Tel: 01744 678 030 cowleyinternationalcollege.com
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COWLEIAN TIMES
FEBRUARY 2016
NOTICES FOR PARENTS
Lost property: Please encourage your daughter/son to check for any items they may have lost or misplaced around the College. We have lots of branded coats in our lost property which we are hoping to reunite with their owners.
Contact details: Please ensure you inform the College of any address, mobile number or email address changes to enable us to communicate with you efficiently.
MARTIN MURRAY PROVES TO BE A KNOCK OUT GUEST Former Cowley student and boxing star, Martin Murray, visited Cowley on Thursday, 21st January. The Commonwealth and WBA interim middleweight boxing champion visited Cowley to put Year 12 BTEC Sport students through their paces in an energetic boxing spar workout and to talk about his career to date. It wasn’t only Year 12 students who got to meet Martin, a number of Year 9 and Year 11 students were given the chance to train with Martin as part of a reward scheme for good behaviour and college achievements. Martin, 33, is not only an inspirational sporting figure to students, but an entrepreneurial one too, as the local sports star is looking to open a gym in the near future. PE teacher, Mrs Finnigan, who along with Mr Llewellyn organised the visit, said: “The students really enjoyed the hands-on training session with Martin. Meeting Martin has shown our students first hand that dedication and commitment to a sporting discipline can lead to so much, from winning coveted belts and trophies to running your own business.”
COWLEY SUPPORTS NEWLY LAUNCHED ANTI-BULLYING MOBILE APP An innovative scheme which allows children to report bullying on their mobile phones is being rolled out across St Helens and Cowley has played a part in helping to launch the app through publicity across the town. The national initiative, supported by Casualty actor Will Mellor, and adopted by both primary and secondary schools across the borough, gives young people an online platform to securely and anonymously report any incidents direct to their place of learning. The tootoot app is available 24/7, 365 days a year and is part of a suite of resources which schools can use to ensure that pupils make some noise about bullying issues. Find out more about the app by visiting: https://tootoot.co.uk/
REWARD BREAKFAST GOES DOWN A TREAT
As part a reward programme, a Form in each Year group was treated to a breakfast and drink of their choice. Cowley uses a points system to reward students for good behaviour and achievements. The Form with the most points from each year group was the form to win ‘Breakfast on Us’. This reward treat has proved popular and will be repeated in the future. Winning forms: 7W, 8I, 9P, 10B and 11O
NOTICES FOR PARENTS Speed alert We kindly ask for visitors to Cowley to adhere to the 5 miles per hour speed limit on the car park and exercise caution when exiting the 11-16 site as there is poor visibility to the right hand side. Prepared to learn Increasingly we are seeing more and more parents dropping items off for students during the College day and this causes disruption to learning. We kindly ask parents to ensure their daughter or son has everything they require before they come to College. Contact details - are yours up-to-date? If you have moved house, changed mobile number or if any of your personal details have changed, please update the office with changes. Communication with students Please ensure your daughter or son knows the arrangements for getting home especially now the dark nights are here. Parents often ring to pass messages onto their child and we cannot interrupt lessons unless it is for emergency reasons. GCSE resources To help make information accessible for Year 11 students who are sitting their exams this year, a GCSE link will be added to the main menu on our website that offers subject specific resource information, including past papers and revision advice and tips.
SELFIECOP Many young people will have received a new smartphone at Christmas and parents may be concerned about how the phone may be used and what they can do to monitor pictures/videos taken. We have been made aware of a new app named “SelfieCop” that is the first parental-control to focus exclusively on deterring Sexting by tracking camera activity. How the app works: 1. Every time the camera is activated, a message appears to remind the user that any photos they take may ultimately be seen by anyone. 2. SelfieCop sends parents a copy of the photos & videos that are taken by the camera, so they can review them for safety (until the mobile phone user is older). Together these two features encourage the user to STOP & THINK before they take a photo or video.
CHILD INTERNET SAFETY ADVICE AND HELP
There is a newly updated website for parents and carers to visit that offers a suite of articles and guidance on all aspects of child internet safety: www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents. The website offers advice and support on how to keep children safe from sexual abuse, both online and off. Articles provide guidance on topics as diverse as: challenging harmful sexual attitudes and promoting positive behaviours; helping a child with autism negotiate life online; supporting a child who has been sexually abused; and dealing with a range of online issues such as sending nude selfies and viewing pornography. Users will find films, downloadable guides and useful links to support organisations. Families can also use the website to access the CEOP Safety Centre where they can report abuse and exploitation directly to CEOP.
SelfieCop has been described by ISPCC Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator (Andrew Jackson) as “a useful tool to help prevent cyberbullying & safeguard children”. SelfieCop takes just 3 minutes to set-up: 1. Download & install the SelfieCop Parent-App onto the parent’s smartphone. 2. Download & install the SelfieCop Child-App onto the mobile user’s smartphone. 3. Link the apps via SMS & share the encryption code. An extra service can also be added to help prevent the mobile phone user from uninstalling SelfieCop. SelfieCop is available for all Android phones. An iPhone version is due in 2016. SelfieCop takes kids’ privacy very seriously - it is NOT SpyWare. As with any recommendation of product, we would advise parents and carers to read more about this service and any associated costs to run. Please note that Cowley is not affiliated with this product.
ALDER HEY THANK COWLEY FOR FESTIVE TOY DONATION
Big hearted Cowley Sixth Form students helped to bring smiles to the faces of children at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital during the Christmas period. Vocational Studies Teacher, Miss Bradbury, organised a toy appeal that saw Sixth Form students donate suitable toys and games during November and early December. The appeal saw five sacks full of gifts donated to children at the hospital. We have since been sent a lovely letter thanking all those who kindly donated. Here are is just one line from the letter that says in a few words how meaningful the donation was:
You’ve done something remarkable. Thank you.
SKI TRIP - EASTER 2017 There is a ski trip to Passo Tonale, Italy planned for Easter 2017 and is estimated to cost £690. This price includes: travel, accommodation, 5 nights full board, lift pass, ski lessons, equipment hire and insurance. The trip is open to current Years 7 to 11, but students who are interested must be attending Cowley (including Sixth Form) at Easter 2017. Please note that payment can be made in set instalments. Please contact Mr Healey for more information.
COWLEY INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE PRESENT Music by ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER Based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T. S. ELIOT
25TH - 27TH FEBRUARY All seats £6:50
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Thursday 25th & Friday 26th February 7:30 pm Saturday 27th February 2:30 pm Emerald theatre (formerly Cowley International Hall) Cowley International College, Hard Lane, St Helens
Tickets 07916014662 Emily.Hughes@sthelens.org.uk
LET THE MEMORY LIVE AGAIN