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www.bellerivefcj.org Specialising in the Sciences, Applied Learning, Maths and Computing

February 2015

For Parents, Carers, Parishes and Community

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Year 7 started the year with a brilliant Retreat, led by Animate Youth Ministries. The theme of the day was ‘Growing in Faith’ and throughout the day, pupils were introduced to the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:4-9). Pupils had an amazing time at Lowe House. The day started with a ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ competition and pupils played team games where they had to work in groups to build a bridge for ‘Meg the egg’, untangle themselves from a ‘human chain’ and complete a number puzzle.

In the afternoon, pupils worked in groups in a ‘Headteacher for the Day’ activity. They created some very interesting and thought-provoking school rules. Pupils also looked at some inspirational people and had a challenging task to rank them in order.

After lunch, volunteers played a game where they were blindfolded and had to guess the food they were touching. This game linked to the Parable of the Sower so that we could understand what the seed that fell in good soil could produce.

The day ended with a meditation. Pupils had a great time and we are looking forward to welcoming Animate to Bellerive in April when we will have a whole school Mission week.

A reflective start to 2015 for Year 7

For entry into Year 7 in 2016 - Tuesday 7th July 6pm - 8pm

Bellerive is a popular choice for girls from across Liverpool and beyond. Come and find out why it is such a unique and oversubscribed school.

Open Evening Taster DayYear 4 and Year 5 Taster Day

Monday 22nd June Email 'tasterday@bellerivefcj.org' for more details

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9R go Christmas crackers for CAFOD fundraiser

Students, led by their form tutor Miss Doolan, staged a mini Christmas market on the Elmfield playground as part of their form efforts to raise funds for CAFOD. All products sold were crafted by 9R in their free time. A wide selection of goodies was on offer ranging from chocolate reindeers, Christmas chocolate brownie jars, spa in a jar, handmade stationery, handmade bunting, aromatherapy creams and bath fizzers.

The assembled hordes of Bellerive students were also entertained with live music, a tombola and raffle. The funds raised are going to help needy families in Africa purchase donkeys to help with their farming. Well done to 9R who have displayed the full range of FCJ values, especially companionship in showing solidarity with those in need.

Bellerive students help to break the language barrier

Six French students from Year 9 were successful in the Languages Leaders Application Programme for this academic year. The girls have already visited St Anthony of Padua’s in December to deliver lessons to Year 5 and Year 6 pupils on the topic of Christmas in France. It was a really enjoyable afternoon and the girls gained a lot of confidence teaching the primary school students.

The Year 9 students are receiving training from the Liverpool Education Authority Primary Modern Foreign Languages Team and the girls were excellent ambassadors for languages and Bellerive on the day. The girls will be returning to St Anthony of Padua’s before Easter to deliver their next lesson on the topic of food and drink. Well done girls!

Bellerive backs Nugent Care

A group of Year 11 girls have shown they are true examples of Companionship as they have volunteered to visit James Nugent Court, Ullet Road every Friday during lunchtime. The girls go to talk to the residents and it is a wonderful experience for everyone.

In December 2014 the group organised a Christmas concert. There was a great festive atmosphere in the home. Pupils and residents took turns to sing and we all enjoyed a cup of tea and mince pies. It is great to see the enthusiasm of our young ladies who give their time and energy to help others.

We are very happy to support Nugent Care, a charity that helps adults and children across Liverpool and the North West. On Thursday 26th February, Nugent Care are hosting a Fashion Show and Sale at Dobbies Garden centre in Speke at 6pm. For further details and to purchase tickets please contact Fran on 0151 261 2043.

Pupils from Years 11, 12 and 13 were celebrating in style at our recent Sixth Form prizegiving held in the Concert Room of St George’s Hall.

Our Guests of honour were Bishop Tom Williams and Jane Clarke, a former Bellerive pupil who were recently graduated from Cambridge University with a First in History, were on hand to present the prizes to students during an evening that was a celebration of our young people and their achievements.

The past academic year saw many notable achievements by Bellerive students, with exam results well above the national average, and it was only fitting that they should be recognised for their hard work and dedication.

The evening also saw the inaugural Clare Wrigley Award for Progress in Physics being presented. This award has been sponsored by the family of Clare Wrigley, a former Bellerive pupil

who had a successful academic career in Physics, and is intended to support Clare’s aim of encouraging more girls to take up the subject.

The audience of family and friends was also entertained by musical interludes from the Bellerive Orchestra and Choir. The orchestra performed a stirring verion of Hans Zimmer’s score from Pirates of the Caribbean, while the choir rounded off the evening with a superb medley from Les Miserables, which included the rather fitting “I Dreamed a Dream”.

It was wonderful to see so many past and present pupils in attendance at a thoroughly enjoyable evening that perfectly embodied our aim of achieving excellence in all that we do.

Our thanks go to all of the staff and students who worked so hard to make the event such a resounding success.

Celebrating in style with our students

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On a cold, dark and dreary Friday morning, Sister MaryAnne FCJ, Ms. Whitehead, Miss Yates and 24 Sixth Form students met at Liverpool John Lennon Airport to fly to the beautiful (and somewhat warmer!) city of Barcelona.Although the weather was slightly damp when we arrived, by the time we had settled into our rooms and boarded the Metro for Las Ramblas, the sun had made an appearance. After a few hours of strolling along the famous Las Ramblas we went to see some of Gaudi’s famous architecture, before returning to our accommodation to get a relatively early night in preparation for the busy days ahead.

Saturday morning was very cold but sunny as we made our way to the beautiful, iconic Sagrada Familia., a must for everyone to visit. The intricate design of the birth of Jesus on one side, to the plain, stark design for the story of the Resurrection on the other side was simply stunning. Inside, the attention to

Year 13 pay their own homage to Cataloniadetail and the colourful stained glass windows created a calm, peaceful atmosphere in which to reflect and pray. The afternoon was spent in Parc Guell, where we were able to see stunning panoramic views of Barcelona and more of Gaudi’s architecture. We also met a rather interesting busker! By this stage the weather was warm enough to remove coats (also helped by the climb up the hill of course!) while we received messages from home to inform us it was snowing.

In the evening we dined in the Hard Rock Café and then went to a flamenco show. The girls were given an opportunity to get up on stage and join in with the dancing to ‘The Macarena’ and there was also a very impressive solo performance from Lois Youds.

Sunday morning saw us climbing another hill to take the cable car to Montjuic Castle. Once again the weather was warm and sunny and

the views were breathtaking. We spent the afternoon in Poble Espanyol, an outdoor museum which celebrates the architecture of different areas of Spain. Of the 110 shops, the chocolate shops were a particular favourite. After some time souvenir shopping, we went to mass in Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter, then for a meal at the marina, followed by a bit more shopping.

During our stay we (nearly) all became very ‘Familia’ with Barcelona’s Metro system.

We woke up on Monday to rain, to prepare us for our reluctant return to Liverpool. After last minute duty free purchases, we boarded the plane to head back home. Many thanks go to Sr MaryAnne FCJ

As Reading Champions we all enjoy reading for our own reasons, but majorly as an escape from reality and taking time to relax. We believe that reading for pleasure also has its own benefits in English and also in life. We’re also starting a scheme called Reading Buddies to aid younger pupils in gaining some more confidence in their reading abilities, including reading out loud. We hope this scheme does help people and that many of you attend!

Lately, the books we have enjoyed are: Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and The Maze Runner (Trilogy) by James Dashner.

For those who enjoy light, fun, online reads, we would highly recommend the app Wattpad, which allows you to create your stories and gain access to quality writing by teenagers and young adults. One of the great aspects

of this is that you can comment on the book and gain advice from others, while sharing enthusiasm with other people from all around the world.

Reading champions

Bellerive FCJ Catholic College, Windermere Terrace, Sefton Park, Liverpool, L8 3SB Tel: 0151 727 2064 Fax: 0151 727 8242 www.bellerivefcj.org

Plans for the new Sixth Form and Performing Arts building overlooking Sefton Park are taking shape. We have been working closely with our architects (Mouchel) and building contractors (Morgan Sindall) to develop the design to ensure it will incorporate the latest technology and provide the best possible end product for our growing school. Work is taking place at the moment to prepare the site for the start of building works and we will keep you up to date on developments in future newsletters.

First images and plans for new Sixth Form Centre released

Reading for Pleasure

We have recently launched a new student led group in school that is taking responsibility for promoting reading for pleasure. Good communication skills are crucial to the success of our students, both at school and in life, and this group recognises the importance of independent reading in developing these skills. They currently meet each Thursday lunchtime, in the Resource Base, to discuss whole school ideas to help promote reading and Literacy in general. So far, they have delivered assemblies to raise student awareness and have displayed book reviews for other students to read. As a school, we are going to be developing areas for students to use to read for pleasure and also, times of the day dedicated to this activity. In addition to this, we would like to ask for parental support in making sure that reading is a priority in the home as well. There is a Recommended Reads list on the ‘Parents’ section of the school website and this gives a comprehensive overview of well reviewed, age appropriate Literature, which could be useful in guiding your children in their choice of books.

If any parent has questions relating to any of the above, please feel free to contact Miss Cunningham at school. Dates for your Diary at Bellerive FCJ

• Y11 Science controlled assessments late February • Y10 Target Setting Evenings 10AMR Tuesday 3rd March, 10STJ Wednesday 4th March (both at 5pm) • World Book Day Thursday 5th March • Y10 Parents' Evening Wednesday 11th March (4-6pm) • Holy Week services during week commencing 30th March • School finishes for Easter holidays after lessons on Thursday 2nd April • School reopens for students after Easter holidays on Tuesday 22nd April

We have been using a product called Doddle to help students and teachers assess progress and revise for exams. Doddle can be used in school but also at home. Students might find some of their homework and revision tasks are set on Doddle. All tasks are completed online and many of them will be marked for instant feedback on progress.

All students can log in as below:https://www.doddlelearn.co.uk/app/login?

Institution: Bellerive FCJ Catholic College L8 3SB

Username: school email address OR Doddle shorter username of firstnamesurnameyearstarted (as explained below)

Initial password (if you have logged in before): bellerivePasswords can be reset by clicking the ‘forgotten password’ link

Usernames for all students, if they chose not to use email address, is firstnamesurnameyearstarted as detailed below• So all current year 7s – will end with 14 e.g rebeccajones13• So all current year 8s – will end with 13• So all current year 9s – will end with 12• So all current year 10s – will end with 11• So all current year 11s – will end with 10