The start of a new school year is always filled with much excitement for us in school. We are excited about getting to know the children in our classes, excited about the learning opportunities that will come the children’s way, but most excited about seeing just how much the children grow this year and how they become even better versions of themselves. Last year, the main theme was light - how could we be a light to others and navigate, just like a lighthouse does. This year, we are taking time to focus on our school name and how we can shine like stars in the sky. If we truly are to live the life that God intended us to, then we must look at how we can do all of those small things well and shine like a star. This message will be the golden thread in everything that we do and who we are this year; recognising all of the stars that shine so very brightly. At the end of last term, I shared with you our new STAR CHARTER which all children will be working towards in their classes throughout the year. At the end of the year, we are hoping that every member of our school community will have achieved the charter award and be presented with their star badge. You will notice that there is an opportunity for distinction; this is for children who continue to shine like a star beyond the school via:
Raising money for a charity or cause close to their heart.
Volunteering and contributing to their community. This might be as a sports coach, singing in the parish choir, visiting a vulnerable family member for a sustained period of time - there are lots of ways this can happen.
Laudato-Si: Pope Francis has asked us to care for our common home. We would like the children to do something beyond the school that contributes to theirs. This might be a beach clean or litter clean of their street, making something for their community or getting involved in a community initiative.
Attending family mass: This year, we are introducing family masses on a Sunday where school and parish come together. The children will be reading, taking the offertory and our choir will be joining the church choir. We would love to see as many families there as possible. The two family masses for this term are on Sunday 6th October and Sunday 1st December.
Any applications for the STAR DISTINCTION award will be submitted in the Summer Term.
I am in the process of updating the school calendar on the website with key dates for this year. I want to try and get as much on at the start of the year to give you as much notice as possible for key events that are taking place. Please do keep an eye on it over the next week.
Over the summer we have had some decorating and flooring work take place in the Year 6 block and corridor leading to the hall. It is now looking bright and spacious down there, ready for a new group of children to take the helm. The additional classroom down there has been transformed into our new Wrap Around Care room, ready for the All Star Club to start on the first day back. There is now a new page for this in Engage on the website. Please do have a look. As with anything new, this will take us some time to establish it and to get it just how we want it. Please do be patient with us and let us iron out any teething problems that we may have. I was also hoping that the new kitchen extension would be well on its way, however, there has been a contractor delay and we are still waiting for the first brick to be laid. The kitchen will therefore be operating as normal when we reopen.
Just a few reminders for the new year:
I am sure you are all super organised with your uniform (unlike me who still needs to sort it out). Just a reminder of the uniform expectations that I communicated last year. Full school uniform is expected on all days, with a school badged jumper or cardigan. On PE days, the school PE kit can be worn which is a navy school hoodie or school tracksuit and white, blue or black trainers. Leggings or jogging bottoms can be worn but these must be navy - not black. Navy school shorts (not football shorts) to also be worn. Next Friday, 30th August, there will be a uniform table outside of the front of the school office full of donated uniform. Please do pop down and see if there is anything that you need.
Water bottles need to be in school and to be of the right size - nothing enormous. All of the children have chair pockets that fit their water bottles in so that they can be regularly accessed throughout the school day. Water bottles must fit in these and ideally no bigger than 20cm in height. The same with pencil cases for our older children too. Please make them manageable. Organisation is crucial in school and trying to keep 30 children organised can be a tough ask. All these little things really help.
We are tweaking our Prayer and Liturgy this year and introducing a Monday whole-school liturgy. Our Friday celebration liturgy will still be taking place with a focus on the gifts and talents of our children, that have been given them by God. We would love for you to celebrate this alongside your child. If your child is being awarded a butterfly for demonstrating our virtues or a certificate for learning, you will receive a text on the Thursday evening inviting you to the assembly the following day. There will be 2 places per child, so please do not invite the entire family, just 2 of you. It would also be lovely if you did not tell your child - let’s keep it as a surprise for them. Friday assemblies will start on 13th September at 2:30pm.
I do hope that you have had a lovely summer and had lots of aventures together. I can see that lots of you have used the time to get organised and de-clutter; thank you for the scooter donations and helmets that we have received. We are really looking to revamp breaktimes at school and set up our new wrap around care. Please do have a look to see if you have anything unwanted that we can use in school. We are still in need of the following:
Scooters and helmets for our playground scooter zone.
Lego and duplo to be used at breaktimes and after school.
Train tracks, train sets, cars, vehicles etc. All of these things can be used across the school and encourage creative play.
Dolls or dolls houses - I know lots of children who will love playing with these.
Board games
School will be open next week (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) from 9.30am - 3:30pm for anything that you do find and would like to drop off. We really appreciate it and hopefully we can help you with the decluttering.
We look forward to welcoming the children back to school on Tuesday 3rd September at 8:45am and our new Reception children from Thursday 5th September.
Enjoy the last week of your holidays
Mrs Gregan