NEWS

December 2013

The Birks, Duddon Valley Seasons Greetings From the Headteacher, Staff and Students of Grove School, Market Drayton

Year 11 Personal Development Day A group of students from Year 11 spent the day at MoD Stafford to partake in a Motivational Day. Students from Grove worked with students from other local schools including Rhyn Park, Sir John Talbots and Thomas Adams School during the day which was organised by the Shropshire Business Link and focused on problem solving, team work, improving performance, communication skills and initiative.

Students were asked to consider the importance of developing personal skills and relating them to school and the important year ahead. Mrs Fisher, Progress Leader for Year 11 said, “The day was really

motivating for our students to help them understand how working together with staff and parents/carers and being focussed in lessons will improve outcome and hopefully their GCSE results.”

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Children in Need Three students were inspired to raise funds for ‘Children in Need’ recently. The trio from Grove were inspired to do something after watching the BBC event in previous years. In the run up to the day the three students, Alisha Garnham, 14, Sarayah Garnham, 12 and George Frost-Jones, 12, held a bake and bric-a-brac sale, selling homemade cakes and biscuits and unwanted items. All three students then completed a sponsored swim and run, swimming for one mile in the local swimming pool and running for a further two miles, which raised over a hundred pounds. In total the students raised £220 which was donated to the BBC Children in Need appeal to help empower disadvantaged children in the UK and help further their life choices. Alisha said it was important to them to do something to help: “We feel like we are quite privileged and would

like to give something to those who are less fortunate”, she said.

Other students held sponsored silences whilst in school and all staff and students donated money in order to forgo wearing uniform for the day. Students from Grove College dressed up in fancy dress, organised a ‘pudsey penalty shoot-out’ and two students even had a sponsored leg wax! More than £1000 was raised in school and donated to the worthy cause. Page 3

GCSE Presentation Evening We welcomed back our Year 11 leavers earlier in December for a night of celebration. GCSE certificates were presented to students along with awards which recognised individual student achievements during their time at Grove. Lydia Beresford a former student was our guest speaker, Lydia is currently studying for a PhD in Particle Physics at Oxford University. More than 200 people filled the school hall as past students and their families enjoyed the evening. 26 Subject Awards were presented along with Awards for Vocational Courses and the 2 very special Award given in memory of two very respected and well loved members of staff. Congratulations to all students who received Awards. We wish all of our 2013 leavers the very best in their future careers.

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GCSE Presentation Evening

Awards

Art Award—Francesca Norman Business Studies Award—Georgia Pomroy Textiles Award—Stephanie Corbyn Drama Award—Alfie Chevins Electronics Award—Robert Lee English Language—Annabel Worrall English Literature—Francesca Norman English—(Most Improved)—Jay Davis French Award—Brogan Ashley Geography Award—Tom Gee German Award—Becky Warner History Award—Joe Brown ICT Award—Cameron Matthews Methods in Maths—Rachel Owen Applications in Maths—Hannah Szczadylo Maths (Most Improved) - Tom Weatherall Music Award—Charis Virgo PE (GCSE) Award—Molly Line PE (OCR) Award Jamie Pearson PSHEE Award—Annabel Worrall Religious Studies Award—Jordan Hancock Biology Award—Charis Virgo Chemistry Award—Hannah Szczadylo Physics Award—Thomas Gee Additional Applied Science Award—Francesca Norman Spanish Award—Lee Wedgwood Hairdressing Award—Emily Morris Animal Care Award—Abbie Mitchell Engineering Award—Tom Maddox Simon Stoneley Award—Chloe Porter-Richards Collier Design Award—Robert Lee Highest Performing Boy—Jamie Pearson Highest Performing Girl—Charis Virgo Page 5

Learning Latin Nine Grove students have undertaken a qualification in Latin after studying after school for a year. Mr Stewart Harrison a language teacher at Grove is more comfortable teaching German and French, but after being approached by a Year 9 student with an interest in studying archaeology at University. He said: “I explained to the

student we didn’t offer Latin, but we could do some basic Latin, as I had done three years of the language at school some time during the last century.”

“Sixteen students showed an interest, so I applied to The Friends of

Classics for £300 with which to buy books and pay for photocopying. This they generously provided and so we began on Mondays after school to look at the lives of a Roman family living in Pompeii just prior to the infamous events of August 79 AD, as related in Book One of The Cambridge Latin Course. The group eventually settled down to a hard core of nine and in June 2013 they sat the Level 1 examination set by Cambridge University. The test covered both the language and culture of Pompeii, and I was delighted that eight students passed the exam, with Hannah Szczadylo, in her GCSE year, scoring an impressive forty-eight out of fifty.” The students were recently presented with certificates from the University of Cambridge and hope to continue on the level 2 course with Mr Harrison. Zoe Watson, Lydia Greatrix, Rowan Cookson, Hannah Szczadylo, Louise Watson, Frances Derricutt with their certificates.

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Grove’s Bake Off Students have been busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen as they took part in a baking competition. Schools were invited to enter a ‘Royal Themed Bake Off’ by Reaseheath College. The first stage was a competition entered in school, with Year 9 students asked to produce a savoury or sweet biscuit or cake with a royal theme. There were 10 entries from individuals or groups of up to three students. The in-school Bake Off was held in the Food Technology room, where students were given two and a half hours to produce their products. Food Technology teacher, Mrs Alison Gilling was impressed with the students “The standard was

incredibly high and the range of royal themed products made was impressive,” she said.

Once baked and decorated the judges Mr McStay, Assistant Headteacher and Mrs Campbell, Deputy Headteacher found it very difficult to choose just three of the entries to go forward to the next round. Both agreed that the standard of the preparation and the effort was exceptional and a lot of thought and hard work had gone into designing and producing each cake. Mrs Campbell said,

“We were amazed at the exceptional quality of all of the entries and it was a very very difficult decision for us to make to choose three finalists when all of the entries were worthy winners. In the end the decision came down to presentation and taste. Although all entries looked and tasted fantastic, the final three went beyond our expectations in design and taste.” Page 7

Grove’s Bake Off The three winning finalists will now have to produce a poster and product specification about their cake to send to judges at Reaseheath where the semi-finalists from schools across the County will be chosen.

The Grove Bake Off finalists.

Jena Wright, Becky Darby, Megan Symcox who worked as a group and students who entered individually Charley Gilbert and Charlotte Parton, are all seen with their entries. Help raise money for Grove School! It's really simple – just shop online via easyfundraising.org.uk with over 2,700 well known retailers like Amazon, Argos, M&S, eBay (and many more!) and whenever you buy something online, the retailer makes a donation to your chosen good cause. It doesn't cost you a single penny extra. You can sign up to raise for Grove School - Market Drayton too, or choose from over 55,000 good causes across the UK. Over £5,000,000 has been raised so far, so it really does work! Get started now – http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/invite/3II9NA/ Page 8

Students trial latest technology to aid Maths development Students in Year 9 maths lessons have been working on an independent learning pilot scheme. The project is from the Institute of Education in London who developed the scheme with international companies and researchers. ‘The Cornerstone project’ has enabled students to utilise ICT and work collaboratively. The aim is to enhance Key Stage 3 pupil engagement and learning of key mathematical concepts by developing and implementing embedded digital technology. Grove School was one of eleven schools across the UK to trial the project and the students have been providing feedback in order to develop the project further so other students across the country can use it. Miss Lyth, Maths teacher, has been trialling the project with her Year 9 groups. “Students have been focusing on Linear Functions and have developed a strong understanding of the maths involved in designing games for mobile phones, including the business aspects and also creating accurate simulations. We have also been chosen as a pilot school for another project commencing in the new year.” Page 9

Taking A Stand Against Bullying Grove School have marked Anti-Bullying week with a range of lessons covering ‘bullying’ in their PSHEE/Citizenship lessons. The topic is covered within the school curriculum and all students are taught about the different types of bullying and the ways of dealing with bullying in school and in the community. One Grove student who was inspired by the cause chose to enter the prestigious Diana Award Competition as part of the anti-bullying campaign. Lydia Greatrix, 14 attended an anti-bullying training day organised by ‘anti-bullying pro’ and became Grove School’s first anti-bullying ambassador. Lydia said, “It was a really inspiring day

and I have picked up lots of techniques and tips to help the school do more for anti bullying!” To mark Anti-Bullying week Lydia

designed an anti-bullying banner which was decorated by Year 8 students in their PSHEE lessons. The 8 foot wide banner took 5 hours to design and features an eye catching slogan with the words ‘Take a stand against bullying’ outlined then filled in words students associated with bullying. Lydia felt it was important to mark the occasion “It was important for

Grove to enter because not only is it an amazing competition that is run by a brilliant charity, but I know that there are so many children in the world who are suffering in silence due to bullying. I think that making this banner will raise the awareness of the anti-bullying campaign in Grove and encourage victims of bullying to come forward and speak out and take a stand against bullying.” Page 10

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Bits & Bytes AGM of the Friends of Grove School - Monday January 20th 2014 at 7.30 in the school Library Please remember to inform the office if you change your address or home / mobile phone numbers. Tel: 01630 65 21 21 Email: [email protected]

Students are being asked to consider taking a place on the School Council. The School Council is run for the benefit of the students and is a chance to voice your opinions on how the school operates. The School Council has been responsible for implementing changes in and around school, including the new uniform. If you would like to be involved and give a voice to the students, please see Miss Rafferty in the Language Department or nominate yourself via Moodle. Page 11

Mϋller Business Enterprise Year 10 students have taken part in the Business Mentoring programme organised through their PSHEE lessons. The 5 week programme saw 46 students developing key skills which will support them during their future career choices. They spent time working with the RAF on team-building skills and covered how to write a personal profile to sell themselves to prospective employers and letter writing for job applications and visited Muller Dairy to take part in a range of career workshops. The programme culminated in a formal interview with staff from Muller. Students were expected to prepare for and attend the interview as if they were applying for a position within the company. Students were interview individually in the library.

School jumpers.

Now the weather is becoming cooler, may we remind students and parents/carers that we will allow a school jumper to be worn under the school blazer. The jumper must be plain black v-neck jumper of a fine-knit material. No other jumpers are acceptable. The jumper must also be worn with, not in place of, the blazer. Students wearing any other jumper under the blazer will be asked to remove it. Page 12

Performing Arts Award A new Award to recognise students’ performance in Drama and Music has been introduced. The Performing Arts Awards are held each half term and offer the chance for teachers in Music and Drama to recognise Students’ talent, performance and progress in these subjects. The first Performing Art Awards were held during an afternoon tea celebration in October. Students performed songs and played instruments in front of parents who were served with hot drinks and cakes. Certificates were given out to a total of 15 students who had been nominated by their Music or Drama teachers for their contributions in lessons and outside of school. Congratulations to the first fifteen students who received the Performing Arts Award:

Eleanor Walkerdine ~ Olivia Turnbull ~ Callan Ralphs ~ Tom O’Brien ~ Samantha Smith ~ Sean Wright ~ Holly Tidball ~ Matthew Markey ~ Collette Arnold ~ Tommy Butters ~ Lucy Andrews ~ Jacob Shurmer ~ Kali Talbot ~ Sophie Broome ~ Katie Riley.

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News College Open Evening Our annual Open Evening took part on Thursday 7th November and was very busy with parents and students showing huge interest in the changes to the College and the subjects on offer to the new Year 12 in take. Of particular interest were the new Cambridge Technical courses and the EPQ as as well as out traditional A level courses. Applications for College should be returned by 31st January and interviews will follow soon after. If you missed the College Open Evening but would like to see the college in action, please call 01630 652121 or email [email protected]. Year 12 Health Day We welcomed various speakers into College to give talks on a variety of topics all with the theme of ‘keeping safe’. Topics covered included: road traffic and drink driving, grooming and trafficking, skin cancer awareness and emergency first aid. Grove College CoPE Group Several Grove College students are currently planning events for their Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) level 3 qualification. A car wash raised money for the Midlands Air Ambulance and another group held a Christmas Fair to raise funds for Drayton Sports and Leisure Centre.

Seasons Greetings form staff and students at Grove College! Page 14

News Children in Need As Year 13 students we wanted to do something slightly different for this years Children in Need. After considering lots of different ideas we decided to organise a Pudsey Penalty Shoot-Out where students and teachers could have three shots against one of our volunteer goalkeepers for a donation of 50p. With lots of students coming to take part at both break and lunchtime we had to pick a winner out of the raffle. The winner, David Whalley from Year 10 won the prize of a signed Stoke City football and lots of Vivos! With all of the kind donations we managed to raise around £300. A massive thank-you to everyone who came and took part as well as those who helped us to supervise the event. Let’s hope next year we can raise even more! Zoe Bratton and Katie Williams, Year 13.

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News Christmas Lunch Christmas Lunch was held on December 5th. The meal was enjoyed by lots of College students and Guidance Leaders. A very pleasant time was had by all. Special thanks must go to Mrs Murray, Angela and Lisa from Grove Catering for a superb meal and also to Mrs Lyn Higgins for decorating the rooms so beautifully– they looked lovely. A great start to the festive season.

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Vivo Rewards The new reward system is proving to be very successful with many students now having collected enough Vivo points to purchase gifts from the online shop. Below is the league table for the students who have achieved the most Vivo points up to the end of term.

www.vivomiles.com Page 17

The great Hippocrates

Recently in Miss Jones’ Year 10 History class, students have been experiencing, first-hand, what ancient medicine was really like. The Greeks made huge advances and Hippocrates known as, ‘the Father of modern medicine’ gave us much to think about. Students were given an opportunity to shine and really explore life in ancient Greece on their own terms, once again going above and beyond what was asked of them making the whole learning experience an enjoyable one!

Miss Jones is pictured with her Year 10 History class and Fred Bosley dressed as the great man himself, Hippocrates. Page 14

Work Experience Year 11 students have been praised and recognised following their completion of their Work Experience placements. The Grove Work Experience takes place in the last two week of the summer term. Students from Year 10 worked in a variety of settings to give a realistic experience of working life. Work placements are offered from local companies schools, shops, factories, farms and further afield with students taking placements at Stoke City Football Club and Lilleshall National Sports Centre. Once completed the ‘employers’ who have provided placements are asked to review the performance of the student placed with them. Part of the review is an option to reward students with a certificate of credit, merit or distinction based on the students overall performance. A series of Work Experience assemblies took place to celebrate the Work Experience programme and present the students with certificates. Congratulations to all students who have received certificates.

West House students who received certificates for their Work Experience placements with Mrs Fisher, Progress Leader. Page 19

Grove Catering

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Badminton Club

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The Birks Thank you to everyone who has attended our recent fundraising events. Carols by the Canal was a resounding success once again with everyone getting into the festive spirit.

Carols by the Canal

We are wanting to produce a short film that is truly reflective of the Birks and what it means to people. If you are an ex pupil, parent or have visited over the past 46 years and happy to share your memories, we would love to talk to you! Please contact [email protected] if you can help!

Market Drayton Rotary Club are holding a Valentine Dance at the Royal British Legion, Market Drayton on Friday February 14th 2014. 7.30 - 12.30, tickets £15. Proceeds to the Birks.

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Friends of Grove School (FoGS) Registered Charity Number 510561 Dear Parents/ Carers & Friends of Grove School Friends of Grove 200 Club We are writing to ask you if you would like to support the Friends of Grove School by taking out a subscription to the 200 Club and giving yourself the opportunity to win a cash prize each month. This is a monthly draw which generates funds for the school to provide much needed resources & equipment. We are in need of new members to replace those members whose children have now moved on from the school. The draw runs from September to August and each number costs £1 per month. This is payable annually by cash or cheque (cheques made payable to “Grove 200 Club”). We welcome people joining us at any time of the year. Alternatively, you may wish to set up a Standing Order of £1 per month by completing the Standing Order mandate provided below and passing this directly to your bank. However you decide to pay, please return your completed slip with your payment where necessary. This can either be left at the school reception (with your envelope marked for the attention of “Jane Shepherd- Friends of Grove School”) or posted directly to myself at the address below. Thank you for supporting the Friends of Grove School and good luck in the draw! If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely

Jane Shepherd- 17 Stuart Way, Market Drayton, TF9 3TT (Tel:01630 656482 / 07730 481968) Name.................................................... Membership number (or tick if new member).............. Address...................................................................................................................................... Child’s name...................................................................... Tutor Group.......................... *I enclose cash/cheque for £12.00 * I have passed a Standing Order mandate to my bank * (Please delete as appropriate) ________________________________________________________________________________ STANDING ORDER MANDATE T0..............................................................Bank

........................................................Branch

Please pay to Lloyds TSB, 55 Cheshire Street, Market Drayton, Shropshire. TF9 1PN. For the account of The Grove 200 Club Sort Code 30-15-39 Account No. 0098882 The amount of £1.00 per month commencing ___________ 20__ (please insert start date) until further notice. From my/our account ______________________________ Account No_______________________ Signed__________________________________________ Sort Code _______________________

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Sports News Grove students took part in the North Shropshire Swimming Gala in November. Ten students represented Grove against teams from 10 schools. The girls were North Shropshire relay champions and finished third overall. The boys were overall North Shropshire Champions. Congratulations to all students who took part: Alex Brown Philip Garner-Jones Thomas Lee Connor Harvey Lucy Derricut Kimberley Allen Katie Slawson Rachel Derricutt Olivia Turnbull special congratulations to Toby Cordova who also competed and won all of his three races! Congratulations to Tom O'Brien and Will Crawford who represented Grove in the North Shropshire Badminton tournament. Despite being a year younger than their competitors they represented the School brilliantly and played well throughout the tournament. PE kit is available to order through Trutex. To order online, please visit www.trutexdirect.com and register for an account. The LEA code for Grove School is LEA00443SC. Please enter this code when prompted and you will be directed to a page where you can view and order items of the Grove PE kit. Page 24

Sports News Grove’s football teams have been proving themselves on the field in a range of games, cups and competitions. The Year 7 and 8 boys team have made a great start to the academic Year. The Year 7 team made a great start and have secured a place in the quarter final of the County Cup. After receiving a bye in the first round, they beat Madeley Academy 3-2 after extra time in the second round. The Year 7 team will play either Wrockwardine Wood or Thomas Telford in the New Year. The Year 8 boys team have had an equally successful start, they are through to the quarter final of the U13 County Cup following a close game against Oldbury Wells. Mr Barber, Subject Leader for PE said: “It was 0-0 at full time, so we had to play extra time. Grove took the lead in the first half of extra time with Brody Wooding scoring the goal. Oldbury wells school scored a penalty in the second half of

Grove’s Year 8 boys team in action against The Grange School.

extra time to take the game to penalties. Oldbury wells took the first penalty and scored, Josh Parkes equalised, Byron Bingham saved the Oldbury Wells second penalty, Brandon Rushton scored for Grove, Oldbury Wells missed their third penalty, Jack Swinnerton scored for Grove, Oldbury wells scored their fourth penalty and Cameron Dourish scored the winning penalty for Grove. Man of the match was Brandon Rushton. They will play Meole Brace in the quarter final in the New Year. Page 25

Sports News

Year 7 students have been learning the rules of Badminton during their PE lessons. Students have learnt the basics of the game including, court marking, rules and the different shots. PE teacher, Mr Littleford said he had been impressed with “the way the students have picked up the game very quickly and the standards at which they are now playing.” The U16 girls football team are through to the semi-final of the Shropshire County Shield after beating Charlton School 2-0 in the quarter final. They will play Thomas Adams in the New Year. A selection of students from Years 8 & 9 have taken part in a Rugby Festival aimed at getting more girls involved in the game. Fourteen students attended a training course to get to grips with the rules and the game play. The following week they entered a mini tournament in their first experience of full contact sport. Miss Bright said, “The girls played really well in their tournament and handled the physical side of the game really well. Having never played the full contact version of the game, they gave a great account of themselves and represented Grove really well, finishing third in the competition.” Keep up-to-date with all of Grove’s football fixtures with The Shropshire Schools and Colleges Football Association (SSCFA) www.sscfa.co.uk Page 26

Sports News Sports Clubs running this term: Lunchtime 12.50-13.15

Monday

Afterschool 3pm-4pm

Wii Fit

NO CLUBS

Netball

Staff Meetings

Dance/aerobics

Tuesday

Dodgeball—all years

Rugby—all years

Basketball girls and boys Year 10 & 11

Basketball boys and girls—all years

Boxercise boys and girls all years

Table tennis boys and girls all years Year 8 trampolining

Wednesday

Basketball boys and girls Years 7,8 & 9

Badminton boys and girls all years Football all years

Thursday

Five-a-side football Years 10 & 11

Fitness boys and girls Year 10 & 11

Dodgeball all years

Advanced Trampolining

Five-a-side Football Years 7, 8 & 9

Friday

Fun volleyball boys and girls all years.

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Dodgeball all years NO CLUBS Staff meetings

Diary Dates Friday 20th December—End of Autumn Term Monday 6th January 2014—PD Day (no students in school) Tuesday 7th January 2014—Spring Term Starts Tuesday 14th January 2014—Year 10 Parents’ Evening Friday 17th January 2014—Young Voices Concert Monday 27th January 2014—Year 12/13 Mocks Begin Thursday 30th January 2014—Year 11 Parents’ Evening Thursday 6th February 2014—School Production ‘Back to the 80’s’ Friday 7th February 2014—School Production ‘Back to the 80’s’ Friday 7th February 2014—Year 12/13 Mocks End Friday 14th February 2014—Careers Convention Friday 14th February 2014—Year 7 International Day Friday 14th February 2014—Half Term Starts Monday 24th February 2014—Half Term Ends

For the latest news keep up-to-date with Grove on

Web: www.groveschool.net Moodle: http://moodle.groveschool.eu

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