Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Niamh O’Reilly – Kent under 15 match
Thu 28 Mar 2019Well done to Niamh who played as goal keeper during the under 15 game against Surrey over the weekend. They drew 1 game and lost 1. Please join us in congratulating Niamh and her fellow team mates on their hard work.
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Year 8 into Year 9 Presentation
Tue 26 Mar 2019Following the Year 8 into Year 9 options evening, Mr Williams has kindly shared his presentation with us, should you wish to refer back for any information.
See newsletters section for powerpoint.
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James Griffin – Stocky Marathon
Fri 22 Mar 2019Thank you to everyone who worked as part of our Marathon Team yesterday to pay tribute to Mr Griffin. Alongside his amazing personality, and the ability to teach fun English and PE lessons, Mr Griffin was also an incredible runner and competed in many long distance events. To honour Mr Griffin, we hosted a Stocky Marathon challenge for staff and students.
The challenge: 1 lap of the entire field = 800m
2 laps = 1 mile
52 laps = 1 marathon (26 miles)
Throughout the day all PE classes participated with all year groups being set the target of 52 laps. We are proud to say that our students absolutely smashed their target, achieving a total of:
Pupils
Laps: 1857
Miles: 928.5
Marathons: 35 (almost 36)
Staff also participated when possible throughout the day and achieved an impressive:
Staff
Laps: 107
Miles: 58.5
Marathons: 2 Marathons
Many shared their favourite stories of Mr Griffin whilst they completed laps and his memory was celebrated by everyone who took part.
Congratulations to all who took part and thank you to Mr Nimani and the PE team who made it all possible.
Eternal rest, grant unto him O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
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Performing Arts – Dance Day
Thu 21 Mar 2019Year 9 Interview
As part of the Technical Award in Performance Skills, students in Year 9 have to interview a professional performer. Ellie Fiore is a dance teacher from Ashford who specialises in Street Dance. The students asked her a number of questions regarding qualifications, unions, training etc. It was really interesting to hear about the world of work in the Performing Arts.
Dance Workshop
Students in Years 7 and 8 had a Street Dance workshop with Ellie. It was great to see everyone taking part, having fun and learning some new skills together. It was also to see what fantastic talent we have in the school and I look forward to seeing them perform at a concert in the future!
Miss J Kingdom
Subject Leader of Performing Arts
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House Student – Term 3
Wed 20 Mar 2019The following students were nominated for House Student of Term 3 by their House Leaders, for contributing to form time and House competitions and fundraising.
Leo Bryer from Cardinal Hume House
Gabrielle Hood from St Therese House
Ophelia Ward from St Romero House
Shardenay Mullan-Gordon from St Bernadette of Lourdes House
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French Excellence Club
Tue 19 Mar 2019Aditya Sunil, Y7 and Liam Gambrell and Aodhan Kavanagh Y8 were proudly awarded a certificate from the French Excellence Club and enjoyed little presents from France.
The 3 boys are constantly doing their best to excel and they are by all means dynamic, independent learners worth praising! Have you started collecting your French stamps yet?
Mrs E Karaoglani
MFL
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Braking Point
Mon 18 Mar 2019As the potential new drivers of our county, this month, the 6th form have been getting involved in presentations and performances related to road safety. As well as the ‘No Turning Back’ (formerly ‘Licence to Kill’) conference at Mote Park where year 12 heard some heart-breaking stories from real crash survivors and emergency service workers, we also enjoyed a thought provoking performance from the ‘Performance in Action’ group. This team of actors put on a very effective piece, based on tragic real events, of a crash involving three year 13 students.
As well as the drama to present a relatable scenario, the team also did some engaging question and answers, highlighting the short and long term effects of such an incident. We were also told some surprising facts, such as the fact a passenger is legally responsible for their own seat-belt.
All together, the potential risks have been fully brought home to our 6th formers which will help hold them in good stead in the future.
Stay safe!
Mrs Broadhurst and Miss Lockett
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CAFOD
Thu 14 Mar 2019Our wonderful science department created a wonderful lunch for staff, allowing us to eat simply so others could simply eat in support of CAFOD
Mrs Smith made lovely soups and everyone had the chance to spend time eating together and really feeling that community spirit. In the end we raised an amazing £88.50 and £60 for gift aid.
Thank you to everyone!
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James Griffin
Tue 12 Mar 2019Dear All,
It is with the greatest sadness that I must inform you of the passing away of a former colleague of the School, James Griffin. James was appointed by me after he completed his degree. He taught English and P.E. A popular staff member and loved by his students, he made a great impression as a good teacher and lovely man in the short time he spent in Maidstone. James was an athlete and had completed a lengthy run in Dubai recently as well as being a good Gaelic footballer. He passed away in Dubai where he went after leaving St. Simon Stock. Some students in the Upper School and 6th Form will remember being taught by him. He was in his mid-20s.
His girlfriend, Emma, was appointed on the same day and they taught in the English Department before Dubai called. Our thoughts and prayers are with her at this sad time as well as with James’ family and friends.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace, Amen.
Brendan J. Wall
Executive Principal
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The Brand New Stocky 6th Form Prefect Team
Fri 08 Mar 2019As of the end of February, there is a brand new Prefect Team within the St Simon Stock 6th Form. We are the Prefect Team of 2019-20. Due to the upcoming vital A-Level exams for Year 13, the Prefect Team of 2018-19 has abdicated and Year 12 has taken over the responsibilities of the Prefect Team a few months earlier than expected. This will be the second year of the new system within the Prefect Team and, for those who are unaware, this is that the Prefect Team now consists of four separate teams that have different main roles respectively. These teams are the Events, Communications, Academic Support and Mentoring teams.
The Events Team, as the name suggests, deal with any events that take place in the school. It is their job to come up with ideas for events to celebrate days like the schools Founder’s Day and Sports Day and to execute events that the staff has thought up, like the recent ‘Dare to Bare’, no-makeup day to honour International Women’s Day. They will also be doing events for charity, raising money for causes such as the Heart of Kent Hospice and Porchlight. Already in the works is the Porchlight sleep-out, at which 6th formers pay a donation for the charity and sleep the night outside the Sports Hall building. This is done to support Porchlight in their efforts to keep as many people as possible off the streets and show support for those already in that difficult situation. It is only 6th Formers who can actively take part but it is hoped that as many people from the lower school as possible make donations to the cause. This and many other events have been placed in the very capable hands of our newly formed Prefect Events Team.
The Communications Team has responsibility in multiple kinds of communication. Firstly, within the school, their job includes the advertising of the events that the corresponding team plans and the management of the student voice. After a few years’ hiatus, the Communications team is planning to reinstate the student council by taking a couple of representatives from each year group to take part and relay student suggestions to teachers in that way. It is important to the school that the students are both enjoying their time at here and are achieving the academic success that they deserve. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that the students voice their concerns or suggestions for the school’s success for them, and the Communications Team is on route to make this a reality. In terms of outside school, this team will take charge of existing social media accounts, and the possible set up of more, and will use other methods to promote the school across Kent. As you can see, another vital role is laid in the palms of the new Prefect Communications Team.
The Academic Support Team is a team which is there to support any and all students that are having a particularly difficult time in their subjects. Each member of the team has an academic speciality and if any student has a particular desire or need to seek help in a specific subject, they should approach their subject leader or form tutor who would refer them to the Prefect Team and the appropriate member of the team will meet with the student until they are able to proceed successfully in the subject. If the student doesn’t know who the heads of subjects are, they only need to ask their form tutors who can procure the list for them. The team is hoping to start some clubs or drop-in sessions, during which students can solve any smaller issues they are having in class. The team is well qualified to support students throughout the school and we hope the student body is satisfied by the hard work of our new Academic Support Team.
Finally, the Mentoring Team are here to support the school in a more personal way. The Peer Mentoring system is a prominent one within St Simon Stock and this section of the Prefect Team will help to organise this and use other methods to support students across the school. They will be personally supporting students in their status as mentors, some of whom have previously or are still Peer Mentors themselves so are well qualified to handle any difficulties any student has within school or at home and are finding it difficult to find a way to cope. This team is dedicated to making sure each and every student is comfortable at school and wants to ensure no-one feels trapped or scared at school and will do almost anything to support your personal and emotional needs. They are even proposing drop-in sessions for people to approach the team in a safe and comfortable environment. The team is experienced and are mature so any student who is having any emotional or personal struggle of any kind should feel safe to approach, in confidence, St Simon Stock’s brand new Mentoring Team.
Miss Lockett is in charge of the 6th Form Prefect Team so if a student doesn’t know of any other way to approach the teams, she will be able to direct them to the relevant team to give you the appropriate attention and help. She is situated in room A4, which is upstairs in the English/MFL building and if you want to talk to the Prefect team, there are a few email addresses you can use. You can, of course, contact Miss Lockett at LockettC or you can contact the team as a collective at the address PrefectTeam19-20. Furthermore, you can contact each team at addresses EventsTeam19-20, CommunicationsTeam19-20, AcademicTeam19-20 and MentoringTeam19-20. We are available whenever you may need us and we will welcome ideas and suggestions from any of you in any capacity. I am happy to present you with the brand new 6th Form Prefect Team of 2019-20.
Jerome Harrison, Communications Team
