St John Fisher Catholic College Newsletter: Issue 41 December 2017

A Christmas Message

At St John Fisher Catholic College, advent has begun… The choir are singing through their lunch – rehearsals to be done.

It’s frosty in the mobiles – though our spirits keep us warm, Waiting for Christmas Day when Jesus Christ was born.

Weekends full of shopping trips – gifts to buy and wrap. The Christmas tree upon the car – tighten up the straps.

The robins in the hedgerows and berries on the holly. The cheer of Christmas in the town – everyone so jolly.

Baking Christmas cakes and puddings – ready for the day

Decorating our homes and school – our tradition’s here to stay. Sending cards to everyone, the Christmas message to be heard;

Instead of texting friends this year – use the written word.

So we all need to focus, not on the presents or the lists Instead we need to think about, what we, ourselves can truly give.

So throughout our school this Christmas, we will remember and be sure… The message of St John Fisher – aspire not to have more but to be more.

by Skye Graham 9H

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We have come to the end of a long term with many successes for our pupils both in terms of their learning

and wider contributions to the school community. There have been some outstanding moments including:

success in sport, local and national competitions, musical celebrations, charitable fundraising, community

activities and a start to our new build. The whole school community is consequently looking forward to a well-

earned rest. The prospect of Christmas cheers us and lifts our spirits away from the cold, dark and

depressing weather of the season.

This is one time of year when it is commonplace to find the spirit of human kindness alive and well. It is

important that we are mindful of the need to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. People all over the

world will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and sharing in the joy that this brings.

Our amazing pupils have raised over £1,800.00 this term for a number of Charities, including the Douglas

Macmillan Hospice, Sanctus, and the Alice Charity. We are extremely proud of our pupils who have fostered

the true spirit and meaning of Christmas, by sharing their own gratitude for a good and secure life with

those who are not so fortunate.

I am sure that you would like to join with me in thanking all of the staff and governors at St John Fisher

Catholic College for their continued tremendous hard work and commitment to the pupils of the school.

I take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support for St John Fisher Catholic College as we

work together to offer the very best learning opportunities and experiences for your child.

On behalf of everybody at St John Fisher Catholic College, I wish you and your loved ones a holy and

peaceful Christmas and every blessing for the New Year.

God Bless,

Mrs Madden

Christmas Jumper Day On Friday 1st December St John Fisher started to get festive! Members of the Y9 charity committee had worked with members of the Y13 leadership team to plan and organise a fundraising event. They had chosen to support the local hospice, The Dougie Mac, and arranged for a Christmas Jumper day in school. All staff and students were invited to wear a Christmas jumper to school for a £1 donation to the Dougie Mac. The Y9 girls said they had chosen the Dougie Mac because of it being a local charity that a lot of people could relate to. They also said they were so pleased that so many staff and students had supported the event and were proud that the school was able to raise so much money for a local deserving charity. Bradley, the deputy head boy said that he had been impressed with the hard work and commitment of the girls in organising the event and looked forward to working with them again soon. The Y9 charity committee will be doing another fundraising event for the Dougie Mac in the New Year so watch this space! #christmasjumperday #community #dougiemac

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Mathematics Department

Practise 4 Perfection Taken from the words of St Paul “ whatever you have learned and received and heard from me , and seen in me , put these things into practice and the God of peace will be with you “ Phillipians 4:9

72% of the A level mathematicians in 2017 achieved a grade A* A or B. This is an

outstanding achievement for the students.

Senior Maths Challenge Results GOLD and best in school and qualifying for the next round Eddi Macleod

Gold and qualified for next round Valentine Uche

Silver and Qualified for next round Anna O’Leary

Silver Alfred Sabu, Katharine Fairweather

Bronze Eva Lucas, Samuel Brookes, Caitlin Yates, Joel Houghton

The senior maths challenge is the hardest of the competitions so well done to all those who participated

Mathematics in the home

Can you help your child at home with their maths ?

Any work you can do on basic skills will help and no method is incorrect if it gets a right answer.

Sadly we live in a society where it seems acceptable to say we are no good at maths !!!! This is not the case

we just need more practise over and over on basic skills .

Want to know how you could help? Then contact the maths department

Equipment

A reminder about the equipment that pupils should be bringing to maths lessons.

Pen , pencil , ruler , compass , protractor , rubber and a scientific calculator. Equipment can be purchased

from the department at any time. The equipment is much cheaper and in some cases much better quality that

the stuff sold in the shops.

Changes to GCSE

The new GCSE has more reading required as part of the examination . Encouraging more reading around the

home would help with this as it would with other subjects.

Help and Support

Remember that www.mymaths.co.uk can be used at home to help and support in lots of ways and it’s not just

for homework tasks. We also use the schools VLE moodle for some homework tasks where you will find PDF

files of books. The BBC website www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bitesize also has many things to help for all ages.

Mr D Bailey

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Ghost Story of the Nightmarish Fiend

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Matthew, and Matthew lived in a village called the Faraway Land.

Matthew’s village wasn’t actually that far away, and wasn’t a land, it was an old building called the Grotto.

The Grotto was not a good place to live because it was always crammed with people, and it was hard to find a

place to sleep at night. You couldn’t move without stepping on someone’s hand.

Next to the Grotto was a rich man who never shared anything and he was always moody. One day, Matthew

went into the old man’s home and saw the old man sleeping on his chair, and decided to get rid of him. “Never

open a can of old beans!” said the man sleepily, until he realised he was in the ocean of nowhere. What in the

name of goodness! The old man was so infuriated that he dived into the ocean and drowned. But the story

doesn’t end there … the old man’s ghost haunts the village and ever seince that day, the old man has always

been there to scare off travellers.

Alex Rider went to the village and hoped the rumours weren’t true … he went inside the old man’s home but

what he saw was a whole lot worse; everyone that lived in the village was dead ….

Suddenly, the ghost of the old man raced up to Alex and pinned him to the floor and the ground began to

shake ….

Nathaniel Forester-Watson won an award in a recent Young Writers competition, and this was his story.

Our Space: St John Fisher Volunteering Over the 6 weeks holidays a few members of our Sixth Form volunteered to help out at “Our Space,” an adventure playground and respite care centre for children with special needs and learning difficulties. The students had contacted Hannah Dean, the director at Our Space and had arranged times when they could come and volunteer. Emma Huxley in year 13 said “I volunteered for Our Space because I had done it a couple of years before and it allowed me to see an incredible development in the children” and Anna O’Leary, our current Head Girl, who also helped out said the experience had “enabled me to develop new skills” and called the charity, that almost closed down a few years ago, “amazing”. St John Fisher has a long tradition of supporting the playground through SVP work there, fundraising and even staff members doing music gigs! Archie Marshall said that overall he found the volunteering there “thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding” even if he did “run around a lot, like, I mean … a lot!” and Caitlin Murton said “I would tell anyone to volunteer!” Hannah Dean came in to school on Wednesday 27th September to publicly thank the students for their support and commented that the students from SJF were “fantastic volunteers and a credit to the school”. We are very proud of them all and think they are a credit to themselves, us and the wider community. ☺

The students who helped out are: Marc Amil, Moncy Baby, Victoria Bagnall, Lynn Chikungwa, Lauren Gilbert, Emma Huxley, Emily Johnston, Lauren Kavanagh, Bradley Leighton, Jody Ling, Archie Marshall, Caitlin Murton, Anna O'Leary

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Un Petit Déjeuner Français!

Year 8 French students enjoyed a French breakfast this half term during their French lessons. On

the menu were croissants, pain au chocolat, jam, Nutella and fruit juice.

Tout le monde s’est bien amusé. Miam miam!

8J3 and 8F3 enjoyed a French breakfast this term to practise ordering

and giving their opinions in French

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Y7 catalyst trip

Nearly 90 Y7 students visited Catalyst, an interactive science centre in Widnes in November. We enjoyed an excellent talk on exploring the Universe with Ben Daniels volunteering to be a human electrical conductor and using a plasma ball to literally light up the room! Everyone (especially the staff) had great fun wearing rainbow glasses which turned white light into a spectrum of colours. The highlight of the day was the opportunity to make our own key rings using a plastic ‘smart material’ which changed colour and shape when heat was applied to it. We were able to add glitter to it before using ice cube moulds to shape our plastic, stars, Pac-man and rockets were all popular choices. In between sessions everyone had great fun with the interactive exhibits especially the giant bubble chamber, not only learning about scientific ideas but how they are used to improve our world.

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We are delighted to announce that our wonderful school project to replace the mobile classroom has begun.

The new building will be three storeys and will house 14 teaching spaces including a new Sixth Form Centre. The Condition

Improvement Fund money has been fully funded from the Education Funding Agency for £2.2 million. The building will

be completed by September 2018.

The image shows what the building should look like once it is completed.

You have an opportunity to purchase a brick which will be personally

engraved with a maximum of 2 lines containing 13 characters including

spaces. The brick will be a permanent reminder of your connection with

St John Fisher Catholic College.

Each engraved brick will be in a prominent position in the new build

concentrating around the building entrance.

The cost is £22.00 per brick.

Please complete the attached template when making your purchase and

return to the school reception or by email to: buyabrick@CTKCC.co.uk .

Please ensure you double check the spelling as mistakes cannot be

rectified after ordering.

All proceeds will be put towards classroom facilities in the new building.

Mrs Vicky Bowers - Bursar

ST JOHN FISHER CATHOLIC COLLEGE

BUY-A-BRICK CAMPAIGN

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY IN UPPER CASE THE LETTERS

EXACTLY HOW YOU WISH YOUR BRICK TO BE ENGRAVED:-

PLEASE MAKE PAYMENT VIA PARENT PAY OR ALTERNATIVELY CHEQUES MADE PAYABLE TO:-

Christ the King Catholic Collegiate Please complete this template when making your purchase and return to the school reception or by email to:

buyabrick@CTKCC.co.uk . Please ensure you double check the spelling as mistakes cannot be rectified after

ordering.

All proceeds will be put towards classroom facilities in the new building.

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Note for Parent Pay users:

Please be aware that an email is sent out to parents with an email address assigned on Parentpay for all trips when they are first loaded on to on Parentpay. Therefore, it is important If possible that you have an email address signed to Parentpay that these messages will go to. You can also manage your alerts and emails addresses when you log onto ParentPay so that when a new payment item is added you get an alert to that effect. Please see details below:

Parent Pay – New Item Alert

I wanted to bring to your attention to a useful feature on Parent Pay that you may not be aware of.

New Item alerts - an alert will inform you when the school creates a new payment item

Email alerts are free of charge, but you will be charged for text alerts to your mobile. All that you have to do is click email or text under "New Item Alert"

To set this up simply follow the directions below:-

Click on Profile at the top of the screen Click on Alert setting on the left hand side New Item alerts - click email or text (please ensure your email address is registered) Press save at the bottom of the page Parent Pay - Refunds

Please bear in mind that if you ask for a Parent Pay refund for any reason, refunds will go back to the Parent Account rather

than the parents bank account.

You will need to log in to your Parent Pay account and if you wish to withdraw go to

Parent Account > Withdraw and they can withdraw back to the payment card that was used.

Parent Pay School Break and Dinners

Please be aware that cashless payment for purchasing of school dinners and break is now in place. Please ensure

that the relevant Parent Pay accounts are topped up every week and that students have either had their fingerprint

data taken or have their PIN. You must ensure that accounts are topped up before 11.30am on the day any

food is required as after this time the money does not get transferred to the kitchen until the next day.

Without finger print scan or PIN students will not be able to access food from the canteen. Biometric Consent

forms can be requested from the Finance Office.

You can set up a Balance Alert where once your balance drops below say £5.00 you can receive an email alert

which will prompt you to top up their lunch account.

School Fund School Fund is a voluntary payment of £10 per year, which helps the school to support a range of activities including: supporting district and county sports representatives; providing additional yard equipment; supporting the diverse range of lunch clubs on offer and more. Thank you for your support, so far we have received so far a massive £1,440, and have used this money to purchase items for one of our lunch clubs and 8 picnic benches which provide a quieter area for pupils to sit during the morning break and at lunchtime. If you are able to support the school fund by giving £10 then please do this through parentpay. This donation will go directly to supporting all the children in the school.

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GOLD DofE Background: The group undertook a four day practice expedition in the Dark Peak. They started and finished at Edale, walking to three different campsites within the area. They had to be self-sufficient for all four days and whilst they met this challenge full on, the four days of rain did make life a little more difficult at times.

Here are some images & a few words from one group who undertook the Gold Practice DofE expedition last week (Wed 6th-Sat 9th Sept). Names of students from this group are: Emily Johnston, Anna O'Leary, Thomas Urie & Joseph Urie. They are now preparing for their Assessed expedition which will take place Monday 9th -Friday 13th October in Snowdonia.

"Although physically demanding, the practise expedition proved to be mentally challenging. It was

about keeping calm when things didn't go quite right and then being able to sort things out, but

most of all being able to carry on up what seemed to be never ending hills in the relentless wind

and rain - even when thinking it was impossible just to put one foot in front of the other. Despite

being a challenge, it was an experience that has made

me a lot more determined in many aspects in life and

has served as an eye opener as to what we are letting

ourselves in for in October."

Emily Johnston

"I had a good idea of what I was getting myself into

before the expedition but you never really know what

something is like until you try it. The expedition really

showed how well we can work in a team and go beyond

your limits despite the weather!"

Anna O'Leary

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The FA girls football festival

On 20th September 2017, students from Y7 and 8 along with myself and Mrs Fisher went along to

Northwood stadium for the FA girls football festival hosted by Staffordshire FA. The aim of the

festival was to try and promote girls football and make more girls interested in taking up the sport

somehow, regardless of their ability.

During the course of the day we participated in many activities and had the opportunity to meet a

few of the stars of women’s football.

The day started with an opening ceremony, outlining some of the activities each school would be

participating in throughout the duration of the day. During this time we had a group photo, where

all 16 schools came together. We were also privileged enough to have a freestyle demo from one of

the world’s free styling champions- Charlotte Lade, which was amazing. Three football players from

Stoke city women attended the festival alongside their manager to have Q&A with us.

For our first session, we had the opportunity to have our hair braided or our face painted. The

people who did this were really talented to do face paints at such high speed and make it look

really smart in the process. We even managed to persuade Mrs Fisher to have her face done which

was an added bonus. Whist Y7&8 had this done, I saw the opportunity to go and speak to the Stoke

players to gain advice as to what I need to do to be at the top of my game and to improve. Each

player gave me some really positive and mature advice that I have listened to and took on board.

As a result of approaching them, I even got given the option to go for a trial for Stoke City that

I’ll be sure to think about in the future and I also had a photo with them. This was the beginning of

a fantastic day!

For our second session, we had a goalkeeper workshop. During this, we learnt basic goal keeping

skills such as getting comfortable with the ball. We learnt that the correct way to have your hands

is in the shape of a ‘W’ when receiving the ball- this will help to prevent injury and is a safe way to

receive the ball. We then got into pairs and threw the ball to each other at the height of our

chest. We then had to catch the ball and bring it in towards our body as if you were hugging the

ball in order to keep it safe. The goalkeeper work shop was a real eye opener as to identifying the

key skills needed to be successful in that position.

A refereeing workshop was up next and we got given

our own whistle along with red and yellow cards. The

session outlined basic skills a referee needed in

order to communicate successfully with the players

on the pitch. Little did I know but there were

different ways a ref blows their whistle to outline

different severities during the booking process. For

example a short sharp blow of the whistle indicated

a yellow card booking whereas a long blow indicated a

more severe punishment of a red card. This session

was particularly successful at showing the girls that

you don’t have to play the sport to be involved in it.

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Our next session was soccercise. This was brilliant. It was a mini circuit made up of different

exercises, some of which involved using the football. The different stages included situps, jumping

jacks, toe taps, lunges, knee ups with the ball, and torso twists using the ball. This was a fantastic

way of making exercising fun and more appealing.

The next workshop was my absolute favourite of the day- freestyling. This was done by Charlotte

Lade. She is an amazing freestyler and did basic freestyle tricks with us. First we did kick ups,

then knee ups, then we put the ball in between our ankles and jumped with it to get the ball up.

This was great fun. We then did sit down kick ups which was the trick that was probably the

hardest to gain control of the ball because there was such limited space. I had photo taken of me

doing some of these tricks by Bethan Woolley who was the organiser of the festival so she must

have thought I was alright at doing the freestyling tricks. At the end I also had a photo with

Charlotte which was amazing! I’d strongly recommend girls to watch some of the things she does

and possibly have a go at freestlying for themselves.

Our final indoor session included speed cage, target shoot, quick feet and batak boards. Sam from

Y8 won on the batak board which was a great achievement. The speed cage calculated the amount

of power you had in your shots. I had many goes on this but couldn’t quite reach the top speed of

49mph, my highest was 41mph, which I thought wasn’t bad- In comparison to Mrs Fishers attempt

anyway!

After our final session, we went over to the pitches for the 5-a-side matches. The girls gained

some great experience playing against other schools and we even discovered some talented little

players.

The whole day for me was absolutely amazing.

It has been one of the highlights of my high

school experience to go to such an amazing

place and have an insight to different areas of

football that are not just playing. Throughout

the day, I met some really fantastic people who

have inspired me to continue to play football

and to be the best I can be. The advice that I

have been given has encouraged me to seek

opportunities that I may get in the future.

I think the girls who came to the festival have

had their eyes opened massively and have

hopefully been inspired by the activities they

have done and the people they have met to give

football a chance. This will enable the women’s game to grow and if more and more girls start to

play football, the women’s game will one day hopefully be on par with the men’s.

Thank you to Bethan Woolley and the rest of the staff at Staffordshire FA for putting on this

event. I hope more events like this take place in the very near future and I’d like the opportunity

to one day be involved with this to promote girls football. The festival was really successful and

there were smiles all round on the journey back home.

Chloe Walchester Y11

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MAC school Council Prayer Competition

As part of ongoing ways to develop our MAC, Christ the King Catholic Collegiate or CTKCC for short, the secondary and primary schools have established a MAC school council. This school council plans to meet regularly looking at ways all the 5 schools can work together to strengthen links and to all grow in faith together. After their first meeting the children decided that the MAC should have a MAC prayer that encompassed the ethos from all the separate schools but which also united them together in a collected love and worship of Jesus. They wanted the prayer to be about community, fellowship and teamwork. The MAC school council, made up of 2 Y4’s from the primaries and 2 Y8 boys from the secondary school decided to offer it out to all students as a competition. Each school was to then bring their winning school prayer. At the next meeting the school councillors looked through the 4 winning primary prayers and the 1 winning secondary prayer. They chose the lines and ideas they liked from each prayer and combined them together to produce one MAC prayer that united all the schools together. These prayers will now be decorated and produced for display in all the schools.

The picture shows the Y4 councillors from St Mary’s delivering the prayer to Y7 at St John Fisher Catholic College. Christ the King Catholic Collegiate consists of; St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Newcastle St Theresa’s Catholic Primary, Trent Vale; St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary, Hartshill; St Wulstan’s Catholic Primary, Wolstanton and St John Fisher Catholic college, Newcastle

IMPORTANT MESSAGE The government in their manifesto promises, had indicated that would remove the 50% cap on Catholic education allowing the Catholic Church to open new Catholic schools and safeguard the future of Catholic Education The government, under pressure from the secular society, are considering ditching this pledge. It is therefore extremely important that we lobby the government to keep their promises. If you click the link below it will take you 30 seconds to fill in a form which sends a letter to the secretary of state and your local MP. Please forward this link to anyone who can help with this important matter. http://www.catholiceducation.org.uk/guidance-for-schools/item/1003640-safeguard-the-future-of-catholic-education Adam Hardy, Birmingham Director of Education

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Mindfulness

During FLD Y7 took part in a Mindfulness session, learning some techniques to deal with the

stresses of everyday life. The students all created their own Power Shield for Loving Kindness &

they completed a Form appreciation chain.

The discussions & ideas that came from the session were brilliant.

Further Mindfulness sessions run weekly in the Chapel - all are

welcome.

Well done Y7!

Ms Gentle-Lloyd & Mrs Ayre.

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Year 10 Get To Work On Thursday 2nd November, the Mentoring team were delighted to take a select group of year 10 learners to PM Training for a day of hands on activities. PM Training is an apprenticeship training establishment which provides real workplace facilities for young people to learn key skills as part of study programmes and apprenticeship delivery. Our learners were able to observe and partake in a variety of trades and workshop sessions, such as painting/decorating and engineering. Learners embraced every second, from wearing overalls, to experiencing a ‘builder’s brew’. After the sessions, learners were able to discuss what opportunities are available to them after their GCSE’s. This was an enjoyable and valuable learning experience and learners left feeling motivated and inspired to achieve. We look forward to visiting PM training in the future. Miss Mountford

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Learn 2 Earn On Wednesday 11th October we were delighted to welcome Paul Philips from Staffordshire’s Young Enterprise Team to deliver their LEARN 2 EARN enrichment programme to a selected group of year 9 learners. This was also hosted by INTU Potteries duty manager Louise Gilbody. Through hands-on fun and practical activities, our learners explored what success means to them whilst Louise brought industry into the classroom. It was a truly inspiring day and our learners left feeling motivated, with an understanding of the skills they need to unlock their potential. Their behaviour and conduct during the day was superb and we look forward to seeing our year 9’s utilise the skills that they have acquired. Thank you Young Enterprise and INTU Potteries. Miss Mountford – Learning Mentor.

My Christmas story It was Christmas day and I woke up in deep crunchy snow, the sun was shining and I could not wait to get downstairs and see what Santa had brought for me under the tree. Presents were piled up to the ceiling. Chocolates, toys and Christmas cards too. I can smell breakfast when I came downstairs. It smells delicious and felt like heaven. I feel like I am in a dream and can’t wake up. My brothers and sister were excited that the wrapping paper was all over the floor. Our parents were proud because we were excited that we got all of our presents that we wanted. Our dogs were excited too, so when the wrapping paper got on the floor, they both ripped it to shreds. Harry Middlemiss 9H

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Learning Express Department

Find us in LE room 1 and LE room 2

Success Stories this year.

• Lunchtime Clubs e.g. Lego Club, Sewing and Art Club.

• Homework Support

• Morning Club

Praise and Congratulations Year 7 Catch-Up Learners who have completed Better Reading, Lexia Core 5 and Booster Maths. These interventions run for a full term so next term there will be a new set of target learners. For those learners who have completed their programme remember to keep reading and practising core maths skills e.g. times tables.

Merry Christmas from everyone in the

Learning Express Department!

Merry Christmas from Everyone at Lego Club

Well done! Year 10 Learners who are studying Construction, Animal Management,

Engineering and Food Technology every Wednesday at Reaseheath College. They are learning new skills for future careers,

gaining confidence, having fun and making new friends.

New for 2018 We will be having volunteer year

10 learners to mentor and support in Learning Express

during clubs.

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Dominic’s Christmas Yule log Ingredients

• 3eggs

• 100g caster sugar

• 75g plain flour

• 30g cocoa powder

• 300ml whipping cream

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Collect ingredients. Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.

Sieve and carefully fold in the flour and cocoa powder.

Pour the chocolate mixture onto a lined baking tray. Cook for approximately 10 minutes at 200⁰ C.

Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

The cooked product! Roll the warm sponge into a sausage shape so that it will mould easily.

Whipping cream is whisked and spread evenly onto the sponge and then gently rolled into a yule log shape.

Step 7 Step 8 Step 9

This fantastic Yule log was created at Reaseheath College by one of our Year 10 learners on day release, completing a Food Technology BTEC. Have a go and enjoy some Chocolate Indulgence!

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Helping out in the community. On Saturday 16th December in sub -zero temperatures, six of our young people went around the streets of Newcastle under Lyme delivering hot food, drinks and blankets to the homeless. As well as giving out these much needed basics they also took the time to stop and listen to the homeless people that they met. They sat and talked to them for a while and asked questions about their lives. All parents are really proud of their children for doing something so selfless this Christmas. The students were inspired by this year’s tag line of “Aspire not to have more but to be more” taken from Archbishop Romero as 2017 marks the centenary of his birth. We are extremely proud of our students and how they are truly living the tag line- giving up their Saturday night to really aim to “be more.” They are a credit to their families, the school and to themselves. Well done! Pictured below are the students: Taylor Young, Rowan Mellor, Finn Cooke and Tom Jones. Chloe Young also attended but is not present on the photograph.

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Carol Singing in Sainsbury’s

On Thursday 14th December some members of the SJF band and choir travelled along with Mrs Golds, Ms Hayes and Ms Rogers to the local Sainsbury’s store. There they entertained shoppers for an hour and a half singing carols. They sang everything from traditional carols such as “Away in a Manger” to modern classics such as “Rudolph the red nose reindeer!” They all had a great time and sang their socks off on the last song of “We wish you a Merry Christmas”. They were all blown away by the reaction and comments from the shoppers who remarked about how excellent the singing was and how lovely it was to see so many students singing some traditional carols. The event raised almost £200 which will be split between the music band tour in the summer and the PTFA which is fundraising for some more outdoor school equipment. We would like to thank Sainsbury’s at Newcastle for allowing us to come in to the store and for the selection boxes at the end! See you next year…. and next time we are coming dressed up! ☺

Falling Suddenly, there I was, swirling around inside a cloud! I watched, in amazement, other snowflakes forming. “Ahh, I’m falling” I yelled, and quickly shut my eyes. When I opened them again, I wasn’t falling but gently floating down. Dancing and twirling gracefully around the sky, I felt very light. Glancing around I noticed the bigger snowflakes were falling faster and some more clumsily than others. When I peered down I saw a cluster of lights, some gold, some white, some silver but all bright and sparkling in the dark. They gave me a comforting feeling. As I got closer I could hear soft tuneful singing that made me feel sleepy. Drifting past a window I peeked in and saw two small children opening a box with smiles on their faces. The next window I passed was open and had a delicious smell wafting out and when I looked in, there was a large family laughing and eating together. Landing gently on top of some other snowflakes, I sighed happily. “I wish Christmas will never be over” Isabel Hawkins 8J

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Christmas Poem

It’s snowing outside White snow nowhere out of sight.

Snow fights all around Everywhere in town.

The fire was on to warm us up,

As we wrapped up tight For a cold Christmas to come.

I woke up the next day and was cheering “Hip, hip hooray!”

Presents underneath the tree

And stockings filled up to the top. And Santa’s cookie and milk was gone.

We opened our presents From big to small,

They were amazing in all

From money, makeup, hamsters and toy pets We’re all filled with joy and smiles all around.

Family joined us for a Christmas feast With turkey and roast pudding

And delicious peas.

After that it was time to go And we waved and wished

“HO, HO, HO!” Millie Towner 8N

The Christmas Spirit

Time ticks slowly – he lets out a sigh, Awaiting for that special day to come by.

Snow flakes fall, cascading down, The young girls gathering their Christmas gowns.

A white Christmas spreads across the land The spirit of St Nicholas, lending a hand.

Presents being gifted, smiles being found, The snowman eternally standing their ground.

Every child is as good as can be,

Listening to the magical tales of Santa C. Being bad comes with a price

A sack of coal for those rolling the dice.

Ice skates, scarves and winter coats; Children sending off the letters that they wrote!

Every family gathering around a fire, Carols echoing from the local choir.

The warmth of the fire and the Christmas dinner,

The delicious meal, even for a sinner. Pushing the winter clouds to their very limit,

Snowing with every inch of their Christmas spirit. Y10 pupil

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CHRISTMAS IN AFRICA Christmas morning, what do I do? I open my presents, all shiny and new I walk down the stairs in anticipation After the night Father Christmas has visited the nation My stocking is filled to the brim and above Full of presents and toys; each one I love The table is laid with a turkey, so fat And I eat dinner with family, even the cat After dinner we laugh and play silly games And record all the memories with pictures in frames I may have a sleep, with my belly so full But looking back on the day not a moment was dull Christmas in Africa, what do they do? I’m sad to say, it’s nothing like me and you They don’t have a Santa, they don’t have gifts They don’t have a turkey or pretty snow drifts They wake at sunrise in their huts made of hay Wearing clothes that they’ve worn day after day Then they walk for hours, barefoot in the sun To collect dirty water for drinking, no fun Some children are orphans because their parents got sick So they don’t have a family to spend Christmas day with They eat from the limited crops they’ve been growing Nothing like our tables with food overflowing So Christmas in your house, what should you do? Say a prayer for the children in Africa too That their day be filled with peace and with joy And maybe you could also send them a toy.

K Y9

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The Trench Where did all the time go, why did I sign up? It’s too late now, I am here with slimy, brown mud up to my neck and frost bite on my toes. The chief of staff said winter would be a losing battle with our weak, bleeding bodies and he wasn’t joking: I miss Maya, I miss my loving family. It was the day of the signing and I was ready – pen in hand. The night before that me and Maya had a humungous fight just because she didn’t want me to get killed in what they said was war. I had to sleep on the kitchen floor that night, but that didn’t change my mind of signing up. My bag was packed and I was ready to sign and go. I went into kiss Maya but she turned away, a single tear rolled down her red rosy cheek. I stormed out of the house and shut the door in anger. As I shut the door I heard a scream of sorrow and loss. I just carried on walking knowing that if I had stayed longer I would have wept too. After I had signed and packed my rucsac they sent me and some other depressed looking men to the front line. She doesn’t know it, but I had packed a wedding photo of me and Maya on the grass on our farm, we were so happy then. I had also packed one of my dead father’s ties and my mother’s silver bracelet that I had made her. But now I have my gun in my hand four days later. All of a sudden, all the men climbed on top of the trenches so I joined in. That was a bad idea, now I’m lying on the floor, bodies all around me. my blood on my hands……. I don’t have long …. My last words are “I love you Maya, and Merry Christmas” ……. Olivia O’Dea 7N

Christmas Day

The man’s face, bloody and battered, a picture of pain, despair and long-lost hope. His comrades, although

scared stiff of what lies ahead, slowly step up from their drowned and depressed holes of mud and death.

His eyes, a canvas for the death days to follow, and the dead on the morrow; look up at the gleaming- white

flakes that fall on the forgotten grasses already blanketed in heavenly snow. Christmas is for love and

happiness; today couldn’t have been any different, as they trudged through the stagnant stench of death

and decay to their coffin like positions.

Terrified of the traumatic hours to come, he stood as still as a statue, not daring to breathe, not even blink.

Until a candle light like no other shone like a beacon of hope in a hopeless place. Two, three, now six dots in

a field of death, and then a voice, not a bit scared, scarred and saddening voice, but a hopeful, peaceful and

enlightening one: it began to sing, not of death, loss and pain, but of Christmas and a silent night, heaven on

earth.

Cautiously the man’s brightened and beautiful face peered over his post with a smile smeared over his face:

he also saw images of happiness and relief all popping out of their future graves. Laughing and smiling, they

all jumped up singing in their grubby, blooded and unclean uniforms. This was Christmas Day, and I – a robin -

tweeted my beautiful, festive tune.

Calum Griffiths 9T

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Christmas story For some people Christmas is just a normal day; they carry out the same routine. Well that’s me. I’ve been placed in a care home since I was 3 but I so desire to see my parents. Everywhere I look outside I can see Christmas lights, beautiful decorations and families together. Whereas inside my temporary home, which it has been for the previous 11 years, it’s the complete opposite, the walls are bland and everywhere is boring. This is now my 11th Christmas here and I’m sick of it.

Unexpectedly I heard a knock at the door and I was instantly filled with hope because someone could had come to retrieve me .It would be the best present anyone could ever ask for. All of the children scrambled down stairs to see who had come. Mrs. Hatry slowly opened the door; a tortoise could have opened it quicker! Standing still on the other side of the door was a tall man, who resembled a famous author, and a friendly, energetic looking woman. Their clothes looked quite expensive and very fashionable. One of their gloves is probably worth more than all of my possessions! Everybody was staring at them, like hawks, but they didn't look discomforted.

“We have been looking for a very special girl- who we left here a couple of years ago- her data number is 4763. Have you got her?" asked the woman politely. "I don’t know, come through this way and I’ll check" Mrs. Hatry miserably groaned. A couple minutes later, they returned with a look of despair across their faces and tears in their eyes. "Are you sure she’s not staying here Mrs. Hatry?" "I think so and I also think you should go now, bye" Mrs. Hatry replied very unhelpfully. As the couple left, everyone returned to normal and I grumpily went back to my simple, spiritless and stuffy bedroom. Unfortunately we don’t know our data numbers but I’ve narrowed it down over the many years that I’ve stayed here. A few days passed and I could not forget the couple, unlike everyone else, but I knew I must not dwell on it. Yet, to my surprise I heard knocking once again. I dashed straight down from my bedroom, and gladly saw the couple again. Mrs. Hatry moaned, “Why are you here again?" "Because you made a mistake, 4763 is here and we would love to retrieve her right this moment”, the man responded. “Fine, I’ll look again" While Mrs. Hatry double checked, there was a long pause. We were all anxiously waiting, including the couple. Suddenly I got beckoned into her office. Was this my chance? "Mia", Mrs. Hatry uttered," these are your parents, go and collect your thi..." Mrs. Hatry was slightly interrupted by my mother,"Miaaaaaaaaaa!" she yelled "I’m so glad we found you, we have been looking for years."

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I’m so shocked that I can’t pronounce anything. These are MY parents. Before I bolted up to collect my belongings quickly greeted them I didn't bother saying goodbye to anyone; no one liked me anyway. “So we have 11 years to catch up with, what would you like to do first?” my Father asked inquisitively. “Ice skating" I replied, I’ve never done it before! But first can we please get a hot chocolate, as I’ve heard that they are exceptionally tasty?" "Of course" they both replied in unison, “whatever you wish, you’re going to have the time of your life this Christmas, we promise." Over the past few days, I’ve accomplished 1000 times more than I’d ever expected. I’ve encountered all but one, of my family members and I’m meeting her very soon. As I’ve been rudely but unintentionally listening to my parents conversations, I was expecting to see her on Christmas day. I could barely sleep last night, partly due to that tomorrow is my 4th Christmas, which is not spent in the care home and also the anticipation of meeting this ‘mystery’ relative. The following morning I woke up with a massive grin on my face, and I sleepily sprinted, still in my silver sleeping-gown into my parent’s room. Not to my surprise, they explained that a woman called Mrs. Lisa Hatry was waiting for me downstairs. I briskly walked down, and there was a woman perched by the fire. Whilst I entered, the warmth tried to escape the cosy room. But most importantly, is this Mrs. Hatry from the care home? She glanced over her shoulder but managed to have a good look at me; a few moments later she said that she remembered seeing me once as a child, and she regretted not seeing me again. While she turned around to face me, I luckily realised that she wasn't Mrs. Hatry from the care home; she was too old to be her! But she could be her Mother ... Because my family is so caring, they tried to ease me into meeting new relatives, because they don’t want me to feel over whelmed but Lisa accidentally told me that she was my grandmother! She stated that she had brought me a very special, latest- edition Christmas present to try to make up for not seeing me enough but she knew that it would not cut it, everybody did. This year I received amazing gifts and I never would have expected any of it. The meal was amazing as well as desert, I could eat it all again! Meanwhile we were eating; I seemed to always be the Centre of the conversations, apart from a few occasions. At one point, I quickly wondered what I would be doing if my parents hadn't turned up at the care home. Gradually everyone departed and I felt tired again. There was now just me, Mum and Dad left and we all ascended upstairs to bed. Before I could allow myself to sleep, I replayed the last week over in my mind and I appreciated everything. Emma Day 8H

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THE ROBIN

Cold. It was so cold; the warmth of my feathers was not enough. I stood on the clock tower and watched them. The cold hurt me as if I was poisoned: it was incurable. Not any one of them was showing any signs of anger or irritation - I was in awe. Like me they were wrapped up in layers of warmth but instead ignored the cold as I fought back. As it was night, the darkness invaded but the luminous lights set the gloom ablaze. The vibrant, glowing lights attracted many others to the market while the snow poured down. I flew down onto the colossal fir tree, which watched over the market, and stood clutched onto it; it gave me a much clearer view. My senses tingled as I was hit with: tastes, sounds and sights. The freshly baked mince pies were laid out just for me to take: I flew down and took a nibble of the scrumptious pie – it was delicious. The stalls were layered with snow at the top and filled with many goods. There were people singing merry carols and songs; it filled the market with enjoyment and delight. There were many fir trees not the size of the vast leader, but smaller in size. Ornaments on the fir trees were amazing and made a vivid appearance. The clock tower blared gently as it struck 9 o’clock. Cars all lined up in ordered rows were being cloaked with snow. Engines of the cars flared opposing the cold as the snow kept falling. Their tyres squelched through the mud and snow as they looked for a way out. Lights of the market turned off; lights of the car turned on – it was time to go. Following a regular old car, I wondered where they were off to. They stopped next to a small bungalow, which was covered in vibrant luminous lights and snowmen around it. as I looked inside the cheerful little house, there was a fire gently raging in the fireplace. It gave out splendid warmth even through the rectangle window. A miniature fir tree was placed in the centre of the room and was decorated with many colourful baubles with lights – it was the centre of attention. Giant crimson stockings were hung up on top of the fireplace and they were filled with utmost joy. Decorations invaded the room and presents were laid down under the fir tree. The children’s faces lit up with excitement as they ran around the tree. My amber feathers turned to ice as the snow kept on falling. I was aware of my surroundings and felt the cold spreading; the heat from my feathers was protecting me now and I felt warm again. The cold was shut out and suddenly the snow stopped falling. I was finally cured from the poisoning pain. I flew up into the air and soared through the sky. I finally knew what Christmas was like. Akhil Suresh 9N

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The Magic Bauble

It was just a normal snowy day 2 days before Christmas day and Emma and Parys were decorating their Christmas tree. They put all their special baubles on the tree. Emma reached in to find the very last bauble at the bottom of the box. She passed it to Parys, who looked at it very carefully, “This is a special bauble Emma, it tells the future” Parys whispered “How does it I bet it’s just a bauble” Parys looked at Emma she pressed the top of the bauble quite lightly and looked at Emma excitedly. Exactly 60 seconds later Santa popped up on the bauble with Parys and Emma talking to him. “Believe me now” Parys said with a smug look on her face” “kind of but how do I know it’s true” Parys looked at Emma and looked back at the bauble “because that will happen on Christmas Eve night when Santa comes it’s not going to happen tonight silly Santa doesn’t come early. “Wake up Emma I can hear something on the roof” “Parys it’s probably a bird go back to sleep” “if you come look with me you can finally see if I’m telling the truth about the bauble” “fine lets go”. Parys was climbing onto the roof eagerly; Emma was stumbling up following Parys track half asleep. Emma suddenly heard jingle bells then Parys ran over to nine reindeers and a very bright red light she started naming them; Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Vixen, Prancer, Donner, Dasher, Blitzen and then she shouted ROULDOLF. Santa stumbled carefully from around the chimney. “SANTA” they both screamed excitedly. Santa startled and slipped and fell on his bum. CRASH. “Opps sorry Santa” Parys said “I’ve got a present for you Santa I wrapped it myself”. Santa collected the present from Parys’ hands and carefully unwrapped it. “Oh that’s very sweet of you Parys I love this red bag with blue patterns on” “it’s for all the presents you deliver” “oh girls right I have to be off now you get back into bed and you may have a little surprise in the morning I better go and deliver the rest of these presents bye girls see you soon” “bye Santa” they said together. “OMG I can’t believe I just saw Santa I will believe you next time Parys” Emma said as they got in to bed “night Parys” “night Emma”. As the girls went back to bed Santa finished delivering his presents the time went faster and faster the girls woke up early in the morning at around 6:00am and ran downstairs. 2 massive piles of presents were sitting next to the fireplace they opened them one by one. Their dreams had come true they got everything they wanted and saw Santa. “This is the best Christmas ever Parys” “I know” Parys and Emma woke up on Christmas morning ran downstairs and saw two massive sacks of presents under the chimney they sat down and started opening the presents they got everything they wanted.

Millie Leech 9N

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Pupil absence line If your child is ill

please ring the

school pupil

absence line 01782

346333 – which is

available 24 hours

a day. Don’t forget

to send a note in

when your child

returns after an

absence.

School Terms and Holiday Dates 2017 / 2018

Spring Term 2018

Staff & Pupils: Monday 8 January – Friday 16 February

Holiday: Monday 19 February – Friday 23 February

Staff & Pupils: Monday 26 February – Thursday 29 March

Holiday: Friday 30 March – Friday 13 April

Easter Sunday: Sunday 1 April

Summer Term 2018

Staff & Pupils: Monday 16 April – Friday 25 May

May Day: Monday 7 May

Holiday: Monday 28 May – Friday 1 June

Staff & Pupils: Monday 4 June – Friday 20 July

Holiday: Monday 23 July – Friday 31 August

School Terms and Holiday Dates 2018 / 2019

Autumn Term 2018

Staff Monday 3 September – Friday 26 October

Pupils Wednesday 5 September – Thursday 25 October

Holiday (pupils) Friday 26 December – Monday 5 November

Holiday (staff) Monday 29 October – Friday 2 November

Staff Monday 5 November – Friday 21 December

Pupils Tuesday 6 November – Friday 21 December

Holiday Monday 24 December – Friday 4 January

Spring Term 2019

Staff & Pupils Monday 7 January – Friday 15 February

Holiday Monday 18 February – Friday 22 February

Staff & Pupils Monday 25 February – Friday 12 April

Holiday Monday 15 April – Friday 26 April

Easter Sunday Sunday 21 April

Summer Term 2019

Staff & Pupils Monday 29 April – Friday 24 May

May Day Monday 6 May

Holiday Monday 27 May – Friday 31 May

Staff & Pupils Monday 3 June – Friday 19 July

Holidays Monday 22 July – Friday 30 August

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Editor:

Ms J Rogers

Articles contributed by staff and students Compiled by Mrs R Edwards

The newsletter is available in full colour on the school website. If you would like the

newsletter in a printed format, please let the office know.

Ashfields New Road Newcastle Staffs ST5 2SJ Tel 01782 615636 Fax 01782 346339

E: headteacher@ctkcc.co.uk or office@ctkcc.co.uk Web site: http://www.saintjohnfishercc.co.uk/ Twitter: @sjfcc