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Blog NOVEMBER 2023

Hi…

Another busy few weeks with lots of exciting things going on in and around school.

International Links – Bulgarian Exchange Programme – English Leg

 

 

On Thursday 2nd November, we were delighted to welcome our Bulgarian friends and colleagues as they joined us for the English leg of the Bulgarian exchange programme that we run each year; you will remember that a group of students went to Karlovo in Bulgaria in June of 2023. Our guests joined us for five nights, returning on 7th November after a fantastic, packed itinerary. Not even the dreadful British weather, mostly heavy rain, was able to dampen everyone’s enthusiasm.

 

During their stay, students completed the work for this year’s joint project, which was called ‘Overcoming Diversity’; this topic was approached from different angles. The Bulgarian students focused on the response to some serious flooding in their local area that left several villages under water, clearly a response to global warming, while Blacon High School students focused on the huge range of support and additional measures that we have in place in order to overcome barriers to education and support all of our students to succeed.

 

 

After the work was completed, over the next few days we visited Chester, Liverpool and North Wales. A special thank you must go to the Lord Mayor of Chester who hosted our guests at the Town Hall in Chester, where they enjoyed a perfectly pitched presentation, and were able to see all of the civic regalia. Additionally, the Lord Mayor supplied tickets for all of the students and staff to attend the Lord Mayor’s Fireworks Extravaganza at Chester racecourse on the evening of Saturday November 4th.

 

 

The visit culminated in a Leavers’ Dinner in school, when our guests were treated to a very typical dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, followed by apple crumble and custard.

As always, there were lots of tears as we said our farewells and we look forward to renewing our relationship, which began in 2016, next year.

 

‘Annie’ Production

 

Leaping Lizards! Chester will ‘stick up its chin, and grin, and sing - Tomorrow, Tomorrow!’ when Blacon High School performs Annie JR at the Storyhouse Garret Theatre.

Based on the popular comic strip and adapted from the Tony Award-winning best musical. ‘Annie Jr’ tells the story of a spunky, depression-era orphan who is determined to find her parents. ‘Annie is a heart-warming show with an important message about the true nature of family. In the show, we see how a plucky little girl transforms her entire life by making the most out of every moment’ say Cohen. MTI would like to applaud the students from Blacon High School for all of their hard work on their production.

Tickets are on sale now! Please follow the link below or scan the QR code on the attached poster.

Date: Wednesday 6th December at 5.00pm and 7.00pm.

Venue: Garret Theatre, The Storyhouse, Chester

Tickets: £5.00 and £3.00 (concessions)

 

International Links – Swedish Drama Students

We recently welcomed a group of five trainee teachers on an international placement that took place between 6th and 8th November. Kristoffer, Emma, Tjark, Lara and Mimmi made a huge impact on the cultural education of our students with their creative storytelling, their understanding of good teaching practice, and their immeasurable enthusiasm.

From the moment they arrived in school, every member of the group was impeccably professional and completely absorbed with the project. The students experienced a short tour of the school and engaged in brief lesson observations across a range of subjects, identifying a variety of pedagogical approaches around the school. They also engaged in lesson observations in the Performing Arts Department for both Drama and SMSC (Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural education), engaged in Q&A sessions with Year 7 students about Swedish culture, education and experiences, and designed and delivered engaging and captivating workshop sessions to three groups of students (two Year 8 groups and one in Year 9) with creativity and a high level of acting skills as Teacher-in-Role.

The workshops were well-paced, with appropriate timescales for students to pause, think and recall information. A range of questioning techniques were used to establish students’ understanding of the task, facilitating opportunities for all students to create, develop and perform their work. Pedagogical practice was carefully considered and applied to ensure an engaging, creative and exciting experience for our students here at Blacon High School. Staff and students found opportunities to meet our guests and engage them in conversation. Our students enjoyed their workshops and are still talking about their experiences.

It was an absolute pleasure to have hosted Kristoffer, Emma, Tjark, Lara and Mimmi. They asked pertinent and professional questions relating to our curriculum, pastoral care, behaviour policy, SEND provision and teacher responsibilities. I observed, and thoroughly enjoyed, their approach and experiencing their work ethic, which were, in both instances, outstanding. We would like to thank them for their creative contribution to the Performing Arts Department at Blacon High School and wish them all every success in their future careers.

Special acknowledgement goes to Mrs Salisbury, Head of Performing Arts, for arranging the visit.

Year 11 Anxiety Management Workshop

 

Some of the time, not everything goes to plan and we need a little extra support. We do our best to support all of our students to be successful, whatever their needs.

As such, we held two sessions by the Mental Health Support Team who ran two, one hour workshops for Year 11 students on the topic of Anxiety.

The initial drop in was held on 15th November and there was a further workshop on 27th November from 2.10pm – 3.10pm.

The workshop was an opportunity to learn more about what anxiety is and develop new coping strategies for managing anxiety.

 

And finally…

Please support all of our students but, at this time, Year 11s need to be revising all of the time as they are in the midst of their mock exams. If you would like any tips on how to support your child with revision, please contact the school and we will be only too happy to help.

As always, we thank all of our parents and carers for their ongoing help and support.