Newsletter
SUMMER 2022
HEADTEACHER'S LETTER
Dear Parents/Carers,
It is wonderful to be back to celebrating the end of the year in mass at St Gregory’s after a three-year gap due to Covid. As we reach the end of this academic year we celebrate and give thanks for all the things we have accomplished during this year. Students and staff have worked incredibly hard and should be very proud of all that has been achieved as a school and as individuals this year.
We keep students in year 11 and 13 in our prayers as they travel towards results days and their next destinations. We look forward to seeing them on results days and celebrating their success and next steps.
At the end of term we will say goodbye to a number of staff who have made a significant contribution to the life of the school over the years: Mr Wotton, Mrs Lloyd, Mrs Downing, Mr Williams, Mr Dudley, Mrs Redmond, Miss Hughes, Miss Bethell, Miss Arnold, Mrs Knight, Mr Riley, Mr Moss, Mrs Gerrard, Mrs Edwards, Miss Booth and Mr Marsden. We thank them for all they have given to our community and wish them well in the future.
I would like to particularly mention Mr Wootton who has been a member of staff since 1984 – nearly 40 years having been a student here before returning as a teacher. Mr Wootton was deputy headteacher for a number of years and we wish him a happy and healthy retirement. Further details are on the next page.
I would also like to thank all of our staff for their hard work and commitment to the vocation of working within our school. I am very grateful for their professionalism, dedication and determination.
Over the summer there will be significant work to the school. Despite failing with a CIF bid for toilet improvements and having another bid under consideration by the DFE we will be upgrading our current toilet facilities. We will also be creating new classrooms and Music Technology facilities. I know these will enhance the experience for students in September.
It has been wonderful to see Year 6 students at school in the last month and we particularly look forward to welcoming them in September. I wish you all a safe and enjoyable summer break and hope students come back in September ready to “Aspire to be More” be in all they do.
Mr M Rayner
Headteacher
Mr A Wootton
As many of you will know Mr Wootton has been part of the STM community for 38 years. After initially starting as a physics teacher, Mr Wootton then became a head of year, head of Sixth Form, Assistant Headteacher and - for over a decade - Deputy Headteacher. For the last 2 years Mr Wootton has been teaching A-Level Physics, but the time has now come that Mr Wootton has decided to retire.
Mr Wootton has been instrumental in the school community and his long standing service has seen him teach and inspire so many students, many of whom have returned to St Thomas More to become teachers and support staff themselves!
Mr Wootton has shown his dedication not only to the school but to all the students past and present who he continues to support and offer guidance to.
Mr Wootton is a pillar of our community who will be deeply missed and his impact on the school will be felt for many years.
We wish Mr Wootton all the best in his retirement.
St Thomas More Catholic Academy Celebration Event - June 2022
On Wednesday 22nd June, the fantastic achievements of over 250 students were proudly celebrated at The Kings Hall in Stoke, in recognition of their accomplishments and successes this academic year. This included the Honours Programme, Scholars, Universify and Rising Star. students; we are incredibly proud of them, and look forward to celebrating the achievements of even more students next year.
The evening started with a performance from the school choir, who sang a number of songs and wowed the audience with their fantastic vocals.
We were privileged to have guest speaker Jenna Downing share her inspiring story to achieving a gold medal, and of how she had overcome a number of challenges in order to reach her goal. She certainly personified our school motto of "Aspire to be More," and staff, students and parents alike were all very moved by her words.
Honours Programme
The Honours Programme at STMCA is a highly prestigious programme for our high prior attaining students.
We are extremely proud to offer a wealth of opportunities, learning resources, trips, events, workshops and masterclasses to our Honours students, with the aim of enriching their learning experience and cultural capital at STMCA and open their minds to the breadth of opportunities available to them in the future. We work to prepare our Honours students for whichever ambitious pathway, college, university or career that they wish to pursue, and know that they feel very positive about the impact of Honours.
Through academic mentoring and group workshops, we remove any barriers to their learning and ensure that they have the self-belief that they can achieve anything that they put their mind to, as well as the knowledge and skills that they need to achieve their ambitions.
We have nearly 400 students across the Academy on the Honours Programme, and we are very proud to have read out during the Celebration Evening the names of those students who have successfully Graduated from the programme.
Their Graduation represents a huge amount of time, effort and resilience on the part of each and every student: to attend weekly masterclasses, read challenging books from the Honours reading lists, complete their Charter of Opportunities and fill their Records of Achievement is quite an achievement - and reflects their motivation, yet again, to "Aspire to be More."
Congratulations to all Honours students who achieved this award – we look forward to seeing you around the Academy wearing your Honours badge with pride!
Scholars
Last summer, we asked Year 7 and 8 students to apply for a prestigious programme run by national charity ‘The Brilliant Club’, called the Scholars Programme. We launched this to students last July, and explained that the programme consisted of a series of tutorials, led by a PHD tutor in school, on a university-level topic. Students would visit a university at the start of the programme to gain an understanding of what it is like to be a university student, and at the end of the programme they were expected to write a dissertation which would be graded in university level grading.
We were unsure as to what level of interest this opportunity would create, however within 3 weeks we had received over 40 excellent application letters, which took some time to read and digest! We were astounded by the quality of the applications, and twelve students were selected to fill the twelve places. In February, 10 students graduated from the Scholars Programme: 4 with 1st Class degree assignments and 6 with 2:1s. This is an incredible achievement for the students, and we were thrilled to present them with their awards!
Universify
Back in Spring 2021, we offered Y10 students the opportunity to apply for a programme called Universify. Two students successfully gained a place, and they have since been part of two events with Oxford University, one being a face to face residential where they stayed in Oxford University Halls of Residence and experienced a week in the life of a University student. Not only have they been a credit to our school, they also presented what they have learned throughout the programme to Mr Rayner and our Senior Leadership Team at a recent SLT meeting, and the maturity, confidence and commitment to their own development was inspiring. Well done and we can’t wait to hear in the future that you are enjoying studying at a highly selective university in the near future!
Rising Stars
Our Rising Stars Programme works to improve progress and attainment through weekly subject Masterclasses, as well as resilience and aspiration through weekly meetings with the Progress Leaders. Many students who have been part of Rising Stars this year have shown real improvement in the progress and attainment between data points, and students receiving their awards at the Celebration Evening demonstrated particular commitment and dedication whilst on the programme.
Catholic Life at St Thomas More Catholic Life
We have had a fabulous year of fundraising. Staff and students have been living out being generous and what great amounts we have achieved.
Throughout Lent as a school community we focussed on prayer, fasting and almsgiving, fundraising for our international charity CAFOD and our local charity, Alice Charity. During Lent we raised £438.79 for our International charity CAFOD through Family fast day: - £240.00, Walk against Hunger sponsorship: - £115.50 and the Sixth form Staff vs Students Football match donation: - £83.29. This is a total of £784.28 for CAFOD this academic year to date. We also donated a vast amount of sanitary goods, dried, tinned and long-life products as well as Easter eggs to the People’s Pantry for Alice charity.
In our continued drive to live simply and sustainably with creation there was a drive to 'Give up Littering for Lent'. Recycling bins are now in classrooms, offices and dining areas to increase the amount of recycling as a school community demonstrating love for our school community and our common home. This has resulted in a 40% increase in the number of recycling collections. In addition, the school’s waste management company turns our non-recyclable waste is turned into a source of electricity for local residents. Details of this can be found here - Energy recovery from waste | Veolia - YouTube.
We continue to work alongside the MAC Mission group and during Lent we participated in exposition of the blessed sacrament which took place across our MAC schools on Friday 4th March at 10am. Students from RE classes visited the chapel at this time. On Family Fast day student representatives from St Thomas More and our MAC primary schools completed a 5K sponsored walk on the school fields. We also held a Lenten retreat for y4 MAC primary students, exploring Lent and Holy Week through the stations of the cross the story stones activities.
On 23rd March St Thomas More hosted a torchlit process on the Stations of the cross with over 100 members from the parish and MAC community in attendance promoting parish and community links. Students from the MAC led each station.
On Friday 6th May Y9 took part in Vocations day in order to further develop Key Stage 3 pupils’ understanding of vocation as a calling from God to holiness and to the mission of evangelising the world. This included visiting speaker Anthony Bostock on Finding God in prison, Julia and Nick on the vocation of marriage, Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Deacon Paul Bradeley and Father David Newell on personal vocation.
As a school community St Thomas More has now made a pledge to achieve the Anti-Racist School Award. As part of our pledge to achieve this award INSET training on Racial Justice in a church school was delivered by David Hermitt on Friday 8th April. This included:
1. Feedback and analysis of whole school student survey
2. A session for Senior leaders in developing their anti-racist school strategy
3. Training for Staff and Governors in racial justice from a Christian perspective
St Thomas More Feast Day
We had wonderful afternoon celebrating the feast day of St Thomas More, on the 22nd June. Each form group created their own form banners ready for sports day and had a celebration event.
CAREERS at St Thomas More Catholic Academy
Keele University Global Opportunities Day
Twenty-six Year 12 students recently attended a unique Global Opportunities Day hosted by Keele University.
The day was the first of its kind and promoted the significance and accessibility of the global opportunities available to students when at university.
A key message from the day was that studying abroad should not only be considered an academic experience, but also a cultural, social and personal discovery which strengthens employability prospects.
The finances regarding studying abroad were also a key focus of the day- aiming to extinguish taboos about the financial burden which studying abroad can cause.
Through grants provided by initiatives such as the Turing Scheme, students can seek financial support to aid their time spent abroad. Financial costs should not deter individuals from experiencing global opportunities.
Student ambassadors from Keele University were on hand throughout the day to share their experiences of studying both abroad and in the UK.
The day concluded with a campus tour of Keele University in which students were able to fully explore what the institution has to offer via the guidance of Keele's fantastic student ambassadors.
UCFB trip
In May, Mr Myatt, Mr Barnett and Mrs Kerr accompanied a group of our Y10 and sixth form students to the UCFB Etihad Campus in Manchester.
UCFB provide a unique, niche, university experience, promoting courses which help lead to careers in sports and business-related industries.
The group gained an insight into higher education courses which combine football with business, law and marketing. The university's state-of-the-art educational facilities made a particular impression on our students.
The trip concluded with an exclusive visit to one of the university's lecture rooms which overlooks the Manchester City Football Club home pitch. A memorable experience!
Some of our Y13 students have since re-evaluated their UCAS choices, following their inspiring experience at UCFB.
Kamal Hyman's Aim A Little Higher motivational speaker talks
Kamal Hyman, an entrepreneur turned motivational speaker, has been working with both lower school and sixth form students to inspire positive change.
Kamal focusses on marginal gains, helping young people to make minor adjustments to their lives which can create great reward.
Kamal worked with Y12 students to help with personal finances and budgeting, both of which were presented with Kamal's personable and witty charm.
Thank you Kamal, and to all year groups for engaging with the motivational talk sessions.
The National Careers Challenge Final 2022
On Thursday 7th July 2022 The National Careers challenge final took place! Schools from across the country participated in the careers and enterprise competition, where students were tasked with different challenges set by some of the UK’s largest employers. Year 8 had a Theme Park Challenge, Year 9 had a Social Enterprise Challenge, and Year 10 had an Esports Digital Challenge. Students from St. Thomas More made the Live finals at the ICC in Birmingham and had the chance to pitch their ideas in front of former Dragons’ Den star, Nick Jenkins. Students also had the chance to have a group photo with him. They performed brilliantly and did the school proud. A big thank you to Mr Barnett, Miss Sproston and Mrs Kerr for supporting the students throughout the competition.
RE
Year 8 Mosque Trip
Last half term, Year 8 students took part in a visit to City Central Mosque, Hanley, in preparation for their end of year exams. The students were guided through the 5 Pillars of Islam by the Imam and were able to ask questions about the Islamic faith. Students were also lucky enough to explore the prayer rooms and key features of the mosque. The students were a credit to the school in how they conducted themselves.
Year 6 Transition Days
After waving Year 11 goodbye, staff at St Thomas More began preparations to welcome our new Year 7s into school for the first time formally as a year group. The RE department delivered a session based on the power of prayer. Students were able to consider the ways in which we can use prayer to communicate with God, and even had the opportunity to write a prayer for something significant to them. There are some fantastic examples, including those seen here!
Year 9 RE – Sukkot Building
As part of their study of the World Religion Judaism, Year 9 were given the opportunity to create their own Sukkot’s in honour of this Jewish harvest festival. Students had to show their understanding of the beliefs and teachings about the festival through their designs, for example making sure that the roof of their Sukkot was open so that you can see the stars. Students engaged brilliantly with the task and loved having the opportunity to creatively express their learning.
Year 9 and 10 Judaism Speaker
Judaism, The Legacy of The Holocaust and Antisemitism - A Personal Story by Freddy Naftel
All students in Years 9 and 10 had the opportunity to hear from a keynote speaker, Freddy Naftel, about his own Jewish beliefs and practices as well as his experiences as a great-grandchild of Holocaust survivors. Freddy related his own personal family story to his talk, speaking to the students about how his mother and grandparents fled Nazi Germany as refugees from persecution, that his great-grandmother survived the camps, and how his great aunt and uncle both perished in Auschwitz. Freddy spoke openly to students about ‘what it means to be Jewish’ by sharing his own experiences of celebrating Jewish festivals, worshipping in the Synagogue, and what it means to keep kosher. Students also had the opportunity to ask Freddy questions about his faith. This was an excellent opportunity for our year 9 and 10 students to develop their understanding of Judaism as a world faith, and to also support them in preparing for their GCSE Component 3 exam on Judaism.
RSE: Relationships and Sex Education
All students have had the opportunity to celebrate RSE day this year through RE, where the theme is ‘Celebrating Differences’. We took this opportunity to explore how we can celebrate differences in the world and, more closely, within our school community. Students had the opportunity to learn more about protected characteristics and The Equality Act 2010. We explored how our school mission statement, that ‘Christ is at the heart of our community, where everyone is known and loved’ upholds the theme of celebrating differences, as everybody is a child of God. Students were fantastic at recognising how we, as a community of love, peace and reconciliation, value everyone’s dignity as a child of God to promote and celebrate the growth and achievement of the whole person. Students particularly found value in our SEND department and our whole school Acts of Worship which link to this years RSE theme.
English Department
The launch of the ESB qualification in English
Year 7 and 8 Students have been working very hard in preparation for their English Speaking Board assessments this year.
In Year 7, students have been expected to prepare for four components of their assessment: a curriculum talk, a news report, an argument, and questions and answers. It has been wonderful to see our students talk so enthusiastically about the subjects they have really enjoyed this year, from the brilliance of maths to fantastic experiences they are given in PE.
Our Year 8 students have been tasked with memorising a poem by heart, reading aloud from a novel of their choice, and delivering a talk on any topic. The range of topics students have chosen has been fascinating, including Polish culture, learning how to play the guitar, and exploring the inequality of the criminal justice system.
Students have really risen to the challenge of this ambitious qualification and the English Department are incredibly proud of them.
Film Crew at STMCA
Students in Year 7 were selected to participate in a city-wide celebration of the work completed at STMCA as part of our involvement with the English Excellence Partnership. Students were interviewed about their initial experiences at STMCA, particularly their study of Treasure Island. To support with students’ transition to secondary school, this text is first introduced in the summer term of primary schools and then students continue with their exploration in Year 7. Jayden, a student in Year 7, praised this initiative in his interview, commenting on how he felt more confident and able to fully participate in class discussion at high school. Lily, in her interview, passionately discussed the pride she felt in having read such a challenging and highly ambitious Victorian text. Belinda added to this and spoke of the vocabulary she has acquired in her first year at STMCA. This interview with the students will form part of a celebration film which will be shared with schools and colleagues across the city.
English Excellence Project – Reading Challenges
Over the last term, Year 7 have taken part in a reading challenge competition created by the English Excellence Project. As a school, we completed 10 challenges which consisted of: setting up a Starbooks stall in the library, memorising a library poem, creating a new display which showcases their favourite novel, wearing a ‘Ask me what I’m reading sticker’ around school, trying to ‘get caught reading’ to receive a raffle ticket, and many more.
The students have absolutely loved getting involved with these challenges and the prizes have included books from our book vending machine, book vouchers and extra library lessons. We are amazed at how enthusiastic the students were about reading and we feel that this really promoted a love of reading across the school. Well done Year 7!
SASCAL Competition
During this half term, 3 of our students were given the amazing opportunity to partake in the annual SASCAL competition. Students were asked to deliver a speech about something that they felt passionate about. In line with Anti-Bullying Week, our students, Belinda Parry (Chairperson), Rebecca Millward (Main Speaker) and Teagan Hope (Vote of Thanks) decided to deliver a brilliant speech about the effects of bullying on the younger generation. We are so proud of these students as they managed to achieve 3rd place against 10 other schools in Stoke on Trent. The competition was fierce and we loved taking part and watching the other candidates who were all excellent and worthy winners. Well done to Belinda, Rebecca and Teagan for their great effort and wonderful attitude towards the competition.
The Beehive
Over the past 12 months we have been celebrating all the amazing achievements in Bedrock Vocabulary. For outstanding progress made, some of our students have been receiving a golden token to use in our new book vending machine here in the library at St Thomas More Catholic Academy.
This has been a huge success with our pupils in Years 7&8 as they can choose a book to take home and hopefully be proud of. We hope that this will continue to inspire our students to carry on with their love of reading some amazing books.
World Book Day was also an enjoyable event where we showcased books from around the world; this opened our students up to a wider culture and different genres. During the event we also held a bake and bookmark sale which raised money for our school’s chosen charities.
Transition Morning
We were really pleased to welcome Year 5 students from St Paul’s to visit our school library. Students had a fun packed morning viewing our facilities and completing activities. Staff and pupils involved had an amazing time.
Design a postcard competition
Every student in Year 7&8 was asked to design a postcard to promote their love of reading. They spoke about the different reasons they enjoyed the text and if they would recommend it to others. The winning postcards were rewarded with a book of their choice. The lovely postcards are displayed in the library for all staff and students to see.
Celebration Tea Party
Our Celebration Tea Party this year was to reward our amazing students in Year 7&8 who had made the most improvement during their Bedrock vocabulary lessons. Each pupil received a book and a certificate. Everyone involved had a brilliant time.
Taking Poetry From the Page….with the EEP
A group of Year 9 students were treated to an inspirational workshop delivered by Giovanni Esposito, Birmingham’s former Poet Laureate. Students were involved in a range of activities throughout the day, including: exploring rhyme, free-writes and team performances. Students engaged in a highly entertaining ‘rhyming battle’ in which they competed with schools across the city using word play. The day culminated in a ‘Poetry Slam’ during which students produced and performed their own pieces of poetry, taking poetry from the page and onto the stage in one day! Impressively, students from STMCA were awarded both first and second place in this competition.
Young Writers
All students in key stage 3 had the opportunity to enter the Young Writer’s Competition; a national writing competition that runs throughout the academic year for nurseries, primary and secondary school. The competition is aimed to inspire and motivate pupils to be creative with their work and create work of a high standard.
After a competition has closed, entries go to the Young Writer’s Editorial department, who create regional books and read every single poem or story received. Work is selected for publication based on perception, imagination, expression, creativity and use of language
This year, following an unprecedented and uncertain time in the lives of our students, the Young Writers competition invited students to write a poem for Empowered and take back some control over their lives. Empowered helped students find and use their voices.
Being able to voice a concern, an opinion or a point of view is so important, especially when our students’ interaction with peers has been restricted or even removed over the last academic year, reducing their opportunities to discuss what matters to them.
Miryam in Year 8 had her work published in the Empowered anthology. Here is a copy of her poem:
We were all told the war should end, but it continues from day to day. And we forget to smile, we can’t pretend.
We live surrounded by despair, we can’t help but hope that someone will care.
We forget that every door has its own unique lock, just as the towns and villages are ruined at their core.
We still believe in a happy future, where we will live in harmony and peace.
We won’t forget the fallen, so we need to hurry up.
My overwhelming fear I thought were dreams turned into reality.
In my ideal world, all problems would be diffused in the sunshine and worries would be blown away by friendly clouds.
I want people out of cellars living their lives fully, not afraid of their thoughts sleeping peacefully at night.
The pieces of this cruel war should be thrown away to stop children from playing with them.
My hopes are for a happy world and a new life starting today.
I firmly believe with all my heart, that everyone should live that way.
Maths News
Throughout this academic year, the Maths department has been busy! We have survived exam season, celebrated Pi day and organised a wide range of visitors and activities. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Numeracy
Year 7-9 students complete Numeracy Ninjas during Morning Mission form time to test both their numerical skill, and time management. Each year group currently has a diverse set of questions, over the 3 years, with a wide variety of numeracy skills tested and, over time, their scores should improve, allowing them to achieve higher coloured belts in their Ninja programme.
Rising Stars
Members of the Maths department have been working closely with Rising Stars students to broaden their understanding and work on exam techniques. Students in Years 7 to 10 have the opportunity in smaller groups on a Thursday morning Morning Mission form time, working on specific skills to enhance and boost their maths progress. We are keen to continue this intervention into next year and look forward to celebrating our 2021-22 cohort of students.
Hegarty Heroes
Here are the Hegarty Heroes for this entire year. Well done for continuing to exceed out of school within home learning – your efforts will pay off!
Chess Competition and Maths Club
Chess is continuing to run every lunch time in room 243, with its popularity expanding massively. A more detailed write up of the most recent competition has been released in the Enrichment section of the newsletter.
Years 7 and 8 Maths Club also runs weekly with Mrs Plant and Miss Ford on Tuesdays after school to enjoy maths for another whole hour! We are excited to run this next year and meet the new year 7s!
Stoke High Schools' Chess Championship 2022
On Wednesday 29th June 2022 a high school chess tournament took place! 4 high schools brought teams to compete to decide who would be Stoke High Schools Chess Champions 2022, here at St Thomas More Catholic Academy. A big thank you to Mr Brown and Jonathan Blackburn for making this possible for the students.
Science
A Level Biology - Talacre Trip:
On Wednesday 29th June, A level Biology students went to Talacre Beach in Wales with Ms Wood and Mrs Bussell. The students surveyed the sand dunes in the area to look at how succession changes throughout the ecosystem. This is essential work for the students as they undertake their studies in Y13. All students were amazing and persevered even in the bad weather, displaying our core academy values at all times. We were able to complete all the field work quickly which resulted in us having a very well-deserved ice cream after!
Ecology Club
A small group of Year 8 and Year 9 students have shown extra interest in Biology and Ecology by attending an afterschool club in Science. The club runs every blue Thursday and the students have been working on a number of different extra-curricular practicals including microscopy of the outside environment and an A Level science practical involving the diffusion of substances through agar. Students have completed complex, GCSE level calculations throughout and shown excellent maths skills. On the next session students will be undertaking a heart dissection to look at the structure of this organ and study the pathway of blood through the heart in more detail.
School Physicist of the Year 2022
Raman Hama Ali won our School Physicist of the Year and attended an awards ceremony on Wednesday 6th July. Raman is an exceptional student who is curious about the world around him. He never stops asking “why?” and he is always excited to find ways to solve problems. Teaching Raman is such a pleasure and I’m sure he will go onto great things.
Fab in the Lab
Throughout the year, students from Year 5 at our MAC primary schools have taken part in fortnightly science sessions delivered by the science department at St Thomas More. It has been a fabulous opportunity for all of our MAC primary schools to take part in the same sessions and to see (virtually) practical science in the labs at St Thomas More as well as taking part in practical activities in the classroom.
This half term, we have welcomed Year 5 students from St Maria Goretti Catholic Academy to St Thomas More and they completed an investigation to find the best indigestion tablet. We look forward to welcoming Year 5 students from our other MAC primary schools before the end of the term.
Eureka Club
A weekly science club was held with Mr. Ishfaq and Mr. Ishfaq this year. All year groups were able to attend. This club allowed students to further explore their science knowledge about topics that aren’t necessarily within the subject curriculum; deepening their love for science. Students applied their current knowledge and previous personal interests in order to compete against each other.
Student Leadership
The student leadership elections have taken place in Sixth Form and we are pleased to announce the following:
President: Kacper
Vice President of Faith
Nidhi and Ruth
Vice President of Respect
Marawah and Lewis
Vice President of Excellence
Leila and Corbin
Aspire to be More Leaders
Year 7: Emma
Year 8: Molly
Year 9: Thomas
Year 10: Ellie
Year 11: Ruwa
Physical Education at STMCA
Cricket competitions
Well done to the STM Year 7/8 and Year 9/10 cricket teams in enjoying their first school cricket festivals this week at
Moddershall Cricket Club. With many of the students playing competitive cricket for the first time, it was great to see the students showcase their skills when batting, bowling and fielding.
Tennis
It has been great to see competitive school tennis back this year. STM have been involved in the City School Doubles Tennis Competitions held at Florence Tennis Club. We have also been involved in the Staffordshire Schools Tennis Leagues this summer with our Year 8 and Year 10 tennis teams playing in leagues against schools from across Staffordshire.
Well done to the Year 9 tennis team who, in the City Doubles Tennis Competition, finished 4th out of 10 schools who entered the competition from across the city.
City champions!! A brilliant performance from the STM Year 8 tennis team in winning the Year 8 City Doubles Tennis Competition.
Football
County cup final
A huge well done to the U14 football team in reaching the County Cup Final this season. The result wasn’t the one we would have hoped for but to be a top-2 school football team in Staffordshire is a massive achievement and everyone at STM is incredibly proud of you all.
Year 12/13 Cambridge technical award in Sport and Physical activity
The Year 12 and Year 13 Sport students have been completing learning objective 3 of Unit 18 (Practical skills In Sport) where students develop and use a range of skills in an outdoor activity. We chose to use kayaking as our outdoor and adventurous activity, learning the skills at Stanley Head Outdoor Centre on the lake and then taking those skills onto the canal, journeying from Deep Hayes to Consall.
Professional Boxer Nathan Heaney
The PE department at STM were absolutely delighted to have the incredible Nathan Heaney with us today. Nathan is a former student of STM and is a hugely successful professional boxer. He is working with 30 students on resilience & mental toughness through boxing! What an opportunity- thank you so much!
U15 and U17 athletics squads
Some brilliant performances at the U15 and U17 City schools athletics competition. 12 students have qualified to represent the city of Stoke-on-Trent schools athletics team at the county championships.
U14 Athletics squad
Well done to the Year 8 STM athletics squad in finishing 5th overall out of 14 secondary schools competing from across the city. Some very impressive team and individual performances.
Year 7 Super 8 Athletics Squad
It was great to see the Year 7 students participate in their first athletics competition at Northwood stadium as secondary students this year.
The Y7 team finished 5th out of 14 schools.
A great effort.
U13 and U14 athletics squad
Well done to the Year 7 and Year 8 students representing STM today, with 6 students being selected to represent the city of Stoke-on-Trent schools at the county athletics championships.
Year 9/10 combined Super 8 Athletics Squad
Well done to the STM Year 9/10 combined athletics squad finishing 4th out 15 schools from across the city of Stoke-on-Trent
County Champion
Well done to Year 8 STM student Jonathan Hodson who won his 300m at the county champs at Tamworth Athletics Club, representing the Stoke-on-Trent schools athletics team. He ran a time of 41.9 secs. Jonathan will now go on to represent Staffordshire in the Mason Trophy.
Sixth Form
Taster Week
Students in Year 11 have had the opportunity this half term to attend an Aspire to Be More Taster Week within our Sixth Form where they have been able to trial the lessons that they have selected to continue their studies with. This was an exciting opportunity to welcome our new students in to our community. Alongside the academic lessons, students also attended career sessions facilitated by Goodwin’s Engineering, KMF and Stoke City Council.
As part of our ‘Aspire to Be More’ Taster Week, students also had access to The Great Mind Tour Bus. This offered a virtual tour of Staffordshire University that informed students about the different facilities that the university provides, before they were able to use the virtual reality headsets. Ruwa, when asked about the experience, stated: It was really interesting since I had never worn a virtual reality headset before going on the bus. When we were at the top of the bus, we got to ask the staff any questions that we had about Staffordshire University. They went into depth answering the questions that we had asked them so I was really happy that I was able to get answers from someone who has been to Staffordshire University themselves. I think that after going on the Great Minds Tour Bus I have a better understanding of university life and will use this information to help me when I’m looking at potential universities!
If you have not applied to our Sixth Form and want to enquire about the courses that we have to offer, please contact Miss Beasley lbeasley@stmca.org.uk
Year 13 Prom
On Wednesday 6th July, students in Year 13 attended their leavers event at The Upper House. The event was a fantastic occasion for students to celebrate their successes throughout their time at St Thomas More Academy as they prepare to embark on to the next stage of their journey.
We wish students every success in the future.
English Speaking Board
All students in Year 12 participated within the English Speaking Board qualification. This is an exciting opportunity for the students as they are able to showcase their fantastic oracy skills, whilst constructing presentations and reviews about topics that interest them. Students all selected a piece of technology that they have found to be interesting before analysing and commenting on how this has helped to develop society! Students then recited a poem of their choice and produced a review about a production that they have seen. The speeches were of a fantastic quality, with Year 12 demonstrating excellent communication skills.
SEND
Changes
The Special Education Needs department has continued to thrive in what has been another incredibly busy term. Our students with SEND have grown in resilience by adapting well to the changes to their daily routine brought about by the GCSE and A-Level exams taking place.
The ability to adapt to change is something which can be difficult for some students with additional needs. To help, our Learning Support Practitioners (LSPs) have, as always, been talking through the forthcoming changes and helping them to organise themselves and thrive in new circumstances.
Autism in Schools Project
As you may already be aware, St Thomas More has been selected for the ‘Autism in Schools’ project. This term, senior educational psychologist Paul Beeson has been delivering sessions directly to a group of our students who have Autism. He has been working on their own identity and this is having a very positive impact upon their learning experiences. We are very grateful to Paul Beeson for delivering such insightful sessions to our very fortunate students.
Autism? ADHD? Other Special Educational needs?
Are you aware that North Staffs Carers can provide emotional support as well as advice on finances and entitlements? If your child has Autism, we highly recommend that you take up your right, as a parent, to a community care assessment. Young people with Autism also have a right to an assessment. For further advice, please get in touch with North Staffs Carers:
North Staffs Carers
Trent House
234 Victoria Road
Fenton
Stoke-on-Trent
ST42LW
01782 793 100
carersfirst.com
ASDAN
During the last few months, the YEar 9 ASDAN group has been completing many different tasks in areas such as culture and diversity, preparation for work, and community action. For community action, we have been out in the garden and tending our 'heart' which is just starting to flower with the wildflowers that were sowed.
The Year 10s have also spent time tidying the garden but this term focused on independent living, and planned, prepared, cooked and ate a 2-course meal, which included a beautiful homemade chocolate cake.
Year 11 Spanish Zoom Experience - building relationships with their European neighbours
On May 19th, our Year 11 Spanish students participated in a survey conducted by a class of enthusiastic Italian students who are also learning Spanish. Our students responded to a number of questions in Spanish and English on their cultural knowledge, understanding, and opinions on Italian gastronomy. It was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to put their speaking and listening skills into practice and in a real-life context. What a great confidence booster too! Well done to all students involved in the zoom call.
Geography
Over ninety Year 10 geographers ventured out to the county town of Stafford for their first of two fieldworks as part of the GCSE course. In sunny Stafford, the students were absolutely amazing and were fully engaged in the collection of data in readiness to be analysed back at school. Students were up and down the high street, sketching, questioning the public and counting pedestrians. Roll on to the next fieldwork where they will venture to the seaside.
Mental Health
As we are all aware, the impact of the pandemic on mental health continues to surge and, as a school, St Thomas More has continued to invest in the support for our students. Over the last two years, we have appointed a Mental health Lead, and have implemented our SEMH Hub to support the social, emotional and mental health needs of our students, including through therapeutic intervention hosted by external agencies, and spaces for small group sessions.
As a school, we also continue to work with an extensive number of external agencies to support the needs of our young people. Having proudly been one of the first wave pilot schools within the Trailblazer project, the Mental Health Support Team have been pro-actively working within the school since September 2019. They continue to work with young people offering 1-2-1 cognitive behavioural therapy and/or small group interventions around topics such as anxiety and managing worry, as well as drawing and talking emotional literacy sessions. More recently, we have been fortunate enough to be able to invite the team into school to offer sessions during PSHE, enabling us to offer bespoke preventative programmes of support for our young people and their mental health.
As a result of our positive collaboration with the Mental Health Support Team, we were proud to be selected as a pilot school for Together Active’s Wellbeing Matters sessions for our students. Together Active is the Active Partnership for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, working to support local people to find new ways to be active in order to promote their positive physical and mental health. The overall objective of the sessions is to help young people to feel more confident, be part of a supportive community, and to learn how to look after their wellbeing. The young people have completed weekly sessions with external providers, alternating between boxing and African drumming. The initial feedback has been extremely positive with young people reporting improvements in their wellbeing and expressing an increase in their self-esteem and a sense of achievement due to progress they have made in mastering boxing skills.
Feedback and results from the project will be shared with the NHS Trust and all relevant agencies in order to potentially support with securing funding for similar projects which could then be delivered on a longer term basis and across a number of schools. This has been a hugely exciting opportunity for our school, even more so as our participation will also help to shape the changes in provision of services across the city. We have welcomed a number of visitors to the sessions, including our Local MP Jack Brereton who recently wrote to acknowledge how impressed he was with the way that the sessions had been implemented, and with our students too.
First Give
On Friday 8th July the Year 7 students came together for the final of the First Give project. The project is designed to inspire young people to take action and make a positive change in society. Each class have spent time researching local charities and had nominated a small group to represent their class. The social action that the classes had taken to raise awareness of their chosen charities and their presentations were judged by a panel of judges including two external judges, Lisa Healings from VAST and Bridge Allport from the Better Together Community Support Group. The presentations were exceptional and judges praised the young people for the confidence in their delivery and their willingness to discuss some challenging issues within society and reflecting upon some personal experiences. After much deliberation the judges awarded commendations to 7Y3 for their social action for Shout and 7X2 in support of Mind. Our overall winners were 7X1 represented by Hareer, Liya, Wiktoria and Akeela who have managed to win a cheque for £1000 for The Dove Service, a local charity offering bereavement and loss counselling.
The Wellbeing Award
As a school we continue to work towards the Wellbeing Award. We have completed surveys with parents, students and staff, and are in the final stages of creating our action plan which will be available in September. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey as your input is invaluable. Should you wish to give any additional input as to how we can support the wellbeing our young people, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mrs Williams on kwilliams@stmca.org.uk
We continue to work to meet the needs of our young people offering proactive interventions. Miss Booth delivered a six week course with a group of year 8 students on self-confidence and positive mindset, receiving excellent feedback from students, and we are now offering the Dove self-esteem project as a small group intervention too.
As we enter the summer holidays, it is a good time to remind everyone of the Combined Wellbeing website. We are extremely proud to have been involved in the development of this website. The website offers lots of practical advice and resources around the challenges commonly faced by young people. It offers self-help for young people, advice for parents/ carers and professionals, and it is also now possible to self-refer for support.
Key Information
Key Dates
Thursday 18th August - A-Level Results Day
Thursday 25th August - GCSE Results Day
Monday 5th September - STAFF INSET DAY - no students in school
Tuesday 6th September - STAFF INSET DAY - no students in school
Wednesday 7th September - ALL STUDENTS RETURN
Full term dates can be found on the school website at Term dates for students and staff | St. Thomas More Catholic Academy (stmca.org.uk)
You can get all the latest news updates from school on both the schools facebook page and twitter.
Facebook - St Thomas More Catholic Academy | Facebook
Twitter - STMCA (@StThomasMoreCA) / Twitter
Please can we remind all parents/carers to ensure that their child's parentpay accounts are topped up for lunches ready for the new academic year.
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