Life at NBS…

Quality & Excellence

As we prepare for Easter at NBS, it is not only a good time to reflect on one’s faith and to be appreciative of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, but it also gives the opportunity to reflect on the NBS community.The school continues to develop, strengthen and grow. This newsletter is really only a snapshot of what happens in our community as every day we are proud of our students and the positive contribution they make, not only to themselves, but, more importantly, to others. This positive attitude is also endorsed by our staff as their wealth of experience, passion and love for young people is shown on a daily basis and appreciated by the student body.At the beginning of March, Year 6 pupils found out which secondary school they have been allocated.On Wednesday 20th March we welcomed 180 new students and their families to the school to help them prepare for the next chapter in their lives as they join the NBS community.

It is pleasing to note that NBS is now a school of choice and oversubscribed. The families at NBS are very supportive and aspirational and we look forward to guiding our new students through the comprehensive transition process over the next few months.This Easter we will sending sixth formers to help with HCPT – A charity which offers

life changing pilgrimages to Lourdes for both children and adults. I am proud that we have students from our sixth form who feel empowered to ‘reach out in love’ to those in need and support the important work as members of HCPT Group 763. I am confident that this experience will change the lives of our students whilst they ‘make a difference’ to the lives of others.

I am also delighted that we were invited to take part in the Cardinal’s Lenten Appeal Launch. The Cardinal’s presentation is very much in tune with the school’s mission and our Lenten 100-100 challenge will certainly make a difference to some of our most vulnerable in society.

“Time to leave behind selfish thoughts and focus on the needs of others” (A Lenten Reflection)

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the ‘Friends of NBS’ who have stepped up to help raise much needed funds for the school. Once again they

organised a sell-out event which attracted over 270 people to celebrate a strong Irish culture which contributes so much to the NBS community.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents, staff and students who reflected on ‘life at NBS’ through the most recent survey. It is pleasing to note that our stakeholders are proud to be associated with this community. I would also like to thank you for your comments made within the survey - we will reflect on these contributions to help continue to strengthen our school.Finally, it has been a positive and rewarding term leading the Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School Community. As Headteacher, I have seen our culture and ethos strengthen from our students, staff and parents. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together and the opportunities we have created. I now look forward to the summer term.I would like to thank all of our pupils, parents, staff and governors who continue to contribute to the success of NBS.Wishing you all a Holy, peaceful and restful Easter.

God Bless.

Declan Linnane, Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

Irish Night 2019

NBS Transition Evening

Life at NBS…

Spring Newsletter 2019

•NIC

HOLAS BREAKSPEAR•

763NBS & HCPT Group 763 Logo

NBS Lenten Appeal Campaign

Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School - Spring Newsletter 20192


Emotional Well-being & Mental HealthThe emotional well-being of our school community is paramount and we are always looking out for ways to improve this provision for all members of our community. Since Christmas there have been a number of initiatives that have supported and promoted the emotional well-being and mental health of the student body.

On the INSET day in January twelve members of staff received training as facilitators for the RAINBOWS bereavement programme. This will enable us to be more flexible in how and when we can offer the programme allowing the school to reach out to more students who are experiencing all types of bereavement. The Chaplaincy and STEP team have recently finished working with a group of eight students as part of the TOUGH STUFF course, a regular part of the well-being programme for our students helping the students involved to learn techniques to cope with TOUGH situations in life.

Aware of the increase in stress and anxiety surrounding the GCSE years the school has started to offer the HAVEN programme. ‘The Haven is a six week course, run during school hours, providing a safe space for those pupils who are struggling with stress and anxiety. This course is being co-ordinated by members of the STEP team and is all about passing on practical tools to help manage and reduce anxiety levels.

The Haven was developed by a local youth worker after his daughter’s anxiety significantly affected their school attendance. Working in partnership with a retired GP and a Cl in ical Psychologist, The Haven runs along the lines of a youth-centred support group. The participants are introduced to a number of proven techniques and strategies for reducing anxiety levels and are encouraged to review their own experiences and feelings, without ever being pressurised to “share their stuff” – which we know would fill a lot of teenagers with dread! The school also marked ‘Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week’ with a whole school assembly and a special PSHE session. Part of the assembly included awarding our recently trained ‘Well-being’ ambassadors with their certificates from Herts training.

LentBy the time this newsletter reaches you, Lent will be well underway! We were extremely fortunate that thirty students and staff were invited to attend the launch of Cardinal Vincent’s Lent appeal which was held at the Borehamwood

food bank. One of the presentations acknowledged our school’s contribution to the foodbank. The presentations were inspiring and enthused the students present to want to work even harder to raise awareness of our Lent collection. Items that students are encouraged to bring in included: tinned meat, tinned fish, tinned vegetables, UHT milk, tinned fruit, cooking sauces, coffee, jam, instant mashed potato, tinned pudding, and cereals.

We will also be raising funds for HCPT during lent. Each form has been challenged to raise £100 along with 100 items for the foodbank.These funds will allow our students who are travelling to Lourdes at Easter to offer a practical support to the groups and children they will be working with. Information about the Lenten charity drive was shared with the Community during a Chaplaincy Assembly.

A Reflection from Pope FrancisDo you want to fast this Lent?

Fast from hurting words and say kind words.

Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.

Fast from anger and be filled with patience.

Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.

Fast from worries and trust in God.

Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.

Fast from pressures and be prayerful.

Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy.

Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.

Fast from grudges and be reconciled.

Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.

Catholic LifeNBS Chaplain, Mr O’Sullivan, writes

£

Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School - Spring Newsletter 2019 3


Sixth Form students receiving a donation towards their Lourdes trip from Dennis Cooper on behalf of the Catenian Association

It has been a busy term in the retreat programme of the school. Year 13 students had a day to consider ‘moving on’, the first of the steps we will offer year 13 students as they prepare for moving on from NBS after, for many, 7 years. It was a very successful day with inspiring contributions from Fr Norbert and thought provoking workshops from the STEP team.

We also had our 2nd SPEC residential retreat of the school year, this time with Year 8. Twenty three students and four members of staff spent the weekend at the new SPEC facility in Pinner, Middlesex. It was a moving and joyful weekend for all concerned and allowed students and staff alike to follow the theme ‘Make New.’ We were joined for part of the weekend by our Year 8 Chaplain, Fr Tom Montgomery who heard confessions and celebrated Mass. A few comments from the students included: ‘A great weekend with lots to think about’ | ‘I found confession amazing, it made me feel like a weight had been lifted.’ |

‘I hope it becomes something we can do every year!’.

Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School are making their final arrangements for the forthcoming pilgrimage to Lourdes with HCPT. This will be the third pilgrimage organised by the school where their sixth formers support HCPT throughout the week.

This pilgrimage has also been supported by the Catenians Association and the school were delighted when Dennis Cooper from the Luton Circle 216 presented the young pilgrims with a donations toward their trip. Mr Cooper commented “The Catenians’ are delighted to support this pilgrimage to Lourdes and we are pleased to see so many young people who give up their time to help others supporting HCPT.”

Catholic Life | Retreat Experiences

House Points (Average points per student)

DonBosco

MaximillianKolbe

Therese ofLisieux

ThomasMore

BernadetteSoubirous

JosephineBakhita

30 30 34 38 40 42

Off to Lourdes



In January, Year 10 History students enjoyed a fantastic three days in Berl in, the German capital. The study of Germany from the end of World War One up until the end of the Cold War and the reunif icat ion of Germany in 1991 makes up one of the History exams the students will sit next summer. Therefore, the t r ip was an excel lent educat iona l oppor t u n it y which brought to life some of our learning in the classroom and gave the students the opportunit y to enjoy the culture and sites of a European capital city. Some key sites of the Third Reich period were visited in the first two days: the Topography of Terror (former headquarters of the Gestapo), the Holocaust memorial and a chilling visit to Sachsenhausen concentration camp where political prisoners of the Nazi regime were tortured and killed. A visit to the Berlin Wall and the GDR museum to

explore life in the former East Germany were also highlights as well as a trip up the Berlin TV tower to enjoy a panoramic view of the city at night. The weekend was rounded off with a bowling competition and some games of pool. The students were a pleasure to travel with and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Melanie Sims (Year 10 History Student) has written a short article about her trip:

“On the history trip in Berlin, we spent a few days in a hostel where all the staff were so polite to us. It was a great chance to improve and practice my German language for my

GCSE as well as learn about the history of the city. We spent those few days going to museums and finding out more about the World Wars. We went to the Topography of Terror which is a museum where the SS headquarters were built during the Third Reich. It conveyed all the terrors of the Nazis reign. Another site we visited was the Sachsenhausen Memorial Centre. It is the site of a Nazi concentration camp. We learned how badly the Jews were treated and their living and sleeping arrangements while in the camp. It was extremely emot ional and the group joined in prayer

at the memorial there for t h e p r i s o n e r s w h o l o s t their lives. We also saw the stories of survivors and their experiences. We also visited t h e Wa n s e e Co n f e r e nc e memorial house, which is where the Nazis decided on the Final Solution. The DDR Museum was very interesting and taught us about life in East Germany compared to West German living conditions, in an interactive way. It included facts about the Berlin Wall and the Stasi. The last place we visited was the Fernsehturm, the Berlin TV Tower. It gave us all a brilliant view of Berlin, we saw all the areas we saw on our walking tour. It was a fantastic experience to go to Berlin with both history classes and to learn interactively outside of a classroom. I would one hundred percent recommend going on this trip as it is a lot of fun, informative and helpful to your learning”.

To support the A Level and CTEC Business Studies courses, twenty-one Year 12 and 13 students took part in a 3-day residential trip to Paris during the February half term.The tr ip included walk ing tour of La Defense (Paris’ financial district),

which also highlighted the great history behind Paris’ architecture. We were also give a tour of Rungis International market, the world’s largest fresh produce markets.Here, students were able to gain an insight into business to business commerce and how key factors such as buyer relation-ships and buying scale can influence both domestic and international transactions. A visit to the artisan chocolate Factory in the village of Beussent was a real eye opener on how small rivals are able to compete with larger scale manufacturers through the weight of their added value, and the significance labour intensive methods still play for such businesses.Of course, we were also able to spend a couple of hours visiting the Eiffel Tower, a must when in Paris! As always, our students were exemplary in their conduct.

Berlin Visit

Doing ‘Business’ in ParisMrs George, Head of Business Studies writes,



February 2019 saw the introduction of the UK Maths Challenge at NBS for Key Stage 4 students.

The UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) is a registered charity whose aim is to advance the education of children and young people in Mathematics.

The UK Maths challenge is the biggest national maths competitions. Individual performance in the challenge may lead to International Mathematical Olympiad.

This year, the Mathematics department entered our Years 9, 10, and, 11 top-set students in this national competition.

A massive thank you to all 87 students who took part in this competition. All students who participated will receive participation certificates whilst the Gold, Silver, and, Bronze certificates will be handed out early next term.

Our congratulations to the following students for their outstanding performances, with a special mention to Abhishek Kumar who has qualified for the Pink Kangaroo rounds.

Galileo notoriously stated that ‘nature is written in the language of Mathematics’. In this notion, various Mathematics lecturers hold public lectures sharing their pleasure (and occasional pain).

Some of the recommended ones are listed below.

27th Mar 1900 – 2000 Why are soap bubbles round and salt crystals square?

30th Apr 1700 – 1800 An exploration of randomness from penalty shoot-outs to internet security via patterns in the primes.

29th May 1800 – 1900 Will a computer ever compose a symphony, write a novel, or paint a masterpiece? if so, would we be able to tell the difference?

18th Sep 1700 – 1800

Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and current Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is considered by many to be a footballing genius. He has revolutionised the tactical approach to football and that revolution has come about through his careful study of the geometry of the game. But can abstract mathematics really help a team improve its performance?

Please see Mr Rugoobur ([email protected]) for further information.

Lastly, the Mathematics department thanks you for your continued support and wishes you a happy Easter.

The Mathematics Department further celebrates the gifted and naturally born Mathematician, Callum Britton, for being offered a place at Cambridge University, reading Mathematics, obviously – we look forward to the Britton’s Theorem in the near future! We are furthermore proud to have inspired Matthew Veerasamy, George Lopez, and, Miles Dumba for applying to study Mathematics at university.

Maths NEWSYear 9

Kyran Matthew, Best in Year, Bronze Certificate II Gonzalo Garcia Romero, Bronze Certificate

Year 10

Gabriel Marmolejowall, Best in Year, Gold Certificate Sean Meally, Bronze Certificate Samuel Simpson, Bronze Certificate

Year 11

Abhishek Kumar, Best in School, Best in Year, Gold Certificate, Pink Kangaroo qualifier Victor Ociepka, Silver Certificate Victor Ewuosho, Silver Certificate Anisha Motin, Silver Certificate Gabriel Parisi, Bronze Certificate I Hasnat Chowdhury, Bronze Certificate Oliver Smith, Bronze Certificate Cian Kelly, Bronze Certificate Eliot Miller, Bronze Certificate Mali Birk, Bronze Certificate Wahid Ahmed Raheem, Bronze Certificate Mo Akinseye, Bronze Certificate Phinehas Benjamin, Bronze Certificate



In February both Year 12 and 13 were visited by

Northampton University who led a session on

student finance and budgeting for students intending to study at university. An informative

session on student fees and a practical budgeting session certainly left the students with lots

to consider and think about for when they begin their undergraduate study in September.

From the 14th to the 16th of December, Year

12 and 13 students were blessed with the

opportunity to visit Geneva. During this trip, we

were lucky enough to experience places such

as CERN and the Red Cross Museum.

The trip overall was a very enriching experience;

we were all fascinated by the Large Hadron

Collider and its intricacies. As well as educational

aspects we immersed ourselves into the Swiss

culture, visiting Christmas markets, department

stores and even interacting with the public.

The trip was unforgettable, from visiting Swiss

landmarks to partaking in ‘escape rooms’. The

escape rooms allowed us to work together in

teams to complete the challenge. It was an

amazing experience and

one we all hope can be

experienced by others.

S p e c i a l th a n k s to

Mr. McFadden, Mrs. Hunt

and Mrs. Halai for making

this trip possible!

Year 12 boys have shown key leadership and communication skills through a mentoring programme for Year 8 students. Using their experience of school the Year 12 are offering guidance and key tips to help our younger students achieve in all their subjects

As well as a comprehensive after-school

revision programme led by our A Level teachers, Year 13 students have also been leading their own learning with weekly peer mentoring sessions.

Lewis, Julia and Redeemer meet on a weekly basis to share their knowledge and expertise in RE and History.

LifeSixthForm

Getting a grip on

student finances

Switzerland Visit

Sixth FormMentoring



News

In January, two Year 12 students were invited to participate in a careers

day at Berkhamstead school. Will Palacio, attended the sessions for

those students interested in a career

in law, while Fahmida Chowdhury

participated in the sessions for

prospective medics. Will said ‘I found

the day extremely useful and it has

given me an insight into what a career

in law may be like. It was challenging

but worth doing.’

Year 12 were visited by a representative

from Sir John Laws school in

Harpenden in preparation for the

careers fair we are due to attend later

on in March this year.

Over 10 0 compan ies wi l l be

represented and it will give our

students a fantastic opportunity to

engage with employers and find out

more about careers they

may be interested in.

Mid January saw the deadline for UCAS applications. This year the school

submitted a particularly strong set of applications with 31 students applying in

total (making up 84% of the year group). The remaining students have all decided

to apply for apprenticeships in a variety of fields such as business and ICT. A

number of students have already received some very competitive offers from a

number of the prestigious

Russell Group Universities.

Callum Britton has received

an offer to study maths at

Cambridge university. We

wish all our Year 13 well as

they prepare for their A

level and CTEC exams in

the summer.

Careers Talk

Callum Britton (conditional offer from the University of Cambridge) and Miles Dumba (who plans to study Actuarial Science & Maths at Nottingham or Leicester University) working on their Maths A level.

Fahmida (who intends to study medicine at university) works on a heart dissection with Mrs Roberts and John Doneo in their A level biology lesson.



February saw the launch of ‘Artwork of the Month’. Every month Paul Hearn, Head of Art, picks a piece of art to be displayed in the front office for all NBS visitors to see. February’s piece was painted by Adriana Sanduc and March’s piece by Jessica Swaryczewska in 10K. Jessica created this piece, based on two flamingos against a sunset, last year as a final piece for her first piece of GCSE coursework based on ‘Natural Forms’. She was inspired by a number of artists throughout the project, including Monet, Seurat, Derain and Van Gogh. She feels that this final piece represents peace and happiness.

A R T W O R K

o f t h e m o n t h

Friday the 15th March saw the school hall change into an array of green, white and gold for our St Patrick’s day celebrations. The night was a great success with a real community spirit.

Families came together for an evening full of entertainment which included a display of Irish dancing from Eloise Townsend, Francessa Salop, Maddie Lochmuller and Leah Townsend who are all students at NBS and the Cotter School of Irish Dancing.Our live band the ‘Good Bad and the Ginger’ had everyone up dancing the night away.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to the following people:

• Mr Warrender and his team for preparing a great Irish Stew

• Michael Feeney and Ciaran Hennessy for running a smooth bar.

• Tuck shop which was led by a few of our younger students Clare Feeney, Tilly Golding and Rory Ward.

• The 3 students who used their own initiative to raise money for the PTA and the 100/100 Club respectively, Molly Shaloe raised £46 and Marie Wade and Emili Siamiskyte – £55 for 100/100 club. Well done girls!

Thank you to all of the PTA members who worked hard to organise a great night out!

IRISH NIGHT!Anna Marie Hynes, Chair of NBS Friends, reports



We celebrated World Book Day on 7th March 2019. Students were invited to take part in a competition where they designed a new cover for their favourite book.

The winners were:

Sara Motin & Judith Sackey 8L; ‘To all the boys I’ve loved before’ by Jenny Han

Also during WBD some of us had fun in the LIC, whilst in Form Classes we were encouraged to read...

NBS Celebrating WBDwith Book Design Competition

In an engaging and exciting presentation, Guy asked

for the pupils’ collaboration in producing a weird and

wonderful imaginative story line. This novel and inspiring

method prompted endless possibilities of creativity and

imagination amongst the students; demonstrating that

there are no limitations to producing a piece of thrilling

fictional text.

Mrs. De-Bellis the school’s librarian said “What a fabulous

experience for our students” and “i am sure that it would

motivate even the most reluctant writers to have the

confidence in producing something truly exceptional.”

Guy went on to a Q&A session as well as a book signing at

the end. The school

is looking forward

to his next visit

after the release of

his eagerly awaited

latest novel `The

Firemaker’.

Mrs De-Bellis was

delighted to hear

that Caitlin enjoyed

the book so much

that she wrote a

book review! Caitlin

was awarded with

100 achievement

points for this.

LIBRARY CORNER- N E W S -

Author VisitGuy Jones visits NBS to talk about The Ice Garden

Lisa from ‘PrisonAdvice.org’ conveyed her thanks for the gifts from NBS. “Thank you so much for the delivery, we shall of course use the gifts for prisoners’ children at some of our prisons across London. Thanks again for your donation, we really appreciate the generosity of Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School staff and students”

OPERATION

ELF



Our Lettings Team have been offering refreshments at sporting activities since the start of the year and it’s going from strength to strength!

Whether you’re a participant or spectator, pop in and pay the team a visit and enjoy a warming drink and snack.

We would like to say a HUGE thank you to the following friends and supporters who have generously donated to the school this term:

• Ms Sue Riding who has donated specialist

language books to our Library;

• Mr & Mrs Blunden who have donated books to

the library and hand-tools to our Technology

Department;

• Mrs Sally Mumfish who has donated small toys

to the Ark;

• To our staff who kindly donated Easter Eggs

for the raffle.

FUNDRAISING AND

DONATIONS

The NBS Friends Association recently launched a new

initiative when Heads of Department were asked to

place their bids for a £1000 donation this term to

buy essential resources. The deadline for department

bids was Thursday 14th March at midday and the

Committee met before the St Patrick’s Day event to

consider the bids received.

Five bids were submitted on time (with a further two

bids after the deadline which will go through to the

next round of bidding next term).

The qualifying bids were:

Science – new electricity equipment to help put the

spark back in Science – literally!

Health & Social Care – RealCare babies and skeleton

Technology – Hand tools and materials

English – Visualisers

PE – Athletic spikes

After much deliberation, the Committee announced

the successful bid was ‘hand tools and materials’ for the

Technology department. Andrew Thompson, Teacher

of Technology and Steve Warrender, Technician, were

both delighted to receive this wonderful boost.

We also invested in a new skeleton for our Health &

Social Care Department!

Sign designed by Vincent Kelsey


Quality & ExcellenceQuality & Excellence

As we are sure you are aware given recent press and

news coverage, all schools nationally are facing a

funding crisis. Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School

is no exception and we have been making efficiencies

for some time now. As always, we would like to thank

all our families who make a voluntary donation to the

School Fund.

If you would like more information on how to donate

to the school fund, please email

[email protected]

If you would prefer to make a voluntary contribution

by standing order, our bank details are below:

Bank Lloyds

Account Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School

– Donations

Sort Code 30-97-25

Account No 01911864

Thank you for your continued support.

We are very pleased to announce that we are working in partnership with the organisations below to bring exciting events and opportunities to the school

AT NO ADDITIONAL COST !!

You can help the school raise funds by shopping

via ‘The Giving Machine’ when you’re planning your

summer activities.

How does it work?

You buy the same product, at the same price, on the

same shopping websites as if you went direct, but the

difference is by shopping via The Giving Machine, you

generate free cash donations to the school at no extra

cost to you personally.

There are over 2000 shops online – check out some

of the donations you could be generating including

Amazon 0.7%; Argos 1.5%, Pappa John’s Pizza 2.80%;

Travelzoo – up to 7% donation; Travelodge 0.7%

donation; Boots 1.4% donation; Superdrug 1.4%

You can join to become a giver by visiting

www.thegivingmachine.co.uk

or by downloading the App to your smart device.

THESCHOOLFUND

PLANNING YOUR SUMMER HOILDAY?

WE NEED YOU!

St Albans City Youth FC are delighted to announce that our Wildcats centre will continue into 2019!

An an FA initiative, Wildcats sessions aim to provide girls only training in a fun and friendly environment. These will take place on Saturday mornings throughout the Spring term from 10-11am at NBS. Training is open to girls of all abilities in Years 1 – 2. Sessions will take place inside the hall to allow training to go ahead in bad weather.

The sessions will be led by experienced club coaches and will cost £25 for the term. It would be great to have your daughter there!

To book, go to www.cityyouthfc.co.uk/book

Looking for a Summer Camp?Future Sports will be running Football tournaments on July 7th, 13th and 14th. Football and Multi sports camps will also take place on August 12th - 14th from 9am to 3pm. NBS pupils are offered a discounted entry of £13 per day.

Full details will be sent shortly but to see what’s on offer please take a look at:

futuresportscoaching.co.uk/holiday-clubs



Congratulations to all the Year 7 students who took part in the Christmas card competition. The winning design was by Rebeca Moise from 7M.

Rebecca chose Jesus in a manger, with the start above as her religious theme: “My original thought was to draw the stable with everyone and everything in it, but then I thought how crowded it must have been and I wanted to concentrate on the baby Jesus.”

Rebecca added that she was really happy with what she has achieved after spending a few days on the painting which used watercolours and a silver pen to write the inscription: “Glory be to God in the highest heaven, and on earth Peace to those on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2:14

Congratulations to the following students for undertaking and successfully passing the training to become an NBS Mediator, in conjunction with Peer Mediation:

Year 9Mae Heavey, Angelika Bagu, Daniel Ikhuoria, Freddie Marlborough, Harrison Law and Molly Shaloe.

Year 10Callum Clarke, Anis Soomaroo, Katie Dale, Melanie Sims, Kutlwano Leoto and Gabriel Marmolejo-Wall.

Inter House Christmas Card Competition

Peer Mediation Awards

More 7M Kolbe 7K Bosco 7B Liseaux 7L Soubirous 7S Bakhita 7J1st Rebeca Moise2nd David Zatica3rd Bobby Clarke

1st Izabela Matocha2nd Ellie Doman3rd Oliwier Malocha

1st Vanessa Bryant2nd Lily Kiff3rd Lola Harvey

1st Francesca Salop2nd Stanley Hewing3rd Andrei Rusu

1st Emmaline Donyina

2nd Catherine Ogunu3rd Benjamin Sage

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Isabel Alvedro India Berry Saoirse Cullen Sumi Czuba Clarke Jessica Ee Lemmy Johnson Erika Larcerda Dos Reis Kai Mullarkey Violet Mupambireyi Mia Orah Jude Smith Bartosz Warzak

Danny Fleming Dylan Fleming Talia Joseph Hafsa Khan Jake Melia Sally Mensah Ryan Obrusnik Lily Reeve Emili Slamiskyte David Uwannah

Eoin Browne Milan Duong Bryan Kowalczyk Beatrice Madzimure Hannah Pope Erika Power Shauna Smythe

Joseph Dymock Susana Hernandez Shauna McNamara Caitlin Pope Maja Sinko Tommy Turpin

Nia Imogen Ngalomba Isha Parker Jakub Pudzianowski Caitlin Robbins



This year’s production of The School of Rock was a huge success with four performances to our feeder primary schools, students, staff, parents and local community. With students in all year groups involved, from being in the cast or band to backstage and in technical roles, this truly was the Nicholas Breakspear community coming together to showcase our skills and talents.

Members of the cast and audience had the following things to say-Julia Kareqicz Year 9 audience member – “The show was very interesting and looked really professional. It must have been good as my Dad did not fall asleep. I had a great time.”Molly Shaloe Year 9 cast member (Summer) – “Being part of the show has really encouraged me to audition for next year’s show because it was an experience I will never forget. I made many new friends I will keep for life and the whole experience was the best part of my time at NBS so far.”Joshua Agblevor Year 7 cast member (Freddie) – “I really enjoyed the show as we all bonded over our love of acting. It was fun performing in front of so many people and seeing the smiles on their faces.”

‘This was a great opportunity to see an important piece of theatre about extremism in an intimate setting. The actors did a great job at performing such difficult themes.’

Show Castaways @ Trestle Arts BaseCritic Rodrick MwseigaYear 10Date October 2018

‘I loved it! It was so scary and had everyone jumping out of their seats. It has given me a lot to write about in my GCSE exam. I give it 5 stars.’

Show The Woman in Black, LondonCritic Adrianna SanducYear 11Date February 2019

“I thought the show was very good and it was great to see how much energy the cast had. Dewey was great and really in character. I would give it 5 stars!”

Show School Of Rock, LondonCritic Sophie WebsterYear 7Date December 2018

SCORE5 out of 5✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

SCORE4 out of 5✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

SCORE5 out of 5✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

Student ReviewsExpressive Arts Theatre Trips


Valentine’s Day

Love was in the air at NBS on Valentines day as the KiSS Team held an event selling roses delivering them anonymously to lucky recipients across the school. Wristbands, kindly donated by the Shaloe family were also sold to ensure that everyone felt the love.

St. Philip Howard Non-Uniform

A special thank you this term goes to the staff and students at St Philip Howard who did their bit for KiSS by holding a non-uniform day and raising over £400. Excellent work!

Year 7 Christmas Party

Students in Year 7 donned their party outfits and Christmas jumpers for the KiSS Christmas Party. Games were played, pizza eaten and a fun time had by all as everyone got into the festive spirit raising money for a worthy cause.

After our most successful KiSS week ever

in October 2018, fundraising has

continued with our weekly tuck shops, selling of Christmas gifts,

Year 7 Christmas Party and Valentines roses.

The KiSS charity out in Uganda are so grateful for everyone’s fundraising

efforts as they could not do the amazing work they do without our support.

Watch this space for upcoming events as the KiSS team 2019/20

begin planning their adventure in the summer .

L A T E S T

U P DAT E



We are incredibly #nbsproud of our students’ performance at the Gym & Dance Evening, inspired by everything Disney and the Magic Kingdom. The display highlighted their individual talents and creativity and showed fantastic teamwork! Congratulations to the all the students and staff who worked so hard on their performances!

Well done to 7K, the winning team of Mr Rose’s famous pancake race! Thank you to Mr Rose for organising and all the Year 7 forms who took part.

NBS|MUSIC REVIEWSeveral people from the surrounding parishes have very generously donated instruments to the school to allow students to learn. We now have a few flutes available if any students would like to start lessons but are not yet ready to invest in their own instrument. Please see Mrs Kirk for details of how to borrow an instrument.Complete the online form below to register for lessons through Herts Music Service: live186.paritor.com/p_web/04_001_192/2067We would always welcome more instruments so if you have anything lurking under a bed or hiding in a loft that could be helping to create a new musician we would be very happy to help it find a new owner! We are particularly looking for string instruments, especially violins and cellos at the moment.

Keep in touch! – Find out more about what is going on in the music department and what you can be involved with through our Twitter and Instagram accounts: @nbsmusicdept

BEFORE SCHOOL8.00-8.20

BREAK TIME10.55 – 11.10

LUNCHTIME1.20-2.00

AFTER SCHOOL3.15-4.30

MondayKeyboard PracticeMrs Kirk | RM 78

ChoirMrs Kirk | RM 78

Percussion ClubMrs Kirk | RM 78

TuesdayTheory BreakfastMrs Kirk

Keyboard PracticeMrs Kirk | RM 78

Folk GroupMr Angland | RM 79

WednesdayKeyboard PracticeMrs Kirk | RM 78

OrchestraMrs Kirk | Practice RM 3

Thursday

Keyboard PracticeMrs Kirk | RM 78

Guitar ClubMr Angland| RM 79

Mass BandMrs Kirk | Practice RM 3

Tech CrewMrs Kirk & Mr Angland | RM 78

FridayKeyboard PracticeMrs Kirk | RM 78

Jazz BandMrs Kirk | Practice RM 3

GCSE Music Coursework SupportMrs Kirk | RM 78

Instrument Donations please!

Gym&Dance 2019The Magic Kingdom

Pancake Day Race7K win Pancake glory!



Spring Term RoundupSports Hall AthleticsSixteen students in Year 7 kicked off the athletics season by competing in the annual Sports hall Athletics Programme at the University of Hertfordshire, against ten other schools from the district.

This event gives students an opportunity to start practicing for athletics in the summer, but also to weigh up the competition in alternative athletics disciplines. Events included sprint relays, indoor javelin and shot put, speed bounce and obstacle courses. The team performed admirably and all events were against the clock. The students gained a good taste for athletics and I hope that students continue to train after Easter.

The athletics season will soon be upon us, starting the second week back after Easter. There will be one meeting per week for Years 7 to 10 until the all-day Championships in June.

BasketballThis term has given our Year 7s the opportunity to showcase the basketball skills they have developed in training. Good games against Marlborough, SRA, Aldwickbury and Townsend enabled the boys to show the progress they have made in training. Thank you to the parental support at the well-attended matches – it definitely aided with the atmosphere on the basketball courts!

The Year 8s continue with their matches up until the end of term. They too have been competitive on the courts and, led by their Captain Luke Wilkinson, have performed well against Verulam and SRA.

FootballThe Saturday morning programme drew to a close with outstanding results against Townsend where Years 7, 8 and 10 all recorded strong victories. It has been a mixed season for other results this term, with Year 7s currently the only team knocked out of the district cup at time of writing.

The First XI football team have progressed through to the quarter finals of their District Cup Competition and are currently 2nd in the county league after good results against Kings Langley and St Georges.

We continue to build on the well-attended training sessions each Wednesday and look forward to all our teams fulfilling their potential in both district and county cups next season.

Mr Tominey, Head of PE

NBS Sporting Review

Year 7 Athletics Squad

Year 7 Football Team

Year 8 Football Team

SportsPerformeroftheMonthAward

January Ramon Hodorogia, Year 7February Oliver Parlow, Year 7March Natalia Marmolejo-Wall, Year 7

Don’t forget,

NBSfest!!!6th July 2019

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