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Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 1
December
2012
Dates for your Diary:
Fri 14 December - Year 9 Enterprise Day
Mon 17 December - Awards Evening
Wed 19 December - Non-uniform day
School closes early - 2.30pm (20/12/12 - 6/1/13 incl. Christmas Holiday)
Mon 7 January - School opens (Students return)
Tues 8 January - Year 11 Consultation Evening
Tues 5 February - Year 9 Consultation Evening
CHRISTMAS COOKERY
& CRAFTS
On Tuesday
11th December
between 6pm
and 8pm we
w e n t t o
F r o d s h a m
Y o u t h
Foundation to
try out a
number of
Christmas crafts & some Christmas
confectionery. Mrs Neal had arranged for
one of the patisserie chefs, Sarah Ireland,
from The Old Hall Hotel in Frodsham to
come and show us how to create
beautifully iced and decorated biscuits
and 3 different types of truffles. After a
short demonstration, we were desperate
to have a go ourselves. First of all, we
chose a snowman or a tree shape,
covered it with a layer of icing and then
decorated it with an amazing range of
edible glitter, baubles and sprinkles after
carefully piping on some detail. We
moved on next to the truffles. Sarah
showed us how to roll the truffles into a
perfect shape before coating them with
cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles or
white chocolate. Our truffles were a bit
less rounded than Sarah’s but once we
had coated them, they looked great!
Some of us had more chocolate on our
hands and faces than on our truffles, but
it all tasted nice.
Gill, the Youth Worker who normally runs
the session at Frodsham Youth
Foundation on a Tuesday evening had
organised a variety of Christmas crafts for
us to do whilst our biscuits and truffles
were drying out & setting. We coloured in
some glass Christmas light catchers and
made some tree decorations. We couldn’t
believe it was already time to go when
Mrs Neal gave us some bags to take our
biscuits & truffles home in. The evening
was great fun and we would like to thank
Mrs Neal for organising the evening,
Sarah for showing us what the biscuits
and truffles
w e r e
supposed to
look like! and
G i l l f o r
providing the
o t h e r
C h r i s t m a s
crafts.
Year 7 Students
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 2
Gold Medallist visits Helsby High School
Helsby High School was proud to welcome Ann Packer,
winner of the 800m gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo
Olympics on Monday 15 October. Ann came to talk to
the students about her achievements in athletics and
also to encourage the youngsters who were participating
in the World Marathon Challenge on Tuesday 16 October
2012.
The World Marathon Challenge actually started 5 years
ago here at Helsby High School and was the brainchild
of Frodsham resident George Bunner MBE, founder of
Sportshall Athletics. The idea is that teams run the 26.2
mile marathon in 200 metre stage relays and aims to
beat the marathon world record time of 2hours 3 minutes and 38 seconds. When children take part
in the Marathon Challenge, they compete with thousands of their peers from countries across the
world – all running in solidarity with children who face a daily struggle to survive. Some of the
original 2008 team who ran this are now in our Sixth Form. Last year nearly 2000 children took part
from more than a dozen countries across the globe.
Save the Children joined forces with Sportshall in 2011 to take the event further around the world
and link it to a world wide campaign for child survival.
The 2012 event coincided with the United Nations World Food Day and members of Save the Children
also attended the school. Some year 8 students had a lesson about world hunger and took part in a
SKYPE session with a school in Nairobi, Kenya.
Assistant Headteacher, Karen Neal said “ We were delighted to welcome Ann Packer and George
Bunner today into Helsby High School and are very proud that this large and international event
started here at our school. We are keen to raise the awareness of the work of Save the Children and
the Legacy of the Olympics through team work and feel it raises our students’ global awareness.”
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 3
HELSBY RUGBY CLUB Helsby Junior Rugby Club season has just started and the club welcomes new players from 6yrs to 16yrs. Training and matches are held on the Rugby pitches behind Tesco in Helsby at 10:30-12:00 every Sunday. Call in to meet the coaches, learn more about the
sport and have a go at some taster sessions.
Our U7 to U8 teams play "Tag Rugby", which is a safe, non-contact, fast-moving game that is suitable for boys and girls to play together.
Our U9 to U17 teams play contact but at gradual levels with various team and pitch sizes, to introduce players in a controlled manner to all aspects of the game.
Helsby RUFC and all Coaches are RFU accredited, holding the RFU seal of approval.
For further information visit www.helsbyrugby.com, or email info@helsbyrugby.com or call
Rob Allerston 07983526392.
YEAR 8 TALENTED DRAMA STUDENTS
Drama students in Year 8 have been showing their talent and enthusiasm for their latest Drama
project using Mask. Students have been learning about the rules of Mask Work and how they can
use masks to create tension and to symbolise a meaning on stage.
These pieces were based on a monologue about a character who felt alone and singled out in a new
school. These year 8 pupils used the masks to symbolise how the character felt.
The pupils said that they enjoyed thinking more
deeply about what they can communicate on stage
and that considering symbolism was a challenge.
They also said that the masks looked scary and that
they made their faces very hot!
Mrs V Cross - Head of Drama
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 4
WEST OF ENGLAND REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY 10 NOVEMBER AT WALTON GARDENS, WARRINGTON
The school’s PE department once again organised the regional heats of the English School’s Cross
Country championship. Teams from nineteen schools travelled from as far away as Newport , Stroud
and Cheltenham to compete. The school had teams in three of the four categories and an outstanding
performance from the intermediate girls’ team resulted in them qualifying for the national
championships next month by the narrowest of margins.
Special mention should be made of Georgia Aston-Massey who, despite being a year young , finished
second in her race just three seconds behind the winner. The other members of the Intermediate
girls’ team were Amy Renton, Megan McEveley and Paula Gormley-Flores who all contributed
magnificently to pip Thomas Telford School by one point to secure third place.
The Junior Boys and Junior Girls teams also deserve recognition finishing 6th and 5th respectively and
showing great potential for the future. Representing the school in the Junior Boys were Tom Wilson,
Ben Jones, Luke Southerton, Mitchil Collins, Nathan Bentley and Harri Britton and in the Junior Girls
Emily Howard, Natasha Treharne, Charlotte King, Esther Wilson, Emily Heatley and Zoe Kimber.
Congratulations to all the runners who represented their school so well and all the parents and friends
who turned up to support the school teams in such a well organised and well received event.
Intermediate girls team with Miss Wilkes Georgia celebrates after her run
Miss Clarke starts the Intermediate boys’ race
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 5
Digital day @ Helsby
Students from Year 8 and Year 9 took part in this year’s Digital Day @ Helsby organised by Head
of Year 8, Mr Cooney.
Digital day is a national initiative to highlight the skills shortage in IT across the world. Students
were introduced to a range of career opportunities in IT and were given a chance to try out some of
these skills during the digital session. This included; programming with Raspberry Pi, website
design, computer animation, gaming as well as creating mobile apps for the digital age! Once the
students got started there was certainly no shortage of skills at Helsby!
Year 9
Visit the International Slavery
Museum, Liverpool Our annual visit to the highly acclaimed International Slavery
Museum in Liverpool took place this November. Our Year 9
students were able to see the exhibits ranging from models of
West African homes, to displays of African Caribbean culture in the
modern world. The centrepiece of the exhibition, however, enabled
our students to develop a deeper understanding of experiences
that the millions of enslaved Africans may have had when
captured, and transported into slavery in the Americas. As ever,
our students represented the school commendably, and we
returned with lots of new findings to support a key piece of work
on the topic.
Mrs N Llewellyn
Head of History
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 6
Mrs Malllinson delivered a practical art workshop for Primary Teachers as part of an INSET program.
The course objectives were to:
Explore ways to bring 3D Art into Primary School Classrooms
Introduce a project which has been successfully used at both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 4
Gain practical experience of casting and sculptural processes
Explore ways to develop and extend the activity to become a whole project, including decoration
and drawing exercises
Reflect as a group on how to implement in the classroom
The day was a great success, examples of feedback received:-
Thank you for an inspiring day. To be shown the possibilities of a technique is a great way to
enthuse teachers.
A really useful workshop – so lovely to spend the day being creative but really valuable ideas
to take back into the primary classroom. Thank you!
We have had a fabulous day! The results were amazing even though we have limited artistic
skills. Great to learn a practical activity that we can actually use.
Informative, enjoyable day – made us think about new art experiences for the children.
Simple ideas with such effective results. Can be adapted/modified for different age
groups/ability. Transferable – could be used in various areas of curriculum. Brilliant workshop –
loved it. More please!
So refreshing to have something we can actually use in the classroom!!
Every child gets a result. Really positive experience.
ART AND DESIGN PRIMARY WORKSHOP
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 7
PARENTAL FORUM
Thursday 15 November 2012
We held our first Parental Forum of the academic year on Thursday 15th November 2012. In
response to parental requests, we began with a presentation by SENCO Mrs Okell on Special
Educational Needs & Disability provision at Helsby. This was followed by a presentation by Miss
Simmonds, Head of Year 9 on the new “My Child at School” (MCAS) facility which has been
introduced recently and which allows parents to log on and monitor their son/daughter’s progress,
homework, attendance and punctuality. There was then a chance for parents to chat to other
parents and staff in an informal way over a cup of tea or coffee. Parents were very appreciative of
the information given out and made some suggestions about future discussion topics. If you would
like to request or suggest an item for future discussion at our next Parental Forum on Thursday 18th
April 2013, please e-mail me at the following address kneal@helsbyhigh.org.uk
Mrs K Neal
Assistant Headteacher
IMPRESSIVE START FOR U19 FOOTBALL TEAM
Helsby’s U19’s football team has made an impressive start to the Merseyside U19’s league which
involves nineteen school and college teams. After four league games they remain undefeated and
are top of this highly competitive league.
Results: Cheshire Cup – Upton (away) 2-3 (win)
Friendly: Birkenhead (home) 4-2 (win)
Merseyside League:Archbishop Beck (away) (waterlogged)
Cardinal Heenan (Home) 2-2 (draw)
Knowsley Community College (Home) 2-0 (win)
Childwall (away) 1-3 (win)
Oakmere (home) 2-0 (win)
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 8
A- Level Theatre Studies Trip to see 'Forced
Entertainment' November 2012
'Forced Entertainment' are a renowned experimental theatre company who are not afraid to break
the boundaries of what audiences expect Theatre to be. The play was about people trying to out do
each other with bigger and better stories. They started to include the names of Hollywood stars and
elaborate music to try and make them sound more interesting. The play reminded us all to
appreciate people and their stories for what they are; simple and honest. The play reminded us of
the evils of the media obsessed culture, bigger, better and with a car chase and an explosion is not
always better.
Helsby's A-Level Theatre Studies students will use the experience to help them in the creation of
their own pieces of Experimental Theatre. They are set to perform these pieces for their exam in
April. The students had mixed feelings about the performance but all agreed that the experience of
seeing such an avant-garde theatre was important in their theatrical growth.
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 9
Philosophy & Ethics
Conference
On Thursday 15 November, 18 Year 12 and
13 students attended a Philosophy Conference
in Manchester, hosted by Peter and Charlotte
Vardy of UCL London. The lectures were both
informative and relevant to the AQA course
followed in school, and provided excellent
resources and revision materials for all of the
students.
Winds Fest On Sunday 18th November,
members of the Senior Band
took part in a windband festival
at Liverpool Hope University.
Everyone met outside the school
early in the cold morning and
travelled to Liverpool in the
minibus, kindly driven by Mrs Llewellyn.
On arrival at the University’s Creative Campus,
we quickly set up in preparation for our short
performance before our masterclass. Joined by
members of Liverpool Hope University Band and
Mrs Keating, the school’s brass teacher, we
played several pieces we have been working on
recently during rehearsals, before Dr Craig
Hamilton took over the conducting role to begin
our masterclass, in which we concentrated on
‘Disney Movie Magic’. Dr Hamilton, from Ouachita
Baptist University in the USA, gave us all small
tips and advice that added up to making the
whole band’s performance of the piece sound
even better than before!
Following our masterclass, we separated up into
our instrument groups and each attended a
workshop session tailored for each instrumental
family. I took part in the ‘Buzzing for Brilliance’
workshop lead by Sean Chandler, which focussed
on improving our brass performance. I was able
to learn several different techniques that will
help me both when I play independently and also
as part of the school’s ensembles. Other
members of the band attended ‘Dr Watson’s
Rhythm and Sax Workshop’ and ‘One Reed or
Two? (Or maybe none at all)’, a woodwind
workshop lead by Emma Haughton. Everybody
said that they had learnt something valuable and
really enjoyed the workshops.
After a quick lunch break it was back to it with
the whole band taking part in an improvising
workshop. The session was lead by three Music
students from the USA; Christopher on the
piano, Michael on the electric bass and Zack on
the drums. We were treated to a great rendition
of ‘Take the A Train’, which featured two
amazing improvised solos. Next, we each took a
turn improvising a short solo only using two
notes at first, then five and finally the whole
scale, while the trio played the backing. Then,
members of the band improvised short ‘question
and answer’ solos in pairs, following
Christopher’s advice by adapting what the other
person had just played, to give exciting results.
All band members benefited greatly from our
short time with the jazz trio; each person learnt
how to better their improvised playing and that
soloing isn’t so hard!
To end a great day, the Senior Band joined
together with the other ensembles who attended
the festival to give a massed performance of
Holst's ‘Second Suite in F Major - March’, again
conducted by Dr Craig Hamilton. After a short
rehearsal, and some final tweaks from Dr
Hamilton, the entire grouped ensemble
performed the piece to an audience. It was a
great feeling being able to play in such a large
group of around 100 talented musicians of a
range of ages. It was in fact the largest
ensemble I’ve ever played in and the sheer
volume of the ensemble was amazing! On
finishing the piece, we all stood and bowed as
the audience congratulated us on our
performance.
I immensely enjoyed my time at Winds Fest and
certainly learnt a huge deal which I can apply to
my playing to improve in the future. I would
recommend this event to any interested wind-
instrument players and I
hope that I will be able to
be part of something as
large and as helpful as
Winds Fest again.
Tom Townsend
Year 12
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 10
Helsby's Christmas
Drama Showcase 11th and 12th December
6:45 - 9:00pm
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 11
The Actors: from years 7 - 13
A thoughtful punch!
The showcase included work created in lessons and in extra curricular activities. The
pieces ranged from 3 to 10 minutes in length and covered a variety of styles, genres and structures. The work produced has given a range of students from the avid drama club
attenders, to those from the Drama gifted and talented list, to the sixth form actors/ directors and musical theatre experts planning on a career in the industry, a chance to produce a short scene which ‘showcased’ their particular talent.
The showcase included a light-hearted example of musical theatre directed by a member
of the 6th form Drama Committee, sections from the A-Level set texts, two GCSE skills club performances, a Christmas themed performance from the 6th form Drama Committee, a lower school Gifted and Talented project directed by a member of the 6th
form Drama Committee and a selection of monologues that students are using for audition pieces for Drama schools and universities.
Drama Christmas Showcase 11th, 12th December
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 12
Business Game - Themed around the castle,
the fields or the woods at the centre, there was
something for everybody in the Business Game;
whether it was a challenge of balance, logic or
strength. Each task earned a certain number of
points (for raft building, see below) and had a
cost, penalties and a time limit.
“Rooms are comfortable, food is deli-
cious, activities are appropriate for
Sixth Formers”
Even though it sounded like a deadly serious and
hard challenge at first, the Business Game was
actually a great experience, where communica-
tion and teamwork were key factors in getting
anything done.
My favourite challenge was the nightline – where
all team members were blindfolded and had to
stay touching the person in front of them; whilst
being guided through wooded obstacles by only
a rope and the directions of the people in front
of them. This was definitely the main task for
getting muddy, as we slid under a net, moved
through tyres and pulled ourselves through a
pipe – all in the name of gaining points for raft
building later that day.
The students were superb I was
proud to be associated with them
Raft Building - After gaining points in the Busi-
ness Game, we were able to participate in the
raft building activity, but not before we bid at an
auction using our points as the currency in order
to obtain items which would be used to build our
raft. Along with the ordinary poles and barrels,
there were a few mystery items up for grabs,
too. These included a surf board, a life ring, a
box and a bucket, and a little bit of encourage-
ment from one of the instructors. It’s fair to say,
the winning teams of these items never showed
any disappointment.
“A real sense of teamwork”
After bidding for our items, we began to build
our rafts in a relatively short time limit, which
mean that teamwork was essential. Teams came
together to tie wooden poles to large plastic bar-
rels with various ropes, in the hope that nothing
would fall apart whilst floating in the water with
all team members sitting on top. After the rafts
were built, we were dressed in safety equipment
and tested out the rafts, before preparing our-
selves for a race. The race involved rowing out
to a buoy to collect a ring, then placing this on a
platform nearby. After this, team members must
row back to shore and carry their rafts to their
original starting point and begin to dissemble it.
Many people found this easy, as the majority of
their rafts had already began to fall apart…
Not only was the raft building activity extreme
fun, but it showed every reason as to why team-
work is important in any situation, and that in
some situations, working alone is not an option.
When people come together, so do great ideas
by Marissa & Jenny, Year 12 @ HHS
YEAR 11
PREPARING FOR EXAMS EVENT
This event was very well attended by both
parents and students. Everyone learned more
about how to revise, top tips etc and how to
manage the stress too. The lead speaker was
Andrew Newton.
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 13
French exchange 2012
On Thursday 8 November the exchange
students arrived and we all waited in
the breakout space to meet our
partners. We were all very excited but
also nervous. When they arrived we all found our
partners and took a seat whilst Mr Dowler said a
few words of welcome to our partners. After this
we walked to the bus park to get picked up.
When I got home I helped my partner settle in
and then went to walk the dog and showed her
round the neighbourhood. I also showed her
where her friends would be staying. When we got
home my partner was very tired after her long
day of travelling, so when we had eaten she went
to bed.
On the Friday we were very excited to be visiting
Liverpool, we got to school and waited for the
coach that would take us to the Albert dock.
When we got to Liverpool we went for an explore
around the docks, we then proceeded to the
Beatles museum where we each got a headset
and wandered round, examining all of the
interesting exhibits. We then made our way
round the docks to the Tate gallery, which was
very abstract and interesting. We then had a little
time to look round the shops and for our partners
to buy souvenirs. It was a really fun trip. When
we got home we had invited a few of our friends
and their partners for a traditional English
afternoon tea with scones and cucumber finger
sandwiches. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
On Saturday we went for a cooked breakfast at
Olivia’s house, before heading to ballet and then
getting the train to Chester. A large group of us
all met up and everyone really enjoyed
themselves. The French students especially liked
Primark and Jack Wills.
On Sunday Liv, Jen and I all met up and took our
partners for a walk in Delamere forest and then
stopped for a drink at the visitor centre. After this
we went to Llandudno so that the French partners
could say that they had been to another country,
they were all really excited. When we got there
we took them to the dry ski-slope and did tubing
and tobogganing which everyone really enjoyed.
We then went for fish and chips and walked along
the beach. It was fun and everyone enjoyed it.
On Monday we went
to Manchester, to the
Old Trafford Stadium
for a tour around the
grounds, it was very
interesting to find out
about the history of
the team. After this
we went to MOSI and
had a look round the
museum before watching a 4D film which was
very fun, everyone was screaming but it was very
exciting.
On Tuesday we
went to Chester zoo
which everyone
was really excited
about. When we
got there we were
allowed to go off
and look around at
t h e d i f f e r e n t
animals. There
were lots of animals
and all the French partners really enjoyed it. We
then had lunch and went off again, before we left
we got to look round the shop and everyone was
trying on hats and buying sweets, it was great
fun. All the French people thought that the tiger
hat I bought was hilarious and were all taking
pictures and laughing, it was a really fun trip.
After school because it was Jenna’s partner’s
birthday, we all went to her house for a small
party which was really nice.
On Wednesday we
had a day in school
so they could see
what our lessons
were like, we were
off timetable for
the day and had
some exc i t i ng
classes planned.
First lesson we had
a quiz, we had to try and explain the questions in
French which was quite hard but really fun at the
same time. Second lesson we had food tech
where we made chocolate chip muffins and
everyone thought they were delicious, it was
really fun. Then we had break where we
introduced our partners to our friends, after this
we had rowing and the gym and then proceeded
to a drama lesson where we played fun drama
games which everyone enjoyed. After lunch our
final lesson was to write a review about the week
in French and English so we helped each other
with the language. That evening my partner, my
mum, my brother and I all went for dinner at the
Goshawk, to show my partner what an English
pub/restaurant is like.
My friends and I all really enjoyed the French
exchange and we are looking forward to visiting
France in April. I would recommend this
experience to anyone who enjoys speaking
French and likes meeting new people, the trips
are really exciting and everyone really enjoyed it.
The week seemed to fly by and was really fun. I
know that a lot of my friends and I would love to
participate in this exchange again.
Isobel Foley - Year 9
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 14
Christmas Craft Fayre
Sunday 25 November 2012
Many thanks to all those whose contributions made the school’s annual Craft Fayre such a
success. The people who came to support the Fayre had the chance to start their Christmas preparations by viewing a fantastic range of products on offer; from speciality jams,
preserves and chutney to handmade jewellery, the opportunities to find that personal present were plentiful.
The committee of the Friends of Helsby High School and parental volunteers ran a raffle;
various competitions and provided refreshments to raise as much as they could to support those extras that help every pupil in the school have an enriched education. There was a
tombola based on prizes donated by parents; a raffle of gifts largely donated by local businesses and teas, coffees, cakes and jacket potatoes for those who needed a midday energy boost.
All this activity was accompanied by a programme of music designed to create that
Christmas feeling. The school’s guitar group, under the supervision of Miss Wells, played throughout the event and their talents were much appreciated by the Fayre
goers. They even took requests and accompanied Mrs Chambers’ unique rendering of “Rudolph the Red Nose
Reindeer” in the afternoon. Thanks are due to everyone involved but particularly the
Friends of Helsby High School who gave of their time freely to organise another successful Fayre.
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 15
Quarry Bank Mill, Styal
On Friday 21 September, 2012, sixty two of our
historians visited one of the North-West of
England’s treasures – Quarry Bank Mill at Styal.
The mill gives us a valuable insight into how a
cotton mill worked and grew at different stages of
the industrial revolution, as well as into the lives
of everyday workers – many of whom were
children who would nowadays be too young to
come to Helsby High School!
Students visited the mill itself, the apprentice
house, where orphan children who worked in the
mill would live, and the village that the mill owner
built for his workers. They gathered lots of
valuable evidence that will form a central part of
their controlled assessment work in History this
autumn. They had a highly productive day and as
usual, they represented the school commendably.
Many thanks to all of the staff and students who
helped to make the day a success.
Year 8
CELEBRATION LUNCH
Sixteen Year 8 pupils were invited to attend a special
celebration lunch on Thursday 15th November, as a
reward for their excellent progress during the first term.
Two pupils were nominated from each form and were
invited to eat sandwiches, pizza and cake. The pupils
were congratulated by Mr Cooney, Miss Roberts, Mrs
Foulder, Mrs Robinson and Mr Shelton for their hard work.
The next Rewards Lunch will be at Christmas, where
students who have contributed positively to school life will
be rewarded.
Mr J A Cooney
Head of Year 8
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 16
THE GREENWOOD CLUB
We were all very excited at the forthcoming visit to the Greenwood Club as well
as a little anxious as to what expect. We volunteered to assist the Senior Citizens
in an Art project that would help them to make Christmas decorations and
Christmas cards. Although nervous, we were instantly welcomed to the club, as
the residents and staff were very cheerful and made us feel at ease instantly.
We all bonded over a cup of tea and then it was time for work. Each one of us
helped a senior citizen with their creation and we instantly became friends. The
needs of the residents varied a lot but we were on hand to support them. By the
end of the session we had all bonded with the residents. We shared stories, jokes
and laughter throughout the afternoon and it felt very difficult to say goodbye as
we had made a true connection. The residents really appreciated the time that
we had spent there that afternoon. This was a fantastic experience for us to be a
part of the group as well as working with people from a different generation. We
would welcome the opportunity to do this again.
Zoe Pearce/Amy Jackson/Ben Tomlinson/Steph Jones/Holly Pomfret/Kate Williams
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 17
Recent Visits to Primary Schools from Helsby High
School Business Studies Department
Students at Frodsham Manor and Kingsley CP primary schools were delighted to have a recent visit
from the Business Studies department at Helsby High School.
Mrs Turner from Helsby High introduced business and enterprise to Year 6 classes and found them
to be very enthusiastic and full of enterprising ideas. Students completed several tasks including
‘Dragon’s Den Winners and Losers’ and then went on to create a futuristic mobile phone.
Students had to include a unique selling point which would guarantee the product’s future success
and they didn’t disappoint!
We certainly look forward to encouraging these budding entrepreneurs when they move to high
school next year.
THE 6TH FORM DRAMA COMMITTEE
On Wednesday 12th December the 6th form Drama Committee performed at Helsby's annual
OAP's Christmas party. The performance was a satire about the stress and worry of organising
Christmas. Our OAP friends, our student helpers and our hard working teachers all enjoyed the
production and the now 20 strong members of the Drama Committee were proud of their
contribution to the support of their local community.
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 18
HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL
SENIOR CITIZENS’ PARTY
2012 After many months
of planning, the
day of the party
had arrived.
Parking spaces had
been reserved, the
urn had been
switched on and
minibuses
despatched to pick up local residents. Meanwhile
in the school hall with the Christmas CD playing
in the background, year 11 prefects were busy
decorating all the tables to perfection and
receiving all the hampers, made by all the tutor
groups in the school, which the senior citizens
would take home with them at the end of the
party. Our year 10 & 11 car park attendants were
ready and waiting in their pink hi-viz jackets to
welcome and direct the cars and minibuses.
The first guests
arrived after 10 and
were warmly
greeted by students
in years 10 & 11,
suitably dressed in
Santa hats and
festive aprons. They
ensured everyone had a hot drink before helping
them with a picture quiz and then escorting them
to the Christmas tree to have their photograph
taken by year 12 & 13 Photography students. The
Food students in years 10 & 11 had been
preparing home-made mince pies which were a
welcome arrival in the hall.
Once all the guests had arrived, it was time for a
few games of Bingo before they were entertained
excellently by the Junior Choir & Band leading a
sing a long of Christmas carols and then the
Drama group who performed a very funny and
lively Christmas sketch. All the performers
received rapturous applause from the audience
but one 86 year old was worried that the boy who
had jumped off the stage with the girl over his
shoulder must have hurt his feet! We reassured
her that he was fine!
At Midday, the Food students served lunch
with military precision – a splendid array of
sandwiches, pizza, scotch eggs, sausage rolls
and crisps followed by home-made Victoria
sponge cake, home-made strawberry and
cream topped shortbread and more delicious
mince pies. The comments from the guests
ranged from “absolutely beautiful” to “it just
melts in your mouth”.
After lunch, there was more entertainment from
the Dance group, who performed one of their
routines fantastically and a few more games of
Bingo. Finally it was time for the Raffle and
Hamper distribution before the return home in
the minibuses.
This is always the saddest part of the party when
we have to say Goodbye. The senior citizens were
full of praise: “It has been a wonderful morning,
as always”, “We are off to another party now, but
this is the best one by far- we look forward to it
every year!”, “ Your students are a credit to you!”
and one gentleman remarked “ It has been good
for us Oldies but good for the Youngies too”. He is
absolutely right. Young people today sometimes
do not get the recognition they deserve and are
often feared by the older generation. One year
10 student said “It has been the best day I’ve
ever had in school!” The party breaks down any
barriers between old and young and
demonstrates the excellent community spirit
within our school.
For our annual party to be successful and enjoyed
by our guests, it takes a huge amount of thought,
planning, commitment and effort from so many
people in school - teaching and support staff,
and our students. It is a real team effort and one
I am proud to be a part of. We look forward to
doing it all over again in 2013!
Mrs Neal
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 19
6TH FORM DRAMA COMMITTEE
On Wednesday 12th December the 6th form Drama Committee performed at Helsby's annual
OAP's Christmas party. The performance was a satire about the stress and worry of organising
Christmas. Our OAP friends, our student helpers and our hard working teachers all enjoyed the
production and the now 20 strong members of the Drama Committee were proud of their
contribution to the support of their local community.
Helsby High School Autumn Newsletter
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk 20
Top of the ‘A’ level tree.
It has just been confirmed that our ‘A’level
students outperformed all other Cheshire West
and Chester institutions. The average points per
entry score achieved in 2012 was 226 points well
above the national figure of 211, the CWaC figure
of 214 and the next highest in the local authority
of 216. An exceptional 60% of all grades
achieved were either A*, A or B. The DfE recently
produced a value added indicator for post 16
courses and this indicates that our 6th formers
make significantly better progress than those
nationally. We are delighted that these confirm
the high standards achieved by our students and
we are confident that we can improve further in
future years.
World Marathon Challenge.
Everyone associated with Helsby High School
should be rightfully proud that the school started
the International World Marathon Challenge. An
event in which teams run 200m in relay stints to
compete with other schools around the world to
attempt to beat the world marathon record held
by Kenya’s Patrick Makau. The event started in
2008 with Helsby High School students and was
organised by George Bunner. In 2012, 300 teams
took part from around the world. Our Year 8 team
ran in Manchester in a superb time of 01:59:49,
beating the world record of 2:03:38 and finishing
10th. Our Year 7 also ran superbly in difficult wet
and windy conditions on the school field.
Successful events.
During November and December Helsby High
Students have been involved in a wide range of
activities and visits, many of which are featured in
this newsletter and on our website
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
We are proud of the successes and hard work of
all our young people. Particular mentions go to all
those involved in the recent superb Carol Concert,
Drama Showcase, Street Dance show, French
exchange visit, Netball and Cross-county team
successes and the recent Senior Citizens party.
Best Wishes
We say thank you and good luck to two members
of staff who are leaving us at the end of term:
Sheila Edwards is retiring after 15 years at the
school. Her skills and hard work in the
reprographics office will be greatly missed. Ian
Magill has been promoted to Head of Maths at
Argoed High School in Flintshire. His hard work,
knowledge and teaching skills will be missed. We
wish him well in his new school.
Finally, I would like to thank the
whole school community for the
support given to the school. I wish
you a happy Christmas and a
successful 2013.
A FOND FAREWELL
Mr Magill will sadly be leaving Helsby High
at Christmas to take up a post at a new
school. We asked him about his time at
Helsby and what he will remember most
fondly about us!
How long have you been at Helsby High
School?
I have been at Helsby 8 and a half years - not
as long as some but it's one quarter of my life
so far!!! I'll let you do the maths to work out
how old I am. Not as old as I look but I've had
a hard life!
What are your happiest memories?
I do have lots of good memories and I've made
some good friends on the staff. I've particularly
enjoyed teaching in the 6th Form - something
I'll miss at my new school as it is only an 11-16
school. The teachers in the Maths department
are excellent and work so hard to achieve super
results at all key stages. I've learnt to ski on
the school ski trips and now go every year so I'll
be grateful to Dennis for inviting me on my first
ski holiday. I have enjoyed playing football for
the staff team (I'm not sure who'll score all the
goals now I won't be there!) and playing in the
5-a-sides on a Friday.
Where are you moving to?
I will be sad to leave but I'm looking forward to
starting my new job as Head of Maths at a
school near to where I live (longer in bed in the
morning and saving money on fuel!). It'll be
hard work settling into a new school with the
added responsibility but there'll be little bonuses
each month that will make up for it, I'm sure! I
would also like to wish everybody at Helsby
continued success in the future.
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