Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Twin School Integration Programme

  Fri 06 Jul 2018

  St Simon Stock Catholic School has taken part in a Twin School Integration Programme in which we welcomed a group of 32 students with their teachers for a two week visit in June-July.

  The students and teachers are from a school located in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is in the northern part of Hong Kong, on the mainland across Victoria Harbour. Kowloon is the highest populated area in Hong Kong with a population over 2 million. The school name is HKSYC & IA Wong Tai Shan Memorial College.

  During the two-week visit, our visitors were paired with a student buddy and followed their timetable.  This was a great and exciting opportunity for our school community to expand our liaison with the Chinese schools across the continent.

  Feedback from participating students, staff, and parents was very positive. The visit provided lots of opportunities for our students and staff to learn from each others’ different cultures and was a great success.

  Mrs G McAlpine

  

• Keeping Fit at 50

  Thu 05 Jul 2018

  Mrs Jo Ellesmere will be known to most as the attendance officer at reception, but she is a keen adventurer and cyclist too. We hope you agree she also doesn’t look 50!

  “For the past 5 years I have enjoyed cycling most weekends with the San Fairy Ann Cycling Club. As I was celebrating a special birthday this year, I decided to set myself a challenge to cycle 100 miles. I thought I’d take this opportunity to raise money for two charities, The Lily Foundation and The Heart of Kent Hospice, both of which have offered support to my friends and their families.”

  Mrs Jo Ellesmere

  The school has set its own challenge to raise £2020 for the Heart of Kent Hospice by the start of the year 2020 and currently has another £1700 to raise to achieve this.

  If you would like to make a donation please follow the link below; http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JoanneEllesmere.

  Any donations would be gratefully accepted. Thank you for your support.

  

• Fundraising for 2017-2018 Academic Year

  Thu 05 Jul 2018

  We have had another successful year of fund raising, which is due to the hard work of our staff students and parents who take part in fundraising events throughout the year.

  Activities have ranged from festive jumper day, staff v student netball matches , lots of raffles, lucky dips and lunch time cake stalls. We try to put the fun into fundraising although some staff who took part in freezing temperatures in this year’s Heart of Kent Fun Run may have needed a hot cocoa afterward!

  This year has seen a brilliant effort with plans already under way for the next team’s fundraising campaign, which is called the Loose Change Challenge; the aim  is to raise £2020 by the year 2020. We have raised in excess of £18000 since 2002.

  Thank you  to everyone for your support. Together we can all make a difference.

  Mrs Tilby

  Below is a collection of photos of this year – a few separate articles in our news section of the webpage may have more.

  

• Welcome to the New Year Seven

  Thu 05 Jul 2018

  After ‘Open Evenings’, ‘Transition events’, Parents’ meetings and ‘Meet the House Leader’, on  5th July we welcomed our new Year Seven for a ‘Taster Day’ at the school.

  During the day they tested acidity, learnt Greek, touch-typed, created animal and plant cells, ‘baked, sewn and sawn’ in Technology and even went to a Musical concert; we finished it off with a picnic with the parents.

  We are looking forward to seeing you all again in September.

  Mrs Rodell-Jones

  

• KCSP Sports Day

  Wed 04 Jul 2018

  On 2nd July the St Simon Stock KS4 team competed in the KCSP sports day in which all the primary and secondary Catholic schools within the Kent Catholic School Partnership come together for an athletics competition.

  Not only did we win most of the individual events and both team relays, but our team also won the overall event, crowning us Champions of Catholic Schools! A huge thank you to all staff for their understanding in allowing students to miss their lessons and of course the students.

  Mr Nimani

  

• Picnic and Praise 2018

  Tue 03 Jul 2018

  The RE Department took 12 students to Aylesford Priory on 26^th June to celebrate Picnic and Praise with over 900 primary and secondary students.

  There was music, dancing and bubbles, all to help share the Good News, celebrate our unity, achievements and our Gospel values! Great fun was had by everyone who was involved.

  Miss Bassett

  

• Year 12 Margate Trip

  Tue 03 Jul 2018

  On Enrichment Day year twelve Art and Photography students went to Margate to visit the Turner Contemporary Gallery

  We also had the opportunity to see lots of exciting live pop up artist studios and smaller galleries in and around the town. This was an invaluable trip and some fantastic work was produced and exhibited in the summer show last week. Here is a small selection of some of the Photography taken on the trip.

  Margate is a great place for seeing Art and getting an ice cream so check it out this summer.

  “An adventurous trip with endless exploration, thought provoking, and photographic opportunities. Bursting with creativity and it has been invaluable to our own individual projects.”

  Collaborative quote from year 12 Photography students.

  Quote of the day “Always bring ketchup with you to the beach” Mrs Tilby.

  Have a lovely summer holiday

  Miss Livermore

  Photographers: Harriett Sutton, India Thompson, Shannon Willoughby, Joe Illsley

  

• 6th July Futures Day with Bennett Memorial Diocesan School

  Mon 02 Jul 2018

  On the 6th July it was our turn to host the Higher Education Day for both our own Year 12 students and those at Bennett Memorial in Tunbridge Wells. 

  In 2017, Bennett hosted the day for our students. A day like this meant all students could choose from a range of workshops depending on their own aspirations and make a more informed decision about where they apply in just a few months time.

  The day included over 30 workshops for students to choose from:

  • a number of universities (Exeter, Southampton Solent, Kent, Oxford, Cambridge, UCA, Surrey & Bristol)
  • other training provisions (European School of Osteopathy, Mid Kent College)
  • employers (Police, RAF, Navy, Walker Construction, HSBC)
  • parents or past students talking about their own career paths (finance, real estate, cultural heritage, civil service)
  • apprenticeships (3aaa & KATO)

  We would like to thank Bennett Memorial Diocesan School for joining us for the day and hope that our hosting met expectations (or beat them!). It was a great day, incredibly busy and we hope all students gained some much needed information and confidence for the future.

  We would also like to thank all of the volunteers including parents, employers and providers who travelled far and wide for the day. The time given by them undoubtedly save them time and worry later on.

  And a final thank you to our keynote speaker who was inspirational in setting the tone for the day, Jo Whimble-Groves (pictured top). As someone who has become one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in recent years and as a beacon for those who don’t want to go to university (she didn’t!) it was truly motivational hearing her talk about not just her path so far but how to relate that to your own.

  Mr May – Careers Leader