December 2016 Newsletter

Dear Parents, We are nearing the end of term as we all look forward to a Happy and Holy Christmas. The last few weeks have been so busy at Bishop Walsh, some details of which are reported in this short newsletter. This communication also informs you of arrangements for the end of this term and the start of the next. Advent 2016. We are now in the third week of Advent. At Bishop Walsh we are all engaging in using these weeks to prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. We use the ‘Walk with me’ prayer booklets which focus on reviewing how we live our lives encouraging us to settle our grudges with other people and in doing so love God. It was great to see so many parents last Wednesday (7th December) when we had our Advent Year 7 Family Mass. Year 7 who participated so well in the liturgy were a credit to their parents. On Sunday 11th December it was great to see sixth formers ‘bag packing’ at Sainsbury’s Mere Green for Fr. Hudson’s work with destitute female asylum seekers at Fatima House. Mr Foley tells me that students were an absolute credit to the school. This Friday 16th December all pupils will get the opportunity to go to confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is a great way to make a fresh start and unburden us of our offences to God and other people. Finally on the last day of term, Thursday 22nd December we have a whole school Christmas Assembly followed by a charity sing-a-long. Pupils have to pay £2 to attend this event and this year we are raising monies for the CAFOD Syrian Refugee Crisis Appeal. There is also a just giving page for this appeal. If possible could you like and share this on your Facebook. The idea is to appeal to the wider Bishop Walsh community to donate together for this cause. Thanks for your help. Here is the link to like and share. http://click.contact.justgiving.com/?qs=45b4a51dffc1d004af5941d59483cf79ea4975b7f039f423956027845d0d969a4400e48eee9e97b9 Senior Citizens Party. Over the last few weeks, I would like to thank you and your children for giving so generously in terms of money and time. Mrs Nash led a team of staff and pupils in organising a very successful Christmas Party for Senior Citizens in our local community on Thursday 1st December. Pupils from all year groups entertained through music, dance, drama and bingo amongst other things while sixth formers helped Mrs Nash and other staff to prepare and serve festive food and drink. The cost of this was met by pupils who paid for a non-uniform day on November 18th 2016. Pupils have also been collecting shoeboxes and hampers as part of our Advent observance. Thanks to Mrs Nash, Miss Forker and Mrs May who have organised these efforts such as the shoeboxes filled with essentials which have been sent to Brushstrokes, which is a branch of the local catholic social care agency, Fr. Hudson's, and will go to those recently arrived to the UK refugees and asylum seekers.

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Christmas Dinner – Tuesday 20th December 2016 On this day our kitchen team are serving a traditional Christmas Lunch for pupils. Please bring in £2.30 for a great festive meal. Goodbye to Mr. Nugent At the end of this term we say goodbye to Mr. Nugent who has been Head of Design Technology since 2008. I thank him for his service at Bishop Walsh and wish him well as he takes up a post at Great Barr School in Birmingham End of Term Arrangements and behaviour to and from school. Pupils will finish school on Thursday 22nd December 2016 at around 12.55pm. None of our buses can guarantee a service at this time so please make sure your child has alternative arrangements to get home this Friday. I recommend that your children go straight home, get changed and keep away from Sutton Coldfield Town Centre where the police discourage groups of teenagers ‘hanging around’ on the last day of school term. There will be a police presence in Sutton Town Centre on Thursday 22nd 2016 and I do not want any Bishop Walsh pupils to get involved in any trouble. Like you, I expect that pupils wearing our uniform are ambassadors for the good name of their school both in and out of it. Uniform Standards. I thank the vast majority of parents who support the school’s uniform standards. Our standards included wearing no jewellery in yrs. 7 to 11 which is clear for pupils, parents and staff and therefore easy for all of us to enforce. Pupils should not get piercings done over the holiday that are not easily removed by the start of term on Monday January 9th 2017. If a pupil comes to school with pierced jewellery on January 9th that allegedly cannot be taken out it will not be good enough to put a ‘plaster’ over it. Such pupils will be sent home until they remove the piercing. Forthcoming Parents’ Evenings. Please remember that Year 10 have their Parents’ Evening on Thursday, February 2nd 2017, 4.30pm-6.30pm. Year 9 have their Parents’ Evening on Wednesday, March 7th 2017, 4.30pm-6.30pm. Year 11 have a Sixth Form Information Evening to which all parents and pupils in that year group are invited is on Tuesday 28th February 2017 starting at 6pm. Year 8 Option Evening is on Thursday March 16th 2017 starting at 7.30pm and Year 12 Parents’ Evening is on Monday March 27th 2017, 4.30pm-6.30pm Training Days for the rest of the academic year, 2016-2017.

Friday 26th May 2017 In Conclusion I never take for granted the support the school receives from parents and what with our very positive section 5 and section 48 Ofsted reports 2016 has been a successful year for Bishop Walsh. Parents and staff working together to support our young people defines the essence of what inspectors thought was so good about Bishop Walsh. I hope you have a happy and holy Christmas and enjoy time together as a family. All pupils are expected back in school on Monday 9th January, 2017, at 8.50am. Yours sincerely and God Bless for 2017, J.B. Farrell.

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Erdington Abbey- Parish of SS Thomas and Edmund of Canterbury, Sutton Road, Erdington. (Rector and Parish Priest; Very Rev.Father Gabriel Maguire C.Ss.R) Vigil Mass: 6.00pm. (Saturday) Sunday: 8.00am, 9.15am, (Children's Mass) 10.30am, (Sung) 12.00 Noon, 6.00pm. Holy Cross and St. Francis, Signal Hayes Road, Walmley (Parish Priest; Rev. Father Neil Bayliss) Saturday: 6.00pm (Vigil Mass) Sunday: 8.30am and 10.30am Holy Trinity, Lichfield Rd, Sutton Coldfield Centre (Parish Priest; Rev. Father Michael Ho-Huu-Nghia.) Saturday: 6.00pm (Vigil Mass) Sunday: 9.30am, 11.00am and 7pm. Sacred Heart, Lichfield Rd, Four Oaks, (Served by Holy Trinity) Saturday: 5.00pm at Footherley Hall. Sunday: 8.30am and 10.30am St. Nicholas, Boldmere. (Parish Priest; Rev. Fr. Allen Morris) Saturday: 6pm (Vigil Mass) Sunday: 9am and 11am SS. Peter and Paul. Kingsbury Rd. Erdington. (Parish Priest; Rev. Father Joseph McLoughlin) Saturday: 5.15pm (Vigil Mass) Sunday: 9.00am and 10.30am Christmas mass times in local parishes Please visit the Parish websites for details of their services over the Christmas period.

YEAR 7 FAMILY

MASS

On Wednesday 7th December 2016

Bishop Walsh Pupils in Year 7 were given

the opportunity to participate in the

Family mass.

To start off the amazing evening 7w1

performed an amazing hymn O Holy

Night-which they sang beautifully. What

a way to open the mass.

Following this a group of voluntary

actors took part in a drama scene called

“Camp Sonrise: Jesus is the Light” which

explained to everyone how Jesus is the

one and only guiding light. Many

parents and students thought this was a

lovely scene to describe the true

meaning of Christmas.

The Celebrant of the Mass was Father

Allen and his Altar Servers were

Serephina Hopkins, William Eilbeck and

Joseph Lomas.

We also thank our Head of Year, Miss

Doyle for doing a spectacular reading

(Isaiah 40:25-31) during the mass.

After the Responsorial Psalm was sung

Father Allen read the Gospel (Matthew

11:28-30). Followed by his influential

Homily.

Next Olivia Shelley (7A), Maja Skowron

(7B), Amelia Hughes (7C), Connlaoi Pope

(7D), Emily Ogiorumua (7F) and Harry

Hubbleday (7I) read inspiring Bidding

prayers to teach people the right way of

the Lord.

During the Offertory Tom Carey played

Silent Night professionally on his clarinet

Silent Night.

After communion we had a brilliant

Dance Performance from all of Year 7.

Year 7 had been working on this

amazing dance for a very long time

every class performed their own

dance and then everyone came

together for the ending. We would all

like to thank the dance teachers for

everything they have done.

Lewis Connor created an inviting front

cover to the booklet which was

brilliant.

Thank you to Mrs Foley who set it all

up and to all the staff involved and to

the form tutors who helped during

the practices. Also to the drama team.

Thank you and have a Merry

Christmas.

Joseph Lomas and William Eilbeck

(7B).

Miss Forker's form group 7 Ignatius showed their charitable Christmas spirit in donating

gifts for the less fortunate this term. They collected and filled shoe boxes for children in

other parts of the world to unwrap. The boxes were full to the brim of fun and useful toys

and goods to provide some Christmas cheer for those who are not as lucky as we are.

With the help of some very kind year 9’s the boxes were packed and wrapped.

Thank you to all who helped.

BUS SERVICES FROM 16-22nd DECEMBER 2016

Confirmation that services will operate as normal morning and evening for the above dates.

On the final day 22nd December services will operate as normal in the morning.

PLEASE NOTE NO BUSES will operate when school finishes at lunchtime on 22nd December.

Please make arrangements for your son/daughter journey home that day.

Mrs.Bethell - Educational Visits Co-ordinator

A Level Re-sits Summer 2017

Any A-Level student wishing to re-sit an unreformed subject in the Summer 2017 series must

complete a re-sit form (available from Mrs Thompson, Mrs Hayes and the school website) and

return it to Mrs Thompson by Friday 27th January at the latest. If you sat an AS subject in Summer

2016 and it was one of the reformed subjects you cannot re-sit the AS if you are continuing with

the subject to A Level.

Payment is now via Parentpay - if you do not have a login please contact the Finance Office.

You may still enter for an exam after the deadline date of Friday 27th January but please bear in

mind that fees DOUBLE after 17th February.

Any questions please see Mrs Thompson

A LEVEL Re-sits

Deadline to reach the EXAM OFFICE will be Friday 27th January 2017

If you sat an AS subject in Summer 2016 and it was one of the reformed subjects you cannot re-sit the AS if you are continuing with the subject to A Level.

Candidates may retake unit exams to try and improve their overall subject grade in the Summer 2017 session providing they are available. Any retaken exams incur an entry fee as charged by the exam board. *All Payment is now via PARENTPAY – please contact the school finance office if you do not have a login*

Exam entry fees (if your subject does not appear on this list please see the Exams Office): Unreformed subjects Government & Politics (EDEXCEL) - £24.40 Maths (OCR) - £17.30 Media Studies (OCR) - £22.60 Music (OCR) - £26.70 Music Tech (EDEXCEL) - £39.50 PE (OCR) - £31.30

RE (EDEXCEL) - £24.90 The deadline set by the Exam Board is 21st February but time is needed to ensure all entries are submitted so please ensure you submit your forms to the Exams Office by 27th January at the latest. No payment – no entry!

**FEES DOUBLE AFTER 21st FEBRUARY **

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ParentPay: Yes / No

Please return this form along with payment to the exams office by Friday 27

th January 2017

PLEASE NOTE: *All payment is now via PARENTPAY – please contact the school finance office if you do not have a login*

SIGNED: __________________________________ STUDENT NAME: __________________________ DATE OF BIRTH: ___________________________ CANDIDATE NUMBER: ___________________________ DATE: _______________________

Gender Equality Survey 2016

Bishop Walsh invites you to take part in our gender equality survey as part of The Link

Project.

The Link Project was established in 2015 in order to demonstrate the ethnic, cultural and

religious diversity that exists in the city of Birmingham.

For 2016, both schools agreed to take part in The World’s Largest Lesson. Last year, world

leaders committed to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development; 17 goals to achieve 3

extraordinary things over the next 15 years – end extreme poverty, fight inequality & justice

and fix climate change. The World’s Largest Lesson in 2016 focused on goal number 5 –

GENDER EQUALITY.

As a result, a group of thirty year 10 pupils from both schools took part in the lesson:

http://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/worlds-largest-lesson-2016-focus-on-goal-5-

gender-equality/

A smaller group then travelled to Hodge Hill Girls’ School to discuss their results and

findings. We also decided to design a survey to assess attitudes towards gender equality

from all stakeholders at both schools; pupils, staff, parents and academy representatives.

You can find our survey on the home page of our school website:

http://bishopwalsh.net/welcome/

Please click on ‘Gender Equality Survey 2016’. The survey should take no more than 5

minutes and results will be published in a future newsletter.

Physical Education

Junior Sports Personality Awards 2016

This year I have nominated three Bishop Walsh students for junior sports personality of the year. Below are

abstracts of their nominations:

Sean Hope – Karate

Sean was over the moon to be asked to represent England at the European Championships in Germany in

June 2016 where he achieved a record of four golds and one silver, he was even interviewed for a German

television channel! During the four day competition, he showed great team spirit, encouraging and

motivating his team members even when he was direct competition with them. Sean was also selected to

represent England for the World Championships in Florida, but due to injury he was unable to defend his

world kumite title.

He has also used his technical ability and enthusiasm to teach small groups of children from age 5 to 11 on

a Monday evening at the Mere Green Club for Zen Shin, giving up two hours of his time each week to help

and support his Sensei to give something back to the community of Sutton Coldfield. As the oldest child of

four siblings, he has proved to be a good role model and is kind and patient. His little brother has just joined

Zen Shin Karate club and Sean is enjoying giving him extra lessons at home. This past year he has had to

attend leadership courses that teach the students how to develop leadership qualities and skills and has

also achieved his first aid certificate.

Alice Kinsella – Karate

Alice has now been in the Great Britain National squad for six years. In January she went to Canada to

represent GB against some of the best in the world in her age group and completed the tournament,

finishing with a Bronze medal. In February, competing in the British girls competition, Alice finished in 3rd

place overall competing as an individual against the senior girls (who competed at the Olympics in the

Summer). In March Alice competed at the English Championships. She was English champion, winning the

all around gold, gold on individual apparatus, floor, and beam, along with silver on bars. This was a

fantastic achievement for her. Also in March, Alice competed in the British championships. On the beam,

she finished as champion of the beam, winning Gold. In April, Alice competed in an International against

Italy & Germany, finishing as champion by winning Gold overall.

In May, Alice’s biggest achievement came when she was selected to represent team GB in the European

championships, one of only 5 girls to be selected in Great Britain. In this championship, Alice won team

Silver, Individual Silver on the floor and, most importantly, winning individual Silver on the beam (this was a

historic event for team GB, as it was the first time a team GB gymnast has medalled individually on the

beam). In August Alice was one of 39 athletes to be selected from all sports (only 2 female gymnasts were

selected) to represent team GB in the Rio Summer Olympics to participate in the “Ambition Programme”,

readying them for Tokyo 2020. It was an honour for Alice to be selected for this. Hyperlink:

https://www.teamgb.com/news/boa-launches-ambition-programme-for-rio-2016

Louis Barry – Football

Louie is an u14 premier league academy player for WBA. He trains 4 times a week and plays in matches

every Sunday which could be as far away as Wales, London or Manchester. In addition to this commitment

he is always keen to play with his school team at Bishop Walsh whenever he can. He has overcome an

injury to his foot and has emerged stronger and more determined to perform at his very best on a weekly

basis. As one of the youngest and smallest players in his age group Louie has never let this be a

disadvantage and has shown through his technique and goal scoring skills that he can compete and

succeed at the highest level.

School Ski trips Canada 2017 – Chateau Mont Sante Anne 63 students and 7 staff are heading to the premier Canadian resort of Mont Sanite Anne in Quebec in February

2017. There are no remaining place on this trip, however we may return to North America in the future. Following

the parents meeting in November, there will be a student’s meeting in school in February to remind pupils of the

itinerary and rules of the trip.

Austria – Amade February 2018 This ski trip to one of the top European resorts with the best ski school in Europe, is available to students for £899.

Including full board accommodation at our very own Austrian Hotel and six days skiing lessons with return travel by

coach and ferry. With 45 students already having secured their place, there are potentially 10 more student places

available. Please pay the deposit on ParentPay ASAP, or contact Mr Marshall for more information.