"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

““If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”’”

— Matthew 16:24

What a beautiful start to the new year! On Thursday morning, we gathered in the hall to welcome each other back and start our new mission for the year; and that is how are we going to make our mark this year? How are we all going to play a role in our community and to leave our school in a better place than it ever has been before. This year, we are being completely led by Pope Francis’s letter to our world and Laudato Si. The Dot tells the story of a little girl who did not think she could draw - but then who suddenly make a mark - a dot. From there she made the most beautiful dots of all different colours. Just because it is often something small, does not mean that it isn’t powerful!

Next Wednesday we will be heading to mass for the first time this year to celebrate the year together. Please do join us and walk with us from school. We will be leaving at 9.05am for Mass at 9.30am.

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Thank you…

A huge thank you for ensuring that the children are smart and ready for school on their return. It has been lovely to see a sea of navy PE t-shirts; wrapper free snacks in a variety of tupperwear and no jewellery apart from analogue watches. The request for earrings to be removed is from a place of safety; both front and back of the earrings. Please can retainers not be used where there is a backing like an earring, this has the same risks as normal earrings. Invisible retainers with a flat back will be permitted whilst ears are healing after Summer piercingo. This will allow the children to play safely outside without the risk of injuries to their ears. With our new focus on play and OPAL, the risks that we want the childrent to take with play will only increase. Thank you so much for all of your support and understanding.

Don’t forget that it is Induction Evening is taking place next Wednesday evening for parents to come and meet their child’s teacher and see what their life will be like in their year group. There will be one meeting at 3.45pm and another opportunity at 4.45pm. This is just for parents to come and have a look, please seek another arrangement for your child.

Celebrating your child

You may have seen your child come home with one of our new reward cards this week. Instead of waiting until the end of the week, the children can be celebrated for anything on any day. They are still hard to achieve and only given for excellence - keep an eye out!

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Office News

Please find the lunch menu below and also the snack order form. Next week, we are on Week 3 of the lunch menu. The food on the menu will change once we get to October half term.

Thank you to everyone who was prompt with their All Stars bookings. We have been inundated and some days are now full. Mrs Nel is operating a waiting list for additional sessions. If you need any support with All Stars, please give Mrs Nel a ring and she will be happy to help.

We had hoped to hold the very first Our Lady Colour run in September, but with the field in the midst of growth and out of action until October, we will delay this until Spring. Fundraising Squad, I will be in touch next week with a date for our first meeting. We can brainstorm ideas and get some things organised for the year ahead.

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We are definitely back to normal next week and it will be nice to have a normal week in school. Our Reception children have come in so beautifully this week and sampled what it is like to spend a little bit of time in school. Next week, they will start to see what whole school life is like; which is tricky as it is so complex. They will be coming into school on Monday morning with us all. Please keep an eye out for them at the gate and give them a cheery smile!

Have a lovely weekend with your family.

God bless.

Mrs Gregan

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

Welcome back to school! I hope that you all have a lovely summer in the beautiful weather that we have had; we have certainly been spoilt. I am definitely ready to get back into some routine now and get started with our new year together. There is quite a bit of information in this blog - nothing too drastic - so please have a good read.

Throughout the holidays, although the school has been closed to our children, it has been a hive of activity in so many ways. For the first two weeks, the cleaning team completed a deep clean of every room - by the end of the year, this is essential before we let the staff team back in. There has also been some building and grounds work taking place. For a few years, our boilers have been temperamental and always a worry when we hit the winter months. After a carefully written bid, we were lucky to secure the work to have all 3 of the boilers replaced this summer. You will have also noticed that a new fence has been installed alongside nursery and Reception, all the way down the field too. It is a little higher and green to blend in a little bit more.

By far, the most exciting development this summer has taken place on the field. Thanks to the Pemberton and Appleton family, a large tractor appeared on the field last Friday to reseed it. We all know how thin the grass has got in recent years and the colour of the children’s t-shirts as a result has been filthy; so I am incredibly grateful that this has taken place. Ideally, the reseeding should have taken place earlier on in the summer, but the hot weather has made this impossible due to the hardness of the ground. As a result of it taking place last week, whilst the seed grows, the field will be closed for around 4 weeks. St Thomas’ have been very kind and will be letting us use their field for football training as we start to prepare for matches. We need to really look after it in its growing stage to ensure that it grows as we want it too. In October half term, we are hoping that the floor around the trim trail will be barked - the perfect conditions to start our OPAL journey this year.

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New Beginnings

Last Wednesday, after spending a day in school, I wandered through each and every classroom with a huge sense of pride. So many of the teachers are changing classes this year and taking on a new challenge. With the new challenge, it has brought so much enthusiasm and a determination to learn. I cannot begin to tell you how hard they have worked this Summer and how excited they are to get going next week. There is so much to look forward to this year and plenty of ways that we will evolve - lots of opportunity for parents to support and get involved too!

Over the next few days, all of the teachers will be popping a welcome blog onto their page with some key information for the start of the year. Please do have a read and know exactly what is going on in your child’s classroom; I will be reiterating some key school messages within this blog too. We will welcome 30 new Reception children into school and a few new staff too. Miss Edwards will be teaching Year 1, Miss Brookes will be teaching Year 3 and Mrs Hunter and Miss Canham will be joining the support staff. Over the summer Mrs Ely has been recruited as a Speech and Language therapist with a consultancy company that we use in school. I am so excited for her - but we will miss her dearly here in school.

On Wednesday 9th September, there will be an opportunity for you to come into your child’s class and meet the teacher. These meetings are for parents only so we ask that you find alternative arrangements for your children on that night. There will be two meetings, 3.45pm & 4.45pm, so that you can choose which one to go to or if you have multiple children in school. Please do make an effort to come so that key questions can be asked and you can hear about your child’s year in school.

Key Messages as you get ready to return:

• New uniform guidance was issued at the end of last academic year to give you plenty of time to adjust. Please make sure that you are familiar with it and that you come back to school prepared. I am aware that there has been a delay with the supply of the final batch of PE tops so please do not worry if your child has not got one initially. I am told that they will be in the shop by 19th September. Also a reminder that no jewellery is to be worn in school (including earrings) - just an analogue watch please. Smart watches are not permitted.

• Please make sure that you have read the class blog for your child over the coming days. All of the information will be on there for what they need and when PE days are etc. Every child from Year 2 - Year 6 have a chair pouch where they store their reading books and water bottles so they can be accessed during the day. Mrs Naylor has had her sewing machine in this summer ensuring that they are all hole free! For the water bottle to fit in these pouches they need to be no higher than around 22cm tall. We can then keep them in the chairs for the children and not outside the classroom.

• Snacks: In line with our sustainable outlook and school focus, we will again be wrapper free this year for snacks. This is the same as what we requested last year, we will just be enforcing it this year. There are so many ways in which snacks can be brought into school; avoiding wrappers and recycling these properly at home. We do not have the correct school recycling and it costs us a lot of money for weight of the waste. Please get into good habits each morning and help us to become more sustainable. This is big focus on our School Improvement Plan this year. All KS1 children have access to fruit daily. Any wrapped snack will be popped back in the child’s bag and sent back home; not consumed in school. We will again have the opportunity to order snacks on a weekly basis. All orders need to be placed each week by 8am. At lunch time, packed lunches can be eaten and wrappers will be sent back home, not placed in the school bin. Please get into the habit again of avoiding wrappers at lunch time to continue us working towards being sustainable.

• Smartphone free - Last year we became a smartphone free school and started the campaign for our children to be smartphone free. We changed how children could bring phones into school, with the information that from September 2027 we would be completely smartphone free and no child phones will be brought into school. We are working with other schools on this campaign and also about walking home from school too. Year 6 are the only year group who will be permitted to walk home from school from September, as per previous years. We will allow Year 5 in the Summer term as they prepare for Year 6.

• Class certificates - after a lot of discussion at the parent coffee morning and also with the student council, we have decided to no longer award certificates at the end of the week for learning. Instead there will be a much more immediate celebration when the child has achieved something; rather than waiting until the end of the week or when they receive the certificate. Stars will be staying - the children love these - but will be awarded in class and celebrated in assembly. We still want parents to come to our Friday assembly and will plan what this will look like on our staff INSET days next week.

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We are really excited to welcome the children back next Thursday morning at 8.45am. Our new Reception children will be joining us in two groups for the first two days, before starting fully on Monday 7th September. Our first Sunday family mass of the year will be on Sunday 27th September - the Feast of Our Lady Star of the Sea. We look forward to welcoming our new school family and starting the year together.

Have the most wonderful Bank Holiday weekend and I will see you next week.

Mrs Gregan

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard"

The last week in school is always filled with pure emotion as we all come to realise that change is about to happen and that some people will not be with us in September. But change is good because it strengthens us and renews us; ready to take on the next challenge. This week has been all about our Year 6 Leavers and getting them ready to head off to high school. Monday and Tuesday evening showcased just what they can do as they took to the stage, along with our Year 5s and put on the most remarkable show of good overcoming evil. Of a group of children working together for the common good of others.

We also say goodbye to four amazing staff members who have given so much to Our Ladys whilst they have been here. To Miss Lavelle, Mrs Marshall, Mr Cornwell and Mrs Carragher. Thank you so much for what you have done for our school community, we wish you all the luck in the world as you start your new adventures.

I have attached what I spoke about at Mass on Wednesday for you all to have a read.

Today we have awarded all children their STAR Charter for the work that they have done in school over the past 12 months. The money they have raised, the prayers, the parish links and every things else. It truly has been remarkable. We have also awarded 46 STAR distinction awards for the children who have been nominated as going above and beyond. Unfortuantly, some of our badges arrived broken. We have given Year 6 theirs and will ensure the other children get theirs in September.

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Blessed Edward Bamber Award

This year, we have become part of BEBCMAT and a wider community. Part of their end of year celebrations has required me to think about and award a pupil of the year. This award recognises a pupil who consistently demonstrates our core values of Faith, Hope, Trust, Respect and Service and live these values on a daily basis. Usually, I ask for an opinion on this from others, but after having read all of the children’s school reports, I have decided to think about this one myself. Whilst it could go to any of our children for multiple reasons, this year I have chosen someone who for me has come into school each and every day; shown incredible resilience and continued to learn and make progress. There are not enough words to say how proud I am of you. Cora - we are all so very proud of you!

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Our Stars and Learners of the Year - as voted for by their peers…

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Uniform Guidance for September 2026

Please find the uniform guidance for September 2026. The only changes that you need to be aware of:

• PE tops will be compulsory from September. All children must wear the navy t-shirt for PE from September, not the white polo.

• There will be no jewellery from September apart from an analogue watch. This applies to earrings as well. St Bedes have a no earring policy and as a cluster of schools that feed into St Bedes, we are applying the same policy here. If you are thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced over the summer holidays, it needs to be immediately so that they can be removed before they start school in September.

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the Fundraising Squad. I will be in touch over the summer with a plan of action once the docuements needed for the Colour Run arrive. Thank you so much for supporting the school!

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Anna, in our Year 5 class is taking part in Joseph over the Summer - she would love to see you there if you need something to do!

I wish you all the most wonderful summer with your family and friends. We look forward to welcoming you back on Thursday 3rd September 2026.

Mrs Gregan

St Annes Carnival Procession

With a few days until St Annes Carnival Day - here are the arrangements:

• We are meeting at number 24 on the map - just opposite Aldi on Clifton Drive North.

• Please arrive between 10am and 10.15am - the parade will start at 10:30am.

• All children in school uniform. Given the weather this can be summer uniform or PE kit.

• Hats, water bottles and suncream are essential.

• Parents, if you can walk with us - please do. We need as many adults as possible to ensure that we are safe.

• We will end the parade back outside Aldi.

“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

When I sent the staff bulletin today, and used the above bible quote in the title, I felt guilty. Whilst we are hearing about the importance of rest in this week’s Gospel; we are busier than ever in school - and our staff certainly are too. As we approach the end of the year, there is always a long list of jobs that we need to do which is often beyond the classroom. Despite the staff being incredibly busy, school has been incredibly calm and learning has continued. During these last few weeks, I have encouraged the staff to seek refuge in God - to take a moment to be still and calm. To be present in the moment and to enjoy the last two weeks of our school year.

Thank you everyone who has completed the form to say that they will be walking in Carnival Day for St Annes Club Day. We are excited to once again join with the parish community. Next week, I will put on where we are meeting and the expectations around the parade.

This Sunday is our final School and Family Mass of the year. Our Holy Communion children will also be in attendance wearing the clothes that they wore to make their communion. Please do come if you can.

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Food Bank Collection for June & July - pasta. Please add pasta to your shopping during June and July for Fylde Foodbank.

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STAR Charter

We are at the time of the year when we start to collect nominees for the Star Charter Distinction Award. This is the award for the children who have gone above and beyond for their community beyond school. In school, each class completes the STAR Charter over the course of the year which enables them to have:

• Links with their parish.

• Learn about Catholic Social Teaching.

• Raise money for a cause close to their class’s hearts.

• Make something for our common home.

The distinction award is for anyone who has:

• Attended at least 2 family masses.

• Raised money for a cause outside of school.

• Volunteered with an organisation or supported someone in their own time over a sustained period of time.

• Made something for our common home.

If you have evidence that your child has earnt the distinction award by demonstrating one or more of the above, please complete the form below.

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Looking forward to next year…

This week, the children have started to experience life in their new classrooms and alongside their new teachers. It is always exciting to be thinking about what it is next; sometimes a little anxious too. The beauty of our school is that everyone knows everybody; and relationships are so strong. With a lot of the teachers moving as well - they too are experiencing change. St Bedes have also had a busy week as three of our year groups have visited there. On Wednesday, Year 5 headed off to complete a science and technology day. On Thursday, Year 6 were picked up for their school visit day where they met their form tutors. Finally, today Year 4 have been for a Prayer Retreat day, thinking about how they can shine their light so brightly both in their own school and looking ahead. I am so grateful for the connection that we have with St Bedes and our cluster schools too. All of the events that the children have been part of have involved coming together with other children who they may meet in the next stage of their learning journey.

As we do finish the year, we are expecting standards to be maintained and adhered to. We have seen this week an increasing amount of squishy toys coming into school, along with: fidgets, dumplings, squishy balls and cubes and all manner of things. These have had to be confiscated and returned to the children at the end of the day. Please can you ensure that these items are all left at home and not brought into school. We have been looking at research on fidgets and the negative impacts that they bring to children, not always positive. Thank you for your continued support with this.

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Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

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Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday.

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

I mentioned previously that we will be moving ot a pre-paid booking system for all activities in school that require payment. In accordance with Trust policy, please read the letter below. All Parent Pay amounts must be cleared by July.

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Office News

Rearranged dates for cancelled events this week

• EYFS and KS1 Sports Day - Monday 6th July. EYFS @ 9.15am and KS1 @ 1.30pm - we will keep an eye on the weather over the weekend.

• Year 3 & 4 Sports Day - Wednesday 15th July @ 1.30pm

• Play tickets for Year 5 & 6 are now on sale. Next week, Mrs Nel will check which children’s parents have not been allocated any tickets. Once that is rectified, we will be able to see how many additional tickets can be sold.

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

Please find the uniform guidance for September 2026. The only changes that you need to be aware of:

• PE tops will be compulsory from September. All children must wear the navy t-shirt for PE from September, not the white polo.

• There will be no jewellery from September apart from an analogue watch. This applies to earrings as well. St Bedes have a no earring policy and as a cluster of schools that feed into St Bedes, we are applying the same policy here. If you are thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced over the summer holidays, it needs to be immediately so that they can be removed before they start school in September.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 5 with a winning % of 98.3%. Our whole school attendance was 94.9%

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For those of you enjoying the festival over the past few days and this weekend, I hope you continue to do so.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Gregan

“But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”.

This week, we have celebrated and learnt about Saint Peter and Saint Paul - two of Jesus’ most trusted disciples who were given the responsibility to grow the church. Neither of these disciples were perfect, infact they did some really unkind things in their time. But they always said sorry, they always sought forgiveness and they always wanted to make things right.

Both of these men:

• Both loved and followed Jesus

• Both helped start the Christian Church

• Both were brave and shared God’s message

• Both died for their faith

We would love a really good attendance at St Anne’s Parade this year. If you are able to walk with us, please do. On Sunday 5th July, it is our next Family Mass, where our Holy Communion children will be returning in their outfits. Please do join us to finish the year together. Year 4 children will be doing the readings and bidding prayers, but we still need children for our choir. Please do come if you are able to.

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Food Bank Collection for June & July - pasta. Please add pasta to your shopping during June and July for Fylde Foodbank.

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Celebrating all things Education

Each year, the Diocese hosts an Education Mass to celebrate the work that each of our schools do. From leadership, to staff and governors…and our pupils, we reflect on the work we do and the reason we do it. To instil Christ into each one of us. At the mass we also get to welcome and celebrate people who make a difference to our school. Mr Heyes and Dr Cronin were both commissioned as part of our Governing Body and Mrs Naylor was celebrated for completing her CCRS - Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies. We are blessed with the people in our school and it was lovely to celebrate them last night.

STAR Charter

We are at the time of the year when we start to collect nominees for the Star Charter Distinction Award. This is the award for the children who have gone above and beyond for their community beyond school. In school, each class completes the STAR Charter over the course of the year which enables them to have:

• Links with their parish.

• Learn about Catholic Social Teaching.

• Raise money for a cause close to their class’s hearts.

• Make something for our common home.

The distinction award is for anyone who has:

• Attended at least 2 family masses.

• Raised money for a cause outside of school.

• Volunteered with an organisation or supported someone in their own time over a sustained period of time.

• Made something for our common home.

If you have evidence that your child has earnt the distinction award by demonstrating one or more of the above, please complete the form below.

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"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."

And wow, has there been sunshine this week! We have gone from one extreme to another; from cancelling sports days because of the rain to being worried about the soaring temperatures - anyway we managed it without any drama. The staff have worked really hard to try and ensure that classrooms were as cool as they could possibly be, plenty of suncream, hats and a quick trip to collect 3 gazebos for the playground; as well as slightly shorter lunchtimes and less time outside. We do not have a lot of shade on our playground and it something that we are going to look at as we continue to develop our grounds further.

Ice-Cream Van came to visit…

To thank all of the staff and children for their calm efforts this week, the ice-cream van came to visit. I think they all deserved one!

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Gym Jam Jog

The Gym Jam Jog is one of those firm favourites in the school calendar and what a morning it was. We were really lucky that this takes place first thing in the morning; just before the temperatures started to rise. We are busy raising funds to continue to develop the grounds of our school and to continue our quest for OPAL playtimes. The money raised will contribute to that. I would really like a large sandpit to be built next year - so let’s see what we can do! So far we have raised £1110.50 - it is amazing. Final money in by next Wednesday please. Community events are the best ones; where we can come together and have fun. I think a Colour Run might be on the cards for Autumn; watch this space!

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Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

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Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday.

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

I mentioned previously that we will be moving ot a pre-paid booking system for all activities in school that require payment. In accordance with Trust policy, please read the letter below. All Parent Pay amounts must be cleared by July.

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Office News

Rearranged dates for cancelled events this week

• EYFS and KS1 Sports Day - Monday 6th July. EYFS @ 9.15am and KS1 @ 1.30pm

• Year 3 & 4 Sports Day - Wednesday 15th July @ 1.30pm

• Play tickets for Year 5 & 6 will go on sale next week. There will be initially 4 tickets available per family across the 3 performances. There will then be a waiting list - so please do not worry!

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

Please find the uniform guidance for September 2026. The only changes that you need to be aware of:

• PE tops will be compulsory from September. All children must wear the navy t-shirt for PE from September, not the white polo.

• There will be no jewellery from September apart from an analogue watch. This applies to earrings as well. St Bedes have a no earring policy and as a cluster of schools that feed into St Bedes, we are applying the same policy here. If you are thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced over the summer holidays, it needs to be immediately so that they can be removed before they start school in September.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 3 with a winning % of 98.7%. Our whole school attendance was 94.9%

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With Club Day season upon us, I really hope that you enjoy spending time with your families and friends at these events.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Gregan

"You are Precious in my Eyes."

In the coming week’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus tells us just how much he loves us and how precious we are. We all know that our mission statement is, ‘You are Precious in my Eyes’ but what makes people precious? Is is their qualities, what they look like, their actions - how are we all unique? In school we are thinking about how God’s love is always with them, even when we face troubles and difficulties; we live in God’s constant care. All we need to do is to trust!

We would love a really good attendance at St Anne’s Parade this year. If you are able to walk with us, please do. On Sunday 5th July, it is our next Family Mass, where our Holy Communion children will be returning in their outfits. Please do join us to finish the year together.

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Food Bank Collection for June & July - pasta. Please add pasta to your shopping during June and July for Fylde Foodbank.

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A varied week in school

There has been lots of wonderful learning beyond the classroom this week in so many ways:

• Year 6 continued their jobs around the school.

• Year 5 & 6 Sports Day was won by Harcourt.

• Year 6 Forest School Ambassadors headed to St Peters to meet others there.

• Year 4 had their Viking Day here at school

• Our Year 6 Cricket Team competed in the Lytham St Annes Cricket Competition, finishing 5th overall and winners of the plate.

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Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

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Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. You will see there is no snacks on Wednesday, this is because toast is being provided for all children following the Gym Jam Jog. Bacon butties on Thursday!

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

I mentioned previously that we will be moving ot a pre-paid booking system for all activities in school that require payment. In accordance with Trust policy, please read the letter below. All Parent Pay amounts must be cleared by July.

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Office News

Rearranged dates for cancelled events this week

• EYFS and KS1 Sports Day - Monday 6th July. EYFS @ 9.15am and KS1 @ 1.30pm

• I am looking at whether I can combine the Year 3 & 4 one with EYFS and KS1 - will let you know next week.

• Gym Jam Jog - Wednesday 24th June @8am

• We are currently looking at our pricing structure for nursery and wrap around care. Everything has gone up and we are ensuring that we can meet need. Booking will go out next week for All Stars for September onwards. I will send a text when it is available.

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

Please find the uniform guidance for September 2026. The only changes that you need to be aware of:

• PE tops will be compulsory from September. All children must wear the navy t-shirt for PE from September, not the white polo.

• There will be no jewellery from September apart from an analogue watch. This applies to earrings as well. St Bedes have a no earring policy and as a cluster of schools that feed into St Bedes, we are applying the same policy here. If you are thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced over the summer holidays, it needs to be immediately so that they can be removed before they start school in September.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 2 with a winning % of 98.7%. Our whole school attendance was 96.3%

An extra congratulations goes to Year 3 who so far have the highest attendance for a Year 3 class in Lancashire. Treats for you next week!

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I hope that you have a lovely weekend with your families. Happy Father’s Day to all of our lovely Fathers and wonderful grandparents too!

"With great power comes great responsibility."

I popped into nursery this week as I heard a commotion. All I could see was our nursery children (and Year 6 helpers) being superheroes. Not just any superheroes, but disciple superheroes. This week’s mission is to spread the Good News; to have super powers and use them for the greater good.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus commissions the disciples to spread the Good News. We hope that the children will be inspired by the example of the Mini Vinnies and consider how we are all commissioned to walk in Jesus’ footsteps to share God’s love in all we see, think and do, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

We are fast approaching Carnival Day in St Annes - Saturday 11th July - and as in previous years, we will be walking with our parish. Please complete the form if you would like to be part of our school procession.

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Food Bank Collection for June & July - pasta. Please add pasta to your shopping during June and July for Fylde Foodbank.

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Enrichment

Enrichment has been a lovely addition to our school in recent years. It is an opportunity for the children to be taught by another teacher in school in an area of learning that is not curriculum based. Have a look at what we have been up to in enrichment this week!

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Leading Learning into the next academic year…

This week, we welcomed our new Reception intake into school to see what life will be like here and to meet their staff team. It is always an exciting time as our family continues to grow - never get smaller.

The learning of every individual in school is incredibly important. We always talk about the children learning, but in order for them to get the very best, the staff too much be learners. Professional development and coaching are central to my vision for our school staff and for them to find opportunities within and beyond our school that will make them even better than they are now. We are also at a point in our journey where we have time to breathe and to grow - to do things a little differently before we are inspected again. This is a nice position to be in and one that will allow us to make new connections and develop coaching. For example, although Mrs Harrison will be the Year 5 class teacher, she will be teaching some afternoons and some subject areas in Year 6 - there will be some overlaps here and there. The same will be for TAs too. Today in assembly I shared with the children their new teaching teams for the next acadmic year. Over the next few weeks, they will meet them through lesson drop ins. You will spot that we have a new teacher joining us. I say new, but Miss Edwards has been part of our staff team this year on her teaching placements. We are really excited that she will be joining us to start her professional career next year.

We have had some staff changes in recent years as family life develops and time needs to be taken for personal life instead of professional life. Miss Lavelle has been a member of the staff team for quite some time; only this week were we talking about her Pandemic videos, dressing up as a penguin for her class on Preston docks. She has worn many hats here; Reception class teacher, HLTA, Forest School lead - and after the arrival of her second child and distance she travels to school, she has decided to pause her school based career for now and will be leaving us at the end of the year. Miss Lavelle has established a business alongside her school career in developing a love of reading for babies and toddlers; this is what she is going to focus on whilst her small children grow. Only today was she dressed up as Emilia Earhart for our Reception children - we will miss her dearly and will celebrate her at the end of the year. Next week I will be interviewing for a HLTA place in school who will add to our staff team for next year.

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Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

It is always special when past pupils come back and help us in school for their work experience. This week we have had Jessica back with us helping in nursery. What a lovely young lady she is. Thank you Jess for all of your efforts this week!

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Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday.

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

I mentioned previously that we will be moving ot a pre-paid booking system for all activities in school that require payment. In accordance with Trust policy, please read the letter below. All Parent Pay amounts must be cleared by July.

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Office News

Rearranged dates for cancelled events this week

• EYFS and KS1 Sports Day - Monday 6th July. EYFS @ 9.15am and KS1 @ 1.30pm

• Gym Jam Jog - Wednesday 24th June @8am

If the weather continues to be problematic, we will move sports days to Septmber and try and squeeze Year 5 & 6 in this half term. The year 6 class are the priority to ensure they get a final sports day before they head off.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 5 with a winning % of 98%. Our whole school attendance was 95%

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I hope that you have a lovely weekend with your families. Let’s pray for sunshine and better weather!

Sport Day Update...

There are lots of things that I hope I can control in school - the weather however is not one of them and in the build up to Sports Day; I have sleepless nights about whether they will go ahead. I also want to ensure that you have enough notice if we have to cancel as I appreciate that many of you will take time off to attend. It is also important that the children enjoy the event as this is really about them.

Tomorrow’s EYFS and KS1 Sports day has been cancelled due to the forecast. Thunder and rain is predicted. They have been rescheduled for the following times:

EYFS: Monday 6th July at 9.15am KS1: Monday 6th July at 1.30pm

We are hoping that KS2 will go ahead next Wednesday as usual - fingers crossed for the weather. A decision will be made on Monday if it is looking uncertain. Fingers crossed too for the Gym Jam Jog on Friday!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". John 3:16

What a beautiful way to end our half term together. Father Peter came in today to formally bless our altar that has been handcrafted for us to use in school. It is a special place of prayer and one that will be used for just that. Over summer I am going to think carefully about the logistics of the school hall and where things go to ensure that this has pride of place; at the heart of the school.

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Last Saturday our second group of children made their First Holy Communion - the church was packed! The children looked so very special for their moment to receive Jesus in bread for the first time. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and to the staff team who supported the children on their journey.

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Food Bank Collection for May - tea bags. Please add a box of tea bags to your shopping during May for Fylde Foodbank.

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Borwick Hall…

What a week our Year 6 have had on residential at Borwick Hall. From tree climbing, to canoeing, to kayaking, to climbing and caving - they had the best few days and there was smiles all round!

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Our Lady HAS Got Talent

We did not quite know what to expect last night, but it was pure magic. We have such a talented group of children and to see them shine and sing so confidently last night; it was just pure joy. The bravery and courage of all children was so heart warming. Thank you to everyone who attended, who smiled, who clapped and laughed and cheered. We definitely need to do more and to host an infant one too! The event raised £500 for our school environment - well done to you all!

Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

These awards this week were voted by their class mates - even more special!

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Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday.

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

I mentioned previously that we will be moving ot a pre-paid booking system for all activities in school that require payment. In accordance with Trust policy, please read the letter below.

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Office News

• Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.

• We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

• It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!

• There has been lots of lost uniform lately, many items that have not been named. Please can you ensure all of your children’s items are labelled and check that your child does not have anyone elses.

• PARKING - we have had complaints regarding the parking around school. Cars are parking on the corners and on yellow lines. Please can this be addressed as soon as possible please.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 3 with a winning % of 100%. Our whole school attendance was 97.7%

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Finally, we are so very lucky that so many of our children attend The Academy for their musical theatre and dance classes. They have their own production of Joseph coming up and there are tickets available. Click on the link above and it will take you to the booking page so that you can go and support them.

Have a wonderful half-term holiday. We return to school on Monday 8th June and I look forward to seeing you for the final half term.

Mrs Gregan

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.“

This week, we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. It commemorates Jesus's final earthly appearance, where he instructs his disciples to spread his teachings before ascending into clouds. It highlights Christ’s reign in glory and prepares for the coming of the Holy Spirit. It also marks the end of Eastertide and the return to ordinary time. Going to mass on a feast day is always so special and yesterday, our Reception to Year 6 children walked to church to celebrate. Thank you to the many people who came in to walk with us; this week has been really busy in school so it was lovely to have so many people come to our rescue. Across the school, in each RE lesson, the children have been looking at the Holy Spirit and what it means to belong to the church. There are so many gifts that the Holy Spirit brings us; one being courage. Let’s continue to be brave in our mission of faith and use the courage that we have been given

Tomorrow, the second group of our Year 4 children will make their First Holy Communion. Please do pray for them as they make the next step of their sacramental journey. Last week’s celebration was so beautiful and a reminder of the innocence of the sacraments. The children looked so very special.

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Food Bank Collection for May - tea bags. Please add a box of tea bags to your shopping during May for Fylde Foodbank.

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Sometimes you can forget that you are awesome….

After this week, I don’t think I will forget how awesome our Year 6s are! Every year I watch in awe as a group of 10 and 11 year old enter the hall to take their end of Key Stage assessments, ready to head off to high school; and every year they blow me away. We are not a massive assessment school. Yes we do them because the information that we get from assessments helps us to get it right as teachers and to support children in the gaps that they might have. So it is no surprise that the children are anxious going into this week - but sometimes that is ok. Because we learn that we can handle pressure better than we thought we could, that these events don’t define us and actually we are stronger than we thought we are.

Our Year 6s did this in bucket loads this week. Each afternoon, before they left for the day, they would write themselves a little message that they would read at their desk the next morning. The most important thing is that they believe in themselves - and boy they did! I am beyond proud of them all! After the end of their tests, they were quickly forgotten about, onto the end of year play - Robin Hood - and then ice-creams and Leavers’ hoodies for all! Next week they will head off on residential for 3 days to Berwick Hall before returning to interviews with me for jobs around school. What an absolute team!

Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

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How beautiful do our Bird Feeders look? the creations made to celebrate David Attenborough’s 100th birthday are now proudly hanging in our Forest School area waiting to entice our feathered friends.

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Our Lady’s Got Talent

This has so very quickly come around, and today, I met with our entrants to find out their final decisions (we have had some changes in music). Tickets have been bought, programmes are in print and snacks have been ordered. All we need now is our stars!

The evening will start at 6pm with two acts - there will be a short interval in the middle. On the night everything will be £1: refreshments, programmes, raffle tickets - all to raise money for our outdoors! I have no idea what to expect and how the evening will go - but I know it will be full of love and support for all of our courageous children taking part. A text message has been sent today to all of the children taking part - I need your music by Sunday evening at the latest.

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Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday.

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

I mentioned previously that we will be moving ot a pre-paid booking system for all activities in school that require payment. In accordance with Trust policy, please read the letter below.

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Office News

• Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.

• We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

• It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!

• There has been lots of lost uniform lately, many items that have not been named. Please can you ensure all of your children’s items are labelled and check that your child does not have anyone elses.

• PARKING - we have had complaints regarding the parking around school. Cars are parking on the corners and on yellow lines. Please can this be addressed as soon as possible please.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 3 with a winning % of 100%. Our whole school attendance was 97.7%

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Finally…A little over 18 months ago, our beautiful Dominic Barrow achieved something incredible. After bravely battling a brain tumour, he walked through the doors of Blackpool Victoria Hospital and rang the bell surrounded by family and friends  ❤️ Not long after, Dominic did what he loves most…he pulled his football boots back on and returned to the pitch. Back playing with St Annes Purples U12s alongside his mates and his brother Rex, and later joining CN Sports Panthers U12s, he was making up for lost time and loving every minute.

But life has dealt Dominic another cruel blow. He has recently received the devastating news that his cancer has returned, and once again he must face the fight of his life.

Despite everything, Dominic continues to show unbelievable courage and strength every single day. He truly is a warrior, and everyone at CN Sports and St Annes Football Club is right behind him. 💙 To show our support and help make a difference, we’re coming together to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity and the vital research they carry out to help children like Dominic and so many others fighting this disease.

As part of our fundraising efforts, the teams will take on a 37-mile charity bike ride along the Fylde Coast, visiting local football stadiums along the way:

⚽ Highbury Stadium – Fleetwood Town F.C.

⚽ Bloomfield Road – Blackpool F.C.

⚽ Mill Farm – AFC Fylde

⚽ Deepdale – Preston North End F.C.

The ride will finish at Deepdale — the perfect ending for a proud Preston North End supporter. 🤍💙 We are all with you, Dominic. Keep fighting. We can’t wait to see you back where you belong — on the pitch. ⚽💪

If you would like to support Dominic and donate to this incredible cause, please https://www.justgiving.com/team/cycle-for-dominic?utm_medium=TE&utm_source=CL. Every share, donation, and message of support means the world.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

“I know of no pleasure deeper than that which comes from contemplating the natural world and trying to understand it.”

This year is the year of St Francis - and what better way to kick start our work on sustainability than by celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday (he even paid us a visit). We are so incredibly lucky to have what we have, but we know that if it is not cared for in the way that God intended; it will become incredibly poorly. Sir David Attenborough has inspired millions by bringing the natural world into our homes and classrooms. Thanks to a life marked by a tenacious desire to explore, innovate and enlighten, he has enabled us all to see more of the world than we ever thought we could imagine. We have had such a lovely day in school today, celebrating this remarkable man and watching his work. From making birthday cards, to writing pledges, to researching him and his work - we have learnt an awful lot and are incredibly grateful for what he has done.

Thank you to every one of the children who have been involved in our bird feeder and art competition today. Each class team have chosen 1 winner from their class who have been gifted a David Attenborough biography. All of the entries will be on display in school next week and bird feeders will be placed in Forest School.

Our winners

Parent Plea!

Next Thursday is the feast of the Ascension and because of SATs and Year 5 trip, only Reception - Year 4 will be going to church for 9.30am mass. There are a number of staff having to stay in school to support Year 6 SATs therefore we will need additional adults to walk to church. If you are able, or another family member is, please can you fill in the form so that we can ensure the children will be safe walking and we have enough adults. Thank you so much.

Tomorrow, the first group of our Year 4 children will make their First Holy Communion. Please do pray for them as they make the next step of their sacramental journey.

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Food Bank Collection for May - tea bags. Please add a box of tea bags to your shopping during May for Fylde Foodbank.

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Next week…

As we approach the end of the year, many assessments will take place in school. From seeing which areas of learning our Reception children have mastered, to phonics screening in Year 1, Multiplication check in Year 4, and end of year assessments in all other classes. But next week, Year 6 will be taking their SATs papers. I cannot begin to tell you how hard the children have worked for the past 7 years of their education with us here. They should be incredibly proud of themselves. Although these tests will tell them whether they are ‘expected’ in certain currciulum areas, they will not say how creative, how kind, how beautiful they are - and it is that what I am interested in. In true Our Ladys style, the children will come into school and try their hardest next week, wanting to show the very best versions of themselves. Please keep Year 6 in your prayers next week. Early nights and good breakfasts all round please Year 6!

Year 6 are our LEARNERS of the WEEK

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"Stories have a way of changing our lives."

Stories do have a way of changing our lives and this one certainly has. For a few years now, we have read The Boy at the Back of the Class with our Year 6 pupils, and every two years it has come to The Grand in Blackpool. The story of a refugee from Syria who came to our country by himself; who filled the empty chair; who faced prejudice from pupils and teachers; but who ultimately found friendships that would last a lifetime. This was the story of Ahmet; someone who was different but who taught us that being different isn’t bad - it is just different. I cry every time I read this book or watch this play, and in the world that we live in now - it seems like it is a common occurance. I really hope that our Year 5 and Year 6 children felt it as deeply as I did. A powerful story that I hope will change perception.

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Online Safety

Thank you to everyone who signed the pact last week - we are now up to joint 7th in Lancashire. I have been sent through the stats for each class and Year 5 are leading the way! Don’t forget about the event at St Bedes after half term. It would be lovely to have as many of you there as possible.

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Our Lady’s Got Talent - Thursday 21st May @ 6pm!

We need raffle prizes for our Talent Show! Anything will do - please drop them off in the office. Tickets will go on sale on Monday!

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Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday.

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

---

Office News

• Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.

• We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

• It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!

• There has been lots of lost uniform lately, many items that have not been named. Please can you ensure all of your children’s items are labelled and check that your child does not have anyone elses.

• PARKING - we have had complaints regarding the parking around school. Cars are parking on the corners and on yellow lines. Please can this be addressed as soon as possible please.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 3 with a winning % of 100%. Our whole school attendance was 96.9%

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Have a wonderful weekend. Two weeks to go in school before half term.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

"Hail Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star."

The month of May brings with it the month of Mary. For us, the month of May brings with it a familiar and welcome rhythm. As spring reaches its fulness, the Church turns in a special way to Mary, honouring her as the one through whom new life entered the world. In homes, schools and parishes this devotion often finds its clearest expressions in the Rosary.

There is something deeply appropriate about praying the Rosary in May, the beauty and renewal of the season reflect the life and hope that Mary’s ‘yes’ made possible. But more than that, the Rosary itself draws us into the heart of the Gospel. It is not simply a repetition of prayers, but a meditation on the life of Christ – his birth, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection – seen through his mother’s eyes.

In liturgy this week, our Year 1 children made tissue paper flowers to adorn the statue of Our Lady in our worship area. A beautiful sign of Mary and the new life she brings.

Food Bank Collection for May - tea bags. Please add a box of tea bags to your shopping during May for Fylde Foodbank.

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New Playtime Areas

The sunshine keeps coming and so does the areas outside. This week Mrs Naylor has been really busy creating an art area in the hut for the children to use at breaktimes - it has been such a welcome addition. From stencils to colouring pages to stickers, the children have a whole host of things to keep them occupied that is different from running around. Thank you so much Mrs Naylor for your kindness with creating a space for our children. If anyone has any colouring books at home that they no longer use, please donate to school.

Last week I mentioned that we will be going down the OPAL route for the next academic year. 20% of the school day is spent in play, therefore we have to get it right and to see it as a prime curriculum area. Before we start, there are a number of things that we have to have in place; including a working group made up of teachers, play staff, governors and parents. There is a commitment of attending planning meetings and audits (all on Wednesdays), which I will explain at a later date. I have collated some of the initial ideas onto one document for you to have a read of. Have a think if you would like to be involved as our Play Parent? I will be sending out an expression of interest in the coming weeks. We have to do some serious fundraising for it and for setting it up, as well as collect as many resources for free along the way! The Jim Jam Jog in Summer 2 will be the start of this, and then another big fundraiser in Autumn 1 as well.

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Looking ahead to next year…

This half term is flying by, which also means that we are hurtling towards next year already. Being part of an academy means that our financial year has changed from an April start to September - this is great for me as I can deal with each year in turn. I spent a day away from school this week getting my head around the budget and seeing what wiggle room I had to create exciting opportunities for our children and staff, which is incredibly difficult in the current climate. A money tree would certainly be a useful addition to the Forest School. I know that children have been starting to wonder who their teacher will be next year, and I am sure parents will too. We are in a really strong position in school, having had both inspections take place successfully and having completed an enormous amount of work on our curriculum. As a headteacher, I am really keen to ensure that the staff in school have as much growth and development as the children; you will notice that we have had lots of student teachers in with us this year to support their development too. To be a really inspirational teacher, you often have to see things from different angles and professional development is at the heart of this. I am currently putting the staff jigsaw together and as soon as it is cemented, you will all be the first to know (after the staff of course).

As I am putting the jigsaw together, there will be two members of the teaching team who will not be with us next year; who have decided to step away from teaching for a little while to concentrate on their family and other career areas that they want to pursue. Mrs Marshall and Mr Corwell will be leaving us in July. We know that Mr Cornwell has had a busy year with the arrival of his little girl, and with his partner heading back to teaching in September, the commute to Our Ladys would be just too big for him at this moment in time, putting unecessary strain on his family; and more importantly, he wants to spend time with his little girl. Mrs Marshall came back to us part-time after the arrival of her second child and has also developed a successful business along side teaching which has become incredibly well-received. She will be leaving us in July to concentrate on that business a little more. But, she will still be part of the Our Lady family as her little boy will be joining us in Reception from September. We will miss both of these teachers so very much and wish them all of the luck in the world with their new ventures. There is still lots of time to celebrate them in the coming months. I am currently advertising for a teacher position and will be interviewing before half term to complete our teaching team for September.

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Online Safety

We have been part of the Smartphone Free Childhood for this year, and this momentum is just really getting started. With the DFE announcement of no phones in school, this is something that we will be adopting from September.

This week I received an email from the Regional Coordinator:

“Our primary schools across the cluster continue to lead the way on the Lancashire leaderboard, accounting for 22% (517) of all Parent Pacts across the county (2,345 pacts across 376 schools).

A particular highlight is the parent community at Heyhouses, who have generated 124 pledges, an extraordinary increase from just 19 in the space of a week placing them at the top of the Lancashire leaderboard.

Smartphone Free Childhood highlights the importance of the 25% tipping point: research shows that when around a quarter of a community adopts a behaviour, it can trigger a wider cultural shift, with the majority beginning to follow. Encouragingly, four of our local schools have now reached this 25% threshold, an important milestone in driving meaningful change.”

We need another 13 additional sign ups to hit the 25% target! Please sign up if you haven’t. As mentioned in previous newsletters, St Bedes will be hosting another event. This will take place on Monday 8th June. Please see the newsletter for more information.

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Leading Learners and Star Virtues

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David Attenborough turns 100!

Next Friday is David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday! He is so well-respected; we had to do something to celebrate this milestone. With this year being the year of St Francis, and our focus is heavily on sustainability and play - there is no better advocate than David Attenborough. To celebrate his birthday, and to help us look forward to our own mission, next Friday the children are all invited to wear the colours of the earth. We are also holding a whole-school competition to design and make a bird feeder or draw your favourite animal. If you wish to enter, please complete your project and bring it into school by next Friday. There will be one winner per class who will win a book about Sir David, presented in assembly next week.

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Our Lady’s Got Talent - Thursday 21st May @ 6pm!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Our Lady’s Got Talent on Thursday 21st May at 6pm - we have over 40 entries for the night, with the form closing earlier this week. Today I met with all of the children who want to be part of it and next week I will put the instructions together for the event which will be on the choir page. There is an enormous variety of talent that will be on display. We literally cannot wait!!

On the night, there will be a raffle and for that we need raffle prizes. If you are able to donate anything for the raffle, it would be appreciated - big or small - the more the better.

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Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday.

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

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Office News

• Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.

• We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

• It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!

• There has been lots of lost uniform lately, many items that have not been named. Please can you ensure all of your children’s items are labelled and check that your child does not have anyone elses.

• PARKING - we have had complaints regarding the parking around school. Cars are parking on the corners and on yellow lines. Please can this be addressed as soon as possible please.

Well done to our Year 3 children this week who represented the school at the first ever Year 3 football match. When the tournament was cancelled before half term, we knew how disappointed they were so Heyhouses kindly arranged a match. The children played brilliantly and with such spirit.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 1 with a winning % of 99.3%. Our whole school attendance was 96.9%

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Have a lovely bank holiday weekend. We look forward to seeing you in school on Tuesday next week.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

This Sunday is Vocation Sunday in church, which falls on the fourth Sunday of Easter and is also called Good Shepherd Sunday. The word vocation is used a lot at the moment, coupled with the word journey. But what does it actually mean?

“A vocation is a strong, inner calling toward a specific career, way of life, or purpose, often involving a sense of dedication to serving others. While it can mean a regular occupation, it frequently implies a deeper, passionate commitment rather than just a job. Originating from the Latin vocare ("to call"), it can be professional or religious.”

Looking at our community - I know many of us will say that we are here because of a calling and a vocation. The work we do in our community transends the normal working day. In school, working with children is a true vocation - there is no job quite like it. There is a saying, never work with children or animals - but I would say children every day of the week. They are so innocent, bring such joy and we play such an important role in shaping their earliest experiences of life. This week I have welcomed our new Reception cohort for 2026. 30 children will be joining our family of faith here and starting their school life.

On Vocation Sunday, I want to thank all of the staff team here who do go above and beyond every single day to love and grow our children - giving them the very best start that they can to their primary school life.

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Sunshine and Happiness

We have been really blessed with the beautiful weather this week; the children certainly have enjoyed being out and about at breaktime. The den area is very much loved, but this week we had a new addition with the outdoor library. Our Year 6 children have been busy getting the books ready to wheel out onto the playground and it has been well-received. The transformation of the playground in recent years has been something that I am looking to continue to develop. Play is such an important part of childhood experiences and what we have started to put in place has proved that. Children in British primary schools spend 20% or 1.4 years of their school attendance in play; so we have to prioritise this. Next year we are going to start our OPAL journey together. This is a 2 year programme on Outdoor Play and Learning. It will take a team of people to get this up and running and to make it sustainable. From resource sourcing and organisation - but it is really exciting. Part of the team will be parent representatives who want to support this. I will be in touch later on in the term with more about how you can get involved and support us further. The button below will take you to the OPAL website where you can have a look at what this could look like here.

Sustainability will be the prominent feature of our action plan in school next year - across every level. It is the year of St Francis and being stewards of our common home - so now feels like the right time. What we want to do is preserve and enhance Our Ladys, even with al of the financial pressures we are facing - creativity is at the heart of this.

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Leading Learners and Star Virtues

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Has Our Lady Got Talent?

So far we have 28 entries for Our Lady’s Got Talent!! This is an amazing response. Next week, I will be closing the form on Wednesday to start to look at who has entered and then meet with the children wanting to take part.

This is all about sharing talents - there will be no winners; just a celebration of our children. If your child wants to get involved, complete the form below.

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Winter Warmer Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday.

The Summer Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website.

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Office News

• Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.

• We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

• It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!

Our school photographer was back on site today taking the Reception and Year 6 class photographs, as well as our sports teams. Next year, the individual and sibling photographs will be taken in the Autumn term, early on - and classes in Spring. We have also spoken to the photographer about a package if you have multiple children in school too.

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Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 3 with a winning % of 99.8%. Our whole school attendance was 96.9%

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Have a lovely weekend. Let’s hope the sun continues to shine!

God bless

Mrs Gregan

"I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE."

I guess it is a funny saying to say that Holy Week in school is my favourite week; especially when I spend most of the week incredibly sad. But for me, it is the most important part of our Christian faith. There has to be hope and without hope, we would live in permanent darkness. The way the children, from aged 6 - 11 portray the Passion of Christ so intently never ceases to amaze me. I never think that it can be better than the year before but it always is. This week we have walked hand in hand with millions of Christians worldwide - we connect with the global church past, present and future. Year 6 completed our liturgy this week showing us that there is hope after death and that we must continue to live in love, hope and service to others. Thank you to everyone who has shared this week with us.

In our final liturgy of the term, we reflected on the entire Passion together - and our own journey to the cross. I have attached the video for you to share together at home.

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Our new Catholic Family

Yesterday, we officially joined BEBCMAT; our new trust. Mrs O’Neill our CEO, joined us yesterday for the Crucifixion liturgy before spending some time walking through each of the classrooms. She has written a letter to our parents and has asked me to share it with you.

Easter Celebrations

With the lovely, dry weather - came the bi-annual EASTER EGG HUNT. The Easter Bunny arrived at school this week, armed with 240 Easter eggs for the children, and some for the staff too! Today, we finished proceedings with our Easter Egg raffle raising over £300 for the school. Thank you for your continued support in all things fundraising for Our Lady’s.

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Leading Learners and Star Virtues

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Winter Warmer Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. A reminder text has been scheduled for Monday at 7.20am.

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Office News

• Please settle ALL Parent Pay amounts before Easter. From September, there is a directive that everything must be paid for in advance to avoid an outstanding payments at the end of each half term.

• Our new PE tops have been decided following the consultation; thank you to everyone who contributed and commented. These will be available after Easter in Top Marques and compulsory wear on PE days from September.

• Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.

• We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

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School attendance for this term

Well done to Year 3 this week who are our termly winners!

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I wish you all a very happy and holy Easter.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!'".

Today we started our journey to the cross. Year 2 led us in an incredibly beautiful and poignant liturgy, sharing the joy of how the crowds felt when Jesus arrived, to the disappointment of the pharisees at his popularity. Next week we will continue our journey, and I really hope that you will be able to join us.

Monday 30th March at 9.15am - Year 3 The Last Supper

Tuesday 31st March at 9.15am - Year 4 Gethsemane

Wednesday 1st April at 9.15am - Year 5 Crucifixion

Thursday 2nd April at 9.15am - Year 6 Resurrection

We are incredibly close to reaching Nigeria! Nursery alone has walked over 125 miles! With just 800 miles to go - can we do it! All Lenten box money and CAFOD sponsor money needs to be in by Wednesday next week. Thank you so much for your continued support.

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Growing our Catholic Family

Next Wednesday, 1st April, we will officially be joining BEBCMAT, along with St Peters. This is an opportunity to grow our faith more and to seek new an innovative ways of doing things with a closer team of schools. We also know just what we have to offer to others and look forward to sharing our practice with them.

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"To make pottery is an adventure to me, every new work is a new beginning."

Our pottery events have become a staple of the school calendar. Thank you to everyone who came last night and spent time painting their easter decorations. They will be back with us next week ready to be displayed in your home over Easter weekend.

Every half-term, the local catholic heads who feed into St Bedes; along with Mr Marsden come together. We discuss all manner of things, but one thing we are keen to do is ensure that we link our school communities as much as possible. This week, we linked our choirs together for a special performance. Each choir performed and Mr Warrington brought us all together with harmonies and group performance. It was a gorgeous morning and my cup was definitely filled! Over the next week, I will merge the videos and photos together and share next week.

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Leading Learners and Star Virtues

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Winter Warmer Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. A reminder text has been scheduled for Monday at 7.20am.

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Office News

• There are no clubs next week in school. A new timetable will come out after Easter.

• Please settle ALL Parent Pay amounts before Easter. From September, there is a directive that everything must be paid for in advance to avoid an outstanding payments at the end of each half term.

• School Photographs took place on Wednesday. We are going to book in another day for the class ones when the weather is lovely and we can go outside. The company that we use is a local company is now used across most of the schools in the area. In today’s day and age, school photographs are becoming a thing of the past as parents take their own digital ones. We still feel like there is a place for them if parents choose.

• Our new PE tops have been decided following the consultation; thank you to everyone who contributed and commented. Over-whelmingly, these were the favourites - as modelled by our lovely model. These will be available after Easter in Top Marques and compulsory wear on PE days from September.

• Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.

• We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

• Easter Egg raffle will take place on Thursday next week. £1 tickets can be bought right up until Thursday morning. The Easter bunny may also make an appearance?

School attendance for this week

Well done to Year 1 this week with 100% who will earn extra break time next week. Our whole school attendance was 97.8%

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As we start Holy Week, I know Father Peter would love to see as many of you as possible in church for Palm Sunday and for the events next week.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

“Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God…” John 11:26-27

As we move closer and closer to Good Friday, and to Easter Sunday, the bible readings that we are hearing are preparing us for what is to come; we are being introduced to themes of death and resurrection. In this week’s Gospel we meet Martha. Martha loved Jesus and was a friend of His. It was her faith that helped her and when she needed help - Jesus did as he said.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

It is in this story of Lazarus that we understand the fear that Jesus was starting to face. He knew he was to be killed, he knew he was despised and hated. Yet, he continued to help and encouraged everyone to have faith.

Next Friday, we will start our Holy Week liturgies to the cross; led by our pupils. These are always such a solemn reminder of the path that Jesus walked. We hope that you can join us.

Friday 27th March at 9.15am - Year 2 Palm Sunday

Monday 30th March at 9.15am - Year 3 The Last Supper

Tuesday 31st March at 9.15am - Year 4 Gethsemane

Wednesday 1st April at 9.15am - Year 5 Crucifixion

Thursday 2nd April at 9.15am - Year 6 Resurrection

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Food bank donations for March - Biscuits. The foodbank have seen a significant surge in demand at their food bank over the past few weeks, making it increasingly challenging to meet the needs of those who rely on their services. Let’s help where we can!

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“The Catholic ethos of the school is vibrantly lived out by all and impacts pupils, staff, governors, families and the wider community.”

A couple of weeks ago, we were visited by the Catholic Inspection Team who conducted a thorough and rigourous two day inspection of all things Catholic life at Our Ladys. The inspection looks at three areas; Catholic Life and Ethos, Religious Education and Collective Worship. Within those, leadership, provision and pupils are also inspected. I hope when you read it you feel the same sense of pride that I did when I read it for the first time. The result of this inspection is not easy to achieve and in the last year when we have had a new RE curriculum, new Prayer and Liturgy Directory and a new Inspection Framework; the results are even more astonishing. To maintain what we have done, given all of the changes (and to do it so quickly) is something to be celebrated. Our beautiful children are at the heart of it all.

There is a lot of ‘noise’ at the moment about the education sector, which is hard to ignore. With lack of funding coming our way, teacher retention and competition with other sectors, poor communication and growing need; schools are expected to be more than a place of education, and also a place that is beyond the school day, which of course has an impact to everyone involved. This report is testament for the hard work of a team of dedicated and committed staff who love our children deeply. They constantly go above and beyond; teaching is most definitely a vocation. Relationships are at the heart of this report and the links within our community. The vision that I have for our school is being “vibrantly lived out by all.” Thank you to each and every member of our special community.

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"Baptism marks the start of a beautiful story."

On Wednesday, our Year 2 children put on their finest clothes to share in a very special day. Nellie was baptised into the family of faith. Year 2 knew this was a very important day and they knew they had to dress for the occasion - I am so proud of them all. Again, to say you want to be baptised is an incredibly brave decision to make; Nellie shone so brightly. Thank you to her family for letting us be part of this beautiful day.

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Exciting Enrichment for our Ambassadors

This week, a number of our children have had the opportunity to branch out of their school surroundings and try something different. Year 4 have headed to The Grand this week to take part in Shakespeare alongside other schools - they had a great time performing there. Then today, our digital leaders, supported by Mrs Naylor, headed to UCLAN to take part in a digital showcase. Together with children from lots of different primary schools and staff from BAE, STEM was the focus of the afternoon. This is incredibly exciting and something we will be able to explore more next year.

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Leading Learners and Star Virtues

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Winter Warmer Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. A reminder text has been scheduled for Monday at 7.20am.

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Office News

• Please check the extra-curriculare timetable to see when the clubs your child is attending finish.

• Please settle ALL Parent Pay amounts before Easter. From September, there is a directive that everything must be paid for in advance to avoid an outstanding payments at the end of each half term.

• Own clothes day on Monday - bring an Easter Egg for the Easter Egg Raffle. Tickets will go on sale towards the end of next week.

• School Photographs on Wednesday.

• We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

School attendance for this week

Well done to Year 3 this week with 100% who will earn extra break time next week. Our whole school attendance was 96%

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Have a lovely weekend with your families. Here is hoping the sunshine stays for just a little bit longer.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

“According to your faith let it be done to you"

When talking to the children about Lent, and hearing the start of the Easter liturgies being brought together in the hall, the word joy would not ordinarily spring to mind. However, this weekend we celebrate Laetare Sunday. Laetare is the first word — meaning “rejoice” — in the Latin text. On Laetare Sunday (as similarly with the Third Sunday of Advent's Gaudete Sunday) the Church expresses hope and joy in the midst of our Lenten fasts and penances. Even though we are in the midst of Lent, there is still so much joy to be found; in the interactions between our pupils, in the creative learning that is taking place and in the generosity of our community. For us in school we are praying, fasting and giving - let’s keep it up! Don’t forget about our walk to Nigeria - we will be doing a miles total on Monday!

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Food bank donations for March - Biscuits. The foodbank have seen a significant surge in demand at their food bank over the past few weeks, making it increasingly challenging to meet the needs of those who rely on their services. Let’s help where we can!

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"God will protect and watch over you, guiding you towards a life of faith and love".

On Wednesday, Reception and Year 4 walked down to church to watch as two of our beautiful pupils were baptised. It was a lovely occasion to see Father Peter and Deacon John bless the girls together and welcome them into the family of faith.

It takes real bravery as you get older to commit yourself to something that usually only happens when you are a baby. Next week one of our Year 2 friends will be baptised too.

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Lancashire’s Big Sing

The sound of children singing melts anyone’s heart and on Wednesday our choir joined 230 other children from different schools as part of Lancashire’s Big Sing. We love this event! The choir sang their hearts out - ably supported by a team of amazing staff - and I think you all need to hear it. It is a good 11 minutes long, but it needs to be so you can hear them for yourselves. We have really developed our choir over recent years and in a couple of weeks, they will head to St Bedes to perform there too. Well done children - you are remarkable.

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Easter Events in School

Easter will soon be upon us and in traditional Our Lady’s style we have a new event for the occasion, as well as our Easter Egg Raffle.

On Thursday 26th March we have organised another Pottery Event after school where you will have the opportunity to paint Easter themed pottery. There will be refreshements too. Just like Christmas, it is £10 per person. Please complete the form below booking for this event.

On Monday 23rd March, it is own clothes day but to bring an Easter Egg for the raffle!

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STAR Charter Distinction Award - Our first 2025/2026 recipient

Speaking of fundraising, we have a remarkable young lady who has gone above and beyond to help others. Our lovely Lillie has donated her hair to The Little Princess Trust. The Little Princess Trust provides wigs to children to help restore their confidence and identity. All costs, including the making, fitting, and styling of the wig, are met by the charity, and this free service is available to any young person up to the age of 24 with hair loss. As part of its Hair and Hope mission, The Little Princess Trust also funds childhood cancer research aiming to find kinder and more effective treatments. It costs £700 to make a wig and Lillie is well on her way to making it. I have added her just giving page below if anyone can support her further.

It only seemed right that today she was awarded the very first STAR distinction award of the year. Well done!

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Leading Learners and Star Virtues

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Winter Warmer Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. A reminder text has been scheduled for Monday at 7.20am. Sausage butties are on the menu next week!

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Office News

Thank you to everyone who has supported the school book fair this week - we have had a great turn out. All of the books bought will support us as a school to buy books for each classroom. We really appreciate your support.

We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.

School attendance for this week

Well done to Year 3 this week with 100% who will earn extra break time next week. Our whole school attendance was 96.6%

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Have a lovely weekend with your families. Happy Mother’s Day to all of our wonderful mums out there.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Jesus answered, "Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst."

This week has been a real celebration of what life is like at Our Ladys and the importance of our faith. Being inspected is always an axious time as everyone wants to ensure that we show our school and children in the very best light; but I need not worry. The most special part of of our school is the community that we have and the support that we give each other. From parents, to teachers, to governors, to staff and finally our gorgeous children - we are so incredibly lucky. Myself and governors have had initial feedback and we now wait for the report to be finalised; at that point we will be able to share it just before Easter. Thank you to everyone who completed the Parent View feedback, this is always so valuable and apprectiated.

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I Will Give You Rest: Come

On the World Day of Prayer, we have come to school in the theme of LOVE. To love ourselves and the world which we have been given. The day is centred around the women of Nigeria and their call to prayer. We are incredibly lucky to have our wonderful Izioma who has helped us all to understand what life is like in Nigeria. She has come to school today in traditional clothes - I think you will all agree that she looks so very special. She has spent time in each class telling us about life in Nigeria so that we could learn something about her culture. Thank you so much!

Well done to our choir who today joined with Christians from our local area to celebrate The World Day of Prayer - they sang so beautifully!

As well as celebrating prayer, the children have been making their LOVE PLANTERS for someone who they love. Thank you to Mrs Tierney and Greg from Leafy Lytham who have organised it. Today was a fundraiser for the school PTFA. The non-uniform day has raised £323 for school. Once we have calculated planters, this too will be added. Thank you all so much.

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Food bank donations for March - Biscuits. The foodbank have seen a significant surge in demand at their food bank over the past few weeks, making it increasingly challenging to meet the needs of those who rely on their services. Let’s help where we can!

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World Book Day - Go All In!

World Book Day is one of the most joyous parts of the school calendar and when we ever suggest that we celebrate it in a different way, our Year 6 children are horrified - they love dressing up! The theme this year is to Go All In, to read anything and everything and find your reader identity. I must say - I think we have all found that. What a wonderful celebration of reading to launch us into the rest of the National Year of Reading! Next week, the Book Fair arrives in school from Wednesday. We have kept the tokens for World Book Day and will give these to the children next week ready for the Book Fair. We will have it from Wednesday 11th - Tuesday 17th March!

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Easter Events in School

Easter will soon be upon us and in traditional Our Lady’s style we have a new event for the occasion, as well as our Easter Egg Raffle.

On Thursday 26th March we have organised another Pottery Event after school where you will have the opportunity to paint Easter themed pottery. There will be refreshements too. Just like Christmas, it is £10 per person. Please complete the form below booking for this event.

On Monday 23rd March, it is own clothes day but to bring an Easter Egg for the raffle!

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Leading Learners and Star Virtues

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Winter Warmer Snack Booking Form

Here is the winter warmer snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. A reminder text has been scheduled for Monday at 7.20am.

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Office News

School attendance for this week

Well done to Year 2 this week with 100% who will earn extra break time next week. Our whole school attendance was 96.6%

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Have a lovely weekend with your families. Hopefully the sun will shine.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Catholic Schools Inspection

Dear Parent and Carers

The school is due to have an inspection undertaken by the Catholic Schools Inspectorate on 4th and 5th March. The inspection is both a diocesan and a statutory responsibility.

In the organisation of the Church, the bishop is the ‘first teacher’ in the diocese with responsibility for the formation and education of his people, with particular responsibilities in schools. The inspectors working for the Inspectorate act on his behalf to fulfil this responsibility.

The purpose of inspection is to report to and advise the bishop on the quality of the Catholic life and mission of the school, of religious education and of collective worship. Of course, it also stands to inform parents and the wider Catholic community.

Inspectors will observe learning and acts of worship, talk to staff and pupils, analyse data, and discuss emerging issues with the school’s leadership. The inspection culminates in a written report that will be sent to you.

The view of parents is very important, and we shall be sharing with the inspectors any evidence we have of parents’ views of the school. The inspectors would also like to hear directly from you. We appreciate that we have not given you very much time, but it would be helpful if you could complete the questionnaire, which can be accessed here:

Responses to the questionnaire go directly to the inspectors, are anonymous and individual responses cannot be identified.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the questionnaire. We look forward to sharing the outcomes of the inspection when the report has been received.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Gregan