"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Isaiah 7:14)

December 20, 2024 Natalie Gregan

As I stood and spoke in church the other night, I felt an enormous sense of pride and happiness. Our carol concerts are perfect in every way. The way the children spoke, the way they sang and the way they led us in prayer was perfect. It was the perfect end to our school pilgrimage. For the past three weeks, we have journeyed to the stable in many different ways; but always with the intent of telling the story of Jesus’s birth. At church on Monday night, Year 6 talked about the people of the nativity; the characters, and what we can learn from each of them. Mary - a symbol of hope; Joseph - of courage and trust; the generosity of the Wise Men and curiosity of the Shepherds. The script was beautifully written and incorporated all of the school virtues. Thank you to each and every one of you who has joined us this Advent. All of the money raised from the ticket sales and donations at church go straight to Brian House - we sing for our local children at Christmas. So far we have raised over £850 which is just incredible. Thank you all for your generosity.

Parish News

Don’t forget about the parish Singalong a Christmas tonight Friday, 20th December at the Parish Centre. If you are coming along just to join in or indeed sing you are advised to get there between 7.00 and 7.15pm to be assured of a seat – it might be busy. If you’re joining us to sing its always good to get a quick look at what we are doing but as per usual we will be winging it! It’s a very Christmassy night (so come suitably attired) but also has a bit of fun thrown in for all the family. Please come along, bring the family – it’s a great night.

Christmas Celebrations

There has been a real buzz this Advent with all of the exciting events and activities that the children have been involved in. The little and often events have worked and ensured that all children can be involved in some things in some way. From film nights, to own clothes days, to school raffles and party days - there has been something for everyone. This week we drew the school Christmas Raffle - with over 100 prizes; it was just spectacular. Much fun was had by all during the draw - with some spot prizes too!

Enrichment Across the Curriculum

As part of our Christmas Memory week in school, where the children have been busy creating lots of lovely things to bring home, they also completed their enrichment morning in another class with another teacher. From Van Gogh inspired nativity art work, to Christmas photography, to stick stars and dancing too, the children (and staff) enjoyed spending time together. For weeks now, Mr Cornwell had been preparing his Christmas quiz for our Reception class to complete - he loved it!

Learners of the Term

Office News

Our Termly Attendance

Well done to Year 4 this week with 98.7% who will earn extra break time next week.

The kitchen build has progressed really well; plastering has taken place this week so we are on course for the completion date of February half-term. We now also have a door and windows. The large brick wall that is exposed is calling out for some school art work; watch this space. I have manged to take Jacqui and Mirium in there today and they are so happy with how it will turn out. Dinners for Spring 1 are £2.50 for 29 dinners, totalling £72.50. Towards the end of next half term, we will announce the new look menu for when the kitchen opens.

Thank you for everyone who has booked onto All Stars for Spring term. Your places have been confirmed if you have booked a place. We will see you in the New Year.

School Vacancies

We currently have two vacancies in school for after Christmas; Teaching Assistant (23 hours a week - temporary) & a Welfare Assistant (11.5 hours a week). These two roles may be combined into one role or kept separate depending on the right candidate. Please do contact Mrs Gregan if interested; we are really looking to grow our staff team and support our community. Both jobs and descriptions can be found on LCC website.

Finally, this morning our annual staff panto took place. I cannot begin to tell you what wonderful human beings this group of people are. They love each and everyone of the children so very dearly. On behalf of every family I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication; they are certainly ready for a rest this Christmas. We also said a goodbye to Miss Liddell and Mrs Shields who are about to embark on their next adventures. We wish them all the love in the world.

Have a wonderful, happy and holy Christmas with your families. We look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday 6th January.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

'From God to human, from heaven to earth, because He knew it would be a journey worth making.' Annabelle

December 13, 2024 Natalie Gregan

Sitting and watching the nativities over the past two weeks have just been pure joy. We know that the story that they have been telling is the most important story of all time; and the one that adds extra significance to our lives. There is nothing more magical than watching a nativity and I really hope you all felt it. Next week, we finish our pilgrimage at church - exactly where it needs to be. Our KS2 children will be leading us in prayer, scripture and song.

Our pilgrimages have taken place throughout the school as our aim to be pilgrims of hope continue. Children have taken their paired classes around the school, combining with their partners. Our nursery children have even completed the pilgrimage. I was really touched this week when one of our Year 2 pupils told me about a prayer station that she had set up at home. I really love it Daisy, it contains everything that we have talked about in school. I wonder if you could make a prayer station at home? Could you make a pilgrimage for your family? Send me a photograph of what you make.

Time to spread festive cheer far and wide…

I cannot begin to thank you all for how you have got involved in the Christmas events that we have put on this year; I hope that you and the children have all enjoyed it. The pottery that has been painted have now been sent home, ready to adorn your trees. Please do email me a photo so we can see them in their glory! The film nights too have been so well attended too. All of the money that has been made from any of our fundraisers will be going towards our Forest School - we are eager to get this up and running after Christmas. We are also looking to replace our stage lights in the hall - so every bit of fundraising helps. Little and often is the way forward so not to overstretch families, but for them to feel involved. The Christmas raffle will take place on Wednesday afternoon - you have to be in it to win it! Please get your raffle tickets into the school office by Tuesday. The raffle prizes are fabulous!

The Great Our Lady Bake Off

Well…what a day we have had in school! Thank you to everyone who has got involved today and made cakes for us all to enjoy. I have wandered round with a fork all day nibbling and tasting; ready to announce the winners. It is such a fun event and one that brings many a smile to the community. Even our staff get involved in the Bake Off - Mr Cornwell was determined to win this year - he felt cheated last year. Scroll down to see this year’s winners and family winners too!

Congratulations to the winners from each class and to our family winners for this year. There was also a special commendation award to Team Leyden for their effort and high standards across the board! From our film nights and Bake Off alone, we have raised over £1000 for school funds.

Office News

House Point winners will be announced on Monday in school!

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 4 this week with 98.7% who will earn extra break time next week.

Lunch options for next week in addition to sandwiches:

Monday - Meatball Sub
Tuesday - Sandwiches
Wednesday - Burger in a bun
Thursday - CHRISTMAS DINNER
Friday - Pizza slices

Jackie has put together a festive menu for us to enjoy that still includes all of the favourites. The cost of the dinner is £2.50. If your child usually has a dinner on a Thursday, you don’t need to book. If your child doesn’t usually have one and would like one…please complete the booking form below by Monday morning at 9am.

christmas dinner booking form

Thank you to everyone who has booked their places for All Stars in Spring. Mrs Nel will be in touch next week to confirm places.

School Vacancies

We currently have two vacancies in school for after Christmas; Teaching Assistant (23 hours a week - temporary) & a Welfare Assistant (11.5 hours a week). These two roles may be combined or kept separate depending on the right candidate. Please do contact Mrs Gregan if interested; we are really looking to grow our staff team and support our community. Both jobs and descriptions can be found on LCC website.

Parish News

Our Singalong a Christmas is on this coming Friday, 20th December at the Parish Centre. If you are coming along just to join in or indeed sing you are advised to get there between 7.00 and 7.15pm to be assured of a seat – it might be busy. If you’re joining us to sing its always good to get a quick look at what we are doing but as per usual we will be winging it! It’s a very Christmassy night (so come suitably attired) but also has a bit of fun thrown in for all the family. Please come along, bring the family – it’s a great night.

Finally, as we move into the final week of the term, there is still lots going on…

Monday: KS2 Carol Concert 2pm and 6pm at church. For the evening performance, please can the children arrive for 5.45pm. Please ensure that they are respectfully waiting outside church and stood with their families.

Wednesday: KS2 Christmas Party (the children can bring a packet of crisps/chocolate bar and a non-fizzy drink). In the afternoon, the Christmas raffle will take place.

Thursday: KS1 Christmas Party (the children can bring a packet of crisps/chocolate bar and a non-fizzy drink). At lunchtime, we will be having Christmas lunch

Friday: Staff panto and final assembly - don’t forget we finish at 2pm. On Friday, there will be no All Stars provision as it is final day of term and an early finish.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

Our Prince of Peace

December 6, 2024 Natalie Gregan

In all of the excitement and chaos of school life at Christmas time, we have found peace in our prayer stations. Each class has been given a space around school where they have set up scripture and prayer linked to a part of the nativity story. Over the next few weeks, partnered classes will be completing their pilgrimage to the stable, as we quest to become Pilgrims of Hope this centenary year. Our whole-school pilgrimage started at the wreath on Monday morning, as we lit the first Advent candle, before moving to our EYFS nativity on Wednesday. I think you will agree, they all look fabulous. In all of the years I have seen a nativity here, this was one was just wonderful. Every child knew their parts, spoke so confidently, sang like angels - and we had no tears! We are so proud of them all.

Time to spread festive cheer far and wide…

As December has started, the school has been sprinkled with festive cheer - I really love this time of year! On Tuesday, we held our very first pottery session, organised by Mrs Naylor. It was just wonderful (and I definitely think that the parents enjoyed it more than the children). I hope you really enjoy your decorations when they come back from the glazers. Thank you to everyone who supported the event and helped raise some funds for our school. All of the money that will be raised this Christmas in school is going towards the development of our outdoor area and speaker system in school.

You all know how wonderful our staff team are and how hard they work each and every day. They too needed a treat! For the past few years, we have worked really closely with Fylde Rangers who have supported some of our forest school work and who we support with bulb planting and Christmas tree planting at the dunes. On Wednesday evening, the ranger team came into school equipped with willow and bags and bags of foliage for us to create our own Christmas wreaths. I think you will agree they look rather fabulous! It was a really nice change to the usual Wednesday Staff Meeting.

Don’t forget the Christmas Raffle! We have been blown away by the amount of chocolate and bottles received today. These will be made into hampers by a team of elves next week. Get your raffle ticket stubs and money into the school office to be in with a chance of winning.

Raffle prizes

Bookings for film night have now closed. Please see the times for collection on Friday.

The Great Our Lady Bake Off

Next Friday is our annual Bake Off…here is what you need to know.

To wear a Christmas jumper = £1

To buy a cake at the Cake sale = £1

To enter a bake into the class or family competition = £3

The children will bring their bakes into their classes in the morning - here they will be judged in true Bake Off style. At break time, there will be the opportunity for cakes to be sold and bought by their classmates. If last year is anything to go by, there will be lots available so we will hold a big cake sale after school in the hall.

Please remember that we are nut free school, therefore no baking with any form of nuts will be able to be brought into school.

STARs of the Week

Well done to our children this week who have been beacons of light for us all. You have shone so brightly to demonstrate our virtues; intentional and prophetic, and with excellent learning. Today was our final Friday celebration assembly of the term. We are so proud that this term, every child’s family have been invited into school to pray alongside us. It has been incredibly special. Next week, I will be recognising some of the stars in school from this term.

Our Learning Stars and Virtue stars this week

Office News

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 4 this week with 99.3% who will earn extra break time next week.

Lunch options for next week in addition to sandwiches:

Monday - Pizza Pockets
Tuesday - Chicken burgers
Wednesday - Packed lunch
Thursday - Sausage in a bun
Friday - Pizza slices

Every year, we go all out with Christmas Dinner - it really is a much-loved part of our school year. However, with the kitchen this year and the change in lunches, we are having to do things a little differently - but we are undeterred. Jackie has put together a festive menu for us to enjoy that still includes all of the favourites. The cost of the dinner is £2.50. If your child usually has a dinner on a Thursday, you don’t need to book. If your child doesn’t usually have one and would like one…please complete the booking form below.

christmas dinner booking form

All Stars has been such a welcome and exciting addition to school life; and so well received by parents and children. It is still in its infancy and the team are working hard to understand it better and to make it better. Spring term bookings are now open. We will assume that everyone who is currently booked on wants to remain booked on. If this is different, please do let the office know. Due to its success, we are able to open up the club to our nursery children from January - where space is available. If you would require a place, please contact the school office to enquire about places.

Finally, at the end of this term, two members of staff will be leaving us to start a new adventure; Mrs Shields and Miss Liddell. For nearly 25 years, Mrs Shields as worked as part of the Our Lady family in a number of roles around school; more recently as part of the school office team. There is nothing that she does not know, and as myself and Mrs Nel started our new roles in school, Mrs Shields has supported us in so many ways. We know that she will leave a big hole here, but we wish her so much love as she starts her retirement. For Miss Liddell, you will know that we have been incredibly lucky to have someone working in school who specialises in Speech and Languae, they are like gold dust - and she certainly is golden! Alongside her role in school, Miss Liddell has been completing her masters and is now a fully fledged therapist; securing a job within the NHS. We have been so blessed to have felt her love and warmth for so long. I am sure that you will join us in wishing both members of staff all of the love in the world as they start their new adventure.

As Mrs Shields retires, we have appointed Mrs Howe to the role within the office, she will be joining us after Christmas. We also have a teaching assistant role advertised on LCC for 23 hours a week; which is temporary for a term. Pleas edo contact the school office if you are interested.

There are just two weeks left in school! Enjoy the weekend with your families

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord"

November 29, 2024 Natalie Gregan

This Sunday, we light our first Advent candle; the candle of Hope. This candle is also called the Prophecy candle as hear from the prophets who told us for many years about the coming of the Messiah, the chosen one. In assembly today, we have spoken about being Pilgrims of Hope, something that Pope Francis is asking us to do for the year 2025. In a world that we have now, Hope needs to radiate out. It seems fitting that our next family mass of the year will take place on the first Sunday in Advent. It also sees the start of the new liturgical year so we will have new lectionaries in Mass. One of our Year 6 children will light the advent candle before our children read and sing as one. For the homily, as with every homily on the 1st Sunday of Advent, there will be a letter read out written by Bishop Paul. Having been visited by Bishop Paul this year, it will be special for the children to hear directly from him in a letter. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Pilgrimage will feature a lot during our Advent preparations. The nativity story tells us of a pilgrimage that was taken to see the Baby Jesus and as we become pilgrims ourselves, we remember the significance of this journey. Tonight, our school has been decorated ready to celebrate Christmas together and prayer stations have been dotted around the school that each class have put together about a significant part of the Christmas story. Together, we will become pilgrims.

The parish community have lots of wonderful things happening this Advent; including the Parish Panto which will be taking our Year 3 & 4 children to next Friday. On Friday 20th December in the Parish Centre they will be holding their annual community Carol evening led by the Operatic Society. Doors will open 7.00pm and the singing will commence 7.45pm approx. Arrive early to bag the best table. Please come and support this lovely, fun, festive, family event.

Our Forest School area is starting to take shape. Miss Lavelle and Mrs Tierney have been busy formulating plans ready to start rolling it out with some groups after Christmas. As part of their STAR Charter, and their contribution to our common home, the Year 5 children got involved with the shovelling and moving of wood chip this week. Thank you Year 5 for helping us to create another experience for our children here at school.

Christmas is coming…

Thank you to everyone who has booked a place on the Christmas Pottery session - it is going to be lovely to get all christmassy after school on Tuesday 3rd December. It will start at 3.30pm straight after school and should be about an hour; with Christmas treats and drinks.

Friday 6th December - Own clothes day and bring a bottle of your choice for the raffle. This can be any bottle that you may like to receive in a raffle: bubble bath, olive oil, wine, alcohol - the choice is yours. We will have a wheelbarrow on the gates for drop off!

We will be making hamper bags out of the donations to add to the raffle prizes. Mrs Nel has been busy collating a list of all of the raffle prizes so far, which you can find below - there is still time to donate more! Please bring in your raffle booklet stubs and money before the draw on Wednesday 18th December to be in with a chance of winning.

Raffle prizes

Christmas film nights will take place during the penultimate week of the term. The two films chosen are below. Please click the button to book your child onto the film night, there is a place for everybody; so don’t worry about it being full. Mrs Nel will assign £3 to everyone’s Parent Pay for you to pay for the place. For those children who attend All Stars on those evenings, you will be able to come as you have already paid for your session that night.

Ks2 Film night

KS1 Film night

The Great Our Lady Bake Off

After the success of last year’s master bake off - it returns for 2024. I know many of the children have already planned their bakes for the day, and I am really excited to taste them! There is a menu of choice again here so you can get involved as much or as little as you want. See the poster to find out the information and decide what you would like to you.

We will open the hall at the end of the day for further cake to be bought by families.

This is such a wonderful fundraiser for the school - and we get to eat cake in the process.

STARs of the Week

Well done to our children this week who have been beacons of light for us all. You have shone so brightly to demonstrate our virtues; intentional and prophetic, and with excellent learning.

Office News

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 2 this week with 98% who will earn extra break time next week.

Lunch options for next week in addition to sandwiches:

Monday - Booths sausage in a bun with ketchup and veggie sticks
Tuesday - Packed Lunch
Wednesday - Packed Lunch
Thursday - Fish finger butties
Friday - Pizza slices

Nativity tickets have flown out of the office this week; and we are really excited to welcome our EYFS families next week. Space in the hall is tight due to the building work so please do bring your tickets with you. The children move around the hall too, so please can you ensure no hot drinks are brought into school. We have the performance being filmed on Tuesday and photographs of all of the children in their costumes; this will enable you to enjoy the performance even more.

Please don’t forget about the consultation meeting at 2.45pm on Monday with the proposed Academy Trust. If you are able to come, please complete the form below so that we can arrange a suitable room.

Attendance at consultation

Have a lovely and festive start to December with your families.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" Isaiah 9:6–7

November 22, 2024 Natalie Gregan

Throughout our history, there have been some really bossy kings out there! Some that were power hungry, greedy and didn’t see the vision of what the country could be. This week in school, we have been thinking about what we would do if we were king. On Sunday, we celebrate Christ the King. Jesus was a king who ruled with love - nothing else and his kingdom is not of this world. To help us, I asked some of our All Stars what they would do if they were a king. Some of them chose to be the bossy king, some of them chose to rule with love. See what you think?

Next Sunday sees the start of Advent and our second family mass. Our first family mass was so well attended; thank you to everyone who came. This Mass will be extra special as it is the first Sunday of Advent - what a lovely way to start it together.

The children who will be directly involved in the Mass on Sunday are on the PDF below. If your child’s name isn’t listed, they will be involved, just sat with you taking part in the mass. Those children who are in the choir, will be sat in the choir loft with the parish choir. The readers and offertory children can sit with their parents and come up when it is there turn for involvement. Staff will be present too to support.

For the homily, as with every homily on the 1st Sunday of Advent, there will be a letter read out written by Bishop Paul. Having been visited by Bishop Paul this year, it will be special for the children to hear directly from him in a letter.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday 1st December. Following mass, there is the monthly coffee and craft club at the Parish Centre. Please do attend if you are able to.

Children's roles in the mass

I have loved hearing the stories of the travelling nativities making their way into each of your homes. What a gorgeous photo this is.

Christmas is coming…

For the next two Fridays, it is own clothes day and bring something for the Christmas raffle.

Friday 29th November - Own clothes day and bring a bar or bag of chocolate for the raffle.

Friday 6th December - Own clothes day and bring a bottle of your choice for the raffle.

We will be making hamper bags out of the donations to add to the raffle prizes.

The Great Our Lady Bake Off

We will open the hall at the end of the day for further cake to be bought by families.

This is such a wonderful fundraiser for the school - and we get to eat cake in the process.

STARs of the Week

Well done to our children this week who have been beacons of light for us all. You have shone so brightly to demonstrate our virtues; intentional and prophetic, and with excellent learning.

Office News

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 3 this week with 96.7%. Our whole school attendance has taken a hit due to the nasty chicken pox!

What a week it has been with the arrival of our packed lunch service into school. We have needed time to see how it would work and how we would ensure that the children all had enough to eat - which they have; it has been like a buffet! Now that we have mastered this, we can add in some additional options. Next week, there will be some hot dinners in the mix as well as the sandwiches:

Monday - Meatball Sub
Tuesday - Packed Lunch
Wednesday - Packed Lunch
Thursday - Beef/Veggie Burgers
Friday - Pizza slices

Nativity tickets have flown out of the office this week; please do send in your slips and payment with what you want for the tickets. Mrs Nel is on hand to answer any questions that you might have.

Chicken pox has been doing its rounds this week, especially amongst our younger children. Please do keep an eye on this at home over the weekend. The children can only return to school once all of the spots have scabbed over.

Have a wonderful weekend with your families. The feeling of Christmas will soon be fully upon us.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away.” Mark 13:31

November 15, 2024 Natalie Gregan

On Monday morning, as we gathered for whole-school liturgy, we talked about how important it is to remember; not only to remember but to think why we remember. In the lives that we live, we often don’t have the time to be still and to find silence; this is something that we are really trying to do more often in school. As the two minute silence was respected in school, I took our leadership group to the cenotaph in Ashton Gardens to observe the two minutes silence along with our community. It was a beautiful, somber affair; and so well respected. Together, with others, we placed our wreath at the foot of the memorial.

We also talked about how hard it is to love everyone, even those we find uncomfortable. Sometimes it is even hard to love those people who we are close to. Just like the Samaritan, we have tried to help everyone this week and thought about having a secret mission to be like him. I wonder how we all got on?

Today, our Year 2 children headed down to the parish centre and joined in with the coffee morning there, making Rosary bracelets with the parishoners. In a few weeks time, we will be celebrating our next family mass; Sunday 1st December. It will be lovely to start Advent together. As with the previous mass, if your child can attend and would like to take part, please complete the form below. I can then choose different children to take part in the different elements. Last time, we had 384 people in attendance. It would be great to have the same again.

family mass sunday 1st december

Christmas is coming…

There has been so much excitement about Christmas and the events that we have planned in school. The children are eager to know what the films are going to be and what they will be decorating at the pottery class after school. The first booking is for the Parent and Child Pottery Painting after school on Tuesday 3rd December. The cost is £10 per person painting. This will cover the pottery that you choose and the glaze; as well as some festive treats and drinks. Mrs Naylor will then arrange for the pottery to be fired and collect to give back out at school. There will be additional pottery on the night if you want to do more. Please complete the booking form if you wish to take part.

parent and child pottery painting booking

You will have seen the raffle tickets appear in the children’s bags this week too. Thank you so much for the donation of gifts so far…they are amazing and so generous. The poster below is just a snapshot of what has been donated. Please send in the raffle tickets with the money once you have sold them, or any blank ones that you still have. Don’t forget owns clothes day and a bar of chocolate on Friday 29th December.

STARs of the Week

Well done to our children this week who have been beacons of light for us all. You have shone so brightly to demonstrate our virtues; intentional and prophetic, and with excellent learning.

Office News

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 3 this week with 97.3%. Our whole school attendance for this week is 88.2%.

This week we took delivery of the roofing struts for the extension and next week, they will be knocking through! This means that the kitchen team have relocated to St Thomas’s until the kitchen is finished. Packed lunches will be on offer next week whilst Jacqui gets to grips with her new surroundings, we will then get a bit more adventurous the weeks after. Watch this space and I will continue to keep you informed.

Nativity tickets have flown out of the office this week; please do send in your slips and payment with what you want for the tickets. Mrs Nel is on hand to answer any questions that you might have.

We have all been rather cosy in school today as we raised money for our local Children in Need, Brian House. So far we have raised £170 - which is fabulous! That, with our ticket sales, will be our offering to them this Christmas. Have a look at our class blogs to see our pj snaps!

Have a wonderful weekend with your families

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

Growing our Catholic Family

November 13, 2024 Natalie Gregan

This term, I have reflected a lot on what it means to work in a Catholic school, there is only one mission; to bring the children and families that we serve closer to God and for God to be known to them in their lives. There is a vast number of ways in which we do this in school; through weekly prayer and liturgy as a whole-school, our Jesuit school virutes which we adopt and try to live by, our STAR behaviour policy, opportunities to discuss their faith and see Christ through the curriculum we teach, our links with the parish and many more. But most importantly, through our interactions with people around us. Relationships are at the heart of this. It is simply who we are and what we expect of each other.

In order to grow our faith and to continue to live out of the Gospel messages, we must also share with others. One of my main philosphies as a teacher, was to always be outward looking, to work with others and to evolve; this is when we grow the most as I have seen other ways in which things have been achieved; likewise, I have also shared our school too. We are incredibly fortunate that we have a strong Catholic Cluster of schools, including St Bedes, who we work with all of the time; all with the same common mission.

You may be aware that the Diocese of Lancaster has been working closely with the Department for Education to agree a way forward for the Catholic schools in the Diocese to form or join existing Catholic Multi Academy Trusts. These Multi Academy Trusts will be formed by groups of Catholic primary and secondary schools who wish to join and work together. The Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust has been identified by the Diocese and the Department for Education as the right Trust to take forward this vision for Catholic education in the Blackpool and Fylde and Wyre areas. We are now at the point in which Bishop Paul has asked us to start the journey to join the Catholic Multi Academy Trust. This is his directive for us to follow. The process for this has taken some time, and getting to the point at which we are has meant lots of discussions with the diocese, MAT and our school governors to ensure that Our Lady Star of the Sea will continue to remain the special place that it always has been.

After careful consideration and preliminary discussion with the Diocese and other Catholic schools in our area, the Governing Body of Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School has decided that they wish to explore conversion to academy status and, in particular, to join the Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust (BEBCMAT) in Autumn 2025. The Bishop’s vision is that all Catholic schools in the Blackpool and Fylde Coast area will join BEBCMAT by 2026.

There are two documents below that explain the Bishop’s directive in more detail and what this will mean for us as a school community.

Parent consultation letter

FAQs from the Multi academy trust

You will see from reading the letter that there is an opportunity for you to meet the CEO of the Multi Academy Trust and for her to answer any questions that you have. She will explain what this will mean for our school in more detail and what life will look like for us as part of BEBCMAT. If you are able to attend the consultation meeting on Monday 2nd December at 2:45pm, please can you complete the form below so that we can prepare logistically. Please do share any thoughts that you have via the consultation process and we will respond as best as we can. On the main page of the website, there is now a button that when clicked on will be updated with information that I gather. Later on today, I will upload this information onto it so that you can refer to it at a later date and it is easier to find.

Indicating attendance at consultation meeting

A journey is always best when you have a team with you. Since being in role here, I have had nothing but your support, trust and love; we have problem-solved together. This is just another chapter in our journey together…

At the going down of the sun and in the morning - We will remember them.

November 8, 2024 Natalie Gregan

November can often be a solemn month as we remember everyone who has passed before us; the but the sign of the poppy can too bring a smile. This week in school, we have been looking at the poppy and the symbol that it is. I think the display in our Worship Area is one of my most favourite displays to date. It is made with love. On Monday, I will be taking our Year 6 leadership team to the Cenotaph to be part of the community celebrations for Remembrance, and taking the wreath that we have created. I am sure it will be incredibly poignant.

We have continued to act with intention in school and follow in the footsteps of the Saints who have come before us. In Monday’s liturgy, we discussed the diversity of the saints that we have and the difference in ages. We met Carlos Acutis who became a saint at the age of 15 - we too can be saints and behave like them; always intentionally.

What intentionally kind acts can you spot at home this weekend?

Christmas is coming…

Now the excitement of fireworks and Bonfire have left us, attention in school is quickly turning to Christmas and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Songs have started to be heard around school as each class prepares for their own retelling of the nativity story. Nativity letters will be going home with how you can order your tickets and tonight, the travelling nativities will be heading to their homes for the first time. This was something that we introduced last year to ensure that each house welcomed the stable. In each bag you will find; the nativity, purple material, a story, some candles and a book for each child to sketch or write what they feel. Please do take a photo and email it into your class teacher.

We also want to create a menu of opportunity for the children to get involved in events, whilst raising money for the school at the same time. Christmas is about community and family - there really is something for everyone here! Nothing costs the earth either, as I know Christmas is an expensive time for us all. This year Mrs Nel has organised a Christmas raffle - just like the ones that we used to have. These raffle books will be coming home on Monday. We have already started gathering prizes, but if any generous members of our community would like to offer more; please do. In order to create raffle hampers, we will be having two own clothes days; one for a bar of chocolate and one for a bottle. Mrs Naylor will also be running a parent and child pottery night after school on Tuesday 3rd December where you can paint decorations together; she will then arranged for them to be fired. Further information will go on the blog next week.

Creative Playtimes.

Thank you to everyone who has donated blocks and more blocks for our playground. They have been well used this week and we have had so much fun together. We have a dolls house and some cars arriving soon too! The Year 2 girls have been putting on show after show - I think a stage might be next!

Book Looks

Thank you to all of the parents in Year 2, 3 and 5 who came to look through their child’s books with them this week. The children really love sitting down with you and sharing their work - they really have worked their socks off this year so far.

The dates and times for next week’s book looks are below. We look forward to seein you then.

13th November: Year 6 Book Look @ 2.30pm

14th November: Year 1 Book Look @ 9am

14th November: Year 4 Book Look @ 2.30pm

STARs of the Week

Office News

Our kitchen extension is flying up and because of the bought of dry weather, we are currently two weeks ahead of schedule - which is staggering. Despite Jacqui and Mirium feeding the builders large quantities of her famous flapjacks, they seem to have just got on. Maybe the flapjacks were the fuel that they needed! Because we are ahead, it means that they will be knocking through sooner than we thought. Therefore next Friday will be Jacqui and Mirium’s last day in the current kitchen before they move to St Thomas’s to cook our dinners from there. I will communicate next Friday what this means for lunches going forward. We are getting even more excited about what this add to our school and the impact that we have.

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 4 this week with 99.7%. Our whole school attendance for this week is 87.6%.

A funny thing has happened in school this week. As you know, we have had a group of workmen outside school completing the extension to our school kitchen rapidly. Well, one of our brick layers has turned out to be a rubgy league player for Leigh Leopards (he is training for life beyond rugby), and as many of you know, our Sale boys are huge fans of the Leopards, infact Josh is their favourite player. Another lovely fact is that Sale Way (which Leigh Sports Stadium is built upon) is named after Tommy Sale MBE (the boys’ great-grandad). Very kindly, Josh has signed some of the boys merchandise and kit for them this week and answered their questions when meeting them - it was so lovely and incredibly special. .

Finally, on behalf of the whole school community, I have sent congratulations to Mrs Hartley and her husband on the safe arrival of their beautiful little girl, Freya. Both mum and daugter are well and Freya is perfect in every way. We cannot wait to welcome them into school for cuddles.

Have a lovely weekend - don’t forget PJ day next Friday for Brian House. £1 and teddy is all you need!

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

Love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself.'

November 1, 2024 Natalie Gregan

In school, you will know that the theme of light permeates through everything that we do and who we are. We constantly talk about how we can shine our light with others and what this looks like as human beings. As the rest of the school arrived back on Monday following their half term break, our Year 6 children headed off to the Lake District to experience 2 nights at Castlerigg. Castlerigg Manor is the Diocesan retreat for young people. It is a place full of love, kindness and spirituality - we experienced all of those this week. Although the theme of the retreat was, ‘Let your light shine.’ We very much looked at how we get light and who gives it us. It was really special to hear the children speak about all of the people who give them light in their lives. At the end of each day, we visited the chapel for night time prayer and mass, led by the Castlerigg chaplin. I talk to the children frequently about how they might not remember specific lessons or conversations that they have whilst they are at school, but they will remember how it made them feel. I truly hope that the Year 6 children remember how they felt during their time at Castlerigg - we have also already booked for our current Year 5 when they are in Year 6. Below is a snapshot of our time there together.

STAR Charter

You may remember at the start of this year, we launched our STAR Charter. This is a way that the children see just how much they can give to their community and the change they can be. For the main charter, this will be completed in class, where they will be given the opportunity to complete 5 different acts. But there is an addional level, for those children who go above and beyond outside of school. Below are some images from a family who have started their charter award and the volunteering act that they commited. By helping clean the war graves ready for Remembrance Sunday, and litter picking, they have contributed to their community. Throughout the year, if your children complete any volunteering acts, please do let us know and take photos to go towards their STAR Charter Distinction.

Speaking of STARs, a huge thank you to Mr Heyes who has made a mud kitchen for our Forest School. I think you will agree that it is fabulous! Miss Lavelle has been away from school this week on her assessment for being a leader, we cannot wait to get started and think about what we will do next!

Before half term I shared the success of the playground zones that we have created in school and how much the children are getting from them. This week, we took delivery of three wooden, hexagonal tables that are now on the playground. This will allow the children to build on them, play small world and cars etc.

If you have any of the following at home, and no longer need it, then please do bring it into school:

Duplo
Cars and garages
Dinosaurs
Scooters

I also spoke about mud and how we need to become a mud friendly school. There is lots of ways we can do this to enable the children to still access the playground and field in the winter months. Please can you send in an old pair or trainers or wellies that the children can wear when they are out and about, they can then change them in school. Also an old coat that they can wear when they are den building. This is the most popular area and we want the children to use it. These things can live on the children’s pegs in school. I have bought all of the classrooms a sweeping brush for mud to keep our cleaning team happy, and a cordless hoover for stubborn bits. We will continue to evolve this over the next months and years.

Book Looks

Don’t forget our book looks start next week. Now that you have had these chats, you need to come into school and sit with your child. They want to share their work with you and to talk about their learning. The dates and times for these are below:

7th November: Year 2 Book Look @ 9am

7th November: Year 3 Book Look @2.15pm

8th Novmber: Year 5 Book Look @ 9am

13th November: Year 6 Book Look @ 2.15pm

14th November: Year 1 Book Look @ 9am

14th November: Year 4 Book Look @ 2.15pm

For our children in Reception, there will be an opportunity to come and stay and play with your child. Miss Drummond will contact you directly about these times.

STARs of the Week

Fundraising in School

Thank you so much to those parents who have downloaded the Easy Fundraising App, in one week there has been £10 worth of donations to the school from various companies. If you haven’t downloaded it or allocated to our school, please do. This is of no cost to you - just from the businesses that you online shop with. They pay a % of your shop to school via a donation - it is really easy to do! In the run up to Christmas, now is the time to do it! Our supporters are growing which is wonderful.

easy fundraising

There a lots of events after half-term for the children to be involved in. On Friday 15th November, we will have our annual PJ Day for our local children in need - Brian House. In the run up to Christmas, we will also be bringing back the old Our Lady raffle as well as the Christmas Bake Off! We will be on the hunt for amazing donated prizes; so please get thinking and collecting! Christmas Bake Off will take place on Friday 13th December. The day will be all things cake, cake sales and Christmas jumpers!

Office News

I can’t believe just how quickly our contractors are working on the kitchen extension and how quickly things seem to be happening. I am trying to document each stage of the process and we have a large display in school for the children to see the progress and to know what is happening week by week. Just a reminder that we have a new menu below for the Autumn/Winter until Jacqui relocates to St Thomas’s.

Lunch Menu - Autumn/Winter 2024

All of our extra-curricular clubs start next week and the clubs are all now full - which is great. There is still space at the judo club which is being run by Judo Education. So far 14 children have signed up for the club which means they will be competing and grading. Do sign up if you are able to.

We have added more places to some of our busier after school club sessions. If you do require wrap around care, please contact Mrs Nel in the office and she will be able to assist.

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 4 this week with 99.6%. Our whole school attendance for this week is 90.4%

Please do not worry that school photographs have not taken place, these are taking place in the Spring this year (both individual and class for Reception & Year 6) and will be outside instead of in the hall. We will let you know the date when we return after Christmas.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“When you intentionally use your everyday life to bring about positive change in the lives of others, you begin to live a life that matters.”

October 18, 2024 Natalie Gregan

It always comes as a surprise when half-term arrives. Even though it has been a 7 week one, it has gone really quickly - we really have packed lots in! This half term has been all about introducing our new STAR approach to create consistency across the school. As a Catholic School, we want our children to come face to face with God in whoever they meet; and as STARs, that is something that we strive to do on a daily basis. We can only do this if we are committed to living the Gospel values and our Jesuit virtues. When we return, our new virtues will be to be intentional and prophetic. These are perfect as we approach Advent and the arrival of Jesus as a baby. To understand what it means to be intentional, we will understand the parable of The Good Samaritan and the intent he showed to the man who needed his help; even when others turned their back. This Advent we will be led by our Mini Vinnie team who will help us to become The Good Samaritans our community needs. The first thing that we will be looking at when we return is remembrance. Last year our chapel was beautifully adorned with poppies made by our community and they are still there today. On Monday 11th November, I will be taking some pupils to the cenotaph to take part in remembrance day alongside our community.

You can see from the photos below that our new canopy area has been built outside ready for our Forest School journey to start. Miss Lavelle and Mrs Tierney are super excited. I know there is also a mud kitchen being built this half term. This process is going to take some time, but we are excited with what it could be.

Our playground zones have been a really big hit amongst our children - for many different reasons. The whole approach that we are taking is ensuring that the children maximise their time outside and experiences quality play. By combining different year groups, the children are supporting each other and helping each other to problem-solve - we are no longer dealing with the playground disputes that we had before. To really embrace the approach that we are taking, more zones need to be added. After half term, there will be some tables on the playground that the children can use for cars, duplo, construction and small world. We want to enhance the children’s creativity and to provide them with the natural tools to do this. I apologise that some of the children’s uniform may be getting a little muddy - we do remind them to wear coats, but we also want to become a mud aware school and not see this as a barrier to their learning. We will continue to problem-solve this to maximise the learning our playtimes can bring. Wellies can be brought in for pegs and old coats that they wear for outside. Maybe even an outdoor top that they don’t mind getting dirty!

Looking at Learning

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time today to speak to class teachers about their child’s progress. These conversations are so important and the teachers want to share all of the wonderful things with you. Now that you have had these chats, you need to come into school and sit with your child. They want to share their work with you and to talk about their learning. The dates and times for these are below:

7th November: Year 2 Book Look @ 9am

7th November: Year 3 Book Look @2.15pm

8th Novmber: Year 5 Book Look @ 9am

13th November: Year 6 Book Look @ 2.15pm

14th November: Year 1 Book Look @ 9am

14th November: Year 4 Book Look @ 2.15pm

For our children in Reception, there will be an opportunity to come and stay and play with your child. Miss Drummond will contact you directly about these times.

Fundraising in School

easy fundraising

Office News

As I sit in my office this morning, the site outside has been cleared for the new kitchen extension to start. As you can see from the photo, the ground has been marked up ready for the work to start on Monday.

Due to the work taking place, the menu has had to be adapted for the time being. There are many factors that we need to consider, including reducing the cooking for our kitchen team. You can see from the new menu below that we are having to put in two packed lunch days for the children. The menu below will be the menu in school whilst Jacqui is still in our kitchen, once she has to relocate to use the kitchen in St Thomas’, we will change the menu further. Thank you so much for your understanding. We cannot wait for our new kitchen and the ability to offer a wider choice of meals!

Lunch Menu - Autumn/Winter 2024

Don’t forget to book your child a place on the extra-curricular programme for Autumn 2. There is a Year 5 & 6 indoor athletics competition coming up, so the more practise that we have the better. We also need more numbers for our school choir in preparation for the Christmas festivities. Each Christmas, we visit Stella Matutina Care Home to sing to the residents - we need a large choir for that. Please visit the sports page or news around the school to book.

We have added more places to some of our busier after school club sessions. If you do require wrap around care, please contact Mrs Nel in the office and she will be able to assist.

Our Half-Termly Attendance

Above you will find the half-termly attendance. The winning class, who will receive 30 minutes additional break time is - Year 4; followed by Year 2 with 20 minutes extra and Year 1 with 10 minutes extra!

I hope that you have a lovely half-term holiday with your families. School opens again on Monday 28th October at 8.45am.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

October 11, 2024 Natalie Gregan

Every so often, I have to attend meetings that are run by the diocese; this week was one of those weeks. On Wednesday, I was asked to attend the annual Headteacher’s Conference of Lancaster Diocesan heads up in Kendal. With the rain pouring, and the wind blowing, driving along the M6 was not a pleasant experience - especially when I knew that enrichment was taking place in school. But, I had the most wonderful centering day. Life is so hectic, school can be so busy, that time is sometimes needed for reflection. On Wednesday, along with all of the other Catholic leaders, we explored what it meant to be a leader of a Catholic school. What was important to us; what made us unique and what was our purpose. Above anything, we reflected on a quote that Pope Benedict said, “A good Catholic school should help all of its students to become Saints.”Can you imagine a school like this? I am pretty much sure that is something that we are always working towards. By following our Jesuit virtues and by living out our mission statement in everything we do; “You are Precious in my eyes” we are aiming to create the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Harvest Offerings

Thank you to each one of your for your generosity with our Harvest collection this year. This morning, we took a small selection of it down to church to show what we had been collecting, the rest will be collected on Monday from Fylde Foodbank. I know that our Mini-Vinnies have some wonderful ideas about how we can further support those in need. Thank you once again.

Learning Role Models of the Week

It has been really lovely to share our celebration assemblies with families over the past half term. So many of you have said how lovely it is to be part of school life and pray with us on a Friday. The culture of a school is so important, it is what makes us who we are, and it has to involve everyone. Thank you for taking time to be part of it all.

Please do not forget to download the MyHappyMind Parent App. They are offering a fantastic prize to the school that demonstrates the highest levels of parent engagement using our Parent App. This prize will not only enhance our school’s resources but also foster even greater parental involvement in supporting your children’s education.

The competition runs from now until Friday 25th October.

Parents’s Meetings

After a few technical glitches last week with School Cloud, we are back up and running with 75% of pupils having had an appointment made. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. If you haven’t yet made an appointment, please do. Class teachers will be contacting those who haven’t next week.

The available appointments will be on Friday 18th October from 8.30am - 5.20pm. Appointments can be booked from 4pm today by clicking on this link:

School Cloud

When it asks you to input your child’s class at login please input the following:

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

When booking, it is crucial that you use your child’s legal forename and surname – those recorded on our school management system. If any part of your child’s name is hyphenated, again it needs to be so when typing in their name. Your own name on Sims is now recorded with one of the following titles Miss, Mrs, Mr or Dr. The system will also ask for an email address so that a reminder can be sent out. If you are having any problems, please do email Mrs Nel on bursar@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk and we will help you next week.

Fundraising in School

Fundraising is central to the survival of any school. With decreasing budgets, we need to make sure that we are constantly looking for ways in which to fundraise for our school; but with minimal impact on families. We also know that times are hard and on the run up to Christmas more so. Charity work is also at the heart of our Catholic Life. As you know, we have been supported by Lytham Foundation to build our canopy area for Forest School which will be going up next week. But we have now set up an easy fundraising page. Easyfundraising partners with over 7,000 brands who will donate part of what you spend to a cause of your choice. It won't cost you any extra. The cost is covered by the brand. It links to any online shop - all you need to do is to download the app and create an account. Every time you shop online, it will ask you whether you want to link. Please do! It is of no extra cost to you - but it a fundraiser that is supplemented by the brand. By clicking on the button below, it will take you to our cause page. I will update the details next week, but we will be using this to continue to develop the area outside.

easy fundraising

In the run up to Christmas, we will also be bringing back the old Our Lady raffle as well as the Christmas Bake Off! We will be on the hunt for amazing donated prizes; so please get thinking and collecting!

Office News

As we look ahead to next half-term, the new extra-curricular clubs are up and running to be booked on News Around the School & the Sports page of the website. Please do book a place if you would like your child to take part. As was explained in the blog last week, our new kitchen extension will start to be built; you should see some bricks being laid when you return. I have received the planned programme this week. The build should be in place for both Autumn 2 and Spring 1, with the kitchen reopening following February half-term. Whilst the initial building stage takes place, our kitchen will remain open and the team can continue to cook meals from school. There will be some changes to this menu due to certain regulations, but I am meeting the team next week to know what this will look like. Once they then knock through into our kitchen, Jacqui and Mirium will re-locate over to St Thomas’. From here, they will prepare our lunches which will then be transported over. There will be quite a bit of change here, but still just as delicious! Please do not worry, once we have sat down and discussed the menu next week, we will communicate it to you. Unfortuantly, there will be no sit down Christmas Dinner this year, but I know Jacqui has something up her sleeve to still be just as festive. Next half-term is a really long one - 8 full weeks in school. Therefore dinner money will be £100. 40 dinners payable at £2.50 each.

During the planning meeting with the contractors last week, I did bring the nativities to their attention as on the performance days, they will need to be really quiet. I was assured that if we needed any extra carpenters then they could provide!

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 4 this week with 99.2% who will receive extra playtime next week. Our whole school attendance for this week is 91%

Mental Health is such a big talking subject at the moment. Here in school, we are really trying to be proactive rather than reactive. Yesterday was a celebration of all things yellow as we celebrated World Mental Health Day. Our friends at Excel Fostering also dropped some goodies off for the staff team too. Due to your donations, we managed to raise £200.24 for our new Parent Library which will be filled with resources that link into what we read in school; creating consistency and commonality.

Finally, well done to Bamber and Harcourt who won this half-term’s house points. You now earn a house colour day next Thursday. Don’t forget about our proud cloud in school. We are so proud of the things the children do beyond school that it is important that you share them with us. Please do send them in.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. “

October 4, 2024 Natalie Gregan

In Monday’s liturgy, we talked about times when we have been jealous in our lives and learnt about a young girl called Bernadette who was visited by Mary 18 times. This young girl lived in the town of Lourdes, which is now one of the most visited sites by Catholics around the world. October is the month of the rosary, and in school, we will be praying the rosary throughout, led be our Mini-Vinnie Good Shepherds. In school we use a resource called Ten Ten to support our prayer and liturgy, they have started to provide their own Parent Newsletters. Why not click on the link below to find out more.

October Newsletter ten ten

Don’t forget our first family mass on Sunday 6th October. Some of the children from across the school will be reading, taking the offertory and taking part in the choir. Please don’t gravitate to the back, the point of these masses is that the children witness the entirety of the mass and see what Father Peter does, along with the parish. Children need to be sat with their families, as would normally happen at Mass. The choir will be with Mrs Lyons in the choir loft - no school uniform required for anybody. Just a lovely mass together.

Next Friday, our children from Year 1 - Year 6 will be walking down to church for the Harvest Festival. If you are able to walk with us, we would be so grateful. We are finding it increasingly hard to walk the children to church so if you can, we would really appreciate it; especially with our littlest children.

“Nature is a tool to get children to experience not just the wider world, but themselves.” – Stephen Moss.

In our final week of this half-term, our Forest School canopy will be built. We are so excited to see the start of our journey begin. Miss Lavelle and Mrs Tierney have been having working lunches every Friday to plan what they want to see and how it will look in our grounds. From hammock areas, to mini beasts and the fire pit; we cannot wait to see it come to life. This week, Miss Lavelle has been on her Forest School leaders training - and by the look of the photographs, she has had a wonderful week! From climbing trees, to making a three course dinner over the fire, she is bursting with ideas to bring back to school.

For us to develop our area, we also need to look at what others are doing too. On Wednesday afternoon, 4 of our Earth Angels from Year 5 headed to St Peters to see what their forest school was like. They had the best time, and other than getting a school dog, have the most wonderful ideas to share.

We have also had a new addition of tyres onto the playground this week and cogs!

Learning Role Models of the Week

Parents’s Meetings - Hold booking for now - some parents data is not bein rectified. Will text when back up next week.

In two weeks, there will be the opportunity to speak to your child’s class teacher and find out how they have settled into school this year. Again, we are taking a hybrid approach to hopefully include everyone - a mixture of in school and virtually. After half term, there will be a series of coffee mornings and stay and plays so that you can see your child’s work first hand.

There is now an opportunity for parents to meet virtually with your child’s teacher. We would like to invite you to a virtual parents’ meeting to discuss your child and to celebrate their achievements. We will be using the same system we used in the past, called SchoolCloud. This will allow you to access the meeting from where ever you are (even if you are flying off somewhere exotic), with no need to wait in school. This can always be tricky, especially if you have multiple children, or have planned October half term holidays. We have found in the past year that parent attendance has been higher virtually, than it was in person. I even had the pleasure of conducting a parents’ meeting whilst the family was on a beach in Mexico!

This platform has no app for you to install, you simply use your web browser, and you will be automatically connected with the teacher at the time you have booked in the appointment schedule. Each appointment will last ten minutes and start at the allotted time. You will then see the time and count down on the screen. Please note: when the countdown ends, the meeting is automatically closed and the next appointment is started, we have no control over this. Please log in and check the audio and visual before your appointment starts.

Within the program there is a facility to add a note when you book. If there is something specific which you would like to discuss, this will enable you to communicate it to the teacher before the meeting.

The available appointments will be on Friday 18th October from 8.30am - 5.20pm. Appointments can be booked from 4pm today by clicking on this link:

School Cloud

When it asks you to input your child’s class at login please input the following:

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

This has to be typed exactly as above for you to enter into the booking page.

Office News

With two weeks to go until the end of the first half term, please can you ensure that your Parent Pay accounts are clear and All Stars payments have been made. Those children who were booked onto All Stars from the start of September will automatically roll over to the next half-term. Those children who were booked on as a result of extra-curricular clubs will come off. The club timetable for Autumn 2 will be live next week for bookings to be made.

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 3 this week with 99.3% who will receive extra playtime next week. Our whole school attendance for this week is 92.4%

Finally, after many many meetings and emails, we have a start date for our kitchen extension. The work will start during October half term. This is quite a lengthy build and our new kitchen should be ready after February half term. For now, food will still be cooked in school until the point that they knock through. Once more formal plans have been made, I will let you know what will be happening.

Have a lovely weekend with some sunshine I hope. These Autumn days are beautiful, but so much nicer when there is no rain.

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to him, the more intensely missionary we become.”

September 27, 2024 Natalie Gregan

There are certain weeks where the Gospel and the theme of our school week fit perfectly. This week was one of them. We heard all about the meaning of the word greatest, and what transpired was to be the greatest servant of all, you must indeed serve. Today has been a really special day in our school’s life as we welcomed Bishop Paul Swarbrick to our community. You all know how proud I am of us, and in particular our Catholic identity. It is this that drives us and ignites our desire to be the best human beings possible. It only seemed right that we started his visit in church, where we celebrated mass together, before coming back to school to meet our staff and governors. Bishop Paul worked his way around the classes, speaking with pupils and was even given some worms in nursery. What a lovely way to celebrate our school. The children shone so brightly and spoke so elequently. Thank you to the choir who led us so beautifully in church. Bishop Paul commented on their singing. Thank you to everyone who joined us today and who walked with us. We will need you again on Friday 11th October for our Harvest Festival please.

One of the main jobs of the day for Bishop Paul, was to meet with our newly formed Mini-Vinnie Good Shepherds. These children will be turning concern into action, and alongside our leadership group, running iniatives in school. Watch out for their work in the coming months as we build up to Harvest and Advent. Their first meeting in school will be Monday 7th October from 3.30 - 4.15pm.

Don’t forget our first family mass on Sunday 6th October. Readings, offertory and choir will all be finalised on Monday. Thank you to everyone that has filled in the form saying that they will attend. As with everything that we offer in school, these are just opportunities and are never compulsory, just another way of coming together. Ironically, the theme of the Gospel that weekend is children coming to God - seems just perfect.

Family Mass - Sunday 6th October

My Happy Mind

On Wednesday morning, we welcomed 30 parents into school to hear all about our safeguarding and well-being programme for children. Already, we have seen the power of this programme with the children discussing their hippocampus and pre-frontal cortex as part of normal language; why not ask them about neuroplasticity! As part of the coffee morning, each parent was given a copy of the myHappyMind journal for coming and downloaded the parent app too. They have been given the mission to spread the myHappy word and to get every parent to download the app. Here you can track what your children are learning in school and also access key resources to support well-being. The button below will take you to a letter that explains how to download the app and link to our school. After half term, there will be an open morning where you can come and watch a session take place. Let’s spread the word!

My HAppy Mind Coffee Morning

On Thursday 10th October, it is World Mental Health Day and we will be supporting Hello Yellow. On this day, the children can wear yellow and bring in £1 or a donation. With that money, we want to create a parent library that is linked to myHappymind and buy books for you to understand what we are doing in school. We look forward to shining brightly in our yellow and being rays of sunshine!

Learning Role Models of the Week

Parking around school has been an increasingly concerning issue this week. With the bad weather and the addition of road works in the vicinity, we have had a number of phone calls from very upset residents who can either not get out of their drive or have been spoken to in a rude way. In the Spring and Summer, we did a really good job of parking away from school and walking in. I am asking if we can do that again, to keep the roads around our gates quiet and to keep our children safe (and neighbours happy). Next week, we are being visited by Road Safety Lancashire and the policing team to discuss and observe. Please be mindful where you are parking, thank you.

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 5 this week with 99.3% who will receive extra playtime next week. Our whole school attendance for this week is 91.4%

School sporting fixtures got back underway this week - there was certainly a buzz around the school on Tuesday. The netball and football team headed off to LSA to compete against St Peters. We were incredibly proud of the sportsmanship of all the children who competed. There is no fixture next Tuesday due to it being LSA open evening for Years 5 & 6, but the girls will play their football match on Thursday here at school after it was postponed earlier in the week.

On next week’s blog, you will be able to book your appointment for Parents’ Day on Friday 18th October. As these are virtual, you will able to access them from anywhere, so do not worry if you are away on holiday. After half-term, there will be the opportunity to come and see your child’s work and talk to them about what they are most proud of.

Have a lovely weekend with some sunshine I hope. We are certainly clinging onto the sunshine as much as we possibly can!

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

September 20, 2024 Natalie Gregan

This week’s Gospel could not have been more perfect for the week that we have had in school. Jesus’ message is clear, for anyone who wants to be first, must put themselves last and be the greatest servant of all. On Tuesday, we celebrated every child in school and awarded our leadership positions for this academic year. Giving every child a leadership role in school is incredibly important, not just for our older children, but even our youngest too. The children have responsibility in the classroom, with prayer and liturgy and on the playground; it really is a beautiful thing to see. We know what it means to be a servant to others, this is something we are striving to be; which is sometimes so very hard. Our Year 6 children have all been given a position, from Office Monitors, to Digital Leaders and our new Deputy Head Boy and Girl working alongside our Head Boy and Girl. Our extended leadership team will be responsible for our Catholic Life and Student Council this year. Our House Captains had one really important job to start off with, present every child in school with their house badge. Belonging to their houses is incredibly special and to be recognised is something that we want to develop this year. Please do not panic; they do not need to be worn every day, that is up to you. The children have loved them and are proud of their house colour - there is no pressure. Whatever you all find easiest. I know about many of them having had a few washes in the washing machine already!

Today, our Year 3 class completed the first part of their STAR Charter; they attended the Parish Coffee Morning, to sing French songs and share scripture cards. Over the course of the year, each class will have a parish connection. Please do join us on these events, they are really special and keep and eye out for those coming up!

On Sunday 6th October, we will be having our first family mass in church at 9.30am. These are the usual Sunday Masses which we are inviting our school community to make a special appearance. There will be no liturgy on these days, instead the children will be encouraged to stay in church and be part of the mass. We want the children to read, to take the offertory and to sing with the parish choir. If you will be able to attend, please can you complete the form below so we can select the readers etc. We will rotate these around as the years goes on and work alongside the children. Not everyone will want to read, and that is ok. It is a lovely opportunity for us all to come together beyond the school walls.

Family Mass - Sunday 6th October

Bishop Paul’s Visit

Next Friday, Bishop Paul will be visiting us for a morning. Again it seems fitting that not only is it Our Lady Star of the Sea’s feast day but also Saint Vincent de Paul. St. Vincent de Paul is primarily recognised for his charity and compassion for the poor; for being a servant to others. To start the morning, Bishop Paul will join us for 9:30am Mass at church, followed by a visit to school where he will meet the children, staff and governors. One of the most important parts of his visit will be to meet the newly formed Mini Vinnies - Our Good Shepherds - who will lead Catholic Life this year. We need a group of children in Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 who want to get involved. Application forms have gone home tonight and need to be back in on Tuesday next week. Our Mini Vinnie Good Shepherds will meet with Miss Bassett every Monday after school from 3.30pm - 4.15pm, exploring Catholic life, and how we can contribute to our wider community. Eventually, we are hoping that our group can connect with other SVP groups. Please do encourage your child to apply if they are able to. Those in All Stars can apply and then head back to the club room after their weekly meeting.

It would be lovely to have a big school community turn out for the Bishop’s visit. If you are able to walk down to mass with us, please join us at 9am in school.

My Happy Mind

I can already see the benefit of this in school, and if you read the home-learning and weekly blogs carefully, you will see references to the brain and hypocampus! On Wednesday morning, I will be taking you through the programme and the benefit that it can have for you at home too. I will be setting up a My Happy Mind parent library of the book linked to the programme for you to sign out and borrow. They have also launched a competition for parental engagement - I know we will do well on that front. If you can join us on Wednesday morning, please fill in the form below.

My HAppy Mind Coffee Morning

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

Office news…

What a week with All Stars! Mrs Shields and Mrs Nel have been really busy setting up accounts for all of the childcare vouchers that you use - they have done a remarkable job. And it has paid off as the first payments have been made. When searching for our school, please do not click on the nursery, these accounts are being deregistered as nursery has now moved into school; only use the school account. Amounts owed are on Parent Pay so you can all find which payment works for you; if you have any questions, please do contact the school office. I am so proud of how the children have settled into the Wrap Around Care on site and the numbers speak for themselves. Thank you to all of the staff who are making this possible - proper All Stars!

Don’t forget that we have a welfare position available in school. If you are interested, please click on the link below.

welfare position application

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 2 this week with 100% who will receive extra playtime next week. Our whole school attendance for this week is 96.4%

Next week, the netball and football fixtures start for our school teams. All of the information is on the sports page of the website so you can arrange collection and take to the correct venue. We can’t wait to get started!

Have a lovely weekend with some sunshine I hope. We are certainly clinging onto the sunshine as much as we possibly can!

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has."

September 13, 2024 Natalie Gregan

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.

My HAppy Mind Coffee Morning

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.

Class snacks and healthy lunchboxes

a guide to healthy packed lunches

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

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

Well done to Year 4 this week with 100% who will receive extra playtime next week. Our whole school attendance for this week is 98.4%

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.

Dominic's walk - brain tumour research

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

Wednesday Word

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you.”

September 6, 2024 Natalie Gregan

A school is a place of magic. Seeing what the children achieve and who they are on a daily basis is the reason why we all do what we do. The first week of a new school year is nothing but exhausting, but it is one of the best as each child figures out their new environment, makes new relationships and reignites old ones. This week has been nothing but joyous. Today we all walked down to church to celebrate the start of the new year with God; asking for his prayers and blessings as we take on every challenge that comes our way. Year 6 read beautifully and we all sang our hearts out in praise. I have a feeling that this year is going to be even more successful than the last.

As with each new half-term, we focus on the Jesuit virtues to guide us on the right path. This half term we are aspiring to be attentive and discerning. Paying close attention to the things that matter in our lives and making the right decisions about how to live our lives. As we meet as a whole-school community every Monday morning, we will unpick these further and explore them in the gospel messages.

Meeting your teaching team…

On Wednesday 18th September, you have the chance to meet your teaching team. There will be two chances to come in and listen to all of the exciting opportunities that your child will experience this year.

3.45pm - 4.30pm and 4.45pm - 5.30pm.

If you have children in different classes then you will be able to do both. Ideally, please try and come without your child so that you can have a really good conversation and ask those questions that you would want to without little ears.

Shining like STARS…

Way back, last June, we started to talk to the children about what it meant to be a STAR at Our Lady Star of the Sea. There are lots of meaning of the word star and we wanted to ensure that this embodied the behaviour and relationships that we are trying to foster here in school. For a school to be really successful, there has to be consistency across the school and for everybody to be singing from the same hymn sheet (so to speak). Our policies and proceedures also have to work with our current community and be understood by all. With all this in mind, we have devised a new behaviour strategy and written a new behaviour and relationships policy, with a strong focus on praise and how we celebrate everything that we do well. There are some really specific actions in there that we are trying to develop and our policy will be tweaked over the next term to ensure that we are happy with it and it is understood by all (that is why the review date is also this term). All of the words below have been developed from what the children have said and the words that we discussed. We are STRIVING, THRIVING, ASPIRING and being RESPECTFULLY RESPONSIBLE. This language will embody everything that we do and who we are. Please do mirror this at home and have a conversation with your child. They have blown me away this week with how responsive they have been and how quickly they have shone like the Our Lady Star.

Behaviour and Relationship policy

Communication in school

The prime reason a child make such wonderful progress, and is above all happy at school, is that communication between home and school is there. I am passionate about making sure that there is more opportunities for parents to experience school life. This will continue next week when the parents of our certificate and butterfly winners are invited to Friday’ celebration assembly. There is also more of an opportunity to touch base with the class teacher after school when required. As well as being passionate about parental involvement and the opportunites we can give for you to share in the magic of school, I am also passionate about our school staff having time with their families beyond the school day. They all work incredibly hard with some in school at 7am and not leaving until 6pm. Being a teacher is just one of the hats that they wear in their lives. We are one of the only schools who use email as a main way to communicate, and not a school app, and sometimes the ease of email can result in them being sent from staff and parents beyond 8pm at night. I really want us all to be aware of this, and to foster those healthy interactions where we can. Teachers will respond to you via email within the school working hours; not during teaching time when they are with the children. You may have noticed an automated message when you do email. There are so many ways that you can communicate with us and us with you - that is the wonderful thing!

We also want to ensure that we are empowering the children to communicate with their teaching team when something has happened that they have needed to share. These are also discussed with the child and perspective is created. Please can you also encourage this at home. If your child comes home and tells you something has happened during the day, encourage them to come and speak to a teacher and build their resilience.

Questions like; what happened? How did it make you feel? What could you do next time? Who is the trusted adult who you could speak to in school? These all help the children begin to problem-solve for themselves and reason situations. They are going to come across many situations in their lives where we need to provide the tools for them to problem-solve. Right from the earliest age of our children, they are able to do that. If we always investigate for them, they don’t become empowered to do so themselves and rely on the adults and others around them to do it for them - which is such a skill to have in life; and sometimes it can be something that has been spotted. We really appreciate your support with this and are always here if you need to sound something out with or ask a question.

communication between school and home

On Monday we will be launching MY HAPPY MIND with the children in school. We are so excited about this programme and how it will support the mental health of all of our children.

Each week there will be a question that you can discuss with your child at home.

Don’t forget about our launch coffee morning on Wednesday 25th September at 9.15am where I will be explaining the programme and how you too can use it at home.

Enrichment in School

I cannot thank you for all of the donations that we have received from scooters, to dolls houses, to lego and everything in between. Our scooter zone is ready to be launched on Monday and the All Stars Club has been up and running this week. It has been lovely to see the children coming in each morning, having fun and eating breakfast and then having fun after school too. I think it is an excellent addition to our school community.

Now we have another plea - den making. Our den area is also being launched on Monday and whilst we have some tarpaulin, rope and crates, we definitely need more. Please can you raid your garages for the following items - we know we can count on you!

Waterproof picnic blankets
Ground sheets
Plastic crates

You will have seen that our All Stars children enter and exit school from the gate on Kenilworth Road. This is a locked gate at all times of the school day. Clubs start next week and the children who will be taking part in them are now on the sports page of the website. If there are any children coming or leaving the extra-curricular clubs on the school field, please can you do so via the gate on St Patricks. That way we keep all children safe and where they need to be. This will be for football and netball mainly. The other clubs can be accessed through the main reception and into the hall.

Finally, our school family has grown this week with the arrival of our new Reception class. 30 children have all skipped into school, eager eyed and in the shiniest shoes I have ever seen. We are so incredbly blessed to have them in our school and thank God that we are going to be part of their history. Another week of part-time next week and then they will be fully fledged the week after.

Have a lovely weekend with your family

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

“You will shine . . . like stars in the sky.” Philippians 2:15

August 23, 2024 Natalie Gregan

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

'In every end, there is also a beginning.'

July 19, 2024 Natalie Gregan

And so…here we are. I feel nothing but pride for our whole community and how we have moved forward together, each and every day. In assembly this morning, we held our first STAR Awards. A time to recognise everything that we are thankful for. We listened to the Gospel of Jesus healing the ten lepars and how thankful they were. Now is definitely the time for gratitude. There have been so many memories from this year and I wish I could capture them all. I have popped a few in the video below.

Today we also awarded our first STAR Charter winners. This was presented to Year 5 for the work that they have done over the year to support Dominic, ending with the fabulous afternoon of sport. Because of their hard work, they were each presented with a star pin badge to recognise their efforts. We have raised over £3000 for Manchester Children’s Hospital! Many of you have asked how you can continue to support the cause. The Barrow Family are taking part in a Walk for the Brain Tumour Research. I have attached a link to their story here. I hope that next year, 240 STAR Awards are given out as every child in the school completes the Star Charter Award.

The Dominic Barrow Walk

Today we say a big thank you to our Year 6 Leavers who have worked so hard and always led with compassion. We wish them all the luck in the world as they head off to their new adventures; knowing just how much they are loved!

As you are aware, we are due to have a kitchen extension over the Summer Holidays. I am currently in discussions with contractors about what this will mean for us in school and how it will affect our dinner service. As soon as I know, I will communicate this to you ready for the new school year. Finally, thank you. Thank you for the many gifts that have been received into school and for the tonnes of kind words and emails I have received over the past week. Have the most wonderful summer with your families and we look forward to welcoming you into school on Tuesday 3rd September at 8.45am.

God Bless

Mrs Gregan

"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members."

July 12, 2024 Natalie Gregan

I could not have imagined a better way to start the final week of our school year than this afternoon. Our whole school have had a wonderful day celebrating our family connections and raising money for Manchester Children’s Hospital at the same time. We are grateful and we are generous all at the same time. Today has been magical! I cannot thank the Year 5 team enough for what they have put together. The children used their initiative and ran with it. We have all had an amazing time outside together having fun. So far, we have raised over £3000, and there is still more money to come in! If you haven’t brought your sponsor money in yet, or there are donations still to be made, let’s get them in on Monday! Please enjoy this montage of photos - what fabulous memories!

Celebrating your STARS

Today, you will have received your child’s report that reflects their growth over the last academic year. After Year 5s hard work and busy day, they will be coming home on Monday. We are beyond proud of what each of the children have achieved this year, both as a human being and academically. There have been some real WOW moments for each and every one of them. My favourite thing to do in my year is to read each of the children’s reports and then to write my comments on them; all 210 of them. It might be a long process, but it is the most rewarding one. Each teacher has spent time trying to convey to you, just what the children have achieved this year. There is some wonderful advice too of how they can continue to grow. I know that you will be just as proud of them as we are; even more so.

In our Year 6 children’s reports, they will find their End of Key Stage Assessment results. Every year, this group of children work so hard to demonstrate just what we are capable of. All we can do is to ask them to try their best and to shine so very brightly; just like we know they can do. The Year 6 assessments aren’t a reflection of Year 6, but their entire journey through school - with lots of learning combined. We are always proud of the children and the results they achieve. We want them to be proud of themselves.

This year our results are just as fabulous as other years, with the children achieving above national average in each of the assessment areas.

Please click on the button below to complete a reflection on the school year.

A reflection of your child's year in school

Looking forward to next year…

Last week I shared that there would be some tweaks to school life as we continue to evolve. Things to be aware of and to plan for as we finish for summer. I have left the unifrom button below for you to continue to refer too.

Our Ladys School uniform

attendance newsletter - summer

The government has stipulated that statutory guidance for attendance will come into force from 19th August. It is always a taboo stubject, and I know that it is a conversation that I have with a lot of parents. Whatever the thoughts are about it, it is something that I have to follow and something that is a national focus. I have made a newsletter for you with some of the key information for you. You will see that I have included our headlines from this year and data that is specific to us. We will continue to communicate as a school. Please do come and see me if you have any concerns. In addition to the information provided above, you will also find on the front page of the school website next week, the holiday list for 2025/2026. I have worked our governors to get these out earlier and to give you as much time as possible to arrange holidays outside of term time.

The curriculum is continuing to evolve at school as we look at different and engaging ways to teach each subject. New ways of teaching science and geography will be embedded, providing enrichment and links to the local area. One of our key focus is around PSHE, whilst still delivering Kidsafe lessons to our children. We want our children to understand themselves better, to know how their brain works and then how they can self-regulate better. Next year we will be introducing a programme called My Happy Mind. Every week, the children will have lessons that encourage them to thrive and collect all of the skills needed for tomorrow’s world. Each child will have their own journal, that they can record their thoughts in, and develop a common language that we can use across the school. The best bit is that there is a parent app where you can track what modules we are covering in school. On Wednesday 25th September, I will hold a coffee morning in school where you can learn all about the programme and see how you can use it at home too.

Finally, but most importantly, our Catholic identity is something that we are incredibly proud of. Our prime mission is to ensure that the children love themselves, love others and love God; through how they live and understand the Gospel values. There is so much we can do to strengthen our links with the parish community and provide opportunities for the children to feel their contribution to their community. Next year, we will be introducing Family Masses. Six Sundays across the year where the 9.30am mass will be for our school community. The children will read, do the offertory and sing with the choir. Each class will also visit the Parish Centre over the year to visit the parishoners at coffee morning, taking something that they have been learning or wanting to share with them. It would be lovely to see some of our parents and grandparents attend too. The final thing that we will be introducing is a STAR Charter. This is an opportunity for every child in the school to contribute to their community through a series of tasks. These tasks will be done as part of classroom life, but there will also be an opportunity to apply for distinction; this is where the children contribute to their community beyond school and using their own iniative. I believe that our children have so much to offer and I want them to know their worth in our world. There will be more information about this in September, and about how you can get involved as a family. We have really seen the power and strength of our community this year; it would be so lovely to build on that next year too!

Plea from School

We are still looking for the following items for school. How can you help?

Scooters: do you have any old scooters at home that your children no longer play with or use, maybe they have grown out of them? We could use them in school at play times for our new scooter zone.
Board Games: our new Wrap Around Care Offer is in the planning stage and we are looking at our resources. We could do with some board games. Have you got any board games at home that you no longer play with? Could they be donated to school?

Office news…

We are in the final stages of putting together our wrap around care provsion and will be writing to all parents who have booked places next week. Please click on the button below for further information that you may require.

Wrap Around Care Information

Our Weekly Attendance

Well done to Year 1 this week with 100%. Our whole school attendance for this week is 96.2%

Finally, as we head into the final week of school, let’s hope we are starting it as European Winners on Monday. The Year 5 & 6 play is on next week, if you would like a ticket, please do come and get one from the office.

House point winners for this half-term, with an own clothes day for house colours on Tuesday, is Plessington!

We finish at 2pm next Friday for the summer holidays.

Mrs Gregan

Wednesday Word

Dominic's Sport Fest 2024 - Information

July 11, 2024 Natalie Gregan

Tomorrow, we will be raising money for our final cause of the year, and what a cause it is. You will all know just how much it means to us to be able to raise money for Manchester Children’s Hospital - who quite simply saved Dominic’s life this year.

Here are some pointers for the day:

All children can come into school in any sports wear. If your child belongs to a community beyond school: football, netball, gymnastics, rainbows, scouts, dance, acting - this list goes one - then they can wear that kit or t-shirt. It would be lovely to see how many families we belong to beyond the school. We want to celebrate the feeling of family as much as we possibly can!
The day is being run by Year 5 and their parents. In the morning, during break times, the children will be running a cake stall for each class. If your child would like to buy a cake from the cake sale, then they need to bring in 50p for the cake sale.
In the afternoon, the plan is that all 240 children are outside taking part in sporting challenges, as set by Dominic and Year 5. From musical statues, to bench ball to an obstacle course - they will have lots of opportunity to get involved. Due to the whole school being outside at the same time, we will not be able to open up to parents until 3pm. Just because of space and logisitcs.
At 3pm the gates will open and you will be able to come in and get involved at this point. Year 5 have organised a tombola for the end of the day with a whole load of prizes. You will be able to visit the tombola stand and collect your child to do so.
Please don’t forget sponsor money tomorrow. Anything from £1 to whatever you can manage. It does all add up for a wonderful cause.

We have had some lovely messages from parents who have also made a donation from their businesses to support Dominic - we are blown away with your generosity!

Year 5 have organised this day to ensure that at some point, everyone is involved.