October Newsletter 2013 - Cardinal Allen Catholic High School

Cardinal Allen Catholic High School
A Specialist Maths and Computing College
School Newsletter
October 2013
Name: ………………………………
NEW SCHOOL YEAR—NEW COLLEAGUES
From Left to Right: Mr Addington-Barker, Mr Teasdale, Mrs Jewitt-Harland, Miss Winkley, Mrs Patisso,
Miss Rogers, Front Row: Miss Holker and Miss Ronson
Once again it is a pleasure to welcome new colleagues to Cardinal Allen at the start of a new school
year. We are delighted to have attracted teachers who bring experience, talent and youth to add to
our already excellent staff. In the same way that our English Department had an influx of new staff
last year our Science Team welcome two new members. Miss Catherine Rogers joins us from
Failsworth School, Manchester in the capacity of Lead Teacher. Catherine’s main Science is Biology
and she takes responsibility for Key Stage 3. Miss Rachel Winkley worked at Palatine High School,
Blackpool before moving up the coast. Rachel’s first Science is Biology. Miss Leanne Holker is a
Newly Qualified Teacher joining the Maths Department with big boots to fill following the retirement
of Mrs Bebbington. Mrs Jo Patisso, having worked at Bispham High School previously joins the
Languages Team. Mrs Patisso is competent in three languages-French, Spanish, and Italian. Miss
Amelia Ronson takes control of our Music Department after spending time working in Yorkshire at
Penistone Grammar School. Amelia moved to the Fylde last year when her husband (also a Music
Teacher) joined the staff at St Mary’s Blackpool. Two other new colleagues—Mr Richard Teasdale
and Mr Julian Addington-Barker have also joined the Chaplaincy and ICT Technical teams
respectively. Richard previously worked as a member of the Castlerigg Youth Team. Julian brings
substantial experience in web design after working around Fylde & Wyre for a number of years. Deb
Jewitt-Harland was appointed late in the Summer Term as Finance Assistant and works part time
with our Business Office. We have also been joined by Foreign Language Assistant Laura Gataleta
who is with us for virtually the whole of the school year. Laura comes to us from Dijon, France.
Our website has more
articles which may be of
interest to parents/
friends of the school
Up to date news items, reminders and comments
relevant to the education of our pupils and our
work in the community
@cardinalallen
SUCCESSFUL OPEN EVENING
On the evening of Thursday 19th September we held our annual Open Evening. At a packed event
families had the opportunity to tour the school accompanied by our pupils to see what each
department had to offer. It is always heartening to receive positive feedback and the anonymous
feedback was extremely positive with a majority praising our ‘genuinely helpful’ and ‘polite’ pupil
guides. For the second year in succession prospective pupils could join in a ‘Treasure Trail’, with
the chance to win a Kindle. The answers to the trail were found by visiting each department. All
sheets with correct answers were placed in a draw and the lucky winner was Ellie Parker who
attends Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School. Ellie was presented with
her prize on Monday 7th October—the day before her 11th birthday! Well
done and thank you to all who took part!
Our website carries all feedback comments. Some of these include:
Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Very impressed all round—exceptionally helpful teachers and pupils.
 Cardinal Allen is an exceptional school—fingers crossed she gets in.
 My child really enjoyed tonight and can’t wait for next year.
Our guide who took us round the school was brilliant—thank you Amy!
Excellent school, not only for exams but also the well-being of the
child and their personal development
NEW WEBSITE
A huge amount of work was completed over the summer months transferring all our e-mail, moodle,
mahara, and data to new servers. In addition, the changing of internet provider and major
adjustments to our network system meant that our techies were kept very busy. Minor problems are
still being ironed out but the effective transfer of so much important data shows the quality of
service that we receive from our technical team. To cap it all we had planned to launch a new
website just before the summer vacation but the other work meant some delays were necessary.
Nevertheless we are now up and running with our new site. We have made a significant move away
from the former design which was image heavy and had in
many ways become dated. Our new site should be easier to
navigate with clear links to the most important information
including news, prospectus & admission guides and statutory
items.
We want feedback on the site and welcome your views. There
are some items still under construction and we expect that all
information will be present & correct by the end of term.
SHERATON STAR
Francesca Hearty (Year 11) was the winner of The Sheraton Trophy,
a prestigious award given to a rising star within the Borough of Wyre.
Francesca is a member of our Senior prefect team and her list of
achievements in school is getting longer by the week.
The award was presented at the beginning of the summer holidays but
is reported in the Autumn 2013 edition of Wyre Council’s Community
Magazine. The article writes
“Francesca is a talented footballer who is very generous with her
time to coach and inspire others. She is captain of Blackpool FC’s
Under 15’s and a volunteer coach at Fleetwood Town, where she
also runs half-time activities for children on match days”.
Well Done Francesca, keep the awards rolling in!
ELECTION OF SENIOR PREFECT TEAM
Pictured are the Senior Prefect team, elected following their presentations to staff and Year 10 pupils
late in the Summer Term. They are pictured from Left to Right: Olivia Gray & Francesca Hearty
(Deputy Head Girl), Tom Buschini (Head Boy), Charlotte Carter (Deputy Head Girl) and Kelsey
Hargreaves (Head Girl). Congratulations to the team who have already commenced their official
engagements by attending our Open Evening in September.
HORTICULTURE HEROES
Its smiles all round as
pupils gain their first
award,
Level
1
Certificate
in
Horticulture.
The
certificates
were
presented by Nick
Atkinson, the external
assessor
from
Myerscough College.
He has been delighted
with the way the
p up i ls
h ave
approached both their
practical work in the
school garden, the
allotment and their
written work.
Pictured are the Year 11 Horticulture class and staff. They are from left to
right: Mr Akers, Mr Hone, Mr Mooney, Mr Atkinson, Will Seamark, Charlotte
Carter, Curtis Hammond, Ian Anderson and Anthony Smith.
A CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP & FR GERRY REACHES 80
Mr Phil Waters (pictured right) has stepped down from his role as Chairman of Governors after a period
of six years at the helm. Mr Waters period of office has seen major developments of the school site not
to mention significant changes to staffing and an ever increasing expectancy placed on school by the
Department for Education. He joined the Governing Body in the mid-80’s working for many years as
Vice-Chairman to Mrs Viv McCarron his predecessor. Phil, long since retired from his job working in
Insurance & Finance, brought an immense amount of experience to the very important role of
Chairman advising on all matters including finance, staffing, curriculum, buildings & premises, child
protection as well as policies. His grasp of the technical nuances of target setting relating to exams
and school performance indicators has been a great skill; his ability to form accurate judgements of
difficult situations, quickly and without fuss possibly relates to his experience as a Football League
linesman with his greatest hour being in the Stadium of Light, home of Benfica FC, in a European semifinal tie. Thankfully Mr Waters remains as a Governor and he will continue to influence school policy &
actions for the foreseeable future.
Phil is succeeded by Mr Ron Ashcroft (pictured left) who has performed the role of Vice-Chairman with
great skill and foresight. Ron is an expert on school finances and he is also very clued up on the issues
facing Governors connected to OFSTED guidelines as well as pupil discipline. Previously employed by
Wyre Borough Council, Ron brings a huge knowledge of Local Government and the Borough of Wyre to
this role. Like Mr Waters, his children attended Cardinal Allen in years gone by. Ron will be supported
in his role by Mrs Kath Vincent who after similarly long and distinguished service to Cardinal Allen in
the role of Governor now takes up the reigns as Vice-Chairman and creates a good gender balance for
school leadership.
Rightly at the centre of the photograph is Father Gerry Dunn who this week celebrated his 80th
birthday. Father Dunn sacrifices an immense amount of time to Cardinal Allen and gives strong
pastoral & spiritual support to the pupils, staff, parents and Governors. Father Gerry says Mass in
school for us every Friday at 8:10am (to which all are welcome), and is a member of the school
Governing Body as well as the Liturgy Group. A native (originally) of Carlisle and the Cumbria area
generally, Fr. Gerry also gives brilliant support to our young sportspersons and he is a regular visitor to
our sports hall to check progress. We hope you had a wonderful birthday, Father Gerry, and THANK
YOU for all you do for us here at Cardinal Allen!
GEOGRAPHY RESIDENTIAL
As part of their GCSE Geography course all pupils have to carry out a local fieldwork investigation
worth 25% of their final grade. This year all GCSE Geography students went on an overnight
residential to Hothersall Lodge. Over the two days the pupils carried out river surveys on our local
river, the River Wyre. Pupils measured the width, depth, speed and stones of the river as part of
their Controlled Assessment task. The pupils benefited from seeing geography outside the classroom
which is now increasing their progress and understanding back in the classroom. As always our
pupils were excellent and demonstrated the ethos of Cardinal Allen. A big thank you to the staff at
Hothersall Lodge whose support and advice was paramount. As always we look forward to returning
next year.
CALLING ALL GCSE GEOGRAPHERS!
The Geography Department would like to inform all Year 11 Geographers and their parents that the
following after school booster session starts after October half term. Pupils will improve their
chances of attaining and exceeding their target grades by attending these booster sessions.
Remember poor preparation leads to poor performance! Year 11 Booster Classes - Thursday nights
after school 3.15 – 4.00 pm –in room 16 with Miss Stovin and Miss Mercer.
IT’S A STRING THING
A new strings project based at Cardinal
Allen which is aimed at boosting the
declining numbers of strings players in the
county, has got off to a flying start this
term.
The school offered the free group lessons
to the whole of Year 7 and we now have a
group of 15 eager young string players
who are working towards their debut
performance.
The project is a joint
venture between
the School Music
Department and Ms. Harrison from
Lancashire Music service. Its aims are for
the pilot project to then branch out
into our feeder primary schools. The hope
is that some of these young string players
will also go on to represent the School in the Lancashire Students Symphony Orchestra as well as
being leaders within the Cardinal Allen String Ensemble. Please keep an eye on the school website
for details of our first performance!
The team in the
Science Department
are delighted that
they have been able
to provide all Year 10 and 11 pupils with a revision guide for their Science GCSE free
of charge. This guide contains essential information for their summer examinations.
Pupils are required to bring it to every lesson and please note that should any guides
be lost or misplaced there will be a £2 charge for a replacement.
YEAR 7’s SCIENCE CLUB - NOW UP AND RUNNING - THURSDAYS - PERIOD 6 IN SC 2
Watch this space for an insight into some of the exciting projects the team will cover!
TRIPLE SCIENCE
Year 10 pupils have been offered an opportunity to study for a third Science GCSE
"Further Additional Science", which is very similar to the traditional GCSE Triple
Science. Pupils will attend a weekly lesson after school throughout years 10 and
11 in addition to giving a commitment of up to 2 hours per week of private study.
The Department was overwhelmed with the quality and quantity of applications
and therefore decided to accept all 30 applicants onto the course for a trial
period. It is impressive that so many pupils are enthusiastic and determined about
having a successful future involving Science.
YEAR 11 CAREERS INFORMATION
Important information for Year 11 — Forthcoming Open Evenings
Blackpool 6th Form
Thursday 14th November 5:30 - 9pm
Blackpool & Fylde College
Wednesday 6th November 4.30 - 7pm
St Marys 6th Form
Thursday 14th November 6 - 9pm
CARDINAL ALLEN CAREERS EVENING
Thursday 14th November 3:30 - 6pm, this is the perfect opportunity for both pupils and parents to
meet and chat to all local colleges and training providers about the range of opportunities available
to them when they leave school.
PUPIL COUNCIL 2013—2014
Our Pupil Council for 2013/2014 (pictured here) have recently been elected by their peers. They
meet regularly to represent the ideas and opinions of all pupils within the school. They make a huge
contribution to many different aspects of school life and work alongside other members of our school
community to maintain and improve their school environment and to make sure that everybody’s
voice is heard. Their next meeting will be held on November 27 th 2013 and students are encouraged
to put forward any ideas or suggestions to their year group representatives.
NEWS FROM THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
YEAR 7 ENGLISH
Our new Year 7 pupils have settled in marvellously to their English lessons this term exploring and
demonstrating effective communication skills through the creation of their very own ‘Magical
Islands’!
KEY STAGE 4 ENGLISH
Year 10 have been getting creative in their English lessons with
some spooky stories in time for Halloween:
"Why, why did I accept this dare? Was I trying to look cool? Little
figures dashed through the mist, or was that just me? The smell of
death lingered at the back of my throat. I had seen this place in the
day but it looked a lot less menacing. I was here, I opened the
gate..."
Kyle Linacre, 10En3, well done!
WYRE IN BLOOM
Cardinal Allen High School has been awarded a Silver Gilt in the 2013 Young Wyre in Bloom
competition. Our hanging baskets were particularly commended! The award was presented by the
Mayor of Wyre at the Celebration of Achievement at the Civic Centre, Poulton-Le-Fylde on Tuesday
1st October. Pictured with the award are Ian Anderson and Anthony Smith who are both doing a City
and Guilds Horticulture qualification, accredited by Myerscough College.
COOKERY COMPETITION
Cook Five is a cookery competition for under 16 year olds!
Whether you’re a chef in the making or have never picked up a wooden spoon, the Leon
brothers want you to show them what you can do in the kitchen.
They are challenging you to cook up five dishes and upload photos to your account as you
go. You can use any of the recipes that you have cooked in school or there are recipes on
the website to get you started, you are very welcome to cook your own recipes too, as
long as they're savoury.
Once you’ve cooked five, you’ll be rewarded with some fantastic prizes. So, what are you waiting for? Get your
aprons on!
They have lined up some fantastic prizes for those pupils that get involved. A list of the prizes are below
Everyone who cooks 5 things will receive a Leon eBook containing more recipes for you to have a shot at
Monthly cash prizes will be awarded to keep you buying the best and freshest ingredients to ensure your
cooking tastes even better.
An end of year cash prize of £5,000, plus an exclusive cookery day at Leon, will be awarded to one lucky
winner.
£5,000 will be awarded to the school with the most participants in Cook 5
How to enter
You need to register for an account online by entering your name, age, school
and email address - then get cooking! Upload photos of 5 dishes you’ve cooked
yourself and be in with a chance to win some fantastic prizes.
For more information or questions either ask Mrs Horan or log on to
www.cook5.co.uk
ENGINEERING COMPETITION FOR GIRLS
If you are a budding engineer and would like further details of this
competition, please see Mrs Herd in the Technology Department.
HISTORY
At the end of last year the History department held their annual Castle Competition for year 7 pupils.
Parents and grandparents all around the Fleetwood area spent weeks up to their elbows in glue and
grey paint along with their children and the results were outstanding. All the pupils participated and
the entries were absolutely fantastic, as they always are. As there were 6 teaching groups in year 7
last year, six sets of prizes were awarded. The winners were:
From 7S – 1st place Madison Ruocco for a fantastic scale replica of Castle Rising in Norfolk, 2 nd place
Lewis Harper, 3rd place Molly Burnett and Sam Davis and highly commended Kathryn Hamilton,
Beth Lewis, Ben Reese and Abbie Webster.
From 7H – 1st place Curtis Goodyear for a fantastic scale replica of Conwy Castle in Wales, 2 nd place
to Angel Dickson and Sofia Raseta, 3rd place Alfie Ellis, Katharine Melling, David O’Connor &
Lauren Robinson. Highly commended to Shannon Fleming, Rachel Hedley, Emma Riding, Sophie
Kerr & Molly Spearpoint.
From 7A – 1st place Lauren Potter, 2nd place Oliver
Tomlinson, 3rd place Millie Jorgenson, Tom Lonsdale
& Jack Webster.
From 7W- 1st place Marc Foley, 2nd place Tom
Sumner, 3rd place Emma Wilson, Alex Cropper &
Reece Smith.
From 7C – 1st place Stephen Abbot, 2nd place Leah
Pennington, 3rd place Stevie Gallagher. Highly
commended Anastasia Harwood, Adam Patterson,
Josh Wylie, Penny Ryall-Thurlow, Jasmine Bamber.
From 7F – 1st Beth Holden, 2nd place Shannon Wade,
3rd place Sophie Gardner. Highly commended Jamie Johnson, Morgan
Murray, Holly Schofield and Stephen Ward.
Congratulations to the winners and well done to all the pupils who put
such a great effort into their work – we were all very impressed!
Advane notice –
Cardinal Allen History department are delighted to welcome Harry Bibring to
school on November 6th to share his experiences during the Holocaust with the
year 10 pupils. This visit has been facilitated by the Holocaust Educational
Trust. We are very excited to have Harry come to speak
to us and know that the year 10 pupils will gain a great
deal from hearing him speak. The pupils will hear Harry
in the hall during periods 1 & 2 and will then participate
in a series of workshops aimed at extending their
knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust. Finally,
they will participate in a memorial ceremony in the hall, partly led by a local
Rabbi. This event is being made to all pupils in year 10, not just those who
study History as the study of the Holocaust is part of the GCSE RE course too.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR PE/SPORTING ACITIVITES: SEPT—DEC 2013
Monday
8.00am 8.50am
Early Bird
Classes
Lunchtime
After-School
4.30pm
finish
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
KS4 Early Bird
Fitness
SJO
Football
Development
Yr7 boys KWA
Badminton Academy
Yr9 mixed CMC
Friday
KS3 Early Bird
Fitness—SJO
Recreational
Badminton
Junior
Trampolining
Dance Club with
Miss L
Senior Boys
Basketball
KWA
Yr 7/8 Netball
Yr 7 Girls Fitness
Basketball
Recreational
Badminton
Yr 7/8 5-A-Side
Basketball
Rugby Union 7-9
BTEC Club –
CMC/COR
Dance Club with
Miss L
Netball Academy
Yr 7/8 - COR
Yr9-11 Netball
Girls Basketball
Academy - SJO
Yr9-11 4.20-5.20pm
All years:
Trampolining
Badminton
Girls Football
Iron-Man Fitness Club
In addition there will be a large number of Football, Rugby and Netball Fixtures involving team players.
Times and dates will be issued to those pupils involved.
SKI-TRIP 2014 TORGON, SWITZERLAND
Please make a note of the following dates:
Wednesday Nov 6th 2013, 5.30pm – (Optional) meeting to advise and inform
parents on Skiwear / Kit requirements.
Parents meeting 2: Tuesday 7th Jan 2014, 6.00pm – (Compulsory attendance ) Main meeting.
Parents Meeting 1:
NETBALL SUCCESS
On Thursday 10th October the Year10 Netball girls took part in the Wyre & Fylde
Schools Netball Tournament. Winning 2 out of their 3 group matches (St Aiden’s
and Carr Hill), the girls got off to a flyer, resulting in them finishing 2 nd in their
group. In the play-off groups the girls faced Lytham and Baines. Baines were our
first opposition and the girls displayed a convincing win of 12-2. Next up were
Lytham, and with now a tiring team, we still managed to win 7-2. The girls were
fantastic and played some amazing netball, finishing top of their play-off group.
Well done, and we look forward to the league starting after half term.
CHAPLAINCY NEWS
Once again, it’s all change in the Chaplaincy team, with the introduction of Mr Teasdale as new
Assistant Chaplain. He will be working with Miss Smith in school and in our local Primary Schools, and
is starting a new project for Cardinal Allen. He will be recruiting and overseeing a team of pupil
Chaplains to help the Chaplains out in school and deliver worship and assemblies throughout the
school. Watch this space for more updates!
Year 11 Caslterigg Visit
The first week of term saw 50 Year11 students embark on their retreat to Castlerigg Manor in
Keswick. The new Year 11s started off their final year with us in style, getting involved
enthusiastically in all the activities, crafts, games and walks. Miss Smith, Miss Smith (confusing, we
know!), Mr McCann and Mr Harding spent an enjoyable week trying to keep up with the energy and
gusto of the students, and the new team at Castlerigg were impressed by their creativity and
thoughtfulness. The trip also provided our students with the opportunity to take time out and reflect
ahead of what will be a busy year for them. We hope this experience has proven to be a meaningful
way of starting their final year with us.
Thanks, Year 11, for a great week!
CAFOD Harvest of Talents challenge
On 23rd September, our CAFOD group were
fortunate enough to receive a workshop from
CAFOD employee Jo DePaula, who travelled
up from CAFOD head office in London just to
visit us. During the workshop, she spoke to us
about what life is like for people in Brazil,
and encouraged us to reflect upon the
parable of the talents. She then set our 23
volunteers a challenge: how can you use your
talents for the benefit of others? She leant
our willing participants £10 each of CAFOD’s own money, and set them the challenge of using it to
make more money over the 5 weeks until half term. So far, we have held candy floss and cake sales,
bookmark making, raffles, car washes and a staff poverty lunch. There are still a couple of weeks to
go, so we’re hoping for a final push before hand-in day to raise as much money as we can! In the
next newsletter, we’ll let you know how well we have done!
SVP Food Bank Appeal
Friday 4th October was Harvest Fast day, which we marked in school with a special Harvest Fast Mass
at lunchtime. We were pleased to welcome Colin Brown from the Fleetwood SVP, who came to
receive from us the boxes our Year 7s had worked hard filling with donations of food. Our collection
has gone to the Food Bank, which will help to feed those in need in our local area. Many thanks to Mr
Brown for coming to see us, and for all our Year 7s who did such a good job collecting for those less
fortunate than ourselves.
We aim to have a box permanently in the back of the Chapel to collect regularly for this worthy
cause. Please continue to bring in any donations of non-perishable food items (such as pasta/rice/
tins) and we will send them along to the Food Bank regularly. Thank you for your continued support.
Supporting the Food Bank in Fleetwood
The Food Bank needs your vote! We have been shortlisted on the Lancaster & Wyre area of the Lloyds
Community Fund 2013 and are in for a public vote to decide which Community Project will receive a
donation of £3000. This money would go a long way to helping out those in need in the Fleetwood
area! Please vote for us at www.lloydsbank.com/communityfund and enter SVP Fleetwood Food
Bank in the search box. You can also vote by SMS by texting VOTE LWSC to 61119. Voting closes on
1st November, so don’t delay- vote TODAY! Thank you for all your support!
Year 7 Workshops & Welcome Mass
The 8th & 9th of October were two special days for our new Year 7s. They played host to the Outreach
Team from Lancaster Youth Service, who delivered workshops to all our Year 7s, encouraging them to
get to know each other better and think
about how they can make the most of their
time at Cardinal Allen. The theme of the
workshops was “let your light shine”, and
we explored the ways that we can shine
during our time at Cardinal Allen School by
sharing our gifts and talents. These two
days culminated in our Year 7 Welcome
Mass on the Wednesday afternoon, to which
our Year 7 parents, Governors and the
teachers and Headteachers of our local
primary schools were invited. Many thanks
to all who came and made our Mass so
SCHOOL JUMPERS
Just a reminder that the school jumper is a compulsory
part of the school uniform and should be worn after the
October half-term break and until Easter.
WELFARE ASSISTANT VACANCY
We are looking to appoint a new member to our Welfare Team.
6hrs 15 minutes per week, term time only (12.55—2.10pm daily) - £1,772
For further information and a copy of the Job Description please contact Mr John Large,
Business Manager on 01253 872659.
An application form is available from the school website and should be forwarded to
the Business Manager.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we
expect all staff to share this commitment.
VULNERABLE PUPILS
We have a number of pupils who are vulnerable/susceptible to certain viruses, e.g.
chickenpox/glandular fever which can be potentially life threatening for them.
Please ensure that when contacting the school/attendance office to report your
child’s absence from school that you clearly state the illness that your child is
suffering from in order to help us monitor the viruses in school. Thank you for your
co-operation.
BOOK FAIR & BOX TOPS
Book Fair: Thank you to everyone who supported our recent Scholastic Book Fair held in
the library. We are delighted to announce that we raised £87.00 which will be used to
purchase new books.
Nestle Box Tops For Books: Once again we are participating
in the Nestle Box Tops for Books scheme which is an initiative
from Nestle offering a wide range of new books from the children’s publisher
Dorling Kindersley, in exchange for tokens from the top of Nestle cereal boxes.
The scheme runs from 1st September 2013 until 31st March 2014. It takes as
little as 10 tokens to get one book, so the more tokens we collect the more
books we can receive for our school library.
This is where we need your help and support! If your family eats Nestle cereals, please remember to tear
off the token on the top of the box and hand it into the school library. Thank you for your support!
TERM DATES—2013 / 2014
Half Term
Last day of term—12.15 finish
Monday 28th October—Friday 1st November
Friday 20th December
Re-open for pupils on
Half Term
Last day of term—12.15 finish
Monday 6th January 2014
Monday 17th February—Friday 21st February
Thursday 3rd April
Re-open for pupils on
School Closed—May Day
Half Term
Last day of term—12.15 finish
Tuesday 22nd April
Monday 5th May
Monday 26th May—Friday 30th May
Friday 18th July
PARENTMAIL
Parentmail is a communication and payment collection service used by over 6000 schools across the UK to
save time, money and improve parental engagement. Cardinal Allen is now registered as a Parentmail school
and we see many benefits of using the system for communication between the school and home. With
Parentmail you can receive email or texts from school, make online payments for trips and lunch money,
share the school Calendar and much more. After some months of operation we have registered the majority
of parents who are now enjoying easier and more convenient methods of communication with the school
together with the facility to make on-line payments. What we would like to achieve is all parents registered
with the system so these advantages can be shared by all. All you need to do is go on-line and register with
the system and then sit back and enjoy the benefits. The aim of this note is, therefore, to ‘signpost’ you to
Parentmail and provide you with all the information you need to join.
Q. How do I register on ParentMail?
A. If you have not already done so, the school office team can provide you with a letter that includes a
verification code. You will then need to visit www.parentmail2.co.uk, click 'Create an account' and follow
the instructions on screen.
Q. How long does my verification code last if it is not activated?
A. Your code will last for 8 weeks.
Q. What happens if my code expires?
A. If your code expires you will need to request another from the school.
To receive a letter with the verification code, contact the School Office on 01253 872659. Please refer
any questions to the Office Manager
COMMUNITY NEWS
A memorable trip to India: What started with a water conservation project four years ago has sprung
a deluge of environmental activities, and has now developed into full student exchange visits between
Cardinal Allen High School and Birla High
School, Calcutta, India. Students from
Cardinal Allen initially hosted students from
Birla High in May and embarked upon the
reciprocal visit in October. Whilst on this
visit they immersed themselves in Indian
culture by living with Indian families and
attending school. Whilst at school the
students attended numerous classes
including Yoga and Karate, assemblies and
interactive sessions making many close
friends. On one of the days they were
involved with the ‘Joy of Giving’
celebrations, donating money and football
kit collected
in Cardinal
Allen
to
some
of
Calcutta’s street children from a local orphanage, the Hope
Foundation. The students also helped to organise a rugby match
between the students of Birla and the street children, which resulted
in much interest from the National press of India. On another day the
s t u d e n t s
completed
our
partnership
‘ P r o t e s t ’
project. In this
project
the
students
have
debated the role
of women in each other’s societies, produced
protest music involving the fusion of western and
Indian rhythms and instruments and produced
land art to highlight the environmental issues
facing our world.
A visit to Calcutta
cannot be embarked
upon
without
a
pilgrimage
to
‘Mother House’ – the
convent of Mother
Teresa. The party
were
able
to
participate
in
prayers and quiet
reflection at her
mausoleum.
Other
excursions
involved visits to a
Hindu temple and
tours around the
cities historical attractions such as the Victoria memorial, New Market and the Banyan Tree- the
largest tree in the world.
Another excursion was to science city, a park that celebrates India’s interest and advancement in
science.
As we left Calcutta it was obvious from the tears of emotion such a trip has had on all involved.
Long lasting bonds have been developed, with all involved gaining a fresh perspective on
international issues by studying them through the eyes of another culture. Everyone has been a
winner!
Key Skills Camping Trip
The year 10 and 11 Key Skills groups embarked upon a
two night camp to Great Eccleston with a day visit to
Beacon Fell. Despite atrocious weather, spirits
remained high and many important outdoor skills such
as pitching tents, map reading, navigation/ use of a
compass, Trangia cooking, shelter building and land
art were learnt.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
We are currently registering students who wish to work towards the Bronze level Duke of Edinburgh
Award that will be run for students 14+. Please see Mr Harding if you wish to reserve a place on the
course.
Our first meeting of the year was well attended and it was
great to see many new faces.
Amongst the items discussed was arrangements for our first
event of the year, a murder mystery evening
‘Who killed the Caretaker’.
This promises to be a fun family event with many staff
demonstrating their acting skills! Tickets are reasonably
priced at £2 per person. Full details on the back page of this newsletter.
CAFCA Diary dates

Thursday 7th November- Murder Mystery evening

Monday 11th November- Meeting 2-AGM

Saturday 23rd November- Shopping Trip

Monday 13th January- Meeting 3

Monday 3rd March - Meeting 4

Friday 7th March- Race Night

Saturday 22nd March - Lakes Trip

Monday 28th April - Meeting 5

Saturday 10th May - Dales Trip

Monday 9th June - Meeting 6

Saturday 21st June - 3 Peaks Walk

Friday 11th July - Summer Sports and BBQ evening
We are always looking for new members. Please come along to the AGM on the 11 th November.
Your opinions are much valued.
Transgenerational IT group
This has been running again with around 10-12 attending each week.
This half term we are working through an IT skills checklist provided by
the IT department.
Extended Schools
The school hosting free English and Maths employability courses that
educate participants to level 2. They are delivered by Lancashire Adult
Learning. At present the Maths course is fully subscribed with only 2
available spaces on the English course. If you wish to enrol for current or future courses contact Mr
Harding on 872659
VISIT TO THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL
On the 6th August, seven pupils and two members of staff set off
from Preston to Edinburgh for five days to experience what
Edinburgh had to offer during a Festival week. We enjoyed puppet
and comedy shows, a visit to Dynamic Earth, the Camera Obscura
and of course sightseeing
around the city including
Greyfriers and a Ghost Walk at
night. A visit to Lindishfarne
was included and we spent the
day on the Island.
We all
enjoyed visiting the castle and
the abbey ruins. The peace
and tranquillity of the Island
was just what we needed after the frenzy of activities and trying to keep nine people together in
the crowded streets of Edinburgh!
CAFCA
present
A Murder Mystery
Who Killed the
Caretaker?
Thursday 7th November
at Cardinal Allen 7.00 p.m. in the School Hall
Tickets available from Mr Harding (01253 872659)
Tickets £2.00
A fully licensed bar is available
Light refreshments will be on sale
Mr Harding: I would like ______ tickets for the murder mystery
evening and enclose £ _______ as payment.
Signed: ____________________________
Parent/Guadian of:__________________________ Form: _______