Issue 40, April 2001
Dear Parents/Guardians
We have an escalating problem with pupils congregating in the York Drive/
Lancaster Avenue area before the start of school in the morning. Large numbers
of pupils of all ages are causing a nuisance by sitting on garden walls,
leaving litter, swearing etc. This is obviously unfair on the residents,
many of whom have contacted school to complain. Senior members of staff will
make regular visits to the area, but we obviously need the support of parents
to ensure that this unacceptable situation is resolved.
Please make clear to your child that this type of anti-social behaviour will
not be tolerated.
Schoolchildren in employment
Many schoolchildren have part-time jobs, for example a paper round or shop
assistant, but did you know that if you are working whilst still at school,
you need an Employment Licence?
There are rules that govern and protect you whilst you are working, and the
Education Service has an officer who looks at part-time jobs to see if they
are suitable and legal before a Licence is issued. No child is allowed to
work before reaching 13 years of age, and all work must be performed after
7 am and before 7 pm on any day. On Sundays you can only work for 2 hours.
A recent regulation change means that no children are allowed to collect
money or deliver milk. Some children work in the entertainment industry,
modelling or acting, for which a Licence is also required.
Remember that no one wants to ban employment for schoolchildren, as some
work can benefit you. Work gives you experience, confidence and some extra
pocket money, but you must not let it interfere with your education or health.
There is plenty of time for work after you have finished your education,
as most people work for 40+ years before retiring.
Although he cannot help you find a job, if you need any help or advice about
part-time jobs, or Licence application forms, contact
Malcolm Wilson, Juvenile Employment Officer, Education Service, Athenaeum
House, Market Street, Bury BL9 0BN
Telephone: 0161 253 5693.
M Braidley, Headteacher
Comic Relief
Staff Netball Friday, 16 March, Comic Relief Day, saw hundreds of pupils
flocking to the sports hall for the netball match of the season - Female
v Male staff.
In the first half the ladies romped ahead with a score of 7 - 1. During the
second half, and with the aid of some questionable umpiring, the men almost
caught up - but not quite! With a final score of 9 - 8 to the ladies and
£51 in the Comic Relief coffers,
a good time was had by all.
Better luck next time fellas!!
HF
BT Future Talk - What Works? Talk Works!
On Friday 16 March, the BT Future
Talk team arrived at Woodhey to perform for Year 7. The important message
delivered by the acting was that it is vital to have a good conversation.
First there was an introduction, then there were a few funny scenarios that
showed good and bad conversations, and what made them good or bad. Following
the interval, some kids had to leave, but those who stayed saw more scenarios
and took part in the acting themselves!
All together it was a great performance. What works? TALK WORKS!
Lucy Jackson 7D
Thanks BT
Dear BT
Thank you very much for coming in to Woodhey High School. I enjoyed your
talk very much. It was really funny. I especially enjoyed the cleaners' part
- that was the funniest part of all. I also liked all the costumes and think
it was amazing how you can get changed and look so different so fast.
That was just the show, but I also liked the part afterwards where we acted.
You made learning about talking really funny. I never realised how important
talking was. My mum always says I talk too much but now, thanks to you, I
can say that it is very important to talk. Great! (She's talkative too but
she'll never own up to it.)
I had a really great time at the show and I'm sure all the others did too.
Thanks again.
Carla Tumelty 7Y
Parents' Surgery
Once a month, I will stay behind after school and hold a 'surgery' which
is open to any parent who would like to discuss anything with me. No appointment
is necessary and the meetings will be quite informal. Parents will be seen
on a ''first come, first served' basis.
This term the meeting will be from 4.00 - 6.00 pm in the Library at school
on: Wednesday, 9th May. This meeting is intended to be for parents who consider
the usual channels inappropriate. The 'surgery' is in addition to the current
procedure, not a replacement for it.
Reminder: If you have a concern about your child the usual route is:
1. Contact the form tutor to discuss the situation .
2. Contact the Head of Year to discuss the situation.
The current Heads of Year are:
Year 7 - Mrs Gander
Year 8 - Mrs Macwilliam
Year 9 - Mrs Clark
Year 10 - Mrs Bennett
Year 11 - Mr Cutting.
3. Contact the Head of Upper School (for pupils in Years 10 and 11) - Mr
Cutting or the Heads of Lower School (for pupils in Years 7 - 9) - Mrs Macwilliam
and Mrs Gander.
4. Contact Mr Cutting, the Head of the school Pastoral Team.
5. Contact the Deputy Headteacher-Mrs Burrow.
6. Contact the Headteacher-Mr Braidley.
It would be extremely helpful if you would keep to this structure and not
contact the more senior staff members directly, unless it is an emergency.
M Braidley, Headteacher
 |
Soccer
Bury Metro Cup
Round 1
v Tottington Year 9 won 4 - 3
v Coney Green Year 10 walk over
Round 2
v Parrenthorn Year 10 won 5 - 2
v St Gabriel's Year 11 lost 1 - 2
v Derby High School Year 7 won 4 - 1
Year 9 won 4 - 2
Semi-Finals
v St Gabriel's Year 7 not yet played
v Castlebrook Year9 not yet played
v Derby Year 10 not yet played
HT |
Rugby
Results
U14 County Cup
Round 2 v King Edward VII and Queen Mary (Lytham) won 34 - 19
Quarter Final
Ripley St Thomas (Lancaster) conceded the game owing to the foot and mouth
crisis. However, they then gave us the news that, as a result, we would be
travelling to Stoneyhust College for the semi-final!
Semi-final
Despite our past success, we were most certainly the underdogs. After arriving
at the impressive stately surroundings of Stoneyhurst we were warned by a
member of staff that their U14 team were exceptionally large for their age.
Some of our U16s would have looked out of place! When Harold Buchanan, one
of the fastest boys in his age group, was left chasing shadows, we knew that
we had a problem! It would have been so easy for our boys to have simply
given up. However, to their credit they tackled their hearts out and even
managed to score a try. This was a fantastic achievement as this was only
the second try that they had conceded all season! The final score was 65
- 5 and during the after-match meal many people were full of admiration for
the spirit in which our team performed.
Well done to all boys for their efforts.
Other results
v Thornleigh
Year 10 won 27 - 7
Year 11 won 22 - 10
HT/BH |
The Year 7 Rugby Club
has been well attended since half-term with over 30 boys involved. Results
have been very encouraging so far:
v Bury Grammar won 34 - 10
v Tottington won 23 - 0
At the Audenshaw High School 7-a-side Tournament on Saturday, 24 March we
lacked a little in experience and were defeated by Audenshaw and Bramhall.
However, after some fine tackling we finished with a deserved win over Ashton-
on-Mersey.
Well done to all boys involved in both the 7-a-side and 15-a-side games so
far.
Year 9 Rugby Team
Lancashire Schools' Tournament
The team played excellently, winning their first two games easily after playing
exciting rugby. They were unfortunately drawn against Morecambe High School
in the semi-final who were last year's winners. They were narrowly beaten
5 - 0.
Overall, the team were a credit to Woodhey. |
Cricket
Following the exceptional turn-out at the Year 10 nets at lunchtime, Year
8 have now begun lunchtime sessions, and the standard has been equally high.
Six of the lads recently represented the school in an indoor tournament but,
despite a good win against St Monica‘s, they went out of the tournament
on a lower aggregate score.
Things are looking good for the summer!
TG |
Netball
The netball season is over - almost - with only the Year 7 Rally to play.
Good luck girls!
All other teams played really well in their rallies, with Years 8, 9 and
10 teams narrowly missing out on a place in the final, and the Year 11 team
finishing in 3rd place.
Well done, and thanks for your commitment over the year!
RL |
Hockey
After many practices the Year 7 team played in their first match on Tuesday,
13 March against Prestwich High School. The girls played exceptionally well
to win a convincing 4 - 0.
Year 8 - League matches have taken place at Goshen over the past few
weeks with the following results: v St Gabriel's won 3 - 1
v St Monica's drew 2 - 2
v Radcliffe claimed the game
v Tottington drew 0 - 0
v Bury Grammar lost 1 - 0
Year 9 - On Tuesday 27 March the Year 9 team played against Philips High
School in the semi-final of the Bury Schools' Knock-Out Cup. In an excellent,
exciting match and even after extra time, the result was still a draw. A
replay has been arranged for Tuesday, 3 April.
Also in action against Philips High School, on the same day, will be the
Year 7 and Year 8 teams, in their respective semi-finals of the Knock-Out
competition.
Seniors
The senior rally took place at Cheetham Hill Cricket Club on 8 March and,
despite playing well on an unfamiliar surface, they lost only one match to
Bury Grammar School, but failed to qualify for the final.
My continued thanks to the many parents who support and help transport our
teams.
HF |
Farewell to Mrs Linda Nolan
Mrs Nolan retired on Friday, 30 March from the general office at Woodhey
after some 10 years. Linda gave loyalty, expertise and commitment to the
school in a way which can only be described as outstanding. She leaves to
spend time with her husband Tom and family.
We wish her much happiness in her retirement, but will miss her.
MB
Library News
World Book Day - 1 March 2001
About 70 students joined a 15-minute reading by Mrs Standring from one of
our wonderful new novels, 'Kit's Wilderness' by David Almond. It was thoroughly
enjoyed by all - students and teachers alike!
Many students entered and did a wonderful job in the Library Crossword
Competition but unfortunately there could only be three winners. Kim Osman
(11 Kay) won the £5.00 book token and Emily Morton (8 Calrows ) and
Scott Briggs (7 D) won the right to choose a book for the library with a
plaque bearing their name!
New Books in the Library
Lots of exciting new books have arrived in the Library this term. We have
managed to get hold of some action-filled fiction for boys which have been
voted the best books this year by students across the UK along with a host
of new authors and stories. Of course we have purchased many popular non-fiction
titles as well, like the 'Horrible Histories' by Terry Deary, which go like
hot cakes!
CD Listening Post
The most popular books of Spring Term are: The Guinness Book of Records 2001,
Girls in Love by Jacqueline Wilson and, of course, the ever-popular Harry
Potter! The students have been able to enjoy the use of a CD Listening Post
this month, kindly loaned by
Commonword publishers
in Manchester. The two CD's contain poetry to music by writers from all around
the world, introducing different cultural influences into the library. They
have proved to be quite popular and our aim is to provide something similar
on a full-time basis, or maybe even develop our own .....
SJWS
Year 11 Science Revision Day
Mr King and Mr Searson took 50 Year 11 students to a Science Revision Day
at Salford University. Students received many useful tips regarding their
forthcoming GCSE exams and enjoyed two demonstration lectures; one on liquid
nitrogen, the other on sound.
AK
Manchester Actors Company
The Manchester Actors Company came into school on Tuesday, 6 March to
perform a one-hour long version of 'Macbeth'. The witches were ugly and Lady
Macbeth was as blood-thirsty as ever. The performance was great and brought
the characters to life! The show made it much easier to understand the traumatic
tale of love, war and deceit. The well-acted play will have been a handy
experience when it comes to the SAT's in May.
Iain Batigan (9 Calrows)
Only
one term to go. Many thanks for your support so far but we are now gearing
up for a busy last term of fund raising.
The Year 7 Disco/Karaoke Night held on Friday 2 March was a huge success.
Over 120 youngsters danced the night away and raised the magnificent amount
of £496.00. Congratulations to all who attended. We hope to repeat this
event later in the year.
The Adults-Only 70's Night held on Friday, 16 March, was a first.
Many thanks to everybody who helped with the organisation, and a special
thanks to all of you who braved the cold and came along. The evening was
very entertaining, dancing along to the sounds of 'Revival'. The total amount
raised was £330.
Please return your bedding plant orders to school directly after the
Easter Holidays. Please look out for the new variety of plants available
this year. This is our 8th year of selling plants and I am pleased to say
that once again the prices are very competitive.
The largest event of the fund-raising year will be the Summer Fun Day,
which will be held on Sunday 8 July. KEEP THIS DAY FREE IN YOUR DIARIES!
Preparations are already underway but we are seeking volunteers to make this
day a huge success. Can you help us?
As part of the Summer Fun Day we will be holding a Grand Raffle. After the
Easter holidays we will be distributing raffle tickets. Each family will
be given 3 books of tickets at a cost of 20p per ticket (£1 per book).
Prizes will be given to the pupils who sell the most tickets.
100 Club - Congratulations to the following winners:
February - Mrs E Robinson
March - Mr Braidley
No message would be complete without a mention for Waste Paper.
Collections are held at school on the third Sunday of each month between
10 am and 12 noon.
REMEMBER-READ AND RECYCLE!
Michelle Capel, Chairman
Free Books for School Campaign
Once again we are collecting tokens for free books. They can be found in
newspapers and on Walker's Crisps. Can we beat last year's monster total?
AH
Valuables in School
May we remind you that pupils should not bring valuable items into school.
The school's insurance does not cover loss of or damage to pupils' valuables.
Martin Braidley, Headteacher
Mobile 'phones
School policy is that mobile 'phones are not allowed in school. If they are
brought to staff's attention, they will be confiscated and a letter sent
home, asking parents to come in and collect the 'phone (as is the case with
CD players, Walkmans, etc.) If your child has a mobile 'phone, please ask
them not to bring it in to school.
Many thanks
Pam Burrow, Deputy Headteacher
link to updated calendar
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