Dear Parents and Carers,
It was wonderful to welcome so many families to our recent Information Evenings. Your engagement and support reflect the strong partnership that exists between home and school, and together we are building a culture where every child can flourish. Year 11 Geographers are in Swanage today and we wish them well as they complete their GCSE Fieldwork.
As we begin a new academic year, there is much to celebrate. Our school continues to grow in strength, with improvements in academic outcomes, teaching and learning, enrichment opportunities, and the high expectations we hold for all pupils. Most importantly, there is a real sense of momentum across the school. Staff and pupils have returned with positivity, ambition and a determination to achieve their very best.
This year, we are continuing our journey towards excellence by raising standards, developing resilience, strengthening learning habits and ensuring every pupil takes pride in their achievements. While we recognise there is always more to do, we should be proud of how far we have come and excited about the opportunities ahead.
Next week, we look forward to welcoming prospective families to our Open Evening. These events provide an opportunity to celebrate the many successes of our school and showcase the vibrant community we are continuing to build together.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
A very warm welcome to all our parents, carers and pupils as we begin a new academic year!
I hope that everyone has had a restful and enjoyable summer and that you have returned to school refreshed and ready for the year ahead. As our new academic year begins, I would like to wish every member of our school community a very blessed, happy and successful start to the year.
There is much to look forward to in our Chaplaincy this year, and I am particularly excited about the opportunities we have to grow together as a faith community.
Preparing Our New Chapel
One of our main focuses over the coming weeks will be the preparation and organisation of our new school chapel. A great deal of work has taken place throughout the summer, and we are now looking forward to working together with our school chaplains to prepare the space and make it a beautiful, welcoming and prayerful environment for our whole school community.
This preparation will also be an important part of our planning for the blessing of our new chapel in October. We are delighted that Bishop Bosco is due to join us on Tuesday, 6 October at 10:30am to bless our chapel and spend time with our school community. We are very much looking forward to welcoming him to our school, and this will be a wonderful opportunity for our chaplains, pupils and staff to come together for this special occasion.
In preparation, I will be working closely with Father Anthony, our parish priest, and our school chaplains to prepare the liturgy and ensure that our chapel and our celebration are ready for this very special day.
Joining the Chaplaincy Team
I would also like to invite pupils who are interested in becoming more involved in our School Chaplaincy Team this year to consider putting themselves forward.
In particular, I would like to encourage our new Year 7 pupils to get involved. However, the invitation is open to pupils from all year groups who feel that they would like to contribute to the life of our Chaplaincy and represent our school community.
Being part of the Chaplaincy Team may include:
- helping to prepare and lead liturgies;
- supporting and, where appropriate, leading school assemblies;
- helping to prepare our chapel and prayer spaces;
- supporting the wider faith life of our school;
- taking part in outreach and charitable activities; and
- hopefully participating in outreach visits to St Osmund’s and/or Exeter Street during the year.
If you would like to join the Chaplaincy Team, I will be putting a short ClassCharts homework task together.
I would like interested pupils to write me a few lines explaining why they would like to be a school chaplain and how they feel they could contribute to our school community.
Please bring your short letter or response to me by the end of next week. I look forward to hearing from all those who would like to take part!
Looking Ahead: Year 7 Retreat
Another exciting event that we will soon begin preparing for is our Year 7 retreat in November.
As in previous years, we are looking forward to taking our Year 7 pupils to our Catholic retreat centre near Newbury. This will be a wonderful opportunity for our new Year 7 pupils to spend time together outside of the usual school environment, to get to know one another across the different form groups, and to grow together as one Year 7 community.
I will be sending further information to parents and carers very soon, including the relevant letters and paperwork. Please keep an eye out for these over the coming days so that everyone has plenty of time to complete the necessary arrangements for the retreat.
There is plenty going to be happening soon and I look forward to keeping you updated throughout the year about the many activities, liturgies, outreach opportunities and other work that our Chaplaincy Team will be involved in.
May God bless our school community as we begin this new academic year, and may He guide us throughout the year ahead.
Wishing you all a very blessed weekend.
With every good wish and prayer,
Otto Blaho-Schlogl
School Chaplain
Parent Notices – New Format
Please check ClassCharts or your email to ensure that you have the weekly letters and key information. We are committed to streamlining our communication to make it more effective for parents and carers. Parent Notices will be sent out every Thursday afternoon.
