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St. Catherine’s High School

March…a time for waiting, a time for birthing

…of tots, tweens & teens!

March 2011

Newsletter

And here is March, brightening up our days! Aren’t we

all happy to enjoy at last a bit of sunshine after those

gloomy, wet and cold days! March bids farewell to win-

ter and welcomes spring, inviting nature to bloom in its

dress of colours, sprouts, buds, bulbs and off-springs. It

is the time when death bears life, a transition which is

present not only in the natural course of the seasons but

also in the spiritual journey that each and everyone is

invited to take. It is a time when hope is

rekindled. Albert Laighton writes, ’Where

man sees but withered leaves, God sees

sweet flowers growing.’

With this March we entered the Carnival

period at St. Catherine’s High School. The

highlight for this merry time, before we pro-

ceeded into the Lenten period, was Friday

4th March and the week leading to it, as our

School took part in the Recycling for Carnival project.

March is also the time for Parents’ Days and assessment

time: a time for parents to be kept abreast of their chil-

dren’s educational development as the educational

plans are reviewed so as to better meet the students’

needs. This March is also buzzing with excitement as

some of our students wait in anticipation for the Boreat-

ton Park and the Venice Trips. Both groups leave the

island on the last day of March.

As we start Lent in preparation for Easter, we feel called

for spiritual recollection, revisioning and recommitment,

and to shed parts of the old self in birthing the new self.

Alan Jones says, ’There is a self within each one of us

aching to be born.’ This is a slow and, at times, painful

process which requires waiting, stillness and staying

with...a tough call in a fast-moving world dominated

with instantaneity and seduced by easy and quick fixes.

But as winter lumbers slowly, slowly towards spring, and

nature births life out of death, let us participate in its

rebirth in the hope that our little

deaths will bring life and growth of

the self that each and every one of us

is meant to be.

But in a time when the world is

plagued by natural disasters, revolu-

tions and political unrest, we cannot

but not think of many innocent lives

that were lost as a result. As the soul

of the world aches at such loss, we may easily feel help-

less, and even more so, hope-less when confronted by

such overwhelming shocking news. But we cannot re-

main passive. Let us not forget that we can be signs of

hope, and while we can contribute in many ways in aid

of the people directly hit, we can also think of, and even

reach out to, the many ‘victims’ in our little circles and

worlds - the afflicted, the homeless, the sick, the bereav-

ing, the poor, the lost, the discriminated against, etc.

Brian Gauci

School Coordinator

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Parents’ Group

Following the set-up of the Parents’ Group, the School

launched the first of a series of seminars aimed at pro-

viding an opportunity for personal and parental develop-

ment for the parents! These talks were held on the 16th

and the 17th March, and the topic chosen for these

seminars was Effective Communication with our Chil-

dren. We had three different speakers, each address-

ing a particular age so as

to better meet the needs

at particular phases in

the growth of a child.

We must say that the re-

sponse was extremely

good and encouraging to

say the least. The feed-

back received was in gen-

eral very positive which shows that such fora were

greatly appreciated by the parents.

Our next appointment is for the 12th and the 13th April

where we will hold another seminar, this time on the

topic of Educating Children for Healthy Sexuality which

will be delivered by Dr. Mary Ann Borg Cunen. Applica-

tions will be out soon and we hope to have the same

good response and see many parents attending .

We take this opportunity to thank the Parents’ Group

which organized these seminars in collaboration with

the School, and we encourage any parents who are in-

terested to come forward and join in.

Easter Figolli

Our group of Mummy Chefs is back to School with a

mission, and this time they will be whetting our appe-

tite with their delicious school-baked Easter Figolli,

which will be on sale for our community.

Once again we have two types of figolli: pure almond

figolli and date figolli. Both types will be covered in

milk chocolate. The cost for a pure almond figolla is

€6.50 whereas that for a date figolla is €5.50. You can

order as many figolli as you want! Try them and you

won’t regret having bought them!

Kindly note that the ordering forms were distributed to

all the students and the deadline for placing orders was

Friday, 25th March 2010.

Teachers - Students Sports Marathon

For the first time, the Junior School organised a Sports

Marathon where students, teachers and administration

staff were all competing in different sports disciplines.

One can still feel the hype and excitement that filled the

air on that day, especially amongst the Junior 3, 4, 5 and

6 students who were the ones to challenge our team of

School staff. The big day was Friday, 25th February. We

had relay races, potato and spoon

races, football penalties, prisoners,

rounders, and basketball shootouts.

This event was organised also as a

fund-raising activity; in fact the

money collected amounted to €193.

We take this opportunity to thank all

the students who whole-heartedly

entered this challenge!

We all had great fun and although the teachers and ad-

ministration staff were exhausted by the end of it, they

will surely be up for another challenge in the future!

And by the way, the teachers and administration staff

have arduously trained themselves for this big event so

that they appear in good shape on the day! Shhhhhh,

this is a secret!

New Shelving & New Flooring

We would like to inform you that the School has pur-

chased new shelving for some of the Junior classes,

which have definitely helped in keeping more order and

structure within the classrooms. Also, new flooring has

been installed in the Flutterby Yellow Room, which gives

a new look to this room.

Recycling for Carnival

This Carnival, the Pre-Junior and Junior classes were in-

volved in a project called Recycling for Carnival whereby

they built carnival floats all made out of recycled mate-

rial. The climax of this event was the 4th March when,

apart from the Carnival parties, we had our students and

teachers finalizing their projects. It was simply amazing

to see the different classes and class groups creatively

engaged, together with their teachers, as they gave form

and colour to these miniature floats. Well done!

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After-School Programme - Term 3

Kindly note that the After-School Extracurricular Pro-

gramme for the third term will commence as of Monday,

4th April. Applications will be out on Monday, 28th

March. Kindly submit your application/s (including pay-

ment) by not later than Monday 4th April 2011. Please

note that in some of the activities there is a limited num-

ber of applicants that can be accepted and a first-come-

first-served policy will be applied. Thank you!

Parents’ Outing

A third outing is being organized for

parents, relatives and friends. The

destination this time is Casa Rocca

Piccola in Valletta and the visit will

consist of a guided tour of the Resi-

dence as well as the Bomb Shelters.

In addition, the outing group will be

treated with tea/coffee and pastizzi

at the Casa as well as they can spend

some time in Valletta. The outing will take place on

Wednesday, 6th April (during school hours) and the

price is that of €11 per person. Those interested in join-

ing in are kindly requested to inform Mr. Brian Gauci by

not later than Monday, 4th April.

Lenten Morning

On Friday 15th March, the Day when we commemorate

our Lady of Sorrows, the Juniors 2 to the Junior 6s will

not be having normal lessons since we will be organizing

a day of activities and prayer. The idea is to instill in our

children a sense of what the Lenten time is all about and

to foster a sense of community during this very special

time.

On that day, we will be also focusing on the victims of

the Japan tsunami on the day and we will be setting up a

Hope Tree in aid of the Japanese people and children

will be asked either to write prayers for the Japanese

children or to provide some food stuffs/medicinals

which we will then pass on to a suitable entity. In due

time, the class teachers will inform the particular classes

what they will need to get for the day, including items

for donation and any expenses to cover the activity.

Boreatton Park Adventure School Trip

The 31st of March will see a group of 18 students from

our Junior 5 and 6 and Senior 1 leaving Malta for their

Boreatton Park Adventure Trip. The group of boys and

girls will be accompanied by Ms. Sue, Ms. Lorraine and

Mr. Brian. They will arrive back in Malta in the early

hours of April 4th.

The programme is tightly packed with different activities

in which our group of students and teachers alike will be

challenged to stretch their comfort levels and face their

fears as they engage in challenges such as

the giant swing, the trapeze, orienteering,

archery, canoeing, problem-solving exer-

cises, etc.

Northern Italy Trip

Our group of 26 students from Senior 2, 3

and 4 will be departing for the north of

Italy on 31st March and will return to Malta

on Sunday 3rd April. The group of boys and girls will be

accompanied by Ms. Paula, Ms. Josette, Ms. Giselle, Ms.

Fenech and Mr. Hales.

This 4 day cultural tour is packed with activities.

Students will be visiting Venice, famous for its palaces,

canals and bridges, where they will visit sites such as the

Rialto Bridge, St. Mark’s Basilica, the Clock Tower, the

Bell Tower, the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. A

vaporetto ride to the island of Murano, famous for

glassmaking, will be another exciting experience.

Students will visit St. Anthony’s Basilica amongst other

places in Padova. They will also have the opportunity to

visit the Botanical Garden, which, created in 1545, is the

oldest existing university botanical garden in the world.

The students will not only learn more about plants but

also about the relationship between nature and culture.

The Garden hosts incredibly old plants all labelled with

the scientifc name of the species. Verona, the city of the

most famous lovers in history: Romeo and Juliet is

another place included in the tour.

Feltre, a small town on the edge of the Dolomite

mountains will offer some breathtaking views of the

mountains whereas picturesque Treviso will be the place

of our lodging.

We wish you all a safe and pleasant trip!

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Puttinu Cares Football Marathon

Members from the School staff will be taking part in a

Football Marathon in aid of Puttinu Cares, which will take

place on 7th and 8th May. St. Catherine’s team of staff

will play football between 5.00pm and

6.00pm on Sunday 8th May. Those

parents who would like to sponsor our

team may do so by sending their con-

tribution to Mr. Brian Gauci. All pro-

ceeds will go for the Puttinu Cares.

Parents and students are also encour-

aged to attend this weekend event,

and why not, come to support and

cheer for our team on the day!

Book your Diaries!

Please take note of the following dates:

30th March (Wednesday) - Flutterby Matinée

Easter Concert (Groups 1 to 5);

31st March - 3rd April (Thursday to Sunday) -

School Trip to Venice, Senior 2 to 4;

31st March - 3rd April (Thursday to Sunday) -

School Trip to Boreatton Park (UK), Junior 4 to

Senior 1;

1st April (Friday) - School holiday;

6th April (Wednesday) - Parents’ Outing;

8th April (Friday) - Flutterby Evening Easter Con-

cert (Groups 1 to 5);

12th April (Tuesday) - Junior 6 to Senior 4 Sports

Day, morning;

14th April (Thursday) - Senior 5 School Leaving

Ceremony, morning;

15th April (Friday) - Lenten Morning;

15th April (Friday) - Last Day of Term 2.

“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”

Will Durant

Junior 3 Blogs & Home Work

Parents are to note that the Junior 3 teachers will be

updating the blogs on the following days: Ms. Rosette

(Mondays); Ms. Stephanie (Tuesdays); Ms. Josepha

(Wednesdays); Ms. Alison

(Thursdays) and Ms. Vanessa

(Fridays).

Parents are to register their

names on each blog so they

would then automatically re-

ceive an email when a post has

been added to the blog.

Furthermore, parents are to

note that with regard to Home Work, English and Mal-

tese writing exercises will be given on Fridays; however,

they will be collected by the teachers as follows: Mon-

days for English and Tuesdays for Maltese. Children are

thus to bring these HWs on the respective day. Maths

Home Work will be given daily and is expected to be re-

turned on the following day unless otherwise stated.

Home Tutoring

Do you feel your child is struggling in a few subjects at

school and needs some extra help to boost their confi-

dence? Have your child’s grades gone down? Are you

pressed for time or do not have the necessary knowledge

to help with homework? Would you like to help your son

or daughter feel more prepared for exam time and not

have to cram last minute? Do you feel they lack the nec-

essary study skills and need more guidance?

Then why not consider home tutoring?

This consists of a qualified teacher coming directly to

your home to give tailor-made lessons to your child or

children. This avoids any unnecessary disruption and no

time is wasted travelling to and from the lesson. Also

home tutoring can help raise grades, improve self-

esteem, and assist students of all ages and abilities.

Various options of tutoring are available (from 1-to-1 to

a mini group), and prices vary according the subject/s

requested and the number of hours per week. Lesson

times vary according to needs and they can be even held

during the weekend (at a slightly higher charge).

If you are interested, kindly contact Ms. Sue Mifsud Mi-

dolo on sue.mifsud.midol@stcatherines.eu or 21378703.