Rise Newsletter- Lent 2023

RISE RESPECT, INTEGRITY, SERVICE, EXCELLENCE

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

WORLD BOOK DAY

It’s not just the Gruffalo that likes the great outdoors. See what our children get up to at Forest School.

Our family of schools celebrated World Book Day on 2 March 2023 and the costumes did not disappoint!

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LENT TERM 2023

NEWS & EVENTS

from across our Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy

Introduction from our Chair of Directors

The Great

Outdoors

As we reach the mid-year point in this school year, it is wonderful to look back at a snapshot of what has been happening in our schools in recent months.

In the season of Lent, we see children and young people committed to the vulnerable and disadvantaged in their local communities and to those suffering from natural disasters in the wider world. We commend them on the breadth of their fundraising activities and their involvement in CAFOD’S BIG LENT WALK. We are very proud of the achievements of our children and young people, and are encouraged by comments made in visits to our schools by OFSTED and CSI inspectors. They frequently see exemplary behaviour, a real willingness to learn and an ambitious and aspirational culture where our children and young people aim to be the best they can be.

On behalf of the Board of Directors I would like to thank all staff and local governing body members across our multi-academy company who work extremely hard and who frequently go that extra mile to build and nurture that culture. They create the learning environment and provide the enrichment and collaborative activities which allow our children and young people to thrive, to enjoy their time in school and be assured of a high-quality Catholic Education.

That education in all our schools is supported by a real sense of family and community, and a rich and vibrant prayer life. For those who pray for us.

Thank you.

Yvonne Brennan

LENTEN PRAYER God, I pray for, my prayer life to become vibrant and strong in this season Of Lent, I pray that Your voice, even though a whisper, would ring loud and true in my life.

I pray for the courage and boldness To follow wherever you lead me, To love and serve whomever and however You invite me.

Amen

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Across our family of schools, pupils have access to Forest School and Outdoor Learning activities. It gives them the freedom to play, the opportunity to explore and learn about the natural environment as well as encouraging them to think of learning as an ongoing process instead of something that is done in a classroom.

The pupils at St Gregory’s, St Mary’s Broadway and St Thomas More are lucky to be taught by Mrs Hinton, a specialist in outdoor education. Mrs Hinton tell us why giving pupils access to the great outdoors is so important: Forest School is focused on the whole child and their development over a long period of time, progressing in skills and ideas, using the whole body, heart and brain. Children may enter a Forest School session and be exposed to using a specific tool for example,

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they will then have the opportunity to think for themselves and make something unique to them or maybe they will decide they prefer the look of a large tree and would like to have a go at climbing it! The beauty of Forest School is that freedom of choice is there. Similarly, one week of exploring the skills of building small bug homes may lead to larger more complex shelter building the following session as can learning the skills of fire lighting lead to endless opportunities for outdoor cooking. Children may choose to pick up a worm, build an obstacle course, light a fire or explore using mud; with the supervision of a Forest School leader all these endless opportunities are available. Although Forest School does enhance our understanding of sustainability, green issues and the beauty of God’s creation, it is very much about childhood nature and connection. There has been extensive research in the UK into the impact of Forest School on young children and findings have shown positive impacts in terms of confidence, problem-solving,

Have Life and Have it to the Full.

language and communication, social skills, working as a team, motivation, concentration, physical skills and knowledge and understanding.

Studies discovered children who had significant direct contact with the natural world were better able to deal with stresses in daily life, compared to those who hadn’t. Developing this relationship with nature earlier on in childhood might not only promote positive results for children’s mental health, but also impact on their future and how they act in relation to the environment.

We will let our photographs show you how much our pupils love to learn in nature! Thank you to all our schools who are providing these amazing opportunities for our pupils to nurture through nature!

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Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School

World Book Day 2023 Our family of schools celebrated World Book Day on 2 March 2023 and the costumes did not disappoint! Children and Staff dressed up as characters from their favourite books and took part in book themed activities for the day.

St Bede’s Catholic Middle School

Our Lady and St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School

St Peter’s Catholic First School

World Book Day is an annual event, which began in 1995, organised by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright.

We had lots of different themes across our schools – Children at Our Lady of Mount Carmel wore their cosiest pjs and brought their teddies and favourite bedtime story book. During the day they enjoyed ‘drop everything and read’ whenever the bell went and finished the day with squash and biscuits! The pupils at St Gregory’s held a costume parade where the winners from their reading competition were announced and presented with a prize of their favourite book. Meanwhile over at St Benedict’s, Year 10 students were

St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School

St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic First School

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School

getting creative and writing their own Mini Sagas – to be entered into the National Young Writers competition!

We are delighted that our schools took part and encouraged all of our pupils to view books as a passport into a different

world. “There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen” Maurice Sendak.

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Until Next Year...

St Thomas More Catholic First School

www.magnificat.org.uk

Making a Difference Catholic life in action Service of Light Children in Year 3 at St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School took part in their Service of Light celebration; as part of their preparations for receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. It was a beautiful service led by Father Alex.

22 Feb - 9 Apr 2023

Turkey/Syria Appeal We were deeply shocked and saddened by the recent events in Turkey. Many of our schools held events to raise much needed funds for the recovery efforts and to help those people affected by this natural disaster.

Our Central Finance Team had a dress down day, raising a wonderful £50.

St Mary’s Evesham organised a cake sale and raised an amzing £327.

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Studley, came to school dressed in red,black or white and with generous donations they raised £300

A Year 12 Student has made it through to the last 40 nominees for the prestigious CVQO Westminster Award for volunteering and community work. He has been organising events for the residents at a local residential home and has been collecting second hand guitars to give to refugee and asylum seeker children.

Brad is a wonderful role model and his Headteacher Mr Payton is extremely proud, as is everyone across the MultiAcademy. Good Luck Brad, we are all behind you.

As a Multi-Academy we have signed up to take part in CAFOD’s Big Lent Walk.

The premise is simple: each evening, we ask that everyone uploads their step count for the day alongside the school they work at. As the sizes of schools across the MAC vary, the option to “Donate your Distance” is available, which gives steps for that day to another school within the Multi Academy.

A friendly leader board is running alongside the event, seeing how the different schools and Magnificat Central and Executive Teams are getting on!

Since the event began on Ash Wednesday, as a Multi Academy we have amassed 44 million steps which equates to 36,000 kilometeres covered! It’s been encouraging to see the collaboration happening across schools. Trinity Catholic School generously donated their steps to Our Lady and St Teresa’s, pushing them to the top of the leaderboard!

There’s a lot going out on the school’s social media and the @MagnificatMac accounts too and we would encourage everyone to get following to see what is happening in each of our schools.

Importantly, we want to remind everyone that the core purpose of this event is to raise funds for CAFOD’s work around the world.

TO MAKE A DONATION: Visit our Magnificat fundraising page for CAFOD’s Big Lent Walk at: www.cafod.enthuse.com/ pf/matt-pettle

or simply scan the QR code to donate Keep Walking!

Have Life and Have it to the Full.

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London 2023 Written by: Matthew Pettle On Tuesday 28 February, students from the Sixth Forms at St Augustine’s, St Benedict’s and Trinity visited London for a consortium trip. It was a fantastic opportunity to continue to build the strong links between the Post-16 students across our Multi-Academy.

First stop of the day was a visit to the Department for Education in Westminster; the incredible, state-of-the-art building is the powerhouse of the education system in Britain, and offered our students an insight into a career in the civil service. We saw think tanks at work, civil servants going about their business, and met with a panel who hold various roles concerned with the betterment of education nationally.

They talked our students through their individual roles and routes into those careers, discussed their key priorities for the education system, and shared some of the As she stood before me and spoke about many interesting and exciting opportunities her work it was incredibly inspiring that the DfE has to offer. However, the and made me think about my own undoubted highlight of the visit was a meeting with the Children’s Commissioner, future dreams. Having arrived from Chad only 18 months ago seeking Dame Rachel de Souza, who rearranged her diary especially to meet our students. asylum, this country has provided Dame Rachel explained her role within the British Education system, championing the me a place of refuge. causes closest to children’s hearts and how Trinity student her 30+years as a teacher, Headteacher and CEO of a Multi Academy have become her driving force in the role she now holds.

After we’d said our goodbyes to the DfE, Dame Rachel took plenty of time to talk we made our way over to the Palace of individually with students, taking a range Westminster and the House of Commons. of questions on prevalent topics from After a rigorous security procedure, teaching in Post-16 and children’s mental we were waved through to the main health, to exams and Special Educational thoroughfare. Standing in Westminster Needs. Dame Rachel commented that Hall, where just 5 months previously the she was impressed with the range and maturity of our students questions, while the Queen’s coffin had been lying-in-state, students commented that they could have it was a particularly moving experience.

We then moved through to the Viewing “talked to Rachel all day!”

Gallery of the House of Commons, just as former Prime Minister Theresa May rose to deliver a memorial address to the late Baroness Betty Boothroyd; she spoke, without notes, of the formidable, tenacious, but always fair, former Speaker of the As a group we enjoyed the rest of House of Commons. It was a moment in our day in Westminster with pupils history - the second female Prime Minister from other schools in our community memorialising the first (and as yet, only) female Speaker - and the significance was and hope the trip continues for future not lost on our students. They sat, listening students as our MAC grows. intently, to the speech, discussing it as they St Benedict’s student left the chamber.

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After a short walk around Westminster and Embankment, we made our way over to Westminster Abbey. Steeped in history, the students were in awe of the gothic architecture and impressive stained glass. As we made our way through the building, we reflected at the tombs of some of history’s most notable individuals: Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, Edward the Confessor and Charles Darwin, and lit candles for the students and staff of the Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi Academy Company. Before leaving, we took a moment to pause at St Edward’s Chair: the seat from which monarchs are invested with their regalia, and from which King Charles III will be crowned later this year.

There was time for one last group photo before hopping back on the bus and heading home. A great day was had by all, and the visit was a true testament to Multi Academy collaboration between our schools.

The consortium trip really allowed me to explore my future ambitions.

In particular, our visit to the Children’s Commissioner’s office was a great opportunity to witness the role of public servants.

St Augustine’s student

www.magnificat.org.uk

Musical Performances School of Rock St Augustine’s Catholic High School Written by: Anne Eggins When the whole school comes together under the performance direction of Dr Long and Mrs Wright, then you know it’s going to be one of those evenings when the students smash the ball out of the park! This week was just that, when St Augustine’s Performing Arts staged School of Rock at the Palace Theatre in Redditch.

The fearlessness on stage, the high energy performances, the singing and dance routines – quite simply, the students created a cohesive, dynamic group and excelled.

At the interval, one of the ushers at the Theatre came over to say how hugely impressed she was with the performances, given their age: “I’ve seen it all here, but your students really are amazing and they’re so young!”.

Across the two days, over 1,000 people came to watch the performance, including all students at St Bede’s and a tranche of students who came across from St John Wall in Handsworth. This is a phenomenal number and really builds the confidence and tenacity of the students as a community. Onward and upward for Dr Long’s music trip to Italy in July.

Thank you to those parents who wrote in saying how much they enjoyed the performance: “We don’t think there are enough superlatives for last night’s production, what a wonderful and totally entertaining evening.”

“Congratulations to you ALL. What a cast, crew, and band.

The ENTIRE company were so brilliant and everyone had a memorable moment and nailed it!”

Mary Poppins - St Benedict’s Written by: Zoë Hawyes Under the technical and performance direction of Mr Gee and Mrs Taylor Jones, St Benedict’s staged its first school show since 1999 - Mary Poppins was a absolute hit!

The rehearsals spanned from September to January and comprised of after school rehearsals, weekends and of course, show week. We performed our first show on Wednesday afternoon to local primary schools and then performed on Wednesday and Thursday night to friends and family. All of the students involved were incredible and so talented, they managed to transport themselves back to Victorian England and tell the famous and well beloved tale of a nanny, some mischievous children and a chimney sweep and the adventures they go on.

Both of the shows were complete sell outs – people were even sat on the steps as there were no chairs left for the final show!

The buzz that radiated off the cast throughout both shows was electric and the rapport between cast mates was incredible.

Every single student involved in the show showed their talent and integrity and the musical was incredible! Of course, a show cannot happen without the help of the tech team or the stage crew, all of whom were second to none. And, obviously the audience helped to make the show incredible, and for both of the shows they really lifted the spirits of the cast members and were amazing.

It was an absolute pleasure to watch this amazing show – everyone involved did an amazing job!

Parent

It was so exciting watching Mary Poppins – the music was AMAZING. Primary School student

Have Life and Have it to the Full.

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@Stmar ysstudley

@StBedesMiddle

District Hockey Champions!

Thank you Father Benedict and The boys defended ever so well Deacon Peter for a lovely mass this evening and scored some today. Well done to Year 3 who led mass. You all read beautifully. great team goals. Thank you.

Well done also to our Year 4 altar servers.

@StMar ysStudley

Thank you Mr Gee and the students from St Benedict’s who led an anti-bullying assembly for Key Stage 2 today. Some powerful messages came across and it was great to see some of our ex pupils

@MagnificatMac

Candles lit and prayers said for all of our schools at #yourfuturelifeontour @OurLadysAlcester

@StBenedictsUK

#SOCIAL SNAPSHOT Thanks to our fantastic prefects for serving our school community bread and water at breaktime for CAFOD Family Fast Day.

@EnglishMar t yrs @StPetersCatholicFirstSchool

@stmar ys_evesham

Some children from Y4 enjoyed doing St David’s Day art at Cherry Trees today! They loved listening to the residents talking about the war and chatting about their lives! We look forward to returning soon! #community #collaboration @CatholicTrinity

Our wonderful St Mary’s Choir attended their 10th Young Voices Concert at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham last night.

As always, it was an amazing evening, topped off by a glowing email sent by a member of the audience complementing our children and staff.

Yesterday, we had an amazing afternoon welcoming our local firefighters to school! Reception and Year 1 had the opportunity to learn about fire safety and see their teachers kitted out in a firefighter’s uniform. Special thanks to Firefighters Scott and Steve from Bromsgrove Fire Service for taking time to talk to our children. #firesafety

It was great to wel Paul Fitzpatrick come Canon to Martyrs on Wed English nesday. He came into Year 6 to whole class abou talk to the t and to see wha Confirmation t th learnt during th e class had eir time. The childre preparation n knowledgeable, were very an asked Canon Pa d they then ul insightful questio some really ns.

It’s #BritishScienceWeek and our Sixth Form chemists have been carrying out titration and making standard solutions with Miss Wale in the Science labs today