As someone who has been part of Catholic education and part of the faith since I was born, I understand the importance of sacramental journeys; and they are so special. On Tuesday evening, after weeks of preparation, a group of 38 young people made their confirmation alongside Bishop Paul. It was very special as one by one, each child accompanied by their sponsor made their way to the front to be presented. Bishop Paul spoke with passion during his homily and what he said has resonated with me throughout the week. Our children don’t always need someone to speak for them, or act on their behalf; they need people to be present in their lives and to simply stand by them. Thank you to all of our families for standing by our children, even when it is tricky, and for being a constant in their lives.
In addition to the receiving of the sacrament, another special moment occurred. Father Peter was part of the service for the first time since his diagnosis. Father Peter presented each of the candidates to Bishop Paul and spoke of his pride with the number of candidates there. Here is hoping that we start to see more and more of him in the coming weeks as he continues his recovery - we have sure missed him!
On Sunday 7th December, we will have our next family mass. This is the second Sunday of Advent so it will be special to spend time together. Following the mass, there is a Christmas Fair taking place at the Parish Centre, which we hope you will be able to attend. There is a section on the form for the fair as it would be lovely to have some of our children singing lovely Christmas carols there.
Christmas is coming…
We are hurtling at the speed of knots towards Christmas, and it is hard not to get caught up in the excitement it brings. Advent is my favourite time as we prepare and come together in lots of different ways. The nativities that we will see and the carol concerts that we will hear will, I am sure, enable us all to stop and reflect a little more.
This is also a period of fun and enjoyment and we are very good at that too. Next Thursday, the children are invited to come into school in their own clothes, but they must bring some chocolate with them that can be added to our raffle hampers. The following week it will be a bottle - any bottle (ketchup, bubble bath, alcohol) the choice is yours. All of these goodies will be collated for the hampers which can be won in the raffle. Thank you so much for the prizes we have received already; Stringers Voucher, Avanti Train Voucher, Beaverbrooks Necklace, Christmas tree and skirt, hair vouchers - please keep them coming in.
Pottery Night - last year we held our first pottery event in school and it is back again on Thursday 4th December. Please do come along after school ready to paint a decoration for your Christmas Tree. Decorations and paint will be provided, as well as refreshments. Please complete the booking form below with the people who are coming and support our fundraiser for school. Each person’s ticket will be £10 which includes the tree decoration and refreshments.
Finally, on the subject of Christmas…the magic of Father Christmas is something that we want to capture and hang onto for as long as we live. Being in a primary school, you cannot help but tobe immersed in this magic - it is the best part of what we do. However, we are increasingly hearing conversations amongst our children that this magic does not exist and rumours are being spread about his existence. Of course, we all know that this isn’t true and we want our children to know this magic and to believe. If conversations have been had at home, they need to stay at home and not come into school. Nobody wants this magic to be questioned. We absolutely need your support with this.
All about Learning
This week, I devoted a whole day to walking the school and talking to children. I had THE BEST day. We have worked so hard over the last few years on our curriculum, on what excellence looks like and how we need to have the highest expectations for all of our pupils and our behaviour and relationship consistency. I was so incredibly proud to see this in action, to see the growth in all of the staff and to see our children shining so very brightly. As part of my walking and talking, I spent some time talking to pupils from nursery through to Year 6 about their lived experience in school. I laughed so much and smiled from ear to ear; the stories they told me and the answers to my questions were golden. They love our school, they feel safe here and they know how hard we are all working to make sure that this happens - adults and children. There has been a really strong focus on staff CPD and coaching over the past number of years. We have created a programme of support for teachers that result in team teaching and coaching, as well as experiencing other year groups too and learning from colleagues in there. Miss Woodend is currently working alongside Miss Drummond in Reception, and Mrs Marshall now supporting in KS2. These will change throughout the year. It gives teachers the opportunity to see learning beyond their year groups and share knowledge. Children also get the opportunity to work with a wide range of adults which enhance relationships further.
Please don’t forget the Parent Coffee Morning on Wednesday 21st January where I will talk you through the work that we have put in place and where we are going next. The educational landscape changes so rapidly, it is about keeping that finger on that button and seeing how it evolves whilst making some really careful decisions for our community. I hope you can join me.
Leading Learners from across the school and STAR Virtues
Laudato Si - our Common Home mission
As part of our mission to become more sustainable and look after our common home, our Eco Councillors have come up with a plan to ensure we are doing what we need to. From litter picking, to parking around school and ensuring that engines are turned off, to better education on recycling - they really understand what we need to do. This week our boilers were fired up and in line with our sustainability plan, they were turned down a few degrees. We also welcomed Lancashire Recycling Team to talk to Year 4, 5 & 6 about how better to recycle and what can be recycled. We brought in our no wrapper rule for a reason - and that stands. Please ensure that children do not bring wrapped snacks into school. Thank you so much!
“Remember, no wrapped snacks to be brought into school. Please use reusable snack pots and recycle at home.”
We have also been looking at ways in which we can protect our Forest School environment and canopy area; making it more of a cosy and protected area. There are lots of grants out there and we have been lucky enough to secure £500 to support biodiversity from the Ernest Trust. We have also worked with Asda community champion who has helped us buy 57 evergreen trees with the money to plan along the edge of the field and around the canopy area. Over the next few weeks, we will get these in place with the help of our Year 5 children and eco-council. Thank you to Mrs Tierney for her continued work to develop our Forest School - she so passionate about it. She is has launched an Instagram Page for it that showcases the environment and what activities take place there. This will help us to become more visible in the community and also help us secure funding with the wonderful work we are doing. The children are not involved in any posts - just the beautiful place we have created. Search ourladysforestschool to see for yourself - you may see our wildlife camera too!
School Office News
Parent Pay accounts have been updated for you to settle.
We are in need of raffle prizes for our Christmas Raffle. Please send donations to the school office. Last year’s raffle was wonderful - let’s keep it up!
The text messaging system has been updated this week and as a result we have had issues with the syncing of contacts from one system to another. Please bear with us as we continue to solve this. Please share any text messages you get just incase people are not receiving them in your class. We are getting there and the company have assured us that this is being resolved.
We are in need of a catering assistant in school. LCC have advertised the job which can be found by clicking the button below.
Whole School Attendance
Sausage barms were a winner this week and went down really well! It will be bacon barms next month. Don’t forget to order next week’s snacks by by 8am on Monday.
Finally, we are incredibly proud of the achievements of our children beyond school and our PROUD CLOUD is testament to this. Each week we see the swimming, judo, sporting and musical achievements of our children. If your children has achieved something, please do share it with us. We have seen Barnaby excel in Judo - a multi medalist at competitions. Oscar has joined a club wanting to be a goalkeeper - we are so proud of him. A huge shout out to our Joseph in Year 6 who will be starring in Nativity at The Grand Theatre next week. After months and months of rehearsals, Joseph and his parents will take to the stage. We are always proud of our pupils and what they go on and achieve beyond school. Well done Joseph! You also may be aware that I am an England Netball Umpire, who is also able to officiate internationally. Not quite Commonwealth Games level but not too far off. After Christmas my weekends will be spent touring the country officiating the Super League. Towards the end of next week I will be heading to Glasgow to officiate for World Netball at an International Tournament, The Celtic Cup. Luce will be coming with me - as well as my coat as it will be cold - luckily for me the matches are inside. I am looking forward to telling the children all about it and showing them what I have been up to.
God bless and have a wonderful weekend
Mrs Gregan