18th December 2012

Four of our Sports Ambassadors - Luke Macleod, Chloe Wicks, Harmony Brady and Ellen Talbot - together with Sports Ambassadors from other local secondary schools, recently took part in a day of activity at Freiston Educational Centre.

By the end of the day they had:

• - challenged themselves
• - encouraged others
• - become more effective communicators
• - learnt to trust others to guide them through a difficult situation
• - conquered fears
• - dealt with the unexpected
• - relied on other people
• - taken charge
• - learnt new skills
• - shared new experiences
• - built up a bond between group members
• - had fun!

Hopefully this will all help in their sports leadership work over the year. Many thanks to the staff at Freiston for running the day for us!

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10th December 2012

Although we were not competing, Boston High School recently hosted the U19 Netball Lincolnshire Schools Finals at short notice. Thanks to all concerned, in particular:

• - our caretaking staff for sweeping our courts to rid them of loose gravel and then on the day thanks to John for sweeping the water off them, twice!
• Jane Walsh for her help on the day.
• - all staff who umpired, in particular those who stayed on voluntarily after their own matches were finished to help out with umpiring the later tournament winning matches.
• - Jenny McGarel for all her preparation of the paperwork so that the tournament ran smoothly.
• - Nic Brennan for getting the medals and for her support.

Ten teams from across Lincolnshire had qualified for this event. The school teams which had progressed to the final were:

• Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Horncastle
• Kesteven Grantham Girls School
• The Priory LSST
• Bourne Grammar School
• The John Leggott College
• Spalding High School
• Stamford High School
• Queen Elizabeth’s Gainsborough
• Monk’s Dyke Tennyson College, Louth
• Brigg 6th Form

The match was played in two randomly drawn groups of five with the winners from each group playing the runners up from the other group.

This meant that one semi final consisted of:

Stamford High School (winners) v The John Leggott College

Score: Stamford won 17 to 10

The second semi-final was:

The Priory LSST (winners) v Spalding High School.  

Score: The Priory LSST won 15 to 6

The very exciting and closely fought final between Stamford and The Priory LSST was eventually won by The Priory LSST 15 goals to 14 after extra time.

In the match for 3rd place John Leggott College won Spalding High school 10 goals to 6

Priory LSST and Stamford now represent Lincolnshire at the East Midlands tournament in January – Good luck.

Well done everyone – the standard of play was superb and the whole tournament was played in such an excellent atmosphere of supportive friendliness.

22nd November 2012

I would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who has taken the time and care to create a shoe box this year, supporting Operation Christmas Child. We managed to produce a total of 120 boxes, beating last year's total! The boxes will go to a total of 15 different countries - including Haiti, Kenya and Belarus. The children of these countries will receive the shoe boxes near to Christmas time, and we hope that our efforts will mean they can also enjoy the festive spirit. Thank you again, everyone!
 

Rebecca Ryan
Charity Co-Ordinator
 

16th November 2012

Psychology students from Boston High School and Boston Grammar School attended a Psychology Conference entitled ‘Science and Pseudoscience’ at Nottingham Playhouse on Tuesday 13th November.

The conference got off to a great start with a session by Professor Phil Banyard, Reader in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University  ‘Won’t get fooled again’ in which he challenged students to be sceptical – every day we are bombarded with information but how can we tell the good stuff from the rubbish?  Is there any evidence at all that 5 portions of fruit and veg a day do us any good? Does listening to Mozart boost your brain?

Dr Peter Lovatt is a principal lecturer and Reader in Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, where he runs a Dance Psychology Lab.  He explained his current research which examines the relationship between dance and thinking, health, hormones and human perception.  Some of our students joined him on stage to show us their moves!

Gustav Kuhn not only demonstrated some of his magic to the audience but also explained how his passion for magic inspired him to study Psychology.  He is now a lecturer at Goldsmiths, London.

The finale was Andrew Newton’s talk about the development of hypnosis.  The lecture was fascinating and funny - especially as several of our students volunteered to participate in the on stage hypnosis demonstration! 

16th November 2012

On the 8th and 9th of October for another year, a group of year 10 geography students went to visit the beautiful village of Castleton. With attractions such as the remains of Peveril Castle, the adventurous watery caves as well as the green hilltops, it gave the students the perfect opportunity to think about their coursework question, ‘Why is Castleton a honeypot (a village that attracts visitors)?’ as they explored independently through the small village.

Whilst the teachers decided to have a sit down with a cup of tea, taking in the countryside on a surprisingly sunny day, the pupils where left to work their way through 6 activities that were carried out in the mornings and evening throughout the 2 weekdays; ensuring they have enough work that will benefit their Geography Controlled Assessment.

Though there was time spent researching through secondary and primary data the pupils would recommend the fantastic village to their friends and family in hope that “next time I come I wish I can be booklet free!”

Boston High Newsroom
J.G.

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16th November 2012

An Archery Taster Day was held earlier this term. It was mainly for Y8 pupils, however other students who wished to try archery also had the opportunity to participate. At lunch time it was open for staff to come and have a go too!

Each session lasted an hour and after a safety talk and demonstration students had several shots at the targets.

The day was a huge success, with sixty students signing up to express an interest in the 10 week archery continuation course, taking place on a Wednesday evening. Places for this were limited to the first sixteen applicants, however those students not lucky enough to get a place will have another opportunity later on in the school year as four members of staff are shortly to undertake a Level 1 Archery Coaching Course. Once they have qualified they intend to start a BHS Archery Club.

Many thanks to Ian Talbot for making the arrangements, and to all the other archery coaches, who gave up their time for nothing, to make this day possible for our students. I would also like to give a special mention to Barry Molsom who headed up the day for us.

S Gibson

Sports Co-Ordinator

16th November 2012

A Primary School High 5 Netball Tournament was held at BHS recently.

The participating schools were:

Quadring
Butterwick
Gosberton
Old Leake
St Mary’s
Tower Road (2 teams)

A round robin format was used. Thanks to the following BHS students for umpiring the matches:

Emily Manson, Jade Doughty, Tallan Brinkman, Laura Smith, Georgia Smith and Mei-Lin Roberts

Thanks also to Laura Hardy and Paige Taylor for keeping the score and taking the photos.

The winning Primary School was Tower Road A, and the runners up were St Mary’s.

The next Primary School event is a High 5 Development Day for Y3 and Y4 pupils on Tuesday 27th November, from 12.45 to 14.45.

26th October 2012

The last afternoon of term brought lots of fun and laughter for students at Boston High School, who were raising money for charity at the School's annual Bazaar. Full report from our Young Journalists soon!

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24th October 2012

With a long line up, Britain’s Got Talent at Boston High School started at the beginning of lunch time in the main hall and it was the main event of the day.

With eight acts backstage and very nervous the majority of the school piled into the hall for a lunchtime of loads of talent.

First up: Megan, Y7, singing Fun, What do I Stand For. Leonie commented: “She has guts to stand up and sing acapelia. She was amazing.”

Second: Samantha, Y8, singing and playing the piano. Holly said: “Samantha played really well and her singing was beautiful.” Nesta told us: “The singing was lovely; it filled the room.”

Next: Kate, Y7, playing the clarinet. “Very original, lovely tune,” Kyra said.

After Kate came a trio: Leah, Helena and Jamie, Y7, singing Adele’s Someone Like You. Holly and Leonie told us: The three were in perfect harmony - the singing was sweet and gentle.”

Rowan, Y7, was next and she played a lovely tune on her guitar. Holly and Nesta stated: “It was in tune and made a great atmosphere.”

Britney, Y7, sang What Do I Have To Do To Make You Feel Proud. Nesta said: “She was very confident and had a very strong voice.”

Another trio was Ellen, Anya and Zakia, Y8, with Jar of Hearts. Kyra told us: “Great confidence to stand up in front of all these people and sing like that, a shaky start but as they worked their way through, they got stronger and stronger.”

Alicia, Y8, had a few technical problems, but eventually it worked and her fantastic voice took over. Leonie said: “She hit the big notes really well.”

Last but not least was Ashi, Y7, an Indian dancer. Kyra and Leonie told us: “She was really good and it brought some culture to the show. Everyone was spellbound.”

The Judges: Mr Servonat, Miss Lowe and Mr Athersych. Mr Servonat told us: “I thought the talent show was great; it was a real eye opener on all the pupils’ hidden talents.”

Eventually it was time to announce the winners: First was … Ashi and second was … Samantha! Ashi told us: “It feels really good to win and it is great for my culture and country.” Mr Servonat said: “I think Ashi deserved to win because he act was different and included a different culture.”

24th October 2012

Congratulations to Esther Adenuga-Taiwo, Emily Manson and Kerri Oglesbee on their successful health promotion.  This event was planned and delivered by the students as part of their Health and Social Care A level studies.  The students chose to focus on road safety and delivered the promotion to year one and two students at Tower Road Primary School.  The primary school children learned important tips such as using crossings safely, walking sensibly and wearing fluorescent clothing.  These topics were addressed through suitable games and activities planned by our students. 

5th October 2012

On Monday, October 1st, members of Y7 visited the Norwich Playhouse to see the famous actress Miriam Margolyes in her one-woman show.  Miriam Margolyes’ acting career has included film, radio and stage, but she is best known recently for her role as Pomona Sprout in the Harry Potter films.

Several of the pupils were brave enough to join this redoubtable actress on the stage, where she gave them instructions on acting, speaking and punctuation.  An unforgettable experience!

The photos show Y7 enjoying some of the pleasures of Norwich.

H. Fitton

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