What an emotional week! To have the opportunity to share such a special two nights with our Year 5 and Year 6 parents as we travelled to Cherry Tree Lane felt like such a gift. For the last two years we have been unable to do this and it has been such a loss. Never again will we take it for granted that the play just happens. It seemed so apt this year to choose Mary Poppins; this beautiful story which seems more relevant today than ever, made us all stop for a moment and think about the choices we each make. It is a story which Bert loved relating as it has a real moral, containing important lessons for us all, and didn’t Bert do it well!
We have performed plays for the last 17 years and every year I think that nothing can surprise me and again, as with every time, the children perform, I am completely astonished and overwhelmed! The talent and gifts of every single child shone so brightly as they performed; the comic timing and characterisations were truly a joy to behold and had the audience laughing and crying! With each performance the children held their audiences for 120 minutes, which passed by with such speed. In such intense heat in our non air-conditioned hall, this was a feat in itself!
Children, I am so proud of each and every one of you; you were all truly amazing! I do expect to see a number of you finding your way to a stage somewhere in the future; dream big!
Oh, my goodness how time flies! I can't believe we're heading next week into our final three days; where has the year gone? As always at this time, it's lovely reading every child's end of year report to see just how much progress each one has made. I have been so impressed this year with so many of our children who have worked hard, enthusiastically embraced each learning opportunity, and taken themselves on a journey of self-discovery. There is so much to celebrate in every year group and I'm sure, like us, you are very proud of your children.
Despite the challenges of the last two years, our Year 6 children as a whole group have exceeded the school targets set for them, with the majority of children achieving the expected standard for the year group and some working at greater depth within that standard. We are incredibly proud of them all. Watching them continue to support the school as they complete their summer work experience around classrooms, demonstrates just how far they've travelled. They have all given their best and as we always tell them; their best is always good enough! We will be celebrating their time at school next Tuesday at 9:30am at Our Lady's Church. This year we have many parents whose youngest child is going up to High School and so we will be saying goodbye to families also which makes us very emotional as they have been part of our community for so long. Once a part of Our Lady's though, always a part!
Something we already knew…
You only have to walk into our Nursery to know it is a place where children can feel secure and confident to be themselves. Once inside, the magic begins as learning envelops you from every corner and suddenly you are pulled into a story or asked to negotiate an obstacle course or taken off to a settee to sit down to be offered an imaginary cup of tea! It was no surprise when Ofsted turned up three weeks ago that the inspector found herself being lost in the learning too. We are always so proud of the inspirational practice in Nursery but it is always welcome to hear a visitor talk about the setting with such warmth and hear that they’ve recognised what a truly special place it is. Why not see for yourself and read the report here
Office News
We would like to make our final piece one in which first and foremost, we thank you for all your kindness, lovely interactions, cheering words etc because they do make a difference and it is always a pleasure to have contact with our lovely families. We appreciate your forbearance and understanding especially at hectic times.
We’re only going to flag up dinner money by saying that our debtors are now in single figures and we ask for all accounts to be cleared by the end of term please. Our Finance Officer has rapped our knuckles yet again and said we have to suspend dinners the first week an account goes into debit. Next term’s dinners will cost £2.40 per meal or £12 per week, sadly we’ve had to raise the cost in line with LCC charges. We’ll put some a form on over the holiday for you to choose meal patterns if you are going to book hot dinners for next term.
We are very much looking forward to seeing you on Monday at our celebratory Mass for Miss Hornby. Mass starts at 6:30pm at Our Lady Star of the Sea and will be followed by tea and a cuppa and cake at the Parish Centre. We are immensely grateful to families from Yrs 3, 4, 5 and 6 who are baking for us, you are simply wonderful and we can’t thank you enough at such a busy time. Please can we ask that all cake donations are taken to the Parish Centre on Monday from 3:20pm up until just before Mass. If anyone has any problem please ring us in the office on 01253 726 015. Many thanks
Attendance
This year our attendances have been lower than our annual norm which is 97+% and the average class attendance for the year is 95.3%. We know that the drop is due to a variety of factors, all covid related whether it be illness, or more than usual holiday absences where parents have taken leave due to previously cancelled holidays. We have understood and tried to be as fair as possible, regarding potential penalties etc. Next year we think that the Government will be looking hard at attendance. We appreciate the great efforts you have all made to bring children into school; it’s not been easy in the aftermath of a pandemic which has still had the capacity to cause us many issues in recent times due to staff illness. This year and by the narrow margin of 0.2%, Years 1 and 3 have the best attendance at 95.9% with Year 6 in 3rd place with 95.7%. Well done everyone.
The joy of a concert
What a lovely afternoon we spent with our Year 4 children and their families this week! The children performed a repertoire of singing, body percussion and recorder music, under the skillful conducting of Mrs Maddocks, our music teacher. It was such a joy and demonstrated just how much progress the children have made over the year. There was real skill and talent on show. I know that the families loved every minute. Well done children, what a wonderful concert. Next year this group will be transferring to the clarinet, such a beautiful instrument. We can’t wait to hear them this time next year!
Finally
On Thursday we gathered for a whole school assembly, it really has been so long since we have all been in the hall together; such an emotional moment and so special hearing all the children singing together! We thought about how we had each grown and which of our school virtues we had truly embraced and demonstrated. The wining House this half term is Harcourt (blue) and they will enjoy their day of wearing their House colour own clothes on the final day (Wednesday 20th July).
We look forward to spending our final three days of the school year with you. At this time of year, everything whizzes by so fast but these final days are so important as we celebrate and sign off the year, and bid farewell to our leavers, the children and the adults. We know that, like the Magic Faraway Tree, everything will have moved on in September, new Reception children in, each class moved up into a new year group and our current Year 6’s taking their first steps at High School, not to mention new teachers enjoying their first days as part of our school team. It’s wonderful to contemplate all that has been achieved in the school year that we are completing and to excitedly look forward to the journey ahead. At the same time, I hope there will be chance next week, just to be in the moment, to absorb and celebrate and enjoy all the special things we have and are together as a community…
God bless,
Miss Hornby
