Headteacher: Mr. P. Enright, B.A. (Hons), M.A.
106 Bath Road, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW3 3EJ
St. Mark’s Catholic School
Newsletter No.45
Adding Value
Our record breaking
examination results this
summer were outlined in
the Examinations Special
Newsletter. Well done to
all those students who
achieved not only the best
results in St. Mark’s 50
years history but also the
best results in Hounslow
Local Authority. Last week
Open Mornings/Evenings
Thank you to the large
number of students who
assisted during the Open
Mornings and Evening.
Anthony Franklin and
Gisselle Babaran in Year 8
spoke very effectively to
large groups of parents on
Charity Activities
A soup lunch to raise funds
for CAFOD was held on
Friday 2nd October. Sixth
Form ASDAN students are
currently organising a range
of activities to raise funds
for our annual Christmas
party for Senior Citizens and
collection of presents for
Telephone: 020 8577 3600, Facsimile: 020 8577 0559
e-mail: staffroom@st-marks.hounslow.sch.uk Web-
site: www.st-marks.hounslow.sch.uk
the DCSF published value
added measures for GCSE
and ‘A’ Level results. These
measures were very
positive for St. Mark’s,
1015.3 for GCSE and 1010.7
for ‘A’ Level.
Congratulations and thank
you to teachers and
parents who played such a
crucial role in adding this
value.
five occasions. Sixth Form
students were superb as
guides and car parking
assistants. Students
working within
Departments during Open
Evening also created a very
positive impression.
needy families. These
activities, including cake
sales, computer game
competitions, beat the
goalie, raffle, Year 7
Halloween Disco, Year 8
Talent Show, five-a-side
competition, guess the
baby etc, will commence
after half term.
October 2009
Examination
Results
Following the correction of
a mistake by one of the
examination boards another
student has achieved five or
more A*-C grades with
English and Maths taking
the total to 81%. Apologies
to Rachael Rodrigues for an
error on the Exam Special.
Rachael gained 10A*/A
grades at GCSE – well done.
Year 7
We are delighted with the
way our new Year 7 have
settled in at St. Mark’s.
Thank you to Ms Lavelle and
her Team of Tutors for
greatly assisting in this
process. It was lovely to see
so many parents at the Year
7 family Mass on 17th
September.
National County Team
Championships
Congratulations to Callum
Mitchell who was selected
to represent the Middlesex
Swimming Team in the
National Championships on
Sunday 18th October.
Year 13 French Work Experience 2009
On October 4th at 5:30 am,
six Year 13 students went
off to France with Miss
Green to begin a week’s
work experience. Suzi and
Rebecca worked in the
world renowned Bayeux
Tapestry, handing out audio
guides to tourists and
learning about the Battle of
Hastings and Guillaume le
Conquérant. Ciara, Macalla
and Evelyn worked in
Bayeux Primary Schools,
Year 9 French Play visited by various make-
over “fairies”, who climb
On Friday 24th September,
the day before the
European Day of Languages,
all Year 9s watched a play
being performed in French
in St. Michael’s Hall. The
two French actors involved
were hilarious, performing a
play where a boy who
cannot get a girlfriend is
Rock School
Well done to all those
bands that participated in
the recent Rock School
Concert. The event drew a
large audience and the
standard was impressive.
During this year the Music
Department will use our
new studio to produce a CD
featuring our school bands.
with pupils that adored
them and showered them
with hugs and kisses every
time they saw them!
Finally, Camilla worked on
the front desk of the
Bayeux Tourist Office,
welcoming visitors and
advising them of what to
see and where to go. At
the end of the week they
drove across France to see
the famous “Mont St
Michel”, before heading
through his window,
basically harass him and
make him dress up in all
sorts of crazy clothes. It
was very witty and we
were especially impressed
when the actor went into
the audience several times
and asked pupils questions
in French. Mason
PTA
Around twenty parents
attended our first PTA
meeting of the year on 29th
September. The PTA are
hosting a Parents’ Forum on
17th November. There will
be an opportunity to ask
general questions and
December 3rd
The above date was
identified on the school
calendar as a potential
“drop down” day when the
home in the evening.
Congratulations to the
students involved on their
perfect behaviour; their
wonderful, positive
attitude throughout and for
their courage in going off
and working in another
country unpaid for an
entire week. What a great
thing to put on their CV!
Well done!
Moroney, for instance,
responded almost fluently
to a question about sports
and Nathan Mohammed
even went up on stage and
played the guitar! It was a
thoroughly enjoyable
experience for all involved
and hopefully all Year 9s
now see that languages are
not confined to just the
classroom.
discuss various aspects of
school life with a member
of the senior team. The
PTA have organised a
Social/Quiz Night for Friday
20th November. Tickets
will go on sale after half
term. Please do come
along with friends if you
are able to.
timetable could be
suspended to allow
alternative activities to take
place. This will now be a
normal school day.

50th Anniversary Events
As you are aware the School
celebrates its 50 t h
Anniversary in May 2010.
On Friday 7th May there is a
social event commencing at
7.00 pm. We hope to
welcome back a large
number of former students
and staff. There will be
brief speeches, tours of the
school and an opportunity
to catch up with old friends.
We will be putting together
Storytelling
Training
Any Year 7 pupils wishing to
take part in Storytelling
training should see Mrs
Fitzmaurice, in the LRC.
There will be a training
session, at Brentford
Football Club, in November.
We take part in this every
year, and go out to Primary
schools to put our new skills
into practice. This is great
fun for everyone, especially
the younger students.
Diary Check
Our recent student diary
check demonstrated that
the vast majority of pupils
are using the School Diary
very effectively i.e entering
the pattern of homework in
advance, putting “none set”
if appropriate, ensuring the
diary is signed each week
and keeping the diary free
of graffiti.
a magazine to celebrate
our anniversary. Any
photographs from former
students would be most
welcome. Please e-mail to
s t a f f r o o m @ s t -
marks.hounslow.sch.uk or
post directly to Mr Enright.
All originals will be
returned. On Saturday 8th
May, we have organised a
celebration Mass at 2.00
pm in Westminster
Tesco Vouchers
We have just received two
new PC notebooks in the
LRC, courtesy of the many
Tesco vouchers you all
collected last summer.
Free Books for Year 7 Pupils
Every Year 7 pupil in the
country is to be given a free
book. This is the third year
that this scheme has
operated, and it is a
fantastic opportunity for
our students. They have all
Into Sixth Form Evening
On Friday 5th November
students in Year 11 will
experience a range of Sixth
Form taster lessons. In the
evening there will be a
formal presentation. All
Cathedral. All students are
requested to attend with
their families. We do
appreciate the sacrifice of
giving up a Saturday
afternoon but this is a once
in fifty years activity.
Please put it in your diary
for next year. For Chelsea
supporters in particular, it
does not clash with the
annual trip to Wembley for
the Cup Final (15th May
2010).
These are available for
pupils to use in the LRC at
all times, and are a very
welcome addition to our
resources. Thank you all
very much for your
support.
now made their choices,
and the order has been
sent off. We now await our
parcels! There will be
opportunities to read all 12
books, as we will have a
swap box in the LRC.
Year 11 parents are invited
to attend. Any potential
external applicant for the
Sixth Form in September
2010 are also encouraged
to attend.
Year 10 Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio/MMR Immunisations
The dates for these
immunisations are as
follows:
Tuesday 23rd February and
Wednesday 24th February
2010. The nurses are
Examinations Handbook
The 2009 – 2010
Examinations Handbook for
all candidates in Years 10,
11, 12 and 13 has been put
onto the School Website -
the link is News and Events,
Exams Information. We
would ask that all
candidates and their
parents/carers read it and
ensure they are aware of
Extraordinary
We are all ordinary people
but when we allow God to
work through us we can
become and do the extra-
ordinary. I see this at work
so often here at St
Mark's people putting in
that little bit of extra effort
to help each other and
achieve their very best.
This was evident in our
students who came to
Lourdes with us as part of
the Westminster Pilgrimage
in the summer holidays. We
are recruiting again for next
summer so please
encourage everyone you
know in the 6th form to
consider joining us. We fund
raise during the year to help
with the cost. Archbishop
Nichols who led us this year
was very friendly and
coming into school to give
consent forms and to talk
to your child on 6th
November 2009. If any
pupils in Years 11, 12 or 13
have not yet had this
immunisation but would
the regulations and
procedures. The dates and
arrangements for the issue
of results in Summer 2010
are included in the
Handbook.
After half term all
candidates in Years 10, 11,
12 and 13 will be given a
booklet, which includes the
everyone had the
opportunity to meet him.
As he said Lourdes is a very
special place where we are
given unique opportunities
to pray, to help each other,
to care for others and to
celebrate together...
making it so much more
than a good holiday a
pilgrimage is so much more
and more refreshing. It is in
helping others we discover
the best in ourselves. I
certainly saw that in action
in our students who
worked hard as Red Caps
all week.
Each week in the
Chaplaincy at lunch
time we have students who
I like to think of as people
of power who come to
explore their faith through
creative work on a
Tuesday, discussion on a
like to have it could they
please pick up a consent
form from Matron at
school on the 6th
November 2009.
Joint Council for
Qualifications Notice for
Completing Coursework/
Controlled Assessment and
the Regulation Notice and
Warning for written and
on-screen exams. If you
have any queries or would
like a paper copy of the
Handbook please contact
the Exams Officer, Mrs.
McDonnell, on extension
208.
Wednesday or in
just enjoying each others
company on a Thursday.
Mr Harvey from the RE
Department and I have just
had a wonderful weekend
with some of our 6th
formers at St Cassian's a
retreat house in Kintbury.
Another opportunity for
our students to discover
they are extra ordinary. We
offer this as a small group
retreat as not everyone can
take a whole weekend out
of life to discover just how
great they are but it is so
fantastic for those who can
experience it with us. Year
12 will all have a day of
reflection on the last day of
this half term which will
give them all the chance to
take some time out to grow
as people. For those who
really find they want to
grow in faith we offer the
6th formers a group on a
Friday called Affinity when
they can spend some time
thinking about things of the
heart rather than the head.
Some of our Year 10
students have signed up for
Youth SVP. This is an
organisation which enables
them to give some care in
the community. We have a
variety of things they can do
from visiting the elderly
through to helping at an
after school club for
younger children or
spending time with young
people who have learning
disabilities. Last year's Year
10 had a group who were
very committed to this work
and it was really good to
see them giving up their
time to help others.
Following on from Year 7's
special Mass to celebrate
their arrival at St Mark's
each form has been having
an afternoon in the Chapel
to think about what it
means to be part of the
Catholic community that is
our school. We start by
sharing lunch together and
it gives them time to get to
know each other a little
better and consider how
they can contribute to our
school life.
The Mass is at the heart of
our School and we are very
fortunate to have Mass
celebrated every week. We
Paul Enright
Headteacher
as the staff have the best
possible start to our year
with a Mass and it is out of
that that everything else
flows. Miss Thatcher has
been encouraging some of
our students to become
active in the liturgical music
for our weekly Mass and
those students are really
making our celebrations
into something
special. Another thing
that makes these
Eucharistic gatherings each
week so special is the way
the students help in their
preparation. Each student
from Year 7 to 10 will be
involved in that
preparation at some stage
during the year. In addition
to this they all will spend
some time in the chapel as
part of their RE lessons.
Year 11 and Year 8 in
particular have been doing
that this half term and
some of Year 11, 12 and 13
have been coming for an
extended prayer time at
the start of the day.
St Mark's, as part of West
London Citizens, has been
involved in thinking about
how the life of people in
London could be made
better. A delegation
attended a meeting in
Chelsea to consider what
policies might be promoted
to bring that about. This is
a way for our young people
to think about how Catholic
social teaching can be put
into action by working with
others of different faiths
and no faith, to explore our
common values. We will be
taking another delegation
next half term to the
Barbican. If any parents
want to get involved with
this aspect of our school
life please contact the
Chaplain.
Our Catholic life at St
Marks involves everyone.
We have representatives
from each year now on the
Justice and Peace group
and I am always delighted
when more staff, students
or parents want to get
involved in what is
h a p p en i n g in th e
chaplaincy at St Marks. We
can do nothing without
God's help and everything
we a c co m p l i sh is
underpinned by prayer. If
anyone associated with our
community would like to
join us in our half termly
prayer group we meet in
the middle of each half
term on a Monday in the
Chapel at 11.30 a.m. the
next prayer meeting takes
place on Monday 16th
November. Do let me know
to expect you.
I hope you all have a restful
half term break.
Love Peace and Joy
Roseleen (Lay School
Chaplain).