Holy Family Catholic School & Sixth Form
Issue 5: January 2018
Wiseman House Site (Years 9, 10 and 11)
Walthamstow House Site (Years 7, 8, 12 and 13)
Tel. 0208 520 3587 Fax. 0208 520 3594
Tel. 0208 520 0482 Fax. 0208 520 4658
Bishop Alan Officially Opens The Corpus Christi Building Inside this Issue:
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Bishop Alan Visit Celebrate Exam Success! A Midsummer Night’s Dream Jack Petchey Winners
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Year 7 Retreat STARS Cambridge University Trip House of Lords Debate
t @HFCSWaltham | @HFCSWaltham | Enquiries - office@holyfamily.waltham.sch.uk | www.holyfamily.waltham.sch.uk
Contents
2.
Welcome
7.
General & Awards
3.
Academic & Activities
9.
Sports Events
5.
Creative Arts
11.
Chaplaincy Corner
5.
School Trips
Headteacher’s Message Welcome to 2018 and to this latest edition of Holy Family News. Lots has been happening since the start of this new academic year, and we begin the new year in a spirit of optimism. This time last year we were still in the preparatory stage of our rebuilding project. Now we have a much transformed Walthamstow House site with the magnificent new Corpus Christi building and much more besides, including the latest addition, our dining hall extension. Over on the Wiseman site excellent progress is being made with our sports hall and new RE classrooms. We are now working hard to gain additional funding to equip the sports hall and provide an astro-turf multi use games area (known as a MUGA). Holy Family is now one of the three sports hub schools in the borough and we want to establish our school as a centre of excellence in sport and leisure activities. The sports hall will be handed over to us in July 2018 and then the final wave of work on the Wiseman site will commence. This involves converting the existing gymnasium into a learning resource centre and lecture theatre and converting existing changing rooms into a classroom and chaplaincy space. The final work will be to the front office and reception area and then the landscaping of the outdoor space. It is, then, a very exciting year ahead of us. Of course, all the activities you would expect to go on in a school have continued during the redevelopment works and I want to pay tribute to staff and students for the excellent way in which they have coped
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with some of the inevitable restrictions and challenges of operating a school during a major building programme. There have been many difficulties this past year as we have had less outdoor space and have had to teach lessons in alternative classrooms and so on, but the Holy Family community has been brilliant in its response. I also want to thank our contractors, Willmott Dixon, for their efficiency and flexibility in making sure that we have been as little affected as possible by the work taking place. On Thursday 15th March at 6.30pm we are holding a networking event for our alumni. This will be a chance to learn about the changes in the school, see the new facilities and meet staff and other alumni. If you would like to come along, please get in touch and we will give you further details. You can contact the co-ordinator of the event, Ms Gaynor on l.gaynor@holyfamily. waltham.sch.uk. We look forward to welcoming you back. As ever, we are very proud of the achievements of our students and this magazine gives you an opportunity to learn more about the fantastic work that goes on at Holy Family Catholic School. We hope you enjoy reading our magazine and we wish you all a peaceful, blessed and happy New Year. Dr Andy Stone January 2018
Academic & Activities
Holy Family Students Celebrate GCSE Success! Congratulations to Year 11 students at Holy Family Catholic School who have achieved excellent GCSE results. We are pleased to report that 49% of our students achieved both maths and English at the new strong pass of a grade 5 or better, with 61% achieving both maths and English at grade 4 or better. Overall there has been a significant increase in the number of grade 7-9 (A**, A*, A) results in English language, English literature and maths, with 74% of grades being a C and above across all subjects. Headteacher, Dr Andy Stone comments, “We are very pleased with the outcomes, particularly with the high number of students achieving the Grade 5 and above. The new exams have been very challenging for students and staff and we are delighted with how many students have achieved the new 7, 8, 9 grades. Congratulations to all students and staff for their hard work.” The following students achieved some exceptional results in this year’s GCSEs: • Greeshma Reji – 10 A*/As • Beth McQuarrie - 10 A*/As • Dariusz Dusynski - 10 A*/As inc. grade 9 maths • Thomas O’Brien - 10 A*/As inc. grade 9 English language & literature • Jakub Szczesnowicz - 9A*/As, 1B • Chissola Da Conceicao - 7A*/As, 4Bs • Guillame Goodey - 8A*/As, 2Bs • Daniel Asare - 9A*/As, 1B
• Aoife Taylor - 7A*/As, 2Bs • Riya Roychan - 9A*/As, 1B • Darren Ainembabazi - 7A*/As, 2Bs inc. grade 9 English literature • Cara Moran - 6 A*/As, 3Bs • Darius Malcolm - 6A*/As, 3Bs • Aiste Pokvytyte - 7A*/As, 3Bs • Niamh Drennan - 6A*/As, 3Bs • Candis Boateng - 7A*/As, 3Bs • Sean Curley - 7A*/As, 4Bs inc. grade 9 maths Students celebrated as they opened their results, Thomas O’Brien (pictured) said, “I’m so pleased with my grades and amazed at the Grade 9s in English literature and language especially as after the exams I was quite stressed but now I am so happy! I’m really looking forward to taking my A-Levels now.” High numbers of our Year 11 students will return to Holy Family Sixth Form to continue their studies to advanced level. We want to congratulate all of our students on the excellent outcomes and wish them luck for the start of their new courses in September. Holy Family is an open access Sixth Form and is happy to welcome students from all faiths or none. If you are looking for a diverse range of subjects at a high performing Sixth Form we are enrolling now. Please visit our website for further information and to apply. For more photos and student reactions please visit our website (www.holyfamily.waltham.sch.uk) Twitter & Instagram (@HFCSWaltham).
Best Ever A-Level & BTEC Results Congratulations to all of our students on gaining the best ever A-Level and BTEC results this year – we wish you every success in the future! Our A Level results this year are our best ever set of results, including 10 A* grades! Our A*-B grade percentage was 52%, with A*-C being 84% and A*-E 99%.
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Academic & Activities
Maria’s Reaction All of Maria’s final exams landed on the same day, meaning that she had to sit three A-Level papers in one day! “It was overwhelming doing three exams in one day. But I had prepared well and worked hard all year, but I am still so surprised I did so well!” Maria also added, “Hard work really does pay off!” Maria will be taking a gap year, and will apply to university for Sept. 2018. A* in Spanish / B in English / C in Psychology
Shanen’s Reaction Shanen won reaction of the day when he opened his results, “I’m feeling great, now I can’t wait for next year!” Shanen will continue his studies in Religious Education and then hopes to apply for Law at Durham University.
Oliver’s Reaction “I feel simply amazing!” Oliver’s smile said it all as he opened his envelope. He gained outstanding results in his Level 3 BTEC qualifications. He will now go on to complete an apprenticeship in Business.
Deloitte Careers In partnership with our school, Deloitte has partnered with our sixth form to provide detailed career advice to our Year 12 students. 12 students had the opportunity to meet with staff of Deloitte to take part in an ‘employability’ workshop to show the wide variety of careers available to them. The first session was focussed on raising aspirations, followed by a very useful CV Building workshop. This is not a one-off session, and the students are expected to use their skills effectively in the real world.
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They will have the opportunity to follow their learning up with an Applications Techniques workshop, before putting all of their new skills to the test by taking part in a mock interview process at Deloitte’s offices. We look forward to seeing their successes!
Creative Arts
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Our young actors created a magical version of William Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was a truly wonderful production, very creatively staged and hugely impressively acted. Many thanks to our excellent drama and music departments who worked so hard with the students and thank you to all who came to see the play.
School Trips
Sixth Form Cambridge University Trip As all best-laid plans do, the day started with a change to the itinerary as trains were diverted from Tottenham Hale to Seven Sisters. We arrived late but were welcomed with tea, coffee and biscuits to recharge us and get us ready for the day.
We were an audience to a presentation about the diverse range of Cambridge courses, the application process, and the required skills needed to be a Cambridge student. We then had a tour of the college and the massive library available to the students. Our lunch was provided and was very a tasty threecourse lunch in the dining room. We then had the chance to ask any questions we had in a Q&A session with four students who spoke about their own work and life at Cambridge.
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School Trips
House Of Lords Debate On the 1st of December, pupils from the Debate Club and a selection of other students had the privilege of visiting the House of Lords Schools Chamber debate. 12 schools from around the UK were invited to the event. The debate was comprised of 3 separate arguments surrounding the UK’s international relations: 1. The UK should work within the Common Wealth 2. The UK should aim to be a global leader 3. The UK should keep foreign affairs at a distance and focus on its own problems before helping other countries. When we arrived, we were given a brief tour and were taken to a room where the other schools were gathered. The Lord speaker made a wonderful speech about the debate and event overall. Following this, we were given a guided tour in small groups around Parliament. This was fascinating as we were given an insight about the history and running of the building. A highlight was learning about the monarchy and how they open the Houses of Parliament annually. Also, it was discovered that King Charles I had first began a controversial relationship with Parliament especially the House of Commons where he bombarded in demanding to see some members that had supposedly plotted against England. Since this surprising event in the 17th century, no monarch has been able to enter
the House of Commons. Instead, the Queen opens Parliament in the House of Lords where some members of the House Of Lords attends. This was significant as the law has not been changed or considered since the 17th century. After a lunchtime buffet, every school gathered within the House of Lords and waited for the debate to commence. Some pupils from Holy Family had the opportunity to make a speech about the third argument. The first speaker was Marie Gabrielle in year 10 who made a 3 minute speech. Also, a sixth form student, Cara, made a speech to summarise all of the main points presented in the earlier speeches. The final result was overruling, Argument 1, the UK should work within the commonwealth had the majority of votes, argument 2, the UK should aim to be a global leader, had the second most votes and argument 3, had the least votes. However, the votes did change before and after the debate as more people voted for argument 2 and 3 after the debate had finished.
Wicked Musical Trip On Monday 4th December, the music students went on a trip to the London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre to see the acclaimed musical Wicked. As many of the students have been studying the show’s most notable piece ‘Defying Gravity’, the trip shed light on the context and story behind the song, and made for an evening of excellent fun before the Christmas Break. Full of bedazzling lights, amazing costumes and elaborate sets, the show was a feast for the eyes. More than this, the cast was comprised of an exceptional group of performers, who’s singing and dancing were to be marvelled. The introduction of ‘The Emerald City’ had to be among the show’s best moments, with a stunning array of bright green neon lights flooding the stage. The show was a brilliant end to the term, and the catchy songs will definitely be stuck in everyone’s heads over the Christmas break! Shola Adesina
6.
General & Awards
Jack Petchey Winners
Being at the Jack Petchey awards was a proud moment for me. Coming from a working class East London background myself, I’ve always found the work of Jack Petchey to be inspiring, as his story is much like many of ours. He’s a stellar example of how to overcome adversity and push yourself to success, despite your circumstances. The Jack Petchey Foundation has been making a difference to lives of young people in London and Essex since 1999, investing over £110 million in schemes that benefit, support and assist them in achieving success. The evening celebrated the talents and achievements of the amazing young people of Waltham Forest. The evening was complimented with brilliant performances from the girls at Leaders Community Dancers and speeches from Superintendent Paul Clements and JP Foundation Representative Schenell Stephens. It was humbling to see the challenges that some young people have had to overcome, and that everyone there was being celebrated. The whole night was perfect thanks to all those who helped, and I felt very proud to be among the next generation of influencers.
Last night I had the honour to be invited to attend a very special awards ceremony in Walthamstow Town Hall along with a few students and Mr Fidegnon as I had been nominated for Outstanding Leader Award. The event was very well attended by several local schools and was nicely organised by the Jack Petchey Foundation. I was very proud to attend with several students who had won awards for their amazing achievements throughout the year. On a personal note, I felt so honoured and privileged to have been nominated by my students, who felt I had made a difference in their lives. Teaching is so often regarded as a difficult and thankless vocation, but in reality the job is what you make it. Being recognised for inspiring and encouraging my students makes my award so special. It truly was a proud, uplifting and inspirational moment to watch my students collect their awards, whilst representing Holy Family with such enormous maturity and grace. JP awards are often overlooked by many schools but I witnessed just how much they meant to all the students who were there yesterday. It is so easy to criticise young people today and emphasise negative behaviour. Therefore events celebrating achievement, dedication, fellowship and commitment are to be encouraged and made high profile in order to ensure they reach for the stars - which each and every child should be given the chance to do! Thank you again for nominating me for this award - it will be one I treasure always.
Shola A 13I Mrs S Belgrave
September Winner Lemuel was nominated by his Geography teacher Ms Lippa. “Lemuel has shown the most excellent work ethic in Geography for over two years now. He has maintained an exceptional academic record and still consistently challenges himself and others, giving feedback and guidance to others whenever he can. Outstanding!”
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General & Awards
Caspian Lee In his own words.... As I precariously walked into the unfathomable hall, I was trembling as if I was going to collapse onto the Earth’s surface. I lunged into my seat expeditiously, with sweat streaming down my pale neck. The other schools were passing rapidly, and it was only a matter of time before… Eventually, our erudite school was called. Exhilaration rushed through my veins. However, a strong eerie feeling of horror triggered as we approached the stage. This was a breath-taking moment. I could feel the monumental amount of support from my parents and when it was finally time for me to go up, I felt contented whilst receiving my indigenous medallion. Furthermore, as I stood on the stage an overwhelming feeling of pride was flowing through every fibre of my being; I absorbed the praise like a sponge, throughout the evening’s extraordinary chain of events.
Students can clock up stars in a range of ways: • Subject nominations • For 100% attendance and punctuality • For attending all intervention sessions • For getting all 1s and 2s on reports. Every star out of the box prompts a letter home and triggers a specific reward: 1 star Letter home 2 stars Skip the lunch queue 3 stars Skip the lunch queue and free lunch 4 stars Afternoon tea with the senior team 5 stars Reward trip 6 stars Names entered in a raffle draw for a significant prize.
STARS During the last term, the Wiseman Site has been piloting a new STARS reward system, and what a great term it’s been. The rewards on Wiseman have been revised taking on board feedback from students. Essentially students said that they wanted the following: • • • •
More public recognition More positive letters home Reward trips that were not ‘school related’ And Food!
Taking this on board, a system was set up whereby teachers write stars out for worthy winners and post them in a box. During year group and site assemblies, stars are pulled out of the box and read out, hence the public recognition, stars are also displayed on notice boards in the foyer and the hall. It’s lovely to see the anticipation of students waiting for their names to be pulled out of the box!
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During the autumn term we held four afternoon tea sessions for students who achieved 4 stars. It was a great opportunity for students to be recognised for their efforts and achievements. Each event saw Mrs Klitou making students hot chocolate and they had an array of cakes and scones to feast upon! When developing the reward system, students said that they wanted a paintballing trip so that was booked and 40 students, who achieved 5 stars went to Abridge for a paintballing day on the 13th of December. Finally, those who achieved 6 stars had their names put in a raffle and the winners from each year group were given £30.00 of Westfield vouchers, just in time for Christmas. Overall, during the autumn term over 850 reward letters were sent out, which is a phenomenal achievement. We look forward to giving out lots more rewards during the spring term, a meeting will be held with the prefects to discuss this term’s trip and how we can develop the rewards system further.
General & Awards
MEET YOUR PREFECT TEAM
Deputy Deputy Deputy Deputy Head Girl Head Boy Head Girl Head Boy HeadHead Boy Boy Head HeadGirl Girl Niamh Thet Niamh Thet James Shola Shola James
ASPIRE
Senior Prefects
Prefects
Lian Nguyen Esi Baidoo Aaron Wallace Jonathan Jalal Daniel Gaston Bridget Tendoh Alex Francis Jamie Escueta Marnie Malone Shania Aurelio
Lauren Joyce Lian Lauren Nguyen Joyce Divine Omango Divine Esi Baidoo Omango Keisha Sintim-Lewis Keisha AaronSintim-Lewis Wallace Miriam Abraham Miriam Jonathan Abraham Jalal Jeredy Jeredy DanielMananza Mananza Gaston Shazi Rosene Bridget Shazi Tendoh Rosene Anita Turay Anita AlexRose Rose Francis Turay Josh Silvani Jamie Josh Escueta Silvani Jennifer Olley Marnie Jennifer Malone Olley Ronet Shania RonetHarewood Harewood Aurelio Ashley AshleyOnwusiri Onwusiri Christelle Tchoumi Tchoumi
Senior Prefects
Prefects
Sports Events
NPS Proudly Sponsor Holy Family The NPS Group presented Holy Family with their brand new sport kits and they look amazing! NPS are a property design and management service that have been working on our new building expansion and have proudly sponsored our sports teams. Many thanks to Gerard Brennan and Marina Robertson for presenting the kits and NPS for their sponsorship.
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Sports Events
Term 1 Sports Round Up! Year 8 Girls Basketball The year 8 girls continued their dominant run of victories. They battled hard and used the full roster of skills and talent at their disposal to dispatch George Mitchell 48 - 8.
Year 10 Girls Handball The boys were not the only handball team to claim the borough title. On Friday 3rd November, our year 10 girls also entered the borough championship. Clearly, the training provided by our PE staff was superb, as they also finished the tournament as borough champions. Well done girls!
Year 8 Boys Handball
Waltham Forest Primary Sports Day Waltham Forest held their annual primary school sports day. Our school was asked to volunteer our team of sports champions to help run the day. They were excellently behaved, helped organise and run lots of the activities throughout the day. We are extremely proud of them for their help with the younger students making it an awesome day for all involved!
On Tuesday 7th November, our Year 8 boys Handball team entered the borough championship. They left later that evening victorious as borough champions, beating every team along the way comprehensively. They were gracious in victory and fully deserved their winner’s medals. Well done boys!
Year 8 Girls Basketball Our year 8 girls basketball team had their first fixture of the season against Forest school. They were victorious, winning the game 24- 16. Well done girls! We are also proud to have our new sports kits, which look amazing!
Year 8 Boys Football The year 8 team started the season with a 3-1 win over Heathcote who are one of the best teams in the borough. Our opponents beat us comfortably at the start of last season, yet despite conceding an early (soft) goal we had the majority of possession and looked the more dominant side.
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X Country Team A wonderful morning was had by the Holy Family X country team on Friday 13th October. The year 7 boys team ran a course of 2,600m with Patrick the first Holy Family boy to finish. The year 7 girls ran the same distance with Christina running a fantastic race finishing 3rd overall. She now goes on to represent Waltham Forest in London Youth games. Ciara also ran a great race finishing 7th overall and just missing out on a WF place. The year 8/9 event was a slightly longer 3000m race, Oskar the highest place Holy Family boy and Eve bringing home the girls. An energetic, fun morning was had by all.
Chaplaincy Corner
Yr 12 Interfaith Day We live in one of the most multicultural, multi-faith and diverse cities in the world and it is this diversity which makes London such a great city to be a part of. We want to ensure that all our young people understand their place in this diverse city of theirs and that we respect the culture and beliefs of people who do not share our Christian faith. For some years now we have organised an interfaith day for our Sixth Formers in Yr 12. This took place mid November and involved visits to places of worship including Hindu Temples, Church of England churches and talks from other faith leaders. It was a very positive day with excellent feedback from all who took part. We are extending our interfaith work this year by involving ourselves in the work of a charity called the Three Faiths Forum (3FF). This organisation is supported by all the major faith groups in London and aims to create opportunities to work together
for young people who are educated in schools that have a high proportion of students from a particularly faith background. As most of our young people are from Catholic/Christian backgrounds we are going to work with two schools that have a high proportion of Muslim students – these are Norlington Boys and Eden Girls. A group of Yr 8 students from each of our schools will be working together through this academic year with their counterparts from these schools.
Year 7 Retreat
just 100km or a couple of hours, but in those days it would have taken weeks.
Late November saw Yr7 students take part in their first Retreat since joining Holy Family School.
Life is like a journey, and we have all sorts of experiences along the way. Students were encouraged to reflect on their “journey” through the past year.
The theme was “belonging” and it was an opportunity to look at their journey in Holy Family so far, how they are all part of the school community.
There was then an opportunity to get creative and make some beautiful stained glass windows that will be displayed in the school during Advent.
We were delighted to once again welcome the Emmanuel Community Church youth team. They ran a very interactive session on how to be the best person you can be, but also to celebrate others achievements as well as your own.
We then celebrated Mass with Fr Niall, drawing to a close a different kind of day for Year 7, but one they fully embraced.
Each student is a member of a House group named after a Saint: Anne, Stephen, Philomena, Ignatius, Richard and Elizabeth. You may see the word ASPIRE around the school when you visit. During one session they found out about the school saints and looked at the Holy Family Way – which helps the school community to attain and achieve. They then thought of ways they could aspire more to the Holy Family Way. The final workshop provided an early start to Advent. They thought about Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, maybe a short journey in today’s terms –
Chaplaincy Corner
Remembrance Mass The beginning of November saw our annual whole school mass in which we remember the members of our school community who have died.
Christmas Time The traditions of Holy Family at Christmas reflect a very caring, faithful and fun community!
Fathers Niall and Nixon from the parish of Our Lady and St George con celebrated the Mass of the Holy Family of Nazareth for this occasion. It was a beautiful and solemn Mass, at which the pupils did themselves, and their families proud.
We have Christmas jumper competitions, sell candy canes for charity, have services of reconciliation, have a grand Christmas raffle, but these qualities of our school are most evident in our carol service and hamper collections. Pupils make food hampers in their form groups, collecting the vital items needed by the Christian Kitchen and Redbridge night shelter who care for the homeless all year round. The decorated boxes of food are taken to Church and presented as part of the school carol service. Representatives from the charities collect the food during the service and are always moved by our generosity. This year over 50 boxes of food were given and were gratefully received by Paul and Norman from the Christian Kitchen. This all takes place during our carol service, the most joyous, heart raising celebration of the year!
Bishop Alan Visits Bishop Alan’s Blessing of the Corpus Christi Building at Holy Family Catholic School & Sixth Form, Walthamstow. Holy Family Catholic School and Sixth Form welcomed Bishop Alan Williams to bless our new accommodation which consists of eight new classrooms and a Learning Resource Centre, and refurbishments to existing Art and Design rooms and new Science Labs which gives spaces for an
additional 60 pupils per year. We also had guests from the council, other local and diocesan schools and our contractors Willmott Dixon who did such a great job with the project. The new building is named the Corpus Christi Building which was the name of the previous Catholic Junior High School in Leyton that closed when Holy Family was created in 1987, so we have restored continuity with our past. Bishop Alan spent the morning with us and a number of students were able to meet with him and ask him a range of theological questions, which they found very interesting. Bishop Alan was presented with a beautiful framed drawing of the body and blood of Christ by James Alfonson in 8P.
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