Dear Parents/Carers,

“He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” – Luke 1:14-17 As the end of the autumn term draws near, it provides an opportunity to look back and reflect on some of our achievements since September. There have been so many events that we are proud of but particularly the work as a school community in demonstrating our Catholic faith in action is a highlight of the term. Witnessing the whole school getting behind the foodbank appeal has been truly remarkable and demonstrates the commitment we have to helping those less fortunate than ourselves. A staggering 1.1 tonnes of food and drink items have been donated this term which has helped so many local families in need. Thank you to all of our students and their families for your generosity and support with this. We look forward to launching this again in the spring term. The MAC Christmas concert took place this week and was an opportunity for students within all our JMAC schools to show off their musical talents. It was a joyous occasion, involving lights, music and dancing. A huge well done to all our students who participated and put on such a fabulous show. We are very proud of you all. I also reflect on the values we should live out every day as members of a faith filled community and the values of being compassionate, loving, hopeful and faith-filled that we have focused on this term. We would like students to think about how they've demonstrated these values and communicated their faith in Christ to others through their words, actions and simple acts of faith and worship each and every day. Of course, this is something that everyone in our school community should do all the time, but we know there are always opportunities for us to improve. I'd like to extend my thank you to all our parents/carers and families for your unswerving support this term. I hope you recognise some of the changes we are making to the school as we continue on our journey to outstanding. Please do tell us how we are doing; your feedback is important to us as we continually strive to make improvements for the good of all the students in our school. May I take this opportunity to wish all our families a very happy and holy Christmas and a prosperous new year. May God's blessings be upon you all during the Christmas break.

We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Tuesday 8th January.

Mrs Thomas Acting Principal

Issue 14

14th December 2018

Key Dates

Thursday 20th December Year 13 Prize Giving

Friday 21st December Advent mass & Last Day of Autumn Term

Monday 24th December Christmas Holidays

Monday 7th January Teacher Training day

Tuesday 8th January Spring Terms Starts

Wednesday 9th January Year 11 Mock Exams start

Friday 25th January Year 11 Mock Exams finish

Thursday 7th February Year 13 Mock Exams start

News

End of term Early closure Friday 21st December.

The school will close to students at 1.15pm on this day The following bus will depart at 1.15pm: 771. Some buses are unable to arrive at this time; these are 18, 818, 41, 813 and 814. Pupils, who catch these buses can either, make their own way home at 1.15pm or wait in school until 3.30pm when the buses will arrive as usual. These pupils will be supervised by staff until 3.30pm.

Wishing all our readers a very

holy and peaceful

Christmas and a happy new year

Catholic Life Message from the Pope

“Charity is the most effective form of witness, because in it people see the love of God”

St John of the Cross Saints hesitate to treat others harshly; they consider others better than themselves. Matthew11:26-19 ‘For wisdom is proved right by her actions’

The confessional should not be a torture chamber but rather a sacred place and space where we encounter the Sacrament of Reconciliation we discover that it is God who seeks us because he loved us first. The Holy Spirit gently prompts us towards the grace of the Sacrament of Confessions. For it is here that we encounter God’s mercy, forgiveness and healing and experience the joy of repentance. St John of the Cross was a mystic and contemplative and powerful witness of his joy: ‘The soul of the one who loves God always swims in joy, always keeps holiday and is always in a mood for singing.’ Father in heaven, let your light shine upon me. May my face, like the face of a child, reflect the joy and happiness of your mercy and forgiveness.

Archbishop of Birmingham

Emily and

Cameron Clarke,

together with

pupils from St

Anne’s Catholic

Primary School

serving for the

Archbishop of

Birmingham,

during his visit to

St Anne’s Church

Friday 14th

December

Catholic Life

Saint of the Week

St John was born in Fontiveros near Avila, Spain. His

father was from a rich heritage. However, when he married

a lower class orphaned bride he was rejected by his family

and forced to work as a weaver.

When St John was seven, his father died and at nine, his older brother died, probably from

the effects of undernourishment. St John received a basic education in a school for poor

and orphaned children. His school selected him to serve as an assistant at a nearby

monastery. Thereafter, St John worked in a hospital and studied at a Jesuit school.

At 22, St John joined the Carmelites, studied Theology at the prestigious University of

Salamanca and was subsequently ordained a Priest.

St John, deeply influenced by a vision he received of the Crucified Jesus Christ, became a

major figure of the Counter-Reformation and a reformer of the Carmelite Order.

St John’s Feast Day is the 14th December. He is one of only thirty-five Doctors of the

Church.

…

St John of the Cross

(1542 – 1591)

Pray that we will come to a full understanding of the gentleness and mercy of the Risen Jesus.

Subject

Year 11

Year 11 mock exams will be running from Wednesday 9th

January until Friday 25th January. The timetable can be found

http://www.st-thomas-more.net/pupils/exam-

information/examtimetables/ If you have any queries, please contact Miss Ward in the exams Office exams@st-thomas-more.net

A letter from Bishop Kenney Please take time to read the letter sent to all schools from Bishop Kenney.

Rt. Rev. William Kenney CP Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Birmingham St. Hugh’s House 27 Hensington Road

WOODSTOCK Oxfordshire

OX20 1JH

Tel: +44 (0) 1993 812234

E-mail: bishop.wkenney@rcaob.org.uk December, 2018

To the Schools of the Southern Pastoral Area. Dear Friends, Christmas is a time of year that most of us look forward to; gatherings of family and friends, presents, good food and family traditions are all part of the mix. We may not always think of why we do all of this, or perhaps just pay lip-service to the fact that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, who is both God and human. Yet it is this which is important. The things that we do at Christmas are all very human things which need other people. It is almost impossible to think of celebrating Christmas without some other people being there. In other words, at Christmas we celebrate that we are the people we are. That can sound rather obvious and yet it is something that most of us need to hear every so often. All of us have things that we do not really like about ourselves and which we would wish were different. We think that other people might not like us as much if they know about these things or that we may not be loved as much. Christmas is a time of year when we know that we are loved by family and friends, even if we are not perfect. To give someone a present is to say that we love them, and that we want them. I am not thinking of the sort of present we may get as some type of advertising, which is not really a present at all, but those presents which we receive from people we know well. A present also says that we need the other person, that they are important in our lives. Jesus received presents from the three kings when they came to Bethlehem. This is why in some countries the 6th January, the feast of the Three Kings coming to visit Jesus, and not Christmas Day is the day when people give presents. The King’s presents had all of the above qualities and they also said something about the person who he was; that he was a King and that he would suffer, but like all human beings he was a valuable person. Let’s remember as we celebrate Christmas and receive presents from people that we also are valuable, and that we need other people. Let us knee in front of the crib, and remember that God because as we are, and that we because of that are also just a little like God. That is what a present means.

A happy and holy Christmas

(Rt. Rev.) William Kenney CP. Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham

nney CP

Subject

Excellent French speaking assessment

Lucy Staley 8BK

Annmaria Palattom 8GS Reyana Sequiera

8BK Excellent French

speaking assessment

Information

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze news Although a little later than usual, we have finally registered our group of bronze participants. Mostly from year 9, we have a group of approximately 20 young people taking on the challenge of this prestigious award. Those that have paid and handed in their registration forms should have had an email appear with the log in details needed to access their eDofE account. If you have not received one, please do check your spam box first in case it’s hiding in there. If it’s still missing, please do email me on prescot.j@st-thomas-more.net or send your child to hunt me down at either break or lunch in the sixth form building, and we will sort it out. WHAT TO DO NEXT…. I have backdated all your registrations 2 months, this means that if you have been doing an activity that qualifies for skill, volunteering, or physical and it can be witnessed by a suitable assessor, then congratulations you have already completed 2 months of the award. Just put the same date as your registration date of when you started. If you have not started your activity, then don’t worry. Hopefully, you will have had a think about what you can do already. You can get lots of ideas from the DofE website if you just search the relevant section you are struggling with. The most important thing to do is to complete each section with all the correct information and send it to us as soon as possible. We will then approve it if it fits that section’s criteria. The reason why this is so important is, because we do not want you to be using your precious time completing an activity that won’t be any credit to your Duke of Edinburgh award. And trust me this has happened in the past…doing the paperwork section on your eDofE is important. WE LOVE EVIDENCE, especially our Award Verifier, Mr Case. We like to see what marvellous things you are doing to achieve your awards. Photos are really easy to upload to your account via your smartphone or computer, and the more photos the merrier! Have fun doing the award whilst learning new skills and improving your qualities, that’s the whole point.

We would like to see all bronze candidates in rm16 at lunch on Tuesday 18th December to make sure they have logged on and know what to do, so they get organised over the Christmas

break. Kind Regards The DofE Team

Subject

ATTENDANCE LADDER

TOP TEN FORMS

3rd – 9th DECEMBER 2018 7TL - 99.3% 10NL - 98.8% 7WL - 98.6% 8MH - 96.9% 8MEG - 96.1% 11ML - 95.8% 10SH - 95.7% 8BK - 95.5% 9TAH - 95.3% 8GS - 95.2%

Warwickshire Secondary School pupils recorded 8,895 half day sessions of absence due to holiday in the Autumn/Spring term during academic year 2017/18. This is an increase of 1,816 on the previous year.

Information

LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING TERM TIME UPDATED INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

The Supreme Court recently reached a decision in the case of Platt v Isle of Wight Council which has clarified the law on unauthorised leave, including holidays, during term time. The parents of children of compulsory school age are required to ensure that they attend school on a regular basis. The Supreme Court has made clear that attending school ‘regularly’ means that the children must attend school on every day that they are required to do so. As such, the parents of any child who is absent from school without authorisation for any length of time are likely to be considered as committing an offence under s444 of the Education Act 1996. Head Teachers retain the ability to authorise leave in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006. When considering such requests for a leave of absence, the school are obliged to act within the law. Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application. If the leave is granted, head teachers are able to determine the number of school days a child can be absent for. It is for the Head Teacher to decide what is ‘exceptional’ and it is at their discretion if the circumstances warrant the leave to be granted. The school can only consider Leave of Absence requests which are made by the ‘resident’ parent. Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case by case basis and on its own merits. Where applications for leave of absence are made in advance and refused, the child will be required to be in school on the dates set out in the application. If the child is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence, which may result in legal action being taken against the parent(s), by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice. Failure to make an application for leave in advance can also result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued to the parent(s). All matters of unauthorised absence relating to a Leave of Absence will be referred to the Attendance, Compliance and Enforcement Service of Warwickshire County Council It is important to note, Fixed Penalty Notices are issued to each parent of each absent child, (for example 2 children and 2 parents, means each parent will receive 2 invoices in the amount of £120 each, totalling £240 for both children, this is reduced to £60 per child if paid within 21 days). Where a Fixed Penalty Notice is not paid within the required timeframe as set out on the notice, the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal proceedings under S444 Education Act 1996. Fixed Penalty Notices are issued in accordance with Warwickshire County Council’s Code of Conduct for Penalty Notices.

Your child’s progress academically as well as socially is our shared priority

Warwickshire Secondary School pupils recorded 8,895 half day sessions of absence due to holiday in the Autumn/Spring term during academic year 2017/18. This is an increase of 1,816 on the previous year.