Newsletter Spring

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Geography Fieldwork Cwm Idwal English Department Focus The past term and the present: When talking to some of the many talents the English Department possesses, it was evident that this time of year is a very busy one. The build up to the Year 11 GCSE exams seems to be taking up a lot of the teachers’ efforts but I was glad to see that they were all happy with the progress made so far. Ms Yeomans, the Head of Department said, "There's a lot of mad panic, but still enthusiasm. We're just finalising the Year 11 coursework now." For the time being, the focus of the English department is supporting its pupils for their exams and getting as much marking done as possible, which I'm sure is a thrilling feat, but there are some exciting trips planned for the future. The future: Mr Howell and Mr Crowley informed me about two future A Level trips to Haworth and different historical libraries in Manchester. The departments annual trip to Haworth will consist of a visit to the Bronte Parsonage Museum which will give the students a chance to look around the house, Haworth Parsonage (built in 1778-9,) which Patrick Bronte, his wife Maria and their six children moved into in 1820. Students and teachers should be excited to visit a place where classic pieces such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey were written. The second trip to historical libraries will provide the A Level students with practice for researching into the texts they are studying. Manchester is blessed to be filled with many libraries and the students shall be visiting a fair few: John Rylands, People's History, Central, Portico and Chethams. They will be able to look at the way language has changed from hundreds of years ago and compare it to the modern language of today. Our schools very own poetry nerd, Dr Quipp, is also looking forward to studying some new literature, such as Frankenstein (first published anonymously in London in 1818 and then again in France in 1823), with his future A Level students. A quote from this text which I find interesting is: "Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition." For anyone unfamiliar with Frankenstein and just thinks he's a random green person with bolts in his neck, a man named Victor more or less made him out of dead body parts, then made it his life ambition to bring him to life. Unfortunately it all went a bit pearshaped (who'd have thought it?) So in this quote he's essentially telling everyone to have no ambition, because he believed his failed. I disagree - why should we listen to a man who spent his life assembling a giant creature? Just because he failed, it doesn't mean we will, and even if we do, we can try again (top quality A* analysis right there.) Advice: I asked our teachers for a piece of advice they would give to all English students. I had answers ranging from touching to practical. Dr Quipp advises that we look after ourselves, and trust ourselves with our future choices, which is something I think everyone, including the staff, should take on board, as aside from our learning we should all put our health and happiness first; Mr Howell suggests we stay open-minded and try to have different perspectives on different things, and keep reading, which is something I personally suggest we all do our best to keep up through the rest of our lives; Ms Yeomans suggests we read a newspaper as it keeps us up to date and helps when identifying language devices; Mr Price-Uden advises that we read the classics, as they're what got him into English; and Mr Crowley suggests that we read... read or die. The English Department is lovely. To support their AS studies, Miss King and her intrepid Year 12 students visited the stunning Cwm Idwal to see first hand how the effect of glaciers on our environment can be seen 20,000 years later. Lake Idwal itself, in the Snowdon mountain range, is named after the murdered son of a Welsh leader who was drowned in its murky waters; local legend has it that no bird flies over the lake’s surface and that a wailing voice can be heard when there is a storm in the Cwm. 6th Form Geographers however were far more interested in applying their fieldwork skills and observing first hand the evidence of a glacial corrie.
Wood Street Mission Our students and staff have been supporting the Wood Street Mission charity for several years and this Easter’s appeal has been one of the most successful to date! We would like to thank everyone who has kindly donated to this important charity. Wood Street Mission is a registered children’s charity based in the centre of Manchester. They help children and families living in Manchester and Salford with everyday items. All the families that get support are affected by poverty. Wood Street’s mission is to help alleviate the effects of poverty on local children and their families through practical help. Wood Street’s vision is that all children in Manchester and Salford should live a life free from poverty. Software Update The IT department has been busy providing a variety of updates to the software available to teachers and students. Mr Keating and his team are keen to provide a ‘professional’ IT environment that mimics the IT provision in the real world beyond education. Students have access to a new homepage that directs them to a variety of software packages. This includes Office 365 that allows students to access the Microsoft Office package from home. In addition the latest Adobe Creative Suite - CS Cloud - allows our students to use the industry standard design packages such as Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator. Teaching staff also have access to Clickview software that allows them to set up subject specific video resources from a wide variety of sources. Clickview records free to air channels and teaching staff can save programmes for educational use. They can also upload old VHS video. Miss Conlin says that “access to such a wide range of resources really brings to life history in the classroom environment. We continue to use GCSEPOD for students in Key Stage 4. This gives students access to a vast library of podcasts that are written by teachers and support the GCSE courses being studied. Teachers also have access to the superb monitoring software Impero. This allows the staff teaching in the IT suites to control all machines in a variety of ways. This includes broadcasting demonstration screens to students to help them see how to use particular packages. Wood Street Mission is committed to helping achieve this through offering practical help and services to families and supporting them as they try to lift themselves out of poverty. The charity encourages families to ensure their children engage in education and develop their learning skills so they may live an independent life in their adulthood. House News Students in Ashwell House have set themselves a target to raise money for the Disaster Emergency Committee’s appeal for Ebola victims and came up with the inspirational idea of running a photography competition. House Captain Raiyan Ahsan explained the rationale of the House committee: “We chose the Ebola appeal because we think it’s important to have a global issue as our first project, to reflect the school’s global identity.” The theme of the competition is My Manchester, and entrants have been asked to submit photos of a particular area or scene that represents their experience of their lives in our area. The Ashwell Committee hope that anyone, no matter whether they are an experienced photographer or taking their first steps in this Art form, will get out and about and provide them with images which represent and celebrate what Manchester means to students of Stretford Grammar School. The talented three entrants whose work is judged the best by the House committee will win a workshop session with a local professional Photographer. There are lots of exciting ideas for charity events in the future, including a project to help the homeless. Members of Dakin house voted to choose the NSPCC as their charity, as concerns for the welfare of children throughout the UK is a cause close to their hearts. To support their charity they organised a lunchtime music quiz then held a cake sale. They were proud to raise £56 for the NSPCC. Emma De Paola in Year 10 won the quiz and received a book token as a prize. Currently on display on the House noticeboard is a letter from the NSPCC thanking all those involved in the enterprise. Their next foray into fundraising is a ‘Copper Change Collection Competition’ with motivational prizes being awarded for the most change collected. Wolfendale members felt strongly that they wanted to raise money for their chosen charity - The Manchester Children’s Hospital a group who provide specialist healthcare services for children and young people throughout the North West. Some students had first hand experience of the wonderful medical and emotional care which professionals in the hospital provide. During the <strong>Spring</strong> Term they raised money through a raffle with prizes donated from members of the house; Hasan Mobarak’s generous donation of two of his special cakes as prizes particularly attracted a lot of attention! Wolfendale were proud to raise £84, which was then followed by the princely sum of £73.87 raised at Easter with a chocolate raffle. There is definitely an edible theme to Wolfendale’s fundraising!
Page 1 and 2: Stretford Grammar School’s Newsle
Page 3 and 4: Library News Harry Potter Night In
Page 5 and 6: Rugby Revolution Price Cup 2015 The
Page 7 and 8: Conway Year 7 Transition An importa
Page 9: Jamie Edwards Former international

Newsletter Spring

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?