Tel: 01744 678 030 cowleyinternationalcollege.com
COWLEIAN TIMES
#4
MARCH 2016
YOUNG CARERS
As many as 1 in 12 students look after someone at home who is ill, disabled or has a mental health condition or addiction problem. ADVICE AND SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE FOR YOUNG CARERS. SEE PAGES 4 & 5 FOR DETAILS
JELLICLE CATS WOW AT COWLEY At the end of February, students from across all year groups took part in the college’s annual theatre production. Three performances of CATS, two evening and a matinee in Cowley’s Emerald Theatre with tickets sold out within days, confirming speculation that this could be Cowley’s biggest and most popular production in recent years. CATS is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, that tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles. Cowley’s Principal, Mr Sheeran said: “We always receive great feedback from shows, but the amount of wonderful comments passed to me from parents and members of the local community within the last few days has been truly epic. “Cowley’s production of CATS promised to be magnificent and did not disappoint.”
SARAH COWLEY THANKSGIVING SERVICE Saturday, 5th March saw over 160 past and present students, staff and special guests gather to celebrate the life of Sarah Cowley, whose benefaction made in 1714 forms the endowment of Cowley. The event, organised by former Cowley teacher, Mrs Allcock, included historical items of interest for guests to view as well as a speech from a current Cowley trustee Councillor Bowden and an engaging insight into Cowley’s past from Mrs Wilde. The event saw guests entertained by the Cowley Veterans’ band (featuring Mr Dobbs, former Head of Music, on piano) and singing from the choir at Parish C of E Primary School. The event ended with dramatic acting and singing from Cowley Institute of Performing Arts (CIPA) students who performed excerpts from their recent production of CATS.
Cowley students, led by Miss Quarry, joined thousands of other children across the UK in taking part in the RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch from 4th January to 12 February. The RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch, now in its 15th year, helps to track numbers of birds in school grounds, giving conservationists an insight into species doing well or struggling and providing students with a great learning experience. The survey encourages students of all ages and their teachers, to discover which birds they share their grounds with and learn about their behaviour. James Harding-Morris, RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch co-ordinator, said: “Research has shown that children are increasingly disconnected from nature, which is linked to poorer physical and mental health, so this event is a great way to get young people excited about the world around them.“
EQUALITY FEBRUARY Students from all year groups responded to Mrs Reed’s call to form a working party to raise awareness of issues surrounding Equality in the world and in Cowley, particularly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights. After much planning and excitement, the following activities took place during Equality February: Mr Livesey delivered an assembly (written by Mrs Edwards) to all year groups with the motto ‘Love has no labels’ that including the following YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnDgZuGIhHs. Mrs Edwards also produced a fabulous PSHE lesson on LGBT rights across the world which was taught to all pupils. Mrs Reed led the working party who suggested selling
Eagle eyed Cowley students spent their Science lessons bird watching and the results of the findings are: Species of Bird Black-headed gull Blackbird Blue tit Magpie Carrion crow Robin House sparrow Coal tit Goldfinch Greenfinch Song thrush Chaffinch Long tailed tit Wood pigeon Great tit Kestrel Starling
Total 59 26 25 25 24 16 8 5 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1
rainbow ties, wristbands and badges to raise money for an LGBT/Equality charity and to make a statement that we support their rights. The group planned a marketing campaign and also helped to raise awareness of LGBT and equality by composing labels for the Prayer/Wish Tree and plaiting rainbow coloured tinsel from wool to decorate it. In total, over 300 items were sold during break, form time and lunch raising £88 that will be split between two charities, Amnesty International and LGBT Support. As well as selling goods, the group organised a coffee morning and invited any student who felt affected by equality issues and those who simply wanted to support the initiative to attend. The response was fantastic and as a result, a support group has been formed that meet after school once a week. Mrs Reed and her team would like to thank all students and staff who supported Equality February.
COWLEY STUDENTS TO TAKE PART IN PRESTIGIOUS MATHS COMPETITION
SILVER D OF E EXPEDITION
4 maths whizzes from Year 8 and Year 9 will attend the UKMT Maths Team challenge at St. Edward’s College, Liverpool on Wednesday, 16 March: Y8 Tyler Duberry Joseph Gilford
Y9 Ryan Smith Matthew Griffiths
This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to take part in, to experience the joys of a full day of competitive maths, to meet other talented mathematicians from our local area and to inspire them to take maths further. The competition involves four rounds: 1. Group Round Teams work to solve ten questions of varying type and difficulty in the time allowed. Each team must decide their own strategy: whether to work in pairs, individually or as a team.
A reminder that the Silver Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition takes place on Friday, 11th to Sunday, 13th March.
2.Crossnumber Similar to a crossword but with numerical answers. Teams work in pairs; one pair has the across clues and the other pair has the down clues.
Students who are taking part need to be at the college for 8am on the Friday ready to walk, and will return about 5pm on Sunday.
3.Shuttle Teams compete against the clock to correctly answer a series of four questions. Each team is divided into Pair A and Pair B. This round involves lots of movement with lots of lively activity and excitement.
Please ensure that the full expedition fees of £90 have been paid before the expedition.
We will present the results of the maths challenge in our next newsletter.
TRIP OF A LIFETIME: OUR ADVENTURES IN NEW YORK Cowley ‘did’ New York again over the half term break. Sixteen lucky young people spent 5 days/3 nights in the Big Apple. Staff and students visited the Empire State Building at night and looked down on the Manhattan lights; they braved the ‘stormy sea’ to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; they reflected at the 9/11 Memorial and visited the very thought provoking Museum.
Would you like your daughter / son to be a part of a trip to New York in February 2018? We are trying to keep the costs the same as this time, at a reasonable £1250. We appreciate that this is a lot of money but we do have an interest free payment plan to help spread the cost to around £50 per month after the initial deposit.
A visit to the Natural History Museum where ‘Night at the Museum’ was filmed almost entirely on location was followed by the magical experience of ice skating in Central Park. There was no danger of the ice melting, it was a chilly -25 degrees!
There are no hidden extras and no requirement for huge amounts of spending money, virtually everything is paid for.
Possibly, the highlight of the trip was the breakfast (according to Mr Livesey) although the cohort agree that the real highlight was the visit to watch the Broadway Show, The School of Rock.
If you are interested in learning more then please contact Mr Livesey via email cowley@sthelens.org.uk or by telephone 01744 678030.
It is possibly a once in a lifetime experience that will provide memories for the rest of their lives.
Dear Parent/Carer, Identifying and supporting young carers at Cowley International College At Cowley we are aware that some of our pupils are young carers. A young carer is someone under 18 who is caring unpaid for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. They often take on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. Research suggests there are at least 700,000 young carers in the UK but many do not realise they are a young carer. We know that young carers may need a little extra support to enjoy and do well at school. At Cowley we are committed to ensuring that all pupils who are young carers are identified, and supported effectively. As Cowley’s Young Carers’ Lead, I have responsibility for ensuring all young carers are able to enjoy school and make good progress. If you think your child might be a young carer, or could be affected by any of the issues we’ve highlighted, please let me know by filling in the form that will be sent home in the next few weeks, or if you do not feel comfortable doing this, or have any further questions, please contact me on 01744 678 030 or email: Andrew.Fairhurst@sthelens.org.uk. Any information that is given to us will be treated sensitively and no information will be shared without your knowledge. The school receives extra funding for each child/young person eligible for free schools meals, which can be put towards extra support and provision for young carers. It is therefore important that children are registered for free school meals, even if they do not want, or need the school meal.
Yours sincerely Mr Fairhurst Access and Inclusion Manager