"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.

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.

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

"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.

““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.

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.

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.

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%

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

“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.

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.

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.

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

"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.

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.

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.

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

"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.

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.

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

"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.

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

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.

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.

Enjoy the wonderful sunshine this weekend!

God bless

Mrs Gregan

"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.

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.

Enjoy the wonderful sunshine this weekend

God bless

Mrs Gregan

“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.

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

"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.

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

“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.

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.

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.

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

“He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

In assembly this week we have reflected on the beauty of life and the world that we were given. What is the most beautiful place that you have ever visited in the world? We have such a responsibility to care for the world that we have been given which is why we have incorporated it into our STAR charter. After Easter, I will be popping the form on the website for you to complete if your child has acheived the distinction award this year.

The school has started to prepare for the events of Holy Week. 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. Please do join us if you can:

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

During our final week of the term, we will be joined in school by statues that belong to the Pilgrims of Grace. This special initiative involves three statues of Our Lady of Lourdes, patroness of our diocese, visiting every school in the Diocese of Lancaster. The tour culminates in October with representatives from all our schools gathering at one of three diocesan sites: St. Mary’s, Cleator, St. Mary’s, Ladyewell, or Sacred Heart, Blackpool. During the week we will be coming together to worship alongside the statues before taking them to their next school; St John Vianney. The statute will be positioned in the Worship Area if any of you would like to come and pay your respects.

Our next family mass is on Sunday 6th April. If your child would like to play a part, please complete the form below. Finally, Monday is the closing date for any Jubilee Art Competition entries. These will then be sent off to the diocese next week.

On Tuesday night, our Year 4 children made their first Reconciliation. This is always such a beautiful service as the children, one by one, speak to the priest in total confidence. The children all came off the altar beaming and feeling totally cleansed. I am so proud of them and all of the catechists who have supported the children in this journey.

Shining Stars and Leading Learners

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

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

Office News

Thank you to everyone who has settled their Parent Pay debts. Please do check them regularly to ensure that you are up to date and any errors quickly identified. Don’t forget about Sports Days!

EYFS (Nursery & Reception) - Wednesday 11th June pm

KS1 (Year 1 & Year 2) - Tuesday 10th June pm

LKS2 (Year 3 & 4) - Monday 16th June pm

UKS2 (Year 5 & 6) - Wednesday 18th June pm

School photographs will be taking place next week on, Wednesday 2nd April. We are certainly hoping that the sun will be shining that day as they are due to take place outside in the garden. As well as the individual and sibling photographs, we are hoping to take some of the sports teams too so it is important that football and netball kits are brought into school as well as the children being in uniform. We will also be taking a photograph of our School Council. Nobody needs to arrive early for school. Everything will be done within the school day.

Raffle ticket money has been coming in thick and fast this week - they absolutely would like to win an egg at the raffle. Just send the money in with your child in an envelope and we will allocate the raffle tickets in school; popping them into the box.

Lunch menu for next week

We have only got two more weeks of the slimmed down menu before we transfer to three options after Easter. We will share that new menu with you next week so you can start to plan for the Summer Term. In September, Lancashire increased their lunch prices. We chose not to due to the work that was taking place on the new kitchen and the impact that it had on the dinners and kept the prices the same as they had been. With the new expanded menu, that will be the time that the prices increase to £2.90 inline with Lancashire schools. Mrs Nel will calculate the new costings and we will share them with you in due course.

Our Weekly School Attendance

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

Our Girls’ Football Team

Finally, each week in school I send out a staff bulletin which has all of the information on for the coming week. Part of this is staff shout outs - a little shout out for the amazing things that our staff do each week. This week I have three parent shout outs! Mrs Couch - who has very kindly taken our ducklings from Year 2 and rehomed them with her. They have had a lovely breakfast of lettuce and even a bath in the bath tub last night. Mr Davies - who very kindly helped one of our school visitors with a flat tyre last week. He inflated it for her to be able to drive off. Mrs Riddell - who responded to our shout out for sponsorship for our Forest School shed. She took our cause to her company and they responded with a £250 donation towards the cost. We are so grateful! This term, we introduced Forest School into our setting; which has been really successful. We would like to give the opportunity to our parents to take part in a Forest School session, alongside Miss Lavelle, understand what it is about and to see what the children experience. 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.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

“Look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith.”

With three weeks until we finish for Easter, our pilgrimage to the cross is becoming more real. But rather than focus on the sadness of the events, especially the crucifixion of Jesus, we are taking joy in the message that comes with it. This week it was all about growth. Somethings take a long time to grow, for them to develop, for them to bear fruit - do we just cut these things down, or do we give them the time; never giving up on them. The same is said for us as human beings, we all need time to grow and to develop, to be the person that we were intended to be. It is not up to us to cut this person off or to deny them, instead we embrace them, love them and allow them to just be.

In the final week of the term, we will be journeying to the cross together. Please do join us if you can:

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

Enriching Life in School

The one thing, above anything, that brings me the most joy in school is seeing the children experience things that they haven’t before; that they are making memories that will enrich their lives. Over the past few weeks, I have seen this fully in every single class. Last week it was the Tea Dance at Marine Hall, this week it is seeing our Year 4 children close the performance of The Tempest at The Grand in Blackpool. Being an RSC Associate school is something we are really proud of. Together with Year 5 as the perfect audience, we journeyed to support the children. What is so special is that the children join with lots of different children from lots of different schools - it really is a big collaboration. I cannot thank Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray enough for their work on this. Mrs Lyons has gone above and beyond to ensure that the children had the best time. In addition to this, we had the arrival of 5 duck eggs with their incubator into school on Tuesday; Year 2 were desperately hoping that they would hatch this week - and they were right. We have 5 duck chicks living in the Year 2 classroom, helping the children to understand life cycles. I know a paddling pool has been ordered ready for their maiden swim next week, before they head off to their forever home. Then today, we have been visited by Lytham Hall to make planters for the people who we love. It really has been the lovliest of weeks! The Book Fair has been really successful in school, as has the second hand book sale. We have ordered some new outdoor bean bags for the playground so the money raised from that will go towards them. The final chance to visit the Book Fair is on Monday after school.

There is so much in the news about the cost of things going up and funding being frozen, we are certainly feeling it in school and will continue to feel this going forward more significantly than ever before. The biggest change we have noticed is the price of transport to enable our children to go out and about. But these experience and memories are so important for our children, every single one of them and I am determined that they will continue and we will enhance our school further. It is time to think creatively about how we can preserve this moving forward and come together as a school community even more. I have a few plans that I will share with you after half term. Enjoy the photos below of our wonderful week!

Shining Stars and Leading Learners

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

Office News

Thank you to everyone who has settled their Parent Pay debts. Please do check them regularly to ensure that you are up to date and any errors quickly identified. Don’t forget about Sports Days!

EYFS (Nursery & Reception) - Wednesday 11th June pm

KS1 (Year 1 & Year 2) - Tuesday 10th June pm

LKS2 (Year 3 & 4) - Monday 16th June pm

UKS2 (Year 5 & 6) - Wednesday 18th June pm

Our netball and football teams are in action again next Tuesday v Clifton at LSA. Girls football will be played on Thursday away at Clifton Primary School.

School photographs will be taking place on Wednesday 2nd April. We are certainly hoping that the sun will be shining that day as they are due to take place outside in the garden. If the weather is not as lovely as we want, we will rearrange. As well as the individual and sibling photographs, we are hoping to take some of the sports teams too. I will confirm everything in next week’s blog.

Thank you for your generosity with the Easter Egg donations today - we are officially ready for the raffle! Tickets will go on sale on Monday for £1 per strip, you can buy as many as you want. Simply send the money into school in an envelope and we will add your ticket to the prize draw. There will also be a name the bunny competition too at £1 a guess. We can’t wait to get the Easter feeling.

Our Weekly School Attendance

Well done to Year 4 & Year 6 this week with 98.7% who will earn extra break time next week.

As a family of Newcastle United fans (you may have heard) this came into fruition for us last weekend, and I shared the story of Dan Burn with children in assembly on Monday. A boy who was written off at the age of 11, let go from Newcastle United Academy, worked hard at school, in a local supermarket and then through the ranks of the lower league teams. His hard work and determination not to give up saw him return to his boyhood club and win a cup in the same week he was called up to the England Squad at the age of 32! He grew in his own way, became the person he was meant to be and got where he was meant to be - it just took a little longer and he did it in his own time. Whilst we celebrate the cup, it is testament to the hard work and dedication of the working class people of Newcastle - a place very close to my heart! It was a tale about daring to dream -that no matter what comes your way, dreams are wonderful things that can come to life in the place where you are loved the most. This school is full of dreams and I am so proud of it.

It has been a fabulous week. I hope your weekends are just as wonderful.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

"I am but a pilgrim here on earth"

Let me introduce you to Luce, the official mascot for the Jubilee Year - The Year of Hope. Luce is the official mascot for this Jubilee year and we have her in school; she has been blessed in Rome. Luce is very distintive. Her yellow raincoat is the colour of the Vatican flag and waterproof as she journies through life’s storms. Her eyes raditate light; the light of Christ. She is wearing a set of rosary beads to demonstrate her faith and show the importance of prayer. Her boots are green, the colour of hope, and very muddy; life is certainly not perfect and she has been on quite the pilgrimage. Finally, she is carrying a walking stick to show that we all need hope along the way and that our journies in life may be long.

Luce will now form part of our school family. She will take part in school trips, attend prayer and liturgy around the school, visit our parish family and church liturgies and be taken home by our pupils who are going on journies of their own. Please do come and ask if you would like Luce to go home with you.

Learner and Virtue award winners

Office News

Thank you to everyone who has settled their Parent Pay debts. Please do check them regularly to ensure that you are up to date and any errors quickly identified. We are in the process of updating the school calendar to include Summer term events. I know Sports Days are at the centre of these for you so here are those dates:

EYFS (Nursery & Reception) - Wednesday 11th June pm

KS1 (Year 1 & Year 2) - Tuesday 10th June pm

LKS2 (Year 3 & 4) - Monday 16th June pm

UKS2 (Year 5 & 6) - Wednesday 18th June pm

Our netball and football teams are back in action next Tuesday v Lytham C of E at LSA. Girls football will be played on Thursday at our school.

Our Weekly School Attendance

Well done to Year 4 & Year 2 this week with 99% who will earn extra break time next week.

Upcoming School Events

Next week the Book Fair will be landing in school. On the evening of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the book fair will be set up in the school hall. There will also be a 2nd hand book stall. If you have any books that you would like to donate to the sale, please do bring them in early next week. Use the weekend to have a sort out.

Next Friday, Friday 21st March - own clothes day and bring an Easter Egg for the Easter Raffle. Also on this day, Greg Anderson from Lytham Hall will be joining us in school to help the children make a ‘People we love’ planter. These are optional to be made and will cost £6 to cover the cost of the experience. Mrs Nel has popped it on Parent Pay and if you would like your child to be part of it, we will take payment as confirmation. The deadline for payment is Tuesday 18th March. So many have already paid - thank you! Greg will talk the children through the different plants used and each child will make it for someone they love.

It has been a fabulous week. I hope your weekends are just as wonderful.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

"Lent is the perfect time to deny ourselves in order to enrich others' lives" - Pope Francis

““The ashes on our foreheads remind us that we belong to God, and nothing in this world can separate us from His love”. ”
— Quote Source

When Father Peter spoke to the children at mass on Wednesday, he used the image of our school badge to explain the significance of Ash Wednesday. Whilst lots of schools have adopted a blue uniform, non of them have a badge like ours. Our badge represents our school and the pride that we have in it. Our ashes cross on Wednesday represents our faith and our commitment to it. Only a small number of children wear our school badge, where millions of people worldwide have worn the cross this week - we belong to something much bigger. A school tradition in Lent is the making and swapping of Lenten boxes. There have been so many thoughtful ones made this week and swapped. Now it is over to you. The children have been tasked with completing acts of kindness and help at home in order to raise money for CAFOD. Keep collecting small bits of change and let’s see just how much we can raise.

On Tuesday, our Year 4 children started their preparation for their Holy Communion and Reconciliation. This year we have 41 children completing the programme as we welcome 11 children from other schools who belong to our parish. This really is communion in action. Not only did the children start their prep, but so too did the parents. There are two parents sessions where they are tasked with discussing how they can support their child and to identify what they may find challenging. We discussed our own experiences of sacraments, and focused on Reconciliation. Thank you to all of the parents who attended and took time to contribute to the session. Father Peter also mentioned how he would like to bring the sacrament of Confirmation earlier in a young person’s life and instead of high school, for them to make it whilst they are still at Our Ladys; in Year 6. The proposal would see the current Year 5 complete 4 sacramental confirmation classes in the Autumn term. Please can you complete this form if you would want your child to make their confirmation.

"A book is a gift you can open again and again" 

World Book Day is certainly a favourite day in school; so much fun is had by all! We have really worked on our reading culture in school and to enable every child to love books. Over the past month, we have redesigned our library and made it open to all and like a mini-book shop. I hope you will agree that it looks magical and will continue to be loved by every child in school. As part of our celebrations this week, our Year 4 children took story time in there; reading books for Reception. It really was magical!

We had the perfect end to World Book Day. As I was catching up on my work from the day, there was a knock on my office window - it was Dan Worsley our local author who visited us in school last year. He had heard about our new library transformation, and after visiting a local primary school for the day, he decided to stop by and take a look. We quickly gathered some of our All Stars and Choir and asked if he would formally open the library. After grabbing some ribbon, attaching it to the tree; Dan cut it and told the children to keep reading and finding new adventures. What a fitting end of the day!

“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs.”

Last week I shared with you how play and lunch time had changed in school - it has been another really successful week. On Monday we launched the new playground equipment that we have raised money for through school events. New scooters, playtime equipment and chalk boards have been added to the den area for play. The sun has definitely helped this week but SO MUCH FUN has been had! Our older children have continued to support the younger children at lunchtime in the hall and play with them outside. It really is a community feel and has started the season of service; Lent, so well.

Lunch menu for next week in school

Learner and Virtue award winners

Academisation Update

You will all be aware that before Christmas we went out to consultation for the Bishop’s vision of Our Ladys to academise and join BEBCMAT. Both staff and parents were consulted on what we had been asked to do and both were given the opportunity to ask any questions that they had. Following the consultation process, reports were produced and submitted to the governing body for consideration, before making a formal decision about the journey forward. After considering all questions, the governing body decided to submit an application to join the BEBCMAT to the DFE, which this week has been granted and an academy order has been issued.

There is still a long way to go on this journey and the timeline for full academy status in line with Bishop Paul’s visit is still unknown. It does mean that we can start working with BEBCMAT to complete key paperwork and ensure that when the time does come, we will all be fully informed completely ready. I will continue to communicate with you throughout the process via the button on the main page of the website and please do ask any questions that you have. My door is always open and I am more than happy to discuss anything at any point.

Upcoming School Events

On Friday 21st March - own clothes day and bring an Easter Egg for the Easter Raffle. Also on this day, Greg Anderson from Lytham Hall will be joining us in school to help the children make a ‘People we love’ planter. These are optional to be made and will cost £6 to cover the cost of the experience. Mrs Nel has popped it on Parent Pay and if you would like your child to be part of it, we will take payment as confirmation. So many have already paid - thank you! Greg will talk the children through the different plants used and each child will make it for someone they love.

Thank you so much for the Food Bank donations for February, they have been blown away with our school’s contributions. A staggering 34.53kg of food was donated in February. In March, we are collecting biscuits. Many of you will have given up biscuits for Lent, why not buy a pack for our food bank - this can be your almsgiving.

It has been a fabulous week. I hope your weekends are just as wonderful.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul".

With the new half term, sunshine has arrived and renewed hope for the remainder of the year ahead. Our new virtues for this half term is to be grateful and generous. Through myhappyMind, we are really challenging ourselves to have an attitude to gratitude; to really appreciate what we have and to say thank you - more times than we may want to complain about something, which is often really hard. We are also looking at how we can be generous, especially with our time. This week I have seen so many children be generous with their time in supporting our younger children (more about that later).

As we continue to journey through the Year of Hope for the jubilee, I have challenged each class to create their door of hope; a door in which when we pass through, we will see God on the other side in the faces and action of our community. They are absolutely beautiful, I am sure you will agree.

Next week, the journey to the cross will begin as we start Lent together. On Wednesday, we will be walking down to church for Ash Wednesday. It is one of the most important dates in the Catholic calendar; we would love for you to join us if you can. Don’t forget to make your lenten boxes and bring them into school next week.

“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs.”

I am really hoping that the children have come home from school this week telling you all about the changes that we have made to playtime at school this week. With the opening of the new kitchen, it gave us the opportunity to really think about how this would be integrated into school life. After the pandemic, we kept three break and lunchtimes operating, which took a large part of the day and meant the playground and hall was out of action for some time. It also meant that the children were sat in the hall eating their dinner longer than they needed to be; often for 10 minutes after they had finished. Play is so important and it is here that they learn a lot about problem-solving, creativity and negotiation. We have therefore increased playtimes to 20 minutes instead of 15, and made lunch into 50 minutes but giving the children flexibility to head outside to play as soon as they have finished their dinner, they no longer have to wait. Different classes are also sat together in the hall giving our older children real leadership experience. The children have been utterly amazing this week with it and lunch service has gone from 1 hour 20 minutes to 40 minutes; thus maximising play!

After a week of settling into our new kitchen, the team are ready to tweak the menu next week (still within the current electrical limitations that we have). Therefore there will be more hot elements; pasta is back!

Learner and Virtue award winners

Office News

Thank you to everyone who has settled their payments on Parent Pay for last half term. Please can you all make sure you regularly visit Parent Pay to keep on top of things that appear and then any errors can be sorted quickly. Mrs Nel and Mrs Howe work so hard in the office to ensure everything is as it should be; but if you have any questions at all, please just give them a ring. Dinner money for this half term is 34 x £2.50 = £85.00.

Upcoming School Events

Please do not forget the events that are coming up over the next half term. Next Thursday is World Book Day; one of our favourite days of the year. There are lots of ideas of what the children can come dressed as; not always in costume. Please just have fun and come in what the children are comfortable in. We will also be doing a book swap on that day. Each child needs to bring a book in from home that they would like to swap with a friend in their class. Sustainability is key!

On Friday 21st March - own clothes day and bring an Easter Egg for the Easter Raffle. Also on this day, Greg Anderson from Lytham Hall will be joining us in school to help the children make a ‘People we love’ planter. These are optional to be made and will cost £6 to cover the cost of the experience. Mrs Nel will pop it on Parent Pay and if you would like your child to be part of it, we will take payment as confirmation. Greg will talk the children through the different plants used and each child will make it for someone they love.

Finally…You may remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that we will be taking delivery of 180 saplings and hedge row to extend our Forest School area and to protect the canopy too. They have been dispatched and we are expecting delivery imminently. We would love for members of our community to join us to help us - if you can please do. Next Friday afternoon, there will be a planting session where the saplings will be placed. We need support for this and your help. If you can live out our virtue of generosity - being generous with your time - then please fill in the form below so we know how many to expect. Don’t forget 2ltr bottles too!

Thank you so much for the Food Bank donations for February, they have been blown away with our school’s contributions. The food is being collected on Tuesday ready for us to start collecting for March. In March, it is biscuits. Please can you buy an extra packet of biscuits with your weekly shop and send it in throughout the month of March.

I am beyond grateful for the generosity that is shown to our school by our community. There is an awful lot going on to create memories for the children. School life is buzzing. Please do keep an eye on the school calendar and weekly blogs to ensure you are all up to date.

God bless

Mrs Gregan