St. Ambrose Barlow Weekly Newsletter Vol.5 Issue 13 - 16 January 10th 2020

FAITH IN YOU

LOVE IN LEARNING

HOPE IN BETTER

this week in our school . . .

Volume 5 Issue 13 -1 6 January 10th, 2020

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ST AMBROSE BARLOW RC HIGH SCHOOL & SIXTH FORM

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Head’s start .

Mr. Davis, Headteacher, reflects on the week. Mr. Davis, Headteacher, reflects on the week.

Happy New Year, and so 2020 dawns. The run It is aboutwas this especially time of year thatinI school meet with up to Christmas busy each Head of Department to review and there were further technical issues withthe summer’s involves the online platformexam that results. hosts ourThis newsletter, plenty of useful and thought-provoking so I pleased to present to you a bumper but it is usually talking about edition discussion, to start the decade.

numbers and letters. Behind this data are stories: how did, how they felt, what We were blessed in pupils the month of December to they liked and what they achieved.

We have series of events and activities that focusofon how things can be markedalways the routine advent for pupils and improved as well as celebrating what went staff. The highlight of these was our Christmas well.

As a Catholic exam results are Concert, complete with theschool, choir, individual just one way of expressing the performances, speeches and a liturgy.unique, There Godgiven talents and skills of each pupil. were also Advent assemblies for each year It is important to look beyond the data I am group that provided a very thoughtful andso holy delighted that much more of my job involves preparation for the feast of Christmas.

being in classes, walking around the school talking to pupils, by students and staff.

A lighterand note was sounded our Christmas Jumper day which raised money for charity ever you arelike feeling at all despondent and theIfusual events our Christmas lunch - or fatigued I reckon a quick tour of the always a favourite, I’ve never seen so manyschool would quickly raise your spirits.special Let me pigs-in-blankets consumed.

Another show you what I mean.

Today (Thursday, event was the annual Senior Citizens’ Party 29th) for instance, I dropped hosted September by pupils and organised by a range of into Year 10 GCSE Music.

There, I was staff.

delighted to listen to performances of Beethoven’s Symphony, Hold Back We entertained over Ninth 40 members of our the River and When the Saints Marching community with food, music and muchGo more.

In. I also got to sit with Daniel and At the same time as this we collected largeChester asofthey demonstrated their for prodigious amounts food and dried goods charity DJing talents.

Next, during lunch, I supervised the and this was distributed in the last week of canteen and made a point of watching the term.

interactions that take place daily. Pupils and staff holding open for one another, The final days of thedoors term are always a little offering thanks, little moments of unusual, so it was no surprise that a Yearpersonal 8 appreciation and gratitude.

Of acourse, pupil booked into see me.

What was things don’tisalways gowanted well in to a school, pleasant surprise that she talk to but it is lovely to witness a voluntary apology from me about human rights in China.

a Year 9 to one of the lunch time staff, or one pupil help as another whoforth is unsure For ten see minutes I listened she held on where to go for class. the treatment of Muslims in China, the human rights abuses and indignities they are enduring Sixth to Form, I enjoyed a lengthy chat with and herIndesire galvanise the school to do Aidan who explained both the theory of something about this. Her passion was differentiation and its potential commercial infectious and she was clearly very well application.

In English they were studying informed.

the play Blood Brothers and talking with humour and excitement superstitions; But more significant than that isabout the fact that a in Year 7 RE they were dissecting our new young person who could, at that time of year mission statement and exploring the been entirely consumed by festivities and gifts, personal School chose instead tomeanings be movedwithin by theit.plight of is a busy, bustling, humming place.

I get to Maths to find all of Year 9 embroiled in a task that is so challenging and exciting thatand, I want to stay and have goon myself. others more importantly, toaact this. It Outside it’s: “Sir, have you seen my tie? echoes a letter I received from one of the Can you open my bottle?

What did you people who attended the Senior Citizens’ think of lastour night’s game?

What time it, lunch, praising pupils and pointing outisthat Sir?” and, at least once a day, “Oh my what we hear of young people these days is days!”

It can bebut noisy times andhad in abeen often so negative, thatatour pupils community this size we can’t expect wonderful. It sums up both the essential everyone to get on each other all the theme of Christmas andwith of every new year: time.

But it is our community, and a lively, hope.

lovely, positive one at that.

OURPerhaps MESSAGE FOR THIS YEARof ISmyONE OFif I the single highlight week, had to pick, would be the conversation I had HOPE, YOUNGthePEOPLE withREFLECTING Mrs. Fay whoTHE is leading development of our new library. I am a WE library SURROUND OURSELVES IN since enthusiast and have WITH been ever I was little. The furthest reach of my SCHOOL memory is back to moments spent in our

local library entranced by its colour and Nowbright we are back in school for term two, we possibilities.

On Twitter are driving forward with that same hope.

This #RememberingMyLibrary reveals the hold week wesuch heldan a special assembly Yearcard 11. that institution has: ‘A for library Theywas have (as of Thursday, January 9th) 76 and a free pass to wonderment, words daysthe leftability before their exams.

one to they roamstart the world’ observes user, whilst another quotes the wrought iron Our gates message?

One of hope, the‘Read, race is not of Stalybridge library, Mark, over,Learn in fact it has barelyDigest.’ started.Others There talk is of and Inwardly much can be and represented achieved between thethan escape thatdone a library or of nowthe andrefuge then, itnooffered matterfrom where grades are an the unkind world. at present. Beyond these grades is the hope, the chance, opportunity, for further Mrs. Faythe spent last Saturday peacefully success, further study and the of stacking the shelves and werealisation are inching possibilities: career, an independent soher closer to aopening.

What thrilled melife, was much more. that several boys, some of whom comment affect a dislike of reading, were electrified by Thispresence is one of of thea wonderful things about‘You library in their school: working school, thethis chance to beread it, meaninI acan borrow and, like, surrounded by young people who embody this Miss?’ was the breathless utterance of one hopepupil. and possibility, if atheart timesofthey Our library even is at the the do not themselves knowforit. being open to and school: a space sharing ideas and experiences. It is openHere’s toand a hopeful and happy new Year and plan its shelves serve as a reminder decade.

that there should be no barrier to anyone using its volumes or seeking knowledge, Godsolace, Bless, entertainment or information. I can’t wait to see it come to life in the weeks Benahead Davis thanks to Mrs. Fay and her band of helpers.

Headteacher Twitter: @BenDavis1972

Ben Davis, Headteacher

Front cover@BenDavis1972 image: Twitter:

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The Ambrose Way This Week

Each week, through form and assemblies, and using prayer and reflection, we focus on a pair of virtues from The Ambrose Way as well as a skill.

The details can be found in your child’s booklet.

Over the last few weeks we have focused first on being Grateful and Generous, Compassionate and Loving, Attentive and Discerning, Learned and Wise & Eloquent and Truthful.

the ambrose

The focus this week was on the virtues of being faith-filled and hopeful.

Please take some time to read though the Ambrose Way booklet with your child and discuss these virtues.

A St. Ambrose Barlow pupil is growing to Name: be faith-filled in their beliefs and hopeful for the future.

Aspiration/ Personal Goal or Ambition:

I am Ambrose when, recognising I am part of God’s plan, I am outward looking and have a sense of purpose about my learning instead of avoiding opportunities to challenge myself or stretch my learning.

This covers the following habits for learning and life: exploring, showing ambition, commitment We have faith in those who are closest to us – our family and friends. This faith grows and deepens over time and as our relationships are tested, sometimes knocked and rebuilt with forgiveness, so they become stronger and more resilient.

We need to have faith in ourselves – that appropriate self- confidence and modest self-esteem which reflect a realistic self-knowledge of the good and not-so-good in us. Faith in ourselves is about integrity.

We should also have faith in the communities to which we belong – our neighbourhood, parish, school, wider society, our country and the international family of all humanity. This faith grows only to the extent to which we engage in and contribute to the common good. It is about having a wider perspective than the just the narrow concerns of our daily lives.

God invites us to have faith in him and in his son, Jesus Christ. This faith grows if we work at a relationship with God in prayer, by trying to live out the gospel values, and by being part of a community of faith. Teachers in a Catholic school have the responsibility of passing on the living faith story of Christianity handed down in the collective memory of God’s people.

To be faith-filled is crucial to human wellbeing – faith in myself, my emotions and judgements; faith in others and their faith in me; faith in my family and the communities to which I belong; and, ultimately, faith in God. Faith cannot be taken for granted; it has to be revisited constantly and built up day by day.

Hope is perhaps the most elusive of virtues. It grows out of faith and love – the stronger faith and love are, the stronger our hope will be. When we have strong faith and love today, we have hope for tomorrow. Hope enables us to trust ourselves and those around us with the decisions that will shape our future. Without hope we become insular, lacking in love, and ultimately despairing. Christianity teaches that God is a God of hope: his Christ walks before us, giving us the gifts (the graces) and courage we need to follow.

Children learn to hope by seeing and hearing hope-filled adults. They learn not to be frightened to step out3 into the darkness of the unknown but to draw on their own character strengths, and of those around them, to face challenges with courage and resolve.

HOUSe News St. Bernadette of Lourdes

st. benedict of nursia

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st. oscar romero

st. michael the archangel

St. Bernadette of Lourdes

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st. oscar romero st. michael the archangel st. francis of assisi St. teresa of calcutta House points and house news pages

st. assisi St francis Francisofof Assisi House I would like to congratulate Molly, Lucy and Olivia for their commitment and conduct during the past two weeks during the mock exams, all 3 girls demonstrated a brilliant attitude, they were busy making the most of form times to do some final revision preparation and supported each other through what could’ve been a stressful 2 weeks. I look forward to celebrating your successes with you when you get your results back. The girls in Year 11 have got their CVs to write and mock interview to prepare for this week, good luck!

Year 7s in 3F have come back after half term and continued their excellent start, between the 5 of them (Hannah, Georgia, Nathan, Sean and Louis) they have received 0 behaviour points and 142 achievement points this year, an incredible accomplishment. They are exhibiting the values and attitudes we expect to see of all pupils and putting the Ambrose Way into practice.

Jaylan McCaffery continues to play a key role in the Year 9 football and rugby team, and Sean and Louis (Year 7) are playing for the football and rugby team. It is great to see them getting involved and representing the school!

Mr Stephenson St.Bernadette Bernadette of Lourdes St. of Lourdes It’s Christmas jumper day today in school. It’s wonderful to see so many pupils taking part and helping to raise money for those less fortunate than ourselves. Thank you to all the pupils in St Bernadette who have made a contribution of £1 today.

We celebrated a wonderful assembly on Tuesday led by Mrs Robinson and some of the pupils in her form. The theme was Advent. All the pupils involved did a wonderful job of telling us what Advent means to them and Mrs Robinson explained each of the

st. benedict of nursia

St. teresa of calcutta

st. francis of assisi

candles on the Advent wreath. Thank you 3BL and well done!

I am looking forward to our assembly next week which will be a celebration of the wonderful things that I and the St Bernadette form tutors see every day both during form time and around the school.

One pupil from each form has been specially chosen for always getting it right. It was very difficult to choose so few pupils as there are so many to celebrate!

In the lead with achievement points are Emily Hesketh (96), Justine Akenuwa (73) and Kieran Anderson (71). Well done to everyone who continues to go above and beyond each and every day.

Let’s all enjoy a lovely final week next week before a well-earned Christmas break.

Mrs Sidebottom St Teresaofofcalcutta Calcutta St. teresa Over the past few weeks 2T has cemented their brilliant start to the year and are currently leading St Teresa in achievement points! As their form tutor I could not be prouder of the wonderful pupils in 2T and the 656 achievement points so far this term speak for themselves.

Both inside and outside of school 2T members have had some fab experiences over the past few weeks.

Oliver is having a blast with football inside and outside of school; Grace has spent her time in Blackpool dancing; Phoebe has been doing some wonderful art work; Ava and Ellie are leading and running the Christmas Show at school and have been doing an excellent job; Gloria has fully embraced the advent activities we have started this week; our year 11 pupils have embraced the season of mocks and worked hard for each of their 4

subjects; and so many members of form reported that their favourite thing about 2T is spending time with their

friends and talking to others in different years!

During form this half term we have worked on various activities to support and enrich the development of ourselves. We have continued with The Ambrose Way and kicked off the first St Teresa Assembly, Attentive and Discerning, with a fantastic display of courage and Oracy from Anthony, Milonga, Grace, Tara, Phoebe, Olivia, MacAuley, Ellis, Morgan, Lucy and Eve. Each member of 2T has also created some beautiful pieces of work demonstrating their understanding and adaptation of each of The Ambrose Way lessons:

With days becoming shorter and a lack of sunlight we have also been engaging in well-being activities.

Last week we participated in the 5 year old selfie.

Each member of the form wrote some remarkable and positive messages that they wished they could say to their 5 year old self in the spirit of self-care.

This activity aimed to support how looking for positives in times of challenge and speaking positively to yourself can really help. The hope is that the 5 Year Old Selfie will help us to realise all the challenges we have overcome and encourage us to show some love and compassion towards ourselves. And so with the first week of Advent upon us we offer you our well wishes over this holy period and leave you with our little Christmas tree which we hope will join us throughout the New Year and will bring joy to any who see it!

This week 1T have also been thinking about the upcoming season of Advent as the start of the Church year. We have discussed the true meaning of Christmas and thought about what we can do to bring the joy of Christmas to those less fortunate.

We have discussed how hard this time of year may be for some people and pupils have been encouraged to bring in donations for the charities we support as a school.

We have also been celebrating our achievements as a form, we have the second highest achievement points in St Teresa house, closely behind 2T. It is lovely to see achievement points being awarded recognising the amazing qualities of our form members. It is a real celebration in form when we go through the weekly achievement points and hold a raffle with a chocolatey prize.

3T continue to do well gaining achievement points with a form total of 429 so far this year with our year 8 ladies Robyn (Lomas) and Summer (Bryne) leading the charge with 57 achievement points each! Equally important is attendance and 3T are proud to boast of 3 members of the form who continue to avoid all the winter bugs and achieve 100% attendance Livia (Kelly), Sean (Hallwood) and Victor (Ibraimoh).

Our year 11 students have been very future focussed and have been working very hard the last few weeks giving up lunch times to complete CVs and college application forms. This week alone there has been a mock intervention evening and a careers fair. The careers fair was incredibly productive and useful providing students with information about colleges and apprenticeships available after year 11. Quinn in particular found this useful and has completed two college applications. 3T wishes all year 11 students the best of luck with all their applications and upcoming interviews. In the words of St Teresa of Calcutta “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We only have today. Let us begin.”

St Teresa of Calcutta pray for us.

5 Mrs. Robb

St.benedict Benedict of Nursia st. of nursia 3 Benedict Celebrations: Happy Birthday to Grace Warke Y10 who turned 15 on the 2nd December!

A big well done to all of us in 3 BEN as we are still in the lead with the most amount of achievement points in Saint Benedict House.

Year 7 work experience day: Our Year 7’s had a fantastic but tiring day at work last Wednesday. They learnt lots of new skills. For example, how to communicate with adults and talk to them with confidence.

YEAR 7 WORK EXPERIENCE REFLECTIONS Lucas said the best bit was being a grown up for the day. He enjoyed using the water machine and eating cakes!

Maya said the best bit was listening to the ideas from different people of new ways to paint and decorate.

Creativity Everywhere: As a form we demonstrate creativity in our daily lives, these are just some of the things that we get up to: Isabelle Saunders, Demi Gray, Rumena Govedarova, Lucy Boyle and Lexi Salisbury are all taking part in performances over the Christmas period. These shows consist of singing, acting and dancing. Lexi competed in a dance show in Blackpool and performed at the Walkden Town Centre light switch on, all in the same day!

Ole Kerwin and Olivia Kilburn are creating new knowledge and new experiences by attending school trips outside of the country. Ole is going to Austria to ski and Olivia is going to France with the school choir. We can’t wait to hear about their experiences!

Charlie Deacon will be soon pushing the boundaries of his talents in his upcoming Ice Hockey game against his former team Manchester Storm. Charlie now plays for Widnes Wild under 18’s. COME ON WILD!!

Salford Loaves and Fishes: As a school we are collecting donations for Salford Loaves and Fishes to help the poor and homeless. In our form we are lucky to have Lara Zino whose Grandma works for the charity. Lara has visited her Grandma at work and donated to the homeless in the city centre. As a form we have made an excellent start in bringing in our donations but we hope to collect even more during Advent.

4 Benedict Celebrations: This has been a good term for achievement points. Up to press, we have 693 achievement points so far this year. This places us 3rd in St Benedict House. Our top three are: 1st – Georgi Georgiev 2nd – Paul Swarbrick 3rd – Dylan Phillips In addition to this, 4BN has the least behaviour points in St Benedict House!

We have also got several students who are still on 100% attendance this year. This is brilliant! Keep this up!

- Harry Beresford - Jack Coackley - Mateusz Gozdera - Joelle Moliaf - Ben Stanley - Ben Tattersall Year 7 Work experience Some of our Year 7 students participated in the Year 7 work experience they. The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and said they gained new skills. However, I think they are glad to be back in school.

Year 10 & 11 Career Fair 6 This week, many colleges and further education providers came into school during our annual careers fair event. The students found this event very useful as they got to chat to staff form colleges. Students were

also engaged in discussions with the RAF, Police and Apprenticeship providers. The event definitely gave the students a clearer vision of what they will do when they leave our school.

Mr. Merriman St st. oscar Oscarromero Romero This week in St Oscar Romero we have been extremely busy with events, including the lead up to Christmas, especially the pupils involved in RE, drama and music.A group of children, have visited St Peter’s church on a trip with MAPAS to sing carols and a group ensemble which we really enjoyed and was a learning experience listening to the other schools.We have also taken part after school in an advent service which included: A drama piece, A group band, Carols, songs and ribbon dancing. Parents came to watch us as we sang in different languages, performed songs and a few Year 11s created their own piece of music.

We have also been doing a lot of charity events, by raising money for CAFOD and bringing in food for local food banks, for the families less fortunate than us at Christmas. As it is the lead up to Christmas Certain pupils and teachers completed an advent service for the school,for all year groups,Which we all had the courage to do and put on an amazing performance.The year sevens also enjoyed our dragons den where they learnt how to make profit and sell Christmas treats. So a great week in St Oscar Romero and we all wish you an amazing Christmas break and a happy new year.

Miss Jackson St st. michael Michaels theHouse archangel news It has been great to see everyone in the house back refreshed and positive after the Christmas break. It has been excellent to see all pupils attending form and being engaged in the activities taking place in the morning. We have welcomed back Mrs Grundy from her maternity leave to work with 3M. Pupils have been positive in their approach to lessons and in form by the end next week all pupils will have spent time with their form tutors reviewing their progress reports from December and setting targets for the half term ahead.

This term’s house motto is “Do the Ordinary things well.”

Mrs. McGowan

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Around the school This week

Celebrating pupils’ achievement and commitment at Hot Chocolate Friday.

Below: Year 11 working on their GCSE art in the graffiti workshop

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Around the school This week

The Senior Citizens’ Annual party on December 18th.

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Around the school This week

Pupils exploring Manchester with the art department as part of a celebration trip.

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Around the school This week

Pictures from the Christmas Concert and liturgies

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calendar what’s on

TUE 14

Advance Notice

WED 15

THU 16

FRI 17 SAT 18

MON 13

COMING UP THIS WEEK week beginning 13.01.20 week A

attendance

We aim for 100% attendance for all of our students and have set 96% as satisfactory attendance for this year.

Attendance is monitored period-by-period and statistics are published each week. Excellent attendance guarantees excellent learning.

Attendance by year (w/b November 18th). Congratulations to form 1BN who achieved 100% attendance.

Year 7 Year 8 year 9 year 10 year 11 School

95.8% 94.9% 93.3% 92.8% 93.8% 94.2%

Attendance and its impact on learning 10 days absence means 95% attendance 19 days absence means 90% attendance 29 days absence means 85% attendance 38 days absence means 80% attendance 47 days absence means 75% attendance Please note: If your child is off school you need to contact student services the same day on 0161 921 1589/1551. If the school has not been contacted within five days, the absences will automatically be unauthorised. Ten unauthorised marks may lead to a fixed penalty notice being served.

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TWEET OF THE WEek Michelle @ms_h_k Dec 20, 2019

Our Headmaster was standing outside the school gate as he often does, today he was oering chocolates out to Pupils as they left! I thought it was a lovely gesture! Thank you @BenDavis1972 @SABSalford

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Parishes in our Catchment Area Holy Trinity, Worsley (formerly Christ the King; St. Edmund’s) Sunday Mass Times • 9:00am at Christ the King • 11:00am at St. Edmund’s Our Lady of Hope, Salford (formerly St. Luke’s; SS. Peter & Paul, Pendleton) Sunday Mass Times • 6:30pm (Sat vigil) at St. Luke’s • 9:30am at St. Luke’s • 8:00am at SS. Peter & Paul • 11:00am at SS. Peter & Paul St. Ambrose Barlow, Swinton & Pendlebury (formerly St. Mark’s, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, St. Charles Borromeo) Sunday Mass Times • 9:30am at St. Mark’s • 11:15am at St. Charles • 4:00pm at St. Mark’s

FAITH IN YOU

LOVE IN LEARNING

HOPE IN BETTER

ST AMBROSE BARLOW RC HIGH SCHOOL & SIXTH FORM www.stambrosebarlowswinton.org 37 Ash Drive Swinton Salford M27 9QP 0161 921 1570 @SABSalford Headteacher: Ben Davis 14

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