In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

Dear Parent/Carer, 2018 marks the centenary of the end of World War 1. Lapels have been adorned with red poppies in various guises over the past couple of weeks, and these serve as both a symbol of gratitude and a reminder of those who made immeasurable sacrifices during The Great War and other conflicts. The significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen was fully realised by the Canadian surgeon John McCrae in his poem of 1915, ‘In Flanders Fields’. Perhaps the most unflinching and honest depiction of this period comes in the form of poetry, documenting the brutal horrors and perceived glories of war. ‘In Flanders Fields’ is often regarded as one of the most painfully sombre and poignant poems of this era: We often hear the phrase ‘Lest we forget’ in conjunction with Remembrance Day services. It is thought the term derives from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, ‘Recessional’ in which the phrase occurs 8 times; and is repeated at the end of the first 4 stanzas in order to add particular emphasis regarding the dangers of failing to remember. The phrase has since transcended beyond its poetic context and become something more of a plea, an imploration for all to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Today we staged our own tributes in honour of those who gave their lives during WW1 and other conflicts. Our Air Cadets, who looked tremendous in their uniforms, laid a ceremonial wreath in the school chapel as Form Captains and our Student Senior Leadership Team read sections from Wilfred Owen’s seminal war poem, ‘Dulce et Decorum est’. This was preceded by an emotive rendition of the ‘Last Post’ by Mrs White and a two-minute silence observed by the whole school. It was a truly touching and reverential tribute – a ceremony to ensure that we will never forget those who fought in WW1 and other conflicts.

On Sunday we are all encouraged to reflect upon, and honour the terrible losses incurred by war. Mrs Johnson will attend the cenotaph in Grays alongside our Student Leadership Team as part of the Remembrance Sunday service in our local community, and I am sure all of us will observe a two-minute silence as part of this special day. I wish you all a lovely weekend. Liam Smyth Assistant Headteacher

Inspiring Ambition,

Achieving Excellence Week ending Friday 9

th

November 2018

Armistice Day is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany. The hostilities came to an end at the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918.

The Armistice was the result of a hurried and desperate process. The German delegation crossed the front line in five cars and was escorted for ten hours across the devastated war zone of Northern France. They were then taken to the secret destination aboard Ferdinand Foch's private train parked in a railway siding in the forest of Compiègne.

There was no question of negotiation. On Sunday 10 November, they were shown newspapers from Paris to inform them that the Kaiser had abdicated. That same day, Ebert instructed the Germans to sign. The Armistice was agreed upon at 5:00am on 11 November, to come into effect at 11:00am Paris time (noon German time). The first Armistice Day was held at Buckingham Palace, commencing with King George V hosting a "Banquet in Honour of the President of the French Republic" during the evening hours of 10 November 1919. The first official Armistice Day events were subsequently held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace on the morning of 11 November 1919. This would set the trend for a day of Remembrance for decades to come.

Mrs M Smith

In this Month of the Holy Souls we have a Book of Remembrance in the Chapel with the names of our family members and others known to us who have died. We lit candles for them and prayed for them especially in our Mass of Remembrance and Fr Brian lit the Paschal Candle symbolising the Light of the Risen Lord who we ask in his loving mercy to raise them all to eternal life with him in Heaven. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine on them. May they rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

Miss Carson

LEST WE FORGET…

On Tuesday 6th November, 41 Students and 4 staff (Miss Franklin, Mrs Wood, Mrs Sparrow and Mrs Bishop) went to Hollywood Bowl in Basildon for the Gold Achievement Reward trip. These students had obtained over 600 achievement points by the end of July 2018 and were rewarded for their success with this trip which included a few hours of bowling and lunch.

Several students experienced bowling for the first time and after a few technical issues we were up and running and the competitive nature of our students started to appear with strikes galore! The students were a credit to Grays Convent and everyone enjoyed the trip.

Mrs Bishop

All trip money must be in a SEALED ENVELOPE, as lots of money is coming through the letter box loose and falling out. Also, please DO NOT USE THE ACTUAL RETURN RECEIPT SLIP STAPLED UP AND MADE INTO AN ENVELOPE or monies in a food freezer bag! Envelopes must have pupils name, and which trip it is, and a separate envelope for EACH trip please!

Finance Office

We have had these two PE kits in the PE office for a fortnight; if they belong to your daughter (and she can identify the kit inside them) we would like to return them to her. If they are not claimed by next Friday they will go into the general lost property box.

Miss Franklin

Please ensure your daughter leaves home in the morning with her dinner money. If she does not have her dinner money we will ring home and request that parents bring money to the school as our Finance Office only holds a minimal amount of petty cash. Please note dinner money loans from our Finance Office are only offered as an absolute last resort, and must be reimbursed promptly.

Finance Office

GOLD ACHIEVEMENT REWARD TRIP

POPE FRANCIS’ TWEET OF THE WEEK

TRIP MONEY

IS THIS YOUR

DAUGHTER’S PE KIT…?

DINNER MONEY

Grays Convent High School Cross Country team produced some impressive performances at this week’s District Cross Country Competition on Wednesday 7th November. The team of 27 girls took on the challenge of racing around the course at Blackshots playing fields in the autumn weather and demonstrated their grit and determination was as strong as ever. Napsugar Pasztor, in Year 7, got off to a fantastic start in her 1,950m race and looked strong throughout. She kept up with the leaders and finished in a very impressive 4th position and still managed to be smiling at the end! The rest of the Year 7 team were close behind and by the end of the competition they were placed 3rd as a team, just behind St Cleres in 2nd and William Edwards who were 1st. In the Year 8 and 9 competitions Fiona Ogbonna led the Grays Convent team and had an amazing run despite racing against many students a year older than her. She finished in a respectable 7th place, showing that she is definitely one to watch in the future. In the team competition Grays Convent came 4th, just 2 points behind William Edwards who were 3rd. Boglarka Pasztor ran like a true professional, executing a perfectly paced race throughout the gruelling 3,500m in the Year 10 and 11 girl’s competition, which saw her awarded a very well deserved Bronze medal; as well as selection to represent Thurrock in the Essex Schools Cross Country Cup in January. This is an outstanding achievement considering that she has only just moved up into this age category! Overall in the combined girl’s competition Grays Convent finished 2nd in the District, with a point score of 305, hot on the heels of William Edwards who were the overall girl’s winners and showing a massive improvement from 4th place last year. Well done to all the girls involved.

Mrs Bailey

Whilst we do allow students to have mobile phones in school, it is on the strict assumption that students will not have it out, use it, or that it will not ‘go off’ under any circumstances whilst they are in school. If a student’s phone is out during school time, or ‘goes off’ or they are caught using them, the phone will be confiscated and behaviour points will be issued. The phone is then kept in our Finance Department for safekeeping and the parent will be contacted. The phone will only then be released to a parent/carer who must collect it from the school. If an older sibling comes to collect the phone, the sibling must be over 18 years and we will require proof of age before we are able to hand over the student’s phone. Thank you for your understanding.

Finance Department

Please note that Student Leave of Absence forms are now only available from Mrs Smith, Attendance Officer, in the General Office.

Students must be in school by 8:25am and go straight to their form class for registration. We have had a number of girls say that they were in school for 8:25am but were “looking

for a teacher”, or “dropping off equipment” etc. This must be done after registration. If your daughter arrives late to registration she will be issued a ‘late mark’.

Mrs C Smith

DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

MOBILE PHONES IN SCHOOL STUDENT LEAVE OF ABSENCE

PUNCTUALITY

Year 7 Team

Year 10 &11 Team

Year 8 & 9 Team

Boglarka Pasztor Bronze medallist

Year 10 & 11 Girl’s

If you wish for the school to look after prescription medicines, inhalers, epipens etc. please make sure that they are replaced by new ones once the expiry date has passed. Regarding the current availability problems with epipens, the Department of Health and Social Care has recently issued the following advice and website address:

Furthermore, recently it has been approved that certain batches of adult EpiPen 0.3mg auto-injectors (children over 30kg can be prescribed adult 0.3mg auto-injectors) can be safely used for four months after the expiry date has passed – further information about these batches is available on the EpiPen website http://www.epipen.co.uk/ or via healthcare professionals.

The extension of use beyond the labelled expiry date only applies to those batches of EpiPen specified on the EpiPen website. For other EpiPens, not covered by the batch numbers on the EpiPen website, including all EpiPen Junior devices, the expiry date labelled on the EpiPen should continue to be adhered to.

Mr O’Hanlon

Do you have green fingers? Do you enjoy working outdoors? Do you have some spare time to weed and plant and build?

Do you enjoy carpentry? Do you work for a gardening company?

If you have answered ‘yes’ to any of the above… The Eco Club which is organised by Mrs Goddard is branching out with more helpers, both staff and pupils, to endeavour to turn our school garden into a Multi-Faith Peace garden this academic year. We would like to make this a community project involving students, parents, and grandparents and wider friends of our community. PLEASE, PLEASE IF YOU HAVE ANY SKILLS TO SUPPORT US PLEASE CONTACT US AT THE SCHOOL. Since this is planting season we would appreciate any bulbs or seeds to start our planting. Please contact us at the school.

Mrs Goddard Eco Club Co-ordinator & Mrs Michalkewicz

If your daughter is required to take medication in school, and in particular suffers from menstrual pain, could you please provide the school with suitable medication.

You will be required to complete a form for the school to be able to administer the medication. This form can be obtained from the school reception. Medication and the consent to administer form will be kept in the medical room for your daughter to take it when necessary.

Mrs C Smith

Please, follow us on Twitter: @GraysConvent, and re-tweet all our good news! See our Twitter feed:

http://www.graysconvent.thurrock.sch.uk. If you would like real time up-dates and photos on our sporting fixtures follow @graysconventPE or look for the #GCHSsport tag!

Harris Academy Chafford Hundred have advised that they will be hosting an operating live event on Saturday 6 July 2019. As part of the event they are inviting students and parents from the area who would love to take part in an incredible, immersive operating theatre experience which will give everyone an amazing opportunity to dissect real specimens led by human anatomist Samuel Piri and his team of clinicians. The event is also sponsored by the Royal Society of Medicine.

The event is targeted to both KS4 and KS5 students who are interested in medicine.

Here is the website containing the details: https://www.operatingtheatrelive.co.uk/publicevents

Tickets:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/operating-theatre-live-essex-6th-july-2019-tickets-49980559198

If you have any queries please contact Nadim Uddin at Harris Academy Chafford Hundred.

MEDICINES IN SCHOOL

HELP REQUIRED

STUDENT MEDICATION

GCHS TWITTER

OPERATING THEATRE LIVE @ HACH

Find a Thurrock (Support Staff) Star

Friday 23rd November 2018

In Thurrock, we are holding a competition to find a very special star, someone who goes that extra mile to help

others. The winner will receive a trophy and prize presented to them in a celebration assembly to be hosted at

their school by The Mayor of Thurrock. The school will also receive a trophy. All nominations will receive a

goody bag in recognition of the work they do. Please join us in celebrating the positive role of the whole school

support staff team in making your school a safe and happy place for children to learn.

About Stars in Our Schools

Stars in Our Schools is a celebration of

school support staff. UNISON has

organised the day to celebrate the

wonderful work they do every day and

to make sure the world knows just how

vital they are to children’s education.

On Friday 23 November 2018 schools

across the UK will be holding awards

ceremonies, putting on special

assemblies and even dressing up as

super heroes.

School support staff – the

Stars in Our Schools

It takes a whole team to make a school a

safe and happy place for children to

learn. School support staff help children

learn, keep children safe and healthy

and make sure schools run smoothly.

They are the caterers, the admin staff,

the finance officers, the teaching

assistants, the librarians, the ICT

technicians, the parent support advisers,

and more.

Psychologist Mariska Kret and Disa Sauter studied laughter clips taken from 44 infants and children between 3 and 18 months of age. The recordings were taken from online videos in which babies were engaged in playful interactions. The recordings were then analysed by 102 listeners, recruited from a

psychology student population, who evaluated the extent to which the laughs in each clip were produced on the exhale versus the inhale. Sauter and her colleagues found that the youngest babies commonly laughed on both inhalation and exhalation, as do non-human primates like chimpanzees. In the older babies studied, however, laughter was primarily produced only on the exhale, as is the case in older children and adults. "Adult humans sometimes laugh on the inhale but the proportion is markedly different from that of infants' and chimps' laughs. Our results so far suggest that this is a gradual, rather than a sudden, shift," said Sauter, who points out that the transition does not appear to be linked to any particular developmental milestones. She noted, however that these results were based on the judgments of nonexpert listeners. "We are currently checking those results against judgments by phoneticians, who are making detailed annotations of the laughter."

Sauter said that there is no accepted reason why humans, alone among primates, laugh only on exhalation. One possibility, she said, is that it is a result of the vocal control humans develop as they learn to speak. The researchers currently are examining if there is a link between the amount of laughter produced upon inhalation and exhalation and the reasons why individuals laugh, which also change with age. In infants and younger babies, as in nonhuman primates, laughter occurs as the result of

physical play like tickling. In older individuals, laughter can arise from physical play but also from social interactions. "Beyond that, I'd be interested in seeing whether our findings apply to

other vocalizations than laughter," said Sauter. Ultimately, the research could offer insight into vocal production of children with developmental disorders. "If we know what normally developing babies sound like, it could be interesting to study infants at risk to see whether there are very early signs of atypical development in their nonverbal vocalizations of emotion."

Mrs Sajid

SCIENCE SPOT…

ALADDIN THE MUSICAL

“One jump ahead of law men!!!” and one jump ahead of schedule! This week we

managed to choreograph and se t the famous ‘One Jump’ song that Aladdin sings

early on in the play. Aladdin is always getting himself into trouble and stealing

from the market so that he has food to eat…in this number the market owners have

finally had enough!

The girls worked hard and the number is looking really good!

Next week we start on Prince Ali and then nearly all of the dance numbers will be

set and polished. There will be a full run of all that has been set the week of the 19th

November so would it be helpful if all students were off book.

Mrs O’Donoghue

We pray for all who have died that they will join the saints with God in Heaven. 10G prepared a beautiful Mass on the Feast of All Saints and 9M prepared a very reflective Mass of Remembrance in school on Wednesday. We believe that God all things are possible. He who knows everything anticipates our prayers for those who have died and he is not limited by time as we are. So we entrust our loved ones to his infinite loving mercy, to raise them to eternal joy with Him in Heaven. God bless you.

Miss Carson

NOVEMBER: MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS

YEAR 11 INTERVENTION 2018/19

YEAR 11 MOCK EXAM TIMETABLE

The following fixtures are subject to change please make sure you check every week!

Date Year Opposition Venue

Mon 12th November 7 Netball OPA Home

Tues 13th November U13 Rugby William Edwards Away

Wed 14th November 8 & 9 Athletics Lee Valley Indoor R1 (TBC) Lee Valley

Thurs 15th November U16 Netball Ockendon Away

Tues 20th November U14 Netball Rally Hassenbrook

Wed 21st November 8 & 9 Athletics Lee Valley Indoor R1 (TBC) Lee Valley

Thurs 22nd November U16 Netball Harris Chafford Away

Tues 27th November 7 Netball Hassenbrook Away

Tues 27th November 8 Netball Hassenbrook Away

Thurs 6th December 8 Netball William Edwards Away

Tues 11th December 7 Netball St Cleres A & B Away

Wed 12th December 8 & 9 Athletics Lee Valley Semi-Final1 (TBC) Lee Valley

Thurs 13th December 9 Netball- 3:15 start St Cleres Home

Wed 9th January 8 & 9 Athletics Lee Valley Finals (TBC) Lee Valley

Tues 15th January U16 Netball Hasssenbrook Away

Wed 16th January 7 Athletics Lee Valley Indoor R1 (TBC) Lee Valley

Tues 22nd January 8 Netball- 3:15 start St Cleres Home

Wed 23rd January 7 Athletics Lee Valley Indoor R1 (TBC) Lee Valley

Thurs 24th January 9 Netball Harris Chafford Home

Tues 29th January 9 Netball Hassenbrook Away

Thurs 31st January U16 Netball Gable Hall Away

Thurs 31st January Y9 Netball Gable Hall Away

Tues 5th February 7 Netball William Edwards Home

Thurs 7th February 7 Netball Gable Hall Home

Thurs 7th February 8 Netball Gable Hall Home

Tues 12th February 7 Netball Chafford Harris & Riverside Away

Thurs 14th February 9 Netball William Edwards Away

Wed 27th February 7 Athletics Lee Valley Semi 1 (TBC) Lee Valley

Tues 5th March 8 Netball Gateway Home

Tues 5th March 7 Netball Gateway Home

Wed 6th March 7 Athletics Lee Valley Semi 2 (TBC) Lee Valley

Tues 12th March 8 Netball Rally Hassenbrook

Wed 13th March 7 Athletics Lee Valley Finals (TBC) Lee Valley

Tues 19th March Y7 Netball Ockendon Home

Tues 19th March 8 Netball Ockendon Home

Tues 26th March 7 Netball Rally Hassenbrook

Mon 20th May 7-11 Athletics District Athletics Finals Blackshots

Weds 22nd May 8-11 Athletics Essex Schools C. E. T Brentwood School

WINTER/SPRING FIXTURES 2018-19

At Grays Convent our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mrs Collis, and our Safeguarding Officers are Mrs Wells and Mrs Bishop. Students can contact any of our Safeguarding Team during the school day.

Mrs Collis

12th-16th November Anti-Bullying Week Whole School

13th-27th November Year 11 Mock Exams Year 11

Monday 19th November Shakespeare Schools Festival Performance

Thameside Theatre Year 9

Monday 3rd December Bread Ahead Trip Year 10

Tuesday 4th December Year 7 Panto – Thameside Theatre Year 7

Thursday 6th December Carol Service 7pm Parents of Whole School

Friday 7th December Year 11 24 hour Fast Year 11

Wednesday 12th December Christmas Lunch for Students & Staff Whole School

Thursday 13th December Christmas Cracker Event

Friday 14th December Christmas Jumper Day Whole School

Wednesday 19th December Whole School Carol Service Whole School

Thursday 20th December to Wednesday 2nd January 2019

Christmas Holiday Whole School

Thursday 3rd January 2019 Students return to school

for 8:25am Whole School

SAFEGUARDING OUR CHILDREN AT GRAYS CONVENT

KEY DATES, TRIPS & EVENTS

Worried about a child? You can phone or write to The MASH about your concerns. Phone immediately if you believe it is urgent.

Thurrock MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding hub), Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 6SL, Tel: 01375 652802.

Emergency Duty Team (for out of hours) 01375 372468.

Police Child Abuse Investigation Team 01277 266822 or call 999 if you are concerned a child needs immediate protection.

Childline 0800 11 11 www.childline.org.uk

NSPCC 0808 800 5000 www.nspcc.org.uk; www.facebook.com/nspcc