Autumn Concert

Well done to all the students who performed in the recent Autumn Concert.

Wonderful performances all round!


Frantic Drama Workshop

Year 10 Drama students took part in a Frantic Assembly workshop today where they were put through their paces, learning a number of physical skills to assist in their upcoming devising exam. The students worked in pairs to create movement that involved connecting one hand and allowing your partner to guide you around the space. They then devised a sequence using round, by, shift and this was workshopped in to developing a story and potential relationships. Students were focused and pushed completely out of their comfort zones and I was so impressed with how they engaged with the tasks. I cant wait to see the impact this has on the physical aspects of their devised work next term.


Year 10 football team

Congratulations to the Year 10 football team who won 7-1 against Haileybury Longford, in the first round of the County Cup 2022.

24-31 October 2022 – PSFA Virtual Halloween Balloon Race

The prizes to be won;
1st prize - £60, 2nd prize - £25, 3rd prize - £15
For those unfamiliar with the concept, a virtual balloon race works in the same way as a helium balloon race but the balloons fly around their own virtual world rather than in the atmosphere, making it much more environmentally friendly.

Each balloon costs £3. Please go to https://www.balloonrace.net/BirchwoodPSFA

On Monday 24 October 2022 at midday, the balloons will be released to float around their virtual world using a specially designed algorithm, which ensures a random pattern, with no clear leader emerging. Every hour each balloon travels between 1km and 20km. You can follow your balloon throughout the race and see where you are on the race leader board.
At the end of the race at 6pm on Monday 31 October 2022, the three balloons which have travelled the furthest win cash prizes.
You can buy as many balloons as you like, for friends as well as family. Entry for the balloon race is open to everyone so please share these details.


National Poetry Day

Birchwood celebrated National Poetry Day in style yesterday when hip-hop author, poet and rap artist BREIS visited the school. BREIS ran a series of fun and interactive sessions with students from
Years 8 & 9. Students looked at the correlation between rap lyrics, poetry and composed their own rap songs. Each session concluded with a performance of the student’s work.

Geography Fieldwork

Year 10 Geography students had fieldwork to do with two investigations: the physical investigation - what physical processes are happening along the Norfolk coast? And the human investigation - how important is Sheringham as an economic hub for the North Norfolk coast? We would use the trip to collect data and learn skills that would be used for our GCSE.
We arrived first in Happisburgh, a tiny hamlet 20 minutes away from Cromer, where unfortunately some spectacular coastal erosion is causing houses and the main road to slowly fall into the sea. First we collected data on the beach for our physical investigation. We did, as well as many other things, a wave frequency survey, measured the height from the sand to the top of the groynes as well as throwing an orange into the sea and then monitoring the distance and direction it travelled so we could see and measure the process of longshore drift.
After this we headed to Cromer, a small tourist town, to start our human investigation. The Norfolk weather again proved challenging and the strong wind guided us towards the welcoming arms of Costa.
While the Norfolk weather didn’t make our tasks easy, the trip was definitely memorable and we had lots of fun. After two years heavily interrupted by Covid with many trips being cancelled it was nice to finally get away from school!


Friday Favourites

Thank you to Mr Kadlec and his Cafe team for serving some Friday Favourites including a BBQ this half term.


Apprentice Challenge

Year 12 Level 3 Business Extended Certificate students went head to head to complete the Apprentice Challenge.

One team was known as ‘The BTECers’ ran a sweet stall. Their challenge was to make as much profit as possible. They made a whopping £150 profit. Well done to everyone involved and thank you to the students for taking part.

 


Nicky Morris Athletics Competition

Gold medallists from Nicky Morris Athletics Competition


Cheque Presentation for House

This year has been a huge success for the House System as we have managed to raise a total of £12254.89 which is over double our record highest in the previous 10 years!
This money has been raised from events such as the Colour Run, non- uniform days, sponge a teacher activities and lots more!
Thank you to everybody who has helped to contribute towards this total. The charities that the money has gone towards were all very grateful!