I write as we come to the end of our Advent journey and have returned from what I hope has been an enjoyable and restful Christmas break for you. I wish you all a happy New Year and pause to acknowledge that this, I know, has not been the start to the year that some of you may have wished for. As always, know that as a community, you are in our thoughts and prayers.

However the New Year has started for you, I hope that our December Newsletter will fill you with the joy of what St James' brings to all within our community.

Anthony Ellul

Headteacher

Happy New Year! As we step into 2025, let’s approach the term with more focus and ambition, making the most of the opportunities ahead. We pray for a successful year for us all, especially our Year 11s and 13s preparing for their exams.

I wish everyone a great start to the new year and a strong, productive finish to the academic year ahead!

Peter Bwala

Head Boy

Students have been crafting beautiful Advent wreaths to mark the season. These wreaths added a meaningful touch to upcoming assemblies and celebrations.

Loving God,

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The word “advent” means anticipation of the arrival of a person or an event. Advent is the season that reminds us of the arrival of something great. As a season in the Church, it is placed at the beginning of the Church year. It is the beginning of a new spiritual journey for each of us.

We are reminded once again that the promise God made about our salvation has come. This promise is the true hope beyond any other hope we have. We build our traditions around this time to remind us of that great mystery of Christ’s coming for our salvation.

During Advent and beyond let us banish all fear from our lives. Let us reflect in our service on the promise of hope that Advent brings.

First Advent Candle - Hope

On the first Sunday of Advent, we light the Prophecy candle and think of the prophets who lived in HOPE for Jesus’ coming. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

Second Advent Candle - Peace

On the second Sunday of Advent, we light the candle and think of PEACE. Jesus is “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6-7). When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they ended their message by saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).

Third Advent Candle -Joy

On the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, we receive an invitation to rejoice!

The pink candle in the wreath signifies our joy that Christmas is quickly approaching. : "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy." (Matthew 2:10)

Fourth Advent Candle - Love

On the fourth Sunday of Advent, we light the candle and think of LOVE. May we experience the love of Christ, in his Incarnation, in the cross, and in his resurrection, this Advent season.“We love because he first loved us.” (John 4:19)

Our Christmas Liturgy this year was a collaboration involving over 75 pupils, who shared their artistic talents and voices to tell the Christmas story around the Advent calendar!

St James' would like to thank everyone who participated in our Charity Advent Calendar Raffle.

Congratulations to all our winners. A shout out to Luca Iorga in Year 8, who came up with the idea, and thank you to Holly (School Chaplain), who coordinated this initiative. The Raffle has raised an impressive £1,248.00, which will be split and donated to our three school charities.

Thank you to the following companies who donated prizes for the raffle: WHSmith, Superdrug, Boots, Smyths, Nando’s, Five Guys, Hollywood Bowl, Vue Cinema, Morrisons

Well done to everyone who participated in the Christmas Card competition, we had a large number of amazing entries. The art department narrowed down the top 3 entries:

Leila Raja - 1st Prize

Beau Ogunyemi - 2nd Prize

Kaarunya Thota - 3rd Prize

Academic Awards were given out in assemblies this week - Each Head of Department has nominated pupils from each subject to receive a Academic Award. Well done for demonstrating commitment to our VERITAS values and for excelling in your studies

Our Termly Film Reward Morning was a hit! Students who won an Academic Award, Pastoral Award, and those in Y8 & Y9 above their target pathways enjoyed watching Home Alone with plenty of snacks.

Breakfast with the Best' was held for 7S, 8M, 9A, 10C, and 11T, the winners of our form time competition! Forms competed for the top spot based on house points, attendance, and punctuality. Well done to all the students involved!

On Thursday 5 December, we hosted our annual party for Senior Citizens from our local community. As our guests arrived they were warmly greeted by our volunteer sixth form students in festive outfits to take them to their tables.

Whilst the guests settled in, our staff began to get the wine flowing. Then, our younger students performed a range of Christmas carols and songs. The performances were fantastic and got everyone in the festive mood.

A beautiful meal was prepared by our kitchen staff and served to our guests by the sixth-form students. Following the meal, there was the excitement of the raffle, thanks to the donations of staff and several companies that the school works with, every guest won a lovely prize.

Following Staff and Companies who donated:

Black and cook

Zen educate

Teach London

Finder education

Horizon teachers

Veritas

Finchley nurseries

Thornton electrical

Karen Walsh

Emma Bunning

Carmen DeLucia

Mags Mcguinness

Amy Ingram

Betty Turner

William Waters

Sharon McGovern

Holly Graham

Berni Rock

Sara Magee

On 13 December we celebrated Christmas Jumper Day. We managed to raise over £1500 to be donated to our school charity - The Catholic Children’s Society and to fund our Senior Citizen Christmas party.

A sell-out crowd gathered for what has become a highlight in the school calendar, the Christmas Concert. During the evening, the audience was treated to a wide range of musical and theatrical acts admirably performed by St James' students.

Various musical performances, as well as a sneak peek of our upcoming Musical 'Little Shop Of Horror '. The music performances ranged from classical piano recitals, a range of solo performances and finale of Christmas carols.

Special thanks to Ms Williams and Mr Howlett-Reeves, for so willingly giving up their time and expertise to help the students prepare for such a great showcase of talent.

We were delighted to cerebrate this year's prize-giving evening which was held on the 19th of December 2024. The evening was an opportunity to welcome back those Year 13 students that completed their sixth form studies in the summer and to hear how they are getting along at university or in their chosen careers. In addition, there were prizes awarded for outstanding achievement for both Year 11 and 13 pupils (2023/2024) cohort. Veritas Awards were also given to pupils who embodied our values throughout their school life. Congratulations to the following:

Excellence - Jones Biju

Resilience - Kinga Antonczyk

Integrity - Jennis Biju

Trust - Anhelina Vladyka

Aspiration - Adam Ceesay

Service - Joseph Ochere

Veritas - Amy Simms

Thank you to Jessica Afrifa , a former Head Girl at St James', who was able to join us as our guest speaker for the night. Thank you to our musical acts that performed so beautifully on the evening. They were incredibly well received by the audience.

Photos available here:

Year 12 Health and Social Care students were invited to a taster day at Middlesex University, as well as exploring the facilities at StoneX Stadium. They were able to see firsthand what studying at Middlesex University is like, especially from the perspective of nursing students.

As part of their role as representatives student council paid a visit to the Houses of Parliament to boost their knowledge of how to improve student voice.

Students were given a tour of the building and then able to listen to debates in both the Commons and the Lords. They heard former Prime Minister Theresa May speak about the importance of tackling domestic abuse, and the Minister for Housing laid out the government's plans for improving this.

Students took part in a workshop on creating effective petitions and the impacts these have. These petitions were presented to David Pinto Duschinsky, the MP for Hendon, the constituency in which the school is located. Shicco and Kyle presented a petition arguing that sanitary products should be free for all women. Immanuella, Dawson, and Jeremiah presented a petition on tackling homelessness. Nadia presented a petition on tackling grade inflation while Peter and other sixth formers stressed the need for affordable tuition fees.

David Pinto Duschinsky discussed the role of being an MP and what makes Hendon special. He took a wide range of questions from students from across all year groups. We look forward to hosting him in St James’ in the future.

Mr Haffner - Assistant Headteacher

Year 8 students visited Tate Modern Gallery, where they saw a wide range of modern and contemporary art. The trip was a success, with both students and staff engaging in great conversations about what art is and how it can take many forms. Thank you to Miss Ingram and the Art Department for organising the trip.

"Diego in Year 7 with his completed Tarsia puzzle containing some challenging order of operations questions." - Ms King

"The Citizens of the World Club got creative with their annual gingerbread men decorating competition! A fun celebration filled with festive spirit and fantastic designs. Well done, everyone!" ~ Ms Silva