Christmas 2020

Apologies that it's been so long since my last blogpost: dealing with Covid-19 has taken up an enormous amount of time. Every single member of school staff worked hard firstly to ensure that we could reopen safely in September 2020 and, since then, to adapt to constantly changing guidance.

Here are some highlights from this term.

Chaplaincy News from Miss Baker, our Chaplain

"It has been a challenging term for all of us as a St Peter’s community but, despite the challenges, the #greenarmy marches on and I have been overwhelmed to see how much there is to celebrate since September.

Love in Action

339.65kgs of food was donated by the school community and taken to Gloucester Foodbank in October. This was in addition to further support this academic year for the national Breast Cancer Charity on ‘Wear it Pink Day’, for Children in Need and also our recent support of local charity, Gloucester Feed the Hungry.

I also had the pleasure of interviewing some of our students in Year 8 and Year 13 about the amazing charity work they had been involved in pre-lockdown and during the summer holidays. This video interview was shared with all schools in the Clifton Diocese for our virtual Diocesan Education Mass. It is wonderful to see our young people participating in the ethos of St Peter’s and the tradition of giving support in love and outreach to people in need. 

The encouragement we have received from the school community and the overwhelming generous support from past students means that we look forward to creating a Memorial Garden for deceased members of staff and students at the front of the school. It is hoped that we can begin in earnest in the Spring term.  More news to come on this!

We have also had the opportunity to celebrate liturgically some of our year group patron saints whose lives are a constant reminder to us to believe that with God everything is possible!"

Our term ended this morning with a virtual liturgy led by Miss Baker. (You'll need to adjust the volume at times).

Thank you to all the students and staff who contributed to the virtual liturgy and, of course, to Miss Baker for this and for all her other work with staff and students.

The Road to Bethlehem

Nearly 200 St Peter’s students have run more than 3,000 miles (enough to get us to Bethlehem) in a virtual challenge. after winning the Marathon Kids' ‘Keep Fit Thru Lockdown’ campaign.

The P.E. department won the Marathon Kids' ‘Keep Fit Thru Lockdown’ challenge, being awarded £1,000 of Nike sporting equipment but, as the campaign finished, the P.E. department and Miss Baker, our school chaplain, motivated students to run the full 3,131 miles in order (virtually) to reach the birthplace of Jesus Christ. All of this was, of course, completed in line with Covid-19 restrictions.

Mr Green, who is in charge of athletic development, said that staff ‘kept students motivated by giving them little competitions along the way and gave them targets every few days. It was about changing motivation and tailoring the targets for each child, which only happens when you have great relationships. In a six-minute period, for instance, some pupils might be able to run 1500m, some might only be able to run 300m, but as long as they were keeping their individual level up, that’s what we wanted.

‘We did some relays, they did over-taking challenges, we asked them to sprint a length or width of the track, little time trials, they could earn rest time by completing a distance in a certain time – all sorts of ideas just to keep them motivated on the journey. They absolutely thrived in that environment. We were surprised at the start because we do have students who think of running as the last thing they want to do, but as soon as we did get them going and they got excited about the challenge - and also getting to Bethlehem - it was about us as a group keeping the fire in them burning,’ he added.

The students who participated were predominantly Year 7 and 8 pupils (the challenge started when Covid-19 meant  Year 10 and 11 were at home), but younger students went down in their breaks, unprompted, to help get to Bethlehem.

Martine Verweij, CEO and founder of Marathon Kids UK, was thrilled that the challenge was used as a further catalyst to get children running despite the difficulties presented by the various Covid-19 restrictions.

‘It’s examples like the one set by St Peter’s that make us so happy to do what we do. We know that running and being fit are so important for kids who not only want to compete at running various distances, but also who want to be the best they can at other sports such as football, hockey or rugby,’ she said.

Of course, there are also huge mental and emotional benefits that sport and the lockdown challenge provide.

Well done to all the students who participated, many of whom are pictured below (in their year 7 group bubble). Thanks also to the P.E. team and, especially, Mr Green.

 

Music department news

The work of the music department has been very different this term. Music staff have missed gathering to provide the music for our usual Masses and it has not been possible to bring together our usual choir of more than sixty students from year 7 to year 13. It is also the first time in thirteen years that we have not had the excitement of a whole school musical. In addition, Jazz Band and all other normal extra-curricular rehearsals ceased.

However, restrictions have given the department a chance to try different approaches to engage students in practical music making. Students have been meeting in year bubbles each week and we have been delighted to see the following groups develop: Year 7 Choir, Year 7 Band, Year 8 Choir, Year 10 Girls’ Choir, Sixth Form Chamber Choir and Sixth Form Jazz Band. Most of these, as well as Year 9 & Year 11 solos and duets, were featured in the recent beautiful Virtual Carols by Candlelight. 

If you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, you can find it here: 

The culmination of Virtual Carols by Candlelight is a community rendition of ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ featuring over 100 students, staff and families. As a result of this event, we are proud to have raised a significant amount of money for a local charity, ‘The Family Haven’. If you would also like to make a donation online, please find the link here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sphscarolsbycandlelight

The music department staff and students have adapted brilliantly to having some music lessons in non-specialist rooms and the staff and the school are extremely proud of the commitment, enthusiasm and talents of the huge number of students who have taken part in our virtual events this term.

Thank you to Mrs Perfect and the music department team for your brilliant work in extremely difficult circumstances.

Thank you

Thank you to every member of staff in every area for your commitment, resilience and hard work this term. To say it has been challenging is an understatement. Thank you also to our governors, parents and friends of the school for all your support in these challenging times.  

We hope that you and your families have a safe and happy Christmas. The Christmas message reminds us that God is with us… in our ordinariness, mess and chaos. May we take time to allow the babe of Bethlehem to creep in beside us and to bring his gifts of love and peace anew this season.