St. Ambrose Barlow Weekly Newsletter Issue 9

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FEBRUARY 5TH 2016 Issue 9

Our Aim

In accordance with our Mission Statement the School’s aim

Faith and Worship

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To help us to grow spiritually as followers of Christ and as members of a C community: to make prayer, worship and liturgy central to school life.

Celebrating Years of Celebrating 60 Years of60Outstan Outstanding Learning

School and Community

1955 - 2015

To encourage and develop relationships between home, parish, school and the wider com in order to prepare our pupils to become responsible, I love comingcaring to workcitizens. here each day.

Communications and Relationships IMPORTANT DATES & FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Often doesn’tEvening feel like work.

We16th are a Catholic co Year 10itParents' March

privilege to see our young people flourishing, to sp

School Closes for Easter March 18th ways and watch them grow in confidence.

They a communications and relationships which is based

To develop Year 8 Reviews

an February effective8thsystem - 10th of every lesson great adventures and stories unfold bor Gospel values of mutual respect, tolerance, care Development and understanding towards all member Library DEC trip to Laing O’Rourke February 9th and creativity.

Our equally inspiring staff are dedica Thank you to all those who have provided generous school community. person in their care. They may get outstanding re Ash Wednesday

New York trip Individual

February 10th

February Support and12th Development

donations of books to our new school library. We are brings so much to the at education of exciting our studen keen to accept anymore assistance all with this differently so that every child can realise their gifts a project.

they are. Doing this means that we are bringing to ethos theencourage school.

Time toofChange To celebrate the unique nature of each person and to their development as indi

School closes for half-term

February 12th

School reopens 8:45 am

February 22nd

Curriculum Year 8 reports to parents

February 26th

Easter Liturgy To introduce

This week in assemblies and an extended form time we have been supporting the nationwide healthYou c There is great spirit and energy in mental this school. campaign to Change. who are interested curricularTime activities, in theParents array of research projec inthe contributing to a development group on mental health creativity that flows through our learning.

There should contactand Mr. Davis, Headteacher.

A National Teach balanced, relevant differentiated curriculum and t

allMarch pupils14th/15th to a broad, one is left behind, no-one is left out. Visitors A National often School o pupils with the necessary knowledge, skillsofand Christian values required in a rapidly ch purpose they find in the school; this comes fro

Thanks to Mr Sanders (RE Department) for arranging a fantastic Y9 Philosophy Conference with guest speaker Lat Blaylock.

Lat was impressed with the maturity of our students, commending their excellent debating skills, which surpass many of the 6th formers he has worked with across the country. Lat also recognised the work of the RE Department, saying that high quality RE was most evident in the knowledge and understanding of the young people.

Lat commented: ‘It is excellent to see some really well taught pupils: St Ambrose young people shows themselves to have a great knowledge and understanding of Christianity, ethics and philosophy, and I was very impressed with their articulate and thoughtful responses to the activities I set!’

‘evil day’ for year 9 re students

Sharp Project A group of Year 9 pupils had the great privilege of visiting The Sharp Project in north Manchester. There they enjoyed an inspirational day learning about the creative industries and getting to grips with technology and creativity in the workplace. This included a workshop from Zemap Films on green screen technology and a talk on the intricacies of digital forensics. The pupils also reported that they were served the ‘best cakes ever.’

6th Form Interviews This week we undertook an evening of interviews of external applicants to our flourishing Sixth Form. With over 250 applicants for the 125 places on offer next year we are looking forward to seeing the 6th form grow. Of the 90 external applicants (most of whom came from local Salford schools) we interviewed 50 on Tuesday, with more to come. Our thanks to the schools who sent them and to the many parents and guardians who accompanied them.

For the lucky ones who will get an offer, an exciting future awaits.

Josh Hart Year 8 pupil Josh is part of a band called Unknown Refuge performing at The Band on the Wall on Sunday, February 28th at 11.30 am. The event is called the Rock and Pop Showcase brings together young bands from across Greater Manchester - one per Local Authority area. Well done to Josh. You can support Josh by buying tickets via this link: http:// bandonthewall.org/events/4971/ Autumn Charity total Our final charity total for the autumn term is £1783. Thank you to all pupils, parents, staff and others who have contributed.

Library Development Thank you to all those who have provided generous donations of books to our new school library.

We are keen to accept any assistance at all with this exciting project.

DEC Parabongo Challenge A team of Year 11 Design Engineer Construct! students is currently designing an extraordinary underground, circular school for the village of Parabongo, Uganda. This project is part of a national competition (we won the inaugural one last year) and this week we worked with professional architects from Laing O’Rourke to develop the design.

Holocaust Memorial Day Each year we mark the Holocaust on January 26th and this year was no exception. In forms pupils reflected on the events of the Holocaust and produced various presentations and creative works that demonstrated their learning. We also incorporated the Holocaust into our daily prayers.

Young Writers Spinechillers Anthology We are delighted to announce that the following Year 9 pupils have had their work included in the Young Writers Spinechillers Anthology: Millie Hogan, Simbarashe Nyamuranga, Isobelle Marsden, Luke Bowden, Todd Cooper, Daisy Shea, Adam Green, Elle Roberts, Charlotte Bradley, Joe Foster, Derys Sheenin, Molly Doyle, Joe Dyson.

Speaking for Ourselves

Politics Project A large group of pupils from Year 9 got engaged in the nitty-gritty of politics last week when Harriet Andrews of the politics project joined us for a challenging morning of discussion, debate and learning. The pupils explored some of the systems and ideas that underpin our democracy and got to explore the ways in which we organise our political system in the UK.

The second session of this ground-breaking venture with Abraham Moss and Failinge High took place this week. Pupils from our school and the other two continued to explore British values and culture and challenge some of the assumptions and ideas that we life with. The work has been hugely successful with our students talking very positively about the links they have built with the other schools.

Josh Hart Year 8 pupil Josh is part of a band called Unknown Refuge performing at The Band on the Wall on Sunday, February 28th at 11.30 am. The event is called the Rock and Pop Showcase brings together young bands from across Greater Manchester - one per Local Authority area. Well done to Josh. You can support Josh by buying tickets via this link: http://bandonthewall.org/events/4971/

our commitment to the local community: expectations of students and parents/ guardians This week I was very privileged to meet with local residents. I had invited them into the school to get to know our community and to develop our links with it. I think it is vital that we are an outward-looking school who are very much part of the community. Many of the residents were positive about our young people, particularly those who on the night stayed behind to help serve tea, coffee and biscuits. The residents raised a number of issues with me that I think merit being brought to the attention of parents and guardians.

I ask that you give due consideration to these and, where they apply to you or your child, consider acting on them to improve relationships for the benefit of everyone.

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Please observe the 20 mph speed limit on the roads surrounding the school where it applies.

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As far as it is possible parents, staff and visitors are asked not to park on Ash Drive. Doubleparking especially is dangerous and inconsiderate. When picking up children from school you are asked to park with consideration for local residents and, if possible, park a distance from the school to allow students to walk safely to buses and cars. If you find yourself in a discussion with a local resident regarding this matter please speak with respect at all times.

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If your son or daughter cycles to school they must wear a helmet and ensure that they are displaying working lights. In addition, they must cycle on the road and not on pavements. If staff see these guidelines being infringed we will contact parents and guardians to discuss and will ask that the young person concerned does not cycle to school unless the matters are addressed.

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All litter is unacceptable. Parents and guardians are asked to remind their children of this and are asked to reinforce to students the need to use the litter bins provided. Students caught littering are always asked to take responsibility for their actions. Student-led litter patrols in the local area will begin soon.

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The safety of our students is our priority on the roads around the school. This comes before the convenience of parents and guardians

Thank you in advance for your support in these matters.

Ben Davis, Headteacher

REMINDER - TOOTOOT: IMPROVING COMMUNICATION & TACKLING BULLYING I am pleased to announce that we have now launched a new online system for reporting incidents of bullying or any other concerns that our young people may have. It is called Tootoot and can be found via the link on our website (on the top bar of the home page) or accessed by following this link: http://www.tootoot.co.uk The site is completed secure and allows students to report bullying, harassment, racism, mental health concerns, abuse or any other issue directly to the school at any time of day or night. The information is then picked up immediately by the appropriate member of staff and dealt with swiftly. Our students are already excellent at speaking to staff about these issues, especially when they have concerns or anxieties, so Tootoot does not replace face-to-face communication. It is simply an extra way of telling us when students have concerns.

Every student has been given a Username and Password. These can be changed if necessary- any issues with the administration of Tootoot are dealt with by the school. You might find it useful to view the following online films which tell you more about Tootoot. You can also download a free Tootoot app to your phone or to your child's phone. https://tootoot.co.uk/how-it-works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTOFOb9-CZM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FuB4q_biyI As with any online platform we ask parents and guardians to monitor children's usage and to ensure that Tootoot is used responsibly to report genuine incidents and concerns.

The start of the new year may well be a good time for parents and guardians to review the way their children are using the internet. We have become aware of a number of apps that are being used to hide photos and texts from on phones, often behind a calculator. Sometimes these photos and texts are being used inappropriately to embarrass or bully others. All students, particularly younger ones, would benefit from being spoken to by parents and guardians about safe and responsible internet use, security settings on social media profiles and the risks of sharing photos and personal information online. We can help with this - just get in touch.

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK staff from laing o’rourke working with the dec! team on the parabongo challenge

 

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK the pro-life group having completed one of their excellent assemblies; harriet working with year 9 on the politics project.

 

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK the evil day in action. lat blaycock debates evil with year 9; one of the pupils responds to his challenge to turn weapons into art inspired by a real life tale.

 

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK year 9 at the sharp project before they got stuck into the cakes; joe and mike learn all about green screen technology.

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK working on the holocaust day commemorations in form time; viewing history in the making in ICT as pupils learn about tim peake.