Newsletter easter 2014

ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Catholic Technology College

Easter Newsletter 2014

UPDATES REVIEWS SPORTS SPECIAL

Find out what’s been going on at

the school in the last term

Made by

students

‘Nil satis optimum’

2 St Francis Of Assisi Catholic Technology College Newsletter Easter 2014

A LETTER FROM OUR HEAD TEACHER

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Thank you for a rewarding and busy term. Our students have done tremendous work

both within school and in the wider community. As ever, they are highly respected

young people and our school continues to thrive thanks to their loyalty and hard work.

We have been busy planning for the introduction of the revised National Curriculum

next September and I am very grateful to parents of our Y8 students for their

attendance at our information evening. This year group will be the pioneer group for

the new curriculum.

Our older students are preparing for their examinations. The Easter holiday is a

valuable period for revision and I trust that Parents and Carers will encourage them

to spend some time on this as well as having a much needed break. Please pray for all

of them. We look after our examinees in school by ensuring they have a peaceful and

supportive environment – the younger students show genuine consideration for their

peers who are taking examinations through their prayers and considerate behaviour.

Please also keep in your prayers some of our students who are suffering from major

illness. They and their families need our support. Our sixth formers and staff will be

taking petitions for them when they set off for Lourdes next month.

Wishing you all a very holy Easter,

P. Mullins.



HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

The Health and Social Care Sixth Form group have

benefitted from listening to guest speakers who

dedicated their time to come in and talk to students at

St Francis.

Y12 students, who are working on their final AS unit:

Positive Care Environment have decided to base it on care for the elderly, at Aldridge

Court Nursing Home. Amy, the manager of the home, together with Lynn, a senior

carer spent the afternoon going through and explaining to our students the qualities of

a good care environment (both pictured below).

We also had the privilege of having an ex St Francis student come in to talk about her

career path to becoming a nurse and her current position as the Deputy Director of

Nursing at Burton Hospital.

Y13 students, who are considering the varied care sectors for their forthcoming

examination, learned a lot about the voluntary sector when the Chief Officer and the

Older Adults Community Engagement Officer from Age UK came in to talk to them

about the care they provide for the elderly in the Walsall area.

It is great to see that our local organisations and past students come in to share their

expertise and experiences with our students who can use the knowledge they gained

from these talks in their

studies and upcoming

examinations.

Mrs K McMulkin



CAFOD

Student Voice—CAFOD Written by Eliza Beestone 12A

On Wednesday 26th March we had the

privilege of attending an Oscar Romero

workshop at Grimshaw Rooms in St Chad's

Cathedral. We were asked to lead 6 groups of

Year 9 students from St Thomas More

Catholic School Nuneaton and St Thomas More

Catholic School Willenhall.

We were involved in an activity based on

water, looking at communities whose access to

safe water is at a distance from their

home.This involved each school group being an

imaginary family group. In order to acquire water they needed to collect picture of a

bucket. These paper buckets then need to be carried to a storekeeper‘s table where they

could be exchanged for essential items such as being able to drink, cook, wash or water

crops. Some excitement was added to the activity by making the pupils carry their paper

bucket inside a real bucket on their head, if they dropped the bucket then they had to go

back to their family table and start the journey again. This was followed by a period of

debrief and discussion. We realised how lucky we are and that often we take water too

much for granted. I enjoyed working with the different students and found the day very

interesting. There were clear links between our faith and what we are called to do

especially in Lent. Mass in the afternoon was celebrated by by His Grace, Archbishop

Bernard Longley, to celebrate the life of Archbishop Romero and the work of justice and

peace in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

Megan Yr 13

I had an enjoyable day at St Chad‘s

Cathedral.Through the activities and

discussion today, we have thought about how

lucky we are in our own lives and the impact

of Oscar Romero on other people‘s lives. I

enjoyed working with other schools.

Jack Yr 12

I really enjoyed working with the different

schools and I gained a greater

understanding of who was Oscar Romero and

his work for justice and equality in

San Salvador.



Alice Yr 12

I liked working the other schools since I

could hear about their different thoughts

and feelings about CAFOD. It was

interesting to reflect on what we take for

granted, such as water, which people in less

developed countries are desperate for.

Harry Yr 12

I had an enjoyable time being the

shopkeeper exchanging ‗buckets‘ for water.

I found the day informative about the work

and mission of Cafod.

Hollie Yr 12

I enjoyed working with the different

students and found the dayinteresting.

Niamh Yr 12

I enjoyed working with people from other

schools and discussing different opinions.

Erin Yr 12

During the Cafod workshop I had a good time

working with people from other schools and

being in a different working experience.

STUDENT VOICE



DT—MR BARRATT

4x4 In Schools Challenge Report

By Matthew Cooper.

The day of our reckoning dawned on March 27th 2014. All our hard work would be

measured. After going through exciting times last year, Team E-Motion had to find

new enthusiasm and commitment, taking note of lessons learnt, for the return

competition this year. Would our hopes become reality? Would we triumph where we

had once failed? Would we be the best that we could be?

Leaving the competition last year- a little downhearted - we decided to evaluate what

had gone right and wrong last year. Despite some problems last time we picked up the

gauntlet and in the true St Francis spirit we moved onwards. Unlike last year we would

have to build our car from scratch. This would prove to be a real challenge.

With a handmade stylish Land-Rover looking car (which we spray -painted grey), our

body work was completed. This wasn‘t easy, however, as we had an issue and had to

make the body shell 6 times! Problems with our front and rear axles didn‘t help either.

We just couldn‘t get the right set up and each one kept breaking. Making the

structure of the car had its problems too and we had to be precise. If one piece was

incorrect the whole car wouldn‘t function. The car was a little too fast but we were

ready … or so we thought.

With the invaluable support of Mrs Mullins coaching on our presentation skills, we

were prepared for what lay ahead. Our display and car were completed, so we packed

our van and journeyed to Birmingham College to the Regional Finals, where our destiny

lay.

Competitions, although they are stressful situations, can bring a team together and

fire them towards victory. The day included: a trailer tow, an obstacle course,

scrutinering (where they check that the car meets the rules and regulations), a

presentation of the project and a portfolio review. On the first half of the day

leading up to lunch we were in a strong position, as our presentation had gone well even

though we were nervous. Little did we know about the problems that would arise in the

afternoon. The car would not perform properly and we had no other option but to use

the supply car. This meant that we could only be awarded half points for the track and



trailer tow. We felt for sure now that we had lost and had no chance of winning after our

catastrophic failure. Unbelievably, against all the odds, we won the discretionary award

from the judges, because they saw potential in our team. We were so excited….

Now we advanced to the final and for the next 2 months our STEM team would have to

work diligently to have a chance of being overall champions at the ―4X4 In Schools Finals‖.

In the run up to the finals we made many different obstacles and did lots of practising

and testing. We also made a new floor pan for the car, made out of plastic instead of wood

this time. The ―4X4 In Schools Finals‖ burst around the corner like a rocket and with a

new presentation and modified car we felt we were ready for anything.

To our surprise a new track built entirely on a Range Rover (yes a real car!) had been made

and this would make our job a lot harder. The morning went really well and we got a once in

a lifetime opportunity to look around the Land-Rover styling studio and competitor analysis

area. The security was tight as there were top secret developments happening before our

eyes. We got a real insight into the way a premier automotive car is developed and what it

might be like to work as an engineer at JLR. We truly felt inspired and left the day with

new aspirations and dreams. An experience like that doesn‘t come round often, does it?

In the afternoon we set to the track. Shocked by its level of complexity, our car fell off

many times. However, we pulled through these difficult times and almost finished the

course. Although we didn‘t win a trophy, it was great to represent the school at a UK final.

We all had a superb day and really enjoyed the fabulous experience.

We would like to extend our thanks to Mr Barratt and Mr Turner for saving our car more

times than we can remember and for doing all the paperwork and supporting us in this en-

deavour. Without them we wouldn‘t have had such an aspirational journey over the last

twelve months.

STUDENT VOICE



Here at St Francis our mission statement informs everything we do. This half term

has been particularly fruitful in terms of the spiritual development of children in some

of our primary feeder schools. Mrs Mulcrow, Mrs Oliver and our Sixth Form Liturgy

Group have been busy working with pupils from Class 3 and 6 creating liturgies on the

themes of ‗Reconciliation‘,‘ Friendships‘ and ‗Conformation‘. All of which were

well-received and resulted in wonderful testimonials for the excellent work our sixth

formers undertook.

Several members of the Group have expressed an interest in teaching as a career. We

hope it will not be too long before they are working with their own sixth formers,

planning and delivering liturgies themselves!

Learner voice

William Wisniewski

I enjoyed working with Year three. It was nice to know that I was helping this Year with

Reconciliation preparation. I enjoyed listening to their ideas.

Caoimhe Harvey

I was pleased to be able to work with my past Primary School. They behaved so well and

I enjoyed the experience. The idea of the broken heart/reconciled heart I feel the

children enjoyed. It is something I will never forget and helped me to develop skills that

I need for the future.

Hollie Murray

I enjoyed helping out with Class three on Tuesday. It was helpful for me to see how the

different children‘s ages work . I am thankful for the experience.

Harriet Benwell

I really enjoyed working with Year 3‘s from St Patrick‘s. I was very impresses with the

answers they came up with in response to thought provoking questions. I enjoyed

working with the children on my table to guide them through the session and hear their

ideas about reconciliation and the way we can both hurt and heal others. I felt the

children were very reflective in the Chapel and responded well.

SIXTH FORM LITURGY



Jack Hardy

I enjoyed the experience of working with a younger year group. I have

previously helped Year 6 pupils from St Marys of the Angels on their

St Andrews Day assembly.

Laura Prichard

I enjoyed working with Year 3 Class from St Patrick‘s School and helping them

develop their Faith through activities before they make their First

Reconciliation. The reflection in the Chapel of how they can follow God was

lovely to take part in. Working with children has inspired me to think of doing

teaching in the future for a career.

Nichola Stubbs

I really enjoyed working with Class 3, I feel the pupils got a lot out of the

activities. I hope that I will get the opportunity to work with the pupils again as

I would like to be a Primary School teacher

Daniel Mason

This was a lovely experience to take part in in helping the Class with activities

for Sacrament of Reconciliation.

PRIMARY LIAISON



St. Bernadette’s Primary School

Wednesday 29th January 2014

We came in to visit year 6 students on Wednesday afternoon and we introduced them to

liturgical activities to help to engage them in their faith. We did this in many fun and

interactive ways. Every single student fully participated in the activities they took part

in. From the spiritual rucksack for a journey through lent, to creating prayers for their

own personalised prayer book, the students were able to express their ideas fully and

creatively. We really enjoyed working with these students as they were open to our

activities aswell as being extremely polite and full of new ideas. They welcomed us into

their class and embraced the experience as something positive; therefore, I think they

gained invaluably from taking part. The students were respectful and definitely had the

knowledge to understand what our activities were all about. The afternoon closed with a

reflection in which the students spoke about how they could positively use the gifts and

talents which they had gained at confirmation to make the world a better place to live

in. Our activity was the spiritual rucksack and we can definitely take some new ideas of

what to put in our rucksack from talking to the children in year 6. There ideas were

inspirational and they have also perhaps reignited my desire to be an RE teacher.

Therefore, we too have gained so much from the experiences shared that afternoon.

Megan Cox and Sara Janik

I enjoyed the visit to St Bernadette‘s as we helped Year 6 pupils to create a Prayer

Book, strengthening their ICT and RE skills. It was a really good experience for me as I

want to be a teacher in a Primary School.—Emily Fisher 12C

I really enjoyed working with St Bernadette‘s Primary School. I

loved helping the children to write their prayers during an ICT

task and they came up with some inspiring thoughts about their

Saint. We also talked about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how

we can be guided in our Faith.—Alice Duckworth 12R

SIXTH FORM LITURGY



Myself and two other students along with Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Mulcrow visited

St. Bernadette‘s school on the day of their RE Inspection. We worked with a

small group of children who were preparing for their first Holy Communion.

Through a series of interactive activities which ranged from a Prezi about

maths in the story of Lent, to what would be put in a rucksack to take on a

spiritual journey. We have visited children from this school previously and yet

again they were a pleasure to work with.

Working with the young children has really inspired me and made me look at the

subject of Lent and preparing for First Holy Communion from their point of

view. They were extremely polite and knowledgeable about the subjects which

we were exploring and this made it a very enjoyable .

The afternoon spent at the school really helped us to put into practise the

words of St. Francis ―Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words.‖

This is because the children were able to engage in their faith and explore it

through a range of activities to strengthen and support them through their own

spiritual journey.

Megan Cox 13N

On March 18th we worked with Class 6 pupils from St Francis Shelfield, as they

prepared for the Sacrament of Confirmation. During their visit to us we looked

at two inspiratinal saints: Saint John Bosco and St Josephine Bakhita. We also

looked at our Spiritual Rucksack , identifying qualites needed for our journey to

the Kingdom of God. This gave us the

chance to help others to grow in Faith and

to share our knowledge with younger

pupils. This was a lovely experience to be

involved in and we wish the Year 6's all

the best, may they continue to explore

their Faith.—Maddie, Harriet, Louise and

Siobhan SFLG Yr 12

PRIMARY LIAISON



St Thomas of Canterbury

On Friday 21st March we worked with 25 Class 3

pupils from St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic

Primary School. We led a range of spiritual

activities to help the pupils prepare for the

Sacrament of Reconciliation and their journey in

Lent. Creating the Lenten cross provided great

excitement as well as working on healing broken

hearts and reconciled hearts as well as creating a prayer book. We also enjoyed a Chapel

Reflection based on a Litany of forgiveness. We really enjoyed our morning and it gave

us the chance to work with younger pupils by helping them to put their faith into action.

Kirsty and Sara Yr 13

St Mary of the Angels

Working with Class 6 pupils from St Mary‘s of the Angels to

help prepare their assemblies for their House Saints has

been an exciting venture which the Sixth Form Liturgy

group have taken part this year.

We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the pupils to

produce their power points which contained a variety of

contributions such as: prayers, information about the Saints

and quizzes. In addition to this, active prayer and reflective questions provided a

valuable opportunity for the pupils to create meaningful acts of worship. We would like

to thank Mrs Anderson for all her efforts in helping to make this such an exciting

partnership for this academic year.

SIXTH FORM LITURGY



My Visit to St Joseph’s

Friday 14th February 2014.

Myself and the Sixth-Form Liturgy group visited the Year 3 children along with

Mrs Oliver and Mrs Mulcrow for half a day to work with the children

encouraging their faith before the children make the sacrament of the First

Holy Communion. When we arrived, we introduced ourselves to the children and

we explained the activities we would be doing throughout the morning. I was

honoured to support the Liturgy group as St Joseph‘s Catholic Primary School

was the school I attended throughout my Primary school life. When I was at

the Primary school working with the children, it became clear to me that it was

an achievement that I had been asked to go and help younger students, allowing

those children to discover their Faith in more depth. Helping the younger

students about following a Catholic life reminded me of the years when I

needed help about becoming a true Catholic.

When I was at the school, I helped the children with 3 tasks; learning about a

spiritual journey, helping individual children to write a prayer so a prayer book

could be written collectively for the class and assisting the children with a task

called ―Broken Hearts.‖

Attending St Joseph‘s Catholic Primary School was a reminder how important it

is to follow the path Jesus has created for us. Throughout the day it was a

pleasure to help the children prepare for such an important time in their

religious life when making the sacrament of Holy Communion. The day was a

reminder that as a Catholic, it‘s important to ―love your neighbour as you love

yourself‖. Mk12:31

Sophie Thomson

PRIMARY LIAISON



St Mary’s Of the Mount visit to St Francis- Helen & Amber

On Wednesday 12th March; we and 10 other year 9 students spent the day in St. Antho-

ny‘s room along with the year 6‘s of St. Mary‘s of the Mount to do a fun English project…

create a visual presentation of their day at St. Francis.

We got into groups and brainstormed lots of fun, brilliant ideas for our storyboard, the-

se ideas were anything from zombies to Disney princesses- which the year 6‘s had no

trouble coming up with! Then; while two of the group went off to interview Mrs. Mullins

and Miss. Sutton- we grabbed our cameras and headed off exploring!

Geared with our cameras and ideas, each group spent half an hour collecting their pic-

tures…with a ten picture limit it seemed impossible! Luckily though, we managed to beat

the task with time for a quick selfie in-between (with the year 6‘s of course)! Now came

the hard part…assembling it!

We had about 3 hours to get our pictures, assemble them, create our storyboard and

decorate it?! Considering it was a competition- we all had nothing to lose! With teamwork,

effort and tons of glitter every group worked as hard as they could (with a lunch break

in-between- playing bulldog with the year 9‘s!)

By the time lunch was over- it was finally time to finish up and sort out our presentation,

which was going to be judged by Mr.Mitchell. We all took it in turns giving it our best

shot explaining what we did and what our story was about. Eventually though…the top

winners were Connor Lovage and Oliver Mardenborough and they all got their chocolate

prize. Once we were all cleaned up we had a final fun treasure hunt around the school

which was a race for…more chocolate!

Overall, we all had a brilliant day with the year 6‘s and we hope they enjoyed their day

too- using teamwork and determination we all managed to make brilliantly designed sto-

ries with lots of imagination!

Amber Hickman and Helen Hardial (Year 9)

PRIMARY LIAISON



Our afternoon with the great Cathy Cassidy

Hello my name is Francesca and on Friday the 14th of February we went to see Cathy Cas-

sidy.

We went on Friday 14th February we enjoyed it was at The Gold Mine Center. Our day

was very exciting Cathy talked about her new book Coco Caramel. Some of us had read

some of her other books and that inspired others to read them. Her new book sounded

very good it is about a girl called Coco Tanberry. She is a lively girl who is a big animal

lover. She is kind and friendly but when her horse Caramel gets sold she isn‘t so happy.

She tries to get him back and put her horse fist. Justina thinks it‘s a very good book and

she said ‗ I enjoy reading Coco Caramel because I like the way it is set‘. As you can see

we enjoyed going to see Cathy Cassidy. She is an inspiring person who has inspired me to

write stories. Me and the rest of the girls who went got to talk to her and got to learn a

few things about writing stories. She said ‗just write about things which you know well.‘

In Cathy‘s case this was chocolate! To conclude the day was very inspiring. This wouldn‘t

have happened without Miss Sutton and Mr Dolan so thank you. I really enjoyed the af-

ternoon and so did everyone else.

Francesca Tovey-Nesbitt 7S

AUTHOR VISIT



Big Orchestra 2014

Forest Arts

On February 10th, 20 St Francis Pupils

from Years 7 – 13 went to Forest Arts

centre to be part of the Big Orchestra

Event. This event allowed our pupils to

play with 75 other pupils from Walsall

schools in a range of musical styles.

They spent some time in sectional

rehearsals and then rehearsed and

performed as one big orchestra. The highlight for many of us was the theme from Star

Wars and Jurassic Park which sounded amazing. Our pupils played brilliantly and a big

well done to Lucy Bernstein who played a clarinet solo in the concert to much acclaim.

MUSIC DEPT



LOURDES FUNDRAISING

Lourdes Fundraising 2014 21 pupils and 4 staff will be travelling to Lourdes this year to work with the sick

pilgrims from our Diocese. I am so pleased to say that we have raised £6500 towards

the cost of the pupil‘s tickets in order to allow them to provide this wonderful gift of

service. We have been very lucky to have been awarded a bursary from the Catenians,

and we have been busy bag packing, holding cake sales in our local parishes and other

activities.

The Music Department also held the annual Lourdes fundraising concert which raised

over £700, followed by the school‘s annual Blue Day which raised over £1000.

Thanks so much to all pupils, staff and parents for their involvement with our

fundraising this year. We will report back on our Pilgrimage when we return in June.

Miss J Clensy

Head of Music and Group Leader

St Patricks Day and the Ceilidh

Band busked around school to

dancing pupils, raising money for

the Lourdes pilgrimage at the same

time.



Staff and students at St Francis of Assisi CTC have responded magnificently to a

request from the LIFE organisation for Baby Bags for the new mothers who have asked

for support from their counselling service. Over the last few weeks we have provided

items for two different types of bags one which includes nappies, baby wipes, baby

lotion and other essentials for the care of a new born baby and the other which provide

a layette of clothing. St Francis students always respond to appeals for support from

our local charities and in line with our Catholic beliefs on the sanctity of life and the

opposition to abortion we feel that we need to support those women who are faced with

a crisis pregnancy that choose to keep their babies. This is another example of how we

feel that putting our faith into action is one of the most important ways of witnessing

to Gospel values in society.

Year 9 Students from St Francis of Assisi who helped to sort the items

for the Baby Bags

CARING FOR LIFE



PUBLIC SPEAKING

On Wednesday 19th March, three Year 7 teams, a year

10 team and a 6th form team competed in a Public

Speaking competition in an event organised by the

Sutton Rotary Club. All five teams competed at Barr

Beacon School against the corresponding year groups

from Barr Beacon, speaking about a specific topic they

felt passionate about.

Each team consisted of three members; a chairperson, a speaker and a proposer; each

with different roles. The chairperson directed the talk, introduced the team and was

responsible for the seamless transition between the other team members. The

speaker spoke about a topic for six minutes, mostly from memory with minimal aid

from prompt cards. Chosen topics included mental health, dance, animal welfare and

money in football. Last, but by no means least, was the proposer who elegantly and

wittily concluded the talk by commenting on the speech and thanking the appropriate

people.

Although there was tough competition from Barr Beacon, we left the evening winning

in all 3 age groups, a clean sweep. Each winning team was presented with a trophy and

each member of the winning team presented with a cheque for £20. Lots of time and

commitment went into the competition with many lunch times and evenings at home

practising and perfecting each individual speech. A big thank you needs to go to Miss

Gill who helped organise and run the event in school and also to the rotary club for

their work in promoting the talent of the youth in Walsall schools.

This event has been a confidence booster for many of the younger students within

the competition and has also developed their team work, English and public speaking

skills which will benefit them through their time in school and further in their life. I

would personally recommend this competition to future

year groups as I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole ex-

perience, discovered some fascinating information lis-

tening to other speeches and gained £20!

By Jake Heaney– Year 13



World War One Evening on 26 March 2014

A packed conference room listened eagerly to a range of stories and experiences passed

down amongst local families about the impact that the First World War had upon their

lives. An audience ranging from eight to eighty were enthralled by not just the stories

that families shared, but by letters and postcards sent from the front, and other

memorabilia. The stories ranged across experiences from front line service in the

trenches to refugees fleeing from the fighting, and from families here in Walsall eager

for the news of their loved ones, to service across the world.

The First World War is rightly called

a World War. Events in Ireland, India

and Turkey were part of our evening,

not only the perhaps more familiar

story of the trenches of the Western

Front stretching through France and

Flanders. Three keynote speakers

addressed our gathering.

Megan, a Year 13 student at the

school, spoke of her great great

grandfather Private Jim Elwell, a Wal-

sall man who served with the Suffolk Regiment, who wrote over 50 letters and postcards,

still in the family‘s possession, back to his wife and ―little‘uns‖, Lizzie and Lucy. Sadly,

Jim was not to survive, killed at the Battle of Arras in 1917. Then Andy Simson,

previously Head of Science at the school, spoke movingly of his uncle, Lt-Colonel Brodie, a

career soldier in the Scottish Highland Light Infantry, who won the Victoria Cross in

1914, but like Private Elwell, was not to survive the war. Andy also read extracts of his

ancestor‘s letters to his family back home in Scotland. Then Bronwen, a Year 9 student,

told us of her great grandfather Denis McCullough, and his major part in the turbulent

events of Ireland in 1916, as President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Belfast at

the time of the Easter Rising. Then the meeting was open for guests to contribute.

Campaign medals, a Bible inscribed by a loving grandmother in 1914 as her grandson went

WW1 EVENING



HISTORY DEPT

to war in France, the story of a refugee fleeing invaded Belgium and settling in the

Midlands. A shell casing from the Gallipoli campaign was passed around, a set of

embroidered postcards with ―on active service‖ faintly visible in pencil, addressed to

Daisy in Balsall Heath, ―from your everloving sweetheart Walter‖, a cigarette box sent as

a gift from the Queen to a soldier serving in the front line, cigarettes still intact inside!

St Francis Deputy Head Mr Stephen Godber commented ―We had a very successful

evening last night with a wide range of ages of people who shared a common interest. I

found it all fascinating and humbling‖. Head of History Ian Garrett commented, ―We had a

fascinating evening exploring a wide range of family stories and experiences. It helps

show the continued significance of the First World War – it was an event that had a huge

effect on people‘s lives in a variety of ways, and one that resonates to this day‖.



Newsletter report—World War One Evening

St Francis held a World War One evening on the 26th March. Over 50 people attended

the event. A number of them held interesting presentations on relatives, or friend‘s

relatives, and displayed fascinating artefacts. The evening was hosted by Mr Garrett,

Head of History.

There were three amazing main speakers, who expertly told the stories of their

relatives, who were involved in the First World War. These were Megan, Mr Andy

Simson, and Bronwen.

Megan who is currently in year 13, gave an excellent presentation ion her great great

grandfather called Jim Elwell. He was from Walsall and courageously fought and was

sadly killed at the Battle of Arras in 1917. He was in the 7th Suffolk Regiment and sent

over fifty precious letters and postcards home. Megan also showed the ―dead Man‘s

penny‖ plaque sent after he was killed. Jim Elwell has a book written about him based on

his letters which is available in the school library. It is entitled ―Thank God I‘m doing

my little bit‖.

The next main speaker was Mr Andy Simson, who is our previous Head of Science. He

spoke about the fascinating tale of his great uncle, Lt-Colonel Lorrain Brodie. He

showed a variety of letters and medals, including a picture of his great uncle‘s Victoria

Cross, which is the highest medal for gallantry.

The last main speaker was Bronwen, who is in year 9. She presented a ―prezi‖ on her

great grandfather Denis McCullough, who was one of the leaders of the IRB (Irish

Republican Brotherhood). He was based in Belfast and when the Dublin organisation

planned the Easter Rising in 1916, he was not involved and so was not put to death

afterwards. Bronwen showed us a list of all the British prisons he was held in though.

WW1 EVENING



STUDENT VOICE

There were various other people involved in the wonderful evening, who also shared

numerous stories and artefacts. These included:

An ancestor‘s Bible given him when he joined up with a heartfelt note from his

grandmother

Campaign medals (nicknamed Pip, Squeak and Wilfred)

A shell from Gallipoli

Many different photographs

Postcards sent by a soldier from the trenches to his ―sweetheart‖ Daisy in Birmingham

A cigarette case sent a s a gift to the trenches from the monarch, which still had all

the cigarettes in mint condition

A French prisoner of war‘s record card from a prison camp in Germany

Overall, this was a wonderful evening which we thoroughly enjoyed. As it was so

successful, we wish to have another one like this, as it was a good stimulating environment.

We recommend you participate also as it was an interesting experience for all ages (the

age range of people there was from 8 to 80!)

By Clodagh DF and Kirsty P, Year 7



It must be the end of term again as here I am, writing another account full of sporting

success stories about the achievements of our wonderful students at St Francis of

Assisi CTC.

From January up to February ½ term we had a busy time getting all of our games

completed in the boys basketball leagues. I am very proud to say that, as always, we

honoured all of our fixtures and as a result our boys were provided with many

opportunities to develop their games. We actually had a great deal of success this year

with our year 8 and year 10 teams finishing as league runners up in the Walsall Schools

competition. Our year 9 boys team finished in 3rd place but the real success story was

with our year 7 team who went all season unbeaten and finished as comprehensive

league winners. A huge congratulation‘s must go to Lewis, Cezary, Sam, Aaron, Sam,

Ryan, Liam, Niall, Joe and Tom. Clearly the investment of some outdoor basketball posts

has paid off and the future certainly looks bright on the basketball front.

This half term has seen the recommencement of girl‘s netball fixtures. It is so pleasing

to note that we have been inundated with interest from the girls and lunchtime and

after school practices have been particularly well attended. The extra training is

certainly paying off, with the girls performing very well in their respective leagues.

There is still one more league game to go and a few of our teams are hoping to finish as

runners up if all goes well. Our year 7 girls are hoping to go one better and should they

win their last game they will be crowned as league winners. This will be a major

achievement as we are in the same league as some very strong traditional netball

schools, many of whom in previous years have been county champions, so again I have

some very high hopes for further success in the future.

The school football seasons commenced again following the February half term break,

this time with the focus being on the cup competitions rather than the league. Our

impressive league performances resulted in all year groups being entered into the most

competitive Gold Cup competition. At the time of writing the year 7 and year 10 boy‘s

teams have both progressed to the semi-final stage and the 6th form boy‘s team are

awaiting their quarter final tie. I hope that I will be able to report some more cup

success in the next newsletter. Some of the finals are due to be played at Bescot

Stadium so there is a great incentive for the boys to ensure that they get through to

SPORTS NEWS



those finals.

Another sport that we have had considerable success at local level in recent times is

that of volleyball, thanks to the expertise of Mrs Thorpe. On Friday 28th March we

hosted the Walsall Schools Volleyball Championships here at St Francis. The event was

well attended with many schools from the borough entering teams and a great deal of

thanks and praise must go to Mrs Thorpe for organising the competition. Even more

praise must go to the students for the way that they performed. We ended up

victorious in all but one of the competitions and finished up as runners up in the other.

So our year 7 girls of Katie, Elys, Wendy and Aoife were crowned U13 champions (one

year below the age group!) and our year 7 and 8 boys of Sam, Ethan, Sam and James

were runners up. The success continued with the older age groups and the year 9 / 10

girls of Jacinta, Charlotte, Niamh and Shannon and the boys of Dylan, Jack, Cameron

and Oliver were also crowned as champions. All teams now go on to represent Walsall in

the Black Country School Games in the near future.

The summer term will soon be up on us and the focus will move on to the sports of

tennis, cricket, rounders and athletics. We will be hoping to better last year‘s third

place in the athletics at the Alexander Stadium, having a look at the talent coming up in

year 7, we may just be able to do that. Also, net sessions with the year 7 boys have

identified a number of very talented individuals and I wouldn‘t be surprised if I am

writing about some more

success in the near future.

Let‘s hope that the sun

shines for us and we are

able to play a lot of good

quality sport throughout

the summer term.

Yours in sport,

Mr Connell

SPORTS NEWS



Drama Club

Niamh Ingram Year 11

Drama Club has been really good this year, Miss Service gives us a wide range of things

to do; we use costumes and props to build a character around. This leads into small per-

formances using the stage and new lighting system. In Drama Club, Miss Service gives

us activities to do which builds up our confidence and makes us able to act out how we

feel in a fun environment. Drama Club has really widened my thoughts of drama and all

the different kinds of acting and skills within it. I have built on friendships in this

group. I have worked with younger years acting as a positive role model to them. In dra-

ma all ages can work together and enjoy being creative.

DRAMA CLUB



Aidan Amann Year 8

The drama club meets on Tuesdays, both at lunch and after school and Friday

lunchtimes. It is run by Miss Service and assisted by Miss Bhatia. So far as I know,

every student enjoys their time when they go. The room we have the group in can

change depending on what is free but if all things go to plan, we usually meet in the gym

hall on stage.

In drama, we always have fun. We dress up in different costumes including a leprechaun

outfit and a brides dress. We perform different exercises, such as role plays and

freeze frame situations. In role plays, we are given a topic and in groups, we come up

with ideas based around the topic. We are also given lots to think about in terms of

acting, skills like voice projection and facial expression and then apply them to our per-

formances.

In drama club we get to be as creative as we like, within reason! We have fun but make

sure we don‘t embarrass ourselves because of silly behaviour. Miss Service and all the

students are always up for a laugh and a joke; however we do not upset or embarrass

each other. We love the drama club and we can‘t wait to do more!

STUDENT VOICE



Spring Term 2014

Mon 6 January Start of Term - School opens

17 to 21 February Half Term

Fri 11 April End of Term - School closes for Easter

Summer Term 2014

Mon 28 April Start of Term - School opens

Mon 5 May May Day Bank Holiday

26 to 30 May Half Term

Mon 21 July End of Term - School closes for Summer

Inset Days 2014

Friday, 11th April 2014

Monday, 21st July 2014

Academic Year 2014-15

Autumn Term 1

Monday, 1st September to Friday, 24th October

Autumn Term 2

Monday, 3rd November to Friday, 19th December

Spring Term 1

Monday, 5th January to Friday, 13th February

Spring Term 2

Monday, 23rd February to Friday, 27th March

Summer Term 1

Monday, 13th April to Friday, 22nd May

Summer Term 2

Monday, 1st June to Monday, 20th July

USEFUL INFORMATION

Newsletter easter 2014

Documents

older students

younger students

y8 students

past students

y12 students

y13 students

students nil satis optimum

social care