Our lives are a journey to God...

Family Music Concert with Blackpool Symphony Orchestra

Next half term, we have joined together with Blackpool Symphony Orchestra to give our children a wonderful opportunity to showcase their musical talents in a concert together with the Symphony Orchestra.

The concert will be on 19th March at 3pm in The Marine Hall in Fleetwood. If your child will be participating in this event a letter will come out soon with further details.

Parent Teacher Meetings

Usually at February half-term, Our Lady’s would usually send parents a mid-term report on their child’s progress to date. As we have again had little opportunity to talk to parents due to risk assessments in school, we would like to hold another virtual ‘face-to-face’ meeting with all parents on our INSET Day - Monday 21st February.

This will give you all the opportunity to speak to your child’s class teacher and look together at the progress your child has made at this mid-way point in the academic year. It will also give parents and class teachers the chance to speak directly to each other about any questions/issues/worries either has regarding the children at this point in the year.

A link to book your time on this day will come out at end of this week.

Bikeability

Our Year 5 (and some Y6) children will be taking their ‘bikeability’ course next half-term. As most children who would be riding bicycles have undertaken (and passed) this course - a reminder that ALL people riding bikes to and from school should ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET to ensure their safety.

Many thanks.

A Very Happy New Year to you all!

I can hardly believe that we have begun another year! Where does the time go to…? I sincerely hope that Christmas time and New Year was a happy time spent with families and appreciating all the gifts that we have been given (…and not simply the wrapped ones we received on Christmas Day) and I truly hope that 2022 brings you all happiness, peace and every blessing.

We have begun our new school term with eagerness and enthusiasm, following the example of the 3 wise men, following Christ’s inspirational light to lead us to all the possibilities of what we can achieve this year!

Attached is a presentation the children have seen in class this week, reminding us all of the new life and new possibilities Jesus offers us - not just this new year - but every day! You may want to watch it again with your family.

Online Safety

I am also attaching January’s online safety newsletter for parents. This month it has some information regarding Fortnite and Tik Tok which will be useful to read.

We hope you find these a useful resource to look at for latest information.

There is also a safety fact sheet which you may find helpful which gives further information about ‘Fortnite’s latest chapter (Chapter 3)!!!!! You can find this by clicking HERE

Human Relationships & Sex Education (HRSE)

A reminder to parents that Our Lady’s, as all schools, Relationships and Sex education (RHE) became compulsory in 2021 as part of our Personal, Social, Health and Relationships education curriculum. You can see from the policy and our vision that this teaching is rooted in our unique Catholic identify - it is called HRSE (Human Relationships and Sex Education as directed by the Lancaster Diocese). We recognise that as parents you are the first educators and through working in partnership together we can support children as they grow to be the ‘best versions’ of themselves.

OUR VISION for HRSE…

“At Our Lady of the Assumption, we are inspired by Jesus to be the very best we can be. We look after one another and show respect and love through our relationships with one another. Jesus is invited into our hearts. In the Beatitudes, Jesus invites us to lead a full life with him by explaining what makes people blessed or happy. This is about understanding how loving our neighbour enables us to be happy too. Therefore, having a good relationship with ourselves and the other people in our lives makes us grow and flourish, and we respect that everyone is a unique and beautiful part of God’s creation. We are all children of God, called to grow in love for him through the person of Jesus Christ and to spread the Good News through the action of the Holy Spirit”

The button below takes you to a comprehensive guide to the materials we will be using (Ten Ten) and how our vision as a Catholic school is embraced.

When you click on the buttons (above & below) you will be asked to join the school portal:

Our Username is: ol-assumption-fy4

Password: fish-chips-5

As a school we have taken the decision not to teach the sex education parts of the programme, but understand that children will have questions related to this topic. We will teach puberty as a stand alone lesson when pupils are in Upper KS2 with the support of our school nurse. We will inform parents when this will take place. As you will see any lessons which discuss body parts, plant/animal reproduction, or life cycles are directly taught through science.

The information is here for your reference. As with any curriculum area, if there are any questions your child’s class teacher will be happy to discuss class curriculum coverage with you.

Latest COVID guidance…

COVID-19 infection rates are very high and the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly. Infection rates in the North West are now among the highest in the country. It is therefore vitally important that we all take steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection in the community to save lives and protect the NHS.

‘Quick Reference’ guide…

Covid Symptoms

· a new continuous cough — this means coughing a lot, for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours

· a high temperature

· a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

What to do if your child has symptoms

If your child develops any of the COVID symptoms above or tests positive on a Lateral Flow test please do the following:

¨ Keep them at home and do not send them into school. Call school as soon as possible to inform us of your child’s absence and the date of the test.

¨ Organise for them to have a PCR test as soon as possible and if that test is positive your child should remain at home. The isolation period includes the day your symptoms started (or the day your test was taken if you do not have symptoms), and the next 10 full days. 

¨ People who live in the same household as someone with COVID-19 can also take a PCR test, as they are at higher risk of being infected even if they do not have symptoms. DfE

¨ If the test is negative and your child is not poorly they can return to school. Check if you and anyone else your child lives with need to self-isolate.

Whilst awaiting the PCR result, the child should continue to self-isolate. If the PCR test is taken within 2 days of the positive lateral flow test, and is negative, it overrides the self-test (LFD) test and the child can return to school, as long as the child doesn’t have COVID-19 symptoms. (DfE)

Changes from December

You may be able to end your self-isolation period before the end of the 10 full days. You can take an LFD test from 6 days after the day your symptoms started (or the day your test was taken if you did not have symptoms), and another LFD test on the following day. The second LFD test should be taken at least 24 hours later. If both these test results are negative, and you do not have a high temperature, you may end your self-isolation after the second negative test result.

To further reduce the chance of passing COVID-19 on to others however, if you end your self-isolation period before 10 full days you are advised:

· to limit close contact with other people outside your household, especially in crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces

· to wear a face covering in crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces and where you are in close contact with other people

· to limit contact with anyone who is at higher risk of severe illness if infected with COVID-19

· to follow the guidance on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread

But are able to return to work/school taking sensible precautions.

You should however, follow this advice until 10 full days from when your self-isolation period started.

Visual examples of when to end self-isolation if you have had COVID-19 symptoms or have received a positive COVID-19 test result

 Remember  - always err on the side of caution to help to protect everyone in our community.

Parent Governor Vacancies

Our Lady’s Governing Board currently has vacancies for two parent governors. Being a governor can be very rewarding, do not worry if you have no experience in education matters as training and support are available from Blackpool Governor Services and your colleagues on the governing body. 

Have you thought about becoming a Parent Governor?

Becoming a Parent Governor offers you the opportunity to make a contribution to the life and work of our school. Governors play a key role in the leadership commitment of the school and work together with the headteacher, staff and other governors to ensure that Our Lady’s provides a challenging and supportive environment for our children.

Who can be a Parent Governor?

All parents and carers of registered students are eligible to become Parent Governors. Every parent, whether or not you live with the student, is entitled to be nominated as a Parent Governor and to vote in a Parent Governor Election. Someone who has parental responsibility or day-to-day care of a student is also eligible to serve and to vote.

Parents/carers who have paid employment in the school or who are elected members of the Local Authority are not eligible to stand in these elections.

How long do Parent Governors serve for?

The usual term of office is four years from the date of appointment with a review meeting after the first year. If you choose to, you can complete your term of office even if your child has since left school.

How are Parent Governors nominated and elected?

If you would like to put your name forward please complete the nomination and application forms and submit a statement stating why you would like to be a governor (no more than 250 words).  If more than one nomination is received, an election will be held and the ballot papers for this will be sent to all parents and carers.

If you are interested and would like to find out more, then why not contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Finally…

On Thursday I joined our Year 3 & Year 4 children to celebrate the Epiphany with the parish; what a lovely way to renew and invigorate the soul. Fr Frank even taught us some Japanese! (ask your child about that one!) Father made us all think about how we are each using the gifts God has given us to be the very best that we can be; real food for thought. The Wise Men followed that star to find God’s true gift, that miracle in His only son. Like them, we have to find our way to Christ and we can only do that by spending time in His presence and discovering Him in the face of others.

Our Yr 3 & Y4 children were so reverent and prayerful and being with them for this lovely mass, was such a delight – thank you children! The only sad part of this lovely experience was that the rest of the school were missing… we normally all celebrate this feast day together as a whole community.

Despite the rain, wind and freezing temperatures, the children have returned with such enthusiasm and have engaged straight away with learning. It is uplifting to see such focus and problem-solving going on already and a real thirst to find out more.

I wish you all a safe and happy weekend…. whatever the weather may bring!

Miss Haggerty

Our Advent journey towards Bethlehem....

Make a crib together…

Last weekend in the Bishops Pastoral Letter - which was read out at church; Bishop Paul asked all families to make a crib at home during Advent, a special way to get ourselves ready for Christ’s coming.

There is an old Mexican custom where, during Advent, people dressed as Mary and Joseph and travelled around their villages knocking at peoples’ doors to see who would give them hospitality.

This custom has been adapted around the world through the idea of a ‘Travelling Crib’, which involves the model figures of a nativity scene being passed from house to house each night during Advent, before being brought to Church on Christmas Eve. This journey symbolises Mary and Joseph’s difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus. On their designated night, host families set up the crib in their homes and use the opportunity to stop what they were doing and think as a family about the true meaning of Christmas. It is a unique way to help families prepare for Christmas, that schools and churches have been facilitating for years.

The buttons below have a link to the website (larger button) and a copy of the slides (in case you cannot access the website, and also the ‘cut-outs’ which are templates of all the nativity figures which you can decorate and cut out together ready to read the story together with your child/family. You can then take a photo of your family’s complete crib and send it to the class either through your class email or Dojo. Your teachers would love to see what you have made!!!!

Go on… try to make your own crib this year!

Keeping everyone safe.

You will have heard on the news about the new variant of Covid which is now spreading throughout the world.

All Blackpool schools have been advised by Dr Arif Rajpura - our Director of Public Health, to take extra precautions in the run up to Christmas "In order to reduce the risk of COVID and other winter-borne viruses we are advising schools to carefully consider and risk assess non-essential activities.” As a school we are therefore putting back in place the protective measures we had during and between lockdowns, in the hope that we can try to keep our children and staff as safe as possible and mitigate any risks present. In this way you will know that we have taken the decision not to have any public performances of our nativities & concerts, but instead to film them and have them available on the website for families to view as we break for Christmas.

We do urge parents however, to take all symptoms seriously and book a PCR test if in any doubt. We have also increased mask wearing for adults in school and also handwashing for the children. It would also be advisable for parents to wear masks when picking up at dropping off times as these are the times when we are at most risk. Please do not take risks with your health at this time!

E-Scooters

E-Scooters have been in the news over the past months as an eco-friendly method of transport.

Some parents may have been considering one of these for a Christmas present so I wanted to share with you the latest information we have received from Lancashire Police…

“…Currently it is illegal to ride an E-Scooter on a public road or pavement in Lancashire. They are classed as a motor vehicle and subject to the same legal requirements such as MOT, Tax, Licensing and Insurance.

The attached leaflet explains in more detail what the situation is regarding E-Scooters; the fact that they cannot be ridden on the public highway and so should not be ridden to school. We would appreciate it if you could make your students and parents/guardians aware of this information prior to the end of term, especially if they are considering these as Christmas presents. “

Please see attached leaflet:

Christmas Cards

A quick reminder about our school policy regarding Christmas Cards for our new parents/families or anyone who has joined school this year.

At Our Lady of the Assumption we are trying to cut down on waste in our environment & for many years of children giving each other cards, we found that they would be left at school, lying all over classrooms corridors etc; in other words… WASTED!

For the past five or more years, if children want to bring a card, we now simply ask for 1 card to be written for the whole class and teacher displays that and celebrates the child for their kindness. If you feel you would like to ‘give’ anything more, then we ask that a £1 donation is sent in and this is put towards a local/national charity ie CAFOD or Brian House.

Thank you all for your support with this.

Christmas Holidays

School closes at 2pm on Friday 17th December and we re-open for Spring Term on Tuesday 4th January 2021.

*Please note that After School Provision is available on this date from 2pm - 4.30pm when the club will close for Christmas.

Wishing you a lovely safe weekend & we hope you can get some rest and relaxation with your child/children. The children all appear very tired at the moment - so perhaps a few early nights are in order so we can all enjoy the celebrations of the rest of Advent.

Take care of yourselves

Miss Haggerty

'Christ is our King, let the whole world rejoice...'

Yet another busy week of learning has gone by and, as usual, the children never cease to amaze me with their enthusiasm and joy of learning.

I can hardly believe that we are now only a week away from the start of Advent and celebrating the great feast of Christ the King this weekend. This week Jesus reminds us that although many things may change, His love for us is constant and through His Word we should know that He will always be with us. We are encouraged to sow seeds of hope as we look positively to the future; something we are all trying to do here in school. Of course next week we will all be making our Advent promises. (Where has this year gone?)

Nativities

Our classes are all currently planning and looking forward to their own special re-creations of the nativity and also some traditional simple carol services & presentations. Unfortunately with us all still battling to ensure our school community is as safe as can be, the decision has been made to record what we can of the children’s celebrations and present these on our website rather than taking the risk of inviting large numbers to gather as an ‘audience’. The last thing we want is for anyone to be ill over Christmas time!!!!

Look out for further details about these and other celebrations on your class news pages.

Fundraising during Advent

Many of you asked about Children in Need today: Charity towards others is never far from our minds, and the children have also been talking about charity work, which as always, is a vital part of our school Mission. We recognise that today was Children in Need Day and instead of simply undertaking an event on one day, we remember and give thanks to members of our school community who have undertaken some amazing fundraising activities to help raise money for our own, local ‘children in need’ and in particular, families within our own school. Our Year 4 class recently packed and delivered Christmas ‘Shoeboxes’; we continue to support local foodbanks and have also recieved some gifts on behalf of BFC which will be distributed to many of our families.

Our PTFA are holding a Christmas Jumper Day on December 14th, when children (and staff) can wear their lovely festive jumpers and bring £1 - this is also our Christmas Dinner Day in school (more details to follow about this!)

Our older children are also constantly coming up with great fundraising ideas - I know they are working on these to raise money also - so watch this space!

We will be looking to raise funds (as we have done for many years) for Brian House/Trinity Hospice, which they have greatly appreciated. We know that Brian House continues to struggle due to the pandemic and any funds raised going forward will support them as they carry out their essential and deeply compassionate work. And also not forgetting our own families and the children we love, such as Amy and the ways we can continue to support her and her family too!

Sacramental Programme

This weekend we welcome the children who will be undertaking the Parish Sacramental Programme for this year. Their families will be attending masses on Saturday and Sunday when Fr Loughran and the Parish will welcome them all officially at the beginning of their important faith journey.

We will keep the children and their families in our prayers and hope that, after lockdowns and restrictions, this can be a new beginning for them and the first steps of a journey which will see these families become an ever growing and strengthening part of our wonderful Parish Community. We hope to see you all at mass for many years to come.

Get Reading….

We all know at Our Lady’s, that reading inspires us all. But did you know that 1 in 11 disadvantaged children and young people in the UK don’t have a single book of their own? That’s a frightening thought - isn’t it? Currently Blackpool has teamed up with The Literacy Trust to promote reading across our town with the ‘Get Blackpool Reading’ campaign.

The Lteracy Trust is a great resource with hundreds of resources, videos and ideas not only for children (like this ‘Top tips for choosing a book’ video) but for school and parents too! Next week classes can tune in to Join Matt Haig for a special Christmassy session exploring his book, and soon to be Netflix film, A Boy Called Christmas. The true story of Father Christmas.

The children can hear Matt read from the book, discuss his inspirations and get exclusive sneak peeks from the film. They may even have a chance at the end to ask Matt questions from the class!

The Literacy Trust have teamed up with Blackpool Catering this year to give the Christmas dinner a 'magical' theme. Each child who registers for a Christmas dinner will receive a free book! What a great present!

We are also happy to support local author Dina Elizabeth Slater (who has close links to Our Lady's school!) as she launches her fantastic new children's picture book, 'Arthur and the Magic Book'. We want to take the opportunity to share a link to the free eBook for you to enjoy. Below there are also links to Dina's website, should you wish to find out more information. (You may have already seen this on our Twitter feed!)

Website: www.artandetta.co.uk

EBook: https://bit.ly/3k6VI9O

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artandetta

We will also look forward to a visit from Dina next year. Who has promised she will come and talk to the children about being an author - we love an author visit!

We hope that this Christmas you can give the gift of reading to your children… not simply by buying them a book - but by inspiring them to read: Reading with your child and to them is the single most significant treasure you can give!

I wish you all a lovely weekend. Stay safe. I hope you can manage to find some quality time for you and your child to read this weekend.

Miss Haggerty

Lest we forget...

This weekend marks another Remembrance Sunday when we give thanks for those who have fallen in service of our country and, of course, we continue during November to remember all who have died.

The children have had some very reflective lessons where they have discussed the significance of the poppy, and it has been wonderful to see how many children have been proudly wearing them this week. This poignant celebration is becoming more and more important to share with the children as the numbers of service men and women become less and less as the years pass by. Our generation really needs to keep this alive and share the importance of it with the young!

Samaritan Christmas Shoe Boxes

Thank you to everyone who has been donating items to help fill our shoe boxes this year (and to families who have sent shoe boxes in too!) Mrs Hodgkiss and her fabulous helpers from Y4 have filled and packed over 20 boxes!

Well done Everyone!

The boxes will be taken to the delivery point this weekend and soon be ‘winging their way’ to children across the world in time for Christmas.

Sacramental Programme 2021/22

This years parish programme for Reconciliation and Holy Communion will begin from next weekend - so please make sure that you have completed an application form and returned it to Fr C Loughran BY FRIDAY 19th NOVEMBER AT THE LATEST!

Fr Loughran held a meeting on Thursday evening for any interested parents. These parents should now have their application form which needs to be returned to Father as soon as possible. If you do not yet have an application form you can see Fr Loughran during the week. He will be at Our Lady’s church on Tuesday morning between 8.45am - 9.15am (when he is meeting some parents) or Tuesday evening at mass at 7pm, or immediately after mass until approx 7.45pm. Father will also be saying mass for our Y5 class on Thursday 18th November at 9.30am so will also be available following this mass until approx 10.15am. These would be the best times to speak to him and either complete a form or hand a completed form back to him.

Alternatively, you could email Fr Loughran at : catholicsinsouthblackpool@gmail.com and arrange a time to come and complete the form and return to him.

If you know your family are interested in taking this next step in your faith journey together, please, please do not hesitate as Fr is hoping to hold a welcome mass to begin the programme from next weekend 20th/21st November.

Details have been on our website for some time and you can also find a link and further explanation of the sacraments on our church webpage (Blue button on the left - church)

PLEASE NOTE: receiving the sacraments is not a school-led initiative - it lies solely as the responsibility of each Parish. As Fr Loughran is Parish Priest for ALL 3 Parishes now (Our Lady of the Assumption, St Cuthbert’s and St John Vianney) he has to arrange the Sacramental programmes between all 3 Parishes - No mean feat as you can imagine! So please contact him as soon as you possibly can!

School Uniform

We have received an email today from ‘The Uniform & Leisurewear Company’ who own the uniform supply shop on Clifton Street in Blackpool town centre who sadly are having to close the store very soon. Because of this they are currently having a major school uniform sale with many garments on sale with over 50% reductions!

This may be worth a visit if you are needing any items of uniform currently.

They have informed us however, that parents can still purchase from the store online or orders can be taken by telephone:

Tel: 01524 388355 Website: www.ualonline.co.uk Sales: sales@ualonline.co.uk

ParentPay

A plea to parents/families to please ensure you can open your ParentPay accounts. We really need you all to be on ParentPay in order to make ourselves 100% cashless and each class will have things coming up for which you need to access your ParentPay account.

Also a reminder to please, please check your account for amounts owing. It is horrible for us to send reminders out to parents regarding outstanding payments, and embarrassing for yourselves; but even small debts can mount up and we want to try to avoid this at all costs.

Many thanks

Finally…

I hope you all managed to see the posters etc regarding the support agencies promoting the importance of sleep for both yourselves and your children in last weeks blog... This is such an important factor in maintaining good health and wellbeing so I hope you are all trying to get a good amount of sleep each night - even at weekends!

I hope you all manage to find some time to relax (and sleep!) this weekend and I continue to pray for you all.

God bless

Miss Haggerty

Faith-Filled and Hopeful...

It has been lovely to welcome the children back after half-term… although many classes were sadly depleted due to much illness! This has been a real shame as this half-term we were ready to really ‘get stuck in’ to our learning and teachers had planned all the new concepts and topics ready to deliver from Monday.

We realise that this term will be difficult for everyone as the winter viruses seem to be encroaching on us sooner than ever and of course we also have the threat of COVID pushing ever closer. This week we have been informed of 6 new cases within our school community (parents and children) so we have to ensure we are always on our guard. We have been told by Public Health that the hospitals are really busy and especially Blackpool Vic – not entirely with COVID, but with all the other winter borne viruses.

We need to try and do anything we can to bring the case rates down.  This means going into winter with a bit of caution, doing our bit for infection control, wearing a facemask in indoor crowded places or public transport, washing your hands, getting vaccinated and also getting the booster if you are invited to do so, which is really important.

The vaccine van is still doing its rounds, the information is on the council website - Vaccine Van (blackpool.gov.uk). This can distribute vaccines to those 16 plus and also 1st, 2nd and Booster doses. In school we are ensuring our classes are regularly washing their hands at each change (ie coming into/leaving the class, dining hall, PE etc) We are also continuing to enforce the ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’ rules with the children by ensuring there are plenty of boxes of tissues available for the children throughout the day.

Schools are also being informed by Public Health that we should be urging families where ANY member tests positive for Coronavirus (on a Lateral Flow or PCR test), that ALL other family members should take themselves for a PCR test to ensure the virus hasn’t spread to other members of the household. Schools have to send specific details of any cases to Public Health on a daily basis, so please bear with us if we have to ask several questions to find the information we need!

PLEASE, PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU DO INFORM SCHOOL OF ANY POSITIVE CASES WITHIN THE FAMILY - It is important that we keep evidence of cases within our school community!

Are we getting enough sleep…?

We received information this week that one in four children in the UK are not getting enough sleep. This has been a recent concern in school as this week in particular we have seen many children come into school looking exhausted and openly telling us they feel tired! This worries us all as this has a huge impact on the children’s behaviour and ability to learn, as well as their physical health. Getting enough sleep is the best way to help our immune system stay strong!

There is a free helpline which is run by trained sleep advisors who can talk to young people directly, or parents (they can also talk to parents about their own sleep issues). The helpline is open 5 nights a week, Sunday to Thursday, 7-9pm and the number is 03303 530 541.

You can read more here: https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/national-sleep-helpline/ or see the flyers below!

Sacramental Programme

To clarify for parents, there is a meeting being held at Our Lady’s Parish Hall on Thursday 11th November at 6pm for parents of children in Y4 (or above) who wish for them to undertake the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Fr C Loughran will be leading this meeting and explaining about the application process for the programme for this year.

Finally…

What a week this has been; so many learning opportunities which the children have keenly grasped. We look forward to another six weeks with more of the same!    

Enjoy the weekend…

Miss M Haggerty

'Take courage. Get up. Jesus is calling you' (Mark 10: 46-52)

I can hardly believe it is half way through Autumn Term already!!! Where has the time gone? The past eight weeks have simply flown by… and what a joy it has been having everyone back together at school again! The children have all grown into their new roles and each class has been immersed in learning and exploring new concepts. Walking through school, looking at books and chatting to children, I’ve been amazed at how new challenges are being faced and past learning recalled and used as building blocks. Children are beginning to recall how they can use their mistakes to learn from and in lessons they are demonstrably employing their growth mindsets and growing in confidence each week - it is a joy to behold!

Sacramental Programme

In discussions with Father Loughran, an agreed date has been decided for Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Sacramental Preparation Programme for 2021/22. This will be for children from current Y4 (or above) Your child must have received baptism within a Catholic or Christian Church Community before preparation for the Sacrament of Communion and you should be able to provide proof of this from a baptismal certificate or giving name, date, church and name of the priest or minister who baptised your child so that records can be checked.

You can find an introductory letter HERE with further requirements and details.

There will be an initial meeting for interested parents at 6pm held in Our Lady of the Assumption Church Hall on Thursday 11th November for all parents wishing for their child to participate in the programme this academic year.

Notification of the programme and all letters will be available at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church. Information is always available when you attend mass on either Saturday evenings at 6pm and Sunday mornings at 10.30am. Our Lady of the Assumption School supports and works together with the Parish in the Sacramental Programme.

Guides and Brownies

There are some vacancies currently for our local Brownies group and also any girls interested in joining The Guides. Girls interested in joining Brownies should be between 7 - 10 years old and for Guides, between 10 - 14 years old.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in joining the groups, they begin on Wednesday evenings starting in November. Call Mrs Duffy: 07847377581 for further details.

School Meals

Blackpool Council are introducing some delicious new menu choices after half term. We all LOVE our school dinners at Our Lady’s - they are just as popular with staff as they are with the children! Please see menu below.

Keeping each other Safe

This continues to be a challenging time for everyone. Within school we have been alerted this week to some new positive cases in our community and as always, we thank you for following the guidance, keeping us informed and erring on the side of caution. Please do book your child for a test if they have any Covid/Covid-like symptoms or at the very least undertake a lateral flow test at home - we can advise where you can get these. We would just ask that if your child has been for a PCR test, please will you remember to inform us of the result, even if negative, before sending your child back into school.

Infection rates remain high (and on the increase) in our area and alongside this, other germs are circulating. We continue to have all workspaces ventilated, have kept mixing to an absolute minimum and continue with our regular hygiene/handwashing routines; alongside this we will continue to closely monitor cases. Thank you as always for your support.

Finally

We hope that you will have a lovely, relaxing holiday week with your children. Staff have really enjoyed meeting you all virtually at our Parent - Teacher meetings, following the final day of this half term.

We will be pleased to welcome the children back on Monday 1st November at 8.45/8:55am.

Thank you for all your support over these last eight weeks, it makes all the difference, working in partnership with you to ensure that children have every opportunity to learn and grow.

Miss Haggerty

To pray the rosary is to hand over our burdens to Christ and His Mother…

Parent Teacher Meetings

Thank you very much for your swift responses to booking a time to (virtually) meet your child’s class teacher. If anyone has had any difficulty in doing this please let us know as soon as possible.

When you have booked a time slot this can then be seen by your child’s class teacher. As we will have the time limit, please let your child’s teacher know by email/class dojo if there is anything in particular that you want to discuss so that they can ensure you have adequate opportunity to speak about this.

The video link itself will only be sent out 24hrs before the meeting.

We look forward to having this opportunity to discuss your child’s learning.

Parental Safety Notice

It has come to light that a significant number of children (in various classes) had been trying to play games based on a Netflix programme called ‘Squid Game’ this week. This has caused us great alarm, as, when we have investigated further, children have quite openly told staff that this is something they have seen clips of on YouTube or through other popular programs.

This is a particularly graphic programme and has been rated at 15+ but looking at concerns on review sites it would appear to be aimed at solely adult audiences (18+) See letter HERE with further details. There are also further useful links on Y5 news page as Mrs McVey has been finding out further information into how this game is being publicised.

We would urge parents to have a conversation with your child regarding anything they made have heard/seen and also to review your parental restrictions on devices your children have access to. Our online safety newsletter gives further guidance about YouTube settings and access for children.

October - Month of the Rosary

What is The Rosary?
The Rosary is a set of prayers to God, Our Lady and the Holy Spirit. As we repeat the familiar words, we allow our minds to think about a wonderful part of Jesus’ life here on earth – a mystery.

As our school is named in honour of Our Lady, it is really special to have these times of year which are dedicated to her. More than ever, our world is in need of Mary’s love, care and guidance - so we have attached a resource which we use in school to reflect on the rosary in the hope that you might be able to use this to say the rosary as a family during the month of October.

(Don’t worry if you can’t manage the whole rosary - even just one decade gives us time to reflect and share in these beautiful prayers together)

Our Lady of the Assumption Church

To keep all of our families updated… you are aware that Fr Jim has left Our Lady’s now as Parish Priest. He is now at Ulverston and is settling in well (although he did tell me that he misses you all very much!)

Our Lady’s church is fully (and safely) open for masses and is now being served by Father Chris Loughran who is residing at St John Vianney’s Presbytery. Our weekend masses have remained the same with Saturday evening Vigil mass at 6pm and Sunday Mass at 10.30am each Sunday morning.

The church website however, has been changed and I am in the process of linking this across with the website ‘Churches in South Blackpool’ where you will find news about each of the parishes (OLA, St Cuthbert’s and St John Vianney’s) all on one site.

I am attaching this weeks newsletter, which also gives you all the contact details for Fr Loughran and Fr Sullivan and the mass times in each parish.

Help Our Lady’s to win equipment…

I have recently found out about a number of different competitions and reward schemes which can help school to be awarded with equipment.

One is a rewards scheme with Morrisons Supermarkets where (if you register for a Morrisons ‘More Card’ you can nominate a school for their ‘Good to Grow’ scheme where points can be earned for gardening equipment for school.

Another is a competition from FamilyFirst together with Sports Direct:Parents & our local community can nominate our school for the prize, simply by clicking on this link: www.facebook.com/122432455071056/posts/913019132679047/?d=n

This afternoon we have presented our new Reception Class (and the children who have joined Our Lady’s over the past couple of years) with their Our Lady Medal and their Welcome certificates. It is so lovely to be able to start to celebrate being a ‘family’ again here at Our Lady’s. Even though we can only safely gather half of the school together at one time, it is still a poignant way to remember what makes our school so special.

The Reception children have already got off to a wonderful start and Mrs Holden, Mrs Debowska and the team are so proud of all they are learning so far. We look forward to the rest of the new academic year and also to their exciting learning journeys in the years ahead.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Haggerty