ST BENEDICT’S
NEWS
BENEDICT’S SCHOOL a
minimis
inc ipe
TRIN ITY TE R M 2020
St Benedict’s Steps Up – page 5
aling •
London •
W5 2ES
• V 020 8862 2010
M headmaster@stbenedicts.org.uk
F St Benedicts School, Ealing •
L stbenedicts
HEADMASTER’S INTRODUCTION Dear Parents, The word ‘unprecedented’ has no doubt been overused to describe the current Coronavirus crisis but nevertheless it remains an apt description of the situation we are facing. It continues to be a demanding time for schools, and indeed all organisations, requiring adaptability, creative thinking, resilience and teamwork. These are some of the qualities we constantly encourage in our pupils, in fact, and it is heartening to see how well they have adapted to online learning. Since March 19th when the school closed its doors, they have been following the school timetable at home, engaging with virtual lessons, form time, weekly online assemblies and prayer, games sessions and co-curricular activities. As well as producing some excellent work, they have taken part in debates, sports challenges, online concerts and a dance show, CCF drills, cookery classes and much more. With the cancellation of all public exams, the Upper 5th started their A level courses in Trinity term, and the Upper 6th engaged with a programme of seminars pointing towards undergraduate study. One of the greatest successes in the present crisis has been adapting to being a school which provides online learning successfully. This could not have happened without the goodwill, engagement and trust of the entire school community – parents, pupils and teachers – and, of course, the wonders of Microsoft Teams. As ever, St Benedict’s has looked beyond itself and has worked together to contribute to the wider community. The Design Technology department has been making PPE since March, producing and distributing over 3,000 face shields to the NHS and care homes; during the Easter holidays, the science departments donated their supplies of PPE to the NHS; and in May pupils throughout the school raised almost £3,000 for the Trussell Trust UK food bank charity by taking part in sponsored runs covering over 2,500 miles. (What started as a virtual pilgrimage to St Benedict’s Montecassino went a great deal further.) While the school has been closed, the St Benedict’s spirit has been alive and well. On June 1st, St Benedict’s welcomed back children in PP1, PP2, Form 2 and nursery, followed by groups of Lower 5th and Lower 6th pupils later in the term. Looking forward to September, everyone is working hard to reconcile the needs of our pupils with safety and social distancing. It is reassuring to know that, in any eventuality, we have an effective programme for online learning, underpinned by a willingness of the entire St Benedict’s community to continue the life of the school in its fullest sense: helping all pupils to thrive through excellent pastoral care, keeping alive our ethos of faith and compassion, and maintaining our programme of co-curricular enrichment as much as we possibly can. In the meantime, I hope that the coming weeks will be happy, restful and optimistic and that, above all, you and your families stay safe and well.
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
With my best wishes,
2
Andrew Johnson Headmaster
BACK TO SCHOOL JUNE
1
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
On June 1st, St Benedict’s welcomed back children in PP1, PP2, Form 2 and nursery.
3
JUNE
24
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
From June 24 ... The Lower 5th, Lower 6th and other year groups returned on different days.
4
ST BENEDICT’S STEPS UP PPE PRODUCTION
for the visors, from hospitals, care homes and GP surgeries in west London, including West Middlesex University Hospital, Georgian House Nursing Home and Florence Road Surgery, Ealing. The visors have also been distributed further afield, to care homes in Hertfordshire, Warwickshire and even North Wales, and to the Met Ealing Police.
Ted Traeger (U6) said: “I’ve enjoyed these sessions as a way to help those in the community and those in situations worse than ours. It has been a valuable and enjoyable time.” “Helping out with making the visors in the ADT department during these times was great, given that we were able to get out and do something impactful”, said Evan Hobson, another Upper 6th volunteer. “Apart from doing something to help out key workers, it was also nice just to have a (socially distanced) face to face chat with someone outside my household!” In addition to providing PPE, St Benedict’s also donated science lab protective equipment, such as goggles, gloves and sanitisers, and provided daily care and supervision for the children of key workers.
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Students and staff at St Benedict’s have made over 3,000 protective visors for frontline NHS staff, carers and key workers in Ealing and beyond, in response to the coronavirus crisis. St Benedict’s DT teacher Mr Mendes, assisted by a team of sixth form volunteers, started producing this essential PPE in mid-March. The school has received many requests
5
SUPPORTING THE TRUSSELL TRUST St Benedict’s pupils raised almost £3,000 for the Trussell Trust, the UK food bank charity. Pupils in all year groups, from nursery to the Sixth Form, completed sponsored runs in their local neighbourhoods to raise funds to support food banks, which have been under huge demand during the coronavirus crisis.
which has been a great way to keep friendly competition. We’ve been very impressed by the outstanding efforts of the children each week to keep themselves fit and healthy throughout lockdown, and now they’ve raised this incredible sum for a very worthwhile cause in the process.”
Everyone was given a collective target of 1,195 miles – the distance from Ealing to Montecassino in Italy, where St Benedict established his first abbey. The runners surpassed their target, covering a distance of around 2,500 miles! Head of Athletics, Myles Stringer, said: “This was a combined effort through games time over one week, with everyone tracking their exercise. Many joined our Strava group
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
KEYWORKER CHILDREN SUPERVISION
6
THANK YOU NHS
7
ONLINE LEARNING
CLASSICS: ROMAN THEATRE MASKS
Luke Crown (F3)
William Duda (F3)
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Annabel Reiss (F3)
8
Lily Hussein (F3)
EPQ & HPQ PRESENTATIONS Students have been giving their formal Extended and Higher Project Qualification Project presentations online this term, via Microsoft Teams.
As ever, the breadth of their chosen subjects was wide: Lower and Upper 4th HPQ students covered subjects such as Life On Mars, and How Mobile
Phones Can Affect your Health. Lower 6th EPQ students’ research included Reconstructive Memory, and American Biographical Film.
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
9
FROM GCSE TO A LEVEL In the absence of GCSE exams in the Trinity term, Upper 5th students made a start with their chosen A level courses. In Geography, for example, they produced some excellent independent research reports of 1000+ words, exploring a range of geographical challenges such as climate change, the refugee crisis, coral bleaching, the impact of mining and drilling for oil in Nigeria, and the social and economic costs of Covid-19. A selection of A level Geography projects, produced by the Upper 5th
UPPER 6TH ACADEMIC PROGRAMME With the cancellation of their A levels, students in the Upper 6th used the Trinity term to consolidate their learning by engaging in a challenging and wide-ranging programme of academic seminars and tutorials. This was tailored to cover the university courses they have all applied for, as well as extending their knowledge of other subjects, and included:
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Gothic Literature, European Cinema, World History (ancient and modern), Philosophy, the History of Medicine, Organic Chemistry and an Introduction to Opera.
10
“The seminars were a very enjoyable experience and learning about topics outside your chosen subject was interesting. I really enjoyed learning about how modern-day medicine came about and how the idea of medicine dates back to the Greeks. Furthermore, I think that having some time to talk to people other than your family was a great idea for people (me) who need some other social contact.” William Gorniok: plans to read Chemistry at the University of Bath, and wrote Quantum Numbers.
“I have found that the preuniversity project has given a very helpful insight into what putting together actual university projects will be like. The advice from my tutor really helped me find focus in my project and helped me strategise how to present the clearest and most convincing argument possible – both skills that I will definitely utilise in my university studies. The preuniversity project has been a very interesting and overwhelmingly positive experience throughout, and has provided me with great advice that I shall use in approaching my university projects in the future.” Evie Lyons: plans to read Film and Television at the University of Bristol, and wrote Would Alfred Hitchcock be successful in Hollywood today?
“During this process I have found strengths and possible weaknesses in myself. For example, when I find something I am interested in I will read non-stop until I can’t read any longer. Unfortunately, this led to making notes on things that weren’t entirely relevant even though they were so interesting! As the weeks passed, I learnt to stay on topic by simply asking myself the question: ‘Am I going to be able to put this in my essay?’. When I answered ‘No’, I saved the tab for reading later and got back to research I was going to use in my essay. Overall, I really enjoyed producing this piece of work and it was a nice taste of what’s to come.”
“I have learnt how to construct extended essays, acting on feedback to improve on my essay, and to skim read, to take only the most useful information out of long extracts. I’d just like to say thanks for everything. It was challenging at times but I really enjoyed it.” Kristian Thomson: plans to read Politics and Economics at the University of Bristol, and wrote To what extent was JS Mill revolutionary in developing the notion of gender equality?
Joe McDonald: plans to read Psychology with Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham, and wrote The Test of False Belief and the Theory of Mind.
PHILOSOPHY SEMINARS
Personally, I had not considered myself to be particularly ‘philosophical’. My approach has always been scientific and mathematical, where the right answer is the right answer and discoveries occur through research and experimentation, rather than just thought and opinion! Yet this series has opened my mind to the absolute implications of philosophy on everyday life. Over the weeks, we have debated the morality of sharing and spreading news and facts, believed to be true, but without sufficient supportive evidence. This is particularly applicable to today’s epidemics of both COVID-19 and of fake news in general. Evidence itself was a topic of dispute, as we had to consider what made evidence trustworthy, and how much evidence was needed to make something an objective truth. We discussed whether anything can actually
be 100% proven, or whether anything can be truly known. We further discussed topics covering everything from antinatalism (philosophical belief that it is immoral to conceive because life inevitably contains pain and conception is giving life/pain to someone who hasn’t given consent) to whether anyone actually wants equality at all, or whether justice is humanity’s true goal. We bounced between discussing ground-breaking philosophical truths and arguing over the semantics and definitions of different words, which was surprisingly entertaining. The difference between a truth, a belief, an opinion and knowledge remains still to be determined. By listening to other students’ views, and by critiquing the holes in our own arguments, we definitely developed and improved our skills of debate, of analytical and critical thought, and of structured and comprehensive presentation. Surprisingly, throughout this series, we also learned a lot about our own thought processes, opinions and perspectives, and how they compare to those of other people. A huge thank you to Mr Scicinski and Mr Campbell-Harris for making this worthwhile opportunity available to us, and for guiding us through it!
Emilia McFadzean (U6)
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Over the past four weeks, a group of Upper Sixth students have been attending weekly philosophy seminars organised by Mr Scicinski and led by the philospher Mr Campbell-Harris. The meetings, held on Zoom, tackled interesting philosophical questions that have divided opinion throughout the centuries. In our current lockdown situation, it was actually very refreshing to have face-to-face discussions with people who weren’t in our households! Zoom enabled us to express and exchange frank views and develop our debating skills in a climate in which we couldn’t physically meet.
11
ART
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Grace Aimable-Lina
12
Above (anti clockwise from top left): Mia Vuckovich (L4), Will Dawson (L4), Lily Thornton (L4) Alongside: Louis Daniels-Shayvard (F2)
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Isabelle Haran (L5)
13
JUNIOR SCHOOL SCIENCE
Caspar (F1)
Cosmo (F1)
Jaden (LP) Sophia (F2)
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Louis (F2)
14
Hugo (LP)
ENCHANTED FORESTS TOPIC
Rosa
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Fairy doors (left to right): Ayomiposi (UP), Maisie (UP), Bella (UP)
15
FORM 2 INDIA PROJECT WORK
Milan’s Sitar Carla’s Tabla
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Aniela’s Taj Mahal
16
Owen’s Taj Mahal
Louis’ Taj Mahal
MATHS
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Terrific tessalations from Form 3
17
DRAMA
VIRTUAL THEATRE TRIP
Students enjoyed a ‘virtual’ theatre trip to see Frantic Assembly’s beautiful physical production of ‘Things I know to be True’ by Andrew Bovell, performed at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
“I found this production utterly captivating and profoundly intense. The performance dwelled on a variety of themes such as the importance of family relationships and stability, the motif of trust (and loss of trust) and the power of the past to shape the future. The production touched me, emotionally, due to the fragmentation and splintering of the familial bond. The pathos of the parents deeply resonates within us as they invest their hopes in the next generation, but the children want to go down more unique pathways. The production’s ceaseless honesty about family relationships gives this play such substance and significance, making it so exceptional”. Tori Dryden (U5)
18
“This production was extremely thought provoking and evocative. I was impressed by how captivating and effective the monologues were in expressing each sibling’s truth. I think that the problem that occurred for each child is very topical, as it questioned women’s roles in our society, the need to be who you are no matter what the price is and the pressure on men to be successful. This production touched me by making me feel every emotion that the family members felt, understanding all viewpoints, while still maintaining my own. This play was good because it had a linear structure of emotion, grief and pain that culminated at the end of the piece. Another reason is because we can all relate to it in one way or
another whether it is through the characters, a broken family or a need for perfection and idealism”. Kaitlyn Moran (U5) “I thought this was an extremely moving and powerful play. There was a highly emotional aspect which certainly struck a few chords of mine. We all have someone we love, and for the character of the mother to die so tragically at the end of the piece, touched me. What put emphasis on this emotional factor was the unfinished business the mother had with some of her children. Especially her son whom she did not end on good terms with, making him feel a certain amount of resentment towards her. However, this resentment was suddenly diminished through her sudden death and I think that this was what made the emotional aspect so powerful in this play. Whatever problems or anger the children had towards their mother was quickly turned into an overwhelming feeling of unconditional love, which they shared in unity as a grieving family”. Louis Clow (L6) “’This was an incredible performance. The physical aspects of the production were particularly eyecatching, the movements conveying emotion depending on the qualities of the actions: faster and sharper for more aggressive moments, slower and curved for the sadder, gentle parts. The actors’ facial expressions and body language contributed to the generally dark atmosphere – the
tears especially were upsetting for a viewer to see. By raising the volume of their voices, the actors further emphasised their rage with shouting to contrast the lower pitched, quieter monologues which tended to be very emotional. I was sobbing the whole time. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to see it – it was incredible”. Eleanor Bowden (L5) “This production was emotionally touching and moving, which really allowed us to enter the thoughts and feelings of the different characters and brought us with them on their journey leading away from home. The play showed us two different sides to love between a mother and her child, being both comforting and consolatory but also shows the conflicting side, being destructive and in a way over protective. This almost reminded us of our relationship with our own mothers and how we may be taking things the wrong way and not seeing how what they do is actually for us, making you feel a sense of sadness as we can relate to many of these characters on different levels. Frantic Assembly’s physicality played a major part in adding to audience’s emotional response”. Olivia King (U5)
Tori Dryden
ISOLATION MONOLOGUES St Benedict’s Upper 5th Drama GCSE students wrote and performed their own ‘Isolation Monologues’ during lockdown, taking us to a colourful range of situations, and sharing contrasting emotions and points of view.
MUSIC
VIRTUAL CONCERT Some of our Upper 6th musicians gave a wonderful virtual concert, recording their performances at home. Carla Boulter & Jack Edis: La petite suite by Claude Debussy
Katie Gibson: Nuit d’Etoiles by Claude Debussy
Harry Lubkowski, Jack Edis & Jack Fitzmaurice : Georgia on my mind by Ray Charles
Bettina Dow: Summertime Sadness by Lana del Rey
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
VIRTUAL MUSIC LESSONS
19
VE DAY
20
21
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
SPORT There were some outstanding results from our first ever Virtual Sports Day, which consisted of 10 events over 5 days. There was a new record for the senior girls’ mile, run by Mia Simpson (6 mins 22 seconds) – beating the senior record by over 20 seconds – and James Hunter ran a mile in 5 mins and 05 seconds.
Middle School Victor/Victrix Ludorum award winners: Polly Burns and Danny Parry
Senior Victrix Ludorum award winners: Daisy Burns and Ryan Garvie
Upper School Victor/Victrix Ludorum award winners: Robert Jeffries and Rosaleen O’Haire.
DANCE
St Benedict’s dancers, from the Junior and Senior School, put together an amazing show, recording their performances at home.
ONLINE PASTORAL CARE & WELFARE
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Birthday celebration in Form Time
22
Citizenship Day (UP)
Weekend Quiz for L5
DEVELOPMENT & ALUMNI RELATIONS
Alex Stafford MP (OP 05) Politics
Dr Fariah Khan (OP 02) Medicine
Dominic Inglot (OP 02) Professional Sport
Mark Machado (OP 04) Broadcast Journalism
Damien Sandys (OP 98) Theatre
Bruce Kirkaldy (OP 04) Finance
Angela McHale (OP 87) Acting – Film/TV
Alex Periera-Inacio (OP 00) Finance
Katie Wilmot (OP 02) Architecture
Myles Stringer (OP 06) Sport & Fitness
Karis Halsall (OP 05) Writing - TV/Theatre
Jonathan Patel (OP 02) Law
Rescue Fund & Annual Fund Thank you to our families who have generously supported us throughout these very challenging times. The Rescue Fund has received an amazing £120,000 from current parents and Old Priorians to allow us to support our families who are facing real and sudden hardship. With your ongoing support, we will continue to help our families where possible with fee assistance. The Annual Fund project in support of the installation of floodlights at Perivale will continue over the 2020/ 2021 academic year. Thank you to all our parents who have supported this project so far; I can confirm we are almost at 50% of our fundraising target despite the unprecedented times. I am hopeful we can all enjoy fundraising events such as the Ray Codd Memorial Cup and the Perivale Fireworks Display in the Michaelmas term. The floodlights project is now planned for completion over the summer holidays of 2021. We also continue with fundraising for our Bursary Programme and I would like to take the opportunity to thank our Upper Sixth parents for their support with our recent Sixth Form Leavers’ Bursary appeal. This appeal supports a Bursary place for
an academically talented student without the financial means to have the opportunity to attend St Benedict’s Sixth Form. If you would like any further information, or to support our Rescue, Annual and Bursary funds, please do contact me directly. St Benedict’s Connect I am delighted to let you know we have well over 900 members on our alumni portal, St Benedict’s Connect, with over 68% of our Old Priorian members supporting other Old Priorians with employment opportunities, as well as providing CV advice and internship opportunities. This is a great tool for anyone looking to start their working life or to seek advice on potential university and career choices. The portal is available for our Sixth Form students and Old Priorians. There is a group option available for the majority of universities in the UK. The university groups are a great way to research and find out the inside track about the institution from Old Priorians who are currently attending or attended said university. A weekly Careers Clinic runs every Tuesday via the platform’s Mentoring Group whereby Old Priorians share their advice and tips on their chosen careers.
Old Priorian Podcasts We have recorded 15 podcasts with our Old Priorians who talk about, and reflect on, their careers to date ranging from Sport to Law to Medicine to the Arts. The podcasts are available on the School website under the tab – Beyond St Benedict’s. I really would recommend them!
ST BENEDICT’S SCHOOL Beyond St Benedict’s a
minim is
incipe
Careers Conversations with Old Priorians
Finally, I would like to wish all our families a safe and restful summer break. Best wishes,
Ealing •
London •
W5 2ES
• V 020 8862 2010
M headmaster@stbenedicts.org.uk F St Benedicts School, Ealing •
L stbenedicts
Tara George, Development and Alumni Relations Director
ST BENEDICT’S NEWS
Dear Parents,
23
ST BENEDICT’S SCHOOL a
minimis
incipe
ST BENEDICT’S SCHOOL a
Ealing •
min imis
London •
incipe
W5 2ES
• V 020 8862 2000
M enquiries @stbenedicts.org.uk F StBenedictsSchool
•
L stbenedicts