“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” John 15: 5

Pop Idol

On Monday, Mrs Mannix announced the finalists from our Pop Idol auditions which took place on Friday. It was a very difficult decision to make but our finalists are Lilly C, from our class, and Willow from Year 4. Congratulations to both girls, we wish you both luck in the competition next week. 👏🏻👏🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

A big well done again to all those children who took part in the auditions. If you would like to show your support for Lilly next week, the Pop Idol final will take place on the evening of Thursday 9th May at Montgomery High School. There is usually a small charge to go in and watch the performances, but it would be great to see you there.

Our award winners:

Golden Award (RESPECT) - Grace

Writing Award - Teddy

Maths Award - Hallie

Times Tables Rock Star Battle

At the end of yesterday, these were the results of our Times Tables Rock Star Battle. Well done to Clifton who are in the lead so far! ⭐️👏🏻 Remember, the battle will continue till Tuesday at 7pm. Good luck everyone!

Our learning this week…

In English we have been reading more of our text and have explored figurative language.

In maths this week we have begun working on fractions.

In RE the children have been thinking about what they know about the Resurrection of Jesus and have then compared their own ideas to those of others.

This week’s prayer and liturgy was planned and led by Darcy and Lilly. Their liturgy was on the theme of The Vine. The Gospel reading is taken from John 15: 1-8 and offers reassurance and encouragement to all alike: when we are part of the vine, Jesus, we can be rooted and bear good fruit. The girls’ challenged the class to show how they can bear good fruit, such as love, courage and patience each day this week.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” John 15: 5.

In Science we have looked at growth in children and have investigated different ways children’s growth is measured.

In geography the children are working with Mrs Mannix and are continuing to work on latitude and longitude.

In computing this week the children have begun to tinker with a new software program called Sonic Pi which allows the children to compose their own music.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is rounders.

PTFA Design a logo competition

The PTFA are running a ‘design a logo’ competition as they have never had their own logo before! There will be a letter coming home today explaining how it works - the closing date will be the 17th May and there will be a £1 entry fee. There will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Good luck everyone!

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class liturgy…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Have a lovely long weekend everyone! See you back at school on Tuesday - swimming as normal.

Mrs McVey, Mrs McCooey and Miss Evans

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

“ I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and they know me,” John 10: 14

CAFOD social teaching workshops

This week a representative from CAFOD, the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development, came into school to deliver a social teaching workshop. The children heard about Pope Francis’ letter, the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, which he has written to everyone. In it Pope Francis is asking us to reach out to our sisters and brothers in need, whoever they are, wherever they may come from. We are all challenged to think of ourselves as a single global family living in a common home, and neighbours to all.  At CAFOD, they believe this means moving towards a world where everyone can be the best person they can be just like the Good Samaritan.

Pop Idol

Congratulations to all the children form Year 4 and Year 5 who auditioned for this year’s Pop Idol competition. The children all did themselves proud and we enjoyed their performances. It’s going to be a difficult decision to make but good luck everyone!

School council - we’re recycling batteries!

School council are asking the school to collect batteries for recycling. If you do have any, our council representatives Elsie and Oscar will be collecting them from Monday for the next 12 weeks. These batteries will be collected and then if we get enough, it could mean new books for our school.

Our award winners:

Golden Award (CARE) - James

Writing Award - Rosie

Maths Award - Kurt

Our learning this week…

In English we have continued to work on our text King Kong and have explored the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases and have explored synonyms.

In maths this week we have continued to use the short method (bus stop method) to solve division problems including those with remainders.

In RE we have developed knowledge and understanding of the religious signs and the steps involved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

This week’s prayer and liturgy was planned and led by Alexander, Kurt and Tommy. Their liturgy was on the theme of The Good Shepherd. Through listening to Him, the sheep know and recognise His voice and can confidently follow His instructions. The reading comes from the Gospel of John 10: 11 - 18.                             

“ I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and they know me,” John 10: 14

In Science we have investigated the differences in gestation periods between different mammals.

In geography the children are working with Mrs Mannix and are continuing to work on latitude and longitude.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is rounders.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mrs McVey, Mrs McCooey and Miss Evans

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

“  While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Luke 24: 35 - 48

On Thursday, we all (except Year 6 who are out of school on their residential trip this week) attended church for a whole school mass. Year 5 demonstrated their leadership skills by being good role models and supporting their buddies in church. Some of the children also took part in the mass by reading the first and second readings and the responsorial psalm. Well done to the readers, who read beautifully, and to all of Year 5 by showing their respect and reverance in church.

Our award winners:

Golden Award (CARE) - Connie

Writing Award - Lilly Ch & Corben

Maths Award - Olivia S

Our learning this week…

In English the children have been exploring images from our text, KIng Kong, and have described him using similes and metaphors to create a list poem. The children have also predicted the sequence of pictures and have used fronted adverbials of place, manner and time to sequence and make the story flow better.

In maths this week we have continued to use long multiplication methods and have also begun looking at dividing 4-digit numbers using the short method (bus stop method).

In RE we considered what sin means and have been discussing the consequences of wrong choices. The children have also worked together in pairs to plan a liturgy, which they will deliver during this term up to the end of Year 5.

This week’s prayer and liturgy was planned and led by Hallie and Isaac. Their liturgy was on the theme of Seeing Jesus and how kind acts allow us to see Jesus in each other. The reading comes from the Gospel of Luke 24: 35 - 48 and tells how the disciples were shocked at Jesus’ appearance. They could not believe it when they saw He was real - eating ‘before their eyes’. 

“  While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Luke 24: 35 - 48

In Science we have looked at the foetal development of human babies and compared anatomically correct models.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is rounders.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Mrs McVey, Mrs McCooey and Miss Evans

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

Lent Reading Challenge Update📚

I’m delighted with the children’s response to the reading challenge so far, we’ve really got off to a great start! Each day this week, we’ve had children coming in having read their book and have requested to move on to their next book. This is amazing Year 5, keep it up! Please continue to encourage your child to read their chosen book to enable them to enjoy our book club at the end of term.

Well done to those who have already completed some of the books!🤩👏🏻

Our award winners:

Golden Award (CARE) - Charles Emanuel

Writing Award - Corben

Maths Award - Henry

Our learning this week…

In English we have begun to explore William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This week we have begun to explore the different ‘worlds’ of the play and have begun to look at some of the main characters.

In maths the children have been working on finding cube numbers and have been using the inverse operation to solve some problems.

In RE we read how Jesus described a true disciple, using Scripture from the Bible. The children then designed their own membership card for the “True disciple club” with the required rules to follow. The children then looked again at the life of Saint Damien and had to find evidence to show that he qualified to be a true disciple of Christ.

This week’s prayer and liturgy was planned and led by Hayley Marie, Lilly C and Mia. Their liturgy was on the theme of The Transfiguration based on the reading from Mark 9: 2-10, which is a beautiful one to read and reflect on during Lent. In it we see Peter, James and John experience something incredible, which deepens their understanding of who Jesus really is. Their lives are changed and they experience a new beginning!

“Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Mark 7

In Science the children have compared the lifecycle of a reptile and a bird. The children have then looked at and labelled the parts of an unfertilised egg.

In geography the children are working with Mrs Mannix and have begun looking at their new topic on latitude and longitude.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is rounders.

In computing the children have continued to explore using a micro-bit to execute code.

Thursday 7th March World Book Day Children can come into school dressed as their favourite book characters and will need to bring in their favourite book to share and enjoy. Please note: There is no need to go out and buy anything new for the day, it’s more important to bring in a favourite book and enjoy it.

Friday 15th March Dress up for Brian House Children can come in to school in something bright, something comfy, something stripy, whatever you want to wear and remember a contribution to our charity.

Thursday 21st March School trip - Year 4 & 5 visit to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Please see the letter that has come home today. A copy is attached here in case you haven’t received it. RSC visit letter.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mrs McVey, Mrs McCooey and Miss Evans

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth" Matthew 5 : 5

Welcome back to a new half term! I hope everyone enjoyed their week at home despite the very wet weather. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to take their plant pot home and look after it last week - some of them are now beginning to flower and we are keeping the Edina trust updated with our results.

Although Ash Wednesday was during half term, on Monday we started this new half term by marking the start of Lent and receiving the ashes in church. Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, or 46 if we count Sundays, we replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. It is a time to refocus on Jesus as we look ahead to his death on the Cross at Easter and rejoice over his miraculous return. It is a time for reflecting on what we could do differently or maybe what we could do more of or less of during this time. The children have made their Lenten promises, linked to one of the Beatitudes, which are eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew . Please ask your child to share with you what their Lenten promise (linked to the Beatitude "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth" ) is and encourage them to keep this promise over Lent.

We have also decided to make some whole class promises too…

Year 5 will be collecting donations towards the end of Lent and it would be lovely if each one of us could donate just one item of clothing that is no longer needed. I will let you know when the children can bring their contribution in nearer to the end of this half term. We hope that you will be able to support us in this.

Lent Reading Challenge

We have also decided as a class to take on a class reading challenge for Lent. By the end of term, we - Year 5, Mrs McVey, Mrs McCooey and Miss Evans- will read one of three books (chosen by the children). In the last week before we break up, we will celebrate our reading achievement by sharing our thoughts on the book with a book club party. Please encourage your child to read their chosen book to enable them to enjoy our book club at the end of term. You never know, some children might even go the extra mile and end up reading all three (Now there’s a challenge!).

Our award winners:

Golden Award (RESPECT) - Elsie

Writing Award - Hallie

Maths Award - James

Well done to the children who took part in Schools Alive before half term and to Harriet for gaining her Bronze award music medal.

Our learning this week…

In English we have begun to explore William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This week we have begun to explore the different ‘worlds’ of the play and have begun to look at some of the main characters.

In maths the children have been working on finding cube numbers and have been using the inverse operation to solve some problems.

In RE we have started looking at the Beatitudes, eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. We also spent time making our Lenten promises.

This week’s prayer and liturgy was planned and led by Alexander and Henry. Their liturgy was on the theme of Lent based on the reading from Mark 1: 12-15 which describes Jesus’ temptation in the desert. The boys read prayers which helped the children to reflect on the ways they are tempted in similar ways to Jesus and how Jesus wants to help them to resist temptation and become more like the people God has created them to be.

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15

In Science the children have been comparing the life cycles of insects and amphibians.

In geography the children are working with Mrs Mannix and have begun looking at their new topic on latitude and longitude.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is gymnastics.

In computing the children have been recognising coding structures and have used the micro-bit to create a polling program.

Thursday 7th March World Book Day Children can come into school dressed as their favourite book characters and will need to bring in their favourite book to share and enjoy.

Friday 15th March Dress up for Brian House Children can come in to school in something bright, something comfy, something stripy, whatever you want to wear and remember a contribution to our charity.

Thursday 21st March School trip - Look out for a letter coming home next week about an exciting trip we have planned…

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mrs McVey, Mrs McCooey and Miss Evans

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

“Love is always patient and kind..." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Can you believe it that we’re already half way through Year 5? I know I can’t! Time is flying and we’ve done so much already. The children are working hard and achieving so much. Well done Year 5 for all your hard work and I hope you all enjoy your well deserved half term holiday! 😊

Edina plant project

Thank you for looking after your bulbs over the holidays! We are part of a science investigation led by the Edina project. Your child’s pot contains a daffodil bulb on one side (indicated by the letter d) and a crocus bulb (indicated by the letter c). Alongside temperature and rainfall that we have been measuring each day, when one of the bulbs flowers, we need to record the date it flowered and the height from the soil. The pot needs to be placed outside in the garden and checked on each day to see if it has flowered. Please do not water it.

If your flowers bloom, please record it and bring the information back to school when you return so we can upload it to the national database.

Daffodil       Date flowered ___________________ Height (mm) ________

Crocus        Date flowered ___________________ Height (mm) ________

Please bring your pot back after half term as the investigation will carry on for a few months.

If you weren’t able to take your pot over the holidays, please don’t worry - I will take all remaining pots home with me.

Thank you for your support in this.

St Bede’s trip

We all had a great time at St Bede’s on Wednesday, the Lion King performance was great - so many talented young people. Year 5 really enjoyed the performance and they behaved so well. Thank you for contributing to the cost of the coach, your support is very much appreciated. After half term, I will be writing to you of details of another exciting trip that we are planning, which will take place in March!

Our award winners:

Golden Award (LEARN) - Alexander

Writing Award - Dominic

Maths Award - Lily T

Our Reading champions

Well done to our reading champions this half term, who all completed bookmarks for reading regularly at home. Don’t forget to keep up with your reading regularly and get your diaries signed. We will update bookmarks after half term.

When the children read regularly, we give them extra points for reading and then we do a draw at the end of each half term. Well done to Lily T, who is our golden ticket winner for this half term.

Bedrock Competition!

Well done to all of Year 5 who achieved 160 points or more on Bedrock over this last half term. I wish you all luck for the Bedrock prize draw, which will be drawn on 18th February! A big congratulations goes to our class Bedrock Champion, Hallie,  and well done to all the other children on our TOP 5 scoreboard!

Here is our TOP 5 winners on the scoreboard :

1 Hallie 419 points ⭐️Bedrock Champion ⭐️

2 Kurt 298 points

3 Gabriel 257 points

4 Layla 158 points

5 Lily T 155 points

Our learning this week…

In English the children have been planning and writing their own first person narrative setting.

In maths the children have been using factors to solve problems and been working on square numbers.

In RE we have learnt about how Jesus described a true disciple. We then looked at 1 Corinthians 13, where St Paul explains what Jesus meant by love. We read about the inspirational Saint, Saint Damien, and the children thought of examples of how he lived out this teaching.

“Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

This week’s prayer and liturgy was planned and led by Darcy, Elsie, Emelia and James. Their liturgy was on the theme of Let Us Pray based on the reading from Mark 1: 29-39 . In the reading Jesus was invited to Simon and Andrew’s house. The children challenged the class to practise inviting Jesus to come to us in prayer, take us by the hand and help us. The children then wrote their own prayers.

“Everyone is looking for you!” Mark 1:37

In Science the children have been learning about the life cycles of mammals - placental, monotreme and marsupial mammals.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is gymnastics.

In computing the children have used the micro-bit as a polling program to record people’s feelings about a topic.

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

On Tuesday we celebrated Safer Internet day, which takes place every year with thousands of people across the UK working together to champion youth voice and engage in conversations about how we can all work together to make the internet a great and safe place. This year’s theme was ‘Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online’.

For more information, click on the link Safer Internet Day for parents/carers

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Monkey - This free online safety guide examines the video chat service Monkey, highlighting several risks and suggesting ways to minimise them.

We hope you find this guide informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Hope you all have a lovely half term!

Mrs McVey, Mrs McCooey and Miss Evans

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

"Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Mark 18: 21-22

Yesterday, we went to church for a class mass. Thank you to our readers, who all read beautifully. Father Frank talked to the children throughout the mass, explaining each part to them and explained the meaning of the Gospel reading. He had challenged the children before we went to church to think about what reconciliation means. The reading came from Mark and was about the importance of forgiving those who wrong us in order to reconcile with them and with God.

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Mark 18:21-22

Trip to St Bede’s High School - 7th February

Reminder that Year 5 will be going to St Bede’s High school to watch a matinee performance of their school production of 'The Lion King' on Wednesday 7th February. We will be travelling by coach to watch the performance, which starts at 1.30pm, and will return to school after the show finishes at about 3pm. (Please note that arrival at school will depend on traffic so we may be a little delayed beyond 3.15pm.) As we hold general consent, we do not need to send out permission forms. There is no charge for the performance but we are we are asking for a travel contribution of £3.00 per child for the cost of the coach, which can be paid through Parent Pay as soon as possible. Thank you for your support.

Our award winners:

Golden Award (CARE) - Rosie

Writing Award - Emelia

Maths Award - Mia

Our learning this week…

In English the children have continued to focus on an illustration from the book FArTHER and have used personification to describe it and have created their own personification poem . They’ve also been identifying the language features of a narrative setting in readiness to plan and write their own..

In maths the children have continued to find factors of numbers and have been identifying prime numbers.

In RE we have begun our unit on inspirational people. We have been thinking about what an inspirational person is and the qualities that they have. The children have thought about someone who they believe is an inspiration and have described why.

This week’s prayer and liturgy was planned and led by Lily T, Olivia W, Rosanna and Zahra. Their liturgy was on the theme of Listen to His Voice Today based on the reading from Mark 1: 21-28 “Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit”. The girls asked the class to reflect on the teaching and to think about how to respond to Jesus when we hear His voice. The children were all asked to write their own prayer to thank Jesus for always being there and to ask for help to follow His teachings. The girls have made a lovely book to hold all the prayers, which will be displayed on our worship display.

“I know who you are - the Holy One of God!” Mark 1:24

In HRSE the children have learnt that emotions change as they grow up (including hormonal effects). They have deepened their understanding of the range and intensity of their feelings and we have discussed how feelings are not good guides for action. The children have also recognised that openness with trusted parents/carers/teachers when worried ,helps with healthy emotional well-being.

In Science the children have thought about the process of asexual reproduction in plants. The children have investigated bulbs, runners, tubers and cuttings. We also planted a spider plant each, which had been growing off runners in our classroom and from one that I had at home. To do our bit for the planet, we have reused the milk cartons to grow our plant in - we can thank Emelia for that fabulous idea! The children will be coming home with their spider plant next week and they will be asked to look after it. We’d love to be updated with photos over the coming months to see how they are getting on!

In geography the children are working with Mrs Mannix and have begun looking at their new topic on latitude and longitude.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is gymnastics.

In computing the children have used the micro-bit to work out how an animation is created before programming their own.

Bedrock Competition!

Don’t forget Bedrock’s new competition to be in with a chance of winning some great prizes. You just need to collect 20 points or more each week and earn 140 or more points in total using Bedrock from the start of January till the 18th February. We’ll also have our own competition in class - the member of our class who has the most Bedrock points by the end of half term will win a prize at the end of this half term. Good luck Year 5!

Here is our TOP 5 on the scoreboard this week:

1 Hallie 232 points

2 Gabriel 205 points

3 Kurt 159 points

4 Layla 135 points

5 Elsie. 84 points

Well done to all the children who are on our leader board this week.👏🏻

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Persuasive Design Online - This free online safety guide provides insight on persuasive design – highlighting its potential effect on behaviour and providing some tips to minimise its impact.

We hope you find this guide informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mrs McVey, Mrs McCooey and Miss Evans

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Mark 1:14-20

Swimming next week…

Next week the focus of the swimming is life saving skills. For this lesson, the children will need to bring with them a pair of pyjama style long trousers/ leggings and long sleeved pyjama style top/t-shirt. (NO jeans, NO onesies and NO fur /fluffy items are allowed as these will weigh heavy in the pool. They will need to wear their usual swimming costume/trunks underneath as they will remove the items of clothing during the lesson.

Trip to St Bede’s High School - 7th February

Year 5 have been invited to St Bede’s High school to watch a matinee performance of their school production of 'The Lion King' on Wednesday 7th February. We will be travelling by coach to watch the performance, which starts at 1.30pm, and will return to school after the show finishes at about 3pm. (Please note that arrival at school will depend on traffic so we may be a little delayed beyond 3.15pm.) As we hold general consent, we do not need to send out permission forms. There is no charge for the performance but we are we are asking for a travel contribution of £3.00 per child for the cost of the coach, which can be paid through Parent Pay as soon as possible. Thank you for your support.

Our award winners:

Golden Award (RESPECT) - Lilly C

Writing Award - Charles Emanuel

Maths Award - Hallie

Our learning this week…

In English the children have been focusing on an illustration from the book FArTHER and have used alliteration to describe it. The children then used these to create an alliteration poem of the chosen illustration. They’ve also been exploring unfamiliar words from a setting narrative which they will use as a model for their own writing in the coming weeks.

In maths the children have begun working on multiplication and have been looking at multiples and factors of numbers.

In our RE lesson this week the children got into groups to plan a liturgy each, which they will lead during the rest of Ordinary time up to half term and then each week of Lent leading up to Easter. This week’s prayer and liturgy was planned and led by Corben, Dominic, Peter and Tommy. Their worship was on the theme of Called to Follow. This week we heard about how Jesus called up his ten disciples to follow him and share the Good News. The boys challenged the class to think about how they could follow in Jesus’ footsteps this week.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Mark 1:14-20

In HRSE the children have deepened their understanding of the range and intensity of their feelings and that ‘feelings’ are not good guides for action. They have also learnt that some behaviour is wrong, unacceptable, unhealthy or risky .

In Science the children have dissected a flower to label the parts of a flowering plant and have described the process of pollination.

In geography the children are working with Mrs Mannix and have begun looking at their new topic on latitude and longitude.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is gymnastics.

In computing the children have had fun this week learning about a device called a Micro:bit. They explored the blocks within the code editor to create a simple animation.

Today some children also continued to work on their sculptures inspired by the work of Alberto Guacometti. They used modroc to cover their wooden frame, which they made last week, and once each child has completed theirs over the next few weeks, they’ll be painted bronze and we’ll put them on display.

Bedrock Competition!

Don’t forget Bedrock’s new competition to be in with a chance of winning some great prizes. You just need to collect 20 points or more each week and earn 140 or more points in total using Bedrock from the start of January till the 18th February. We’ll also have our own competition in class - the member of our class who has the most Bedrock points by the end of half term will win a prize at the end of this half term. Good luck Year 5!

Here is our TOP 5 on the scoreboard this week:

1 Hallie 156 points

2 Layla 107 points

3 Gabriel 112 points

4 Lily T 46 points

5 Dominic & Isaac 45 points

Well done to all the children who are on our leader board this week.👏🏻

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

Smartphone Safety Tips for Young People This information guide has tips to help young smartphone owners stay safe while enjoying using their device.

We hope you find this guide informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Hope you all have a great weekend everyone!

Mrs McVey and Mrs McCooey

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

Our week...

What a joy to wake up to snow on Tuesday! The children had a great time playing in the snow at break time…

Our award winners:

Golden Award (LEARN) - Darcy

Writing Award - Lola Mae

Maths Award - Olivia W

Our learning this week…

In English we have created mood palettes to describe different illustrations from the book, FArTHER, and the children have investigated the meaning of unfamiliar words from the story.

In maths the children have been interpreting and drawing line graphs.

In RE we have been making links between the commandments and our lives.

In HRSE the children learned to recognise that images in the media do not always reflect reality and can affect how people feel about themselves. They also learned thankfulness builds resilience against feelings of envy, inadequacy etc, and against pressure from peers or the media

In Science the children have recapped and demonstrated their learning on Forces and we have begun our new Science topic and have looked at labelling parts of a flowering plant and the process of pollination.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is gymnastics.

In art the children have begun to make their sculptures, from the drawings they did last week (see their drawings below) inspired by Alberto Giacometti.

Our Year 5 prayer and liturgy this week was led by Olivia and Oscar. Their worship was on the theme of Being faithful and loyal.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Matthew 24

Bedrock Competition!

Bedrock have launched a new prize draw competition for this half term with some fantastic prizes to win. You have all been entered into this competition and for a chance of winning, you just need to collect 20 points or more each week and earn 140 or more points in total using Bedrock by 18th February. If you go to the dashboard on your Bedrock account, you will find details of how you can collect points. Remember, you need to complete at least one Bedrock lesson for homework but to earn more points you can do more. However, please do not complete more than one lesson per day to ensure vocabulary retention. In addition to Bedrock’s competition, like last half term we will also have our own in class Bedrock competition too. The member of our class who has the most Bedrock points by the end of half term will win a prize at the end of this half term. Good luck Year 5!

Here is our TOP 5 on the scoreboard this week:

1 Layla 79 points

2 Hallie 70 points

3 Kurt 29 points

4 Oscar 27 points

5 Dominic 26 points

Well done to all the children who are on our leader board this week.👏🏻

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

Smartphone Safety Tips for Young People This information guide has tips to help young smartphone owners stay safe while enjoying using their device.

We hope you find this guide informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Hope you all have a great weekend everyone!

Mrs McVey and Mrs McCooey

Posted
AuthorKay McVey

Happy Christmas!

Fourth Sunday of Advent

This Sunday will mark the fourth week of Advent. We light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of our Saviour. The 4th Sunday of Advent symbolises Peace with the “Angel’s Candle” reminding us of the message of the angels: “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”

Our Year 5 prayer and liturgy this week was led by Emilia, Tommy and Zahra. Their theme was Our Wonderful World and they challenged the class to thank God for the wonderful world we live.

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. “ (Genesis 1:31 )

To keep our world beautiful and good, they reminded the children of keeping their Advent promises, which are linked to Jesus’ commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” ‘

Great Team Work!

Space Rocket challenge…

Year 5 have worked hard in their teams to complete the Space Rocket challenge. Many of our groups managed to earn enough points to collect prizes, which also included having popcorn with a Christmas film this morning. Well done to the winning team, Lunar Foxes B, who will receive their prize in January.

The children earned points for their team by making good choices, completing homework, being great role models around school and for daily reading and getting their diaries signed. Well done Hallie and Lola Mae!

Our Lunar buggies work…

As part of our DT work, the children were challenged to make moon buggies to end our term - I am really pleased with how hard they worked, working in their teams supporting each other and with good cooperation and collaboration. Well done Year 5! Have a look at what they did…

Our Achievements

Our award winners:

Golden Award (RESPECT) - Ronnie

Writing Award - Tommy

Maths Award - Emilia

Our Reading champions

Well done to our reading champions this half term, who all completed bookmarks for reading regularly at home. Let’s see if next half term we can see more reading champions. Don’t forget to keep up with your reading regularly and get your diaries signed.

When the children read regularly, we give them extra points for reading and then we do a draw at the end of each half term. Well done to Teddy, who is our golden ticket winner for this half term.

Bedrock Competition

Well done to all of Year 5 who achieved 160 points or more on Bedrock over this last half term. I wish you all luck for the Bedrock prize draw, which will be drawn on 24th December! A big congratulations goes to our class Bedrock Champion, Hallie,  and well done to all the other children on our TOP 5 scoreboard!

Here is our TOP 5 winners on the scoreboard:

1 Hallie 787 points 🎄⭐️Bedrock Champion ⭐️🎄

2 Kurt 639 points

3 Layla 358 points

4 Gabriel 287 points

5 Isaac 214 points

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

Top Tips for Setting up Parental Controls on New Devices - This guide provides some valuable advice on setting up new devices so that children can use them safely.

We hope you find these guides informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Thank you to those families who were able to join us for our KS2 Advent carol service today, we hope you enjoyed it. We wish you all a wonderful happy and Holy Christmas 🎄and we hope you all stay safe and well and have a great start to the New Year. See you all in the new year!

A reminder of Our Lady’s Church Christmas masses can be found at the following link Christmas card Father Chris has said that the Christmas Eve Vigil Mass is a favourite amongst families and they would be very happy if children wished to attend dressed as characters from the Nativity.

Mrs McVey and Mrs McCooey




Posted
AuthorKay McVey

Our week...

This week we were delighted to welcome Father Frank in to our class. During this time, Year 5 asked Father religious questions related to our learning that they had been wondering about. The questions the children asked were so thoughtful and it was a wonderful opportunity for all of us to deepen our religious understanding and faith.  I was so pleased with how engaged the children were and we have let Father Frank know that we will continue to write down our difficult questions and invite him to come back next term.  Thank you Father!      

Our award winners:

Golden Award (LEARN) - Dominic

Writing Award - Lily T

Maths Award - Connie

Our learning this week…

In English we have worked to understand the difference between formal and informal language and we have been using our vehicle text to write in role.

In maths the children have been using the written column method to add and subtract whole numbers with more than 4 digits.

In RE we have begun to look at what covenants are and have begun to look at the covenant that God made with Noah and all his descendants (us).

In history the children are continuing to learn about the Ancient Greeks.

In PE the children are working with PE specialist Erin from Blackpool Football Club Community Trust. The focus of their lessons this half term is invasion games: Rugby.

Our Year 5 worship this week was led by Teddy and Gabriel. Their worship was on the theme of Taking care of animals. They spoke about how animals enrich the world and give us so much pleasure. They also reminded Year 5 how when God created the world, he called on humans to be good stewards of the Earth and look after all of God’s creatures. Teddy and Gabriel asked the children to think about how they could show care towards animals just as Saint Francis showed us.

“If you are a good shepherd you must really look after your sheep.” Ezekiel

Bedrock Competition!

Bedrock have launched a new prize draw competition for this half term with some fantastic prizes to win. You have all been entered into this competition and for a chance of winning, you just need to collect 20 points or more each week and earn 160 or more points in total using Bedrock from the 30th October to 24th December. If you go to the dashboard on your Bedrock account, you will find details of how you can collect points. Remember, you need to complete at least one Bedrock lesson for homework but to earn more points you can do more. However, please do not complete more than one lesson per day to ensure vocabulary retention. In addition to Bedrock’s competition, like last half term we will also have our own in class Bedrock competition too. The member of our class who has the most Bedrock points by the end of half term will win a prize at the end of this half term. Good luck Year 5!

Here is our TOP 5 on the scoreboard this week:

1 Kurt 370 points

2 Hallie 201 points

3 Elsie 116 points

4 Isaac 113 points

5 Dominic 85 points

Well done to all the children who are on our leader board this week.👏🏻

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

Smart TVs As these internet-enabled entertainment systems rapidly become standard, find out how to guide children in using such devices safely.

We hope you find these guides informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

To read this week’s Good News Gospel reading, please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. Good News Gospel

Please also have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worship…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

Dates for your diary…

29th November School nurse visit . The drop in is for any parent who might have an issue they wish to discuss, no appointment is necessary and they will be in the hall from 9am to 10am. 

8th December Coffee afternoon in the church hall . This is a follow up from the successful SEND afternoon and will focus on deciding what professional parents would like to hear from and areas that they need support in.  Mrs Ormerod will speak about how to navigate the FYI directory and how APDR/ graduated response works in school. There will also be members of the Blackpool parent forum in attendance. They will also look at support around the cost of living. 

Wednesday 20th December Christmas meal & Christmas jumper day Children are invited to wear their own clothes for the day, and this can include Christmas jumpers, dresses or accessories if they would like - but please don't buy anything especially. We would like to support Save The Children with the Christmas jumper day, and will add a voluntary contribution of £1 to Parentpay for donations to this charity nearer the time.

Free opportunity for children - Parks Tennis

This runs every Saturday 10am-11am at Stanley Park. These sessions are free to play and all equipment is provided so a great opportunity for families to give tennis a go! Parks Tennis flyer

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mrs McVey and Mrs McCooey

Posted
AuthorKay McVey