Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus Visits St Andrew s. Newsletter No 11 May 2014

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1 - Newsletter No 11 May 2014 Dear Parents, We had a wonderful day on Wednesday when His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II visited the school. This is a tremendous honour and we were delighted when he presented the school with a very special icon and presented each member of the staff and students with a personal icon. Maybe we will have the opportunity one day to visit St Andrew s Monastery with some of our students! Students are very busy preparing for exams and seem to be taking revision very seriously. Exams will be the priority next week and we have talked through how to revise in lessons and in an assembly. Please continue to provide opportunities for revision at home. A Y7 Parents Evening to discuss progress will be held on Thursday 12 th June from 3.30 till 6.30pm. Friends of St Andrew (FoSA) now have a committee set up to support the school, provide opportunities for fundraising and to help the school to organize various activities for parents and students. Check forthcoming events at the end of this newsletter. We are running two Stevensons uniform events this term to which all parents are welcome if they need to purchase uniform for next year. These will be on Friday 11 th July from 3pm till 6pm and Saturday 12 th July from 10am till 4pm. Rob Ahearn, Headteacher Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus Visits St Andrew s On his first official visit to the UK, since his enthronement as Archbishop of Cyprus in 2006, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II took time out of a very busy schedule to visit St Andrew the Apostle School on Wednesday 14th May. Although this was a flying visit, whilst here, His Beatitude addressed students and staff in a special assembly, visited a number of lessons as well as being given the customary tour of our school. Archbishop Chrysostomos II also presented the school with a holy icon of St Andrew. His Beatitude said he was very moved by the fact that St Andrew the Apostle School shared the name of the saint with one of the most historic sites for pilgrimage in Cyprus, the Apostolos Andreas Monastery. The icon presented to the school depicts St Andrew surrounded by saints of the Karpass Peninsular, the location of the monastery in the northeastern corner of Cyprus. The Archbishop was accompanied by His Eminence, Archbishop Gregorios of Great Britain and Thyateira, His Grace, The Bishop of Karpasia, Christoforos, His Eminence Bishop Athanasios, and His Excellency, Cyprus High Commissioner to the UK, Euripides Evriviadis. They visited on some of the classes and talked to students about their studies and what they liked about the school.

2 Archbishop Chrysostomos II was very impressed by the fact that the community had at last secured and established a Greek Orthodox Secondary school here in the UK and wished both staff and students well in their ongoing work to make St Andrew s a truly outstanding school. During his assembly His Beatitude also updated students and staff on the church s efforts to renovate the historic monastery of St Andrew the Apostle in the occupied Karpasia peninsula of Cyprus and expressed the hope that this would also build bridges between the two religious communities in Cyprus. He ended his assembly and visit by reminding students of our Ancient Greek school moto: Ever to Excel and urged them to work tirelessly towards this in their studies. The school presented him with a signed photo of the founding students and staff as a memento of his historic visit.

3 Getting to Know your Faith We are pleased to announce as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen the school s links with the Orthodox Church, an opportunity for students (and staff if they wish) to participate in a series of workshops after school, designed to increase their own understanding of what it means to be a Christian living in the modern 21st century. The workshops will be led by one of our school chaplains, Father John Hookway, and take place in the school chapel every Friday between 3.00 and 4.00 o clock. The workshops are designed to generate discussion on a variety of issues surrounding the complex subject of faith, starting with questions such as: Does God exist? What is God? What is man? The aim of these workshops is to connect students with their faith by enabling them to understand key aspects of Christianity, particularly, the role of the church, the holy Liturgy and communion.

4 St Andrew s launches its own virtual learning environment (VLE) By now, you might have heard your son or daughter talking about Moodle. Some of you might even be wondering what on earth they are talking about. Moodle is a free software e-learning platform, also known as a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Our Moodle Virtual Learning Environment is an online area where students and staff can interact, access teaching materials and resources as well as submit assignments. It is a learning platform designed to provide teachers and students with an opportunity to create personalised learning environments. All students have been issued with log-in details as well as their own password, enabling them to access the site. We are aware that there have been some technical issues with students not always being able to log on successfully. However our technical support team have assured us that these are nothing but teething problems which can be very easily sorted. From our point of view, Moodle is a very exciting learning tool which allows students to access resources and learning, beyond the confines of the school building. Staff from each subject area have already uploaded numerous resources and materials for students and we urge and encourage students to use these in order to aid their learning and progress. NEWQUAY Residential Trip On Monday 6th May Parents were invited to attend the Parents information evening for the forthcoming Activities trip to Newquay. The week s residential trip will provide the students with a fantastic opportunity to develop their personal and social skills as well as challenging themselves in a variety of physical and mental activities. The meeting was well received, with the parents re-assured that their children will be in safe hands especially since health and safety concerns are always at the forefront of Mr. Callender s mind. As trip leader, Mr. Callender is excited to be running such a fantastic trip, and having run identical trips on 7 previous occasions, he is very experienced with regards to the activities students will be undertaking whilst at Newquay. Parents especially appreciated the opportunity to ask questions of their own, with some even asking if there were any spare places for them to join in! The trip will not only be educational but will also provide the students with many happy memories and hopefully long lasting bonds with friends and teachers alike. If your child is going on the trip but you were not able to attend the meeting, please feel free to Mr. Callender for any information you require:

5 Exam week Timetable During exam week please be aware there will be no after school clubs and the school bus will depart at 3.15pm. Time Monday 19 th May 2014 Tuesday 20 th May 2014 Wednesday 21 st May 2014 Thursday 22 nd May 2014 Exam Session am - 10:10am English Paper 1 English Paper 2 French PE (Written Paper) 10:10-10:30am Break Break Break Break 10:30-11:00am Tutorial Assembly Tutorial Assembly Exam Session 2 11:00am - 12:30pm Science Paper 1 Maths Paper 2 Non-Calculator Classics Science Paper 2 Lunch 12:30pm - 1:20pm Exam Session 3 1:20pm 3:00pm Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Maths History Geography Inter-house Paper 1 Reminder: Please be aware that Friday 23rd May is a Staff Inset Day and the school will be closed to students.

6 The Barnet Summer Reading Challenge, is now an annual event, and has successfully been running for the past five years. There are a variety of activities for students between the ages of Activities include: Summer Reading Challenge; get caught up in books over the long summer break, with medals and certificates for any child who reads six books. Game on gaming clubs: meet other gaming enthusiasts and enjoy a range of Wii and Play station games. These sessions are aimed at children between the ages of eight and 13 years old. The library also has lots of materials to help you with your homework, including information books, online resources and access to computers as well as lots of books to read for fun. In addition, Barnet Libraries are also offering a very worthwhile volunteering opportunity. Mythical Maze, this year s Summer Reading Challenge will be taking place in Barnet s libraries across the school summer holidays. Barnet are looking for student volunteers to help the library service encourage children to get the most out of the challenge. What's in it for you the student? Experience the rewards of working with children. Help others- make a difference to your community. Build your confidence- learn to do something new. Gain valuable skills for future employment. Gain credits towards a national volunteering award. Interested? See Mr. Vassiliou, then complete an application form and return it by Monday 2 June Volunteers will be invited for an informal chat before the summer holidays. Contact Barnet Libraries for an application form: ruth.newman@barnet.gov.uk lucy.merritt@barnet.gov.uk Dates for the Diary Fri 6th June - Y7 FoSA Disco Thur 12th June - Parents Evening Thur 3 rd July Year 6 Induction Day Fri 11 th July Non Uniform Day Fri 11 th July Uniform Sales 3.00pm 6.00pm, Sat 12 th July 10.00am 4.00pm Sat 19 th July FoSA Family BBQ 16th 18th July Charlie & the Chocolate Factory school production