‘As Golden October Declines into Sombre
November’
Paris
May I begin by copying to you all
the message which Catholic schools received from Cardinal Vincent Nichols
concerning last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris:
This morning I wish to express my horror at
the events that took place in Paris last night. This random killing of innocent
people is utterly despicable and a course of action which must be rejected
unequivocally by all.
Today I offer my prayers, with those of the
entire Catholic Community in England and Wales, for those who have been shot
dead as they enjoyed moments of relaxation and entertainment. I pray for the
bereaved, for those who have been traumatised. I pray for the City of Paris
that it will courageously recover its poise as one of the great cities of the
world. I pray for the police and security forces who will continue their
front-line fight against this evil madness. I pray, too, for the Muslim
communities in France, and here in England, that they may not be victimised
because of the actions of these violent and ruthless extremists but strive
always for the way of peace and cooperation with the wider society.
May God bless France. May God give us the
courage and wisdom to resist this violent and inhuman extremism. May God guide
us all into the ways of peace.
+Vincent Nichols
Charities
Our school continues to work for
charities and to answer appeals. The
recent ‘Wear it Pink Day’ raised £1000 for cancer charities and the sixth-form
efforts for Children in Need raised over £1200.
Thanks to all the families and staff who supported these events.
Building Progress
With wintry weather coming, the
builders are redoubling their efforts, with more workers on site and weekend
working established. The target for
completion is still early December, and it is hoped that everything will be
tidied up and gone by 11th December.
(Sometimes even the best laid plans, etc.)
The Design and Technology block
is finished, however, and the teachers have resumed work in their ‘new’
rooms. The atrium is, of course, the
star of the piece: a whole new teaching space at the heart of the block, which
energises the place and inspires good work.
Parents will be able to visit formally in the forthcoming sixth-form open evening, on Wednesday 2nd
December from 18.30 - 20.30.
Year 11 Mocks
It is not too early, then, for
our year 11 students to start thinking about sixth-form courses. Every year 11 at St Peter’s has a guaranteed
place at our sixth-form. And the count-down
begins for real in January when year 11 will return to a formal week of mock
examinations. My warning is that taken
as themselves mock exams have little value unless they are prepared for, and
are accepted as a stepping-stone to the real thing. Therefore, year 11 students need to start
preparing for these mocks at the beginning of December, ensuring they have all
their notes in order, their revision books tidy and ready and all the guidance
from their teachers at hand. Christmas
holidays should be full of fun, of course, but for year 11s room needs to be
found for good, old-fashioned revision.
Which can’t – let me tell you – be done by downloading an App.
Collecting Children
We need to be scrupulous about
students going off site. It can be a
significant safeguarding issue for us.
We cannot allow students to leave school without permission from parents
and carers (and we prefer this permission to be written, although we recognise
that sometimes it must be verbal). We
cannot allow older siblings to ‘give permission’ for younger brothers and
sisters to leave with them.
School Food
Mrs Smith and Mr Blackshaw are
working with the governors’ food committee to introduce a new, healthier, menu
across the board in the kitchen. We are
doing this firmly but gradually; we want
to make some changes but we do not want to lose your support nor the students’. However, we want to ensure that the diet offered
by the kitchen – at breakfast, break and lunch – is the best we can provide. I have spoken to students at assemblies about
this. We need their help; we invite them
to try without prejudice new meals which appear; we are offering ‘suggestion
books’ where they can make positive comments or constructive criticism. Please support this move as warmly as
possible and feel free to contact me with your own comments as the changes
appear.
Finally
Please don’t forget to support
the Christmas events which are coming up, including the PFA Christmas Fair on 21st November from 1 o’clock till
4 in the school hall, and the Carols by
Candlelight on 10th December, at 7 o’clock in the church of the
Immaculate Conception, Stroud.
