Family Matters
Edition 6 - February 2023
Headteacher's Message
Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome to the latest edition of Family Matters, our monthly online newsletter, where you can find out about everything that has been happening at school each month. Holy Family is a vibrant and busy community where everything we do is underpinned by St Oscar Romero's words: "Aspire not to have more, but to be more".
We began the season of Lent this Ash Wednesday by receiving ashes, a symbol of penitence, and by reflecting on what Lent means for each of us - a very big "thank you" to Mr. Norman and Mrs. Grierson for arranging such a beautiful and thought-provoking liturgy.
During Lent, all Houses will be running fundraising activities to raise money for charity, with a focus on helping the communities in Turkey, Syria and Ukraine who are in such need. A big thank you in anticipation of your generosity.
As ever, there are always a number of things happening in school outside of the taught curriculum and this half term has been no exception. To mention just a few: tree planting, World Book Day and trampolining sessions for Year 4 children from OLSG - something is always happening here at Holy Family!
I hope you enjoy reading this month's Family Matters as much as I did. Thank you as always to Mrs Farrugia who does such an excellent job of letting the school and wider community know about everything that happens her in school.
I wish you and your families a peaceful and reflective Lenten season.
God bless.
Carolyn Laws
Headteacher
Ash Wednesday
The 22nd February was Ash Wednesday, the start of the season of Lent where we prepare for the forthcoming feast of Easter.
All year groups attended a Liturgy of the Word and received Ashes. Mr Norman, Head of RE, asked students to spend time during Lent thinking and praying how they can become the person God has called them to be. This is echoed in our school mission to “Aspire not to have more, but to be more” (St Oscar Romero 1917-1980).
During Lent, we are encouraged to fast, pray and give - and to move away from being self-centred to being centred on others.
Fasting is not just about giving up something like chocolate or crisps, it is about fasting from anger, unkind words and selfishness.
Silence is an important part of our Christian tradition. It allows us time and space to pray, reflect and listen. And when we listen rather than speak, we allow space for the voices we don’t usually hear. Above all, Lent is a time that we can all look at our lives and reflect on our relationship with a forgiving God.
Holy Family parents, students and staff are always generous when asked to give - the wonderful response to our Advent hampers appeal was testament to that. This Lent, there will be opportunities for House fundraising and we will also be collecting Easter Eggs for those in Whipps Cross hospital and our local care home, Alliston House. Please look out for further information in due course.
If we allow ourselves, this Lenten season can offer us love, joy, peace and deeper faith. Through our sacrifice, our concern for others and our prayers, these next six weeks can lead us to a more enriched life, filled with purpose and happiness.
“A Christian is never bored or sad. Rather, the one who loves Christ is full of joy and radiates joy”
Pope Francis
LiveSimply Award
We are delighted to announce that Holy Family has achieved the CAFOD LiveSimply Award after taking action to demonstrate we are living simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the world’s poorest communities.
We started our journey back in 2019 with Holy Family’s Year of Sustainability. New energy efficient lighting was installed in many classrooms, trees were planted and ways to reduce and recycle waste were introduced. This had led to a positive impact on our school community and also reached out to embrace the local community and our global community too, by fundraising and taking part in campaigns.
The Year 11 Justice & Peace team (pictured below) and the Eco-council have been with the project throughout. William in Year 11 has been maintaining our prayer garden on the Wiseman site and said how much he enjoys the peace this brings to him, while also improving the environment. William was also part of the group who planted over 600 bulbs to enhance our school grounds.
CAFOD’s Schools representative said “We were thrilled to hear that Holy Family School have been awarded the Live Simply award, the third in Brentwood Diocese and the first to a secondary school in Brentwood Diocese. We know how much deep thought and hard work is involved in the Live Simply journey of ecological conversion, please pass on our heartfelt congratulations to everyone in the school community.”
Feast Day of St David, Patron Saint of Wales - 1 March
Saint David,
You chose to live a simple life, and helped others whose lives were simple not through choice but circumstances.
Pray that I may consider my choices and live more simply in order to make a big difference to others.
Show me the way to make small tasks, occasions of prayer. Kindle in me a love of God so that in everything I do, I will keep that spirit of prayer.
Amen.
My BNK Careers Day
Tuesday 7th of February, was a day filled with enlightenment and awareness as the Holy Family students were given the opportunity to take part in the My BNK workshop. Many fascinating details were discussed that could help the students in the future, such as; the UK government finances, taxes, apprenticeships, work experience, inheritance, money management and more. Different activities were provided where the students could give their ideas and thoughts on certain situations. For example, one activity was having the students design their own bedroom with a limited budget. The students were able to experience what it’s like to be a adult living in the real world!
By Audrey 10A
Safer Internet Day 2023
Safer Internet Day 2023 took place on the 7th of February 2023, with celebrations and learning based around the theme: ‘Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online’.
We ran assemblies all week asking the students what changes do you think should be made to make the internet a safer place.
This year we were hoping to answer the following questions:
- What issues really matter to children and young people?
- What changes do they want to see?
- How can we all work together to advocate for them moving forward
During PSHCE sessions and form time activities students across the school were encouraged to talk about online issues and how to keep safe. The feedback from both staff and students was positive, the resources encouraged students to challenge, debate and discuss important issues surrounding online safety.
Mrs Belgrave
Do people self disclose more or less in online virtual relationships? What do you think?
There is no doubt that the internet has revolutionised the way in which we communicate, and it has been argued, it has altered the way in which relationships are carried out. Prior to the age of internet communication, the only way to communicate was face to face, phone or letters.
When we speak face to face with someone, it is not just our words which communicate our meaning. Non-verbal paralanguage (the way in which you say words; volume, pitch, speaking rate etc.) may be more important than the words themselves for example body posture, eye gaze may express liking even if the verbal communication does not. On the phone, there are still paralanguage signals such as pauses and tone of voice which can communicate intention. But is all non-verbal communication lost on the internet?!
Here, our Year 13 psychologists put their knowledge to the test!
Split into two teams, they either argued that people self disclosed more when they were online or they argued that people self-disclosed less online. They used their resources, research and discussed their opinions with such great passion!
Their debating points were well thought through, clear, structured and coherent (sometimes intense!!) but each student spoke with great confidence and an assurance in their points which was fantastic to see. Another thing to commend is how they worked well in teams, with students stepping forward to take on different roles within the group (i.e. leader, time keeper, researcher, key speakers). It really was a true joy to witness!!
Therefore ladies and gentlemen, we of 13A have talked about the effects virtual relationships can have on self disclosure and through these reasons we propose, ‘individuals disclose more in online virtual relationships.'
What is mental health?
The Year 12 Psychology students had a What is Mental Health Workshop run by the Mental Health Support Team at NELFT.
“Mental health influences how we think and feel about ourselves and others and how we interpret events. It affects our capacity to learn, to communicate and to form, sustain and end relationships. It also influences our ability to cope with change, transition and life events: having a baby, moving house, experiencing bereavement.”
National Programme for Improving Mental Health & Well-being www.taysidemindset.org.uk
The workshop was run to understand more about Mental Health, what it may look like in different people and the impact it can have on individuals, as well as discussing some of the stigmas that come with the term ‘mental health disorder’ and talking through nd practising some of the strategies our students could implement to understand their own mental health and wellbeing a lot more and ways in which they could check in on one another, understanding their emotions and implement strategies to better their mental health and well being.
The students were able to give fantastic definitions and examples of mental health and engaged in a really interesting conversation about the stigmas surrounding it - especially in men within the society and additionally how culture can play a big role.
It was really great to see the students so engaged and making the most of the sessions to share their ideas and ask interesting and positive questions on a subject that can sometimes be taboo. Also they should be commended for how they demonstrated the breadth and depth of their understanding of topics and their ability to apply it to so many different examples around them.
It was so encouraging to see and our students had a fantastic time!!
Miss Amunikoro
Trampolining Fun with OLSG!
We look forward to seeing them again soon for more exciting events!
Eco Councils Unite!
Did you know it's tree planting season!? The tree planting season is traditionally during the winter months, after leaf fall and before leaf break. This month our Eco Council joined with OLSG's Eco Council to plant some trees donated to us by the Woodland Trust.
We spent a chilly but sunny afternoon planting trees in our green area behind our Sports Hall. Mrs Murtugh (Holy Family Eco Lead) and Ms Kagoya (OLSG Eco Lead) spoke to the students about the importance of tree planting at this time of year and planned out where each tree should be planted to set up it's roots! We even found some wiggly new friends along the way.
Our students worked with a team of OLSG pupils to plant the trees and named each tree so in years to come they can visit their very own trees.
Readathon
We are running a Read for Good Readathon from the 6th – 17th March 2023 and we’d love all of our students to join in.
It’s been proven that students who read for pleasure are more likely to be successful and happy throughout their lives.
The charity Read for Good encourages young people to read through its unique motivational approach inspiring reluctant readers to give reading a go, and keen readers to read more widely. Students can choose whatever they want to read - from comics to classics and audio books to blogs - they are not being assessed, it’s all about reading for fun. In addition, they are motivated to read because the money they raise in sponsorship helps to provide a regular supply of brand new books and a resident storyteller to every major children’s hospital in the UK.
Parents & Carers you can help by:
1. Take a look at what they plan to read, or help them complete their list of books to read. Remember they can read whatever they want: books, e-books, poetry, comics – anything goes! Sharing books is fine too (in fact recommended!) as well as listening to audio books.
2. Help your child find sponsors among family and friends. The easiest way to sponsor a child is at https://readathon.secure.force.com/sponsor (which family and friends can use too) or return the sponsor card with a cheque(s) or cash sent to school.
Please support your child’s sponsored read as much as you can. They’ll be helping children in hospitals get books, as well as helping themselves. And our school receives free books worth 20% of our grand sponsorship total – so there really is something in it for everyone. For more information see the link below.
Thank you for your support – helping your child to keep reading, raising
and being amazing!!
Monday, Mar 6, 2023, 09:00 AM
Holy Family Catholic School, Shernhall Street, London E17 3EA, UK
National Careers Week 2023
This year there will be a series of virtual careers fairs for students to get involved in - click on the images below for further details.
Plus are you up on key terms for careers? It can be confusing when looking at the world of work so why not check out this glossary to help you!
Easyfundraising
These donations really help us out, so please sign up if you haven’t yet. It’s easy and FREE!
Plus, once you’ve signed up and raised £10 in donations, easyfundraising will give us an extra £10 bonus donation.
Sign up here: Holy Family Catholic School - Walthamstow