St James' Catholic High School

Maria in Year 11 had been rewarded for her independent revision and determination to succeed. Keep up the good work Maria!

In May, our pupils enjoyed workshops on careers, financial literacy and planning, fraud and business. These were really well received and have given our young people so much to think about. The workshops were planned to strategically support and complement our PSHE work on Budget, Finance and Careers and we will have some similar workshops for pupils - this time from BACS in June.

Importantly, having guests visit to present to our pupils eloquently draws together all the strands of what we are doing in school - making it real and relevant. The fact that Sasha Gracias, a former pupil and past Head Girl was the facilitator made it even more special for us all. It was impressive to see how at ease she was with her materials and how she delivered it with such command and assurance.

It was particularly pleasing to see how easily Sasha interacted with our pupils, proving herself not only to be an excellent ambassador for NatWest but also an inspiring role model to our pupils.

Baroness Thornton visited St James’ as part of Learn with the Lords. The Baroness explained to Year 12 Sociology and Politics students how the Lords operate and opened the floor to a Q&A.

Jermaine Jenas, TV presenter and former England international and Premier League footballer visited St James’ to speak to pupils from across a range of year groups about his career and how to be resilient in order to achieve your goals.

Last Friday the Mental Health Team organised a Gratitude Breakfast for all St James’ staff as a thank-you for all the hard work they do to ensure our students are ready for their exams. Many staff wore green to celebrate to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week.

To celebrate Mental Health Week pupils were encouraged to write down ways in which they can look after their mental health. These were written on leaves to make up a mental health tree in St Dominic's hall

To celebrate Naiotnal Numeracy Day, pupils in Year 7/8/9 made tessellations during their maths lessons. Tessellation is a pattern created with identical shapes which fit together with no gaps.

The Citizens Of The World Club is preparing for their annual Dragon Boat Festival party. The wooden dragon boat models are starting to look fabulous!

The Maths Department has been running immersion sessions with walking and talking mocks in the run-up to Maths paper 1. Many pupils stayed after school for some last-minute exam advice. Well done for all your efforts and best of luck with the exams" ~ Mr Corezzola

"Our Year 12 sociologists have been reviewing the different methods which could be used to research sociological issues within society, and why they may be suitable. Maybe they’ll apply this knowledge into their own piece of research one day!" ~ Ms Amado

Annie is just of our many amazing Year 12s offering their time in our Reading Buddies program to help our Year 9s to understand how to approach questions for their GCSEs!

Year 10 GCSE art students have been exploring the natural form, appreciating its uniqueness and learning how to draw complicated parts of the body such as hands and organs!

Year 11 had their Mass of celebration. Fr John reminded pupils to be strong and courageous. In this time of exams we are not to be afraid as God is always with us.

Fr John joined us to celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. This special day in the church’s calendar, celebrates a an event in the life of Jesus that occurs 40 days after the Resurrection.

Let us pray:

Jesus,

Thank you for the gift of Your life,

the incredible love demonstrated through Your death on the cross.

Thank you for the victories won through Your resurrection,

and the power released through Your Ascension into heaven.

Thank you for opening the path to eternity for us and the promise to be with us always.

Help us to share this hope with others and to follow where you have gone.

Amen

Some of our year 10 pupils paid a visit to the Bugler Construction site on Great Strand for a explanation of different careers in construction, a site tour of multiple properties being built and pupils have a further opportunity to undertake in work experience with the company.

Year 11 Boys won the Barnet Cup Final on the 1st of May 2:0. The Man of the Match was Daniel Uriciuc. Well done Boys!

Congratulations Lucy Montgomery (year 9) & Olivia Cawley (year 8) who participated in the All-Britain Under-15s Felie in Scotland.

Year 9 and 10 Boys won the Hertfordshire Gaelic Tournament on the 16th of May. Being unbeaten for the whole tournament and winning the final against St Columbus 3:09 to 1:03. Year 9 and 10 Girls got to the shield final too. Well done to all involved!