St James' Catholic High School
January 2024 Newsletter
MESSAGE FROM HEADTEACHER
The start of the calendar year is always an exciting time! This is particularly the case for the St James’ community as we enter our ninetieth year. There is a lot planned in the coming months to mark our anniversary and it was my great privilege to welcome back two past headteachers, Sr Raymunda and Mr McSharry to begin considering some of the events that will run to celebrate this landmark occasion.
As always, so much takes place over any half term, a flick through these pages will give you a great insight into much of what has been happening. I am particularly proud of the work undertaken by two colleagues: Ms Alleyne and Mrs Marsh to secure our first-ever Racial Equality award, achieved through a collaboration with Flair.
Please do take your time to review all of the fantastic achievements noted in these pages and as a final thought please keep both our Year 11 and Year 13 pupils in your thoughts and prayers as they complete their final set of mock examinations in the weeks, either side of the half term break.
St James' Recognised For Racial Equality
We are proud to have received a Bronze Racial Equity Award from FLAIR. This independent recognition of our commitment to working towards racial equality and our determination to tackle any inequality within our school. FLAIR is an independent, leading race and ethnicity data platform that believes education has a vital role in promoting equity and inclusion to future generations. FLAIR has enabled St James’ to have a better understanding of the experiences of all its pupils and staff through an annual anonymous survey. Our FLAIR Award recognises the school's commitment to building an equitable culture.
We continue to work together to make St James’ a place where all pupils and staff feel valued, safe and supported to achieve their full potential, where racial diversity and inclusion are recognized and where racism of any kind is stamped out. Our race, diversity, and inclusion initiative, led by Mrs Marsh and Ms. Alleyne, aim to further develop our work on diversity and inclusion.
Pastoral Awards
Well done to pupils across years 7-13 on receiving a pastoral award for this term. They had been nominated by there Head of Year for demonstrating commitment to our VERITAS values and for always being ready. respectful and safe. Keep up the good work!
DT
Toki has been working on a two-sided table that can function as both a dining table and an entertainment table! He's been inspired by Wyrm Wood Gaming supplies.
Wyrm Wood is a small, customer-focused company, dedicated to bringing craftsmanship, unique innovations, and peerless service to the tabletop gaming community and beyond.
Showcasing his imagination and craftsmanship, Joshua, Year 13 is creating an innovative wall planter as part of his Product and Design A level coursework, inspired by the yin and yang symbol.
Art
Year 9s have just started a topic on African art. They have been working on developing patterns and colour, and identifying the differences between regional art styles.
History
Our GCSE historians have been studying the Spanish Civil War with relation to the British policy of appeasement in the 1930s.
Sociology
Pupils had been working in groups, recalling knowledge of the different roles of education according to different perspectives. Each group were assigned a different perspective and it would rotate around the class.
Year 9 Boys Basketball Win
Well done to our Year 9 Basketball team for winning 43:22 against London Academy.
Man of the Match: Cliffmarc Barcena
Year 9 Sports Leaders
Year 9 Sports Leaders providing support at Boccia Competition for SEND children
at Burnt Oak Leisure Centre.
Year 7 Football Win
Well done to our Year 7 Football team who won 4-1 against SMSJ.
Goal Scorers: Robert A, Nick, Jeffery & Kasper
MOM: Aidan Glenn
Holocaust Education Charity Visit
Generation2Generation joined us in January to speak with students in KS3 and 4
(G2G) is a Holocaust Education Charity established to empower second and third-generation Holocaust survivor descendants to present their family histories to a wide variety of audiences.
Through the use of survivor testimony, G2G aims to keep these Holocaust Stories alive and promote the importance of exclusivity and human rights.
All four stories are linked with the themes of courage, determination, resilience, love and triumph out of adversity.
Our pupils were involved with the speakers whose sincerity, openness, pride and honesty made the testimony live. An inspirational morning very well spent.
Our Head of the Year 8 writes:
'Thanks for today's amazing presentation, the Year 8s were captivated by Debra's story and it was so educational for them to hear a real family's story to show the realities of the Holocaust. I'm going to buy her book!'
We take away the resonance and the value of the personal story counterpointed with the figures and imagery associated with the horrors of the holocaust. There were powerful connections made with the society that we live in today where peace and understanding are so desired and sought for.
Generation to Generation gifted us with some lovely resources and links so that pupils can find out more about the Holocaust.
Advent Jesse Tree Trail
The Advent Jesse Tree trail was a huge success last term. Characters from the story, beginning at creation and leading up to the birth of Jesus, were hidden around the school and pupils who found them earned a chocolate bar and the chance to hang those characters on the Jesse Tree!
Children's Society Carol Concert
Before our Christmas Break, our Charity leaders were invited to attend the Catholic children's society advent carol service at Westminster Cathedral. They joined 2,500 children from the Diocese of Westminster to celebrate The Story of Christmas. The Nativity was performed by children and featured live animals
It was a wonderful opportunity for the pupils to visit The Cathedral for such a joyous and festive occasion.
Scholarship Fund
We awarded many of our Sixth Formers with their Scholarship funds this month. These pupils received between £75 - £500 for their GCSE results from the governors. Well done to all the Year 12s in receipt of this money.
Bake Sale
Our Sixth Form leadership team put together a bake sale for one of our school charities, Caritas Bakhita House. Caritas Bakhita House, provides women help in escaping human trafficking with the safety and support to allow them to begin the recovery process.
Message from Caritas Bakihita House:
Thank you so much for this. Please pass on our thanks to all those involved. Every penny really does make a difference to the lives of the women we support. And hopefully, everyone enjoyed their cake to!
Supervised Support
A-level pupils have been busy finalising their coursework. For a little extra support, all pupils have been given one extra hour of supervised study where they can ask for support from a teacher.
Guest Speaker from The Bank of England
Business and Economics students had a chance to meet Dame Colette Bowe from the Bank of England to learn about fiscal and monetary policy.
Pupils were eager to ask Dame Colette Bowe about how much gold was stored at the Bank. Others had asked how much she earned and how much influence the BoE had on the government's monetary decisions before powers were given to BoE to make decisions independently for the economy.
Before meeting Dame Collette Bowe from the Bank of England, I was eager to gather information and learn more about the world of finance and economics due to my interest in pursuing economics at university. I find the intricate workings of the financial world fascinating and find myself wanting to understand more about this fascinating field that helps us understand and navigate the complex world of money and resources.
Economics has always intrigued me because it offers a lens through which we can understand the complexities of the world. I find it captivating how economic principles shape our daily lives, from the decisions we make as individuals to the policies that drive nations. Moreover, I’ve noticed interesting patterns and connections between different economic factors, which has further fueled my curiosity. Exploring concepts like supply and demand, market dynamics and macroeconomic indicators has given me a deeper appreciation for how the world operates. During the presentation, I discovered that the amount of daily transactions settled in the UK is £800 billion which is truly remarkable. This demonstrates the importance of the UK’s economy. With such a significant amount of economic activity happening every day, it’s clear that the UK plays a vital role in the global financial landscape.
The part of the presentation that I enjoyed the most was learning about monetary stability, a state where the value of money remains relatively stable over time. When there is monetary stability, people can have confidence in the purchasing power of their money. It helps to control inflation, promote economic growth, and encourage investment. I learnt that central banks, such as the Bank of England, play a vital role in maintaining monetary stability through policies like controlling interest rates and managing the money supply. By ensuring stability, it provides a solid foundation for individuals, businesses and the overall economy to thrive. This fueled my interest further in macroeconomics. Macroeconomics explores the behaviour and performance of an entire economy, including factors like inflation and unemployment. Understanding macroeconomics can provide valuable insights into how monetary stability, fiscal policies, and other factors impact the economy as a whole.
As a result, I did some further research on the consequences of not maintaining monetary stability. A major issue is inflation. If the value of money decreases rapidly, it can erode people’s purchasing power. Prices of goods and services increase, making it more expensive to buy things. This can affect people’s savings, investments and overall economic stability. It also creates uncertainty and makes it harder for businesses and individuals to plan for the future.
Julia Kusyk - Year 13
Great Strand, Colindale NW9 5PE
Phone: 020 8358 2800
Email: admin@st-james.barnet.sch.uk