SEPTEMBER 2014 SESSION 2014/15

500 miles for Mary’s Meals Fr Lappin and Mr McSorley stand at the roadsign indicating the city limits of Santiago de Compostela in western Spain - 824 kms at the end of their sponsored pilgrimage along the Camino Norte.

Following the ancient pilgrimage route along Spain’s northern coast to the resting place of the Apostle St James in the cathedral of Santiago, Fr Joe and Mr McSorley walked the 824 kms in around 23 days.

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!1ACT JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD

BEST EVER HIGHER

RESULTS! NATIONAL 5’S TOO ARE OFF TO A GREAT START IN ST THOMAS AQUINAS

SCHOOL CAPTAINS (Erin, Asahi, Marc and

Niamh)

FOUR OF OUR GIRLS ACCEPT ‘EXCELLENCE IN

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION’ AWARD

POLITICS CLASS OUTSIDE HYDRO FOR THE ‘BIG BIG DEBATE’

Fr Joe Lappin and Headteacher,

Mr McSorley, arrive in Santiago de Compostela after 500 mile hike from Irun.

ST THOMAS AQUINAS RC SECONDARY

SEPTEMBER 2014 SESSION 2014/15

Thanks to the generosity of students, staff and parents, of St Thomas Aquinas, and parishioners of St Paul’s and St Margaret’s - Our Holy Redeemers, around £3,000 has been raised so far.

The donation website is still open at

www.mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/caminonortechallenge

or through the school Twitter account

@StThomasAqSec

!!!Award for International Education

St. Thomas Aquinas was awarded a certificate of excellence for its contribution to International Education at a ceremony held in Hillhead Primary on the 11th of September. Four students from Fourth and Fifth Year collected the award on behalf of the school: Katie Hayes who represented the group from Fourth Year who will be visiting Bosnia at the end of the month and Catherine Smith, Jade Tobia and Kathleen Ewins who were instrumental in establishing the Connecting Classrooms project with students in Poland, Bosnia and Catalonia.

Catherine spoke of the positive impact International Education has had on the lives of the students and how they have enjoyed welcoming foreign visitors to St. Thomas Aquinas and learning about their culture and language whilst sharing some Scottish cultural experiences with them. Kathleen observed how the steel band has gone from strength to strength following our links with Trinidad and Tobago. We even got to play at Commonwealth events in the city! Jade commented that through International Education students grow in confidence and develop further motivation to speak foreign languages. Katie was impressed by the range of experiences on offer within Glasgow City Council to form links with students in other countries and is very much looking forward to engaging in the big dance project in Bosnia- Sarajevo and commemorating ‘the fallen’ in World War 1 Remembrance events.

All students were treated to a performance of tribal dance from a group of Masai warriors at Kelvingrove bandstand. They showed us a presentation on their lifestyle in Kenya and our

!2ACT JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD

Images from Camino

Irun: where it all began

‘only’ 100kms to go

Completed: at the steps of the Cathedral

The Apostle St James

SEPTEMBER 2014 SESSION 2014/15

students were impressed at their customs and lifestyle in comparison to ours.

Our students are looking forward to engaging in new projects to further promote International Education within the school.

Maria Bourke

!Senior Drama Group !The Senior Drama Group is a new initiative introduced by the Faculty of Performing Arts to develop the theatrical skills of the upper school. It meets every Tuesday for two hours, after-school, to rehearse and work on new plays. They are currently in the rehearsals of their debut production, “Oh, What A Lovely War”, a satirical play dealing with the folly of war. It will be performed for friends and family in November to mark the centenary of the Great War. The production will be a first for the school as it will be entirely produced by the pupils with supervision from staff. !Kiran O’Neill (Sixth Year) !!Extra - Curricular Sports Programme !Volleyball, gymnastics, trampolining, table tennis, badminton, netball, indoor rowing and football (please see the attachment in this mailing) !!School Chaplain !After ten years service as Chaplain to our school, Fr Joe Lappin is taking up the post of Director of Religious Education for the Archdiocese, and will transfer to the Parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Denniston. Everyone in the school community wishes Fr Lappin well, and every success in the vital role he will assume. !!Don’t forget that you can keep up with all the news from St Thomas Aquinas through our Twitter feed: @StThomasAqSec

!3ACT JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD

International Education Award

Masai Warriors Performance

Mr Shannon interviewed at the BigBig Debate

Senior Buddies with First Year prepare to walk to St Paul’s for Retreat.