Students give senior citizens a summer treat

St Cuthbert’s

Over thirty senior citizens from the Roman Catholic parishes of Holy Family, St. John's and St. Gabriel's were served up a summer treat of afternoon tea and entertainment at St. Cuthbert's.

The tea party was planned, organised and hosted by the St. Cuthbert’s Student Council and Creators Group who entertained their guests with bingo, a team quiz and the highlight - a variety of music and song from pupils of all ages.

School Lay Chaplain, Kathryn Ansley, said, "It was wonderful to be able to welcome local parishioners to St Cuthbert's, many of whom have had children and grandchildren attending our school over the years. It was lovely to see them enjoying the company of our pupils who worked so hard to make the afternoon such a success and were a credit to our school. We are very proud of them."

St Cuthbert's are extremely grateful to the Catenian Association of Rochdale for the presentation of their annual awards to pupils at St. Cuthbert’s who have made an outstanding personal achievement. One pupil from each year group was recognised for their resilience in the face of adversity and presented with a shield. The presentations were made at the end of the summer term to the following students:

Year 7 - Oliver Thompson
Year 8 - Jamie Davies
Year 9 - Kieran Richardson
Year 10 - Callum Hernon

The Year 11 award will be made at Year 11 presentation evening on Thursday 5 December 2013 at Rochdale Town Hall.

Miss Machen has just been published as a poet in a new Anthology featuring University of Manchester students under the professorship of award-winning author Jeanette Winterson.

The Manchester Anthology features novel extracts, short stories and poetry by the Centre’s Creative Writing Master’s students.

There was an interesting mix of writer's on the course including freelance journalists, a musician, an environmentalist and two semi-professional poker players.

Miss Machen said: "It is exciting to be published in such a prestigious anthology and hopefully my success can inspire the students to become creative writers.

"On Monday 22 July, a journey into the home and mind of the incredible man that was William Shakespeare began. Everybody was excited to arrive in the picturesque town of Stratford-upon-Avon. We spent the afternoon exploring Stratford centre and from there we stepped into the life of Shakespeare, discovering his childhood, the place where his wife Anne Hathaway lived and his mother’s farm.

"Later, back at our accommodation, we got enthusiastic about our theatre trip and began comparing the quotes from Shakespeare plays which were plastered on the walls of every room.

"At the theatre, we watched 'All’s Well that Ends Well', soaking up the atmosphere enjoying three hours of Shakespearean language (with a few confused faces).

"This trip gave us an insight into the life of Shakespeare, his family and his inspiration to write. It has benefited our English Literature GCSE studies and has given us the opportunity to explore the man he was.

"A big thank you to Miss Buffel, Miss Bell and Mr Fitzsimons for organising this memorable trip.

Our theme for this week was innovation.

Our Saint of the Week was Saint Matthew.

Levi was a tax collector who was disliked by people for the job he did. Jesus told Levi to “Follow me” and he gave up his old life straight away to become a disciple. Jesus gave him the name of Matthew, meaning “Gift of God”. Matthew held a feast to celebrate but some people criticised Jesus for mixing with him and other tax collectors who were there. Jesus answered: “I came not to call respectable people, but the outcasts.” Although he wrote the first gospel between 42-50 AD, Matthew is only mentioned 5 times in the New Testament. We know that he witnessed the Risen Christ and his Ascension. He is the patron saint of tax collectors and accountants.