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St Casimir is patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. He was born in 1458 or 1460, the third of thirteen children of King Casimir IV and Elizabeth of Austria, daughter of Albert II of Habsburg. The young prince was trained in spirituality and displayed holiness at an early age. In contrast to other members of the royal court, he was a shining example of faith and humility. He had a great love for the Eucharist and for Mary the mother of Jesus.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. – Romans 10:8b-13
Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving, simple living and self-denial.
Today is a holy day of prayer and fasting. The traditional fasting period of 46 days reflects that of the 40 days and nights Jesus fasted in the Judean Desert. This is a solemn reminder of human morality and the need for reconciliation with God.
On this day, let us remove all temptations that may come during the time of Lent. May we become shriven and confess our sins. By burning the palm crosses of last Easter, let us prepare for the coming of Christ.
On this day let us become more aware of the social justice that is still needed around the world. Only with this change can the world become a peaceful and harmonious place.
Saint Valentine’s Day is traditionally seen as a celebration of love. This day commemorates the death of Saint Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, epileptics and beekeepers. He was a priest and physician who suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Christians by the emperor Claudius.
My name is Navin Sonsana and I am a Deputy Lead Prefect at St Edmundâs Catholic Academy.Â
I have secured a place on the Software Engineering Degree Apprenticeship at Rolls Royce that starts in September 2023. A Software Engineer at Rolls Royce is responsible for developing solutions, enhancing technology and maintaining the software that powers aircrafts, submarines and other components.
I applied to 5 Russell Group universities, as well as making an application to Rolls Royce. Based on my CV, I was selected by Rolls Royce to move on to the second stage and then completed 3 online tests that identified my judgemental skills, my reasoning behind certain choices, as well as gaining an insight into my personality.
Moving onto the third stage, I was given a week to prepare for my interview and create a presentation that would demonstrate my confidence, passion and how well I can articulate myself. The interview was 50 minutes long, where I was asked a range of questions about my life choices and how I went about things previously, along with what I can offer to Rolls Royce. This was followed by a 7 minute presentation, in which I presented and demonstrated my passion from a selected topic. My presentation was based on my current project in 3D Design (Aircraft Design) and I was very thorough in my detail. After presenting, there was a brief period for Q&A and we then proceeded with a 30 minute period discussing solutions with reasoning for a case study I was given.
During the third stage, there were 7 other candidates drawn from a large number of applications from across the whole of the UK. 37 applicants were shortlisted to be on the apprenticeship. I received a phone call on Friday 10th February, two weeks after the interview, to congratulate me on my success. The Apprenticeship includes a day release to the University of Derby for one day of the week and the rest of the week is based at Rolls Royce in Solihull.Â
I am extremely happy and thankful for the position, knowing how hard I have worked to get this apprenticeship. My feedback was that I did extremely well on the interview, I was passionate about everything I talked about and they wanted me to be on their team.
I am thankful to everyone who has supported me through this, including my parents, and Mrs Devi and Mr Sokher, who helped me to refine my ideas in preparation for the interview.
Navin Sonsana
