April 2023
March 2023
Rewards trips—28th March 2023
Year 7 at Knowsley Safari Park
Year 8 at Ninja Warrior
Year 9 at Wigan Roller Rink
Year 10 at Wigan Roller Rink
Year 7 PGL
In March, Year 7 attended a residential to PGL in Shropshire. The pupils had a fantastic time on all of the adventure activities. They were abseiling down the giant tower and swooping down from the giant swing. We also had some unexpected snow where the pupils were able to spend lots of time building snowmen and having fun throwing snowballs. In the evening we played dodgeball and had a brilliant disco. Needless to say the whole trip was a huge success in what can only be described as a winter wonderland in March. Well done Year 7 on how well behaved you were as you conducted yourselves like true Holy Family pupils.
Sixth Form Science trip to Berlin
Our annual international Science study visit took some of our sixth form Scientists to Berlin this year, where they participated in a whole range of activities.
The first day started off with a walking tour of the city, taking in some of the iconic landmarks of Berlin. Students learned about the history of post war Berlin and the Berlin Wall. They visited the East Side Gallery – the longest open-air gallery in the world, Checkpoint Charlie, the Topography of Terror exhibition, Hitler’s Bunker, the Memorial to the Jews and the Brandenburg Gate. In between there were also visits to the German Technology Museum, the Spectrum Science Centre, the Futurium and Gunther Von Hagen’s Bodyworlds exhibition. A meal at the 60’s diner in the city centre topped off a packed day. In total, students walked around 15 miles and didn’t complain once despite the blisters!
Day two started early with a train journey to the Archenhold Observatory where students saw one of world’s largest refracting telescopes. They then enjoyed a planetarium show where they learned about celestial objects in the night sky. A further train journey then took students to the university laboratories at Glasernes where a four-hour lab session had them learning about PCR and using their practical techniques to take cheek samples and extract and analyse their own DNA. The evening was then spent at the Markthalle Neun food market where I hear the baklava was particularly nice!
Another early start to day three saw students travel to the outskirts of Berlin to the ISS Orbital Space Centre. After a talk about space, students were then invited to undertake astronaut training including a gyroscopic chair, reaction training and core stability control. From there a trip up the 368m TV tower in Alexanderplatz awaited. Afterwards, students were given the opportunity to visit the Neues Museum on museum island. The evening was then spent at a karaoke bar, where our self-proclaimed Holy Family Sixth Form choir gave renditions of several songs including “Ain’t no mountain high enough”, “Valerie”, “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “I’m still standing” which was quite apt considering the amount of walking everyone had done!
The final day was a trip to the Reichstag Parliament building where students climbed the spiral walkway inside the glass dome to take in more views of the city.
Students returned home tired after a most enjoyable trip.
Student quotes……..
“Everybody got to participate in the lab”
“Finding out I have heterozygous genes”
“Never a dull moment”
“The university trip was fun and also very informative”
“Memories for life!”
“Berlin was a great experience I saw and learned so much in the space of a few days”
“Fun and educational”
“I loved Ulf, our PCR lecturer”
“20,000+ steps per day!!”
“When Miss got stuck in a train door!”
“I loved the karaoke, especially Sir’s dance moves and Johnny Depp!!!”
February 2023
Art Tate Trip
During this term Year 11 Art students have been focusing on their personal Exam project. We had a great day out to the TATE Liverpool and the docks to get inspiration for the exam themes. There was some fab work on at the TATE and the curators mentioned how wonderful it was to see all our students engage with the art pieces.
GCSE music trip this year was to Manchester
As soon as we arrived and checked into the Premier Inn, we headed straight off to the RNCM (The Royal Northern College of Music) for a tour from the ambassadors. We had the opportunity to ask and learn about what life is like studying in the RNCM and all the different facilities and chances to perform within it. We learnt about the courses that the students can take and how welcoming they are to all.
We next made our way to watch an afternoon performance at Chetham's School of Music. We watched the students perform on the marimbas and kettle drums. In the evening we went to watch The Lion King. The show was packed with excellent music, amazing choreography and stage craft.
The next day, we returned to Chetham’s to receive a tour of the school and library. The school had many practice rooms as each student receives a private lesson each week from one of the specialist teachers. We then had a tour of Chetham’s Library, the oldest public library in England- founded in 1653. We were all fascinated by the incredible history and beautiful architecture. We then went by tram to Media City where we had an incredible opportunity to watch the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra rehearse. We were astounded by their skill, and we were fortunate enough to see the violin soloist James Ehens play his Stratovarius violin (worth millions of pounds!)
Next we went to The Dog Bowl (bowling and retro arcade) where we enjoyed lots of games. After eating we went to the cinema to watch Whitney Houston.
For our final day in Manchester, we toured the Bridgewater Hall and were lucky enough to see the underneath of the building to view the foundations and how they were specially designed to keep any noises (or even vibrations of passing trams) from affecting the acoustics in the theatre. To finish our trip, we watched an afternoon performance from the RNCM.
Overall, the trip was filled with so many amazing opportunities to learn about the world of music and the wonderful people in it.
Erin Ryan
Year 9 student at Holy Family Catholic High
January 2023
Sixth Form trip to Krakow, Poland—31st January 2023
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History visit to Central Library – 24th January 2023
Mrs Hall took the Year 13 History class to Central Library in Liverpool to help them research their chosen History coursework essays. The historians are required to write a 3000-word essay on a topic of their choice relating to US Civil Rights. They learned how to search for books and journals and how to reference them. Topics ranged from the influence of music on Black civil rights, the impact of Martin Luther King, feminism in the US, and the role of the Black Power Movement.
December 2022
Ski Trip
Some of our choir singing to raise funds for Christmas presents for patients at the Royal Liverpool Hospital
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Year 7 Sleepover
On Thursday 8th December, Year 7 pupils took part in our annual Year 7 Sleepover. The aim of the sleepover is to raise money, via sponsorship, for the Indian Hope Orphan Project.
November 2022
GCSE Drama Trip to London
On 23rd November Holy Family Drama Department headed to London, to assist our Drama students in their studies towards their GCSE Drama exam, staying at The Royal National Hotel, for two nights.
We took part in a whole host of activities, including a backstage tour of the National Theatre, a backstage Tour of the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and took part in a ‘Making a Scene’ Workshop and a Stage Combat Workshop.
We had a wonderful time touring London’s must-see sites, visiting Covent Garden for the Christmas Markets, a visit to the Natural History Museum and of course, a visit to Buckingham Palace.
In the evenings, we also had two trips to the theatre to see Life of PI at the Wyndham Theatre and Matilda, at the Cambridge Theatre.
We also managed a visit to Harry Potter World at the Warner Brothers Studios in Watford.
Crime Scene Simulation
Year 13 Criminologists and Year 12 Forensic Science students took part in a Forensic Workshop on Friday 4th November. Students heard about the work Shelley Edwards and Ed Spencer from Merseyside CSI team do on a daily basis and learnt about how forensic evidence is extracted and processed.
Students then took part in their own criminal investigation, which involved processing a mock crime scene, interviewing witnesses and using chromatography, to process handwriting found at the scene.
Year 8 pupils Music Trip to the Slavery Museum
Year 8 went on a trip to the Liverpool International Slavery Museum and the Museum of Liverpool as part of a music trip. The Slavery Museum was the main part of the trip, to allow Year 8 to investigate the origins of Blues music, which originated from the slave trade. They were given a booklet of questions, to which they had to find the answers.
They all enjoyed the trip, and found it very informative and fun, especially the Yellow Submarine Karaoke!
October 2022
Photos from our October Well-being Walk which was followed by hot chocolate
The Sound of Music
Recently, Holy Family put on a show, The Sound of Music. Students from different years came together to put on what turned out to be a fantastic show.
The students involved began their hard work in February, auditioning for the roles they wanted. Once that had been decided the cast began their rehearsals working hard in the evening, at lunches and even on weekends. We became close with our fellow cast members, forming friendships with many different people. For eight long but enjoyable months we worked on getting the play perfect. The drama department helped in so many ways to ensure that we did our best and made it an unforgettable performance. Not only did the Drama department help but many teachers were involved in helping with the set, costumes and props.
We did six shows over the course of three days, each one as good as the last. We stayed later after the school day had ended and had lots of fun preparing and getting ourselves ready for the show. Many people attended the performances and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is an experience I will never forget and hopefully something me and many others will be able to do again. Can’t wait for next year’s! by Yvie Allen Year 9
Geography residential trip
Our first residential to Lake Coniston and what a fantastic time the students had.
Day 1 involved an amazing visit to The Coppermine's glacial features and an unexpected very wet experience crossing the Tarn! Spirits were high throughout the very wet conditions and in the end due to so much rain pupils had the opportunity to see multiple waterfalls which were an extra bonus.
Day 2 was just as brilliant - canoeing on Lake Coniston, Ribbon Lake followed by gorge walking up a waterfall. Quote "that was the best thing I have ever done".
Day 3 finished with a visit to Windermere and the Tree Top adventure course. Our evenings were filled with the unforgettable Charades, a wonderful noisy bonding experience for all! Fantastic attitude from every student that attended.
The Geography team can't wait to do it again next year.
September 2022
SEND Coffee Morning
On September 30th, we had our first SEND Coffee Morning in school and decided to tie it in with the Macmillan Coffee Morning. "The World's Biggest Coffee Morning" is Macmillan Cancer Support's biggest fundraising event. Each year, people in the UK and worldwide host their own Coffee Morning to raise funds for the charity.
The event in school was well attended and we raised a lot of money for the charity, but obviously, we could not have everyone in school all at once. Before the end of term, the SEND department plan to hold a second coffee morning but with an Autism focus to support families with children who either have a diagnosis or who are currently under assessment for Autism, Michelle Williams from OSSME has agreed to attend.
Sixth Form team building at Crosby Lakeside
On Friday 16th September Year 12 and 13 enjoyed a team building day down at Crosby Lakeside. They took part in paddle boarding, kayaking and raft building. This helped Year 12 to get to know some of our Year 13 pupils as well as being good fun in the sunshine! The pupils particularly enjoyed a swim in the lake at the end.
CHET
Our new Year 7 pupils started their lives at Holy Family with team building activities at CHET (Crosby Hall Educational Trust).
Year 7 PGL trip - 9th - 11th March 2022
Quotes from Pupils
Eve Godsall
PGL was the best, I have been before in primary school and it was good but it was good to make new friends. And my favourite activity was raft building because I love making things and I would definitely go back there.
Mia Ksiazek
I had an amazing time at PGL! There were so many fun activities we could engage in. One of my favourite activities was the challenge course. We had to climb over and under things, but the best part of this activity was getting mud everywhere. Another activity that I really enjoyed was the puzzle challenges. Here we had to use our brains. We had to build a rocket using ropes and teamwork. There were many other interesting activities. Overall, I really enjoyed PGL, and if I had the opportunity to go again, I definitely would!
Megan Moore
This month we went to PGL, and the experience was really exciting. There was a variety of different activities, so you could never get bored on the trip. It was a brilliant opportunity to make lots of new friends that I still talk to at school now. I made lots of amazing memories with all my friends. This was definitely one of the best school trips I have ever been on, we should do it every year.
Emily Samra
I thought PGL was amazing, all the activities were so fun. Although I have to say my favourite one was the giant swing because you could go so high and the feeling in your tummy when the swing dropped was funny! I think that PGL helped me get closer to my friends and spend more time and learn more about them. We all had a blast. All the nighttime activities were awesome, and the meals were nice. Curfew was a reasonable time too; my cabin wasn’t too tired in the mornings for the activities. Overall, I loved PGL and would like to go again.
Jess Young
My experience at PGL was really fun and the activities were amazing. The activities I really enjoyed were the giant swing and raft building. The giant swing is really scary but when I was up there and we swung it felt so cool. The raft building was fun but it was really cold especially when you get to jump in at the end. We got to share a room with some of our friends but we all got put in different groups so we could make some new friends too. I would really recommend going on this trip because it’s fun and you get to make some new friends.
Year 8 PGL trip - 7th - 9th March 2022
or watch the slideshow on Youtube https://youtu.be/b6Xa0DP78qU
Quotes from Pupils
Jack Hanratty
I really enjoyed the raft building as we had good fun on the water. I felt more independent, I also enjoyed having a nice time with my friends.
Joseph Purslow
First, when we got to PGL we got put into our activity groups and then we were sent to our rooms and then went to an activity. My favourite was the giant swing and the zip-line and the food was OK and the only drink we had was orange juice but I really liked it.
Mason Runeckles
My time at PGL was boss and it was worth the time. It was good spending a lot of time with my mates and enjoying the activities with them. I enjoyed the water raft building because it made me learn more skills about team working. I also liked the campfire at the end because it was a nice laugh and joke
Alicia Thompson
My experience at PGL was amazing! I enjoyed it so much and participated in all of the activities possible. It was my birthday on the 2nd day and it was great to celebrate it there. The PGL staff and teachers even surprised me with a birthday cake! The activities I enjoyed the most were: the giant swing, abseiling, the zip wire, and the mud course. Although the giant swing hurt my legs, I loved the excitement and I loved seeing the sunset from a high view. I also really enjoyed abseiling, at first I was very anxious and quite scared about it as I had never done it before but once I completed it, I was very proud of myself. The zip wire was fun as I could see most of PGL from up at the top. And finally the mud course, my friends and I were covered top to bottom in mud, the experience was disgusting but hilarious. The night time activities were also really good. My favourite was the photo challenge where we had to take photos of certain things we were told to, for example, we had to take a photo inside of a photo, so we took a photo in the window. I also really enjoyed the other night time activity, which was the campfire. We sat around a campfire and sang oddly mesmerising songs. It was a good laugh. I hope we get to go back soon!
Sixth Form trip - 7th - 11th March 2022
Whole School Well-being day - 11th February 2022
Christmas Market
Year 7 CHET (Crosby Hall Educational Trust)
CHET 2020
We took the whole of Year 7 off to CHET for a day of team building activities just a few days after they had started at Holy Family. Everyone in the year group took part in the activities, which focused on teamwork and perseverance. This was a great opportunity for them to get to know each other, work together and have some fun. It was also an opportunity for form tutors to get to know their form outside of the classroom environment.
The comments from pupils and staff on the days showed how much they seemed to have enjoyed themselves and helped them to settle in.
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Year 7 visit to CHET
