I

Lent always begins at the most opportune time of the year. Having just survived the post-Christmas lull, wild weather brought about by Ciara and Dennis and the short evenings of winter, it is now we can appreciate having the period of Lent; a jumpstart to get reignited, refreshed and renewed. In an increasingly instant world, this period of preparation for the celebration of Easter and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ provided us with an opportunity to stop, reflect and alter our behaviour (where needed). Given what an important time this is for us as a Catholic School, it was excellent being able to mark the beginning of Lent with the students on Ash Wednesday asking them to consider the three key pillars: fasting, alms giving and prayer. As we journey through what will undoubtedly be another busy period at Salesian School, it is important that we remember what Saint Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 15:14), “If Christ had not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” Without the period of Easter, there would be no Christian Faith so we must make time for the important things.

In the spirit of preparing, our Year 11 and 13 students are on the final countdown for the start of the public exams which are now only 6 school weeks away. It is easy in these final weeks for the students to lose sight of the fact that they have been preparing over many months and years and now have the opportunity to demonstrate all that they have learnt. It is particularly in this crucial point in the academic year that we must remind the young people of the messages they have heard time and time again; if they have been preparing well, then all they can do is their best. As always, if you are concerned that your child is finding things particularly challenging, please do reach out to us so we can see what additional support we can put in place, this goes for students in any year group.

Already this term we have a huge amount going on with a high point being the annual Battle of the Bands competition. It is opportunities such as these that demonstrate what it is to be part of a Salesian community. Don Bosco was driven to create spaces to make students feel welcome and feel like they belonged, and it is therefore at events such as these

where staff and students come together that Don Bosco is most present. Beyond music, there is also a whole host of extra-curricular opportunities that run week in, week out. It is in these ‘extra’ bits that we often see students flourish the most so we would urge you to encourage the young people to get involved wherever possible. As you may have seen from the recently published league tables, we

are very proud of our Year 11s (class of 2019) whose results collectively placed Salesian in the top 1% of schools nationally and joint 2nd in Surrey. However, as a school, we firmly believe in the importance of striving for academic excellent for our students but we also place great value in educating the whole person so they can become the very best they can be and go on to help ‘Build the Kingdom’.

As ever, we thank you for your continued support and prayers.

God Bless,

Kate

Gospel Reflection 2019-20: Building the Kingdom, Century 2 Celebrating 100 years of Salesian Education 1919-2019

The devil tries to tempt Jesus in this week’s Gospel passage. As Jesus was not only divine but also very human, this temptation would have been real to him. Despite this, he overcame and told the devil where to go. We all give in to temptation from time to time but whenever we do, it distracts us from the important business of Kingdom building. Resilience and self-discipline are vital traits to instil in young people if they are to reap the long-term, big rewards of life. Teaching them to focus on these

rewards, rather than taking the easy option of pursuing instant, low-value gratification is a key aspect of the counter cultural approach of Catholic education that we are called to commit to. Many of us will have already given in to temptation this Lent and “fallen off the wagon” one way or another with regards to our Lenten promises. This however is not an excuse to give up altogether. God understands this and carries on loving us regardless. What’s more, when we’re honest with Him about our shortcomings and genuinely ask for His help, we’re blessed with the grace we need to be as strong as Jesus was in the wilderness. Go on, give it a go and see!

Reflections on temptation: What am I going to try my best to do this Lent? Where, when and how will I be tempted to give

in this Lent? What practical steps can I take to overcome

this temptation? How might I get God to help me overcome

temptation?

Ash Wednesday 2020 “Repent and believe the Good News!” The above message was given to over one thousand six hundred pupils and students across both sites on the official start of the season of Lent. Pupils in Years 7-11 in Salesian School and Sixth Form Students in Salesian Sixth Form College were given an opportunity to reflect upon the biblical and theological background to Lent and the invitation to deepen faith during this time.

Derived from the Old Anglo-Saxon word “lencten” meaning Spring, our forebears commemorated the lengthening (hence “lencten”) of the days before Easter Sunday. The forty days of Lent which precede Easter Sunday are a time of repentance and personal conversion, aided and characterised by the ancient threefold practice of prayer, fasting and giving. Pupils in Year 7-11 were invited to reflect on the biblical significance of the number forty in the Bible, representing when Moses spent forty days and nights fasting before receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai; the forty years the people of Israel wandered in the desert; the forty days and nights that Christ spent fasting before his Temptation. Pupils were encouraged to reflect on the words of the prophet Micah, to “act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with their God” (Micah 6:8) whilst being invited to make a personal commitment to prayer, fasting and giving by praying more during Lent, attending Mass, visiting the Chapel at Guildford Road for Chaplaincy Extra-Curricular

Success is in the

Preparation! Kate Honeywood, Assistant Headteacher

SALESIAN SCHOOL Newsletter

March 2020—Issue 6

Ma

tth

ew

4:1

-11

SALESIAN NEWSLETTER | Issue 6 2

activities and by donating money or time to their favourite charity. The short service concluded with the distribution of blessed ashes made from the palms of last year’s Palm Sunday whilst pupils and staff were asked to “repent and believe the Good News” of Jesus Christ. Father Marco Villani, School Chaplain

Battle of the Bands

On Friday 7th February a packed Centenary Hall saw five hugely talented acts take to the stage in Salesian’s annual Battle of the Bands. With the standard rising every year an esteemed judging panel deliberated for what felt like an age choosing a winner from equally worthy participants. During this break the audience were treated to performances from the Salesian Staff Band and 2019 winners Lucas Baptista, Abi Johnston and Will Marshall. A band comprising of sixth form students Leizel Abrahams, Mark Broadberry, Maddie Daly, Dom Lavender, Callum Mitchell, Charlie Woodman and Alek Squire took the crown with their original song No One. Their prize will be a professional recording session to take place later in the year. All in all a hugely successful event with massive thanks to the Music Department, SPA, Student Services, Premises, Photography and Finance for helping organise and run the event so smoothly. Max Goldberg, Teacher of Music

Boccia Competition On Friday 7th February we entered 6 students into the West Surrey Boccia Competition. This is the first time Salesian have entered the competition and the students were excellent at representing the school in this inclusive sport, they did us proud! Having only had a couple of training sessions as a squad, they worked well as a team and finished 5th out of 10, narrowly missing out on going through to the next round of competitions. Here's hoping next year we make it through to the finals. Well done everyone! April Poulter, Teacher of PE, BTEC Sport LIV and Specialist Autism Teacher

Year 12 Philosophy & Ethics Conference On 14th February, Year 12 Philosophy and Ethics students attended a study day at St Mary’s University in Twickenham.

Students were given talks and workshops with expert speakers from fields of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics. Highlights for the students included presentations on secularisation and the challenge it presented to religion in the world today, as well as a workshop on sex-selective abortion. The trip allowed students to revise key content, to explore ideas beyond the specification, and to apply their knowledge to areas outside the A level curriculum. Students were also involved in a question and answer session about the nature of university life and studying Religious Studies at University by current students at St Mary’s. Questions were raised about everything from the nature of university courses through to the challenges of cooking away from home! David Legrand, Head of RE

Year 10 Ski Trip to Saalbach, Austria Last week, a large number of Year 10 students took an odyssey to the sunny slopes of Saalbach, Austria. Here’s what a few of our students had to say about the trip… A sport in which everyone seems to be intent on mastering perfect ‘parallel turns’. A sport which completely shattered our shins in six days. A sport which caused us to laugh until we could not stand. It is also a sport that allowed us to build our confidence as we overcame each tumble. From the 24-hour journeys, to the underground rave, the majestic spa and fabulous ski instructors, we would happily, along with many others, list it as ‘one of the best weeks ever!’.

At the Awards Evening on Thursday, a number of students scoped some prestigious prizes! Freddie Stewart was awarded ‘all-round Salesian’, Giles Bentley ‘best beginner’, Theo Sire the ‘ultimate skier’ – to name just a few!

We know it’s been less than a month, but we regularly find ourselves reminiscing about the events of the trip. All in all, the ski trip was an overriding success; and the true heroes of the ski trip were the generous teachers, who took the time out of their half-terms to organise this once in a lifetime experience. On behalf of everyone, we say a massive thank you.

Chloe Faulkner, Isabella Wrigley and Giles Bentley (Year 10 students)

Salesian College McLaren Visit

On 27th February a group of Salesian 6th Form students studying Business, Maths and Physics visited the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking as part of the College’s careers education and guidance programme.

Early in the day we took part in activities which tested our skills in networking and social interaction. Following this we were taken on a tour of the Technology Centre and were provided with a behind the scenes perspective of the work at McLaren. We viewed Formula 1 and GTR road cars and even custom-built McLarens yet to be seen by their purchasers. After lunch we took part in a challenge which tested our entrepreneurial and presentation skills. We joined with another visiting school and were split into 7 groups, each with a team leader. Each group had to design a toy, manufacture as many as possible within a defined period of time and then

SALESIAN NEWSLETTER | Issue 6 3

present to the other groups, just like The Apprentice. Our efforts were judged by McLaren employees who voted for the team they thought exhibited the best entrepreneurial skills. I am very pleased to say that the team I led won. This was an educational, inspirational and insightful day that helped us to develop our employability skills. I am sure that the experience will also help with our UCAS applications. Evan Lee, Year 12 Student

Pancake Day Charity Sale At Salesian we are enthusiastic about Lent and the opportunities that such a time presents. Pancake day was brilliant as it allowed us to raise a fantastic £100 for the recharge and reconnect sleepovers designed to help students recharge and reconnect away from social media. The pancakes were a great way for the students to relax and enjoy a sweet treat during their lunch time break while also hopefully enabling some of our students to recharge and reconnect with the things that matter most. Katie Hibbins-Durkin, Teacher of RE

Years 7, 8 & 9 Charity Rowathon On Tuesday 3rd March, all students from Year 7-9 participated in a sponsored Rowathon for the Baraka Community Partnership. They are a small charity founded in 2007 who work in Zambia and Laos. Baraka believe that the best route out of poverty is education; they build classrooms, school dormitories and toilet blocks, provide educational resources, train teachers and sponsor children and young adults.

Students rowed in relay teams of 8-10 people and competed against each other to see who could row the furthest distance in a battle of the Houses. It was great to see so many students and staff involved in rowing, cheering and supporting. Thank you so much to all who were involved in this fun event and helped to raise money for such a worthy cause. Niamh O’Shea, Teacher of Head of Zatti

New Projects: T-Levels Classrooms You may recall in a previous newsletter we announced we were one of 50 providers selected by the government to deliver a new range of technical qualifications starting in September 2020. Building work commenced in January for our new suite of 6 purpose-built classrooms at Highfield Road to cater for our new qualification offering in both Digital Production, Design & Development and Education & Childcare. T-Levels are a new 16-19 qualification designed to follow on from GCSEs and will be the equivalent to three A-Levels; they have been developed in

conjunction with business leaders/employers to ensure that they meet the needs of industry, providing students with the skills required to enter the workforce. Students will gain meaningful experience of the workplace through a 45-day industry placement where they will acquire the skills demanded by employers in their chosen field. T Levels will combine practical learning and classroom theory alongside the industry placement; this, in turn, will lead to students pursuing highly skilled employment, a higher apprenticeship or higher education.

This is a very exciting time for Salesian College and look forward to offering our students the opportunity to achieve a more hands on, skills based qualification which will provide them with the necessary skills to enter the workforce upon completing their college studies. To find out more information about studying at Salesian College and our T Level courses, please visit: https://salesian.surrey.sch.uk/t-levels/ https://salesian.surrey.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Sixth-Form-College-Course-booklet-2020_FINAL.pdf We are currently accepting applications for September 2020. For further information, please visit our website or contact Sherillyn Bullock, our College Manager either by email: sbullock@salesian.surrey.sch.uk or Ann Cowling, our T Level Co-ordinator by email: acowling@salesian.surrey.sch.uk Joanne Hawkins, Careers Lead

SPA News The SPA are looking forward to the Irish Night on Friday 13th March at Highfield road Hall. We have sold over 230 tickets so far, it is set to be a brilliant evening. On the Saturday 16th May we are holding the Centenary Ball at the home of London Irish Rugby. Tickets are now available on Tucasi for £50 per person which includes a 3 course meal, entrance drink and wine with your meal plus excellent evening entertainment. Thank you to all the parents who have kindly donated raffle and auction prizes as this makes such a difference to the fundraising efforts! If you or your company would like to donate please email spa@salesian.surrey.sch.uk or call 01932 582539. We have also recieved £200 from Easy fundraising so thank you to all those parents who have signed up when online shopping.

Thank you once again to everyone for their support and the SPA committee for their endless work!

Easy Fundraising Well spring has been rather moist but despite that I am here to remind you all of the delights of Easy Fundraising. Using the link https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/salesianpa/?invite=DK2ABR%26referral-campaign=c2s%26utm_campaign=admin-trigger%26utm_content=srt you can very easily help raise funds for our fabulous school. This can be used on desktops, phones and tablets and there is seemingly nothing you could possibly want that cannot be bought via Easy Fundraising such as Waterproofs from Mountain Warehouse (2.5% donation). Mother’s day is imminent and nothing says ‘I love you mum’ more than a special Ocado delivery (3% donation) or a personalised teapot from Not On The High Street (5% donation). My mum may, or may not, be receiving a new chainsaw from Screwfix (0.5% donation) and I did see my boys avidly scanning eBay (1% donation) for a second hand gift for Mrs C. The key thing to our success is to get the number of supporters up. Please encourage family, friends, neighbours, fading popstars and anyone else to join us and to keep supporting with every purchase. As of the 29th February we have 139 supporters and have raised £739.40. Let us push to get to 1000 supporters by the end of this year which is still less than one supporter per student. It really does make a difference which our children will benefit from. Spread the word, and the word is Easyfundraising. Tim Cooper (Year 8 Parent)

SALESIAN NEWSLETTER | Issue 6 4

Getting to Know Our Teachers

Hello, my name is Fr Kevin O'Donnell. I am a Salesian priest and work as both an RE teacher and the Chaplain to the Sixth Form college. I am originally from Scotland. Through my life as a Salesian, I have gradually moved further south working around Manchester, Bolton, London and now in Chertsey. I never expected to be working in Surrey when I first started as a teacher back in 1989 but, when you open your life to the grace of God, you need to be ready for the unexpected and the blessings of new experiences. The job I do now at Salesian School was advertised and I applied. I already knew a little about the quality of the community here and was very pleased to be offered the role I now do. Before becoming a Salesian Priest, I taught in Secondary schools in Scotland for nearly 20 years. Teaching has changed in many ways over those years. However, one thing remains essential; the quality of the relationship between the teacher and the student that brings life to both. Many people ask me why I became a Salesian. I usually say that I enjoy working with young people and I felt called to a deeper relationship with Christ. However, it can be very difficult to describe to another person the complexity of experiences that guide us to our vocation. If my vocational experience has taught me anything; it is that God is not just at the end of the journey but with you along the road. Through the challenges and joys of living my Salesian vocation I can say that I have found a depth of happiness and peace that I do not think I could have received by living in a different way. I am blessed every day by the young people I meet, the teachers I work with and the community I live in. It is such a privilege to watch our young people grow in understanding and acceptance of themselves over their time with us. To have the opportunity to support them during these extremely important years between 16 and 18, brings me so much life, and confidence and optimism about the future. It also brings home to me how we all need a strong community of friendship and acceptance around us to grow into the people that God has called us to be. Healthy growth in mind, heart and body doesn't happen by accident but needs structure and nurturing. It requires people who are willing not only to be instructors of the young but also models of love and optimism. As Don Bosco said, "It is not enough to love the young; they must know that they are loved."

Celebrating our Students Chaius Cabrera has maintained 100% attendance for the year so far and been a consistent performer in his lessons. Chaius recognises the value of a positive attitude in

School, which not only helps his work but also supports the spirits of others. Chaius also makes determined contributions to the extra-curricular life of the School. Well done!

Isabelle Cruickshank – for being an honest person, working really hard everyday and generally being a wonderful Salesian. Massimo Ferrara – for always being a great friend, welcoming new Salesian’s to our community and finally, for making all his teachers and peers smile every day. Rosie King – for all of her commitment to her football team in Walton. She trains 3 times a week and her team are now top of the league, which is a huge achievement! Mark Sidaway – for achieving Grade 5 in

his recent trumpet exam. Keep up the great work! Emily Lunn – for making it into the U15’s girls rugby county squad, a fantastic achievement!

Emma Stokes – for her consistent positivity and resilience when facing new challenges in and out of school. Oliver McKay – for trying really hard in all lessons and for being a polite young man, a real asset to the year group. Sophie Mitchell – for working incredibly hard across all subjects. All real superstar. Ben Cox-Wilson – for being an absolute gentleman and for working incredibly hard and being polite to all!

Henry Allinson – for passing his ABRSM piano grade 3 exam, well done Henry! Phoebe Liu – for her maturity and for being wise beyond her years. Phoebe has also organised an outstanding work experience placement at Vivienne

Westwood. Nathaniel James – for his recent grade collection which showed a phenomenal attitude to learning and independence.

Laura Hobbs – for persevering throughout her recent Art coursework. She showed a huge amount of resilience and produced an outstanding piece of work. Rose Fraser – for gaining a place to study

'Prop Making' at two extremely competitive University courses at the University of Arts and the Royal Centre School of Speech and Drama. Her application was truly outstanding! Giacomo Sala and Kojo Asamoah-Owusu – for going above and beyong in maths in recent weeks.

Public Health advice In a bid to reduce the risk of Coronavirus, please refer to Mr Kibble’s emails which include advice from Public Health England. Informative posters have been displayed around the school along with hand sanitiser to ensure the young people are aware and can take steps to reduce the risk of it spreading.

TeenSTAR program TeenSTAR is an interactive educational programme for teenagers based on respect for the human person. It is run at St Edward’s parish Windsor at 8pm with the next course starting on Thursday 12th March. If you would like more

information please contact: Info.teenstaruk@gmail.com

GCSE French Club at St Erconwald Speak French, gain confidence, revise for oral GCSE exams For the third year running Petra Appiah one of the parishioners is running the GCSE French Club on Saturdays from 13.30 to 15.00 starting on 22 February, St Erconwald’s church hall (Esher Avenue, Walton on Thames). All 15-16 year old students preparing for French GSCEs are welcome. A voluntary contribution to St Erconwald’s Uganda orphanage of £5 per session is appreciated. Please contact Petra on petraappiah16@gmail.com or text 07739 538106 for more details.

Cardinal Newman’s School Hall Fund

Cardinal Newman are extending their school hall and are fundraising to help towards the build. A display board is being created for the new school hall on which you can ‘buy a brick’ and have your name inscribed or indeed words of wisdom for the current and new pupils that will continue their education through Cardinal Newman. A line consists of 16 characters including spaces. If you wish to help fund the money needed for the project you can ‘buy a brick’, at the cost of £50. This opportunity is open to both current and past families of Cardinal Newman. There is a target of £150,000 to raise and having already reached 43% of that target.

If you are interested in ‘buying a brick’, contributing or finding out more about the project please contact Tina O’Kelly at tokelly@cardinalnewmanschool.co.uk”

Celebrating 100 years of Salesian Education 1919-2019

www.salesian.surrey.sch.uk

Fr Kevin

O’Donnell

Teacher of RE /

Chaplain of

Salesian College

Ye

ar

7

Ye

ar

8

Ye

ar

9

Ye

ar

10

Y

ea

r 11

Y

ea

r 12

Y

ea

r 13