NEWSLETTER EXTRACTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

NEWSLETTER EXTRACTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
COMMUNITY, CITIZENSHIP
Pupils from Springbok House, under
the supervision of Mr Barnes and Mr
Hempsall, designed and made two
benches for children to use at St Philip’s
CE Primary School.
Three members of staff raised over
£1,200 for stomach cancer research by
taking part in the Great North Run. Mr
Barnes, an accomplished distance runner,
completed the 13.1 miles in 1 hour 26
minutes, Miss Middleton came in at 1
hour 59 minutes, followed by Miss
Murray in just
under 3 hours.
AND
CHARITY FUNDRAISING
1,677 food items donated by students
were delivered to the Cornerstone Day
Centre to assist in their work with
homeless, deprived and socially isolated
adults. Mr Horner was ably helped with
the collection by House officials Jada
Wright-Christie, Benedict Lane, Deborah
Adefioye and Ayobobola Apampa.
Our annual non-uniform day
produced a kaleidoscope of colour and, in
the process, raised £1,223 for Children
In Need.
Mr Clegg, our
Catering Manager,
laid on a superb
menu of authentic
Chinese dishes for
students to
welcome in the
Year of the Dragon.
Sixteen students
from Year 10
volunteered for the
Peer Mentoring
scheme, a programme which runs
every year at
Trinity. Older
students work with
and support
younger students to
help them during
their first year at
High School. As a
Peer Mentor, the
role can vary from
helping students
with their homework to discussing
any concerns they
may have.
Trinity’s Big Band recorded a CD in
support of Cancer Research UK. These
sold out very quickly, contributing to a
fundraising total of over £3,000 for
cancer charities.
1,200 students plus staff assembled in
the Sports Hall for the annual
Remembrance Day service. Songs,
readings and images, followed by
Laurence Binyon’s For the Fallen, the Last
Post and a minute’s silence made for a
very poignant time of reflection.
to conduct mock interviews with our
Year 11 students. The interviewers
concentrated on areas such as the
standard of the student’s ‘application
form’, first impressions, quality of
answers and evidence of preparation,
and gave detailed feedback in those
areas. Huge thanks to these
organisations, who gave the Trinity
interviewees a great experience which
will help in their progress from school to
college, university, and employment.
124 shoeboxes of Christmas gifts, plus
cash donations, were handed over to the
Samaritan’s Purse organisation, for
distribution to needy children
throughout the world. Year 9 student
Sharnah Poyser said: “It made me realise
that this could be the first present a child
has ever received.” Nyola Walker-Bailey
added: “It made me realise how fortunate
we are.”
Representatives from local and
national employers kindly gave their time
The whole of
Year 9 took part in
a special curriculum
day, ‘The Lionheart
Challenge.’ They
worked in teams in
the sports hall to
consider issues of
personal safety in
today’s society,
then made group
presentations to
explain their
findings and
recommendations. A
range of business people supported the
Challenge and were extremely impressed
with the Trinity students, who they
described as “courteous”, “truly
outstanding” and “enthusiastic.” They
also paid tribute to the “effort, thought
and dedication” put into the final
presentations. Later in the year, our
team won the award for ‘Best Financial
Plan’ at the Reebok Stadium, for costing
out a device which improves the
reporting of crime.
Archbishop leads whole school assembly
I
I
The building is extremely impressive and I am sure that it will prove
to be a rich environment for student learning. I wish you and your
fellow Governors and the staff and pupils the very best for the future.
I was so thrilled to see this year’s exam results, which stand as a great
testimony to the hard work of staff and students. You are quite right:
exciting times undoubtedly lie ahead for Trinity Church of England High
School — a school I am so proud of. Please do convey my thanks and
congratulations to the school community and governors.
t was very good to visit your school earlier this week. I would like
to congratulate you and all involved for such an excellent opening
service and ceremony. I particularly enjoyed the presentations by the
students, and I was very glad to have a tour of the school and to
meet some of the students and staff.
t was a tremendous joy to be with you for the wonderful opening of the
new building and the Dedication of the Chapel. I was struck by the
wonderful atmosphere and was so delighted that the tremendous ministry
and mission of Trinity was so evident for all to see and celebrate.
Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York
after his visit to perform the official opening
TRINITY CHURCH OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL
Kaleidoscope
Rt Revd Mark Davies, Bishop of Middleton
and Chair of the Diocesan Board of Education
T
he Gospel choir
were stunning and
were excellent
ambassadors for Trinity.
They received a
standing ovation from
every person in the
Citizen’s Suite at
Sportcity – something I
have never seen before
at a Headteachers’
event. At the coffee
break, many delegates
were still talking about
the performance.
“Every person I meet seems
like a good friend.”
“I have learned how to play
the piano and work a
sewing machine.”
“I love subjects where the
teachers teach really cool stuff
like the ‘n’ term and
colour theory.”
“It’s fun at lunchtime because
we get to bring in our own
football or basketball.”
“The food here is very nice,
especially pizza.”
Letter from a delegate
at the Manchester
Heads’ Conference
Year 7’s feedback after their
first few weeks at Trinity
W
here do I begin to thank you and all your staff
for the hard work, dedication and
commitment that has been given to my three
children over the past 15 years? I have watched with
admiration as they were educated by staff who not
only found the best in them, but somehow brought
it out as well – miracles happen
at Trinity!
My eldest, with dyslexia, was given support to
believe in herself which enabled her to ‘fly’, gaining
11 B and C GCSE grades and now, after going to
college and university, she is a substance misuse
case worker. My other daughter, following college
and university, is employed as a health insurance
technician.
My son’s transformation in the past five years has
been amazing, as are his predicted grades. The extra-
curricular activities he joined played a large part in
his maturity, both academically and socially. A big
thank you to all the staff who gave up their own time
for my son to partake in schemes such as the Duke of
Edinburgh, the Millennium Challenge and the annual
skiing trip.
As much as I would like to, I feel it would be unfair to
name members of staff individually, as each and
every member has made a difference to my
children’s lives. As a parent I would like to thank your
staff, and special mention here for the support staff,
for the kind and courteous way I have always been
treated.
I would like to wish you all well in the future. And
may God bless you all.
Letter from a Parent
T
hank you so much for
inviting us to last
night’s Carol Service. We
found it a wonderful
occasion which was very
inspirational both in terms
of the music and seeing
the young people there.
Trinity will always be very
special to us as our son
gained so much from his
time there. He is now a
primary school teacher
near Bath and passing on
to the children he teaches
the values he learned at
Trinity.
Letter from a Parent
SCHOOL AIM
To provide a Christian environment in which young people are safe, secure,
cared for and happy, and are able to develop into articulate, confident and
well qualified citizens of the world.
TRINITY CHURCH
OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL
Cambridge Street, Hulme, Manchester M15 6HP Tel: (0161) 226 2272 Fax: (0161) 227 9691
www.trinityhigh.com
Faith in the City, Value in People, Excellence in Education
A BRAND NEW TRINITY FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
WELCOME
Our Kaleidoscope magazine for 2012-2013 is
based on the opening ceremony of the new school,
held on the morning of 12 September 2011, and
led by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.
The occasion included a whole school act of
worship, celebratory performances of dance,
drama and music, a blessing of the chapel and
the ‘official’ opening of the new Trinity.
David S. Ainsworth, Head
CELEBRATION
Smiles and congratulations all round on
GCSE results day, as figures showed that
69% of our students had gained 5+ A*-C
grades including English and mathematics,
well in excess of our 61% target. A
staggering 92% achieved 5+ A*-C grades.
What a way to celebrate the completion of
the new school building and the start of a
new and exciting school year.
Almost 500 former students, parents,
staff and governors attended our annual
Presentation Evening at the University of
Manchester’s Whitworth Hall. Former
Year 11 students were presented with their
certificates and special prizes by our Guest
of Honour, Revd Jan Ainsworth, Chief
Education Officer of the National Society.
We celebrated our annual Advent
service at St Ann’s Church in the centre of
Manchester, and the service was concluded
by the Revd Nigel Ashworth inviting us all
outside for the blessing of the crib. It was a
marvellous occasion, as always.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
A team of Year 9 DT students took part
in ‘The Great Big Wind Turbine Build
Off’, organised by Siemens Energy UK.
The aim was to encourage young people to
consider a career in the technology and
engineering sectors. The challenge was to
build a model of a wind turbine which
could be used to produce the most costefficient electricity. Our students worked
in two teams, spending the morning and
early afternoon designing and modelling
their structures. They also had a guiding
hand from an engineer from Siemens.
After testing, the team made a
presentation to the Siemens Board of
Directors, similar to entering the ‘Dragons
Den’. Trinity students gave a good account
of themselves and were certainly not blown
away! Taking part were Caleb Ibezim,
Rhema Hernandez, Shingarai Muzondo,
Kadeem Kaaba Lynch, Simon Power,
Murtaza Mulla, Philip Ossai, Wing Hay
Lam, Tanith Rhodes and Nusha
Ghanizadeh.
Lecturers from the universities, along
with experts from local engineering
businesses HVPD, ARUP and Wilmott
Dixon, visited Trinity to talk about careers
in science and engineering. Students spoke
to people who had followed careers in
pharmacy, electrical and electronic
engineering, life sciences, nanotechnology
and nuclear physics. Our visitors
commented on the enthusiasm of the
students involved, and on the intelligence
and depth of the questions they asked.
Angela Gould, of King’s College
London, visited Trinity to run
mathematics workshops for our Year 8
students. In all, sixty pupils took part in
activities including a special maths race.
Year 7 students designed hanging
Christmas decorations for their trees at
Colegio Montesion in Palma de Mallorca,
Spain. They enjoyed a tour of the old city
of Palma, and a visit to Soller, as well as a
trip to the beach. In addition to the
improvements in their understanding and
pronunciation of Spanish, they also
experienced first-hand the culture and
traditions of their host families.
home, and used the laser cutter in the
Design Technology department to cut
them out. The end results looked very
professional indeed.
Thirty of our young scientists in Years
10 and 11 went to the Bridgewater Hall
with Mrs Russell and Dr Alnuamaani to
the annual ‘Science Live’ event, featuring
some of the most eminent scientists in
their field. Professor Steve Jones discussed
the world of DNA and the ‘nature v.
nurture’ debate; BBC presenter Dr Maggie
Aderin-Pocock, MBE, inspired us with
amazing images of the universe, Dr Andrea
Sella, from CBBC’s ‘Gastronuts’, showed
us how zebras get their stripes and finally,
Professor Jim Al-Khalili, OBE, another
familiar face on the BBC, helped us to
understand if time travel is truly possible.
ARTS
AND
MUSIC
Both of our entrants for the Portico
Young Writers’ prize received high praise
from the judging panel, with Jardel
Rodrigues named as runner-up in the
Poetry division and Eva Holmes
commended by the judges for her entry in
the Fiction category. Both of the Laureates
will attend a prize-giving ceremony to
receive their awards.
SPORT
who were in the sell-out audience. One
letter we received afterwards said: “The
standard of acting required to express the
complex issues would have challenged an
adult cast but the actors were so young yet
able to capture and carry the audience
with them to the final scene. I went
expecting to see a typical high school
musical; boy, did I have a shock.
Stunning.”
Four of our students, alongside three of
our ex-students, performed in a Hip Hop
Heroine Showcase at Band on the Wall.
They had the pleasure to perform in front
of an audience which included the visiting
Brazilian Minister of Culture, who
described afterwards how impressed he
had been by the performance.
OVERSEAS CONNECTIONS
Year 11 GCSE music students
performed a recital for parents in the main
hall. A letter received at school after the
event commented: “Some of [the
performers] appeared comfortable
performing; for some it appeared to be a
challenge. But the common denominator
was that they were giving the best that
they could, because they wanted to. What
is more, they supported each other with
enthusiastic applause and lots of
encouragement for those who appeared
more shy. Every time another pupil went
on to the stage, a group of their friends
would be cheering them on.”
Five Thai teachers visited Trinity in
October as part of a two-week English
teaching methodology course organised by
a large education company. Their itinerary
included a tour of the school, involvement
in Year 7 and Year 9 lessons, and
discussions with Trinity staff.
The school’s performance of Lorca’s
Blood Wedding received overwhelmingly
positive responses from parents and friends
A group of our Year 10 language
students spent time with students and
their families from our partner school,
The 23rd Trinity Ski Course took place
in the French resort of Les Deux Alpes,
with students spending five hours a day at
ski school developing their techniques. The
conditions were superb, much hilarity
ensued, and at the end of the week, the
instructors awarded bronze, silver and gold
medals to our students.
AND
FITNESS
Our Year 10 and 11 Boys’ Athletics
team came second in the County Athletics
Finals held at Sport City. This was an
outstanding achievement from a team that
had also come second in the Greater
Manchester Athletics Finals the previous
week. The team consisted of Syrone Allen,
Romano Brown, Kweku Bonsu, Josh
Ononokpono, Nathan Harris, Amarni
Coleman, Mubarak Munye, Ade Dada and
Malik Higgins.
Jade Stedford returned from Russia
where she had taken part in the
Gymnastics World Championships and
qualified in the 12-15 age range. Jade
gained gold on the beam, silver on the
vault and silver on the floor, coming 5th
out of 50 competitors. A marvellous
performance by Jade who, we hope, is a
potential candidate for the 2016 Olympics.
Danny Welbeck, MUFC and England
star and former student, returned to
Trinity to present footballs, shirts, bibs,
cones, a kit bag and other items to his old
school as part of the Premier League
Players’ Kit Scheme. The event was widely
covered in the local and national press, as
well as appearing on Sunday morning’s
‘Match of the Day’ and MUTV.
Year 5 Gifted and Talented PE pupils
from Chorlton, St Wilfred’s, St Andrew’s,
Resurrection, St Hilda’s, St Anne’s,
Didsbury and St Thomas Primary Schools
visited us to take part in activities such as
boxercise, football and basketball. The day
was organised by Trinity Sports Leaders
from Year 10, and all of the youngsters
went home with a goody-bag of Trinity
souvenirs.
Trinity students travelled home from
the annual Manchester Schools’
Swimming Gala with a clutch of awards:
Rebecca Cowtan came 1st in the 25m
butterfly, 1st in 25m freestyle and 1st in
individual medley. Tanith Rhodes came
2nd in the 25m backstroke and 3rd in the
25m freestyle. Megan Stansfield came 1st
in the 25m breast stroke. Our upper
school girls were equally successful with
Niamh Ryan 1st in the 25m butterfly, 1st
in the 25m freestyle and 1st in the
individual medley. Niamh also set new
Manchester school records in the freestyle
and individual medley. Amber Bailey
came 3rd in the 25m freestyle and Selina
Ali came 3rd in the 25m breast stroke.
ACHIEVEMENT
Forty students from years 10 and 11
visited Nottingham University to
participate in a mock trial at the Galleries
of Justice Museum. They stayed
overnight in the halls of residence, and
then took part in a full day of activities at
the university, finding out more about
academic life. The experience was
universally well-received, with one
student commenting: “I had the chance
to experience what life would be like if I
went to Uni; the whole trip was fantastic
but it would have been better if we could
have stayed all week!”
Mrs Kirkham and Mr Cornick from
the English Department launched
Trinity’s Accelerated Reading scheme for
Year 7 students. A good number of
students signed up to the target of
reading a million words, earning Merits
and prizes along the way.
This year’s Duke of Edinburgh Award
participants worked towards their Skills
requirement of the award in the evenings
after school. The Bronze candidates
studied for a first aid qualification with
St John’s Ambulance, run by Mr
Worsley, and the Silver candidates are
developing skills in self-defence under the
guidance of visiting self-defence trainer,
Mr Lee-Baron.
SCHOOL GROUNDS
AND ENVIRONS
Year 9 student, Jade Stedford, was one
of just sixteen young people in the
country to be selected to attend the
Women’s Artistic World Class Potential
Squad training camp at Loughborough
University.
The new main building has been open
a year now, and staff and students have
settled in to the first-rate teaching and
learning facilities we now enjoy. At the
back of the school, though, work
continues at breakneck speed: new PE
changing rooms opened at the beginning
of March; landscaped social areas were
finished at the end of the same month;
Student Services was extended and
remodelled over the Easter break, then
the newly-modernised Greer building
opened at the end of April.
Tyler McGlacken won the Young
People’s Outstanding Behaviour Award
and was featured in the Manchester
Evening News for having created his own
YouTube channel, TNTV, to showcase
the talents of young musicians in his
neighbourhood. He said: “It’s really
exciting, a big opportunity and will
encourage me to do more to help other
young people.”
The time capsule buried in 1996 to
commemorate the 10th year of Trinity’s
existence was unearthed whilst digging
foundations for our ongoing building
project, and is now on display in the
refurbished Greer building. A new, 2012
time capsule was has been put together
with dozens of articles suggested by
students, and will be buried in due
course.
OPENED SEPTEMBER 2011 BY THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, DR JOHN SENTAMU