Minister Congratulates Birches Head High on Top Results

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lSpring 2013
Minister for Educaton
Congratulates Birches Head
High School on Results
Earlier in the term it was a very proud moment to open a let-
ter from the Minister for Educaton that congratulated the school
on the results of students gaining 5A*-C including English & Maths.
Obviously this is a huge tribute to all staf and parents who have
supported our students as well as the students themselves.
Obviously as a school we can never be complacent on receiving
good news and are contnuing to work with everyone involved in the
school to ensure we become an outstanding school for our students.
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Just before we break up for the Easter holiday I would like to bring
you up to date about a few things that have been happening.
Calling it a holiday is a bit of an error, if you are working towards exams this
summer. It is a good tme to re-read notes, to try out past questons. Keep-
ing up the pace you have been building to this term will really make a difer-
ence in your confdence levels at the beginning of next term. Letng go of
the work you have been doing for just two weeks will make it all the hard-
er to get back to where you are now! Mums and Dads-please encourage.
We have to say goodbye to Dawn OKeefe and Wayne Docherty as gover-
nors, in both cases because of work and family commitments. Their con-
tributons have been considerable, not least in meetngs, and they will be
missed. Please let us know if you would like to know more about being a
school governor, to support you making your mind up about joining us.
The date for conversion to Academy status has now been confrmed as
July 1st 2013. The change in date has been caused by difcultes manag-
ing a complex process that includes PFI. It is stll good to restate that be-
ing allowed to convert to an Academy is a tribute to the strength the De-
partment for Educaton sees in the school and confrmed recently by
a short Ofsted subject visit. The launch of the Academy will take place
at the beginning of the new academic year. The consultaton about
the name of the school was successfully held- thank you to all who took
part. I believe we will all recognise Birches Head Academy as our school.
It is encouraging to see the Trust Partnership growing, both in terms of the
number of people and schools working together under its umbrella, but
also in the range of actvites in which it engages. Parents and Communi-
ty groups are fourishing; indeed, winning serious prizes for co-operatve
working. Primary schools are working together and with BHHS on subjects
such as literacy/numeracy, leadership, and ICT. The Stoke-on-Trent Sixth
Form College and Stafordshire University contnue to give their support.
Joint training for the Trust will see the ways we work together strength-
ening as we adopt similar systems and develop a shared business plan.
Wishing you all a good holiday,
Barb
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Health and Safety
Reminder to parents and carers - do not come onto site before 2.30pm
Thank you to those parents who have complied with
our request not to come onto site before 2.30pm
The School Yard is a teaching space for PE lessons and is the students mus-
ter point in the event of a fre so needs to be kept clear throughout the day.
If you arrive early please wait away from the school site un-
tl afer 2.30pm. Please do not wait on Birches Head Road as this
creates a tail back and causes major trafc congeston problems.
Other Premises News
Talks are being held with our PFI maintenance provider in eforts to pre-
vent any further boiler failures taking place. The vast majority of old pipe
work under the original building has now been replaced and talks are un-
derway to arrange for the replacement of the last remaining sectons.
Similarly, a large area of the roof on the original building also needs re-
placing and we hope that these works will take place over the summer.
School Meals
A new menu will be on ofer afer Easter, details of which
will be made available via the student and parent Gateway.
The caterers ABM will be running a number of promotons this term:
15th April The Smoothie Bike pedal to mix smoothies
23rd April St Georges Day menu
24th April - Hong Kong Day
7th May Build a Burger Day
12th May Britsh Sandwich Week
20th May Natonal Vegetarian Week
Staf News
Since the last newsleter we have extended a warm welcome to new staf:
Mrs J Ambler (Lunch Time Supervisor)
Mr D Wallbanks (House Learning Manager for Water House)
Mr A Hawke (Subject Leader: Music)
Mrs L Mackie (Behaviour Support Assistant)
This term we have said goodbye and good luck to:
Mr G Pillay (Cover Supervisor)
Mrs R Hollinshead (Lunch Time Supervisor)
Mr T Scarle (Handyperson)
Mrs J Arnold (Behaviour Support Assistant)
Mr S Goodall (Behaviour Support Assistant)
Miss R Barker (PA to Headteacher)
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The LRC has been hostng some interest-
ing learning opportunites this past term.
Chinese New Year
We enjoyed the Chinese New Year workshops so much in January 2012,
we thought we would we celebrate The Year of the Snake for 2013. Stu-
dents had the chance to learn about the culture surrounding the customs
and traditons of Chinese New Year. This included making litle red envelopes
with Chinese symbols on and putng the cus-
tomary gold coins/money in them, (only choco-
late ones Im afraid,) to give to friends and family.
We then proceeded to give our best shot at using
chopstcks to eat noodles and rice, not an easy task
for many of us, but it was a fun and tasty experience.
Valentnes Day
Valentnes Day was a chance
for those of us who enjoy bak-
ing, to go to town on mak-
ing and decoratng a selec-
ton of cakes to tempt our
students to treat their nearest
and dearest to a sweet treat.
See for yourself

Also the Knitng Club provided some beautful knited
hearts for students to purchase to give to their sweetheart.
World Book Day
World Book Day was on 7th March. To mark the occasion the LRC had a
tea party and to gain entry students had to simply bring a book in with a
review. It was great to see so many of our students showing an enthusi-
asm for reading. We also shared our passion
for reading by talking to other students about
the books we have read and loved and called
it Passing on the Passion for Reading. All
students have been given the opportunity to
receive a 1 book token to redeem against a
book purchase in partcipatng Book Stores.
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Clubs and Actvites in the LRC
All the clubs in the LRC are well supported; they include: chess, read-
ing, board games, knitng and crafs. Call in to reserve a place.

We are planning trips afer school to Hanley Library to join in
and work with an established knitng and craf club. See LRC no-
tceboard for dates and tmes, and Mrs Lawton to book a place.

Staf from Waterstones bookshop have been to visit to take part in ac-
tvites and we have had our book reviews displayed in the store.
Visit the LRC to see the great selecton of books on ofer, we
have lots of new books chosen by the students themselves.
We have computers for homework and its also a
great place to chill and socialise with your friends.

The staf and students in the LRC baked cakes to sell for Comic Re-
lief and we made 38.00. Thanks to everyone who supported us.
Breakfast Club is open at 7:30am, it is warm and welcom-
ing on those cold mornings. You can watch the news, read the pa-
per, have a hot drink and toast for a very reasonable fee and meet
your mates for a chat. A great way to start your day see you there!
I would like to thank the LRC assistants for their invaluable
support and commitment over the last eighteen months,
and I wish them all the best for the future: Sadie James,
Abigail Jones and Sammie Burrows, you will be sadly missed.
Mrs Lawton
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TILT Membership Groups and Forum
Atendance at the Forum meetngs has again been very consistent
from all member groups. Their input into the meetngs has increased
including taking responsibility for chairing the meetng and making
presentatons. Forum members have been interviewed by external
organisatons to give them an insight into what they see as good co-
operatve practce. The TILT membership has been working on many
initatves over the last term, including collectng recyclable ma-
terials and reusable products in order to build up funds for stu-
dent projects, as well as developing a gardening area within school
so that specifc sectons can be maintained by each Tutor Group.
Students have been working with the school caterers to learn about nu-
triton, healthy eatng and foods that can and can not be served in the
dining hall. They are currently working on a project to design a new
break tme snack which they can help to make and sell to their friends.

The TILT website is almost ready for full use. All member groups and part-
ners have been asked to submit artcles or stories which can be published on
the website. If you have any community based stories or things of interest
that are happening locally, let us know by email at TILT@bircheshead.org.uk
Our parents group would like to contnue the Community Drop
In sessions during the summer term so watch out for details.
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TILT Learning Partner Awards
Our third annual awards event took place on March 20th. Partners
throughout our community were nominated by TILT members for rec-
ogniton of their work within the Trust. The Forum has been work-
ing hard to make this event a success with awards in all 6 co-
operatve values being presented to a wide range of partners.
Afer the awards were presented, the guests and staf had the op-
portunity to network and create further partnerships for the future.
Grow It Group
A local community group at the Bridge Centre has donated gar-
dening equipment to our Grow it Group. Our weekly garden-
ing group contnues to fourish with students, staf, community
organisatons, parents and grandparents all joining in on Thursday evenings.
The group has recently won through to the fnal six of the Young Gardener
of the Year competton with Morrisons, winning 10,000
vouchers to be spent on resources. The group is also look-
ing to supply the school kitchen with some of its own produce.
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Transiton Update
Our transiton program is very much up and running now with a
number of our staf and students regularly visitng all local prima-
ries, working with KS2 students, facilitatng excitng and fresh work-
shops ensuring all experience a true taste of Birches Head High School.
KS2 students can experience the following subjects: Art, Media, STEM
Technology, ICT, PE and Science. Please read below some of the experi-
ences, challenges and successes developing from our transiton menu.
Fitzy the Fox Fitness Club Hamilton Infant School
Year 11 sports leaders have contnued to deliver Fitzy the Fox actvites at
Hamilton Infant School this term. The students have planned and prepared
the actvites making them fun and specifc for the needs of the students in-
volved. The students have shown excellent organisatonal skills demonstrat-
ing the ability to both set up and lead the actvites each week. The club
will take a break next half term but will begin again with a new batch of
young leaders being mentored by the Year 11 leaders. The students involved
are: Molly Adamson, Mikaela Cobby, Laura-Jo Simcox and Lauren Dyche.
Carmountside Primary School Sports Club
Three sports leaders are currently having great success each week running
a mult sport ftness club at Carmountside Primary School. Emillie Corden
(senior sports leader) has done a fantastc job mentoring the Year 8 leaders
each week, their leadership skills have greatly improved under Emillies guid-
ance. Large numbers atend the club each week and really enjoy themselves.
The club will contnue afer Easter. Well done Emillie, Rebecca and Antonia.
Science
This term has focused around Digeston and Chemical reactons, Year 5 and 6
students are also experiencing science in the lab, an excellent opportunity for
students to work in our secondary environment and experience our state of
the art facilites. This is a program we are hoping to introduce on a more reg-
ular basis, we are hopefully looking at creatng a rolling programme of visits.
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Mult Media Experience
This term has seen positve and excitng visits to the local primary schools,
students have been keen to explore animaton further and also expe-
rience our Green Screen facilites. Work produced so far has been really
strong, creatve, individual and has been a great learning experience for
our students also. Students from Birches Head have accompanied Mr
Keeling, assistng and working with smaller groups of Year 6 students.
Digital Creatvity
We are very proud to announce our success in gaining funding
from two external Arts companies Arts Council and also the Lot-
tery Funded Awards for All. This additonal money is being used for
two separate creatve developments, both of which are being run
thanks to the expertse of our external partnership work with Bitjam.
The frst is the development of the schools frst ever digital ra-
dio staton and the second project is to enhance learners digit-
al experiences within learning through the opening of a Hacklab.
Both grants will allow students to gain valuable hands on experience of creatvity
using a range of digital technologies. Invitng partcipants to think of digital envi-
ronments as open systems, full of opportunites to expand the technology further.
Staf and students will be encouraged and provided with opportunites to
work in groups, using curiosity and creatveness to solve problems and devel-
op digital products through the development of the schools frst ever Hacklab.
The Hacklab needs equipment and the work has started to fnd unused tech-
nology and look at recycling technology on the verge of being scrapped.
Were running the lab at least one day a week with up to 5 days per week
planned on occasion. The idea is to be always open during these days so
that teachers and students can come in, get curious learn, hack and create.
Please keep an eye out for up to date developments
of both projects, which can be found on the gateway.
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Prefects
The prefects have taken their responsibilites seriously throughout and of-
fered their services when requested to do so, their fnal dutes will com-
mence afer the Easter holidays. I would like to thank the prefects for
their contnued support in raising the profle and visions of the school.
TILT Reps
This term the TILT reps have reformed and new mem-
bers have joined. They have had regular meetngs and are now
embarking on a new and excitng project with the school catering com-
pany. This is from gathering informaton from surveys on healthy eat-
ing and the views of students on the current menu to creatng a sand-
wich which will be on sale in the dining room for others to experience.
This term TILT reps have shown enthusiasm and commitment to de-
veloping as a team and moving their projects forward. Well done and I
look forwarding to hearing more in the coming term on your projects!
Year 11 Students Goodbye and good luck
The tme comes around so quickly when we start to say good-
bye to our Year 11 students. It is with convicton that we say we
are sure that you will all succeed in gaining the GCSEs that you de-
serve and only motvaton and determinaton will support this.
With this in mind our last fnal goodbyes will be June 28th 2013 when
your GCSEs are completed and we hold our Year 11 leavers assem-
bly and look forward to a fun evening at the school prom at Crewe Hall.
All the staf at Birches Head High Schoolwish you all the very best for your future.
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Beat Bullying
We have been chosen by the UKs leading bullying preventon charity: Beat
Bullying to take part in their training for Mindful Mentors, these are cyber
mentors. 24 students were given this fantastc opportunity and have received
an intensive 2 day training programme in school to enable them to cyber-men-
tor young people on-line from their computers at home. The students will be
monitored by the Mindful Mentors-Beat Bullying organisaton and school. This
is a voluntary contributon from the students of their tme and efort. They will
create a colourful widget to identfy them and a cool user name, they have
had to learn a salutaton and explain to the young person who they will be chat-
tng with they only have a short tme to chat with them, they then signpost
the young person onto a more experienced trained counsellor if necessary.
Ant-Bullying Week
Through assemblies in Ant-Bullying
Week we looked at Words, with a
very powerful presentaton using
visual images with words and music. This was to highlight the use of negatve
language young people use towards each other without necessarily realising
the impact and emoton this has upon someone. We also saw negatve body
language which didnt need any verbal communicaton but stll conveyed a very
distressing message. To work towards addressing the balance of positve lan-
guage we will be displaying posters of positve images and quotes around school.
New members have been welcomed into the Beat Bullying Team from
Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 cohorts; we are looking forward to hearing their
contributons to the team. Beat Bullying will be visitng a Primary School
before the end of the Spring term to deliver the Barney & Echo cyber-bul-
lying project, they will deliver the project to Y6 students and then return
to Birches Head High School to create a comic strip with widgets to dis-
play on their school E-Safety boards and in video format for Assemblies.
The team will be creatng new displays around school explaining the
ways we access Ant-Bullying in school (via personal development les-
sons, assemblies, the report bullying page) to ensure all students know
where and how they can feel safe within the school environment.
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Futures Curriculum
In the Summer Term students in Year 7 will be experiencing an excitng diferent
way of learning; in each subject students will be working on creatve enquiries.
Students will experience a big event on the topic they are studying in each sub-
ject and will be supported by their teachers to develop questons to learn more.
Students will then work both independently and in groups to ex-
plore the topic before creatng a resource they have planned.
Working in this way
encourages students
to work cooperatvely
and independently,
to plan and use their
tme efectvely and to
have the confdence
to ask questons
and fnd answers
by themselves.
Students will focus on
specifc skills including
organisaton, giving rea-
sons for opinions and
actons, design and ask-
ing relevant questons.
At the end of the
Summer Term stu-
dents will present
and share their completed projects in celebraton events and there
may be opportunites for you to visit the school to view their work.
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Results
The results from the January exams was released by Exam
Boards on 7th March
2013 and the results
from the March ex-
ams was released
on 18th April 2013.
The main exam season
for Year 11 begins on
13th May. Exam tme-
tables are in the proc-
ess of being fnalised
and will be sent out to
students in April. The
results for summer exams will be available to students on 22nd August 2013.
Preparaton
As a parent there are many things you can do to help your child prepare
for their upcoming exams. You can help them to go through their notes
for revision, make sure they get a good nights sleep before the exam, give
them a good breakfast
before they leave the
house (food feeds
the brain and helps
concentraton) and
also ensure they
have all the right
equipment for when
they sit the exam.
Equipment
Essentals that students will need
are a black pen, a pencil, a ruler and
an eraser, all 4 of these items
can be purchased from stu-
dent recepton for just 50 pence.
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14 19 Pathways
Year 11 Actv8 Scheme
Ten of our Year 11 students have completed an extended work experi-
ence placement run in conjuncton with The Stafordshire Partnership.
The students completed 10 days work experience over a period of 10
weeks and built up a portolio based around skills for working life. Place-
ments have included Northwood Stadium, Goodwins Engineering, Kids &
Co and ABM Catering, the catering company providing meals at the Stoke
City Training Ground, amongst others. The students have also been on visits
to local colleges and training providers to help them make post-16 choices.
All placements have been a huge success, with some of the stu-
dents gaining part-tme jobs, and all students will be invit-
ed to an awards event to receive certfcates in the near future.
Year 11 School/College Partnerships
The Year 11 students who study at Stoke-on-Trent College on Fridays
are about to start the fnal module of their course and all six of them
should gain an NVQ qualifcaton in either Constructon or Engineering.
An awards event will take place on Friday 26 April at the Burslem Cam-
pus; parents will receive an invitaton to atend from the college.
Year 11 Careers
The whole of Year 11 have been busy applying to college or for
apprentceships, ready for when they leave school this year.
The college liaison staf have been in school frequently to answer any
questons and give advice, and Simon Smallman from the Careers Serv-
ice has been conductng individual interviews and ofering workshops.
A range of taster events at the local colleges and training provid-
ers has also been arranged and many students have found these
benefcial in helping them to make choices regarding their future.
Simon Smallman (Careers Service) and Josephine Povey (14 19
Pathways) will be available on GCSE results day to ofer informa-
ton and guidance regarding college placements and transiton.
Year 10 School/College Partnerships
Gavin Pots, who is studying Constructon at Stoke-on-Trent College on Tues-
days, is fast becoming the Birches Head student to have gained the most praise
postcards from the college ever! Well done Gavin, keep up the good work.
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Why is Homework Important?
Homework is an extension of the learning that has occurred during the lesson.
Homework ofers an opportunity for our students to show what they have learned
at school to their teachers, parents, family and friends. Homework may also be
something that needs to be done in preparaton for the next lessons learning.
What is Expected?
Teachers are expected to issue homework to students in accord-
ance with the homework tmetable. This tmetable is writen specif-
cally for every class to enable all subjects to issue homework but also
ensure that there are no more than 3 pieces of homework per night.
When homework is given to the students the expectaton is that the stu-
dents complete it to the best of their ability and submit it on tme.
Why are Planners Important?
Our student planners are a really important part of homework. This is
where the students have their individual copy of the homework tmetable
(stuck in) and also where they write in the details of what the homework
is and when it has to be completed by. If you notce that homework is not
being recorded then please encourage your child to remind their teacher!
Website and Gateway
The school website the gateway is where all homework is uploaded
by the teachers. The gateway site also contains an electronic copy of the
homework tmetable should students have accidently lost their copy. At
Birches Head we value immensely parental engagement in the comple-
ton of homework. Firstly, this allows you to investgate closely what your
child is learning in their lessons and share the learning with them. Sec-
ondly, our teachers upload a copy of the homework onto the gateway.
Where possible we ask teachers to upload an exact copy of the homework
which enables you to support and help them. Where this is not possible
a small statement of what the students have to do is uploaded. We really
value and encourage parents supportng their children with their home-
work and ensuring that everyones learning potental is being achieved.
Timetable
The homework tmetable is constructed for each class. The tme-
tables are on the gateway and linked to year groups. If you click
on the homework tab and then the year group you will fnd
each class in that year group and their homework tmetable.
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The SEN team work with students identfed as having a special
educatonal need. The team work throughout the school to pro-
vide additonal support in lessons, small group and one
to one interventons and modify and develop resources.
During this term we are collaboratng with the Special Educatonal Needs
and Disabilites Services to support the development of vocabulary in
our students. Actvites and resources will be available to support the de-
velopment of language skills and extend their understanding of words.
The Zone@lunch
At lunchtmes the SEN team ofer a supported social environment
for students to develop friendships and social skills whilst enjoy-
ing board games, card games, puzzles, quizes or just sitng chatng.
Over the last term the number of members has grown by 20%. The
group meets in the SEN breakout area every lunchtme and students
names can be nominated for the club by their House Learning Manager.
Need help with Homework?
Come along to our Homework Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays in
the SEN breakout area or speak to Mrs Chawner or any member
of our team. We can provide support afer school or during lunch.
SEN Spotlight on...
Epilepsy
Tuesday 26th March 2013 wass Purple Day, the internatonal day of epilepsy
awareness. Epilepsy is the mos common serious neurological conditon and
afects about 1 person in every 200. Epilepsy is a tendency to have recur-
rent seizures. Seizures are a result of a brief, temporary disrupton to the
usual actvity of the brain. They can present in a variety of ways and can
sometmes present as absences that can ofen be mistaken for daydreaming.
Implicatons for learning
Students with epilepsy may experience difculty in sustaining atenton.
Short-term memory may be impaired. Concentraton and aten-
ton levels may be poor. Students may be distracted by back-
ground noise in the classroom. They may also experience difcul-
tes with problem solving, decision making and language skills.
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PLC
The PLC has had an actve year this year, making their pres-
ence known with a variety of projects across the school.
Making the best use of their new room the students have been
recycling wood lef by the builders to support groups across the school.
The students have built vegetable patches for use by the air house tu-
tor groups as well as developing the now sizeable plot around the
poly tunnel. The PLC also built a recycled table and cooked a car-
rot and cumin soup to help promote TILT at the Year 7 open night.
Poor weather has put some restrictons on progress but
plans are in progress work with the grow it group to pro-
vide the muscle to put some of their plans into reality.

In additon to this the students have recycled many of the Bel-
fast sinks from the science labs and sold them on to provide funds
for the minibus fund. Plans are in progress to plant the rest of
the sinks up for sale next term as well as our hanging baskets.
Next term we are planning on developing some of the skills
learnt over the past year and undertaking a series of enter-
prise projects which will provide funds towards the school mini-
bus fund as well as a reward trip to be organised by the students.
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STEM
This term students have been partcipatng in a variety of experiments.
The frst session saw students using food dye on vegetable stems such as celery
to see the paterns and channels present but not always visible to the naked eye.
Part of this session involved students mixing PVA with borax to create silly puty.
As an outdoor technology based task students launched Chinese lanterns
into the sky. They then stood back and observed the lanterns as they as-
cended untl eventually they were out of sight. The outcome of this project
is that the students understand the principle of how air rises when heat is in-
troduced. This then creates a mini project where students could undertake
experiments involving tme, distance and fuel. The students could adjust
the fuel burn tme according to calculated distance and estmated tme to
reach its destnaton. This mini project would incorporate maths in calcu-
latng tme, distance and fuel, which is one of the key elements of STEM.
A session on criminology engaged the students in profle matching. This
involved cut outs of criminals faces (see photograph below) being put to-
gether to match their profle which was displayed on a projector. The
University Student Ambassadors then opened up a discussion on fn-
ger-prints e.g. how to obtain them from objects using talcum powder.
A session on enamelling involved students creatng a copper leaf. Cop-
per was cut using tn snips into the shape of a leaf and the outer edg-
es were shaped using a fle. Using a hammer and anvil the students in-
troduced a curve to the leaf. Enamel partcles were then applied to
the leaf and heated at a high temperature to bond the enamel to the
copper surface. When cooled this formed a colourful tough layer.
In April students from Birches Head will be atending the Staford-
shire University to partcipate in Science based actvites demonstrat-
ing their new found knowledge. This demonstraton will be by power
point and will be showcased to the University and other local schools.
Outside Ambassadors will be paying a visit to Birch-
es Head to assist with the Green power racing car challenge.
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CEOP Safer Internet Day -
Connect with Respect
This February Miss Parker and the Safer
Schools Police ofcer Wendy Rigby worked
together to produce a series of internet
safety assemblies. The assemblies featured
a presentaton and a few short videos. They
focused around social networking sites and
encouraged our students to think about
how much they are sharing about them-
selves online. Wendy spoke to the stu-
dents about their Facebook/Twiter privacy setngs and the dangers of post-
ing or sending images via the internet or mobile phones. Everything that
is placed online leaves a digital footprint and a trail back to the individual.
Students were made aware of this trail throughout the week of assemblies.
E Learning

Most subjects are now using Apple iPads and apps in
lessons. MFL, Science, Art, and PE are currently run-
ning projects using iPads. In additon, each of these
subjects is also streaming iPad data via wireless Ap-
ple TV to classroom interactve whiteboards. PE are
using a Coachs Eye app to flm and analyse train-
ing by immediately showing students their tech-
niques. This is achieved by analysing video in slow
moton and picking out specifc areas of the exercise for improvement.
MFL (French) are using a MadPad app to create French Songs which can be
played by tapping the students faces. Large groups of students record them-
selves as litle snapshots so the voices and images combine to create a full
song. Science are using the iPad to capture and graph data along with Apple
TV. Students in the Science department have found some innovatve ways to
produce some good work with the iPads. We now have a good mixture of PCs,
laptops and tablet computers that can be booked out as learning resources.
All of the iPads used in school have a number of applicatons in-
stalled that we think will be useful to aid learning and teaching.
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Parents Gateway
Miss Parker updates the parents page announcements and
news. All parents should be able to view their childs or child-
rens details such as atendance and positve behaviour points.
If you are having trouble accessing the parents page or you have forgot-
ten your username or password, then you can email: itservices@dept.
bircheshead.org.uk or call 01782 864900 to speak to one of the ICT team.
Chick Hatching in tme for Easter
Its chick hatching tme again and this year we will be using a tme-lapse
camera to record the whole event. We now have a tme-lapse camera for
whole school use which can be
used to record developing events
or events which need to be record-
ed over-night such as the chicks
hatching. The camera works by tak-
ing anything from a few to a few
hundred stll images and then
puts these together as a movie.
Its a useful and educatonal re-
source that can capture anything from the chicks hatching to
plants growing daily in Science or for animaton use in Media.
Parent Mail
If you have had your registraton details, go online and register to start
receiving informaton from Birches Head High School via text and email.
If your registraton details have expired or you have forgoten
them, please contact the school to get a new login registraton.
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Good News In Art!
Year 11 students are preparing for their fnal exam and beginning to present
coursework ready to be shown in an end of year exhibiton. Exhibitons are
an important part of school decoraton, especially when celebratng student
achievement and the exhibiton will be a nice opportunity for the Year 11s to
feel proud of the art work that they have worked on throughout the course.
Trips to the end of year degree shows at Stafordshire University and Newcas-
tle College are also being planned for the summer term so that our students
can appreciate the talents, skills, and designs involved in the producton of
artwork, ceramics, graphics, clothing and fashion items. The trips are also
an amazing opportunity for students to view the work of college and univer-
sity students and ask questons about career opportunites and pathways.
Year 7 Celebrate and Enjoy
Students will be undertaking an excitng and fun project during the sum-
mer term based around the theme of Toys. They will use processes such as
drawing, print, paint and assemblage to rep-
resent colour, line and form and will cre-
ate their very own mixed media piece of work.
Learning Next Term: They will learn how to respond to
artst research by asking relevant questons and giv-
ing valuable opinions about their work. They will gain
confdence in their own ideas and create designs that
are inspired by artst research. Students will also learn how to communi-
cate efectve design ideas and work creatvely using textleprocesses.
Homework: All additonal learning can be found in the Additonal Learn-
ing Packs but will be discussed and clarifed during lesson tme each week.
Year 8 3D Constructon
Students will contnue to work on the mixed media project based on the de-
signing and making of a mechanical form based on tools, cogs or moving parts.
Learning Next Term: Students will learn how to experiment with construc-
ton techniques and three dimensional processes when building a wall
plaque to represent mechanical parts. They will gain confdence when
using the constructon materials and be able
to demonstrate good use of health and safe-
ty procedures when using technical equipment.
Homework: All additonal learning can be found
in the Additonal Learning Packs but will be dis-
cussed and clarifed during lesson tme each week.
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Year 9 Cakes and Sweets
Students will contnue to work on the cakes and sweets project and will
begin to use constructon techniques and three dimensional processes to
develop a series of sculptures. The students will use a range of diferent
materials such as paper, card, wire, mod-rock, and fabric to build
their fnal outcomes and will gain confdence when using the con-
structon materials and be able to demonstrate good use of
health and safety procedures when using technical equipment.
Homework: All
additonal learn-
ing can be found
in the Additonal
Learning Packs
but will be dis-
cussed and clari-
fed during lesson
tme each week.
Year 10 Drawing Project on Sweets
Students will be startng a new project based on the theme of sweets and
confectonary. The project will build on their observatonal drawing skills
and is intended to stretch their imaginaton and thought-processes through
the manipulaton of diferent techniques and processes in mark-making.
The students will produce a variety of diferent drawings in pencil, crayon,
biro, ink, chalk, pastel, and print based on sweets and sweet wrappers. The
project is aimed at facilitatng independence and creatvity which all stu-
dents in the group have successfully achieved so far and will need to sustain
as all fnal outcome ideas will need to be diferent, quirky and interestng.
Learning Next Term: Students will begin to make their fnal response
to the project and learn how to master new techniques, present and
construct their outcome and use creatve impulse to develop origi-
nal work. Finally students will evaluate their work, thinking carefully
about strengths and weaknesses and any areas for future refnement.
Homework: All additonal learning can be found in the Additonal
Learning Packs but will be discussed and clarifed during les-
son tme each week. Students will also need to think about atend-
ing art club (Period 6) at least once a week to refne, amend or de-
velop any missing pieces of coursework or past pieces of work.
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KS3
Afer Easter all KS3 students will be issued with new Homework
booklets to support the upcoming new projects they are
completng in class. They will include a number of design
and research tasks to be completed at home to reinforce their
learning. Students will need to bring the book-
let to each lesson as part of their basic equipment.
Year 7
Students in Year 7 have been busy learning about teamwork and
structures and are now at the fnal stage of the project complet-
ing the bridges and getng ready to test them to destructon.
Upon completon of their product they will move on to the top-
ic of Drawing Techniques where students will learn all about
2 and 3 dimensional drawings and presentaton techniques.
The techniques of shade and tone will also be developed.
This should be an excitng tme for our Year 7 students in tech-
nology and give them a sound understanding of many ide-
as and techniques they will carry forward into Year 8 and beyond.
Year 7 students will also complete a unit of work on CAD/
CAM learning the advantages and disadvantages of its use.
Year 8
Startng at Easter students will start on the Celtc
Jewellery Project. Students will look to take inspiraton for the
Celtc age and use traditonal skills along side CAD and CAM
techniques to produce quality pewter cast item of jewellery.
In the second half of the term students will look at diferent types
of wood and designing and making a jewellery box to house
their bespoke jewellery. They will learn about the difer-
ent types of woods and how they can be joined together.
Year 9
Students have been working to complete a number of design and mak-
ing tasks to help them prepare for KS4. This coming term they will
start a graphics project to design and make a travel board game.
They will focus on improving their designing skills
and creatng a more professional looking products.
It has been an excitng tme for our Year 9 students with up-
take for the new Engineering course proving to be very popular.
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Year 10 Product Design
Students have just completed a project working with metal to design and
make their own Botle openers. They have looked at a number of difer-
ent metal working techniques including heat treatment to improve the
fnish and quality of the product. Afer Easter controlled assessments
will start, building on the subject knowledge from Key Stage 3 along with
the introducton of new techniques both design and practcal based. Stu-
dents will also have to complete theory lessons to help them prepare for
the exam. Towards the end of the term students will complete a mock
exam to help them understand the exam requirements for next year.
Year 11 Product Design
This term has been the busiest and most important for Year 11 stu-
dents who are taking product design. All coursework is to be fnished for
the end of term. Students are all currently fnishing of the making sec-
ton of the coursework. Students need to be completng any outstand-
ing writen coursework at home or during Period 6 on a Thursday afer
school. Afer Easter students will be focusing on exam prep and revision.
STEM
STEM Club has been up and running for a term now on a Wednesday night. We
are very lucky to have three Ambassadors from Stafordshire University work-
ing with our students completng a number of Science based experiments.

Scalextric4Schools
Scalextric4Schools is an excitng new curriculum project
for schools which allows students to design, build and race their very own
Scalextric cars. The curriculum has been developed by PTC in partnership with
Scalextric. Year 9 students will represent the school at the natonal fnals at
RAF Cosford in June competng against Schools from all over the UK and Russia.
Students will design their car using 3D modeling sofware avail-
able free to schools as part of the CAD in Schools initatve. Stu-
dents will be able to race against others in nine regional fnals, win-
ners from each of the regional fnals will compete in the natonal fnal.
Greenpower
Requires students, guided by their teachers and an industry mentors, to design,
build and then race an electric car. Holding events at weekends at major motor
circuits around the UK ensures excellent atendance from the public who can
witness the amazing vehicles, focus and team work evident at these events.
Anyone who is interested in atending or helping out
with any of these projects should contact the school.
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Year 7 LRC Visits
Year 7 have been enjoying visits to the LRC to celebrate Chinese New Year,
with food tastng and creatve tasks, and World Book Day. Mrs Lawton, the
LRC manager, has already planned the next series of visits which include
the return of Emma George from Hanley Library, always a popular visitor
to the school. The LRC contnues to be a vibrant and excitng learning en-
vironment and the department and students eagerly await our next visit!
Divine Poetry
Year 7 students have taken part in a poetry competton run by Divine
Chocolate and the Fair Trade organisaton on the theme of What choco-
late means to me. Many of the entries have focused on the tmes of the
year when chocolate is given as part of a celebraton, such as Easter or
Christmas. The poems produced have been of a very high standard and
Miss Gibbs was impressed by the imaginaton of Year 7: I just love the po-
ems, where do they get such wonderful ideas from? Well done Year 7.
Chocolate Heaven
Year 8 students have been busily planning for the launch of a tasty prod-
uct, chocolate designed by the classes! Mrs Beards class have de-
signed the packaging, slogans and advertsements for their own range
of chocolate bars. The impressive advertsing campaigns are guar-
anteed to sell the confectonary. The results have been amazing!
Gifed and Talented Students Speak Out!
Year 10 students have been involved in a speaking and listening project
with a diference, the diference being that they have been given the task
of remarketng Stoke-on-Trent to make it atractve to businesses wishing
to relocate. The project, run by Stafordshire Partnerships, saw the stu-
dents working with a range of local entrepreneurs. The expertse ofered
by the business brains saw our students ideas grow and blossom into the
impressive plans that they presented to an audience at The New Vic Thea-
tre. Mrs Brassington worked closely with the students and enjoyed Seeing
their confdence develop over the tme spent with our business partners.
Congratulatons to Year 11
Year 11 students are poised for another impressive year following the re-
sults of the January GCSE. Progress has been made from the mocks tak-
en in Year 10 to the most recent results, showing that Year 11 are living up
to the high standards set in 2012 when the department matched its best
ever results of 69% for A*-C. Well done Year 11, we know you can do it!
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Homework for Term 3
Year 7: Research into the life and tmes of Shakespeare and a range of writ-
ing tasks including, diary entries and leters from the main characters in
the play, A Midsummer Nights Dream. Planning and preparaton for the
students own play based on the themes of A Midsummer Nights Dream.
Year 8: Research and a range of writng tasks surrounding the
themes discussed in the novel Refugee Boy. Students will car-
ry out research and the design items associated with the cultures
of Eritrea and Ethiopia, the countries discussed in Refugee Boy.
Year 9: Range of tasks to investgate the ways that non fcton texts deliver
their messages. Tasks to develop the writen skills of students including the
use of persuasive techniques to deliver a message to a specifc audience.
Year 10: Research into the themes discussed in the poetry being stud-
ied, including the life and tmes of the poets. A range of tasks to invest-
gate the Shakespearian text being studied including research into the life
and tmes of Shakespeare and a range of task such as leters and diaries
writen by the characters designed to increase understanding of the text.
Year 11: Timed reading and writng tasks in preparaton for Mays examinatons.
How you can support your childs learning this term:
Years 7 8: Less confdent readers: read with your child for
15 minutes every evening and ask questons to confrm un-
derstanding. Reading mater can be whatever interests them.
Confdent readers: encourage regular and wider reading.
Encourage your child to read aloud their writng tasks to you
to raise their awareness of the necessity to use accu-
rate punctuaton and correct grammar. Encourage them to
watch the news on the television and discuss current events.
Help them to access resources for the areas being studied.
Year 9: Direct your children towards Internet resources such as BBC Bite-
size. Encourage students to read newspapers and watch television news
programmes in preparaton for the media sectons of the exami-
naton. Be positve about the Shakespeare and Dickens texts they
will be studying for theircoursework tasks. Encourage your child
to use quotatons from the text in their coursework, stress the im-
portance of the PEE structure (Point, Evidence and Explanaton).
Year 10: Take an actve interest in their work read your childs writng
and ask them about the task and their homework to ensure that ef-
fort is being shown. Encourage your children to read a range
of text types e.g. leafets, novels, newspapers, poetry. Encour-
age your child to use quotatons from the text in their coursework.
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History Department News
Year 11 students have completed their controlled assessment in the last
term and we are now studying our fnal module on Britain 1890 1918.
Year 11 students have been provided with revision and support packs and
should be encouraged to atend afer school and holiday revision sessions.
The History Batlefelds visit takes place between 8th 10th July and
will focus on exploring the batlefelds around Ypres and the Som-
me area. As we get closer to the visit there will be a meetng for par-
ents to give more specifc details about the organisaton of the visit.
What students will be studying this term
Year 8: students will complete their study of Stuart Britain before
moving on to study key aspects of Natve American society, explor-
ing the range of communites and the impact of European setlement.
Year 9: Students will explore aspects of modern world histo-
ry including Nazi Germany and life in Britain during World War Two.
Year 10: Students will contnue to study their module on Weimar and Nazi
Germany; this will then lead on to preparaton for their controlled assessment.
Year 11: Will be completng their source-based Britsh Depth
Study topic 1890-1918, following this students will focus their re-
vision on their internatonal relatons and Germany modules.
How will students be assessed?
In Year 10 and 11 assessment is specifc and linked to their exam require-
ments and, both year groups will practce a series of short and extended
responses which refect their modular exams. In KS3 students will be as-
sessed using source-based tasks which explore key events, and extend-
ed writng which examines historical change over the period studied.
Homework
One aspect of KS3 homework is revision for in-class tests, students are fre-
quently set revision tasks based on the topic they are studying, the revision
practse will help them prepare for their formal History tests during the year.
Other areas include source analysis skills, empathetc and crea-
tve writng, imagining you are part of the history you are studying.
Year 10 will have a number of homeworks relatng to their Germany
depth study and Year 11 will have homeworks linked to their revision,
these homeworks will be taken from their revision guides. Both Year 10
and Year 11 homeworks will also be based around exam-based ques-
tons and will build on the work in lessons and identfed student need.
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Geography Department News
Year 7, 8 and 9 had the opportunity to analyse their own exam papers to see
which type of questons they performed well on and where there was most
room for improvement. There were stmulus, knowledge/memory recall,
skills and extended writng questons. This is to drive up the standards of
exam performance even further following the record break-
ing Geography exam results achieved by the class of 2012
who achieved above natonal average results in Geography.
Year 10 and 11 students are partcipatng in feldwork before Easter where we
will study the River Dane from its source in the Peak District down to the food
plain in Cheshire to see the river processes in acton and the resultant landforms.
Tuesday 23rd April is the frst ever Internatonal Enterprise Day with
lots of excitng actvites and events for students to partcipate in.
You can support your child this term by asking them about their Key As-
sessment work, what they are required to do and how they intend
to complete this. Support them with tme management in terms
of meetng deadlines for the work to be completed. Also, encour-
age them to take an interest in the world around them via read-
ing newspapers or watching the news on TV to enhance or improve
their awareness and understanding of current geographical issues.
What students will be studying this term
Year 7: Students will undertake a creatve enquiry where, hav-
ing considered factors important in the locaton of a castle and a
theme park (Warwick Castle) they will then investgate the fea-
sibility of locatng an atracton in the area close to the school.
Year 8: Students will learn about Earthquakes and Volcanoes be-
fore moving on to fnd out about Rivers and river processes.
Year 9: Global Environments: Are humans acceleratng Glo-
bal Climatc Change? Package Holidays: What are the ef-
fects of package holidays on internatonal tourist destnatons.
Year 10: Unit 2: People and Places to Live. Populaton and set-
tlement. Controlled assessment unit worth 25% of fnal GCSE
grade- a study of Festval Park and the impact it has had on Hanley.
Year 11: Revision sessions for each of the three
units and exam practce for the exam paper/s.
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Year 7 Futures Curriculum (Licence to Cook)
Students will contnue developing practcal food skills as part of the gov-
ernments Cooking Enttlement. Students will focus on making more
complex dishes which encourage families to eat healthy, flling and tasty
meals and snacks, whilst also incorporatng our 5 a day. Recipes will
be communicated to parents weekly and will be put on the gateway.
Homework will involve developing organisatonal skills, by get-
tng ingredients ready. Students could extend their learning by help-
ing parents shop for ingredients to encourage wise shopping choic-
es/budgetng and weighing out ingredients at home if possible.
GCSE Food & Nutriton
What Year 10 will be learning during the Summer Term:
Students will complete a unit of work enttled Food Commodites
which involves learning about major food commodites such as,
meat, fsh, eggs, cheese and milk. Also, convenience foods, ge-
netcally modifed and fortfed foods. Students will also complete
a controlled Assessment which is worth 10% of the total marks.
GCSE Child Development
Students will complete the unit of work on Physical Development
where we look at how a child develops physically, intellectually, emo-
tonally and socially up to the age of fve years. We will then com-
plete a controlled assessment which involves learners comparing bot-
tle feeding to breast feeding. This is worth 10% of the total marks.
In the Summer Term Year 11 Students will spend this term completng past
papers and going through exam technique, in preparaton for the GCSE exam.
BTEC Health & Social Care
BTEC Health & Social Care students will be completng a unit of
work enttled Ensuring safe environments in Health & Social Care.
This involves completng a portolio of work looking at the haz-
ards in Health & Social Care environments and current legislaton.
During the Summer Term Year 11 BTEC Health & Social Care students will
spend the remainder of their tme in school improving each of their port-
folios of work in a bid to try and get the highest grades possible. This is
partcularly important as this course is equivalent to two GCSEs (grade C
and above) and will support learners with college entry requirements.
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Sociology
What will Year 10 and Year 11 be learning during the Summer Term:
Students will be completng a unit of work on Educaton.
They will then focus on revising the topics What is Sociolo-
gy?, The Family and Educaton and factors afectng educaton.
Homework will be based around research methods.
Homework
Year 7 Licence to Cook students are encouraged to col-
lect their own ingredients to promote independent learning skills
and weigh out ingredients at home if weigh scales available.
Completon of coursework tasks BTEC courses are portolio based,
so homework may be research or working on portolio tasks.
Tasks to consolidate learning of work covered in class.
GCSE questons taken from past papers.
How parents can support their childs learning
Ensure good atendance & punctuality and that your child is equipped
for learning e.g. to bring a pen, pencil and ruler. Talk to your child
about what they have been learning and encourage your child to com-
plete coursework and meet deadlines. Encourage your child to ask
the teacher, if there is any work they dont understand. Parents could
proof read work and check spellings etc. In additon, Y10 Child De-
velopment students are encouraged to visit libraries and look at
the sort of books available for children aged between 4-5 years old.
Events to look out for this term
Student voice has shown that learners feel they can engage and un-
derstand knowledge when they can see its relevance and it is ap-
plied to every day life. To this end, the following visit is being arranged:
GCSE Food & Nutriton: We have arranged for a chef from ABM cater-
ing to work with Mrs Johnsons GCSE food group. He is going to dem-
onstrate how to fllet a fsh and include diferent methods of cook-
ing. He is also going to do a hands on workshop around bread.
Sociology: Year 10 Sociology students have flmed a debate that they have
organised and taken part in. They also plan to interview teachers and
parents to fnd out about views on educaton and how it has changed.
The above visits and working with partners has been and
will contnue to be increased in a response to Student voice
who say they enjoy and learn efectvely through working
with partners, and that It makes educaton relevant and real!
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Year 7
Students are contnuing on a Journey Around the World this year.
In the summer term they will develop their spreadsheet modelling
skills to work out the costs of the trip and use their design and com-
municaton skills to create a website. Homework will be set once eve-
ry two weeks and all resources can be found on the school Gateway.
Year 8
Multmedia is going to be the project which students focus on for
the frst term. Students will begin by looking at a number of applica-
tons to create quizzes and games. They will then move on to choose
appropriate sofware to design and produce their own game or quiz
based on a choice of given topics. Homework will be set once eve-
Year 9 GCSE ICT
Students will complete a complex project ttled Welcome to Stoke in
the summer term. Students will consolidate their skills in design, model-
ling and data handling through producing a series of connected prod-
ucts intended for an unfamiliar audience of foreign visitors to the area.
They will be assessed each lesson based on class work to determine
their fnal Natonal Curriculum level. Homework will be set once eve-

Year 10 GCSE ICT (core)
Students will be contnuing the academic GCSE course in 2012-13
which comprises theory, skills practce and controlled assessment, with
a fnal writen exam during Year 11. In the third term students will com-
plete the third actvity of the controlled assessment Get Up, Get Mov-
ing. They will write and record a podcast and also create a website.
Students who have underperformed in the previous control-
led assessment actvites will be invited to atend extra-curricu-
lar sessions. Homework will be set based on the needs of the con-
trolled assessment and will include design and research tasks.
Parents can help by ensuring that students have access to a com-
puter. The internet is not compulsory but would be an advantage.
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Year 11 GCSE ICT (core)
Students will be revising for the fnal writen exam in the sum-
mer. Homework will be given weekly through practce exam ques-
tons and use of online resources via the ICT gateway page.
Year 11 GCSE ICT (opton)
Students will be fnalising their controlled assessment tasks for the Peo-
ple and Places project. They will also be revising for the fnal writen
exam in the summer. Homework will be given weekly through practce
exam questons and use of online resources via the ICT gateway page.
News Items
Year 7 Travel the World
Students in Year 7 contnue to enjoy planning their round the world trip
and have created newsleters to promote it. They have learnt and used a
range of desktop publishing skills and are demonstratng creatvity and
a sense of audience and purpose when producing their fnal products.
Homework
All students will be set homework on a weekly basis which can
be accessed/viewed via the ICT department Gateway pages.
Students in Years 10 and 11 studying for the ICT GCSE will have for-
mal homework tasks during the theory part of the course and re-
search/planning tasks during controlled assessment sessions.
Year 8 ICT
Year 8 have enjoyed developing their web design skills and have pro-
duced informatve websites on a range of issues afectng young people.
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Gifed and Talented
The Department of Educaton has published a case study regard-
ing our school involvement in the DUX scheme. The case study cov-
ers why we chose to get involved and the positve impact it had
on the nominated students Jonathan Dawson and Emily Corden.
We will contnue this year with the award.
Congratulatons to Nicole Harrison and Kate Unwin who have
been invited to Liverpool University on the 12th June 2013
Year 10 BTEC Business
Students will be contnuing with BTEC coursework. They will cov-
er this term Unit 2 Business Organisatons. This unit aims to
equip learners with the understanding of diferent business aims
and objectves and how functonal areas support the business.
Homework will be set bi-weekly and all resources can be found on the
school Gateway. Parents can help by ensuring that students have ac-
cess to business programmes such as Dragons Den and The Appren-
tce. The internet is not compulsory but would be an advantage.
Year 11 BTEC Business
Students will be contnuing with BTEC coursework they will cover this term
Unit 22 Visual Merchandising. The aim of this unit is to enable learners to
understand the skills needed to promote and brand a product or service.
Homework will be set bi-weekly and all resources can be found on the
school Gateway. Parents can help by ensuring that students have ac-
cess to a business programmes such as Dragons Den and The Ap-
prentce. The internet is not compulsory but would be an advantage.
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Winmarleigh Hall Adventure Study
The residental trip was a huge success with 25 Y8&9 students taking part
in a wide range of actvites over the four days. The students had a go at
abseiling, riding quad bikes, a climbing wall and the leap of faith, where
the students had to climb a 10m high pole then jump of reaching for a tra-
peze swing. They also took part in archery and giant swing, where the stu-
dents convinced all the teachers to have a go. Mrs Montali said never again!
Engagement
We are currently trying to help students to put maths into real life con-
texts, by incorporatng problem solving into lessons and completng projects
or investgatons that link skills to familiar scenarios, including what does
an average Y8 look like, identfying their own carbon footprint and look-
ing at ways of reducing it and using probability related to race nights.
Topics for the Summer Term
Year 7: Students will be looking at reading and interpretng graphs
and identfying missing angles in triangles and quadrilaterals.
They will be learning about how to multply and divide decimals.
Year 8: Students will be learning about how to convert between fractons,
decimals and percentages and identfying probability outcomes from dif-
ferent events. All students will complete assessments regularly through-
out the term, including the use of the projects and SATS style questons.
Year 9 & Year 10 Foundaton: This term they will be learning about frac-
tons, percentages and decimals, rato and proporton, 3D shapes, area and
perimeter, plans and elevatons, linear equatons and straight line graphs.
Year 10 Higher: This term they will be learning about 3D coordinates, si-
multaneous equatons, Pythagoras and trigonometry, quadratc functons,
equatons and graphs, index notaton and surds, sine and cosine rules.
All students will be assessed regularly using past paper exam questons.
Year 11: Students will be contnuing to improve on their past performance
by identfying gaps in their knowledge and following a more tailored route
through to success at GCSE. They are assessed regularly using past papers.
A large number of students are working towards achieving A* - B on the
higher paper, and need to be pushing themselves at every opportunity!
Those who have not yet achieved the C grade that they are aiming for,
need to make the most of the support that is on ofer through extra tu-
toring in school tme and P6 that runs every Thursday afer school.
We have revision guides and workbooks available for those who have
not yet purchased them - a great tool to help with revision at home!
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What Year 7 will be learning this term
Homelife: rooms in the house, fami-
ly life actvites (introducton to past and future tenses)
School life: school subjects, school daily routne and tme.
How will they be assessed: Students will be set writng, listening,
reading and speaking tests taken just before the half-term and a f-
nal exam before the summer holidays. There will be also mini-tests
to assess whether they have learnt their vocabulary homework.
Homework this term: Students will be expected to learn vocabulary and
spelling by heart, and develop their independent learning by using our
new and more extensive dedicated website. (www.linguascope.com).
How you can support your childs learning:
Get involved by checking their homework regularly.
If your child experiences problems with his/her homework,
write a note in their planner so that they can be given extra help.
Encourage your child to explore the internet to reinforce their learning
(www.linguascope.com username and password available from their teacher)
Encourage your child to use the school compu-
ter club if they have no laptop or computer at home.
Obtain a bilingual dictonary with table of verbs in the middle.
Town, shopping: names of shops, directons, clothes, prices.
School life: school subjects, transports, opinions, future plans, actvites.
Leisure tme: actvites in diferent tme frames, entertainment, hobbies.
Homework this term: Students in sets 2 will be expected to prepare for their
FCSE examinatons in reading and listening. In other sets, they will be expect-
ed to learn and apply grammar, and develop independent learning. They will
be expected to cooperate and develop social skills while working in groups.
How will they be assessed: Students in sets 2 will take reading and listen-
ing FCSE exams Unit4 Leisure tme. They will also be tested through
mini-tests to assess their grasp of grammar. There will be a key assess-
ment before half-term and fnal exam before the summer holidays.
How you can support your childs learning:
The BBC has French programmes for
schools late at night that can be recorded
Encourage your child to explore the inter-
net to reinforce their learning (www.linguascope.org.uk)
Encourage your child to practse speaking French in front of
a mirror! This will develop their speaking skills and self-confdence.
Encourage your child to read out loud to you in French!
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What Year 9 set 1 will be learning this term
Leisure and BASL project: Year 9 set 1 will learn all about leisure
and entertainment, using diferent tme frames and more challeng-
ing grammar structures in preparaton for GCSE at KS4 (flm, theatre)
During the early part of the term, they will also get some training in Drama
to complete the project. The result will be flmed and appear on Space TV.
(FCSE unit 9 Leisure tme) Pastme and hobbies: They will prepare a
speech and a piece of writng about their favourite hobbies in diferent tme
frames. Express opinions and discuss the pro and cons of certain pastmes.
Shopping, fashion and money: they will learn about clothes and
clothes shopping, compare fashion with French-speaking coun-
tries and learn about the euro and the exchange rates in euros.
How will they be assessed
Year 9 set 1 will be assessed through a key assessment on lei-
sure tme as well as regular mini-tests in vocabulary and grammar
Year 9 set 2 will take the writng and speaking FCSE exams (Unit 6 Lei-
sure). They will also be tested to assess their grasp of grammar.
Year 9 set 3 will be assessed through a key assessment on
shopping and money as well as mini-tests on vocabulary.
Homework this term
In Year 9, students will be expected to work more independently.
There will be some learning by heart of vocabulary which will be test-
ed through mini-tests. Students will also be expected to apply more so-
phistcated grammar to writen work. Orally, students will be expect-
ed to prepare for a presentaton, and speak about wider issues (sets 1).
How you can support your childs learning
The BBC has French programmes late at night that can be recorded
Help them test themselves in vocabulary homework
Encourage your child to practse speaking French in front of a mirror!
This will develop their speaking skills and self-confdence (especially for GCSE)
Encourage your child to read out loud to you in French!
Encourage your child to proof-read their work: they can read back in
English what they have writen in French to check out any missing words.
Encourage your child to explore the internet to reinforce their
learning, especially the cultural side (www.linguascope.uk; Google etc).
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School life: subjects, opinions, problems, actvites, teachers, social issues.
The world of work talk about jobs, work experience, future plans.
How will they be assessed
Students will prepare a conversaton on school life for their
GCSE speaking exam in June. In July, they will take mock GCSE
reading and listening, and their frst GCSE speaking exam.
Homework this term
Students will be expected to apply the learning skills introduced in lessons
to do their homework. Students will be expected to learn by heart lists of
vocabulary and apply grammar work to all four skills: reading, listening,
speaking and writng, and work independently. They will also be expect-
ed to do their own research on the culture of French-speaking countries.
How you can support your childs learning
Get involved by checking their homework regularly
If your child experiences problems with his/her homework,
write a note in their planner so that they can be given extra help.
Encourage your child to explore the Internet to re-
inforce their learning (www.linguascope.com). They can
get the password and user name from their teacher.
Encourage your child to use the school compu-
ter club if they have no laptop or computer at home.
Obtain a bilingual dictonary with table of verbs in the middle.
Buy vocabulary tester (booklet and CD for 4) from teacher.
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Good News MFL
Britsh Academy Schools Language Awards
We are working in earnest with our Year 9 to expand the scope of the project.
Next half-term, students and staf will be receiving train-
ing with a drama specialist to enhance learning. The re-
sult will be flmed and put on Space TV, so watch this space!
Some groups in Year 8 and Year 9 have done project work using iPad in
the classroom as a tool to engage and also to enhance greater learn-
ing through technology. So far we are trialling Madpad (an applica-
ton on the iPad). This adds a dimension to lessons and is a lot fun!
Schools Abroad
Our Year 8 set 1 and Year 10 students have been writng to their coun-
terparts at the collge Maurice Barrs. We have received their let-
ters writen in English and our students have replied in French.
We have also received loads of Christmas cards! This communicaton en-
courages our students to write in a foreign language with a real purpose.
French trip
Paris-Disneyland 8-11 July 2013
There will be a meetng for parents and students going on the trip
on Wednesday 26 June 2013 at 6 pm. It is essental that you atend!
If you have any queries or comments, please email mori@bircheshead.org.uk
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Music by Mr A Hawke
I am writng to introduce myself as the new Lead Teacher of Mu-
sic for Birches Head High School. I have been teaching for 6 and
a half years and am moving to Stoke from a school in Batersea,
South West London where I have taught since the beginning of my ca-
reer. My wife and I are moving to the area with our baby son to be clos-
er to family, and I am very much looking forward to getng started!
My musical background is in Rock music and Jazz, and the high-
light of my performing career was probably playing at Glaston-
bury Festval in 2008. My vision for music at Birches Head is for
every student to have the opportunity to learn an instrument,
take part in lessons which interest and inspire them and to set up a
number of clubs and ensembles at lunch tmes and afer school. It
would be fantastc for us to work towards having rock and pop bands,
a jazz band, choirs and an orchestra, and maybe even to take stu-
dents on a tour abroad in the future. I enjoy putng on concerts, and
love the idea of holding our very own mini music festval at school!
To start the summer term, Year 7 will be learning about Soul mu-
sic, Year 8 will be studying pop music and songwritng and Year 9
will be working on a Hip-Hop project. I look forward to meetng a
great many students, staf and parents and getng to know you all!
Vocal Workshop with ReStoke
Students have been very privileged to take part in a series of vocal work-
shops, run and developed by Paul Rogerson from ReStoke. Students have
experienced a variety of vocal warm ups, been introduced into the idea
of making their own music and began to work on a performance piece.
The aim of the workshop is to link current social issues through Mu-
sic, inspiring all to experience lyric writng and development of com-
positonal skills using new technologies. A really excitng project
providing an opportunity to perform in front of other schools.
All students involved have risen to the challenge and worked in a collab-
oratve and creatve way, developing their confdence and skills further.
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Good News
Twenty-nine Year 8 students have taken part in the DeCIPHER AS-
SIST peer mentoring programme run by the Health Improvement Pro-
vider Team, Stafordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Partnership NHS Trust.
This is a peer mentoring programme that has trained students in men-
toring their peers in order to prevent smoking. Our students were de-
scribed as having the best attudes at their two day training and have
received a further 6 follow up sessions where they have all shown
hard work. The students will receive their awards on 26th March.
Grow it Group
We are on tenterhooks. Grow it group is so far in the top 6 in the coun-
try for the Morrisons Lets Grow, Young Gardener of the Year compet-
ton. In order to win the fnals we have entered some garden designs
and we are waitng to hear how we have got on. watch this space.
We have also been awarded 200 by the PASS funding scheme as we
were nominated by Wendy Rigby the Police Ofcer who ofen at-
tends Grow it Group. We are now deciding how to put it to best use.
In additon the order of seeds and compost from the 1000 Morri-
sons vouchers collected in the Autumn have just arrived so its all go.
Anyone wantng to join the Grow it Group please come
along on Thursdays 3-4pm in I13. Everyone is welcome.
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Year 7
Learning Topics
Students will be completng a series of actvites based on accu-
rate replicaton, invasion games and problem solving actvites.
How are they assessed?
Students are assessed through the futures rubric skills (Com-
pare and Contrast) and the Natonal Curriculum atainment descrip-
tors. There are 5 key areas that the Natonal Curriculum addresses
and each student is assessed on their ability to demonstrate knowledge
and understanding in each of them. They are developing and applying
new skills, efectve decision making, evaluatng and improving, physi-
cal and mental capacity and informed choices about healthy lifestyles.
How can you help?
Making sure that students are fully prepared for physi-
cal educaton by having the correct kit (blue polo shirt,
blue hoodie, blue or black tracksuit botoms and trainers).
Year 8
Learning Topics
Students will be developing their performances and learning in actvi-
tes in performing at maximum levels such as track and feld athletc
events and cricket. Students will develop their knowledge and under-
standing of the how muscles work (origin, inserton and working in pairs
agonist and antagonist) through the theme of outwitng opponents.
Students are assessed through the Natonal Curriculum atainment de-
scriptors. There are 5 key areas that the Natonal Curriculum address-
es and each student is assessed on their ability to demonstrate knowl-
edge and understanding in each of them. They are developing and
applying new skills, efectve decision making, evaluatng and improving,
physical and mental capacity and informed choices about healthy lifestyles.
How can you help?
Making sure that students are fully prepared for physi-
cal educaton by having the correct kit (blue polo shirt,
blue hoodie, blue or black tracksuit botoms and trainers).
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Year 9
Learning Topics
This is the start of a formal qualifcaton. Students will be develop-
ing their knowledge and understanding of the GCSE PE themes, start-
ing with the PE Natonal Curriculum. This will be achieved through such
sportng actvites including, football (outwitng opponents), orienteer-
ing (problem solving) and athletcs (performing at maximum levels).
Students are assessed through the Natonal Curriculum atainment
descriptors. There are 5 key areas that the Natonal Curriculum ad-
dresses and each student is assessed on their ability to demonstrate
knowledge and understanding in each of them. The stu-
dents knowledge and understanding of the GCSE PE theoretcal
themes, will be assessed through a standardised writ-
ten test at the end of the term. This test will consist of previ-
ous exam questons that will prepare the students for the exami-
naton in Year 11. These tests scores will be tracked and recorded.
How can you help?
Making sure that students are fully prepared for physical educaton
by having the correct kit. Help them with homework when it is given.
Years 10 and 11
Learning Topics
Students have completed the theme outwitng opponents to gather ev-
idence for their BTEC accredited qualifcaton. This qualifcaton is non
examinaton based and evidence is gathered through a series of pract-
cal tasks. They have performed in both individual and team actvites in-
cluding football, basketball, aerobics, badminton and handball. They
will also begin to complete a ftness testng and training module which
forms the second module of the 2 required to gain their BTEC in PE.
Students are assessed in the following aspects:
Practcal Sport: performance of skills, their ability to ap-
ply the correct rules and regulatons, their ability to ful-
ly understand how to ofciate and analysis of their performance
Fitness Testng & Training : understand the components of ftness
and training, testng another persons ftness and sports psychology.
How can you help?
Making sure that students are fully prepared for physical educaton by
having the correct kit. Evidence can be gathered from atending outside
clubs and actvites in a variety of forms that can be submited
toward their BTEC PE qualifcaton. See Mr Jenkins if
you think this is something that might apply to you.
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City Cross Country Events
Emillie Corden and Ryan Morris had the honour as senior sports lead-
ers within the Stoke North Partnership to organise these events. This
would involve both leaders designing the course, setng the course up,
organising the other sports leaders and welcoming the primary schools
as they arrived. This event has been a great success over the years
and is a credit to the sports leaders who provide support each year.
Sports Leaders a Sports Leaders and Courses
Numerous opportunites have been provided to the sports leaders to further
develop their skills. Leaders have atended the following courses so far this term:
Boccia Level 1 Training (Frankie Lawrence, Rebecca Simp-
son, Jordan Brocklehurst, Bethany Bourne, Emillie Corden, Sophie
Balmer, Natasha Woodward, Shannon Woodward and Ryan Carter).
Adistar Ambassador Training (Sophie Balm-
er, Shannon Woodward, Ash Shaw and Callum Leese).
These courses have increased the skill base of the leaders. They
will now use these skills to deliver intra house compettons with-
in Birches Head and afer school clubs at the local primary schools.
Year 9 / Year 11 Boys Football
The successful season for these two year groups contnues with Year 9
beatng James Brindley school and St Peters school 5-1 in both fxtures.
Whilst drawing with Holden Lane school 1-1 to remain unbeaten. The
Year 11 team also were in fne form winning three fxtures on the bounce,
St Peters school 4-2, James Brindle school 2-0, and Blurton school 2-0.
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Sports Hall Athletcs
Birches Head leaders have successfully supported all of these events within
the Stoke North area this term. This involved the students running, scoring,
recording and assistng to organise the primary school students. Large num-
bers of primary schools atended these events with over 100 primary school
children being present. This would be a very dauntng task for anyone but
not sports leaders from Birches Head who again excelled stcking to their task
showing excellent commitment. Well done we are really proud of you all.
Sports Leaders and Community Links
Sports Leaders have been given the opportunity to further develop their skills
within the local community. This term has seen the contnuaton of the part-
nership with Groundworks. This is a project run within the local parks for young
people aged between 5 and 16. Sports Leaders from Birches Head High School
have been working with level 2 sports leaders to assist with sports sessions
on Saturday afernoons. This has been an amazing opportunity for our sports
leaders and we are very proud that this partnership contnues to blossom.
Sports Leaders have also been working very hard to provide support
at Northwood Stadium during their litle stars program. These lead-
ers have supported the coaches both planning and delivering short ses-
sions each week. Their commitment and enthusiasm has been excellent.
County Futsal Results
Birches Head High school represented the city at this years Stafordshire
County Schools competton at Fenton Manor in February. The students fan-
tastc efort and contributon resulted in Birches Head fnishing fourth overall.
The Year 8 girls team also represented the city at the Staf-
fordshire County fnals held at Fenton Manor. The girls val-
iant efort resulted in the team fnishing fourth overall.
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For Year 7 students the topic will be sex and relatonships educaton
(SRE). In the second half term students will carry out a project around
One Water social enterprise. Assessment will be by self and peer re-
fecton around the learning questons and this will be checked by the
teacher in order to assess progress in the frst half term. In the second
half term self and teacher assessment will be against a criteria sheet.
To help your child this term please talk to them about their learn-
ing in PD, ask them what they have found out and about their opin-
ions on each topic. Please support them in the second half term
by pointng out One Water products if you see them in the shops.
Year 8 students will focus on the topic of citzenship in the frst half term.
In the second half term they study a unit around the heading Careers.
In the citzenship lesson students will learn about how the
UK is governed and will learn basic informaton about poli-
tcs. In Careers students will be able to develop their aspiratons.
Assessment of politcs will be in the form of a project as-
sessed against criteria. Learning around careers will be assessed
via answers to refecton questons at the end of each lesson.
To help your child this term please talk to them about their learning in PD,
ask them what they have found out and about their opinions on each topic.
Year 9 will be focussing on Financial Capability in the frst
half term and Human Rights in the fnal half term. Learning
will be assessed by self refecton each lesson and by teach-
er assessment of contributons. To help your child in PD this
term please talk to them about their learning and their opinions.
Year 10 will be exploring Cooperatve Studies in the frst half
term followed by Citzenship in the second half term. This will in-
clude investgatng up to two cooperatve values in context.
They will then have the opportunity to compare case studies. Assess-
ment will be around case studies of cooperatve organisatons in the
frst half term, then by self refecton in the second half term. Staf
will check understanding by questoning and monitoring discussions.
To help your child please encourage discussion around all topics.
Year 11 will be completng a unit on Study Skills. They will be
learning a variety of revision and exam techniques so that
they can prepare for the Summer exams. Assessment will be
in the form of self and peer refecton throughout the unit.
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Outside the classroom
Some of our Year 9 and Year 10 students have visited Jodrell Bank
as part of the physics course, looking at the electromagnetc
spectrum and planetarium. Year 7: There will be a visit arranged
for students to visit Blackbrook Zoo. Year 8: We are hoping to vis-
it Trentham Monkey Farm. Leters will be given out afer Easter.
Key Stage 3 topics for the 3rd term
Year 7: students will be learning about environment and ecological re-
latonships before studying keeping ft and healthy and reproducton.
Year 8: students will be investgatng light and sound, be-
fore studying environment and ecological relatonships.
Year 9: studying some of the key areas of science in preparaton for SATS
papers, before moving on to carry out a set of investgatve projects.
All students will complete writen assessments regular-
ly throughout the term, which will be either self or peer assessed,
before being assessed by the class teacher. At the end of
term students will take a test using SATS style questons.
Year 10 topics for the 3rd term
GCSE Core Science: Students will be revisitng each of the core units
in science in preparaton for their GCSE exams in May/June. Afer this
they will work towards completng the controlled assessment that
will be part of the Additonal Science GCSE that they will study in Y11.
BTEC Science: Students studying BTEC Applied Science will be complet-
ing Unit 1 - Chemistry and Our Earth. They will cover the periodic table,
the propertes of diferent chemical elements and compounds, chemical
reactons and how human and natural actvites are afectng the environ-
ment. This is portolio work and therefore students need to ensure all work
is completed by the deadline given and improve in response to feedback.
Year 11
GCSE Core and Additonal Science: Students will be com-
pletng the biology unit, studying circulaton, respiraton
and digeston, ecosystems and evoluton. This is in prepara-
ton for their B2 in June (and B1 re-sits for some students).
BTEC Extended Certfcate: Students will be completng the fnal as-
signments for Unit 6 and catching up on anything they have not com-
pleted to target grade. Again this is portolio work and therefore
students need to ensure all work is completed by the deadline giv-
en and improve in response to feedback. This next term is extreme-
ly important as the fnal deadline for course work is soon afer Easter!
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During the Autumn Term, Year 7 investgated faith in our commu-
nity. The students created a bill board poster that showed their un-
derstanding of how faiths are represented in our community
and how/why this has changed over tme. Year 8 students invest-
gated the beginning of the Buddhist religion and how it is like and un-
like other religions. They also completed an extended writng task
where they explained the fundamental issues surrounding the religion.
Students showed great enthusiasm with these topics and expressed an in-
terest in doing an in-depth study of this topic again when they enter KS4.
Year 7
What are they learning about?
Pilgrimage to Mecca: Enjoy and achieve; what are the symbols of life?
Creatve enquiry: Students will develop a creatve enquiry
queston that they will answer in the form of a storyboard
or a memory board. Students will focus upon Islam, but will
be encouraged to explore diferent faiths of their choice.
Homework for the term
Students will present their fndings in one of the following ways: Sto-
ry board, memory board or a memory box on a place of pilgrimage.
Year 8
The importance of Jerusalem to Christans, Jews and Muslims.
Homework for the term
The students will investgate why and how Jerusalem is im-
portant for the followers of Christanity, Judaism and Islam.
Year 9
Year 9 are now doing the GCSE full course with the Welsh examin-
ing board WJEC. However we are now ofering a varied, tailor made
pathway for students to enable them to achieve their full potental.
Revision
Students will practce exam questons and will be shown revi-
sion techniques that will prepare them for their exam in Year 10.
Pathway B The Sanctty of Life
To investgate ethical issues such as aborton and euthana-
sia and to compare their views with that of religious views.
Assessment
Students will be assessed by way of exam questons. Sce-
nario based questons solutons to ethical issues/problems.
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Year 10
Year 10 will be contnuing with the GCSE full course run by
WJEC. However we are now ofering a varied tailor made path-
way for students to enable them to achieve their full potental.
Revision
Students will practce exam questons and will be shown revision techniques
that will prepare them for their exam in May. They will revise both units 1 and 2.
Pathway C Community Cohesion
Students will investgate the benefts of living in a mult-faith/ethnic so-
ciety and compare this to the problems that occur in such societes.
Assessment
Students will be assessed by way of exam questons.
Creaton of an event poster that highlights posi-
tves and negatves centred around exam questons.
Year 11
Year 11 will be contnuing with the GCSE full course run by Edexcel.
GCSE Revision
Issues surrounding life and death, abor-
ton, euthanasia and the media are investgated.
Pathway C Creatve enquiry spirited arts
To investgate believing in God via creatve enquiry. They will
choose and area to investgate and create a specifc ques-
ton. They may wish to investgate one or more of the following;
Who is God creaton v evoluton purpose and meaning - causaton.
Assessment
Students will be assessed by way of exam style questons.
Create a piece of artwork that answers their queston and a
short extended writng task that explains their exam questons.
Student Voice
In response to feedback from student voice actvites, we will now be
showing example work. This will enable Students to see what we expect
from them in key assessments and help to guide them in their learning.
You can support your child this term by asking them about their
Key Assessment work, what they are required to do and how
they intend to complete this. Support them with tme manage-
ment in terms of meetng deadlines for the work to be completed.
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Air House Atendance
The atendance during the Spring term is 93.3% which is an in-
crease of 1.5% from the Autumn term, this shows the efort
the Personal Tutors and House Learning Manager have
made to the commitment to increase atendance each term.
The Year 11 cohort atendance has decreased by 1.6%
since the Autumn term from 90.1% to 88.5%, they will re-
main a priority due to their revision and exam tmetables.
Punctuality
The house punctuality is at 5.8% which is a decrease of 0.2% with the Y11
cohort at 8% which is an increase of 1%. Punctuality is an on-going focus
for the term enabling personal tutors to discuss with students and parents;
the impact arriving late to school has on atainment through out the year.
Revision Sessions
Concerted eforts by Year 11 students are being made to at-
tend the P6 sessions afer school for revision. Most Y11 students
have experienced a College interview with lots of ofers for places.
Attudes to Learning
The Attudes to Learning (A2L) behaviour targets are becoming em-
bedded and the data is highlightng areas for students to focus
targets around. The majority of students are moving towards
level 4s, personal tutors are monitoring and discussing tar-
gets with students on a termly basis. We will be sending leters
to parents on a termly basis explaining the A2L data and levels.
Prefects
The Prefects team are putng lots of energy into motvatng students
to actvely take part in the afer school clubs. The Graft club are de-
signing a piece of art work which will be displayed in the Science area.
TILT
The Tilt representatves organised the fund raising events for Valen-
tnes Day, ranging from designing cards, personalised messages on
cupcakes and including a rota of stalls and students to manage them.
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Knit and Sttch Craf Club
The Knit & Sttch Craf Club is increasing its numbers each week.
Students are learning how to knit, sew, cross sttch, and staf are
learning how to crochet! We have had two volunteers from the
local community join the group for a week sharing their knowl-
edge and skills with students and staf. This calm environment is a
lovely way to spend Thursday evenings afer school. We have sus-
pended the visits to the BMX Park in Crewe untl the cold weather
has improved; students are eagerly monitoring the weather statons.
Comic Relief
Students have enjoyed celebratng Comic Reliefs Red
Nose Day with a fancy dress theme, with prizes for the 3
best individual costumes and the best House competton.
Bags2School
Masses of Bags2School re-cycling textles bags were brought into school to
raise money for the Tilt gardening project, there were blue bags everywhere!
A huge thank you to all who raided their wardrobes, please take the
Easter holidays as an opportunity to sort out some more of your un-
wanted items ready for the next collecton in the Summer term.
We would like to wish everyone a Holy Easter from the Air House Team.
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I would like to say a huge thank you to all in fre house for all of
your hard work over the Spring term. We have seen some very
difcult weather conditons and a variety of illnesses and yet Fire
house has remained a very positve and friendly group. With this in
mind, I would also like to echo the recent results of a questonnaire
which on the queston of whether students in fre felt proud of their
house there was an overwhelming yes. This term has also had me feel-
ing very proud to be part of this team and I look forward to the sum-
mer term which with a combinaton of this good feeling and hope-
fully some nice weather we will contnue to deliver great results.
New Tutors
I would like to belatedly welcome two new members of the tutorial
team to the house. Miss Prest and Mr Jenkins who have both seamless-
ly taken on their roles and already proved popular among the students.
Atendance
Because of the recent wintery weather and the illness men-
toned earlier our atendance fgures have seen a sharp decline.
We currently stand at just over 92% which is almost 2% low-
er than the highs of the autumn term however this has been
improving week afer week and stll the highest in the school. We hope
that the determinaton shown by our students will contnue to be
demonstrated and that we can contnue as the high-
est atending house by the end of the year.
Miss Joness form (FAJN) are the winners of our house competton for
the highest average atendance however this was an extremely close
run thing as they narrowly beat last terms winners, Mr Colcloughs
form (FLCH), by 0.1%! This has been a very compettve prize and we
all look forward to the batle for this trophy in the fnal term of the year.
Attude to Learning
The scores for attude to learning (A2L) are also a reason to be proud. We
now have a hugely impressive 208 out of 247 of our students rated by their
teaches as either good or outstanding, this equates to 84% of fre house who
are in the top 2 categories, and is a real success upon which we can now build.
Partcular congratulatons goes to Miss Robsons tu-
tor group (FNR) who were the highest average A2L score for
the second consecutve term and retain our house A2Ltrophy.
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Student Recogniton
A special menton goes to Adam Bagguley, who was presented with stu-
dent of the term for fre house. He has been awarded this honour for
his services, not only within his house but also the school as a
whole. Adam is constantly giving up his tme afer school to sup-
port the TILT forum and has impressed teachers, students and peo-
ple within the local community with his enthusiasm and hard work.
It is also worth mentoning that another of our students, Sean Wal-
ters, organised a charity sponging event to raise money for help the he-
roes charity. Although this eventually had to be cancelled due to the very
cold weather that struck, Sean deserves a lot of credit not only for the in-
itatve that he showed in organising this event but also for ofering him-
self as the centrepiece of this. It should also be noted that Sean was stll
willing to go ahead with the plans despite the cold! We will be support-
ing him in the summer term where I hope to persuade a few teach-
ers to help out with this and raise plenty of money for this good cause.
Catering Competton
The school caterer, ABM, recently ran a competton for students to create
a dream sandwich. Entries fooded in but I am pleased to announce that
the winner with her entry of Philadelphia, glazed ham and salad, was Court-
ney Thompson. Courtney was awarded with a certfcate, some chocolates
and an opton of a free sandwich every day for the summer term! We are
always happy to celebrate the successes of our house and partcularly so
when this involves making lunchtmes even more tastywell done Courtney!
Charity
I would like to advertse another charity event being run by one of our tutors
in fre house. Miss Bridgewater is organising a Race for Life team and would
like anybody who would like to be involved in, or support, the team to contact
her as soon as possible. For anybody that is not aware Race for Life supports
Cancer Research UK and takes place in Trentham Gardens on the 11th June.
May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy East-
er, a lovely break and my best wishes for the coming Summer term.
S. Willis
House Learning Manager (Fire)
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House Overview
Water House have temporarily been absent of a House Learning Manager
for this term, however, I have lead the Water House team in the interim
and it has been a pleasure. The house as a whole has a very welcoming and
friendly family ethos where students are happy to come and chat with you
during break and lunch, wantng to bring forward new ideas for the house.
Attudes to Learning and Atendance
The average Attude to Learning scores for the house is on a posi-
tve trend with students gaining a greater understanding of the criteria
and what is needed to make those next steps from good to outstanding.
Although whole school atendance is not where we would like it to
be, Water House again is making steady progress and hopefully next
term you will beat Fire House. If not this year there is always next!
Student Leadership
The leadership qualites in Water house acton teams are now devel-
oping, where representatves from all teams are willing to move the
house and school forward in projects and listening to the voic-
es of the students. I hope to see potental prefects and head
boy/girls growing from Water house students. Keep it up!!
Rewards
We will contnue to reward students during assemblies for all as-
pects of the school environment, from atending regularly to achieving
good-outstanding Attudes to Learning scores and academic progress.
Next Steps
Afer the Easter break the newly appointed House Learning Manager will
begin his new role. Mr. Wallbank has already been in to school to experi-
ence a day at Birches Head High School and has introduced himself to
various members of the Water House Personal Tutor team and spoke
with many students. He is eager to meet everyone and to lead the Wa-
ter House forward. I know that you all give him a very warm welcome.
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Assembly is the ideal opportunity to discuss current events or top-
ics that develop students both morally and socially viewing top-
ics from their own personal perspectves, allowing thought provok-
ing questons without bias. These topics this term have ranged from
Ant Bullying to Fairtrade and have been received with respect for all.
It is an excitng tme for Year 9 as they are currently embark-
ing on transiton into Key Stage 4, thinking about which optons to
take in Year 10 and the bigger picture of their careers. 28th Febru-
ary was the optons market place for all students and parents to dis-
cuss with the teaching staf what that entails. This was a great success!
All Year 9 students also partcipated in the Informaton, Advice and Guid-
ance Roadshow facilitated by Keele University. This supported their decision
on their possible career choices and what they require to access Universi-
ty. Feedback from students was very positve statng that they enjoyed it.
Year 11 got the chance to watch a presentaton from the po-
lice and fre service on fatal car crashes and accidents called Crash
Course. The Year 11 students throughout the two hours presentaton
listened and took on board every word that was spoken, though some of
the images and messages were hard hitng but factual. The feedback
from the presenters was that they were the best Year 11 audience that
they had presented to respectul and atentatve throughout. You can-
not get a beter accolade than that. That makes us very proud as a school.
The events that the school has to look forward to in the future are:
Year 11 prom 28th June at Crewe Hall.
Out and About Week.
Work Experience Fortnight for Year 10 students.
Newsfash
Are you a budding singer or song writer? Is anyone in your fam-
ily? Have you always hoped to be part of a singing group? Well now
is your chance, we have commited to join the Creatve Arts Fes-
tval to create and perform songs and fnally present them at
The Regent Theatre in July. If you feel you or/and members of your fam-
ily would like to join us singing together please contact the school and
leave your name and telephone number and we will contact you and ar-
range a group meetng. Remember, you do not have to be great sing-
ers and there is no age limit, just want to be part of a communi-
ty of singers coming together and doing something creatve and fun.
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htp://www.worldbookday.com
World Book Day was a magical day of fantasy fun, passing on the passion
for reading! But what is World Book Day? World Book Day is an extraor-
dinary occasion, celebratng and encouraging children to read and exercise
their minds. Even celebrites are getng involved in this years Book Day,
enjoying the vast amount of books this world has to ofer. An abyss of cre-
atvity and knowledge can be stored inside just a few pages of one book!
How did school celebrate World Book Day?
On Thursday the 7th of March during dinner tme, Mrs Lawton helped us
celebrate this superb day by hostng a tea party in the LRC! To get into
this tale-flled tea party, you had to bring in a book of your own from
home or one from the LRC and then you had to write a review of the
book of your choice. At the tea party there was scrumptous cakes, glori-
ous sandwiches and cooling refreshments (presented by Mrs Lawton and
her helpers) and I must say that the presentaton was absolutely splendid.
Another event was the Passing on the Passion for Reading
which Mrs Lawton organised for period 2 and period 4, in which
Year 8 and 7 classes would come down to the LRC for volunteers
(Kate Unwin, Lydia Morgan, Spencer OKeefe, Ben Wilcox, James Poin-
ton and Lucy Preece) to talk about their favourite novels and ex-
plain why they enjoy these books so much and what they were about.
There was so much going on in the LRC, they had a bookmark compet-
ton, where you had to design your own book mark and hopefully win
your school and yourself book tokens (which you can use on books).
Another thing Mrs Lawton arranged was the distributon of 1
book vouchers, which you can use in stores such as WHSmiths
and Waterstones. You can get a free book using these tokens.
Mrs Lawton and her staf worked very hard on this event, and we
could see clearly that they wanted to make this day special, and in
our eyes they succeeded and made a valiant and unforgetable day.
If you want to learn more about World Book Day, please vis-
it the website address above or visit Mrs Lawton in the LRC.
By Kate Unwin and Ashira Smallman.

Minister Congratulates Birches Head High on Top Results

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