Year 5 Weekly Blog 13.09.24- 'Being happy is the greatest form of success'

It has been a brilliant week here in Year 5 with lots of learning taking place. We began our worships this week, with the theme being listening and the importance of this in everyday life. We read the gospel where Jesus ‘looked up to heaven and sighed. He said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened’ We discussed times when we maybe haven’t listened as well and how we can improve this going forward.

In English this week, the penny had finally dropped in the reveal of our new class novel ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ with us understanding the link towards our WW2 work prior to this week. We have teased the children with the opening 5 minutes of the film in order to introduce our new characters and we have read chapter 1 of the book- analysing some key vocabulary and meanings.

In Maths we continued with our place value work of identifying and reading numbers to a million. We have been looking at different ways to do this such as counters, diennes, part whole models, written in words and partioning.

We had our first music lesson this week with our focus being ‘Blues Music’. Both teachers and children taking part in the expressions test in which we listened to different blues songs and drew pictures based on what first came to our minds.

Kidsafe

We continued with our weekly kidsafe lesson this week, the letter below contains information about what what discussed.

Conversation starters

On Monday, we began an exciting new program has started in school, named ‘My Happy Mind.’ Children had their first lesson on Monday, where they learned that they can focus their mind on anything if they try. They learned about 3 parts of the brain, that work together to help us feel calm, safe and alert - the hippocampus, the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex. Each week, you will have a ‘Happy Mind’ conversation starter to have meaningful conversations around happiness and health.

This week’s question, “ What activities do you like to do to relax your mind?”

Subject question of the week- In History, we looked at the rise of Athens in Ancient Greece with the creation of democracy being a key factor.

How democratic are we as a country? Could we be better at this?

Let’s Celebrate

Lorenzo for being enthusiastic: You have taken to Year 5 like a duck to water. You have taken on the school life routines straight away. You have really been a role model to the rest of the class in the expectations of an upper junior. Keep this up as the year goes on.

Teddy for being focused: Your classmates, teachers and parents have been blown away with how you have taken to life in Year 5. You have just got on with everything that has been asked, immersing yourself into your reading, times tables and our English work. You have been a joy to teach and to get to know.

Toby for being attentive: Your focus and attention to detail is fantastic. Whenever your teachers are talking, your eyes are always fixated on them. You always do as you are asked, never making a wrong decision and allowing yourself to put all of your focus into your work. Brilliant work Toby.

Lunchtime Certificates

Role Model of the Week- Lorenzo

Marvelous Manners- Sean

Notices

• Induction Evening- This will take place on Wednesday 18th September. There will be two opportunities to attend this with them being at 3:45pm-4:30pm and then 4:45pm-5:30pm.

• Medical and Consent Forms- Please complete these ASAP to allow your teachers to know about any medical requirements that your child has along with consent forms over online publications. These are available on last weeks blog.

• Sports Club Opportunities- Information regarding this is available on the sports page of the website. If interested, please complete the forms to register your child for a specific club.

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 13th September "Who do people say that I am?"

We have had a lovely week, choc full of learning in Year 4. In our worships this week, we have thought about our Saviour Jesus Christ and read the gospel where Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Children could name lots of different names for Jesus, such as ‘Our Lord,’ ‘Lamb of God,’ and Holy one.’ We discussed the other message in this gospel to follow the Lord even when it is difficult. Tsis links perfectly with our RE where we are looking at the prophet Abraham and how he left everything to follow.

In English this week, children have been immersed in explanatory texts - reading them, analysing their structure and beginning to use language features in their own sentences. We have a wall of excellence, where lots of children’s work is appearing! In our Science this week, we learned all about the 5 different classes of vertebrates why they belong in that class. Children made some great posters explaining each class - well done Phoebe and Fletcher for getting yours on the Science wall.

In maths we have been busy reviewing column addition and have been doing some deep thinking to solve problems with missing numbers in calculations. We learned the language - addend, sum, equation and digit.

WE had our first flute lesson on Monday which was very successful. Children started to blow on the mouthpieces. It may be a few weeks before children bring their flutes home - they need to learn how to put it together first and we will be sending a letter home about the care needed to ensure no damage comes to it.

In PE outside, children practised dribbling skills with a ball. In inside PE, they learned to salute the sun in yoga and they also learned to perform dish and arch balances. I look forward to including pictures of these things just as soon as I have everyone’s consent forms in.

Conversation Starters.

1. Can you talk to your parents about the animal and plant kingdom. How do we organise animals in groups - classify them? What do you find fascinating?

2. An exciting new program has started in school, named ‘My Happy Mind.’ Children had their first lesson on Monday, where they learned that they can focus their mind on anything if they try. They learned about 3 parts of the brain, that work together to help us feel calm, safe and alert - the hippocampus, the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex. Each week, you will have a ‘Happy Mind’ conversation starter to have meaningful conversations around happiness and health.

This week’s question, “ What activities do you like to do to relax your mind?”

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our learning certificates are as follows:

Phoebe received a Bobby Bee certificate for being so enthusiastic and always so switched on to all learning! You are like a buzzy bee!

Albert received a Lizzie Ladybird certificate for trying so hard to improve in everything and getting steadily better and better each day!

Our virtues this half term are attentive and discerning - attentive to all around us and discerning the right decisions and choices to make. This week, Rodnie receives our attentive and discerning butterly for always listening and making careful, considered choices about how to proceed.

PE champions in year 4 this week: Hugo for super dribbling skills and gymnastics and Joseph for really improving his technique

Lunchtime awards:

Role model: Martha

Marvelous Manners: Myles

Notices

Important forms to keep your child safe.

Please complete the online forms from last week’s blog, if you have not done so already.

Induction evening:

On Wednesday 18th September it will be our class induction evening. There are two sessions 3:45 - 4:30 and 4:45 - 5:30. This is a chance to meet our team, find out the main emphasis in year 4, all about homework, what sort of things we will be learning, trips and key messages for this year. We would love to meet you properly so do come along and say hello.

Thanks for all those seeds children have brought in - it has really captured their interest! Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Lyons and Miss Johnson

Year 5 Homework- Due Thursday 19th September

Compulsory Homework

Reading

Nearly half of the class have now quizzed on a book and have begun their journey to their own personal reading targets. Lots of reading to be done this year as we begin on our journey to our end of year target- can you remember what it is?

Times Tables

Lots of TTRS to make sure we are super sharp and speedy on our times tables- these will come in handy this year. The children’s TTRS logins have been stuck on the inside of their homework books.

Spellings

Our focus this week has been words containing the letter string ‘ough’. Lots of these words sound differently to each other so make sure you practice over the weekend so you feel confident next week.

1. fought

2. nought

3. ought

4. bought

5. cough

6. trough

7. tough

8. rough

9. enough

10. thorough

11. dough

12. drought

    Mrs Barker’s group

    1. there

    2. could

    3. house

    4. children

    5. looked

    6. little

    7. she

    8. that

    9. now

    10. her

Optional Homework

History

We have started learning about the Ancient Greeks. One of the most interesting topics that the children love about the Greeks are the vast amount of Gods that they had.

• Research some of the different Gods of Ancient Greece and compare them to each other.

• Choose your favourite Ancient Greek God and tell me why.

• Ask your parents if they know any of the Ancient Greek Gods- do they have a favourite.

This week...

Such a busy week in nursery! The children have enjoyed lots of new and exciting activities, including Fundamental Movement skills with Mr. Nay and Mr. Murray. The introduction of My Happy Mind and much much more. We are all exhausted!

My Happy Mind

This week we started our myHappymind journey to support the children's mental health and wellbeing.  We are delighted to be a myHappymind school! myHappymind is an award winning programme for schools and nurseries, families and organisations. It teaches preventative habits that support mental health, resilience and self-esteem. All the concepts that are taught are based on science and research and grounded in neuroscience and positive psychology. myHappymind is commissioned by the NHS. 

We have set up our own Happiness Heroes team to spread happiness around nursery and school and support others with their wellbeing through techniques such as Happy Breathing.

 myHappymind modules include: Meet the Brain, Celebrate, Gratitude, Relate and Engage.

This week we met Berty and Betty and found our about our brain and emotions.

Next week we will be continuing our journey and be asking the children this question: to plan a nice surprise for a friend or family. Perhaps you could have a little chat at home about what they could do.: maybe sing a song, draw a picture, give a hug or ask a friend to come and play. Let me know how you get on.

Mrs. Gregan will be formally launching the programme on the 25th September with a coffee morning. Keep checking the school blog for further details and and get involved.

In the meanwhile I have attached a Parent pack for you to take a look at. Click on the button below. Enjoy finding out!

Worship

This week we explored how our wonderful world was created.

We stared by seeing what object was in our magic box…it was a globe ball, a good way yo start our conversation. Each day we have looked at what God crated for us to love and look after. I have attached the slides for you to have the discussion at home too. See what your child has remembered (or put in their hippocampus-the memory part of our brain!)

Also, we talked about Jesus-who is Jesus? He was a teacher, a healer and a very good person. We are going to try to be like Jesus and be kind and thoughtful to each other. We are doing very well. One friend said on Wednesday“ I am like Jesus”; how wonderful!

Emma’s blog

Hello everyone.

What a wonderful week we have had. Not only have we been growing our brains, but we have had lots and lots of fun doing so.

 The children have been busy getting to know each other and making new friendships. We have been talking about our families, the people we live with, where we live and if we have any pets. The children also drew what we had discussed. They really enjoyed talking about their pets and we found out that a lot of the children have dogs.

To help the children with their pencil grip and control, I've introduced dough disco. Playing with the dough helps to strengthen children's fine motor muscles to enable them to develop their grip which in turn will help to develop their drawing and writing skills. But most of all it's fun! What is dough disco, I hear you say. Dough disco is a fun activity that involves moulding play dough to music and performing different actions, such as squeezing, patting, poking, squashing into a pancake, tearing, twisting, rolling into a ball, rolling into a sausage, and pinching. Here is a link for you to have a go at home. I hope you enjoy, and remember, have fun! Click here.

Also, here is a recipe to make your own dough at home. Mix 2 mugs of plain flour, 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar, 1 mug of salt, and 2 mugs of boiling water, and give it all a really good mix up. You can also add food colouring as you wish. Enjoy!!

Have a lovely weekend, and have a great time if you are going to the kite festival.

See you all on Monday.

Emma 

Michelle’s blog

Hello and welcome to this week’s blog.

Our learning this week has been focused on learning ‘All About Me’. We have explored what makes us unique and what makes us similar.  We used the mirrors to look in detail at our features and then had a go at painting them. We then all drew a picture of ourselves in our new floor book.  This year we are really going to try to ‘Reach for the stars’ and try to do our best. 

We have used our imaginations this week as we explored our role play home corner. We took it in turns to play mummy, daddy, brother, sister and baby. This enabled us to explore families and to think about our own families. We looked at the pictures of our families and found that we are all different, but we know that our family will always love us. Thank you for sending in your family photos, but don't worry if you haven't managed yet, there is still lots of time.  Just email to any of us, or send in a printed copy. We don't mind, but we would love to see all of our families on our family wall.

Here are some fun activities you could try at home. Click here.

Have a lovely weekend

Michelle

I’m sure all our learning will explain why your child is so tired at the end of the day…one or two friends even all asleep during the day!!

I hope that everyone has a lovely weekend in readiness for another busy week next week!

Stay safe and God bless.

Barbara

Year 6 Weekly Blog 13.09.24 - 'If there was ever a time to dare, to make a difference, to embark on something new - it is now!'

After two weeks of application writing, house captain speeches and class council speeches, we have nearly arrived at the point where all children know their positions of responsibility. Yet again, the children spoke with such passion and sincerity in their videos when they addressed their houses in a bid for their votes. We could not be more proud of all of the children who gave it a go and faced their fears. The videos were all different, showing all of their many gifts and skills, all in which are vital to work as a team ready to lead the school. We discussed what we had all learnt from the process and I think the children were shocked at just how brave they all were! Positions and leadership responsibilities will be announced on Tuesday and these jobs will start straight away. I cannot wait to see how the children get on this year and what legacy they leave on our school community. Next week we will be speaking about celebrating one another and being happy for one another’s roles around the school, we know there may be some people who will be thrilled with their leadership jobs but unavoidably, there may be some that feel disappointed. It is crucial that we deliver the same message to the children, that all jobs within Year 6 are vital in the working of the school and we must all work together and help one another to make the school a beautiful place to be. Sometimes God’s plan for us, is not always the same as what we had in mind, but he knows each of our gifts and talents, and He will always guide us along the right path, where we can make the most difference. We need to embrace every job and make it our own, I know Year 6 will do this so well.

Next week our Reception children will be starting school full time and will enter the school along with the rest of the school. This can sometimes be, as I am sure you will all remember, an overwhelming time for both children and parents. We would love some help taking these children around to their class teacher and who better than our Year 6 leaders? Every week we will be picking 4 children to come to school and wait by one of the gates to help the teachers at 8:45am.. Next week the following children have been asked, but please email if there any difficulties with this time.

Esther Archie Cora Ben

Learning

We have made a really good start to our learning in class this week. In Maths we have been continuing exploring the different calculations structures of multiplicative and additive, they have been building these and discussing how we can use these when reasoning through word problems. It is quite clear at this point, those children who are really secure with their multiplications and those that need to spend a bit more time speeding up their mental recall. In Year 6 the expectations are so high and learning goes at a much quicker pace, the children will grasp concepts and move their learning forward if they do not have to spend too long recalling number facts. So please remind them to use TT Rockstar’s and other online platforms we have to practice these. We have been so impressed with their enthusiasm and energy in English lessons this week as we have been predicting and raising questions about our class novel ‘The Nowhere Emporium’. Some of their predictions were very interesting, I can’t wait to start the novel with them next week to see if some of their theories are true!

We launched our new “My Happy Mind” lessons this week. Through these sessions we’ll learn all about the brain and how it works. This week, we learnt that the brain has three parts: “Hippocampus” “Amygdala” and “Pre- frontal cortex” and how when they all work together we feel happy, calm and relaxed. Can your child remember what each part does? Don’t worry if they have forgotten we cover this again and again as we study the brain further. We can’t wait until our next lesson next Monday!

This week, children had their first Kidsafe lesson which was all about trust and recognising ‘yukky feelings.’ What makes you feel sad, scared or worried? How does it feel in your body?

Please read the letter below which tells you all about it.

A desperate plea:

I am desperate to put photographs of your children on this blog to share all of the wonderful learning but I can’t do this until I have all consent forms back and I only have half.  Please could you make sure you have sent the following two forms, even if your child has no medical needs this form still needs to be completed.

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Science with Miss Drummond: Today we recapped on recognising and controlling variables in a fair test​. We discussed the independent variables (the variable I change each time), dependent variables (the variable I measure to assess the effect of changing the independent variable) and the constants (variables we keep the same). We were asked the question which material is the best sound insulator? We thought about the constants to ensure our test was fair and conducted a mini-investigation as a class to find out which material was the best insulator cotton wool, tissue paper, felt or bubble wrap.

Then in small groups we investigated the question how does the angle of the slope affect the time taken for a toy car to travel down it?​ We decided out the investigation would be carried out and identified the independent variable, the dependent variable and the constants. ​ We used book creator to record our investigation and results reflecting on the testing process, was it fair and were our results valid?

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Delving deeper through talk …

Who do people say you are? What do you want people to say about you?

My Happy Mind…

Can you tell your grown ups what the three parts of the brain are and what they do?

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Leading Learners

Well done to Jacob and Rose this week.

Jacob- Focused Cooper Crab- Jacob, wow, you are always ready to engage in your learning and listen to the teachers. You get lost in your task, you fully immerse yourself in your work and organise yourself to ensure you complete your work within the right time and it is always well presented, showing just what you can do! Thank you for being ready and eager to learn!

Rose- Determined Tommy Turtle - Rose you have come in to Year 6 with such a determined attitude, ready and willing to your best, ask for help if needed, learning from mistakes and most importantly believing you can do it! Such a positive mindset will serve you well this year Rose- keep up the good work!

Attentive and Discerning butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that are attentive in the way we look at the world and in others, taking the time to notice the big and the small things each day. We will also be spotting children who are discerning, who choose the right decisions with integrity. These children are the role models of the school. This week we thank Ben for being attentive and discerning to help others.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Millie

Role Model of the week … Bella

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Reminders

• Induction evening for parents next Wednesday 18th September 3:45pm and 4:45pm.

• Have you opted for or opted out of your child’s flu vaccination next Monday?

• Check the sports page on the website through Engage. Make sure you are aware of all training: dance, football and netball.

• It is our class assembly on Thursday 24th September at 9am.

• please encourage children to complete homework on time and handed in on Wednesdays- it is great preparation for High School

  Have a lovely weekend with your family.

  Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Carter

Year 4 homework to be completed by Thursday 19th September

Home learning book

Please back your home learning books if you have not done so already.

Spelling

Well done for last weeks spellings! Now we have the same format with new spellings this week. Please could I ask that you stick the sheets in your homework book when complete.

1. Remembering past graphemes (spelling patterns) by collecting words

2. Remembering past common words

3. Revising a rule for spelling

4. Learning new tricky words

   Please complete the 2 sheets, following the guidance on the sheet to help you. Notice the words on the sheet are in beautiful, joined up handwriting - so yours should be too!

5. Use this task to help you improve your handwriting. It is best to complete it in pencil then you can rub it out if you make a mistake.

Maths

Please go on TTRockstars for 5 minutes every day in the Garage

Year 6 Home Learning 12.09.24

Homework should be completed and brought back to school for the following Wednesday

Homework books - Please personalize/ cover your homework book to tells me something about you, I would love to find out more about you! Please ensure that your name is clearly visible.

Assembly- You now have your lines for our Assembly a week next Tuesday. Please learn them off by heart and practice speaking with loudly and with great expression!

Maths- Please keep going on TT Rockstars- 5 minutes every night! Please complete the bar model structures homework in your books.

Spelling - will be practiced throughout the week and the children will be quizzed on the Thursday. There will also be a quiz for you to complete on Purple Mash, once you have spent a good amount of time practicing these spellings throughout the week.

OPTIONAL HOME LEARNING FOR THE HALF TERM TO ENHANCE OUR CURRICULUM

Annual Flu Vaccination

This vaccination is recommended to help protect your child against flu. Flu can be an unpleasant illness and can cause serious complications. Vaccinating your child will also help protect more vulnerable family and friends by preventing the spread of Flu. There may be a rebound in Flu levels this coming winter following low levels in the past 2 years. The vaccination is free and is a quick, simple, painless spray up the nose. Our vaccinations in school will take place on Monday 14th September.

Please complete the online consent form.

If you DO NOT wish your child to be vaccinated for whatever reason please complete the form stating NO and the reasons.

Online Consent Form: 

Use the link below to access the online consent form and enter the unique school code with BP in capital letters - BP119627

Please inform the School Vaccination Team (Not School) of the following:

 •           If your child has steroid tablets prescribed two weeks prior to vaccination.

•           If in the few days prior to vaccination your child has been wheezy.

•           If after consenting you take your child to your GP surgery to receive their vaccination

 It is your responsibility to contact the school vaccination team to ensure they do not receive the immunisation again. Our contact details are:

 Blackpool, Wyre & Fylde: 01253 951984 Morecambe / Lancaster 01524 519430

Swimming lessons Year 3 Thursday am

Children in Year 3 will be starting their swimming sessions this Thursday 12th September. Graham Lavine came into school last Friday to talk to the children about what to bring and how things will run.

Children need to bring a plastic bag with a towel and their swimming costume or swimming trunks/shorts. No long ‘bermuda style’ shorts please We ask that children do not come into school wearing their underneath their uniform. PE kits can be worn on swimming day.

All girls and boys with long hair, or a fringe which goes into their eyes need to wear a swimming cap.

Children will not have time to wash their hair so they do not need shampoo, conditioner or body wash. If your child suffers from eczema, they normally have a quick rinse in the shower afterwards.

Goggles

A letter will came home on Friday regarding the use of goggles. Please read it carefully. If you still wish your child to wear goggles for their swimming session, then please fill in the form and return it to school by next Wednesday.

Arrival

Children need to be at school at the St Patrick’s road entrance early each Thursday at 8:30 am so they can be registered and get on the coach.

Children will not need any money as the lockers are able to be used free of charge. They will get changed in cubicles. Graham and the team are super at helping all students to feel comfortable in water and develop their skills. The first lesson will be an assessment to enable group placement.

Children are always hungry after swimming! Please ensure they have a healthy snack to eat afterwards.

All Stars - Sessions and Payment Information

What a brilliant week we have had with the new All Stars Club in school. It is always daunting setting something new up, especially when the one at St Thomas’s was so successful, but I think we have made a really good start - and I cannot thank the staff enough for what they have done. The children are great and are giving us more ideas about what they would like to do. I am sure that it will continue to evolve over the next term. Some of our sessions are already fully booked - which is just wonderful!

As we are a new club, and could only register as of the 1st September, things are taking a little while to finalise. Things like being a tax free childcare provider is in process; we are just waiting for our registration number. So here are a few pointers for you:

• Mrs Nel is in the process of working out what each child needs to pay for the club. This will be put on Parent Pay this week. We have decided to charge half-termly, rather than termly, to give families greater flexibility and to also ensure that you are being charged for the sessions that you will be attending over the half-term. Payment will still need to be made at the beginning of each half-term so that costs for the club can be covered. If you are not paying via Parent Pay, and instead via a different method, please just send an email to Mrs Nel. You will be able to see via Parent Pay what you owe for each half-term. This will be smoother going forward. The summer holidays and being a new provider has stalled this.

• One of the main drivers for bringing All Stars here is so that children can access before and after school extra-curricular sessions. Now that the timetable has been finalised, you need to let Mrs Nel know by email whether your child will not be attending All Stars due to them attending another club in school. For example, if you have signed your child up for multi-skills and they are arriving at school at 8am, then you can relinquish your All Stars place for that morning and you will not be charged. However, if you child arrives at school at 7.45am for All Stars, and then they go into the club at 8am, we will need to reserve payment for their space. Please can you let Mrs Nel know by email if your child is attending a sports club for the specified time, therefore will not need an All Stars place. I hope this makes sense. If you can do that ASAP, then costings can be calculated.

All payments will be on Parent Pay by Friday of this week.

Please continue to bare with us. Some of the set up is beyond our control and we are waiting on other organisations to send information to us. We will continue to communicate with you throughout. Please do ask any questions if you have them and we will get back to you when we can.

Mrs Nel’s email is bursar@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 5 Weekly Blog 06.09.24- ‘The journey of a thousand miles begin with just one step’

What a fantastic start to the new year we have had! Friends reunited and new relationships forming with new teachers- just plenty of smiles all round. The children have taken to life in the upper juniors with real excitement and pride as they have dived straight into the learning, along with their roles and responsibilities.

We began our first day back by coming together as a school in unity with a morning assembly, followed by our first look into the exiting curriculum of Year 5 with a bit of History, where we are learning about Ancient Greece. As promised, we finished the end of the day with the famous parachute (curtesy of Reception) to give both children and staff a chance to get to know each other.

The rest of the week consisted of beginning our English and Maths topics with us focusing on retrieving some key skills such as grammar, punctuation, times tables and place value. It was only fitting that we ended the week in worship together as we celebrated the new year at mass. The children were partnered with their new Year 1 buddies in which they were so gentle, kind and supportive towards.

“Treat others how you would like to be treated”- This is our class slogan for the year in which we aim to promote kindness, compassion and respect towards everyone in what we say and do throughout our daily life.

Photos have been taken throughout the week to capture the children’s first steps in their Year 5 journey- these will be uploaded in next weeks blog after all of the consent forms have been submitted.

Kidsafe

This week, we started up our kidsafe lessons again to go over our rules of these lessons along with our chosen theme for the week. Please read the letter below to see what was discussed in the lesson.

Notices

• Induction Evening- This will take place on Wednesday 18th September. There will be two opportunities to attend this with them being at 3:45pm-4:30pm and then 4:45pm-5:30pm.

• Medical and Consent Forms- Please complete these ASAP to allow your teachers to know about any medical requirements that your child has along with consent forms over online publications.

• Sports Club Opportunities- Information regarding this is available on the sports page of the website. If interested, please complete the forms to register your child for a specific club.

• School Gates- Gates will open at 8:45am in the mornings and closing at 8:55am. Gates will open up again at 3:15pm with the classroom doors being opened between 3:20pm-3:25pm. You can come through any of the two gates both in the morning and afternoon.

Our first week at nursery!

Welcome to our first blog of the year.

This year in nursery and in school, we are taking time to focus on our school name and how we can shine like stars in the sky. If we truly are to live the life that God intended us to, then we must look at how we can do all of those small things well and shine like a star. This message will be the golden thread in everything that we do and who we are this year; recognising all of the stars that shine so very brightly. We have got off to a great start and have all been shining brightly, but we must keep trying.

Each Friday you will be able to catch up with all the learning we have been doing at nursery and perhaps join in at home. The blog is full of ideas to extend learning and revisit, so get involved!

It is always lovely to hear the children enjoying finding out with their families. You could even send us pictures to share with or friends. Just email them either to me or your childs key person and we show them on our fabulous Touch TV.

It has been a fantastic start to the week. There may have been a couple of tears at drop off time but they haven’t lasted long at all. Everyone has been exploring the continuous provision both inside and outside, it is so very exciting. We have started to build new friendships, but it is a bit tricky remembering lots of names.

Each week your key person will write a short blog about your childs learning at nursery for the week. It will include photos and some activities you may want to try at home.

It is important that you visit the nursery to keep up to date with everything that will be happening in nursery, we would not like you to miss anything. You may also like to read about what is happening throughout the school too.

Emma’s blog

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful summer.

 Welcome to our nursery blog.

 The children have had a fantastic first week and it's been wonderful getting to know each and every one of them. We have been busy making friends and following nursery routine, the children have also enjoyed exploring inside and outside of nursery, enjoying the different spaces to play. 

As it’s our first week, we have been talking about our feelings. When starting nursery our feelings sometimes could be a little bit mixed up. The colour monster story is about a monster who wakes up with mixed up emotions and a little girl who helps him to sort them out using colours. The book is a brilliant way to express and talk about how we feel; to help the children learn to identify and discuss their emotions. It helps us to develop social skills, confidence, and empathy. We have been using different coloured pom poms to express how we are feeling. The children have really enjoyed the story.

 Why not watch and listen at home. Click here.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I can't wait to to see you all on Monday for more learning and lots more fun. 

Emma 

Michelle’s blog

A very big welcome to our new families and those returning for another great year at nursery!!.

It's been a very exciting week as we have all got to know each other. We have learnt lots of new names and are beginning to know the rhythm of the nursery day.

We are all learning to be more independent by finding out trays and putting our coats on.

You can help your child on their road to independence by giving them time to put their coat on by themselves and also by recognising their name when written down.

We have had such a lovely first week and are really looking forward to next week.

Have a lovely weekend 

Michelle

As you can see we are having a lovely time in nursery. I am so proud with how the children have settled. More fun next week.

Story time

This week we read Little Rabbit Foo Foo. It’s a great story and it made us laugh so much. We talked about choices; was Little Rabbit Foo Foo making good choices? What is a Goonie? Click here to watch and listen at home.

A few good housekeeping reminders

I understand how difficult it is organising our lives around getting to nursery on time, as well the things we ask of you, sorry, but here are a few reminders that will help both your child and nursery ladies.

Please can each child have an Our Lady book bag and not bring back packs as we haven’t got room in our reception area. You can purchase them from Top Marque in St Annes.

When choosing shoes could you think about how you child will be able to get them off for PE etc and then put them on. We encourage the children to be as independent as possible. Velcro trainers/ shoes are probably the best. Hi-top boots are extremely tricky.

Please make sure that your child is wearing appropriate clothing for the weather. We go our in all types of weather. Wellies and waterproofs when raining. Coats for outside play.

Your child will require one snack (fruit or veg only please) for each session. Two pieces for a full day, one for half day. Please note grapes, cherry tomatoes are to be cut into quarters. All snack pots to be clearly labelled.

Anything your child brings to nursery or clothing that could be taken off during the day must be labelled. The nursery ladies get very confused!

Could each child bring a photograph of their family to display on our family wall.

Lastly, could I say a huge thank you, to you, our lovely parents. You have prepared your child so well for the next part of their learning journey. Working in partnership is so important.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I will see you all on Monday.

God bless

Barbara

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 6th September "You are Precious in My Eyes."

What a beautiful first week we have had in our new class! Children have come back so focused and have really worked so hard this week to learn all our routines and tenets of behaviour to make our class Strive, Thrive, Aspire and be Respectfully Responsible.

We always begin our year reflecting on our school mission statement, “You are Precious in my Eyes.” All the children have thought about who said this and what it means to be truly precious in the eyes of God. If everyone is God’s special creation then we realised everyone deserves to be treated like a precious jewel; therefore we made this sign to remind us each day.

We then went on to learn about rights as things we all deserve and how we are responsible to ensure everyone gets their rights. These are our class rights which children came up with:

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO FEEL SAFE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO LEARN WELL YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT

This week, the children finished off their ‘Meet Me’ posters all about their hobbies and favourite things.

In our English lessons we have started to learn about different text types and their purpose. Next week, we begin our topic all about explanation texts. We have dived right into our new spelling programme which allows us to revise past spellings, remember rules and learn really tricky words. Please look at the homework section for more information.

We have started our new Science topic all about Living things and their habitats, whilst also learning about how seeds disperse.

Conversation Starters.

This week, children had their first Kidsafe lesson which was all about trust and recognising ‘yukky feelings.’ What makes you feel sad, scared or worried? How does it feel in your body?

Please read the letter below which tells you all about it.

Notices

School timings:

School opens at 8:45am and school finishes at 3:25pm

Important forms to keep your child safe.

Please complete the following online forms regarding consent and medical needs. Please fill in both - regardless of whether your child has a medical need or not.

Induction evening:

On Wednesday 18th September it will be our class induction evening. There are two sessions 3:45 - 4:30 and 4:45 - 5:30. This is a chance to meet our team, find out the main emphasis in year 4, all about homework, what sort of things we will be learning, trips and key messages for this year. We would love to meet you properly so do come along and say hello.

Have a lovely weekend with your hard-working and lovely children. I very much look forward to our year ahead!

Mrs Lyons and Miss Johnson

Let’s Celebrate!

The children have voted for the certificates for the end of this half term. Certificates for every learning character go to Louis, Daisy and Lily. Your class said so many nice things about you - that you are all kind to people and are all good friends who are there for other people. Every single on of you have become great listeners with improved focus too. Well done.

Grateful and Generous butterflies

This week our butterflies go to Rory for always being so thankful and supporting everyone in class and Lorenzo for being so grateful - also for stepping in to tell stories for everyone this week.

Lunchtime role model Sean

Marvellous Lunchtime manners John-Paul

French star - Matilda for a wonderful french presentation done as extra homework all about food!

A final note from me - I feel truly blessed to have taught your children and they will always hold a place in my heart. Thank you so much for all your support this year and for all your kind words and gifts.

We hope you have a beautiful Summer with your little lovelies. It has been a privilege to teach them all and they are ready… for Year 5!

Mrs Lyons , Mrs Ely, Miss Hennessey and Mrs Carter