St Bedes 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 19th December 2012
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY th 19 December 2012 End of Term 2, pupils departing at 2.00pm th 7 January 2013 Start of Term 3

NEWSLETTER 152 2010

Wishing all our families and parishes a Happy, Holy and Peace filled Christmas

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SERVICE Our Advent service took place yesterday. Pupils presented a wonderful evening of readings, music and prayer. The service, which was attended by hundreds of families, was a prayerful and joyous occasion. The collection at the end raised 227 which will be sent to the Julian Trust.

JULIAN TRUST Last week we took the hampers collected by Years 10 and 11 to the Julian trust. A group of Year 11 pupils went to the shelter and we had the opportunity to look at the kitchens and the dormitories while we were there. Pupils found the visit to be an enlightening experience, one Year 11 pupil said It was a real eye opener and in future I would like to help out in Tel: (0117) 3772200 the homeless shelter, and It was very interesting and made us appreciate what we have and not take anything for granted.

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

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT NEWS Congratulations to Lara Mae Asuncion for winning the Bookbuzz competition. The competition was open to schools all over the UK and out of over 300 other entries, Laras entry was successful and crowned one of the 5 winning entries. The competition required students to write a statement about the reading programme which Bookbuzz has to offer. Laras statement (which can be found on their website) was: When I first heard about Bookbuzz to be honest I thought it would be boring because I am not the biggest fan of books, but when I saw the kind of books you offer, my mind opened up to a new world... This fantastic statement, has not only won Lara 5 fantastic books, but she has also won 10 for the school (these will be available from the library next term). Bookbuzz are always offering exciting competitions! Their latest requires students to create a new front cover for one of the books they offer. For more information please speak with Miss Kaur or visit their website: www.bookbuzz.org.uk. Just think the next winner could be you!

YEAR 7 CAKE SALE Year 7 raised a fantastic 581.96 through tutor cake sales for two charities Cystic Fibrosis and the work of Sister Martha in South Africa. A lot of cakes were sold and extra money was raised through a variety of raffles. It was a great effort by the whole year group and thank you to all who were involved.

ST BEDES DO 'THE BOOKET LIST' We have launched our 'Booket List Challenge' to Senior pupils. It's all about 'Reading for Pleasure' and 'Reading to Succeed'. Pupils are encouraged to read and receive stickers when they talk about their reading with the teachers or Librarian. Pupils receiving Booket List stickers will go into a draw to be held at the end of each term and prizes will be given. A book can be a perfect Christmas present. Embrace the challenge and READ TO SUCCEED!

ART TRIP TO LONDON Pupils in Year 10 Art GCSE recently travelled to London to visit the highly acclaimed exhibition 'Faces and Figures' by Thomas Schutte at The Serpentine Gallery. Juliette Corr said of the trip ' I enjoyed viewing the work of Thomas Schutte, which included a variety of beautiful photographs, paintings and sculptures. It was fun to draw and analyse his work. My favourite pieces were from a series of ink drawings called 'mirror drawings'. It was also memorable walking through Hyde Park, where we viewed some other sculptures, the Princess Diana memorial and braced the cold weather!

BOOK HAMPERS As part of our literacy strategy this year we launched our Book hampers. Eleven lucky families had their names drawn and each received a book hamper to enjoy over the Christmas holidays.

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

E-mail: st_bedes_s@bristol-city.gov.uk

CLOTHES SHOW LIVE!

After an early start on 10 December we arrived at the arena to be greeted by a buzzing atmosphere and some inspirational designers. The fashion show consisted of a variety of different styles of clothing including; Venetian hats, vintage dresses as well as high street collections. We learnt a great deal about technique and design, which will provide inspiration for our coursework in the future. It was a brilliant day and definitely a worthwhile trip. Emily Cannon and Alice Gompels Year 10.

th

YEAR 8 PARIS TRIP Please remember that the third deposit of 100 is due by 11th January 2013. The final deposit of 80 is due by 4th February. Please ensure you keep to these dates to ensure your child's place on the trip remains secure as payment is due to the travel company shortly after. If you have any queries about this please contact Miss Ryan.

YEAR 7 RUGBY FINAL The Year 7 Rugby team played in the Bristol Schools final on Friday 7th December. After fighting valiantly to get to the final they played excellently but were defeated by Redland Green to come runners up. Being the 2nd best Year 7 team in Bristol is not bad... next year we'll take the top spot! We have a great team with huge promise.

ST BEDE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL FOOTBALL LEAGUE On Tuesday 11th December 12 local primary schools attended the second round of fixtures of the St Bede's Primary School Football League. The 7-a-side league is for year 5 & 6 students and over the course of the academic year each school will play one another in a league format. On a bitterly cold evening the games were evenly contested and played in a great spirit and well supported by both parents and teachers. The 12 schools taking part in the league are: Henleaze, Bank Leaze, St Bonaventures, Horfield, Bishops Road, Brentry, Shirehampton, St Bernards, Blaise, Westbury-on-Trym, Our Lady of the Rosary, St Teresas. After two rounds of fixtures, Henleaze are currently top the table with the eventual winners being crowned in July. The league is organised and ran by the St Bede's Community Sports Team as part of the National School Games initiative.

CHRISTMAS E-SAFETY TIPS FOR PARENTS: Some children will be getting new gadgets this Christmas and being at home will be keen to spend as much time as possible playing with them. We recommend that screen time is limited to just 2 hours a day, any more than this has been linked to increased behavioural problems. Set up new gaming consoles before Christmas day so you can follow the instructions to set the parental controls before the children use them! Many parents do not realise that their children are chatting to other gamers around the world (many adults) whilst playing games online. Children will be keen to use new gadgets at every opportunity but the advice is to keep internet enabled technologies (phones, laptops, tablets/ipads etc.) in downstairs family rooms, your children are less likely to take risks if they know you are watching. Children should not take these gadgets up to bed, otherwise they may be playing games or chatting to friends at midnight whilst you think they are soundly asleep! If over the holidays your child is keeping in touch with their school friends online (whether via Facebook, instant messaging, webcam, email etc.) it may help if you discuss with them the information they are sharing. Make sure your childs online privacy settings are set to friends only and that you approve of all their online friends. If the family are going away over the holidays, ask your children to wait until you return to post on Facebook about it, as you dont want to advertise online an empty house filled with Christmas presents!

SAM LEARNING Help your child keep their brain in great shape over Christmas by encouraging them to spend some time on SAM Learning. St Bede's provides all pupils in years 7 11 with free access to the fantastic online study tool SAM Learning. To access SAM Learning your child needs to go to www.samlearning.com and enter their unique login details (which are on a sticker in their homework diaries) Centre ID: BS11SB User ID: Date of birth followed by two initials; first name then last name. (Eg. 010899DJ)

CLOTHES FOR A CAUSE Once again we will be collecting clothes, shoes, linen etc. for Clothes for a Cause. The collections will take place in the first two weeks of Term 3. Please therefore send in any items that have been replaced in the January sales! What a great excuse to treat yourselves!

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 th applications has been extended and should be returned by Friday 11 January 2013.

POPPY APPEAL A grand total of 155 was raised for the recent Poppy Appeal.

WISE WORDS A positive attitude is a magnet for positive results. Author unknown LAST WEEKS BRAINTEASER FAMILY LITERACY CHALLENGE harder BRAINTEASER FAMILY LITERACY CHALLENGE In Twas The Night Before Christmas, not a creature was stirring, not even a Cat, Ant or Mouse

FAMILY HAMPERS Ten St Bedes families are enjoying the treats they have won following this years prize draw. Best wishes to all recipients.

THE FRIENDS OF ST BEDES 200 CLUB. We would like to make parents/carers aware of the Friends of St Bedes 200 Club. It is a fundraising scheme to raise money for the St Bede's Enrichment Fund. The monthly payment is just 4.50 paid by standing order. Every month there is a chance to win a first, second and third prize of 60, 40 and 20. If you would like to join, we will attach the form to the newsletter after Christmas.