to tour the lake. Then, after lunch, we canoed
across the lake to Halsteads, the other Outward Bound Centre on Ullswater. The
lake was a bit choppy and the sky was dull. After we had landed on the shore, we
collected wood for a fire and then went for a walk up Aira Force.
We cooked our evening meal outside on Trangias and after some more challenges
in the grounds, we lit the camp fire and toasted marshmallows. We then spent
the night camping out in yurts.
On Thursday we cooked our breakfast and packed up our camp. The weather was
very windy so we had to change our plans. We drove to Sandwick and walked back
to Howtown with many stops for fun and games in Hallinhag Wood. Later that day
we explored the tunnels in the artificial pothole, which were very muddy.
On Friday, we tidied our rooms, then cleaned and returned the kit we had
borrowed. After breakfast we went for a walk up Hallin Fell. It was a cloudy
morning but we were rewarded with some lovely views from the summit. We then
had to support each other for the tricky decent back to the Centre. After lunch
it was time to return to school. We were all looking forward to our own beds and
seeing our families again.
A big thank you to all the people who supported us at Howtown, especially, Gary
and Rosie.
Next year’s Howtown residential is planned for Mon 29th Jan to Friday 3rd Feb and
is open to Y9, Y10 and Y11.
Life Skills
Mrs Holland and members of her form
have undertaken a number of activities
for their Entry Level Certificate.
We have been shopping in the local
area for our fundraising events and also
for making simple meals in school such
as beans on toast and also a full English
breakfast.
We enjoy our trips into
Lancaster and have used
both the train from Bare
Station and the local bus
from Torrisholme. Pupils are
gaining confidence in asking
for their own tickets and also
whilst visiting the local supermarket café.
In the summer months we will be visiting a local garden
centre before starting work in the grounds of the school,
planting summer flowers and shrubs.
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The Eco Council ran a whole school competition during the Autumn
term to find a new motto and logo to represent our school. There
were lots of entries and the Eco team then met to judge them. Two
entries were decided as winners, Patrick Green for his written motto
and Charlie Arkwright for his logo which he had designed as part of
an ICT project. Class 4’s joint entry were the runners up.
We also had a very successful stall at the Christmas Fayre, run by
Oliver and Dean Watson where we sold home-made pot-pourri,
clocks made from recycled CD’s and tree decorations made from
recycled Christmas cards.
During Spring term, we have been making bird feeders to hang up
around school made from recycled materials and the Eco Council
also took over the tuck shop for” Fairtrade Fortnight”. We all went to
Sainsbury’s where the pupils shopped, sourced and bought Fairtrade
good that we then sold in the tuck shop to help raise awareness
about buying Fairtrade goods.
Recently pupils helped Mrs Walker run a whole school assembly to
remind everyone of what we can bring into school to recycle. We can
recycle clothes, batteries, stamps and pens. If you are throwing away
any of these items at home please bring into school with your child
as often if we recycle enough quantities school can win prizes!
Many thanks for your continued support,
From the Morecambe Road School Eco Council.
Logo: Charlie Arkwright Motto: Patrick Green
Making the world a better place
Recycle, Reduce, Re-use
School is helping charity
Caring for the environment
A little bit makes a difference
Recycle paper, batteries and stamps
Eco friendly = Eco world
Save our planet
M��ec��� Roa� S�ho�� St�� B�� O�
Please use School Angel every time you shop online for anything from great holidays & hotels to the latest ipad, mobile phone or must have fashions.
All the major UK retailers have agreed to make a donation to your school every time you shop from the School Angel website.
School Angel is Super Simple
No accounts, No passwords, No email or names needed, just click on whichever shop you want to use and schoolangel will make sure your
donation gets right back to school.
Your School Needs Your Help – School Angel makes it easy, simple and freefor you to make a real difference to your school children
www.schoolangel.org.uk
Dear Parent / Carer,
Morecambe Road School is teamed up with a charity called schoolangel.org.uk
which will help our school to raise money, along with many other schools in the UK
by shopping through their browser.
School Angel works with many big shopping brands in the UK, for example, Amazon,
Argos, Next, Boots and many more which have agreed to donate a portion of the
profit, they normally make on your shopping if you use the School Angel website to
visit their shop. You are guaranteed to only pay exactly the same price, for whatever
you buy, but our school will also receive a donation.
School Angel is really simple to use and our school has its own charity page already
set up which you can visit here:
http://www.schoolangel.org.uk/morecambe-road-school.html
Once on the page all you need to do is click on the logo for whatever shop you would
like to visit. School Angel does not need you to ever create an account or login, there
are no passwords to remember and they will never trouble you with any junk mail.
We are really excited that School Angel can help our school raise lots of money. So
please remember to use the School Angel site when you shop online and ask your
friends and relatives to support us too!
As we start to book our Summer Holidays we hope that our staff, you, your friends
and family might consider visiting this website prior to your purchases.
Many thanks for your ongoing support. Every purchase you make will really make a
difference.
Thank you
Summer 2017 Exam Timetable
The timetable for GCSE Examination this summer is as follows:
Mathematics Paper 1: Thursday 25th May 2017 at 0915
Mathematics Paper 2: Thursday 8th June 2017 at 0915
Mathematics Paper 3: Tuesday 13th June 2017 at 0915
Examination results will be available to be collect between,
10:00 and 12:00 on Thursday 24th August 2017.
Any results not collected will be posted out to the pupils’ home address later that day.
Jim Townley
Exams Officer
SCHOOL MEAL REMINDERS
� School meals are increasing to £2.20 per meal (£11.00 per week) from
Tuesday 18th April 2017
� Please notify school office in writing if your child is stopping school
lunches and will be bringing in a home packed lunch
� A copy of the school lunch menu is on the school website
� Free school meals – to discuss or check a child’s eligibility for free school
meals please contact Area Education Office, Lancaster – 01524 581207
School closes for the Easter Holidays at normal time on
Thursday 30th March 2017
EASTER HOLIDAYS Close after school Thursday 30th March
Re-open Tuesday 18th April
MAY DAY CLOSURE One day only Monday 1st May
HALF TERM Close after school Friday 26th May
Re-open Monday 5th June
SUMMER CLOSURE Close at lunch
(1.15pm)
Friday 21st July, 2017