Our Lady of Walsingham

Catholic Primary School

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Latest Letters

Friday 18th May 2012
Dear Parents,

Well between football and KS2 SAT's it has certainly been a busy week for our school!
Congratulations to the children who represented our school so magnificently at both Anfield and the Goodison finals this week. They were a credit to their families and their school.

There has been a noticeable improvement this week in attendance and punctuality. Please do all you can to keep this up by ensuring that your child arrives on time for school every day.

Next week we have the visit of the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, Mr Roy Morris. This is a good opportunity for you as a family to discuss the role of the Queen and her Monarchy. Don't forget that Thursday 31st May is 'wear red, white and blue' day for school culminating in a garden party that afternoon.

Finally on behalf of the PTA we are still looking for volunteers to help with the Summer Fair on Friday 6th July. If you can spare a couple of hours then please pass your name to Lyn Gillard [PTA Chair] or contact the school office.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Thursday 10th May 2012

Dear Parents,

Year 6 SAT's Breakfast Club

As in previous years we will be running a free breakfast club for all children in Year 6 who will be sitting their SAT's next week. Each child will be provided with juice, cereal and toast and have the opportunity to take part in some last minute revision. Children may arrive from 8am onwards, entering school through the main front door and gathering in the dining room.

As this is such an important week in their school career so far it is vital that your child goes to bed in good time each night and is hopefully fully refreshed ready for the next day's tests. If your child is ill on the morning of any test it is vital that you contact school as soon as is possible. For those children receiving regular medication please ensure that they have it before arriving at school.

If you would like any more information about test week then please do not hesitate to contact either myself, Mr Metcalf or Mr Lindsay.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Thursday 10th May 2012
Dear Parents,

CONFIRMATION

I am sure that you will know from letters read at Church and previous correspondence sent home that all Churches within the Archdiocese of Liverpool are this year re-ordering the Rites of Initiation. By this we mean the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion .
From September 2012 children in Year 4 will be prepared, in partnership with yourselves as Parents, Catechists from the Parish and ourselves for the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion.

Therefore children who have already received their First Holy Communion will now need to be confirmed in order to 'catch up'. To this end the children who are currently in Year 6 will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at a special service with Bishop Tom Williams at 10am on Wednesday 11th July. I am hoping that this gives you enough notice for time away from work as it is vital that each child has with them at least one Parent and a sponsor who must be over the age of 18 and a practising Catholic.
Those children who are in Years 5 and 4 now will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at 7pm on Friday 12th October.

There will be a meeting on Thursday 21st June at 2pm for Parents of Year 6 children when we will be able to discuss this in more detail.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Dear Parents,

I am delighted to say that our Year 6 boys football team have won the treble - the league, the 7- a -side and the Bootle schools cup ! This is a fabulous achievement. In addition to this they are also in the finals night at Anfield on Tuesday 15th May. Congratulations boys and many thanks to Mr Hubbert for his commitment and hard work in training our boys.

Next Friday we have a visiting theatre group in school. The theme of their performance is anti bullying. We politely request a contribution of £1 per family towards the cost which needs to be sent into school on Tuesday 8th May in an envelope clearly marked with your child's name and class.

I have put on the back of this letter some key dates for you to make a note of. Finally I hope that you enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend!

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 27th April 2012
Dear Parents,

I am delighted to say that the bike sheds are now back to their former glory and can once again be used. Please remember that all bikes stored there need to be secured with a suitable lock. We as a school do not take responsibility for their security.

Thank you for your patience with the new gates. It is now much safer that no child or adult is using the vehicle entrance especially as this is also the route used for deliveries to the kitchen. When collecting children from the Juniors please wait on the playground as the path is likely to be congested with children needing access to the bike shelters.

In partnership with the PTA we are now making plans for celebrating the Queens Jubilee. I will send out more details nearer the time but the children will be invited to dress in red, white and blue for school on Thursday 31st May. In connection with this I am delighted to say that we have won a draw to be the only Bootle school hosting a visit from The Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside (Dame Lorna E F Muirhead DBE). We don't yet know the date but I will keep you informed.

Finally football and congratulations to the Year 6 boys football team who won the league last night!

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

The Golden Tables

Friday 20th April 2012
Dear Parents,

Welcome back to the Summer term - let's hope we get some Summer weather now after all the rain!

The children all looked very smart returning to school in their Summer uniforms. Please check that all items of clothing and footwear are labelled with your child's name. This makes life much easier in the event of trying to return lost property to its rightful owner.

The long running saga of the building work and fencing continues I am afraid but good news is that the bike sheds have been taken away for repair. I am told that they will be back next week but I'll let you know. We should now be able to use the new Junior pedestrian gate and path for accessing the Junior yard from this coming Monday. Staff will be outside to direct children and adults if you are unsure.

Finally, you will notice a new logo on the bottom of today's letter. This is the London 2012 Get Set Network. Get Set (www.london2012.com/getset) is the official London 2012 education programme and we will send out more details next week of our Olympic themed work.

Yours sincerely

B M Shiels
Headteacher

30th March

Dear Parents,

We had our Easter bonnet/Easter garden parade this morning. The poor judges had a really difficult time as all of the children who entered had made such an effort but they did eventually pick out a boy and girl from each class who each won an Easter egg. All of the children in school were given a cream egg at the end of the day yesterday - I doubt many made it home!

The PTA colouring competition has also been judged and the winners each received an Easter egg. Congratulations to our winners, well done to all of the children who entered and thank you for supporting these activities. We also had Mrs Cunningham, Assistant Head at St Ambrose Barlow in assembly today. She presented two of our children with a shining star award. These are children who have been nominated by their peers and verified by staff as displaying the qualities of respect and friendship. Congratulations to Amy Ross and Faye Williams.

When we return after Easter the gates should [ I hope!] be fully working. The Juniors are to enter/leave by their own pedestrian gate which leads directly to the playground. Infants and Foundation children the pedestrian gate opposite the main entrance. Children in the Infants are still to be collected from their own classroom door. Junior children are to be collected from the playground. Please do not wait on the pavement as it causes an obstruction to other pedestrians.

Thank you to the many Parents who came to Parent/Teacher interviews yesterday. If you were unable to meet with your child's class teacher then please make an appointment to see them as soon as possible after Easter. I will collate the results of the questionnaire which was distributed last night and let you know in the next Friday letter what the feedback was.

Finally may I take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support this term and wish you a happy and Holy Easter.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

23rd March 2012
Dear Parents,

The Spring term is flying by and so please remember some reminders for the last week of term:

Thursday 29th March Parent/Teacher interviews [appointments will have come home today]
Friday 30th March Easter bonnet/Garden parade
2pm School closes for Easter holidays
Monday 16th April School re-opens for Summer Term

PTA
On behalf of the PTA may I thank you for the tremendous support shown for the Easter egg hunts and Bingo this week which raised £431.66. Of course much work goes on in the background to organise and run these events so a big thank you to the PTA committee who as always are so generous with their time. Don't forget that the colouring competition entries are to be in by Monday so that staff at St Ambrose Barlow have time to judge them before the end of term.

Lenten Fundraising
Our fundraising efforts in support of The Good Shepherd appeal are almost at an end and I would like to thank you for all your generosity so far in supporting the cake sales in school and bright shirt day. We have so far raised over £200 to support those children who are less fortunate and in much need of our support.
There is one final Good Shepherd fundraising event for the children in the Juniors next week. Mr Hubbert is holding a penalty shootout competition in order to raise money for the appeal and we would ask for a donation of 50p to take part in this.
Mrs Harrison has kindly donated an enormous Belgium chocolate egg to school which will be raffled next week. It will be on display in the entrance and tickets sold at 10p each. The draw will take place on Friday 30th.
Each day next week we are going to sequence the story of Holy Week and Easter with daily Collective Worship for our children in preparation for the spiritual celebration of Easter.
It is fitting that during the fundraising efforts this year, the children have been studying the topic of 'Self Giving' in RE lessons, looking at people who give of themselves to help others and how they can make a small sacrifice to make a difference to somebody else.

Please continue to support your child in the challenge set by Jesus to
"Love one another, as I have loved you."

Yours sincerely

B M Shiels; N. Metcalf

Headteacher / Deputy Headteacher

The Golden Tables

Friday 16th March 2012
Dear Parents,

There a few important dates to remind you of in the coming weeks:

Wednesday 21st March - Bright shirt day - Good Shepherd
KS1 PTA Easter egg hunt
PTA Bingo 7.30pm doors open 8pm eyes down
Thursday 22nd March- KS2 PTA Easter egg hunt
Thursday 29th March - Parent /Teacher interviews. Requests for appointments will be coming home next week.
Friday 30th March - Easter bonnet/Garden parade
2pm School closes for Easter holidays

Lenten Fundraising
Our Lenten fundraising efforts are continuing and next week sees the end of our annual cake sales which will be organised by the following classes:

Juniors
Tuesday 20th - 6M
Thursday 22nd-4D
Friday 23rd - 3M
Infants
Thursday 22nd F2

Next week also sees the start of Spring, a season of new life, when the trees start to regain their leaves and things generally look brighter. To celebrate the colour and joy in our world, we will be holding an own clothes day on Wednesday (21st March). We are asking the children to come in wearing bright clothes - the brighter and more colourful the better - in order to celebrate the brightness and colour we enjoy. We would ask for a donation of 50p on this day which will be added to our Good Shepherd Collection.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels N Metcalf
Headteacher Deputy Headteacher

8th March 2012
Dear Parents,

I am pleased to say that next Monday we will be re-establishing the 'Junior Fruit Tuck Shop' which was a regular feature on the yards before the building works started. Fruit will be sold at morning break time for 10p a portion.

The builders have informed me that next week we should see the completion of fence work, gates and the bike sheds. The following week the rendering of the walls should also be complete. Slowly but surely we are getting there!

Lenten Fundraising
Our Lenten fundraising efforts are now well under way and I would like to thank you for the support that you have given so far. Next week, the cake sales will continue to take place and will be organised by the following classes:
Juniors
Tuesday 13th - 4M
Thursday 15th - 5F
Infants
Thursday 15th - 1H

We will be arranging other fundraising activities for over the next couple of weeks and hope that we can continue to count on your support to help the work of Nugent Care through the Good Shepherd fundraising.

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love." ~Mother Teresa

B M Shiels; N. Metcalf
Headteacher Deputy Headteacher

The Golden Tables

1st March 2012
Dear Parents,

As you are aware, we are now in the season of Lent. In school, we began our celebrations by Key Stage 2 joining the parish for mass and Key stage 1 having a special collective worship on Ash Wednesday last week. During this time of Lent, we prepare the children for Easter and the sacrifice made by Jesus in giving his life for us. During this time, we ask the children to think of others, particularly those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Our school supports the work of Nugent Care through the Good Shepherd Collection and we will be holding several fundraising events over the next few weeks, beginning of course, with our annual cake sales for which each class takes responsibility for organising and donating cakes to sell throughout school.

The cakes sales begin next week and the following classes will be organising them:

Juniors
Tuesday6th March
Thursday 8th March -

Infants
Thursday 8th March - 2M

Let us all try during this lenten season to follow the words of Jesus
"Whenever you did these things for any one of my brothers and sisters you did them for me."
Matthew 25: 31

Yours sincerely
N. Metcalf Deputy Headteacher

Friday 10th February 2012
Dear Parents,

Hard to believe that we have reached February half term already and what a significant half term it has been! We are all now well settled into our new building. Thanks need to go the staff who have worked so hard to make the classrooms look as bright and welcoming as they do in only a few short weeks. Also to the admin staff, cleaners, lunch time assistants, caretaker and kitchen staff who have very quickly had to learn new routines and systems. The children, as always, have adapted brilliantly. We are now working on the corridors and shared areas. During the break the builders will return to remove their compound, put good the paths, re-arrange fencing and gates and demolish the Junior building.

Unfortunately the rendering on the outside can only be done in better weather so we will need to wait for the hideous 'tango orange' walls to be sorted! Once all this is done we can look at the outdoor space, play equipment etc. Thank you for your patience so far - we will get there!

I hope that you enjoy the week off with your children and look forward to seeing you on Monday 20th February.

Yours sincerely

B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 3rd February 2012
Dear Parents,

I went to a site meeting yesterday and we are now heading into the last phases of the building works. During the half term holiday the compound at the front of our school will be removed, fencing altered, paths relayed and the junior building demolished. What a different view we will then have across our playgrounds. Once this is done we will then have a clearer picture of how to develop the outdoor space for our children.

Today was the first of our Golden Table Fridays. Children are nominated by the lunchtime staff based on good behaviour to sit at a special table in the dinner hall which has a golden table cloth, napkins and flowers. Either myself, Mr Metcalf or Mrs McLachlan then deliver dinner to the children, sit with them whilst they eat and clear away for them at the end. The children are informed by way of a personal invitation received in the class post on a Friday morning.

Finally next Friday we break up for the February half term - the year seems to be flying by! School will close at the normal time on Friday 10th and re-open on Monday 20th February.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 27th January 2012
Dear Parents,

Are you receiving benefits?

The chance is that if you are then you are entitled to claim for free school meals even if you choose not to have them but to give your child a packed lunch.

We all know how hard it can be to make ends meet especially during a recession. It is exactly the same for us in school.

The latest Government spending review announced that schools will continue to receive additional money in areas where a large proportion of children are entitled to free school meals. This is called the Pupil Premium. It helps us to keep the class sizes relatively small, to employ additional staff and to target support at those who need it most.

PLEASE HELP US! If you choose not to claim then you are denying our school and ultimately your child.
The forms are very simple to fill in and do not ask a lot of personal questions. Forms are available from Bootle Town Hall Benefits Section [0151 934 3262]. All applications and entitlements are in the strictest of confidence. If you need any help with applying then either Mrs Price or Mrs Winters would gladly help.

PLEASE HELP US! If you are entitled to a free school meal for your child, regardless of whether or not they have a hot dinner, then please claim for it. It will have a very positive impact on our school budget and ultimately on the quality of the education which your child receives.

Thank you.
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 13th January 2012
Dear Parents,

Well what a week!

As I write this letter the staff are working hard to put the finishing touches to the mobile classrooms which Year 4 children will be occupying from Monday and the remainder of the school are looking increasingly settled in their new rooms. If you haven't yet had the chance to come and look around our new building then please remember that you are very welcome to do so at either the beginning or end of the day.

In order to ease congestion outside of school at home time the following arrangements will be in operation from Monday 16th January:

* All children in Foundation [Nursery and Reception], Y1 and Y2 are to be collected from their classroom door. Please use the pedestrian entrance opposite the main door.

* All children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 are to be collected from the Junior yard. Please use the pedestrian entrance nearest to the old Junior building.
For drop off in the mornings there are no changes - Foundation children straight into class, Y1 and Y2 children gather on the Infant yard and Junior children gather on the Junior yard.

In the rare instance of a child being late for school if it is before 9.30am they must go straight to their class door as the registers are still in class. If it is after 9.30am then please report directly to the office at the main entrance.

I am please to say that hot dinners will be available from Monday 16th January at a cost of £1.65 per day, £8.25 per week. If you would like your child to have a hot dinner then please send the money into school with your child on Monday morning in an envelope clearly marked with their name and class number. Dinner money envelopes are available from the office.

Finally may I remind you that the school photographer is here on Tuesday.

Your sincerely,
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 16th December 2011
Dear Parents,

Thank you for your very generous support of the PTA Christmas Bingo. It raised a magnificent £752.80 which will go towards the fund for developing the outside play areas once the building work is complete. The sale of reindeer food has raised £56. Thank you for supporting both of these fundraisers and to the PTA who worked so hard to organise them.Staff in the Art department at St Ambrose Barlow judged the PTA colouring competition this week. They were very impressed with all of the entries but the winners are:

F2 James Coxhead; Lauren Lott
1H Rhys Pye; Emma Dolman
2M Jack Leadbetter; Connie Wilson
3R Rayhan Lalmohamed; Abigail Platt
3M Kevin Pye; Michaela Owen
4D Callum Highdale; Katy Hughes
4M Kieron Lee; Olivia Duffy
5F Flinn Sullivan; Lauren Downey
Y6 Grace Harrison; Sophie Sanders
Y6 Georgia Hogan; Shannon Cain

Each lucky winner received a selection box.

Finally on behalf of myself and the staff may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and God's blessings for you and your families for the New Year. School reopens for the children January 9th.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 9th December 2011
Dear Parents,

Well what a busy but really enjoyable week it has been! I hope that you enjoyed our Infant, Junior and Foundation plays. The children were a real credit to yourselves and the staff who have worked so hard in preparing them. It was great for them to have such large audiences to perform in front of. Thank you.
Our choir sang in front of the Coca Cola 'The Holidays are Coming' lorry at Asda last Tuesday. They wowed everyone and have been invited back to sing again next term. Next week they are performing at the Packet Steamer.

Yesterday Mrs Fitzgibbon's children, with a Year 6 soloist Sophie Sanders, sang at a joint Carol concert hosted by St Ambrose Barlow with children from Holy Spirit and St Benedict's. I was so very proud of their singing and their behaviour.

Next week we have:
Monday 12th Choir singing at The Packet Steamer
Tuesday 13th Whole school pantomime [Bite Size Theatre Company - Snow White]
PTA Christmas Bingo 7pm
Thursday 15th Party Day
Friday 16th 9.10am Mass
2pm Break up for Christmas

In the midst of Christmas preparations and festivities we are also busy packing for our big move. We are still on track to move into the new school January 4th with the children returning Monday January 9th. You are most welcome to call into school any time after 1pm on Friday 6th January to have a look around at the new rooms although don't be surprised if we are still unpacking and sorting around you!

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Wednesday 23rd November 2011
Dear Parents,

As you will be aware from the media and my letters over the last few weeks, the combined teacher and school leadership trade unions will be taking industrial action on Wednesday 30th November 2011. This is a joint action by a set of public sector unions which have arranged for mass co-ordinated strike action on this day.

The action (a one day strike) will result in class or whole school closures across the country alongside other public services.
The decision to close the school or send pupils home is never taken lightly, but in this instance, where staff have elected to take lawful industrial action, I will have no choice but to take appropriate steps to ensure the health, safety and well being of all pupils.

We are aware that school closures inconvenience parents and carers and so I am writing to give you advance notice of the likely impact of the action on this school.

If the action goes ahead, the following arrangements will be in place:
SCHOOL WILL CLOSE FOR ONE DAY -ALL STAFF AND PUPILS- ON WEDNESDAY 30TH NOVEMBER 2011.
SCHOOL WILL RE-OPEN ON THURSDAY 1ST DECEMBER AT 8.55.

The unions involved are still in dialogue with the government and if there is a chance that all parties can agree a settlement to this dispute, the action will be cancelled. If this were to happen we would text you. However it is more than likely that such an agreement won't be reached so it is a real chance of school being closed that day.

If there are any further developments I will let you know.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 14th November 2011
Dear Parents,

Thank you to the many Parents who attended Parent/Teacher interviews yesterday. It is so important that we continue to have regular conversations regarding your child's progress and attainment so that we can work together to best support your child's learning. If you were unable to attend yesterday then please contact your child's class teacher as a matter of urgency to make an alternative appointment.

Some important key dates leading up to Christmas:
Wednesday 23rd November Rag Bag collection
Wednesday 30th November Possible strike action day[school closure likely]
Friday 2nd December Non uniform day for Christmas Bingo [Chocolate donation]KS1&2
Tuesday 6th December KS 1 Christmas Play [1.30pm/2.30pm]
Wednesday 7th December KS2 Christmas Play[1.30pm/2.30pm]
Thursday 8th December EYFS Christmas Play[10am]
Friday 9th December EYFS Non uniform day Christmas Bingo[Cakes, biscuits]
Tuesday 13th December Pantomime
Tuesday 13th December PTA Christmas Bingo
Thursday 15th December Party day
Friday 16th December 9.10am Mass
2pm Break up

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 11th November 2011
Dear Parents,

Only a short letter this week but I wanted to share with you that twice this week our children, your children actually, have excelled themselves in their behaviour.

The first was our upper Juniors who went to the Anglican Cathedral on Wednesday and had a fantastic day around the topic of remembrance. The education officer at the Cathedral has phoned to congratulate our school on their behaviour and attitude in every task asked of them. What great ambassadors of Our Lady of Walsingham they were!

Secondly today Mr Metcalf led the whole school in a moments silence at 11am. The respect, dignity and spirituality shown by all of our children, even our very youngest was exceptional.

Well done children!

Well done Parents on your children!

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 4th November 2011
Dear Parents/Carers

Parents Afternoon / Evening Thursday 17th November 2011

Parents/Carers afternoon/evening will be held on Thursday 17th November. The afternoon interview session will be 2-4 pm and the evening interview sessions 4-6pm. This way we hope to cater for those of you who work as well as those of you who are available during the day. This will be an opportunity for you to discuss your child's progress and to discuss targets in Literacy and Maths. If you would like your child to attend this interview with you then they would be very welcome but they must be supervised by yourselves at all times as children left unsupervised causes disruption to other staff and Parents.

* Please complete the attached slip and return to school no later than Thursday 10th November.
Appointments will then be allocated and sent out to you no later than 14th November

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

************************************************************************
Childs name: __________________________________________

Class: __________________________________________

Please tick one only

Afternoon interview ___________  Evening interview  _____________    Any time _______________

PLEASE RETURN TO SCHOOL NO LATER THAN THURSDAY 10th November. THANK YOU.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 4th November 2011

Dear Parents,

You will have no doubt have noticed this morning that we have contractors back on site. ABM Construction will be completing the buildings work with a completion date of Friday 16th December leaving the following week available for snagging etc so that it can be legally handed over to us at the beginning of January 2012. However as the Junior building needs to be emptied prior to demolition and the new school set up it is possible that school will have to be closed to the children on Wednesday 4th January, Thursday 5th January and Friday 6th January. I am waiting for confirmation from the Local Authority but felt it only fair to give you as much notice as possible. As soon as this is confirmed I will let you know.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 21st October 2011
Dear Parents,

Thank you so very much for the fantastic response to the 'Coppers for CAFOD'. We raised a marvellous £285.95.

I am glad to say that I am going to a pre-site meeting on Monday with representatives of the Archdiocesan buildings department, Cunliffes Surveyors and ABM Construction with a view to contractors moving back onto site whilst the school is empty.

Some important dates for you to take note of for the next half term are:

Thursday 17th November Parent/Teacher interviews
Wednesday 23rd November Rag Bag collection
Wednesday 30th November Possible strike action day
Friday 2nd December Non uniform day for Christmas Bingo [Chocolate donation]KS1&2
Tuesday 6th December KS 1 Christmas Play
Wednesday 7th December KS2 Christmas Play
Thursday 8th December EYFS Christmas Play
Friday 9th December EYFS Non uniform day Christmas Bingo[Cakes, biscuits]
Tuesday 13th December Pantomime
Wednesday 14th December PTA Christmas Bingo
Thursday 15th December Party day
Friday 16th December 9.10am Mass
2pm Break up

Finally please keep Ms Cook in your prayers as she starts her maternity leave today. Unfortunately she was off sick but I will pass onto her the many gifts and good wishes that have come into school this morning.

Enjoy the week off and I look forward to seeing you all on TUESDAY NOVEMBER 1st!

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Monday 17th October 2011

Dear Parents,
Ms Cook Maternity Leave

Ms Cook will be starting her maternity leave this coming Friday 21st October. I am pleased to tell you that Mrs Blackledge will be taking F2 for the remainder of the school year. Mrs Blackledge is a very experienced teacher who many of you will already know and more importantly is already well known by the children in F2. I am sure that it will be a smooth transition for them.

We wish Ms Cook well in the months ahead and welcome Mrs Blackledge back onto our staff.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 14th October 2011
Dear Parents,

Thank you for your support of the 'Jeans for genes' appeal last Friday. We raised a total of £198.65

The joint PTA and Scout race night was a great success. Thank you to those of you who supported this event in any way and congratulations to the organisers. Not only was it great fun but we raised a total of £508. The next PTA meeting will be held on Wednesday 19th October at 8pm in the club. Please come along if you can as we always need new ideas and fresh faces.

Congratulations to 6L who won the much coveted 'Golden Boot' award for having the most children walking to school this week. It would be great if we could keep this up now and cut down on the amount of parked cars outside of school.

Next week work will resume on the boiler house of the new build and hopefully after half term we will have contractors back on site to complete the rest of the build. Keep up the prayers though please!

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Wednesday 12th October 2011
Dear Parents,

Despite the damp weather it is great to see so many of you supporting 'Walk to school week'.

Unfortunately we had an incident this morning which seriously compromised the safety of our children walking to school. A woman driver of a Renault Scenic mounted the kerb outside school and swung open the door narrowly missing one of our Nursery children.
If this is you then please have more consideration for our children and their safety.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Dear Parents,

This coming Friday 14th October we are supporting CAFOD with their harvest appeal. The children may come to school in their own clothes and in return we will have a 'copper collection'. So any old change that is at the bottom of a drawer or down the settee or the bottom of the handbag please send in. You may be interested to know that as little as £4 would feed a child in Cambodia a hot dinner every day for one month. Imagine if each of our classes was able to say that they had helped to feed a child by collecting nothing but loose change.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 7.10.11

Dear Parents,

Despite the turn in the weather we have had a great week in school although I think it's fair to say that Autumn has well and truly arrived!
Wake and shake was a great start to the week and will be on again 8.40am Monday morning. Why not come and join in?

Kinetics Theatre was excellent on Wednesday and enjoyed by the whole school.

Thursday we had the Black Box Theatre Company looking at Shakespeare's Macbeth with Year 6 and 'Pip the Poet' who worked on poetry with all classes in school.

That brings us to today and 'Jeans for Genes' which as you know is a national initiative raising money to support research into genetic disorders. Thank you for your support of this charity.

Finally don't forget the joint PTA and Scouts Race Night in the club tonight at 7.30pm. If you haven't got a ticket you can pay at the door.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

PS- NEXT WEEK IS WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK. THE WINNING CLASS WILL RECEIVE THE MUCH COVETED 'GOLDEN BOOT' AWARD!

Friday 30th September 2011

Dear Parents,

Each Monday for the next six weeks we will be getting the week off to an energetic start with a 'wake and shake' work out on the yard at 8.40am. Please encourage your child to be in school by 8.40am to join in the fun. Don't feel left out yourselves. We would love it if you joined in too!
We have booked an INSET day [staff training] for Monday 31st October. This means that the children will be off for Halloween and return to school after the half term break on Tuesday 1st November.

Finally isn't it great to have such sunny weather! Let's hope it lasts for the weekend.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 23rd September 2011
Dear Parents,

I am sure that the children mentioned to you that we had Bishop Tom Williams visit us in school last Friday. We had a lovely afternoon with him and have invited him back to bless our new building when it is finished.

This morning we celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Walsingham with Mass in Church. The children were a credit to both their families and school.
There is currently very little to report on the progress of the building works. The Archdiocesan buildings department are still working through the legal situation which I hope will result in the speedy appointment of a new contractor. So prayers please as we really do need to all be under one roof!

A few dates for you to make a note of:

Monday 26th September Science through football day.
Monday 3rd October Walk to school week
Black history week
'Wake and shake' on the playground 8.45am
Wednesday 5th October Kinetics theatre visit to school
Wednesday 6th October Poetry day
Friday 7th October Jeans for Genes day
PTA Race night

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels
Headteacher

Friday 9th September 2011

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to another new school year! I hope that despite the awful weather you enjoyed the summer break and you are now ready for another busy school year.

I must congratulate you all on how smart the children looked returning this week in their new school uniform. They are a credit to you! If you haven't already done so please make sure that your child's name and class is written clearly in each item of uniform as when uniform does go astray it is much easier for it to be returned to its rightful owner. School uniform coats are available to order from Mrs Winters in the school office.

We welcome back from maternity leave Mrs Fitzgibbon, Ms McGuirk and Mrs Murphy. It's great to have them back!

During the summer the builders have made good progress with the building work but we are now facing a delay in the process as ABMRatcliffe have ceased to trade with immediate effect. The Archdiocesan buildings department are now seeking to appoint new contractors so prayers please that this will happen swiftly as we are nearly there. On the matter of the tangerine render - it's not staying! I have asked them to replace it with a more neutral colour.
May I remind you that all children are expected to be on the yard promptly for the start of the school day so that they can line up with their class. When the whistle goes the children stand still in silence and then are called to their lines. Please help your child to start their day correctly by bringing them to the yard promptly [8.45am] and moving away so that they can line up and walk into class ready to start their work. Children should only be brought to the main entrance if they are late for school which should be a very rare occurrence.

Next Wednesday afternoon we have our annual "Meet the teacher" sessions at 2.15pm. Each class teacher will be able to talk about routines for the year such as homework, PE, swimming etc and curriculum coverage. Please do all you can to attend.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels

Thursday 21st July 2011

Dear Parents,

Well the end of term has finally come - let's hope we have some sunny weather on the way!

Today we not only say goodbye to our Year 6 children but also to Miss Potter. I would like to thank Miss Potter for the hard work and dedication that she has shown to our school. We wish her success and God's blessings as she moves to Jordan to continue her teaching career.

Of course we also say goodbye to the Year 6 leavers. We are very proud of our children as they leave and wish them good luck as they move on to their new schools where we hope they will continue to thrive. May God keep them safe in his loving hands and Our Lady of Walsingham continues to guide them.

Finally I would like to thank you for your continuing support of our school and look forward to seeing you on MONDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER when school re-opens for the autumn term. I wish you all a restful summer.

Yours sincerely
B M Shiels