Spring Term / Issue 22 / Date: 1 March 2024

A message from the Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers
This week I would like to spotlight our PE department and the amazing success of
our young people in sport. Over the last few years, our students have excelled at a
plethora of sporting activities including running, rowing and athletics. However,
excellence in basketball has been an area where almost all year groups have
outshone the local competition.
I am delighted to celebrate the achievements of students in Year 10 and Year 8. Last
week our Year 10 students became the ‘York and District Basketball Champions’, and
this week our Year 8 students went on to be crowned ‘North Yorkshire Champions’.
This title was hard earned: our Year 8 team beat Ryedale school 44-27 and St Aidan’s
in Harrogate 27-13. This was an incredible achievement and a fitting way to end an
unbeaten season.
I have recently met with York Eagles, a professional basketball club in North
Yorkshire, to look at how we can forge closer links between sports clubs and school.
It was great to hear of the exciting basketball trip to Los Angeles that some of our
students will be participating in over the Easter holidays.

All Saints is a beacon of excellence in basketball, and York Eagles are working with
the PE department to offer some taster sessions for our young people. They are
particularly keen to encourage young female players to join their very successful
squads.

Mrs S Keelan-Beardsley
Headteacher

It is trust that brings us to love and thus sets us free from fear. It is trust that helps us to stop looking to
ourselves and enables us to put into God’s hands what he alone can accomplish.
@pontifex
 Collective Prayer & Reflection

Dear Lord
Help us to recall our day yesterday,
May we learn, may we love,
May we live on.
Help us to make room for the unexpected,
May we find wisdom and life
In the unexpected.
Help us to embrace possibility,
Respond graciously to disappointment
And hold tenderly those we encounter.
Help us to be fully present to the day.
Amen

Stars Of The Week

Year 7 - Isaiah L, Eliza S, Emily W

Year 8 - Martha B, Abdulbaaki A

Year 9 - Jerome EC, Suhani B, Panna H

Year 10 - All of our wonderful Year 10 students for their mature approach to work
experience

Year 11 - All of our fantastic Year 11 students who have worked so

incredibly hard during their practice exams

Diary
Some dates for your diary.

March 4 - GCSE Oral Mock Exams Start

March 6 - Food GCSE Exams Start

March 7 - Year 9 Vaccinations (Tetanus, Polio, Meningitis, Diptheria)

March 7 - Year 13 Progress Evening

March 8 - GCSE Drama Mock Day

March 18 (11CDR) & March 19 (11BDR) - GCSE Final Drama Exams

March 21 - A Level Drama Exam

Here is the link to the term dates for the rest of the academic year
2023-24.

For a list of the KS3 and KS4 extra-curricular clubs and activities click here.
Big Sleep Out
On Friday 15 March, a group of students
and staff will be sleeping out at the Upper
School to raise awareness of homelessness
and to fundraise for SASH and CAFOD.

Those not joining us can support in the

following ways;

- Making a donation to the charities via

ParentPay,
- Bringing in any spare cardboard to
provide shelter for the students (please
hand in at either Reception),
- Praying for those taking part in the event, for those affected by homelessness and
the people who work to support them.

Thank you in advance for your support for these very worthy causes.

Yours sincerely
Miss Wright & Mrs Kramm
On behalf of the Chaplaincy Team

Big Sleep Out

And we're off! Thursday lunchtime marked the beginning of the Big Lent Walk for
CAFOD and we made a great start towards reaching our target of 200km, walking
34.4km between us.
We'll be back at it again next Thursday to add more kilometres to our total - watch
this space!
If you are able to donate, please do so via our fundraising page at https://
schools.walk.cafod.org.uk/fundraising/all-saints-secondary-school-york-walk-for-len
Politics Trip
On Friday 23 February, all 31 Politics
students in Year 12 and Year 13 took a
very early train down to London to visit
Westminster. They enjoyed a
really informative guided tour around
the Houses of Parliament, taking in
the House of Lords chamber, the
Robing Room (complete with the
hidden royal toilet), the Central Lobby
(scene of nightly TV news interviews)
and the oldest part of the
Parliamentary estate, Westminster
Hall, standing where Henry VIII feasted and played Real Tennis, and figures such as
presidents Mandela, Obama and Zelenskyy have all given stirring speeches. The tour
guides seemed a little nervous at the prospect of a York Catholic school being in the
building - regular security searches of Parliament's cellars are apparently still
conducted to the bemusement of the IT department now housed where Guy Fawkes
and his 36 barrels of gunpowder were found in 1605.
The students also had a rare Friday
opportunity to observe a Private
Members' Bill being debated on the floor
of the House of Commons, with
embattled Speaker Lindsay Hoyle
presiding at the end of a personally
difficult week. Parliament's Education
team then hosted a lively debate on the
topic of assisted dying, to which
members of each of the governing 'Beret
Party' and opposition 'Bowler Party'
contributed wonderfully.
A walking tour of Whitehall took the group past the Cenotaph, Downing Street, the
Household Cavalry and Trafalgar Square's Nelson's Column, before heading over the
Thames to the South Bank for a well-deserved lunch. Back over Westminster Bridge,
via statues of Churchill, Gandhi and Mandela, the students were able to squeeze in a
quick tour of the Supreme Court to tick off their
Judiciary - as well as Parliament - revision ahead of
their mocks and final exams, before the train home
back north. All the students behaved perfectly and
engaged with this valuable experience with real
interest and curiosity. We will definitely be running it
again next year!
The Cicero Society
Human Rights - What Are They Good For?
As part of the Cicero Society, a group through which curious individuals can
explore their passions through an academic lens, speakers are invited by
staff and students to provide a unique insight into their specialist
fields. Over the course of this year so far, we have had the privilege of
hearing two fascinating talks. The first was by Dr Maximillian Elliott on the
history, inner workings, and playing of church organs in York. The second
was by anthropology PhD candidate of Columbia University, Ben
Liberatore, on the ethics and experiences of child choristers.

Our third speaker, Dr Anashri Pillay, associate professor of human

rights at Durham Law School, last week gave an enlightening talk
overviewing the nature, history and limitations of human rights
law as well as potential solutions to the issues raised by human
rights. In addition, she discussed how her experiences under
apartheid (in South Africa) shaped her passion for law, and
showed us career paths in the human rights field. The talk was
opened up to all Sixth Form students, and as a result, turnout was
extremely high: the strong links to humanities including politics,
history and geography made the talk popular among those
studying these subjects for A level.

In her talk, Dr Pillay outlined the shortcomings of the current human rights system. Specifically,
she talked about the difficulty in regulating NGOs operating transnationally and determining
their responsibility for human rights violations in court. Shell Oil has been accused of various
human rights and environmental breaches in Nigeria on the Ogoni people of the Niger
Delta. Similarly, the current climate crisis has exposed the difficulty of establishing the parties
responsible. This is due to the single-nation nature of human rights courts and the lack of
consequence and enforcement globally. For example, in September 2023, six young people from
Portugal sued 32 nations in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for failing to protect
them against climate change.

This issue is particularly relevant now given the current situation in Gaza where there have been
accusations levied against both sides for human rights transgressions.

She also spoke about the origins of human rights laws which first came to light as an important
matter after the Second World War with the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights on 10 December 1948, and how various shifts in global opinion have led to its being
updated many times to encompass more marginalised groups.

Ultimately, the talk opened our eyes to the fascinating world of human rights law and to the
power that we as young individuals still wield to ensure that our rights are protected. It also
raised questions as to the efficacy of the current system and if it
is still functional and appropriate for modern day society,
especially due to the differing views of what counts as a human
right by different nations.

We hope that the talk will inspire students to take a keen

interest in global and national affairs for their sake and for the
sake of the world.

Alex, Eloise and Mal

Year 12 Cicero Society students
Trip to Rome and Pompeii - February 2025
Following three very successful previous
trips to Rome and Pompeii, I am planning
our next trip in February Half Term 2025.
This will be open to students who will be in
Year 9 or above in September 2024.
Further information on the trip and cost
can be found here:

Classics Trip to Rome and Pompeii

This information contains a link to a form to fill in if you wish to sign your son/
daughter up for the trip. Please note that this needs to be completed before the end
of this term, Friday 15 March.

Mrs Nightingale
Teacher of Classics

A Level Music Trip to Opera North

As part of their A Level study of Mozart’s operas, students from the
Year 12 and Year 13 Music classes went last week to see Opera
North’s production of Così fan Tutte at the Grand Theatre in Leeds.
Many of them had not seen an opera on the stage before and were
surprised at how entertaining it was. The plots of Mozart’s comic
operas are famously bizarre and confusing, and Opera North staged
the romantic chaos of Così brilliantly, with many laugh-out-loud
moments. The costumes and disguises made it a visual treat, and
the orchestra is superb, bringing to life Mozart’s sublime music.

Students Thomas and Benedict write:

I thought it was great fun. The opera was funny and made some
sense: it helped having them sing in English, with the words on
screens in the theatre. Although I don't feel it is Mozart's best
opera, there was still some very good singing and interesting
horn and wind parts. It certainly broke the status quo for opera
many were expecting.
I really enjoyed the evening. At many points they are singing
about the same thing for ages, but the music is so amazing that
there is never a dull moment. I think it's the best way to study
the music to hear it live, when it is brought to life by the
instruments of the 18th century (such as a harpsichord), played
by a professional ensemble in the environment that Mozart
envisioned.

It was a wonderful evening and we are very lucky to have Opera

North on our doorstep. We are planning to set up a school
Opera Society: watch this space for our next adventure!

Mr Brown, Mr Mann and Mrs Nightingale

Music Department
Art & Photography
READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UP?
This dramatic shot was one from a dynamic series of images. The subject..
the stresses and demands on models.
This is just the beginning!

Check out Instagram for regular updates on this and other artworks -
allsaintsyork
British Science Week
Sixth Form Poetry Club
We thought you might enjoy this poem on the theme of Childhood from one of our
Sixth Form contributors and a member of the Sixth Form Poetry Club.

Childhood with you.

I'm thinking of memories of you-

Though those left are pitifully few.
Old and worn from use,
A book well-read with pages loose,

That takes me down dandelion fields,

To where the dragons yield.
To we who sprint,
Over the gold glint,
of flowers blooming bright.

Past playground provinces

And toys waylaid
Where in promises we played
And summer plans we made
In that old oak's shade.
To auburn days, wishing away,
On those autumn leaves,
that twirled and furled,
and were caught,
On the breeze.

And winter evenings and darker windows,

And you, perfecting paper streets,
And covered in glue.
Then we knew without words,

I love you.
These stories, I thought, would never end.
Of you my fairy, favourite and friend.
Of kindred spirits, children and legends of a sort,
That ran and danced and played in thought.

The End

By M. Mei G
 All Saints Sixth Form are on Twitter
Sixth Form News @AllSaintsYork6F
Give us a follow and stay up to date with
all our latest news.

Attendance appointments. Bookings will be closed on

Tuesday PM
In line with whole school
we continue to prioritise Year 12 Progress Exams
attendance in the Sixth
The next cycle of Sixth Form exams will be for
Form. There is a strong
Year 12 students. These exams will start on
body of evidence that
Wednesday 6 March until Monday 11 March
shows a clear correlation
with a catch up day on Tuesday 12 March –
between student attainment at A Level and
normal lessons will resume on Tuesday 12
attendance. With the development of more
March. These exams will be a useful indicator
rigorous monitoring systems we are seeing a
of progress made since September and how
gradual improvement in overall attendance
well your son/daughter has adjusted to the
to lessons. Your support at home really does
demands of Sixth Form study. Students will
make a difference and we appreciate you
be on study leave during the exam period
working with us to ensure your child accesses
and only expected in to school for their
the full benefit of specialist teaching. If your
exam.
child is too unwell to attend school please
contact the Sixth Form office before 8.30am Mindfulness Mondays
and give advance notice of medical
appointments. Starting next week we will be running a
weekly mindfulness session every Monday
Year 12 attendance YTD: 94.5% during registration - 8.30am - 8.55am. This is
in response to the increased level of anxiety
Year 13 attendance YTD: 91.4%
and stress that naturally comes at this time of
Yellow Lanyards year and the pressure of exams begins to
build. If you feel that this is something your
Lanyards are an important part of our
child might benefit from please advise them
safeguarding strategy in the Sixth
to speak to a member of the Sixth Form
Form. The standard issue lanyard is
pastoral team for more information.
grey. If a student forgets their lanyard
they are given a temporary yellow one Leadership Opportunities - reminders
which they are required to return
For those who expressed an interest in the
before they leave the school site. Our
forthcoming leadership opportunities - the
current stock of temporary lanyards is very
application form for the Rotary Leadership
low as students are forgetting to return
Award has been emailed out along with a
them. Students have been reminded to
copy of their leaflet. Applications for this
return them but if you see any lying around
award should be sent directly to the Rotary
the house / your child's bag / coat pocket /
via ryla@yorkrotary.co.uk
bedroom please can you ensure they return
them to school. Students wishing to attend the Ampleforth
Leadership Programme should complete the
Year 13 Progress Evening
application form via the google form here:
The next and final progress evening for Year https://docs.google.com/forms/
13 parents and students will take place on d/15J_WkqEmNIby1OtXd3kMMvmJxm5Es5Dg
March 7. This is a good opportunity to hear 1CAZiLmBWpg/edit?ts=65df1c3d
about the latest progress of your child and
Please note the deadline for both
final advice and guidance on exam
opportunities is Monday 4 April.
preparation. Students are strongly
encouraged to attend these
 ATTENDANCE NEWS
This week’s attendance 26/02/24 - 01/03/24

Whole School: 93.85%

Year 7 95.23% Congratulations to Year 7 for having the

Year 8 91.36% best attendance this week!

Year 9 91.73% School attendance directly affects your

child’s academic success and relationships
Work experi-
Year 10 ence with their classmates.

Year 11 93.44%

Minor illnesses and attendance

As we strive to maintain a balance between academic progress and
the well-being of our students, it's essential to address the question
of when it's safe to send children to school with minor illnesses.
While we prioritise a healthy school environment, there are instances
where attending school with minor illnesses is deemed safe.
Minor illnesses, such as a mild cold and/or sniffles, or mild headache
may not always warrant keeping your child at home. It's important to
recognise situations where attending school is considered safe.
Please see the link below to the NHS website which gives the
appropriate advice.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

Reporting Absence
01904 647877
or email:
attendance@allsaintsyork.npcat.org.uk

Please call or email before 8.30am

For medical appointments in school

time, students should attend school
either side of the appointment where
possible and have a note in their
planners to show to members of staff
when they need to sign out. A copy of
the appointment letter/confirmation
of the appointment should also be
sent into school for the absence to be
authorised.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT

All Saints Diploma
All Saints Diploma: Nominations From Our Families
The purpose of the All Saints Diploma is to acknowledge and celebrate the journey that each
pupil takes in their character development by making All Saints and the world around us a
better place to be.

We would like to invite pupils to nominate themselves and families to nominate their own
children, or other children, who have demonstrated the respective values inside or outside of
school. Nominations can be made via the link here for the duration of the academic year.

The values that we are looking out for and to acknowledge are based on our form Saints:

Bernadette and Teresa (Compassion and Service)

Kolbe and Bosco (Forgiveness and Respect)

Clitherow and Romero (Truth and Justice)

Francis (Stewardship)

Examples of what each value looks like can be

found here.

Thank you in advance for supporting this important part of our school’s mission.

Mr S Sandwell
Assistant Headteacher

Safeguarding
Our school has been given the opportunity to take part in a new project that will run jointly
between all schools, academies and colleges in York and North Yorkshire.

This new project, Operation Encompass, has been designed to provide early reporting to
schools of any domestic abuse incidents that occur outside of normal school hours and that
might have had an impact on a child attending our premises the following day. This
information will be shared at the earliest opportunity between Monday to Friday and, when
an incident occurs on a Friday, Saturday or a Sunday, the police will contact us the following
Monday.

For more information please visit:

www.operationencompass.org
Social Media
All Saints has launched a lively new Social Media
presence, with accounts on both Facebook and
Twitter/X for the whole school.

You can find the latest goings on on our Facebook

page here.

You can also find us over on Twitter/X (while it still

exists) here.

The Sixth Form account can be found here.

The Library has a very active account, which can

be found here

The Art Department have an excellent Instagram

account, which can be found here.

Our Textiles Department are over on Instagram

here and Facebook here

The History Department are on Twitter/X here.

Our Politics Department are also on Twitter/X here

Keep an eye on these channels for the latest

updates on school activities, events and breaking
news.
 VA C A N C I E S Our Mission Statement
JOIN OUR TEAM

We are a loving, caring

and serving Catholic
EXAM INVIGILATOR community ambitious
to educate the whole
Permanent—Casual
person to thrive
Enhanced Pay Grade personally,
Morning & afternoon throughout the exam season and academically and
throughout the year. spiritually by putting
Christ at the centre of
For further information please contact our Exams Officer at all that we do.
saunders.k@allsaintsyork.npcat.org.uk

If you are struggling with

debt issues, we may be
able to help.

Please contact Maria

(debt only issues) on
01904 683913
Mon, Tues, Thurs, and
Friday
9.30am —4.00pm

Or email:
maria.sharp@cayork.org

Visit our website for further details and an application form - All
Applications are to be returned to:
recruitment@allsaints.york.sch.uk External Advert