|
|
  |
Thursday 8th February 2007 Making Our School A Better Place
SINCE arriving at the school in September as one of our new Assistant Headteachers, Ms Mallet has been working hard with pupils from all Year groups to make our already strong school council a more effective power for whole school change. This began with regular Year Group Council meetings during PSHE as well as Full School Council Meetings with representatives from each Year group. These meetings discussed agenda items collated by the Year 11 committee from pupil and staff suggestion boxes. The Council Meetings have been brilliantly chaired by the team of dedicated Year 11 pupils, who even had the guts to come into the staff room and discuss their ideas for the school council during a morning staff meeting. A daunting task! Arising from the school council meetings a number of key action areas have been identified, with Action Teams forming to take responsibility for the completion of improvement projects. On Wednesday 31st January, the first major Action Team had their first meeting and it was extremely productive with pupils taking great pride and interest in their school: this was the Action Team devoted to improving the environment in the Dining Room. Whilst the food from the Dining Room is popular, the eating area itself is in need of a makeover. The Madeley Mouth will keep you updated on these changes. Turn to page 4 for the first of our regular features on Action Team activities. This half-term we highlight the proposals for improvements to the pond, tennis court and entrance hall from 7TH who are taking their responsibility for active Citizenship very seriously indeed.
Editor’s
Letter Dear Readers, Welcome back after the Christmas break and Happy New Year to you all! We have lots of interesting things in this issue from the Young Chef competition to sporting events. Also we have lots of information about the newly updated School Council and other important events that have been happening in our school this half term, plus all the dates to come. Happy Reading! Rebecca Chadwick, Finola Sutton and Rachel Stafford (The Editors)
A
Note from the
Headteacher, Following on from the long 15 week Autumn term we are already at the half way point of the much shorter 11 week Spring term. Although the shortest of terms, school remains extremely busy. Central to the term are our 5 consultation evenings forming the key opportunity for communication between students, parents and subject teachers. Years 11, 10 and 8 consultations have already taken place. It has been great to see so many parents and pupils at these events, with attendance at over 80% for each event so far. We are confident that this will be maintained or surpassed in the Year 9 and 7 evenings after half term. As the academic year progresses so our Year 11 students get closer to their vital GCSE examinations which have such a bearing on their pathways into the future. Currently the oldest year group in the school have completed mock examinations and are busy ensuring their coursework is up to the mark. As we approach Easter attention will turn increasingly to revision, with students being supported through revision planning sessions and access to a wide range of extra revision opportunities. Parents of students in Year 11 may like to note the revision skills evening for parents, to be held on Wednesday 21st March 2007, in which parents will be advised on how they can best support their youngsters in their revision. Of course, as a year they have a tough act to follow, as many of you will have witnessed in the recently published County League Tables for the class of 2006, showing Madeley right at the forefront in GCSE attainment, both in 5+ A*-C grades (including English and maths) and also in terms of ‘value added’. For all of us though, the key issue is that all students, regardless of ability, achieve their full potential come results day. You will be aware from recent editions of the newsletter that a wide range of our students are increasingly involved in our ‘Student Voice’ committees, impacting on school life in a range of ways. In particular a dining room action group has recently been set up to decide how the school dining room will be redeveloped into a more inviting environment for our youngsters. Their ideas will shortly be turned into actions. Another change that will impact upon all of us after half term is the development of the school reception and office. Though these will remain in much the same place a glass panelled reception and upgraded waiting area will be introduced. We hope these changes will improve both the functionality and comfort for visitors to Madeley whilst retaining the student involvement in reception that we see as an integral part of education at Madeley. Finally I would like to mention the 50th anniversary of the school taking place in October 2007. Preparation is already well underway for this event; more details of which can be found on the insert inside this newsletter. No doubt many parents and their relatives have a long standing association with the school. Can I encourage as many of you as possible to get involved with what should be a wonderful celebration of the school’s achievements over the years? Anyone interested in more information can contact Mel Wraight at the school or by visiting the school website at www.madeleyhighschool.co.uk
Friday 9th February Pupils finish School for Half Term
Monday 19th February Pupils back in School
Wednesday 21st February Year 7 Consultation Evening
Tuesday 6th March Year 9 Consultation Evening
Monday 12th March Year 10 Examinations Start
Thursday 29th March School closes for Easter Break
Monday 16th April School re-opens for the Summer Term ************************************************************************ ENGLISH GCSE SURGERIES Calling all Year 11 Pupils NEED THAT EXTRA BIT OF HELP WITH YOUR COURSEWORK? NEED A BOOST FOR THE EXAMS? In that case, come to Room 31 on Monday lunchtime for one-to-one help from Mr Hall, Mr Posthill and Mrs Skelding. All Welcome. AIMING FOR A*? Then Friday lunchtimes are your opportunity to attend Mrs Pearce and Mrs Tetley’s Booster Group in Room 6. ********************************************************** We Have Bought an Acre of Rainforest! IN the UK over 2 million non-biodegradable toner cartridges are thrown out every year! But just 15 of these– recycled and refurbished– will raise enough money to buy and protect an acre of rainforest. We have now collected our 15 and given them to Rainforest Concern to save an acre of the world’s most bio-diverse rainforest and all of the life it contains. Please keep sending in your cartridges– there’s a lot more rainforest to save! www.rainforestconcern.org
************************* HAVING A SPRING SORT OUT? OUR first year of contributing to Link Romania’s Christmas Shoebox appeal went very well. Please continue to send in items during the year to support the very poorest families in Europe. Items such as toiletries, socks, scarves, gloves, cards, tennis balls, small toys etc will be very much appreciated. www.linkromania.co.uk
26th February to 11th March Choosing items with the Fairtrade mark guarantees producers a fair and stable price for their products which means more security for their families. You will be amazed at the range of 2000 Fairtrade products available! Coffee, tea, chocolate, bananas, fruit juices, beer, cereal bars and roses can be found in many supermarkets. The Co-op has its own range of chocolates and wine. Also, Fairtrade t-shirts and clothes can be bought from Monson, Marks and Spencers, The People Tree and Traidcraft. Gifts and handicrafts are available from Oxfam shops and Traidcraft. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! www.fairtrade.org.uk
Action Teams
ARISING
from the ideas of the
school council various Action Teams are forming within school to put the
ideas of pupils into practice. This half-term we feature the work of
7TH who have formed their own Action Team with the aim of improving the
school’s environment for us all.
The pond at the moment is full of litter, overgrown weeds and muddy
water. This area is not treated with respect and needs some TLC! To
improve it we will be giving up our spare time to dig out the pond,
re-fill it with clean water and plant new plants. Then we hope the area
will stay clean and attractive for everyone to enjoy.
Tennis Court Trash!
WE have reason
to believe that there is a litter problem around the tennis courts and
we would like to do something about this. *************************************** WHAT A RUBBISH ENTRANCE! WE as a form have decided that enough is enough. There is too much litter around the school and we need to clean it up. Our group has decided to clean up the entrance. The first thing that people see is the entrance; do you really want people to see all that rubbish? It’s full of bottles and chipped paint; the plants are past their best at the moment. It’s enough to put any parent off the school. We have got to make a change and this is exactly what we intend to do. We will give the pillars a new coat of paint, clear up all of the rubbish, maybe put some extra hanging baskets out there and definitely a bench. To help us all you need to do is stop dropping litter. It’s not hard to put rubbish in a bin. So will you help us keep our school clean? To help us achieve our goal we decided it would be a good idea to get some suggestions from everyone else in the school. Here we have two pupils from Mr Posthill’s year 9 class. Q1 what do you think of the appearance of the entrance to our school? A1 It’s really dull, horrible and boring. Q2 Do you have any suggestions of what we can do to improve it? A1 I really don’t like the colour of the school; it should be repainted. The school motto should be next to the school name. Q3 Do you think that looking at our entrance would put people off enrolling their children in the school? A3 Yes definitely. Now you’ve heard the voice of the pupils. Please help us by donating money, equipment or anything that you think is suitable. Thank you. By Thomas Bayley and Jake Lipiec 7TH ******************************************************* Tessa, Chelsea, Jade and Georgia from Madeley High school, are running a campaign to tidy up the dirty areas around school. We are going to pick up litter, trim the bushes, add new benches, clean the bins and fix the fences. To do this we will need certain equipment and help to complete the task. The areas we have chosen to clean up are behind the English mobile and around the tennis court. You can help us by coming to us during PSHE (in form- room 31) and give us any ideas you would like to include in the school makeover and we will try and include them. We are going to try and get help from B&Q.We have sent them an email and we are hoping to get a reply off them soon.In the email we have asked for their help by saying what needs to be done in the chosen areas!!! We are going to try and get the plan working as soon as possible. ************************************
Young Chef of the Year Competition Heats Up! YEAR 9 and Y10 pupils have been getting very inventive with their food choices for the ‘Young Chef of the Year’ 2007 competition. Pupils had to come up with an exciting meal for two, based on a tight budget. The meal had to be visually appealing as well as tasting delicious. Judges included Mr Surtees, Mrs Nicklin and last years winners’ Laura Capon and Sam Edwards. With over 75 entrants at KS3 it has been very busy in the food room! Cooking skills have been finely tuned as the competition gathered pace. Momodou’s Gnocchi with Pine Nuts & Garlic, though very tasty, overpowered us all! And lots of pupils got a tingle in the tongue from ‘testing’ the power of chillies! Congratulations to all those short-listed to the top 10 for the judges to decide on a winner. Highly Commended entrants were Stephanie Silvester with a salmon dish, Phillippa Bourne with a tasty chick pea curry and Adam Mason who produced an exquisite seared tuna with colourful and nutritious vegetables. However, the outstanding winner of the Y9 school heats was Rachel Roberts with a delicious concoction of lamb with stuffed mushroom & beetroot salad. Rachel will now go onto the Regional Finals at Stafford College. Y10 GCSE Food groups entered the next level of the competition producing a wide range of dishes from quail and pigeon to pasta bake! Amelia Plant, Oliver Davenport, Geri Timmis and Ben Ford produced good quality food that met the criteria. Highly Commended for their efforts are Rebecca Chadwick, Lisa Satur, Louis Moult and Nicholas Ridgway who all worked really hard. The outstanding winner – and you could tell this as the judges ate it all! – was Tom Rushton with his Chicken in Tarragon Sauce. Congratulations to Tom who will also go the Regional Finals. Both entrants are to be mentored by Laura and Sam who know just how it feels to walk through the college doors, cook in a strange kitchen and be judged by professional Chefs! We wish them Luck.
“Zum” Workshop ON Thursday 18th January three members of the group Zum came to do a workshop for the year 10 music group and some of the year 9 musicians. Zum play all over the UK in theatres and major music festivals with various tunes from around the world. This took place in school and gave the pupils opportunity to explore different playing techniques and develop some group compositions. The day was sponsored through Keele University Concert Society. Thank you to Mrs Bailey who organised the day.
********************************** Year 6 Get Technological ON Wednesday 10th January and Thursday 11th January, our future Year 7 pupils visited the school for ICT sessions organised by Mr Royall and led by him and a variety of other staff. This was an opportunity for the pupils to not only familiarise themselves with our ICT facilities, but also with each other and the school. The ICT rooms were set up as Internet Cafes, including juice and biscuits at half time. The days were very successful and very enjoyable for all involved. ********************************** Year 11 Experience the World of Work THIS half-term Year 11 have undertaken a week’s work experience with a variety of different companies around the area. This was extremely successful, with many pupils impressing their employers so much that they were offered part-time jobs and apprenticeships to commence after their exams. Very well done to Year 11 and many thanks to all the companies who made the week possible. ********************************** Year 6 Gifted and Talented Project OVER the last month, Madeley has been visited on two occasions by 30 Gifted and Talented pupils from 6 of our local Primary Schools. The two sessions were organised by Mr Posthill and during the first session he and Mr Hall worked with the pupils to create clay and plasticine models to illustrate the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The pupils then used ICT to photograph and animate the models, a project which would be completed during the next session. During the next session Mr Posthill was joined by Mrs Skelding this time to put the pupils through their paces in the Drama studio. After a few warm –up games the pupils were split into 6 non-friendship groups to enact a section of the story. The pupils used the Drama techniques very effectively, and Mr Posthill and Mrs Skelding could not decide on a winning group because the work was of such high quality. Ms Vorwerg even popped in and was stunned by the excellent talent on display. Overall, the two sessions gave pupils an opportunity to see the school and our facilities as well as learn some new skills that they can use in other areas of the curriculum.
‘The Colour to Dye For’ ON Wednesday 24th January year 10 option B and option C art groups went to the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester to which would help us with a future project they would be doing about indigo. They looked all around the art gallery at all the exhibitions taking notes on the artists and drawing pieces of artwork to help with their project. Then they were shown around the ‘Indigo’ exhibition this was the main part of the gallery. Everything here was the colour indigo from jeans to other items of clothing and it told you about the history of Indigo and how the dye is made. After lunch it was time to look around the other part of the ‘Indigo’ exhibition here everyone had to do a detailed study of one of the pieces of artwork. After looking round the gallery they all had time to go into the shop and buy books of postcards to support their work. Everyone had a lovely day and thank you to Mrs Price and Ms Leath for organising the day. By Finola Sutton (Madeley Mouth Editor)
Christmas Concert THE school’s annual Christmas concert took place on the 14th December. It was a wonderful evening with very big student participation. There was a large choir and orchestra along with solo performances and ensembles from different groups of instruments. The music side of the concert was successfully arranged by Mrs Bailey and there was also some dancing and acting from groups organised by Mrs Vorwerg. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all participants and audience members. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped with the organisation! The week after the Christmas concert Mrs Bailey and Mrs Pearce took out a small group of choir members to sing at the old people’s homes in Madeley and Betley. This is an activity which is undertaken every year and is always gratefully received by the audiences who look forward to the children’s visit every year. It’s a wonderful experience and the tradition is always willingly kept up as the students and teachers enjoy it as much as the audience. Rachel Stafford (Madeley Mouth Editor)
Holocaust Memorial ON Monday 29th January, over 100 pupils from different schools took part in the Holocaust Memorial Project at the New Vic theatre. This was a Drama and Art show performed by 8 different schools in memory of the thousands of people killed in the concentration camps across Nazi Germany and beyond. In the show there were several different performances, some with singing and dancing. On the night there also two Holocaust survivors called Ibi and Waldemar Ginsberg who told us the stories of their experiences of the Holocaust and how it affected them. By the end of the project everyone felt proud to have participated and helped people to remember and forgive the horrors of the Holocaust. The final presentation of the work was the culmination of hard work from staff (especially Ms Vorwerg and Ms Leath) and students. Ms Leath worked hard with pupils on an art project where pupils made shoes from a variety of media which were then put together in a larger sculpture. This was to make pupils consider the themes of individuality and conformity. The pupils all wrote their school email identification numbers in the shoes, to represent the numbers that the victims were stamped with in the concentration camps.
Learning About Learning ON Wednesday 24th January, Ms Mallet organised for a group of 7 pupils from yr 10 to attend a Learning About Learning conference at Willifield Conference Centre. The conference was for students and was also run by students. Throughout the day the students took part in activities to find out about different learning styles and how they could be catered for in schools. It was a very productive day that was well organised and well received by all. By Rachel Stafford (Madeley Mouth Editor)
Wherefore art thou, Year 10? ON Monday 5th February, Yr 10 Expressive Arts class performed a version of Romeo and Juliet at the New Vic Theatre. It was as part of the “Shakespeare In Schools Festival” which is a nationwide event that will be involving around 750 theatre venues and over 1000 schools in the next two weeks. Also on the same night, Clayton Hall Drama Group performed their version of The Tempest, which included lots of extravagant costumes and bright body paint! All the students who took part had been working very hard over the past couple of months and their hard work paid off as it all came together well on the night. It was an enjoyable evening and gave people the chance to look at Shakespeare’s plays in a different light, one that was much faster paced and easily understandable! By Rachel Stafford (Madeley Mouth Editor)
Sports
Volleyball ON Saturday 20th January the U16 volleyball team went to Manchester to play for qualification to get the top 8 in the country. If they succeeded they would be the first U16 girls team to do this. The girls played very well. The game against Tameside A was a struggle and unfortunately they lost this Game. The next game was equally tough but match the girls won. Their final match was against Tameside B, and was very crucial as they wouldn't make it into the top 8 if they lost. Unfortunately the girls did not succeed and everyone was very upset. Despite the upset, the girls played extremely well, and well done to all of them. By Rebecca Chadwick (Editor) (Madeley mouth Editor)
Girls Football Tournament
ANOTHER dreary night at Clough Hall School and another rollercoaster of luck for the Madeley Ladies. After a fantastic start in their first game against Clough Hall the Madeley team were cruelly denied a well deserved draw by a dubious refereeing decision. The ball bounced down from the crossbar and back out into open play, never crossing the line. However, the last minute goal was awarded to Clough Hall and Madeley crashed to defeat in their first game. This turn of bad luck seemed to wake a sleeping giant in the Madeley team who redoubled their efforts in their second game against Sir Thomas Boughey School. Four superb goals from Ashleigh Grimes, a well deserved goal from Lucy Preston and a long awaited goal from Siobhan Whittaker saw off Boughey 6 – 1. The Madeley Ladies are now sitting in an excellent position, third in the table and ready to pounce on the top two clubs when they play after half term.
U14 Basketball Results
Madeley 15 v St John Fisher 48– Lost Madeley 30 v Chesterton 21- Won Madeley 18 v Sir Thomas Boughey 38-Lost Squad Chris Deakin, Andrew Hunter, Will Mackinnon, Joe Smith, Rupert Scott, Tim Sudlow, Tim Hales, Tom Tatton, Ben Smith, Phil Backes and Josh Glover.
U16 Volleyball Tournament Results West Midlands U16 Volleyball Tournament Round One: Saturday 13th January. The U16 “B” team consisting of Year 8/9 boys competed against boys two years older than them to produce some battling volleyball to qualify for Round Two. West Midlands U16 Volleyball Tournament Round Two: Saturday 20th January. Despite losing to competition winners Redhill, 2 sets to 0, the U16 “A” team produced some excellent volleyball to beat U16 B team and Cleobury both 2 sets to 0 and qualify for the national top 8’s. Notwithstanding their success the previous week, the older and stronger opposition proved too much for the U16 “B” team who failed to take a set from their three games. Nevertheless, the experience will undoubtedly prove valuable for the future.
U16 “A” Squad Adam Jones, Ryan O’Callaghan, Matt Holmes, Matt Adams, Sam Evans, Nick Glover, James McCue and Tom Westwood.
New Sporting Opportunities at Madeley THIS half-term two exciting new opportunities have arisen for pupils to improve their fitness and sporting ability in school time. The first of these is a Table Tennis Club in the hall, and the second is an Aerobics and Kick-Boxing Club run by Mr Ostrowski in the Sports Barn. Also, Years 7/8/9 were treated to a thrilling Judo display by All-Stars Judo Club who are beginning Monday evening sessions at the school. See Mr Goodwin for more details about Judo and Mr Ostrowski for other clubs.
THE END
|
|
