ISSUE : 15 EASTER 2019
St Bonaventure’s Magazine
Easter Blessings from all staff, students and governors at St Bonaventure's
message from the headteacher Dear Community of St Bonaventure's, I pray that each and everyone one of you has had a peaceful Lent. This is an important period in our liturgical calendar and a time when reflection on our lives; this one on earth and our everlasting one in paradise, is at the forefront of our minds. As humans, we all do much that is damaging to those close to us and to ourselves. Our actions, thoughts, words, and deeds can move us further away from our relationship with God. In school, we find that when our students are sinful the usual source of their sin, is their relationship with money and the stuff that it enables them to buy. Since ancient times, avarice has been classed as a deadly sin, it is soul destroying. The Feast of Christmas is a lovely time of the year, unfortunately, selfishness and greed can get in the way of the joy and peace that we should feel at the birth of our God in the body of Jesus Christ. In Lent and Easter we do not have the same level of commercialism and so we can focus on faith rather than greed. We offer our boys the joy of participating in the sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent and I never miss the opportunity to join in. Like everyone else, I am prone to sin and I try to recognise this in myself and how this sin is impacting on all whom I love, which includes everyone associated with St Bonaventure's. I find that the ability to be reconciled with God is a huge benefit to me and allows me to understand my sinfulness in a better way. The outcome of this is that I am less sinful. God will forgive us of our sins but God would much prefer us not to sin in the first place. I have always found that the people that I know who are regular attendees at Confession are the least sinful people that I know. I hope that you have time in your lives to enjoy this important sacrament during this Lent and Easter. MAT UPDATE You may be aware that some unions and local representatives have expressed a view against these the proposal, but we would ask you to accept our assurances that as a group of Catholic schools we are committed to: • Maintaining the Catholic identity, ethos and uniqueness of each school • Consulting with the parent and staff community • Ensuring parental voice continues with representation on local governing bodies • The inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and the provision of support services • Safeguarding the rights of staff, as we are legally bound to do. As always, we wish to thank you for your support for our schools, as we remain committed to work in partnership with you to provide the best Catholic education for our children and young people. God Bless You Paul Halliwell Headmaster of St Bonaventure’s
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Chaplain’s Message More than two billion Christians around the world will be marking what is the most important week in human history. Holy week. It started with Palm Sunday, marking Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. The Last Supper with His disciples is known as Holy Thursday, where Jesus celebrated the first ever Eucharist and instituted the Sacred Priesthood. The following day, Good Friday, Jesus was crucified and then according to the Gospels rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. These are not only impactful historical events for Christians, because they still have a huge meaning in our lives today. During Holy Week, many people will attend their parishes in large numbers. People seem to come in greater numbers to what we call the Sacred Liturgies. It’s the public prayers of the church during Holy Week. They come in greater numbers to the Sacrament of Penance to tell Jesus they are sorry for the sins that put Him on the cross. In our school community, hundreds of students received the Sacrament of Penance during Lent in preparation for Holy Week and Easter. Christians traditionally focus on the crucifixion on Good Friday by attending church services that recall Jesus’ path to the cross in his final days on earth. On that day, we as christians traditionally fast as a way to connect with Jesus on Good Friday. We try to get closer to Jesus on the cross and we say to Jesus on the cross, “you said I thirst, your throat was parched so I am not going to take a drink today. On the cross you had no food, they stuck a sponge in your mouth filled with vinegar, so I am going fast from food today. You suffered hideously for me. I could never go to that extreme. I could at least fast from the usual food and drink I normally have.” In our communities we are constantly hearing about violence and evil and scandal and corruption and murder and accidents and tragedies and violence. We are tempted to lose hope. We’re tempted to feel like Jesus on the cross that first Good Friday who said My God My God, why have you forsaken me? But then we remember Easter and the Joy of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday will always have the last word. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to pray for you. I wish you a prayerful Holy Week in preparation for the celebration and joy of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Mr Connolly Chaplain
FIELD TRIP TO EPPING FLOWS WELL Year 10 Geographers visited the Field Studies Centre in Epping Forest in January to investigate how river channel and drainage basin characteristics impact on flood risk. The eager students collected a range of primary data including considering the geology by taking and examining soil samples, measuring the river width and depth and velocity- which involved stepping into the river up to their knees and they loved it! “Students were able to apply the knowledge they have learnt in their lessons to a real life context which is immeasurable” added Ms Purdue, the Curriculum Leader for Geography.
The trip was part funded with the help of an Educational Grant secured from The Jack Petchey Foundation. Mr Murray and Mr Stanley went along too.
Ms Purdue finished off by saying: “I know what the students saw and learnt will really help them in their exams next year as they could see for themselves what they had been learning about all year in class.”
One student, Kyle Valdez rom 10 Wall said: “It was fun as well as educational and it was really good to work in groups our teamwork.”
DYNAMIC DODGEBALLERS
ALUMNUS MUG LOVE
Our Year 7 HeadStart champions organised a series of Dodgeball games in school to raise money for charity and a fantastic £70 was collected and Kolbe named as the overall winners.
Former Bonaventurian, Martin Ling, who started St Bon’s in 1977, poses with his St Bon’s mug in his office at Leyton Orient FC.
It was arranged by Matthew Burnett from the Newham mental health service that works closely with the community and schools to transform how young people and their families are supported. Matthew is a former students of St Bonaventure’s and is well liked by the staff and students.
School Marketing and Publicity Officer and School Magazine Editor, Di Halliwell, went out to visit him just after Christmas at the ground in Brisbane Road. Director of Football at the club Martin stays in touch with school and says he promises to use his mug everyday.
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ART TASTER DAY A HUGE SUCCESS To enable prospective students to gain experience of studying at our 6th Form Art Department, Ms Gilroy ran a Saturday Workshop in February and opened it up to all current Year 11 GCSE Art, Design or Graphics students who are considering studying Graphic Design and/or Fine Art at A Level in September.
printmaking workshop 2019 monoprint images
The workshop explored a range of printmaking techniques, including oil based monoprinting and etching. All the work the students completed was sent back to participating schools and will be submitted as part of the GCSE Exam Preparation Work which should have a significant impact on possible grades.
Ms Gilroy went on the explain: “ It was a hit and we got some really positive feedback.”
Our Art Department has achieved amongst the highest A Level results nationally for the past three years and students also have an excellent track record for gaining places at the top universities to study Creative or Design Degrees. The Creative Industries are currently the fastest growing sector in this country. We feel that there are really exciting opportunities for young graduates developing their careers in this direction.
TEMPLE TOUR
ME GUSTA
A group of our RE Matters students went along to the East London Buddhist Cultural Centre as part of the student SACRE programme. They were joined by girls from Plashet School and the Azhar Academy for the meeting at the temple in Maybury Road in Plaistow. They spoke to Buddhist monks, Venerable Mangala and Visudhi Chitha and discovered more about their life. A lovely tasty lunch followed and lots of new friends made.
Ms Mascherin held a Spanish Enrichment Day for A Level students that was held in our library this term. Guest speaker, Antonio Iglesias, who is an expert in 20th century history, came in to to lead the session in a bid to expand their background knowledge on the post Franco transition period and La Movida linked to Pedro Almodovar cinematography. These are key topics in the curriculum and what Antonio discussed with the students will be crucial to developing critical thinking skills to prepare for debating and essay writing on the subject.
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SCIENCE DEPARTMENT SHELLERBRATE NEW ADDITION Our new science student is a real hard case but he’s coming out of his shell and settling in well, he’s not your regular boy either, he’s a 10 year old Horsefield tortoise called Bert. Ms Tidd said Bert was lonely at home so she decided to bring him in to school to live in room 25 and be looked after by Mr Bennett, Mrs Racon and Petchey award winner Joseph Chakko who’s in 9 Kolbe.
ROBOTS TAKE OVER SCIENCE LESSON Mr Bennett’s science class spent a January lesson programming and refining their handmade robots in preparation for the Lego Robotics competition. Mr Adenekan was really impressed as they had made lots of progress and their machines were very impressive. Well done to: Jerald Abogado, Jhonatan Bernal, Ainis Bucevicius, Brendan Jobson, Luigi Llana, William Mena, Jaskirat Singh, Josef Tan, Denis Uju, Clarence Veras.
Bert is a bit of a fussy eater and Joseph is trying to encourage him to widen his diet and introduce new tasty delights to his menu. Apparently he is very stubborn and loves to dig and he is living in a huge, deep table carpeted with soil and sand. The plan is, however, to allow Bert more freedom and for him to roam room 25 when the older 6th form classes have lessons. He’s a fast mover too apparently. There are plans for him to enjoy the great outdoors this summer and Mr Young will make him an outside run. Welcome to the science department family Bert! Whilst our students didn’t come away with any trophies in Birmingham at the final of the Robotics Fair, they did us proud and had a lovely experience reported Mr Bennett and Ms Logier.
The Old Vic 6th Form student Duvall with Bert
These smiling Year 12 students posed for a group photo on their way to The Old Vic Theatre for an employability skills programme at the Old Vic Workrooms in February.
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ST BON’S CROWNED LONDON CHAMPS OF ROBOTICS CHALLENGE The Lego Robotics team were thrilled to win the Lego Robotics Speed Challenge at RAF Hendon in February and doubly thrilled when they won through to the Grand Final of the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge in Birmingham. The Year 8 and 9 boys went on to represent London after winning over judges with a series of team-building and robot design challenges. Their confidence was really boosted early in the day after winning the speed challenge when their robot travelled over 4 metres in the fastest time which was an impressive 1.64 seconds faster than any other school team. They beat lots of Independent, Grammar and other large Comprehensive schools from right across the Capital with their super design.
They had to also give a presentation regarding a humanitarian problem and the technology needed to help solve it. Our students chose drones and explained the reasons for their choice. Mr Bennet went on to explain: “The most important challenge of the day was the challenge mat when their robot had to complete eight separate tasks in under five minutes. They used a very complex programme to tackle these tasks which seemed to impress the judges. They were delighted to be selected as the winners and their victory was very much deserved as they had worked incredibly hard to reach this standard.” Mr Halliwell called all nine champions into his office after the event to congratulate them on their win and presented them with Headteacher commendations for their brilliance. The students were Jerald, Jhonatan, Ainis, Brendan, Luigi, William, Jaskirat, Josef and Clarence.
WORLD OF FUN FOR EVERYONE World Book Day was fun and full of colourful costumes in school as teachers and students dressed up as book characters to celebrate the day. Those not brave enough to dress up, pinned quotes from literature onto their backs for others to read and absorb. “A book swap in the library at lunchtime and a drop everything and read session made it a fantastic day to celebrate reading” according to Curriculum Leader of Literacy , Emer Murphy. Chizaram Opra, Yusf Uner and Brian Tomaz all in Year 7 were declared the winners of the Best Costume title and the Favourite Word Competition was won again by Chizaram who had a very good day all in all with his word ‘indomitable’. Year 11’s Edward Ndow favourite word was ‘dulpicitous.’
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THE BRIXTON BARD
THE GREAT YEAR 8
Award-winning British novelist Brixton’s Alex Wheatle MBE made a special appearance at Plaistow Library as part of the Newham Word Festival.
Meet the new Year 8 Newham Indoor Athletics champions. Thanks to Mr Robinson for coaching the team.
Ms Massett took a group of boys from her Book Club to listen to the popular author who also goes by the name of the Brixton Bard. Alex who is of Jamaican heritage, spoke about his life and his time in prison following the 1981 Brixton riots and how it influenced his writing. Our students were joined by others from Lister School and they asked lots of questions after hearing him recount his life story. Ms Masset went on to say: “His books are a popular choice in my Book Club and the boys loved seeing him in person.” Alex’s novels include: Liccle Bit, Brixton Rock, Straight Outta Crongton and East of Acre Lane.
RED CROSS INSTRUCTOR TRAINS 6TH FORMERS Twenty one Year 13 students underwent first aid training in January from Derek Causarano from the British Red Cross. Derek came in delivered an excellent workshop with the students gleaning essential knowledge and skills on how to deal with a variety of emergency situations. The students came away feeling confident and reported that it was a really useful session.
Director of 6th Form, Wayne Templeman, added: “I’m certain the students will remember what they learned today for a very, very long time and it will give them the confidence to help out in future if they see someone in distress.”
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MR JARVIS’ CAREERS CAROUSEL
The SEO Advance programme SEO London work with over 40 leading employers across career areas from accountancy, banking and law to IT, technology and engineering. SEO also have partnerships with Oxford, Cambridge and Russell group Universities. The SEO Advance programme is a careers education and work experience stretch programme for high achieving pupils from selected schools with the aim to widen ideas and aspirations toward high flying careers. Four of our Year 11 boys – Adrian, Kwesi, Prince and Simon are taking part after we helped them apply for this competitive project and have attended an Engineering Insight Day at The Royal Academy of Engineering with workshops led by Atkins, Jaguar and Land Rover. They also visited Cambridge University during the February half term which they really enjoyed. Forthcoming events include time spent at Blackrock and Barclays (Finance), Bloomberg (Media) and Freshfields, Bruckhaus Deringer (Law). A trip to Oxford University is to follow.
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THE RETURN OF THE FAB FOUR Four St Bon’s alumni, who are now in their twenties, returned to where it all began in March to give a careers talk to boys from Years 10 and 11. They then stayed for a Q + A session with our current 6th Form pupils.
Suhaib successfully applied for two weeks paid work experience at EY London offices taking place this Easter. EY are one of the big 4 global Accountancy + Professional Services companies. Suhaib will also benefit from EY mentoring in Year 13.
Geraint Garcia is now a Senior Civil Servant working for HM Government Revenue and Customs. Kevin Arueya works as a Trader in Hedge Funds with HSBC Global Banking. Lewis Owusu is an Account Manager working for the Press Association and Benedict Asare is a master’s student studying at the London School of Economics. They spoke about how their highly successful career journeys began via our partnership with The RBC Academy (Royal Bank of Canada) when they won scholarships during their time in 6th Form here. We still run this exclusive programme with our current students for the paid RBC internships. There were some great messages about how our students can show employers transferable skills of team work and leadership by taking on responsibilities at school or volunteering in their community. Our Year 10 and 11 students were also encouraged to sign up for the careers projects offered in our 6th Form.
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We loved having them back and really appreciate them taking the time to pop back in with their words of wisdom.
WHO LIVES IN A HOUSE LIKE THIS...?
STUDENT’S ROYAL TOUR
Mr Adenekan and Mr Ahmed hosted an Ideal Home competition with a difference in their Year 9 class when the students had to design and make energy efficient model homes
One of our Year 7 students is spending an exciting couple of months on tour in the UK following a critically acclaimed season at The London Palladium in the award-winning production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s, ‘The King and I.’
They were tested for to see which home lost the least heat within a 5 minute time-frame. There were some really innovative and impressive grand designs. Take a look at these abodes.
Set in Bangkok in the 1860’s the musical tells the story of the King of Siam and schoolteacher Anna and their tempestuous relationship in an imperialistic world. Anton-Kartel Davies De Vera, who’s in 7 Bell and is 11 will perform in Manchester, Dublin and Sunderland where he plays one of the royal children in the stage show and his mum says he is really looking forward to performing.
THOUGHT PROVOKING SESSION Clare from the charity, LIFE, this term to talk to 6th Form students. She challenged them with a talk about reproductive technology and looked at the scientific, ethical and moral debates around IVF, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), sex selection and disability. They were repeatedly asked who does it benefit and who does it harm? This prompted much thought and debate as you would expect. Mr Lewis arranged the visit and commented: "We are really grateful for LIFE visiting as they provide such interesting debate and discussion for
our students. They found her talk fascinating and many were still discussing the issues much later in the day - some even came to find me after school to ask more questions."
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IN THE KNICKS OF TIME A group of our Year 7 and 8 students had an amazing treat in January when they were invited to attend a workshop with the New York Knicks and their players who were in the UK to play an NBA game. Students trained with Latrell Sprewell, Tim Hardaway Jr and Trey Burke on their skills and techniques. Students were then given surprise tickets to go to the O2 Arena to watch the action-packed NBA London 2019 game between the New York Knicks and the Washington Wizards. Our lads walked onto the court during half-time at the packed arena, they mingled with A list celebrities, pop stars and football personalities and had a fabulous evening with lots of entertainment. The atmosphere was electric and our pupils loved every minute. The Knicks led for most of the game but at the last moment the Wizards secured a 101-100 victory with just 0.4 seconds left in the encounter.
Mr Ancora went with our students and said: "To see, meet and work with these athletes was phenomenal for our boys. They were in awe of the rolemodels they see on TV and tried hard to improve their skill sets. We brought so much energy and enthusiasm on the day that the NBA staff and the Knicks players commented on it. A once in a lifetime moment for our boys, that will be remembered forever."
CHEEKY NANDOS
ALL TOGETHER NOW
It was Nando’s all round for this bunch of Year 9 pals who spent an afternoon eating spicy chicken at Westfield courtesy of Jack Petchey award winner, Divin Mubama.
An historical event happened this term when St Bon’s hosted the Agnus Dei Teaching School first ever A Level RS revision day conference.
Mr Bartlett and Mr Firth went along with the lads and Mr Firth said: “They had a brilliant time and their behaviour and manners were noticed by restaurant goers who approached me to comment how well behaved they were. They really area great set of students.” .
Seventy 6th Form students from across London and Essex came in to hear Dr Greg Barker speak. Students from Sacred Heart of Mary, St John Payne, Trinity Catholic High and The Palmer Academy attended. This is the first time students from Catholic 6th Forms in the Diocese had come to study together. They explored meta-ethics, intuitionism, religious language, Wittgenstein, feminist theology and the life of Jesus in a jam packed day. Students found it enjoyable and very useful as they prepare for their final examinations in June.
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FATHER PHILIP’S PHILOSOPHY FORUM
HANDBALL JIVE
Father Philip Thomas, from the community of The Brothers of St John based at St Antony’s parish led a class on the A Level Religious Studies anthology texts.
The first ever Handball fixture hosted by our school for our under 15 team was played in February.
The main discussion was about falsification and looking at the work of Anthony Flew. However, many topics were covered ensuring it was useful revision for the whole course. One student said: “I didn’t understand these articles at all, but now it all makes sense to me; I really enjoyed it.” whilst another added: “It really helped me understand how philosophy works, and how the ideas are all so interconnected.”
Little Ilford School were our opponents and they played exceptionally well but we came out on top with a score of 13 to 10. The top scorer was Noah Myers from Year 9 with the Most Valued Player named as Year 10’s Nathaniel Achea who was superb in goal. Mr Firth added: “I hope they have a long and successful season.”
Mr Lewis concluded by saying: “I really appreciate the guest lecture provided for the students. It helped them understand the bigger picture of philosophy, especially within the Catholic tradition. We are very fortunate for have a community next door who share our love of philosophy.” Sounds like a lesson well learned!
MR FIRTH’S TEAM GOES FORTH Mr Firth’s Year 9 football team played Epping St John’s School on January 30, and won a magnificent 3 – 2.
DOUBLE JOY FOR OUR BOYS
It was the quarter final of the Essex Cup and it was a very exciting match with excellent performances from Ainis, Mekhi, Divin and Zinnell.
Mr Onireti is beaming after his Year 7 basketball boys secured a double win at Rokeby school on January 24.
Divin scored one of the goals and Man of the Match, Zinnell, got two.
Our team played in the Junior NBA League as the Indiana Pacers against Rokeby School who were the Milwaukee Bucks and won 42 – 23.
The team progressed to the semi final stage and Mr Firth was understandably elated.
They also played against Barking Abbey School who played as the Cleveland Cavaliers and won an amazing 66 – 7.
The photo shows a happy Zinnell and Divin.
Brilliant news.
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THE SPACE LECTURERS
VOLLEYBALL ACES
Miss Godwin Martin took one of her classes to St Helen’s Primary School in Canning Town to deliver a presentation on food and space to the children.
Meet the Year 10 Newham Volleyball champions Chinedu Uzoalor, Erikas Valincius, Dhon Faraon and Jason Nguyen. Megane Stanley and Jakob Gazda were also involved.
Nana, Julian, Dilan, Jeremy, Joshua, Praise, Dre, Geo, Rishi and Shams were out of this world and had the audience entranced with their gross experiments making poo and rockets. There were lots of eeuuugghhh sounds but the lesson was guaranteed to stick in the memory for a long time.
BANISHING BULLYING Mr Stanley went to Preston Park Primary school in Wembley with a fantastic group of boys. It’s was a good day where students represented St Bon’s really well and got involved in every activity.
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE FOR THESE STUDENTS Eight of our students from Years 8 right up to Year 12 are involved in a programme being run by The National Theatre called New Views. The students are learning about the skills involved in playwriting and on February 11 had a masterclass delivered by Juliet Gilkes who is a professional writer. The students will all have the opportunity to write their own play script and the winning script (they are in a competition with other schools) will be performed at the National Theatre by a team of actors. St Bonaventure's was fortunate enough to be awarded a bursary by The National to take part in the programme this year. The students taking part are: Tomas Tamasauskis, Year 8, J J Valerio, Year 9, Tomas Uznys, Year 9, Jacob Sebastian, Year 9, Xavier Spence, Year 10, Hannah Latimer, Year 12, Dana Levsa, Year 12, Fatima Abukar, Year 12.
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Their main aim was to demonstrate how to make sure bullying is stopped and that our school as a whole is taking measures to spread awareness of bullying. They learnt valuable skills including public speaking, self confidence techniques and ways to improve the overall approach to dealing with bullying. The boys were brilliant and even had to make a speech regarding how bullying is tackled at St Bon’s. Superstar Bernard received the anti-bullying ambassador of the day certificate along with 6 other students from other schools.
STRATFORD SAFE HAVENS This fantastic group of youngsters are not your ordinary, everyday teenagers. These teens care passionately about the violence in our city and are increasingly concerned about their area becoming dangerous for themselves and their loved ones. They are not going to just stand by and feel unsafe. They wanted to show how much they cared by marching to Stratford Centre in a peaceful demonstration organised by TELCO on March 28. They were joined by police officers, parents, TELCO representatives, shopkeepers and children from other schools at 4pm and carried balloons and placards urging shops in the mall to become safe havens. Councillor Beckles joined in too. Mr Lewis and Mr Halliwell were there with them and Mr Halliwell said: “I am so proud of our students, they have taken a stand and let people know how worried they are and they deserve the right to grow up in a safer neighbourhood. I believe that the demonstration in Stratford has made a difference.”
MOVING ON UP A group of Year 8s visited the TFL museum at Acton for the Inspiring Engineering day. The boys spoke to two engineers about the different type of careers and apprenticeships available in engineering in TFL. They toured the museum and spent the afternoon problem solving, working in teams to build a railway track and had to transport a delicate egg in their train in the most comfortable and safest way. They were then scored on their performance and teamwork.
Earlier in the day, Mr Lewis and three of our students spoke eloquently in a live interview with BBC Radio Four’s Vanessa Feltz morning show and really impressed the reporter, Greg, with their determination to bring about change and their involvement in the community safety initiative.
NEW AQUARIUM PLANNED THANKS TO JOSEPH 9 Kolbe's Joseph Chakko, who's 14, was nominated for a Jack Petchey Award by Science teacher, Mr Bennett. Mr Bennett said: "Joseph has shown a clear desire to look after the fish and the aquarium in the science lab. He has fish at home and is very enthusiastic about their habitat and welfare. His knowledge is fantastic and he is a real asset when it comes to helping us with the aquarium.With his award money he wants to buy another aquarium and equipment and help manage the fish."
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SPREADING FORGIVENESS NOT HATE
BREAKIN’ GOOD
Year 9 and 11 students listened to Margaret Mizen and her son Danny speak about the death of 16 year old Jimmy, in two special assemblies in school when the theme of the talks was forgiveness and love.
Shams Ullah and his Year 10 pals, Arpon, Ethan, Tyresse and Dhyey went to Breakin’ Escape Rooms in Islington this term with Mr Graham with money Shams won as part of his Jack Petchey award.
Margaret is a regular visitor to school but this is the first time Danny has visited.
After following a series of clues and mysteries in various specially staged rooms, the boys had loads of fun and they successfully made it out alive...phew!
He spoke openly about the day he discovered his younger brother had died at the hands of bully Jake Fahri and the aftermath of the tragedy as well as his coming to terms with what happened. The students were reminded that violence and knives only bring misery and destruction to people’s lives. Violence, intimidation and bullying can never be seen as acceptable and Margaret spoke about how her deep faith ultimately helped her to forgive Jimmy’s murderer. Students went away feeling hopeful and with plenty to think about.
STUDENT NETS PLACE ON LONDON TEAM 15 year old Emmanuel Barco, who's in 11 Colman, found out in March that he had been selected for the London Under 17 Volleyball team.
JAMES IS NAMED AS A WINNER
This is brilliant news for Emmanuel who was selected to play as a setter after attending trials at Ernest Bevin College in Tooting.
Mr Halliwell presented 6th Form Year 12 student, James Appiah, with a Jack Petchey award for all the excellent work he does with various organisations and groups in our community.
Emmanuel has been playing volleyball for a year but only competitively for the last five months.
Mr Lewis put James' name forward as he wanted to highlight his leadership skills and work with TELCO, the Youth Commission and the homeless at St Anne's Church in Custom House. James also started a Debate Club and inspires others to get involved. It's proving to be an excellent year for James as he was named at the new 6th Form Headboy just before going to press too.
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Mr Firth and Mr Robinson both have high hopes for Emmanuel and report he is dedicated with a mature attitude to the game. Mr Firth added: "To represent London is a magnificent honour and Emmanuel will be an asset to the team."
HEART TO HEART FOR THESE STUDENTS 6th Form Year 12 Biology and Sports Science students were treated to a grisly but fantastic lesson with a difference when they watched a heart and lungs being dissected by Mr Templeman and Ms Racon. One student even got to inflate the lungs with a bicycle pump and the thick ventricle wall of the heart was cut through to show its features.
FARADAY FUN Year 8 boys took part in the IET Faraday Challenge Day sponsored by the Jack Petchey Foundation this term. The challenge was in association with the James Webb Space Telescope and teams had to race against the clock to solve a real life engineering problem to test their skills and knowledge. Team 4 were declared the winners and collected a crystal trophy.
That was one lesson the students won’t forget in a hurry.!
JAMES AND MANISHA APPOINTED Mr Templeman is thrilled to introduce the newly appointed Senior Student Leadership Team (SSLT) for the coming year. Current Year 12 pupils James Appiah and Manisha Shajan will lead the team of deputies and senior prefects for 2019/2020. He added: “The calibre of students was excellent and I look forward to working with them in the forthcoming academic year.”
Leader Award Every year a Jack Petchey Leader award is given to a member of staff in school, this year Assistant Headteacher, Andy Lewis, was named as the Leader Award winner for his involvement in a wide range of community activities. He inspires students and guides them. He is calm and caring and works with CAFOD and TELCO to help bring about change.
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IMPORTANT DATES (Some events may be subject to change so please check the school calendar) April 23
Students return at 8.45am after Easter break
April 29
Whole school mass at 12 noon
May 2
Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge at Plashet School at 6.30pm
May 6
Bank Holiday. School is closed
May 13
Crowning of Our Lady statue on the friary lawn at 9.30am Public examinations begin
May 16
Year 7 Parents' Evening 6pm - 8pm
May 24
Brentwood Diocese Citizenship Awards at Brentwood Cathedral School finishes normal time for Whitsun holiday
May 27 - 31
Spring Bank Holiday. School is closed.
June 3
Students return at 8.45am
June 6
Year 10 Parents' Evening 6pm - 8pm
June 21
Sports' Day at Newham Leisure Centre
June 26
Public exams finish
June 27
Year 6 Transition Day
July 1
Bosco Camp Transition Day for Year 6 students
July 3
Million Minutes awards ceremony at 6pm
July 8 -12
School Mission Week
July 9
Year 9 Graduation at 1.30pm
July 12
Mass to celebrate the feast of St Bonaventure’s then school finishes for summer holidays at 12.30pm
TWITTER AND FACEBOOK Should you wish to keep up with the success of our students both past and present more regularly then follow us @stbons on Twitter or the school Facebook page.
twitter.com/stbons
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