The Saint Felix Diploma Kicks in!
Now that we are approaching the end of the fourth week of term, it feels like the right time to highlight some of the exciting and inspiring activities that the students are engaging with as part of the Diploma experience. The idea was always to use this time as a vehicle to expand and broaden their horizons across all four faculty areas, and so it has proved to be.
Our Year 6 students are leading on green initiatives and developing an outdoor wellbeing club as well as organising a “Tree Party” for the Reception year; they are embracing the beauty of our natural environment and enhancing our move towards a sustainable school by working with the Woodland Trust, visiting local woodlands, and aiming for their “Green Tree Award”. Students in Year 9 are working towards the Bronze Arts Award by researching Gerard Logan (an acclaimed theatre practitioner), participating in Q and A sessions with him as well as watching his production of “Hauntings” last night. They are finding and sharing their discoveries whilst also assembling their portfolio in order to achieve their certified qualifications. Meanwhile in STEM, Year 10 students are doing individual and group research tasks based on scientific topics for the Crest Award; whilst it is aimed at the Bronze Award, two students have aimed high for the Silver Award with topics ranging from ‘How AI can influence the brain when making online purchases’; ‘The Dangers of Outer Space’; ‘World War 1 Medicine’ to ‘The Science of Music’. Year 8 students are focusing on the world of business and enterprise by aiming to generate ideas that are both practical and achievable to implement and then sell at upcoming events. Please do support our young entrepreneurs in due course! And in Year 12, they have learnt about the most significant global and international affairs of our time; from the upcoming elections in the USA to the impact of the new Labour government and the current crisis in the Middle East, they are gaining a greater understanding of the world that they will enter into beyond Saint Felix. This is just a taste of what is to come; exam results are of course hugely significant in the educational journey of every child, but it is these areas that can foster a lifelong love of learning and unlock areas of academic passion that will inspire beyond the examination hall.
After half term, we will be launching our new Careers platform in collaboration with PeopleHawk; this is an exciting and innovative product that will enable an interactive and dynamic approach for our students to begin to make the choices that will guide them both at Saint Felix and beyond. I have seen many such products over the years, but this one is genuinely progressive and interactive; we will be introducing this to students on Monday 4th November and over the remainder of the academic year, we will be using this platform within the Saint Felix Diploma to ensure that every student (form Year 9 onwards initially) begins to develop a clearer sense of their future trajectory.
As the weather begins to become increasingly autumnal (and the rain is falling heavily as I write this), it is time to look forward to some exciting seasonal events. House Shout is always a highlight of the year and with preparations well under way in part of the co-curricular time, we are expecting an evening of high entertainment and fun on Thursday 17th October at 7 p.m.; who will emerge victorious this year? Last year, the deluge of rain meant that the Fireworks Evening was unable to go ahead; I am sure that we cannot be as unlucky this year and hope that many of you will be able to attend the event on Friday 8th November; the gates open at 5.30 p.m. with food stalls, prizes to be won and the display marking off what will be an enjoyable way to end the first week back after the half term break. More details to follow with instructions from Mr Trigg on how to buy tickets coming out soon!
In other news, I was delighted to hear that Daisy R, who is a member of the Suffolk Vaulting Club, an equestrian vaulting (gymnastics on horseback) team based in Hollesley, attended the British Equestrian Vaulting English Championships in Moreton Morrell and is now the British Equestrian Vaulting Level 2a Para English Freestyle Champion 2024. What a fantastic achievement! I am constantly amazed and impressed by the myriad of activities and clubs that our students participate in beyond their school day. Long may that continue!
I hope that you all have an enjoyable and restful weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Oakman
Head
