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Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary SchoolCamberwell New Road, London, SE5 0RP

Tel: 020 7274 6844Email: office@sacredheart.southwark.sch.uk

www.sacredheart.southwark.sch.uk

The Jungle Book

The Jungle BookA WILD SUCCESS!

Sacred Heartmission to

PATTAYA

SACRED HEART CATHOLIC SCHOOL magazine

Debating takes offSTUDENT COUNCILROUND-UP

32welcome

Headteacher’s

Welcome to the second issue of Under This Sign, our schoolmagazine which hopefully gives an insight into the many variedactivities, events and achievements of our fantastic school.

Much of this latest issue is focused on our October 2015 Mission tothe Father Ray Foundation in Thailand. Our eleven-year link withthis fantastic institution is something for our school to be rightlyproud of. Since our first mission in 2005 the school community hasraised tens of thousands of pounds to help disadvantaged streetchildren and orphans in Thailand, and nearly 200 of our pupils havevisited Thailand to work as volunteers and see exactly how thismoney is spent. The Thailand Mission enables us all to live our faithand long may it continue.

Of course, the Mission to Thailand would not be possible withoutour annual Charity Week activities. This year’s Charity Week tookplace while this issue was being prepared and I am pleased toreport that the events were as successful as ever, with around 500pupils participating in our sponsored Bridge Walk. And as wide avariety as ever of other fundraising activities, including sponge theteacher and many cake and food stalls. A full Charity Week reportwill appear in our next issue, but to whet your appetite the selectionof photos opposite should give you a flavour of the week’s activities.

Elsewhere in this issue you will also be ableto read about our other Chaplaincy activities,our vibrant Performing Arts successes, ourdeveloping student leadership team andmuch more besides.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Mr S. Cefai, Headteacher

Contents

Student Council round-up page 4

News Nuggets page 6

Thailand Mission page 8

The Jungle Book page 16

Performing Arts round-up page 18

Sacred Heart up for debate! page 20

Chaplaincy round-up page 22

Creative writing corner page 23

Under This Sign - Editor: Mr L. Williams

Page 2 artwork by Jael Umerah-Makelemi

Contributors: Mr S. Cefai, Ms E. Cawley, Ms R. Mazur, Ms S. Trustman, Mr C, Holmes, Mr A. White, Ms A. Murphy, Ms L. Williams, Ms E. Benet, Christopher Anogie, Leonardo de Rezende, Kemi Otitoju, Pedro Duarte, Ange N’Goran, Sam Sikiru, Joshua Adu, Estelle Uba, Carolina Lopes, Eniola Edusi,

Matthew Bellor, Esther Oduntan, Gbemisola Oyewo, Daniella Correa Colorado, Azenosa Osazee, Mabinty Taylor-Kamara, Mary Agorioge, Andreia Cruz Borges

I created this piece as part of a project the brief for which was to design a magazine cover for apublication called ‘PIX’. I decided to create a molten statue girl as I came across the techniquewhilst watching a Photoshop tutorial. At first I was hesitant because the method was very complex,but I persevered because I wanted a challenge. I used Adobe Photoshop with a variety of images,textures and adjustment modes to create the final effect.

Jael Umerah-Makelemi - Graphics A’ Level and BTEC Level 3

54

For a couple of weeks in February and March, SacredHeart caught the political bug as candidates from Years7-11 embarked on their campaigns to be elected to thenewly-formed Student Council.

In total an amazing 92 candidates applied for the tenStudent Council posts (two in each year group, one for aboy and one for a girl). These applications were thenwhittled down to a handful of candidates in each yeargroup who made it on to the ballot papers.

An entertaining week of assemblies saw many candidatesgive speeches, and an array of ingenious and strikingcampaign posters were soon plastered throughout theschool. Many promises were made, which candidates maydiscover in time are hard if not impossible to deliver!However, there were also many interesting ideasexpressed in terms of how to improve the school whichmay well end up being implemented.

Once the votes from pupils and staff had been counted upthe results were as follows. Runners-up will succeed tothe council should the winning candidates stand down forany reason during the next 12 months. Attendance dataabout council reps and the minutes from meetings will beposted on the school website.

Student Council: what’s it for and what do wehope to achieve?Student Council has recently been set up under theguidance of the Year 13 Leadership Team, and presenteditself to Years 7-11 as a medium through which theirthoughts and ideas may be expressed and implemented.After a long and arduous selection process consisting ofapplication forms, shortlists, and elections the ten YearRepresentatives have been chosen and have begun work.We believe that Student Council is more than just a boxthat the school should tick, and more than just a place forstudents to vent their frustrations. Student Council isabout responsibility. By placing the freedom of choice atthe hands of students, they are able to make realistic andeffective changes to the school, from small things whichwill be rarely noticed, to much grander initiatives.

Year 7

GIRLS:1st: Rachel Balogun 54 votes2nd: Francesca Pires 53 votes

BOYS:1st: Dennis Iyamu 87 votes2nd: Elie N’Guessan 48 votes

Year 8

GIRLS:1st: Amabel Cofie 63 votes2nd: Holly Agbukor 53 votes

BOYS:1st: Joshua Quadri 89 votes2nd: Samuel Binyam 50 votes

Year 10

GIRLS:1st: Anthonia Ezeudogu 92 votes2nd: Jessica Granda 28 votes

BOYS:1st: Leo Ngo 75 votes2nd: Aaron Green 52 votes

Year 11

GIRLS:1st: Sky Lawal-West 62 votes2nd: Abrehet Semra 29 votes

BOYS:1st: IK Omo-Ighorado 98 votes2nd: Bacson Dias-Graca 45 votes

Congratulations to the winningcandidates! Runners-up will actas reserves in the event of anyrepresentatives leaving StudentCouncil before the end of their12-month term.

Year 9

GIRLS:1st: Courtney Osei-Dapaa 59 votes2nd: Leah Lue-Kong 42 votes

BOYS:1st: Daniel Latigo 93 votes2nd: Wayne Narag 31 votes

Student Council Results 2016

What do we hope to achieve? Change and development.We firstly want school to become a more comfortableenvironment for the students, by giving them a sense ofresponsibility and empowerment we hope that pupilsbecome more invested in the school community. Effectivechange won’t be easy, when ideas are put forward we’llneed utmost dedication from students, staff, andrepresentatives to ensure that the legitimate wishes of thestudents are put into action. In reference to development,this is both the development of the school community, andof individual students. We hope that the Council willepitomise student leadership skills, by helping them withleadership, public speaking, and soft skills.

Leonardo de RezendeStudent Council Chairman (Year 13)

Student Council launches

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been. Henry A. Kissinger

76 News nuggets

THEATRE MAGIC

The English Department is often arranging theatre trips and this year has beenno exception.

In December a group of Year 8 students were thrilled to watch Billy Elliot in the WestEnd. Everyone loves a story of the underdog and students enjoyed following Billy onhis journey to become a student at the Royal Ballet School. Meanwhile in November,a further group of Year 8s got to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime. This production was described by one pupil, Laura Rocha as “unique, and, outof all the plays I have seen, definitely the best.” In February a group of Year 7 studentswent to see the acclaimed production of War Horse as a reward for the effort theyput into their Independent study project on the author Michael Morpurgo. “Whatimpressed me most were the horses,” commented pupil Seun Omotosho. “Althoughthey weren’t real, they moved as if they were; the people controlling them weremasterful in helping us believe that they were living, breathing animals. I have neverbeen so amazed!” Finally, in March, twenty Year 10 students visited Shakespeare’sGlobe Theatre on the South Bank to watch a special schools’ production of TwelfthNight. The trip was a reward for the fantastic achievement of students in their Englishmock exams. Seeing Shakespeare performed in authentic surroundings was a greatopportunity for pupils to see how audiences would have reacted to his plays, allowingthem to understand how Shakespeare’s writing was tailored to his energetic setting.

WOMEN’SPANEL ASMASH HITOn 8 March, the Year 13 Studentleadership team organised a fantasticpanel event to help celebrateInternational Women’s Day.

Five professional women, including ourown Madam Lassey and MadamVasquez, shared their views about manyissues facing women today, includingequal pay, sexism and genderstereotypes. There was a packedaudience of around 130 students in theaudience, with many people leavingfeeling inspired and empowered!Congratulations to Year 13 leadership fororganising, and in particular to ElissaRankin, who was the mastermind behindthe event, and her co-host Hillary Gyebi-Ababio.

TAKE-OFF FOR PENPAL PROJECTMadam Benet, in collaboration with Madam Davey, has set up a PenPal project with her Year 12 Spanish class. The challenge isfor students to exchange weekly emails in Spanish with their penpal. At the other end of Southern Europe, in Andorra moreprecisely, the local students reply in English. It is hoped that one day the project may lead to an exchange between the schools.

LIMITLESS GET GOOGLEON BOARDThanks to the efforts of Limitless, amotivational company run by formerpupil Sogo Akintaro and Ivan Beckley,the student leaders in the 6th formenjoyed a superb event in December atwhich black and ethnic minorityemployees of Google shared theirexperiences. Student Sam Sikirucommented: “The Google event was veryinsightful. We were introduced to variousprofessionals within the company, and itwas amazing to hear about theirbackgrounds. One speaker in particular,stood out to me, due to the way hedescribed the balance between workand family, and although he was in a veryfavourable and important position, whenasked what he wanted for the future, hesaid he would one day hope to becomevice-president of Google. This showedme that no matter where you are in life,whether the CEO of a company, or asimple office worker, you can aspire andwork to make your life better. That wasthe stand-out moment for me.”

STUDENTSIMPRESS AT BANK OFENGLANDIn November five Year 13 studentssecured the runners-up place in theLondon Regional Heats of the Bank ofEngland and the Times’ Target 2.0Economics competition, a veryprestigious competition for all SixthFormers in the UK.

It was remarked by the judges as to theconfidence and presentation skillsdisplayed by our students as they spokefor 15 minutes without notes in adetailed and comprehensivepresentation. “The experience reallygave me a greater insight on theimportance of the Bank of England’s rolein manipulating monetary policy for thebenefit of the economy,” said studentJoshua Adu.”I was also able to improvemy presentation and team-playerskills.”

8 In October 2015, Sacred Heart Catholic School embarked on its sixth charitablemission to the Father Ray Foundation in Pattaya, Thailand. As always it provedto be an unforgettable experience for the pupils and teachers involved. Over thenext few pages, pupils share their memories of Thailand 2015 and all thevarious activities and good work they got involved in.

The School for the BlindI can't begin to describe what an unforgettableexperience the whole trip was, so I will focus on anaspect of the trip that I particularly felt an emotionalattachment to. On Monday 26 October, Day 3 of ourmission to Thailand, we visited the Blind School inPattaya. When we first arrived, we went for walks aroundthe school whilst blindfolded with only a person or aguide stick to assist us. This was difficult because weeach had to place our complete trust in the person thatwas guiding us. Furthermore, we were taught how towrite in Braille using a typewriter and a needle andpaper. It was impressive to see the blind studentsdecipher what we typed simply by feeling the dots thatwere imprinted onto the paper. It showed me that blindpeople are not as incapable as myself and society ingeneral deems them to be. Later on, we played goal ballwith blindfolds on, a game which blind people play forleisure. This was enjoyable as it challenged us to rely onour hearing in order to catch the ball that was hurtledtowards us, preventing it from entering our goal post.Overall, visiting the blind school was a mesmerisingexperience which encouraged me to appreciate myblessings without necessarily looking down on those whohave a disability. Prior to the Thailand mission, I wasconstantly feeling pity for the blind or anyone else whosuffers from a disability, whereas now, I am now able toacknowledge that they are capable in their own ways andrespect them as individual beings.

Estelle Uba (Year 11)

Painting a mural at the School for the BlindThe initial thought of designing and executing a newmural for the Blind School was exciting for me. Alongwith some of the other students I designed a muralincluding some symbolism showing the love andconnection between the Thai kids and us Sacred Heartstudents. When we started cleaning the wall we had noidea how hard it was going to be. In the short time of onlyone morning we had to clean, scrape and then paint thebase coat on a 20m long wall. The struggle was intensebut we did it and even, exhausted, went back singing. Thenext morning we painted another coat of beige andstarted drawing out and painting the main design. Withthe help of Ms. Williams, Mr. Guittet and music wefinished the mural off. The design shows how we connectwith the Thai kids through Sacred Heart and the hugeheart represents just how much love is felt between thetwo parts of the world. During our work someonequestioned why we were painting a mural if these blindchildren won’t be able to see it, yet the answer is simple;some of the children still have some eyesight. All thestaff and children will appreciate the mural and we werevery happy to complete it.

Carolina Lopes (Year 12)

Going to the beach with the Blind School On our very last day, we took the blind children to thebeach. We got in our usual son toww (cab) and we madeour way there. It was really rainy, which was annoying butthen, thankfully, it stopped. When we got to the BlindSchool, we were paired with the children and theygreeted us very warmly. The child that I was paired withmelted my heart and so did his friend! I told him to callme "Eni" because Eniola is just too long. As we wereleaving, however, he wanted to be with his friend whowas paired with Carolina. Now this was hard because wehad to hold on to them but they wanted to guide and holdon to each other!

The rain started again but despite this we decided tocarry on with our journey. The beach wasn't too far fromthe Blind School. My boy and his friend were teaching mesomething in Thai (I was told the word was banana) whichwas so cool because I was learning so much from him.We ended up making a beat which most people decidedto sing along to: "kway kway, yaw *beat drops* kwaykway yaw" and then the children would burst intolaughter. We literally did that for the whole journeybecause it was just so funny!

When we finally arrived at the beach, my boys didn't wantto go in the water. I was so confused because I thoughtthat was the main reason for the trip. We all made anagreement to make sand castles and collect sea shells!Due to the weather being so bad we had to leave quicklybut we still had a good time there making sand castlesand all sorts. On our way back my boy and I continued tosing our song and tried to mingle with the other peoplefrom their school. When we got back to the Blind School,Mr Cefai kindly bought us all ice creams and we watchedthe Blind School band sing ‘You Are My Sunshine’ withthe new instruments we had bought them. This made mereally emotional as they were so happy. I only justmanaged to control the tears.

We had to leave to get ready because our day was reallylong and as I was getting in the cab back, my friend kepton calling ‘Eni Eni Eni!’ so we could sing the song andfrom the cab I sang it back to him. I genuinely didn’t wantto leave because we were both having such fun and theseparation made me really sad that I actually did cry. Itwas such an amazing experience meeting them as wellas making music with them – there was nothing but loveand positivity.

Eniola Edusi (Head Girl, Year 13)

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The Child Protection and Development CentreFor the first time in the history of the Thailand Mission,we visited a centre where children who have beensexually abused or come from a rough backgroundreside. Despite only visiting the centre once we createdsuch a bond with these children; I almost forgot the factthat we only met the once. We engaged in so manyactivities such as dancing, football and other games andcreated some unforgettable memories together. Theyprepared a buffet for us and performed songs and danceswhilst we ate, it was an honour to be in their hospitality.Although the language barrier was a big issue, the loveand friendship that we shared allowed us to overcomethese barriers and still communicate and shareincredible experiences with one another. Although it wasvery unfortunate that we only shared one day together, Iwould not change the experience, bonds, love andfriendships we made, for the world.

Matthew Bellor (Year 12)

The child protection development centre was a facilitywhere abused and maltreated children are looked afterand given a home as well as a family. Whilst we werethere the thought of any of these kids having a traumaticpast escaped me. We were greeted with such humilityand big smiles. As the night continued with gameslaughter and dancing, we were treated to dinner, in theform of a buffet where we continued to bond with ourkids. One of the highlights for me in particular was thesong that the kids performed from ‘The Land BeforeTime’. They took their time to rehearse and perfect asong in our native language in order to give somethingback to us. One thing that was continuous wherever wewent in Thailand was the feeling of gratitude that the Thaipeople had and the need to give back to us no matter howlittle it was. The whole experience was truly memorableand touching.

Esther Oduntan (Year 12)

ThailandMemories2015

The Pattaya OrphanageI am going to write about when we visited the PattayaOrphanage and the way it affected me. When I entered Isaw the little toddlers running around the workers, theywere so tiny and adorable. I went to a girl and she was soscared of me she ran away and hid behind a worker. I wasnervous because every time I’d get close she’d cry. ThenI saw a boy and I went to him he hugged me and then ranaway. When he hugged me it made me feel happy andmore confident with the children. I followed them aroundor chased them and they’d run, but they would laugh withjoy. Then I saw the new born babies in another room,which were very small, and unfortunately we didn’t getto carry them. I went back outside to play with thechildren, most of them were very scared of us becausethey didn’t know us like the workers. Then I could seehow close they were even though the toddlers aren’ttheirs.

Then we swapped with another group and went to theother room where the older toddlers were. They were allsat down watching TV. Some of the toddlers left with anorphanage worker and a boy was left sitting on his own.I picked him up, and he suddenly smiled which made mereally happy. He didn’t want to let go of me. I soonrealised how hard it must be for the workers to be aroundso many children with not enough of them to givechildren a lot of one-on-one attention. When we had toleave the boy hugged me for the last time and I felt so close to him even though we had only just met.

We then saw some older Thai orphans playing football,so some of us joined them and played a match. It wasquite difficult because they were really good and quitehard to score against particularly with the really hotweather. Most of the Thai kids were playing withoutshoes. I realised that while we are buying reallyexpensive shoes these children don’t have much. I felt sosorry for them because they don’t have a mother orfather to care for them or watch them grow up.

Daniella Correa Colorado (Year 9)

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Day Care CentreFor me, meeting the children from the day care centrewas a delight. When we first met the toddlers, they wereinitially quite reluctant to mix with us as it was unusualto meet such a big group of people in one go, whilstprobably most of them have never met a person of colourbesides their own! As time went on, we won their loveover with silly gestures and sounds, with almost all of usshowing we were in touch with our distant infancy! Everysmile, laugh, scream and cry was precious to us. It’samazing how easy it was to connect with the kids despitethem knowing the most miniscule English, and usknowing nothing of the Thai language except for ‘sawadikap’ (hello) and ‘kob khun kap’ (thank you). Many of thesekids come from a tough upbringing, where food is scarceand a house is nothing but a few pieces of scrap metal.The work they carry out at the Father Ray Day CareCentre is wonderful. Each and every child is made to feelat home. I think the thing that I learnt the most frommeeting these kids is that love is the most universal thingin the world. Whether you’re two years old from Pattaya,or 15 years old from London, it is easy to recognise howmuch of an impact time and compassion has on a person.I’ll never forget my time with the Day Care kids,especially my ‘young boy’ Auto, who is the mostmischievous but delightful boy I’ve ever met.

Azenosa Osazee (Year 11)

Children’s VillageOne of the places we visited and spent time at during ourThailand trip was the Father Ray Children's Village.Similar to the Children's Home, the kids who live in thevillage have been taken in by the organisation, cared forand given a safe place to eat, play, rest and learn. I thinkI speak on behalf of all the Sacred Heart pupils who cameon the trip in saying that the kids there were simplyamazing. Upon our arrival at the centre, they greeted uswith a special welcome song and they were extremelykeen to play with us even under the boiling hot sun. Weplayed badminton, made loom bands, went on the slideand taught them a few of our games like ‘Duck, Duck,Goose’, whilst they taught us some of their very complexskipping games - which really tired me out! They evengave us a small dance lesson on one of the days we werethere, which was very fun. One of the little girls I met atthe village was called Dong and she was extraenthusiastic at teaching me new things. She struggled topronounce my name (Mabs) all the time that I was there,and she would continuously call me mum which reallytouched my heart.

All in all, although unfortunately we only got to visit theChildren's Village a few times, I loved spending time withthe wonderful children there. I can say that it wasdefinitely one of the best experiences on the trip.

Mabinty Taylor-Kamara (former pupil)

School for People with DisabilitiesOne of the things that we did in Thailand was go to theSchool for People with Disabilities, which was locatedwhere we were staying. When we entered they told us tosit down and watch their performance which was themdancing to a song that I believe is very popular inThailand as I heard the song played many times while wewere there! It was a really fun performance to watch asthey were so energetic and we could see that they wereenjoying themselves. After they performed they gave usthe opportunity to perform also, so we decided toperform the ‘Cha cha Slide’ and ‘Candy’. After this weplayed a game which involved us passing a ball around, it was like ‘pass the parcel’ but instead of unwrapping apresent, you got slapped in the face with baby powder! Iwas one of the people that got slapped in the face but I actually enjoyed that part the most when visiting thecentre! The last thing we did there was play a game whichincluded us passing a ball around using a spoon whichwas very hard because the spoon was very small. Overall,I really enjoyed visiting the School for People withDisabilities as I could see that we made a difference intheir day and they were so welcoming.

Gbemisola Oyewo (Year 11)

ThailandMemories2015

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Vocational SchoolTowards the end of the trip we went to the VocationalSchool. It is funny that every time we went to the bigshopping mall (‘Big C’) we passed this school but I nevernoticed it even though it was in the compound where westayed. This school comes with accommodation, meaningall the students live and study in the same area, unlessthey are on some sort of placement. The school admitsonly disabled students and the most fascinating andtouching thing about this school is that the students varyin age and disability: from a young person to an adult, andfrom mildly disabled to severely disabled. We were onlythere for around 20 minutes, however it was the mostmoving experience of my whole trip. Sacred Heartprepared sanitary bags which had deodorant, atoothbrush, toothpaste, soap, baby powder and shampooin it. Though this may seem like something little, weprovided 200 of these bags, meaning every student wasgiven one. They were very happy and grateful. Personally,I was most inspired by their sheer determination anddrive, in the sense that they were all disabled but stillwent to school daily and wanted to better themselveseven though in the Thai society they are often seen asoutcasts. As the Sacred Heart family, I feel we havebettered their lives in a small way, because giving themthese bags meant more than the materialistic things thatwere in it - it meant that we thought about them and thatthey are important to us.

Mary Agorioge (Year 13)

Leaving PartyEveryone had mentally prepared themselves to saygoodbye at the end of the night. But in those last fewhours, it didn’t matter that many of us would never seeeach other again; all that mattered was that we were stillin Thailand and we all appreciated every little second wehad left with the Thai children.

When we first entered the Children’s Home, the childrengave us a flower necklace that they had made for us. Thechildren had also made us a display with pictures of usand the Thai Children with a massive ‘WE LOVE SACREDHEART’ banner in the middle. It was beautiful and wewere so grateful for the time and effort they spent on thedisplay board. We were welcomed with food, drinks andmusic at the Children’s Home but more importantly, wewere welcomed to smiles, laughter and joy. Our last nightwas spent dancing, singing and playing games. A lot ofthe Thai children had choreographed dances that theythen performed to us. It was heart-warming seeing themattempt their hardest to perfect their performances forus. It was beautiful to witness the children laugh whilstthey performed. The Sacred Heart students also dancedor sang and the bonds we made in less than two weekswere evident when our students and the Thai childrencame together one last time to dance and jump around.

Before we left, the Thai children gave us some tins thatthey decorated with a keychain inside. It was the simplestof gifts but it held so much meaning. After variouspictures were taken and social media exchanges, it wastime to say goodbye. We hugged as many people as wecould manage and every hug held words we couldn’tcommunicate like ‘I love you’ or ‘I will miss you.’Everyone was in a puddle of tears; we were cryingbecause we were overwhelmed with how humble andgenuine these children were and how privileged each andevery one of us were to have experienced such anamazing trip. Our mission was to make them happy andput smiles on their faces which we effortlessly achieved.The leaving party was my highlight of Sacred Heart’sMission to Pattaya because it was where our final andlasting memories were made.

Andreia Cruz Borges (Year 11)

Father Ray Children’s HomeThe place we visited the most - and the place that will,arguably, leave the biggest imprint on our hearts - wasthe Father Ray Children’s Home. The children here werekids of secondary school age, who have been orphaned,neglected or abandoned. Every time we visited, we wereblessed with their smiles and love. We helped out on theirfarm that helps sustain the centre with food and income,they taught us Thai dancing and boxing, we played gamesand puzzles, and lots and lots of football! We also gavethe children from the home an opportunity to come andexplore Thailand with us; we visited a Water Park, a TigerZoo, and the Nang Nooch National Park. We also tookthem shopping, giving them £10 to spend on themselves(a luxury they rarely experience) and they had a meal outat KFC! It’s difficult to describe how close we felt to thesechildren in such a short space of time. There were riversof tears shed on our last night - both English and Thai!

Ms L. Williams

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Once again the Sacred Heart Performing Arts Departmentpulled out all the stops to wow audiences of all ages withanother extraordinary school production, this time of theDisney classic The Jungle Book. Months and months ofhard work paid off in fine style as a rollicking performancehad audiences tapping, clapping and humming along tofavourites such as The Bare Necessities and I Wanna BeLike You.

Adapted from Rudyard Kipling’s magical novel, it’s hard tobelieve anyone is unfamiliar with the famous tale of Mowgli(Jonathan Lawson/Agnes Tegile), a baby boy discoveredabandoned in the jungles of India and raised by a pack ofwolves. Threatened by the fearsome tiger Shere Khan(Aaron Green), Mowgli’s animal friends – Baloo (PedroDuarte) and Baghera (Favour Eduwu) - set out to returnhim to the safety of the human village.

Mr Holmes reviews the latest school musical …

a wild success!

BookIt’s always the sign of a special night when the end comestoo quickly and that was certainly the case on the eveningthat I watched the performance. As the whole cast took tothe stage for the closing number it was impossible not tojoin in with the singing as a packed house showed theirappreciation with a rapturous round of applause, beforeleaving the hall whistling and humming. Three sold-outperformances and a matinee for local primary schoolsmeant that hundreds of parents, teachers and pupils hada chance to enjoy what really was an incredible testamentto the talent and hard work of all involved.

And all who saw it will surely be eager to see what’s instore for us next year!

When reviewing such a dazzling show it’s difficult to knowwhere to begin as each element of the production – fromthe stunning set to the wonderful costumes, fabulousmusic and the astonishing performances – came togetherbeautifully to provide an infectiously entertaining night ofsong and dance.

With a cast of over 40 students, all of whom excelled intheir roles whether big or small, it seems unfair to singleout individuals. Monkeys, snakes, elephants, wolves,vultures and the very jungle itself were brought to life byour talented performers. The creativity and imagination ofthe production team, led by Madam Mazur and MadamTrustman, ensured that the essence of each character wasbrought to life; the slithery, sinister snakes had theaudience shivering while the frightening Shere Khan hadsome of the younger members of the audience watchingthrough their fingers. Fortunately the mischievousmonkeys and the bubbly, bouncing Baloo were on hand toprovide light relief when the tension got too much!

JungleThe

18 19round-up

Ten Pieces cinema visit

In September all the KS3 instrumentalists went to watch thenew BBC Ten Pieces film at the Ritzy Cinema. The film wasabout the Orchestra and how to learn about instrumentsthrough ten key pieces. Pieces included Bach’s Toccata andFugue in D Minor, Hayden’s Trumpet Concerto and Mambofrom West Side Story. It was a really fun way to learn aboutthe instruments we are playing.Kemi Otitoju (Year 8)

Splendid Splendour

On 24 September, Drama A Level students went to seeSplendour at the Donmar Warehouse. To prepare us for thisperformance we had a workshop with the Donmar Warehousebeforehand. Furthermore after the performance the actorscame back on stage and we were able to ask them questions.This was incredibly helpful as we were able to understoodmore about acting from accomplished actors such as ZaweAshton. The fantastic workshop, performance and Q and Asession gave us a much better perspective on the play, as wellas the theatrical world.

Carol singing

The Music Department took ten of its cutest and best Year 7and 8 Singers to Oval tube station this Christmas to singcarols for an hour to raise money for The Apostleship of theSea foundation. In only one hour we managed to raise nearly£400 and cause a Twitter sensation with members of thepublic tweeting their appreciation of our vocals but also theneat presentation and politeness of the singers. Well done toall those involved!

Captivating choir

On 17 December the Sacred Heart School Choir performed atthe Southwark Schools Christmas Music Festival lead by Fr. Victor at Sacred Heart Church. Many other schoolsperformed including STAC, Virgo Fidelis and several primaryschools. The first song we sang was Lovely Day by BillWithers and the second a gospel version of O Come All YeFaithful arranged by Mr King and conducted by Madam Mazur.The choir performed beautifully and were the talk of theevening, receiving a standing ovation. The singing wassublime and full of volume only made better by the perfectlychoreographed moves that created a captivatingperformance. Since this performance the choir has doubledin size which shows what a success the performance was.Ange N’Goran (Year 9)

Is this a dagger I see before me?

Year 9 Gifted and Talented students visited the SouthwarkPlayhouse in February to watch their production of Macbeth.After the show, the students met the cast and had anopportunity to ask questions. The Creative Director praisedour pupils telling us that: “You were a very engaged audience,and asked some very pertinent questions.”Madam Murphy

Agnes in Talent Show triumph

On 9 March, during the heart of Charity Week, the MusicDepartment held its annual Talent Show for Years 7-10. Manypupils auditioned and the successful candidates were:

• Leah Lue Kong and Taina Popoola (9M) singing Runnin’ by Beyoncé.

• Abie Koroma (7B) playing Ode to Joy on the piano.• Agnes Tegile (7M) singing You Are Never Fully Dressed

Without A Smile from the musical Annie.• A dance mash-up performed by Marie Pembele,

Jessica Aka and Hope Okuomose from Year 9 and 10.• Ashley Ocampo and Ange N’Goran from Year 9

singing Let it Go by James Bay• Eden, Pearl and Ife from Year 7 singing and

interpretative dancing to Royals by Lorde

Everyone performed and were judged by Mr Cefai, as well asNadege Anotchi and Johanne Cisse Rolland from Year 12. Thestandard was very high and the performers did themselvesproud, even though Mr Cefai is a harsh critic! In the end, aftertough deliberations, Agnes won with her rendition from Annie.The event was attended by 180 pupils and there was a greatatmosphere with hearty applause, all rounded off with thegood news that £100 was raised for Thailand! We all lookforward to next year now! Madam Mazur

Young Vic Careers Day

The current Year 12 Drama students recently visited the YoungVic theatre in January to take part in a careers event, aimedto introduce all the employment possibilities in Theatre andthe Arts. The girls took part in  a number of workshopsincluding marketing, education, technical theatre anddirecting. A backstage tour, and helpful practical tasks helpedthe students to explore a wide range of future opportunities.The Young Vic were so impressed with the students that theygave them all free tickets to see the show, Battlefield inFebruary. Well done Year 12!Madam Trustman

STEP performance

In February, one of thecurrent Year 11 Dramagroups were given theopportunity to perform aspart of the STEP OpenSpace Event run by theBlue Elephant Theatre.  IfyEgesi, Eseosa Egharevba,Tyriq Grant, Eiaman Lia-Doka, Tessy Salami andDean Taylor performed asection of their devisedwork 9/11 for an audiencethat included SouthwarkMayor, Councillor Dora Dixon-Fyle. Jonathan Herrera Ruizperformed at the same event with the Youth Drama groupfrom Blue Elephant. The group did fantastically, and are nowdeveloping their work ready for their final exam in March.Madam Trustman

Street Dance sensation

Every Wednesday after school the new Street Dance club, ledby Madam Wood, have been rehearsing hard and made theirfirst public appearance at this year’s Tea Dance. Theyperformed a mash up of three different styles of danceincluding Afrobeats and a sassy version of ‘Play that Sax’.

Festival Hall fun

As a GCSE Music student we recently had an amazingopportunity to attend a workshop session at the Royal FestivalHall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. We listened tovarious pieces of Programme Music – music which tells astory or paints a picture – and got taught about variousmusical features. It was a good way to learn about theorchestra and set pieces for GCSE and I think it will be mucheasier to remember musical facts having seen theperformances live.Pedro Duarte (Year 10)

Performing Arts

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Madam Cawley rounds up a successful yearso far for our debating programme…

So far this academic year Sacred Heart has seen someexciting changes with the introduction of debating; ourprogramme kicked off with the Year 9 team debating atthe House of Lords in December and the introduction ofDebate Mate to Years 7, 8 and 9.

We were very proud of our Year 9 team, consisting of AnuBello, Enivalde Ventura, James Manley and StephanieSiraut (proposing team) and Omonye Ifidon, RedemptaAmara, Adama Nwamah and Courtney Osei-Dapaa(opposing team), who took part in a debating competitionfor Transport for London in October. The first part of thecompetition was promoting 100 Years of Women inTransport (YOWIT) and it was great to see the Year 9sembrace the topic with such enthusiasm! The motion was‘This house believe women make more impact to transportnow than 100 years ago’ and a fiery debate saw argumentswhich included reference to the suffragettes as well asmodern female CEOs. Both teams competed with vigourand enthusiasm. The external judges remarked that pupilswere “well organised, confident and passionate whichmade their speeches very convincing and engaging. Therewas also good use of powerful statements and facts.”

Considering this wasboth teams’ first officialdebate they handledthemselves exceptionallywell, so well in fact thatthe winning team camein the top four of the 50teams that took part.This lead to a final debatein the House of Lords on 1 December 2015. Sacred Heartwere finalists along with St. Olave’s Grammar School, TheArcher Academy and St. Marylebone School, with ourdebate conducted against St. Marylebone School on themotion of ‘This house believes London buses will still bethe most popular form of transport in 50 years’. SacredHeart opposed the motion and put in an exceptionalamount of work preparing during lunch times and afterschool. This dedication clearly paid off as their debate wasexcellent; creating a fantastic reaction and winning theaudience vote. Unfortunately, we were just beaten onpoints by St. Marylebone School, who were exceptionalopponents, coming first overall.

The team’s success helped raise the profile of debating ingeneral and the autumn term also saw the start of DebateMate across Years 7, 8 and 9. All three year groups haverepresentatives learning the ropes of debating and, thoughin the early stages, pupils are starting to show somefantastic talent. For example, the Year 9s were able toenthral a 6th Form audience as they debated whetherheadmasters should be appointed by the pupils, and theYear 7s and 8s have been finding their voices arguing aboutwhether fast food should be banned!

Debating has been proven to raise literacy levels, improveconfidence and promote quick thinking and argumentativeskills; all of which will prove invaluable in the futurecareers of our pupils. The debating club is open to all,throughout the year, and welcomes anyone who might liketo have a go. We look forward to seeing more success overthe coming months and years!

Sacred Heart

Up For Debate!

“Debating is really fun, it is a way to

argue for rewards!”

In February Sacred Heart was swelling with pride at theperformances of 6th Form pupils Mark Siraut, JaelUmerah-Makelemi and Shaquille Jones, who took partin the semi-final of the Catenian Association publicspeaking competition at St Thomas the Apostle school.

The competition was between ten participants,carefully selected from catholic schools in Southwark,with a three person judging panel which includedArchbishop Peter Smith. All pupils competedexceptionally well, showing impressive clarity,forethought, planning and showmanship.

The diversity of the topics chosen by the pupils wasenthralling, from Shaquille’s motivational and energeticspeech urging spectators to ‘Aim High’, to Mark’sconcerns over the lack of effective or positiveadvertising for the Catholic church and what this isdoing to its reputation, in his speech entitled ‘SingHosanna, Text Hosanna’. Finally, Jael brought humour,

Jael triumphs at Catenian comp

entertainment and a light-hearted persuasiveargument when she urged the audience to join her inloving the colour ‘Blue’.

It was a pleasure to see all the pupils show off such awide range of skills and even more enjoyable to witnessMark get a commendation for his choice of topic andargument. The evening was rounded off beautifullywhen Jael was announced the overall winner and wasconsequently invited to take part in the final inManchester next academic year.

All three pupils were an asset to Sacred Heart and welook forward to seeing them take part in furthercompetitions as well as encouraging the younger yeargroups to take up more public speaking opportunities.

Finally, good luck to Jael in the final; Sacred Heartwishes her continued success!

“I think debating gives pupils more confidence to

speak in public and it is a goodway to get to know other pupils

from different forms and year groups”

Creative writing corner

In this issue’s Creative WritingCorner we present a poemwritten by Year 13 pupilChristopher Anogie. Chris wasinspired to write it after hisexperiences on the Sacred HeartMission to Pattaya.

Happy to call you friend Now look left. We question what friends are Open to call you a recruit in the family I wait for blood before I call you family I see colours, I believe it is because I see it

Black is blue Orange is black Black is greyNothing is a colour. Ask me what they see?Choose to close your eyes then believe meOr believe but don’t close your eyes Then I say ‘I’. I mean us.One body affected by the affliction we see in the mirror They say family. Connected not by blood but loveSo if you run. Run and know why you canWake up. Wake up and know why you woke upBecause they can’t run and don’t know whyAnd some don’t wake up to ask why they didn’t.

Appreciate what you haveRemember to ask for what you needThey fantasize what they wantAnd pray for what they need.

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BelieveBy Christopher Anogie (Year 13)

If I can’t ask you to believe what I say

Then I ask you to believe that what u say

is not a lie.

Understanding is lacking

Conversations limited

Observe to be observed

Does poverty govern our happiness?

There is so much poverty/tragedy yet more

smiles and love

So much worry but so little problems

The sun still rises in the east

And sets in the west

So comprehend why I still rise with stress

and sleep in pain.

CompareThey wake to a family

And sleep in wait for a new day

Life experiences you dream about

They liveI rate out of 10 on imdb

They live from 0 to infinity

It’s a tragedyYet still no worry in their tranquillity

Chaplaincyround-up

Christmas Hampers Students created and delivered over 100 hampers for theelderly in our communities just before Christmas. Thequality of the hampers was the best ever, and they weredecorated beautifully by Madam Tran and her team ofhelpers. Lots of students, especially in Year 8, actuallymade hampers themselves at home and brought them inwhich is truly remarkable. A special mention must go outto Shania in 8M and Caprice in 8T for creating beautifulhampers by themselves.

The Sacred Heart Christmas tree This year was the second year of our ‘Sacred HeartChristmas Tree’ project where students and staff couldpick a heart off the tree which had the age and hobbies ofa girl or boy from London who is living in poverty. On theThursday before we broke up for Christmas, Katie Waringfrom the Catholic Children’s Society came into school andcollected over 60 gifts. She was very grateful forall the gifts and reported that Sacred Heart’scontribution was the best of any school!

Tea Dance December 9 was the date of our Annual Tea Dancefor local elderly people. The orchestra played somelovely carols, Ayo in Year 8 and Agnes in Year 7 sangbeautifully and there was even a bit of streetdancing! Everyone really enjoyed their afternoon oftea and entertainment!

In the next issue of this magazine we will report on Charity Week2016, but the Sacred Heart chaplaincy team are busy the whole yearround. Here’s a selection of what we’ve been up to already thisacademic year...

CAFOD The 6th Form enrichment team worked hard throughoutthe Autumn Term with Paul Sherlock and Eileen Hayesfrom CAFOD Southwark and successfully completed twoprojects. The first was the Harvest Day project, whichraised funds and awareness for the people of Niger.Students raised money by donating the money they wouldnormally spend on sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks andraised £362.92 to help the people of Niger by providingequipment such as spades to dig a compost pit, bundlesof millet, goats (giving a family milk to drink and sell) anda nurse’s salary for one month at a nutrition centre.

The second project the 6th form enrichment team tookpart in was to help young people in El Salvador, whereviolence stops many children from being able to play.Funds were raised by selling multi-coloured wristbandsfor £1 that the students designed themselves. So far therehave been over 100 sold!

Fairfield Hall performance Twenty four Sacred Heart pupils, along with a group fromNotre Dame and STAC, took part in a chaplaincy project,working together through performing arts workshops, toprepare for a concert at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. Thechildren involved were a great credit to the school, and allagreed that the opportunity to work with people fromdifferent schools was one in which they really had to learnhow to put aside their ego, and listen to each other, inorder to understand better how they could work together.

Madam Boyle attendedthe concert in Croydonand was very impressedwith the professionalism,spirit of adventure, andkindness shown by ourpupils who performed toover 500 members ofthe public in the concerthall.