October is the month of the Holy Rosary and your challenge is to pray a decade of this great prayer every weekday, at school or home.

A decade of the Holy Rosary is:

1 x Our Father

10 x Hail Mary

1 x Glory Be

During each decade you can pray with a Mystery of the Rosary. Mysteries are moments in the life of Jesus and Mary. Imagine them in your mind. There will be a short piece of scripture at the start of each decade to help you enter in. There are four sets of five Mysteries:

The Joyful Mysteries

The Glorious Mysteries

The Luminous Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries

For further information, and to join in the challenge, please visit: Rosary Challenge 

There is a video for every mystery, which is filmed inside the Slipper Chapel at the Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham. We hope that you can join us for the Rosary Challenge this October.

Thank you to Father Kevin for visiting the children in Year 5 and 6 to help them develop their understanding of the Sacrament of Confirmation. The children were able to ask lots of questions to deepen their knowledge and understanding. 

St Bernadette V Bowmansgreen

Well done to the St Bernadette netball team who won their first netball match of the year, winning 12-2!

Player of the Match was Florence Lyden who scored a whopping 10 goals. The team were led by their captain Max based on his performance in the last match of last year. We would also like to give a special mention to both Flynn and Mia for coming to watch and support their squad, even though they weren't playing. 

A great start for the St Bernadette Lions!

St Bernadette V St John Fisher

The Lions kickstarted their season today with an 8-0 win at St John Fisher. Flynn Captained the match due to his excellent performance at training.  Mia was awarded Player of the Match so she will Captain the next game for the Lions. Special credit goes to Erin Bradshaw and Darcey Markey who played amazingly well today despite only attending ONE training session, they only joined this September.  Well done to Ethan, Flynn and Florence for 8 excellent goals between them, and to Max, Astena and Scarlett who came to watch the game even though they weren't playing. We have a great team spirit in Year 6 and I'm so proud of them all.

Well done to Erin, Ethan, Flynn, Florence, Mia, Lily, Darcey, Kaito and Freya for an excellent game. A fantastic start to the season for the  Lions! 

St Bernadette V St. Adrians

The St Bernadette Lions had their second win of the season with a 7-4 win against St Adrians. Florence Lyden was awarded player of the Match again. The Lions played exceptionally well against a tough team and have a lot to be proud of.  Goals were scored by Florence, Max and Valentino. Well done to Florence, Max, Valentino, Alex, Tia, Scarlett, Freya, Kaylah and Astenna - hear those Lion's ROAR!!

Special thanks to Mia and Delilah who stayed to watch and support their team along with a selection of Year 4's - and to the parents who helped serve drinks and biscuits, timed the match and cheered the team on. 

St Albans Cathedral Choir is currently looking to recruit new boy choristers of Primary school age, especially in school years 3, 4 and 5. Boys applying to join the choir are not expected to be the finished article. We are looking for enthusiasm for singing, a clear sounding singing voice and the potential to develop that voice. Membership of the choir does require quite a commitment, especially at weekends and at the church festivals of Christmas and Easter. The reward for the child is the enjoyment and self-esteem that singing to an acknowledged high level brings, being part of a small team of like-minded children and a free musical education to a professional standard. The choristers form strong friendships, bond as a team and have fun in social events throughout the year including singing on an international tour (Italy 2023), London concerts (Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in December) and on national TV and radio from time to time. The choir has recently received accolades for its most recent recording of music by Bruckner in the classical music press (The Gramophone editor’s choral choice for July, BBC Classical Music and AllMusic.com) More information can be found at https://www.stalbanscathedral.org/music/cathedralchoir/ Any interested parents wishing to obtain more information should email the Cathedral music department, Mrs Lizzie Birnie, at lizzie.birnie@stalbanscathedral.org or ring 01717 890245 (Mon-Fri, 9-5). She will send them information and guide them through the application process, which is done by a simple vocal audition. We also have a companion Cathedral Girls Choir of a similar age range, which will be recruiting later in the academic year ready for entry in September 2024. Information for joining that choir can also be found on the website.