‘The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all. To some people the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge. To others the same Spirit gives faith.’ 1 Corinthians 12: 7-9
Following the death and resurrection of Jesus, our attention moves to His ascension and the arrival of the Holy Spirit - the most beautiful gift that we have been given. In Year 2 this week, the children have been looking at the story of Pentecost and times when we have needed the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As a school, we talked about how we know the way home; we always have someone to guide us. This is the same as Jesus. His father was calling him home. He is ‘The Way, The Truth and The Life.’
Tomorrow, some of our Year 4 children will be receiving the gift of Holy Communion for the first time. Half of the children from Y4 will be receiving the sacrament tomorrow and the other half of the class, together with Arthur from Y6 and some children from other schools, next Saturday. We pray that they all understand the true significance of what they are about to receive. Please keep them and their families in your prayers at this very special time. Thank you to our wonderful staff who have supported the children at every step of their journey.
Our Year 6 children
There is a group of children (and staff) in school who have shown enormous wisdom, knowledge and courage this week as they have sat down to tackle their end of year assessments. Our Year 6 children have come into school each day, determined to show what they can do. The hall has been a hive of brain power as they have moved from one paper to the next; one area of learning to the next. Together with their teachers, they have seen that the SATs are just a snippet of who they are as a person. Throughout the year they have continued to learn the wider curriculum, only turning their focus to their assessments in Spring. SATs measure many things, but they do not measure a child’s compassion, humour, creativity - a whole host of qualities which our children possess in bucket loads. We could not be more proud of them all.
Now their attention turns to the end of year play and service with a smile. Next week, the children will be auditioning for roles in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and also being interviewed for a job around school, part of their mission of service, to ‘give back’ to their community. Together, alongside Year 5, the children will have a wonderful time, preparing for the play and working as one big team to put on an end of year spectacular!
Celebration of our community
Change is inevitable, and in school, change happens on a minute by minute basis. Whether this is because of how a child is feeling, the type of morning that we have all had or simply the weather - the daily climate of a school is changeable. What does not change quite so easily is the culture. At Our Lady's the culture of embedded relationships, striving to be the very best version of ourselves and the desire to provide the very best opportunities for the children in our care, runs through us all. The culture of Our Lady's is ingrained in all of us and it runs deep. There is no doubt that the past year has been a time of change, but a time of growth too. We have welcomed so many new members to our community; children and families, staff and governors.
When OFSTED arrived to inspect our school, I feel like they came at just the right time. It was lovely for me to be able to share our vision moving forward and for the inspectors to see just how special the community of Our Lady’s is. During my many conversations with them, they constantly referred to the children knowing themselves and knowing that they could and will make a difference in the world. They spoke about the comments that our parents and families had made, demonstrating the strong sense of community that we have. They spoke at length to staff about their expectations in school. We are ambitious and we have high expectations of ourselves and our children. We all want the very best.
I am absolutely delighted to be able to share with you the OFSTED report. When reading it, it is hard to sum up our school in just two pages, but what it does do is capture the very essence of our school. The children do skip into school each morning, with a huge smile on their face. This report is testament to each and every member of our school community. Please do not underestimate just how hard it is to receive this judgement; it is not given lightly, in fact the number of schools receiving it is rapidly reducing. It is a validation of what we do in school, and an assurance that we are on the right path. We will never be perfect, but what we are is a learning community which grows and learns together - always striving to be the very best version of ourselves. Enjoy reading. I hope you too share my enormous sense of pride.
Role Models of the Week
Role Models who have demonstrated virtues this week.
Our Whole School learning Role Models for this week.
Our Year 6 Superstars!
Year 1 Certificate Winners
Attendance
Office News
In the office this week, we have been tip-toeing around in the mornings due to SATs tests in the hall and we’ve had some lovely little walks around the school perimeter, taking children to other classes when returning from appointments. It was a bonus to have those little moments outside enjoying the fresh air!
We are currently checking records to ensure we have the most up to date information and we will send you all a text tonight using the first contact number. We’re asking class teachers to mention this on their weekly class blogs too so, if you don’t receive a text by 5pm, you will need to ring us on Monday with an updated telephone number.
And so we are back into a 5 day week next week - with just two weeks left until half term. After half term, our final one of the school year, we have our annual sports days, Gym-Jam Jog and end of year play. Please keep an eye on the dates section of the website to see what is coming up. Just to put a smile on your face, please see our wonderful Coronation Celebration video.
God Bless
Mrs Gregan