Congratulations to the 12 talented students who attended the Brilliant Club Graduation event at the University of Liverpool.
The students successfully completed a high level 2,500 assignment rooted in Physics and Mathematics as they explored the question 'Black Holes: Are they black? Are they holes?'
The project is designed to really stretch even the most gifted learners and we're very proud of our students and their achievement.
Friday, 17th May was International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia and at break the bell sounded in the Peace Garden at St. Julie’s inviting students and staff to gather for a voluntary service.
As the crowd came together, Mr Anderson – our chaplain – spoke about our Mission Statement commitment to respecting and embracing the diversity of all God’s people linking it to the Biblical story of Noah, the rainbow, the dove and olive branch.
Then in the midst of the olive trees in our Peace Garden, Isobel raised a rainbow flag as an acknowledgement that it is in accepting and celebrating diversity that peace is grown.
As the flag went up the flagpole a spontaneous round of applause broke out before all who were gathered offered each other a sign of peace.
Today students met once again to support one another and to open up about mental health.
Both staff and students shared their views on what mental health is, how to maintain a positive well-being and also shared very honest accounts of their experiences.
These messages were read by our Year 10 students to a silent room as the students respectfully listened to some of the discussions and personal accounts.
We would like to thank all of the students and staff who came and supported the events throughout the week. It has been pivotal in opening up conversations about mental health.
As promised here is the video of the wonderful performance from our Year 9 students.
There was a great attendance for students again today, it is fantastic that so many are embracing our daily discussions about mental health.
Tomorrow we will be focusing on how staff and students at St Julie's view mental health.
It is hard for many young people to escape the pressures of social media. There is no switching off for many students as the popularity of it grows. Today the students were invited to watch a performance based on the pressures of social media and how people can do things to try and fit in.
The drama performance consisted of a young girl who has trusted in a boy and sent him a photograph of herself. She struggled to cope with the pressure and bullying from other young girls when they found out.
The message of the story was to seek support from those around you. It doesn't matter how bad you think your situation is, with help, it can get better.
This will be performed again tomorrow, check back for the video.
Today there was a second performance based on an aspect on mental health. Today's performance was based on the effects of bullying and how bullying, both verbal and physical, can have a detrimental effect on our mental health.
Students from years 7-10 performed a dance based on this. The spoken word told the story of a brother and sister who were bullied growing up.
The message to take away from today's performance was to choose your words carefully, be kind always and stand up for what is right!
Well done to the performers for a powerful delivery!
Bookings are now available for limited free places on the PLACED Academy - an out of hours workshop programme for students who will be in Years 10, 11 and 12 next year.
PLACED are seeking just 30 participants who they will work with to develop a bespoke programme to help participants get to where they want to be. Activity takes place in holidays, evenings and weekends and includes design workshops, skill sessions, interview preparation and research. Every participant who successfully completes 10 days on the programme will become a PLACED Academy Graduate in May 2020.
You can find out more information from the PLACED Website, and this poster. The application forms are available here.
Congratulations to Year 12 students Tyler and Lois who have gained their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award today.
To gain their award the students completed an expedition in Cheshire and volunteered for six months as well as learning a new skill and developing their fitness levels. Well done to them both.
As it is Mental Health Awareness week, there will be a difference performance each day at lunch time, each focusing on a difference part of mental health.
Today our ltalented Year 9 student, Grace, performed her original song 'Crystal'. This fitted perfectly with today's theme of positive well-being. The song looks at how people take comfort in healing crystals and how the crystals can change your way of thinking, supporting a more positive outlook on life and situations. You can watch a short clip on Grace performing below.
Students were set the task to go home and do one thing they enjoy to promote positive well-being. Whether that is walking the dog, an evening without social media, putting on a face mask, watching your favourite show with a chocolate bar or meeting up with friends. What will you do to help support with positive well-being?
The Royal National College for the Blind have asked us to male parents aware of a great residential weekend opportunity for students with visual impairment.
The weekend takes place on the 26th and 27th October, and you can find more information here.
To make an application please use this application form.
On a beautifully sunny day, the Peace Garden at St. Julie's hosted a new activity - The Quest for Peace. Mr Bennett's wonderful Year 8 R.E. class ventured outside and participated in a "treasure hunt" style learning activity where they explored the 16 stations in our Peace Garden. These stations can be found by each of the olive trees which have for so long been symbols of peace. (Incidentally, the oldest of these olive trees is over 300 years old so was on the planet even before St. Julie was born in 1751!)
The session started with the sounding of The Peace Bell after which the learners explored the Peace Garden stations in groups, finding information about the inspirational people who are beacons to follow in the quest for peace in our world.
The stations were devised by members of our 1804 Society (the senior students in the school) and they look at a range of issues including compassion, ethical enterprise, literature and political action.
The Peace Bell pealed once more to call participants to re-gather and some of the answers were shared. The session closed with a prayer for our Y11 students as they started their GCSE exams.
We look forward to holding more events in our Peace Garden.
Last year, our Year 11 students requested that the statue of St. Julie (which lives in our Notre Dame Chapel) be brought down to the Sports Hall while they were doing their GCSE Exams. It was a reminder that St. Julie watches over them and was a focal point for their prayer during moments in exams when they maybe needed some calm and clarity of thinking.
So, today - in anticipation of the GCSE Exams which start in earnest on Monday, some of our 6th Formers carried the statue of St. Julie and its plinth to the Sports Hall as an act of service to the year group who follow them.
We hope this will give comfort and re-assurance to all sitting exams and we assure them they will be in the prayers of everyone in this Catholic learning community.
Each exam will also start with our Exam Prayer - which you can find on our Prayer Wall and below:
This week the Performing Arts department were pleased to welcome back former student, Katherine-Rose Morley to deliver a masterclass in acting.
After leaving St Julie’s, Katherine went to train at Guildhall school of music and drama and since graduating has worked professionally on stage and screen including, Call the Midwife, Vera, The Last Tango in Halifax and many other well known shows.
Katherine is currently staring in the channel 5, 10 part drama, The Clink. Katherine worked with our aspiring actors on different skills and techniques before giving students an insight into auditioning for drama schools and professional jobs.
Her wise words of ‘If it’s something you love, it’s worth working and fighting for’ was a great message that inspired our students. We look forward to inviting Katherine back in the near furture to catch up with our girls and see how they are progressing with their acting.
The students gained an invaluable insight to what training to be a nurse entails; learned more about the personal qualities, experience and qualifications required to be a nurse and how the recruitment process works.
We look forward to further opportunities with LJMU and to welcoming them back into school again for UCAS advice in the autumn term.
Today 19 students from St. Julie's attended the training and launch event of Merseyside Police's Cyber Champions scheme.
The event was introduced and hosted by Assistant Chief Constable Ian Critchley and Detective Chief Inspector Helen Bennett, from Merseyside Police’s Digital Forensics Team. Training was delivered by Merseyside Police's Digital PCSO Megan Buckland who has previously worked with students in St. Julie's.
Students that have received the training will be supported by PCSOs and staff in school to deliver Internet and Cyber Safety training to students from years 7 to 11.
St. Julie's is proud to be one of the first group of 8 schools across Merseyside to take part in this exciting new programme.
Five of our girls also had their 15 minutes of fame as they proceeded to by interviewed about their experiences by BBC Radio Merseyside.
Click here for more information about Cyber Champions.
For internet safety tips, advice and guidance why not take a look at Merseyside Police's Digital PCSO's (@merpolDPCSO) Twitter feed.
On Tuesday 30th April, the Year 11 Geography pupils were taken on a tour of North Wales in order to complete a wide range of revision activities on different topics from the exams they have coming up at the end of May.
The main focus of the trip was on revision of physical geography topics, as these are so much easier to understand if you are able to see them in real life and in action.
We started by visiting an area of sedimentary limestone rock to start our revision of UK landscapes and geology. We then moved onto river landscapes revision, with particular focus on the processes involved in making rivers function as they do. Pupils were able to recreate their rivers fieldwork techniques to help revise what they did for the fieldwork, and to help pupils explain why they chose the methods of data collection that they did - the chance to get back in the river here was very tempting for some pupils!
We continued the day by revising the ecosystem of a deciduous woodland area before moving up to the north coast of Wales and visiting Little Orme where pupils revised coastal landscapes and processes, as well as coastal management.
Seeing where some homes were almost falling into the sea brought to life the issues people face with coastal recession - we don't think any of our pupils will be wanting to live overlooking the sea now! An added extra to the day was the opportunity to see a family of seals in their natural environment down on the beach below Little Orme.
It all made it a day pupils hopefully won't forget - good luck in the exams now Year 11!
Our wonderful year 9 student, Grace, is set to release her own song this month.
Her original song, that she has composed, written lyrics for and recorded all by herself will be available on Spotify on the 20th May 2019.
The song is called 'Crystal' is based on positive well-being and looking after your mind. Grace will be performing it as part of our mental health performances, on Monday 13th May.
Well done Grace - what an achievement at such a young age!
A new feature has just been added to the Chaplaincy section of this website. It's a link to Prayer Shorts - a collection of short video resources to support our collective worship.
Prayer Shorts contains End of Day prayers, prayer clips relating to our Mission Statement, short prayers for various occasions such as when you have a lot on your plate, some of our more regular Form Prayers and, for those who like a good sing, some Hymns and Lyrics.
We hope you enjoy dipping into this set of resources which can be found via the Chaplaincy tab on the school website or directly here.
Last week Year 9 Geography pupils undertook their physical geography fieldwork in North Wales.
We thankfully went before storm Hannah hit, and had a great day investigating how the cross-sectional area, velocity, discharge and bedload changes as the River Alyn progresses along its course through North Wales.
The pupils were trained up on testing 3 key hypotheses in school before the trip, all linked to the theory presented in the Bradshaw Model. Pupils worked well in groups using the technical equipment to monitor changes at 3 different locations along the river and gathering all the information and data they need for analysis back at school.
The next stage is now well underway, and pupils are working out whether the River Alyn follows the Bradshaw Model or not, and explaining why this is or isn't the case in their Geography lessons.
The pupils were an absolute credit to themselves and the school, they had an excellent day where they increased their geographical understanding, and as an added bonus - no one fell in the river! Well done Year 9!
We have been delighted to welcome 'Bike Right!' back into school to lead groups of Year 7 cyclists through the Level 3 Schools Cycle Training.
The Level 3 course is the most advanced of the school programmes and incorporates busy road, traffic lights, roundabouts and other advanced road features. The cyclists took part in some theoretical instruction, some pan exercises and a closely supervised road ride to build experience, put their training into practice and gain valuable experience on the road.
Thanks to the Bike Right team for fun and safe training!
Today in Geography 8P2 were planning, designing and making earthquake proof buildings.
The students have been studying our 'Hazardous World' Unit, looking at volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis amongst other geographical hazards. They had spent previous lessons learning about, and independently researching, the key characteristics of earthquake proof buildings.
With this knowledge they had to design and build an earthquake proof building made from spaghetti, some sticky tape and two pieces of A4 paper. The structure had to be able to hold 3 Crème Eggs and the tallest, strongest building would be named the winner.
The last one standing was made by Ava, Laura, Olivia, Ava and Amelia, for using their wonderful geographical knowledge and some initiative by making their main structure very strong but also adding some extra, non supportive spaghetti to make it the tallest as well!
Former student Emma Flynn is appearing on stage at the Hope Street Theatre in What We Did Next's production of 'Be More Chill'.
Emma was no stranger to the stage in the Dorothy Stang Theatre during her time at St. Julie's, and we wish her every success with her performance.
The show runs from the 8th to 11th May (11th is already sold out!) at the Hope Street Theatre.
Mrs Heeley said, 'I would like to thank and congratulate all students who have shown pure love and dedication for this dance. You were absolutely incredible and you passion shone through to the audience. I am so pleased that you came second and are now going to the national heats this summer. Well done all, you truly deserve it!'
Please wish our student good luck for the final round and we will keep you updated!
Congratulations to all members of Maria – who became our Champion House for Lent Term 2019. They came out top of the table which involved attendance, punctuality, rewards and commendations!
House Captain, Eve, raised the Maria flag so that it flies for the remainder of this Pentecost Term between the flag of France (St. Julie’s birthplace), and our very special Year of the Saint flag which reminds us that, on 22nd June, 2019, it is 50 years since Julie Billiart became St. Julie!
The Advent Term champions, Dorothy, will no doubt be keen to regain their title but it was Arrowsmith who pushed Maria closest with Rigby coming third! Nugent and Therese will also want to up their game so that they might be named Champion House at the end of this term!
Could you be the right person to carry out an important role in our prestigious 1804 Society? Applications are now open!
Applications from Year 12 students are invited for the following positions:
Head Girl
Deputy Head Girl (2 posts)
Celebration co-ordinator
Service co-ordinator
Communication co-ordinator
Heads of house (6 posts)
Together these posts form the 1804 Society which carries out important work, both ceremonial and practical, representing the students of our school community. The duties require commitment and dedication, as well as more specialised skills related to each role.
Whilst it goes without saying that being part of the Society reflects well in UCAS applications, it also gives opportunties for leadership and project management that will serve members well throughout their lives.
Application forms are available from the Sixth Form office now and must be returned by Monday 29th April.
This Easter, 30 of our Year 8 and 9 Performing Arts students set off for Disneyland Paris for four days full of fun.
The pupils had the amazing opportunity to complete musical theatre workshops with Disney cast members, learn about the gruelling audition process and participate in a well known Disney dance routine to ‘Be Our Guest’. And as if that wasn’t enough, St Julie’s students were wowed as they had the opportunity to meet former student, Megan Wade who has recently started her performance contract at Disney. Megan spent time with the students answering their questions and advising many of our future stars about the industry. They even got to see her in role as she danced her way down Main Street during the not to be missed Disney parade.
Of course there was also some time to take in a few rides, whether that be dropping from great heights on The Tower of Terror, rocking out to Aerosmith on Rock’n’Rollercoaster or singing along on It’s a small world, it’s fair to say the fun never stopped.
The Performing Arts staff would like to stay a massive thank you to all students for such an enjoyable trip. Your effort and dedication to Performing Arts at St Julie’s is fantastic and we are so glad we can reward you for all the good work you do!
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On the last day of the Spring Term Year 11 Drama students had a study session with a twist.
Revision for this year's set drama text, 'Blood Brothers', came in the form of a pub-type quiz, complete with music, flashing lights and mocktails!
The teams took full advantage of the opportunity to both showcase and reinforce their knowledge of the piece.
On Friday 5th April, a group of students froms Years 7 to 9 took part in a Body Image workshop.
The workshop focused on promoting positive body image and engaged discussions about how young people feel about themselves.
Such things as social media, other peers and ourselves were all discussed as things that make students compare their bodies to others.
The message of the workshop was; we are all different and we are all wonderful!
Well done to all who took part for being so honest about their feelings!
Throughout the last week of term form groups in Years 7, 8 and 9 with the best attendance enjoyed an Afternoon Tea!
The students were treated to a wide selection of cakes, sandwiches and sweets which they thoroughly enjoyed. Well done to the winning forms of 7R, 8A and 9R for your excellent attendance. Look out for the next reward!
The Lent term closed with our Easter Egg Challenge for the Micah Foodbank.
Last year, the first in which we ran this challenge, St. Julie's students and staff brought in an amazing 348 chocolate Easter Eggs which we thought was probably unbeatable.
However, we are pleased to report that this year we managed to donate 524 Easter Eggs along with £108 cash donation that was raised by 7 Nugent!
Thanks to all involved in this demonstration of our Mission Statement commitment to care and compassion.
Have a great Easter!
On Thursday evening 26 students from years 7-10 took part in the LSSP Secondary School Dance Competition. The students performed with confidence and such professionalism and really held their own against the other school performances.
We are very happy to say that the KS3 dance 'Pure Imagination' came 2nd against 20 other performances. We also won overall 'most inspiring' dance with 'Help the People'.
Well done to all who performed and thank you to the friends and family who came to support the girls! It was a great evening all round.
We know that punctuality matters, but do you know that it could cost you grades?
Based on our Year 11 results of Summer 2018 it's clear to see that students who were consistently late achieved just one third of the number of good grades as those who were consistently punctual.
That's a huge difference, so please maintain good punctuality as every minute counts!
Some of our Year 7 scientists used chromatography to investigate how felt pens are made up of many different coloured dyes.
Since the different constituents of the colour mixture move at different speeds through the chromatography paper the dyes can be separated.
Surprisingly some colours were made up of at least four others, giving an insight into how the dyes for the pens were manufactured.
Well done to Chloe, Marie-Eva and Rachel for being shortlisted in the Dot Art competition. It's time to vote!
You can have a look at our entries and make your voting choices at the Dot Art website. Bear in mind that once you have cast your vote you will be sent a confirmation email that you will need to click to make your vote count. Sometimes this can route into your junk folder so do check there if your email doesn't appear to arrive.
Good luck to our shortlisted artists!
Congratulations to our year 10 Drama students who have entertained packed audiences over the past 2 nights.
They have devised and delivered outstanding performances on hard hitting topics as part of their GCSE course, which they have performed to a live audience in the Dorothy Stang Theatre.
We are very proud of their team work, dedication and commitment to studies. We're already looking forward to the exam performances next year!
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Year 7 Performing Arts students have been getting creative this week for their Lion King themed Musical Theatre assessments.
Taking inspiration from the live theatrical production, students have created expressive masks to represent their roles. Well done to all of Year 7 for hard work and creative effort!
On Friday 29 April we welcomed 25 Liverpool Hope University Primary PGCE students to St. Julie's Catholic High School.
The day provided an insight into the KS2 to KS3 transition programme and the importance of knowing each individual student before they arrive in Year 7.
Students sat in on a number of different lessons to experience the secondary setting and received transition training in the afternoon.
It was a real pleasure to welcome the students into our school and we wish them all every success with their future teaching careers.
HD Video of the St. Julie's performance of 'Remember Me' which won best overall acting at the 2019 Now Festival is now live.
The piece explored adverse childhood experiences, and this performance also won 'best performance of the night' and overall second place in the festival.
You can enjoy the piece here.
Today our Year 10 and 11 GCSE Dance students took part in an Artspool workshop lead by the brilliant Heather Worrall.
The workshop focused on all aspects of the written paper. The sessions allowed the students to revisit prior knowledge and apply it to apply it to exam style questions.
They even got to build the set, costume and lighting designs for each work in a fun and interactive approach to learning.
Thank you to Artspool!
Students in Year 8 have completed their unit of Spanish work on clothing in style!
The linguists researched designs on Spanish retailer Zara's website, designed and made their dresses using bin bags and then rounded it off with a catwalk parade with Spanish commentary.
The results were amazing - well done to the students for their hard and creative work!
St. Julie's Catholic High School