LWSaint Aidan’s Student Magazine Issue 3: Spring/Summer Term 2016 The Head’s Welcome Welcome to the latest edition of Live Wyre. This or Head Girl. They know that their chances would magazine has been produced completely by our depend on the letters they wrote and the views of students and once again I am really proud of what their peers and teachers, but most of all on the inter- they have done. view. At this time of year one thing is uppermost in the They faced an interview panel which might have minds of our Year 11 students: their GCSE exams. daunted many adults: Mr Smith, Headteacher, Mr They know that the results of these may have a Elwell, their Head of Year, current Head Girl and huge effect on the choices and opportunities which Head Boy Georgia Dixon and Michael Head, and are open to them in the autumn and later on in their Governors Mrs Vicky Bullen and Father Andy Shaw. lives, and I have noticed that quite rightly students They each had a short group interview with other take them more seriously each year, with hard work students and then an individual interview. Every through Year 11 supplemented by attendance at single one of them managed to overcome their revision lessons, with some even taking place in the nerves and make a good case for making them an school holidays. I am very grateful to my colleagues Officer, but in the end the panel had to choose 12 who are working so hard to help our students to Officers and 4 Senior Proctors. succeed. The following day was even harder for the appli- Preparing for exams is going to be even more vital cants and for the interview panel as the 12 strong for our new Year 10 students, who will be taking Officer Team were interviewed once more to select new style GCSEs in almost all of their subjects. a Head Girl, Head Boy, Deputy Head Girl and Depu- These exams have a new grading system – 1 to 9 ty Head Boy. The questions were more challenging instead of G to A*. More importantly, in many sub- this time, and covered the whole range of responsi- jects they put more emphasis on learning facts for bilities of the Head Student Team and more. The exams, with fewer of the “controlled assessment” standard of the answers also went up a notch, and it tasks which can be taken before the final exams. was a really difficult job for the panel to select the Even in Key Stage 3 we will be working hard with final team. our students to make sure their learning is as effec- tive as it can possibly be, and that they are well- Overall it was a hard day and half for students and prepared for what they will meet at GCSE. interviewers, but well worth it. We now have a great Officer Team who will be able to help lead the To me this is the perfect time to remind ourselves school in the year to come and also a great team of that, however important these exams are – and they Proctors in support. are of course vital – school should be about a whole lot more than getting qualifications. Our Christian foundation also reminds us of how much more there is to school life than exams as we This is why we are so committed at Saint Aidan’s to learn to respect and care for each other, for people all of the extra-curricular opportunities which you beyond school and for the environment and to think can read about in this edition of Live Wyre, whether about our own place in God’s world. Being a Chris- that is experiencing other cultures by travelling over- tian school goes way beyond our RE lessons and seas or meeting visitors at our school, developing worship and should be a constant reminder that we talent and creativity through music, sport, art, drama are called to “life in all its fullness”. and writing, becoming experts at mathematical and computer based problem solving through clubs and So I want to celebrate with our Year 11 students this challenges, or developing our outdoor skills through summer when they get the grades they have worked Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. so hard for, but also to celebrate everything else our staff and students achieve, so much of which is illus- On the morning of Tuesday 3rd May 27 nervous trated in the pages of this magazine. I hope and Year 10 students waited outside Mr Smith’s Office. trust that when our Year 11 students leave us they They were not there because of poor behaviour will have the resilience that they need to keep on though – in fact, quite the opposite. They had been learning and the right moral compass to use their chosen from a large field of applicants to be inter- skills and knowledge to benefit the society they are viewed for the sought after posts of Officer for 2016- part of. 17, and perhaps even for a chance to be Head Boy 2 LW Mag > Autumn Term 2015 CONTENTS Issue 02: Autumn 2015 7 5 6 14 10 12 20 21 17 The News Files Painting for the Queen’s brithday En Guarde Students work is shortlisted for Queen’s 90th Students celebrations. It’s been a learning Earlier this year, Saint Aidan’s students were while fencing challenged with the task of creating a logo to since LW basics. be used surrounding the national Church of published Earlier this England celebration for the Queen’s 90th an edition year, a birthday. The idea was to create something group of which communicated the link between church, so there is students school and the birthday celebrations. There LOTS of learn how to fence. The activity took were 150 entries! The work of the following news to place over several weeks in the school students was chosen: Beth Gaulter, Charlotte catch up. hall. The students learnt how to lunge Anderson, Anya Galloway, Lauren Grundy from an expert from Blackpool Fencing and Lewis Strickland. Club. Young Engineers show off their skills On Thursday 4th February, four students (James Baxter, Ciaran Medd, Anoushka Gledhill-McClements and Ellie Soothill) from Saint Aidan’s headed to Blackpool to participate in the annual engineering event sponsored by Blackpool Gazette and Cuadrilla in conjunction with Blackpool and Fylde College. The students had the chance to develop team working and problem solving skills along with developing their understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. As well as support from each other they had the opportunity to tap into an engineering knowledge base provided by the staff there to support. Ultimately, the goal was to get through to the next heat by making a trebuchet that could launch a projectile the furthest in total over three attempts. Out of the 18 schools that took part we managed 17th place just in front of Rossall. Mr Ireland, said, “The students had a really positive day. They worked extremely well as a team with clear roles and leadership.” Students work on Internet Safety Safer Internet Day took place during Form Worship on Tuesday 9th February. The whole cohort of Saint Aidan’s students were delivered an assembly during their usual form worship time about Online and Internet Safety. This was to raise awareness and encourage discussion about this key issue that has such a significant impact on their daily lives. As part of this discussion the students were encouraged to share their positive feelings about the Internet by sharing their thoughts in a heart. Many forms took photographs showing the completed hearts. K2’s picture is below. Mr Ireland said, “It reminds students of their rights and responsibilities; it helps generate conversation and gives them a chance to remember what New Year 8 Leaders the Internet is for as well as where to go if they need support or help.” Earlier this year, Year 8s were to vote for their Student Leadership Representative. Following the speeches from those who wanted the role, Year 8 students voted for the three they would like to represent them. The votes were counted and the three successful students were: Leti Ellis-Gray, Alex Gray and Ellie Mackle. 4 LW Mag > Autumn Term 2015 Year 9s visit the RSPCA A group of Year 9 students visited the RSPCA centre in Stalmine to help with the gardening. The students have worked to help Bike Qualification Awards create a garden Year 9 and 10 students area for visitors and who, earlier this year, completed staff (and animals of their AQA Bike Maintenance course!) to enjoy. award were presented with their qualification during whole school assembly. The Wonders of Science! Shannon’s Art work Saint Aidan’s hosted the “Wonderstruck” Science on show competition in March. Teams from schools all over the Following a competi- Fylde and Wyre area came to complete against each tion earlier this year, other. The teams made rockets and, using compressed where students were air, had to launch them across the school hall. They also challenged to create created hovercrafts which did indeed hover! The winners their own version of were Kirkham Grammar. Saint Aidan, which saw students vote for their favourite design from a selection, Shannon Halliwell was voted as the winner. The print of the picture took pride of place in January on the wall on the top corridor near reception. Music Masterclass A rehearsal, masterclass and Q&A sessions was delivered by Besson artist James McCloud, who is one of the UK’s leading euphonium players.