ISSUE : 14 EASTER 2018
St Bonaventure’s Magazine
Happy Easter from all staff, students and governors at St Bonaventure’s
message from the headteacher
NEWS FROM AGNUS DEI TEACHING SCHOOL ALLIANCE
Dear parents, students and members of the St Bonaventure's family, This term has been extremely busy and exciting and we have achieved lots. This magazine only gives you a flavour of some of the wonderful things that take place in school every single week.
Paid Internship in Maths/Physics We have been awarded a grant by the government to run a summer internship programme for those in their penultimate year of studying a STEM subject. Interns will be paid £300 a week for the 4week programme, a total of £1200.
We have welcomed many inspirational visitors into school who have enhanced the learning experience of our students. Every single day lessons take place in St Bonaventure's that make me immensely proud and I am extremely grateful to our caring staff who make sure our students progress well and get the very best education. This is vital to help improve their life chances and help them with their future careers as they reach their potential both academically and spiritually.
Opportunities during the four weeks will include:
I would like to thank parents too for their continued support. When we work together as a team, encouraging, motivating and inspiring our children we really do bring out the best in them. Thank you again parents.
To take part you will require an A level in Mathematics (and Physics if you want to teach Physics) and will be in your penultimate year of an undergraduate degree course in Mathematics, Physics, engineering or a related subject
When we return after Easter our examination preparation begins and I'm sure all students in Year 11, 12 and 13 who have public examinations approaching could benefit with our prayers and support. They all deserve to be successful and keeping them in our prayers at this stressful time is appreciated. We rely on the help of parents to monitor what their child is doing.
For those interested in applying, please visit our page on the website http://www.stbons.org/teaching-school/paid-internship-in-mathsphysics/
They will be in my thoughts constantly. May the Holy Spirit remain with you and your families during this holy season when we celebrate Christ's love for us and His resurrection.
AGNUS DEI
Teenagers up and down the country will be studying hard and parents need to check that they are doing adequate, relevant revision in a space that is peaceful and quiet as well as ensuring they take regular breaks to protect their mental health. Ensuring they eat healthily will help them with their concentration. Make sure they don't get sidetracked too. I know what this is like as last year our son was preparing for his GCSEs. It's a stressful period for everyone involved but the outcome of the exams will determine the success or otherwise for the rest of their lives and they need to achieve their very best.
Observing and supporting lessons Preparing and teaching lesson components Providing support to individual pupils Running an enrichment club Supporting the wider life of the school including school trips Visiting other schools including a primary school
Jonathan Doyle We were lucky enough to host author, global speaker, motivator and entrepreneur Jonathan Doyle, at the beginning of the month to speak to Catholic leaders in our alliance. He spoke with passion of how as teachers we can help grow the spirituality of our students and certainly left all of us with a strong feeling of inspiration going forward. TeachMeetE7 We hosted our very first TeachMeet on February 24 and welcomed teachers and staff from schools across the borough and alliance, all of whom were here to listen to the fantastic range of speakers that we had put together. Speakers had to talk for either 3 or 7 minutes on topics such as Restorative Justice, Coaching, Whole Class Feedback, Work/Life Balance, Virtual Communities, Transition and Talk for Writing and we were lucky enough to be sponsored by many publishers who gave away over 40 books! It was such a success that we are already planning our next one - March 5, 2019.
God bless you all Paul Halliwell.
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Mrs Smith Director of Teaching School
LORD LEADS THE WAY
ALL ABOARD! SEA SUPPORTERS WELCOMED BY STUDENTS
Our Politics A Level students met with the Liberal Democrat Peer, Lord Timothy Clement-Jones on March 9, when he came in to school as part of the Peers in Schools programme.
Earlier this month we welcomed two dedicated representatives, Roland and Patricia, from the Catholic charity, The Apostleship of the Sea, into school. The charity does excellent work supporting seafarers worldwide and it’s sometimes known as Stella Maris which means Star of the Sea. Their patron saint is the Virgin Mary as Our Lady Star of the Sea.
Mrs Rahman arranged the visit and said: “He gave the students an insight into the House and was very relaxed. I’m sure his visit will really help them to have a better understanding how the House of Lords operates.”
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6TH FORM
Lord Clement-Jones met with Year 12 and 13 pupils about the House of Lords as well as answering questions.
Founded in Glasgow in the early 20th century, the charity provides pastoral care to seafarers through chaplaincies in ports in all continents and supports seafarers regardless of nationality, belief or race. Port chaplains offer friendship, care, practical help and advice to seafarers, many who have been away from home at sea for months. It can be a very lonely life but this fantastic organisation does all it can to help seafarers. Our students heard all about the vast work they do which was an eye opener and afterwards one student commented: “ I never realised such people existed that cared so much for people at sea and made sure they were looked after spiritually when away from home. I think it’s wonderful.”
THE SATURDAY SMARTISTS Miss Gilroy ran a Saturday workshop in January for her Creative and Design students and reported that it was superb.
THE WRAP STARS
The weekend workshops were well attended and extremely enjoyable and the newly refurbished art suite received the thumbs up from the artists.
Christmas wrap stars Ms McNulty, Ms Ho and Ms Worme did a sterling job of wrapping the Secret Santa pressies and raised £43 for CAFOD. CHARITY
ART
The hardworking 6th Form and Year 11 artists created mono prints and etchings and spent the morning producing some impressive pieces that will go toward their sketchbooks and forthcoming exams.
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we are writers Miss Parkinson asked her class to write a piece for the ‘We are Writers’ literacy project that gives every child the chance to become a published author. It’s a wonderful way to encourage youngsters to develop a love of creative writing.
boy that came out of him. “Brooker, you need to be Captain. That is an order. Brooker gritted his teeth. “Yes… Yes sir, out”. “Attention. This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill. All hands on deck, evacuate!” The captain crackled over the ship’s radio.
Here is one submission by 10 Forest’s Jeremiah Kigozi who is member of the lunchtime club with Miss Parkinson and Miss Massett.
Suddenly, a 400 foot high wave came crashing towards HMS St Albans. The crew were engulfed and obliterated in minutes. There were no survivors. News reached Parliament. Panic ensued. There was only one last thing was left to do. Teresa May declared war.
THE START AND END (OF THE WORLD) They were posted in North Korea. Tussles and tugs between America and Korea went on for almost 30 years, but no one got involved.
LITERACY
“Let them settle it between themselves,” others said. No one voiced it but everyone knew what could happen. At 9.34 precisely the squad silently advanced in the camouflaged truck. All hope was lost on the mission dubbed ‘suicide’. “Diamond formation”. The Sergeant whispered as he cautiously scanned the enemy terrain. On the clear sharp night, they air was crisp and silent, as if holding its breath. The men advanced, walking through the open territory. Their mud-crusted boots, carefully placed on the ground to avoid any noise, quietly forced them forward. Bathed in the blue moonlight they moved, guns at the ready. Exhausted, they trudged, almost like walking into a grave, but it was their honour, duty and lives at stake. What happened next, happened so quickly, their brains couldn’t fully comprehend the series of events. Blinded by sudden smoke flares, chaos ensued as land mines were ignited. They exploded. An earshattering bang filled the air and lit up the sky with lightning-like fire. Gunfire peppered the squad as they momentarily flailed around in the dark, before their training kicked in. “AMBUSH”! Yelled a corporal. Then everything fell silent. “Sir, alerts just went off, the Koreans have launched their nuclear arsenal for America but the rocket had a malfunction and is now off target and is heading for our location - roger”. There was a calmness to Sergeant Brooker’s voice, but the captain could hear the frightened
JACK PETCHEY SCHEME
TECHNICIAN AWARDED Mr Young was this term given the Jack Petchey Leader’s Award for the inspiring way he goes out of his way to help students in the Design Technology Department. He in invaluable helping them with their projects and GCSE and A Level coursework and is a skilled craftsman. He shares his knowledge with the students and is always on hand to help them. Mr Young also spent last summer training to become a Beekeeper and spends many hours making sure our school hive and colony of bees is well looked after and healthy. He has spent a lot of time building a trellis and gated area so students will be able to observe and help out with their care in the coming months.
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Brecon Beacons, Sergeant Gav Mcneltish walked with his brother Corporal Daniel Mcneltish, triumphantly, having passed their training. Now they were part of the most feared private army of paratroopers in the world: The SAS. They were to be flown out immediately at 0700 AM by a Chinook to The Hague. From there, they would be flown flown in a Lockheed C – 130 Hercules at 0745 to Chongjin, the most northern city in the North Korea. They geared up - ready for the task ahead as they waited by the hanger door. The doors of Hercules opened. An ice-cold roaring wind rushed in. Equipped with CT12 gas masks, M16 with grenade launchers and suppressors, flash bangs and a MAC – 10 SMG, they were ready. A parachute was issued; they had to land in the cover of darkness. 1 minute left. They double checked. 30 seconds. “Ready?” Gav shouted. They looked back at their squad, giving thumbs up as the fierce wind ripped at their clothes. “GO, GO, GO”! And one by one, they fell away into the hostile black. Jeremiah Kigozi ABOUT THE AUTHOR From the age of 9, 14 year old Jeremiah has been fascinated with writing. This started when he began to read the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. He says he started to write about action and war stories. After a few years, he started playing computer games which also fuelled his love for writing. He is currently working on his novel, ‘The Start and End (of the world).’
MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND
TELCO TALK POSITIVE CHANGE A fantastic meeting took place at school this term involving our 6th Form Year 12 excellent community conscious young citizens with Ally from TELCO and Newham Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Ade Adelekan talking about youth safety.
Year 10 pupils had a valuable lesson from the charity MyBnk in February who came in to deliver a financial education and enterprise programme.
YEAR 10
6TH FORM
These teenagers want to see change and our borough made safe for everyone. With drive like they possess they just might do it.
The groups learned about budgeting and saving for the future which is an excellent lesson to learn in their formative teenage years. They had lots of fun as well as learning all about the complicated world of money management.
ROMEO WINS AWARD FOR HELPING STUDENT OUT
DILLON’S DISPLAY MAKES HEADTEACHER’S DAY
A student from 8 Colman was presented with the first Jack Petchey award of 2018 for the caring, helpful way he helps out a student with special needs.
Dillon was kind enough to bring in an impressive £48 that he had saved for Red Wednesday and the charity Aid to the Church in Need. Several teachers have reported nice things about Dillon’s conduct since starting at St Bonaventure’s. Dillon’s generosity follows on from him raising a lot of money in November’s sponsored walk too. Mr Halliwell went on to explain: “His mature, kind hearted nature is lovely to witness. He really is a fine young man and his mum must be as proud of him as we all are.”
Romeo Pjetri who is 12 and went to St Helen’s Primary School was nominated by Director of Inclusion, Mr Jobbins, for supporting a classmate and helping him with his work. JACK PETCHEY SCHEME
YEAR 8
Year 8 student Dillon Linford was called to see the Head on Red Wednesday and presented with a commendation for always putting others first.
Mr Jobbins was touched by the way Romeo encouraged the boy to put his hand up in lessons and to participate which really helps him to feel included and helps boost his confidence. Mr Jobbins was impressed by Romeo’s caring nature and felt it deserved to be recognised. Mr Halliwell, called Romeo in to his office and presented him with a certificate from the Jack Petchey Foundation and added: “What a fantastic young man Romeo is to show love for a fellow student the way he does.” Romeo wants to take a group of students to Nandos with his prize money.
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GERMAN ALL RAPPED UP
STUDENTS IN AWE OF MIZENS’ FORGIVING NATURE
Twenty two Year 9 German students had a real treat back in January when they experienced learning outside the classroom and had fun too.
We were blessed on February 22 to welcome our friends Margaret and Barry Mizen in to school to chat to two groups of students from Years 11 and 12.
Lead Practitioner, Ms Prichard and German Assistant, Miss Lottmann took the teenage linguists to see German Rap and Soul Artist, Chefket, perform at the Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone.
Their son, Jimmy, was attacked and murdered on May 10, 2008 in a Baker’s shop in Lee Green in South London after a glass dish was thrown at him during an altercation.
Ms Prichard commented: “The boys were all very excited and enthusiastic and it was a great opportunity to hear lots of German and learn new vocabulary as well as plenty of opportunities for audience participation. Chefket’s rapping was pretty impressive too. One of our students was brave enough to get on stage and perform to the whole audience earning the loudest applause of the day.’ Ein guter Tag’ as Chefket might say – (the title of one of his songs.)”
The Mizens are always very supportive of our school and work tirelessly travelling the length and breadth of the country sharing their message of love, peace, forgiveness and hope to young people with their ‘For Jimmy’ charity.
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MFL
Chefket was visiting London as part of his European tour and he set aside a date to perform to UK students learning German. This was organised by The Goethe Institut and was a fantastic opportunity for our students to experience modern German culture along with other similar aged students from other schools across the Capital.
The linguists followed up the trip to the concert by devoting some lessons to Chefket’s work whilst it was still fresh in their minds and prompted some lively discussions all around music, youth culture, fashion and image.... all in German of course.
YEAR 7
PARLIAMENT POPULAR WITH PUPILS Year 7 spent the day at the historic Palace of Westminster recently and had a guided tour and saw the famous chambers and loved every minute.
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Their visit came as the 10th anniversary of Jimmy’s death approaches and they spoke from the heart and very candidly about the impact his murder has had on their family. They stressed the importance of forgiveness and the need for young people to be kind to each other. Their message of love touched everyone who heard them speak. Director of Religious Studies, Andy Lewis, invited them in and said: “They met with our senior 6th Form TELCO representatives as well afterwards and urged them to help them get involved with community issues telling them their input was vital to bring about change.”
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS BRAVE ICY WEATHER ALL IN THE NAME OF BUSINESS Mr Miah’s tech-savvy Young Enterprise students took their fantastic new product to Spitalfields market on February 6, and braved the freezing cold weather but still managed to pull in the crowds. The Year 10 lads have devised a collection of USB bracelets in a variety of eye-catching colours that plug straight into a laptop and are compatible with Smartphones, iPhones and Samsung. Costing just £5 each or £12 for three, the bracelets are a handy, stylish and affordable way to have a convenient USB with you at all times – technology at your fingertips so to speak. The wearable USB bracelets double as phone chargers and are proving popular in school. At Spitalfields our stall was visited by MP Stephen Timms who spent time chatting with our students and Arjun and Ross from the television show ‘The Apprentice.’ 2017 series.
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE Fifteen year 10 GCSE Drama students visited the Theatre Royal Stratford East on January 29, for a fascinating workshop with Miss Corriette and Miss O’Neill.
YEAR 10
The bracelets are on sale in school now if anyone is interested in buying them from our Young Enterprise group.
They took part in a technical skills session as part of Theatre Royal’s ‘Donate The Stage’ initiative which was completely free.
DRAMA
They also had the chance to use the theatre’s professional technical equipment and had a series of masterclasses from the Lighting Manager, Assistant Stage Manager and Sound Apprentice. A tour backstage followed which was very interesting. A question and answer discussion with the theatre professionals proved really useful with our students learning more about careers backstage and the various routes to get there. They also heard about apprenticeships and work experience opportunities that the theatre could potentially offer. Miss Corriette concluded: ” It was a wonderful opportunity for them to see more that goes on in the theatre apart from just a performance and acting and the many opportunities there are for behind the scenes and technical work.”
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CAREERS CAROUSEL
MR JARVIS’ CAREERS CAROUSEL Six Year 11 boys had the opportunity to work with SEO London that works with over forty leading city employers across a wide range of career areas from accountancy, investment banking and law to IT, technology and engineering. SEO also have partnerships with Oxbridge and Russell group universities. The SEO Advance programme is a complete careers education, mentoring and work experience “stretch” programme for academically high achieving pupils from partner schools The aim is to really widen ideas and aspirations toward high flying careers. The six students were: Aaron Yousef , Gerald Koh, Theo Mentesnot, Suhaib Zia, Saviour Ocwet, Francis Cyril. So far the cohort has visited; Oxford University, Your Future Your Ambition STEM careers exhibition at The Emirates Stadium, an Alpha Financial Markets Consulting master class and an engineering insight at Royal Academy of Engineering featuring workshops led by Atkins, Rolls-Royce and GSK. Forthcoming events include a visit to Cambridge University, a visit to the law firm Freshfields, Bruckhaus Deringer and an investment banking insight day at Barclays.
All of our students have told us how much they are getting out of the programme: Here are some positive comments from the boys. “The Engineering insight day was inspiring…. they also help you think about your whole career journey” - Suhaib “You learn about careers you did not know about and meet other young people who want to achieve” - Aaron Joel Summers at SEO has been hugely impressed with our students and added:“All the students have been really cooperative, keen to engage and well-behaved at our events, they are curious to learn about different industry areas, ask fantastic questions and have put in a lot of effort so far.” Mr Jarvis went on to explain: “When our students move into Year 12 they will progress onto the next exciting phase of SEO with work experience placements. Some of our 6th Formers have recently completed SEO placements with Herbet Smith Freehills law firm and Barclays Bank. In March we held a briefing for 33 of our Year 10 pupils so that they can apply and hopefully we will have some new SEO mentees for September.
A CAREER IN CONSTRUCTION ON THE CARDS?
ROUND UP OF WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON THIS BUSY TERM
Mr Graham and Mr Jarvis took eight Year 11 students to The Building Crafts College in Gibbons Road Campus in Stratford which is a specialist stone masonry, construction and carpentry educational college.
Bart’s Health NHS Trust – Clinical Hospital Work Experience Placements Via our compact with Bart’s Health NHS Trust we secured a 1 week hospital work experience placement which took February half term for Year 12’s Rodolfo Abedejos at Newham General Hospital’s Gastroenterology Department.
Founded by the Worshipful Company of Carpenters in 1893, it has long tradition of delivering high quality education training in building crafts and building conservation. It was a chance for the eight students to have a look around the excellent facilities and talk to the tutors and find out more about available courses. Mr Graham added: “They could see the different options on offer and it gave them an insight and guidance into the skilled manual careers they could train for. It was a really useful session and I know the boys appreciated the vision. It certainly gave them some food for thought.”
Creative Mentor Network “Pitch It” Mentoring with Advertising, Marketing/ Media companies Through our partnership with the Creative Mentor Network two of our Year 13 students were selected to start this 16 week project. Our mentees regularly visit their professional mentor at their work place and get work experience contributing real ideas for the following cutting edge mentors/ companies: Aaron Landicho - Associate Design Director - Iris Advertising Agency Noel Garland - Creative Group Director – Lick Creative Visual Communications Agency FactSet (world leading Financial Technology company) – Mentoring from IT Professionals Four of our STEM 6th Form students completed this Tech Start mentoring project from October to the end of February. They were linked to software developers or IT Consultants and attended seven mentoring meetings at FactSets city offices learning about IT professions and developing employability skills: Those students were: Israel Owolabi, Marvin Lartey, Rolando Torres, Iman Soleman
Ricardo, Camron, Shiloh, Devon, Ashante, Ben, Teon and Patrick outside the college.
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West Ham Kumon Centre – Volunteer Teaching Assistant Via our link with the KUMON Tuition Centre West Ham three of our 6th Form pupils were able to gain work experience as volunteer teaching assistants in Maths or English: Fatima Abukar, Alastair Fan, Jeremiah Balfourth
CAREERS CAROUSEL
TFL WAS A OK Thirty pupils from Year 8 went to London Transport Museum’s Acton Depot for the TFL (Transport for London) “Inspire Engineering Day”. The aim of the day was to increase our pupils’ awareness and understanding of engineering as a career and to motivate them in STEM subjects.
and each will receive the British Science Association STEM CREST Discovery Award Certificate. The day was a great success and our boys gave excellent mini presentations at the end of the day reporting on their findings and reflecting upon what they had learnt. Examples of comments included: “Not all engineers do the same thing It suprised me that engineering is so wide”
They were able to take part in activities using equipment or machinery in the depot and enjoyed building their own train track as part of a problem solving and team building exercise. They also interviewed engineers including a newly qualified Technology Engineer who studied Electrical and Elecronic Engineering at Manchester University who uses modelling software to create simulations of Londons roads and work out the best layout of traffic lights. A Civil Engineer with Civil Engineering degree from Loughborough University who recently helped to design and manage the new platform and tunnel upgrade at Bank Station. Our students were able to ask the engineers about their jobs learning about the excellent career prospects. They all completed a project work book
“We learnt that engineering requires a lot of problem solving and ideas”
PPP...PENGUIN POP IN Penguin Publishing came in to speak to a group of Year 10 boys about career opportunities this term. The students took part in workshops and it was an enjoyable session. A camera crew recorded some of the session for an in-house film they are producing too.
“One thing that suprised me is engineers use virtual reality technology – used to train drivers”
The TFL Inspire Engineering Officer and engineers were highly impressed with our team work and presentations. One commented: “You have been a wonderful school to work with, I wish I could work with groups like you every day.” Thanks to all the Year 8s who took part. To Ms McNulty and Mr Leedham for doing so much to help make the trip happen and to Ms Ho for helping us on the day.
“icanyoucantoo” Year 13 Mentoring Project Update Former Bonaventurian Nilesh Dosa who is now a management consultant at Big-4 Professional Services firm EY, continued his icanyoucantoo mentoring programme for six St Bonaventure’s students. So far this term our mentees have been able to attend four meetings; with two of them at EY’s prestigious offices at Canary Wharf. EY provides professional services to clients including British Airways, Google, Apple, Coca Cola and Governments across the world. The January session focussed on how to prepare for interviews as well as giving insights into verbal and numerical tests. There was also a talk from Michael Edison-Odiase - CEO of 2020 Change.
Students had the opportunity to take part in a mock group assessment session receiving individual written feedback. The evening concluded with a talk from the inspirational Hassan Khan - a member of the visually impaired England international cricket team. There are two more sessions remaining – and will cover CVs, Personal Branding and mock interviews. One of the sessions is going to take place in The City at the offices of an innovative consultancy and will give our students a completely new experience. One student remarked: “The event was really beneficial, I felt highly inspired. I left with many ideas and new perspectives on life and work. This initiative is amazing, it not only helps me but it motivates me to excel in school” Another added: “I recommend programmes like icanyoucantoo. It builds up skills, knowledge and experience…this is a great opportunity which I am proud to be part of. I did not think that so many people at EY would care about our students”
In February, all the mentees returned to EY on a freezing, cold and icy evening for which Nilesh recruited a larger team including three of EY’s “Talent” team (who recruit school leavers and graduates for EY in their day jobs) and seven consultants to show what an Assessment Centre Day at a major global company looks like.
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A LESSON IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
TEACHING INTERNSHIPS HOPE TO SPARK INTEREST IN POTENTIAL TEACHERS
Year 12 pupils spoke to representatives from MyBnk in February about managing their budget in readiness for possible university next year.
Students in their penultimate year of study at University who are studying maths, physics or engineering are being offered the chance to see what a career in teaching is all about by working at St Bonaventure’s.
They took part in a variety of exercises and learned all about living costs and initial expenditure if they’ll be moving away from home as well as picking up handy hints and tips how to keep out of debt... a very worthwhile lesson to learn.
6TH FORM
AGNUS DEI
They could earn £300 a week for four weeks during the internship as well as gaining valuable teaching experience working in a highly successful, outstanding inner-city school. It’s hoped that undergraduates who are considering a career in teaching will be interested in gaining an insight into the world of teaching. The opportunity is being offered by Agnus Dei Teaching School Alliance that’s based at St Bonaventure’s School in Forest Gate, London. Director of Agnus Dei, Katie Smith, went on to explain: “The aim of the internship is to hopefully increase the number of mathematics and physics teachers and give them a taste of teaching before they commit to it as a career. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for students who maybe have been toying with the idea of teaching to get a real feel of working in a school. They will be well supported and get involved with observing and supporting lessons as well as preparing and teaching lesson components. Visits to other schools including a primary school will be on the timetable and I think it’s an excellent way to explore becoming a teacher.” The internships run from June 18 to July 13 this year and anyone interested in the scheme should email agnusdei@stbons.org or visit http://www.stbons.org/teaching-school/paid-internship-in-maths-physics/
JACK PETCHEY SCHEME
DRE PROVES THAT A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED 14 year old student from 9 Bell's Dre Emmanuel has been praised for his actions after helping a collapsed football chum in Capel Road on March 20.
him to hospital and wouldn't leave his side until Matthew's mum came. He underwenttests for shortness of breath and had an ECG but was released later that night.
The drama unfolded after school when Dre was on his way home from a football match on Wanstead Flats where he had been playing in the quarter final of the London Cup against Thomas Tallis School from Blackheath.
Mr Halliwell, was told what had happened by Mr Bartlett and he called Dre into his office the following day and presented him with a Headteacher's Commendation for his good deed.
After going to a penalty shoot out the team lost and the players began to make their way home. Dre noticed that one of the players, Matthew Lopez looked unwell and was walking on ahead. Matthew then collapsed on the ground with chest pains and that's when Dre rushed to a nearby house and asked the resident to call an ambulance. Quite some time passed and help still hadn't arrived but Dre insisted on waiting with him despite being told it could take another two hours for an ambulance to attend. When it did arrive, Dre was adamant that he should go with
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On March 22, it was decided that Dre should receive the February Jack Petchey Award for putting others needs before his own and being a loyal and thoughtful friend during a lengthy time when others might have withdrawn their support. Mr Halliwell concluded: "I am really proud of Dre for what he did and I know Matthew was grateful too. Not many teenagers would have stayed so long waiting but Dre was determined he wouldn't leave his teammate and I think that is wonderful." Dre is still deciding how he would now like to spend his £250 award money.
WHOLE SCHOOL
BOYS LEARN ABOUT ONLINE SAFETY AND CYBER-BULLING FROM SEYI Councillor Seyi Akinwowo spent a week in January in school delivering assemblies to all Year groups about online safety and alerting students as to the different types of abuse and harassment many people and women in particular suffer from online bullies and trolls.
The boys got involved and enjoyed the special assemblies. Seyi involved them and was pleased to discover the boys were aware of the pitfalls of cyber bullying and online safety and were quite knowledgeable.
She spoke about her new initiative, Glitch UK and delivered a series of workshops on cyber-bulling.
Headteacher, Mr Halliwell, added: “Keeping safe is a very important message and one that needs to be stressed and brought up regularly. As Seyi herself has been targeted by online bullies she was the perfect person to warn students and I know what she spoke to them about gave them lots to think about.”
She gave the students lots to think about and stressed the importance of behaving appropriately online at all times. Her tag line, Be part of the solution, not the problem, was emphasised throughout. Seyi herself has suffered vile online racist and misogynist bullying and she explained how soul-destroying and hurtful such nasty comments can be and how it can affect everyday life. She urged the students to think before they react to anything online and think before they do anything that could hurt anybody else. She stressed that whatever they do and whatever information and photographs they share could potentially follow them throughout their career and have dire consequences.
6TH FORM STUDENTS GET PLENTY of food for thought Michael Wee from the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, Oxford, delivered a fascinating lecture to Year 12 and 13 this term discussing IVF, reproductive technology and Catholic teaching.
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He also delivered a ‘Medical Ethics Masterclass’ to Year 13 Religious Studies students where they discussed embryo research, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), euthanasia, palliative care and other topics from their A Level syllabus. Director of Religious Studies, Mr Lewis, added: “Michael gave the students lots to think about and they really enjoyed the master class. I’m certain it will really help them with their studies and I’d like to thank him for taking the time to come in. “
TALKING TELCO 9 Colman’s Nathaniel Ancheta is part of our TELCO team and said this about the training day they had this term: “It was a very informative and interesting day. It was great to know a bit more about the Year 12’s and why they joined the TELCO team. The Year 9 TELCO team wanted to fix the issue of housing whereas the Year 12 TELCO team wanted to fix the issue of youth violence. It was two very different ideas but both equally important. Some activities included negotiation, exploring different ways to describe power as well as thinking exercises. Before this event, I was very nervous but now my confidence levels have risen. The TELCO teams hope that this day will help us prepare for the NewVic event and the TELCO Assembly coming very soon.” Thanks to Ally from TELCO for his support.
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WORLD BOOK DAY 2018 Another great turnout of witches, wizards, Wallies and everything in between at this year’s World Book Day. Everyone made a stellar effort and looked fabulous.
WHOLE SCHOOL
A special mention to Dayam Irfan from Year 7 who came dressed as The Mad Hatter and Arnas Stupuras, Tomas Tamasauskis and Thomas Javier also from Year 7 for their effort. Cameron Laronde in Year 9 really made a special effort too Ms Murphy reported.
Of course who could forget the Learning Support Department who showed real solidarity and orchestrated a whole Harry Potter costume ensemble and looked magnificent.
RABBI SPEAKS TO GCSE STUDENTS Rabbi David Hulbert from the Bet Tikvah Synagogue in Barkingside paid us a special visit on February 21 and came in to speak to two groups of Year 11 boys who are preparing for their RE GCSE exams this summer.
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He spoke to the students in Cardinal Manning Hall and was happy to answer their questions about Judaism and his faith in a bid to bring to life, so to speak, what they had learned in class. He spoke about the history of the Jewish community in the East End and what it means to be a Jew today. He also focused on Jewish festivals and life after death. All topics the students have been studying. “When they are sitting their exam and a question on Judaism comes up, I hope the boys remember this session and it helps them with their understanding” explained Director of Religious studies and Assistant Headteacher, Andy Lewis, who arranged the visit. He added: “The sessions were really helpful and they were able to ask the Rabbi anything. He said he was impressed with the students and said he was very pleased to help us out.” Rabbi Hulbert is the longest serving congregational Rabbi within Liberal Judaism with 27 years in the pulpit.
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REDDY STEADY GO FOR RED WEDNESDAY
ORDER... ORDER Whilst most of us were enjoying a restful half term back in February, two of our 6th Form Year 12 students, Jamie Halliwell and Brendan Smith, were busy learning all about the world of democracy and politics at MP Stephen Timms’ Politics School.
Red Wednesday saw the school turning bright with various shades of red on March 14 in a bid to raise money for the charity Aid to the Church in Need.
Only ten students were lucky enough to get on the prestigious weeklong course after they applied just before Christmas and as part of their work experience they visited the Palace of Westminster and worked on policies including Brexit.
A staggering £973 was collected and will now go towards help and support those who are persecuted for their Christian faith. CHARITY
Later on in the week the group visited local businesses and went to Silvertown’s Tate and Lyle factory and they had a planning meeting with the CEO of Westfield at the shopping mall.
POLITICS
One day they were taken to The Sky Academy at Osterley to undertake media training and see how image is an important part of modern day politics. It was a brilliant opportunity for Jamie and Brendan who say they are both keen to have a career in politics. They said their insight into politics and seeing what a typical day in the life of a busy MP and parliament was all about was really engrossing and made them really determined to succeed and get more involved. Director of 6th Form, Mr Templeman, added: “This enrichment opportunity will really help our students focus their learning plus they will have gained excellent skills that they can utilise their whole lives.”.
LOVE OF LANGUAGE LAUDED Since November Ms Prichard has been running a course with teachers from all over East London and the South of England for teachers who are interested in teaching Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) but are presently teaching another subject or might be returning to teaching after a break or want to diversify into other languages. Six three hour Teacher Subjects Specialism Training sessions proved to be very popular and Ms Prichard said she will be running similar courses next year. MFL
BULLYING AND BELIEF DISCUSSED
RE
St Bonaventure’s hosted an RE Matters meeting in January with students from six other Newham school in attendance in a collaborative project on the subject of bullying and belief. Claire Clinton from RE Matters arranged for a video company to come in to film short sketches and social media pieces that could be used in lessons or assemblies by teachers. It was an action packed afternoon with highly motivated students; Olakunle Adewole, Kieron Ribeiro-Junior,Peter Mwangi, Michael Lawrence, Idaho Eley and Jonathan Facto all getting involved. To keep track of what the group is up to, follow them on Twitter Student_Sacre or Instagram - studentsacre .
ST BONAVENTURE’S MAGAZINE : PAGE 13
MR BARTLETT’S PE ROUNDUP It has be another hectic and successful term in PE. We have competed in several local and national fixtures which had us travelling all over London and around the UK. We were recently ranked as the 39th best sport school in England, moving up 36 places from last year, an outstanding achievement which is a credit to our students and staff.
PE NEWS
ALUMNI Former Bonaventurian Christian McNeish recently won gold in the Sofia Taekwando Open in March. Please support him by following his progress. Chuba Akpom has been scoring goals for Sint-Truiden since joining them on loan from Arsenal. Jermaine Defoe is still representing us in the Premier League alongside Brighton super star manager Chris Hughton. Chuks Aneke is still making regular starts for MK Dons. Malachi Napa has broken into the first team at Oxford United. Bondz Ngala has returned closer to home joining Leyton Orient. Teddy Okereafor is currently applying his trade for Kyris Greek basketball team. A number of our old boys are representing London Lions regularly at the Copperbox Arena. FOOTBALL Football has once again been highly competitive with several tough draws across the year groups. As a school we enter six competitions per year group with the 6th Form participating in numerous leagues and cups. Our fixtures list mean that there are games almost every week up until March. Some of the notable achievements were; Year 7 London Cup QF (still to be played), Year 8 Essex Cup QF (still to be played), Year 9 Essex Cup QF (knocked out), London Cup QF (still to be played) & London Tower Hamlet League Champions (undefeated), Year 10 London Tower Hamlet League Champions (undefeated), Year 11 London Cup QF (still to be played) and 6th Form League Cup SF. As always we have several talented young footballers who are representing St Bons at a number of professional clubs including West Ham, Watford and Charlton.
BASKETBALL Our successes in Basketball continue. The u17 reached the quarter finals, our u14 team reached the semi finals and the u16 lads fantastically reached the national finals in Manchester against Barking Abbey. As always our aim is to win the overall competition however there are some challenging games ahead. Please keep the boys in your prayers. The Junior NBA team continue to go from strength to strength dominating games with incredibly high scores. It is fantastic to witness the boys dedication to training, with their work ethic they are destined for greatness. INDOOR ATHLETICS At the recent Simmonds Indoor Cup, an invitational event for the best athletics schools from across London, we performed exceptionally well. We won 3 out of the 4 age groups who entered the competitions. Our Year 8, 9 and 10 all finished in 1st place with the Year 7 finishing 5th. There were several notable performances however a special mention must go to Joel Pascall-Jordan who dominated his hurdles, long jump and relay events. Hopefully we will mirror the result in the outdoor event later this year. HANDBALL Handball is a game which has a lot of transferable skills from basketball and football, two games our boys enjoy. It seemed only natural to put it on the curriculum. The response has been superb. Both staff and students have grown to love the game with hard fought battles taking place in lessons and during extra-curricular clubs. These lessons have made us grow into a recognised force within the handball community. Our u13 team were crowned the best handball team in Newham and have since continued with victory after victory making their way to the quarter finals of the London Youth Games. Sam Bartlett Curriculum Leader for PE
TWITTER AND FACEBOOK Should you wish to keep up with the success of our students both past and present more regularly then follow us @StBonsPE on Twitter or the school Facebook page.
twitter.com/stbons
find us on facebook
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Chaplain’s Message Someone once described the spiritual life in this way: Each of us is a child with an instinct for beauty, and God, who is the Beauty behind all beauty, is the hidden presence we naturally seek to touch. We spend our lives reaching for that beauty. But creation is so very great, and we’re so very small, that we can accomplish very little — until God stoops down to provide us with a stool to stand on, so that we can stretch out and touch his face. The legs of that stool are faith, hope and love; and these three great “theological virtues” are what I pray God will fill each of us with in the days of Holy Week and throughout the Easter season. Faith gives meaning. Human beings were made for a purpose; only faith provides it; and without it the soul fades away. Faith is not simply doctrines, though these are essential. Faith is not sentiment, or knowledge, or law, though all these play a vital role in our life of faith. Faith is the certitude that God exists and loves us, because He has revealed Himself in the one way which doesn’t leave much room for disagreement: His real presence in our lives. Of course the irony, as C.S. Lewis once wrote, is that the hardest thing to believe is something we’ve just preached or defended to another. Before ascending to His Father, Jesus told His disciples to preach and teach the good news. That command includes us. But giving the truth away to another person can leave an empty place in our own hearts. The only way to refill that space is to turn back to God and beg Him again for His presence. This is one important reason why we pray. Hope gives joy. Every Christian sooner than later discovers that his or her own skills are too poor, and their sins too stubborn, to be the kind of disciple the world needs — unless the Easter miracle is true and the resurrected Jesus, once dead but now alive again, is real and present in our lives. Hope sinks its roots in faith and flowers in joy. At the end of the day, there are no unhappy saints. Easter is the great feast of hope, and in the centuries since the empty tomb, we’re all living in the morning of the Resurrection every day. We’re part of an endless triumph of life; a message which sets itself, in this world, against a culture of death. The task of every believer is therefore to be a witness to the Resurrection and an agent of hope.
Finally, love gives life. Christ’s love on the Good Friday cross gave life to the world on Easter. All love is fruitful. Every person’s life animated by love is fertile and creates new life according to his or her unique vocation; some in the flesh, some in the spirit, but new life nonetheless. The better we love, the more we become the hands of God, sculpting the new beauty of a redeemed creation. Love draws us into God himself. And from our hearts, love calls out two other virtues which spring from it: humility, which allows us to forget ourselves and cherish the dignity of others; and courage, which enables us to live and speak the truth not as a weapon, but as a gift. It isn’t enough to speak the truth. We need, as Paul wrote, to speak the truth in love. This year during Holy Week, let’s remember that the spiritual life of every Christian should be fired by the words Jesus shared with his apostles on the night he was betrayed: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn. 15:12). Christ’s suffering and death on Good Friday bore fruit in our salvation. When we seek to love with Christ’s intensity — as the apostles did; as every disciple is called to do — the light of Christ’s resurrection will enter our families and begin to transform every life we touch. Such love changed the world once. It can do so again. May God grant all of us a blessed Holy Week and Easter season — and the faith and hope, the love, humility and courage, to live Easter every day of the year. As always, please continue to pray for us as we continue to pray for you.
Mr Connolly, Chaplain
ST BONAVENTURE’S MAGAZINE : PAGE 15
PHOBIAS... WHAT PHOBIAS? ASK PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology 6th Form scientists visited London Zoo for a phobia workshop with Ms Everiste that was highly engaging and captivating. The day started with students taking part in a thirty minute introduction session with Dr John Clifford, Clinical Hypnotherapist. He went through the most common phobias within the UK and sited case studies with some of his most interesting and unusual clients. For example, a woman who had a phobia of peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of her mouth; a teenage girl who saw a spider in her dad's car as they were driving on the motorway and opened the passenger door to jump out; and a woman who saw a spider, dropped her baby she was holding at the time and ran away. Students were asked to understand why certain animals caused the most phobic responses and what the consequences were. All students really enjoyed the session and Dr Clifford's jokes. Dr Clifford was particularly impressed with the high level responses from our students and their prior knowledge from their Phobias lessons and he complimented them regularly. The students then had approximately two hours to explore the Zoo itself. They visited the Gorilla Gardens, Tiger House, Lion’s Den, B.U.G.S House, Reptile House and Monkey Cages. They took great pleasure in making sure Ms Everiste spent an extended period of time staring at anacondas within the Reptile House as they knew that was her weakness. The group then reconvened for a two hour Phobias Treatment session. In this session, Dr Clifford explained the different treatment methods that are used within London Zoo's 'Friendly Spider Programme'
(Flooding, Hypnosis and Systematic Desensitisation) - again, all of which Ms Everiste’s Psychology students took pleasure in demonstrating to him their prior knowledge. Dr Clifford then placed the entire cohort under relaxing hypnosis, for 15-20 minutes. All students were in a deeply relaxed state and couldn't believe that they had been 'under' for that period of time. They all really enjoyed it. This was the prelude to actually exposing the students to Rosie the tarantula. Such a cute name for a hairy, huge arachnid too. At this point a few of our students climbed over other students and headed for the door. Mentioning no names Jacob, Parves and Tamera. Dr Clifford found this hilarious, but said it was the usual response after meeting Rosie. Students then had the opportunity to hold Rosie in their hands whilst under the relaxing effects of the hypnosis. The astounding revelation was some of our students who were genuinely arachnophobic, Fatima and Sonia, bravely conquered their fears and were able to hold Rosie for ten seconds each, something neither student would ever have been able to do beforehand. This really impressed Ms Everiste as she had previously showed her class a Phobias PowerPoint that included a slide of a tarantula and one student immediately burst into floods of tears just at the mere sight of the spider. Dr Clifford was genuinely very impressed with the group and was thankful for their response and engagement with him throughout the session. Sounds like a day when fears were faced with some cures on the horizon possibly too.
IMPORTANT DATES 12 April
Summer term begins at 8.45am
19 April
Year 7 Parents’ Evening 6pm-8pm
20 April
Whole school mass at 12 noon
2 May
Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge Regional Final at Sarah Bonnell 6.30pm
4 June
Students return at 8.45am
22 June
Simmonds Cup Athletics Years 7-10
4 May
Citizenship Awards at Brentwood Cathedral 10.45am
26 June
Parental drop-in session 4pm - 5.30pm
7 May
May Day Bank Holiday. School is closed
28 June
Year 6 Transition Day
14 May
Public examinations begin
29 June
Whole School mass 12 noon
15 May
Parental drop-in session 4pm - 5.30pm
2 - 6 July
Rome pilgrimage
21 May
Crowning of Our Lady statue on the Friary Lawn at 9.30am
9 - 13 July
School Mission Week
13 July
School finishes for summer holiday at 12.30pm after mass to celebrate Feast of St Bonaventure.
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25 May
School finishes normal time, 3.25pm, for Whit holiday
28 May - 1 June Spring Bank Holiday. School is closed