In this week’s gospel, we were reminded about all of the names that Jesus is called and how some people struggled to know who he was. We have found a challenging gospel message too. In life, it would be just wonderful if everything went the way that we had planned, there was no obstacles to bear and we knew the direction that we were travelling. This week, we are asked to trust in God; we may not understand why something is happening or why God has chosen it to happen. By trusting that everything will be ok, it gives us the hope that we need to hold on to.
Today we had our first group of parents join us to celebrate their child’s achievements over the past week and to join our end of the week prayer. They each received a secret text last night to attend today and share in our liturgy of the word and hear about what has happened in school this week. We hope you enjoyed the end of the week as much as we did; especially the singing by the children. Next week our Reception children will be part of the celebration too.
Our week in school…
It has been really nice to have a full week in school this week. Normality has been resumed and we look forward to welcoming our Reception class in full-time next week. They are so eager to get started and fully involved in school life.
On Mondays, we now start the week all together in prayer and liturgy before heading into class for My Happy Mind time. Don’t forget the coffee morning on Wednesday 25th September where I will share everything about the programme and some Kidsafe information too. If you could fill in the form below indicating whether you will be attending, that would be great. I can then plan refreshments. We will be launching the My Happy Mind Parent App too, so you can keep an eye on what your child is doing in class and share that information at home.
Extra-curricular clubs started across the school this week and have been really well attended. It has been lovely to see the older children step into the sports teams and for our younger children to get involved with Mr Nay and Mr Murray’s multi-sports.
The playground has been a really big hit! For years, we playtime has been the time of the day that we need to problem-solve the most, purely because it is unstructured. This year we have mixed ages so that our oldest children in Years 4, 5 & 6 have responsibility and leadership opportunity. The scooters have been a really big hit - although, we have used a few plasters as the children have learnt to risk assess more. I know that they will get better and create fun and exciting ways to manouver. The den making has been just wonderful. It has been fascinating to see what the children have built and how they have had to negotiate as they go.
Miss Lavelle has been out of school for the past two days on her Forest School First Aid Course. We are so excited to hear what she has learnt.
Next week is all about LEADERSHIP. This week, the school have been watching the House Captain videos from our Year 6 candidates and then casting their votes. Staff have been voting for Head Boy and Head Girl and applications have been made for other positions around school. On Tuesday, we will be presenting our leadership badges and electing our student council for this year. One of the first jobs for our house captains will be to present every child in school with their house badge. This is to be worn on their school uniform and treasured - showing that they belong to their team and are part of another family. Please do look after these.
Excellence and STAR Quality
Thank you to everyone who has really focused on the school uniform expectations for this year. The children are all looking so smart coming back in, and I haven’t seen many black joggers or leggings for PE either, and all trainers are either white, blue or black - thank you so much! Our school uniform is incredibly simple, smart and available from most shops; which makes it ideal for all families. I can also see that there has been a real attention to detail with headbands and bows etc, all school blue and not every shade of rainbow.
We are incredibly proud of how our school community responds to ideas; we know that you support us in wanting the best for the children - which has been shown in the vast donations we have had to our playground and All Stars Club. Understandably, since the return to school, we have had to have a few conversations with the children regarding healthy snacks and lunch boxes. I know that the summer holidays can be filled with treats and lovely things, but in school we are required to follow NHS and The Public Health England guidance. Parents play such important and influential role in determining their child’s food and drink choices and preferences, and we would like you to revisit this with your children at home, so that we are all educating them to make the right choices when it comes to their diet. There are many ways to keep the lunch box exciting, for example adopt a colour theme for each day, take inspiration from holidays or different countries and foods that are in season or grown in the school or home garden. The leaflet below has been sent to us from Public Health, it is a great starting point if you are struggling to discuss lunches with your child.
There is also the guidance on snacks to be sent into school for break times. Please can you ensure that you have had a good look at the list and again, planned for the week ahead. In KS1, there is an abundance of fruit available to the children that they can access. Things like marshmallow rice crispie bars, mini cheddars, crisps and coco pop bars are coming into class. Please, again, can you have a look at this at home. I have attached the guidance, that was written by the children, below. Just a reminder that we are also a nut-free school. We have a number of pupils and staff with nut allergies, some that require medical intervention straight away. Please can nuts not come into school in any shape or form. Thank you so much.
Plea from School
We are still looking for the following items for school. How can you help?
Ground sheets, picnic blankets and water proof blankets for den making.
Tyres - we are in need of some tyres in our den area.
Dressing up costumes - has your child grown out of their costumes at home? Could these be donated to school for All Stars?
Learning Role Models of the Week
Learning role models of the week
Virtue butterfly award winners
Office news…
We managed to end last year with a clean slate in terms of dinner money - thank you all so much! Mrs Nel has been incredibly busy this week setting up All Stars and ensuring that payments can be made via Parent Pay. If you have a tax-free childcare account, we have now registered with that and it is in the process of being set up. For you to use this, we need to know your child’s specific code so that when payment is made, we can find it within the system. Please contact Mrs Nel with your code if you have one.
Our Weekly Attendance
Finally, this weekend The Barrow family, accompanied by a whole host of friends and family, will be making the walk from Manchester Children’s Hospital to Blackpool Victoria Hospital to raise money for The Brain Tumour Research Charity. We all know just how much Dominic has been cared for and the journey that he has had over the past year. The £3000 that we raised went to Manchester Children’s Hospital. The link below will take you to this weekend’s walk page. Good luck team - we are all cheering you on and it has been so wonderful to have Dominic in school with us more and more.
Have a lovely weekend with some sunshine I hope. The kite festival is on as well as the Lifeboat Open Day tomorrow from 10.30 - 4.30pm. Enjoy.
Mrs Gregan