"That's what I consider true generosity: You give your all and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing."

When March arrived, I think we all felt that Spring was most definitely on its way; the dark mornings and evenings would be a thing of the past and all of the bulbs that we had planted would start to bloom. Little did we know that snow would fall and the temperatures would plummet. Despite the bitterness of the weather outside, school has continued to be a place of warmth and light. In this week’s gospel, we are told about Jesus’ Transfiguration. It was through this revelation that Jesus revealed His glorious identity as the Beloved Son of God. In our assembly this morning, we have discussed how God the Father wants us to listen to Jesus and shine with the light of His love. We too can shine during Lent by making time to GIVE, ACT and PRAY.

How ironic, that having talked about the brightness of The Transfiguration, we then woke up this morning to the brightness of a fresh blanket of snow. This caused such excitement and led to a magical time in school. The children had such fun at break time, before the snow melted! We had to make some memories.

Today I have met with the class council to hear about the thoughtful ideas that each class has had in order to raise money for CAFOD. The children have been tasked to be creative and to think of an activity that contributes to the good of our community. We have also got our FOOD BANK up and running in the entrance to school. If you are able to contribute to it, please do pop in and add it to the display. If you have a need for a little extra support, you are very welcome to come and choose some useful items. Just come in as the bank is by the entrance, there is no need to ask anyone, just bring a bag and help yourself to what you need.

Celebrating learning in School

It has been lovely to welcome so many parents from every class into school for ‘book looks’ over the past two weeks. We hope that you have found the experience enjoyable, especially being able to sit down next to your child and for them to share their work. Parents’ Evenings will now be taking place over the next two Wednesdays. There is a still a small % of parents yet to book - please do let us know if we can help in any way. For those children who have an additional learning challenge and are part of our SEN group, Mrs Hotchkiss will be making time to arrange separate appointments on another day. This will give you the opportunity to talk directly to her and share any updates or concerns that you may have. If you feel that you need to speak to Mrs Hotchkiss, please complete the form below. Mrs Hotchkiss will then contact you directly to arrange a time.

Giving the children the opportunity to be creative and expressive is something that we value here in school. Great learning opportunities for now and for later life come from drama, art and music. This week we have had a visiting artist come into school to work alongside our Reception and Key Stage 1 children in the art of origami.

The children had to follow a set of precise instructions in order to make their various projects. Moving into the summer term, we will be holding a painting and print making workshop for our junior children.

‘We are the stuff that dreams are made of.”

Yesterday, our wonderful Year 4 class joined a host of other schools to perform at The Grand Theatre in Blackpool as part of their Shakespeare festival - Sandgrown Shakespeare! They were all just fabulous. The creativity, confidence and resilience of all of the children shone through in their words, actions and facial expressions. We are so very proud of you Year 4!

Role Models of the Week

Role Models who have demonstrated virtues this week.

Our Whole School learning Role Models for this week.

Attendance

Well done Year 4 with an attendance of 99%. Our whole school attendance this week is 97.3%.

Office News

Please bear with us if you ring in towards the end of the afternoon to report changes in pick-up arrangements, delays etc. We go around school delivering messages and updating Class teachers with changes so might not be in the Office to answer the phone. We don’t always get the chance to listen to voicemails after 3pm so it’s best to keep trying to speak to someone to ensure that messages are passed on.

We are finding that some parents are struggling with keeping up to date with activities, clubs, finishing times etc and these should always be accessible on the school website, either under classes or sports or extra curricular activities. If there are last minute changes, we would send a text to update families but we don’t always send texts when it is routine and general information. That will be found on the website and we can only urge you to check it and keep checking it as we have a lot of extra curricular activities and it’s essential that you and your children do not miss out. It also greatly helps staff who are running activities if you can be there promptly to collect the children.

We have been using Forms to get bookings for some clubs - if you find that you can’t book, generally this is because the places have been taken - once the bookings reach the optimum number for that activity, the booking system closes and no further places can be booked.

Extra-Curricular Update

This week, our sporting teams were back up and running for their Spring fixtures. Both the netball and football teams represented the school v St Peters. Both Mr Nay and Miss Lavelle could not speak highly enough about the attitude of the children. Next week, we are playing Hall Park. The netball match will be played at our school - please come and support if you can.

Choir for next week (one week only) will be on Thursday 3.30-4.00pm. This is because the staff have first aid training on Monday night. The choir will be preparing for an event in June where they will be performing at the North Pier - watch this space!

There are a number of holiday clubs happening this Easter. Mr Nay will be running his usual half term club and Antony at Judo Education is running one at Ansdell Primary School on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th April 2023. Activities include: Judo, Fencing, Archery, Softball plus much much more. Times are from 8.30am - 5.30pm. If this is something that you want to think about or look into, please contact antony@judoeducation.co.uk

Finally…

After ten long and happy years at Our Lady’s our lovely Colette in nursery has decided to hang up her early years boots and seek new challenges away from education. Over the past 10 years Colette has loved and nurtured so many children, it will be a great loss to both early years, education as well as our nursery and wider school community.

I am sure that each and every one of you will feel as upset as we are at losing such a fabulous and valued member of the team, but as Colette says “now is her time” to try something new. We are in awe of her bravery and would like to wish her every success and happiness as she opens a new chapter. I know that you will want to wish Colette the very best of luck as she starts her new adventure. We will miss her dearly and look forward to celebrating her on her final day - Friday 24th March.

Have a lovely weekend with your families

God Bless

Mrs Gregan

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

I feel like we have an awful lot to be grateful for this week. Every single day, and every moment in time, there has been something to smile about. Throughout the week there have been so many acts of kindness shown by the children, in so many different ways. From helping each other in the hall, to caring for each other outside, to supporting one another with learning; the children are reflecting the light of Christ so very brightly. Today we have been visited in assembly by a lovely lady from Brian House, our wonderful local children’s hospice. Lucy came in to school to share details of the incredible work they do there and the loving care they give their children. Through your generosity, their sensory room is being updated and a new wheelchair swing is being bought for their garden.

This Lent, we are raising money for CAFOD through our Lenten boxes and sponsored events which will be happening in school. Each class is currently deciding what they are going to do to fundraise. They have been tasked with creating an event for the greater good. Something that requires time or effort for the good of others. I have heard that Year 6 will be spending time baking cakes for a bake sale; Year 3 will be doing a sponsored walk to Ashton Gardens to litter pick. Our student council also wanted to help our local community and decided that a food bank would be a way to give something to those who need extra support. The donations will be used within the school community and to support the local food bank.

If you would like to donate anything to the food bank, or you need support from the food bank, please do pop into school. It has been created for our community to use.

The food bank is positioned in the area near the office and you can just pop in and pick up any suitable items from the stand - no need to ask anyone or engage - it’s there for you. By next week, we hope to have a good range of foodstuffs so please, do come in and pick up what you need.

On Sunday, our Year 4 Holy Communion children will be welcomed to church in the family mass. Please do attend at 9.30am. Tea and coffee is available after mass for our families to enjoy in the Parish Centre, there will also be some craft for the children. Lazy Sunday is taking place at 12pm, which some of you have tickets for. All are more than welcome to stay for Lazy Sunday, food will only be available to those with a ticket once there.

School Life this week

I cannot do justice with words just how much has been happening in school this week. I have collated photos from all of our events and put them together in a little video. Please visit class pages for more memories. Thank you for all of the wonderful support for the book fair that we have recently held in school. Your contributions will mean that we can buy some new books for our school library - thank you once again!

Book looks are continuing for other classes next week:

  • Monday 6th March - Year 5 Book Look at 9am

  • Monday 6th March - Reception Stay and Play for group 2 at 2.10pm

  • Tuesday 7th March - Year 4 Book Look at 9am

  • Wednesday 8th March - Reception Stay and Play for group 3 at 2.10pm

  • Wednesday 8th March - Year 6 Book Look at 2.30pm.

Please come to the main reception for all of these events and you will be welcomed into the school hall.

Parents Evening - don’t forget to book - 84% already have!

Next half term there will be two opportunities to find out how your child is engaging with their learning. We are taking a hybrid approach to hopefully include everyone - a mixture of in school and virtually. Firstly, there is an invitation to come into school to look at books alongside your child. This will be a lovely opportunity for you to spend some time in school with your child showing you work of which they are really proud.

Secondly there is 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 Autumn, called SchoolCloud. This will allow you to access the meeting from where ever you are, with no need to wait in school. This can always be tricky, especially if you have multiple children.

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 Wednesday 15th March and Wednesday 22rd March, from 2.00pm-5.30pm. Appointments can be booked from 4pm today by clicking on this link:

School Cloud

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.

There are two links below which provide support on booking an appointment and how to access the virtual meeting. Please click to find out more.

A GUIDE TO BOOKING APPOINTMENTS

VIDEO APPOINTMENTS GUIDE

If you are struggling, please contact school asap and we can help.

Our Learning and Virtue Role Models

Please visit each class page to see which learning characters these children have demonstrated this week, they really have embodied all of our characters. We are really proud of you!

Role Models who have demonstrated virtues this week.

Our Whole School learning Role Models for this week.

Attendance

Well done Reception with an attendance of 99.3%. Our whole school attendance this week is 96.9%.

Office News

Now that we are in March and the lighter evenings are here, more and more people are walking home so do please ensure that we know that your child has your permission for this. Class teachers and the Office all need to know.

We seem to be having a lot of jumpers, cardigans and tracksuit tops going missing, often when the children are playing outside. They get overheated and remove outer tops - then forget to bring them in. They do get collected but often end up in other classes. It is ESSENTIAL that these items are labelled. Top Marque have some great stick on labels, you can also get very good ones online. Please do ensure you do this as otherwise, the chances of reuniting the garments with your child are slim and we know it is incredibly frustrating for parents, not to mention horribly expensive.

We are having a number of Prime bottles being brought into school - thankfully with water in. However, they are proving to be quite the distraction and managing to sneak out to break and lunch times. Please can I ask that a normal water bottle is brought into school. I understand there is a hype with Prime at the moment, but I would much rather this hype stays outside of the school gates. Thank you for your support with this.

I think a cold snap is on the way, but hopefully the sun will continue to shine. The mornings and the night are much lighter, which makes everyone feel happier. Enjoy the weekend with your family.

God Bless

Mrs Gregan

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”

The sun has most definitely shone at different points this week. Flowers are starting to bloom, the field has been open and there have been more bikes being ridden to school. When popping into Reception, I was immediately taken outside to see a busy team of gardeners getting Reception garden ready. God’s world is beginning to show its vibrant colours once again. Our new virtues for this half term are grateful and generous. We are extremely grateful for the world which we have been given. It is now our responsibility to look after it. We are always trying to find acts of kindness and generosity in our every day school life. I will be on the hunt next week to see what I can find.

With Spring, also comes the Lenten journey to the cross. On Wednesday, Father Peter visited us in school and led two liturgies for Ash Wednesday. The children discussed how our school badge showed that we all belong to our school family. When we receive the cross in ashes on our forehead, this shows that we belong to God’s family. Throughout the week, the children have been swapping their Lenten boxes with their class partners. Such care and thought has gone into each of them - they are really special. We are going to use the boxes to be generous in the giving of time to help one another and the collection of coins to support CAFOD. Each class will also be running a sponsored event. I have heard that a cake sale is being organised.

Parent involvement

We are continuing to welcome parents back into school with a range of workshops that help you to support your children. This week, Year 1 parents came into school to listen to Miss Drummond speak so passionately about phonics. They were then whisked off to class to play some games with their children. It was lovely to see the excitement from all of the children as they tried to trick their parents and catch them out with some funny phonics games. Thank you to you all for getting so involved.

Next week, we will be starting our class book looks. Each child has selected some work that they would like to share with you. Keep an eye on the calendar for your class’s date and times.

  • Monday 27th February 9am - 9.30am - Year 3

  • Tuesday 28th February 9am - 9.30am - Year 2

  • Wednesday 1st March 2.30pm - 3.00pm Year 1

  • Wednesday 1st March 2.10pm - Reception Group 1 Stay and Play in the classroom

On Thursday we also started our Holy Communion programme in school. All of the children, as well as children from other schools, started to prepare for the sacraments alongside their class teachers and adults. Father Peter and myself met with the parents in another room to explain the programme and continue their own journey of faith.

Parents Evening - don’t forget to book - 60% already have!

Next half term there will be two opportunities to find out how your child is engaging with their learning. We are taking a hybrid approach to hopefully include everyone - a mixture of in school and virtually. Firstly, there is an invitation to come into school to look at books alongside your child. This will be a lovely opportunity for you to spend some time in school with your child showing you work of which they are really proud.

Secondly there is 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 Autumn, called SchoolCloud. This will allow you to access the meeting from where ever you are, with no need to wait in school. This can always be tricky, especially if you have multiple children.

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 Wednesday 15th March and Wednesday 22rd March, from 2.00pm-5.30pm. Appointments can be booked from 4pm today by clicking on this link:

School Cloud

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.

There are two links below which provide support on booking an appointment and how to access the virtual meeting. Please click to find out more.

A GUIDE TO BOOKING APPOINTMENTS

VIDEO APPOINTMENTS GUIDE

If you are struggling, please contact school asap and we can help.

Our Learning and Virtue Role Models

Please visit each class page to see which learning characters these children have demonstrated this week, they really have embodied all of our characters. We are really proud of you!

Role Models who have demonstrated virtues this week.

Our Whole School learning Role Models for this week.

Attendance

Office News

We do so appreciate you letting us know when your child is being picked up by someone else - now that we are running more clubs and after school activities, we can get a little flustered if we are told that a child is going home with someone else’s parents and we haven’t been notified. If we have advance notice, it makes life so much easier and avoids us making anxious phone calls to check. Sometimes it can be very hectic in the office at the end of the day and getting messages to class can take a little longer.

Dinner Money for this half-term is £81.60 - that is for 34 meals - each is still £2.40.

Well done Year 5!

This week, our whole school attendance is 97.7%.

Coming in and leaving school each day

Thank you so much for your approach to the end of the day routines. It has been really lovely to welcome parents and grandparents onto the playground each night. Community spirit is essential and what we all live for - it is something that we craved for so long during the pandemic. Based on the success of this week - I am just going to tweak things slightly:

  • We are reducing the time between the two picks up to keep it in line with the stagger in the morning. Therefore Harcourt and Marsden will be picked up at 3.20pm. Plessington and Bamber will be picked up at 3.25pm. This should give enough time for the roads to be quieter before the second group leave. The teachers know to let the first group of children leave before the second. Please be prepared to wait a little bit longer if you arrive early.

  • All bikes and scooters need to be taken to Kenilworth Road in the morning and then picked up from there at night. I would be really grateful if we can avoid bringing the bikes and scooters onto the playground. The paths are narrow in and out of school and it helps to avoid any accidents. Can we exit via Kenilworth Road on bikes and scooters. Thank you.

  • The bike shed is open first thing in the morning. If your child is attending a club before school, please drop off anything with wheels there first.

Book Week

World Book Day always brings so much excitement. We cannot wait to celebrate reading with all of the children. The book fair has been a real success this week; there is another opportunity on Monday morning from 8.15am - 8.30am to view and buy books. We are missing a number of our school library books. Please can you check all of your books at home and bring into school any that you know belong to our school library.

The sun has most definitely been shining this week. Let’s pray that the sun continues to shine and the spring brings lots of happiness. Have a lovely and restful weekend with your families.

God Bless

Mrs Gregan

'Learning to love yourself, is the greatest love of all.'

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

Upcoming industrial action

I am sure that you are all aware that there will be upcoming industrial action taken by members of the teaching profession regarding pay. On 16 January the National Education Union (NEU), one of the trade unions representing the teaching profession, announced its intention to strike.

It is my responsibility as head to take reasonable steps, ensuring that the school remains open for as many pupils as possible. I have received full guidance from the Department of Education and will be responding appropriately.

The information that I have currently received, and the plans that have been created, indicates that Our Ladys will remain open to all pupils next Wednesday. However, the delicate nature of the issue means that this may change. I will of course inform you of any developments if and when they arise.

Of course, if you have any further questions, please do get in touch.

God bless

Mrs Gregan

'Someone else will come, who is greater than I am.' John the Baptist

In this Sunday’s gospel, we will hear about Jesus starting to gather his first Christian family. This community that was created was not perfect. Even Jesus’ closest friends, his disciples, were not perfect, but they always made sure that they were working together for the good of their community. A community that is grounded in love, friendship and honesty is one that can always grow and continue to evolve. We constantly hear stories in the bible about people who have listened to God’s call and become people who have changed their ways to live life as better versions of themselves. This is something that we are all trying to do here at Our Lady’s.

Being around school this week, I have seen so many kind acts of love and compassion from our children. Not acts that need to be shouted about or witnessed, but acts that have been done so very subtly - not needing to be seen. These are the acts that tell me that our children are trying to bring the Kingdom of God alive.

Who are our LEARNING 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!

You're off to Great Places!

Reading is something that we have always been passionate about here in school. We want the children to be able to access every opportunity that is presented to them, and often being able to read is key to this. From the minute the children enter into our Reception class, the room is filled with exciting vocabulary. Words that make the children think, reflect and engage. In Reception and Year 1, we want our children to read a range of books and be read to. There a lots of types of books out there - I wonder how many our younger children can discover.

As the children move through key stage 1 and into the juniors, we introduce AR reader to them. AR gives the children a group of books that is relevant to them, these books can then be quizzed on to support their comprehension. We hope that the love of reading that the children have gathered in their younger years continues as they develop a greater understanding of what they have read. All of the children in Year 2 - Year 6 have taken a letter home with them this week. This letter has the parent’s code on to access your child’s AR log. We have changed the settings for quizzing so that all children can only quiz in school. The staff spend a lot of their time observing the children, and this quiz gives them an insight into how they can provide further support. If you have any questions, please do contact your child’s class teacher and they will be happy to answer any questions that you have.

This week, Miss Lavelle and Mrs Carragher have launched a, ‘Word Wizards’ morning club to promote reading and to provide further support. I was thrilled with the engagement that I saw when I popped into the club - musical statues with words; need I say any more? We are looking to roll this out across more classes throughout the year and to then provide reading workshops for parents too. As Dr Seuss says, ‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.’

Sport has continued to dominate school life this past week with our Year 5 & 6 girls’ football team attending the Lancashire Finals, Year 1 have started their multi-skills club with Mr Nay, our Year 5 & 6 athletics team attended the Indoor Athletics Sportshall Competition in Blackpool and Year 3 & 4 are getting to grips with judo. There are just too many memories of these events to share, so we have captured them in a short video for you. Netball and football training will re-start next week in preparation for fixtures after half term. Please make sure that you have checked the sports page on the website for correct days and times.

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.

Office News

Not much to report from the Office as we are keeping our heads down! Mrs Shields is busily ordering final classroom items before our financial year ends and Mrs Hodges is dealing with various DFE requirements, School Census, getting papers prepared for Governors for when the admission meeting takes place etc. Not to mention dealing with Dinner Money but we’re trying not to mention that! We’re always so grateful that parents keep us in the loop - filling out absence forms or ringing in or emailing - it really helps when we know what is happening, so thank you for doing this and making our jobs easier.

Attendance

Well done Year 3. We have had a week of illness this week, we hope everyone is starting to feel better soon.

Our whole school attendance for this week is 96.9%, just short of our 97% whole school attendance target. Keep going everyone!

Finally

The sun is looking like it will continue to shine this weekend. Let’s hope that the wet and windy weather is a distant memory as the hours of daylight lengthen and move us slowly towards Spring. Have a lovely weekend with your families.

God bless,

Mrs Gregan

'Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.'

Our first full week back in school has been incredibly busy, not just for the children, but for the staff as well. Our Lady’s is a learning community in every sense of the word. We are all constantly striving to be the best versions of ourselves; which is never easy, in fact it is a lifetime’s work. I am not sure that we will ever get there but we travel hopefully. I have spotted children modelling our new virtues for this half term, (being learned and wise), all over school - in lessons, on the playground and in the interactions I have witnessed.

Just like the children, the staff are always looking for ways to be the best support they can be for the children in their care. What opportunities can we provide that will excite the children and help them to continue to grasp those key learning skills that will help them make progress. This week: Mrs Lyons has been learning all about Shakespeare and how she can bring The Tempest to life in the Year 4 classroom, Mrs Hartley has been looking at mastery of number for our youngest children and Mrs Hotchkiss has been working with other schools to improve how we deliver maths at Our Lady’s. It is always good to look out and see what others are doing too.

I have spent some of my week doing just what I love to do, being with the children. I have had the pleasure of visiting Reception, Year 1 and Year 5 this week; it has brought me such joy. I was involved in a very serious science lesson in Year 1 - just what material would be the best material to build a house for the three little pigs? In Reception and Year 5, I led a class council to see just what the pupils think about our school. I asked them the following questions:

  • What makes you PROUD to belong to Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary?

  • What do we do well that we could do MORE of?

  • What could we THINK ABOUT?

  • What would you INTRODUCE to the school to enhance our community?

It is clear that our children really know and understand our community, in fact, their answers were profound, although I am not sure we could introduce a swimming pool onto the field. I explained that it is really important to listen to everybody’s ideas, however, we have to be selective about which ones we implement for the benefit of our community. The staff have also been asked the same questions and we will be asking our parents and governors the same in the coming weeks - so get thinking! Everyone needs to have their voice heard in order to continue to nurture the community. Let’s see what we can continue to grow.

‘Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships.’

On Monday, a group of dedicated and focused footballers attended the Fylde Girls Football Tournament held at AKS. This is the first time that we have entered the event - and I am so glad that we did. Over recent years, it is clear that girls’ football is growing. Our lionesses have proven to be incredible role models nationally, well, I can tell you that this group of girls are incredible role models too. Not only did they win the tournament, they won it with positivity, laughter and kindness. As ambassadors of our school, this makes me proud. Today, the girls have been in Fleetwood representing Fylde at the Lancashire Schools Final. I cannot wait to update you on their achievements next week. Thank you Mr Cornwell and Mr Nay for giving up your time to give the girls this opportunity.

Our youngest children in school attended their first after school club this week. 15 excited children joined Mr Nay in the hall to take part. As we start the second term in school, all classes have now had chance to access extra-curricular clubs - this is fantastic.

Judo has also started this morning for KS2. We have been inundated with requests to join. All 60 of this term’s places quickly went, but do not worry, the club will be running all year and those who missed out this term will be allocated places in the summer term.

Sacramental Programme

It is always such a special time of the year when we can start to prepare our Year 4 children to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation and Holy Communion. After meeting Father Peter, we have put in all of the dates for the parents’ sessions and the children’s sessions in school, which can now be found on the Year 4 class page and the dates section of the website. If there are any other families in the parish who have children who need to receive the sacrament, please contact the school office so we can send all of the details to you and involve you in the programme.

Father Peter has also asked us to look for new altar servers for our parish. Any child from Year 3 upwards can be an altar server and support Father Peter during Mass. I will be visiting classes over the next few weeks and discussing how the children can apply to Father Peter.

Bringing things into school…

It is inevitable that with the cold, wet and windy weather that we have been experiencing recently, we have seen an increase in chapped lips and dry skin. This has resulted in lots of lip balms (of different flavours and colours) being brought into school as well as cream for dry skin. We have found that children have been sharing lip balms, which is causing skin break outs and the transference of germs from one child to another. If your child can manage without a lip balm or dry skin cream in school, please do keep these at home as they are beginning to prove a distraction. If they are needed in school, then they will be given to the class teacher at the start of the day to monitor their use. Please email the class teacher if you are sending a lip balm into school so that they are aware. Cream is classified as a medical item and therefore needs to come in via the school office with a completed medicine form, clearly stating how it needs to be administered throughout the day.

During the pandemic, we adopted some clear hygiene routines in school to try and keep our children and staff as safe as possible. These routines have continued with all of the children sanitising their hands at regular intervals in the day. There have been some stubborn bugs around lately that we are trying to keep at bay. We have enough sanitiser in school, therefore there is also no need to send in sanitiser with your children.

Office News

The Office doesn’t have much to report this week! We are struggling still with some dinner payments and will be texting - one or two debts are creeping up so please, any parents in that situation, heed the text and pay up as we don’t want to suspend any dinner accounts.

We are very sorry that some people, we’re thinking Year 5 here, have been waiting for badges - they will be coming shortly and we are sorry for the delay.

Re Admissions - we hopefully have all the Supplementary Forms in and hope that you’ve all completed the LCC online application process. If not, you still have time - but hurry - Sunday 15th January is the cut-off. Please ensure that you have applied online for a place in Reception for September 2023 and, if anyone has outstanding supplementary forms do bring them to the Office ASAP. Many thanks.

Attendance

Well done Reception. You have managed to just pip a few other classes this week. Our whole school attendance from the beginning of September is 96.9%, just short of our 97% whole school attendance target. Keep going everyone!

Finally

In a few weeks time, we will be taking part in national online safety day. Next week, I will be launching a whole school film competition for the event. On Thursday 9th February, 9am, we will be hosting a parent event where you can be updated in the latest online safety issues, as well as being able to ask your own questions. I am sure there may also be some drinks and cakes as well! Online Safety is a growing issue in our community amongst our young people, therefore it is important to be as updated as we possibly can.

We will also be starting a Word Wizards club across the school. This will entail supporting children with their reading and writing, via some very exciting tasks! Parent drop in sessions will be available as part of this so that you too can grow your understanding of how to support your children at home.

It is a wonderful feeling to be opening up our school again to our parents and providing opportunities for you to come in.

Have a wonderful weekend

God bless,

Mrs Gregan

Have a Happy and Holy Christmas - one and all

We have made it to the end of a very busy term. We have welcomed new families and new staff to our school and we are all the richer for them! We have said our last goodbyes to Miss Brisco and Mrs Malley today - thank you to everyone who sent images of their pets - it made our assembly fun and personal! I know that both ladies would want to thank everyone for their kind words. I too leave this post as Acting Head teacher it has been a pleasure to serve and I can’t wait for Mrs Gregan to lead us in January!

We return on Wednesday 4th January.

Finally, I thought it would be perfect to share with you something that happened to our school choir on Monday! Miss Drummond took the choir to perform our concert songs at Stella Matutina in Lytham. To save money the group went on the bus. Once seated the children began to sing Silent Night. The whole bus joined in including the driver! Back at school Mrs Hodges received a phone call from two of the bus passengers who explained what had happened and that the sharing of this moment with the children had simply made their Christmas.

Let us all continue to spread the joy of this season. Let us never forget:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it
 with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”  -Isaiah 9:6-7

Final Office News for 2022

We can only start with our heartfelt thanks for all the kindness, patience and love we have received from you all this term. Our very best wishes to you all for a peaceful, happy and holy Christmas.

On the news front, lovely Pam our St Alban’s Rd /St Patrick’s Rd crossing lady has now retired after many years seeing our children and St Thomas’ children across the junction. We all got to say goodbye to Pam - she’s advised us that there is a vacant position, should anyone have an interest, do contact School Crossing Patrol office on 01772 646 810 (Geoff Purcell).

It would not be the Office if we didn’t mention dinner money! We’ll have your up to date balance on Parent Pay by the end of the afternoon. Please settle if you are in debit - let’s go into the New Year and a new term with everyone in credit! Next half term is 28 days long, from 4th January to 10th February and dinners for the half-term, still at £2.40 per day, will be £67.20.

Look forward to seeing everyone in the New Year!

Star of Wonder Star of Night Guide us to your Perfect Light

What joy has filled our school this week as Year 1 and Year 2 children performed their beautiful nativity! Every song was sung with love and every word spoken with meaning. It was so heart-warming to see the children helping one another throughout. A special thank you too to the wonderful audiences - it was a beautiful community occasion.

Following these wonderful performances, on Thursday our Key Stage 2 children filled the altar at church with song, celebration and words of comfort. There really is nothing like the voices of children at Christmas. The whole event felt like the star being placed on the top of the Christmas tree and we are all ready for the Big Day!

The children have found themselves on “ice play”! We regularly have “wet play” when the rain comes, but I can’t remember a time when the ice on the playground was so bad! Luckily on Wednesday and Thursday, the sun came out and eventually the ice melted away from the concrete. The field, on the other hand, remained a beautiful festive white.

Even though we have celebrated a great deal this week, the children have continued with their learning. Year 4 took a trip to the university in Preston to explore their new science topic - “materials” and Reception have been recounting the story of the nativity for their beautiful RE floor book. I have also spotted the writing of reports in Year 3 and lots of maths in Years 5 and 6.

Finally, There was a real buzz of excitement as our legendary Key Stage 2 Christmas Party took place back in the hall!! All the juniors were together to party for the first time since 2019!! We played party games and danced the morning away! What a great end to the week! Key Stage 1 will have their Christmas Party on Monday and I’m hopeful that a very special guest may come!

Our Lady Stars!

Our lady Stars

Office News

NATIVITY DVD’s

If you would like to download the Foundation Nativity or the Key Stage 1 Nativity and keep it digitally for ever, please pay on Parent Pay:

Foundation £10

Year 1 and Year 2 £12

Following payment, Mrs Hodges will receive the codes that final Monday, 19th December, from Ed Greenberg our film maker and will send you an envelope containing what you need to download over the internet.

CLOSING DATE FOR RECEPTION 2023

A note to all prospective parents: the closing date for primary school applications is 15th January 2023. Please ensure that if you are applying, and using faith as the basis for your application, that you have completed the supplementary form which can be found under admissions on the website and dropped it off into the school office, along with a copy of your child’s baptismal certificate. Please don’t delay bringing in the supplementary form if you have mislaid the baptismal certificate.

Dinner Money - The Dinner Money is £67.20 for our next half -term. Please can we ensure that anyone taking dinners in January is in credit as we start the term and that payment is made in advance. Thank you so much - so many of you do this already and it is appreciated.

Gifts for Staff

Please note that every year we remind parents that there is never an expectation that gifts are given at Christmas in school. This is very pertinent this year, many of us find ourselves financially stretched and it can be hard for children to see gifts being given when their family is struggling. Making a teacher a card or hand made gift that costs nothing - is magical.

School and Nursery close on Tuesday 20th December - Please note that school and nursery close at 2pm and 2:10pm on our final day.

Housepoint Winners!

HARCOURT have won after a close fought race!

That means Harcourt can come to school on Tuesday in their house colours! Well done!!

Attendance:

Attendance

Well done Year 3 and Year 5!

Important Reminder

Earlier this term we notified you of changes to our Food Management Policy. We understand that we can never guarantee a nut free school but we are managing this with a policy that asks all community member not to bring nut snacks, this includes peanut butter. I have attached the Food Management Policy here and the schools snack list as a reminder for the new year.

Keeping Christ at the centre of our Christmas celebration

As we approach the end of term on Tuesday - there will be many plans a-foot. We have placed the Mass times here for you too. It would be lovely to fill the church with our families on Christmas Eve at 4pm (family mass).

CHRISTMAS EVE Masses at 4.00pm (Family Mass) & 8.00pm

CHRISTMAS DAY Masses at 9.30am (Family Mass) & 11.00am There will be carols sung at all Masses.

There will be Children’s Liturgy at 9.30am on Christmas Day and the 4.00pm Mass on Christmas Eve will be a Family Mass.

"You have filled my heart with greater Joy" Psalm 4:7

As the third week of Advent begins, we reflect on the joy Jesus’ birth brings into the world and there was no better word than JOY to describe our Foundation nativity performances this week. It was simply magical to watch the children. I have never had the privilege of watching alongside parents and grandparents and what a joy it was - the highlight of my Christmas so far! Thank you for being a wonderful audience and for all your kind words!

Joy to the world!

On a number of occasions this week the school has been half empty! Key Stage 2 have been practising their concert in church and on Wednesday -Years 5, 3 and 1 walked to Mass together. Year 5 looked after the younger children so attentively - thank you Year 5. Today half of Year 1 disappeared for their Geography fieldtrip and Year 2 are buzzing with excitement - they can’t wait to perform their play next week!

Assembly today was a riot of colour as we all came to school in Christmas colours! We have so far raised £178 just short of our total - with a few pounds coming in a little later. Thank you so much children- Mrs Shields will order the animals on Tuesday!

Next week we have our Year 1 and 2 Nativity on Tuesday and Wednesday morning at 9:30am. All tickets have been sent out with the children - please check school bags. On Thursday the whole of Key Stage 2 will be performing at church at 2pm and 7pm. After this on the Friday, the Key Stage 2 children will have their Christmas party! Please check your child’s class blog as there is a lot more going on!

Christmas Dinner Monday 19th December

Our annual Christmas dinner fast approaches. All the staff join the children in a festive feast! It is important that we know the precise numbers for Jacqui, our wonderful chef! Could you please take a few seconds to complete the form below for your child- please click on the correct class. The meal is free for Key Stage 1 and those children on free school meals. For Key Stage 2 the meal is £2:40 - this can be paid in advance on ParentPay.

Please complete the form whether it is a yes for a meal or a no -

that would really help us!

Office News

DVD’s

If you would like to download the Foundation Nativity or the Key Stage 1 Nativity and keep it digitally for ever, please pay on Parent Pay:

Foundation £10

Year 1 and Year 2 £12

Following payment, Mrs Hodges will receive the codes that final Monday, 19th December, from Ed Greenberg our film maker and will send you an envelope containing what you need to download over the internet.

CLOSING DATE FOR RECEPTION 2023

A note to all prospective parents: the closing date for primary school applications is 15th January 2023. Please ensure that if you are applying, and using faith as the basis for your application, that you have completed the supplementary form which can be found under admissions on the website and dropped it off into the school office, along with a copy of your child’s baptismal certificate. Please don’t delay bringing in the supplementary form if you have mislaid the baptismal certificate.

Gifts for Staff

Please note that every year we remind parents that there is never an expectation that gifts are given at Christmas in school. This is very pertinent this year, many of us find ourselves financially stretched and it can be hard for children to see gifts being given when their family is not able. Making a teacher a card or hand made gift that cost nothing - is magical. Every year when I decorate my tree I take out of the decorations box, a small stocking a child sewed for me years and years ago - I love that little stocking!

Staff changes for Year 2 and 3 - Dear Year 2 and 3 Parents - please read your class blog as there is important information in relation to who will be teaching your child in the new year.

School closes - Please note that school and nursery close at 2pm and 2:10pm on the last Day, Tuesday 20th December

Attendance

We have had some sickness this week - but we are all soldiering on!

Attendance

Well done Year 3!

News Beyond the School

Parish Events

Saying Goodbye

Our Deacon Bill is relocating to be near his growing family. Bill and his lovely wife Julie are having a leaving party on 10th December from 6 to 9pm in the Parish Centre. The whole family is welcome and a free buffet will be provided along with music from Bill’s band ‘The Jags’. Please do come along to meet other parishioners at this special time of the year.

Food Bank

Thank you for your generous donations which were extremely appreciated by the Wesley’s Larder at the Methodist Church, please keep donating items shown on the list by the boxes. Wesley’s Larder is open to local people to collect food Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays from 11.30am to 1.30pm while the associated community café is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 9.30am to 1.00pm to feed the community for free. Everyone’s welcome and one of the Café’s aims is to combat loneliness. More details on the Parish website.

Affordable Warmth Grant
 A new scheme to help vulnerable residents in Fylde keep their homes warm is now available.
The Affordable Warmth Grant allows qualifying residents to apply for up to £2,000 per household. 

Advent - Wednesday word

Take a moment away from the crowds, the parties and the stresses of Christmas and listen to his word.

Finally, there have been many moments this term when as an Acting Head teacher I have needed time to stop and think before making decisions- I was not expecting to have to deal with a wayward swan! I just want to say a massive thank to Mr Couch for keeping us and the swan safe. We returned this morning and he had flown.

Have a wonderful weekend.

God Bless - only 7 more school days.



"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase".

As we enter the second week of advent, the anticipation grows here in school. The hall is filled with nativity songs and the lights are twinkling. Miss Neves has creatively displayed the printed hands and artwork families produced at our “grateful and generous” station on curriculum evening. I have include pictures below. I know many of you will be able to see the display when you come to watch the nativities over the next fortnight - you are in for a real treat!

This week has seen classes disappearing on trips. On Monday Year 5 went outward bound at Lytham Hall and as I write, Year 3 and Year 4 are walking down to the parish centre to watch the pantomime- “Oh no they’re not!!!” “Oh yes they are!!!”

Teachers Retiring

There comes a time in everyone’s career when it is time to say goodbye to school. Teaching is a joyous job one full of unexpected moments, magical memories and much loved children. This Christmas, both Miss Brisco and Mrs Malley have decided to retire. These decisions have been taken with heavy hearts. In assembly today we shared the news. The children have experienced a lot of change in school recently, but every new arrival has been welcomed with open arms and each cherished member leaving has left a little piece of themselves with us. Once a member of the Our Lady’s family always a member. The children in Year 3 have received a special letter, this explains that our new teacher Mrs Marham will be teaching in Year 3 alongside Miss Bassett.

I’m sure you will want to wish Miss Brisco and Mrs Malley all the very best.

CAFOD AT ADVENT

We had a very exciting and enthusiastic school council meeting today. The children would like the 9th of December (next Friday) to be a special day - a day when we think of those less fortunate than ourselves at Christmas. We would like every member of the school community to come dressed in Christmas colours. In return for this festive fun we like you to bring a donation of £1. We will pool all this money together to buy a CAFOD World Gift. The school council would like to buy the following: A cow, a goat, a chicken and a queen bee. There was much excitement as these gifts reminded the children of the animals in the stable.

Can you dress in Christmas colours and help?

Office News

Tickets for the Foundation Nativity (Nursery and Reception) plays have now been organised into small brown envelopes. Mrs Hodges and Mrs Shields have been checking and double checking to ensure everyone has the correct allocation. The children have been given the tickets to hand over to you - please check school bags! If you would like tickets for the Key Stage 1 Nativity on Tuesday 13th December or Wednesday the 14th December please click on the button below.

Attendance

Well done Year 1!

News Beyond the School

Parish Event: If you are free tomorrow why not pop along to the parish pantomime Sleeping Beauty. It is the final performance day tomorrow: a matinee 2.00pm and evening performance at 7:00pm Tickets £8. Tickets are available from Jeanette 07742590265 or from Storytellers on the Crescent.

Fylde Rugby have a Christmas rugby & multi-sport camp coming up on the dates of the 20th/21st and 22nd of December. Please press here for more details

Warm Spaces
There are lots of warm spaces around Fylde this winter . Why not visit one with friends, have a brew, play a game, or have a chat? All the while saving money on heating your home and it's completely free! Click here for a list of local warm spaces!

Do you need help with the cost of living?

We are aware that times are changing and we each find ourselves facing new challenges everyday. Here at school we are always here ready to listen and help. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need to. Last week we were contacted by the St Vincent de Paul Society. This charity is able to help anyone in need. If you require support with a bill or essential item they may be able to help. All they need is your name and the “purpose” of the grant. There is no requirement to pay anything back. If you need this help please ring Peter on 01253 721 481. If anyone is a little hesitant about this them do ring the office and speak to Mrs Hodges, as we have a good working relationship with the SVP and can hopefully reassure you. As you know everything is completely confidential within school, and we simply want to help if we can.

In relation to any financial worry we have created a link here we hope it is useful.

This Gospel - Second Week of Advent.

If you have a moment to stop and reflect here is this weeks Gospel to guide and support

Dear all have a wonderful weekend with family and friends.

Advent - HOPE, PEACE and JOY

I cannot believe that I’m writing about Advent already! Today, after school, magical little elves visited the hall - one carrying a rather large tree! When the children return on Monday the office area and hall will have been transformed! At the heart of these decorations are the children’s Advent Promises. We have all had time this week to think about Advent- the season of reflective preparation. We may all be busy getting Christmas decorations and gifts ready - but we must never forget to be ready - to prepare our hearts for the overwhelming gift of God himself.

Last week was so very busy and inevitably we have followed it by fewer staged or external happenings this week but it would be a mistake to imagine that it has been anything less than extremely busy. All around school there are hives of activity from classes enjoying exciting learning to sounds of beautiful singing as our Nativities and Christmas concerts slowly start to take shape and a small amount of practising has begun. We never spend too long on this as we want the children to love what they do, sing with joy and enthusiasm as they celebrate the birth of that very special baby and communicate their delight with their families during the performances!

Mrs Nel has been very busy counting the money which you raised through your sponsors for our Sporting event with Stuart Robinson. How kind and generous everyone has been. Once the final amount has been made known, we will share it with you. Sport and the resilience children develop through playing, and through trying their best can make such a positive difference to their lives. We have inevitably been talking to the children about football this week as the World Cup started in Qatar – teachers have been talking to older children about different human rights issues and they have been so impressed with the children’s interest, understanding, and maturity – Mr Cornwell had some very rewarding discussions in Year 5.

OFFICE NEWS

We’ve been checking forms from the link attached to last week’s newsletter, for our Foundation Stage Nativity Play which is taking place on Wednesday 7th December and Thursday 8th December at 9:30. Well done, so far we have 21 responses from Nursery and 24 from Reception so we’re nearly there with ticket orders. We are putting the payment for tickets onto ParentPay today and parents are asked for a donation of £2 per ticket. You should only make payment when you have booked your tickets through last week’s newsletter form. You will need to use your ParentPay logins sent last week – if you already use ParentPay for a sibling, instructions are there, on the log in, to help you link accounts. Nursery parents are sending in cash, in named envelopes to Barbara and her team. We are preparing tickets to be sent out, in envelopes, via Reception and Nursery next week.

Re Key Stage 1 Nativity, it’s now time to request tickets for our 2 performances on Tuesday 13th December and Wednesday 14th December at 9:30. Each Y1 and Y2 family may have up to 4 tickets at £2 each across 2 performances (no more than 2 tickets per performance). We need the form—link attached—to be completed by you no later than Friday 2nd December. Payment can be made on ParentPay and tickets will then be sent out to those who’ve made payment and completed the form. We’ll send tickets out in envelopes via classes, the week beginning Monday 5th December.

We’d just like to remind everyone again that we have a maximum capacity of 120 ticketholders and with the stage plus 60 children, staff and then our audience, the Hall will inevitably be hot and somewhat crowded. We know how much everyone loves seeing their

little ones but advise you, particularly if there are any vulnerable family members, to be aware that this is a confined space. We shall of course be arranging a professional digital film to be made of the play, details will be sent later.

Attendance

Do you need help with the cost of living?

We are aware that times are changing and we each find ourselves facing new challenges everyday. Here at school we are always here ready to listen and help. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need to. Last week we were contacted by the St Vincent de Paul Society. This charity is able to help anyone in need. If you require support with a bill or essential item they may be able to help. All they need is your name and the “purpose” of the grant. There is no requirement to pay anything back. If you need this help please ring Peter on 01253 721 481. If anyone is a little hesitant about this them do ring the office and speak to Mrs Hodges, as we have a good working relationship with the SVP and can hopefully reassure you. As you know everything is completely confidential within school, and we simply want to help if we can.

In relation to any financial worry we have created a link here we hope it is useful.

Curriculum Evening

Please enjoy this video that has been put together to celebrate our wonderful curriculum evening.

News Beyond the School

OLSS Panto – 1st to 3rd December This year the panto at OLSS Parish Centre is Sleeping Beauty It runs from 1st to 3rd December 2022. Performances are 7.30pm each evening with a matinee on Saturday starting 2.00pm. Tickets are £6 for Thursday night (no concession) or £8 (£7 concession) for Friday and Saturday (inc. Matinee). Tickets are available from Jeanette 07742590265 or from Storytellers on the Crescent.

Together let us make our school our school a special place in which we can prepare for Christmas and its very special message one of hope peace and joy!

“We don’t heal in isolation, but in community.”

The strength of any community lies within its members. And my, what strength we have within ours. This week has shown, in many different ways, just what a precious community we have. What a week it has been! We’ve had all kinds of weather and so many busy activities in school. It has been wonderful and I think that the children and staff are going home today for some well-earned weekend relaxation.

On Tuesday we had another powerful and thought provoking assembly, this time from our lovely Year 5. They performed so movingly, asking us all to think about God’s beautiful world and our environment, to be filled with gratitude for what we have and to work together and strive to take care of it and to thoughtfully and mindfully, preserve it. The singing too was so beautiful, thank you Year 5. Later that day, there was much excitement as some of our Y5 and Y6 children went off to perform their dance in the evening on stage at the Winter Gardens in a Fylde Dance festival for primary and secondary schools. Our dance team were wonderful, so keen and enthusiastic and everyone gave their absolute best. Miss Bassett and Miss Liddell who’d prepared them for this event were, along with the families, so proud of what they’d achieved and also their patience and excellent behaviour during a very long afternoon and evening. Mrs Hotchkiss who’d gone there in support, was very excited!

The theme of resilience has run through everything that we have done this week. On Wednesday we were thrilled to welcome our Paralympian Athlete from Sports for Schools, Stuart Robinson MBE, who visited us to inspire the children and set them sporting challenges. As a gold medal winning Paralympian, representing our country in the last Olympic Games, we were honoured to have him with us – Stuart’s presence is so commanding and his resilience and love of life and sport so apparent and he completely won the children over. As you know, he delayed his visit to us due to concussion - wheelchair rugby is a very full on sport! All the children completed sporting challenges and we are very grateful to the many people who sponsored them and we greatly appreciate their donations towards supporting sport and activity in school and raising money for GB athletes to inspire the next generation.

Please do watch the video attached. I cannot apologise for its length (9 minutes) as there were too many wonderful moments not to include. It is the ideal time to sit and watch the film alongside your child; relive the moments with them. The messages that the children received from Stuart’s visit will stay with them for a lifetime.

CURRICULUM EVENING

One of the hardest aspects of the pandemic was the lack of contact and face to face communication which we crave so much as human beings. As a school, we yearned for that too with our families and we greatly missed having you visit school and sharing events. On Thursday evening we saw the hall filled to the brim, conversations with many familiar and a few newly joined members of staff and families sharing special learning moments with their children. It was great seeing you all being guided around by or with your children, seeing you engage with the various activities we had laid out and being able to see learning through your children’s eyes! We loved meeting you all, welcoming old and new faces and sharing what was on offer during the evening, we hope you all found something new and that it whetted appetites for what lies ahead in your child’s learning journey through school. The whole school community appreciated your support, we’re so grateful for the levels of interest shown and say a big thank you too to all the children who helped make this evening such a great success. It was important to us that the key messages from the evening centred around the Jesuit Virtues which we follow within school. We all strive to be the very best versions of ourselves, to follow in Jesus’s footsteps and to bring the Kingdom of God alive on earth.

Many photographs were taken on the night. We will collate these over the coming week and put a montage together to share and celebrate with you.

On Friday, bringing this busy week to a close, we had Pyjama day – we all came in wearing our cosiest pyjamas and bringing a cuddly toy and with our pound donation, helped raise some money for Brian House and some very vulnerable children who need our support.

Parents, this week you have been magnificent and supported us in so many ways, thank you!

OFFICE NEWS

We’ve really loved seeing so many of you at the Y5 assembly this week and then at the Curriculum evening.

As you know, our Foundation Stage Nativity Play is being staged on Wednesday 7th December and Thursday 8th December at 9:30.

Each Nursery and Reception family may have up to 4 tickets at £2 each across 2 performances (no more than 2 tickets per performance). We need the form—link attached—to be completed by you no later than Friday 25th November. Tickets will only be allocated to people who have completed the form and will be sent out in envelopes via classes, the week beginning 28th November. Payment for tickets should be made on ParentPay for Reception children (Parents you will need first to activate your account using the log in letters which we are sending today). Nursery parents can pay for tickets by sending cash in a named envelope please, to Nursery.

We must point out that we have a maximum capacity of 120 ticketholders in the hall and with the stage plus 60 children, staff and audience, the Hall will inevitably be hot and somewhat crowded. We know how much everyone loves seeing their little ones but advise you, particularly if there are any vulnerable family members, to be aware that this is a confined space. We shall of course be arranging a professional digital film to be made of the play, details will be sent later.

Attendance

Well done Year 3!

Wednesday Word

Please take time to reflect on the Gospel alone or with family. God Bless

Finally

All we can say after such a fantastic, busy and successful week is thank you so much everyone – what a wonderful community this is, we are truly blessed.



"If you're going to grow you have to be intentional!"

In assembly today we took a moment to reflect and remember all those who have fallen during conflict. We also shared the story of Desmond Doss a soldier who refused to fight and kill - he went to war as an unarmed medic and inspirationally saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers. We noticed that he wanted to be with his friends and he purposefully decided not to fight but to save lives instead. He navigated life to the beat of his own drum and was driven by his faith. We asked the children what can they see that they would like to change intentionally and for the better in our world. Our new virtue is intentional. We are trying to be more intentional in the actions and decisions we make!

Later at 11 O’clock, the school fell silent as we all stood respectfully - thank you children.

Early this week, Year 1 performed a wonderful assembly- full of song and humour,. We all went away understanding our feelings that little bit better- thank you Year 1! Next week Year 5 take over and it looks like another creative and powerful performance! On Wednesday and Thursday our Reception children welcomed their mummies and daddies to class for a “Stay and Play” session. The children were so excited and I could tell that the parents were too!

Sports for school - Stuart Robinson (Paralympian) - Wednesday 16th November

Sadly, Stuart Robinson our gold medal winning Paralympian, was unable to visit on Friday due to injury. However, this sponsored event has been rescheduled for next Wednesday - please remember your sponsor form and your PE kit!

CURRICULUM EVENING! THURSDAY 17TH NOVEMBER at 6PM

We have not had a curriculum evening in school since 2019 due to Covid restrictions. This is usually an annual event - we invite all our families back to school to come and share an insight into how our curriculum is changing and developing. While you are here we make sure that you are hopefully engaged and busy! Each area of learning, we would like you to see, involves some level of interaction. Sadly, we can’t possibly show you the whole curriculum- back in 2019 we focused on Maths mastery - and this year we will be showcasing the following:

Phonics - come and watch the staff deliver a phonics session - interactive and eyeopening!

Early reading - understand how phonetical understanding underpins reading and how to engage your child at home

Reading throughout school - discover which books are read as class novels throughout the school from nursery to Year 6 - essential reading books and plays that are the children’s “cultural capital”. Here too you will see how diverse and challenging the texts are. Here is an interesting quote and insight from Harvard: “Good stories do more than create a sense of connection. They build familiarity and trust, and allow the listener to enter the story where they are, making them more open to learning. Good stories can contain multiple meanings so they're surprisingly economical in conveying complex ideas in graspable ways”

You will have seen the school Virtues all around the school. Heard about them in assemblies and on class blogs. But what actually are they and how do the children learn about them? The hall will be full of interactive tasks to help you reflect on these valued school virtues.

There is art in the “Create room” and a film in the “think room” - this film is all about helping your child be more resilient - an essential attribute which we try and encourage, like building up a muscle, to help and flourish in all aspects of school life

Finally, in Year 2 you will be able to relax and flick through slide shows - showing a celebration of all the extra things that happen in school - all the things we have missed during the pandemic- all the things that are coming back!

Our Head Boy and Girl will be here to welcome you with an information leaflet which will include a treasure hunt too!

Can wait to see you!

Pyjama day - Friday 18th November!

Please wear your pyjamas to school next Friday. Don’t forget to bring a little cuddly friend along too. Oh yes and £1. Your teacher will collect the coins in class. This money will be donated to our local children in need at Brian House.

Office News

Another week and we’re still chasing unpaid dinner money here and there. Parents, if we text you  about dinners, please have mercy and pay before Monday and put credit on for next week as we get so much hassle from our Finance Officer about dinner debts! It does take us time, checking and texting and occasionally writing or telephoning and life in the Office is very hectic!

We were very impressed by the complete stillness in school at 11am when the bells rang for the 2 minute silence – children had been informed earlier as to what would happen in a very reverent and moving assembly and you could have heard a pin drop as everyone had a silent reflection.

Our Preloved uniform event today seems to have been of use, we still have quite a decent amount of uniform left over so will look as to how to organise our next event. It would be very helpful if you could offer feedback and suggestions on this and send to the office on: bursar@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk  We do have problems storing lots of uniform on site so any creative suggestions are welcome. Thank you so much to everyone who donated and to those who came and made use of what was available. If we can be eco conscious and recycle, it is good for everyone and where we’re all cutting back on heating, tumble drying etc, some extra spares are a bonus.

Attendance

Well done Reception 100% !!!

News Beyond the School

  • Last week, we gave a special, mention for the Advent Celebration meal at the parish centre. This is a family celebration during which the story of Christmas is told through readings and song. The children play a very important role. If you would like to attend and for your child to take part please ring Jane on 07714588068 (for all the details see the Parish newsletter below).

  • Opera For the People at Fairhaven! Friday 11th November 7pm

  • Streetwise Rugby FyldeRugby Community Foundation, in partnership with Streetwise have a few FREE upcoming events

    Streetwise Walking Rugby!

    2 sessions a week for over 50's!
    Monday mornings 10am - 11am. Wednesday Evenings 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    There is walking rugby, fun activities and refreshments

Remembrance Sunday in FYLDE

Remembrance Sunday is a national opportunity to remember the service and sacrifice of all who have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life. Parades and gatherings take place once again across the Borough of Fylde, when communities will come together to mark these momentous occasions.

St Annes

Assemble at the Pier car park on North Promenade at 10:30am and proceed (route St Annes Road West and Clifton Drive North, returning via Garden Street and St Annes Road West) to the memorial at 10:38am. Fylde Council’s civic party will be led by Councillor Ben Aitken, Fylde Mayor.

Lytham

Assemble at the Assembly Rooms at 10:30am. Procession to move off at 10:45am to the war memorial via Dicconson Terrace, Henry Street and Queen Street (returning by reverse route). The civic party will be led by Councillor Roger Small, Fylde Deputy Leader.

This weeks Gospel

When you need time out of your busy day - here is this week’s Gospel for you to read and reflect on. May you have lovely restful weekend - God Bless.



“Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”

It has been a pleasure to welcome all the children back to school. Everywhere I have turned I’ve seen children immersed in learning- focused and enthusiastic. Every class seems to have found their stride, relationships secured and with this, a clear sense of belonging and belief. Once we feel this safe and settled, resilience follows. Children know that their efforts and determination will be seen and celebrated and that makes all the difference!

On Tuesday we celebrated All Saints Day in church - a lovely way start our second half term. Year 1 parents are in for a treat next week - I spotted a very joyful assembly practice today. Year 6 have been planning dinner time clubs to run for the younger children and Year 4 allowed all the teachers to watch them take part in a maths lesson, - yes, due to careful planning and strategic cover, ALL the teachers in the same lesson! This is called “Lesson Study”, it is a way for teachers to learn from one another. We are all part of a learning community here and we never stop learning or wanting to move forward!

On Thursday the children came together for a special assembly with our Headteacher to be (January 2023) Mrs Gregan. During the assembly she shared the story of Stuart Robinson. Stuart is a gold medal winning Paralympian, who represented GB in the recent Olympic games in wheel-chair rugby. Together we are going to take part in a Sport for Schools event. Stuart will be inspiring the children and setting them sporting challenges which we are hoping you will sponsor them to complete. Remember, PE kits next Friday. Please see the sports section on the Engage page of the website for more information. Sponsor forms were sent home this week - please check bags.

Finally a little shout out to the new Eco Council. This group is made up of Year 5 volunteers. They are the children who keep the school grounds spick-and-span! On Thursday they joined the community at Hope Park to plant spring bulbs. In under 45 mins they planted almost 200. Well done children - we look forward to seeing the fruits of your labour in Spring!

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Here at Our Lady’s we encourage the children to bring healthy snacks to eat on the playground. Every day, children come with a wide selection of interesting foods. We have recently reviewed our approach to allergies and, in light of this review, we would like to make changes to our snacks at break time practice. Please press the button below to open our Healthy Snack Guide. Here you will see which snacks we encourage. Please also notice that nuts have been removed and the following is stated:

Our Lady Star of the Sea support the approach advocated by The Anaphylaxis Campaign and Allergy UK towards allergies. We are a Allergen aware school. No school can guarantee a truly allergen free environment for a child living with food allergy. Instead, we have adopted a culture of allergy awareness and education. This ‘whole school awareness of allergies’ ensures teachers, parents, pupils and all other staff are aware of what allergies are, the importance of avoiding the pupils’ allergens, the signs & symptoms, how to deal with allergic reactions and to ensure policies and procedures are in place to minimise risk. In line with our school policy. We therefore ask you please not to bring nuts to school as an everyday snack – similarly no bars which are nut based.

OFFICE NEWS

As we said in the last newsletter, this is a 7 week and 2 day half- term (37 sessions) leading up to Christmas. Dinner Money for the half-term is £88.80 (dinners are £2.40 each) and as always, payable on ParentPay. This week’s dinners will be inputted by the end of today and any necessary reminders sent by text re payment. Please look at your child’s dinner account - we have some arrears which weren’t cleared over the holiday. On Monday we’ll check balances and contact any parents whose children’s dinner accounts are in debit if no arrangement has been agreed.

Again, UNIFORM! On Friday 11th November at 2:50pm, we’ll have a pre-loved uniform stall which has now been relocated to the School Hall, to visit before picking up the children – there will be no charge to anyone. We’d just like people to come and take items which will be of use to them.

We’ve received some spare outgrown uniform, washed and in good condition, in the Office, and could do with lots more, if available, to make it a real Eco Uniform event. Please check if you have anything to pass on in decent condition and we’ll make this a termly event if there is a demand.

Tempest Photography Orders – many of you have ordered online which is great! If you haven’t and would like to send your orders via school, please bring in to class by Wednesday, 9th November AT THE LATEST and we will organise a special collection.

Finally – Poppies –sadly we haven’t received any again this year and have tried contacting the Head Office at Royal British Legion to find someone local to supply us but not been successful. We’re disappointed as we always collect a goodly sum for this charity and will try to ensure we have them for next year. Hopefully you can buy poppies locally, children can wear them in school and we shall be reflecting and having the 2 minute silence at 11am on Friday 11th November.

Attendance

Well done Year 3!

News Beyond the school!

It is a very busy time in school and in our parish too. There is a Quiz night next Friday and if you want a special night out, why not attend the annual Advent celebration meal- here is the notice from the Parish Newsletter:

An Advent Celebration - We will be holding our Advent celebration on Saturday 26th November from 5pm until approximately 8pm. (If people want I can open the bar after that). This is the first Advent celebration since Covid and unfortunately catering prices have increased so regrettably I have had to increase the ticket prices. Adult ticket is £17 for a three course meal and wine (meal choices - veg soup or pate; steak and ale pie or salmon, dessert). Child’s ticket is £7.50 for veg soup, chicken, dessert orange or blackcurrant cordial. I need as many children as possible to take part and can guarantee a part for any child who wants one. For more information please contact Jane 0n 07714588068.

Bonfire night: Click here for a list of organised firework displays in Lancashire. Please keep safe - the children have all participated in firwework safety lessons this week and we hope that all who attend events, parties and gatherings will do so safely and have a great time.

We wish everyone a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Wednesday Word

Please take time to reflect on the Gospel alone or with family. God Bless




"Rest is a fine medicine"

We have reached the end of a busy half term. The new year is in full flow! As I write this, the staff are meeting with you all virtually to celebrate and share your child’s learning journey so far. As always, it has been a learning journey for staff too - old and new, working together purposefully and compassionately to guide and support the children and coming together as a team.

This has been a particularly busy week! On Monday we gathered alongside our parish community to celebrate Harvest. Year 6 led the readings and the choir sang beautifully. Once we returned to school we collected together all your generous food donations given over the past few weeks, ready to go to the food bank. We had three wonderful mums who volunteered to ferry the bags and boxes- thank you so much ladies! Later in the day, I received a lovely email from Margaret Sellick (past Chair of Governors and member of the Food Bank team) it read:

Just wanted to say a massive thank you on behalf of St Annes Foodbank to everyone at school for the Harvest collection which weighed a fantastic 224.16kg! This donation is most appreciated and all the food will be used in parcels for local people. Thanks also to everyone who sorted the food into groups which made it easier to put away.
Kind Regards”

Our Head Boy and Head Girl - collecting the food together

Our wonderful volunteers

Following Harvest, on Tuesday, Year 3 performed their thought provoking assembly - teaching each of us that we are all perfect and precious in God’s eyes- thank you Year 3. On the same day and after a busy learning day in class, our Year 5 and 6 children played netball and football against Heyhouses- the children have written match reports!

ART COMPETITION

Art continues to be loved throughout school. As a further celebration of Harvest, Miss Neves set the children a pumpkin challenge/competition! Each class had to paint, make, draw or construct pumpkins inspired by famous artists! Children’s creativity was left to flourish as they explored a wide variety of media. Here are the children whose artwork won first second and third - find a celebration of the art on the ART/DT button on the LEARN page of the website!

NEW PARENT GOVERNORS

The votes have all been counted. There were well over 200 of them. Congratulations to Ruth Cronin and Joe Davies who have been appointed as our new parent governors and will serve a 4 year term of office. We will be in touch in the coming days with regards to getting you 'governor ready' for the remainder of our autumn term! We’d like to thank all of the prospective parent governors who put themselves forward for the role - it gave us such a boost to see that number of candidates coming forward and wishing to serve our school community.

A huge thank you too, to the many parents who voted - there was a wonderful response and it really is heartwarming to have so many of you involved in this important process.

Office News

Just a reminder that we return to school on Monday 31st October and we have a 7 week and 2 day half- term (37 sessions) leading up to Christmas. Dinner Money for the half-term will be £88.80 (dinners are £2.40 each) and as always, payable on ParentPay. This week’s dinners will be inputted by the end of the day and any necessary reminders sent re payment. Please do take a look at your child’s dinner account over the holiday and, if dinners are required, please ensure that you have paid in advance.

Please believe us, we don’t like to nag but if a dinner is required it should always be prepaid.

Our School Community will be going to Church for 9:30am Mass on Tuesday 1st November, All Saints’ Day, please come and join us.

Finally, UNIFORM! We would love you to collect any spare outgrown uniform, washed and in good condition, and bring it to the Office, the first week back after half-term. We’ll sort and then on Friday 11th November at 2:50pm, we’ll have a uniform stall set up in Year 6 spare classroom to visit before picking up the children - there will be no charge, we’d like people to come and take items which will be of use to them and it’s a way of being eco aware and recycling. It would be great though if you do have uniform in good condition to pass on and hopefully will be of use to parents who need to top up on uniform.

Winning attendance for the whole Half term combined

Well done Year 2 - half term winners

Compassionate and Loving.

Finally, a note about our virtues. Here at Our Lady’s, we strive to be more like Jesus everyday. To help us we focus each half term on two personal virtues - these we nurture and practise at every opportunity we can. During each Friday assembly this year we share the times we witnessed compassion and love. These reflections have helped us to always remember what is truly important - one another.

God Bless you all, have a lovely autumn break with your families - rest and recover ready to start again on Monday 31st October.


"She is more Mother than Queen." --Saint Therese of Lisieux,

Another very busy week in school - no matter where you visit, there are children diving into learning! They are also devoting time spiritually to Mary - our Mother. All round the school I’ve spotted classes sharing the Rosary together. One lunch time I even heard some friends in the worship area having a prayerful moment in a little worship station we created - Mary’s statue taking pride of place. Next Monday the children from Year 1-6 will be walking to Church to celebrate Harvest with the parish. The school choir will be performing a song they have practised during their Thursday evening sessions. If you would like to walk down to Church with us, please come into school straight after drop off as we will be setting off promptly.

We had a wonderful treat on Tuesday when Year 4 produced a super assembly! The children taught us about seed dispersal! Not only that, they also explained, through drama, what it takes to be a creative learner. We have 8 learning characters in school - Creative Kiki Chameleon is one of them and she is very imaginative and innovative! From the very beginning of Reception we teach the children all about the characters and how their behaviours help them, and us, to become really good learners. Find out more by pressing on the link below - this will take you to our “Learning Community Page”.

On Wednesday, the children looked very smart for their annual school photographs and in the afternoon our Year 6 children became tour guides as they showed prospective parents around school. If you would like to look around, please pop into the office or ring us on 01253 726 015 and book a tour for our second and final visit on Wednesday 2nd November 2-3pm

Parent Governor elections

““The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.””
— Coretta Scott King

When we advertised that there were two vacancies for parent governors on our governing body, I did not think that we would receive so many applications or that I’d have so many lovely conversations with people who want to make a difference to our school and the children we serve. My heart has been warmed by reading the biographies that our applicants have put together. There is a real sense of wanting to contribute in a positive way to the growth of our school.

I have received 8 applications and so now, the election process can begin. I have attached the eight biographies which you can access by pressing the button below. Please scroll through the two pages and read them all in their entirety. On Monday, the eldest child in each family will receive a small brown envelope with two ballot papers in it, one for each parent to vote. Please do vote for who you want to elect, pop the paper back in the envelope, sealed and return it to school. Each classroom will have a ballot box in it, there will also be one in the office if you want to post your vote personally. This is a wonderful opportunity for our children to learn about democracy too!

The ballot boxes will be open on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, after this date they will be closed for counting. Our wonderful applicants will be informed of the outcome by the end of next week and the result will be announced in our final newsletter of the half-term. Please do vote and get involved in the process.
We will always be a community walking hand in hand for the greater good of our pupils and our school community.

Parents meeting - Friday 21st October ( Year 1 - Monday 17th October)

You are invited to book an online appointment to meet your child’s class teacher.

Thank you to everyone who has already booked (68% have already done so).

Please click on the link below if you still need to book.

Below the link to book is a guide to what to do on the day - you may want to print this out before Friday especially if you are new to this system

Office News

We are so nearly at half term and are going to make a final plea for dinner money accounts to be brought up to date by the end of next week. When we come back after half-term, we have 37 sessions leading up to Christmas and the Dinner money for the half-term will be £88.80 for KS2 dinners. Dinners are still £2.40 each and £12 per week.

We’re making a plea to Y4 and Y5 musicians to remember their Wider Opps. musical instruments next Monday – if they are forgotten , we have to ring or text parents, ask them to come in with an instrument and it can, we know, be very stressful for them to come rushing in in the middle of the day. Sometimes too, it’s quite hectic for us as situations arise to which we have to respond and minutes then tick away before we can deal with the forgotten instruments. So please children, get those instruments ready to bring in when you’re preparing for school on Monday mornings!

Finally the parking – we’ve had quite heavy complaints this week from neighbours and others who are really concerned about people parking dangerously and over double yellow lines and places where they ought not to be. This is a serious safety concern, we can’t let someone get injured or worse before we tackle this. We each and every one of us have responsibility for our own and one another’s safety. It is not neighbourly to park across people’s driveways. The situation has definitely deteriorated since our start and pick up times moved a little closer but we rely upon you all to park legally and considerately and if you have to park further away to park safely then please do so. We understand that complaints are being made to the Police but it shouldn’t come to people risking fines etc, we should be able to police our own behaviour in this matter. We thank you so much for your support in this matter.

Attendance Week 6

Well done Reception 100%!

NEWS BEYOND THE SCHOOL:

Don’t forget the “Family Cinema Club” on Friday 28th October 1pm in the Parish Centre showing Disney's Spooky Buddies

For more Parish events please click on the link below.

Wednesday Word

Here is the Gospel to share with your family - there are three Sundays to cover half term.

Have a wonderful weekend and please remember the children break up next week on Thursday 20th October (normal times) for half term - returning on 31st October.

"Each person must live their life as a model for others"

Here at Our Lady’s, our role model is Jesus. We recognise that we are His hands and feet here on Earth. Year 2 performed a beautiful assembly this week during which they shared how to be a wonderful, caring, and compassionate role model and follow Jesus’ example. Thank you to all the parents who came along. Wasn’t the singing truly joyful and wonderful- there is a little film on their blog! Next week, Year 4 will be performing their assembly, at 9:10am and 9:35am. I had a sneaky peek today and it looks as though some science will be involved!!

In today’s celebration assembly, we learnt about the Rosary and said one decade together. Children will now have the opportunity to come to the worship area with their rosary beads, to pray. We have prayer passes which are used for this area, just a few children visit there at a time, which allows time for quiet reflection. It is a joy to see how the children behave so beautifully in there and with such reverence.

I believe there are developments in the “fruit and vegetable” mystery saga taking place in Year 1. The children have discovered that the EVIL PEA was responsible for the devastating scenes in class last week! Will he pay for his crimes? Year 4 have begun to read “Charlotte’s Web” together and they are hooked! Year 5 continue to explore Ancient Greece and Year 6 have worked hard on those fractions! Please visit your class blog for a celebration of the learning and any important messages which your teacher may have.

Important Information:

You are invited to book an online appointment to meet your child’s class teacher.

Thank you to everyone who has already booked their Parents appointment. Please ensure you have clicked on the correct link below. If you have a problem Mrs Hodges, in the office, is very happy to help.

Parents’ Day Friday 21st October (except Year 1)

Year 1 Parents’ Day - Monday 17th October

Please make sure that your details are accurate and please type the legal names used to register your child (thank you).

OPEN AFTERNOONS

For prospective parents of children for Reception class, September 2023, we have two open afternoons here at school. These will take place on:

Wednesday 12th October 2022 2pm - 3pm

Wednesday 2nd November 2022 2pm - 3pm

Our Year 6 children will take small groups of parents on a tour through the school. Visitors will see the children and teachers busy learning together and are very welcome to gather at the end of the tour and ask staff who will be waiting, any questions about the application process.

Please ring the School Office on 01253 726 015 to book a time slot (15 minute intervals) for a tour - we have appointments at 2pm, 2:15pm, 2:30pm and 2:45pm on both days..

Your School needs YOU! Are you interested in becoming a Parent Governor?

Our Lady Star of the Sea is a special community which is built on love and trust, made up of our children, staff, parents, the parish and the school governing body.

Our governing body works tirelessly to support and nurture the school vision, providing a platform on which we can build, to move forward, grow and ultimately flourish, keeping the school mission statement, ‘You are precious in My eyes’ at the centre of all actions and decisions. The governing body is made up of volunteers who work together with the head teacher to improve education and all other aspects of school life, building work, safety, safeguarding, our budget etc!

Due to changes within the governing body, there are now two vacancies for parent governors and we hope that any interested parents will come forward.

Are you someone who:

  • Wants to make a positive difference to the experiences of our children

  • Works well with other people and can work as part of a team

  • Has some time to spare to attend meetings within the term (usually 2, held early evening)

  • Is ready to learn and open to new ideas

  • Is willing to give something back to our school

You don't need any formal qualifications, you'll get full training and support to make sure you are fully equipped to carry out the role successfully.

If you are interested in applying for the role of Parent Governor, please write a short biography (no more than 150 words) stating who you are, a little about yourself, any experience or skills you could bring to the governing body and why you would like to be a governor at Our Lady Star of the Sea. Please send this to Mrs Hodges at

bursar@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk by Thursday 13th October. Once we have the nominations in, and depending on the number received, we can arrange an election process in which parents and guardians will be eligible to vote.

We look forward to hearing from interested parents; this is a role in which you can make a difference so please do think about applying to become a Parent Governor.

Office News

Urgent Parking Plea We have had notification from a kind and concerned neighbour and it’s been flagged up this week by many parents in our community that there is some dangerous and irresponsible parking taking place before and after school. Please DO NOT park on the zig zag or the double yellow lines. Our staggered approach helps with congestion - but we rely on each person recognising that the safety of the children, indeed the safety of all in our community, comes first. Thank you so much as always, for your support in this matter.

School Photographs - please remember that Tempest Photography will be in school on Wednesday morning 12th October and alongside Reception Class and Year 6 group photographs, they will be taking individual photographs and siblings in school.

Attendance

Well done to Year 4 with 100% attendance this week!

Wednesday Word

Here is the Gospel for this week to share with your family

NEWS BEYOND THE SCHOOL

Book this free parish event into your diary!

Family Cinema Club - Friday 28th October 1pm in the Parish Centre. Showing: Disney's Spooky Buddies

For more Parish events please click on the link below

Dance Festival - children form our school will be taking part!!

Harvest Mass at Church - Monday 17th October (9:30am)

We wish you a very happy weekend with your families and hope that you will have some peace and rest!