St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls

Head Teacher News

Sports Day

It was so hot! Thankfully, the vast majority of the girls came prepared and equipped for the weather, well done girls. A huge well done to Ms Husband and all the PE staff who organised an excellent event. Everything went to plan and we even finished early, so could get home and out of the sun. Congratulations everyone, it was a very successful day!

End of another year

As I write the final Contact of the year, I can’t believe another year has ended and whilst we are feeling it is the end of the year it has gone very quickly! Hopefully, we will be able to report in September that it has been another great year for St. Catherine’s girls.
I wish you all a happy, sunny and restful holiday. Please take care and come back to school ready for work!

Farewell…….

Unfortunately we have to say goodbye to a number of colleagues who are leaving St. Catherine’s to embark upon new adventures and phases in their lives. Many thanks to them all for their hard work and contribution to the school in their different ways.
 Mrs Wynn, Senior Lab Technician
 Miss Inches, PE Teacher, who has been covering Mrs Valentines Maternity, leaves to continue her travels.
 Miss Woodacre, Drama leaves to pursue her career in the theatre.
 Miss Hayden, Maths teacher & Year Leader for Year 10 leaves to return to Ireland.

Lastly, Mrs Warnock, Deputy Head Teacher leaves us to take up the Headship of St. Ursula’s in Greenwich. I know this is a wonderful opportunity for her and she will make a fantastic Head Teacher.

I am sorry she is leaving us, she has been amazing to work with and has always put the children at the heart of everything she has done.
She is not going far so we all hope that she will continue to visit us.
Good luck to you all and God bless. Happy holidays everyone!

Papal Visit

Celebration of Achievement
Evening ~ guest of honour
Karen Pickering MBE

This was very successful and the new format of including Year 11 was well received. Karen Pickering gave a truly inspirational speech which we all enjoyed. Obviously the girls who received the awards are to be congratulated on their achievement but fortunately, there are so many very hardworking talented and committed girls at St. Catherine’s that we could have filled the hall many times over!

Grimm Tales

The Year 10 Btec Performing Arts performed a series of short plays. I must say it was brilliant, highly entertaining and funny. So many great performances. A thoroughly enjoyable evening. I must also acknowledge the Year 7 Drama Group who performed Cinderella, definitely some up and coming actresses there! Well done all of you!

Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Congratulations to the 16 Year 10 girls who successfully completed and passed the expedition last weekend for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. A huge thank you to Mr Lenihan, Miss McDonagh, Miss Monin and Miss Moore who generously gave up their weekend for the girls.

Year 10 Retreat to Kintbury

Also, last weekend 60 Year 10 girls went on retreat to Kintbury. Catherine, Mrs Warnock, Miss Cook (RE), Mrs Uttley~Wright, Miss Langridge and Mrs Isom accompanied the grils to this very special place and had, by all accounts, an amazing experience. Many Thanks.

Art Exhibition

The standard of work in the Exhibition this year was outstanding! I was very pleased with the support from Parents/Carers as they visited the Art Area to view their daughter’s final work and portfolios. Thank you to Mrs Weavis and Miss Turner.

Sports Day

This is scheduled for Monday 19th July at Erith Sports Stadium. As you have already been informed, the girls should go directly to the stadium and arrive by 9am. The events will commence at 9.30am. They should wear their PE kit and not their uniform. The girls should also bring with them
• Drinks
• Packed Lunch
• Sun hat/creams (if it is hot)
Students will not be allowed to compete if they do not have the correct PE kit. Students who are not competing should also wear correct kit. If students do not comply with this instruction an appropriate sanction will be given for later in the week.

All students are required to attend and any absence will be investigated thoroughly and if I am not satisfied that it is for a genuine illness, it will be recorded as unauthorised and a truancy sanction will be given. I would urge Parents/Carers to be sensible and not be party to any action which would enable your daughter not to attend the Sports Day. This would not be a good lesson to teach them about life and their responsibilities. The girls will be dismissed at 2.30pm. Parents/Carers are more than welcome to join us but would you please sit in the designated area and not in the areas for the students. Thank you.

And finally…….

An individual student who deserves a round of applause. Clarrisa Folkes has successfully completed all the workshops for the Secondary Junior Athletic Education Programme. The programme is aimed at potential high performing athletes and focuses on managing the balance of school work and sport.

Year 6 visits

Gosh what a crazy week this has been, so very, very busy but for lots of good reasons! On Monday and Tuesday we welcomed the Year 6 children who will be joining us in September, they experienced a whole host of activities including, science, making carrot cake, designing and constructing a box to carry the cake in (I tasted one of these and it was delicious!), Media and Drama. Thanks to all the staff who hosted the girls, they really enjoyed their special day as you can see by the quotes below: “St. Catherine’s is really a fun place to be at. It’s filled with lots of new activities” - Deniesha Freeman, St. Fidelis “I liked making the carrot cakes as it isn't something we get to do in primary school” - Kelly Fabian, Our Lady of the Rosary. “Science was the best bit today because I was able to make colours using chemicals and flames”. Aillsh McCormack - Our Lady of the Rosary

O2 Dome

A group of over 30 girls and 4 staff had a fantastic experience of singing at the O2 on Tuesday Evening. This year the theme was ‘James Bond’. Apparently the behaviour of the girls was as expected - wonderful and Mrs Isom, Mrs Collison, Mr Bell, and Mr Allen were very pleased but tired the following day.

Year 9 Olympic Day

This looked like great fun and I genuinely am sorry that I missed the aerobathon but I was visiting a Primary School to talk to Year 5 Parents. However, I did catch the ‘Total Wipeout’ some drama/ dance and the music. What I really love about these days is how the children work so well together and embrace doing things differently. Most importantly, the staff really worked together on this, the planning has taken a considerable chunk of their valuable time. Many thanks everyone.

Papal Visit

As you will be fully aware Pope Benedict XVIth is to visit this country in September. It is a very different visit to the last time a Pope visited our country and it is a very different world. I remember in 1982 and I had just started teaching, we walked all the children from school, caught a train to Charing Cross and then we went and stood on Bird Cage Walk just to wave flags as the Pope went past on his way to meet the Queen in the Palace. We had a picnic and then caught the train home. It was all very simple and everyone was invited. Unfortunately, it is very different this time and we are beginning to plan some celebration for all the girls. On Friday 17th September he will be visiting St. Mary’s University in Twickenham for The Big Assembly. We have been extremely lucky in managing to secure 6 tickets to St. Mary’s via the Diocese. Therefore I will be taking 5 students (1 from each Year Group). We need to decide who goes very quickly as I have to submit the names by the end of next week for security reasons. How do we decide? Well the fairest way would be to literally pick names out of a hat. If you would like the chance to go, please complete the proforma attached and return to Reception by 13th July 2010. It may require an early start and I have no further details at present to the actual timing so you will need to be flexible and most definitely punctual. None of this 30 minutes late nonsense!

The Leavers’ Mass was a very happy event. My thanks to Fr Des Hanrahan from St Lawrence’s Parish in saying the Mass.Catherine and the Year 11 girls put together a very personal and prayerful Mass which seemed to hit the right note with everyone. I was very appreciative and impressed by the number of Parents/Carers and Grannies who came along. Special thanks to Elaine Yau for playing the piano so beautifully. We have relied so much over the years on Elaine and we will miss her talent which she has shared so generously with us. It is a big day for the girls but also the family. Hopefully we have built a strong relationship and it is sad that it comes to an end just when the girls emerge as the beautiful and confident young ladies they are. It is very exciting for the girls themselves and we wish them every success in the future wherever they go in life. My last words to them are to be true to themselves and as always to think of the consequences when making choices.

Open Air Mass

Unfortunately we were not blessed with good weather on Tuesday morning so our planned Open Air Mass had to take place inside. Yet again Fr Des Hanrahan celebrated the Mass for us and he had to do it twice! He is quite amazing, so very kind and all on his day off! The girls co-operated fully and it was lovely to see so many involved. The offertory procession with candles involved a number of girls in costume representing the many countries and cultures that the girls come from. This isn’t always apparent as they work together so cohesively but it is important to recognise and celebrate our diversity. It brings a richness to our school which is not present in many schools in the area. My thanks yet again to Catherine, Ms Cook (RE), Mrs Isom, Mrs Cunningham and Mr Hayter for their contribution in preparing the girls for the Mass. A special mention to the Year 9 girls who
are emerging as a liturgical choir, it’s so nice to hear the girls sing. I hope this will develop and extend beyond Year 9. We all benefited from Sidney Okoh playing the drums, having an individual instrumentalist confidently performing - adds that little bit extra. Well done and many thanks.

New Beginnings

Whilst saying goodbye to Year11 with one hand we were ushering Year 10 into the hall for their assessments with the other. It never stops, no time to really reflect on anything. Next week we welcome into school for their induction the incoming Year 7s and so we begin again. nurturing the children, encouraging and developing them into
the young women of the future. Five years isn’t long at all but the transformation in that time is quite amazing. On Friday evening we have the Leavers’ Prom and the girls will undoubtedly look so very grown up and beautiful. In anticipation I would like to thank Ms Husband and Mrs Strong particularly for their work in ensuring this all goes to plan but also to all the other staff who are attending and giving up their Friday night.

Thankfully we also have a very shrewd Governing Body who have always maintained the school very well. We will continue to do this as long as we can. I very much believe that the learning environment imp acts significantly on student and teachers’ attitudes to learning and teaching. I also see it as a way of showing respect to the students and staff. They deserve the very best I and the Governors can provide for them!

It has been a beautiful week and fortunately the girls have been able to enjoy the space we have at St. Catherine’s. Thanks to the good service of the Premises Team who looks after our environment, the grounds are available to the girls to enjoy and relax in at lunchtime. The very great majority of the girls do appreciate and respect the work done by these key staff. There are always a minority who either just takes it for granted or spoil it for others. I don't want to dwell on this as the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. However, I do go around to lots of other schools and when I return I do very much value what we have here.
We have to take good care of our school, I have always known this but never before has it been more important. We have no idea what the next year will bring in terms of funding

Year 11

Year 11 have a few exams left and we are looking forward to their Leavers’ Mass on Monday 28th June. I hope that many Parents/Carers will join us as this is a big day in their lives as well! The girls have coped really well through this stressful period and truly deserve a few weeks to rest before the big results day on August 24th. I will continue to pray for them all and hope that they will be rewarded with the results the students and staff have worked so very hard for.

Blazers

The rule relating to Blazers has been relaxed due to the hot weather since Wednesday afternoon. Please use your common sense and if the weather changes over the weekend and you need more than just your blouse, then it is blazers back on!
Please check the website for any information daily as we will keep this updated.

Sainsbury’s

Unfortunately I have received a letter from the Customer Service Manager from Sainsbury’s relating to students entering the store in Bexleyheath, they state:

“We have been working with the local Police and have now come to the decision that the only way forward is for us to place a complete ban on all school students in uniform from the local affecting schools”

I trust you will pass on this information directly to your daughter.

Please note there will not be a morning break on Mon 29th June due to our Annual Open Air Mass

Primary Visit

Our Primary Transition Team have been visiting many of our „feeder‟ Primary Schools, meeting the Year 6 students and welcoming them to our school community. It is always a pleasure to visit the Primary Schools as we are made to feel so welcome.
Year 6 students visited our school last Saturday and further Induction Days are planned for the 5th and 6th July. It is a very exciting, yet nervous time for our newcomers but we hope that our transition programme relieves any tension or inhibitions they have may have before starting secondary school.
We hope they are as enthused as we are about joining St. Catherine‟s.

What a Knight!

As part of our Specialist School work in our c o m m u n i t y , M r Warburton is currently helping St Fidelis school bring their play “What A Knight!” to life. Working alongside St Fidelis‟ own Year 6 teachers, he is teaching 60 students acting techniques and text development to help the play become even better than it already is. The play is a farcical comedy set in Medieval times and is set to be very successful as the students are very enthusiastic and excited about the show, and working very hard indeed!

Summer Assessments

This week marked the beginning of our summer term assessment schedules.
Students across all Year groups have been thoroughly prepared and much of home learning is now focused on revision and learning. Students should be using their time wisely in order to achieve their very best.

Yr10 GCSE Summer Assessments

Year 10 students completed their Health & Social Care and Science GCSE exams this week. The girls were very posit ive about the papers and conducted themselves in a mature, responsible manner. Further GCSE exams include Textiles and Physics.
These are the last two remaining formal external examinations but parents should be aware that the summer assessments, which are organised similarly to GCSE exams begin on 28th June until 6th July. Students have received numerous copies detailing the programme of exams. Students should be revising thoroughly at home as the results of
these examinations/assessments provide us with a clear indication of their current progress as we approach the end of the academic year. There is still much to be done!

Activity Day ~ 8th July 2010

This will be a whole school activity day. Each Year group has received a letter identifying various activities available to them. There has been a very positive response so far and I hope the girls enjoy the experience.

Dates for your diary
Autumn Term 2010 St Catherines welcomes our New Year 7s Friday 3rd September
Year 7 8.40am-12pm
Year 8, 9 & 10 9.30am-12.40pm

Half Term Week

What a wonderful week we had for half term. It was a joy to be here. I am sure that the girls will have benefited form
the week off but hopefully they will appreciate that this term they all have end of year assessments. For Year 10 they have already had major public examinations in RE and Science with further Science, Health & Social Care, History
and Textiles to come. Internal exams for Year10 are scheduled week commencing
28th June.

Year 7, 8 & 9 have their Assessments week commencing 14th June so everyone has important work to do over the
next few weeks.

Hot weather

The hot weather has left us for a while but I must clarify that the girls are expected to wear their blazers unless there has been a directive not to do so.
Jumpers as always are optional. There is always the temptation to hang around the traffic lights when the weather is good. This is not only unnecessary it does cause congestion in crossing the road and the build up on the island is dangerous.

I am always concerned when I see girls walking in completely the wrong direction having probably been deposited at school by a parent. Please come straight into school and avoid the potential problems.

Thank you

My thanks to Mr Bundy, Ms Guilbert & Ms McCarthy for organising such a brilliant trip for Year 10 to Barcelona. By all accounts it was, as always an excellent
school journey.
My thanks also to all the staff who came in over the half term to give the Year 11 girls extra help in a variety of subjects.

Year 11

We have unfortunately been a little disappointed that the Year 11 girls are not, taking advantage of the „Warm Up Sessions‟ prior to each exam.
I have spoken to them about this and would ask Parents/Carers to encourage the girls to attend.
Fortunately at practically all exams so far we have had 100% attendance. I do not think it is always fully understood that there is a significant cost to every examination entry and a non attendance is a very selfish act and a waste of money.
Invoices to cover the costs will be sent to Parents/Carers and also if the student has received an invitation to the Prom this will be withdrawn.

A reminder about School Uniform

I would like to reiterate to parents/carers and students that T-shirts and vest tops, worn underneath blouses are not part of our uniform and therefore must not to be worn. I would also like to remind you that although the girls may decide not to wear their jumpers, they must still wear their school blazers at all times. As the weather is now becoming warmer, teachers will allow the girls to take their blazers off during lessons, however should we envisage a prolonged spell of hot weather I shall advise you, either by Contact, or a letter when blazers may be left at home.
Until that time, I expect all girls to arrive at school, appropriately dressed for the school day.
Thank you.

Facebook

I was very interested to read the findings of a recent survey published on the BBC website. It really confirms what I think we all know. Facebook is probably our biggest problem and unfortunately, not under our control.
Facebook has become one of the biggest influences on the lives of girls, according to a survey.
A study of eight to 15-year-olds for National Family Week found 40% of girls identified Facebook as one of the most important things in their lives compared with 6% of boys. Parents were found to underestimate the significance of technology.
The role of social networking was particularly important in families with a single mother as parent. The survey, carried out last month and based on 3,000 parents and 1,000 children across the UK, looked at the perceptions of children and parents of family life.
Online life ~ It was commissioned by National Family Week - an event supported by charities including the NSPCC and the Women's Institute - which encourages families to spend more time together. The survey presents a picture of girls using social networking as something central to their social and family life. Girls saw websites such as Facebook as much more influential than television, magazines, celebrities and even their own brothers and sisters. Asked to name the three most important things in their lives, the most popular choices for girls were friends, family and then Facebook and MSN.
For boys, family was much more of a popular choice - chosen by 73% of boys, compared with 53% of girls. For their other choices, boys identified money and friends as their next most important things.
Social networking was a much lower priority for boys - only 6% selecting it in their top three things in their lives, compared with 40% of girls. Girls are also more likely to believe that technology - in the form of social networking and mobile phones - has a major influence on their lives. While 41% of girls think technology is one of their biggest influences, only 17% of boys believe this.
Relationship with parents ~ Girls see their big influences as parents, teachers and technology - while boys identify parents, friends and school. The survey claims that parents have failed to keep up with their children's use of technology, overestimating their own importance in their children's lives.
According to Facebook's own policy, children should not register to use the website until they are aged 13. The survey also looked at how children viewed their relationships with their parents. It found that both boys and girls would much rather have stories read to them by their mother - but that girls felt closer to their fathers, while boys felt closer to their mothers. National Family Week runs from 31 May to 6 June.

Be Safe and Secure Online

A reminder about School Uniform

I would like to reiterate to parents/carers and students that T-shirts and vest tops, worn underneath blouses are not part of our uniform and therefore must not to be worn. I would also like to remind you that although the girls may decide not to wear their jumpers, they must still wear their school blazers at all times. As the weather is now becoming warmer, teachers will allow the girls to take their blazers off during lessons, however should we envisage a prolonged spell of hot weather I shall advise you, either by Contact, or a letter when blazers may be left at home. Until that time, I expect all girls to arrive at school, appropriately dressed for the school day. Thank you.

Year 11

Year 11 have begun their final written papers and assessments. The girls were certainly very positive when they came out of RE, recognising how well prepared they had been by their teachers prior to each exam - they have a „warm up. Im not a great believer in last minute revi-sion but the girls find theses sessions reassuring and it gives them that last boost before they go in to face the paper. It is always tricky to get the balance quite right with the Year group as a whole. We want to encourage and support them and build their confidence but we also don't want to will them into a false sense of security. Every subject is different and every paper is different so they must all be prepared equally well for.
The girls are very focused and keen to do well so we are all saying our prayers that they will be rewarded for their hard work.

Junior Leadership Team

Please note:
HALF TERM
Monday 31st May 2010
(Spring Bank Holiday)
to
Friday 4th June 2010
School will resume on Monday 7th June2010
at the normal time of 8.40am

Westminster Cathedral

You may have seen on the TV or in the press on Monday that there was a very special services at Westminster Cathedral. I was fortunate enough to be invited to this service. The invitation came from the family of Jimmy Mizen. Monday would have been Jimmys 18th Birthday and therefore sadly, it was the 2nd anniversary of his murder. The family, as always, seek to ensure that out of this appalling experience, some good will come. They were very clear in their intentions and focus of the service. It was all about „Building a legacy of peace.
Thankfully, Archbishop Vincent Nichols demonstrated his support for this cause by leading the service. The congregation was also joined by HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales. I am sure their support was very affirming for the family. Their wish, their pray and mine is that we must do everything we can to make sure that there are no more young people murdered on our streets. Unfortunately, the experience of the Mizen family proves that it can happen to any family. Therefore I encourage the staff to talk to the girls about „knife crime and accept offers from other agencies to come into school and engage with the students. It isn't because we have a problem, but it would be naïve to think that it couldnt happen to us. It is very clear in our be-haviour policy that if a student brings into school anything that could be considered to be an offensive weapon, they will be excluded. There can never be any justification for this.

Dove

BUILD A LEGACY OF PEACE
in memory of Jimmy Mizen
Blessed are you peacemaker
When you speak out against violence
When you stand by those who are hurt or ridiculed
When you listen to those you disagree with
When you give your time and energy to help others
When you try to forgive those who hurt you
When you love and open yourself to others
- we can all try

On a more lighter note…….

Congratulations to Mrs Valentine, Subject Leader PE, who gave birth to a baby boy - Harry - on 4th May 2010.

Absence

As you know, I very much discourage requests for taking students out of school on holiday and will only authorise this in exceptional circumstances.
When it comes to Year 10 and 11 it also needs to be appreciated that the examinations dates are set by the Exam Boards and we cannot alter them. Therefore, if you miss the exam, you would not be able to take it on your return. Re-sitting is sometimes possi-ble months later but rarely does this produce an improved result unless there is considerable additional work done at the time when the student has other exams. You begin a cycle of catch-up which is difficult. The best way to do the exams is as planned, don't bank on any resits and just do your best by starting revision in good time.

OUR General Election

I write this before the outcome of the election has been declared. Of course I am talking about the St. Catherines election! We had 3 outstanding candidates;
Lauren Fenn for the Conservatives
Adeline Joseph for Labour
Lolade Ali for Liberal Democrats
who would probably do a much better job than the professional politicians.
They have led rather low key campaigns with dignity, I was pleased to see, via their posters and their speeches at assemblies, that they thoroughly researched their chosen parties„ policies.
We did have to „chivvy the girls up a bit to get them to go and vote, which worries me a bit, perhaps they are so fed up with the real thing they are switched off and think that their vote does not count. This time around it certainly will and as I must have said a thou-sand times, it is your democratic right, that women fought very hard to get, so use it!
Many thanks to Ms Grant for organising the election, our candidates and all the Year 10 girls who manned the Polling Station.

STOP PRESS
Election Results:
Conservative: 86
Labour: 243
Liberal Democrats: 248
The Lib Dem Candidate, Lolade Ali, is hereby elected for St. Catherine’s School

Facebook

We have had a few friendship problems which have festered and intensified via Facebook. I cannot tell you my increasing frustration with Facebook. I cannot and will not deal with what is written there.
However, if it is brought back into school and causes problems then I will not ignore the fall out. Please can I urge parents/carers to exercise some control and look at what is being written? That is if you can understand it! Also, remember it is not legal for anyone under the age of 13 to be on Facebook.
The Police tell me it is now a crime to threaten or insult anyone through this medium and it is called „malicious communications.

Water fighting

I find it strange that some girls are not heeding my very direct instruction relating to water fighting in school or out. I will be very clear-if you engage in water fighting or throwing, you will serve a 3 hr Saturday morning detention in uniform. It is not just a bit of fun, it causes disorder in school and damages our reputation outside of school.

School Damage

Unfortunately, one of the water tanks above C13 in the Central block over flowed over the bank holiday weekend causing significant water damage to the classroom itself, the library and to a lesser extent, the admin corridor. As a consequence, the classroom and library will be out of action for some time. Fortunately, the PCs and expensive tables were not damaged. Lets pray the insurance covers the repairs in full. I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused to students and staff this week.

National College of School Leadership and Young People’s Services

On Wednesday we hosted the Governing Council Meeting for the National College. Membership of the Governing Council includes the Director of Young People’s Services for Bexley, Dr. Deborah Absalom which is how the meeting came to Bexley in the first place and then to St. Catherine’s. The Council includes representation from all the key bodies around Education, other Head Teachers from all sectors and individual members who have a very personal high profile and influence in education matters. Suffice to say it was a great honour for the school.
So, the question you ask is what did they think of St. Catherine’s?
They were so impressed and complimentary about everything they saw and experienced. They commented on the environment, displays, vibrant teaching, enthusiastic learning, the politeness of the girls, the fact that the girls were obviously so proud of their school and this came over strongly in their conversations.

My favourite comment has to be though that they felt it was a really happy place be and they all left smiling, having had a good meeting but quite invigorated having met the young ladies of St. Catherine’s.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the day such a huge success.

On another note…….

I was very alarmed to hear that there was rather a violent disturbance on the Broadway on Tuesday at about 4.30pm. Now our girls had nothing to do with it really, apart from being spectators!
This alarms me in that so easily a situation can change and the violence can be directed intentionally on, or not, on those ‘just standing around’. My point is why are you there in the first place? If you don't want to be involved, remove yourself from the situation.
Hanging around the Broadway can be a problem, particularly in the summer term. Please be sensible and go straight home after school.

Medication in school

Please note that should your daughter be required to take any medication whilst in school, it should be clearly marked with her name and Form with the dosage clearly displayed. It should also be presented in its original packaging.
Parents are kindly reminded that it is their responsibility to ensure that all medication is in date. This is very important, especially if your daughter is due to go on a school trip. Thank you.

Please note:
Monday 3rd May is May Day Bank Holiday
therefore the school will be closed.

School will resume at the normal time of
8.40am on
Tuesday 4th May

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to everyone. We embark upon a very busy and important term, particularly for Year 10 and Year 11 who have their examinations and final assessments. Mrs Strong and Mrs Warnock have both included information for their respective Year groups which must be appreciated and understood.
The system at Key Stage 4 has changed and Year 10 are actually sitting GCSE examinations this summer which will give them the qualification so these subjects are their priority over the next weeks.
We have been very fortunate, compared to many other schools, that we only had 3 members of the teaching staff and 1 admin member of staff stranded abroad. Therefore, we have been able to manage their absence quite easily.
I must thank the staff for doing additional duties etc during this time.school. If they are taken out of bags in the playground or anywhere around the school at the end of the day they will be confiscated. As ever, if a student needs to call home they can do this with permission from the main office.

JLT & Prefects

During the next few weeks we will be appointing the Junior Leadership Team and Prefects for the next year. We will be looking for students who are excellent role models for the other students. It has nothing to do with ability but they are appointed because they are true St. Catherine‟s girls, loyal, respectful, confident, compassionate, have a sense of justice and want to make a positive contribution to their school. There are many, many girls who fit this profile. I would encourage you to put yourself forward. Obviously, they also have to be students who do the work they are asked to do to the best of their ability and have good behaviour, attendance and punctuality records.

I was absolutely thrilled to be present when a Year 9 team of students won the Bexley Award for Best use of ICT at the recent Enterprise Challenge. The girls made up „Sow and Grow‟ Packs. Included in the pack was a pot, seeds and compost.

They organised themselves as a com-pany, produced a business plan, appointed individuals to specific roles, had a strategy for sales and marketing and then they had to go out and sell. It wasn't about making a profit but they did cover their costs and made a bit of profit.
Most impressive though was their presentation at the final event. All the other teams were Years 12 or 13, so there was a big age difference. This did not phase our young ladies who were fantastic and yet again I was so proud of them.
An enormous thank you has to go to Mr Allen for all the time he put into this - well done and thank you to the parents who came along to support the girls.

I

Bethanie Horner, Emily Harmon, Caitlin Hamil-ton, Niamh Watt, Jaisie Pearman, Tierney Webb, Rebecca Taylor, Sally Sanders and Olivia Highton.

Uniform

I have been very pleased that the girls have co-operated with my instruction about scarves.
I would just like to clarify an issue around mobile phones. When I say they are not to be seen or used in school and that they are to be switched off at all times, this does include after school. If they are taken out of bags in the playground or anywhere around the school at the end of the day they will be confiscated. As ever, if a student needs to call home they can do this with permission from the main office.

Easter Thoughts

Have you ever been somewhere really spooky? Where you’re almost too scared to stay but too frightened to move on? Have you ever had the experience of being in a little world of your own, when someone walks in and gives you a tremendous shock that makes your heart pound?
The women who went to Jesus’ tomb, very early on the Sunday morning after he had been buried, had just such an experience. It would have been a bit dark and cold, because it was very early. They (we’re not sure whether there were two or three of them - the Gospels don't agree) were walking through a graveyard. No one else would have been around. As they approached the tomb, they saw that the stone, covering the entrance, had been rolled away. What would you have done? Would you have walked in? Would you have said “After you Mary”, would you have been fright-ened?
Anyway, the women did go in (according to Luke), and Jesus’ body had gone. Then, out of nowhere, two men appeared. Can you imagine how the women would have jumped? The men told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. Would you have be-lieved them?
Jesus - where is he?
The answer, I pray you will all give, would be is that he is everywhere and in everyone.

Good is stronger than evil,
love is stronger than hate,
light is stronger than death
victory is ours……
through him who loves us.
Amen (Desmond Tutu)

I wish you and your families a very peaceful, prayerful and blessed Easter.

Scarves

I need to be very clear about this. After the Easter break scarves, whatever colour, will not be part of our uniform and therefore they will be confiscated whatever the colour. We will reinstate them into our uniform when it is cold again, sometime in the Autumn Term.

Year 11

Thank you to all the Parents/Carers who accompanied their daughters to the Year 11 Academic Review Meeting.
I hope you found the meeting useful. The two week Easter break is a critical time for the girls. The first week will require them to work independently.
I do think that establishing small learning groups can also help and the girls help each other. In the second week there will be considerable input from the staff and I am extremely impressed by the offer we have been able to organise for them over the 3 days of revision school.
My thanks to everyone who is coming in, it is much appreciated.

Year 9

Well done Year 9, you have conducted yourselves extremely well during your KS3 assessments.

Box Clever read more

Examinations

Lots of bits and pieces this week. I will begin by commending Yr11 particularly for their performance so far in the MFL orals and their Catering practicals. Mr Bundy and his team have been very impressed by the majority of girls who have worked so hard preparing for their oral examination and he is very pleased with the standard. There are individuals stories of girls who have just been so determined to do well and made a huge effort which takes time and commitment and they will get their reward. Unfortunately, there were also individuals more talented than the former who, quite arrogantly, did not prepare as well and their marks reflect that. There is a lesson to be learnt here girls!

The quality of food so creatively produced by Year 10 and 11 for their practical assessments has been amazing and delicious. I know that Mrs Martin and Mrs Diggins are both exhausted as they have worked so hard to ensure the girls get the best possible chance.

All of Year 11 will hopefully have bene-fited by their study skills day. This costs a considerable amount of money to buy in but the Year 11 students from last year found it very helpful. So lets hope it is money well spent and the girls appreciate it.
Year 10 have a special session on Saturday 22nd March.
We don't want to take them out of their normal lessons during the school day as much as possible. However, this exam is very important and they need a chunk of focused time to ensure they are organised and prepared properly for their exam in a few weeks.

Good Luck to ……

Year 11 Music GCSE students who have their Solo Final Performance next week.
Year 9 who have their end of KS3 Assessments next week.
They need to be taken very seriously by the students. Whilst they are no longer assessed externally, they are used for groupings for KS4 and for setting their GCSE targets.
In the core subjects GCSE work will commence immediately after the Easter break.
The timetable can be found on Page 2. Revise thoroughly over the weekend girls and you will feel more confident as you go into the assessments. These are being done formally in the sports hall with external invigilators.
We are taking this very seriously so I hope you will do the same.

Yr11 Academic Review Day

This takes place on Tuesday 23rd March. This is the last opportunity we have to have a 1:1 session with the girls and their parents/carers before the summer exams.
We can pick up any issues or concerns and work together to address them. Attendance is essential and demonstrates good support for the girls.

Own Clothes Day

This will take place on Friday 24th March. All funds raised go to our Charity - the La Sainte Union School in Tanzania.
Normal rules apply in relation to make-up and jewellery. £1 per student.

End of Spring Term

3.10pm Wednesday 31st March. The girls will not be released early on this day.

Thursday 1st April 2010 and Monday 19th April are staff training days.

School will re-open for students on Tuesday 20th April at 8.40am.

And finally……..

Rebecca Farrell, who was Head Girl last year at St. Catherine’s, telephoned me this week to tell me she had been appointed as School Captain at Dartford Grammar School for Boys.
This is a remarkable achievement and we are very proud of her.

Mass for Juliana

A Mass for Juliana Palomino Barrios took place last evening (Thursday 11-03-2010), It was a very thoughtful, respectful and prayerful celebration of her short life, particu-larly her time at St. Catherines.
My thanks to her very closest friends who worked with Catherine to put the liturgy together. We were very happy that both Julianas Mother and Father were able to be with us. I know they have valued the support from the girls. It was wonderful that they were able to see the Mosaic Cross that the Year 9 girls had made in her memory, it is very beautiful and hangs on the stairs in the Central Block.
Juliana will always be remembered as we pass by and just say a little prayer for her family as we go.
My thanks to Fr Michael Branch who said the Mass. Fr Michael has a real gift for being able to reach the young people, his words were very comfort-ing.
We will continue to pray for Juliana, that she is at peace and that her family will be comforted in time by Gods love.

Uniform

Can I make it very clear that the girls are allowed to wear tights or socks and not a combination of the two. Leggings etc are not part of our uniform and you will be asked to take them off, so please do not challenge this very simple uniform requirement.

Make-Up

Unfortunately, we have had to take down, on a temporary basis hopefully, the mirrors in some of the toilets. I really hate doing this as it is punishing the majority for the actions of the minority.
The reason being that the toilets were over crowded at various times with the girls putting on make up, particularly, at the end of the day. The mess left behind was dreadful and unnecessary. Please do not bring the make up into school in the first place, and then you will not waste it and your time putting it on.
You are all very young and beautiful and you do not need to pile it on!

BBC News Day

Yesterday, a large group of Year 8 students took part in the BBCs School Report project. This is a one day nationwide event which involves students in over 200 schools research-ing the news and current affairs – both local, national and international for a report which they then broadcast live at 2pm.
The pressure was high and the atmosphere by 1.30pm was electric! The girls interviewed a range of people to add to their reports, from expert accountants in the city, to local Councillors, to staff in the school and we even managed to get an interview with Torin Douglas, the chief Media Correspondent for the BBC! They equipped themselves brilliantly under the intensity of combining research of their reports, with writing the copy for their articles and chasing down interviews.
They conducted the interviews with professionalism and calm and their live broadcast sounded superb!
Well Done to all of the students who took part and thank you to Mr Bell our producer and Mr Sayer our local radio expert who came in to run the radio station.

The reports can be listened from here.

Elaine Yau

On Saturday, 6th March, Elaine Yau, one of our Year 11 students, played a piano piece composed by Rachmaninov in a prestigious competition for Bexleys„ Young Musician of the Year.
She was one of just 10 students chosen for this event and one of our past students, Chloe Coupė, also sang at the event. The evening was wonderful and Elaine played beautifully and completely without written music. Well done, Elaine! After the interval we were treated to a 30 minute band perform-ance in which Kirsty Scotter played the trumpet, so St Catherines was very well represented.
A student from BETHs won the competition overall so congratulations to all students concerned.

This week…….

We have had a really enjoyable week in school - the atmosphere has been wonderful. Principally because both staff and students have come together and appreciated each other and basically had fun linked to learning.
The staff, quite courageously, dressed up on Thursday for World Book Day.
They had chosen a character from a book. Practically everyone entered into the spirit of the day and the girls faces were brilliant when they saw some of the costumes.
Absolutely fantastic. I really felt disappointed in myself that I hadn't really got it together to join but, then again turning up to my various meetings in costume may had needed a bit of explaining! I do promise to do so if we do it again.
You can see some of the photos at the web site - for a limited time.
There were many winners but I had to choose one boy and one girl.

Mrs Fortuna - Where’s Wenda &
Mr Johnson - John Darling from Peter Pan (very sweet & angelic!)

Thanks to everyone, it was a great day.
My only worry is that we have so many witches on the staff. Mrs Strong on her broomstick was a real vision and Mrs Warnock was certainly a very elegant chief witch whilst Mrs Hayford was certainly scary!

Click here for World Book day page

Hairspray

Really, whatever I say will not do justice to this amazing performance.
The staff and students put on a fantastic show. I daren't mention individuals as there were so many brilliant performances. I was really pleased to see students from Year 7 to Year 11 all together on stage thoroughly enjoying themselves but obviously working together and supporting each other. The talent, confidence and energy of the girls was impressive. I saw the show twice and thoroughly enjoyed it and was very proud.

When Mr Warburton and Mr Bell came to me last year with the idea of putting on Hairspray - I thought it a bit ambitious but am always prepared to encourage and support staff if it is in the interest of the girls. We also want a big production that would give the girls, throughout the school, an opportunity. I needn't have worried, Mr Warburton and Mr Bell had produced and direct a fantastic show.
As always I must thank, not only them and the cast, but the backstage team and all the staff, far too numerous to mention here, who have enabled this show to happen and be such a success.
Thank you also to everyone who came to the show, you were a big audience and really made the hall buzz!

This weekend

Mr Edmunds and Ms Cook (RE) will be running the Bath half marathon (13 miles) in aid of our charity, the LSU school in Tanzania. Again, my total admiration and very best wishes that it all goes well without too much agony! There is still time to contribute to their funds, there will be collections next week or send the money in via the office in an envelope marked “Sponsor Money - Bath Marathon”, Please sup-port these teachers who are going the extra mile.

We are very blessed here at St. Catherine’s with out lovely girls and staff who care about them. I know these are big things but on a daily basis we live out our ethos and hopefully the girls see by our example how to respect, consider and love each other. This is a good place to be.

Juliana

I hate to finish on a sad note but we haven't forgotten Juliana who died just before Christmas.
On Tuesday 16th March at 4pm in the hall, we will be having a Mass to celebrate the life of Juliana.
We have chosen this day as her parents will be able to come along to show her family how much we cared about Juliana and appreciated her time with us. If you cant come try to say a prayer for her family and friends.

Good Luck ~ We will all be rooting for Elaine Yau (Year 11) and Chloe Coupe (Ex St. Caths left summer 09) who are both in the final of Bexley Young Musician of the Year.
The competition takes place on Saturday evening at Townley Grammar School. Best of luck and a special prayer for Elaine.

Lent Begins at St. Catherine’s

Since Ash Wednesday fell during our half term break, we celebrated the day this Wednesday with beautiful services for each Year Group led by our Year 10 students.
Through readings, music, prayers and visuals, Year 10 students gave our whole community a most reflective and enriching spiritual occasion. It ended with Year 10 distributing Ashes to us all.

Our Charity drive this Lent

Everyone’s efforts this Lent are united in support of our Sisters, the LSU Sisters who built our school.
The Sisters are building and developing the Debrabant Secondary School in Tanza-nia.
Students are giving up their favourite things - chocolate, crisps, fast food and even magazines - and getting sponsored for our 35 day Lent season, all in support of this great cause. We are all especially cheering on Mr Edmunds and Ms Cook who are running a half marathon in Bath on 7th March to raise more funds.
If you would also like to sponsor them, please send do-nations to Catherine Williams, School Chaplain. Cheque's should be made payable to ‘St. Catherine’s School’.

Advance Notice

The 3rd round the the HPV immunisations will take place (next week) during the school day.

Yr11 News

Year 9 Options

Hairspray

Have you got your tickets yet? Performances take place next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings at 7pm.
I had a sneak preview (with Year 11) of one number and it was great! Come along and give your support to this latest, unmissable production

Accessories

The on-trend fashion for very large hair accessories is starting to creep in at school.
Our parents/carers are asked to support our very high uniform standards by discouraging the wearing of big flowers and ornate clips etc. to school. Scarves and gloves should also comply with school colours.

Year 8 Parents’ Evening

Half Term

I hope everyone has a great half term. Students need to get all work up to date.
Year 11, I hope you have signed up to revision school.
If you have well done and I am sure you will really benefit from the extra sessions. I would like to thank the staff who are prepared to give up their time for the girls in their holiday .
Year 11 cannot afford to relax, the momentum should be picking up.
Mrs Strong has organised a very comprehensive after school programme commencing on Monday 22nd February.
A copy of this is here and will help each student organise themselves and take advantage of the extra opportunities.

Click here for the After-School Revision programme

Hairspray

Please come along to a performance as it promises to be brilliant. Lots of work has gone into this production and the cast etc deserve a full house! link to Hairspray

Trinity Drama Exams

Many congratulations to all those girls in KS3 who took these exams, every girl obtained a merit or a distinction. Well done and thank you to Miss Woodacre for her guidance and support.

Bath Half Marathon

On March 7th Mr. Edmunds and Miss Cook (R.E) will run the Bath half marathon for the Debrabant secondary school in Tanzania. This school has been built by the L.S.U Sisters who built St. Catherine's.
The school provides an education for young people who have no school to attend. Below is a message from a student who attends the Debrabant secondary school in Tanzania.
“My name is Salma Salum I was born in 1990 in Singhida. At eight I began primary school and my mother died. My Father had another family and he was drinking. My siblings and I had nowhere to go.
I started the Debrabant secondary school and the Sisters help with food, clothes and house rent. We have all joined the steel drum band and music helps us forget our problems. I try to be a good mother to all. I am now in Form 1 at Debrabant.”

Mr. Edmunds and Ms Cook are running the half marathon to enable more young people like Salma to have the opportunity of a good education. If you would like to sponsor Mr. Edmunds and Miss Cook, please send donations to St. Catherine's School in an envelope addressed to Catherine Williams, School Chaplain. Thank you for your support.
Cheque's should be made payable to St. Catherine’s School.

Approaching Half Term

As we approach half term, Yr 10 and Yr 11 students especially need to be organising their work for the break from lessons. There will be a revision/catch up/booster classes for targeted Yr 11 students during the half term.
The girls will be given the opportunity though to sign up for specific sessions where they are on grade boundaries or currently under performing against tar-get grades.
As many of the Yr 10 courses now have a discrete Yr 10 exam which goes towards their final grade, there will be practice papers in these subjects also after the half term.
Yr 9 also have teacher assessments for the end of the Key Stage 3 and they have already had a practice in Maths for this but the formal assessment swill be before the Easter break.

Congratulations………..

……...to our Yr 9 students and their parent/carers, the attendance at the Curriculum Choices evening was a fantastic 97% ! Please remember that the completed forms need to be returned by Wednesday 10th February.

Visit with 7E

On Thursday afternoon I had the great pleasure of accompanying 7E on their visit to the Sisters Convent along with Catherine and Ms Cook.
We were met by Str Angela who welcomed us into the beautiful Chapel.
The girls had prepared a number of questions for Sister Angela. The Sisters praised the girls for their intelligent questions. Through the questions the girls gained a real under-standing of the history of the school.

They were particularly interested in Sister Angela herself and her own story about why she had become a Nun and the wonderful work she had done in her lifetime. Sister Angela was Head at St. Catherine's from 1982 to 1986 but spent 20 years teaching before moving into Parish work.
Her secret to looking so young and content with life she says is being constantly with young people who have kept her young!

The girls of 7E were a joy to be with and I was so proud of them. They looked so smart and their manners were impeccable. Well done girls and a huge thank you to Sister Angela for allowing us to visit her.
Every Year 7 class will have the some opportunity over the next few weeks.

I believe it is so important for the girls to appreciate how fortunate they are that this school actually exists for them and that is down to the courage, Faith and determination of many Sisters over the years. I pray that we will be able to build on their good work to secure the future of St. Catherine's for generations to come.

Parental Questionnaire Feedback

Included in this Contact is a summary of the survey report. Overall we are very pleased that in most aspects of school life there has been further improvement and our scores, compared to the norm, are notably higher.
We now have at least 3 surveys in most areas so the trend line is significant.
I have read through the parental written responses of which there were only 110. I understand that people are only going to add a comment if they feel they want to complain, which is fine -we certainly should know about it.
Ten parents did comment about the toilets.
Unfortunately if they are „messy then this has been created by the girls themselves.
We have introduced a system which ensures that the toilets are cleaned and checked throughout the day so hopefully this will improve the overall cleanliness.
Our biggest problem in the toilets is make up! Very reluctantly, I have been persuaded by my colleagues to remove the mirrors in certain toilets as they are being completely trashed by the end of the day by the girls putting their make up on their faces and everywhere else!
We also had a serious case of vandalism in one set of toilets which necessitates them being closed for a couple of weeks. This is completely unacceptable, the repairs cost a considerable amount of money which could have been spent on improving the school environment in a much better way.
I want to be very clear that if any student is found to have caused any serious damage in the school, or to have put the safety of the staff or students at risk by their actions, I will take action and they jeopardise their place in this school.
This does not happen often at St. Catherine's, thankfully, but it will not be ignored.
I would ask the girls to report any such behaviour which endangers others, directly to a member of staff so that the necessary action can be taken.

Parental Questionnaire Jan 2010

Haiti

The girls have collected £356.32 for the Haiti Fund.
This was a good response to the appeal.
Many thanks for your generosity.

The Teaching Awards 2010

Nominations have to be in by 1st March 2010.
You can nominate a school, a team working within a school, teachers, head teachers, teaching assistants and governors; anyone and everyone can nominate.
Help us celebrate their dedication by nominating those in our school who really help young people achieve their potential.
Its a quick and easy process which only takes a few minutes, but its the best way to say thank you to those who transform young peoples life chances.
This can be done online at www.teachingawards.com
There is a new category to enter, the Film My School Competition, to create a short film showcasing the school, there is a prize of £5000 worth of video equipment.

OFsted Report for Art

You will find a copy of the letter received from the Inspector giving us the feedback from his visit last term.
As you will read, the subject area achieved a good judgment overall which we feel is a fair assessment.

Questionnaire

I I have received today the analysis from the questionnaires which were completed last term by staff, students and parents/carers. I will do a summary of the analysis for next week.
We have now had 3 of these surveys done so we can look at the trend which is very important to see if, in certain areas, we are improving - if they were a bit of a concern.
Unfortunately, only 22% of parents actually bothered to complete the questionnaire.
The information is statistically valid but it would have been nice if we had had a better response to get a true picture of how we are doing from a parental perspective.

Uniform

I have been reasonably pleased how the vast majority of girls have reverted to our strict uniform code.
The major area of non-compliance unfortunately is the area of scarves.
We have confiscated so many it is ridiculous.
Please adhere to the rule of plan navy blue/black

Parking

I am very concerned that many parents are stopping on the zig zags to drop off their daughters in the morning,
Whilst I am very sure you appreciate that if caught you will receive a hefty fine but the more important point for us is that you are creating a problem for the girls crossing the road and entry of staff cars to the school site.
Please be sensible and drop off your daughter well way from the school gate.

Friday 22nd January 2010 Results Day for Year 11!

The girls will receive their envelopes with their results in at the end of the day.
The purpose of putting them through this is for them to have the anticipation & nerves of picking up the envelope and opening it. If it is a disappointment, learn from the experience and put some serious work in before it is too late.
Many girls will, no doubt, be really happy with their grades and it will confirm they are on target to do well.

We will be targeting many girls for a variety of reasons and putting on extra lessons after school, on Saturday and over the half term.
If your daughter is targeted for any or all of these intervention strategies, then pleas support us and ensure that she comes along. With hard work in lessons and outside of normal school hours students grades can and should move at least 1, if not 2, grade boundaries.
Nothing is impossible if you want it enough and are prepared to work for it !

Congratulations !

To finish on an extremely positive note, congratulations to Elaine Yau, Year 11 who has been accepted for the Bexley Young Musician of the Year competition. The are 8 students and only 2 pianists.
This is really a fantastic achievement. Elaine is a talented pianist and has very willingly performed at concerts and at other occasions so this recognition is very well deserved.
We wish Elaine the best of luck on Saturday 6th March.
The competition is being held at Townley Grammar School at 7pm.

Achievement & Attainment Tables 2009

We are extremely pleased and proud of our results this year.
The Contextual Value Added (CBA), is as I have explained before, the most important figure as this gives the value added by being at St. Catherine's.
We are, to a certain extent, disadvantaged by the fact that we are all girls.
The great news is that we have improved on last years figures of 1013 to 1018.9 which makes us the top school in Bexley.
Our value added alone, without the context bit is 1031.3.
Well done to all the staff and all the Year 11 students of 2009.

If you wish to look at any other schools then go to: www.dcsf.gov.uk/performance tables

Weather

Thank you to everyone for their co-operation during this period of severe weather.
I have been very pleased with the effectiveness of our communication systems and hope that you also have felt well informed and that any changes to our opening or closure been timely and informative.
The web site has proved to be very popular with a staggering number of hits last week.
The open check system has worked well.
However, many people still feel the need to phone the school which is ok if we can get here - which is why it is important to know how to get information if no-one answers the phone! Managing the girls on site has been fine, they have been very sensible.
My worry has been that many of the girls are not wearing coats and do not have proper shoes.
This weather may continue or come back again over the next weeks so I would urge everyone to ensure that they have appropriate clothing and wear it! We have relaxed our ruling on wearing boots at present for obvious health & safety reasons.
However, if possible, please bring your school shoes with you to change into and as soon as the weather improves we will return to the normal code in relation to shoes, coats, scarves etc.

Privacy Notice

Please read the attached information about Data we have on our students and how we use it.
Page 1. Page 2

New Staff

Mrs Janet Ritchie has joined the Science subject area.
She permanently replaces Mrs Hinchcliffe who has relocated to the North following the birth of her twins.
Miss Humphreys, who was covering her maternity leave, has left to continue her travels.

Babies

I am very happy to report to you all that Ms Mulroy and Mrs Freeman have both safely given birth to baby boys.
This is wonderful news and all is well.
Congratulations to them and their husbands and we look forward to seeing them all in school very soon.

This week has been calm and, fortunately, the girls have been getting on with school life.
Of course we are still coming to terms with the loss of a student, dear Juliana, but the girls have focused on how we can turn this tragedy into something positive and we will share this with you in the New Year.
Please continue to remember in your prayers her family and friends for whom this Christmas will be a difficult time.

Complaints

We do not live in a perfect world and sometimes decisions may be made which you are not happy with and you feel you have cause for complaint. Very often it is not the person who has made a decision who has to actually put it into action.
On a number of occasions my staff have been subject to verbal abuse and this is not acceptable, especially when the complainant will not give their name.
Please can I ask you to treat all the staff with respect and courtesy, they are doing a magnificent job and whilst you may not be pleased with a specific arrangement, with respect, there is a bigger picture which you may not appreciate or understand.
Thank you for your co-operation,

Adverse weather conditions

As we move into 2010 we can anticipate some bad weather which may necessitate the school having to close.
Could you please appreciate that if traveling is difficult for you it is equally difficult for the staff and therefore we may not be able to get in ourselves.
Therefore you must check if the school is open BEFORE delivering your daughter.
Fortunately, in this technological age, there is a very quick way you can do this.
Telephoning the school is not the answer as we may not he here to take the call! The school web site can give the necessary information and can be updated remotely.
The official Bexley way is now via the Schools Open Check Web site, which is linked to the council web site www.bexley.gov.uk you can then log on to the „check the status of the school
Parents without internet access can phone 020 8408 7508 and enter the schools DCSF number 3035402 to get the same information or call the contact centre on 020 8303 7777. Please keep this information in a safe place for future reference.
It is up to each individual head teacher to make the decision as to whether the school should close. My view is “If the busses aren't running, the school is closed.”

At the end of term we always seem to have to say goodbye to carious staff members.
This term a very, very long serving member of the support staff is retiring. Mrs Goodrich has worked at St. Catherine's since 1989 as a Mid Day Supervisor.
Mrs Goodrich had decided she now deserves to be able to stay inside when it is cold & rainy and not patrol the grounds of St. Catherine's.
We thank her for her loyal service and wish her good heath and a very long and happy retirement.
Also leaving this term is Mrs Iliffe who has worked at St. Catherine's as our Careers Assistant principally ensuring all the girls get careers advice and a good work experience opportunity. We wish her well in the future and thank her for her work with our students.

Tuesday 5th January 2010
Students should arrive at normal time to begin lessons at 8.40am

The school is closed on Monday 4th January - it is a staff training day

A couple of reminders……

Cans of ANY sort are not allow in school and fizzy drinks - even in plastic bottles.

Mobile phones are to be switched OFF at all times when on school premises,
if they are seen, even when switched off, they will be confiscated.
Also please note that we cannot take ANY responsibility for them and they are brought in at your own risk. My advice remains “leave them at home, you do not need them here”.

Winter Wear

We appreciate the weather is particularly bitter, therefore, temporarily, we will permit the wearing of black flat plain boots. This is for the duration of the cold weather only and all other uniform expectations continue to apply.
J. Strong

And finally……...

Christmas is a special time in all our lives and an opportunity to get together with family and friends.
I think this year we will all value this even more.
The experience of past weeks and for many members of our community, who have lost loved ones this year, we must treasure the time we have together and share our love for each other.
God the father sent his Son to us, to speak to us of his love for us and to give a very simple message of love for one and other.
I wish you all a very happy & blessed Christmas and hope that you will be able to share the joy and hope that is Christmas with friends and family.
P. Slonecki

This has been the most difficult week as Head Teacher of St. Catherine’s.
Very sadly I have to tell you of the death of one of our Year 10 students.
Juliana Palomino Barrios, a very beautiful, funny, popular girl who very suddenly became ill on Saturday evening and was rushed to hospital.
She did not recover and passed away on Wednesday 9th December.
Throughout the week we have been praying so hard for a miracle but it was not to be. As you can imagine, her friends and the whole of the Year group are dreadfully upset and shocked. It is hard to comprehend and impossible to understand how a young person can be so vibrant one minute and lost to us the next.
As I said to the girls on Tuesday morning, it is at times like this that I thank God for being a faith school.
We have the ability and opportunity to pray and through prayer and reflection we can support each other.
The girls are amazing in the comfort they are giving each other and the prayers they have written, the words they have spoken have been honest and beautiful.
We are all feeling very sad but our personal and collective grief does not compare to the loss her family are experiencing and all our prayers now are for her parents and family. We pray that God will comfort them and give them the strength to bear this terrible pain.

We are organising a book of condolence for the girls to write messages to the family and will give the girls the opportunity to do this next week.

P. Slonecki

Lord, please help us come through this tragic time as a community.

Help us to be strong as Juliana would want us to be.
We love Juliana and we know that she loved us.
Ruth Akindele

We pray for Juliana and her family and that God’s love is with them.
Frances Foley

This week our school is in sadness and grief. We have lost a student who was deeply loved. Our prayers and thoughts are
with her parents, family and close friends. This week her year group have been together to pray and to support each other. I t
is hard to find words at a time like this and we ask you to keep the family and friends of Juliana in your prayer.

Prayer

“She whom we love and lose is no longer where she was before.
She is now wherever we are”

St. John Chrysostom

School grounds……

All students please note that you are NOT allowed to walk on the grass around the school during the winter months.
With the weather being extremely wet, muddy shoes in school create both mess and potentially dangerous slippery conditions on certain floor coverings inside.

M. Isom

Confiscated Items

If you have items that have been confiscated throughout this term you can collect them from the Main Office during break,lunchtimes and after school, next week.
But please note we are doing this as in surname order.

Monday - A-E
Tuesday - F-J
Wednesday - K-O
Thursday - P-Z

If you have found it difficult to be without your items this term the answer is simple - please don't wear it/them to school!

Year 11

Please keep in your prayers Yr11 who will be starting their written practice papers next week.
It is important that the girls take these exams very seriously and the whole experience helps them to understand the pressure they will be under in the summer.
However, if they do well this will boost their confidence, if they don't then at least we have some time to analyse the papers and identify where the problems are.

Reminder…….

to everyone that the PA Christmas Fayre is on Saturday 12th December.
Please demonstrate your support by coming along. If you can't fit it in to your schedule

Mbagala Mission

This week I have received a letter from Sr Annette Farrell who runs the Debrabant Secondary School in Dar es Salaam.
As you know, this is our major international charity.
As well as expressing her appreciation for the money we sent out this year, Sr. Annette also explains how important this money is to sustain and develop their work, I have extracted key passages for you. “….. with our sincere thanks for the huge help you gave us in the past year.
Your wonderful gift of £2,300 pounds sterling helped us enormously and was used to buy books for the Science Department as well as equipment and chemicals and other laboratory requirements including some good models…… We have no government support and we can’t charge high fees as our mission is to help the children of the ordinary worker and the poor. The fees are £250 per year.
We have many vulnerable young people who began school in our street children’s programme in Maji Matitu, some of whom are orphaned due to Aids or began school late because of family difficulties….. We had a serious setback in November as our well dried up so we had to use our meager savings to drill a new borehole.
Had it not been for your kindness we would have been in serious trouble!..... We were delighted to read about Mr Edmund’s upcoming Marathon and his enthusiasm for the work of the congregation is truly encouraging and heart warming….. Congratulations and keep up the great work you do to help others…..”

Christmas Lunch

We have a delicious Christmas dinner planned on Tuesday 8th December.
Full details can be found on the back page of Contact, please ensure that you have enough money on your lunch card as you will not be allowed to „borrow money for the set Christmas Menu.
I understand that there will also be a free raffle on this day ~ a ticket will be issued to every student who makes a purchase in the Canteen at lunchtime.

Friday 18th December

On our last day of term we shall be dismissing pupils on a „staggered basis from approximately 12 Noon.
Any pupil who usually receives a free school meal and wishes to receive a sandwich on this day should book their requirements, directly with the Catering Manager, by Tuesday 15th December as there will be no official lunch sitting on this day.

School will resume at the normal time of 8.40am on Tuesday 5th January, 2010.

Advent

This is a very busy month in our personal lives as we enter Advent and it is possible to be overwhelmed by it all.
Unfortunately the girls cannot afford to be distracted until the end of term.

Examinations

The Year 11 students have their practice exams commencing on 2nd December and prior to this have practical and oral examinations as well as other work to do, so they need to be focusing on their work.
Good preparation and revision at this stage is crucial and hopefully if good results are achieved this gives the girls a sense of security and confidence.
Year 10 also have some very important work going on with their first Controlled Assessments before the end of the term.
The Controlled Assessments have replaced coursework in many subjects and are therefore extremely important and must be taken most seriously.
Year 10 also have their Science Modules early in January 2010 so they need to ensure that they are on top of their work and are thoroughly understanding of the topics so they will be able to apply the concepts and knowledge learnt to their exams.
Some Year 11 girls will be re-sitting these Science exams with the hope of improving their grades. It is a requirement of the Governors that if we re-enter a student she must attend the revision/booster sessions organised by the subject area.

Parents’ Association

The PA has recently, very generously, given funding to a number of subject areas of the school.
The Subject Leaders submit bids to the PA for them to consider and then they decide which bids are successful. It is a very fair and appropriate process. It has to be said that without the efforts of the PA Committee and the support of otherr parents there would be no funds to distribute and the girls would not benefit.
Therefore it should be all parents who support the work of the PA.
The Christmas Fayre is the most important fundraiser of the year and I must ask you to give generously, come along and enjoy the stalls and buy some raffle tickets.
The goods and prizes are excellent, I couldn't believe it last year, the quality was so good! I bought quite a few Christmas presents.
To stock the stalls and get the funds off to a good start the girls have a choice…….

Own Clothes Day

Year 10 Work Experience

Deadline for return of Form is 11th December.
If you are having problems finding a placement then see Mrs Iliffe AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Parents’ Evenings

My final reminder, as I am a little concerned that attendance at Parents Evenings has not been brilliant, is that Year 10 Parents Evening is on Monday 7th December.
It is crucial that all parents attend.
Please check your daughter has made appointments for you.
Mrs Warnock and Miss Hayden will be chasing up anyone who hasn't done so.
If you are concerned please do not hesitate to contact either of them via the office.

Year 10 Parents’ Evening

Year 10 Parents’ Evening takes place on Monday 7th December from 3.30pm onwards in the Sports Hall. Year 10 student s are currently making appointments on your behalf with their teachers in their student planners. We would really like a 100% turnout so we work together at the beginning of your daughter’s GCSE/BTEC courses.
J. Strong

KS4 Punctuality News

You will recall we introduced a radical system to address lateness amongst the older students. We are glad to report that after eight weeks we are seeing, on most days, a very significant reduction in lateness.
This is VERY good news: we have indisputable evidence that there is a direct link between high punctuality/attendance and high attainment at the end of KS4.
J. Strong

PA Christmas Fayre

In preparation for the Parents’ Association Christmas Fayre on December 12th, there will be an own clothes day on the 4th December.
In order for you to wear your own clothes on this day you need to bring either £3 in cash or 3 quality items for
sale at the fair.
Next week you will also receive a book of raffle tickets to sell and if you manage to sell that (or more) you
have a chance of winning a £50 voucher to spend at Bluewater! If any students would like to help at the fair, please speak to Mrs Isom as soon as possible.
The date is the 12th December and the Fayre will be from 12pm – 3pm. Please support this occasion.
M. Isom

Seasonal Tea!

This will take place on Monday 30th November 1.30pm to 3pm at the school.
We would like to invite elderly relatives of the girls of the school. Please email me on: dcuningham@stccg .co.uk by Thursday 26th November to enable invitations to be sent.
D. Cunningham

Kirkland and Rowell Survey

A kind reminder that the deadline for receipt of completed Parent surveys is Friday 27th November.
Thank you.
A. Almeder

Certificate Evening

Karen Pickering, MBE was present due to the brilliant work done by the Media BTEC group and Miss Tomlinson.
The girls took part in a Borough wide competition about ‘Healthy Living’ and were very successful.
They created an advertising campaign aimed at young people.
The girls organised themselves into an advertising company with clearly defined roles.
They held board meetings as well as creative/planning meetings.
Mrs Valentine acted as the client so they also had to liaise with her.
They pitched their ideas to an advertising professional who gave them some constructive feedback before the final pieces were sent off to the organisers.
The film has been shown at various leisure centres but part of the prize was the offer of a professional athlete to visit the school, hence Karen becoming involved in St. Catherine’s.
Karen told us about a few of the highlights in her career and the setbacks.

To win the medals is undoubtedly the icing on the cake and the culmination of years of hard work.
I am always interested in how any successful sports person obviously has to have a certain talent and ability but it is the mental attitude and determination which really counts.
Picking oneself up after injury, and coping with the setbacks and disappointments takes a very special person.
Karen’s message was clear, you may have God given talent but without hard work you will not excel.
The combination of the two is what led to her outstanding successes.

Ofsted

I cannot say yet exactly how the Inspection of Art went until the letter is published by Ofsted.
However the girls, as always, ere excellent, very well behaved but able to talk in confidence about their work in this area and the Inspector was very impressed by them and their work. Mrs Weavis and Miss Turner certainly bore the brunt of this inspection and it is enormous pressure on them.
They both have worked very hard todevelop Art in and around the school and thoroughly deserve a good report.

Questionnaire

Please complete the annual questionnaire which is attached.
This provides us with evidence for our evaluation of ’how we are doing’ and from this information we can plan on how to develop the school further and also address any issues that are raised. Positive feedback is also very necessary otherwise the data becomes skewed.
Therefore the higher the number of questionnaires returned the better as statistically the evidence is more valid. Many thanks for taking the time out to do this survey, the deadline date to receive completed forms back is Friday 27th November 2009.

Welcome Back

I hope everyone had a good half term, had a bit of a rest and managed to catch up on any outstanding work.This has been a very busy week with our School Mission. The Sion Team were in over the weekend getting everything ready so that on Monday morning we were straight into it. I hope the girls have not only enjoyed the experience but have benefited personally in their own spirituality. As a community it has certainly been an opportunity to be quite open and celebratory about our Faith. I find it quite remarkable that the young people in the Mission Team are able to talk about their lives so openly and also express their love of God and how the Holy Spirit gives them such strength. This may sound, on paper, a bit boring but the message is delivered through Drama, Music and Prayers.

The team are obviously very skilful and some of the team are very experienced in doing this. It has been lovely to see the enthusiasm from the girls and many, who have volunteered for the activities and sessions, are ones who would not normally do this sort of thing! This is brilliant and a clear sign that the Holy Spirit is working in our school with all our girls.

Ofsted

On Monday morning, just what you need on the first morning back after half term, I received a call from Ofsted informing me that they would be carrying out a subject survey inspection the following week in Art.
We will be welcoming, for 2 days, Tuesday and Wednesday, an Art Inspector, HMI, so please say a prayer that all goes well. These types of inspections are absolutely random and whilst it is only one subject, it is very important that we take the inspection seriously and that we work together to ensure it will be a success.

Bexley Services

Bexley Services has set up a Web site which will allow Parents to see if our school is open or closed on any given day.
This can be accessed anywhere in the country as it is web based.
The link is http://map.lgfl.org.uk/opencheck. Or you can access it from our Web site http://www.stccg.co.uk/severe_weather.html.

This link has been included on the council’s web sites on all pages under the “Schools and Colleges” section.

For those parents without access to the internet, the status can be checked by calling (020) 8408 7508 and keying in the school DCSF code 3035402.

Manna Project

I have received a thank you letter from Paddy Boyle who is the Director for the Manna Society, it reads: “Thank you to all the children, staff and parents of St. Catherine’s Catholic School for Girls for your Harvest Festival gifts to the Manna Centre.
The food that we have received will be used throughout the next twelve months to help some of the poorest members of our society.
On behalf of them I would like to say a genuine thank you.” The Project has a day centre based in Central London and can provide a hot meal, shower facilities, medical treatment and advice for up to 150- 200 homeless people every day, so it is a very worthy cause and I am very pleased that we have been able to contribute in some way.
If you would like more information on the Manna Society please visit http://www.mannasociety.org.uk or telephone 0207 357 9363.

Year 11 Parents’ Evening

Parents’ Evening ~ All Year 11 parents are very warmly invited to attend the Year 11 Parents’ Meeting on Monday 16th November from 3.30 to 6.00pm. Letters have been sent out; kindly return the slips as soon as possible. Students should use page 16 of their Planners to make your appointments. Coursework Calendar ~ Apologies for it not being attached to Contact as stated in the 16th October edition. Please find it included in this week’s edition for your information and retention.

End of another Term

In many ways it is quite frightening that we have reached the half term but I am sure we all need a rest.
This term being the longest of the academic year is crucial and I hope that all the girls feel that they have made a good start to the year and are on top of their work. If this isn’t the situation then they need to use the time they have over the next week to get back on top.
The work does not go away. Year 10 and Year 11 should be very clear that over this week they need to be preparing for their assessments, Mock exams etc. If any of the KS4 girls say they haven’t anything to do they are lying!!

Highest Attendees

Congratulations to 8A and 7C who are our highest attenders for this half term and have been rewarded by being allowed to wear their own clothes for a day whilst everyone else is in uniform.
Excellent effort girls - you have set the barrier high for others.

Remember:-

Attainment = Attendance.

Open Mornings

My thanks to everyone, staff and students for their co-operation during our Open Mornings.
I did not receive one negative comment, which is very pleasing and remarkable.
I did in fact receive a number of complimentary emails saying St Catherine’s was undoubtedly the best school they had visited and what wonderful ambassadors the Year 8 guides had been.

Mission Week

After half term we come back straight into our Mission Week.
This is a real opportunity for us all to focus on our spiritual lives, be prayerful and come together as a community.
I will be praying that the Mission is a huge success and that we welcome the Sion team into our school with love and respect.
There are a couple of events after school which I hope will be well attended as the girls will be working with the team to put these on.

Year 10 Information Evening

Thank you to the Parents/Carers and students who attended.
I spoke to a number of Parents/Carers at the end who all said how valuable and interesting the evening had been.
I was though disappointed that so many girls came on their own but I am glad that they were responsible even to do so.
I see Parents as Co-educators, this is supposed to be a Partnership and unfortunately many of the girls are not being as well supported as we would like.
With all the changes at KS4 it is important that Parents/Carers as well as the girls themselves understand and appreciate
these changes.

Poppy Appeal

The Prefects will be selling Poppies - please be generous as this is a very worthwhile fund.
The money raised will go towards the supporting the War Veterans and the Young Soldiers and Families who are affected by conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan not only by loss of life, where young families are bereaved, but where young men and women are injured; and return home and have great difficulty rebuilding their lives.
Please buy a Poppy and show that you remember the old soldiers and the young ones too.

Aylesford Priory

On Friday 9th October, Catherine, our Chaplain and a group of girls went to Aylesford Priory to be part of a Mass in the presence of the relics of St. Thérèse.
St. Thérèse was a 24year old French girl who died of tuberculosis in 1897.
St. Thérèse was an extremely head strong teenager.
Told she was too young to become a Nun by a local Convent she appealed to the Bishop.
When he said no, she appealed to the Pope in person, defying strict instructions to keep her mouth shut.
To disappear behind the doors of a Convent at the age of 15 was to enter a life of total obscurity, you might Think.
So how come Thérèse had been proclaimed not only as a Saint but a Doctor of the Church, the highest accolade the Vatican has to bestow? She had no Degrees in Theology or Philosophy; she didn’t spend a long life in study, wrote one book and many letters, died at 24 and now is world famous. It was above all her simplicity.
Thérèse saw a wild flower on the forest floor and saw it was perfect as God intended. So she decided that God wanted her to be perfect too.
She boiled her whole religion down to one word - love - and then practiced what she called the ‘Science of Love.’
Thérèse decided, as part of this ‘Science of Love’, to be kindest to the people she liked least, to give them a warm smile and if she could, do them some little service.
It would be wonderful if we could practice some ‘Science of Love’ in our school community this week.

Remembering…..

This week we have been remembering 2 remarkable people.
On Tuesday 13th October we said prayers of thanksgiving for the birthday of Jean Baptiste Debrabant who was the founder of La Sainte Union Sisters in France, they are the trustees
of the school. There are currently four secondary schools and one primary in England who form the LSU community.
The girls in Years 7-10 were each given a postcard with these details on as a memento of the day.

Prayer:
Let us thank God that Jean Baptiste was born into our world.
Let us also give thanks for the life and work of the La Sainte Union Sisters and all those who work with them.
May we come to know and love Jesus and Mary as Jean Baptist did.
Let us try to live good lives, to pray often and help to make our world a happier place.
Amen

Payment for school trips

Our preferred method of payment is by cheque, which should be made payable to ‘St Catherine’s Catholic School for
Girls’.
If you are unable to pay by cheque, please ensure you enclose the correct amount in cash as change cannot be
given.
Please also note that the Finance Office is unable to change up money for students.
There are numerous girls who knock at the finance door for change for their canteen cards.

PLEASE STOP!

Open Evening

My thanks to all the girls who were guides and were engaged in all subject areas for our Open Evening last night. I received nothing but compliments about the behaviour and confidence of the girls. They were clearly very proud of their school and most importantly, friendly and welcoming. Over the next couple of weeks we have our Open Mornings, so yet again, please promote the school in a very positive light in the wider community.

Mon12th to Wed 14th Oct
&
Mon 19th and Tues 19th Oct
(9.30am ~ 12 Noon)

Uniform & standards

Standards of uniform generally are very good, however, there are a few individuals who need to be challenged sometimes on a daily basis.
The simple things are infuriating, particularly on a Monday morning when it seems it is being taken as a norm that we provide the varnish remover and make up wipes.
We shall have to consider charging individuals for them.
This is fairly low level but in all honesty, it creates a clear sign of challenge and unacceptance of the school code.
We have had a couple of very wet days and this could have been anticipated, but alarmingly, so many of the girls were completely unprepared.
They arrive in school, soaking wet, without coats or umbrellas.
Please girls, dress appropriately for the weather.
At the same time outer coats should be plain black - hooded tops are not allowed.
There is clearly a fashion for wearing large scarves/pashminas instead of a coat. Scarves must be plain black and removed once inside the school buildings.
Other scarves will be confiscated and returned at the end of the half term!

Absence from School

I have gathered some very interesting further evidence of the direct relationship between attendance and attainment.
When I looked at the % attendance for the year of the top 10 performers in Year 11 2009, not one of them had an attendance % of less than 96%!

You need to be here to Learn.

Visit

We had a very short visit on Tuesday by the new Deputy Director for Children and Young Peoples Service in Bexley - Carolyn Unsted.
She was very impressed by the calmness of the school and the active, lively lessons that she saw.

Saturday Learning

We have resumed this important measure for supporting students KS learning.
If your daughter has work that has missed the deadline or poor quality work, you will be notified by letter.
Saturday learning will take place from 9am to 12 noon.
It is very important that your daughter attends these sessions as the work done with specialist teachers will directly improve her GCSE marks and therefore grades.
Should there be a compelling reason why she is unable to attend, please let Mrs Strong know immediately.

Personal Safety

We have been notified by the Police of the following incident that occurred recently in our area.
A male driving a red Vauxhall Astra Estate has followed a 12 year old girl in a sustained manner causing the girl alarm at about 4pm in the afternoon.
The male is described as White, approx 40 years old with Grey hair.
I am passing this information on, not to alarm you, but to highlight the need for us all to be vigilant, not only when traveling too and from school, but at all times.
Girls can report suspicious behaviour to the Community Support/Police Officers who have a strong presence around Bexleyheath town centre during the week. However, girls could also seek assistance from local retailers if they feel at all threatened in anyway.

Can I emphasise again that St. Catherine’s girls should not go into Primark in uniform for any reason at all.

Immunisation, HPV (Cervical Cancer)

As there is no link between the very sad death of the 14 year old in Coventry and her immunisation, the planned immunisations have gone ahead.
Please be assured that we follow the advice from the Health professionals but recognise parental choice, this is not an issue.

Headlice

There have been a number of reported cases of Head Lice in Yr7.
Could you please check that you do not have any and if you do then take the necessary action.
Unfortunately, it is very easily spread.
The best advice I can give is to tie your hair back if long enough.

Raising Standards

We have been concerned about girls being late to school, especially in Years 10 &11.
To address this problem, we have introduced immediate lunchtime detentions.
This means all girls in Years 10 & 11 forfeit their lunchtime every day when they are late, in addition to existing punishments. They report at 1.30pm sharp to Mrs Strong or Mrs Warnock then work silently for 30 minutes.
We have made arrangements with the canteen for them to eat at 2.00pm then they remain under supervision until 2.15pm leaving 5 minutes for personal needs.
The girls who are late don’t enjoy this new system.
The answer is simple: get to school on time and enjoy lunchtime with your friends.
The benefits are clear: be on time and build up an excellent record of punctuality for your school reference which will enhance your prospects in an increasingly competitive world.

Behaviour

I listened, with interest, to Mr Ball’s speech to the Labour Party Conference and was pleased that he recognised the need for the government to support schools in dealing with behaviour that is unacceptable and impacts negatively on learning.
There is a strong message to parents saying they must support the school.
Young people are much likely to be happy and achieving well at school when their parents are influencing them in the same direction as the school.
I always thank you for your support but do get disappointed when my staff, particularly our pastoral leaders, who are frontline, experience challenge and confrontation.
They are only doing their job and I would ask that if you do receive a call with news, that you don't wish to hear or find it hard to believe, that you remember we act only in the interests of the child and as a school we have no time or interest in doing anything other than a professional job.

Year 7 Induction Mass

My thanks to all the parents/carers who came along last Friday to celebrate Mass with us.
We have never had so many parents/carers!
There was a lovely calm and peaceful atmosphere reflecting the mood of the girls.
Fr Michael Branch said the Mass and, as always, he made us smile and emphasised to us all how fortunate we are to be in such a good place.
I hope the girls will remember his message:

Pray hard
Work hard
and then you can Play hard.

Thank you, especially Catherine, and all the staff who worked together to ensure this Mass was so special.
I look forward to seeing Year 7 parents/carers again at the social
Welcome Evening organised by the Parents’ Association.

Please come along - even if it is only to be sociable!

Don’t forget School Fund!

Year 11 Science Results

The results for the Year 11 girls, admittedly only 3, who took the separate exams in Biology, Physics & Chemistry, were excellent.
For our more able students this is now our standard offer and will certainly be advantageous to them in their future applications.
This offer is one of the guarantees for students in the recent White Paper and therefore we are most certainly developing our Curriculum correctly

Open Sessions

These are scheduled as follows:

Open Evening
Wednesday 7th October
6.30pm ~ 9.00pm
Head Teacher’s address will take place at 6.30pm and 7.15pm.

Open Mornings
Monday 12th, Tuesday 13th & Wednesday 14th October
AND
Monday 19th & Tuesday 20th October
9.30am ~ 12 Noon
(last tour at 11.00am)

Regretfully, we are unable to offer any parking facilities on site on this occasion.

Holidays during Term Time

I am very seriously concerned at the number of requests from parents/ carers that I am receiving for authorisation from me to take their child out of school.
Can I make it clear I am totally against this unless there are exceptional circumstances and you do need this authorisation. To simply state holiday is not enough and the request will be declined.

Birthday Cakes

For a number of reasons, including the mess, noise and issue of girls using knives in an unsupervised manner,
I have decided to bar birthday cakes in school.
This has become a daily occurrence and an unnecessary activity.

Fish Pond

Mr Barnes, our Caretaker has recently refurbished our fish pond. If any parents/carers are willing to donate fish to replenish our stock please contact him directly on the main school telephone number.

School Fund

Could I please remind you that the annual school fund is now due.
We use this money to support school trips and journeys.

Reception

We have a beautiful new reception area which allows us now to have 2 receptionists on duty for most of the day.
However please note that the reception does not open until 8.00am and closes at 5.00pm for parents/carers and students.

Student absences can be reported outside these hours by leaving a message on the answer machine for our Attendance Officer.
Any other calls into school should go through reception between the hours stated above.

Standards/Expectations

As you all know I firmly believe in running a school that is well ordered, calm and a place where the girls feel safe and secure. In this environment they will thrive and enjoy their learning.
At the beginning of the year I want to reinforce to you our Behaviour for Learning Policy and the Consequence Model
for dealing with Behavioural issues.
In order for the girls to be treated fairly and consistently we must all be very clear about the standards and expectations required.
I attach a copy of the document that is displayed in every classroom.
Please go through it and you will appreciate, I’m sure, that it is very clear and there is no ambiguity.
We do have high standards and expectations and this is why we do so very well.

Uniform

I am very pleased with how smart the Year 7 girls look in their white blouses and new jumpers.
We have had a few problems with blouses.
The school blouse has a revere collar and a shirt with the button undone is not the same.
The same issue has arisen in Year 10 with the new blue blouse.
Sorry to be pernickety about this but it is a uniform.
Reminder as well that canvas shoes are an infringement of the uniform code and will be dealt with accordingly.
Otherwise, the standard of uniform so far has been very good. Many thanks.

Home Learning Timetables

Your daughter should have her home learning timetable already in her planner but along with Contact today she has been given a copy of this for the use of Parents/Carers. Please monitor this and if you have any comments then let us know via
your daughter’s planner, email or by letter to the Year Leader.

For your information:

For Year 7 Year Leader
Miss JA Smyth

Personal Learning CoOrdinator
Mr Jones

Senior Leader
Mrs Isom

For Year 8 Year Leader
Mrs Dennett

Personal Learning CoOrdinator
Miss McCarthy

Senior Leader
Mrs Cunningham

For Year 9 Year Leader
Miss Cook

Personal Learning CoOrdinator
Ms Uttley~Wright

Senior Leader
Miss Almeder

For Year 10 Year Leader
Miss Hayden

Personal Learning CoOrdinator
Miss Cook

Senior Leader
Mrs Warnock

For Year 11 Year Leader
Miss Husband

Personal Learning CoOrdinator
Mrs Benson

Senior Leader
Mrs Strong

P. Slonecki


Site Map	© 2010 St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls - all rights reserved

Our Mission statement

Head Teacher News

Sports Day

End of another year

Farewell…….

I am sorry she is leaving us, she has been amazing to work with and has always put the children at the heart of everything she has done. She is not going far so we all hope that she will continue to visit us. Good luck to you all and God bless. Happy holidays everyone!

Celebration of Achievement Evening ~ guest of honour Karen Pickering MBE

Grimm Tales

Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Congratulations to the 16 Year 10 girls who successfully completed and passed the expedition last weekend for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. A huge thank you to Mr Lenihan, Miss McDonagh, Miss Monin and Miss Moore who generously gave up their weekend for the girls.

Year 10 Retreat to Kintbury

Also, last weekend 60 Year 10 girls went on retreat to Kintbury. Catherine, Mrs Warnock, Miss Cook (RE), Mrs Uttley~Wright, Miss Langridge and Mrs Isom accompanied the grils to this very special place and had, by all accounts, an amazing experience. Many Thanks.

Art Exhibition

The standard of work in the Exhibition this year was outstanding! I was very pleased with the support from Parents/Carers as they visited the Art Area to view their daughter’s final work and portfolios. Thank you to Mrs Weavis and Miss Turner.

Sports Day

And finally…….

An individual student who deserves a round of applause. Clarrisa Folkes has successfully completed all the workshops for the Secondary Junior Athletic Education Programme. The programme is aimed at potential high performing athletes and focuses on managing the balance of school work and sport.

Year 6 visits

O2 Dome

Year 9 Olympic Day

Papal Visit

Open Air Mass

New Beginnings

Blazers Message

Year 11

Blazers

Sainsbury’s

Please note there will not be a morning break on Mon 29th June due to our Annual Open Air Mass

Primary Visit

What a Knight!

Summer Assessments

This week marked the beginning of our summer term assessment schedules. Students across all Year groups have been thoroughly prepared and much of home learning is now focused on revision and learning. Students should be using their time wisely in order to achieve their very best.

Yr10 GCSE Summer Assessments

Activity Day ~ 8th July 2010

This will be a whole school activity day. Each Year group has received a letter identifying various activities available to them. There has been a very positive response so far and I hope the girls enjoy the experience.

Dates for your diary Autumn Term 2010 St Catherines welcomes our New Year 7s Friday 3rd September Year 7 8.40am-12pm Year 8, 9 & 10 9.30am-12.40pm

Half Term Week

Year 7, 8 & 9 have their Assessments week commencing 14th June so everyone has important work to do over the next few weeks.

Hot weather

Thank you

Year 11

A reminder about School Uniform

Facebook

A reminder about School Uniform

Year 11

Please note: HALF TERM Monday 31st May 2010 (Spring Bank Holiday) to Friday 4th June 2010 School will resume on Monday 7th June2010 at the normal time of 8.40am

Westminster Cathedral

On a more lighter note…….

Congratulations to Mrs Valentine, Subject Leader PE, who gave birth to a baby boy - Harry - on 4th May 2010.

Absence

OUR General Election

*******STOP PRESS******* Election Results: Conservative: 86 Labour: 243 Liberal Democrats: 248 The Lib Dem Candidate, Lolade Ali, is hereby elected for St. Catherine’s School

Facebook

Water fighting

School Damage

National College of School Leadership and Young People’s Services

My favourite comment has to be though that they felt it was a really happy place be and they all left smiling, having had a good meeting but quite invigorated having met the young ladies of St. Catherine’s. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the day such a huge success.

On another note…….

Medication in school

Please note: Monday 3rd May is May Day Bank Holiday therefore the school will be closed. School will resume at the normal time of 8.40am on Tuesday 4th May

Welcome Back!

JLT & Prefects

I was absolutely thrilled to be present when a Year 9 team of students won the Bexley Award for Best use of ICT at the recent Enterprise Challenge. The girls made up „Sow and Grow‟ Packs. Included in the pack was a pot, seeds and compost.

I

Bethanie Horner, Emily Harmon, Caitlin Hamil-ton, Niamh Watt, Jaisie Pearman, Tierney Webb, Rebecca Taylor, Sally Sanders and Olivia Highton.

Uniform

Easter Thoughts

Good is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than death victory is ours…… through him who loves us. Amen (Desmond Tutu)

I wish you and your families a very peaceful, prayerful and blessed Easter.

Scarves

I need to be very clear about this. After the Easter break scarves, whatever colour, will not be part of our uniform and therefore they will be confiscated whatever the colour. We will reinstate them into our uniform when it is cold again, sometime in the Autumn Term.

Year 11

Year 9

Well done Year 9, you have conducted yourselves extremely well during your KS3 assessments.

Box Clever read more

Examinations

Good Luck to ……

Yr11 Academic Review Day

Own Clothes Day

This will take place on Friday 24th March. All funds raised go to our Charity - the La Sainte Union School in Tanzania. Normal rules apply in relation to make-up and jewellery. £1 per student.

I am sorry she is leaving us, she has been amazing to work with and has always put the children at the heart of everything she has done.
She is not going far so we all hope that she will continue to visit us.
Good luck to you all and God bless. Happy holidays everyone!

Celebration of Achievement
Evening ~ guest of honour
Karen Pickering MBE

This week marked the beginning of our summer term assessment schedules.
Students across all Year groups have been thoroughly prepared and much of home learning is now focused on revision and learning. Students should be using their time wisely in order to achieve their very best.

Dates for your diary
Autumn Term 2010 St Catherines welcomes our New Year 7s Friday 3rd September
Year 7 8.40am-12pm
Year 8, 9 & 10 9.30am-12.40pm

Year 7, 8 & 9 have their Assessments week commencing 14th June so everyone has important work to do over the
next few weeks.

Please note:
HALF TERM
Monday 31st May 2010
(Spring Bank Holiday)
to
Friday 4th June 2010
School will resume on Monday 7th June2010
at the normal time of 8.40am

STOP PRESS
Election Results:
Conservative: 86
Labour: 243
Liberal Democrats: 248
The Lib Dem Candidate, Lolade Ali, is hereby elected for St. Catherine’s School

My favourite comment has to be though that they felt it was a really happy place be and they all left smiling, having had a good meeting but quite invigorated having met the young ladies of St. Catherine’s.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the day such a huge success.

Please note:
Monday 3rd May is May Day Bank Holiday
therefore the school will be closed.

School will resume at the normal time of
8.40am on
Tuesday 4th May

Good is stronger than evil,
love is stronger than hate,
light is stronger than death
victory is ours……
through him who loves us.
Amen (Desmond Tutu)

This will take place on Friday 24th March. All funds raised go to our Charity - the La Sainte Union School in Tanzania.
Normal rules apply in relation to make-up and jewellery. £1 per student.

3.10pm Wednesday 31st March. The girls will not be released early on this day.

Thursday 1st April 2010 and Monday 19th April are staff training days.

School will re-open for students on Tuesday 20th April at 8.40am.

Rebecca Farrell, who was Head Girl last year at St. Catherine’s, telephoned me this week to tell me she had been appointed as School Captain at Dartford Grammar School for Boys.
This is a remarkable achievement and we are very proud of her.