"This is the day that the Lord has made - let us be glad and rejoice."

In this weekend’s Gospel, we will hear the importance of a few words; thank you! In assembly today we talked about the magic word - and I don’t mean abracadabra - but simply thank you. Through the healing of the 10 lepars, whose faith healed them, Jesus was showing us that we just need to reach out to him and ask. Every Monday, I have the pleasure of teaching RE to Year 5 - it really is one of the highlights of my week. This past Monday, our curriculum went deep and we explored what it meant to be a good neighbour today. How can we love our neighbour in today’s world. We looked at the Lampedusa Cross, a wooden cross made out of a boat that was carrying refugees to safety when it crashed and broke. The children made their own crosses as a reminder to be a good neighbour to all.

Prayer and Liturgy in school

As well as a dedicated staff team, we also have an incredibly governing body who really do support the school in everything that they do. All volunteers, the ensure that they are fully present at meetings - always challenging and questioning the decisions we make in school. On Tuesday, they were invited into school to experience collective worship and RE in each class from nursery through to Year 6; and they were astounded. It was 1 million children pray the rosary on Tuesday - and we did that. From our youngest children praying the rosary around the prayer garden in nursery, to a rosary being made in Forest School - to a lesson on the Fall of Creation in Year 6. There was so much to celebrate and we can’t wait to share this with you at book looks and into Advent.

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who attended our first family mass of the year - it was beautiful. To our readers, offertory and children in the choir, you represented our school so well. Cannon Cooper was astounded by the commitment of our school, but we did miss Father Peter (although I definitely think he was listening in). I have been to see Father Peter this morning and to take the most generous hamper of gifts - he was incredibly touched by everyone’s kindness and good wishes. He is doing really well and is slowly on the mend. A little bit more rest and I am sure he will be back with us before we know it. Please do keep him in your prayers as he continues his recovery. He is missing us all so much and in his words, “It is in school that he really finds God.”

““Be kind to yourself. Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.””
— Brené Brown

We really value mental health and giving both children and adults a voice where they can understand themselves and learn to love themselves a little more. Today is World Mental Health day and we adopted the “Hello Yellow” theme - promoting sunshine and positive thoughts. With the money raised both last year and this year, we have been able to invest in a library of books for both parents and children. They are there for you to take, to read and to bring back for someone else to enjoy. In our entrance, you will find the book shelf - please do come and use it. If there is a book that we haven’t got and you can recommend it - please let me know. We have raised £191.30 so far for more new books!

Our Forest School contributes widely to the mental health of all children. At the start of this year, and in this first half term, we have focused on the transition of the children into their new classes; and the children have settled so well. After half term, these groups will be reducing in size and the children who have completed the transition programme will now just enjoy take over days with their class. Mrs Tierney’s blog gives a flavour of what has been happening.

What an amazing month we've had in Forest School. We've enjoyed some beautiful weather and braved the tail end of Storm Amy. Our groups have had the full Forest School experience. Our mud kitchen has a new menu! 'Mudflurries' have been popular along with 'Beetle Burgers.' It's been lovely to see how creative the children have got - their imaginations are truly amazing. The team work that we have seen in the den building area has also been fantastic. The children have planned their structures and really worked well together moving the larger pieces of brash being careful not to injure anyone. 

Our resident hedgehogs Sam, Barbara and Horace have brought lots of excitements to the classes, along with our little field mice and squirrels. We're hoping that they will make the most of our hedgehog houses and hibernate safely this winter at Our Lady's.  We've discussed other animals that hibernate and looked at the changes in our environment which become more noticeable week by week as we get further into Autumn. 

With October being the month of the Holy Rosary, our Tuesday group joined the rest of school and millions of children around the world in praying together, we created our own Rosary Beads using pebbles that our children have decorated over the last few weeks. Nursery paid us a quick visit on Wednesday while we cleared the pond of leaves left over from Storm Amy, as they peeked into the pond one of our frogs popped his head up to say hello! 

John from Tree & Hedgecare delivered us some woodchip for us to spread on the forest floor, The children have mucked in and made a start. It's so important that they are learning about sustainability and looking after our area so that we are able to carry enjoying it for year to come, this can be hard work but it's vital that we help stop the erosion of our footpaths. They certainly worked up an appetite so they really enjoyed pancakes and honey cooked on the fire. Our Thursday group were very chilled out last week when we did some Forest Bathing, they closed their eyes and listened to the sounds around them, the leaves rustling in the wind, the birds singing and the trickling of water from our neighbour's pond. 

Finally, this week we've made from 'calm down' bottles. The children have collected different coloured leaves, acorns and other pieces of treasure from the forest floor then filled out bottles with water, glycerine and biodegradable glitter. When they feel anxious, worried or a little annoyed they can shake the bottle and watch the leaves and glitter as they slowly settle. I am planning a tidy up day within the next few weeks to get the area ready for winter and finish spreading the wood chip. This will be on Friday 7th November from 1.30pm. Any volunteers would be greatly appreciated and essential. Tea and biscuits provided!

Mrs Tierney 

Learning across the school

Thank you to everyone who has booked their parents appointments for the 24th October. We are really excited to welcome you back into school to share your child’s progress and how well they have settled into life in their new classes. The book looks are an ideal opportunity to sit down with your child and share their work with them. We are really working on excellence and there is excellence all over the school. Don’t forget the dates below.

Book Looks Date for your Diary

Reception Stay and Play - either 7th November @ 9.15am or 10th November @ 2.15pm

Year 1 - Thursday 16th October @ 9am

Year 2 - Thursday 16th October @ 2.30pm

Year 3 - Tuesday 21st October @ 2.30pm

Year 4 - Friday 17th October @ 9am

Year 5 - Tuesday 21st October @ 9am

Year 6 - Monday 20th October @ 2.30pm

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Our school has shone so brightly this week. Well done to our virtue award winners for being LEARNED and WISE in their choices and to our learners who have led by example in their classrooms.

Office News

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 3 for winning this week's attendance with 100%. Our school attendance is 97.8%

As we approach the end of this half term, please can you visit Parent Pay to ensure that all payments are cleared ready to start again when we return. This week we have also received the new lunch menu that will be in place after half term and into the Winter months. We will also be introducing some warm snacks for morning breaktime - now that we have our wonderful kitchen, it seems only right to use it to its potential and provide something a little wamer for the children. This also ties into our wrapper free school. I will collate everything and share it with you next week.

Some of you may have noticed how well Mr Nay is looking at the moment; he has set his mind on exercising fully - taking it very seriously I may add, ready for Christmas. So much so that a Spin bike appeared this week in school (which got me thinking). After half term, Mr Nay (supported by staff) is going to do a sponsored spin for the day in school, to raise money for school and the new sports equipment that we need to buy. Watch this space for more information - this is going to be really fun!

Finally, a big well done to Xander’s daddy who completed his sky dive yesterday. He ended up doing a 15,000ft skydive and we raised just over £5000 for Onefylde and Cancer research. I think he may now have the bug!

Have a lovely weekend

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"We are merely servants. We do what we are obliged to do."

Faith. We use that word a lot. From songs, to poems and prayers and even phrases, “You just need to have a little bit more faith.” But it can be really hard. In order to have complete faith, we need to have trust. Trust in each other, trust in ourselves and trust in the mission that we are trying to grow. But given the bumps in the road that we can experience, I know faith can be tested. In the Gospel this week we are reminded that no matter how small our faith is, amazing things can happen. What can you achieve with just a little bit of faith this week? I have spent the past two days with the diocese and other Catholic headteachers on our annual conference. School life is so busy that for my own formation and faith, it is so important to just stop and reflect. The world headlines are so dark at the moment, but I feel like our school headlines are stronger than ever.

On Sunday it is our first family mass together. We are really wanting to welcome any new families into our school and to share Mass with them. If you click on the button below, you will be able to see who is involved in the mass this weekend. Father Peter is at home and we want to raise the roof so he can hear us. Please join us if you can.

Prayer and Liturgy in school
Family Mass - Sunday 5th October

Learning across the school

Thank you to everyone who completed the form last week indicating whether you wanted face to face or a virtual appointment. We will now put an appointment list together for you to sign up with your class teacher from next week. On Parents Day there will be an opportunity to look at pre-loved uniform.

Don’t forget book looks that are coming up where you can sit with your child and share their work - celebrating all of the wonderful things that have taken place.

Book Looks Date for your Diary

Reception Stay and Play - either 7th November @ 9.15am or 10th November @ 2.15pm

Year 1 - Thursday 16th October @ 9am

Year 2 - Thursday 16th October @ 2.30pm

Year 3 - Tuesday 21st October @ 2.30pm

Year 4 - Friday 17th October @ 9am

Year 5 - Tuesday 21st October @ 9am

Year 6 - Monday 20th October @ 2.30pm

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Our school has shone so brightly this week. Well done to our virtue award winners for being LEARNED and WISE in their choices and to our learners who have led by example in their classrooms.

Office News

Our new lunch menu for Autumn can be found by clicking the button below. There has certainly been a few more smells of comfort food drifting from the kitchen this week as the weather has changed.

Lunchtime Menu

Our attendance is exceptional yet again this week with very few children off - 97%. Let’s keep it up! The fact that everyone is in is certainly reflected in the work that the children are producing in class. Well done everyone! I know that there are a few bugs creeping in to classrooms. Thank you for working with us with that.

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 5 for winning this week's attendance with 100%. Our school attendance is 97%

This week our Netball and Football teams were both in action against Heyhouses and St Thomas as part of our new tri-fixture. Both teams had two matches and competed really well with netball winning both games and the football winning one of theirs. They were a credit to the school. Next week sees the girls football team take to the pitch, playing against the same teams. We can’t wait to see how they get on!

Dates for your diary

Those eagle eyed parents among you will have seen that the calendar on the website have been populated with important dates this term; we will continue to add to these too. In addition to specific things in classes, there is also whole-class events that will be taking place too. I have collated them on this document so you can be prepared for nearer the time. These will take you right until Christmas with our Annual Great Our Lady Bake Off. We will announce each event as they come, but this should help you plan better.

Next Friday is our first event - Hello Yellow Day. Please come into school wearing YELLOW to support Youth Mental Health Day - £1 donation. We will be using the proceeds to buy some new books to support our children that will be kept in the library.

Father Peter’s hamper has started to take shape in the Prayer Area with some beautiful pictures drawn by the children and a few goodies in the mix too. I have heard from him this week and he is recovering well, but missing us all. Please do continue to add things to his hamper. I am hoping to take it to him towards the end of next week.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

… remember that you in your lifetime received your good things Luke 16:25

Our word of the week has been WEALTH, as we have explored, what is real wealth? In the Gospel this week we have learnt how monetary wealth is temporary, but our faith and family are permanent and it is this wealth that brings us the most happiness. This can be really difficult to understand, especially in a world where everything is readily available and adverts (especially on the run up to Christmas) attract our youngest of eyes. On Tuesday, Year 6 shared with us the first class assembly of the year around the theme, “Fill Your Bucket.” Everyone has a bucket and when we are exposed to acts of kindness and love, our buckets become full. However, when we experience moments of unkindness - our buckets take a dip. I have bought all classes a bucket, somewhere where they can collect moments of kindness throughout the term and continue our Pay it Forward mission.

Family Mass - Sunday 5th October at 9.30am

Our first family mass of the year is coming up, and this one will be dedicated to our new Reception children who have just joined our school. We will be using this mass to welcome them formally into our community. There is a form above for you to complete if your child is interested in reading, singing in the choir or taking the offertory. I will then complete a rota as we go through the year. Readings will be given out next week

Prayer and Liturgy in school
Family Mass - Sunday 5th October

World News

We are all fully aware of what kind of world we are now living in and how the news has been recently dominated by dark stories and conflicts, both here politically and also abroad. As a school of faith, and as decent human beings, we teach the children to live in utter kindness and to ensure the world is a better place because of their presence in it. This week I have spoken at length with our KS2 children about conversations that they are having, sometimes with each other and sometimes within ear shot of our younger children, about events that are taking place or have happened world wide. Some of the conversations have revolved around gun crime, political stances and UK issues, which as you can imagine, can be very distressing and very confusing to hear. When I spoke with KS2, I made it very clear that regardless of conversations that they may have at home, or what they see on TV, at school we reamin kind and ensure that every conversation is appropriate and from a place of love. The education of our young children is pivotal in how they will grow as adults and shape our world today. Thank you as always, with your support at home.

Student Council

Today, I met with our newly formed Student Council to put an action plan together for this half term. They will take back our missions back to their classes, and together with the Eco-council and Play-Council, develop our school further. They were wonderful and full of ideas! Toby and Matilda led us first in prayer before deciding on 3 actions that we would focus on this month.

  1. For each class to have a kindness bucket that is filled with acts of kindness.

  2. For each class to make something for Father Peter’s hamper (see below for more info).

  3. To ensure that wrappers are not being brought into school by children or staff for snacks. We are continuing to be sustainable.

Learning across the school

I am so proud of how each and every child has started this new school year - the school is buzzing and a hive of learning. I am very much someone who likes to get in classes and this week I have been in Year 6 to deliver their next Kidsafe lesson on Online Safety, as well as a bit of PE too; in Year 5 to continue our work on Moses and looked carefully at the Ten Commandments in relation to the Israelites leaving Egypt; and finally I have spent some time today in Reception seeing just how beautifully our Reception children have settled into school and are already growing their brains and learning school routines.

At the end of this half term, Friday 24th October, you will have the opportunity to speak with your child’s class teacher to see just how they are doing in their new classrooms and get some support with how you can help your child at home. In previous years, we have had a completely online system for Parents Day, with the opportunity to come into school and sit with your child for their book look. This year, we are tweaking things ever so slightly. There will still be the opportunity to sit down with your child and look at their work through a book look, where you will find the dates and times below. But Parents Day, you can either choose to come in and have your 10 minute appointment face to face, or you can access a virtual appointment via TEAMs. I know there have been lots of parents who have preferred virtual in the past so that both parents can access them with work commitments or holidays, but we would also love to have you back in school. This may prove to be logistically challenging so I need to be really organised. On your child’s blog this week, you will find a form to complete - this will state your preference for the appointment. Once we have all of the responses, we can then organise the timetable. Virtual appointments will be during a set time of the day to allow the teacher to go from meeting to meeting. We will let you know timings next week.

Book Looks Date for your Diary

Reception Stay and Play - either 7th November @ 9.15am or 10th November @ 2.15pm

Year 1 - Thursday 16th October @ 9am

Year 2 - Thursday 16th October @ 2.30pm

Year 3 - Tuesday 21st October @ 2.30pm

Year 4 - Friday 17th October @ 9am

Year 5 - Tuesday 21st October @ 9am

Year 6 - Monday 20th October @ 2.30pm

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Our school has shone so brightly this week. Well done to our virtue award winners for being LEARNED and WISE in their choices and to our learners who have led by example in their classrooms.

Office News

Our new lunch menu for Autumn can be found by clicking the button below. There has certainly been a few more smells of comfort food drifting from the kitchen this week as the weather has changed.

Lunchtime Menu

Our attendance is exceptional yet again this week with very few children off - 98%. Let’s keep it up! The fact that everyone is in is certainly reflected in the work that the children are producing in class. Well done everyone!

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 4 & 5 for winning this week's attendance with 100%. Our school attendance is 98%

Our Sports Teams get going next week with fixtures outlined for both the netball and football teams. There is a strong approach by our cluster this year - we want as many children as possible to represent their school teams; we know what magical memories this will hold. We are also aware of the huge variety of clubs our children attend beyond school too. Please visit the Sports Page to see what fixtures are taking part and when; and who is involved. There are a number of afternoon football tournaments next half term which will require parent transport or team approach to transport. Please know when these are.

Children involved in autumn fixtures

Dates for your diary

Those eagle eyed parents among you will have seen that the calendar on the website have been populated with important dates this term; we will continue to add to these too. In addition to specific things in classes, there is also whole-class events that will be taking place too. I have collated them on this document so you can be prepared for nearer the time. These will take you right until Christmas with our Annual Great Our Lady Bake Off. We will announce each event as they come, but this should help you plan better.

You will be pleased to know that Father Peter’s operation went well and he is on the road to recovery. I have heard from him this week and he is missing us lots. I have assured him that he is in our thoughts and prayers and we will be right here for him when he is well enough. In the entrance next week, there will be a hamper basket. We are going to add things into it to make Father Peter a get well soon gift. If you would like to add to it, please do: a get well soon card, a box of biscuits or a picture drawn by the children - or anything else you might think of. The choice is yours. We thought it would make him smile when he comes home.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Love your God and Love your Neighbour."

Head Boy, Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl and Deputy Head Boy

This week we have been following two simple rules; Love God and Love your Neighbour. They may indeed sound simple but infact, they are incredibly difficult - especially when we get distracted by other things that are going on in our lives. Whether it is arguements with friends, or an obsession with something of material value or simply too many things going on in our lives; this is when it is much harder to just be kind. This year we are really trying to be STEWARDS in our world - both of the people and the world in which we live. The Gospel message this week supported this fully.

Yesterday, I had the privaledge of joining our new Year 6 Leadership Team at St Joseph’s in Ansdell. Together with schools from across our diocese, we celebrated 100 years of Lancaster Diocese and the Jubilee Year - and of course we took Luce! We have now presented all of our positions of responsibility for this year. Next week I will reveal our Student Council, Eco Council and Play Council and set out our agenda for this year.

“Be the change that you want to see in the world. ”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Prayer and Liturgy in school
Family Mass - Sunday 5th October

Family Mass - Sunday 5th October at 9.30am

Our first family mass of the year is coming up, and this one will be dedicated to our new Reception children who have just joined our school. We will be using this mass to welcome them formally into our community. There is a form above for you to complete if your child is interested in reading, singing in the choir or taking the offertory. I will then complete a rota as we go through the year.

Learning across the school

At our staff meeting this week, I asked the teachers to write down things that have had the most impact on our children, our staff and our comunity over the past three years. We have changed quite a lot in school, adapted and tweaked; it is now that we are starting to really see the plan come into fuition. One major part of our school make-up is enrichment and us ensuring that we are giving our children experiences to bring learning to life; sometimes opportunities that they would never have again. Yesterday, along with staff and some familiar faces, our Year 5 children headed to London to visit Parliament. It may have been an early start with a 6.45am meet at school, but our eager explorers were certainly up for the challenge. From Euston they made their way on the tube to Westminster before entering Parliament and seeing the House of Commons and the House of Lords for themselves. After Westminster it was a stroll to St James’ Park for a picnic then onto Buckingham Palace to take in some sights. Back to Euston and back to school for 7.30pm! What a day! I know how much fun the children had and it will certainly stay with them for a long time. Thank you to the staff and adults who gave up their own time to take the children on this trip of a lifetime!

You will all know by now just how much we love our Forest School area. Over the past year, Mrs Tierney and Miss Lavelle have developed each individual part of it, always with the message that we are visitors in this part of the school. This week, Mrs Tierney has installed her very own wildlife camera so that we can see what comes out at night when we are all tucked up in our beds - and look what we have discovered; we have our very own hedgehog and little field mouse running around. I think this might become a weekly watch here in school. A big thank you goes to our Forest School volunteers this week who have come and supported sessions. This could not run without you so a big thank you.

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Our school has shone so brightly this week. Well done to our virtue award winners for being LEARNED and WISE in their choices and to our learners who have led by example in their classrooms.

Office News

Our new lunch menu for Autumn can be found by clicking the button below. There has certainly been a few more smells of comfort food drifting from the kitchen this week as the weather has changed.

Lunchtime Menu

Our attendance is exceptional yet again this week with very few children off. Let’s keep it up! The fact that everyone is in is certainly reflected in the work that the children are producing in class. Well done everyone!

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 3 for winning this week's attendance with 100%. Our school attendance is 98.4%.

The fixtures for our Sports Teams - football and netball - are now on the Sport page of the website. Please have a look and get the dates in your diary!

One of our wonderful parents is doing a sky dive for charity. On the 9th October Xander’s daddy Will, will be doing his first tandem skydive from 11,000ft over Cockerham raising money for vulnerable adults with disabilities. Please click on the button below to read about his efforts, the cause and to support if you can.

Sponsored Skydive

It always seems odd to be thinking about the next academic year just as we start the new academic year, but that is what we are doing. If you have a child who is due to start school next September, there are a number of open mornings, afternoons and an evening where you can come for a tour of the school and to see what life would be like as part of our family. Please do share with your friends and family and contact the office to book a place.

Please continue to pray for Father Peter. This week will be his last weekend in church for a while and I am sure he would love to see as many of you there as possible. Have a lovely weekend with your families. It does look like the sun will shine again this week.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“All those who belong to Jesus Christ are fastened to His cross.”

Everywhere we look in our world we see crosses. Not necessarily the cross that we associate with our faith, but lots and lots of examples of how lines cross and have different meanings. Whether it is the cross on a first aid sign, or the ones painted in a junction box on the floor, or quite simply the crosses in a window pane - all of these symbols have a meaning; some positive and a call to help, others not so much and mean don’t go near. This Sunday is the feast of The Holy Cross. It is a day in our liturgical calendar to honour and glorify the cross, a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s immense love for humanity. On Monday we were also joined by CAFOD, who came into school after our first mass of the year. They explained the mission that they have for this year and how our donations over the past year have supported them. Through Catholic Social Teaching, we are really trying to understand how we can help others in our world - the ones who need it the most. This year we are all being STEWARDS. CAFOD are working hard to improve water across the world, which fits in with us being sustainable too!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only son.”
— John 3:16
Prayer and Liturgy in school

This week in school has been all about service to others; thinking what is possible and who would be right for the job. Our Year 6 children always start the year by applying for the position of responsibility that they think they would be best suited to. It could be office monitors, librarian, art monitor, sports leader or digital leaders. We also ask them to prepare presentations to be a House Captain, which are voted for by the children. This year, the videos are just amazing, truly wonderful and you had to see them. I wonder who you would vote for?

Our staff have been busy voting for the senior leadership team of Head Boy & Girl and Deputy Head Boy & Girl. These children will play a significant role in the interactions that we have with other schools and will be our ambassadors for this year. I am excited to work with them closely and to promote real change. Their first outing will be with me next Thursday to attend a deanary mass. On Monday morning we will gather to announce the leadership roles as well as presenting class councillors, eco-councillors and play leaders with their positions too. I am really excited to see just what we can achieve this year!

Mini-Vinnies - we need you!

Last year, our Mini-Vinnie team were instrumental in the change we established in school. Whether it was the Harvest, food bank donations, collecting of blankets and clothes or preparing prayers for school liturgies, this group of children acted so selflessly. This year, Mini-Vinnies will run every other Monday throughout the school year, led by Miss Bassett. If you attend All Stars on a Monday night, this might be something that you can get involved in too. Our previous Mini-Vinnies will still have a role and we will need a new President and Secretary - but there is now space for some more. If you are in Year 3 and above, and would like to get involved. Please do fill in the application form by writing a short letter as to why you would make a good Mini-Vinnie and what you can do for our world. Application forms can be found in your classrooms.

Learning across the school

School is absolutely buzzing and there is a hive of activity in each classroom. This week we have welcomed our Reception children full-time and they have settled in beautifully. Our Year 6 children have been perfect role models and have brought them into the lunch hall each day and helped them to have their lunch. We are so proud of them and how they have grown to learn the routines here in school. This year sees the whole-school starting a new RE curriculum. It had previously been adopted up to Year 4, but now our Upper Juniors are accessing it too. I have the pleasure of delivering RE to Year 5 on a Monday and I love it - it is deep, thought-proking and engaging. The teachers are all really busy starting to organise trips and enrichment activities for their class so keep an eye on Parent Pay and class blogs to see what is coming up, but next Thursday, Year 5 will be heading to London. As part of their unit of work on democracy, the children will be heading to London to visit the Houses of Parliament and to see what it is like to be there. We hope they have the most wonderful time - I am sure there will be many photographs next week.

Thank you to everyone who came to our Induction Nights with our teachers this week. There will be lots of opportunities to get involved and see our school in action this year - keep an eye out!

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Our school has shone so brightly this week. Well done to our virtue award winners for being LEARNED and WISE in their choices and to our learners who have led by example in their classrooms.

Office News

Our new lunch menu for Autumn can be found by clicking the button below. There has certainly been a few more smells of comfort food drifting from the kitchen this week as the weather has changed.

Lunchtime Menu

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 2 & Year 5 for winning this week's attendance with 100%. Our school attendance is 98.3%.

One of our wonderful parents is doing a sky dive for charity. On the 9th October Xander’s daddy Will, will be doing his first tandem skydive from 11,000ft over Cockerham raising money for vulnerable adults with disabilities. Please click on the button below to read about his efforts, the cause and to support if you can.

Sponsored Skydive

It always seems odd to be thinking about the next academic year just as we start the new academic year, but that is what we are doing. If you have a child who is due to start school next September, there are a number of open mornings, afternoons and an evening where you can come for a tour of the school and to see what life would be like as part of our family. Please do share with your friends and family and contact the office to book a place.

For those children in Year 6 who have asked to be part of the Confirmation Programme, letters will be going out next week with everything that you need to know. This week I have met with Father Peter and Deacon John to finalise what the programme will look like. If you were at Mass last weekend or if the children came out of school on Monday, you may have heard that Father Peter has been diagnosed with bowel cancer and is due to have an operation in the coming weeks. He is doing really well and we are hoping that after being looked after and a period of rest, he will be back with us for Advent. Our first family mass on Sunday 4th October will still be going ahead and I will be asking for readers next week. Please do keep Father Peter in your thoughts and prayers.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden."

As far as first week’s go in school, this has been utterly beautiful. Every single classroom has been a space of calmness and serenity as children have come back and started to discover their new environments. All of the positivity this week comes from secure relationships that were formed before we left for Summer and the roles that our adults play in their lives. Everytime I have popped into classrooms this week, I have been met with a sea of smiles and seen such enthusiasm for learning; every child has been thoroughly immersed in their new way of learning. On Tuesday morning, we spoke as a whole school about grasping every opportunity that comes our way - that we only ever get to live each day once, and each year group once. I am so proud of each and every one of them. On Monday Year 1 - Year 6 will be walking to church to celebrate Our Lady’s birthday and our new school year together. We always need walkers so we hope that you will be able to join us.

We have all started our new RE curriculum and are all working on Creation and Covenant. Part of this has enabled us to look at The Garden of Eden and how this most beautiful place can be built here at Our Ladys. In order for it to be built, we must each play our part. This year, aswell as having Student Councillors, we will also be having Eco leads and Play leads in each class. These will be sub group and will mean that by the end of primary school, everyone will have a chance to lead. Next week the children will have the opportunity to put themselves forward. Class Councillors will be decided within in the classroom but if your child would like to be an Eco-Councillor; they need to write a letter, make a poster or draw a picture as to why they would be suitable for the role. Equally, if your child would like to be a Play Leader, they need to write a letter, make a poster or draw a picture as to why they would be suitable for the role. Mrs Tierney and Mrs Mather will be looking at the eco applications and Mr Cornwell the Play Leader applications. We are so excited about this growth within school and look forward to seeing the applications. As well as this, each house has a day when they have a responsibilty to keep our school tidy; both inside and on the playground. We are really pushing to ensure everyone plays a part in the sustainability of our school.

A word that we have been using around school this week is exceptional. We want to be exceptional learners, exceptional human beings and to be exceptional in every sense of the word. Another huge thanks goes to you all for ensuring that uniform expectations have been met. The children look wonderful; from PE kit, to school uniform, to school shoes and trainers - everything is compliant. Please can you also ensure that hair pieces are also school colours: bows, headbands and large bobbles. Thank you for your support.

Our Food Bank Collection for September is pasta, rice and noodles. Please do pick something up on your weekly shop and drop it off at the school office.

Meet the Class Team

Next Wednesday, 10th September, parents from Year 1 through to Year 6 will have the opportunity to meet their child’s teaching team for the year. There are two opportunites to do this:

3.45pm - 4.30pm and 4.45pm - 5.30pm

Please try and make arrangements for your child’s care as this is just for parents to gain an insight into the year and to ask any questions they may have.

Sustainability in School

On last week’s blog I spoke about sustainability in school and how the increase to waste is costing us an unstainable amount of money. I have had so many lovely conversations with parents this week who are 100% behind this campaign in school; we all know we have a role to play in helping our world become as healthy as it can be. In just our first week, we have not had to pick up any litter outside and the wrappers that have come into school as part of lunch have gone home to be recycled correctly there. We are encouraging as many natural wrappers as possible. This approach also helps you to think about the snacks that you are sending in with your child. Now is the time to invest in snack boxes, they are everywhere at the moment; in every shop. Please just make sure that they are labelled. We are having a hard launch on this in school.

I am not a joy kill either and know that when it is a child’s birthday, small bags of sweets appear. These are fine to still continue as they go home with the children at the end of the day. I am so thankful and happy with how this has gone this week. Even the staff have been brilliant and our staffroom bin has been clear. Thank you again - let’s keep it up and get rid of wrappers in school altogether.

Mrs Hotchkiss and Mrs Tierney are in need of some glass jars for the garden area and Forest school for plant growing and autumn globes. Autumn is the perfect time to propagate plants. We want to grow our own plants and sell them once they are established.
To do this we need jars. These keep water warm in the polytunnel and roots will srout from our cuttings. If you have any spare jars we would love to make use of them. Just drop them off with Mrs Hotchkiss round at Year 2. Thank you!

Forest School

Forest School will be up and running in the next few weeks, Mrs Tierney is currently putting her plans together for it to get up a running. We still need one more volunteer for a Tuesday afternoon - every other afternoon is covered. If you are able to donate your time on a Tuesday, even if it is just until Christmas, please do let us know. Forest School is a privaledge to be part of and it relies on the community to make it sustainable. Email Mrs Tierney on a.tierney@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk if you are able to help.

First Aid or Medical Need

You will see that this poster looks similar to the one above about sustainability. I am trying to create one page ‘go to’ that will be collated on the website for any quick questions that you have. Last year, we introduced a different way of reporting injuries to you at home - which has been much more successful. However, I need you to know what will be reported and what won’t as it is not possible to tell you all every little thing. To the left is exactly what we will contact you about; some things will be left for your child to tell you about.

Also, if you do receive a text message, this is just to inform you so you are aware when your child comes home; it does not mean that you need to ring the school office regarding it. Please be assured that if we are concerned about any injury or illness; we will contact you straight away. You send your child to us because you trust us after making the choice that this is the school for you. Please trust us to act with compassion and professionalism. Finally, the one comment we hear alot from children when they are not feeling 100% is, “My mum/dad said you would ring them if I don’t feel better.” Please can you not tell your child this as often when we do not ring, the child can feel hard done to. The best thing to do is, if your child is feeling unwell, but still well enough to come into school, please let the teacher know by email or to a member of staff on the gate; not to the child. It will allow us to work with the child during the day and make the decision based on how they present. Thank you so much for your support with this; hopefully it will make all of our roles a little more straight forward and easier, and the children know that they are safe here.

Online Safety Update

Please click on the button below to take you to September’s Online Safety update. There is lots of wonderful information on this newsletter to keep your family safe.

Online Safety Newsletter

Office News

Just a few pointers from the school office:

  • Please contact Mrs Nel in the school office if there has been a change to address or phone number over the summer holidays.

  • All Stars will be closed on Wednesday 22nd October due to staff training. Please arrange alternative collection for that evening.

  • School dinners are £110.20 for the half term or £2.90 per dinner.

  • Please check any trips on Parent Pay - they are starting to appear on class pages. The Pay if Forward option is also live. Thank you so much to the families who have started to donate.

  • Extra-curricular clubs are now live for Autumn 1 and some of them start next week. Below is the timetable but all booking forms are on the Sport page of the website via the Engage button. If your child attends All Stars on the day there is a club, that is fine, please let us know if you no longer need an All Stars place on that day for this half term. Some children will go from the club to All Stars, and that is fine too.

Extra-Curricular Clubs

Whole School Attendance

What a week! We have 6 classes with 100% attendance this week and a whole school attendance of 99.6%.

This week’s attendance has been phenomenal. It is the best start to the year we have had in such a long time, I can tell you were eager to get the children back to school. New research came out this week that showed any child who misses the first week of school have more issues going through that year than any other pupil. It also showed that they were likely to become persistently absent. Thank you for this week - long may it continue.

Parish News

  • Our first family mass of the year will be on Sunday 5th October. This will be a welcome mass for all of our new families and a way to celebrate the start of the year together.

  • Dates for the Year 6 upwards Confirmation Programme will be released next week. I am trying to get them on two sessions, rather than four, they will just be longer sessions. If your child is in Year 6 and you haven’t get signed up for the programme, please contact Mrs Nel in the office.

  • On 3rd October is my Gala opening for my art exhibition in Our Ladys Parish Centre.  It starts 7.00pm for 7.30pm with a fizz reception and nibbles. Tickets are £5 with all ticket proceeds going to the centre. If you would like to come along you can pay either by cash or by bank transfer to Mr L R Appleton. Contact him on 07713238597 to book a place.

What a fabulous week. My heart is full and so very proud!

Have a wonderful weekend

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

Welcome back to the new academic year - we are really excited to have all of our school family back together; the school doesn’t feel the same without it being full. We are excited about getting to know the children in our classes, excited about the learning opportunities that will come the children’s way, but most excited about seeing just how much the children grow this year and how they become even better versions of themselves - and us too as adults. Last year, there was a really big focus on the Catholic Life of the School; about being visible in our community and seeing just what we can achieve. We have the ability to have an impact on our world and for the children to realise that is so special. This year we will be continuing our STAR mission and embedding it even deeper into our culture.

Over the past three summers, we have made some significant changes to our school: a huge kitchen extension that doubled our previous space, a new library space, All Stars Wrap Around Care room and the reflooring of Year 6, redecoration of the prayer space in the entrance to school and the resurfacing of the hall floor. This summer has been no different. For some time we have needed the roof above the Year 1 classroom to be looked at and retiled. The old tiles were deteriorating which was causing water damage underneath them. This summer we have had the roof replaced and the classroom redecorated - Miss Bassett and Mrs Hartley are very excited!

The teachers and school staff has been busy in school during the past few weeks getting each classroom ready to welcome the children back next Tuesday. We would like to invite you to see your child’s new learning space and to meet the class team on Wednesday 10th September. Just like last year, there will be two opportunities to visit on that night: 3:45pm - 4:30pm & 4:45pm - 5:30pm. This session is a chance for parents to meet the teacher, if you could find alternative childcare for your child on that night, it would be appreciated.

Sustainability of our School

The word sustainability is used an awful lot in our world today - and rightly so. The world which we have been given as a gift is fragile, therefore making things sustainable is the only way to ensure that it lasts as long as it can do. All schools have been asked to create a Climate Change Action Plan which clear and manageable ways that each school can make our world a better place. We already do lots of things in school as it is, but this action plans sees us take greater steps and make more of a commitment. A big thing that we are installing this year is an Eco Council that runs throughout the school with representation from each class - just like the Student Council. These children will be responsible for challenging their class to become eco warriors and linking in with the whole school priorities. The second thing that we want to work on is our waste disposal in school and the use of single use plastics and wrappers in school. As well as being sustainble in our work to protect the planet, we are also striving to be financially sustainable too. The cost of everything has rocketed, everyone is feeling that, but in school our budget is getting tighter and tighter; without any increase to what we are given. We have seen a big increase in what we are asked to pay for waste collection, so if we can reduce our waste, our costs will decrease too. We are asking that all snacks brought into school come in a snack box that can be taken home - no wrappers that would go into a waste bin in school. Hopefully this will help you think about what snacks the children are bringing in. For those who bring lunch boxes, the same applies, just yogurt cartons will be recycled in our art room. We know that this will take some time, but would really appreciate your support with this decision and see the importance of this. I have attached the climate action planm for you to have a read of as different iniatives will appear at different times throughout the year.

Our Ladys Climate Action Plan
““Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.””

Kindness and acts of kindess are central to life here at Our Ladys. Without the support of each other, none of us would be able to thrive and our growth would be stunted. The need to help others is as important now as it ever has been before, in all manner of ways, so this year we will be looking at ways that we can pay kindness forward to every single member of our community. This campaign links into us being sustainable as a community. There are lots of ways that you can pay kindness forward, and I can’t wait to hear about them throughout the year. Another way to help us to be financially sustainable is for you to pay a school trip forward for another child. In recent years, the cost of transport has increased, and whilst we still want to provide enriching experiences for our children, we understand that the cost can be unmanageable. There will be an option on Parent Pay to Pay It Forward. It could be the entire cost of a trip or just a donation if and when you can afford to do so. We have an incredibly generous community, in every sense of the word so I know that this will be a welcome addition. It is hoped that the small amount of money we raise from this will support lots of children and families across the school and provide that inclusive environment that our budget is struggling to maintain. Again, thank you so much for your support.

Just a few reminders for the new year:

  • I am sure you are all super organised with your uniform (unlike me who still needs to sort it out). Just a reminder of the uniform expectations that I communicated last year. Full school uniform is expected on all days, with a school badged jumper or cardigan. On PE days, the school PE kit can be worn which is a navy school hoodie or school tracksuit and white, blue or black trainers. Leggings or jogging bottoms can be worn but these must be navy - not black. Navy school shorts (not football badged shorts) to also be worn.

  • Water bottles need to be in school and to be of the right size - nothing enormous. All of the children have chair pockets that fit their water bottles in so that they can be regularly accessed throughout the school day. Water bottles must fit in these and ideally no bigger than 20cm in height. The same with pencil cases for our older children too. Please make them manageable and the right size so that they can be stored in the back of chairs. Organisation is crucial in school and trying to keep 30 children organised can be a tough ask. All these little things really help.

  • There was a huge increase in keyrings on bags last year which became unmanageable, with so many getting broken. The rule is one keyring on your school bag so that your bag can be identifed if needed. Thank you.

  • Autumn 1 is made up of 38 sessions, therefore dinner money for this half term is £2.90 x 38 sessions = £110.20. This applies for all children in Nursery, Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 who are having a school dinner.

  • The school calendar and dates will be added on over the weekend and on Monday. Keep an eye on it as it populates.

We are really looking forward to welcoming the children back on Tuesday and to see all of our families too.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Gregan

“And who is my neighbour?”

In this week’s Gospel, we hear the story of the Good Samaritan - someone who stopped and helped - even though he didn’t know him. It was an act of pure kindness and selflessness. We challenge the children all of the time to think of others, and what actions we can do to make others happy in their time of need. On Monday I shared an event with the children that made us incredibly sad. A special school and a mainstream school, where some of my friends work near Wolverhampton, had been broken into and an enormous amount of damage was inflicted; to the amount of £100,000. Broken classroom screens, toilets and sinks, all technology damaged and their vending machine, which contained fidget and sensory toys for the children was shattered and the contents stolen. All week, the children the children have been coming to my office suggesting ways in which could help our neighbour. From sending them new toilets, to laptops we no longer need, to collecting fidget toys - they had so many wonderful ideas. So on Monday, there will be a box in my office for a fidget toy amnesty. Any spare fidget toys that the children have at home that we can send Green Park School something to make their children smile. This is Catholic Social Teaching in action.

It is St Annes Club Day tomorrow; it is going to be a scorcher! For those of you who are walking with school, we will be meeting on Clifton Drive, outside Ashton Gardens at 9:45am; our usual space. The children need to be in school uniform or school PE kit - smart please and with comfy shoes on. Hats, sun cream and water are essential - there will be ice pops at the Parish Centre. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow. A huge congratulations to Mrs Mather and her art team who have won first place in the Primary School Art Competition for the Carnival. There will be a presentation at 1:15pm at the marque in Ashton Gardens. If you are around at time, please do come down with the children. Lots of our children contributed to it. We need lots of adults to walk with us - so please do!

STAR Charter

The nominations for the STAR Charter Distinction Award will close on Monday. Please do nominate your child if you think they have achieved any ONE of these criteria beyond school. We really want to celebrate the wonderful acts that our children have done this year.

  • Attended at least 3 family masses over the year.

  • Raised money for a charity through their own actions.

  • Contributed to looking after our common home - our local area.

  • A sustained period of volunteering to help someone in need.

STAR Distinction Nomination

Celebrating Learning

Coming home with your child tonight is their end of year report. There is so much to celebrate from the wonderful year the children have had, it is always hard to capture it in a report. Together with the weekly blogs, you will have a complete understanding of your child’s year in school, the experiences they have had and areas for development moving forward. The reports take the teaching team such a long time to write, and I then read all 210 of them and comment on them - it is honestly my favourite task of the year! I hope you enjoy reading them with your child this weekend as they look ahead to the next part of their journey, remembering just what they have achieved this year but also knowing that non of us are complete yet! As always, there is an opportunity for you to share your reflections on your child’s year - to celebrate all that has been achieved.

Reflections of your childs year in school

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

This week, we received the final statutory data for our children this year; our KS2 Year 6 SATs results. The results are exceptional and significantly above national average - I beyond proud of the children who worked so hard, and all of the staff team who have played a part in their Our Ladys journey. In September, all of the statutory data for this year will be collated and available on the website. Next week, we will be fully celebrating our Year 6 children and their contribution to Our Ladys. On Monday and Tuesday it is the Year 5 & 6 play - PETER PAN - if you are wanting a ticket, please visit the school office. Thank you everyone who is donating air conditioning units. We will have some back stage for the children and then some in the hall so the audience doesn’t melt! Then on Wednesday, the whole school community will head to Mass where we celebrate our year together and our leavers from this year; children and staff. We will be leaving school at 9.05am to walk to church and we need walkers to help our children; please do join us if you can.

On Friday, school closes for Summer at 2pm for all children - there is no All Stars on Friday. In previous years, the school has been collected at 2pm, with our Year 6 children slightly after to allow them to come out onto the playground. What I invite you all to do this year is to collect your child at 2pm and then make your way to the playground outside Year 6 where we will applaud our Year 6 children out of school for the very final time. No matter what year, it would be lovely to see you all there.

Office News

As we approach the end of the year, and start to look ahead to next year, the All Stars booking form is now open. This is for the next academic year, from September. Please have a think about what provision is needed and complete the booking form accordingly. All children who currently use the wrap around care will be prioritised so please do not worry - we just need to know sooner rather than later.

All Stars Booking for Autumn Term 2025

Uniform Pre-Loved Sale - On Monday and Tuesday next week, there will a uniform sale at school. Thank you for all of the donations for uniform; it really does help so many families.

Lunches are slightly different next week as Jacqui uses up everything in the kitchen before the summer holiday. The menu will look like this:

Monday - Chicken Meatballs & Noodles or Jacket Potato

Tuesday - Salmon or veggie fingers or Pizza Panini

Wednesday - Chicken Roast Dinner or Sandwiches

Thursday - Pasta Bolognaise or Jacket Potato

Friday - Fish & chips or Pizza

Whole School Attendance - Yearly Totals

Well done to Year 4 for winning this year's attendance - 98.1%. Our Whole School total is 95.8%
July Online Safety Newsletter

I have attached the newsletter for this month’s online safety newsletter; please do have a read to keep in touch. There has been a lot of talk in school about “skinwalkers” over the past couple of weeks; resulting in others in the class becoming upset and frightened. We have had a big talk with the children about this, but it still seems to have continued, please support us in talking to your children and letting them know it is an inappropriate thing to be discussing in school, at home even.If you don’t know what this is, it is a big hype on Tiktok at the moment and its something used to scare others. It also brings up scary pictures if you search this on google. This is something that I had to learn about and not heard about before, so please do be aware of it. Some of our younger children are aware of it. Thank you for your support with this.

Thank you to everyone who bought a Mini-Vinnie raffle ticket this week. They will be doing the draw after school on Monday at their club and then distributing prizes on Tuesday around school. All of the sports extra-curricular clubs have now finished in school this week - there are no clubs next week.

See you all this weekend at St Annes Club Day!

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church…”

This week in school, we have been learning about the lives of two prolific missionaries. Both of these men, were not perfect; infact, they made a lot of mistakes in their lives. St Peter and St Paul are known as ‘The Rock’ and ‘The Pen’. St Peter was the foundation of the church, the rock on which it is built and St Paul wrote letters to all corners of the world; spreading the news of Jesus Christ. We have looked at the word ‘Missionary’ and how we can be missionaries of our faith. Next Friday, is our Jubilee Pledge Day. A day where we have been called to reflect on what we can do for our common home. A pledge is a promise, a long-term commitment to do something for the greater good! We will be sharing our pledges in assembly and with you too.

On Monday this week, Miss Bassett, three of our Mini-Vinnies and myself, headed to St Wulsterns in Fleetwood to celebrate a mass with some other schools. The Mass was to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of The Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust; the trust which we are the process of joining. Bishop Paul was the celebrant and spoke about the nurturing of our children in the Catholic faith. Although we are not fully part of this new family, we are edging ever closer and was happy to be part of the celebrations. The date which we are looking to covert is 1st April 2026 - so a little while off yet.

Sunday 6th July is our final family mass - we really hope as many of you will be there as possible. It will be a celebration of our Holy Communion children and the fabulous year we have had together. Readings will be going out on Monday - all information will be on the website.

Family Mass Children Involved
Prayer and Liturgy in school
Family Mass - 6th July
St Annes Carnival Walking

STAR Charter

You will know that this year we introduced the STAR Charter into school. This has given every child the opportunity to contribute to their community and wider world through really kind actions. We are in the process of collecting all of the photos from this for our Charter Assembly on the final day of the term.

In addition to the Charter Stars, there is also the distinction award. Any child is eligible for this, for their contribution to their world beyond school. Have they attended at least 3 family masses? Have they made something or cared for their local environment? Have they showed a commitment to this over time by volunteering? In order to nominate your child for the distinction award, please complete the form below telling us in detail about their acts of kindess and commitment.

STAR Distinction Nomination

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Sustainability in School

One of our biggest responsibilities is to look after our world and to make it as sustainable as possible. From December 2025, we are required to have a climate change action plan in place to demonstrate how we, as a school community can contribute to looking after our world. We are busy looking at ways in which we can do that, alongside the wonderful thing that already take place. Uniform sales in school have always been popular, and welcomed; it is something that we want to continue to do. In the final week of school, on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th July, there will be pre loved uniform outside of school for you to access - therefore we need your pre loved uniform to sell. Please bring in anything that is no longer needed, does not fit or you have too much of, ready for the end of year uniform sale. I have also attached a collection of dates and offers that will be taking place in the coming weeks ready for September.

We have been speaking in school this week about us all being visitors in this environment. Noone will be here forever and it is up to us to ensure that we make it and leave it in the best shape possible. The development of the Forest School area and school environment is key to this. In order to keep our environment how it should be, we need help from our community too. We are on the look out for the following items:

  • Kindling for the forest school fire.

  • Stones for digging in the construction area in Reception.

Office News

As we approach the end of the year, and start to look ahead to next year, the All Stars booking form is now open. This is for the next academic year, from September. Please have a think about what provision is needed and complete the booking form accordingly. All children who currently use the wrap around care will be prioritised so please do not worry - we just need to know sooner rather than later.

All Stars Booking for Autumn Term 2025

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 4 for winning this week's attendance with 99.3%.

Have a lovely weekend with your families. We are in the midst of Club Day season and with Lytham Festival next week, here is hoping that the sun will shine. Whatever you are doing, please enjoy it.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Talent is only the starting point."

We have continued to look to the sacred heart this week and explored all of the ways in which we can open our heart to Jesus. We are guided by what we have learnt about how Jesus opened his heart to everyone; we must now do the same. One way we can do this is to share our talents with others, and my goodness has our talents been on show this week. From sports day (more about that later) to our Year 6 talent show winners who performed in assembly today. There are so many talented pupils in our school - let’s continue to shine brightly. Don’t forget to share your photos for the Proud Cloud and I definitely think we need an Our Lady’s Got Talent next year - anything goes! Next week I will be adding the nomination forms for the STAR Charter distinction award. If your child has gone above and beyond in their community this year, then they can be nominated. Have a think and see what comes up next Friday.

Prayer and Liturgy in school
Family Mass - 6th July
St Annes Carnival Walking

Sports Days and Jim Jam Jog

What a fantastic few weeks of sport we have had (ably helped by the weather!) Over the past two weeks, sports days have taken place across each key stage; and they have been just wonderful! From our smallest children right through to the oldest, there has been such competition - especially when on the track. I love sport - and everything it brings - but what I have most loved this sports day season, is seeing the competition between boys and girls being right up there. Gone are the times when girls raced girls and boys raced boys - we have fully enabled our children to be their very best - no matter who they compete against. The girls certainly shone brightly this time around. Thank you to everybody who came and supported our Sports Days and got invovled. You cheered your own child; but you also cheered every other child too! There are so many photos and these will be on each class page - there are a selection below with the winners of each individual sports day. The final placings were decided by collating all of the points from all 4 sports days together:

1st Place - HARCOURT (1115 Points)

2nd Place - BAMBER (1085 Points)

3rd Place - MARSDEN (1020 Points)

4th Place - PLESSINGTON (1010 Points)

Then yesterday we had our annual Jim Jam Jog - our pj event to raise money for our school funds. Every year, more and more parents and grandparents get involved - we love it! Thank you so much for the wonderful spirit shown and the generous donations. We are continuing to develop the grounds of our school and are now looking the the front of the school so the money will be well spent. So far we have raised just over £1700! This is amazing. If you are yet to bring in your sponsor money, please do next week and we can have a final total next Friday. Can we get over the £2000 mark?

Our next Online Safety Newsletter is now live and can be accessed by clicking the button below. It continues to provide up to date information to help you navigate the challenges faced in modern society.

Online safety newsletter for june

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Enrichment continues to be at the heart of learning; giving the children new experiences and opportunities to grow alongside the curriculum in school. Yesterday we had our 5th enrichment of the year; from Year 6 taking photographs about memories of school life, to Reception having a musical time in the garden, to a spot of weaving by Year 1 with Mrs Naylor. On a hot day, after the Jim Jam Jog, it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Why not ask your child what they got up to!

Forest School learning has continued to be loved in school. Just a short one this week!!With what has been an extremely busy and fun we've still managed to get some time in Forest School. 

  • The children have taken advantage of the huge Oak tree canopy and kept cool in the shade.

  • Our cherry trees are producing lots of fruit, so we've taken advantage of this and used them for snack and toppings for pancakes. Can you guess which children liked them and those that didn’t?

  • The pond is now teeming with wildlife it's so lovely to see the children being so inquisitive and eager to learn about new species. 

  • As ever the den building area is being well used, the teamwork and communication between the groups is fantastic and is such a valuable life skill, its good to see these skills being transferred to other situations in school.

  • This week we've had a fresh delivery of wood chip, so next week's job is to get that spread over the forest floor to help with sustaining our area so we can keep enjoying the area. 

  • And a big thank you to Mr Nay and Mr Murray who visited Miss Brisco’s back garden this week. She had a tree that came down in the recent storm. It has managed to be chopped up into seating for our wooded area.

Sustainability in School

One of our biggest responsibilities is to look after our world and to make it as sustainable as possible. From December 2025, we are required to have a climate change action plan in place to demonstrate how we, as a school community can contribute to looking after our world. We are busy looking at ways in which we can do that, alongside the wonderful thing that already take place. Uniform sales in school have always been popular, and welcomed; it is something that we want to continue to do. In the final week of school, on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th July, there will be pre loved uniform outside of school for you to access - therefore we need your pre loved uniform to sell. Please bring in anything that is no longer needed, does not fit or you have too much of, ready for the end of year uniform sale. I have also attached a collection of dates and offers that will be taking place in the coming weeks ready for September.

We have been speaking in school this week about us all being visitors in this environment. Noone will be here forever and it is up to us to ensure that we make it and leave it in the best shape possible. The development of the Forest School area and school environment is key to this. In order to keep our environment how it should be, we need help from our community too. We are on the look out for the following items:

  • Kindling for the forest school fire.

  • Stones for digging in the construction area in Reception.

Office News

At this time of year, the office is always really busy. Whether it is finalising trips, booking coaches, ordering stationary for next year; it is always such a busy place of the school. This week, Mrs Nel and Mrs Howe have been busy organising everything for our new Nursery and Reception starters who will be joining us in September. Before the end of the year, please can you ensure that all of your Parent Pay account is settled, ready to start a new in September. Thank you so much for this.

As we approach the end of the year, and start to look ahead to next year, the All Stars booking form is now open. This is for the next academic year, from September. Please have a think about what provision is needed and complete the booking form accordingly. All children who currently use the wrap around care will be prioritised so please do not worry - we just need to know sooner rather than later.

All Stars Booking for Autumn Term 2025

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 1 for winning this week's attendance with 99.3%.

I know that you are all eager to hear about the staff team for next year and to think about what the next year will look like for your child. Transition is a funny thing because on one hand, for some children they can talk about it all day long, but for others, the more we talk about it the more anxious we make our children. This always comes down to knowing the children, listening to the children and the development of deep relationships. In school, we have already started our transition in lots of subtle ways and we are excited about what next year will bring.

Nursery: Barbara, Emma, Justine, Steph & Frances

Reception: Miss Drummond, Mrs Summersall & Mrs Krol

Year 1: Miss Bassett (3 days) & Mrs Hartley (2 days) with Mrs Hennessy & Miss Forster

Year 2: Mrs Hotchkiss & Miss Slater

Year 3: Mrs Naylor, Mrs Carter and Mrs Davis

Year 4: Mrs Lyons & Miss Bray

Year 5: Mr Cornwell & Miss Johnson

Year 6: Mrs Harrison, Mrs Barker & Mrs Tierney

Both Miss Woodend and Mrs Marshall will be working across the school in their respective roles as SENCO and teacher. Mrs Marshall will be working in Year 6 on a Friday and other classes on the days that she is in. Mrs Mather will continue to lead art and DT. Mrs Ely will continue her role with langauge development across the school, focusing on our EYFS and Key Stage 1 children and their speech development. You will notice from our nursery staff that Michelle is not there. Michelle will be leaving us at the end of the year - her gorgeous garden time is awaiting her and time with her family. We will celebrate Michelle with our leavers at the end of the year. The children will have their move up morning on Thursday 3rd July where they will get chance to explore their new surroundings a little closer. They will also have enrichment with their new classes in the final few weeks as another opportunity to get to know their team.

Have a lovely weekend with your families. The weather has been very hot this week - here is hoping the sun still shines but it is more manageable.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Leave all your cares and concerns in the Sacred Heart of Jesus."

Have you ever had a fire in your belly about something? This week, following Pentecost, we have spoken about the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit and how a fire burned within them to proclaim the Good News. Just weeks before, they had cowered; scared about what would happen to them after the death of Jesus. I have challenged the children to find the fire in their bellies for the final half term and achieve what they have set their hearts on. This may be something in their classroom, something that they have been working on for some time or a personal quality of theirs - it is their choice!

The month of June is known as the month of The Sacred Heart - the loving heart of Jesus. Images that are shown of The Sacred Heart are often shown with a cross, flames and thorns to illustrate Jesus’ love for us and what he did for us. Today, our Year 4 children walked to St Joseph’s church in Ansdell where they joined our other deanery schools to celebrate them making their first Holy Communion. All schools were asked to make a board for the offertory which represented the sacred heart. Our children drew images on the hearts that showed Jesus’ love for us all.

There are now three buttons below. The first one will take you to our prayer and liturgy in school which you may want to use at home. The second is a link to our final family mass of the year, on Sunday 6th July. Our Holy Communion children will be coming in their dresses and singing for the parish. As always we need readings, singers to join the choir and the offertory. Finally, St Annes Carnival is fast approaching and in recent years we have walked with our parish family - we will be doing the same this year too. It is always so lovely seeing all of our children walking with their different clubs. If you are able to walk with us this year, please fill in the form by clinking the button below.

Prayer and Liturgy in school
Family Mass - 6th July
St Annes Carnival Walking

Mini Vinnie Foodbank

One of our ways of contributing to our local community this year has been the foodbank, which you have all been so generous with. For June and July, we will be collecting tinned soup, beans, fruit, vegeatbles and pasta. If you can pick any of these up whilst you are out and about shopping - please do! Our donations are so gratefully received.

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Forest School Blog

We all know how successful our forest school has been so far this year; in such a short period of time, we have managed to get every child in there at some point this year - even parents have had the opportunity to visit. But a very important group of people who hadn’t yet seen the wonders were our staff team. So on Wednesday, for our staff meeting, we headed out to the canopy to gather and learn about the pedagogy of forest provision. We have so many of our children benefit, it was lovely to try it out first hand. Tree climbing, hammock swinging, den making and forest bathing were enjoyed by all who could make it. I think you can see from the pictures just how much fun we all had - even more so when the bacon butties came at the end. The staff work so incredibly hard in school, it is these moments that can be created which give everyone the chance to breath and recalibrate. Thank you Miss Lavelle and Mrs Tierney who led the session for us. And a big congratulations to Miss Lavelle who this week passed the practical aspect of her Forest School Leaders Certificate. We know we are very lucky and you have worked so hard. Miss Lavelle will be leaving us at the end of this year to go and have another forest baby and enjoy her maternity leave. Mrs Tierney will be taking over in her absence - she is also working towards her forest school leaders award.

Office News

At this time of year, the office is always really busy. Whether it is finalising trips, booking coaches, ordering stationary for next year; it is always such a busy place of the school. This week, Mrs Nel and Mrs Howe have been busy organising everything for our new Nursery and Reception starters who will be joining us in September. Before the end of the year, please can you ensure that all of your Parent Pay account is settled, ready to start a new in September. Thank you so much for this.

Last week, I mentioned that we had some laptops available for you to buy. The larger £75 ones have now been sold, as well as a number of the smaller £50 ones. There are just 5 left if anybody would like to purchase one. They are Windows 11 laptops.

As we approach the end of the year, and start to look ahead to next year, the All Stars booking form is now open. This is for the next academic year, from September. Please have a think about what provision is needed and complete the booking form accordingly. All children who currently use the wrap around care will be prioritised so please do not worry - we just need to know sooner rather than later.

All Stars Booking for Autumn Term 2025

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 4 for winning this week's attendance with 99.3%.

The transition of our children from one year group to the next is always considered. We want to make sure that we get it right without being too intense. We are so lucky that the relationships in our school are so strong and everyone has had the opportunity to work with each teacher through enrichment this year. In the coming weeks, I will be able to share with you who the staff team will be next year and the teaching teams in each class. With the end of any school year, we often have some goodbyes to say. On Wednesday 16th July, we will be gathering at church to say goodbye to our Year 6 children at their leavers’ mass, together with Mrs Webster and Miss Hanlon. Mrs Webster has been a member of staff at school for over a decade - over 16 years in fact, as well as a parent of her children who came through our Lady’s. Working in a number of classes, she has always been led by her faith and working with our children with such love. Not only has she supported in class, she has also been involved with the Holy Communion programme for many years and have been on a number of residential with Year 6. Mrs Webster will be retiring at the end of this year to spend more time with her family and travel more often too. I absolutely know that this will not be goodbye - I know she will still be involved in school and parish life.

Miss Hanlon was employed last year as a maternity cover, so we knew she would only be with us briefly - but in the time she has been with us, she has fully committed to her role as class teacher and we have loved watching her continue to learn and grow. Yesterday, Miss Hanlon secured her next teaching job, and we could not be more proud of her. We will enjoy spending the last few weeks alongside her. I know you will all want to wish her well too.

Have a lovely weekend with your families

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Love one another as I have loved you."

We are still in the midst of Easter and the event that followed after Jesus’s resurrection. We have been looking at the times that Jesus appeared following his death and the key messages that he left to his disciples and followers behind. One of the most significant lines in the bible is this, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Easy right? To love everyone? But this is so much more difficult than it sounds. In a world at the moment where opinions can cause conflict, love is needed! We have one main rule in school; to be kind. If we are kind then love manifests. Each week I create a prayer and liturgy document that we follow in school for the week around the Gospel for the weekend. I thought it would be nice to share this with you at home. We always have a word of the week and then a mission going forward.

Prayer and Liturgy in school

Last Saturday, our first group of Year 4 children made their First Holy Communion. The church was packed and it was an incredibly special moment for the children to be surrounded by love. The sun certainly shone so very brightly! I will reserve the photograph until next week after our second group of children make theirs. Tomorrow, we will have our second group of children make their Holy Communion - and again the sun will shine. Please continue to pray for them.

STAR pupils this week - Leading Learnings and Star Virtues

Yet again, our Year 6 children are amongst the leading learners for this week; how could we choose. Each morning this week they have come into school with a huge smile on their face, determined to be the best they could possibly be as they tackled their end of key stage assessments. These assessments test a snapshot of what they can do - but not everything; these children are so much more and we are beyond proud of them. They are just fantastic human beings who love each other. After the arrival of the ice-cream van and leavers hoodies, attention turned to the end of year play. Ironically, it is a story of kindness with one of the famous lines being: "Always be a little kinder than necessary". Our Year 6 children, ably supported by Year 5, will tell the story of Peter Pan! Auditions have been held today, before they head off on Monday for residential. Year 6 - we cannot wait to see just what you are able to achieve in your final half term in school.

Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues

Online Safety Monthly Newsletter

Online Safety

Whenever we look at safeguarding procedures and concerns in school, online safety is the golden thread that runs through it as our children try to learn how to navigate the technological world in which they are entering. Education around this is so important so that we don’t deprive them but give them the tools in which they can thrive, and more importantly, feel safe. We have teamed with Knowsley City Learning to produce our own newsletter on the issues that are currently being faced in this area. Each month there will be a newsletter than can keep you updated with current issues. I will also post these on the online safety page on the Engage part of the website. Please support us to support your children.

Sporting Success

You know how much I love sport and I love how much our children love sport too! Over the past two weeks, our football teams have been in action; representing our school in the local school’s tournament held at LSA. Last week our boys worked wonders, and after getting used to playing on the astroturf, managed to finish a respectable 3rd. Yesterday, our girls took to the pitches and remained unbeaten throughout the games; this meant that they were crowned the winner. They were just fabulous and played with constant smiles on their faces. They have now been invited to represent Fylde at the Coastal Games on 10th July at Stanley Park. Well done to both teams, we are so proud of you!

Mr Cornwell is now looking forward to next year and finalising squads. If you are in Year 4 or 5 currently; girl or boy, you are able to sign up for football trials on the Sports page of the website. These will take place towards the end of June and July. Please do attend if you are wanting to represent the school team. Next week, a group of Year 3 and 4 children will be attending a Striking and Fielding Festival at LSA with myself and Mr Nay.

Office News

You may remember that last year we had a number of iPads for sale as we were replacing what we have in school. We are predominantly using iPads now to deliver our computing curriculum, therefore we have a large number of laptops that we no longer need. Over the next few months, as our IT technician refurbishes them and replaces memory on them, I will pop them on the blog for families to buy if interested. They will vary in price but based on the specification of the device. We currently have 3 Acer Laptops with the following specification ready for immediate sale and use, priced at £75 each.

The Acer laptop, which offers impressive specifications, It's a solid all-rounder-ideal for everyday tasks and even a bit of light gaming. 

All laptops are in good used condition and come with Windows 11 Home pre-installed, ready for immediate use. 

Full Specification:  

✔Acer Extensa 2540  

✔15.6" LED Screen  

✔Intel Core i5-7200u (Gen 7)  

✔8GB RAM  

✔120GB SSD (PNY High Performance) 

✔DVD-RW  

✔Webcam  

✔Card Reader  

✔Bluetooth  

✔3 X USB  

✔HDMI Output  

✔Intel UHD 620 Graphics  

✔Intel Dual Band AC WIFI  

✔Windows 11 Home  

🔌Original Power Supply & Lead Included🔌  

🔋 Please note: The battery charges and appears to hold power; however, it has not been fully tested. If using the laptop away from mains power is important to you, the battery may need replacing—either in the near future or possibly right away. 

If you are interested in buying one, please contact Mrs Gregan at head@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 3 for winning this week's attendance with 100%. Our whole school attendance was 97.6%

Uniform Check

As we seem to be in the throws of Spring and Summer (fingers firmly crossed that it lasts) I have had a number of conversations with parents around school uniform and hair styles etc. I have attached the uniform guidance again below. School summer dresses or shorts can be worn at any point in the school year. The most important thing is that the shoes that the children wear for school are closed toe shoes - not sandals. This is due to them running around at break time and moving around a school that has lots and lots of pupils and adults. We have seen an increase in jewellery being worn. The only thing that can be worn is a pair of plain studs and a wrist watch. Please avoid anything around the neck or earings that do not meet school guidance. Lots of you have already asked about hair styles before heading to the barbers for a summer trim and the guidance is really clear. Long hair must be tied up and remain up throughout the course of the day and no lines or pattens to be cut into the children’s hair please. That has never changed but I think as it becomes more of a thing and fashionable with footballers, we are tempted to allow the children to have them. If you could save that for the summer holidays or longer holidays where it can grow out, that would be appreciated. Thank you again for your support and for always asking the question when you aren’t quite sure.

School Uniform

This month’s foodbank collection is for toiletries. With one week to go in May, please can we all try and donate something for it to keep our contribution high. Thank you for your generosity.

Showing from Thu 15 — Sat 17 May 2025

Don’t forget our SHREK superstars this weekend! There are still spaces and tickets available.

Shrek at Lowther

Enjoy the wonderful sunshine this weekend!

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Peace be with you." - Pope Leo XIV

This week, we have watched, in anticipation, for the billowing white smoke to appear from the chimney of the Sistene Chapel. The most secretive vote in history took place and from it our new pope was revealed. It seems beautiful that as yesterday we celebrated VE day and the peace that came following 6 years of war, our new Pope’s opening words were, “Peace be with you.” We pray that his papacy is led by his faith and devotion to peace; uniting an often broken world with compassion and love. I urge you all to discover who Pope Leo is. Where did he serve? What was his previous role in the Vatican? What would you like him to focus on first? Who would be the best pope in your family? Could you run your own secret conclave.

Over the next two weekends, our Year 4 children will make their first holy communion. It is such a special time for each of them, and their families - and my goodness will the sun be shining. Quite often we take for granted the gift of communion, but it is the most sacred of all sacraments. Please do pray for our children, and the children of the parish, who are making their communion over the next two weekends.

We have had 6 pieces of artwork brought in that shows Mary in lots of different ways. All have been framed and placed in school - they are beautiful! Please keep adding to them so that we can create a gallery to Our Lady. Why not create an image of Mary from another culture?

“Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”

We have been incredibly lukcy with the weather recently which made coming together for a whole school picnic outside so much easier! Red white and blue were adorned by everyone in recognition for the service men and women who fought so bravely for our country. 80 years ago, peace was felt after 6 years of fighting - and my goodness, we still need that peace now. We had an awful lot of fun coming together, eating, playing and singing!

Forest School Blog

Another week of beautiful weather! Nursery have taken advantage and sat in the sun and made some lovely willow wands and had lots of fun casting spells!This week is hedgehog awareness week so each session we've started with chatting about one of the UK's best loved wild animals. Our specially made hedgehog houses will be carefully placed in our woodland in September ready for hibernation. We've been making hedgehogs with clay and bits of wood we found on the forest floor along with some other creations - Can you tell what they are?

We've also made some woodland jewellery  using Elder branches, the heartwood (inside of the branch) are soft and spongy, so using tent pegs we hollowed out the inside and threaded them onto twine. The mud kitchen has been the source of lots of fun this week, we've even had stone soup and mud cupcakes! Year 5 created some amazing dens with different rooms including a kitchen, plus they made a wigwam structure and a fantastic pretend fire. We've also had two very generous donations this week, the first is from Ansdell Builders who have kindly given us a safety grill for our pond. Secondly B&Q have donated the remaining compost needed for our meadow which Year 5 moved and stacked ready for next week.

Looks like another warm one next week so please ensure children have sun cream applied, and a hat, long sleeves and trouser rule still applies.

Fun Nature Fact Of The Week - Hedgehogs would be great in a Triathlon, if you switched cycling for climbing! They are great runners, proficient climbers and can even swim. They also have a top speed of 5mph, albeit for short bursts!

Shining Stars and Leading Learners

This group of children are our STAR learners this week. For the past 7 years, our Year 6s have worked tirelessy - loving every moment of their education. Next week they will sit their End of Key stage assessments, ready for their next academic journey at high school. I am sure you will join us all in wishing them all the luck in the world as they take on this challenge. I have told them not to be nervous - but to head into the hall determined to show everyone exactly what they can do! Keep them in your thoughts next week and pray for them. We are unbelievably proud of them all!

Office News - Don’t forget about Year 5’s fundraiser below that is coming up next Friday. Orders have closed for the boxes to be ordered but donuts can be bought in school next Friday at breaktime for £1.

Please can I ask that when you drop your children off, you do so safely. We have had phone calls this week about parents parking in the middle of the road and allowing the children to jump out across the road where there are other cars. This is so important and we urge you to support us with this.

There is a circus workshop being held at St Annes Library on Thursday 29th May from 2.30pm - 3.30pm, for childred aged 5+. Pop into the library or visit stannes.library@lancashire.gov.uk to book a place.

Whole School Attendance

Well done to Year 4 & Year 6 for winning this week's attendance with 97.5%. Our whole school attendance was 96%

Uniform Check

As we seem to be in the throws of Spring and Summer (fingers firmly crossed that it lasts) I have had a number of conversations with parents around school uniform and hair styles etc. I have attached the uniform guidance again below. School summer dresses or shorts can be worn at any point in the school year. The most important thing is that the shoes that the children wear for school are closed toe shoes - not sandals. This is due to them running around at break time and moving around a school that has lots and lots of pupils and adults. We have seen an increase in jewellery being worn. The only thing that can be worn is a pair of plain studs and a wrist watch. Please avoid anything around the neck or earings that do not meet school guidance. Lots of you have already asked about hair styles before heading to the barbers for a summer trim and the guidance is really clear. Long hair must be tied up and remain up throughout the course of the day and no lines or pattens to be cut into the children’s hair please. That has never changed but I think as it becomes more of a thing and fashionable with footballers, we are tempted to allow the children to have them. If you could save that for the summer holidays or longer holidays where it can grow out, that would be appreciated. Thank you again for your support and for always asking the question when you aren’t quite sure.

School Uniform

Showing from Thu 15 — Sat 17 May 2025

"Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek...."

The Sound of Musical Theatre Company returns to the Lowther Pavilion Theatre in May 2025 with everyone's favourite ogre in the hilarious stage spectacle based on the Oscar-winning, DreamWorks Animation film. We have three of our talented pupils; Toby, Isaac and Logan are joining the cast and would love to see you there. Click below to book.

Shrek at Lowther

Enjoy the wonderful sunshine this weekend

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“We must always walk in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord .”

The death of Pope Francis this week has brought a new found togetherness within school. At our liturgy on Monday it was not spoke of sadness, but rather the legacy that Pope Francis has left on our world. He was incredibly active in the world, which we certainly need more people to be. All week, the children and staff, have been contributing to a book of reflection and prayer for the late Pope, which will now make its way to Rome. On Sunday, Mr and Mrs Uttley have a trip planned there and have very kindly offered to take the book on our behalf. Along with the book, there will also be a school cardigan with our STAR badge on it. This badge is a sign of us all being active members of our community - just like Pope Francis was. It is so important that the school has contributed to this moment in time. We now pray for Pope Francis’ successor and will watch in the coming weeks as the conclave gather to make the decision. On Monday evening, I will be joining Bishop Paul, along with Mrs Hills and Father Peter, at the cathedral for a requiem mass for Pope Francis. Then on Tuesday evening, there will be a deanery mass held at St Joseph’s at 7pm. This mass is open to all. I encourage you and invite you to this mass to pay your own respects.

In assembly today we have looked at the theme of miracles and how Pope Francis called for everyday to be a miracle, not just the monumental moments in life. We are in the period of Eastertide where Jesus appeared three times before Pentecost. I challenge you all to see the miracles of life, each and every day, and to give thanks for them.

“Let Nature be your teacher.” – William Wordsworth

You will all know that I am incredibly passionate about the children experiencing enriching opportunites beyond the classroom; which is one of the reasons that we have developed a forest school here at Our Ladys. There is a really clear pedagogy behind the philosophy of Forest School, but we would still like all of our children to experience it throughout the year. This week, our open invitation to parents was taken up and Miss Lavelle and Mrs Tierney held two sessions of adult play - boy did they play! From forest bathing, to the new hammock and den making area, to tree climbing; lots of fun was had by them all.

We are trying to keep forest school as self-sustaining. With the budget pressures that all schools are facing, areas like this are so important and need to be preserved. We will continue to find innovative ways to maintain the area and will always need your help with this. If you have any tree stumps that we can use for seating in the area, or want to donate some new climbing plants for the back fence of the area - please do!

A little Forest School Update for this half term…Over the half term holiday there was lots of changes in Forest School. Matt from Greentouch Landscapes installed our new hammock posts and out amazing den building supports. All the trees and brash were responsibly sourced from The Coppicing Co-operative. Mrs Tierney dug our new pond,  which will soon be home to our tadpoles which a currently in nursery. Our groups this week have been enjoying our new additions - the hammock is proving popular! Some of the feedback has been lovely to hear such as "this is my new happy place" and "I can't remember the last time I was this relaxed." It's good to slow down and appreciate the little thing in life and the nature we are so lucky to have. We've also been doing some weaving using sticks and wool which have been hung in our Holm Oak tree.

The statue of Our Lady Of Lourdes has also visited Forest School, our children have decorated pebbles to make a beautiful cross.

Fun Nature Fact Of The Week - There are more trees on earth than stars in the Milky Way. Scientists estimate that there are between 200-400 billion stars in our galaxy, while there are an estimated 1 trillion trees on earth!

Year 5 have also started their own forest school journey this term. They have been trying out the new hammock and den making kits to see what they can build - with a little bit of tree climbing in the mix…and smores!

Shining Stars and Leading Learners

Office News

On Thursday 8th May, we will be celebrating 80 years since VE Day - such an important day in the history of Great Britain. To honour the day, the children can come into school wearing red, white and blue; and we will also be having a school picnic on the field for lunch time.

The menu will be: assorted sandwiches, pizza bites, sausage rolls, veggie sticks and dip, and crisps - with a victoria sponge cake and fruit.

If your child normally has a dinner on a Thursday, then you do not need to complete the form. If your child has a packed lunch or does not have dinner on a Thursday, and would like a school picnic, then please complete the form below. The cost of the picnic is £2.90.

VE Day Picnic Booking Form

This half term is a really short one, but still jam-packed with lots of opportunities for the children. Please continue to read each class blog to keep an eye on what is happening in school. I have updated the school calendar with all of the events that are taking place this term, and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. The Gym Jam Jog will happen in the second half of the term - this is such a great event for the whole school!

Finally, a really huge good luck to our parents who are running the London Marathon this weekend! You are superheroes!

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"A world full of hope and kindness is a more beautiful world.”

As we arrive back in school for our final term together, our hearts have been saddened to hear of the passing of Pope Francis, at the age of 88. In recent months, his illness has been a concern for Catholics and Christians around the world; knowing that this illness would have caused discomfort and ultimately could possibly reunite him with his Father. As I have sat here this weekend, watching the news and the outpouring of love for him, it is not his illness, but it is his life which is being spoken about so fondly. Pope Francis was a pope who wanted to reunite people; especially vulnerable members of our world. He was often misunderstood for his comments or his actions, but his motive was love and acceptance. Pope Francis was clearly a pope for the poor, disadvantaged and marginalised within society. Throughout his pontificate he was very humble, turning down the Pope's traditional Apostolic palace to live in a Vatican guesthouse. In fact, he never lost his ability to be amongst people, only on Easter Sunday he was out in St Peter's square after speaking to the crowds from the balcony of the Vatican. He has chosen not to be buried in the Vatican, but in Santa Maria Maggoire Basilica, a church in a poorer district in Rome where he often went to pray before an image of Our Lady and baby Jesus. In his final testament, he stated that, ‘The tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration and with the only inscription: Franciscus.’

It seems fitting that Pope Francis has passed away on Easter weekend, the most important weekend in our liturgical year and the weekend that we honour our Servant King. Pope Francis understood that leadership was service, even yesterday being present yesterday at the Easter Service, he wanted to stabilise the church and to continue to unite. For the past 12 years, and more, Pope Francis has been such an influence in the Roman Catholic Church. He has changed the church, but has stayed resolute to the principles of faith - to support and honour the marginalised and to live with complete universal love. This morning, we will gather as a whole school community for liturgy to celebrate the legacy of Pope Francis and to learn from his extraordinary leadership. In our Worship Area, there will be a book of celebration for the life of Pope Francis. Pupils, staff, parents and governors are invited to contribute to it through prayers, thoughts and reflections. As we continue to pilgrimage through the Year of Hope, and start to live our new Jesuit Virtues of Curious and Active, what better way to celebrate these than to acknowledge someone whose life was completely active and dedicated to making our world a better, and much more tolerant, place to live for all.

““A world full of hope and kindness is a more beautiful world.””
— Pope Francis

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

It seems only a blink of eye since we celebrated Christmas together with our children performing nativities and carol concerts. Yet her we are this week celebrating their thought-provoking and incredibly emotional Holy Week liturgies. It never fails to hit me just how different these performances can be when the children and staff are telling the same story. I am just so proud of them. I know that you too have appreciated being part of this and have felt it just like I have. These images below are a beautiful reminder of what was portrayed this week and what the children produced.

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

Our Lady of Lourdes

For the Diocese of Lancaster’s centenary, a pilgrimage of Our Lady of Lourdes is taking place across the diocese. Three, very beautiful, statues are visiting each and every school and are being shared by the children there. On Wednesday, St Peter’s brought her to our school and took part in a special liturgy to welcome Our Lady to our school. Father Peter spoke the Gospel and together we looked at how Mary helped the most vulnerable members of the world - not in spectacular places, but in humble ones; like appearing to Bernadette in a grotto. The statue is living in our Worship Area and will be with us the week when we return from Easter. You will see that each school is collating images and work that they do with the statue whilst she is with them. Please do visit the statue if you can or you want a quiet period of reflection.

As part of the children’s STAR charter, they have all been tasked with raising money for charities close to their hearts. This week, Year 2 completed a pilgrimage to every holy door between our school chapel and the White Church in Lytham. They have raised over £300!

Shining Stars and Leading Learners

Our award winners as voted by their friends in their classroom

Office News

With the sun now shining so brightly - let’s hope it stays - the children need to bring suncream into school that they can apply independently. We found that last year, the roll on suncream was best as the children could do this and we could ensure that it was rubbed in correctly. Please send one in, labelled with your child’s name that can be kept in school.

The menu above is the final menu of our reduced options whilst the kitchen has been organised. The button below will take you to the new menu which will come into effect from April 23rd, when we return at £2.90 a meal.

Summer Menu - April onwards
All Stars Summer Term

All Stars for Summer Term

Please can you complete the form above if you require All Stars care for the Summer Term. This is for all children, even if they currently attend. Don’t worry, they will still have their place after Easter, we just need to ensure that the numbers are correct and that you are billed correctly. We can also ensure staffing levels are maintained.

Today we say goodbye to Mrs Maano who is leaving us for a new challenge. We so love her and have enjoyed working with her so much; she has given so many children the gift of reading. We know that she will keep in touch with us and keep us up to date with her adventures.

Thank you also to the photos that have started to come into school of past pupils of Our Ladys. Look at this cracker above! Please do send any photographs that you have in and we can collate them in school. Rafe and Sophia will also be arranging interviews to take place comparing school then and now.

Forest school sessions for parents are now viable and you will receive a text to which one you have booked onto and can attend. We are really looking forward to welcoming you into school each morning.

Thank you all for the most wonderful end to Easter today - the easter egg raffle went down a treat. Thank you all for your donations, so far we have raised over £700 which will continue to help us develop our outdoor area and enhance play in school. The lenten box money will also be counted over Easter as our donation to CAFOD.

We look forward to welcoming you back to school on Tuesday 22nd April.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate.”

And so we are about to enter the most important week of the school year and litrugical year. Next week is everything that our school is about - the ultimate service to others. Through the portrayal of Holy Week, told so beautifully through the eyes and voices of our children, we will walk with Jesus as he journeys to his death on the cross. Whether it is through the joy of the Palm Sunday people, or the solemnity of the Last Supper or the sheer devastation of the Crucifixion, we are looking forward to bringing the community together as we journey through Holy Week. Each litrugy will start at 9:15am, so I urge you to arrive to be seated from 8:55am, once the children are all in school. The whole school is part of this special moment and their prayer will start in class. Please be completely present in this moment. There will be no drinks allowed in the hall or food, due to the atmosphere that we want to create. Space in the hall is also really limited so please do think about bringing smaller children. Prams will have to be left outside too to ensure we can fit everyone in.

Monday 7th April @ 9.15am - Year 2: Palm Sunday

Tuesday 8th April @ 9.15am - Year 3:The Last Supper

Wednesday 9th April @ 9.15am - Year 4: Garden of Gethsemane

Thursday 10th April @ 9.15am - Year 5: The Crucifixion

Friday 11th April @ 9:15am - Year 6: The Resurrection

Diocesan News

On Wednesday, the Our Lady of Lourdes statue will be welcomed into our school as part of her pilgrimage around the diocese. St Peters will be bringing her here to us where we will welcome her for three days of prayer and worship before taking her to her next place of rest. This year is the Lancaster Diocese Centenary, and as part of it, we will be holding a school history project. Rafe and Sophia, our Head Boy and Girl, have some wonderful ideas of how this will work, but for now, they would like you to collect any photographs or items that you have collected from when you were younger. Maybe a school photograph? Or a newspaper article? Do you have any old uniform? Rafe and Sophia will reveal their plans next Friday.

The school art competition has now closed and the entries are being judged to be sent to the diocese. Thank you to everyone who got involved.

Luce, our pilgrimage doll for the Year of Hope, has been busy touring family homes and getting invovled in Catholic Life around the school. We have a big floor book where we are collecting her adventures - she even made it to Newcastle last weekend for the cup parade! Remember you too can take Luce on your adventures - I think she is off to Crete for Easter! Luce will be at our next family mass this Sunday. The readers are prepared and I will choose some children for the offertory when there. The homily this weekend is a letter from Bishop Paul which contains information about a sensitive subject. We have therefore made the decision that liturgy will take place and the children will go there instead of staying in mass.

Shining Stars and Leading Learners

Virtue award winners for this week in school. We are so proud of them!

Office News

School photographs were just beautiful this week. The sun shone and we sat in the garden being snapped away. Over the next couple of days, the photographs will be ready for you to see. All you need to do is to scan the QR code on the paper that you were given, you will then get an email alert when they are ready. Some of our younger children were really interested in the process and even had a go snapping their younger brother! The sports photographs that were taken will come back to school. On Monday we will send you an email with the code to access the photograph that your child is in.

We are so proud of our school family and the people who make it so very special, but we also recognise that we have to share these people too with the world. Next Friday, Mrs Maano will be leaving us to take up a new career in another field away from education. We are so blessed to have worked with her for so long and she has had the most impact on our younger children and their love of phonics whilst she has been here. What she does not know about reading and phonics is not worth knowing. We have been really lucky to have worked alongside her for these past few years and know that she will spread the Our Lady magic in her next role. We wish her all of the luck in the world!

Raffle ticket money has been coming in thick and fast this week, and with one week to go, you have to be in it to win it! These are just a fraction of the eggs available to be won - we have over 300!. £1 a strip gets you 5 raffle tickets for the event taking place next Friday. In addition to the eggs, we also have this furry friend to be won. Name the bunny is £1 a go and will be available after school on Monday and Tuesday next week!

The menu above is the final menu of our reduced options whilst the kitchen has been organised. The button below will take you to the new menu which will come into effect from April 23rd, when we return at £2.90 a meal.

Summer Menu - April onwards

All Stars for Summer Term

Please can you complete the form below if you require All Stars care for the Summer Term. This is for all children, even if they currently attend. Don’t worry, they will still have their place after Easter, we just need to ensure that the numbers are correct and that you are billed correctly. We can also ensure staffing levels are maintained.

All Stars Summer Term

Our Weekly School Attendance

Well done to Year 4 this week with 100% who will earn extra break time next week.

Our attendance figures have been slowly rising in recent weeks since the mid-year reports went out and attendance was highlighted. Next week, I will be sending letters out to those parents who we have concerns regarding their children’s attendance in school.

Finally, please don’t forget we are holding two parent forest school sessions after half term alongside Miss Lavelle. There are two opportunities on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th April from 9 - 10:30am. Please sign up by clicking on the button below. It is first come, first served as we can only have a set amount of parents around the fire. We could really do with a few more parents on the Thursday session to make it viable. Please do come and get involved.

Forest School Parents' Session

We finish for Easter at 2pm next Friday, 11th April, and will return to school on Tuesday 23rd April. Have a wonderful weekend.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word