USH Newsletters

• World Book Day at USH, #WorldBookDay20

  World Book Day, on Thursday 2nd March, was marked here at USH with a series of events and competitions throughout the school, to celebrate our love of books and reading. 

  Every student in Years 7 to 9 was given a book token which they could exchange for one of the specially written World Book Day books. The Library was turned into a Book Stall for the day, and each class visited to choose their books. As you can see from the photos, this was a huge success, and some students even started reading their books before they’d even left the Library! I am extremely grateful to two local independent bookshops for providing the books: P&G Wells in Winchester and October Books in Portswood.

  There were various book-related competitions going on around school throughout the week. These included a “Design A Book Cover” competition, for which we received some stunning entries. Some of the best designs are shown. Amy Chivers, Sian Chungh, Elouise Davies, Ami Nicholls and Lydia Nutting each received a £10 book token.

  Students also took part in a treasure hunt to discover the favourite book characters of fifteen members of staff. Ananya Nawarkhele, Kindah Aldhehayan and Joyce Elumir managed to track down all participating staff and find out their favourite book character, and they shared a chocolate prize.

  The “Guess Who’s Reading” photo quiz in the Library challenged students to identify the members of staff hiding behind their books. All that could be seen of the staff were the tops of their heads, so this was much more tricky that it sounds. Adam Hodges, Amy Oliver, Ajay Sahota and Pip Watkins were each the lucky winners of an Easter Egg.

  Finally, we produced an amazing book tree, featuring a leaf for each student on which they’d written the title and author of their favourite book. Not only does this make a beautiful display, but it also provides students with reading recommendations based on what books their peers have read and enjoyed.

  Rosina Mount

  Senior Librarian

  
  

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• UKMT Maths Challenge

  On 2nd February our talented Mathematicians from Year 10s and 9s participated in this year’s UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge. The challenge involved answering 25 multiple choice questions in one hour and was sat in school under normal exam conditions. Nationally, the top 40% were awarded a gold: silver: bronze certificate in the ratio of 1:2:3. 

  Our highest achievers are:

  Thomas Gilbert – Best in the Year 9, Best in the School, Gold Certificate

  Henry Rowden – Best in the Year 10, Silver Certificate

  Jude Caroll, Michael Dela Fuente, Ben Naylor, Sam May, Harry Price – Silver Certificate

  Ben Baker, Ethan Munday, Andrew Carr, Amrit Chahal, Josh Batt, Lydia Nutting, Callum Matthews, Harry Fay, Thomas Davis, Benny O’Farrell, Sam Mackenzie, Toby Hale, Alan Pope – Bronze Certificate

  Around 500 of the highest scorers in each school year are invited to take part in the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad papers: Cayley, Hamilton and Maclaurin for Year 9, 10 and 11 and equivalent. A further 5,500 pupils from across all three year groups are invited to sit either the grey or pink European Kangaroo papers. These are one-hour papers with 25 multiple choice questions, taken by pupils from over 30 countries worldwide.

  I am pleased to announce that Thomas Gilbert qualified to the second round of the challenge and sat Grey Kangaroo paper last Thursday. I will keep you informed how Thomas has done.

  Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the events, especially to the highest achievers.  

  I am looking forward to Junior UKMT Mathematical Challenge for Year 7s and 8s, which will take place on 27th April 2017.

  The UK Mathematics Trust is a registered charity whose aim is to advance the education of children and young people in Mathematics. It organises national mathematics competitions and other mathematical enrichment activities for UK secondary school pupils. Further information about the Trust and its activities is available at www.ukmt.org.uk

  Miss Adamou

  
  

• British Science Week at USH

  Year 9 British visit Richard Taunton College for British Science Week

  Students in Year 9 had a great time visiting Richard Taunton College on Friday 10th of March as part of British Science Week.

  They took part in Science demonstrations with contributors from Winchester Science centre, Life Lab and Southampton Solent University.

  To end the morning students were treated to a show from a team of eminent scientists from the University of Southampton, who took them on a journey inside the atom, and around the Large Hadron Collider all from the safety of their seats!

  Year 7 and 8 Big Demo Day

  As part of British Science Week students in Years 7 & 8 took part in the ‘Big Demo day’ Students got to experience a range of exciting and interesting demonstrations led by the science team and were then asked to create a poster all about the changes they had seen.
  

• University of Southampton Year 10 Challenge - Infectious Diseases

  Ten schools took part in the challenge and we would like to congratulate the USH team who came 2nd!  The judges said the presentation was well thought out and well structured.  It was creative, with great use of visual aids and they were particularly impressed with the quality of the content and in-depth knowledge shown by our students.

  The team worked well together, showing great research and presentation skills.  A fantastic effort, well done to those involved:

  Charlotte Browne, Toby Budd, Jude Carroll, Mogran Davies, Abigail Goldstraw, Lucy Harman, Lily-May Kershaw, Leon Longhurst, Jacob Marsh, Callum Matthews, Sam May, Ben Naylor, Harrison Pitts, Saffron Sandhu and Alfred Stone.

  Mrs Anderson

  

• Year 7 Netball Success

  We are half way through the netball season for Year 7 and they are currently top of the league.  Well done girls and keep up the good work!

  Miss Wright-Davies

  

• Year 7 Trips

  Camping Trip

  Over 80 students have shown an interest in going on the Year 7 Camping Trip.  We intend to take them out on 17th and 18th July 2017.  We are awaiting confirmation of the final cost and should have this information for you in the next two weeks.  We will be in contact via email shortly.

  Paris Trip

  A letter has been given to all students who have paid their deposit for the Paris Trip with details of the final cost, how to pay and information about passports.  If you have not received this letter, please send your son/daughter to see me or you can email me.  We will be in contact about this trip via email shortly.

  Mr Perry
  Martin.Perry@ushschool.org

• PTFA Fashion Show

  Come and join us for an entertaining evening of fashion, fun and fundraising organised by USH PTFA.  Starring some familiar faces from the Infant & Junior School teachers, the Fashion Show will be held on Friday 31st March. Doors open at 6:30pm for pre-show drinks, with the show starting at 7:30pm. 

  The show itself will last between 45 and 60 minutes,  During this time Travelling Trends will showcase a vast selection of garments from their current range. The collections come from high street brands such as Top Shop, Per Una etc and always follow the seasons and there will be a mixture of classic and fashionable lines to suit ladies of all ages, shapes and most sizes.

  After the show you are free to browse through the rails, purchase drinks from the bar and try garments on.  All budgets will be catered for with prices between 30% and 50% off RRP as standard with even greater discounts on selected lines, there will be plenty of bargains to be had.

  TICKETS ON SALE NOW, SO CALL UP YOUR FRIENDS AND ORGANISE YOUR NEXT GIRLIE NIGHT FOR FRIDAY 31ST MARCH!

  Future PTFA Events

  Charity Auction - Friday 7th July 2017

  Car Boot Sale - Saturday 14th October 2017

  
  

  

• Parent Survey – Tell Us What You Think

  Over the next few weeks USH will be carrying out a survey of parents, students and staff to gather your views on a range of areas. We know your time is precious so the online survey will only take about 10 minutes to complete and will really help to shape USH in the future. 

  Details will be sent to you via Parent Mail w.c. 20th March.

  If you have any queries regarding the survey or would prefer a paper copy to complete please contact Mrs Mawby at sam.mawby@ushschool.org or 02380 325333.

  
  

  

• Our School Uniform

  Back in July, I wrote to parents regarding our school uniform, with a particular focus upon ensuring students are wearing the correct shoes. 95% of our students come in looking incredibly smart, wearing their uniform with pride. However, in the past weeks, more students are starting to wear converse style shoes or black trainers. If the students have no medical reason for this, they are not permitted to do so and therefore, from next week, if these shoes are worn, they will be confiscated. Students will be able to borrow appropriate school shoes if they do not have them with them, and can collect their shoes at the end of the day. 

  Your support to ensure they have the correct footwear is hugely appreciated. If you have any questions regarding our uniform policy, please follow the link below or contact your don or daughter’s tutor.

  http://uppershirleyhigh.org/uniform

  Many Thanks

  Mrs Floyd

  Deputy Head

  
  

• Farewell message from Miss Fox

  I want to take this opportunity to thank all the staff and students at Upper Shirley High.  It truly is an amazing place to work and making the decision to leave was very difficult.  But I have the opportunity to move on to a new role and a new challenge at Sarum Academy.  I will miss everyone and wish you all the very best, especially the Year 11s during their exams.

  Miss Fox