DRAFT Holy Trinity Newsletter March...

Holy Trinity Newsletter March 2016

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Dear Parents, What a short spring term this has been! Easter is rarely as early as it is this year and this has meant that our spring term has been very short. I hope all our pupils and families enjoy time away from school over the next two weeks, they will need to be refreshed because our next half-term is eight weeks long! Our Year 6 pupils have been working extremely hard in preparation for their SATS tests and these will take place during the sixth week back after Easter. Our Year 11 pupils have also been preparing hard for their final GCSE and BTEC exams in May and June and they too have lots of exams a month after we return. It is important for our pupils in Year 6 and Year 11 that they spend time this Easter preparing for those tests and exams, I know many of them are doing just that. Lots of interesting and exciting things happened last term. World

March 2016

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Book Day was celebrated in the primary phase with many of our children dressing up as their favourite characters from a book and having lots of fun with reading throughout the day. In the secondary phase extracts from books were read throughout the day and teachers dressed up too. A great time was had by all. Our Alternative Curriculum Days were a great success and had various focuses across the school. A range of activities and events took place and our staff worked hard to organise things, many thanks to them for that. Our Lenten charity focus has been very successful with many students getting involved in a range of fund raising events for Barnsley Hospice. We will report our totals raised once all the money had been collected in. Year 10 had their work experience fortnight and we had several letters from host employers telling us how

2 Changes to Testing and Exams… 6 9R’s Fairtrade Fundraiser 3 Pasta King Winners… 7 School Gateway… 4 World Book Day… 7 Year 5 & 6 Enjoy Netball Success… 5 Autumn, by Haydn Gough… 8 U11 Girls Football…

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impressed they were with our student’s hard work and effort. This year pupils had to organise their own work experience and almost every pupil managed to do that. They were a credit to our school and will have learned much about what the world of work is like! Thank you to classes 5, 6, 7 and 8 for their Lenten play, which was performed for parents just before we broke up. The story of Jesus’ last days ending with his crucifixion was told beautifully and the singing, acting and costumes were great. Thanks so much to all the staff and children for their hard work in putting it on. I hope you all have a pleasant Easter break. Monday 4th April is an INSET day so we look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Tuesday 5th April. Kind regards and God Bless,

Simon Barber

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If you need to contact school, our details are as follows: Holy Trinity, Carlton Road Barnsley South Yorkshire S71 2LF Phone: 01226 704550 Fax: 01226 286798 Email: [email protected]

www.holytrinitybarnsley.org You can also find us on Twitter & Facebook:

http://bit.ly/HT316Facebook @HolyTrinity316

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The Government is implementing some big changes to the test and exam system that will affect students across all levels within our school. In primary, Year 6 pupils won’t be given a level in their tests any more, but will be measured against an Age Related Expectation in reading, writing and maths. As well as this, the standards bar is being raised, so the Age Related Expectation in year 6 is higher than it ever has been before (they say around the old high level 4/low level 5 standard), and the GCSE grade 5, which is the pass mark, will be the old high grade C/low level B. These changes will come fully into effect over the coming months and years, but it did dominate our year 9 options evening where the amount of choice of option pathways we offer has significantly reduced because of the changes. Similarly in year 11 the government wants schools to offer a more academic selection of subjects and are giving more weight to EBacc subjects. GCSE exams are changing too with grades A-G being replaced by grades 1-9, 1 being the lowest grade. In addition, there was the Chancellor’s announcement in his Budget this week, of the requirement for all schools to convert to academy status by 2020. We will obviously be requesting

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further information with regard to the impact this will have on our school and will keep you fully informed.

Changes to Testing and Exams

Forthcoming Exams – GCSEs and SATS At school, we are doing our best to support our students in order to help them to achieve their full potential and enable them to leave Holy Trinity with the best possible qualifications to help steer them on their way to the next stage in their lives. This will also help them to have the widest possible choice in what they would like to do next. There are many online resources to help with revision and information is also available on the school website. In addition, if parents would like some advice on how they can best support their children at home, as they revise and plan for their exams, please contact school and we will be happy to help.

It is also soon to be SATS time for our Year 6 children. Our Primary Phase teachers are working hard to make sure Y6 pupils are prepared for the tests. Any additional help you can give at home, will help the children to achieve their best. Again, please get in touch if you would like advice on how best to do this.

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Pasta King Winners! Our lunchtime favourite, Pasta King has been a big winner for some of our students, in more ways than one! From September to December 2015,

we had a promotion running, where all customers received a loyalty card. Each time they purchased a Pasta King meal, a stamp was added to the card and when the card was filled with six stamps they received the seventh Pasta King meal free. If that wasn’t good enough, in addition the completed cards were then entered into a prize draw. We had six lucky winners, Megan Collins, Ashleigh Crossland, Kathryn Marsden, James Littlewood and Joseph Chambers, who each won a Google Play voucher. Our big winner was Ben Cartwright, who won the fantastic first prize of a BMX bike! They are pictured with Paul Skelton from Pasta King, who came into school to present the prizes.

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Primary Lent Reflections ‘LAY YOUR WORRIES AND CONCERNS AT

THE FOOT OF THE CROSS’ Every class in the Primary phase has made the journey to chapel for a time of reflection during Lent. In the bible we read, ‘…cast all you anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.’

(1Peter 5:7) Sitting at the foot of the cross, the pupils were invited to think about the things that have upset or worried them and how it would be helpful to ‘hand these over’ to Jesus. They drew pictures or wrote down their feelings on a piece of paper – not for others to see but just for themselves. Then they were given the opportunity to leave their worries at the foot of the cross, with Jesus, who loves and cares for them for he opened His arms wide on the cross for each and every one of us. This was followed with a time of stillness and peace as the pupils thought about all that they would like to say, ‘Thank you,’ for. As music played quietly in the background, a video of bubbles was displayed and the pupils watched quietly and thoughtfully, ‘filling’ the bubbles with their ‘thanks’ and imagining them flowing heavenwards.

Hilary Richards/Lay Chaplain

World Book Day We certainly celebrated World Book Day in style in school this year! Many of our students were involved in a 'Treasure Hunt', which was won by Stephen in Year 7 – well done – and staff participated in a fancy dress competition. Special congratulations to Mrs McKinney who was Miss Trunchbull for the day! The whole school participated in 'Drop Everything And Read'; meaning that everyone in school read a whole story together throughout the course of the day. The day was enjoyed by staff and students alike.

New Book Stock In connection with our World Book Day celebrations, we are excited to announce the arrival of our new book stock; which means that students have access to a wider range of range of texts. This also means that the use of our new Accelerated Reader software can gather pace and the students can really see the benefit of reading. All students in Key Stage 3 have been using the software since the start of the academic year and they should all have a reading book to take home with them. Students have been completing quizzes on their reading and celebrations for reading achievements will take place after the Easter break. It is fantastic to see students developing a love of reading and we will continue to build a reading culture within the school. Thank you to all parents who are supporting this at home.

We had a brilliant World Book Day in School – who can you spot in this photo?

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Autumn By Haydn Gough, Y11

The florescent orange leaves lay there glistening upon the floor waiting to be resurrected by Mother Nature, filling the environment with happiness and love, forever tranquil.

The demonic trees towered me in their deathly shadows, devouring the light, entering a world of eternal darkness. Blinding my vision like a blindfold of unhappiness and loneliness.

The sun delved into the horizon. The blood soaked sun disappearing, allowing the crisp cold to infect my body and freeze my spine. Shocking my body repeatedly like a knife slowly entering like a lion hunting it’s pray.

The crunchy leaves formed a mattress underneath my feet, cushioning my every step, protecting me from what lies beneath. Fighting off the roots of hell like a knight protecting his queen, forever loyal.

The mud whirlpools forming like black holes dragging me deeper and deeper to the gates of suffering and resentment, like the brown leaves that had fallen from their thrones up above to the dungeons of the deep beneath.

The howls of the demonic dogs surrounded me, and the feeling of eyes fixating on me biding their time waiting to attack. Watching their pray, their next meal, their fur matted like a rug, and their eyes filled with hunger and aggression.

The blood exploded through my veins giving me an adrenalin rush as my body enters fight or flight. The hairs on my arm shoot up like a bullet gliding through the air. My legs lock and it devours me. The darkness has finally won. I am Earth’s now.

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9R’s Fairtrade Fundraiser

Form 9R supported Fairtrade Fortnight AND raised money for Barnsley Hospice, our Lenten Charity, by holding a Fairtrade Coffee Morning. The students put on refreshments and sold daffodils to raise a fantastic total of £101.97! Well done to everyone who helped and thank you to all staff and students who went along, bought something and donated.

The Catenian Public Speaking Competition

Holy Trinity Head Girl, Jenny Baldwin, recently participated in The Catenian Public Speaking Competition, which is open to pupils attending Catholic schools across the country. The competition was hosted by Holy Trinity School on Sunday 28th February. There was some outstanding potential shown by all participants and Jenny did really well in competing. Her speech focused on 'Which human quality do we need more of?' Jenny spoke very well, and acknowledged that in today's society, people can 'forget' to be human due to the pressures that modern technology places on them. Her speech was very well received. Well done to Jenny and everyone who took part.

Well Done! Tiffany and Olivia Cleve, two of our Primary Phase pupils have been awarded certificates for successfully attending the Children’s University for 100 hours! They will also be invited to attend the annual Children’s University Graduation ceremony in the summer. This is a brilliant achievement – a huge Well Done to Tiffany and Olivia from everyone at Holy Trinity!

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Netball On Tuesday 15th March, the Year 5 & 6 Interschool Netball Tournament took place at Outwood Grange Carlton. The Holy Trinity Team played really well, winning two out of their three matches. We finished as runners-up, a great result. The overall winners were Burton Road. The Year 5 & 6 Netball Team: (top l-r) Amy Cooper, Abi Megeary, Hannah Lane, Lavinia Harrison, Maddison Barrowclough, Jasmine Hunt, (bottom l-r) Joseph Ryan, Keaton Limbert, Marcie Heckingbottom and Kizzy Conway. They showed excellent sportsmanship throughout the tournament. Well done!

School Gateway Remember that you can receive alerts and messages from school, as well as access information about your children at school via School Gateway. You can also top up lunch money and see what your children are eating and achieving.

If you have not registered with the school gateway, it’s simple!

• Go online to www.schoolgateway.com • Select the New User tab • Enter your email address and mobile number we

have on record and press the SEND PIN button. • A PIN will be sent to your mobile. • Log in with your email address and this new PIN.

If you get a message saying that the email address and mobile number combination is not recognised, please contact the School to update your details. The system is also available as a mobile phone app!

Year 2’s Prehistoric Gifts for Mother’s Day

Our Year 2 pupils enjoy visiting the Secondary Phase for their art lessons.

Recently their topic has been dinosaurs and they used this as the theme for their Mother’s Day gifts.

Each child made a lovely fossil pendant necklace.

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Girls’ Football On Saturday 5th March 2016, we headed off to the state-of-the-art facilities at Maltby Academy, Rotherham for the Girls Under 11's North of England School Finals. There were 10 teams present on the day ranging from as close as Sheffield to as far away as Carlisle. All teams present, including Holy Trinity, had to win numerous qualifying events to reach this prestigious stage. In fact, we were told at the start of the day that there were approximately 4500 schools in the North of England and the ten schools present were the top 10! There was some unbelievable talent on show and we got off to a slow start, which turned out to be our downfall. We were unfortunate to lose both our first two games by just one goal to nil. After this, we

went on to remain unbeaten for the rest of the event. The play-off system meant that we finished in fifth place overall, which is a great achievement!

The girls were slightly disappointed but after pointing out that we finished a remarkable 5th out of 4500, they decided that they would take this as a pretty good outcome.

Holy Trinity Girls U11 team: Marcie Heckingbottom (c), Amie Cooper, Kaitlan Findlay, Abi Megeary, Latasha Cook, Lea Brammah, Kizzy Conway, Jasmine Hunt and Maddison Barrowclough.

DRAFT Holy Trinity Newsletter March...

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