Newsletter April 2008

This issue

Welcome to the April 2008 edition of Saint Paul's Academy's newsletter!

In this issue:

• Breaking news
• An Easter blessing
• Easter celebrations
• Years 7 and 9 students enjoy residential retreat to Whitstable
• Examinations begin
• Benefits of Work Experience
• Downloading inappropriate material will not be tolerated
• Email communication with parents and carers
• Drinking water
• Oyster Cards
• Holiday dates 2008 
• School closures
• Important dates
• From our football correspondent

Dear Parents and Guardians

“Can you help us find additional work experience placements for our students? Your help is much appreciated.”

Patrick Winston, Principal

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Breaking news

Congratulations to Aaron Brennan from Year 9, who won the London Borough of Greenwich Speakers' Bank Competition. His chosen topic was Chairs: the smaller things in life.

The Year 10 Football Team has reached the final of the District Cup following their victory over Darrick Wood School.

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An Easter blessing

The Good News is for this day and for all time, The grave is empty, Jesus is risen. The Good News is that light shines in the darkness
And the darkness can never put it out. Good News is that we are an Easter people, We are God's people. Alleluia.

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Easter celebrations

The fact that Easter was so early this year has meant that, very unusually, we have been able to celebrate the Easter Tridium in school. Unfortunately, we are no longer to take the whole school to church because Saint Michael's can only accommodate four hundred students, so Years 8, 9 and 10 heard the story of Holy Week and celebrated the Resurrection together while Years 7 and 11 took part in the same service in school.

The service put together by Miss Pierce, our chaplain, and Mrs Presencer who, as most of you will know by now, is in charge of music, reminded us all in a dynamic way of the events between Palm Sunday and Easter Day. This story is very familiar to most of us and because of this we sometimes take it for granted and forget its importance. This is the story, that Jesus died on the cross for us and on the third day rose from the dead so that we can have eternal life. This is the creed on which our Christian faith depends and it was good to be able to celebrate it as a community.

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Years 7 and 9 students enjoy residential retreat to Whitstable

Students in Years 7 and 9 have also had a chance to reflect on their faith and their relationships with others through residential retreats at Saint Vincent's in Whitstable. Saint Vincent's is the Diocesan Youth Centre and each class has had a chance to spend two nights there, getting to know each other better and thinking about their lives and their world as well as going bowling and spending time by the sea.

Those students who are of different faiths have hopefully been able share their beliefs with others and these students have certainly given us many ideas about how, as a community, we can learn about each other's beliefs and traditions.

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Examinations begin

Years 10 and 11

Of course we are now in the examination season and in fact many Year 11 students have already completed a significant amount of their practical and coursework modules which leaves only the final written papers to complete. Very successful revision sessions were run during half term and there will be further workshops over the spring break. If these concern your son or daughter, you will have already been contacted by subject staff, and I would urge you to ensure that the students attend all the sessions which they have been invited to. Many Year 10 students are also taking one or more GCSE examinations and I am sure that these students will take advantage of the holiday to revise; any qualifications which can be gained in Year 10 mean that the pressure in Year 11 is reduced as well as being very useful when students are applying to Post 16 Institutions.

Years 8 and 9

SATS for Year 8 and 9 students take place immediately after the May Bank Holiday and run from the 6th to 9th of May. Students in Year 8 who are taking SATS early will have been informed of this by their English, maths or science teacher and all students will be very clear about what they need to revise over the next few weeks. I would ask all parents and carers to ensure that their children are in school for these important tests which can not be retaken. I know that all students taking examinations have had excellent preparation and I am sure that they will do themselves, their families and their teachers justice over the coming weeks.

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Benefits of Work Experience

Looking further ahead, at present Work Experience takes place at the end of the summer term and we are always looking for additional placements. We emphasise to students that Work Experience does not usually mean sampling a particular job or profession and doing that job for two weeks but rather it is about getting a taste of the world of work and experiencing the expectations of employers. We want students to find out how they can expect to be treated as young adults in the work place; we do everything we can to prepare students for life after Saint Paul's, but there is nothing like sampling the real thing.

In summer 2009, the first cohort of Saint Paul's Academy students will be on Work Experience and, as many of you will remember, this was the first year that we increased our intake numbers from 120 to 180. This means that over the next year, Ms Stevenson, who is in charge of Work Experience, has got to find an additional sixty placements. It would be extremely helpful, therefore, if any parents or carers, or indeed any one who reads this newsletter, could offer a two week placement. It may seem a long time in advance but because of the health and safety checks and documentation required, the earlier we can start planning the better.

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Downloading inappropriate material will not be tolerated

One of the main features of any 21st century work place is the use of technology, and although there are obviously many advantages to working with the latest forms of communication, there are also drawbacks. Unfortunately, we have recently had experience of students downloading inappropriate material andpassing this on to other people via blue tooth, email or MSN. I can not emphasise too strongly that this is illegal and that students who are caught misusing ICT can expect very strong sanctions which will involve the police when necessary. I would encourage all parents and carers to discuss the use of technology with their sons and daughters, as we have done in school, so that everyone is aware of the potential pitfalls as well as the huge advantages.

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Email communication with parents and carers

At school we hope to extend our use of technology by setting up an email system which will allow parents and carers to receive messages from the school electronically. This system would obviously have huge advantages not least of which is the fact that this is a cheaper and more environmentally friendly way of communicating with you. It is also a fact that pupil post is not always reliable; letters get lost or left at the bottom of bags and occasionally students intercept the post if they are aware that a letter from school is on its way. Therefore, enclosed with this newsletter is a form which explains how to provide us with your email address.

I am also asking all parents and carers to ensure that the school has up-to-date contact details; we have recently had occasions when there has been an emergency and we have been unable to contact parents or careers. If you are able to send this information by email it would be very helpful, but if this is not possible please write to the school detailing the relevant changes.

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Drinking water

We have recently had parents enquiring about the availability of drinking water during the school day because we have had to remove the drinking fountains in the playgrounds. This was done because it was impossible to keep these fountains clean and they were constantly becoming blocked; in the end we had no choice but to remove them. However, water is available during periods one and four from the canteen and at other times in each of the learning zones. We do not allow students to leave lessons unless the circumstances are exceptional but I would encourage parents to ensure that their sons and daughters have a bottle of mineral water on them at all times, especially as the weather gets warmer.

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Oyster Cards

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that all secondary school students are now required to have an Oyster Card with their photograph on it if they wish to take advantage of free travel on the buses. Bus drivers are perfectly within their rights to ask a young person to get off a bus if they do not have an Oyster Card. I would add, however, that many of our students wait for a bus and then only travel one stop on it and in the mornings some students claim to be late because of the buses when they actually live within easy walking distance of school. Again, as the summer approaches, I would encourage students to walk whenever possible as it is by far the healthier option!

At the end of this term we say goodbye to Anita Gallagher our Vice Principal. She has undertaken a wide range of tasks during her three years at Saint Paul's. Mrs Gallagher will commence her new post as Deputy Headteacher at Eltham Green Sports College at the start of the summer term. I would like to thank Mrs Gallagher for her contribution to the development of Saint Paul's.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all an enjoyable and restful break.

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Holiday dates 2008

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School closures

The school will be closed on May 1st because it is a polling station for the mayoral election. However, specific groups of Year 10 and 11 students will be in school for revision activities; all students involved in these classes will be informed in advance.

The school will also be closed on Monday, June 23rd, for and additional INSET day allocated by the government to allow staff to prepare for the new National Curriculum.

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Important dates

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From our football correspondent

The Third Chapter . . . .

Football teams throughout the school have taken part in a number of fixtures including the National Cup and the Kent Cup.

The complete set of results to date is:

Year 7

Goalscorers: B. Owusu-Ansah 21, W. Orimolusi 13, O. Isichei 13, O. Adeloye 10, B. Anidugbe 10, A. Baptiste 9, S. Shote, 4, B. Holdsworth 2, C. Normahoned 2, T. Fadipe 1, (Own Goal 1)

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Year 8

Goalscorers: N. Eka 20, K. Okogwu 8, D. Conteh 7, G. Murphy 5, J. Olufade 4, K. Makinde 2, JC Hines 2, A. Rufino 2, K. Sharpe 2, C. Shiel 2, J. Keating 1, C. Dunleavy 1, H. Hill 1, Own Goal 1.

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Year 9

Goalscorers: O. Odebunmi 20, M. Brobbey 13, A. Wright 12, N. Eka 6, A. Bridge 3, G. Inkulu 3, J. Driscoll 3, L. Akanni 3, A. Swain 3, T. Nihill 2, A. Marshall-Peacock 2, S. Lingwood 1, L. Obembe 1, K. Idedevbo 1, D. Newell 1, A. Tansiri 1, Own Goal 1.

* Won on penalties
** Lost on penalties

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Year 10

Goalscorers: M. Fabiyi 16, J. McGilly 8, J. Gillespie 6, L. Hubbard 5, M. Kolawole 5, J. Baptiste 4, O. Akande 2, F. Sunney-Ackon 2, J. Meade 1, T. Fadipe 1, J. Redfern 1, Own Goal 1.

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Year 11

Goalscorers: D. Isichei 3, J. Higgins-Page 1.

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Girls tournaments Year 7 to 11

Goalscorers: V. Asare 10, A. Offe 6, T. Murphy 3, E. Okagbare 2, A. Light 2, H. Goodes 2, C. Swain 1, L. Smith 1, M. Mbang 1, R. Kayode, L. Trieu 1, B. Jones 1, M. Kersnauskaite 1, M. Owusu-Ansah 1.

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Playing record 2007/2008

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