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ALL HALLOWS
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
February 2015
and Sixth Form College
All Hallows Celebrates Achievement
Concert
Band
Mr Bird is shown presenting the Millennium Award for best overall GCSE results to Thomas
Cobb.
The Cathedral Church of the
Bishop of the Armed Forces,
Aldershot once again hosted our
annual Presentation Evening in
December 2014.
Students past and present joined
members of our school community
and guests in celebrating the success
of our students.
Our guest speaker was Mr John Bird,
who recently retired as Deputy
Headteacher after 30 years of faithful
service to the school and community.
He gave a typically witty speech, the
main message of which was to
congratulate
the
students
for
achieving record breaking results but
he also spoke about the benefits of
the many other opportunities our
school offers, “you can look back at
academic achievements, sporting
encounters, making art and music,
taking part in school clubs and events,
participating in field trips, overseas
visits, each of which have helped to
shape you”. Mr Bird also praised
parents and all the school staff and
commented on how our success as a
school is built upon these three
groups of people working so well
together. In offering advice to the
students, Mr Bird concluded by
praying for them all to be guided on
their life journey by the Christian
values which underpin our school.
Visit our website: www.allhallows.net
Mr Laker ensured the smooth running
of the evening as the Master of
Ceremonies, whilst Mr Bird presented
the students with their A Level and
GCSE
certificates
followed
by
honours for outstanding effort and
achievement in the classroom and in
sports.
Mrs Lutzeier and our
Chairman
of
Governors,
Mr
Tahourdin, added their thanks and
congratulations.
The
music
department provided outstanding
performances from the Chamber
Choir, String and Sixth Form
Ensembles. The evening concluded
with a vote of thanks and presentation
to Mr Bird, by our Head Boy and Girl,
George Jones and Leah Campbell.
Name:
ALL HALLOWS IN THE TOP 100 FOR VALUE ADDED
When Mrs Lutzeier first told staff we were in
the top 100 schools in the country for Valueadded, there were lots of teachers asking, "Yes
- but where are we in the top 100?"
The answer is in the Progress part of the league
tables, under "VA Best 8", which shows that All
Hallows is number 61 out of 6250 secondary
schools in the country for value added. This
confirms what parents have known for a long time -
My Day in Parliament
Almost one billion extra people will face a
life of abject poverty if leaders duck key
decisions on poverty, inequality and
climate change due to be taken at two
crucial summits later this year.
that students make excellent progress during their
time at All Hallows, as well as developing in sport,
music, art and in their spiritual life. (All those
things which don't get a mention in the league
tables!)
Mrs Lutzeier said, "These figures are the result of
hard work by staff, students - and all our
supportive families. We are delighted to see the
hard work paying off."
And because of these meetings I was
able to kick start the new Action/2015
campaign whose aim is to influence the
decisions so that they are the best they
can be. In the process, I met, and
quizzed, Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime
Minister) and Ed Milliband and was able
to visit parliament and even 10 Downing
Street along with 14 other exceptional 15
-year-olds from almost every ethnic
background and corner of the UK. I
represented climate change in the group
and learned so much and made loads of
new friends throughout the fantastic
opportunity
The whole experience was pretty exciting
and overwhelming to say the least; we
even made it into the national papers. All
that’s left to say is look out for more
Action/2015 antics later in the year and
get involved in helping save the
environment where you can!
By Alice Smith, Year 10
A Selection of Presentation Evening Award Winners
See our website for a photograph gallery of certificate recipients and other award winners
From left to right:
Grace Liney awarded for
Commitment to Music
Adonis Konstantakis and
George Jones for Sports
Leadership
Leanne Heaven
receiving the Bob Ellenor
Award for Design and
Technology
Advent Charity Fundraising 2014…
Well Done, Everyone!
The All Hallows community have surpassed all previous
records in raising £3000 during their Advent Charity
appeal. The fundraising was to support the work of the
Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, a local care facility for the
terminally ill. Vicki Collins, a representative from the
hospice, gave an assembly to our Year 9 students
where she thanked the school for choosing the charity
and for the generous donation. She said “The money is
enough to support their outreach programme for three
months where nurses work with patients in the local
community”. Vicki was particularly interested in the
range of activities that students were involved in during
the fundraising from selling candy canes, car washing,
cake sales, mufti outfits to a film night with hotdogs. This
indeed was a great achievement by all and one in which
the students should be justly proud in supporting such a
vital service in our local area. Well done! By Mr Tucker
All Hallows Students raised a record £3000!
Interviewing a
previous All Hallows
student…
2015 is a year that marks a change for
many members of the All Hallows
community. From choosing GCSEs to
universities or the world of work, there
are a lot of important decisions that need
to be made. I decided to get in touch with
Freddie Rodriguez, an All Hallows pupil
who went on from the Sixth Form to
study at the University of Southampton
last September, and ask him a few
questions about the how this past year
has been for him.
So Freddie, how well have you settled
into university? Are you enjoying your
course and the university life style?
“I’ve settled into living at university well.
Leaving home is as exciting and as scary
as it sounds. However, once you arrive
the latter soon disappears. My course is
exactly what I hoped it would be.”
We are pleased to hear that! Are you
able to tell us a little bit about getting
your A-Level results and confirming
your university place?
Sixth Formers Present
Assemblies to the
School
Remembering the Holocaust
“Well it’s not particularly exciting I’m
afraid, Southampton was my first choice
and I was lucky enough to get the results
I needed. It was reassuring to have the
staff in the Sixth Form as you genuinely
felt that they cared about your results and
where you went to study further.”
What is your favourite memory of
studying at All Hallows Sixth Form?
“I always find this a tricky question, I
have many memories of All Hallows Sixth
Form with my friends that I made there
and even the teachers that work there –
who I am not too proud to admit that I
miss! So I don’t have one particular stand
out memory, rather a collection of great
ones.”
Freddie was interviewed by Rachel
Harden
The 27th of January 2015 marked 70
years after the liberation of
Auschwitz and All Hallows has been
remembering those who suffered in
the Holocaust, one of the biggest
atrocities of our history. At the end
of January, each Year Group was
visited in their assembly by Bridget
and me, two Sixth Formers who took
part in the Holocaust Education
Programme in 2014. After visiting
the remains of the concentration
camps at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz
-Birkenau, we wanted to share our
experience with the rest of the
school,
in
order
to
spread
awareness of the horrors of the
Holocaust. In response to the
assemblies, students have been
preparing their own memorials in
PSHE, ready to be put onto the
Holocaust Memorial Board that we
will be creating. We wanted to say a
big “Thank you” to everybody for
their contributions and we hope that
you will come and have a look at the
board in the History corridor when it
is finished. By Rachel Harden
A message from Stagecoach
about Bus Transport
The All Hallows X Factor
(Thursday 12th February)
We will be launching a new network of bus services
to All Hallows School. These will commence in time
for the new academic year, September 2015. The
current network of services has existed in some form
for many years and there's a real need to evaluate
how these are performing. Stagecoach want to help
deliver a more comprehensive network and
discussions with school staff are already under way.
The most important part is gathering opinions and
suggestions from those who really matter to us - our
customers and also our potential customers. Whether
you use the bus service or not, your opinions are
really important and could help shape the future of
bus travel to and from All Hallows School.
Who will be the next X Factor Champion?
The wait is nearly over...students have been
preparing weekly since October and in the
very capable hands of Nicole Wilson and her Sixth
Form team the contestants are now in the final
stages of their preparation for the ‘Big Night’. The
winner is picked by public choice so if you want your
favourite act to win you need to buy your ticket and
be there on the night. The contestants are....
Isabella Collet 7J, Tom Sargent 7P, Charlotte
DeQuervain 10C, Lily Murray 11C, Jemimah Clew
and Frankie Lewis 10E, Becky Jones 10E, Sorcha
Newman 10M, Zara Miller 8H, Asharee Green 11C
and Shemikah Nelson 9C.
Starting on 1st March, a special survey page on our
website will go live to help gather feedback from
parents and students. Visit our main website
(www.stagecoachbus.com/south) and click on the
'Your Buses' link.
Get in touch with us at any time about our services by
visiting our website, email
[email protected]
or call 0345 121 0190.
Sixth Form Taster Day
Year 11 students will be experiencing ‘Sixth
Form Life’ on Thursday 12th March. There
will be a lesson timetable for the day and of
course full use of the new Sixth Form Building. If you are in
Year 11 and have applied to study at All Hallows next year,
you will receive further details soon.
Year 10 and 11 Examinations
Year 10 will begin their assessment week
directly after Easter on Monday 13th April
and Year 11 will begin their final GCSE
exams on Tuesday 5th May. All students will
be provided with revision materials to support
their preparations for these exams. Year 11
will have already received theirs on Monday
9th February and Year 10 will be receiving
theirs shortly after half term.
Clearly it is vital that students review the
work they have done in class since the
beginning of Year 10 when revising. They will
also need to memorize certain pieces of
information. Alongside this article you can
see a summary poster showing the key
memory techniques students learned and
practised in the Autumn term with our
memory trainers and then as a follow up with
their tutors. These techniques are now
displayed (and explained) in every classroom
as a visual reminder of how memorizing large
chunks of information can be made easier.
Please encourage your son / daughter to use
them as required in the revision process.
Memory training is something we are now
factoring in lower down the school and by the
end of 2015 we will have run all year groups
from 7 to 11 through this training to help them
with their studies.
MFL Trip to London
On Friday 23rd January, a group
of Year 12 and 13 German
students took a trip to London to
visit an exhibition about German
history and culture at the British
Museum and the Goethe Institut
Library.
Both the exhibition and the
lecture about the importance of
German as a language in the
modern world of work were very
interesting and helped the
students to explore aspects of
this language that they were not
familiar
with.
Some
items
displayed at the Museum were
particularly touching and also
what was said at the Goethe
Institut
regarding
alternative
ways of learning German and of
using it in future careers was
really
useful.
Learning
a
language does not necessarily
mean doing so through the use
of books and the attendance of
lessons. It involves a wider area
of experiences that a language
may provide. Thank you to Mr.
Lines and Mr. Surian for
organising and running the visit.
By Andrea Kovatsch & Cristian
Bugna, Year 12
An Interview With….
Mr Spreadborough
On Wednesday 28th January, reporters Ollie Welsh
and Millie Davis were invited to interview Mr
Spreadborough, Senior Teacher and Head of
Science about his daily life not only at All Hallows,
but outside the school as well. We asked 23
Questions, here are some of our favourites.
How long have you been at All Hallows? “I ‘ve been
here for 17 years total, however in the middle I actually
had three years off before coming back to All Hallows.
I’ve only ever had ten days off but that was when I was
seriously ill.”
What are the most important parts of your job? “The
most important parts of my job are probably teaching
students and making sure they do well in their GCSEs.”
What hobbies do you have? “I enjoy going to the
theatre or cinema, I also like to go skiing or on holiday.
Last year I visited four different continents!”
What are your favourite TV programmes? “My
favourite TV programme is House of Cards as the
acting with Kevin Spacey is very good. Although I do
enjoy watching Game of Thrones because you never
know what’s going to happen. I also like to watch the
new programme on BBC Two, ‘The Honourable
Woman’, it is quite political.”
Do you have a pet? “I have a black labrador, Poppy,
she always keeps me busy as she likes to go on daily
walks.”
If you could live anywhere in the world, where
would it be? “That’s a good question; I’d probably like
to live in Sydney because I lived there for four months. I
enjoy the picturesque scenes.”
What made you want to become a teacher? “Being a
teacher, you get to interact with so many people during
just one day, All Hallows has a very interesting variety
of people and every day brings new challenges.”
What is your favourite and least favourite thing
about All Hallows? “My favourite thing would be the All
Hallows community, the way everybody cares and looks
after each other, the students are amazing. My least
favourite thing would be the fact that the science
department is spread over three floors. It can be quite
tiring going up and down the stairs so often every day.”
What was your dream job from childhood? “I always
wanted to work for the space program or for Disneyland
like most children”
What is your favourite food? “I like Mexican food
because it’s spicy and quite messy, I enjoy going out.”
What is your favourite biscuit? “I like eating
chocolate Hob-Nobs as they are good for dunking in
tea.”
In that case, what is your favourite brand of teabag?
“I like Yorkshire Tea from Costco, it tastes very good.”
By Ollie Welsh and Millie Davis (Year 9)
8A Away Day
On Wednesday 14th January, students of 8 Alban, together
with Father Niven and Mrs Tennant, visited St John’s
Seminary, Wonersh where they had an amazing time. The
purpose of this day was to provide students with time to
reflect on God, self and others but also to give them the
opportunity to get to know each other better and hence build
a caring and supportive class community. The theme of the
day was “Human Rights”. Students demonstrated that they
can work very well together through open communication,
allowing each member to share their ideas and opinions. It
was a great fun day but most of all, the students had another
great opportunity to enhance the Christian values cherished
by All Hallows and our community. On behalf of Year 8 team
I would like to say thank you to Fr. Niven for such an
enjoyable day and thank you to Mr Tucker and the
Chaplaincy team for all their help and support.
By Mrs Tennant, 8A tutor.
Here is a report by Katie O’Sullivan from 8A
“Just like last year, our school had organised another great
away day. After the coach trip to Wonersh, we arrived at the
magnificent building. We walked up the steps to the large
double doors and made our way down the spacious corridors
to our room which was already arranged for us by our hosts,
who also made us feel so welcome by offering us soft drinks
and biscuits.
After having a great time out exploring the fields, playing lots
of games, football and building teepees out of dry fallen
branches of trees, we made our way back inside where we
talked, had the chance to express personal opinions and
had lots of competitions about Human Rights. Each team
created a poster and also played a little drama sketch on
Human Rights, which gave us the opportunity to enhance our
knowledge about this matter but also gave us a really good
experience of building stronger relationships with our form
group and tutor.
Overall we had a fabulous day while learning a lot about
Human Rights and also about ourselves! Thank you!”
Football Team Reaches Semi-Final
The All Hallows Girls Under 16 Football team has made
its way into the semi finals of the National Cup,
placing them in the top four school teams in the country.
It was another outstanding performance from the girls
who started their quarter final game strongly putting
immediate pressure on their opponents, Nailsea School
(North Somerset). The pressure paid off when Lauren
Kilbride ‘put through’ Dot Usher who finished sublimely.
All Hallows took their 1-0 lead into half time and never
really looked troubled at the back. However after the
break Nailsea came out fighting and put more and more
pressure on All Hallows, but our defence stayed strong.
With 15 minutes to go All Hallows extended their lead to 2
-0 with a goal from captain Tamsin de Bunsen which
calmed nerves and took the team to the final whistle,
winning 2-0. The girls now await a long journey to the
winner of Erith School (North Kent) or Stratford Upon Nicola Hall, Abi McManus, Rebecca Williams,
Avon (Mid & South Warwickshire) for a place in the Rebecca Tabbener, Hannah Wisdom, Tamsin de
National Cup Final!
Shown in the photo: Lauren Bunsen, Danika Stilwell, Hayley Jordan, Claire
Kilbride, Dot Usher, Joanna Hall, Emma Barratt, Benton, Jade Arnott. By Mr Marker
Boys Rugby trip to Harlequins
On Saturday 31st January Mr
Antrobus, Mr Rees and Mrs
Parry took 36 of our rugby
players to Harlequins RFC to
take part in a rugby playing
‘surgery’
after
which
we
watched a very good game
between Harlequins and Bath
RFC in the LV= Cup.
Do you want to be
involved in a new school
club?
Are you interested in
playing Girls’ Rugby?
See Mrs Parry for details
CONGRATULATIONS TO ….
Our Under 14 Girls District Basketball League Winners
CHAPLAINCY TEAM
Lent is nearly here!
Ash
Wednesday is on 18th February.
Lent is 40 days long.
It’s a
spiritual time to help us to prepare
for Easter. The traditional way to
prepare is through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
So…. Let’s pray for all our family members and
friends every day in Lent.
And on a Friday let’s give up a favourite food—say
crisps or chocolate and give the money to CAFOD.
This will be our almsgiving, our giving of money to
charity!
Enjoy Lent, it’s time to think about our relationship
with God and with each other.
Fr. Niven
CONGRATULATIONS TO….
Zac West Year 9 for being selected to join the Optimist
Development Squad for talented sailors. The purpose of this squad
is to train and prepare young people for the Youth and Olympic
Programmes to enable them succeed at World
and European Championships in the future. Good
luck Zac!
Aidan Crowley, Year 9 for collecting £320 for the
Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice during the recent Advent
Appeal.
Alicia
Griffiths,
Year 9 for winning a
recent team Latin
and
Ballroom
Supadance
competition
in
Blackpool.
Her
dance team are the
new Under 16
Division 2 National
Champions.
Theodore Maher-Williams, Year 8 for passing his Grade 6
piano exam with distinction.
Dates for your Diary
YEAR 8 PARENTS’ EVENING
Thursday 26th February
16.30—19.00
YEAR 11 & SPORTS PHOTOS
Tuesday 3rd March
YEAR 12 & 13 (OPTIONAL)
PARENTS’ EVENING
Thursday 5th March
16.30-19.00
8P AWAYDAY
Wednesday 11th March
YEAR 9
PATHWAYS EVENING
Wednesday 11th March
16.30—18.30
YEAR 12 TASTER DAY
THURSDAY 12th March
All the All Hallows X Factor
finalists - see the story on
page four.
8S AWAYDAY
Wednesday 18th March
Please email major
achievements (include a
photograph) to:
[email protected]
8H AWAYDAY
Wednesday 25th March
Job Vacancies at All Hallows
SPRING CONCERT
Wednesday 18th March
DANCE SHOW
Thursday 26th March
LAST DAY OF TERM
Friday 27th March 12.15pm finish
Our school website lists all current job vacancies for teaching and nonteaching positions.
Spring Concert 2015
Please make a note of the date of the forthcoming Spring Concert. It will be held in the Auditorium on
Wednesday 18th March starting at 7.00pm. A letter will soon be issued to students explaining ticket
ordering.
Tel
ep
ho
ne:
01
25
2
31
ALL HALLOWS
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
and Sixth Form College
Telephone:01252 319211
Fax: 01252 328649
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.allhallows.net
News.com edited by Mr Rees and
Rachel Harden