St Gregory the GreatCatholicSchool
Newsletter
Volume 7 Issue 2014thFebruary 2014
Tel: 01865 749933Fax: 01865 717314
Email:
@StGregsOxford
MISSION STATEMENT: “We walk in God’s ways where together we live, love, learn and celebrate”
Prayer
Education Sunday is this weekend, when we celebrate all those who work in the world of education. As you can imagine, we’re quite keen on this at St Gregory’s! Our prayer this week is taken from resources produced by the Catholic Education Service.
Father,
Thank you for all those men and women who have given their talents
to educating our young people.
Through the challenges they encounter each day, lead them to an ever deeper appreciation of the sacred duty to which you have called them.
We give thanks for the invaluable work of all those who contribute to
the efficient running of our schools;
support staff, kitchen staff, maintenance staff, governors and chaplains.
We thank them for their hard work and dedication and we pray that they may continue to work in support of our schools.
Thank you for all those who lead our Catholic schools.
May they be people of integrity so that they can be witnesses as well as teachers.
We pray that the schools they lead will become places where
our young people can experience your love in their lives.
Thank you for our Catholic schools.
Help us to pray without ceasing, to work without wavering
and to give without grudging in order to ensure
the future of Catholic education for all of our children.
We make this prayer through your Son, Jesus Christ, our teacher and our Lord,
Amen.
School Award 1
“Is this a school award I see before me?” Miss Abbott would like to celebrate all the hard work and effort put in by 8A4/En for their work on Macbeth. Well done everyone!
School Award 2
Fran Walsh would like to nominate Courtney Muntfor an award for help in the chaplaincy department this week,2students had fallen out and Courtneyled a restorative circle time to help the students talk through their differences.Courtney reflected on her own life as she helped the students reflect on their own. She did an outstanding job and showed great care and sensitivity.
Year 11 Kintbury Retreat
A wonderful week was had by our Year 11's who went on the Kintbury Retreat. I was so proud of how the students threw themselves into the activities and discussions.They made friends with the students from the other school and before verylong it became hard to differentiate ourstudents from theirs as they mixedso well.All gained a deeper understanding ofwho they are and where they are going.A huge thank you to Mr Johnson (DT) who came withusand whose humour and good natureadded so much to the students’ experience. Fran.
Year10 Kintbury Retreat
It is nowtheturn for the year 10 students to have their Retreat-Monday 31st March- Thursday 3rd April.Letters can becollected from theChaplaincy and RE Office. We cannot stress how valuable these sorts of experiences are for our students; space and time to reflect on the important questions of life. Please do not hesitate in ringing the Chaplaincy office for more information.
School Award 3
Tayla Bradley and Candice Chant (Year 8) have been nominated for a school award by Mrs Ryle for the help and support they give to Sophia Hotson during PE lessons.
Carmel House Mass
The Carmel House Holy Mass took place on Thursday, celebrated by Fr. Vincent O’Hara of the Carmelite community at Boars Hill, who reflected on the Life od St. Therese of Lisieux in his Homily. Each tutor group provided a gift for the offertory. Students led the readings, prayers and giving of the peace. Thanks to our Altar servers and readers; Matthew O’Donoghue C1, Matthew Roberts D2, Jessica Palmer C4, Lillie Boyce C4, Callum Bourton C3, Nasriya El-Hosny C3, Danilo Lira C3, Numayr Malik C3, Finola Murphy C12 to Mr Reid and the musicians, Mrs Henderson and the choir, and to Mrs Enticknap & Fran Walsh for organising.
The following tutor groups were responsible for certain aspects of the mass;
C1 for the beautiful flowers, C5 and C15 for the welcome speech, C7 for the prayer cards, C10 the communion music, C6, C8, C15 and C11 for items for the Offatory procession, C13 for the sign of peace and C14 and C2 for the thank you speech.
Spot the deliberate mistake
The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted a punctuation error in a letter that went out earlier this week about events after half-term. This was, of course (ahem), entirely intentional and a small prize will be awarded to the first student to show Mr Hussey their correction. ‘Just testing’ as Captain Mainwaring used to say on Dad’s Army.
What Next?
An event is being held on Friday March 7th 2014 from 7-9pm at St Helen and St Katharine, Abingdon for Year 10 pupils and their parents to find out more about the options open to them, post 18, in the light of government curriculum changes.
Mike Nicholson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach for OxfordUniversity will present an overview of the choices available beyond school and how to go about making the right decisions for each student.
Three other sessions will then run concurrently from which you can choose to attend one:
- Options in performing arts and film
- Options in the professions
- Alternatives to higher education
Each session will be delivered by experts in their field.
Please book using the What next? Link. Demand is likely to be high and places will be reserved on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. If you have any questions about the event or have any problems using the online booking system please email .
School Award 4
Ms Hussain would like to nominate Saleehah Bibi and Henna Mardan in 9a4 for an award for their excellent work produced on data handling investigations.
Rome Pilgrims
Rome Pilgrims - all completed paperwork (medical forms, copy of EHIC card, student-parent contract etc.) should have now been returned to Mr. Bailey or Mrs. Haly. It is absolutely essential that we have received all of this information in advance of the trip. If for some reason you have not submitted all of this, it must be given to Mr. Bailey or Mrs. Haly on the first Monday after half term holiday. If we don’t have these documents, we can’t take you on the trip! Thanks.
Sweeney Todd
The Milk and Two Sugars theatre company are presenting the musical thriller Sweeney Todd in association with Henley Theatre Servicesat O’Reilly Theatre, KebleCollege, Blackhall Road entrance. Performances run from19th – 22nd February. Wed – Sat at19.30, Fri- Sat at 14.30. Tickets cost £11/ £8.50 concession and are available to purchase from
School Award 5
Humzah Khushi has been nominated for an award by Ms Hussain for getting 100% on his C2 exam. Well done!
Year 11 Pre-Public Examinations
Advance notice that Year 11 students will be sitting Pre-Public Exams (PPE’s) in the week beginning 17th March.
The aim of PPE’s is to enable students to demonstrate the progress they have made since the trial exams in December. Teachers also use them to diagnose problems in order to give students advice before revision for the summer exams.
And finally…
Well, we now know that it’s officially the wettest winter since Noah built the ark and it’s not even over yet. Many families have been dealing with flooded properties and the aftermath of cleaning up. Whatever your situation, I hope you manage to spend some family time together over the holiday. Hopefully when we return on 24th February, we may have some sunshine at last!
Dr Caseby
Vice Principal