Reception Weekly blog 11.9.26 - "Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." – Romans 15:7

Our first week! It has been truly special seeing all our Reception friends come together. Old friendships rekindled after the summer holidays and many new friendships made too. The children have all been so brave and wonderful. New beginnings can be a nervy time but together, you have shown that new beginnings are incredibly exciting too! To all our new children, you have been welcomed in and we are so happy to see you settled and ALL of the new friendships you have made! A huge well done to each and every one of our children, they have shown kindness, care and absolutely wonderful sharing skills!

In prayer and liturgy this week we have been learning to be still, to close our eyes and to wait to hear Jesus. We have held our hearts and closed our eyes, waiting for God to put a picture of someone special to us, being still we have said little prayers for these people. We have also spent time together, with the candle alight, as we welcomed Jesus to hear our prayers. On Wednesday we thought about to word, “forgiveness” and we know that God wants us to forgive people, and also for us to say sorry when we might have struggled to make the right decision.

Magic moments

I may say this often but their truly has been so many magic moments. This week we have had so many firsts, and with this SO much to remember. However, this week has also been about building such positive relationships and spending time with each and every child. It has been a joy for myself, Mrs Summersall, Miss Krol, Miss Canham and Miss Woodend to get see each child happy and for us to learn more about them. Alongside this on Wednesday evening we were able to speak to so many of you and again this was just fab! A huge thank you for your trust, openness and for sharing all of the wonderful things your child has shared with you this week about their new school!

I am so excited for the year ahead!

Star Award

Each week we will award a child our special STAR award.

This week ISLA has been awarded our STAR for being very kind towards others. Isla you have gone above and beyond to help other people around you. A huge well done!

Student Council and Eco Council

Today we had our very exciting leadership assembly and during this we learnt who will be Receptions Student Councillors and Eco Councillors. These children will attend special meetings throughout the year and will help Mrs Gregan!

A huge congratulations to Elsie and Zac who have been chosen to be our Student Councillors. and another huge well done to Arlo and Isla who have been chosen to be our Eco Councillors.

We know that you will all thoroughly enjoy these roles of responsibility!

Reminders

  1. PE days: Tuesday pm - Outside. Friday am - Inside. Shorts needed for Fridays (come either wearing or in your child’s bag). Children to come to school wearing their PE kit on both days. Depending on weather shorts or jogging bottoms may be worn for the day.

  2. Homework: Please return homework books on Monday, these will then stay in school overnight and be handed back to the children on Tuesday.

  3. Inhalers: Please make sure that it your child uses an inhaler that we have these in school. Please drop off via the office and an asthma form will need to be completed. Thank you!

Induction evening

For those of you who were unable to attend and for those that did but would like to look again at key information. Below you can click on the link to view the PWP we went through.

Coming up

Wednesday 23rd September - School photographs

Sunday 27th September - Family mass 9:30am

Monday 28th September - Flu Vaccinations


Have a wonderful weekend, it is very well deserved!

Miss Bassett, Miss Woodend, Mrs Summersall, Mrs Krol and Miss Canham

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 1 Weekly Blog 11.09.26

What a super week it has been in our first full week of Year 1! The children have settled in so well and are already settling into their new routines and expectations brilliantly!


RE

We began our RE curriculum this week with our first unit being ‘Creation & Covenant’. We started looking at the Creation story and really enjoyed bringing it to life using different objects and pictures as we retold what happened. It was lovely to see the children getting involved and remembering different parts of the story as we went along.



Maths

In Maths, we have been practising counting objects within 10. We have been working carefully to make sure that we count each object once and can say how many there are altogether in a group, making sure we can count from any number up to 10.


English

We have been continuing with our All About Me topic and have been working hard on our simple sentences. This week, we have been focusing on remembering our capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. The children have been practising these skills in their writing and are becoming much more confident about what a sentence needs.


Our wider learning

The children have also enjoyed their PE and Science sessions with Mrs Hunter, as well as getting creative in Art with Mrs Mather. It has been a busy week, and the children have enjoyed having the opportunity to explore lots of different areas of learning as well as learning through play in provision.


It was lovely to meet so many of you on Wednesday at induction evening and to finally put some names to faces. If you didn’t manage to make induction evening or you missed any key details from the night, here is a copy of the slides from the presentation.


GOING DEEPER IN CONVERSATION

In HRSE this week, we have been looking at bullying, saying “NO” and trusted adults. We talked about what bullying might look like, how we can say “NO” if something doesn’t feel right and, most importantly, who we can go to for help. The children shared some really thoughtful ideas about the trusted adults they have around them and why it is important to speak to someone if we are worried.

The key message - tell your trusted adult. Here is s letter about the lessons and what we did today

LET’S CELEBRATE

Loving and Compassionate Star

Our Star Virtue this week was Martha.

She has shown such compassion and love towards her classmates and teachers throughout the week. She is always willing to help others and has been a really positive role model in our classroom.

She is an absolute star, and we are very proud of her! ⭐


Notices

  • School photographs- School photos will take place on Wednesday 23rd September.

  • Flu vaccines- Flu vaccines will take place in school on Monday 28th September.

  • Homework- Please check the homework blog for your child’ weekly homework, including the deadline date.

  • Forest School- Those children attending forest school, a letter has gone home this week- it starts next week.

  • Email- a.edwards@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk


Have a wonderful weekend!

MissEdwards, Mrs Hennessy, Mrs Davis & Miss Canham

Year Three Weekly Blog 11.09.26

What a Wonderful Week…

I am so incredibly proud of all of the children for their first full week back in school! After only having two days in school last week, it has certainly been a busy and jam-packed week, but the children have settled beautifully and have taken everything in their stride. It has been wonderful to see them getting stuck into their new learning, embracing new routines and showing such enthusiasm and positivity throughout the week.

I would also like to say a really big heartfelt thank you to all of the parents and carers who were able to attend our welcome evening on Wednesday. I am incredibly grateful for the time you took to come along and I hope you found the evening informative and useful as we begin this exciting new chapter together. I would also like to apologise that I am not the most confident public speaker! However, I am very grateful to you all for your patience and kindness and I hope that I was able to give you all the information you needed and provide a helpful introduction to Year 3. If there are ever any questions you have, anything you feel I may have missed, or something you would like to share with me, please do not hesitate to get in touch. As I mentioned during the evening, you are very welcome to contact me via email at any time. If you would prefer a face-to-face conversation, simply pop an email over to me or catch me at the door at home time and we can arrange a convenient time to chat together.

e.brookes@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

If you were unable to join us for the welcome evening, please find all of the shared information below:


Magical Moments of Learning…

In RE, we have been developing our understanding of the Creation Story and exploring how the story is presented in the Bible. The children have sequenced the events of creation across the seven days, carefully recalling what was created on each day and discussing the significance of God's creation. We have also enjoyed exploring the beautiful, poetic language used in the Old Testament to describe creation. The children have been inspired by this to write their own thoughtful poems, to celebrate the wonder and beauty of God's creation. It has been lovely to see the children sharing their ideas and reflections, and beginning to appreciate how Scripture can use poetry and imagery to help us understand our faith.

Alongside this, we have been very busy exploring the wonderful world of Paddington Bear! The children have been watching clips from the Paddington film alongside reading Chapter One of A Bear Called Paddington. We have been busy comparing the film and the book, spotting similarities and differences and thinking carefully about how the story has been presented in each. The children have also been practicing their summarising skills, identifying the key events and important information from the chapter. The children have worked incredibly hard, and we have had quite a few giggles along the way as we’ve watched some of Paddington Bear’s funniest moments!

In Science, we have been learning all about rocks, with a particular focus on igneous rocks. The children have been finding out how igneous rocks are formed when molten rock cools and solidifies. We have been exploring the difference between magma and lava and looking at examples of igneous rocks. The children have been fantastic scientists this week, asking thoughtful questions and developing their understanding of the fascinating world beneath our feet!


Going Deeper in Conversation…

At the beginning of every year, we start with our Safeguarding lesssons for children. These help the children to know how to keep safe. This week (session 1) we have reflected on “yucky” feelings and what this means. This does not mean the feelings are negative, it means they are telling us something is wrong. Ask your child what the “yucky feelings” are and what they can do if they have them.

The key message from this is to tell your trusted adult. Here is a letter about the lessons and what we did today.


Let’s Celebrate

This week, our Virtue Star is Sophia!

Sophia has shown so much love and compassion since returning to school. We are extremely proud of how beautifully she has settled into Year 3 and most importantly, how kind and caring she is to those around her. Sophia, thank you for being so wonderful and for always having such a loving and kind heart. We are very proud of you!

A huge well done to all of the children who put themselves forward to be a School Councillor or Eco Councillor! It was wonderful to see so many children showing confidence, enthusiasm and a willingness to take on an important responsibility within our school. Everybody did so well and we are incredibly proud of each and every child who had the courage to put themselves forward. After an individual class vote, I am very proud to announce…

Our Year Three School Counsellors are: Theo and Cora!

Our Year Three Eco Counsellors are: Kian and Mia!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!


Key Messages and Reminders…

  • FOREST SCHOOL will be starting again next week. Letters have been sent home with the children who will be taking part, so please ensure that your child comes to school with the correct clothing and footwear for Forest School.

  • SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS will be taking place on Wednesday 23rd September for all children in school.

  • HOMEWORK will be sent out next week on Monday 14th September. Please have a little look at the Year 3 Homework Blog for some guidance and information about this next week.

  • WOODMATTERS SCHOOL TRIP is on Wednesday 30th September! This is now live on ParentPay and is £32.00 per child. Please note, the deadline for this is Friday 18th September.

Thank you once again for all of your continued support. We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Miss Brookes and Mrs Austin


This week...

Such a wonderful start to nursery! There may have been the odd tear but they really didn’t last long at all! The children quickly got stuck into exploring the learning landscapes both indoors and outdoors and have been having such fun. I have already noticed some lovely friendships forming.

Worship

As in all other years we start our day with Prayer and Liturgy. The children have embraced the tranquility and calm Jesus brings to us all. This week we have been discussing ‘Creation’. The children have been very interested in how God created our Wonderful World but were saddened to hear that we haven’t been looking after it very well. We read a story called Wonderful Earth which really made the children think. We have decided that as custodians of our planet we are going to pick up our litter and recycle if we can and to be thankful for all the wonders that God has given us…including all our friends and families.

Towards the end of the week we started to choose prayer leaders to lead our prayers at the end of worship; a very responsible job. We have started to learn how to make the sign of the cross and to pray to Our Lady saying the Hail Mary together. We even went all around school searching for images or statues of Our Lady and it will come a no surprise that there are many dotted around the school!

Family Mass

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 everyone to our new school family.

Learning Landscape

We have launched into our learning this year with some gusto! We have been:

  • sorting colours- namely blue, yellow and red

  • mixing blue, red and yellow to make a new colour. Great fun paint and shaving foam is always a winner and we managed to make purple and orange and a lot of mess!!

  • met Zero the Hero and learnt that zero is the number for nothing, none! We also found out that zero is one less than one and if we want to write it the rhyme tells us to go round in a loop like and empty hoop!

  • started our Read, Write Inc sounds, focusing on ‘a’ and the rhyme that helps us to write the sound, round the apple and down the leaf.

  • painting pictures of our faces to go on the All About Me display. I think we have some budding artists amongst us.

    Take a look at the photos, I think you will agree we have been extremely busy!

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. 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.

School Photographs

School photos are being taken on Wednesday 23d September. I am aware that some of our children are not in on that day but don’t worry I have spoken to Mrs. Gregan who will arrange a time slot for you to pop into school for a photo. I will let you know the time on the blog next week.

I think that’s all from me this week. I hope everyone has a restful weekend in readiness for another busy week at nursery next week.

God bless and stay safe

Barbara

Reception Homework to be handed in on Monday 14th September

Welcome to our homework page. Each Tuesday you will find the homework for you to complete and this then is to be returned on Monday.

This weeks homework: Decorating your book!

We would love for you to decorate your homework book with photographs or stickers - I am sure they will love using their creativity and sharing a little of their personality through this activity! It would be lovely to talk about school so far, sharing all of the new and exciting experiences they have had so far!

Please make sure name labels remain visible.

Thank you!

Miss Bassett

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 5 Homework 8.09.26

Homework to be completed and brought in to school by Monday 14th September

Reading

Everyone has now been to the library to choose a book and over the next couple of weeks will be doing their first star reading test of the year. Please make sure yhou are reading at least half an hour in an evening to help achieve your reading targets, improved your fluency and to bring your writing skills alive!

Times Tables

Please complete the tenths maths worksheet in your Maths books.

Please also make sure you are continuing to go on TTRS regualrly to keep being super speedy with your times tables- a large majority of the Year 5 Maths curriculum is based on solid times tables knowledge so keep practicing- even if you have already gone green!

Spellings

The children have a spelling sheet to complete which is based on this weeks spellings. The children should be familiar with how to complete this as we have practiced this in our spelling lesson.

Vocabulary check- Our tricky Year 5 spellings are the final 5 spellings on our test. Please practice these spellings in your homework book by completing the sheet.

  1. play

  2. see

  3. high

  4. all

  5. build

  6. earth

  7. circle

  8. buzzes

  9. bushes

  10. witches

  11. achieve

  12. category

  13. dictionary

  14. excellent

  15. nuisance

Decorate your homework book

Please bring your homework book back in on time every Monday. Your job is to write your name on your book and have fun decorating them - make them personal - pictures, stickers etc - have fun.

Year 6 Weekly Blog Friday 4th September

What a lovely couple of days we have had! There has been such a warm and friendly buzz of excitement, anticipation and enthusiasm in the Year 6 classroom. We could not be happier with how the children have returned to school for their final year at Our Lady’s. We have spent a lot of time over the past two days talking about classroom expectations and how we want and our vision for the year ahead.

Read more

Reception Weekly Blog 4.9.26 - "And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” — Meister Eckhart

Our first two days in school and what can we say, they are all such shining stars. They are caring and compassionate towards each other. Their turn taking and sharing skills are incredible too! This has shone both days and our classroom has been such a calm, happy place. Every child has fully explored each area of their new classroom, and have done so with care! Tidy up time is so speedy, our children may only be young but they already show a great understanding of how to look after God’s world.

Today we have also been outside of our Reception provision. We began by introducing ourselves to our schools wonderful chefs, Jackie and Sharon! They made us smile and laugh and are very friendly! We are very excited to eat our lunches together next week… especially after hearing all of the yummy meals they prepare! We then headed out in small groups onto the big playground so that we are nice and familiar with all the wonderful spaces we can explore next week! We have had lots of fun!

LET’S CELEBRATE

As agreed, through our school council, our learning awards will no longer be handed out in assembly on Friday. We now have mini certficates for learning which can be given when we spot amazing learning in class. Keep an eye out for these - many will be coming your way!

The Virtue Star remains and will be awarded next week. We are trying to be Loving and Compassionate.

Things to remember:

  • School opens at 8:45 with registers be completed at 8:55. The school gate will open just before home time. Please wait outside our classroom until we open up the doors at 3:30.

  • PE days: We have our outdoor PE every Tuesday afternoon, Please come to school wearing full PE kit. We have indoor PE on Friday’s, this is the day to make sure your child has shorts either with then in their bag, or under their joggers.

  • Snack: We will have snack each morning at 10:00. We have a fruit bowl in class and the option of ordering hot snacks via Mrs Gregan’s weekly blog (posted every Friday). You are also able to bring a healthy snack for your child if this is preferred. Hot snacks must be ordered before 8:00am Monday morning. Please remember that we are a plastic free school and so any snacks from home must be brought in reusable containers.

  • Water bottles: Thank you for bringing these each day, please continue to do so.

  • Parent Induction evening: This Wednesday you are welcome to join us for one of our induction meetings, 3:45 and 4:45pm. I will quickly go through things to remember, what to expect this year and be there to answer any of your questions.

  • Please don’t forget to fill in the Medical and Parental forms! Thank you!

Finally, we hope you have a wonderful weekend and we really look forward to welcoming you all as we become our whole Reception family on Monday!

Miss Bassett, Mrs Summersall, Mrs Krol, Miss Canham and Miss Woodend.


Year 5 Weekly Blog 04.09.26- ‘Every great journey starts with just a small step’

Life is a canvas. You are the paint. Make your mark

We started our first day with a liturgy as a whole school, where Mrs Gregan read us the story ‘The Dot’ by Peter H Reynolds, a beautifully simple story with a powerful message about courage, self-belief and the impact that each of us can have. Through Vashti's journey, children discover that every great achievement begins with a small step, and that having the confidence to try can inspire others to do the same. As a school, we are using the story's deeper meaning to encourage our children to think about the mark they leave on their class, our school and the wider world. We want them to understand that their words, actions and choices matter, and to reflect on the kind, responsible and positive individuals they aspire to be. By fostering thoughtful discussions and meaningful opportunities for children to contribute to their community, we hope to help them recognise the difference they can make every day. With this in mind all classes have been set a task and a colour to create their own dot for the front of the school, to create a beautiful whole class display at the front of the school, which year 5 completed today- we can’t wait to see what it looks like! What mark will they leave this year? I am excited to see.


What a wonderful start to the new school year it has been. Year 5 have a come back to school enthusaistic, ready to learn and are already showing real signs of their upper juinioir leadership. It has been a mixed bag of weather this week but that has not stopped the children exploring and having fun out on the playground. Our classroom is starting to come together with signs of learning coming to life- it would be great for parents to see this next Wednesday at our induction evening.

Let’s Celebrate

As agreed, through our school council, our learning awards will no longer be handed out in assembly on Friday.

We now have mini certficates to recognise children’s excellence in learning behaviours such as enthusiasm, determination and creativity.

These will be given when we spot children trying really hard to be the best version of themselves. Keep an eye out for these - many have already been awarded!

The Virtue Star remains and will be awarded next week. We are trying to be Loving and Compassionate


Would your child like to be considered for class councillor?

Have you ever been a Class Councillor? Would you like this opportunity at Our Lady’s? Now is your chance …

If any year 5 pupil would like to be considered in our class votes then they need to prepare a short speech, presentation or poster that outlines why their class should vote for them and why they would be the right person for this job- the voice of year! We are voting next Wednesday, so if they would like to put thmeselves fowards then they must make sure they prepare and bring in anything they need ready for Wednesday afternoon.


Notices

Please complete the following parental consent form for the year ahead. This gives your permission for various things, such as school trips, usage of technology and photographs to be put on the website- thank you I already have 25 complete.

In addition, if your child has a medical condition such as asthma or an allergy that we need to know then please complete the medical form below - thank you once again for those who have completed.

Induction Evening on Wednesday 9th September 3:45 and 4:45pm. This is a chance to know more about the routines in Year 5 such as reading, homework, curriculum and also the opportunity to ask questions.

PE on Thursday and Friday

Homework will be given out next Tuesday ready to hand in again the following Monday!

Book Collection- Please can everyone have a look at home for any library books that they may have taken home at the end of last year.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Harrison and Mrs Tierney