We have just heard the latest announcement from the Government tonight that…”You must stay at home”

The message is stark but clear. We now have to ensure that we are keeping our families at home at all costs to ensure the NHS is not overwhelmed during this pandemic.

Whilst Our Lady’s wants to try to do all it can to help families at this time - we need to follow Government instructions and keep everyone safe. While numbers of children increase at school we cannot do this. It is increasingly difficult to ensure that children remain socially distanced throughout the day. So the message must be, that if you are able to keep your children at home, then DO SO.

 
0_home.png

Wellbeing advice for families

Keeping you and your child’s physical and mental health well, over the next coming weeks & months is so important to help manage the COVID-19 virus. During these times of stress and anxiety we must all do what we can to try to keep ourselves healthy in mind and body so that we can try to be strong during these difficult days and weeks ahead.

If any families are concerned over where to turn for help, there is a handy guide with some useful contact numbers you may wish to use for support if needed. Click HERE to download.

We have also had a lovely message from Mrs Ward - our yoga and mindfulness teacher. She sends everyone her love and hopes that you can try to practice some of amazing yoga poses and mindful breathing at home!

 

Prayer Resource for families

In this unprecedented time of church and school closures, a resource which we use in school for some of our collective worship (Ten Ten) is offering all families the opportunity to access prayer resources for the home. The children will be used to the format of these prayers which link directly to the Sunday Gospel - which for this week was the story of Jesus’ healing of the Blind Man.

The prayers take the form of powerpoints which have a reflection and a prayer for each day.

Pope Francis prays for the world

In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis said he will give an extraordinary blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) at 6 p.m. Rome time March 27.

The formal blessing — usually given only immediately after a new pope’s election and on Christmas and Easter — carries with it a plenary indulgence for all who follow by television, internet or radio. In addition to announcing the special blessing, Pope Francis said that at a time “when humanity trembles” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was asking Christians of every denomination to join together at noon March 25 to recite the Lord’s Prayer. The Catholic Church and many others mark March 25 as the feast of the Annunciation.

“To the pandemic of the virus we want to respond with the universality of prayer, compassion and tenderness,” he said. “Let’s stay united. Let us make those who are alone and tested feel our closeness,” as well as doctors, nurses, other healthcare workers and volunteers.

unnamed (1).jpg





Posted
AuthorGuest User

Dear Parents,

Re: INDEFINITE,FORCED SCHOOL CLOSURE

Next week, Our Lady of the Assumption stops operating as a school and we will become a ‘last resort, emergency childcare’ facility.

We will not be providing an education, just childcare and we will operate between 9.00am and 3.30pm

It is NOT compulsory for children to attend.

Breakfast and after school club will not operate from Friday (today)

As a country, we all need to do what we can to reduce the spread of the COVID 19 virus

The government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend

The fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in education all settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society

Schools are, therefore, being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of  children  - children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the Covid 19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home

If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be – our care provision is an absolute last resort!

So far the number of children on our list far exceeds the 10% projected by the Government. Please consider your children, other children and the staff at the school before asking for a place for your child. We already have a reduced staffing structure because of the need to self-isolate or because of underlying health conditions.

Please, therefore, follow these key principles:

1.      If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they MUST be.

2.      Parents should do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus.

They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.

3.      If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then school provision will be available for them.

4.      Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.

Please remember, the whole point of the enforced closure, is to reduce the potential spread of the coronavirus, we should not be used for convenience.  We will be very strict on this.

Where one parent is not a key worker, please endeavour to make your own arrangements to keep your child safely at home.

If you are working from home, your child MUST stay with you.

If you feel you meet the criteria and feel it is absolutely necessary to take up a childcare place, then please complete the new form which will be sent out/available at the office from lunchtime today. This MUST be completed by 3pm today in order for us to cater appropriately as far as staffing levels for next week.

We will require proof of your ‘key worker’ status, such as a work identification pass / work email / letter from employer which states your job title

NB: If parents do not consider all these aspects very carefully then there is definite possibility that school may not be able to open at all due to inadequate staffing levels. Above all we need to ensure the utmost safety of children who should be here. If we feel that numbers are too great to offer a safe environment then we will have to close and direct to other provision.

In the same way – please do not expect to arrive at the school on Monday able to bring your child without confirmation from us that their place is secured. We do not want anyone to be left in this position.

With my many thanks for your support in such difficult times

M Haggerty

Posted
AuthorGuest User

Dear Parents/Carers,

Re: Coronavirus update – school closure to most pupils

Following on from last night’s news, I’m now writing to let you know that we have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children after this Friday until further notice.

As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, others in frontline services) and children with certain needs.

We are waiting for the government to publish more information on what this means, but it would help us in the meantime if you could let us know if you think your child may fall into one of these categories.

You can email us at school: admin@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk or call us on 01253 762833

We’ll be in touch again as soon as we are sure who this does apply to.

All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday onwards.

* Please note that this is a national closure – as you may have heard in the news – so while it is a challenging situation, we are not alone. We’ll re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know when this is by announcement on our school website and text message to all families.

What we’ll continue doing while your child is at home

Your child’s learning is of course important to us, so we’ll continue to help your child to learn.

We will be sending home packs of work initially to give some curriculum work for English and Maths to begin with. We aim for your child to undertake approximately 2 hours of school work per day.

For the continuing weeks we then plan to continue education support remotely by:

  • Writing a weekly ‘Class Blog’ to be found on the school website which will contain further weekly assignments/projects for children in your class to complete.

  • We will give both worksheets and links to educational websites for games, lessons etc

  • Parents can then contact class teachers if needed through a secure designated email address (Example…….Classname@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk - this will be confirmed and put out through text or class blog )

If your child usually receives free school meals we will also be in touch with more information about how we will continue to provide this, with support from a scheme that the government has just announced.

What we won’t be able to go ahead with

  •  School trips

  •  School Events - Lenten Masses, Easter Assemblies, KS1 Lent Liturgy (Church)

  •  Internal exams or tests

  • Also - First Communion Programme will have to be postponed

 

This is as much as we know right now and we appreciate your continued patience with as we deal with this ever-changing situation. We understand that this latest news will have an impact on you and your family and it’s far from ideal, but we’ll continue to keep in touch with any updates as the situation develops.

If you want to get in touch to share any concerns, please don’t hesitate to do so via our school admin email: admin@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk or on the school phone number 01253 762833.

 

And remember: if you or your child feels ill and you want to know what to do next, please use NHS 111 online.

Thank you again for your continued support, and we will be in touch with more information when we can.

Posted
AuthorGuest User

We would just like to keep everyone informed of the measures we are taking in school in the current situation with the issue of COVID 19.

We have daily updates from the Government regarding any changes to take place and many resources etc for school - but the message remains consistent that at this time we are to make handwashing and general hygiene a priority and ensure that even the youngest children clearly understand the priority of keeping ourselves, but especially our hands. clean.

We have also been in daily contact with our school nursing service for any further advice and indeed Mrs Lang, our school nurse, has been working in school for several weeks undertaking talks and practical sessions about handwashing and keeping clean. We have also had assemblies about this.

As we know, a decision has been made that there is currently no need for schools in England to close at this time. So we will continue as normal, but ensuring that all advice given is put in place within school.

See some links for information below:

The importance of hygiene

Personal hygiene is the most important way we can tackle COVID-19, especially washing hands more; and the catch it, bin it, kill it strategy for those with coughs and sneezes.

Wash your hands more often for 20 seconds with soap and hot water.

In addition to handwashing before eating and after sneezing, both children and staff should also wash hands after using toilets and after travelling on public transport.

Please help us in sharing simple and effective hand hygiene messages:

https://twitter.com/NHSuk/status/1235112744917049346

Public Health England has a dedicated webpage with a range of posters and digital materials at:

Sign up is quick, free and means you will be alerted as more resources are made available.

Educational resources

The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene.

Resources are currently available for KS1, KS2 and KS3 and can be used in various settings including schools:

Department for Education coronavirus helpline

The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is now available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

Where to find the latest information

Updates on COVID-19:

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Guidance for educational settings:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19

Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus

Latest Department for Education information:

https://twitter.com/educationgovukhttps://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk/

Posted
AuthorGuest User

The great season of Lent is now upon us and our focus as a school is upon our gratefulness and generosity. All of us at Our Lady’s this Lenten Season are growing to be grateful for our own gifts, for the gift of other people, and for the blessings of each day; and the children are particularly thinking about how they can be more generous with their gifts, now and in the future.

gratitude.jpg

Please take a look at this letter which gives details of a local dentist who are currently accepting new NHS patients.

As part of World Book Day celebrations Blackpool Catering Services have prepared a special menu for Thursday 5th March, for children who usually have a school dinner on this day - see attached menu.

Blackpool Catering Services have also updated their weekly menu which will take us up to the end of summer term 2. You can view their new menu here.

Also, please see the attached flyer with details of a 10% off sale for one day only - Saturday 7th March - at our uniform supplier shop in the town centre - 31 Clifton Street.


Posted
AuthorGuest User

This term we have all been encouarging each other to ‘shine our light’ as we try to live out the virtues of being curious and active in our faith and indeed all we do!

The children of Our Lady of the Assumption never cease to amaze us with all the wonderful ways they shine with Christ’s Light in the things they do and say! This half-term has been no exception…

We have completed some fantastic work in our classes whilst also continuing our sports, arts activities, mentoring work, buddying, ambassadors and various leadership roles - and that’s just what we undertake in school time! We are so proud of the children and the enthusiastic way they love to be actively involved in all activities to support not only school, but each other and our whole community - from altar serving at church to leading assemblies and helping others in the office, dining hall and around school. You really are all ‘shining your lights’ and it is wonderful to see you being so active in your learning and in your caring for others!

80af3ef9b7eeedb17ae873316678d520.jpg

Dates of events:

Parents, please do keep a look out for the dates coming up soon of various events in and around school. These are regularly posted on your child’s class blog pages & also on on the dates tab of our website. Some coming up soon are:

‘Safer Internet Day’ - February 11th, ‘Silly Sock Day’ - February 13th (£1 cost to wear some weird and wonderful sock creations that day!), Half Term break - February 14th - February 23rd, Ash Wednesday - February 26th, ‘Julia Donaldson evening’ for Rec and Yr 1 children - February 28th, ‘World Book Day’ - March 5th and many other events.

World Book Day 2020

We have really tried to encourage and celebrate the children’s reading this year, remebering the variety of books, print, stories, news and amazing and interesting things there are for us to read! Our Julia Donaldson Evening is a wonderful way to encourage our youngest children to read and have so much fun listening to rhyme and predictable stories as well as thinking about the journey’s of the characters in these stories.

Many of you may also be aware that the church has designated this year as ‘The Year of The Word’, encouraging us to really read and think about the bible and the richness of scripture contained within it. Father Jim has already set us the challenge of designing a new cover for the church Book of The Gospels (Which Fr reads from each Sunday)

On World Book Day itself (Thursday 5th March) we are inviting the children to dress up as a character if they want to - but, for those who do not wish to dress up, you can have the challenge of simply designing/making a prop to bring in on World Book Day from a chosen book, which is a clue to the book itself. (ie a pocket watch - the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, a pair of red shoes - Dorothy, etc etc - the more unusual the better to keep everyone guessing) or how about just coming in dressed as a word from a book - or covered in words from a book… everyone then has to ‘read you’ to find out the book!

On the day we will have Dan Worsley - our local author and this year’s Patron of Reading for our school who will be coming in to deliver an assembly for the school and then will be working with Year 5 and Year 6 throughout the morning. We will also have some Quiz Competitions about books and authors going on throughout the day. If any parents would like to join us to be ‘guest storytellers’ that day - please let us know.

10832090_1530786253826222_556398231_n.jpg







Posted
AuthorGuest User

“At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God's own love and concern.” -

Mother Theresa

The season of Advent has well and truly begun! We are underway with preparations for our concerts and nativities and now hear the beautiful sounds of the children rehearsing their carols and songs.

On Monday we had a visit from Daisy, a gaplain at St Mary’s who works on behalf of CAFOD (The Catholic Agency for Overseas Developments) She told us about ways we could think about those who may really struggle at Christmas - both at home and overseas. Our amazing children came up with some wonderful ways that we could put the needs of others before ourselves and try to raise a little money this Advent to purchase something needed by families in other countries, such as chickens, grain, or school supplies.

We have agreed that we will not send individual Christmas cards to our whole class, but instead bring in £1 (which is much less that we would have spent on 30 cards) and donate that to our school CAFOD appeal. Also we will hold a whole school ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ on Thursday 19th December when everyone who wants to wear their Christmas Jumper on that day, can also bring in £1 as a donation for CAFOD.

Last night a group of our children took part in a beautiful Advent Service together with children from schools across Blackpool. It was a beautiful event and really put us in the Christmas Spirit. At this event there was also a collection for CAFOD which raised an astounding £169.36!

I was so proud of the children - as was Father Jim who also came along to the service! - A wonderful evening!


ADVENT MORNING MASSES

Just to remind everyone that we are beginning our Advent masses this Friday.

We would be delighted if you could join us for these 3  special Advent Masses which will take place each Friday morning at 8.10am 

These are for all children (& family) who can come along for 20 mins to join us in celebrating the end of each week of  Advent in a wonderful way  — by celebrating the  Eucharist   together!

We need children to read, to altar serve and also bring offertory gifts….

We then have a drink and toast (or even mince pies) together in our dining hall  before returning to class by 8.55am

 

The first mass is this Friday—6th  December & will be held in church

Friday 13th December and Friday 20th December mass will be held in the school hall.

 

PLEASE COME ALONG

&  JOIN US IN OUR ADVENT

CELEBRATIONS!

Cup_Of_Cheer.012.jpg



 

Posted
AuthorGuest User