5 minute read
Ghyll Head Kath Fry Challenge 2022
Blood Brothers – Theatre Review
So, did y’hear the story of the Johnstone twins? As like each other as two new pins…....
In February, thirty of our year 9 were lucky enough to attend a performance of Blood Brothers at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. They all had a great time and a member of the public commented on how impeccably behaved our students were. Blood Brothers was originally a school play created by Liverpool playwright Willy Russell but its popularity led to it being transformed into a musical dramedy that has charmed audiences across the globe and picked up several prestigious awards.
Our Lady’s students study Blood Brothers as part of their KS3 English curriculum. It tells the story of twins Mickey and Edward who are separated at birth and though their paths cross again they ultimately die on the same day. Themes of nature versus nurture, superstition and fate as well as a commentary on social class and growing up are woven throughout the story.
We asked the student to be theatre critics for the night…....
The Blood Brothers performance was fantastic. We were really impressed by the action and especially the songs. It was such a wonderful experience to sit in an actual theatre to see the play we had studied in person. Truly a masterpiece. – Aaron Isaacs Amazing! I loved every single minute of it, from the music to the incredible tension throughout the play. If I could, I would definitely watch again! Extremely entertaining! – Connie Kelly.
Bon Appetit!
Year 8 students have enjoyed trying typical Spanish food in lessons this half term! They have been learning about Spanish food, such as Spanish omelette, chorizo and olives and couldn’t wait to try it for themselves!
Year 9 have recently enjoyed watching a French play, performed by actors from the Onatti Theatre Company. Our students enjoyed a performance of ‘Mon Père Ne Me Comprend Pas’. They enjoyed the play very much, listening to the French language, and understanding lots of words and phrases from French lessons.
Van Gogh Comes to Life!
Mrs O’Shea led a group of 40 year 7 students on a trip to The Lowry gallery complex at Media City in Salford. They went to attend the acclaimed Van Gogh Alive exhibition which is an immersive, multi sensory experience that celebrates the work of Dutch impressionist Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh famously was not appreciated during his lifetime but posthumously became one of the most recognised and celebrated artists in the world.
Mrs O’Shea and the students were really impressed by the experience, which they overwhelmingly described as ‘amazing’. Participants are invited to sit and watch as the exhibition is brought to them through images and music which makes it an experience like no other and a wonderful way to fully immerse yourself in the sublime talent of Van Gogh. Following on from the Alive experience the class studied the work of Van Gogh in their art lessons and worked on a project that involved them recreating his unique impressionist style of painting and distinctive brush strokes.
Sports News
It’s been another successful sporting term at Our Lady’s!
The year 8 girls basketball team played in their first ever game and wow, they were amazing! The girls beat Co-Op Academy 50-0! Their second game was against Co-Op North and they were triumphant again, winning 26-0! A huge well done and let’s hope the winning streak continues for this team! The year 10 basketball team were so excited to finally play again as they haven’t played a game since they were all in year 8 due to Covid! They had a great match against Co-Op North, winning 10-6.
Our year 7 girls football team had their first ever match in February. The girls played really well. Unfortunately they were beaten by William Hulme 8-0, but they never let their heads go down and tried until the final whistle showing true Our Lady’s spirit! The year 8/9 girls football team had a massive victory in the Manchester Cup against William Hulme beating the team 16-0! The girls did us proud and will now face Wright Robinson in the quarter finals. Good luck! Boys football has had some intense encounters recently with our year 8 team losing 7-6 in extra time in the semi-final of the Catholic Cup and our year 11 team losing 4-3 with the last kick of the ball in the same competition. Our year 7 and 10 teams are still flying the flag though in the Catholic Cup with the 7s having their quarter final clash versus St James in March and our year 10s winning their semi-final 8-3 to progress to the final. At the indoor athletics championships our year 7 team came 3rd in the Manchester Championships and 2nd in the County Championships with gold medals from Desmond Lawal and Miracle Ujahchuku in the 60 metres, Fahuz Amusat in the 200 metres, and Israel Somorin in the high jump.
The year 8/9 Manchester and County Indoor Athletics Championships at Sportcity took place in December and we thank God that they did as our boys’ team produced some excellent performances to win both competitions. The year 8 and 9 indoor athletics teams were crowned County Champions! An unbelievable achievement with all the athletes finishing in the top three! On a career note we have a number of year 11 boys who have been ‘signed up’ by professional football clubs and it is great to see some of these boys getting the opportunity to fulfil their potential and perhaps realise their childhood dreams. These are Troy Malunda who has been signed by Wigan Athletic and Hermann Daha by Fleetwood Town. We also have five boys who were accepted on a college football academy programme and they are: Drew Redford, Miguel Gikundiro, Sam Adeoye, Sam Megos and Faniel Hagos. Good luck boys!
