We have continued to look to the sacred heart this week and explored all of the ways in which we can open our heart to Jesus. We are guided by what we have learnt about how Jesus opened his heart to everyone; we must now do the same. One way we can do this is to share our talents with others, and my goodness has our talents been on show this week. From sports day (more about that later) to our Year 6 talent show winners who performed in assembly today. There are so many talented pupils in our school - let’s continue to shine brightly. Don’t forget to share your photos for the Proud Cloud and I definitely think we need an Our Lady’s Got Talent next year - anything goes! Next week I will be adding the nomination forms for the STAR Charter distinction award. If your child has gone above and beyond in their community this year, then they can be nominated. Have a think and see what comes up next Friday.
Sports Days and Jim Jam Jog
What a fantastic few weeks of sport we have had (ably helped by the weather!) Over the past two weeks, sports days have taken place across each key stage; and they have been just wonderful! From our smallest children right through to the oldest, there has been such competition - especially when on the track. I love sport - and everything it brings - but what I have most loved this sports day season, is seeing the competition between boys and girls being right up there. Gone are the times when girls raced girls and boys raced boys - we have fully enabled our children to be their very best - no matter who they compete against. The girls certainly shone brightly this time around. Thank you to everybody who came and supported our Sports Days and got invovled. You cheered your own child; but you also cheered every other child too! There are so many photos and these will be on each class page - there are a selection below with the winners of each individual sports day. The final placings were decided by collating all of the points from all 4 sports days together:
1st Place - HARCOURT (1115 Points)
2nd Place - BAMBER (1085 Points)
3rd Place - MARSDEN (1020 Points)
4th Place - PLESSINGTON (1010 Points)
Then yesterday we had our annual Jim Jam Jog - our pj event to raise money for our school funds. Every year, more and more parents and grandparents get involved - we love it! Thank you so much for the wonderful spirit shown and the generous donations. We are continuing to develop the grounds of our school and are now looking the the front of the school so the money will be well spent. So far we have raised just over £1700! This is amazing. If you are yet to bring in your sponsor money, please do next week and we can have a final total next Friday. Can we get over the £2000 mark?
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Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues
Enrichment continues to be at the heart of learning; giving the children new experiences and opportunities to grow alongside the curriculum in school. Yesterday we had our 5th enrichment of the year; from Year 6 taking photographs about memories of school life, to Reception having a musical time in the garden, to a spot of weaving by Year 1 with Mrs Naylor. On a hot day, after the Jim Jam Jog, it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Why not ask your child what they got up to!
Forest School learning has continued to be loved in school. Just a short one this week!!With what has been an extremely busy and fun we've still managed to get some time in Forest School.
The children have taken advantage of the huge Oak tree canopy and kept cool in the shade.
Our cherry trees are producing lots of fruit, so we've taken advantage of this and used them for snack and toppings for pancakes. Can you guess which children liked them and those that didn’t?
The pond is now teeming with wildlife it's so lovely to see the children being so inquisitive and eager to learn about new species.
As ever the den building area is being well used, the teamwork and communication between the groups is fantastic and is such a valuable life skill, its good to see these skills being transferred to other situations in school.
This week we've had a fresh delivery of wood chip, so next week's job is to get that spread over the forest floor to help with sustaining our area so we can keep enjoying the area.
And a big thank you to Mr Nay and Mr Murray who visited Miss Brisco’s back garden this week. She had a tree that came down in the recent storm. It has managed to be chopped up into seating for our wooded area.
Sustainability in School
One of our biggest responsibilities is to look after our world and to make it as sustainable as possible. From December 2025, we are required to have a climate change action plan in place to demonstrate how we, as a school community can contribute to looking after our world. We are busy looking at ways in which we can do that, alongside the wonderful thing that already take place. Uniform sales in school have always been popular, and welcomed; it is something that we want to continue to do. In the final week of school, on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th July, there will be pre loved uniform outside of school for you to access - therefore we need your pre loved uniform to sell. Please bring in anything that is no longer needed, does not fit or you have too much of, ready for the end of year uniform sale. I have also attached a collection of dates and offers that will be taking place in the coming weeks ready for September.
We have been speaking in school this week about us all being visitors in this environment. Noone will be here forever and it is up to us to ensure that we make it and leave it in the best shape possible. The development of the Forest School area and school environment is key to this. In order to keep our environment how it should be, we need help from our community too. We are on the look out for the following items:
Kindling for the forest school fire.
Stones for digging in the construction area in Reception.
Office News
At this time of year, the office is always really busy. Whether it is finalising trips, booking coaches, ordering stationary for next year; it is always such a busy place of the school. This week, Mrs Nel and Mrs Howe have been busy organising everything for our new Nursery and Reception starters who will be joining us in September. Before the end of the year, please can you ensure that all of your Parent Pay account is settled, ready to start a new in September. Thank you so much for this.
As we approach the end of the year, and start to look ahead to next year, the All Stars booking form is now open. This is for the next academic year, from September. Please have a think about what provision is needed and complete the booking form accordingly. All children who currently use the wrap around care will be prioritised so please do not worry - we just need to know sooner rather than later.
Whole School Attendance
I know that you are all eager to hear about the staff team for next year and to think about what the next year will look like for your child. Transition is a funny thing because on one hand, for some children they can talk about it all day long, but for others, the more we talk about it the more anxious we make our children. This always comes down to knowing the children, listening to the children and the development of deep relationships. In school, we have already started our transition in lots of subtle ways and we are excited about what next year will bring.
Nursery: Barbara, Emma, Justine, Steph & Frances
Reception: Miss Drummond, Mrs Summersall & Mrs Krol
Year 1: Miss Bassett (3 days) & Mrs Hartley (2 days) with Mrs Hennessy & Miss Forster
Year 2: Mrs Hotchkiss & Miss Slater
Year 3: Mrs Naylor, Mrs Carter and Mrs Davis
Year 4: Mrs Lyons & Miss Bray
Year 5: Mr Cornwell & Miss Johnson
Year 6: Mrs Harrison, Mrs Barker & Mrs Tierney
Both Miss Woodend and Mrs Marshall will be working across the school in their respective roles as SENCO and teacher. Mrs Marshall will be working in Year 6 on a Friday and other classes on the days that she is in. Mrs Mather will continue to lead art and DT. Mrs Ely will continue her role with langauge development across the school, focusing on our EYFS and Key Stage 1 children and their speech development. You will notice from our nursery staff that Michelle is not there. Michelle will be leaving us at the end of the year - her gorgeous garden time is awaiting her and time with her family. We will celebrate Michelle with our leavers at the end of the year. The children will have their move up morning on Thursday 3rd July where they will get chance to explore their new surroundings a little closer. They will also have enrichment with their new classes in the final few weeks as another opportunity to get to know their team.
Have a lovely weekend with your families. The weather has been very hot this week - here is hoping the sun still shines but it is more manageable.
God bless
Mrs Gregan