When we are in a dark room, we turn on the light so that we can see all that is around us. Sometimes this darkness can be when we feel worried, confused or even just too busy - we cannot see clearly. This week in school, we have been hearing about how Jesus called his twelve disciples and how he called them to follow his light. In the darkness that we often feel, we can also turn on the light to the brightest light of all - Jesus! Jesus has called us all to be His disciples and to walk from the darkness into the light of God’s love. Our Year 1 display in our worship area illustrates this message beautifully! Next Tuesday, we are being visited in school by The Yogi Group. The children will all be taking part in a mental health workshop; working on their mindfulness, breathing and developing techniques where they remain calm. We look forward to sharing with you what we have learnt.
One of my priorities this year is for the children to visit Father Peter at church more and for him to return to classes as well. It fills my heart with joy that so many of our children attend mass each weekend, they know Father Peter well and understand how special our church community is. Father Peter has spoken about his need for more altar servers. Due to the pandemic, it has been a few years since we have asked the children to get involved with this programme. In assembly this morning, I asked all children from Year 3 - Year 6 to consider whether they would apply to be an altar server. Those who are interested will be taking an application form and working alongside Father Peter to understand more about the role.
Mrs Gregan’s Week in School
By taking on this new role, I knew my heart would be longing to be back in the classroom from time to time. I love being with the children and to see the excitement that learning brings. All of the classes have been inviting me into class to experience a lesson with them. I have had the most wonderful time visiting Year 4, Reception and Year 3 this week. If you click on the photo gallery, you can see some of my favourite learning moments.
‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on,’ so says William Shakespeare. I was mesmerised watching Year 4 bring their interpretation to life in the hall on Tuesday - we are all in for a real treat when they take to the stage at The Grand in March. I also witnessed a heart-felt worship around kindness where they posed the question, What is Jesus asking us to do? The answer is simple; be kind and love one another.
I was really excited to see a huge envelope that had been written with my name on it. In the envelope was an invitation to visit Reception and take part in their Drawing Club. Drawing is a passion of mine so I was really excited to visit and see what the children have been up to. Using Room on the Broom as their stimulus, the children have been deciding what animals to include on their broom stick and they also linked in their phonics with the ‘th’ sound. I loved my visit - when can I come back Reception? Such independence at such a young age. We can all learn a lot from our Reception children.
Our Year 3 children are in the midst of their Arctic unit of work. I could not believe the amount of knowledge that they have gathered. Using their mini white boards, the children could tell me why it was cold there, recalled the animals that lived there and how they knew that the Arctic had no land underneath it. I even found out that there is a bear there called the Pizzly Bear (thank you Finley). Using their knowledge, they then set about writing their own non-chronological reports. I am really excited to visit again next week and to read the finished report.
Our Learning and Virtue Role Models
Please visit each class page to see what learning characters these children have demonstrated this week, they really have embodied all of our characters. We are really proud of you!
Our Whole School Learning Role Models
Roles Models who have demonstrated our virtues this week.
Learned and Wise butterflies
Each half term, the staff in school look for children who celebrate our virtues. These children are given a butterfly in recognition of their actions. This half term we are on the lookout for all the children that are learned in their actions, finding God in all things. Those who are wise, who use their learning for the common good. These children are the role models of the school. I see so many children who live and breathe our virtues on a daily basis as I witness life in school; therefore I am awarding my own butterflies. This week I awarded three butterflies. All of these children have made wise choices about themselves and others. Thank you children.
Online Safety - What support do you need?
Over recent years, we have seen an increase in issues around online safety. With the rapid change in technology, our children are trying to keep up with growing demands, social media and virtual interaction with their peers.
Tuesday 7th February is national online safety day. We use this day to showcase our online safety curriculum and to revisit any issues that appear within the class. This year’s theme is 'Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online.’ It is crucial that we talk and educate ourselves about online safety; keeping up to date with the latest trends. This morning in assembly, I have launched a film competition that all children can take part in. It will appear on homework blogs next week.
On Thursday 9th February, we are hosting a parents’ session about the issues that your children are currently facing and will face when being online. A local advisor will be coming into school and presenting current findings, they will then able to answer any questions that you have. The session will start at 9am, after drop off, and last around 90 minutes. It would be wonderful to get as many parents there as we can (there will be tea, coffee and cakes on offer too!) If you are able to join us, please complete the form below so that we can plan for numbers. We already have lots of parents signed up for this. Please do come along if you are free. It is a really good opportunity to come into school and to have a discussion about factors that are impacting on your children’s life.
Attendance
Office News
Thank you all for the constant communication that you have with the school office. Our whole school attendance is much higher this week. You are letting us know what illnesses your children have and then keeping them off for the required period of time. This is ensuring that those pesky germs do not spread.
Well done Reception!
This week, our whole school attendance is 97.6% - well done everyone! We are above our 97% target. Keep up the good work. Let’s see if we can break the 98% mark next week.
We have had some reports of our pupils not being sensible when walking to school in the morning, or when waiting un-supervised at the school gate in the morning. In assembly, Mrs Gregan spoke to the children about the need to be safe. Children should not be running into the road or trying to cross the road multiple times. The traffic around school is quieter since we decided to have a staggered opening, this was one of the main reasons we kept it. However, we are worried for the children’s safety. Please could you reiterate this message at home with your children. We will be keeping a close eye on it at school.
As January comes to an end, we are hoping that the spring flowers come into bloom and sunshine becomes more of a permanent feature each day. Have a lovely weekend with your family. We look forward to seeing you all next week.
God Bless
Mrs Gregan
