School Noticeboard 29th April 2017

Royal Society of Arts Mentor Visit for the RSA Design Awards 2017
Year 10 Drama students had a productive and enjoyable visit from the London based Royal Society of Arts this week in their preparation for a Theatre-in-Education performance based around well being and mental health issues facing young people. The group have conducted some initial research and are now in the process of preparing a digital resource for young people and teachers. The guests provided useful advice and considerations in the preparation for completing the RSA Design Award submission and an insightful question and answer session took place. The visit also featured advice and guidance from a previous RSA finalist. Well done to everyone who took part in the session. We look forward to seeing the final resource created.

CAT Dance Scheme Offer at FPHS
A ‘Dance Manchester’ professional artist came along to visit our Dance students this week in order to extend an offer for further training to students and provide a further taster of contemporary dance around a theme currently being explored in the CAT Dance sessions. The physically demanding session gave students the opportunity to work with new students  and ask questions about the opportunities afforded in the region at present. Those students who are interested in pursuing the sessions and opportunities further should initially speak to Ms Wystawnoha. Well done to all those who took part in the workshop as our visitor left us very impressed by our dedication and commitment to the practical work that took place.

‘Tinkology’ Sessions at FPHS
Ms Woodhead, Mr Ahmed and Mr Jundi led a new session in our ‘Tinkology’ scheme on Tuesday evening after school this week as they prepared a series of propelled vehicles for a future ‘Grand Prix’ event they are planning on staging. Learners considered design in relation to aerodynamics, friction and materials and spent some time realising their designs. It is hoped that the next few sessions will lead to a high stakes, exciting, showdown between the constructed vehicles. We are all keen to see which design is fastest and which travels furthest! For further details about the ‘Tinkology’ scheme and how you might get involved, speak to one of the staff. Well done to everyone who took part in an enjoyable session this week.

Digital Designer in Residence Project with Geography and Art
On a recent visit to the Art Faculty at Manchester Metropolitan University , the Year 8 students involved in the Digital Designer in Residence project took part in a wood laser cutting workshop with the digital designer in residence, Jessica Lampit. They used their digitally created designs of waterfowl and these were made into wooden sculptures. This artwork will be displayed around school and as a virtual gallery on the Rochdale Rivers and canals trust website.

Foreign Spelling Bee Regional Competition
On Thursday 31st March 2017, three Year 7 students from Falinge Park High School went to Trinity Church of England High School in Manchester to participate in the Foreign Spelling Bee Regional Competition, along with students from other schools from the North West of England. Amna Hussain and Abdul Wahaab were competing for Spanish, and Syeda Jaheda Khatun for French.

The students were gathered in a classroom (one for Spanish and one for French) and were called one by one to the front of the class. They each then had one minute to translate a list of words from English into either Spanish or French, and spell them accurately using the Spanish or French alphabet.

Amna remembers being nervous before her turn came: “There were six students before me and I felt confident as I believed I could spell as well as them. Then it was my turn and I felt nervous, but I actually enjoyed doing it”.

Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the final round, but all three pupils say that participating in the Spelling Bee Competition was a great experience, where they learnt one hundred words in Spanish or French. They now say that they can remember some vocabulary better and it has helped them to improve their memorisation skills.