st gregory the great catholic school weekly...

St Gregory the Great Catholic School

WEEKLY BULLETIN Friday 15th June 2018 Issue 34

St Gregory the Great Catholic School 01865 749933 www.stgregory.oxon.sch.uk [email protected]

Head Lines This week’s Values session, during Tutor Time, has focused upon the virtue of generosity.

Students have been exploring attitudes towards generosity in life as well as looking at

practical ways in which we can all show generosity of character. There is a powerful desire to

be generous in all of us “to give and not to count the cost.” Saint Ignatius had an important

principle that actions were more important than words. Generosity can be shown through

those small acts of kindness, putting others first, and this can have a great impact on our

development as a person as well as for the school community to which we belong.

The spirit of generosity is not only found through

the charitable fundraising with which we are

engaged (and I am sure there are many in our

community keeping a keen eye on the football

World Cup to see if the sweepstake bears any

Fruit), but also through the respect we show to

each other. Next week we will begin a new

initiative to address lateness to lessons as it is

essential that all students adhere to one of the

central elements of our school code: respect.

Punctuality matters and good punctuality at school is essential for students to achieve their

academic potential as well as being vital for students to form good habits for later life.

Although there are still exams through to the end of June, the public exam season is now

drawing to a close. Next week Year 10 students take up the mantle and will be sitting their

end of year exams. We wish them well with their revision and preparation.

Mr. S. Tucker (Acting Head of School)

Parent Information Evening There is a parent information evening to which all parents and carers are invited on Monday

2nd July at 6pm in the Conference Room. This will be an opportunity for the leadership of the

school to explain about the many improvements we have made and about our future plans.



Assembly this week The theme this week has been based on last Sunday’s

Gospel reading where we get a real sense of the

importance of standing together in unity.

We are told that Jesus went home with his friends and

so many people gathered that they could not have a

meal in peace. His family were cross! Very

knowledgeable men were saying Jesus must have the

devil inside of him because he could cast out devils.

The world had never seen anyone like him before and

they were suspicious. Jesus spoke to them, ‘how can

Satan cast out Satan’? He was trying to explain to

them that for a community to be strong they needed to

be united, not fighting among themselves.

This Gospel feels very important for us at this time, as

this is a time when all in our community need to stand

together, to be united and strong in order to succeed.

Punctuality matters Good punctuality at school is essential for students to achieve their academic potential

and is also vital for students to form good habits for later life. All students are expected to

arrive punctually for school in the morning and to each lesson.

You may have received a letter over the past few weeks outlining the number of minutes of

learning time your son/daughter has missed due to lateness to lessons. Over the time we

have been sending these letters home to parents, many students have improved their

punctuality and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents who have had

conversations with their son/daughter about this.

Unfortunately for some students punctuality still remains an issue and as a result we are

going to issue a further sanction for those students who miss learning time across the

week. Based on students punctuality during the week beginning 18th June, parents will

receive a letter outlining the minutes of learning time lost and the date and time of an after

School pay back, when students will be expected to remain in school at the end of the day

for the total number of minutes they were late during that week.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Mrs Wileman



Charity Fundraising This term we are trying to raise money for the

Father Hudson's society, a charity of which the

school is closely connected to. To do this we are

currently organising various fundraisers within

school.

One of these is a World Cup sweepstake for every year group. The students can pay £1 to

pick a team out of a hat, if that team wins the World Cup, they win a £10 voucher of their

choice. We will also be running 'Soak the Teacher' over a week, where Heads of Years will

be dividing their time in the stockades. Students and staff can pay £1 for three sponges to

try and ‘soak the Teacher’.

Their will be various other fundraisers to follow, some of which will be taking place at The

Summer Garden Party on 29th June.

The School Council are currently coming up with new ideas to raise money, if you have any

ideas that you think we could do with school, please feel free to contact Mr Reidy.

Year 10 Science revision Revision quizzes for the PPEs (mock exams) next week have been assigned to all Year

10 students on Doddle. Please encourage your child to complete these quizzes. AQA

GCSE revision guides are available from the Science prep room at the discounted price

of £4 each, so £12 for all 3 Sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Physics (RRP £7.25 each).

In addition, students are encouraged to use online resources like the new BBC bitesize

GCSE website and video resources by Fuse School and Doodle Science (on youtube) for

their revision.

Results from the PPEs are important to determine if a student is entered for the

Foundation Tier (grades 1-5) or Higher Tier (grades 4-9) paper for their actual GCSE

exam next year.



Teacher Profile – Miss Sundar

Job title – English Teacher I was born and raised in Oxford, attended a local school and university and feel very

privileged to have had an Oxford education. When I was at university, I was torn between

studying Planning or Education. With the inspiration of great lecturers and modules of study,

my learning journey took me into the field of Education and I have never looked back since.

I started my teaching career teaching English to foreign students from all over the world and

was actually considering a teaching career abroad. However, I began to feel myself drawn to

the British Education system and worked as a Teaching Assistant and then English Teacher

at Northfield School. I worked there for almost six years and thoroughly enjoyed the

challenges and joys that the school presented which enhanced my skills as a practitioner in

child psychology, understanding and engagement in learning.

I went on to complete my PGCE in English and was not sure which Secondary school to

apply to and felt that doing supply work would provide a great ‘eye opener’ into the labyrinth

of secondary schools. I joined St Gregs in December 2015 and was only meant to be here

for three months. The warmth of the students and friendliness of the staff won me over and

here I am, in EN4, three years later. I love every second of school life at St Gregs, moving

forward and making progress both with my students and my colleagues.

In my spare time, I enjoy cooking, my homemade ‘onion bhajies’ are a firm favourite of the

English department. I also enjoy music, dancing and singing as well as swimming, cars,

basketball, reading, travelling, exploring and socialising with my family and friends.

Uniform - update Please may we remind you that full school uniform must be worn to and from school. You

can find a complete list of what we expect students to wear on the school website.

From September all students will need to wear black shoes to school, we are no longer

accepting black leather trainers. Shoes must be plain black, low heels (maximum heel

height 5cm) and of formal design. If you are unsure of what type is acceptable please see

the school website.

We have two suppliers for uniform, Stevenson in Oxford on the Banbury Road and Price &

Buckland which is online retailer.

Students must keep their hair tidy and of reasonable length - this should not be

exceptionally short or long. Hair dyed in unnatural or varied colours is not permitted, nor

are extravagant hairstyles.



In Memoriam Catherine Godfrey, former Yr 11 student in 2015, died tragically last January. If you knew

Catherine you are warmly invited by the family to attend a memorial service in St. Gregs

on 30th June at 3pm. Any thoughts or memories you would like to share would be very

welcome, either through Fran Walsh or by email to Catherine's mother Margaret: [email protected]

Year 11 into Year 12 Induction 2018 Induction for Year 11 students who have applied to Sixth Form in September takes place

on Thursday 28th June and Friday 29th June. Attendance is essential as this is an opportunity

to sample lessons in your chosen subject at A level and to ensure that you are on the right

programme of study. We look forward to seeing you.

Year 12 & 13 Attendance and Examination Requirements All students are required to attend lessons until they have sat the final exam for that subject,

there is no study leave. Students will be given authorised leave from lessons the afternoon

prior to a morning exam and the morning off timetable prior to an afternoon exam.

AS students will return to A2 study on Monday 18th June. Attendance from this date is

compulsory for all students until Tuesday 24th July.

mailto:[email protected]



Calculators available to buy The Maths Department now has a stock of calculators

available to buy. The benefits of having your own calculator:

All calculators are slightly different. You do not want to

spend precious time in an exam figuring out how to use

one you are unfamiliar with!

You will make faster progress in class. Instead of waiting for equipment to be handed out, or

having to share with other pupils, you can get going!

These calculators also come with an Exam Set, containing a protractor, ruler, set square, a

pair of compasses, pencil and sharpener - all essential equipment in preparation for exams.

The set is £9.29 and available on Parentpay. If paying by cash, this needs to go to Mrs Read

in Student Reception.

Twinning Project Competition The school have entered a twinning project competition, the work the children have done is

now complete and on exhibition. The details of the exhibition are below. I will be attending the

exhibition and will take some pictures of our work.

Councillor Henwood

Thank you again for supporting the 'Dialogue in images'

twinning project.

We have now all swapped photographs and chosen the

favourite 10 from each partner school, with the top 3 from

each school going into this exhibition. The exhibition will be

in the Town Hall corridor in July.

The children have really enjoyed the project and found it interesting; they loved the mountains

particularly. Some are now going on to exchange letters with their new friends. There is great

variety in the photographs and we have really been impressed by their images.

We are having a little opening celebration for the exhibition in the Town Hall Cafe from 6:30-

7:30 on the 2nd July and we would be delighted it you can attend. We hope that some of the

children that took the chosen photographs will be there too.

Jack Trinder made a teddy with Mrs Swanton on a Friday lesson which he is proud of, well

done Jack.



Summer Garden Party

We are hoping to have a plant stall at the Garden Party. If anyone has any plants, seeds,

cuttings they can donate it would be greatly appreciated. Please ring school reception for

more details.

It is hoped that as many of you as possible are able to attend this event organised through

the PTA.



Homework Club JOIN US IN INCLUSION, EVERY MONDAY AND

WEDNESDAY AT 3.15 TO 4PM FOR

HOMEWORK HANGOUT!

You will receive support and guidance, plus help

with access to relevant online resources.

All welcome, refreshments provided.

If you would like a place to catch up with homework, read a book or receive help in any area where you need extra support, then

please come along to: Homework Hangout

Monday and Thursday Morning before school 8.15-8.45 in the Canteen



Year 11 GCSE Revision sessions Each student should attend at least three revision sessions per week. At the end of your

revision session make sure you get your revision booklet signed.

The Summer Exam Timetable is available on the School

Website.

St Gregs are delighted to announce the Year 11 Prom tickets are now on Sale.

You can either purchase them through the school Parentpay £25

or can pay cash to Ms Pauline Read or Miss Jewell (we are happy to take instalments)

Please email any questions or concerns to: [email protected]

Dear Yr 11 Parents,

Thank you for those that

have sent through photos of

their child for the Leavers

Service (22nd June Midday),

if you haven't yet sent any

through there is plenty of

time left. If you could send

them to:

[email protected]

that would be fantastic.

Also, Prom tickets and

permission slips will be

available after the Leavers

Service.



Contact Numbers Please can you ensure to let the school know when you have a change of contact number. Can

you email the school at

[email protected]

Important dates:

Friday 22nd June Year 11 Leavers Service (12 noon)

Friday 22nd June Yr 13 Prom

Friday 29th June Feast of Ss Peter & Paul (Whole school Mass)

Friday 29th June Summer Garden Party (6 – 9pm)

Monday 2nd July Parent (School Improvement) Information Evening

(6pm)

Wednesday 4th July Yr 11 Prom

Tuesday 24th July Last Day of School Year (early closure - midday)

Attendance Please note that St Gregory the Great Catholic School does not give permission for leave of

absence. Please arrange any holidays outside of school term time. Likewise where possible please

ensure dentist and doctor appointments are made outside of the school day. Thank you for your

cooperation in this matter. Every day lost in education has a negative impact on student

achievement and we want to do the very best for all of our students.



Year 10 PPE Timetable


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