ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Catholic Technical College
Christmas Newsletter 2012
MR CONNELL
LEADS THE
SPORTING SPECIAL
UPDATES � REVIEWS � SPORT SPECIAL
Find out what’s been going on at
the school in the last term
Made by
students
THE CULTURE TEAM
WHETS OUR READING
APPITITES
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2 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
CHRISTMAS JOY
On behalf of Mrs Mullins, the board of Governors, and all staff at
St. Francis, I wish you all a happy and holy Christmas and a happy
New Year.
Mr Godber
Acting Head Teacher
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3 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
CHRISTMAS JOY
Our editor,
Bethany
Wright,
can’t believe
how quickly the term has
gone.
A very Merry Christmas from
all your friends at St. Francis
Welcome to the Christmas
edition of our snazzy new-
look newsletter! We have a
new team of budding young
journalists and photogra-
phers that wish you all a
very merry Christmas. St
Francis has been up to a lot
this term back from the
summer and this newsletter
is just a snippet into the
busy goings on of all our
students. The new year
sevens have got off to a
great start and the rest of
the students seem to be
looking forward to breaking
up! This special sports edi-
tion of the newsletter illus-
trates the huge impact that
the Olympics had just on
our school. From Gangnam
Pg. 4 - Mr Connell kicks
off our sports’ special.
Pg. 6 - Our pupils give
their take on the sum-
mer’s excitement.
Pg. 9 - Our culture vul-
tures share news and re-
views.
Pg. 13 - We catch up with
all the news and great
ideas from the last term.
There are loads of trips
and visits to share!
Pg. 18 - We get an insight
into an important school
policy with the Public
Sector Equality Duty.
Pg. 21 - Learn the facts
of school life and get the
most out of life at school.
Pg. 24 - ParentPal is here!
Get clued up and enjoy
the convenience.
What we’ve
got in store
this issue:
styles to shoe box piles…
the vibrant array of stories
and news brought to you by
students of this school is
packed with something for
everyone!
We would also like to wish
Mrs Mullins a speedy recov-
ery and we hope to see our
head teacher around school
soon!
Now sit down and enjoy
reader this Christmas edi-
tion newsletter…
Merry Christmas!
Your Faithfully
Bethany Wright (year 13)
Editor
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4 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
Mr Connell revels in our
sporting success
After the amazing summer of
sport that we all experienced,
with the resounding success of
the Olympic and Paralympic
Games, it has been very im-
portant for us here at St Fran-
cis to build upon the feel good
factor and maintain the Olym-
pic Legacy. Well, our students
certainly have done that in
style.
Athletics: The Walsall Schools
Athletics Championships was
held at the Alexander Stadium
in September, with teams from
all of the secondary schools in
Walsall. Our students per-
formed admirably, finishing 3rd
placed school over all, with our
girls finishing 2nd. Special men-
tion must go to our gold medal
winning athletes, Hollie (year
8, Shot put), Phoebe (year 10,
200m and 300m), Oliver (year
8, 800m), Ewan (year 8, long
jump and high jump) and our
girls KS4 4 x 100 relay team
(Phoebe, Charlie, Lara and
Shrule). All of the students
who competed contributed to
our overall team success
Table tennis The training is
obviously paying off as we
dominate all competitions at a
district level. Once again, our
students managed to complete
a clean sweep of all age groups
for both boys and girls in the
Walsall Schools table tennis
championships, winning the
U13, U16 and U19 boys compe-
titions and both the U13 and
U16 girls competitions. All of
these teams will now go on the
Black Country Schools champi-
onships at the end of the
month and will also go on to
represent Walsall in Black
Country Olympics this year.
Team Sports: Our school
teams have been very busy ful-
TEACHER’S PRIDE
Our spor.ng superstars have done us proud!
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5 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
TEACHER’S PRIDE
filling fixtures and we have
had some resounding success in
local based competitions. We
have 6 netball teams and the
girls continue to perform well.
We have also run 6 football
teams and they have been very
successful, in particular our
year 7 and 9 teams, who both
managed to win their league,
winning all of their fixtures in
the process. Our year 8 team
were also very successful, fin-
ishing as runners up. We hope
to have more footballing suc-
cess in the cup competitions
later in the year. Our year 7
and 8 girls are currently in-
volved in their 7 a side football
league and I will feedback on
their performances later in the
year.
Cross country: The latest
Walsall Schools competition
was the Inter Schools Cross
Country Championships that
were held at Streetly Academy
on Tuesday 13th November. We
have had a dedicated bunch of
hardened students (and staff)
training every Wednesday
lunch time, whatever the
weather. This training was
worth it, with the students of
St Francis all putting in gutsy
performances on the day. In
the overall competition we
managed to finish 2nd, getting
narrowly beaten by our local
rivals, Aldridge School. We
may have just missed out on
retaining the trophy, but a
number of our students have
been selected to represent
Walsall in the West Midlands
Schools Cross Country Cham-
pionships in January.: Char-
lotte, Caitlin, Tad and Ethan
in year 7 (Caitlin was overall
year 7 girls winner), in year 8,
Shannon, Oliver and Connor
and in year 10, Niall. A big
well done goes to all of the
competitors and to Mr Bar-
ratt and Mr Dawson for their
dedication in ensuring that
the students had opportuni-
ties to train together, which
clearly helped contribute to
our success.
This half term we have a
number of other sporting
competitions taking place,
including basketball, badmin-
ton, county rugby competi-
tions and girl’s football. I
hope that our students con-
tinue to embrace the sporting
opportunities provided for
them and further develop
their talents. Students at St
Francis always represent
their school with pride and
distinction.
Ewan (year 8, long jump and
high jump)
DID YOU KNOW? by Saffron Hawkins
Alexander Stadium
The stadium was built in 1975 and was open for train-
ing in 1976. The Alexander Stadium had a £1million
refurbishment in 2000. Alexander Stadium held the
Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix on Sunday 26th August.
Athletes such as double gold medal winner Mo Farah
are set to complete with other GB athletes.
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6 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
A good year for sport (even for grumps)
Georgia
Blunt
gets it all off
her chest.
When the world seemed to
be all abuzz with Olympic
fever - I’ll be honest- I
found it a little dull. That’s
not to say all the ridiculously
flexible or outrageously tal-
ented athletes weren’t in-
credible, because they were;
but for someone whose clos-
est encounter with any kind
of physical exertion is pant-
ing after for the bus,
watching men and women
who could probably lift a bus
left me feeling a little medi-
ocre. It felt like everywhere
I turned there was a gaggle
of teenage girls swooning
over a 16-page magazine
spread on Tom Daley, or a
30ft billboard plastered
with Jessica Ennis and those
abs. As I said- mediocre.
And I couldn’t understand
why, all of a sudden, middle
aged women were donning
tracksuits and pedometers
and powerwalking past my
window; the sense of nation-
al pride was lost on me. I
wasn’t inspired; I was an-
noyed. So when my mother
announced our weekend trip
to London during the Para-
lympics, you can imagine how
ecstatic I wasn’t.
We arrived in Trafalgar
Square to see the screen
following the swimming, in
front of which were proba-
bly two hundred people,
barricaded off from the
outside world. The entrance
was manned by security
guards, rooting through our
bags like airport security.
Inside, they charged £2.50
for a 99 ice-cream. £2.50.
But, extortionate dairy
prices aside, the sun was
shining and I was deter-
mined not to combust at the
thought of being subjected
to watching more extraordi-
nary people being selfishly
better than me.
So when we sat down
amongst the dozens of oth-
er tourists and locals, I did
my best not to roll my eyes.
Then something I never ex-
pected to happen did; as we
sat to watch Ellie Simmonds
in what I thought would be
another pointless race, I
actually started to under-
stand what everyone was
blabbering about. It wasn’t
the sport that was incredi-
ble (even though it was) and
it wasn’t the fact that the-
se people were phenomenal
athletes (which they are), it
was the fact that, as I sat
amongst this crowd of abso-
lute strangers cheering on
someone they had never
met, and found myself
cheering along with them.
Hundreds watched one
young girl take gold and all
of them felt part of some-
thing.
I tell a lie - there was one
man I saw looking glum, but
I think he’d just bought an
on ice-lolly.
SPORTING REVIEW
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7 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
With all the sporting
events on at SFA,
there’s no excuse to
be lazy. Check out
your form board for
more details.
Our sporting
heritage Charles Burgess Fry
(1872-1956) was a very
good sportsman. He
played rugby, football,
athletics and cricket to
a professional level and
was very successful.
Walter Tull (1888-1918)
was a very good foot-
baller. He was the first
footballer of African
descent to play in the
English league. He
played for Tottenham
Hotspur and Northamp-
ton Football Clubs.
Virginia Wade (1945-)
was a very successful
tennis player. She is
the last British woman
to have won the Ladies
singles title at Wimble-
don in 1977.
ROVING RESEARCHER
When people play a sport,
they are mixing with other
people and they try their
best to win. They can also
have fans and supporters
and many sports have teams.
Teams have to work togeth-
er to win. There is a famous
quote about teamwork –
There is no I in team. It is important to remember that
sport is fun and it is good to
play your sport in a fair way
and never cheat or be a bad
loser. That is why players
shake hands at the start of
the game.
Poppy O’Car-
roll gets excit-
ed about sport
and tells us why.
Glad it’s over? No way!
This is why we love sport:
Another reason why sport
is important is that it is
good for the people of the
world. When you are run-
ning on a track, or playing
tennis, or playing football
or swimming at the swim-
ming baths, you are
stretching your muscles
and making your heart beat
faster. It is very important
to keep fit! ‘Look after
your body and your body
will look after you.’
The Paralympians had a
motto – Inspire a genera-
tion. They have inspired
lots of kids and grown-ups
with disabilities to try
sports. This is just one
reason why sport is im-
portant.
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8 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
You can do it - a slogan for twenty-twelve!
Our sports
writing KS3
competition
winner
Shannon O’Donnell shares
some words of encourage-
ment post-Olympics.
WOW! What a year it has
been! The 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games are truly
something magical to cher-
ish in our hearts forever!
The Olympics and Paralym-
pics are the 2 most biggest
and popular sporting events
in the world and people from
all different countries come
and witness the inspirational
moments in Olympic history.
Doesn’t it feel amazing to be
part of such a brilliant com-
munity? I am sure we all feel
proud and honoured to be
part of an outstanding coun-
try called Great Britain!
Every athlete always dreams
of standing on that podium
and getting the ultimate
gold medal that everyone
dreams about! The Olympic
and Paralympic Games only
happen every 4 years and
anyone would be dying to
have such an amazing oppor-
tunity! No one was born be-
ing able to do a front flip or
break a world record; you
work for it and train hard.
If you set your mind to it
and reach for the stars
then nothing is impossible.
Dream big! Just think of
the athletes, they don’t just
apply for the Olympics or
Paralympics and just get in;
they train countless hours
every single day!
Overall, having The Games
in our capital city London
has been truly something
special to remember and has
inspired thousands all
around the world!
‘Inspire a generation’. It
brings us all together as a
family and as a loving com-
munity we are! For the Para-
lympics my quote- ‘They are
not ordinary, but extraor-
dinary’. Get out there and
do something - anyone can
achieve anything if they put
their mind to it! As one
world, one creation, we are
all amazing in our own ways -
it may not be sport, but just
to encourage others could
make a huge difference!
The London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games is a
memory that no generation
ought to forget, especially
Great Britain!
COMPETITION WINNER
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9 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
Wimpy Kid series: Cabin Fever
Saffron Hawkins and
Imogen Poole give Cabin
Fever five stars.
Greg Heffely is in BIG trou-
ble with school over dam-
aged property, but he is not
to blame. When a surprise
blizzard traps his family in-
doors over Christmas, Greg
knows he’ll soon have to face
the punishment, but what
could be worse than having
to spend the whole holiday
stuck inside with your fami-
ly?
Personally, we thought that
Cabin Fever was an awesome book just like the whole of
the Wimpy Kid series! It
was extremely funny & had
some very cool pictures to
add to the laughter.
“A brilliant book” says Mia Connelly, 7B
CULTURE NEWS
Mrs Littler
explains why
David Wal-
liams makes
her smile.
David Walliams is like no
other ‘celebrity turned
writer’ that you have ever
read. His books are won-
derfully touching and ter-
ribly funny and Boy in a Dress is no exception.
This book is a very sweet
exploration of how we
deal with our feelings,
even where they don’t
match everyone else’s. In
the book, a boy misses his
Mum and enjoys looking at
things that remind him of
her – pictures of pretty
dresses in fashion maga-
zines. His Dad and broth-
er do not like pretty
dresses at all, so he has
to keep his interests hid-
den until he gets to know
a new friend. This book is
well worth a read, wheth-
er you like dresses or not.
Walliams
strikes again
Captain Funny and the
Bomb
By Harry
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10 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
A book review from the depths of hell:
Cirque Du Freak by (the freaky) Darren Shan
Matthew
Cooper
tells us about
Darren Shan’s
gruesome adventure .
Do not be put off by the
French title as the book is
definitely written in English.
Be more worried about the
comment and gruesome pic-
ture on the front cover. Is
it a living nightmare? Well
I’ve survived the experi-
ence, but only just…
In this thrilling book, a nor-
mal teenage boy and his
three friends, get a once in
a life time experience, to
sneak out of the house, to
see a weird and wacky freak
show. However, there is a
catch, only two people per
leaflet can go and they only
have one leaflet .Who will
make it count and be able to
disappear to the frightful
cirque du freak?
“A plot full of twists that
leaves the reader hungry
for more,” says J.K.Rowling
the millionaire writer of
Harry Potter. Believe me,
she’s not lying either. The
mind blowing creepiness
captures the reader and
makes the hair on the back
of your neck stand up. This
thrilling ride makes you
want to believe that you’re
Darren Shan and are doing
these wonderful, but scary
things he has to do. Well it
did that that to me. I won-
der what tingling sensation
this book will give you?
I have read this as part of
the October theme for
reading club. We meet eve-
ry Thursday and share our
thoughts, expand our minds
and even try our hand at
writing in a relaxed way,
with lots of biscuits and our
friends. If you are interest-
ed in joining then see Mrs
Roberts in the LRC.
“A plot full of twists” says J.K. Rowling
CULTURE NEWS
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11 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
DID YOU KNOW?
A few hundred years
ago, we didn’t have
Christmas trees in Eng-
land! They were a cus-
tom from Germany. It
took a while to catch
on, but now we wouldn’t
be without them.
CULTURE NEWS
Bethany
Wright gets
chills after
the yr. 13 trip
to Sheffield's
Crucible theatre.
There were some lovely en-
tries for the Twelve Words
of Christmas creative writ-
ing competition. I received
79 different stories written
by 27 students from Years
7-10. Many thanks to all stu-
dents who entered - the
standard was very high.
Five prize-winners have
been chosen who win a £5
book voucher to spend at
the Scholastic Book Fair.
At Christmas I wished, big-
gest wish of all… to be with
you!
Isabella Hughes & Libby
Hood 7S (joint entry)
Peeking out the window,
watching snowflakes fall
down, her wish came true.
Courtney Gripton 7F
Shepherds came, kings
bowed, animals gathered to
see Mary’s son, Our Lord.
Megan Reynolds 8S
Hope, life, love, happiness.
All came to life on a Christ-
mas night.
Elizabeth Standen 10C
At Christmas the returning
soldier hugged his child,
weeping tears of joy.
Natalie Miley 10C
As we filed into the arena
like theatre in Sheffield
we all wondered what lay
ahead. Witches, Kings
and treachery was what
we got! For our A-level
English exam we get the
privilege to study this
text, and the opportunity
to go and see the perfor-
mance was taken ad-
vantage of by most of the
class.
Ice cream in the interval
allowed us to reflect on
the play and those who
did not rush to the toilet
said it was excellent! It
helped the whole class to
understand the play so
much more!
Will our Eng-
lish students
ne’er be clean? Mrs Roberts
takes a look at
our prizewin-
ning writers.
Can you conjure up Christmas
in twelve words? Of course!
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12 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
DID YOU KNOW?
PSY is no one-hit-
wonder. He has re-
leased five albums and
has been making music
for over a decade!
CULTURE NEWS
Olivia Mail-
laird shines a
light on some
bright talent.
Gangnam Style” is a single
by the South Korean star
PSY (Park Jae-Sang). It was
released mid-July 2012 and
is now a massive hit around
the world. On 20 September
2012, “Gangnam Style” was
recognised by Guinness
World Records as the most
liked video in YouTube histo-
ry. The music video is a mas-
sive hit due the unusual for-
eign lyrics and the iconic
dance PSY does throughout
the video.
Celebrities from all over the
world have been trying to
learn the dance. Britney
Spears was in luck – she got
to learn it from him on the
Ellen DeGeneres show.
The big question it: can he
stay popular? After all, he
was around a long time be-
fore Gangnam Style went
viral. The world is watching
- let’s hope his next hit is as
catchy as this one.
Spotlight youth produc-
tions presents ‘Puss in
Cowboy boots’ at Brown-
hills school theatre this
January.
Set in the wild west, the
story of Puss in Boots
comes alive with dancing,
acting and toe-tapping
songs.
A number of St. Francis
pupils are performing in
the play and are having a
fantastic time. The play is
coming along really well
and tickets are sure to
fly.
To make sure that you
don’t miss out on this fan-
tast ic show, v is it
www.spotlight.co.uk/SYP/
productions.html, where
there is more information
and those all-important
tickets!
Lights, camera,
READ!
Eden Wells
recaps this
year’s biggest
and most-
watched-hit.
The dance may be cheesy,
but we can’t get enough of
PSY.
Is Gangnam Style here to stay?
Limber up for the next move.
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13 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
Opera.on Christmas Child
Shoe Box appeal is a success
Mrs Brook
tells us about
the success
of the Oper-
ation Christ-
mas Child Shoe Box appeal.
Thank you, to all the pupils
and staff who sent in or who
contributed towards this
year’s appeal. On Friday
23rd November our boxes
were collected and sent to
the processing centre in Al-
dridge. We sent 132 boxes
this year. On Friday 7th De-
cember these boxes along
with thousands of others
left the processing centre
by lorry destined for Roma-
nia, the country where the
first shoe boxes were sent
over 20 years ago.
SCHOOL NEWS
Miss John-
stone shares a
top ICT tip!
I found a USB stick – when
I went to look for an owner,
there was a wee folder
called ‘if this USB is
found’!!
What a great idea!! In there
Jack Barrand!! has his name and form and a telephone
number!! Thought it might
be worth passing this idea
on. It is so easy to lose a
device!
Good idea
our Jack!
Expert advice!
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14 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
SCHOOL NEWS
The National Memorial Arbo-
retum is a place where all the
soldiers who are and have
been fighting in the war and
their families can be remem-
bered.
At the NMA we saw all of the
different gardens that be-
longed to the schemes or
charities which helped the
war veterans and their fami-
lies. We also saw the big war
memorial where all the names
of the soldiers who had died
at war were carved into the
walls. In this memorial there
were two statues and a
wreath in the middle of it,
and the walls inside of the
two curved walls, where on
the one curved wall and one
straight wall there were
aligned slits, so on the 11th
Our year 8s express their
thoughts and feelings on re-
membrance and their trip to
Alrewas war memorial.
_______________________
We remember.
hour of the 11th day of
the 11th month, the sun
shines through them and
onto the wreath.
Year 8s learnt that it is
important to remember
those people and their
families because they
gave up their lives so that
their country could main-
tain its ways and we could
be here as we are now.
Sarah Wakeman
Oak trees squared row by
row for the naval fighters.
An Anti-Air cannon for
their defence.
The peaceful poppy field
held a big yield, our intelli-
gence spies burnt alive.
Old John’s track is laid,
the man who couldn’t talk.
Now a wall for those who
died fighting, they cried
out as they fell fatally
wounded.
Christopher Conlan
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15 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
DID YOU KNOW?
Global warming is said
to have caused a rise in
malaria rates, as more
of the mosquitos which
carry it are thriving in
warmer conditions.
Bethany
Wright gives
us the low-
down from the
Forensic Psy-
chology and Crime Confer-
ence. This term I took five stu-
dents who are considering a
Pathology based career to
the pathology department at
Walsall Manor Hospital.
Dr Graham Beards gave us a
conducted tour of four dis-
ciplines within his depart-
ment namely;
Biochemistry
Haematology
Blood Bank
Microbiology
The students saw real sci-
entists in the work place
testing a variety of human
samples for an array of con-
ditions and diseases. Our
discussion with Dr Beards
married up nicely with the
subjects the students are
currently studying at AS
level and A2. Namely mi-
croscopy, stem cell re-
search, Malaria, HIV, super-
bugs such as MRSA and
blood grouping.
The students asked Dr
Beards about the qualifica-
tions they would require in
order to become a Biomedi-
cal Scientist in his depart-
ment.
Our students were a real
credit to us.
Despite being a Sociology
student, not a psychology
one, I don't think I have
ever enjoyed a trip more.
From psychopaths to
crime-unravelling maths,
we sat on the edge of our
seats for hours learning
about what causes crime.
We had five talks from
different professionals
within the sector, includ-
ing a professional criminal!
Personally I was a little
taken aback by his de-
meanour, but it was fasci-
nating to understand the
mind-set of a serial of-
fender. Everyone enjoyed
it thoroughly and fond it
very helpful in their study!
Mrs Strawford tells us
about a really interesting
school trip.
Prac.cal Science - we take our
students to hospital (no panic)
We get to grips
with crime
SCHOOL NEWS
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16 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
SCHOOL NEWS
16-19 year-old mathematics
students by focusing on prob-
lem-solving, teamwork and
communication skills.
The STMC is now in its 6th
year and attracts over 1000
teams from schools and col-
leges from around the UK.
This is the second time SFA
have entered a team and, alt-
hough we did not win, the
students all agreed that it
was a genuinely enjoyable ex-
perience which they would
heartily recommend to other
keen mathematicians. Their
competitive spirit bodes well
for future teams!
Mrs Hamar
tells us about
the sixth
form chal-
lenge.
____________________
A team of four St Francis
students took part in the re-
gional final of the Senior
Team Mathematics Challenge
at the University of Wolver-
hampton on 16th November.
Dan, Adam, Maciej and Josh
joined 14 other teams of the
best mathematics students
from local schools and colleg-
es to tackle a series of de-
manding mathematical chal-
lenges: these were three
rounds of group problem-
solving, a team cross-number
puzzle and a mathematical
relay race, lasting over three
hours in total. The aim of the
competition, organised jointly
by the Further Mathematics
Support Programme and the
UK Mathematics Trust and
sponsored by Rolls-Royce plc.,
is to provide a stimulating
and enjoyable challenge for
Magnificent Maths Challenge
Mr Brown said ‘A good
start to the year. I am
proud to have taken my
year group through to
their final year of KS4’.
Mr Brown was very pleased
with the start of year 11,
with vast majority realising
how important this year is
and how it will shape their
futures’.
There are some exciting
things happening in year 11,
such as the prom at the
end of the year to cele-
brate all their success and
the hard work that has
been done!
...and finally Mr Brown said
‘I love being the head of
my year group. I am proud
of every single one of
them!’
Hannah Wright and
Jessica Murphy keep us up to date with year eleven.
____________________
A good year
for Mr Brown
‘Nil sa�s op�mum’
17 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
Watch out! Years 7 + 8 get two scary visitors
Hannah Grennan gives us
the history behind these
surprising pictures!
Yr. 8 pupils studying World
War 1 watched Mr Hicks,
who has come in before, ex-
plain the topic in a memora-
ble and interesting perfor-
mance touching on his own
personal experiences of con-
flict. His engaging presenta-
tion has been shown to vari-
ous other years and each
get the audience involved,
this time he dressed a
'willing' student up in a
world war one soldiers gear.
Also he doesn't just do
world war one presentations,
he also came in to talk to
the year 7 students about
life as a Roman soldier and
helped to reinforce there
knowledge of the topic in
preparation for their upcom-
SCHOOL NEWS
Harry Kirke
on the fantas-
tic history
display.
The launch of the History
Authors was warm and
generous. My hard work
and many others’ had paid
What a display!
ing ISA. I spoke to a
year 9 pupil on there
thoughts on the
presentation 'I really
liked the world war one
presentation from Mr
Hicks as I thought it
was very interesting
and helped me to learn
more about the topic
than you do in the
classroom as it was
more engaging. I also
learnt new facts about
the topic than I didn't
know before'.
off with rewards of deli-
cate brownies and re-
freshments!
‘Nil sa�s op�mum’
18 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
WHERE WE STAND
At St Francis of Assisi
school we feel that our
strong Christian Ethos, Gos-
pel Values and charity work
lead us to be committed to
creating and sustaining an
environment of mutual toler-
ance, respect, dignity and
good relations. We insist
that our policies, procedures
and activities should pro-
mote positive attitudes to-
wards good relations and di-
alogue between groups and
communities different from
each other in terms of eth-
nicity, culture, religious af-
filiation, and national origin.
We encourage everyone to
take an active role in the
life our school.
The Public Sector Equality
Duty combines the following
three pieces of legislation
(Sex Discrimination Act,
Disability Discrimination Act
and Race Relations Act) has
three aims under the gen-
eral duty applicable to
schools;
1. Eliminate unlawful dis-
crimination, harassment and
victimisation and other con-
duct prohibited by the Act,
by removing or minimising
disadvantages suffered by
people due to their protect-
ed characteristics.
2. Advance Equality of op-
portunity between people
who share a protected char-
acteristic and those who do
not, by taking steps to meet
the needs of people from
protected groups where
these are different from
the needs of other people.
This important school
document explains one way
that we put the golden rule
into practice.
Public Sector Equality Duty at St Francis
3. Foster good relations be-
tween people who share a
protected characteristic
and those who do not, by
encouraging people from
protected groups to partici-
pate in public life or in oth-
er activities where their
participation is dispropor-
tionately low.
In fulfilling the legal obliga-
tions identified above, we at
St Francis of Assisi CTC are
guided by six principles:
Principle 1: All learners are
of equal value.
Principle 2: We recognise
and respect diversity.
Principle 3: We foster posi-
tive attitudes and relation-
ships, and a shared sense of
cohesion and belonging.
“Treat others as you wish to be treated.”
MJ 7 (Golden Rule)
‘Nil sa�s op�mum’
19 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
SCHOOL NEWS
Hannah Wright and
Jessica Murphy keep us up to date with year nine.
____________________
Jessica and I inter-
viewed Mrs Blackmore
about the progress of
year 9 so far.
Mrs Blackmore said ‘I
love my year group as
they are very bubbly
and sporty’.
I asked Mrs Blackmore
‘What has been going on
this year so far? ’She
said that it’s been a
pleasure. This year
group has been a sporty
year group, which defi-
antly made Mrs Black-
more very happy. In
year 9 there is a stu-
dent which has put her
sporty ability to the
test as Francesca Ken-
nedy performed at the
Wolverhampton theatre
performing dance.
There are lots of things
Principle 4: We observe
good equalities practice in
staff recruitment, reten-
tion and development
Principle 5: We aim to re-
duce and remove inequali-
ties and barriers that may
already exist
Principle 6: We aim to con-
sult and involve the school
community.
Equality objectives
1) Raising standards for all
pupils in line with our Cath-
olic ethos and Mission
Statement.
2) To identify and respond
to negative attendance
trends.
3) To ensure equity for all
students from FSM (Ever
6) and the 16-19 Bursary
Fund to ensure learning op-
portunities are accessible
to all.
going on this year for
year nine as the STEM
group are going to the
RAF Cosford on the 5th
of November. However
she does have a couple
more surprises, but they
are not to be said yet.
She also said to me ‘Yes
I love my job, especially
being part of a great
year group!’.
Finally congratulations to
Aaron Keal (9S) and Oliv-
ia Lewis (9F), as they are
both students of the
month!
Year 9 are doing just fine!
‘Nil sa�s op�mum’
20 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
SCHOOL NEWS
Zoolab was a great experi-
ence for all the year 8 stu-
dents. Our favourite animal
was the snake because we
got to hold it and we love
snakes. We also got to see
a frog, a big spider, a huge
snail and much more. We
think that the experience
with Zoolab was fantastic
and we strongly suggest
other schools do it. The
way it was set up was
great—it was a real learn-
ing curve for us all, because
we learnt new things and
had a new experience, We
really hope others will try
this.
Stanley Houghton and
Archie Smith meet the
crawlies.
Animal magic
with Zoolab
There were an amazing
amount of hand-made cakes
all made with love by mem-
bers of staff which were
wonderful to see, so thank
you!
Also sixth form arranged
cake and milk shakes on the
Friday after which was a
great success, so both added
together raised a total of
£423.83.
That is a fabulous amount
and will pay for 17 hours
for a Macmillan nurse to
support a family affected
by cancer!
Ms Hill lets us know the
effect of our staff coffee
morning.
St. Francis staff have their cake for Macmillan
‘Nil sa�s op�mum’
21 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
THE FACTS OF SCHOOL LIFE
With Christmas just around the
corner know that many of our pu-
pils will receive games consoles,
smartphones, tablets and laptops
for Christmas which will make
connection to the Internet easier
than ever. As these new devices
arrive we would like to remind
everyone of the need to be safe
when they are online. The
ThinkUKnow website has lots of
information for pupils and parents
on how to stay safe and is well
worth looking at.
At St Francis we think that the
SMART system is something we
should all follow!
SAFE - Keep safe by being careful
not to give out personal infor-
mation – such as your full name,
email address, phone number,
home address, photos or school
name – to people you are chatting
with online.
MEETING - Meeting someone you
have only been in touch with online
can be dangerous. Only do so with
your parents’ or carers’ permission
and even then only when they can
be present.
ACCEPTING - emails, IM messag-
es, or opening files, pictures or
texts from people you don’t know
or trust can lead to problems –
they may contain viruses or nasty
messages!
INFORMATION you find on the
internet may not be true, or
someone online may be lying about
who they are.
TELL - your parent, carer or a
trusted adult if someone or some-
thing makes you feel uncomforta-
ble or worried online.
Mrs Jones and Mrs Oli-
ver give some great advice
on how to stay safe online.
Keep calm and stay safe online
DID YOU KNOW?
The world wide web
was born in 1991, but
the internet is now
used by 2 billion people
around the world.
Mrs Guyler,
Business & Administration
Manager
In future any items forgot-
ten by students (PE kit,
etc.) will be held in School
Reception for the student
to collect. The Form Tutor
and Head of Achievement
and Learning will be emailed
to advise the student that
an item is waiting for them
in reception. Students will
have the opportunity to col-
lect the items during lesson
changeover times. Please be
aware that we cannot guar-
antee that the items will
reach the student in time
but we will do our best.
Any emergencies e.g. medi-
cation, dinner money etc.
the student will be invited
to collect the item(s) from
reception during lesson
times in which case they will
have a note in their diary
giving permission from the
teacher. We also ask for
your support with any
changes to after school ar-
rangements you wish to ad-
vise your child of. Emergen-
cies only please. Thank you.
‘Nil sa�s op�mum’
22 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
100% Attendance certifi-
cates will be issued to
students with perfect
attendance at the end of
this academic year. The-
se would be an excellent
addition to anyone's
portfolio!
Praise cards and Ecards
will also be sent out to
those who have met and
exceeded their attend-
ance targets.
Medical appointments are
classified as an absence.
Parents should book medical
appointments outside of
school time. However, when
this is not possible, booking
the appointment around
morning and afternoon reg-
istration times, i.e. 9 - 9.20
am and 1.40 - 1.50 pm would
prevent the appointment
having a negative impact up-
on your child's attendance
figures.
The Education Welfare
Officer is informed where
attendance falls below 85%
and/or where persistent
lateness is an issue. It
should be noted that as well
as a range of supportive
measures, that have been
put in place, prosecution is
an action the Local Authori-
ty will take for none school
attendance.
Parents are reminded to call
the school in the morning at
the earliest possible oppor-
tunity to explain the reason
for the absence.
01922 740 306
Mr Brown
makes sure
we all know
what is ex-
pected on attendance.
AJendance:
Be your best.
Are you every tempted to
come into school late, or
have the day at home if
you’re feeling a little
poorly? Even an attend-
ance of 95% is the equiva-
lent of two weeks away
from school. That’s a whop-
ping 50 lessons missed!
All students must achieve
an attendance target of
95%. The vast majority of
students will be expected to
exceed this target.
Those not hitting the 95%
target are putting their ed-
ucation at greater risk.
Each 5% drop in attendance
corresponds to 50 lessons
missed. This means that
someone with an attendance
rate of 85% will not only
draw the attention of the
Education Welfare Officer,
but will have missed an un-
believable 150 lessons from
school.
If you thought being a little
late wasn’t too bad, think
again. Being 10 minutes late
everyday is the equivalent
of over a week off school!
THE FACTS OF SCHOOL LIFE
‘Nil sa�s op�mum’
23 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technical College Newsletter Winter 2012
We have a new
layout in the din-
ing hall… With new
yummy and exotic
food!
What we have
to offer…
• The hot food
station in
the dining
hall
• The salad
and sandwich
station in
the dining
hall
• The sandwich
bar in the
bistro
• The small
food counter
in the dining
hall.
Food glorious food! The
stereotypical canteen
school food, with it mushy
pea’s and left over cab-
bage… no way! Not like our
School Bistro and dinning
hall anyway! I now have
lunch there everyday and
enjoy the different menu’s
from live cooked curry to
Italian lasagne!.
Tony the manager of As-
pens helped to create this
plat of adventurous dishes
from all over the world. He
believes the new look and
Its not just the news let-
ter that has a new look!
The school gets a new taste
of Aspen food - yum yum!
food will help people to be
healthy and more adven-
turous in what they eat!
Fish Fridays also has a big
impact on the dinner queue
students!. Fish and chips
for me!
Want your Christmas meal
early?
Then come to the dining
hall on either Wednesday
19th or Thursday 20th and
enjoy Roast Turkey with
all the trimmings for just
£2.80. Got room for pud-
ding? Then it is only 80p
for Christmas pudding!
ROVING RESEARCHER
THE FACTS OF SCHOOL LIFE
by emailing
ParentPay offers you the
freedom to make payments
whenever and wherever you
like, 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week - safe in the
knowledge that the technol-
ogy used is of the highest
internet security available.
You will have a secure online
account, activated using a
unique username and pass-
word; you will be prompted
Mrs Mullins explains the key facts about ParentPay.
____________________
Online payment with ParentPay has ar-
Towards the end of Octo-
ber 2012, we introduced a
more convenient way to pay
for school trips, revision
guides, stationery and other
items online, using a secure
service called ParentPay.
ParentPay is now live for
our school and we are work-
ing towards no longer ac-
cepting cash and cheque
payments, making the school
a cash-free environment.
To date, we have 38% of
our parents signed up and
using this service. If you
have not already done so,
please activate your account
using the activation letter
posted to your home ad-
dress. If you need another
copy, this can be requested
to change these, and to
keep them safe and se-
cure. If you have more
than one child at our
school or children at an-
other ParentPay school,
you can create one single
account login for all your
children regardless of
which school they attend.
Making a payment is
straightforward and
ParentPay holds a payment
history for you to view at
a later date; no card de-
tails are stored in any part
of the system. Once you’ve
activated your account you
can make online payments
straight away.
We hope you will support
us in achieving our goal to
become a cashless school,
increasing efficiency and
removing the need for stu-
dents to carry monies into
school. Your support in
using ParentPay will help
the school enormously,
thank you.
For further information on
ParentPay please visit
www.parentpay.com.
‘Nil sa�s op�mum’