St Joseph's College Lent End of Term Newsletter 2016

Lent Term Newsletter 2016

2014 –2017

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AWARD

Message from the Principal At the College, we have had another busy, full and stimulating term of academic endeavour, alongside an overflowing extracurricular programme of activities, visits, trips and events. The content that follows in our termly Newsletter is just a small sample of what actually takes place in a single term here at St Joseph’s.

Our College Musical in February was, as ever, one of the highlights of the term, if not the year. South Pacific provided a superb platform for 60-plus students to showcase their performance skills, develop their confidence and unlock new and undiscovered talent. The lead parts were performed professionally and with aplomb by our senior students, some of whom performed in public for the very first time.

We were delighted by the outcome of the ISI (Independent Schools’ Inspectorate) Inspection of Boarding at the College in February. With no regulatory action points and only one recommendation to ‘implement the plans for further improving the quality of boarding accommodation’, this is confirmation of the ‘excellent’ (ISI March 2013) quality of Boarding provision at St Joseph’s and of our strategic objectives for Boarding as detailed in our ‘Building for the Future’ plans. It should be noted that ISI has to give every school at least one recommendation.

The first part of a new six-week sport exchange to Australia took place this term, when Oliver Stace and Matthew Kent (Year 9) stayed with their partners from Knox School, Sydney. We now look forward to welcoming and hosting the two Australian boys in May. Year 8 boys and girls interested in taking part in this exciting adventure next year, will need to make contact with Mr Patterson.

We are also very much looking forward to work starting on the new Sixth Form Centre shortly, with tenders now in and sample furniture and fittings being chosen. By the time this newsletter is with you, we hope to have appointed a new Head of Sixth Form - we can then share with you the new Sixth Form team in its entirety. Current Sixth Form students have also been given additional opportunities through the recent Careers Fair at school, a L6 University/UCAS fair at the Emirates Stadium, and an opportunity for paid summer work experience at Suffolk Life, as well as the overseas summer project in Kenya supporting the Osiligi charity with Dr Hine.

As ever, at the end of a term we have to say good-bye to staff. We wish Mrs Bloore every success and happiness in her new post at Framlingham College and thank her for everything she has contributed in so many ways to students’ successes and experiences. We welcome Mr Layton, our new Director of Music, who starts after Easter and look forward to him bringing his wealth of experience, skills and knowledge to lead Music across the College.

Easter provides our GCSE and A-level students with a significant amount of time for purposeful and focused revision so that they achieve the grades they are capable of and deserve in August. As well as weekly lunch-time and after school revision sessions in term-time, there are Easter revision classes across most subjects – information on these sessions has been emailed to parents by Mr Phaup.

Finally, we wish both the DofE Silver candidates and the USA ski tour safe and enjoyable trips over the Easter break.

As we finish our Lent term, I wish all St Joseph’s families a very happy and restful Easter holiday.

Mrs Danielle Clarke Principal 2

Message from the Vice Principal and Head of Prep School As I sit writing this piece I am enjoying a beautiful morning with the sun streaming into my office. I am sure we are looking forward to our Easter break; when we have an opportunity to take stock and reflect on the quality of our lives, a time to appreciate all that is important to us, a time to reflect on how our thoughts and actions match up with the Christian values which are so important to us all at St Joseph’s College. It is also an opportune time to reflect on, and enjoy, the important things in life: the love and friendship of family, friends and colleagues; the wonders of nature including the sunrises, freshly ploughed fields, the patterns in tree bark. Sometimes we fail to be fully aware of how alive we can be and how we can support others.

With this in mind, I have been delighted with the desire of the students and School Councillors across the College to think of others at this time. Students are currently organising their own charity fundraising events aimed at supporting local charities. The whole College will be joining in with the national Sports Relief charity. We are planning a colour run in the summer term in aid of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, an event that is being supported by the PTA. In addition we are planning to run another family-based Race for Life for Cancer Research UK. Finally, on a global scale, parents, staff and students have arranged for the Horn Factory (East Anglia’s premier big jazz band) to perform with selected students to raise funds for students travelling to Kenya this summer for our Overseas Developing World Project.

I do hope that you will be able to enjoy many of these great events, either directly by participating or attending, or indirectly by enabling your child to participate and/or attend.

Dr Martin Hine Vice Principal and Head of the Prep School

Have a very enjoyable Easter.

Here are ‘The Big Five’, five fine Sixth Form students who are busy fundraising so they can travel to Kenya this summer and run a Summer School for the children at the Osiligi Obaya Primary School. To date they have held bake sales, supplied Champagne and Silent Auction lots and assisted with the Cabaret Concert with Ruthie Henshall and Tim Howar. (See page 6 for more on the cabaret.) They are each moving towards their personal goals. At present they are busy organising the Horn Factory Big Jazz Band Concert to be held on Friday 22 April. Please do all you can to support them and wish them well with their developing world project this summer.

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South Pacific Heady romance at the Officers’ Club duly met a suicidal mission behind enemy lines when St Joseph’s College staged three sell-out performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1940s musical “South Pacific” at Jerwood Dance House in February.

Charley sang and danced like a trouper and shone even when she “played straight man” to Josaia Wacokecoke (L6), the College’s 1st XV Prop, who brought the house down hula dancing in a clam shell bikini top and grass skirt.

The show was an immediate sensation when it premiered on Broadway in 1949, with its mix of enchantment and inter-racial tension. That magic and uncertainty was conjured up again by the St Joseph’s College cast of 70 students, plus technical and backstage teams and of course the band.

Another inspired piece of casting was James Battye (U6) as Bloody Mary. James gave a confident, hilarious performance to the delight of the audience. This was a particularly successful example of a male actor taking on a female actor’s role. Last year’s College production of “Oliver!” featured Aimee Butcher, brilliant as Jack Dawkins, the Artful Dodger.

Leading role of Emile de Becque was fittingly taken by the College’s Head Boy, Nathaniel Abery, who made a fine job of it; looking suave in tropical attire and singing “Some Enchanted Evening” most movingly. His sweetheart, Ensign Nellie Forbush, was played outstandingly well by Charley Hewitt (Y11), who commanded the stage throughout.

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“South Pacific” is a great ensemble piece and the various chorus groups – sailors, nurses and Polynesian girls – delivered the show stopping numbers with verve and gusto: “There Is Nothing Like a Dame”, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” and “Happy Talk”, among others.

Congratulations all round for giving such wholehearted performances and letting so many have a wonderful evening out at the theatre.

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We Had a Blast, Merci!

A sell out concert by West End, Broadway and Rock music stars – and St Joseph’s parents – Ruthie Henshall and Tim Howar, saw the College Refs transformed into a Parisian cabaret. The ambience was heightened by the dazzling performances of the pair, both as individuals and in duets together with their brilliant supporting musicians.

Not only did the guests have a memorable night out, but thousands of pounds were raised to support the Osiligi Charity and some of Kenya’s poorest but most enthusiastic young learners.

“Thank you very much indeed to Ruthie and Tim for putting on such an astonishingly wonderful evening which was supported by so many glittering parents, friends and colleagues. Particular thanks to Liz Lloyd and Lucy Bolton for designing the room, table layout and the hampers – who, ‘come what may’, made sure every detail was attended to,” said Dr Hine, College Vice Principal and lead in our links with the Osiligi Obaya School.

“Thanks also to Vicky Fox for creating and distributing all the marketing and publicity materials; to the many parents, friends, catering and caretaking staff for all their support prior to, during and after the evening; and friends and businesses who generously donated items for the auction and for the raffle. “ There is no doubt that, with a little more personal fundraising, the five students (pictured on page 3) travelling to Kenya this summer are set to make a real difference to the children at the Osiligi Obaya School.”

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Spotlight on Staff Mrs Debenham, College Nurse Born and bred in Surrey, Sister Debenham attended Greenfield School in Woking and moved to London to train as a nurse at the Royal Masonic Hospital. After qualifying, she worked in theatre at the Wellington Humana Hospital and at the Portland Hospital for Women and Children There, where there were many famous clientele, she achieved a claim to fame – helping to deliver Pamela Stevenson and Billy Connolly’s first baby.

Later she spent two years working as a club nurse at a leading health club in Chelsea, before moving to Suffolk. During the next few years, while her children were pre-schoolers, Sister Debenham worked part-time as a practice nurse at Boxford.

When those four children reached school age they all came to St Joseph’s for their entire education. Today, Harry is a chartered surveyor, working for Bidwells in Cambridge, and Polly, who came back to St Joseph’s as a gap year tutor after gaining a Pharmacology degree at Kings College London, is living and working in New Zealand.

Tabitha is in her third year at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music in London, where she is studying Musical Theatre Performance, and Bonnie is working at the National Stud at Newmarket, training in the thoroughbred industry, having inherited her mother’s love of all things equine.

Sister Debenham said, “I love country life and have been around or have had horses for most of my life. I also enjoy long country walks with the dog, during which I put the world to rights.

“I always like to keep fit and I never miss a day without at least one hour of aerobic exercise. I used to be a triathlete and run marathons, and once took on the challenge of an overnight 80-mile jog/run around Cambridgeshire with a friend.”

But it’s not just active pursuits that appeal; Sister Debenham loves the theatre, music, floristry and gardening. And last but not least – in fact more than anything else – she loves to spend time with her children, supporting them whenever and wherever she can.

“I have been a school nurse for 14 years – and working in the boarding house for a year-and-a-half. I must say I love my job and view all the students as my extended family. It’s such a privilege to have seen so many young people grow up to be very fine young adults and friends.

“I can’t express how special it is to see a former student at the Rugby Festival or another College event running up to greet me and proudly telling me how they are and what they have achieved.”

Over the past three months Sister Debenham has been working on the extremely rigorous Level 3 Award in Education and Training, a new qualification allowing her to continue with her First Aid instruction.

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News from the Prep School Children Test Food in Refs Asked about menu options, Chef Manager Mr Johnston invited the School Council to come and taste some dishes. The pupils had no objections to trying three puddings- sticky toffee flapjack, double chocolate chip muffin and chocolate delice – and giving their feedback.

It was a thumbs up to Refs from the children and another from the authorities. Mr Johnston and the catering team earned a top, five star hygiene rating on the kitchens after being inspected on everything from freezers to dry stores.

Tractor Pulls in the Crowds Farmer and St Joseph’s parent, Mr Mann, brought his John Deere tractor to the Prep School and explained to pupils about the vital role it plays on the family’s arable farm.

Museum Provides a Treasure Trove of Egyptian Artefacts

He told the boys and girls that it had recently been used for collecting and distributing manure from the pig farm of another family member, explaining how the waste product of one farm became a useful material for another.

Such a hard working piece of farm machinery inevitably gets caked in mire, so many thanks to Mr Mann for the three hours he devoted to returning it to showroom condition before visiting the Prep School.

Mr Mann said the next job on the farm would be planting potatoes and the girls and boys learnt the tractor’s wheels would be changed for the task. They learned a little about traction and heard about the irrigation and harvesting work later in the year. In answer to a pupil’s question about the use of the tractor in winter, Mr Mann explained the need for agricultural workers to have holidays and about the machine’s maintenance requirements.

If Mr Mann looked like getting stuck on any questions, his son Luke (Year 8) was on hand as back up. The boys and girls thoroughly enjoyed the talk, asked lots of pertinent questions and took a chance to climb up into the cab for a farmer’s eye view.

Years 5 and 6 have made visits to Ipswich Museum to learn more about Ancient Egypt. Sessions included making a human timeline in order to picture the ages more clearly, handling real artefacts and being challenged about their use and ownership, and designing clay amulets. They were intrigued to learn more about mummification and how it came to be called that. Time spent among the exhibits of the Natural History gallery inspired the children to create their own Egyptian gods.

The period has been a source of great creativity, with wonderful masks and headdresses produced. The cross-curricular studies also extended to Food Technology, where date bread and Basboosa, a desert made from semolina, are among the Egyptian delicacies to have been prepared and sampled.

The children also made salatit zabadi with pitta breads, creating the yoghurt dip with the aid of a yoghurt maker. They were able to compare shop bought pitta bread with their own homemade version.

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Readers Make their Preferences Known Prep School marked World Book Day by inviting the children to wear hats signifying some of their favourite characters from the world of literature. The staff also joined in the fun.

Some characters were readily identifiable from the hats and others demanded a little lateral thinking. Everyone enjoyed the event and took the opportunity to talk about the books that inspired them.

Many parents and other carers came along to listen to the children read and learn about what’s hot in children’s literature.

A Concert Full of Spring Sunshine Sunshine and the promise of warmer weather accompanied the Easter Extravaganza Concert, a musical event showcasing the strength and variety of music offered at the Prep School. It was a show with everything – orchestras, choirs, smaller ensembles, soloists, performance poets and even a Chinese dragon.

As usual, the music was drawn from around the world. This year Germany, Greece, Norway and Egypt were among the countries represented. The numbers included rounds, folk songs and a waltz, while the instruments played included hand chimes and a boomwhacker.

Mrs Jones conducted and Mrs Bloore accompanied. Nearly 150 children took part and congratulations to all of them for this lively harbinger of spring!

Chicks for Our Chicks Our youngest children have been watching with delight as fluffy chicks are emerging one by one from a clutch of eggs in an incubator in the Nursery. The chicks have found themselves held very gently on small laps.

The children have been asking lots of questions – such as why they can’t break the eggs to help the chicks along the way. They were told the hatchlings needed to do the work themselves as it helped make them stronger.

Fortunately, no one’s asked yet which came first, the chicken or the egg… because some questions are not so easily answered.

Playing and Learning Together Parents of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage joined us for our termly “Stay, play and learn” session, which took place in both the Nursery and Reception classes. Our focus this time was on Maths.

Lots of fun and interactive tasks were available for the parents to tackle with their child. The highlights of the session were undoubtedly playing bingo and making fruit kebabs and fruit salad.

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Baker’s Dozen Present Lunchtime Concert There were no fewer than 13 items on the bill when the Prep School staged a Lunchtime Concert and the children had a good audience to sing and play for. The concert opened with Toby Hewitt (Year 6) singing “Flash! Bang! Wallop!” And he was followed by two fellow Year 6 pupils, pianists Yushan Thajul-Ameer and Joseph Charpentier.

Catherine Gillard (Year 4) performed twice: she played “Swinging Along” on piano and “Lightly Row” on saxophone. For the latter she was accompanied by her classmates Harry Willetts and Lewis Hall, on clarinet.

Another musician with more than one string to his bow is Archie Will (Year 5), who played the theme to the Muppet Show on violin. Archie is also a trumpeter.

Lotta Koepf (Year 3) played “Scarborough Fair” on guitar and then joined Henry Lamb and Mason Murphy (also Year 3) in a violin trio, “Circles Madness”.

Also on the bill were Benedict Rosher (Year 4) on trumpet, Tom Pratt (Year 4) on violin, Kieran Salema (Year 5) on guitar and Dominic Rosher (Year 6) on clarinet. The concert finished with “Poco Adagio” played by cellist Xavier Baker-Woods (Year 6).

Gardening – It is Rocket Science!

What a way to blast off for the Prep School’s new gardening club, run by Mrs Ferguson and Mr Squirrel, a member of the Grounds Staff. The club has been invited to take part in two exciting projects – one of them direct from space.

The children are to plant rocket seeds that have been orbiting in the International Space Station with Major Tim Peake. The Royal Horticultural Society has selected schools across the country to receive packs of the seeds. The young gardeners will then grow the rocket plants and submit data to the European Space Agency.

Back down to earth, but no less exciting, the club will contribute to the Ipswich floral display. After Easter the children will be growing flowers to be planted in the town centre as part of the town’s annual floral trail.

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Ice Cool at Solving the Cube Eddie Patterson (Year 5) was guest of honour in 10JSO’s form time. Word had reached the Year 10 group about Eddie’s Rubik’s cube skills and they were keen to see how quickly he could solve the puzzle. Eddie completed it in one minute 11 seconds, just over his personal best of a little under a minute.

The Year 10 form, joined at this stage by five interested sixth formers, then heard Eddie explain how he had spent many hours learning an incredible number of different algorithms from YouTube and how he had been getting quicker and quicker in his solving.

It was a great form time and symbolised the community atmosphere of the College, with Year 5, Year 10 and sixth formers coming together. Eddie was supported by fellow Year 5 student, Rozario Lewis.

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Prep School Sport

Junior Sport As an overview, Year 5 and 6 girls have been working on their netball whilst the boys have focused on football.

In Games for Year 3 and 4 the focus has been on rugby for boys and hockey for girls, with matches taking place mainly on Monday afternoons. Year 3 boys play tag rugby whilst the Year 4 boys have had their first taste of contact rugby. In PE, health-related fitness and OAA (outdoor and adventurous activities) have been followed by girls’ football and boys’ hockey.

Football Our U11 Footballers have played some exciting football matches this term and played consistently well in the Finborough School tournament, in which we progressed as group winners.

In the first of the knockout games we met Old Buckenham Hall School and played some of our best attacking football to win 6-0.

The semi-final against Holmwood House was a very tense and tiring game for both teams. The 0-0 draw led to a battle of nerves in a penalty shootout which I am pleased to say St Joseph’s won 3-2.

Rugby The U9 boys have continued to enjoy some competitive contact rugby matches and have produced some performances of a very high standard. The team went to the Orwell Park Festival in January and won 4 games, drew 1 and lost 1.There were further pleasing results in our friendly matches, including a 12-2 win over Ipswich Prep and a 7-5 win against Holmwood House School.

The U8 boys always have an exciting Lent term, with their first competitive game of tag rugby for the College. On a very cold Monday afternoon the U8 team travelled to Finborough School and took to the pitch with all eyes on their opposition. They made a flying start to their season with a fine 10-4 win. Two more impressive wins at Moreton Hall and Holmwood House, 12-10 and 17-16, resulted in a most enjoyable first season. All of the Year 3 and 4 boys played in at least one fixture during the season and all are pictured above at the Holmwood House fixture.

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And so to our final game of the day, the cup final. The team had looked very tired towards the end of the semi-final and I was worried that this was going to be one game too far for the boys. I did not have to worry at all, as the victory in the penalty shootout appeared to have recharged our batteries and we came out even more determined to finish the job in style.

The game was even throughout the first half and then early in the second half St Joseph’s finally scored the goal they needed. This led to a very nervous final few minutes with St Felix on the attack and St Joseph’s clearing their line time and time again. Great scenes of joy and celebrations followed the final whistle as St Joseph’s claimed the cup for 2016. Congratulations to all the players for their great play and excellent behaviour throughout what was a most enjoyable day.

The team also had other fixtures, which were played on Wednesday afternoons, resulting in 5 wins, 2 draws and a loss. Congratulations to all of the players for their efforts throughout the season.

Mr Mark Davies, Head of Prep Boys’ Sport

Netball The Girls U11 A and B netball teams have been competing weekly against other independent schools. This year we have great strength and breadth in the competitive play of the girls. They have had a number of successes, with a particular highlight of all our A, B and C teams winning matches against Holmwood House. More recently the girls competed in the Felsted Tournament, where a squad of ten played competitively, ending up mid table in our group.

After a wonderful inter-house tournament, the winning team was Celsius. Congratulations to all the girls for their amazing efforts on this afternoon.

Following on from their successful netball season, the U9 Girls have been busy learning new skills to ensure that they were matchready for their hockey. Both teams have played competitively, winning more matches than they have lost. Both Hannah McNicholas and Bonnie Bolton have taken to their goalkeeping positions with ease. The variety of great play has been proven through the number of girls achieving Player of the Match.

Cross country Mrs Bennett has been leading the mixed cross-country and was delighted to take the Prep team to Moreton Hall for their first competitive race. Girls at all age groups achieved medals in this large race.

Later in the term we once again took our mixed Cross-Country Club runners to Chantry Park to participate in the Peace Mile and we very much welcomed Miss Cunningham joining us from the Senior School. Along with this, we are looking forward to a meeting at the Royal Hospital School to compete in the Ipswich Schools Cross Country Championship, where we are fielding four full mixed teams. We look forward to seeing how they race.

Next term we move to track and field athletics where the boys and girls will be working towards the AVIVA athletics awards. We will also be trying a new sport for the girls - Kwick Cricket. We will be hosting several fixtures – these are new opportunities for the children.

Mrs Hayley Bestley, Joint Head of Prep Girls’ Sport Mrs Elska Hughes, Joint Head of Prep Girls’ Sport

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Nine Take on the Mastermind Challenge There was the big chair, two rounds of questions and all the tension of the long-running TV quiz show when St Joseph’s College staged a Mastermind competition. But this was Book Mastermind and the specialist knowledge round was exclusively centred on books.

Nine brave contestants took their turn in the chair to answer questions on books as varied as “The Boy in Striped Pyjamas”, “My Family and Other Animals”, “Girl Online” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.

Quizmaster and question setter Mrs Hartles, College Learning Resource Manager and Librarian, was far less stern than John Humphreys or Magnus Magnusson, but ran a slick operation, assisted

by Harriet O’Leary (U6) and Daisy Swinbourne (L6), who kept score and managed the all important stopwatch.

The eventual winner over the two rounds – chosen book and general knowledge – was Imogen Cerely 7BCL, who answered questions on Book 14 of the Famous Five series. Imogen progressed to the area round of the competition.

News from the Senior School

Piglings Anything But Bland St Joseph’s College has joined “Pigs Gone Wild”, Suffolk’s largest ever mass participation art event – and it is all in aid of bringing home the bacon for St Elizabeth Hospice.

The exciting project will see pig sculptures set out on an interactive art trail across Ipswich town centre and the Waterfront for 10 weeks this summer. The large, artist-designed pigs will be auctioned in aid of the Ipswich Hospice.

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The school is sponsoring two junior pigs, for which students have been devising eye-catching and innovative liveries. The winning designs will be announced shortly and the completed junior pigs will join dozens of others in litters across Ipswich this summer.

Mr Norman Lloyd, Pigs Gone Wild project manager, brought a large pig prototype, “Tally-Ho Trotters” and one of the junior pigs with him when he visited the College. Pippa Pig was also there to meet and greet the children – much to their delight!

Exchange Students Bowled Over by Visit to Oz

Work to be Hung at Royal College of Art

It was a warm welcome home for Oliver Stace and Matthew Kent, both 9MDS, who returned fit and tanned after six weeks in Australia on the first leg of a new cricket exchange programme with Knox Grammar School in Sydney.

Congratulations to Year 10 Art students Amelia Brown and Hannah McFarlane, who have had their work chosen to be exhibited at the Royal College of Art in April. There were over 9,000 entries nationally for the Young Art competition, which raises funds for research into childhood cancers. Amelia and Hannah’s work, on the theme “A Different Point of View”, uses fractured and distorted portraits inspired by their studies of Cubism.

Matt told Whole School assembly, “Oli and I set off from Heathrow on a combined 22 hour flight to Sydney…For the first week we were on school holidays and this was a perfect opportunity to go sightseeing. We saw the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and took the ferry from the harbour to the zoo and aquarium.

“We were there for Australia Day and, in true Australian fashion, we had friends over for a barbecue and an endless game of garden cricket.”

Knox is a much larger school than St Joseph’s, with 320 pupils in Year 9. But the boys settled in fast and after the school week was done played cricket for Knox on Saturdays and for their respective clubs on Sundays.

Oli took up the story, “We went to the SCG to watch Australia play India in a one day international. I was also able to go to the Allianz Stadium with Matt and Jason to watch a rugby game between the Waratahs and the Reds. We also visited Manley beach and on our last day in Australia we visited Bondi beach.

“I really enjoyed the experience and can’t wait for Will and Jason to come over at the beginning of May to stay with us for six weeks. I would really recommend this exchange to the Year 8s for next year.”

Power Boost for the Girls Girls in Years 7 to 10 attended a motivational talk titled “How to be a Powerful Woman”. Inspired by Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour Power List and Forbes 30 under 30, visiting speaker and parent Mrs Nicholson spoke about six key ways to achieve their potential.

The students were given practical tips across a range of topics including being ambitious, developing leadership skills, networking with potential employers, creating a work-life balance, resilience and drawing confidence by just being oneself.

Each girl was encouraged to practise speaking confidently about her key strengths in preparation for future interviews.

Year 8 Arts Award Bronze – Arts Industry Tour Welcomed to the Avenue Theatre, the students learned about the history of the building and its Tudor origins.

Their tour included a glimpse into the prop closet and a look at all of the past costumes and wigs used for different shows.

There was an opportunity to try on the costumes, hats and wigs, and some students even got a make-up lesson on how to create visual effects such as tears and a black eye!

The tour also took in the business side of the theatre world, with an insight into the back office, including marketing and advertising productions.

The theatre space-proper, including backstage and the green room, were real eye openers for the visitors as they came to understand what it would be like to work in the industry dayto-day.

A lesson in simple combat acting proved particularly popular, and the day finished with a question and answer session with all the staff. Students used this opportunity to pose some pertinent questions on the industry, the many paths that lead to it and the avenues it can create.

Thank you so much to our educational Arts partner Red Rose Chain for an excellent day out, and for another recent initiative, a script writing workshop. Coming up fast are two further collaborations for St Joseph’s College and Red Rose Chain: the Prep’s production of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” and the Lower School play, “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, which will be performed at the Avenue Theatre.

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Attitude Rather than Aptitude Determines Altitude Despite challenges ranging from fast-moving shipping, to huge lion’s mane jellyfish and hungry hammerhead sharks, Ed Williams finds marathon swimming irresistible. At Whole School Assembly he described the gruelling training programme on which his successes are based and the vagaries of tide, weather and wildlife that can bring that training to nothing.

There was a video of just one of dozens of long-distance swims completed by Mr Taylor, his successful 14-hour crossing of the English Channel in 2006. He told students about the searing pain in his muscles, bearing out the words of Captain Matthew Webb (who in 1875 became the first man to swim the English Channel): “Nothing great is easy”.

Careers Fair Creates a Positive Buzz

Mr Taylor has since completed marathon swims around the world.

His inspiring talk stressed the importance of preparation.

An initial invitation to St Joseph’s parents who might be willing to come into school to talk about their careers blossomed into our first Careers Fair, with 26 companies/job sectors represented.

Preparation for examinations was the theme of Education Consultant Tim Foot, whose “Revision Cracked” seminars offered Year 10 some great tips on making the most of the time available. “Revise – Test – Rest” was at its heart. Flicking through essay notes in front of the television was flagged up as some of the least effective ground work.

Students from Year 8 to Year 13 had the opportunity to discuss broad work areas, such as healthcare and engineering, and also the chance to network with specific employers and men and women engaged in a wide range of professions, including dance, a police officer, soldier, solicitor and banker.

Author Gez Walsh bills his work as “Poetry in Commotion” and there was an element of mayhem in his seminar and workshops.

There is no denying the students lapped up his take on language and literature. Gez was fun and engaging and topics he touched on ranged from regional accents and phobias to urban myths and creating dramatic tension.

There was advice on career planning and also alternative routes into employment, such as apprenticeships. The event was organised by Mr Chandler, Head of History and Careers Education.

Lights, Camera, Action!

The Young Film Academy One Day Film School was an amazing opportunity for 130 students to work up feature shorts from inception to screening – and they leapt at the chance. From Action! on, the young film makers were fully engaged in the process. Under the direction of award-winning scriptwriter James Walker and actor Joshua Dickinson, they learnt the basics of staging “fights”, scouting for locations, scripting and shooting.

Teams worked hard to produce entertaining shorts ready for screening at the inaugural St Joseph’s College Film Festival at the end of the day. And That’s a wrap!

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Traditions Observed Cheque Donation Leaves a Warm Woolly Feeling The Whole School assembly heard about the work of St Elizabeth Hospice, Ipswich, from Mrs Fiona Ginn, Partnerships Fundraiser.

She thanked the College for a donation of just over £1,000 raised

by Christmas Jumper Day and from a collection at the Prep School carol concert.

We mark the passing of the seasons with solemn – and less solemn – events at St Joseph’s College. Ash Wednesday saw most of the College community line up to have the traditional cross signed on the forehead. The service was led by the College Chaplain, Mrs Allen, and visiting rector, the Rev Robert Hinsley.

Shrove Tuesday was also widely celebrated with the making, tossing and racing of pancakes. Among the students taking part was this lively group from Year 8.

She said the hospice cost some £9 million a year to run and was dependent on the generosity of its supporters.

“We provide care locally for people in East Suffolk, with day care services, an in-patient unit and through community nurses as well. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the support of people like you. A massive thank you on behalf of St Elizabeth Hospice.”

Pianists (and a Violinist too) Produce a Delightful Interlude It was pianists to the fore in the Senior Lunchtime Concert, with some excellent performances delivered by students who have been working extremely hard at their grades.

Pre A Level Group Tackles World Cuisine Good food creates cheer the world over and our Pre A Level students have been cooking and eating together, both Far Eastern cuisine and traditional English fare.

Delicacies from the East have included Chinese Green Dragon meatballs and a hot and fragrant Thai broth with noodles.

Eager to branch out, they have also worked hard on English dishes – and none more traditional than Shrove Tuesday pancakes.

There was a big surprise at the end of the concert, however, when a pianist with just three lessons under his belt stepped up to play a rip-roaring rendition of the hymn “Shine, Jesus Shine”, which he had taught himself. Well done, William Scoones (Year 9) on an astonishing concert debut.

Opening the concert was Alex Wykes (L6), who played “Erster Schmerz” by Sergei Bortkiewicz, which he is studying for his Grade 6 examination.

He was followed by Casey Kwok (U6), who is working towards her Grade 8 and played a Chopin waltz. Another Chopin waltz was performed by Kato Lam (U6), who has recently achieved his piano diploma.

Kato stayed at the piano to accompany violinist Crystal Wang (U6), who played John Williams’ “Remembrances” from Schindler’s List, a Grade 8 piece. Thank you to all the performers for a delightful interlude.

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Senior School Sport

Netball A Teams Promoted to A Leagues All of our netball A teams were promoted this year into the A leagues. We have had, therefore, a much harder season, but have trained diligently and competed well in all our games and tournaments. The U12 team came fifth in their tournament and third in their league, and the U13A team finished eighth in their tournament and league.

The U13B team are playing in their tournament next week and lying sixth in their league, while the U14s came third in their tournament and second in their league.

The U15A team were about to play in their tournament as the newsletter went to press and have come fifth in their league.

U15Bs were fifth in their tournament and third in their league, and the U16 team took fourth place in the league. The U19s were third in their league.

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More Boys Selected for Mixed Hockey Matches

Cricketers Finish Tournament in Second Place

The U14 and U16 mixed hockey teams have continued to play their league matches, with fair results. It has been brilliant to welcome some of the boys into the hockey training, who have then been selected for matches. Well done!

In the Lady Taverners tournament, the U13 girls’ cricket team beat Hadleigh High School in the first game with four wickets to spare, 97 – 78, and Copleston in the second 93 – 48.

Game 3 was the final v Farlingaye, which we lost 71 – 61. We came second overall in the tournament. Well played to the whole team.

Player of the tournament was Charlotte Mann.

Sportshall athletics Our Year 7 and 8 students competed in the Sportshall athletics event.

The U13 girls came third in Ipswich. Well done to Jemima Bestley and Jess Oakes who won their events.

Quicksticks leadership And well done, too, to our Year 9 and 10 students who have successfully run the hockey Quicksticks tournaments for local primary schools. They umpired the tournament confidently and organised the order of play and results very efficiently.

Rugby We Wish We Were Playing for England!

In January, the girls’ PE department travelled up to the London Copper Box Arena with 40 very enthusiastic girls from Years 5 to 13 to watch England v Australia Netball.

After a tour around the stadium, the girls settled down into their seats ready for the match. They thoroughly enjoyed the sporting action and all said, “Oh, I wish I was playing!”

The atmosphere was very good, with most of the songs being started by our girls, along with the Mexican wave. Although England lost, it was a very successful trip with the students and we cannot wait to arrange the next one.

All girls were very sleepy on the way home, making for a very quiet bus journey back to Ipswich.

There has been a full block of fixtures for rugby against Skinners, Whitgift, Campion, Coopers’ Company and Coburn schools. The 1st XV lost to Whitgift in the quarter final of the Natwest Cup 11-8. And the Under 13 rugby team toured to Belfast successfully. Preparations began for a very busy sevens season.

Five Sixth Form boys represented Northampton Saints academy side: Sam Easton, Adrian Sanday, Tom Emery, Joe Cook and Josh Wacokecoke. Numerous students from throughout the College have represented Eastern Counties and Suffolk.

Mr Moran started conditioning work and testing with senior boys.

St Joseph’s College hosted an U12, U13, U14, U15 and U16 emerging schools rugby competition. The games were refereed by Sixth Form players.

The short 7s’ season has had many excellent individual and team successes and at the time of writing the senior squad have just won their group on Day 1 at Rosslyn Park, qualifying for the quarter final group stages on Day 2 (Friday 18 March). Hopefully, we went on to social media with even better news at the end of Friday!

Rackets and Bats U14 and 16 badminton teams contested the County finals and the U14s finished as runners up.

U16 badminton played the Felsted in a Saturday block fixture.

The U13 table tennis team travelled to Grantham to play in the regional table tennis finals and qualified as regional runners up for the national finals in March. Under 13 boys competed in the regional Indoor athletics competition.

Pre-season cricket practices were well attended for all age groups from January. Saturday block fixtures, cup competitions for all year groups and cricket week have been confirmed for the summer term.

Trampolinists Retain Ipswich Schools’ Crown The St Joseph’s College U16A trampoline team managed to retain the Ipswich Schools trophy, winning the competition in this age group.

Well done to Dominic Bigsby, Jack Oakes, Jack Wilkinson and Gideon Bowden for making it to the Suffolk Schools finals. Our U14A team have also qualified in second place for the Suffolk finals. Well done to Noah Wood, Sam Nightingale, Sam Philpott and Ethan Nightingale.

Good luck to them all in the next round of the competition and well done to the whole squad.

Year 11 GCSE groups completed controlled assessments and fished practical assessments. A level controlled assessments and coursework were finalised and submitted to AQA. Participation remained very high at lunchtime recreational clubs, with 40 to 50 students attending Monday to Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes. Football, squash and badminton have been very popular.

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Looking Forward To Summer With The PTA

A school’s PTA is nothing without the parent body that supports the events it runs, by attending, donating and helping. Our children all really love coming along, joining in, being together and having fun. Yet, while we have all the big ideas in the world to make that possible for them, without the volunteers who turn up and muck in we couldn’t make any of these work. Often these parents can be overlooked in the thank yous, but they play a vital role and we are always very grateful.

The annual Easter Egg Hunt for the Prep School students is a great example of one of these highly anticipated events, with parents coming along to help search for eggs with their children, baking delicious cakes for the children to enjoy and spending time together with us. This is all made possible as a direct result of your support for our fundraising efforts – thank you!

A Busy and Exciting Term Ahead As we look forward to the summer term ahead we will, again, be asking for parents to get involved, in whatever ways they can. We have lots of activities planned across the whole College, in what promises to be a busy and exciting time.

We’re already turning our attention to themes for the Year Six Leavers’ Disco, as well as the Senior School Balls. For each of these events, we provide the disco itself, as well as helping to make them special and memorable by donating our time, resources and funds to decorate and provide keepsakes for the students involved.

Preparations for our Summer Fete – this year to be held on Sunday 3 July – are also well under way and this year we’re especially excited to be taking it back to a truly traditional affair, marking The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration with an afternoon of entertainment for the whole school, parents and friends.

We have many more plans afoot for a range of new and exciting events this term and into the future, including a fantastic Golf Day, and we’re looking forward to bringing you more information, dates and how to take part soon.

Dates for Your Diaries We have some fabulous activities coming up in the summer term, including an exciting new Golf Day. We’ll be sending out more information about these soon and, if you’d like to know more about them in the meantime, please get in touch.

Friday 20 May 2016 Prep School Camp Night

Thursday 30 June Year 6 Moving Across Disco

Friday 20 May 2016 Colour Run

Sunday 3 July 2016 Summer Fete

Friday 17 June 2016 Lower School Ball

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Digging In For New Dugouts

Get In Touch

Last term saw the much anticipated arrival of the new hockey dugouts by the astro pitches. If you haven’t already seen them, go and take a look – the feedback is they’re a great asset for our sports teams. This is just one of the fantastic projects we’ve helped to fund, supplementing our students’ learning, from Nursery right through to Sixth Form.

If you’d like to help us with our events, or if you’d like to find out about joining the PTA, please do get in touch. You can email us at PTA@stjos.co.uk or please do grab any one of the committee members as you see us around the College – we’re always keen to tell you more about what we do!

College Alumni

Located by the River Deben, the site was originally a tented venue used by travelling shows, including a circus. The original ‘Picture House’ was built in 1915 and has just celebrated its centenary.

Over the years it has become very much a community facility, home to The Company of Four who have been producing annual shows there for many years. The Deben Players perform here and it is the venue for the monthly meetings of the Woodbridge Film Society.

The St Joseph’s annual musical was performed here for a number of years in the 1990s

Stuart Saunders Old Birkfeldian Stuart became a wizard very early on in his career and well before he left St Joseph’s in 1981, he was trading under the name of ‘Stu Wiz’ and working his magic at children’s parties. He was more entrepreneurial than academic and it was this rather than exam results that coloured his future direction. His Maths Teacher and form tutor at the time, Vic Keenan, predicted that he would own a Mercedes Benz by the time he was 21. Mr Keenan was rarely wrong.

After St Joseph’s, Stuart trained as a chef at the Marlborough Hotel on day release from Suffolk College, followed by a post as assistant manager at the White Hart in Great Yeldham. In 1985 he joined the Riverside Restaurant in Woodbridge as manager and used his magician’s talents for entertaining the guests at their tables.

By 1987 he was in a position to buy the lease of the Riverside Restaurant, from the retiring owner. This was followed by the Cinema in 1990, when Stuart became the youngest cinema owner in the UK at the time.

Over the last 25 years Stuart has consolidated and developed the Riverside Centre as a major leisure attraction in Woodbridge. He bought the whole site in 2000 and has worked to combine the two facilities – restaurant and cinema - so that they complement each other with such specials as Dinner and Film and Flix and Chips offers.

In the restaurant he has innovative and interesting menus, worked out with his Head Chef, always with an eye on current culinary developments both in the UK and overseas.

The Cinema too has seen significant developments in the last few years. Digital technology was a significant investment but has brought live performance back with the advent of live satellite broadcasts from the National Theatre, Royal Ballet and Opera from Covent Garden being beamed onto the Riverside’s cinema screen. Some 30 live broadcasts are planned for this year, along with screenings of the latest film releases, live shows and the Film Society’s eclectic programme.

The Riverside Centre is a major attraction in Woodbridge and draws its customers from all over Suffolk – and beyond. Stuart has used his considerable energy, imagination and enthusiasm to take on the challenge of developing a local community facility that truly works.

Stuart sold the Mercedes a long time ago and now drives a Jaguar.

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Boarding News Our Boarders have been very busy this term showing off their varied talents from performing in concerts, dancing on stage in the College musical, competing on the rugby pitch and netball court to volunteering in the Prep School to support reading. We are particularly proud of one group of Boarders who have been working every week with a group of Prep School students to teach them Mandarin. This has been an exciting collaboration and both parties are thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Our students have been working hard in the classroom to secure solid examination grades and there have been offers from top universities flying through our boarding letterbox, accepting students on a range of degree courses from Law to Radiotherapy. It is an exciting stage to watch over as the pupils wait anxiously to open up their electronic mail and to share in the joy that their hard work is being rewarded.

All the hard work and study has been balanced with periods of downtime and relaxation where students have engaged with the activity programme. A highlight was undoubtedly the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) party in Refs. This included a big family meal, party games and karaoke.

Sixth Formers recently enjoyed a trip to Aqua Springs in Colchester, where they unwound in the steam rooms and spa baths. A large group of boarders enjoyed the smell of petrol in the air as they raced around the go-karting circuit. For some of our younger Boarders this was their first experience behind the wheel and they were excited at the outing; but the fastest racer on the day was Sosi Lagilagi. Miss Lilburn took a group of students to Chelmsford to take to the ice. There was no dancing but there was lots of skating and the students loved the Ice Disco that unfolded and Mrs Rowlands was particularly pleased when everyone arrived back injury free!

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The Boarding basketball team has seen success in the Suffolk Shield Tournament at Suffolk One, winning all three matches. Player of the tournament was Joel Sou, for his passion throughout. Captain Kato Lam also played his last match for the College as the season came to the end and the whole team wish him well at University and thank him for his service.

This term we have welcomed a range of students who have taken up the offer of a free trial in Boarding for a week. All of these visitors have found it to be a warm and inviting community and have thrived in the structured environment with the supervised study. If your son or daughter would like to take up the opportunity of a free boarding trial, or would benefit from regular Flexi-boarding, particularly in the lead up to the examinations, then please do get in touch. Space is limited so please contact Mrs Rowlands on G.Rowlands@stjos.co.uk to arrange a date.

Mrs Gina Rowlands Head of Boarding

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E-safer Suffolk 2015 Cybersurvey: Some key findings: Of the 4143 valid responses given, access to the Internet is widespread, with 82% owning a smartphone and 81% a tablet.

Younger students aged 10-11 are very active on tablets and it is noticeable that 44% say they have a social network profile, although the age guide is generally 13 years. YouTube remains universally popular with Instagram, WhatsApp and Snapchat growing in popularity.

Resilience is growing as 88% have been able to look after themselves online at least once or twice. However, 10% of students aged 14-16 said they had tried to hack someone else’s SNS account or a website. 16% of students aged 14-16 said their own SNS page had been hacked.

One third say their parents limit the time they can spend online, 45% say their parents check age ratings on games and 48% say that films are suitable. 63% say they listen to their parents’ advice, but 15% download film and content their parents do not know about. Parental input drops sharply by age 14.

An association is present between emotional health and online behaviour.