Christleton High School - Swan Easter 2012 by Christleton High School

Spring 2012

The Christleton High School Magazine

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The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

HEADTEACHER’S REPORT

Since Christmas there seem to have been almost daily announcements from the politicians about impending changes to the education system. Many of these have had a negative tone, rather than an aspirational one, and it was a delight on my recent visit to China and Hong Kong, to see how highly regarded our education system is. This is no cause for smugness, but equally it is important we recognise the talents and commitment that nearly all our students have, and the hard work and inspiration which staff and families provide for them. Over the next few months we are drawing together a new Strategic School Development Plan which will look at the direction of improvement for the next 3 years. Whilst you will be informed and consulted on this, we are always grateful for feedback by email, letter or visit, about how we can further improve the school.

We are hoping the new Library build will be completed and the Library occupied in June, with an official opening by Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, on 12th July. Students and staff were recently given the opportunity to visit the building. It is now physically complete, but needs fitting out and finishing. There has been a delay of approximately 2 months on the development of the all-weather pitch following a high level of concern about out of hours use from some of the local residents. We withdrew the planning for a 2 month period to allow for further consultation and a better flow of information. The areas of concern were about traffic in the village and evening and weekend use; the community was supportive of the school having the facility. We intend to re-submit planning in April and, subject to approval, hope that work will be completed in the Autumn to enable the excellent new facility to be used by our students and local community.

Mr Francis and Mrs Williams have introduced a ‘No Child Fails’ programme this year, which is a double check of students’ basic skills as we had some concern that students were not able to access the curriculum fully, or develop their talents because of gaps in their reading, writing, or numerical skills. This scheme has been run in parallel with the Hot One Hundred Scholars Project being led by Mrs Pritchard, and Gifted and Talented workshops and development, being led by Mr Ralphson.

The other big area of development in the last six months has been to look at Pathways to Work, to try and ensure that students are thinking about their careers and understand more thoroughly the different routes by which they can achieve the goal of a happy, fulfilled life doing a worthwhile job. We are making adjustments to Activities Week in June to provide a much greater stimulus for our students, with University campus and hi-tech workplace visits, to give students an appetite for study and work beyond school. Regular conversations in your home with your children and with visiting family and friends all help to enable students to shape their identity and future pathways. Although I am sure you already have similar conversations please can we encourage you to keep having them. The changing landscape of examinations is one which may put pressure on some students for whom coursework has been a better option. We have 18 months or so to adjust to this change which has been brought in by the Government, and will keep you closely informed as we work with students to develop the best courses for them. Financially the school is still in a very strong position, with a big investment about to go into ICT to increase the number of computers and the speed and effectiveness with which they work. We are closing with a budget surplus this year, and anticipate having a healthy budget next year, although beyond that things look much bleaker. The work I have been doing with the National College for School Leadership has enabled me to visit quite a large number of good and outstanding schools and this, allied to the visits in China and Hong Kong, has increased my experience and given me options to look at how we can serve your children even more effectively. Although I have seen far superior physical settings it always remains a pleasure to come back to Christleton where the students really do care about their education, show kindness to each other, and are proud of their school. We are very privileged to have them.

Tony Lamberton

Spring Term 2012

Contents... Year 12 Students Visit Oxford University ......... 6 Eco-Schools Award ..................................... 10 First Online Payment .................................... 12 Future Chef 2012 ........................................ 16 Hot Off the Press: GCSE Textiles Products .... 19 Shadow Puppets ......................................... 24 History and Politics Trip to Krakow! .............. 26 Hot Scholars ................................................. 28 Lessons from China ..................................... 32 Historian of the Month .................................... 39 STEM Club Day .............................................. 44 Eco Guy Antics ........................................... 48 Gifted and Talented Students Really Shine ... 50

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Year 7 Camp Information evening

Reminderâ&#x20AC;Ś On Thursday 3rd May, We will be holding an information evening about Year 7 camp. Times are 6.00pm 6.45pm for BaBy forms and 7.00pm-7.45pm for LaKe forms. The meetings will take place in the School Hall. As we are going to a new location this year we would really like all parents and students attending this event if possible.

Spring Term 2012

Pathway to an Airbus Apprenticeship Flying High with Airbus Year 12 students had the opportunity to find out about the apprenticeship programmes offered by Airbus earlier this year. Steve Edwards (Education Partnership Manager) and Kathryn Edwards (Employment Marketing Advisor) visited school to talk with an interested group. Here’ s what one of our students thought of the event: -

Matthew Barrett L61:

“The airbus representatives gave an interesting talk about a route after sixth form other than university which would leave us not just with a degree but valuable experience working with Airbus.

The talks caught my and many other students’ interest and some of us then went to the Airbus Open Day in Broughton. Here we met and talked to students who had been like us and had went on to become engineers for Airbus.

We were also able to talk to Glyndwr University representatives who are partnered with Airbus and who we would be taught by during our time as apprentices. I thought that this was a great alternative to university as Airbus pay an apprentice salary and give the opportunityachieve a degree level qualification.”

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Year 12 Students visit Oxford University

On the 16th February, fifteen sleep starved Year 12 students visited Oxford University for a taster of what university life at Oxford could entail. We started the day at St Hilda’s College, a small but friendly place overlooking the river. Here we were given an overview into and studying at Oxford; quite a daunting prospect!

Then followed lunch, my favourite part of the day. We were set loose in Oxford for a couple of hours and proceeded to explore the city which had lots to offer from stunning architecture to astounding street performers.

We then concluded our visit with a tour of Pembroke College. Again a small but friendly college, opposite Christ Church (with whom they have a big rivalry). We were shown around Pembroke by three very friendly first year students, two of whom were from Chester! We were amazed by the college chapel and the buildings, some of which dated back to the 13th Century. Overall we were very impressed

with Oxford, a beautiful city and a fantastic university, and many of us are now planning to apply. Jonny Dearden-Williams

Visiting Oxford really opened my eyes to how beautiful the university really is as well as how picturesque the colleges are. The useful admissions talk and tour has inspired many of us to consider Oxford when applying to universities. It was a lovely day out! Bethan Carter

Our trip to Oxford was insightful, seeing the colleges and the university as a whole gave me an excellent idea of one of the world’s best universities. Levent Bayraktar

The Oxford trip was really interesting, I found out so much I didn’t know about the college system and Oxford would be a lovely place to study. I just need to invest in a bike now. Amy Bradshaw

Spring Term 2012

Art Photo Competition The winner of Artâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eco Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Clean Water Photo Competition is Kiera Berry 10B1

Kiera made this dynamic image by throwing stones into a Scottish Loch and then snapping to capture the splash.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Pathway to a Learning for Work Year 10 Students Enjoy Work Placement

Success

As part of the Year 10 Work Skills BTEC course, students have been

experiencing one day a week with a variety of local employers.

This has given students the

opportunity to experience the world

of work directly and really helped

develop vital employability skills such as team-working, problem-solving,

time-management, customer service, and business awareness.

During Work Skills lessons in school,

students have been completing units

such as Applying for a Job, Self

Management Skills, Preparing for an

Interview, and Managing Your Health

at Work. The regular placements have allowed students to see the relevance of the ideas covered in school and

then apply these to the real world. Here is how some of them have been getting on: Connor Jackson: Bike Factory:

“I have learnt how to set up the gears and front gear mechanism. I help clean the store and keep the bikes in working order.”

Employer Comment:

“Connor is very hands-on and not afraid to ask. He is punctual and polite, and keen to keep busy.”

Spring Term 2012 Rob Flowers: MOT Service Centre:

“I have learnt how to take wheels off, and drain and change the oil. I enjoy helping to service cars.”

Employer Comment:

“It is really nice to have such a well-mannered young man in our workplace. Robert is always on time and is really positive. We have been disappointed in the past with students from other schools but Robert has restored our faith.”

Phil Evans: Pets at Home:

“I have enjoyed looking after the different animals, learning how to work the till, and helping customers with products.”

Employer Comment:

“Philip is a very hard-working and polite young man. He has done a lot of work in different sections of the store and is getting used to how a busy retail store works.”

Charlie Hackney: Bike Factor:

“I build bikes, help customers, repair bikes, stock up shelves, clean the shop and kitchen, take the bins out, and mail orders.”

Employer Comment:

“Charlie has worked so well here that we have taken him on for a Saturday job too.”

Jamie Leek: Northgate Arena: “I work in the office and also the gym carrying out risk assessments on the equipment to make sure it’s all safe. I have learnt a lot of things about the leisure industry.”

Employer Comment:

“Jamie is always on time and is a very friendly personality. He is hard-working and gets on well with the staff here.”

Ben Ward: Chester City Football Club Youth Coach:

“I help set out the equipment and supervise children play multisports. I have developed good communication skills, and get on well with my employers. The best thing is that I am working in a placement I really enjoy.”

Employer Comment:

”Ben is always punctual and positive. He has shown good listening skills and communicates well with younger students.”

Congratulation to all our work skills students.

There will be news on some of the others in the summer edition of the Swan.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Eco-Schools Award

Do you have any green ideas? If so check out the new eco suggestion box in the library

Before half term, the Year 8 Eco-team organised an assembly for Year 7 about the Eco Schools Award. We were glad to hear that many of the primary schools had introduced Eco-Schools. One student, Alec Stokes, made a small video at his house that was shown and it made everyone think about the consequences of our actions on the environment.

The group showed off our new Eco Box, which was decorated by Alana Williams Year 8, and our achievements from last year. I talked about the Animation activity and my four ducks that I have raised. The team found it really exciting but a test of patience when the computer decided that it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to work for us. By Blythe Walker 8Ke2

Spring Term 2012

THE BIRDS LIVE IN A TREE! THEY ALL HAVE NAMES! EVERY BIRD HAS FLAPPING WINGS!

THE BIRD PUPPET WORKSHOP

In the past six weeks the Art Department has held a bird puppet workshop. From covering balloons in Papier Mache to putting tail feathers on our birds we’ve done the lot. It’s been a brilliant six weeks and I hope I speak for everyone saying that! With our teacher’s craft skills she’s corrected our errors saving us from bad situations.

On the first session we made the wings for our bird and started covering balloons in papier mache. The papier mache look up the second session and the start of the third session. In the rest of the third session we started on the head. More papier mache... and then in the fourth session we finished off the heads. Once we had chosen our colour family we started making our birds legs. We made legs out of wire and then covered them in wool.

In the fifth session we were still doing the tissue paper. The final session was when everyone finished. The duration of the session was spent covering the birds in tissue paper but once everyone had finished that we added tail feathers, eyes and a beak. Some of us added little extras like a feather around the neck altogether it was great fun and I can’t wait untill the next one! Isobel Griffin Morris 7K2

Isobel Griffin Morris, Kimberley Duffell, Ellie Wilkins, Emily-Rose Forden, Lily Davies and Thomas Hughes.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine The school recently announced that parents now have the facility to make Online Payments to school. Jennifer Wilkinson’s family were the first to use it and Jennifer (Year 7) wins the prize of a box of chocolates! Please make use of this as it will make it easier for you to order and pay for the following: •

Uniform

•

Events

• •

Trips

Books and Equipment

There are a number of benefits including: •

A simple to use website

•

Parents can view their payment history online

•

First online payment made using our new system...

•

Payments are made through the Royal Bank of Scotland, and are secure and reliable

A reduced risk of students losing cash

For items to be collected such as Uniform or Books, these will be available for collection the next school day at break or lunchtime from the Cash Office (subject to item being in stock). If you have any questions, please contact the Finance Office. Pictured above: Miss Edwards, Head of Year 7 and winner Jennifer Wilkinson.

Spring Term 2012

Pathway to a West Cheshire College Two former Christleton students are enjoying great success on their chosen courses at the new Ellesmere Port Campus of West Cheshire College. Both students left Christleton at the end of Year 11 in 2011 and are doing well. Here’s what they have to say: -

Ella Reading: Shannon Kerwick:

“I’m doing the Childcare Level 1 course and really enjoying it, especially getting to work with children aged six months to five years old.”

“I’m following an Apprenticeship in Beauty and Nails. It’s really built my confidence up and has been a great way to meet new people. The programme fits in with my commitments elsewhere, and I would recommend it to anyone!”

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Let the Little Birds put their “Beak-On” Since the initial build of the “Beak-On” the structure has been visited by scavenging birds such as crows and seagulls who have been eating all of the food and at the same time destroying the feeders put there for small garden birds. Just before half term a group of excellent Year 8 artists were given the challenge of making a door for the “Beak-On” to help prevent these birds and squirrels from getting inside. The boys did a brilliant job. Using the willow was a tricky job as it would sometimes snap meaning that moulding the willow had to be done with care. These are some quotes for the students who were involved... “This workshop was an excellent experience for all of the students.” Lewis Gerrard 8By1

“I think it’s good to help the small garden birds eat especially at this time of year!” Joe Corr 8La1

“The work shop was good fun and interesting.” Kier WestersideDownes 8Ke2

“Fiddly but fun and challenging.” Finlay Wojtan 8La1 “The door has helped finalise the beak-on.” Alec Stokes 8La2

Spring Term 2012

Anti Bullying Week

During December, Students from Years 7-9 were asked to create a poster to inform people about Anti Bullying Week. Posters were judged by Miss Sykes in the Art department. Catriona Nibbs and Jess Dunning (both 7L2) were judged to have created the best poster and received a selection box as their prize!!!

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Design Technology News

Christleton Gets Competitive…

Congratulations to all of the students who recently competed in the National Future Chef Competition. Competition was fierce in the school heat. All students produced excellent dishes within the extremely tight time and budget constraints.

Connor Farrell in year 10 won the school heat with his ‘Moroccan Farrell’ a spicy chicken dish served with cous cous. Conner went on to compete in the regional final held at the prestigious Warrington Collegiate. He competed against 5 other students from schools within the North West. Unfortunately Connor was just beaten by Dominic Taylor-Wilkin from Kings Grove High School. The judge’s comments for both of Connor’s dishes were amazing. He was told that he had made ‘an award winning crumble’ and that his pork with colcannon could have easily won with a little refinement. Connor really enjoyed the event and intends to enter again next year.

Spring Term 2012

Recycling gets arty As part of Christleton High Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bid for the Eco School green flag award, students have been working with local artist Andy Longmuir. Andy came into school and ran a workshop with a number of students who learnt about what inspired him and then they designed the eco sculpture. Andy then made the sculpture out of recycled materials eg old bicycles. The eco

From this...

sculpture is going to take pride of place in the school vegetable garden.

Students, staff and members of Christleton gardening club have been working hard on the garden and have more plans for this year as well. The sculpture will be a reminder in the garden about waste minimisation and the value of recycling.

...to this

? 18

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine Vi Hart is an American Math-magician who has taken network diagrams to a whole new level – namely balloon maths. We used the ideas from her blog to change flat networks into 3D shapes, by using modelling balloons to create tetrahedrons. Find out more at: http://vihart.com/balloons/fractal/

Community Maths

Mystery Maths Meeting 2

In December, the Year 5/6 Mystery Maths Group travelled to Waverton Primary School to investigate Networks. We started by looking at network diagrams and whether or not you could visit every point and line on a network diagram. This developed into an investigation into Eulerian and non-Eulerian Networks, which is usually an A-Level topic. Find out more about them at http://nrich.maths.org/2414

What do you do with a room of small tetrahedrons? Make medium sized tetrahedrons. What do you do with medium sized tetrahedrons? Make a huge tetrahedron.

The shape is actually called a Sierpinski tetrahedron or pyramid. If you look closely it is a form of fractal. What’s better than one pyramid? Two of course!

We stacked the two pyramids to make a mathematical Christmas tree. The students then designed their own network diagrams to create decorations for the ‘tree’. Lots of fun was had by all and we left Waverton School with a temporary Maths Art exhibit for Christmas. Thank you to Waverton School for hosting the event and also to Mr Coaker for skilfully assisting. Ms K Pitchford AST Mathematics (Community Projects)

Hot off the pressâ&#x20AC;Ś Spring Term 2012

A selection of GCSE Textiles products completed this year

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

The Eco-box Competition The Eco Team have been up to lots of constructive activities this year, yet there is still much more in the pipeline. Our project at the moment is the Eco-box competition. This is a very creative project where forms have to decorate their own Eco box. The aim is to bring forms together and also make them aware of the importance of recycling. Hopefully the Eco- box will become a nice feature for each room. Moreover, this is an important way in which the students can help achieve the prestigious â&#x20AC;&#x153;Green Flagâ&#x20AC;? award.

The Eco Team have been going around forms to find out how they are coming along. The picture below shows one of our more impressive entries. The Eco Team would like to thank all the Year 7 students who have taken part in making this box. May there be many more Eco-projects in the future. By Lauren Sharples, Eco-rep, 8LA1

Spring Term 2012

Pathway to a

Coaching Career Year 11 Students who were ‘on the ball’ and interested in a career in Football Coaching / Sports Management had the opportunity to attend a presentation by a representative from David Campbell Soccer School earlier this term. Senior Coach Mark Garnett gave a summary of the National Qualification in Football Coaching, and outlined the opportunities for work placements and international travel available.

•

“The session was inspiring”; Cam Clark

•

“Very helpful”; Ed Behan

•

“I want to be the new special one” (?!!); Cam Noyes

The audience of Year 11 students was attentive and appreciative, and comments included: Further details are available on the website: www.davidcampbellsoccer.com

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Hello fellow Christleton people We are proud to announce the creation of the English Hot Scholars Team.

KELSEY WALTERS EMMA DUTHIE BECKY HERBERT KRISTIE HORROCKS ABIGAIL HUGHES NAOMI SIMM VICTORIA SWEENEY CHLOE VENABLES SOPHIE WARD

8L1 8BA1 8L2 8L1 8BA1 8L2 8L1 8L1 8L2

We are pleased to announce some exciting things happening over the next year. After two informative and interesting meetings with Miss Kippax and Mr Lofts we came up with some ideas of how we can raise the profile of English in the school and help to make it an even more successful department. We have already produced a questionnaire for English classes and teachers with the aim of finding out what students enjoy about English and what type of lessons they prefer. We have also been using our creative skills by working on displays in Mr Kane and Mrs Hughesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room. Future plans include having an input in department meetings, organising and ordering stock such as texts and helping with the balloon launch for Readathon. We are also excited about creating English displays for the year 8 celebration evening and training as librarians with Miss Barker. For more exciting developments, watch this space. The English Hot Scholars

Spring Term 2012

Pathway to College and Apprenticeships

Earlier this term, as part of National Apprenticeship Week, an excited group of Year 11 students together with Mr Francis, Mrs Charlton and Mrs Varley headed over to the brand new Ellesmere Port Campus of West Cheshire College for an Apprenticeship Showcase Event.

“We got to see all the different areas of the college, including Travel & Tourism, and Beauty Therapy. I hope to study Beauty Therapy at college, so this event was great for me.” Abby Munslow 11L2

During the visit the students were able to: •

•

Tour the huge circular spiral-shaped building and visit the different learning environments. Attend a presentation on the benefits of undertaking an Apprenticeship prrogramme and how to go about it.

Find out about current vacancies and talk to apprentices from the catering, hair dressing, and digital media departments.

Here is what some of our students thought of the event: -

“It was very informative and we got to see what a typical day was like at college. It was also a good chance to catch up with some former Christleton students and hear about their experiences.” Gemma Harper-Lea 11L2

Getting ready for take-off: Kaya Lopez, Gemma Harper-Lea, Abby Munslow and Abbie Friett prepare to fasten their seat-belts in the Travel & Tourism area. High up on the fourth floor balcony: can you spot some Christleton Year 11 students?!

Further details about apprenticeship opportunities are available on the website: www.apprenticeships.org.uk

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Shadow Puppets

On two Wednesday afternoons this month a shadow puppet extravagnza hit Christleton. Year 7 girls, with a little bit of help from some friends, gathered in the Art department to recreate and re-enact the classic book, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;WHERE THE WILD THINGS AREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The puppets were skilfully made out of card, bamboo sticks and tape. We will hopefully be putting on our show for other years during assemblies. Article by Lydia Tanner 9BA1

Year 7 Girls who took part Anna Thompson Ellie Kanwar Ellie Wilkins Emily-Rose Forden Emma Cresswell Emma Newnham Ffion Jones Holly Davies Isobel Griffin Morris Jasmine Prince Jenny Wilkinson Kate Duerden Kate Duerden Lucy Joyce Lucy Osborne Lydia McCabe Lydia Tanner Megan Gibbons Megan McGrath Sophie Runciman

Spring Term 2012

Sarah Williams On behalf of a parent of two children with Autism who attend Christleton High School, and in partnership with the school, we would like to form a parent support group for parents, grandparents, or carers of students with Special Educational Needs. This group will meet within the school and will be run by parents for parents, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

We would like this group to run a rolling programme of informative sessions with guest speakers who can offer guidance and advice on a more professional basis.

If you think this may be of benefit to you and you would consider attending the meetings, then please see below the options that may apply to you and your situation, so that we can identify the specific topics and areas of interest to focus on.

DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING • Autism/Asperger Syndrome • Dyslexia • Dyspraxia • Visual/Hearing difficulties • Behaviour issues • Physical difficulties • Learning difficulties • Any other specific need • ADHD/ADD

Support Groups IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING A SUPPORT GROUP OR FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT THE SUPPORT GROUPS AVAILABLE Please e-mail: Suzanne Wong Student Services Administrator wongs@christletonhigh.co.uk

Sarah Williams, SEN and Personalisation Co-ordinator

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine Upon arrival, we participated in a walking tour of old Krakow. We visited many interesting sites and the architecture really gave us an insight into the past of this historic city. We walked around the University quarter, the Cathedral district and the famous Wawel Castle.

History and Politics Trip to Krakow!

On the 10th February 2012 we went on a trip to Krakow in Poland as part of our History Course. The aim of this trip was to improve our knowledge and understanding about how the Nazi regime affected other countries. It was also a great opportunity for Government and Politics students to experience a visit to a relatively new member of the European Union. We learned a lot about their customs, economy and traditions during our four day visit.

On the second day we visited the infamous Auschwitz and Birkenau extermination camps. This was a particularly moving part of the trip for all. We were given a guided tour and were very interested to hear about the history of these camps. We also had the chance to learn new information and banish any pre-conceptions that we might have had prior to the visit.

The treat on the third day was a guided tour of the world renowned Wieliczka salt mines. They are the oldest operational salt mines in Europe and salt has been extracted for over 700 years. It is listed by UNESCO as one of the top twelve attractions in the world and they certainly lived up to and surpassed all expectation. The mines were stunning and it was incredible to believe that everything

Spring Term 2012 that we saw was made from salt, including the floors and the chandeliers. We saw excavations, massive chambers, three chapels with salt statues and several underground salt lakes. It was amazing that only three skilled artisans gave their lives to create such a magnificent structure. Later that day, we were also given the opportunity to do a walking tour of the Jewish district of Krakow, named Kazimierz after King Kazimir. This was very interesting as we were able to learn more about how the lives of Polish Jews changed due to the policies of leading Nazis such as Adolf Hitler. During this tour we also visited the factory of Oskar Schindler, the basis for the movie Schindler’s List by Stephen Spielberg. We all really enjoyed this trip and would thoroughly recommend a visit to Krakow, especially to those who are avid historians. It was a great opportunity to visit a country with such different customs and such an unforgettable history.

Alex Moore U66 and Miss Elisha (History and Politics Department)

Quotes: “The knowledge I learned will definitely help me in my exam on Germany at the end of the year.” Alex Moore U66 “Auschwitz was moving, the sense of sadness was almost overwhelming. It brought home the suffering experienced there.” Matthew Cooper L62 “I would like to express my thanks to all the students for representing themselves and our school so brilliantly. They were a pleasure to take and they dealt very well with the emotional visits to the camps.” Miss Elisha “It was interesting to experience such a different culture.” Niall Ward-O’Brien L68 “Poland was a wonderful experience. We feel like we have learned a lot about past and present cultures and visiting Auschwitz really magnified the scale of what happened.” Alex Cross L62 and Imogen Langmead L64.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

oon, s y r e V kindly , e z i r ti c p alian s t I a t s n ’ a af amie J y b i l l be w d e e t n a The lO ! don o r o a l p r o in Live ne Hot Sch enjoy a to o d le to e b d dian a r r a e a w b u a l g l er wi parent or rpool n n i w ive h1 L t i s ’ w r We l e ! v e i l g r O m ea mie f cha ie’s o e e at Ja nt fr ful to Jam a r u a dl y te n a e r res t i g r f y r ly are ve r this fami Hot fo n a i l r The a o t f I t r . suppo s Initiative ar Schol

The MFL Hot Scholars have discussed what we will do further on in the year. For example, we are hoping to organise and deliver a workshop for primary students in the summer term. Our next main project is making a puzzle page for The Swan. We all have to design a puzzle to do with any language to put in the magazine.

Tess Corr

Hot Scholars

The Business Hot Scholars are currently designing an activity for Y8 who are going into year 9. Our idea is called ‘Sock Monkey’ and the participants will create puppets and add them to animations with the help of the Media Hot Scholars.

Ellie Watkinson and Liv Wood

In Drama, we have decided to put on a show and we think we will perform it at our school and also to primary school students.

Eve Cornwell

Spring Term 2012

We are planning a trip for Year 7 students to go to SPACEPORT. We have made a quiz that we are going to give to a substantial amount of Year 7 so they can have a chance to go to on the trip. Nine Year 7 students will be going and Six Science Hot Scholars. We have been really excited about this trip and we hope we get a lot of people interested in space because of our output. Two of us have also already been to a Science Department meeting to learn how to use the new technology called dataloggers.

Will Menzies

In History we have given out 2 questionnaires about what kind of reward trips Year 7 & 8 would prefer and who they think should get to go on a reward trip. We have had a good response!! Due to that response we are going to plan a trip for students with the best effort. We are also currently deciding on whether to do The Victorians or The Titanic for a display in the new library.

Emma Roberts

We have many plans for the present and future for PE. The first thing we are doing is sending out a survey to different forms asking for their opinions on the current PE arrangement and any ideas they have for developing the department. We are going to be making an interactive display about the London 2012 Olympics and the history of the Olympic Games. We are looking to make a display about ourselves as Hot Scholars and a suggestion box for any people wanting to change anything in PE.

Daniel Walker

In Geography we are planning to have an eco-day with Year 5 children from surrounding primary schools. Within this a wildlife expert called David Cummings is coming in to have a talk with the children explaining the local impact litter has on our local species. The children will also take part in outside games including a litter sorting game involving orienteering. They will also learn about the habitats of the animals and the litter that might affect them. At the end of the day with help from us the children will construct a Litterbug out of litter; it should be a great day!

Dan Hamp

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

In DT we are organising a notice board along the DT corridor. We are also running a T-shirt design day after school on a Wednesday, either in March. We are asking for year 8 students who are interested in this to bring an old plain coloured top to make it more interesting!

Georgia Jones

In ICT we are currently planning to run a website of the week for the school bulletin and we are also in contact with the BBC as one of our member’s ideas was to try to go on Blue Peter.

Miles Chermside -Sergison

In DT we have had several meetings and are already planning some big activities. We have already started work on the DT Hot Scholar notice board and are planning to cover it with photos of people’s work. On Thursday we went to a department meeting where we gave feedback and made suggestions for the DT department. Check out our soon to-becompleted notice board (next to room 8) for more information.

Finlay Wojtan

In RE we have decided to do a cookery session making Challah Loaf with a Jewish chef. We have picked some star students from RE in year 7 who will come. We have already had a group meeting in which we talked about the letter to send to the parents as a permission slip. We also talked about the final decisions for the Challah loaf cooking session. As well, we are planning to help out with the RE department’s church visit trip later in the year. As Hot Scholars we are going to play a big part in the RE department in the future months.

Greg James

In Media Studies, we are working with the Business Hot Scholars and are going to film their Sock Monkey project.

Georgina Moutlon, Beth Cowell and Dannielle Coleclough

Spring Term 2012

In Music we are planning to do music workshops with Year 6 and Year 7 and we are also thinking about having a trip to Dee 106 Radio station. We are looking forward to the activities planned for the future.

Emma Ogunyemi

Because Health and Social Care is a new subject at Year 10 we are going to invite the Year 9 students who have opted for it for an introductory lesson from us. We are also planning to run some classes to show Year 9 how to look after the electronic babies.

In Art, we are finding creative ways of attracting the attention of some TV programmes who could come and advise us about making the Beak-On more effective. In visual ways, we are writing to Spring Watch, Blue Peter and Granada Reports as well as the RSPB. Some of us put up an Art exhibition for Year 10 Parents’ Evening and the rest of us are going to do the same for the Year 8 Parents’ Evening. Some of us also went to Waverton Primary School at the end of January to help with their Arts Festival. During the year we are going to do a big evaluation of Art lessons.

Laura Beattie, Emily Treloar and Hollie Lawson

Bella Hammond, Sophie Moorcroft and Kara Murray

In English we are planning to design and create a display in Mr. Gray’s classroom. This is very exciting as most of the school will see this display and it will be fun and creative to use our ideas to design a wonderful wall. We will also be running the Library on our own one lunchtime in the near future.

Naomi Simm, Becky Herbert and Kelsey Walters

In Maths we are going to do a project called ‘Christleton in Numbers’ which ties into the eco-school movement. This project will involve going around the school finding out lots of things about our school, like how much electricity the school uses per year and how much water we use. We will then take this information and present it how ever we like. Also in Maths, we will be getting involved in primary school visits to Christleton Primary School and we might be going to a Maths day at Waverton Primary to as helpers.

Tyler Jones

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

1. The learning methodology.

2. The view of children, parents and society towards education.

3. The use of technology and information technology within learning in the curriculum.

Lessons from China

When I was invited to attend a study visit to Hong Kong and Shenzhen Province in China to look at the education, schooling and research, it seemed a great opportunity. Hong Kong is third in the world in the PISA rankings which measure studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability in core subjects. Britain is currently 17th. In preparation, I wrote down a significant number of questions which would enable me to look at three important areas:

Although I had visited schools in Beijing some years ago, I had never been to Hong Kong, but my anticipation was that I would see a lot of very hardworking and obedient Chinese children learning, and that much of that learning would be led by the teacher and about absorbing facts and repeating tasks until perfection was achieved. Our delegation consisted of 21 adults, and it was organised and part-funded by the Independent Academies Association. Most of the delegates were Headteachers, although we also had a Bishop with us, along with several sponsors of chains of academy schools. We flew out on Friday 3rd February and returned during half term. Hong Kong was amazing. It felt safe, it was truly multi-cultural, and a very vibrant and interesting city.

Spring Term 2012 There is enormous pressure on land, hence all the skyscrapers, but behind them were steep wooded slopes giving the whole area a really unusual mix of skyscraper and green. After a day’s orientation we began our school visits on Monday and finished on Friday evening. These included 12 visits to schools in the system ranging from vast international private schools with lavish funding, to state comprehensives for 5000 students, taught in classes of 50. We were also fortunate to spend an afternoon with the Under-Secretary for Education, Kenneth Chen, and an evening at Hong Kong University looking at the evaluation of the impact of IT and computing on learning in the Hong Kong education system. Shock number one: wherever we went, the English system was held in high regard for its creativity and for the students it produced. English teachers were highly sought after because of the quality of the training and their commitment to the job. The Under-Secretary for Education, Kenneth Chen, described the journey they have been on and talked about a desire to create enquiry-led schools where students who have acquired the basics are then able to move on and become creative and self-sufficient individuals. This pattern was repeated in most of the schools we visited. Rote learning was a thing of the past (although often it seemed old habits die hard), so schools tried very hard to turn students into independent learners, replicating many of the techniques and changes we have seen in the English system over the last 10 years. Almost every classroom we saw had interactive whiteboards, but often these were being used as electronic chalkboards with the students remaining in rows and learning very passively. In the International schools there was a

move from GCSE’s, IGCSE’s and A Levels towards the International Baccalaureate which was seen as a much better qualification for students whose families are very mobile around the world, and students who are likely to become mobile themselves. Almost all of the students we spoke to in Hong Kong independent schools and international schools wanted to go to university in either the USA or the UK. Schools and children seemed to be struggling with some of the things that we do – what is the place of the iPad in high quality learning? Is it a student notebook? Is it a study aid to work at home? Or, is it a classroom tool to be managed by the teacher? What was impressive that we can learn from

The attitude of almost all the students matched that of our best students. Education was held in enormousl high regard, and parents and children took it very seriously.

Students were very serious about their learning, but still retained humour and fun. There was no sign in any school of the sort of resentful and spoilt behaviour that can sometimes be seen in British schools by students and families who do not value their learning. Some of the skills practices and learning gave children a fantastic baseline, and I think we need to re-visit some areas of the English curriculum, particularly learning the basics, and without apology introduce tasks and practices which improve the basic standard of some cornerstones of learning, such as handwriting and the learning of other languages.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine The compulsory core curriculum in both Hong Kong and mainland China consisted of Chinese, English and Maths only. Students willingly work long hours and possibly because of the very constrained space for living and recreation, many of them choose to stay in school as they do at Christleton, to involve themselves in extra-curricular activities or simply to work in the school.

I have shared slides, photos and film with students through Assembly, and taken their questions about the visit. One major area of interest for them was the padded punching room complete with dummy in one school, to enable students to reduce their stress. We have debated the ethics of this but with no firm conclusion. I think perhaps our students thought it simply looked fun! Conclusions

To be even more ambitious â&#x20AC;&#x201C; very good is not good enough.

Instruction and repetitive skills are fine, still have a place, and should not be apologised for. Practice does indeed make perfect with skills.

To appreciate what we have in terms on staff and resources. To acknowledge the excellence in the English education system.

To carefully question the value of ICT and use it in a discriminating way to improve learning.

These are just a few of the things gained from the trip I was so fortunate to be allowed to go on. I will take these and the many other development ideas we have at present forward to our Conference in April, when we meet with Governors, staff, students and leadership to plan the next 3 years of school direction, which we will share with you and seek your feedback and guidance. Tony Lamberton February 2012

Spring Term 2012

Hot Scholars

We went to Waverton Primary school on Monday 30th January during their multicultural week. We firstly assisted a Japanese lady called Yoshi who was teaching Year 3 and Year 6 to do origami. We found that Year 6 needed less help then the Year 3 and were able to work quicker with them. We learned and helped the students make paper swans, tulips, rabbits and cameras, it was challenging but very rewarding.

The Hot One Hundred Scholars is a group of students ranging from Year 8 to Year 10. All Hot Scholars belong to a subject and we are Art Hot Scholars. Participating in the hot scholars has given us a lot of opportunities to do things that we wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have done before, and we are now going to write about our experience at Waverton Primary school.

We both felt it was very different not being a student and having to help others while listening to Yoshi. It was hard for us to listen and help the children at the same time and we had to keep the balance right between the two. Some origami was very difficult and sometimes the class struggled with it and needed a lot of help, especially the Year 3 students.

We learned lots of origami techniques, how to help others and how to deal with children of different ages. We both enjoyed talking to the younger students to get to know them better. We left at lunch time and came back to Christleton after saying good bye to Waverton Primary School. By Emily Treloar and Laura Beattie 9K2, Art Hot Scholar

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

ECO Teams Year 8 Team

Year 12 Team

Spring Term 2012 Four students at Christleton High School have been successful in their university applications to Oxford: Joel Diggory will read English Language and Literature at St. John's, Amy Hughes will read Physics at University College, Jack Chapman will read Chemistry at Christ Church and Rory Evans will read Physics at New College.

Christleton's Oxbridge Applicants

We are very proud of all our Year 13 students, the majority of whom, dependent on examination results, will be heading off to University for new experiences and new lives. We wish them every success in their examinations and for the future. Kate Saxon Assistant Headteacher

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The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Display Day!

On the 8th of February 2012, Christleton High hosted an art extravaganza! Washing Line Wednesday and the year 12 art exhibition gave all Art students the opportunity to display a piece of their own work, for everyone to view.

In Washing Line Wednesday, all students and teachers who walked by were given an insight into the brilliant work produced by years 7-13. The Year 7 & 8 curators Vicky Tate, Ellie Roberts, Jola Mrozek, Daisy Roberts, Jade Wood, Ellie Allman, Harry Ford, Mark Goldthorpe, Joe Nesbitt, Emma Ahern, Anna Thompson, Briony Vickers, Emma Collins, Izzy Bowman, Charlotte Timms, Josie Proudlove, Becky Herbert, Naomi Simm, Emma Ogunyemi, did a fantastic job of putting up and looking after the display which changed the atmosphere of the art corridor into a stunning art gallery. Well done! At the same time, Y12 created another arty show in the exhibition hall, for their parents’ evening, to show off their A level work on the subject of ‘Shining Metal Forms’.

There were countless compliments from students, parents and teachers alike; ‘I liked it a lot, I was very proud to see all of our work all together on display.’ Naomi Price, Year12 ‘The display looked creative in the way it was presented.’ Stephanie Gardiner, Year 12

‘The display was a supremely successful showcase of the skill, creativity and teamwork in year 12.’ Mrs Pritchard, Head Art & Design

‘This school is extremely creative, I’ve never seen work at such a high level from 17 year olds!’ Melanie Efobi, Parent. These exhibitions were a triumphant success and prove that Christleton High School has imaginative talent.

Article by: Stefan Efobi 12L63 and Hannah Boggiano 12L61

Spring Term 2012

Historian of the Month Congratulations to the following who

have all been ‘Historian of the Month’

over the last term for their effort, enthusiasm, participation,

attendance and punctuality:

Year 7 Cameron Bradley, Robbi-Lea Creswell, Ffion Jones and Jamie Martin Year 8 Tom Percival, Patrick Bradley, Dominika Sadzcuk, Adam Stanworth and Emily Freeman

Year 9 Thomas Moore, Thomas Watkins, Danie Carr – Roberts and Simone Peneva Year 10 Olivia Walker, Eve Riley, Jack Riley and Olivia Walker Year 11 Ryan Hughes, Jed Birch and Phoebe Jones

Year 12 Hannah Rumney , Alex Cross, Josh Whibberley and Johnny Parry Year 13 Zoe Volkes and Emily Russel Year 12 Politics Amy Bradshaw

Year 13 Politics Juliana Hatwell

Classicist Emma Challoner

Special mention also goes to the following for producing exceptional work in their homework projects:

Thomas Moore Millie Goodwin Joe Wells Ellis Brackenbury Kate Gibbons Ffion Jones

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Green Computing -news from the network room Month

Pages Printed

Kg CO2 Saved

Total CO2 Saved

Toner Saving

Sept 2011

58647

7.9

10.6

19.80%

Oct 2011

48749

6.1

16.7

27.20%

Nov 2011

56729

7.1

23.8

25.60%

Dec 2011

31499

3.9

27.7

26.20%

Jan 2012

76736

11.1

38.8

26.70%

Aug 2011

2658

As we strive towards Gold Eco School Status our attention has turned to how the use of our computers and printers in school affect the environment. We have implemented waste paper recycling bins throughout school and sent our spent toners for recycling.

What nextâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Ś.well in August 2011 we tested some toner saving software because as we save toner we save CO2 and thus help the environment. The result looked positive, however, what followed in the coming months amazed us.

As we write this article the figures for February are even higher which is really

2.7

23.30%

positive. Over the coming months we have a number of other projects coming online to help reduce the impact of the use of computers on the environment including automated switching off of computers which are not in use, the introduction of low voltage computers, and the virtualization of our server room reducing the number of physical servers from 12 to 5.

The toner saving technology we have implemented in school is available free for use at home. Please visit www.preton.com for more information and do your bit for the environment. John Blundell, Network Manager

Spring Term 2012

Creativity in Geography

Year 7 Geography students proudly

present their land use models for

cities. All students are presently

completing a unit called My Changing Space, they have learnt about

their local area through a range of

geographical skills and are looking

forward to a piece of fieldwork in

Christleton village. Students have

been developing their own questions

to investigate changes in the village.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Dream Catcher Workshop Washing Line Wednesday, and as the students who came to the workshop were curators, we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put them on the workshop, so we painted the inside pattern for them with ink using the 3 colours; green, orange and purple. To prepare for the workshop on Thursday, we printed out some Halloween shapes i.e. cats, witchesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hats and pumpkins. When the students arrived at lunchtime, they used a transfer method to put the shapes on card which they cut out and painted.

For our Year 11 week of work experience we decided to join the Art department at Christleton High School and we were asked to run a work shop at lunchtime for Year 8 students. We needed to think of ideas and decided on Halloween dream catchers. On the Monday morning, we collected the materials and made the frames for the dream catchers and when the students arrived at lunchtime we dyed some calico strips in ether green, orange or purple. On Tuesday, we wrapped the calico around the frame and created the middle pattern out of string.

On the last day, Friday, we prepared for the workshop by painting some string black. This was to attach the shapes that we had previously cut and painted to the dream catchers. When the students arrived, they soon got to work attaching them to their dream catchers. After this, we dry brushed the frame to give it an old and antique look. When finished, the students were pleased to see their final product. Thank you to:

Dominika Sadczuk, Emma Collins,

Emma Duthie, Emma Ogunyemi,

Hannah White, Isobel Bowman,

Josie Proudlove, Kelsey Walters,

Madelaine Allman, Naomi Simm & Rebecca Herbert

Article by: Bethany Holland 11B1 Chloe Bradley 11L1

Spring Term 2012

Hot Scholars

In Design &Technology, we have had several meetings and are already planning some big activities. We have already started work on the DT Hot Scholar board and are planning to cover it with photos of our work. We have been to a department meeting where we gave feedback and made suggestions for the DT department.

We have already discussed some ideas for activities and these will take place from next term. Check our soon to be completed notice board (next to room 8) for more information. We are also planning a t-shirt printing afternoon in the next few months.

Knitting Club We have a very happy Knitting Club as you can see from this picture, taken at our Christmas Party.

Members are currently knitting lots of different colour squares towards making a beautiful blanket for charity.

You can join us on Tuesday lunchtimes in Room 15. Miss Beardsell and Mrs Edwards

By Finlay Wojtan & Matthew Goodwin, Year 8.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

STEM Club Day at Catholic High

On the 21st of February a selected group of year 9 students were given the privilege of going along to a STEM club day at Catholic High. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Sounds boring but STEM days are far from boring. We, together with students from Upton and Bishops went to Catholic High at the beginning of the school day. We were introduced to our STEM club day leader called Becky, she was a young engineer. Becky explained to us that our task was to design and build a powered glider. We would have to cost it, construct it, plan a draft and even advertise and market it. But we had no tools, just basic things like super glue and scissors and balsa wood, tissue paper, a propeller and pin and paperclips. It was surprisingly hard to build and it took us all day.

There were some really creative gliders in the room. They had all been carefully designed and eventually they were complete. Some flew a long way and others were very unique! To round the great day off, we raced the gliders to see which ones flew the furthest, then the highest and then for fun at the end. Christleton team 3 got 3rd place, then a Bishops team came 2nd, of course another Christleton team came 1st .

Spring Term 2012

My group however, produced the most professional looking glider! Even though it was difficult to design and construct it was really interesting day. STEM club days, run by Smallpeice trust (it is spelt like that by the way), have a purpose. That purpose is to inform teenagers and children about engineering because to be engineer isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always fixing cars, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surgery, aerospace technogly and much more. One thing I remember from this day is that engineering is the appliance of science to the good of humanity.

All in all it was a good laugh, it was really fun and a good way to spend a school day!

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Shrove Tuesday – Pancake Making

On Tuesday 21st February two students from most of the forms went to the cooking department after school for a reward event! They were invited to go because they had managed to get the most “1s” in their form. The children who were invited were Oliver Brunskill, Christopher Mageean, Mark Goldthorpe, Danny McNally, Aylin Bayraktor, Jade Wood, Ellie Kanwar and Sophie Ruinciman. The organiser was Miss Loxam! Miss Edwards & Miss Fletchman came along to help. Written by Oliver Brunskill, Christopher Mageean

Spring Term 2012

Card Creation &

Sale

This year, some top Year 9 girl artists were invited by the Art Department to create a range of cards, which would later be sold. In January, we made over ÂŁ40 from our card sales which we used to cover our costs, make a donation to our schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very own Hannah Banana and then... the artists were paid with the remaining money!!! We learned that we can combine earning with learning! Thanks to everyone who helped out! Article by Ellie Gill 9BA2

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Eco Guy Antics

Spring Term 2012

Year 10 Exhibition!

Our idea started off when we all had our meeting, we agreed that we were going to set up a big display for the year 10 parents evening, full of year 10 students work.

Myself, Bethany Mollart-Evans, Heather Tonks and Bethan Hosker decided to put up a display full of year 10 work, to show our improvements since year 9.

We collected all the year 10 art work and sorted it out into piles. Once we did so, we brought the display boards out, and began to display the work on the boards. This took near enough 2 hours, but the result afterwards made it worth while! I can say that myself, Bethany, Heather and Bethan are all pleased with our decision to do this display and would all love to do it again. Hollie Lawson 10B3

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Gifted and Talented Students Really Shine…

Our more able students have really been busy during the last term. We have provided many opportunities for them to really show off their excellent skills and to develop some creative thinking in school. Some of the things which have been happening are:

Creative Thinkers’ Group

A group of 40 students teamed up for the first creative thinking session and stretched their minds using a wide variety of stimuli. They also exercised their debating skills in explaining their ideas to the other team members. The second session takes place in a few weeks.

Success!

On 11th January, three teams (two Year 9 teams and one Sixth Form) went to compete in the Rotary Club public speaking competition.

The competition was held at the Grange Hotel, on the Wirral. The competition, named ‘Youth Speaks’ is designed to enable students to gain experience in public speaking and we were selected by our English teachers and classes.

All of the teams spoke very well and the BaBy team from Year 9 were good enough to get through to the regional round of the competition, which will be in Theatr Clwyd. Ben Walsh from the Sixth Form team was awarded the accolade of best proposer of thanks.

The first Year 9 team debated whether capital punishment should be re-established in England. Megan B was the chairperson and introduced the proceedings. Harry Hatwell then took six minutes performing the main body of the debate, and Jemima Gosmore then closed the speech. Their questioner then interrogated Harry on his opinions, which he replied to with ease and confidence. Next, our second Year 9 team, Kelly Stevens (chairperson), Georgina Taylor (speaker) and Catherine (Proposer of thanks), discussed whether “some prisons provide better living conditions than some care homes”. Georgina also answered her question with buoyancy and was later recognised as the best speaker of the evening.

The Sixth Form team had prepared an extremely informative and interesting debate; Polly Mackarel was the speaker and used her history knowledge to put forward an intriguing speech about the right to protest. Huw Barrett excelled as the chairperson.

Spring Term 2012

Geography Worldwise Quiz â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Chester University

Once again Christleton Geography Department entered two teams into the Annual Worldwise Quiz held at Chester University on 7th December 2011. It was an interesting and enjoyable evening for all. Both teams did extremely well coming 5th and 7th overall out of a total 14 teams from around the county. Well done to (L-R) Dan Hamp, Meredydd Jones, Matthew Goodwin, Adam Stanworth, Blythe Walker and Chloe Jones. Superstars!

P4C with Miss Edwards

P4C engages children in developing their own questions in response to a given stimulus. They then enquire thoughtfully, and collaboratively, into their choice of question, guided by the teacher. Finally they reflect on their thoughts and participation, and suggest how they could improve on their learning (skills and content) next time. Consequently, both the process and the content of learning are

simultaneously developed. It is a recognised strategy for developing Gifted and Talented students.

Did you enjoy todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s P4C lesson? Yes because I was able to express my opinions to the class and it was really interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the lesson as I was able to debate and discuss interesting topics.

Do you think P4C helped you to develop your thinking skills? Yes because other members of the class raised questions that I was able to expand and develop. Yes because I had to look deeper into the topic weighing up strengths and weaknesses and evaluation the conclusions. It has helped me for the next time we do a debate.

Would you like to do P4C again?

Yes because it helped me to question and build upon other people opinions. I liked my views being challenged.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Media Trip to London December 2011

A group of 30 Year 11/ 12 and 13 Media studies students travelled to London to visit the BBC studios tour and the British Board of Film classification seminar in order to further develop their understanding of the media industry in Britain.

We stayed at a Hotel in the centre of London and took in the sights and sounds of the capital during the Christmas period.

At the BBC we were lucky enough to meet some stars such as Ed Sheeran and Example as well as watching them make the Christmas edition of Top of the Pops.

At the BBFC we found out about how they decide on the certification of films and what criteria a film has to meet in order to be give a 15 or a 12a. We also went to see Puss in Boots in 3D at the IMAX cinema. It was a fascinating trip and a great experience for the students and the staff.

Calling all Year 10 Students...

Work Experience week is just six months away! Work Experience: Monday 15th to Friday 19th October 2012 The week before October half term is Work Experience week; this means that Year 11 students will be offtimetable for the week and be able to get valuable experience of the world of work and a possible future career. Recent research has shown that in a highly competitive jobs market relevant work experience can make a big difference to studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; employability. Work Experience also helps with future decision making about careers; students can understand work likes and dislikes better, learn about an occupation and decide whether it is for them.

Local Employers: Can You Help?

If you are able to offer the chance for a fifteen / sixteen-year old to have a weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work experience with you, please let us know. Contact Karen Varley varleyk@christletonhigh.co.uk Thank You!

Spring Term 2012

Did you have a

Merry “CRIB”mas??

Year 10 and 11 GCSE students make a crib from willow for Chester Cathedral’s nativity.

A small group of talented GCSE Art students spent 2 enrichment sessions developing their 3D skills and producing the crib used in Chester Cathedral’s nativity scene. This was a fantastic opportunity for all of the students’ involved It was a good experience to be able to use a very different material to work with. Chloe Chapman 11L3 This was a challenge! Luke Chidlow 10B3 It was fun trying out something different and a privilege to be invited. Matthew Hamilton Gearing 10B5 Improvisation was key in this workshop. Jack Riley 10B5 This was a good opportunity to add new skills to my portfolio. Olwen Marshall 11B1

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

2012 London Marathon

On 22 April Miss Dentith and Mrs Mothersdale will be fulfilling an ambition to run the London Marathon. Both of us have entered the ballot for 3 or 4 years and were lucky enough to be selected for the 2012 marathon from the 125,000 online entries made in just hours after the ballot opened last April. We found out we had places at the end of September 2011. Neither of us are really runners and this is the first time either of us has run more than about 5k. The event is a real challenge both physically and mentally. The training is a long gradual process and like any

goal needs effort, determination and commitment if we are to get to the finish line – half the battle is actually believing you can make it. Even though our training plans and timescales have been very different we have both had times when it’s been hard to get motivated to go out and run for 2 or 3 hours non stop: This might be because it’s minus 7°C outside, raining and dark; or the thought of the physical pain of blisters, black toenails and aching knees! There have been some real highs though – actually being able to run for hours and not be out of breath; the phenomenal weight loss; getting to the half marathon stage; and actually believing you CAN do it when you’ve just completed 19 miles on a Saturday morning for the first time ever! We have both decided to use the opportunity to raise money for charities that mean something to us personally and those around us. Miss Dentith is running for The Samaritans in memory of a friend. Mrs Mothersdale is running for the Epilepsy Society and Cancer Research UK in memory of her Gran. There is more information about our charities and fundraising on our websites: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com /LucyDentith and http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com /SamMothersdale

The staff and both current and former Christleton students have been fantastic in their support and encouragement so far. “The training” is a frequent topic of conversation each week and really does help us to keep going - this is one feature that makes Christleton High such a good place to work. We are really excited to be running in the London Marathon in Olympic year - the atmosphere is going to be amazing!

Spring Term 2012

Polish Word Search P

A F

(Saturday)

SOBOTA PIATEK

(Thursday)

JESIEN

CZWARTEK WTOREK

NIEDZIELA

K K

L I

A T

N A

SRODA

H R

(Wednesday)

(Sunday)

ZIMA

(Winter)

(Tuesday)

PONIEDZIALEK

(Monday)

(Autumn) (Friday)

LATO

WIOSNA

(Summer) (Spring)

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

French Crossword 1

2 3

5 6 7

10 11

Across 3. Used to cut paper and peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; heads 5. Apple in French 7. You say this when you see someone you know in France 8. Red in French 11. Milk in French 12. Capital city of France 13. Family in French 14. The middle colour of the French flag in French

Down 1. Green in French 2. Bye in French 4. School in French 6. Famous painting displayed in a museum in France 9. French word for Mrs. 10. Famous tower in France

Spring Term 2012

French Word Search C

Q D

G S

E T

Y Z

CEPENDANT DENTS LIVER NEZ POMME SOEUR VERT

CHEIN FRERE MADAME OISEAU POULET TETE YEUX

V P

X F

A S

CHEVAL LIT MONSIEUR PERE ROUGE TROIS

Thanks to Maddy Allman, Katie Barker, Grace Broughton, Megan Russon and Dominika Sadczuk for providing these fun puzzles.

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine Prior to this event, all four girls worked tirelessly to perfect their paired sequences during Monday and Friday lunch practices. Emma Newham and Cassie Wild worked together and performed their routine on the day while Madeline Thompson and Evie Challoner made up the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2nd pair.

Chester and District Gymnastics Competition 2011

The Christleton High Year 7 girls took part in the annual year 8 Chester and District Gymnastics Competition on Wednesday 7th December 2011 at Chester Catholic High School. Madeline Thompson, Emma Newham, Cassie Wild and Evie Challoner made up the Christleton team who were competing against other schools in and around the Chester City area.

All four girls gave their all and performed extremely well, they were composed in their floor routines and executed the vault to a very good standard. By the end of the competition, the results were pleasing to see, with all four girls performing exceptionally well, it was inevitable that one of them would pick up a medal somewhere in the competition. It was Emma Newham who collected the bronze medal in the year 8 vault and over all, the girls came 4th and just missed out on the bronze medal which was out of 9 schools. Well done to all and the girls are already working on their routine for next years competition. Mr. G Barton

Spring Term 2012

Year 7 Boys Chester Indoor Athletics Championships On Wednesday 1st December 2011 the school Year 7 Athletics team attended an indoor championship at Christleton High School. The School team consisted of Cameron Bradley, Christy Mageean, George Campbell, Tom Townsend, Jamie Martin, Ben Grace, Brandan Dickinson and Rory Harper. All the boys performed exceptionally well, especially as some were last minute replacements for injured performers. To end the event, there was a presentation which had the School team in total euphoria. Not understanding quite how well they performed, the Christleton team ended the night as Chester Champions, beating 9 other schools, and have progressed to the Cheshire and Warrington finals in March 2012, which will be held at Northgate Arena. A report in next termâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Swan will be written to inform you of how they get on.

Well done to all involved. Mr G Barton

The Swan - The Christleton High School Magazine

Do YOU need help in deciding YOUR future PATHWAY is the name for everything we offer at Christleton to prepare students for their future world of work.

PATHWAY activities include mock interviews, work experience placements, careers advice sessions, work-related learning, progression to employment events and higher education / university conventions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our aim is to ensure that all students are given the best start for a

rewarding future career during their time at Christleton so they can

move on to a secure working future, whether it be at age 16, 18, 21

and beyond.â&#x20AC;?

What to know more?

Look out for the PATHWAY articles in this edition of the Swan and visit our PATHWAY section of the school website www.christletonhigh.co.uk/school_information/pathway_introduction.php