St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School Friday Letter No. 7 Telephone 0121 464 4643 Email [email protected]Twitter @STACSBirmingham Attendance 0121 464 7528 Christ is the centre of our school community, where we live, love and learn together Friday 18 October 2019 Prayer All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. In memory of the 116 children who died at Pantglas School in the Aberfan Disaster, 21 October 1966 Saint of the Week Pope John Paul was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005. He was elected pope by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who had been elected in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him. John Paul II is recognised as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. His feast day is October 22 A word from Pope Francis The Lord gives each of us a vocation, a challenge to discover the talents and abilities we possess and to put them at the service of others. Joseph Koziol RIP It is with deep sadness we heard of the loss of former student Joseph Koziol, who was a student with us in from September 2004 until Jul 2009. Joe was in Mr Laverty’s form, and will be sorely missed by his friends and family. Mrs Samuels remembers Joe as being a kind, and very gentle student. Joseph’s funeral was yesterday. Staff came together this week to pray for Joseph and his family. Eternal rest, grant unto Joseph O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.
Transcript
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School Friday Letter No. 7
Christ is the centre of our school community, where we live, love and learn together
Friday 18 October 2019
Prayer All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all.
In memory of the 116 children who died at Pantglas
School in the Aberfan Disaster, 21 October 1966
Saint of the Week Pope John Paul was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005. He was elected pope by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who had been elected in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him. John Paul II is recognised as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. His feast day is October 22
A word from Pope Francis The Lord gives each of us a vocation, a challenge to
discover the talents and abilities we possess and to put them at the service of others.
Joseph Koziol RIP It is with deep sadness we heard of the loss of former student Joseph Koziol, who was a
student with us in from September 2004 until Jul 2009. Joe was in Mr Laverty’s form,
and will be sorely missed by his friends and family. Mrs Samuels remembers Joe as being
a kind, and very gentle student. Joseph’s funeral was yesterday. Staff came together this
week to pray for Joseph and his family.
Eternal rest, grant unto Joseph O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him.
Exciting Fundraising News. You can now find St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School on TheGivingMachine, a great fundraising site that lets you raise donations for St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School whenever you shop online. It is easy to use and doesn’t cost you (or us) a penny! TheGivingMachine is a fundraising charity setup to help other charitable causes raise money online. By signing up and shopping online via TheGivingMachine you will generate a free cash donation for us. With over 2,200 of your favourite retailers, including Amazon, Ebay, M&S, NEXT, Tui, Sainsbury, John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners, you are bound to find what you need and generate a donation. To start raising free donations go to https://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk/causes/st-thomas-aquinas-catholic-school and join – it’s that easy. You can also download the free desktop reminder app to help you remember to always shop online via TheGivingMachine https://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk/shop-and-give/ Thank you for your support.
Mrs Ward School Bursar
Netball: Year 9 Vs Colmers LOSS 5-10
POM Millie
Year 11 vs Colmers DRAW 12-12
POM Ashantay
Mrs Tierney
Head of Girls PE
Diary Dates Tues 22 Oct Family Mass 7pm
Fri 25 Oct INSET Day (School closed to students and half term begins)
Thurs 7 Nov Sixth Form Open Evening for Year 11
Mon 11 Nov Education Engagement Day (Students & parents have appointments with tutors)
Dance Club… A great turn out to Friday Dance club last week with Kerrey from Adage Dance
Studios. Everyone, girls and boys, is welcome and it is free. I highly recommend
attending if you have any interest in Dance.
It was great to pop in on Friday and see so many students in there enjoying
themselves and producing some fantastic moves! We can still squeeze some
more in, for those of you who are worried you may have missed out.
Dance club runs on a Friday 3.15-4pm (with musical theatre club running directly after until 4.30).
… and Dance Competition On the subject of Dance, there will be a House Dance competition run after school Thursday 7th November. Any style
or type of Dance is welcome (and encouraged). Last year we had a phenomenal show of modern, contemporary, Irish
and street dance, which was a sold out success! Entries need to be given to Mr O’Sullivan (the Dance guru himself,
legends have it he may have stormed a dance floor or two in his time!!) before we break up for half term. Deadline
Thursday 24th October. Prizes, house points and a fun afternoon guaranteed!
Mrs Tierney
Head of Girls PE
Year 11 - Sixth Form Open Evening – Thursday 7 November A reminder our Sixth Form Open Evening, for our Current Year 11’s, is coming up the
week after half term on Thursday 7 November.
This is an excellent opportunity for students and parents to find out about the courses
on offer in our Sixth Form, life in sixth form, as well as the extra-curricular activities
students are encouraged to take part in.
Everyone is genuinely welcome to find out about Birmingham’s most successful sixth
form.
Mr Flood
Head of Sixth Form
Year 13 – Applying for University At the end of the summer term Year 12 started work on the applications for
university. The system for applying operated by UCAS requires students to write
their own personal statements justifying their choices of courses at university. At
the start of Year 13, students complete their applications, with most students
finding their application gives them a solid reason for working hard for the very best grades.
This year applications for Oxford, Cambridge, Medicine, Dentistry, Law, and Sports Science, amongst others, have
been sent off, with offers pouring in from Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham, Warwick and other world leading
institutions. There is still time for students to complete and submit their applications for university.
Mrs Davies
Head of Year 13
Triple Word Score! On Wednesday Corey, Sophia, Leanne and Mati joined St Edmund Campion School and Bishop Challoner School for a Scrabble Competition. All of the staff helping at the event were impressed with the level of play from all of the students, and our St. Thomas Aquinas
students did us proud! We didn't win but there were not many points between us and the winners. Well done to all of them for representing us, and being a brilliant team!
Mrs Keeves
School Librarian
Lost and Found A reminder all lost property handed in is available from Ann in the Uniform Office, and students need to check with Ann to see if their lost property has been handed in. Sometimes it can take a few days to arrive in the office, so please ensure you check again. Lost property will be on display after school on the last day of this half-term. Any uncollected lost property is given to charity.
Mrs Leslie Uniform Office
Aquinas Family Evening
Tuesday 22 October 2019
7pm
Bringing the past, present and future
of our wonderful
Aquinas Family together
Browse our new school displays and visit
The Aquinas Hub.
Refreshments will be served.
Celebrating past contributions Giving thanks for 3 members of staff who have left this term
Mary Ryan, Julie Walker & Danetta Powell. Also celebrating the JP2 Award awarded to Megan and Keely.
Our present Re-commissioning of Eucharistic Minsters
Chat to current students about what they are proud of
Paul Olsen RIP The three surviving Headteachers of St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School – myself, Clare Madden and Jim Foley - travelled down to Burnham-on-Sea for the funeral of Paul Olsen on Wednesday. It was incredibly moving to listen to his family speak about this truly remarkable man. Paul was the first member of his family ever to go to university. He was only able to go due to the charity of others. This was clearly something he never forgot and Paul worked all his life to help others benefit from the gift of a great education. At one point, while Headteacher at Aquinas, he even took a pay cut to help establish and grow the school. I wrote last week that Paul Olsen and John Henry Newman had many things in common. It seems there were more similarities than I first thought. Paul too was a convert to Catholicism. Paul also attended Oxford University. Like our latest Saint, he dedicated his life to helping young children – he led two Catholic schools, adopted children into his family and even volunteered his time to work with young children well into his retirement years (apparently demonstrating forward rolls into his seventies!). We also learnt that he took his D-Day experience and military background into his approach to school leadership – apparently he would have turned Ofsted away saying that they were trespassing! Times have changed but the values the founding Headteacher brought to the school certainly have not. We will continue to live out his legacy and build a great Catholic school.
World Mission Sunday 20th October 2019 is World Mission Sunday. It’s the one day in the year when our sisters and brothers around the world come together to support mission. It’s a great opportunity for all of us to reflect on and pray for the Church’s mission overseas and support of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Welcome! We were delighted to welcome a new addition to the Aquinas Family this week. Baby Lily joined us, and we pass on
our congratulations, best wishes, thoughts, and prayers to Mr Eburah and his wife Hannah. Mom and baby are both
doing well.
Wishing everyone a peaceful weekend.
May the Lord continue to bless our special school.
St Thomas Aquinas and all our House Patrons, pray for us. Chris Martin, Principal
