The remarkable events of Easter dramatically show how, no matter what pain or sorrow we experience, the victory has been won. Easter is a wonderfully optimistic time when we can face ourselves honestly and know that, despite everything, God loves us and we can rise above our weaknesses and difficulties.

May we make the necessary effort to make this so in our lives so that we may experience the inner peace that Christ came to give.

On behalf of everybody at the school, may I wish all the families and friends of De La Salle a peaceful Easter filled with renewed life and hope.

"Hope looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst.

Hope opens doors where despair closes them.

Hope discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot.

Hope draws in power from a deep trust in God and the basic goodness of human nature.

Hope 'lights a candle' instead of 'cursing the darkness'.

Hope regards problems, smaller large. as opportunities.

Hope cherishes no illusions, nor does it yield to cynicism.

Hope sets big goals and is not frustrated by repeated difficulties or setbacks.

Hope pushes ahead when it would be easy to quit.

Hope puts up with modest gains, realizing that 'the longest journey starts with one step'.

Hope accepts misunderstanding as the price for sending the greater good of others.

Hope is a good loser, because it has the divine assurance of final victory."

 The Learning Support Department has begun using Successmaker with a group of Year 9 pupils. Successmaker is an Integrated Learning System which uses computer software. It consists of a range of activities that are automatically presented on-screen to the student, tailored to his or her ability level. It automatically adjusts the level at which it sets work as the student works through the course and provides audio and visual support, if the student needs help.

We are currently using three courses - Maths, Reading and Spelling.

Students spend about 30 minutes a session for a minimum of 3 sessions a week. The system allows teachers to monitor their students progress and to provide extra tuition in any areas of difficulty . We hope that this system will allow us to provide more support to more pupils and to help raise their attainment.

In future years we expect to have available more computers with Successmaker installed so that even more pupils will be able to be accommodated.

Over the last Summer holidays, the school's ICT network was extended. Miles of new cabling was installed or upgraded and the computers in room 22 were also improved.

Pupils are making increasing and varied use of computers in their DT lessons - particularly in Graphics where computer - aided design and desktop publishing are being developed.

A scanner and digital camera have recently been bought by the Design Technology department.

These will be used to help pupils' creative design projects and further their generalist skills.

As the Cross Country District representative squad team manager, Mr Orton was : delighted so many of our pupils figure in ~ the team that competed in the Essex Schools Cross Country Championships at Castleview School, Canvey last Saturday 19th January.

Of the Basildon District teams, our Senior Girls were 5th overall, Junior Boys 6th, Inter Girls 9th and Inter Boys 3rd.

From each borough and district 12 athletes are selected based on their finishing positions in the districts competition. The school was extremely proud to report that 9 pupils from De La Salle qualified for the squad in their respective age groups, and of those 6 were able to represent the district last Saturday.

Here are their finishing positions out of all Essex.

Senior Girls:
Sam Hack 36th
Amy Farr 51st
Laura Brooks 4th
Danielle Nolan
Reserve Runner

Inter Girls:
Louise Joyner 50th.

Junior Boys:
Kieran Devlin 4th.