St Aidan’s Catholic Academy, Sunderland

New ‘Edmund’s people’:

This term we are focussing on our Year 7s in the secondary sector. How have they settled in
to their new Edmund Rice secondary school? What induction programs and transition
activities have they enjoyed? Thank you to our year heads for sharing their information and
photos.

Year 7s at St Aidan’s Catholic Academy, Sunderland

The arrival of the new year 7 cohort always fills the school community with huge
enthusiasm and joy. The opportunity to welcome every pupil and their family into our
community is a privilege. Watching them embark on a new journey, their new climb is
fascinating.

We always compare everything we do in school to mountain climb like the 7-year climb to
the top of the secondary and A-level summit. We accompany our pupils and the whole
community, in every step they make. We remind them of our school's core values, deeply
rooted in the Gospels of hard work, trust, and fairness. Every pupil in our school must know
they are unique and able to walk with excellence to achieve their summit. We see the face

of Christ in every pupil and pray that they unpack all the gifts and talents freely given to
them out of God’s love.

Whilst the mountain climb is metaphorical for school and life situations, every year 7 pupil
has the opportunity to embark on the real climb to understand the meaning of the journey.
In October all year 7’s went climbing Walla Crag.

They had to prepare before their departure; waterproof clothing, correct footwear, food,
and water. This analogy is so true for every school day, when pupils complete their
homework, pack their school bags, and complete their revision.

Many pupils found the Walla Crag climb mixed with times when the journey was difficult,
and challenging, then had moments filled with fun, conversations, and opportunities to
build relationships. Time in school is so much like a mountain climb. Pupils have to work
hard every day, sometimes they stumble, pick up themselves or are picked up and continue
again. There are times for laughter, making friends, and new encounters before they reach
the top. Unlike Walla Crag, every pupil's summit is different and defined by the hard work
and effort they put into it, their achievements make us very proud.

The year 7 mountain climb to Walla Crag was a huge success that will inspire their
consequent pursuits. We encourage everyone to challenge themselves to a new journey,
particularly now at Advent, the time of most inspiring scripture readings like the one below
from the prophet Isaiah 2:2-3

‘In the days to come
the mountain of the Temple of the Lord
shall tower above the mountains
and be lifted higher than the hills.
All the nations will stream to it,
peoples without number will come to it; and they will say:

‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Temple of the God of Jacob
that he may teach us his ways
so that we may walk in his paths;
since the Law will go out from Zion,
and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.’

Welcome Mass

Before our Year 7 students formally arrive at St Ambrose, they attend a special Welcome
Mass as part of their transition process. We want them to understand that Catholic life is at
the heart of our school community and that we promote the spiritual in all that we do.
Creating space for Mass at our parish church, Holy Angels, on this busy day gives them the
chance to listen and think about how they feel about ‘moving on’.

Transition is a very important process for students and staff. We want them to feel cared for
and known from the start. As such, every student and their parents have the chance to
meet a member of staff before they start, so that we can find out what they enjoy, what
hopes and fears they have, and why they have chosen to come to our school.

Year 7 Induction

Our Chaplain, Mr Murray, led our Year 7 Induction to welcome our new students to the
vibrant Edmund Rice Global Network. We spent a whole morning looking at the life of
Blessed Edmund, and the students got the chance to show off some of the wonderful
Edmund Rice projects they’d worked on over the summer!

We also looked at what it means to be part of a global network of schools and were
welcomed with messages from other Year 7 students from schools in South Africa, Ireland,
India, Argentina, Australia, Uruguay and more! The students were really interested in what
makes an ER school different, but also in the commonality between us all. It was great for
them to see that students in faraway places like Zambia shared the same educational values
as them, and were just as proud of the school they are part of!

We hope our new students will take some of the wonderful opportunities offered to them
by the Edmund Rice Office at Woodeaves during their career here at St Ambrose!