newsletter july 13

7/28/2019 Newsletter July 13

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W ilnecote H igh School

NewsletterJuly 2013 Issue 105

Dear Parents/Carers

As we near the end of another school year I would like to thank all parents/carers, students and staff fortheir commitment, positive attitude and ongoing support for the school. I wish you all an enjoyable andrelaxing summer break.

As always this term has been exciting and busy with lots of students involved in a wide range of activities.The main purpose of this newsletter is to celebrate these activities and successes and on the followingpages you will read about a range of these.

Mr Tonks

Love Where You Live 2013

Over 50 Y7 students accompanied Mr Sbarra,Miss Dickins and Councillor Tina Clements on alitter picking walk all the way from school to theCastle Grounds.

On a blisteringly hot day the students took turn to

pick litter from the roads leading to the castle.Once there, they enjoyed a picnic lunch beforejoining litter-picking students from other Tamworthschools to receive the thanks and congratulationsof the Mayor and of the organiser Greg Parker.


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German Exchange 2013

This year, from 7th 15th March, around 25 students and their families hosted a GermanExchange partner as part of our annual German Exchange programme with our partner schoolin Bad Laasphe. The students were joined by Karin Fischer (the group leader in Bad Laasphe)and Felix Morgenstern.

During the week, students participated in a variety of activities, both in and out of school. Wetook a day trip to Shrewsbury, where they had the opportunity to do some sightseeing andshopping. The German students also spent some time in lessons and really got involved (with abit of showing off in German!).

This year students also took part in a project to design and present a display which celebratesthe German Exchange and the opportunities it gives them. It was excellent to see students fromboth schools working so well and enthusiastically together and discussing the new experiencesthat they had and friendships that they have made. They then presented their work (in bothlanguages!) to the rest of the group. Not only did they work brilliantly together, but the displaysand presentations were excellent and we struggled to choose a winning group!

Throughout the visit the students were a credit to themselves and their schools.I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our host families for making the exchangepartners feel so welcome. The students were frequently talking about what an excellent timethey had had with the host families and there were even a few tears as we waved themgoodbye at the end of the visit.

I would also like to thank the many staff who helped to make the exchange a success, either byhosting our partner schools teachers, joining us on trips and activities, or simply making thestudents feel welcome in your lessons.The exchange is an excellent opportunity to make new friends whilst experiencing a differentlanguage and culture. We are now looking forward to our return visit from 23 rd 29th September.

If your son / daughter would like to be involved in future exchange visits, feel free to contactMiss Lakin for more details.


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More Exchange photos ..


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The Performing Arts and Arts Festival

Our annual 2 week Arts Festival continues to be one of the main events in our school calendar. As alwaysthe range and quality of performance was stunning. Thanks and well done to all the staff and studentsinvolved.

Some of the hi hli hts included:-

Arts Spectacular

On Wednesday 10th July the performing arts department put on Arts Spectacular. This was an eveningwhich celebrated curriculum and extra-curricular work. An altogether diverse evening in which all studentsinvolved did wonderfully.

Music Concert

Y10 GCSE music students put on astunning performance on Tuesday 2nd Julyperforming their coursework ensembles andsolo pieces.


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Play in a Day

Based this year on The Wombles of WimbledomCommon, the Performing Arts Faculty (supportedby year 9 students) worked with pupils fromDosthill Primary School, Wilnecote Juniors andManor Primary School to produce a piece based

on the importance of recycling. The performancewas excellent and the whole process wasthoroughly enjoyed by all.

Sports Day

The school community enjoyed another excellentSports Day at the Tamworth Athletics stadium onTuesday 9

thJuly.

The winning house was Hexagon, but there were anumber of outstanding individual performances.

Thanks also to the Performing Arts Department forproviding pre and midway entertainments withMusic from Drum Group and Hip Hop Dancing.

Thank you to everyone who came to support thecompetitors and the sun shone throughout!

A good day all round !!


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Sports Leaders Launch the First Ever TVCLT MultiSports Event!

Over 90 Sports Leaders from Year 10 ran the first everTame Valley Co-operative Learning Trust Multi SportsEvent, here at Wilnecote High School.

200 plus Year 5 students from across the learning trustcompeted in mini teams across 10 events, eachrepresenting a world nation.

The event was supported by the ASDA Activeprogramme and Sports Leaders UK. Only 4 events ofthis kind were held in Staffordshire; this was the biggestdue to numbers of participants and most importantly thenumber of Sports Leaders, making a significant leadercontribution.

Ten Year 9 students who had shown extraordinary

leadership potential supported the Sports Leaders inthe delivery of this amazing event. It is hoped thesestudents will then set the standard for others in nextyears Sports Leaders programme.

If over 100 young people leading the next generation isnot inspiring enough, visits from Beth Cobden (U21England Netball player) and Josh Hill (Great BritainJudo) helped raise the 2012 Inspire a Generation profilefurther.

Quotes from the day

Stoneydelph Primary School studentIt was wicked, I really like the Tug of War.

Dosthill Primary School studentMy team leader helped me do my best

Longwood Primary School studentI liked competing against people from otherschools

Sports LeaderI really enjoyed leading my event, but it was hardwork

Sports LeaderI lost my voice cheering for my mini team


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Dosthill TeacherToday was fab, the kids really enjoyed it

Stoneydelph Primary School HeadteacherTheChildren had a really great day, many thanks fororganising it, first of many we hope

Trust School TeacherIt was lovely to see so many of childrendoing their best and enjoying themselves

Trust School Assistant TeacherThe Sports Leaders did an amazing jobthey gave our children a superbexperience. Everyone said how much funthe day was and how well organised andenthusiastic the leaders were.

Wilnecote High School Key Stage 4 NetballChampions

Having dominated their year group since 2008, theunder 16's once again proved too strong for the otherTamworth schools.

In a tournament that involved Landau Forte AcademyAmington, Landau Forte Academy QEMS, Tamworth

Enterprise College and The Rawlett School, the teamwere undefeated, scoring 21 and only conceding 5.

The team was made up of Shannon Baker, BeccaSheldon, Hannah Thompson, Sophie Hunter, ChloeSkilleter, Becky Barlow, Beth Exton, Laura Hope, KatieLester.

The team had already won the friendlytournament earlier in the year, with sixplayers instead of the normal seven,

scoring 24 goals over 4 games, concedingonly 2 (team: Chloe Skilleter, HannahThompson, Katie Lester, Sophie Hunter,Laura Hope & Sophie Burton)

The KS4 team are the only team inTamworth to compete in the CountyTournament.


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Staff Farewells

We would like to say a fond farewell to membersof staff who are leaving us this year

Mr Cajkler - LanguagesMr White EnglishMrs Whitaker EnglishMiss Rice - English

Mrs Ebrey School Business Director 31 yearsservice!!!

We wish them all the very best for the future inwhatever endeavours they wish to pursue.

Yr 10 Geography Fieldtrip to CardingMill Valley Shropshire

On Thursday 20th June 58 students visitedCarding Mill Valley in Shropshire to collect datafor their GCSE Geography ControlledAssessment.

The students walked up the river valley towardsthe source and on their way back to the coachthey collected data from 4 sites. The studentshad to measure the width of the river channeland depth of the river every 25 cm's at each site.Students also measured the velocity of the riverat each site.

In addition to this students had the opportunity tointerview a National Trust Ranger.

On their return to school the students have now

started their write up of the data.

The weather stayed dry, the students weresuperbly behaved and enjoyed the day out in thebeautiful Shropshire countryside.


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Term Dates 2013-14

Autumn Term 2013

Term Starts 3rd

Sept 2013 (New Y7 only)Term Starts 4

thSept 2013 (rest of school)

INSET DAY 4th

October 2013 Term 28th Oct 1st Nov 2013Term Ends 20

thDec 2013

Spring Term 2014

INSET DAY 6th

Jan 2014Term Starts 7

thJan 2014

Tern 17th

21st

Feb 2014Term Ends 11

thApril 2014

Summer Term 2014

Term Starts 28th

April 2014INSET DAY 2

ndMay 2014

May Day 5th

May 2014 Term 26

th 30

thMay 2014

Term Ends 18th

July 2014

Free Passage on the M6 Toll

The school has been successful inbeing issued with the free passagescheme on the M6 toll.

The scheme gives us free usage along

the M6 toll for 12 months from Sept2013.

As regular drivers Tom Deadman andEmma Jordan went to the operationscentre to be awarded with the tags foruse with both our buses.

This will save the school money everytime the buses use the M6 Tollhttp://www.m6toll.co.uk/about-

us/news/latest-news/100713/

Fundraising by Ellie Lainchbury & Hannah Maskell (Y10)

We are two students in year 10. On the 15th of March our

school held a non-school uniform day a cake sale andother activities to raise money for a charity of our choice,but only three students including us have picked a charityand so we picked Young Minds because I EllieLainchbury have been affected when I was younger, butnow I have a group of friends and family who havehelped me through these experiences. I also picked thischarity not only because it is close to me but to raiseawareness of what is going on out there.

Hopefully the money we have raised will be helping thechildren and women to find a way out of danger.

In total we have raised 250 for Young Minds. We arehoping this will make a difference.


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Beth Shalom

On Friday 7th June five members of staff and approximately 90 students visited the Beth ShalomHolocaust Centre near Newark, Nottinghamshire. The Centre opened in 1995 as the UKs first venuefor Holocaust education and memorial. Its aim is to increase awareness about the Nazi Holocaust

and other genocides, as well as providing a focus for memorial and remembrance.

The year nine students were able to explore the beautiful memorial gardens (the sun shone lots forus!) and learn more from the excellent exhibition about Jewish life under the Nazi regime. All yearnine students at Wilnecote study this topic in Religious Education and History during the summerterm, in a cross-curricular module examining major themes of historical and contemporarysignificance.

After lunch we all sat down to listen to the story of a camp survivor Martin Stern who was taken as asmall boy from Holland to Theresienstadt concentration camp located in what is now the CzechRepublic. He spoke about his own memories and also gave his own thoughts about how suchatrocities could have occurred. There was then the opportunity for our children to ask him questions.

Meeting someone who had lived through such horrific experiences brought to life the subject for ourpupils in a way not always possible in the classroom. They had been able to pay their own respectsto the dead in the rose gardens and many joined in stone setting on the memorial to children who haddied at the hands of the Nazi government. Staff and pupils who made the visit would like to thank MrMorris and Mrs Smyth for organising such a stimulating and meaningful day.


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Year 11 Leavers Prom

On Friday 5th July the Annual Y11 Prom washeld in the Tower Suite at Drayton Manor.

187 Y11 students attended. Upon arrival theywere greeted by a large crowd of parents andfriends.

The procession of students arriving at the Promwas stunning with a range of classic cars, limos which are getting longer every year andsports cars. There was even a Cinderella Coach!! The unofficial competition of the mostinteresting way of arriving at the prom was adraw this year between two MOBILITYSCOOTERS and a TANDEM !!!

The students were beautifully dressed. TheLadies wore a range of stunning dresses' ,

whilst the Gentlemen were immaculatelydressed in a range of suits.

Following a 3 course meal the students dancedthe evening away in the Tower Suite. Thestudents were a credit to themselves, theirparents and their teachers, I am sure they willremember the Prom night for the rest of theirlives.

Note - Next Years Y11 Prom is booked forFriday 27th June 20134

Official Prom photos can be viewed and ordered atwww.colexphotography.co.ukAlbum Name: Wilnecote Prom 2013Password: 4109


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Photos taken by Elliot Nicholls & Frances Astle


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Year 10's win TamworthFootball League

The year 10's have dominatedfootball in the Tamworth thisyear.

They won the league afterlosing only one game to Rawlettaway from home.

They hope to build ontheir successes of this year andmirror the Year 11's and win theFazley shield next year!!

Fazeley Shield Final Wilnecote High School 2 0 LFA(QEMS)

Goals either side of half time secured a well-deserved Fazeley Shield victory for Wilnecotes Y11football team against their counterparts from Landau Forte Academy (QEMS).

It was clear from the early passages of play that Wilnecote were the stronger team with a passinggame that was easy on the eye. However, for all of our possession the breakthrough was a long

time coming and indeed came after a scare when QEMS hit the bar against the run of play.Eventually, though, Rob Stroud broke the deadlock with a cool finish to put us one up just beforethe break.

The expected deluge of goals never materialised as the warm conditions and day after leaverssyndrome took their toll. The crucial second goal came by way of a towering Ryan Brooks headerfrom a corner early in the second half. From there it was a case of managing the game to itsconclusion, which Wilnecote did comfortably; marshalled by the outstanding three man defence ofRoberts, Dyson and Brooks.

We will do well to field another school football team as accomplished as this one and this triumphwas a fitting end to their time representing Wilnecote with such distinction.

Well played boys!


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Nordic Identity and Youth Employment Project

Lahti, Finland: 16th 22ndFebruary 2013

A group of eleven Year 11 students along with Miss Price and Mr Cotterill recently embarked on aweek-long trip to southern Finland to examine Scandinavian attitudes towards youthunemployment and what projects and initiatives are in place to address what is a very seriousFinnish problem. It turned out to be an interesting, hard-working week but it was also lots of fun!

We arrived at Helsinki airport at midnight on 16th February, but as our bus to Lahti wasnt until2am, we had some time to kill. This mainly involved playing in the heavy snow outside theterminal building! We finally arrived at our accommodation, a beautiful old building that houses atype of boarding school, at around 4am. Everybody was tired, but unfortunately, due to somecarelessness in the room key department, some students were locked out, meaning nobody gotany sleep until at least 5am!

The first full day we met our Finnish host, Irene, and the young people with whom we would be

working. These were a group of either volunteers or employees of the Lahti youth service, orpeople looking to get into employment. In Finland, a young person is anybody under the age of29! The group were then split into two and charged with preparing lunch and dinner for the entiregroup a task that, coupled with everybodys fatigue and grumpiness almost brought about someserious injuries to a number of people!

The week saw plenty of interesting and engaging activities that really challenged our studentsperceptions and opinions of various topics. The Wilnecote High School students threwthemselves into all aspects of the activities, and as we witnessed first-hand the emphasis onyouth work, we all became a little bit enamoured with the Finnish culture, and began to questionthings that we could do better at home.

It wasnt all work work work! Lunches smelling of cat food, dashing across town to get a kebab, atrip to a World Championship ski jump and a little bit of cross-dressing (you know who you are!)were all particular highlights. But they are stories for another day!

All in all, we had a fantastic time in Finland. We were surrounded by warm, friendly,accommodating people in a wonderfully efficient (if not very cold!) town. Everybody came awaywith many new friends and fond memories. It was truly an experience that none of us will everforget.


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Matilda Trip

On Wednesday 5th June 31 Year 9 Arts Award students went to London to see the West Endproduction of Matilda.

As part of their course they have to write and present a review on the production giving theirpersonal opinions as well as commenting on and evaluating the set, lighting, acting and stage

effects. The students also had the chance to explore Covent Garden and watched numerous streettheatre performances in the sunshine. Students spent a few hours in small groups exploring themarket stalls and food outlets before the matinee production commenced.

Students were in awe of some of the effects especially when Miss Truchbull appeared to fling a childinto the audience by swinging her round by her pigtails! All students thoroughly enjoyed the visit andmost had not visited the capital before. We look forward to seeing their presentations and themgaining their bronze arts award in August.

Gymnastics

Late in March a squad of 5 students flick flacked their stuff at the District Schools GymnasticsCompetition. Over 8 teams took part in 2 competitions, covering the Floor and Vault and SportsAcrobatics Pairs.

Despite limited facilities and full extra-curricular commitments they performed brilliantly in bothdisciplines and managed to secure the team Silver medal. This is clearly an impressive achievementform working with just a few gym mats and one springboard!!

Jasmine and Courtney competed in the Sports Acrobatics Pairs competition where they hadchoreographed their own routine, utilising several challenging balances and unique gymnastic moves.They performed excellently, completing the routine with no mistakes at all. So it came as no surprisethat they won the Gold medal.

Each gymnast also competed as an individual where Alice Arnold blew the competition away, beatingover 30 students to win the individual Gold medal, with a score of 18.6 out of 20.

Emma Thompson and Jasmine Finlan-Tuck both scored very highly but were just outside the top 5gymnasts with their competent and finely tunes performances.

Miss Brolan needs to be thanked for shaping our best ever gymnastics team well done girls!!!!!


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House Captains

A rigorous process of letter of application,ballot and interview has helped us to

appoint our new House Captains for thenext academic year. Congratulations to:-

Globe House Jess Hall& Josh Harriett

Hexagon House Eve Dodd& Holly Short

Pegasus House Charlie Butler& Danielle Miller

Rose House Hattie Evans& Chris McNulty

These students will be ambassadors forthe school at a number of events.

Send my Friend to School

Students of Wilnecote High School have

spoken out in support of the 60 million children

worldwide who, through no fault of their own,

do not or cannot go to school.

They have sent messages to Prime Minister

David Cameron via local MP ChristopherPincher as part of the Send My Friend to

School campaign. This attempts to remind

world leaders of a promise made by their

predecessors in the year 2000 that by 2015

every child in the world would receive an

education.

This years campaign has focussed on the

need to find 1.7 million more teachers in order

for that promise to become a reality.

The students messages encouraged Mr

Pincher to remind the Prime Minister of the

pledge made in 2000 and they included cut-out

teachers (including some life-size cut-outs of

ideal tutors) listing the characteristics which

make them so amazing.

During his visit to the school Mr Pincher

suggested that he accompany some of ourstudents to Downing Street in order to deliver

some of the messages personally to Prime

Minister David Cameron.


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WHS Leisure Centre Information

See the link below on the School Website for LeisureCentre Information

http://www.wilnecote-high.staffs.sch.uk/leisure-centre

Uniform

We are reaching the time of year when parents begin to think about replacing their childs uniform for the newschool year. It is, therefore, appropriate to share with you a list of our uniform requirements.

School polo shirt

School sweatshirt or school cardigan

Plain black full length straight leg trousers or plain black knee length skirt

Plain black leather/leather style shoes

Any outdoor coats should be in keeping with the school uniform, ie navy blue or black.

These are very simple requirements and all students are expected to wear school uniform at all times.

Students who fail to adhere to these simple requirements will, wherever possible, be given an item of schooluniform to wear for the day. Alternatively, parents may be contacted and asked to bring in correct uniform forsuch students. If no suitable solution is possible, then the student will be placed in isolation for the day.Persistent failure to comply with these requirements will result in sanctions being applied in line with schoolpolicy.

Additional items of clothing, such as hoodies and tracksuit tops, have no place in our school. Such items will

be confiscated and returned at the end of the school day and sanctions for failure to comply with our uniformrequirements will be applied.

Most uniform is available through normal clothing suppliers with sweatshirt, cardigans and polo shirts only viaBuxton and Bonnett. Please be aware that some shops (including Buxton & Bonnett) may label clothing asschool uniform but unless it complies with our uniform requirements, particularly plain black full lengthstraight leg trousers or black knee length skirt, then it will NOT be acceptable for school.

We would like to remind students and parents that if a student has PE or dance in the first lesson of the day,they should wear their school uniform and change into their kit at school. Equally, if a student has PE ordance in the last lesson of the day, they are required to change into school uniform to travel/walk home fromschool.

All of our consultations with parents have confirmed that they want a school uniform and expect students towear it. I would like to commend students who always come to school in full uniform and thank their parentsfor supporting us.

Lost property

Over the term the school has collected a hugeamount of lost property including various keysand a mobile phone, as well as various itemsof PE kit and school sweatshirts.

PLEASE, PLEASE make sure that yourchilds name is marked on ALL items ofschool wear so that we can endeavour toreturn the garments to their rightful owners.

Mrs Taylor

Schoolcomms our text messaging company

have introduced a new smartphone app forparents to download, to enable the schooland parents to communicate more easily (andcheaply!!)

We will be sending out information on howyou can download the new Gateway App toyour phone in September.

The more parents who download the App, thecheaper it is for the school to send textmessages. We would appreciate it if as many

of you as possible could put this App ontoyour Phones.

newsletter july 13

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