I haven’t been in school today as I have been on a course. This comes with benefits and problems as I always miss school when I am not there and wonder what the children are doing. After my course, I returned to school to catch up on anything I had missed and to return emails and phone calls. I was met with three perfectly arranged Ipads on my desk and no one in sight-no one until Mr Gilmour appeared to tell me all about the exciting assembly I had missed. The Year 5 children led a WWF reflection as a reminder for our ‘Wear it Wild’ day and parents joined in with singing ‘Knees Up Mother Brown’- and that was only the beginning. When I asked what the Ipads were doing on my desk, I was told they had been put there so I could see what had been going on in school throughout the day!

When a child tells you that their school is the ‘best place on earth,’ you remember what high quality education is all about. Every school, to a child, should be the best place on earth. I was equally as excited as the children when I was approached by many of them asking if I could take them into the Millennium Walk at lunchtime. Obviously, I stopped what I was doing, put my wellies on and headed off with them. Tiny doors for fairies were placed at the ground of the beautiful trees and I was asked to help the children look for ‘Toad of Toad Hall.’ We spent at least half an hour trying to find ‘Toad’ but he must have gone or heard us coming! The search continues!

I am delighted to tell you that you can register your child now ready to start in September. We can welcome children from the age of two. Next half term, we will invite you in for visits and we will also be welcoming new starters into school to stay and play weekly. More information coming soon. Pre-School packs are in the process of being prepared and will be available very soon. In the meantime, Miss Taylor will add your child’s name to our list and with your days and requirements will log places. We can offer 20 places in the morning and 20 in an afternoon session.

Beacon Class have been busy making posters for this event. Send your child into school on 27th May dressed as a wild animal to raise money for WWF. Any donations, no matter how small, will be gratefully received and sent to WWF. This ties in nicely with the Pope’s Encyclical on ‘Care for our Common Home.’ Please have a look on Beacon Class page for more information and a link to the WWF website.

Most of you will have been told by your children that we have been watching our eggs hatch this week! We have four very healthy little chickens and one that is being nurtured to full strength as we speak by Miss Stuart. We welcomed Mr Severyn to our team this week, as he has joined us for the rest of the term to teach curriculum music to all year groups. Ukuleles are being ordered on Monday and the day began with the sound of reggae music! It is incredible to hear how the children in the infants are genuinely talented at music and many are playing instruments. The juniors set a fabulous example for our younger children and I sincerely thank them for their inspiration.  I don’t think they realise just how powerful an influence they all are. I was delighted to welcome back some children who have now returned to choir. We have so many infant musicians and we are currently planning to have an infant music concert. Children in Year 2 joined the choir today and what an incredible sound they all made. We value every voice and children can join the choir at any time.

Jesus is Alive!

We know that Easter marks the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. It is the most important Christian festival and the one celebrated with the greatest joy. On Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene visited the tomb and found that the huge stone had been moved and that Jesus’ body had gone. At first, Mary thought that Jesus was the gardener and when she realised it was Jesus went to tell the disciples. For forty days after this, Jesus appeared to the disciples several times.

We have been incredibly moved this week as we have been part of some truly moving Holy Week reflections presented to us by each of our classes. On Monday, Pendle class portrayed The Last Supper. They reminded us how Jesus served His disciples as He washed their aching feet. We constantly reinforce the need to serve others in our kind acts. Parlick led assembly on the events which took place in The Garden of Gethsemane. It amazes me how even our youngest children rise to any challenge in such a mature way. When the music stopped, the children continued to sing with confidence and rhythm. Fairsnape class used a range of media to convey the Stations of the Cross. It left us all speechless. I would urge all of you to visit Fairsnape Web page to fully appreciate this. Today, the children in Beacon class lifted our spirits with their ‘Newsround’ interpretation of  Christ’s Resurrection and it was a perfect end to our school week. The children inspire me and all of our staff. It is the constant search for enriching their time with us that we continue to teach with incredible flare and come together as our community. Happiness can be underestimated or forgotten about but I strongly believe that we need happiness to perform to the best of our abilities. We have so many abilities that we have to foster in our children for them to thrive in the world. Self belief is everything. This, alongside our thoughtfulness for each other and the world in which we live, surely means that we can only make our world a better place. Care for our common home and care for each other.

St.Francis’ prepares for Holy Week