July 2019 Awards Evening 2019

NEWSLETTER

Issue 15 See page 4

Student Summer term has seen some exciting student leadership opportunities for students in Year 7 and beyond. In May and early June, a number of Year 7 Leadership students took part in the YMCA’s City Youth Ambassador project. This required students to devise a social action project to tackle an issue important to them. The students had to plan the initial stages of project delivery, and chose a “community lunch” idea on the theme of “celebrating diversity”, with a link to anti-bullying. Six students then represented the school to present their ideas to a “Dragon’s Den” panel on Thursday 6th June at the Mitchell Arts Centre, Han- ley. The students (Melissa H, Corey F, Amy-Leigh J, Chloe S and Elizabeth S) spoke confidently and were ex- cellent ambassadors for Year 7 and Birches Head Acade- my. Unfortunately, we did not make it through to the next round, but we were proud of our efforts!

The LGBTQ+ team are thrilled to announce that they raised £69.56 for the LGBTQ+ charity ‘Just Like Us’ via all of their Pride events a couple of weeks ago. We’re very happy about this, as they smashed their initial target of £15!

Birches Head Academy are delighted to be involved with the work of Franklin Scholars next year. The programme involves a group of year 10 students training to become ‘Franklin Scholars’, who will support and mentor a group of incoming year 7 students to help them to achieve and succeed. Year 10 students will be completing a formal application process and will experience an interview to demonstrate the skills and abilities they believe they have that will best suit this role. We’re very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to students at Birches Head Academy. An assembly to introduce the process and programme as a whole will take place in early September.

Social Time and Extra-Curricular Clubs Current & forthcoming includes

Art Club Badmington Basketball Board Games Boxing Chess Choir Creative Writing & Illustrating Film Club Gymnastics Horrible History LGBTQ+ Numeracy Physics in Phifteen Robotics Rollercoaster Challenge String Ensemble

Which would you chose?

Year11 BTEC group ‘in concert ‘ on 3rd April, completing their assessed pieces. 2

This half term, we marked our first BHA ‘Pride Week’ to celebrate all students having pride in themselves, their achievements and their qualities. Some of the activities led by the LGBTQ+ Team included: Delivering assembly to each year group on the theme of ‘Pride’ Creating a PSHE form time activity, which included the opportunity for every student in school to reflect on what they are proud of about themselves. Working with Ms Sanders on a display of LGBTQ+ themed books and poetry. Hosting an LGBTQ+ short story reading in the Library, with readings done by staff and students. Selecting an LGBTQ+ themed book of the week. Choosing a range of lesson starters for lessons on Friday to tie in with the theme of ‘Pride’. Designing, creating and selling badges, ribbons and bracelets. Coordinating a cake sale. The week’s activities were planned to raise funds for a charity called ‘Just Like Us’, who work to support LGBTQ+ young people across the country.

We are also proud to report that the LGBTQ+ group were awarded the Award for Outstanding Ser- vices to the Community, sponsored by Emma Bridgewater, at the recent Awards Evening. This is a testament to the group’s hard work and dedication since its inception in February. The award was well deserved and reflects all of the amaz- ing things they have done to bring about social equality for LGBTQ+ students in the Birches Head Community. The winner of the LGBTQ+ badge design competition was Chloe (Y7). Chloe’s design was chosen by the LGBTQ+ Team as they thought it summed up perfectly what the team are about and what we should all aim for at BHA. Her design has been digitalised and made into badges which members of the LGBTQ+ team will wear. Badges were sold as part of the fundraising for ‘Just Like Us’.

Ms Austin undertaking her abseil to raise money for cancer research. Millers Dakle Bridge is in Buxton and is over 24 me- tres (80 feet) so Ms Austin was certainly facing the fear!

Awards Evening 27th June 2019

This year’s award evening was opened by a piano recital by year 7 student Lulu-Grace., whose passion and dedication were evident. Following a speech by Ms Dixon the audience welcomed local BBC Radio Stoke DJ, Lucas Yeomans to the stage. Students were en- thralled to hear how his passion for radio broadcast had led him from local Sixth Form College to being the youngest DJ to broadcast nationally. Talking about the chance to follow his dreams he said: I took that opportunity. That’s what you must all do. Feel the fear and go ahead and do it anyway. If life gives you opportunities grab them. Over 250 students were nominated for single or team awards, many of them were able to attend the awards evening with friends or family members. The Awards Evening celebrates success inside and outside the classroom with awards not just for academic results, but for community engagement, resilience, sporting endeavour, creativity, adventure and special projects.

Lewis P was awarded Sports Person of the Year. Special Awards were awarded to Ellie M, Melissa H and the LGBTQ+ Team. The Award for Outstanding GCSE results for last year was presented to returning student Lucie M. Well done to everyone nominated!

Caitlin, Connor, Elizabeth, Penny, Taylor and Levi accept the KMF Award for Technology and Innovation from Lucas Yeomans. Fantastic Places Students in Geography have recently completed a unit of work on ‘Fantastic Places’. As part of this unit they had the chance to research their own fantastic place, maybe a place they have been to or would love to visit in the future. Jennifer decided to find out more about Brazil which is where her parents were born. She came back with an outstanding piece of work and commented on how enjoyable she had found it too!

HANLEY LIBRARY VISIT A group of Year 7 students were lucky enough to visit the City Central Library, Hanley, with Mrs. Sanders. As well as getting the chance to have a look round and ask lots of questions, we were also given some great tips on how to choose a book, using the ‘Five Finger Rule,’ which we would like to share with you.

Earlier this year a number of students entered the Book Bench competition – the winning entry (out of a number of fabulous designs) was the ‘Wonder’ bench. This bench was sited outside of the Regent Theatre – did an- yone manage to see it? The bench has now returned to school.

In an effort to provide a wider range of books available for students we have a number of ongoing fund raisers including giving via ‘supportyourschool’ and the recent book fair.

We continue to look at ways to increase the school library stock so any suggestions are welcome.

Mrs Saunders introduced the whole-school read. Once a week a short story, poem, article or book extract is suggested that will be read by everyone in the school during that week – staff, and students (Y7-11) , and parents are also invited to join this. As everyone will be reading the same thing at the same time, the hope is that much discussion and debate can be sparked be- tween us all – Have you enjoyed the choices so far? Which has been your favourite? How did it make you feel? Would you like to read more by this author? Suggestions for the whole school read are welcome. Email your suggestions to [email protected] Y8 Tittesworth Trip

Y8 Geographers visited Tittesworth recently to learn about water usage and how this can be reduced in our homes. The weather was glorious on the day and plenty of ice cream was devoured. We had fun running around on the orienteering course around the edge of the Reservoir and even had time to work on our OS map skills. The students had the chance to take part in a photography competition and some of the entries show that the students have a talent for spotting a spectacular scene. The overall winner was announced in the end of term re- ward assemblies, winning a shopping voucher.

Students’ photography competition entries. Y10 Llandudno visit

As part of their GCSE studies Yr10 students recently visited Llandudno. The Geography students investigated the pebble beach, wave action and the strength of longshore drift along the coastline.

This was followed by an environ- mental survey and questionnaire in the town centre, and finally a spot of fun at the fantastic Ski Centre, where the students tobog- ganed on the slopes of the Great Orme.

We manged to cram a lot into the day, the visit helped the students im- mensely with their studies and they were a credit to the school with their enthusiastic questions and their ex- emplary behaviour. A huge thank you to Mr Burndred for both organising the visit and also for his chauffeur service.

TOTALLY AWESOME REVISION

Organised by Higher Horizons+ the Totally Awesome Revision event was held at Keele Hall. Y10’s enjoyed a day of revision motivation with sessions including resilience & stress manage- ment, rapid revision techniques and motivation- al speakers. Ms. Conn-Pearson and Miss Garside have been privileged to take part in a Holocaust Educational Trust teacher study visit to Poland as part of the ‘Lessons From Auschwitz’ Project. The project included an orientation seminar in Manchester, where they had the opportunity to hear the testimony of a Holocaust survivor, Janine Webber. They then spent the day at historical sites in Poland, including the site of the former Synagogue in Oświęcim, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau. The final stage of the project was a third session in Manchester, where they related their experiences in Poland to teaching the Holocaust in future years. It was a challenging, yet extremely valua- ble experience that they look forward to introducing into elements of

their teaching in the coming year.

We are delighted to announce that Birches Head Academy have been successful in their application to become a UCL Holocaust Education Beacon School for 2019-20. This is a fantastic achievement which will make a huge impact on teaching and learning about the Holocaust in school. The programme involves training in London and Warsaw for myself as Lead Teacher, plus Birches Head Academy have the opportunity to host a CPD day for local teachers later in the year. The programme is an awesome opportunity to take a leading role in developing Holocaust education in school and across

Stoke-On-Trent. We are very excited to begin our work with Holocaust Education Beacon School Beacon Education Holocaust UCL in September!

This year’s Summer showcase was thoroughly enjoyed by an audience of students, friends and family. The event raised over £150 for the school fund. A big thank you for your support and extra thanks to staff and students who took part.

Inter-Form Challenges

Throughout this academic year, students in Year 7 have been taking part in a variety of inter-form challenge competitions. These have included football, a quiz, and the Science-based “Cookie Challenge”. The range and numbers of students taking part throughout the year has been excel- lent, and students have enjoyed competing against each other for prizes. Con- gratulations to 7RG on winning the Cookie Challenge, and it is now on to the final competition – dodgeball!

Talk the Talk

On Friday 28th June, a number of our student leaders including senior prefects, school council members and Year 7 form captains took part in “Talk the Talk”. This all day workshop aimed to develop oracy through confi- dence in public speak- ing. Students worked to- wards the goal of giving a speech in front of their peers, something many found nerve-wracking at first! However, through effort, mental toughness and a positive attitude, all students were successful and can be very proud of themselves.

Stay Safe over Summer! Please have

patience, consideration and courtesy when having vehicular access to the school grounds. HEADTEACHERS BREAKFAST Each half-term members of staff vote for the students they feel should be awarded the Headteachers Excellence Awards. Students receive a certificate and an invitation to attend, with family, the Headteachers Breakfast. Approximately 3% of students are awarded this at each event so if you have been the recipient of this award you should be really proud of your achievement. Check out the school library or Stoke Reads On website (stokereads.org.uk #StokeReads) for a list of 101 suggested reads—categories include Into the Past Wild Rides LOVE True Lives

Have you read any

of these books? How many of the 101 have you read?

Students Louise T, Neve T, Enzo L, Noor K, Finlay D, Vanessa F, Ella S, Issy G, Caitlin F and Noah P assisting at the Grove Primary School as part of their Sports Leader role.

Super Star Enzo completed the Potteries ‘Arf Marathon in 2 hours 30 minutes. Well done!

Super-8

Year 8 Athletics Team headed to Northwood Sta- dium recently for the annual super 8 competition. Students put in a good performance against some tough competition to finish 12th overall in the city! Outstanding performances on the day from Gabriel T who finished first in the 800m 2 seconds clear of second place, Litia T who finished second in the Girls Shot Put and the Boys Relay team finishing third. Plus top ten finishes for Nathan M 200m, Gabriel T High Jump and Anareta N Javelin. Well done all the competitors!

Follow us on Facebook and keep up to date with school life via our website. bircheshead.org.uk We say a sad farewell to Mr Jenkins, Assistant Headteacher who has a new role as Director for Learning at Telford Langley High School. The Science Department also says goodbye to Mr Williams, Head of Year 9 who moves to Biddulph High School as Head of Science; Miss Beshay who has a post as a science teacher at Painsley Catholic College and Mr Mountford who moves to Ruskin High School in Crewe. Mr Lindsay returns to Manchester, and Miss Wheat takes on a new teaching role at Discovery Academy, both a sad loss to the Maths Department. Staff leaving the English Department are venturing further afield, Miss Wilkinson is off to Cyprus and Miss Johnson to Doha. We also say goodbye and best wish- es to Mr Lambert who moves to a school in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Miss Sharman, as she starts her teacher training. Good luck to all on their new (ad)ventures.

Hello and welcome to…… Mrs Irons (Assistant Head Y7), Mrs Jarvis (Maths), Ms Hilton (TA) and Mrs Holdcroft (reception) who started last term and have settled well into their roles. New staff for September include Ms Frieder, Assistant Headteacher, who joins us from Paddington Academy in London. The new Head of Science is Mrs Peake, who joins us from Haywood; and new Sci- ence teachers are Ms Fisher and Mr Maloney; Mr Maloney returns to us from Ormiston Sir Stanley Mat- thews Academy. Mr Cox and Mrs Hollinshead join the Maths Department, with Mr Jarvis teaching PE & Maths. Miss Prosser and Miss Roberts join the English Department; with Ms Barnes joining the MFL Depart- ment from Newcastle-under-Lyme. Also a big welcome shout out to Miss Timperley who joins us from Blythe Bridge High School as Head of History, Mr Mckirdy and Miss Stockdale-Fisher who join the Hu- manities Department, along with Miss Howarth in Art, who joins us from Ormiston Sir Stanley Mat- thews Academy. Finally a special warm welcome to ex-student Mr Davies who will be joining the PE Department.

We also say good bye and good luck to our Year 11 leavers; we hope your results on 22nd Au- gust reflect the hard work you have put in during your time at Birches Head Academy.

Below are a few pictures of the Y11 Leavers’ Year 11 Leavers’ Prom 2019 st Prom. 21 June 2019 6.30 – 11.00pm Crewe Hall, Admit One

ARE YOU MISSING OUT ON IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING SCHOOL NEWS? We are now using Schoolcomms as our method of communication with parents and carers, either by the App, text or email. To find out more about School Gateway and Schoolcomms please visit their website schoolgateway.co.uk Apple iphone users can download the app here: schoolgateway.co.uk/iosdownload Android phone users download the app here: schoolgateway.co.uk/androiddownload

Then just follow the instructions. You can log in to the online version of School Gateway if you don’t have a smart phone. Please keep us updated with any change of mobile numbers and email addresses as you may be missing out on important and interesting infor- mation, for example letters, trips, timetables, positive feedback from teachers, and much more.

Key dates for September 2019 October 2019 Wednesday 4th—Year 7 start date 25th Inset day—school closed Thursday 5th—Whole school start. 28th Half term commences

PARENTPAY / COMMUNICATION ParentPay is the way to pay for school lunches as well as school trips, activities and school resources. If you haven’t yet signed up please let main reception know and we can provide your log in details.

Moved house? It is also important to let us know if you have any change in contact details. This is Changed your not only for Parent Pay and School Comms log in details but so we can contact you in mobile number? case of emergency. Email address? Let us know! Birches Head Academy Outgrown uniform? Still in good condition? Did you Birches Head Road know we have a spare uniform stock—in case of emer- Stoke on Trent ST2, 8DD

gencies? Phone: 01782 233595 Fax: 01782 236647 We welcome pre-owned uniform contributions for our E-mail: [email protected] stock of spares, it needs to be in good condition. This includes uniform and PE kits. Thanks!