Pupils at St Peter’s have been taking part in the Royal Mail “Heroes” stamp design competition during their recent art lessons.  A sample of their work has been displayed in the hall and is pictured here.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

These past 2 weeks at St Peter’s have seen the welcome return of year group liturgies.  Sadly, we are not yet able to host families to join in with our worships and celebrations, but we have been delighted to welcome our parish priests into school once again.  The Year 3 liturgy centred on Jesus’ commandment to love one another as He loves us. Pupils reflected on the importance of looking out for their friends, and how they can all be friends of Jesus, showing love for children near and far in God’s world.  Fr Jeremey brought the wonders of the world to life in his homily by showing children a collection of textiles and a multi-coloured stole made in different countries, and shared his favourite vestment which pictures children from every corner of the globe.

Year 2 meanwhile celebrated their liturgy with the theme of Pentecost, marking it as the birthday of the Church.  And, as with any birthday celebration, there were balloons, banners and party games during the liturgy, in this case pass the parcel.  As each layer was unwrapped, a different gift of the Holy Spirit was revealed and shared with the children.

What a joy to have this type of worship and celebration back in school once again, and we can’t wait for the day when we can host family guests to give praise with us.

Mr R Cunningham

Headteacher

Recently, pupils of all ages in St Peter’s undertook a deep-learning week with a focus on Diversity.  As part of their multi-cultural learning, pupils’ art lessons gave opportunities to show their understanding of a range of world faiths.  Our youngest children in Year R learnt about the Hindu festival of Holi and performed their own dance with coloured paint.  Year 1 pupils designed Islamic prayer mats, Year 2 their own Hindu Rangoli patterns, and Year 3 created stained glass windows designs using symbols from the Jewish faith.  Year 4 made dioramas (small models) to show Sikh Gurdwaras, whilst children in Year 5 created stunning art contrasting darkness and light to represent the power and significance of Good Friday.  Year 6 pupils learnt about the significance of the word Shalom in the Jewish faith and created art to symbolise its importance.  The results of their work are show in these 2 incredible displays in school.

Thank you to Miss Honeywell for leading the Diversity Week, and to Mrs Pearson for yet more astounding art work with the pupils.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

Even within our year group bubbles, we are seeing a return to normal and taking every chance to share important information with our pupils for their personal and social development.  In the past week, pupils from Years 4, 5 and 6 had separate socially distanced (no mosh-pit as you will see below!) mini-concerts and a promotional presentation from staff who work for Hampshire Music Service.  Information has been sent home to the relevant year groups giving details of opportunities for pupils to learn musical instruments in bands from next September.

At the same time, we have also made use of Lee Haywood, our cyber-safety adviser, to speak to pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 about the potential risks and useful safety steps that can be taken when gaming on-line.  Lee is a wealth of knowledge who, as he runs his own local cyber-safety company, is able to stay up to date with the latest developments and get that message to schools in our district very quickly indeed.  He also keeps an eye on local on-line trends, as what is popular in some places does not necessarily pose a risk in other areas depending on what young app users and gamers get into.  Lee led his year group discussions without the use of a PowerPoint or any devices, enabling him to be really responsive to what the children were telling him they were using for on-line gamin and entertaining.  He also gave his presentation outside as our 2 hall spaces were being used for concerts and assemblies, meaning he could speak to groups at a distance in the fresh air and keep it all Covid secure.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher