Pastoral Reports
Year 8
Year 7
Page 2
Newsletter 4 - February 2025
Mr Bligh, Pastoral Leader Year 7 - mrblighj@strichardscc.com
As always, I like to share achievements in our newsletter and I want to congratulate Joana on
Mrs Murphy, Pastoral Leader Year 8 - mrsmurphyj@strichardscc.com
Pupil updates
Bella-Rose competed in her first ever dressage competition. She
did brilliantly with comments focusing on control, speed and posture,
succeeding in being awarded with a third place rosette. I am also
so proud to have taken our first set of volunteers to Ambleside Care
Home. Orlando, Dominykas, Ksenia, Poppy, Layla and Presley
were all amazing. They joined in with the ‘Dancing Days’ activities
and supported the elderly residents in taking part, too. Our pupils
represented the school beautifully. A huge well done to Mia, who took
part in a year 8/9 mixed cross country earlier this term and placed 52nd
out of 300, which is an incredible achievement! Please do get in touch
with any exciting updates and successes - whether it’s in music, sport,
art or anything else that is worth us celebrating and sharing.
Year 8 continue to surprise me with their incredible attitude to school. Our pupils are motivated and hard working, and are
beginning to look out for one another as a community. We celebrated LGBT+ Allies Week from Monday, 27th of January
ahead of LGBT+ History Month which takes place this month. Within this, our pupils are working hard to uphold the Catholic
Teachings of Solidarity and Rights and Responsibilities, supporting one another and being allies to those who face any kind
of discrimination. This term we look forward to 8O and 8R completing their charity events. By February half term, over half
of our tutor groups will have taken part in raising money for a charity of their choice, once more highlighting the important
school values of charity and community.
Swiped: the School that Banned Smartphones
I recently watched ‘Swiped: the School that Banned Smartphones’
on Channel 4. It’s a two-part documentary with Matt and Emma Willis
as they take part in an experiment to go screen-free for three weeks.
Within the documentary, they looked at the impact of smartphones
on Year 8 pupils. I would highly recommend it to understand more
about the access our children have when using a smartphone, and the
positive benefits of limiting screen time.
As we approach the half-way mark of Year 7, I am reminded of the journey that
we have all made together. It feels such a long time ago that I started my visits to
catholic feeder schools to start to get to know your child. To say that Year 7 has
embraced the opportunities St Richard’s has to offer is an understatement. They
fully embody our school vision “I have come so that all may have life and live it to
the full”, John 10:10. During our assemblies, we continue to explore Catholic Social
Teachings and put words into action. Over the Christmas period, one pupil, Talan,
teamed up with Dom’s Food Mission and delivered toys to the Demelza Children’s
Hospice at home (see photo). A fantastic role model for us all. Talan (and family)
are now launching a new appeal that I would like Year 7 to get involved in. Talan
would like to take to our local hospital care packages for families who have been
taken into hospital at short notice. I will post on EduLink a list of products that they
feel would be appropriate and launch this in an assembly on Friday, 31st January.
The collection point will be my ofÏce. Hopefully, together we can make a difference
to people in need.
Pupils continue to celebrate their successes by collecting their House Point rewards
from me daily. They can collect them between 08:00- 08:30 . This is always a great
way to start the school day.
In PSHEe pupils will be exploring the following themes in Term 4: Relationships,
Sex Education focusing on ‘the body’, stereotypes and Female Genital Mutilation.
Pupils will also examine British Values and how it impacts on our lives.