St Thomas Aquinas Friday Letter 19 January 2018

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1 St. John Bosco Friend of the young, Teacher in the ways of God, Your dedication to empowering the needy inspires us still. Help me to work for a better world, where the young are given the chance to flourish, where the poor s dream for justice can come true, and where God s compassion is shown to be real. Intercede for me as I bring my needs to you and to Our heavenly Mother, the Help of Christians. Amen Saint of the Week St John Bosco Saint John Bosco, or Don Bosco, was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th century. While working in Turin, where the population suffered many of the effects of industrialization, urbanization, and poverty, he dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment. In 1825, when he was nine, Bosco had the first of a series of dreams which would play an influential role in his outlook and work. This first dream "left a profound impression on him for the rest of his life", according to his own memoirs. Bosco apparently saw a multitude of very poor boys who played and blasphemed, and a man, who "appeared, nobly attired, with a manly and imposing bearing". The man said to him: "You will have to win these friends of yours not with blows, but with gentleness and kindness. So begin right now to show them that sin is ugly and virtue beautiful Don Bosco left a legacy. His ideals, his spirit, his constant activity are all still with us in his Salesian priests, brothers, and sisters, who strive to perpetuate his work on earth. On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1934, Pope Pius XI declared Don Bosco a saint; the Pope styled him "a giant of sanctity." As for himself, Don Bosco would say, as he often told his admirers, "I have been an instrument in the hands of Mary. She has done everything. Had I been a worthier instrument, I would have accomplished a great deal more." St John Bosco s Feast Day is January 31. Punctuality has improved significantly since September! 20% fewer students are late each day! If a student is late owing to a medical appointment, remember to bring an appointment card or medical note. Important Dates Mon 22 January Parent Voice Meeting :00 pm Mon 29 January St Thomas Aquinas Day 8:30 3:10 pm Thurs 1 February Year 12 & 13 Parents Evening 4:30-7:00 pm Fri 9 February Non Uniform Day Charity Fundraiser Thurs 15 February Last Day of Term for Students

Term Dates for next year 2018-2019 2018-2019 Starts Finishes Autumn Term 1 Mon 3 Sep 2018 Fri 26 Oct 2018 Autumn Half Term Mon 29 Oct 2018 Fri 2 Nov 2018 Autumn Term 2 Mon 5 Nov 2018 Fri 21 Dec 2018

2019 Sun 28 Apr 2019 Summer Term 1 Mon 29 Apr 2019 Fri 24 May 2019 Summer Half Term Mon 27 May 2019 Fri 31 May 2019 Summer Term 2 Mon 3 Jun 2019 Mon 22 Jul 2019 Teacher training days are still to be

2 Term Dates for next year Starts Finishes Autumn Term 1 Mon 3 Sep 2018 Fri 26 Oct 2018 Autumn Half Term Mon 29 Oct 2018 Fri 2 Nov 2018 Autumn Term 2 Mon 5 Nov 2018 Fri 21 Dec 2018 Christmas Sat 22 Dec 2018 Sun 6 Jan 2019 Spring Term 1 Mon 7 Jan 2019 Fri 15 Feb 2019 Spring Half Term Mon 18 Feb 2019 Fri 22 Feb 2019 Spring Term 2 Mon 25 Feb 2019 Fri 12 Apr 2019 Easter Sat 13 Apr 2019 Sun 28 Apr 2019 Summer Term 1 Mon 29 Apr 2019 Fri 24 May 2019 Summer Half Term Mon 27 May 2019 Fri 31 May 2019 Summer Term 2 Mon 3 Jun 2019 Mon 22 Jul 2019 Teacher training days are still to be decided Messages from our School Community Parent Voice Monday 22 January It is always a pleasure to hear the contributions from parents and as discussed in our last meeting we have changed the format to hopefully create more opportunities for parents and carers to attend if we have two sessions. The change in format is to offer parents who cannot make a 5pm start to come at 6pm and still experience the same opportunity to share their views and attend the presentations. So the evening will have the same presentation twice with two session of surgery (discussion planning time) Monday 22nd January 5:00 pm- Presentation Mental Health and Well-Being 5:30 pm Surgery 6:00 pm- Presentation Mental Health and Well-Being 6:3 0pm Surgery We look forward to meeting with you. Val Ashford Chair of Parent Voice Mr Smith Vice Principal

Liturgy leaders Launch of Journals Yesterday we had our first Liturgy Leaders meeting of 2018. We gathered in the chapel at the beginning of lunch and welcomed Suzanne O Malley.

Courtney read a reading. Mrs O Driscoll explained the bible passages. We then discussed our hopes for the New Year and focused on passages from the Bible including Genesis and Micah.

3 Liturgy leaders Launch of Journals Yesterday we had our first Liturgy Leaders meeting of We gathered in the chapel at the beginning of lunch and welcomed Suzanne O Malley. We had been waiting for our new journals to arrive since we had been commissioned. We wrote what had gone well for us in 2017 and what were the difficulties. We offered these up to God. Courtney read a reading. Mrs O Driscoll explained the bible passages. We then discussed our hopes for the New Year and focused on passages from the Bible including Genesis and Micah. There were illustrations that went with the passages which made them more interesting and helped us understand them more. We then looked at our own names and how special these are. To begin with we wrote our name at the front of the new Lumen Christi journal and illustrated it. In the future we will use our journals to map our spiritual journey and jot down any biblical quotes that appeal to us. We also sang happy birthday to Courtney and enjoyed a chocolate biscuit and finished with a prayer read by Patrick. Courtney, Leah, Oliwia A Royal Appointment at the Palace! This week I had the pleasure of accompanying four former students to St James Palace for the presentation of their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. Students work extremely hard to gain this award and they deserved their special day. All the students met His Royal Highness Prince Edward and had the opportunity to speak with him. The special guest of the day was BBC Sports Presenter Mike Bushell. He gave an inspiring talk and answered questions from the room. He then presented all of the certificates. After the event the former students went off to enjoy a well-deserved treat from their moms who had accompanied them for the day. A massive well done to: Ursula, Megan, Kate and Mr O Sullivan. And Mr Flood received the following from Megan Lisa Taylor Student Data Officer We had an amazing day at the palace! It was such a great experience, knowing that we were just a small group of people entering a private palace, it was just so surreal! And we walked along 150,000 worth of carpet, in just one room!!!! Thank you so much for being so supportive, pushing us to achieve the best we could, and giving us the opportunity. It was so overwhelming. We heard lots of stories today about people having to do the Duke of Edinburgh awards with other organisations and I think we sometimes took for granted how much time and effort yourself, and all of the other staff put in to help us achieve this! It s definitely not going to be the end of DofE for me and if you ever need any extra help or someone to assist on the expeditions just please get in touch, I know Kate feels the same! Thank you again, and please thank everyone else who helped us along the way (too many to mention). Megan Awarded D of E Gold

Good Luck Libby! This Saturday, January 20, Libby Hughes 10-NE will be taking part in the final heat for the UCB Young Chef of the Year competition at University College Birmingham.

4 Good Luck Libby! This Saturday, January 20, Libby Hughes 10-NE will be taking part in the final heat for the UCB Young Chef of the Year competition at University College Birmingham. Libby will be cooking an elaborate two-course meal in 90 minutes and has been planning and practising her dishes to enhance them and give an even bigger wow factor! Her Mom, Dad and myself will be cheering her on as nervous wrecks watching from the viewing gallery! Well done so far Libby and good luck for tomorrow! Mrs McGinley Food Technology

Well done to our Faculty Stars Art & Tech Christian Barley 7-BO Modern Languages Aisha Lewis 8-FI Business and Computing Sabian Fall 9-NE English Ryan Podmore 11-RO Humanities Mason Andrews-Dalton

5 Well done to our Faculty Stars Art & Tech Christian Barley 7-BO Modern Languages Aisha Lewis 8-FI Business and Computing Sabian Fall 9-NE English Ryan Podmore 11-RO Humanities Mason Andrews-Dalton 11-TE Maths Blessing Okeke-Ekpe 9-TE Performing Arts Pherell Moncrieffe 8-NE Physical Education Frankee Crawley 8-NE RE Albert Allotey 7-MO Science Sarah Adams 9-MA Nurture Nathaniel Ford 7-JP Transition Alexander Quinn 7-BO Chaplaincy Reece Christie 8-JP Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Year Stars Emilia Orzel 7-FI Ruby Ryan 8-MO Shauna Smith 9-TE Joseph Fellows 10-MA Eaden Taylor 11-TE Alex Plesca 6th N Ellis Ratchford 6th N Miss Madden Mr Martin Mr Smith Mr Baker Mr Perry Mrs Linehan Miss O'Reilly Mrs Perry Senior Teachers STARS Bradley Carr 11-JP Kirsten Huelgas 8-BO Liam Garvey 11-MO Sam Akingbola 8-NE Eva Fallon 7-MA D'Shaun Morris 11-JP Lillian Poole 7-RO Fenn Williams 11-NE

6 Messages from Mr Martin New year resolutions Have you stuck to your new year resolutions? I am delighted to report that students at Aquinas are certainly maintaining their high standards keeping to the left and walking very promptly to lessons. Another great start to a new term. Well done everybody! St Thomas Aquinas Day Our Feast Day is fast approaching and, as always, it will be a very special day. We will celebrate Mass, and distribute important awards. However, due to our early finish Wednesday, I would like to remind parents that Monday 29 January will be a full school day. All students will be dismissed at 3.10pm. Congratulations One of the delightful aspects of my job as Head of School is to be privileged to be in a postion to celebrate the success of our students in school. Before lessons this morning I shared breakfast of fruit juice and pastries in my office with 10 exceptional students, showing committed learning and demonstrating our Values and Virtues in their everyday life, and work. Congratulations must therefore go to the following students; Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Ayesha Nazir 7-MO Codey Ellis 7-MA Alpha Balole 8-MO Sherkera Thomas 8-RO Abigail Dumbleton 9-MA Jerin Kumbuckal 9-FI Joy Ineza 10-MA Khang Duong 10-MO Hannah Nowakowska 11-RO Samuel Shanley 11-TE Thank you Having completed their exams in December, Year 11 students received their results in a special assembly this week. This was then followed by our Year 11 Parents Evening last night. Attendance was excellent and it was very encouraging to have the support of so many parents. Armed with a clear overview of their current performance, teachers and students are now in a position to plan their learning for a very important year ahead. And finally A number of members of our school community attended funerals this week. We hold everyone connected very much in our prayers. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen Such events always serve as a timely reminder that we must be grateful for everything we have in our lives. With that in mind, let s treasure a restful and peaceful weekend with our beloved families and friends. May the Lord continue to bless our special school. St Thomas Aquinas and all our House Patrons, pray for us. Chris Martin, Head of School

St Thomas Aquinas Friday Letter 22 June 2018

St Thomas Aquinas Friday Letter 22 June 2018 May the prayers of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More grant us the courage to proclaim our faith by the witness of our lives. Amen Saint of the week St John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 22 June