String-spirational!

stringarticle2.jpgStudents in Year 7 were treated to a fantastic assembly by Mrs Mulholland. Mrs Mulholland is our string teacher and teaches violin and cello. She performed to the students and also provided them with the opportunity to have a go! Music tuition is a fantastic opportunity for your child to not only learn a musical instrument but develop her resilience and self-confidence. If you would like your daughter to take this opportunity please email a.cattanach@penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk so she can arrange this for you.

Mrs Cattanach,
Curriculum Leader for Music

Open Mic for Children in Need

This year for Children in Need, the Music Department decided to enrol the creative talents of our students and hosted our first Open Mic lunch! Students from Years 7-11 took to the stage to perform their favourite pieces to a packed hall where the audience gave generously to charity. The atmosphere was fantastic with the girls supporting each other as well as Children in Need. This event raised £162.50 for charity and we look forward to holding another in the near future. GCSE Music Concert GCSE Musicians hosted a concert in October to showcase their talents. For Year 11 students this was an opportunity for them to practice performing their first piece of coursework, whilst for Year 10 students it was an opportunity to perform in public and a first performance in public for some! The school choir also made a guest appearance to perform the song ‘Beautiful’. All students gave their very best, despite some nerves, and the Music Department were extremely proud of them all. The evening raised £210.99 for Young Minds charity and the Soroptimisses. We look forward to a second concert of the season in February.

Mrs Cattanach, Curriculum Leader for Music

Discover Creative Careers!

Sixteen Year 9 students were lucky enough to have the opportunity to take part in the national careers initiative, ‘Discover Creative Careers’ in November. The girls visited the Harris Museum and Library and were able to ask questions to a panel of guests, each with a different creative career. The creative sector is one of the largest growing employment sectors in the UK at the moment and the point was made that these students could well get jobs which have not yet been invented! Students also had the chance to ‘get creative’ and were asked to take a photograph somewhere in the museum which would entice young people in. Once their photograph had been taken, they then had to create a tweet which would accompany this. As always, the girls were impeccably behaved and received many positive comments about their fantastic photographs, work ethic and conduct! Well done, girls!

Mrs Cattanach
Curriculum Leader for Music

Year 7 and 8 Sportshall Athletics

On the 3rd of December, our Sportshall Athletics teams competed at Lostock Hall Academy in the South Ribble Championships. Our Year 7 team won the competition and are now through to the Lancashire Finals. Despite excellent effort our Year 8 team came 3rd with only a few points behind Balshaws’ High School. Team athletes were dedicated to their fielding events and exhibited excellent teamwork in relay races. A superb team effort! Well done girls, and good luck to Year 7 in the next round! Year 7 athletes: Alice, Libby, Sophie, Bethany, Lottie, Savo, Caitlin and Eshal. Year 8 athletes: Olivia, Molly, Sanuli, Sian, Enya and Tilly

Netball

Our Year 8 and 9 netball players played against Balshaw’s High School. They smashed both games and had an incredible set of results which have been added to the South Ribble Netball League. The Year 9 score was 14-10 and the Year 8 score was 12-9. Year 9 Players’ player: Freya A Year 9 Coach’s Player: Morgan W Year 8 Players’ Player: Olivia W Year 9 Coach’s Player: Olivia S

Under 16s Badminton

Our Under 16s badminton team won the South Ribble Championships in November and qualified to represent the South Ribble district at the Lancashire Finals at Rossall School in Fleetwood on the 10th December. The team players were: Tegan, Katie, Freya and Natasha. They played a variety of singles and doubles matches and they managed to win 3 games against other schools in Lancashire and went through to the Shields round. They lost their final game against St. Bedes and were positioned 6th overall. Well played, girls!

European Christmas Choir

Members of Year 7 and 8 have been taking part in a European Christmas Choir and have been learning popular Christmas songs in both French and German. Miss Gelder and Mrs Raine have been practicing the pronunciation of the words and the girls have been very enthusiastic in their performances of Stille Nacht and Douce Nuit.

Douce nuit Sainte Nuite

Tout est calme plus de bruit

C’est Noël et là-bas dans le ciel

Une étoile d’un éclat irréel

Brille au loin sur le monde

Comme un beau rêve infinit

Douce Nuit Sainte Nuit

Il est né à minuit

Dans l’étable au milieu des bergers

Et depuis l’univers a chanté

C’est Noël c’est Noël

Que la Paix soit éternelle

 

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Alles schläft einsam wacht

Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.

Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,

Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Hirten erst kundgemacht

Durch der Engel Halleluja,

Tönt es laut von fern und nah:

Christ, der Retter ist da!

Christ, der Retter ist da!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht

Lieb’ aus deinem göttlichen Mund,

Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund’.

Christ, in deiner Geburt!

Christ, in deiner Geburt!

Christmas Crafts

During the last week of term, the Learning Support Department and some of our students have been holding a Christmas stall to raise money for The UK Sepsis Trust. S adly, one of our girls recently lost her mum to sepsis and so The UK Sepsis Trust is a charity with a special connection. The UK Sepsis Trust was founded in 2012 by worldleading sepsis expert, NHS consultant Dr Ron Daniels BEM. They work hard to raise awareness of sepsis, with the aim of ending preventable deaths and improving outcomes for survivors. Their “Just ask: Could it be sepsis?” campaign has already helped to raise sepsis awareness among the general public by 28% and they believe that earlier diagnosis and treatment across the UK, could save up to 14,000 lives a year; making it a very worthy cause to raise money for! As we go to press, the girls are busy making a range of Christmas crafts that will be available to buy at lunchtime on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th December. Some that are already made are pictured here but the rest are still in production. There will be all sorts to choose from, such as Christmas tree bookmarks, pom pom Christmas characters and tree decorations, as well as plenty of Christmas themed baked goods. We will be back in the new year to let you all know how much the stall raises, but in the meantime the Learning Support Department would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and we hope that you enjoy the holidays.

Miss S Parker

Learning Support Department

Geography Department News – Autumn Term 2019

Geog Xmas Tree2.jpgAnother hugely impressive term is coming to a close, with students across all years demonstrating their Geographical knowledge, skills and dedication to the subject. A particular well done to our Year 11 GCSE Geographers; it has been a long term with a period of Mock exams right in the middle. The Geography Mock results were pleasing overall, and we look forward to doing some detailed performance analysis after Mock Results Day. All three Year 10 GCSE classes have bedded in really well; the standard of work being produced is amazing and as a Department we are already feeling confident about this cohort. In the lower school, Year 7 students are gearing up to produce their Fantasy Treasure Maps, a highlight for many PGHS students when they look back on their time here. Work hard on this Year 7 and really show off your cartography skills. (Please note – these assignments are due in the end of week 1/start of week 2 of next half term, so to avoid the need to complete them over the festive season…but please go ahead if you want to!) Year 8 students have completed an interesting unit on Geology called ‘Buried Treasure’, highlighting the environmental impacts that mining and quarrying can have. Year 9 are coming to the end of a unit on Energy Resources and are working on an energy audit of their homes in an effort to cut both carbon footprint and bills. They have also given some very passionate speeches on the need to massively up our efforts when it comes to slowing climate change; some activists of the future! There are Christmas Geostar tasks set across all lower school year groups and you can find details on class charts – if you complete one, please ensure you pass it on to your teacher so you can receive your merits. The Department Christmas tree has been dusted down and we are building up an impressive collection of decorations made out of recycled materials – if you made one this year don’t forget to collect it before we break up. Have a great holiday and if you are celebrating Christmas, don’t forget to ask Santa for an up to date Ordnance Survey map and make sure you recycle all that packaging. Merry Christmas from Mr Bowles, Mr Ward and Miss Wignall – Ho Ho Ho!

Mr Bowles, Curriculum Leader for Geography

Thinking Ahead

This term, the English department has been supporting Year 10 and 11 students in thinking ahead – not just to College and their post 16 options but further ahead than that with visits to two Universities. In November, a group of students headed to an “English in Action” event at Warwick University held in the Arts Centre – one of the largest Arts centres in the UK. Students were given a taste of University life with a series of lectures on different aspects of the GCSE English Language course, including one from an adviser to Ofqual. The day ended with a reading and question and answer session from Owen Sheers – an internationally renowned poet who also features on the English Literature poetry anthology. Later in the month, a group of students travelled to Edge Hill University (much closer to home!) Here, they participated in a number of English writing workshops and were also able to gain a flavour of Uni life with a campus tour. In the afternoon, students enjoyed a production of “A Christmas Carol” in the Edge Hill Arts Centre – a great opportunity to enjoy one of the English Literature set texts. Both of these Universities are rated highly for the quality of their course, particularly English, so hopefully these visits gave students food for thought about their future.

Mrs Woodhouse, Curriculum Leader for English

  • Artsmark Platinum Award - Awards by Arts Council England
  • Lancashire Socio-economic Equality Badge
  • SMART
  • UNICEF
  • School Mental Health Award
  • Ofsted - Outstanding Provider
  • International School Award
  • Artsmark Platinum Award - Awards by Arts Council England
  • Lancashire Socio-economic Equality Badge
  • SMART
  • UNICEF
  • School Mental Health Award
  • Ofsted - Outstanding Provider
  • International School Award