A further two popular and competitive inter-primary quizzes; ‘Excited for English’ and ‘Crazy for Science’ were held at Mount Carmel High School following on from the ‘Mad 4 Maths’ and ‘Computing Challenge’ quizzes held in the Autumn term.The Excited for English quiz was this year won by a team of Year 5 and 6 pupils from St. Oswald’s R.C. Primary School. The annual quiz is organised by Mount Carmel and hosted by the English department. The St. Oswald’s team fought off competition from another 7 primary school teams to win the title. The rounds included a compre-hension based crossword, an interactive quiz to solve clues located in the school library and build up a jigsaw puzzle image and a final, tense spelling bee quiz.A team from St. Nicholas’ Primary came in second place and in third place jointly were Green Haworth and Sacred Heart teams.

The Crazy for Science quiz also took place in 3 of Mount Carmel’s science laboratories during the same evening hosted by Mount Carmel science staff. Nine teams of pupils took part in a biology/physics/chemistry quiz, a practical round building compounds using model kits and a general science knowledge round.Mount Carmel pupils assisted and were ambassadors for the school during the course of the evening.The Crazy for Science winners were Hippings Methodist primary with a team from St. Anne’s & St. Joseph’s coming in second place. Sacred Heart and St. Nicholas’ came in joint third place.

LIP SYNC BATTLEMount Carmel staff performed in front of packed audiences in the school hall each lunchtime throughout the week before half term to help raise money towards the Year 11 leavers prom.

Heats of a ‘Lip Sync Battle’ saw staff miming, dancing and impersonating a range of singers culminating in a final of five performances at the end of the week. Year 10 and 11 pupils were backing dancers for some of the performances and they also acted as judges making the final decision after the audience vote was undecided. Mr Ellerton who had performed songs from the School of Rock and Money Supermarket was voted the winner.

Over £500 was raised during the week.

A big ‘Thank You’ goes to English teachers Miss Hurlstone and Miss Ahmed for organising the event and ‘persuading’ staff to get involved.

Exam PREPARATIONMount Carmel have arranged a range of events and initiatives to help teachers, pupils and parents work together to ensure the best outcomes for all Year 11 pupils in the Summer. Pupils received their Mock exam results during an assembly in February. After opening their results, just as they will in August, each student had a 1:1 or small group conversation with their mentor and/or form tutor to formulate an action plan.On the same evening a Parents’ Guidance Evening was arranged to provide advice and guidance for parents in supporting their sons and daughters with their revision. All parents in attendance received a personalised revision plan and resources for their son/daughter and parents also experienced practical workshops focusing on general revision strategies and more specifically, revision in Maths and English. During the February half term holiday the school also offered a range of revision classes and booster sessions. A Raising Achievement Conference took place at the school during an INSET training day. The conference was led by Steve Head, one of the most sought after speakers in the UK. Steve is an inspirational trainer, coach and author with 16 years’ experience in business management, leadership and training and 20+ years’ experience as a top sports coach. Steve’s dynamic and interactive session focussed on practical ideas to help students and teachers make a difference, no matter how small, develop self-awareness about where they are and where they need to be and also to identify practical strategies to build resilience. This was a great opportunity for Year 11 pupils and their teachers to learn together how small changes in approach and attitude can bring about great changes in outcomes, both in the upcoming exams and in life.

at Mount Carmel

FamilyFun Day

Mount Carmel was delighted to work with the Accrington Lions and host their Family Fun Day in aid of World Down Syndrome Day. Using the school for the event meant it could be increased in scale from previous years providing over 60 stalls and activities, indoor and outdoors. The school’s Parent Teacher and Friends Association worked hard throughout the day serving hot food, homemade cakes, snacks and drinks. There was a friendly atmosphere to the event and it was good to see so many people supporting this worthwhile cause. The dreadful weather didn’t keep people away with hundreds attending.

The market type stalls offered a range of fancy goods, craft items, activities and food. Entertainment from singers and dance groups performed on the stage throughout the event along with sponsored leg waxing and head shaving. Hyndburn Mayor Tim O’Kane, Carnival Queen Bethany Donohue and princess Ellie Walsh attended the event.

Special guests were Hollyoaks and Coronation Street stars Eva Lorente who plays Minnie Blake on Hollyoaks and her on-screen mum Nikki Sanderson. Brooke Malonie, who plays Lily Platt on Coronation Street was also at the event. The fun day was co-organised by Caz Moreton of the Accrington Lions, who is Eva’s great-aunt and main chaperone for when she films on Hollyoaks.

The school also held an Odd Socks Day on Tuesday 21st March which is World Down Syndrome Day requesting donations towards this good cause. In total more than £2,000 was raised. With the funds the Lions are aiming to buy enough copies of the children’s book ‘My Friend Has Down’s Syndrome’ for every primary school in Hyndburn.

Photographs above and below courtesy of Gary Britland

Pictured above are Accrington Lions President Gary Gaynor, Hyndburn Mayor Tim O’Kane and Accrington Carnival Queen Bethany Donohue.

Mount Carmel Year 10 pupils Abby, Chelsea, Maksym and Bayleigh took part in a Inter school Apprenticeship Bake Off and Design Competition organised by NLTG. The theme was the Mad Hatters tea party and our team created a wonderful display of food based on this theme.

Mount Carmel came in an impressive second place in their heat. All the food was created without recipes, relying on memory during preparatory lessons. The judges said their macaroons were the best they had tasted that day! The team also made wooden cake stands to display their food.

Thanks to all at North Lancs Training Group for the organisation of this event.

DESIGNBAKE OFF &

QUIZZESInter-primary

Around 70 parents/grandparents/primary school staff came along to support the 70 primary pupils and had the opportunity to enter a parents’ prize quiz and raffle. Refreshments were served during the interval by Mount Carmel Parent Teacher Association.

A performance of ‘Macbeth’ took place on our school stage for Year 11 pupils. This is a set text for their GCSE English examinations this Summer and it was also invaluable for those pupils studying Drama.After the performance Adam, Cat, Nathan and Gavin from Manchester Actors Company held a question and answer session speaking about the plot, influences and character relationships. They also gave personal insights into their favourite scenes and most embarrasing moments on stage!A live performance of ‘Jeckyll & Hyde’ also took place for Year 11 pupils during the Spring term.

MACBETH

We had lots of fantastic entries for our World Book Day Competitions in the LRC. Designs for a book cover, word search and colouring competitions were submitted to mark the 20th anniversary of the day and £1 book vouchers were handed out.

School librarians Mrs Ashworth and Mrs Jones had a very hard time choosing the winners from the mountain of colourful entries. Lucky winners were awarded a book, chocolate and a certificate.

Mount Carmel hosted an Inter-primary 6-a-side football

tournament with schools from

the Church and Oswaldtwistle

cluster participating.

The football tournament was competed by 6 teams from Sacred Heart, West End, St. Paul’s, Moor End, Belthorn and St. Mary Magdalen’s and was refereed by Mount Carmel sports leaders Lenni, Aaron, Rio and Aspen.

Winners of the tournament were Belthorn with Moor End in 2nd place and St. Paul’s and Sacred Heart in joint 3rd place.

FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTInter-primary

www.mountcarmelhigh.co.ukWordsworth Road, Accrington BB5 0LU Tel: 01254 233458

R.C. HIGH SCHOOL

/MountCarmelHigh

Our school is at the heart of the Catholic Community. We are also here for all families who share our values and beliefs.

R.C. HIGH SCHOOLA family of faith & learning

inside this issue .....News May 2017

A message to Year 6 pupils

who have been offered a

place at Mount Carmel

“

”

We are really pleased to hear that you will be one of our new Year 7

pupils and look forward to seeing you in September.

In the months before then we provide lots of opportunities for you and your parents/carers to visit Mount Carmel

and be given all the information you need to know about your new school. Dates for these important events and

visits are shown to the right so please make a note of them on the family calendar to ensure you don’t miss them.

You will be busy at your primary school over the next couple of months but our Year 7 Pastoral Leader Mrs Lowe

will be visiting you at your primary school in the Summer term.

Quite simply if you arrive every day on time, ready to learn, work hard, behave yourself, respect others and the

environment you will make good progress and be happy at Mount Carmel.

Please read about the many and varied activities that take place at Mount Carmel in this newsletter and ask

your parents to follow and share with you the news, activities and events that take place at our school on our

website and social media sites so you begin to feel part of our ‘family of faith and learning’.

Mr Bowers, Headteacher/MountCarmelHigh

www.mountcarmelhigh.co.uk

As Pastoral Leader I look after you whilst you are in Year 7. Along with the assistant pastoral leader, your form tutor and all the other staff in school we make sure you settle into Mount Carmel as quickly as possible. We expect you to work hard and attend school every day but most of all we want you to be happy, make extra friends and try out new activities.

“

Mrs LoweYear 7Pastoral Leader

”MRS LOWE

Mrs McNallyYear 7 AssistantPastoral Leader

Welcome message to future Year 7’s

Kick-boxing Commonwealth champion

Boxing North West Region champion

Inter-primary Crazy for Science quiz

Senior Prefect team 2017-18

Inter-primary Excited for English quiz

Flame Wembley Youth concert

World Book Day

Family Fun Day

Macbeth performance

Bake Off and Design at NLTG

Teacher Lip Sync Battle

Exam preparation

Stations of the Cross

Spain football trip

.... and much more!

STEP UP DAY - THURSDAY 6th JULY

INFORMATION EVENING FOR

PARENTS AND PUPILS - 7pm THURSDAY 6th JULY

KEY DATES & EVENTS

FIRST DAY AT MOUNT CARMEL -

WEDNESDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER

8.50am - Don’t be late!

Weds6th

SEP2016

YOUR FIRST DAY

Read more

inside

FlameFOOTBALL INMount Carmel’s newly appointed Deputy Head Girl Keely Battrick has added another championship kickboxing belt to her large collection which already includes four English and four British titles by winning the Full Contact Kickboxing Commonwealth title.Keely who is in Year 10 beat the previously undefeated Sonnie Stewart over five rounds in Birmingham during the Easter school break.She knocked down her opponent with an axe kick in the first round and then in the third round knocked her down with a straight right. Keely commented how Sonnie was a tough opponent but in the last round a spinning back kick to the head sealed the unanimous points win. Keely fights with the Fit to Fight Club in Accrington and has a fight record of 66 wins and is recognised as one of the best Full Contact fighters in the country.Keely now hopes to have a go at the World title. Good Luck Keely!

Mr Low, P.E. teacher and trip organiser commented “All were very competitive games. Mount Carmel did themselves proud against the Spanish opposition on their home turf. The teams played six matches over two days winning one, holding two draws and losing three. These were excellent results.”A visit to Barcelona’s football stadium Camp Nou was also on the itinerary with down time activities including mini golf, 10 pin bowling and time on the beach.Year 8 Manager Mr Cottam commented “The lads have grown in confidence and have turned from boys to men during this visit.” Summarising the Year 9 team performance manager Mr Low said “I am so proud of the boys who despite playing some intense end to end games kept their heads up and with some sublime skill scored some tremendous goals.”English teacher and Year 10 team manager Mr Neill said “I couldn’t have asked for much more from the lads. They produced a tremendous performance against some talented Spanish teams. It’s been a pleasure managing this team and I am proud of every single one of them.”Awards were presented to the players in each team.Mr Low summarised “It has been a fantastic tour to Spain and everyone involved has loved it! The staff are absolutely delighted with the attitude and behaviour of all the pupils, they have been a credit to themselves, their families and we were very proud to have them represent Mount Carmel R.C. High School.”

Thirty nine pupils travelled to Lloret-de-Mar, Costa Brava in Spain over the Easter break to participate in football matches and training sessions against teams from the area. Fixtures included teams from EF Viladecavalls and CF La Torreta, both based in Barcelona.

Year 7 pupil Thomas Varey is the North West England Boxing Champion for his age/weight group. Thomas has potential to go far as he has only been boxing for a couple of years. He trains 3 or 4 times a week at Sharpstyle Boxing Club in Blackpool and won the title after a unanimous decision by the judges during a fight lasting 3 rounds in Manchester. Thomas is also an integral part of the Year 7 football team, playing in mid-field as well as playing in the U12 Huncoat United team.We wish Thomas Good Luck as he now hopes to fight for the British title in Birmingham!

Mount Carmel were once again involved in the Accrington Knights of St. Columba Inter-denominational Easter prayer programme along with pupils from St. Christopher’s High School. On Good Friday our Senior Prefects read stations of the cross prayers along the path of the Coppice to a cross that had been erected on the summit.Around 70 people attended this event on an extremely wet April day. Mount Carmel Head teacher Mr Bowers commented “The weather was shocking but it did not dampen the spirits of good hearted Hyndburn Christians. Many thanks to the Knights of St. Columba for organising this long- standing tradition and to Fr. Howard from St. Anne’s Parish for his support.”At the summit all the pupil readers gathered together around the cross for a final hymn.

WEMBLEY CONCERTThere was great sadness as we heard of the sudden death of a much loved and respected ex-colleague at Mount Carmel, Mr Frank Meehan. Frank was Head of Religious Education from September 2009 until August 2015. He was an inspirational teacher and leader who was much liked and respected by pupils, parents and staff. Frank was a larger than life character in school and had a fantastic sense of humour. His knowledge of scripture and the teachings of the Catholic Church was vast but he had a way of explaining things to staff and pupils in a simple way that all of us could understand and relate to. He regularly planned and led moving liturgies and school Masses. He was very proud to organise Mass when Bishop Brain officially opened our school chapel.Frank leaves a devoted wife and 7 children. Rest in Peace Frank you will be greatly missed.

Pictured above are Mount Carmel Assistant Headteacher Mr Hill and Deputy Headteacher Mr Marston-Yim with St. Oswald’s R.C. Primary Headteacher Mrs Kippax. They recently completed their one year Catholic Leadership Training Programme and attended a graduation Mass at Salford Cathedral along with 80 other teachers from 5 regional Dioceses. Bishop John Arnold presented them with their certificates.

Mount Carmel G.I.F.T. (Growing in Faith Together) team attended ‘Flame’, an annual youth concert held in Wembley Arena organised by the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation with Mount Carmel Lay Chaplain Alana Murphy and Deputy Headteacher Mr Marston-Yim. They set off very early on a Saturday morning to meet with other pupils from Salford Diocese schools. All pupils and staff then travelled to London together on a coach.The theme for 2017 was ‘10,000 reasons’ and was attended by ten thousand young people from across the UK, some even came from Norway. During the course of the afternoon event at Wembley Arena, speakers, activities, singers, drama performances, a liturgy and a celebration took place.At the side of the stage were two boats that had brought refugees to an island named Lampedusa which is off the coast of Italy.

A liturgy at the end of the day was led by Cardinal Vincent Nicols who read a letter from Pope Francis. The pupils who attended commented “It was an inspirational day as all the different speakers explained how they helped refugees. This inspired us to help too. It was a joyful day, although very long and

tiring.” One also said “It was good to see how there are so many similarities across religions and ethnic groups. We are all the same and should help each other whenever it is needed.”

MR FRANK MEEHAN R.I.P. COMMONWEALTH CHAMPION

NORTH WEST BOXING CHAMP

Spain

DOFE AWARD

Pictured here are pupils on their practice DofE expedition in the Ribble Valley.Thanks to our PTFA for their generous donation enabling us to purchase cooking stoves for them.

Forty Year 9 and 10 pupils are currently taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award scheme with Mount Carmel staff who are qualified leaders.This 12 month scheme includes volunteering, skills and physical challenge elements as well as the two day expedition and overnight camp. Training sessions have included first aid, care of tent and camping equipment, packing kits and map reading skills.The group will do their final assessed expedition later in May.

SENIOR PREFECT TEAM 2017-18Congratulations to Joe Allen and Hannah O’Boyle who are Mount Carmel’s newly appointed Head Boy and Head Girl.Deputy Head Boys: Jamal Ali and Antonio Lo-GiudiceDeputy Head Girls: Keely Battrick and Zariyah HussainSenior Prefects: Ariba Ahmed, Paddy Dean, Ella Gettins, Sidra Nasar, Josh Pickles and Bartek Wojda.Well done to all of you and a massive thank you to the retiring senior prefect team who have done a brilliant job representing our school over the last 12 months. At the Easter break we

said farewell to Mr Peter Stokes, one of our site managers, who retired after 20 years service at Mount Carmel. Peter has a lifelong association with the school as he attended Holy Family Secondary School (which became Mount Carmel) and his children also attended Mount Carmel.We wish him a long, healthy and happy retirement.