Firstly, thank you to all the well-wishes given to school for Miss. Deakin in her recovery from surgery. She is recovering well at home, and we all wish her a speedy recovery. I am in contact with her each day, giving her updates and making sure she stays off her e-mails – which isn’t easy!

It has been quite an eventful time in school: from welcoming some newcomers, wishing Miss. Deakin a speedy recovery and saying ‘bon voyage’ to Mrs. Blair. It is always nice to have fresh faces in school and every new colleague that comes to our school instantly sings the praises of the children and the school environment as a whole – it really is a special place to work. Mrs. Silvester and Mrs. Jones has settled well into Year 3/4, they have been blown away by the ability and enthusiasm of the children. Also, we have welcomed Mr. Howarth to the St. Francis team. Being an experienced sports coach, Mr. Howarth was tested by the whole school during the fund raising run on Wednesday, resulting in him running five kilometres – on his first day at our school! Every credit to the children for keeping him on his toes! A huge thank you to all those that have contributed to the fund raiser, it has resulted in raising a grand total of £240 towards the upkeep of our rabbits and chickens; as a result, Miss. Stewart can now start saving up her own pennies for a holiday instead of buying rabbit food!

Talking of Miss Stewart and being kept on your toes, Miss Stewart decided to invite firemen to the school this week, by unsuccessfully melting chocolate in the cottage. The unscheduled visit from the fireman and the explanation I was forced to give them (regarding the unsuccessful melting of chocolate) will not go down as a favourable memory whilst standing in for Miss. Deakin.  Thank you Miss Stewart!

The new UFAs started this week (see photographs below), it is always a pleasure to walk around school during UFA time, there is a vibrancy in every corner of the school. UFA continues to be a great asset of the school, credit to the teaching assistant, student teachers and teachers that run it and make so incredibly worthwhile for the children.

We had quite a surprise this morning on our doorstep. When you think you have seen all the potential animal issues a country school could face, having endured; chickens, rabbits, cows, sheep, dogs, bats, wasps, birds, moles and mice – I was very surprised to find a very young kitten sat at the front of school at 8:00am this morning. It is a good job Miss. Deakin is off at the moment, as the very cute little kitten might’ve found itself a home with the chickens and rabbits of St. Francis. The kitten was taken to the local vets who will ensure its health and find it a new home.

This week, I have received an incredible amount of praise for the children of Year 3/4, the band and the choir for their Armistice performance on the last day of term. Firstly, the parish worked incredibly hard to remember all those from the parish that gave their life for our country; it was a very professional set-up. The children that performed did an amazing job of creating a thoughtful and respectful atmosphere for all in attendance. Well done to all involved! A reminder for all –  family Mass is on Sunday, 11th November 2018, at 10:30am.  As you will all be aware, it is 100 years since the end of the Great War, as a result there is a raffle after family mass in the school hall, with some great prizes to be won. Raffle tickets are available from the church and the school office. We hope to see you there in support of the school and the parish.

On the Armistice topic, Year 4 have been working exceptional hard in class learning about WW1 and practising the choreography for their Armistice performance at the Guild Hall on Sunday, 11th November 2018. Not only are the children performing, Miss Stewart and I are also heavily involved in all the action as well. If anyone would like any more tickets for the 1:30pm or the 7:00pm performances, they are still available; please ask at the school office if you require any tickets. Please note, Year 4 have their last Friday rehearsal tomorrow, and will therefore be back in assemblies each Friday from now on. I know it hasn’t been ideal, with the Gold Awards going out to the children of Year 4 on a Monday assembly instead – thank you for your understanding in this matter.

We welcome all parents to assembly next Friday (9th November 2018, at 9:00am) as we have a special CAFOD assembly. Christine Dewhurst, from CAFOD, will lead the assembly based on Harvest time. For all those that are not aware, we are a leading school for the CAFOD charity, as we are one of two schools in the country that help develop resources for all the Catholic schools in the UK (due to the work we do with CAFOD).  Christine Dewhurst is spending the rest of the morning with the Key Stage 2 children, running CAFOD workshops for them after the assembly.

Lastly, if you haven’t downloaded the school app yet, we strongly recommend that you do so (ask the school office for details) as many updates will now be coming through the app as opposed to the text message service. Also, please be aware that after school clubs will be up and running next week. If you haven’t responded to the after school club slip, please do so and return it to school as soon as possible. I hope you all have a lovely weekend and come back rested for an action packed week on Monday.

Thank you

Mr Gilmour.