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	Term 3 Newsletter


	Message from Mr Humphreys, Headteacher

We had a really good start to the new year with many Year 13 students receiving offers from their chosen universities and Year 11s receiving their mock GCSE certificates.

As Year 11 embark on the ‘big push’ towards the summer exams, we wish them well with a sustained revision period over the coming months. I am hugely grateful to our teaching staff who support them every day, keeping them focused and motivated to ensure they achieve the success they deserve.

Thank you too for your support at home with establishing and supporting their routines with some quiet time away from the distractions of social media. We must keep reminding our young people that whilst the sacrifice may feel painful now, the long term gains will be well worth it.

Our track-record of sporting success continued this term, the highlight being our Year 8 students (pictured above) winning the indoor athletics championships plus three St Katherine's teams progressing to the regional finals. I was fortunate enough to catch the last 15 minutes to cheer the students on and witness their joy at their success. Our students are incredibly fortunate to have such an extensive offer of sporting opportunities available to them throughout the year. Thank you to the PE Department for being so committed to their subject.

In mid-January over 200 students had the privilege of listening to 26 year old British-Nigerian entrepreneur Silas Adekunle, founder and CEO of ReachRobotics. It was inspirational talk which sent shockwaves of inspiration through our pupils (see Ms Maringo’s article about his visit below) Silas talked about opportunities UWE gave him during his studies and how this sparked the creation of his interactive robots. His message to our students - take full advantage of the opportunities provided to you - is something we can all echo to our young people.

A group of Year 10 students joined an Oxford Masterclass Conference this term. It was an intellectual day full of simulation from lectures by author Julie Arliss, Professor Tom Greggs, Psychologist Dr Christopher O’Neill and Physicist Dr Mark Lewney.

Our Parent/Carer Association meeting this term focused on the impact of social media on our lives, particular our young people. It was an interesting discussion and, only the next day, the Department for Education announced it will issue guidance for schools next term. The topic will be discussed further at the house and school council meetings next term.

After many months of preparation we officially joined Cathedral Schools Trust (CST) on 1 January. We have wasted no time in reaping the benefits of our collaboration with CST and worked with them on a whole school review this term focusing on teaching and learning in the classroom and leadership across the school. It was a very useful piece of work which recognised the progress being made along with areas we need to develop further.

Carrying on the theme of evaluation please we have just issued our annual parent/carer feedback form. Your views and input is vital to help us recognise our strengths and areas where we need to improve. All feedback is anonymous and it takes just five minutes so please complete the feedback form.

I hope you all have a wonderful half term break and look forward to welcoming students and staff back for Term 4 on Monday 25 February.

Mr Humphreys, Headteacher



	Silas Adekunle visit


	We were extremely lucky to have a visit in January by technology entrepreneur, Silas Adekunle, who spent an inspiring hour with a group of pupils from Years 7 to 13 talking about his life, studies and career in robotics. British-Nigerian Silas is a great believer in the power of technology and potential of consumer robotics and took robotics classes into schools when he was an undergraduate at the University of West England. Silas went on to co-found ReachRobotics, an augmented reality gaming company known creating robotics for STEM education and MekaMon, the world’s first intelligent gaming robot. The company’s success has seen Apple come on board to distribute his products in the United States and Britain and brought Silas many accolades including being named as one of the top 100 most influential BME leaders in the UK tech sector at the recent launch of the Inclusive Tech Alliance and Bristol’s BME Power List 2018. He was also included in the Financial Times’ '’Top 100 minority ethnic leaders in technology 2018’ and named in Forbes' ‘30 under 30’ list for European tech in 2018. Pupils got the chance to talk to Silas after his talk with a few taking the opportunity to ask him about potential work experience placements at his company! Silas’s story inspired the pupils, as one Year 10 pupils said, “I have always been fascinated by robotics but Silas’s visit has inspired to study robotics in future!” Following his visit, Silas contacted us to say, “I very much enjoyed my time at St Katherine's School. From the moment I stepped on stage, I could feel the passion and curiosity of the students and they asked so many questions, on and off-stage. Thank you once again for giving me the chance to share my story and career path with the young people.” Mrs Maringo, Associate Headteacher in charge of Cultural Competence


	St Katherine's Houses round-up

House competition standings at the end of Term 3

After being way out in front during Terms 1 and 2, Yousafzai's lead in the House competition has been chipped away. They are still heading the pack but Stephenson and Turing are narrowing the gap with Pankhurst not far behind.

The gap between first and fourth place is only 32 points. It's going to get interesting in Term 4!

Keepy-uppies and netball

The final 'Fun-Fix Friday' House challenge of term 3 featured a test of keepy-uppie skills (for the boys) and netball shooting (for the girls) The boys had to keep up a football for a minute at the risk of losing all their points if it hit the floor (harsh!) while the girls had to a minute to get as many shots as possible through the hoop.

Congratulations to Stephenson scooped top spot in the netball and Turing who led the field in the keepy-uppies.

Yousafzai house logo

The Heads of House invited students to create a logo for their House.

Yousafzai chose this logo designed by Dan Powell who is on the house council. He has done a fantastic job including Yousafzai's House motto, colour and house animal in the design.

Pankhurst House Term 3 news

Stephenson House Term 3 news

Turing House Term 3 news

Yousafzai House Term 3 news



	Sixth Form update Sixth form taster sessions have been taking place this term and will continue in term 4 for Year 11 students. These are an opportunity for students to experience first hand how each sixth form subject is delivered here at St Katherine's. I have met and held course consultation meetings with over 50 students this term and these will also continue next term. These meetings focus on each student's future plans so we can ensure their post-16 course choices will get them where they want to be when they leave us at the end of Year 13. Our first Sixth Form offer letters will be sent out shortly after the half term break to students who have had their course consultation meeting. If you have not yet applied to St Katherine's and would like to, please use the application form on our website, or ask for one at the Student Support Office. Mr Colebourne, Head of Sixth Form

Keeping our young people safe online

As part of our ongoing dialogue with pupils about taking control of their digitial lives we marked Safer Internet Day on 5 February with a week of tutor time discussions and assemblies.

The focus was on how consent works in an online context; how pupils ask for, give and receive consent online - including in their friendships or relationships; how they take and share images and videos and how they manage their privacy and data.

As a parent or carer you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online. It can be a daunting prospect but you don't need to be an expert on the internet to help your child. The UK Safer Internet Centre has produced a series of materials and advice for parents and carers (click on the button below)

Resources for parents and carers


	News round-up

Sixth Formers Eloise and Chloe - Copy.jpeg

A Level English Literature trip to London

A group of students enjoyed a whistle-stop trip to London to see Marlowe’s 'Faustus' at The Wannamaker Theatre. The production casts Faustus and Mephistopheles as female which critics have loved but our students thought was perhaps ill-judged, jarring with the Renaissance setting.

Walking back to the minibus under a twilit evening sky, London’s iconic skyline spread before us, the general consensus was that the long journey was more than worthwhile.

St Katherine's joins Cathedral Schools Trust

St Katherine's formally joined Cathedral Schools Trust on 1 January 2019. The move means we can work closely with Bristol Cathedral Choir School and other schools in the multi-academy trust (MAT) to collaborate and share our expertise for the benefit of our pupils.

Stephen Parsons, Chair of Cathedral Schools Trust said, “We are delighted that a school with such a strong reputation for quality education has joined the CST family. We all have much to gain from the partnership and are looking forward to working closely together going forward."

The Leaf has a new website!

It's been a while coming but The Leaf at Ham Green has a new website. It's a big improvement on the last one and showcases the uniqueness of our on-site restaurant where students prepare and serve the food. Their efforts reap this kind of praise from diners, "The cuisine was beautifully prepared, cooked, presented and served by the students. We congratulate the school and the all the students for providing a 5 star dining experience and we shall look forward to returning to support this wonderful enterprise."

To book a table visit the website or call 01275 373737.

Current menu

Zakhele visit fundraising

Pupils have been fundraising throughout the last couple of terms and have nearly reached our £1,500 target to fund a return visit to St Katherine's in March by the Zakhele group from South Africa.

We plan to carry on the fundraising so we can make a donation to Zakhele's parent charity the Za Foundation who support children and young people in Nkomazi, South Africa. The region has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world and over 12,000 orphans and vulnerable children.

This video of Zakhele's previous visit shows what an inspirational treat is coming to St Katherine's.


	Students commended by the Headteacher this term Pearl Westerberg - Reading Millionaire Ellie Mai Herbert - Reading Millionaire Tikia Mack - Reading Millionaire Sophia Harper - Creativity and effort in independent learning project Harvey Niemczyk - Creativity and effort in independent learning project Ruby Fowler - Creativity and effort in independent learning project Harrison Roberts - Achieving Black Stripe Belt in Taekwondo Deya Reynolds - J19 Drama Group Performance Daniel Burt - J19 Drama Group Performance Lewis Furlong - J19 Drama Group Performance Abbie Wring - J19 Drama Group Performance Elyssia Douglas - Reading Millionaire Sam Wright - Reading Millionaire

Weekly communication for parents and carers

As part of our Quality Improvement Plan we are looking at ways we can improve our communication with parents, carers and other partners involved with St Katherine's.

We know it can be a challenge for parents and carers to keep up to date with activities at school (and letters can go astray in pupils' school bags!) so we have introduced the parent/carer weekly communication which summarises details about upcoming trips and events, work being set for pupils and other useful information.

Click below to read the latest edition.

15 February 2019 edition



	PE and Sport round-up


	We kicked off 2019 with our Year 7 & 8 athletes putting on the greatest indoor athletics show in St Katherine's history making for unforgettable evening of school sport. We had a full compliment of all four teams in the area finals for the first time I can ever remember and amazingly we had three of them qualify for the County Finals. The Year 8 girls finished tied in a qualification spot but when compared to their opponents were an agonising four points away from a finals place. Our Year 7 girls, Year 7 boys & Year 8 boys went on to take the West of England Winter School Games Sportshall Athletics County Finals by storm competing against the top 8 schools from Bristol, BANES, South Glos and North Somerset. Our Year 7 girls missed out on a bronze medal by just 1 point and our Year 7 boys were lucky enough to take home the bronze Our Year 8 boys were crowned West of England Winter School Games Sportshall Athletics County champions for the second year running!!! Year 11, 12 and 13 have been enjoying their turn to compete for their houses in frenzied badminton and basketball competitions! Our U13 and U15 boys have qualified for the North Schools play off in the Somerset Cricket Board Indoor Premier League competition and are now one round away from finals day! A lucky group of 16 students discovered another layer to their sporting talents as we took an indoor rowing competition by storm winning three gold medals and a silver across the four competitions. Girls and boys fixtures have continued in earnest despite the dark evenings and shorter term with students across the school in football, cricket, basketball, hockey, netball and athletics action! Mr Cook, Head of PE



	We're looking to expand our team of exam invigilators


	We have a few vacancies for invigilators to supervise internal and external examinations. Flexible hours between 8.00 am and 4.00 pm during exams throughout the year. Hours vary according to the exam timetable and your availability. Pay: £8.70 per hour. Contract: Casual, required as soon as possible Working under the guidance of the Exams Officer duties include the secure distribution and collection of exam materials; providing, keeping a record of and supervising an appropriate environment for students to take their examinations; and ensuring that all exam board regulations are enforced during the examinations. Full training will be given. Successful candidates will have good communication skills, be well organised, reliable and ideally have some experience of working with young people in either the work place or in a voluntary capacity. Further information about the school, the post and how to apply can be found on the TES website The post is subject to DBS Barred list and Enhanced Disclosure checks. Closing Date: midnight 3 March 2019. Interviews: week commencing 11 March 2019.


	Term 4 - dates for your diary


	25 February: START OF TERM 4 w/c 25 February and 4 March: Yr 11 Mock Exams 26 February: Yr 9 science GO4SET trip to UWE 27 February: Yr 8 girls first dose of HPV vaccination 27 February: Yr 8 science trip to Bristol Uni - Faraday Challenge Day 28 February: Yr 12/13 parent/carer evening 4-7pm 5 March: Yr 9 boys/girls Td.IPV and MenACWY vaccinations 5 March: Careers Fair in Lecture Theatre (Yr 9 & Yr 12) 6 March: Fairtrade visit to school 6 March: Aardman Animation visit to Yr 8 7 March: World Book Day 8 March: 6th Form maths trip to Bath Forum 11-18 March: Yr 7 Bikeability 14 March: Yr 10 parent/carer evening 4-7pm w/c 18 March and 25 March: Yr 12 Mock Exams w/c 18 March: Turing House charity week 19 - 26 March: French exchange hosting week 21 March: Yr 11 London theatre trip 26 March: Performance showcase trip to Weston Playhouse 28 March: Yr 8 parent/carer evening 4-7pm 1 April: Yr 9 Future Quest trip - Speakers Trust 2 April: Yr 12 Future Quest trip - Life Skills event 5 April: PE trip to watch Bristol Flyers 5 April: END OF TERM 4 16 April: 6th Form trip to Bristol Old Vic (Equus) 23 April: START OF TERM 5


	Keep in touch


	There isn’t enough space here to showcase the huge variety of student experiences and achievements this term. Keep up to date by visiting the ‘News and Events’ section on the school website of follow us on the Facebook and Twitter.


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