Newsletter January 2006
This issue
Welcome to the January 2006 edition of Saint Paul's Academy's newsletter!
In this issue:
- Improving your school
- Annual Carol Service
- Our chosen charities
- Cystic Fibrosis student shows us the way
- Enterprise initiative
- Students involvement in the community
- Providing more activities
- Year 11
- Year 10
- Year 9
- Year 8...
- Year 7...
- Holiday dates
- Important dates
- From out football correspondent
- Congratulations: Gaelic football
Dear Parents and Guardians
“It is impossible to sum up in one newsletter everything that takes place in a large institution over a period of seven weeks. However, I hope this newsletter gives you a flavour of what has been happening at Saint Paul’s Academy and of some of the issues we consider to be important. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who is involved in this project for all their different contributions to its success. I would particularly like to thank the staff, both teaching and support, for their very hard work this term. This is the season of peace and goodwill; the time of the year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. I wish all of you a very happy and peaceful Christmas.”
Patrick Winston, Principal
Improving your school
It is hard to believe that this time last year Saint Paul's Academy was still in the early planning stages and no-one was sure whether it would ever come to fruition. Twelve months later, we have just completed our first term as an Academy which, although it continues the strengths of Saint Paul's Catholic School, is fundamentally a new institution. This has been an incredibly exciting and busy term as we have become accustomed to new ideas and routines; the new school day and the restaurant facilities have had a considerable impact on teaching and learning and the improved ICT facilities are enhancing the education of all students.
Annual Carol Service
Some things, however, do not change and we will hold our annual Carol Service on Monday in Saint Michael's Church. I know that as always, we will be made extremely welcome by the church community and again the importance of such whole school celebrations will be made very clear. I would like to thank all those who work so hard to ensure the success of such events; such occasions do not happen without a tremendous amount of planning and preparation.
Our chosen charities
At the Carol Service we will present cheques to representatives from our chosen Advent charities; we do not as yet have a final total of all the money collected but it will be in excess of £2,500 this represents a magnificent effort on the part of the whole school community and it demonstrates the commitment of our students to those less fortunate than themselves. As I outlined in the last newsletter, this year we have chosen once again to raise money for Sr Ann O'Connor and her work in East Kenya.
This year she has particularly asked us to pay school fees for several students who could not otherwise afford secondary education and to help provide support for children, especially orphans, with AIDS.
Cystic Fibrosis student shows us the way
As you will also be aware, our second charity is much closer to home as the plight of Cystic Fibrosis sufferers has been brought to our attention by one of our own students who, in spite of his difficulties has made exceptional progress at school. This student has demonstrated remarkable perseverance and opened our eyes to what so many young people have to endure.
Enterprise initiative
Our charity work has also become linked with our Enterprise initiatives. Enterprise is one of the Academy's specialisms and under the leadership of Ms Stevenson many very exciting projects have got under way. These projects include students raising funds for the Vision Aid Overseas Charity through selling badges and other promotional activities; students designing and selling their own Christmas cards and deciding how to use the money; students growing bulbs for sale and Fair Trade issues being promoted in school. All these initiatives help to give our students experience of the wider world and help them to realise that they are part of a global community.
Students involvement in the community
Our students have shown their involvement in community issues in other ways, for example through civic education. 9LT, with the support of their form tutor Miss Thorn, have lobbied local MP John Austin about the introduction of legislation concerning animal welfare. As a result of this, these Year 9 students have been invited to visit Mr Austin at the House of Commons. We also have four Year 10 students who are now involved with the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce; this is an excellent experience for them especially as they are all now on sub committees such as Fair Trade and Safety.
Providing more activities
Extra curricular activities are very important at Saint Paul's Academy and we saw a great deal of talent on display at our music concert this week. Many out of school activities have also been taking place in drama, and trips to the National Theatre now seem to be weekly events! It goes without saying that sport continues to play a fundamental part in school life, so much so that details of the school's sporting life appear in a separate article in this newsletter.
Year 11
GCSE Consultation Evening
As is usual at this time of year, our Year 11 students have just take their trial GCSE examinations and early indications are that many of the results bode very well for next summer. There is obviously a great deal of hard work to do and nobody is complacent but the majority of students are taking their work seriously and planning carefully for the future. The Year 11 Consultative evening will take place on Thursday, 9th February and I look forward to seeing all parents and guardians on this occasion.
Year 10
Some students have already taken their first module test in science and, on the whole, they have settled down to hard work. In January we look forward to welcoming Mr Tony Ring head of the Mathematics and Commerce Learning Zone.
Year 9
Planning for next year
Similarly, Year 9 students are, on the whole, preparing very well for their SATs in English, maths, science and ICT and for their teacher assessments in all other subjects. At the moment these students are starting to consider their options for next year and they are enjoying a wider range of options than we have been able to offer in the past. It was good to see so many parents and guardians at the recent Year 9 Consultative Evening; this was an extremely successful event and as always I would like to thank parents and guardians for their continued support.
Year 8...
are responding well to the new school day, and some are preparing to take their SATs examinations in maths at the end of this year rather than at the end of Year 9. This is happening because we feel that students should take examinations when they are ready, rather than when their age dictates. If students take SATs in Year 8, then they will have a three year Key Stage 4 which will allow them, if it is felt appropriate by staff, to take some GCSE examinations in Year 10. This in turn will mean that further GCSE courses can be made available in some curriculum areas in Year 11. As our school numbers grow in size there will be greater timetabling flexibility allowing us to cater even more for individual students' needs.
Year 7...
students have settled well and they all obviously enjoyed their five day stay at Arethusa Venture Centre; they experienced a wide range of activities including a day in Canterbury, high ropes and low ropes, team games, tobogganing, art, swimming and bowling. Again, my thanks go to all staff, both teaching and support, who gave so generously of their time to support this activity; without such generosity it would obviously not be possible to run this type of activity.
It is impossible to sum up in one newsletter everything that takes place in a large institution over a period of seven weeks. However, I hope this newsletter gives you a flavour of what has been happening at Saint Paul's Academy and of some of the issues we consider to be important. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who is involved in this project for all their different contributions to its success. I would particularly like to thank the staff, both teaching and support, for their very hard work this term.
This is the season of peace and goodwill; the time of the year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. I wish all of you a very happy and peaceful Christmas.
Holiday dates
| Spring Term | Monday 9th January 2006 Thursday 6th April 2006 |
|---|---|
| Spring Half Term | Monday 13th February 2006 Friday 17th February 2006 |
| Easter Holiday | Friday 7th April 2006 Friday 21st April 2006 |
| Summer Term | Monday 24th April 2006 Friday 21st July 2006 |
| May Day | Monday 8th May 2006 |
| Summer Half Term | Monday 29th May 2006 Friday 2nd June 2006 |
Important dates
| Friday 13th January | Year 10 GNVQ ICT Exam |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 18th January | Year 11 Applied Science exam |
| Thursday 9th February 4pm | Year 11 Consultation |
| Wednesday 1st March | Ash Wednesday |
| Wednesday 8th March | Year 10 Science Module Exams |
| Thursday 23rd March 4pm | Year 8 Consultation |
| Monday 27th March | Year 9 journey to Normandy |
| Thursday 6th April | LAST DAY OF TERM |
At the recent Awards Evening, the Kevin Pearce Trophy was presented to Roland Ngwana. He only became a regular member of the team during the last two years but his contribution was outstanding.
As we come to the end of another calendar year, I would like to thank everyone involved in the continuing development of football at Saint Paul's School. I would particularly like to thank our team managers Mr Innocent, Mr McCann, Mr Akif, Ms Branagan and Mr Stanton for their outstanding work. I would also like to thank Mrs Cunningham and her team for providing a wonderful laundry service to support all of our teams.
The remainder of the football season is going to be very hectic, with a large number of fixtures during the spring term. In the meantime, a happy Christmas to you all and every good wish for the new year!
From our football correspondent
The first chapter
During this season, football teams throughout the school have taken part in a number of major competitions, including the National Cup, Kent Cup and the Bromley Schools' Tournaments. A number of challenge matches have also taken place.
The complete set of results to date is:
Year 7 Opponents
| Opponents | Competition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cleeve Park | Kent Cup | Lost 2-3 |
| Woolwich Polytechnic | Friendly | Lost 3-6 |
| City of London | Friendly | Won 9-2 |
| Bishop Challoner | Friendly | Won 2-1 |
Goalscorers: A. Wright 8, P. Gordon 4, J. Higgins-Page 2, L. Akanni 1, R. Colebrook 1.
Year 8 Opponents
| Opponents | Competition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Leigh CTC | Kent Cup | Lost 1-2 |
| Woolwich Polytechnic | Friendly | Lost 3-6 |
| City of London | Bromley Cup | Won 2-0 |
Goalscorers: J. Gillespie 2, M. Kolawole 2, J. Baptise 1, L. Hubbard 1.
Year 9 Opponents
| Opponents | Competition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Stephney Green | National Cup | Won 6-3 |
| BETHS GS | Kent Cup | *Drew 2-2 |
| Brampton Manor | National Cup | Lost 1-7 |
| Wilmington GS | Kent Cup | Lost 0-4 |
Goalscorers: D. Isichei 5, J. Higgins-Page 1, J. Bingham 1, P. Gulliford 1, J. Amobire 1.
*Won on penalties
Year 10 Opponents
| Opponents | Competition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Welling | Kent Cup | *Drew 2-2 |
Goalscorers: D Isichei (1), A Kennedy (1)
* Lost on penalties
Year 11 Opponents
| Opponents | Competition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Hurstmere | Kent Cup | Lost 0-3 |
| Erith | Kent Cup | *Drew 2-2 |
| Charles Darwin | Kent Cup | Won 7-0 |
Goalscorers: D. Uchechi 3, E. Esioberhire 2, D. Lewis 1, D. Casey 1, M. Munday 1, S. Mitchell 1.
* Won on penalties
Girls' Tournaments
| Year 7 to 11 Opponents | Competition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Darrick Wood | Kent Cup (U14) | Lost 5-9 |
| Darrick Wood | Kent Cup (U13) | Lost 1-9 |
| Erith | Kent Cup (U16) | Lost 1-2 |
Goalscorers: A. Offe 3, T. Murphy 3, I. Makanjuola 1.
Playing record 2005/2006
| P | W | D | L | F | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 12 |
| Year 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Year 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 16 |
| Year 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Year 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| Girls | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| TOTAL | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 49 | 63 |
Congratulations: Gaelic football
London Player of the Year Award at U16 Liam Doidge
London Player of the Year Award at U14 Derek Isichei
Our U14 team recently played a touring team from Tulsk in Co. Roscommon. After a most exciting game we were narrowly defeated by two points 3 – 03 (12pts) to 1 – 07 (10pts).
Leading Goalscorers from 09/90: Ezekiel Kamara (84), Stephen Nicola (80), Michael Nicola (77), Paul Hewson (74), Ese Esioberhire (72), Edwin Mante (67), David Panetta (62), Ryan Meade (61), Lee Blowfield (60), Neil McCarthy (57), Anton Innocent (57), DanielUchechi (56), David Lewis (56), Michael Dolan (55), Rio Nelson (46), Brian Oula (44), Darren Buckley (43), Ciara Swain (37).
