Christmas End of Term Newsletter 2016
2014 –2017
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AWARD
Message from the Principal I hope you enjoy reading this Newsletter, which aims to capture just some of the many events, experiences and successes enjoyed by the students at St Joseph’s during our Christmas term. As I write, we are entering the season of Advent and as a College we are busy preparing for our Christmas events, carol services and Nativity plays. Students in Years 11, 12 and 13 are focused on their academic work and preparation for mock GCSE and A-level examinations at the start of January. These examinations are key markers in each student’s academic journey, therefore adequate and structured revision must take place over and throughout the Christmas break. Strong performance in mock examinations in January, will provide a sound platform for success at GCSE and A-level in August.
I would like to acknowledge the hard work and support of St Joseph’s staff who ensure that the College’s children and young people are challenged and supported academically and are also well cared for. Please note that the regular Safeguarding and Well-being feature appears on the back page of the Newsletter – this term’s focus is Online Safety. Finally, I wish all members of the College’s community a happy, peaceful and blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year and we look forward to seeing all students back at College on Thursday, 5 January 2017.
As ever, the College says good-bye to a number of staff at the end of a term. We wish Miss Bienikova, Mrs Simpson and Mrs Rowe the very best of luck for their future and thank them for their various contributions to Music and Dance in the Senior School. Mr Andrew is retiring after an incredible 33 years and 100 terms of loyal service at St Joseph’s. We wish Mr Andrew a long and happy retirement – he will be greatly missed by many generations of students and parents.
Mrs Danielle Clarke Principal
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New Sixth Form Centre Opens State-of-the-art Centre wins high praise all around: thank you to everyone who put the WOW! into this fabulous new facility for our Sixth Formers. Head Girl Daisy Hubert and Head Boy Chowa Chanda unveiled a plaque at the official opening, watched by some of the architects and engineers who worked on the project.
We have been delighted by the positive feedback from these allimportant ‘end users’ and the praise given by the many visitors. The term has seen a programme of vibrant speakers coming in to enthuse our students about all the wonderful possibilities the wider world can offer.
With its cool and streamlined spaces for academic study, quiet reflection and leisure, the Sixth Form Centre offers students a comfortable place to call home as they work towards their examinations and prepare to move on to the next stage in their lives as young adults.
A particular highlight was the inaugural Birkfield Lecture, given by retired Army officer, top-selling author and barrister Patrick Hennessey.
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Focus on a Teacher Mr Sacha Cinnamond Head of Sixth Form Mr Cinnamond joined St Joseph’s College in September, becoming the first Head of the new Sixth Form Centre. He was previously Director of Sixth Form at Mildenhall College Academies. What were your first impressions of St Joseph’s?
I went to the local comprehensive school on the edge of Birmingham. It is fair to say it was not like St Joseph’s! I went on to a local FE college to complete my A-levels and although the area was disadvantaged due to the closure of the local coal mine and manufacturing, the classes were small and the teachers were incredibly passionate about their subjects, which is key in education. I had always been fond of history and my teacher fostered that interest.
An extremely warm atmosphere and caring relationships between staff and students. The range of opportunities open to the students also struck me strongly and the level of coaching and individual attention, which is fantastic. I would also mention the new building, which is full of light; an inspiring working environment.
Did you go directly to university?
Have you found it very different from the previous schools and colleges at which you have worked?
When you are not teaching, what do you enjoy doing?
I began teaching at a challenging school in Kettering, full of really disadvantaged young people; you had to work incredibly hard to engage them. They came along with very little. It was sink or swim and you had to use every ounce of creativity to pull the young people in and persuade them that education gave them a future. Mildenhall was more mainstream, with a greater social mix. Since coming to St Joseph’s I have met some wonderful young people who are a delight to teach and indeed work with. Of course there are still challenges. They are just different. When you joined St Joseph’s you didn’t come alone? My son, James, has come along with me and is in Year 6 in the Prep School. He is thriving and simply loves the school.
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What sort of school did you attend as a boy?
Yes, I went on to University College of North Wales to read History, along with subsidiaries in Archaeology and Classics. I then went to the University of Kent to do a Masters in International Relations. When I later went into teaching, I trained to teach Politics as well as History.
Since the days of rugby are long gone (open side flanker), I take huge pleasure in hiking, going up mountains when I can – have done lots of multi-day hiking in the Rockies and Vancouver Island, the Pyrenees and the Peaks. Of recent times, I’m just as likely to be found on a battlefield in Belgium or France… I’ve recently been asked to sit on the Education Committee for Waterloo 200. The organisation promotes through education the legacy of Waterloo and I will be teaching teachers how to use the battlefield and fit the battle into their curriculum. This comes after having previously worked for the Historical Association on Agincourt 600. I have a particular interest in the First World War. Whilst at Mildenhall, we worked in partnership with a German school to design, fund and build a monument to the Christmas truce of 1914. It now stands proudly on Messines Ridge in Belgium. This year I will be applying for funding for an archaeological project where St Joseph’s will investigate what remains of Ipswich from the Great War.
Mrs Vanessa Wood Assistant Principal – Head of Prep School The fresh challenge of a part-time post at the newly-opened St Joseph’s College Prep School seems a distant memory to Mrs Wood, now Head of Prep; and what an eight years it has been! ‘St Joseph’s Prep School is the most amazing place to work. Its caring family atmosphere which supports the children to develop into confident individuals had me hooked from my first day. I am continually thrilled to see the children creating and enjoying such a wonderfully diverse curriculum of activities. Shaping the future of the Prep School and inspiring its pupils to ‘be their best’ is a new challenge that I could say is my mountain top moment,’ she said. ‘Teaching young children is a vocation and something that I always thought would be part of my career. I completed a degree at Liverpool University in Health Science and then took a PGCE at the University of East Anglia. ‘I completed my Newly Qualified Teacher year and then took a year to travel around the world, visiting Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia – where I worked in Pizza Hut – New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and taking the Amtrak train across the USA. Bungee Jumping in New Zealand was a highlight (I have photos!)’ Before joining St Joseph’s, Mrs Wood taught in a number of schools and across the primary age range. Travelling and camping remain her greatest joys, and with family members living in Canada she has been a globetrotter from a very early age.
‘My father was in the Merchant Navy and we travelled with him and spent Christmas with him on the ship he was working on at the time,’ she recalled. Her love of camping started around the age of 15, when she attended Flame 85, a Girl Guide camp in Yoxford, Suffolk. ‘As part of the special celebration of 75 years of Guiding, we kept a fire going for eight hours to steam puddings! Princess Margaret, the then President of Girl Guiding, was very impressed as she toured the sight.’ She said, ‘I continued in Guiding through my university years, spending three summers at Mosey Wood Girl Scout camp in Pennsylvania USA, teaching kayaking, sailing, canoeing and even the fun spectacle of Brownies (5 and 6-year-olds) in rowing boats. By the end of their stay they could usually move the boat in the correct direction.’ On returning to Suffolk, Mrs Wood took on the role of Queens Guide co-ordinator and County Camp Adviser, organising a County Camp attended by over 800 Girls and Leaders. She was recognised for her services to guiding with an invitation to a Garden party at Buckingham Palace in July 2004
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Rugby Festival 2016 St Joseph’s College National Schools Rugby Festival – now widely regarded as the UK’s most prestigious tournament for 15 a-side schoolboy rugby – celebrated its 30th anniversary in October After an extremely competitive first day, the four group winners and front-runners for the De La Salle Trophy were Millfield, Brighton College, Merchiston Castle and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield. St Joseph’s College fared well on the first day in a very difficult group, finishing third on tries scored countback to Dulwich College and thus ending up in the Plate competition. In the Cup, Group A’s Brighton beat Millfield and Group B’s Cranleigh beat Merchiston to reach the final, in matches that would both have made fitting finals themselves. In the Plate, we won our group with games against John Fisher, St Peter’s Gloucester and Whitchurch to set up a final against Hampton, who also went through their group undefeated. Despite a sterling effort in the final, St Joseph’s couldn’t overhaul a strong Hampton side (who won the main competition the previous year), eventually losing 13-0. The main final was the mouth-watering prospect of a fantastically well-organised and defensively strong Cranleigh, against the extremely attacking, high tempo pace of Brighton College, superbly led led by Marcus Smith. Neither side had won the De La Salle trophy, so a new name was guaranteed on the famous cup. The final lived up to everyone’s expectations in terms of quality and excitement. Cranleigh took an early lead with a catch and drive line out and followed their try up with two fantastic kicks from wide, into a strong wind (a conversation and penalty). These two kicks proved absolutely vital as Brighton were not finished! Back they came from
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10-0 down to score a converted try from Toby Smith, and with two minutes remaining they got a penalty right in front of the posts. To everyone’s amazement, captain Marcus Smith chose to take the easy three points to level things at 10-10; the reason for the general amazement was a draw was no use to the Sussex side. Having played all the minutes allowed by the RFU in an U18 tournament the rules clearly stated that there would be no extra time in the event of a tie and the winner would be decided, first on the most number of tries scored, and then if still equal (as was the case) on the team to score the first try. The full time whistle went at 10-10 and Cranleigh knew exactly who the winners were. The Festival has a track record as a proving ground of future stars, and the decision to name the current England U18 fly half Marcus Smith Player of the Tournament was the easiest of the weekend. St Joseph’s own awards from the weekend went to David Baron (Best forward), Jacob Rouse (Best back) and Josh Wacokecoke (St Joseph’s Player of the Festival). The commentary team was joined in the gantry by Sky commentator and Australian legend Michael Lynagh. A member of the 1984 Grand Slam winning team and vice-captain when Australia won the 1991 Rugby World Cup, Michael won 72 caps and totalled 911 points in his career for the Wallabies. Mark Patterson (Tournament Director) said, ‘To meet one of your childhood heroes is always a dream come true. However, to then find out he is one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet and to co-commentate with him was truly awesome, if slightly surreal!’
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News from the Prep School
Flatford Mill With Flatford Mill on the doorstep, Year 5 has been treated to outdoor lessons in the most picturesque location. In the morning the children learned how to measure the depth, width and velocity of a stream and river. After lunch they studied pond life and identified their catches as either vertebrates or invertebrates.
Crisp Air and Crunchy Leaves We are all so lucky to work in this lovely environment and Nursery Manager, Mrs Ferguson, hadn’t far to go to introduce her charges to an autumn playground. The children enjoyed finding leaves of different colours and shapes.
Mini Scientists Study Mini Beasts A patch of shady woodland on the St Joseph’s College campus was the perfect territory for Year 2's scientific investigation into mini beasts and microhabitats. The children searched among the leaves and bark and lifted rocks to find their quarry before taking a careful note of their findings.
Foxburrow Farm Key Stage 1’s visit to Foxburrow Farm was packed with Woodland Activities, including searching for insects and other tiny creatures, pond dipping, forest games and making mud faces. But what about tracing bark patterns? There’s the rub!
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Learning by the Water’s Edge at Aldeburgh Year 5 and 6 visited Aldeburgh for the day to enrich their crosscurricular project, 'Learning by the Water’s Edge', and began at the Moot Hall Museum. They solved a variety of challenging clues to complete a fascinating History Quest within this old Town Hall, which was once in the centre of the town and housed shops, a gaol, a meeting room and offices. Local historian and author, Diana Hughes, spoke about the effects of coastal erosion and the resulting changes to Aldeburgh and Dunwich over the years. The pupils’ comments and questions reflected their interest and excellent understanding of the topic. Following an energetic walk to the Martello Tower and observation of a village lost to the sea, the children had their toughest challenge yet – deciding which ice cream (of 30 flavours) should go into their cone.
Art Imitating Life We are confident families know that watery environments have played a key part in our cross-curricular studies this term. Perhaps you have sampled some of the weird and wonderful baked goods created by your children: bread in the shape of a squid, perhaps, a sea creature sandwich or a cup cake iced with a yacht? Our Year 6 students have responded to their studies of water and Matisse by creating striking collages using their hand painted papers.
New Lorry Blue Lorry Thank you to Mr Bolton for bringing one of his lorries to school. The girls and boys marvelled at its size but were fully prepared to make the ascent into the cab.
Parents and Little Ones Have Fun Learning Together Parents of children in Nursery and Reception were invited to spend the morning in school for our termly ‘Stay Play and Learn’. Various engaging, interactive learning tasks were set up for the parents to participate in with their children, including letter hunts, sound sorting, story sacks and puppets.
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Caribbean Day Culmination of much work on the subject of St Lucia by Years 3 and 4 was a Caribbean Day. Dressed in brightly coloured T shirts, the children wore bandanas they had printed themselves and carried homemade St Lucian flags. Their celebration began with a rousing rendition of the island’s national anthem before they created music of their own on steel ‘drums’ and other percussion instruments. Mrs Bestley and Mrs Bennett set the carnival tone for the day, dressed respectively as a palm tree and a Fair Trade banana!
Words and Music It is always a treat when our young musicians give a Lunchtime Concert. Thank you, boys and girls. Our Prep School performers have also shone this term at the Autumn Concert and more than held their own at the annual Music and Poetry Evening, this year held for the first time in the Atrium of the Sixth Form Centre, Some children sang or recited alongside their parents and friends and others stepped into centre stage as soloists. Well done to all who took part.
Grandparents’ Morning Our Prep children love to have the opportunity of inviting their grandparents into school to show them their classrooms, playgrounds...and where they have lunch. The grannies and grandpas were delighted to join in the work and games and were happy to pass on the wisdom of age in the Food Technology classroom.
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High Days and Holidays These is a rhythm to College life, giving us markers throughout the year by which we can take our bearings. These include religious feasts such as Harvest Festival and Christmas, important dates in the national calendar, such as Remembrance Day, and some of the major fundraising events. This term our Prep School children (and their parents) threw themselves wholeheartedly into Children in Need. The theme was spots and various dotty activities raised more than £520. This term also sees the new Head Boy and Head Girl take up their duties, ably supported by their deputies and the team of prefects. Among their diverse duties is welcoming visitors to St Joseph’s, especially those who come to share their expertise and advice with students nearing the end of their secondary education. We are proud of these outstanding young people, ambassadors for the St Joseph’s ethos.
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Professional Development Day For our first Professional Development Day of the new academic year we welcomed Jenny Mosely who has, over the past 30 years, developed her highly successful school and classroom management models based upon a background of teaching experience, research and collaboration with schools across the world. Taking responsibility for our own positivity, staff were led by Jenny in the five B’s: Bin it, Bag it, Bring it and Build Bridges. The training focused all staff on positive ideas and initiatives, developing positive relationships and supporting all students to make good choices. Prep School staff have developed the ‘Jar of Good Choices’ for each form class and positive actions are now rewarded with a Golden Ticket which can be converted into a class marble. Once the class jar is full of marbles the children are able to choose their own class reward.
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Prep School Sport
Cross Country
Netball
Once again the children have given a really great account of themselves in cross country training and fixtures this term. Gracie Fielden, Caitlyn Wright along with James and Connor Holdcroft had fantastic runs at the Royal Hospital School cross country coming in the top 50 and we wish them all the best in the next round. There are several budding runners in the lower age groups, some of whom have been inspired to join athletics clubs in the local area to further their training opportunities. Through a range of endurance activities the children have built up their stamina and can now run non-stop for increasing lengths of time. We look forward to the Suffolk schools event at the RHS next term and the Peace Mile run with the whole club in Chantry Park also. Thank you to Mrs Bennett for joining us in the team and running the club each Wednesday.
This term we have had a wonderful netball season. The Year 3 girls and Tiffiny Mazur-Leach have made their debut for the College in competitive matches and they have very much enjoyed playing and hosting our opponents here at St Joseph’s. The Year 4 girls have built upon their previous year’s learning and have been extremely successful in their match play, winning many matches. Most of the girls have made a commitment to attending the cocurricular Netball Club each week in addition to their Games lessons. There has been strong attacking and defensive play with competitive performances from Tiffiny and Catie Lloyd. Bonnie Bolton and Evie Wicks have also been working on their shooting skills to utilise opportunities in match play. The A team squad enjoyed experiencing the full rotations of High Five netball at a recent festival where the girls were hugely successful. Their commitment and enjoyment is evident through many joining outside clubs to enhance their play. We look forward to seeing these girls develop their skills further next year.
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Year 5 and 6 girls this term have worked on their Hockey and have played several inter-school matches. Year 5 and 6 boys have focused on Rugby. Matches are played on Wednesday afternoons and parents are always warmly invited in to join in these celebrations of all that is good about friendly competitive sport. PE in the Prep school is taught in class groups for most activities. In games the boys and girls are separated to focus on their main sports for the term. In PE, Year 6 has been introduced to mixed Table Tennis, Trampolining and Indoor Athletics, while Year 5 has tackled Gymnastics, Table Tennis and Indoor Athletics. In Games, Year 3 and 4 have focused on Football and Netball, with matches taking place mainly on Monday afternoons. In PE the groups are mixed within their year group and the children have been learning about Gymnastics, Swimming and Handball. Pupils are encouraged to develop their interest in the various games by attending the many clubs on offer throughout the week. From an after school Table Tennis club, we selected two teams to represent the College at the South Suffolk Championships. The girls came second in the competition and the boys’ team won, so both progressed to the County Championship. Here the boys became Suffolk champions 2016; the girls made a fantastic debut by finishing second. Congratulations to Connor and James Holdcroft, Eddie Patterson and Archie Will. And well done to Emma Logan, Gracie Fielding, Olivia James and Caitlyn Wright, for gaining second place The U9 boys have had some football experience events, where they play in a friendly noncompetitive environment with mixed ability teams, with the emphasis on fun and enjoyment. They have also had one or two competitive matches, selected on ability. The U11 Rugby team has had a really successful season against many talented sides. Blessed with a balance of power and speed, together with a great work ethic, the team has been working on rucking skills and tacking and has made excellent progress. The U10 Rugby boys have gone from strength to strength. The team has many strong tacklers and looks strong in defence. They also have some fast and elusive runners with the ball and now need to link this with good support play and ball handling.
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And the Band Played On Music continues to be one of the College’s strengths and delights. This term has seen resounding successes for our choirs at the Suffolk Festival and for our instrumentalists, ensembles and soloists at a variety of events, including our Autumn Concert and Carol Services. We thank the musicians for their skill and flair and for the regular practice they put in at sessions like this lunchtime jazz band rehearsal.
News from the Senior School Aiming High Students from Years 11 to 13 visited Cambridge University to find out more about the variety of Colleges and opportunities for study available close to home. After a walking tour of the city centre, students spent time at St Catherine’s College discussing the admissions process and entry requirements, including helpful advice on the importance of conveying one’s passion for a subject in the personal statement. It was also an opportunity to understand the unique supervision-style learning used, with a ratio of two to three students working with a world expert in subjects studied. This was followed by a tour of the College and lunch, before the party moved on to Pembroke, an older and larger College. This was a valuable day which gave students lots to think about as they focus on the academic year ahead and inspirational for those considering their UCAS applications.
Way to Go! The Duke of Edinburgh expedition season came to a close for us this year with seven expeditions undertaken across the three levels. Eighteen students completed their Bronze, eight Silver and six achieved Gold. Exped destinations included the Chiltern Hills, the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District and the weather was variable! Students are now working to sign off their Skills, Volunteering and Physical sections. These again have been diverse – varying from learning a musical instrument to developing their chosen sport, learning to cook and working for a charity. Residential activities for Gold have included Fire and Rescue courses and time in Tanzania undertaking medical observations.
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Artistic Journeys take in Ancient Egypt and Mexico Journeys in Art have taken our students to London’s Tate Galleries in person and across the world in their studies, with Year 7’s handsome depictions of Egyptian gods sitting alongside Year 8’s macabrely beautiful Day of The Dead creations. At the top pf the College our A level Art students are building up impressive portfolios of work across the disciplines.
Kidney Research Upper Sixth Biology students have been carrying out the painstaking task of kidney dissection, having previously uncovered the structure and function of the components of the heart.
When You Go Home Tell Them of Us The terrible human cost of the Great War was underlined for students taking part in the Battlefields Tour in this, the anniversary year of the Battle of the Somme. No one is more passionate about the First World War than our new Head of Sixth Form, Mr Cinnamond, and he has plans afoot for making the topic come vividly to life…watch this space.
BBC Micro Bits Year 8 students have started working with the micro-bits supplied by the BBC as part of the national campaign to make computing fun and accessible. They were given the code for a basic race game, which they studied and then modified to create their own version of the game. After testing their code they downloaded it onto their micro-bits, which they took outside to 'race' each other in the autumn sunshine.
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Pens, Paint, Paper…Pliers Our A-level Art and Photography students are at work on diverse projects, with themes including Relationships, Animals, Water, Journey and the Five Senses. Levi-Jack Roper (L6) is exploring the human form and intends to create life-size sculptures through which light is able to pass.
Impressive Tally of Top Maths Results Reagan Hao (L6) has achieved some incredible results in the past few months - which would rarely be matched across the UK. In the summer, he received the very rare A* Maths GCSE hat trick: A* Mathematics (Methods), A* Mathematics (Applications) and A* Further Mathematics (Level 2 certificate). Now he has added a Gold award and Best in School accolade in the UK Mathematics Challenge. Furthermore, gaining such a high mark in this challenge has qualified him for the so called Kangaroo Competition for the brightest Maths stars. Reagan is currently studying A level Maths and Further Maths (so we hope this impressive tally is just the beginning), along with Physics and Chemistry. Outside academic work, he is a keen rugby player and frequently represents the school.
Strasbourg Visit Gives Flavour of European Parliament at Pivotal Time A-level students took up MEP Vicky Ford’s invitation to visit Strasbourg & see the European Parliament in action. There was much to see, although it was a very quiet day at the office… The group also took the opportunity to visit the city’s cathedral, a stunningly beautiful example of high Gothic architecture.
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Senior School Sport Hockey Seventeen girls took part in a pre-season tour to Holland, where our first fixtures were against Capelle. Rosie Dane scored three goals of our 5-0 win. The senior team also won, 4-1. A sight-seeing cruise in Amsterdam followed, then we travelled to Rotterdam Hockey Club. The senior team beat club side Alfen 2-0 before losing 2-0 to Rotterdam. The junior team won 7-0. In the evening we swapped to bowling to relax. Sunday morning saw us back in Rotterdam for training with their club coach. The 1st XI came third in a county tournament, an unfortunate result that did not reflect their game play. They absorbed the pressure from the opposition with an excellent defensive line, but were unable to capitalise on the chances. Following losses v Ipswich High School and Ipswich School, we drew 0-0 in a tight-fought game against Royal Hospital School; before a convincing 5-2 win against St Felix School. Player of the season: Olivia Locke; Most improved player: Ella Snowdon. Many of the U16 Girls were selected for the 1st XI. Player of the season: Ellie Cook; Most improved player: Dena Glading.
Netball In the U19 Tournament the girls worked brilliantly as a squad and had an excellent work-rate throughout. They reached the semi-final of the county tournament. Player of the tournament: Ella Snowdon. We finished fourth in the U14B Netball Tournament; more training will increase the girls’ confidence. Player of the tournament: Phoebe Lucking.
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The Mixed U16 Hockey team won twice against Copleston, 2-1 and 3-1, using fantastic link-up play and defence. Strong team performances and excellent individual play from Charlie Hubert, Ellie Cook and Alex Rolph. Player of the season: James Hunt; Most improved player: Ollie Fenn. The Girls’ U15 squad demonstrated an excellent work rate in matches against Copleston (mainly made up of boys), RHS and Woodbridge. Much promise here for the future. Player of the season: Mai Easton; Most improved player: Safia Ludlum. Superb teamwork and work rates saw the Girls’ U14 side win 2-0 against Woodbridge. Great play over the season by Lily Fielden and Gabby Stokes. Player of the season: Charlotte Mann; Most improved player: Jess Oakes. For the Girls’ U13s, highlights were a 5-0 win against IHS, a 2-1 win against a boys-dominant Hadleigh and a 3-1 win against IHS. The U13Bs had three very strong wins v Ipswich School (3-0), IHS (4-1) and Hadleigh (6-1). Well done to our exceptional goalkeepers Dolly Henshall-Howar and Rosie Smith. U13A Player of the season: Eloise Ward; Most improved player: Helena Chan. U13B Player of the season: Amelie Goulborn; Most improved player: Olivia Hussey
Cross Country St Joseph’s competed strongly in the RHS Cross Country. Eleven of our runners qualified for the next round.
Rugby The U12s took particular pride in their 25-20 win over Robert Clack, and the U13 students continue to develop, as was demonstrated by a storming victory over Norwich 55-10. In line with College expectations surrounding progression in performance, the U14s continue to defend their unbeaten run, with a stand out victory over New Hall 41-0. The U15s qualified for the NatWest third round, where they lost to The Perse School. Given the size of the squad, this was a great achievement. Stand out performances included beating New Hall 50-0 and Norwich 36-0. The U16s secured victories over Langley and Norwich. The U18s have had a very mixed season so far – down to engineering rather than misfortune; our ethos at this level is based around process, not results. They were unbeaten at King’s Pre Season Tournament and reached our own National Schools Plate Final. Narrow defeat by Felsted in Round 2 of the NatWest Cup days before the Festival was somewhat disheartening.
We are embarking on an exciting journey with links to Northampton Saints as a working partner combined with a playing ethos that is developing week on week. Five students have been selected for U18 Lambs trials and Soni Ma’asi continues on his pathway with England. Jason Moran, highly respected academic and former Ireland U21 rugby player, has been working with our elite performers to support their strength and conditioning.
Other Sports The U11, U14 and U19 Table Tennis teams all qualified for the county competition with the U11s crowned champions, the U14s second and the U19s third. Staff offering an occasional lunchtime game are being left bobbing in the wake of emerging superstars. The U14 and U16 Badminton teams won the South Suffolk tournaments, led by county players Hayden and Alex Rolph and Alex Coan. Hayden’s national ranking has risen over 30 places this year. Gymnast Dominic Bigsby is rapidly becoming the man to beat nationally on the floor and vault. Aspiring to reach the same heights is Charlie Harvey-Lloyd (Y7) and his East team mates – second overall at the National Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Elite Grade finals. Charlie, reselected for the GB National Elite Development 2017, was third overall in the London Men’s Development Open Competition, taking Gold on Rings and Silver on Vault.
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A Festive Cheer for the College Community from the PTA 2016 has been a busy year for the PTA with some fabulous events. Thank you so much to everyone who helps to make these so successful. We couldn’t do what we do without the support of parents, grandparents, teachers and the wider College community. Firm favourites this year have included the Easter Egg Hunt, Senior School discos, our family hockey matches and the Summer Fete. Plus, most recently, Santa visited us at our annual Christmas Fair, handing out particularly festive presents to all the Prep School children. We’ve also added some exciting new dates to the calendar, including our very popular Charity Golf Day, which was truly enjoyable despite all the water that the great British weather could throw at us! This year we’ve changed the focus of our fundraising slightly, donating a percentage of our profits to East Anglia’s Childrens’ Hospices. We’re delighted to say that, in the past six months, we’ve been able to give £500 to this very worthwhile cause. The rest of the money that we raise all goes straight back into College life, funding additional activities and extra-curricular equipment for students from Nursery right through to Sixth Form. This year we’ve contributed towards the purchase of the second of a pair of hockey dugouts for the astro turf. We’re also very excited to be unveiling our latest project in collaboration with the College – an amazing outdoor play area for our Prep School children that will encourage them with teamwork and lateral thinking, as well as providing lots of fun. The equipment is being installed over the Christmas holidays and should be ready for rigorous testing in January. We can’t wait!
PTA AGM – Coming Up Soon While we’re already planning for another busy Lent term, we’re setting the wheels in motion for our Annual General Meeting and we’ll send out details, including the date, early in the new year. You don’t need to be a member of the PTA to attend, and we really do need parents outside of the committee to come along.
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From Strength To Strength – Our Second Hand Uniform Shop Whether you need a replacement blazer or some extra sports kit, our second hand uniform shop is well worth a look. We have a wide range of very good quality stock available for students of all ages. The shop is open on Mondays from 8.15am until 9.15am and Fridays from 3.30pm until 4.30pm. With all items costing just a third of the Coes’ price, do pop in and see if we can help…it’s a great opportunity to catch up with some of the friendly PTA team too.
Get In Touch If you’d like to help us with any of our events next term, or if you’d like to find out more about joining the PTA, please do get in touch. You can email us at PTA@stjos.co.uk or speak to one of the committee members as you see us around the College – we’re always keen to tell you more about what we do!
Old Birkfeldians Relaunched Right now is a very exciting time to be an Old Birkfeldian. Since September we have developed a brand new database to increase communication, strengthen connections and help support the natural service and care each Old Birkfeldian has to our school community. Over the Rugby Festival weekend we opened a new hospitality room offering Old Birkfeldians the chance to receive their OB badge and sign up to the database. There was hospitality on offer throughout the weekend, and it was wonderful to see so many come reminisce and show their unwavering support. The sense of community and love for the school spread across the campus and led in to our evening reception and firework display. The reception took place in the new Sixth Form Centre and was accompanied by speeches from the Principal, Mrs Clarke, and from several students who spoke about their passion for St Joseph’s. The occasion was a serious moment in a joyous weekend, uniting us all as a ‘family’ of Old Birkfeldians. The bar was open until late, with mini bus runs taking people off to their final destinations. An Irish band highlighted the festival mood and Old Birkfeldians talked of their times at a school that helped shape who they are today. Alongside the hospitality over the weekend, we had the Old Boy’s Rugby and Old Girl’s Hockey matches. Held on the Friday evening of the festival weekend, they attracted so many familiar faces, creating a warm, friendly and competitive atmosphere, taking us all back to our days playing sport at school. Looking forward, we have a new Christmas Quiz Night for Old Birkfeldians, past staff and current staff, led by Mr Patterson. On May 27 we have our Old Birkfeldian Ball (further information to follow in due course). On behalf of the Old Birkfeldian community, I would like to thank everyone for continued service, care and support. Ms J Davey OB Co-ordinator
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We are delighted to welcome Miss Lucia Jesenaiova to our Boarding community as Assistant Head of Boarding and Academic Coordinator. She brings a wealth of experience with her, having worked on the senior leadership team within an International School, and will add an additional dimension to the team. Miss Jesenaiova will be liaising between staff, boarding and parents to support our international students in their academic and personal development. Cultural understanding and respect for differences between communities are hot topics across the globe and readily embraced by the College. Our Senior Prefects within Boarding, Annie Guo and Kristy Zhang, organised a Cultural Exchange Evening at the Mews to which Year 11, Sixth Formers and Staff were invited. With helpers running a number of stands, students tasted delicious food, sipped
scrumptious tea, were wooed by traditional Chinese music, and learnt how to use chopsticks and paint Chinese words. The event was hosted exceptionally well by the Chinese community within the College and we look forward to celebrating the next event and learning about another culture within our St Joseph’s family. Boarders’ downtime has been spent in a variety of ways. The basketball team has been developing team work with an influx of new players and played against Royal Hospital School, St Felix School, Northgate School, Suffolk One, Suffolk New College and Langley College with scorecards recording losses, draws and wins. A fiercely fought inter-house Badminton Tournament saw Goldrood yet again take the cup and our younger boarders have revelled in burning off energy at the new Flux Trampoline Park.
Boarding News
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Our students have also embraced their creative sides: reading poetry at the Poetry and Music Evening, painting pottery, enjoying DVD and popcorn nights, watching critically acclaimed films such as ‘The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas’, relishing biweekly cinema visits to watch the latest block busters and exploring their talents for baking. The boarders have also been exploring the region through a range of cultural events. One and all began the academic year with an inspiring trip to Cambridge to see the renowned universities and enjoy a guided punt along the Cam. We all learnt about Guy Fawkes and were wowed by a majestic bonfire castle and firework display in Long Melford. More recently, a group of pupils discovered Bury St Edmunds and its Christmas Market. Our finale to the term was an amazing trip to the Wolsey Theatre to watch ‘Sinbad the Rock and Roll Panto’… and we weren’t disappointed! Our boarding houses have welcomed a large number of new young people to our community this year; some full boarders, some weekly and an ever growing number of flexi-boarders, and they have enriched our experiences. We look forward to welcoming more new members so please do ask for a tour and a chat if you feel boarding could provide an additional wrap-around element to your son’s or daughter’s busy day, full of lessons and extra-curricular activities and sport.
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Online Safety
Our thanks go to the many students who have participated in the e-Safer Suffolk cybersurvey. The final report will be published on their website in January www.esafersuffolk.org The University of Suffolk has been commissioned to conduct an evidence review and make recommendations for a programme of online safety for primary school age children in Suffolk. Seven of our current Year 7 students were able to join in with this review. The internet can be a fantastic resource for young people to learn, share and connect with the world, but it can also present them with challenging situations; they may take a joke too far or engage in risky behaviour online, failing to predict the consequences of their actions. Knowing how to use a device, app or gadget doesn’t always mean knowing how to behave whilst using it. Offline factors such as friendships, romantic relationships, experimentation and peer pressure can all play a part in how a young person might behave online. The advice given to students around peer pressure, selfesteem and bullying remains the same whether they feel this pressure online or offline. That said, everything is more instant now and young people need to make split-second decisions on how or whether to respond and whether or not to share a photo. In the Department for Education’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education: Information for all School and College Staff’, safeguarding requirements are outlined: cyber bullying is described as a form of emotional abuse and online grooming as a form of sexual abuse. Young people are finding out about who they are, where they fit in and who their friendship groups are. Sometimes they may turn to the internet for answers and although many young people find comfort from support groups online, others may find it a confusing place. It is important to ensure that young people know who to report to or even who to talk to, should the need arise. Although it is vital that young people know about the online risks that exist, it is more about generating discussion about what they see online, or what they expect a good friend to do online.
How to report and block offensive users and messages on the different service providers Snapchat: www.snapchat.com/safety Facebook: www.facebook.com/safety/tools Instagram: https://help.instagram.com/285881641526716 Twitter: https://support.twitter.com/articles/20169998 For more help Childline Call 0800 11 11 or chat with a counsellor online for anonymous support and advice on dealing with cyberbullying and other issues. Young people may talk to someone anonymously without judgement via chat or phone, on whatever issue they would like. www.childline.org.uk The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Campaign A charity that helps people get involved to tackle all forms of bullying. www.antibullyingpro.com True vision If you receive hateful messages or a crime has been committed against you because of your race, sexuality or disability, this could be considered a hate crime. This is illegal and can be reported to the police through True Vision. www.report-it.org.uk YoungMinds This website has lots of information for young people about their wellbeing and mental health, and also has information for teachers and parents. www.youngminds.org.uk Contact the police if the messages you receive pose a threat to your personal safety. Remember a death threat online is illegal. CEOP If you suspect a child is being groomed online, you can report this to CEOP. www.thinkuknow.co.uk