8 March 2019 NEWSLETTER ISSUE 23

www.cncs.school

Messages from the Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

Lent - Last Tuesday we celebrated Mardi Gras day with a focus on the ’feast before the fast’ and preparing for Lent.

During the day students had a presentation from mime artist Steve Murray as well as the opportunity to buy pancakes

cooked by Miss Byrne, Head of Technology and her team of helpers. We also had a tuck shop at break times, the

canteen served chips and we had carnival music at social times giving our students a small taste of the Mardi Gras Day

Festival atmosphere!

Following our Mardi Gras Day feast, on Ash Wednesday every year group gathered for a short service to receive the

ashes and begin our Lenten spiritual journey. Students were asked to reflect on what small sacrifices they can make

during Lent to make their contribution to a better world. As always Miss Keane will be leading our fundraising

activities throughout Lent and these will include collecting: Easter Eggs for local children, 50p pieces for meals for the

homeless and 20p pieces to fill Smarties tubes as well as doing our annual Spellathon and year group treat sales. Many

thanks to Fr Pat, Deacon Gerry and Miss Keane for leading our Ash Wednesday services.

Assessments - On Monday 11 March the Spring Term assessments begin for students in Years 7-10. All students

have been issued with a revision guide to help them prepare for these assessments. Unfortunately there was an issue

with the original assessment timetable and a new timetable was issued to all students on Friday. This is also available

on the school website under the Student Section, Exams and Assessment. If you have any questions or concerns

please contact Form Tutors or Heads of Year.

Year 12/13 Parents’ Evening - We look forward to seeing all Year 12/13 students and their parents at Parents’

Evening on Thursday 14 March 2019, 4.30-7.15pm. This is a very important night for Years 12 and 13. Subject staff

and the tutorial team will be on hand to discuss targets and the progress being made on your son/daughter’s individual

courses. Parents can book appointments using our online booking system. It is really important that parents and

students are on time and keep to their 5 minute appointment time. If parents have any problems booking an

appointment, please phone or email the school for support.

Year 11 “Information & Takeaway” Evening - In order to support Year 11 and their parents before the GCSE

exams start in May, we are holding an “Information & Takeaway” Evening on Wednesday 27 March 2019, 4.00-6.30pm

in the Sports Hall. On the evening, parents and students can collect mock exam results, a summer exam timetable

and much more. Year 11 teaching staff will be on hand at subject stands for students and parents to visit and ask any

questions they may have. As well as subject stands, there will stands offering advice on careers, apprenticeships and

much more.

Uniform, Equipment & Lateness - Over the next few weeks we will be having a whole school focus on uniform

and equipment. All staff will be ensuring that students are correctly dressed in full school uniform and are ready to

learn every day by having the correct equipment with them at all times. We are also banning energy drinks and large

bottles of fizzy drinks in school and these will be confiscated if seen. Thank you for your support, as always!

Holy Cross Catholic Academy Newsletter - We are sending out the first edition of the Holy Cross Catholic

Academy newsletter with this newsletter. It gives important information and updates about the academisation process.

I hope you have a great week, best wishes, Marina Kelly, Headteacher

DATES FOR

YOUR DIARY

Sixth Form

Parents’ Eve -

Thurs 14 Mar 19

FANS PTA

Race Night -

Fri 22 Mar 19 @

Christ the King

Year 11

Takeaway Eve -

Wed 27 Mar 19

BREAK UP FOR

EASTER

Fri 12 April 19

Students Return

starts

Mon 29 April 19

Year 7 Parents’

Evening -

Thurs 2 May 19

Lenten Prayer

Lord, we thank you for the gift of your forgiveness that lightens our step and lifts the burden of guilt from

our shoulders. Lord, we thank you for the gift of your forgiveness that now enables us to open our hearts to

others in a spirit of reconciliation. Lord, we thank you for the gift of your forgiveness that encourages us

to walk your path of truth and justice. Amen.

KS5 Catholic Schools Debate

On Wednesday 6th March 2019, four students from Year 12 participated in a debate competition

at Newman University against seven other catholic schools in the Diocese.

Upon arrival, the team randomly selected a debate motion and were given two hours to research,

and structure their argument in response. The motions covered a range of topical and

controversial issues in today’s world, such as the reintroduction of Article 19 (stop and search) or

whether the NHS should support those with a gambling addiction. Our topic was potentially the

most controversial and our position was difficult to argue. We had to oppose the motion that ‘UK

Citizens who have travelled to Syria to join ISIS should be allowed to return’ and whilst there are arguments on both sides, some members

of the team found themselves arguing against their own beliefs in order to construct the debate.

Of the team of four, only two members were allowed to present the ideas, opposing Bishop Challoner School who represented the

proposition. Chrizia Dombele (12NSD) and Niall McDermott (12NSD) delivered a passionate and persuasive speech and were rewarded

highly for their research and strength of argument. The other schools presented equally strong debates and unfortunately, we were not

successful in this competition. However, the judges stated that this was the hardest KS5 competition they had ever had to judge due to the

quality of the arguments offered.

Overall, the team were incredibly proud with their score of 44/50 and with how they worked together in their first public speaking event.

They are very much looking forward to the next event in November and will be preparing to be victorious in the next competition.

Reported by: Chrizia Dombele (12NSD) Niall McDermott (12NSD) Laelia McDermott (12RCT) and Jessica Harris-

Cardwell (12NSD)

BBC Young Reporter 2019

On Thursday, 7th March 2019, 20 Year 8 and Year 12 students were off timetable and

hidden away in the School’s Media Suite, to take part in the national BBC Young Reporter

Day.

Students had been collecting news from the events in school during the week prior to the

day, interviewing our guest Steve Murray the Christian Mime Artist on Tuesday, inter-

viewing Fr Pat before our Ash Wednesday Mass and a range of teachers in school during

World Book Day.

The team were split into two groups. The roaming reporters were with Miss Rogers in-

terviewing members of the school community about the key events that are currently

happening in school, whilst the second group trawled through the internet for exciting stories to write about.

The team of 20 students excelled themselves. They learned to film, interview, write articles, edit images, use the green screen and much

more. They had a fantastic time racing around and working like journalists, trying to get the best scoop, solving problems when things go

wrong and meeting the ever looming deadlines.

The students were absolutely brilliant and should be proud of the news reports that they have written and created. The footage and images

will be available next week.

Mrs H Robbins, English Department

Charity Video

As part of our Lenten charity drive, students have been watching a video produced by

some of our Sixth Form students to help decide where money raised should go. To

view the video https://youtu.be/ywHU9hptns8.

World Book Day

On Thursday 7th March 2019 we celebrated World Book Day at Cardinal Newman Catholic School.

Despite the awful weather we managed to have an extremely enjoyable day. The library was bustling with

students wanting to get involved with the activities. We held a book swap and a book quiz which proved

extremely popular. There were also competitions and lots of prizes to be won for all students that

borrowed books from the library. The winner of the quiz was Byron Brown 10HRS and the Easter egg

was won by Arvens-Ralfs Dimants 7TEN.

Each tutor group in Years 7-9 were challenged to decorate the front of their form room door with a book

theme. The winning tutor group was 9KWD with their amazing Mary Poppins 3D design. The year group

with the most entries was Year 8. Thank you to everyone who got involved.

All students were issued with a £1 book token to claim a free book from participating supermarkets and book shops.

In the English Department, students have been busy reading their own choice of books from the library and creating a wide variety of artistic

re-imaginings to demonstrate their enjoyment of the texts. Some students have gone above and beyond with their presentations, therefore

in next week’s newsletter there will be a showcase of some of the best pieces of work from each group.

Charlotte Kennedy - Library

Don’t forget to check the school’s website for all the latest news: www.cncs.school

You can also find us on Twitter at @newmancoventry and Facebook Cardinal Newman Catholic School Cov.

Student Successes

It is always wonderful to hear about the achievements of our students.

Ella Bray and Hannah Painter (both 9ABK) represented Barker Butts Rugby Football

Club against Peterborough RFC in the Girls U15s Regional Final at Leicester Forest East, last

weekend. After a thrilling game, Barker Butts won 22-20. As Midland Regional Champions,

the team now proceed to the national semi-finals to be held next month. Should they win, the

final is to be played at Twickenham.

Sean Gallagher (8AHR), Joseph Bracken (8SSH) and Lois Bailey (8AHR) will be representing the Celtica Dance Academy dancing

and playing Irish music for a Lenten charity event at St. John Vianney RC School on Friday 15 March 2019.

Emma (8TRD) & Adam (8TDS) Jackson took part in the last (of five) Sportshall meeting of the season on Friday 1st of March 2019

representing Coventry in the Warwickshire Sportshall League 2018-2019. As it was the last Sportshall meeting of the season, the organisers

held an awards ceremony at the end of the meeting. At the awards ceremony, medals for the winners of each event, as well as a male and

female Athlete of the Season for each club, were awarded. Emma and Adam received these accolades (as the club manager said) for determi-

nation and perseverance. It is the 2nd time in a row Emma has won this award.

Adam and Emma look forward to competing in the U15 category next year having competed in the U13 category this year.

Adam also represented Warwickshire at the Sportshall UK Championships Regional Finals on 3rd February 2019. Warwickshire finished

second place to Birmingham.

In the WMYACCL league - U13 Girls 2.5K (5 league races) Emma finished 22nd place with Coventry Godiva Harriers U13 Girls finishing 9th

out of 17 Clubs and in the U13 Boys 2.5K (5 league races) Adam finished in 19th place with Coventry Godiva Harriers U14 Boys finishing 4th

out of 20 Clubs.

Abbey Taylor (8TRD) performed in front of the Coventry Blaze fans last weekend. Abbey and her sister are also flag bearers for the

Blaze & GB team.

Mrs M Kelly, Headteacher

Year 10 English Language Mock Examinations

Over the next week or so, students in Year 10 will sit two full mock examinations for GCSE English Language.

These exams will be an opportunity for students to demonstrate all of their skills developed so far and will provide

us with a good understanding of students’ potential outcomes in summer 2019.

It is really important that students are revising and preparing for these exams so that they can fully experience

what the exams will be like in June. Students will have been given their exam timetables and should be confident in knowing where they are

sitting the exam, what seat number they will be sitting in and where they should be lining up prior to their exam.

On the morning of both mock exams, students should head to their lining up point (tennis courts for most students) and should not attend

tutor time. Details of each exam are below:

Component 1: Thursday 14th March AM (1 hour, 45 minutes)

Component 2: Monday 18th March AM (2 hours)

Students will have been provided with the following resources to help with these exams:

Revision guides for both papers

Sample papers for both papers

‘How to revise’ structured revision tasks

Weekly structured homework from teaching staff

In addition to this, Year 10 students will be off timetable during Periods 4 and 5 of Wednesday 13th March and Friday 15th March. They will

receive some additional revision with their English teachers to help prepare them for the exams.

We are hopeful that Year 10 will be successful in these mock exams and look forward to the outcomes.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Miss K Grieve, Head of English

TASS Potential Project

On Monday nights at Cardinal Newman selected students from Year 11 and the Sixth

Form have been part of the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) project, a Gov-

ernment funded project, run in conjunction with Coventry University and delivered in

partnership with Sport England. The project is designed to work with a select group of

schools and colleges across the country – four of which are now in Coventry!

The after school sessions have been running since January and are delivered by Gemma Lavery, Head of Sport, Physical Activity and

Commercial Services at Coventry University and her team. Gemma is passionate about the opportunities available to Coventry’s aspiring

athletes.

Before half term participants took part in the conditioning phase of the project, where they were put through their paces with a series of

fitness tests by the sport science staff at Coventry University. They will now spend the next 4 weeks trying to improve before they retest in

week 6. The tests included; Counter Movement Jump, Single Leg Squat, Single Leg Hamstring Bridge, Press Ups and the Plank.

Athletes aged between 16 and 18 and studying for GCSE’s or Post 16 courses at Cardinal Newman, President Kennedy, Finham Park and

Coventry City College are now part of the programme. They will receive high quality support in everything from sport science; strength and

conditioning; nutrition; physiotherapy and anti-doping education. One of the most important aspects of course is the opportunity to be

involved in a project with other similar athletes and support staff. Friendships and alliances formed in the programme could last a lifetime.

The TASS Potential Project is focused on offering opportunities to young talented athletes aged between 16 and 18 who are playing sport at

county standard or above, to encourage them to continue training alongside their education. We are very lucky to be teamed up with

Coventry University, which has highly trained staff and the latest equipment at hand, to draw out the best in Coventry’s top athletes and help

our students at Cardinal Newman to be world beaters.

Our prestigious students for 2019, forging a path for others to follow, in this new and exciting project are:

Plamedie Moseka - Athletics Track/Netball

Roksanna Piotrowska - Tennis

Montana Giampaglia - Figure Skating

Precious Okeke - Athletics (track)

Maisie Gilbert – GB Ice Hockey

Kieran Gibbs - Roller Hockey

Harrison Nee - Football

Machi Lynch - Athletics

Hollie Cox - Basketball

Rhiannon O’Looney – Football

Combining academic studies with their own sporting commitments is something young people often find difficult. Some of Britain’s best

athletes, who could have potentially rivalled the top athletes in the world, may have fallen by the wayside in the past, you may have been one

of them! This project will hopefully address that problem and give our top young athletes at Cardinal Newman the tools they need to remain

committed to their sport and also furthering their academic studies at the same time.

Good luck to all the participants.

Mr N Minshull, Head of PE

Lenten Charity Spellathon

Year 7 and 8 students in the English Department

will be participating in a Spellathon in order to raise

money for our Lenten charities. Each student will

receive a list of spellings that directly link to the key

skills they will be developing across KS3 and KS4; knowing and learning these words will help your son/daughter in their studies.

Students will be receiving letters and sponsorship forms next week in order to begin their fundraising. The Spellathon itself will take place

during week beginning 25th March 2019 and all monies will need to be collected by Thursday 4th April 2019. Last year, we were extremely

proud of our students as they managed to raise a huge amount of money for worthy causes, but this year we want to be even better!

Please support us in our drive to raise as much as we can towards our Lenten charities.

See Mrs Samworth for further details.

Year 9 Booster Vaccinations -

Urgent Request

If you have not returned the immunization form for

your son/daughter, please can you return it as soon

as possible to student support as your son/daughter

may not be able to receive these vital vaccinations.

Vaccinations will take place on Tuesday 12 March

2019.

Mrs E Donohue, Head of Year 9

Coventry Foodbank

Donations are urgently required to support the Coventry

Foodbank. The Foodbank is a long term project the school is

involved with.

Food bank numbers have increased by 13% in the last year with 1.3 million people

now attending them.

Items urgently required are: coffee, sugar (500g or 1kg), rice, rice pudding, long life

milk (UHT), tinned fruit, long life juice, squash and toiletries.

If you are able to support, please send your items into school reception. Thank you.

Mr R Davies

Duke of Edinburgh - Bronze Award 2018-9

There will be a planning session for the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award on Saturday 23 March 2019, 9.00am to 12 noon

in Bosco Block.

All students are expected to attend to plan expedition routes.

Ms S Johnson & Mr T Eaton, Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinators

Year 7 Football

The Year 7 boys football team romped to a 0-1 win against Blue Coat on Wednesday afternoon. Despite the

wind and the rain the boys played as a real team to take the victory. A glorious finish by Sam Cronin, who was

also awarded ‘Man of the Match’, set the two sides apart in a tense battle. Well done to the boys.

The team play Bishop Ullathorne next in the West Midlands Cup.

Mr N Minshull, Head of PE