Excel Spring 2015

The News Magazine of Rivington & Blackrod High SchoolSpring 2015

Community . Standards . Inclusion

Tennis ExcellenceRBHS student travels to Florida to compete in prestigious tournament

World Book DayStudents get into character

NEWS

1 | COMMUNITY . STANDARDS . INCLUSION

WELCOMEWelcome to our spring edition of EXCEL news magazine.

It has been a busy and exciting time at Rivington and Blackrod High School since I last wrote to you. In March, the school turned into a fictional wonderland as students and staff celebrated World Book Day. Characters from famous books including Cleopatra, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood and Gangsta Granny came into school and brought fiction to life.

Students from across the year groups have taken part in a range of enrichment visits: local, national and international. Students visited London to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, whilst some took part in an international Skiing trip to Le Corbiere, France. Year 7 students met the Mayor at Bolton Town Hall where they had refreshments in the Banqueting Hall and sat at a magnificent oak table; bringing local history to life whilst others visited the Thackray Museum to see how medicine has changed over the years.

As always, it is very important to us that students have high quality learning experiences both within and outside of the classroom to help enrich their learning. Our students have shown impeccable behaviour throughout all visits and activities both within and outside of school and have been a credit to themselves and their families. We are extremely proud of them.

I hope you enjoy reading about life at Rivington and Blackrod High School.

Tony Purcell, Head Teacher

Thirty members of staff took part in a walking challenge scaling 6 of the Lake District’s highest mountains, across 12 miles and ascending 5000ft. Through this challenge, and various charitable, staff and student events across the year (including the Liverpool to Chester 100 mile cycle, non-uniform days and baking competitions) the school raised £1500 for local charity, Derian House. What a fantastic achievement!

Kelly Towler, Project Management Assistant

Rivington and Blackrod High School turned into a fictional wonderland in order to celebrate World Book Day. Students and staff dressed up as characters from famous books and authors to mark the day, which has been designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading.

All students within school were invited to bring in a book of their choice, and each lesson began with reading time. There was also an inter-form competition held, testing staff and students’ knowledge of characters, authors and books. Many students and staff chose to dress up in fancy dress, as a character or author of their choice, and so the school came alive with characters from Little Red Riding Hood, to Cleopatra. A ‘book tree’ was created and a bake sale held with proceeds going to pay for books for the school library.

Sally Grundy, Assistant Head of English

CHARITY FUNDRAISING

World Book Day

NEWS

RIVINGTON & BLACKROD HIGH SCHOOL | 2

Rivington Remembers Memorial Service

On November 7th 2014, the Rivington Remembers group organised a remembrance service in honour of the 23 former students and staff that lost their lives in World War One. The service was a fabulous way to commemorate and give tribute. The students were involved in reading out famous passages from the time and carrying crosses and wreaths. They were extremely respectful and were a huge credit to the school and staff.

Carl Andrew, History Teacher and Rivington Remembers Coordinator

A Stroll Through Bolton’s Civic History

A group of Year 7 students visited Bolton Town Hall to meet the Mayor and Mayoress and to be taken on a ‘behind the scenes’ guided tour. It was extremely informative. The students viewed artefacts dating back to the 1800s including the Borough Maces. They visited The Hall of Remembrance, The Blue Room, the Mayor’s Parlour, The Banqueting Suite, The Festival Hall, The council Chambers and the Corridors of Power. They then had refreshments in the Banqueting Hall sat at a magnificent oak table and took part in a question and answer session. Throughout the visit the students displayed impeccable manners. The students involved were Steven Snape, Euan Halliwell, Jak Adamson, Ben Meywood, Ryan Thorley, Adam Jarrett, Emmanuel Durkin and Rachel Hughes.

Sue Wharton, Teaching Assistant L4/Year 7 SENYear 7 students

Eighty-one students took part in the 2015 Ski Course in Le Corbier in the French Alps. This was the sixteenth year in succession that the school had visited this particular resort but at no time in the past had the outward journey been delayed to the extent it was this year. The problem, quite ironically, was that our destination airport, Grenoble, was closed due to too much snow! We took off from Manchester a mere six hours late and, once in Le Corbier, with all the settling in and fitting everyone out with ski equipment, it was 2.45am before the staff saw their beds. The week was a resounding success for everyone; skiing technique was honed under the expert tuition of the ski school and when not on the slopes the students took part in such activities as bingo, quiz night, ‘Beat the Teacher’ tasks, karaoke and ice skating.

Paul Stanley, Examinations Manager

Learning to Lead

Nearly 40 of the school’s most able year 11 students were given a unique opportunity to stretch themselves in a different way by working towards an Institute of Leadership and Management qualification in self-management. The successful students celebrated their success in a presentation ceremony attended by friends, family and representation from the institute of Leadership and Management. The students have gained an externally accredited qualification.

The course is designed to develop the way they approach situations — including developing vocabulary to debate and argue without getting angry, and replacing the word ‘try’ with ‘will’. Students learnt about time management, stress management, prioritisation of tasks, resilience, managing challenging situations and target-setting skills.

We are very proud of the students and the course, as this is groundbreaking. Institute of Leadership and Management courses are usually used by industry and other organisations to train leaders. Our students are the first young people to undertake and succeed in such a course.

Rebecca Grantham, Director of SIP, Self-Evaluation, Humanities & MFLMatthew Ewens (Year 11), Tony Purcell, Sarah Acton (Year 11), Rebecca Grantham, Connor Upton (Year 11) and the ILM Representative


COMMUNITYCOMMUNITY

An exciting new club has been ‘moulded’The Animate Club has taken an innovative look at some of the daily issues faced by young people. Through the medium of stop motion animation, students are making short films which deal with everyday challenges that people face. Guest appearances from one of the Aardman animators got students buzzing especially as he had just finished filming ‘The Shaun the Sheep’ movie! The workshop resulted in the creation of 20 Shaun the Sheep!

Sue Riley, Inclusion Manager Brian Coletrup, Joshua Langin, Jessica Clemments and Jayden Stanford-Taylor - Year 8

FairtradeDuring Fairtrade fortnight, year 5 students from local Horwich and Blackrod primary schools came into our School to participate in a range of Fairtrade themed technology lessons/learning activities. Students used Fairtrade ingredients to make peppermint creams and used 2D-design computer software to design and personalise their own Fairtrade logo. They transferred their designs to a T-shirt made from Fairtrade cottons and used printing techniques to create Fairtrade bunting displays.

Shaun Holden, Food Technology TeacherCllr. Stephen Laycock, Courtney Hendley (Blackrod Church Primary School), Mayor of Blackrod, Cllr. Beryl Monaghan, Oliver Murphy (Blackrod Church Primary School) and Mayor of Horwich, Cllr. Richard Silvester


COMMUNITY

Ironman Brothers

Two former students, Andrew and Joseph Settle are embarking on the ultimate test of endurance in order to raise money for PSP charity in memory of their Grandad. The brothers will be participating in Ironman UK Bolton, where competitors swim (2.4 miles), bike (112 miles) and run (26.2 miles) through the Lancashire countryside.

Leonnie Molloy, PE Teacher

The English department added a twist to the school’s open evening, as Katniss Everdeen and Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games joined the English team to meet prospective parents and students. As part of the activities on offer, students from primary schools were invited to guess how tall Katniss was by measuring her height in books. The winning students were Nathan Chapman from Devonshire Road and Joseph Fogarty from St. George’s who correctly calculated that Katniss was 113 books tall. Effie Trinket a.k.a. Miss Grundy, English teacher/Assistant Head of English, went to each school to present the prizes to the students. Both boys won £250 worth of books for their primary schools. Well done to both students!

Kath McGuire, Director of Targets, Departmental Intervention & English Top: Effie Trinket a.k.a. Miss Grundy with Nathan Chapman and MumRight: Effie Trinket and Joseph Foggarty

Community Christmas PartyOur annual Christmas and Carols event took place on December 18th. Elderly members of the local community were invited for an afternoon of food and fun.

Performing arts and music students provided the entertainment ranging from solo singing performances to a pantomime featuring students of all ages. A delicious assortment of food was prepared by food technology students.

The event was kindly supported by The Rotary Club of Horwich.

Graham Gartside, Media Production ManagerMayor of Horwich, Cllr. Richard Silvester with Amy Nolan Podmore, Year 12 and her grandfather


FACULTYFACULTY

All of the fun of the Maths Challenge

Four ‘Further Mathematics’ students took part in the Senior Team Mathematics Challenge held at Lancaster University. James Stevenson (Y12), Amy Cooke (Y12), Abigail Horan (Y13) and Harriet Weston (Y13) spent several weeks preparing for the event and eventually, after completing three different rounds, finished a respectable 11th out of 19; a result they were all very surprised about considering pre-challenge nerves suppressed quite a few appetites!

Joe Citarella, KS5 Maths Coordinator

Geographers go to university

As part of enrichment activities, Sixth Form geographers have spent time at Liverpool Hope University experiencing Geography at degree level! The first session was a lecture about the ecology of Ainsdale Sand dunes followed by a look at how Liverpool has been ’re-branded’. The second session focused on developments in digital mapping technology and a global tour of volcanism. Abby Crompton 12B commented, ‘It was a good opportunity to experience a Geography lecture first-hand and spend time in a university setting’.

Angela Hardman, Head of Geography

Physics Olympics

Four year 9 Students took part in the Physics Olympics at Bolton School. They competed in 5 events against strong opposition from other schools. Each event involved demanding concepts in Physics, teamwork, a flair for creative practical skills and a race against the clock. The Rivington team showed tremendous enthusiasm and team spirit in all 5 events, balancing their competitive approach with a sense of fun and enjoyment.

Nava Velupillai, Head of Science

Big Book Quiz

The English Department at Rivington and Blackrod High School hosted a book quiz for students from years 7 and 8. The quiz, which was led by The Creative Reading Company, involved Rivington and Blackrod High School, Ladybridge High School and St Joseph’s High School. Performances were given by the music department, whilst Head Boys and Girls assisted with refreshments, collected score sheets and added up team scores. Horwich Rotary Club supported the quiz by funding trophies and prizes.

The winners of the book quiz were The Fellowship of the Ring, Year 8 students from Rivington and Blackrod High School, Joe Mariner, Heather Harrison, James O’Doherty, Rohan Jenkin and Isaac Parker. Joint second were Razzle Dazzle from Ladybridge High School, Olivia Smith, Gaby Ainscow, Natasha Witter and Scarlet Allardice and The Sweetyz from Rivington and Blackrod High School, Laila Makki, Halimah Raheel, Anna Carruthers and Imogen Graham.

Sally Grundy, Assistant Head of EnglishMike Shuttleworth (Horwich Rotary Club), Rohan Jenkin, Isaac Parker, Joe Mariner, James O’Doherty and Heather Harrison - Year 8


FACULTY

Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryA number of students went on a trip to London to watch ‘Charlie and The Chocolate Factory’. They travelled by coach and they went there and back in one day! Music teacher, Mr Eccleshare said, “The show was incredible, with visual effects that were mesmerizing! All the students had a great day out and were a credit to our school. We can’t wait for the next trip!”

James Eccleshare, Music Teacher

Year 12 students had the opportunity to attend an event hosted by Safe Drive; Stay Alive, in conjunction with the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Greater Manchester Police, North West Ambulance Service and the Salford Royal Hospital. It was an extremely powerful and emotional experience which had a tried and tested proven formula for reducing the number of young people involved in road traffic accidents.

As part of their promotional campaign on social media, they ran a competition to win an IPad. Many Sixth Forms and Colleges attended this roadshow, and out of these thousands of students, it was one of our very own who scooped the main prize. Jenna Barton was presented with her IPad by representatives from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Greater Manchester Police. Overall, it was a very worthwhile and valuable day for all involved and well done to Jenna.

Jane McDonough, Assistant Head of Sixth Form Lesley Allen (Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service), Jenna Barton - Year 12 and, Catherine Aspinall (GM Police)

Safe Drive; Stay Alive

Thackray Museum

History students in Year 11 visited Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds. It was a gruesome, gory, and grotesquely smelly experience that brought the Victorian Era alive and which will be very useful reference when it comes to examination time in the summer. We spent time exploring Leeds in 1842, visiting a recreation of a Victorian street, complete with ‘interesting’ smells, and investigating the development of surgery. An enjoyable and productive time was had by all.

Katie Donnellan, History TeacherIsaac Knowles and Helena Carman -Year 11


SPORT

Lower SchoolThe Pathway CentreAlbert StreetHorwichBoltonBL6 7AW

Upper SchoolRivington LaneRivingtonBoltonBL6 7RU

Telephone. 01204 333266Fax. 01204 333264E-mail. [email protected]. www.rbhs.co.uk

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Sky Sports Living

16 Year 9 girls (pictured) were selected to participate in a Sky Sports Living for Sport Programme. The inspiration was the #Like A Girl video. The students actively promoted their participation and achievements in sport on twitter with the #LikeAGirl.

Charlotte Hartley, former GB Hockey player and Jenna Downing, inline skater, came to support the girls in challenging stereotypes in sport for young girls. “We really enjoyed working with the athlete mentors and learning about how important mental strength is to success, not just in PE but in life.” Ellie Mills and Jennifer Chadwick.

Léonnie Molloy, PE Teacher

Eleven of our Year 7 Girls were involved in the Bolton Schools Gymnastics Competition at Thornleigh Salesian College. The students performed both a Floor routine and Vault. We entered both the Novice competition and the Intermediate competition and the standard of gymnastics was very high. Our Novice ‘A’ Team came second and were awarded with a Silver Medal. The girls were a credit to the school.

Ruth Parkinson, PE TeacherYear 7 gymnastics team

Year 7 Gymnastics

U16 Greater Manchester Badminton Competition

Ten girls and boys competed in the Greater Manchester Schools’ U16 Badminton tournament at Manchester Velodrome. The U16 team of Kieran Waters, Lewis Haydock, Tom Billington, Tom Ball and Kieren Barlow acquitted themselves superbly throughout the tournament, finishing a very creditable second place.

Steph Drysdale, PE Teacher and Sports Excellence Coordinator

Dance Success

Twenty nine students across the year groups performed at the Signatures Youth Dance Showcase at Salford’s Lowry Theatre. The 10 districts of Greater Manchester were represented and each choreographer had been taught some street dance phrases that were developed in our pieces. Our students opened the second half with a dance based on Hansel & Gretel and were amazing and inspiring.

Angela Winstanley, Cover Supervisor

Tennis Excellence

In December, tennis prodigy Marni Banks, Year 7 (pictured) travelled to South Florida to compete in one of the most prestigious world-recognised junior tournaments on the amateur tennis circuit. More than 1,450 players from more than 74 countries compete in the tournament with past winners including Marion Bartoli, Anna Kournikova and Caroline Wozniacki! This is a really invaluable experience for any young tennis player aspiring to compete in the professional ranks and gaining an understanding of what it’s like to play in a big tournament for the first time!

Steph Drysdale, PE Teacher and Sports Excellence Coordinator

Excel Spring 2015

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