Last week Ms Mehegan and Mr Marius held a ‘Come Dine With Me’ style cookery competition for their Year 8 students during lockdown.

They had an excellent response and 17 boys entered, sending in photos and videos of their signature dishes.

All the entries were unique and impressive with pancakes, brownies, rice dishes, KFC style chicken and curries on the menu. 

Five finalists were chosen with Mr Ward being the Head Judge and he chose Paul Manzon’s chicken katsu curry as the worthy winner.

“We’d like to thank everyone who entered and keeping everyone’s spirits up in these difficult days” added Mr Ward.

Paul’s curry looked delicious and he filmed his step by step guide to the perfect curry very professionally and methodically.

Ms Mehegan was impressed with all the yummy looking entries and reckons our lads could give Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Oliver a run for their money.

Parents have been informed that there is no school for students tomorrow, Friday March 20, 2020. This is due to staff shortages caused by self isolation.

This should give us time to prepare resources and plan how we will operate in the coming weeks.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at St Bonaventure’s; together we have been working diligently to maintain our usual provision and a sense of routine for all learners. May I also take the opportunity to thank parents and carers for your support and understanding during this unprecedented period of anxiety for us all. Most of all, I would like to thank our wonderful students who, as always, have taken the changing circumstances in their stride. We will miss them, but will remain in regular contact with them.

Thanks for your continued support during these difficult and unusual times.

St Bonaventure, pray for us.

Our Prime Minister has announced this evening that all schools will shut for MOST students on Friday, March 20, 2020.

Schools will have to remain open for children of key workers and vulnerable children from Monday, March 23.

Once more details become available Mr McCormack will work on the organisation of this but it is going to take an immense amount of organisation.

Our thoughts are with Year 11 and Year 13 students who have spent the last two years preparing for exams that will no longer take place.

As soon as more details are known we will endeavour to get them to you.

Two lucky Year 12 students have been selected for the prestigious Sutton Trust US Programme.

This is a programme that allows students from state schools the opportunity to find out what studying at an American university would be like.

This is a fully-funded programme, giving the pair the opportunity to visit the USA and world-class universities, such as Yale and Harvard, in the summer holidays.

The first part of the programme will be a residential trip to Nottingham University where they will meet the other students who have been selected on the programme from throughout the UK.

They had to go through a very rigorous process that saw hundreds of students from throughout the country applying.

We are so proud of them for making it through such a challenging and selective process.

Today was a bittersweet day.

Baptista would have been 16 today, February 26, if his life had not been so tragically cut short back in October in Stratford.

Baptista’s family and a small group of his Year 11 classmates gathered in Mr McCormack’s office to remember Baptista on this poignant day.

Mr Hayes and Mr Graham joined them and shared a cake to celebrate his birthday.

It was a sad day but one that celebrated his short life too in a dignified and fitting way.

He will be remembered always and as his family’s tee shirt stated – ‘Gone but never forgotten.’

Afterwards his family attended Ash Wednesday mass with the school at St Antony’s Church.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord.

Have a good week off everyone and we’ll see you all on February 24, 2020. 

This week is Children’s Mental Health Week.

Set up by children’s mental health charity Place2Be, the week shines a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health.

This year’s theme is ‘Find your Brave.’

We are helping to raise awareness of the importance of supporting children and young people’s mental health during the week in school.

Meet the new Head Boy and Head Girl, 6th Form students, Emmanuel Barco and Elpee Amoa-Oduro.

They were selected last week after an intensive interview process.

Well done and we wish them both well in their new roles.