Parent newsletter
Friday 25 March 2022
Chaplaincy Team - Prayer
Father, forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
When others have wronged us,
may we be ready and willing to put things right
and not to make things worse between us.
Help us to be kind and tender-hearted,
willing to forgive others
as readily as you forgive us.
Amen.
Theme of the week
Theme of the week = Lent – The Joy of Forgiveness
Foodbank week beginning 28 March:
St. Margaret Clitherow
St. Anne Line
Foodbank week beginning 4 April:
St. Rita
St. John Boste
CAFOD Lent Campaign
As of Tuesday 22 March, we have currently raised £295.45 for CAFOD. Thank you for all your support. We will continue to collect donations throughout Lent.
Covid 19 update
There has been a recent increase in the number of staff testing positive for Covid and as a result we now have a number of staff isolating.
Thank you to students and families for your support where classes have been taught by cover teachers. Wherever possible, and particularly at this time of the year, we prioritise exam classes with specialist teaching.
Staff have been advised to wear face coverings in all communal areas until further notice and continue to prioritise good ventilation and hand hygiene protocols.
We are following guidance from Sunderland City Council's Public Health Team and we ask that if your child has a positive LFT or any of the main Covid symptoms that they should remain at home and request a PCR test. Further information can be found on our website.
Respect and Routines
Please remember to sign your child’s planner every week and to use it as an easy method of communication between school and home. It is important that all our students are using their planner effectively. From Monday 28 March students will need to have their planner signed by the class teacher when they leave the room during a lesson.
Attendance
Next week you will receive further information about the new Traffic Light System we are introducing to help our students to reach and maintain ambitious standards of attendance in school. Letters will be sent out every half term letting parents know if their child is currently Red, Amber, or Green and we will be working hard with families to help resolve any issues around attendance.
Blue and Yellow Day for Ukraine, Friday 8 April 2022
On Friday 8 April as we continue in our efforts to support the people of Ukraine, we have a range of activities planned including sweet sales and raffles. And we are ending this term with a Wear Blue and Yellow Day. We are asking all students and staff to make a minimum suggested donation of £1 to support this worthwhile cause. Donations can be brought in as cash on the day or made via your ParentPay account (when you log on you will see payment option).
Students are to wear school uniform but can ‘wear blue and yellow’ by:
● Wearing a blue and/or yellow top
● Wearing blue or yellow accessories: socks, tights, hair accessories etc.
● Have blue or yellow make-up or nail varnish or glitter or face paint
NB: No blue or yellow hair dye. For Health and Safety reasons students are not allowed to wear a hat and our policy regards no jewellery remains in place.
Y11 and 13 Mock Exams
Year 11 and 13 students have had exemplary behaviour during the Mock Exam period, culminating in final exams for Year 11 today. In recognition of this, all students were able to enjoy an ice cream treat in the lovely sunshine.
Year 11 Prom
Monday 27 June, Ramside Hall Hotel
The Y11 black tie event will take place on Monday 27 June 2022 in The Bishop's Suite at the Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham.
Tickets are priced at £35 with a £10 non-refundable deposit. We are asking for payments to be made through Parent Pay accounts and a £10 non-refundable deposit should be made by Wednesday 6 April 2022. Parents can also choose to pay the amount in full if they wish or in increments over time, however full payment must be received by Monday 16 May 2022.
The criteria for students to be able to attend Prom in regards to behaviour expectations was contained in a letter sent to parents on Wednesday 23 March. A copy of the letter can be viewed on the website.
Year 8 Parents’ Evening
Thank you to all Year 8 parents/carers who joined our Virtual Parents' evening on Wednesday 23 March. We hope the evening was a positive experience for you. We especially thank you for your patience regarding our absent staff who were unable to talk with you on the evening.
So that we can improve the experience we would welcome your feedback. Please complete our feedback from by clicking the button below.
Modern Foreign Languages
Well done to Linguist of the week Isobel Ditchburn in 7LF1, who produced a great piece of homework about school subjects and her knowledge of Francophone countries really wowed her teacher and classmates. Keep up the great work Isobel.
On Tuesday the whole school had a great day celebrating International Francophonie Day, learning about French speaking countries and taking part in a flag treasure hunt. Well done to all our prize winners in Years 7-10. The canteen also blew us away with their amazing French-themed menu.
Maths
Some of our Year 9 students took part in the Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust Key Stage 3 Maths Challenge. One team was a round winner, each receiving a gift card and the other team came third overall.
They thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and were fantastic ambassadors for the school, well done!
Art, Deign and Technology
Congratulations to Precious Maranon in Y8, a regional winner in the Heroes Stamp Design Competition, which honours the heroes of the coronavirus pandemic. Precious competed against over 606,049 entrants and contributed towards a new Guinness world record for the largest postage stamp design competition. Not only did she win a £500 cash prize for herself, Precious also won the same prize for the Art department too.
Year 9 have been busy making fantastic mirror pouches.
Artist of the week
Kate Duff in Y11 has created an amazing painting entitled "Crisp Sandwich" which will look fantastic in her GCSE Food project. Outstanding work from a GCSE Fine Art student.
PE and Sport
Congratulations to Year 12 Adam Hughes (bib 146) who represented Durham County at the English Schools Cross-Country Championships 2022. He finished 89th in a field of over 400. He was third counter in his team. What an achievement.
Adam said, 'It was an awesome experience. I am very proud of my achievement and would like to say thank you for the experience!'
British Science Week (14 – 18 March 2022)
The science department has been celebrating British Science Week, with the theme this year is ‘Growth.’ Year 7 and 8 students have enjoyed exploring and looking at several different aspects of growth, covering areas including growing plants, human population growth and bacterial growth; to the universe expanding after the Big Bang and the Eiffel tower growing taller when the weather is warm. They have also been exploring scientific discoveries linked to growth such as the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming and the role of the Hubble telescope as it investigates the growth of the universe. Students have also had the opportunity to enter a poster competition where they can investigate any aspect of growth that interests them in more detail.
Eco Committee
Sophie, president of our Eco Committee attended the Environmental, Green and Sustainable Group meeting at City Hall. The group, which includes students in the city from primary to university age, talked about the climate crisis and the low
carbon action being taken across the city. Sophie fed back the action points to our Eco Committee and we hope to get involved in green initiatives around the city.
The Classical Civilisation A Level class visited Durham University and had a tour of the Classics Department, hosted by Dr Meijer and Dr Kaizer. They also met some current Durham students who gave in insight into life at Durham University.
Two of our former students, Lydia Stoker and Eve Jackson, who are currently in their first year of studying at Durham University came to say hello and talked about their current studies.
Lastly, we had a riveting workshop on Greek religion from Dr George Gazis, were we discussed the origin of the Greek gods and how the Greeks used oracles to communicate with the gods.
