Published December 17, 2021
As the calendar year draws to a close, I would firstly like to thank you for your continued support and understanding in what has been an incredibly challenging year for us all. As you know, we place great value on the importance of teamwork and working together to achieve the best for the pupils in our care and you are a vital part of the team.
Looking back to last January, it has been quite a journey; an enforced lockdown triggering 3 months of remote learning for the children followed by restrictions which have meant that we’ve had to adapt school life. Then there’s been the testing, vaccinations, periods of remote learning for bubbles and individuals – it really has been quite a year! Your messages of encouragement and support have been well received and given us all a much needed boost at times!
The one constant, throughout all of the uncertainty and change, has been the resilience and character of both pupils and staff. I am in awe at how the young people in our community have taken everything in their stride and continued striving forwards no matter what. I’m privileged also to work alongside such a dedicated and committed staff who have risen to every challenge that has been put before them. It is a real source of pride and encouragement for the months ahead.
We have no crystal ball in school and we have no prior knowledge as to what is around the corner in January, but we hope and pray that in the new year we will be able to start to return to a more “normal” school experience for all. Come what may, with the resilience of the pupils, the dedication of our staff and the support of you, our parents, we couldn’t be in a better position to tackle any further challenges that lie ahead.
Chaplaincy Council
As you would expect, it’s been a busy time of year for our Chaplaincy Council. They have created and shared a Christmas Card and Prayer with all forms this week and I’d like to share it with you too:
“Dear Lord, We pray that all teachers and students have a joyful Christmas with good health into the New Year. Please help everyone know that the Chaplaincy Council will be praying for them over Christmas.”
They have also been touring the form rooms with our Advent calendar and reflecting with the forms and today they took the food bank donations to the Trussel Trust. Many thanks for all your generous donations – they will certainly help to make a difference at this time of year.
School Library
Exciting developments with the School Library! Due to Covid restrictions, the library has not been open for taking books and as a space to read at break times for well over a year now. We’re delighted to announce that it will be opening each break time as per below:
- Monday – Year 7
- Tuesday – Year 8
- Wednesday – Year 9
- Thursday – Year 10
- Friday – Year 11
We will be monitoring the use of the library with a view to opening after school from 3.35pm – 4.00pm.
All pupils will be asked to hand sanitise on entry and wear face masks whilst in the library.
Books to be returned must be placed in the “Book Return Box” once finished with, which can be found outside the library (bottom of the up staircase). Under no circumstances are books to be put back on the library shelves or left on the desk, as these will need to be quarantined.
Safeguarding Over the Christmas Break
School is closed for Christmas from Friday 17th December and will reopen on Wednesday 5th January to all pupils.
In the event that you have any safeguarding concerns about a child’s welfare or you are worried about a child who you think may be at risk of significant harm or injury, please report your concerns to:
- Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH): 0300 4560 108
- If calling out of hours: 0300 4560 100
- Email safeguarding@sjcs.org.uk
- If the child is at immediate risk dial 999 and ask for police assistance.
Please see our Safeguarding page for more information.
Celebrations
This week we held the Year 9 Graduation for the first time in 2 years! It was a lovely occasion and fabulous to be able to celebrate the achievements and talent of our wonderful year 9 pupils. There were subject awards, teacher awards, graduation certificates, a dance-off, a joke-off, brilliant pupil performances and lots of smiling faces! It was a great way to celebrate the year group before they begin their GCSE options subjects in January.
It was such a shame that we could not invite parents to be a part of the celebration but we have recorded the event and are looking into the best way to share the recording with you in light of GDPR regulations. Watch this space!
Year 7 also had a celebration of sorts during PHSE on Wednesday with a fiercely contested quiz! Speaking with a Year 7 class yesterday, it’s clear that there is a certainly a competitive element with the year group (and their tutors).
Today, we also distributed certificates to the pupils in recognition of their achievement points from this term. We also hosted an extended version of the ever-popular Wheel of Prizes and Weekly Raffle complete today with Head Teacher Awards!
Progress Reports, Set Change Notification and New Timetables
Pupils in all year groups will be bringing home their progress reports from this term.
Some pupils will also be bringing home a letter notifying you of a set change.
In addition, all pupils will be bringing home new timetables for January. We are having new timetables in January as year 9 will be beginning their GCSE options – this means that the whole school timetable required a re-write.
We will be starting January in week 2 of the new timetable.
Achievement Points Race
The calendar year draws to a close with no changes to the leader board…
- Margaret with 22,166 points
- Vincent with 21,452 points
- Teresa with 20,014 points
- Francis with 18,277 points
Farewell to Mrs Pearson
Many of you may know, but today is the day we bid farewell to Mrs Pearson who has been our fabulous Head of English for 6 years! She is moving onto a promotion as Assistant Headteacher at a school in Gloucester and we know she’ll be absolutely brilliant! I’m sure you’ll join me in thanking Mrs Pearson for everything she has done for our school and wishing her well for her new challenge.
Please click here to access our Christmas Carol Service. We hope you enjoy it and that it gets you into the Christmas Spirit! Huge thanks to all of the talented pupils who made this as special as it is!
Take care of you and your families over the break. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of our extended family.
We wish you a peaceful, holy and restful break.
Mr Rooney