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21/07/2010

Year 7 and Year 10 Pupils can now apply to join our UMPC scheme

Dear Parent/Guardian,

MOBILE DEVICES FOR YEAR 7 AND 10 PUPILS

As you may be aware, Sir Thomas Boteler has helped parents to provide access to an Ultra Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC) to enhance their child’s learning. This has applied to all new Year 7 pupils for the last two years. For Year 7 pupils this year, we are asking for a parental donation of £12.50 per month for 36 months to cover the cost of providing access to a device, insurance, technical support and software, although the final monthly figure may change depending how many families sign up to the donation scheme. For Year 10 pupils, the donation is £18 for 24 months. Our scheme is sustained by a charity, the E-Learning Foundation, who have successfully supported schemes in a number of schools across the country. No child will be excluded due to their financial circumstances.

If you are interested in signing up for the scheme, please contact Simon Taylor-Jones on 01925 636414 or staylor-jones@boteler.org.uk. We can assure you that no money will be taken until the scheme has been finalised, which we expect to be in the second week of August so that your device will be ready for collection in September. You will be notified when your child can expect to receive access to a device, when donations will begin and the monthly amount you will be asked to contribute.

If you require more information, you can also visit the E-Learning Foundation website at www.e-learningfoundation.com or contact Simon Taylor-Jones, Systems Manager, on 01925 636414 or staylor-jones@boteler.org.uk.

We do hope that you will be able to support your child’s learning by participating in this scheme.

Yours sincerely,

Simon Taylor-Jones

Systems Manager

For a short video from the E-Learning Foundation regarding the scheme, please click here.

Posted at 09:53 AM by Mr M Frodsham | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

20/05/2010

BSF Classroom of the Future Launch

We were delighted to welcome Mr David Mowat MP representing Warrington South, as well as the Mayor and Mayoress and several other VIPs to our BSF Classroom of the Future launch. They toured the new facilities and gained insight into some 21st century teaching and learning techniques. We are pleased to report that the feedback was overwhelming positive.

Click here to launch a slideshow featuring photos from the event

If you weren't able to attend we hope that the photos and the extracts from the programme below will give you a taste of the events at our Classroom of the Future launch.

Maths

Our classroom of the future was originally a shower block. As you will see when you step into the 'future', it is a good use of space, colour and different learning zones.

The classroom has 16 touch screen laptop computers, voting devices, 42” Plasma screen and a Ver Table. Inside you will use new technologies in various ways to solve mathematical problems.

This is is just one way in which we can 'transform learning'.

Music

GIGAJAM – a brand new, independent, personalised approach to learning to play drums, guitar, bass or keyboard. Assessment is built into the programme in a very creative way. Pupils in Key Stage 3 have accessed this learning this year.

PRO-TOOLS – a cutting-edge programme allowing pupils the opportunity to compose, record, mix and edit their own work andperformances. It has been used in Key Stage 3 for composition and Key Stage 4 as a recording studio facility.

YEAR 11 MARKETPLACE – Students need to develop transferableskills and the creation of their own product alongside marketing allows them to develop and display a range of skills. This is part of the BTEC music course and it is a new way of teaching, learning and working together. The
pupils are being prepared for the world outside of school through aspects of this unit, another exciting development in the learning and teaching in music at Key Stage 4.

Pressgang

Pressgang reporters are interviewing visitors about the Archbishop of York award which years 8 and 9 are currently taking part in. The award aims to make youngsters aware of what is going on in their community and aims to help them make a change for the better in their local area.

Pupils are inviting visitors to find out more about the award by inviting them to answer some questions in front of the green screen and watch it be transformed so that they are speaking in front of some live action footage. The footage which is being screened is a mixture of photos and videos of the students taking part in the award, including a ‘Slum Dog Day’, which was held on the lawn.

These activities encourage independent learning. Learner-led skills are developed by the whole activity being organised and co-ordinated by students. The pupils who have taken part are also extremely ICT literate and their use of technology has spilled over into their lessons so that learning periods are very interactive.

Modern Foreign Languages

USING MOBILE DEVICES - Display of videos created by Year 10 pupils describing their daily routine in the context of whether they are healthy or not. Previously, this would have been set as a written or learning homework, but thanks to mobile phones and digital cameras the pupils are able to produce French and present it in a dynamic and creative way.

AVATARS - Pupils apply their knowledge of French by typing/recording paragraphs of French and attaching this to an ‘avatar’ who will say what they have just written, or speak using the sound file that the pupils have attached to it. Pupils are then embedding these avatars in the VLE so pupils can listen to, assess and comment on them. This helps with peer assessment. This is a compelling, creative and technological learning experience and most of all - it is fun.

INTERACTIVE HOMEWORKS - Demonstration of how vocabulary can be revised and learned independently using the VLE. Previously pupils would have learned lists of vocabulary and in many cases would have forgotten how the word was pronounced in lessons. Now they can hear the word
pronounced, practise their listening and writing skills and ultimately do a homework test when they are ready. Pupils work is marked instantly and they can get their score straight away. Once submitted, the teacher is automatically notified of the pupil’s mark.

Posted at 11:58 AM by Mr M Frodsham | Category: Event/Visit | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

18/05/2010

Flying High

In the Warrington Guardian on 6th May 2010, a Grappenhall resident who commutes to work past the school wrote a scathing letter about the pupils and the school. It provoked a huge backlash from present and former pupils and other residents.

Please see the Guardian website here for responses from pupils and parents, past and present.

Below is a response from the headteacher.

Last week, a small group of pupils gave Sir Thomas Boteler CE High School a bad name by smoking on Knutsford Road; out of sight of the staff on duty, but in full view of the morning commuter traffic. I wish Fiona Simpson had phoned to tell me about it, instead of publicly criticising the school in this newspaper.
Those pupils have now been disciplined, but the whole school community (staff, parents, and most of all, the pupils) are up in arms. They are upset that this tiny minority have let us down, but also that we have been misrepresented by Fiona’s comments about ‘sloppy standards’ at the school. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Standards of achievement, attendance and behaviour have risen year on year, contributing to our position as one of Warrington’s most popular schools. Our ethos was described by Ofsted as ‘Outstanding’, a view echoed by anyone who visits us and has the pleasure of meeting our pupils. Standards of uniform in the school are excellent and I can assure Fiona that any ‘customisation’ disappears rapidly on entry to the site.
Yes, of course there is the odd ‘bad apple’ and some children will make wrong choices, but our job is to help them see that and avoid making the same mistakes. Don’t believe the national press, who do their best to demonise the country’s youth. Week after week, the Warrington Guardian celebrates the wonderful achievements of the young people of our town, including those from Sir Thomas Boteler. You will have read about all the money they have raised for a variety of worthy causes. You will know about the Archbishop of York Youth Trust Award, received by the school for the voluntary community projects led by hundreds of pupils. Our musicians perform at major events across the country. We lead a renowned international Youth Leadership programme, and of course, last year Warrington’s ‘Young Citizen of the Year’ was from Boteler.
It’s a shame Fiona felt she had to criticise a young girl because she brought a pink bag to school, without taking into account what an amazing person she might be.

John Sharples
Headteacher

Posted at 10:17 AM by Mr M Frodsham | Category: News | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

17/05/2010

O'Livers Crew Win the Competition!

You may remember reading in the Boteler Bulletin about our involvement in the 'Make Your Mark with a Tenner' project – organised by Enterprise UK.
Briefly, the project encourages pupils to do something amazing with just £10. They loan the money from Enterprise UK and then come up with a product that will make more money and enable them to pay back their loans too.
Seven of our Year 11 pupils – 'O’Livers Crew' - entered this Nationwide competition and decided to concentrate on a local Social Issue they felt was a concern – Under-age drinking. They filmed a short play and put together a presentation, which they delivered to pupils in local primary schools. The presentation was really well received and our pupils got a lot of positive feedback from pupils and staff at the schools.
The great news is that they were successful and won the competition – the first time the North-West has ever won – in The Social Impact category! Just under 30,000 young people entered the competition and the winning entries were judged by a panel of expert judges who scrutinised competition submissions very closely.
The group visited London on May 13th to receive their award at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall.

O’Livers Crew are:
Jake Buckley
Adam Chambers
Catherine Dutton
Ailish Hampton
Chloe Houghton
Danny Leah-Wilcock
Gerrome Razak

Posted at 10:17 AM by Mr M Frodsham | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

16/05/2010

HOBY UK 2010

HOBY UK was delighted to welcome David Mowat, the Conservative Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Warrington South Constituency and Nick Bent, the Labour Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Warrington South Constituency as their guests for the fourth HOBY UK Youth Leadership Seminar, which took place at the University of Chester during the Easter holidays. They took part in a ‘Question Time’ style panel, answering questions from young people on a range of topics from Size Zero to knife crime. They were joined on the panel my Tim Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Chester, and Keith Morris, Newspaper Editor for Guardian Group newspapers. HOBY UK was thrilled that they gave up their free time in an obviously busy period in the run up to the General Election, and feel that the young people benefitted greatly from hearing their opinions and having the opportunity to question prospective MPs.
HOBY UK held its fourth annual seminar at the University of Chester during the Easter holidays. HOBY UK is an organisation that promotes youth leadership development, providing young people with the skills and confidence they need to be the leaders of tomorrow. Based at Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School in Latchford and is affiliated with the hugely successfully HOBY USA. 40 delegates from schools in Warrington and Liverpool joined with young people from the Foróige organisation in the Republic of Ireland and a delegate from Scotland. Fifteen staff, a collection of adults and young people, volunteered their time to organise the event. Sir Thomas Boteler Headteacher John Sharples also serves as the Director of HOBY UK. Delegates took part in a series of events, including questioning a ‘Question Time’ style panel, outdoor activities with motivational speakers, group work sessions with leaders from industry and education, a disco and the ‘HOBYs Got Talent’ talent show. We finished the event with a presentation (which the parents of the delegates were invited) highlighting all the good things and transformations that happened during the event and a buffet lunch. Delegates are then invited to take their newfound leadership skills to the next level by applying to attend events prepared by our two partner organisations – Foróige, which leads the Albert Schweitzer Leadership for Life Programme in Dublin in June, and the World Leadership Congress in Los Angeles, California which HOBY USA prepares for young leaders from around the world. HOBY UK will be providing a chaperone for both of these events. The next HOBY UK event will take place in Easter 2011, open to current Year 9 pupils.

Quotes from delegates:
“I think HOBY’s OUTSTANDING. I feel more confident within myself and people around me have definitely seen that. If I was to give a presentation about anything now I feel I have more confidence to do that. It's that good I can’t describe it; I'm going to Ireland this year if I get in. Hopefully I'm going to WLC next year and going back to HOBY UK as a leader!” Emily Sankey
"It opened my eyes to many new things about myself, it made me think about my approach to people and how I can use that and apply it to leadership in the future. It definitely made me think about things I'd never thought about before and changed me for the better!" Faye Duckers

Posted at 10:46 AM by Mr M Frodsham | Category: Event/Visit | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

31/03/2010

SlumDog Day for El-Shaddi Charity

Our pupils recently took part in 'SlumDog Day', to raise money and awareness for the El-Shaddi Charity which helps the homeless of India. As part of their Archbishop of York Award,they pitched tents on the grass at the front of the school and tried to learn and live for the day as a homeless child in India.

To watch the video put together by our pupils, please see our Media section by clicking here.

To watch the Powerpoint presentation highlighting the plight of the children living in the slums of India, click here.

To learn more about the Archbishop of York Award, see the PDF information sheet here.

Posted at 01:20 PM by Mr M Frodsham | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

15/02/2010

UMPC Forms now availble - Message from Mr J Sharples

Please find a letter below from Mr Sharples.

Please download and complete the following forms to join our equity scheme.

Form 1

Form 2

Dear Parent/Carer,

I am sorry you weren’t able to attend the launch evening for the Home Access and Equity schemes to provide a computer for your child. There is still time to register, but I would urge you to respond as quickly as possible.

Home Access Scheme

If your child is in Year 7, 8 or 9 and you meet any of the criteria listed overleaf, you can apply for a free computer for your family.

Please make an appointment to go in to school (during half-term if possible) and we will complete the application with you and send it off. You must bring the relevant documentation with you.

Equity Scheme

If you do not qualify for the Home Access Scheme above and your child is in Year 7, we urge you to join our competitively priced Equity Scheme. We would like all parents with a child in Year 7 to sign up for this scheme so that we can provide a computer for every child in the year. It costs £10 per month for three years to rent the computer and at the end of three years we will sell you the computer for £1. This is a total of £361 over three years and you will also receive three years full insurance, warranty and technical support. This is a much better deal than you could get in the shops. It’s possible because it’s subsidised by the school and a grant from the E-Learning Foundation (a charity). We can also get a much better deal because we are buying in bulk.

The only worry is that we need 72% of parents (excluding those who receive a computer through the Home Access scheme) to sign up in order for the scheme to go ahead. All the parents who came along on the 11th signed up, but we still have a fair way to go. Please complete the enclosed form and return it to school as soon as possible.

If you would like to be part of the scheme, but would find it difficult to commit, please let us know. If you would like more information about the schemes or you have any technical enquiries, please contact Simon Taylor-Jones, Systems Manager at the school.

Posted at 10:55 AM by Mr S Taylor-Jones | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

04/02/2010

Apply for HOBY UK 2010 now!

Find out all about HOBY UK at www.hoby.org.uk!

In a nutshell, HOBY UK trains young people to be the leaders of tomorrow. Based from Sir Thomas Boteler, we have partners in the USA and the Republic of Ireland. If you're in Year 10 and want to take part or just to ask some questions, see Cliff in the Boiler Room and he'll be pleased to tell you how wonderful it is!

Posted at 02:19 PM by Mr M Frodsham | Category: Event/Visit | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

Warrington's Got Talent @ Boteler!

We are holding the South Warrington heat of Warrington’s Got Talent here at Sir Thomas Boteler on Saturday 6 March. This is a community led initiative organised by Golden Gates Housing, the Neighbourhood Action Team, Arena Housing and Warrington Federation.

The Community Police Officers are running the event here at Sir Thomas Boteler!

The Music department have the application form and they should be returned to Mrs Fletcher no later than 11th February.

It would be really great if the winner came from our school!

Posted at 02:16 PM by Mr M Frodsham | Category: Event/Visit | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

01/02/2010

Computers for Children and Families: Information Evening

The purpose of the evening will be to provide all KS3 parents the opportunity to find out more information, as well as complete any necessary paperwork to apply for either the home access grant or the equity scheme.

Thursday 11th February at 6pm in the School Hall

In the recent issues of the Boteler Bulletin we have been keeping you informed of the Home Access Grant and UMPC scheme. We are now ready to launch the two schemes.

Home Access Grant
The government’s Home Access scheme aims to provide a computer for every family with a child in Key Stages 2 or 3, and who meets certain criteria (see below). The computer can be used to aid learning at school and at home.

UMPC scheme for Year 7
Those families not eligible for the Home Access Grant can join our equity scheme that we ran successfully last year, which provided every pupil in Year 7 with a UMPC.

Criteria - Do you receive at least one of the following?
• Free schools meals for your child
• Income based Job Seekers Allowance
• Income Support
• Child Tax Credit but not Working Tax Credit and an income of less than £16,040
• Guaranteed Pension Credit (not Savings Credit)
• Income-based Employment Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

What information will I need to bring with me to the meeting?
When applying for the home access grant you will need to provide evidence you meet the criteria above. When sending the application form to BECTA, we need to include the ORIGINAL documents only.

For more information please contact Mr Simon Taylor-Jones, Systems Manager on 01925 636414 or by email at staylor@boteler.org.uk.

Posted at 11:22 AM by Mr M Frodsham | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

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