Spotlight Newsletter (Summer 2011)

St. Anthony’sGirls’ SchoolCommitted to excellence in learning

SpotlightSummer 2011

Welcome to Spotlight on St. Anthony’s

3St Anthony’s Newsletter July 2011

Events

M ShepherdHead Teacher

Welcome toanother editionof “Spotlight”.As I write wewelcome backstudents froman exciting ski

trip and city visit toCalifornia and a History visit to Berlin. Ourchoir are preparing for a fabulous “SummerSoirée” and a Music tour to Paris, including aperformance at the Madeleine.

This term we are delighted to welcome backAshleigh Stamp to speak at our Y11 and Y13Leavers’ Presentation. Ashleigh left St.Anthony’s with an impeccable sporting and

academic achievement record, both as anEngland netball player and a straight Astudent. After studying Dentistry atNewcastle she is now a practising dentist.

Our Presentation Masses for Y11 and Y13 areheld in May this year and are an excellentpreparation for the examination season,which ends with our annual Leavers’ Ball forYear 13 students at St. Anthony’s and St.Aidan’s at Hardwick Hall on July 1st.

We wish all students, staff, parents, governorsand friends of the school a happy and restfulSummer break and a successful expedition tothose assisting with our work with ManziniYouth Care in Swaziland this Summer.

Head Teacher Introduction

Congratulations to Mrs M. Wright fromSt. Anthony’s award-winning CateringTeam. This follows their success withthe National School of the Month prizeawarded by the School Food Trust lastyear. Marie Wright has been awardedthe ‘High Achievement In Hospitality’award from the City of SunderlandCollege at an Awards Dinner held at the Stadium of Light.

Marie and other St. Anthony’s CateringStaff have been acquiring additionalCatering qualifications, supported by theschool, as part of our staff developmentprogramme.

M. ShepherdHead Teacher

Business Solutions Awards of Achievement


Welcome to our new‘Spotlight’ feature,celebrating theachievements of former St. Anthony’s students. Inthis edition we celebratethe work of Pam Jackson (a partner with PriceWaterhouse Cooper).

Pam was named the 2010Woman of Achievement atthe Women in the CityAwards earlier thisacademic year. She is apartner in the Mergers andAcquisition Tax team atleading city firm PWC.

This prestigious awardrecognised Pam’sachievement in the field ofAccountancy. Pam waspresented her award at agathering of 300 ofBritain’s topbusinesswomen

Pam has been an activemember of PWC’s women’snetwork and is a foundermember of the firm’sFemale Partner and DirectorGroup.

Ian Powell (Chairman andSenior Partner at PWC)said, “Pam has aremarkable record ofachievement andcontribution to our businessand I’m delighted with thisrecognition for both herprofessional contribution,and her personalcommitment to helpingmore women progress inbusiness.”

Candidates for the Womenin the City Awards work inLondon’s main businesshubs of Canary Wharf, theCity and the West End.

Pam studied at St.Anthony’s in the 1970’sand began her Accountancycareer in Sunderland,qualifying as a charteredaccountant in 1981.

Staff, students and thewhole community are veryproud of her success.

Antonian Alumuni

Pam receiving her Award forBusiness Woman of the Year2010

Pam works and commutesto Dubai and New YorkMiddle East Senior PartnerAccountancy - PriceWaterhouse Cooper

School Planners 2011/2012Due to rising costs students will now have to contribute towards the cost of theirplanners. Students who haven’t already paid for their planners will need to bring in£2.00 on the first day back to school. Please take £2.00 to O’Connell office.

M ShepherdHeadteacher

Pam Jackson – When she wasat the end of her Sixth Formin St Anthony’s Girls’ School

Parent Information Action Research

4 St Anthony’s Newsletter July 2011

Assessment & Monitoring in St Anthony’s: ExplainingMIDYIS, YELLIS & ALISSt Anthony’s Girls’ School has for many yearssubscribed to a system of assessment and monitoringprovided by The Centre of Evaluation and Monitoring(CEM) based at Durham University. CEM is the largestindependent provider of educational monitoringsystems in the world and has been running for 25years. It is also the largest provider of computer-adaptive assessments outside the United States,offering a suite of information systems for childrenaged 3-18 both in the UK and internationally. Thesystems we use, ALIS+, Yellis and MidYis, are used bythousands of schools to assess the progress made byover a million children every year.

When does it happen?We will be administering ALIS, Yellis and MidYis to allstudents in Years 7- 12 in the first week of term inSeptember. The students will be guided through theprocess and supported by experienced staff,. Howeveras is described below, the tests are not content-specificand so there is nothing that they can do to revise orprepare for the tests. Students should be encouragedto just do their best with the tasks placed before them.

Key Stage 3 MidYis (Years 7-9)The MidYIS Tests are primarily designed to be taken bystudents entering secondary school. Tests are availablefor Years 7, 8 or 9. All tests are designed to fit into aperiod of about 1 hour and are strictly administered toensure that all students are exposed to the sameinstructions, explanations and examples, ensuring fair,high quality, reliable data.

The tests are designed to measure, as far as possible,ability and aptitude for learning rather thanachievement. MidYIS is not an IQ Test as it is designedto provide a measure of ‘typical’ performance so thatteachers can judge how much ‘effort’ will be requiredto take students to external examinations.

The tests are comprised of Vocabulary, Maths, Non-verbal and Skills sections. The Additional Test providesextra Writing Speed and Listening Comprehensionsections. All sections contribute to an overall measure ofability that strongly predicts subsequent achievement.Test results can be used to identify students’ strengthsand weaknesses, inform teaching and learning, identifygifted students and help identify students who mayneed more support. Non-verbal measures areparticularly important for students for whom English isan additional language. Value-added feedback isprovided at the pupil, subject, and school level for anypupil who subsequently takes KS3 Teacher Assessmentsand/or GCSE examinations.

Key Stage 4 Yellis (Year 10)(Year 11 Information System) is a value-addedmonitoring system that provides a wide range ofperformance indicators and attitudinal measures forstudents in the last two years of compulsory schooling(i.e. aged 14-16). The Yellis Baseline Test, which hasbeen in use since 1992, is currently used in nearly 1,000schools. The results from this baseline test are reportedto the school together with detailed GCSE predictionsfor each student. Later in the cycle we provide schoolswith their value-added analysis - a fair comparison ofthe progress made by our students with that made byall other students participating in the Yellis project.

Sixth Form ALIS (Year 12)The Advanced Level Information System (ALIS) providesperformance indicators for Post-16 students. ALISanalyses a wide range of qualifications, including A / ASlevels and vocational qualifications. ALIS covers over halfof all A-Levels in the UK and international schoolsannually.

ALIS uses GCSE data and its own alternative baselinetests (TDA) as ranges of ability, against which tomeasure. This enables ALIS to provide predictive dataand value-added analyses specific to each student andeach subject studied. Whilst GCSE is a very goodindicator of future attainment, GCSE grades depend onprior teaching and learning as well as the student’sability. For this reasons, ALIS provides the alternativebaseline tests alongside GCSE data to provide a greaterunderstanding of the student’s ability.

St Anthony’s Newsletter July 20115

Research Backs Single-SexTeaching

‘We decided to give it a twirl’: Single-sex teachingin English comprehensive schools. Warrington M,& M Younger, University of Cambridge, UK.Summarised by Dr G. Emery (Action ResearchCoordinator, St Anthony’s School)

The study was funded by the (then) DfES. It exploredthe experiences of single-sex teaching in thirty-oneco-educational (mixed) schools. Many schools in thestudy reported seeing greater confidence amongstgirls, and five commented that boys developed abetter work ethic and greater motivation without thedistraction of girls.

The study found that single-sex teaching providedgirls with a calmer space and there was improvedconfidence and participation among girls in Science.

This supports earlier findings that single-sex teachingencourages able girls to become more involved inlessons and boost their confidence, especially inScience. The study also found that different Teachingand Learning styles had better success with eitherboys or girls.

Strategies successful with girls included:

• Longer (more open) tasks;• More reading and writing;• Being left to get on with a task; and• Co-operative activities.

The researchers also found that:• Behaviour of both boys and girls improved in

some schools;• Attitudes to work improved amongst boys

and girls• Many of the schools reported greater confidence

amongst girls; and• In some schools there was increased participation

in lessons for either boys or girls or both.

Unexpected Destinationsof Action ResearchThe committed teachers we have here at St.Anthony’s are naturally reflective learners who willadapt accordingly, we strive to help our studentsachieve their best; why not make the most of anopportunity to have your commitment recognised?

Engaging in an Action Research Project enablesyou to achieve recognition and accreditation forthe work you are doing anyway!

The only difference is you have to spend some timewriting your work up and gathering some evidencefor the effects of your teaching upon learning.Furthermore, the reaction of the students can be

really worthwhile as they feel proud that they arepart of a project which you are taking the time todo for and with them. In April, I received Stage TwoAccreditation for my research project on the effectsof Philosophy for Children upon KS4. I was alsoawarded an additional qualification of a Diplomain Educational Studies and was invited to receivethis at The College of Teachers’ Awards Ceremonyin London.

It was a great honour to be presented with thisand to receive an additional, qualification as aresult. I encourage anyone to take part in ActionResearch for your own development, forcollaborative opportunities, for enhanced pupilengagement and to be rewarded for your owncommitment.

Art

•

Art & DesignThis year started with The Northern SaintsExhibition in Durham Cathedral run by the Artdepartments in the Catholic Partnership Schools.The opening on a cold January night was amagnificent event and very atmospheric. Our work from all Year groups was excellent andmany congratulations go to all of our artists whotook part. The work travelled the county, going toCounty Hall in Durham and the St. CuthbertCentre in Crook. Mrs Manning attended theopening in Crook and found it quite strangebeing in rooms where she had been taught as ajunior school pupil!

Year 12 visited the London Galleries in Februarygoing to the National Gallery, National PortraitGallery, The Tate Britain and the Victoria andAlbert. We also saw “Wicked” at the VictoriaPalace Theatre after a meal in Planet Hollywood.We returned inspired by what we had seen to getdown to some hard work for the exams.

Our Summer Exhibition on June 20th was a greatsuccess this year with many students, parents,grandparents, staff and friends filling Somerleytonand enjoying not only the work (on superb newdisplay boards) but the Italian food. Thank you toall who visited this year and gave students yoursupport. Thank you also to Mrs. Cowie who worksso hard for the Art and Design department.

Year 9 students will spend a week at Biddick ArtCentre working on: sketch booking, portrait, stilllife and landscape drawing. They will be workingwith Professional Artists as part of thecollaboration with other students in the CatholicPartnership.

Year 10 are going to the new Hepworth Gallery inWakefield and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in July.We are all looking forward to this and to beinginspired by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moorewho are great Northern Artists .

Our students continue to work hard and producework of an exceptional quality. Congratulations toArt Prize Winners: Beth Rowe and Shawnee Quinn(Year 13) and Judy Anne Cuya (year 11)


Year 12 will be experiencing a lifedrawing weekend at OsmotherleyYouth Hostel.

Drawing on the bridge at Osmotherley

Life drawing Laura Alderson and Joanna Lindley

Chaplaincy

As chaplains, we are responsible forthe spiritual life of the school. SinceJanuary we have lived up to ourresponsibilities with our weeklyMasses and devotions, Lentensessions, Staff Benediction, HolyWeek assemblies, Yr 7 retreats, God Camp, out-of-school services,Holiday of Obligation Mass,Preparation Liturgy for the “new”Mass, Personal Development Dayand Staff Leavers’ Mass.

However, the word “chaplain” means“friend” and so, in addition to the aboveactivities, we have also joined infriendship with many events in thevarious school departments and extra-curricular groups e.g.

• Singing with the choir and playing inthe orchestra at the Summer Soireeand the Paris Trip (Music Dept)

• Collaborating with the Businessstudies Dept to raise money for St.Cuthbert’s Care

• Supervising a project for therefurbishment of the chapel(Technology Dept)

• Working with the Catering Staff onthe “Lunch for the hungry” campaign

• Helping the different PastoralProgression Leaders with both ourpresence at, and provision ofresources for, assemblies and Masses,doing a “taster session” for Year 6,arranging for The Little Sisters’ Visit

• Making the Teachers from Spain feelwelcome when the MFL deptorganized an exchange experience

• Attending the Opening of theNorthern Saints exhibition at DurhamCathedral (Art Dept and Partnership)

• Supplying resources for otherdiocesan chaplains and post-graduate students

• Giving and supervising lessons wherea spiritual presence was required.

And, of course, we have been praying forthe whole school Community, includingyou: Parents and Carers of our girls.

God bless you all.Srs Francis and Adrienne


Business, WRL and Economics

Year 7 – Valentines’Apprentice Challenge

In January, Year 7 students were invited toparticipate in the ‘Valentines’ ApprenticeChallenge’. This challenge highlighted theentrepreneurial skills of our Year 7 students andtheir eagerness to participate in the event. Therewere 76 students enrolled for the activity andthey were split into 22 groups. Their challengewas to sell the Valentines’ goods that they wereprovided with.

22 companies made up of 76 Year 7 studentstook part in the Valentines’ ApprenticeChallenge. The students were given differentproducts each week to sell, with all proceedsgoing toward the school’s Manzini Youth CareCharity. Within their companies, the studentswere able to develop their enterprise andcreative skills as they came up with differentmarketing and selling strategies in order to raisethe most money, by selling products such as: redroses, cards and teddy bears. Students sold theproducts both inside and outside of school andoverall were able to raise £389.40, within themonth that the competition took place.

The company that was able to raise the mostmoney was called ‘Cupid’s Hearts’ and consistedof: Nadine West, Charlotte Lightfoot and BeckyFlannigan, and although they were late arriversto the competition, they were able to raise£58.57. The team that came second were ‘4Little Love Birds’ which consisted of; GiuliaTrivero, Claudia Howe, Lucy Brown and NinaLarge, who raised £36.60. The third team,‘Golden Roses’ was made up of ‘Rhiannon McCreedy, Heather Wilson, Georgia Steabler, OliviaJohnson and Jennifer Szandrowska who raised£35.80. All students who participated did anexcellent job with all of their efforts and we willbe looking to see how well they do in futureenterprise competitions.

Year 8 – Young BusinessMinds CompetitionTwo year 8 groups have taken part in the YoungBusiness Minds Competition, run by Mrs. CarolScott of the Enterprise in Education Project of theSunderland Working Neighbourhoods Strategy.Each team was given £30 each to invest invarious enterprise activities to raise as muchmoney as they could for the school charity,Manzini Youth Care. The students organizedactivities such as: a sponsored litter pick aroundthe school, cake sales, guess the sweets in thejar, raffles, gardening, name the teddy, lucky dipand a jewellery sale.



The students will be representing the school in thefinal on the 28th of June 2011 against other localschools, where they will present to a number ofentrepreneurs. They will be able to develop theirenterprise and creative skills, communication skills,team working and leaderships skills. So far thestudents have been excellent ambassadors for theschool. The two teams are:

Team A: Italia Hall, Rebecca Dixon, MadellaJunia, Abigial Middlemass

Team B: Anne Andreas, Emily Woodley, NicoleWilkinson, Lille Borresen

Year 12 and 13 – St. Cuthbert’s CareEnterprise Competition

St Cuthbert’s Care launched a competition whichwas open to all Catholic Sixth Form students in thearea. The competition involved £250 seed moneybeing donated to each group that entered, by StCuthbert’s Care, and the challenge was for eachgroup to make as much money as possible to bedonated back to the charity, using any method oftheir choice. We entered two groups into thecompetition, one from Year 12 and the other fromYear 13. Both teams were very enthusiastic fromthe start, the Year 13 group doing a sponsoredwalk and cake sale and raising a fantastic £320.36.The stars of this competition were the Year 12group, who, using a range of fundraising methods,including car washing, children’s parties, cake sales,own clothes day and DVD viewings – managed toraise an amazing £1,996.51!

This team will attend the award ceremony to beheld at the Live Theatre, Newcastle on Wednesday6th July, where the announcement will be madeand prizes awarded to the team that managed toraise the most amount of money. We have alreadybeen informed that the Year 12 team are placed inthe top 4 and we are hopeful of the girls winningthe competition following their hard work andcommitment.

The girls involved in the activities were Carmel Devlin,Rachael Lloyd, Sarah Colborn, Laura McDonald, LydiaAkrami, Hannah Dugan, Claudia Newton, HelenScott, Rachel Dent & Rebekah Watson.



Year 10 and 12 – GraceHouse Fund RaisingEnterprise Competition

Local entrepreneur Simon Berry has been workingwith the Grace House Charity to provide one Year10 team and one Year 12 team with £100 each tobe used to develop enterprise and business ideasto raise money for The Grace House Appeal. Thestudents are competing against Durham Johnstonand St. Leonard’s schools in Durham, to try andraise the most money. The students will have tocreate a detailed report outlining all of theiractivities and include accounts of where the moneyhas been used and how much each investment hasgenerated.

The students have organized: a lunch timecinema for lower school, cake sales, car washevents and raffles. The students haveapproached different companies for raffle prizeswhich including a Pandora bracelet andvouchers for a weekend stay in the CrownePlaza, Dubai, and Crowne Plaza, Abu Dhabi.

The Year 10 team includes: Mary Querry (TaskManager), Sophie Mc Nally (Project Manager),Portia Gingell (Accountant), Jordan Harford,Isabelle Jackson and Alice Fairweather.

The Year 12 team includes: Carmel Devlin (TaskManager), Claudia Newton (Project Manager),Laura Mac Donald (Accountant), Rachel Lloyd,Sarah Colborn, Helen Scott, Hannah Davison andFrancesca Kelly

Year 10The Year 10 Business Studies Class took part inthe Young Entrepreneurs Competition run byMrs. Carol Scott of the Enterprise in EducationProject of the Sunderland WorkingNeighbourhoods Strategy.

The students spent the day at the MarriottHotel and took part in an enterprisecompetition, where they competed to produce a confectionary product.

The students had to present their ideas to alarge audience and explain the finances,marketing and production issues that wereassociated with their products.

Also as part of the day, the students wereinterviewed by local entrepreneurs about theirown personal enterprise and extra-curricularactivities that they take part in, both inside andoutside of school.

These included such things as running theirown small business, having a Saturday job,doing charity work and also participating insports events.

From this Kiera Redman and Rebekah Self bothwon a prize, where they will go and work withone of the local entrepreneurs for a day.

Overall the students worked very hard through-out the day and were excellent ambassadors forthe school. The girls who participated in the daywere: Laura Bateman, Jordan Harford,Samantha Hesslewood, Isabelle Jackson, AbigailMahan, Sophie McNally, Kiera Redman, AbbieRobson and Rebekah Self.


Year 9 and Year 10 LionHeart ChallengeIn March this year, the Year 9 and Year10 Yearcohort competed in the Lion Heart Challenge,which is a national competition in which 30,000school children participate. The first stage of thecompetition was an in-school workshop, duringwhich the students developed their decisionmaking, leadership, communication and teamworking skills among others.

The competition involved each group beingprovided with a demanding, interactive StudentProject Diary which included a series of taskswhich involved pace, business analysis,decision-making and ultimately the delivery of arange of Final Business Outcomes to a Panel ofJudges, before the entire assembled Year GroupCohort and Senior School Staff. The studentsthrived on the challenge they were given anddisplayed a range of strengths throughout theevent in the successful completion of their task.

A winning team from Year 9 and Year 10 thenwent on to represent St. Anthony’s againstother local schools in the Area Final, held at theMarriott Hotel, Seaburn. Both teams wereexcellent ambassadors for St. Anthony’s andnarrowly missed out on reaching the regionalfinals that were held in York.

Their participation in the competition providedall students with an insight into Enterprise andthe world of business. A Year 10 pupil, DemiPearson, was selected as one of only 500 fromthe 30,000 participants to progress to the Areafinals, based on her outstanding individualefforts alone.

Year 9 Winning Team: Sarah Hill, Ruth Scollen,Olivia Lovstad, Sophie Bell, Jasmine De Sinno,Michaela Delosreyes, Milla Falkner, FrancescaShanks, Grace Todd, Francis Colgen, Jodie Tyrrell

Year 10 Winning Team: Demi Pearson, KateLockyear, Rhain Jobling, Robyn Jurdison, ChloeMcDonald, Amanda Longville, Billie Hopkinson,Abbie Cuthbertson, Leah Cowie

11St Anthony’s Newsletter July 201110 St Anthony’s Newsletter July 2011

Design Technology and ICT


Catholic PartnershipAnnual Rocket Challenge at English Martyrs’ School,Hartlepool

The Rocket Challenge was aone day project where AnnAndreas, Charlotte Matlockand Lille Borresen werechosen to represent St.Anthony’s for their skills inprevious tasks and work inProduct Design.

They went to English Martyrs’ School and had tocompete to design and build the best rocket andproduce the best poster.

The day started with an introduction brief, anddemonstration, so the specification for the rocketbecame clearer to the students. Ann, Charlotteand Lille then spent the morning working to makeand design three rockets and a poster.

The team name was ‘One Shot’!They had a quick lunch then returned to vote forthe best and second best poster and then theywent outside for the launch. To the right you cansee the scoring. Each section was ten metres withbonus zones. In total the girls scored 20.

In the end St. Anthony’s team came sixth, after avery enjoyable day, and received a certificate. Itwas a very good opportunity to learn, and all thecompeting schools will undoubtedly have had asgood a time as Ann, Charlotte and Lille..

Primary Links – DesignTechnology.‘Little Goblins’

Since September the Year5 students from ourfeeder primary schoolshave been taking part ina Race Car competitioncalled ‘GreenpowerGoblin Car’.

The schools involved are:English Martyrs, St.Anne’s, St. Benet’s, St. Cuthbert’s Grindon, St.Joseph’s, St. Leonard’s, St. Mary’s Medowside, andSt. Patrick’s Ryhope.

Five, Year 12 students from St. Anthony’s havevisited the primary schools each week andintroduced the competition to them.

They are Rachel Stewart, Victoria Quinn, ChloeQuinn, Beth Buckingham and Rebecca Morris.

They then worked with the primary students inteams of 4 to 6 to design a race car and logowhich tested their creative and team workingskills.

After a very nail biting competetion the overallwinning team are ‘Rocket Racers from St. Mary’sPrimary School.

Since winning the competition the team havebeen designing and making the final race car overthe past few weeks at St. Anthony’s ready for therace on July 6th 2011 at Croft Race Circuit inDarlington.

Good Luck!

Design Technology and ICT

13St Anthony’s Newsletter June 2011

The ICT Department has undergone many excitingchanges this year, with the introduction of a newGCSE in Y10, a new GCE for Y12 next year and anew Head of Department. Under the guidance of

Mr. Jordan ICT has now been incorporated into theTechnology Faculty. There have been many excellentresults and opportunities this year and lots of funalong the way.

F1 Schools TechnologyChallenge.

The F1 in Schools Technology Challenge is anInternational event where teams of students haveto design, make and race model racing cars. Theevent is supported by Formula 1 teams, manyengineering companies, Formula 1designers andalso the Bloodhound Supersonic Car project.

More information about the challenge can befound at www.f1inschools.co.uk. This is achallenge which the Technology department havecompeted in with great success in the past,winning several Regional Awards and competingin the National Finals on several occasions.

There are four Year 7 teams taking part in thechallenge this year- best of luck to our newdesigners!

A major part of the challenge is for the teams tofind sponsors willing to support their teamseither financially or by providing or loaningequipment or expertise. In return for thissupport, the sponsor will gain, in the firstinstance, local coverage in the newspapers,radio and possibly television. If the teams aresuccessful in reaching the National Finals of thecompetition then there is the possibility ofexposure through National television coverageof the competition.

If you are a local company willing to support anyof the teams in this venture I would be verygrateful if you could contact me, Mr. Holgate, [email protected] and I will passyour details on to the teams concerned.

ICT Department - What a year!

EnglishEnglish

1514 St Anthony’s Newsletter June 2011 St Anthony’s Newsletter June 2011

World Book DayStudying English is very exciting at St.Anthony’s Girls’ School

Both students and staff at St. Anthony’s shared theirlove of reading on Thursday 3rd March as part of thecelebrations for World Book Day. This is an exampleof a class being taught English on World Book Day-What fun!

There were some strange looking characters atschool to begin with, as many teachers across thecurriculum and some Year 12 students were dressedup as book characters. Can you guess the teacherand whose character they were dressed up as?

Avid Year 12 readers also read an extract from theirfavourite novel at each Year Assembly – Assemblyreaders were: Rebecca Adams, Christie Bainbridge,Collette Cutter and Laura Welch.

Lots of competitions were held in English lessons,and, in the school library, students could be seendesigning a book cover. All Year 7 students alsotook part in a competition to decorate a paperbutterfly; in each wing of their individual butterfly,the girls put information about their favourite books– the beautiful and very colourful display adorned

the library, presenting a beautiful display. Winners ofthe competition each received an Easter Egg –winners were: Mia Littlewood (1st prize); SamanthaScott (2nd) and Alexia Adams (3rd)

Every pupil received a voucher which could beexchanged for a ‘free’ World Book Day book or usedin part exchange for any other book. It was lovely tosee girls bring in their World Book Day books andenjoy reading and sharing them.

The school dining halls was also involved on the day– a themed Harry Potter lunch was in evidence, withthe canteen decorated appropriately. Steaming hotHogwart’s Soup of the Day, Hippogriff Roast Lamb,Bertie Bott Braised Sausage and Onion, MugglePasta and Remus Lupin’s Syrup Sponge & Custardwere just some of the gastronomic delightsavailable. A number of girls in Year 11 alsodisplayed their ‘artwork’ of some Harry Pottercharacters (a special thanks to Abby Dent, LauraAshbridge and a Shannon Henderson) and a storyfrom Harry Potter could also be heard whilstenjoying lunch. Drawing by Abby, Shannon & Laura

Finally, a HUGE thank you to everyone whosupported World Book Day – a world of adventurewas definitely opened from all the books read thatday – can’t wait for World Book Day next year… Some of the beautiful butterflies

produced by Year 7 Students

Extended Prroject QualificationEnglish



CELEBRATING WORLD BOOK DAY

BOOKS!!!If you need a friend

Or a broken heart to mend

When you’re feeling lonesomeOr sitting on your ownsome

If you’re disappointedOr your world has grown disjointed

When you’re feeling lazyOr your intellect’s gone hazy

If you’re seeking treasureOr a quantity of pleasure

When you want to laugh or smileOr simply to relax a while

You needA read

Of a book!

A. Elliott

It’s Oscars Time Again…It hardly seems like a year since thevery first nominations were wingingtheir way to the Catholic PartnershipOscars’ judging panel, but it’s thattime of year again.

St. Anthony’s Media Studies studentshave once again excelled themselves

in all categories; we have nominations for: BestMusic Video, Best Radio, Best Magazine, Best TVAdvert, Best Children’s Comic and BestPromotional Campaign.

Let’s hope we are successful again this year.Look out for more news in the next edition of‘Spotlight’.

‘Tangled’ up with ‘Pirates’!Year 10 Media Studies students have had anexciting time this year as they have headed downto the Empire Cinema in Sunderland twice to seetwo Disney Blockbusters.

They were enchanted by Disney’s ‘Tangled’ andwere then swept away by the latest ‘Pirates of theCaribbean’ swashbuckling adventure. With thelatest 3D technology to add to the excitement,students and staff enjoyed both screenings andwill take their knowledge back to the classroomas they continue their study of Disney films.

Extended Project QualificationThe Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is a skills based AQA qualification and isspecifically designed to aid transition to higher education by stretching andchallenging A-level students.

The EPQ offers an opportunity for students to produce an extended piece of work, either in an areathat they are already studying or in which they have a particular interest. In the process it alsoequips students with the research, reflection and independent study skills they will need to succeedat university. The EPQ does carry UCAS points and a lot of universities are beginning to take a keeninterest in the qualification.

Students get to present their completed projects at a presentation evening in October which offersthem an opportunity to share their research experience with an audience. The presentation forms a compulsory part of the EPQ qualification, but it is also a chance tocelebrate the students’ achievements.

The EPQ course will begin again in June and this year we have around 25 students and 12members of staff taking the role of supervisors. There are a huge range of topics once again thisyear, including fashion, architecture, history, economics, medicine, astrophysics and photography. As part of the course, students take part in a series of teaching activities and will visit theSunderland University Murray library where they are shown how to make use of the facilities.

Projects are completed over the Summer, presented in October and submitted in November, so itrequires a great deal of dedication from students to complete everything on time. However, ifprevious years are anything to go by, their enthusiasm for their chosen subject gives them thedetermination to succeed.

EPQ Students are required to:

• Select a topic / area of interest

• Justify their choice and identify the aims of their project

• Plan, research and carry out their project

• Provide evidence of all stages of the project in a project log

• Deliver a presentation to an audience

Geography Department


Geography

Key Stage 3

Year 7 students in May enjoyed undertakingtheir first full geographical enquiry using arange of portable weather recordingequipment to investigate the School’smicroclimate. Their results would indicatethe importance the buildings have indetermining the variations in the weatheraround the School.

Year 9 students are completing their finalassessments so that they can be awardedtheir levels for the end of the Key Stage inJuly. Initial indications are very encouraging asit would appear that a vast majority ofstudents have exceeded their Minimum TargetGrades for the subject. Such pleasing resultswould also help to explain the very healthyoption numbers for Geography for next year.

Key Stage 4

Both Years 10 and 11 are entered formodular examinations in June which counttowards their final GCSE grade. TheGeography Teaching Staff have been offeringadditional lunchtime revision sessions toprepare the students for these examinations.These sessions have been well attended andwell received by the students. It should benoted that the GCSE coursework produced byYear 11 students was excellent and hopefullythis should help to boost their final grades.

Key Stage 5

In May, Year 13 students benefitedsignificantly from participating in a Sixth FormConference run by the Chief Examiner for ourAS/A2 level specification. This was organisedby the Catholic Partnership and held at StBede’s School in Lanchester. The studentsgained an invaluable insight into how to besuccessful in specific modular examinations.

Future Developments

The retirement of Mr Preston after many yearsof service has meant that the School has hadto appoint a new Geography teacher forSeptember. Miss Sarah Grasso will be joiningthe Department from Benfield School inNewcastle and will be teaching in each of theKey Stages.

The Autumn Term will be extremely busy forYear 10 and Year 11 students as both willbe undertaking field visits to facilitate theirlearning. Year 11 will be collecting data fortheir GCSE coursework and Year 10 will beinvestigating the impact of tourism at ahoney pot site in the Yorkshire DalesNational Park.

Most exciting is the prospect of an overseastrip in the New Year. This is still in theplanning stage but we are sure it will beextremely popular. More details to follow.

Duke of Edinburgh Award


Full Steam Ahead for theDuke of Edinburgh AwardSchemeThe Year 10 and Year 11 Duke of EdinburghBronze Award groups are now well on the wayto completion. Thirty students have now takenpart in a practice expedition involving two dayswalking and camping in the beautiful Esk Valley,carrying all of their food and equipment.

On their route, they visited Goathland, wherethe TV series ‘Heartbeat’ was filmed, saw steamtrains and some have even seen several of thelocal wildlife as some deer made an unexpectedappearance. Despite blisters, sore legs and tiredbacks from heavy backpacks, all of the girls canfeel a sense of achievement in having workedhard on this activity which was a newexperience for the majority of them.

We are hoping to get all of the girls, and anyYear 10’s who have not yet been able tocomplete their practice expedition through theirfinal expeditions in September and October.From then on, they can start looking towardtheir Silver Award.

As well as the expeditions, participants havebeen volunteering everywhere from youth clubsand reading clubs to old people’s homes. Thegirls have taken part in a wide range of sportsactivities: from running to rowing, archery anddance, and developing skills in an area theyhave each chosen as an interest.

Congratulations to all of the girls for their hardwork and commitment! We hope to see lots ofyou completing your award before Christmas.

Faye Havelock setting up camp

Abigail Hampton hiking with fullbackpacks

Faye Havelock, Bethany Hutchinsoncooking outside

Health & Social Care


Health and Social Care. Residential Care Home Activity.

Year 10 students have to complete twowork placements as part of theircoursework for this subject.

On 16th June 2011 a group of students took partin an activity afternoon at Hylton View Care Homein Sunderland. The students, Charlotte Anderson,Abby Dixon and Lucy Duncan completed their usualmorning placement and then helped staff preparefor the activity after lunch.

One of the rooms had a display of memorabiliafrom Beamish museum that included ration books,gas masks, food labels and equipment such asminers’ lamps and boots. There was a selection ofclothing that people used to wear and photographsof the Women’s Land Army and the Home Guard.These items are invaluable in reminding residents oftheir past memories and encouraged conversationsbetween people. The students enjoyed finding outhow life has changed since the Second World War.

After the students helped the residents to be settledin the lounge, a singer from an entertainmentagency sang a selection of songs, some from oldtime musicals and some more modern. Some of theresidents joined in with the singing (as did Mrs.Jackson and Mrs. Cushlow!)and one or two ofthem danced with staff. Everyone enjoyed thisactivity although we failed in our attempt to get thegirls to demonstrate their style of dancing! One ofthe residents, Ella, is 102 years of age and sheloved having the students to talk to.

While the singer had a break the students servedafternoon tea to the residents and made sure theywere all comfortable. During this time we wereasked to give our opinion of the local servicesoffered. This was to be forwarded to local councillorsso they can consider provision for the future.

Charlotte, Abby and Lucy have all worked very hardat this placement and it was wonderful to observethe relationships they have built up with staff andresidents. They are to be congratulated and I amconfident they have benefited from this challengingexperience.

Well done girls!

Politics European Union “Question Time” Event

Year 12 Politics students were invited toattend a “question time” style event atDurham Town Hall on Friday 24th June. Thepanel consisted of North East Region's MEPs,Martin Callanan, Fiona Hall and StephenHughes and the debate was chaired by BBCNorth East’s Politics Show presenter RichardMoss. The debate centred around key issuessuch as the Greek financial crisis, the UK’sfinancial contribution to the EU, theenvironment and opportunities for students tostudy at universities in other European Unioncountries.

St.Anthony’s own Collette Cutler ended thedebate with her insightful question as to howmuch impact on the North East members ofthe European Parliament actually have.

Child Development


Petruska at PortlandSchool with the

Birmingham Royal Ballet

On 23rd – 25th March 2011,six Year 9 students took part

in the Petrushka DanceProject at Portland College.

The students learned how tolead groups of students fromPortland school in workshopsbased on the Dances of the

Russian Folk Tale of Petrushka.They led four classes with abouttwenty five young people in each

class. The Year 9 students worked withfamous Dance Artists: Lee Fisher

and Jenny Murphy from theBirmingham Royal Ballet.

The workshops then culminatedin a Dance performance – usingthe original themes and music

from the tale.

Congratulations to CaitlinConnor, Elizabeth Oxenham,

Nina Walsh, Bethany Armstrong,Katie Simpson and Amy Wigham

for their hard work.

The girls said “This experiencehad a big impact on us, giving usthe feeling of responsibility andtrust. The students at PortlandSchool have taught us never totake anything for granted andthat everyone is truly special in

their own way”.

Year 11 Child DevelopmentEaster ActivityAs part of their ‘Development Task’ the Year 11 ChildDevelopment Class organised an Easter Party for ElimToddler Group. The Task consisted of the girls planningthe event, making items, shopping and costing forfood and preparing the venue for the Event.

Pat Bulmer, Toddler Group Leader, said “The mothersand carers said how impressed they were and howmuch effort the girls had made………The food waswell thought out……The streamers and the partybags were a great idea……The children loved thePass the Parcel…They all deserved a pat on the back”.

The girls were delighted when Pat informed us thatthe Toddler Group had decided that any fees thatthey would normally take on that day would bedonated to the Tsunami Disaster Fund, which raised£100.00.

20 21

Learning Resource Centre


World Book Day

To celebrate World Book Day 2011, Miss. Summerside entertained theReading Club girls by reading an excerpt from Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches’. On the lunchtime, we had a competition in the library wherethe girls had to create a Book Jacket. We had some fantastic entries andafter much deliberation, the winners were:

Pupil LibrarianScheme

This years Pupil Librarians havenow completed their trainingscheme and, to celebrate,attended an award ceremonywhich this year was held atThornhill School. The guestspeaker was the well knownauthor Alan Gibbons and all thegirls received a certificate, and asigned copy of one of Alan’sbooks was given to the library.Well done girls!

Reading Club

The Year 8 Reading Club girls were invited toattend an Author/Illustrator session atEnglish Martyrs, Hartlepool. Liz Millions toldthe girls how she had become an illustratorand what it entailed. She demonstrated howto create illustrations and the girls had a goat designing an illustration of their vision ofa library.

Celine santiago 9SCoShauna O’Neill 7STa

Louise Smith 9SMo, Megan Bennett 9SHa, Olivia Lovstad 9SMa, Charlotte Fraser 9SCa Ruth Scollen 9SMa, Gabrielle Davison 9STa, Micheala Venner 9SRo, Rachel Lim 8SAo

Laurie Brickle, Holly Carruthers, MelissaChapman, Shola Cooper, Amber Dodds,Rachel Gillespie, Kasie Hill, AmieEasterbrooke-Smith, Tiegan Hutchinson, EveJurdison, Jessica Lloyd and Sarah Riddell.

History


History Department On Tour!Berlin Visit

A large party of thirty six Year 11 and 12students visited Berlin during the Easterholidays as part of their GCSE and A Levelexamination courses. They enjoyed the sightsand the sunshine of Germany’s capital cityBerlin. They visited: SachsenhausenConcentration Camp, the Brandenburg Gate,the Reichstag, the TV Tower (368 metres aboveground!), Jewish Museum, Olympic Stadium,Holocaust memorial, Sony Centre, Topographyof Terror and Sansoucci Park in Potsdam.

They also experienced: An underground bunkertour, sported their skills at a Bowling Alley,enjoyed a boat journey down the River Spreeand of course fitted in some shopping onKurfürstendamm!

Everyone had an excellent time and they were a real credit to the school.

They did not even complain about walkingaround all day after thirty six hours journey andno sleep! Students said they really enjoyed theexperience and they even managed to catchsome of the Royal Wedding in their limitedspare time!

The History department will also be headingout on more educational visits before the endof the school year, visiting Beamish for ourgreatly anticipated Suffragette rallies with Year8, which get louder and more enthusiastic eachvisit. We will also be taking Year10 Historystudents to Segedunum Roman Fort as part oftheir GCSE Controlled Assessment. This is agreat opportunity for girls to experience thestory they learn about in class and see therelics and remains.

The History Department has held revisionclasses for all girls who have sat examinationsthis summer. They have been well attended andhave helped girls prepare for their exams. Wewish all of our students the best of luck in theirexams and hope they get the grades they haveworked so hard towards.

2322


Junior Maths Challenge ResultsOver 235,000 Year 7 & 8 students from across theUnited Kingdom entered the Challenge in Maywith roughly 6% achieving a Gold Certificate,13% Silver and 21% Bronze.

122 St. Anthony’s girls from Sets 1 & 2 performedextremely well achieving 1 Gold certificate, 15Silver and 21 Bronze. Test yourself on the samplequestions from this year’s Junior Maths Challenge,below:-

• All old Mother Hubbard had in her cupboardwas a Giant Bear chocolate bar. She gaveeach of her children one-twelfth of thechocolate bar. One third of the bar was left.How many children did she have?

• The world’s largest coin, made by the RoyalMint of Canada, was auctioned in June 2010.The coin has mass 100Kg, whereas astandard British £1 coin has mass 10 g. Whatsum of money in £1 coins would weigh thesame as the record-breaking coin?

• The students in Year 8 are holding a mockelection. A candidate receiving more votes thanany other wins. The four candidates receive 83votes between them. What is the smallestnumber of votes the winner could receive?

Maths

Intermediate Maths ChallengeResultsOver 200,000 Year 9, 10 & 11 students from acrossthe UK entered the Mathematics Challenge inFebruary 2011. 176 girls from our Maths Sets 1 & 2performed extremely well achieving 1 GoldCertificate, 12 Silver and 24 Bronze. Congratulationsto all students.Year 11Best in SchoolFaye Havelock

GoldFaye Havelock

SilverAgnieszk LewandowskaCorine AndrewsElena GabrielEmma MarshallHayley BoalKate Rutherford

BronzeSarah CollinsZeinab ZararaPaige GreenerJessica RobinsonLaura StraughairHolly DuganKirstie GreenOlivia DoddsAbigail SmithKatie BarracloughRachel MooreAnna Chisholm

Year 10SilverElyse LawrenceBethan FordMadeline MurphyCaroline Barker

Bronze Rebekah MontgomeryAlice SpainHannah Darby-HallAnna LockeyEmily JacksonAmy BoldKatie Lockyear

Year 9Silver Annabell JoyceRachel Parker

BronzeRebecca BurnettPatricia ShattockKatherine HanrattyKate LormorAlexa Clark

Year 8Best in SchoolEmily Chishlom

GoldEmily Chishlom

SilverEve WatsonAnn AndreasSavannah LawrenceGabrielle KayJessica Alldis

Jessica PhippsBethany RichardsonCarmel MoranRachel LimSophie Jackson

Bronze CertificatesElloise ApplegarthGeorgia McCluskeyMegan PriceRebecca DixonEmma HughesCourtney Knowles

Faye HuntleyLille BorresenLucy ClarkSarah KrajovskaAlex Peace

Year 7Silver CertificateAnna McKieAnya MasonBethaney MillerJennifer SzandrowskaStephanie Wilson

Bronze CertificatesSarah KingSam ChapmanSadie MorronEleanor DuncanBethany GrievesonGeorgina BuckAimme MurphyOlivia JohnsonRebecca Walley

International Links


Spanish Exchange Visit February 2011Following the very successful visits by five teachers from the IES Alonso de Covarrubias in Torrijos,Spain, to St. Anthony’s in 2009 and 2010 to develop their English and study teaching methods, theschools arranged a very successful exchange of students in February / March 2011.

Since this was the first exchange for many years the school decided to start with a small group ofsix students: Four Year 11 and two Year 12 and one member of staff, Mr. M. Flores.

The students enjoyed a very varied programme of events while in Torrijos with visits to Madrid andToledo.

They also spent a number of days in school with their Spanish partners and enjoyed the opportunityto sample life with a Spanish family for a week. They took part in a very lively social programmeorganized by the Spanish students and made many good friends.

The Spanish students visited Sunderland in early March accompanied by two members of staff.They visited Durham and Newcastle and enjoyed a tour of the Stadium of Light as well as a bracingevening walk along the seafront to eat fish and chips!

The students ready to board their flight to Madridfrom Heathrow Airport. From left to right: OliviaDodds, Elena Gabriel, Rebecca Simpson, RebeccaFinlayson, Eszter Soos and Elizabeth Bradford.

Maths

St Anthony’s Newsletter July 2011 27

Year 11 Mathematics Revision ConferencesIn two half day sessions before and after Easter a group of thirty Year 11 students attended a GCSEMathematics Conference at the Marriott Hotel, organised by St Anthony’s to help the students toachieve a Grade C in GCSE Mathematics exam in June.

The first half day covered topics from Algebra while the second covered Geometry. Asked forcomments about the conferences one student said “ I’ve learnt more today than in all the revision thatI did in the past month”. All the students agreed that it was a worthwhile and positive experience hadhelped them move towards their target of a Grade C in Mathematics.

Maths


Regional Final of theUKMT Team MathsChallenge 2011On March 29th the Regional Final of the UKMTTeam Challenge took place at Durham JohnsonSchool. The challenge aims to offer the studentsanother way to express and develop theirenjoyment of Mathematics.

St. Anthony’s were represented by Ann Andreasand Jessica Alldis Year 8 and Annabelle Joyceand Rachel Parker Year 9. The girls reallyenjoyed taking part and even though they didn’twin first place, they were a credit to the school.Well Done!

Awards for MathematicsThe MathematicsDepartment awardstwo prizes for the Year13 Mathematicianwho is not onlyacademically good atMathematics or FurtherMathematics, but alsohas contributed to theschool through theirMathematics.

In 2011 Sarah Baker ispresented the Kathryn Dodsworth Award forMathematics, while Anna Murdy receives theFurther Mathematics Award.

The prize in Year 11 is awarded in 2011 to FayeHavelock, a gifted Maths student who has workeddiligently in her 5 years at St. Anthony’s. Faye arrived atSt. Anthony’s from St Leonard’s RC Primary School andhas impressed us all in her Mathematics lessons.

Her teacher Miss June Brown writes: “My first choicefor the Yr 11 Maths prize this year is Faye Havelock -she has stood out consistently since I've taught herclass from Yr 9. Throughout her time at St Anthony’sFaye has shown an excellent commitment to herstudies in Mathematics both inside the classroom andout. In her GCSE module exams she has gained topgrades so far and she is predicted to obtain an A* inGCSE in the summer. Faye really enjoys Mathematicsand she plans to continue her studies into Sixth Form.Congratulations Faye.”

Anyone interested in AS or A2 Mathematics or FurtherMathematics at St Anthony’s is asked to contact Mr MMcDonagh at any time.

Year 11 Maths Activities for SuccessDuring the past two terms there have been a number ofactivities run by the Mathematics Department to supportYear 11 exam preparation. Revision sessions took placewith class teachers on Tuesday from February up to theexaminations. This was well attended by students in allclasses. Well done Year 11!

A number of students also took advantage of extra one-to-one tuition in the mornings, with staff and Sixth Formstudents. A big thank you to all involved, in particular tothe Sixth Form helpers Rachael Gough, Georgina Currie,Alex Bailey, Hannah Potts, Claire Skea, Aleena Thomas,Shona Macleman, Bethany Guy, Lauren Casson andBethany Rockett. Also to Mrs Dugan for co-ordinating and running the sessions. We wish all Year 11 studentssuccess in the future!

Modern Foreign Languages


Year 12 Young LanguageLeader AwardSixteen Year 12 students successfully completedtheir Young Language Leader Award this summerterm. The course, which has been running sinceSeptember in enrichment curriculum time, thestudents have looked at:

• the qualities of a good teacher

• how to set up and deliver a lesson

• how to teach younger students about theculture and customs of other countries.

Throughout the year they have taught lessons inlocal Primary schools and at the end of the coursethey successfully organised and ran a LanguageFestival for Year 5 and Year 6 students in GrangePark Primary School.

The activities the students offered included:

• face painting

• food tasting

• language games

• making sock puppets.

The afternoon was a great success and all of ourstudents passed the qualification with flyingcolours!

The course was led by Mrs Collins and MissCockburn and will be offered to Year 12 studentsagain in September.

Spanish PlayStudents in Years 9 - 11 enjoyed another fantasticplay by the Onatti Theatre Company in March thisyear. The play, called ‘Horóscopo’, centred on a girlobsessed with her horoscope and trying to get theattention of the mysterious new boy living next door.

The play was performed completely in Spanish bytwo native Spanish actors. The girls said that theyfound the play entertaining and very funny and thatit had helped them greatly with their Spanishlistening skills.

Nicole Jagonese and RebeccaFinlayson Y12

Rebecca Finlayson, GraceClark and Rebecca Smith Y12.

Nicole Jagonese and GraceDoneghan Y12

Modern Foreign Languages


Year 13 Study Visit to ParisDuring February, Mrs Ward, Mrs Collins and 4 Year13 students took part in a very enjoyable study visitto Paris. The students were able to practise theirlanguage skills and experience French culture byvisiting many of the popular Parisian sites includingthe Champs-Élysées, Sacré Coeur, Notre Dame andthe Jean Moulin museum. They also visited theImpressionist Art Museums – Musée d’Orsay andthe Orangerie, to see the works of Monet, Manet,Renoir and other Impressionist painters.

Lauren Charlton, Ashleigh Collins,Amy Burlison, Cat Cooke and Mrs.Collins at the Louvre.

A Level French and Spanish Taster DaySt. Anthony’s Girl’s School and St. Aidan’sCatholic School hosted a joint ‘A’ level TasterDay on Wednesday 9th March 2011.

Students attended four language lessonswhere they learnt about the content of theAS course and the teaching and learningapproaches involved in the study oflanguages at A level.

A Business representative and studentambassadors from Newcastle University gavepresentations on the importance of languageskills in the world of work and about therange of language courses available in HigherEducation. We are delighted that many of ourstudents indicated that they intend to carryon with their language studies at A level.

Jennifer Old and EmmaMarshall hard at work


Music

Summer Soirée

St. Anthony’s celebrated its third Summer Soiréeon May 12th 2011. Over 200 guests sat in abeautifully decorated Our Lady’s Hall andenjoyed two hours of music and dance. Therewas a licensed bar, and a selection of hot fingerfood and dessert canapés were served by theschool’s kitchen staff.

The school senior choir performed three sets ofsongs. Common to each set was an excerpt froma Gilbert and Sullivan operetta to highlight theschool’s long attachment to the work of thesetwo talented individuals. The choir also sang avaried selection of British folk songs and showtunes from musicals.

The junior choir, the Westburn Singers, also tookpart with some lovely selections from “TheSound of Music” and some traditional seashanties. The dance troupe “De Cool Ice”performed a lively dance routine that had wonthem the chance to audition for anational T.V. programme in aregional dance event.

The evening ended with a touchof the last night of the Proms – astirring rendition of “RuleBritannia” led by Abena Ansahwith the audience joining in thechorus. A lovely night was hadby all and over £2400 was raisedto help fund the choir’s 5thoverseas tour, (Paris), in July2011.

School Choir performing in the Summer Soirée

Lizzie Fetherston and Clara Shepherdperform Gilbert and Sullivan excerptin Summer Soirée

Music


Music Events

Christmas 2010

The traditional ChristmasConcert was replaced thisyear with a formal AdventService of Reading andCarols with Fr. M. McCoyas celebrant. The serviceconsisted of a selection of traditional musical items and readings from the Bible as well as selectedpoems. All the readings were by students and members of staff.

All present agreed that it was a very moving service that captured the true spirit of Christmas andmade us reflect on our spiritual values. The beautiful musical programme included not onlytraditional carols but also works by Bach and Schubert and involved both junior and senior choirswho sang the often complex works beautifully.

This service was also significant because it marked the retirement of Mr. Paul Dewhurst who has ledthe school’s Music Department for 8 years and has been part of the department and schoolcommunity for 15 years.

School Choir News July 2011

The school choir has a very busy month in July and has been working very hardfor two very special events.

On Friday July 1st it took part in the Hexham and Newcastle (South) Catholic PartnershipConcert at the Sage in Gateshead. The choir sang a medley of show tunes from classicAmerican musicals.

Later in the month it undertook a tour of France based in Paris. It sang High Mass at the greatChartres Cathedral, world famous for its remarkable state of preservation and especially for13th century stained glass windows. It also contributed to the liturgy of the Sunday Mass atthe Madeleine, the iconic temple-like church in the very centre of Paris. It rounded off the tourwith a concert in the City of Orleans famous for its links with St. Joan of Arc.

More details of these two events and photos will be provided in the Christmas 2011 edition of ‘Spotlight’.

Senior Choir in Christmas Advent Service

Pastoral News


Year 8 Visit by the Little Sisters of the Poor It all began when Year 8 girls were told the life storyof St. Jeanne Jugan in assembly: how one winterevening, Jeanne opened her home and her heart toan elderly lady who was in great need of help. Thiswas just the beginning of her special work of caringfor elderly people. The girls then received a talk fromFather Russell about the work of the Little Sisters and

around 80 girls volunteered to do something to help.

Since the girls were too young to help in the LittleSisters’ Home, Year 8 girls wanted to help by raisingmoney for the Little Sisters in Sunderland and thisbecame our Christmas Charity 2010.

The girls put forward so many different ideas to raisemoney – every form group did its part – from bakingand selling cakes, making Christmas cards,organising raffles to wearing Christmas hats andnovelties on the last day of term – staff included –and paying for the privilege!

The girls raised £300 and the cheque was presented tothe Little Sisters by Aimee Easterbrook-Smith on behalf of the Year 8 girls.

Award AssemblyAt the end of the summer term Year 8 will again celebrate their achievements in a combined Academic andPastoral Awards Assembly.

Mrs. Burns (Pastoral Deputy Head) will present the Academic Awards for Achievement and Effort across theschool curriculum. Certificates for Attendance, Punctuality and Contribution to the Life of the School will bepresented to the girls by their Form Tutors.

Mrs. Gordon and the Year 8 Pastoral Team wish the girls a happy and safe holiday. We wish them everysuccess when they return to Year 9 in September.

Pastoral News


Year 7

The Westburn SingersWell done to the ‘Westburn’ singers who took partin the Summer Soirée. They did an amazing job andimpressed all of the staff and guests who attendedthe evening. A fantastic achievement!

Ampleforth RetreatA lucky group of Year 7 students were able to go toAmpleforth on an overnight Catholic PartnershipRetreat in May. The girls had a fantastic time andhave produced prayer boards which are to be usedin Year 7 assemblies this term. A big thank you to:Mrs Richardson Dunn and Mrs Perrett foraccompanying the girls on this trip.

Disco 12th July 2011There is to be a joint St Anthony’s and St Aidan’sDisco on Tuesday 12th July 2011. The disco is to beheld at St Anthony’s School in Our Lady’s Hall and allprofit will help us to continue supporting theManzini Youth Care project. Keep your eye out forfurther discos during the next academic year.

Youth Mission Team RetreatOn the 16th May, Mrs Dugdale, Miss Wilson andMiss Higgin took a group of thirty five Year 7 girls tothe Catholic Youth Village for a three day Retreat. We were also joined by a group from St. Aidan’sBoy’s School. The girls were divided into mixedgroups with their own group leader and enjoyed awide range of activities which were both fun andchallenging.

The activities ranged from team-building games,relays, memory challenges, obstacle courses andmini-Olympics and larger challenges such as buildinga parachute to stop an egg from cracking as it fellfrom a balcony!

Students were encouraged to think about theimportance of team-work and to see how they allhave an important part to play, no matter how big orsmall it may be. After a lot of energy was burned offand the students had been well-fed, they wereallowed to reflect on what they had learned, and toconsider how they all have an important role to playin life, the importance of the actions they make, andhow deeply they are treasured by God.

The group leaders helped us all to reflect on the valueof our lives and the importance of learning from ourmistakes, and we had the opportunity to watch somevideo clips to put this message into context.

On the last night, before returning to the lovelychalets, we shared in a beautiful Mass which was aperfect end to the retreat. The girls took greatenjoyment from the trip and got actively involved inall activities, and we hope the important message ofthe retreat will stay with them forever.

Pastoral News


Year 10At the end of the Summer Term Year 10 we will again celebrate the achievements of our Year 10 students. Wehave always celebrated the Pastoral and Academic achievements of our students and again will vote for our‘Angels’ of the Year 10 tutorial groups. These special Awards are voted for by the Tutorial teachers andstudents.

It is often a great achievement to receive an award and demonstrates the caring nature of the Year 10students. This year the Awards will be presented by Mrs. M. Burns (Deputy Head Teacher) and celebrates thecontribution that many students make to school life.

In March Year 10 were given the opportunity to participate in the Lion Heart Business Challenge. This involvedthe students in Year 10 completing a range of challenging tasks including business analysis, decision-makingetc. The Year 10 students really rose to the challenge and produced some superb work.

The winning year 10 team were invited to the Marriot to take part in the Area Final. The students were acredit to Year 10 and the St Anthony’s School community. Special congratulations must go to Demi Pearsonwho was selected as one of only 500 from the 30,000 participants across the country based on heroutstanding efforts and enthusiasm. Well done Demi and Year 10.

Year Ten Lenten AlmsWell Done to Y10 for raising £160 for Saint Cuthbert’s Care during Lent this year!

The girls organised a raffle for Chocolate Easter Eggs and had several cake sales to raise funds. A special thank you to Hannah Haley and Kelsey Calvert, our most dedicated cake makers and to allthe students who sold, bought and dutifully ate cakes too! We appreciate your dedication!

Year 10 Examination Achievements

Miss McGarey and the Year 10 team would like to congratulate Year 10 students who enteredtheir GCSE Maths examination early. The following students received some excellent moduleresults with the class a 100% A* - C pass rate with 28 students receiving either an A* or Agrade. Superb effort by all involved.

Caroline Barker Charlotte Hixon Rebekah Montgomery Sophie TurnerAmy Bold Billie Hopkinson Hannah Murphy Anjana VargheseKatie Campbell Laura Hughes Madeline MurphyJessica Colborn Emily Jackson Nicole PilkingtonAimee Darby-Hall Jasmine Kaur Chantelle RichardsonHannah Darby- Hall Elyse Lawrence Sarah SmithShannon Doherty Anna Lockey Alice SpainBethan Ford Kate Lockyear Caitlin StrongHannah Haley Rachael Matthews Rebecca ToomeyJennifer Haley Victoria Measham Kate Trimble

Pastoral News


Year 9Year 9 Charity WorkSince December the girls in Year 9 have been working hard to raise money for different charities. They have carried out various activities such as: Sponsored Silences, Cake Sales and collected money forLenten Alms. The girls have been supporting many different charities and have been very generous intheir contributions.

Help the Heroes £35.00St Cuthbert’s Care £339.68 Cafod £140.70

Total £515.38

Well Done Girls!

AchievementsYear 9 girls took part in an Inter Schools Challenge team building competition with Miss Horner. They worked brilliantly together and were a credit to the school: Evadne Nelson, Elizabeth Cole, EmilyHarrison, Catherine Taylor, Chloe Donoghue, Alex Miller, Kathryn Burke, Charlotte Potts, Sarah Keeganand Chloe Connelly

In March all students in Year 9 took part in the LionheartChallenge. For the challenge they worked in teams toDesign a Product to make People Healthier. They had towork out the finances of making the product, consider waysto advertise their product and present their ideas to the restof the year. During the day, the girls developed their:communication, team, enterprise, creative and generalpresentation skills. The Winning Year 9 team qualified to take part in theRegional Final at the Marriot Hotel, Seaburn. The studentswere a credit the school and themselves.

Elizabeth Cole won a Sunderland Young Achievers Awardfor Service to the Community Award for the work she doesboth at school and at home. Well Done Elizabeth!

Sixth Form


The Sixth FormMany congratulationsto our students in Year13 from last year. 94%of the year went on touniversity or other formsof education. Particularpraise goes to FayeMaughan, who is nowstudying Economics at

Cambridge, and SophieQuinn, who is studying French and Spanish at Oxford.The range of subjects studied at university reflectshow multi-talented our students are: from Medicine,Chemical Engineering, Law to Journalism and InteriorDesign and every subject in between.

This summer term is now nearing its end. Year 13 areheaving sighs of relief at having finished their examsand are now looking forward to the delights of theBall and their Leavers’ Presentation. They have beenan exceptional year and we thank them for all theyhave done for the school, in particular: Sixth FormCouncil, Head Girl: Katherine Bulmer and DeputyHead Girl: Abena Ansah. We wish everyone successand happiness in the future.

Year 12 are also congratulating themselves on havingfinished their first year in the Sixth Form. We add ourcongratulations to our new Head Girl Joanna Lindleyand Deputy Head Girl Jeni Joseph.

Members of the Sixth Form are multi-faceted likediamonds. One finds them ‘shining’ in all parts ofschool life. Sixth Form activities are mentionedthroughout ‘Spotlight’ and, consequently, we shall justhighlight a few here. Find the rest throughout‘Spotlight’!

Since January there have been many events organisedto help Year 12 to make the all important decision ofwhich course to study at university.

We have had various academics from the localuniversities come in and talk to students about arange of course options such as Midwifery, Nursing,Law and Primary Education.

Students have also been given the opportunity toattend master classes in Biomedical Sciences andDentistry at Newcastle University and a Bar Councilevent at Northumbria University. Many students tookthe opportunity to shadow an undergraduate for theday, which gave them a real taste of what studying atuniversity is really like. The whole of Year 12 alsotravelled to Teesside University to take part in a‘Discovery afternoon’ where our students were giventhe opportunity to participate in a master class in asubject area of their choice.

The Sixth Form hasalso been very busyfundraising forvarious charities. AtChristmas theyproduced a TreasureIsland chest(literally) full of

goodies for the SVPappeal for toiletries and warm hats. During Lent,fasting was difficult in Gabriel House due to thetempting displays of cakes on sale! The girls raised£724.02 for St Cuthbert’s Care (over a third of thewhole school total) and two went as representativesto the Good Shepherd Mass held at St Aidan’s.

The girls are very inventive when it comes to raisingmoney. Year 12 recently held a Vintage Sale (posh‘jumble sale’!) for Year 7 which clearly everyoneenjoyed.

We are looking forward to an even more exciting yearnext year and we would like to take this opportunityto wish everyone, “A very, happy holiday".

Pastoral News


Pupil AwardsRachel Allan Head Teacher’s AwardLaura Ashbridge Work Related LearningCorine Andrews MusicKatie Barraclough Product Design, Geography, RE ,

Head Teacher’s AwardHayley Boal Head Teacher’s AwardGrace Bowmaker MediaNikita Cain ChildcareJessica Cauchi ICT, PE (Community Coach), Head

Teacher’s AwardAnna Chisholm DT Food, Head Teacher’s AwardSarah Collins Business and EconomicsJudeanne Cuya ArtAlex Dalton Head Teacher’s AwardLois Dylan SociologyAnna Finuliar Health and Social careJennifer Hair Business and Communication, Head

Teacher’s AwardFaye Havelock Maths, Head Teacher’s AwardSophie Henderson Head Teacher’s AwardAgnieszka Lewandowska Science, Head Teacher’s AwardEmma Marshall French, Head Teacher’s AwardLindsey Marshall Head Teacher’s AwardIsabella Palacz DT TextilesJessica Robinson Head Teacher’s AwardLaura Routledge- DT Food , Spanish,

Head Teacher’s AwardKate Rutherford Business Studies, RE,

Head Teacher’s AwardAbigail Smith PE(Sports)Jessica Smith PE(Community Coach)Hannah Spooner EnglishSiobhan Stobbs Head Teacher’s AwardLaura Straughair Head Teacher’s AwardAlin Toji- Head Teacher’s AwardZeinab Zarara Head Teacher’s Award

Laura Routledge Years7,8,9,10 ,11Amelia Grieves Years7,8,9,10Emma Mullin Year 7,8,9Anna Chisholm Y7,11Alex Edminson Y7,8Anna Finuliar Y8,11Lindsey Marshall Y7,8Maria Payumo Y8,9Danielle Rayne Y9,11Kate Rutherford Y7,11Amanda Skrzypczak Y7,11Rachel Allan Y8 Jessica Cauchi Y8Leanne Clark Y8Rebecca Corner Y11Georgia Cutler Y7Judeanne Cuya Y7Danielle Davies Y8Alex Earl Y7

Reagan Fascia Y8Lauren Finn Y8Elena Gabriel Y8Jennifer Hair Y11Beth Harrison Y7Faye Havelock Y11Poppy Hunter Y8Nikki Javilagon Y8Ammi Kirtley Y8Elizabeth Knox Y7Helen Lynch Y8Caitlin Mc Caig Y8Kathryn Miller Y7Hannah Morris Y8Jennifer Old Y7Emily Robinson Y9Abigail Smith Y7Gabby Shek Y8Alin Toji Y8Amber Wharton Y7Amanda Wilson Y10

Year 11Congratulations to the Year 11 Award Winners2011from Mrs Morrison, Mrs Charlton and the Year 11 Team.

Special congratulations to thefollowing Year 11 students who havehad 100% attendance in each year.

Mrs Morrison , Mrs Charlton and the Year11 Team are extremely proud of the choirwho sang ‘Vair me o’ really well at the Year11 Presentation Mass on 13th May.

The girls will also perform ‘Vair me o’ andThe ‘Waters of Tyne’ at the Year 11 Leavers’Ceremony on Wednesday 6th July.Well done girls, you are a credit to Year 11and St. Anthony’s School.

PE and Sport


Condover Hall 2011The Year 7 and 8 Netball Teams travelledto Condover Hall in Shropshire toparticipate in a two day netballtournament which also included a fewoutdoor and adventourous activites. Thegirls performed extremely well againstteams from all over the country. We arehoping to make this an annual sports visit.

Year 7:

Sasha Atkinson

Emily Cauchi

Dana Laws

Bethany Miller

Josie Porter

Livia Scott

Jennifer Smith

Olivia Smith

Hannah Waggot

Tayla – Rae Wilkinson

Year 8:

Lucy Tilbury

Beth Richardson

Megan Quinn

Ann Andreas

Emily Chisholm

Heather Boal

Olivia Chisholm

Jennifer Connolly

Elouise Humble

Georgia McCluskey

Emma Morton

Cross-country Success!Well done to the Cross-Country teams, they’vehad a great season.

They are the City of Sunderland Champions and arealso Individual School champions. Many girls from theteam were selected to represent Sunderland in the County Cross-Country Championship.

Jennifer Welsh, Sophie Burnett, Lucy Ellis, Alix Waitesand Emily Hope were triumphant when they won theAshbrooke Road relay for the first time in 52 years,with Sophie achieving the fastest lap for the Year 8team.

Special congratulations to Sophie and Lucy whoqualified and took part in the English Schools Cross-Country Championship in March.

Here’s hoping for the same success in 2012; keeptraining hard girls!


City of Sunderland U14 Basketball LeagueRunners upYear 8 Emma Morton, Della Sabu, Samantha Davenport,not pictured Alisha Johnson

Year 9Alex Morton, Alex Pearson, Lucy Kay, Charlotte Potts,Sophie Moon, not pictured Arsha Mathew Congratulations to the Under 14 Basketball Team, whoplayed against Houghton Kepier in the City ofSunderland Final. After a hard and well played matchthey lost by only 1 point to get Silver medal place.

Well done, girls.

City of Sunderland Tennis ChampionCongratulations to Amanda Longville.She is St. Anthony’s undefeated tennischampion for the fourth year in a row.

Well done, Amanda.

City of SunderlandTrampoline FinalsCarmel Moran, in Year 8, was successful in the City ofSunderland Trampoline finals at Sand Hill View. Hersuccess guaranteed her a place in the Tyne and WearTrampoline Finals. In October she gained bronze placein the finals. Well done!

PE and Sport


PE and Sport

Sports AmbassadorsMiss Hanson would like to congratulate JessicaCauchi and Jessica Smith on a successful year asSports Ambassadors. They have visited clusterPrimary schools, presenting the values of theOlympic Games in 2012 to students and staff. Theyare an asset to the school and have since organiseda mini-Olympics with St. Aidan’s Ambassadors. Thisevent was a great success. Well done girls for all ofyour hard work and support this year.

Sarah Forrest and Alex Rackstraw are representingSt. Anthony’s at the ‘first’ school games in July. Theyhave volunteered their help and support over thelast year in school and we wish them every successin their roles as umpires during the event.

Sarah Forrest has spent the last three years at St.Anthony’s as a Sports Ambassador. This year shebecame a gold ambassador for the City ofSunderland. She has delivered at school sportsconferences and has been selected to apply for oneof the sixteen ambassador roles in London. Thisinvolves being on the steering group committee forthe London 2012 Olympics. Sarah, we wish youevery success in your application.

Alex Rackstraw successfully achieved herbeginners C umpire award. She has umpired atseveral Sunderland Schools events, Tyne and Wearevents and the recent school games qualifier. Sheis a credit to the school.Thanks to Alex and Sarah for their continuedsupport and help at St. Anthony’s.

Congratulations to the Year 7 Yellow Team.The girls in 7SH won the Intra-schools FootballCompetition that was hosted by the Year 11 BTECgirls. Well done!

Congratulations to the Year 7A Netball team.The girls’ were runners-up at the CatholicPartnership Netball tournament and were winnersof the City of Sunderland Netball League. The girls’enjoyed a very successful netball tour to CondoverHall. They won all of their Year 7 matches andcame 4th overall. The trip was a great success. The girls’ were a credit to the school.

Hannah Waggot Livia ScottDana Laws Emily CauchiSascha Atkinson Jennifer SmithTayla Wilkinson Olivia SmithJosie Porter Bethaney Miller

PE and Sport


Sunderland Schools Sports Partnership Dance Competition.The following girls: Judeanne Cuya, Nikki Javilagon, KrisnelPayumo, Mikaela Delos Reyes, Seth Tolentino, Trish Goddard,Kayne Gupit, Erica Gupit, Anna Finulair & Taryne Gaddiachieved first place at the Sunderland Schools’ SportsPartnership Dance Competition.

They went on to represent St. Anthony’s and Sunderland atthe Tyne and Wear Dance festival, which was a great success. They

performed at the Sage, Gateshead, which was an amazing opportunity for them. The girls performed anexceptional dance piece and were an asset to the school. Well done, girls! The girls also performed atSt. Anthony’s Summer Soirée and auditioned for a well known T.V. channel earlier this year. Well donegirls and thank you for all of your hard work and commitment.

English Schools Swimming Gala,Neptune Centre, Middlesborough

The following girls competed in the Division 1, English School

Swimming Gala on Thursday 18th November 2010

Year 7 – Amy HenshawYear 8 – Emma Talbot, Molly CurleYear 9 – Olivia Moore, Dana LimThese girls finished 26th in the Medley Relay and 22th in thefreestyle relay

Year 10 – Kate Lockyear, Jennifer HaleyYear 11 – Jennifer Tatters, Lauren ClarkThese girls finished 9th in the Medley Relay and 10th in thefreestyle relay

Year 12 – Charlotte Mould, Sarah Forrest, Anna PattersonYear 13 – Evie GrayThese girls finished 8th in the Medley and freestyle relay.

JudoRebecca Burnett continues toexcel in Judo. Over the last yearshe has won severalcompetitions and has recentlybeen invited to a England squadtraining camp as part of thepreparations for the EuropeanCadet Championships. This is anamazing achievement andopportunity. We would like towish you the best of luckRebecca. Well done!

Sustainability


Year 9 Tree PlantingAt the end of November a group of studentsbegan working with the Woodland Trust toplant trees at Low Burnhall, just on the edgeof Durham. They planted native species oftrees. The snow then arrived, so the next twogroups did not get their chance to plant untilMarch. Thanks to all those girls who tookpart and to Mr. Hermon.

This linked to work from the Year 9 Schemesof Work on Deforestation and Energy topics.The girls will be able to return to the site ina few years and see just how much thetrees have grown. They should be proudthat they have done their bit for tacklingclimate change and enhancing the localenvironment.

Year 12 GeologyEducational visitsYear 12 carried out field work at Cullernosepoint near to Craster on theNorthumberland Coast in March. They weremaking measurements and observations onCarboniferous rocks on the sea shore.

They also spent a day studying the rocks in theTrow point and at Frenchman’s Bay and at theWhitburn section of the South Shields coastline.

PE and Sport

42

Sunderland School SportsPartnership dance festival.The following girls’ represented St. Anthony’s at theSunderland School Sports Partnership dance festival.This event was held at Venerable Bede with over 20schools competing. It was a great event and the girlsperformed exceptionally. Well done girls

Year 7 Sports Hall Athletics Congratulations to the Year 7 Sports HallAthletics team who have won the SunderlandSchools’ championships. The girls progressed tothe County finals where they represented the Cityof Sunderland and finished a creditable 4th place.

Pictured from right to left; Livia Scott, Dana Laws,Jennifer Welsh, Zoe Jones, Shania Kelly, LucyCassop and Chloe Bamlet.

Thank you The PE Department would like to thank all the students and their

families for donating school sports vouchers.

So far we have managed to purchase :-Compasses for the Year 9 pathways & BTEC PE

Needles for the inflatable pumpsBean bags

2 waterpolo nets for the year 9 pathways1 I-pod docking station to help with Dance Club

Badminton shuttlecocksSpot markers

We are still receiving the vouchers so will be purchasing more equipment soon




Science Science

SoundsFantastic!’Physics?On 16th December2010, the Department ofPhysics at DurhamUniversity played host toa lecture, attended by agroup of Year 12 Physicsstudents.

During this talk, entitled ‘Sounds Fantastic!’presented by Professor Brian Tanner and hisassistant, demonstrations and interactivity were usedto reveal the science behind musical instruments.

A particularly interesting part of the talk was ademonstration in which an oscilloscope andmicrophones were set up on the wall of the hall torecord the sounds produced in the lecture hall.

This engaged student participation, and evenresulted in a ‘clapping war’ between the schoolsin attendance.

During the lecture, we learned how different shapesof sound waves are produced (demonstrated by theuse of slinkies). Various instruments were also usedto show the change in pitch and loudness ofsounds and generally how different sounds aremade in relation to the harmonics produced – thiswas put in context as it was directly applicable toUnit Two of AS Physics.

Attending Durham University meant we were alsoable to experience the teaching methods of HigherEducation, as well as to view the campus.

St. Anthony’s students found the lectureinformative, entertaining and greatly beneficial totheir studies. By Erin Hutchinson, Yasemin Kolsuzand Ashleigh Simpson.

A-level Biology: World Caféto Investigate HowStudents learn Best

As part of my MEd disertation I conducted a ‘WorldCafé’ with Year 12 and Year 13 students toinvestigate how they learn best. A world caféinvolves creating a relaxed, informal environmentwhere group discusions centered on key questionscan occur.

In this case the students were asked to focus onwhat experiences they had had in their secondaryschool careers that had really helped them to learn.They were then asked to suggest improvements andchanges they would like to see in school. Thestudents were provided with tea, coffee, biscuits andsweets to help create a café environment. Papertable cloths were provided for the students tosummarises their ideas and suggestions on.

Key findings were:

• That the students learn best when time is builtinto lessons for them to review and revise keymaterials

• Group work and project-based activitiesenhance learning

• The students love learning outside the classroomand would like more educational visits!

• The use of ICT, particularly video and animationin lessons, helps them learn.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience(especially the refreshments!) and the findings havebeen reported back to them. The next stage of mydissertation is to act on these findings to furtherimprove the teaching and learning of A-level Biology.

Four Year 12 Chemistry students, Bethany Guy,Avalin Mathew, Alex Ferguson and Aleena Thomas,represented St. Anthony’s in the Wearside &Durham 2011 Heat of the National Schools AnalystCompetition sponsored by the Analytical Division ofthe Royal Society of Chemistry.

The heat was hosted by Sunderland University atthe newly refurbished Sciences Complex. Studentswere invited to refreshments at the University’sGateway Centre before attempting theinvestigations in the laboratories of the FlemingBuilding. Flame photometry, mass spectroscopy, andquantitative titrations were some of the techniquesthat the students had to employ in order to solvethe scenario set by the University Professors.

The prize-giving waspreceded by a tour ofthe ultra modernresearch anddevelopment facilitieswithin the Faculty ofPharmacy, Chemistry,& Biomedical Sciences.The quantity andquality of accessiblehigh-tech andexorbitantly expensive

analytical instrumentsreflects Sunderland University’s massive investmentin technology and expertise, and their commitmentto excellence.

Human DissectionEducational VisitA group of Year 12 and Year 13 A-level Biologyand Human Biology students accompanied MrsDugdale and Dr Emery on a visit to the HumanDissection rooms at Newcastle University.

The visit allowed students to observe humanspecimens and entire human cadavers. Studentswere given the opportunity to handle thespecimens and discuss the anatomy withpostgraduate students from Newcastle University.What a fantastic opportunity this was for youngscientists! Another session will hopefully beavailable in November 2011.


Religious Education

Mary Foley’s 15 year old daughter, Charlotte, was murdered in 2005. I took13 Year 11 students to hear Mary’s story about how she came to forgiveher daughter’s killer. Mary was speaking at St. John’s RC School in BishopAuckland as part of ‘The Forgiveness Project’, which is an internationalproject which aims to: “Build a future free of conflict and violence byhealing the wounds of the past.”

Part of the Projects’ work is for people to share their stories offorgiveness in the face of unimaginable pain in the hope that this willempower others to move towards forgiveness and explore alternatives torevenge. I and our Year 11 girls were incredibly moved and humbled byMary’s story: one girl said while we were leaving, “Listening to her makesme want to be a better person.” For more information about TheForgiveness Project and to read about some of the wonderful true storiesof forgiveness please go to www.theforgivenessproject.com

Mary Foley: “I knew thatif I didn’t forgive, angerand bitterness wouldturn me into a personCharlotte would nothave liked.”

Back row: Stephanie Cann, Lauren Dodds, Leanne Clark, Laura Ashbridge,Ally Tamburino, Lauren Finn

Front Row: Demi Boys, Leanne Hunter, Elizabeth Knox, Miss Carroll,Bethany Molloy.


Religious Education

Our Muslim NeighbourIn Tutorial time Year 8 students had thepleasure of the visit of Syed Shuheb, theImam of Sunderland Chester Road’s Mosque.The girls had prepared questions for Syedabout Islam.

Syed prepared answers before the sessionand gave a talk about the various Muslimbeliefs, practices and the Islamic prejudice hefaces everyday.

The talk was very successful in highlightinghow important his faith is to him and theIslamic community in Sunderland and thegirls learnt a lot from the experience.

The questions the girls asked were veryinsightful; one girl asked, ‘How do youmanage to pray five times a day?’ Syedanswered; ‘We carry our prayer mat whereverwe go, I often stop at petrol stations and setmy mat down which attracts strange glancesfrom lorry drivers!’ The girl’s were enlightenedby the experience and will get the chance tovisit the mosque next year on Chester road.

Students commemorated this annual eventin their RE lessons around the 27th ofJanuary 2011. They reflected on the ‘UntoldStories’ of the Holocaust, and consideredthe religious persecution that is still ongoingin some parts of the world today. Studentsdiscussed the importance of learninglessons from the past in order to create asafer, better future.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2011

Manzini FundraisersWell done to our Sixth Form Students who have raised afurther £188 this term for the McCorkindale Orphanage, ouradopted charity in Swaziland. All proceeds from drinks andsnacks in their RE lesson ‘coffee break’ go towards this greatcause. Many thanks girls!

Refugee Week 2011Students in Years 7 and 8 celebratedRefugee Week on 20-25th June in theirRE lessons. They learned lots of new andinteresting facts about refugees and theircontributions to British culture and

traditions. For example, did you know that fish and chipswere first brought here by a Jewish refugee? Or that Bob Marley was a refugee? The toilet roll was also introduced to this country by aGerman refugee!

The students discussed stereotypes and attitudes towardsthose seeking refuge in our towns and cities, and the needto show compassion and concern for anyone in need.After all, people fleeing their homelands only do sobecause it is not safe.

We should all think of our responsibilities and duties asGod’s people and as citizens of the Global Community.Events occurred up and down the country to mark thisannual event and students were encouraged to participatein anything happening near them. Watch out in the nextissue of ‘Spotlight’ for further details of these events.

Ski Trip Ski Trip



California Girls! The annual Easter Ski Excursion had California as itsdestination for 2011. An excited group of 63students and staff headed off to the USA, landing atSan Francisco then travelling across the plains, pastSacramento, over the Sierra Nevada mountains andthen down towards Lake Tahoe where the Hotel,‘Inn by the Lake’ sits opposite the lake shore.

With over 7 metres of snow the Sierra Ski Resortprovided many hours of fabulous skiing on wide,virtually empty pistes – or ‘trails’ as the Americanscall them. Back at the Inn there were many ‘Apres-ski’ activities including swimming in the pool,soaking in the hot tub, visiting the ice-cream parlouror the ‘Blue-Dog’ Pizzeria, ten-pin bowling,shopping in Heavenly Village and walking by thelake and admiring the views.

The girls particularly enjoyed their evening visits tothe Horizon Casino Buffet, Hard Rock Café, Cinemaand Games Arcade where they arrived in style infabulous stretch Limos!

Our six days by Lake Tahoe were over far too soonbut then came the second part of our adventurewith three days to explore San Francisco.

The first stop was at Union Square where the St.Anthony’s girls did their best to pull the Americaneconomy out of recession by shopping andspending as if their lives depended on it! After checking into the Radisson we walked to theHistoric Quay where we were able to explore aWWII submarine and hear the stories of it’smissions in the Pacific and how it rescued Britishand Australian prisoners of war. Veterans were onboard to give first- hand accounts of life assubmariners.

That evening we dined in Bubba Gump’s at theend of Pier 39 with the sun setting over SanFrancisco Bay and a view of the Golden GateBridge in the distance.

Next day required an early start as we sailed acrossto Alcatraz for another fascinating glimpse of recentHistory. The Audio tour is extremely thoughtprovoking but the highlight turned out to be thelecture in the old Dining Hall being given by one ofthe last inmates of Alcatraz when it closed as afederal penitentiary. Several girls asked questions atthe end of the lecture and they all later agreed thatthe visit was really special. After free time forsightseeing on Pier 39 we ended the day withdinner in the amazing Rain Forest Café completewith snakes, monkeys and thunder storms.

Our final day was Easter Sunday and we celebratedMass in St. Mary’s Cathedral – an amazing modernbuilding at the top of a hill with views out acrossSan Francisco. We must have been rather noticeablein our matching blue ski fleeces for the Deaconenquired where we were from and then we wereformally welcomed during the announcements andreceived a round of applause from thecongregation. After Mass we headed off to theGolden Gate Bridge for group photographs andthen to Lombard Street and the ‘Painted Ladies’.

With time running out we finally had to head forthe airport for our night flight back to the UK. Thestudents and Staff had an amazing time and I’msure the memories will last a lifetime.

Thank you to the students for their exemplarybehaviour, humour, patience with delays, and forbrilliant singing and lyrics to ‘California Girls’. Thankyou to the Staff for their hard work and care for thegirls and to Mrs Shepherd for her support for SkiClub, but especially Thank you to the Parents forgiving your daughters such a fabulous opportunity.I’m sure they appreciate it! Mrs. V. Taroni

Friday Night Ski Club

Ski Club has had another successful year withover 100 members skiing regularly on Fridaynight. The new beginners last September are nowextremely proficient at snowplough turning andstopping. Many have reached the dizzy heights ofthe ‘top of the slope’ and can race down scaringthe life out of their watching parents.

During the Summer break the girls will still beable to Ski as the Ski Slope is offering UNLIMITEDrecreational Skiing from the 23rd of July until the4th of September for one payment of £20. Familymembers will be able to learn to Ski with 10hours of Ski tuition available for £25, during thesedates, (0191 5535785, for details). We thank themanagement of the Ski Slope for these verygenerous –and exclusive to St Anthony’s offers.

Normal Ski Club will resume in September withthe excitement of the next Ski trip to Europe tolook forward to.

Staff and students visiting the Golden Gate Bridge,San Francisco, USA

Taking in the scenery at Lake Tahoe

Swaziland 2011


Swaziland 2011


Day and Date AM PM Evening

Friday 8th July Flight N’Castle-Dubai Flight Dubai-J’Burg Flight

Saturday 9th July Flight J’Burg-Manzini Arrive–13.30 + Settle InShopping

Meal out(Manzini)

Sunday 10th July Mass McCorkindale McCorkindale Eat in Team building

Monday 11th July Mantenga Cultural VillageMarket Swazi Candles

Eat inPrimary Ed Training

Tuesday 12th July Enjabulweni School McCorkindale McCorkindale Enjabulweni School

Eat inGames

Wednesday 13th July Enjabulweni School McCorkindaleMcCorkindaleEnjabulweni School

Eat inYoga

Thursday 14th July Market Hlane Safari Gone Rural Market Take Away

Friday 15th JulyHope House Jam Factory Honey Factory

Skills CentreJewellery Factory

Swazi BBQ

Saturday 16th July McCorkindale Market McCorkindale MarketEat inActivities

Sunday 17th July Mass McCorkindale MarketEat inGirls choice

Monday 18th July Packing and GoodbyesDepart – FlightManzini-J’Burg

Flight

Tuesday 19th July Flight Dubai–N’Castle Home Home

Activities whilst in Swaziland July 2011

As this ‘Spotlight Magazine’ goes to print, ourYear 12 and Year 13 students are completing theirAS/A2 exams.

Just as soon as they have finished these veryimportant exams, they will be packing for theirtrip to Africa. Our annual visit to Manzini inSwaziland departs Friday 8th July.

This year our journey takes us from Newcastle toDubai, then to Johannesburg and finally arrivingin Matsapha airport some 24 hours later!Friends, many who are cared for and others whowork with Manzini Youth Care , like us, areexcited about being together again.

During our stay we hope to visit and develop projectswe have already established and if there is time,catch up with ‘old friends’ in and around Manzini.

We will be also visiting:Hope House a individualhousing development designed for the terminally illand their carers. Also visits to: Jam, Honey andJewellery making factories, local markets to stock

up on gifts and personal mementos to bring home.We will also enjoy traditional African singing atSwazi Mass at the Cathedral.

We have donated a total of £9,130 to ManziniYouth Care (MYC) this year. Taking into accountof GiftAid and the current Sterling to Randexchange rate, MYC will have received in excessof £13,000.

We would like to take the opportunity on thebehalf of MYC and everyone here at StAnthony’s, to thank you all for your continuedsupport with this project.We are also supporting an exciting new project

which starts in September 2011, therefurbishment of one of the boys’ homes.

We are contributing in a number of ways tochanging this boy’s home into a home forabused girls between the ages of 8-14. Thishome is due to open in January 2012. MOREinformation about this project in the next editionof ‘Spotlight’.

Mantenga Cultural Village Choir and Marimba BandSome of the girls atMcCorkindale Children’s Village.

Bag Packs to raise funds for Manzini The Swaziland Team and Mrs. Charlton inparticular would like to thank the staff andcustomers of the following supermarkets whoallowed us to hold bag packs in aid of ManziniYouth Care in their stores.

In the Autumn term we held two bag packs atMarks and Spencers in High Street West, raising£1367.63. In March it was the turn of Asda inGrangetown, raising £921.52. Just beforeEaster on a lovely sunny day in Seaburn wewere able to collect £567.06 in Morrisons,giving us a grand total of £2856.21.

Again – thank you for the generosity of thecustomers - many of whom had connections tothe school and for the support of the store staff.

If anyone would like to make acontribution/ donation please contactMiss Brown, Miss Summerside, MrsCharlton or Mrs Laydon by email at [email protected] for donations payable to:Swaziland St. Anthony’s School. Pleaseindicate if you would like your donationto be Gift Aided.

Important Key Dates 2011

25th – 26th July Y6 Summer School 10.00am – 4.00pm

18th August A2 and AS-Level

Year 13 from 8:30 am Our Lady’s Hall

Year 12 from 1:30 pm Our Lady’s Hall

25th August GCSE

Year 11 from 10:30 am Our Lady’s Hall

Year 12 from 1:30 pm Our Lady’s Hall

Year 9 will be in Form Registers at the start of term

26th August Year 12 Registration Day

6th September Years 7 – 12 return to school

7th September Year 13 return to school

St Anthony’s Girls School, Thornhill Terrace, Sunderland SR2 7JN

Tel: 0191 553 7700 Fax: 0191 553 7699Web: www.st-anthonys-school.co.ukEmail: [email protected]: St_anthonys3

Documents

Spotlight Newsletter (Summer 2011)