Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Headmaster’s Message

During the course of this term we have been focussing on the concept of stewardship and the importance

of this in Catholic social teaching. We have been particularly concerned to reflect on the moral imperative

to pass on better than we have received with regard to the planet as well as our responsibility to look out

for and look after those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

As ever, our students have embraced this idea with sensitivity, intelligence and understanding. As we

close in on Christmas Day I cannot help but draw parallels with the hope embodied in the birth of the baby

Jesus and the hope of a better future embodied in the young people in our school. They really are very

special and we should all be proud of what they achieve and do on a daily basis.

I would like to finish by extending my thanks to all our staff – the teachers, the cleaners, the cooks and

support staff – for all that they do for our school. I would also like to thank all of our parents for your

continued support.

With my very best wishes for a happy, holy and peaceful Christmas.

Sean Maher

KEY DATES

Friday 22nd December Autumn term ends - pupils dismissed at 12.35

Monday 8th January Return to school

Tuesday 9th January Drama Hungary Trip Meeting

Friday 12th January Awards Evening (by invitation only)

Monday 15th January PTA Meeting

Thursday 18th January Year 12 Academic Review Meeting

Friday 19th January Year 8 Disco at Richard Challoner

Monday 22nd January Bikeability

Tuesday 23rd January House Public Speaking Competition

Wednesday 24th January Year 9 Holocaust Memorial Day

Thursday 25th January Year 7S Academic Review Meeting

Friday 26th January EPQ Year 12 Talk

Tuesday 30th January SFX Social Evening

Tuesday 30th January Year 7N Academic Review Meeting

Monday 5th February House Swimming Gala

Wednesday 7th February Battle of the Bands

Thursday 8th -14th February Drama Hungary Tour

Friday 9th February Mufti Day

Monday 12th – 16th February Half Term

Monday 19th - 23rd February Year 13 Mock Exams

Tuesday 20th - 23rd February Year 12 Geography Fieldwork

Tuesday 20th February Year 11 Photographs

Thursday 22nd February Year 8S Academic Review Meeting

Continued ……………………

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

KEY DATES (continued)

Wednesday 28th February - Friday 2nd March Year 9 Battlefields Trip

Monday 5th March PTA Meeting and Staff Development Day

Wednesday 7th - 9th March Year 12 Biology Trip

Wednesday 7th March Year 10 Careers Fair

Thursday 8th March Year 8N Academic Review Meeting

Monday 12th - 16th March Prayer Week

Tuesday 13th March SFX Social Evening

Thursday 15th March Year 10 Academic Review Meeting

Friday 16th March Mufti Day

Tuesday 20th March Parent Forum

Wednesday 21st March House Music

Thursday 22nd March Year 9S Academic Review Meeting

Tuesday 27th March Year 9N Academic Review Meeting

Thursday 29th March Spring term ends - pupils dismissed at 12.35

House Competition Results

House Points Position

More 170 1

Becket 165 2

Augustine 147 3

Dunstan 134 4

Columba 130 5

Fisher 110 6

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Year 7 Engineering Day - November 2017

In November, the Design Technology Department ran their annual “Year 7 Engineering Day” for all

Year 7 students. From bridge building to flying eggs; it was an opportunity for all students to work

in teams, meet new friends and learn about what an engineer is in the real world, whilst using their

Design Technology skills in a practical way. All students seemed to have a fantastic time. We hear

on the grapevine that we may have inspired a few junior engineers!

School Uniform/Winter Coats

If you have any warm coats or school uniform that is no longer of any use, we would be very

grateful for any donations. Please drop them in as soon as possible to the school office.

Mrs A Southall

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Music Department Christmas Bulletin

KS3 Music Concert On Thursday 19th October, a selection of excellent Key Stage 3 performers took to the stage for our second KS3 Concert and what a great selection of performances we had. Providing our younger students with a more intimate venue, performers provided repertoire from graded instrumental pieces and vocal solos to drum solos and synthesised compositions! The level of performance was high but, most importantly, the students enjoyed the opportunity to entertain the audience with the pieces they have been working hard to prepare.

We were delighted to see many parents and other students come out to support our wonderful performers and we greatly look forward to the next one.

Winter Concert Following an excellent KS3 Concert came our Winter Concert; an evening of wonderful talent, reflective performances and extravagant costumes (!). This year, we welcomed almost 400 students, staff and parents through the doors, hearing performances from the Richard Challoner Choir, Function Band, Orchestra and Ukulele Group, to name but a few. As always, the standard of performance was exceptionally high and we were delighted to see a record number of students turning up to not only perform, but also to support their fellow Challoner boys. With more and more incredible musicians coming up through the school, our next big event, Battle of the Bands, will surely be an unmissable event; taking place on Wednesday 7th February, it will not disappoint!

Carol Services Our Choir and Brass Ensemble worked very hard to prepare for our three Carol Services, the first of which was on Wednesday 13th December. With a range of new material from reflective and moving arrangements of Carols, including In the Bleak Midwinter and Bethlehem, down to a rather exciting and energetic arrangement of Deck The Hall, the services were certainly a fitting way to celebrate this festive period.

TO COME:

Dates for the Diary: Battle of the Bands : Wednesday 7th February at 7.00pm – Main School Hall House Music : Wednesday 21st March at 7.00pm – Main School Hall South Pacific : Thursday 19th April – Saturday 21st April at 7:30pm – Main School Hall

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

St Francis Xavier Centre

The new St Francis Xavier Centre (opened in September 2016) welcomed

three new students, as well as new members of staff and it has been a busy

first term back. Miss Norton was appointed the Year 12 Tutor/Teaching

Assistant and Mr Gallagher joined the team as the new Maths/English and

ICT Teacher. There was also a slight change in staff around the school and

we introduced Art as a new

subject.

Millie, Dominic and Hiba (Year 12) joined Celia, Rosie and Ewan (Year

13) and it has been wonderful to see them all settle well into life here

at the school; developing their self-esteem and grow in confidence. In

September we participated in Challoner Day, whereby the whole

school travelled to London for the traditional annual Mass. It was a

great day and the students looked smart in their new uniforms.

The curriculum is varied, from

academic subjects such as Maths,

English and ICT, as well as more

vocational subjects like Gardening,

Animal Care, Life Skills, etc.

Offsite Education

The students have also benefited

from some educational visits

offsite from Wisley’s Garden

Centre learning programme,

Blacklands Farm team building day,

the UK’s largest Career Fair at the

Excel Centre in London and

Kingston town centre. Every term,

the students also plan and organise a student social evening to develop

their social skills and independence and the first one was at Pizza

Express. Every Thursday, Miss Norton and Mr Mander support the students with independent travel training

sessions. Although the Centre is a provision for students with moderate learning needs, students have many

opportunities to access the main school activities; more recently the Year 7 Engineering Day and the Sixth

Form Awards Breakfast.

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

The students have also helped to design the set for the musical ‘Slice of

Saturday Night’ for the BTEC Performing Arts students (Years 12 and 13).

Year 13 Work Experience Placements To help the Year 13 students’ transition into college or employment, the students attend a work placement a minimum of one day per week. They travel independently and Miss Norton visits regularly to support them.

Ewan: West Barnes Library Rosie: Dean City Farm Celia: Castelnau Cafe

External Visitors

We welcome external organisations in to run workshops that will enhance the students learning. Chris, from

‘Flipping Amazing’, spent an afternoon running team activities to promote his job opportunity whereby

students can help run his Crepe stall once a month at Surbiton Market. Paul, from table cricket, has also been

welcomed to introduce a unique new sport for the students to take part in. Finally, we have been collaborating

each week with a neighbouring school called St Philip’s, travelling every Tuesday to take part in upcycling and

they travel every Thursday to participate in a bespoke Art session.

‘Flipping Amazing’ Table Cricket St Philip’s & SFX students

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Year 9 Fair 2017

On Friday 1st December, Year 9 ran a Fair in the main hall, for the rest of the school to come and enjoy. We

randomly allocated a country to each Form Group, to give a unique theme for each group of stalls; Italy,

America, Mexico, Germany, UK and France. Leading up to the big event, Year 9 were preparing the

important information like prices, prizes, decorations and lots of food, including burgers, milkshakes,

nachos, and various games created by the students themselves. We are very grateful for all the help that

family, friends and staff gave to us in order for our stalls to run so successfully. In total, the Fair raised

£987.30 for our chosen charity, Water Aid. Thank you to everyone who supported the event!

Science Update

The Science Department was pleased to host a visit by the Imperial College, who were sponsored by the Royal

Society of Chemistry to deliver the ‘Spectroscopy in a Suitcase’ Workshop. Forty three students benefited from

the hands-on experience of IR, NMR and Mass Spectrometry, as we invited Holy Cross Year 12 and 13 students

to join us. The feedback from students was all positive, as they were able to “bring to life an otherwise

theoretical topic by testing actual samples and generating data”. The Chemistry Teachers were equally

impressed with the advances in technology that enabled industrial technology to be miniaturised and brought

into a classroom to enrich the learning of students.

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Art & Design Department

A very busy and successful term in the Art & Design Department has included trips to Tate Modern

and Tate Britain, CCW portfolio support, work on the sets and props for the drama and musical

productions, as well as our annual Big Draw and House Art Competition. The House Art Competition,

without doubt, has been the highlight of the term. The competition saw all Houses compete and

pupils from year 7 through to year 13 work creatively together to produce some outstanding and

imaginative work. It was also great so see so many parents and siblings, and I’m sure anyone who

was there will agree that it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. We hope you can join us next year!

Well done to Year 11 who have now completed 60% of their course and begin their Externally Set

Assignment in January. The Spring term also has lots to look forward to and we will be running

workshops for KS4 and KS5 pupils, Year 11 will complete their GCSE exam and we are hoping to run

an Art Club for KS3 (a letter will be sent out to confirm). Full steam ahead in the Art & Design

Department!

Senior Maths Team Challenge

Callum Marriott, Joshua Mann, Robin Barrington and Agnel Abraham competed in the Senior Team

Challenge at Epsom College and came 13th out of 30 schools, including many selective private

schools.

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Senior Maths Challenge (Year 12 and 13)

Best in Year 12

Arun Saini

Best in Year 13

Joshua Mann

Gold Certificate Silver Certificates Bronze Certificates

Joshua Mann Callum Marriott Meiling Zheng

Fintan Creedon Maaz Malik

Raphael Santiago Agnel Abraham

Arun Saini Akalini Navaneethakrishnan

Robin Barrington Alistair Stockley

Lawrence Bell Wilhem Aquino

Adrian Soosaipillai Conor Greene

Olek Misiewicz

Ramanan Thiruganasund

Matthew Thomson

Oliver Chen

Danny Guglielmi

Max Rainbow

Daniel Mooney

Connor Stumpf

David Walsh

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Drama Department

Every time I write for these bulletins, updating you all on the Drama Department, I seem to inform you that the term has been one of the busiest we have ever known; this time around won’t be any different I’m afraid. From early September until its opening night on the 29th November, an extremely talented cast, comprising of actors from our examination classes in Year 11 and Year 13, were rehearsing William Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III’. Drama productions should always be enjoyable for the students who take part in them, but they should also provide them with a challenge and an opportunity to stretch themselves and work beyond, outside their comfort zones. This production certainly ticked all of those boxes and the students met the challenge head on. As I mentioned in my programme notes, there aren’t many schools that produce Shakespeare productions, let alone ones (even with lots of cutting) that run to 2 hours and 20 minutes! Although we perform as a company and value the role of every actor and technician when bringing a play to the stage, it would be remiss of me not to mention how impressive Louis Regan (Year 13) was in the eponymous role of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The cast should be exceptionally proud of their achievements and we are looking forward to a well-earned break before venturing to Budapest in the February half-term to do it all over again. On Wednesday 13th December, Malden Manor’s Year 5 students came over the road for a Shakespeare workshop on Macbeth. It is always wonderful to share our fantastic facilities with schools in the local area and the students were extremely impressed and seemed to enjoy the workshop. They will be performing in the studio for the second year in a row on 17th January 2018. Our KS3 Drama Club, run by Miss Jones and ably supported by some of our Year 11 Drama mentors, has been running on Friday afternoons in the main studio. We are regularly attracting high numbers; so much so, that we are planning on casting two 30 minute plays in the new year; so watch this space! On behalf of myself, Miss Durdle, Mr Zoladkiewicz and Miss Jones, I’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we hope to see you for Mr Zoladkiewicz’ s production of ‘Frankenstein’ in February. See you in 2018!

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Politics

On Friday, 8th December, the Law and Politics Year 12 students took the annual trip to Parliament and the

Supreme Court. We were treated to a thorough and comprehensive tour around the Palace of Westminster

and were even lucky enough to hear the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, speak in

a debate in the House of Lords on the role of religion in education. We also got to enter the House of

Commons Chamber and the division lobbies. Sadly, we were not permitted to take any photos in the House

or even sit on the seats, but we got a real sense of what it must be like to be an MP at a parliamentary

debate. In the lobby of Parliament itself, we saw former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Norman Lamont and

even got to talk briefly to Lady Warsi, the first Muslim female Cabinet Minister under David Cameron. To

finish our tour, we had an interactive educational workshop on electoral systems, which the students

enjoyed enormously (and got to wear novelty hats).

Our trip continued across Parliament Square to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, where we had

a self-guided tour. The security here appeared to be even stricter than at Parliament. The Supreme Court is

the highest court of appeal in the UK and is also the final court of appeal for some British Overseas

Territories like St Helena, the Falkland Islands and Tristan De Cunha. The Supreme Court has also been in

the news this year for having upheld Gina Miller’s challenge to the government on activating Article 50 (to

begin negotiations on leaving the EU) without first having a vote in Parliament.

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

School Sport

Well done and thank you to the pupils and staff that have been involved with school sport in this incredibly

busy autumn term. We have competed in over 120 fixtures in local, regional and national competitions, in a

range of sports from cross-country, the usual team sports, to table-tennis and badminton. Results of particular

note include the Year 8 Rugby squad, only losing to Trinity School in the Surrey Schools’ Rugby Festival, and

the Sixth Form Basketball team reaching the semi-final of the Surrey Cup. I would also like to wish Mr Gregory

and the Year 7 football team good luck in the last 32 of the National Football Championships; they are due to

play Ravensbourne School, near Bromley in Kent, away on Friday 12th January 2018.

We have had a number of pupils representing regional teams in various sports and have been particularly well

represented in the Surrey Football squads.

In January, Saturday fixtures change from Rugby to Football, with a busy schedule viewable via the link on the

school website, as are the historic results.

Merry Christmas from the Sports Department; enjoy a rest and return fully fit for a great Spring term.

Christmas Bulletin

December 2017

Help Support Kingston Education Project Anstee Bridge

Kingston’s Anstee Bridge Choir features on a new charity album by a number of choirs from around the country, including Britain’s Got Talent finalists, the Missing People Choir. ‘Stand Together’ is available to pre-order on Amazon and will be released on 15th December. The single, ‘We All Stand Together’, is out now and available to buy as a download: http://smarturl.it/WeAllStandTogether

Proceeds from sales will be shared between the choirs’ organisations.

Anstee Bridge is a project run by Achieving for Children, that helps young people aged 15-16 to build confidence and resilience and re-engage with education through creativity. You can find out more at ansteebridge.co.uk