The Friday Letter

Edition No 73 Friday 13th June 2014

Prayer to Our Lady of Walsingham O blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Walsingham, Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down in mercy upon us, our parish, our country, our homes, and our families, and upon all who greatly hope and trust in your prayers, By you it was that Jesus, our Saviour and hope, was given to the world; and he has given you to us that we may hope still more. Plead for us your children, whom you did receive and accept at the foot of the Cross,. Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith fruitful in good works we all may be made worthy to see and praise God, together with you in our heavenly home. Amen. Our Lady of Walsingham, Pray for us. A new Headgirl and Headboy for Saint John Houghton

Congratulations to Merrin Shelton and Luke Moore who were elected Headgirl and Headboy yesterday. All six candidates ran an excellent campaign and proved themselves to be worthy candidates for the position. Well done to Joe Cuomo, Matt Cragg, Jessica Gilhooly and Imogen Radford. I look forward to working with Merrin and Luke in the coming year.

Congratulations Father Martin and Canon John On Saturday accompanied by Merrin Shelton and Matt Cragg I attended a special mass at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Long Eaton to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the ordination to the priesthood of Father Martin Sylvester. On Wednesday Rachel took Jane Biles, Joshua Boott and Steven Mitchell to another celebration mass where he was presented with a gift on behalf of everyone at Saint John Houghton. This evening (Friday 13th June) I will be attending the Diamond Jubilee celebration mass of Canon John Berry at Our Lady of Good Counsel Eastwood. More details will be included in next week’s Friday Letter.

Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy part of Saint Robert Lawrence Catholic Academy Trust

Walsingham Rachel and I will be taking some students to the Nottingham Diocesan pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. We will have more details in next week’s Friday Letter. Chaplaincy Department Rachel has noticed Sam Morley for his manners this week. Congratulations to Mr Martyn Swaby, our new Justice and Peace Fieldworker for Nottingham Diocese. The student and staff at Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy wish Kath Dahill a very happy 100th birthday! Congratulations Kath and well done Long Eaton Parish. Rachel would like to thank Father David Palmer for his support in the Chaplaincy Department. Oasis Team News

Congratulations to Sacha Sheridan, Molly Keyworth, Laura Sellers, Georgia Campbell, Molly Griffiths, Aleisha Hodson, Olivia Borste, Natalie Monk, Sophie Ingall, Bridin Retallick, Shannon Garratt, Freya Windridge, Elizabeth Varley, Joseph Heath, Tom Flynn, Lewis King, Lydia De-Gioia, Trinity Smith, Nina Schofield, Chloe Buda, Emelia Bagnall, Iona Read, Tara Hall, Liam Spencer, Feargal Barber, Finn

Broderick, Franklin Henshaw and Emi Ephraim for starting their role on the team. Jaymie Halford was missed and we hope she recovers soon. More thanks to Mr Long who gave us the use of his room and the catering staff who prepared the refreshments.

Please look out for letters with 'Buddy Sessions'. Outstanding members this week were Emi Ephraim, Shannon Garrett, Martin Rose, Lewis King and Lewis Siara, your parents should be very proud of you, I am.

Chaplaincy News Rachel would like to thank Joan Fowodu, Jessica Gilhooly and Sarah Hutchby for going the extra mile supporting the Catholic ethos of the school. Please start talking to Team Chaplaincy and Rachel if you are interested in joining Team Chaplaincy in September.

Rachel's hero of the week is Mrs McCarthy. At long last Rachel is tweeting and would love you to follow @SJHChaplain. Rachel would like to thank Mrs Doczyminska for the opportunity to join her Outreach Team. What a privilege to visit: Saint Albans School, The Priory and English Academies.

Thank you to The Oasis Team 2014-2015 for their prayers and support.

Congratulations and Celebrations to Father Martin Sylvester! Steven Mitchell, Joshua Boott and Jane Biles represented Saint John Houghton at Father Martin's Mass of Thanksgiving on Wednesday at 11.30am Thank you to Steven for Altar Serving, Joshua and Jane for doing the Offertory Procession and Canon John for his welcome. How lovely to see Father David again and to hear Mr David Goodhind play the organ, Mr and Mrs Spittle brought their son, Paul, from New Zealand and Carol had arranged the flowers beautifully. The staff and pupils from English Martyrs read beautifully

and Father Martin reminded us not simply to rely on our gifts but to listen to the voice of God and allow The Holy Spirit to lead us. We presented Father Martin with a Silver Cross Fountain Pen. Rachel would like to thank Lucy Summers for her friendship this week and congratulate Tia Young and Georgia Sanders for their courage and kind ways. Please remember the children preparing for First Holy Communion and Confirmation in your prayers.

Thank you parents and carers for the support you give, we have been praying for you this week:

A very important date for parents of Year 10

On Wednesday we will be hosting our Post 16 Parents information Evening. The evening has been organised to prepare parents for the decisions which need to be made regarding your sons and daughters options at the end of their time at Saint John Houghton. Please come to this very important evening. For further details please contact Mrs J. Kelly (Careers Coordinator).

Sports Day Tuesday 17th June All students are expected to take part in Sports Day whether in the Athletics in the morning or Inter-Tutor in the afternoon. Students must come to school in full school PE kit with a tracksuit over the top if they wish. Girls may wear black leggings. Money for breakfast bar and dinner is needed and can be kept in a bag which will be locked away for the day. A water bottle is advised for the day as is a cap or hat. Suncream may also be required. Any student who is injured must bring in a note to be excused for the day. If a note is not brought in, kit will be provided in order to take part. Long term injuries do not require a note as the PE department is already aware. If there are any issues concerning Sports Day, please contact Mr Warden or Mrs Joslin at school. Paired Literacy Programme At Saint John Houghton we are always encouraging students to support each other in their learning. For the past few years we have ran the successful paired literacy programme and Mrs Bentley and Mrs Ryan would like to congratulate all the following students who have taken part in the programme. Year 9 Lewis Siara, Grace Lee, Erin Bowmar, Laura Sellers, Feargal Barber, Elizabeth Varley, Bridin Retallick, Antonina Schofield, Emi Ephraim, Lilley Cawley, Stephanie Siara, Anna Stevenson, Addyson Brough, Thomas Flynn, Jack Kissane, Isabella Lee, George O'Neill, Matthew Shepherd, Jacob Siara and Matthew Woodward Year 7 Jordan Casey, Samuel Harrison, Tyler Marshall, Elin Retallick, John Wildey, Christian Harrison, Lucy Hulse-Russell, Archie McGregor, Harvey McGuire, Martyna Popek, Summer Riseley, Marcio Geraldo, Shona Gibbons, Wiktor Kobus, Robert Smith, Danny Steel, Mia Williams-Greatorex, Thomas Wyatt, Tamzin Evans and Ryan Smith New outfits for Midday Supervisors We are fortunate to have a fantastic team of midday supervisors here at Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy. This week they received their new t-shirts as part of their uniform.

Learning and Teaching at Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy YEAR 10 Don't forget there's a study session every Tuesday in room 29 until 5.30. It's a good opportunity for you to get on with your work either revision or homework in a quiet atmosphere. Just ask Conor Corrigan, Jacob Matecki, Ben Middleton, Holly Howarth, Alex Doar, Nazarene Gordon, Louis Smith and Megan Guest: they're all regular attenders and it's helping them a lot. (Sometimes we have biscuits btw) Mrs Folan

MFL On the French Achievement Board, Mrs Jinks, Miss Brunt and Mr Riley would like to commend the following students for their attitude and hard work this week. Year 7 Lucy Summers Year 8 Thomas Kavanagh, Lauren Amos, Lewis Wiltshire and Jade-Akina Charlton Year 9 Jasmine Woolley, Gaige Bennett and Joseph Heath Year 10 Eva James and Louis Smith Food Technology Year 7 Excellent practical work / Super Crumbles Year 7 are now learning the rubbing in method and boy were they good this week. Talking about boys – why were there no boys with top scores – come on boys show the girls how good you are in the kitchen. Well done to Deborah Banks, Taya Joslin, Grace Law, Molly Hinton and Kia Winfield.

RE Miss McPhee wishes to congratulate the following students in Year 8 who have worked really hard on their stories about The Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Elizabeth Ward, Georgia Renshaw, Amy Cullingworth, Anna Pancisi, Joseph Roberts, Louis Lee and Joseph Horvath. History Mr McNally would like to recognise the outstanding efforts of the following Year 8 students in their completion of the Slavery assessment in History; 8AVR; Charlotte Webster, Poppy Wood, Simon Goodwin, Cameron Gill, Adam Kavanagh, Hope Jarvis, Chris Sheppard, Lucy Motley, Jane Biles, Natasha Lupton and Fionnan Hickton. 8LJ; Megan Burroughs, Olivia McQueenie, George Sensecall, Anna Pancisi, Francesca Dorm, Joseph Horvath, Jake Gaskin, Sean Keogh, Hayden Hefford, and Daniel Reading. 8KN; Olivia Sharpe, Lucy Pavlou, Peter Murphy, Abbie Monaghan, Kathryn Mendonca, Elizabeth Rimmer, Jonathan Lee, Esme Widdowson, Georgia Saunders, Tia Young, Nicola Lewis and Thomas Kavanagh. Maths Mrs Nash would like to congratulate the following students 8KN A big thank you to Georgia Clarke and Harrison Lowe for organising our team for Sports Day next Tuesday. 8 set 5 - Billy Patton for work on Ratio 9 set 2 - Lilly Cawley for tricky work on Perpendicular lines 10 set 1 - Amber Smith, Jessica Gilhooly, Lucy Buss, Luke Moore, Alice Bosworth, Leah Wattam, Millie Wheeldon for work on the Sine rule.

CHEMISTRY AT WORK A lucky group of Year 9 students paid a visit to the BASF Chemical plant last week for a fascinating insight into the work this world leading chemical company. In a series of demonstrations and workshops the students explored the applications of polyurethane foam in our everyday lives. This is the main product of the Alfreton site and is used in a vast number of items from pillows and cushions to skateboard wheels from cavity

wall insulation to the soles of trainers. The visit enabled our students to see the links between the chemistry they study in school and many of the products they use every day. It also gave them some idea of the variety of career opportunities available to those with STEM

qualifications. We would like to thank BASF for hosting this event and for the welcome they gave their visitors plus their generosity in sending each student away with a number of gifts including an illustrated Dictionary of Science. Well done to the students listed below who were a credit to St John Houghton Catholic Academy in their conduct at this event.

Feargal Barber Madeleine Fletton Bridin Retallick

Molly Bradley Thomas Flynn Antonina Schofield

Cian Conroy Shannon Garratt Laura Sellers

Anouska Ekemere Tara Hall Anna Stevenson

Amy Emmerson Ciara Murphy Evie Taddeo Mrs Wilcox

On Sunday I will be at Walsingham and will give thanks and pray for our School Community. There is so much to be grateful for and the events of this week are testament to that. Next week we have Sports Day, Summer Agape and Post 16 Information Evening to look forward to. For those of you who enjoy football enjoy the World Cup and for those who don’t it ends 13th July. As for me I have drawn the Ivory Coast in the staff sweep and look forward to them holding the World Cup after their great victory. Have a lovely weekend Best wishes Mrs Joan McCarthy

Toys Wanted! We are holding a toy stall at

the ‘Summer Fair’ on Saturday 5th July.

We would be very grateful for any donations of old toys or children’s books & games

to sell. Please bring to the Room 33

7CR and Mrs Chandler.