Well done to all the pupils at St Peter’s on their excellent attendance between September ands December 2023. Not only are we in the top 10% of English Primary Schools for attendance in the autumn term, but at 96.4% attendance, St Peter’s is currently 1.8% above the national average attendance rate for the school year to date.

Thank you to all parents and carers for your commitment to the school and to your children’s education, progress and development at St Peter’s.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

St  Peter’s Easter Egg collection for Seafarers 2024

Please support the local Stella Maris Easter Egg Appeal by donating Easter Egg treats to St Peter’s Catholic Primary School to pass onto 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.

St Peter’s Catholic Primary School has once again this year committed to supporting the Port Chaplains in asking for any chocolate Easter Egg donations. Please give your gifts to the school office, or ask your child to pass an Easter Egg to their teacher, by Monday 18^th March, and 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

A thought from Pope Francis for Lent

 Fast from hurting words and say kind words 

 Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude 

 Fast from anger and be filled with patience 

 Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope 

 Fast from worries and trust in God 

 Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity 

 Fast from pressures and be prayerful 

 Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy 

 Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others 

 Fast from grudges and be reconciled 

 Fast from words and be silent so you can listen

Our Monday worship on 5 February took all three readings from the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time.  Typically, our whole school worships tend to focus solely on the Sunday Gospel, but last week was an exception.  The pupils were given a brief account of Job’s life, focusing on his unhappiness when faced with misfortune, before moving onto Mark’s Gospel where Jesus makes better Simon’s mother-in-law.  The perplexing point for the children was that although Jesus had made many people better that day, and so took them out of unhappiness like Job, Jesus decided to move on to preach in other towns of Galilee.  And, when reading St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in the Second Reading, it is this preaching of the Good News that he feels obliged to do with no option but to share the joy. 

The children were then reminded that when facing challenges like Job, they can put their faith in the Lord for comfort and strength, before going on to spread the Good News of God’s love like St Paul.  (Please note, all this was achieved with 430 children aged 4 to 11 in a Monday morning worship by 9:25 am – quite a start to the week!). 

We at St Peter’s are now all ready for a well-earned half-term break.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

St Peter’s has just launched its “2024 – Waste No More” initiative.  Following ideas raised by the pupils in our School Council, and echoed by members of staff, we are working to cut down our use of resources and energy, and be more efficient with the materials that we have.  As well as reducing waste and helping the planet, this campaign will bring the bonus of cutting costs and saving the school money which can be spent on the pupils. 

As an example, Felt-tip pens will not be ordered any more for classroom or club use – only colouring pencils or crayons which have a longer life and do not leave plastic waste after use.  Pupils and staff will be encouraged to use fewer paper towels, and make better use of scrap-paper and unused sections of exercise books to reduce our paper consumption.  Shortly we will take delivery of new photocopier-printers in school, having negotiated both a cheaper contract and secured machines that are more efficient and are made from recycled plastic.  Staff will also have recycling points for glass jars, as we get through a lot of coffee on a typical school day, and steps will be taken to add reinforced covers to new books we purchase so that they literally have a longer shelf life.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

After the busy schedule of December and all that the season of Advent brings to a primary school, the start of January has seen us settle back into a calmer school life. Part of this return to ‘Ordinary Time’ in the second half of the month has been the return to Liturgies and Masses at school rather than Nativity Plays and Carols Services.

Pictured here is Fr James Lewis celebrating Mass with Years 3 and 4 and their families this week in school.

Fr James admitted to the pupils that Priests aren’t perfect (no mention was made of Headteachers at this point in his homily though) and that on occasions we admit that there are some people we like less than others, choosing instead to spend more time with those we do have common interests with. Using the example of the Good Samaritan, Fr James encouraged us all to try to spend a little more time with those of whom we may be less fond, learning about them and learning to love them as a way of living a Christian life.

Last week the pupils in Year R celebrated their first Year Group Liturgy with Fr Jeremy. A theme of Creation saw the 4 and 5 year old children retell the story of Creation in words and pictures, with a live piece of artwork created by the children during the Gospel reading. As always, my thanks go to Mrs Semple, Oaklands’ Lay Chaplain, for preparing our worships, to Fr Jeremy and James for celebrating with us, and to the families who join us in school as part of the St Peter’s community.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

Pupils from Years 4, 5 and 6 who live in and around Waterlooville were involved in a consultation exercise this week looking at the major redevelopment of the town centre. The children were asked to give their ideas on transport, access and activities in the Waterlooville, and what they may like to see for their home town in the coming years.

Well done to all the pupils involved for giving such insightful and creative ideas to the development plan. For more information on the project, see here: Waterlooville Town Centre Masterplan | Havant Borough Council The latest phase of the engagement – the Waterlooville Town Centre Festival of Ideas – is taking place between Monday 22 January and Thursday 25 January. Based in the vacant ‘GAME’ unit on the main precinct, this event aims to bring together all those with an interest in the town centre to collaboratively explore and shape the future for the area. You can register your place at the Festival of Ideas here and find out more information about the Waterlooville Town Centre Masterplan. 

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

2024 marks the 60th, or Diamond, Anniversary of St Peter’s School. Over the course of the summer term 2024, we will be marking this occasion with learning and curriculum activities for the pupils, and fundraising campaigns from the brilliant Friends of St Peter’s to mark the event for families and provide mementos for the children. Our ever popular annual St Peter’s Summerfest will have a 1960s theme both in appearance, music and outfits, so start thinking about what groovy gear you will wear to the best show of the summer on Friday 21st June 2024.

As we know, St Peter’s is like a village school in a town setting, so there are many generations of families who have passed through the school either on its original site on London Road or here now on Stakes Hill Road. In due course we will be asking for memories, artefacts and photos from parents, carers and grandparents of their time at St Peter’s during the previous six decades. Watch this space.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

As we mark the Feast of the Epiphany, and on our return to school, we wish everyone in the St Peter’s community a Happy New Year 2024.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

The autumn term at St Peter’s finished off with a very traditional focus on the celebration of Christmas.  After the Nativity Plays, which raised £120 in programme sales to go to a charity called Sophie’s Legacy which supports families with children in long-term hospital care, the school gathered at Sacred Heart and St Peter the Apostle for our Carol Service.  This was incredibly well attended with standing room only, and the retiring collection of £500 was donated to Action for Children, whose Christmas campaign seeks to house and feed families who find themselves without accommodation at Christmas.  After turkey and all the trimmings served to over 400 pupils, the final afternoon of school brought the term to a close with a Christmas Liturgy.  After all the public events of the final fortnight, and the festivities along the way, it is always a delight just to have pupils and staff gathered in quiet and reflective worship before setting out on their Christmas break. 

The whole community of St Peter’s Catholic Primary School wish each and every one of you a Happy Christmas and  prosperous New Year – please remember to keep our school, its pupils, staff and families in your prayers over the Christmas season and into 2024.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher