www.lathomhighschool.org

ALL THE LATEST NEWS FROM LATHOM HIGH SCHOOL

Issue five

AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE DAY – Local primary schools enjoy a school day at Lathom

WE SAY GOODBYE AND GOOD LUCK TO YEAR 11 AT LEAVERS PROM

COME AND VISIT US AT OUR OPEN EVENING on Thursday 25th September

LATHOM CELEBRATE STUDENTS

ACHIEVEMENT IN STYLE

AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE DAY

On Friday 4th July we invited 350 primary school children from many of our local schools to enjoy a school day at Lathom.

Throughout the day the children were split up into groups and went round to different lessons with their teachers and our student guides. The children got a real flavour of what life is like at Lathom taking part in various different subjects including Maths, English, Science, PE, Drama, Art, Geography and Technology. At lunch time the children were entertained in the Arts Theatre by some of our talented students dancing and playing the piano, also Mr Haynes displayed some fantastic science experiments. We would like to thank all of the staff and children from the primaries for choosing to spend a day at Lathom and we hope to see you again very soon.

WELCOME TO OUR LATEST EDITION OF LATHOM LIFE.

As this school year comes to an end I am writing to you to say thank you for your continued support of our school.

This has been a year in which everyone at Lathom has faced a number of challenges, and one where we have shared in many successes. There is so much to reflect on and celebrate; from our best ever exam results to the recent Summer Awards Evening which was such a wonderful celebration of achievement, I want to thank every student, parent and member of staff for the role they have played in this year. We couldn’t do it without this team effort that makes Lathom so special.

While ready for the rest that the summer holidays will bring, I look forward with great anticipation to September and the challenge of leading Lathom as we strive to do even better in the coming year.

The time has also come for me to thank several members of staff who leave us this summer and to acknowledge the contribution that they have made to the life of the school and to the lives of so many Lathom students, past and present.

Leaving us are Miss Wright, Mrs Brettle, Mrs Edgar, Miss Morris and Mrs Casement who are all moving on to new challenges. Mrs Clark is also leaving us to go on maternity leave. We look forward to welcoming 7 new members of staff to Lathom and we will introduce them to you in our Lathom Life newsletter after the holidays. After 37 and 34 years respectively, Mr Robinson and Mr Hodson have both taken the decision to retire from teaching this summer. Mr Robinson will be returning in September to take on a new role at Lathom. Many of you will remember them from your own school days and I hope you will join me in wishing them every happiness for a long and well deserved retirement.

I look forward to seeing the students in September and to working with you in the new academic year.

Mrs Galbraith Acting Headteacher

SUMMER AWARDS EVENING IS A HUGE SUCCESS

On Thursday 26th June, we hosted a Summer Awards Evening to celebrate the achievements of our students over the last academic year. Students who attended the evening had previously been nominated by teachers and support staff, firstly for ‘Subject Superstar’ awards, given to students who excelled this academic year in a specific subject area. Student learning managers also nominated students from their respective year groups for the ‘Enjoy, Believe, Achieve’ Awards. These awards mirror our school motto and were given to students that have a real thirst for learning, never give up and always try their best and for our very highest academic achievers. The evening was very well attended with many parents, teachers and governors there to support our young people. Also present on the evening to give out the awards were our special guests Wigan Warriors head coach Shaun Wane and Wigan Warriors player Joel Tomkins. Shaun Wane addressed the audience talking about giving that extra 1% to

get to the top, he also commended the Lathom High School students on their fantastic achievements. It was clear to see that his words truly inspired our students and made for what was a fantastic celebration of their achievements over the past academic year. The atmosphere created by all who attended contributed to making it a truly special event. Thank you to all those who attended and well done to all of our award winners. You made us extremely proud.

Special guest Shaun Wane and Joel Tomkins present awards to our Head Boy and Girl.

YEAR 11 LEAVE IN STYLE

Meet Mr Hogg our Student Progress Manager for Y7/8

Name: Danial Hogg – Mr.Hogg, aka. Hoggy 9 aka Superman/Superdan

What do you do at Lathom? Well I originally started on supply about 7 years ago when I had a full head of hair that was not receding (as so kindly pointed out by Miss Kerslake and Miss Forster). I was fortunate enough to then be offered a post as a teacher of boys PE where I have enjoyed developing as a teacher and have had several opportunities to progress such as leading the PE department and acting as a head of year. I am looking forward to my next challenge as progress manager of year 7 and 8 which I will start in September.

Favourite colour? Blue – the main colour of my football team.

Favourite Film? Well I am a bit of a film freak! So choosing one is hard, I love thrillers and can be sucker for a romantic comedy. Some of my favourite films are The Godfather, The Bourne films, Snatch, Gladiator and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Favourite food? As the girls in the canteen know I will eat absolutely anything and usually as much as possible! My ideal meal would be Garlic Mushrooms followed by Spaghetti Bolognese, finished off with Ice Cream and washed down with a glass of coke! Spot on.

What football team do you support? The best in Lancashire. Blackburn Rovers – Just to educate some of the readers, one of the only 5 teams to win the Premier League.

One Random thing about you? I once won a karaoke contest singing Lou Bega’s – Mambo Number 5.

Lathom Visit London

On Friday 27th June eleven year 9 girls travelled down to London to meet up with a group of Spanish teenagers visiting London from La Coruña in the north west of Spain. The visit was organised by the Modern Foreign Languages department as part of its enrichment programme. The visit comes as the culmination of a year of activities which has seen students set up a blog with the link school, share videos of school life and take part in regular bi-lingual Skype sessions. After travelling on the London Underground and meeting at the front of Buckingham Palace, the mixed group of English

and Spanish students walked through London and went on the London Eye. The whole experience has been an extremely valuable one, as one of our Y9 students Alisha Parry reflects “London was one of the best ever experiences, getting a chance to meet all of the Spanish people I have been speaking to over Skype and Facebook. I really want to do it again”. Mr Lock recaps the journey himself and the students have been on over the last year “This whole experience started a year ago when I had a chance conversation with a Spanish teacher at Edge Hill. After initial emails with Moncho in Galicia, we set up a blog that the two schools contributed videos and comments to. This then developed into Skype sessions after school. Students swapped details and started to correspond outside school and eventually asked if they could meet in London. It has been extremely rewarding to do and a joy to see students with a thirst to speak another language. I only hope that it can develop further in the next academic year.”

Lathom High School D DAY Tea Party On Tuesday 24th June we invited three local care homes to join us in a Tea Party to mark the 70th anniversary of World War ll D Day. Students from the Y9 food and nutrition class were put into small groups and asked to design an invitation, menu, place mat and bun tin for each of the care homes; Stocks Hall, Beacon View and Birch Green, they also spent all morning preparing sandwiches and cakes for the guests. Following refreshments, the students then provided entertainment which included singing, dancing and playing bingo. Lathom High School would like to thank Proctor and Gamble for providing prizes for the bingo winners. A representative from Stocks Hall later commented ‘Thank you to Lathom High for organising the D Day Tea Party this afternoon, your students are a credit to the school!’

Charlie and Bradley offer a sandwich to one of our guests.

On Wednesday 2nd July we held our Year 11 Prom at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Southport. The red carpet was laid out for our arrival and this was totally appropriate for all our students who looked absolutely stunning. After a two

course meal the students and staff took to the dance floor. It was a fantastic evening to remember for all of them and a fitting end

to a very successful and hardworking year. The general manager at the Ramada has contacted the school to say how well behaved the students were and how they were a credit to the school. All staff at Lathom have commented on how successful the evening was and how it was a pleasure to be in the company of these young people. The staff are so proud of them all. We are looking forward to seeing them in August for results day. Mrs Unsworth, head of Y11 commented ‘this was the best Year 11 Prom that I have ever attended, the exceptional behaviour displayed by the students was never in doubt. They are an amazing group of young people and I am so proud of each and every one of them’.

ARTZ ACADEMY PROJECT

Since the beginning of the Easter term 14 lucky year 7 students had the opportunity to take part in a unique experience through the creative medium. This Project ran by The Artz Academy is the first of its kind and it was a really exciting and valuable journey for all of the students involved. The project was set up to tackle social issues that young people could be faced with such as peer pressure, crime, leadership, body language and health. These issues were tackled through the creative arts, with students experiencing everything from dance and drama to theatrical makeup and photography all by industry professionals. Deanna Barnes, a student that attended the project said ‘Artz Academy has improved my confidence so much, I now attend the drama club there every Wednesday night after school’. On Friday 13th June parents, funders and senior teachers from Lathom all attended the Artz Centre to see the excellent work the students have produced in a celebratory evening. Mrs Galbraith, Acting Headteacher attended the evening and commented; ‘The girls involved have gained so much from completing this course with Mark and his team. They have enjoyed their work at the Academy immensely and we have seen their self-esteem, leadership skills

and confidence grow immeasurably both on the course and back in school on a daily basis. To see their work displayed at the presentation was very emotional and made me incredibly proud. It was also an absolute pleasure to talk to the girls’ parents about the positive impact this work has had on their daughters and just how much they enjoyed it. We are looking forward to working with Mark and all the fantastic team at Artz Academy again in the future.’

STUDENTS DESIGN ART MURAL AT HILLCROFTSelected gifted and talented art students have recently created a mural for the dementia patients of local care home Hillcroft in Aughton. The students spent time at school designing the wildlife themed mural and then visited Hillcroft on a weekly basis until it was completed. The mural has been specifically designed with colourful images that all point in the same direction, guiding the dementia patients along the corridor to the dining room.

Picutred; Art students show off the finished mural to Acting Head Mrs Galbraith and the Mayor of West Lancashire Doreen Stephenson

WHAT’S COMING UP NEXT? Coming Soon…

School Reopens – Thursday 4th September

Our new Y7’s:To encourage students to enjoy and develop their reading, finding new authors and genres.Our new Y7’s get to choose a new book from 12 titles free and it is theirs to keep. This takes place in the Autumn term.

Open Evening – Thursday 25th September

If you have any questions about anything that’s going on at Lathom then do not hesitate to get in touch and your question may feature in our next edition.

Follow us on twitter: @lathomhs or email me directly: h.forster@lathom.lancs.sch.uk

Author DAVID MASSEY Visits Lathom

Award winning author David Massey engaged and entertained Lathom Y8 students in the Arts Theatre with a presentation of his latest book “Taken”. David writes real world thriller/love stories for young adults.

His creative writing workshops were inspirational and produced many would be writers in Year 8. David set the students a challenge to write a scene for his book. David commented that the standard was great and very

well written but the strongest were Summer Jameson, Ailsa Hodge and Danielle Fry. After much deliberation David chose Summer Jameson as the overall winner, her scene had the edge it was tense and descriptive and made him feel like he was there. Summer will be presented with her prize in Year 8 assembly. Well done Summer!

Mrs Galbraith Raises LOTS at KiddieClimb –

On Saturday 14th June Acting Head Mrs Galbraith raised over £500 when she climbed Mount Snowdon with 100 children. The money raised will go to local charities Joining Jack who support children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and the Rose Blossom Trust that raises awareness about Dravet.

YEAR 8 ENTERPRISE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY DAY

Year 8 have recently been involved in the Enterprise through Technology Day. This is an annual event and the theme was ‘Pirates’. Students made a range of products in the different national areas, including biscuits in food, sails in textiles for their boats (which are made in resistant materials) and packaging to promote their products in graphics.The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and prizes were awarded for best group and best leadership for both a boy and girl. Overall an excellent day, well done year 8!

WEST LANCASHIRE COLLEGE HAIR & BEAUTY END OF YEAR SHOW

We are really proud of Y11 student Katie Parry who was awarded Student of the Year at the West Lancashire College end of year show – congratulations.

HOLLAND MOOR CHILDREN BECOME SCIENTISTS FOR THE DAY

Holland Moor Y5’s recently enjoyed a day in our science department. Every child had the opportunity to investigate chemicals from NASA, use microscopes to look at plant and animal cells, made volcanos with vinegar and bicarbonate soda. They were also surprised to see how much fat was in crisps and maltesers and that those everyday substances such as shampoo and milk were acid, alkaline or neutral. The children of Holland Moor expressed their enjoyment by writing us a thank you letter when they got back to school – we are really pleased to know how exciting and valuable the day was for them.