Bedrock Vocabulary Learning at Penwortham Girls’ High School:
February 2022 Report

We use Bedrock with all classes in English at Penwortham Girls’ High School to improve literacy and empower voices. The programme encourages students to read more whilst immersing themselves in academic vocabulary as engaging in fiction and non-fiction prose introduces words in context, encourages more varied reading and increases cultural capital. Regular use of Bedrock will make students’ written and spoken language richer at the same time as building their confidence to tackle challenging texts.

Language is the foundation of all learning: the Bedrock

CLASS LEADER BOARD:

7DSN
7CWO
8CWO / 8KMC

PROGRESS LEADER BOARD:

8CWO + 8KMCCaitlin B. made the most progress: 488%
9CWO + 9KMCTasneem A. made the most progress: 156%
7CWOMia S. made the most progress: 144%

This month, students have been learning the following words on Bedrock:

Y7: glut, conclude, compensate, imperative, epidemic, thrifty, homonym, compose, avid, implore, base, vexed, compensate, exponentially, inept, delineate, excruciating, adept, illuminate, thrifty, enigma, amiss, onslaught, assimilate, stance, embargo, doctrine, fluster, mercenary, concept, capture, wrath, apathy, chart, flabbergasted, acclaim, excruciating, ensue, adept, boisterous, abode, grim, woe, feeble, gorge, compensate, advocate, banquet, imperative, foreboding, avert, chart, deploy, imperative, acclaim, inept, delineate, intervene, amiss, parody
Y8: liable, wrath, incoherent, verdict, pause, saunter, custom, ensue, origin, navigate, imprecise, cursory, bestow, apathy, exodus, chart, cordial, respective, disorientated, refuge, abate, perjury, indigenous, construe, lurid, regime, bestow, apathy, modicum, reflect, inventory, legitimate. metr/meter, catastrophe, wrath, incident, considerable, casualty, geo, ensue, gen, modest, cage, bachelor, fierce, autobiography, avert, teeming, cover, communicate, allow, imperative
Y9: wilderness, foil, mystify, passage, generosity, orchard, corner, cheer, enigma, craze, inept, gen, parody, aware, mirror, spec, vacate, narrate, recount, minute, corner, aware, mirror, flap, peak, parade, contest, dodge, warn, woe, feeble, avert, carefree, settle, rare, precarious, wilderness, ease, irascible, delineate, folklore, capitulate, entreat, paraphrase, painstaking, extol, altruistic, course, minor

Parents and carers can create a free parent account to view their child’s learning: https://bedrocklearning.org/parents-of-bedrock-school-users/

Mrs Ibrahim

English Department

BTEC Creative Media Production

Year 11 have finally completed their 9-hour practical exam.  They have completed 5 hours so far and have produced some detailed plans ready for the final creation of their media product. They have prepared the assets that they wish to include in the final product and have spent 4 hours creating their final product. The students have taken this practical 9-hour exam seriously and conducted themselves in a mature manner. Well done!

Mrs Bennett

GCSE Computer Science

Year 11 have completed their final mock exams.  This has helped them to prepare for their GCSE exams in May. The students have been spending the time learning about the practical paper and how to answer some of the challenging questions. All students are very working hard.

Mrs Bennett

Key Stage 3 Computing

All Key Stage 3 students learnt about different aspects of Online Safety which linked to Internet Safer Day which took place on the 8th February 2022. The themes for this year’s Internet Safer Day are ‘Fun and Games’, ‘Exploring Respect’ and ‘Relationships Online’. The students learnt about what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour when playing games online and how to be respectful towards others when playing online games.

Students are increasingly online due to the current climate and are being exposed to a variety of new online tools. It is our responsibility to teach them how to stay safe and what is acceptable use on the software and Apps around today. During these sessions they will gain knowledge about a variety of Apps and how to stay safe when using these Apps and other important information to keep them safe.

Linking to this, as part of STEM Festival, Key Stage 3 are taking part in a competition all about digital footprint.  The students have been asked to design a poster to inform other students around school about the digital footprint and the consequences of posting and sharing items online. The posters will be judged and the winning posters from years 7, 8 and 9 will be printed professionally and displayed around school. Good luck to all those involved and I look forward to announcing the winners in the coming weeks.

Year 9 are currently completing their media unit of work.  The end product will allow students the opportunity to use the video cameras and film a movie trailer which will then be edited. I am looking forward to seeing the finished products.

Mrs Bennett

Spring Term 2022 News

The governing board has had another busy term, albeit one of the shortest. It has been incredible to see so many parents engage in our Parent Governor Election also; I think there were more votes than I have ever known! Governors met a couple of weeks ago to confirm the election decisions and to welcome the two new parent governors. At the same time, we also confirmed the nomination of our Local Authority Governor.

It is worth mentioning here that each school’s governing board has several different governor categories. We have 2 parent governors, 1 local authority governor, 1 staff governor, the Headteacher and 10 co-opted or community governors. Each governor has his or her own nominated role and we enjoy many visits (in normal times) to school to carry these out. You may also see many of us at school events. Each category of governor might be appointed in a different way, but each governor has the same rights as any other and no one governor can act alone; we are a corporate body.

We have, despite intermittent restrictions, conducted a great many visits and training sessions again this term. Many governors attended school during the STEM festival, as I did, and I also visited many classrooms while students were completing the class quiz at the end of the festival also! Things were extremely competitive! The buzz around school was palpable and it was clear to see the impact on the students, and on the staff. Well done to all concerned – it was a huge success. That same week, I attended staff professional development sessions related to safeguarding and to Special Educational Needs so there was also evidence of the serious side of teaching. PGHS staff have an incredible ability to motivate and create enjoyable learning experiences for the girls, whilst at the same time creating a safe and caring environment. We are so lucky to be part of this school community.

Lorimer Russell-Hayes

Chair of Governors

PREVENT and CHANNEL Question of the Week – Whole School

Last week, students took part in the ‘Question of the Week’ on the Prevent duty and Channel. This is to reinforce the messages already covered in Life Skills and other areas of personal development at PGHS. A short forms quiz was successfully completed to demonstrate understanding and how to report or access support. 

These are both important topics that are revisited regularly.  It is reassuring to know from the forms quizzes completed, that students here do know to tell a trusted adult in these situations. 

Mrs Cahill
Life Skills Co-ordinator

KS3 E-safety Drop Down Session – Thursday 10th March 2022

KS3 students recently spent an afternoon looking at certain aspects of e-safety. This is to compliment the work covered in Life Skills, computing, and other aspects of personal development at PGHS. Mark Naylor from Lancashire Constabulary joined students on Teams for a talk on current issues around e-safety and the reporting process. Students asked lots of interesting questions. This was followed by a session on healthy and unhealthy relationships online, including consent and coercion, live streaming, the sharing of images and other information online.  

This was continued in the Life Skills lessons with a forms quiz and a parentmail was sent should you wish to continue the conversation at home or gain more information. Below are some of the responses from Year 8 and 9.  The sources of support that have been shared with the students are:  

www.childline.org.uk  

www.themix.org.uk 

www.youngminds.org.uk 

www.childnet.com 

Mrs Cahill
Life Skills Co-ordinator

PGHS Poet Laureate Society – Poems for Mother’s Day

Mother, Take My Hand

Mother, grasp my hand as I lean towards the water’s edge, 

And lead me away from the temptations of the clear unknown. 

Laugh at me as I cluelessly fumble with the rope’s knots,

In awe as you dance through reefs and half hitches with grace, 

Stumbling as I look up at your example. 

Mother, take my hand as I trace over the creases of your experiences, 

And gently brush past the rough skin of your misfortune, 

To explore the stories hidden within your puzzled eyes. 

Smile at me as I meddle restlessly with the rudder, 

Trying desperately to lie in the regions of your wake. 

Mother, clap your hands as I hoist the mainsail to the peak with perfection, 

And sigh as the cold winds of time make you sway in melancholy contemplation, 

To make you hesitate at the thought of my inferiority. 

Ponder over me as I leave your side and clamber the shroud, 

And stare longingly at the currents of uncertainty. 

Mother, shake my hand as you pull the anchor,

And watch me thread my gentle fingers through the rough ropes,  

Casting my sail into the winds with the confidence of your teachings. 

Watch me as I sail into the clouds of sea mist and the uncharted, 

And with pride drift slowly into a fading sunset of resolution. 

By Issy H

                                                          A Mother Figure

                  I was deemed too sensitive, enraptured by accommodating,

                                                           I was deemed too self-preserving, incapable of release,

                  I was called weak and far too fragile,

                                                          I was called strong-willed and far too stubborn,

                  but you would tell me to be brave,

                                                          and you would tell me to let go,

                 “tell me that you won’t give up”,

                                                           “sob into the nook of my neck”,

                  being guarded isn’t a bad thing,

                                                            being able to show emotions isn’t a bad thing,

                  and even though you weren’t,

                                                            and even though you couldn’t be,

                  you were like a mother to me,

                                                            you were like a mother to me. 

By Louise P-R

STEM Festival

PGHS STEM FESTIVAL 28th February – 11th March 2022

Read all about our events and school visits that took place during our STEM festival in our STEM festival newsletter:

Victorian Women

Year 9 have been looking at the role of Victorian women and their place in society. From their research, they have been creating ‘one-pagers’ to document their findings. These findings will help them understand some of the texts that we study in our Iridescent Adolescent unit (such as Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and Cousin Kate by Christina Rossetti). This knowledge will also prove invaluable when they progress into KS4 and begin the study of 19th Century texts. Below are some fantastic examples of work from Mrs McKeown’s class.

Mrs Snowdon
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