WEAVERHAM HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER February 2021 When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade? When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it. Amanda Gorman’s recital of her powerful inauguration poem“ The Hill We Climb” stunned a global audience and certainly gave us an opportunity to reflect on her wise words. The young poet laureate exuded confidence and charisma as she addressed her audience – one could be forgiven for thinking that such qualities came naturally to her…but her story is one in which to rejoice and draw inspiration, hence it being the catalyst for our whole school assembly. Gorman was raised by a single mother in Los Angeles and was introduced to the power of reading by her mum as an English teacher. She was educated in Santa Monica and her school’s ethos perfectly balanced the pursuit of grades but not at the expense of self-expression and self-belief, an ethos very much aligned with our own. Her passion for literature was further ignited in Year 4 after encountering the novel Dandelion by Ray Bradury. The power of words struck a chord with Gorman and she soon realised that she too had something to say, but not in the conventional form. A speech impediment made her feel self-conscious and so she would write her thoughts and feelings in the form of stories and poems – for a time, that was enough. But as her strength of character grew, she became more determined to give her words their own character and life – she wanted her words to lift off the page and soar. And so she prepared…Gorman had a stutter and found the pronunciation of ‘r’ a challenge, so she set to work to overcome this barrier. Taking a much loved song Sir 'Aaron Burr' from the musical Hamilton, a song which featured the regular repetition of ‘r’, purposeful practice began. She knew if she preserved and could keep up with the pace of the actors, then soon she too would be in control of her speech and more importantly, give the words on her page the voice they deserved. On Wednesday 20th January, her words soared. Before speaking in public, The Harvard graduate recites a mantra to herself, usually out loud: “I am the daughter of black writers. We’re descended from freedom fighters who broke our chains and changed the world. They call me.” Her appearance was a symbol of America’s multicultural past and present but gave those from all nations an opportunity to find hope and light in the darkest of places. I hope the words resonate with our Weaverham community and bring a sense of light and hope. Weaverham Words, Light and Hope. At the end of the Autumn term, year 9 pupils were honing their poetry skills and one particular pupil was inspired by a Brian Bilston poem, we felt his words deserved to be heard at our annual Christmas Carol Service. Atif Chowdury’s poem ‘Imagine if the World Looked Another Way’ has to be read in particular way. It skilfully portrays the viewpoint of two different individuals – one who exudes empathy, tolerance, respect and love, the other not. When reading Atif’s poem you must begin at the top, read down to the end and then reverse, reading from the bottom back up to the top. Imagine if the World Looked Another Way They do not deserve our help or land So don’t be stupid enough to think Their drawn faces would belong to me or you So don’t be distracted by their careworn faces We need to see who they really are; Acrobats and bloodsuckers Slubberdegullions and loungers With death up their sleeve Cut-throats and prisoners They are not Allowed here We should make them Go back to the filthy country they come from They cannot Eat our food Have our homes Share our countries Instead let us Build a rock hard wall to keep them out It is not ok to say They are just like us A person should stay where they were born Do not be so ignorant to think that The world can be looked another way. (Now read from the bottom to the top) Year 7 pupil Abigail Fisher also used her love of language to share a message of positivity to residents of a local care home. When asked what prompted her to do such a considerate act, Abigail explained that she understands how tough it must be for individuals to not be able to see friends and family. She wanted to show them she was thinking of them. Reading Club Love of literature continues with our wonderful Reading Club. The picture below was snapped just before the end of the Autumn term and depicts the joy, happiness and fun this avid group of readers experience as part of a collective group. We look forward to our library being busy once again with your excitable and enthusiastic book chatter. Keep reading at home! Lockdown Art Work Bravo to Year 7 pupil Laura Dawson who has been drawing freehand to create 3D images. I am sure you agree her work is amazing. Laura has aspirations to go to Art College in the future…keep up the hard work Laura, we know you will get there. Elliot Thomas, 9DR has been exploring Art Apps. We think this photo of Elliot in uniform looks great as artwork. Wonderful Year 10 Artwork Pupil Leadership. Many congratulations to the following pupils that have gained at least 10 leadership credits since January 20 and have achieved their Bronze certificate in Leadership. They have gained their credits through a number of opportunities including leadership lessons, working independently on their 'Learning to lead themselves' or 'Leading at home' project or supporting an event within school. It is a great achievement and one that the pupils should be proud of. Very well done. Elliot BROWN Freya CHAFFEY-GREEN Benedict CLENTON Samuel Nyah COLLINS Ash COLLINS Aaron COURT Nyah DE KEYZER George DUNN Madison DYSON Phoebe EASTWOOD Cameron FLEMING James GALT Amy GATES Elliot HACK Abigail HAZELHURST Freya HOYLE Ellie JACKSON Emily JONES Anna LANGTON Lucas LAWLOR-CLARK Farron LEGG Caed LITTLER Charlotte LLOYD Abigail LOWE Caitlin MCKENDRICK Edward MILLACHIP Eva ROBERTS Sonia RUSHTON Edward SMITH Sophie SMITH Joshua STAFFORD Evan STOTT Harri TAYLOR Elliot THOMAS Riley THOMPSON Laura WARBURTON Xander WHITELEY Katie WILKINSON Holly WILSON Harriet WISHART Darcey WOOLLEY Year 7 It is safe to say that we miss seeing all the Year 7 students face-to-face. However, it has been great to see students joining in virtually each morning which has provided some creative form times to take place. I had the pleasure of joining in with 7AM’s ‘Bring a pet along’ form time. I turned up with two little monkey’s (my sons Archie and Noah!) and our Guinea Pigs Monty and Simon and it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. This week I shared an updated list of suggested activities for form tutors to use and I am sure you will hear about some of them. I appreciate the day-to-day challenges around remote working and know you will all be doing your best. Feedback I am getting from some parents and students is the amount of screen time. We are looking at what we can do about this and how best to support all our learners going forward so please bear with us. In the first instance it is definitely worth reminding students to stand up and do some short stretches in between lessons to keep themselves active as well as doing their daily exercise. All the students below have been recognised by a teacher so far this half-term for going above and beyond so well done to all of you. I know that it does not stop there with this list and that each and every one of you will have had moments of brilliance since the beginning of this term. I encourage you all to keep up the great work. Callum Barnes, Tom Jenkins and Hollie Chidlow for going above and beyond in all of their lessons in science and in their homework. All three of them are always trying to answer questions even when live streaming. Nathan Karpinski for being brave enough to ask for help when learning remotely and concentrating really hard on his work in science. Amy Little for being resilient and never giving up with her science work. Mitzi Millar for her effort and engagement in live streamed science lessons in answering questions. Matthew Evans and James Ollier for growing in confidence over the past few weeks in science. You have both shown this through answering lots of questions. Molly Moran and Alba March for incredible class work, they always put 150% effort into every single task in science. Inaaya Chowdhury for going above and beyond and working incredibly hard to catch up on work she has missed, she should be really proud of her determination and commitment. Joel Howman for excellent engagement in streamed science lessons, always willing to contribute and is really doing his best every lesson. Charlotte Powell - her homework in science on designing a super seed was outstanding. Her effort and contributions in class have been outstanding along with the revision knowledge organiser she created to support her for her End of Unit test.