UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge 2024
Last week Mr Martin challenged us all with some questions form the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge.
If you have had a go – here are the answers. Well done to everyone.
Easy:
Answer
Medium:
Answer
Hard:
Answer
Imogen Davies, work experience
During her work experience at Peel Waters, Imogen Davies wrote a blog.
She answered questions such as Was it what I expected? What did I like about the experience? and Why do I think that doing work experience is important?
Imogen concludes by saying I have really benefitted from doing work experience. I found that a lot of the information the team shared with me was typically something you would not obtain from an academic course, and was focused towards a real world working environment. I also think that work experience allows you to discover things that you may be interested in, while also meeting lots of new people.
After the entire experience at Peel Waters, I can confidently say that I am even more interested in the aspects of business and the impact that it has on the wider community. I believe by having explored more paths within the business world, I am more knowledgeable, which in turn has helped me to gain skills that I will definitely use when it comes to choosing a potential career in the future.
Click here to read the blog https://www.peelwaters.co.uk/news/work-experience/
Music Department News
Good luck to the Choir who will compete in the North Wales Choir Festival in Llandudno on Saturday 2nd March. You have spent a lot of time preparing and we know you will impress the audience and judges at the festival.
Keyboard Club
Come to 2M Friday lunchtimes – For students to practice pieces they are learning in lessons or pieces that they want to learn.
Upcoming Events:
North Wales Choir Festival Llandudno 2nd March
NCO Mainly Baroque Concert 10th March Storyhouse Chester GCSE and A Level
Recital Evening 25th March A Level
Year 11 pupils are sitting Maths and English mocks on Thursday 29th Feb March-Monday 4th March with other subjects completing class based assessments as further preparation for upcoming GCSE’s continue.
We wish them (and their families) the best of luck and pray that they keep a calm mind.
Deacon Kay 7B took part in the Regional 2 Trampoline Qualifier at Wigan Park on Saturday 24th February.
Deacon moved up a category and competed in the TRA Level 1 Men’s (11-12 years) group. We are pleased to say he came away with a 3rd place medal.
Fake News
ALL NEWS ISN’T ALWAYS GOOD NEWS.
We need to be mindful that as young people spend much more time online, they will come across many types of news to include, fake, real, biased, exaggerated and AI generated impersonation. They are then only a few clicks away to exploring more and vulnerable to being dragged into things. Factors such as being easily impressionable young people especially at risk.
Dear Parents & Carers,
We hope you all enjoyed a relaxing half term.
We are looking forward to seeing some of you at our Bingo Event on Thursday, 7th March, 6pm – 8pm. We are raising funds for school resources.
No booking necessary, just come along.
£5 for a book of tickets.
We will hold a raffle too & there will be refreshments available to buy.
Please note: cash only event.
Our next PTFA Meeting will take place in school on Monday 4th March 5.15 – 6.15pm – everyone is welcome.
Your PTFA
Did you know that with our Super Draw, you can now buy tickets just for the week of the Super Draw? Weekly tickets will still give you a chance to win this amazing prize of course, but every extra ticket you buy will be an extra chance to win – so if you see a prize you like the look of, just grab a couple of extra Super Draw tickets! Just click the button above to buy now for the draw on Saturday 30th March.
This week’s jackpot winning number is:
679844
One of our supporters won £13.80 in the draw.
Monday and Tuesday I’ll be providing templates and colours for students to enter the design a book token competition. The winning entrants will receive HUNDREDS of pounds worth of National Book Tokens for their school and themselves (fingers crossed it’s someone from St Nicholas CHS). PLUS the overall winner will get a £10 National Book Token in their winning design for every child in their class… and the opportunity to spend them in a visit to a local bookshop!
This year’s theme is ‘Read Your Way’. Every reader is different, and there’s no right or wrong way to enjoy reading. A panel of judges will select a winner and runner-up in each of three age categories: up to 8 years, 9-12 years and 13-16 years. If you would like to enter at home you can do this via the link below:
The closing date for the competition is Sunday 7th April.
Wednesday we’ll be judging the entries to the Lit-Spud competition. The aim of the competition is to create the best impression of a book character out of a potato. We’re looking forward to all your fabulous entries. Please make sure the potato is uncooked or it will make for a very messy, mashy competition. Entries need to be in the library by Wednesday form time.
Thursday aka World Book Day we’ll be screening The Great Big Footy and Booky Quiz live in the library for 30 year 7s during period 1. We’ll need football and book fans to join forces so we can beat the other schools taking part and win some prizes!
And then, we have the main event……your staff at St Nicholas are going to dress up as their favourite book characters so you can take part in a book character treasure hunt. A point will be given for each correct identification of book character, the book the character comes from and the author of the book. The winners of the hunt will be the students with the most points.
Friday it’s book club as usual and we’ll be continuing with our Cheshire School’s Book Award activities.
Book of the week
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Available on SORA)
♥ No. 15 of The Read Harder Challenge 2024 – Read a YA non-fiction book ♥
This was my first non-fiction book of the new year and, as luck would have it, a special YA/teen edition of a previously published adult non-fic title, thus enabling me to tick off no. 15 of the Read Harder Challenge 2024.
On first impressions, The Omnivore’s Dilemma could come across as another book encouraging readers to become vegetarian. Meat eaters can relax however as this is not the intention of the book. Instead, it takes a close look at America’s food industry and the harm it’s doing to the planet, animals, and the health of its citizens. Michael Pollen addresses the question of, how can we be sure that the food we are consuming is actually good for us? He discusses how the heavily subsidised corn industry is engulfing the farmlands of the US and proportionately makes up a huge amount of Americans’ diets (without them consciously consuming one grain of corn as we would recognise it). He visits industrial farms and manufacturing plants and compares their methods to the few self-sufficient organic farms across the country. He also looks at the chemicals and hormones that are making their way through US citizens as a result of crop spraying and the antibiotics given to diseased cattle, hogs and chicken. The book concludes with Pollan challenging himself to make a meal with as small a food chain as possible, i.e. only eating things he has personally killed or grown.
Pollan’s recommendations for eating food that is good for us include
Never to eat anything that your great grandmother would not recognise as food
Do not eat anything with ingredients you can’t pronounce
I will certainly make more conscious decisions when it comes to purchasing food from now on, buying local produce where possible and eating less processed and fast foods. However, my biggest takeaway from this book was an overwhelming relief that I don’t live in the US.
The Td/IPV and MenACWY vaccination programme for St Nicholas Catholic High School is scheduled for:
WEDNESDAY 13TH MARCH
The vaccination is for Year 9 plus anyone in years 10 and 11 who have missed theirs last year.
St Nicholas Catholic High School, has a unique code that you will be prompted to input into the system. The code is: CP111450
Please submit consent here https://www.cwpstartingwellimms.co.uk/Forms/DTP
by 12 NOON MONDAY 11TH MARCH to ensure that your child receives the vaccination.
Apps are incredibly useful in all areas of life. There are so many built-for-purpose apps, including mental health apps designed to specifically help you to manage your wellbeing or deal with anxiety and stress.
Many young people experience mental health challenges. Among 16 to 24-year-olds, approximately 1 in 4 have reported they are struggling with their mental health.
We all face difficult moments and to cope we can sometimes find ourselves spending more and more time using our phones to escape.
So why not download an app designed to help in these moments?
Lunchtime:
Monday : Linguistics Club, Years 10,11,12,13 in E7
Monday : Memrise Club in L5
Tuesday : Science Club in S5
Tuesday: GCSE Computer Science Revision in C2
Tuesday : Chess Club in M5
Wednesday : Art club – all years in A1 and A2
Wednesday : Easy as Pi – Maths Club – in M6
Wednesday : Dungeons and Dragons in B5
Thursday : Art club -all years A1 in and A2 – KS4
Thursday : KS3 History Club – Week 2 in H1
Friday : GCSE History Film Club – Week 1 in H1
After School:
Tuesday
Performing Arts Club – 3.15 – 4.30 Drama
Food Club – Year 9 and GCSE – 3.15 – 4.30 in T6
Drama Club in Drama Studio
Wednesday
Dungeons and Dragons – in the library
Thursday
Art club for everyone in A2
Lunchtime:
Monday: Woodwind Ensemble
Tuesday : Year 9 band 1M
Wednesday : Jazz Band (GCSE and A Level)
Thursday : String Ensemble
Friday : Keyboard Club
After School:
Tuesday : GCSE Coursework/Revision
Wednesday Recording GCSE Ensemble
Thursday Orchestra
Instrumental Lessons in school
MONDAY GUITAR, PIANO and FLUTE
TUESDAY SINGING
WEDNESDAY PIANO
THURSDAY VIOLIN, CLARINET AND SAXOPHONE
FRIDAY DRUM KIT
If you are interested in learning an instrument in school, please click here
Lunchtime:
Monday : Basketball – sports Hall – Year 9
Tuesday : Basketball – sports Hall – Year 10
Wednesday : Basketball – sports Hall – Year 7&8
Thursday : Football – sports Hall – Year 9
Friday : Football – sports Hall – Sixth Form
After School:
Monday
Cricket Nets Practice
Tuesday
Football and Hockey All Years
Wednesday
Netball All Years
Year 11 Football v MHS (Home)
Thursday
Primary Cross-Country
KS3 Rugby
Friday
GCSE NEA Marking
A Level PE Revision
Monday 4th Mar PTFA Meeting 5.15 – 6.15pm
Tuesday 5th March – Year 11 Exam success parent meeting
Weds 6th Mar & Thurs 7th Mar Y11 GCSE Food preparation and nutrition practical exam
Friday 15th Mar Y11 and Y12 Silver and Gold DofE training expedition departs
Monday 18th Mar Year 9 exams commence
Tuesday 26th Mar Y8 Parents Evening 4.15 – 7.30pm
Wednesday 27th Mar Whole School Mass
Thursday 28th Mar Stanley Igoe Cup (Y11 pm)
EASTER HOLIDAY 29TH MARCH – 14TH APRIL
29th – 31st March Silver 7 Gold DofE Qualifying/Training Expedition
Monday 15th Apr School Reopens
Click here for future dates
“Everyone Matters – so attendance matters”