Newsletter 08.03.2024

Message from Headteacher Mr C Burns

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you and your families are well.

As you know, we were inspected by a team of five from Ofsted this week, led by a very experienced HMI. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your letters of support and the fantastic response you provided for the inspection team. As always, your children were absolutely fantastic and showcased our school perfectly.

I am unable to share the outcome of the inspection for some time but I can tell you that we are certainly very pleased and look forward to continuing to develop this truly great school.

Thank you once again for your continued support. I hope that you and your families have a good weekend.

Best wishes,

Craig Burns

Headteacher

Message from our Chaplain Mairie

A really busy week this week with a visit out of school and visitors in school!

Manchester RE visit

On Tuesday I accompanied Year 11 students to Manchester and a seminar conference led by Dr Peter Vardy who is a professor of Theology and teaches on exam practice and techniques. His lecture brought out lots of wider knowledge about the person of Jesus and Belief in God, and certainly gave our students plenty to think about. It was a pleasure to spend the day with year 11 and they were a credit to St Nicholas CHS

Year 3 visit to St Nicholas

On Wednesday, Year 3 children from St Vincent’s, and surrounding schools, came to visit St Nicholas as part of their sacramental programme for First Forgiveness. We did some really big thinking about who we are and how much God loves us – no matter what! We spent some time in the drama studio and had a whistlestop tour around school, as well as a pizza and chips lunch in the canteen and a chance to catch up with some Year 7 buddies. They were an absolute delight to have in school and we thank Mrs Groarke and her team for bringing them along for the day.

World Book Day at St Nicholas

World Book Day

Staff really embraced the spirit of World Book Day on Thursday, showcasing a variety of costumes inspired by characters from a wide range of books, spanning different literary genres and age ranges, from beloved figures in Roald Dahl’s novels to those in “An Inspector Calls.” Students enjoyed seeing familiar faces such as a convincing Severus Snape, a charming Gandalf the Elf, the strict Miss Trunchbull, and the whimsical Queen of Hearts. The aim was to highlight the importance of reading within our school community, and it turned out to be a highly enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

Music News

Music Department News

Choir Success

The Choir had a very succesful performance at the North Wales Choir Festival in Llandudno on Saturday 2^nd March. They sang their hearts out and were awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ in a competition where they were the only School Choir.

Well done to everyone who took part and to all the parents and drivers for your continued support.

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:

NCO Mainly Baroque Concert 10^th March Storyhouse Chester GCSE and A Level

Recital Evening 25^th March A Level

Year 11 RE Candlelight Conference

Year 11 RE Candlelight Conference

On Tuesday 5^th March 16 year 11 students had the exciting opportunity to attend an RE Conference that included key knowledge for their RE GCSE. Students took part in 4 lectures including ‘The Problem of Evil’ and ‘Belief in Heaven and Hell’. The conference gave students an insight into what a university lecture would be like. The student’s behaviour and attitude was absolutely fantastic, and they did St Nicholas Catholic High School proud.

Caitlin and Megan wrote:

‘It was definitely a really interesting experience where we got to listen to an expert in the field speak on a much deeper level than we can cover in lessons. As someone who would like to go into theology, we felt it was a really interesting day. Our favourite part was the debate section, where we could share our own perspectives and listen to others’.

Isabella wrote:

‘Today I learnt more about the importance of evaluation and developed my understanding of Life after Death, Sin and Salvation and the ideas of an everlasting God compared to a transcendent God’.

RE Notice - Year 11

Dear Parents/Carers,

Please note a change of date for the RE mock exam. The change only affects the Y-band.

The next RE mock exam is Thursday, 14th March for the B band and Friday, 15th March for the Y band.

The RE department

Elijah Unitt - Subsea Build

11-year-old Elijah recently supported Northwich based engineering company Secc in February, on a major Subsea build for two of their EQD (Emergency Quick Disconnect) Turret Swivel Systems.

Secc had tasked Elijah to build a model of the Riserless Light Well Intervention (RLWI) stack, an approx. 80 tonne 30 metre+ high system used for Subsea energy operations at depths of 10,000 feet, that the two EQDs will be integrated onto.

Elijah not only built the Intervention stack, but also commissioned a bespoke ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) with another one due to be built.

Thanking Elijah for his support, the RLWI and ROV models now take pride of place in the Secc office and have provided both staff and visitors with a real understanding of the scale and detail of this equipment.

Sporting Success - Annabel Hunter

Annabel Hunter – Blackburn Contract

Well done to Annabel Hunter who has just signed a new 2 year deal for the under 16’s with Blackburn. Annabel had equally impressive offers from other clubs but chose Blackburn as it offers the best pathway for the under 21’s, which will be her next target.

Annabel also plays county football for Cheshire and she ended the season as top scorer in Cheshire’s most successful season ever. She scored in each one of her last four county fixtures. Annabel has also been put forward for England school girl trials in the summer, which is amazing for her. That puts her in the top 40 girls in the North of England for her age group.

Such a talented player and we look forward to following her as she progresses in her football career.

Sporting Success - Year 7 Boys

Year 7 win Mark Allen trophy

The Year 7 football team have had more success this week, winning the Mark Allen trophy for mid-Cheshire schools. The competition took place over two weeks and the team were unbeaten across all games. They played some fantastic football and were outstanding ambassadors to the school! Well done team.

Help via text

If you or your child are looking for help or support and would like to talk to someone over text, the Starting Well chatline is a good place to go.

They can help with issues such as exam stress, self harm, physical and emotional health, LGBTQ+, school, relationship or family issues, anxiety, bullying, body image and other worries.

Contact Details

Please make sure that the contact details we hold are correct so we can contact you in case of emergency or illness.
Please also check permissions for photographs and paracetamol.

You can make changes by logging onto Edulink or by emailing admin@st-nicholas.cheshire.sch.uk

PTFA

Dear Parents & Carers,

Thank you very much for your support of our recent Bingo Fundraiser. We will let you know amount raised in due course. 😊
Thank you also for your ongoing support of our school lottery.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Your PTFA

In the Springtime Super Draw, you have the chance to win a £1,000 Sainsbury’s voucher! Imagine the possibilities – a thousand pounds to spend on groceries, treats, household essentials, and more.

Library and Literacy

World Book Day Week

We’ve had a busy week this week and I want to thank all the students who took part in all the library activities.

First up was the design a Book Token Competition. I’ve had some great entries in already but there is plenty of time to perfect your designs as the competition deadline isn’t until the 7^th of April. However, I will need them in by the end of March to make sure they are sent off in time.

Lit-Spud Competition

Then we had our fabulous Lit-Spud competition. Our head prefects Livvy Black, Poppy Johnson and Libby Pritchard had the very difficult job of choosing the winners. We all had our favourites, and it was clear that a great deal of effort went into creating each and potato character. Here they are in all their glory!

Congratulations to Ewa Bednarz (1st place – Gangsta Granny), Chloe Smith (2nd place- Tyger) and Anna Forgiel (3rd place – Queen of Hearts).

The Great Big Footy and Booky Quiz

A lucky group of year 7s got to take part in The Great Big Footy and Booky Quiz Thursday morning. They got an outstanding 19 out of 20 questions correct and got to see Alex Belos and Ben Lyttleton, authors of the Football School books and had questions read to them by football stars from the Premier League, English Football League and the Womens Super League.

Book Character Treasure Hunt

I’m sure you’ve heard all about the wonderful dressing up efforts of the staff at St Nicholas yesterday. We had a treasure hunt for students who had to run around school to find all the different book characters and tell us what book they were from and who the author of the book was. Rita Hall from 7 Ward was the first to hand in a completed treasure hunt and won the prize.

Safeguarding Update - Instagram

Vaccinations in school

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.

Community Notices

Lunchtime and after school Clubs

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

Music - lunchtime and after school clubs

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

PE - lunchtime and after school clubs

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:

MondayCricket Nets Practice Tuesday Football and Hockey All YearsWednesday

Year 7 A&B Netball Tournament @ WHS

U16 Girls Football Tournament @ HHS

Thursday

Year 8 Netball Tournament @ WHS

KS3 Rugby

GCSE PE Practical NightFriday GCSE NEA MarkingA Level PE Revision

Upcoming dates

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

Attendance

“Everyone Matters – so attendance matters”

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