newsletter - Pershore High School

Year NewsYear 8Students were asked to writeabout their first impressions ofPHS. These are a selection oftheir thoughts:“It looked scary and I didn’t reallywant to come at first, then Ilearned it wasn’t THAT bad.”“When I first came here I feltscared and unsure, but everyonewas nice to me and I felt welcome.It took a long time to get aroundbut with help from teachers,teaching assistants and otherstudents I got the hang of it.”“My first impressions are goodbecause there are lots ofopportunities and things to do.There is something for everyone.There are good facilities like theastro turf and brilliant clubs like theorchestra.”“I really liked my old school anddidn’t want to leave, but now I’mhere I’ve settled in and I really loveit. It’s the best school ever. I thinkthat it is going to be amazing atPHS.”“All the food is really good, also thelunches are great.”“I thought this school wasterrifying but now I love it.The teachers are great and arealways happy to help.”“It has great facilities which Ienjoy. The school has goodopportunities for everyone andhas a lot of things to get involvedin.”“The clubs are fantastic - there isDrama, Football, Hockey, Netballand many more. We even have aDrama lesson. I enjoyed my oldschool and I didn’t want to leave,but I think I have settled in welland I am starting to know myway round...finally.”Huw EvansYear 9Congratulations to:Scott Smith - one of 20 playersfrom 250 to be selected to join theelite player development group atWorcester.Heather Paton - after her recordbreaking at the school sports daywent on to win Gold medals for4x 100m relay and 200m sprint atWorcester Athletics club over thesummer holidays.As I write this we are only oneweek away from half-term and Ican’t believe how quickly the timehas gone. The Gold referrals andmerit marks have begun to flow inand I am pleased with the overallprogress being made by Year 9students. There is, as always,room for improvement andfor some students there isconsiderable room forimprovement. The fact is thattime waits for no one and thosethat spend time trying to avoidwork now will only make thingsmore difficult for themselves inthe long run. We are all lucky tobe where we are with theopportunities that we have, and assuch, we owe it to ourselves andthose less fortunate than us tomake the most of what we have.Rarely have I come across astudent who does not know rightfrom wrong. Over half-term Ichallenge all Year 9 students tothink about how what they doaffects not only their progress butthat of others around them. Thenwhen they return to school afterhalf-term make sure they makethe right choice and do the rightthing.Paul WatsonYear 10As we reach half term I would liketo say well done to Year 10 fortheir effort and for the vastmajority, a very positive approachto the start of their GCSE's. It’sgreat to see so many of yougetting involved in extra curricularactivities. I know the places on theDuke of Edinburgh Bronze Awardfilled up very quickly. If a club orsporting activity is not somethingyou currently do, have a lookagain at what is on offer and getinvolved - a great escape fromyou academic work and a greatway to make more friends.Mark Grimes and Lucy Yarnoldhave been elected to the localYouth Council and are our Year10 reps. So far, amongst otherYear 11 NewsYear 11 have been very busygetting themselves in the mediaover the last few weeks. WillGoodenough gave an interview toCentral News about the problemsof living with a serious heartcondition and his fund raising forLittle Hearts Matter. Matt Bakerand Tom Ward completed aspecial sponsored run to raisefunds for the charity on Will'sbehalf. Well done to all of you fora super interview. Matt and Willhave included a brief write upon page 15.Several students, including RobIreland, were invited to take part ina radio interview for BBC Herefordand Worcester, where they werediscussing the issue of internet14items, they have discussed theChristmas Lights Switch-on in thetown. Mark and Lucy ask if youhave any ideas for the council, tolet them know.Congratulations to Ellys LloydJones who passed her GCSEmusic, two years early, with an Agrade, scoring full marks on theperforming.Finally, I would like to saygoodbye to Ella Gibbons wholeaves us to move Scotland.I know she will be missed not onlyby her friends but by her teachertoo - especially the PEDepartment.Good luck Ella.Gayle McPhersonsafety with Mr Corbett. Rob haswritten an item to tell you moreabout it, later in this section.The broadcast was interesting andinformative and it was great tohear your views on this importanttopic.Rhianna Jacobs has been usingher drama and singing talents toamazing effect. She has writtenabout her experiences on page15.Thank you to all the Year 11students who have been recruitedto the Learning Ambassadorsinitiative. You did sterling work byobserving many lessons onThursday to investigate the waysin which students learn. It musthave taken a lot of nerve to sit in