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Summer Winter 2023 2021

Our Lady’s R.C. High School Magazine IN THIS ISSUE:

Christmas Edition

Results Day Success Black History Month Duke of Edinburgh

Plus much more!

Our Lady’s R.C. High School Alworth Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester M9 0RP T: 0161 507 9640 E: admin@olsc.manchester.sch.uk

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Dear parents, carers and friends,

Contents

Once again, I am delighted to introduce our latest version of the Vision magazine, which contains some of the activities, opportunities and achievements that our students have been involved with this term.

Headteacher’s Welcome

Editor’s Welcome

Black History Month

Year 7 Adventures

4&5

Results Day

6&7

Our Lady’s in Paris

8&9

Dear all, It has been a very successful term at Our Lady’s. We started with celebrating the exceptional GCSE results from summer, which were some of the best in Manchester and placed us in the top twenty percent nationally. Then in early October we received the phone call from the Catholic Schools Inspectorate to inform us that we were to be inspected on the 5th & 6th October, and I have already written to inform you that we were judged ‘Outstanding’ in all areas. In addition to these significant achievements, in early November we received our Year 7 applications for 2024. In my opinion the greatest validation a school can receive is the confidence of the local community and we have had more applications this year than ever before making us the most popular school in North Manchester. As well as the inspection taking place on the 5th October, we also officially opened our new building on the same day (we certainly did not plan for these two events to run together!). We welcomed governors, officers from Manchester City Council and the Diocese of Salford and the Bishop of Salford. It was a celebration that included the bishop blessing our new chapel and the children showing our guests why Our Lady’s is such a popular and oversubscribed school. Our guests described the climate and ethos in school as ‘stunning’. The autumn term is always very full and this year has been no different. There have been residentials for Year 7 to visit Boreatton Park in Shropshire and Year 9 children explored Coniston Water

Park. The children in Year 10 also got the opportunity to visit Paris and take in some of the fantastic sights as well as a trip to Disneyland Paris. We have offered a theatre trip to watch Hamilton - the hottest show in town, a lecture with renowned British historian David Olusoga OBE at Manchester University and the chance to earn the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh award with training at Lake Windermere in the Lake District. These are just some of the fantastic enrichment opportunities our young people have been presented with this term and we have plenty of Christmas reward trips planned to enjoy before the end of term.

society. I want to thank the whole school community for the support you have given to numerous charities during this term. This is central to our mission as a school, and I am always proud of how much everyone is willing to sacrifice for those who are less fortunate than themselves.

Christmas is an important family time, a time of celebration, but it is also a time when we offer our support for the most vulnerable and marginalised in

L. Ormsby Headteacher

Finally, I would like to thank you for your support and wish you a happy and holy Christmas.

Languages Day

Photography Competition

12 & 13

History Trip

Yayoi Kusama

Coniston Waterpark

God Bless Open Evening

16 & 17

Duke of Edinburgh

18 & 19

Religious Life of the School 20

Editor’s Welcome Message Welcome to the another fantastic edition of Vision magazine! The Autumn term has been jam packed full of exciting events in school including the official opening of our new building and chapel by Bishop John Arnold, an ‘Outstanding’ Salford Diocese inspection, celebrating our best GCSE results ever, a wonderful October ‘saluting our sisters’ celebrating Black History Month and adventure trips to Coniston, Boreatton Park and the Duke of Edinburgh! We hope you enjoy reading all about it and wish everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Careers

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Bishop’s Blessing

Staff Profile

Sports News

Music

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Black History Month 2023 Every October we celebrate black Britons and shine a spotlight on the contributions made that have shaped our current culture. The theme of 2023 was ‘saluting our sisters’ giving a special focus to the lives of black women and what a wealth of talented and inspirational women we can look to. Powerhouses such as Olive Morris, a community activist from London who studied at Manchester University and brought her activism with her to the black communities of Moss Side. Dianne Abbott MP who made history for being the first black woman elected to parliament in 1987 and Nicola Adams MBE, the iconic first female and LGBTQ+ boxer to win at the Olympics. There are so many fantastic examples to share and we decorated school with posters of so many inspirational black women. We also hosted a poetry slam which was absolutely brilliant, the talent on display and the spoken word performances really impressed the audience and the judging panel. A small section of one of the performances from Chinonso in year 9 is quoted below and it beautifully sums up the culture of Our Lady’s “OLHS is a perfect example of the world we want one day. All Blacks, Whites and Asians thriving in a blended array. Our school shows us this way of living is truly possible And if this were to be achieved, it would be astronomical. Let’s show the world that female empowerment does still exist, Of any race, any persona, we just have to persist. Our world is a gift from God so let’s take care on how it is run Let’s make a world suitable for everyone” Our Lady’s student, Miracle Ujachuku shared this write up all about Black History Month at Our Lady’s. Throughout Black History Month, we had the privilege to delve into the profound history and remarkable achievements of Black individuals

who shaped minds as we learned about black contributions to society and embracing diversity. From inspiring presentations to thoughtprovoking discussions, it was a month filled with education and appreciation. It fostered a sense of unity and respect among students, creating a more inclusive and understanding environment. The celebrations extended beyond the confines of the classroom; encompassing a wide range of activities and events that truly brought the spirit of Black History Month to life. We were treated to the likes of England’s netballer, Laura Malcolm, who shared her personal stories and experiences, exemplifying the struggles and triumphs of the Black community. Furthermore, we explored the wide variety of poetic talent within our school community through this year’s theme of ‘Saluting Our Sisters’, which highlights inspirational black women and their outstanding successes. With over 150 poem submissions, this year’s poetry slam was phenomenal from the culturally vibrant atmosphere to the hard-hitting poems from the students here at Our Lady’s, we were able to fully appreciate and embrace the vast array of inspirational black women. Throughout the month, the form powerpoint was our daily reminder that diversity is not just something to be acknowledged but celebrated and cherished. The form powerpoint consisted of daily questions relating to different trailblazing black women with posters decorated around the school displaying the different answers for students to give, in exchange for a reward. Additionally, a group of students were taken to the University of Manchester to attend a lecture from famous historian, David Olusoga OBE, who talks about what it means to be black and British and mentions the roles played in black history. In conclusion, may we carry forward the knowledge and inspiration we learned throughout the month to help amplify the voices of the unheard. We all have the ability to create a future where diversity, understanding and acceptance are at the forefront of our society. We are all writing in the same book but in different chapters; let’s make our stories align.

YEAR 7 ADVENTURES AT BOREATTON PARK

Year 7 Adventures at Boreatton Park In a change to our usual Langdale trip we moved location and headed to Shrewsbury and the beautiful Boreatton Park. All of the year 7 children were invited to attend and the coaches left Our Lady’s with 180 of our students happily aboard. Miss Smith planned an excellent schedule which included archery, archery tag, orienteering, trapeze, zip wire thrills and a daredevil Jacob’s ladder climb. The location is stunning, tucked away in the beautiful Shropshire countryside, Boreatton Park is a glorious mansion house within enormous grounds that boasts 3 lakes, a river and lots of outdoor pursuits equipment, it is the perfect location for our students to explore and enjoy.

After a decent journey down, the group arrived and were shown to their accommodation which consisted of rustic log cabins before regrouping to enjoy lunch. After lunch the brave students took part in the first of two activities for the week. Each session lasted about an hour and a half and saw students being pushed to their limits. Each day the students enjoyed a wonderful dinner delivered by the canteen staff at Boreatton Park and an evening activity of either a quiz or dodgeball tournament before bed. Day two was jam packed with activities, after an early start and a delicious breakfast the children really got stuck into two more morning activities, lunch, another two afternoon activities and then dinner. The students really showed their courage on day two as the heavens opened and it was on/off rain all day. The year 7s really got stuck into all activities despite the weather!

In the evening there was plenty of time to socialise and have fun with the students and staff enjoying a student vs staff dodgeball game. Friday morning was the last day and there was still so much to explore and enjoy. The weather brightened up on the last day and two more activities were in store for our students. We had a quick lunch and then it was time to get on the coaches and head home, tired and sleepy.

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RESULTS DAY

Certificate Evening After all of the buzz of summer results day was over, we had to wait until mid-November to receive the official GCSE certificates and we marked the occasion with a stylish evening of celebration. Miss Jacques and Miss Ryan planned and prepared an event fitting of our fabulous class of 2023. We welcomed everyone with a glass of fizz on arrival and the Head and Chair of Governors gave out all of the official certificates. Lots of staff stayed to celebrate with them and it was wonderful to welcome back so many cherished faces. Most of the young people had travelled here straight from sixth form college where they are continuing their education in their specialised fields. It was wonderful to hear all their news. There were several awards to be presented to acknowledge supporting the school’s Catholic ethos, sporting prowess, extracurricular

activities, contribution to the arts and all of the teachers had nominated students who had impressed in each of the subject areas too so there was much to celebrate. Paolo Bagunu and Francesca Trasinari were the deserving winners of the coveted Headteacher’s special awards. After all of the applause it was time to catch up over some delicious food and of course pause for a selfie with friends and staff on this most memorable of nights. A huge well done and good luck to our Class of 2023!

Success for the Class of 2023! GCSE results day is always a big event on our diary and this summer was no exception. The August weather might have been less than enthusiastic but our year 11 cohort made up for that by achieving some truly excellent exam results. It was a morning filled with whoops of delight as envelopes were opened to reveal some fantastic grades, lots of 9’s and lots of smiles. A press officer from Manchester City Council came into school and took some of these lovely portraits of our students which they shared as part of a citywide results celebration.

Photo credit Della Bachelor

We are incredibly proud of all our students for their hard work and commitment to learning, all those early mornings and after school revision sessions really paid off. We appreciate all of the support from staff who individually and as a collective enable our young people to reach their potential and grow their talents. And we thank all of the families for their unwavering support in helping their children through their last five years in school.

We look forward to hearing about what they do they next!

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PARIS TRIP

PARIS TRIP Our students were amazing throughout the whole trip, the way they conducted themselves just showed what an absolute credit they are to our school and to Miss Brophy as their head of year. A big thank you to Miss Brophy, Miss Power, Mrs Stewart, Mrs Murden, Mr Evans and Mr Edge for giving up their half term to make this trip possible.

Our Lady’s in Paris! During the October half term break, six members of staff took 55 year 10 students on a fantastic trip to Paris.

at the Eiffel Tower! Everyone enjoyed the sites of Paris on a river cruise down the Seine. Even though it was raining it didn’t put a dampener on things especially when Kian, Mason and Jake created Our Lady’s newest boy band ‘Brits Abroad’ with their Paris bought rounded sunglasses, they would definitely give One Direction a run for their money! The group were lucky enough to go to the Hard Rock Café in Paris and enjoy an evening meal there and took the opportunity to celebrate the birthdays that were happening on the trip - hopefully a birthday that Silvia, Kelly and Akim will never forget! We carried on the celebrations on the way back to the hotel with DJ Brophy playing the Disney tunes and the whole coach singing along and

Everyone met at school, full of excitement and ready for a 12-hour coach journey which included a trip through the euro tunnel. Once in France, it was all go as Mrs Murden led the group on a walking tour of Paris taking the group past the beautiful scenes and visiting some landmarks such as the Louvre, Arc De Triomphe and walking up the Champs de Elysees. The itinerary was jam packed! Whilst in central Paris, the group tried to fit in as much as possible, with plenty of photo opportunities

Student comments Annabel Zekarias

giving their best performances, it was a lovely way to end a very busy day and to get ready for a full day in Disneyland Paris.

Most of my most treasured memories from Paris 2023 were not exactly from the trip itself, though visiting the monuments and seeing the tourist attractions were extremely exciting, but rather the journeys. The coach rides there and back, alongside the sometimes-long drives to and from certain places, were by far the most unforgettable memories I have gained from this trip. The singing, the sleeping and everything in between allowed me to see my peers and friends, as well as teachers, that I have known for around 4 years now, in a new and fun light I had never seen before. This was a trip that I will truly never forget.

Everyone was excited for their day at Disney from the get go! Miss Brophy was ready with her Minnie Mouse ears and Mr Evans and Mr Edge were the biggest kids on the coach! Oskar was leading the way by going on Star Wars Hyperspace mountain with no support and riding solo, he showed no fear. The Tower of Terror definitely tested Vic’s bravery, even though she almost cried and everyone heard about it! Mrs Stewart, Mrs Murden and Miss Power kept it nice and calm on the tea cups! Josh faced his fears on the Dumbo ride with Mia B and Ruby for moral support, but at least he bought a lightsabre to take home! It was lovely to see the students around the park and hear what they had all been up to, having the best time and making memories. Jaime’s exact words were “it’s been the best day of my life”!

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Fullnesses Ogieriakhi I would say one of my best memories from Paris was when we were all singing on the bus rides, we were just having so much fun and we all had a great time, even the teachers!

Josh Scoynes Just a class trip overall

Silvia Osifo It was the best experience I have ever had in Our Lady’s so far! We visited lots of famous place for example: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Disneyland Paris. We stayed at the hotel Codalysa, it was so fancy with rooms of 2 or 3 people. Disneyland was honestly the best part of the whole trip as me and my friends got to go on so many big rides and have amazing food.

Stephen Ovuakporaye It was the greatest experience ever. No one would never forget what the school has done.

Beautilde Fuentes Scola Wakomo A stand out memory for me was when we were all singing Disney songs on the coach after the Hard Rock Cafe because it felt like such a fun end to the night.

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My favourite memories were in Disneyland, since Disney played such a huge part in my childhood. So being able to go there and see all the characters I used to love felt so magical. I feel that Disney had brought out the excited little kid in us all, especially when I spent most of my time running and singing around the park with my friends. I enjoyed making so many memories with them.

CAREERS

LANGUAGES DAY

Let’s Talk Interviews! In preparation for the spring interview season at colleges, work places and with training providers our Year 11 students all completed a practice session with visiting guests from colleges and local business. Our Lady’s hosted 28 guests from local colleges including Salford College, TMC, Loreto and Xaverian; and from businesses such as FEC (contractors for regeneration projects on Rochdale Road), Field Fisher Law, Manchester City Council, GMI Construction, Merseyside Rivers, Clarke Telecom and Deloitte, to name a few.

“Every student I met was amazing. Nothing negative to say..….very well-articulated and so many great achievements” Strive to Prosper “Students were very good and appeared confident and very smartly dressed” DWP “Very impressed with the quality of students and how they dealt with their interviews, especially given their lack of experience. A high level of determination to succeed and work hard. Plus, a positive outlook on life and that success is mainly about personal life and family. I have had much poorer interviews with many adults over the years who have been poorly prepared and/or did not really engage in the interview. Very well done to the students!” Mersey Rivers Trust

“Your students are focused, ambitious and open to learn more. They are accomplished and have achieved great things during their time at school. They should be proud of themselves”. MYZ “Appreciated all the student time. They are a testament to your school!” FEC “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here today, the children in this school are an absolute credit to you all. Thank you for the invitation, it’s been a pleasure!” SCC “All students have a belief that the school prepares them very well for working life and it really does show that! Credit to both school and students!”

Languages Day 2023! On Friday 29th September, Our Lady’s celebrated Languages Day. This was an opportunity for the entire community to celebrate the broad linguistic and cultural diversity that makes Our Lady’s such a unique and dynamic place to learn and work. difficult decision to choose two winners as all cakes looked and tasted delicious, but it was Kadi Miller in Year 9 and Chloe Smith in Year 7 who took the crown. Both students created cakes for France, with Kadi making decorating hers with croissants and Chloe baking 3 layers of cake to represent the French flag! Their prize was a golden ticket to attend our Tour of The World competition on Friday.

SCC “One of the students said, “You can be what you want to be!”. I loved that positivity!”

Students prepared CVs and personal statements before meeting with their allocated guest to practice and hone their interview skills.

MCC

Feedback from our guests was amazing and the students did Our Lady’s proud!

“All very well-mannered and presented. The pupils are a pleasure to meet”. FEC “Really impressed with my students and would have offered 6/7 a job!” Xaverian College “Absolutely amazing to meet such great pupils -respectful, ambitious, polite, friendly. Thank you”. GMI Construction

In addition, we had support from the ASK team who spoke to interested students about Apprenticeships; Manchester Youth Zone representation, who advised on employability skills and entrepreneurship and Career Connect who were on hand to offer support anyone with any queries. A massive thank you to our community partners for providing our students with this fabulous learning experience! SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

Our senior leaders started off proceedings, delivering assemblies to all year groups on the importance of language learning as well as sharing their own linguistic journeys throughout the week. Students were fascinated to hear about Mrs Haniak’s connection to Italian and Mr Cope’s love of German! Students also learnt how relevant languages are to our school particularly, with 60% of the Our Lady’s community having an awareness of another language, and over 70 languages present in our school community. On Thursday 28th September, Miss Roe and Mr Menga ran their annual languages themed Bake Off competition. Students brought in cakes that they made at home ready to be judged by Miss Roe and Mr Menga. This year, we had some very impressive cakes representing countries, flags, even one cake with Pierogi made out of icing! It was a very SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

Ukraine, Latvia, Hong Kong, Eritrea, Nigeria, Congo, Spain, Ireland, Pakistan, Portugal, India, Germany, The Netherlands, Ghana, Jamaica, England and Zimbabwe. Staff and 60 golden ticket winners from MFL lessons, had the opportunity to move around the stalls and learn about the different places on display from the experts themselves and were delighted with the sights, smells, tastes and information that was presented. Whilst all pupils did a wonderful job, judges crowned Poland the winning team with Nigeria and Congo in a close second and Ukraine and Hong Kong sharing third place.

A wonderful day had by all!

On Friday during P5, Miss Watkins and Mrs Brandford were accompanied by pupils from around the school for this hotly awaited competition. Students who had signed up to take part, were given a table in the hall and were challenged with representing their culture, country, language or religion of choice in a way that felt appropriate to them. In total 19 different stalls were entered with pupils choosing to represent; Italy, Poland,

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

School Trips COMPETITION PHOTOGRAPHY

The OLPS Summer Competition 2023

STREET

PORTRAIT

Over the Summer break, the students and staff of Our Lady’s were set the challenge of capturing some interesting and well composed photographs by the Our Lady’s Photographic Society. The OLPS Summer Competition 2023 had six themed categories; “Landscape”, “Street”, “Portrait”, “Travel”, “Wildlife” and “Free Choice”. With nearly 100 submissions, the judges had their work cut out for them but managed to award a Winner and Runner Up for both students and staff in each category. Mr. Bell, Mrs. Rathod, Mr. Owen and Poppy Simpson of Year 11 were very impressed; not only with the photographic prowess of the entrants but also with the amazing Summer adventures which were captured!

The rest of the Our Lady’s family also had a chance to have their say in “The People’s Choice” in which all photographs submitted were viewed and voted for anonymously. It has been a great way to share our Summer adventures as well as show off our photographic skills. Hopefully next year will be just as great! A huge well done to all the photographers who took part!

Student Winner: Vinny Nguyen Y10

Student Runner Up: Krystian Kasper Y11

TRAVEL

Student Winner: Melania Terescsuk Y9

Student Runner Up: Vinny Nguyen Y10

WILDLIFE

LANDSCAPE

Student Winner: Krystian Kasper Y11

Student Runner Up: Vinny Nguyen Y10

Student Winner: Melania Terescsuk Y9

Student Runner Up: Krystian Kasper Y11

FREE CHOICE Student Runner Up: Julia Klimczak Y10

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

Student Winner: Melania Terescsuk Y9

Student Winner: Krystian Kasper Y11

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Student Runner Up: Julia KlimczakY10

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Student Winner: Poppy Mae Simpson Y11

Student Runner Up: Julia Klimczak Y10

SchoolTRIP HISTORY Trips

CONISTON WATERPARK

Professor David Olusoga

Year 9 Make a Splash!

On Monday 6th November a selection of Key Stage 3 students attended a trip to the University of Manchester with Miss Warwick and Mrs Morrison. They attended a lecture with the award-winning writer, historian and broadcaster, Professor David Olusoga OBE.

Over the weekend 15th-17th September, Miss Watkins, Mr Bell and Miss Smith accompanied by a group of trepid explorers from year 9 headed on their waterpark residential.

Professor Olusoga explored what it means to be Black and British and the role of Black History. His lecture covered a broad array of Black History, helping us understand the significance of areas that have been neglected, but are fundamental in our understanding of the way that Britain is the way that it is today.

accounts and their impact on our collective understanding of the world. His ability to challenge preconceived notions and provoke critical thinking was truly empowering. His insights encouraged me to question the stories that are ingrained in our society today and the significance of Black History.”

Miracle Ujachuku in year 9 recollected his thoughts: “As a student here at Our Lady’s, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to watch David Olusoga speak as it was a truly captivating experience. From the moment he began to address the audience, his eloquence and vast knowledge on the subject made it clear that he was not just a historian, but a passionate advocate for what he believes is right.

The 3-day long trip was an outdoor extravaganza based at Coniston in the Lake District and was the opportunity for students and staff alike to challenge themselves and push themselves out of their comfort zone in front of a beautiful backdrop of rolling hills and stunning waterfalls.

In the moments of David Olusoga’s lecture, I reflected on the power of historical

The journey up to Coniston was windy but scenic and the group were pleased to be met with flat terrain and a mere jump into the beautiful 13th century house where they called home for the weekend. The first evening was mainly organisational with children sorting themselves into their dorms, enjoying some dinner and deciding which of the four groups would take on the washing up first. After, genuinely, no grumbles regarding the chores list, and a delicious chicken curry tea, the group headed outside for a game of hide and seek in the dark. The teachers were unable to defend their titles of champions, on night 1, with Emmanuel Obidi stealing the limelight but night 2 saw them back in their stride.

Yayoi Kusama Fashion Show fashion show wearing their creations at Aviva Studios, the new home of Factory International as part of Manchester International Festival! The project was a huge success, with all involved enjoying the experience immensely, as you can see from the photos!

Saturday morning saw the group splitting into three sub teams who worked together to take on the Ghyll scramble at Church Beck. Things started a little apprehensive with slippy rocks underfoot and concerns about the temperature of the “freezing” water but pupils soon relaxed into the experience and absolutely excelled. We saw beautiful moments of teamwork and kindness as stronger members of the group threw their hands down to help pull other pupils up some of the more challenging stretches, most notably, Robert Allen, Elvis Chikwendu and Oskar Gadja and the group were diving into natural pools in no time. During the afternoon, the groups did a mixture of canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding which also involved the opportunity to jump off jetties as well as make lots of new memories. Salvatore Barone and Javae Nesbeth impressed with their natural rowing ability, and Elam Zemikeale and Khianna Hatfield- Davies brought a very calming energy to the screams during paddle boarding. The Sunday saw smiles all round as pupils received their certificates of achievement and were encouraged by the very impressed Coniston instructors to explore their new found talents on their return home. A very tired coach load of OLHS superstars arrived back at school at around 16:00, ready to sleep off all that country air.

In the last issue of Vision magazine, we mentioned how some of our most talented creative students in years 8 and 9 were given the opportunity to design and make outfits based on the artwork of Yayoi Kusama. Following this, they also got to walk in a

SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

OPEN EVENING

Open Evening at Our Lady’s On 21st September we opened school up to all families of young children who might be interested in a future year 7 place here at Our Lady’s. We were overwhelmed by the response to our invitation, so many of you came to see the premises and meet the staff, we even welcomed some former students who are now looking to send their own children here – how lovely.

The event started at 4.30pm, after signing in at reception the prefects took our guests on a tour of the site, including our brand-new building, the forest school, the new PE facilities and our stunning new chapel. Each department had put on a special theme to showcase the best and most fun ways

you can learn their subject. The Languages department had a photo booth with some famous Spanish landmarks and an Instagram selfie frame. RE hosted a philosophy fayre, English, a forensics investigation, Maths, held clock making sessions, Science performed daring experiments and Business studies hosted a brand name versus budget version tasting session. Humanities offered the chance to see some amazing artefacts up close and pose for a photograph with a Tudor. The expressive & performing arts team did what they do best and performed some beautiful pieces.

honour their talents and achieve their true potential. We couldn’t agree more - whatever your passion or wherever you require a bit of additional support. The staff at Our Lady’s will match you and encourage you all the way. Following the presentation, food was served in the canteen and the visitors could revisit any departments they wanted and to ask any questions they might have.

The Headteacher, Mr Ormsby and the Head Prefects, Ketsia and Darryl, spoke to the visitors in a presentation in the main hall. They all gave heartfelt encouragement to our guests that Our Lady’s is a fantastic school that cares deeply about supporting young people to

SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

DUKE OF EDINBURGH

Duke of Edinburgh Here at Our Lady’s we have been running the D of E successfully for over 10 years. This prestigious award is recognised across the whole country which develops skills and attitudes students need to become more rounded, confident adults, developing and learning important life skills such as leadership, teamwork, self-confidence, responsibility, problem solving and communication all of which are recognised by and attract colleges and universities. At Our Lady’s, all groups are entered at bronze level, where this term, a group of 23 year 10 students successfully completed their award in the beautiful Lake District at Lake Windermere. Over the weekend, the pupils experienced the Lake District at its best with some beautiful weather, the students conquered the surrounding countryside navigating themselves over the high moors of Windermere, showing great determination, togetherness and resilience. The following day, the group were taken out of their comfort zone even further, whereby they had to paddle in canoes the entire width of the lake and back demonstrating incredible team work, leadership and perseverance. The pupils were an absolute credit to Our Lady’s which was recognised by all the Duke of Edinburgh assessors along the way, praising the pupils for their efforts, positive attitudes and grit which they showed during the expedition, embedding the ethos and challenge that the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme offers.

and completion of their 2-day expedition. We were so very impressed by the preparation and enthusiasm of the young people that came and how well they transferred skills taught in school to use them successfully in unfamiliar surroundings and environment.’ Duke of Edinburgh Assessor’s report – Julie Cunningham We are hoping to continue this success with a new cohort of pupils starting the Bronze DOE journey next year offering more places to the current year 9 with the opportunity to complete the bronze award in 2023. Information regarding DOE will be available in upcoming assemblies and letters home. Congratulations year 10 we are all very proud of you, well done! Mrs Richmond and Mrs Wray

‘It was a real pleasure to assess them. They all presented themselves in such a positive and mature way; from the moment they stepped off the mini bus and followed that up by applying knowledge learnt from school to execution

SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE SCHOOL

BISHOP’S BLESSING

Religious Life of the School This term the Youth SVP has welcomed many new members, including lots of new Year 7’s who are keen to be involved in putting their faith into action. In October we contributed to our school’s Black History Month celebrations by writing our own prayers centred around the theme of ‘Saluting Our Sisters’. These were added to the form PowerPoint for forms to join together in acknowledging the wonderful contributions that black women have made throughout history, and continue to make today. On October 6th 14 members of staff took part in the CAFOD Family Fast, where we fasted from 6am-6pm in an attempt to raise money and awareness for global poverty. We asked our pupils to donate to support their teachers and we managed to raise an amazing £183.82, with form 9A raising the most money!

What exciting activities have our G.I.F.T Chaplains been up to this half term?

In the month of November the Youth SVP sold poppies to raise money for the British Legion. Miss White’s grandma knitted some poppies and we also sold paper ones to allow all pupils to join together in remembering the lives lost during WWI. The Anti-bullying Week theme for this year was ‘Make A Noise About Bullying’. We focused on creating a positive culture around kindness in our school as we created a picture frame that has Biblical quotes and inspirational words on which we then went around school and took photos of different groups of friends to use on social media. Finally, Inter-faith Week was celebrated through hosting our ‘Inter Faith Cafe’ again.

God’s image. This has been followed on through thanksgiving prayer, in which the G.I.F.T Chaplains gave thanks to the Lord for their God given talents. On the 3rd of October our G.I.F.T Chaplains were welcomed by Bishop John and the Salford Diocese for a Diocesan Synod centred around how we can be Ambassadors for Christ. Our Y11 Chaplains were also given the opportunity to present as part of this conference, explaining how they as Our Lady’s G.I.F.T Chaplains are ambassadors for Christ within our community.

Our Lady’s G.I.F.T Chaplains had a busy start to the new academic year! G.I.F.T Chaplaincy has grown in members from a variety of different year groups, enabling a greater number of pupils to contribute to our Catholic Ethos, growing in faith together. This term’s focus has been on imago Dei, looking at how we as humans have been made in God’s image and likeness. The G.I.F.T Chaplains created identity cards celebrating the ways in which they have been made in

The event also included praise and worship music led by One Hope Project, as well as an inspirational keynote from Pippa Baker, and finally an opportunity to engage with the Listening Exercise as part of our Diocesan Synod and a Commissioning Liturgy led by Bishop John. Following on from this celebration, a few of our younger Chaplains will be participating in a focus group with members from the diocese, who will discuss with our Chaplains how they envision their faith to work alongside their hopes and dreams for the future. Our Lady’s Chaplaincy Team have also worked closely with St.Malachy’s RC Primary

This was an opportunity for staff and pupils to come together and share in open discussions about their faith. They were encouraged to ask each other questions, increasing our sense of belonging, understanding and tolerance for others and their beliefs. Every half term we plan to continue to deliver food bank donations to St Clare’s Church on behalf of our school community. These donations are always greatly appreciated by Fr Collins from St Clare’s who explains how vital our contributions are and the positive impact they make for families in our local community. We thank our whole school community who continues to support our charitable efforts.

School and their G.I.F.T Chaplaincy team. Our Lady’s Chaplains planned and delivered a presentation to the younger pupils speaking to them about the role of a school Chaplain in High School and what opportunities can arise from participating in the school Chaplaincy Team. This meeting between the two schools was a great opportunity for our Chaplains to demonstrate leadership skills when speaking about Chaplaincy life at Our Lady’s High School. To finish off their hard work from this half term, the G.I.F.T Chaplains engaged with a Praise and Worship session held during their weekly Chaplaincy meeting. The hymns sung throughout the session were all chosen by the Chaplains themselves, providing an opportunity for all G.I.F.T Chaplains to worship alongside each other through differing forms of music.

SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

Bishop’s Blessing On Thursday 5th October we welcomed the Right Reverend John Arnold, 11th Bishop of Salford to bless the altar of our new chapel. It was a real pleasure to welcome the Bishop to Our Lady’s. He was joined by our parish priest Fr Jeramiah Budau, our Provincial Custos Fr Maximilian Martin and our school priests Fr Joel and Fr. Nicholas. All of the attending clergy concelebrated Mass with the Bishop and we also invited our school governing body and some representatives of the diocese and Manchester city council to share the experience.

As you would expect the student ambassadors were exceptional, they really impressed our visitors with their conduct and enthusiasm for our school. The student choir hit all of the right notes and everyone was charmed by their conversation over lunch. We have commemorated the occasion with two bespoke brass plaques and will treasure the memories for many years to come.

SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

STAFF PROFILE

PE NEWS

Staff Profile: Mrs Cole

Sports News

Mrs Coles is the school librarian and has worked at Our Lady’s since 2022, let’s find out a bit more about her! What is your role at Our Lady’s? School Librarian :) How long have you worked here - Can you remember your first impressions, how do they compare to your feelings now? I have worked here now for one full year! My first impressions of the school were that this school was really special, the trust and respect that the pupils are shown by the staff was refreshing and the way in which pupils are given every advantage to pursue their goals was really inspiring for me. What is your favourite thing about working in secondary education?

Where is your favourite place you have visited? Do you have any other destinations you would like to visit? Philidelphia in America is my favourite – the food, the people, the history the city! It just has my heart! I would love to visit Edinburgh at Christmas; I’m a massive Harry Potter fan and Edinburgh has a lot of the book’s history in its streets! What do you consider your greatest achievement to date? Besides my children! I successfully evacuated a camp of 30 young girls (about 10 years old) during a hurricane with less then 10-minute storm warning. The reason I consider this a massive achievement is, I was only 18 at the time and still called my mum to ask how to use a dish washer so this experience was my proof I could do anything.

Favourite book? Fiction - Looking for Alaska Non-Fiction – Women Don’t Owe Your Pretty Biography – Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing

Favourite cuisine or meal? Italian …. Chinese … Mexican …. Greek …. Argentine... Anything really as long as it’s not spicy!

What does a typical day for Mrs Coles look like?

Alive – David Suchet, I watched Poirot when I was younger with my grandparents and I’d love to speak with David about how he was able take the character from the page to the screen.

Reading – no surprise there. I love doing anything which involves food! Love cooking, love baking, love food markets and food fairs. Favourite film or TV show? The Breakfast Club is my all time favourite stand alone film! Harry Potter as a set of films, favourite TV show would be Friends rewatching as an adult is funnier because now it is so much more relatable!

Passed – Matthew Perry, Chandler Bing was a huge stress reliver for me during exam season and reminded me not to take life to seriously! Fictional – Merry and Pippin, Lord of the Rings.

Best bit of advice for students at Our Lady’s Mistakes are meant to be made, it’s what you do differently next time that counts. Never let anyone tell you, you don’t matter or belong. Especially yourself.

‘The Sports Leaders activities for students from 6 primary schools in the UK’s flagship European School Sport event. The children took part in an afternoon of activity, with leaders working alongside coaches to deliver badminton, mini tennis, squash, athletics and multisport. Many thanks to the PE team for bringing the student leaders. They were great mature, enthusiastic and great role models to the primary children attending. Thanks again’

I’m not massively into music but I love songs which hit you in the chest and you think could have been written just for you: artists like Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, James Blunt are my top favas currently.

Who would you most like to meet and why?

What are your hobbies outside of school?

whist taking on increasing responsibility and developing their confidence and self-esteem.

Favourite song or piece of music?

The maturity of the pupils and staff alike.

Wake up around 5.30, my two children will often wake up with me! We will have breakfast; my two cats will come downstairs with us and go out for their morning stroll in the garden. I will then come to work, after work I do the school run collecting my kids, depending on the day depends on what club is on – Rainbows, Swimming, Gymnastics or Rock Climbing! Once we finally come home its tea, and chill out time, I always try to read for 20 minutes before bed! :)

At Our Lady’s, we believe that young people can benefit enormously by engaging in sports leadership opportunities. Sports Leaders can use their experiences to develop a wide range of important life skills and qualities including confidence, communication, organisation, resilience and problem solving.

SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

Over the past few years we have offered training and opportunities to students from various year groups to become involved in a young sports leadership programme. This programme encourages pupils to volunteer their own time to develop their skills and qualities to confidently lead and help organise competitions and festivals within the school and the community. Our Sports Leaders are trained pupil volunteers who assist with the delivery of sport and recreation initiatives. Through their volunteering, Sports Leaders are role models for active lifestyles within the school and community. Over the past two years in particular the OLHS Sports Leaders have taken the responsibility for supporting the increase in participation in sports and healthy lifestyles with the Manchester European Primary Sports Festival working alongside TEAM MCR in encouraging and inspiring young primary pupils to be active and enjoy the benefits that sport can bring. The students success from this event lead to the leaders being asked to run various sport related activities and festivals to primary schools hosted at Our Lady’s demonstrating our values and being a credit to the school. Through the Sports Leaders’ programme, students receive various different leadership awards and qualifications and connect the pupils and the surrounding community to our school together,

SHARING THE VISION | WINTER 2023

Indoor Athletics Congratulations go to our year 11 boys indoor Athletics team who won the Manchester Championships in October with an excellent set of results. This completed a fantastic career for the boys as they have never been beaten in any of the outdoor or indoor competitions they have competed in over their time at Our Lady’s.

MUSIC

Bridgewater Hall – Halle Experience On Friday 20th October, the Year 11 GCSE Music class visited the Bridgewater Hall, to watch the amazing Halle Orchestra perform set works across the major exam boards for Music. This was the first time many pupils had ever seen a live orchestra and professional musicians perform in the flesh, and it was wonderful to also see young adults from the Royal Northern College of Music perform solos as part of their ongoing music education and career progression!

This trip highlighted the importance of live music and how everything we watch and listen to, from film, TV to apps and games has professional musicians working in the background to provide entertainment and that it is very much a real career choice!

Restore the Music After a tough application process with hundreds of other schools, and lots of interviews, Our Lady’s were successfully given a grant by Restore the Music of £20,000 to buy brand new instruments! We were so grateful to receive this money, and Mrs Baylis (Durbin) quickly bought keyboards, midi keyboards, violins, xylophones, guitars and amps with the money for the pupils to use. This money gives us so many more opportunities in the classroom and beyond! Thank you ‘Restore the Music’ for giving us this opportunity!

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