A New Year message from Mr Mckeon

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1 Little Lever School Newsletter January 2017 A New Year message from Mr Mckeon It has been a fabulous first term so far this academic year. The newsletter provides a small snippet of some of the wonderful achievements of our students and a taste of some of the many different experiences we are able to provide both inside and outside the classroom. Thank you to all our parents and carers who continue to support the school and your children. Our overall attendance has risen to over 95% this term and punctuality has improved dramatically. While attendance and punctuality are good we want to keep improving and ensure every student has at least 97% attendance (this means no more than 5 days absence per year). Our current Year 7 are leading the way with a Year group average of 97%. Fantastic! Our Year 11 students are working hard in preparation for their GCSE exams and Pre Public Exams in January. To support them and you, as parents/carers, we have created Personalised Learning Checklists (PLCs) for every subject your child is studying. This allows you and your child to see the areas of the course or exam that they are performing well in and those areas that need to be improved. Our Y11 students have received their updated PLCs before their break for Christmas. We are also in the process of creating a 24/7 learning site for all students. It was initially launched with Y11 before Christmas and will support them with the areas they need to improve on their PLC. It will eventually go live with all students and provide parents and carers with valuable resources to support learning at home. The students, staff and community never cease to amaze me with their generosity. The school raised over 4,000 for various charities last year and we are well on our way to beating that record this year. We have a fantastic set of young people who attend our school. They are immensely talented. What is very humbling is that many of them do not realise how talented they are or what they are truly capable of. The newsletter provides some examples of many of these talents but we try to share as many events as possible with you via our social media site and our website. If you haven t had a look yet I urge you to do so. Finally on behalf of all the staff at Little Lever we would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. We will see you all again on Monday 9th January. Mr Mckeon Headteacher

2 LITTLE LEVER SCHOOL AWARDS EVENING NOVEMBER 2016 On Tuesday 15th November the school hosted it s annual Awards Evening at the splendid setting of the Victoria Hall in Bolton. The event is held to recognise, celebrate and reward outstanding effort, achievement and contributions which students from all years have made over the last academic year in all areas of life in school. The awards recognise subject excellence throughout all years, outstanding attendance, charitable work, sporting excellence, leadership qualities and leading by example through superb conduct, wearing our uniform with pride and helping others. For a visual tour of the event, with over 40 pictures, visit the Awards Evening photo album at our Facebook page www. facebook.com/littleleverschool. It was fantastic to see so many students (past and present) attend the evening, along with their families. This year, the school presented a special award in memory of our late colleague, Gary Wilkinson, a popular and well respected member of the maths department, who sadly passed away earlier this year. We were honoured to host Gary s wife Jayne and his mother, Jean who presented the Gary Wilkinson Shining Star Award to Ellenor Ratcliffe and Stephen Marshall, who went above and beyond in raising money for the White Horse Project and the Red Cross charitable organisations. In addition, the audience was treated to an amazing musical performance by our Little Lever X-Factor winner, Drew Gudojc.

3 Little Lever School Christmas Concert On Tuesday 13th December Little Lever School Music Department hosted their annual Christmas Concert. This year saw a packed crowd of over 250 people be dazzled by the sheer talent on show throughout the evening. The first half featured special guests St Matthew s Primary School Brass Band, who wowed us with their skills once again. The second half took the usual format with the guest appearance of Foden s Band. The band was once again on top form with festive music and soloists that gave performances worthy of inspiring any budding musician, young or old. After the final note of a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells, the audience and pupils were left with a sense of fulfilment and festive cheer as they made their way home. Staff vs Year 11 Charity Netball Match Friday 21st October saw the annual epic sporting contest of the staff versus Year 11 students netball match which the school runs in order to raise money Little Lever School Raises Over 4000 for Charity for Marie Curie house and the cancer care work they provide. The game took place in the sports hall during lunch time and students and staff all paid a donation to watch the game. Each academic year the students and staff of Little Lever School participate in a wide range of fundraising events for the school s House charities of Macmillan, Tomlinson, Marie Curie It was an excellent game, with both staff and pupils playing really well. There was exceptional teamwork by the students, with some outstanding shooting skills. As a result of this, the pupils took the lead 3-0. The staff continued to work hard and with some fantastic play began to make a comeback. The final score was Staff 11 - Students 6. Students were very generous in their donations and support, raising a total of Thank you to everyone who took part and helped to raise money for Marie Curie. and Christies cancer care organisations and also for other charities close to the hearts of students and families. These include the Whitehorse Project, Text Santa, Children in Need and Bolton Children s Services and Bolton Hospice. The school is proud to report that the total amount of money raised during the 2015/16 academic year came an amazing total of; 4, A big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to this amazing total.

4 Students meet Mikel Rueda, Movie Director On Thursday 24th November, twenty nine Year 9 and 10 Spanish students went to the Cervantes Institute in Manchester to see the Spanish film A Escondidas (Hidden). The film dealt with many themes as well as problems facing teenagers of a similar age in the Spanish (Basque) city of Bilbao. On the whole the film was well received. Our students were then treated to a Q&A session by the Director of A Escondidas, Mikel Rueda, a huge privilege given that we were the only school there and none of the students had previously met a film director before. The Spanish experience did not end there as students were then taken for tapas at the well known El Rincon de Rafa. Students tried a variety of dishes and enjoyed the experience. Given that the restaurant was open to the public, the students were an absolute credit to the school, displaying courteous and mature behaviour. Students Learn About the Art of Gothic Writing On Monday 14th November, the English department took thirty two Year 7 students to the historic John Ryland s Library in Manchester for a special tour and writing workshop. They were shown valuable texts such as a second edition Shakespeare folio from the 1600s and a piece of the actual bible found in Ancient Egypt. After the tour, the students took part in a Gothic writing exercise in which they produced a story for publication on the Manchester University website. This built upon their prior learning of Gothic literature which they have been studying in lessons this half term. Mr Gilgun, who led the trip reported, Being able to see books that were over 2,000 years old was really interesting and the students produced some fantastic descriptions of the library. Well done to everyone involved.

5 Little Lever School s X-Factor Competition On Wednesday 5th October, Little Lever School hosted the Final of their annual X-Factor competition in which eleven fantastic acts took to the stage in the Drama Centre to perform their chosen songs. After a week of enjoyable auditions, it was a tough decision on which acts should advance to the final and in the end there was a range of talented performers from Year 7 all the way through to Year 10. The final itself saw a packed drama centre of around 130 pupils, family and friends enjoy the excellent performances. For all students involved, it was a great opportunity to perform in front of a live audience to develop their musical skills, their self-confidence and the opportunity to work as part of a team. This is vital in developing them as musicians, performers and pupils for future years. This year s judging panel comprised of returning veteran judge Mr Cooke, Mrs Westwood and Mr Tuff. Head Judge, Mr Cook, I m a veteran of these events now, and this was certainly the best standard we ve had yet! In the end, the audience voted for their winner, Drew Gudojc (Year 8), who sang a powerful version of the Whitney Houston classic, I Have Nothing, whilst the judges selected their winner in the shape of Chelsea Walsworth (Year 9), singing the emotional Jealous by Labrinth, which saw many a tear shed in the audience. A big well done must go to ALL 11 finalists who excelled in the event, our three judges, Mr Poole for his work on sound and Mr Jackson for organising and hosting the event. Adam takes on Shakespeare at the Octagon Theatre The school is proud to report that another of our students has recently performed in a professional stage production. Adam Tyerman in Year 7 took on the role of Mamillius in Shakespeare s The Winter s Tale at the Octagon Theatre. Adam reports that he found the role great fun and he really enjoyed working with a team of professional actors. The role required Adam to interact and react with the main players. He had to learn all the monologues of all the lead actors in order to ensure his timings were accurate and effective in creating a smooth performance. Adam dedicated his free time to attending rehearsals. David Thacker, director of the production, contacted school to share how impressed he was with Adam s performance. David writes, I d like to share with you, and the staff that teach Adam, how admirably Adam conducted himself at every stage of the process. He was diligent, courteous, respectful and considerate. He tackled the task of seeking to express this beautiful and complex play with great dedication. He worked extremely well with the 15 professional actors and was very popular with them and the technical staff. Adam is a credit to his family and to his school. In recognition of Adam s outstanding work, Adam has been presented with a special Headteacher s award in the Year 7 assembly. Adam reports that it his ambition to further his acting potential and possibly pursue it as a career. He is considering auditioning for a part in the Octagon Theatre s adaptation of Anne Bronte s book The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in March The school is very proud of Adam, and we wish him every success in his future drama productions.

6 Great Success in the Girls Bolton Cup Competition The school is very proud to report of a fantastic achievement from our Year 7 and 8 girls football team in the final of the Bolton Cup competition which took place on Wednesday 23rd November at the Power League facilities at Leverhulme Park. During the group round they played and beat teams such as Thornleigh, Canon Slade and Ladybridge which took the girls to a place in the knockout stages. During the semi-finals against Bolton School, the girls fought and played extremely hard and managed to secure a place in the final with another win of 1-0! During the final they were faced with St Joseph s and the score at full time was 1-1. The competition went to a penalty shoot out and after the 3 penalties each they were tied at 3-3, taking it to sudden death. The score remained tied until the final player penalty where both keepers were required to take a penalty. Unfortunately for us the keeper of St Joseph s made an outstanding save, making us overall runners up of the competition. A fantastic achievement. The organisers approached Mrs Jackson to not only praise the girls for their amazing football skills but to express what a credit to the school the girls had been and what sportsmanship they had shown throughout the entire tournament. The whole school is extremely proud of their success. Well done to everyone involved. Year 9 Boys Football Success DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Spring Term begins Monday 9th January 2017 Half Term Saturday 18h February to Sunday 26th February 2017 Many congratulations to our Year 9 boys football team who have qualified for the fourth round of the English Schools Cup, scoring 20 goals and only conceding 5 in the previous three rounds. They have also qualified for the quarter finals of the Bolton Town Cup, with Sam Tonge scoring 8 goals. Three boys have been selected for the Town Team: Adam Thomas, Sam Tonge and Alex Birmingham Three boys have got into the final 28 for the county squad: Byron Weekes, Adam Thomas and Keagan Barlow. This is a fantastic achievement for all the boys. The school is very proud of you all. Spring Term ends Friday 7th April 2017 Easter Break Saturday 8th April to Sunday 23rd April 2017

7 Owen Ward-Scott - Darts Superstar! Owen Ward-Scott in Year 10 has for many years had a real passion, interest and skill in playing darts. He has been committed to working really hard on perfecting his darts skills, and as such, is now performing at a high level for his age where he is now becoming recognise at a senior level. To put his into perspective, Owen tells us how he recently played and came within one dart of achieving the magic nine-dart finish (two 180s, treble 20, treble 19 and just missed the treble 12!) Owen represents Lancashire County u21s. He plays in the Manchester Super league on a Sunday, Monday/Tuesday Bolton league and Thursday Bury league. He has been entered to play darts in the Isle of Man Competition on the 9th - 12th March He has also been invited to play in the German Open in April. Owen is currently in talks and is having a meeting in the near future to play for Bolton Super 8s after being seen perform superbly in Bury darts competition recently. He has also recently signed a sponsorship deal with D. Havilland Ltd, which cover all his playing costs and which will give him a real opportunity to pursue his ambitions. Owen goes by the name of Wardy Wipeout and his moto is the Latin word Ferox which means fearless! Owen is playing a lot of darts but is aware of how important his education is. Owen chose not to play in a key competition due to his exams. Owen shows a fantastic attitude and a hard working approach to his work in school and his burgeoning darts career. The school is very proud of Owen and wishes him every success in his upcoming competitions. Success in the Bolton Schools Cross Country Competition On Wednesday 12th October, students from Little Lever School took part in the Bolton Schools Cross Country Championship held at Smithills School. This was a fantastic opportunity to compete in an individual and team event against 14 other schools in Bolton. Any competitors who finished in the top 15 qualified to represent Bolton in the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships in February The school is delighted to report that a number of Little Lever School competitors did qualify. Please find below some of the outstanding results of students from Little Lever. Congratulations and well done to all our students who took part in the event.

8 Wishing you a prosperous and healthy New Year! From all the Governors and Staff at Little Lever School Call to book your place: Gym Squash Court Badminton Football