In partnership with

YOUTHPARTNER

ContentsWinter 2009

Liverpool at theShanghai Expo. . . . . . . 2

Go Penguins. . . . . . . . . 4

Summer Workshop . . 6

UK Senior MathsChallenge . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Lourdes 2010. . . . . . . . 9

SFX Band Night. . . . . . 9

SEAL Detectives . . . . 10

DAPSS Round Up . . . 12

Physics Olynpics . . . . 14

Maths Paris Trip . . . . 15

Bugsy Malone . . . . . . 16

Heartstart. . . . . . . . . . 18

Remembrance Day. . 20

Sports Round up . . . . 22

Dates for your Diary:Feast of St Francis Xavier: Thursday 3rd December 2009 – School closesat 12:25pm

College Carol Service: Monday 14th December 2009 – 7.30pm in theChapel. Please join us in this important celebration. Light refreshmentswill be served after the service in the dining room. School will close at2.30pm on this day.

Senior Proclamation: Tuesday 15th December 2009 at 7.30pm.This is a very important occasion when we recognise the achievementsof students who completed GCSE and A Level and other sixth formcourses at the end of last year. School will close at 2.30pm on this day.

Christmas lunch for students and staff: Wednesday 16th December 2009

6th Form Mass: Thursday 17th December 2009 – period 2 followed bytea, coffee and mince pies at break. 6th Form dismissal 11.20pm.

School closes for Christmas holidays: Friday 18th December 2009– school closes at 12.25pm.

School reopens for new term: Tuesday 5th January 2010– school reopens at 08.40am.

Dear ParentsWelcome to our Christmas newsletterwhich contains lots of information aboutthe many and varied activities which havetaken place this term.

We began the term with the news ofexcellent examination results for thestudents who had completed GCSE and A Level examinationsbefore the summer holidays. Congratulations to them andthanks to all those who worked hard to support them.

Lewis Walsh was one of the students who had been rewardedfor his hard work with an excellent set of GCSE results and itwas a great shock to all at the College to learn of his tragicdeath during the second week of term. Our thoughts are withLewis’ family and his close friends as we approach Christmas.

Christmas is a very important time in the liturgical year; a timeto remember that Jesus was born in order to lead us along thejourney to eternal life. His life on earth wasn’t easy at timesand neither is ours but we can take comfort from the fact thatHe is always there to support us. It is a time of the year to thinkof those less fortunate than ourselves and how we may be ableto support them in a positive way.

On behalf of all at the College I wish you a Happy and HolyChristmas and a peaceful New Year.

Yours sincerely

L D Rippon

Senior EditorJames Leyshon 10BRThe Editing TeamDeclan Jones 10KETom Buck 10MADominic McCaffrey 10KEMichael Manville 10OW

Jakeb Taylor-Byrne 9 LESean McCorkindale 9LESean Lamb 9RIMatthew Spreadbury 9WAChristopher Starkey 8OWMatthew Powell 8KE

The Newsletter Editing Team

2

Recently 8G1 have been using PetriDishes in science lessons withMr Higham. The dishes are filled withbacteria nutrient (Agar) to find out justhow much bacteria lurks on our bodies.The class tried finger prints, includingthe index finger we use on the system inthe dining hall, we tried hair & evenswabs of saliva, all of these revealedshocking results!

Colonies and individual germs grew from where we had placedanything from our bodies! Some of them had mould or fungigrowing out from the original spot. A network of bacteria hadgrown in just two days! The class had in depth discussions aboutthe dangers of this and if this meant our cashless fingerprintsystem was a health hazard.

The good news is it is in fact perfectly natural for microbes tobe lurking in and around our bodies. So there is no need toworry about picking up anything from the previous person totouch a surface.

The 8G1 Petri-PlateExperiment

We must say a big thank you to Mr Goldenwho retires at the end of term. Mr Goldenhas worked at the College since 1988 andhas been Head of Year 8 (Co-ordinator of Learning)since 1990. Many pupils have benefited from Mr Golden’sScience lessons, his camping trips both in the UK andabroad and outdoor education visits to Lyme Park. Specialthanks are also due for his very active support for the RNLI,the charity adopted by Year 8 pupils over the past few years.We wish him well in his retirement.

Mr Glover will be taking over as Co-ordinator of Learning ofYear 8 from January 2010.

Staff Changes

The new electronic notebooks for Year 7 are now in use inthe Geography and History departments. The pupils areenjoying learning how to use the notebooks and how toovercome the teething problems that always exist whenany new system is introduced. The pupils are activelyengaged in investigating the themes being studied andare becoming more aware of the links between subjects.

Mr Finn

Opening Minds

Liverpool at theShanghai ExpoSFX Pupils to Represent the City

Next year, Shanghai in China will host aWorld Expo on the theme "Better City,Better Life," representing the commonwish of the whole of humankind for abetter lifestyle in future urbanenvironments. The Expo will last fromMay to October with 200 exhibitors(nearly all of the countries in the world will berepresented) and is expected to receive 70 million visitors.

Liverpool and London are the only British cities to havewon the right to exhibit at Shanghai, so it is a veryimportant stage in the regeneration of the city. As part ofthe city’s plan, two Year 10 pupils from SFX will travel outto China to represent the city at the Liverpool pavilion andhave an opportunity to visit one of the fastest growingcities in the world.

In order to select our representatives, we organised acompetition. The pupils had to produce a 1-3 minute videoselling Liverpool to people from another country and apiece of writing to show their skills as communicators,team workers and positive representatives for Liverpooland our school.

We received excellent entries both in terms of contentand imagination, as well as the technical skills displayedin the making of the films. The selection panel, includingthe Headteacher, teachers and pupils, had a very difficulttime picking out the work of just two students. Eventually,after much deliberation, we were able to propose JamesSharples and Steven Lennon to the City Council torepresent our school. We can’t wait to hear the tales oftheir journeys next year!

You can see some of the final entries via the SFX youtubechannel.

If you want to find out more about the Shanghai Expo,visit: http://en.expo2010.cn/orhttp://www.liverpoolshanghai2010.com/index.cfm/page/Home

3

The NIGHTOWL sessions were launched on Monday28th September. The sessions run from 4.00 – 6.00pmeach Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdayevening. Many Year 11 pupils have attended thesessions each week which provide boys with anopportunity to; complete coursework or revision,attend targeted intervention and booster sessions orbrush up on study skills and exam technique.

This is a wonderful opportunity to catch up on workmissed, do a little extra work with your friends, orsimply start revision early with teachers available tohelp you. The sessions are aimed at helping you toachieve your potential in all subjects.

The sessions run in one hour blocks from 4pm – 5pmand from 5pm – 6pm, so if you are attendingNIGHTOWL don’t forget to tell your parents you arestaying late at school. Hot evening snacks are available between 3.30 and 4pm at a small cost.

Miss Lindop

Nightowl

The Maths department have organiseda visit for Year 10 pupils to the big bangexhibition in Manchester Central onSaturday 13th March 2010. The pupilscan get in involved in experiments andworkshops, and activities range fromsolving a murder, to modelling howmeteors destroyed the dinosaurs. TheBig Bang Exhibition will providepupils with the opportunity to

experience really amazing Science, Mathematics andTechnology in action and they will also be able to take part inthe experiments and simulations.

There are also theatre shows taking place at the exhibition.Sky One’s award winning Brainiac arrives (live on stage).Pupils can watch Brainiac Joe escape from Brainiac HQ anddive fearlessly into the world of science. Joe will experience aheart stopping ride through the wild world of the explosive.

The Big Bang is also host to some other impressivecompetitions including; the National Science & EngineeringCompetition, Young Engineers, CREST and many more. TheNational Science & Engineering Competition requires a teamof students to complete a project or activity in any field ofScience, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics.

Last year people who went to the Big Bang exhibits chattedwith robots at BAE Systems stand, met a giant tortoise whoguided visitors through Darwin Today and took part in live TVstudios where they filmed and broadcasted themselves anddiscussed careers available to them. This year will be evenbigger and better with stands from huge companies like Shell,Airbus, National Grid and many more.

The main objective of the trip is to inspire young people toopen their eyes to the world of Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics.

Places are very limited so if you would liketo know more about this trip please seeMiss Warwick as soon as possible.

By Jakeb Taylor-Byrne

Big Bang Exhibition

7 Campion Five-a-sideFootball Competitionor the Ugandan Orphanage Charity7 Campion have recently hosted a fundraising five-a-side football competition for the Ugandan orphanage,which Mr Harrison and 7 Campion thought would be aworthy charity. There were four teams in thecompetition, and Team C won. Altogether, the five aside football competition and the 10 pin bowling activityundertaken earlier in the year raised a total of£104.72. The form also plans to continue fundraisingby taking part in a sponsored silence, which they hopewill raise £500.00.

The form have now have set themselves a target ofraising £1000.00 by the end of the year.When interviewed by the newsletter editing team MrHarrison said that he is very proud of the generosity ofhis new form and hopes they emulate theachievements of his previous form (now in sixth form)who raised approximately £1,500.00 for the Year 8charity R.N.L.I. (Royal National Lifeboat Institution)fund. By Sean Lamb

Go Penguins… is the new celebratory public art event currently debuting in Liverpool thiswinter and taking inspiration from the Year of the Environment Programme. Ms Douglass &Mr Kelly attended the preview of Penguins at the Maritime Museum where a portfolio ofartists designs was on exhibition. The college is participating in this event and our penguinis currently on display in the centre of Liverpool. The Art Department ran an in-schooldesign competition for all Key stages.

Go Penguins

4

Mr Kelly designedthe poster for thecompetition andsome interestingdesigns weresubmitted. Thedesign briefincludedsuggestions uponwhich designscould be based:e.g. globalwarming,endangeredspecies andartists’ styles.

The CompetitionThis is Number 3: Winners and painting of winning design

The entries for the penguin design were judged and the resultswere as follows:

KS3 Category: Oliver Irving, 7 WardKS4 Category: Michael Sweetman, 10 BryantKS5 Category: David Jones, 12 Campion

Each winner will bepresented with asmall penguinstatue.The overallwinner was DavidJones's design andthis was painted onthe penguin whichhas now joined lotsof others ondisplay inLiverpool.

The design was influencedby the style of primitiveArtist: Henri Rousseau andfeatures several endangered species in the junglescene. The penguin was aptly named 'Rousseau' and wascollected from school to join the penguin parade.

Thanks to all pupils who took the time and thought to submitdesigns.

Penguin's Progress:

5

The winner David Jones is congratulated by Headteacher Mr.Rippon. The design now finished ‘Rousseau’ is packaged upready for collection and the journey to join the colonies ofpenguins as partof the Winter trail.Look out for‘Rousseau’ inColony 3, CollegeLane, Liverpool 1.

Happy penguinspotting andHappyChristmas!

The free Go Penguins trail map is available from Friday,November 20 at Tourist Information Centres, theMerseytravel Rail Network and other major outlets anddownloadable online at www.gopenguins.co.uk

The Winters Trail brochure can also be downloaded atwww.liverpool.gov.uk/culture

Go Penguins is a Liverpool City Council Commission forthe Year of the Environment.

Go Penguins Presenting Partners are:MerseytravelLiverpool OneNWDAHome BargainsEnvironment Agency

WebLinks

Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/artinliverpool/sets/72157621052712224/

Go Penguins Main Site:http://www.gopenguins.co.uk/site/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/go_penguins

Penguin: RousseauLocation: Colony 3 - College Lane, Liverpool ONE

This interesting design is based on the work and style ofHenri Rousseau featuring the jungle environment andincludes endangered species such as the red squirrel,panda and common carp.

SFX WavesGoodbye to Rousseau

School Penguin Spotting -

SFX's Rousseau joinsthe Winter TrailThe Penguin designed by SFX's

David Jones joins

the Liverpool Winter Trail and if you fancy a little

Penguin Spotting why not go and follow the trail

and see if you can manage to see them all.

Details of the SFX Penguin named Rousseau and

many others can be found here:

http://www.gopenguins.co.uk/site/schools.php

6

The governing body has a range of duties some of which arelisted below.• Is accountable for the performance of the school• Plans for the future direction of the school• Appoints the Headteacher and has responsibility for all

appointments• Makes decisions on the schools’ budget and staffing• Monitors and evaluates the curriculum• Decides how the school can encourage

pupils’ spiritual, moral and culturaldevelopment

• Ensures that the school provides forevery pupil

The Governing Body:

At SFX we have a large governing body. It consists of fivefoundation governors (appointed by the trustees) seven parentgovernors (elected by parents of students) one Local Authoritygovernor, three community governors, three staffgovernors(elected by the school staff) the Headteacher, twosponsor governors and one associate governor.

To assist and advise governors the Clerk to governors,Mrs Banks, deals with all the business that comes to governorseg correspondence, minutes, organisation of meetings etc. Inaddition the Business Manager, Mrs Black advises and informsgovernors regarding the financial position of the school.

Up to date lists of the present governing body are to be found inschool, and a full list of Governors 2009-2010 is available fromMrs Banks upon request.

How does the governing body discharge its duties?

The governing body meets regularly to discuss and makedecisions on school policy. The full governing body meets atleast once a term. The standing committees are Education,Building and Resources, these meet also once a term. Inaddition there are a number of statutory committees egAdmissions, Discipline, Appeals, grievance etc that meet asrequired. In addition there may ad hoc committees that meet towork on a particular aspect of school business. They willresearch an area and report back their findings to the fullgoverning body.

In addition to making decisions governors may be involved inactivities in school eg at prize night, at assemblies, at meetingsof staff, at in-service days, in school visits to gain a betterunderstanding of the school etc

The position of a governor is not an easy one but there is greatsupport from the school, from the trustees, from theArchdiocese, from the Local Authority from local and nationalGovernor Associations and from government departments etcGovernors also have access to advice from legal teams andhuman resources advisers as and when necessary.

We are fortunate at SFX to have student representation on thebuilding committee as the Head Girl and Boy serve on thiscommittee.

If you would like to know more about the work of a governingbody there are many websites that can provide detailedinformation. If you would like to be a governor consider puttingyour name forward at the next election of parent governors.

Chair of Governors

What is the Role of theGoverning Body at SFX?

Julie Robson, Artist/Educator, provided 3 full day workshops with G.C.S.E and A Level groups.

The thrust of the day long session for the 6th form wasgeared towards the more academic and contextualelement of the subject and included a session on writing acritical essay and an analysis of art in Liverpool.Contextual studies underpin the course and there is awritten element in Unit 3.

Summer Workshop:Activities Week July 2009

After some delay, eventually, there is good news. Lastyear the School Council worked with Mrs Smith toimprove the School Travel Plan. Pupils and staff hadvoiced their concerns about the dangers of theBeaconsfield Road entrance due to poor visibility andhigh vehicle speeds. Plans are now underway tointroduce a traffic calming scheme to assist entry andexit from the site.

Beaconsfield Road also forms part of a cycle route. Thetraffic calming will improve safety and make the routemore attractive to cyclists.

The proposal will include speed cushions and trafficsigns to indicate a 20 mph zone around the college. Weare now waiting to hear if plans for a barrier at the kerbopposite the entrance/exit on Woolton Hill Road havealso been activated.

Traffic CalmingScheme

The Council has met to discussthe issues to be raised for thisacademic year. We welcomed thenew members from Year 7 and setthe agenda for the meeting. It was decided to set out a rotafor chairing the meetings and also to appoint a publicityofficer. Joseph Mosses Year 11 will chair the next meetingand Joseph Irwin Year 10 has agreed to be Publicity Officer.

The SchoolCouncil

7

This years Schools Fantasy Leaguecompetition was a real success for the schoolas it finished 1st in the country, a fantasticachievement considering the hundreds ofschools that entered. The school competitionwas won by Joseph Mosses (Year 10) and thestaff league was won by Mr Bright.

James Leyshon 9BR

Schools Fantasy LeagueSuccess for SFX!

On the 20th October the 6th Form Art cohort accompaniedby Mr. Kelly spent a study day at the WalkerArt Gallery and the Liverpool Museum in themorning. At the Museum students took partin a drawing workshop and were able toaccess skulls, butterflies, insects and shellsas primary source. At the Tate Gallerystudents engaged with Contemporary Artexhibits and will use their findings to supporttheir A Level studies.

Art Department Study Day

As you will be aware we finished the school year withthe purchase of a second minibus for the College. Thishas obviously left “a dent in our wallet” so to speak sowe have started back in September with the intention ofraising more funds this time for the Music Departmentwho are in need of musical instruments and associatedequipment.

Many thanks to all those who responded to our recentrequest for Gift Aid donations. We have had £500.00donated to date from parents and further amounts canstill be accepted via the school office.

Recently, the PTA supported the school at the BugsyMalone productions and Band Night which were bothwell attended. We also held our annual ChristmasBingo recently and would like to thank all whoattended. A good afternoon was had by all and fundsraised will go towards the designated target. AChristmas raffle was also held in school for all pupilswith the chance of winning a Nintendo WII.

Future functions for the PTA can be viewed on theschool website and committee members can becontacted via the school office.

On behalf of the PTA Committee I would like to wishyou all a peaceful and enjoyable festive season andthank you for your continued support.

Best Wishes, Chairperson, SFX PTA

PTA Update

On 13th October one hundred and fifty four boys in years 7-10 received prizes from Mr King, Chair of Governors, forachievement and endeavour at the College’s Annual JuniorProclamation. We are very grateful for the support offeredby the trustees of the Margaret Bryce Scholarship Fund inproviding funding for some of the awards.

The evening was opened by a musical performanceinvolving both orchestra and choir along with the Sambaband. Mr Rippon extolled the virtues of all those who hadcontributed to the life of the College during the past year;those who had worked hard and achieved academically,those who had brought honour to themselves and theschool through their participation in sporting activities, themany who supported the sustained and remarkablecontributions to local, national and international charitiesand those whose musical and acting talents were enjoyedby many. Special awards were given to students who hadlived out the College’s Mission Statement:

James Sharples: Student VoiceJonathan Rigby: Citizen of the YearCallum Veach: The Connor Bryson TrophyJack and James Stanton: The Liam Costello Trophy

Junior Proclamation2009

Schools’ ParliamentSchools’ Parliament has opened with a flurry of activity.This year it was decided to take mainly Year 8 pupils astheir exam/coursework commitments would notinterfere with Parliament sessions.

Jack Taylor, Jake Evason, Adam Crosbie, MatthewPowell and Patrick Back have attended three sessions,discussing a variety of issues including Creativity inSchools, the Children and Young People’s Plan, busfares, safety on the streets and bullying.

The bullying workshop was most informative and gavethe MSP’s many ideas and points of information ontechnological bullying. These will be useful in our ownanti-bullying strategies and feed nicely into the nextphase of the Anti-Bullying Campaign in school.

8

UK Senior MathsChallengeOn Thursday 5th November over 80 students took partin the UK Senior Maths Challenge. All students whotook part in the challenge are studying Maths at AS orA2 Level. The challenge is run by the United KingdomMathematics Trust and it is designed to challenge thestudents and test their Mathematical ability. We arecurrently awaiting the results to see if any studentshave achieved a Gold, Silver or Bronze certificate.

Miss Arends

Table Tennis News

Year 7 watched a Road Safety performance onThursday 12th November. The theme of the playwas an important one as for many of our boystravelling to SFX may be the first time they haveused public transport alone or walked some distanceto school. The performance was humorous andthought provoking in equal measures and certainlymade the boys think about their own safety.

Year 7 student Billy Payne reviewed the play “The road safetyplay was to warn us about how dangerous crossing the road canbe particularly if you are distracted. The most commondistractions are: listening to your iPod, chatting with your matesor when you are texting or phoning someone.”

Sound adviceBilly!

Mrs Fay

Year Road Safety Play

During a week in November representativesfrom Liverpool City Council Lifestyles Futuresprogramme delivered a number of fun andinteresting sports activity sessions, includingFutsol and X Biking. This was to promote theactivities they have available at the city’s leisurecentres. As a healthy school we promote ourpupils taking part in physical activity and allchildren under the age of 17, who are LiverpoolCity Council boundary residents or children whoattend Liverpool Schools (within LCC boundary),are eligible for a FREE Future LifestylesMembership which provides FREE access to allLifestyles centres.

Mr Brown

Futures LifestylesWeek

The Table Tennis season started off very positively for both theKS3 team and the KS4 team. With the team picked and raringto go, there was some time left for the players to get somehelpful training tips in before the tournament began. After atense and challenging pre tournament regime by Mr. Taylor,the boys were now all prepared and ready to go. Both teamswere excited and eager to perform well.

The layout of the tournament is a mini league system, where ateam from each year group plays different schools once amonth, playing two different schools per meeting. Thematches consist of two legs, first to 7 points, with all fourplayers having a singles match and a doubles match. Thismeans that there are 6 gamesplayed, with a maximum of 12game points on offer permatch.

The KS3 team consisted of:T. MooneyJ. PayneO. SharpL. Flloyd

The 1st game versus SFAwas a tough game, with some excellent table tennisbeing played by both teams. Unfortunately SFX went down to a2-10 defeat. The score line was very flattering however, andafter some advice and a motivational chat, the boys pickedthemselves up and enjoyed an excellent 9-3 victory overChildwall.

The KS4 team consisted of:M. ThompsonJ. FoleyK. KennyS. Lennon

The KS4 team also had an excellent start to thecompetition. Against a strong Childwall side, the boys showedsome excellent skills, with some superb shots being played.Four excellent singles performances, topped off with two wellconstructed doubles games led to the team romping to a10-2 victory.

In July, seven Year 12 students currently studying"Wuthering Heights" with Miss McDonald, went to Howarth in Yorkshirefor the day. The students gained a better understanding of the novel bygoing to the Bronte house. Firstly, they had a talk in the cellars of thehouse and the guide gave an in depth presentation about the Bronte'slife at Howarth, and how it might have influenced their works. Fromthere they took a tour of the house and museum. The museum wasespecially interesting; full of drawings and sketches made by thesisters and also a locket belonging to Emily Bronte which is reminiscentof the fictional locket in the novel. Then the students visited the nearbychurch. Its exterior was covered in bullet holes made by Bronte'sfather, Patrick.

The class would like to thankMiss McDonald and Mr Wignall fortaking us there. The trip has given usan insight into the author'sbackground in preparation for theforthcoming A2 course ahead.

By Jamie Stewartand Thomas Manning

Howarth Trip

9

SFX Band NightIt took a few weeks of selling tickets and bandauditions to ensure a full house and recruitoutstanding bands to perform. The band line upincluded James Sharples, Tom Hogan, myself (inpeculiar ways), For The Memory and Off Target,just to name a few, all magnificent.

The night started with a sound check afterschool, which continued all the way through tothe start of band night. The singer for the band“For The Memory” had sadly fallen ill due to athroat infection, and at last minute notice, bothmyself and Tom Hogan had to fill in for separatesongs. But even though we were a tiny bitbehind schedule everything was looking goodand all the performers were ready to put on avery entertaining and interactive show.

Soon, the hall was full of people eagerly awaiting the firstperformance. The blue light then descended on the stage asboth James Sharples and Tom Hogan walked on the stage toopen the evening. No sooner had James picked up his guitarthan the crowd had rushed up to the front of the stage.

The first band was a hit, received with cheers afterevery song! Clearly we had a warm and welcomingcrowd. All bands and performers received a fantasticwelcome; it was like a lightening bolt of noise, applauseand appraisal for every single person who walked ontothe stage.

It was a fantastic night which everyone enjoyed. Thenight took a lot of organisation from Miss Manning andthe site staff, but I am sure anyone who was there willagree it was a resounding success.

Matthew Powell, 8 Kemble

On Wednesday 25th November forty seven Year 7 boysvisited the Grosvenor Museum in Chester. They spentsome time studying exhibits in the two galleries there.They also had a "hands-on" session, led by the EducationOfficer on site, where they viewed original artefacts anddiscussed their use. The highlight was a tour aroundRoman Chester, led by someone dressed as a RomanCenturion. This last session was both informative andamusing, especially thedetails concerning theAmphitheatre. The visitlasted for the wholeday and is an annualevent; it wasthoroughly enjoyed bythe pupils.

Mr Slattery

Classics DepartmentChester Trip

10

In November 2009 a group of 15 year 11 BTEC Business Studiespupils spent the day at Shop Direct in Speke. The company is thenumber one on-line shopping business in the country, andtrades under names such as; Woolworths, Littlewoods and Very.The pupils spent the morning visiting a variety of departmentsincluding; Branding and Merchandising, Sourcing and Quality,Sales and Marketing and E-commerce. They met employeesfrom all areas of the business including one of the Directors.

After a very pleasant lunch the pupils took part in an enterprisechallenge. They were divided into teams alongside pupils fromNotre Dame School. The brief was to design and market a newfashion line and the team, led by Liam Fletcher were runners up.

This was a great experience for our pupils. It allowed them toget an insight into the business world which will be oftremendous value when applied to their academic studies.Mr Conroy would like to thank the staff at Shop Direct formaking us feel very welcome.

Shop Direct Social and EmotionalAspects of Learning -SEALSt Francis Xavier’s College believes that every child matters. Tobe able to learn effectively students need to be happy,confident, understand themselves, understand their feelingsand know how to get on with each other.

SEAL aims to develop the pupils in our school in five key areas:

Self -awareness

Self-awareness enables the pupils to have some understandingof themselves. They know how they learn, how they relate toothers, what they are thinking and what they are feeling. Theyuse this understanding to organise themselves and plan theirlearning.

Managing feelings

In managing feelings, pupils use a range of strategies torecognise and accept their feelings. They can use this to helptheir learning and behaviour-for example managing anxiety oranger, or demonstrating resilience in the face of difficulty.

Motivation

Motivation enables learners to take an active and enthusiasticpart in learning. Intrinsically motivated learners recognise andderive pleasure from learning. Motivation enables learners toset themselves goals and work towards them, to focus andconcentrate on learning, to persist when learning is difficultand to develop independence, resourcefulness and personalorganisation.

Empathy

Being able to empathise involves understanding others;anticipating and predicting their likely thoughts, feelings andperceptions. It involves seeing things from another's point ofview and modifying one's own response, if appropriate, in thelight of this understanding.

Social skills

Social skills enable children to relate to others, take an activepart in a group, communicate with different audiences,negotiate, resolve differences and support the learning ofothers.

As part of this development pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 will befocusing on various SEALbased themes during formtime and in theirassemblies. They will alsobe targeting specific SEALobjectives in a variety of thelessons. Pupils should keeptheir eye out for SEALfocuses and targets atvarious points around theschool. Look out for the‘SEAL Detectives’ in futureissues of the schoolnewsletter as they seekto find good SEALpractice throughout theschool.

SEALDetectives’We are the ‘SEAL Detectives’ and arecurrently investigating the College to findthe good ‘SEAL’ areas and maybe see ifwe can help to improve any areas too.

We will let you know how we are getting onin the New Year.

In the meantime Merry Christmas andHappy New Year,

Yours Sincerely,

‘The SEAL Detectives’

11

Last term a Group of 13 pupils went to Keele Universitywith Mrs Grace and Mr Daniels. The group met at SFX ona Monday morning and travelled by coach to KeeleUniversity. Many schools participated and the SFX teamenjoyed a fun day of science-based activities.

The groups were treated to many lectures includingMusic, a lecture about earthquakes entitled“Earthquakes don’t kill people, Buildings do.” and anAmerican Studies lecture about how campus life relates,and doesn’t relate to shows like High School Musical.The teams then participated in sporting activities and hadthe choice of archery, football, tennis and badminton.They then had a tour around the University (Mrs Gracelagged behind with her twisted ankle!).

The Groups then had tea and a shower before a disco,where they were treated to a ‘Dance off’ between SFX’sown Izaki Wose and a student from Broadgreen School.Izaki, usually a quiet student, showed off his fast movingfeet and left us all in awe of his moves on the dance floor.

The Students stayed overnight and were woken up at8.00am for breakfast and another day of activities. Theyvisited the Star Dome (an inflatable planetarium) and theboys impressed the instructor with their in-depthknowledge of the Milky Way and constellation.

They boys were also treated to a lecture on sustainableenergy, which Mrs Grace particularly enjoyed, followed bythe opportunity to take part in a session about forensicscience where they took latency fingerprints (fingerprintsoff surfaces) and learned what it is like to be a forensicscientist. The boys also took place in a discussion aboutmedical ethics; Liam Murray participated particularlywell in a debate about donating organs.

After a final get together the group returned to SFX.Mrs Grace said “The boys were polite with a good senseof humour and Mr Daniels and I thoroughly enjoyed theircompany. They were a credit to the school.”

James Leyshon 10BR

Keele University Trip

Sam LearningAt school we are always looking for ways to extend our students’learning. Part of our improvement programme involves the use ofSAM Learning, a unique online service that covers all subjects.SAM has a proven track record; studies have shown that usingthe service leads to better exam results.

Students are able to access the service at anytime and anywhere.It is available to them in school, but also at home, in the libraryand community centre. All they need to do is visit the website andenter their unique login details.

Website address: www.samlearning.com

Centre ID: L25SF

User ID: Date of birth followed by two initials: first namethen last name. Example: 010896DJ is the User IDfor David Jones born 1st Aug 1996.

Password: Initially same as the User ID, Learners areencouraged to change this to something difficult toguess.

It is advised that students keep a record of the access details intheir homework book.

The 10 hour task Challenge is back!

Independent research has shown that students who use SAMlearning secondary for 10+ hours across all subjects do better intheir exams. Please see the website for a revision planner andmore information.

We hope that your child is able totake full advantage of SAMLearning and thank you in advancefor supporting the initiative.

Mrs Hesketh

Anchors Away -Psychology TripYear 12 Psychology students attended a revisionconference at the Liner Hotel in Liverpool. This provedto be a wonderful venue that had all the earmarks ofthe Titanic. Students will certainly have to steer arounda few icebergs in preparation for their examinations!The day involved listening to a range of speakers froma variety of Universities; Dr Graham Wagstaff from theUniversity of Liverpool talked about crime sceneinvestigations including factors that effect eye witnesstestimony including police work using the cognitiveinterview to gain information from eye witnesses.Students also had the opportunity to meet with seniorexaminers who gave invaluable advice as to how toprepare for their examinations and how to steer theircourse across turbulent seas.

The day culminated with a talk from arguably Britain’smost famous psychologist, Professor Alan Baddeleyfrom Cambridge University. Professor Baddeley stoodto talk about his ‘working memory’ model of memoryto rapturous applause. This was the highlight of the dayfor all students, many queuing to get his autograph.The day ended with students sailing home with lots ofinformation and advice.

Miss Finlay

12

DAPSS Round-UpIn urban lingo ‘Daps’ apparently refers to the knocking togetherof fists as a greeting, or form of respect. This seems aparticularly appropriate bit of terminology given the recentachievements of SFX’s Debating And Public Speaking Society(DAPSS). A series of outstanding performances has resulted insociety members knocking fists and slapping backs with afrequency that is almost painful. Yes, we’re only in November,but DAPSS has already savoured some of the sweetest victoriesin its history, none more historic than . . .

Three Lions On His ShirtIt is with great pleasure that DAPSS can announce Year 12student Matthew Handley’s selection for the England DebateTeam. He will represent his country with three other students inthe World Schools Debating Championships to be held in Qatarin February 2010.

Matthew was invited to trial for England along with 35 otheryoung hopefuls and underwent a rigorous series of tests,including: 5 debates, a general knowledge quiz and, finally, aninterview.

It is not possible to overstate this achievement. It is somethingspecial. Then again, everyone at DAPSS has known for a longtime that Matthew Handley is a young man of exceptional ability,indeed, somebody whose talents deserve a world stage. We arevery pleased that he has this opportunity and wish him the bestof luck in Qatar. Congratulations are also due to MatthewOldham (Year 12), who attended the England trial as well,performing with great distinction. Whilst he missed out onselection, Matthew did progress onto the final shortlist of twelve,and he has an excellent opportunity to claim a place in nextyear’s team.

Birmingham University SchoolsDebating CompetitionOn 7th November, eight pupils from SFX travelled down to theMidlands to take part in this tournament, which comprised atotal of twenty-four two-man teams. These ‘away days’ form awonderful part of the DAPSS experience: the early train fromLime Street; the chitchat about pop groups and comedians; theearnest grappling with current affairs; the anticipation of thechallenge ahead; and, almost always, ‘Sleepy Dan’ Keeley fallingasleep against whoever is sat next to him. All of this takes placeunder the watchful eye of Mrs Boughey, who masterminds eachof these forays into the competitive sphere with Napoleonicprecision.

In this particular tournament, the ‘B’ Team of Daniel Keeley andPaul Wileman put in some muscular performances throughoutthe day and emerged in a none-too-shabby 7th place. However,the ‘A’ Team of Handley/Oldham rampaged all the way to thefinal and can consider themselves unfortunate to have emergedonly as runners-up, losing out on a narrow majority decision.Nevertheless, boasting a phenomenal points tally, MatthewHandley was declared the best speaker of the forty-eightparticipants, whilst Matthew Oldham and Daniel Keeley were tiedin third place.

The occasion was also notable for the plucky debuts of some ofthe society’s newer members, who all performed creditably andsharpened their debating skills in the process. They were notoverawed by the stiff competition and can all feel pleased withtheir final rankings: Paul Wileman (15th), Steven O’Hare (26th),Adam Gilbert (30th), Dominic McCaffrey (31st) and Jack Wray(33rd).

Garston Rotary Club Public SpeakingCompetitionAnother success for SFX, this annual event was won convincinglyby Matthew Oldham, whose sharp speech advocating the virtuesof a carnivorous diet rightly dazzled the judges. He well deservedhis £50 prize. Dominic McCaffrey (Year 10) also gave an

Matthew Handley (Yr 12) has been selected for theEngland Debate Team and will represent his country with3 other students in the World Schools DebatingChampionships to be held in Qatar in Feb 2010.

Matthew was invited to trial for England along with 35other young hopefuls and underwent a rigorous series oftests, including: 5 debates, a general knowledge quizand, finally, an interview.

SFX Debating Society is extremely proud of hisachievement and we wish him the best of luck in Qatar.

Debating Glory -Matthew MakesEngland Debate Team

The following is anextract from a letterwhich was receivedfrom The EnglishSpeaking Union inOctober 2009 inrecognition of SFX’sDebating and PublicSpeaking success.

The English-Speaking Union

13

Dear Mr Rippon,I am writing to offer congratulations to St Francis Xavier’s College onhaving Matthew Handley selected to represent his country at the WorldsSchool Debating Championships in Qatar in February 2010The selectors were very impressed by Matthew’s style, level of knowledgeand ability to construct sophisticated arguments, and to deliver them in asubtle and mature manner. He will play a key role in the team for whichwe have extremely high hopes. England has a superlative record at thechampionships and we are anxious to ensure that this continues. Incombination with his own natural talents I know that Matthew has hadoutstanding coaching from Clare Boughey and this achievement, alongwith Matthew Oldham’s very high rankings at the trials are a testimony tothe efforts you and your staff have put in.I hope that the school is proud of their achievement and will supportwhat is an extraordinary opportunity for a young person…..Yours sincerelyJames ProbertHead of the Centre for Speech and DebateThe English-Speaking Union

encouraging performance, reflecting upon society’s perception ofyoung people in what was a provocative speech. Well done toboth pupils for representing the college so admirably.

Schools MACE Competition 2009/10: Round OneOn 16th November the college was the venue for the local stageof this prestigious national competition, which attracted teamsfrom St Edward’s, Liverpool College, Birkenhead Grammar,Archbishop Blanche and St. Mary’s, Crosby. A special mentionmust go to Daniel Keeley, who chaired the event with no littleaplomb. Congratulations are also due to the SFX ‘A’ Team ofHandley/Oldham, who cruised through proceedings and will goon to represent SFX in the north-west final. This takes place onFebruary 27th and will, once more, be hosted by the college. Whynot come along and see their fine, young minds in action?

Upcoming EventsThe society has the usual assortment of upcomingcommitments. For example, the first round of the CambridgeUniversity Schools Debating Competition takes place on 25thNovember, and there will be a trip to the Welsh capital on 30thJune for the Cardiff University Schools Debating Competition.SFX teams will also participate this year in events organised byOxford University and Durham University.

As well as commanding the stage at these hotly contestedtournaments, DAPSS members will continue to attend thesociety’s weekly sessions (E1 - Monday, 3:45 pm), where theirhard graft lays the foundation of all future glories. If you’re apupil at SFX and you have a passion for discussion then youshould think seriously about attending.

14

Year 8 continue theirsupport of the RNLI thisterm. Viv Featherstone ofthe RNLI delivered anassembly to Year 8 onWednesday 18thNovember, dressing twoYear 8 boys Adam Conroyand Scott Robinson upas Lifeboat crew. Thecurrent Year 8 hasraised £200.00 to date.

Mr P. Golden

Year 8 Charity Update

The vote is in and Jonathan Rigby has been elected a Junior LordMayor for one month. It will be chosen so as not to coincide withhis exams, preferably after the said event. His speech was verygenuine and he equipped himself well, as always.

Mrs Smith

Junior Lord Mayor

Spanish visit toManchesterUniversityOn the third of November agroup of twelve 6th Formstudents visited ManchesterMetropolitan University for aseries of lectures / workshops as part of theirSpanish studies. They had the opportunity to use theirlanguage skills in an Internet forum and also to trytheir hand at the difficult skill of interpreting for twobusinessmen. It was a good opportunity to see at firsthand what a University language course has to offer.

Mr Higham

Physics OlympicsOn Saturday 17thOctober 2009, fourmembers of Year 13 whostudy Physicsvolunteered to take partin the 2009 PhysicsOlympics at theUniversity of Liverpool;Jennifer Hui, NeilKennedy, John Wrightand Phil Davies (also known as‘Team Planck’). During this event the four members needed touse teamwork, problem solving and apply just a little Physicstoo! In the morning we had to arrive early and meet up withMr Hayhurst, our Physics teacher, then when all schools hadarrived we were all directed to the Lecture Theatre and weregiven information about what was going to happen on the day.During the day we had to complete five different tests plus aFermi Quiz, and the scores of each test and quiz produced anoverall result.

We were really pleased to win Test Five: - Longitude andLatitude. For this challenge we were given a map with a treemarked in the middle and three crosses around it (this was thelayout of the field outside the Physics Department). Our taskwas to estimate the latitude and the longitude of the tree,using any method of working out (but not walking off thegrass.) In this test, we were placed 1st and won a PhysicsOlympics 2009 T-Shirt.

As the day went by, all participants met up in the LectureTheatre and waited anxiously for the overall results and ranks.Every team who came 1st in an event won a Physics Olympics2009 T-Shirt, which we all wore on the way home! The winning

teams for the overall resultalso won either Bronze, Silveror Gold medals. Team Planck(SFX) were placed 6th overalland we were really proud tobe in the top 10 of the 35participating schools.

Jennifer Hui

Sixth FormStudy ZoneSixth Form students returned after the summerholidays to discover that the Sixth Form Common Room hadbeen refurbished and also had a name change. The CommonRoom is now a Study Zone for Years 12 and 13. Eighteenprivate booths with computers have been installed in thecommon room, which now also has WiFi access. Thesecomplement the 18 computers in the Sixth Form LRC. Thismeans there are now 180 hours of PC access available toSixth Form students on a daily basis. There are also twentyfour individual work stations for students who wish tocomplete independent, silent study, as well as two groupwork areas. Mr Gardiner, the Sixth Form Study Supervisor isalso based in the Learning Zone. He is available if studentsneed additional help or support when they are workingduring their free lessons or study periods.

Miss Durnin

15

On Monday 12th October 2009 the Choir was invited to the TownHall to sing at the Citizenship Ceremony organised by The HomeOffice. The ceremony was attended by The Lord and LadyMayoress of Liverpool who presented our new citizens with theircertificates.

The choir sang during the reception andceremony finishing with The National Anthem.Afterwards there was a reception for all theparticipants.

Matthew Spreadbury9 Ward

Citizenship Ceremony -Liverpool Town Hall

In September, we held our first SFXLanguages Week to promote lifelonglanguage learning and interculturalunderstanding. Events took placethroughout the school, both in andout of lessons. The dining roommenus were based on languagethemes with French, Italian,Spanish, Mexican and Greek days.Year 9 pupils designed andproduced bilingual menus for thedining room which was decoratedwith flags from around the world.Competitions also took place andpupils had to work out whichlanguages teachers around theschool spoke, with some surprises (Russian, Czech,Arabic and Mandarin!).

There were also language themed activities in Geography,History, Maths, English, ICT and RE as well as assemblies on thethemes of the week. Thanks to everyone, staff and pupils whomade it all such a success!

Languages Week

An Extra SpecialThank YouWe are extremely grateful for two very generous donations tothe College this term. The first from Mr Samuels a formerstudent, in memory of his wife, and the second from Mr FredDevereux’s family, in memory of Fred who was a formerstudent, teacher, Head of History, Deputy Headmaster andGovernor at the College.

The gift from Mr Samuels is being used to purchase a newConsecration paten, lectern and Chalice for the Chapeltogether with some resources for the Learning ResourceCentre. The History Department are working with Mrs Gracein the Learning Resource Centre to find some fitting andsuitable materials to support students using the donationfrom Mr Devereux’s family.

Year 10 – 13 atPriorité à Gauche

In October, as part of LangaugesWeek, a group of boys from Years10 – 13 attended an afternoonspecial concert by spoof Frenchsupergroup Priorité à Gauche,kindly hosted by St Margaret’sHigh School LanguagesDepartment.

With songs in French like “J’aiun animal à la maison” and “Bonjour”, we were entertainedfor an hour of silliness with a Gallic flavour. Thanks to StMargaret’s for our invitation!

Bike ShedsBoys have been making use of the new bike sheds, enablingthem to cycle to school. This initiative was first raised by pupilsthrough the School Council and is certainly encouraged as partof a healthier lifestyle.

The pupils have to complete an application for a permit andhand this in to Bro Peter. If the pupils meet the criteriaregarding safety and cycling proficiency, they are then givenpermission to cycle to school

The bike sheds are locked for security during the day.

The Maths department have organised aMathematics trip to Paris for Year 8 and9 pupils next summer. The objective ofthe trip is enable pupils from SFX toparticipate in Maths activities linked to“real world activities”. The group, including MissWarwick, Miss Arends, Mr Glover and Miss Cullen will betouring Paris, learning about Maths in the real world andcompleting worksheets on the various places the groupwill visit.

The group of SFX pupils and teachers will also visit EuroDisney where they will be able to solve mathematicalproblems involving the rides and shops. The group willalso visit the Paris Science Museum to learn about howMaths and Science are linked, and the famous EiffelTower. The trip is taking place from Wednesday14th July to Saturday 17th July 2010. If you would liketo know more about the trip, please speak withMiss Warwick.

By Jakeb Taylor-Byrne & Sean Mccorkindale

Maths Paris Trip

16

Bugsy MaloneBugsy… the StoryNew York , 1929. Dandy Dan’s hoodlums terrorise the district,exterminating undesirables with their new weapons-splurgeguns (Once splurged, a kid is "all washed up" and his careerin crime is over). His rival is Fat Sam Stacetto, who runs theGrand Slam Speakeasy, but Fat Sam’s gang still use oldfashioned pies. Fat Sam engages the help of Bugsy Malone, asmooth city slicker who hitherto has been more occupied insweet talking Blousey Brown, a would-be girl singer.

With Bugsy’s help, Fat Sam escapes from a frame up but helearns later that Dandy Dan’s mob have splurged nearly allhis gang. They’ve also destroyed his sarsaparilla and groceryrackets – the whole empire’s gone! There’s only one hopeleft. Fat Sam pays Bugsy 400 dollars in exchange for morehelp. Bugsy, who has promised to take Blousey to Hollywood,has to break his date with her. Is she mad!

Meanwhile Bugsy and LeroySmith, a guy with an awesomepunch, witness a secretdelivery of splurge guns atDock 17. With a bunch ofdown and outs, they help

themselves from the crates. Thenthe police arrive, led by Captain Smoky and

Lieutenant O’Dreary. Bugsy and the gang escape. FinallyDandy Dan prepares for a shutdown at Fat Sam’s speakeasy.When his mob burst in, Busgy and the guys let’em have it,splurge , custard pies, flour bombs… Out ofgooey pandemonium it emerges that Bugsyand Blousey have made it up. Peacehas broken out at last.

The Bugsy Malone Production was a resounding successfollowing much effort and hard work from the cast and thestage crew. Despite the busy schedule and stress we allenjoyed the experience. However, none of this would havehappened without the efforts of Miss Anderson andMiss Manning.

We all loved performing and will all certainly be auditioningfor future school plays, we are already looking forward tofuture productions! Word has already spread regarding howgood SFX plays are and we are sure that our success withBugsy Malone will not be forgotten.

We would also like to say a special thank you to thegirls from St. Julie’s, Stephanie Scrutton, Mr. Rogers,John Hyland and Patrick Coyle for helping us with the show

Jamie Pye, Joseph O’Neill, Chris Starkey, Daniel Healey,Reece Healy, Jack Thomas, Joe Nicholson.

‘The play was so much fun to perform, the storyline wasreally funny. I loved doing the Finale, especially because thecrowd were always great.’ Reece Healy

Bugsy Malone

17

Bugsy CakeA big thank you must go to Mrs Starkey, who madethe most wonderful celebration cake for thecast of Bugsy Malone. The cast clamberedto have their photographs taken with thecake before it was cut. I think they will allagree it certainly tasted as good as itlooked!

Bugsy MaloneMystery GuestsThe play was a resounding success and with two newactors it was even more entertaining, particularly forthe cast!

Mr Evans and Miss Lindop surprised the cast with theirlast minute contribution to the show and arrived atrehearsals unannounced the day before the first show,much to the amusement of the rest of the cast whothought it was hilarious to see their teachers on stage andwe were all surprised as they were quite nervous.

Miss Lindop and Mr Evans knew their parts well but theyboth needed a helping hand and lots of reassurance(particularly when it was time for them to actually go onstage as neither of them could remember their cue).Luckily I was also in both of their scenes and helped themalong (pushed them on stage!). I was the violinist in bothscenes so it was easy for me to show them the ropes.

Mr Evans seemed to really enjoy his stage debut andreally got into character as the Undertaker. Thanks to himthe “bodies” of the splurged gangsters were removedfrom stage smoothly and quickly except for one littlehiccup when one of the “bodies” nearly lost his trousers!

Christopher Starkey 8OW

18

Year 10 launched their fundraising for Charity Zoe's Place aboutthree weeks ago, so far the boys have been collecting in formperiod, but are also thinking of ideas how to go beyond this.Mr Farrington is hoping to take a group to visit very soon so thatthey can report back to the year group.

Ms Cain.

Year 10 Fundraising

Heartstart UK is aninitiative co-ordinated by theBritish HeartFoundation to teachmembers of the public what to do in a life-threateningemergency: simple skills that can save lives.

It provides opportunities for people to learn the vital skills ofEmergency Life Support. Through Heartstart UK the BHF aims tostrengthen the chain of survival by promoting and supportingELS training in the community.

The benefit of CPR performed by a bystander in an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is significant.

The most important factor determining survival after a cardiacarrest is the time from collapse of the casualty to defibrillation -performing CPR buys time and more than doubles the chancesof survival.

Congratulations to the following Year 10 students who havecompleted the British Heart Foundations Heartstart award:

James BurrowsLevi DowridgeLewis FayStuart I’AnsonMatthew KirbyMichael LeameyGary Mills

Heartstart

Chris Evans, Connor Bowan, and Owen Sharp recentlyrepresented the school in the Liverpool South SportsPartnership Badminton Competition at Greenbank SportsCentre. The tournament was played in great spirit yetfiercely contested by each school involved, which made forexcellent entertainment.

As each game went by Chris, Connor and Owen produced agrowing level of quality and performance. Considering thiswas the first time any of them had played badminton in acompetitive situation the team work, effort and skill shownby the boys in a new sport was beyond expectation.

As a result of the tournament, a partnership has beenestablished with Woolton High School. This will enable ourboys to use their fantastic new sports hall to train. We nowall look forward to the next tournament and hope it can beas enjoyable and competitive as the first.

Mr Murphy

Y9 Badminton

The New IT DiplomaThe new IT Diploma began in September 2009 and is beingdelivered in a brand new purpose built classroom in theSunflower Centre in Woolton Village. This qualification isdelivered as part of collaboration with other South Liverpoolschools and currently provides for both SFX and Gateacrestudents.

So far, the pupils have been learning about the potential oftechnology and have been exploring organisations. This courseis related to real-life businesses and pupils recently visitedBibby Distribution to find out all about the technology they useas an organisation and to have lunch with some members ofthe management team. Another visit took place in Decemberand the students visited the QVC call centre in Knowsley to seehow this large company operates and how technology featuresin the different areas of the business.

A Diploma student, Michael Manville says:

“This course has been great so far and is in a pleasant learningenvironment. The trip to Bibby Distribution was very useful andrelevant to the course and we were given some free gifts aswell!”

Mrs Holmes

Bronze Award Year 11Congratulations to six Year 11 pupils who haveachieved their ASDAN Bronze Award thisterm, moderators were extremely impressedwith the quality of their folders.

Mark DeverauxIan BrumskillNicholas HadleyNicolas McDonaldJordan FearnsRian Patino

Congratulations to Owen Sharp - Year 9 on his results over thesummer term in the 1500m:

South District Meeting – 3rd place (5minutes 3 seconds).Liverpool City Individual Championships – 2nd place (4 minutes58 seconds).Merseyside Catholic Schools (Division 1 Meeting) – 2nd place (5minutes 1 second).

Athletics Results

19

On Friday 23rd October all Year 7 pupils took part in a series offitness tests, designed to assess each pupil’s current level ofgeneral fitness and swimming ability. This took the shape of anall day exercise programme, in which pupils carried out anumber of fun activities targeting:

• Speed• Endurance• Strength• Agility• Power• Swimming

The whole day was planned and delivered by members of theYear 13 BTEC Sport group. This entire group carried out theactivities with a great deal of enthusiasm and professionalism.Watching the students in action I am sure they could all havepromising careers within the sports industry in the future. I wasextremely proud of the reaction of the boys and it was verypleasing to see all our Year 7 students trying their best to gainthe quickest time or furthest jump possible.

In the PE department we understand that we have a duty of careto inform and educate our students about the importance of anactive and healthy lifestyle. Before the tests were carried outmyself and Mr Taylor gave a presentation on diet and nutrition,focusing on calories, energy input and energy output. So if yourson has arrived home telling you how many calories are in theevening meal you have so carefully prepared; yes it’s our fault!To further focus on this national issue, we have added a sevenweek unit of work dedicated to health related exercise.

Mr A Brown

Year 7 Fitness Tests

Enterprise Day -SFX win competitionSome Year 10 pupils took part in an Enterprise Event atJaguar on the 23rd October. The boys won the competitiontheir prize being a Land Rover Experience Trip. The boysperformed excellently and their behaviour wasoutstanding. The competitors were:

• Paul Murray• Matthew North• Adam Sefton• Sean Stamper• Philip Walsh• Alywn Yu

The boys took part in three challenges, which requiredthem to use team work and communication skillsthroughout each task. The first task required them toproduce a tent made out of newspaper that could hold 2men. The second challenge required them to build a towerthat could support two bricks and for the third challengethey had to make a lamp stand out of paper that had tosupport and balance a bulb which had to light when it wasswitched on.

Mr Conroy

Remembrance Day

20

During the week of 9th November 2009 all assembliesfocused on National Remembrance Day. This year being aspecial one as the last three veterans of WW1 died duringthe year.

Our assembly was to talk about Remembrance Day. MissHelsby helped us to assemble the PowerPointpresentation and a lot of work was also put into thepresentation by Adam Kinsey. We wanted to highlight inthe speech that on Remembrance Day we shouldn’t justremember the soldiers that had died in the previous wars,we should also be thinking of the servicemen and womenwho are fighting now in Afghanistan.

We also incorporated two poems into the speech one ofthem was called ‘In Flanders Fields’ and was written byMajor John McCrae which was inspired by poppy fields.The other poem was written by Rudyard Kipling who wasinspired to write this by the death of his son in World WarOne. We asked all Year 8 to join in with our own 2 minutesilence to help us remember all of the servicemen andwomen who have given their lives for our country or haveput their life on the line, to help countries. We also neededthe silence to remember the people who are currentlyserving.

By Jack Devine & Sam Maher

9 Bryant RemembranceDay Assembly Report

This is our prayer that was read out at the end, we all thought about the prayer deeply, and prayed for the servicemen and women of Great Britain. We also prayed for any country in conflict and all of the people who have beenaffected by war.

Lord our God,

We pray for all those who have been affectedby conflict, whether directly or

indirectly, no matter what side they were on.

We pray that the different nationswill find more peaceful solutions to theirproblems and that the world will finally

be free of conflict.

Help us to be more tolerant of others,more caring and compassionate andto make the most of the freedoms and

opportunities available to us.

Amen.

21

In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on rowThat mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields.

The poem whichbrought us the poppy:

Throughout the world the Poppy is associated withremembrance of those who died in order that we may be free,but how many of us are aware of why the Poppy became asymbol of remembrance?

The Poppies are worn because in World War One the soil on theWestern Front contained thousands of Poppy seeds, all lyingdormant. The battles being fought there churned up the soil somuch that the Poppies bloomed like never before.

Poppies

The Lourdes youth pilgrimage has been running for over 35 years.Next summer from Friday 23rd July to Saturday 31st July a group ofaround twenty teenagers will make the journey to Lourdes. The tripis for 15-18 year olds and costs about £400.00 but is an extremelyworthwhile experience as you have opportunities to help the elderly,disabled and sick. Father Steven Pritchard organises the trip for 400 young people, who travelon seven coaches and one plane. The young people come from various schools and parishesacross the Liverpool Archdiocese.

In the months leading up to the trip the young people are provided with lots of opportunities tomeet up with other students attending the trip at a chosen parish for a disco. If you would liketo attend please visit Mrs Leong at the print room or have a look at the websitehttp://www.animateyouth.org to find out more.

We hope as many people as possible can benefit from the pilgrimage to Lourdes!

Tom Buck 10MA

Lourdes 2010

22

YEAR 7LEAGUESt. Margaret’s won 14-3All Saints won 4-1Archbishop Beck won 2-0Sacred Heart won 3-2Huyton College won 7-2

NATIONAL CUPMeols Cop won 15-0Haslingdon High Schoolwon 7-4Rainhill won 7-2

LIVERPOOL CUPShorefields won 6-1

MERSEYSIDE CUPKnows Park won 7-3

B-TEAMChildwall won 14-0All Saints won 12-0Cardinal Heenan lost 3-2

YEAR 8LEAGUESt. Margaret’s won 4-2All Saints won 5-1Sacred Heart lost 4-2Bluecoat won 9-1

NATIONAL CUPSt. Nics won 3-1Salford Academy won 7-2St. Edmunds won 4-0

LIVERPOOL CUPDe la Salle lost 5-4

YEAR 9LEAGUESt. Maragret’s won 5-0All Saints won 5-3Knows Hey won 18-3Bluecoat drew 0-0

NATIONAL CUPManchester Grammerlost 6-3

LIVERPOOL CUPDe La Salle lost 2-0

YEAR 10NATIONAL CUPAudenshaw School won 5-3Helsby High School won 3-0

MERSEYSIDE CUPChildwall won 8-0

YEAR 11LIVERPOOL CUPShorefields won 3-0

MERSEYSIDE CUPWest Derby lost 4-3

1ST XILEAGUEGateacre won 2-1Halewood lost 4-0Hugh Baird won 6-0Community College won 2-0

NATIONAL CUPTrinity CE lost 2-1

2ND XIMyerscough College won 9-0Bebington lost 6-0Hugh Baird won 6-0Childwall drew 1-1

The first term for the school’s football teams has begun verysuccessfully with all the teams sitting in strong positions intheir respective leagues. We are also progressing well in localcompetitions with each Year Group having progressed into thesecond or third round of either the Merseyside Cup orLiverpool Cup. Congratulations must go to in particular to theYear 7, 8 and 10 teams who have progressed to round four ofthe English Schools National Cup. All have been drawn athome in round 4, the Year 7’s facing Bishop Heber of Cheshire,the Year 8’s facing Grange High School from mid Cheshire andthe Year 10’s facing Wilmslow High school from Macclesfield.We wish them the best of luck for the remainder of thecompetition.

This term has also seen us play a number of B-Team fixturesfor Years 7, 8 and 9 against Cardinal Heenan, Childwall andAll Saints. From the success of this we decided to enter Year 7and 8 B and C Teams in a 7-a-side league which began on the24th November. I would like to take this opportunity to say abig thank you to all staff and parents involved in any ofthe schools football teams. Our aim is to give asmany of the pupils a chance to play competitivefootball and without your help and support itwould not be possible.

Mr P Kelly

Congratulations to the Year 7 Rugby Union team who reached thesemi final of the Merseyside emerging schools tournament, losingout narrowly 2 tries to nil in a tightly contested semi final againstChildwall School. After winning our first two group gamesconvincingly we lost out in the remaining two games to moreexperienced rugby playing schools Birkdale and Park High school.Qualifying to the quarter finals was a great achievement in itself considering the majority of the team only beganplaying rugby at the start of the September term. Drawn against Park High School in the quarter final, who hadbeaten us 4 tries to nil in the final group game, our team were the underdogs.Against all odds the team put in amagnificent performance, winning every scrum and tackling as if their lives depended on it. A great try from IfeanyiEmeka-Anyakwo late on in the game won it in dramatic style for SFX.

The semi finals against a very strong and experienced Childwall side, saw the team perform superbly once again,proving that they were one of the stronger teams in the tournament. The game was deadlocked at 0-0 for most ofthe game until a strong Childwall scrum led to a try out wide. Pushing hard for an equalizing try the team showedgreat passing skills and were nearly rewarded but for last ditch tackles. With the game almost up and SFX pushingforward strongly Childwall counter attacked and scored with the final action of the game.

All in all it was a tremendous effort from the 18 players in the squad and considering that it was a lot of theplayers first taste of competitive rugby they can be very proud of their achievement. After performing so superblyin their first tournament we now have very high hopes for the future for the Year 7 Rugby team.

Mr P Kelly

Yr 7 Rugby Union

Football Results

23

Year 9 Football -The Liverpool EchoShield final (last term)A repeat of the 2008U13’s LiverpoolSchools cup final sawSFX up against theirold rivals CardinalHeenan in the 2009Liverpool EchoChallenge Shield. Astrong Heenan sideemerged 2-0 victorslast year and the SFXboys were determined not to suffera similar fate this time around. From the very first minute itwas obvious that the team had grown during the past twelvemonths, both physically and mentally, as they imposedthemselves on the game. Sustained early pressure frommidfield put Heenan on the back foot and it was this earlyspell which led to a corner on the left hand side. ThomasWilliams drilled the ball in and the cross caught the CardinalHeenan defence on their heels. Liam Wainwright was onhand to take advantage and guided the ball over the line withthe slightest of touches (1-0 ). Their opponents were nevergoing to allow SFX to have it all their own way however, andwhen the SFX defence failed to clear from a throw in on theleft, the ball was slipped to a Heenan forward who finishedwell (1-1). At this point it would have been easy to panic, butSFX once again demonstrated their poise and mentalstrength. Maintaining possession and pushing theiropponents back it was not long before SFX regained theirlead. Thomas Williams skipping past the full back and hittingan unstoppable drive into the bottom right hand corner (2-1Half Time).

The second halfbegan just as thefirst had endedand after thetireless StevenLennonpressured theCardinalHeenandefence, heforced a costlyerror from thefull back.James Doig

took advantage of the bad pass andhis cross found Thomas Williams who made no mistake infront of goal (3-1). Once again, Heenan made a fight back andafter a superb free kick had made it 3-2 they opened up theSFX defence once more. With their left midfielder one onone with Daniel Rossiter in goal, an equalizer lookedinevitable. The Heenan player’s shot looked goal-bound butRossiter was out bravely to push the ball wide of the post.Minutes later Thomas Williams put the result beyond anydoubt. Demonstrating his electric pace, he raced clear of theHeenan back line and completed his hat-trick, capping afantastic team performance and ensuring that SFX emergedas champions of the city. (Full Time 4-2).

Pupils from last year’s 8G2 had lots of fun making soapfrom a kit kindly donated by Mr Conroy. The task was tosafely make, colour and perfume the soap in saleableblocks. This was SFX’s version of “The Apprentice”.These two enterprising young men won the task with theirmarketing of ‘Scouser’s Soap’.

The science part of thistask was to make soapthat cleaned dirty skinsafely. Soap istraditionally made fromanimal fat (however,plant oils could also beused) and CausticSodium Hydroxide.

This is the reason whysoaps are alkaline innature. The two pupilscertainly ‘cleaned up’ inthis task andcommented that “it wasour best science lessonever!”

Thanks to Mr Danielsand the StudentTeacher for theirguidance.

Mr Fox

Enterprising BubblyScience!

Outdoor

Print Graphics

Retail

Display Hardware

Services

Exhibitions

Call 0151 708 8600

www.c3imaging.com

Established throughout the UK and

Ireland, c3imaging provide a complete

range of graphic communications and

digital imaging solutions.

We have a huge rangeof products and

services and we will find the solutions

to all of your visual needs.

Our services include:

Beaconsfield Road, Liverpool L25 6EG • Tel: 0151 288 1000 Fax: 0151 288 1001 • Email: admin@sfx.liverpool.sch.ukwww.sfx.liverpool.sch.uk

24

Having defeated Cardinal Heenan in the Liverpool EchoChallenge Shield, SFX u14’s represented Liverpool Schools inthe prestigious Liverpool Echo cup final against MaricourtCatholic High School. The game was played in front of anenthusiastic and appreciative crowd at Prenton Park, the homeof Tranmere Rovers Football Club and kept the spectatorsentertained throughout. The game got off to a frantic start, withSFX gaining the early momentum. It was just a few moments in,when, under pressure in his own penalty area, a member ofMaricourt’s defence used his arm to push the ball away from theon-rushing Steven Lennon. The referee’s assistant wasted notime in playing his flag across his chest, signalling that SFX hadan early penalty. Liam Wainwright bravely stepped up to take it,but the Maricourt goalkeeper beat his strike away. Fortunately,Thomas Williams reacted quickest and was on hand to smashthe rebound beyond the stranded keeper and into the net. (1-0).Maricourt reacted quickly and began to bombard the SFX penaltyarea with deep in-swinging crosses and, it was from one suchcentre, that they drew level a few minutes later. (1-1). Havingstruggled to deal with some of the balls that were coming in, itwas no surprise that Maricourt took the lead, with a similarcross, midway through the first period. (1-2). SFX respondedwell, but found it hard to establish the rhythm and tempo thathad seen off Cardinal Heenan the week before and they wentinto the break a goal down. (Half Time 1-2).

Half time was productive and, with a few tactical changes, SFXbegan the second half with renewed vigour, putting Maricourtonto the back foot. James Doig went close with a diving headeras the SFX side looked composed and in control. However, the

search for an equaliser left them a little exposed and in theirfirst break-away of the half Maricourt found the back of the SFXnet once more. (1-3). Once again this SFX team demonstratedhow it had grown and, instead of buckling, as many may wellhave thought they would, went on to produce the best spell offootball in the game. All over the pitch, players stepped up theirgame and, led by the ‘never say die’ spirit of their captain JamesDoig, went on to produce a string of chances, as they pushedMaricourt deeper and deeper into their own half. Doig,Wainwright and Joseph Davies all had chances turned away bythe resilient Maricourt defence before Thomas Williams finallyforced the ball over the line with just a few minutes remaining.(2-3). With time running out Doig cut inside the full back oncemore and for a fleeting moment the game looked like it could beheading for a draw. Alas, the Maricourt goalkeeper was equal tothe shot and in that moment the dream of lifting the Echo Cupfaded away. (Full Time 2-3).

The SFX players were visibly drained as the final whistle blew,but in time I am sure that they will reflect positively upon theoccasion and their disappointment will be replaced with pride.They can be extremely proud of what they have achieved and thefact that they produced such a fantastic footballing display. Afterthe game, the players and staff enjoyed a meal with theirMaricourt counterparts, reminding everyone of the friendly spiritin which the game and post match celebrations had beenconducted. The boys should always remember this as a specialoccasion in their school lives. After all, many great footballershave come out of the city of Liverpool, yet few of them, thoughnot for the lack of trying, have graced the stage of an EchoCup final.

Year 9 Football – The Liverpool Echo Cup Final (last term)

Everton in the CommunityYear 10 Sports LeadersOn Tuesday 10th November 2009 SFX played host to a Year4 Primary School Football Festival in partnership withLiverpool South Sports Partnership and Everton in theCommunity. The tournament involved 15primary schools from our localcommunity. All of the football matcheswere refereed by our Year 10 GCSE PEstudents. These pupils are currentlyworking towards their Junior SportsLeader Award as part of their GCSE PEcourse and gaining practical experienceis crucial to their success.

On the day SFX students were a credit tothe school, acting as excellent rolemodels for our future pupils. All the stafffrom the primary schools gave positivefeedback on the behaviour, attitude andcapability of the sports leaders.

The tournament itself was played with a good level ofsportsmanship and endeavour, resulting in a hard foughtvictory for Booker Avenue.