Spring 2017 Newsletter

S P R I N G

ST EDMUND ARROWMSITH CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

www.arrowsmith.wigan.sch.uk

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:

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Geography Genius

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Historia Normannis

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Meet the Lord— Eddie’s Style

For regular news and events from St Edmund Arrowsmith,

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S E A News A Message from the Headteacher Since we returned from our Christmas holiday, it has been quite a term. We have been inspected by Ofsted and by the Archdiocese of Liverpool, and if we add on most of our Parents’ Evenings and Guidance Evenings, it all adds up to an especially busy term.

Especially busy, but at the same time, especially good! Both inspection reports paint an extremely positive picture of our school and reaffirm all the wonderful work undertaken by the whole school community. I am personally delighted the reports commend our pupils, parents, staff and governors in such glowing terms and reflects well the tremendous spirit and pride we all have in our school. This does not mean we will become complacent in any way and as part of our relentless focus on continuous improvement, we will strive to improve even further.

This is a very busy time for our Year 11 pupils. They have completed all their controlled assessments, sat ‘trial’ GCSE exams to prepare them for the real thing in May/June and are now well into the final phase of revision for those exams. The whole school community wish Year 11 every success and we will keep them in our prayers so that they can achieve the very best they are capable of, no matter what that level may be.

In January, I received news that Harriet Olurankinse had achieved the highest mark in the country for GCSE Geography out of over 50,000 entries, from all types of schools in the UK. A truly remarkable achievement, which will hopefully inspire our current pupils and spur them on to their own successes.

There has been some great work in extra-curricular activities this term. Our Year 10 boys rugby team were the current North West RL champions, having beaten rivals St Peters in last year’s final, but unfortunately lost this year to the same team. I was still extremely proud of the way the boys conducted themselves throughout the whole competition; they are a real credit to the school. A team of Year 8 and 9 pupils entered the STEM LEGO Robotics Challenge against 16 other schools and won the ‘Robot Design Challenge’ award.

Again, the way the pupils conducted themselves was superb!

visit our website.

Special mention must be made of the three ‘Music Festival’ evenings we held in March.

Split over three nights, so that all areas of musical performance could be given equal emphasis, the evenings were quite simply amazing! The evenings showed all the great things about our school, fantastically talented pupils working hard whilst showing their talent and excellence, supportive parents and dedicated staff giving up their time to support them. Congratulations to all involved!

Mr M Dumican, Headteacher

As we proceed into Holy Week, we are all looking forward to our Lenten Masses at St Oswald’s, where each year group and their teachers celebrate Mass together. I can think of no better way to prepare for the highlight of the liturgical year - Easter.

May I take this opportunity to thank all members of the school community for their continued support and generosity of spirit; it is by working together that we make St Edmund Arrowsmith such a special place. On behalf of the governors, staff and pupils, can I wish you all a wonderful Easter.

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Geography Genius

Harriet is congratulated by Head of Geography, Mr Kennedy and Headteacher, Mr Dumican

Senior prefect, Harriet Olurankinse, returns to the school where she got the top Geography GCSE mark from over 50,000 students in the UK – St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School. We know that the geography GCSE exam has a reputation of being quite hard! So, how did a pupil from our little school in the suburbs of Wigan, beat pupils from the many fee-paying schools across the UK? We think that one of the secrets to Harriet’s success is her modest and friendly personality. Firstly, she put us at ease with her smiles and bubbly personality straight away. While Harriet was talking to us, we picked up a few tips on how to excel in our own GCSE’s in the not-too-distant future.

Tip 1: “By making revision cards, it helped me to focus on what I had to do. For the different exams, I colour-coded them. I used maps and images. This helped me a lot.”

Tip 2: “Start revising as early as possible. I liked doing revision cards because of the visual side of it, but my friend did spider diagrams and wrote on wallpaper to tape up on her bedroom wall. If it works for you, then just do it.”

“Harriet has not only inspired us to do the best we possibly can in school, but has also inspired us to be like her.”

Tip 3: “On the Notes app. on my phone, I would write the exams I had that day, for example, R.E. - Exam 1. Initially, I would do three red hearts and when I felt slightly more confident, I would change it to amber. Finally, I would then change the hearts to green when I felt very confident and also change the title to bold. I found this is the ideal way to revise for me.”

Harriet is a very determined and positive student. Her determination is inspiring, as she told us that she never gives up on anything that she does, such as reaching for any goal in her life. In the future, Harriet hopes to follow a career in medicine and we think that this job option would be perfect for her as she has the ability to relax anyone as soon as you meet her.

Harriet also told us that her inspiration and motivation to succeed was the head girl from the previous year. This girl achieved mostly A* and Harriet motivated herself to do as well as she did. Even though some of her friends were going to the cinema or shopping, Harriet carried on revising to get the best possible

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Geography Genius results; this is truly an inspiration to us all. When we asked Harriet about all the preparation she did she replied, “It was very stressful, but a balance of how much time you spend on revision, actually helps to make it easier.” To us, this much dedication is unbelievable and, as you can see, it definitely paid off!

In December 2016, Harriet received a phone call telling her that she had achieved the best geography GCSE result in the country. In her own words, she said, “Unbelievable, I was shocked and proud of my achievement; however it took a while to sink in!” Harriet received a certificate and a cheque from the Geographical Society in recognition of her dedication and commitment.

After speaking to Harriet, we have picked up tips to help us achieve goals and overcome challenges just as she did. Harriet has not only inspired us to do the best we possibly can in school, but has also inspired us to be like her. Her personality and dedication to school life has motivated us also to be ‘the best that we can be’ – something that Headteacher Mr Dumican often says in his speeches! She is now studying at Winstanley College, taking A-Level Maths, Biology and Chemistry, making her onestep closer towards her career in medicine – something we know that she definitely will excel in!

Head of Geography, Mr Kennedy is obviously delighted for Harriet and had this to say: 'We are all so proud of Harriet and her remarkable achievement. Harriet represents everything that makes SEA such a special community. Her work ethic, enthusiasm for learning and altruism are an inspiration to pupils and staff alike. As Head of Geography, I am delighted that Harriet has received this award. She is a positive role model to other pupils and will inspire them to believe in themselves and their abilities. I am confident that there are many other pupils at SEA who can 'be the best' in the variety of subject areas and extra-curricular activities provided by the school.'

Niamh Williams and Aimee Styles, Year 8

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Historia Normannis On Wednesday 1st February 2017, the History Department welcomed the Historia Normannis living history group into school.

As part of the new GCSE curriculum, pupils now study the end of Anglo Saxon England and the conquest of England by the Normans. This is an entirely different type of History to the modern world units pupils normally study at GCSE, such as Nazi Germany and the Cold War, and involves a huge range of new ideas and terms for pupils to familiarise themselves with.

Led by medieval specialist Dan FitzEdward, the group agreed to offer a two-hour demonstration on different aspects of life in Anglo Saxon England: who’s who (differences between ceorls, thegns, housecarls and earldormen!), how people dressed and spoke during the Saxon period, life for women, law and order and much more, including demonstrations of late Saxon and early medieval combat.

All in all, pupils had an engaging and interesting two hours (although, surely no more interesting and engaging than one of Mr Linton’s double lessons!)

The level of detail offered by Dan in his introductory talk was fantastic. He managed to cram quite a lot of factual content into the opening 30 minutes which gave our pupils valuable background knowledge on the development of Anglo Saxon England - how the Saxons initially took England from the native Britons, how they grouped together under Alfred the Great to defeat the Vikings and establish a united England and, along with his supporting cast of knowledgeable volunteers, how the structure of Anglo Saxon society developed.

This was followed by some more interactive time in which pupils, perhaps hesitantly at first, had the opportunity to speak to the group members who were ‘in character’ as an Anglo Saxon. Again, the level of context the group were able to provide was first class – with Saxon fyrdsmen, housecarls and a particularly enthusiastic thegn, giving pupils a real sense of the importance of status and loyalty in Saxon society and detail on the day-to-day life of different types of person living in England at that time. We were then treated to a series of full blooded (as in enthusiastic – definitely no blood involved!) combat demonstrations, which gave pupils a head start on their studies of why the Normans eventually defeat the Saxon army at the Battle of Hastings. The level of skill of the participants was impressive and pupils got a rare chance to see the relative merits of different weapons and shields in Saxon warfare in a dramatic and memorable way.

Our students also had the opportunity to try on some armour and handle the different weapons on show.

All in all, pupils had an engaging and interesting two hours (although, surely no more interesting and engaging than one of Mr Linton’s double lessons!) and we sincerely hope they can use what they’ve seen to help with their forthcoming unit of study on the Saxons which, regrettably, will have more of a focus on exam technique than medieval sword play.

Our thanks go to Dan and his group of volunteers for visiting our school and bringing this particular chapter of English history to life.

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Another ac

ction-packed term!

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Fun… Exciting…Cheap Comedy or tragedy? Fantasy or mystery?

Fiction or non-fiction? These were the thoughts that passed through the minds of the dozens of students at St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School when a book fair came to school.

The annual fair was a huge success getting so many more pupils into books and reading for pleasure. “I was excited when I found out about the book fair because I only like certain books,” quoted a Year 7 student. “I thought there was just going to be books for older students, but I was happy to see that there was something for everyone.” This student alone bought two books, a bunch of stationery and was happy with the overall cheap price.

Just some of the lucky raffle winners!

From books about William Shakespeare at £3.99 that might interest older students studying their GCSEs, to brand new titles at £8.99 that Year 7 and 8s would love, the books at the fair had a wide range of prices and genres.

An added bonus was that when you went to buy a book, the librarian would give you a £1 World Book Day token, meaning you could get a book with a further pound knocked off the advertised price. There were not only books on offer, but also posters, stationery, such as mechanical pencils, invisible ink pens with UV light, ‘smelly’ erasers, and so much more.

It was great and caused quite a buzz in school!

As well as a raffle, there was also a World Book Day quiz, where you could win one of dozens of Easter eggs as prizes.

I think the book fair was a resounding success, raising much-needed funds for the school library. Mrs Taylor will be asking pupils for a list of books that they would like to see on the library shelves very soon!

Lucy Taylor, 7S

Pupils librarians made a ‘totaliser’, charting the book fair sales

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Clutching their Easter eggs

A Plea from the PTA

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Our PTA has reformed following a five-year absence! Our previous PTA were fantastic, but due to a dwindling number of parents willing to commit to meetings and activities, we had to take the reluctant decision to suspend it.

Since arriving in 2007, Mrs Pritchard became the last survivor of the “old” PTA as pupils left school and the link disappeared. We had relied so much on this support, especially when it came to events such as Y11 Certificate Presentation and Y6 Induction night. The welcome evening for Y7 pupils dwindled until eventually nothing was happening at all.

At primary school, there is always a thriving body of parents supporting the school to raise funds and arrange activities and events for both pupils and parents. As a School Business Manager I have been very conscious of the lack of parental involvement once pupils arrive at high school and, at the start of the new academic year back in September I made it my mission to bring back a PTA body in school to try to find a way of engaging parents to actively support the school. What was the barrier preventing parents from getting involved?

“Nobody had asked”, “Didn’t know we could get involved”, “Thought pupils would hate the idea”, “Didn’t want to embarrass my child,” were some of the responses! However, I was very encouraged by my plea and pleasantly surprised by the number of parents keen to get involved.

Our first meeting took place on 17th November and over 30 parents had expressed an interest in joining.

Understandably, not everyone can always attend meetings but it was heartening to discover many parents full of enthusiasm to offer their support in any way they can.

We have launched our 200 Club, reminded parents about the giving machine, started a bonus ball lottery for staff and began planning our first big event—a summer fayre in July (get ready for the big launch after Easter).

Currently a banner is in design to promote our presence at school events and we are looking to open a Twitter account, giving parents a quick link to what is taking place and to update our website.

Our newly-appointed Chairperson, Mr Ben Porter, is supported by Mr Ken Lancashire as Vice-Chairperson. This is what Ben has said about why he has joined our PTA. “Fundamentally the role of the PTA is to help improve the resources available and the children's experience of education. Furthermor,e St Edmund Arrowsmith has a long tradition of a strong and trusting partnership between teachers, parents and pupils - the PTA can help to further strengthen and develop this invaluable partnership.

I decided to get involved in the PTA to try to support the school during these economically challenging times. Organising fundraising events should be a good opportunity to help the school, meet other parents and be good fun too!”

The school is facing challenging times ahead with changes in funding for education; all schools will be affected and many difficult decisions will have to be made. The support needed by parents has never been greater to maintain the high level of provision sometimes taken for granted. I am looking to the PTA to help raise funds to allow for improvements now unaffordable through government funding, such as new chairs for the library, outdoor seating areas as social space and extra-curricular activities, to name but a few. By working together we can bring all our stakeholders closer for mutual benefit, but only if enough parents are willing to offer their help and support through the PTA. I would urge you to put yourself forward and join the PTA. We welcome any new members and if interested please email the school or complete the contact form on our website.

Mrs S Chapman, School Business Manager

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Meet the Lord—Eddie’s Style

Lord Goddard, pictured with Mr Dumican, Mr Denton and pupils who interviewed him

Students from St Edmund Arrowsmith will have their voice heard in the House of Lords one day soon. On Friday, 13th January Lord Goddard of Stockport gave up his time to come to speak to Year 10 ROAR students and our own BBC news reporters about life in the famous House of Lords.

Lord Goddard talked us through the process of becoming a Lord. He shared with us his fascinating story of the phone call that offered him a peerage. As he drove in his car near Stockport, he received a call from the Prime Minister’s office!

Believing it to be a hoax he did not initially take it seriously, but once David Cameron started speaking he said he realised that it certainly was not a joke.

The presentation then explained how the House works on a day-to-day basis. It was very interesting to hear first-hand how decisions are made that have national importance. Lord Goddard then offered to share our thoughts with his peers. The students took a few minutes to discuss amongst themselves, what topics and issues they would like raised at the House of Lords.

Year 10 pupil, Ysabelle, raised the issue of student tuition fees and what measures could be taken to support students to afford living costs while studying. Perhaps the most powerful question came from Molly, in Year 10, who requested the Lord ask why the minimum voting age could not be 16. The Lord was very impressed with the students’ engagement and interest and said he would follow through on his promise to raise these issues and reference the students who spoke and the school.

We look forward to hearing the names of St Edmund Arrowsmith students shared with the House of Lords very soon.

Mr P Denton, Assistant Headteacher S

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It All Adds Up...

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On Tuesday 14th March, Year 8 sets 1-4 took part in the Maths Roadshow, a series of tricky maths brainteasers, in order to find out the best maths brains in the year.

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All of the students gathered on the yard, ready to get started.

You had to choose a partner from your form, and work around as many questions as you could in the time-frame we had. There were 150 questions, some worth one point, and others worth two or three points. The form and the individual pair with the most points would be declared the winners.

The room was heating up, as was the competition as time began to run out. People were running in between questions to try and get as many questions done as possible; you could really sense the excitement in room.

We asked a Year 8 pupil to tell us what they thought about the maths roadshow. She said, “I really enjoyed working in a team from a different set, because they were good at stuff I wasn’t. I thought it was really fun and I can’t wait to find out what happens!” As you can tell, it was an enjoyable experience for everyone. I found it very exciting as it was nothing we had ever done before during a maths lesson. The teachers were extremely supportive, as were the prefects when we got a question wrong. When we got one correct, they signed our sheet, and all the pupils felt a sense of relief; one step closer to winning!

The results are yet to come in, but winner or loser, everyone tried their very best in every question, and had a good time whilst learning!

Katie Murray, 8O

Solving the puzzles: teamwork

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A Modern Exodus

During the Easter Vigil, we will hear a reading taken from the book of Exodus which recounts Moses helping the Israelites escape from Pharaoh and his Egyptian army.

The psalm, which we will sing immediately after, imagines a powerful God – a God of rescue and refuge who will deliver the Israelites to the Promised Land. The psalm is a song of praise to God that the Israelites would sing for years after their rescue, to thank God for rescuing them. The first time reading the psalm and the Old Testament account of the Exodus may evoke images of a wrathful and vengeful God who drowns the enemy and shows little mercy toward the Egyptians, however, this is not to be taken literally. God rescued the Israelites and their tales of survival have been lavished with wonderful descriptions and personalities to emphasise the wonder of having been delivered to safety.

If we put this Exodus into context, we may begin to understand it in a new light: we are experiencing a modern Exodus today in the form of the millions of Syrians fleeing oppression and violence just like the Israelites. For those of faith who have survived a treacherous crossing at sea, they may view this a miracle from God and their tales of survival will be filled with powerful adjectives to describe the horrors they have witnessed, just like what is described in the scriptures.

God provided the Israelites with the Promised Land, and God is providing refugees with a promised land too, but it is governments, protestors, and people of little understanding who are fighting to keep those desperate people from finding refuge in repective countries. There is an Exodus occurring and millions are still blind to the need for helping those people who have been forced out of their homes and country.

This Easter, and particularly during the Easter Vigil, when we hear the story of Exodus being read, let us remember those refugees who are desperately trying to survive and find solace in a friendly place. Let us welcome them, if not into our homes, but into our hearts as we pray for them. God sent Moses to help the Israelites, but now God sends us all to help the refugees; we must do what we can in prayer and in charity so that these people are not forgotten. We must pray for an end to their ordeal. Let us not forget them this Easter.

Maria, School Chaplain