Dear Parent/Carer, Thank you to all of you for a good start to the term. Year 7, including those who have joined us recently, seem to be learning their way around the school, and getting used to getting through the dinner queue in time! It has been lovely to see them at the after school clubs and also playing in the playground. They raise our spirits. I look forward to hearing them at their first choir rehearsal on Monday. Playing is underrated in secondary schools! Everyone becomes a bit ‘too cool for school’ as they grow older, and so it is a joy to see young people happily running around, and singing. The same message was given to Year 9 at their Information evening; yes, grades and exams are important, and the information we gave them was hopefully valuable too; but they are only a small part of being a fulfilled person. There’s lot more that needs to be written on an application form than a grade; and a lot more to life than just exams and homework. Take part, experiencing joy is Holy! I’m sure that caught your attention: it’s holy because God gave us a life to be fulfilled, one that uses all of our God-given talents. So join in; there is so much going on at Grays Convent, there’s something for everyone. We have a rich life here from Sport, Drama (I hope some of your girls took part in the auditions for Little Shop), Music, DT clubs, Debating, Dance club, Competitions, Duke of Edinburgh and Passport to Adventure, Gardening club, Leadership roles, Rosary club…. the list is endless! It’s all there because we think your daughter should experience the joy of taking part. For older girls, it’s good relaxation from the stress and concern of the next phase, but doing something and joining in also takes persistence and resilience too. So it’s Friday, I hope you get to do something joyful this weekend….but just make sure, as Pope Francis says, to keep a quiet moment for God to love you. Enjoy the promised sunshine. God bless Penny Johnson Headteacher

Would your daughter like to make the Sacrament of Confirmation?

Making the Sacrament of Confirmation is a free choice to commit as a follower of Jesus. If your

daughter has any questions about this she is welcome to speak to Miss Carson, the lay Chaplain in school, or speak to the Priest at your Church. If your Daughter is in Year 10 or above and would like to make the Sacrament of Confirmation, it is necessary to apply straight away. Application forms are available now at Church, after Mass. We also have some application forms available in school, from Miss Carson. The application form, consent forms, and Baptism Certificate (if you were not baptised at St Thomas’s) must be returned to the Church office by Monday 11th November 2019. The Confirmation Information evening is on Tuesday 12th November 2019. Girls must attend this with their parent(s)/ guardian(s). Applicants for Confirmation will need to attend an interview with the Priest on Sunday 17th November (between 3-5pm). The Confirmation Course starts on 19th November 2019. You will be asked to purchase necessary course work material for £3. There will be a weekend retreat – cost to be confirmed, last year it was £75. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you in your decision. God bless you,

Miss Carson

IMPORTANT MESSAGES:

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

Inspiring Ambition,

Achieving Excellence Week ending Friday 13

th

September 2019

The Year 7s have had a fabulous start to the term and have settled in well, with many pupils already accumulating achievement points. Keep up the good work!

Year 7 Baseline Tests All Year 7 pupils will be sitting tests in Maths, English and Science on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th September. The pupils do not need to do anything to prepare for the tests. The tests are used to ensure all students are in the correct English, Maths and Science sets; the current groupings were based on feedback from primary teachers and SATs data.

Mrs Wells

Year 7 Choir starts this Monday (16th September) and all of Year 7 are expected to attend, we also hope they will have fun!

For this first week only choir will take place in the GYM instead of the hall. It would be a great idea for the girls to bring a bottle of water with them. Students should collect their belongings at the end of Period 6 and bring them in to the gym. Each form will have a space to leave their bags, coats etc. Your daughter will finish at 4:10pm and will be returned (we hope!) with a smile on her face! Looking forward to working with Year 7 Choir this year!

Mrs White

As time progresses it is becoming very clear that the most popular way to engage with the community around you is though the power of social media. We pride ourselves on keeping the parents of our students informed and involved with the day-to-day activities of the school. This has so far been achieved via our website, newsletter and twitter account, which can be found at https://twitter.com/GraysConvent. We are now extending our social media coverage to Facebook. As a school we feel that this will enable us to reach more of our students’ parents whilst also reaching out to the wider audience of our community as a whole. Our new Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Grays-Convent-High-School-347206599299327/. We hope this move will help us to fully engage with the people of Thurrock, and better inform them of all the wonderful things going on at our school.

Please follow us on Twitter, @GraysConvent, to ‘re-tweet’ and ‘like’ all the good things going on in our school! Scan our QR code with your phone camera to be taken straight to our twitter page. For real time updates and photos from our sporting fixtures follow @graysconventPE or search the #GCHSsport tag!

On Friday 20th September Grays Convent High School will be celebrating Jeans for Genes Day. This will be a non-uniform day and students and staff can wear their jeans for the day for a donation of £1. Activities are planned for the week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and details of these activities can be found in the adjacent poster.

Mrs Bialek

YEAR 7 INFORMATION

YEAR 7 CHOIR

GCHS FACEBOOK

GCHS TWITTER

JEANS FOR GENES DAY

On the 7th October this year, the usual entrance to the school for pupils, at

the end of College Avenue, will be closed until March 2020, as we will

be building a new classroom. The classroom will be next to

Room 34 and in the playground. This area will be zoned off completely during this time.

Girls will be coming into school either through the green gates that head to the canteen (open from just before 8am) and round to the playground, or through the side doors near the chapel and before the main front school doors, heading through the main hall to the canteen. The canteen is supervised until 8:30am and I cannot have girls in the main building until then for their health and safety, as I do not have staff on duty to supervise them. Both routes are through a car park so please advise your girls to be vigilant when entering. The biggest impact will be in driving into College Avenue, where turning around at the end of this very small cul-de-sac, will be nearly impossible. We ask you regularly, and I don’t always put this on the newsletter but send it in letters to you, NOT to drive into College Avenue if you can avoid it. We were lucky enough to have a drop off zone on the corner of College Avenue and Bradleigh Avenue created by the council (in the old coach stop), please try and use it; it is about 200 yards to the school entrance and the senior staff who are there every day to greet the girls. This is frequently empty in the morning. If you HAVE to come into College Avenue, for example we have some students with broken limbs who need picking up or some pupils who are escorted home in taxis, we ask you NOT to come onto the school grounds or turn round there. We have 650 valuable young women whom we wish to keep safe, and equally staff, whom we also value dearly, who are on duty. Last year a reversing driver knocked down a member of staff reversing up the drop down kerb. You may need, at the end of school when St Thomas’ and Quarry Hill are also leaving, to arrange to meet your daughter elsewhere. I do not control the public highway, although all staff on duty frequently have to, and do not have the jurisdiction to restrict entrance to College Avenue. Please help by dropping your daughter off at the drop off zone in the morning, and meeting her elsewhere if you pick her up at the end of the day.

Thank you so much to everybody that has brought in a postcard. Places visited stretch from Hever Castle in Kent to Hawaii – not one of the teachers!!! Students have been awarded Achievement Points. If there are any more lying around they will be given a good home!

Mrs M Smith

Our monarch of the month for September is Elizabeth I. There is a display on her just beside Room 22. There is also a quiz: three questions to answer by Friday 27th September: 1. Elizabeth never married.

This led to her being known as who? 2. In 1588 Elizabeth came to Essex and made a very famous

speech. Where did she visit? 3. One of Elizabeth’s favourites was Robert Dudley.

What title did she give him? Mrs M Smith

Since the implementation of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in May 2018, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us as a school to celebrate your daughter’s achievements by way of Twitter, the Website and of course the weekly newsletter. We are simply unable to use your daughter’s image without your permission if they are under 12 years of age. We have sent letters out to all parents/carers asking for yours and your daughter’s consents to a number of photographic scenarios. Could you please complete and return these consent forms to Mrs Byrne as soon as possible. If you require another copy, please contact the school. Thank you.

Mr P O’Hanlon

EARLY WARNING OF BUILDING WORK HOLIDAY POSTCARDS

MONARCH OF THE MONTH

PHOTOGRAPHIC CONSENT

At Grays Convent our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mrs Collis, and our Safeguarding Officers are Mrs Wells and Mrs Bishop. Students can contact any of our Safeguarding Team during the school day.

Mrs Collis

https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/

We have the CEOP report button at the bottom of our website:

Mr Burr

SAFEGUARDING OUR CHILDREN AT GRAYS CONVENT

INTERNET SAFETY TIP HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE CEOP WEBSITE RECENTLY?

Worried about a child? You can phone or write to The MASH about your concerns. Phone immediately if you believe it is urgent.

Thurrock MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding hub), Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 6SL, Tel: 01375 652802.

Emergency Duty Team (for out of hours) 01375 372468.

Police Child Abuse Investigation Team 01277 266822 or call 999 if you are concerned a child needs immediate protection.

Childline 0800 11 11 www.childline.org.uk

NSPCC 0808 800 5000 www.nspcc.org.uk; www.facebook.com/nspcc

Date Team Opposition Venue

26/09/19 Y9 Netball (Essex Cup) William Edwards Home

26/09/19 U16 Netball (Essex Cup) William Edwards Home

01/10/19 U16 Netball Gable Hall Away

03/10/19 Y9 Netball Gable Hall Home

08/10/19 U16 Netball Thurrock RALLY (Regional Q) Hassenbrook

09/10/19 Y10 & Y11 Athletics Indoor East England Cup Lee Valley

10/10/19 Y9 Netball St. Cleres Away

14/10/19 Y8 Netball St. Cleres A & B (2 Games) Away

15/10/19 Y7 Netball Hassenbrook Away

15/10/19 Y8 Netball Harris OCKENDON Home

16/10/19 Y10 & Y11 Athletics East England Cup- Final Lee Valley

17/10/19 U16 Netball St Cleres A Home

22/10/19 Y8 Netball William Edwards Home

5/11/19 U16 Netball Harris OCKENDON Away

7/11/29 U16 Netball Gateway Home

11/11/19 Yr7 Netball Gateway Away

19/11/19 Yr9 Netball RALLY Hassenbrook

20/11/19 Yr8 & Yr9 Athletics Indoor East England Cup Lee Valley

26/11/19 Yr7 Netball Harris OCKENDON Away

28/11/19 U16 Netball St Cleres B team Away

03/12/19 U16 Netball Hassenbrook Away

11/12/19 Yr8 & Yr9 Athletics Indoor East England Cup Lee Valley

17/12/19 Yr7 Netball Ormiston Park Academy Away

18/12/19 Yr8 & Yr9 Athletics Indoor East England Cup Lee Valley

23/01/20 Yr9 Netball Gateway Away

28/01/20 Yr8 Netball Gateway Away

05/02/20 Yr7 Athletics Indoor East England Cup Lee Valley

12/02/20 Yr7 Athletics Indoor East England Cup Lee Valley

25/02/20 Yr8 Netball RALLY Hassenbrook

26/02/20 Yr7 Athletics Indoor East England Cup Lee Valley

03/03/20 Yr7 Netball William Edwards Away

04/03/20 Yr7 Athletics Indoor East England Cup Lee Valley

09/03/20 Yr7 Netball Harris CHAFFORD HUNDRED Home

12/03/20 Yr7 Netball Harris RIVERSIDE Away

19/03/20 Yr7 Netball St Cleres Home

24/03/20 Yr7 Netball Gable Hall Away

26/03/20 Yr7 Netball RALLY Hassenbrook

POPE FRANCIS’ TWEET OF THE WEEK

FIXTURES LIST 2019-2020

Before the girls came back, we had a Staff Mass celebrated by Fr Francis from Holy Cross. The Heads of Year lit candles for each of our Year groups as we prayed for all the girls, especially our new Year 7s and new members of Staff. 11C prepared a lovely Mass to welcome our new Year 7’s and to ask God’s blessing on us all at the start of our new year and especially for our Year 11’s doing their GCSE’s. Fr Rick from Basildon celebrated the Mass for us and reminded us to use our talents and make the most of our time and opportunities.

Are you thinking about making the Sacrament of Baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation? If anyone would like to know more about making any of the Sacraments at any age, they are welcome to speak to Miss Carson the Lay Chaplain in School, or to contact the Priest at their local Church. God bless you, we pray you and all the girls will have a happy and successful year.

Miss Carson

BLESSINGS ON OUR NEW SCHOOL YEAR

Monday 16th September Year 7 Choir begins – 3:15pm Year 7 (every Monday)

Wednesday 18th September Years 7, 9 & 10 Photographs Years 7, 9 & 10

Thursday 19th September MFL Celebration

Friday 20th September Jeans for Genes Day Whole School

Tuesday 24th September Year 8 Careers Day Year 8

Primary Taster Day – PE Primary

Wednesday 25th September School Council Elections Whole School

Thursday 26th September Year 10 Information Evening 6-7pm Year 10

Wednesday 16th October Year 7 Rochester Trip Year 7

If you intend to shop on-line any time soon (dare we mention ‘Christmas’ yet….!), please remember to use our

Easyfundraising link:

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/grayschs/

Set up an account, add to your favourites and access your retailer through: www.easyfundraising.org.uk. The school benefits directly from every purchase made and there is no extra cost to you for your purchases!

Easyfundraising = Easy Money for Grays Convent!

PE CLUBS – AUTUMN 2019

KEY DATES, TRIPS & EVENTS

EASYFUNDRAISING

September Saturday Family Activities – Come over for a bit of fun on land or the water. Sessions are 10-11.30am. Price £9 per person. All Aboard! – RYA sailing courses available. RYA Start Sailing: 14th/15th £165 per person. Autumn colours – Weekly guided walk around our lake with refreshments. First walk will be on Wednesday 11th September, from 10-11am. Price: £2 per person.

October Saturday Family Activities – Come over for a bit of fun on land or the water. Sessions are 10-11.30am. Price £9 per person. All Aboard! – RYA sailing courses available. RYA Basic Skills: 19th/20th £165 per person. RYA Stage 2: 28th/29th £80 per person. Anyone for a paddle? – British Canoeing courses available. Paddle Sports Instructor Training and Assessment: 12th/13th October. £180 per person.

Autumn colours – Weekly guided walk around our lake with refreshments. First walk will be on Wednesday 11th September, from 10-11am. Price: £2 per person. No walk on Wednesday 30th October. Halloween Themed Family Activities – Spend the week day mornings with us trying some new activities and revisiting old favourites. Sessions run from 9.30-11am and 11.15am-12.45pm. Monday 28th, Tuesday 29th, Wednesday 30th, Thursday 30th October and Friday 1st November. Price £9 per person. Activities for October Half Term will be available on the website this week. Keep a look out – www.thurrock.gov.uk/grangewaters

November Autumn colours – Weekly guided walk around our lake with refreshments. First walk will be on Wednesday 11th Sept, from 10-11am. Price: £2 per person. Last walk is on Wed 27th November.

December Festive Fun Day – Come over for a few activities and crafts. Sat 14th Dec.

Bike to School Week is coming 23 to 27 Sept. 2019

It isn't long until Bike to School Week begins and it’s time for students to get their bikes ready for the event. If your daughter is planning on cycling during the week, please complete the ‘M Check’ before the first day of the event. Like any machine, a bicycle will work better and last longer if it’s cared for properly. Click on the link below to view the ‘M Check’ YouTube video for your bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qtx60bcNk0&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Sustrans&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10844239_Schools_2nd+email_England&dm_i=6EB%2C6GFGV%2CV97WGX%2CPLP5X%2C1

Happy AND SAFE cycling!

GRANGEWATERS EVENTS TO DECEMBER 2019