We are now over half way through Lent 2017 (I don't know where the time goes???) and of course this weekend we are not only celebrating Mothers Day but also (unfortunately) losing an hour of sleep as the clocks go forward on Sunday. This, as we know, signifies the change into Spring - and it really does seem like Spring, with the beautiful weather over the past few days!
In school the children have all made their Lent promises and we are trying together to use this Lent as a time to reflect and hopefully 'change' the actions (habits) which lead us away from God. Last week many of our Year 3 children celebrated their first Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) at Our Lady's Church as they reflected on the actions & words which had led them to upset others and through this wonderful sacrament they were able to build their relationship with God and with others and take a further step towards their next sacrament of First Holy Communion: We wish them all every prayer and blessing.
It is also a time for us to stop and think about our journey to Easter... many of the staff and children are thinking about the 'Little Extra's' they can do during Lent: one member of staff when thinking about the terrible events currently, stated that she was thinking about the people around the world who were suffering and so she would try to go to an extra mass and offer this for all who were suffering at this time. What a lovely thing to do! Fortunately we are currently holding our 'Lent Challenge Mass' each Friday in our school hall at 8.15am. We only have a couple of weeks left - so please, if you would like to do something extra yourself this Lent, come along and join us! (We also have tea and toast afterwards - so it's a nice chance to have a chat with other parents and parish too!)
Lent Acts of Worship
Before we break up for Easter we will also be thinking about the last journey of Jesus as he travelled to Jerusalem and was met by the crowds on Palm Sunday and then after celebrating his last supper with his disciples was arrested and gave his life for us all. As we usually do in school, we will remember Christ's journey by remembering that first Palm Sunday - done by our Key Stage 1 pupils at church on Monday 3rd April.
Then our Key Stage 2 classes each reflect on the next part of Jesus' journey each morning at an assembly, beginning with Y3 who depict the Last Supper, then Year 4 who describe Jesus being arrested at the Garden of Gethsemane. Year 5 then lead us in a sorrowful reflection of Jesus' crucifixion and finally Year 6 show us the beauty of the Resurrection.
Easter Raffle
Many, many thanks for all your donations of Easter Eggs and gifts for our Easter Raffle. Their will be a letter coming out this week with a strip of raffle tickets for every child. If you want to buy a ticket they will cost 20p each (£1 a strip) and if your child wants to buy any more, the Year 6 pupils will kindly come to each class every break time (beginning on Wednesday this week) and will be available to sell further raffle tickets for anyone who wants them. The Big Raffle will be held on the last day of term when the whole school will be in the hall for the 'grand draw'. Well done everyone and thank you for your generosity - The proceeds from the raffle will be used to extend our library and class reading area (in every room) by purchasing more exciting books for the whole school.
Choir of the Year
A huge 'Well Done' to our amazing 'SINGING SENSATIONS', who performed wonderfully at the 'Choir of the Year' event held at the Tower Ballroom. It was an incredible venue and an incredible evening of truly brilliant performances from primary schoolchildren from across Blackpool schools. Our Lady's children made us all so proud and I was delighted to hear positive comments from organisers of the event telling me how well behaved and polite our children were. Thank you to everyone and special thanks to Mrs Bird who works hard to rehearse with our choir each week. You are all special stars!
School Parking
I want to ask you for your help if you drive your children to and from school. Our school is located in a residential area on a very busy road and some of our neighbours (and parents) have contacted school a number of times to talk to us about parking along the road and in particular outside their properties.
Despite residents telling me they are being insulted when asking people not to park, they are keen to resolve this situation amicably and, like us, they do not want to be left with no alternative but to take more direct action for which they are fully entitled to.
I am very aware that the vast majority of you respect the rights of our local residents and thank you for your support in this matter, however there are still some people who do not.
We do have the church car park available to drop students off, but I do realise that for many of you, drop off is part of your journey to work and this needs to happen as smoothly, and as quickly as possible. Can I please ask though, that care is taken when pulling over, so that driveways and access to properties are not blocked. Also, in the church car park, can you please show respect for other users of this space too. In fact the same courtesy we would expect of the pupils within class. You would not appreciate someone using your private property for their own needs. Please do not do the same. Please help us to be a school within a harmonious community.
I would also ask those parents who are using the staff car park when dropping off or collecting their children from school to refrain from doing so. I must remind parents that the school car park is private property and only employees are permitted to use it as they are the only ones that are covered by School Insurance. We must ensure the safety of our children and also the easy access to our school for both staff and deliveries, and it is therefore necessary for us to restrict the amount of vehicular access to the school grounds. Should you require emergency vehicular access at anytime (ie to collect a sick child,) then arrangements can be made with the school office.
We realise that everyone wants to save time, but please can we ask that you DO NOT use the staff car park either in a morning or after school. Many thanks in anticipation of your co-operation in this matter.
