safety and well-being of pupils and staff has to take priority. The Governors support me in having a six month period of not taking children on school trips outside of the United Kingdom and I trust parents and carers and pupils will understand and respect this decision. Schoolcomms, an electronic school communication system is an excellent way to keep in touch with what is happening in school enabling us to contact you via e mail and text message. Please may I encourage you to read the information available about Schoolcomms that is on our website, as you will need to take action to receive messages. Schoolcomms also allows parents to make online payments to school for items such as lunch money, school visits, revision guides and other similar items. Existing methods of payments continue to be available. After a mild and fairly pleasant autumn, the dark, wet and windy days of winter are well and truly with us. Our ‘Unavoidable School Closure’ policy is attached to this newsletter and available on our web site. Please may I ask that you read this document carefully and ensure that should we be forced to close school during the school day, you have made contingency plans for your child. Should you wish a paper copy please contact your child’s Tutor to receive one. The school website will be the source of information should we be forced to close: http://www.saint-michaels.com I assure you that school will only be closed after due consideration of the health and safety of everyone who learns and works here at St Michael’s. We are planning some changes to the curriculum that will mainly affect pupils in Years 7 and 8. Planned changes to GCSE’s mean that the methods of assessment, content and increased difficulty of achieving a good pass require more guided learning hours to complete the course successfully. The Government believes that secondary schools should offer young people a broad range of academic subjects and the English

Dear Parents and Carers , The Christmas holiday is almost here and, as always, it seems not very long ago since I was welcoming everyone back after the summer break. It has been a very busy and extremely productive term and we are now enjoying the season of Advent at St Michael’s with all its accompanying festivities and celebrations including lunchtime Eucharists in our new Chapel and ‘Carols in the Quad’ during tutorial time. We were delighted and honoured to welcome Mr Stephen Whittaker, Director of Education for the Blackburn Diocese as our principal guest at Awards Evening. This evening was about celebrating not only the fantastic examination success of our young people but recognising all they did at school during their five years to enrich our learning community, and in doing so fulfil our mission state-ment of ‘pursing excellence, serving God and celebrating the uniqueness of each individual’. In his speech Mr Whittaker encouraged us to continue to maintain and even extend such impressively high standards, all within a Christian context. The current Year 11 clearly have work to do in an ever changing examination system but they are a wonderful group of young people and we are encouraged by their maturity and diligence. Once again we are over subscribed for the September 2016 intake. Thank you to parents of past and existing pupils who continue to say such positive and complimentary comments about the school. There is no doubt that ‘word of mouth’ remains one of the best endorsements for a school such as ours. I am incredibly proud and humbled by the way our young people have responded and shown great com-

passion, by giving freely to various charities, such as Children in Need, Lepra, British Legion Poppy Appeal and the Bishop’s Harvest Appeal. To raise over £4,000 so far this year, is an amazing achievement. As is our custom, in the season of Advent, pupils and staff are encouraged to continue to think of others less fortunate than ourselves this year through the Oxfam ‘Unwrapped’ appeal. The new Armstrong Centre is being well used as it is open before school from 8.15, at breaks and lunchtimes and after school until 16.30. Reading lessons for lower school are also timetabled in this great facility. Apart from reading being a lifelong pleasure, please continue to encourage your children to read as research tells us that children who read widely are more likely to do well at school in terms of GCSE success in every subject, than those who don’t. At a time of increased focus on young people’s health and well-being I am delighted to congratu-late the Physical Education Curric-ulum Area and all pupils involved in any way in representing school in this area, for being named by the Lancashire Sports Partnership the ‘Secondary School of the Year 2015’. This is a superb and well deserved achievement! Not to be outdone, the Performing Arts Curriculum Area represented school incredibly well in an amazing and outstanding performance of ‘The Tempest’ at the Charter Theatre in Preston as part of the Shakespeare for Schools Festival. Following the recent acts of terror-ism, not only in Paris in November but in other regions, the difficult decision has been made to cancel not only the Christmas trip to Paris this year but also the other foreign trips to France and Germany in 2016. This decision has not been taken lightly as I recognise fully the great benefit to young people of these wonderful opportunities, nor has it been without financial cost to the school but the health,

I S S U E 1 9 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5

HIGHLIGHTS

p3 Shakespeare for

Schools

p4 Sporting news

p5 TALL project

p6 Election fever

p7 Karate queen

p8 Clothes Show

p9 Science news

P10 Uniform/

Attendance

p11 Online safety

P.T.O.

P A G E 2

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

Mrs Heaton continues…

Baccalaureate (EBacc) promotes that aspiration. Emphasis has been placed

on the EBacc which recognises students’ achievement in getting good passes across a core of selected academic subjects (English, mathematics, science, a language and a humanities subject (history or geography). St Michael’s has always provided pupils

who have the interest, motivation and

aptitude to study and succeed, with

the Ebacc qualification, however we

also recognise that this subject

combination will not suit all learners

and that a significant number of our

pupils will achieve success on an

alternative pathway.

As a Church of England Academy with

a very successful RE department (2015

headline GCSE results in RE included

97% of all pupils achieved A* - C

grade with 67% of all pupils achieving

A* - A grade) Religious Education

continues to be our compulsory and

worthy humanities subject!

Please may I ask parents and carers to

continue to support school in speaking

to their children about the use and

unfortunately, at times, inappropriate

use of mobile phones in school. Full

details are contained in the Behaviour

for Learning policy (available on the

school website or a paper copy by

request).

In order that learning is not disturbed

mobile phones must be switched off

and not be visible once the pupil enters

the school premises (either in the

building or the grounds). Pupils who

choose to use their mobile phones

during normal school hours and they

are seen or heard, are choosing to

have their phones confiscated.

They will be returned the following day upon receipt of a letter signed by parents or carers. If pupils needs to contact someone during the school day, the school office will make the call if appropriate. If parents or carers need to contact their children urgently they should contact the school office and a message will be relayed promptly. Preparations for ‘Online Safety

Week’ (8 – 12 February) are well

underway in school including a

“Staying Safe Online” parents and

carers information evening on

Wednesday 16 March.

How our young people use the

internet and the challenges and

dangers they face is becoming

increasingly difficult and pressur-

ised for them. We hope by

informing and highlighting these

issues they will be able to make

more positive and informed

choices.

They will be returned the following day upon receipt of a letter signed by parents or carers. If pupils needs to contact someone during the school day, the school office will make the call if appropriate. If parents or carers need to contact their children urgently they should contact the school office and a message will be relayed promptly. Preparations for ‘Online Safety

Week’ (8 – 12 February) are well

underway in school including a

“Staying Safe Online” parents and

carers information evening on

Wednesday 16 March.

How our young people use the

internet and the challenges and

dangers they face is becoming

increasingly difficult and pressurised for them. We hope by informing and highlighting these issues they will be

able to make more positive and informed choices. They will be returned the following day upon receipt of a letter signed by parents or carers. If pupils needs to contact someone during the school day, the school office will make the call if appropriate. If parents or carers need to contact their children urgently they should contact the school office and a message will be relayed promptly. Preparations for ‘Online Safety Week’ (8 – 12 February) are well underway in school including a “Staying Safe Online” parents and carers information evening on Wednesday 16 March. How our young people use the internet and the challenges and dangers they face is becoming increasingly difficult and pressurised for them. We hope by informing and highlighting these issues they will be able to make more positive and informed choices.

The traditional Christmas Carol Service will once again take place at St Paul’s Church in Adlington on Wednesday 16 December at 18.30. Governors, parents, pupils and staff are all warmly welcome to attend! Term ends on Friday 18 December at 13.00. Buses have been ordered for that time, following the morning Christmas Services. As always, thank you for your

continued support. I wish you all a very restful and peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year.

J Heaton

Mrs J Heaton

Headteacher

MEMBERS of Discovery Club have been helping put together the Christmas crib scene in the

school entrance hall.

They teamed up under the guidance of our Chris-tian Youth Worker Dan to create a welcoming re-

minder of the real meaning of Christmas for pu-

pils, staff and guests to school.

P A G E 3

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

THE TALENTED Tempest cast and crew went down a storm at the

Charter Theatre in Preston when they performed their piece at this year’s Shakespeare for Schools Festival.

Almost 40 of our young people took part in the show, putting in

weeks of work, commitment and dedication culminating in a daz-zling display of acting, dance and music —thespian style, but with a quirky twist!

They portrayed the well-known Shakespeare play as set on a magical island, telling of the Wizard Prospero and his revenge on the people who have mistreated him.

Director and Subject

Leader for Drama,

Miss Forrest, said: ‘The pupils should all

be congratulated for putting on a very pro-

fessional piece of work and for all their

hard work.

‘I’d also like to thank

the parents for their support.

‘The huge smiles on the faces of the pupils on the day made it all worthwhile!’

The brilliant performance of cast and crew.

P A G E 4

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

FABULOUS first years had the chance to show off

their sporting talents for their new schools in the Chorley Schools Skills Tournament.

Both our A team and B team emerged

victorious when they were tested against

all other schools in the district who sent two teams to our sports hall to compete.

Curriculum Leader for PE, Mrs Dempster,

said: ‘The atmosphere was fantastic, nearly lifting the roof off the sports hall.

‘After seven rounds of competition the results were extremely close.

‘Our A team won the tournament from

Southlands by 5 points and the B team

won from Albany by 1 point.

‘It was a fantastic effort from the girls. Well done and thanks to the parents for

their great support from the sidelines.

‘A great start for things to come from their time at St Michael’s.’

ST MICHAEL’S School netballing teams have

had a busy term with many competitions and events taking place.

Both the Year 10 and 11 teams were undefeat-

ed in their district tournament, making them both district champions for their year.

This took place on Friday 16 October at Albany High School.

PE teacher, Miss Makinson, said: ‘The girls have shown fantastic skill and determination to win the titles.’

And on the weekend of the 9-11 October, the Year 8 and Year 11 teams spent the weekend at Boreatton

Park, Shropshire, on a PGL netball weekend.

There the girls took part in tournaments against teams from across the country.

Miss Makinson added: ‘The competition was very tough, competing against people that play for county and

regional teams.

‘However, both teams were successful, receiving medals from this tournament. The Year 11s came 3rd and

the Year 8s came 1st.

‘I was so proud of them all and the success and enjoyment that the pupils got out of the weekend made it unbelievably worthwhile.’

On Saturday 7 November both the Year 9s and Year 11s went to the Lancashire County Netball Tourna-ment in Blackburn.

‘Again the standard was at such a high level and both teams performed to their best ability in difficult con-

ditions with the weather being torrential rain,’ continued Miss Makinson.

‘The Year 9s were successful in now being titled 3rd best team in Lancashire. They have shown fantastic

progress and motivation to achieve their best.

‘Well done to all of the girls that have been so successful and dedicated, representing St Michaels so well!’

P A G E 5

S A I N T M I C H A E L ’ S N E W S

They will take part in activities including bush craft, alimbing, bikeability and water safety.

They will be using skills that they have developed

to support sports activities and will also be festival

planning in local primary schools.

The group will also be working with the Youth Sport Trust's Sky Sports Living for Sport Athlete

Mentor Programme and St Michael's have been

given Charlotte Hartley, an ex GB hockey player, as our mentor.

Charlotte will come into St Michael's on December

7 and another date next term as part of this pro-gramme to work with the TALL project pupils and

also share some of her knowledge, expertise and

motivational skills with Year 10 GCSE PE students.

TO BE magnificent leaders … this is the aim of the eight lucky individuals selected to take part in this

year’s TALL Project.

The four boys and four girls from Year 9 will take

part in the 12 week project with the result that they will achieve their Sports Leader Level 1 Award.

Parents are welcome to browse the school's Moodle at http://moodle.saint-

michaels.lanc.sch.uk

Click on Parent Zone > Log in as Guest User > Agree Site Policy > and there you are! Parents do not need a username for the public areas of Moodle.

The areas accessible to parents include weekly prayers, worship, weekly listings of clubs, re-vision advice, technical support and occasional questionnaires to give feedback on events.

Pupils can visit Moodle Club in H7 on any day of the week at lunchtime throughout the year

for advice, support in accessing home learning, and the resolution of password concerns.

Pupils taking part in the TALL Project

LITERATURE judging is the focus for

a group of Year 9 pupils as they strive to find the best teenage reads

of the year.

Pupils in teaching groups 9S and 9T are presently involved in judging the Lancashire Book of the Year

and have been given a selection of 92 recently published teenage books and have to read them.

They then have to select a top ten for our school.

Four of our pupils, Cameron Wilkes, Ted Slorick, Lucy Bretherton and Tess Birtles will then meet with Lathom High School to discuss our choices and ultimately decide on the best book for our group.

Our book choice is then taken to another meeting with other selected schools in Lancashire where an overall winner is decided.

There is then a presentation ceremony and our representatives will meet the author of the winning book.

Curriculum leader for English, Mrs Clarke, said: ‘This is a very prestigious prize for the author as it is one of the few book prizes that is actually voted for by teenagers, rather than adults.’

P A G E 6

S A I N T M I C H A E L ’ S N E W S

ELECTION fever has once again hit St Michael’s with eight of our young people campaigning for the votes of

their peers in a bid to become a representative on

Chorley’s Youth Council.

Each candidate created their own manifesto and have been busy canvassing around school with posters,

badges and even websites promoting their cause.

Hustings events were held over two lunchtimes in the hall, where our resident local councillor, Mr Paul

Clark, talked to pupils about his role then introduced the candidates to their public and chaired the event.

Each candidate took the floor and spoke to the assembled crowd about their priorities then took questions from the floor.

The big day, Friday 11 December saw a whole-school election in the Annie Hilton Training Suite where every pupil was given the opportunity to vote for their favoured candidate.

Representatives from our local Young People’s services were on hand to supervise the ballot and count

the votes for what was a highly anticipated result.

Acting Curriculum Leader for Living Education and Citizenship, Mrs Brotherton, said: ‘The elections are a

fantastic way of putting citizenship into action and helping our young people to understand the im-portance of democracy and our political process in their lives.’

We will introduce the elected representatives

in the next newsletter – so watch this space!

Headteachers .. past and present

A well attended hustings in the hall

NEW school meal deals are now available in our

canteen at a cost of £2.20.

Pupils can select a healthy main course and a des-sert from three daily meal menus.

Lancashire County Council have organised the deals

which involve using local produce in line with their drive to recognise the value of sustainable and re-

sponsible food sourcing.

School is promoting the government’s aim to en-

courage pupils to have school meals and this is part

P A G E 7

S A I N T M I C H A E L ’ S N E W S

NOT even the threat of a black eye or a punch

to the face can put 14-year-old Sammi Guiver off participating in the martial arts competitions

she loves so much!

This talented Year 9 pupil has been all round the country

competing against other tough teenagers and has ac-crued a positive stash of awards, including three golds,

six silvers and numerous bronzes to her name.

She has been training for three years at the Redsun Shotokan Karate Club in Coppull under the instruction of

Peter lee Bibby (6th dan) and competes in ‘kata’ martial

arts; the form and function of martial arts, involving sparring work, stepping forwards and blocking and se-

quences of particular moves. She occasionally practises ‘kumite’ at her club—the combative side.

She competes in several tournaments a year but has her sights firmly set on the British Championships and going

for her black belt next summer. She already has her 1st Kyu Grade, one stage below the black belt.

‘To get your black belt you have to show everything you

have learnt in class to a high standard,’ Sammi explains.

‘I really hope I get it next summer.’

Sammi is also hoping to get the ‘100% attendance’ prize at her club this year as, if she is successful, she gets to

choose a free karate suit.

She says the attraction of this sport is the feeling it

gives her.

‘I just feel good at the end of the sessions and that I’ve shown what I

can do in karate.

‘I like it when I’ve shown I’ve done the best I can!’

Sammi has taken a few knocks over the years and when practising ‘kumite’ she has been hit in the face but she says: ‘It never really

puts me off. I always work with people who I know and I know what

they can do so it really doesn’t happen very often.’

When asked if she feels empow-

ered and if it increases her confi-

dence, she says: ‘I do feel that if someone tried to hurt me on the

street I could block them and knock their hand, but we have a

strict rule that you don’t do any-thing outside the ‘dojo’

where you train.’

She adds: ‘It is a great thing

for a girl to do. Our trainers always say, there are no

girls or boys, just students!’

The pictures all show Sammi competing

in various tournaments including the

British Karate Federation’s British In-

ternational Championships. Sammi was

part of the Yanagi kai Association team

and it was a huge honour to be selected.

She was in the team as the leaders saw

her as ‘raw, young talent!’ The compe-

tition took place in Glasgow.

P A G E 8

S A I N T M I C H A E L ’ S N E W S

WITH fabulous fashion on display ideas and inspiration flower freely for Art and

Textiles students when they visited the

Clothes Show Live.

The event, held at the NEC Birmingham, also gave pupils the opportunity to visit

college and university stands to learn about the wide range of courses available.

Graduate fashion shows were on display on the Image Catwalk. There was a fash-

ion museum with Liberty clothes and prints, as well as many workshops to take

part in including crotchet, knitting and ap-

plique.

Organiser, Mrs Burrow, said: ‘The fashion catwalk show, in the main theatre, was a spectacu-

lar display of current fashion within performances of music and dance. The visual effects were amazing

and definitely the highlight of the event.

‘Amongst the many fashion and beauty outlets

there were vintage stalls and designer outlets where a bargain could be had, as well as many celebrities

out and about signing autographs.

‘It was a very busy and exciting day, giving students

lots of ideas and inspiration for their own Art, Fash-ion and Textiles work.’

Enjoying the styles on the catwalk

Can you spot the face?

This Picasso inspired piece of artwork was created

by talented Year 7 pupil Thomas Stocks.

He created this picture following Picasso’s ideas to

create faces out of pattern and line.

Curriculum leader for Technology, Mrs Cardwell,

said: ‘This artwork was chosen because of all the careful detail and accurate mark making.

‘A lot of time and effort was spent on this piece.’

P A G E 9

S A I N T M I C H A E L ’ S N E W S

A DAY of singing, silliness but with a Christian foundation was enjoyed by ten upper school pupils this half term.

These pupils from the Bible Study group and Worship Band joined more than 300 young people from the North West for an annual youth event called ‘Sound’ in Manchester.

Organiser, Mr Neville, said: ‘It was a fantastic day of fun, food, games, singing and silliness.

‘The theme of the day was “Free” and centred on how God set His people free from slavery in the Exo-

dus story, and how this points for-

wards to Jesus setting people free from slavery to sin.

‘After lunch there was a choice of

seminars, which most people said

were their highlight of the day, on the topics of Real Contentment,

Engaging with Culture, and Hon-ouring God in My Work.

‘Once the event was over we all

headed over to Manchester’s fa-

mous curry mile for a great meal to round off a great day!’

FASCINATING Science was explored

by 22 pupils when they attended a Christmas lecture at the University of

Central Lancashire.

The pupils were all from Years 9 and 10 and were in-

formed about the impact of the life of Jeremiah Horrocks on early astronomy, in particular his discovery of the

transit of Venus in Much Hoole in 1639!

The pupils were entertained by the passionate storytell-ing of professor Allan Chapman from Oxford University.

Comets in the classroom kept lower school pupils enter-tained when an ambassador from the National Space

Academy came to school.

Pupils were presented with an update of current re-

search and development, taught how to recognise con-stellations with an ice cream wafer biscuit and put

their acting talents to the test to demonstrate the Life

cycle of a star.

These events were supported by the Ogden Trust.

All dressed up as famous astronomers

Fascinating comet making

P A G E 1 0

Uniform Thank you to all parents who support us in our drive for the very highest standards of uniform and for your constructive feedback about the durability of items such as blazers that are worn for 190 days a year! The correct school uniform may be purchased from our preferred supplier ‘JADA’ located on Eaves Lane, who ensure consistency of the items of clothing in terms of colour and quality. Other retailers do supply uniform, however please ensure that you are buying the correct trouser for both boys and girls. Boys need to be of a traditional style (not skinny fit) and girls need to have the St Michael’s cross on the pocket. Girl’s skirts also have the school cross and need to be the correct length. Please may we also ask that pupils wear black, traditional style shoes for school; boots, plimsolls, trainers any canvas shoes or black “trainer look” footwear are all not permitted. This includes brands such as Vans, Converse, Nike and Adidas. The uniform policy along with guidance on suitable footwear can be seen on school website under ‘Information’ then ‘Policies’.

Attendance

We at St Michael’s see that everyone has a part to play in helping to create a pattern of regular

attendance. This includes pupils, parents/carers and all members of school staff. Currently our average attendance figure for this half term stands at an impressive 96.9%. We are very proud of our pupils’

excellent attendance record and we would like to thank parents/carers for their support in this area.

Just a reminder that if your child is absent please contact us as soon as possible on the first day of

absence. You can either phone or you can call into the school reception. Please also try and avoid taking your child out of school for medical appointments where possible.

The school day starts at 8:50am and we expect your child to be in tutorial at that time.

P A G E 1 1

FOUR hundred local prima-ry pupils were treated to a

Fantastic drama presenta-tion 'Team Tim' organised

by Saint Michael's to pro-

mote the upcoming mis-sion to the International

Space Station by Tim Peake.

This was held at St Peter’s Primary School and Curriculum Lead-er for Science, Mr Allcock, followed this up by visiting 12 local primary schools as a Space Ambassador

on behalf of ESERO-uk.

Through a series of interactive activities and an inflatable solar system pupils discovered how the Inter-national Space Station stays in orbit, what causes microgravity and how planets differ in the solar sys-

tem.

With Christ-

mas on the horizon, I am

sure the young people of Saint Michael’s are going to be receiving a range of

digital gifts, so take a quick look at the top tips for this half term!

Consider putting the computers and game consoles in a communal

area of the house, not their bedrooms

Update or produce a home agreement together making sure all pieces of technology are covered.

Check the age rating of games they are playing. Games are getting

more graphic and the use of bad language is common in games 12+

PEGI (Pan European Game Information) has written descriptors for the age ratings and explains that 16 can contain violence, sexual activity, more extreme bad language and criminal activity. Games rated 18+ is

applied when “the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence”.

Check the history of the computer and if it is being deleted ask our young people if they are hiding any-

thing.

“Safer Internet Day” is celebrated in over a hundred countries and it offers the opportunity to highlight pos-itive uses of technology and to explore the role we all play in helping to create a better and safer online

community. It calls upon parents, carers and teachers to join together in helping to create a safer internet

for our young people.

During this week I will be going into assemblies to discuss a number of online safety topics, highlighting a range of dangers and offering advice to all year groups. I will also be holding another Online Safety presen-

tation evening for parents. We had a fantastic turnout this year and I am looking forward to meeting those

parents, and anyone else who is interested, in March 2016.

Have a lovely Christmas!

Miss Chambers

Saint Michael’s News

Saint Michael's CE High School,

Astley Road,

Chorley,

Lancashire

PR7 1RS