Christ Forgives

In Celebration of the Word this week, we looked ahead to the upcoming celebration of the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time and prepared our hearts once more to listen to the well known parable of the Prodigal Son. Whilst the young son's behaviour is outrageously selfish, when he sees the error of his ways and chooses to turn back to his father, all is quickly forgiven.

We have focused this week on the Gospel value of forgiveness - the readiness to let go of the hurt caused by other's actions. It is a gift that we can offer and receive in equal measure and it helps to build God's Kingdom. Children reflected on times they have been forgiven or forgave others at home or in school, whilst some older children were able to share their experiences of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

C - 24th Ordinary

Reception

– A Magical Beginning!

We were thrilled to welcome our new Reception children yesterday, and what a wonderful start it’s been! The classrooms were buzzing with excitement, and curiosity.

To kick off the year, each child received their own pot of Playdoh. But this wasn’t just any Playdoh… it held a secret.

We told the children that if their Playdoh changed colour when they held it, it meant something truly exciting! It meant they were going to work hard, learn lots, and have a fabulous year ahead. Luckily every single pot revealed its magic!

We can’t wait to see all the amazing things our Reception stars will do!

Peeling Back the Layers:

Year 6’s Journey Through Earth’s Origins

This term, Year 6’s Geography journey reached new heights as we explored the incredible story of how our world was created, building on their earlier studies of Guildford, the UK, and Europe. We recreated the Big Bang using dust, rocks, and tissue paper to represent planets and moons, then peeled apart a painted orange to explore Earth’s layers. The excitement peaked when we talked about tectonic plates and volcanoes making the orange erupt with a squirting “lava” surprise! The children loved discovering why Earth is the “Goldilocks Planet”, perfectly suited for life, and shared their own creative retellings of the story. We also reflected on how science asks how the world began, while faith asks why, inspired by the words of Professor John Polkinghorne: “One can perfectly well believe in the Big Bang, but believe in it as the will of God the creator.” It was a thrilling and thought-provoking lesson that truly brought our planet’s story to life!

Toy Story

To begin our History topic on 'Old and New Toys', this week Year 1 thought about their favourite toys and why they like them. Children then immersed themselves into a number of different play-based activities including making their favourite toy out of junk modelling, making videos about their favourite toys, building a toy museum, opening a toy shop and exploring toys they may not have seen before!

This introductory lesson has given the children a great opportunity to explore the toys that they like before comparing them to toys their parents and teachers liked playing with, and toys from even further back in the Victorian era!

Little Red Reading Hood

This week Year 2 went on a walk to the local woods to help better understand the route that Little Red Reading Hood took when walking to the library. Whilst there we looked, listened and felt our way through the tall trees, crunching leaves and chirping birds. The children came up with some fantastic vocabulary to describe their experience and we will be using this in our upcoming writing.

Team Building

Year 3 started team building this week in PE. Unfortunately, it was raining, so most of the activities were inside. This didn’t bother the children as they got to know their classmates better. The games varied as the children learned to listen to instructions, work together and communicate. Fun was had while following the school rules: Be Ready, Respectful, and Safe. We can’t wait to get outside next week to begin learning, playing football and basketball, or developing our teamwork skills in Outdoor and Adventurous (OAA). Fingers crossed the weather improves!

Practising Perfect Presentation!

As we embark on a new academic year, we've been busy in Year 5 reinforcing the classroom routines and expectations - particularly around presentation. With a raft of new books to cherish and take pride in, we're starting as we mean to go on. It was lovely to see examples of wonderful, careful presentation from Betsy, Harper and Emily. Well done girls! Keep it up.

Celebrating Our Remarkable Readers!

At our school, we believe reading is the key to unlocking imagination and learning. We expect every child to read with an adult at least four times a week to help build strong reading habits. Today, we want to celebrate a fantastic group of Year 4 children who have begun the year in a wonderful way by reading more than four times since the start of term! Their dedication and hard work have earned them a well-deserved housepoint each. Well done to all our super readers. You are inspiring everyone to enjoy the magic of books. Keep turning those pages and reaching for new adventures!

New to Nursery

We’re so excited to welcome our new Nursery children and families, as well as say a big “Welcome Back” to those returning from last year! It’s been a lovely start to the term, with lots of smiles, exploring, and new friendships forming. Our new children have been settling in beautifully - getting to know the classroom, trying out different activities, and learning new routines like hanging up coats, finding name labels, and tidying up. We’ve been busy painting, building, playing in the home corner, and enjoying story time together. It’s been wonderful to see the children’s confidence grow each day.

Our returning children have come back full of enthusiasm and have been brilliant role models, showing the new starters how things work and helping them feel at home. Their kindness and confidence have made a big difference. We’re really looking forward to the exciting term ahead and can’t wait to see what the children discover next. Here's to a fantastic year in Nursery!