Penwortham Post April 2014 Penwortham Girls’ High School Diamond Jubilee time Jubilee Welcome to the end of capsule Logo term newsletter. After much istory was made on Tuesday 11th March when Welcome to the Spring edition of our deliberation, Penwortham Post. The start of this term saw the members of the School Council buried our Diamond a winner has Jubilee time capsule. launch of our Diamond Jubilee celebrations and H been agreed there has already been a number of successful events, for the including the unveiling of the Jubilee Archive Wall, It was filled with items that capture the life of the school. Jubilee logo competition. The capsule has its own special coffin that was constructed the Jubilee Logo Competition and the Jubilee Music in the entrance to the new Humanities Wing which will be Concert. There are many other events planned and officially opened for the start of the Summer Term. former pupils will be invited to a series of Open Days during the next two terms. Look out for these So girls, when you enter or leave the new building, remember dates in our weekly newsletters and on our website. that the time capsule is lying right beneath your feet. There is now an extensive amount of information on the Jubilee section of the website. Do have a look Instructions will be left for as there is an extensive range of photos, newspaper a future Headteacher stating articles and documents about the history of our that the capsule will be opened school, as well as a number of other news items up in 2074, when PGHS linked to the Jubilee. would be celebrating its 120th anniversary! The level of entry was exceptionally This term has also seen the completion of our new high with many original and Mr Ramsdale , Head of History Humanities classrooms and we are looking forward imaginative designs, making the job to teaching in them at the start of the Summer Term. of the judges extremely difficult. The outdoor learning area will also be completed Following much debate, Charlotte during the next few weeks and, weather permitting, Daley’s logo was chosen just ahead of Erin McLernon in second place will be used extensively throughout the Summer and Courtney Naylor in third. Term. To see the full list of ‘Commended’ In the meantime, on behalf logos visit the school’s webpage, of all the staff and governors click on the Jubilee tab and select at PGHS, I would like to logo competition. Watch out wish you all an enjoyable and for Charlotte’s design appearing peaceful Easter holidays. on letters, newsletters and presentations in the near future. Mrs K Pomeroy Headteacher www.penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk 1 Art Department News ere is a selection of artwork from years 7, 8, 9 and 10. Year 7 have produced some Hwonderful tonal paintings based on the urban landscape. Year 8 have looked at the portraits of Julian Opie and re-created his simplistic style as a self - portrait and year 9 have looked at the ‘sweet paintings’ of Sarah Graham. The close-up observational drawings of sweets by year 9 show great skill and attention to detail. Year 10 have experimented with different techniques and media in order to create some exceptional ‘Banksy’ work. A special mention and congratulations should go out to Rebecca Clayton in year 9 who exhibited her self-portrait at the South Ribble Art Exhibition and was awarded a Commendation from the Mayor of South Ribble. Megan Caunce and Beth Soothill, both in year 11, also received Commendations for their superb art work at the exhibition. Well done to all! 2 www.penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk www.penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk 3 English Department News Year 9 - ‘The Tempest’ et 9A ended their academic study of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ with a group Sproject to create a ‘brave new world’ of their own. Their ideas were creative, to say the least and ranged from politically challenging to down-right mad! (Mushroom World!) Each group presented their new world and explained its philosophy: a hefty dose of fantasy and foodstuffs made an appearance but so did worlds based on systems of fairness and equality. One challenging idea proposed a world where all aspects of life would be specifically affected by the attitudes the inhabitants took with them to this ‘brave new world’. The girls judged each proposed new world and awarded the highest accolade to this very island. The results of their labours were captured on camera by Mr Gornall. Readathon 2014 t’s been all about reading in English recently for years 7, 8 and 9.We’ve signed up to Readathon, a national charity which raises funds for sick Ichildren in the UK. As part of Readathon we have been reading in every English lesson, for homework and in form time - whenever time allows. We would like the girls to raise as much sponsorship money as possible – there will be prizes for the most books read and the most money raised. Your daughter can read on her Kindle, i-pad or just bring in a good, old-fashioned, paper book! Reading for pleasure is one of the most important parts of your daughter’s academic, social and emotional growth and we have recently invested over £1000 in new books for our library to suit all reading levels. So please encourage Update on Year 11 English your daughter to visit and stock up on some inspiring new books. ell done to the girls who have performed really well overall in their March mocks – especially on the Language paper; Miss Thackeray has also applied for funding to transform our library into a 21st there are some very promising indications of forthcoming Century reading hub – watch this space! W results. However a plea to all girls and parents over Easter; please make sure those Literature texts are being read and revised constantly We will follow Readathon with a series of reading-related activities such as book as those quotes will not appear by magic in the final exams! We have swaps and reviews. Please encourage your daughter to read at home by reading had a very successful first term at PGHS: well done! with them, discussing your favourite books and recommending books to them. Non-fiction reading is also vital so guide them to parts of your newspaper they After Easter there will also be opportunities for girls to take part in A may find interesting and discuss current affairs with them. level taster lessons in English Language and Literature with our partner school, Hutton. This may help your daughter to get a clearer idea of All the girls were also given a £1 book voucher, to celebrate World Book Day, what each A level is about before they make any final decisions. They last week. These can be cashed-in for a free book at many major retailers or do not have to have applied to Hutton – the opportunity is open to all. used towards a book of a higher cost. Heather Mckeown If you would like more information about World Book Day or Readathon, visit Curriculum Leader-English these websites: www.readathon.org www.worldbookday.com Penwortham Girls’ High School 4 www.penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk Food Technology Department News Future Chef Competition Sadia Butt at regional adia Butt entered the regional finals and competed against catering final of colleges and schools in the North West region. future chef competition SThis is the end of the future chef competition for this year but the creativity continues in Food Technology where pupils at ks3 are given the option of extending their skills by producing starters, main course products and desserts thinking about target groups and any dietary needs. This not only allows the learning to be put into real life contexts but also extends their creative skills and problem solving abilities. The participants then produce a menu that justifies the choices they have made; this will also prepare individuals that want to take part in the competitions later this year. Hannah Collinson Future Chef Entry Omama Lanjri future chef runner up www.penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk 5 Geography Department News Key Stage 3 Key Stage 4 The big move s the end of term approaches PGHS lower ear 10 have completed he Geography and History school Geography students can look back two more units of work Departments will be Aon another excellent series of topics covered Ythis term and are making Tmaking the move across and hard work since Christmas. excellent progress through the the sports fields to the new syllabus Humanities wing early next term In the lower school we have seen units on map and although sad to see the old skills, volcanoes & earthquakes and international Many students are on target annexe go we are all excited development. A special mention to Anna Boden, already and we hope to see this about the new facilities. Jade Richey, Tejay Munagala, Katie Hindle and trend continue. Rachel Peet in Year 8 for excellent Kenya projects; We hope students will get these girls worked very hard on these pieces as did Year 11 are getting close to the involved in turning the new so many other Year 8 students. big exams and the Department rooms into vibrant and wishes them all the best for their interesting place to learn. In Year 7 we received wonderful 3D maps of the revision. British Isles from Aliya Samli, Hafsah Nakhuda, Pictures and further details Aamina Ismail, Khadijah Hafeji and Zahra Gurjee. Revision guides and workbooks to follow through the weekly Year 9 have written exciting Penwortham Peak are still available from your newsletters once we have moved.