Newsletter 10 5th December

Ashton Highlights Newsletter 10

Friday 5th December 2014

Dear Parents/Carers We are looking forward to Christmas here and as we move through Advent, I am delighted to share with you news of 2 very special visitors that we will be welcoming into school next week as part of the Ashton Methodist Church Posada event. What is Posada about I hear you asking? During the evenings leading up to Christmas Day, nativity sets of Mary and Joseph travel on a roster basis, visiting a different family or place every night. The night Mary and Joseph 'stay' provides a great opportunity to invite guests around to share together the true meaning of Christmas. Well, we aren't having our guests overnight, but they are spending the day with us on Wednesday before making their way to their resting place for that night. Watch out in next week’s newsletter for a diary of their day with us.

You will see in this newsletter that our students have taken the spirit of Christmas very much to heart this year, with a variety of schemes and activities taking place that focus on the spiritual, rather than just the material side of Christmas. They are fundraising, collecting gifts and spending their time organising activities with the intention of bringing Christmas peace and cheer to those less fortunate than themselves. I am sure you share with me the sense of pride that comes from seeing our young people acting in such a selfless way and I hope you are able to support them in their efforts.

As always, if you have any items for the newsletter, please get in touch with school.

Best wishes Sharon Asquith

Follow us on twitter @ashtoncsc

On Friday 21st November at 5.30am we had 35 very sleepy but excited year 10 & 11’s, plus 5 anxious staff, for the trip to NYC. Mrs Barnes as tour leader made sure all were present and correct and we set off to Manchester Airport for the 10:30am flight. On arrival in New York, it was a packed and varied itinerary. We had no time for sitting down as we arrived at the Vanderbilt YMCA. We unpacked and then set off to the Empire State Building.

Construction of the Empire State building, started in 1929 and was completed in 1931. It is 1,454ft high to the tip and is 102 stories tall. The Empire State was the tallest building in New York until the Twin towers were built in 1972.

When, on September 11th 2001, the North tower fell, it then became the tallest again. The view from the top was amazing, if not cold. A definite must if you visit. After some good food and a night’s sleep, we were all up for another packed day. A walking tour around Central Park and Fifth Avenue.

Joe, our guide met us at Columbus Circle and then we split into two groups.

Central park looked amazing in the winter sun and the walking certainly kept us warm. We visited the famous “Tavern on the Green” which costs $3million, just for the name, a year! Also the John Lennon Imagine memorial. Yoko Ono still lives in one of the three apartments she owns, in the Dakota building, that looks over the park. and the memorial. We then stopped for some street theatre and then on to Fifth Avenue to see The Plaza Hotel, Bergdorf Goodman Department store. We were told their Christmas window displays cost $1million each, and there are over 10 of them ! Other stores we went into were Tiffany & Co where we saw the Tiffany diamond. It is one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered weighing in at 128 carats ! It was discovered in 1877 in South Africa by New York jeweller Charles Tiffany . It has been worn only twice. Once by Audrey Hepburn for publicity photographs for the film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. After a hot chocolate in Trump Towers we then walked towards the Rockefeller Centre where they were making preparations for Thanksgiving, with the Christmas tree hidden away until the 1st December when it would have a big reveal. Our final stop was Times Square and the Radio City Music Hall where we had time for a bit of the famous NYC shopping. After a bit of free time we then made our way to the Hard Rock Café, were we had a fantastic dinner amongst all the rock and roll memorabilia on the walls and toilets. It was then on to watch a Broadway show. “Wicked” the untold story of the Witches of Oz long before Dorothy drops in. A fantastic polished performance where you can see the quality of a Broadway show. We made our way back to the hotel completely shattered but inspired by the days events. Day three took us to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We took the ferry across the Hudson river and looking back you saw the amazing skyline of New York . The Statue was a gift from France and is recognized as a symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. It was designated as a National Monument in 1924. Employees of the National Park Service have been caring for the colossal copper statue since 1933. After a lunch break and another spot of shopping we took the ferry back to the main island and on to the site of the twin towers which fell on the 11th September 2001. We went to the visitor centre which is manned by survivors and or relatives of some of the 3000 people who were killed. It was a sobering experience and showed how the city of New York worked together to rebuild their lives after such devastation. Where the towers stood, they now have two pools. The North and South pool, which are forever fountains cascading water 24/7 into a deep pool. All around the pools are the names of the people that lost their lives and in places, roses were placed in the name of a loved one. The students were humbled and moved by the experience. After a walk back to the hotel we then went for a final meal in NYC city at Ellen’s Stardust diner, home of the singing waiters and some of the best diner food in the country. We took a leisurely walk home and then finally to bed. Monday saw a final day in NYC and we managed to squeeze in a little more shopping before the long flight home. The staff were delighted by the way the students behaved and not one of them complained about the walking. A fantastic trip to the Big Apple and a lot of memories made to add to the Ashton family album.

FRACKING @ ASHTON Year 9 creative media students have nearly finished their STEM project on Fracking. Please help them to complete their project by watching their video https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=OO0EE0H6pFA&feature=youtu.be . Then check your emails to find the invitation to complete a short questionnaire. By doing this you will help them evaluate how successful they have been in helping you make more informed choices about controversial issues.

Please contact us at fracking@ashtoncsc.lancs.sch.uk with any feedback. We would love to hear from you.

ASHTON PRIMARY LEARN ABOUT THEMSELVES

Ashton Primary School came to Ashton on the 17th November to the Science department in a lesson called “Learning about Ourselves'. The aim of the lesson was to explore the structure of the lungs and the heart. We dissected both organs and the pupils got the opportunity to pass around various parts; which enabled them to compare different structures and textures relating them to the job that they do in the body.

CHRISTMAS IS A TIME FOR GIVING

This year we are raising funds for local charities. We are asking students and staff to write their Christmas thoughts, wishes, greetings or memories onto a paper bauble, and we will then pin it onto the tree. Let’s see if together, we can cover the tree with lot’s of baubles, and raise some money for people who are not as fortunate as ourselves We can be found by the door 4 entrance every day at lunchtime, 20p per bauble

Mum’s the word!

The shorter days meant a glorious run through a park illuminated in the pink and purple hues of a winter sunset. We had a number of apologies this week due to other commitments but still turned out a healthy 16 runners. Year 7s still provided the mainstay of running club with the sixth form being represented by Darren Minchella, who demonstrated Ashton’s strong parent partnership by bringing his mum – well done Mrs Minchella on a great first run.

Noticeable runners this week were Megan Bate for best dressed runner and Mrs Murray for running through the world’s worst stitch. We will continue to run our Ashton route next week. Well done and thank you to all this week’s runners. New runners welcome – meet in your running kit at 3.15 in the quad.

CHARITY BEGINS IN 7T Year 7 had a speaker is assembly from International Aid Trust to highlight their appeal to send out shoeboxes filled with small gifts. Years 7and 8 are collecting shoe boxes , with pupils filling them with items such as soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, flannels, string, small toys and games and sweets. Children’s football shirts are most sought after items, so if you have any that are last season’s then send them into school. 7T have been busy collecting items to make up shoeboxes full of gifts and useful items to send out for Christmas to children in Africa.

They have made up 12 so far and are continuing to bring in items. Many pupils are bought so much at Christmas time and it is lovely to think of others who are less fortunate than us. If anyone has any items that could fit into a shoe box then please send them into school and we will ensure that they are taken to the charity.

Miss Scott and 7T

WEEKLY LITERACY AND NUMERACY CHALLENGES

Y

NUMERACY

LITERAC

Congratulations to last week’s winners Kamil Pacak 7O Tiana Gibbs 11S

Congratulations to last week’s winners Joshua Barton 8S Jake Merrigan 10A

ON THE FIELD Football Results: Year 7 Boys : Team A won 2 –0 against Our Lady’s A and lost 3-0 against Corpus A & 7-1 against Ashton B Team B Final week of games is this Thursday evening with the A team currently sat in 2nd place and the B team sat in 3rd. Both teams can still qualify for the final !

The boys sports fixtures will resume after Christmas.

Netball Results: Year 9 lost 17-3 Year 10 lost 11-7 both against Our Lady's Next fixture for Year 7 & 8 Monday 8th December V Our Lady's

Team A Won 2 lost 1 Year 7 won their first game against Corpus Christi 9-1.

Unfortunately Year 8 lost 6-1



FREE Gents haircuts throughout December



FREE Ladies haircut with any semi-permanent colour

 

Book a half leg wax and receive a free eyebrow wax Full body massage only £10

SPF protection for your hair is almost as important as it is for your skin, but often we forget to protect our hair. Invest in a good SPF spray or wear a hat when sitting out in the sun.

SIXTH FORM CHRISTMAS MISSION Students in Sixth Form are working together with the Salvation Army to increase the Preston Food Bank.

Last year at Christmas, the Food Bank was completely wiped out in just 2 days. We don’t want this to happen again this year. Rachael Brierley, Emma Riley & Husnaa Patel, 3 of the Year 13 students involved in the food bank said “Our aim this year is to ensure that other families can have a good Christmas, just like us; we can’t let them go hungry again. Last year the Salvation Army helped feed over 900 families and this year, hopefully, we can do the same again’. The 6 th Form is asking all students and staff to join together in order to make their Christmas Mission a success. You can help by donating ONE non-perishable item. Boxes will be in the 6th Form Centre and the staff room and members of the 6th Form will be going round to form groups. Thank You

ENGINEERING CLUB In Engineering club this week we started our final project of constructing a model house and building a solar powered pumping station to remove flood water from the surrounding area.

We split our team into 2 sections. One section made the model house and designed the structure of the piping, whereas the other section used their skills to build the electrical circuit connecting the solar panel.

PHYSICS OF FUSION As part of the Preston Science partnership 50 Year 11 students got the opportunity to visit UCLan and listen to an inspiring lecture on the "physics of fusion" by Melanie Windridge. This not only gave students an idea of what university lectures would be like but also helped with revision for their GCSE exam.

HATS ON TO LEARNING As part of the Rich and Poor in British Society unit, year 9 have been learning about the work of Christians Against Poverty (CAP).

They enjoyed embedding their learning by making their own caps and hats to promote the work of this worthwhile organisation. If you are interested in finding out more about what they do follow this link: https://www.capuk.org/

We are helping to raise money for Save the Children on the 12th December by all staff and students being asked to wear their Christmas Jumper next Friday . If you can ask your child if they would like to participate there will be a ÂŁ1 donation toward the charity. Please can you ensure the rest of the uniform is as normal .

The annual Christmas lunch is being held on the 12th December too. We would like to ask all students to order with Charlotte in the kitchen, before 2pm on Monday 8th December so she can get her order in. Please can we also ask, if your child is on free school meals to order too.

Many thanks for supporting the kitchen.

THEME OF THE WEEK Students are asked to reflect on weekly themes during form time and assembly time.

Week 13 — “NUMERACY”. Here’s how PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) define Numeracy:

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 8 December

10 December

Trip to the Clothes Show Post 16 Community Day We welcome Mary and Joseph as part of Ashton Methodist Church's Advent Posada

Year 7 and Year 8 Drama visit to the Dukes in Lancaster 12 December

National Save the Children “Wear a Christmas Jumper Day” £1 donation School Christmas Dinner day £2.20

16, 17, 18 December

The Christmas Show 6 pm. Refreshments from 5.30pm

16 December

Post 16: The Physics Lecture at UCLAN

18 December

Rewards Day

19 December

School closes Year 7 & 8 assessment data/Year 11 subjects reports home

SIGN OF THE WEEK Each week Mrs Sutton will demonstrate the “word of the week” this weeks is “Please/Thank you.”