Newsletter 4 - February 2020

February 2020 St. Richard’s Catholic College
Ashdown Road, Bexhill-On-Sea
A National Teaching School. A National Support School and a High Performing Specialist Science College
East Sussex TN40 1SE
Tel: 01424 731070

Email: [email protected]
www.strichardscc.com

Newsletter 4 Principal: D. Cronin N.P.Q.H. M.A. B.Ed

Dear Parent/Carer Staff are always willing to offer extra support to pupils
who need it and our Year 11 pupils benefit from a range of
On behalf of all staff, I would like to wish you a happy booster and intervention classes before and after school.
New Year. I hope 2020 has begun happily, healthily and
positively for you and your families. Yesterday, we received news from the DfE of the school’s
high position in the school performance league table with
We celebrated the end of term two with our annual the 2019 results highlighting a Progress 8 score of 0.41,
Advent Service. It was lovely to see over one hundred an EBacc average point score of 5.05 and an Attainment
pupils involved in the delivery of its theme of ‘opening 8 score of 53.84. The BASICs measure was confirmed as
the door to Christ’. The actors, actresses, dancers, 78% 4+ (Eng/Ma) and 59% 5+ (Eng/Ma). Congratulations
singers, musicians and readers were outstanding in their to our former pupils, their parents/carers and staff who
performances and, along with the Performing Arts staff worked hard to achieve these results.
and Jo, need to be praised and thanked for this and the
time given to rehearsals. We were delighted to welcome Staff news this term has included the birth of Ralph
a Surviving Christmas organiser to the third service to Alexander Harker and Benjamin Evan Steele. On behalf
receive a cheque for £1,766.30 raised by pupils, staff of the whole community, congratulations to both families.
and your good selves. Can I thank those parents/carers Can I ask you to continue to pray for the good health of
who gave generously at the evening Advent Service, Miss Easton who remains unwell and is sorely missed.
raising over £700 towards the overall total. As always, the
Surviving Christmas volunteer was delighted not only with As the term draws to a close, the School Council has
the cheque but the large amount of food donated. organised a Mufti Day on Friday, 14th February to raise
funds for St Michael’s Hospice. Pupils are asked to wear
Term three has flown by with an array of activities a hint of yellow and to pay £1 in advance or £2 on the day
occurring to develop the talents, well-being and interests for wearing their own clothes. As always, we ask pupils to
of the pupils. Events have included: a County Lines wear ‘old’ not ‘new’ clothes on such a day.
Presentation, a performance of Faust by the Splendid
Theatre Company, dance shows, two Holocaust Memorial We wish those pupils travelling to Rome a wonderful time
Services, careers workshops in school and at the and good luck to the Dance Companies performing in next
university, music workshops, Maths Week activities, well- week’s ‘Time to Dance’ show at the White Rock Theatre,
being activities, eco activities including beach cleans, in Hastings.
sports competitions and an Astronomy evening. There
have also been trips to the theatre, the synagogue, I do hope you and your family enjoy the February holiday.
the Bank of England, Microsoft offices in Cambridge, Staff and pupils certainly need a good rest to recover from
university trips and weekly visits to a care home by Year 8 the colds and throat infections that have prevailed this
pupils to create a memory book with the elderly residents. term. Term four begins on Monday, 24th February when
Enrichment is a really important part of school life, so the staff and I look forward to welcoming the pupils back
please encourage your son/daughter to get involved if he/ to school feeling refreshed, smartly attired and eager to
she is not currently doing so. take on the opportunities and challenges of term four
which includes fundraising during the season of Lent.
Term three is very much about consolidating learning
for all year groups. Year 11 are completing their GCSE Have a wonderful holiday and thank you for all your
courses and getting revision underway, whilst the rest support this term.
of the pupils are embedding knowledge and hopefully
building on the progress made in Term two. Please take Yours sincerely
time to look through your son/daughter’s books with them
to check their understanding and progress. Staff continue Principal
to urge the pupils to adopt a growth mindset so that they
are able to step out of their comfort zone and aim high.
Please encourage your son/daughter to give of his/her
best and to remain resilient when experiencing setbacks
or failure.

Message from the Chair of Governors

I thought you might be interested to know what the Governors have been up to this
term. Following the target setting meetings in the autumn term with Miss Cronin and
each of the Subject Leaders to look at each department’s plans for the year, each
Link Governor is visiting their respective department to find out what the children
are learning, to observe lessons and discuss with the teachers any areas where the
Governing Body can provide support. At the start of term, the full Governing Body
received training on the new Ofsted framework that was published in September 2019.

Last week, a Governor attended the Holocaust Memorial Event in Hastings, with the pupils once again
excelling in the contributions they made (singing, dancing, speaking). Another Governor attended the hard
hitting presentation by a specialised theatre group to Year 9 on the the very topical issue of County Lines. Two
Governors were involved in interviews for a vacant post. I and my two Vice Chairs had our regular update
meeting with Miss Cronin.The Strategic Organisation Committee also met this week to discuss finance, health
and safety, buildings/premises and personnel. Finally, the two Safeguarding Governors met with Mrs Bligh to
look at the annual safeguarding audit that must be submitted to County and which forms the basis of the action
plan in this important area.

Next term, Governors will once again be coming into school to carry out ‘pupil voice’ interviews across a range
of topics and with pupils from all years. Two Governors will also be doing a health and safety walk around the
school to check that everything is in order. You can see we are kept quite busy! Enjoy the February holiday

Alison Horan, Chair of Governors

Pay Online for School Uniform/Equipment and Trips

A school uniform and equipment price list and order form can now be viewed/downloaded on the school
website at the following link:

https://www.strichardscc.com/school-life/uniform/

Uniform/equipment can also be ordered and paid for on-line using the following link (which can be found
beneath the school uniform order form): https://www.scopay.com/login.html

To use this on-line payment system you need to request login details from the Finance Office, if you have
not already done so. Payments are processed securely through Worldpay.

Please email: [email protected] for login details.

Edulink One

The app allows you to keep a check on your child’s attendance,
timetable, achievement, behaviour, homework, exams, reports,
medical and contact information and more!

We will use the app to send out message to parents regarding
any news items, delayed trains and in the event of an early
closure due to adverse weather.

Download today from the App Store or Google Play

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 2

YEAR SEVEN NEWS

Year 7 have started the New Year with great • Thank you to all the parents who gave valuable
enthusiasm and energy. I have been very proud of suggestions about how to improve the transition
them of late, as they are really contributing to the programme. I have already adopted some
success of St Richard’s. of these ideas. One comment that did stand
out was regarding information sharing. I can
An indicator of this is the excellent fundraising efforts assure you that detailed information is sought
for Chestnut Tree House. Over £1000 has already and opportunities for our primary colleagues to
been handed in and I hope a few more envelopes will contribute to the process continues throughout the
make their way to me very soon. I do, however, need academic year.
to draw every parent/carers attention to the following
items: • Homework. From looking at the responses, it
appears the majority are getting the balance just
1. Internet safety/screen time. As part of our right. However, homework is designed to be no
safeguarding training we adopt a policy of ‘it could more than 30 minutes per piece. If your child is
happen here/to me’. I am always saddened when doing too much or too little, please contact the
pupils let themselves down over social media subject teacher directly (via the Edulink app, email
with their arguments or cruel words to each other. or telephone).
A great deal of the time when I bring this to the
attention of parents/ carers they are oblivious to • Parents were asked to comment on whether
what their child is doing and, importantly, what their child is safe and happy at St Richard’s.
time they do it. I would strongly urge parent/ Overwhelmingly the answer was yes, with only
carers to take a proactive role in supervising their one parent stating ‘no’. I would urge that parent to
child's screen time and what they are doing on- make contact with me if things have not improved.
line. The most basic first step is to charge screens
downstairs and allow your child to sleep. • All parent/carers had the opportunity to discuss
school dinners, Edulink, curriculum, behaviour
2. Coughs and Sneezes. At this time of year we and extra-curricular activities. I will try and answer
tend to have a few absences due to winter colds. some of the questions/comments below:
Year 7 are required to bring a coat to school and - We work very closely with the canteen staff
wear it. If you could remind them before they and, although the range of food is sometimes
leave the house, I would appreciate it. Please limited near the end of lunch, we will always
note, if your child is sick and absent for more than make sure that a child gets something to eat.
three days, we will require medical evidence, - The main meal costs £2.10. Buying individual
as per school policy, in order to authorise the items such as pizzas and paninis and then
absence. This can be an appointment slip from the dessert is much more expensive.
GP’s surgery, an appointment letter, a photograph - There are always healthy options!
of medication labels clearly showing your child’s - The issuing of House points have been
name, or a photograph of a presciption. discussed with staff
- Setting of homework should be completed by
3. Rail safety. Earlier this term, Year 7 took part in staff no later than 3:30pm. This is school policy.
a rail safety assembly provided by Network Rail.
The message was very clear, and well received: Finally, can I urge any parent who has safeguarding
be safe, and look out for each other. I hope this concerns or well-being or bullying concerns to contact
message can also be discussed at home. either myself or one of the pastoral team who will
always be happy to help.
Feedback from Parent Consultation Evening
PSHEe next term will explore the following topics:
• 97% of parents responded that their child had staying safe on-line and emotional health & well-
settled in well/very well into life at St Richard’s. being.

• There were a wide range of answers to ‘what Mr J Bligh - Pastoral Leader Year 7
pleased you about the transition programme’. [email protected]
Many thanks for all of these comments which
affirm our work in this area.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 3

YEAR EIGHT NEWS

Charity Work: looking at stress and anxiety, and learning techniques
Well done to all pupils who contributed to and raised to reduce these feelings.
money for charitable causes this term. Due to the
kindness and generosity of Year 8 pupils, donations Another important moment this term came on 27th
have been made to the Wildlife Trust, Cancer January when the whole school recognised Holocaust
Research, and our local cause Hen Power which takes Memorial Day. Along with a poignant assembly which
place at Ambleside Care Home in Bexhill. I am so looked at some of the victims and consequences of
impressed with the children and their desire to serve the Holocaust, the pupils completed thought-provoking
the global and local community. Well done to all those activities in their forms which hopefully led them to
involved! reflect on those awful events where so many have lost,
and so many continue to lose their lives.
PSHEe:
The East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service are House points:
currently visiting one form each week during PSHEe Congratulations to all the pupils who were first to
time. The sessions encourage pupils to identify their receive a pastoral postcard home this week, and
own safety strategies and consider their role when particular praise is due to Liliana Kuprowska, Summer
caring for other people. Interactive activities explore Crossett and Emma Goncalves who are currently
the impact on a community when young people the leading pupils for House points in Year 8. In fact,
engage in anti-social behaviour such as arson or Liliana currently has the most House points in the
hoax calling. There are also some poignant messages school! A phenomenal achievement.
around the dangers of trespassing on railway tracks
which I hope will stay with the pupils and help to keep Finally, please wish me luck as I go off on paternity
them safe. There is always an upsurge in the number leave! Mrs Bligh will look after Year 8 in my absence,
of people trespassing on railway lines during school and I recommend that you contact your child’s form
holidays,so it is vital that the pupils are reminded of the tutor if you need to communicate with the school. I
terrible danger such behaviour can pose. Additionally, shall return after the February holiday
In PSHEe lessons this term the pupils have been
Mr J Steele - Pastoral Leader Year 8
[email protected]

YEAR NINE NEWS
I would like to thank the pupils for a successful start Regarding the few comments about behaviour, I
to 2020. The year group continue to impress with their encourage you to contact either the specific class
work ethic and general good nature around the school. teacher, your child’s Form Tutor or myself so we can
understand and then quickly resolve any issue.
Parents’ Evening
It was great that so many parents/carers could attend House Points
the evening. The parental survey was presented Pupils in the year group are continuing to thrive, as is
both online and via the traditional paper method. I demonstrated by the number of House points that have
was pleased to see that the majority of the surveys been attained. Please continue to monitor EduLink to
completed communicated that their child was doing see how your child is doing. Certificates, badges and
well/very well at school. early lunch and tuck passes will continue to be handed
out weekly.
I would encourage any parent with concerns to
communicate either with the relevant class teacher or Assemblies
directly with me so that we can work together. Year 9 have had several assemblies this term. The
topics of the assemblies have included GCSE options,
Unfortunately, a parent raised a concern about the Holocaust Memorial and a Maths Week assembly.
bullying. I would like to reassure you all that any Year 9 also had an extended assembly called ‘County
incident of a bullying nature that is reported is fully Lines.’ This was organised by a theatre production
investigated and managed, with support for both victim company and highlighted the issue of children being
and alleged bully. We stand firmly as a community on groomed into selling drugs. It was extremely thought
this subject and our school policy clearly reflects this. provoking and showed just how easy it can be to
Please access www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk for get caught up in substance misuse. The assembly
information. I encourage you to make an appointment educated the pupils on what to watch out for and how
to see me, if you do have concerns. to seek help if they have any concerns. Please discuss
the presentation with your son/daughter.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 4

Social Charity Event Extra-Curricular clubs:
Next term, I hope that Year 9 will be hosting a talent There are plenty of extra-curricular clubs and activities
show and all proceeds will go to a chosen charity. for Year 9 pupils to get involved in at lunchtime
Further information will be available nearer the and after school; these clubs are advertised during
time. Well done to Danny Baszczak for organising a registration. Please encourage your child to attend at
sweet sale to raise funds for charities supporting the least one club per term.
Australian bush fires.
Since the opening of our fantastic new sports hall,
PSHEe further clubs have become available. A reminder
Year 9 will be focusing on careers in PSHEe next that Prep Club and Prep Club Plus run every week,
term. During this unit, the pupils have an opportunity Monday to Thursday, to support pupils with their
to explore different careers, looking at Labour Market homework.
Information (LMI), employability and Higher Education.
This topic culminates in a careers workshop early next Options:
term. Following the Curriculum Evening, please return the
Option Choice sheet to your child’s Form Tutor by
Year Service Friday, 14th February. Please refer to the curriculum
I would like to thank Jo, our Lay Chaplain, for booklet for further information. If you have any
organising our Year Service this term. The main concerns, please contact Miss Machin, your child’s
message to take away from the Service was to treat Form Tutor or myself.
each other with love and respect.

Please remember that we are always here to help and we all want to work closely with yourselves to ensure that
your child is happy and fulfils his/her potential.

Mrs A Hills - Acting Pastoral Leader Year 9 [email protected]

YEAR TEN NEWS

Rewards WEX
I am really pleased to highlight some exceptional The majority of pupils have completed their WEX
House points performances from: Olivia Zheng, Jess applications; we have held two lunchtime support
McCallum, Tania Rawalson, Faith Simon and Georgina sessions to help the final few pupils to meet the
Morgan as well as Arthur Pepper, Leon Alksaris, deadline for placements. The final date for all
Michael Thrwat, Matt Cordell and Charlie Storrs. placements was 26th January 2020 and has now
passed. If your child has missed this deadline please
PSHEe contact Emma Dann [email protected]
Year 10 have been focusing on Work Experience in or Mrs Forte [email protected] with your
PSHEe this term with visits from external speaker, Guy concerns.
Mansbridge, talking about CV writing and interview
techniques. The pupils will be putting together their Year 10 Mock Examinations
CV’s and personal statements in preparation for their Year 10 Mock examinations will commence on
Mock interviews later on in the year. Monday, 27th April. Pupils will be tested in all subject
areas in a formal examination setting. The Mock exam
timetable will be distributed to pupils at the end of term
to enable them to plan their revision schedule.

Extra-Curricular activities:
There are plenty of extra-curricular clubs and activities
for Year 10 pupils to get involved in at lunchtime
and after school. Please encourage your child’s
attendance at one club per term.

Pupils have also been engaged in well-being activities Assemblies and Services
such as yoga and doodling. Year 10 have been lucky enough to have had very
informative assemblies performed by their peers.
The topics included careers, use of language, using
support, taking responsibility, love and the Holocaust
Memorial.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 5

Forms 10F and 10R produced a lovely service on Homework:
the theme of forgiveness lead by Deacon Ian and the All pupils should be checking their Edulink daily.
pupils. All homework should be completed to the required
standard and should be handed in on time. Year 10
homework should be taking a minimum of 45 minutes
per piece. If all homework is complete, pupils should
be spending time reviewing their work or revising
for any tests or the Year 10 Mock exams which
commence on Monday, 27th April. All Year 10 pupils
are aware of the sanctions around homework and the
additional sanctions for repeat offenders.

If your child is struggling with organisation or
completing the homework due to understanding, Prep
Club and Prep Club Plus run every week Monday to
Thursday 3.15-5pm to further support pupils with their
homework.

Many thanks in anticipation for your continued support.
Wishing you an enjoyable and restful February break.

Mr J Campbell, Assistant Principal/Pastoral Leader Year 10 [email protected]

YEAR ELEVEN NEWS

I would like to remind you how vital attendance at the The mock results have shown that an immediate and
Parents’ Consultation evening on 13th February is at well organised revision timetable is needed. Below
this crucial stage of your child’s school career. I know are some of the intervention and revision sessions
that this is a useful and valuable interaction with staff. available in the next few months. There will be further
revision sessions offered just before the GCSE exams
I am pleased with the mature and responsible way the begin and I will email these to parents/carers nearer the
majority of Year 11 are behaving this year. However, time.
the mock exams have given many a shock and now
they are aware that a lot of hard work is needed over Important dates to make a note of:
the next few months. I am pleased to report that there 11th February: Year 11 Reports issued
are 37 pupils receiving certificates and 17 pupils 13th February: Parents’ Evening starting at 5pm
being awarded postcards home for hard work and 24th February - 2nd March: EBACC Mock exams
achievement. 10th March: Year 11 Photos
18th March: Prefect Training
The following pupils are to be awarded commendation 11th May: GCSE exams begin.
certificates this week, well done to all of them. They 22nd May: End of Term 5
are: Nuala Andrews, Melissa Anthony, Aswani Arun, 12th June: Leavers Day
Joe Baszczak, Maddie Baszczak, Erika Body, Lucia 25th June: Prom at the Powdermills Hotel
Caitar, Zoe Castro, Hannah Chan, Milly Clout, Anique
Crouch, Olimpia Croucher, Ciara Davey, Darren Dela Thank you to all the Year 11 pupils who helped at the
Pena, Isabella East, Izehi Ebhohimen, Emma Folwell, Year 9 Curriculum Evening: Melissa Anthony, Joe
Annabelle Goldsmith, Hannah Holland, Melissa Hunter, Baszczak, Maddie Baszczak, Alona Bondareva, Lucia
Caitlyn Jenner, Lara Lawton, Morgan Leonard, Alvin Caitar, Hannah Chan, Olimpia Croucher, Olivia De
Manoj, Sanchia McCann, Isabella McMillan, David Freitas-Rodriguez, Isabella East, Isobel Francis, Lara
Munro, Moe Murray, Filip Mysliwiec, Annabel Newing- Gemei, Annie Goldsmith, Honey Harrison, Caitlyn
Diaz, Daniella Papukasvili, Rita Smirnova, Alicia Smith, Jenner, Lea Lansley, Millie McIvor, Filip Mysliwiec, Ollie
Angelina Tadros, Christina Thomas, Frances-Dyan Peachment, Zak Prawanna, Naomi Pye, Georgina
Umel, Millie White, Kacey Wolecki, Hannah Woodall, Soggee and Millie White.
Elijah Zacon and Aeshielle Zareno.
Charity events
It was illuminating to read the Year 11 reports over the Congratulations to 11L who raised £94 for the The
last week and see that many of the year group are Salvation Army. The Senior Prefect team are busy
doing well. It was clear also that for some there is a lot organising the very popular annual Valentine’s musical
of work to be done in many areas. I would urge you to charity day event. Last year, we raised an impressive
go through the report carefully with your child. £380 for charity. Let’s hope we can beat this amount.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 6

Some tips to help your child revise Intervention schedule
There will be a new schedule starting next term with a
• Start revision early. Last minute cramming and few changes but the basic timetable after school is:
starting revision too late does not lead to success. Monday - Languages, Tuesday - Science,
Wednesday - Maths, Thursday - English
• Encourage your child to use eyes, ears and hands Friday - History/Geography
when they are trying to remember information and
be active. Exams: Important exam information can be found on
the school website. Please can all pupils, parents and
• Rhymes and songs can make good hooks to carers ensure they have familiarised themselves with all
remember lists of things. necessary documentation. It can be found at:
https://www.strichardscc.com/about-st-richards-catholic-
• The school has a tremendous amount of revision college/exam-success-and-information/
material available on googledrive on the school
website. The final GCSE timetable can also be found here, but
please note that the JCQ has a Contingency Day for
• Put dates of exams, key dates and deadlines in GCSE and/or GCE examinations on Wednesday, 24th
your diary so you can support before the ‘panic June 2020, should sustained national or local disruption
stage’. arise during the June 2020 examination series.

• Find out if there are any youtube clips that could Should you have any examination queries or
help with your child’s revision. concerns, please contact Mrs Fletcher, Exams Officer:
[email protected]
• Have a start and finish time for revision and ensure
your child sticks to it.

• Remember to talk to your child about their exam
preparation and intervention regularly.

New Prefects
Well done to the following for being selected as
Prefects in January: Milly Clout, Jack Massey, Damien
Rolfe and Hannah Sandeman.

Y11 EBACC MOCK TIMETABLE 2020

Mon Morning Afternoon ET: 3:23pm
24.2.20
English Literature - Modern Texts and Poetry. Maths 1
Tues (2hr15) + 34 mins ET (1hr30) + 23mins ET
25.2.20 START: 1:30pm FINISH: 3pm
START: 9am FINISH: 11:15am ET: 11:49am
Wed
26.2.20 History 1 Paper 2 American West and Anglos/Elizabeth Spanish (L&R)
(1hr45) (26 mins extra time) FOUNDATION:
Thurs Listening (35m) + 9mins ET Reading (45m) + 11mins ET
27.2.20 Geography 1 (1hr30)
START: 9:40am FINISH: 11:25am(latest) HIGHER:
Fri Listening (45m) + 11mins ET Reading (1hr) + 15mins ET
28.2.20 ET: 11:51am (latest)
***EARLY LUNCH 12.35 for a 1.20 START***
Mon Early lunch for pupils who study Spanish FINISH: 3:15pm (latest) ET:3:41 pm (latest)
2.3.20
English Language Paper 1 Creative explorations Maths 2
(1hr45) + 26mins ET (1hr30) + 23mins ET
START: 1:30pm FINISH: 3pm (latest)
START: 9am FINISH: 10:45am ET: 11:11am ET: 3:23pm (latest)
Ash Wednesday Services for Year 11 - P3
French (L&R)
Science 1 FOUNDATION:
Triple (1hr45) + 26mins ET Double (1hr15) +19mins ET Listening (35m) + 9mins ET Reading (45m) + 11mins ET

START: 9am FINISH: 10:45am ET: 11:11am HIGHER:
Listening (45m) + 11mins ET Reading (1hr) + 15mins ET
Early lunch for pupils who study French
***EARLY LUNCH 12.35 for a 1.20 START***
RE 50m Start 11.00 START: 1:20pm FINISH: 3:15pm (latest) ET: 3:41pm (latest)

History 2 Weimar Germany (1hr20) German (L&R)
Geography 2 (1hr30) FOUNDATION:
Listening (35m) + 9mins ET Reading (45m) + 11mins ET
START: 9am FINISH: 10:30am (latest) ET: 10:53am (latest)
HIGHER:
Early Lunch for pupils who study German Listening (45m) + 11mins ET Reading (1hr) + 15mins ET

***EARLY LUNCH 12.35 for a 1.20 START***
START: 1:20pm FINISH: 3:15pm (latest) ET: 3:41pm (latest)

Maths 3 Spanish (Writing) French (Writing) German (Writing)
(1hr30) + 23mins ET FOUNDATION: 1hr + 15mins HIGHER: 1hr15 +19mins ET

START: 9am FINISH: 10:30am (latest) ET: 10:53am (latest)

Tues Science 2 Geography 3 (40mins)
3.3.20 Triple (1hr45) + 26mins ET Double (1hr15) +19mins ET Start 1:30pm

START: 9am FINISH: 10:45am ET: 11:11am History 3
Medicine 1hr 20 min Start 1:30pm
Early lunch

Wed Catch up Catch up
4.3.20

Mr Doherty, Assistant Principal & Pastoral Leader Year 11 ([email protected])

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 7

It’s that most wonderful time of the year: the time we October gets crazy. Dan from Snowslippers, an
channel our inner Graham Bell, Chemmy Alcott or Olympic level coach and ski guru, comes to town, to
perhaps Eddie the Eagle, and head off for some Alpine Bexhill, where rarely a flake of snow is seen and even
adventures in Austria. Well, it was that time a few more rarely a day off work is had because of it! He
weeks ago, and what a time it was! whips everyone into an excited frenzy. He shows us
pictures of snowy mountains and tells us all about the
The adventure began months before, in January. wonderful things we will see and do in Austria. Then, he
Pupils scurried home clutching letters, wondering how leaves, and it’s time to revise for mock exams.
they could persuade their parents to let them go! Fifty
five came up with a persuasive reason, agreeing, no In November we take a quantum leap towards our goal.
doubt, to: tidy their room, unload the dishwasher (every The beginners head to Knockhatch for three sessions
morning), get off their phone without complaining, that cover all the basics, getting themselves as ready
walk the dog (even if raining), hang up the washing as possible for that day when they set skis on a real
and never leave their shoes in the hallway ever again! mountain.
Having made their promises, the year ahead stretched
out into what must have looked like eternity whilst
parents sat back to reap the benefits of their newly
motivated helpers!

Fast forward a few months, summer ends, September
begins and suddenly, what seemed afar is now in
sight, like it might actually happen! Mr Harwood starts
sending out messages and calling meetings to tell
everyone about other meetings they need to attend.
Parents receive emails asking for information like, what
size feet has their son/daughter got and when does
their passport expire? Yep, it’s for realz!

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 8

By December, the excitement is so tangible you can 2019 was another great trip. Well done to all who
almost mould it into a bar and wax the base of your came and for making it so much fun. In particular,
skis with it. We depart a day or two before term ends; thanks must go to Mr Bigh, Ms Vanvuchelen, Dr
it beats the Christmas rush and gets us to the slopes Durkin and Mr Heseltine who were a superb staff
before the crowds; we get in the maximum time skiing team.
and minimum time queuing.
If you are in Year 7 or Year 8, perhaps you could start
All that stands between us and the snow now is: a saving now for 2021, 2022 or 2023. It’s a lot of money
23 hour coach journey, a ski/boot fitting session for so think about; what you can do to help increase your
60 people, unloading the coach and settling in to the chances of being able to go? Perhaps you could not
hotel, an evening meal, a meeting with our ski rep, spend your money on a phone upgrade. Spend it on
sleep (if not too excited), a big big breakfast, getting something that you’ll remember forever instead!
dressed up in our ski clothing, a short walk to the
gondola station in ski boots (hilarious), a gondola ride Parents/carers, if you are contemplating sending
up the mountain, getting organised into ski groups for your son/daughter, please make sure you get all their
the week, meeting the instructors and then BOOM….. promises recorded and witnessed by a reliable third
WE’RE THERE, SKIING IN THE ALPS, JUST LIKE party so there is no sneaking out of jobs and enjoy
ON SKI SUNDAY! that cup of tea you are going to get delivered every
Sunday morning!
The rest of the week passes to the rhythm of eat,
sleep, ski, repeat, interspersed with sledging, bowling, Mr Harwood
swimming and just having an all round fantastic time
in a stunning place with truly amazing teachers and,
of course, friends.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 9

Adverse Weather

Should adverse weather occur and there is a possibility that the school may be closed, please check the following
for information:

The school website: www.strichardscc.com. This will give a clear statement about whether the school is closed or
open. The information will be available by 6.45am. The delay is caused by the need to speak to public transport
and they will not make a decision on travel until 6.30am.

• Edulink One: an App message and email will be sent. In order to receive the App messages, parents/carers need
to download the Edulink App from the Apple App Store (iPhone/iPad users) and Google Play Store (Android
users). We will also send out this information via the email message feature in Edulink One.

• The East Sussex County Council school closure website:
http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schools/schoolclosures.htm. This information will
be available before 7.00am. This link also provides parents with the opportunity to subscribe to receive
automatic RSS news feeds and emails which tell them when the school is closed.

• Please also listen to local radio: Radio Sussex, Heart or More Radio.

I would like to point out to you that we will always endeavour to open the school, however a health and safety
risk assessment will be the deciding factor if we find ourselves needing to close/close early. If the closure is for more
than a day, then work will be placed on Edulink One.

Parents, Teachers & Friends Association NEWS
The aim of the PTFA is to raise money for the children and teachers of St Richard’s

The PTFA provides refreshments at Parents Evenings and Showcase events for visitors and staff.

Parents Evening Dates: Key events this year

Year 11 Parents’ Evening: 13/02/20 Quiz Night - Friday, 27th March 2020
Year 8 Parents’ Evening: 12/03/20 Tables of 8 - £3 per adult, £1 per child
Year 10 Parents’ Evening: 26/03/20 Please bring your own nibbles and drinks
Year 7 Parents’ Evening: 21/05/20

Dance Showcase: Summer Fayre
Presented by the Dance Department: 11/03/20 Saturday, 20th June 2020

Request: Please could you donate any ‘recycled’ Christmas gifts to the PTFA for raffles.

If you would like to be involved in any aspect of the PTFA, please email: [email protected] with your
details; any help you can offer would be most welcome. New members are always welcome!

The next PTFA meeting willl be on Monday, 24th February 2020 at 7pm in the staffroom
The PTFA Team ([email protected]) Charity Registration Number 1174645

Reminder of Support Services in School

We recognise that some young people may need more tailored help to guide them through a particular problem or
time in their lives. When this happens, we have a range of professionals who come into school to offer this support:
the Counsellor, the School Nurse service, the Behaviour & Attendance team, Young Carers, trained mental health
workers and Andrew Wright from Action Your Potential. We have many in-house support workshops from anger
management to social use of language groups. We also have an excellent bereavement support group ‘Spectrum’
run by trained members of staff.

We continue to work hard reviewing our pastoral and PSHEe support around a range of well-being and ‘keeping
safe’ issues. Can I also take this opportunity to remind you again of our safeguarding policy:
https://www.strichardscc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Child-Protection-and-Safeguarding-Policy-updated-for-
Sept-2019-1.pdf If you would like further details about any of these support services, please feel free to contact
either myself, your son/daughter's Pastoral Leader or Form Tutor.

Mrs Bligh, Vice Principal i/c Pastoral Care - [email protected]

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 10

HISTORY DEPARTMENT NEWS

Holocaust Memorial Day 2020

On Monday, 27th January, the day which marked 75 years since
the liberation of Auschwitz, St Richard’s commemorated Holocaust
Memorial Day. Pupils from Years 9-11 watched a live webcast of
Holocaust survivor, Susan Pollack MBE, a remarkable woman who
not only survived Auschwitz but also hard labour in an armaments
factory in Guben before being forced on a death march to Bergen-
Belsen. This exceptional woman has provided her testimony for the
younger generation to hear for over 30 years.

‘How do you get over such an experience? Is it possible to walk away and learn to live
with all of this? How do you find the strength? Life is precious – you can go in one of
two ways – up or down. I chose to walk away and rebuild my life.’
As well as during History lessons, pupils had the chance to reflect further in form time and
prayer activities. Year 9 pupils created a personal response to the oral testimony and
lessons by completing a piece for homework. Images of some exceptional work can be
seen below with special recognition of excellent effort to Grace Gillen, Amelia Allen, Brinda
Benny, Elina Saklunova, Aaron Hall, Grace King, Pauline Manapil, Macy Sanderson-Smith,
May Fogarty-Stevens,Orla Fitzpatrick and Evlampia Zacon.

An opportunity to reflect and respond to the event
took place at lunch time with the focus on a pledge
to stand against hate. Our pupils approached all
of these activities and opportunities with maturity
and sensitivity which is commended by the History
department. A special thanks also goes to the
History Club members, especially James Holloway,
Lola Gorman-Bartholomew, Kyla Roberio, Enzo
Trajano and Crystalina Gemmell-Smith for organising
the lunchtime activities as well as Mrs Fegan for
organising the whole school activities.

Key Stage 3 History

Pupils currently studying History in Year 7 and 8 will be moving over to Geography after term 3 and we wish them
well in their new studies. For pupils who will be commencing History in term 4, there will be some changes to
the classes for Year 8 so pupils can expect to find that they are working with different individuals. Class lists and
teachers will be posted up outside History rooms at the start of term. Your first topics of study will be:

Year 7: ‘How was Saxon England Conquered?’: 1066 and the Battle of Hastings
Year 8: ‘Why Kill a King?’ The English Civil Wars

Year 9 will continue looking at 20th Century conflict and issues, with a focus on the Holocaust. This will be their
final term of Key Stage 3 History before they begin their chosen option subject of either History or Geography in
the summer term.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 11

A huge thank you to Mr Thomas and Anja Fisher-Thomas for allowing
pupils in Mrs Fegan’s History class to get hands on experience with a
relic of the First World War and share the fascinating family history of
their great, great grandfather’s inert grenade from 1916.

It was also lovely to hear the local historical link, ‘A brief history of the
grenade’, in Mr Thomas’ own words:

‘The grenade was manufactured in Brighton by Allen West and Company who at one time
were the biggest local employers – their factory, where this was made, was located just
outside Brighton at Moulscombe….Anjas’ great, great grandfather worked for A W and Co
which is how this has come into the family’s possession. What originally surprised me is the
weight of the grenade which is 1lb 4oz empty. Considering the troops had to carry several of
these, in addition to their rifles and equipment, this would have been quite a burden.’

Key Stage 4 History Revision and lesson resources

Year 11 All pupils are able to purchase class textbooks and
revision resources through Amazon and other
Pupils will have completed their final unit on Weimar booksellers.
and Nazi Germany by the end of the term. Following
this, pupils will begin revision in preparation for their Please remember that we follow Pearson Edexcel’s
final exams. Pupils will need to bring a revision folder GCSE History Spec and cover the following units:
for class work. A reminder to all that you should already
have a personal revision timetable. If not, you can • Medicine in Britain 1250-present day, including the
make one here: https://getrevising.co.uk/planner which British sector of the Western Front
will be easy to navigate on a phone or tablet.
• The American West
Revision sessions are ongoing for History every Friday • Anglo Saxon and Norman England OR Early
after school in Lab 6 with Mr Doherty, currently focusing
on knowledge of the American West, and in A11 with Elizabethan England
Mrs Avery, focusing on exam technique. ALL are • Weimar and Nazi Germany
welcome. Mrs Campbell (TA) is also running a support
session for anyone who is currently struggling in the There is also a huge amount of revision and support
subject, on a Monday; please discuss with your class materials in the Pupil Team drive on Google; please do
teacher should you wish to access this session. encourage your son/daughter to make use of them.

Year 10 History Good Read

Pupils are now working on their focus study on the From award-winning YA author Andrew Fukuda
British Sector of the Western Front, 1914-1918, Injuries, comes ‘The Light Between Us’, a powerfully
Treatments and the Trenches. Pupils are encouraged to affecting story of World War II about the
carry out independent research into the First World War unlikeliest of pen pals - a Japanese American
and the conditions of the Western front to supplement boy and a French Jewish girl - as they fight to
their studies. Below are some recommendations: maintain hope in a time of war.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar - a great
youtube channel covering all aspects of the war.

The film ‘1917’, currently showing at cinemas is certified 15. A good way for
pupils to understand the chaos and machinery of war as well as visualising a key
year for our case study.

For those arranging a trip to London this half term, a visit to the Imperial War
Museum is highly recommended.

Newsletter - February 2020 Mrs L Avery, Teacher of History

Page 12

Pupil Leadership

School Council The Crest

The School Council has recently completed its third A number of pupils have already begun their journey
meeting of the year. Items for discussion included to earn their Crest Awards this year. This is a reward
whether pupils wanted to introduce a blazer to the school for pupils who are seeking out and taking opportunities
uniform; fundraising ideas for St Michael’s Hospice and to grow as an individual and progress from the Bronze
improving the school’s use of the new sports hall including through to Gold Award.
suggestions for new equipment.
I have recently spoken to Year 8 in assembly so the
Extra-curricular pupils now know what they need to do. I would like to
take this opportunity to remind Year 10, in particular,
Preparations for this year’s mock court trial competition that prospective prefect applicants are expected to have
are well underway; we have a complete team and they achieved at least a Silver Award.
have been preparing themselves for trial. We will be
visiting a magistrate’s court next month as part of our Congratulations to pupils who have achieved the
preparations and we will be welcoming Mr Alvin Shaw following awards since October:
(a magistrate) to the school to talk to the team about his
experiences and advice to the team. Letters regarding the Silver award: Pearl Herriott (Year 9),
competition date and courthouse visit will be going out Bronze award: Neha Chacko and Anna Thomas (Year 10)
shortly.
Mr A Lahache

Attendance

Current whole school attendance: 96.1%

Well done to 41% of pupils who are currently on 97% attendance
or above for the school year so far

A reminder to please ensure that you alert us of your child’s absence daily by 9.10am. If your child is unwell
for more than one day, please inform us every day of their absence – this is to ensure the safeguarding of
every pupil. If you have any questions about anything to do with attendance, please call or send an email to
either the Attendance Officers or Mr Campbell.

Mrs Jones/Mrs Forte Attendance Officer (job share): [email protected]
Mr Campbell, Assistant Principal responsible for Attendance: [email protected]

South of England Agricultural Society
Young Artisan of the Year 2020

This is a highly prestigious competition open to anyone aged 14-23 years. Entries include Woodwork,
Metalwork, Ceramics, Textiles and Design & Technology. Open to those living or studying in Berkshire,
East Sussex, Hampshire (incl. I.O.W.), Kent, Surrey and West Sussex. For further information, please
follow the link:

https://www.seas.org.uk/educational-grants-competitions/young-artisan-year/how-to-enter-young-
artisan-of-the-year/

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 13

Geography News

**Keep up to date with all the latest Geography news with @StRichardsGeog on Twitter!**

Trips

As the weather starts to improve, the Geography department heads out and about. We are running our trip to the
South of England show in June and will be allocating places to pupils in KS3 who have demonstrated great effort in
their studies as well as to those pupils who have been committed to all our campaigns that we have been running
in school. Maybe your son or daughter has attended our beach cleans, or come to Geography Club each week
or collected hundreds of bottle tops? Is your child the EcoRep for their form, working with Mrs Akrasi towards Eco
Status for the school? Or maybe they have been involved in the WorldWise quiz?

There are 50 places available to attend the countryside and agricultural show with the department on 12th June and
letters will be handed out in due course.

We had a fantastic response to our Isle of Wight trip (July 3-5) and have been offered a few extra places for the
residential so if your Year 9/10 child would like to attend, please do get in touch with Mrs Hoyle, mrshoylep@
strichardscc.com

Year 7/8 Geography
Hello and Goodbye!

After half term, we say goodbye to our
current teaching groups and we welcome
those who have been learning History since
September.

Well done to the Year 7 and 8 geographers Worldwise Week: 9th-13th December 2019
who have worked incredibly hard to widen
their knowledge and understanding of To celebrate the world around us, we asked pupils to look at
the world we live in. The pupils have a selection of recent headlines to raise their awareness that
experienced fieldwork, both virtual and real, Geography is all around us and happening all the time. There
in our local area and have developed many was also a ‘Geography In the News’ Quiz during form time
new skills. and a ‘Worldwise Quiz’ during lunch time. As many of you are
aware there are many excellent programmes developing our
Remember ‘Geography is all around us’ knowledge and interest in the geographical world around us!
and while these pupils might not ‘study’ Above are a few examples of what you could be watching and
geography again until the next academic discussing with your son or daughter...
year, please continue to be aware and
interested in the news and current events
both locally, nationally and internationally.

NewWsletoterr-lFdebwruairys2e020Quiz Page 14

On Wednesday, 12th February we are sending two teams
of outstanding Geographers to represent the school in the
Sussex Geographical Association Worldwise Quiz. They
have been avidly preparing and improving their already
excellent subject knowledge. Results will be reported in the
next newsletter. We wish them every success!

Newsletter - February 2020

Geography GCSE - making the right choice for you

With the option to select either GCSE Geography or History, it is really
important that our Year 9 pupils have looked carefully at what the course
entails. The summary of topics studied at GCSE Geography cover a diverse
and interesting curriculum that will inspire and enhance your love of learning
about the world around you and the issues facing our environment, populations
and planet. It is a well balanced course looking at both human and physical
geography as well as developing many practical skills.

GCSE Geography is a solid academic subject and well respected by universities
and employers alike. Career opportunities could include employment in travel
and tourism, urban planning, environmental management, reserve warden,
weather presenter, alternative technologies, overseas development projects,
journalism, landscape architect or environmental lawyer. Pupils are very
welcome to speak to their Geography teacher for more information.

Scheme of Learning & Assessment

Paper 1: How it is assessed
Living with the physical environment
Written exam: 1hr 30mins
Includes: The challenge of natural hazards Worth 35% of the GCSE
Physical landscapes in the UK Question types: multiple choice, short answer, levels of
The living world response, extended prose
Georgraphical skills
How is is assessed
Paper 2:
Challenges in the human environment Written exam: 1hr 30mins
Worth 35% of the GCSE
Includes: Urban issues and challenges Question types: multiple-choice, short answer, levels of
The changing economic world response, extended prose
The challenge of resource management
Geographical skills How it is assessed

Paper 3: Written exam: 1hr
Geographical applications Worth 30% of the GCSE
Question types: multiple-choice, short answer, levels of
Includes: Understanding issues from pre-released materials response, extended prose
Fieldwork
Geographical skills

Topics covered in the GCSE

Living with the physical environment

The Challenge of natural hazards
earthquakes and volcanoes; tropical storms; climate change; UK extreme weather and its impacts
The Living World
ecosystems, tropical rainforests; hot deserts; cold environments.
Physical landscapes in the UK
UK landscapes; coasts and their management; rivers and their management

Challenges in the human environment

Urban issues and challenges
growth and their issues; issues in UK cities; urban sustainability
The changing economic world
the development gap; inequality and quality of life; UK changes in development
The challenge of resource management
food, water and energy resources; UK resource management

Geographical applications

Understanding issues
a national or international issue is given through pre-released materials in preparation for their exam
Fieldwork
2 fieldwork studies with a range of activities undertaken to explore, analyse and explain a local issue.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 15

KS4 Geography

Year 11 geographers are reminded that, every week in lessons, we deliver a revision booster on a case study.
These boosters are to support you with the writing on the extended 6 and 9 mark questions where detailed
knowledge and place specific knowledge is vital to reach the top marks. Pupils receive a set of revision notes
and these can also be found on the geography department website. Revision has already begun in all lessons as
we begin the final runup to their GCSE exams.

We have identified particular pupils who would benefit from attending our Friday intervention sessions run by Mrs
Hoyle in A10 for Year 11 pupils, and by Mrs Massey in A2 for Year 10 pupils. However, all Year 11 and Year 10
geographers are invited to the Friday after school sessions which finish at 4pm and focus on how to improve the
writing of the big mark questions.

We remind our Year 11 pupils of the importance of regular revision and hope that the retrieval activities we are
doing each lesson are helping to build up your knowledge. This regular practice will hopefully make perfect. Year
10 will also have noticed the increased importance we are placing on retrieval of knowledge to develop better
geography answers every lesson.

Geography Club

This term we have been busy delivering an assembly to Year 8, about the inspiring work
of David Attenborough. We want to encourage all pupils that a simple change can make
a big difference, and one way would be to support our recycling initiatives.

We will have our next bottle top collection in the summer; any bottle tops with a 2 or 4
in a triangle are accepted and all funds raised go towards an MRI scanner in Kipling
Ward at the Conquest Hospital. Used batteries can be recycled outside Mr Bligh’s office,
as well as any used or broken pens. Crisp packets can be recycled in the canteen or
outside reception. Old glasses can be recycled in the library, and old football boots can
be recycled via the PE office.

Geography beyond the classroom

Over the last three years we have been fundraising for a project in Kenya that is supported by the Rotary Club of
Senlac. Each year, a group of local volunteers travel to North West Kenya to work with the Pokot tribe helping to
provide better healthcare, water and education. In November 2019, Mike Stewart, a volunteer, visited and spoke
to three of the Year 7 Geography classes and then to the Geography Club pupils. He discussed the work of The
Yellowmen and showed us how the money raised has been spent. Mike is visiting Kenya again during February 2020
and will be using money that we have raised through the Shop in a Box and from the recent sale of jewellery (£52.82)
to continue their work with the Pokot Tribe. While the main aim of the visit is to support the building of a clinic and work
at many schools, it may well turn out to be a humbling experience if the locust plagues continue to decimate the crops

as they wreak havoc across Kenya.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 16

We have learnt from many parents that pupils, who are allowed their phones in their room at night, are constantly
sending messages. All the research points to the damage caused to young people by having a phone in the
bedroom at night. They need to be able to switch off and properly rest ...unfortunately the temptation of the phone
next to them does not allow many to do this.

I know each family must make their own rules but this is an important conversation to have. Lack of sleep is proving
to be one of the major issues around a person's well-being. How many times are young people woken by the sound
or vibration of a message coming through or the temptation to check just in case.....

Mrs Bligh, Vice Principal

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 17

Carers Teen
Activities Talk

Arlington Bluebell Young Carers Counselling
Walk in Hastings and Rother

Do you look after someone Are you a teenager looking after someone who couldn’t
who couldn’t manage manage without your help?
without your help?
Would you like time to talk about your thoughts and feelings
We’re inviting unpaid carers to join us on The Arlington Bluebell with someone who would understand?
Walk on Tuesday 14th April 2020 from 10:45 to 14:00 Lunch is
 For 12-18 year olds
included. Route is wheelchair accessible.
 12 weekly sessions

 After school/college

 Transport and snack
available

Priority will be given to carers who have not
attended our activities before.

To request a place, speak to Hannah Taylor at Care for the
Carers on the contact details below.

No One Left To Care Alone No one left to care alone

www.cftc.org.uk www.cftc.org.uk

01323 738390 [email protected] 07860 077300 01323 738390 [email protected] 07860 077300
careforthecarers care4thecarers careforthecarers careforthecarers care4thecarers careforthecarers

Teen Talk Young Carers Counselling Service — Frequently Asked Questions

Teen Talk Young Carers Counselling Service Where will the counselling take place?

Sometimes it can be hard looking after someone who couldn’t manage without Your counselling will happen at the same time and place every week during term
your help. We offer a free counselling service for you to talk about your thoughts time only. This will be after school, so either at 4pm or 5pm, in Hastings or Bexhill.
and feelings in a confidential space. Care for the Carers will confirm which time and place with you.

Is Counselling for me? Is there a waiting list for counselling?

Counselling offers a space for you to talk about anything! Counsellors will not Yes, we do hold a waiting list for the counselling service. We will try to get you
tell you what to do, but they will listen to you and respect what you want to say. seen as soon as possible, but sometimes you may have to wait up to 3 months
They won’t tell anyone what you talk about, unless they are worried about you while other young carers finish their sessions.
or someone you care for – if this happens they will always try to tell you first.
What if I need to cancel an appointment?
Who are the Counsellors?
If you can’t attend a session please call the Care for the Carers office on 01323
Our Teen Talk counsellors have experience of counselling children and young 738390. It would really help if you can give as much notice as possible, preferably
people, are fully qualified, and are members of a professional body. All of the the day before or earlier.
counsellors work within the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
framework and all have current Disclosure and Barring checks carried out by I’m interested in the Counselling Service, what now?
Care for the Carers.
If you would like to have counselling, or you are not sure, you can call the
Do I pay for counselling? counselling team at Care for the Carers on 01323 738390 for a chat. If the
Counselling Coordinator isn’t in the office, she will call you back as soon as she
No, our counselling sessions are FREE of charge. can.

How many sessions do I have? Other useful organisations

You will be offered up to 12 sessions of counselling. Some young people want GP– You can speak to your GP to be referred to other services
to attend all their sessions but some people only need a few. You can review Child Line – 0800 1111 www.childline.org.uk
your sessions at any time with your counsellor. NSPCC – 0808 800 5000 www.nspcc.org.uk
The Samaritans– 116 123 / www.samaritans.org

How long is a counselling session? Contact Care for the Carers
Tel: 01323 738390 Web: www.cftc.org.uk
Each session lasts up to 50 minutes, you can discuss this with your Highlight House, 8 St Leonards Road, Eastbourne,
counsellor. BN21 3UH

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 18

St Richard’s Catholic College - Neuro-Ninja Tool-Kit Dates for 2020
Brain Science Seminars for Pupils and Parents/Carers

Thursday, 19th March 6:30 – 7:30pm S5: Brain Science of Meh
Tuesday, 5th May 6:30 – 7:30pm S6: Be A Study Neuro-Ninja
Thursday, 14th May 6:30 – 7:30pm S7: Your Brain & Other People
Wednesday, 10th June 6:30 – 7:30pm S8: Way Of The Neuro-Ninja

All seminars are free to attend and jammed packed with advice strategies and
support to help all of us get the most of our amazing brains.

To book a place, text 07590 698701, email [email protected] or
sign up using the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7BTBIl8R7k-tJ-JnAqJ5Oik_
wqM_JAU_IXJHpMAV7WsjWfQ/viewform

Newsletter - February 2020 Free school
meals

We encourage any eligible parents/
carers to apply for free school meals
as it not only provides the pupil with a
free lunch, but also helps the school to
fund additional support for individual
learners. This can be in the form of
additional curriculum activities or
targeted support. There is no stigma
attached to receiving a free school
meal as we use a biometric cashless
system which automatically tops up
your child’s lunch money on a daily
basis .

If you are unsure about your eligibility
or what your child can access as a
result of being in receipt of free school
meals, please go to the Free School
Meals/Pupil Premium page of the
website https://www.strichardscc.com/
parents/pupil-premium/. You can apply
direct through the East Sussex website
at https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/edu-
cationandlearning/schools/school-life/
meals/free/

Any queries related to free school
meals/pupil premium should be
addressed to me at:
[email protected]

Mrs Hoyle, Assistant Principal

Page 19

Library News - February 2020

The 1066 Book Award is now underway, with 12 young readers from Years 7 and 8 signed up; so far 16

books are in the process of being read, reviewed and enjoyed very much. I already have some reviews on display in the
library – well done to Emmadi Boyle (8O), Summer Crossett (8F) and Zachary Read (8F) for being the first to turn in their
reviews! The End of Award Event will be celebrated at The Hastings Academy after Easter with pupils from local secondary
schools joining us to celebrate the winning book.

Librarians’ Christmas Party January’s screening began with the excellent
classic ‘JAWS’! Certificate 12. The film had
Our pupil librarians enjoyed closing the library for one lunch time in the our young film buffs on the edge of their seats
last week of term in order to enjoy pizza and cookies whilst watching as tensions in the town of Amity build…
the weirdly surreal film ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. We
gathered round the Christmas tree in the library to wish each other a
happy Christmas, and I thanked them for all their help with the shelving,
prepping, mending and sorting of books over the year. They are real
stars!

Holocaust Remembrance

On a more serious note, our librarians gathered up library materials for display
to commemorate and remember those who were part of this tragic episode of
European history. Ms Vanvuchelen kindly lent us a prayer shawl, yarmulke, Torah
scroll and other items. Whilst these books and films are available to borrow all
year round, it is important to highlight them at this time of year.

Quote of the Month

As we begin a new decade, I thought I’d draw your attention to a debate which has been rumbling round the echelons
of academia since the invention of on-line reading. The following is a synopsis of an article which weighs up the pros
and cons of books versus reading on-line, and may be of interest to parents with children who are forever glued to
their screens.

Book enthusiasts have long defended the benefits of the 4. Printed books help us to be more emotionally engaged -
printed word over eBooks. Yet, the arguments are frequently A study from the University of Stavanger found that
centred on the look and feel of a book. In a world where participants reading an upsetting story on paper reported
much of our lives are conducted on a screen, the arguments higher levels of ‘empathy, transportation, immersion, and
for the benefits of a printed book over an eBook are narrative coherence’ than those who read the same story on
increasingly focusing on the benefits printed books have on an iPad.
our brains.
5. Printed books bring more joy - The feel of a book, the
Five reasons why printed books are better for your brain: way it smells, the way it looks, the satisfaction we feel as we
see our progression through the pages are all elements that
1. They keep your attention - With a printed book, you are unique to a paper book. Research has shown that the
simply have the pages in front of you and nothing else. Your senses awakened by a paper book can inspire individuals
e-reader might allow you to look up definitions of words, to do something new, make important life-decisions, reduce
browse other readers’ comments on the book, or have a stress and increase happiness.
browse option that allows you to search the internet. A
printed book has no such distractions and helps our brain to In conclusion, despite the many benefits on the brain of a
stay focused. printed book, there are, of course, benefits of eBooks and
digital text. EBooks have assisted with the democratisation
2. Ebooks encourage us to skim read - Research has shown of information and they help to ensure books can be
that reading on a screen alters the way our brain views the available in ways that the printed word is not.
text. Screen-based reading encourages us to browse and
scan a text rather than practise in-depth and concentrated The eBooks vs printed books debate is sure to continue, but
reading as we do with printed books. with studies increasingly showing that printed books draw on
more of our brain’s resources, it may lead you to revisit your
3. Printed books help us to absorb and retain more library and stock up on paperbacks. To read the unabridged
information - Unsurprisingly, as printed books help to hold article, please visit https://www.learning-mind.com/ebooks-
our attention and trigger more concentrated reading, we are vs-printed-books-brain/.
better able to absorb and retain information from them.
Ms Tocknell, Librarian

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 20

PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT

As we near the end of January, I am amazed by the amount of events in which our pupils have already participated
and of the number of events to come. We hope you enjoy looking back at the events of last term and encourage you
to follow us on Twitter @SRCCPerformers to keep up to date with our news as it becomes available.

The Advent Service The ‘Drama Stars’ created a funny yet poignant piece
about the opportunities we all miss to have a relationship
At the end of last term, the pupils of the Performing Arts with God, led by six rather cheeky angels. Well done to all
clubs of Choir, Dance, Drama and Orchestra worked involved. The group’s devising skills are really developing
together to produce a service that was both meaningful and their ability to create meaningful liturgical drama
and reflective with a thought provoking message. independently is very impressive.

The Senior Dance Company danced a very emotional The Year 7 Drama Club dramatised a poem called ’No
piece ‘Noel’. The boys, accompanied by Amelia Allen 9O Room at the Inn’ by Homer J Williamson, through the use
and Matt Cordell 10L, danced a beautiful piece ‘Mary, of still image and mime. They worked very hard on the
Did You Know?’. The whole Dance Company presented piece, rehearsing in their lunch times. Ms Whelan and
‘Mary’s Boy Child’, providing a fun and energetic ending Mrs Dunster were very impressed with their creativity and
to our Advent Service. commitment to the group. Well done, Year 7, there’s a
huge amount of potential and talent amongst you!

Brighton University National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO)

The senior team were delighted to be invited to We are very lucky to have been offered three free
perform at Brighton University, Chelsea Dances event workshops with The National Youth Jazz Orchestra, one
‘Dance into 2020’, where we performed a piece ‘Stand of which has already taken place. Pupils came away
Together’ written by our very own Mrs Byrne. buzzing from the experience and are really looking
Keia Penman of 10R said: ‘I always enjoy performing forward to the next.
at this event with the Dance Company. We are able
to watch many different schools perform a variety of The session began with working with rhythm and getting
styles of dance. It was extra special as we had a piece the feel of working together with multiple parts and
of music written for us’. improvising ideas before moving on to developing this
Thank you to Natalia Szelest, 11H for helping and work using instruments. It was a fantastic experience for
supporting the pupils. all involved.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 21

Holocaust Memorial

On Saturday, 25th January the Choir, Orchestra and Dance Company were invited
to attend and perform at the annual Hastings Holocaust Memorial Service at St
Mary in the Castle. We have been performing at this event for the last four years
and each year it becomes more reflective, emotional and poignant. The Service is
led by Dr Shelley Katz with support from Hastings Borough Council.

We started the performance with a piece called ‘Hashivenu’ which is a prayer that is
sung in the Synagogue as the ark is closed after the Torah Service. It is one of the
most significant prayers in Jewish tradition and its lyrics are the words of Chapter 5,
Verse 21 of the book of Lamentations. The words translated from Hebrew are: ‘Turn
us back to you O Lord, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old’. The
choir and orchestral members played and sang this with the poignancy it deserved.

The next piece was a song written especially for the occasion and this was
performed by the Dance Company and St Richard’s Choir. We will be repeating
this again during our Music Showcase coming up in March. Mrs Byrne decided to
compose a song called ‘Stand Together’ to reflect the national message this year.
Now, more than ever, we need to stand together with others in our communities in
order to stop the division and spread of identity-based hostility in our society. We
STAND TOGETHER, young and old.

Newsletter - February 2020 ‘Blood Brothers’ GCSE Drama Workshop
with Mike Southern from ‘Stage-Ed:’

At the start of December, our Year 10 and 11 GCSE drama pupils
had the opportunity to spend time working practically on their set
text ‘Blood Brothers’ with a professional actor, fresh off the stage!
Mike Southern has been to St Richard’s several times, but this
year he had just finished playing ‘Sammy’ in the national touring
production of the show.

The pupils spent a whole day with Mike learning how to do a
Liverpudlian accent, exploring key moments and even recording
an ensemble scene!

They were able to ask questions, experiment with different acting
techniques and gained a much greater understanding of the
characters and the conflict within the play. The experience is
always a very valuable one for our pupils and we can’t wait to
welcome Mike back next year for another fun-filled workshop day.

Page 22

Year Nines Take To The Stage, "We've had topics ranging from plastic pollution to bullying
by Leo Jones across all three classes, and making the best musical has
become a healthy competition - some people have even
Recently, Year 9 pupils in the Performing Arts curriculum been very secretive about their own productions!"
have been undertaking their Arts Award. This involves
four sections related to viewing, taking part in and "I have enjoyed being a part of this opportunity because
understanding the creative arts. it has shown me new skills that I never had before, like
directing, rather than performing."
As a part of this, pupils have created, written, cast,
directed, produced and performed their own musicals. "I have also noticed that it has brought other pupils, who
This had to be done with no involvement from a member aren't as confident, out of their shells. I would love the
of staff. It got very exciting! opportunity of doing this again, as it has been great fun!"

Nursing Home Carol Concert

During the month of December, we decided to give a little bit back to our community and take some of our lovely singers
and musicians to a local Nursing Home in Bexhill. We sang carols for about an hour with the residents. It made their day!
Mrs Scott’s form group have been doing this for the last four years.

Trinity Laban CAT Programme Holocaust Memorial
at Heathfield Community College
Amelia Allen 9O reports on the CAT scheme:
‘This term at Trinity Laban I have been working on many The choir and some musicians attended Heathfield
exciting things such as: working on pieces for choreo Community College on Monday, 3rd February as
mission (where older students choreograph dances for part of the cross-county schools’ conference event
us to learn and they pick the dancers they want in the on the Holocaust. This gave our pupils, and pupils
dance to perform it in the show). We have also met from other schools, a chance to reflect upon the
and worked with many different choreographers. My events and honour those who died or suffered in
favourite was when we learnt the angelical cats dance the Holocaust. We sang two songs, one called
with the white cat from the show ‘Cats’. I have enjoyed ‘Hashivenu’ and another called ‘Stand Together’.
this experience and I hope to have many more like this’. This was a wonderful experience for all involved.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 23

Future Events.......

The Drama Department is extremely proud to be presenting 'The Marxist in
Heaven'. This will the first performance of a brand new play written by Hattie
Naylor, an award winning playwright. It was commissioned by the National
Theatre as part of their Connections festival, which St Richard's pupils from
Years 9 and 10 are very excited to be participating in this year. We will be
performing the play in school on 2nd and 3rd March and your support would
be wonderful! Tickets available soon. We will then be taking the play to the
Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury in May.

The Play: ‘The Marxist in Heaven’ is a play that does exactly what its title
page says it’s going to do. The eponymous protagonist ‘wakes up’ in paradise
and once she gets over the shock of this fundamental contradiction of
everything she believes in…..she gets straight back to work….and continues
her lifelong struggle for equality and fairness for all….even in death.
Funny, playful, provocative, pertinent and jam-packed with discourse,
disputes, deities and disco dancing by the bucketful, this upbeat buoyant
allegory shines its holy light on globalisation and asks the salient questions –
who are we and what are we doing to ourselves?.....and what conditioner do
you use on your hair?’

‘The Woman in Black’ GCSE trip Music Showcase - Wednesday 4th March

The Year 11 GCSE pupils are off to see ‘The Woman in Our Music Showcase is fast approaching and the
Black’ in London’s West End on Tuesday, 10th March choir, orchestra and GCSE pupils are busy preparing
as part of their written exam requirement to review performances. I would really like to be able to showcase
professional live theatre. This trip is for Year 11 pupils pupils from across the whole school, no matter what their
only and letters are available from Mrs Dunster. We are level; all musicians need to start somewhere. Please
all very excited to see it (and maybe a little scared)! see Ms Mason if you have a piece that you would like to
perform and gain experience in front of an audience.

Time to Dance:

We are preparing for our annual performance at the ‘Time to Dance’ festival at the
White Rock Theatre which takes place on Wednesday, 12th February. This year, we
will be performing two pieces with the theme being ‘poems by the sea.’ The first piece
to be performed is based on a poem written by Joe Baszczak, 11L. The second piece is
entitled ‘Dover Beach’ and has a special piece of music composed by Bellza Moore,10I.

Keia Penman and Betsie Field, both 10R, have been working each week with Chantry
Community Primary School to choreograph their piece for them based on a poem by
Rudyard Kipling. Good luck to all involved.

Easter Services Great Big Dance Off

Alongside all our other events, we Congratulations to the three dance companies who have reached the
are also busy preparing for our Southern Regional Finals of the Great Big Dance Off for the seventh
Easter Services. Do join the choir, year in a row. This is a national competition that is open to all schools in
dance, drama and orchestra clubs England and Wales. They will be performing their pieces on Monday, 23rd
if you would like to be part of an March in Folkestone at The Leas Cliff Hall (details to follow).
amazing team that supports liturgy
and other school events. The boys will be defying Gravity; the KS4 Group will be dancing to
half light blindfolded! As part of Sophie's Postcards this year, we have
Newsletter - February 2020 choreographed a very special dance in memory of Sophie Taylor. The
piece entitled ‘Postcards in the Sky’ will be our tribute to Sophie; the Senior
Dance Company wished to dedicate their dance to ‘Our Friend’ Sophie
Taylor. Good Luck to all.

Page 24

James Wilton Dance Company Workshop Opportunity

On Wednesday, 18th January, The Boys’ Dance We have an exciting workshop opportunity for boys
Company supported the James Wilton Dance Company which is being funded for schools through ‘E youth
and performed at their professional performance at Dance’ part of Time to Dance and Hastings and
Brighton University, Eastbourne. James Wilton is one Rother schools partnership which means it is free! In
of the UK's leading choreographers famous for his conjunction with Bexhill College and Ascension Dance,
physical choreography. The company tours extensively we are delighted to offer the following workshops aimed
throughout the UK and the rest of the world. at boys:

Let’s Dance Dates: Tuesday, 14th and Wednesday, 15th July
to be held at Bexhill College, Bexhill on Sea.
The Boys’ Dance Company have been invited to
perform on Tuesday, 17th March 2020. Let’s Dance Day 1: Boys Only Workshop
Charitable Trust will hold their dance festival at The Tuesday, 14th July 2020; 10.00am to 3.00pm
Congress Theatre, Eastbourne. Open to Primary Schools in the local area,

Dance Showcase in particular, feeder schools

On Wednesday, 11th March at 7.00pm in the school Day 2: Senior Schools and Bexhill College
hall, the Dance department will be presenting a Dance Wednesday, 15th July 2020; 10.00am to 3.00pm
Showcase. The evening will include items from the
Dance Company, BTEC final Exam performances for Last call for the following Dance trips...
Component 3 and several soloists/duets. It is expected
that the evening will end at approximately 9.00pm. Move IT

I hope you are able to enjoy the evening with us. You On Saturday, 14th March both the boys and the girls
are not required to buy a ticket for this occasion but Dance Company as well as the Year 10 BTEC and Year
we would be very grateful for any donations on the 9 Performing Arts will attend ‘Move It’ at London Excel.
door. The proceeds will be going towards purchasing ‘Move It’ is everything dance under one roof offering the
costumes and providing professional workshops for pupils a chance to take part in workshops and watch
the department. professional performances as well as shopping and
meeting students from professional dance colleges.
BTEC Performing Arts boost Highlights this year for the pupils include the chance to
meet Flawless. Please contact Mrs Knight if you would
This is a drop in ‘clinic’ run by Mrs Knight for all Year 10 like your child to attend.
and 11 pupils who need support with any aspect of the
course, whether it be extra rehearsal, revision or just a Red Shoes
chat about their progress. The BTEC Boost class is held
on a Thursday after school until 4pm in A0. Thursday, 9th April will see our BTEC Performing
Arts, Year 9 Performing Arts and Dance Company
Year 9 Performing Arts pupils are welcome to attend if pupils attend a performance of Matthew Bourne’s new
they would like extra support with their Arts Award. adaptation of Red Shoes at the Marlowe Theatre in
Canterbury. Please contact Mrs Knight if you would like
your child to attend.

Achievements and Results

Christopher Golding: Piano Grade 3 Distinction

Olivia Zheng: Piano Grade 7 Distinction
Millie Moore, 7U has been busy performing in a variety of professional shows in Hastings and
Eastbourne.

Congratulations to Elisa Fletcher, 7H and Mollie West, 7F who recently passed their ISTD Modern
exams with distinction. Elisa also took her RAD ballet exam and passed with distinction. Well done, girls.

We would like to wish all our Performing Arts pupils taking part in both the Tunbridge Wells and Hastings Music festivals
the best of luck.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 25

Special Educational Needs

Year 9 Options • If your child is spending a long time on individual
Pupils in Year 9 are now making their option choices, homework tasks, please contact the class teacher.
and for pupils seeking a more vocational, practical KS3 pupils should be spending between 30-40
route - with fewer exams at the end of Year 11 - we minutes on each homework. Parents/carers are
are very pleased to be able to offer a choice of five advised to write a note to the teacher to say if
BTEC subjects. your child has worked for this time and been
unable to finish the homework.
The BTEC options are recognised qualifications for
colleges and employers, and are assessed by a • As always, the best advice is to tackle homework
combination of coursework projects and exams - see on the day it is set, so any difficulties can be found
the curriculum booklet for specific subjects and how and help sought at breaktime, lunchtime or in
the assessment is broken down. This is in contrast class, as early as possible.
with many GCSE subjects, where assessment is by
examinations at the end of Year 11 only. For the first Please contact me if you are concerned about
time I am pleased to offer the Health and Social Care difficulties you child is having with homework.
BTEC course. We are confident this will be a helpful
pathway for several pupils, and provide variety to our Year 11 EBACC Mock Examinations
offer and encourage a wider range of skills. Please Looking ahead to term 4, Year 11 sit their final
contact me if you would like to discuss this further. week of mock examinations, starting Monday, 24th
February and continuing until Wednesday, 4th March.
Homework
Homework can be a source of concern for pupils and Parents of Year 11 pupils who receive Access
parents/carers, and has been a staff focus during this Arrangements (such as a scribe, word processor,
school year. I would like to re-state some sources of reader and/or extra time) should now have had
support which may be helpful: confirmed what arrangements have been approved
by the Joint Council of Qualifications (JCQ). Please
• We offer a supported homework club, Prep Club contact myself, Mrs Tadros or Mrs Britt if you have
Plus, on Monday-Thursday, 3:15-4:15pm in BICT any queries or concerns regarding exam support
with Mr Nuckhir and another subject specialist towards your child's mock examinations and the final
TA. This is a time of day when subject teachers GCSEs.
are often available to support and to answer
questions. Action Your Potential - Andrew Wright
For those parents/carers who are involved already
• Pupils can also stay after school to complete or who may be interested, Andrew Wright continues
homework in Prep Club with Ms Hubbard on his sessions on practical neuroscience and the
Monday-Thursday, 3:15-5:00pm, and in the developing teenage brain this term. The next sessions
Library with Ms Tocknell on Monday-Thursday, for parents/carers take place at the school on:
3:15-4:30pm. These are available to every year Thursday, 19th March, Tuesday, 5th May, Thursday
group, and they are all good places to come to 14th May and Wednesday, 10th June.
revise!
All sessions start at 6:30pm and there is no
• Homework should be, as far as possible, expectation that you should have attended previous
completed independently by the pupil. If you, sessions. Please contact the school if you are
as a parent, feel you are doing homework with interested.
- or for! - your child regularly, please stop, and
contact the class teacher, your child's Year Co- Years 8 and 10 Parents' Evening
ordinator or myself with the difficulties your child Mr Nuckhir and I look forward to seeing parents/
is experiencing. By completing homework with carers of Year 8 pupils on Thursday, 12th March.
your child, it may not be clear from their work The consultation evening for Year 10 follows on
what they are finding difficult. Homework is one Thursday, 26th March, and Ms Hubbard and I will
of the ways teachers assess pupils' ability to work both be available for appointments. Please make
independently. appointments via Edulink.

Wishing you a happy and healthy new term. Mr Smith and all in the SEN team

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 26

This year’s theme for Children’s Mental Health Week is ‘Find Your Brave’.

As bravery comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, we are asking pupils to tell
us their stories about being brave. Bravery could be about sharing worries,
asking for help, trying something new or making the right choices. Sharing your
experiences can make you feel good about yourself and help others to ‘Find
their Brave’ too.

Here are some ways to help you...

1. Think about something brave you have done or a difficulty you
have overcome and remember the positive feeling for next
time you need to ‘Find your Brave’.

2. Think of something you could do at school or a new activity
you could try that might be out of your comfort zone.
Challenge yourself to give it a go.

3. Remember that being brave also involves being responsible
and making sensible choices; it isn’t about taking unsafe risks.

4. Bravery is often associated with acts we can see but many
acts of bravery are quiet and unseen.

5. Look out for examples of people ‘Finding their Brave’ in the
news, sport, music, your family - they might have some good
ideas you could try out.

6. How do you ‘Find your Brave’? Write down your thoughts, or
share them on Instagram using #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 27

We have made a wonderful start towards our target of 1000 postcards and have received 160 so far. These can all
be seen on the website www.sophiespostcard.com. If you would like to take part, artwork can be completed on the
pre-printed postcards which are available from reception or on good quality postcard-sized paper but must be signed
on the back. We ask for a suggested donation of £1 for each postcard and entry to the auction.

All artwork to be sent by 1st June 2020 to: #sophiespostcard2020, St Richard's Catholic College, Ashdown Road,
Bexhill on Sea TN40 1SE

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 28

MathemMaatitchseDmeaptairctms ent

Monday, 3rd February saw the start of Maths Week at St Richard’s. This Maths Feast
year’s event once again included daily contests, which saw pupils battle it
out, armed with sharpened pencils and even sharper minds. Pupils spent On Wednesday, 26th February,
tutor time learning about famous mathematicians and potential future four of our Year 10 pupils will
careers that are based on the subject. They also tried mathematical brain compete with their local rivals in
teasers and mental arithmetic tricks. A group of lucky Year 9 and 10 pupils the 2020 Maths Feast, hosted by
were given the opportunity to see ‘Maths in Action’ when they visited The Robertsbridge Community College.
Bank of England and Year 8 pupils enjoyed an exciting Dragon’s Den quiz.

Year 11 pupils We are delighted to be entering
190 Year 9, 10 & 11 pupils
A reminder to all Year 11 pupils: your Maths GCSE is now just 3 months away! into the UKMT National
You need to be making the most of your final lessons with your teacher and Intermediate Maths Challenge,
studying independently at home using MathsWatch, cue cards, exam papers giving them the opportunity to
and other sources. compete with some of the most
able young mathematicians in
the country.

Remember there is plenty of extra support available to you at
school, including before and after school intervention sessions.
There will be additional booster classes in the holidays with
further information being made available to you shortly.

Revision resources, such as revision guides and cue cards
are available to buy from the Maths department. If you or your
parents/carers have any questions or concerns about the final
run up to your exams please do get in contact with your maths
teacher or myself directly. We wish you all the best of luck!

Congratulations.... go to Aurora Bonoan, who contributed the most impressive answer to the puzzle

in the last newsletter! For this edition, you have to provide answers to two questions from last year’s UKMT
Intermediate Maths Challenge. Good luck!

Answers to Mr Jacobs in C1 for a prize

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 29

CAREERS AND WORK EXPERIENCE

YEAR 10 CV WRITING “It was a very friendly environment. It had many career
The very first day of term started with Year 10 pupils opportunities, from therapy to construction, engineering
attending a year group workshop during PHSEe led to coding and wildlife. The stalls were all interactive
by Guy Mansbridge, a Global Recruiter, who kindly with multiple things to do such as VR (Virtual Reality),
volunteered to support Year 10s with advice on writing a car simulator, baking and art. There was also a
CVs. Year 10 pupils were given top tips of what to theatre.”
include within the CV and some very important advice
around what not to do within this process. All of the pupils who attended felt that they learned
about new opportunities for future study and careers.
CAREERS AMBASSADORS WORKSHOP They represented St Richard’s very well at the event.
Tuesday, 21st January 2020 saw the first workshop
of the academic year run by our Year 9 Careers YOUTH EMPLOYABILITY SERVICE
Ambassadors for a large group of our Year 7 pupils. The Youth Employability Service (YES) have been into
The Year 9 Careers Ambassadors attended a second St Richard’s regularly this term to deliver small group
short training session with our Enterprise Advisor from workshops with Year 11 pupils focusing on building
AXA PPP Healthcare Limited and used this training to resilience and raising aspirations.
deliver an interactive activity that helped Year 7 learn
how additional information can impact our decision There has been a focus on how to maintain resilience
making processes. The Year 7 pupils really enjoyed throughout the exam period, drawing on skills and
getting involved with the activity and discussing their strategies that have been developed within each
choices, whilst the Year 9 Careers Ambassadors were individual pupil.
able to demonstrate leadership skills and develop
confidence throughout the session. CAREERS FAYRE
Just a reminder that St Richard’s Careers Fayre is
ESCC “I CAN” CAREERS FAYRE taking place on Thursday, 13th February between
East Sussex County Council Enterprise Co-ordinators 2 and 4pm. Year 8 – 11 pupils will be attending and
invited a small group of pupils to an interactive Careers parents are welcome to attend between 3.15pm – 4pm.
Fayre “I CAN” to help pupils build aspirations and
explore future options for careers and employability. There will be a wide range of further education
This event was attended by many businesses, further providers and employers present to answer questions
education providers and organisations that support and provide information regarding future options
the employability and skills for young people. Susanna available to pupils at St Richard’s.
Rose in Year 10 described the trip:

FUTURE CAREERS EVENTS
There is an exciting opportunity for a small group of invited Year 9 and 10
pupils to attend a tour and workshops at the University of Sussex within
the Engineering department. This will take place on 7th February 2020 and
pupils will be able to participate in tasks within the labs at the University
Campus.

The new term will bring further Careers Workshops for Year 9 and further ,
training for Careers Ambassadors to deliver group sessions with our Year
7 pupils. National Careers Week 2nd - 6th March 2020 will bring guest
speakers into assemblies to look at various aspects of Careers with each
year group.

If you are a former pupil of the school or a supporter of the school and
would like to join our Alumni Network please follow the link below and
complete your details to receive regular updates on school events and
opportunities to support the school: https://networks.futurefirst.org.uk/
signup/strichards

Thank you to all employers, volunteers and members of the alumni network who have signed up to support
these events.

Newsletter - February 2020 Mrs E Dann, Acting Careers Lead ([email protected])

Page 30

It has been a busy start to the year in English and there is much to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Bedrock vocabulary is continuing to be a great
success; please ensure your son/daughter is
completing a minimum of two lessons per week to reap
the rewards of the Bedrock scheme.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be arriving in school from Furthermore, we would like to encourage pupils who
Monday 10th - Friday 14th February It will be open to are interested in creative writing to enter BBC2s 500
pupils during lunch time and after school where they words competition. Pupils need to write a short story
will be able to browse and purchase literature and of 500 words and submit it via the BBC2 website by
stationery items. Booklets advertising books for sale Thursday, 27th February at 8pm. Entrants must be
will be distributed in tutor folders. It is preparing us for between the ages of 5 and 13.
the exciting annual event of World Book Day, which is
fast approaching on Thursday, 5th March. The money For more information about the competition
from the books sold will enable the library to claim please visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/
a variety of new books for free and will enhance the articles/4n1HgL2GFCWDmCtq9Sx5kKB/500-
collection of literature available to our pupils. words-2020. The prizes are spectacular and your short
story could be read out live on BBC2 radio for the
nation to hear - so get writing!

On the subject of World Book Day, we would like to Additionally, there are two theatre trips being organised
invite Year 7 pupils to begin planning their World Book for KS4 pupils. On 27th February, Year 11 and Year
Day costumes. On Thursday, 5th March, they are 10 pupils will be travelling to Brighton to see the
invited to take part in a fancy dress competition with National Theatre production of ‘An Inspector Calls’.
a chance to win books and vouchers as prizes. It was A small group of Year 11s will be going to watch a
a really successful event last year, so get planning performance of ‘Jane Eyre’ at the Devonshire Park
those costumes! We also look forward to welcoming Theatre in Eastbourne on Friday, 6th March. There
Kate O'Hearn who will be delivering creative writing are still a small number of tickets available for both
workshops to Year 7 pupils on the day. Kate O'Hearn performances so please see Miss Rowland in B12 for
has written novels such as ‘Valkyrie’ and ‘Pegasus’ more information.
and is a world renowned author. We all look forward
to celebrating a love of literature with a range of fun
activities to mark the occasion.

Finally, keep reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction books in your spare time. A reading list for all Key Stage
pupils can be found on the following website: https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/category/reading-lists-for-ks3-pupils/

Mrs Niitsoo, Subject Lead for English

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 31

RE Department News

There has been lots of great work and effort from the pupils in RE this term.

In Year 7, pupils have been learning about the
sacraments. They have had a particular focus on
Baptism and Reconciliation. In our RE classes, pupils
have re-enacted a baptism.

Year 8 have been enthralled and motivated by their unit on
Philosophy. There have been many enthusiastic debates and
discussions in lessons where pupils have been arguing the existence
of God and trying to explain the theodicies to explain his existence.

In Year 9, pupils have continued their studies surrounding discipleship. They are
currently working on their Social Justice unit. They have been introduced to this topic
with a Year 9 assembly explaining the importance of this topic in our world today.
Year 9 homework this term is based on putting their faith into action and pupils are
encouraged to do this in a variety of ways.

Within Key Stage 4, pupils are continuing with the GCSE course. Year 10 are
currently learning about Sources of Wisdom and Authority. This unit covers the
authority within the Church. Year 11 have moved on to their last unit, Islamic
Practices. They have been learning about the different ways Muslims practise their
faith. This has included prayer, fasting and pilgrimage. Soon after the February
holiday they will be starting their revision rotations for the summer exams.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Some Year 8 pupils had the opportunity to visit the Jewish Synagogue in
Eastbourne. They were shown around the synagogue and were able to see
the Torah (Jewish scripture) up close. They also had the opportunity to ask
questions. These pupils have discussed this learning with the rest of their RE
classes. Two year 8 pupils said:

“We went to the Jewish Synagogue in Eastbourne. It was quite hidden which we
were not expecting. A home is on top of the synagogue. When we walked in,
it was really beautiful. They showed us the things they used in the synagogue.
They told us about the festivals. Then Mr Taylor showed us the Torah up close.
He told us the difference between reading the Torah and reading the Bible. This
was an amazing experience that we really enjoyed. On return, we shared our
learning with the rest of our class.” Ann Raju (80) and Zachary Read (8F)

Newsletter - February 2020 Year 11 pupils are invited to attend
Philosophy Club with Mrs Cross in
A3 on Thursday lunchtimes. See
the poster for details. It is a great
opportunity to debate and discuss
philosophical issues through a
variety of mediums.

Mrs Mead
Subject Leader for RE

Page 32

Art Department

The Art Department are expecting outstanding work from to great effect. Year 9 are working on Quarter portraits
both our GCSE groups at the end of this term’s exam considering tone, pastel, colour pencil and watercolour
preparation. Our pupils have been working with great studies. Year 10 Fine Art have embarked on their Identity
enthusiasm on their final exam sketchbooks. We always project, producing inspired tonal self portraits with limited
place a strong focus on Good to Outstanding work in blue colour painting on board. They look amazing!
all areas in the Art Department It establishes a highly
professional work ethic amongst all of our pupils. We are really looking forward to taking two of our Year
9 classes to the Hastings Contemporary Gallery at the
Year 10 Art Craft and Design pupils have produced end of this term for the Pearls Of The Sea Project. They
wonderful sketchbooks too, and are making excellent will be working with an artist both in the gallery and back
progress with their main Architecture/Fragments project. at school. We are also in the process of entering some
They are now embarking on an Ian Murphy study. Year of our pupils’ work to the Royal Academy of Art summer
9 are studying Surreal artists and have produced some exhibition.
lovely responses to Henri Magritte and Salvador Dali.
Year 8 have completed their ceramic novelty teapots and Finally I would like to thank Brighton University trainee,
the painted sculptures look wonderful. Year 7 are painting
their ceramic nightlights with limited palette. Mrs Miller, for her hard work in the Art Department. She

Fine Art Year 7 are working on very intricate steampunk has been teaching our Key Stage Three and Four pupils
mechanimals, and Year 8 are producing beautifully
rendered Day of the Dead Tonal skulls using 6B pencils and they have all really enjoyed her lessons. On behalf of

the Department, I would like to wish her well in her future

teaching career.

Keep creating! Mr Peachment, (Subject Leader)

GCSE Sketchbooks
Year 10 Fine Art - portraits, Marni and Susanna

Year 9 Fine Art - mixed media portraits

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 33

Year 8 teapots Year 9 Sketchbooks
Year 7 masks Year 8 Fine Art - Day of the Dead

Art, Craft & Design ceramic fish

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 34

MFL Bake off Success!

The year started on a real high as we revealed the winners of the
Year 7 Christmas Bake-off and distributed lots of prizes to our star
bakers. Our judges certainly had their work cut out for them again
this year as the standards were extremely high. Take a look at the
pictures below!

Renisse Gregorio won the “Best Tasting Cake Award” for her
delicious mango cake. Erin and Lauren Gunson won the “Best
Looking Cake” prize for their mushroom meringue chocolate log.
“The Team Effort” prize went to Chloe Chatto, Cissy Corbin and
Julia Ragudo. The award for “The Most Innovative Cultural Recipe”
went to Christopher Golding for his fruit and nut bark.

And to top it all off we managed to donate over £100 from the cake sale to ‘Surviving Christmas’. Thank you to everybody
who took part! But the fun doesn’t stop there...

Listen up Year 8!

The next Fairtrade Bake-off event is fast approaching, so it’s time to start
thinking about your bake and writing your shopping list of ingredients! You can
be as creative as possible but at least one of your ingredients must be Fairtrade.
Keep your eyes and ears open for more information to come...

Newsletter - February 2020 Reach new heights with MFL

Are you aware of all the different pathways available to you?
If not, check out the new ‘Careers in Languages’ display
outside B4/B5. It highlights where a career using a language
could take you. For example, did you know that 94% of
employers think that language skills are important? For a
chance to win a small edible prize tell any member of the
MFL department about any five careers you have read about
on the board.

Page 35

Spanish news: German news:

Spanish Club: Every Monday 1pm - 1:30pm It’s a new year and a new start. Viel Glück und viel
Erfolg to all our year groups and especially to Years
Every Monday, very enthusiastic Year 10 pupils are 10 and 11. We are always here to help you reach your
running this club and sharing their knowledge of potential and are behind you all the way! Remember:
Spanish culture. There is a different focus each term Übung macht den Meister as the saying goes!
and this term they are talking about Spanish Fiestas.
We have already heard about La Tomatina in Buñol The KS3 German lunch club continues to run in B5
and Las Fallas in Valencia. on Mondays at 1pm. Don’t miss out on this chance to
speak German, play games, have fun and meet other
Please do come along with your lunch German fans! Prizes and House points available!
and join in the fun.
We are also very excited about the Year 9 theatre
There is a quiz and prizes too! production on 31st March called Das Schlimmste
Hotel! More details to follow in lessons.
Cultural events in our area
Finally; this term we
We are also going to share with you and your family welcomed three German work
news about upcoming Spanish events in the local experience students from our
area: https://spainculturescience.co.uk/ German partner school the
‘Hollenburg Gymnasium’ for a
On February 6th, there will be a performance in ten day stay.
Tunbridge Wells by well known Flamenco jazz
guitarist Eduardo Niera. Here is a link to the event: It was extremely beneficial to have them with us to
allow pupils to practise their spoken German and to
http://eduardoniebla.com/concerts/ ask many questions about the cultural differences
between both countries. Our Year 10 GCSE pupils
were given presentations about our current topic,
school, and our Year 11 GCSE pupils were also
given ample opportunities to practise their general
conversation questions to boost their confidence in this
skill. On that note, don’t forget that as the speaking
exam will soon be upon us, it is important to keep
practising those questions.

Do come along to intervention. It runs on Mondays
in B5 and B4 between 3:15pm and 4pm. Lunchtime
slots are also available to you too, so take up all the
opportunities of support on offer as we know that hard
work, a positive mindset and lots of practice can make
all the difference and will lead you to success!
Wir drücken euch die Daumen!

French news:

French Club (Monday 1pm-1.30pm in B14)

We enjoyed our annual celebration of the Epiphany ‘King cake’ tradition in
French Club this month. Many thanks to Mrs Herring for bringing us some
traditional ‘galette des rois’ cakes from France.

After learning about the cake-eating traditions, we shared out the cakes
to find out who had the hidden charm. The lucky recepients were Michael
O’Brien, one of our Year 10 helpers, who became ‘le roi’ (the King) and Mrs
Niitsoo, who came along to join us, was ‘la reine’ (the Queen).

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 36

Year 8/9 Residential Trip to Normandy, Northern France -
Thursday, 2nd April - Sunday, 5th April 2020

We are very much looking forward to our residential visit to the region of Normandy
in France. Many thanks to all parents and carers for encouraging and supporting
their children to take part in this trip which we hope will be an enriching and
enjoyable experience. Please note that if you are paying in instalments, the final
amount of £100 is due by Friday, 7th February. There wll be pre-trip meeting on
Thursday 19th March from 5.30-6.15pm in the hall. Please have your child’s EHIC
card and passport ready to hand in at this meeting.

Year 9 French play Year 11 French

We are looking forward to our French theatre Well done to all Year 11s who have been attending the GCSE
production for Year 9 pupils studying French. French Monday after school sessions in term 3. We would
like to thank the Bexhill College A-level French students:
The play is called ‘Les garçons’ and pupils are Lauren, Harveigh, Michael and Claudia who have been giving
completing some pre-play activities to make the their time voluntarily by attending the sessions to support our
most of this exciting experience! pupils with practising their speaking skills. The Year 11s have
benefited hugely from the advice, encouragement and help
from the A-level students.

Monday Intervention sessions (3.15-4.15 in B14) and
Wednesday drop-in (1pm in B4 and B14) will continue to run
in term 4. All pupils are welcome. Pupils who are expected to
attend as part of intervention will be informed by their class
teacher.

Factoids:

With Valentine’s Day looming, you might be interested in this weird
fact: Germany has the only tree in the world with its own mailing
address. It’s known as the Bridegroom’s Oak and it receives about
1,000 letters per year from singles looking for love. Anyone can
take letters from the tree and respond. It’s estimated that the tree
is responsible for over 100 marriages!

Every year in the first week of February,
the town of Zamarramala Segovia comes
to life courtesy of the lively singing and
dancing of the town’s women. The Santa
Agueda festival commemorates the battle
of Segovia in which the Moors attacked and
conquered the area in 1227. During the
battle, the women entertained the Moors
while they were battling to take over the
town’s fortress.

On Saturday afternoon the villagers choose two women to rule in their village during the festival. Those women
are called the Alcaldesinas. It takes more than two hours for the women to get dressed in their 16th century style
costume. The women also wear rings, earrings, the special golden cross and various relics.

French fact:The date of 6 January is called l' Épiphanie. It is also known as la
Fête des Rois. A special cake is prepared called La Galette des Rois (the Kings'
cake). The cake is officially eaten on 6th January in celebration of the journey of
the Three Kings - les Rois Mages. The King’s cake, La Galette des Rois, is round
and made of puff pastry. Inside the cake, a special trinket is hidden. This trinket is
called une fève - meaning 'a bean.'

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 37

Year 8 ‘My Chinese Teacher’ programme

Our weekly video-conference lessons every
Thursday 3.15 - 4.15pm in B14 began in September.
Congratulations to all the Year 8 pupils involved who
have committed to learning about a new language and
culture. The first module was successfully completed in
December by the following pupils and they have now
embarked on the second unit for Terms 3-4:

Anakha Paul, Beatrix Pepper, Besiana Martinaj,
Caeleb Davey, Elizabeth Hindmarsh, Emma Goncalves,
Frederick Woodbridge, Liliana Kuprowska, Nico
Luscombe, Amelie Bell, Charlotte Evans, Chloe Smith,
Jonas Litvinavicius, Shannyn Navarro.

It has been great to see their enthusiasm and excellent knowledge of Mandarin Chinese as well as of the Chinese
culture developing in the lessons led by our teacher, Gao Laoshi, in Beijing. If any current pupils from Year 7 or
Year 8 are interested in coming along for a taster session and signing up for a potential new group following the
'My Chinese Teacher' programme, please come to see to Miss Chong.

Congratulations to our current Mandarin group. I am looking forward to a potential new group in September 2020.

A report written by a group of Year 8s taking part in this year’s Mandarin programme:

This term, we have learnt our numbers from 1 to 99 in Mandarin. We enjoyed learning the hand symbols for each
number which was very different to what we might expect in English.

Liliana’s teaching tip: “If you say a number beyond 10, you can follow a very easy pattern to count all the way to 99”
Jonas’ example: 43 would be si (4), shi (10) and san (3) in Mandarin
Caeleb’s example: 11 is shi yi (10+1), 20 is er shi (2+10) and 30 is san shi (3+10)

We have also been preparing a presentation about the Chinese New Year which took place this year on 25th January.
This year, it is the year of the rat. Here are some interesting facts we have found out:

Libby: “There are different elements which match with the different years (e.g. water, metal, earth, fire, wood).
So this year is the year of the metal rat!”

Emma: “Each food symbolises something. (e.g. Egg rolls bring wealth and prosperity.”
Beatrix: “The Chinese believe it is bad luck to have facial hair!”
Charlotte: “All the different zodiac signs are really interesting as each animal has a different personality.”
Frederick: “When you are inside a house in China, it is an honour to have a seat facing the door.”

To celebrate, we enjoyed trying some Chinese snacks and some of us made traditional decorations.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 38

Computing Department News

Well done to all those pupils who took part in the KS3 National Online Computational Thinking run by
Oxford University. All pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 Computing classes took part and received certificates
according to their result score. Those who have qualified for the next round will be contacted by Mr Fegan.

Microsoft DigiGirlz Day

Mr Fegan is taking a select group of girls from Year 8
who have shown an interest and aptitude in Computing
to the Microsoft DigiGirlz program in Cambridge.

The DigiGirlz programs give secondary school girls
opportunities to learn about careers in technology,
connect with Microsoft employees, and participate
in hands-on computer and technology workshops.
This exciting event provides girls with career planning
assistance, information about technology and business
roles and thought-provoking Computational exercises.

By participating in the Microsoft DigiGirlz Day, young women can find out about the variety of opportunities
available in the high-tech industry and can explore future career paths.

Other Computing Department News

Two teams from Years 7-10 recently took part in the final round of the Cyber Security Competition. The
pupils spent a challenging day looking for vulnerabilities in operating systems and learned valuable skills
in this interesting and exciting field of IT. The Matrix Challenge Cyber Security competition is an optional
competition open to all pupils; for more information, see the link on Edulink.

Prep Club & Prep Club Plus

Need somewhere quiet to complete homework?
Why not come to Prep Club one or two nights a week?

Open 3.15 - 5.00pm, Monday to Thursday in ‘C’ Block ICT Suite. Give it a try!
Supervised by a member of staff.

See what a difference it makes to your evening by completing homework
in school rather than at home.

Prep Club Plus takes place in BICT from 3.15-4.15pm and is for pupils with SEN.

The library is also open until 4.30pm Monday to Thursday with computer facilities available
as well as plenty of books!

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 39

Science Department

StREaM Club

Most of the pupils in the club have now reached a professional standard of
component soldering and have moved on to construction of their minDUINO
circuit boards.

The minDUINO is a compact version of the Arduino Uno, originally designed for
educational purposes. The minDUINO has been designed to be a compact unit
with easy access to all the GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) connections.
The board carries an ATMEGA328 Microcontroller, essentially a very small
computer able to process complex tasks. When connected to sensors, switches
and other peripherals, the minDUINO can be very useful.

The minDUINO can be programmed in the same way as the original Arduino, and with the same software.
The language is a variant of C++ used extensively in applications all over the world. By experimenting with the
minDUINOs they have constructed, the pupils will develop an understanding of the C++ language and how
electronic hardware is put together to solve real-world problems."

Francois Ralph: “I feel I have reached a high standard of soldering. I am now designing and building a
circuit board which I hope will eventually be part of a model helicopter”

Ryan Green: “I feel confident about my soldering skills and have now completed the inital phase of
constructing my minDUINO circuit board. I am now considering what device this will go into.”

Mr S.Curtis/Mr S.Smith

Young Investigators:

This term we have been dissecting hearts,
experimenting with oobleck....is it a solid or
a liquid?? and investigating movement in
plants by growing cress and experimenting
with a venus flytrap! Here’s what the pupils
have said about the last four weeks:

“It’s really fun and enjoyable. The balloon
race was really fun.” Michal Saba

“It’s really fun. My favourite thing since Christmas was the balloon race.”
Patrick Heeson

“The oobleck is really fun to do and can be a solid or a liquid!” Orson Finch

Young Investigators runs on Thursday Lunchtimes in Lab 5.

Newsletter - February 2020 Telescope evening

We were privileged to have Joolz Durkin, Andy Lawes and some of
his colleagues leading an astronomy observing evening in January.
Predictably, the weather was not on our side so the event took
place in the library with pupils and visitors using telescopes and
learning about some astronomical phenomena.

“I found the whole evening fascinating, particularly the moon
rocks” May Fogarty-Stevens

“Looking at the telescopes was particularly interesting”
Lily Holloway

Page 40

PE Department

Year 7 Football

Due to the persistent wet weather throughout Harry Hills remained a huge threat to AAA by using
December and January, the Year 7s’ last league match his quick feet to bring others into the game and get
had been postponed an astonishing four times! In order shots on goal. Harvey Wheeler, Rian Todd and David
to ensure the match went ahead, it was eventually Bowden had all been solid in defence, but in a last
played indoors. St Richard’s dominated most of the ditch attempt to get something out of the game, Harvey
possession and made sure the Ark Alexandra Academy Wheeler moved further forward to put some late
(AAA) goalkeeper was kept busy throughout the match. pressure on the hosts.
Despite this, AAA, managed to stay in the game and
somehow went 4-3 up in the later stages of the match. Eventually, Harvey dribbled past an AAA midfielder and
This was mainly down to their strong left sided player emphatically smashed home a late equaliser from 20
who managed to cut inside and score a couple of yards; this ensured that St Richard’s secured a more
almost identical goals from long range. than deserved away point.

With just five minutes to go, St Richard’s were still The Year 7 pupils have made excellent progress this
losing 4-3 but the boys refused to give up. Ben year. I’m sure their large squad of players will help
Sandeman, along with Pablo and Daniel Haylock- them to be an even stronger force to be reckoned with
Fernandez, continued to run their socks off showing next year as they move into the 11 a side format.
talent with and without the ball.

Boys’ football round up Football League positions

The boys have been very impressive on the football Year 7
pitch this year with strong football being played by all
year groups in some challenging wet conditions. It 1st: The St Leonards Academy
has been an exciting time with our four pitches being 2nd: Claverham Community College
madeover with four sets of new goalposts. Skilltek 3rd: St Richard’s Catholic College
have supported this by adding to our footballing 4th Bexhill Academy
opportunities and by helping pupils to progress really 5th Ark Alexandra Academy
well.
Year 8
All of the boys involved this year should be proud
of their efforts and of how they have placed in their 1st St Richard’s Catholic College
respective leagues. We would like to increase the 2nd The Hastings Academy
number of fixtures next year. I have contacted the 3rd Robertsbridge Community College
football organiser of the Hastings Area to request
that we develop how our leagues run. This will be Year 9
important to support the continued development
of football for the most competitive schools in the 1st St Richard’s Catholic College
Hastings & Rother area such as St Richard’s next 2nd Claverham Community College
year. 3rd The Hastings Academy
4th Claremont
Coming soon........
Year 10
By the end of term 3, the boys and girls Basketball
fixtures will have begun as well as the boys rugby 1st St Richard’s Catholic College
tournaments. 2nd The Hastings Academy
3rd Robertsbridge Community College
We also look forward to reporting on several other
events in our next newsletter including the Year 7 Year 11
Cross Country that is scheduled to take place at the
end of February in Horsham. 1st The St Leonards Academy
2nd St Richard’s Catholic College
3rd Robertsbridge Community College
4th The Hastings Academy

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 41

Hastings and District Area Schools Indoor Sportshall Athletics

Year 7

Well done to the pupils who represented the school in the local area schools
athletics competition held at The St Leonards Academy. With many of the
events being new to the team, they produced some excellent individual and team
performances.

The Boys’ team won the silver medal for second place.
Team members were: Ben Sandeman,
Gus Abulu, Harry Hills, Harvey Wheeler, Rian Todd, Tyrone Mlotshwa,
Aleksander Klepczarek, Nate Cahill.

The Girls’ team finished 6th.
Team members were:
Patricija Zandere, Maisy Rees, Alice Saldana, Emily Hambleton, Sophie Beck,
Annaliese Beeney, Ose Ebhohimen

Year 8

The Year 8 Boys and Girls Sportshall Athletics teams both
worked hard to achieve as many points for their teams as
possible. It was fantastic to see such a strong team spirit.

The encouragement the pupils gave each other to help boost
their performance levels was second to none. The boys
should be proud of themselves: they received bronze medals
for finishing in third place. The girls should also be proud for
finishing in 4th place out of all of the schools in Hastings and the
surrounding areas. The boys and girls teams are pictured here.

Year 7 Netball

Year 8 Rugby Our Year 7 Netball team showed lots of promise as they came
second in their tournament at Ark Alexandra Academy.

We won our first match with some consistent shooting and sharp
passing against Ark Alexandra, but we were always up against
it when we took on Claverham in our final match. Claverham
happen to have a large number of strong Hastings Netball Club
players, but this didn’t faze the girls. We started the game at
a ferocious pace that Claverham just weren’t expecting. This
saw us go 2-0 up in the first five minutes, but Claverham’s
experience came through in the end. They took the lead in the
second quarter and went on to deservedly win the match. All of
our Netball squad should be very pleased with themselves, it
seems that we have a strong set of Netballers in the making!

On a windy day with heavy rain our Year 8s A special mention should go to Will Taylor who seemed
convincingly won their first match of the season 45 to score a try with every touch of the ball! The match
- 0 against Bexhill Academy. The standard of play was very much a one sided affair, but Bexhill Academy
was to be admired, we overturned rucks, won all of should take some credit for not worrying about the
our scrums and moved the ball well, considering the scoreline and for never giving up.
horrible weather.
Our St Richard’s Year 8s are current area champions
Strong running with the ball was consistent across our and their hard work at Rugby club has helped their
team. This fixture allowed us to rotate the players on unbeaten run continue.
the pitch quite a lot to maximise everyone’s game time.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 42

PE Department Clubs/Practices (Term 4, 2020)

Before Lunchtime After School 1 After School 2
school
Monday FOOTBALL - Year 7 PRIMARY EVENTS
Mr Dallaway
Tuesday (Sports Hall) EACH WEEK

Wednesday BOYS BASKETBALL GCSE/BTEC Sport Intervention Sports Leaders to be involved.
Year 7 & 8
Mr Feery *Dates may change to a Tuesday Mr Varney and other PE staff
(Gym)
depending on meetings (Sports Hall)

Mr Bligh

TRAMPOLINING GIRLS RUGBY
Mr Feery (Field)

(Sports Hall) GIRLS BASKETBALL
YEAR 10 & 11
Mrs Dallaway
(Gym)

FOOTBALL - Year 8 GCSE/BTEC Sport Intervention GIRLS FOOTBALL - All years
Mr Dallaway *Dates may change to a Monday Mr Varney
(Sports Hall) (Field)
depending on meetings
BOYS BASKETBALL Mr Bligh
Year 9
YEARS 7 & 8 GIRLS BADMINTON
Mr Feery INDOOR CRICKET Year 9 & DofE
(Sports Hall)
Sussex coach Ms Gill
(Gym) (Sports Hall)

TABLE TENNIS BOYS BASKETBALL U’14 LOWER SCHOOL
All years Mr Feery BOYS RUGBY
Mr Bligh
Mrs Dallaway (Sports Hall) (Field)
(Gym)
GIRLS FOOTBALL BASKETBALL FIXTURE NIGHT
GIRLS BASKETBALL - KS3 Mr Dallaway
Mr Feery (Field)
(Gym)

Thursday GCSE/BTEC FOOTBALL - Year 10 SKILLTEK FOOTBALL GIRLS BASKETBALL
Intervention Mr Bligh Years 7 & 8 All years
Mr Feery (Gym) Skilltek coach
8.00 - 8.35am (Field) Mr Varney - YR 7 & 8
(A8) BOYS BASKETBALL - Year 11 (Sports Hall)
Mr Feery
(Gym) Mr Dallaway - YR 9, 10 & 11
(Gym)

Friday GIRLS FOOTBALL BOYS BASKETBALL - U16 TABLE TENNIS - All years
All years Mr Feery Mr Dallaway
(Gym)
Mr Dallaway (Gym) (Sports Hall)
BASKETBALL FIXTURE NIGHT
GIRLS BASKETBALL - KS4
Mr Feery

(Sports Hall)

Saturday BASKETBALL - U’16 and U’14
Mr Feery

(Sports Hall 8.45-11.15)

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 43

Chaplaincy News

The Advent Service at the end of last term proved to be a very good way to prepare for the Feast of the Nativity:
sincere thanks to both pupils and staff who worked so hard to make it a success. Now we are beginning to turn our
thoughts to the next significant season in the Church’s year, that of Lent, with Ash Wednesday. This special day in the
Church’s calendar is one of only two in the year when we are asked to give up some amount of food (fasting) and to
abstain from eating meat (abstinence); the other day being Good Friday in Holy Week. Lent is a unique time to make
a conscious effort to renew and deepen our Christian faith, through prayer, giving to those in need, and generally
making more time and space for God in our lives.

Advent Service

Our annual Advent Service took the theme this year of “Open the door
of our hearts to Jesus this Christmas”. We were inspired by the painting
‘The Light of the World’ by William Holman Hunt which illustrates the
theme - i.e. the arrival of Jesus at Christmas brings light to the world.
The picture shows Jesus outside the door but the door has no handle
as it is on the inside ...i.e. we must choose to open the door to let the
light in. So we must be open to Christ in our lives in order to move from
darkness into light. Indeed, we can carry this theme throughout the year,
not just at Christmas.

The Performing Arts Department once again spent many hours after school and at lunchtime preparing pupils with
input from the orchestra, choir, dance, drama and Friday Night Live. We had over 100 pupils taking part and it was
thoroughly inspiring to see so many get involved. My thanks to Ms Mason, Mrs Byrne, Mrs Dunster, Miss Whelan,
Mrs Knight, Miss Savage and all the pupils for their efforts.

We were, once again, delighted to be able to present a donation of £1766.30 to Surviving Christmas. This year they
had to come early to collect the pupils’ food donations due to the demand the charity had received in the run up to
Christmas. So, this money, alongside the many boxes of food, was gratefully received and put to good use supporting
the elderly, the homeless and needy families.

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 44

Year Group and Form Masses and Services Redshirts - Arundel and Brighton Lourdes
Pilgrimage 2020
This term, Year 9 had their Year service, which focused
on the theme #Restart. Mrs Byrne taught us a new hymn The Diocesan Lourdes pilgrimage and the Youth Service
inspired by our Mission week. The hymn is called ‘Yes Redshirts Application is now open online and next term
Lord’ and the lyrics to the first verse are “I’m trading my I will be going into Year 10 and Year 11 assembly to
sorrow, I’m trading my Pain I’m laying it down for the advertise this. A number of current Year 11 pupils were
love of the Lord” - Deacon Ian encouraged Year 9 to part of Redshirts last year and will be speaking about
think about giving up all the negative things in their lives their experiences.
and, like the hymn suggests, ‘trading it in’ for God. An
inspiring key message to think about restarting in this What is a Redshirt? They are a group of young people
new year by turning all those bad or negative things we from Years 10 and 11 who are led by a fantastic and
experienced toward God and allowing him to be in our committed team of young leaders. Since 2004, nearly
lives. 600 young people from all over the Diocese have
experienced what it means to be a Redshirt. The
Mrs Dunster and Mr Lahache’s form had their last form Redshirts support the Pilgrims and this is their act of
Mass in St Richard’s and Fr Chris was delighted to service to others. Many former Redshirts have been
be with them to celebrate this occasion. They prayed known to say ‘I received more than I gave.’ The Redshirts
for God’s support during the exam period and for the Pilgrimage is organised by the Diocese and is not a
courage not to forget to include Jesus in that journey and school trip, however, the chaplaincy is happy to support
beyond. any pupils in their application and with any fundraising
they wish to do. Please contact Jo with any questions.
Friday Morning Mass for staff and pupils Applications can be done online via the following link -
http://ablourdes.org/
Every Friday at 8.10am, Mass is celebrated in room A3.
All staff and pupils are warmly invited to attend. If you Knit & Natter Club
have a special prayer intention that you would like to be
included at Mass, perhaps for someone who is unwell or Exciting News: our blanket,
for someone who has died, then do let Jo know. made last year, will be winging
its way to the Greyhound
Liturgy Reps Rescue Centre to support a
newly rescued greyhound.
Liturgy Reps met this term and a working group was
created to assist with planning for the annual Lent I will, of course, feature pictures of the recipient as soon
CAFOD Walk and Foodbank appeal. We will have a as we have them. Following a request from members,
meeting at the start of next term. the club will now be meeting on Monday and Wednesday
lunchtimes in Link 2. My thanks to Mr Massey for the
Fairtrade Activities use of his room for our club. We will be focusing on
creating items to sell at the Summer Fayre over the next
Fairtrade Fortnight this year runs from Monday, 24th few terms. Any parent/grandparent or family member,
February to Sunday 8th March. Fairtrade Champions who knits or crochets and would like to make squares
have had an initial meet up and over the two weeks (8” (20cm) size) for us to make into various items such
we will be having our usual Fairtrade Chocolate stall as bags and purses using crochet and French knitting
and Easter egg raffle and the MFL Fairtrade Bake-off iCords, please send them in to the Reception for the
Challenge, We are planning on having the Fashion attention of Jo.
Show again this year but will move it to the summer term
in order to allow more to attend.

Thank you to all pupils, staff and priest chaplains for helping to make all the above activities possible. The spiritual life
of the school continues to flourish because of your valued contributions. With very best wishes.

Jo Doyle (Lay Chaplain), Tel: 01424 731070 Email: [email protected]

School Policy on holidays and time off for extra-curricular activities

Parents, please understand the school’s policy on taking time off outside of school holidays: permission for pupils
to attend events or to participate in extra-curricular activities during term time will only be given in exceptional
cases, and not as a matter of course.

Parents must write to me well in advance and fill in the Withdrawal from Learning Application form issued by East
Sussex. If the request is not authorised then a Penalty Notice will be issued. The penalty is £120 per parent, i.e.
unless it’s a single parent family a fine of £240 will be issued. If you pay within 28 days the fine is reduced to £60
per parent and £120 for both parents. You must pay within 42 days to avoid prosecution. Please be aware that all
holiday requests will be unauthorised to comply with DfE directives. Miss Cronin, Principal

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 45

St Richard's Catholic College Calendar - Academic Year 2019/2020 (as at February 2020)
Please keep this sheet in a safe place and replace when updates are provided

Year 11 Reports to Parents/Carers Tuesday, 11th February
Careers Fayre (in the school gym) Thursday, 13th February (2:00pm-4:00pm)
Year 11 Parents’ Evening Thursday, 13th February (5:00pm-8:00pm)
End of Term 3 Friday, 14th February

First Day of Term Four for pupils Monday, 24th February 2020
Year 11 EBACC Mocks start Monday 24th February
Music Showcase Wednesday, 4th March (7.00pm)
Year 8 Reports to Parents/Carers Tuesday, 10th March
Parental Focus Group (am) Wednesday, 11th March (9:15am)
Dance Showcase Wednesday, 11th March (7.00pm)
Year 8 Parents’ Evening Thursday, 12th March (5:00pm-8:00pm)
Parental Focus Group (pm) Thursday, 19th March (6:15pm)
Neuro-Ninja Seminar 5 - Brain Science of Meh Thursday, 19th March (6:30pm - 7:30pm)
Year 10 Reports to Parents/Carers Tuesday, 24th March
Year 10 Parents’ Evening Thursday, 26th March (5:00pm-8:00pm)
End of Term 4 (Easter Services for pupils) Friday, 3rd April

First Day of Term Five for pupils Monday, 20th April 2020
PTFA meeting Monday, 20th April (7:00pm)
Year 10 Exams begin Monday 27th April
Parental Focus Group (am) Wednesday, 29th April (9:15am)
Parental Focus Group (pm) Thursday, 30th April (6:15pm)
Neuro-Ninja Seminar 6 - Be a Study Neuro-Ninja Thursday, 5th May (6:30pm - 7:30pm)
GCSE written exams begin Monday 11th May
Neuro-Ninja Seminar 7 - Your Brain & Other People Thursday, 14th May (6:30pm - 7:30pm)
Year 7 Reports to Parents/Carers Tuesday, 19th May
Year 7 Parents’ Evening Thursday, 21st May (5:00pm-8:00pm)
Year 10 Exam Results to Parents/Carers Friday, 22nd May
End of Term 5 Friday, 22nd May

First Day of Term Six for pupils Monday, 1st June 2020
Parental Focus Group (am) Wednesday, 10th June (9:15am)
Neuro-Ninja Seminar 8 - Way of the Neuro-Ninja Wednesday, 10th June (6:30pm - 7:30pm)
Parental Focus Group (pm) Thursday, 11th June (6:15pm)
New Intake Evening for September 2020 admissions Wednesday, 18th June (7:00pm)
PTFA Summer Fayre Saturday, 20th June
INSET Day (school closed for pupils) Monday, 22nd June
BLOCK Day 1 Thursday, 2nd July
BLOCK Day 2 Friday, 3rd July
Year 9 Reports to Parents/Carers Tuesday, 7th July
Year 7-9 exams These take place in lessons during Term 6
Summer Production 7th, 9th and 10th July (evening performances)
Sports Day Wednesday, 8th July
End of Term 6 Wednesday, 22nd July

Newsletter - February 2020 Page 46