It is fast approaching that busy, exciting time of year once again, and this is being reflected around school. The coming weeks are the most exciting time to be a teacher; being around children at Christmas keeps the magic alive! The Key Stage 2 children in the St Francis Choir have been busy preparing for the Advent Service on the 4th December at St. Anthony’s Church. They have had a day of singing rehearsals with Mrs Davies and myself. Singing isn’t one of the things I would necessarily choose to do, especially when in the company of our very own Katherine Jenkins (Mrs Davies), but we had a great day with the children, who listened and performed so well. The travelling nativities are now doing their rounds; please use them with your children and return them to school the following day for the other children to use. Mrs Kerr has been very creative with Reception Class, linking in learning about 2D shapes, to making Christmas trees – the children have done a great job!

We have now entered into the ‘ Year Of The Eucharist.’ The Bishop has initiated a ‘Year Of The Eucharist’ starting October 2018 and ending September 2019. All Catholic schools within the Lancaster Diocese will be looking at the  importance of Jesus being present during the Mass; the teachers have been busy planning to make the learning experiences as fulfilling as possible. In preparation for this, new resources, a collaborative course and whole school planning have been put in place, to make this special year an engaging aspect of school life.  Check out the RE page on our website over the coming months to see how the children engaging with this celebratory year.

The children have been working very hard in class and getting excited by their topics.  I have been lucky enough to witness this first hand over the last few weeks, due to having a different role in school at the moment and being able to get into each classroom.  It has been fantastic to see so many smiling, happy children in class; from Nursery children playing in the soft play area and writing letters to Father Christmas, to the Year 6 children trying to come to terms with relative clauses! In being able to get around the classrooms, it has highlighted what a great group of children and adults we have in our little school.  The energy in each classroom has been invigorating.

We unfortunately had some bad news this week in school.  One of our chickens (Star) fell victim to a weasel.  The children were sad to learn of her demise, as they do such a great job of caring for them each day. Over the last 3 years, since hatching our chicks, we made the decision to allow our chickens to have free run of our grounds, in order to allow them to live their lives to the full – unfortunately nature can seem cruel at times. Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of all the animals at our school.

We do have more uplifting news though, as Miss Deakin is well on her way to making a full recovery. She is feeling much more like herself and she is healing well. A day doesn’t go by without Miss. Deakin asking about all the children, staff and goings on at school; it is not in her nature to take a back seat – as we know. She thanks you all for your good wishes, and wishes you all well. She looks forward to seeing all the children again and getting back to her busy self!

Finally, in the last month, the school has managed to raise £240 for the St Francis’ animals, due to our sponsored run.  We have also raised £175 for Children in Need, as a result of our incredible cake sale and own clothes day. Alongside this, we have confirmation that we raised £65 for our Jeans for Genes Day and we have also accumulated a large amount of boxes for the ‘Christmas Shoe Box Appeal’ for children who will not receive gifts this Christmastime. With all of this, as well the CAFOD Club doing their bit to support others and the PTFA raising money for school funds, we really do a lot for others and our small community.  All the support from parents and families does not go unnoticed; we really do appreciate your support. Together, we are raising thoughtful young people who see the value of caring and sharing with others. A big thank you to all!

Have a nice weekend everyone – see you Monday.

Mr Gilmour