Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world,

October 16, 2026 Natalie Gregan

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

In this week’s assembly, we have spoken about God’s world and how we have an enormous responsibility to do His work here on earth. That there are people around the world who need our support more now than ever. Today we have all come into school in our own clothes, donating money to Mary’s Meals - a charity that is aiming to feed school children in Africa; ensuring that they all have a hot meal. Our community is so very generous. We have raised £630 today that will join with the money collected across our Trust schools to hopefully feed a school for a year. Thank you all so much!

Prayer and liturgy

Food Bank Collection for September and October - tinned soup. Please add soup to your shopping for Fylde Foodbank.

Fylde Foodbank rely on our community to help them provide essentials for those who need it in our community. All donations can be dropped off at the office and placed on our Foodbank shelves. The Mini-Vinnies will collate it and take it down.

Harvest - This year our harvest will be on Wednesday 21st October at 9:30am mass. We will all be collecting boxes of cereal as we aim to hold a cereal box domino challenge around the school. Cereal boxes need to be in school by Monday 19th October. Please do walk down to church with us if you are able to. The more the merrier for harvest!

OPAL Play Launch

We have been speaking about OPAL for some time now and next week we will have our first development meeting for the project. I am currently looking at sand pit builders and storage for our den making - it is so very exciting! This week, the staff and children have completed consultations on playtime; what is working well, what they would like to see etc. We have had everything from tree swings to a swimming pool (the later one is definitely a no!) a stage and swing set! 96% of our children state they love play times, so we need to make it as good as it can possibly be. Please can you now, as parents, complete a consultation. We would love your ideas to move this forward.

Parent Consultation

BBC 500 Words Competition

We want our children to get involved in this year’s 500 words competition. It does not mark spelling or grammar - but stories that really capture the imagination! The UK's biggest children's story-writing competition for 5-11 year-olds opens for entries from Tuesday 29 September and closes 9pm, Friday 6 November 2026. The competition celebrates children's creativity and imagination, encouraging children from across the UK to create an original story in 500 words or fewer.

There are two age categories: 5-7 and 8-11 year-olds.

Spelling, punctuation and grammar are not marked - as has always been the case for 500 Words, it's all about our writers' brilliant creativity!

The celebrity panel of judges include Malorie Blackman, Charlie Higson, Francesca Simon, Sir Lenny Henry, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Rose Ayling-Ellis.

Click on the button below to find out more information. Writing clubs will be held in school for children to come and get inspired or to bring their stories to share. Get writing!

BBC 500 Words Competition

If you enter, don’t forget to send us a copy of your story so we can celebrate it in school!

Shining brightly this week…

STAR Virtue Awards

Our STARS this week have been beacons in our classrooms and in the school - we thank them for their compassion and love this week.

This week we have introduced a new award in school, THE GOLDEN BRUSH. This is awarded to the tidiest class and the one who is the most sustainable in the week. For the class that really looks after God’s world, both in their classrooms, around school and outside on the playground. The recipients earn an extra 15 minute play time the following week. This week, for super tidying and for looking after their environment so well, it is awarded to YEAR 1. They are really maturing into life in Year 1 and now need a classroom to match it! Over half term, the walls will be decorated and new stations set up to promote that independent learning that they are capable of.

Parents’ Day and Book Looks

Next week is our final week before we finish for half term. As with tradition, book looks will be taking place in the school hall. Next Friday is Parents’ Day, if you have not made an appointment already, please do.

Monday 19th October @ 2:30pm - Year 3
Tuesday 20th October @ 9am - Year 6
Tuesday 20th October @2:30pm - Year 2
Wednesday 21st October @ 2:30pm - Year 5
Thursday 22nd October @9am - Year 1
Thursday 22nd October @ 2:30pm - Year 4

For our Reception children, stay and play sessions will be held after half term.

Friday 6th November - Maths Challenge Day

As a core subject, maths has a huge importance in our school - but it can be tricky and take some years to master skills. The priority for us is that the children enjoy maths, have fun with maths and learn gradually; building on key concepts as they move through the year. To help us, we have a range of tools that we use: Numberblocks, Numbots and Times Table Rock Stars. The children will meet these at different stages of their primary life.

To celebrate all things maths and to be challenged by it, on Friday 6th November, there will be a Maths Challenge Day and we are inviting the children to come dressed up for the day. The themes are as follows:

Nursery, Reception and Year 1 - Number Blocks
Year 2 - Numbots
Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 - Times Table Rockstars

The day will be full of mathematical fun, some child v teach challenges aswell as some inter school competition. We cannot wait to see what the children wear!

Office News

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 12th October

Lunch Menu

The Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website. Next week we are on Week 3 of the menu.

No earrings to be worn in school. Retainers can still be worn this half term whilst piercings are healing but must be removed for PE.
Dates are available on the calendar until Christmas.
No All Stars on Wednesday 21st October due to staff training. All children will need to be collected from classes on that day.
All Parent Pay debts need to be paid by Wednesday of next week - thank you.

Attendance Matters

Our school attendance this week is 96%. A slight dip for some stubborn illness. Thank you to everyone who is following our guidance and knowing when to keep you child off, but also when to get them into school.

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 3 with a winning % of 98.6%. Our whole school attendance was 96.3%

The final round of sporting fixtures for this half term was played on Tuesday v St Thomas and Clifton. This gave a chance for some of our Year 5 children to represent the school in the upper juniors. Yet again, all of the matches was played with humility, competitiveness and fun. Well done to everyone who played this week! We will now be taking a pause in netball and football for a little while. Next half term’s extra curricular clubs will be out next week.

A reminder that school closes to all pupils next Thursday at 3:25pm. Parent's’ Day is on Friday, just for parents to speak to their child’s class teacher.

School reopens for the Autumn 2 half term on Tuesday 3rd November at 8.45am.

Have a lovely weekend and we will see you on Monday.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

" When people love and recite the Rosary, they find it makes them better." St Anthony

October 9, 2026 Natalie Gregan

On Monday, I had the lovely job of taking our newly formed Year 6 Leadership team to mass at English Martyrs, alongside the BEBCMAT schools. This mass was all about the Care for Creation and what we are doing to mend our world; just like Pope Francis and Saint Francis wanted us to do. It was a lovely celebration filled with prayer, song and a few refreshments afterwards. The leadership team were wonderful ambassadors for our school - they did us all very proud.

On Wednesday, Father Peter joined us in school to share a liturgy on The Feast of the Rosary. As we are in October, the focus of our prayer for this half term is the Rosary, and starting to talk about the mysteries of Jesus’ life. Together with Father Peter, we prayed a decade of the rosary together - reflecting on the nativity. Something which we will be looking at in more detail after half term.

Next week’s liturgy is The Parable of the Wedding Feast; which seems appropriate for starting our discussions around Harvest and our Trust Charity Day. BEBCMAT have put a charity day into the calendar on Friday 16th October. On this day, every school in the Trust will come together to raise money for a charity and this year it is Mary's Meals. This charity aims to give children in Africa a hot meal in their school each day. To feed a school for a whole year, it costs £3600 - that is what we are hoping to raise in the trust. On Friday 16th October we will will hold an own clothes day for Mary’s Meals - we are not stipulating the size of the donation. Please give what you can for this cause.

Prayer and liturgy

Food Bank Collection for September and October - tinned soup. Please add soup to your shopping for Fylde Foodbank.

Our Lady Leadership Team - 2026-2027

When our school photographer was in a few weeks ago, he very kindly took some lovely photographs of our Year 6 leadership groups, along with the Student Council and Eco Councillors in each class. They will now be printed ready to go on display for the year.

BBC 500 Words Competition

There are two age categories: 5-7 and 8-11 year-olds.

Spelling, punctuation and grammar are not marked - as has always been the case for 500 Words, it's all about our writers' brilliant creativity!

The celebrity panel of judges include Malorie Blackman, Charlie Higson, Francesca Simon, Sir Lenny Henry, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Rose Ayling-Ellis.

Click on the button below to find out more information. Writing clubs will be held in school for children to come and get inspired or to bring their stories to share. Get writing!

BBC 500 Words Competition

Shining brightly this week…

STAR Virtue Awards

Our STARS this week have been beacons in our classrooms and in the school - we thank them for their compassion and love this week.

This week we have introduced a new award in school, THE GOLDEN BRUSH. This is awarded to the tidiest class and the one who is the most sustainable in the week. For the class that really looks after God’s world, both in their classrooms, around school and outside on the playground. The recipients earn an extra 15 minute play time the following week. This week, for super tidying and for looking after their environment so well, it is awarded to YEAR 4. They have really worked hard in recent weeks to improve their classroom - thank you!

Parents’ Day and Book Looks

Parents’ Day is Friday 23rd October and appointments will be able to be made from today. The option will be for face-to-face or via TEAMs whichever is suitable for you. In preparation for the day, there will be child and parent book looks the week before so your child can share everything that they have done so far this half term.

Monday 19th October @ 2:30pm - Year 3
Tuesday 20th October @ 9am - Year 6
Tuesday 20th October @2:30pm - Year 2
Wednesday 21st October @ 2:30pm - Year 5
Thursday 22nd October @9am - Year 1
Thursday 22nd October @ 2:30pm - Year 4

For our Reception children, stay and play sessions will be held after half term.

Friday 6th November - Maths Challenge Day

Nursery, Reception and Year 1 - Number Blocks
Year 2 - Numbots
Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 - Times Table Rockstars

The day will be full of mathematical fun, some child v teach challenges aswell as some inter school competition. We cannot wait to see what the children wear!

Office News

Snack Booking Form

Here is the snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. Sausage butties are on the menu for Thursday.

Snack order for week beginning 12th October

Lunch Menu

The Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website. Next week we are on Week 2 of the menu. Tuesday and Thursday options will swap days next week due to the sausage butties.

No earrings to be worn in school. Retainers can still be worn this half term whilst piercings are healing but must be removed for PE.
Dates are available on the calendar until Christmas.

Thank you to you ALL for the positive comments regarding parking this week. We all have a responsibility to do this and make it safe and there has been a marked improvement that I have seen or am able to see. There is still a lot of work to be done and I will be meeting with the Student Council on Tuesday to discuss it further. We will start by writing a letter to our neighbours and gathering ideas for our work with the police. I have attached the letter below for you incase you need to refer to it again. I appreciate everyone who is parking safely and who is helping us as a school in our quest to keep everyone safe.

Parking Letter

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 5 with a winning % of 98%. Our whole school attendance was 96%

The weather has certainly turned more Autumnal this week but that did not deter our Girls Football team, ably supported by Mr Nay, taking part in their inter school competition. The rain certainly did not dampen their spirits - they played extremely well. One of the teams needed some support so a big thank you to Lena and Louisa who stayed after our game had finished to support and play for the other team. This is our loving and compassionate virtues in action.

Have a lovely weekend

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"As I kneel before you, as I bow my head in prayer."

October 2, 2026 Natalie Gregan

The month of October is all about the holy rosary - and Our Lady. Last week’s family mass was a lovely way to start the month together as we celebrated the Feast of Our Lady Star of the Sea in church. Thank you to the children who read, sang, brought the offertory and served on the altar. It is always a special mass. Today in assembly, we spoke about a saint called Saint Therese of Lisieux. She was called Little Flower of Jesus, as she saw herself as a flower in God’s vast garden. Her core purpose was the "Little Way". This means seeking holiness not through massive, extraordinary deeds, but by performing small, everyday tasks and menial duties with great love, humility, and childlike trust in God.

"Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word — always doing the smallest things for love."

Today is also Family Fast Day for CAFOD, and during assembly I spoke about fasting with the children - the importance of food in our everyday life. BEBCMAT have put a charity day into the calendar on Friday 16th October. On this day, every school in the Trust will come together to raise money for a charity and this year it is Mary's Meals. This charity aims to give children in Africa a hot meal in their school each day. To feed a school for a whole year, it costs £3600 - that is what we are hoping to raise in the trust. On Friday 16th October we will will hold an own clothes day for Mary’s Meals - our donations will hopefully contribute towards feeding a school for a year.

Prayer and liturgy

Food Bank Collection for September and October - tinned soup. Please add soup to your shopping for Fylde Foodbank.

Our Student Council’s First Mission

This year, the Student Council are going to have different projects to work on throughout the year; this week we held our first meeting and first discussions. The windows in our chapel have been in place since it was first built. They were designed by the pupils at the time, who are now over 21 years of age - I think it is time for some new ones to be designed. We started the meeting by wandering over to the chapel to look at the windows that had been designed before separating into mini teams led by our Year 5 & 6 children. They all worked together, with the title of their window to plot their initial designs; each listening to one another’s ideas. Over the next few months, as well as running council meetings in their classrooms, they will refine their designs before transferring them onto the Perspex windows that we have ready.

Over the year the council will be tackling parking around school as well - ensuring that roads, corners and driveways are left as clear as possible for the safety of our community.

Shining brightly this week…

STAR Virtue Awards

Our STARS this week have been beacons in our classrooms and in the school - we thank them for their compassion and love this week.

Parents’ Day and Book Looks

Monday 19th October @ 2:30pm - Year 3
Tuesday 20th October @ 9am - Year 6
Tuesday 20th October @2:30pm - Year 2
Wednesday 21st October @ 2:30pm - Year 5
Thursday 22nd October @9am - Year 1
Thursday 22nd October @ 2:30pm - Year 4

For our Reception children, stay and play sessions will be held after half term.

Starting School in September 2027…

It is that time again when we look to welcome new families into school for September 2027. If you have a child who will be applying for starting school in September 2027, or you know someone who is, please share this information with them.

Office News

Snack Booking Form

Here is the snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. Sausage butties are on the menu for Thursday.

Snack order for week beginning 5th October

Lunch Menu

The Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website. Next week we are on Week 2 of the menu. Monday and Tuesday options will swap next week.

No earrings to be worn in school. Retainers can still be worn this half term whilst piercings are healing but must be removed for PE.
Please can we look at parking in school. There are numerous cars being parked on corners and across zig zag lines. Please ensure that you part safely.

Attendance Matters

Our school attendance this week is 97.6% - another week of attendance above 97% for this half term!

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 4 with a winning % of 99.3%. Our whole school attendance was 96.4%

Finally, our sports teams were back in action this week with both football and netball v St Thomas and Clifton. Both teams played incredibly well, but more importantly, played as a team. We are really proud of them. Next week it is our girls football team who will be taking to the field against St Thomas and Mayfield.

Have a lovely weekend

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

" The last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:15-16

September 25, 2026 Natalie Gregan

This week in school, we have looked at the service of others and what it means to not always be first - and that this is ok. In school, we can sometimes see the frustration in children who do want to be first in the line, or first to dinner, or first in PE; these children can feel hard done by when they aren’t. However, when a child does not rush to be first, they can help others, they see what needs to be done and can be much calmer on their entry into class. In this week’s Gospel, we are reminded that we need to be generous in our approach; to share and give freely (always thinking of others) without expecting anything back in return. That as well as being generous, we are too to be just; to always do what is right and to treat others with fairness and care - this can be hard to do. Today, an email pinged in my inbox from Year 2. They have been spending time looking at what it means to be a steward and have asked me for three things. Their suggestions are wonderful and they will be shared with the whole school next Friday in assembly. They have really thought about being generous and just!

This Sunday is our first family mass of the year - on the Feast of Our Lady Star of the Sea. Below is a list of the children who are reading and involved in other ways. If your child is not listed, they can still join in - we would love to see as many of you there as possible.

Family Mass - Sunday 27th September

Food Bank Collection for September and October - tinned soup. Please add soup to your shopping for Fylde Foodbank.

Harvest - This year our harvest will be on Wednesday 21st October at 9:30am mass. We will let you know next week what we will be collecting and the fun idea we have had.

STAR Virtue Awards

Our STARS this week have been beacons in our classrooms and in the school - we thank them for their compassion and love this week.

Parents’ Day and Book Looks

Parents’ Day is Friday 23rd October and appointments will be able to be made from next Friday. The option will be for face-to-face or via TEAMs whichever is suitable for you. In preparation for the day, there will be child and parent book looks the week before so your child can share everything that they have done so far this half term.

Monday 19th October @ 2:30pm - Year 3
Tuesday 20th October @ 9am - Year 6
Tuesday 20th October @2:30pm - Year 2
Wednesday 21st October @ 2:30pm - Year 5
Thursday 22nd October @9am - Year 1
Thursday 22nd October @ 2:30pm - Year 4

For our Reception children, stay and play sessions will be held after half term.

OPAL Play

Last year I spoke about OPAL play and the direction that we will be moving as a school. This is a project that will last for over two years in order to have a sustained impact on the school and to improve the play, indpendence, resilience and risk assessing of all of our children whilst outside - we are already having welly sheds built in anticipation of this. For this to happen, and for us to achieve our acreditation, we need a team of staff and parents to be involved. It is called an OPAL Working Group and is made up of: Headteacher, Curricular Lead for play/SLT, Play Coordinator, Governor, and Parent representatives. We are not confined to just one parent representative - so please get involved. You will be key to driving this forward and another opportunity to get involved in school life.

There are two meetings coming up: Monday 5th October 12pm - 3pm & Wednesday 21st October 12pm - 3pm. Don’t worry if you cannot make both of them, that is fine. If you would like to be involved, please complete this form below as an expression of interest. It is a really exciting iniative to be part of and I can then provide more information. Next week I will be emailing the working group to get everything in place.

OPAL Play Parent Rep

OPAL Play Info

Starting School in September 2027…

Office News

Snack Booking Form

Here is the snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. Sausage butties are on the menu for Thursday.

Snack order for week beginning 28th September

Lunch Menu

The Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website. Next week we are on Week 3 of the menu.

Extra-Curricular Timetable is now on the Sports Page of the website. Some of these start next week. Please visit to book a place.
No earrings to be worn in school. Retainers can still be worn this half term whilst piercings are healing but must be removed for PE.

Attendance Matters

Our school attendance this week is 97.6% - another week of attendance above 97% for this half term!

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 6 with a winning % of 100%. Our whole school attendance was 97.6%

Have a lovely weekend with your friends and family. We are starting to see more autumnal weather; please make sure that the children come to school in the right footwear and coats for the seasonal change.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

Join the team...Welfare Assistant

September 21, 2026 Natalie Gregan

Application Pack

My New Term Application Information

As we continue to develop our outside area, and get ready for OPAL play, we are looking for another member of our welfare team. This role is for 7.5 hours a week across our lunchtime within the school. The role will predominantly be based in the lunch time hall and support the children with safe eating and enjoying their lunch. Lunchtime is such an important part of the day and our children really enjoy it.

We have worked really hard on getting the hall to be a calm and enjoyable space to be; with classes sitting with their buddies from other year groups to make it really sociable. If you would like to apply, please see the pack above and click on the button to apply.

Don’t forget we still need some parent representatives for OPAL play in school - do get involved if you are able.

OPAL play parent representative

‘Peter came up and said to Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?”’ Matthew 18:21

September 18, 2026 Natalie Gregan

We often talk about recalibration in school; to stop, to reflect and to then move forward again. It is so important that we reflect so that we get better each and every day. We don’t always get things right, so we have to check in againt to ensure we are on the right path. But sometimes a recalibration is needed for a coming together and that is just what Year 6 have done this week at Castlerigg. The theme of the retreat was to let their light shine; to explore ways in which they could be the change we want to see in the world and to lead our school for the rest of the year. They were an absolute credit to the school in every workshop, in every act of prayer and in every interaction; in fact the Castlerigg team said that they had never heard a group sing Shine Jesus Shine as well as our children did. It was a pleasure to spend time with them. They now have a purpose to go forward and in the coming weeks, they will be taking on their jobs and organising clubs for our children - starting with Reception.

Next week in school, the litrugy is all about the last becoming first, which links beautifully to Our Lady. On Sunday 27th September, the feast day of Our Lady Star of the Sea will be celebrated; the perfect day for our first family mass of the year. The family masses run each half term and we would love to see as many of you there as possible - especially our Reception families who are joining us this year. As always, the children will be involved. Please fill in the form below if your child would like to be involved in reading, singing or offertory.

Family Mass - Sunday 27th September

Food Bank Collection for September and October - tinned soup. Please add soup to your shopping for Fylde Foodbank.

STAR Virtue Awards

There has been so many mini learning awards heading home this week. Learning is all about in the moment pops of magic! The children really wanted to keep the STARS in class as we celebrate their character. These are our STARS this week.

Our School Priorities…

Last week, I attended the Trust Central Office along with two of our governors for our Annual Conversation. This was the first time that I had taken part in this and presented to the Trust, so I was a little nervous - but I did not need to be. The conversation was all about our school, a celebration of our school, and the work that has taken place in each area; from Catholic life, to attainment, to inclusion & SEND, to curriculum and leadership - as well as many more. Before the Summer, I had submitted a lot of information and evidence at their request; after reviewing it and discussing it with me, they were incredibly happy with our work and we sit firmly in the exceptional catagory with few elements of strong standard in line with the new OFSTED Inspection Framework. This indicates that we will be supporting other schools in all areas and modelling our practise. Given that we are significantly above the expected standard by the Trust, I am beyond pleased and proud of this and it only validates what I know about our work, our vision and what we believe in school. I am working on a document that shows the progression of our school improvement plan and where we are going next which I will share with you in the coming weeks. We are absolutely not perfect and do not get it right all the time, but we constantly review our work for our children. This is exciting and shows that we know what it is to get it right for all of our children in our care.

School Photographs

Next Wednesday the individual and sibling school photographs will take place - hopefully outside. Please send your child in school uniform. If it is PE day, you can choose for their photo to be taken in their PE kit or school uniform - they can then change afterwards.

The class photographs will be taken in the Spring for Reception and Year 6; along with sports teams.

OPAL Play

There are two meetings coming up: Monday 5th October 12pm - 3pm & Wednesday 21st October 12pm - 3pm. Don’t worry if you cannot make both of them, that is fine. If you would like to be involved, please complete this form below as an expression of interest. It is a really exciting iniative to be part of and I can then provide more information.

OPAL Play Parent Rep

OPAL Play Info

Flu Vaccinations

Flu vaccinations will take place for the children in Nursery to Year 6 on Monday 28th September in school. We have been told that our nursery children are now eligible.

Please complete the online consent form. If you DO NOT wish your child to be vaccinated for whatever reason please complete the form stating NO and the reasons.

Flu Vaccination Online Consent Form

Information about the Flu Vaccine

A leaflet explaining the vaccination programme can be accessed by clicking the following link:

Starting School in September 2027…

Office News

Snack Booking Form

Here is the snack booking form for next week. Please book before 8am on Monday. Sausage butties are on the menu for Thursday.

Snack order for week beginning 21st September

Lunch Menu

The Lunch Menu is now live. You can see a copy here below and also on the lunch page of the website. Next week we are on Week 2 of the menu. The only change next week is that the burgers will be on Tuesday and Pulled Pork on Thursday due to having sausage butties on Thursday.

Extra-Curricular Timetable is now on the Sports Page of the website. Some of these start next week. Please visit to book a place.
No earrings to be worn in school. Retainers can still be worn this half term whilst piercings are healing but must be removed for PE.

Attendance Matters

Another brilliant week for attendance with 3 classes on 99% and 1 class on 100%. Our school average is getting better! 97.8% this week.

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 6 with a winning % of 100%. Our whole school attendance was 97.8%

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20

September 11, 2026 Natalie Gregan

It has been really lovely to have a whole week together in school and be back to routine. Our school always seems to come alive when it is full and on Monday, our Reception class completed our family and have just achieved their first week in school. I think there will be lots of tired children this week. We started the week with the story, The Smartest Giant in Town.

A story about a very tall Giant who has given all of his belongings away and look after others; to become the KINDEST Giant in town. We talked about acts of kindness and making our school sustainable through kindness - sheer kindness! This half term, our Jesuit virtues that we are adopting are to be Compassionate and Loving. See how loving and compassionate you are at home this weekend.

Today, in assembly, we awarded our Leadership Positions for 2026-2027. I will be adding them to the website next week so you can see which children will be stepping up and supporting our community. I am incredibly excited and so very proud!

On Monday, our Year 6 children are heading off to Castlerigg for two nights accompanied by Mrs Naylor, Mrs Barker, Mrs Gregan and Miss Lavelle - who has requested to come back! Please pray for the children as they spend two days recalibrating and thinking about their mission in the world and for our school this year.

Food Bank Collection for September and October - tinned soup. Please add soup to your shopping for Fylde Foodbank.

STAR Virtue Awards

Flu Vaccinations

Flu vaccinations will take place for the children in Reception to Year 6 on Monday 28th September in school. Please read the following information below that has been sent from the NHS team.

This vaccination is recommended to help protect your child against flu. Flu can be an unpleasant illness and can cause serious complications. Vaccinating your child will also help protect more vulnerable family and friends by preventing the spread of Flu. The vaccination is free and is a quick, simple, painless spray up the nose.

Please note the nasal flu vaccine contains products derived from pigs (porcine gelatine). To opt for the porcine gelatine free inactive flu injection, select NO to the nasal flu immunisation and you will be given further options to select the IM Flu vaccine (Injection). This vaccine will also be given to your child in the school setting via the nursing team, please inform the team if you would like to be present at school or you do not wish for your child to recieve the IM option in the school setting.

Please complete the online consent form. If you DO NOT wish your child to be vaccinated for whatever reason please complete the form stating NO and the reasons.

Flu Vaccination Online Consent Form

Please inform the School Vaccination Team (Not School) of the following on

If your child has steroid tablets prescribed two weeks prior to vaccination.
If in the few days prior to vaccination your child has been wheezy.
If after consenting you take your child to your GP surgery to receive their vaccination

It is your responsibility to contact the school vaccination team to ensure they do not receive the immunisation again. Our contact details are:

Blackpool, Wyre & Fylde: 01253 951984

A leaflet explaining the vaccination programme can be accessed by clicking the following link:

Information about the Flu Vaccine

Office News

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 14th September

Summer Menu

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

Extra-Curricular Timetable is now on the Sports Page of the website. Some of these start next week. Please visit to book a place.
No earrings to be worn in school. Retainers can still be worn this half term whilst piercings are healing but must be removed for PE.

Attendance Matters

Attendance is excellent this week - well done everyone! Let’s keep it up!

School attendance for this week.

Well done to Year 6 with a winning % of 99.4%. Our whole school attendance was 97.5%

Have a lovely weekend with your friends and family. See you all next week.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

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

September 4, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

— Matthew 16:24

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

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

Thank you…

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

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

Celebrating your child

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

Office News

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

Lunch Menu for this term

Snack order for week beginning 7th September

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

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

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

Have a lovely weekend with your family.

God bless.

Mrs Gregan

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

August 28, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

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

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

New Beginnings

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

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

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

Key Messages as you get ready to return:

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

New uniform guidance was issued at the end of last academic year to give you plenty of time to adjust. Please make sure that you are familiar with it and that you come back to school prepared. I am aware that there has been a delay with the supply of the final batch of PE tops so please do not worry if your child has not got one initially. I am told that they will be in the shop by 19th September. Also a reminder that no jewellery is to be worn in school (including earrings) - just an analogue watch please. Smart watches are not permitted.
Please make sure that you have read the class blog for your child over the coming days. All of the information will be on there for what they need and when PE days are etc. Every child from Year 2 - Year 6 have a chair pouch where they store their reading books and water bottles so they can be accessed during the day. Mrs Naylor has had her sewing machine in this summer ensuring that they are all hole free! For the water bottle to fit in these pouches they need to be no higher than around 22cm tall. We can then keep them in the chairs for the children and not outside the classroom.
Snacks: In line with our sustainable outlook and school focus, we will again be wrapper free this year for snacks. This is the same as what we requested last year, we will just be enforcing it this year. There are so many ways in which snacks can be brought into school; avoiding wrappers and recycling these properly at home. We do not have the correct school recycling and it costs us a lot of money for weight of the waste. Please get into good habits each morning and help us to become more sustainable. This is big focus on our School Improvement Plan this year. All KS1 children have access to fruit daily. Any wrapped snack will be popped back in the child’s bag and sent back home; not consumed in school. We will again have the opportunity to order snacks on a weekly basis. All orders need to be placed each week by 8am. At lunch time, packed lunches can be eaten and wrappers will be sent back home, not placed in the school bin. Please get into the habit again of avoiding wrappers at lunch time to continue us working towards being sustainable.

Snack order for week beginning 1st September

Smartphone free - Last year we became a smartphone free school and started the campaign for our children to be smartphone free. We changed how children could bring phones into school, with the information that from September 2027 we would be completely smartphone free and no child phones will be brought into school. We are working with other schools on this campaign and also about walking home from school too. Year 6 are the only year group who will be permitted to walk home from school from September, as per previous years. We will allow Year 5 in the Summer term as they prepare for Year 6.
Class certificates - after a lot of discussion at the parent coffee morning and also with the student council, we have decided to no longer award certificates at the end of the week for learning. Instead there will be a much more immediate celebration when the child has achieved something; rather than waiting until the end of the week or when they receive the certificate. Stars will be staying - the children love these - but will be awarded in class and celebrated in assembly. We still want parents to come to our Friday assembly and will plan what this will look like on our staff INSET days next week.

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

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

Mrs Gregan

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

July 17, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

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

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

Leavers Mass Words

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

STAR Charter Celebration

Blessed Edward Bamber Award

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

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

End of Year Celebration and Evalutation

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

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

PE tops will be compulsory from September. All children must wear the navy t-shirt for PE from September, not the white polo.
There will be no jewellery from September apart from an analogue watch. This applies to earrings as well. St Bedes have a no earring policy and as a cluster of schools that feed into St Bedes, we are applying the same policy here. If you are thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced over the summer holidays, it needs to be immediately so that they can be removed before they start school in September.

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

School Fundraising Squad

Joseph Prodution

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

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

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

St Annes Carnival Procession

July 8, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

We are meeting at number 24 on the map - just opposite Aldi on Clifton Drive North.
Please arrive between 10am and 10.15am - the parade will start at 10:30am.
All children in school uniform. Given the weather this can be summer uniform or PE kit.
Hats, water bottles and suncream are essential.
Parents, if you can walk with us - please do. We need as many adults as possible to ensure that we are safe.
We will end the parade back outside Aldi.

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

July 3, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

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

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

St Annes Carnival Day

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

STAR Charter

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

Links with their parish.
Learn about Catholic Social Teaching.
Raise money for a cause close to their class’s hearts.
Make something for our common home.

The distinction award is for anyone who has:

Attended at least 2 family masses.
Raised money for a cause outside of school.
Volunteered with an organisation or supported someone in their own time over a sustained period of time.
Made something for our common home.

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

STAR distinction award nomination

Looking forward to next year…

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

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

Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 6th July

Summer Menu

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

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

Balance payment

Office News

Rearranged dates for cancelled events this week

EYFS and KS1 Sports Day - Monday 6th July. EYFS @ 9.15am and KS1 @ 1.30pm - we will keep an eye on the weather over the weekend.
Year 3 & 4 Sports Day - Wednesday 15th July @ 1.30pm
Play tickets for Year 5 & 6 are now on sale. Next week, Mrs Nel will check which children’s parents have not been allocated any tickets. Once that is rectified, we will be able to see how many additional tickets can be sold.

Easy Fundraising For our lady star of the sea

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

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

PE tops will be compulsory from September. All children must wear the navy t-shirt for PE from September, not the white polo.
There will be no jewellery from September apart from an analogue watch. This applies to earrings as well. St Bedes have a no earring policy and as a cluster of schools that feed into St Bedes, we are applying the same policy here. If you are thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced over the summer holidays, it needs to be immediately so that they can be removed before they start school in September.

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

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

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

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

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

June 26, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

Both of these men:

Both loved and followed Jesus
Both helped start the Christian Church
Both were brave and shared God’s message
Both died for their faith

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

St Annes Carnival Day

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

Celebrating all things Education

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

STAR Charter

Links with their parish.
Learn about Catholic Social Teaching.
Raise money for a cause close to their class’s hearts.
Make something for our common home.

The distinction award is for anyone who has:

Attended at least 2 family masses.
Raised money for a cause outside of school.
Volunteered with an organisation or supported someone in their own time over a sustained period of time.
Made something for our common home.

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

STAR distinction award nomination

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

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

Ice-Cream Van came to visit…

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

Gym Jam Jog

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

Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 29th June

Summer Menu

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

Balance payment

Office News

Rearranged dates for cancelled events this week

EYFS and KS1 Sports Day - Monday 6th July. EYFS @ 9.15am and KS1 @ 1.30pm
Year 3 & 4 Sports Day - Wednesday 15th July @ 1.30pm
Play tickets for Year 5 & 6 will go on sale next week. There will be initially 4 tickets available per family across the 3 performances. There will then be a waiting list - so please do not worry!

Easy Fundraising For our lady star of the sea

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

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

PE tops will be compulsory from September. All children must wear the navy t-shirt for PE from September, not the white polo.
There will be no jewellery from September apart from an analogue watch. This applies to earrings as well. St Bedes have a no earring policy and as a cluster of schools that feed into St Bedes, we are applying the same policy here. If you are thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced over the summer holidays, it needs to be immediately so that they can be removed before they start school in September.

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

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

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

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"You are Precious in my Eyes."

June 19, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

St Annes Carnival Day

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

A varied week in school

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

Year 6 continued their jobs around the school.
Year 5 & 6 Sports Day was won by Harcourt.
Year 6 Forest School Ambassadors headed to St Peters to meet others there.
Year 4 had their Viking Day here at school
Our Year 6 Cricket Team competed in the Lytham St Annes Cricket Competition, finishing 5th overall and winners of the plate.

Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 22nd June

Summer Menu

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

Balance payment

Office News

Rearranged dates for cancelled events this week

EYFS and KS1 Sports Day - Monday 6th July. EYFS @ 9.15am and KS1 @ 1.30pm
I am looking at whether I can combine the Year 3 & 4 one with EYFS and KS1 - will let you know next week.
Gym Jam Jog - Wednesday 24th June @8am
We are currently looking at our pricing structure for nursery and wrap around care. Everything has gone up and we are ensuring that we can meet need. Booking will go out next week for All Stars for September onwards. I will send a text when it is available.

Easy Fundraising For our lady star of the sea

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

Uniform Guidance for September 2026

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

PE tops will be compulsory from September. All children must wear the navy t-shirt for PE from September, not the white polo.
There will be no jewellery from September apart from an analogue watch. This applies to earrings as well. St Bedes have a no earring policy and as a cluster of schools that feed into St Bedes, we are applying the same policy here. If you are thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced over the summer holidays, it needs to be immediately so that they can be removed before they start school in September.

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

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

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

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

Wednesday Word

"With great power comes great responsibility."

June 12, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

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

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

St Annes Carnival Day

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

Enrichment

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

Leading Learning into the next academic year…

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

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

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

Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

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

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 15th June

Summer Menu

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

Balance payment

Office News

Rearranged dates for cancelled events this week

EYFS and KS1 Sports Day - Monday 6th July. EYFS @ 9.15am and KS1 @ 1.30pm
Gym Jam Jog - Wednesday 24th June @8am

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

Easy Fundraising For our lady star of the sea

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

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

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

Wednesday Word

Sport Day Update...

June 9, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

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

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

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

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

May 22, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

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

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

Borwick Hall…

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

Our Lady HAS Got Talent

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

Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

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

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 8th June

Summer Menu

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

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

Balance payment

Office News

Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.
We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.
It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!
There has been lots of lost uniform lately, many items that have not been named. Please can you ensure all of your children’s items are labelled and check that your child does not have anyone elses.
PARKING - we have had complaints regarding the parking around school. Cars are parking on the corners and on yellow lines. Please can this be addressed as soon as possible please.

Easy Fundraising For our lady star of the sea

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

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

Joseph and his amazing technicolour dreamcoat

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

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

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

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

May 15, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

Prayer and liturgy

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

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

Sometimes you can forget that you are awesome….

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

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

Our Stars and Learners of the Week…

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

Our Lady’s Got Talent

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

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

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 18th May

Summer Menu

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

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

Balance payment

Office News

Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.
We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.
It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!
There has been lots of lost uniform lately, many items that have not been named. Please can you ensure all of your children’s items are labelled and check that your child does not have anyone elses.
PARKING - we have had complaints regarding the parking around school. Cars are parking on the corners and on yellow lines. Please can this be addressed as soon as possible please.

Easy Fundraising For our lady star of the sea

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

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

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

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

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

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

⚽ Highbury Stadium – Fleetwood Town F.C.

⚽ Bloomfield Road – Blackpool F.C.

⚽ Mill Farm – AFC Fylde

⚽ Deepdale – Preston North End F.C.

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

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

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

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

May 8, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

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

Parent Plea!

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

The Ascension Walking to church

Prayer and liturgy

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

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

Next week…

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

Year 6 are our LEARNERS of the WEEK

"Stories have a way of changing our lives."

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

Online Safety

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

Sign the Pact

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

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

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 11th May

Summer Menu

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

Office News

Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.
We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.
It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!
There has been lots of lost uniform lately, many items that have not been named. Please can you ensure all of your children’s items are labelled and check that your child does not have anyone elses.
PARKING - we have had complaints regarding the parking around school. Cars are parking on the corners and on yellow lines. Please can this be addressed as soon as possible please.

Easy Fundraising For our lady star of the sea

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

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

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

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Hail Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star."

May 1, 2026 Natalie Gregan

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

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

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

Prayer and liturgy

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

New Playtime Areas

All about OPAL

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

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

OPAL at Our Ladys - how can you be involved?

Looking ahead to next year…

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

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

Online Safety

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

This week I received an email from the Regional Coordinator:

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

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

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

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

Sign the Pact

Leading Learners and Star Virtues

David Attenborough turns 100!

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

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

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

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

Snack Booking Form

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

Snack order for week beginning 4th May

Summer Menu

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

Office News

Sports Days: EYFS 9.15am on Wednesday 10th June. Year 1 & 2 1.30pm on Wednesday 10th June. Year 3 & 4 9.15am on Wednesday 17th June. Year 5 & 6 1.30pm on Wednesday 17th June.
We have Our Lady merchandise! The Our Lady Tote bag is available for £5 to support the school PTFA. Order yours via Parent Pay and we will get one sent home with your child.
It has been lovely to see the new PE tops in action this week - they look incredibly smart!
There has been lots of lost uniform lately, many items that have not been named. Please can you ensure all of your children’s items are labelled and check that your child does not have anyone elses.
PARKING - we have had complaints regarding the parking around school. Cars are parking on the corners and on yellow lines. Please can this be addressed as soon as possible please.

Easy Fundraising For our lady star of the sea

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

Attendance Matters

School attendance for this week.

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

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

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word