"The expectations at Bishop Challoner of every student are very high. We want to make sure they do everything they can, to be the best they can be."
Dear Parent/Carer,
On behalf of the Staff and Governors at Bishop Challoner we would like to wish you and your family and very happy, blessed and peaceful half-term. We have been absolutely delighted with the way the students have embraced a new curriculum and new timetable this year. Change is never easy to accept, but change has allowed lessons to have higher pace and challenge. Lessons are more focused and the feedback from staff and students alike has been very positive. Two key focuses this term have been homework and marking. These will be a recurring theme throughout the academic year. We will be providing parents with more information after half-term as to how best to support their children at home in regard to homework.
This term has allowed us to explore so many different aspects of school life. Every October we celebrate Black History Month. Every day there has been at least one event or piece of communication relating to this very important part of our curriculum. This culminated on the 20th October with a Black History Month cultural evening that had guest speakers, song, dance, and the written word. It was a wonderful occasion and it is vitally important that all of our students know the incredible contribution and importance black culture and identity has within our school and in the wider world. Every student who participated or attended an event did exceptionally well and we are very proud of them. On the last day before the half-term break, hundreds of students attended school in their traditional heritage clothing and looked absolutely wonderful. We are a school that is very proud of its diversity. The breadth and depth of our diversity is a crucial strength we share and we want to make sure we cherish and nurture it every day.
The first day back after the half term break Monday, 31st October is an INSET Day so no students are expected to be in school. The whole school return back on Tuesday, 1st November 2022 on the Feast of All Saints. All Saints’ Day is also called Feast of All Saints, Hallowmas, or All Hallows’ Day in the Christian Church. It is a day that commemorates both known and unknown saints who have acquired heaven. The Eastern Churches celebrate the day on the first Sunday after Pentecost. On the other hand, the Western Church observes the day on November 1 every year.
I am very grateful to all parents and carers who have actively participated in the consultation regarding the proposed amalgamation of both the boys’ and girls’ school. A detailed report will be published later in November for the whole community to see the feedback of this consultation and what the next steps will entail. I was very grateful to the 48 parents who attended the public event earlier this term who provided a wide range of questions and points of clarification to the proposal.
Year 7 on the 20th October, had their annual celebration Mass that was wonderfully and impeccably observed by all the students. They were a credit to themselves and their families.
A key focus for the next half-term for all students is to ensure that we have the highest standards of behaviour, self-organisation, attention to detail, completion of homework and the attitude to learn.
The expectations at Bishop Challoner of every student are very high. We want to make sure they do everything they can, to be the best they can be. This half-term bulletin provides you with an insight into life this term here at the school.
Bishop Challoner is on a journey of improvement and I am very grateful to all my staff who are engaged in making sure that Bishop Challoner does become the school it intends to be. We remain very grateful to every single parent and carer supporting us on this journey and we look forward to welcoming your child back on the 1st November 2022.
Have a happy, peaceful and blessed half-term.
Yours in Christ
JP Morrison
Executive Headteacher
Black History Month 2022
Each year, Black History Month is a highlight of the school calendar, and throughout the month of October students have been enjoying a huge range of events, workshops and activities. The theme of Black History Month 2022 is 'Time for Change: Actions Not Words' - a sentiment and phrase that has been at the heart of our programme.
Daily lunchtime workshops led by different members of staff have included a hair braiding workshop from Ms Adjei, storytelling from Mr King, and a salt fish fritters masterclass with Ms Smith. There have been celebration lunches, dance workshops, workshops on black authors and a great session on how to tie a Gele led by Ms Ige. These events provided the opportunity for our students to learn more about other cultures, and in many cases to deepen their knowledge of their own.
Each day, stories of Black History month heroes have been shared with students and staff by email, in form time, and on the screens around the school. This was a wonderful opportunity for teachers and support staff to share those people who inspire them and whose lives and stories they want to celebrate.
Earlier in October, students Jodi Onochie (Year 12) and Lennon Baluku (Year 11) were given the opportunity to meet with and interview top black lawyers across the City at Allen and Overy Law Firm, as part of the firm’s Black History Month Dinner and Photoshoot event. We are incredibly proud of their professional manner, insightful questions and ability to stay cool despite the demands of having to work with a full camera crew and tight time deadlines.
A number of our students from across the School attended an African Proverbs workshop with Mr King on Wednesday, 19th October. Mr King read out some traditional African proverbs and reflected on their meanings with the students. There was music by Prince Malachi and Bob Marley as well as some storytelling about when Mr King was a little boy and the struggles of the "King family" (Windrush generation). The students in attendance were curious, respectful and engaged.
Junior (KS3) and senior (KS4) linguists led by Ms Begum Ali spent the last week of the half term conducting fieldwork for a Black History Month project called “What’s in a (sur) Name?”.The researchers spoke to students and staff during break and lunchtimes, asking them about the history and cultural significance behind their surnames and creating postcards from the information they had collected. This was a great way to celebrate the ancestry, history, and heritage behind our surnames, which empower us to stay connected to our culture and heritage and with those around us.
Our Black History Month celebrations culminated in a celebration event on Thursday, 20th October and a Cultural Day on the last day of the half term. The Thursday evening started with a wide range of workshops in different departments of the school for students to enjoy. These included hair masterclasses, African art lessons, cooking workshops and African drumming. The lucky attendees then made their way to the school theatre for the performances. The incredible skills and talents of our student body were put on show over an hour of spoken word, dance, song and a guest panel chaired by our student leaders.
We would like to thank Naomi Nwabunor-Okine for her incredible singing and Devon Ejekukor for sharing his drumming skills with us. We also thank Lennon Baluku and Holly Sidin for their wise words about what Black History Month means to our school. We thank Jodi Onochie and Yasmin Ngoulle for their skillful chairing of our panel discussion, and Mr Robbertson and the Year 13 students working with him for a magnificent display of African contemporary dance.
We also extend a special thank you to our two external speakers Ochuko Toweh - Hedge Fund and Alternatives Sales Analyst at JP Morgan and Tola Odedoyin - Associate at Allen and Overy LLP. Thank you for educating and inspiring our young people.
We are incredibly lucky that our school community is made up of students from a huge number of cultural backgrounds, and our Cultural Day provided the opportunity to celebrate this. Many students came into school wearing the national dress or cultural clothing of their country or wearing the flag of their country. Lunchtime featured steel pan music and a bake sale in Aid of the Sickle Cell Society - a perfect way to close our celebrations. The range of clothing and nationalities celebrated throughout the day was incredible and reflected the pride that our students have in their cultural heritage. We thank God for the rich diversity of our student body and for all that this brings to our school.
Sports Day
Sports Day for Years 8-10 took place on Friday, 30th September. The event was postponed from the original date because of the extreme weather conditions in the summer term, and as such our community was incredibly excited to take part in what was technically our first Sports Day since the pandemic. Students took part in relay races, high jump and long jump in the sports hall and enjoyed the huge range of inflatables covering the MUGA outside. We thank the PE department for their huge efforts organising and running the day, and look forward to returning to Mile End Stadium for our next Sports Day at the end of the summer term.
Year 7 Celebration Mass
On the last Thursday of the half term, our Year 7 took part in a Mass of celebration in St Mary and St Michael's Church. The service was led by Father Willie Skehan and gave the students and their teachers the chance to reflect on and give thanks for the first half term at their new school. It has been a joy to welcome our new Year 7 to Bishop Challoner and already they have added so much to our community. We thank God for them and cannot wait to see them become all that God has called them to be over the coming years.
Sixth Form Open Evening
Sixth Form Open Evening will take place on Tuesday, 22nd November and attendees will have the chance to see our excellent facilities, meet staff and to speak with current students about life at Bishop Challoner Sixth Form. The evening will also feature speeches from the Heads of Sixth Form and our Executive Headteacher. We ask that all Year 11 students and families planning to attend please add this important date to their diaries.
Manga Workshop
Twenty students from Years 7-12, came to the library after school on Wednesday, 28th September, to take part in a manga workshop with artist-illustrator Chie Kutsuwada. The result of a collaboration between our Literacy and Art departments, it was an important opportunity to celebrate a form of reading that is beloved by so many of our students. Over the course of the 90 minute session, Chie talked the students through the origins of manga, the cultural significance of manga and how to draw manga. After a demonstration from Chie, where she drew her volunteer-model Kamila Miah (9Anne), the students then had a go at creating their own manga characters. They had a chance to ask questions and receive advice to assist their own creations.
Bishop Challoner Film Fans meet Director Paul Feig
On 6th October, Ten GCSE students - a mix of Film Club and nominated students - accompanied Ms Harrison to Vue West End to hear the director Paul Feig speak. Over the course of his talk, Paul covered his long career – including the making of Ghostbusters (2016), A Simple Favour (2018), Last Christmas (2019) and his latest film, The School for Good and Evil. He gave some invaluable careers advice for young people looking to get into film and also how to keep on going when things perhaps aren’t going so well. What was especially impressive was three of the girls joining the line to ask Paul a question, in front of a cinema screen full of people! Our students were incredibly engaged and particularly enjoyed meeting and taking a photo with Paul afterwards.
Illustrator Chris Riddell Inspires our Young Artists
Earlier this half term, we had the privilege of welcoming internationally acclaimed illustrator Chris Riddell to our school. Over a long career Chris has illustrated for JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman and countless other books beloved by people of all ages. His instantly recognisable drawings can also be seen in his weekly column in the Guardian newspaper. Over the course of his time with us Chris talked about his life and how he became an illustrator - all the time drawing on a pad connected to a projector to illustrate and illuminate the stories he was telling. This aspect ensured the talk was mesmerising and unforgettable for the young people watching - even more memorable perhaps for the students who had their portraits drawn as Chris was answering questions from them.
A group of students from across the school also had the exiting chance to participate in a workshop with Chris over lunch and benefitted from his feedback on their work and his advice on their technique.
We would like to thank Chris for his time, generosity and kindness and for all of the signed drawings that our students were lucky enough to take home with them.
Detective Project Puts our Budding Criminologists to work
A huge thank you to the team from the Detective Project who ran a day of fantastic workshops for our aspiring criminologists on October 13th. The students loved learning about the ingenious ways that evidence can be gathered and worked together and then used this knowledge to solve an example case of their own. The day was facilitated by former detectives who had worked in East London and our students jumped at the chance to ask them questions about their jobs, how they qualified and the role of forensics in bringing criminals to justice.
Year 9 Girls Visit the Tower of London
This term, two groups of Year 9 girls enjoyed a trip to the Tower of London, where they learned about the lives of the radicals, reformers and change makers that have been connected with the local landmark over the centuries. Our girls were fascinated by stories ranging from the Great Rising of 1381 to the suffragette protests just over a century ago. We thank the Historic Royal Palaces team for a fun, interactive and incredibly informative visit.
A Note on Attendance
Students with 100% attendance are more likely to secure the best grades at GCSE. Those without any absences are 1.5 times more likely to achieve 5 or more GCSEs at grades 9-4 or equivalent, and are almost three times more likely to achieve 5 or more GCSEs at 9-4 or equivalent including English and Mathematics than students missing 15-20% of lessons. The graphic above shows how critically important it is for students to be in school on time and on time to lessons every day
Dates for Your Diary
Monday, 31st October - INSET DAY
Tuesday, 1st November - Whole school returns
Monday, 7th November - Year 13 Grade Indicator Exams begin
Wednesday, 16th November - Year 7 Parents' Meeting
Monday, 21st November - Year 11 Grade Indicator Exams begin
Tuesday, 22nd November - Sixth Form Open Evening
Thursday, 1st December - Bishop Challoner Sport Awards
Thursday, 8th December - Year 13 Parents' Evening
Tuesday, 20th December - TERM ENDS