More News Spring 17

spring 2017 - Issue 22

More News More Music

YR7&8 Bushcraft Check List

See page 13

See page 7

#STM-NYC See page 10-11

Health Related Fitness…

See page 20

in this issue...

• STEM Science – 8-9 • Ripping History Tour – 14 • Celebrating Success – 5 & 19

GCSE Revision Guide Update

See page 4

Letter from the Head

To submit an article please contact Miss Jones at jjones@stm.beds.sch.uk

HEAD TEACHER’S LETTER The literary minded amongst us will know that Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ was set in the month of April and recorded the Pilgrimage from Southwark to Canterbury.

It tells of the tales recited along the journey and the inter-mixing of some very different personalities. This edition of More News certainly also reflects the different departments’ stories of the second academic term – rich in detail, a spiritual rooting at our core, entertaining and humorous at times, and with the testing of character to come in the Bushcraft residential summer trip. Certainly our chaplaincy news displays marvellously our rising to Pope Francis’ challenge to engage with the Bible in new ways. Both individually and as groups, the students have joined in the many opportunities on offer, exploring their faith to a deeper level, and a recent introduction has been our own Stations of the Cross Garden, with groups of students visiting on a daily basis throughout lesson times. Mass continues each Wednesday morning (to which parents and carers are most welcome), and during the period of Lent Eucharistic Adoration provides extra prayer time.

The Exam season for Years 11 and 13 draws ever closer. Many revision sessions are on offer for these exam year groups to access, and we strongly advise that if revision has not yet started, then Easter should well and truly be that starting point. A little often does wonders rather than cramming masses of notes right at the end of the May. You will see on p4 and p6 the extent to which in-school support can be accessed at break, lunch and after school sessions. During Easter and half term other specific classes will run too - individual departments will inform you of these by letters.

Should you feel your child is suffering any anxiety at this crucial time please do contact the Head of Year immediately as we always offer extra support on an emotional level at this pressured time.

Good quality sleep is necessary and quiet spaces for revision. School opens at 07:00hrs and closes at 18:00 and any student is quite welcome to come and work in the Sixth Form Learning Centre from any year group should they need a quiet space away from the business of family life!

Last night saw Year 9 parents in the school, embarking on that first GCSE step of choosing options.

It was great to see so many supportive parents – so many in fact that we had to deliver from two venues. Should you need any more information on any course please do contact the Head of Department.

I wish you all a blessed and peaceful Easter time – do enjoy the break as a family – it is precious time together in a busy world. Stop. Enjoy. Refresh.

With blessings,

Alison T Wilshaw Ensure that Faith is lived, taught and celebrated

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St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

re S t t A 19 ourn ud ll th n W to en Apedne sc ts ri sda ho l2 y o l

More Info New Trips & Activities Payment Method ScoPay: By now, you should have all received a letter containing your child’s unique registration details and more recently, instructions by text message on how to register for our new on-line payment service.

If you haven’t already registered, please follow the link on the STM Web Site: Parents/Trip/Activity/On-line payments.

If you have not received your registration details, please contact central finance@STM.beds.sch.uk for a copy.

Summer Uniform

01 7

Students can now wear: STM logo polo shirt without a tie or long / short sleeved regular shirt with a tie.

Blazers must still be worn.

Don’t forget, this payment method is safe, secure and completely free – there are no charges to users for paying via the on –line facility!

** available ** Activity Hall, Sports Hall and Theatre Space Large well equipped hall and new theatre are now available for community hire.

Please contact the school on:

Bedford 400222

Registering is really easy...

Ask your school office to send you a registration message

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

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More Revision - YR11

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St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

More Success

MOCK EXAM SUCCESSES The staff of St Thomas More would like to congratulate YR11 on their recent Mock Exam success. The top twelve achieving students are listed below, followed by the names of students who will receive a congratulatory letter commending them on their personal achievements.

Well done to the top twelve!

Zarrin RAHMAN Emily WESLEY Erin JACKSON Francesca HRYMAJLO Elsa IACONO Matthew MCDONALD Kate FOLEY Amy MILLER Sasha FOLEY Richard LAURSEN Abi BARKAS Emmanuel BARKAT

We would like to congratulate these students on their personal achievement against their targets Nan AICHANTUK Thomas ANDREWS Leah BANGERH Frankie BULT Jakub BURAKOWSKI Ava CORSINI Tiziana DI PLACIDO Steven DONNELLY Ayesha DORANI James FLANAGAN

Attendan ce Target for 2016 /17

97%

Callum GARCHA Belinda GMAJNER Caolan GRENNAN Joel HAMMOND Rachel HUNT Jack KELLY Kordian KMIEC Chris LEAHY Munashe MATIKA Caitlin MCLOUGHLIN Georgina MORGILLO Michael MUNIU Liam NICHOLSON Hannah NICOL

Savanna NOBOA Felistas NYIWO Lucas PALMARIELLO Olivia PATTERSON Roza PIORONSKA Alanna SCRIMGEOUR Behram VANDRIWALA Anna VENTRONE Arafat WALUGEMBE Patryk WOJCIK

is

Be In Sch o Be Inspir ol – ed St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

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More Updates - YR12&13 Revision Support Sessions Yr12&13 Health and Social Care Monday lunch times YR12 H&SC revision sessions. These will start from our return after the Easter holidays. They will be held in X3A R Chico

Italian English Language RE

R12/3 Italian sessions every Monday lunchtime in RM12 Y (grammar/ translation/ essay writing practice) C Boyt E very Wednesday for YR12 students after school in RM22 M Symonds timetable of revision sessions for As/A2 has been given to students.

A They begin on 15th March.

B Grimley

Sociology

YR13 Revision sessions will be held every Thursday in X4 starting on 23rd March.

S Bedeau

Psychology

L unchtime sessions – Research Methods YR12 and YR13 welcome. T4 Every Wednesday Lunchtime starting after Easter Holidays.

D Smith

Music YR12 Music Coursework support/revision English Literature Science

Sessions 3.45 – 4.30 Tuesday after school starting summer term D Millar E very Tuesday lunchtime and after school in RM 21 K Dosanjh letter has been sent to students and parents detailing the support that is A available to students within the Science department.

J Brown

Geography

-A* study group Wednesday Wk A P5 in M2 A Geog 1 resit - Thursday Wk A P1, Wk B P2, Geog 2 resit - Friday lunch Wk A G Millard

Art

Our department is always open to 6th form, but we do have specific sessions after school on Wednesday and Thursday, 3.45 - 4.45.

T Johnson

Key Dates 12&13 YR12 BTEC Controlled Assessment Period

2nd-9th May

YR12 Reading (study) Week

STM Debating

15th-19th May

Summer A Level Exam Season

15th May-29th June

YR13 Study Leave begins (Subject to completion of BTEC work) YR12 Future Pathways Day

25th May 7th July

anymore articles?

In March, Mrs Bernard and Miss Morris hosted the English Speaking Union (ESU) debating competition for schools across Bedford Borough and what a successful evening it was!

YR12 students Luca Campopiano and Evie Rawes were competing for STM and were up against the very best Bedford schools had to offer. Both Evie and Luca were excellent, beating the competition quite comfortably.

Congratulations to you both!

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St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

More Updates - YR7&8 YR7&8 Bushcraft Trip 2017 Learning Objectives

Hatfield Woods is part of the Hatfield House estate and forms the centrepiece of the largest private estate in Hertfordshire, with the woodlands covering an extensive spread across the county. The rich diversity of habitat and species makes this an idyllic location, capturing the very essence of what we do and providing the perfect backdrop for a residential with The Bushcraft Company. This residential course gives students the chance to enjoy two action packed days, learning in an unfamiliar and exciting environment, as well as spending the night sleeping out in the wild. The course will alternate between group lectures and hands-on activities, giving students the chance to put each new skill into immediate practice. Students will be split into tribes of between ten and fifteen and assigned a group leader. Each activity on this course demands teamwork, and these small groups ensure that every student contributes to the collaborative effort and can leave us with the feeling of satisfaction that comes with having worked together as a team. We have found that they leave us, not only with a greater understanding of the British landscape, but with a new sense of confidence in themselves and in their capacity to work collaboratively.

Students will learn: • How to conduct themselves safely and responsibly in an outdoor environment • To generate and contribute to a sense of team identity and work as part of a team towards a shared goal • To be proactive and make individual contributions to group activities • To develop confidence in unfamiliar surroundings • To react positively to new experiences and to share these with their peers • Where food comes from and to make informed choices about diet and lifestyle • To think creatively about their surroundings • To develop a greater understanding of the natural British landscape • To ensure that their presence in the woodland leaves minimum impact on the environment

KITLIST Below you can find our recommended kit list. We do stress that it is not necessary to go out and buy all new and expensive kit to come on our trips. As long as you have a sleeping bag and roll mat, torch, appropriate footwear and some warm clothes you will be fine, but just to be sure we have outlined the key items of kit below.

You can also visit our online shop at www. thebushcraftcompany.com.

ESSENTIALS: ❑ Large rucksack (or alternative bag/ suitcase) ❑ Small rucksack for daytime away from camp ❑ Warm sleeping bag (season 3) ❑ Roll mat ❑ Tracksuit/hard-wearing trousers ❑ T-shirts ❑ Warm jumpers/fleece ❑ Waterproof jacket and trousers ❑ Warm socks and underwear ❑ Footwear (2 pairs - e.g. walking boots, old trainers) ❑ Towel(s) ❑ Wash bag including toothbrush, toothpaste and face wipes ❑ Water bottle ❑ Good torch with fresh batteries ❑ Insect repellent ❑ Alcohol Hand Gel OPTIONAL: ❑ Sleeping bag liner ❑ Pillow ❑ Whistle WEATHER DEPENDENT: ❑ Wellington boots

The Bushcraft Team

❑ Warm hat ❑ Gloves ❑ Sun cream ❑ Sun hat We kindly ask that you do not bring any sweets or snacks onto camp, particularly those containing nuts.

We also do not advise bringing electronic equipment, such as mobile phones.

Miss V Millar, YR7&8 Coordinator

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

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More Science Big Bang!

The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) for young people in the UK. On Thursday 16th March, St Thomas More Students visited the STEM fair which was being held in the NEC (Birmingham). There was lots of activities on offer, from exciting theatre shows, Interactive workshops and exhibits to careers information from STEM professionals. Students were able to discuss cutting edge science with leading professionals and also hear from students of other schools who were showcasing project work. It was amazing to see developments in technology with robotics and technology in medicine taking a big role in the show this year. There was plenty for students to see with lots of variety in the interactive activities. A highlight was to see students from other schools sharing their ideas from projects that they had been working on over the year- wouldn’t it be fantastic to bring a STM team next year!

The trip was also a great opportunity for Mr Brown and Mr Prudden to join forces and offer a STEM activity for the school - watch this space for more exciting STEM opportunities coming in the near future!

tivities” h lots of fun ac “Great day wit

“I loved th e live thea tre shows it made th e science c ome to life ”

Create exciting learning which enables all to experience fullness of life

s great chatting “A fun trip out. It wa out their projects to other students ab ” for the competition “It was coo l to see so many fem scientists ale doing well in their ca reers” “Lots to see and do”

To all of the staff who organised, supported and attended every trip and activity…

Star Gazing!

In March on a chilly, clear evening, 14 YR7 students excitedly set off to Bedford Observatory.

The students had an amazing evening and using the High Tech telescopes were able to study the surface of the moon, seeing every single crater, as well as looking at the brightest planet in our solar system, Venus. Students braved the cold to look at distant stars and Nebulae with the extremely knowledgeable staff at the Observatory answering the many questions our curious students had.

Finally, the Planetarium provided the opportunity to look at a range of constellations, learn more about Supernovae and explore the endless opportunities our universe has to offer.

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St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

Racing Team More Science Top of the Bench Back in November STM took part in the Top of the Bench Chemistry competition held at Bedford School.

Top of the Bench competition is one of the longest-standing activities organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry for schools, with the aim of enthusing and exciting children and encouraging them to consider further education and careers within chemistry.

Nineteen teams of four students were entered from all across the region. Our team was made

by Matthew McDonald (YR11), Kinga Heremza (YR10), Leonie Brunning (YR9) and Georgina Barkas (YR9).

The whole theme of the competition was based on the real Olympics.

The first practical task was to test a sample of water for safety and quality by carrying out a ‘titration experiment’.

The second task required our chemists to test a sample for the presence of a performance enhancing drug using chemical tests for functional groups.

Both experiments were complex and challenging and our students performed really well in both which is even more commendable given they were working to A Level standard.

The final challenge consisted of a quiz designed to test their general knowledge in Chemistry.

The competition was won by the hosting team, with us gaining a respectable 13th place. Given that the scores were so closely matched and that this was the first time we had participated in this competition, we were delighted with the result.

Well done to all of the students who took part in this challenge!

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

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More Trips and Activities New york Day One

Finally, the 14th February had arrived.

We were finally going to New York!

The 3am start was very early for us all but the excitement kept us all buzzing.

After a 7.5 hour plane journey, STM students arrived in New York. Wasting no time at all, we headed straight to our hotel to drop our suitcases off and that’s when the fun began!

Arriving at the Empire State Building was incredible; the feeling was so surreal to think that we were in one of the most famous cities of the world. The view from the 86th floor was spectacular! There were so many buildings and views of the Hudson River that you did not know where to look. After a few hours sorting ourselves out, we were eager to visit Times Square, a very popular film location which has featured in films such as Taxi Driver and Captain America. Times Square is one of the world’s busiest pedestrian areas, brightly embellished with billboards and advertisements. Looking out to the road, yellow cabs accounted for the majority of the traffic on the road creating an iconic film feeling of New York. There were shops in every direction you looked; which was what we really went for! So after being awake for roughly 22 hours it was fair to say that we were exhausted.

By Anna Baldassarre

Day Two

doughnut for breakfast and I’m not going to name and shame but you know who you are! Nonetheless, our tour took us from the gift shop to Studio 1A where the ‘Today Show’ is filmed. I couldn’t believe how many lights they needed pointed directly onto the set; the presenters really can’t complain of bad lighting! We moved to Studio 8G (the set of ‘Late Night’ with Seth Meyers) where we were given a flavour of this American TV format. It’s a shame we don’t have many talk shows in the UK, but James Corden is certainly doing well at the moment!

Arguably the most fun was had towards the end. After having seen countless music suites, studios and control centres, we were given the opportunity to produce our own TV show. For those of you that have had the pleasure of seeing this online be warned, because we were naturals. You might just see ‘The Late Show with Charles Mbanje’ coming to your screens (but I wouldn’t count on it).

Later that day we walked to the Central Park area to have a look around. Just a quick disclaimer though - this is where the story differs with the different groups we went around in. Some of us had a look round Central Park in the snow. Others, and get this, went shopping... for 3 hours.

In fairness it was good fun as a few of us got free posters from the NIKE store promoting equality in sport. You can imagine how tired we were once we got back to the hotel that evening.

By Chris Young

After a restful night in the Hotel Pennsylvania, we woke up bright and early to catch our tour of the NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. We took in the sights on the way from 7th Avenue and had the opportunity to grab a quick breakfast before we began the tour. Let me tell you, the bagels in N.Y.C are not overrated - they taste incredible! Some of us tucked into a

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• T o watch the TV shows from NBC studios and see all of the photos visit... youtube.com/user/stmmediaandfilm

Day Three

As we left the Deli having eaten an amazing breakfast, we could see the banner for the New York Film Academy and could only imagine what they were going to teach us as we had heard so much about the prestigious credibility the Academy has received over the years.

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

We were greeted by two men who were part of the administration office at the school who took us to where our session was taking place.

We learnt about action and reaction and watched extracts from films and short films which supported the theory we had already covered. We then were given 4 scripts to develop into a film - in groups we were given 5 minutes to have come up with a plot and mark where the camera would go on a floor plan. At first we found acting and operating the professional camera and sound boom difficult but once things got going, the process flowed and we came up with some pretty good ideas.

Next, we went to ground zero and the 9/11 memorial museum. This short walk turned into a larger one as we did get misdirected sometimes!

When we arrived at ground zero, never have I felt such tranquillity from a place than this. New York is a pretty loud city, but everything seemed to stop for a moment of silence. I would have been one year old when this event happened so compared to most adults; I never understood the scale and gravity of such a serious and horrible event. The memorial was a stark reminder of the American’s continued grief for the event, which is often forgotten about on the other side of the sea. We ended a poignant day by looking at the Statue of Liberty from the Battery Park Pier and walking half of the historical and iconic Brooklyn Bridge. I can proudly say that I have seen one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World and how did we mark such an occasion? By taking a group photo! Of course!

By Linda Scaramella

Racing Team More Trips and Activities Inspire, challenge and support one another as we journey together

Day 4 - Our Last Day! The last day in New York started out with the group checking out of the luxurious (yet still questionable) Hotel Pennsylvania, at the bright and early time of 7am. This gave us plenty of time to prepare for our final day of adventures in NYC.

The day began with us setting off on foot towards the well-known Microsoft store, although, we had plenty of time en route to our destination so we split into groups and went off to find some breakfast. Some went for the more classic option of restaurants like Denny’s and others decided to go down a simpler fast food route of Dunkin’ Doughnuts (we had no shame!) or McDonalds. It was about 10:30am by the time we had reached our destination, straight away it was clear this visit was going to be more technological; working in favour of the IT students that were on the trip. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed the tour of the store and observing the large variety of software that was on display and learning the basics of coding. It’s safe to say the highlight of

the tour was having a go on the Virtual Reality equipment, which was definitely an experience and a half! Shortly after our visit we headed out to Columbus Circle to do some last minute and well-deserved shopping, allowing us to absorb the last few hours that we had left in the streets of New York City. As the evening dawned upon us, we unfortunately had to depart from this amazing city and return back home to reality.

By Tara Brazier A massive Thank You to Miss Spavins and Miss Yadav for giving us an experience of a lifetime!!!

To all of the staff who organised, supported and attended every trip and activity…

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

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More Trips and Activities Magical Mirror Something magical happened at the start of January when a group of YR12 Performing Arts students took a their very own play ‘Magical Mirror’ to the excitable audience of St John Rigby. The story, written by the cast, was presented to the entire school. It was a great opportunity for our students to be able to showcase their talents to a live audience made up of eager students who willing jumped up to re-enact the Mannequin challenge. Yes, that’s right, the ENTIRE SCHOOL re-created the mannequin challenge (a craze which using the technique still-mage to the song Black Beatle). As the cast said their farewells to the students of SJR it was inspiring to see the 6th form talking to the younger generation about ‘chasing your dreams…and believing in yourself’ and also signing lots of autographs! (note the picture of Anthony with a swarm of YR7s desperately wanting his autograph). Next stop Broadway?!

Look out for the school show ticket sales of our latest production Romeo and Juliet – performances on July 12th-14th.

The show is going to be amazing!!!

Linguists in London In February we were very pleased to have the opportunity to take our YR12 linguists to the English language A-level conference for the first time.

The conference is run by the English Media Centre (EMC) and always proves to be a very worthwhile event- this year was no exception.

An early start ensured a very smooth journey to London and we were prompt to our seats in the beautiful Friends’ House venue.

750 students and teachers attended; while introductions were made, 750 pens and highlighters were poised in anticipation.

The opening act was by no means a warm up; Rob Drummond’s engaging report on changing youth dialect had the students hooked in and enthused. The rest of the day’s speakers continued to impress: students particularly enjoyed learning about language acquisition research and how they could be the future of justice and cyber-crime fighting with forensic linguistics. We were even part of a very exciting piece of live research conducted by Dr Tim Grant and his team at Aston University; this proved categorically that we really all do have a unique way of using language.

an inspector calls It was exciting for the English department to offer the opportunity to take 47 YR10 and 11 students to a performance of J.B Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’, at the beginning of February at the Playhouse Theatre, London. The play is a set text for both year groups and this was a fantastic way for the students to access the play in its true format. The production offered a lot of insightful ways to demonstrate how the play can be adapted. It effectively highlighted the symbolism and societal issues surrounding the play. The adaptation was explosive and successfully highlighted the true meaning of the play for the students.

The students were enthralled by the performance of the cast, enjoying the humour and lively nature of the characters with bouts of laughter and gasps of shock at the very dramatic ending. The students conduct and behaviour was exemplary throughout the performance and on the journey. The coach journey was rife with discussions about the setting, the characters and the ending, (I won’t reveal the details as it would spoil it). Overall, a brilliant way to end the February half term.

At the end of the day we saw the headline: world renowned linguist David Crystal. He wowed us all with a gripping tale of punctuation and pedants. Suitably impressed, students queued up to buy his books and get a coveted signature or selfie with his famous peace-sign fingers held up.

Overall, our students represented the school excellently. They were polite, attentive and courteous. All are looking forward to going back next year- teachers included!

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St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

More Trips and Activities London Fun YR7&8 had the most amazing day out when they visited both the Natural History Museum and London Zoo. An early departure put us in the heart of London by 10am and we headed straight for the Natural History Museum. The students were able to explore a vast range of exhibits within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology and loved seeing ‘Dippy’ the Diplodocus who dominates the vaulted central hall.

After lunch we then all headed to London Zoo where students were able to see a majestic Asiatic lion, experience Europe’s only spider walk through and marvel at London’s only living rainforest where they came face to face with a variety of amazing rainforest species including monkeys, sloth and even an armadillo!

Everyone had a long but very enjoyable day!

West End Inspiration What better way to spend a cold December day than taking an amazing bunch of 6th form Performing Arts students to London to see the sights and to watch ‘A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time’. We had an absolutely amazing day, from the train journey to walking the streets of Oxford Street to Piccadilly Circus, to seeing the Christmas lights, going to Winter Wonderland and finally watching the mega show, inspired by the novel and creatively choreographed by Frantic Assembly. The students were incredible and have taken lots of inspiration from the performance into their own devised pieces this term. We love live theatre and school trips!

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

To all of the staff who organised, supported and attended every trip and activity…

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More Trips and Activities Ripping History Tour!

To all of the staff who organised, supported and attended every trip and activity…

On Friday 27 January a group of YR10 students went to the Museum of London Docklands to find out more about late 19th century London for the GCSE History Crime and Punishment Unit. At the museum artefacts were examined and puzzled over.

No electric washing machines in the slums of London, they had wash boards and laundry soap was the order of the day. We also saw the tokens that were thrown out to men looking for work on the docks. If they caught a token they had work for the day.

We heard about life on the streets from a Victorian London Bobby, about the effects of alcohol on the poor people living in the slums and some of the grizzly murders that were happening at the time.

In the afternoon we went on a Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. We saw the Victorian houses of Whitechapel, walked the streets and saw the houses where some of the victims of Jack the Ripper had walked and stayed. It was easy to imagine Victorian London when walking on original cobbled streets, pubs and ‘doss houses’ remained in the same places and there is still a huge amount of poverty and homelessness.

Thank goodness that policing is better now!

A slum shop recreated Recreation of a slum

Women’s entrance to an old doss (lodging) house. Now used as University residence!

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St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

More Music Battle of the bands 2017 This year’s Battle of the Bands took place on the 1st of March at Redborne Upper School, with STM’s very own YR7 Kiara Oliveira-Manning performing with the Inspiring Music Hub Rockschool band.

Kiara, lead singer with her “ Rockschool” band, gave an excellent and mature performance of Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer”, which was enthusiastically received by the audience.

Well done Kiara!

Want to learn to play... flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, french horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, guitar, drums.

If you are interested and would like to know more or have a trial lesson, see Mrs Miller, Head of Music

Bedford Choral Society Workshop Members of Bedford Choral Society delivered an exciting vocal workshop to members of YRs10, 11 and 12. The session included warm-up activities, sight singing and 4-part harmony practise, followed by a rehearsal of Mozart’s Ave Verum - Jesu, Word of God Incarnate, sung in Latin! It was such a success that we have planned further workshops!

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

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More Numeracy and Literacy FOCUS OF THE term...

WORLD BOOK DAY 2017 Who does the ‘shelfie’ belong to?

This year, to celebrate World Book Day, members of staff sent in pictures of their book shelf/book case and each tutor group was challenged with identifying which one belongs to whom!

The winning three tutor groups are: 1st place: 9 Gandhi 2nd place: 10 Oscar Romero 3rd place: 9 Mother Teresa Congratulations to the winners and well done to everyone who took part!

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St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

More Numeracy and Literacy YR10 Maths Feast Fun!

Create exciting learning which enables all to experience fullness of life

A brilliant afternoon at the Maths Feast event at Milton Keynes Academy saw STM students shake off their nerves and give it their all. Our YR10s performed really well and walked away with the award for Best Teamwork!

We also showed our continued commitment to encouraging girls into STEM subjects with 6 young ladies representing our school.

Our final placing’s were 10th and 11th and for a group of students who have never participated in a competitive team maths event before, I thought that they represented our school and themselves incredibly well. Congratulations to you all! Mr Philpot, Maths Department.

Oliwia Andrzejewska Olivia Nahajowska

Ethan Constant Sofia Martiello

David Palmer Kinga Haremza

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Alessia Frezza Sian Gharu

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Area is directly proportional to the square of the Diameter

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Opinion/Judgement (useful for making a judgement question) • It seems that…

• In conclusion • To conclude • It would seem • One might consider/ suggest • One might deduce/infer Cause/Effect (useful for why/effects questions) • Because • So • As a result • This suggests • Therefore • Thus • Consequently This implies

YR11 English Revision Jekyll and Hyde, Unseen Poetry revision, Friday lunchtime Rm20, Miss A Morris An Inspector Calls, Romeo and Juliet revision, Look out for the notices on the door of room 25 to see when these will be running, Rm23, Miss V Millar Developing contextual understanding for each of the Literature texts, Wednesday after school, Rm25, Mr G Roberts Language exam Paper 1 revision, Wednesday lunchtime, Rm21, Mrs K Dosanjh Language exam Paper 2 revision, Thursday after school, Rm22, Miss M Symonds

Even numbers

Odd numbers to the Number purchased MW (go into) where you will find past Don’t candealso questions by grade and topic with videos and ratio Mathsgenie.com in a use roots paper 94 forget, you Divi MW Square numbers and square 46 answers. Lunch revision sessions are also available so if you need any help or support, please drop in.

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17

More Chaplaincy It’s been a busy few months for St THomas More The Spring term has been rich in opportunity. The New Year started with a challenge from Pope Francis to engage with the Bible in a new way in our daily lives. Thus as we reflected on 2017 and the account of the Magi visiting the Christ Child, we thought about how we might journey individually and as a community through 2017.

A group of 6th form students have continued with their ALPHA enrichment activity on Wednesday afternoon’s supported by our Diocesan youth officer Steve Harris as well as Chris Burrows, Youth Worker form Christ Church Bedford, and Karen Jones from Festive. ALPHA is a programme developed to explore the Christian faith it can be a useful pre and post catechetical instruction tool http://alpha.org/

We were recently given a copy of the William Holman Hunt 1900 painting the Light of the World. We have used it to form a display ‘sermon in a frame’, providing students and staff with the opportunity to reflect on the many We have welcomed Mrs Gaunt from IMPACT Christian Schools work Trust back messages found in this famous painting. to school and YR7 have reflected through As we approached the half term break Godly Play on the Ten Commandments we paused for a special week of prayer, (Genesis 20:1-17). praying for all of our community, in form times, a prayer space in the prayer room, assemblies and with a special return visit to our 6th form from the

Catholic evangelist Jimmy Mitchell.

On March 1st Ash Wednesday we began our Lenten journey, our 6th form Faith Ambassadors helped deliver our liturgies and a CAFOD assembly with YR7 & 8. We wanted to encourage prayer across school at this time. Each student received a small copy of the Lord’s Prayer to put in their blazer pocket to say together in morning registration. A team of Prayer partners made a visit to each form in Lent and led a reflective prayer activity using a hand held cross made in Bethlehem from olive wood. In the afternoon prayer time and in the Lenten garden we were using the Stations of the Cross. A special set for St Thomas More School was designed by Mr Luongo and Mr Johnson and transferred onto wood by Mrs Williams. Our site managers, Mr Moubarak and Mr Forrester then created a Lenten Garden where they were displayed.

RISE and shine!

On March 8th we were delighted to host the financial support RISE Christian Theatre Company and to watch of this event. their play about the life of Blessed Oscar Romero - Modern Martyr. Our YR7, 8 and 9 Heaney and Merton where challenged and inspired by this production. It also provided an opportunity for Mrs Armitage and a group of students from St Gregory’s to join us. We would also like to thank the PTA for their

18

Ensure that Faith is lived, taught and celebrated

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

More Updates new members wanted

Celebrating Your Success!

Here at St Thomas More we celebrate all of our students who give 100% and to acknowledge their efforts, we award Positive Behaviour Points for work ethic and contribution during lessons.

Highlighted below are the form groups for each year who collectively have accrued the most Positive Behaviour Points as well as the top performing students for each year group.

BEST FORM POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR IN EACH YEAR GROUP YR7 YR8 YR9

If you’d like to:• h elp organise fund-raising events and social evenings to financially support school projects • get more involved in the life of the school • be part of a small, friendly team of parents and school staff working together to enhance your child’s education

Contact PBrazier@stm.beds.sch.uk for more information.

Quiz Night

We raised £227!!! Thank you to everyone who supported.

Are your children entitled to Free School Meals?

To find out if you qualify, talk to the Free School Meals Department at Bedford Borough Council

Don’t Delay, apply today…

01234 228948 www.bedford.gov.uk

Joan of Arc Oscar Romero Joan of Arc

YR10 Maximilian Kolbe YR11 St. Francis of Assisi

Top 10 Positive Behaviour in each year group YR7: Esther Walkling-Lea Rafal Armata Sarah-May Leckning Disney Muse YR8: Orla Keaveney Karolina Lucas Kamila Czumaj Keith Chagonda YR9: Gabriela Pawlik Zuzanna Przybylo Simran Dosanjh Hardeep Sanghera YR10 Oliver Fenn Chloe Holmes Silvija Matvejevaite Jasmine Andrews Oliver Lombardi YR11 Stefania Maggio Felistas Nyiwo Lewis Garner Tiziana Di Placido

Lewis Jones Olivia Marciante Isabelle Robins Evie Nugent Miriam Carrasco Menendez Hannah Brunning Kiara Oliveira Manning Anelisa Finn Gennaro Carofalo Stefania Mazza

Imogen Jones Lorna Hallsworth Georgia Darlow

Georgina Barkas Karl Chiodo Paulina Kaczalek Emily Lane

Naomi Stokes Charlotte Aldred Leonie Brunning

Nicola Tanti Weronika Stachor Anitta Sabichan Victoria Cooper

Charlotte Bartlett Dejana Jancuric Shahanna Gill Megan Day

Roza Pioronska Micheal Welch Ava Corsini Joe Bichener

Gabrielle Childs Francesco Cacicia Roberta Nocera Alessia Wickenden

Congratulations to you all!

Mr Hopkins

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

19

More Sports and Activities Health Related Fitness The definition of Health-Related Fitness involves exercise activities that you do in order to try to improve your physical health and stay healthy, particularly in the categories of cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, muscular endurance and body composition.

Overall fitness is made up of five main components: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition and flexibility and our programme of activities covers every element.

Lesson 1 Identifying the 4 pillars of fitness (Stamina, Strength, Speed, Suppleness) This involves doing various exercises in the blue gym to define each of the pillars.

Lesson 2 Bleep test - Multistage Fitness test where students complete a progressive shuttle-run for the prediction of maximum oxygen uptake. This test really gets the heart pumping!

Lesson 5 For the older students, utilising the STM Fitness Suite’s treadmill, cross trainer, static bikes and rowing machines.

Lesson 6 Weights or fitness games such as crab football or hard yards – this varies depending on the year group.

Flexibility

Muscular Endurance

Body Compostition

Muscular Strength CardioRespiratory Fitness

This is a fantastic opportunity for all of our students to assess their personal fitness and try new things…it’s hard work but a lot of fun!

Cross Country Success!

Lesson 3 & 4 Looking at different types of circuits using very basic equipment as well as circuits that use more expensive and specialist equipment.

Swimming Success for Orla Keaveney YR8’s Orla is now ranked No2 in the East Region Rankings for swimming, thanks to her outstanding performance in the recent county championships. Recently she represented the school where she won her two individual races and her two relays!

The Bedford 1 Team, which was made up of the best swimmers in the town, came first in the County Team event and it was great to see Bedford triumph over places with much bigger catchment areas.

Congratulations Orla!

Value and celebrate the achievements of all

20

Richard Laursen, Reuben Williams and Harry Brodie ran so well in the District Cross Country Championships that they were all selected to run for North Beds District in the County Championships held at Ampthill Park.

Richard came 4th and Reuben came 8th. Unfortunately Harry was ill on the day and unable to compete. These results earned both Richard and Reuben places in the Bedfordshire team to run at the English Schools Cross Country Championships.

This is a great achievement and we are all very proud of them. Well done lads!

Mr Quinn

STM Needs Your Support!

SAINSBURY’S ACTIVE KIDS VOUCHERS 2017 We are collecting these vouchers again to put towards new sports equipment for the school.

If you or friends and family shop at Sainsbury’s, please collect these vouchers and put them in the box at reception, or bring them to the PE department.

Many Thanks for your support.

St Thomas More Catholic Teaching School

Published by St Thomas More Design and print by Baines: www.bainesdesign.co.uk Tel: 01707 876555 A69634 St Thomas More School, www.stthomasmoreschool.org.uk, 020 8888 7122

Spring term in St Thomas More means all pupils up to YR11 follow a six lesson course on Health-Related Fitness (HRF) in their core PE lessons.