St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School & Sixth Form

Student Information

Booklet 2020

Welcome to St Thomas Aquinas

Catholic School

A warm welcome to St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School.

I know that you will be disappointed not to be experiencing a full

induction into our school but I do hope that this booklet will give you

some information about what you can expect in September.

One of the most important things to know is that our mission

statement "Christ is at the centre of our school community where we

live, love and learn together" is at the heart of all that we do.

I hope that the information we are sharing with you here will help to

address any of the worries or nerves that you might have and answer

some of the questions that I know you are keen to ask.

Your Head of Year, Mr Stephenson, and the Assistant Principal in

charge of Year 7, Ms O’Reilly are really looking forward to hearing

from you on our dedicated email for any work you want to share or any

questions you might want to ask Year6@stacs.org.

Remember the school website we have weekly updates through June

and plenty of resources and activities to help you to learn more about

our school.

Mr Martin

Principal

Staff you need to know

Mrs Clarke, Vice Principal

Mrs O’Reilly, Assistant Principal

Mr Stephenson, Head of Year 7

Mrs Hughes, Support Head of Year 7

Mrs Leslie, Student Services

Mrs Bridgman, Attendance Officer

Mrs Alder, Attendance Clerk

Mrs Jervis, Head of SEN

Mrs Linehan, Head of Safeguarding

Mrs Smiley, School Nurse

The House System

In each year group there are 8 form groups. Each group will be

part of a House. During House week you will come together to

celebrate, your House Patron and you will represent your house

in sports events during the year.

Bosco House

Saint John Bosco who was born in Piedmont,

Fisher Hosue

BOSCO HOUSE

Saint John Bosco who was born in Piedmont,

Italy on the 16th August 1815. He dedicated his

life to the betterment and education of poor

children. He died aged 72 on the 31st January

1888.

Colour: GOLD

FISHER HOUSE

Colour: Green

Saint John Fisher was born in

Beverley, Yorkshire on the 19th

October 1469. He was

executed by King Henry VIII on

the 22nd January 1535. He was

a Catholic Bishop, Cardinal and

Martyr.

JOHN PAUL HOUSE Colour: Purple

John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla

on the 18th May 1920, in Poland.

He was an influential leader of

Christianity and was the second

longest, serving pope at 26 years.

He died on the 2nd April 2005 in

Vatican City.

Saint Martin de Porres was born on 9th

December 1579, in Lima, Peru. He was

noted for work on behalf of the poor,

establishing an orphanage and a

children’s hospital. He died on 3rd

November 1639 at the age of 59.

Colour: Turquoise

MARTIN HOUSE

MORE HOUSE

Colour: Blue

Saint Thomas More was born in London,

England on the 7th February 1478. He was

well known as an English lawyer, social

philosopher and author. He was executed

by King Henry VIII on the 6th July 1535.

NEWMAN HOUSE

Colour: Orange

John Henry Newman was born on the

21st February 1801, in London. He later

died on the 11th August 1890 in

Edgbaston, Birmingham. Newman’s

body was buried in a small cemetery at

Rednal in Birmingham.

ROMERO HOUSE

Colour: Pink

Oscar Romero was born on the 15th

August 1917 in El Salvador. Oscar

Romero was a source of strength and

hope for the poor and oppressed. He

was assassinated on the 24th March

1980 in San Salvador.

Mother Teresa was born on the

26th August 1910, in Macedonia.

She founded the Missionaries of

Charity and cared for the poor,

sick, orphaned and dying. She

died on 5th September 1997 in

Calcutta, India.

Colour: Light Green

TERESA HOUSE

Timings of the School Day

Mon, Tue, Thur & Fri Wednesday

Gate Open 8.00 Gate Open 8.00

Am Line up 8.30 Am Line up 8.30

Registration 8.35 No Registration

Period 1 9.05 Period 1 8.35

Period 2 10.05 Period 2 9.30

Break 11.00 Break 10.25

Period 3 11.20 Period 3 10.45

Period 4 12.20 Period 4 11.40

Lunch 1.15 Lunch 12.35

Period 5 2.00 Period 5 1.20

PM Reg 3.00 School finishes 2.15

School

finishes

3.10

Where do I go?

Student Reception

This is where you go if you need the following:

New timetable

New student journal £3.50

Phone calls home

Lost property

First aid

School nurse

Any queries

Lunchtime

Where can I buy food from?

Main canteen (serves hot food)

Aquinas Learning Hub (serves

sandwiches)

Quad (serves sandwiches)

You must eat your food where you buy it. If you bring food from

home you can eat in any of these places as well the playground

The following are also available to you during lunch time:

Sports Hall (see timetable on door)

Library

Homework clubs in N11 & N18

Tour of the school

Main Reception

Main Hall

Chapel

Gym

Sports Hall

Fitness Suite

Playground

Timetables

This is an example of a Year 7 timetable

Subject List

Key Stage 3 (years 7 & 8) EN English

MA Maths

SC Science

RE Religious Education

CO Computing

AR Art

DR Drama

FR French

GG Geography

HI History

TE Technology

Key Stage 4 (years 9-11) as well as those listed

above BE Business

ENT Enterprise

FO Food

HSC Health & Social Care

IT ICT

MS Media Studies

PG Photography

SR Sport

TS Triple Science

TX Textiles

What should be in my bag?

Pencil Case All students should have a clear 30cm pencil case containing the

following items:

2 black or blue biro pens

1 green pen

1 pencil

1 pencil sharpener

1 eraser

30cm ruler

1 glue stick

1 highlighter

Scientific calculator

Knowledge Organiser This will be issued to you in September. You will need to keep it safe

as you will use it daily to revise from

Student Journal This will be issued to you in September. You will need this to record

your homework in so keep it safe

Canteen Menu Prices are subject to change

BREAKFAST/BREAK LUNCH PRICE LIST SALAD BAR

Cheese Pizza £1.20 Meal Of The Day With A Dessert £2.50 Small Salad Pot 90p

Pepperoni Pizza £1.25 Main Course Dish £1.35 Large Salad Pot £1.50

Meat Feast £1.40 Chicken Fillet In A Bun £1.50 Small Salad Pot + 1 Protein Item £1.20

Chicken Fillet Bun £1.50 Lamb Or Beef Burger Bun £1.35 Large Salad Pot + 2 Protein Items £1.90

Lamb & Cheese Burger £1.40 Assorted Paninis £1.95 Make A Wrap £1.80

Lamb or Beef Burger £1.35 Theos Curry / Pasta Pots £1.90

Breakfast Pastry £1.10 BBQ Chicken Posh Dogs In A Bun £1.55

Bacon / Sausage Bap £1.40 Assorted Meat Pizzas £1.30 CAKES / CONFECTIONARY /

MISC

Italian Toasties 65p Margherita Pizza £1.25

Toast 30p 3xmini Chicken Breast Fillets £1.05 Tray Baked Cakes 80p

Toasted Crusts 12p Beef Chilli With Nachos £1.10 Large Cookies 80p

Waffles 40p Veggie Noodle Pots £1.00 Cream/ Speciality Cakes 90p

Crumpets 40p Deep Filled Baguettes From £1.80 Wicked Cookies £1.40

Hash Browns 30p Assorted Cold Wraps From £1.80 Wicked Muffins £1.40

Fruit Portion 30p Sandwiches From £1.15 Wicked Brownies £1.50

Mini Cheese Pasties 60p Chips/Wedges/Diced Potatoes £1.05 Jelly 50p

Jacket Potato With Butter £1.00 Yoghurts 55p

DRINKS PRICE LIST Jacket Potato With One Filling £1.80 Custard 35p

Extra Filling - Cheese 80p Mini Packed Biscuits 35p

Freezer Pops 30p Extra Filling - Beans 50p Sauce Tubs 20p

Juice Cuplet 35p Roast/Mashed New/ Potatoes 55p Butter / Flora Portion 20p

Fruit Juice Box 150ml 65p Rice/Pasta Portion 45p

Calypso Cup 185 Ml 55p Naan/Bread Roll 30p

Still Water 330ml 50p

Flav/Sparkling 330ml 80p

Still Water 500ml 85p

Suso Cans £1.00

F/L Water 500ml £1.00

Juice Burst £1.40

Yazoo 500ml £1.40

Drench 500ml £1.50

ATTENDANCE MATTERS at

STACS This is Simon. He is in Year 7 and has 90% attendance.

Simon thinks this is pretty good and so do his parents.

Questions for you to answer:

If you got 90% in a test, would you be happy?

Do you think 90% attendance is good?

What does 90% attendance actually mean?

90% attendance = ½ day missed every week!

1 school year at 90% attendance = 4 whole weeks of lessons

MISSED!

If you missed 4 weeks each year, you would miss 100 lessons a

year! Can you imagine how much this would impact your learning

and progress?

90% attendance over 5 years of secondary school = ½ a school

year missed! This would clearly affect your GCSE grades!

Students who have attendance of 97% or above achieve the

highest grades.

Students who have an attendance of 90% or less fail to

achieve the grades they are capable of getting.

Good attendance gives you

An increased lifetime salary. This means you are more likely to

get a better paid job, have more money and, therefore, a

higher quality of life.

Improved health.

A longer life!

At St Thomas Aquinas, we believe that EDUCATION IS A GIFT

and EVERY MOMENT COUNTS.

You will hear your teachers, form tutors and Head of Year say

this to you a lot during your time with us.

Attendance has a direct impact on the grades you leave school

with so it is important you are in school every day – our target

is 97% attendance and 100% punctuality.

Having time off school also has an impact on your emotional

wellbeing. It can be difficult to maintain friendships if you have

lots of time off and you might miss out on important social

events.

By being in school every day, you will show us that you are a

COMMITTED LEARNER and EXCEPTIONAL PERSON – there

are weekly rewards for this!

ATTEND TODAY. ACHIEVE TOMORROW

Breakfast Club

Breakfast club is open from 7.30am – 8.30am every day and is located

in the dining room. There is a £1 charge for breakfast with a choice

of cereal, toast, squash and hot drinks.

Clubs lunch and after school

At lunchtime we currently have the following clubs running and

activities (subject to change):

Movies every lunchtime in the Main Hall

Table Tennis equipment available from Student Reception

Football / basketball equipment available from Student Reception

Board Games Tuesday and Thursday in E1

Homework Club every lunchtime in N11 and N18

Chess Club Mondays and Thursdays in N13

Maths Club Thursdays in C3

After school we have the following clubs running:

Football Choir

Friday night dance Drama

Basketball Musical Theatre

Netball Duke of Edinburgh

Cricket

Buses

Safety of our students is very important so at the end of the day the

following buses come onto the school playground. Staff are on the

playground to assist students if needed. These are public buses so

once outside our gates anyone can get on or off.

Good behaviour on buses and all public transport is expected at all

times from our students as you are representing the school at all

times.

47 To City Centre

47E Belgrave Road (via Pershore Road)

878 Rubery

878E Black Horse, Northfield

Behaviour Expectations at

STACS

The aim of this information is to enable you to understand the clear

expectations that we have of you and your behaviour in and out of

school. Everything we do, everything we ask for is to enable you to

become committed learners and exceptional people. We do not

apologise for wanting the best for you as your education is a gift and

we will make sure that every moment counts here at STACS.

Why is it so important?

The behaviour we show is an outward sign of respect, pride and

belonging to a school community.

This means a respect for others learning time in a classroom.

Pride in displaying the right values as a member of the Aquinas

family in our local community.

Belonging to a school that is serious about education.

So how do you become a committed learner?

What is a consequence?

A consequence at STACS is on the same night either a C1 (30 minute)

or C2 (1 hour) detention. For example if you wear the wrong uniform

such as not bringing your tie into school you will receive a C1 30 minute

detention on the same night.

If you decide to talk and disrupt the learning of your classmates in a

lesson you will be given verbal warnings. If you decide not to listen to

the advice of your teacher and show you want to learn then you will

be told to leave the lesson and sit in another classroom with another

teacher. This is called a Faculty Removal. This is not normal behaviour

here at STACS and therefore the consequence is a C2 1 hour

detention on the same night.

Why is it so important?

We want you to feel free to learn and to experience the best

education here at STACS. To be exceptional people, to be role models

to others, to be successful in life, to feel liberated to enjoy learning

and be able to achieve with pride you must be committed to your

learning. We will ensure that we can offer you that learning

experience in every classroom with a consistent approach to dealing

with negative and positive behaviour.

REWARDS at STACS

We want all students who show that they are COMMITTED

LEARNERS and EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE to be recognised and valued

in our school community.

Here is an example of some of the awards we have at our school.

Attendance Awards

We are launching our ‘Get to Green’ award system in September. Each

Monday, your form tutor will challenge you to be in school each day

that week. If you complete a full week, you will ‘Get to Green’ the next

Monday and will be entered into a prize draw with students in your

form for a prize such as a skip the queue lunch pass for that week.

Faculty Awards

Each week you will receive Praise Logs for demonstrating attributes

of a Committed Learner and Exceptional Person.

Subject teachers will award one praise log every lesson for students

who go above and beyond and select one student per week to give a

praise postcard to.

Heads of Faculty will select one student from subject teachers’

committed learners to be the Faculty Committed Learner of the

Week – this student will be invited to #HotChocFriday with Mr

Martin (Principal) along with students chosen by the Senior

Leadership Team.

Following a Progress Review, students with the highest attitude to

learning grades will be awarded with certificates in assembly.

Form Tutor/Head of Year Awards

Form Tutors will award one praise log every form time for students

who go above and beyond and select one student per week to give a

praise postcard to.

Heads of Year will select one student from their year to be their

Exceptional Person of the Week. This student gets a certificate in

assembly and is invited to a special Head of Year breakfast.

As you can see there are lots of opportunities to shine at STACS and

show you are a ‘Committed Learner or an Exceptional Person’.