CTK NEWS
Inside this issue:
CTK Cats 1
Art & Design 2
Athletics 3
DoE 4
Puzzle Club 5
CTK Elections 6
Eurovision & Drama 7
Chaplaincy News 8-9
Timetable 10
Sport 11
Technology 12-13
Moe Edwards 14-15
Dear parents
This is as always an incredibly
short half-term, however many
of our students have started
their public examinations and
are working incredibly hard! I
know that this can be a very
stressful time for parents and
carers too and I would like to
thank you for the support that
you have given to your child
during these last few weeks
and months.
I would like to make you
aware of two major changes
that will take place in
September. The timings for
the school day will change in
September and you will
receive a letter detailing those
changes very soon. In addition,
there have been some slight
adjustments to the School
uniform, in particular,
regarding girls’ skirts. In due
course, you will receive a letter
which outlines the details of
these changes and if you have
any queries, please do not
hesitate to contact school.
Finally, may I wish you all a
very restful half term break
with your family and friends
and I look forward to
welcoming our students back
in June.
Best wishes
Carlo Cuomo
Dates for the Diary
Half Term 23rd May—31
May
Y10 History Trip Galleries of
Justice
Y12/13 A Level PE
Moderation Day
English Schools Athletics
Championships at Harvey
Hadden
Also available online at www.christtheking.notts.sch.uk
May 2015
The CTK Cats went to a competition last weekend in
Leicester. The girls gained 2nd, 3rd and 4th place trophies!
Year 7 ‘youth level 1’ team.
Back row L-R:
Francesca Dowson,
Bryony McDonnell,
Rebekah May,
Julia Zebrowska,
Kate Kusztal
Front row L-R:
Georgia
Richardson, Floran
Steeples, Louise
Flavin, Jagoda
Walaszczyk
CTK Cats
Our school is looking forward to this year’s A level Art Exhibition held in the Main Hall.
There will be an Open Evening on Tuesday 23rd June for students, friends, family and
the wider school community to celebrate the achievements of our amazing young artists.
The evening starts at 6.30pm and ends at 8.30pm. Light refreshments are available and
there will be live music performed by our own students.
Please show your support and come and have an enjoyable evening.
Mr McGahey Head of Art and Design
Art & Design
Athletics
On Tuesday 12th May, the Gedling School’s Athletics Championships took place at
Grantham Athletics Track and Christ the King was crowned winner of the overall event.
All of the schools in Gedling attended including Christ the King, Redhill, Arnold Hill,
Colonel Frank Seely and Carlton le Willows. The aim of the event was for the top two
students in each event to go through to represent Gedling at the County Schools Athletics
Finals. Each student gained points for where they finished in their event and these points
were added up to give a prize for the best school team in Gedling.
In 2014, 11 students from CTK finished in the top two in their event and went on to
represent Gedling at the County Championships. This year, a record 23 studnets finished
in the top two in 27 events which meant they qualified for the next round.
Also, for the first time in the school’s history, we won the Gedling Championships and
defeated all of the other schools in the district. This is a fantastic achievement and
testament to the efforts of the staff and the students in raising the profile of PE and Sport
around the local area.
Below is a list of the 23 students (and their event) who made it through to represent
Gedling:
Maya Hyacienth (100m and Long Jump)
Rosie Hoyle (800m)
Francesca Bertolaso (High Jump)
Eve O’Connor Ellis (Shot)
Niall Simpson (100m and 200m)
Sam Richardson (1500m)
Josh Parker (Long Jump and Discus)
Dominik Blazejowski (Discus)
Isaac Barker (Javelin)
Asha Stewart (200m and Long Jump)
Beth Harrison (High Jump)
Maria - Luisa Cursino Da Silva (Shot)
R-Marnie Williams (Discus)
Georgina Musson (Discus)
Charlie Bonser (Hurdles)
Emmnauel Fadeyi (100m)
Jermaine Williams (200m)
Tre Hendricks (Triple Jump and 200m)
James Dwyer (300m)
Jordan Mills (800m)
Charlie Hill (Long Jump)
Cami Makunganya (Long Jump)
Georgia Clarke (3000m)
Stephanie Morrell (1500m)
Mr Riding, Head of PE
DoE Award Practice Expeditions
Two recent weekends have seen the practice
expeditions for our Bronze and Silver Duke of
Edinburgh groups, led by Mr Bull, Miss Craven and
Mr Gallagher. Both took place in, or on the southern
fringes of, the Peak District, and attendees enjoyed the
usual mix of weather that would be expected in the
UK’s oldest National Park.
The first expedition was for our Bronze candidates,
who were split into teams to follow three different
routes over two days, camping overnight at the scenic
Haddon Grove Campsite, lying just to the north of
Lathkill Dale. The first day saw sunny spells and
scattered showers and, unsurprisingly, a few missed
turnings from some of the groups. Nevertheless, all the teams
navigated their way successfully to the campsite before dark, pitched their tents and
wolfed down a filling stove-cooked meal. Overnight temperatures dropped to below
freezing, leaving tents with a frosting of ice in the morning. Thankfully the Sunday was
much more pleasant than the Saturday and students soon warmed up as they headed to
the finish at Ashford-in-the-Water. The map-reading on display on the Sunday was much
improved, with groups eager to avoid the detours their lack of attention had led them to
the previous day.
The following Bank Holiday weekend saw our 18 Silver candidates split into three teams
to camp for two nights and walk for two days. Arriving at the well-equipped Birchwood
Farm campsite on the Saturday evening students were greeted by a demoralising drizzle
that got steadily worse overnight, meaning students had to pack up their tents, cook
breakfast and prepare for a long day’s walk in torrential rain. Full credit must go to all
the students who didn’t utter a word of complaint, worked together as a unit and got on
with the task at hand. They were rewarded at lunchtime when the sun came out and
began to dry them off for the walk north-west towards the campsite at Winster. There
were a few errors with the map-reading by all groups
but generally their navigation skills had held up well.
All groups were pitched up by about 5pm, giving them
time to take in the panoramic views afforded to them
at the campsite as the sun set. The Monday morning
saw a continued improvement in the weather, and all
three expedition groups made hay whilst the sun
shone to reach the finish point near Brassington early.
The Silver teams must be commended for their
excellent attitude across the weekend, supporting
each other in their endeavours and maintaining a
positive and cheerful frame of mind at all times. Thanks must also go to the parent/
guardian supervisors, Alex Hoyle, Owen Moore, Stuart Wright, Laura Hennessy, Kuljeet
Singh-Soar and Scott Thomas who provided invaluable help on both weekends, meeting
students at checkpoints and helping on the campsite.
Mr Gallagher, Geography/History Teacher
All of the Bronze Groups
The Silver Squad Assemble
Maths
Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad and Kangaroo (IMOK)
Roma Ellis and Isaac Dixon competed in the IMOK Kangaroo and Olympiad.
Isaac Dixon in Year 9 achieved a commendable Merit for his IMOK Cayley. This round is
for the best 500 students in the country in his year group. Isaac received a UKMT keyfob
and a certificate.
Roma Ellis in Year 10 sat the Intermediate Kangaroo. Around 4500 students sat the
paper, and Roma achieved a certificate of participation and a keyfob.
Congratulations to Isaac and Roma for having qualified for these stages.
Mrs Leigh, Director of Learning
The people have spoken and the results
were announced of the mock election held
at CTK on Friday 1st May. Year 9 to 13
students voted for candidates representing
four political parties having had
assemblies including a “Question Time”
style debate
highlighting
the core issues.
The four student candidates, supported
by staff members, did an outstanding
job drawing on their thorough research
to be able to clearly explain their party
view to their peers.
CTK Elections
Year 9 Oliver Hill, Liberal
Democrat candidate, casts his vote.
Winning tactics? Year 9
Nathan Bull supports his
candidate to victory.
After a close fought
campaign, the final count
returned Year 9 Oliver
Hill (Liberal Democrat)
as the winning
candidate.
Year 13 Cameron
McGrath, Conservative party
candidate, casts his vote.
It was a remarkably tight victory with only 3 votes separating the
top three parties reflecting the passion and quality of all the
candidates. “The real winners” said Mr Wilson, staff helper for the
Green Party team, “are all the students voting” as CTK students
took a real interest in the election, actively debating the issues and
comparing views.
It was interesting to contrast the CTK results with that of the
General Election. As a CTK Conservative team member remarked;
“We may have lost the battle, but we won the war”, Matthew
Allwood Year 13.
Mrs Bassett, Head of Citizenship KS3 & 4
Eurovision comes to CTK
Eurovision came to CTK on Friday 8th May,
when a group of staff performed classic tunes
from the European singing contest to a packed
hall of Students. The event was organised in
aid of the Disaster Emergency Committee’s
Nepal earthquake appeal, and staff and pupils
were extremely generous, raising £180 in total.
One of the event helpers was Suleman Salim
in Year 8. He says: ‘ I wanted to help
because I saw how the people in Nepal were
struggling, and I wanted to put 110% effort
into helping them, and the Eurovision
contest was a great fun way of doing this’.
Mrs Dennis, MFL Teacher
Y12 Performance Evening took place and a huge thank you to all staff and parents who
came to support the students involved. Good luck to Aiden, Jess and James and let’s hope
and pray for fabulous results.
Well done to Year 11 for a brilliant practical examination day. A lot of hard work was put
in by all Year 11 Drama students and yet again, produced some outstanding
performances.
Good luck to all Year 11 Drama students in their forthcoming exams.
We bid a fond farewell to Year 13 A Level Drama students. Charlie-Dawn Sadler, Megan
Leask-Walters and Inez Dudek. Good luck in your exams!
Huge congratulations to Charlie-Dawn Sadler and Megan Leask-Walters for gaining a
place at Drama School. Both girls went through a rigorous audition process around the
country and have been successful in gaining places at Northampton University to study
BA Acting. Well done to both of you!
Please follow the Drama Dept on Twitter for rehearsal updates, performance information
and sneaky peeks at drama lessons @CTKDrama.
Mrs Stanley, Drama Teacher
Drama
Where has this term gone? It feels like we have only got started and here we are at the end
of it already! What a great term it has been, though very short.
Born for this
Technically this happened before Easter
however, as it was before the deadline for the
last newsletter. This liturgy was by far my
proudest moment as Lay Chaplain to date. The
Drama Academy brought the stations of the
cross to life with beautiful singing, acting and
movement. You could hear a pin drop in the
Church as the whole Academy community
watched awe struck at the great sacrifice Our
Lord made for us. Mr Cuomo was very
emotional as were most of the staff! Fr Joe
Wheat organised, co-directed, played, sang and
did all sorts to bring this to life. Without his
hard work and guidance it would not have been possible. I cannot put into words how
incredible it was and that it was all done in just one day of rehearsals is even more
spectacular.
Goodbye Year 11 & 13
It has been a very emotional few weeks at CtK as
we have said ‘goodbye’ to our lovely Year 11s and
Year 13s in one week, both days saying goodbye
with Mass. The Year 11 leavers Mass was
celebrated by Fr Robbie who described life at CtK
as a pilgrimage to a holy place, “we have walked
together over many years and know it is time to
begin our journey
back into the world.”
Fr Neil celebrated
the Year 13 Mass in
the Chapel. He reminded them of the call to be apostles,
that we are now sent off into the world like the apostles
were and Christ is always with us. Both Masses were
organised by the students, and were true celebrations of
their time here and thanking God for his wonderful work.
I will personally be very sad to say good bye to these two
year groups. Year 11 was the first group that I took to The
Briars and I know I will have many fond memories for years
to come of our time there together. Year 13 are truly
wonderful men and women. The Mass we celebrated was
beautiful, relaxed and happy, just like them. I know they
are going to achieve throughout their lives.
Chaplaincy News
Primary School Visits
This time of year means lots of primary school visits! We have started our rounds of
visiting the students who are coming to us in September, as well as visiting Year 4 and
Year 5 pupils to invite them in with their parents to see the school well in advance in
order to make the big change less daunting. It is always a pleasure to visit these great
places and receive such a warm welcome every time. I look forward to many more next
term.
A New Bishop
Nottingham has been without a Bishop since 1st May 2014 when
Bishop Malcolm became the Archbishop of Liverpool. Since then
the Diocese has been cared for by Monsignor Canon Tom McGovern
as the Diocesan Administrator. On Thursday 14th May it was
announced that our Holy Father Pope Francis had appointed Right
Reverend Monsignor Canon Patrick McKinney of the Archdiocese
of Birmingham as the 10th Bishop of Nottingham. Mgr McKinney
is currently parish priest of Our Lady and All Saints in Stourbridge
in Dudley. I know of the great work that is happening in this
parish through friends and am very excited about him coming to
Nottingham. We are very blessed to have Mgr McKinney as our
new Bishop. He is a very caring and passionate Parish Priest, a great teacher and is
committed to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. He is an apostle for the 21st
Century. Mr Cuomo and I have written to Mgr McKinney to welcome him to the diocese
and have invited him to come to the School next year to get to know us better.
Please keep him in your prayers through these next few months as he prepares for his
Ordination on Friday 3rd July and this new ministry in Nottingham.
Fundraising
The parishioners at the Good Shepherd Church organised a St George’s Day pub quiz to
help our Lourdes students. It was a very fun evening, the staff team came 2nd and we
raised £272!
Many of our musicians played in the Nottinghamshire Catholic Schools Gala Concert
with students from the Becket, Trinity and All Saints. The great talent of our student
was wonderful to see. The school band performed Miss Craven’s arrangements of
Waterloo Sunset and Skyfall which was accompanied by some beautiful singing. We also
had solo and duet performances from Lizzie Harrison on the piano, played with skill that
amazed everyone; Amy Hoyle’s incredible classical guitar performance; Grace Hodgett-
Young’s beautiful performance of Impossible with Madison Moss-Hayes on the guitar;
and finally the brother and sister medley from Sam and Bethan Jones. The money raised
was for the sick and retired priest’s fund with £1000 raised!
Prayer Request
Please also keep me in your prayers, on Saturday 23rd May I will be getting married! I
know myself and the future Mrs Hopkins would appreciate your prayers as we begin
married life together.
Have a wonderful half term.
Joe Hopkins
Lay Chaplain
Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri
Breakfast · LRC open for breakfast 7.30am · Morning Grace
in the Chapel
Breakfast · Polish club
· LRC open for breakfast 7.30am · Morning Grace in
the Chapel
Breakfast · LRC open for
breakfast 7.30am
· Morning Grace in the Chapel
Breakfast · Polish club · · LRC open for breakfast 7.30am · Morning Grace
in the Chapel
Breakfast · Morning Grace
in the Chapel
Lunchtime · LRC open
· ICE open
· Backgammon Club - E15
· PE BTEC Booster
· Y7 Cheerleading
Lunchtime · Polish club
· Boys & Girls Table Tennis
· GCSE Technology
· LRC open
· ICE open
· Backgammon Club—E15
· Science club—E14
· GCSE German
Lunchtime · Girls Basketball
All Years
· Y8/9 Boys Basketball
· BTEC Booster Session Y11
· LRC open
· Fashion Club
· GCSE Tech
· Backgammon Club—E15
· ICE open
· GCSE French & Spanish
Lunchtime · Polish club
· Boys & Girls Volleyball
· Boys Basketball Y11 Team Practice
· GCSE Art Club
· LRC open
· Readerholics
· ICE open
· GCSE Tech
· Backgammon Club—E15
· Fashion Club
· Mass in the Chapel
· Anime Club E5
· Puzzle Club—M1
· GCSE French & Spanish
Lunchtime · ICE open · Y 10/11 Girls
Cheerleading
· Y7 Boys Basketball—Team Practice
· Backgammon Club—E15
· Fashion Club
· GCSE Art Club
· Confession in the Chapel (monthly)
· Y8-Y11 Cheerleading
After School · GCSE
Technology
· School Band
· Girls Cheerleading - Y10/11
· GCSE child development—U10
· GCSE Business Studies
After School · Girls Rounders · Y11 Maths
Revision
· Boys Football
· Afterschool Club 3.30pm—5pm
· GCSE Business—U10
· GCSE Tech
· Bronze & Silver DofE
· Technology Club
· Homework Club
· GCSE History Revision
After School · Girls Football All
Years
· Homework Club
After School · Sports Fixtures
· GCSE English Catch Up
· GCSE Tech
· GCSE Geography
· Homework Club
After School
· GCSE Italian
Extra Curriculum Timetable
Sports News
Year 8 Boys Rugby Team County Cup Success
On Wednesday 22nd April, the Year 8 boys rugby
team represented Gedling at the County Finals
held at Mellish Rugby Club. The top eight teams
in the county were there, each team
representing their district in Nottinghamshire.
The tournament began with two groups of four,
with Christ the King drawn with Southwell
Minster, Ashfield School and Trinity School.
Christ the King defeated Ashfield (15-5) in the
first game, and followed that up with wins
against Southwell Minster (15 – 5) and Trinity
(15-5) to book their place in the semi finals, where they faced Quarrydale School for a
place in the final. Tries from Harrison (2), Mead and Simpson (2) saw them comfortably
win the game 25 – 5, with the boys now facing West Bridgford in the final.
The final was always going to be a tight affair, with West Bridgford School winning all
five games to get to the final. West Bridgford took an early lead but a try by Niall
Simpson meant that the game was tied at 5-5 with only four minutes to go. The Christ
the King team continued to push for the match winning try but a clever breakaway from
the West Bridgford scrum half led to them taking the game 10-5 and being crowned
County Cup Champions.
Although the Christ the King team was disappointed with a silver medal, Mr Riding was
really proud of the team’s achievements based on how far they have improved since the
start of Year 7. As a consequence of their impressive performances this year, three of the
players have been selected to attend the Leicester Tiger’s Development Programme and
this is testament to the improvement they have made in the last 18 months.
Netball
Thursday 5th March saw Christ the King host the Gedling Primary Schools’ Netball High
5 Championships.
Ten primary schools from around the borough of Gedling entered the competition and the
eventual winners were Sacred Heart School, just finishing ahead of Salterford House
School who finished in 2nd place.
A big thanks goes to all of the primary schools for attending and also to our Year 10
Netball umpires who did a fantastic job in umpiring all of the fixtures.
We look forward to hosting the next netball event in three weeks time.
Mr Riding, Head of Boys PE
Technology Enterprise – Mother’s Day Magic !
Mother’s Day is a special day of the year where
mums get the day off and get pampered, looked after,
some even cooked for! At CTK to save some mums
from the lastminute.com chocolates, we went for the
more personal touch. With a range of customers from
across the years, Abigail Cassey and Holly Barnett
from Year 8 worked their magic to bring that little
sparkle for some lucky mums! Well done ladies for
your hard work and efforts. Individual orders can be placed at any point during the year,
as well as bulk corporate orders. Speak to Mr Bull for prices.
The A-level students are proving that they can take design
and move it forward in leaps and bounds. The Textiles
projects continue to grow with complexity with sustainability
being a huge influence. With the practical almost completed
the denim pieces are made from recycled jeans and, by using
the laser cutter, butterflies have been etched and then cut out
before fabricating them to the next piece. Paige Farrelly has a
strong future in this design field as she moves towards
university.
Up and coming Technology Trips and Clubs !
We will be visiting Cadbury World in Bourneville, Birmingham on Thursday 25th June
2015 with our GCSE Food students. The aim of the visit is to allow them to see and
experience the production line and the packaging plant as well as receiving a seminar
from a Cadbury specialist on production methods, quality assurance and new product
developments.
We are also taking Year 7 and 8 to the Thinktank in Birmingham on Wednesday 3rd
June 2015. The Thinktank is the UK’s award winning Technology and Science museum
offering an experience from steam engines and talking robots through to gurgling guts
and a chocolate wrapping machine. The Thinktank has over 200 hands-on displays on
Science and Technology for the students to experience and learn from. Exhibitions over
the levels include Made it, Power up, The Street, The Science Garden, Nanotechnology
and Emotive Robots!
Technology
Clubs for Year 7 to include…..
Club 1 – Bird Box Project. A five week project where students will be working towards
enhancing the environment of the school by manufacturing bird boxes for future use by our
local airborne residents. The hope is that animals learn their location and trust the new
pieces of their environment using them in the spring of 2016. Places are limited to 24.
Dates: Tuesday 5th, 12th, 19th May. Tuesday 2nd and 9th June
Club 2 – 1* Chef Award. Sainsburys, through their Active Kids programme, offer the Chef
Awards through schools. Over four sessions the students will build on their current food
knowledge and practice to develop and produce two practicals. Places are limited to 16.
Dates: Tuesday 16th, 23rd, 30th June and 7th July
Club 3 – Garden Plaque Project. Over the four week period students will shape, add a
finish and then typography to the finished piece to create a garden plaque for their chosen
environment. Places are limited to 25
Dates: Monday 15th, 22nd, 29th and 6th July
Primary liaison
Primary Liaison has been very strong this
term with activities across the board.
Technology and Science staff have worked
with Holy Cross, St Margaret Clitherow,
Sacred Heart and The Good Shepherd
here with their Year 5s to undertake Technology. They hand crafted a piece to assist them
with their reading to support World Book by shaping the
material to make it more aesthetically
pleasing, before using heat treatment to
create a book mark. In Science they used
flints dipped in metal solutions with a
little heat treatment from the bunsen
burners to see what reaction and colour
was given off in the process. With safety
goggles on and their Bunsen Burner licences they truly looked the part.
All Year 5 classes had a fantastic time and left to tell their parents,
teachers and Head Teacher what a fantastic time they had had and if it
would be possible to do more in the future. Mr Bull has also been heading out to the Primary
schools working with mainly Year 5 on sensory analysis to expand their pallet and awareness
of foods with great success. A new project for this year also
combines STEM related
subjects allowing students to
create, build, finish and then
test their master pieces in a
very short space of time. With
more to come in the summer
term watch this space!
Mr Bull, Head of Design Technology
Goodbye, Au revoir, Adiós, Ciao, Auf Wiedersehen,
Do widzenia.
zàihuì 再会, Adeus.
It is with sadness that after 28 years at Christ the King I have finally decided it is the right time to
retire and start checking things off my personal bucket list. I am going to travel to places I've
always wanted to go to and haven't been. I am going to read books that have been waiting on my
'must read' list for years. I will garden, learn new skills, play with my grandchildren, visit art
galleries, enjoy being around family and friends... In short, I plan to LIVE.
Working at Christ the King has been a wonderful, fulfilling experience. Over the years, I have seen
so many changes. I have worked with several head teachers, beginning with Tom Moore and ending
with Carlo Cuomo who I feel undoubtedly has rejuvenated Christ the King to an excellence to be
proud of. I have also worked with numerous teachers who I am sure lots of past pupils (now parents
themselves) will recognize – Helen Stuart, Ian Gough-Jones, Kevin Durkan, Ben Wilkinson, Pat
Pike, Pam Gillies, John Cotgrave, Tony Connor, Angela Barrand, Yvonne Rowley, Sue Montoya,
Mike Bussey, Mark Frettingham, Chris Davies – to name but a few! I really could list hundreds…
who not only have been amazing teachers but personally very good friends.
I cannot even think about the amount of pupils I have met from the time I started my life at CTK in
1987. The mathematicians amongst you will appreciate that each year I meet approximately 150
pupils in Year 7, times this by 28 years which equates to 4.200 pupils – that’s quite a few names to
remember! I have had over 160 lunchtime librarians who voluntarily help organize, run and man
the Learning Resource Centre with me at break / lunchtime with wonderful enthusiasm and fervor.
Thank you all!
Reading and marking this year alone has been quite a feat! I have lessons with all Year 7 and 8
pupils and, on average, each pupil has presented me with 10 homework tasks on the books they
have read – this equates to me reading and marking approx. 3,000 pieces of work - but I so love this
part of my job. The amount of effort some pupils put into their “Shakespeare” “Final Chapter”
“Read, Create, Illustrate” (to name but a few) tasks is incredible and I have always felt privileged to
read and share their work with other pupils and teachers. Hopefully, I have helped to nurture a
love for reading and literature for the rest of their lives.
Reflection is a wonderful thing. I have watched students who come as small, very anxious Year 7’s
grow into tall, confident and mature Year 11’s. This includes my own children, Craig and Georgina
who attended CTK and ended with an outstanding education. Working with children and students
is both a privilege and a pleasure, watching them develop both physically and mentally from
childhood to adults. I will unquestionably miss this part of my job more than any other.
Once again I would like to express my gratitude for being part of such a brilliant school community.
I feel blessed beyond measure that I have worked in such a wonderful, caring school with
outstanding colleagues and amazing students.
May it continue. God Bless you all.
Moe Edwards
Learning Resource Centre Manager (Librarian) 1987 to 2015
Goodbye, Au revoir, Adiós, Ciao, Auf Wiedersehen,
Do widzenia.
zàihuì 再会, Adeus.
It is with sadness that after 28 years at Christ the King I have finally decided it is the right time to
retire and start checking things off my personal bucket list. I am going to travel to places I've
always wanted to go to and haven't been. I am going to read books that have been waiting on my
'must read' list for years. I will garden, learn new skills, play with my grandchildren, visit art
galleries, enjoy being around family and friends... In short, I plan to LIVE.
Working at Christ the King has been a wonderful, fulfilling experience. Over the years, I have seen
so many changes. I have worked with several head teachers, beginning with Tom Moore and ending
with Carlo Cuomo who I feel undoubtedly has rejuvenated Christ the King to an excellence to be
proud of. I have also worked with numerous teachers who I am sure lots of past pupils (now parents
themselves) will recognize – Helen Stuart, Ian Gough-Jones, Kevin Durkan, Ben Wilkinson, Pat
Pike, Pam Gillies, John Cotgrave, Tony Connor, Angela Barrand, Yvonne Rowley, Sue Montoya,
Mike Bussey, Mark Frettingham, Chris Davies – to name but a few! I really could list hundreds…
who not only have been amazing teachers but personally very good friends.
I cannot even think about the amount of pupils I have met from the time I started my life at CTK in
1987. The mathematicians amongst you will appreciate that each year I meet approximately 150
pupils in Year 7, times this by 28 years which equates to 4.200 pupils – that’s quite a few names to
remember! I have had over 160 lunchtime librarians who voluntarily help organize, run and man
the Learning Resource Centre with me at break / lunchtime with wonderful enthusiasm and fervor.
Thank you all!
Reading and marking this year alone has been quite a feat! I have lessons with all Year 7 and 8
pupils and, on average, each pupil has presented me with 10 homework tasks on the books they
have read – this equates to me reading and marking approx. 3,000 pieces of work - but I so love this
part of my job. The amount of effort some pupils put into their “Shakespeare” “Final Chapter”
“Read, Create, Illustrate” (to name but a few) tasks is incredible and I have always felt privileged to
read and share their work with other pupils and teachers. Hopefully, I have helped to nurture a
love for reading and literature for the rest of their lives.
Reflection is a wonderful thing. I have watched students who come as small, very anxious Year 7’s
grow into tall, confident and mature Year 11’s. This includes my own children, Craig and Georgina
who attended CTK and ended with an outstanding education. Working with children and students
is both a privilege and a pleasure, watching them develop both physically and mentally from
childhood to adults. I will unquestionably miss this part of my job more than any other.
Once again I would like to express my gratitude for being part of such a brilliant school community.
I feel blessed beyond measure that I have worked in such a wonderful, caring school with
outstanding colleagues and amazing students.
May it continue. God Bless you all.
Moe Edwards
Learning Resource Centre Manager (Librarian) 1987 to 2015
Bye! From me, Maria Luisa, Lauren, Sophie and Oliver my wonderful librarians.
Salters Chemistry Festival
The final event of the day was a Thunder and Lightning lecture
provided by some of the Lecturers from The School of
Chemistry, demonstrating the different ways chemical
reactions give off energy, usually accompanied by a loud bang.
The finale of the lecture showed how a wax candle could be
fired from a musket through several sheets of plywood.
On Tuesday 19th May four Year 8 students and Dr Crook set off
to the University of Nottingham to take part in the Salters
Chemistry Festival. In the morning James West, Anioa
Jackowska, Hananh Harrison and Kwame Ansong were
challenged to solve a murder mystery using chemistry tests
and forensic techniques. They then had to write a police
report which detailed who
committed the crime and why.
In the afternoon they had to keep
the dilithium crystals on the
Starship Enterprise at 10.5˚C for
a minute using a chemical reaction. Unfortunately, CTK
were not the prize winners, but we didn’t come last either
having met the challenges successfully both times.
Dr Crook, Science Teacher
Is Your Child Entitled To a Free School Meal?
Eating well at the right time is proven to have a significant impact on the learning and
the ability to concentrate of young people. It is extremely important that young people
are well equipped for school and ready to learn. One contributing factor to this is eating
healthily. At Christ the King, we understand the financial difficulties that some parents
experience on a daily basis and we would like you to consider applying for a free school
meal, if you think you are eligible.
If you are entitled to one of the following benefits, you may be entitled to claim:
income support
income based jobseeker’s allowance
income related employment support allowance
support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
child tax credit, provided you are not entitled to working tax credit and have an
annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed
£16,190 guarantee element of state pension credit
Because we are a cashless school, all students in receipt of a free school meal remain
anonymous and the information is treated as private and confidential. There is no longer
the need to feel that there is a ‘stigma’ attached to students in receipt of a free meal.
You may or may not be aware that claiming your entitlement to a free school meal also
now guarantees your child access to additional funding which could help with the
purchase of uniform, school equipment and contributions to school trips.
If you live in Nottinghamshire visit the County Council website or call 01623 433009.
If you live in the City of Nottingham visit the Nottingham City Council website or call
0115 915 4084.
Phone: 0115 9556262
E-mail: [email protected]
Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy
Darlton Drive
Arnold
Notts
NG5 7JZ
Farewell to Year 13 On Friday 15th May our Year 13 students left the school to begin study leave for their
final exams. Their Leaver’s Mass was very emotive, followed by two very touching
speeches from Head Boy, Daniel Bartley and Head Girl, Bethan Jones; amusing
Alternative Awards presented by Mr Akers and a Celebrity Lookalike presentation by
Sophie Houten. Daniel demonstrated excellent speaking skills, entertaining and
reminding us of times past, whilst Bethan moved many students to tears with her heart
felt presentation. This was followed by a delicious
buffet in the newly refurbished Common Room
completed by a delicious CTK cake created by our
own Nikki Saxton.
All of our Year 13 students will be sorely missed
and we wish them all the best for their exams and
future hopes and aspirations.
Mrs Akers & Miss Nokes Heads of 6th form