AMHS Newsletter

NewsletterAbraham Moss High School

SUMMER 2011

Features Include:-Topping Out CeremonyNew School UniformNew Building Update

Topping Out Ceremony

Another milestone in the progress of the new Abraham Moss High School was celebrated in July. The new school building was “topped out”. A “Topping Out Ceremony” is held when the roof of a prestigious new building has been sealed and the highest point has been reached.

Topping out is an ancient Northern European tradition in which a Yew tree is placed in the highest room of the building and a bough from the tree is raised as high as possible. The tree symbolises the unity and wholeness of everyone involved and raising the bough reminds us all to reach for the highest qualities in whatever we do. This traditional, non-religious ceremony is a time when all the different people involved in the building come together and wish the enterprise and everybody involved well - both now and in the future.

Pupils from Abraham Moss and local primary schools joined Mr. Watchorn (Headteacher, AMHS), Sir Richard Lease (Leader of Manchester City Council), Adrian Davies (BSF Project Manager), Steve Petrie (GB Project Manager) and representatives from the architects, builders, school staff and the local community.

Participants were entertained by African drummers - Kyle, Adelina and Oliver - as they arrived and put on

safety clothes Dhol drummers led the participants skilfully from place to place and the builders made sure that pupils in wheelchairs could access the building.

Speeches were given by pupils Kyle and Hamid. Kyle explained that his school is more than a building. He said that AMHS is already a thriving learning community; more home-like than a school and that the new building would help us to become even more successful. Hamid expressed his thanks to all those in the school who have supported his progress and helped him plan for a successful future.

In his speech, Sir Richard Lease reminded everyone of his long-standing connection with AMHS – he was a governor for many years – and emphasised the importance of the high quality, vibrant, education provided by AMHS for the communities of Crumpsall and Cheetham Hill. He said the new building was a fitting tribute to the hard work and successes of the school and the community.

There are lots of things for us to celebrate and look forward to: the new school is on schedule for us to move in during January 2012; Work on the Astro -Turf sports pitch has begun; a new school uniform has been designed. We can’t wait to move in!

New Uniform & School LogoOur school uniform will be changing as of September 2011. All staff, parents

and pupils have been consulted and the School Governors formally agreed the changes earlier this term. This is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to smarten up their appearance ready for the opening of our new building in January 2012. All pupils have received an assembly explaining what choices they are able to make and they have viewed samples of the uniform. The new uniform will consist of the following:

Black School Blazer - This will be compulsory for all pupils. In the first instance the •school will purchase the blazer for every pupil, including the new Year 7 pupils.A choice of black school trousers or black school skirt, worn with a white shirt and •school tie or a black shalwar kameez.School PE top and tracksuit bottoms or shorts - These will be compulsory for all •pupils.School jumper, tank top or cardigan - These items will be optional to pupils, which •will allow them to mix and match as they wish.Black leather footwear.•

The majority of the new uniform can only be purchased through the school office. However the plain black school trousers, school skirt, shalwar kameez and white shirt can be bought from the usual uniform shops.

Your child’s new uniform can be collected on the following dates between 9.30am and 4.00pm:-

Tuesday 16• th August – Year 7Wednesday 17• th August – Years 8 and 9Thursday 18• th August – Years 10 and 11

If you have more than one child in school you will be able to collect their uniforms all on the same day. If for any reason you are unavailable or on holiday for your child’s allocated collection date, there will be an additional day of Friday 2nd September when you will be able to collect. If you have any questions or queries please contact Ms Crook in the school office.

Our £17,000,000 new building is making excellent progress. Pupils and staff who have visited the new building have been impressed by the generous size and quality of the classrooms, corridors and communal areas.

The new building really is going to give us an inspirational environment to help everyone achieve more.

Our new facilities will include: a wide range of top quality classrooms; a flexible Learning Centre in which innovative approaches to eLearning are developed; a new dining area; a large,

The Building so far Progress Report July 2011

imaginatively designed hall to reflect the cultural diversity of the school; state of the art ICT facilities; improved security

Pupils have been involved at all stages of the development process. Groups of pupils have been present at briefings during which they have asked questions and presented ideas. They went on to present information to all pupils in a series of assemblies informing each year group about developments.

A pupil group traveled to Oxford to visit the Real Centre, a next level educational ICT eLearning centre where

they got lots of ideas to apply to the new Learning Resource Centre at Abraham Moss High School.Another group took part in consultations on outdoor space design and use to improve the external environment around Abraham Moss High School.

Pupil engagement has continued with an art project to design banners and decorative features for the new school and in September a Management Board will be set up to meet regularly with the project management team and contractors to discuss progress and relay information, ideas and progress reports to all pupils.

A comment about pupil involvement on the website reads: “I just want to say pupils really should be proud of this school. I have been researching the BSF programme for a few years, and this is really impressive. well done! “

Pupils from GCSE Drama, Expressive Arts and Music presented examination work for an invited audience in the Abraham Moss Theatre in May. Audience members were impressed and inspired by the work shown which demonstrated a comprehensive grasp of the different art forms, genres and performing techniques.

Music was performed by Thomas, Alzira and Abrar. Thomas, a seasoned performer in the Abraham Moss Theatre demonstrated yet again his superb voice and professional attitude to performance. Abra and Alzira performed individual compositions performed in Arabic and Portuguese. For both girls this was their debut solo performance. Both showed passion and courage in performance that was moving for audience members. Ryan from the Expressive Arts group stunned with his rendition on ‘Riding Solo’ by Jason Derulo and an original composition.

Drama performances reflected the range of scripted work that pupils have

explored during their course. This included comedy from Ema, Fazeela, Hajir and Olamide, in their adaptation of ‘Living with Lady Macbeth’. This follows the quest of school girl Lily (Ema) in her quest to land the role of Lady Macbeth in the annual school play. The girls performing for the first time in front of a public audience demonstrated attention to detail and well observed naturalism in their performance. Thomas, Olalekan, Zaynab, Asim and Khizar, tackled ‘100’. The play centres around the afterlives of four characters who, finding themselves in a mysterious ‘Void’, are informed by the Guide (Asim) that they must choose one memory from their lives in which to spend eternity. The performance was challenging for both performance and audience demonstrating a variety of performing techniques and complex direction. Samater, Ricci and Rafiq, performed their original adaptation of ‘Rainbows Ending’. This modern day allegory raised issues of global warming and human consumption reflecting Ricci

and Rafiq’s interest in Global issues as members of the Global Citizenship group.

The Drama performances culminated with an impressive performance of Stephen Berkoff’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. The narrator (Qudus) guides the audience through the strange and intriguing tale of Roderick (Toyebat) and his sister Madelaine (Heather). Pupils gripped audience members with their use of physical theatre and detailed characterisation.

The evening drew to a close with a stunning devised performance by Expressive Arts pupils Jake, Heather, Akayliah, Fatima, and Lauren based on the theme of Silence. Pupils depicted the experience of five individuals that they feel are silenced in contemporary society. The performance integrated dance and drama and demonstrated pupils’ compassion, understanding and artistic flair.

The evening as a whole was an impressive example of all Abraham Moss pupils’ hard work, commitment and performing skill. Congratulations to all involved.

Performing Arts Showcase

As spring arrived and the athletics season began to kick in we knew that it was time for the Barrier Free Sports Team to take their place at the first main event of the athletics circuit. Having three of our big hitters come to the end of their AMHS careers left quite a gap, we would need eager, able and worthy athletes to take their place and emulate or perhaps surpass their predecessors.

Debuting this season we had Zak (Big Arm) , Imran (The Terrible) , Junaid (Jolly ) and Saif (Pair of hands) . They joined our now veterans of the team Tom (Long Arm) Lawson, Liam (Fist of Fury) ,

Serena (Superstar) and the Man himself Reyhaan (Prince of Precision).

The competition was well supported and hundreds of athletes from around the North West were taking part as well as guests from other nations. To win a medal would be tough: to qualify for the national competition would be tougher than ever.

Our students performed with style, dignity and class, the individual medal haul on the day was exceptional, the honour and pride they earned for themselves, their families and our school was absolutely priceless.

Following the championships

Regional Athletics Championshipand the qualifying procedure we have a number of our students who are now going to compete at The National Junior Athletics Championships in July. This is our tenth successive appearance at this event; an event where our pupils have made great contributions to the North West Team finishing in the top three each year of our attendance and winning on no less than four occasions.

The students who will be taking part this year are ; Reyhaan, Liam, Serena, Saif and Tom.

The Manchester Schools Athletics Championships is made up of schools from the Greater Manchester area. It has a different governing body to the Regional competition and has some variation on the events being staged. Despite these technical differences our team was well equipped to adapt their skills and strategies to once again dominate in track and field. They did this picking up medals in almost every discipline, doing so with grace and dignity, supporting each other but also displaying great respect and decency towards their opponents. The event was a huge success for our individuals and our team.

Pupils’ Comments‘I find it hard to believe what I have achieved today as a member of this great team, I am going to train long

and hard for the next one.’

‘It has been good and worthwhile competing today, I am hoping that my younger brother can make the team

soon, I am sure he will.’

‘Who knew this would be such fun, thank you for choosing me.’

‘These competitions are very important to our progress, it is good we are here today testing ourselves against such

opponents.’

‘It means so much to me competing here on my local track, you could call

this my backyard or my turf.’

The Cube

The Barrier Free Sports Team is about to face one of their most difficult challenges to date, they are aiming to defeat THE CUBE.

Inspired by the hit ITV show the Barrier Free Department have adapted, designed and invented a range of challenges and tasks that are aimed at pushing our elite athletes in every way. They will have to develop their mental agility as well as their physical skills if they are to conquer THE CUBE.

Journeys Project

Pupils in years 7-11 have worked with staff from Performing Arts and Art as well as visiting artists from around the world. In May pupils attended a Flamenco dance workshop which was run by Carla Soto Marrero who is an internationally renowned Flamenco dancer. She was extremely impressed with the enthusiasm, energy and focus of all pupils who took part and was highly complementary of their nifty footwork. Pupils also worked with professional Russian visual artist Maria Anikina. They created self portraits of themselves which included images representing their aspirations for the future. Work showed creativity, flair and ambition.

In addition to these workshops pupils have been regularly attending Music workshops with Ms Brett and

Arts Award Stratford Trip30 pupils who are currently working towards their Bronze Arts Award visited the

recently rebuilt Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon. Pupils enjoyed visiting the town and watching the performance of Shakespearian tragedy ‘The Tempest’. Below are some comments from the performance:

“The story of the ‘Tempest’ begins with a storm that was planned by a sorcerer who was cheated out of his kingdom by his brother. I loved the performance. I was impressed by the actors who really got into the characters that they were playing. The theatre building was epic! Even though the performance space was quite small the impact on the audience was huge. I would love to go there again!

It was an amazing production because the use of the scenery in different contexts transported the audience into a different world. The theatre was amazing. The stage was very close to the audience which was great for this Shakespearian production.

My favourite scene in the play was when Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo were dancing and Stephano fell in a bucket! The experience at the Swan Theatre was wonderful and I would like to go there again!

As a part of celebration of GRT History month, we invited Peter White, circus performer and instructor to have a culturally specific workshop in school for some of our Roma pupils and their friends.

Throughout the year a group of pupils working with the EMA department have been working on a project based on the theme of ‘Journeys’. Pupils from Russia, The Czech Republic, Poland, Albania, Romania and Latvia have been exploring their own cultural heritage and reflecting on their own personal journeys by taking part in a range of visual and Performing Arts Workshops and visits.

Miss Brockman in the Music department and Ms Prchlikova and Mr Tanase from EMAS. They have been writing their own songs and have been adapting and recording original versions of some well known classics using influences from their cultural backgrounds to inspire and influence them.

Pupils from the group also took part in a visit to see the Moscow State Circus on their recent tour. Pupils (and staff!) were amazed and inspired by the amazing acts of endurance, bravery and skill performed by the circus performers.

The project has been filmed and is being made into a short documentary by Performing Arts Technician Jamie Hyde. The film will be debuted on the BBC screen in St Anne’s square later in the year!

Media StudiesYear 10 media studies pupils

attended a trip to the University of Chester Warrington campus TV studios as part of their GCSE media studies coursework. For their coursework, pupils create a band and promote it through a TV interview and a website. In preparation for the interview, pupils had to write and practise performing a script for their TV interview which they filmed on the day.

Edil in 10 white said “I enjoyed getting a hands on experience on what it’s like to work in a live TV studio. The trip was unforgettable and the media studies

classes should definitely continue to go in the upcoming years”. Hajra in 10 orange commented; “I learned a lot of things about production and working behind cameras. It was a lot of responsibility and the work was independent which made it better”. Anisah in 10 orange said, “I took part in different jobs such as using cameras and sound. I picked up the technical skills and I had to take quite a big responsibility as the teacher is not always there to tell you what to do. It was a memorable trip”.

Wayne O‘Brien, a senior lecturer at the University who leads the day stated

that “Abraham Moss High School has been visiting the university for a number of years to participate in the studio experience day. This year’s cohort has been exceptional. Their grasp of the studio conventions and required skills developed very quickly. Their attention and concentration was impressive.”

Media studies pupils achieve excellent results in their coursework due to this opportunity. We look forward to next year’s trip!

BMX Bandits

Abraham Moss High School re-branded schools boxing when it organised a festival of schools amateur boxing in its sports hall.

Fifty eight competitors from four schools, were cheered on by teachers, friends and relatives. The fifty eight competitors were coached and judged by their peers to compete for recognition as the Champion Boxing School of Greater Manchester. The winning school received the Father George Saintsbury boxing trophy.

Over 200 people attended the event and 29 Skill Spar contests took place resulting in 19 victors, no knock downs, no injuries, no stoppages, one draw and nine no decision contests. Boxing is now one of the main sports at Abraham Moss School.

festival of SchoolsAmateur Boxing

During April and May, as part of the Extended Schools Subsidy a group of Year 8 and Year 9 pupils travelled to south Manchester in the hope of conquering the BMX track at Platt Fields Park.

In running this activity it was our hope that these pupils might find inspiration or discover a talent that they might never otherwise have known. Although all pupils could ride a bike none of them had any experience on this championship course.

The Platt Fields Park facility is currently being used by the Olympic Development Squad for London 2012. By the end of the activity all pupils were able to participate in races using the automated starting gates, complete time trials around the track and above all else have plenty of fun.

Connecting Classrooms

9 Purple and our tutors arranged a trip to Old Trafford. This was a trip where we as a class could see how Manchester United – the most successful sports team in the world – has made progress through the years and how it supports the local and wider communities. We saw many trophies from the past and we also saw the Premiership Trophy. This was an amazing opportunity for all the pupils, the teachers had fun too! We explored the Old Trafford stadium as part of the tour. We even had the chance to go to the players’ changing rooms and see where each one sits. We walked around the pitch and sat in Sir Alex

Ferguson’s seat in the dugout. We also got the chance to experience walking through the tunnel players run through when coming onto the pitch before a game!

Most interesting though was our class talk by a United staff member (and huge fan) about the team’s role in the community.

World sport is important for many reasons. We have been sharing some of our ideas and photos with a school in Pakistan as part of the Connecting Classroom project in PSHEE. Firstly, sports people from each country have the opportunity to meet other people from

As part of the Connecting Classrooms Project with our partner schools in Manchester and Pakistan, 9 purple have been learning about the role of sport in promoting global community cooperation, competition and citizenship. This has been particularly important to Manchester recently due to the success of Manchester United Football Club in the Premiership and Europe as well as City’s FA cup victory. Manchester also hosted a very successful Commonwealth games in 2002, and the UK is getting the chance to host the Olympics in 2012 with Old Trafford as the host venue for some of the football. Equally exciting has been Pakistan’s success in our shared passion, cricket, reaching the World Cup semi-final. Congratulations to all on an exciting few years in sport!

other nations and participate in sports together. This no only helps people get to know others from different cultures and backgrounds but also builds people’s confidence in talking to new people and making friends. Athletes gain knowledge about other places and have the chance to compete against people who may be stronger or faster than them. We all learn which nations and athletes excel in different events on preparation for the Olympics in particular. Sport is an occasion when racial, cultural and national differences are put aside and everyone can enjoy and compete together on a level playing field.

Extended SchoolsChill Factor

A group of 20 pupils were given a unique and exciting opportunity to complete a 5 week skiing and snowboarding course at the Chill Factor.

After the warmth of a Manchester spring day it was quite a shock to enter a realm of snow and ice. Everyone put on alpine waterproof clothing and warm boots and after a safety briefing the fun began.

A group of 10 pupils learned to ski and another 10 pupils developed their snowboarding skills. It was a fantastic achievement. All pupils completed the course and found the experience extremely worthwhile and enjoyable.

In recognition of their achievement, each pupil received a nationally accredited Snow Life Award for their achievements over the 5 weeks.

As part of the new Diploma Project qualification that has been introduced in Year 9, pupils have enjoyed the opportunity to design and make unique quilts that will support and benefit children, families and old people in Pakistan who were affected by the devastating floods that happened there in 2010.

The stunning patchwork quilts were constructed from hand and machine embroidered squares and digitally printed Photoshop images that represented the diverse heritage and backgrounds of the pupils here in Abraham Moss High School.

Contacts have already been made

Warm Quilts Bring Reliefwith Islamic Relief, the charity that pupils have chosen to distribute the quilts in the regions of Pakistan that were affected and a shipment will be leaving the UK soon.

The compassion, maturity and enthusiasm displayed towards the suffering of people in Pakistan was evident in the care an quality of the pupils’ work. Everyone who has seen the quilts has commented on the high quality of their design and finish.

Most importantly, they are another example of how charitable our school is when responding to world disasters.

‘I enjoyed it. It was a fun experience. It was a lot of work but worth it. I really hope the people in Pakistan realise that we care and that we have not forgotten about them.’

Hamid

Royal Wedding Fever

During the month of April we caught royal wedding fever in Textiles Technology. To channel our excitement about Kate Middleton’s dress, we launched a competition for pupils to design the type of dress they thought the soon-to-be-royal bride should wear. We had lots of wonderful entries and it was very difficult to decide on an overall winner. We did have to choose one however, and the winning entry came from Asma Ahmed of 10 Orange.

The prize for designing the dress considered to be the most suitable was to have the dress made up by Janet Morley – expert seamstress and resident Technician in the D&T department. The dress was modelled at our annual Art, Design and Technology Exhibition by Sakina Rizvi of 10 Orange and it looked stunning. We’re sure the new Duchess of Cambridge would approve of the dress we selected for her!

Ghyll Head Trip

Classrooms Without Walls!During the Autumn term, the Geography team have been exposing Year 11

pupils to the concept of ‘classrooms without walls’. We are, of course, talking about the Formby field trip that all students have to take part in as part of their GCSE exam.

It is one thing to read about places in text books and perhaps look at photographs, but it is a superb learning opportunity to visit a place and see at first hand how things really are and how they relate to a specific theory, or exam question.

Just imagine if we had the money and resources to do this more often - Lesson about the rainforest? Just nip onto a plane at the airport! See you tomorrow!

Year 11 produced a report about the ecosystem found in the pine woodlands and the sand dunes of the Formby area. Pupils explored issues of world importance by relating changes in the habitats around Formby to concerns and evidence surrounding global warming and its impact at Formby. This involved sharing their thoughts about sea defences and changes in sea level. There is no substitute for standing on the seaward side of a sand dune in a raging gale in mid-October explaining wind erosion and deposition and then walking to the edge of the sea and actually seeing longshore drift happening.

“Sir it’s just like the text book without the red arrows”

Ghyll Head Outdoor Education Centre is a spacious Country House set in 17 acres of its own grounds. It has stunning views looking onto Lake Windermere. It gives a great opportunity for people from all ages to truly appreciate natural beauty.

Our trip to Ghyll Head was a once in a life time experience, which was not only fun but educational at the same time. The trip took place over the weekend therefore it didn’t interfere much with our school education. The trip offered us a chance to spend time with our friends, relax and learn about nature first hand.

The trip was educational as well as being enjoyable. Over at Ghyll Head we compared the biodiversity of two different areas in a woodland habitat. We worked out

the reason why there was a difference in the biodiversity. We also compared the biodiversity of a still water pond and a running water stream. This helped us to understand the reasons why different organisms live there. Our hard work was rewarded by a canoeing session across Lake Windermere, life jackets were provided for safety even though we could swim. We also had free time between activities in which we could explore, play and enjoy the grounds. There was a games room with a pool table and table football and a sitting room with a television for us to relax.

Overall the trip was a fantastic experience which allowed parents to let their children develop key skills and gain confidence.

Abraham Moss debaters won seven out of eight debates with some fantastic performances.

In May the Abraham Moss debaters travelled to Manchester University to take part in the 2011 Debate Mate Cup Competition against all of the other Manchester schools in the programme. Again our teams performed brilliantly and won three out of four debates which meant we reached the final of the competition. In the final our team had to debate the motion “This house would allow prisoners to vote”. Although it was a difficult topic, they used their knowledge, good teamwork, careful planning, rebuttal and passion to convey a strong and clear argument. The debate was thought-provoking, witty and entertaining and it was nerve-wracking while we waited for the result as everyone knew it was a close run debate. Unfortunately Abraham Moss were just beaten but still gained the great achievement of finishing runners up in the whole of the Manchester region.

We were also very proud and pleased that Abraham Moss was awarded the certificate for Best Attended Club out of all of the Manchester schools which shows the commitment, dedication and enthusiasm of our pupils.

What the pupils say: Kyle in 9 Gold said, “I have been taking part in Debate Mate for two years now and it really helps to build your confidence, especially because you have

to speak in front of so many people. It has also helped me with some of my assessments in English, History and RE because we practise using evidence and presenting an argument clearly. Plus I really enjoy it!” Patrick said, “I have made some new friends with pupils across school who I might not have spoken to otherwise. It has helped me to express my views in an intellectual way and present a strong argument which I hope will help me in the future as I want to become a lawyer.” Daniel said “I think the skills I have learned in Debate Mate will help me in the future when I go to university as I feel more confident when speaking in front of people.” Nabil said “I have really enjoyed Debate Mate again this year. I know more about current affairs and the competitions have really helped me know how to get my views across in a passionate way.”

As a result of our school’s excellent performance at the Debate Mate Cup Competition, we were invited to travel down to London to the Royal Institution of Great Britain in Mayfair to watch the national final. David Miliband chaired the debate and it was a great opportunity for our pupils to visit our nation’s capital city and view a very high quality debate at a prestigious venue.

Debate Mate will be running in Abraham Moss next year so if you want to develop your skills or gain some new ones, and have a great time along the way, then be sure to sign up!

Margaret McCabe, the founder of Debate Mate, says that it was her passion to help all pupils aspire higher through learning the skills of debating that led to her setting up Debate Mate.

Our pupils have certainly made terrific progress in their ability to research current social and political issues, formulate structured arguments and articulate their opinions effectively and passionately. More than this the pupils have made new friends and have also improved their ability to work as part of a team while having great fun. Debate Mate even received a special mention in the Ofsted Excellence in English report which said the programme helps pupils in the school increase their speaking and listening skills, with pupils using these skills to improve their grades in

English.Debate Mate run a series of different

competitions throughout the year and the Abraham Moss Debating Club has achieved some excellent results. The group has participated in two rounds of the Urban Debate League against other Manchester Schools. Here are our pupils debated on a variety of motions such as “This house would punish celebrities for misconduct in their private lives” and “This house believes protests are an ineffective way to bring about change”. The debaters do not know if they are arguing for (proposition) or against (opposition) the motions until 10 minutes before the debates begin which means they have to be able to think fast on their feet and come up with excellent points to beat their opponents. In two rounds of heated debates the

Debate Mate Group 2010-2011For the second consecutive Year, pupils from year 8, 9 and 10 have been

participating in the prestigious national Debate Mate programme. Since November 2010 around 20 pupils who make up the Abraham Moss Debating Club have been meeting after school each week to express their opinions, develop their arguments and exercise their speaking skills and demonstrate their passion for topical issues. The group has been mentored by two of the country’s top debaters from Manchester University who have been coming into school to help pupils develop their debating skills.

North Manchester League ChampionsManchester League Cup runners up

Year 10 Football

Abraham Moss High School are the North Manchester Football Champions after winning the league by 1 point. This is a fantastic achievement for the boys and they become only the second team in our history to win the league.

Unfortunately the successful team lost out in the Cup final 4-2 to Loreto College after a very exciting and thrilling encounter. Both teams displayed quality throughout and a draw would have been a fair result overall !!.

A selection of the Barrier Free Sports Team that have been training as young sports leaders were recently invited to take the lead on a prestigious new golfing event being held in Manchester for the first time. The event is aimed at making golf more accessible and available to a wider group of young people.

The Lord Mayor of Manchester was the guest of honour and enjoyed talking to our students about their achievements and their goals. The day was a huge success and our elite leaders are in demand to organise sports days in primary schools throughout the North Manchester area.

Tri Golf - Heaton Park

Year 9 pupils from AMHS had the fantastic opportunity to visit Ewood Park, the home of Premiership Club Blackburn Rovers and take part in an exciting language media project.

Prior to the visit, pupils had to plan and script a promotional video for Blackburn Rovers in French and German, which they then spent the day filming and editiing at Ewood Park.

Pupils worked really hard all day, filming, directing and editing. Pupils produced a professional DVD for the club in French and German and were excellent ambassadors for the school.

With exclusive behind the scenes access to the dressing room, media suites and trophy rooms, pupils were given the opportunity to venture where many never usually get to go.

The visit was a huge success and enjoyed by all. Pupils were hugely enthusiastic about their day and really felt they had the opportunity to showcase their lingusitic talents.

We look forward to planning the next visit. let’s hope Blackburn can stay in the Premier League!

Modern Foreign LanguagesJoin the Premier League

CitizenshipGlobal Dimension

“No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees” – Amelia Earhart

The Global Citizenship Group are working with the charity PEPAIDS – Peer Education for the Prevention of AIDS. We have created a partnership with a school for orphans who have lost their parents due to AIDS called the Majika school in Zambia. The children are aged between 3 and 9.

The school used to meet under a tree, but finally the community got together to build a school, even making their own bricks. Unfortunately they still have no equipment, no trained staff and the children walk several miles to school barefoot.

Since the pupils at Majika School heard of our link and involvement with the school the attendance and school intake has

From September 2011 the Design Technology department will be teaching a new GCSE in Catering. These will be exciting times for all concerned as it will allow us to embrace the growing hospitality industry and prepare pupils with the skills needed to begin a career within the restaurant trade. The course will give pupils the opportunity to produce well presented high quality practical work whilst developing transferable skills such as costing, managing their time and using a variety of equipment. It will also give them the knowledge and understanding to plan and prepare balanced 3 course meals including different types of specialist food for a wide range of occasions.

To introduce the course the current year 9 have been trialling some of the skills that they will be expected to learn on the course, including making two different products in a lesson in a mini project that has taken place in the last half term. Pupils have found the work exciting and have enjoyed the challenge of making different products and really having to consider presentation skills.

The year 10’s will be catering for events in school so you may even get to sample some of their delights throughout the year.

increased dramatically form 60 -90 pupils and is still growing. Just knowing that people from Britain are trying to help them has given them hope of a better future. So far we have raised £130.00 which the school has decided to spend on paper and pencils and a chalk board. This was considered more important than them having chairs and tables.

One of the aims of this project is to raise awareness of the problems in Zambia which is one of the poorest countries in the world with a very high rate of people suffering from AIDS related diseases. We would like to help the children who have been orphaned to give them an opportunity to learn, which is one step out of poverty. By providing them with shoes we

would be making their walk of several miles to school more comfortable. This first step should encourage more children to go to school.

To do this we will need financial contributions and any donations of shoes for 3 – 9 year olds. Please consider how you can help us so that we can “throw out roots” of kindness.

L a l l a p a l l o t z a

The entire show was a breathtaking success and a credit to the performers who we hope will continue to stage such magnificent events in the future.

‘Something very good of its kind, to entertain, forever evolving.’

One afternoon in late October 2010, a support worker sat down with a pupil in the Barrier Free room and began having quite a candid and off-the-wall conversation loosely based on the idea of putting on a talent contest or small showcase of entertainment in front a few friends, colleagues and family. The conversation was quite scatological and contained many surreal possible sequences. However the idea itself had been conceived and was now going to grow. Where it would eventually end up was open to debate.

Returning after October half term advertised the auditions for the show were advertised and a panel of very savvy judges gathered, each very knowledgeable and expert in their field: some across many fields. The auditions were a huge success and many of the applicants went through to ‘Boot Camp’, where they were assigned a coach who would be keen and skilled in honing and nurturing the talents within these young stars.

Rehearsals continued throughout lunchtimes and after school each and every day for the next six weeks, the students and staff showing such commitment and dedication to this worthy event.

It soon became clear that interest was growing in what had now been named Lallapalootza. We were going to need a large venue to stage this landmark event. We booked Abraham Moss Theatre to stage our show and with that came the help and support of both the theatre staff and the Drama and Music team.

The date was now set, 15th December 2010. The big event was becoming very real and closer each day.

The students worked hard now, learning scripts, dance routines, jokes, magic tricks, poetry, songs and many more attractions that did not make the final show.

As interest grew it was decided to have it filmed and produced in DVD form In return for a small contribution. These contributions along with donations on show day added up to £400, which we collectively donated to Francis House Hospice for Children. The DVD itself was

a tremendous production, a work of art in itself.

The day of the show arrived and we knew that we had done all we could have in preparation - everyone was confident, excited, yet still reassuringly nervous.

Last minute full dress rehearsals continued throughout the morning and then performers took a short lunch break before getting made up backstage ready for the performance of their lives, so-far.

Just after 1:30 the theatre received its first audience members: proud parents and grandparents; uncles and aunties; brothers and sisters of the performers eagerly anticipating the performance. Members of staff who could, took time out of their busy schedules to attend this momentous event. Then the audience members that the performers were most nervous over, their peers, these proved to be their most supportive and appreciative of fans.

The curtain opened and the show began...

Playground to the Podium

The Year 10 Art and Design textiles group have recently produced some fantastic mixed media collages which they will use as part of their GCSE coursework. The collages are inspired by an artist called Teesha Moore who is an American artist who designs collages based on her self and things around her.

Each pupil has produced 2 collages one based on Teesha Moore’s work and one based on their own work. They started off making

newspaper backgrounds, then added their own designs taken from their original paintings then added collage materials such as paint and mixed media and papers, they then added embroidery using both the sewing machine and hand stitches, some pupils also added wire and beads.

These collages are on show in the glass cabinets in Abraham Moss Library until July, along side a selection of related textile books from the library.

Year 10 GCSE Art & Design TextilesExhibition of work in Abraham Moss Library

Throughout the year a number of pupils have been participating in “sportsability” sessions. These workshops are aimed at providing opportunity for potential athletes who may have gone unnoticed or undiscovered as well as encouraging everyone to have a greater involvement in sporting activity.

Through these sessions pupils were monitored and their progress logged, a number of them were spotted or noted as having particular talent in a certain sporting area. Tis resulted in them being invited to take part in a city wide event held at sport city where scouts and coaches from various clubs were present to offer expert advice and possibly future opportunities. Our students performed exceptionally well and impressed judges and spectators alike. They are now plotting their next steps on their path from the playground to the podium!

Malta Sports Tour30 Pupils and 4 Staff set off on a 5 night sports tour to Malta. The tour was a once in

a lifetime opportunity to experience life as a full time athlete as the pupils were expected to eat and drink like elite athletes and also train or play a competitive game each day.

Throughout the tour pupils were engaged in numerous sporting, educational, social, and enjoyable opportunities like the visit to Valetta (Malta’s historical Capital City), group bowling, a meal out at a healthy Maltese restaurant or even just fun games in the swimming pool.

Thank YouThe school were able to establish a links with the Manchester Youth Service who provided a grant to support the trip and Tours 4 Sport Ltd. who ensured our trip was action packed and fully tailored to our pupils. We would like to say a big thank you to both organisations.

The Malta sports tour 2010 was a great experience for everyone who went. The tour gave us a chance to make new friends and meet new people as well as advance as footballers.

The facilities were extremely good and we had the best weather. The pitches that we played on were Astroturf and all the grounds were well taken care of.

The area we stayed in was very pleasant. The hotel was a good quality place to stay and we had a pool to cool down in when the weather got too hot. The food in the hotel was excellent and all the people that we met or spoke to said how friendly we were and said what a good Idea it was that our school gave us the chance to go on a sports tour.

When we played against other teams we got to see how they played and how

football was different in Malta than it is in England. We took a lot of experience away from the matches and in the following games we continued getting better and better.

The tour gave us a chance to see what life is like in another country and how people got on with life over there. One of the main things was trying to get used to the heat during the middle of the day. The hotel had air conditioning and during the hottest parts of the week it was our best friend. We not only got to know other people but we also got to know each other a bit more as well and got to understand each other and work together as a team better.

The tour was absolutely fantastic and I would jump at the chance of being able to go again.

The educational trip provided pupils with many different experiences and it was excellent to see them engaging with pupils from a different country: many have stayed in contact.

The textiles technology department celebrated another very successful year of GCSE work with two fashion shows on the evening of the Design and Technology celebration evening.

The garments were stunning and made to a very high standard with Year 11 pupils having the opportunity to show off their hard work.

Extra models from Year 9 and 10 also participated and lent a helping hand.The highlight of both fashion shows had to be the finale when the wedding

dress design from the ‘Royal Wedding Dress Competition’ (see page 11) was unveiled. The dress was designed by Asma Year 10 and was made by our talented dressmaker technician Janet as the prize.

The audience were very amused to see Mr Majid give away our beautiful bride on the runway!

Design Technology Celebration Evening

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