part time temporary basis. I am sure that you will join me

in wishing these colleagues

every success in their roles. Interviews for various other

positions are taking place in the coming weeks.

I enjoyed meeting many of

you at both our Year 10 and

Year 7 Consultation Evenings this half term. The success of

our pupils is highly depend-ent on the strong relation-

ships, mutual respect and

trust developed between school, parents and carers.

Thank you for your continued support and the vital role you

play in ‘Team St Michael’s’.

A special Eucharist service led

by our Vice Chair of Gover-nors, Father David Arnold,

allowed pupils to show their

appreciation for the dedica-tion of our former Chair of

Governors Mrs Freda Arm-strong this half term. The

Armstrong Choir and Black-burn Cathedral’s Chief Choris-

ter, William Keeling, sang at

the service where Father Da-vid again paid tribute to the

40 years Mrs Armstrong has been involved in the Govern-

ing Body of St Michael’s.

Head Boy, Lewis Kos, and

Dear Parents and Carers

Even though this has been

a relatively short half term, it has been another produc-

tive and eventful period in the life of St Michael’s. I

hope the contents of the

newsletter will give you a flavour of life at school and

the range of enriching extra-curricular activities and

events happening on a reg-ular basis.

This is, of course, a critical time for our Year 11 pupils.

Following their mock exami-nations and their reports,

they now have a clear idea

of their strengths and areas for improvement. With only

ten teaching weeks remain-ing before the main written

examinations begin, it is

now crucial they begin to plan their own focused pro-

grammes of revision. They have received their exami-

nation and revision timeta-

bles this week and we en-courage all pupils, parents

and carers to attend our Revision Evening to be held

on Wednesday 28 February at 7pm in the school hall.

This is a most informative

evening, where revision strategies and techniques

will be shared and helpful tips given to enable our

pupils to structure their

time and achieve the best results possible. There is no

substitute for dedication and hard work and I do

thank and encourage par-ents and carers to continue

with their fantastic support

by ensuring full attendance

at school, that controlled assessments and home

learning deadlines are met

and that pupils attend the many and varied after

school activities designed to support learning. It is quite

possible for pupils to im-prove by one or two grades

from this stage through

hard work and commit-ment. It is also imperative,

however, that pupils re-member to take time for

relaxation, continue with

their extra-curricular activi-ties and remain healthy in

‘body, mind and spirit.’

This has been a very busy

term for new staff appoint-ments. We are delighted to

announce that following a re-structure of our pastoral

team, Mr Doug Neville has been appointed as a Pupil

Manager. He will initially

work alongside Mrs Kin-neavy in Year 8. Mr John

Kirkpatrick has been ap-pointed as Senior Leader:

Wellbeing. Mrs Kinneavy

remains in post as a highly valued member of the pas-

toral team. In addition to her senior safeguarding role

she will now have a whole

school remit which focuses on the wellbeing of pupils

throughout the school. Ad-ditionally, Mr Aled Demet

has become a Leader in Learning for Technology

and iPads. Mrs Bain has

returned to the English de-partment on a part time

basis following her materni-ty leave and Mrs Judith Ma-

son has also joined the

English department on a

Message from the Headteacher

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 I S S U E 9

HIGHLIGHTS

p2 Youth Speaks!

p3 TALL Project

p4 Special Eucharist

p5 Rugby news

p6 Fabulous runners

p7 Talented sisters

p8 Sporting

achievements

p9 Cricket talent

p10 World Book Day

St Michael’s Church of England High School

Therefore, choose

Headteacher: Mrs J Jenks BSocSci Hons PGCE Deputy Headteachers: Mr J Chadwick BEd Hons, Mrs C Hooley BA Hons

P A G E 2

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

Head Girl, Emily Crook, also said a few words

thanking Mrs Armstrong for all she has done for the life of the school.

I am very much looking forward to meeting parents of Year 8 pupils at Options Evening on Wednesday 7

March. The information explained on this evening allows parents and carers to help their sons and

daughters make informed choices of the Key Stage 4 courses. Attendance at these evenings is always excellent and confirms the extensive and vital role parents and carers play in the education of their child.

Thank you to all parents and carers who are supporting their child’s education by not taking their chil-

dren out of school during term time for family holidays. Attendance really does matter and there is an

obvious correlation between time spent in school and attainment. I remind parents and carers that I am unable to authorise holiday requests. Parents may request a leave of absence in term time but I can only

authorise this in exceptional circumstances. I do hope you will understand the limitations placed on all schools in granting any leave in term time. I thank you once again for your continued support in this

matter.

The newsletter will be available on the school website from Thursday 8 February and I trust you will en-

joy reading the many articles which showcase just a few of the varied activities taking place at St Michael’s and our wonderful pupils. I would like to remind you that if you wish to receive a hard copy of

the newsletter from our website, please do not hesitate to contact school.

Yours sincerely

Mrs J Jenks

Mrs J Jenks

(Headteacher)

OUR YEAR 11 team of Emily Crook, Georgia Cooper and Finty Royle took part in the “Youth Speak” an-

nual speaking competition at Walton Le Dale High School this half term.

Organiser, Mr Heywood, writes: ‘As last year’s champions they were defending their title. And defend it they did in spectacular fashion.

‘Garnering universal praise from the judges the team’s presentation on Mental Health ensured they re-tained their title and are through to the regional final at Windermere School.

‘They won best overall team. Georgia won best chairperson and Finty won best proposer of the vote of

thanks.

‘Richard Lea, the or-

ganiser of the event, commented that this

team is one of the finest he has wit-

nessed in the long

history of the event.’

The girls are deter-mined to get to the

national final in their last year at school.

Mrs Jenks continues...

Youth speaks champions!

Our team of

Champions!

P A G E 3

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

A LUCKY seven of our Year 9 pupils are about to

embark on the TALL Project, with our pupils once again having the opportunity to take part

in team building and leadership activities in vari-ous primary schools in the area.

Following a successful programme last year, Chorley School Sport Partnership has managed to secure more funding to run another similar project this coming summer term. The T.A.L.L. programme

(Targeted Active Lifestyle Learning) is aimed at a small group of Year 9 pupils from each of the Chorley High Schools and will endeavour to give pupils opportunities to take part in problem solving, team build-

ing, climbing, swimming, cycling, trampolining and various leadership activities in local primary schools.

The course will assist pupils to build self confidence and increase self esteem whilst working with peers

and younger children in a variety of different settings.

The programme is delivered by Gary Greener and Daneka Rothwell, who are both Secondary PE quali-fied teachers with the Chorley School Sport Partnership.

The programme is delivered in conjunction with Sports Leaders UK and on successful completion of the course the pupils will be awarded with a Level 1 Sports Leaders Award.

In addition to the Sports Leaders Award, pupils will have the opportunity to obtain Bikeability Level 3

and swimming self-rescue awards

Standing TALL

ARTWORK of the month for February comes from Holly Baxendale in Year 9.

This artwork is Holly’s interpretation of Gustav

Klimt’s ‘Freya’s tears’. Year 9 GCSE pupils were

asked to research and analyse the artist’s work for their exam.

Curriculum Leader for Technology, Mrs Cardwell, said: ‘We have chosen Holly’s image for the sensitive

use of paint and rich use of colour. Well done Holly!’

Artwork of the

Month

YEAR 11 pupils are re-

minded that they need to keep checking Moodle

for updated English Lan-guage and Literature revision materials.

Also, parents and pupils are reminded to attend the Year 11 Revision Evening on Wednesday 28 February. Tips and strategies allowing pupils to hone per-

fect revision techniques will be shared and attendance is strongly recommend-ed!

Revision reminder!

P A G E 4

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

PUPILS in Year 11 have been

invited to take up ‘The Chal-lenge!’

Representatives from the National Citizenship Service came to speak

in an assembly informing pupils about their 18 day programme set up

to help young people develop new skills.

This is a government funded programme for 15-17 year olds which involves physical, personal and creative challenges, empowering

young people to build skills and confidence to get ahead in work and life, whilst engaging with their local area.

The Challenge is delivering 1000’s of places across the Summer 2018. It is an 18 day programme with the first two parts being residential,

with all meals, kit and accommodation provided.

Teams develop their leadership and teamwork skills by working with some of the best outdoor instruc-

tors in the UK, enabling them to create friendships and build confidence.

After a short break, young people return for phase two, where they stay away from home in accommo-dation provided and gain new skills.

Finally, teams have the unique opportunity to design, pitch and

deliver their own social action project.

Then they graduate, receive a signed certificate from the Prime

Minister and join the graduate programme, The Challenge Society.

Take up The Challenge!

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,

revision 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 con-

PUPILS shared in a special Eucharist to

thank Mrs Freda Armstrong for her long service to St Michael’s this half term.

The Armstrong Choir and Blackburn Chief Choirboy William

Keeling provided musical accompaniment with Father David

Arnold leading our thoughts remembering Mrs Armstrong’s dedication over the 40 years she has served on the Govern-

ing Body.

Our Bridge Buddies, choir and pupils in leadership roles were then invited to the Annie Hilton Training Suite for refresh-

ments where the Head Boy Lewis Kos and Head Girl Emily

Crook said thanks on behalf of the pupils for her long serving commitment to the school.

Special Eucharist

P A G E 5

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

TRIPLE Scientists were treated to an in-

formative talk about telescopes by a na-tionally acclaimed expert.

On Wednesday 24 January a group of Year 10 pupils attended the annual

Winter Lecture at Balshaw’s CE High School, Leyland.

This year’s talk was delivered by Dr Stacey Habergham, an astrophysicist

from the National Schools Observatory.

Her lecture focused on the role she plays in researching our universe by building and using telescopes all over the

world.

Organiser, Mrs Wilk, said: ‘Throughout the

trip the students were fantastic and excel-lent ambassadors for St Michael’s.’

Out of this world Science

Dr Stacey Habergham

COMMUNITY links have been established with a local rugby team

allowing our pupils the opportunity of playing on a full size pitch.

PE teacher, Mr Kohler, writes: ‘After some meetings be-tween myself and Chorley Panthers, we have managed to secure Chorley Panthers as a venue where we

can host some of our home fixtures.

‘This means we can play on a full size rugby pitch with rugby posts, but most importantly, it creates a

community link between St Michael’s and our local Rugby League Club. These links are vital in growing rugby in our area and we hope that many of our pupils decide to join their local rugby club.’

Training has continued every Wednesday for the newly formed rugby teams and we have been lucky

enough to work with Wigan Warriors Under 19s as well as Community Coach Joel Smith.

Coach Dec O’Donnell commented: ‘It’s great to see Rugby League thriving in Chorley and a pleasure to

come into St Michael’s and work alongside the PE department staff and all the pupils.

‘The lads have been a credit to the school when we’ve come in and they are progressing week on week.

I also want to take this opportunity to wish the Year 7 and 8 teams the best of luck for their upcoming fixtures.’

Mr Kohler continues: ‘Finally, our Year 8 rugby team took on All Hallows on a freezing cold, wet and

windy fixture and managed to win the game 32-20. Harrison Chick scored four outstanding tries and was supported well by Louis O'Donnell with a typically heroic defensive effort.

‘At the very start of the February, Year 8 also entertained Standish High School in another testing fixture, once again a great learning experience for our players despite being defeated.

‘Our Year 7 Rugby Team challenged themselves against a strong St Edmund-Arrowsmith outfit and de-

spite losing. took many positives from playing against a very talented team.’

As always - rugby training for Year 7 and Year 8 both on Wednesday nights after school till 4.30pm.

Rugby rules!

P A G E 6

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

YEAR 7 pupils will be treat-

ed to an interview with an author when Jenny

McLachlan comes to school in the next half term.

Jenny is the author of several youth fiction titles such as Star Gazing for Beginners, Star Struck, Love Bomb and Flirty Dancing.

Year 7 pupils will hear Jenny speak in the hall and then will have the chance to purchase

signed copies of her books.

There will be a letter sent home with the Year 7 pupils which will pro-

vide additional information about the visit.

Author visit

Jenny McLachlan

For updates and reminders or just to keep in touch...

Why not follow us @SaintMichaelsCE

SUPER runner Finty Royle has stormed to success win-

ning the Lancashire Cross Country Championships this half term!

She took part in the regional contest at Witton Park, running five and a half kilometres and coming in first place in the Under 17s category—beating around

40 other competitors!

Finty will now go on to represent Lancashire in the

Northern Championships in Loughborough in March.

Sadly Finty is presently injured but she is not al-

lowing a fractured foot to dampen her spirits or

slow her down in any way!

‘I am doing a lot of cycling instead,’ she explains. ‘I just love running though. I like the feeling it

gives me. It gives me freedom from all the stress-es of school.’

Similarly, Year 8 pupil Olivia

Leigh also came first in her age category in the same

cross country contest.

She won the Under 15s section, running a total of 4kms and beating more than 60 other competitors.

Olivia has been running for six years and runs because she ‘just enjoys it!’

‘I’ve no real ambitions in running,’ she said. ‘I’m just going to see where it goes.’

Fabulous Finty!

...and Awesome Olivia

We are absolutely delighted and very proud to report the fantastic achieve-

ments of two of our pupils in cross coun-try running this half term!

P A G E 7

OUTSTANDING form was shown by both our male and female

Year 7 and 8 indoor athletics

teams when they represented school in the District Competition

at Southlands.

Gold medals were awarded to the girls for coming a fantastic first in their competition and the Year 7 boys took bronze medals.

PE teacher Mrs Brunsden, said: ‘The teams were outstanding and showed excellent commitment to train-ing and performing at their best.

‘All three teams that won the competition will go on to represent the district in the county competition in

Blackpool. The Lancashire competition for Year 7 girls is Tuesday 27 February and for the Year 8 girls and

boys it is on Wednesday 7 March.

‘Congratulations to both teams and good luck in the next round!

Medals for our athletes

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

DAZZLING dancer Daisy Royle and her sensational sister Rosie have been mixing

with the stars performing in the Blackpool

Opera House production of Peter Pan this Christmas.

Daisy, Year 10, was chosen to play the part of Jane Darling, opening

and closing the show alongside music legend Maureen Nolan!

And both sisters were two of only 12 children picked to be

‘supernumeraries’ in the show and they were performing to up to a 2,500-strong audience every night for three weeks.

Also performing

were former X

Factor heartthrob Jake Quikenden

and Jennifer El-lison, formerly of

Brookside.

The sisters stem

from a ‘showbiz’

family, as their mother

is a musical

theatre teacher and father a comedian with a regular slot on Radio Lan-

cashire.

Rosie and Daisy have been dancing, singing and acting all their

lives, although Daisy says, though she thoroughly enjoyed the pantomime, it is not something she wishes to pursue in the fu-

ture.

‘It was really good and I was pleased I got to open and close the show,’ she said. ‘It was also good to mix with famous people.

‘I’ve always done acting, singing and dancing, but I think I want to do something different as a career in the future.’

Sensational sisters!

P A G E 8

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

Year 11 pupil Eleanor Hopper is celebrating

being selected as a member of the Youth Development Squad in weight lifting!

Eleanor started weight lifting following encourage-

ment by her father, who started training when he

was in his 30s. He became interested in the sport after joining a gym and is now a ‘Master’ in his field.

When she first began, her father posted a video of

her training on a social media site and trainer Steven Fawcett spotted this and asked if he could train her.

She was asked to join the British Weightlifting Asso-ciation and she trained for a day with the Under 17s

Training Squad who watched and analysed videos of her lifting weights.

Following this she was invited to the British Youth Development Squad for the North West.

Sporting success

SPORTY Sam Lawrenson is making great strides in

the squash world and has taken part in an interna-tional competition this half term.

This talented Year 11 pupil played in the boys Under 17s section of the British Open Squash Champion-

ships in Birmingham, coming 77th out of 105 players in his category

Players from countries including Colombia, the USA, China, Hong Kong and Australia competed in the

championships which is the biggest tournament of the year.

Sam trains at David Lloyd Gym in Chorley and has been playing for three years. He joined the gym as he wanted to get fit and is now ranked at number 2 in the 3rd Division—an adult division which incorpo-

rates Preston and the Fylde region.

He trains between four and six times a week and also plays for ‘Aspire,’ a North West regional team. He

also plays in the Number 1 position in Inter-counties competitions.

‘Squash gives me something to do,’ says Sam. ‘. I just want to get better!’

Eleanor with her Training Squad

Squash star

MORE than 40 super swimmers from St Michael’s took on the tal-

ents of the Chorley schools in the annual district swimming gala.

Curriculum Leader for PE, Mrs Dempster, writes: ‘All Chorley

schools were able to enter and competition for places in the St Michael’s team was fierce.

‘We took a team of over 40 students to compete across years 7-11.

‘There was a brilliant atmosphere around the whole competition with many competitors knowing each other from their club competitions. School rivalry was rife!

‘A brilliant performance by the Aquasplash team just saw them miss out on medals, but much fun was

had by all concerned.

‘In the elite category St Michael’s ended the evening with a medal haul of 4 bronze, 9 silver and 3 gold.

‘A fantastic effort from all those involved. Well done!’

Swimmers bring home the medals

P A G E 9

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

TALENTED cricketer Sam Whittle has been praised

for his commitment and achievements as Captain of his local cricket team.

Organisers of Gregson Lane Cricket Club contacted

school specially to express their admiration for the young player especially for his bowling prowess.

They praised the talented youngster’s ‘good cricketing brain,’ the way he constantly motivat-

ed his team, the way he congratulates them in times of success but also encouraged them

when games are not going quite to plan.

During the season he has taken 19 wickets in

10 matches, he got a hattrick to win the league and has opened the bowling on numerous occa-

sion for both the Saturday and Sunday teams.

He has also regularly bowled 10 overs and as

Captain, received the team trophy from the mayor, following a gala day.

At age 14 he has also voted ‘Player’s Player’ of

the Gregson Lane Cricket Team Sunday League

and has played 44 games, achieving 28 wickets in total.

Cricket star praised!

KKEN Mathematicians once again took on the

Maths Challenge this half term.

Mr Neville writes: ‘There was a terrific response from St Michael's pupils with 119 pupils putting their names forward to take part.

‘Once again pupils pitted their wits against some perplexing problems, and we will find out how well they have done later this month.

‘In the meantime why not try a problem from this year's paper?’

Turn to the last page for the answer.

Maths Challenge

Accepting the trophy from the mayor

A HUGE congratulations go to our badminton players for their success this half term.

On Thursday 25 January the Under 14 girls & boys badminton teams played in the County Finals in Blackpool.

The boys came 8th out of 12 schools and the girls won so will therefore go on to represent Lancashire in March at the Regional Finals in Manchester.

On Thursday 1 February the Under 16 girls badminton team played in the County Finals in Blackpool

and came 5th out of 9 schools. They all played extremely well and were a credit to the School. A huge well done to all teams.

P A G E 1 0 Safer Internet Day was held on Tuesday 6

February. We held ‘Online Safety’ related assemblies for all year groups to raise the

profile of this important day.

The Online Safety Top Tips for this term are:

Consider changing the parental controls – Setting up a filter on the home internet connection can help you to filter any inappropriate

content getting through to their devices. The majority of internet providers make this easy to do and we have provided links to a

range of videos, which demonstrate and explain how to do this on the Moodle.

Ensure their privacy settings are set high – On social networking sites and within applications (on their phones and tablets), there are often more privacy options than you think. It is worth

checking that they are all set to private or friends only. Tip: When using game consoles you can change the settings to ‘Family Access.’ The parental access given within this area will allow you

to amend a variety of security features. When looking on Facebook, don’t just change the priva-

cy settings for their profile, go through and check the privacy of their photo albums.

Talk to your child - Advise them about who to talk to if something goes wrong, preferably an adult. Try to keep an open dialogue. They often keep problems unreported for fear of losing access to

the devices they treasure. Try to encourage them to not download apps which have a main aim of talking to people who aren’t their friends.

S A I N T

M I C H A E L ’ S

N E W S

ICT tips

THE St. Michael’s English De-

partment is presently gearing up for an activity-filled World

Book Day 2018!

On Thursday1 March there will be a host of exciting events taking place in celebration of our love of

books and reading.

In celebrating World Book Day 2018, the Armstrong Centre will be the focal point for many of the fun activities. There will be a book swap, plus special quizzes and games. Three £10 Scholastic Book Vouch-

ers will also be raffled off and pupils can enter by simply taking a book out of the library that week.

All Year 7 pupils are invited to come to school dressed as a recognisable character from one of their fa-

vourite novels. Staff will also be encouraged to join in the fun by disguising themselves as

a character from their most treasured stories.

All pupils will also be given a £1 book vouch-

er which can be used towards book purchas-es at many high street book sellers. The

vouchers can also be used towards Scholastic Books orders in school.

World Book Day

The answer to the first question is D 72. Because these triangles are isosce-

les the unmarked angle in each triangle is also of size x, making the joined angle in the kite 2x. If you add up all the angles in the kite you get

that 5x = 360, meaning that x = 72.

Maths Challenge answer

Saint Michael’s News Saint Michael's CE High School,

Astley Road, Chorley,

Lancashire

PR7 1RS