international · the comenius project is a british council funded initiative, named after jan amos...

Helsby High School Spring Newsletter 2014

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Spring 2014

Helsby High School Welcomes Comenius VisitorsHelsby High School Welcomes Comenius VisitorsHelsby High School Welcomes Comenius Visitors

We were delighted to welcome visitors from our two Comenius partner schools

(Collège Noël Berrier, Corbigny, France and IGS Wallstraße Wolfenbüttel, Germany).

Some of our Year 8 students hosted visitors, and worked together during the week on

activities linked to the ‘Healthy Europe -Happy Europe’ project.

The Comenius project is a British Council funded initiative, named after Jan Amos

Comenius who was a 16th Century educator and is generally considered to be the

father of the modern education system. Comenius aims to develop knowledge and

understanding among young people about the diversity of European cultures and the

value of this diversity.

The two year Comenius project will extend into next year, when our students will

make return visits to France and Germany.

This logo was designed

by Zoe S, to represent

our Comenius

partnership project.

INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL

WOMEN’S DAYWOMEN’S DAYWOMEN’S DAY On Friday 7

M a r c h ,

f o u r t e e n

Year Ten

girls visited

C h e s t e r

Un i vers i ty

as part of

International

Women’s Day. They attended a conference

organised by the Faculty of Science and

Engineering, promoting opportunities for

women in STEM subject careers. (Science,

Technology, Engineering and Maths).

The day included a mixture of talks and

hands on sessions including a

demonstration of a 3D printer and a food

tasting activity.

Talks were given by women currently

working in a variety of careers at

Daresbury Laboratories and Stanlow

Refinery. The pupils particularly enjoyed

the talk given by the keynote speaker, Dr

Lucy Rogers, who gave a very inspiring

presentation outlining her exciting work

with NASA, Rolls Royce, and the Hong

Kong shipping industry amongst others.

It certainly raised the profile of careers in

the engineering profession and also

highlighted the exciting opportunities

available to STEM subject graduates.

Overall the students found the experience

very positive and it gave them lots to

think about in terms of future careers.

Over the coming months our Key Stage

Four pupils will have a range of

opportunities which will help them to

make their important Post-16 choices.

Mrs M Marvin


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Year 7 students

visit Mosque in Liverpool During March, Year 7 pupils visited the Al-Rahma Mosque in Liverpool as part of their study of the religion of Islam. The visits included a tour of the Mosque, an exhibition

of artefacts and an informative 'hands on' talk and question session. We were made to feel very welcome by everyone at the Mosque and the pupils were both

enthusiastic and well behaved. A credit to Helsby High School. Pupils have sent a variety of cards to the Mosque as a way of saying thank you or 'Shakran'!

Mrs J Penney


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YOUTH PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS On 23 and 24 January, Year 10 and Year 11 took part in the youth parliament elections. The Youth

Parliament is an organisation that is run by young people providing opportunities for 11-18 year-olds

to use their voice in creative ways to bring about social change. The election Helsby students were

involved with was to select a new youth parliament member for the Cheshire area who will hold this

position for a year.

The experience was their first taste of democracy with all individuals casting a vote for one of five

candidates. The process involved watching the candidates pledge their principles and promises to the

audience, similar to what we see in parliament! The outcome of the votes and thereby the winner will

be announced on the 9 March, and the votes of the Helsby students will have contributed to the result.

The general aim of the event was to introduce and encourage young people to engage in politics.

Y8 Spy Stories Last term Year 8 took part in a National pilot for a new style of English Teaching. The

English department were extremely privileged to be selected to trial these

exciting new lessons from Pearson Education. These lessons focus on teaching

Grammar skills in context and allow pupils to develop higher level reading and

writing skills in a completely new and engaging way. Over the lessons pupils

learned about a wide range of Grammar skills from sentence construction to

pronoun use with a focus on the genre of Spy Fiction. At the end of the unit pupils

were given the opportunity to try out all their new skills by writing their own Spy Fiction stories, and

what fantastic results they achieved! Over 90% of pupils achieved better than their target level and

many pupils produced stories that GCSE pupils would be proud to say they had written. Mrs Booth

said, “It’s quite amazing how far the pupils have come in such a short space of time, teaching

Grammar in context is empowering for pupils and has a direct and significant impact on their

progress.”

Mrs Booth’s 8y1 class decided to introduce a competitive element to their Spy story writing with the

top 3 stories awarded a prize. At the pupils’ request, the prize was to have their stories published on

the school website so the top 3 stories can be read via www.helsbyhigh.org.uk.

The winning stories were by: Zoe M, 8AME, Emily R, 8DME and Sam M, 8DME.

Mrs E Booth, English Department


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SCHOOL PRODUCTION “The best one yet” a long-standing member of the PE department exclaimed to

one of my friends. She was, of course, referring to the mouthful-and-half that was

this year’s home-made bona-fide original School Production, ‘John Scott Stevens

Wants to Know Someone Who Will Change the World’. I had the pleasure of going

on the last night (Best performance, and everyone cries at the end. Every. Single.

Time).

The play tackled a difficult issue, namely: domestic abuse. It was split into four

different acts, with music by The Beautiful South or The Housemartins weaved throughout. At the

end of each act the audience was ushered out and then ushered in again to find the chairs having

mysterious rearranged themselves. As each act told a different

part in the lives of John – a dreamer who wants to know

someone who will change the world – and Susan – the girl he

falls in love with – this gave the audience a different

perspective; a different way for the story to be told.

We were led, by the effervescent bundle of joy that was the

Narrator, through a story which told of childhood and hippies

and love and loss and grief; a story which could flip from the

hilarious absurdity of someone spitting cake across the stage to

the soberness of watching John break down as Susan leaves

him. It was only in the fourth act, with an audience already

feeling overwhelmed, that we saw a broken Susan trapped in a

bruising marriage and the poignant alter-ego of John, Pockets,

trapped in the shadow of losing Susan to someone else. Even

after Pockets shudders and weeps when he hears Susan is

dead, the audience was not ready for Susan’s final, bittersweet

legacy – the Susan Darling Foundation, a society that helps

people escape abusive relationships – and that for one woman,

through this Foundation, “Susan Darling literally changed my

world.”

Once again, we have a testament to the tenacity and talent of Helsby High School’s inexhaustible

Drama Department; not only to the effort and energy of both the teachers and the taught, but of

their remarkable sensitivity and imagination in creating such a beautiful work of theatre.

Conor Ross J

Lower 6

A portion of the money raised by the ticket sales went towards the Sara

Charlton Foundation, which helps women suffering from domestic

violence in the UK.


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Year 11 Revision Event Tuesday 11th March

Helsby High School invited all students, parents & carers to a

Revision Event for Year 11 which was held on Tuesday 11th March.

An Expert Speaker worked with students to ensure they revise more

effectively and helped parents and carers to manage their stress…

both sons, daughters and their own!

Thank you to all the parents and students that attended the event;

the feedback was excellent and we are hope students utilise their new

techniques when preparing for their forthcoming exams.


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The Cheshire West and Chester Youth Senate In the past few months, our local council has set up a ‘Youth Senate’. The group is made up of 18

young people from across the local authority. Three of the members are from Helsby High School,

these are myself, Beth Poole and Liam Jones. Other members are UK Youth Parliament candidates

and a former UKYP member. The purpose of this group is to provide a young people’s voice in the

council’s decision making. We hold conferences at the council headquarters in Chester and talk with

people who run the local government and manage policy. In our December conference, we

scrutinised and put forward our views on proposed changes to school transport provision to a senior

planner in this area. We are involved in a wide range of issues in the Cheshire West and Chester

area, such as education, health and sports.

Should you wish to raise any issues, whether you feel that they are important to you, the wider

community or both, then feel free to talk to any of the three ‘senators’ at school. Our job is to

represent you, the young people in this area, and we will be sure to raise your concerns with the

Youth Senate and the county council.

Keith B

Design a Mobile App – Mrs Turner’s ClassesYear 9 computing students were recently given a project brief to design a mobile application for their ICT project. Many students entered the competition and presented their Apps to their teacher. The standard was exceptionally high and the competition was fierce… just like it is in the real world!

After taking time to assess the quality of the innovationsand the viability of their designs, Mrs Turner, ably assisted by teaching assistants and 6th form computing students, awarded prizes to the top five students.

Well Done to everybody that took part!

Dean 1st Prize

Dan 2nd Prize

Ryan 3rd Prize

James 4th Prize

Katelyn 5th Prize


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Year 8 Boys are County Sports-Hall Athletics Champions

On Friday 7 March the Northgate Arena in Chester hosted the County Finals of the Sports-Hall

Athletics competition.

Each of the teams (year 7 boys, year 7 girls, year 8 boys and year 8 girls) had qualified for the finals

by first winning their district competition. Having won in all categories at the district event, Helsby

had a full complement of four teams at the event.

All the teams performed well but the most credit should go to the boys from year 8 who finished in

first place and picked up the trophy as County Champions.

The year 8 boys’ team (pictured below) was: Niall T, Luke S, Sam M, James C, Jacob B and Brandon J.

Other results were: Year 7 Boys 2nd, Year 7 Girls 4th, and Year 8 Girls 4th.

Year 7 & 8 Girls Team

Year 7 & 8 Boys Team


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2014 Cheshire County

Cross-Country On Saturday 18 January numerous Helsby

students braved difficult conditions and poor

weather to represent Halton district in the

Cheshire Schools Cross-Country Championships

at Knight’s Grange in Winsford.

In the Senior Girls (yrs. 12 & 13) race Jess P,

despite only just returning from injury and being

a year young, finished in 2nd place which means

she has qualified to run for Cheshire in the

English Schools Championships.

In the Inter Girls (yrs. 10 & 11) race Georgia

M finished a very creditable 12th despite giving

away a school year to many of the other

runners.

In the Junior Girls (yrs. 8 & 9) race Emily H,

Natasha T, Eleanor J and Hannah B all ran well

whilst in the Minor Girls (Yr. 7) race five

students represented the district. They were:

Isla B, Orla M, Victoria W, Ellie M, Niamh O and

Beth S.

All the girls put in good performances with Isla B

(17th) deserving particular credit for making the

Cheshire team to run vs. Merseyside in March.

In the Junior Boys race Jacob B (Yr. 8) finished

11th out of 73 runners with Harri B finishing 46th.

In the Minor Boys race seven students ran for

the district: Sonny D, Rob H, Ed J, Finlay M, Max

C, Joe W and Oliver A.

Sonny (2nd), Rob (6th), Ed (12th) and Finlay

(15th) have all qualified to represent Cheshire in

an inter-counties match vs. Merseyside in

March. Congratulations to all of them on their

selection!

In the Senior Boys race there were no current

students competing however old boys Matthew

H (4th) and Patrick S (6th) both represented Mid-

Cheshire with distinction.

Full race details can be found at: www.cheshireschoolsaa.co.uk

Jess P (2nd in Inter Girls)

Sonny D (2nd in Minor

Boys)

Ex-student Kyle gets

USA Scholarship

Ex-student Kyle S (GCSE class of 2011) has just

received the exciting news that he has been

awarded a full four year basketball scholarship

to Post University in the USA.

Kyle (who has spent the last three years since

leaving Helsby combining studying and playing

England League Division 1 basketball at the

Bristol Academy) will be representing the Post

University Eagles for the next four years in the

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference of the

NCAA division 2. He will also be studying to earn

a degree during his time in America.

Everyone at Helsby is very proud of Kyle’s

achievements and it is great to see his hard

work and dedication pay off. Kyle will follow in

the footsteps of other ex-Helsby students;

Devan B (Central Connecticut State), Jack M

(Polk State) and Jason H (Hannibal-LaGrange),

who have earned basketball scholarships to the

USA.

Links:

Post Eagles website

http://posteagles.com/ Kyle Squire Season 2011-12 highlights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wspz4fM_Zuc


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Helsby High School Voted 15th Best State Sports School 2013!

School Sport Magazine recently

released their list of the 30 best

state sports schools of 2013 and

Helsby High has been voted in at

15th position. The top 30 reflects

competitive achievement in a

range of sports throughout 2013

and honours those schools that

take competition seriously. The

list is based on 20 different

sports and more than 120

different national competitions.

“This national recognition is

testament to the hard work and

dedication of all the boys and

girls in our sports teams as well

as the support and commitment

of all members of the PE

department. The fact that 8 of the 14 schools placed ahead of us in the list have selective admissions

policies makes the achievement even more notable.”

Paul Park (Head of Physical Education)

U13 Boys National Basketball Champions


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FootballFootballFootball 6th Form team remain undefeated in the Championship of the Merseyside

league and remain on course for the play off finals after the Easter

holidays. Since the Christmas holidays we have been solid at the back

with the ever consistent Harris Y marshalling the defence and agility and

reflexes of Joe S in goal. We have still been playing out from the back

which has been a joy to watch at times. However, we haven’t been

prolific in front of goal. Two draws against Mosslands and St Francis of

Assisi have been hard fought but without a killer instinct of the early

season. We were back to winning ways with against Wirral Met with a

fantastic 6 0 win.

Year 10

It has been disappointing that a number of games have been cancelled because of the weather. But

the boys have been training hard. A difficult game against a very robust and physical St Peters and

Paul team which included a number of year 11’s saw a home defeat 1 4. However, I was impressed

that the boys kept to their passing principles. But the team must learn not to be intimidated by bigger

opposition and stand up and be counted. This will allow their talent to shine.

Year 9

The team have been playing some excellent football and training really hard. Alex S has been excellent

at the back not just defensively but bringing the ball out of defence like young Alan Hansen. Alex M

the captain in full of running and never gives the ball away. Will G and Ollie O a very good partnership

in midfield. The boys showed great character to come back from 2 goals down against Wade Deacon

but conceded two late goals because of fatigue. The following week the boys scored 9 against

Bankfield.

Year 8

The year 8’s lost against St Peter and Pauls 4-1 but are training really hard and improving their

understanding and listening skills. The boys must keep working and never give up and results will

come.

Year 7

The year 7 5-a-side team won Halton 5 aside tournament then represented Halton in the county finals.

Unfortunately Christleton proved a little too strong but the boys played some really good football and it

was a great experience. I have been very impressed with all the boys with 30 boys training on Friday

night. The boys have had some excellent results against The Heath, Wade Deacon but have had

narrow defeats against Christleton and SFX. If the boys want to win the Cheshire cup this is the bench

mark.


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SKI TRIP 2014

Aprica, Italy

On Friday 14th February 45 students from Years 8, 10 & 11 together with 6 members of

staff set off in a coach headed for the Italian ski resort of Aprica. The journey was

scheduled to take 26 hours but thanks to Friday night rush hour on the M25, the terrible

conditions in the Channel and some interesting sat nav routes from our drivers, actually

ended up taking 32! This would have been even longer if it wasn't for Mr J and his trusty

European road map!

Arriving later than expected meant there would be no time for skis and boots to be fitted until after breakfast

the following morning so after dinner the whole group went to bed extremely tired and not looking forward to

the 6:00 a.m. alarm call ready for a 6:30 a.m. breakfast!

Skis and boots were fitted with great efficiency despite the early start and the students then got the bus to the

slopes where they were split into four groups with their instructors for the week; Luigi, Franco, Bruno and

Mariana. They were then sent out on their first of 12 lessons for the week.

Throughout the week the students experienced a wide variety of snow and weather conditions however the

deep base of snow meant that the skiing was good in all conditions and all students made rapid progress. All

the students seemed to respond extremely well to their instructors with Luigi and Franco becoming particular

favourites. It was extremely pleasing that of a possible 1080 hours of lessons that our students were able to

take part in only 2 hours were missed all week. This is absolutely remarkable and is by far the best turn out of

any ski group I've ever known.

As well as the skiing every day there was a wide variety of après-ski entertainments organised and run by our

rep Sarah in the evenings. There was a quiz night, ten-pin bowling, bingo, pizza and karaoke and to top it off a

fancy dress disco which saw many of our students make a great effort with their costumes.

The students who took part in the trip were a credit to the school and their behaviour was excellent. I'm sure

they all enjoyed their week and learned a great deal about skiing as well as themselves. I hope that for many

of them this is the start of a lifelong participation in the great sport of skiing and that we see as many of them

as possible skiing with the school in the future.

Mr P Park (Ski Tour Leader)

Quotes

“We had a great time. Our ski instructors were really good and it was an amazing trip. I

would recommend it to anyone to experience a fun week in Italy” (Alfie P. Yr. 8)

“An amazing experience; the most phenomenal holiday I’ve been on!” (Sam M. Yr. 8)

“Really good holiday; skiing was very fun with good, friendly instructors and there were a lot of good

entertainments in the evening.” (Jacob B. Yr. 8)

“It was definitely worth the 30 hour coach trip!” (Olly R. Yr. 8)

“Best holiday ever!” (James R. Yr. 8)

“It was an amazing experience and great value for money. From the first day to the last I was always

entertained.” (James H. Yr. 8)

“Out of everybody that went there wasn’t one person who didn’t enjoy skiing!” (Wes O. Yr.8)

“The coach trip was worth the wait for an amazing experience!” (James H. Yr. 8)

“I have skied several times before but only twice with an instructor. I have improved a lot because my

instructor taught me a lot of new things like jumping and carving.” (Natasha T. Yr.8)

“Skiing was amazing, I improved loads. It was funny watching the teachers singing at karaoke!” (Hannah P. Yr.

8)

“It was an amazing trip. We learned how to ski much better and had so many great experiences.” (Katie C. Yr.

8)

“I’ve never skied before but the instructors made it really fun and we went on black runs!” (Esme C. Yr. 8)

“I enjoyed all of skiing and when we went to the disco was the best because we were the only ones in fancy dress and some of the teachers were dancing!” (Georgia M. Yr. 8)


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Netball Another

year has

gone by

quickly and

during this

time there

has been a

lot of netball training and

matches. The real congratulations go to the Year

7’s who have shown superb focus and

determination to improve which has been evident

in the outstanding commitment to training

throughout the year. This has meant that they

have now adopted a significant winning streak in

their recent matches both in the ‘A’ and ‘B’

teams. At the start of the year they were beaten

by Bridgewater by a 20 goal margin. A recent

match saw them beat the strong side

Bridgewater 12-11. The same was seen against

Whitby High School where they beat us

convincingly at the start of the year and we beat

them last week 10-2. The real sign of their

progress comes in the County netball tournament

that is due to be played on 29 March at Whitby

High School. This tournament is the finale to the

netball season and is the main focus of training

throughout the year. As well as Year 7, Year 8

and 9 will be competing too.

The Year 8 team had their hearts set on raising

money to buy netball dresses and held a cake

sale to raise

the funds.

The team

solidarity in

achieving

this was

admirable.

They look

very smart;

let’s hope

they play

smart at the tournament!

There have been members of the older teams

who should be congratulated for their regular

attendance at club but it has been a real battle

on occasions to get all the members of the older

teams together at the same time to train. This is

such a shame as when they really apply

themselves they can make superb progress

which has been evident in the build up to this

tournament. This commitment throughout the

whole year would see massive gains in team

success.

We were entered in the

Ellesmere Port League

again this year with the

last match coming soon.

Until this is played we will

not know our finish

position by the time this

goes to press but I’m

pretty sure all age groups have

finished in the top two if not winning the league.

I have been particularly overwhelmed by the

determination of pupils both in Year 7 and 8 who

have worked so hard to be in the teams but are

always just on the cusp of selection. They have

never moaned when not selected and have

continued to work hard and ask questions as to

how they can improve further. It is people like

you that will succeed in life as that determination

has to pay off in the end. Girls, you know who

you are and well done and never give up.

A particular mention must go to two Year 11

GCSE PE students Cara G and

Faye W who chose netball

leadership/coaching as

one of their sports to be

assessed in. They have

shown excellent

commitment, planning

and progress with how to

coach/lead and have built

an excellent rapport with

pupils in all age groups.

The respect the pupils

show these girls is a true

compliment to the

commitment they have

put into helping out. They

should prove excellent role models to the

younger pupils they inspire.

Finally, many of the schools we play achieve their

success primarily because the pupils in their

teams attend clubs outside of school. We do have

a few pupils in this position but it would be great

to see more girls attending these clubs to get

more time to play netball and develop their

interest and skill level further. If you would like

to receive more information about these clubs,

please ask your daughter to see me at school.

A great season ladies and good luck for the

tournament!

Miss R Clarke

(Head of Girls PE)


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FANTASTIC FOOTBALL FROM THE GIRLS!!!

It has been a very busy but extremely successful term for girls’ football at Helsby. We currently have 3

teams that are all left in various competitions and numbers at training remain very high.

U16 (Year 10 &11)

After becoming district champions in the Ellesmere Port and Neston

stage of the Cheshire schools 7 a side tournament the girls then went

on to represent the district in the Cheshire schools winter games

finals which were held at The University of Chester. The girls played

7 games in a round robin tournament and won all 7 games which

meant that they now played in the

final against Poynton High School

who had finished in second place.

Helsby had already beaten a very

strong Poynton side and knew it

was going to be a tough final, unfortunately Poynton wanted revenge

and after a long time of being goalless they eventually scored to win

1-0. The girls were extremely disappointed to come away as county

runners up and silver medals, showing great desire to be successful.

However, they should be incredibly proud of their achievements and

how they conducted themselves throughout the day.

The success of the U16 team has continued in the Cheshire cup competition. After beating All Hallows

4-1 in the quarter finals the girls then faced Lymm in the semi-finals. The majority of the Helsby and

Lymm girls all play football together outside of school for Frodsham FC and so both sides knew it was

going to be a tough game. With Helsby having the majority of the possession for the first 20 mins and

at least 5 near misses, Lymm broke away and scored. It remained 1-0 with about 10 minutes of the

game to go and eventually luck was on our side and finally the ball went in to the back of their net.

Cheers from the sidelines and encouragement from Captain Rachael saw the girls really push on in the

final minutes of the game, with 3 consecutive corners. The third saw words of wisdom from a

frustrated Headmaster who told Annabel to go short for the corner from Leah. For once Annabel

listened to the Head and went short, she received the ball and hit it with power into the top corner of

the net!!!!! 2-1 Helsby with 3 minutes to go. The longest 3 minutes later saw a jubilant team of girls

celebrating success and a Cheshire Cup Final to be held on Wednesday 2nd April at Middlewich Town FC.

U14 (Year 8 & 9)

The U14 team also achieved success in the district 7 a side tournament also becoming district

champions after beating Neston in the final on penalties. As with the U16 team the girls then went on

to represent the district in the Cheshire schools winter games finals

and after finishing the round robin stage of the tournament the girls

found out that they had reached the third and fourth place play off.

After finding out who they were playing in the play offs the girls’

heads dropped as they were playing the only team that had beaten

them in the earlier stages of the competition. After a quick team

talk the girls decided they had nothing to lose and went out fighting

and their excellent passing and

superb defending from Christine

and Hannah ensured it was 0-0

at half time. Revenge came in

the second half when a great goal from Molly gave Helsby the

victory and bronze medals all round. It was a superb tournament

and the girls played some brilliant football and should be incredibly

proud of what they achieved.


14

In the Cheshire cup the U14’s have reached the semi-finals after beating a very strong side from

Eaton Bank. Helsby were 2-0 down at half time, but after words of advice at half time and a

second half playing downhill and the wind behind us Helsby went out a much stronger and

determined side. The winning goal very calmly taken under pressure from Molly W saw Helsby win

3-2.

U12 (Year 6 and 7)

Helsbys’ first ever girls U12 team have got off to a brilliant start beating Ormskirk High School 1-0

in a very evenly matched game. Our two year 6 players looked incredible strong and comfortable

on the ball. Libby G was our match winner and voted player of the match by the opposition. The

girls now face Wright Robinson Sports College in the next round of the English Schools Cup.

The U12’s also entered the district 7 a side competition and played some brilliant football on the

astroturf at Neston High School. The girls were joint winners of the tournament but unfortunately

missed out on joining the older girls in the Cheshire winter games finals on goal difference!!

Congratulations to Mia C (Y7) and Hannah P (Y8) who are both currently playing football for

Cheshire. Well Done girls!!

Training will continue throughout the summer for all girls from Y6 upwards, even if you have never

played football before please come along and give it a go.

Well done to all the girls that have been involved in what has been a very successful season for

girls’ football. Keep up the good work!!

Miss N Wilkes

SUN PROTECTION

There are a number

of school visits taking place

over the summer when

children will be outdoors for

the best part of the day, including, of

course, sports day. This country does

endure a fair amount of rain and not

a lot of sun but we would ask parents

to be well prepared and send their

child into school with sun protection,

even if it is a cloudy day.

MCAS During the first few weeks of Summer Term, the school will be sending out text messages to the parents and

carers of any students with an unexplained absence requesting

that they check MCAS and provide the school with a reason for the absence. Thereafter, we will send weekly text messages each Friday afternoon as a reminder to parents and carers if there has been an unexplained absence during that week. We hope parents and carers will find this useful and will help ensure unauthorised absences are not recorded on a student’s record when there has

been a legitimate reason for the absence. If you receive a text message please send a brief reply to the text or via email to: [email protected].


15

The Big Bang! Truly WOW! Back in June of last year Emily entered the regional heats of the

National Science and Engineering Competition with her Silver Crest

Award Project ‘Could there be another planet like ours?’. She was

awarded a place at the National finals which have just been held in

Birmingham as part of The Big Bang Science fair, along with 199

other finalists from around the U.K. (You may have heard of it, she

was in the intermediate section of the competition from which the

Young Scientist of the Year was chosen.) Emily was joined by Emma

who had also completed a Silver Crest award project and went along

to experience all the other opportunities also available at the fair. This is what happened over the

48 hours they were there.

Wednesday evening Emily and

Emma arrived in Birmingham.

Emily set up her stand, along

with many other exhibitors

such as UK Space, The British

Society for Plant Pathology,

Glaxo Smith Kline, Rolls-Royce,

E-On, BAE Systems, the NHS

as well as all the other national

finalists entered for the

National Science & Engineering

Competition.

Thursday morning we arrived at 8am to allow Emily to prepare for the judging that took place for

the National Competition, and to prepare for some of the 75,000 people who attended over the

course of the four day science fair.

At the end of two very busy days Emily took her place alongside the other National finalists from

around the United Kingdom as they gathered in the auditorium for the equivalent of the Young

Scientist BAFTA’s. Although Emily did not win, the experience was ‘Interesting’ , ‘Exciting’ , ‘A once

in a lifetime experience!’

Dr. Ravetz


16

Wife of Bath Lectures

On Thursday 6 March, our group of literature students along with Ms Boyer travelled to the centre of

Manchester to hear a series of lectures on ‘The Wife of Bath’. As her Prologue and Tale from

Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’ are examination texts, it’s useful to gain

insight from a number of different sources and opinions, and each lecturer

delivered precisely that, ensuring that the decision to take extra paper for

note making was not in vain. Exploring a variety of topics, the day was

certainly helpful and, despite faulty fire alarms, seemed to run smoothly.

Overall, I’m sure everyone would agree that the train journeys and long day

were certainly worthwhile; enjoyable as well as educational.

Mary S

Upper 6

Remembering the HolocaustRemembering the HolocaustRemembering the Holocaust

On Friday 28 February Conservative MP Graham Evans came into school to speak to Year 9 pupils

about the importance of remembering the Holocaust. Students have been examining the Holocaust

as part of their study of Prejudice and Discrimination. Graham Evans accompanied one of the sixth

form groups who visited Auschwitz last term and the two representatives from Helsby also gave a

presentation of their visit to Year 9. The students were attentive listeners who made a very good

impression on MP Graham Evans.

Mrs J Penney


17

This has been a very busy term for our cluster Primary Schools.

Well done to everyone who has participated in Leadership training and the competitions.

(Artie Senior SSCO)

Playleader Training This programme involves training primary school students to deliver playground

activities for other students. This may be a young person’s first experience of being a

leader, and volunteering their own time to benefit others, as well as hopefully helping

them develop as an individual.

Generally it is the year 5 and 6

students that are actively

involved in the Play Leaders

programme, delivering activities

for younger school

students. They undertake a

simple 3 hour informal training

session before actually

becoming a Play Leader. The

Play Leaders Programme

may be very different from one

school to another, as it is each

individual school, and their students, that take ownership

of this programme and shape it how they wish. Play

Leaders are awarded with caps so that they are visible to

their peers and some schools recognise the number of hours each Play Leader

undertakes as part of their role, by awarding a certificate after students have achieved 8

sessions.

It is hoped that once Play Leaders leave their Primary School they are keen Sports

Leaders and join the Leadership Programme when they start attending High School.

Dodgeball Mini Leaders The UK Dodgeball Association have

designed a young leadership award

to allow pupils from year 5 & 6 an

opportunity to take their first step

onto the leadership pathway.

Through the exciting and inclusive

new sport of Dodgeball the award

gives upper Key Stage 2 pupils the

chance to learn leadership skills

and new formats of the sport in a

totally practical way—empowering

the mini leaders with the

confidence and knowledge to deliver sessions and competitions within their schools to

younger age groups and their peers.

AC

TIV

E, A

CH

IEV

E, E

NJO

Y


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Sports Hall Y5/6 Sports Hall provides the ideal format for developing core skills and fitness required for most other sports.

An exciting range of track events encourage

team work, agility, speed and endurance

while the Sports Hall field events are ideal for

improving fitness and monitoring progress.

All activity takes place in a community

sportshalls using portable equipment. Sports

Hall is inclusive and offers age related

programmes that can be integrated easily into

School and Club curricular.

Basketball Y5/6 Cheshire Phoenix players and coaches attended the Y5/6 Basketball

competition which was organised and run by Helsby’s Y9 National Champions. The Helsby students

coached the teams before the start of the competition, organised a warm up

session, ran the technical table and refereed the games.

High 5 Netball Y5/6

Because of bad weather the Netball competition was move indoors to Frodsham

Leisure Centre. Helsby Y7’s helped organise the teams and Sixth Formers ran the

technical table and refereed the games.

ACTIVE, ACHIEVE ENJOY


19

Helsby High’s Spring Festival

2014

Sunday 27th April, 12pm—4pm

A fantastic opportunity to meet with friends, have fun and raise funds

for our local high school! It promises to be a lovely annual event for the

school and local community.

Live music & performances

with Helsby’s Got Talent

Scalextric Championships

Pyrographics

Craft Market

Chocolate Tombola

Candy Floss

Tuck Shop

Unique works of art for sale—created by talented Helsby art

students

Face Painting

Fun Games

Raffle, Refreshments and much more!

…...Calling all Crafters

If you would like a craft stall—book now! Please email [email protected] before 28th

March 2014

…...Help

If you can offer an hour of help on the day (no special talents needed) please email

[email protected], check www.helsbyhigh.org.uk for details nearer the time, or

contact Karen Neal at the school


20

Message from Mr Dowler - Easter 2014

Much to Celebrate - Over the last 3 months we have had much to celebrate at Helsby High School:

Ofsted Visit

The school was last inspected in October 2008 and since then the Ofsted framework had changed a

number of times. We were pleased that the team of five inspectors recognised some of the many

positive aspects of the school. Some of the Inspectors’ findings include:

“This is an improving school.”

“Students’ attainment is high.”

“The majority of teaching is good, with some that is outstanding.”

“Students’ behaviour is good. They are happy and proud of their school and are mutually respectful

of one another.”

“Students feel safe in school and have a good awareness of e-safety.”

“The rich variety of extra-curricular activities enhances the memorable experiences of students.”

“The Sixth Form is good and improving. The students are exemplary role models for other students

in the main school.”

Clearly there is much to commend in the report, which also confirms that we are addressing the key

priorities to improve the school even further. I would like to thank our students, staff and parents/

carers for all their hard work and support, particularly during the inspection.

School Production

It was delightful to see over 70 students putting on a wonderful production of an original play ‘John

Scott Stevens’. The cast worked incredibly hard and supported each other to produce a terrific

performance. Well done to all those involved and thank you to Mrs Cross, Mrs McGrail and other

staff for all their hard work.

Top State Schools for Sport

A recent article in ‘School Sport Magazine’ featured the top 30 state schools for sport in England.

We were delighted to be recognised in 15th place (out of over 3,000 state secondary schools in

England). The top 30 reflects competitive achievement in a range of sports throughout 2013 and

honours those schools that take competition seriously. The achievement is even more notable

given the fact that, of the 14 schools placed ahead of us in the list, at least eight have selective

admissions policies. This is a tremendous accolade and reflects the talents and conscientious effort

of our young people and staff. Well done!

Improved funding from April 2015

As you may be aware, schools in Cheshire West and Chester are amongst the lowest funded per

student in England. We therefore welcome the recent Government announcement to increase school

funding for schools in the lowest funded local authorities. From April 2015 we hope that the

expected 5% growth will allow the Governors and Senior Leadership team more flexibility in our

financial spending decisions.

Comenius Visit

On 23 March 2014 we welcomed our Comenius partner schools for their first visit to our school.

We hope that the students and staff from the Collège Noël Berrier Corbigny in France and from IGS

Wallstraße Wolfenbüttel in Germany all enjoy their week with us. They have an exciting list of

activities to experience such as visits to Anfield, Chester, Gaelic football and the Tri-O Challenge as

well as food workshops. For some inexplicable reason a visit to see Tranmere Rovers at Prenton

Park has been missed off the list!

I wish you all a Happy Easter.

international · the comenius project is a british council funded initiative, named after jan amos...

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