CERTIFICATE EVENING YEAR 12 – THE DIAMOND LEAVERS On the evening of Thursday 15th November, nearly all of last year’s Year 11 pupils and their parents returned to the college to receive their GCSE Certificates. Ms Hughes told the students that they had excelled. They were called the Diamond Leavers in recognition of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Ms Hughes said their achievements were stunning and that she was indeed very happy with her diamonds. Presentations were woven into a service of prayers, readings and hymns. There were Governors’ awards for Best in College which were received by Ben Gompels and Blaithin Garrad. Other extremely high achievers to receive Governors’ awards were Alwin Raju and Lola Tinsley. Best in House Awards were presented again this year. Bell Burnell awards to Karolina Cisowska and Brandon Gomes. Descartes awards were presented to James Foster-Grundy and Sarah Bonehill. Pasteur awards were presented to Daniel Murphy and Ellie-Marie Tucker. The ‘Outstanding Performance’ awards for greatest progress were given to Ashley Dudbridge, Annie Hines, Andrew Rodolfo, Charlotte Clements, Liyamol Milton and Tom Jewell. It was clear from the response of students that these nominations were extremely well received and that they were worthy recipients. The Principal’s Award was presented to Annie Brown for outstanding achievement. After the impressive debut of our Staff Choir, those attending tackled a great spread of food and enjoyed catching-up with friends and acquaintances they hadn’t seen for some time. The Certificate Evening is always a highlight of the College’s year, giving us a chance to acknowledge hard work and celebrate success with ex-pupils and their families. SHOEBOX APPEAL I would like to thank all of you, particularly Years 7, 8 and 9, who donated shoeboxes, money and presents to the Shoebox Appeal. We collected 96 shoeboxes in total which is an amazing number. This will enable so many children to have something to open at Christmas. The number of items donated was incredible and I was touched by the time and thought that was put into each box. Thank you once again for your generosity and hard work. Mr McCarthy GCSE SCIENCE All Year 10 Core Science students will be sitting a mock GCSE exam on Monday 3rd December, lesson 5. (This does not involve any student studying for separate sciences) This weekend is obviously study time!

STARTING A NEW ADVENTURE AT SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY Ex-pupil Lawrence Bull shares his new university experience with us. “In my sixth week of university studying Engineering I now understand what all the excitement was about. Enjoying studying, living and going out with friends really is what Uni life is all about. My fresher’s week put my nerves to rest about living away, as I got to know the like-minded people who I live with. Now after 5 weeks of lectures I’m really enjoying the work too. Anyone who is considering university should definitely look into it as an option. Get to as many open days as you can and have a look around as many departments as you can. Each university will have a different vibe and through visiting you can decide which one is for you. Work hard to get the right results so you can choose the university you want. No matter how much effort you put in to get the required grades, it will all be worth it once you’re living and studying at university.” HISTORY COMPETITION This term, the History Department ran a Black History Month competition in which students had to research something about Black history and present this in any way they wanted. The response was fantastic and we had some great entries; some about slavery, the Bristol Bus Boycott and Martin Luther King. The winner was Jack Mills who made a model of a slavery auction. It was a fantastic entry and raises the bar for next year's entries. In second place was Kundai Vurayayi who created a display on Martin Luther King. Congratulations to all who entered for their fantastic research and projects. GCSE ENGLISH Information will be coming home shortly for parents in Year 11 Sets 3-7 about the January English Language exam. We want as many pupils as possible to get at least a C grade and will be doing everything in our power to help them achieve this. SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING Last Thursday we had a very successful Sixth Form Open Evening attended by a large number of interested students from both St Bede’s and other schools. For your information, deadlines for internal applications are 30th November for those wishing to have a course consultation meeting with Mr Strange before Christmas and Monday 17th December for remaining applications. The deadline for students applying from other schools is Monday 7th January 2013. If you require a prospectus and application form please contact the College.

St Bede’s Catholic College Long Cross, Bristol BS11 OSU

Tel: (0117) 3772200 Fax: (0117) 3772201

E-mail: stbedes@bristol.gov.uk Visit our Website: www.stbedescatholiccollege.org

Tel: (0117) 3772200 Fax: (0117) 3772201 E-mail: st_bedes_s@bristol-city.gov.uk

Tel: (0117) 3772200 Fax: (0117) 3772201 E-mail: st_bedes_s@bristol-city.gov.uk

NEWSLETTER 151 30th November 2012 2010

CONGRATULATIONS

At the end of last term, Kelly-Ann Steadman (7BTT) took part in a sponsored silence for TWO days to raise money for Children in Need. Kelly-Ann raised just over £40!

SPORTS NEWS Year 7 Rugby On Thursday 28th November, the Year 7 rugby team travelled to Ashton Park to play their semi-final of the Bristol Schools Cup. The damp cold weather seemed to have an effect on the boys as after 10 minutes they found themselves 14-0 down. After some words of ‘encouragement,’ the team rediscovered their rugby skills with Moni’Ee Wilson scoring twice and Oscar Littlemore also scored. James Lally converted one of tries to give the team a 17-14 victory. They are now waiting to hear who their rivals will be in the final – well done boys! Year 8 Netball The Year 8 netball team have continued with their winning form to beat St Bernadette’s in the semi-finals 13-3 to reach the Bristol finals next Friday. Good Luck girls. Year 9 Boys National Cup - St Bede's 1 Corfe Hill 0 A Leevan Uhlyk goal was enough to beat Corfe Hill School from Swanage in Round 5 of the National Cup. In a closely fought game with few chances, both teams battled hard in the first half to reach half time goal less. The second half followed the pattern of the first and when the goal came it was a defensive mistake which Leevan Uhylk did well to score. The boys now wait for the round 6 draw on Monday to see who they play in the last 32. St Bede’s Swimming Team If you'd like to be in the St Bede’s Swimming Team, please bring in your swimming times for 50m to the PE department. The deadline is Tuesday 4th December. VACANCY APPRENTICE ICT SUPPORT TECHNICIAN Full time, all year round 30hrs per week Governors wish to appoint an apprentice ICT Support Technician. For further details please visit our website. Alternatively telephone Mrs Parker at the College for an application pack. Closing date for applications: Monday 17th December 2012 E-SAFETY TIP Smartphones are mobile phones with internet access. There have been cases where children and young people have got into difficulty by inadvertently running up bills when buying apps and making in-app purchases. Please make sure your children are aware that some apps have hidden costs.

YEAR 7 CATCH UP EVENING Large numbers of parents attended the first catch up evening for Year 7. The evening included presentations on the Sex Education Programme, E-safety as well as an opportunity to have a one to one with the tutor, followed by refreshments. Mrs Cannon told the parents that the Year 7 pupils were just wonderful and a delight to work with at St Bede’s. NORTH BRISTOL PRIMARY SCHOOL ATHLETICS On Wednesday 28th November St Bede's hosted the North Bristol Primary School Sports Hall Athletics event as part of the National School Games initiative. The event was well attended with the maximum number of six schools bringing over 150 children in total. Sports Hall Athletics combines a mixture of running, throwing and jumping events with each school earning an overall combined score to work out the winning team. On the day there were some keenly contested events. Congratulations to Henleaze Juniors who were the eventual winners and will now go on to represent North Bristol at the Winter Games in January. The other schools that attended were Elmlea Juniors who were runners up, Bishops Road, St Teresa’s, St Johns and Westbury Park. The event was a huge success. A special thank you goes to our Year 10 students, Juliet Corr, Eden Byrne-Young, Eilish Convery, Sydney Bradshaw, Lucy Parsons and Elsa McGuire who volunteered to support the event and were a great help. The event was also supported by students from Bristol University. ATTENDANCE LINE Please ring as early as possible on the first day your child is absent from college. Tel: 0117 377 2228

WISE WORDS What you get by reaching your destination isn’t nearly as

important as what you become by reaching your destination

LAST WEEKS BRAINTEASER – FAMILY LITERACY CHALLENGE There…they’re

BRAINTEASER – FAMILY LITERACY CHALLENGE Which word or words correctly complete this sentence?

The tortoise tried ________ than the hare to win the race. Hardest, more hard, more harder, harder