YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS HELP MAKE THE CAPITAL’S ROADS SAFER FOR CYCLISTS

By Publicity Manager9th February 2017

Mr Murray took a group of his Year 10 Young Enterprise Group boys to Spitalfields Market yesterday, February 8, to showcase their fantastic new invention that will help improve the safety of cyclists across London.

The budding inventors from Mr Murray’s club has spent all year developing the TecTitan which is a unique bicycle light that creates an illuminated safety lane behind your bike so other road users can gauge a safe distance to leave. 

It was really well received and sold well with the students making a £30 profit in the short time they were at the famous market.

Mr Murray went along with the boys and said: ” 60 young companies from schools, colleges and universities submitted products they had devised and marketed but St Bonaventure’s came away with the most innovative idea award which  was terrific. It’s testament to all their hard work and effort but they did devise a great and unique product which is half the battle I suppose. I really hope they are encouraged by this success and continue to be interested in innovation, business and marketing as they obviously have a flair for it.”

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 Suhaib, Hritik, Llias, Jacob, Ola are seen pictured with their awards.

The other students in The Young Enterprise Group who are not pictured are Tony, James, Atheeth, James, Isaac, Aaron and Reece.

WE TAKE PART IN WORLD’S BIGGEST WILDLIFE SURVEY

By Publicity Manager9th February 2017

A GROUP of five Year 7 students took part in The Big Schools’ Birdwatch organised by the RSPB today, February 9, 2017.

The survey is being hailed as the World’s biggest wildlife survey with thousands of schoolchildren taking part up and down the country.

Today Albert, Christian, Shayne, Agin and Johannes got close to nature as they went over to the beautiful, Victorian West Ham Park with the Headteacher and Mrs Racon and Ms Skelton to collect data.

Once over in the park, the boys split up into groups and made tally charts of the different birds they saw in the trees, bushes and on the ground. 

They saw a variety of birds including robins, great tits, pigeons, blackbirds, goldfinch, magpies, rooks and parakeets. 

It was a bitterly cold morning but the boys enjoyed the experience.

The results have been collated and sent off to the RSPB. 

Mr Halliwell added: ” This was a great way to engage our students with wildlife and they were really keen to help out. They counted birds who count on us for their survival and this was a fantastic lesson for them to learn.”

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BRITISH ARMY VISIT ST BON’S

By Publicity Manager6th February 2017

Two soldiers visited school on Friday, February 3, as part of the Army Science Challenge and visited two classes Year 8 and 9 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Science classes.

Josh from The Signals Regiment and Kieran from REME (The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) spoke to students and gave them a challenge based on a humanitarian mission scenario. 

They were tasked with designing a helmet made from a composite material. This all formed part of their chemistry investigations as they looked at the properties of polymers and composite materials. The activities were expertly designed and developed in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the Institute of Naval Medicine.

The boys got to try on different  types of helmets before using their reasoning skills to design a helmet suitable for a given scenario and then present their ideas at the end.

It was lots of fun for the students and the soldiers gave them lots of information and made the lesson very enjoyable.

Science Lead Practitioner, Mrs Racon, organised the day and added: “The boys came up with some great ideas and asked lots of questions  I think it was a lesson they will never forget.”
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BISHOP OPENS NEW 6TH FORM BUILDING

3rd February 2017Publicity Manager
 
The Bishop of Brentwood, the Right Reverend Alan Williams was the guest of honour today, February 3, when he came to officially open the new 6th Form building at St Bonaventure’s.
 
The special visit saw him blessing the new standalone building on Lancaster Road after having a tour of the new facilities. He was joined by other guests including Parish Priest of St Antony’s, Father John Moloney, Governors and friends of the St Bonaventure’s community and people involved with the school.
 
Starting with a ribbon cutting to officially open the building, the Bishop met with the Headboy and Headgirl of the 6th Form, Nathan and Balquis spoke about the fantastic new two-storey space that includes a classroom, study area with computer suites, social space and meeting room.
 
It will be a dynamic centre for post 16 learning and will support students aspirations, achievements and progression. Everyone at St Bon’s is very excited about the new facilities.
 
The Headteacher, Paul Halliwell, added: “The Bishop also blessed the new Cardinal Manning Hall which has been refurbished recently and the visit went really well I am so pleased our students will benefit from the new additions. The Bishop seemed to be really impressed and 2017 promises to be a great year for St Bonaventure’s as we also celebrate 140 years of education in Forest Gate. Our newest building is a fantastic new addition to our school and I know the students will love it.”
Students will move in to the new premises next week.
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OUR PLEDGE TO HELP REFUGEE CHILDREN

1st February 2017Publicity Manager

Today, February 1, saw the launch of the St Bonaventure’s “Refugees Welcome” campaign raising awareness of the issues refugee families arriving in Newham face.

Year 8 students Ethan Suppaya, Dellon Velichore, Chinedu Uzoalor, Jesse Okoro and Tyler Cullen prepared and lead the assembly on TELCO and the Refugees Welcome campaign.

Assistant Headteacher and Director of RE at the school, Andy Lewis, said: “I am incredibly proud of these young men who are showing exactly what it means to be a student of the school. They are standing up and bearing witness, while helping those in need. Already they have lots of exciting plans to help raise funds towards the TELCO refugee housing appeal and this campaign is needed now more than ever before. The World seems to have lost some of its compassion and these are uncertain times. I am proud that our students want to help.”

The boys have lots of suggestions and ideas to raise money kicking off with a basketball tournament. After half term they plan to put up a huge display in the main school corridor highlighting the plight of the refugees to raise awareness.

Emmanuel Gotora, Lead Organiser for TELCO added: “At a time when the global political climate seeks to use fear of refugees to divide communities, St Bonaventure’s students are taking initiative to bring hope in recognition of our shared humanity at a very local level here in Newham.”

TELCO has committed £6,000 to help house a refugee family in private rented accommodation in Newham. They are asking if a local business or entrepreneur would be willing to contribute to fundraising or help in any way to please get in touch with Emmanuel Gotora on emmanuel.Gotora@citizensuk.org. It really could make a huge difference.

6TH FORM OPEN EVENING

By Publicity Manager30th January 2017

This Thursday, February 2, we open the doors to our new 6th Form building for our Open Evening at 6pm.

Headteacher Mr Halliwell will address students at 6pm and again at 7pm before a tour of the facilities takes place followed by discussions with individual subject leaders.

We believe we are the best choice because we have a vast experience of helping students progress onto a wide range of pathways and careers. Our aim is simply to get students to where they want to go.

As a National Teaching School, St Bonaventure’s takes a lead role in the professional development of teachers and delivers the highest standards of pedagogy.

Our class sizes are far smaller than other 6th Form providers, ensuring one to one help and individual attention for each student. 

We have a reputation for being caring and friendly and inclusive and we believe that these are the values that support our ethos and facilitate our students to achieve their potential. At St Bon’s we care for the individual as a person and we are not just interested in the grades at the end of the two years. Students enjoy their time with us and this shows. 

We look forward to meeting Year 11 boys and girls on the night to discuss what we have to offer. Our 6th Form accepts students of all faiths and none.

Entrance is on Lancaster Road.

DOUBLE WIN FOR OUR JUNIOR NBA STARS

By Publicity Manager25th January 2017

YESTERDAY, January 24, our Year 7 Junior NBA basketball squad invited two teams in to play matches and won both.

First off to play was Woodlands School from Basildon  and the final score was 54 – 12.

Next off was The Sydney Russell School from Dagenham and we beat their team 62 – 7.

What a great start for the champs!

Thanks to Mr Ancora for the update.

NORWEGIAN HEADS JOIN US

24th January 2017Publicity Manager

TODAY, January 24,  22 Headteachers from Norway visited our school and the contingent met with various groups of students and teachers to look at how our students meet their full potential.

They were particularly interested in our teaching methods and were impressed with our students’ behaviour and attitude to learning.

Thanks to everyone who met the visitors and helped out.

 

NBA CHAMPS AGAIN

By Publicity Manager16th January 2017
OUR Year 7 basketball team have once again been crowned the Junior NBA Champions for the second year in a row!
The win came last Thursday, January 12, at UEL Sportsdock.
St Bonaventure’s triumphed in the final to win the tournament with the end score an amazing 30-0.  Schools both within London and outside the Capital took part in the competition. Teacher Aaron Senior explained: “It was a wonderful opportunity for our Year 7 students to experience. When they joined school back in September  I bet they they never imagined they would be playing on the same floor as NBA stars and the iconic O2 Arena. What an opportunity for them.
“The boys represented themselves and the school excellently, all their hard work on fundamentals paid off and their skill level really showed. Watching the NBA starts play in the Global Games at the end of the day at the magnificent O2 Arena topped it all off wonderfully. It was an exhausting but brilliant day.”
Thanks go to Mr Senior and Mr Onireti for all their hard work organising the day and for their commitment and dedication ensuring the boys were ready for the competition.
Fantastic!

OUR STUDENT’S DATE WITH ROYALTY

By Publicity Manager12th January 2017

IT’S not everyday that you get to meet the future King and Queen but that’s exactly what 7 Gregory’s Shinobi Irons did yesterday, January 11, when he was invited to the Royal Visit to The Child Bereavement UK Centre in Stratford.

Shinobi, who’s 12, was asked to present a bouquet of flowers to the Duchess of Cambridge as his mum, Lorna, and himself regularly attend the centre after they lost a much loved family member.

The centre provides support for children and families who have faced personal loss and it is a charity close the Prince William’s heart as he lost his mum, Princess Diana, at a very young age. The charity also provides training for thousands of professionals a year whose work brings them into contact with bereaved families.

Prince Williiam, who has the title of the Duke of Cambridge, took time out to chat to Shinobi and his mum which was very special.

It was very exciting for the youngster but he took it all in his stride. It was back to normality and school lessons today but he had plenty to tell his friends about his date with Royalty.

Shinobi joined St Bonaventure’s in September from St Winefride’s in Manor Park.

He is seen pictured presenting the bouquet to Kate. Photo courtesy of The Daily Mail.