AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER Tel. 01270 560514

Head’s Message

Dear Parent/Carer

As always, this is a fabulous account of some of the really positive things that are

happening at Ruskin.

I would like to thank everyone for ensuring that such a wide variety of opportunities are on

offer.

It is particularly positive to be able to share the success of our mathematicians at the recent

Challenge events, and I am also delighted that student leadership is a growing feature of so

many departments across our school.

The clear outreach and charity work that goes on is so strong at our school and I am really

proud of our students’ response to this aspect.

I really hope that you enjoy reading this latest edition.

With very best wishes,

Mrs E S Brett

Headteacher

A Sneaky Peek of What’s Inside...

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Ruskin High School

Head’s message ..………………….…..….…..… 1

Keeping Children Safe Online………..….… 3

Head Boy and Head Girl, Rewards….…....4

Humanities Department ……………………5,6

Maths Department …...…...……………..….. 7

PE Department …………..………..………... 8,9

Y7 Stanley Head Trip........…..………..…... 10

Enrichment, Y11 Awards…………….….…..11

English Department and Languages….. 12

Christmas Reading …………………….……...13

Music Department ……....…….….….……..14

Aiming for Success…………....……...…… 15

Supporting Charities…………………..…...16

Remembrance…...………………………….. 17

Sponsors……………………………………..…..18

Ruskin School Association……………... 19

Parentpay…….……………………………..…..20

Hiring our Facilities ……..….………….….. 21

Keeping in touch ………………………….... 22

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AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

Keeping Children Safe Online

Where can you get

help?

Think u Know?

www.thinkuknow.co.uk

Where can you get help?

CEOP—Child Exploitation and

Online Protection Agency

www.ceop.police.uk

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Rewards

The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe

As a reward for students in Key Stage Three who

currently attend extracurricular Dance and Music

clubs, selected students have been invited to

attend a festive performance of The Lion, Witch

and The Wardrobe at South Cheshire College.

Our adventures into the magical world of Narnia

will take place on Thursday 15th December, and

we are really looking forward to seeing the superb

production the College students have created.

Rewards Trips for

Thursday 22nd December:

Water World

Cinema and MacDonalds

Aladdin Pantomime at Crewe Lyceum

Homework Rewards:

Throughout November and December students

who have completed all their homework were

eligible for a reward, ranging from:

Hot Chocolate and Oreos

Non-uniform Day

Form Competition

Prize draw for Nandos

Head Boy and Girl

Congratulations to our Head Boy Finley Butler,

Head Girl Alice Brooker, Deputy Head Boy Archie

Whiston and Deputy Head Girl Alisha Parker.

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AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

Geography Trips

Year 11 Castleton, Peak District.

Year 11 GCSE students visited the pretty village

of Castleton in the Peak District to collect data

for their GCSE controlled assessment.

The first task was to record the uses of all the

shops and houses in Castleton.

Students interviewed the general public on why

they were visiting Castleton and what they

thought the impact of tourism had had on

Castleton.

‘It was a bit scary to begin with, but

once we got more confident it was

good fun!’

Then the steep walk up to Peveril Castle to

carry out surveys and to enjoy the spectacular

views of the surrounding Peak Districts.

Then the climb up Mt. Everest; well, it was a

small incline really but the amount of moaning

and bribery needed to get some of the

students to walk up it, it may as well have

been!

Once along the footpath, students stopped for

a welcome break and to carry out a survey on

the condition of the footpaths.

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Maths Department

AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

We took part in a 4—man-team competition at

Sandbach School against another 11 schools from the

Cheshire East area. It consisted of 6 rounds of

different activities.

Examples of the rounds students faced were:

imaginary numbers, pantomimes, countdown style

game, complex numbers challenge.

It lasted from 9.30am until 12pm and was two and a

half hours of intense Maths with a really strong

competitive field. Our team was relatively confident

when it came to results time as they felt they had

done well in most rounds, however they knew the

standard was very high and it would be really tough to

finish first. Many of the schools involved had 200-300

sized years groups to choose from which is much

bigger than our ‘90 or so’ in year 10!

I am really pleased to announced that we

finished in 2nd place with Middlewich school

winning. I think this is an immense achievement

by the four boys who should be really proud of

themselves. The boys gorged on the prize they

won for finishing second in the taxi on the way

back, and they deserved it.

Benjamin Woolley one of the individuals who

took part for Ruskin, said:

‘It was a great experience, I wasn’t expecting us

to finish in such a high position as all the schools

were very talented. I was really happy when

they read our name out a second and a well

done to everyone who took part’.

In Other News

The Maths Department attended the

University of Manchester on 9th December

with Mrs Orme. This involved a series of

workshops and puzzles by leading

Mathematics presenters and a Dragon Maths

Competition.

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Sports Success

Year 7 student, Chloe Aitken, has been competing in the Junior Cheshire Swimming Gala in Macclesfield.

Chloe had a fantastic day swimming:

Gold in the 50m Freestyle with a time of 36.5.

Silver in the 200m with a time of 3.17.34.

“We are extremely proud of her achievement, her work ethic and dedication is amazing.” (Mrs Aitken)

CONGRATULATIONS!

To the Year 7 Football Team who won the Crewe Schools

5-a-side football tournament.

The team won the competition and

will play in the overall South

Cheshire Final in the New Year.

Up and Coming Fixtures

Wednesday 14th December

U13 Touch Rugby Tournament at Reaseheath College for South Cheshire Schools.

Thursday 15th December Football

Y10 5-a-side v St Thomas More (home)

Y8 5-a-side v St Thomas More (home)

Monday 16th January Football

Y7/8/9 Football v Malbank (away)

Netball Tournament Dates (away)

Y110 28th February v Malbank

Y9 7th March v Brine Leas

Y8 14th March v Sandbach

Indoor Cricket

Ben Tomlinson, the ECB Community Development Officer for South Cheshire, will give all Y7 students an introduction to indoor cricket.

This will be followed up with lunchtime coaching, inter form competitions and coaching for school team competitions in 2017.

The students had an excellent experience and were superb ambassadors for the school. Ben was really impressed with their approach and behaviour.

Ruskin Netball Teams

The netball teams have been extremely dedicated this

year, facing some tough opposition and always playing to

the best of their ability. Some of the teams have won a

good number of their matches and on occasions have even

played teams in the age category above them. To

celebrate a fantastic season, they will be having a fun

session for their last training session and are hoping to

have a celebratory meal in the New Year.

In the New Year, some of the team players will be

supporting in the delivery and running of a High 5 netball

league involving a number of local primaries. Our students

are eagerly looking forward to working with these younger

students and sharing their skill and enthusiasm.

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Sport Continued

AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

Ruskin students joined the U13 touch rugby festival at the grand opening of Reaseheath College’s new 3G rugby pitch in December. The event was a brilliant occasion with lots of great rugby! Students had the chance to meet ex- England international Mark Ceuto.

Sport Leader Development Programme

Students were invited to apply to become Sports Leader

via an application form. There were plenty of

applications which made it very difficult for the PE staff

to whittle it down to a handful of students. After some

tough decisions, the final selection was made with the

following students being appointed to the role. Well

done to all that applied:

Year 7 : Mia Harris, Kiera McConnell, Mirren Hilditch,

Katie Dodd, Eleanor Blakeley McCann, Nicola Lakas,

Kyle Bebbington, Jacob Greer, Jack Peter Williams,

Harry Griffiths, Declan McPhee and Freddie Woolley

Year 8: Hamilah Ahmed, Lily Latham, Klaudia Trela,

Aimee Capper, Vanessa Gaziova, Cameron Stewart,

Affan Ijaz, Tyrese Maynard, Joshual Lewis and Ben

Matthews

Year 9: Mariesha Booth, Elle Burrell, Jodie Manning,

Rebecca Jennings, India Tilley, Jasmine Fraser, Aaliyah

Hughes, Jack Nichol and Ryan Messam

Year 10: Masie Dutton, Jakub Stodolny and

Jennifer Luson

These fantastic leaders will be involved in leading small sessions within school as part of their lessons and after school clubs. They will also go out into local primaries to support younger students, and they will also host some primary competitions here at Ruskin.

To support in their own development, Mrs Critchley-Goodier will be helping to support their leadership skills through a series of workshops. We are looking forward to giving more updates on the successes and experiences that these wonderful Sports Leaders will be getting involved in this academic year.

Touch Rugby

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Y7 Stanley Head Trip, 30th September

£450 per student - based on a maximum of 30 pupils taking part .

Please contact the office for further details: 01270 560514

On Friday 30th September 2016, our new Year 7 students visited Stanley Head to work on a number of

team building activities. The students worked in their tutor groups on abseiling, orienteering, canoeing,

crate tower building, archery and team skills. The students worked brilliantly with each other,

demonstrating excellent communication and group work skills. It was a very enjoyable day for all, even for

those that got a little wet from the canoeing! Well done to all involved and thanks for such a fantastic day.

Year 9 & 10 Enrichment Programme

This academic year, Ruskin have started a new Enrichment programme for year 9 and 10 students. The aim is to provide the students with an opportunity to try something new, develop a new skill and it is a break from the normal timetabled curriculum.

There are 5 activities being organised for students. Each group will get the opportunity to enjoy each of the five activities, rotating each half term. The 5 activities are as listed below. Students will be given the opportunity to suggest activities for the final half term.

Archery with Miss Birkett and Greenbank Company of Archers www.greenbankarchers.com

Crewe Lifestyle Centre with Mr Hartley www.everybody.org.uk/centres/crewe-lifestyle-centre

Cycling – achieving the nationally recognised Bikeability certificate www.bikeability.org.uk

Martial Martial Arts—Arts with Chongi Thai Boxing Club www.teamchongi.com The Martial arts sessions have been going really well. Students are surprising themselves with their ability to beat up their teacher!

Outdoor skills with Mrs Critchley-Goodier

Yoga with the Ministry of Yoga www.ministryofyoga.org

AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

Year 11 Awards Ceremony September 2016

Upcoming performances in 2017:

Cheshire Schools Dance Show

017 Dance at the Regent Theatre,

Stoke-on-Trent

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Congratulations to all the students

nominated for awards. We enjoyed

a certificate presentation ceremony

at the School—here are a small

selection of photographs from the

event.

Dance Club Lunchtime with Miss John

Year 7 Monday, Year 8 Wednesday

Year 9 and 11 Tuesday

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We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Ambassadors programme. The aim of the Ambassadors is to promote language learning at Ruskin and to support their peers with class work, homework and anything language related.

MFL Ambassadors wrote a letter of application and provided references and the above were chosen from a strong field. They are currently in the process of designing their own notice board and are available at MFL homework club every Monday week 1 and Wednesday week 2 12.30-12.55 in room 7.

School Ambassadors

Y11 Bradley Dean, Alice Brooker

Yr10 Natalia Niedziela, Anarghiros Dumitrache

Yr9 Maria Daniicic, Noorjahan Begum Ali

Yr8 Will Preston, Tabitha Adams

Yr7 Dominik Wadolski, Katie Precious

Polish Ambassadors

Year 11 Patrycja Burczak, Daria Mozejewska

Ambassadors can also be contacted by email at: ambassador-l@ruskin.cheshire.sch.uk

Our Polish Ambassadors are running a club on Tuesday after school in room 6 for those wanting to learn some Polish or Polish students wanting support.

Ruskin Modern Foreign Language (MFL) Ambassadors

Year 7 students have entered a

creative writing competition through

www.youngwriters.co.uk

There are some amazing prizes on

offer including the opportunity to

have work published.

A Creative Writing Club takes place

Thursday lunchtime with Miss Lucas.

English Department

CLOSING DATE:

21st DECEMBER 2016 WWW.YOUNGWRITERS.CO.UK

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Christmas Reading The Library has continued to flourish during the Autumn term with the number of books borrowed setting a Ruskin record! This is fantastic as ‘reading for pleasure’ is central to our school day. We know that improving reading not only helps with students’ confidence, self-esteem and vocabulary but is also vital to making progress across the curriculum. Reading for just ten minutes each day can make all the difference. So why not make someone happy this year by adding a book or books to their Christmas stocking? The shops are full of new titles and old favourites, box sets and film tie–ins. After the excitement of Christmas Day, Boxing Day charades and mince pie over -indulgence, there is nothing better than to curl up with a new book. Allow yourself to be transported to different landscapes, meets friends old and new, solve the mystery before the detective (but watch out for the twist), save a damsel in distress…the list goes on and on.

Here are some suggestions from Ruskin Library: The Midnight Gang by David Walliams The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Double Down by Jeff Kinney Clover Moon by Jacqueline Wilson The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange An Eagle in the Snow by Michael Morpurgo The House on Hummingbird Island by Sam Angus The Novice by Taran Matharu Sweet Pizza by G R Gemin and My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons For Older Readers: Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine Flawed by Cecelia Ahern Crongton Nights by Alex Wheatle and Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman

AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

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Music

Ruskin musicians have been very busy during December,

taking part in a number of Christmas performances.

On Tuesday 6th December, the Lions

Youth Brass performed at Christmas

Concert here at Ruskin. We were

extremely lucky to have such a well

established and musically talented

group of young people perform here.

Within the concert, some of our Year

11 students also performed. Archie

Whiston, Alisha Parker, Patrycja

Burczak and Lara Tagg all performed

superbly at the event and it was an

enjoyable evening for all involved.

Ruskin students were invited to perform at the Christmas Carol Concert at St Stephen’s Church on

Thursday 8th December. The concert was a community event, which included a dramatic reading from the

local Girl Guides. The Ruskin Singing Group performed ‘Let it Snow’ with much enthusiasm and our Year

11 students, Alisha Parker, Lara Tagg and Archie Whiston also performed brilliantly at the event.

On Wednesday 14th December, Ruskin held its annual Christmas Concert. The concert had a variety of

different instrumental and vocal performances and over forty Ruskin students took part. For many

students and groups, it was the first time they had performed at Ruskin. This included the new Ruskin

Percussion Group, who gave their debut performance on the blue bins, Matthew Huang and Molly

Fletcher in Year 7, Erin Wakefield in Year 8 and many of the Year 7 students in the Year 7 Choir and

Singing Group. The performances throughout the evening were excellent and it was fantastic to see

students from all year groups working together to create such a brilliant selection of musical performances.

A huge well done to all students involved and many thanks to all members of staff who helped out on the

evening.

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AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

Motivational Speaker—Hannah Kennedy Jackson

Aim for Success Year 11 Mentoring Programme— Each year 11 has a mentor who will support

them throughout the year.

The mentoring sessions are held once or twice each term. Staff and students meet for tea/coffee and cake followed by the mentoring session - staff may see students in between the timetabled sessions when necessary.

Key Objectives:

Raise standard of performance

Raise self-esteem and aspirations

Raise motivation

Look at revision methods and revision planning

Develop time management and organisational skills

Identify barriers to learning and help find solutions.

Resources:

Students have been given free revision resources to aid study, these include flash cards, coloured pens, highlighters.

Ruskin welcomed Hannah-Kennedy Jackson

from ABC Success into school to inspire and

motivate students in Y10 and Y11.

Hannah is a young woman who has had an

exceptionally challenging background, she

talks about her childhood and her teenage

years in school and the positive effect

school staff had on her life.

“Best speaker we’ve had in school” “It made me realise that

anyone can achieve. It doesn’t matter about your past” “If Hannah can do

it then so can I”

It made me realise how lucky we are to have a generous school that provides us with so much extra help”

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Raising Funds For Charity This Term

Ruskin High students and their parents are always generous with their charity efforts and this term has

been no exception.

Everyone at Ruskin Community High School pulled together to support the October Harvest Festival

where all the food collected was given St Paul’s Pantry, Christian Concern to help those who need

to access local food banks. We collected 308.96 kgs of food that is equivalent to 48.65 stones. A

very big thank you to all who gave generously.

At the very end of this Autumn term we have many more charity events planned including the

delivery of the Salvation Army Advent Collection and Christmas Jumper Day in aid of Save the

Children.

Ruskin High students helped to raise £236 for Macmillan Cancer Charity and £478 for the Leighton

Hospital Macmillan.

We raised £181 for the Children-in-Need Appeal .

The School completed the Mannequin Challenge to support The Lucas Carter Fund.

We raised £117.

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On Wednesday 14th December, the school

opened its doors to guests to take part in

a small service to remember those who

we have loved and lost. The school is

developing a Remembrance garden,

where students can sit for quiet reflection.

Students have been helping by planting

spring bulbs in planters. The trees and

area were decorated with lights and our

guest Reverend Jennifer, led readings,

prayers and a moment of silence.

Afterwards, guests were invited to take a

star and write a note to a loved one. The

stars were placed on the board within the

main hall for all to see.

Ruskin Remembers

AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

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Here at Ruskin, we are committed to ensuring that all students achieve their true potential regardless of ability, age or background. Our school has high expectations, effective learning and teaching, traditional standards and strong pastoral care. For all these reasons we are an extremely popular choice with parents and we also enjoy a positive reputation within the community.

We are pleased to announce that 2G have sponsored our whole school football team kits. 2G joined our Year 10 team recently for the launch of the kit. Robin Chadwick and Angus Perry from 2G joined Sarah Durose, Business Manager at Ruskin for their first game of the season. A big thank you from the students and staff at Ruskin; the kit looks very smart.

2G is a leading manufacturer and

supplier of cogeneration plants

(CHP) operating worldwide. “We are

delighted to support the Ruskin

Football Team, by sponsoring the

school football kits. Good luck to the

teams for the season ahead”.

Robin Chadwick, Managing Director

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AUTUMN 2016 NEWSLETTER

Ruskin School Association

The RSA is a well-established group of friends and parents

whose primary aim is to support the school

The group organises a small number of events in a friendly and welcoming

environment

The Bingo nights are very popular and we

raised £288

Thank you to our sponsors for the

event: Barratt’s Coaches, Gerrards Private Hire,

Reed Specialist Recruitment and Simply Education

The group not only organises fundraising

events, but helps out at school events

too, like serving refreshments at concerts.

Monies raised support the school and

recent donations have been made to the

library for books and to the drama

department for lights

So if you want to make new friends, gain

new skills or experience, or just want to

come and have some fun, you will be

very welcome!

New members are always

welcome, so if you feel you

are able to help, please call

Mrs Margo Veitch on

01270 560514

Make 2017 the year you make a positive

difference to our school community!

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Parent Pay

ParentPay is an online payment system for schools, which allows you to simply top-up your ParentPay

account online by debit or credit card. It’s simple, safe, convenient and your child no longer needs to

carry cash into school. It allows parents to pay quickly and securely for:

School Meals

Trips and Activities

Music Lessons

You can also get important communications by SMS or email. You simply top-up your Parent Pay

account online by debit or credit card. It is easy to set up by visiting ParentPay.

To activate your account you will receive an activation letter from the school with your username and

password.

Go to www.parentpay.com

Select ‘Login’.

Enter username and password.

Select ‘Activate’.

If you required further assistance please contact the school office: 01270 560514

A reminder to Parents:

Please, use Insight to track your son/daughters attendance,

attainment, behaviour and homework.

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Hiring our Facilities

If you are looking for some excellent training facilities or

considering holding a birthday party, sports event or get

together, Ruskin Community High School has versatile

facilities to hire at very competitive prices, starting from

£12/hour. Please contact our office on 01270 560514 or

email enquiries@ruskin.cheshire.sch.uk

to check availability.

Facilities available to hire:

Sports Field

Astro Turf (note: no blades or studs allowed)

Indoor & Outside Netball Courts

Dining Hall

Sports Hall

School Hall

Class Rooms

Our Facilities are open for hire between the following

times:

Monday to Thursday (excluding bank holidays)

6.00pm - 9.00pm

Friday (excluding Good Friday) 5.30pm - 7.00pm

Sunday 9.00am - 2.00pm

Autumn 2016 NEWSLETTER

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Find us on Facebook. Don’t forget

A reminder to parents and carers that direct contact with the

Headteacher can be made using the following email address:

brette@ruskin.cheshire.sch.uk

Get in touch.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Got a question, a great fund-raising

idea, or just need to speak to a member

of staff - contact using one of the ways

below.

Address: Ruskin Community High School, Ruskin Road,

Crewe, Cheshire CW2 7JT

Tele: 01270 560514

Email: enquiries@ruskin.cheshire.sch.uk

@RuskinHigh

Ruskin Community High School

JANUARY 2017

FEBRUARY 2017

MARCH 2017

Please note, dates can be subject to change

School closes for Easter

on Friday 31st March,

reopening on Tuesday

18th April

School closes for half-

term holiday on Friday

17th February, re-opening

on Monday 27th February

School re-opens on Monday

9th January 2017

HOMEWORK CLUB

Library: Tuesday to Friday 3.15pm - 4.00pm

An open invitation to all students who would like to complete homework in school. Support available from the intervention team.

A quiet working space, computers and printers, paper, pens etc are all available to students.

REVISION CAFÉ

In the weeks prior to and throughout mock exams we trailed the new Revision Café initiative. The Library opened at 8am every morning and Y11 students were provided with hot drinks, breakfast bars and fruit, all free of charge, whilst they revised. The session was supported by the intervention team and teaching staff who dropped in to answer questions and give exam advice. The Café was a real success and there are plans to re-open in the New Year.

COMPULSORY LESSON 6 - MISSED HOMEWORK

Homework is rigorously tracked each week. Those students who are regularly missing homework will, with parents’ consent, attend compulsory sessions (Wednesday and Thursday) after school where they will be supported with their homework and coursework - this lasts for a 4 week period. The intervention team work to help improve both the quality of homework and organisational skills.