GCHS TWITTERfluencycontent2-schoolwebsite.netdna-ssl.com/FileCluster/... · 2018-06-29 · St Catherine of Sienna is attributed with having said, “Be who God meant you to be and

Dear Parents/Carers,

We celebrated the Holy Day of Obligation together today for the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul, with Father Brian celebrating. Both of these men were ordinary Jews of the time; Peter, a fisherman in Galilee, and Paul a Jewish Pharisee known for persecuting Christians. Both have something in common. Not just that they were martyred as Saints, nor that they are the founders of the Holy See in Rome. The connection is that they were ordinary, but also that they both made a lot of mistakes. Just like us in fact.

Perhaps the most relevant of phrases that came to my mind in mass today when, in the Gospel, Jesus asks Peter, ‘Who do you say I am?’ We have to answer this crucial question as we grow up as Christians, but also as human beings. What our values are, what we will stand up for. It is often only when we are challenged by some terrible event that this comes about. And of course we make many mistakes on the way.

I did my First Aid training this week, and as you learn about CPR, and using a defibrillator, you really do begin to think about who you are, and whether or not you could actually give CPR or put those pads on the defibrillator onto someone, especially when you are panicking. I pray that I am that person when the need arises. I ordered a defibrillator for the school as soon as I returned. It is called an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). I spent the whole day calling it an IED, so let’s hope someone else gets to you first should you need it. I am but human!

Today who we are is also ‘an outstanding Catholic school in every respect’!! As a community we celebrated together, witnessing our joy

at our Section 48 inspection outcome, but also celebrating that we did it together. The surprise ice cream thank you (with sprinkles and sauce of course!) seemed to go down well.

St Catherine of Sienna is attributed with having said, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” I’ll be trying to

do so this week.

Penny Johnson Headteacher

Since the implementation of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) on 25th May 2018, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us as a school to celebrate your daughter’s achievements by way of Twitter, Website and of course the weekly newsletter. We are simply unable to use your daughter’s image without your permission if they are under 12 years of age. We have sent letters out to all parents/carers asking for yours and your daughter’s consents to a number of photographic scenarios, and unfortunately we are not getting them back. Could you please complete and return these consent forms to Mrs Byrne as soon as possible. If you require another copy, please contact the school. Thank you.

Please, follow us on Twitter: @GraysConvent, and re-tweet all our good news! See our Twitter feed: http://www.graysconvent.thurrock.sch.uk. If you would like real time up-dates and photos on our sporting fixtures follow @graysconventPE or look for the #GCHSsport tag!

IMPORTANT MESSAGES:

PHOTOGRAPHIC CONSENT

GCHS TWITTER

Inspiring Ambition,

Achieving Excellence Week ending Friday 29

th

June 2018

At Grays Convent our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mrs Collis, and our Safeguarding Officers are Mrs Wells and Mrs Bishop. Students can contact any of our Safeguarding Team during the school day.

Mrs Collis

Mr Burr

SAFEGUARDING OUR CHILDREN AT GRAYS CONVENT

INTERNET SAFETY TIP…

Worried about a child? You can phone or write to The MASH about your concerns. Phone immediately if you believe it is urgent.

Thurrock MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding hub), Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 6SL, Tel: 01375 652802.

Emergency Duty Team (for out of hours) 01375 372468.

Police Child Abuse Investigation Team 01277 266822 or call 999 if you are concerned a child needs immediate protection.

Childline 0800 11 11 www.childline.org.uk

NSPCC 0808 800 5000 www.nspcc.org.uk; www.facebook.com/nspcc

Congratulations to the following students who have obtained their Gold Headteacher’s Award for reaching in excess of 600 achievement points:

Libby Plumridge 7D

Amanda Wilson 7D

Anya Kabanetz 7E

Fizz Babatunde 7E

Lily Knights 8D

Sajeda Rahman 8D

Morgan Henry 8E

Nasaya Agodo 8E Further congratulations to the following students who have obtained their Deputy Headteacher’s Award for reaching in excess of 300 achievement points:

Hayleigh Ashworth 7D

Sargun Kaur 7D

Elyon Abraham 7L

Akua Appenteng 7L

Aiste Bendauskaite 7L

Riya Mansingh 7L

Mary Fosuah-Nimoh 7L

Annabel Nsowah 7L

Daniela Stan 7L

Jessica Jedrzejczyk 7L

Tiffany Kemp 7L

Olivia Babicz 7M

Precious Ariyo 7M

Laura Chirchir 8D

Rabina Rai 8E

Amreet Dhillon 8L

Deborah Ogbonna 8L

Isobel Bold 8M

Lily Coutts 8M

Harshita Harshita 8M

Amardeep Kaur 8M

Smarika Limbu 8M

Kaitlyn Moore 9D

Sarah Collins 9D

Molly Coultish 9D

Eylul Tunc 9L

Xing Yi Zheng 10E Well done to all of these students. Many congratulations!

Mrs Bishop

Year 9 students who are on the trip to Ypres next Friday (6th July) have been given a letter with details of the trip. Passports need to be brought in so that I can keep hold of them. They will be returned to students on our return. We have an early start on Friday morning, but I am sure it will be a memorable experience for the girls.

Mrs M Smith

Students often loan money from the Finance Office for lunch or money to get home, and parents are rung to confirm that they give permission for the loan. We currently have £73.70 of outstanding loaned money which has not been repaid. If you have been contacted by the Finance Office for permission for your daughter to have the loan, could you please ensure the money is returned the next day. Individual pupils who have outstanding loaned money will be contacted by the Finance Office in the next few days. If you are aware your daughter has loaned money could you please ensure it is repaid to the Finance Office as a matter of urgency. If this money is not returned we will be unable to loan students any money in the future. Many thanks for your co-operation.

Finance Department

All trip money must be in a SEALED ENVELOPE, as lots of money is coming through the letter box loose and falling out. Also, please DO NOT USE THE ACTUAL RETURN RECEIPT SLIP STAPLED UP AND MADE INTO AN ENVELOPE or monies in a food freezer bag! Envelopes must have pupils name, and which trip it is, and a separate envelope for EACH trip please!

Finance Department

GOLD GALORE…! YPRES…HERE WE COME!

LOANED MONEY TO STUDENTS

A PLEA FROM FINANCE OFFICE!

TRUNKFULL OF TRAILBLAZERS…in pictures…

“What an amazing exhibition of work! I always enjoy this end of year exhibition to celebrate the creative talents of our pupils and this year we were treated to performances too. Very inspiring and work of all kinds to be proud of. Well done pupils and teachers on this wonderful evening. P.S. thank you Food Tech Angels!!” Mrs Collis “Such a lovely event! So nice to see all the girls hard on display .” Miss Chapman “Sheryl’s work is powerful! The images overlaid with text create a really eye catching photo!” Miss Franklin “A fantastic display of high quality work! Well done all ." Miss Pearson “Wow! The Technology is fantastic! Terrific skill and great imagination. I love the Education Cube and Cup-Cake holder, they’re ready for sale in a shop! Brilliant! The art work is amazing! I love Opa’s work; it’s really thought-provoking and reflective. Great photography – I need some lessons! Wonderful cakes! They look and taste so professional and delicious! Well done to all!!” Miss Carson “What talent – how proud am I? What a great way to spend an evening by celebrating your talent – teachers and students. And gorgeous cakes!” Mrs Johnson “A fantastic way to celebrate our students – so hard to pick a favourite! Staff and students should all be amazingly proud!” Mrs White “The drama and artwork is fabulous, as well is the design and technology work. The cakes were too delicious especially the chocolate one.” “The show was amazing! Enjoyed every minute of it, thank you " “What a fantastic accomplishment from all our creative students at Grays Convent! Well done everyone!” Miss Couch As usual an excellent standard set by our students who could not achieve all they do without the hard work and effort of the wonderful staff behind them.

Miss Chapman

TRUNKFULL OF TRAILBLAZERS…what our guests said of the displays…

This week 29 Year 8 students completed their Bronze Arts Award. The Bronze Arts Award is a prestigious award offered by Trinity College that enables students to develop their enjoyment of the arts and also creativity and communication with the wider arts community. Throughout the year students been working on a portfolio divided into four units: taking part in an arts activity, an arts review, arts inspiration and arts skills share. These units have been documented via a supporting portfolio which was assessed by an external examiner on Tuesday 26th June. I am delighted to report that all students passed the Bronze Arts Award and will receive their certificates for excellent work. Well done!

Mrs O’Donoghue

100 word story competition Deadline: Friday 13th July

See Miss Hill for entry form

There are already 12

published writers from Grays Convent.

Enter now to join them! Miss Hill

As some of you may have seen the PE kit is undergoing some updating and changing. All new kit bought from Sue’s Schoolwear will be embroidered with your daughters initial and last name. This will assist with it being returned to her if (when!) it is lost and will not allow it to be confused with a peer’s kit. We have already found this has made a great impact in returning PE uniform to pupils and preventing parents/careers from having to buy replacement kit. This new kit does not have to be bought/upgraded to if your daughters current PE kit still fits.

The current kit list is:

Compulsory PE clothing: Navy and White Sue’s Schoolwear Polo Navy and White Sue’s Schoolwear Skort

Navy Sue’s Schoolwear Shorts White Football socks

White ankle socks Supportive sports trainers (Not plimsolls/Vans/Converse

etc.)

Optional clothing is: Navy Sue’s Schoolwear Leggings

Navy Sue’s Schoolwear Tracksuit bottoms Red Sue’s Schoolwear Hoodie

Compulsory PE kit for Years 7, 8 & 9:

Shin pads Gum Shield

Optional kit for Years 7, 8 & 9:

Studded football boots (blades not allowed for rugby) The new kit looks excellent and has already been received with great approval from the girls. We hope that you will find it more modern and durable for your daughter to play sport in. We would like to reiterate that the ‘new PE kit’ need only be bought as and when your daughter grows out of her current kit. We are not expecting an immediate change over in school, and if they current kit still fits your daughter may continue to wear that kit until she needs new kit. Thank you for your continued support.

PE Department

ARTS AWARDS WRITING COMPETITION

GRAYS CONVENT PE KIT UPDATES!

On Wednesday 20th June 20 Year 9 students, set to study GCSE drama next year, went to a Make Theatre Day at the National Theatre. The day started with a tour in the morning followed by a set design workshop in the afternoon based on the play Alice in Wonderland. The students really got stuck in and created and we were able to present some fantastic ideas and design concepts. Overall the day was brilliant and really gave the girls a flavour of what to expect for the set design questions which come up at GCSE level. “It was a new experience and I have learnt a lot of new things that will help me develop as an actor” said Rebecca. “It’s really made me want to see Macbeth” said Kirit Kaur after seeing the set design in the Olivier Theatre and I couldn’t agree more!

Nadine Northover – Arts Council Year 9

MAKE THEATRE DAY

At Grays Convent we have a long tradition of visiting The Friars at Aylesford in Kent. We take our Year 7 pupils each year to

enjoy the sacred space and the peace of this very special place. As a child myself I enjoyed visiting the shrine on many occasions and for that reason I wanted to take our teaching staff to The Friars for a well-deserved Retreat Day last Monday. Aylesford Priory has welcomed pilgrims over hundreds of years and dates back to 1242 when the first Carmelites arrived from the Holy Land.

We were pleased to welcome one of the Carmelite friars Fr Michael to introduce our day and to tell us a little about the history of the Priory and the friars who live there in community with him.

The day for us was a chance to reflect on our school community, the values we enshrine and the unique role that each one of us plays maintaining and building our school’s ethos. It was also an occasion to find some calm and stillness in our busy lives and to return recharged and renewed for the remaining busy days and weeks. We were blessed with the most beautiful weather and many staff had the opportunity to attend mass in the Choir Chapel or to explore the Rosary Walk, the

Stations of the Cross or St Anne’s and St Joseph’s Chapel. Our theme for the day was ‘Walk with me’ and as we reflected on the Gospel story of the Emmaus walk when two of Jesus’ disciples were

joined by the risen Jesus on their journey, some teachers opted to walk around the beautiful grounds with a friend and colleague mindful of Jesus’ presence alongside them on their shared journey. One anonymous teacher said “It was a really special day. I thought it really brought people together and explained clearly our ethos and expectations in a warm and friendly way. Lunch was amazing, and I think everyone left feeling refreshed and renewed.”

Very many thanks from me to all staff who contributed in many ways on the day and to our support staff for helping me with the resources for the day. Much appreciated.

Mrs Collis

THE STAFF OF GRAYS CONVENT RETREAT TO AYLESFORD

We all know that the human body can suffer from flaws. For most people, that doesn’t mean our bodies are accidental by-products of unguided evolution. Instead, they are designed — despite the fact that they sometimes start out flawed or become flawed as they grow older.

For English anatomist Alice Roberts, however, the human body is a “hodge-podge” of parts assembled in an “untidy” fashion “with no foresight” by evolution. So, like many evolutionary biologists before her, she set out with some colleagues to “design and build the Perfect Body.” Her results were aired on BBC Four on June 13, 2018. According to Roberts, the Perfect Human Body would have ears like cats and lungs like birds. (Of course, bird lungs would require major modifications to other aspects of human anatomy, but the details might get “untidy.”) The Perfect Human Body would also have legs like ostriches. Ostrich legs are “digitigrade” — they rest on their toes. They are also very fast, enabling ostriches to run very quickly on the plains of Africa. And ostrich legs have proven to be a good model for making prosthetics to help people whose legs have been amputated above the knee. Human legs are “plantigrade” — they rest on their soles. They are not as good at running as digitigrade legs, but their stance is more stable and they are a lot more versatile. Would I trade mine for the equivalent of prosthetics worn by an amputee? Not unless I have to. Another change Roberts would make is to the reproductive system. Because of the large size of a human baby’s head, giving birth can be dangerous and very painful for women — though modern medicine has made it much safer and less painful. For Roberts, it would have been better if humans had evolved to be marsupials, like kangaroos, whose tiny foetuses crawl out into a pouch to complete their development.

But marsupials are much less intelligent than placental mammals (which include not only humans, but also sloths), because a marsupial brain “differs markedly in both structure and bulk” from a placental brain. So Roberts’s Perfect Human would be much less intelligent than an actual human being. But my favourite among her “improvements” is the eye. According to Roberts, “our eyes have evolved” such that the retina is “backwards.” The light receptors are at the back; the nerve fibre “wires” take off at the front, and then have to converge on a spot where they pierce through and exit the eye — the optic disc — which creates a blind spot. Our brains fill in this blind spot so that we’re not aware of it. But how about we wire up the eye sensibly and avoid the blind spot in the first place. Octopi do just that — so let’s steal their anatomy for the eye. This is a myth promoted by Darwinist Richard Dawkins and his followers — even though the evidence against it was already available in scientific publications before Dawkins invented it. The light-sensing cells in a human eye are so metabolically active that they must be nourished and maintained by a dense network of blood vessels and a specialized layer of epithelial cells. If the blood vessels and epithelial cells were between the light-sensing cells and the incoming light, we would be almost blind. By contrast, nerve cells are almost transparent. The so-called “backwards retina,” far from being poorly designed, seems to be optimally designed. As for octopus eyes: Biologists have known for more than thirty years that octopus eyes are inferior to human eyes, because in human eyes the information from light-sensing cells is pre-processed by the nerve cells in the retina itself. Octopus eyes must transmit their visual information all the way to the brain to be processed into images. The result is fuzzier signals and slower processing. An octopus eye “is just a ‘passive’ retina which is able to transmit only information, dot by dot, coded in a far less sophisticated fashion than in vertebrates.” Why do people enamoured of evolution ignore the evidence and presume they can create the Perfect Human Body? Is this the way science is supposed to work?

Mrs Sajid

SCIENCE SPOT…

Thurrock Library is advertising for teenage volunteers for the Summer Holidays 2018. Click the link below for more details: https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/news/whats-on-at-your-library/apply-now-for-summer-volunteering-opportunities-with-libraries

VOLUNTEERING THIS SUMMER?

Date Session Venue Time

July 2nd Expedition Exposition Hall 7.00-8.30

DUKE OF EDINBURGH TRAINING SCHEDULE BRONZE 2017-18

SUMMER 2018 EXTRA CURRICULAR TIMETABLE

As you know, we at Grays Convent operate a highly successful Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. However, we have been contacted by Essex County Fire & Rescue Service who has asked us to make you aware of their DofE Scheme that they operate. If you would like further details of their scheme please contact Graham Richardson, Community Safety Officer on 01376 576867 or Steven Milligan, Station Watch Manager A on 01376 575310.

2nd – 5th July Year 6 Induction Week Year 6

Tuesday 10th July Annual School Awards Evening Years 7-10

Thursday 12th July Aylesford Retreat Year 7

Friday 13th July Mock Interview Day Year 10

Tuesday 17th July MFL Competition Years 7-10

DUKE OF EDINBURGH OPPORTUNITY

KEY DATES, TRIPS & EVENTS