St.

Bede's Catholic College

Specialist Science and Sports College
T: 0117 377 2200 E: contact@stbedescc.org W: www.stbedescc.org

Newsletter 195
2010
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
th

24 April
th
30 April
6.30pm
st
1 May
th
4 May
th
5 May
th
11 May

Year 7 Reports Home

Annual Prize Giving
INSET DAY
BANK HOLIDAY
Week of Year 9 Examinations
Main period of GCE/GCSE Exams Start

17th April 2015

JOHN LEWIS PROM DRESS COMPETITION
Congratulations to year 11 pupils Izzy Fraser
and Marcella Lopresti who were recently
selected as finalists in John Lewis Student Prom
Competition.
Having designed their outfits, Izzy and Marcella
spent half term in store at Cribbs Causeway
making their dream dress a reality. They were
then treated to a professional makeover before
travelling to Old Down Manor in Tockington for
a photo shoot.

ICELAND TRIP
The 2015 sixth form
Iceland trip was an
unforgettable
experience. Not only was
it topical to several of
our modules, it was a
wonderful opportunity to embrace a unique
Tel: (0117) 3772200 Fax: (0117) 3772201 E-mail: st_bedes_s@bristol-city.gov.uk
culture and environment totally different from
our own. We saw geography in action through
glacial features, geothermal power and freezing
cold treks - even through blizzards! We
PUPILS WORK SELECTED FOR PUBLICATION
witnessed Iceland's must see attractions
Congratulations to Cara Freeth, Year
including breathtaking waterfalls, the Northern
7 who recently entered a short story
lights (twice!) and of course the Eyjafjallajkull
competition run by the Young
volcanic eruption centre.
Writers.
All the students thoroughly enjoyed the
We were delighted this week to hear that Caras
experience, made life-long friendships and
short-story Waiting for a kiss has been
would recommend
selected to be published in an anthology called
Geography
Grim Tales Across England. Congratulations
A Level and the
also to Year 11 pupil Lauren Smith whos poem
Iceland expedition
Im sorry will also be published. A wonderful
to all prospective
achievement for both girls, well done!
sixth formers!
The winning pieces can be found on our website
at www.stbedescc.org.
Megan Souness, Alex Selway and Ben Whitfield
In the last issue of our newsletter we told you
that past pupil Riley Dolan has been selected as
one of 12 national finalists with her poem The
Reckless Youth in a competition run by The
Tel: (0117) 3772200 Fax: (0117) 3772201 E-mail:
st_bedes_s@bristol-city.gov.uk
Young Writers.
Voting is now open. If you would like to support
Riley, the following link will allow you to view her
poem and vote.
https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/poet
ry-games-winners.php

HISTORY TRIP TO BERLIN EASTER 2015

Thirty one year 11 GCSE History pupils set off on
a four day visit to Berlin at the start of the
Easter holidays, accompanied by Mrs Lewis, Mr
Lincoln and Mr Lewis. The theme of the visit
was Nazi Germany; the Holocaust and the Cold
War. Despite the cold, wet and even snowy
weather, the group remained eager to learn
much about the history of this fascinating city.
The first evening in Berlin was spent visiting the
Dome of the old Reichstag building. Pupils had a
busy schedule the following day as they toured
The Story of Berlin Museum and the municipal
bunker built for Berliners during the Cold War.
This was followed by a walking tour of Berlin,
where we saw the Brandenburg Gate,
Topography of Terror, Checkpoint Charlie and
the Jewish Memorial and Museum.
The most poignant parts of the trip were a visit
to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen
and an informative self guided tour of the
Wansee Villa, where the Final Solution for the
extermination of the Jews in Europe was
agreed. On a much lighter note, we explored
the 1936 Olympic Stadium, where Jesse Owens
won four gold medals.
On the morning before we left Berlin, we visited
the Palace of Tears, where relatives from the
West would say goodbye to loved ones in the
East, in the immediate period after the Berlin
Wall was built.
The trip was extremely thought provoking but
there was time for lighter moments, and a little
retail therapy. Curry Wurst is now a firm
favourite amongst some year 11 pupils and
many have developed a taste for the finest
quality chocolate from the beautiful
Fassbender-Rausch chocolatiers.
The staff would like to thank the year 11s who
went on the trip for making this an excellent
experience for all concerned.

KS4 MUSIC, ART & DESIGN SHOWCASE

Congratulations to
all Year 10 and 11
musicians and artists
involved in Key Stage
4 Music recital and
Art exhibition on 25th
March. Over thirty GCSE Music pupils performed a
variety of solo and ensemble pieces in preparation
for their forthcoming exams and twenty seven Art
students were chosen to display their work.
The standard of both Music and Art was superb. It
was great to see so many families here to share in a
celebration of wonderful talent.

READATHON
Thank you to everyone who took
part in this years Readathon. All
together we raised a fantastic
405.81 for four exceptional
childrens charities: ReadWell, CLIC Sargent,
Roald Dahls Marvellous Childrens Charity and
Together for Short Lives.

LIBRARY OPEN HOURS

An extra study period is again available in the
library from Monday to Thursday until 4.30pm.
This is a perfect opportunity for pupils and sixth
form students to work independently in a quiet
environment particularly with the examination
period approaching.

ROUTES INTO LANGUAGES

On Friday 20th March, six pupils participated in the
'Routes into Languages' speaking competition held
at The Royal High School in Bath. The pupils gave
performances in Spanish, French and Polish.
Congratulations to Alex Conway who was awarded
first place in the near-native KS4 category with a
dazzling speech on health. Shems Preisner also
won first prize in the near-native category for KS3
entertaining the audience with his holidays
adventures.
Abin Varghese was runner-up in the non-native
KS4 category with a stand-up comedy routine on
family holidays.
The following week, Ben Whitfield won joint first
prize for the KS5 non-native competition. All boys
will now travel to the regional final at Bath
University in June.

YOUNG ENTERPRISE SUCCESS

On the 24th March, our Young
Enterprise team Azzurro
participated in the semi-final
of the Bristol and South
Gloucestershire area held at
the Arnolfini in Bristol. The competition was
strong but the team pitched to three judges in a
Dragon's Den style format, with clarity and
confidence.
We are pleased to announce that team Azzurro
have progressed to the final at Kingsweston
House on 7th May.
Congratulations to Year 10 pupils: Lucy Tarr,
Abin Varghese, Amy McMahon, Georgina
Constable, Harriet Ellison, Dan Phillis and
Declan Smith and Year 11 pupil Josh Taduran.
We wish you all the very best of luck in the
final.

WASTE WEEK AND TEXTILES

On Friday 27th March, Year 9 Textiles joined
forces with Eco Club to showcase their work on
Recycled fashion. Pupils created clothes and
accessories entirely from recycled materials!
Lots of creativity and innovation was on show a particular well done to those pupils who
modelled their creations! The winning team
won tickets to Bristol Fashion week - well done
to Caitlin Baber, Lara Mae Asuncion and
Rhiannon Davies.

SHOW MY HOMEWORK
All pupils should now be
logged on to Show my
Homework and parents from
years 7-10 should have
received their logins. If parents are having any
problems please do contact the college.
All homework will now be online and will not be
recorded in the homework diaries. These will now
only be used as a communication log if parents need
to contact the tutor.

ELEVATE SEMINAR
On Monday 13th April Year 11, 12 and 13 pupils
attended an Elevate seminar on memory and
mnemonics. The seminar was informative and
will certainly prove beneficial to our young
people as they start the revision season prior to
GCSEs, AS and A Level examinations.

THE PAGE-TURNERS BOOK CLUB

Favourite book of the club this term:
Ingo by Helen Dunnmore
Ingo is a wonderful book where different worlds, air
and water, collide. The life of Sappy and Conner is
full of adventures and the untameable power of the
sea is exhilarating. Each character is imprinted in
your mind. I recommend this book to everyone as it
washes away the border between reality and
fantasy. One more thing: time flies when you are in
Ingo. Dont get washed away!
Shanaz Sharonsenthil Year 8
APP OF THE WEEK
For anyone interested in learning or
practising the Python programming
language there are two very good
mobile apps available from the Appstore and Google
play, named Python for ios and QPython for
Android. Knowledge of this language is essential if
you are taking or considering taking GCSE
Computing.
Happy programming!
LOW COST COMPUTERS
Bristol City Council has recently re-launched
the Bristol Computer Reuse Scheme. The
scheme enables people meeting certain criteria
to apply for a full Windows PC at a cost of 75.
The eligibility requirements are as follows:

Has a child entitled to free school meals

Has a disability

Is a full time carer

Is over 65

Receives means tested benefits

Is on a low income
For further information and to apply online,
please visit www.bristolcomputerreuse.org

WHOLE SCHOOL ELECTION

On 7th May, we are hoping to
run a whole school election to
run alongside the actual
General Election. Our aim is
for Year 7 to Year 10 pupils to
elect a party leader to
represent each of the five main political parties.
The whole school election will be launched next
week in special assemblies. There will be
numerous opportunities for speeches and debates
in the lead up to the election itself and a day of
polling to determine a winner on the 7th May.

PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB
Photography club will be starting
again soon, during Friday lunchtimes.
There will be a comprehensive
programme including various photographic
techniques along with Photoshop editing. There will
be a new topic and competition each term, with
prizes for the winners and a chance for your photos
to appear on the college website.
Please see Mr Britton and Mr Williams for full details
and to sign up if you are interested. All year groups
are welcome.
STAFF VACANCIES
The Governors at St. Bedes Catholic College
wish to appoint for September 2015:
Leader of Biology - Annual Allowance 3,030
Leader of ICT - Annual Allowance 6,322
Lay Chaplain 20 hours per week
Details can be found on our website
www.stbedescc.org under Vacancies.
School Meals Supervisory Assistant (SMSA)
The College has a vacancy for a School Meals
Supervisory Assistant. The hours of work are
1.10pm to 2.10pm Monday to Friday, term time
only. The hourly rate for the post is 7.65 and
SMSAs are paid for a total of 7.5 hours per week.
All posts at St Bedes are subject to a 6 month
probationary period.
The successful candidate will be required to undergo
a Disclosure and Barring Service Check before
starting work.
A job description and application form can be
downloaded from the website. Closing date is
Monday 4th May 2015. If you have any questions,
please contact Carol Parker on 0117 3772200.

SPORTS NEWS
On Wednesday 15th April Year 7 and 9 Boys played
the Bristol Schools Football Quarter Final against
Fairfield School. In a match that could go either
way, Year 7 boys were unlucky to lose on penalties.
Year 9 won their quarter final 3-2. We wish them
the very best of luck in the forthcoming semi-final.

NEW AWAKENINGS WORSHIP

New Awakenings Worship is pleased to be
joined in May, by David Wells, a renowned
Catholic speaker. The evening will consist of
praise and worship, a talk, a chance for
prayerful intercession, all finished off with a
chance for a coffee and a chat.
Tuesday May 12th 2015 at 7.30pm
Bristol University Catholic Chaplaincy, 103
Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1LL

CLASS OF 84 REUNION
Did you attend St. Bedes between 1979 and 1984?
If so, you are invited to the Class of 84 Reunion at
The Beehive Pub, Wellington Hill West, Bristol on
Saturday, 20th June 2015 from 7.00pm. For further
details please contact
carol.mccarthy@blueyonder.co.uk

NUMERACY CHALLENGE
Two freight trains, each 1/6 mile long and travelling
60 miles per, meet and pass each other. How many
seconds is it between when the locomotives pass
each other and the cabooses pass each other?
Email your answers to
newsletterquiz@stbedescc.org.
Vivos for the 1st correct answers.
Congratulations to Ann Biju Year 9 who is the winner
of the last Numeracy Challenge with the correct
answer of 48 weeks later, on 4th December 1953