Year 5/6 Girls Golf Competition- Tuesday 22nd September

You will remember that we selected the following children to take part in the golf competition that unfortuantly had to be rescheduled and will take place next Tuesday 22nd September (1-3pm). We will take the children down to the event. Parents are welcome to come and watch but views may be restricted due to the surroundings of the golf course. If the children could be collected from the event, that would be great. Please let Mrs Gregan know if this is not possible.

The children taking part are Emilia, Bea and Alice, Louisa, Lucia and Scarlett

Children will have lunch in school as normal and will need a water bottle, PE kit, sunhat and suncream.


Illness in class

There has been a bit of illness in class that has presented itself in Scarlet Fever in a child. This is a bacterial infection that is treated with anti-biotics and may have a rash and a sore throat. Whilst there is no NHS guidance for schools, the guidance states that anti-biotics will be prescribed and children can return when well and 24 hours after the first lots of medication.

NHS guidance

This is a common illness in schools and often goes quickly once treated. We will be vigilant in school and ensure we communicate anything we spot in your child quickly. Please do keep an eye on your children at home and let us know if they become unwell.

Castlerigg Day 2

Before bed last night, we shared the most beautiful night-time prayer together. We were led beautifully through a time of prayer and reflection by Sophia, one of the wonderful Castlerigg youth workers who has been with us throughout our stay. She encouraged the children to reflect on the words from Isaiah 43:1–3 and think about what this scripture means to them personally.

Read more

Weekly Homework 15.09.26

Homework Deadline 21.09.26

Thank you all so much for spending lots of time decorating the children’s homework books with them! They look absolutely fabulous and are so unique to each individual!

Handwriting and Spellings

In the homework books this week, you will find a spelling sheet stuck inside. The children have been put into groups for spellings, which has helped us to know which spellings they need the most support with. These spellings are just some of our Year 1/Year 2 and Year 3/Year 4 statutory spelling words that we must learn this year. Whilst this sheet is great for learning spellings, it is also a wonderful opportunity to remind your children about neat handwriting. We are really focusing on our handwriting in class at the moment.

Maths

At the very front of your child’s homework book, you will find three different logins. This week for homework, I would like the children to use their TT Rockstars login and practice their times tables as much as possible! TT Rockstars can be accessed online on the internet or through an app on your phone. Please encourage your children to practice timetables that they find tricky or are not yet familiar with. I will attach a direct link to the TT Rockstars website below.

TT Rockstars Website Link

Reading

Please find the time to read with your child as much as possible. The children have completed their reading quizzes at school this week and will now be coming home with a book that is suitable for their reading age. Please can I ask that reading books are brought into school each day.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to pop me an email:

e.brookes@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Miss Brookes

Reception homework to be handed in on Monday 21st September

Thank you all for having so much fun last week decorating your homework book. They all look fab!

This week I have a couple of tasks for you…

Ten:Ten learning:
This week we have been learning just how special and “unique” we are. Inside your homework book you will find the following sheet. Please work together to complete this lovely activity. We will be learning more about our families and important people next week. Your child could draw, make marks and scribe key words and/or sentences to you.

Families:

Next week this theme will run through our learning. Please email 1 photograph of you as a family. The children will make photo frames and these pictures will go on display in our home corner. Thank you.

Phonic Sounds: We have now learnt the first set of sounds. Your child has brought home this first set of sounds. Please make time to practise recognising these sounds.

Play the game “I spy”… “I spy with my little eye something beginning with” (hold the card up and your child to say the sound).

Reading: Please make time for 1 story each and every day. Bed time is a great way to incorporate this into your routine if it isn’t already. Snuggle up and share a book, this is great for building speaking and listening skills, vocabulary, turn taking and to build an enjoyment of stories.

Year 1 homework to be handed in on Monday 21nd September

READING

Please continue having the children read their RWInc (phonics) books at home daily. At some point this week, the children will pick a book from the library for their leisure; this can be read to them or with them, at your discretion.- The main priority is their phonics books!

MATHS

This week, the children have 2 maths sheets stuck in their homework book (or loose in their bag if they didn’t have their book with them). Picture below:

English:

In English, we are focusing on capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. The children should have a sheet of sentences stuck in their homework book to rewrite using the correct capital letters, finger spaces, and full stops. Please complete at least 4 of these! (Some children may have different work)

SPELLING:

Note- Please don’t worry if your child’s book does not have these exact documents, I have adapted some homework tasks to children’s specific targets in their learning!

Reminder: if your children haven’t decorated the exterior of their Homework book, please can this be done too!- There are so many gorgeous books! I have attached just one of them as an example

Year 5 Homework 15.09.26

Homework to be completed and brought in to school by Monday 21st September

Thank you all so much for spending lots of time decorating the children’s homework books with them! They look absolutely fabulous and are so unique to each individual!

Reading

Please have ago at the reading comprehension ‘the effects of energy drinks’. Read the non-chronolgical report careful and make sure you answer the questions in full sentences.

Anton Maths - Tenths

Log on and complete the tenths tasks online. Your log in details are stuck in your homework books.

Spellings

The children have a spelling sheet to complete which is based on this week’s spellings. We are looking at the spelling rules when changing nouns to pronouns.

Decorate your homework book

If you have not already please decorate your homework books.

Year 5 Autumn 1 optional homework

Castlerigg Day 1

We’ve arrived and we have had a wonderful first afternoon. The children have been busy taking part in lots of team being activities, enjoyed exploring the Castlerigg gardens and the facilities in the games room.

The theme for our next three days is ‘Let Your Light Shine’— something our children do so well. This afternoon, the children have taken part in some fun ice-breaker games, before being split into smaller teams and creating robots to change the world. As always all their ideas were amazing with an Our Lady theme of kindness thread through them all - we were very proud.

After a long journey and a busy afternoon of team building the children were more than ready for their chicken fajitas at dinner, followed by delicious cinnamon roll birthday cake to celebrate our lovely Anna’s birthday.

We are about to finish the day gathering in the Chapel followed by a bedtime story.

Enjoy these few photos of our first day.
Night night and God Bless from Castlerigg

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.

Induction evening information

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.

INDUCTION PRESENTATION 2026

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

KIDSAFE SESSION 2 PARENT LETTER

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!

Miss Edwards, Mrs Hunter, 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:

Induction Evening Presentation

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.

KIDSAFE Letter to Parents

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