Newsletter February 2012

This issue

Welcome to the February 2012 edition of Saint Paul's Academy's newsletter!

In this issue:

• A Welcome Return
• Great Expectations
• Year 8 girls go skating
• Year 7 boys enjoy Athletics success
• Visit to see the film Warhorse
• Panathalon Challenge
• Notice of Detention
• Awards Evening
• Driving students to school
• Making an appointment
• The season of Lent
• An inspiration to us all!
• Important dates
• Holiday dates

Dear Parents and Carers

“This is the start of our third year in our new building and the first time that snow has not caused problems at the end of the Autumn Term; this meant that we could utilise every opportunity to raise money for our Advent Charity Appeal and our total was a staggering £6,660! This is in excess of our £6,000 target, which we thought was extremely ambitious, and it brings the total amount of money raised since we became an Academy to over £62,000. At any time this would be a very impressive sum but, in a time of recession, it is quite amazing and it reflects the overwhelming generosity of our community..”

Patrick Winston, Principal

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A Welcome Return

In the Summer and Christmas Newsletters, I made reference to a member of staff who has been suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, as a result of which we have become involved with the Beat Blood Cancer charity. The member of staff I was referring to is Jess Nelson who has worked in many areas of the Academy. Jess was a student at Saint Paul’s Catholic School from September 1998 to July 2003 and, after completing a degree in English and Dance, we were very pleased when she came back to work with us while she completed her MA.

Last year, Jess was successful in her application to start a PhD and she had decided to work part time from September while she completed her studies. I am delighted to tell you that Jess will return to work after Easter and will commence her PhD as planned! In the meantime, Jess has written an article for this Newsletter explaining her situation and how the money raised has been used.

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Great Expectations

The New Year brought good news in the form of examination results; forty one students in Year 11 successfully completed their Maths GCSE early, with all students achieving Grade C or better and making at least three levels of progress, which is the expected requirement from the DfE, with a significant number exceeding this target. Given these results and the progress we are monitoring in other curriculum areas, our tracking data suggests that in June we will have the best set of results (five or more A* - C including Maths and English) since the Academy was set up.

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Year 8 girls go skating

The end of last term also saw sixty Year 8 girls going ice skating in Bluewater. This was an extremely festive event and everyone very much enjoyed it, even though some were more talented than others!

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Year 7 boys enjoy Athletics success

With the Year 7 boys’ athletics, the talent was more evenly spread and our students performed extremely well in the Lea Valley Schools’ Indoor Athletics Competition in December, sealing victory overall in the B Finals. Our greatest successes were on the track, where we dominated most events. We achieved our overall victories in the 60m, 200m, 800m and, in a fantastic display of team spirit and hard work, the 4 x 100m relay. The boys also did particularly well in the field events, including the Shot Put, where again, team effort contributed greatly to the overall victory.

A special mention must also go to the girls’ athletics team, who represented Saint Paul’s in the semi-finals of the competition at the end of November.

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Visit to see the film Warhorse

A very exciting event in January was a Year 8 outing to see the new film version of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, War Horse, which was directed by Steven Spielberg. This has run extremely successfully at the National Theatre for a number of years and we were invited to see a free screening at The Odeon in Leicester Square. The visit was a particularly special occasion because the author held a question and answer session after the screening, which was not only very enjoyable in its own right, but also very beneficial for our students’ understanding of the novel.

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Panathalon Challenge

At the beginning of this month, we were very pleased to host, for the second year running, the Panathalon Challenge; an inter-borough special needs sports event which delivers opportunities for severely disabled young people across the country. We welcomed students from a number of neighbouring boroughs who took part in a range of activities. It was also very impressive to see our Year 11 BTEC Sports Leaders facilitating the event with the coordinators. This was a fantastic learning experience for everyone involved and the learning was not limited to sport; all those involved gained experience and knowledge of other people and, in particular, their needs and what motivates them.

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Notice of Detention

You will be aware from the media that the government is making some significant changes to education. One difference is that from January 16th, 2012 schools are no longer required to give twenty-four hours notice of detention. In other words, students can be kept after school on the same day the detention is given.

Good practice dictates that whenever possible a note will be written in a student’s planner the day before but there are occasions when this will not be possible. I know that, as always, I will have your full support on this matter as we ensure that we have the very highest standards at Saint Paul’s Academy.

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Awards Evening

Our Examination Awards Evening was a great success, with many students and parents enjoying such an important occasion.

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Driving students to school

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that if you drive your child to school in the morning, you should not stop in the immediate vicinity of the school as this is extremely dangerous, especially if you then turn round at the top of Panfield Road. We have recently had situations when cars have been scraped and serious accidents only narrowly avoided. If students are driven to school, they should be dropped between the junctions of Penmon Road and Church Manor Way; it should not be necessary to turn onto Finchale Road.

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Making an appointment

I would also remind you that, whilst we are always happy to talk to parents and carers when issues arise, we cannot meet people without an appointment. Most staff are in the classroom for the majority of the time and this is where they should be; it would be very inappropriate in every way if teachers left classes in order to conduct unscheduled meetings.

Threatening Staff

I am also concerned that a small minority of parents and carers think that they can get their way by verbally or physically threatening staff. Any such behaviour will be referred immediately to the police.

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The season of Lent

When we return after half term, we are almost straight into the season of Lent; this is a time when we can sort out our priorities. Lent offers the opportunity to make a new start and believe in God’s love for us. Sometimes when ashes are given, we hear the words, ’Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.’ This encourages us to think more carefully about the choices we make and to believe more fully in God’s love. Ash Wednesday is the first Wednesday of the new half term and all members of our school community will have a chance to receive ashes. Throughout Lent there will be a Mass every Friday morning at 7:30; all are welcome.

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An inspiration to us all!

In June last year I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). A month earlier I had discovered a lump and was told that it was cancerous, but it took a month of scans, tests and biopsies to make a final diagnosis. I had had none of the typical symptoms of AML such as extreme tiredness, bleeding/bruising, breathlessness or recurrent illnesses. It appeared that the Leukaemia had left my blood and formed in various organs in my body, which was why it had been particularly hard to diagnose.

I was admitted to Guy’s Hospital in London where I agreed to take part in a country-wide research study that was testing how AML responded to various combinations of chemotherapy with the addition of a new drug. I had to complete 4 cycles of chemotherapy. The first cycle involved me staying in hospital for 28 days after which I was lucky enough to go into remission. The subsequent cycles were shorter but as each cycle of chemotherapy eradicates the immune system I would develop an infection and have to be re-admitted to hospital. I completed my final cycle of chemotherapy the day before my 25th birthday.

Around 2,200 adults are diagnosed with AML in the UK every year and it can affect people of any age, but the majority of patients are over 60 years old; around one in ten AML patients are younger than 25 years old.

I am completely overwhelmed by the support and kindness that I have received from both staff and students at Saint Paul’s Academy. I had numerous visits from my colleagues and kept in constant contact with them throughout my treatment. Saint Paul’s Academy has a fantastic reputation for their dedication to fundraising and supporting the community, so it was of no surprise that I was immediately asked if there was anything that the school could do for me. I suggested that they could perhaps do some fundraising for a Leukaemia charity to help fund vital research. I later decided that I would also like some of the money raised to go towards activities and trips for teenagers and young adults who are fighting cancer.

The Teenage and Young Adult’s support group operates in a number of hospitals across the South East of London and provides vital emotional support to those aged 16-24. The group is run by a lead cancer nurse who works alongside a patient’s Clinical Nurse Specialist to ensure all needs from diagnosis, treatment and out-patient follow-ups are met. The TYA nurse acts as a confidante for the young patient and can arrange various additional support from a number of other professionals such as psychologists, dieticians and complementary therapists as well as support from cancer charities. The TYA group also arranges trips away for patients and organizes monthly support group meetings and activities such as bowling and theatre trips.

It is overwhelming to hear of the fantastic fundraising being achieved by the staff and students and my hospital team are completely astounded by the efforts of all involved. I am very grateful for everything that Saint Paul’s Academy has done for me and I am very much looking forward to returning to the school at Easter.

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Important dates

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Holiday dates

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