St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy Oxford Road Dewsbury West Yorkshire WF13 4LL. Summer Edition 2017

Transcription

1 Headteacher s Comment THE The St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy Oxford Road Dewsbury West Yorkshire WF13 4LL Fisher Focus Summer Edition 2017 e: headteacher@stjohnfisher.org.uk t: f: w: Dear Parents/Friends, It barely seems believable that this will be the last editorial that I shall write as headteacher of our school. Whilst I am looking forward to retirement, I will miss the daily involvement with all that make up the special community that is St John Fisher Academy. Please accept my best wishes for the future and my heartfelt thanks for all the support offered to me over the years. As we now head towards the end of what has been a very busy year, I write with some news and important information. St John Fisher Feast Day Mass The mass led by Fr Hegarty and concelebrated with a number of other priests from the denary was attended by approximately 1000 staff and students and was a great celebration for the school. Such events are vital as it is important for the community to come together to worship and to celebrate our distinctive identity. Confirmation Congratulations to those students who were recently confirmed by Bishop Marcus in the deanery services at St Patrick s in Birstall. We are very proud of these young adults. Exam Results Following the recent celebrations to mark the end of Y11 and Y13, students thoughts now turn to the important matter of how well they have done in their exams. A level results may be collected from 8.45 am on Thursday 17 th August and GCSE results may be collected from 9.0 am on Thursday 24 th August. Educational Visits The recent Year 7 outward bounds camp in Boreatton Park (Shropshire) and the Year 9 trip to the Ardeche were great successes also as you will be able to read elsewhere in this publication. As I write, we are waiting for a group of students to return from Lourdes and the Diocesan Pilgrimage. A number of one-day educational visits have been approved for the near future including the end of year reward trips. A full calendar has been prepared for next year. Thanks to parents for your support for this important aspect of our children s education. Rugby National Finals Congratulations to our Year 11 girls, newly crowned national champions. I also wish good luck to the Year 8 and Year 10 girls teams that travel south in August to contest the National Rugby League finals for their year groups. They will be presented to the crowd at the Wembley final of the Rugby League Challenge Cup on Saturday 26th August. Parent and Pupil Surveys Thank you to all parents and pupils that took part in these surveys. The results are processed externally and returned to school. A summary of these will be distributed alongside this. Parental Holidays A reminder that it remains the policy that holiday requests in term time will not normally be granted as authorised absence. This is due to the adverse effect it has on pupils education. One measure by which schools are judged is by the attendance achieved by the students. The DFE expects schools to take strong action in this regard including the issuing of penalty notices. Please continue to help us by not asking for leave during term time. Staff Departures This summer sees the departure of a small number of members of staff that are moving on to pastures new. I offer best wishes to Mrs Biggin, Miss Riordan, Mr Fallon, Mrs O Hare, Miss Pawson, Dr O Donnell, Mrs Goodfellow, Miss Rodriguez-Puigferrer, Mr Bass,,Mrs Blackham, Miss Hartley, Mrs Rothery, Mr Lees, Mrs Lees, Mr Sellars, Mr Wood and Mr Slywakanycz. New Staff We welcome the following teachers/staff to our school. We are sure that they will help us to provide excellent education for our children. English Miss Stockton Languages Miss Roberts PE Mr Milnes Humanities Mr Greenwell Vocational subjects Mr Longbottom Business Manager Mrs Fox Sports Admin Mrs Byrne School Reopening/ Term Dates School will close at 12.40pm on Friday 21 st July and reopen for pupils at 8.50 a.m. on Tuesday, 5th September. A copy of next year s term dates are attached. Kevin Higgins e: headteacher@stjohnfisher.org.uk t: f: w:

2 St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy Term Dates - Academic Year AUTUMN TERM 2015 SPRING TERM 2016 SUMMER TERM 2016 FIRST DAY HALF TERM LAST DAY FIRST DAY HALF TERM LAST DAY FIRST DAY HALF TERM LAST DAY Tuesday 5th September Monday 23rd October to Monday 3oth October inclusive Friday 22nd December Monday 8th January Friday 16th February to Friday 23rd February inclusive Thursday 29th March Monday 16th April Monday 28th May to Friday 1st June inclusive Friday 20th July Exam Results - AUGUST 2016 AS/A2: 8.45am Thursday 17th August GCSE: 9.0am Thursday 24th August Sixth From Enrolment Day: Wednesday 31st August 2016 Uniform Reminder Boys: A plain black blazer with the school badge. Plain black trousers and a plain white shirt. School tie (clip on). A plain grey V-necked jumper (optional) with school badge. Socks in black or grey. Shoes in plain black, suitable for school. No canvas pumps or trainers. Girls: A plain black blazer with the school badge. Plain black trousers or skirt. Leggings are not permitted and skirts must be just above the knee as a minimum length. (Lycra is not a suitable fabric for skirts as the skirt rises up when the student is moving; therefore it is not permitted). A plain white shirt. School tie (clip on). Plain grey V-necked jumper (optional) with school badge. Black or white socks or black thick tights. Plain, black flat shoes with no adornments. No canvas pumps or trainers. Make-up, fake tan, extreme hairstyles and nail varnish are not permitted and the only piercings allowed are for girls in the lower lobe of the ear (one pair of small, plain studs). No other facial or body piercings are allowed. Extreme hairstyles are not allowed and this includes unnatural colours and streaks. The Eccup 10 On Sunday 2nd July myself and Mr Shepherd ran the Eccup 10 (miles no kilometres). All proceeds raised during the race go to Hollybank Trust in Mirfield Hollybank Trust is a special school that provides care and support for children with complex needs and disabilities. As a parent of a child, Emily my youngest daughter, who has profound and multiple learning difficulties, I can fully appreciate how the support and care they provide benefits children, parents, family and the community as a whole. If we can still walk after it them this might become an annual event. Mr Burns

3 Mrs Biggin SENCO Marie Biggin began teaching at St John Fishers Catholic High School 32 years ago, having already had 14 years of experience in other schools. She began by joining the PE department whereby she excelled at teaching Dance and Gymnastics. A qualified sailing instructor, she spent many enjoyable afternoons on Pugneys Lake as part of Year Eleven PE lessons. She taught Anatomy and Physiology as part of the A Level team and A Level Dance for a number of years too. Highlights include directing and choreographing a number of school productions such as Oliver and helping to run the Year 7 Semewater and Year 9 Criccieth camps, which are still talked about with fondness by past and present staff and by the ex-pupils who were lucky enough to experience them. 21 years ago, she rose to the challenge to become the school s SENCO and has been invaluable to all members of our school community. As SENCO Marie felt strongly and worked hard to ensure all pupils with additional needs have achieved success alongside their peers as they have progressed through the school, alongside a dedicated team of Educational Teaching Assistants and the teaching staff. The inclusive nature of St John Fisher s has been praised by Ofsted. She has also been very involved in the safety and welfare of young people in the school and supporting all pupils to develop their confidence and self-esteem. As well as being a teacher, Marie was a Youth worker for 24 years. She gave up this role in 2009 and has since taken on the very important role of Grandma. Marie Biggin has been an asset to this school and will be greatly missed by all whom have known her. We wish her all the very best for what we know will be an active and exciting retirement! Ms Michelle Thompstone Director of Study Year 9 Mrs Riordan Leader of Learning for Design and Technology, Teacher of Textiles Mrs Riordan has been Leader of Learning and a Design and Technology Textiles teacher for the past 13 years at St. John Fisher. Over this time, Mrs Riordan has immersed herself into the life of the school always going that extra mile to help both pupils and staff. Pupils who have been in her form and taught by Mrs Riordan speak in the highest terms as her knowledge, care and nurturing of pupils is to the highest of levels. Mrs Riordan always has time for the pupils entrusted to her care, and the Textiles products that are produced are always well designed and beautifully made, as she instils into pupils that quality can be achieved if you focus and commit yourself to the task in hand. In terms of academic success, both GCSE and A-Level results have been outstanding over her time at St. John Fisher with many pupils extending their studies in Textiles at University level. Pupils have also achieved in terms of competition where Mrs Riordan s pupils have won the Dewsbury Young Designer Competition on many occasions, highlighting the quality of the work produced in the Textiles Department. Displays around school are heavily influenced by the work that has been produced by her pupils, and she has also produced numerous artefacts to support both the school and the wider community, covering; Masses, murals, vestments, exhibitions, competitions, etc. On a lighter note many pupils have benefitted from Mrs Riordan s magical mending skills as many pupils have arrived at her door with torn blazers, skirts and trousers to be fixed and renewed. As Mrs Riordan leaves us this year I know that she will be keeping busy planning new adventures. She will be sadly missed and we thank you for all the work that you have covered in enabling the pupils of St. John Fisher to achieve of their best. Mr Killoury Head of Design Art and Technology Faculty

4 Junior Maths Challenge Success 2017 Again in April 90 of our top mathematicians in Year 7 and 8 competed against 240,000 other Year 7 and 8 students from across the country, in the Junior Maths Challenge. This year 16 students achieved a certificate. It is an excellent achievement to be awarded a certificate as our students are competing against so many others from all around the country. Certificates are awarded to the highest scoring 40% of candidates, of which the top 6% get a gold certificate; the next 13% get silver, and the remaining 21%, a bronze. The following students were awarded certificates: Gold Silver Bronze Year 7 Year 8 Jenny Hepworth (best in year) Karlos Pontanilla Arooba Kaini Isa Dingmar Yumnaa Akram Emily Tattersfield Oliver Hill (best in school) Jaideep Dhangar Hollie Walker Zara Leather Mohib Ahmed Annabel Wagstaff Hamdaan Sheikh Veronica Hopkins Edward Disken Witkoria Terka Sophie Oleary Aqsa Saleem Well done to all those who took part in the challenge and those who were awarded a certificate, especially those in Year 7. We look forward to these improving next year! H Hammerton Maths Teacher

5 MFL Spelling Bee Au revoir Desi Rodriguez We went to the French Spelling Bee competition in May at a school in Bradford. We had an amazing time. We were very nervous and frightened as to how well we would do. We didn t win ultimately, but it was a great experience and Mrs Kernan said we had been fantastique. We all had fun and learned 150 new French words. We d like to thank Thibault the French Assistant for all his help and support! Merci et au revoir. Danielle Williams 7S Rumaisa Zaman 7J Jenny Hepworth 7J Smallpiece On May 9th, a company called Smallpiece came in to run an Engineering workshop with some Year 9 students. From the start of the day we sat in groups and discussed careers in Engineering and how engineers have influenced our lives today. For the second session we built our own solar powered car, charged them up, and raced them. We had to see whose car would go the furthest but also tried to make them go an exact distance. This activity gave us insight into what an engineer does. Joe Blakeley, 9R Salters Festival of Chemistry On Tuesday 16th May, we took part in the Salters' Festival of Chemistry, where we competed with other schools, in different challenges. We participated in The Salters Challenge and The University Challenge. In the Salters Challenge, we were solving a mystery by testing for different ions and using paper chromatography. In the University Challenge, we were creating different colours of the rainbow by mixing the correct amounts of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide solutions. This was really fun! We were judged on our practical skills, problem solving skills and how well we worked as a team. Then we watched an amazing demonstration with lots of explosions and massive clouds of liquid nitrogen. Finally, there was a prize giving ceremony where we won 1st place in The University Challenge. We had a brilliant day! Alina Abbas and Annabel Wagstaff The pupils that were on the trip are Alina Abbas, Oliver Hill, Kayden Ramsden and Annabel Wagstaff. They worked brilliantly together, were a pleasure to take to the competition and a real credit to the school. After being at St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy for three years, the moment to move on has arrived along with my new career at Winterhill School in Rotherham. It has been a great experience and I will always remember to be part of the MFL department, the academy and the community. I started as volunteer in 2014 as Spanish Learning Mentor and that time allowed me to get to know the school, the staff and the English education system. In 2016, I started teaching Spanish and French which was challenging and hard, but also a happy time for me to start my career in the UK, especially when teaching 8Q Spanish. Throughout my time here, I learnt a lot from other teachers who have supported me and I d like to say a thank you to the teaching and learning workshop where I could share my uncertainties and questions. It has been a wonderful experience and I am delighted having taught and mentored KS5 since the beginning. Since September 2016, I have really enjoyed teaching through the support by all the staff, the colleagues and the MFL department, especially Miss Fielding, Miss Mowbray and Miss Vogel who has made my daily life at work easier. They have supported and encouraged me to develop and improve, and part of my future success is also because of them. Miss Dhorajiwala - Science

6 Boreatton Park 72 Year 7 pupils and 7 worn out and weathered Teachers have recently returned from a fun filled trip to Boreatton Park, Shropshire. The annual trip is an action packed activity week in the great outdoors where the pupils have the chance to gain new experiences including the giant swing, zip wires, climbing, abseiling, raft building, kayaking and much more with specialist instructors. The trip gave pupils in Year 7 a chance to get to know each other outside of the classroom and to challenge themselves by taking them out of their comfort zone. The pupils were a credit to our school not only with their behaviour, but also with their effort and application on all the activities. Throughout the week pupils surprised themselves with their bravery; climbing higher than they ever thought they could and pushing themselves in a range of different feats. The trip also showed how supportive of each other the pupils at St John Fisher can be with screams and shouts of encouragement and congratulations throughout the week. Evening activities included camp fire songs and games with pupils in full voice. A great trip was had by all and big congratulations should go to all the pupils who took part for their effort, behaviour and courage to push themselves. Well done! Mr Graham Boreatton Park was so fun! It was one of the best school trips I have ever been on; especially with my friends. It all started when we arrived at School on the Friday morning and were put into six groups. I was lucky enough to be in the best group I could ever have imagined. The coach ride to Shrewsbury was beautiful, with all the pretty lakes, green fields and a clear blue sky. Finally we got there, had lunch and then headed straight for our first activity. I was excited about my group s first activity as it is my absolute favourite; Zip Wire! We also got an opportunity to complete the Challenge Course, while Miss Brown and Miss Cloke cheered us on from the side (while working on their tans). After a busy day we headed to our rooms to unpack and play a game called Passport which meant we got to go on a scavenger hunt for clues and answer questions to win points. We finally went to bed at 10pm but too excited to sleep we didn t fall asleep until 3am! The rest of the weekend consisted of more fun activities like raft building, vertical climbing, fencing and the giant swing which was rather scary. On the final day we all went Kayaking, which was brilliant as we got to jump in the lake and cool down because it was so hot. We all were so sad to leave and say goodbye after a great weekend. We are all grateful to the PGL staff, especially Emma and Callum our group leaders, and to our teachers who gave up their weekend to look after us. Thank you! Emily Tattersfield 7E All the activities were good and I really enjoyed all the songs we sang! Boreatton Park was a very good trip. You did loads of different activities, bonded with each other and developed stronger friendships I really enjoyed Boreatton Park because we all got involved in the fun activities and we got to know each other a lot more.

7 Ardèche and Mimosa On Tuesday 30th May at midnight, we set off from school, after being given our hoodies, and the excitement started to kick in. It took about 6 hours to travel to Dover, where we got an early morning ferry over to Calais, France. Once we arrived in France, we started on our journey to Paris, where had an overnight stop, to break up the journey. We set off from the PGL site at about 9 o clock in the morning to get going to Mimosa, which was the first of the two sites. During the day, in Mimosa we did activities which were great fun. We did games in the sea, sailing, banana boating, windsurfing, sea kayaking and lots more. We had a disco every night, evening activities and you could play various sports like volleyball or table tennis. One night we made our way to the town (Cap D Agde) where we visited shops and looked around on our own. On our way to the Ardeche, we stopped of at a walled town, where we ate lunch, and the Orgnac Caves, which were both amazing! When we arrived in our site at the Ardeche we settled in to our tents and unpacked. The 3 days we spent at Ardcehe were spent canoeing down the Ardeche river, which included lots of rapids and brilliant lunches! We set off on our way back at about 6pm from Ardeche and drove through the night to get on another early morning ferry, back to England. We arrived back at school at around 3 o clock and by this time everyone was tired out, including the teachers! Annie Storey - 9J

8 News from the Sixth Form Re-enactment of the Crucifixion Good Friday The Re-Enactment of the Crucifixion has been performed by St John Fisher Sixth Form students at the Longcauseway Church in Dewsbury for many years, and it has become an important tradition of the school. On Good Friday, a group of Sixth Form students braved the rain and cold weather to uphold this tradition, and thankfully, our supporters were willing to brave the rain too! Special thanks must go to James Sweeney, Lauren Harris, Megan Greenwood, Mollie Cooper, Charlie Deighton, Molly Reid, Abigail Peel, Zahran Abbas and Jessica Dickens. Thank you for volunteering to take part in this important tradition. Goodbye Year 13 Last week we said goodbye to our Year 13 students at their leavers party at Gomersal Park Hotel. 58 students will be starting University in September, with many others securing jobs in various sectors. We wish them well for the future please keep in touch! Special thanks to our outgoing School Presidents Chloe Flynn and Sam Kettlewell, and our Deputy Presidents Ruby Hudson and John Reyes, and all the committee, for all their hard work this past year. The school committee organise their own leavers party which is no easy task, so well done to all those involved! Year 12 (Level 3) Work Experience Week 3-7 July Each year, our Year 12 (Level 3) students go out on work experience for one week towards the end of the summer term. Every student organises their own placement, which is ideally based around their choice of future career. Even for those who remain unsure about their career choice, work experience provides an excellent opportunity to gain many transferable skills, and is also a useful addition to their CV or University application. This year, our work experience week for Year 12 took place between 3-7 July, and we had students going out all over West Yorkshire! Placements included Pinderfields and Dewsbury Hospitals, local Primary Schools, Solicitors, Insurance Companies, and many other local businesses. Our thanks to all the employers who agreed to take our students on placement, your help in forming the workforce of the future is greatly appreciated! If there are any readers who feel they could offer a place to any of our students for July 2018, please get in touch with Julia Hamill or Clair Oldroyd at school. University visits As part of their research into University courses, our Sixth Form students are encouraged to visit Universities by taking part in Taster Courses, Subject Focus Days, Summer Schools and Open Days. These visits are promoted to students within school, and many have already visited a number of Universities around the country. Many courses are residential, giving students a real taste of University life. A group of our students will be visiting Newcastle University for three nights at the end of the summer term - we hope you all have a great time and gain lots of valuable information! We are partnered with Newcastle University through the Partners Programme and on the 30 th June, we took a coach full of students and staff up to Newcastle for their Open Day. 48 students attended, and took part in various subject lectures, and a tour of the University campus and accommodation.

9 Mock Elections This year in March I participated in a mock election on how I think education could be improved. Molly Jennings (my campaign manager) and I worked together to come up with a speech and presentation to present to the whole school. We questioned students on how they felt they would be able to learn better with a few improvements, they gave us suggestions like smaller classes, chewing gum and later starts. So I researched these points to see what would actually be beneficial for the students of St John Fisher. We spent a few lessons in the chapel with other candidates working on our speeches and presentations and some even made power points! Each candidate then presented their speeches to the year 10s and whilst speaking were videoed by one of the ICT technicians. The video was 40 seconds long and was shown to the whole school during form time. Each student then had a vote to elect the candidate they thought was the most suitable for the role. Throughout the experience I ve gained many new qualities like confidence, speaking in front of peers and structuring presentable speeches. I enjoyed the experience because it allowed me to express my views and the views if my peers. It was a very enjoyable experience I would like to participate in again. Katie Minchella 10E

10 Prison? Me? No Way! The day started with an assembly given by the Prison? Me? No Way! Day staff, and then as a continuation we had six periods in which we saw ex-prison officers, teachers, a prisoner, members of Alcoholics Anonymous and volunteers which told us their stories of how they were effected by crime. The officers taught us many things such as child exploitation, internet safety and grooming, equality, and antisocial behaviour (which was presented through role play by the Prison? Me? No Way! Day staff and pupils). This was then followed by a guided tour of what a prison cells actually looks like, and what a usual day in prison would consist of. This we believe was one of the most important workshops due to how real it was for us to be able to interact in the experience. The prisoner (who is currently serving seven years, with six months left in an open prison) gave us a talk on his regrets about the crime he committed and how his family were effected prior to his crime. He then explained how his education impacted the way his life turned out, and how his behaviour foreshadowed his actions in his adult years. The Alcoholic Anonymous representatives taught us the importance of staying safe when drinking and what can happen when intoxicated. They also showed us how a person changes when they are under the influence, and how their families coped with their decisions. We felt this was important as it gave us as young adults an understanding of what can happen if we are in the same situation. In conclusion, we believe the day helped us understand what the life of the prisoner is like, and showed us how devastating it would be on our family and friends if we were to follow in the same footsteps. Holly-Anne Backhouse and Annie Ibberson Yr9 Year 10 Careers Recently Year 10 students have been benefiting from careers talks from St John Fisher Alumni. Students interested in career paths in Business have spoken to Richard Hammond about his education and career. The GCSE PE students have spoken with Matthew Diskin about the importance for education so that you can build a career after sport, and we have Diana Bhasker who is coming to talk to students who are wishing to pursue a career in medicine about the structure of a Medical degree and the specialism process. Students have also attended an Open Days at Kirklees College to look at their Hair and Beauty provision. For the Hair, Beauty and Media Make up Day the first session practicing nail art and then the second session trying out different hair styles in the salon. It was an interesting morning out for the students and they got to learn about different ways of training and courses both in full time provision and for apprenticeships.

11 Year 10 Visit to Newcastle University. In March 40 of our Year 10 students travelled to Newcastle University to attend an Open Day. They spent time with some current students who took them on a campus tour and spoke to them about University life. They had a presentation on differing lifestyles of students and courses that they could study, as well as spending time at the end of the day applying that they had learnt by designing their ideal University and taking part in a quiz one of our teams coming in 2 nd place. The visit to Newcastle University was very educational and helped improve my opinion towards the thought of attending University when I am older. It helped me to see how fun University would be and how it would help me gain life skills for when I am older. I also saw courses that were on offer and started to think about what I would like to do if I was to attend Uni. Jake Teale 10J Year 10 Selwyn College Talk In March, just over 100 Year 10 students attended a presentation from Cambridge University. Three Undergraduates from Selwyn College spoke to Year 10 students about University life, societies they could be part of, courses they were currently studying and various pathways through University and beyond through showing career paths of famous Alumni. The talk was really useful and gave me a lot to think about. It also made me realise that there is a lot more to university life than just going to lectures and that gaining a degree. It can open up many other avenues to you, not just in the subject that you have studied! Miss Warr The Peace Museum Some of our Year 10 students were fortunate to attend a workshop with the Bradford Peace Museum on 29 March. The workshop centred on World War 1 and the choices that people in our country faced. The students discussed values, equality, the right to vote and the actions and consequences of war. The discussion was then brought into present day conflicts and world peace issues. The students participated fully and engaged in very thoughtful debate. Our thanks go to the Peace Museum for offering this activity. Mrs Kernan

12 Girls Rugby Year 11 National Champions The Year 11 Girls were recently crowned national Champions for the second year running after winning the Yorkshire Cup for the 3rd Year. The Year 11 Girls claimed the Champion Schools title for 2017 with a stunning 66-0 win over Shotton Hall of Peterlee. Tries from Casey Rhodes, Ellie Frain, Olivia Cummins and Captain Ellie Oldroyd all added to the points tally in what was a fantastic team performance and impressive score line for a national final. Excellent link up play from half backs Millie Taylor, Casey Rhodes and Lacie Bruines provided opportunities to shine for forwards Jess Day, Ellie Oldroyd, Codie Slack, Grace Whitehead, Jodie Willans and Peyton Bentley. Whilst backs Caitlin Beevers, Ellie Frain, Olivia Cummins, Shauna Parrish and Kierra Tranter all displayed high levels of skill and athleticism combined with commitment and hard work. The defensive effort from the Year 11 girls was tremendous. The stand out moment of which was standing firm in the face of three back-to-back sets. Year 10 Caitlin Beevers proved to be the stand out individual as she kicked nine goals from nine attempts, as well as scoring a remarkable five tries to take her personal tally to 38 points. Caitlin was named Player of the Match after a remarkable performance. Year 8 Girls Yorkshire Campions and National Finalists The Year 8 girls are Yorkshire champions for the second year in a row. They won convincingly in a huge 64-0 victory over Airedale. Player of the match was Nancy Hirst. This also meant they qualified for the national festival. SJF kicked off the festival with an impressive 28-0 win over Waldegrave, before beating Seaton Sluice 24-8, ahead of a hard-fought win over Rainford to top Pool 1. In the national semi-final, they edged out West Lakes Academy, who were runners up in Pool 2, 12-0 to make it to the final in London this coming August. They will play St Peter s in the national finals and will hope to go one step better after a narrow defeat last summer. St John Fisher team: Ruby Enright, Ellie Croft, Jodie Gaskin, Mya Taylor, Courtney Gooch, Nancy Hirst, Mia Diskin, Kiera Coughlin, Gabrielle Akaidere, Hebatullah Mahmood, Tiegan Ramsden, Paige Lister, Reanne Harrison Year 10 Girls Yorkshire Cup Winners and National Finalists The Year 10 Girls were recently named Yorkshire Campions after a hard fought contest with Castleford Academy. The girls won in a nail biting final. At half time the game could have swung either way but grit and determination coupled with some excellent play eventually saw the Year 10 girls triumph. Captain Caitlin Beevers was named player of the match following a talismanic performance. The girls also qualified for the national festival and were determined to go one step further than last year to reach the national finals in August. The girls conceded just eight points on their way to the national final thanks to an impressive festival performance. In their first game, they won 12-0 against Harris Academy Crystal Palace, while they overcame Astley High 16-0 in game two. Their third and final group stage game was a hard-fought 12-4 win over Atherton, before they went on to win a hard-fought semi-final against Croydon-based Archbishop Tenison's. The national final will be a replay of the Yorkshire Cup final where the girls will hope to do the double against Castleford Academy. Year 10 team: Caitlin Beevers, Codie Slack, Isabel Bibby, Ellie Mae Frain, Olivia Halloran, Chloe Pearson, Abigail Render, Niamh Quigley, Lameeyaa Noor, Georgia Oldroyd, Erna Sefer, Sian Disken

13 Boys Rugby Year 7, 8 and 10 Kirklees Champions The current Year 7 team have had an excellent year and have really grown as a team. At the start of the year they went through to the Yorkshire Cup as Kirklees number 1 following central venue tournament. They reached the quarter finals of the Yorkshire Cup and just missed out on a spot in the national competition after a tough encounter in Hull with four points being the difference between the two teams. Since then the boys have continued to grow. This culminated in the Kirklees Cup final where a dominant display saw them crowned as Kirklees Champions. Some excellent free flowing Rugby combined with a water tight defence resulted in a 58-0 victory over fellow finalist Holmfirth High. We look forward to seeing them go from strength to strength in the coming years. After a strong run through the qualifying rounds, the Year 8 rugby team faced Manor Croft in a repeat of last year s final, where a last minute kick from SJF clinched victory. This year from the very start St John Fisher were in control and remained that way up to the final whistle to become Kirklees Schools Champions for the second year in a row. The final result was a commanding 65-6 victory. This was an impressive team performance with every player took their time to shine and contribute. A fantastic team effort. The Year 9 boys faced a tough challenge in their Kirklees Cup draw. Despite defeat the boys performed valiantly against a big Salendine Nook team. Most pleasing was the determination and team spirit the boys showed right until the end. The Year 10 boys faced Shelley College in their Kirklees Cup final. This was a close fought encounter, particularly in the first half when the score was tied at 6-6. After conceding the boys really tightened their defence and began to play. Some individual moments including a full length try from Josh Beevers and determined runs from Jay Scriven and Alex Hirst to fend off numerous opponents before crashing over the line edged SJF further to victory. These individual moments coupled with excellent team defence and work rate kept the opponents score at 6. Following spells of brilliant link up and support play the score finished 36-6 to SJF. A fantastic team performance to end another positive year for the group. Hopefully next year they can push on locally and nationally for their final year together as a team. Miss Cloke and Mr Egan.

14 Career Ready - Year 12 Our Year 12 Career Ready students, myself and Mr Rushton visited Fujitsu in Wakefield last month for a day of C.V and interview workshop, preparing them all for their impending internships in a few weeks time. Fujitsu UK and Ireland is a leading IT systems, services and products company employing 11,400 people. Its business is enabling its customers to realise their objectives by exploiting information technology through its integrated product and service portfolio. Victoria Ward, our business hostess for the day, manages a team of people delivering services like Admin, PA support, or Software Asset Management to the rest of the business. The people involved throughout the day were Indi Jordan, Daniel Wright, Allison Ramskill and Gill Tagg. We were later joined by Leah Rhodes and Lynn Cockell for the interviews. The interviewees' all did really well, some scoring a five across the board for their excellent communication skills and interview techniques! Overall it was a great prelude to their upcoming internships, and how they could use their skills in their temporary job roles!! "The trip to Fujitsu was very useful in helping us to develop our skills that we will need for the workplace. We had a workshop where a mentor helped us to improve our CV applications we had taken with us. We also discussed ways in which we should act in the workplace and in an interview. We also later took part in a mock interview where we were marked on our behaviour. All in all it was a great day and I learnt a lot of useful skills and took away many tips that will be useful going into our future careers". Harry Walker year 12 Career Ready student. A very productive day for all the students. Good luck with your internships Year 12! Mrs S.Cookson - Career Ready team. North Kirklees School Sport Partnership Mission Active Week 19th - 22nd June The annual North Kirklees Mission Active Week which was held Monday 19th June Thursday 22nd June at the Sports Barn, Leeds Road. Huddersfield. Pupils experienced a fun day of activities with the emphasis on physical activity and Connecting Communities. This year at our annual Mission Active for Year 4 pupils we were very pleased to work with 7 Year 12 students from St John Fisher, along with other young leaders from the local community throughout the 4 days. The students were instrumental in helping deliver 8 quality sessions on each of the 4 days for 24 schools bringing 1431 Year 4 pupils. Their work ethic, confidence, organisational skills and enthusiasm increased each day and by Thursday they were leading sessions with a competent efficiency. The Leaders really enjoyed working with students from other colleges and the week was a resounding success for all involved. Leadership Leadership opportunities continue to flourish for students at SJF. This has included 6 Year 9 pupils successfully completing the Kirklees Young Coaches Academy and going on to organise and run a football tournament for year 1&2 students in football. Our 6th Form Sport students have recently spent the week involved in Mission Active running a variety of sessions for the Year 4 pupils in Kirklees schools. Over 120 of our Year 11 students have now completed their Level 1 Sports Leaders qualification. Other opportunities have included Young Leaders in sports hall athletics, rounders, tri-golf, gymnastics, cross country, cricket, hockey, rugby and football. Well done to all those involved.

15 Sports Awards Evening In May, the PE department hosted their annual Sports Awards Evening. Once again it was great event that was very well attended to celebrate our sporting achievements over the last 12 months. Congratulations to all nominees and winners, given our successes over the last year, to be nominated is an achievement in itself. Mr Graham The winners this year were: Commitment to PE and School Sport Year 7: Felix Ellis & Millie Lyons Year 8: Connall Illand-Hurd & Courtney Gooch Year 9: Tom Senior & Sadie Galvin Year 10: Ashley Owen & Elle-Mae Frain Year 11: Oliver Rayner & Lacie Bruines Individual Sporting Achievement Year 7: 1 st James Robinson, 2 nd Joseph Minchella, 3 rd Kenndi Burnett Year 8: 1 st Nancy Hirst & Ruby Enright, 2 nd Charlie Galang, 3 rd Jaideep Dhangar Year 9: 1 st Charlotte Robinson, 2 nd Isobelle Sibbald, 3 rd Robbie Thompson Year 10: 1 st Caitlin Beevers, 2 nd Avril Bowler & Katie Minchella, 3 rd Tom Berry, Jay Haywood-Scriven & Jonathan Diskin Year 11: 1 st Millie Taylor, 2 nd Casey Rhodes, 3 rd Ellie Oldroyd & Lewis Teale Scholar of the Year Chloe Layden Ben Restall Endeavour Award Jacob Johnson Commitment to Leadership Zach Thompson Joe Chatwood Anna Mortimer Tom Dewhirst Caitlin Beevers Luis Callaghan Nathan Jowett Molly Hawkins Emma Wilby James Sweeney Georgia Copley Jordan Graves Jack Bottomley Tom Senior Alex Mawson Isobelle Sibbald Ellie Walder Fallon Longstaff

16