What a pleasure and a privilege it has been to witness so many very special moments this week! From welcoming our newest members of the Bishop Vaughan community on Wednesday, to ending the week at the Adoremus Eucharistic Congress in Liverpool with a group of pupils and staff, every day has provided numerous reasons to be thankful for the very special character of our school community.
Pupils across the age range enjoyed the varied and interesting two day induction programme. With sessions on important areas of school life – pupil voice, our Resilient Learners programme, independent learning and our online learning platform (to name but a few) – the overwhelming emphasis has been on our ethos. Sessions led by form tutors and the RE Department complimented the most important activity of all: the celebration of Mass for each year group by the School Chaplain, Father John Browne. Together we prayed for God’s blessing that we may fulfill His intentions for us as reflected in our Mission Statement: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” We are most grateful to our Chaplain for enabling us to start the academic year in this way, celebrating six Masses over two days.
We are also grateful to those that supported us in delivering other elements of our diverse induction programme, including the Army representatives who provided a fun team-building day to our new Year 12 pupils, and the St. John Ambulance group, whose representatives managed to deliver basic First Aid training to every single pupil in Year 7-11 as part of their ‘Save-A-Life September’ campaign! What an incredible achievement!
Travelling to the Adoremus Eucharistic Congress in Liverpool along with a team of pupils and staff has been a wonderful way to conclude the week. The Menevia group, which also comprised our fellow teachers and pupils from St. Joseph’s Port Talbot, parishioners from the Sacred Heart and from Haverfordwest, joined with Catholics from all over England and Wales for two days at this faith-filled and inspiring event. The lengthy journeys on Friday and Saturday were a small price to pay and, as ever, the pupils were outstanding ambassadors for the school!
May I take this opportunity to thank parents and carers for their exceptional support of school life, whether through supporting events over the last academic year, encouraging your child in the last week to apply for one of the Student Ambassador posts, or helping the school to maintain high standards in the smart new uniform, this having been phased in over the last year to minimise costs to families. We look forward to continuing to work with you to provide the very best pastoral care and academic opportunities for your children. With our new ‘Year of Challenge’ initiative, with an emphasis on character formation as an extension of our previous work on the Gospel Values, and with a brand-new extra-curricular timetable to be distributed next week, following the Enrichment Fair which provides details on all activities, clubs and teams in which pupils can get involved, there is lots to look forward to! Our prayers and best wishes to you and your families for a happy, successful academic year.
Mrs Pole