‘Lumio’ (formerly known as SMART Learning Suite Online), is a digital learning tool for today’s changing teaching environments. This web-based software helps create engaging lessons that students can interact with in class, remotely or on their own time all on their own devices.
Now we can once again book devices in the classroom, we can use Lumio to create engaging and interactive lessons. All lessons can be enhanced using the customisable components including games, collaborative workspaces and much more. The customised activities and games provide automatic feedback to keep learning on track. These can then be delivered to student devices quickly and easily, all from a browser. Using Lumio, students can take ownership of their learning independently and the game-based activities, keeping students motivated and actively learning through interactive content on their own devices.
All learning is visible to the teacher and the class with a dashboard master view of each student’s work.
The example shows an interactive activity ‘Rank Order’ where the students are ordering decimals interactively from smallest to largest. Immediate feedback supports learning. Pupils can then work through other pages at their own pace so that no time is wasted.
I particular enjoy the ‘Monster Quiz’ where students work together to answer mathematical questions. This activity tests students’ knowledge on a topic of your choice. The quiz format is great for reviewing material, and collaborative game play reinforces the value of teamwork.
Years 9-11 are taking part in a pilot of resources produced by WOT WUD U DO. The resource is aimed at talking to young people with confidence by equipping staff with dedicated resources to facilitate lessons and open conversations around mental health, relationships, thoughts, feelings, and emotions. These resources have been designed to address several aspects of the relationships, sex, and health education curriculum (2019)
Well done to those who solved last month’s mystery, correctly identifying Mr Cheal as the culprit!
In this edition, I’ve set you a question mark mystery. You need to work out the number that should replace the question mark in each of the puzzles below.
There will be a Head’s Breakfast for students who email me a correct entry complete with explanations to justify their answers. A special mystery prize will be awarded for the first correct entry!
With the addition of Hegarty Maths to the Maths department, we are handing out rewards to those showing maximum effort into furthering their understanding. Below are the top 3 pupils for each year! Well done, girls! You will be receiving a certificate in recognition of your achievements.
I’ve been at Penwortham Girl’s for over a month now, and I’m really enjoying getting to work with all the wonderful mathematicians here! So far, we’ve been working through one of my favourite topics in algebra – sequences. Sequences can be used for all sorts of interesting things like calculating interest, working out consistent population increase/decrease, and most importantly spotting patterns in escape rooms! We’ve also been learning about some famous sequences like the Fibonacci sequence, notable for the distinctive spiral found in nature. Most importantly, working with sequences gets us thinking about patterns and relationships between numbers, which is an incredibly useful skill for helping with our mathematical fluency. I’m happy to see the progress Year 10 have been making, and I’m looking forward to moving onto the next topic with them this week.
In Year 9, we’ve been learning about standard form and surds. Standard form (also called scientific notation) is a standardised format for writing really large or really small numbers – this has meant we’ve been grappling with the distance from the earth to the sun (one hundred forty-nine billion six hundred million metres), and thinking about the diameter of a gold atom (0.000000000144g). Whilst this has meant a very quick learning curve for me with the SMART board in order to write out 27 zeros in one go, it also means that Year 9 are ready to take the scientific world by storm – there’s some future astrophysicists in the class! Now, we’re moving onto surds, another form of mathematical notation. We’ve been realising the importance of knowing our square numbers, and remembering to simplify, simplify, simplify! I can’t wait to see how the girls in both classes progress over the next term.
As part of the Mathematics Department’s continuing links with the Lancaster University School of Mathematics (LUSOM), students from 11A were visited by lecturers to discuss college entries and their upcoming events, revision sessions and visiting speakers.
Firstly, pupils at PGHS have been invited to join the LUSOM ‘Revise +’ programme which is a set of 12 online revision sessions aimed at high achieving pupils in mathematics. These will focus on GCSE topics which have been covered in lessons, such as surds, trigonometry and quadratics.
LUSOM have also offered “Extend” sessions designed for high ability KS4 pupils aimed to increase Mathematical thinking and understanding. This is ideally aimed for those students who want to continue their studies in mathematics beyond GCSE level.
Finally, LUSOM are continuing to have a number of high-profile guest speakers who will talk about some of their favourite mathematical topics. The three lectures offered last year were well attended by PGHS pupils and well received by those involved.
For further information about these events and LUSOM, please register your interest by going to the following website link https://lusom.ac.uk/
We will be supporting PIES (Partners in Education Swaziland) through our Tombola at the Penwortham Christmas Markets. Here is some information about them to show you just how influential the money we raise will be.
They are a small North West of England based registered charity with eight Trustees who raise money to provide the necessary finance to meet their Mission Statement: To provide support in terms of food, education and loving care for the most vulnerable children in Eswatini (Swazliand). They do this through fund-raising events, regular and single donations and sponsorship.
In Eswatini, they run two purpose-built care centres which provide food each day, pre-school education and, through community representatives, loving care which the children so desperately need.
What will the money we raise go towards?
Provide a hot meal and basic education each day
Seek out sponsors for their school fees
And most importantly give them the love and affection they most need
This week was Antibullying week across the UK and the theme was ‘One Kind Word’. We supported Antibullying week by hosting odd sock day. The girls showed their support by wearing an array of colourful and unique socks to school.
We have also hosted assemblies for each year group highlighting the importance of our six school values and promoting the importance of ‘One Kind Word’. These are some of the quotes Year 11 students chose to share at the assembly:
“Carry out a random act of kindness with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day, someone might do the same for you.”
I chose this quote because it’s putting a really thoughtful message across that it’s important to act out of the kindness of your own heart, to make others feel good, rather than for your own personal gain. Carla
My quote is from Oprah Winfrey and she said, “When you make loving others the story of your life, there is never a final chapter because the legacy continues. You lend your light to one person and he or she shines it on another and another and another.”
I’ve chosen this quote because I think it shows that no matter how small you think your act of kindness might be, you never know how many people it could potentially influence. It’s not just the person who you do something for/ say something to who is affected- it reaches much further than that, and has a greater impact than you would ever know. Ellie
“Never underestimate the power of a single act of kindness. Your act may just be the added lift that someone needs to go from falling to flying”.
I chose it because I think that sometimes people forget to be kind to others. This quote helps us to understand the importance and significance of such a simple act. Eva
“If kindness were to be profiled into a shape, it would be the most beautiful shape anyone would have witnessed”
I chose this quote because it presents the power of kindness and shows how beautiful kindness can be in the eyes of a person. We shouldn’t take it for granted and intend to want to spread it amongst everyone. Hidayah
My quote is, “You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be” by Nelson Mandela.
I chose this quote because it really highlights how you never know when someone will be in need of your kind actions and you never know what anyone is going through, therefore be kind to everyone no matter who they are. Aisha
To link in with Anti-bullying Week, Year 7 have spent the last few weeks understanding online safety, bullying and cyberbullying..
Year 8 have also been looking at discrimination, racism, prejudice and stereotyping for several weeks now. Again, this has strong links to antibullying week and the theme of ‘One Kind Word’. This week, students looked at ageism, especially towards the elderly.
Year 11 have explored social injustice and looked at the cases of Stephen Lawrence and Sophie Lancaster.
In form time, via the student bulletin, all students have looked at the relevant articles and suggested strategies and support. The articles are below.
One Kind Word – Student Reflections
This week, to further discuss the important issues raised in our Anti-Bullying Week assemblies, we have also had the opportunity to explore issues around bullying in our English lessons.
Students have looked at the role that social media can play in spreading negativity and cyber-bullying. They have also considered the power of positivity and have discussed the importance of the theme for this year’s Anti-Bullying Week: One Kind Word.
We tasked our students with writing a short speech, explaining why it is important to spread a message of kindness and to encourage others to be more kind. Here are a few extracts from inspirational speeches created by students in Year 7 and Year 10:
“Just smile. It’s contagious. It can start with just one person smiling at someone on the way to school. They then put a smile on their face and smile to someone else. Then they pass it on and soon, lots of people are smiling and you would know that you started it. Be the main character. Smile at someone, today.” Megan H (Y10).
“This year, we should spread kindness. You could spread it in many different ways. An example of this is something as simple as smiling, or holding the door open for someone. One kind word is all you have to say to put a smile on someone’s face. The best way to spread kindness is with the thought of getting no reward.” Sara D (Year 7).
“Saying one kind word can improve someone’s mood and brighten their day. If you treat people with kindness, it creates a domino effect of positivity – by giving a compliment to someone, it can elevate them and they’ll pass on the positivity to others.” Louise P-R and Stevie M (Year 10).
“This week is it Anti-Bullying Week and the theme is ‘One Kind Word’. This is our challenge to you – to spread just one kind word. It’s not that hard, just one simple word is all we are asking for. You might not realise this, but one kind word can go a long way. Even if you only pass on a few kind words, it will mean a lot to whoever you say them to and it will be sure to make them smile and make their day!” Aurora S-W and Chloe A (Year 7)
“A compliment, no matter how small can brighten up someone’s day and after a while, this good deed will come back around to you and your day will also be brightened. Even if you feel like you aren’t good enough, a compliment will help to validate you, even if it is from a complete stranger.” Maia F (Year 10).
“This year and every year from now on, everyone should be kind. You don’t just want to be kind for one day! That won’t make a difference. However, if you are kind every day it will make a difference and make the world a better place. If you smile at someone, then that person smiles to another person and another and another that is spreading kindness. Kindness comes from the heart.” Lucia V (Year 7).
I have recently joined the fantastic History department here at Penwortham Girls’ High School and I am already impressed by the enthusiasm of the pupils due to the brilliant lessons that the teachers deliver here. While studying for my history degree at the University of Central Lancashire, I studied a range of different topics covering a plethora of different eras, countries and continents. It was at university that I was able to tailor my specialism towards British social history, particularly Britain in the 19th Century. Although I am absolutely fascinated by studying the lives of Kings and Queens, my main interest is the history of the ordinary person, looking at their day to day lives and how over time this has changed. My love of history started at a very small age by collecting weekly magazines about Egypt. It was from those stories within the magazines that my passion for history began to grow. Whilst studying at GCSE, I decided to travel to Poland and visit Auschwitz. It was here that I was able to see and feel the real impact that history can have on people and the importance of studying and remembering the past. This, along with the fantastic example set by my own history teachers, further inspired me to become a history teacher. In my spare time I can often be found exploring historical sites, both in Britain and abroad, to further enhance my historical understanding.
Last week, students from Penwortham Girls’ High School took part in a number of Remembrance events. The Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl, Carla and Eva, laid wreaths at Penwortham War Memorial on behalf of the school on Armistice Day and on Remembrance Sunday. They also read the names of those soldiers from the local area who lost their lives during the First World War during the Remembrance Sunday service at the war memorial alongside students from Priory Academy and All Hallows Catholic High School. It was fantastic to see so many students from school at the event, whether they were representing other organisations such as the Scouts, or those who had come with their parents. The school charity council members have been raising money for the British Legion by selling poppies in school. Assemblies this week have focussed on the range of Remembrance activities that people from this country participate in, and the significance of the tomb of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey.
At 11am on Armistice Day a two-minute silence was observed by all in school. This was followed by a recital of the Reveille by Mrs Little and a superb rendition of Abide with Me by the school brass band.
Caitlin J (Year 9) has been conducting research on the life of one of her great grandfathers, Joseph Anderson Macpheat, who fought during the First World War. Having studied photographs, documents and interviewed her grandfather, this is what she has found out:
PTE 7799 Joseph Anderson Macpheat was only around 18 years old when he joined the army. Before then, he worked on a farm and his employer, the farmer, had to write a reference letter to show how able Joseph is to join the army. This is a photograph of the letter.
On the 14th January 1915, he joined the 10th Battalion (military unit in the army). On the 19th September 1918, a shell exploded and blew a piece of shrapnel into Joseph’s left arm. He was then left wounded on the battlefield from 5:30am on the 19th Sep till 9:00pm the following day (he was left lying there for nearly 40 hours). He was found by Canadians and taken back to his country. He was then officially discharged from the army on the 30th October 1918 (he served in the army for 3 years and 290 days).
During his time, he achieved multiple awards- 1914/1915 Star, War Medal, Peace Medal, Silver War Badge (SWB).
He died on the 16th February 1936, leaving his wife (Mary Munro Smith) and his son (Duncan Macpheat).
If you would like to know more about how to research records from the First World War or advice on how to research your family tree, please see any member of the History Department.
