A message from Mr Hallam...

Darwen Vale High School An Aldridge Community Academy Summer Newsletter 2016 A message from Mr Hallam... I am extremely proud to be able to welcome you to the final edition of our newsletter for this academic year. As you will see when you read on, the school has been an incredibly vibrant place this term! We say goodbye to a number of staff this summer. Mrs Jack, Mrs Thomas and Mrs Harrison are retiring, Mrs Hugill, Mr Metcalfe, Mrs Cattell, Mr Conefrey, Mrs Fowler, Mrs Yates and Mrs Britton are all moving on to other opportunities. They will all be sorely missed and have provided collectively a whopping 160 years service to Darwen Vale! We wish them all the very best on their next ventures. We also say goodbye to our Year 11 students and wish them all the very best with whatever they choose to do. Please keep in touch - we always want to keep up with how our Alumni are getting on. Follow @DVHSAlumni on twitter for more details. Looking forwards, we will be welcoming a number of new staff onto #TeamVale in September. I ll update you with more information in the new academic year when we will also issue a warm welcome to our new students. Have a wonderful, safe summer and I ll see you in September! D J Hallam Acting Principal Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

Let s get Vale reading Derian House Circuit Training One way to improve the academic progress of students is to get them reading. So here at Vale we are having a determined push to get everyone, and I mean everyone, in school reading. Unfortunately though our school library is in need of some new books, yet this need has provided an opportunity to the students to show a bit of entrepreneurial initiative. As always the students have been quick to organise an event to try and raise these much needed funds. On 4th July, which was a Super Learning Day in school, the librarians and a number of other students embarked on a marathon 12 hour READATHON. Which means they read books for 12 hours WOW. In order to raise money the students are seeking sponsorship from every possible area of the local community in order to provide the exciting and engaging books that will encourage every-one to read. Please support this event in any way that you can and well done librarians. The pupils and staff presented a cheque for over 4,500.00 to John Rullo from Derian House children s hospice. The money was raised at an annual sponsored all day circuit training event run by the school. The event is a gruelling non-stop gym session, including press ups, squats, weights and sit ups etc. This year s event has helped produce a massive current total of 21,862.97 raised by Darwen Vale for Derian House. Cross Bar Challenge for Charity Miss Rowland's Year 9 form group held a cross bar challenge in aid of Derian House. Of course Mr Hallam was first to have a go and with skill and precision and a lot of luck, he hit the cross bar in his 2nd attempt. Well done to 9N and all those who took part. #WeCare

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Expedition update Geography Training was finished in mid-april, just as I was hoping the weather was going to change for the better. The weather did change but not in the way I hoped with some unexpected late April snow which was still evident on the hills on the Saturday morning of the practice expedition. This first expedition is always a challenge for most groups and is meant to be a learning experience so making a mistake is all part of the process. Saturday dawned cold and bright but the day improved as we went along. As usual groups were chased by sheep, cows, dogs and bunny rabbits. However they all survived and all groups made it to camp, some later than others. Saturday evening was glorious but very cold. Food was cooked, stories were told and all reflected on the first day. Sunday dawned damp but all groups managed to pack up before the serious rain started. The remainder of the day was then spent in the wet but this is what the D of E is all about, not the getting wet, but the getting to the end of a challenge despite the weather, the blisters on your feet, the lack of sleep and the pain from carrying your rucksack or the annoying habits of your group. Here s hoping for better weather for the final expedition, in Derbyshire in July. Remember you can follow us on Twitter @https://twitter.com/dvhsdukeofed for updates of the expedition July is a busy month in the Geography department with 3 trips taking place. The first was the Year 9 trip to Bowness in the Lake District. Pupils had a busy day completing land use studies, interviewing tourists and identifying tourist features around the town. Year 10 are also heading to Bowness on 8th July as part of their controlled assessment visit looking at features of a honeypot site. On Friday 15th July the Year 9 Travel & Tourism pupils are heading to the Trafford Centre for an educational talk about the history of the centre and then investigating the tourist facilities. Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

On the CREST of a wave How do these Year 11 s do it? Is a question that I often ask myself. What with GCSE exams, prefect responsibilities and college applications, how do they find time to eat never mind anything else? 4 Year 11 girls proved they have resilience and stamina and were so keen to give their portfolio that little extra that they enrolled on the nationally recognised STEM CREST silver award scheme. This involved designing and planning a STEM project to research. It also meant practical experiments, analysis of results and a group presentation at Blackburn College. The 4 dedicated students Alisha Khan, Mia Johnson, Hannah Whalley and Lisobelle Hanson- Mahon, used their Enrichment time to work towards this prestigious award and did both themselves and the school proud as they passed with flying colours. Well done girls! Art Enrichment On Wednesday the 23rd of March, Year 10 Enrichment unveiled their latest Art installation, Food, Glorious Food. Working with Mrs Sterland and Mr Knowles, pupils got to recreate their favourite dishes using clay, photography, digital imaging and decoupage before mounting them onto a plate. This work is now proudly on display in the dining room. Well done Year 10! Helping our Neighbours A group of eager Year 10 boys provided a bit of time and muscle to help the local community. In connection with the Police Force and the Probation Service the boys set about planting some trees and bushes to hopefully solve a trespass issue, as well as improving the landscape. All this was done during the pupils enrichment time and it was great to see people working together to help and improve. It just goes to prove that education is about planting a seed for the future. Well done boys! #ProudOfVale

'Art in Heaven' Year 8 pupils have taken part in a national competition as part of their EPR lessons. In its 13th year, this competition has attracted over 300,000 participants averaging 2,000 entrants per year since 2004. Hundreds of UK schools get involved, and entries come from as far afield as Cyprus and Australia, Indonesia and South Africa. The annual competition starts at the beginning of every school year and runs through to 31st July. Judging is by RE Today Advisers and students, takes place in August and winners are announced in the new academic year. Good luck with your entries Year 8 we have had some amazing pieces so far. The Schools Bible Project 2016 A group of GCSE RS pupils and a selection of year 8 pupils have recently taken part in a national competition. The Schools Bible Project invited pupils to find out about the life of Jesus. Pupils were asked to imagine themselves actually present at an event in one of the Gospel stories and to write about it. Prize winners will get money for the school, a personal prize and get to go to London with their teachers and families for a tour of Parliament, tea at Westminster and presentation of prizes at the House of Lords. Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

Helmshore Mill. Year 10 History coursework trip Battlefields Trip 2016 sees the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, one of the best known battles of the Great War. All students at Darwen Vale learn about this significant event, looking at the reasons for the Somme offensive, as well as trying to understand why the plan went horribly wrong, so wrong in fact that there were 60,000 Allied casualties on the first day of the Battle. Students then go on to look at the impact the battle had on the outcome of the war, and the role that General Douglas Haig played in what many historians think was a needless slaughter. Students really enjoy their History at Darwen Vale and in particular learning about World War 1. Because of the centenary commemorations, Mr Smalley has the opportunity to take 2 keen historians over to visit some of the key sites of the Great War. The visit, which is scheduled for October includes some hands on History as well as trips to museums, cemeteries, Ypres and the Menin Gate. This trip is part of a government offer to a number of schools; it provides students with an opportunity to take part in a wonderful programme of events. Therefore this 4 day trip is being offered free to 2 lucky students. Students interested in participating have been encouraged to write a formal letter stating why they should be chosen and also how they and the school could benefit from such an experience. So, if you would like to go on this amazing experience and you could put up with Mr Smalley for 4 days then get writing! Krakow As ever the History Department at Darwen Vale is always seeking to really make History relevant to the pupils, as well as trying as hard as they can to engage students by bringing the past to life. One way of doing this is through trips to historic sites and places of interest. Therefore Mr Smalley is now organising a trip to Krakow in Poland. The trip which is scheduled for March 2017 sees budding historians embark on a number of activities and visits that promise to have a real and profound impact on the students. This trip really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The focus of it will look at Nazi treatment of the Jews in World War II, and the students will be visiting Auschwitz as well as meeting a survivor from the concentration camp. Students will also visit a couple of museums in Krakow, including the Schindler museum which is situated in the building Oscar Schindler used for employing Jews he saved from certain death. Students will also experience an authentic Jewish meal with entertainment provided, along with a number of other more relaxed activities. This trip perfectly complements the GCSE syllabus being followed in school. The trip will see students fly to Krakow and spend 4 days and 3 nights in this city. There are only a limited number of places available for what promises to be an amazing trip, so if you are interested please see or contact Mr Smalley in school. It s one not to miss. #LifeReady

The World Is Your Oyster In April a group of Year 8 pupils studying MFL were invited to attend presentations given by Silke Engelbart, a Senior Language Lecturer from the University of Central Lancashire, and a Modern Foreign Language Undergraduate. Silke demonstrated how learning a Foreign Language is both enriching and empowering. If you have language skills you can enhance your job prospects and stand out from the competition. In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, UK firms need staff who can communicate in Foreign Languages. It is important to realise the labour market is international. Companies can recruit from the EU and beyond, and there is an almost unlimited supply of talented multilingual EU graduates eager to work in the UK. British graduates without a second language are disadvantaged when it comes to looking for jobs with international companies and will find it harder to gain promotion within them. Source- The Independent, K.Board. October 15,2009 If I want to sell you something, then I'll speak your language. If you want to sell me something, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen.` (then you must speak German) - Willy Brandt (Former German Chancellor) Silke shared her passion for studying Foreign Languages and the endless opportunities of being multi-lingual. The personal benefits of enjoying new cultures and meeting new people were presented by the Undergraduate. The Undergraduate had recently returned from his year abroad. He had spent six months in Germany and six months in China. He showed the pupils photographs of his trip and described with enthusiasm his personal experiences of Chinese and German culture. Darwen Vale pupils particularly enjoyed hearing about his trip to the `Great Wall of China` and were impressed to learn that he had only started learning Chinese at University. As you can see, learn a new language and "The World really is your Oyster." Great French Bake Off Year 7 took part in the Great French Bake Off. The winners were the boys - Brendan Cawley, Lewis Baxter, JJ Woods, Callum Kingston, Reiss Bowen and Reece Beaumont who made delicious Lava Cakes topped with white chocolate shavings. A special mention to Mrs Oliver who assisted. Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

Pre GCSE revision maths classes Well done to our dedicated GCSE pupils who came into school for revision classes during the holidays. Maths Challenge Well done to Ryan Brindle and Cameron Done for achieving the Gold award and Emily Morton, Kyle Robinson, Hannah Whalley and Nicole Fenney for achieving the Bronze award in this year s UKMT challenge. These popular thoughtprovoking challenges have been set yearly by Leeds university for the past twenty years. This year over 200,000 pupils from across the UK sat the challenge and only the top 6% were awarded the Gold certificate. Salford University Maths trip As usual, the pupils at Darwen Vale did us proud when a group of our Year 10 s were invited to a Maths workshop at Salford University. The day was intended for those who may consider studying Maths or further Maths at A- level. They were given an insight into the various careers that involve maths at a high level. The pupils were given presentations on the practical impact of Maths as well as being able to experience research and problem solving. #CareerReady

Maths In Pictures Pupils exploring faces edges & vertices Nested polyhedral models created in Maths Alien Invasion The scenario is given with news casts and radio reports of spacecraft landing in Manford City. There is a school visiting 4 areas of the city. 9C1 have been given the task of working out, through a series of clues, where the space craft have landed. How to generate a muster point for the pupils to meet and get to a safe zone. Pupils are testing out their problem solving skills alongside multiple mathematical application at B level. Kite Questions in Maths 9c1 didn't understand Kite questions when dealing with Pythagoras, so we made them. Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

Head Boy Head Girl After extremely tough competition, we are delighted to announce that Jordan Jackson and Beth Waddicor have been appointed as the new Head Boy and Head Girl for 2016/17. Their deputies, Jack Wilkinson and Lucy Townsend, will support them in their new roles. At Darwen Vale, we see these positions to be of great importance. Students wishing to be considered for the role had to apply in writing stating why they felt they would be a suitable candidate; they then had to deliver a speech to all of the Darwen Vale staff before finally being interviewed by Mrs Jack, Miss Hayes and Mr Welsh. All 15 students who were interviewed showed passion and an extreme commitment to the school. As a result, we are keen to develop some of the ideas the students brought to their interview over the next academic year. Well done to all involved and we look forward to working with the Junior Leadership Team and the Prefects over the next 12 months. Lakeside Trip A group of 39 Year 7 and Year 8 pupils went to the YMCA at Lakeside during the May half term to participate in a residential activity trip. The trip was a huge success; pupils took part in Rock Climbing, Abseiling, Bushcraft, Archery, Raft Building, Zip Wiring, Longboat Sailing and Kayaking along Lake Windemere. A massive thank you goes to Mr Adcroft who organised and led the trip and thanks also go to Mr Broderick, Miss Jones and Miss Rowland who also helped out. Year 7 The Year 7s have had a fantastic first year at Darwen Vale. This has been evident throughout the year with their enthusiasm, commitment, excellent attitude to learning, attendance and participation in many extra curricular activities all year round. At this point I would like to thank parents for their continued support, promoting positive attitudes and success along with supporting the school and our values. As Head of Year I am extremely proud of what they have achieved both individually and as a year group with many positive comments coming from staff and parents at the recent Parents Evening. With only a few weeks left in Year 7, I am confident this will continue into Year 8 and throughout their time here at Darwen Vale High School. Well done Year 7, you have made Mrs Belham very proud. #TeamVale

THE BIG BANG FAIR The Science department took 45 Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils to the Big Bang Fair at the NEC Birmingham. The Big Bang is the largest celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths for young people in the UK. Everything they do is aimed at showing young people (primarily aged 7-19) just to show many exciting and rewarding opportunities there are out there for them with the right experience and qualifications. The Big Bang Fair showed pupils the latest in digital design, food technology, travel and transport, space exploration and more. The fair show floor is designed to help them understand where their chosen subjects can take them. From games to planes and from fashion to physics, The Big Bang Fair takes pupils on a journey to discover the best they can be. Computer Science from the word go!! Over the past couple of years Computing has evolved into learning different programming languages. For the first time ever Year 7 have been involved in using a programming language called Python. Students have learnt how to create and run a high level computer language program. This knowledge will give the students an insight into future opportunities in the world of Computer Science and programming. The computing department has been inspiring the younger minds of Blackburn and Darwen youngsters by having weekly computing workshops in local primary schools. Model Cell Homework Year 7 pupils from Mr. Metcalfe s Science class have been creating some exceptional homework. Especially good, has been the amount of cell-related baking that has been going on. The standout work was from Jessica Stanley who baked a true show-stopper. Well done to Mackenzie Hawcroft- Hurst, Roan Lofthouse, Leon Lancaster, Ellie Jade-Bull and Jessica Stanley Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

Summer Dance 2016 Once again the annual dance performances were a great success. 150 dancers graced the stage with their performances that covered a range of styles including contemporary, ballet, tap and cheerleading. 600 primary school children enjoyed watching the performances on the Tuesday and Wednesday morning. 5 schools stayed to participate in dance workshops in the afternoons run by the Year 10 Enrichment groups. The 2 evening performances went down really well to packed audiences. A huge vote of thanks goes out to everyone who supported the productions in any way. Without you the performances would not happen. Our heartfelt congratulations go to all the dancers who have worked tirelessly throughout the year and who performed so magnificently. #WeCare

The Sound of Music On Tuesday 22nd Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th of March the most magnificent and talented Darwen Vale pupils took to the stage for what is sure to go down in history as one of the greatest shows we have ever staged! The Sound Of Music was a show case of the amazing, talented and brightest stars we have ever seen on our stage. The wonderful cast working hard to tell the story, The Von Trapp Children in perfect harmony and masterful Captain Von Trapp and an absolutely stunning performance by Amy Barclay as Maria. We would like to thank all the staff, pupils and parents for their support and we hoped you loved our show as much as we loved creating it for you! Looking forward to seeing you all next year. Congratulations to all our pupils involved. Mrs Parkinson is in awe of your talent and you inspire her every single day. Another fantastic trip organised by the Create department for our performing arts students. Liverpool Empire was the setting for a magnificent performance of Footloose the musical. 45 pupils and 5 staff enjoyed a fantastic show, and we would like to make a personal thanks to Harrison Cornall for getting everybody up and dancing at the end! Strong performances from the lead cast and Maureen Nolan made it a night to remember. Thanks to all parents for supporting and picking up and dropping off their youngsters. We had a great night. See you for Chicago in September! Chicago Auditions On Thursday 23rd June 2016 over 100 pupils came to audition for our 2017 musical Chicago. It was an amazing evening showing the skills and talent of our wonderful pupils. Now it is a very difficult choice for the Performing Arts staff to choose their main cast, and with such a demanding script, songs and dance numbers we are sure it will be one of the best we have produced. We hope to see you all there in March 2017 and would as always, like to thank the parents for their unending support with rehearsals and early morning drops offs and watching the performances. We can t wait to show you what we've done! Darwen Dance Live Once again Darwen Vale played host to Darwen Dance Live from 1st 3rd July. This amazing weekend event organised by Vicky Rothwell from Rothwell Arts Academy was a fabulous success. The event started on the Friday evening with a Dance Showcase involving Dance schools, Primary and Secondary schools. Darwen Vale was represented by our Year 10 and 11 dancers. Pupils then had the opportunity to participate in a range of dance workshops located across Darwen on the Saturday and Sunday. Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

Kit Donation The PE department would like to thank ex pupil, Daniel Finch, and Blackburn Rovers for donating a couple of academy kits to the school. Daniel works at Blackburn Rovers Football Academy as a youth team coach and education officer as well as lecturing at ACCROSS College. Table Tennis Festival vs St.Bedes This new activity has been one of our successes in 2016 with lots of boys from all years attending practice at lunch and after school. We therefore took 24 pupils over 2 weeks to St.Bedes in a mini-festival. Both schools played very well with St.Bedes edging both fixtures. Year 11 Football Year 11 Football Blackburn Town Cup Winners: 2-0 Vale, Tyler Wilkinson (2). QEGS started the brighter side but for the efforts of Vale GK Ryan Brindle who made 4 great saves. H-T 0-0. Vale scored early on in the 2nd half, excellent through ball from Josh Bradley sent Tyler Wilkinson in on goal to finish in the bottom corner. The last 5 min, after QEGS pressure to find an equalising goal, Vale counter attacked, Joe Almond with some excellent individual play and the ball falling to Tyler Wilkinson to finish. The game was played in good spirit and thanks to Darwen FC for hosting. County Cup Basketball It's been an amazing time for the Year 9 basketball team since they were narrowly beaten by Southlands in the Lancs County Cup last year. They strolled through the group stages of this year's competition, beating St Wilfrids, Clitheroe and Bacup along the way. In the quarter final they beat Broughton High School 36-16. Their opponents in the semi-final were Tarleton Academy, a school renowned for producing good basketball teams. It was a tough encounter and took some incredible scoring from Mitchell George (26 points) to see them into the final. The final score was 34-20. In the final they faced Our Ladies (Preston), a team who had beaten Vale last year. The players were magnificent from the first tip off and effectively won the game in the first period by scoring 21 points and conceding 6. At times their play was a joy to watch with everyone working hard on defending, rebounding and shooting well. The final score was 71-44. The Most Valuable Player Award was given to Saul Oldham for his hardwork in defense and offense. This is Vale's first County Cup win in 4 years, now the players have been set the task of remaining unbeaten for three years. With hard work and dedication they will achieve this. Well done to all the players. Year 7 County Cup Cricket Team They have made a great start to the tournament beating Fred Longworth High school by 10wkts. Special mention to Jordan Shaw and Sam Aspin who have represented the District team. #LifeReady

Blackburn with Darwen Town Sports Championships 2016 On the 21st June Blackburn and Darwen Secondary Schools Athletics Championships were held at Witton Park. The weather was kind to us and the 88 pupils that competed did so with grit and determination to do Darwen Vale proud. We had some fabulous individual results on the day and a number of town champions. The Year 9 athletes managed to secure the most points for the overall totals, the boys winning their year group with 61 points and the girls just narrowly missing out on second place with 41 points. There were 10 schools from across the borough taking part in the event that included the 100m and 200m sprints, the 800m and 1500m middle distance races, hurdles, relay, long jump, high jump and shot. In the Year 7 girls competition Jolie Hoole ran a good race and came 2nd in the 1500m. In Year 8 Emily Benn came 6th in the 75m hurdles and 5th place in the high jump competition. Jade Pye came 6th in the 100m final and Neelam Hussain came 5th in the discus. In the Year 9 team we had double town champion, Megan Dewhurst claiming the 800m title for the second year running and the High jump title jumping 1.38m. Abigail Martin won the discus with a distance of 20.32m and came third in the javelin. In the Year 10/11 girls team the throwing events were our strongest with Abigail Critchley coming 6th in discus and Courtney Burgess coming 3rd in the shot. The outstanding performances from the boys were as follows, in Year 7 Scott Ballard came 3rd in the 70m hurdles and 2nd place in the 200m. Oliver Lok Tsang-Warrington came 6th in the long jump and 5th in the high jump. Year 8 athletes Jack Barker, Ethan Ball and Alexander Jarvis all achieved the town champion title in their events. Jack won the 200m, Ethan the high jump and Alexander the long jump. Corban Ginley came 4th in the high jump and 6th in the 75m hurdles. Darwen Vale has another four town champions in the Year 9 boys team. Mitchell George and Josh Cosgrove both retained their titles, winning the high jump and shot respectively for the second year running. Mitchell also came 3rd in the 100m final and Josh placed 3rd in the javelin. The third town champion was Sol Brown who won the 80m hurdles and 4th was Bradley Meikleham who had a convincing win in the 1500m. Other athletes to achieve points for the team were Callum Ward 4th in the 1500m; Sam Eastwood came 3rd in the 800m; Rhys Curson came 3rd and Josh Kilburn 4th in the discus; William Fort came second in the long jump; Sol Brown came 5th and Peter Sharples came 6th in the triple jump, finally the relay team were just beaten to first place by 2 tenths of a second at the end of the day. It is no wonder the Year 9 boys team were our strongest overall with the effort and commitment they have shown to their events. Finally in the Year 10/11 athletics team we had two town champions, Tom Bradley won the javelin and Lewis Old the long jump. Tom also performed well in the triple jump achieving 4th place. Other performances included Ellis Hayhurst 3rd in both the triple jump and the 100m hurdles. Jack Gill-Brown came 5th in the 100m hurdles, Lewis Goulden 6th in the 800m, William Rayner 5th in the 200m final and Jack Walker 6th in the javelin. This year we also had three pupils that travelled to Wigan to represent Blackburn with Darwen at the Lancashire Schools Athletics Competition last month. Megan Dewhurst made it through to the final of the 800m and then came 8th place against some strong competition. Josh Cosgrove came 3rd place in the shot putt event with a throw of 9.44m and Megan Charnock came 3rd clearing 1.35m in the high jump. Town Sports is the biggest sporting event in the calendar and each year we strive for more and more points, well done to all the pupils who competed and we look forward to supporting those pupils who will go on to represent Lancashire and maybe even the English schools at the beginning of the 2017 athletics season. Bradley Meikleham Ethan Ball & Alexander Jarvis Megan Dewhurst Sol Brown Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

Design Technology This year in Design Technology we have had some fantastic GCSE final products ranging from fashion garments and home furnishing to signature furniture pieces and storage solutions using a variety of materials. Students have worked extremely hard to complete some high quality final products towards their GCSE in Design Technology which show exceptional creativity and skill. Well done everyone!! Make sure you come along to the Art, Design and Technology exhibition Monday 11th July 4 7 pm to have a look. What is Design Technology? In Design and Technology pupils combine practical and technological skills with creative thinking to design and make products and systems that meet human needs. They learn to use current technologies and consider the impact of future technological developments. They learn to think creatively and intervene to improve the quality of life, solving problems as individuals and members of a team. Working in stimulating contexts that provide a range of opportunities and draw on the local ethos, community and wider world, pupils identify needs and opportunities. They respond with ideas, products and systems, challenging expectations where appropriate. They combine practical and intellectual skills with an understanding of aesthetic, technical, cultural, health, social, emotional, economic, industrial and environmental issues. As they do so, they evaluate present and past design and technology, and its uses and effects. Through design and technology pupils develop confidence in using practical skills and become discriminating users of products. They apply their creative thinking and learn to innovate. #CareerReady

Super Learning Day Thursday 12th May was Super Learning Day at Darwen Vale High School, a half-termly event packed with fun, engaging activities. Healthwatch were among the guests, in the art room, all busily creating posters. The Christian Bikers just can t keep away from Darwen Vale, this was their fourth visit! Here, Declan Smith from Year 7 is seen revving up a motorbike. The Red Cross is always welcome at Darwen Vale. Their life-saving workshops helped Joe-James Nicholson save his father s life. Advance @VALE The Advance@VALE programme is designed to make sure that our pupils are ready for work when they leave Darwen Vale. Key skills are highlighted and worked on, as well as a number of challenges and opportunities to get involved in the world of work. The Advance@VALE Gold Award must be earned in order to qualify for a period of work experience. It s a challenging programme to follow but the process is quite straightforward More information on the Advance@VALE programme is coming to our website soon. Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

The RAF visit The Roadshow was devised in response to the Government's acknowledgement that there is already a shortfall of home grown scientists and engineers to meet the needs of the country and by capturing the interest of young people aged 12 14, we can hopefully increase the numbers that take STEM subjects and ultimately increase the pool of talent in years to come. 'Fun with Flight' is a 50-minute jet fuelled presentation exploring the physics of flying. Students will discover how the physics they study in the classroom is an integral part of the work that engineers undertake in the RAF and other engineering organisations. Using exciting demonstrations, we invite students to take part in some literally jaw dropping experiments. Drones, balloons, airships and even jet engines are explored in a way that will literally make their hair stand on end. They will also learn about the microlight world altitude record and the physics behind how the RAF achieved their goal. We actively promote women in engineering and demystify some of the myths around engineering. A guaranteed spectacle (including our new VR demonstration) and lots of noise, your students will get the opportunity to engage with STEM learning as never before. Lego Robotics A team of Year 8 pupils participated in an exciting STEM competition in June 2016. Faiq Chaudhary, Harry Walker, Alex Noble, Nicole Hartley, James Hindle and Luke Pickering have been designing, building and programming a robot that will complete 7 tough tasks in 3 and a half minutes. They are completed and presented their own solution to a problem faced by engineers and scientists at NASA. The level of commitment and skill they have shown has been fantastic! #TeamVale

Amplify Project Day DVHS pupils, Ethan Ball, Jack Barker, and Adam Smith have now become our first Amplify Champions. This role involves helping facilitate young people to have a voice about things that affect them. The three boys worked in teams alongside other young people and staff from different schools, and volunteers and staff from the Healthwatch Team. One of their first tasks in their new role was to help produce a 'Parents Guide' that would be made available to parents in schools across our area. Young people across BwD had stated in a recent commissioned report that they would like to be able to talk to their parents, but said that parents might find a guide useful to know how young people would like to be approached by parents and carers re health and social aspects that affect young people. Ethan, Jack and Adam have been working on the finer details of the booklet and how young people might want it to look. The content of the booklet has been developed using pupil voice in progressive sessions in our Super Learning Day events at DVHS, and the graphics are being developed by Darwen Enterprise School. Young people from both schools are involved in formulating a bid for funding available for this project so that the booklet can be produced and used in schools. Well done Ethan, Jack and Adam you worked really hard, were enthusiastic, engaging and were a credit to the school. Girls Aloud Project A group of 14 Year 8 girls went to Training 2000 to participate in a Girls Aloud project aimed at encouraging girls into the Engineering sector. The girls got the chance to see what type of careers can come from being involved in Engineering. They enjoyed a tour of the facilities and even got the chance to get hands on and created their own souvenir to take away. The girls were a credit to the school and came away enriched and encouraged to think about a career in Engineering. Darwen Vale 2016 Summer Newsletter

Schoolcomms At school we use Schoolcomms to offer you an online payment method which puts you in control. You can access it at any time, track how much you have paid, what is outstanding and make payments directly to us by setting up a direct bank payment or using your debit or credit card. GETTING STARTED You can set up on the school gateway via the link; https://login.schoolgateway.com Simply enter the email address that you have given us for your contact details and your mobile phone number, click the send pin icon and a PIN number will be sent to your mobile phone. You will then be able to access your gateway account and use this to manage dinner monies, keep a check on the items that you child has bought at breakfast, break and dinner times and also manage your payments for school trips. PAYMENT REQUESTS When there is money owing to school by you, we can set up payment requests and you will be notified by text or email that there is a payment request available. Simply log in using your email address and your PIN number, select the payment request(s) you wish to fulfil and follow the Wizard through to pay. If you have more than one child at this school or another school that also use the Schoolcomms payment module you can merge the accounts so one log in gives you access to all your children s payment requests and history. The new system removes the need to send money into school with your child, removing the chance of money going astray, making it convenient for you to pay when it suits you, from anywhere at any time of day or night and saving the school office time. Of course you can continue to pay by cash or cheque should you find this easier. TERM AND HOLIDAY DATES 2016-2017 Autumn Term 2016 Monday 5 September Tuesday 6 September Thursday 27 October Friday 28 October School closed for Staff Training School re-opens School closes School closed for Staff Training Half term Monday 31 Oct - Friday 4th Nov 2016 Monday 7 November Friday 23 December School re-opens School closes Christmas Holiday Monday 26 Dec 2016 Friday 6 Jan 2017 Spring Term 2017 Monday 9 January Friday 10 February School re-opens School closes Half term Monday 13 Feb - Friday 17 Feb 2017 Monday 20 February Friday 31 March School re-opens School closes Easter Holiday Monday 3rd April Monday 17 April 2017 Summer Term 2017 Tuesday 18 April Monday 1 May Friday 26 May School re-opens Bank Holiday School closes Half term Monday 29 May - Friday 2 June 2017 Monday 5 June Thursday 20 July School re-opens School closes for the summer For more news visit our website: www.darwenvale.com Remember that we are here to help and, like you, we want the best for your son or daughter. If you have any concerns or questions no matter how big or small they may seem, get in touch. Your child s form tutor is usually a good place to start. Phone school on 01254 223000 Or email us contact@darwenvale.com Follow us on Twitter @DarwenVale Or Facebook Darwen Vale High School #TeamVale