SMWCA Autumn Term Newsletter 2021

JANUARY 2022

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January 2022

SMWCA NEWS St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy Newsletter

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL MR D MCKENNA

Welcome to our Autumn term newsletter. It would appear that our hopes back in the summer for a more ‘normal’ year this year were premature and optimistic as the covid-19 pandemic continues to impact on us all. However, despite this, we have continued to offer lots of opportunities for our students which they have seized enthusiastically and with great commitment. Throughout this newsletter there is so much to celebrate that sums up this wonderful school community and so many individuals who we are very proud of.

It is becoming routine now for me to receive emails from various different organisations and groups that get in touch to praise our students on how committed, polite and respectful they are whenever they take part in an event or a visit. Below is just a selection of the correspondence I regularly receive.

From our Careers Fayre in October; “It’s been a great event and everyone has made me welcome, the staff and pupils have been really lovely and I have really enjoyed my day here, I am looking forward to the next careers fayre.”

The NSPCC/JCB charity digger project; “We just wanted to thank you all for allowing a selection of your Year 10 pupils to join the NSPCC/JCB event this morning. It went really well and we wanted to congratulate you on how amazing your students were. They fully engaged with the activity, listened attentively to the JCB apprentices and were impeccably behaved …. they really were a credit to the school.”

And from our outward bound trip in December; “I was the course director and one of the instructors working with your school this week on their Outward Bound Trip. I just wanted to drop you a quick line to say how impressed I was with your students. Myself and the other instructor both agreed that these were some of our favourite students we had worked with for a number of reasons: 1. Their politeness and respect to our centre staff 2. Their gratitude to the opportunity that has been presented to them 3. Their willingness to embrace challenge, learn from it and apply it to the next task 4. Their positivity around a challenging weather week.

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From working with your staff, it’s clear the school goes above and beyond for your young people, and I'm not surprised your school is over subscribed. They were such a positive influence on the week. It's not often you get teachers who come that call us the week before to give us heads up about individual students and specific aims for the week / make trip specific t-shirts to really embrace the experience / have trophies made to give out in an end of course award ceremony / etc. Every decision made by them was clearly thought out, and had every single student’s best interest at heart when making them.”

It is heart-warming to hear that our students stand out and make such a positive impression on others when taking part in extra-curricular events and trips.

In addition to this we also had a most positive Ofsted Inspection in September which recognised all the hard work and improvements that have been made over the last four years and praised our staff, students and leaders. Whilst confirming that we remain a good school, they made many comments that would be found in an ‘outstanding’ report and gave us great confidence that, by further developing the approach we have taken, we are close to achieving such a judgement at the next inspection. Therefore, despite the ongoing challenge we face from the pandemic, our students continue to thrive and to shine.

Our term ended in sadness with the sudden and unexpected death of one of our Year 8 Students, Uman Hamid Saleem Parveen. We remember him with fondness as most people recall his cheeky smile and how he made people laugh. In the time he was with us he brought joy and happiness to others and this is how he will continue to be remembered in school.

We continue to keep his family in our thoughts and prayers.

The same week also marked the first anniversary of the death of Joseph Wakefield from our current Year 11. Over the past year his friends have worked tirelessly to create a remembrance garden in Joseph’s memory which was opened at a service for Joseph in December. Through their hard work and the hard work of our site team, we will have a special place at the heart of our school to ensure Joseph and Uman continue to be remembered at St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy.

Thank you for taking the time to look through our story of the Autumn term, I wish you all the very best for 2022.

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YEAR 7 MISS EARDLEY

Charity aerobathon In the week before the Christmas holiday, approximately 100 Year 7 students took part in a charity aerobathon. This was led by a clubbercise instructor, Chloe.

Chloe set up her speakers and UV lights in the hall and students grabbed their glowsticks and joined her in a number of routines, including some to Christmas classics.

The students had a great afternoon and raised approximately £300 in the process. Well done to all who took part!

YEAR 7 RAHMATOULLAHI

Celebrating Peace Month Throughout 'Peace Month' students across the academy took part in a range of activities during Fidei time. The article below written by Rahmatoullahi, from Signum Fidei group 7-2, was published on the La Salle website.

This month, the 7-2 class at St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy has engaged splendidly in this year’s peace month by completing various tasks and gestures related to the topic.

The theme for this year’s peace month is ‘Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world’, which is why 7-2 first discussed the adversities taking place around the globe (mainly in Afghanistan and the amount of Afghan refugees residing in the UK) and how the citizens caught up in these situations are in desperate need of peace.

As the class is part of the Lasallian community their Fidei tutor, Miss Wilson, gave them all a piece of paper each with doves printed on them which Alfie, a member of 7-2, stated is a sign of peace and tranquillity. Then she asked the Fidei group to write the name of somebody who was in need of peace in the dove.

After the students completed the task, they placed their papers in the intentions basket. When all of the pupils were finished, Miss Wilson guided them through prayer, reminding them to keep the person they wished to pray for in mind; who they thought was in need of peace. For example, the Afghan refugees, Sudan refugees, the homeless and unfortunately much more.

Additionally, 7-2 briefly touched on a poem based on how humans are human and nothing but human which reflects on how everyone is equal and to the theme of peace month. The Fidei group analysed the poem and left the classroom aiming to bring peace and equality to everyday.

Overall, these small acts indicate how faithful and dedicated 7-2 are to make a difference and leave their mark on the world and follow the Lasallian values; proving how concerned they are to those less fortunate. The students have worked hard and have been mature during these specific lessons and Miss Wilson has clearly explained how important peace month is.

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YEAR 10 MRS SALT

Game On workshops Prevent Training.

From 15th-23rd November, each Year 10 Fidei group took one day off timetable, working together to explore and discuss challenging topics including extremism and radicalisation.

The Game On workshops have been delivered by Reveal Theatre Company as part of a Prevent project since 2012 in high schools across many regions in England. They deliver interventionist workshops in schools connected to anti-racism and cohesion. This programme of artistic work is focused around producing high quality workshops because growing up in British society is difficult enough, but when you have to contend with issues such as online safety, discerning real news from fake news, through to the really challenging topics such as radicalisation, extremism, gang violence and the impact of social media on confidence and self-esteem, then young people need all the help that they can get.

This is what one of our Year 10 students wrote: During Game On, I learned a lot of helpful, new things to help me during my school life and outside of school.

At first, I didn’t know what to do when someone was racist to me, which has happened many times outside of school.

However, I know what to do now thanks to Game On. When someone said something or did something racist to me I left it alone, I didn’t do anything about it. It was a normal thing in my eyes. When I shared my story to Game On, they were shocked. They taught me and my Fidei group what to do, how to report it and that racism isn’t normal and that no one should be made to feel bad about their colour, race or background. Racism should be dealt with seriously and no one should be going through anything to do with it. Everyone should be treated equally and respectfully.

Everything we learn in Game On links to our school and how we act in school. We are a Catholic school filled with people from different races and backgrounds. We are all unique and strong individuals. Everyone is equal and everyone gets along with each other no matter the race, background or colour. The school teaches us that in the eyes of God we are each different and unique and that we should respect one another. We are taught to treat others like we want to be treated ourselves. Respect each other and care for others. Nothing more.

YEAR 11 MRS VAN DER MIJL

We have had a busy term in Year 11, with the emphasis on preparation and revision techniques for the GCSE exams in the summer. Students have regularly been attending “Period 6” lessons across the curriculum, to further support their studies and to challenge and push themselves to achieve excellent grades in the summer. I know that Year 11 are extremely grateful to staff for running these sessions .

To further support our preparations, Year 11 have recently undertaken their first set of mock exams which have taken place over a three-week period between November 8th and 26th. The students were a credit to themselves, their families and the school as their conduct and behaviour throughout this realistic and formal exam experience was exemplary. It was a completely new experience for the year group, as due to the pandemic and the lockdowns we have been unable to run formal exams in the hall. Students are now receiving these results from their class teachers and many have excelled and shown that they are making exceptional progress towards their goals. We look forward to discussing these results with parents/carers at our parents’ evening in January. Well done Year 11!

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SUMMER SCHOOL MRS MUNDEN

The Newman Catholic Collegiate Summer School took place throughout the summer holidays, with camps running in our Primary schools for students in Years 1 to 4, and a Transition Summer School at St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy for students in Years 5 to 8.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, our new cohort of Year 7 students did not experience the usual transition visits to St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy and so the Summer School provided students with a fantastic chance to meet new friends, to meet some of our staff and to familiarise themselves with the school building. Every child has the right to a quality education, and we truly believe that the Summer School gave our students the perfect springboard into the new Academic Year.

The St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy Summer School consisted of four fun-filled weeks and was attended by over 450 students. Attendees were treated to a huge variety of activities, which included sports with The Port Vale Foundation, a climbing wall challenge, clay modelling with the Ceramics Biennial, bush craft with The Wildlife Trust, musical theatre and visits from snakes, skunks and owls. A group of Year 5 students were even given the opportunity to build and drive their own race car! Busy days meant hungry students, and so all students were given a full hot lunch each day. A Year 6 student said “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see the school building and to meet some of the staff. The activities have been fantastic, and I definitely feel less anxious about starting school in September”.

Throughout the past six months we have also been working closely with the Together for Childhood Team from the NSPCC in order to help make our community safer for children. The Together for Childhood Team led weekly sessions during the Summer School to educate students on keeping themselves safe in the holidays using an interactive map of the local area.

A group of Year 10 students from St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy visited Stanley Head Outdoor Education Centre during the holidays where they developed their resilience and team building skills through various activities including canoeing, rock climbing and water rafting. The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and were very grateful for the opportunity to meet with their friends in a safe, outdoor environment.

Thank you to the 65 staff from The Newman Catholic Collegiate who so enthusiastically devoted time out of their summer holiday to support each and every student in the Summer School.

We feel incredibly blessed to have worked in collaboration with The Hubb Foundation on this project. Their ongoing support for our most vulnerable students throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has been phenomenal and we look forward to planning more transition sessions throughout the Academic Year.

A Year 6 student identifies “safe spaces” in the local area.

A group of Year 7 students racing up the climbing wall.

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SUMMER SCHOOL

A group of Year 5 students participating in an Art lesson with SMWCA Art Teacher, Miss Leese.

A group of Year 6 students enjoy a table tennis session with Head of PE, Mr Pearson.

Groups of Year 6 students meet and pet animals from the zoo.

CHAPLAINCY COMMISSIONING MASS MR CORRIGAN

The Chaplaincy Commissioning Mass took place on the 28th September. It was arranged by the Birmingham Diocese Youth Ministry- Kenelm Youth Trust- and its School Chaplaincy service to celebrate the work of Chaplains and Chaplaincy teams in Catholic schools across the Diocese. Many schools from across the Diocese gathered together for Mass with the Bishop who encouraged us to continue the good work of Chaplaincy and share the message of the Gospel in our school and we were blessed with music from Jo Boyce. This is Lucy’s highlights of the day: “Our trip started with arriving at the St Margaret Ward gate at 7.45am with my friend Sam. When we arrived, we were greeted by Leah in Year 12 and Mr Corrigan. When we arrived at St Chad's Cathedral, we were blown away by the nice view of the church. Soon after entering, we were welcomed by the Bishop when we sat down for Mass. After Mass, we took some pictures with the Bishop and some more pictures of the church.“

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CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES MRS MUNDEN

As part of the Holiday Activity Funding, students in Years 5 to 8 in The Newman Catholic Collegiate had the opportunity to participate in Outdoor Adventure, Tubing and Christmas Craft during the holidays.

Students from Years 5, 6 and 7 in The Newman Catholic Collegiate were invited to St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy for a day of Christmas crafts and activities, followed by a full Christmas lunch. Staff from all schools within the Collegiate came together to provide workshops including Christmas Card Making, Christmas Sports & Games and Christmas Cookery. Students thoroughly enjoyed the day and particularly enjoyed the Christmas lunch which was cooked and served by our canteen staff.

Mr Pearson, Head of PE, arranged for a group of Year 8 students to visit Standon Bowers Outdoor Education Centre for the day. The students had a fantastic time attempting lots of new activities, including riding BMX’s and zip lining.

Another group of Year 8 students had the chance to visit Stoke on Trent Ski Slope where they had fun on the slope tubing down the super steep slope!

Our work with The Hubb Foundation continues to grow from strength to strength and we feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to work with a charity who share the same core Lasallian values.

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STEM MISS RYAN

STEM has had a very busy few months. Last month we held a competition to design the school STEM club logo. We had some absolutely amazing entries but our winner was Paige in Year 9 with this amazing design.

STEM club has finally started after school. Our first session began with a bang when students had fun watching our Science technician and his demonstration with hydrogen balloons! Since then, they have been designing rockets to be launched with Science, making marble runs in DT and solving exciting puzzles in Maths. They have been having a wonderful time! A massive thanks goes out to everyone involved in STEM and the 6th formers who have willingly given up their free time to help out.

We have been working closely with GE, who are working with budding engineers. They are launching some really exciting new programmes such as the Next Engineers: Engineering Academy which has been shared with Year 11 students. They are also looking forward to sharing some activities in a virtual assembly with Year 9.

A small group of pupils chose to join WWF, Itza and Sir David Attenborough for the Wild Wisdom Global Challenge. Hafsa in Year 8 and Rahmatoullahi in Year 7 both made it through to the final and competed against other pupils across the world! They have done an absolutely amazing job!

A number of pupils have also joined Miss Langdon’s Lego Club and will be competing in the FIRST® LEGO® League competition. FIRST® LEGO® League is a global STEM programme for children and young people aged 4-16 where they’ll be learning not only important STEM skills but also valuable skills that will equip them to face future challenges both within education and the future workforce. And all while having loads of fun working in a team!

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PUBLISHING SUCCESS MISS BARNETT

We have had great literary success with some of our students having had books published.

These are now available to buy from Amazon!

One is written by a group of Year 7 students and the other is written by some Year 8 after both groups attended a creative writing workshop! The author who provided the workshops spoke so highly regarding our pupils and said they were the brightest and most talented children he has ever worked with throughout his long, extensive career! There are copies of each to be read in our Library!

POLITICS MR CHANCE

On the evening of Friday 19th November, a group of Government & Politics sixth form students and Mr Chance (Head of History and Politics) attended a live recording of Radio 4's Any Questions at St Joseph's College, Trent Vale. Students were able to listen to politicians. the leader of the TUC and others comment on both local and national issues. Y12 student, Harry, said that it was very interesting to hear a range of opinions from across the political spectrum and how they addressed the audience's concerns. Daisy, another Y12 student, said it was interesting and surprising to hear questions on a range of topics which showed real deep concerns about local and national issues. The students were able to sit right at the front and were able to meet and chat with members of the panel and production team afterwards.

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NATIONAL POETRY DAY MRS MILLS

On 6th October, SMWCA celebrated National Poetry Day by attempting a very ambitious poetry reading.

Our Year 7 and 8 pupils ensured that National Poetry Day began in style with a huge choral recital of William Henley's 'Invictus', a poem which all pupils are required to learn by heart. Approximately 400 students gathered in the dining area in Fidei time to show their fantastic reading and memory skills. The lines from the epic and moving poem could be heard throughout the school and probably all along Little Chell Lane!

DRAMA MISS O'NEILL

Fifty students have been participating in Drama Club every Monday after school. They have been involved in a range of different workshop activities and are now focusing upon bringing "Alice in Wonderland" to life. Students have been acting as well as designing set and costume. I'm incredibly proud of them all.

110 students from Y7 and 8 visited the New Vic Theatre to watch their Christmas show "Beauty and the Beast" on Thursday 16th December.

DANCE CLUB MRS PAGE

It has been an absolute delight to welcome dancers back to the studio for Dance Club, we have been meeting every Thursday and we have approximately 45 dance club members from all year groups, Y7 right up to Y13. Students have started the year learning about musical theatre and learning the West End repertoire from “You Can’t Stop The Beat”, a musical number from the much loved show “Hairspray”. Our Y13 BTEC Dance and Y10 & 11 GCSE Dance students have been assisting Mrs Page with the teaching of dance club as they work towards their Dance Leaders’ Award. Students have thoroughly enjoyed being taught by Destiny, Shannah, Kacey, Jess and Ebiye, and we look forward to them continuing their Dance Leaders award next term. Well done dancers!

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COLLEGIATE DANCE TRIP MRS PAGE

As part of the Royal Opera House’s outreach scheme, St Margaret Ward dancers won the opportunity to visit the famous Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, the Home to two of the world’s great artistic companies – The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet.

St Margaret Ward were lucky to have won tickets to see The Royal Ballet company dance the most well-known Christmas Ballet, The Nutcracker. Our MAC was entered into a competition by Mrs Page, to win much reduced tickets to see the production, paying just £7.50 per ticket, rather than the normal £137.50! We were also successful in winning a travel grant too, to help us pay towards our coach travel, which helped to significantly reduce the cost of the trip for our MAC students. St Margaret Ward students joined over 30 students from our partner primary schools to make this a joint trip for our whole Collegiate. We were incredibly excited to be attending the performance and look forward to subsequent projects with the Royal Opera House in the future!

ORIGAMI MISS BARNETT

These are a few of the origami characters we made in our ‘Harry Potter Origami workshop’ as part of Craft Club. We are having a lovely time learning new skills and the best part is we are being taught by some of our very own Y7 pupils, Shay and Charlie; they have such incredible talent and such patience! We manged to make Sorting Hats, Golden Snitches and Harry’s Stag, Patronas!

GREEN INFLUENCERS' ECO CLUB AT SMW MRS PIMBLOTT

This term, 15 students in Years 7-9 at St Margaret Ward have been involved in the Green Influencers’ Eco Club with Mrs Pimblott and Vicky Broad from Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. The Green Influencers’ Scheme is an externally funded project by the Ernest Cook Trust and was borne out of a desire to help young people realise their potential to positively impact the environment through youth social action. The Green Influencers’ scheme helps students learn new skills and gain experience and confidence. They are given a grant of £360 to aid a student-led project to improve their school environment. Their projects benefit communities while helping them create lasting and meaningful connections with the natural environment.

The Green Influencers’ team at SMW have been working hard this term on a number of projects to help the school environment. They have completed a wildlife ID session, surveying what species we have on the school grounds, completed a litter audit, collected and recycled plastic bottles and sticks to make bug hotels, made a big log pile for invertebrates on the school grounds, and even put together a litter-picking rota which is being trialled and will be rolled out to all year groups and lunch areas! They have even arranged with a local Hub to recycle any collected crisp packets and are working hard to find other ways that we can reduce and reuse waste materials in school.

Our projects will continue after Christmas – keep an eye on the next newsletter for an update!

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LOCH EIL TRIP MR PEARSON

On Monday 6th December, 32 intrepid students left for a week of winter mountaineering at the Outward Bound Centre at Loch Eil near Fort William, Scotland.

Monday Whilst most of their classmates were fast asleep, the coach departed SMWCA at 4.30am for the 300m trip to the highlands. On arrival at Loch Eil, all Outward Bound courses start in the same way with the infamous 'Jog and Dip'. This essentially involves students running down to the Loch and submerging themselves in the water. All students managed to meet this initial challenge and it certainly woke everybody up after the journey! After this, it was back to the centre for a warm shower and some team building activities.

Tuesday On the second day, we encountered storm Barra, which made scrambling in the Nevis gorge extremely challenging. Miss Worrall's group designed a rope bridge and completed a Tyrolean crossing over the river. In the afternoon, it was back to the centre to complete more team challenges such as Jacob's ladder and the nightline assault course.

Wednesday The highlight of any Outward Bound trip is always the expedition. There is always something quite humbling about being dropped off in a mini bus with nothing more than a rucksack, tent and food on your back for the following 24 hours. The groups have very different expedition experiences.

Miss Worrall's group camped at The Glenfinnan viaduct (famous from the Harry Potter film). Miss Blakemore's group camped on the beach with views out to the Inner Hebrides isles of Rum and Muck. The final group camped in the mountains and actually pitched their tents onto the snow in sub-zero conditions. It is fair to say that this Outward Bound experienced some of the most challenging conditions and their cheerfulness in the face of adversity was quite outstanding.

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LOCH EIL TRIP MR PEARSON

Thursday Thursday morning saw a walk and mini bus back to the centre and students exchanging tales of their adventures. It was brilliant to hear students enthusing about what they had done and seen on expedition.

In the afternoon, we unpacked our bags and completed the famous Loch Eil zip line. At night we began to pack and celebrated Faith's birthday with a huge cake.

Friday All good things must come to an end and we sadly departed Loch Eil. The journey back through the snow-capped mountains of Glen Coe will live with us for the rest of our lives. We eventually arrived back at school at 7.15pm and we were glad that all students left with smiles on their faces and asking when the next Outward Bound trip would be.

Finally, I would like to thank all parents for their support in ensuring students were prepared for the trip and the staff who accompanied me: Miss Blakemore, Mr Goldstraw and Miss Worrall.

Those students who are interested in attending a future Outward Bound trip should see Miss Bradbury for the Summer trip to Ullswater or for next year's trip to Loch Eil, Miss Blakemore.

SANTA DASH MR PEARSON

On Tuesday 14th December, our school community came together to raise money for our chosen Lasallian charities. Students were invited to take part in a fun run or walk called the 'Santa Dash'. The event took place around the school grounds, with many students choosing to wear Christmas accessories such as hats and jumpers. Early estimates are that we have raised well over £500 for Caritas and The Haven for Children orphanage in the Philippines. This orphanage is close to our hearts because it is next to our partner school De La Salle Santiago Zobel.

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CHRISTMAS CONCERT MISS HAYES AND MRS SMITH

We’ve been busy in the Music department rehearsing and planning our Christmas concert since September. But, if we’re honest, we’ve been excited about the prospect of performing again to a live audience for nearly two years! Sadly, we made the decision that our concert would be virtual again in November. However, instead of us all recording ourselves at home, we decided to record our rehearsals, so that we could perform together.

To make it feel like our traditional concert, we set up the hall with our festive backdrop and stage lights.

Our concert features our Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra, Voicebox, Recorder Consort, Flute Choir, and a Clarinet Trio.

For me, Christmas starts after our Concert and although it isn’t the same, we all thoroughly enjoyed performing and recording together again.

Thank you and well done to everyone who performed and a special thank you to Leah, James, Josh, Miss Schultz, Mrs Smith and our instrumental teachers and resident accompanist.

Our concert is available to watch on our Academy website and social media pages.

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Y9 CAREERS / POST 16 OPTIONS ASSEMBLY: MRS PAGE

Y9 Students enjoyed an interactive performance assembly on post 16 careers options!

On Thurs 7th October, Yr9 were treated to an exciting performance in education assembly from Higher Horizons, called ‘Future Forward'. It was an engaging 1 hour theatre and integrated workshop presentation, looking at options for future routes and how these can all lead to a fulfilling future for all.

The show followed three students with very different attitudes to learning and planning ahead. It was an informative and fun introduction to post 16 & 18 pathways, focusing on the different options available (including different routes to Higher Education) and the importance of planning for a successful future. The programme aimed to raise aspirations and motivate all students to plan for, and achieve, the highest level they can in education and training, regardless of their background. It also examined the importance of GCSEs, post-16 options, post-18 options and staying on in education until 18.

The show aimed to: Challenge perceptions, preconceptions and myths surrounding Further Education and Higher Education.

Investigate the learning and training options post 16 and how they can lead to H.E. Demonstrate the importance of lifelong learning.

Increase understanding of the options available to students post 16 and post 18.

Explore different learning styles and different ways of learning.

Encourage students to plan for a successful future starting with their GCSEs. Motivate students to fulfil their potential in education and training.

The students found it really interesting and really enjoyed the performance format. They learnt about alternative progression routes and enjoyed joining in to work out the best route for each of the characters. We will be inviting Higher Horizons into school again in the near future to work with more students about post 16 options.

SMWCA CAREERS FAIR 2021 MRS PAGE

Friday 15th October saw St Margaret Ward celebrate their face to face careers’ fair, welcoming over 30 different institutions, colleges, universities, local businesses and local business people into school to speak to our year 10, 11, 12 and 13 students. The event was a great success, with many of our visitors saying how engaged and polite our students were.

Students were given the challenge of visiting at least 15 different stalls and asking informative questions, in order to win a £25 Amazon voucher. Students took this competition very seriously, with many students being noted by the visitors for their exceptional and insightful questioning. The winning student was year 11 Tahir congratulations! Our visitors included Newcastle College, Stoke on Trent College, City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form, Keele University, Achieve Apprenticeships, Asda, Range Rover, Feasted Gastronomy, Police, Army, Marines, RAF, Loughborough University and Edge Hill University amongst others. We look forward to making this an annual event on our Careers’ calendar each year and we are looking for even more companies, colleges and industry sectors to join us next year.

Careers Fair winners – Toby & Alarnah, Y10, impressed the team at Feasted Gastronomy with their impressive questions and enthusiasm about the catering trade on the Careers’ Fair day – they won a box of goodies including ingredients and cooking items. Well done!

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YOUNG ENGINEERS OF THE YEAR, 2022…THE COMPETITION HAS BEEN LAUNCHED! MR FRYER AND MR FOSTER

On November 30th, a group of very talented Y10 engineers attended KMF’s YEOTY (2022) launch day, together with Mr Fryer, Mr Foster and Miss Greaves. They have begun their journey as a group of “classtronauts” and are now planning how they are going to complete their challenging task of launching a balloon in to space. Designed to raise the aspirations of the next generation of engineers, our students have begun their quest against eighteen other schools and worked closely with representatives from industry and Higher Education during their first day of challenge.

Using the latest technology, our students are designing, engineering and aiming to launch their balloon into space and will be tracking its journey and visually recording the project before presenting a video of the whole project and its flight.

Good luck, team!

GRAPHIC DESIGN MR BRYAN

Year 9 students have made a fantastic start to their new project! Recently, students were given a Design Brief explaining that over the upcoming weeks students will be designing their own Vinyl Record Sleeve Artwork that connects to either Old Skool or New Skool music. They have all been working hard to generate some Initial Ideas in the form of Hand Rendered outcomes and an inspirational Mood Board. Once complete, the students will be transferring their artwork onto a Vinyl Cover and will be displayed around the Graphic Design Room to celebrate all of the hard work they are currently putting into the project.

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ELECTRONICS MISS FALLOWS

Year 9 Electronics students have been creating an audio amplifier (speaker) circuit. The group from groups 1 and 2 have become the fastest class to ever finish their ​high-quality final circuit. Well done for supporting each other as a team so that everyone walked away with a product they can be proud of! We are so excited to see the progress you make on the case of your amplifier.

Congratulations to Year 7 and 8 Electronics students who have begun using the soldering irons for the first time. Students have been very excited to be 'experts' and to motivate each other to work safely. It's exciting to see how many high-quality LEDs have been prepared already. Well done!

FOOD STUDIES MRS SHARP

Another phenomenal effort from Year 11 in the production of highquality Restaurant standard dishes for their Mock Exam - we are so proud of all our students. Really well done!

MUSIC MISS HAYES AND MRS SMITH

On Friday 1st October we hosted a fabulous MusicShare concert featuring singers from St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy, Our Lady & St Benedict Catholic Academy, St George & St Martin Catholic Academy, St Wilfrid’s Catholic Academy, St Peter’s Catholic Academy and Hanley St Luke’s C of E Primary school. MusicShare is a partnership between Lichfield Cathedral School, Lichfield Cathedral and The Music Partnership Each school was visited by an animateur who taught us several fabulous new songs with some great actions. Our concert involved us all performing together with a live band and solo items from a number of schools. To see and hear our hall full of live music again was a truly wonderful experience and we’re really looking forward to more projects and events together in the future.

I could keep writing about our concert but the music itself speaks volumes so please scan the QR code below or use the link to see some highlights of the concert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCG21-GVc6g

WE ARE PROPHETS OF A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN

JANUARY 2022

VOL 4

CROSS CULTURES PROJECT MISS BLAKEMORE

St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy are currently taking part in an International Cross Cultures Ambassadors’ Program with De La Salle Santiago Zobel School (DLSZ), in the Philippines . The aim of the program is to help the students in both schools to develop their cultural capital and to form positive friendships with peers from the other side of the world. The first virtual group presentation was held on Microsoft Teams, on Friday 22nd October. This involved ten Year 8 students, from both schools, creating and delivering a presentation about their school, city and sporting experiences.

Also, on Monday 29th November the students took part in a virtual penpal activity on MS Teams. This enabled the students to get to know each other on a more personal level.

There are also many more exciting events that will be taking place in the coming weeks and months.

These include a Santa Dash fundraising event to raise awareness and much needed funds for an orphanage close to DLSZ, a live virtual Mass shared between our two schools and a series of physical challenges between both schools’ students.

MATHS In October, Richard Stakes, from Keele University, delivered a half-day intensive ‘problem-solving booster’ event to help our Year 13 students improve their conceptual understanding and develop their problem-solving skills for A-Level Mathematics. Here’s what the some of the students thought: Lloyd: “I found the problem-solving session enjoyable, as it was simultaneously interesting, and challenging. Richard also gave the class a very valuable insight into maths at university, and the broad range of topics that maths can be applied to.”

Sophie: “The problem solving allowed me to approach otherwise complicated questions with a direct strategy. I enjoyed the complexity of the questions and the brief insight to what university is like.”

Aaron: “Richard Stakes helped me to gain more knowledge to solve maths problems quickly using the appropriate strategies.

Furthermore, he was very beneficial in giving me insight on the maths degree course and apprenticeship.”

Ebenezer: "The problem-solving maths session taught me a lot that I didn't know. For example, I didn’t realise how hard it would be to complete problem solving at this level. I haven’t really done any for a couple years so today’s level of problem solving was much more challenging. I really enjoyed the session since it taught me a lot."

Arun: The problem solving helped me a lot and has built my confidence. Also, I now have more experience that will help me generally in mathematics."

WE ARE PROPHETS OF A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN

JANUARY 2022

VOL 4

ART CLUB MISS LEESE

This half term has seen the launch of the much-anticipated KS3 Art Club! The club has proven to be overwhelmingly popular with students in Years 7, 8 and 9. It has been great to see students across the years come together and share their love of all things arts and crafts. This term we have been busy making remembrance book marks, 3D hanging birds for the tree, Elf doors made from clay and even some beautiful illuminated bottles. Here are some examples of our elf doors and bottles which, when painted, will make a gorgeous gift for someone this Christmas. Well done to everyone who has come along to art club and produced some beautiful work.

Keep up your passion for Art!

ART AT THE NEW VIC THEATRE The Art department are really excited and proud to share with you that a beautiful piece of artwork, created by members of our art club, is currently being exhibited at the New Vic Theatre.

The piece depicts Beauty and the Beast in the style of the illustrator, Mina Lima. It will be on display between Friday 26 November–Saturday 29 January 2022. Well done to our art club for helping to paint such a huge piece of work in a really tight time frame.

POPPIES FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY MR CARTWRIGHT

This year, for Remembrance Day, Mr Cartwright, our Art technician, displayed our wonderful poppies made by pupils in their Art lessons. It was a perfect way to commemorate and acknowledge such an important time in our History and to remember the fallen and the brave.

WE ARE PROPHETS OF A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN

JANUARY 2022

VOL 4

REMEMBRANCE DAY AT THE CENOTAPH MRS HODGKINSON

Pupils represented the school for the Remembrance Service at Tower Square, Tunstall on Remembrance Day. Mr Cartwright was the mini bus driver and we were both extremely proud of the students who attended the service and how they all showed respect, empathy to the exservicemen and the community in general. They all spoke with confidence when saying the prayers as part of the service and the way they all engaged with the locals was lovely to see.

COMPUTING MR QUIGLEY AND MRS HANCOCK

Year 11 Computing and DIGITAL IT students, along with Sixth Form Design and BTEC Business Studies students attended a talk by Mark Flanagan, Education Partner Manager for EPIC Games. During the talk, Mark spoke about his journey and careers in animation and gaming. He also covered topics such as: • Introduction to Epic Games • UE5 • Virtual Production • Animation • Metahuman Creator • The metaverse.

He gave the students a great insight in how the Epic games Unreal Engine is being used not only in games development but Film and TV series such as the Mandalorian, in architecture, marketing, car manufacture and many more areas of everyday life.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD MRS WHINCUP

Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards We have launched our Bronze Award with Year 9 pupils. After a Parents’ Information Evening on Monday 13th of September all interested students have been enrolled and started work on their physical, skills and volunteering sections. We have people learning sign language, improving their photography skills, learning how to climb, joining a judo club, helping community action groups, walking dogs for elderly neighbours and lots, lots more.

Next, it is time to enrol Year 10 students interested in taking a step up to the Silver Award. Some of them worked through their Bronze Award last year but Silver is also open to those new to D of E. The Duke of Edinburgh Awards are challenging and rewarding. We’re looking forward to being involved in the journey our Bronze and Silver participants have started.

Any questions about D of E, please contact jwhincup@smwca.org.uk

WE ARE PROPHETS OF A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN

JANUARY 2022

VOL 4

REMEMBERING JOSEPH WAKEFIELD MRS FARRER

On Monday morning of the 13th December, Year 11 plus Evie Wakefield and some of her Year 9 friends, gathered by the front of school to remember Joseph.

Ms Grolik led us all in a wonderful service where Joseph’s closest friends shared some of their many memories and read prayers of thanksgiving, so despite the grey clouds the atmosphere was one of quiet reflection and joy as well as grief at the loss of a loved one.

The morning also focussed on the formal opening of Joe’s Garden, which will be a lasting memorial that we will watch blossom and grow over years to come.

Joe’s friends, who have worked tirelessly to create the garden, planted the first bushes and bulbs were added by representatives from each Fidei group.

Evie unveiled the plaque and everyone then released an orange (Joe’s favourite colour) balloon, whilst some of his favourite music played.

It was wonderful to watch the balloons brighten up the sky and some that lacked sufficient helium, were attached to the garden fence.

A video will be available soon and this along with a book containing messages will be given to the family for their keeping.

A portrait of Joe, beautifully painted by Mr Dave Cartwright is currently exhibited in reception and is another lasting memory of him.

A room was made available during the day for staff and students who wanted to sit quietly with their own thoughts and was welcomed by many.

WE ARE PROPHETS OF A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN

JANUARY 2022

VOL 4

A Prayer May God make your year a happy one Not by shielding us from all sorrows and pain, But by strengthening us to bear it, as it comes; Not by making our path easy, But by making us sturdy to travel any path; Not by taking hardships from us, But by taking fear from our heart; Not by granting us unbroken sunshine, But by keeping our face bright, even in the shadows; Not by making our life always pleasant, But by showing us when people and their causes need us most, and by making us anxious to be there to help.

God's love, peace, hope and joy to us for the year ahead.

Amen

WE ARE PROPHETS OF A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN