Thank you to all the pupils, families and staff who were able to donate Easter Eggs to St Peter’s for our Stella Maris collection. These treats will go to global seafarers who will be visiting the ports of Portsmouth and Southampton over Holy Week the Easter period, along with faith materials, in celebration of this most solemn and joyous season. Pictured here is Deacon Nick O’Neill from the parish of St Michael and All Angels in Leigh Park, who packed his car with over 250 Easter Eggs.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

Easter is a movable feast; unlike Christmas it does not occur on a set date each calendar year.  The date of Easter is decided more by celestial and planetary patterns, falling each year on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.  (Remember that, it is bound to come in a quiz sometime!)  It is because Easter is so late this year, falling on Sunday 20 April 2025, that we have the strange sensation of finishing the term with 2 weeks of Lent still to go, and coming back to school on Tuesday 22 April the day after Easter Monday.  In other years, we have worked right up to Maundy Thursday and been able to mark the start of the Easter Triduum and Passion of Christ with a very reflective service on the last afternoon of the spring term.  Not this year though.  However, we did get to mark Ash Wednesday in school (as this can often fall in the spring half term), and when we return Easter will still be fresh in pupils’ minds for a whole school worship on the morning of Tuesday 22 April.  So, for now I wish you all an enjoyable holiday when it arrives at the end of next week, and also wish you a very happy celebration of Easter when it comes in late April.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

This week at St Peter’s saw the pupils of Reception Year host their first Celebration of the Word (Liturgy) in school.  Of course, this is not the first time they have welcomed families into school, as Year R put on incredible Nativity plays in December.  Fr James joined the pupils in class before the Celebration of the Word, and was present in the hall when lots of parents, carers, grandparents and little brothers as sisters joined in a worship based upon how to meet the challenges of Lent.  Fr James showed us pictures he took in the desert on a recent stop-over in the Middle East, helping the children to understand how Jesus made space to hear God’s voice before starting his ministry.

All 60 pupils in Year R were wonderful in leading the celebration through prayer, and singing two wonderful praise songs with actions thrown in, showing off to their families just how far they have come in their first six months at St Peter’s.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

Please help St Peter’s Catholic Primary School support the local Stella Maris Easter Egg Appeal by donating Easter Egg treats to seafarers in our local ports over Easter.

Stella Maris, the Catholic charity that supports Seafarers, is planning to give chocolate treats to crew aboard ships in ports along the south coast over Easter. There will be many hundreds of seafarers passing through our ports and far away from home this Easter. It can be a very lonely time for them. The Port Chaplains are asking for any chocolate Easter Egg donations. Please give your gifts to your class teacher or the school office by Friday 28th March 2025. The Southampton, Fawley and Portsmouth Port Chaplains will deliver your treats to the ships.

Thank you for any generous donations you are able to offer.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

This week, 8 pupils from St Peter’s were hosted by students from Oaklands Catholic School for training in how to become Catholic Social Teaching (CST) Ambassadors.  This was very much a student-led initiative, the first in a number of sessions to be run with the aim of deepening students’ knowledge of CST and consider how it can be lived out in practical ways. The session also looked at leadership skills, where the Oaklands students coached the St Peter’s pupils on how they can guide their school peers in worship and practical acts centred on CST.

Our thanks go to the Oaklands staff who facilitated this session, Mrs Newbiggin and Mrs Semple, and of course to the Oaklands Student CST Leaders.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

This half-term the Equality And Rights Advocates (EARA) team have been planning a special project to revamp the Buddy Benches in the Key Stage 1 and 2 playgrounds.

Before they started, these were plain benches which were not being used for the correct purpose – to be a place to go for those who can’t find a friend. The EARA team have added a brightly-coloured label to make the benches stand out, and rules for how to use the Buddy Bench correctly. The rules of the Buddy Bench were shared with the whole school during assemblies, where the EARA team acted out different scenarios of people using the bench (some correct and others incorrect) and the children had to guess which were the correct uses. 

Everyone now know how to use the Buddy Bench if they are feeling left-out or lonely, or what to do if they see someone else sitting on the bench because they feel this way. Hopefully this will be a useful spot for children and help them to build new friendships.

Thank you to the EARA team and their staff coordinator Miss Sheppard!

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

St Peter’s has returned fully  to normal routines for 2025 by continuing with our typical variety of opportunities for praise and worship.  Already during January, pupils and families in Year 1 have enjoyed a Celebration of the Word liturgical service, and one of the Year 6 classes received the Sacrament of Reconciliation in school.  Most recently, pupils in Years 3 and 4, along with many family members ranging from a newborn babe in arms to worldly wise grandparents, celebrated Mass in school.  Fr Jeremy was the celebrant, and in his homily he reminded the pupils that even when faced with life’s greatest challenges, the loving support of Jesus and a strong faith in God can help us to overcome any obstacle. 

Masses and Celebrations of the Word will continue for other year groups this term before we mark the season of Lent in March when we return from the half term break, whilst the Sacrament of Reconciliation takes place for six different classes over the full course of the school year.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

It was a meteorologically turbulent start to the week at St Peter’s, as Monday brought rain, hailstones, thunder and lightening in the space of just a few hours.  As you can imagine, such changeable weather brings a whole new level of excitement to a school packed with over 400 children aged 4 to 11! 

How apt, then, that in the staff bulletin, this was the prayer and accompanying image for the week:

Speak your Word Lord to calm the winds and rains of the storm, and the hearts of those who are in its path. Protect them from harm, bring them to safety and make of us a warm welcome. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who walked on the water, calmed the waves and is ever-present in the storms we endure.  Amen.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

Pupils in Year 5 at St Peter’s are really extending their physical activity this term.  Each class is taking part in a six-week swimming programme between the New Year and Easter, with weekly hour-long lessons at the Waterlooville Horizon Leisure Centre.  These classes cater for children of all swimming abilities and levels of water confidence, with the target of all pupils achieving a swimming distance of 25m in various strokes, treading water, floating on their backs and getting themselves out of deep water unaided.  Added to this, the Year 5 classes will also be enjoying Bikeability sessions – that’s the updated name for Cycling Proficiency.  As well as learning basic cycle care and cycling skills, the children will also take to the roads around school to learn how to navigate public highways safely and correctly. 

Both of these activities are proof against the claim that young people are just on sofas and on screens the whole time, and show that the St Peter’s curriculum extends to valuable life skills and enriching physical activities.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

Coming to school, and work, can be tough in January, yet who would not have had their spirits lifted by this beautiful sunrise over St Peter’s on Tuesday morning this week?

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher