Issue 24 - St Thomas More Catholic School

Darlaston Lane, Willenhall
West Midlands WV14 7BL
phone 01902 368798
fax 01902 360380
[email protected]
http://www.st-thomasmore.walsall.sch.uk
St Thomas More Catholic School
MoreNews
BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE COLLEGE
ISSUE 24 - 24 MARCH 2014
This week:
Tuesday 25 March
Spring Concert
Thursday 27 March
Year 8 Options Evening (5.307.30pm)
Friday 28 March
Year 10 DTP and Men C Injections
(Boys)
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday 1 April
School Visit: Y10 Botanical
Gardens
Wednesday 2 April
Year 10 DTP and Men C Injections
(Boys)
GCSE Music Practical Exam
Thursday 3 April
GCSE Music Practical Exam
Friday 4 April
Sixth Form Geography Trip to
Borth
Headteacher’s
Notice
Last Thursday Peter Humphries HMI
visited school for a day. He was very
complimentary about all efforts which
staff are making to improve the school
rapidly. His letter will be published in
three weeks time and will be shared in
More News at that time.
This week our Year 11 intervention week
is taking place to help fully prepare our
students in the final few weeks before
their GCSEs.
Recruitment
We are currently advertising for the
following posts: Teachers of Science
(2 posts) and RE/Humanities (1 post);
Cook (temporary post); Senior Exam
Invigilator and Exam Invigilators. Details
on the school website.
The Inner You
‘God hasn’t stopped talking. He talks through the lives of
loving people’.
The Gospel reading of a week last Sunday told us of the
time that Peter, James and John saw Jesus in all his glory
on the mountain top. The face of Jesus was described as
‘shining like the sun’. His inner glory shone through and the
disciples were filled with joy. God was present in the person
of Jesus. This account tells us a lot about ourselves if we
give ourselves time to reflect on it. Each one of us carries
within ourselves a divine spark; ‘created in the image
and likeness of God’. At the very depth of our being we
encounter God. Cardinal Newman wrote that God makes
his presence felt through our conscience. St Augustine said,
‘to know myself is to know God’. If we look within ourselves
we can discover the presence of God. Then we, like Jesus,
can make God present through the things that we say and
do. Quite a thought!
Father, fill our hearts with your love, and keep us faithful
to the Gospel of Christ. Give us the grace to rise above our
human weakness.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Thursday 10 April
Year 10 Parents Evening
Prayer
Mr P Mayland
Headteacher
Quote of the Week
“Keep going no matter what. If you
believe you will get there.”
- Nanpreet Ghuman 7CBI
If you have a quote for More News hand
it to Mr Mayland.
The Harris Family - Hall of Fame
Julia Harris
Kirsty Harris
I started in Year 7 at St Thomas More in 1994 and gained my GCSEs
before going on to take my A-Levels at St Thomas More Sixth Form.
I knew in Year 9 that my ambition was to become a physiotherapist
but unfortunately I had chosen a career path that was very
competitive. Due to this, gaining experience of the career is essential
to get through the university interviews. I was very fortunate to
have teachers that were prepared to go the extra mile and use their
personal contacts to ensure I got very useful experience both within
the mandatory work experience and also during my time in sixth
form.
Between the effort of my teachers in helping me to sort out my work
experience and the effort from both my side and my teachers side in
getting the grades I needed to gain my place at University, I was able
to begin my Physiotherapy degree which I gained, with honours in
2005.
Since completing my academic years I have been very happy within
my chosen career. I have enjoyed working in a very interesting variety
of jobs in both the NHS and sport settings, mainly rugby.
Currently I am working my way through the paper-work that is
required for me to go to New Zealand to work as a physiotherapist as
I travel around New Zealand and Australia.
I enjoyed my time at St Thomas More Catholic School and the
support and extra effort my teachers put in to helping me get on
the path to my chosen degree has made a huge impact on me and I
remain very grateful for that!
My Year 7 started in 1990, I gained
my GCSE’s in 1995, and A Levels
in 1997. Still having no clue what I
wanted to do, I was lucky that I was
the last year that didn’t have to pay tuition fees, so I went away to
Cardiff University looking forward to being a student and seeing what
would happen without too much worry about debt… I did a maths
degree (as numeracy is pretty transferable into most careers), and
I also opted for a sandwich course – so that I spent a year of my 4
year degree in a paid job placement. This was a great experience
and didn’t do my CV any harm. I graduated in 2001, still with no
idea what I wanted to do, and so tried a couple of graduate schemes
(interspersed with travelling); one in IT and one in management.
Although aspects of both of these were enjoyable, particularly the
pay and travelling around, and again the experience was really useful
as I gained many transferable skills, I was still aware of the fact that
I wasn’t really that interested in these roles…and so 6 years ago I bit
the bullet and took a pay cut to take up a role working for a charity;
my interest is really sparked by organisations that support those in
need.
I’ve never looked back.
My time at St Thomas More presented me with the opportunities
and support that have allowed me to access such widespread options
throughout my career, until I finally settled into a job I’m happy to get
out of bed to go to.
Lynsay Harris
I was at St Thomas More between 91-98; I left with 8 GCSE’s and Adv
GNVQ in Health & Social care. I went to Buckinghamshire Chilterns
University College 1999-2002, leaving with a nursing degree. I
returned to the Midlands and started work at Walsall Manor hospital
in 2003. By then an interest had sparked in the military as I’d met
them in my third year at university.
I joined the Royal Navy (RN) as a Naval Nurse in May 2006. I was
promoted to Leading Hand in May 2007 and then promoted to Petty
Officer in July 2011. The ‘bossy’ and ‘always talking’ comments that
always seemed to come up in my reports have definitely helped me
excel in the Military.
Since joining the RN I have worked in a variety of clinical settings;
Surgery and Medicine at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, on RFA
Argus (the military hospital ship) and in the hospital in Iraq and
Afghanistan. I have also had a variety of nursing opportunities in
unique environments, such as providing a nursing role to injured
service people during a trip to Everest base camp.
I am currently working as an instructor, teaching the Military medic’s
of the future, and looking forward to a move to Headley Court
(military Rehab facility) in the near future. I returned to university in
2010 to get an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice.
Since joining the military I have never looked back. When I was at St
Thomas More Catholic School I would never have thought I would
have made this choice, but I love that I work in the RN. If I hadn’t
achieved what I did at school I wouldn’t have had the qualifications
to make the first step in this career (just what my mom always
said…!).
St Thomas More Catholic School’s Outstanding
Students For January – February 2014
The “Outstanding Student award” is a part
of our reward system for students in Years 7
to 13. These awards are given half-termly by
form tutors and subject teachers based on
the criteria outlined below.
The criteria for a student receiving a subject
award are:
contributing regularly to lessons
having a positive attitude
behaving appropriately
being organised (correct equipment,
organiser, exercise book, etc.)
arriving punctually
completing class work in line with, or
surpassing, expectation
completing homework in line with, or
surpassing, expectation and submitting
it on time
performance in assessments in line with,
or surpassing, expectation
The criteria for a student receiving a form
tutor award are:
having a positive attitude
taking a pride in his/her appearance
attending regularly (95% and above) and
punctually
working hard
contributing to school life
behaving appropriately
being organised (correct equipment,
organiser, exercise books, etc.)
A maximum of two students from each tutor
group and teaching group may receive this
award.
Well done to the 721 students who received
an “Outstanding Student” award for last halfterm. 308 of these students received more
than one award.
A total of 1202 awards were given by staff.
The number of awards received by each Year
group was as follows:
Year 7 – 196; Year 8 – 195; Year 9 – 210; Year
10 – 218; Year 11 – 197; Year 12 – 94; Year
13 - 92
The following students received 3
awards:
Year 7:
Millie-Ann Harris ANH, Jose Jethro Rocafort
ANH, Anoop Samra APO, Libby Trask APO,
Lucy Smith HHA, Samuel Wellings PGR,
Smeksha Mahay RUA, Jack Bowen SAL,
Jeruel Camat SAL, Rebecca Walters SAL,
Shivdev Lohat SEV, Noble Marufu SEV
Year 8:
Hayley Passmore AUS, Skye Rose-Green
AUS, Manveer Sidhu AUS, Rhys Evans AVI,
Lily Smith DGI, Jack Adams GCA, Jasmin Bains
HWR, Patveer Purawal HWR, Megan Colley
NWI, Jasmine Khakh NWI, Surujun Bhandal
RED, Chloe Lakin RED, Viranpal Nahal VKU
Year 9:
Keerthana Kamalanathan JDA, Jordan Green
JDA Alice Thompson JDA, Roseline Zhou KAW,
Olivia Cotterill RVA
Year 10:
Laura Kosobudskaja AMO, Callum Walters
AMO, Emily Painter ETA, Matthew Corrigan
LDU, Chelea Mayo LPE, Zachary Law MMO,
Adell Baker NCO, Samuel Southam PCA, Ryan
Boden SMC, Abbie Gillam SMC, Jake Devlin
STR, Kyle Hillary STR, Jonatan Sobczak STR
Year 11:
Meghan Stevenson CAT, Elizabeth Ncube
CGA, Melissa Walker CGA, Lauren Thorpe
CKE, Jack Attwood DCO, Cassie Edgington
DCO, Daniel Cutting-Tennant HAT, Carlton
Taderera HAT, Christian Villegas HAT, GeorgiaRae Wautier HAT, Thomas Webster HAT,
Coogan Middlebrook LLE, Danielle Bateman
NVO, Eden Myers NVO, James Holder RKE,
Barinder Pal RKE
Year 12:
Melissa Keyworth DHE, Hemma Patel DHE,
Emma Whitehouse DHE, Paige Karadag GBO,
Harpreet Sanghera GBO, Lauren Jarvis JPA,
Megan Lockley SMI
Year 13:
Year 8:
Bethany Allen HWR, Shannon Ball KWI,
Nicole Bateman KWI
Year 9:
Gemma Tolley CWA, Kieran Myatt DFL, Lucy
Plested DFL, Meghan Brewster RVA, Krishma
Devi SDA
Year 10:
Sophie Fletcher KSA, Kiran Athwal LDU, Jacob
Cresswell LDU, Kirsty Picciano LPE, Charlotte
Busby NCO, Jordan Mercer NCO, Luke
Parsons PCA, Jagdeep Pawar PCA
Year 11:
Gursharon Kaur CGA, Laura Avery CKE, Bryn
Clarke DAR
Year 12:
Emily James GBO, Harminder Kaur JEG
Year 13:
Connor Evans KFI
The following students received 5
awards:
Year 7:
Davina Lali CAL, Ziah Greer RUA, Danielle
Howell SAL
Year 8:
Courtney Dilger DGI, Sakhini McLean KWI
Year 9:
Jack Newell ATH, Khadijah Corlis CWA,
Inderjit Saharn KEB, Brandon Blewer RVA
Year 11:
Lara Lockley DAR, Kyle Edwards DCO
Special congratulations go to the
following students who, with 6 awards,
received the highest number of awards
for a student in Years 7-11:
Year 7:
Sandeep Sidhu APO, David Winders RPE,
Priya Khokhar RUA
Vanessa Campbell BPE, Anisha Mehan BPE,
Abbie Onions CJA, Fahima Khanom KFI,
Joseph James LGI, William Stanley TJO
Year 8:
The following students received 4
awards:
Khadijah Corlis CWA
Year 7:
Abbie Gillam SMC
Lauren Smedley CBI, Amelia Hollyoak PGR
Harkiran Gill GCA, Rosa Lewis JDA
Year 9:
Year 10:
Those students in Years 12 and 13 who
received 3 or more awards also deserve a
special mention.
After School Year 11 Revision Timetable
Day
Time
Subjects
Monday
3.10pm - 3.50pm
English, Maths, Science, RE
Monday
3.50pm - 4.30pm
English, Maths, Science, RE
Tuesday
3.10pm - 3.50pm
Music, English, Art, Health and Social
Tuesday
3.50pm - 4.30pm
Re, Art, English
Wednesday
3.10pm - 3.50pm
RE, Languages, Art, Business, Public
Services, Maths
Wednesday
3.50pm - 4.30pm
Languages, Art, Health and Social,
History, Travel and Tourism
Thursday
3.10pm - 3.50pm
Art, Sociology, Geography
Thursday
3.50pm - 4.30pm
Art, Health and Social
Friday
3.10pm - 3.50pm
Geography, English
Year 9 Lenten Charities
Guide Dogs -Sponsor a Puppy
How far does your sponsorship money go?
A long, long way! When you Sponsor a Puppy you make a donation
towards every step of its training – from those tentative first days
with a puppy walker through to more advanced training at guide
dog school and eventually matching them with the right owner. This
means you can be certain that all your donations will play a vital part
in giving independence and freedom to blind and partially sighted
people.
Year 11 Girls Futsal Team
Bring Home The Gold!
We took a group of girls to a futsal tournament at The Futsal
Centre, Birmingham and they played 4 other schools. Our girls
played extremely well!! They won against Broadway 7-0, drew with
Sandwell Academy 3-3, won against Brownhills 6-0 and won against
Deansfield 3-0.
They will now be entered into the regional tournaments!
They are a credit to our school and their sportsmanship and
enthusiasm shone through their STM football kit!!
Every guide dog costs around £50,000
MFL Stars of the Week
Stafford Half Marathon
Mrs Montgomery:
Ms Lopez:
Harman Basra – Year 8
Byron Ashman – Year 7
Mrs Bigongiari:
Miss Strzelecki:
Alexandria Hopton – Year 8
Georgia-Rae Wautier – Year 11
Last Sunday 16th March, Mr Roberts from Science successfully ran
the Stafford Half Marathon in a time of 1 hour 51 minutes for the
thirteen and a quarter miles as his personal fundraising event to
support students on our school’s working pilgrimage to Lourdes in
August. All sponsorship will go towards the cost of the pilgrimage.
Mrs Dolan:
Mr Woodward:
Simran Bains – Year 11
Bryony Wiles – Year 9
Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me.
Mr Roberts
Ms Gallagher:
Amelia Hollyoak – Year 7
Assistant Teacher in charge of the Lourdes working pilgrimage.
Year 10 Parents’ Evening
Top
s
Year 7 has earned the most by year:
36947
Geography Stars
of the Week
Mr Pearce:
Chloe Warren – Year 10
7SAL has earned the most by form:
4049
Mr Virgo:
Rachel Harris – Year 9
Over 156,291 have been given
out in total already for the entire
school.
Mr Winfield:
Mark Lent – Year 13
Surujun Bhandal Year 9 is currently
earning the most at a current total
of 647 VIVOs.
Kiera Cresswell earned the most
VIVOs last week at 113.
This is a reminder for all parents/carers of Year 10 students that this
important event is taking place on Thursday 11th April.
Thank you.
Mr Dawson (Head of Year 10) and Mrs McGhee (Assistant Head of
Year 10)
St Thomas More Youth S.V.P.
Good Shepherd Metre Mountain of Food project.
We are collecting non-perishable foods during Lent to support the
Good Shepherd appeal. Please forward any food you can donate
to us at the School Chapel. The food will go towards supporting
homeless and socially isolated people in our region.

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