Learning really came to life for our Year 5 classes this week, as they immersed themselves in a World War II evacuees day.  Hop across to the Year 5 blog to see some great images from the day.  Having such deep learning days really help pupils to understand topics across the curriculum, with learning in a subject like History being put to good use elsewhere in English, for example, through the study of classic novels such as Carrie’s War and The Silver Sword.  Great thanks go to the Year 5 teaching team of Mrs Edge, Miss Stapley, Mr Crozier, Mrs Richardson, Mrs Lavery and Mrs Osmond for leading the way on the World War II event, and to Mrs Gray and her team in the kitchen for serving up corned beef hash and tapioca!

Many families of Year 6 pupils will be looking at secondary school applications right now.  Don’t forget that the deadline for applications to start Year 7 in September 2020 is 31^st October 2019, and applications to Oaklands Catholic School and Sixth Form College need to be accompanied by a Supplementary Information Form.  All details can be found on Oaklands’ website.

St Peter’s Open School events for our intake of September 2020 get underway soon.  If you have family or friends who have children approaching school age, please do pass on the details below:

Tuesday 8th October 9.30-11.30 am
Wednesday 23rd October 1.15 -2.45 pm
Thursday 11th November 1.15 -2.45 pm
Monday 18th November 9.30 -11.30 am
Monday 25th November 6.00 –7.00 pm
No appointment necessary, just arrive for the start time of any of the dates listed here.

Applications open on 1^st November 2019 and close on 15^th January 2020.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

The autumn term started with a series of wonderful events for the school on Tuesday 17^th September.  Fr Jeremy blessed our new building, to be known as The Unity Building dedicated to Saint Pope John Paul II.  In this he was joined by our 60 new Year R pupils who were also blessed as a welcome to the school.  Following that, Fr Jeremy celebrated Mass with Years 1 to 6 in full attendance and fine voice.  The message of the homily was that, like the Disciples in the boat during the storm on the Sea of Galilee, we should ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’, placing our faith in Jesus.  And to round things off, with members of the School Council representing the pupil body, Fr Jeremy blessed our new Prayer Garden.  This project has been 2 years in the making, and was funded through pupil enterprise projects, a grant from our local MP, and through generous donations from our local parishes, for which we are truly grateful.  Thanks also go to Mrs Edge and Mrs Turner who led the prayer garden project.

Visit the RE Blog to see more details and pictures from this wonderful event

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

We ended the week with some good news at St Peter’s when we were informed that we had achieved the first level of a national programme known as The Romero Award. The Romero Award is a programme designed to encourage schools to promote Catholic social teaching and justice, and recognise their endeavours in this field. By assessing how we promote Catholic social teaching in our curriculum, in our practical works and in our strategic vision, the Award is recognition of the work we already do, and provides a pathway for us to extend and deepen our commitment to social justice both locally and globally. Special thanks go to the staff who coordinated our submission for the Participator Level of the Award, Mrs Conlon, Miss Honeywell and Mr Land. You can read more about the Award via the following link: https://www.romeroaward.co.uk/

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

A very warm welcome back to all of the pupils and families who have returned to school this week. A special welcome goes out to new pupils and their families who have joined St Peter’s for the first time this week in Years 1 to 6. As ever, it was pleasing to see the pupils returning with great enthusiasm, and settling down to work straight away. The success of our transition days in July meant that as soon as our whole school worship was concluded on Thursday, the children went straight into productive lessons and hard work.

Hopefully all of the children will have a restful weekend, and return on Monday ready for a full week of learning, and the arrival of our new intake of Reception Year pupils.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

At long last, we have reached the summer holidays. Many staff will continue to work in preparation for next September, but there will be time in July and August for all staff to relax over the summer break, spend time with family and friends, and recharge their batteries. On behalf of everyone at St Peter’s, I’d like to thank you all for the support and prayers that have come from our families in this past school year. We send every good wish for the future to the pupils and staff who will be leaving us for pastures new in September. I hope all the pupils have a restful and enjoyable summer break, ready for a return to school for Years 1 to 6 at the normal time on Thursday 5^th September.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

This week was simply wonderful for Year 6. On Tuesday the pupils put on a great performance of Joseph for their end of year show. Going from auditions to practices to full dress rehearsal in just 4 weeks at the end of a packed school year is no mean feat, and the pupils did a great job performing a matinee to the rest of the school before the evening showcase performance to family and friends in the evening. Thank you to Oaklands for hosting us, and for the technical support given by Mr Olford, Oaklands’ Senior IT Technician.

The week ended with a delightful celebration of Mass for Year 6 and their families. This is always a small and touching occasion, having just one year group gathered for a very special celebration. Fr Jeremy and Miss Keogh were as amazing as ever in leading the pupils in worship, and the photo montage at the end took pupils and families on a trip down memory lane that generated laughter and tears alike.

Thank you to all the staff from across the whole school who have worked so hard to prepare Year 6 for the end of term. Equally, enormous thanks to the irrepressible volunteers of the Friends of St Peter’s who laid on a cream tea for the Year 6 parents and pupils at the end of Mass, which was enjoyed in the hall to the sound of torrential July rain.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

The end of the school year is within sight, but not quite yet within reach! Today we had our full transition day for Years 1 to 6 for September 2019, whilst our current Year 6 pupils who will go to Oaklands had a full day as Year 7 pupils ‘over the fence’. Every vacuum needs to be filled, and consequently we have completed the taster and family induction sessions for our future Reception Year pupils.  It was interesting to note that there were more tears from the children when they did not want to leave at the end of the Year R taster sessions, than when they arrived and were dropped off by mums and dads at the start! Great to see such a confident group of children ready to join us at St Peter’s.

Over the next week, please remind your children, as we will in school, to look for lost property, take home lunch boxes and water bottle, and be ready to bring PE kits home for a good wash. When we start the summer holidays, any un-named lost property will be disposed of, so time is of the essence if families want to look for items that have been left in school over recent weeks or months.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

The school field has been the site of 4 major events in the last fortnight, showing that our resources at St Peter’s are never under used.  On 21st June, we had our Countries of the World Carnival, the 28th June we held St Peter’s Fest, then our belated Sports Day on 1st July, and most recently on Friday 5th July the Year 4 Camp.

52 pupils and over a dozen staff enjoyed a wonderful evening of games, challenges, fish and chips and marshmallow ‘smores’.  For some pupils it was their first night under canvas, for others their first time staying away from home without a family member.  All the children had a great time, and some of them even had some sleep – until sunrise at about 5:00am!

We are grateful to the many families who put up and took down tents for the children, and for offering their camping equipment for the benefit of the Year 4 classes.  I must thank all the staff who contributed in so many ways to the event, and especially Ms Stapley and Miss Burch who piloted the whole organisation of the camp and led the team of staff throughout the event.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

As I write this blog, preparations are well underway on the school field for our annual St Peter’s Fest. This would not happen without the valuable time of a range of volunteers, and also support from families in the form of raffle prizes, ticket sales and event purchases. We are lucky at St Peter’s to have a budget secure enough to fund the school effectively, but the money raised by The Friends of St Peter’s means that we can then afford the extras that add so much to your children’s education. As you know, a lot of the fundraising in recent years has gone into our new building, the opening of which moves ever closer as, following a handover meeting today, we have taken ownership of the building from Portakabin. The next school project will be to enhance the outdoor learning space for our Year 1 classes, so as you can see the fundraising never stops and every penny goes towards making St Peter’s a better place in which your children can play, learn and grow together.

Next week sees the start of the transition process, with pupils preparing for their classes in September 2019. We do still have 2 spaces in Year R available for new entrants in September, and 1 space in the future Year 3 group due to our usual step-up in class size between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. We are also now taking names to add to our waiting lists in other year groups from families interested in a St Peter’s education for their children. If you have friends or family who would like to visit the school with a view to applying for a vacant place or to join our waiting lists, please contact our Admissions Secretary Mrs Pope on 023 9226 2599.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

It would be impossible for me to put into this week’s blog all of the recent work that has been going on at St Peter’s. Suffice to say that we hit a real high point on Friday with St Peter’s Countries of the World Carnival. It was a wonderful spectacle, and the result of huge amounts of cross-curricular work in every year group from all members of staff. A massive thanks goes out to all colleagues in every area of the school for leading such wonderful learning and adding to a very special day, and to you the families for helping to prepare the children in many different and colourful ways for the carnival. And of course, a colossal well done to the pupils, as it is no mean feat to parade and perform in front of so many adults. Please look at the individual year group and curriculum blogs to see a selection of photos from the carnival, and images of other recent learning across the school.

Mr R Cunningham

Headteacher