The month of May is notoriously known as the month of Mary, and as a school of Our Lady, it has special significance for us personally. Every week we pray to Hail Mary as we ask her to guide us to be more like her. Mary said, “Yes,” - there was never any questions asked. At the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’s first miracle, all Mary said was to, “Do as he asked.” She had complete and utter faith in what she was being asked to do and who Jesus was. Sometimes we say no or question more than we should, when in fact, just like Mary, we need to say, “Yes.” There have been a number of significant events in the past couple of weeks; significant to the Catholic faith, but central to them all has been Mary. She came to us via the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and when we have mourned Pope Francis, she was at the heart of his funeral and where he chose to be laid to rest. During the month of May, I urge you to be more like Mary. On Monday, we were privileged to take the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes to the next school on her pilgrimage; St Cuthberts. Led by our leadership team, we completed the book that we were asked to do and head off to take part in a liturgy and welcome assembly. I am so proud of the children who were beautifully engaged with the pupils and staff of St Cuthberts. Fabulous ambassadors.
During this month we will be praying the Holy Rosary each and every day, with our Mini Vinnies leading prayer each lunchtime. We also need your help and your artwork. During last Summer, we decorated the corridor that leads down to the Year 6 classroom. In it, a large statue of Our Lady currently stands - we need some art work to join her. During the month of May, I would like some artwork to be created on the theme of Mary (A4 or A5) size, that we can then frame. There is some really beautiful artwork depicting Mary in different ways - I wonder what can be created using paint, colours or collage. Nothing 3D as it needs to be framed. Here is an example of some of the work that has already been made.
If you have ventured into our prayer area this week, you will have seen our area dedicated to Pope Francis. The children know that we are in a period of mourning for our Holy father, ready for the conclave to take place in the week ahead. On Monday, I had the most enormous pleasure of joining many members of our Christian family at St Peter’s cathedral in Lancaster to be part of a requiem mass led by Bishop Paul. It always sends shivers down my spine when all of the priests come together on the altar and sing. Then on Tuesday, we had a requiem mass for our deanery at St Josephs. I was happy to see some of our pupils there. I think Pope Francis will be very much looking down and smiling! You may also remember that Mr and Mrs Uttley travelled to Rome last Sunday and very kindly took our Book of Reflection and School Cardigan with them to lay where the most appropriate place was. Unbelievably, this turned out to be at the final resting place of Pope Francis; right next to his tomb. You all know me extremely well and how emotional I get at the best of times - well this is something else. We are part of history and the words and drawings that our children and families wrote are now there in Rome - in the most perfect place. This video shows the moment it was laid and the photos below in more detail. We are so thankful!
Forest School Blog
It's been a jam-packed week in Forest School! We've enjoyed the glorious weather but made sure we stayed cool under the shade of the Oak tree, lots of children have enjoyed listening to meditations in the hammock and playing in the mud kitchen - "Mudflurries all round" Some of our nursery children came over to Forest School and brought some of the tadpoles that they have been looking after. The rest will be joining us in a few weeks once they've grown their legs! (Tadpoles not children) Luce joined us for one of our sessions where we decorated stones in preparation for our new wildflower mini meadow.
We have some budding carpenters from Year 4 who have completed their mallets after a few weeks of commitment and hard work. The mallet is made out of one piece of wood which means there's lots of skill involved. This week we have been doing a lot of maintenance in Forest School ensuring we have our wood for years to come. Year 5 have been litter picking and removing turf to make way for the meadow. The children discovered a crisp packet from 2002! Worryingly even after 23 years in the ground it hasn't started to break down yet, this just highlights the importance of recycling and disposing of our rubbish responsibly. The children worked so hard doing lots of manual labour, there was not one complaint, it was hot and dirty work, so we finished the session with Juice and biscuits.
Going forward, all children who take part in Forest School must wear long trousers/leggings/skins and a long-sleeved t-shirt. These need to be old clothes that don't matter. Old trainers or walking shoes must be worn on their feet, wellies if it is wet.
We are also in need of some compost for the meadow so if any parents are planning to do some gardening over the bank holiday and buying some bags of compost, please consider donating any left over or any unused bags. All donations will be gratefully received and put to good use.
Finally, Fun Nature Fact Of The Week - Bees have smelly feet! Scientists have discovered the bumblebees have the ability to use their "smelly-footprints" to distinguish between their own scent and the scent of a relative or a stranger. This means they can improve their success in finding food and avoid flowers that have already been visited.
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. Final day for booking is Monday so we can calculate numbers.
With the increasing turnabout in good weather (let’s hope it stays) it is really important that the children come into school having had their suncream applied at home. We can top up during the day if the children are out for prolonged periods, but we are asking that you make sure it is applied before the children come into school. Thank you so much.
Don’t forget about Year 5’s fundraiser below that is coming up…
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.
We were due to have a family mass this Sunday, but due to Father Peter being away, and our Year 4 class making their first holy communion over the next two weekends, we decided that it would be a bit too much - you are of course still welcome and encouraged to attend mass. Our final family mass for this year will be Sunday 6th July where we will welcome our Holy Communicants back to mass to join with the parish.
Have a lovely bank holiday weekend and we will see you on Tuesday.
God bless
Mrs Gregan
