Latest news
St Catherine’s comes top of the Borough league tables.
The record GCSE results achieved by St Catherine’s last year meant the school was in first place of the Richmond and Twickenhan Borough school league tables.
Nationally the school also did very well, being the third best small school in the country in the Times Parent Power league table.
December 2007
Alison Martin
After a rain-soaked weekend in Manchester, Alison Martin is the Under 10 National Champion in Wild Water Canoeing. Alison needed to win the final two races of the season to clinch this year’s championship.
Saturday’s race on the Mersey was deep and fast and suited her style and she won easily. Sunday’s race on the Irwell was very different. A shallow and twisting river gave her many problems during the practice runs. At one point she misjudged a tight corner and became stuck solid in a boulder field. However, always a performer under pressure, she put it all together for the race itself and produced the win she needed. This gives Alison a very rare canoeing triple, a national titles in Marathon, Sprint and Wild Water.
St Catherine’s, Twickenham, School Play, December 2007.
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. CS Lewis
St Catherine’s School staged an ambitious production of CS Lewis’s classic play on Thursday 6th and Friday 7th December.
The play involved girls from years 7 to 11 and was watched by over 500 people.
The Headmistress, Sister Paula Thomas, commented: “This was a great testament to the skill and dedication of our Drama Department and to the ability of our girls”.
November 2007
National Poetry Day 2007 - Poetry Competition
National Poetry Day this year was recognised by Years 7 - 9 through poetry sessions held in the Library with the English teachers and the Librarian. Each class was given the opportunity to read and discuss a variety of different styles, from fantasies and nightmares to daydreams - all examples of this year’s theme - “Dreams”.
The girls were then given the opportunity to write their own poem on the theme of “Dreams” for a competition which was judged by Mrs Turner and Mrs Kosandiak.
All participating girls are to be congratulated on the high standard of their poems, and the results of the competition were as follows.
Year 7 Winner: Phoebe Jones for “Nightmare in the Darkness”
Year 7 Runner Up: Lizzie Osborn-Greatrex for “It’s Me”
Year 8 Winner: Kathryn Bevan for “Him”
Year 8 Runner Up: Blaze Wallace for “Why?”
Year 9 Winner: Isobel McConville for “Nightmare of a Different Sort”
Year 9 Runner Up: Rhianna Ilube for “A Perfect Moment”
All winners, runners up and specially commended girls received a certificate and a prize, and their poems are displayed on the noticeboard in the Library Corridor. Well done everyone!
The three winning poems are included below:
Nightmare of a Different Sort
By Isobel McConville - Year 9
I have often dreamt of the day I die,
But never like this before,
I thought I’d go out like a hero,
But drowning on my own blood,
A bullet through my neck from an unhappy customer,
I realise,
I’m no hero
I’m a fool
This deadly twisted game,
Draws you in,
Bit by bit,
A web of lies that entangles your heart,
A spider in the centre,
Who eats it in front of your eyes,
But now you are just a shell,
Where you can’t feel pain,
Just deadly, aching desire
I’m living a lie; even my name isn’t my name,
I don’t know who I am,
I only know the deadly hunger,
I have no friends
Just potential enemies,
Who pay me for death,
In a little plastic bag
I hide in the shadows,
Where no-one can reach me,
Only tormented shadows of a darker mind,
I lost my soul long ago,
Now I’m in the devil’s clutches,
I can feel his fire wherever I go
I have often dreamt of the day I die,
But never like this before,
I thought I’d go out like a hero,
But drowning in my own blood,
A bullet through the neck from an unhappy customer,
I realise,
This is no dream,
It’s a deadly reality.
Him
By Kathryn Bevan Year 8
He’s there, back again,
Hiding behind the bar,
Brightness and cheerfulness, except for him.
He will always haunt me.
I jump and sprint to the street
But I know he’s following
Darting through darkness,
Skipping every puddle,
Turning around I see the glint of a knife,
He’s drawing in,
Closer and closer,
I am sure I’ll not escape this time.
Panting and struggling,
He pounces with vicious strength,
Screams and shouts, but no one can hear me,
No one ever can.
The only warmth is my salty tears,
With one slash I see blood,
Red and bright,
This is not a dream, it can’t be,
The face of a million nightmares peers down on me,
All is lost,
He has won.
Darkness, the world is black.
Nightmare in the Darkness
By Phoebe Jones Year 7
Drip, drip, drip,
The water runs down, down, down
The wall.
Scratch, scratch, scratch,
His claws scrape, scrape, scrape,
The door.
I opened my eyes,
And there he stood,
Under the shadows of the wardrobe.
The eyes gleamed fluorescent green,
A torch in the pitch black.
I was petrified,
So frightened,
A tear ran down my cheek,
I could hear my heart pounding.
The beast gently crept towards me,
Glaring with every step it made.
Its vicious-looking mouth opened while it
Dribbled down its chin.
You could see the remains of its previous.
Victim in its mouth.
Blood poured,
Bones crunched,
Voices screamed,
Lights flickered.
The darkness cracked.
I blinked blindly and saw
Our cat
A mere domestic pussycat,
Our sweet, darling Christabel,
With a dead mouse
Hanging from her jaws,
Its tail swaying to and fro.
Christabel strutted towards me,
And dropped the gnawed corpse
Beside me,
With pride.
Award-winning Asian author visits St. Catherines School
The author Bali Rai treated pupils from Years 9 – 11 to two lively talks highlighting issues found in his books. Rai has written over 20 books covering multicultural issues, which have been translated into 10 languages, and he has been heralded as a distinctive voice in young adult fiction. “We were delighted that Bali was able to visit us as he is possibly the only young British Asian male author for children and young adults, and his books capture the unique ethnic mix of the U.K. and push the boundaries in young adult fiction today” said Mrs Kosandiak, the Librarian who organised the visit with the English Department.
Most of Rai’s books cover multi-cultural issues and cultural diversity, and Rai read extracts from his debut novel, (Un)Arranged Marriage which is now considered cult young adult reading. He then answered non-stop questions on subjects ranging from his inspirations and role models, his thoughts on multi-cultural Britain and forced marriages, to how to he got published, and possible film deals!
“I have read and enjoyed most of Bali Rai’s books and think that they appeal to everyone, irrespective of their background. Rani and Sukh is a modern day Romeo and Juliet, but set in England and the Punjab. It was really interesting to hear what inspired Bali Rai to write his books”. said Sonum Behar Year 10.
Bali Rai’s talk was very inspiring and I loved the way he explained things to us and to all the teachers in the same way and didn’t change the way of talking. His talk has really encouraged me to write more as when he talks about it, it seems rather easy. Charlotte Rutherford (Year 9)
He talked about how, when he was a boy, he would read books in school and how all the characters were white and that there were never any Indian or Asian characters. He said it was like they didn’t belong in books. That was why his first book “Unarranged Marriage” was written from an Indian boy’s point of view, because no one had done it before. He also took ideas for that book from his cousin who had an arranged marriage. I enjoyed Bali Rai’s visit and I definitely think that now I will pick up one of his books and read it. Isabel Booth (Year 9)
Bali Rai began his talk by saying that he’d been to many schools before and that whenever he starts off, he never prepares any ‘speeches’ for the children he talks to. I thought this was good as it was original. He then told us a bit about his background and read an extract from his best seller “Unarranged Marriage”. This story was based on his cousin who was forced to marry a stranger from India who he had never met. I liked this book as it was amusing and the characters were well described. Ines Anderson (Year 9)
I am in the middle of reading Bali Rai’s first book and so I was aware that he is a British Asian and that he comes from quite a strict family background. His talk was very interesting because he talked about the Sikh culture and history of Amritsar in India. This helped me learn about my own religion and culture. Bali Rai is currently writing a new book about football. He said that the new book is easy to write because he loves football. Devi Sudera (Year 9)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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St Catherine’s Photography student in top ten in country.
Danielle Smith, a student at St Catherine’s School, Twickenham, has come amongst the top ten GCSE Photography students in the country out of nearly 1400 students on the Edexcel exam board.
Head of Art and Photography at the school, Mrs Athene Jones, has a track record of such success with three top ten Photography students last year.
The Headmistress, Sister Paula Thomas, commented: “We are delighted with Danielle’s success, it is a credit to her and Mrs Jones’ teaching.”
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Celebrating “Roald Dahl Day” at St. Catherine’s School!
St. Catherine’s Prep Department joined thousands of children around the country to celebrate Roald Dahl Day on 13th September.
Throughout the day each class had the opportunity to learn more about Roald Dahl and his wonderful books in a programme of fun activities, commencing with a surprise performance by The BFG and his friend Sophie!
Buzzwangling book covers were created and swallomping stories and poems were recited!
Many children came dressed in yellow (Roald Dahl’s favourite colour!) and others designed delicious sweets for Willy Wonka! The older children took on the challenge of creating their own stories using Roald Dahl characters, and the celebrations drew to a close with a phizzwizardly performance of Revolting Rhymes to the school and parents!
A gloriumptious day was had by all!
Sophie and the BFG
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St Catherine’s School, Twickenham, concert to celebrate 175th anniversary of founding of the Sisters of Mercy.
On Thursday 21st June St Catherine’s School, Twickenham held a musical concert to celebrate the 175th anniversary of its founding order, the Sisters of Mercy.
The concert was held jointly with performers from two other Sisters of Mercy schools: St Ursula’s, Bristol and Our Lady’s Convent, Abingdon.
The evening was a great success with an audience of two hundred parents, governors and pupils listening to a range of pieces from classical to contemporary.
The three schools combined to give an energetic performance of the ‘Rhythm of Life’ and St Ursula’s performed a choral version of ‘Wonderwall’.
St Catherine’s Chamber Choir performed the beautiful Beethoven Romance for violin and orchestra with Georgina Jackman as soloist. The Gospel Choir gave a lively performance of ‘I’ll be there’ and the Chamber Choir performed the popular K. Jenkins work ‘Adeimus’.
The evening culminated in a performance of the Suscipe which was written by the founder of the Sisters of Mercy with music especially composed for the evening.
And the winner is…..
Twenty three girls from St. Catherine’s Senior School in Twickenham joined the Librarian, Mrs Stephanie Kosandiak, and the English Teacher, Mrs Margaret Turner to celebrate the announcement of the winner of the prestigious Carnegie Medal for children’s literature, in an “Oscar-Style” Award Ceremony!
All invited girls from years 7 to 10 contributed to the “Shadowing the Judges” scheme, which involved reading and reviewing the six short listed books, and attending lively lunchtime book discussions. They also had the opportunity to vote for the St. Catherine’s winner!
Roxanna Hajbabaie, 12, said her two favourite books were The Road of Bones and Just In Case (The winner). “I enjoy the Carnegie each year, even though it is a challenging decision – the best book is always picked for the Carnegie Award”.
Mrs Kosandiak said: “We were delighted with the level of enthusiasm and interest this year – it is quite a feat to read 6 books in less than 8 weeks, especially during exam season, and the girls enjoyed reading a variety of styles of book.”
From left to right: Megan Holmes, Lauren Jackson, Mrs Kosandiak, Roxanna Hajbabaie, Mary Boyd