Pendle CommunityHigh School & CollegeCHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER

We are nearly at the end of our very long first term of the academic year. In many ways the time appears to have flown by since I first took over the reins in September, yet on the other hand there has been so much we have achieved. It has been such a privilege to spend time getting to know the 75 staff, 120 students and many parents/carers and associated professionals who work alongside the school and college. I think I have almost learned everyone’s first names, although still occasionally struggle with the odd surname here and there!

One of the most enjoyable parts of being a headteacher is to be able to spend time in classes, and have been delighted to have observed really effective teaching and learning take place for all our students. It has also been a privilege to see students engage in wider curricular activities such as Scouts, Erasmus+ planning (international project), yachting and other sporting activities, not to mention the wide and varied educational visits, all providing even wider learning opportunities . Now we are embarking upon all our Christmas events and activities, a magical time of year with so much fun and excitement in school and college.

To all our staff, students, parents/carers, governors and everybody else connected with this amazing school, can I take this opportunity to thank you for all your support and wish you a very peaceful Christmas and a happy new year.

Best wishes one and all

Chris Lingard

Noticeboard

Adverse Weather

As we are approaching the winter months

it is time to prepare for adverse weather.

All announcements will be issued in the

following ways:

Radio: Radio stations 2BR and Radio

Lancashire will be advised.

Website: Our school website will also have

up to date news of our closure:

www.pchs.lancs.sch.uk

Telephone: If these options are not

available to you please call the school

on 01282 682260. If you are unable to get

your child to school because of adverse

weather please call our attendance

line on 01282 682263.

Please RememberSchool closes at 2pm on Thursday 22nd December. If your child uses community transport, they will be picked up at 2pm.

School will re-open on Monday 9th January. Have a lovely break!

Merry Christmas!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

11D and Blacko had a wonderful time at Burnley Youth Theatre on Monday December 5th. All the parts were performed by students from around Burnley and pendle. They put on a magnificent show, which was enjoyed by us all.

Our favourite characters were The Tumbling Scarecrow, The Courageous Lion and The Tin Man. There were some beautiful choreographed dance scenes along with atmospheric lighting.

A drink and a packet of crisps were a welcomed treat during the interval.Next term Laura Veevers has promised a follow up drama session. Watch this space!

Five-a-side Festival

A boys and girls team enjoyed a five-a-side football competition at The

Soccerdome in Blackburn. The two teams competed stoically in the five-a-side fury and both teams gave a good

account of themselves.

They competed against eight other schools from the county. It was good

to see some of the more experienced pupils helping the newcomers. Well

done to everyone and here’s to the next event in March.

Eureka ExtravaganzaWenning have been learning all about ‘The Wider World’ as part of PSHE this half term, therefore we went to visit Eureka in Halifax.

Whilst there, we practised withdrawing money from the bank and using a cash card to get money out of the cash machine. We also enjoyed learning about our bodies and how they work, there were lots of ‘hands on’ activities for us to explore. Another great half term in Team Wenning! Well done everyone, keep up the hard work.

After winning 1st place in the Lancashire Panathlon Finals in June 2016, a team of 3 pupils in Year 7 at PCHS with several pupils from Pendle View Primary School took part in the Regional Panathlon Swimming Finals on 21 November 2016. They all did extremely well in the various events (including racing for speed, Float the Object, Push ‘n’ Glide challenges) and we are delighted to announce that they were placed 3rd overall!

They all came back to school with certificates and bronze medals, and were very proud to win third place against schools from across the Northwest. Well Done!

Panathlon Swimming Gala — Regional Finals 2016

Ribble enjoyed a day out at Lytham and Blackpool as part of their English topic "Our Day Out". We role played scenes from the play, walked along the beach, played in the arcade, and ate chips by the sea before returning to school.

Pupils have been on three outings as part of this topic and have created a short video titled "Ribble's Day Out" which is brilliant!!!

Ribble - Our Day Out

College Christmas LunchWith Christmas fast approaching, the College Student Council pulled out all the stops to organise an amazing celebratory meal at Burnley Mechanics. The table plan was finalised, the bus lists approved, glad rags put on and off the whole college team went on Monday 12th December.Burnley Mechanics were wonderful hosts as always, with attentive waiters and waitresses ensuring the group had everything they would need. Students ate their three course meals with their friends, pulled crackers, wore Christmas hats and told the terrible jokes from the crackers to each other.

The food was as always, delicious, with prawn cocktail, soup, bruschetta, steak, salmon, filo chickpeas, cheesecake and waffles on offer as well as of course, the traditional Christmas turkey. There were some notable absences from the menu, with no Christmas pudding or trifle! The meal was a huge success & the students (and staff) all behaved impeccably. A few afternoon naps may have been needed at home time.

PENDLE’S GOT

T LENTPendle’s Got Talent kicked off on Thursday 15th December with lots of amazing and talented acts from our classes in Pendle Community High School.

Lee ‘Lightning’ McNulty was wonderful as compere for the show, and had the audience hooked. Also amazing were our judges; Chris ‘Mrs Osborne’ Lingard, John ‘Louis Walsh’ Owen and Sophie ‘Rita Ora’ Greenwood.

Thursday’s Acts included:

Let’s Get this Party Started… (Warm Up Act) - Summer Taylor, Jasmine Milligan and Mr McNulty

When the most chaotic Christmas ever brings the greatest gift - Hodder

Singing – Called out in the dark by Snow Patrol - Nabil Manshah

Circus Act - Sophie Proctor-Williams

Breakdancing - Ben Burrows

Singing – Photograph by Ed Sheeran- Danielle Foster, Aimee Banks, Danielle Barker and Mr Hird

Video - Calder Students

Dance Act – Car Wash - Blacko Students

Drama Talking Turkeys - Luke Wood, Dominic Wilkinson, Jacob Shields, Reece Masterman, Billy Robinson

Singing I’m a believer from Shrek- Reece Masterman

Animation and Jokes - 11D Students and Abdul ‘The Comedian’ Ahmed

Oh Happy Day - The Ribble Choir

Dance Act - Wenning

The fun continued on Friday 16th December with Pendle Community

College and Class Pendle getting involved in the action, and showing us their many

talents!

Lee ‘Lightning’ McNulty stepped back on stage to compere, this time accompanied by the wonderful Dylan White. Our judges

returned and were on top form, and a wonderful time was had by all!

Fridays acts included:

Thinking Out Loud - John Shoesmith

I Want it That Way - Adam Holt

Video - Pendle

Gangnam Style - Hannah G and Guests

Piano - Ruby Kauser

Can’t Buy me Love - Special Guest Appearance

Marry You- Ethan Pennington

Bohemian Rhapsody- MV

Eye of the Tiger - James Kirk

Baagha- Farah Saqib

How Long Will I Love You- Hannah McMillan

The College Student Council always organise fun events for the college community on the day of Children in Need and this year was no exception. A brief lesson in democracy saw The Chase television show beat The Crystal Maze (the staff favourite) as the chosen format for an afternoon of fun.

The Student Council came up with an assortment of questions to ask the contestants and the Chaser and brave Mel volunteered to take the position of Chaser. The student team were playing for extra time for enrichment activities for the whole college!

The team started well, with Hannah opting to go for the middle amount and just pipping Mel to the post. Valiant efforts from Dawood and Tyler, who bravely chose the higher amounts, saw them being beaten just one question from the end. Finally, Tim gained a storming victory, to put two challengers through to the final chase.

In the final chase, the challengers racked up an impressive eleven points, answering questions on topics as varied as Geography and Sport. Mel claims the Chaser’s questions were much more difficult and Tim and Hannah managed to win a couple of push backs. The seconds ticked by and the challengers were victorious, winning 15 minutes extra enrichment time for everyone.

Children in Need - The Chase

Christmas Fair

Once again our Christmas Fair was a huge success! We are still selling off odd bits and leftover things so at the last count we had raised over £600!

This will help massively buy extra resources for school and college. We would like to thank you all so much for supporting the event whether this was by sending in prizes and donations or coming along on the night of the fair. Thank you!

- Mini Enterprise Group

Totally WyredThe first term of the school year has come to a close and Christmas is here! Form Wyre can pause for breath at last and look back at the last three months to see what we’ve done!

We have certainly been ‘busy bees’; it’s been non-stop during the last four months! Here’s a ‘taster’ of just some of the things we’ve been up to!

We were also well represented in Pendle’s Got Talent, with James Blackburn, Benjamin Burrows, Nabil Manshah, Jasmine Milligan, Amina Qaisar and Summer Taylor all performing live!

Class Pendle has got TalentClass Pendle had a really good time rehearsing for their act for Pendle’s Got Talent. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show, as you read earlier in the newsletter!

A 5 session course for parents has been held on Friday mornings for parents with children who have autism or social communication difficulties. Below are a selection of comments made on the feedback forms.

• ‘Very enjoyable and informative – thank you’

• ‘Learning about the experiences of others helps me to relate and take in other perspectives’

• ‘It’s a helpful programme’

• ‘Excellent course – great to re-evaluate and learn current up to date information’

If you would like to attend the next course, or would like any further information, please contact the school on 01282 682260.

Cygnet Course

PSHE with Year 10

In PHSE, Year 10 have been learning about basic First Aid,

CPR and bandaging as part of their AQA PSE Certificate.

Rebound with Pendle

The pupils take part in rebound therapy every Thursday morning. They are achieving their targets

and all learners are making great progress.

Christmas Disco

Our Christmas Disco took place on Thursday 8th December and a fabulous time was had by all.

Both students and staff danced the night away, breaking only to enjoy some delicious pizza and refreshments.

It was a brilliant start to the festive season!

Merr

y

Christm

as!

Merry Christmas!

From everyone at Pendle Community High School

and College!

Enjoy the break and we will be back on Monday

9th January.