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Quality & ExcellenceNicholas Breakspear Catholic School - Winter Newsletter 20151

As we fast approach 2016, I can honestly say that Nicholas Breakspear Catholic

School should be proud of what we have achieved as a community. Our desire to ensure we provide a good all-round educa-tion for our students is evolving.

We are proud to see record breaking results from the summer at GCSE,

BTEC and A level. However, this does not happen by chance. This school continues to have a positive and outward looking approach as we use the School’s mission and vision to constantly strive for quality and excellence in all that we do.

I am confident that this is a vibrant place of activity, inclusivity and kindness which allows children to flourish and grow in con-fidence with every passing day.

This newsletter, which highlights aspects of this term’s work, clearly shows that we

are fulfilling our mission. To reinforce and maintain our high standards at Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School, I invited three District School Effectiveness Advisers to complete a review of our school.

The two day visit enabled them to see how much the school has changed since their last visit. Among the many improvements that have been achieved, it was pleasing to note that they acknowledged “pupils’ attitudes

in lessons showed that they are keen to commit to their learning and to improving their work”. They also noted that “pupils spoke of the improvements they have seen in the quality of teaching they received over the last year and the helpful support that staff gave them”.

They also commented that pupils take a pride in their school and in the presentation of work in their books. Pupils wear their uniform with pride and were seen to be welcoming and respectful to visitors, staff and each other.

The County Advisors also acknowledged the fact that “both pupils and staff

commented enthusiastically on the posi-tive and rapid changes that have happened to improve both school outcomes and the school community since new leadership has been in place during the last two years”.

The report clearly shows the collective vision from pupils, staff and parents as the school continues to flourish and, once again, be externally recognised.

The school also received a monitoring visit from Ian Middleton, Her Majesty’s Inspector, for which we are awaiting a very positive report.

As we near the end of term the school has organised various festivities to

celebrate the Christmas period such as our Advent Service on Tuesday 15th December 2015. We look forward to welcoming as many of our parents and carers as possible to share this wonderful evening with us as part of our school community. I would also like to thank all our students who entered the Christmas Card Competition, which had over 200 entries.

I am extremely proud to announce that Lewis McCrystal is the successful winner.

Once again, I would like to take this oppor-tunity to thank you for your continued support this term and wish you a very peaceful and holy Christmas.

God bless. Declan Linnane - Headteacher

ONWARDS and UPWARDS@NBS_herts_sch www.nbs.herts.sch.uk

NBS A-Level students celebrate their success

Christmas Card Design by Lewis McCrystal

NBS Prefects wearing their uniform with pride

Winter Newsletter 2015

NICHOLAS BREAKSPEARCATHOLIC SCHOOL


Well done to all our students who have started the academic year on such a positive note. The termly Celebrating Success Assemblies took place in November and it was really wonderful to see so many students getting certificates and lapel badges for their hard work and dedication so far this term.

A record number of certificates and lapel badges were given out based on the following:

• Progress made since the Summer Term for Years 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13.

• Positive attitude to learning in classwork and homework.

• 100% Attendance to date.

The different lapel badges issued were as follows:PURPLE LAPEL BADGE Based on progress made in a number of subjects since the summer term

ORANGE LAPEL BADGE Based on a positive attitude to learning in classwork and homework in all subjects

YELLOW LAPEL BADGE Based on 100% attendance since September 2015

Certificates were also issued to those students with a record number of positive achievement points.

We would like to congratulate all the students who received a certificate and badge in the recent assembly. The next Celebrating Success Assembly will take place in the week beginning 14th March 2016 and we look forward to even more success stories.

Celebrating Success in the Autumn Term

Lapel badges and certificates for a POSITIVE ATTITUDE TO LEARNING were issued to the following students

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13

Weronika Stelmaszuk Phinehas Benjamin Fahmida Chowdhury Robyn Alfano Hannah Cosgrave Musa Bukhari Hannah Cooke

Marie Jordan Francesca Saranillo Rosie Day George Lopez Ewan Wilson Sophia Britton Stephen Ramkhelawon

Gabriel Marmolejo-Wall Kasey Coyne Rebecca West Aimee Tassel-Beswick Andrew Midgley Ellie Corroyer Declan Crummey

James Feltham Amelia Luck Nancy Gyan Rifat Chowdhury Charlotte Raymond Cree Felicien-Springall Kane Lawrence

Grace Webster Victor Ewuosho Andrew Laing Tomasz Sadek Enya Rodrigues Froilan Palacio Nathan Pinto

Daniella Ee Abhishek Kumar Aimee Midgley Jakub Duda Teddy Yeboah Antonio Guidi Anthony Gosling

Emily Power Hasnat Chowdhury Emmanuel Lukose Kumayl Gangji Chloe Murphy Katelin Archer Nicole Kelly

Deborah Ewuosho Anisha Motin Kieran Spelman Callum Britton Luke Harris Tamira Samad Michael Turner

Callum Clarke Aidan Mullins John Doneo Charles Tansey Carl Sprackling Eilish Saunders Safiya Qureshi

Katie Dale Eliot Miller Kelly Jordan Wiktoria Nowak Maisha Miah Nicola Crisp Mark Eborde

Marcus Benjamin Megan Lee Olivia Mathew Stacy Dawson Christina Barco Megan Forster

Elizabeth Mezzetti Akua Wiafe-Annor Alisha McGurk Rosie Bloomfield Davina Ferrara

Thomas Madzimure Monette Hilario Bunu Madzimure Joanna Gajjar Noah Luck

Sean Meally Kacper Chwastyk Antonio Jobe Brandon Carty

Mateusz Ludwiczak Holly-Louise Savage Lewis McCrystal

Jeimi Mazon Sean Wilkes Katie Hunt

Megan Honney Faith Jobe

Natalia Pawlak

Chloe Stubbs

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Students in A-Level Chemistry have been busy preparing organic chemicals (aspirin) as part of an assessed practical. They needed to show high levels of skill when conducting the experiment demon-strating accuracy and precision.

A competitive element emerged between the students when testing their aspirin sample to ensure purity. The team that created the highest purity aspirin was Yemi and Matthew. Students also had to ensure they were safe whilst using corro-sive and harmful chemicals.

Our Year 12 Chemistry students have also been developing their practical skills ready for their first assessed practical in January. Students this term have been working hard developing their ideas from GCSE, creating improved and more complex answers.

They have covered work on atomic struc-ture, chemistry calculations and bonding. The picture shows Cree and Caitl in conducting an experiment in order to work out the formula of magnesium oxide from practical data and percentage yield. This provided some great data and accurate results were produced.

Year 11 experienced the wonders of the British Museum in late September. The museum is a truly multi-cultural experience as it hosts a treasure trove of ancient artefacts from across the globe. This was of particular interest to our students who are exploring the theme of

‘Similarities and Differences.’ Students gained valuable insights as to how different cultures have depicted themes such as trees, flowers, animals, the human form, faces and animals. On a deeper level one of the rooms in the Museum is based on how different countries and cultures deal with ‘death.’

Nicole Zuccarello (pictured right) is basing her project on horses and was interested in the history behind the large Roman carved horses heads, used to decorate temples compared to the tiny Japanese Netsuke jade horses which were used by rich gentlemen as a decorative drawstring for a purse. As their mood-boards and drawings from the trip have shown, this experience has greatly enriched their art-work and the development of their ideas which has been shown in their recent mock examination work which will be on display next year in July.

Year 10 visited St. Albans Cathedral armed with cameras and mobile phones where they recorded valuable information for their coursework based on pattern, colour and structure.

Year 12 took a trip to London to visit a number of our galleries. An intense afternoon was spent exploring The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Gallery.

Opinions on which Gallery held the best work were divided depending on whether the students preferred the rich traditional skilled oil paintings in the National Gallery or the more conceptual work in the Tate Modern.

The Careers Networking Event was held on Tuesday 24th November for our Year 11 students. They gathered in the hall to hear from different local employers. We were fortunate to have seven employers visit us for this event. This involved the students listening to a 10 minutes talk by each company, then asking any questions they had about that particular employer.

Students heard from representatives of:

• St Albans Mencap

• Army Recruitment

• AECOM

• RICS

• Retail Motor Industry

• Oaklands College

• Home Instead Care

This was a valuable session which allowed the students to hear from a vari-ety of employers, learning the different pathways into employment, which qual-ifications employers required and any further open days that students could attend. As the students are currently making their A-Level choices, this helped students gain an insight into where their choices could take them. It was a very productive and interesting session that the students enjoyed.

CAREERS NETWORKING AFTERNOON SCIENCE REPORTFocus on

Chemistry A Level

Year 12

Year 13

KS4 & KS5 Art Trips

Nicole Zuccarello (above) and horse inspired work


PuPils from Nicholas BreaksPear catholic School enjoyed a life-changing experi-ence when they visited Uganda during the autumn half term to see first hand the projects supported by KiSS (Kiddies Support Scheme) – a charity which promotes the self-sufficiency of Ugandan children in Kasambya and Hoima by promoting education, healthcare and general living. writes Nicole Kelly, NBS Head Girl.

The Student Leadership Team, along with four dedicated members of staff, spent eight days in Kasambya. They had a full agenda, visit-ing primary and secondary schools, meeting families supported by KiSS, getting involved in the construction of their agricultural site and spending valuable time with the children reliant on KiSS. It was a transformational visit for both students and teachers alike. What was most evident was the happiness that the

children display regardless of their current situation or suffering. The younger children spoke little English but were able to commu-nicate with the team through singing and dancing, to demonstrate their appreciation.The team returned eager to raise as much money as possible for the charity after seeing the vital impact it makes. They established a ‘KiSS Week’, which is a week dedicated to numerous fundraising events to help them reach their goal of £10,000.

There was an event held every day, sparking a lively and exciting atmosphere throughout the school. The hallways were scattered with posters advertising various fundraisers, demonstrating the enthusiasm upheld by the school body. The highly anticipated week included Fancy Dress Day, Leg Waxing, Teacher challenges, a 12 hour bounce and gunging a senior member of staff, namely Mrs John.

The week ended with a successful NBS’ Got Talent Show, hosted by Headteacher Declan Linnane. The evening saw over 250 people gathered for this deserving cause to watch over 17 acts perform for their chance to be crowned Winner of NBS’ Got Talent 2015. The show had buzzers, fierce judges

Getting behind KiSS

Mrs John being gunged

NBS Students enjoying the 12 Hour Bounce

NBS Student Leadership Team

Lest We ForgetThe Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School community took the opportunity to show their respect and acknowledge the true sacrifice of war. The whole school

gathered together outdoors for a service to reflect on the brave men and women who fought to enable us to live freely in a democratic society. At the Eleventh Hour, the school fell silent in reverence and respect.

Later, pupils from the school, lead by members of the Student Leadership team, laid a wreath and said prayers at St.Albans town centre War Memorial.

NBS Students On Remembrance Day

Fundraising for the common good

It was a transformational visit that truly enlightened the

students and teachers alike.

NBS Students Visit St.Albans War Memorial


and even a live Green Room. After a tough vote, conducted by the audience, the singing duo of Skeet & Francesca were crowned the winners after performing their rendition of ‘Almost is never enough’. They received a large cheque for £500 which they gener-ously donated to the charity.

Overall, the week was a huge success with the team being able to achieve over half of their target for this years fundraising. They look forward to continuing this success throughout the Christmas period and the rest of the academic year and would like to thank all those who have supported them in their journey.

NBS’ Got Talent act Nicholas Vellacott

NBS students with gunging voting slip NBS’ Got Talent Line Up Mr Tominey getting splashed for charity

JHN & NBS Student Leadership teams unite

Fundraising Goes Swimmingly!Sixth Former, Melanie Mawhood, has taken on the ambitious task of swim-ming the Solent this August alongside 50 other individuals. Following the death of family a relative, Phil Bell from Motor Neurone Disease, Melanie was inspired to fundraise and raise awareness for the charity MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association). The disease kills 5 people each day and causes multiple organ failure.

Melanie is planning to raise £2,000 for the charity and has been in rigor-ous training for the event. She has many fundraising events planned throughout the year including a ‘Race Night’ on the 29th January 2016 in St Albans.

To support her fundraising, she held a Krispy Kreme sale on Friday 4th December, raising a total of £201.61. Melanie is looking forward to hold-ing an assembly in the New Year to raise awareness of the disease and to continue to fund-raise for the worthy charity.

Please support Melanie by donating via her JustGiving page.

www.justgiving.com/MelanieMawhood


the feast Day of Nicholas BreaksPear brought all the community together to celebrate and reflect on our identity as a Catholic School. Divided into their houses, students spent the day attending different sessions reflecting upon the ‘Year of Mercy’ and how this may apply to their lives.

The first session involved a play from the RISE Theatre, who performed ‘Don Bosco; A Magic Saint’, which explained the life of one of our house saints, Don Bosco. They demonstrated that Don Bosco was an ordinary boy who used his talents to help and support young people. The performers encouraged the pupils to do the same and to think about how their actions can make a significant difference. For many students the play brought alive this message and they were left in no doubt that by using their God given talents they could achieve their dreams.

This was followed by an inspiring and emotional talk from the parents of Jimmy Mizen, Margaret and Barry. They openly shared the story of how their son Jimmy was murdered the day after his sixteenth birthday. Rather than allowing their hearts to turn towards hate, they made a commitment on the day of his death, to forgive and ensure that his death was not in vain.

They promote peace and urge young people to join them on this journey, so that they may not experience the same fate

that Jimmy did. Even though the message they portrayed was hard for some to listen to, many were inspired to join this jour-ney of forgiveness, with some Sixth Formers even asking if they could visit them at their headquarters in London.

Sixth Formers were fortunate enough to also receive a talk from Matt, a member of Pax Christi, a group devoted to working for peace through education and campaign. Matt spoke of the different ways we can be peaceful through various role-plays. To emphasise this we focused on the story of Franz Jägertstätter, a Christian pacifist from the Second World War.

Finally, the day concluded with a Mass celebrated by Father Norbert. The mass prepared us for the start of the Year of Mercy and how we can pursue mercy within our own lives. The Gospel passage was the parable of the Good Samaritan and Father Norbert emphasised the conclud-ing words of the parable, ‘Go and do the same’, in his homily. This encouraged the student body to reflect on how the Good Samaritan can be a role model as to how to treat others.

Overall, it was a powerful and inspiring day that was fully embraced by every student.

Nicole Kelly, Year 13

Celebrating Nicholas Breakspear Feast Day

iN octoBer the school welcomeD prospective parents and their chil-dren who are considering Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School. They were impressed with the dynamic learning experiences on offer, the supportive community and sense of pride among our students and staff.

One parent commented; “This school is so aspirational and nurturing for all of its students. It‘s clear that they truly care for each individual child. It is defi-nitely a school of choice”.

During the evening the staff and pupils spoke passionately about the continuous improvements the

school is making. This was also highlighted by a Year 7 parent Mrs Wall, who spoke on the evening about her son’s transi-tional experience from Year 6 to Year 7. She commented on the fact that her son “comes home happy and that the schools expectations seem to have trickled down to him already. He has a new pride in himself, he makes sure he’s well dressed and knows that high standards are expected of him”.

It is pleasing to note that the prospective student intake for 2016 has increased as we continue to expand our school community.

Positive and Upbeat Open Evening


Governors’ Activities Winter Term 2015I am pleased to announce that Adrian Constable has successfully been appointed as Parent Governor. However, we still have one more position to fill. If you would like to get involved to understand more about the role of a Governor please email me (Linda Graham) on [email protected] or contact the school and leave a message for me to contact you.

Adrian Constable, Parent Governor – Joined October 2015Committee Link : Curriculum Committee Department Link : ICT

I am a semi-retired IT specialist. I have extensive experience working on major projects for a large multinational company at every level from the technical detail up to corporate-level strategy and project governance. I have been a member of the Heathrow Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society for many years, including a couple as Branch Chairman. I am currently an archivist in the British Airways Museum and am researching for a book on the airline industry.

Reason for becoming a GovernorI had already been a Parent Governor at my son’s Primary School, and found it very rewarding. It seemed natural to offer again when he ‘moved up’. I feel I have been extremely lucky to have got so much out of my working life, and this is a way of ‘giving something back’.

UPCOMING KEY DATESThursday 7th January 2016 NBS Presentation Evening

Thursday 14th January 2016 Year 7 Parents’ Evening

Wednesday 20th January 2016 GCSE Music Concert

Wednesday 3rd February 2016 NBS Gym and Dance Display

Friday 5th February 2016 NBS Association Race Night

16th/17th & 18th March 2016 ‘Hairspray’ Production

NBS REALLY has talent

On the 12th November 2015, the GCSE Drama Group went to London to see ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ at the Gielgud Theatre.

On our way to the theatre, we were lucky to see many of our Capital’s famous landmarks, such as the London Eye and Big Ben.

This trip is part of our GCSE coursework where we are tasked to analyse a profes-sional performance. We were all very excited at the prospect of reviewing this performance.

The story is based on a fifteen year old autistic boy called Christopher, who was investigating the murder of his next door neighbour’s dog.

Once he had come to the conclusion that the murderer was his own father, he discovered that his father had been keeping many more secrets from him – secrets which Christopher was going to unravel that would eventually lead him to his own mother.

The GCSE Drama Group saw this as an amazing learning experience and thoroughly enjoyed the trip with Miss Squires and Mr Hearn.

We are currently rehearsing for our very own ‘West End’ performance of Hairspray, which will take place in March 2016. We look forward to your support with this event.

Christina Barco & James Pugh, Year 11

the eveNiNg of saturDay 21st NovemBer, saw the first event following the re-launch of the Nicholas Breakspear School Association and what a fantas-tic night it was! The first annual talent show was the crowning glory to a fun-filled week of fundraising activities in aid of KISS (Kiddies Support Scheme).The hall looked incredible, decked out in red, white and blue, as over 250 specta-tors streamed in to support their favourite acts. 17 acts performed and proved that our students really do have an amazing array of skills and talent with performances ranging from musicians, singers, rappers, dancers, magicians, actors and gymnasts. The audience tucked into a ploughman’s supper and pizzas served by our wonderful sixth formers and new volunteers from the NBSA. The raffle was eagerly awaited with some great prizes being donated by the Governors. The judges, Mr O’Sullivan, Mrs Clifford and Mr Langford had their work cut out as act after act impressed them. Congratulations to the winners Skeet and Francesca from Year 8. I am delighted to announce that the event raised in excess of £2000 and the proceeds will be shared between KISS and the School.

The NBS’ Got Talent Show will be held annually and there is already a buzz around the school with students talking about entering next year – get rehearsing guys!I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was involved including our incred-

ibly talented pupils, their families, friends and fans who came along to support them on the night; the teach-ers, staff and technicians who put in so much effort to run this truly spectacu-lar and professional event; to my fellow Governors whose generosity in donat-

ing prizes and their time to the evening is so appreciated and last, but by no means least, to the volunteers from the 6th form and the Nicholas Breakspear School Association.Together we are bringing this community together again and showing what a fantastic school Nicholas Breakspear truly is – I thank you all.Our next major event will be the Race Night on Saturday 5th February 2016 so please do join us for another fun evening. Further details will be sent to you in the New Year so watch this space – I know it’s going to be another brilliant evening! Wishing each and every one of you a very Happy Christmas.

Year 11 West End Theatre Trip

Helen Day, Chair of the NBS Association writes

Colney Heath Lane, St Albans, Herts, AL4 OTT www.nicholasbreakspearschool.co.uk

NICHOLAS BREAKSPEARCATHOLIC SCHOOL

Quality & Excellence

ARE YOU READY?


NBS Sporting Review The Winter Term has seen an impressive range of NBS students participating in seasonal sports.

We have seen excellent displays of deter-mination, commitment, sportsmanship and character in all our sports, under-pinned by developing quality and great strength of mind and resolve.

As we approach 2016, the PE Department is looking forward to achieving even more success in the many sport fixtures already in place.

NBS PE Department

Rugby Union SpotlightAs the Rugby Union season draws to a close, we look back at what has been a developmental year for our teams.

The Year 10 squad have shown them-selves to be a great team with excellent work ethic. There are many leaders on the pitch, such as Daniel Kelly, Sam Bunning and Shane O’Shea. However, under the guidance of captain Miles Dumba, they have forged great unity and camaraderie on each occasion they have pulled on the Breakspear kit.

Their most noticeable victory was against a strong Sandringham team in challeng-ing conditions.

Players of the Season Daniel Kelly Martin Sexton

The Year 8 squad have produced some good displays this year and have shown that they have great potential in becoming an excellent team. Several key players performed exceptionally well in all their games and have helped build the foundations of a burgeoning team.

These players include Harry O’Brien, Kyle Rahho, Cian Kelly and Sean McCarthy.

Players of the Season Skeet Malaiba Christopher Mupambireyi

The Year 7 team have enjoyed success this year, winning the annual Rugby Tournament hosted by NBS. Callum Clarke led the team to victory in the Plate Tournament winning the final 10-5 in what was a hotly contested game against Goffs. The team continues to grow and will be looking to build on the success of this year.

Player of the SeasonJonny Lander

The Year 9 team started brightly and showed excellent promise in September, especially with the introduction of new players such as Jake Coleman and Archie Baker. However, they were dealt major injury blows this season which led to their matches to be more of a learning curve than competitive games.

Several players played in all or most of the matches and deserve to be mentioned such as Kofi Wiafe-Annor, Daniel Medina, Sean Wilkes, John Doneo and Stefan Ociepieka.

The PE department is hopeful that the success of the current Year 10’s will rub off on other year groups and that the Year 9’s mature into the team they have the potential to be in 2016.

Players of the SeasonKofi Wiafe-Annor Sean Wilkes

We still have several games left to play in January, so something for us all to look forward to!

Mr Tominey Head of PE

@nbs herts sch onwards and...

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