I believe Christmas is in the air! There certainly is a
fair bit of excitement in the College. The St Boniface’s Carol service and the
Science Christmas Show last week along with 2 evenings of Panto and Concerts this
week, Wednesday and Thursday, all add to the festive feel. Nonetheless school
work will continue right up to 1.35 on Friday 20th December when we
break up. Being somewhat of a scrooge character until the holidays actually
begin I feel that each and every lesson is important and school life will
continue as normally as we possibly can, homework will be set for completion
over the Christmas break.
On the subject of
homework staff at the College are encouraging/making boys use their planners to
write their homework in. I have had several contacts from parents commenting
that when they look at the planners there are no entries for subjects. When I
then challenge staff it more often than not transpires that homework has been
set but that it has not been put into the planner. Could I ask you to please
check planners on a weekly basis – please do get in contact if there are gaps –
I would much rather there be a case of pupils not entering the homework into
planners than find none being set.
I have also needed to take a firm line on boys who persistently
amble into College after the 8.50 start. Not only do these pupils miss out on
their education but they also disrupt the learning of others by arriving late –
this cannot be tolerated. As such starting on Monday I have asked that pupils
who continue to be persistently late receive a full 1 hour detention with me
after school. I am fully aware that buses can run late, morning traffic
problems occur and just the general hurly burly of getting out of the house
sometimes can cause problems – these actions are not targeted at the odd case
but far more at regular and persistent offenders. We cannot allow educational
standards to drop. Time management is an important part of growing up.
Anyway onto happier notes – I was very proud and pleased
to be able to attend the commissioning of 5 of our students to be Eucharistic ministers
at St Peter’s last Sunday. I am positive that the pupils will serve in a way
that reflects the importance of the position and wish them all well on their
individual journeys. As a staff we were also fortunate enough last week to have
a staff liturgy arranged by year 11 pupils in our chapel - again huge thanks to those pupils who not
only arranged the liturgy for staff but also act as the bedrock for our student
Christian Union group. It really is much appreciated.
It was a real pleasure to see so many pupils and parents
at the Year 11 parent teacher evening last week. I hope that as parents you
were able to get answers to any questions you had and received encouraging news
regarding academic progress along with areas
to develop.
Next week I shall be sending home the Christmas
newsletter so please do ask your son for it. I do hope you can make it to the College
Panto and Concert, starts at 7, and would love to see you there.
It’s that time of the year again…oh yes
it is!!....
Mr Trimmer and Mr Ousey would like to
invite you to this year's festive Christmas Musical Concert and Pantomime, to
be held in the College's Main Hall on Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th of
December 2013, starting at 7pm.
'Come all ye faithful' and begin
your Christmas with good cheer from the talented young men of St Boniface's
Catholic College. Enjoy classic musical highlights during the first half and in
the second half an explosion of Dickensian cheer, the Pantomime ‘What The Dickens’, written by one
of our past pupils, Peter Simpson.
Tea and seasonal food will be sold by
Mrs Polson’s GCSE Catering Class and the PTFA, during a short interval.
We do hope you can attend this
wonderful occasion. Tickets are available from the College office for a
voluntary donation.
Mr Trimmer, Head of Drama
I am very pleased to report that St. Boniface’s College
is now accredited to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Thanks to the hard
work of Mr Claricoates we will soon have our own DofE group running!
A.
Davies
All Years –
PE Dept
A few photos from the Panda knitting club can be found
below – a diverse education!
Year 7 – Miss Beales
One week left of school and you can cut the
tension with a knife as students are kept in suspense of who will receive the
achievement awards in this term’s “Achievement Assembly” on Tuesday. As a year
group, I have been so incredibly proud of your achievements boys and I very
much look forward to celebrating your successes on Tuesday! (There is also a
very special treat for the students from our Pastoral Team!)
I would like to take this opportunity to say
a real heart felt “Thank You” to all who supported and attended our Carol
Service on Sunday. It was a really lovely service and gave us all a chance to
reflect on the important message of advent. Special thanks particularly to our
readers, Tom, Joe and Jamie who read so eloquently, well done boys.
Out of school
activities and well done mentions this week go to Luke R in 7B, who is playing
for Torquay Elite Football Team and Tom Mitch for making the West Devon Cricket
Team! Also, well done to Joe L-G (7K) who has been working on a community event
at Devils Point, Josh B (7K) for his excellent diving at the Life Centre and
George W (7K) for his effort in winning for Plympton AFC last Saturday. Also
regarding football, Mason W (7G) scored two cracking goals for his team on
Saturday! Keeping to the theme of being a Good Samaritan this week, well done
to Leon S (7E) for his 5K Charity run and well done to a very modest Taylor K
(7E) who qualified for the Devon Football Team, such a great achievement!
Finally, Kallum B (7V) received a Bronze Medal for a diving competition at the
Life Centre, well done Kallum and Bill D (7V), had a great result in his
fencing competition coming 9th out of 20! Well done to all who were
mentioned this week!
This week our assembly was such a thought
provoking theme based on community and the Good Samaritan. Presented by Mr
Ramage and Miss Heduvan, we watched the video footage from the Barcelona
Olympics in 1992. Derek
Redmond tore his hamstring in the 400 metres semi-final but continued the race
limping and, with assistance from his father, managed to complete a full lap of
the track as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. The incident has become a
well-remembered moment in Olympic history, having been the subject of one of
the International Olympic Committee’s 'Celebrate Humanity' videos. This gave
the students the opportunity to reflect on their learning and being a Good
Samaritan in lessons and in their personal lives. It was such a lovely
assembly, thank you to all of those involved. I was also able to give the
students some well-deserved recognition for just that, including our three
students who read in the Carol Service and also to Daryl R (7B) who has been
improving dramatically with his phonics during intervention with Mrs. Hill in the
Library. Well done boys.
We had the OAP Christmas Party on Thursday
12th December. This was run and organised by the Sixth Form team and students,
and this year we had some of our Year 7’s helping distribute gifts and mince
pies to our guests. (See attached photographs!) Well done to Lorenzo, Leon,
George and Kiegan for being such great sports and dressing up as Santa’s little
helper elves! Also, a big thank you to all who kindly donated gifts, the OAP’s
were so thrilled with such an array of gifts and mince pies!
Some final reminders please for the last week
of term;
·
Don’t forget this year’s Christmas Concert and Pantomime, “What
the Dickens!” (An exceptionally loose adaptation of Charles Dickens’,
“A Christmas Carol”!). This year’s pantomime is written by an exceptional
former student, Peter Simpson, so is one not to be missed! (Oh no, it’s not!).
The pantomime will be on the 18th and 19th of December
and you should’ve received a letter home with have full details of how you can
snap up your tickets before they sell out! There are a number of Year 7
students involved this year, both on stage and behind the scenes, so please
come along and show your support. There will also be a raffle and refreshments
to raise money for our fantastic on-going PTFA “Project Motiv-8” and any
donations towards the raffle will be gratefully received.
Miss Beales – Head of Year 7/ Christmas Quiz
Winner 2013!
Year 7 -
A team of 8 students from year 7 travelled to the Life Centre on Wednesday to take part in the annual Plymouth schools basketball tournament. The lads played exceptionally well considering it was the first time the team had been together, coming third overall. Two impressive wins against All Saints and Stoke Damerel, two closely fought draws against Plymstock and Coombe Dean and a narrow loss to a very good (and tall) Ivybridge team. Many congratulations to Marcin K, Sam Y, Taylor K, Freddie D, James H, Tom M, JJ and Luke R. Thank you to Mr Claricoates for driving the minibus and to all the parents who came to support. The lads conducted themselves in an excellent manner and were a credit to St Boniface!
Mr James
Where has the time gone! I don’t know about
you but I still have cards to write, presents to buy, carol services to
perform, awards evenings and pantomimes to attend aarrggh, but by hook or by
crook I’m sure I will get there. “Oh no you won’t”, “Oh yes I will”.
As you may have gathered it is pantomime
season, and next Wednesday and Thursday evening is the school concert and
pantomime, tickets available from reception, come and support your sons or
their friends who may be performing.
Thanks to the lads who helped to arrange our
annual OAP party – mainly 6th form and to some of our lads who
helped make it an enjoyable occasion, thanks also to those who attended our
annual college carol service held at St Peter Church last Sunday which always
helps us to focus our thoughts on the real meaning of Christmas.
This week is our last school week of the year
with lots still going on both during and after the school day so no time to
relax yet - all systems go until we reach the finishing post – 1-35 Next Friday
(20th Dec). Until then good luck with all the pre-Christmas
preparations I am sure I will bump into many of you in town as we scurry around
looking for those last minute presents.
Mrs Mcloughlin
Year 10
Our College Chaplain – Ms Chapman – emailed me this week
to let me know a ‘thank you’ certificate from CAFOD
for the £180.99 raised. Ms Chapman commented “I know this was a school effort
but it was your year group that initiated this - so thank you to you and your
year group.”
David K received his music result on Friday - 75% for
ABRSM Grade 3 - a super achievement!
George B managed to raise a staggering £453.10 for
Shelterbox by performing a sponsored swim – well done!
We’re really excited about
Christmas concert and pantomime this week! There are a number of Year 10
students involved in the pantomime “What The Dickens?” – so a big well done and
good luck to: Noah B, Owen B, Tavien P, Scott C!
Also in the festive spirit are
the Year 10 GCSE Catering students – who have been busy preparing a meal for 60
guests at this year’s OAPs Christmas Party! The event was a great
success! Well done again boys!
Mr Scott
Year
11
It was great to see so many year
11 parents attend the parents evening on Tuesday. The evening went well and I for one enjoyed
the opportunity to meet and chat with some parents that I hadn’t seen for quite
a while. A number of the boys in year 11
are involved in the preparation of the Christmas pantomime and concert. Tickets are still available for the two
performances on the Wednesday and Thursday of the last week of term. Carrying on with the thespian theme, it is
so pleasing to see Andrew not only finding the
time to take a significant part in this year’s pantomime production but to also
play the role of Thenadier in Les Miserables at the Lipson Muse Theatre
with the Wranglers Theatre Company from 18th-22nd of February
2014. ‘Break a leg’ Andrew! The lead
presenter in last Friday’s assembly was Debbie from the Apprenticeship Skills
Council. Debbie gave the boys
invaluable advice on how to go about getting an apprenticeship and what to be
aware of, as well as how to avoid all
the various pitfalls that may exist in trying to secure a good training
contract with a reputable firm.
Mr Redfern
This week has
been a busy week for the sixth form culminating in the fantastic Old Peoples
Party on Thursday. Meetings have taken place with year 11s about places in the
sixth form next year. Many have had a very mature approach to their studies and
are gathering all the information required, others have not started looking at
their future. If your son has missed his appointment or you require further
information then please do contact Mr Tew at the College.
On Friday we
have a talk from Babcock about apprenticeships in the sixth form. It is
important that as a sixth former all the options available are explored.
University is not the only option. Many firms are looking to recruit higher
apprentices before they go to University. This is worth exploring along with
the Year in Industry scheme.
UCAS deadline is
the end of term, a few students are left to apply. If you require further
information on the application process or funding then contact me at the
College.
The Old Peoples
party is an annual event hosted by the sixth form. Too many individual names
helped out to mention. Special mention must go to Colin and Steve for the jokes
and pulling it all together. The music was outstanding along with the
exceptional food prepared by Mrs Polson and her class. The elves from year 7
danced and looked cute. It was great to see Mr Davies at the party. Special
mention to Dan for organising it with Mrs Cox who always puts in hours of work.
The Santas, Macauley and Mr Budge handed out presents both exceptionally good
Santas but lacking beards..This is a very special event and the care and warmth
shown by the students was exceptional. They listened, helped, talked, and
played Bingo. Each and every student represented the College and themselves
with pride. They gave back to the community in a time when young people are
often much criticised, such people should come and see what these young
students do without the need for praise.
Mr Tew
Lord Jesus Christ, who is, who was, and who is to come, we
pray for the virtue of hope,
that amidst the trials and difficulties of this world, we
may keep our hearts fixed upon you,
who reigns over the
cosmos. May your grace enliven us, strengthen us, and defend us,
as we await your
coming in glory.
Amen
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